Geoff Barstow

Happy Saga Dawa! May your day be full of happiness.

thrilled that we have a new Tibetan reading room in the University of Virginia Library :

Some beautiful flower offerings at the Boudha Stupa this morning!

Summer Institute 2025 - Mangalam Research Center Buddhist Perspectives on the Natural World in an Era of Global Climate Change - an NEH Summer Institute for Higher Education Faculty. Apply by March 5, 2025.

Excited to help spread the word about the Buddhist Perspectives on the Natural Works NEH seminar. I’ll be there and would be awesome if some of you were too!

Applications close March 5, so check it out and please share!

www.mangalamresearch.org/summer-insti...

Interesting thread on what may be the first “performance” by Tibetan monks in Europe, and the 13th DL’s response.

Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays / Hope-you’re-having-a-nice-day Day

I need a new pillow. Anybody have one they recommend?

Side sleeper, for what that’s worth. I think I want one of the contour pillows, but there are so many options!!

Help me, Bluesky. You’re my only hope.

First ever attempt at making #laphing not pretty, but it tastes good!

I think it’s more likely in reference to the rule of threefold purity. That’s the rule in the Vinaya that generally allows meat as long as a monk or nun doesn’t suspect the animal was killed specifically for them. Often that is interpreted to mean meat bought in a market is ok.

I’m intrigued by the word “buy” in the graffiti slogan.

Vinaya rules about meat eating are often interpreted to permit meat that is purchased in the market (as opposed to slaughtered oneself).

Perhaps our anonymous sloganeer knows this and is critiquing that interpretation?

Or it’s random.

Got some heated public discourse about meat eating going on here in Boudha: someone is writing quite aggressive anti-meat graffiti and someone else is crossing it out.

I have no idea who is doing this, but I’m definitely curious.

Glad it’s not broken!

I am vegetarian, and was before I started researching it. I’ve always been glad to be able to work on a topic I care about personally as well.

Books.

When buying books for gifts this holiday season, please don't buy from Amazon. Please shop at your local independent bookstore/bookseller. Ask for recommendations. If they don't have a particular book in stock, ask them to order it.

Support creatives, local businesses, and your community.

Students sometimes ask if Nepal is Hindu or Buddhist and I’m like… Yes?

In Lumbini for the inauguration of the new 1000 Buddha temple, and this building is epic. And full of great friends. Feeling happy and grateful to be here! ☺️

Funny how ingrained social constructs like personal space and privacy are.

Was doing prostrations at the stupa this morning and kept getting annoyed at the people taking my picture…. not exactly the mental state I was aiming at. 😕

Good morning from the Boudha Stupa. Always feels good to be back!

Not many of us yet, but here's a starter pack for Tibetan & Himalayan Studies. Give a shout if you'd like to be added or know of others who should be included.

go.bsky.app/QLFmW2S

Chinese Buddhists Don’t Eat Meat. Can They Convince Others to Do the Same? A monastery in southwest China is trying to return Buddhism to its rightful place at the vegetarian table.

About Chinese Buddhist vegetarianism and history of #vegetarianism in #China: Chinese Buddhists Don’t Eat Meat. Can They Convince Others to Do the Same? @SixthTone; www.sixthtone.com/news/1014148 #buddhism

The Faults of Meat - The Wisdom Experience Should all Buddhists be vegetarian? Vegetarianism is an important topic of debate in Buddhist circles—some argue that Buddhists should avoid meat entirely while others suggest that it is acceptable. F...

wisdomexperience.org/product/the-...

Food of Sinful Demons | Columbia University Press Tibetan Buddhism teaches compassion toward all beings, a category that explicitly includes animals. Slaughtering animals is morally problematic at best and, ... | CUP

cup.columbia.edu/book/food-of...

I've recently gone from a dozen to more than a hundred followers. Hi! 👋

So a quick introduction seems in order: I'm a scholar of
#TibetanBuddhism, focussing on #animals and #animalethics. Especially the logic and practice of #vegetarianism
in #Tibet. Links to books etc. below.

My super awesome colleague Justine Quijada is speaking today about Buryat religion in UT’s Buddhism & Posthumanism series. 1pm Eastern by zoom.

buddhiststudies.utoronto.ca/events/justi...

I’ve been off social media for a while, but @arianam.bsky.social’s Buddhist Studies starter pack has me remembering when social media was fun and thought provoking. So maybe I’m back for a bit?

The Sanchi stupa, a half dome-shaped reliquary surrounded by a circumambulatory path, is a pilgrimage site for Buddhists and tourist attraction for persons of all faiths.

A Buddhist Studies Starter Pack is up and running! Envisioned as primarily academic, it’s also a place for librarians, publishers, and professional societies that work with Buddhist Studies to connect.

It’s a work in progress—add and share widely.

go.bsky.app/VQ843Yv

#Buddhism #Buddhist #academia

Hi friends! Wanting to spread the word about this conference on Buddhism and Food Ethics coming up soon at Oxford. I'll be there, and it would be awesome to have some of you all too!

Feel free to spread the word to others (including grad students) who might be interested.

World is falling apart, so here’s a picture of my #catbeingcute

Hello Bluesky peoples. 👋

How’s the weather ‘round here?