The Path to Tranquility Goes Through Pomona

A Buddhist Monastery Just Off the 10 Freeway Is My Place to Reflect, Meditate, and Just Breathe

A stone lion, a protector from negativity and a talisman against evil spirits, sits in front of the Middle Land Chan Monastery in Pomona, about 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. Surrounded by small, single-family, cookie-cutter homes and a stone’s throw away from the 10 Freeway, Middle Land feels far away from the busyness of the city.

Beyond hearing birds chirp among a grove of trees or wind rustling the leaves, it’s quiet at the monastery. It’s a place for seekers of peace and tranquility and where I go to …

by Connie K. Ho | June 30, 2014

Pope Francis Sends His Regrets

Why Are So Many Politicians, Religious Leaders, and Regular Folks Sending Invitations to the New Head of the Roman Catholic Church?

by Patrick Gilger | June 18, 2014

For Pope Francis, this has been a season of invitations. First, he toured the Holy Land, as guest of honor for heads of state, religious leaders, and ordinary people alike. …

Nun Eating a Small Apple

by Mariano Zaro | May 16, 2014

We are in a bus,
my mother and I.
We are going to Zaragoza.
There is a nun sitting next to us.
She looks down,
hands crossed over a bag …

I’m One of the Muslims the NYPD Spied On

New York’s Anti-Terrorism Surveillance Program Not Only Wasted Money. It Also Robbed People Like Me of Our Trust in American Government.

by Kahraman Haliscelik | April 28, 2014

For many years, local and federal law enforcement agencies spied on Muslims and mosques in the U.S., hoping to find bad guys before they could commit acts of terrorism. But …

When L.A.’s Jews Went Crazy for Albert Einstein

In His Three Semesters at Caltech, the Famed Physicist Brought Together a Divided Community and Earned Their Undying Love

by Noah Efron | April 24, 2014

When Albert and Elsa Einstein first visited in January 1931, the Jews of Los Angeles were besotted.

A hundred women and men, representatives of almost every Jewish organization in the city, …

Was Fred Phelps Democracy’s Necessary Evil?

You Don’t Have to Like the Man or the Westboro Baptist Church, But Their Antics Strengthened the First Amendment for All of Us

by Joseph Russomanno | March 26, 2014

It has been written that the safeguards of liberty have often been forged in controversies involving not very nice people. If that is true—and the facts support the premise—then the …

religion

The Path to Tranquility Goes Through Pomona

A Buddhist Monastery Just Off the 10 Freeway Is My Place to Reflect, Meditate, and Just Breathe

Pope Francis Sends His Regrets

Why Are So Many Politicians, Religious Leaders, and Regular Folks Sending Invitations to the New Head of the Roman Catholic Church?

Nun Eating a Small Apple

I’m One of the Muslims the NYPD Spied On

New York’s Anti-Terrorism Surveillance Program Not Only Wasted Money. It Also Robbed People Like Me of Our Trust in American Government.

When L.A.’s Jews Went Crazy for Albert Einstein

In His Three Semesters at Caltech, the Famed Physicist Brought Together a Divided Community and Earned Their Undying Love

Was Fred Phelps Democracy’s Necessary Evil?

You Don’t Have to Like the Man or the Westboro Baptist Church, But Their Antics Strengthened the First Amendment for All of Us

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China and Tibet’s Lama Drama

The Centuries-Old Power Struggle Over Buddhism’s Highest Figurehead, Reincarnation, and Cultural Survival

Free Community College Isn’t the Answer

The President’s Tuition Giveaway Won’t Land More People Middle-Class Jobs. Here’s What Will.

How Tibetan Buddhists Helped Me Seek Enlightenment at Howard Jarvis’s House

Revisiting the Former Home of the ‘Mad as Hell’ Tax Reformer as Another Fight Over Prop 13 Begins

Finding Inner Peace Between Thin Black Lines

Agnes Martin’s Monochromatic Art Was Her Answer to Taoism’s Call for Austerity

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