Buddhist Televangelism: Put Your Hand On the Screen

Here is one to bookmark. The University of California's Knight Chair in Media and Religion, at the Annenberg School for Communications, maintains a page of links we all might wish to investigate. For those of you who are unfamiliar, USC's Annenberg is where they train the successive generations of people who functionally control world opinion.

While perusing the site, I came across a link to something called Dharmawood. This is a site which purports to explain how watching movies can be used to learn about Buddhism.

I thought Garab Dorje already covered that.

All kidding aside, Buddhist televangelism is already alive and well in Asia, and I think it is high time we brought it to the United States, where mascara is cheap and plentiful. This isn't a question of "if," this is only a question of "when," and of course, who wants to be first. Maybe we could get demo tapes of the various personalities, and send them over to USC for professional evaluation.

And of course, Manny Lamawitz would definitely have to be involved.

Speaking personally, last night I had a vision. Yes... I had a vision. A beauteous dakini came to me... a skywalker from the stainless purity of that which is beyond subject and object... and she gave me an ear whispered transmission... yes, an ear whispered transmission... and she told me that somebody in our audience today was going to donate five thousand dollars to our Karma Harvest Outreach. I have just one question for you, brothers and sisters, and one question only. Are you the person whose name is on the lips of the dakini?

Laugh you sinners, and when you see it on cable one day, remember who told you so.

Again, all kidding aside, brush up on your namjog/rejog and visit the Dharmawood site -- where he is actually on to something -- with the perspective that all movies are "Buddhist movies."

-- -- -- -- --

Note: This is as good a time as any to take up some passing matters. Later this week, we will meet and pass 1,000 posts here at Digital Tibetan Buddhist Altar. These posts touch on a wide variety of topics, and you are cordially invited to search through them for the things that interest you. We have two ways to search -- one at the right, and one in the upper left. The one at the right works best. Also, if you're a regular reader, just take a moment and subscribe (if you haven't done so already), as it makes things easier. Note that I switched syndication yesterday, so you might want to re-subscribe to avoid interruption.

Over the past three years, I have had a lot of fun with this blog, and I have made quite a number of friends. Some people have even traveled long distances to come and see me, and meet my rabbits. Sorry, I don't see visitors anymore.

I think I have explained elsewhere, this blog began for my family and traveling companions, as a way to store things. Originally, I called it an aide-memoire, and that is still what it means to me.

Gradually, because I have a lifelong interest in publishing, the nature of blogging as a publishing paradigm proved fascinating, so this blog also became a way for me to experiment. It became my hobby.

I was surprised when it grew the way it has -- we have had over a hundred thousand readers, over a half million page views so far this year, and we seem to be getting bigger every day. People write to me all the time, telling me that when I post a link to their site, the traffic goes up immediately.

Well, that is fun, but this is still only one old man's hobby, and it doesn't mean very much else. There are some things we could probably work with, such as improved astrology, and maybe a master calendar of all empowerments around the world, but I am not sure we'll get to that.

I am getting too tired to fool around with this very much longer. I have a few projects in other areas that will demand more and more of my time. As they come to fruition, I will tell you about them here.

Still, in order to concentrate on these projects, I am going to begin winding down this blog, perhaps to the point where it can operate as a standalone resource. Maybe I will give it over to the other authors who have contributed here. If you want to be an author, write and tell me so. If you have any bright ideas, write and tell me so.

Maybe, just maybe, I will open it up so that anyone who reads it can be an author.

That could be interesting.