A long overlooked document has shed a bit of new light on the life of Moses Ben Maimon, better known as Maimonides (c. 1138–1204), one of the most prominent rabbis of Jewish history. Maimonides was one of the great philosophers of the Medieval period. His work influenced many who came after, including Thomas Aquinas, Baruch Spinoza, and Isaac Newton. And his commentaries on Jewish Law are influential to this day. Maimonides also was a renowned astronomer and physician. For a... Read more
Tina Turner (1939-2023) was a force of nature, and her music touched countless people. She also was a Buddhist, a practitioner of a tradition called Nichiren, after its Japanese founder. Tributes to the late entertainer include this lovely piece from the Los Angeles Times by Jonah Valdez, “How Tina Turner’s Buddhist faith gave her the strength to leave Ike Turner.” I’d like to provide a bit of background into Tina Turner’s Buddhism. Buddhism, not unlike Christianity, is made up of... Read more
New discoveries promise new insight into the ancient Maya civilization and its religion. Archeologists have found a network of 417 cities in northern Guatemala that date back to about 1000 BCE. The cities were connected by nearly 110 miles of of well constructed roads that one scientist called “the first freeway system in the world.” The ruins revealed that the Maya civilization was much more advanced at a much earlier date than previously thought. It must now be understood as... Read more
The Emerald Buddha is the most sacred object in Thailand. It is the nation’s palladium, meaning that keeping it safe also protects Thailand. The Kings of Thailand traditionally swear oaths of loyalty before it. Politicians caught in scandals swear their innocence to the Emerald Buddha to rehabilitate their public images. Legends say the Emerald Buddha was created in what is now the Bihar state of India in 43 BCE by a sage named Nagasena, with the help of the Hindu... Read more
The King and I, the classic musical by Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein, premiered on Broadway in March 1951. It was a sensation and one of Rogers’s and Hammerstein’s most successful collaborations. The original cast included Yul Brynner as King Mongkut of Siam and Gertrude Lawrence as Anna Leonowens, the widowed British governess who was hired to be a teacher to the King’s several children. Since then the musical has been revived on Broadway four times, most recently in 2015. You... Read more
Buddhism in Egypt? Nearly two millennia ago? Maybe. A statue of the Buddha dating to between 90 and 140 CE was recently discovered in Berenike, an ancient city on the western coast of the Red Sea in Egypt. It is the first ancient Buddha found west of Afghanistan. The 28-inch-tall (71 centimeters) statue is of a standing Buddha and was carved from Mediterranean marble. The statue somehow arrived in Berenike while Egypt was controlled by the Roman Empire. To recap: ... Read more
What are the origins of dragons? It isn’t clear when and where dragons first appeared in the world, or even if there was a “first appearance.” Creatures with some of the attributes of dragons are found in the earliest folktales and legends of many cultures around the world. It’s commonly speculated that such creatures were inspired by dinosaur fossils. Anthropologist David E. Jones, in his book An Instinct for Dragons (Routledge, 2002), argues that humans are “hardwired” to believe in... Read more
Saint George is the patron saint of England, and he is famous for slaying a dragon. That much I knew. So I thought that in light of this week’s coronation of King Charles III, it would be fun to dig into the life of Saint George. But here’s the truth about Saint George: he probably existed only in legends. Even so, in spite of his likely being fictional, Saint George was canonized in the year 494 by Pope Gelasius. His... Read more
King Charles’s coronation on May 6 will be a really fancy Anglican Church service, and it will be held in a seriously historic church. According to the Abbey website, there have been 38 coronations in Westminster Abbey, and 39 monarchs crowned. The difference in number came about because William III and Mary II reigned jointly and were crowned together in 1689. King Charles III will be the 40th monarch crowned at Westminster. Most sources say the first royal coronation in... Read more
Agnosticism is a word coined in 1869 by the English biologist T. H. Huxley. And it may not mean what you think it means. In popular English usage, agnosticism is a kind of theistic fence sitting; the agnostic is one who doesn’t take a position on whether God exists or not. But the meaning of agnosticism that Huxley intended is, to me, much more interesting. The word was coined from the Greek agnōstos, which means “unknown” or “unknowable.” The meaning... Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In