''Tricycle: The Buddhist Review'' is an independent,

nonsectarian Nonsectarian institutions are secular institutions or other organizations not affiliated with or restricted to a particular religious group. Academic sphere Examples of US universities that identify themselves as being nonsectarian include Adelp ...

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

quarterly A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combination ...

that publishes Buddhist teachings, practices, and critique. Based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, the magazine has been recognized for its willingness to challenge established ideas within Buddhist communities and beyond. The magazine is published by the

Tricycle Foundation The Tricycle Foundation is a not-for-profit educational organization based in New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804, ...

, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) educational organization established in 1991 by

Helen Tworkov Helen Tworkov is founding editor of '' Tricycle: The Buddhist Review'', the first and only independent Buddhist magazine, and author of ''Zen in America: Profiles of Five Teachers'' (North Point Press, 1989; Kodansha, 1994). She first encountered ...

, a former anthropologist and longtime student of

Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

and

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

, and chaired by composer Philip Glass. James Shaheen is the current Editor and Publisher of ''Tricycle''. ''Tricycle'' also hosts a blog, film club, monthly video dharma talks with Buddhist teachers, and in-depth online courses. It was one of the first organizations to offer online video teachings, which are now common. The blog, Trike Daily, covers topics ranging from the history of same-sex marriage in the ''sangha'' to climate change as a moral issue.

History

The Tricycle Foundation was registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization in July 1991. That same year, The Tricycle Foundation launched ''Tricycle: The Buddhist Review'', the first Buddhist magazine in the West.

, the first Editor-in-Chief of ''Tricycle'', founded the magazine along with Rick Fields, a poet and expert on Buddhism's history in the United States, who served as a contributing editor to the magazine. ''Tricycle'' made a concerted effort to feature content about all the Buddhist traditions, not just those most familiar to Americans, such as Tibetan, Theravada, and Zen Buddhism. For example, ''Tricycle'' has highlighted

Nichiren Buddhism Nichiren Buddhism ( ja, 日蓮仏教), also known as Hokkeshū ( ja, 法華宗, meaning ''Lotus Sect'') is a branch of Mahayana Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th-century Japanese Buddhist priest Nichiren (1222–1282) and is one o ...

, Pure Land (Shin) Buddhism, and

Shingon Buddhism Shingon monks at Mount Koya is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asia, originally spread from India to China through traveling monks such as Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra. Kn ...

, both in the magazine and on its website. The Buddhist scholar Stephen Batchelor writes that until ''Tricycle'' was published,

Buddhist periodicals in English had been little more than newsletters to promote the interests of particular organizations and their teachers. ''Tricycle'' changed all this. Not only was the editorial policy of the magazine strictly non-sectarian, ''Tricycle'' was also committed to high literary and aesthetic standards. It became the first Buddhist journal to appear alongside other magazines on newsstands and in bookstores, thus presenting Buddhist ideas and values to a general public rather than committed believers. I very much shared the vision of ''Tricycle’s'' founders and began writing regularly for the magazine.

Name

The name ''Tricycle'' refers to a three-wheeled vehicle symbolizing the fundamental components of Buddhist philosophy. Buddhism is "often referred to as the 'vehicle to enlightenment,' and the tricycle's three wheels allude to the three treasures: The Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, or the enlightened teacher, the teachings, and the community. The wheels also relate to the turning of the wheel of dharma, or skillfully using the teachings of the Buddha to face the challenges that the circle of life presents."

Mission

Tworkov stated that the initial vision for the magazine "was simply to disseminate the dharma. That remains the essential mission and the most inspiring aspect of my work." According to the ''Tricycle'' website the Tricycle Foundation's mission is to "create forums for exploring contemporary and historic Buddhist activity, examine the impact of its new context in the democratic traditions of the West, and introduce fresh views and attainable methods for enlightened living to the culture at large. At the core of the Foundation’s mission is the alleviation of suffering that Buddhist teachings are meant to bring about. Tricycle is an independent foundation unaffiliated with any one lineage or sect."

Readership

According to Notre Dame's American Studies Chair Thomas A. Tweed, ''Tricycle'', based on surveys, "estimated that half of the publication's sixty thousand subscribers do not describe themselves as Buddhist." The vast majority of ''Tricycle’s'' readership is politically active and considers social engagement to be most appropriate to, even a key component of, Buddhist practice.

Awards

''Tricycle'' has twice garnered the

Utne Media Award ''Utne Reader'' (also known as ''Utne'') ( ) is a digital digest that collects and reprints articles on politics, culture, and the environment, generally from alternative media sources including journals, newsletters, weeklies, zines, music, and ...

, most recently in 2013. The 2013 Award was for "Best Body/Spirit Coverage." The ''Utne Reader'' described why it chose ''Tricycle'':

Since its founding in 1991, ''Tricycle'' has become a beacon for Western Buddhists, attracting a variety of other spiritual seekers along the way. In the past year, the pages of ''Tricycle'' have considered serious topics from addiction to aging, challenged widely accepted notions of the historical Buddha, and recounted spiritual quests that have not led to Buddhism. This openness to difficulty and uncertainty suggests a living-out of the words the magazine puts to print… After much deliberation, some back-issue rereading, and more than one impassioned speech, we're very pleased to announce ''Tricycle'' as the winner of ''Utne's'' 2013 Media Award for Body/Spirit Coverage. With a wealth of exceptional titles to choose from, the decision was difficult to make. ''Tricycle'' stood out for great writing and presentation—but most important was a noted willingness to surprise, even challenge, readers. Through this atmosphere of lively dialogue, ''Tricycle'' offers Western Buddhists (and many more) a point of entry to a community of thoughtful spiritual seekers.

''Tricycle'' has also been awarded the Folio Award for "Best Spiritual Magazine" three times.

Editorial

Articles in ''Tricycle'' cover a range of Buddhist traditions, practices, and types of meditation, as well as general topics viewed through a Buddhist lens. This includes family, community, work, arts and culture, politics, social justice, the environment, aging, and death. Contributors have included the

Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current D ...

Peter Matthiessen Peter Matthiessen (May 22, 1927 – April 5, 2014) was an American novelist, naturalist, wilderness writer, zen teacher and CIA Operative. A co-founder of the literary magazine ''The Paris Review'', he was the only writer to have won the Nation ...

, Philip Glass,

Thích Nhất Hạnh Thích Nhất Hạnh ( ; ; born Nguyễn Xuân Bảo; 11 October 1926 – 22 January 2022) was a Vietnamese Thiền Buddhist monk, peace activist, prolific author, poet and teacher, who founded the Plum Village Tradition, historically recogni ...

Sharon Salzberg Sharon Salzberg (born August 5, 1952) is a ''New York Times'' bestselling author and teacher of Buddhist meditation practices in the West. In 1974, she co-founded the Insight Meditation Society at Barre, Massachusetts, with Jack Kornfield and Jos ...

Jon Kabat-Zinn Jon Kabat-Zinn (born Jon Kabat, June 5, 1944) is an American professor emeritus of medicine and the creator of the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medi ...

, Joseph Goldstein,

Jack Kornfield Jack Kornfield (born 1945) is an American writer and teacher in the Vipassana movement in American Theravada Buddhism. He trained as a Buddhist monk in Thailand, Burma and India, first as a student of the Thai forest master Ajahn Chah and Maha ...

, Curtis White, Jack Kerouac,

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...

, Gary Snyder, Stephen Batchelor,

Pema Chödrön Pema Chödrön (པདྨ་ཆོས་སྒྲོན། ''padma chos sgron'' “lotus dharma lamp”; born Deirdre Blomfield-Brown, July 14, 1936) is an American Tibetan Buddhist. She is an ordained nun, former acharya of Shambhala Buddhism an ...

, bell hooks, Robert Aitken,

Alice Walker Alice Malsenior Tallulah-Kate Walker (born February 9, 1944) is an American novelist, short story writer, poet, and social activist. In 1982, she became the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, which she was awa ...

, Spalding Gray,

Robert Thurman Robert Alexander Farrar Thurman (born August 3, 1941) is an American Buddhist author and academic who has written, edited, and translated several books on Tibetan Buddhism. He was the Je Tsongkhapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at ...

Bernie Glassman Bernie Glassman (January 18, 1939 – November 4, 2018) was an American Zen Buddhist roshi and founder of the Zen Peacemakers (previously the Zen Community of New York), an organization established in 1980. In 1996, he co-founded the Zen Peace ...

, John Cage,

Joanna Macy Joanna Rogers Macy (born May 2, 1929) is an environmental activist, author, and scholar of Buddhism, general systems theory, and deep ecology. She is the author of twelve books. She was married to the late Francis Underhill Macy, the activist ...

, Sulak Sivaraksa,

Laurie Anderson Laurel Philips Anderson (born June 5, 1947), known as Laurie Anderson, is an American avant-garde artist, composer, musician, and film director whose work spans performance art, pop music, and multimedia projects. Initially trained in violin and ...

, Guo Gu,

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, inclu ...

Pico Iyer Siddharth Pico Raghavan Iyer (born 11 February 1957), known as Pico Iyer, is a British-born essayist and novelist known chiefly for his travel writing. He is the author of numerous books on crossing cultures including ''Video Night in Kathmandu ...

, and

Tom Robbins Thomas Eugene Robbins (born July 22, 1932) is a best-selling and prolific American novelist. His most notable works are "seriocomedies" (also known as "comedy drama"), such as ''Even Cowgirls Get the Blues''. Tom Robbins has lived in La Conner ...

. According to Sallie Dinkel from ''New York Magazine'', “''Tricycle'' has functioned as a kind of tugboat of awareness, pushing and pulling traditional Buddhism in a direction that will make sense for the worldly American mainstream… The magazine has published articles on abortion, euthanasia, AIDS, and the Los Angeles riots.”

Buddhism in the United States

Helen Tworkov has said she has "seen a growing acceptance of Buddhist practice throughout the country, although not without a degree of misunderstanding, like a belief among some people that the Dalai Lama is a sort of ‘Buddhist pope,’ in a tradition that lacks such an office." However, Ms. Tworkov has also expressed worry about whether American Buddhism is evolving into “simply another projection of the white majority.” This touches on the tensions that have existed around the definition(s) of American Buddhism, and how race and nationality fit into that definition.

Change Your Mind Day

In 1993, ''Tricycle'' created “Change Your Mind Day," an afternoon of free meditation instruction held in New York City's Central Park. The event was designed to introduce “the general public to Buddhist thought and practice." During the first Change Your Mind Day, newcomers and seasoned Buddhists meditated, listened to performances by Philip Glass and Allen Ginsberg, and did tai-ch’i. Tworkov described the event: "We invite teachers from different traditions to give instruction on meditation. The miracle, if you get into it, is you can have a couple of thousand people in New York City and it can get very, very quiet. It takes on a kind of tranquillity and collective consciousness, and everybody notices it." Rande Brown, a former member of Tricycle's board, estimated that 300 people attended the first event, and that 10 times that number attended in 1998. She said, "Enough people wander by and are serendipitously drawn into the silence." The event has grown in popularity, as has mindfulness meditation. Starting in 2007, ''Tricycle'' began also hosting a virtual Change Your Mind Day to provide international and remote access to the event. The last Change Your Mind Day was held virtually in 2010, although many other organizations continue to host versions of the event.

Books

The Tricycle Foundation has published several books, including ''Big Sky Mind: Buddhism and the Beat Generation'', ''Breath Sweeps Mind: A First Guide to Meditation Practice'', ''Buddha Laughing: A Tricycle Book of Cartoons'', ''Commit to Sit: Tools for Cultivating a Meditation Practice from the Pages of'' Tricycle, and Stephen Batchelor's ''Buddhism Without Beliefs'', a founding text of Secular Buddhism. ''Tricycle'' has also published numerous e-books on topics ranging from happiness to addiction.

References

External links

''Tricycle: The Buddhist Review''

Trike Daily Blog
{{Buddhism topics Buddhist magazines Magazines established in 1991 Quarterly magazines published in the United States Religious magazines published in the United States 1991 establishments in New York City Magazines published in New York City Religious organizations established in 1990 Publishing companies established in 1990