ACTUALLY, THOSE WERE ALREADY TAKEN...

I am writing to offer you my thoughts on your website. While I understand the meaning of the term "Killing The Buddha" I might point out that Zen Buddhists, i.e. those who would understand this expression, are a minority in the world of Buddhists, thus most Buddhists would not understand it. For the majority of Buddhists "killing" is a violent word, and in the same context they would be advised to simply let go. You would also have to consider the effect of someone naming a website in a reciprocal way, as perhaps "Killing Jesus," not exactly connected to esoteric expressions but perhaps equally as tasteless on first sight. Finally, you have to realize that the use of this expression by a non-religious group and its use by a religious group may not be construed as being exactly the same. In the case of a non-religious group they are quoting literature, whereas a religious group can be quoting literature and construed as attacking another religion by the use of it as the name of their website. While I am not concerned with any of this I would like to point out that as a religious website, and using some wisdom in respect to your own religion, using it as a website name may appear to be confrontational by some. Thus, it is perhaps not the best idea you could have come up with.

Yours Sincerely,

Apichato
Asian Buddhist Congress

SIMPLY FUCKING THANK YOU

Saw your mag featured on AnglicansOnline.org: superlatives fail me... simply fucking wonderful. Mind you, as I haven't actually "read" anything but your manifesto and feature titles, I'm only reacting to the idea. But it's so great to see something about God in the press and say "Hey! That's what I think... or don't think... or wonder about... or feel'" instead of thinking "oh, God," "oh, please," "oh, Barf" or "oh no"...

Pax,

Kenneth
Hamilton, Ontario

HORMONES FLOWING LIKE THE TREVI FOUNTAIN

Though I am somewhat outside the norm of your intended audience (e.g., a devout Anglo-Catholic with a specialization in ascetic theology and medieval mysticism), I found "God's Own Knowledge" to be quite an intriguing article. You have unintentionally given an avid believer much food for thought:)

I must add that I lived to regret reading the revolting "The Mucus." I have had the dubious "pleasure" of meeting various practitioners of Natural Family Planning in my day, and always found it rather boring that, considering sex is as old as Adam, they seem to believe they invented it. I should like to remind this crowd, all so eager for congratulations on their heroic sanctity, that dignity precludes details of what goes on in one's bed being shared with anyone who was not present. Then again, it does not strike those who wish to impress the world with their magnificent sacrifice in abstaining from intercourse for a certain number of days that the young, far from being edified and with their hormones flowing like the Trevi fountain, may well think that, if heroic sanctity is illustrated in this fashion, they may as well accept their own human frailty and fall into the nearest sack...

Best of luck with the new site. Cheers.

Elizabeth
New York, New York

NO, THAT WAS THE INQUISITION — WE'RE JUST A WEB MAGAZINE

I find the "Killing the Buddha" effort an affront to all religious groups. It is an equal-opportunity attack on people of faith. I am ashamed that NWU [ed. note: The National Writers Union was good enough to post our press release on its listserv.] saw fit to mention this repulsive exercise, or to be associated with it in any way.

Yocheved
Washington, D.C.

THOUGHTS V. ASS: THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES

Re: "Unveiled." It is unfortunate that your article did not touch on my favorite argument in favor of the veil: that modest dress resists the commodification of the female body. Many Muslim feminists argue that by dressing modestly they force men to deal with them as human beings, rather than sex toys. They point out that young American women are encouraged by the popular media to construct their self-esteem in terms of how sexually attractive they are. Mainstream, young, American women spend huge amounts of time and money on their physical appearance; self-esteem is measured against how many hard-ons one can produce per day. Within a feminist Muslim context, Hijab becomes a means of insuring that a woman is judged by her thoughts and deeds, rather than by her ass.

Polly
Seattle

YO QUIERO KtB

Killing the Buddha is magnificent! You might get a kick out of The Virtual Church of the Blind Chihuahua, http://www.dogchurch.org

Yours in Faith,

John
Virtual Church of the Blind Chihuahua
"We are because I AM, are we knot?