Via the Economist \\ A special edition on cancer

 

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October 4th 2025

The Economist this weekend A special edition on cancer

Photo: Agnes Jonas

Slavea Chankova Health-care correspondent

Cancer is a disease of faulty DNA, I had been told. So this summer I went on a pilgrimage that many journalists writing about cancer make at some point in their careers: I took the train from London to the outskirts of Cambridge to visit the Wellcome Sanger Institute. It is a storied place for discoveries about how genes shape our health. Back in the 1990s Sanger scientists decoded a third of the first fully sequenced human genome. Since then their research has led to drugs for cancers that previously had no treatment at all. What I learned there was astounding. The glitches in our DNA known as “cancer-driver” mutations may not be that at all. Scientists thought they were villains because they consistently turn up in tumours. But now they are finding them in perfectly healthy tissues, too. It is a fascinating story about the origins of cancer—and what it might take to prevent it.

Editor’s picks A selection of must-read articles

Tumour prevention Scientists are discovering a powerful new way to prevent cancer Treatments should encourage healthy cells as well as killing unhealthy ones

Less deadly than you think The world is making impressive progress averting cancer And there are more improvements to come

Root of the problem Rates of bowel cancer are rising among young people Childhood exposure to a common gut bacterium could be responsible

1843 More young people are getting cancer. It changes everything Having breast cancer in your 20s or 30s brings a unique set of considerations—and agonies

Well informed Should men be screened for prostate cancer? The answer is less obvious than you might think

Via Daily Dharma: Beloved Community

 

Beloved Community Within our practice, we share an intention, enact our purpose, and cultivate care for one another. We find intimacy, companionship, friendship, and a community of people who gather together in the same way that people have for over a thousand years. Gabriel Kaigen Wilson, “The Beloved Embodiment of Community” CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE Forward today's wisdom to a friend »

As a nonprofit organization, Tricycle depends on the generosity of individuals like you. Please make a tax-deductible gift here » Remythologizing the Buddha Donald S. Lopez Jr. in conversation with James Shaheen Scholar Donald S. Lopez Jr. discusses the dangers of stripping away the supernatural elements of the Buddha’s life. Read more » The Buddha A Book Launch with Donald S. Lopez Jr. Join us at the Liederkranz Club on October 9, 2025 for a Q&A and book-signing to celebrate the publication of Donald S. Lopez Jr.’s The Buddha: Biography of a Myth. Sign up » Follow Us

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Effort: Restraining Unarisen Unhealthy States

 

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RIGHT EFFORT Restraining Unarisen Unhealthy States Whatever a person frequently thinks about and ponders, that will become the inclination of their mind. If one frequently thinks about and ponders unhealthy states, one has abandoned healthy states to cultivate unhealthy states, and then one’s mind inclines to unhealthy states. (MN 19) Here a person rouses the will, makes an effort, stirs up energy, exerts the mind, and strives to restrain the arising of unarisen unhealthy mental states. One restrains the arising of all five unarisen hindrances. (MN 141)

Reflection Having gone through the five hindrances individually—sense desire, ill will, restlessness, sluggishness, and doubt—we are now encouraged to work with all five of them as the opportunity arises. Instead of looking at each in turn and exploring how it might be inhibited from arising (not suppressed once arisen!), we allow ourselves to guard against any of them erupting by learning to avoid the conditions giving rise to them. Daily Practice The hindrances are a natural part of our everyday lives, but we need not feel at their mercy. They are mental qualities that obstruct our ability to focus and relax our minds, and they can be resisted with some understanding of what sets them off and how to avoid triggering them. Cultivating equanimity, for example, will inhibit the arising of sense desire and ill will. The other hindrances too have antidotes that can be deployed. Tomorrow: Establishing Mindfulness of Body and Abiding in the First Jhāna One week from today: Abandoning Arisen Unhealthy States Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

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October 4, 2025 The Path Is in Every Step Life’s journey isn’t just about reaching a destination; it’s about the path we take to get there. This theme lies at the heart of our October Film Club pick, Saffron Heart. Set in a Buddhist monastery in South India, the film follows Lobsang, a young monk who arrives at the monastery and becomes deeply homesick. Instead of sending him home, his wise and compassionate teacher offers him a different kind of path: a map-quest made up of eight puzzles that Lobsang must complete before going back home. Accompanied by upbeat original music by the director, Paul McLay, and captivating cinematography depicting both the lighthearted moments of childhood innocence and the more intensive monastic life full of teaching and practice, Saffron Heart is a moving exploration of transformation, resilience, and inner growth. Subscribers can stream the film now through October 31.   Watch the film »   Also this week: October’s Dharma Talk from Laura Bridgman explores compassion and the inner critic.    Read the winning poems from August’s Haiku Challenge.   A new month means a new teacher for our weekly meditation group. Join us on Monday at 11 a.m. ET with Zen teacher and priest Sensei Dhara Kowal.