November/December 1997 Issue

Zen and the Art of Lifestyle Maintenance

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By now you’ve no doubt heard that Buddhism is a pretty cool religion—it’s flexible and nondogmatic, and lots of celebrities say they practice it. Still, it’s not exactly easy getting a handle on all that dharma stuff, or keeping up with who’s trading one-liners with the Dalai Lama. So if you’re a busy professional seeking to integrate Buddhism into your meaningless existence, look no further than Tricycle or Shambhala Sun. Combining the latest Buddhist teachings with all the ancient wisdom of the lifestyle magazine genre, these two groundbreaking publications make spiritual devotion just as sexy, fun, and stylish as any secular hobby.

 

  Tricycle Shambhala Sun Saveur Cigar Aficionado Martha Stewart Living
Upscale cover price $7.50 $4.95 $5 $4.95 $5.50
Catchy cover headline “Reincarnation: Could It Happen to You?” “Rocking for a Free Tibet” “The Meaning of French Fries” “103 Double Coronas” “Personalizing a Sofa”
Celebrity coverage Friends and Buddhists chat and take pictures as Allen Ginsberg dies Monks chant on cue while filming Brad Pitt’s new Buddhist movie An inside look at the Betty Crocker kitchens Jean-Luc Godard muses forlornly while smoking a $20 cigar Robert DeNiro appears in an article about sushi
Fun getaway feature Stupas along the Rio Grande Surfing in Nova Scotia “As it turns out, turtle is one of only a few things we don’t eat on our gastronomic tour of Cambodia” Smoking and golfing in Biarritz “Social beasts” skinny-dip in Saint Barthélemy, then get married
Brand extension Books, seminars None In the works Cigar Aficionado Clean Air System, Big Smoke Las Vegas Weekend, artwork, books TV show, books, cake-decorating kit, bed and bath accessories, paint, ad infinitum
T-shirt available? Yes No No Yes Yes
Dr. Andrew Weil ad? Yes Yes No No No
Cross-pollination factor Sallie Tisdale, who also writes for Saveur, is a consulting editor Burning incense is a good way to cover up the smell of cigar smoke Sallie Tisdale contemplates Betty Crocker kitchens from a Buddhist perspective Meditative cigar smoking Rampant Martha Stewart materialism invariably leads to desire for Buddhist nonattachment

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WE'LL BE BLUNT.

We have a considerable $390,000 gap in our online fundraising budget that we have to close by June 30. There is no wiggle room, we've already cut everything we can, and we urgently need more readers to pitch in—especially from this specific blurb you're reading right now.

We'll also be quite transparent and level-headed with you about this.

In "News Never Pays," our fearless CEO, Monika Bauerlein, connects the dots on several concerning media trends that, taken together, expose the fallacy behind the tragic state of journalism right now: That the marketplace will take care of providing the free and independent press citizens in a democracy need, and the Next New Thing to invest millions in will fix the problem. Bottom line: Journalism that serves the people needs the support of the people. That's the Next New Thing.

And it's what MoJo and our community of readers have been doing for 47 years now.

But staying afloat is harder than ever.

In "This Is Not a Crisis. It's The New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, why this moment is particularly urgent, and how we can best communicate that without screaming OMG PLEASE HELP over and over. We also touch on our history and how our nonprofit model makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there: Letting us go deep, focus on underreported beats, and bring unique perspectives to the day's news.

You're here for reporting like that, not fundraising, but one cannot exist without the other, and it's vitally important that we hit our intimidating $390,000 number in online donations by June 30.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. It's going to be a nail-biter, and we really need to see donations from this specific ask coming in strong if we're going to get there.

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