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

It is astonishingly hard keeping a newsroom afloat these days, and we need to raise $253,000 in online donations quickly, by October 7.

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Readers also told us to just give it to you straight when we need to ask for your support, and seeing how matter-of-factly explaining our inner workings, our challenges and finances, can bring more of you in has been a real silver lining. So our online membership lead, Brian, lays it all out for you in his personal, insider account (that literally puts his skin in the game!) of how urgent things are right now.

The upshot: Being able to rally $253,000 in donations over these next few weeks is vitally important simply because it is the number that keeps us right on track, helping make sure we don't end up with a bigger gap than can be filled again, helping us avoid any significant (and knowable) cash-flow crunches for now. We used to be more nonchalant about coming up short this time of year, thinking we can make it by the time June rolls around. Not anymore.

Because the in-depth journalism on underreported beats and unique perspectives on the daily news you turn to Mother Jones for is only possible because readers fund us. Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism we exist to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we need readers to show up for us big time—again.

Getting just 10 percent of the people who care enough about our work to be reading this blurb to part with a few bucks would be utterly transformative for us, and that's very much what we need to keep charging hard in this financially uncertain, high-stakes year.

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