Dalai Lama tops Feedspot’s 50 Best Buddhist Blogs on the Planet

December 3, 2016 by Justin Whitaker 

Feedspot, a web organizing tool described by lifehacker.com as “a Google Reader Replacement with Tons of Sharing Features,” has posted its 50 (51, actually) best Buddhist Blogs on the Planet.

According to their site, the data is based on:

• Google reputation and Google search ranking
• Influence and popularity on Facebook, twitter and other social media sites
• Quality and consistency of posts.
• Feedspot’s editorial team and expert review

The List

1. His Holiness The Dalai Lama of Tibet  dalailama.com/news               His Holiness is the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. He frequently states that his life is guided by three major commitments: the promotion of basic human values or secular ethics in the interest of human happiness, the fostering of inter-religious harmony and the preservation of Tibet’s Buddhist culture, a culture of peace and non-violence. (not a blog, but a great source of news around the Dalai Lama).
2. Reddit – Buddhism reddit.com/r/Buddhism San Francisco, CA.                  A reddit for all kinds of Buddhist teachings (also not a blog per se, but a discussion forum about news, blogs, practice questions, videos, ect                                                                                      
3. Tiny Buddha tinybuddha.com                                                             Tiny Buddha is about reflecting on simple wisdom and learning new ways to apply it to our complex lives complete with responsibilities, struggles, dreams, and relationships. You’ll find posts about happiness, motivation, inspiration, love, relationships, meaning, possibilities, mindfulness, yoga, spirituality, simplicity, minimalism, and letting go.
4. The Guardian – Buddhism theguardian.com/world/buddhism                  Get the latest news update on Buddhism.
5. Mindful: Living with Awareness and Compassion mindful.org
    Mindful celebrates mindfulness, awareness, and compassion in all aspects of life through Mindful magazine, Mindful.org, events, and collaborations. Our mission is to share the benefits of mindfulness with the largest possible audience; to report on applications of mindfulness, awareness, and compassion in all walks of life; and to build community around the virtues and values of its attention.
6. Plum Village plumvillage.org                                                             Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh is a global spiritual leader, poet and peace activist, revered around the world for his powerful teachings and bestselling writings on mindfulness and peace. He is the man Martin Luther King called “An Apostle of peace and nonviolence.” His key teaching is that, through mindfulness, we can learn to live happily in the present moment—the only way to truly develop peace.
7. Tricycle — Buddhist Wisdom to Live By tricycle.org                         The Tricycle Foundation is dedicated to making Buddhist teachings and practices broadly available. Tricycle soon became the leading independent journal of Buddhism in the West, where it continues to be the most inclusive and widely read vehicle for the dissemination of Buddhist views and values.
8. Lion’s Roar – Buddhist Wisdom for Our Time lionsroar.com             The Lion’s Roar Foundation is a mission-driven, reader-supported publisher of Buddhist teachings, news, and perspectives.We are committed to ensuring that the understanding and practice of Buddhism flourishes in the contemporary world.
9. Karmapa kagyuoffice.org
    His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje is the head of the 900 year old Karma Kagyu Lineage and guide to millions of Buddhists around the world. His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje is the head of the 900 year old Karma Kagyu Lineage and guide to millions of Buddhists around the world.
10. American Buddhist Perspectives patheos.com/blogs/americanbu..   Explore the world’s faith through different perspectives on Buddhist religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world. (The blog’s information is more like: Sharing, discussing, debating, sitting, learning: Buddhism in our world today US-centered, world-connected)
11. Jack Kornfield jackkornfield.com
     Blog by Jack Kornfield. Author, Buddhist Practitioner and one of the key teachers to introduce Buddhist mindfulness practice to the West. As the Buddha teaches…A Generous Heart Is The Source of Happiness. It tears down walls. It connects you to others. May the blessings of all your generosity spread goodness to you and all beings.

12 – Wildmind Buddhist Meditation
13 – Soka Gakkai International
14 – Kadampa Buddhism
15 – Left Brain Buddha
16 – San Francisco Zen Center 
17 – Insight Meditation Society

Click here for their full list of 51, updated weekly.

Some Caveats

This blog, American Buddhist Perspectives, is listed as number 10. That is great, but be wary. The methodology is not perfect. First of all, we do not have 77,475 Facebook Fans, nor do we have 14,395 Twitter Followers (we actually have 11,443, so, close enough I suppose). And I’m not sure what Alexa Rank even is. According to their site, “Alexa’s Traffic Ranks are for top level domains only (e.g., domain.com). We do not provide separate rankings for subpages within a domain (e.g., http://www.domain.com/subpage.html )…”
So our high ranking, 2,287, ahead of Lion’s Roar (#8 on their list) and Tricycle (#7) probably reflects Patheos.com as a whole, which is an enormous site with scores of blogs spanning the world’s religions. But, oddly enough, another Patheos Buddhism blogger, Wild Fox Zen, is also listed and has a different, slightly lower Alexa score.

A great academic blogger on the list is Scott Mitchell’s djbuddha.

A wonderful organization representing Women in Buddhism is Sakyadhita: Awakening Buddhist Women.

And (I believe) the only blog there led by an Asian American Buddhist is Taste of Chicago Buddhism.

Conclusion

It’s a wonderful list of blogs (and websites) and truly an honor to be listed among them. I wouldn’t get too caught up in the exact numbering and I would imagine that there are other great lists out there to be found and explored.