Throughout much of Buddhist history, and particularly in Theravada Buddhist contexts, mindfulness and its associated meditation methods have been the purview of mendicants (monks and nuns), who used mindfulness meditation to achieve trance states (jhana) leading to nirvana.
—
Charles Preston,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
30 Apr. 2026
But those states also have Republican governors, who would have raised holy hell if their constituents had been menaced by these roving mobs of mendicants.
After six months of war, Iran’s leadership has coalesced around a hard core of military generals and clerics long entrenched in the ruling theocracy.
—
Lee Keath,
Fortune,
29 Aug. 2026
Iran's Assembly of Experts, a group of 88 clerics, picked the mid-ranking cleric with influence in the country's security forces and business networks to succeed his father, announcing the decision March 8.
Videos posted on social media show street preachers speaking with multiple police officers outside the event.
—
Emily Holshouser,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
24 July 2026
Instead, there are countless influencers, preachers, and personalities who have created niche movements with their own theologies and political alignments.
—
Meghan O’Gieblyn,
The New York Review of Books,
11 July 2026
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