Buddhism on the ascendant

NIKHILA HENRY October 25, 2015 ,  The Hindu        

Driven by conviction, scores in Telangana have started walking 
along the eight-fold path or Ashtanga Marg to pursue the Buddhist 
way of life.

The path which stresses on pursuit of the right view, intension, 
speech, conduct, livelihood, effort, mindfulness and concentration, 
has found a record number of 750 followers distributed across the 
20 Buddha Viharas in Hyderabad, only the previous year.

And 300 of those who adopted the religion did so at a Buddha 
Sammelan, a massive gathering organised by the Buddhist society 
of India held at Nagarjunasagar of Nalgonda district in 2014.

The Buddhist voter in Bihar: Their election issue is if they get to run their temple

Written by Muzamil Jaleel | Bodh Gaya | Updated: Oct 21, 2015

Priyapal Bante, a monk of the Chakma tribe and settled in Bodh Gaya, said they are waiting for a Supreme Court verdict. “We expect justice will be done. If not, we will go to the UN,” he said.

After voting Friday. PTI

Away from the caste, vikas and dal debates, a small community
voted last week with a demand of its own — one they say no one 
in Patna or Delhi listens to. Bihar’s Buddhists want the management 
of one of their holiest temples, Maha Bodhi , restored to Buddhists.

Mindfulness in the mainstream: an old solution to modern problems

by Robert Booth, The Guardian, 20 October 2015

Leading mindfulness expert Mark Williams will brief MPs on how meditation could drastically improve the UK’s wellbeing and productivity

London, UK - The Attlee Room in parliament will fall quiet on Tuesday to hear one of the country’s leading meditation teachers explain the basics of the 2,400-year-old tradition of mindfulness.

Prof Mark Williams’ explanation of how to control and measure your breath, thoughts and feelings will precede a call by a cross-party group of MPs and peers to roll out mindfulness-based meditation across the public sector in a bid to improve the nation’s mental health, education and criminal justice system.

After a year-long inquiry, the all party parliamentary group (APPG) on mindfulness has concluded that secular meditation courses should be made available to 580,000 people who suffer recurrent relapses into depression, at an initial cost of £10m; the state should train 1,200 new meditation teachers and there should be more mindfulness taught in schools following evidence that it reduces misbehaviour and can improve GCSE results. They also want prisons and probation services to test run programmes to reduce re-offending.

6 reasons why we must stop saying that it is no longer possible to become an Ariya.

"People today, do not have the paramis to attain sainthood." - Why we must stop repeating this fallacy. 

You may have heard this before. It is a common belief and is repeated often by Dhamma speakers. I think we should put a stop to it and these are 6 reasons why. 

Arañña Sutta: The Wilderness (SN 1:10)

Standing to one side, a devata addressed the Blessed One with a verse:

Living in the wilderness,
staying peaceful, remaining chaste,
eating just one meal a day:
why are their faces
so bright & serene?

[The Buddha:]

They don't sorrow over the past,
don't long for the future.
They survive on the present.
That's why their faces
are bright & serene.
From longing for the future,
from sorrowing over the past,
fools wither away
like a green reed cut down.

What do to daily?

Westerners choose a monk's life in Thailand

Published on May 14, 2013

Thailand is famous for its beach tourism but some western visitors choose to shave their heads, don a saffron robe and enter monkhood -- even if they don't all manage to do it for life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNcLjxb22yc

Ambassador to pagoda for Pchum Ben.

October 9 at 12:51pm

This morning, British Ambassador Bill Longhurst, together with the staff of the Embassy and some Chevening alumni, joined local people on 12th Ben at Preah Puthkhosacha Pagoda (វត្តចិនដំដែក) in Sras Chok district. 

The Ambassador said, “As a resident of Phnom Penh, I am always keen to learn more about the history and culture of this country and its religious festivals and practices. This is the second time I have joined Pchum Ben celebrations, one of the most important Buddhist festivals of the year for Cambodians and their families. On behalf of all the Embassy staff, I wish the Cambodian people a very happy, and safe, Pchum Ben holiday.”