10 Misconceptions about Buddhism (#4)

This article is the fourth in the 10 Misconceptions about Buddhism series with scholars Robert E. Buswell Jr. and Donald S. Lopez Jr. 

Killing in the Name Of …   Like other world religions, Buddhism has its own justifications for violence. MAY 22, 2014

A Buddhist monk at Salesforce’s tech conference showed me a great way to reduce stress

by Eugene Kim, Business Insider, Oct. 6, 2016 San Francisco, CA (USA) -- Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff is big on meditation.  He not only practices “mindfulness” sessions a few times a week, he’s also built  meditation rooms in Salesforce’s new office buildings to encourage his employees  to do it as well. And now he’s spreading the word to the entire Salesforce customer and user community by inviting 23 monks to Dreamforce, the massive blockbuster tech conference Salesforce hosts every year. The monks hail from Plum Village, the Buddhist meditation center in southern France founded by Nobel Peace Prize nominee Thích Nhat Hanh. Benioff personally invited the monks so they could give meditation tips to the more than 170,000 guests coming to this year’s Dreamforce. The monks have set up two “Mindfulness Zones” right outside of Moscone Center, where Dreamforce is taking place, and are giving free daily sessions, including a walking meditation and mindful eating class.

Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu The Karma of Mindfulness

Good evening, and welcome to our retreat on the themes of mindfulness and kamma. 

We’re here this week to learn some useful skills to deal with one of the most fundamental problems in life, which is that we all desire happiness, we keep acting on the desire for happiness, and yet we often cause suffering for ourselves and others through our own actions. The Buddha, after his awakening, focused his energies on helping us solve precisely this problem. As he analyzed it, he saw that there’s nothing wrong with desiring happiness. We simply don’t approach that desire with enough wisdom.

Saleyyaka Sutta MN41

The 2,600th Anniversary of the Global Bhikkhuni Sangha and Fourfold Sangha of the Buddha

By Ayya Tathaloka  Buddhistdoor Global  2016 0 09-09 

Between the full moon of September 2016 and the full moon of September 2017 there will be worldwide commemorations of the 2600th anniversary of the bhikkhuni sangha[1]. One hundred years ago, the bhikkhuni sangha had disappeared in all Buddhist traditions except those of East Asia, but recent years have witnessed the nurturing and revival of this integral aspect of the historical Buddha’s Fourfold Sangha. An occasion of such import requires reflection and calls on us to take stock of where we are now—and of how much has changed, for bhikkhunis and the Fourfold Community of the Buddha, in the past century!

Mahapajapatī Gotami Theri and bhikkhuni arahants from a Gandha Kuti in Pagan, Myanmar. Image courtesy of Lilian Handlin's May 26 University of Hamburg/Numata Center for Buddhist Studies lecture “Depictions of Women in Myanmar Gandhakuti(s) During the Second Millenium.” From Ayya Tathaaloka Bhikkhuni Facebook

Price Siddhartha and the Dharma

Three Ways to Focus the Wandering Mind

Daniel Goleman, author of "Emotional Intelligence" and "Focus," on using mindfulness techniques to increase focus.

By Daniel Goleman | August 9, 2015It happens to all of us: you’re working away on something you’ve got to get done, and suddenly you realize that for quite some time you’ve been lost in a reverie about something else entirely. You don’t know when your mind went off track, nor how long you’ve been meandering down this one.

Our minds wander, on average 50 percent of the time. The exact rate varies enormously.When Harvard researchers had 2,250 people report what they were doing and what they were thinking about at random points throughout their day, the doing-thinking gaps ranged widely.

But the biggest gap was during work: mind-wandering is epidemic on the job. But we can take steps that will help us stay on task more of the time when we need to.

Thailand Hosts 1st ASEAN Buddhist Conference

By Jnan Nanda Buddhistdoor Global  2016-09-29 

Ven. Ajahn Brahm delivers the keynote speech for the inaugural conference. Image courtesy of the author

Nakhon Pathom Rajabhat University in central Thailand played host to the 1st ASEAN Buddhist Conference on 22–23 September. Drawing monastic and lay speakers and participants from 23 countries, the inaugural forum, with the theme “ASEAN Buddhists: Beyond 26th Buddhist Century,” focused mainly on the re-establishment of female ordination in the Theravada tradition.

ONE WHO KNOWS THE NOBLE TRUTHS IS LIBERATED

One who rightly understands and realises the Four Noble Truths – ‘Dukkha’; the cause of ‘Dukkha’; the cessation of ‘Dukkha’; and the Path to its cessation – is truly free from spiritual defilements. Such a noble person becomes perfectly peaceful, calm, and equipoised.

How to have complete peace?

Gender Equality Gathers Momentum Among Asian Buddhists

By Kalinga Seneviratne, IDN-INPS, Oct 2, 2016

BANGKOK, Thailand --The first ASEAN Buddhist Conference held on September 22-23 at Nakhonpathom Rajabhat University, about 100 km from Bangkok, brought together Buddhist Bhikkunis (nuns), Bhikkus (monks) and lay Buddhists from across Asia in a bid to form alliances to empower the increasing community of Bhikkunis in Asia.

A group photo of the participants of the conference of nuns and monks. | Credit: Kalinga Seneviratne | IDN-INPS

The Art of Transforming Suffering

“Then meditate on your perceptions. The Buddha observed, “The person who suffers most in this world is the person who has many wrong perceptions, and most of our perceptions are erroneous.” You see a snake in the dark and you panic, but when your friend shines a light on it, you see that it is only a rope. You have to know which wrong perceptions cause you to suffer. Please write beautifully the sentence, “Are you sure?” on a piece of paper and tape it to your wall. Love meditation helps you learn to look with clarity and serenity in order to improve the way you perceive.”

~ Thich Nhat Hanh, No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering

Artist: Freydoon Rassouli

The Buddhist and the Neuroscientist

What compassion does to the brain

Mario Anzuoni / Reuters

“The best way to activate positive-emotion circuits in the brain is through generosity,” Davidson, who founded the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds at University of Wisconsin, Madison, said in a talk at the Aspen Ideas Festival. “This is really a kind of exciting neuroscientific finding because there are pearls of wisdom in the contemplative tradition—the Dalai Lama frequently talks about this—that the best way for us to be happy is to be generous to others. And in fact the scientific evidence is in many ways bearing this out, and showing that there are systematic changes in the brain that are associated with acts of generosity.”

• KATHY GILSINAN
 
•  JUL 4, 2015
 
•  HEALTH

In 1992, the neuroscientist Richard Davidson got a challenge from the Dalai Lama. By that point, he’d spent his career asking why people respond to, in his words, “life’s slings and arrows” in different ways. Why are some people more resilient than others in the face of tragedy? And is resilience something you can gain through practice?

Complaining vs Wisdom

Buddhist monks lead commemoration of 1976 Thai massacre

by Natnicha Chuwiruch and Grant Peck, The Associated Press, October 6, 2016 Thai activists lean over the Oct. 6 Memorial to offer lighted candles at Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. (AP / Sakchai Lalit) BANGKOK, Thailand -- Buddhist monks, mourners, activists and the merely curious gathered Thursday to mark the 40th anniversary of one of the darkest days in Thailand's history, when police killed scores of university students at a peaceful protest, and ghoulish vigilantes defiled the dead. Students at Bangkok's Thammasat University had been protesting the return from exile of a hated former dictator when they were trapped by a right-wing mob and heavily armed paramilitary police, who fired guns and grenades at the defenceless crowd of several thousand.

Sri Lanka - UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Mon 3 October 2016 Ria Rameez Staff Writer Everyday Sri Lanka

For a small island encompassing a mere 62,710 square kilometers of terrain, Sri Lanka has an almost absurdly large number of manmade and natural marvels, ranging from colonial strongholds and ancient cities to rainforests and cave monasteries. Eight of these sites are considered to be of such significance to humanity that they are now established as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, rubbing shoulders with wonders like the Acropolis of Athens and China’s Great Wall and marked to be protected and preserved for future generations. Having World Heritage Sites in the country isn’t simply a matter of letting them stand and reel in busloads of tourists. Many of these monuments have been exposed to the elements for hundreds of years and require meticulous restoration and care in order to be brought back to and preserved in their original states. The newly restored and renovated Abhayagiri Stupa, for instance, was unveiled in July last year after fifteen years of painstaking restoration work in a UNESCO-sponsored conservation programme by the Central Cultural Fund of Sri Lanka. The same project also focused on other monuments in Sri Lanka’s famous cultural triangle, like the Jetavarama Stupa.


Abhayagiri Stupa, the second largest stupa in the world, undergoing restorative work by the Central Cultural Fund as a UNESCO project. 

The Advantages of Loving-kindness Mettānisaṃsa

K-POP World Festival finalists joins Templestay program at Seongju-sa

by Emi Hailey Hayakawa, BTN, Oct 6, 2016

Changwon, South Korea -- The finalists of the K-POP World Festival in Changwon, Korea have joined Seongjusa Temple in Changwon for Templestay program since September 28th, 2016

<< Seongju-Sa, where finalists of the K-POP World Festival from 16 different countries participated in the TempleStay program

68 finalists from 16 different countries including Russia, Mexico, and Nigeria, are experiencing the 1,700 years old Korean Buddhist traditions in Seongjusa beginning with the opening ritual, encircling the stupa, dado tea experience, meditation and other various programs.

Misconceptions about Buddhism (#3)

Beggars Can’t Be Choosers

Are all Buddhist vegetarians? The Buddha explicitly rejected vegetarianism as a requirement for his followers.  MAY 15, 2014

This article is the third in the 10 Misconceptions about Buddhism series with scholars Robert E. Buswell Jr. and Donald S. Lopez Jr. 

Bhikshu and bhikshuni, the Sanskrit terms for a monk and a nun, literally mean a “beggar” or “mendicant.” Buddhist monks and nuns originally received their single daily meal by going on alms rounds in local villages and towns, a practice that is still followed today in some Theravada Buddhist regions of Southeast Asia. Monks and nuns were required to accept whatever the laity offered to them, including meat, since charity (dana) was the principal means for laypeople to gain merit and thus better their prospects of a happy rebirth.

Coming back to the present moment

Sangha Milestones & the First Rains - Halfway through the Vassa

Tathālokā Bhikkhunī Oct 7

Dear friends,

We returned from the Tipitaka Chanting in Berkeley to the first rains here in the coastal forest at Aranya Bodhi. The golden, orange and red pine needles and leaves of autumn are now swept clean by the rains and the winds that came afterwards, the forest shining clean green in golden evening light on the coastal mountains.  With this past new moon, we entered into the second half of the three months (moons) of our Vassa.

This past new moon was a special and wonderful one.  As you may know, Ayya Sobhana, Bhikkhuni Dhira, Samaneri Niyyanika and i traveled to Mangalam Centers in Berkeley for the 3rd International Tipitaka Chanting. Some old friends may remember that nearly 10 years ago in 2007, i joined the Chanting for its second year in Bodhgaya at the site of the Buddha's enlightenment. This was a profound experience for me. But due to health, i've not returned since. Meanwhile, the Chanting has both continued and has been spreading around the world, and to my great joy, came three years ago to our own neighborhood - to Berkeley. :)

Now in the third year here in Northern California, we began with a Silent Peace Walk through Berkeley {see here} and then gathered in the beautiful main hall of the Mangalam Research Center of Buddhist Languages.

3rd International Tipitaka Chanting at Mangalam Centers in Berkeley Sept 29-Oct 1, 2016 (image courtesy of Berkeleyside)

Phena Sutta (SN 22.95)

Form is like a glob of foam; feeling, a bubble; perception, a mirage; fabrications, a banana tree; consciousness, a magic trick — this has been taught by the Kinsman of the Sun. However you observe them, appropriately examine them, they're empty, void to whoever sees them appropriately. Beginning with the body as taught by the One with profound discernment: when abandoned by three things — life, warmth, & consciousness — form is rejected, cast aside. When bereft of these it lies thrown away, senseless, a meal for others. That's the way it goes: it's a magic trick, an idiot's babbling. It's said to be a murderer. No substance here is found. Thus a monk, persistence aroused, should view the aggregates by day & by night, mindful, alert; should discard all fetters; should make himself his own refuge; should live as if his head were on fire — in hopes of the state with no falling away.

Be amongst Friends on the Path to the Deathless

Be amongst Friends on the Path to the Deathless

'Do not associate with evil companions;
do not seek the fellowship of the vile.
Associate with the good friends;
seek the fellowship of noble men.'

- Dhammapada Verse 78

- Source : www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/dhp/dhp.06.budd.html

Dhamma pairs that will protect and heal the mind

What’s so Wonderful about Buddhism? Some Outstanding Features of Buddhism

This post was republished from  thebuddhistinformation.com.A Perfect Example

The historical Buddha is an embodiment of all the virtues that He preached. He translated all His words into action. He was tireless in His spreading of the Truth and was the perfect model example. At no time did He ever show any human weakness or base passion. His qualities of Morality, Wisdom and Compassion are the most perfect the world has ever known.

You Can Become Perfect

The Buddha represents the highest peak of spiritual cultivation possible. He taught that all could attain true perfection. No other founder of a religion has ever said that its followers too have the same chance to gain the same experience of peace, happiness and salvation as Him. But the Buddha taught that anyone could attain the same bliss of supreme Enlightenment if one was to practice as He did.

Apaṇṇaka sutta, MN 60

"If you have no satisfactory teacher, then take this sure Dhamma and practise it. For the Dhamma is sure, and when it is rightly undertaken it will be to your welfare and happiness for a long time."

Visitors Leave a Very Unusual Offering at This Buddhist Temple

by Chantel Delulio, Fodors, October 5, 2016

Mt. Koya, Japan -- At first, the Jison-in Temple complex seems perfectly ordinary.  Located at the base of Mount Koya in the small town of Kudoyama, the temple appears to be no different than any number of Japanese Buddhist temples.

NIBBĀNA: UNBINDING

"This is peace, this is exquisite -
the resolution of all fabrications, 
the relinquishment of all acquisitions,
the ending of craving; dispassion, cessation,
Nibbāna."

~ AN 3.32

Kendal Buddhists celebrate 25 years of faith

by Rachel Kitchen, The West Morland Gazette, Oct 3, 2016

Kendal, UK -- Members of the Buddhist Group of Kendal (Theravada) gathered for a retreat at the town's Fellside Centre to mark the milestone.

<< BUDDHISTS in Kendal are celebrating 25 years of practising their faith together.

"We hope the next 25 years will be as wonderful, beneficial and peaceful as the first," secretary Jacquetta Gomes told the Gazette.

"We are very grateful to everyone who has supported us. We find it helpful to practise with people we have been in contact with for over 20 years but are also very happy when new people join us."

The Story of a Samanera from Kosambi

Once, a seven year old boy was made a samanera at the request of his father.

Before his head was shaved the boy was given a subject of meditation.

While he was being shaved, the boy had his mind fixed steadfastly on the object of meditation; as a result, he attained arahatship as soon as they finished shaving his head.

Dhammapada 64

"A fool, even though he is associated with a wise man all his life, does not understand the Dhamma, just as a ladle does not know the taste of soup."

Where there is atta, true peace or enlightened mind can't be found

Peaceful Uplifting Monasteries

These stories or dramas completely keep us in deluding world which block realities to be seen as they actually are, and which help atta (self) to get thicker and thicker. If sati (mindfulness) can detect any deluding moment, sampajanya (wisdom) can dissect atta into pieces (khandas) to see their true natures of impermanency and devoid of self. Where there is atta, true peace or enlightened mind can't be found.