Saturday, November 26, 2016

SN 20.7

Staying at Savatthi. "Monks, there once was a time when the Dasarahas had a large drum called 'Summoner.' Whenever Summoner was split, the Dasarahas inserted another peg in it, until the time came when Summoner's original wooden body had disappeared and only a conglomeration of pegs remained.
"In the same way, in the course of the future there will be monks who won't listen when discourses that are words of the Tathagata — deep, deep in their meaning, transcendent, connected with emptiness — are being recited. They won't lend ear, won't set their hearts on knowing them, won't regard these teachings as worth grasping or mastering. But they will listen when discourses that are literary works — the works of poets, elegant in sound, elegant in rhetoric, the work of outsiders, words of disciples — are recited. They will lend ear and set their hearts on knowing them. They will regard these teachings as worth grasping & mastering.
"In this way the disappearance of the discourses that are words of the Tathagata — deep, deep in their meaning, transcendent, connected with emptiness — will come about.
"Thus you should train yourselves: 'We will listen when discourses that are words of the Tathagata — deep, deep in their meaning, transcendent, connected with emptiness — are being recited. We will lend ear, will set our hearts on knowing them, will regard these teachings as worth grasping & mastering.' That's how you should train yourself."

'Shukubo' inn to provide tourists with Buddhist buzz in Osaka



By SHIKI IWASAWA, Asahi Shimbun, November 7, 2016

OSAKA, Japan -- A new “shukubo” style inn to provide tourists with a Buddhist 
vibe usually available only in temple compounds will open here in March 2017.

An artist's rendition of a “shukubo”
inn that is scheduled to open in 

Osaka’s Tennoji Ward in March 2017. 
(Provided by Waqoo Project)

At the inn, visitors can indulge in 

“shakyo,” which is copying Buddhist texts,
and “zazen” relaxation, which is practiced 
in a cross-legged sitting position at Zen 
monasteries and is said to clear the mind 
and spirit to attain a kind of enlightened 
emptiness.


Better than no rice


Destroyed by Taliban nine years ago, iconic “Jahanabad Buddha” is reborn

BY Italian archaeologists have restored one of the most important pieces of Buddhist art in South Asia, nine years after it was bombed by the Taliban.
The fully restored Buddha in October, 2016. Photo courtesy of ISMEO Italian Archaeological Mission - ACT.
The fully restored Buddha in October, 2016. Photo courtesy of ISMEO Italian Archaeological Mission – ACT.

Nine years after its face was destroyed by Taliban militants, the famous Jahanabad Buddha has been restored. In six trips, each lasting a month, an Italian-led team of restorationists has given the Buddha its face back.

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Friday, November 25, 2016

Excellent Attributes 殊勝功德 Teachings on Ratana Sutta 《寶經》的教法

Image may contain: outdoor and nature
Ratana Sutta 寶 經
Verse One 偈一
Yānīdha bhūtāni samāgatāni,
Bhummāni vā yāni va antalikkhe;
Sabbeva bhūtā sumanā bhavantu, 
Athopi sakkacca suṇantu bhāsitaṁ.
Whatsoever beings are here assembled, those of the earth or those of the air, may all of them be happy! Let them all listen attentively to my words!
任何來此聚會的眾生,無論是住在地上或天空的,
但願一切眾生都快樂,願他們細心聆聽我說。

The Salt of Meditation


Thanissaro Bhikkhu, Judicious vs Judgemental (2003)

"One of the most difficult but necessary skills we need to develop as meditators is learning how to be judicious without being judgmental. And as a preliminary step to developing that skill, it’s good to reflect on the difference between the two.
Being judgmental is basically an effort to get rid of something we don’t understand and probably don’t want to understand. We see something we don’t like and we try to dismiss it, to stamp it out without taking the time to understand it. We’re impatient. Whatever we’re being judgmental about, we just want to get rid of it quickly.
Being judicious, however, requires patience together with understanding. A judicious choice is one you’ve made after understanding all the options, all the sides of a question. That way your choice is based on knowledge, not on greed, aversion, or delusion."

Story of Buddhism (21)

Thursday, November 24, 2016

Letter from Lama Surya Das - Nov 2016


I'm a digester. It takes me awhile to actually delve into, reflect upon, process and digest anything difficult, and the election results message, from close to half of the American population, has not yet been fully digested. Now we have a learning moment, while all the votes are not yet in regarding what it all means...

THE ART OF LETTING GO 放下的艺术

August 17, 1956
When you sit and meditate, even if you don’t gain any intuitive insights, make sure at least that you know this much: When the breath comes in, you know. When it goes out, you know. When it’s long, you know. When it’s short, you know. Whether it’s comfortable or uncomfortable, you know. If you can know this much, you’re doing fine. As for the various thoughts and concepts (sañña) that come into the mind, brush them away—whether they’re good or bad, whether they deal with the past or the future. Don’t let them interfere with what you’re doing—and don’t go chasing after them to straighten them out. When a thought of this sort comes passing in, simply let it go passing on. Keep your awareness, unperturbed(不受干扰), in the present.

Don't prefer familiarity


Thannisaro Bhikkhu, Skill in Questions

"As we survey the range of questions deserving analytical answers, we see that they highlight five important points in the Buddha’s teaching that are often misunderstood or underappreciated at present.

Image may contain: sky, cloud and outdoor

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Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Our body does not belong to us

Top 10 Buddhist Teachers Living in America

by Waylon Lewis, Huffington Post, December 6, 2008


New York, USA -- Wanna get you some meditation, some peace, some wisdom? Wanna do a weekend program where you learn how to calm and open your mind to...reality?


Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche with Pema Chodron on the cover of mostly-Buddhist magazine The Shambhala Sun.

Buddhism--tested over 2,500 years in dozens of diverse cultures--is worth a go. This "non-theistic" (read: it's up to you) religion comes in dozens of styles--Zen, Theravada, Tibetan--but it's always, at its root, about learning to be a good, sane, peaceful, compassionate person. Still, finding the right teacher for you is an age-old task--made somewhat easier by online teaching schedules, hundreds of wonderful Buddhist books (why, only a generation ago there were only a few tomes to choose from).


Thanks to murderous Mao (he killed more than Hitler and Stalin) & his loyal Red comrades, Tibetan Buddhism came to the West following the 1959 "liberation." Given that 50 years have passed, the last generation of born-and-raised-and-trained in Tibet teachers is getting long in the tooth. So get thee to a nunnery or monastery--or an urban meditation center, or a luxurious rural retreat--and dip your toes in enlightenment.

Dhammapada 197


Andhra Pradesh wants to invite Dalai Lama for Buddhist ritual in Amravati

Indian Express, Nov 4, 2016


This comes as part of the serious efforts by the AP govt to promote Buddhist centres in the state, and the ancient Buddhist town of Amaravati as a major tourist destination.


Andhra Pradesh, India
 -- The Andhra Pradesh Government has proposed to hold ‘Kalachakra’ initiation - ‘wheel of time’ or ‘time-cycles’ rituals in Buddhism, where disciples are initiated into higher forms of meditation and rituals - in the presence of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. This comes as part of the serious efforts by the AP govt to promote Buddhist centres in the state, and the ancient Buddhist town of Amaravati as a major tourist destination.

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Tuesday, November 22, 2016

The path is gold

"Don’t believe people who say that the path is the goal, or that the path leads to right view. When they say that, it’s a sign that they haven't experienced the goal. We don’t practice for the sake of right view, or for the sake of right concentration, or for no sake at all. We fabricate and use these things as steps toward a goal that lies beyond them: the deathless, total freedom from fabrication, from suffering and stress."
~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu

Kathin Chibar Dan: Robe offering festival to preserve Buddhist tradition in Chitagong Hill Tracts (CHT)

The Daily Star, Nov 10, 2016


Dhaka, Bangladesh -- Kathin Chibar (robe) Dan, the biggest religious festival of the Buddhist people in Chitagong Hill Tracts (CHT), started yesterday at Rajban Bihar of the Chakma king in the town with great enthusiasm and festivity.

Chakma Raja Devashish Roy inaugurates Kathin Chibar Dan through opening the spinning wheel at the bain ghar (sewing room) of Rajban Bihar in Rangamati town yesterday.


The hill districts are Rangamati, Khagrachhari and Bandarban, said the organisers.


Kindness and Gratitude

Buddhists bring meditation to the streets and subways of NYC

BY 
Two monks meditating in a New York subway station.

Meditating in a New York subway station. Photos courtesy of Buddhist Insights.
New Yorkers may not think of the city’s gritty streets as a place to find inner peace, but a new group called Buddhist Insights is aiming to change that.
“There’s this idea that you have to escape New York to find peace and quiet,” explains Buddhist Insights co-founder Giovanna Maselli. To challenge that idea, she and her co-founder, Buddhist monk Bhante Suddhaso, hold meditation classes in unconventional locations around the city. They call them “street retreats.”
“The street retreats started as a fun thing to do,” explains Maselli. “But they got a lot of positive feedback. People realized that they could meditate anywhere.”

Story of Buddhism (18)

Monday, November 21, 2016

Climate change, water rights deeply interlinked globally: Buddhist leader

IANS, Nov 14, 2016


New Delhi, India -- Climate change and water rights are deeply inter-connected, globally. Seasons seem to be inverting in the Himalayas where you see snow in summer and entire villages that have existed for generations have had to relocate because of water-pattern changes.

That is the wisdom on offer from Buddhist leader and active environmentalist -- the 12th Gyalwang Drukpa -- the spiritual head of the 800-year-old Drukpa Order based in the Himalayas with around 1,000 monastic centres.

Dhammapada 387, translated by Gil Fronsdal

The sun shines by day,
The moon glows at night.
The warrior shines in his armor.
The brahmin shines in meditative absorption.
But all day and all night,
The Buddha shines in splendor.

Shambhala Publications in Boulder the biggest in Buddhist books Publisher marks one year (back) in city

By Aimee Heckel, Dsaily Camera, Oct 24, 2016


Some of your favorite, inspirational books might have Boulder ties.

Boulder, CO (USA) 
-- The city is home to what's said to be the largest publisher of English-language Buddhist books in the world  -  although this publishing house is far from limited to only Buddhist topics. The focus: books that are inspirational and contribute toward a better world.


A display of books at Shambhala Publications in Boulder. (Autumn Parry / Daily Camera)

Shambhala Publications just celebrated its one-year anniversary since it relocated to Boulder from Boston.

Of Shambhala Publications' 1,600-plus titles, slightly more than half are Buddhist-centric.

The country's first copper-domed Buddhist temple is being built in West Cork

by Seán Ó Riordan, Irish Examiner, November 13, 2016


West Cork, Ireland -- Building has started on the country’s first copper-domed Buddhist temple that’s expected to be completed by next October.

Artist impression of the new Buddhist temple at Dzogchen Beara, Co Cork.

The spectacular Tibetan-style temple, which will cost nearly €2m to complete, is being built overlooking the Atlantic Ocean in West Cork.

The design is authentic, but bows to an Irish angle to accommodate views of the ocean rather than the Himalayan plateau.

Story of Buddhism (17)

Sunday, November 20, 2016

The Work of Diversity: Getting Messy, Getting Uncomfortable

Interview  2016 BCBS Insight Journalbannerbottom
Insight Journal: There’s a lot of talk about diversity going on right now in every Western Dharma center. People are attending workshops, reading books and articles, having meetings. What is it about this work that people might still be missing?

Dhammapada 183


Vietnam Buddhist Sangha’s contributions celebrated at conference

VNS, November, 4, 2016


Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam -- Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS) has contributed to enriching and developing the country’s culture, the rector of HCM City University of Social Sciences and Humanities said at conference held on Wednesday.
The Vietnam Buddhist Sangha’s contributions to the country was celebrated at a conference organised by the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in co-operation with the Vietnam Buddhist Studies Institute. —VNA/VNS Photo Tha Anh

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