The Buddhist Monk Who Uses Space to Teach Spirituality

by Emiko Jozuka, Motherboard, January 21, 2016

Tokyo, Japan -- In a pitch black room, Ryo Kasuga talks space as a simulated solar system rotates above my head. Kasuga, however, is no astronomer. He’s a Buddhist monk intent on using the stars to rouse the public’s interest in spiritual teachings.

Ryo Kasuga explains the thinking behind his temple-planetarium. Image: Emiko Jozuka

“The Japanese public have little interest in Buddhism. I don’t think that will improve in the next ten years either,” Kasuga, a tall man dressed in jeans and a red jumper, told me as we stood in the small planetarium located next to his temple.

Buddhist monks march through Myanmar for peace

By Vishal Gulati , IANS, Jan 26, 2016

Yangon, Myanmar -- After once trudging through war-torn Sri Lanka, their first outside India, Buddhist monks of the prominent Drukpa Lineage are now undertaking a similar foot journey for peace in Myanmar, which has witnessed decades of ethnic turbulence. The Drukpa monks are mainly based in India's Ladakh region in Jammu and Kashmir and have a long history of promoting inter-faith peace and celebrating diversity.

 The country's former military government is on the cusp of a major transition to a pro-democracy setup under Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy last November won the first openly-contested elections in 25 years.

"This 'padyatra' or foot journey encompasses the message of peace and harmony. Our yatras or marches spread consciousness about the importance of harmony and reconciliation," Drukpa Thuksey Rinpoche told IANS here as the journey began.

The heart and the book

The Experience of Samadhi

Shambhala Publications.

Unraveling the mix of ideas about what proper samadhi (concentration) is and its place in dharma practice can be difficult.  Students may become confused about the degree or type of samadhi they should cultivate or how to incorporate it into their meditation practice.  There is a wide range of views, opinions and disagreements among teachers about the place of samadhi in insight meditation.  Some stress the importance of concentration while others teach that insight arises through mindfulness alone and do not give concentration any particular emphasis. 

This book differs from most books on samadhi and jhana in that it is not presenting teaching from only one teacher or perspective.  Rather, it provides an in-depth examination of the range of teachings on samadhi and then discusses some of the important views, disagreements and controversies on the topic. 

Happy Chinese New Year

The mind is pure in its natural state

Cinti sutta ( AN3:3)

“The wise person has these three characteristics of a wise person, marks of a wise person, manifestations of a wise person. What three? Here, a wise person thinks well, speaks well, and acts well. If the wise person did not think well, speak well, and act well, how would wise people know of him: ‘This fellow is wise, a good person’? 

But because the wise person thinks well, speaks well, and acts well, wise people know of him: ‘This fellow is wise, a good person.’ These are the wise person’s three characteristics of a wise person, marks of a wise person, manifestations of a wise person."