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Monday, December 31, 2012

A Marriage Between Buddhism and Science

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Amherst, MA (USA) -- B. Alan Wallace ’87 is not the typical Amherst alumnus. Author of more than 20 books on Buddhism and science and a practicing Buddhist monk for the entirety of his time at the College, he now goes on meditative retreats for months on end, performing psychological experiments in a lucid dream state to attempt to discover the true nature of reality, happiness and suffering.

Finding His Own Path

Wallace was born to a devoutly Christian family and spent his youth travelling the world with his Protestant theologian father. However, he was strongly interested in science from a young age and struggled to reconcile his passion for science with his deeply spiritual upbringing.

“I was looking for an integration of truth and meaning. Christianity offered meaning, but I couldn’t tell whether it was true; science offered truth, but I couldn’t see any meaning in it. I was looking for a true and meaningful life, and I didn’t see any real options or promising avenues,” Wallace said.

When he went to the Univ. of California-San Diego in 1968 to study ecology, he soon became disillusioned with both his classes and America in the turmoil of the Vietnam War. Seeking a change of scenery, he spent his junior year abroad, studying at the Univ. of Göttingen in Germany, where he first discovered Tibetan Buddhism. He quickly became engrossed by Tibetan culture and religion, discontinuing his university education and spending months in a local Buddhist monastery studying under the guidance of German monks. At last, he had found a belief system that united his love of science with his search for meaning.

“I found what I was looking for in Tibetan Buddhism. It’s very deeply experiential; it’s very sharp, very rational and intelligent — and it’s also profoundly meaningful. To my mind, it’s a true, comprehensive science of the mind that I haven’t found anywhere else. It’s both scientific and also deeply spiritual,” Wallace said.

During his time at the German monastery, a flier arrived announcing a year-long class on Tibetan Buddhism for Westerners taught in Dharamsala, India under the supervision of the Dalai Lama in exile. After meditating on the opportunity and seeking guidance from his lama at the monastery, Wallace decided to enroll in the course and traveled to India to begin perhaps the most transformative period of his life.
Staying in the home of the Dalai Lama’s personal physician, Wallace fell in love with the freedom and intellectual fulfillment offered by his studies. After three months in the program, at the age of 21, Wallace had his first personal meeting with the Dalai Lama, and instantly knew he had found his mentor.

“I knew I found my spiritual guide or guru or lama if you’d like. He’s been my teacher ever since,” Wallace said.

After a year and a half in India, Wallace decided to take ordination as a novice monk and received full ordination as a Buddhist monk in 1975, administered personally by the Dalai Lama himself. Following his ordination, Wallace joined the prestigious Buddhist thinker Geshe Rabten at the Tibet Institute in Switzerland, where he studied Buddhism, taught courses on Tibetan language and culture and translated for Tibetan Buddhist monks and scholars, including the Dalai Lama. In 1979, he returned to India at the invitation of the Dalai Lama to begin four years of meditative retreats in India, Sri Lanka and the United States, receiving direct guidance from the Dalai Lama on meditative practice and technique.

Consciousness as Reality

At the end of his meditative period, Wallace had been away from Western civilization for nearly fourteen years and decided to re-integrate himself into Western society. Coming to the Pioneer Valley to study with the renowned Buddhist scholar Robert Thurman, who was then a professor of religion at the College, Wallace decided to finish his college education, applying to Harvard Univ. and Univ. of California-Berkeley. However, Wallace quickly adapted to the bucolic scenery of the Happy Valley and chose to continue his education in the area. He applied to the Univ. of Massachusetts-Amherst, but was encouraged his friend and mentor Professor Arthur Zajonc to apply to the College instead. In 1984, Wallace was accepted to the College and began his studies that fall.

During his first semester, Wallace studied mathematics, physics and philosophy, and he excelled in all his classes. Seeking a more challenging program of study, Wallace became an Independent Scholar, an option chosen only by the most disciplined and mature students at the College, where he designed his own curriculum of study, focusing on physics, the philosophy of science and Sanskrit. Wallace used his academic independence to write a groundbreaking two-volume thesis on the relationship between Buddhism, the philosophical underpinnings of modern science and the nature of reality. The ideas he first explored in his thesis drove him to pursue the study of consciousness as a fundamental component of reality.

“The whole notion that the fundamental constituents of physical reality — the elementary particles — do not exist out there with their own definite position, momentum, mass and all that independent of measurement; that is a very strong conclusion of quantum mechanics, and it has very profound implications for our understanding of nature as a whole. It raises questions about what is the role of measurement, what is the role of consciousness and is there a universe without consciousness? You just go deeper and deeper into seeing consciousness as fundamental to our understanding of reality,” Wallace said.

After graduating summa cum laude in 1987, Wallace began leading meditative retreats and publishing books on consciousness, before attending Stanford Univ. and pursuing a Ph.D. in religious studies. Wallace published his dissertation “The Bridge of Quiescence: Experiencing Tibetan Buddhist Meditation” simultaneously with another book, “The Taboo of Subjectivity,” in 1995. Both books dealt with themes of introspection and self-knowledge, approaching them from both Buddhist and scientific perspectives. “The Taboo of Subjectivity” also criticized modern cognitive science for discounting subjective experience as a path to scientific knowledge, drawing on the writings of philosopher and psychologist William James for intellectual support.

“Modern science is stuck in kind of a rut. When scientists want to study the mind, instead of observing the one mind they can observe — their own mind — they forget about that and try to study the mind by studying other people’s behavior and by studying the brain. All of this is very indirect. Everybody knows the brain contributes to mental events, but nobody really knows the nature of the relationship,” Wallace said.

Contemplating Science

Wallace has continued exploring the importance of introspection, founding the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies, an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural research center emphasizing the integration of science with contemplation and self-discovery, in 2003. Wallace is also the director of the Thanyapura Mind Centre in Phuket, Thailand, where he leads intensive meditative retreats and trains people in contemplative techniques. In 2007, he collaborated with neuroscientists and psychologists from universities worldwide in the Shamatha Project, which studied the neurological and psychological effects of long-term meditation and received support from the Hershey Family Foundation and official approval from the Dalai Lama.

Wallace, now perhaps the pre-eminent Western scholar of Buddhism, has transformed the academic careers of many of his students, inspiring them to pursue contemplation and introspection as a path to knowledge. James Elliot, a colleague of Wallace at the Santa Barbara Institute says that discovering Wallace’s ideas was central to his intellectual development.

“Alan has really provided me with a sense of direction. When I first started reading Alan’s work, before I started volunteering with the Santa Barbara Institute, I felt as though I’d finally found something I can dedicate my life to: the interaction and relationship between Buddhism and Science, in my case Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience. As I’ve continued to work and study with Alan, this conviction has only grown,” Elliot said.

Although he has faced resistance from many in the scientific community who feel that subjective modes of inquiry such as introspection are less accurate than third-person approaches, Wallace believes that introspection is more in line with scientific values of empirical observation.

“If we look at any other branch of the sciences or even the social sciences, we find that the primary mode of inquiry rests on sophisticated, precise and direct observation of the phenomenon they are seeking to understand. Introspection is the only way we can observe states of consciousness and mental events — thoughts, images, dreams and so forth. Neuroscience ignores this fact. Introspection plays very little role in the modern cognitive sciences, much to their discredit,” Wallace said.

In December, Wallace will enter a six month-long solitary meditative retreat, where he will seek to explore the mind in ways unavailable to traditional psychology and neuroscience, using lucid dreams — dream states in which the dreamer is aware that he or she is dreaming — to perform psychological experiences in ‘dream reality.’ Wallace also hopes to explore subjects often ignored by mainstream cognitive science, such as clairvoyance and astral projection, arguing that dismissing them out-of-hand is no better than accepting them out of faith.

“If [these subjects] are fiction, then let us know that they are fiction. If not, let’s find out what we can discover,” Wallace said. “In meditation, I will be making further discoveries about the true causes of happiness, the true causes of suffering — and of course, without reliance on psychedelic drugs, in which I don’t have any interest. I want to explore alternate states of consciousness. What is dream reality? It opens up some very interesting experiments in consciousness. When you alter your dream reality, you’re working in the perfect laboratory. Nothing is physical; no aspect of your dream is composed of molecules or atoms.”

Source: http://amherststudent.amherst.edu/?q=article/2012/11/12/marriage-between-buddhism-and-science


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Sunday, December 30, 2012

New Vegetarian Restaurant Opened at Buddhist Cultural Centre near Thummulla in Colombo

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Colombo, Sri Lanka -- Generally Sinhalese Buddhists in Sri Lanka which comprise about 70% of the country’s population are traditionally inclined towards vegetarianism or semi – vegetarianism in their dietary habits.

Even among those who consume flesh food, Beef is excluded in as much as Muslims exclude Pork from their meals. It is commonplace now a days to see an increasing number of Restaurants even ones owned by Muslims refusing to serve both Beef and Pork to customers out of respect for their religious sensitivities.

Vegetarian restaurants have been there in Sri Lanka, over a long period of time. But they are mostly owned and run by Sri Lankan Tamil Hindus and Indian Hindus, serving mainly South Indian Food. This predisposition is now being gradually broken with Sinhalese entering into the Vegetarian niche market.

The latest entry into the Vegetarian scene in Colombo is a Restaurant, modest in size, situated at the Ground Floor of the huge new multi – storied  Buddhist Cultural Centre also known as the Sri Sambuddhathwa Jayanthi Mandiraya, near the Thummulla Junction at No. 32, Havelock Road (re- named as Sri Sambuddhathwa Jayanthi Mawatha) Colombo 05.

Named as the ‘Paradise Vegetarian Food Court’ (a concept of the founder of the Buddhist Cultural Centre, namely, Ven. Kirama Wimalajothi Nayake Thero to promote vegetarianism as a meatless healthy dietary alternative to flesh food consumption that is increasingly being suspect as the source of major human illnesses) this new restaurant provides pure vegetarian food including eggless cakes, short eats, rice and curry, and a host of fresh fruit juices including umbarella, water melon, divul, and tamarind at reasonable prices.

A friendly staff serves freshly cooked vegetarian food to an increasing number of patrons. The contact person for any inquiries on this new venture is Mr. N. Jayawantha, Telephone: (011) 2580 006 or (071) 658 3333 (mobile).


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Friday, December 28, 2012

Briton becomes first Western Tibetan Buddhist monk to die from self-immolation

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A Briton has become the first Western Tibetan Buddhist monk to die by self-immolation, dousing his head and clothes with petrol at a monastery in southwestern France.

Paris, France -- Tonden, 38, whose name at birth was David Alain, had been training for the past five years in the Nalanda monastery near the southwestern village of Labastide-Saint-Georges. The secluded monastery's 25 monks, including five Britons, are currently in retreat.

<< Tonden, whose birth name was David Alain

Horrified colleagues rushed into the garden of the quiet monastery, which is surrounded by rolling farmland, at 4.50pm on Thursday afternoon, after spotting their orange-robed, shaven-headed colleague burst into flames on the lawn.

They were powerless to help and by the time the emergency services arrived, Tonden had died.

Monks and local police said they were unsure whether Tonden had been depressed and committed suicide or that it was a political statement.

But given international events of the past week, the timing of his demise could not have been more significant.

Tonden died on the day that the Chinese Communist Party enacted its once-in-a-decade leadership change, with Xi Jinping taking over from Hu Jintao.

In the past week alone, at least nine Tibetans were reported to have self-immolated in protest at what they say is religious and cultural repression by the Chinese authorities.

In all, 74 Tibetans have now set themselves on fire since 2009 demanding freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama, who has been in exile since 1959.

Tonden was keenly aware of the Dalai Lama's plight, having met the spiritual leader last year when he visited the monastery

He also met the Dalai Lama's sister in September when she came to Nalanda and its nearby meditation centre, Vajra Yogini, which receives lay people.

Despite the timing, the office of the public prosecutor in Castres, said: "Nothing in the investigation allows us to confirm that it is linked to the events in Tibet."

Michel-Antoine Andreani, number two of the Tarn gendarmerie said the idea a Tibet-linked protest was the "first that sprung to my mind" when he was informed of the self-immolation.

But he told The Daily Telegraph: "Given the information we have gathered so far, the individual was psychologically fragile and during his training was having difficulty coming to terms with all the obligations and vows that his position demands."

The five Buddhist precepts urge against harming living beings, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying and intoxication.

The monastery, an hour's drive northeast of Toulouse, is described on its website as "a unique monastery for Western monks in the Tibetan Geluk tradition".

The entrance to the beautiful location warns visitors: "Retreat in progress. Nalanda monastery is completely closed to all visitors except by appointment."

A lone monk praying by a gold-topped stupa – the structure used for meditation – smiled but declined to speak. The monastery stands at the end of a long drive lined with pine trees adorned with hanging crystals and Buddhist prayer flags of blue, white, red, yellow and green that were last night swaying in the evening breeze.

Standing outside waiting for the undertaker, its director, the venerable Losang Tendar, said: "We don't know at this stage whether he acted for personal or political reasons and cannot comment due to an ongoing police investigation."

"What I can say is he never once spoke about such an act. He gave no warning and left no note. I also can say that nobody was with him at the time." Beside him, Francois Lecointre, a monastery spokesman, said: "We are like his Buddhist family and it's a huge shock for the whole community that nobody could have predicted," he said.

"We have of course followed the events in Tibet, but until now it was simply inconceivable that it would happen here in the West."

He was adamant that "Buddhism proscribes all forms of violence including against oneself. That is very clear in Buddhist teachings."

While police try and piece together the motives, others warned that frustration against Chinese repression of Tibetan Buddhists is threatening to spill over in the West.

"I actually befriended someone on Facebook recently who was threatening to self-immolate to draw international attention to what is going on," said Kate Saunders at the International Campaign for Tibet.

"As far as I know he did not go ahead with it, but it was not the same person".

On Friday, the political leader of Tibetan exiles called for international support for his people's struggle against Chinese rule.

Speaking to support groups from 40 countries at a meeting in Dharmsala, the Dalai Lama's headquarters, Prime Minister Lobsang Sangay said: "Tibet is a litmus test for China and the world. By supporting Tibet, the international community will clearly show what they stand for."

"By not supporting us in our non-violent struggle, the world will send a wrong message to all oppressed people of the world."

Beijing insists it has boosted living standards in minority areas and treats minorities fairly.


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Thursday, December 27, 2012

Canadian monk to lecture on Buddhist worldview, ideas

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Knoxville, TN (USA) -- On Friday, Ajahn Punnadhammo, a Canadian monk, will give a lecture in the McClung Museum Auditorium at 2:30 p.m.

Punnadhammo, the resident monk of a Canadian monastery, will deliver a lecture entitled, "The Buddhist Worldview and Its Relation to Practice," in conjunction with the current exhibit in place in the McClung Museum, "Zen Buddhism and the Arts of Japan."

Buddhist practice refers to meditation and the various states of consciousness that can be achieved through such meditation.

Punnadhammo is the resident bhikkhu of Arrow River Forest Hermitage of the Thai Forest Tradition, located in Northern Ontario, and is currently working on a book about Buddhist cosmology with an emphasis on the Buddhist worldview as present in the Pali Canon, the earliest Buddhist scripture.

His lecture will discuss Buddhist art as well as the Buddhist ideas on impermanence, and will emphasize the Buddhist view of the realms of spiritual existence, from the blissful realms of divine beings to the woeful realms of hell beings.

"I will briefly outline the early Buddhist concept of the universe as divided into hierarchically stacked realms, and then show how this view informs and underlies the Buddhist practices of ethics and meditation," Punnadhammo said.

He also believes that his lecture will help build a better understanding of Buddhism and its beliefs.

"In my view, Buddhist cosmology is a fascinating mythological structure that has been hitherto mostly ignored in the western world," Punnadhammo said. "A familiarity with the mythical universe of early Buddhist would help to round out people's understanding of Buddhism and illustrate many theoretical and practical aspects in a symbolic way."

Dr. Brian Carniello, professor in history at UT and organizer of the lecture, sees it as a way for students to better understand a different worldview.

"As an instructor of world civilization for four years at (UT), I am excited about this opportunity for students to learn about a worldview that has been important to many people around the world and that can be an interesting comparison to other worldviews," Carniello said.

"This talk," he said, "will relate to Buddhist practice in the sense that developing a boundless mind means recollecting the full range of possibilities for happiness and unhappiness, many of which are beyond the experiences with which human beings are most commonly in contact, i.e. the experiences of the human and animal realms."

The Losel Shedrup Ling of Knoxville (LSLK), the UT Department of History and the McClung Museum are sponsoring the lecture, which will last approximately one hour and will be followed by a brief question and answer session with Punnadhammo.

The event is free and open to the public. Attendees who plan on driving and parking at the event should request a two-hour parking permit from the attendant at the entrance to Circle Park for the event.

For those who may be interested, Punnadhammo and the LSLK will also be having a retreat that will be open to the public this weekend with an emphasis on meditation practices, the techniques of which can be useful to people of all faiths, beliefs and worldviews.


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Blessing ceremony to mark start of construction of Woods Bagot-designed Buddhist Campus in Wollongong

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Wollongong, Australia -- A “piling and blessing ceremony” is to be held this Sunday 18 November at the site of the new Nan Tien University and Cultural Centre, with architecture by Woods Bagot.

<< Nan Tien (credit: Woods Bagot)

Designed by Woods Bagot, Nan Tien Institute’s new campus will become home to a new education facility and multicultural art gallery that will eventually service over 3,000 students in the Wollongong area.

Working in close consultation with Nan Tien Temple, the largest Buddhist temple in the southern hemisphere, Woods Bagot used the Buddhist symbol of the lotus flower to inspire the design of the building.

“Woods Bagot’s design motivation for this project was to create a relevant new teaching and learning environment for all students interested in pursuing a higher education grounded in Buddhist wisdom. The design is a cultivation of Humanistic Buddhism which welcomes visitors to be immersed in its environment and culture,” said Woods Bagot Principal Georgia Singleton.

The main goal of this project was to translate the cultural significance of this site through to the educational and arts facility. In keeping with the Buddhist teachings of Fo Guang Shan, the design will be devoid of excess and materialism.

“The main focus for this facility is a spiritual one, so the design of the education facility had to first and foremost pursue an ideal, in order to make the transition between the temple and education facility seamless,” said Woods Bagot Associate, John Prentice.

The concept for the building is that it is to be a gateway to the Institute comprised of linked ‘pods’ that perform as a mini campus that embodies an atmosphere that is welcoming to all and has a strong connection to its environment.

“The ‘pods’ are linked by active bridges allowing for the movement through the building to be a journey comprised of moments, destinations and thresholds. The orientation of the voids between the pods are deliberately set to key aspects of the site,” continued John.

The ‘pods’ also place emphasis on the in-between spaces of the campus, which allow for serendipitous interaction between tourists, students, lecturers and visitors.

“This project is designed to not only enrich the local community, yet aspires to continue to attract the international community to not only come and visit but to also to stay and gain the full cultural and educational experience,” said Georgia.

Nan Tien Institute’s new campus (stage 1) facility is scheduled for completion in 2014.

See Woods Bagot’s website for more information Nan Tien University and Cultural Centre
http://www.woodsbagot.com/en/Pages/Nan_Tien_Cultural_Centre.aspx

Or to find out more about Nan Tien Institute visit: Nan Tien or phone (02) 4272 0618.

About Nan Tien

Nan Tien Temple known as “Southern Paradise” is the largest Buddhist temple in the Southern Hemisphere. The temple focuses on the exchange of eastern and western cultures; the interchange of the traditional and the modern; and also the adaptation with the local communities. Not to mention, the nurturing and educating of devotees and the general public.

Over the past ten years, Nan Tien Temple has become one of the favourite venue for religious study groups, school excursions and community group outings. Nan Tien Temple offers regular events, such as meditation retreats, excursions, art and craft classes etc. Nan Tien Temple is not only a place of Buddhists attraction in Sydney but also one of the most well known international tourist attractions.

It attracts more than a few hundred thousand visitors from all over the world all year round. In addition, it plays an important role of propagating the Buddha Dharma and promoting the exchange and harmonization of the eastern and western cultures as well as all religions.

About the Ceremony

Nan Tien Institute (NTI) will hold a ‘Piling & Blessing Ceremony’ to bless the start of construction of the Illawarra’s newest Tertiary education campus and Cultural Centre and Art Gallery, on Sunday, November 18, 2012.

Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir, Governor of NSW and Chancellor of University of Sydney, Premier of New South Wales, Barry O'Farrell, Wollongong Lord Mayor Council, Gordon Bradbery OA and Gareth Ward, MP, Member for Kiama are among the invited dignitaries.


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Tuesday, December 25, 2012

An Opportunity for Aung San Suu Kyi, President Obama…and You

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This past week, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi – the leader of Burma’s parliamentary minority party the National League for Democracy, iconic Engaged Buddhist leader, and Nobel Peace laureate – broke her long and much-criticized political silence over the violence between Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims in the Rakhine state, encouraging the government to take action to stabilize the region. She also added within the last day or so that the unrest is “an international tragedy.”

<< “Rohingya Muslims who fled Burma to Bangladesh to escape religious violence, sit in a boat after being intercepted crossing the Naf River by Bangladeshi border authorities.” Photo by the Associated Press.

It’s about time.

That being said, her rhetoric must be matched with clear and immediate action. In addition, the newly reelected Barack Obama is set to make history later this month by becoming the first sitting U.S. President to visit Burma. If this visit is to have any meaning beyond being an historic first, he will have much to do beyond simply showing up.

Here’s what you need to know: The Rohingyas are the 800,000 or so Muslims who live in the western part of Burma. They have lived in the area of the Rakhine state for centuries, with much immigration and flight between Burma and Bangladesh—the result of ever-changing political fortunes and conquest. British colonialists encouraged their immigration from Bangladesh in the nineteenth century to boost their agricultural yield in the region.

By 1939, the population of Rohingya Muslims (and tensions with local Rakhine Buddhists) had risen to such a degree that a commission of inquiry decided to close the border. Once World War II began, the British left the region, and terrible violence erupted between the two groups.

Thousands died. More bloodshed ensued when the Japanese arrived: the Rohingyas were supporters of the Allies - some of them even served as spies for the British - who had promised to support them in their goal of a separate Muslim state. Tens of thousands are believed to have fled to Bangladesh at this point. Following the coup of 1962, more were forced to seek refuge in Bangladesh and Pakistan due to the junta’s targeted attacks on the Rohingya community. In 1982, General Ne Win tightened a nationality law in the country and effectively (and illegally) rendered the Rohingyas a stateless people.

Satellite imagery by Human Rights Watch that shows “widespread destruction of Rohingya homes, property.”

Today, the United Nations considers the Rohingyas “one of the most persecuted minorities in the world.” Right now there is considerable unrest and devastating violence - dozens are dead, whole villages have been razed, and over 100,000 have been displaced - in the Rakhine state as a result of what the Agence France-Presse identified as “the rape and murder of a Rakhine women and the revenge mob killing of 10 Muslims.”

When I saw Aung San Suu Kyi speak earlier this fall, she lamented that “the rule of law” had not been established immediately following the first instances of violence. But there is some clarity amidst the chaos: that same week Suu Kyi was in Washington, Human Rights Watch issued a report noting that “recent events in Arakan State demonstrate… state-sponsored persecution and discrimination [of the Rohingyas],” including murder, rape, and mass arrest. Then, this week, Reuters released a shocking special investigative report, which led with what was essentially a confirmation of HRW’s report:

The wave of attacks was organized, central-government military sources told Reuters. They were led by Rakhine nationalists tied to a powerful political party in the state, incited by Buddhist monks, and, some witnesses said, abetted at times by local security forces.

As if we should not already be troubled by all of this, one part of this sentence should grab the attention of Buddhist readers: “incited by Buddhist monks.”

In fact, just last week, Doctors Without Borders reported that Buddhist monks - not nominally Buddhist laypeople, but monks - were preventing their medical professionals from delivering assistance to sick, injured, and otherwise in need Rohingyas. In addition, Joe Belliveau, operations manager for Doctors Without Borders, noted that many of the organization’s staff members are now afraid to work in the area.

He said, “I’ve never experienced this degree of intolerance. What we really need is for people to understand that giving medical aid is not a political act.” Buddhist monks also recently blocked the opening of a Rangoon office of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), a global body that wanted to open an office in the country in order to assist the Rohingyas and contribute to reconciliation efforts. The Democratic Voice of Burma has reported that the All-Arakanese Monks’ Solidarity Conference has called for the Burmese to identify Rohingya “sympathizers” so that they may be “targeted and exposed as ‘national traitors’” as well. (Reflecting on the monks’ behavior even before these incidents, Foreign Policy’s William McGowan referred to “Burma’s Buddhist chauvinism,” and the Bangkok Post‘s Assistant Editor Sanitsuda Ekachai stated bluntly, “This is racism, not Buddhism.”)

This is insanity.

Whatever complications exist (and they certainly do) in this situation, there is absolutely no universe in which these sorts of things should not be categorically deplored in the strongest possible terms by someone in Suu Kyi’s position. Indeed, “the Lady” herself has unique power to effect outcomes here: many of these same monks are those who rose up against the junta in 2007’s “Saffron Revolution.” On September 22nd of that year, the day the monks began marching, their first stop was to Suu Kyi’s home, where she was then under house arrest. They offered blessings to her, but she, in effect, also offered her own blessing to their efforts.


If Suu Kyi were to publically ask the monks to cease and desist in their anti-Rohingya efforts now, there’s no guarantee that that would quell them. However, it would almost certainly deal them a crippling public relations blow, given the history of the relationship between “the Lady” and the Sangha. They would lose any implicit seal of endorsement from Suu Kyi, and with that undoubtedly much of their support.

Suu Kyi’s sacrifices on behalf of her country are some of the most selfless and inspiring acts this world has ever known. She has shown through staggering example what human beings are capable of when they set their sights on the highest ideals. For someone who has been so doggedly, movingly stubborn on behalf of others, her silence up to now has been very disappointing. She is quite right to point out that there has been violence on both sides, but wrong to “not take sides,” as she put it.

Even that language is somewhat problematic, for it implies a false equivalency: as imperfect and unskillful as the past actions of some may have been, there’s no denying that the Rohingyas, as a stateless people, have comparatively limited means (to put it mildly) by which to advocate for themselves. “Illegal immigration,” as she puts it, may well be happening and need attention; but she must also contend with the fact that even Rohingyas who have never crossed a border in their lives are not viewed as legitimate citizens by the Burmese government.

As her country’s moral touchstone - and very rightly so - “the Lady” has a special ability to help here, particularly with the monks. As a serious Buddhist practitioner herself, she might remind those monks who advocate fighting fire with fire of what it says in the Dhammapada:

“He abused me, he struck me, he overpowered me, he robbed me.” Those who harbor such thoughts do not still their hatred.
“He abused me, he struck me, he overpowered me, he robbed me.” Those who do not harbor such thoughts still their hatred.
Hatred is never appeased by hatred in this world. By non-hatred alone is hatred appeased. This is a law eternal.

Remembering their own Buddhist heritage might help the monks take the lead in a different way: as agents of reconciliation in a part of their country that has been plagued by hate and violence for such a terribly long time. “The Lady” might help them get there.
And President Obama might give her and the Burmese government a helpful nudge during his upcoming visit to the country. (It looks as though he will.)

Of course, he will need our encouragement to keep meaningful pressure on the country regarding the Rohingyas. Buddhist American leaders have already spoken out through two petitions (both of which I signed and helped with). You can make your voice heard through the petitions to President Obama that are currently circulating from Amnesty International (http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/siteapps/advocacy/ActionItem.aspx?c=6oJCLQPAJiJUG&b=6645049&aid=518998) and United to End Genocide (https://secure3.convio.net/sdc/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=761). (Each takes only a few seconds to fill out.)

May all those in Burma be happy.
May all those in Burma be well.
May all those in Burma be peaceful.


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Sunday, December 23, 2012

Ancient Buddhist Relics Returned by Burmese Locals

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Bago, Myanmar -- Hundreds of 1,000-year-old Buddhist statues have been returned by workmen after an ancient pagoda site in Prome (Pyay) Township, Pegu (Bago) Division, dating from the Sri Ksetra era of the Pyu Kingdom, was ransacked.

<< Some of the 1,000-year-old Buddhist statues unearthed in Prome Township. (Photo: Warazein Moekyo)

Local people handed the antique Buddhist relics to the authorities on Thursday after they began to worry about possibly being arrested for stealing the artifacts. Prome residents sent a letter to The Irrawaddy about the discovery last week.

The Irrawaddy reported that the valuable antiques were being hidden and then removed from the site by car. However, after word got out those responsible eventually decided to hand the treasures back to the proper authorities.

“After news spread to the media, they were afraid and this is why they had to give them back,” said a worker who operates a drill at the site.

Local people who stay near the excavation area told The Irrawaddy that it was a shame that the township authorities did not prevent the ancient ruins being destroyed. However, the authorities ordered the digging to halt after complaints were filed in the wake of the relics being discovered on Nov. 5.

The area of Prome Township is called Pagoda Hill and belongs to a man called Thai Thai who recently bought the land from its original owner, Tin Ngwe, who moved to live in Rangoon earlier this year.

The entire plot is valued at 60 million kyat (US $70,000) with the pagoda site alone is worth five million kyat ($6,000). A group of workers found the Buddhist statues after beginning demolition work using a bulldozer on Oct. 15. The find dates from around 700 to 1300 AD, according to Burmese researchers.

Pyu was a civilization that lasted for nearly a millennium until the early ninth century when a new group of “swift horsemen” from the north, the Mranma (Burmans), entered the Upper Irrawaddy Valley. In the early ninth century, the Pyu city-states of Upper Burma came under constant attack from the Nanzhao Kingdom of the present-day Yunnan Province of southwestern China.

In 832, the Nanzhao sacked then-Halingyi, which had overtaken Prome as the chief Pyu city-state. A subsequent Nanzhao invasion in 835 further devastated Upper Burma. While Pyu settlements remained in the region until the advent of the Pagan Empire in the mid-11th century, then Pyu was gradually absorbed into the expanding Burman kingdom of Bagan over the next four centuries.

The Pyu language continued to exist until the late 12th century. By the 13th century, the Pyu had assumed the Burman ethnicity. The histories/legends of the Pyu were also incorporated into those of the Burmans.


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Saturday, December 22, 2012

The lost lands of Buddhist belief

Home Asia Pacific South Asia Pakistan

Peshawar, Pakistan -- In today's religiously riven landscape, it's hard to imagine how Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Islam, Sikhism and Christianity took turns to water the land, each to its own degree. Of these, perhaps we know the least about Buddhism because it was so very long ago.

<< Jetavana Monastery

But around CE 406, it was recorded that there were 3,000 Bhikkus of the Theravada school in Bannu in the Northwest Frontier. In Peshawar, the grand pagoda built by Kanishka was so impressive that the opinion was, "Of the various pagodas in the inhabited world, this one takes the highest rank."

In Punjab proper, across the Indus, lay a region called Bhida where Buddhism flourished. The local people were very touched to see foreign Buddhists and looked after them with great care and affection as Lord Buddha himself would have wished. Across the Land of Five Rivers, there were many monasteries with nearly ten thousand monks. In Vrajamandal at Mathura, there were twenty monasteries on the banks of the Yamuna. It was also observed that "All the kings of the countries to the west of the desert are firm believers."

While everyday people gave utmost respect to Buddhist priests, the priests occupied themselves with "benevolent ministrations, and with chanting liturgies; or sitting in meditation". When travelling priests arrived, they were welcomed at these monasteries with water, oil and "the liquid food allowed out of hours" and given rooms to rest in.

Nuns mostly made offerings at the pagoda of Ananda, because it was he who begged the Buddha to allow women to become nuns and realise their spiritual yearnings and give them the option too, of renouncing domestic life. Novices, both girls and boys, usually made their offerings to the Buddha's son, Rahula.

The old bastions of the plains - Sankasya, Kanauj, Ayodhya, Sravasti, Kusinagara, Vaishali, Pataliputra, Rajagrha, Nalanda, Sarnath and Kausambi - were then centres of Buddhism. At Jetavana monastery, "the water in the ponds was clear, the trees luxuriant in foliage, with flowers of various hues, truly so beautiful to behold that it was named the Shrine of the Garden of Gold".

The person who made these notes further spent three years learning Pali and Sanskrit and copying Buddhist texts at Pataliputra and another two at Tamluk port on the mouth of the Hooghly, copying more texts and drawing images, before sailing for Sri Lanka in CE 411. You guessed it, it was Fa-hian. Don't you wonder what he'd say today about both sides of the Himalaya?


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Thursday, December 20, 2012

Asoka Weeraratna - Germany’s ‘Mahinda Thera’

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Berlin, Germany -- It is when one takes into consideration the scenario of West Germany in the aftermath of the two World Wars – bruised, battered and in political isolation with a bad image to boot, that the arduous task of Asoka Weeraratna could be best appreciated. The message of the Dhamma taken to Germany by the German Dharmaduta Society that he founded, helped the Germans, recovering from the horrors of the war, to find inner peace.

<< First Training Centre of the German Dharmaduta Society at Dalugama /Kelaniya (1953) From Left: Simpson Wijeratne; Ven. Galle Anuruddha; Ven. Nanaponika; Ven. Nanatiloka Maha Thera; Upasaka Friedrich Moller (later known as Ven. Polgasduwe Nyanawimala Maha Thera) Ven. Kudawella Wangissa Thera; Asoka Weeraratna (Founder and Hony. Secretary of the German Dharmaduta Society)

Sixty years later, at an alms giving to sixty monks held at the All Ceylon Buddhist Congress (ACBC) premises on September 23, 2012 to mark the founding of the German Dharmaduta Society (GDS), Ven. Waskaduwe Mahindawansa Nayake Thera said that Sri Lanka could not afford to give Germany, ravaged by the war, houses, cars or food. Instead we gave them a gift far more valuable - the teachings of the Dhamma which led them on a spiritual journey eschewing materialistic riches and one which teaches the elimination of human suffering by the conquest of the mind.

The alms giving was preceded by a procession of monks from Athula Dassanarama Temple on Bauddhaloka Mawatha to the ACBC followed by the launching of a website dedicated to the GDS founder and a screening of a video documentary on the services rendered by him and the German Dharmaduta Society.

It was during extensive travels of young Weeraratna in Europe whose business was importing Swiss wrist watches that he saw a flicker of hope rising from the ashes in West Germany – a spiritual hunger which he realized Sri Lanka could satisfy with the gift of the Dhamma. On his return to Sri Lanka, Weeraratna founded the Lanka Dhammaduta Society on September 21, 1952, which was later renamed the German Dharmaduta Society in 1957.

Dharmaduta Society

In Sri Lanka, with the end of the colonial rule, there emerged a great desire among Buddhists, to promote the Dhamma globally which had to be through the work of Dharmadutha monks and lay people. Ven. Mahindawansa Nayaka Thera pointed out that the tradition of ‘dharmadutha’ was not new to us. It was such a mission of Emperor Dharmasoka that brought Buddhism to Sri Lanka through Arhant Mahinda Thera. Therefore, Asoka Weeraratna’s efforts to take Buddhism to the West, was a continuation of this hallowed tradition.

With the establishment of the new Society in 1952, Weeraratna was requested to survey and report to the Dharmaduta Society on the state of Buddhism as existed in Germany. And Weeraratna, focussed on taking the Buddha’s message to Germany, travelled throughout the country in 1953 when he met Germans who were already familiar with Buddhism, history and culture of Sri Lanka through the work of German scholars. Herman Oldenberg had translated the Dipavamsa in 1879 and the legendary linguist/historian Wilhelm Geiger’s translations of Dipavamsa, particularly the Mahavamsa had made a mark in Germany.

However, with no Lankan Mission present in West Germany as diplomatic ties were yet to commence between the new Federal Republic of Germany and the then Ceylon which had newly gained independence, Weeraratna, virtually an Ambassador-at-large for Sri Lanka, got about on his own, on his mission.

In the report following his surveys, his proposal of the need to send a Buddhist mission to Germany to coincide with the 1956 Buddha Jayanthi, headed the recommendations. For Weeraratna, Germany was the pulse of Europe and the German people were the most intelligent consisting of the largest number of Theravada Buddhists found in Europe. Therefore, Weeraratna was confident that the Sambuddha Sasana in Germany will take firm root. His plan included the building of a Buddhist Vihara, a Buddhist library, a Preaching Hall and translation of the Tripitaka to the German language.

And to accomplish these goals ‘A Million Rupee Trust Fund’ was launched in 1954 at the Colombo Town Hall – an event attended by the then former Prime Minister Mr. Dudley Senanayake along with Cabinet Ministers, Diplomats, Buddhist Scholars and Prelates.

Dharmaduta work in Germany

<< Das Buddhistische Haus

The Trust Fund was declared as an approved charity by the Government and by 1956, the new Headquarters of the German Dharmaduta Society at 417, Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 7, had come up. The Opening was attended by the new Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike.

The first West German Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Dr. Georg Ahrens was a prominent invitee at the ceremonial opening and was given due respect befitting a Diplomat of high rank although West Germans were yet persona non grata at the time. And the pioneer German Bhikku in Sri Lanka, Ven. Nyanatiloka Maha Thera, who had been a monk in Sri Lanka for 53 years, was made the first Patron of the GDS and he and his pupil Ven. Nyanaponika Thera offered to teach the German language to bhikkus to enable them to carry out dharmaduta work in Germany.

Weeraratna’s proposal to send to Germany a Buddhist Mission materialized with three learned bhikkus from the Vajiraramaya setting off from the historical Mihintale Rock, sailing to Germany and going into residence in July 1957 at the famed ‘Das Buddhistische Haus’ founded in 1924 by Dr. Paul Dahlke, the pioneer German Buddhist.

Built on a six-acre plot with living quarters, library, meeting hall, rooms, cells for guests for quiet contemplation and for receiving instructions on Buddhist Teaching, the ‘Buddhist House’ was meant to be a place for inner purification. Dr. Dahlke and a group of thinkers had been living at the ‘Buddhist House’ following the Dhamma. A guest at the ‘Buddhist House’ had been Dr. Paul Dahlke’s close friend Anagarika Dharmapala when he had stopped over in Berlin in 1925, while he was on his way to London. The group had maintained a close link with the International Buddhist Union, headquartered in the Island Hermitage in Dodanduwa while the ‘Buddhist House’ had also served as the Publication hub of Buddhist news and literature to which Dr. Dahlke himself had been a contributor.

Notable achievement

On the death of Dr. Dahlke in 1928, the property fell into the hands of his non-Buddhist relatives. Weeraratna on behalf of the Trustees of the GDS and notwithstanding anti-Buddhist opposition, proceeded to purchase the entire premises over a period of four years from 1957 following negotiations with Dr. Dahlke’s nephew. Interest of a Bank Account – a legacy left behind by a German Buddhist – Walter Schmits who appreciated Weeraratna’s ambitious efforts, met the cost of maintenance of the ‘Buddhist House.’

The acquisition of the ‘Buddhist House,’ converted to ‘Berlin Vihara’ which turned out to be a semi monastery with Bhikkus taking up residence, is considered as the most notable achievement of the GDS and to date remains the centre of Theravada Buddhism in Germany and continental Europe. Today, discourses on Buddhism, meditation and discussions are conducted by Bhikkus and lay teachers at the ‘Berlin Vihara.’ The Buddhist Library is well patronized and Das Buddhistische Haus has been declared a National Heritage Monument by the German government since 1995.

Sixty years on, the ‘Berlin Vihara’ which Asoka Weeraratna established, remains a beacon, radiating Buddhist Teachings in Europe and attracting more and more Germans and people of various other nationalities, whether they are disillusioned by material trappings of modern Germany or those who seek spiritual solace. The significance of the establishment of the ‘Berlin Vihara’ is given in a nutshell when the reputed scholar and chronicler of Buddhist History in Germany, Dr. Hans Wolfgang Schumann stated in a seminal article on Buddhism in Germany, that ‘the Buddhist House’ founded by Paul Dahlke in Berlin in 1924, survived World War II in a dilapidated condition and probably would have been auctioned and dismantled if the German Dharmadutha Society of Ceylon which inherited a large sum of money from a German Buddhist, had not come to its rescue. The GDS purchased it in 1958, renovated it, furnished with additional rooms, a good library and stationed Ceylonese Bhikkus there who take charge of regular lectures and meditation courses.”

Historical events

Dr. Schumann further says in this article that “the organizational help which Buddhist societies in Asia, in particular Ceylon, in several critical periods have extended, has saved the flame of Dhamma in Germany from being blown out by the storm of historical events. Isn’t this for the Germans, reason enough to be grateful?”

With Weeraratna’s mission in Germany accomplished, he turned to re-building in Sri Lanka the most supportive and protective layer of Buddhism – meditation. Towards this end, he established the Mitirigala Nissarana Vanaya in 1967, a Forest Hermitage situated not far from Colombo and comprising 30 independent dwellings (Kutis) for Buddhist Yogi Monks who were guided by the outstanding meditation teacher, the late Venerable Matara Sri Nanarama Mahathera.

An arduous task completed, Weeraratna resigned from the post of Honorary Secretary of the GDS, and entered the Bhikku Order in 1972, as Ven. Dhammanisanthi Thera. Living the life of a forest monk at the Mitirigala Nissarana Vanaya Aranya, for a period of 27 years, Ven. Dhammanisanthi passed away in 1999 at the age of 80. A life well-spent in the true spirit of the Buddha Dhamma, his funeral, reflecting the fundamental concepts of Buddhism, was conducted in a simple, austere manner in accordance with his wishes.

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Editor's Note: Arahant Mahinda on top of Mihintale Rock taking the first step towards the establishment of the Buddha Sasana in Sri Lanka

This Poster issued and distributed by the German Dharmaduta Society (then called Lanka Dhammaduta Society) in the period 1954 – 1956 depicts Arahant Mahinda (with a retinue of monks) on top of Mihintale Rock (near Anuradhapura) conversing with King Devanampiyatissa (with a bow in hand) circa 300 B.C., in a famous Question and Answer Dialogue being an IQ test initiated by Arahant Mahinda to evaluate the King’s capacity to learn and absorb the teachings of the Buddha. The Mahawamsa (Sri Lanka’s Ancient Chronicle) provides details of this interesting exchange of insightful words between the Monk and the King.

The Poster appended calls on the Public of Sri Lanka to commemorate the 2500 year anniversary of the Buddha Jayanthi in 1956, by helping to establish the Sambuddha Sasana in Germany as Arahant Mahinda had done it in Sri Lanka 2300 years ago. 


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Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Religions and Worldviews – the intimate connection

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Colombo, Sri Lanka -- The word ‘worldview’ (in German Weltanschauung, in Sinhala Chinthanaya) denotes the fundamental orientation of a society or civilization in dealing with the problems and challenges of the world – its basic attitudes on how man ought to interact with his fellows and the world so as  to ensure general beneficence for the living and  protection for the environment that supports him and his fellow-creatures. In translating this professed lofty ‘philosophy’ into practical action, what is deemed good for some may multiply misery for others. This is the great challenge for mankind in our current age.

<< US President Barack Obama and Senator elect Mazie Hirono

There is no universally agreed worldview – a source of great misery for mankind. It is a well-recognized fact that the Abrahamic Religions – Christianity, Islam and Judaism – prescribe a worldview (or incorporates this in their Gospels as a foundational assumption) that has the necessary implication that the ‘World was made for Man’.  It follows from this ‘thesis of bequeathal’ that he (mankind) has ‘custodial status’ so far as the Earth and all its goods are concerned. Contrast this ‘view’ with the modern scientific understanding that our Planetary abode is, in every sense, prior to man and  and indifferent to his pretensions of glory.  His true status (arguably) is that of an intruder out of harmony with the inalienable rhythms of nature.

That this grandiose posture – the Abrahamic encounter with the world – has brought civilization to a crisis is now acknowledged by all impartial thinkers. It is clear that we will stagger from crisis to crisis if present trends continue. Not only will our Planet and the life therein succumb to a thousand crises of this ‘anthropogenic’ kind but horrendous misery will prevail worldwide when this unfortunate  human ‘adventure’ draws to a close.

That there are other worldviews – notably the Buddhist – that offer hope  and generous living for mankind – is known abstractly by a few but has no ascendancy in shaping a globally dominant worldview. Contemporary Buddhist nations practice an Abrahamic realpolitic even if its citizens are ritualistically devout - as they lack the power and the momentum to change a world moving inexorably under the force of a world-order that has the ruling monotheistic ideologies deeply entrenched in the agenda of political action.

Indeed, it is the helplessness of those outside the Abrahamic tradition to influence the course of global events that is the greatest tragedy of our day and age. While Buddhism as a healing spiritual force is known to the compassionate elite across the world, this force is still outside the framework of global politics.

That ‘opponents’ are wicked and must be punished is the prevailing ethos of the Abrahamic worldview. Relations between nations are modeled on the Abrahamic understanding of interpersonal relations – that some are good while others must be punished ‘for disobeying God’. The concepts of  ‘Evil Empires’. and ‘Pariah States’ arise from a worldview that is hardly tenable today.

How can a Buddhist rethink on these fundamental matters be actively canvassed by those who hope to influence the wielders of Global Power? How can a new worldview work its way into the minds of a ruling  elite brainwashed over long centuries to ignore the enlightened and compassionate teachings of Eastern Religions and to hew to an Abrahamic tradition in world affairs that has caused so much misery to mankind?

The answer is simple – even if its practical realization seems at the moment to demand a measure of luck and foresight that seems unattainable given the asymmetric distribution of power in our world. We must have exponents of a Buddhist world-view sitting ‘cheek-by jowl’ with Presidents and Prime Ministers of the Western Imperium that currently steer planetary affairs. A Senator of the caliber of Edward Kennedy in the US Senate expounding to his Nation and the World on the need to fundamentally rethink the Abrahamic underpinning of the global chaos we witness would have been a great leap forward for mankind.

Thinking on these lines we note that there is now a newly elected Senator in this august assembly that can – perhaps – play this role.  Is she wise enough? Is she learned in the Teachings of the Compassionate Buddha? Above all, has she the drive and the charisma to launch the ideological revolution that will change the world for the better? Surely a great miracle and unsurpassable gift to humanity if all these questions can be answered in the affirmative.


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Tzu Chi raising funds to help Sandy victims

Home The Americas US West

Portland, WA (USA) -- The Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation, one of the largest charities in Taiwan, launched a fund-raising drive across the United States over the weekend to help victims of Superstorm Sandy, which recently ravaged parts of the U.S. East Coast.

Huang Han-kui, director of Tzu Chi's U.S. headquarters, called for donations via phone, Internet, or in person at its stations at supermarkets across the country.

In Portland on the northwestern coast of the U.S., volunteers put up posters and donation boxes at supermarkets and restaurants in areas with large Chinese populations, attracting crowds of passersby and shoppers.

The Buddhist charity also set up disaster relief centers in New York and New Jersey, two of the hardest-hit areas, to coordinate relief efforts such as the distribution of blankets, food and daily necessities.

Sandy, the biggest storm to hit the U.S. in decades, made landfall on the New Jersey coastline Oct. 29. It caused blackouts in millions of households, mass transit shutdowns in the eastern U.S. and flooding in large areas of New York City.

As part of Tzu Chi's relief efforts, members of the organization in areas of New York with large Chinese populations offered cooked meals to affected residents.

In New Jersey, Tzu Chi members traveled around the state, visiting residents and distributing relief supplies to an estimated 4,000 households in the four most heavily affected areas of Keansburg, Little Ferry, South Toms River and Atlantic City, according to the charity.


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Sunday, December 16, 2012

Investigating the Integration of Buddhism into Western Culture

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Colombo, Sri Lanka -- As Asians, we sometimes forget that the teachings of the Buddha actually have nothing to do with Asia or Asian culture. We were born into Eastern cultures where images of the Buddha and Buddhist rituals and teachings are commonplace and, therefore, natural to us.

In the West, however, Buddhism is a relatively new teaching, brought there as late as the 1950’s and 1960’s by the early Western Zen teachers. From those early days it has gradually made its way into the mainstream culture, but not completely. We still have much more work to do in order to fully integrate it and make the Buddhist temple as familiar a sight as the Christian church or the Jewish synagogue.

With the arrival in the West of the so-called “Baggage Buddhists,” the immigrants who brought their religion with them from countries such as China, Vietnam, Tibet, Korea, Thailand, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka, for example, the New World became increasingly more exposed to Buddhism and Buddhist iconography. The monks from these countries soon followed the immigrants to establish temples that would cater primarily to the religious needs of these groups, with emphasis on the cultural traditions that accompanied them.

It took a while for the various ethnic Asian monks to learn English (if they ever did, and unfortunately many still haven’t), and Westerners were somewhat made to feel welcome, but their presence was – and still is – rare in many Asian temples. In the early days, those Americans and others that were brave enough to show up in the various Asian temples were not taught the difference between the Asian culture of the temple – and the teachings of the Buddha.

The two were intertwined and mixed together so that some American devotees thought they had to somehow “become Asian” in order to absorb Buddhism and become Buddhists. Many of the early monks who arrived in the West (some newcomers today, too) were unable to separate the Buddha’s teachings from their native culture. They made a point of teaching their country’s traditions (to wear shoes or remove shoes, for example) alongside the Buddha’s teachings, and the Americans were confused when they visited different ethnic temples and discovered they all had different “rules.”

I first came to America in 1976, and was one of the first to found a temple on the West Coast in 1979. From the very beginning I made it a point to reach out to American friends, but many of the temples, for one reason or another, disregarded our host population, usually using the language barrier as the reason. Over the years I discovered several ways to attract Americans to my temple. I am going to share some of these ways here, which represent proven methods of integrating the Buddha’s teachings into Western culture:

• The Buddha’s teachings are universal and for all places and all times. The first thing we have to do to integrate Buddhism into Western Culture is to make this fact known – loud and clear. We should try to keep the Asian cultural symbols and artifacts to a minimum in our temples, learn English, and learn our host Western cultures so we can adapt to them – instead of the other way around.

• Most Westerners first approached Buddhism though their attraction to meditation; this is still the primary draw. The monks in all temples should be fully-versed in this subject, and well-trained in the art of training others in the practice.

• The monks in the West should also teach the practical benefits of Buddhism, and not just meditation. The Buddha offered us countless ways to practically improve our lives, and these ways need to be taught to Western students.

• It is very difficult for a Westerner to become a Buddhist monk or nun. In my 36 years in America I have only ordained two American men as monks (it is interesting to note that I have ordained 15 women as nuns). Being a Buddhist monastic in America is a drastic and unfamiliar path for Westerners to take. Thirty-two years ago I instituted a three-step pathway for ordaining lay people as fully-certified Buddhist ministers (Bodhicari), which are comparable to Protestant or Jodo Shinshu ministers. This system has been very successful, and we now have many excellent, highly-qualified male and female lay ministers who can teach Dhamma classes, conduct weddings and funerals, give meditation instruction, and serve the Buddhist community in a host of useful ways. The three-step program is based on progressive levels of Buddhist education, commitment, teaching experience, and Precepts.

• An important reason this system has been effective, and has attracted dozens of initiates, is because we early-on recognized that Westerners are independent by nature, and do not like to depend on others. Asian Buddhist monks, however, because of our cultures, are dependent on our ethnic communities for support (e.g. food, donations, etc.). The lay ministers we have ordained have, for the most part, maintained full-time careers while they perform their ministerial duties on the side.

• Finally, Asian temples must learn to appreciate the female members of their congregations, and give them equal status with their male counterparts. At my temple I make a point of assigning key roles to females during ceremonies, such as having a young girl carry the relics on her head during a puja procession. I know that in Sri Lanka this is contrary to custom, but I feel that we must expand our acceptance of females in all facets of society, including temple society, which I’m certain is something the Buddha would have intended for citizens of the 21st Century world.

The above examples are just some of the ways we can begin to more fully integrate Buddhism into Western culture; I’m sure there are many more. I continually attempt to educate the Asian Buddhist clerics in America on this subject, and more and more I am able to sway them to an understanding of the realities I have expressed above. I invite you all to think of new ways we can reach out to our Western friends, and please let me know your ideas.

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Ven. Walpola Piyananda will be presenting this as a paper and speech in Taipei next week at a conference at Taiwan People's University.


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Friday, December 14, 2012

Korean Christians and Protestants continue vandalism acts on Buddhist temples

Home Asia Pacific North Asia S/N Korea News & Issues

Seoul, South Korea -- Vandalism and arson of Buddhist temples and treasures, and important cultural properties relating to Buddhism by the Korean Christian and Protestant communities continue. Although many legislative laws have changed to protect cultural properties and national treasure after the tragic arson of the Namdaemun gate, national treasure No.1, vandalism to Buddhist temples and Buddhist treasures continue in Korea.

On October 4th, 2012, an arson tried to burn down the Gakhwangjeon Hall of Hwaomsa Temple in Gurye County, Korea. Fortunately, the fire only made a small damage to the gate of the hall due to quick actions of the monks and the fire prevention restoration made in 2008. 
On the CCTV, the video captured a man pouring a flammable substance across the hall, and according to witnesses they smelt a very arsenic substance coming from the hall before the man threw in a match to burn down the Gakhwangjeon Hall.
Due to this incident, the Korean Buddhist community is in shock once again and fighting for a stricter law enforcement for the perpetrators of vandalism and arson to Korean important cultural properties and National treasures. 
Furthermore, on August 20th, 2012 a Protestant pastor, Seong, vandalized the dharma hall of Donghwasa Temple. This pastor self-proclaimed that he was from the SoonBokEum Church, was caught urinating in the dharma hall and vandalized the Buddhist portraits with a permanent marker. His poor actions was captured on CCTV of the dharma hall.

The Buddhist community was outraged by this act and urged law enforcements to put a stricter punishment as this act cannot be charged with a simple invasion and vandalism punishment.
Although the law enforcement captured the pastor, they considered this act as “unusual” and let the pastor go stating that he was under mental disorientation. Thus, enraging the Buddhist community because the Korean government and law enforcement is very lenient towards destruction of Buddhist artifacts and National treasures.

On November 2011, the stele that accompanied the stupa of National Preceptor Jigwangguksa of Beopcheonsa temple, Korean National Treasure No. 59 was vandalized. A giant cross was drawn across the five meter stone statue and was opened to public on a christian man’s Facebook and twitter page.
Similarly, in November 2011, near the Haewundae in Busan, Korea. Four Buddhist temples reported vandalism and invasion by the Korean Christian community, as they spray painted red lacquer on the hands and faces of the Buddha statues.
Various vandalism of Buddhist cultural properties and Buddhist temples, vandalism and destruction of Korean national treasures have been going for several decades, and these actions are the root causes of religious disharmony between the Korean religious communities.
One of the biggest and significant act of vandalism by Christians was in June of 2006 during the “Again 1907 in Busan” festival by Korean Christians. The Christians prayed earnestly for all the Buddhist temples and monasteries of the Busan area to be destructed, and many Korean citizens were dismayed to find Korean President Lee MyungBak to be the congratulatory commentator of this event.

In February of 2011, there was another scandal where three pastors came to the Jogye temple and ordered the monastics to “believe in Jesus, as {koreans} we are all children of God.”

In 2010, a pastor and college students of the Christian faith invaded Bongeunsa temple and began a “Ground stepping”  and had a protestant ritual for all the ground to be returned to the land of God.

This was wide spread throughout youtube and the internet.
These various vandalism sparks fear of Buddhist discrimination in Korea. Korea is in much need for the harmony of religions, and these vandalism of the Korean Christian and Protestant community need to stop.


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Thursday, December 13, 2012

Buddhist museum in a bad shape

Home Archaeology

Proposals for its development are long pending

Andhra Pradesh, India -- A large chunk of tourists who visit the district every year are attracted by the Buddhist museums at Amaravathi and Nagarjunakonda but few people even know that there is a third and equally important museum which has on display an impressive range of inscriptions, stone sculptures and pottery items belonging to the Buddhist era.

<< The pathetic state of the Baudhasree Museum in Guntur. Photo: T. Vijaya Kumar

It is the Baudhasree Archaeological Museum located in the heart of Guntur city (opposite Andhra Christian College) that unfortunately draws a handful of visitors.

Tourist destinations

The Amaravathi and Nagarjunakonda museums stand out as the best tourist destinations due to their beautiful maintenance by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) while the Baudhasree museum slowly fades into oblivion.

Little attention is paid to this historic museum by the Department of Archaeology and Museums of Government of Andhra Pradesh for apparent reasons.

It has ancient sculptures dating back to the 2nd Century A.D up to the medieval period. Several centuries-old antiquities are showing signs of withering due to poor maintenance and many other items are kept in the fore lawns for want of space.

The museum has a meagre budget that is barely enough to keep it going and it has no technical assistant to take care of conservation of the antiquities on display. A non-technical person (junior assistant) who is on the verge of retirement is functioning as the museum in-charge and, ticketing income is negligible.

The Baudhasree Museum was established in 1954 and it came under the purview of State Department of Archaeology & Museums 20 years later. The original building which housed the museum gave way to a new one that was inaugurated in September 1992.

The museum used to attract a sizable number of tourists, which gradually came down and the decline in footfalls was more pronounced later, noticeably after many artefacts were taken away to Amaravathi during the Kalachakra event in 2006.

Speaking to The Hindu, Assistant Director of Archaeology & Museums (Vijayawada) K. Chittibabu said there was a proposal to build a first floor to accommodate more valuable things and upgrade the existing library into a research library but the proposals were pending and estimates have not yet been prepared.

However, he exuded confidence that things would move fast in the near future while admitting that there are constraints in developing this historic museum to global standards.


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The Castor Bay Presbyterian Church and hall will become a place of Buddhist worship and meditation

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Castor Bay, New Zealand -- A Buddhist organisation has bought the Castor Bay Presbyterian Church.

<< SOLD: the Castor Bay Presbyterian Church and hall will become a place of Buddhist worship and meditation.A Buddhist organisation has bought the Castor Bay Presbyterian Church.

The church and adjoining hall have been bought by the Auckland branch of a well-established Buddhist religious education society with other existing premises throughout the city.

Mairangi and Castor Bays Presbyterian Church property and finance convenor George Wyman said the church had been sold as the size of its congregations no longer warranted its own premises.

Congregation members will now integrate into the Mairangi Bay Presbyterian Church some two kilometres away or to the Anglican Church in neighbouring Milford.

The church will hold its final religious worship sessions over Easter in April next year. The sale of the Castor Bay Presbyterian Church was brokered by Bayleys Takapuna.

The two buildings have a combined floor space of 250 square metres with off-street car parking for eight vehicles, and sit on 1133 square metres of land with vast views over Milford Beach and the Waitemata Harbour.

The Castor Bay land and buildings have a capital valuation of $1.125milllion.

Bayleys Takapuna sales person Peter Christoffersen said that seven tenders were received for the Castor Bay premises after an extensive marketing campaign which embraced both the commercial and residential development potential for the land and buildings.

"Some of those tenders were for the commercial development of the site, while most were for development of a residential nature in line with its zoning of Residential 4 under the Auckland Council plan," Mr Christoffersen said.

"When the final round of tenders was assessed, the best deal put forward at the end of the process was that of the Buddhists. This sits well with the church's philosophy of encouraging spiritual worship, peace, and harmony and ensures the legacy created over almost 100 years in Castor Bay is maintained."


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Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Seokgatap pagoda, symbol of Sakyamuni Buddha

Home Asia Pacific North Asia S/N Korea History & Archaeology

Seoul, South Korea -- Bulguksa temple in Kyeongju, Korea is a UNESCO World Heritage site and literally means the “The Temple of Buddha’s Country.” Here in the center courtyard, two pagodas, known as the Dabotap and Seokgatop stand in grandeur. The two pagodas symbolize the incarnations of Buddha.

Seokgatap, or the Buddha Pagoda, symbolizes Sakyamuni Buddha, and Dabotap is the incarnation of Buddha's previous existence. It is said that the Buddha's former life sprouted out of the earth in the shape of a pagoda to prove the truth of Buddha's sermon.
The Seokatap is very simple and has a basic design with three stores and gives off a sense of balance and symmetry. This pagoda is over 1,000 years and said to be build in the Baekje dynasty.
On September 27th, 2012 the Bulguksa temple began the major restoration project of the Shakyamuni pagoda (Seokatap in Korean). During its restoration project, the team found various Buddhist treasures and artifacts buried under the base of the pagoda.
In 1966, the Mugujeonggwang Great Dharani Sutra was found within the pagoda and enlisted as the National Treasure No. 126. This Dharani Sutra is the oldest woodblock print material in existant of the world. Also found was a sarira box with other various Buddhist treasures such as a bronze Buddha, and mirrors.
Venerable Sungta, the abbot of Bulguksa monastery states that the total restoration of the Seokatap is the only way to preserve the Seokatap’s original beauty and for the future generations to enjoy and appreciate this pagoda.
During this restoration, the Seokatap will be completely dismantled and put together for complete restoration and is estimated to cost about USD 3million.
Various housing was placed around the Seokatap so tourists and pilgrims can still visit the Seokatap during its restoration.
It has been stated that the base of the pagoda is unstablee and the resotration team plans to rebuild and restore the base for the balance and stability of the Seokatap.
The Seokatap is over 1,300 years old and the restoration is a three year project and the perfectly restored Seokatap will reveal it’s original beauty once again in 2015.

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Monday, December 10, 2012

Buddhist program’s end prompts student outcry

Home The Americas US Northeast

Yale University, USA -- Yale has abruptly ended its Buddhist program, Indigo Blue, and the chaplaincy of the program’s leader, Bruce Blair ’81, prompting protests from some students.

<< Indigo Blue's nightly Stillness & Light meditation sessions are canceled. Photo: Mark Ostow

At a meeting yesterday with University Chaplain Sharon Kugler, “nearly half” the students “walked out in the middle of the conversation, expressing dissatisfaction with the way in which Yale has handled the situation,” the Yale Daily News reports.

Students who arrived at Battell Chapel for Indigo Blue’s nightly meditation session, Stillness and Light, on October 22 found an empty room. The Buddhist Chapel, in Branford College’s Harkness Tower, was dismantled a week later. Kugler told the News that the university decided to end its nine-year relationship with Blair and Indigo Blue but declined to say why: “We have decided it would be best to go in a different direction to serve our Buddhist community.”

In an e-mail to students, Kugler said the chaplain’s office is working on restoring the Buddhist chapel and creating new programs for Buddhist students. “This change may feel sudden,” she wrote, “but it was carefully thought out.”

On a new Indigo Blue website, Blair writes that “the reasons Yale gave for annulling its relationship with Indigo Blue were allegations, mainly new, and neither detailed nor substantiated.” He also declines to detail the reasons, saying he hopes they can be addressed privately: “I still feel I have done nothing wrong and hope misunderstanding can be addressed and the relationship renewed.… for the moment it is not appropriate to discuss in detail the issues Yale raised.”


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Sunday, December 9, 2012

Next Economy, Buddhist Economy

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Pittsburgh, PA (USA) -- November 6th, 2012: the day we vote on economy… the year of apocalyptic partisanship… the year of promises of new economy…

I usually don’t mess with economics.  The last time I spoke on the topic was when I re-phrased the all-too-familiar “It’s economy, stupid!” meme into “It’s psychology, stupid!” in my 2009 Huffington Post blog.

My question is this:

What kind of economy are we trying to build?

The kind of economy where everyone who wants to work can work?

Or the kind of economy that works by itself without the need to work?

Or the kind of economy where work doesn’t feel like work?

These are all very different questions and the answers to these questions range from industrial age pragmatism to utopian fantasies.

But I am looking for something in the middle, for an economy of the Middle Way for the middle class…

Is there such a beast?

Turns out there is and it’s called Buddhist Economics as described (in the 1970s) by E. F. Schumacher in “Small is Beautiful” (a must read!).

A couple of excerpts and a few points.

Schumacher explains:

“There is universal agreement that a fundamental source of wealth is human labor.  Now, the modern economists have been brought up to consider “labor” or work as little more than a necessary evil.  From the point of view of the employer, [labor] is in any case simply an item of cost, to be reduced to a minimum… say, by automation.  From the point of view of the workman, [labor/work] is a “disutility;” to work is to make a sacrifice of one’s leisure and comfort, and wages are a kind of compensation for the sacrifice.  Hence the ideal from the point of the employer is to have output without employees, and the ideal from the point of view of the employee is to have income without employment.”

Exactly: that’s what I, as an immigrant to this country, have witnessed over the past 20 years  – employers try to get rid of employees and the working public keeps dreaming the American dream of early retirement.

I am a big fan of the television show “Shark Tank” and after the last episode I said to my wife: “the American dream is well alive.”  Week after week I am blown away by inventive, hard-working people that seem to be motivated by the fantasy of financial independence (which is fine) and early retirement (arguably problematic).

This gets at one of my initial questions: what kind of economy are we trying to build – an economy that works by itself?  That seems to have been the American dream – to work hard, strike it rich, and not have to work anymore.

So, that’s the American way, the American economics.  Here’s the Buddhist way, the Buddhist economics, in Schumacher’s words:

“The Buddhist point of view takes the function of work to be at least threefold: to give a man a chance to utilize and develop his faculties; to enable him to overcome his ego-centeredness by joining with other people in a common task; and to bring forth the goods and services needed for a becoming existence.”

Making this kind of living would be “right livelihood” in terms of the Buddhist doctrine of Noble Eightfold Path.

Schumacher continues:

“To strive for leisure as an alternative to work would be considered a complete misunderstanding of one of the basic truths of human existence, namely that work and leisure are complementary parts of the same living process and cannot be separated without destroying the joy of work and the bliss of leisure.”

Schumacher never formally challenges the American economic dream (of striking it rich and becoming financially independent and retiring early) but, indirectly, his theorizing about Buddhist economics is exactly that kind of challenge.

I love what I do (but I am not what I do).  I have no plans of retiring.  And I am not a workaholic: I work 3 long days, seeing clients back to back, and these 3 days of work are some of my best days on this planet.  Not because I am “helping” someone (I resent that view anyway, the view of mental health as a “helping profession” – just about any occupation can be construed as such – plumbers too are in a “helping profession;” this whole “helping profession” business is just a bit too self-congratulatory, too ego-boosting for my taste).

I love what I do exactly because when I do what I do I cease to be my conceptual self, I vanish into the flow of the moment, I disappear into my work not as some escapist workaholic but as a cliff-diver into the oblivion of the water.

I realize I am fortunate that I am able to do what I do.  But I also have no false modesty about the matter: I have worked hard, very hard for this privilege to work in a manner that develops my faculties and in a manner that meditatively erases my ego and in a manner that also happens to have social value.  And it’s exactly because of this privilege to work that I don’t have the American dream of striking it rich and retiring early.

(All this book-writing that I’ve done – that was me chasing the American dream, wanting to pay off the student loans fast and get a lifestyle upgrade.  But I am mostly done with that – I mean with craving and book-writing…  Not just because I grew and matured but also because I am finally catching on to the fact that the American dream of striking it rich through book-writing for no-names like me is mostly a pipe-dream).

I am rambling and, perhaps, over-sharing (and that’s okay, that’s what blogging is about).  So, I want to end this voting-day blog-post with this summation:  in my humble opinion, to build a new economy we have to let go of the old dream, of that American dream that equates work with necessary evil.

And I’ll let Schumacher wrap this up for me:

“While the materialist is mainly interested in goods, the Buddhist is mainly interested in liberation.  But Buddhism is “The Middle Way” and therefore in no way antagonistic to physical well-being.  It is not wealth that stands in the way of liberation but the attachment to wealth; not the enjoyment of pleasurable things but the craving for them.  The keynote of Buddhist economics, therefore, is simplicity and non-violence… amazingly small means leading to extraordinarily satisfactory results.”

Schumacher – writing in the 1970s – was right then and is right now: an economy that is based on craving, an economy based on competing with the joneses is an economy of jonesing, an economy of addiction.  We don’t just need more jobs, we also need a rehab of the American dream.  We need a pattern break.

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Pavel Somov, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist and the author of "Eating the Moment" (New Harbinger, 2008), "Present Perfect" (NH, 2010), "The Lotus Effect" (NH, 2010), "Smoke Free Smoke Break" (2011), and "Reinventing the Meal" (in press, 2012). He is in private practice in Pittsburgh, PA. His book website is www.eatingthemoment.com

Marla Somova, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist in private practice and an Assistant Professor of Psychology and Counseling at Carlow University in Pittsburgh, PA. She is the co-author of "Smoke Free Smoke Break" (2011).

Source: http://blogs.psychcentral.com/mindful-living/2012/11/next-economy-buddhist-economy/


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Buddhist Voters Aim To Bring Mindfulness To The Ballot Box

Home Dharma Dew

Washington D.C., USA -- The mindfulness movement has seeped into Silicon Valley, Capitol Hill, and even the United States Military Academy at West Point. Next stop: the voting booth.

A new California-based group wants the estimated 5 million Americans who practice mindfulness to move off their meditation cushions and into the polls on Tuesday (Nov. 6).

If meditation can calm hyperactive kids, ease the pain of drug addicts and tame the egos of Fortune 500 CEOs, it can surely help a stressed-out and polarized country choose a president, says the Rev. Angel Kyodo Williams.

An artist and veteran activist from Berkeley, Williams is the force behind MindfulVOTES, a nonpartisan campaign that she believes is the first attempt to mobilize mindfulness meditators.

"Mindfulness practices are maturing in our country and entering the mainstream, but if it's not applied in our lives, it doesn't matter," said Williams. "It's time for our community to go beyond its own navels."

Broadly defined, mindfulness is a meditative practice designed to encourage a clear and nonjudgmental awareness of the present moment, often by observing one's breath. In Buddhism, mindfulness is one of the seven factors of enlightenment and a step on the Noble Eightfold Path.

Organizing meditators politically -- especially its leading Buddhist teachers -- has proven more difficult than expected, Williams said. "You know the phrase 'like herding cats'? This is like herding lions and tigers."

Hoping to leverage attention during an election year, the group raised funds to attend the Democratic and GOP conventions this summer. It followed the leads of the liberal group MoveOn.org and the League of Women Voters by encouraging activists to host "mindful circles" and circulate an online voting pledge.

MindfulVOTES also solicited the services of 250 "mindful" leaders and tapped 20 A-list ambassadors, including Rep. Tim Ryan, an Ohio congressman who practices mindfulness meditation.

"We will demonstrate that the Mindful community is a block of conscious voters, engaging in politics in a new and impactful way," the group says.

Williams, who defines herself as "post-Zen" and practices at the new Dharma Community in Berkeley, said MindfulVOTES hopes to attract diverse strands of Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Christian and nontheistic meditators. According to researchers, more than 1 million Americans take up meditation each year.

But Williams said the only a small number of mindful circles have organized thus far and the pledge-to-vote campaign faltered. "We're learning as we go along," she said. "This is a huge exercise in getting our feet wet."

There is no central Buddhist hierarchy or organization in the U.S. Instead, dozens of small groups dot the landscape, from Japanese-American devotees of Amida Buddha and Tibetan refugees to Zen converts. Many Buddhist clergy are part time and spend their few free hours building their own institutions, Williams said.

Still, Buddhist ethics and philosophy contain clear moral mandates, including the need to take political responsibility, said the Rev. Danny Fisher, a leading young Buddhist activist.

"Mindfulness, wisdom and ethical action are like three legs of a stool," said Fisher, a professor and coordinator of the Buddhist chaplaincy department at University of the West in Rosemead, Calif. "Buddhists in North America tend to focus on the first leg. Thinking about ethical issues, our role in the larger world, and the direction of the country is often less pronounced."

Fisher laments that American Buddhists lack firebrand figures like the late Protestant peace activist William Sloane Coffin or Cornel West, the provocative public philosopher. Instead, Fisher said he often looks to politically active Buddhists in Thailand and Burma for inspiration.

In some Asian countries, Buddhist groups have developed deep ties to political parties. Soka Gakkai International, for instance, founded its own party in Japan the 1960s and maintains strong connections to the New Komeito Party. SGI-USA spokesman William Aiken said he doubts that such alliances would develop in the United States.

"In the American Soka Gakkai Buddhist community, we feel that to identify with one partisan political philosophy over another would limit our mission to support the Buddhist practice of a very diverse membership," he said.

Still, there are scores of politically engaged Buddhists in the United States -- even if they don't publicly identify their religion, said Aiken and other Buddhist leaders.

And while they remain small, there are several political Buddhist groups in the U.S. The Berkeley-based Buddhist Peace Fellowship, for example, was founded in 1978 by the late Robert Aitken Roshi, an American Zen leader.

In January, the Berkeley-based group will embark on a new campaign to encourage young Buddhists to connect their meditation practice and religious studies with "active nonviolence," said Katie Loncke, BPF's director of media and action. Just as important, she said, it will connect politically active Buddhists with each other.

"Many of us are out there looking and not knowing how to find each other."

Loncke said she is encouraged by the MindfulVOTES campaign, but also thinks Buddhists should address the root causes of suffering and societal injustice.

"Buddhism tends to get fuzzed into this kind of magical thinking -- that if you're mindful and you vote, then everything will get better,"

Loncke said. "But that shortcuts political education."

For Williams, the goal of MindfulVOTES this year is more immediate.

"We want people to take a breath," she said, "and realize that there is such as thing as Nov. 7."

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/06/buddhist-voters-bring-mindfulness-to-ballot-box_n_2079801.html


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Friday, December 7, 2012

Meet Mr Happy: French geneticist turned Tibetan monk

Home Personality

As he grins serenely and his burgundy robes billow in the fresh Himalayan wind, it is not difficult to see why scientists declared Matthieu Ricard the happiest man they had ever tested, AFP reports.

Wisconsin, USA -- The monk, molecular geneticist and confidant of the Dalai Lama, is passionately setting out why meditation can alter the brain and improve people's happiness in the same way that lifting weights puts on muscle.

<< Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard sitting in a soundproof room and preparing for an electroencephalography (EEG) test. ©AFP

"It's a wonderful area of research because it shows that meditation is not just blissing out under a mango tree but it completely changes your brain and therefore changes what you are," the Frenchman told AFP.

Ricard, a globe-trotting polymath who left everything behind to become a Tibetan Buddhist in a Himalayan hermitage, says anyone can be happy if they only train their brain.

Neuroscientist Richard Davidson wired up Ricard's skull with 256 sensors at the University of Wisconsin four years ago as part of research on hundreds of advanced practitioners of meditation.

The scans showed that when meditating on compassion, Ricard's brain produces a level of gamma waves -- those linked to consciousness, attention, learning and memory -- "never reported before in the neuroscience literature", Davidson said.

The scans also showed excessive activity in his brain's left prefrontal cortex compared to its right counterpart, giving him an abnormally large capacity for happiness and a reduced propensity towards negativity, researchers believe.

Research into the phenomenon, known as "neuroplasticity", is in its infancy and Ricard has been at the forefront of ground-breaking experiments along with other leading scientists across the world.

"We have been looking for 12 years at the effect of short and long-term mind-training through meditation on attention, on compassion, on emotional balance," he said.

"We've found remarkable results with long-term practitioners who did 50,000 rounds of meditation, but also with three weeks of 20 minutes a day, which of course is more applicable to our modern times."

Not always on enlightenment path

The 66-year-old, accompanying other senior Tibetan monks at a festival in the remote Nepalese Himalayan region of Upper Dolpa, has become a globally respected Buddhist and is one of the religion's leading western scholars.

But he has not always been on the path to enlightenment.

Ricard grew up among the Paris intellectual elite as the son of celebrated French libertarian philosopher Jean-Francois Revel and abstract watercolour painter Yahne Le Toumelin.

"All these people used to come around, most of Paris intellectual life. We had all the French painters and I was myself interested in classical music so I met a lot of musicians," he said.

"At lunch we'd have three Nobel Prize winners eating with us. It was fantastic... Some of them were wonderful but some could be difficult."

By the time he got his PhD in cell genetics from the Institut Pasteur in Paris in 1972 he had become disillusioned with the dinner party debates and had already begun to journey to Darjeeling in India during his holidays.

Eschewing intimate relationships and a career, he moved to India to study Buddhism and emerged 26 years later as something of celebrity thanks to "The Monk And The Philosopher", a dialogue on the meaning of life he wrote with his father.

"That was the end of my quiet time because it was a bestseller. Suddenly I was projected into the western world. Then I did more dialogues with scientists and the whole thing started to spin off out of control.

"I got really involved in science research and the science of meditation."

A prominent monk in Kathmandu's Shechen Monastery, Ricard divides his year between isolated meditation, scientific research and accompanying the Dalai Lama as his adviser on trips to French-speaking countries and science conferences.

He addressed the World Economic Forum in Davos at the height of the financial crisis in 2009 to tell gathered heads of state and business leaders it was time to give up greed in favour of "enlightened altruism".

His other works include "Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill" and several collections of photographs of the landscape, people and spiritual masters of the Himalayas.

Ricard donates all proceeds of his books to 110 humanitarian projects which have built schools for 21,000 children and provide healthcare for 100,000 patients a year.

He was awarded the French National Order of Merit for his work in preserving Himalayan culture but it is his work on the science of happiness which perhaps defines him best.

Ricard sees living a good life, and showing compassion, not as a religious edict revealed from on high, but as a practical route to happiness.

"Try sincerely to check, to investigate," he said. "That's what Buddhism has been trying to unravel -- the mechanism of happiness and suffering. It is a science of the mind."


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