China wants to stop profiteering at temple sites

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BEIJING, China -- China is telling tourist-favored Buddhist temples: Don't let money be your mantra.

<< "Chinese temples are getting too commercialized"

Authorities announced a ban this week on temples selling shares to investors after leaders of several popular temples planned to pursue stock market listings for them as commercial entities. Even the Shaolin Temple of kung fu movie fame was once rumored to be planning a stock market debut - and critics have slammed such plans as a step too far in China's already unrestrained commercial culture.

"Everywhere in China now is about developing the economy," complained Beijing resident Fu Runxing, a 40-year-old accountant who said he recently went to a temple where incense was priced at 300 yuan ($50) a stick.

"It's too excessive. It's looting," she said.

Centuries-old Buddhist pilgrimage sites Mount Wutai in Shanxi province, Mount Putuo in Zhejiang and Mount Jiuhua in Anhui all were moving toward listing on stock markets in recent months to finance expansions, according to state media.

The government's religious affairs office called on local authorities to ban profiteering related to religious activity and told them not to allow religious venues to be run as business ventures or listed as corporate assets.

Companies that manage temple sites may be able to bypass the prohibition on listing shares simply by excluding the temples themselves from their lists of assets. A Buddhist site at Mount Emei in Sichuan already has been on the Shenzhen stock exchange since 1997 but its listed assets include a hotel, cable car company and ticket booths - not the temples, which date back several hundred years. Shanghai lawyer Wang Yun said the new prohibition wouldn't likely affect Emei, but might make additional companies think twice before listing.

Turning religious sites into profit-making enterprises is certainly not limited to China, but it illustrates just how commercialized this communist country has become in the past couple of decades, with entrepreneurs seizing on every opportunity to make money. One businessman has started selling canned "fresh air" in polluted Beijing.

No one could have anticipated that the poor and egalitarian China of Mao Zedong's time would become a "Wild West" of commercialism, said Mary Bergstrom, founder of The Bergstrom Group, a marketing consultancy in Shanghai.

"There aren't the established checks and balances in China that exist in other countries ,so people are more willing and able to test the boundaries of what is acceptable, especially if the end result of these tests is potential profit," she said.

The Chinese government has strict controls on religion, with temples, churches and mosques run by state-controlled groups. Even so, religion is booming, along with tourism, giving some places a chance to cash in.

The ban on profiteering from religious activity is "just a reflection of the terrible reality of the over-commercialization in recent years of temples and other places," the Southern Metropolis Daily said in an editorial Wednesday. "People who have been to famous religious places should be familiar with expensive ticket prices and donations for all kinds of things."

Chinese entities from nature parks to religious sites are increasingly turning to commercial activities to pay expenses as government support dwindles in a society with little charitable giving. Temples face heavy costs to maintain centuries-old buildings and gardens.

But the State Administration for Religious Affairs says some local governments, businesses and individuals have built religious sites for profit, hired fake monks and tricked visitors into handing over money.

A notice on its website Monday, issued jointly with the police ministry and other authorities, warned of serious punishment for officials found to be involved in religious profiteering.
The new rules leave open when commercialism crosses the line to profiteering. No matter where the line might be, entrepreneurial officials and religious groups may not heed it.

An employee of the Wutai Scenic District Administration's propaganda office confirmed Wednesday that the local government was planning to pursue a stock market listing but said he couldn't give details. The man, who would give only his surname, Bai, said he didn't know whether the latest notice would affect that plan.

The notion that some temples were becoming more about dollars than dharma first came to the fore in 2009 with reports that the legendary Shaolin monastery and martial arts center might sell shares to investors on a mainland or Hong Kong stock market.

The 1,500-year-old temple has become a lucrative business enterprise and holds registered trademarks, but its managers have denied rumors of floating shares and reiterated that denial Wednesday.

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Associated Press researcher Flora Ji contributed to this report.

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His Holiness The Dalai Lama Embraces The Addition Of Western Science To The Core Curriculum At Tibet

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Boston, MA (USA) -- During his visit to Boston last week, His Holiness the Dalai Lama addressed attendees at a private benefit hosted by Boston philanthropist Bobby Sager to support the Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Transformative Values at MIT.

The Dalai Lama discussed the impact of the "Science for Monks" program, designed to incorporate Western science into the core monastic curriculum taught at the major Tibetan Buddhism institutions in India.

"Now at these monastic institutions, science as a subject has been incorporated into the monastic curriculum, not just for selected individual students," the Dalai Lama said. He described the addition of Western science as the most important change in the monastic curriculum in centuries. Topics like neurobiology, cosmology and quantum physics will now be taught alongside traditional topics of monastic study, such as Buddhist philosophy.

With the support of the Sager Family Foundation, the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, and the Dalai Lama, the 12-year "Science for Monks" program has laid the groundwork for historic change. In 2000, "Science for Monks" started as a pilot program, sending professors from U.S. universities to India to teach science to a group of 40 monks and nuns at two-week workshops outside of their traditional monastic studies.

"Initially, some senior monks and abbots were hesitant to study science," the Dalai Lama said. "But then eventually, after we explained the importance of learning science, they supported it."

"12 years ago, we started this renegade program called 'Science for Monks' outside the required monastic curriculum," Bobby Sager, founder of Sager Family Foundation, said at the event. "Now studying science has gone into the bloodstream of Tibetan Buddhism."

Sager's new book "Beyond the Robe," published by powerHouse Books, tells the story of the "Science for Monks" program over this 12-year period and what it reveals about the larger role Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns can play in their monasteries, in their communities, and in the world at large. "Beyond the Robe" is a collection of essays and Sager's photographs illustrating the first insights and observations that have come out of that historic effort, including an insider's look at the monks and nuns involved in the program.

An excellent example of the potential for Tibetan monks and nuns to play a larger role is "Science, Monks and Technology," a new program by Sager Family Foundation and The Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Transformative Values at MIT announced at the October 16 event in Boston. The initiative creates a platform for Tibetan monks and nuns to collaborate with engineering and business students at MIT in designing and implementing technologies that can impact communities in the Tibetan diaspora, such as solar power or clean water.

"Monks have long served as leaders and community organizers in the Tibetan diaspora in India and Nepal; Science, Monks and Technology will enable them to add an additional dimension to their societal contribution," said the Venerable Tenzin Priyadarshi, director of the Dalai Lama Center at MIT.

For information about Sager Family Foundation, visit www.teamsager.org, become a fan on Facebook, or join the conversation on Twitter at @SagerFoundation. For information about The Dalai Center for Ethics and Transformative Values at MIT, go to thecenter.mit.edu.

To purchase "Beyond the Robe," go to www.beyondtherobe.org. A preview is available at www.powerhousebooks.com/preview/beyondtherobepreview.pdf. All of Sager Family Foundation's proceeds from this book are going to support programs that promote teaching Western science to Tibetan monks and nuns.

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Singapore Buddhist Lodge gives out over S$345,000 in bursaries

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SINGAPORE -- The Singapore Buddhist Lodge Education Foundation gave out over S$345,000 in bursaries on Saturday.

<< A student receives the bursary from Acting Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin (R)

The bursaries are for some 300 students from various tertiary-level institutes who have excelled in their studies despite financial difficulties.

They received their bursaries from Acting Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin.

Deserving students get the bursaries regardless of their race or religion.

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Zenkoji Temple

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Nagano, Japan -- Situated in Nagano, Japan is one of the oldest temples dedicated to the Buddha. Built in the 7th century, it is believed to house the first Buddhist statue brought to Japan and is therefore visited by millions of pilgrims every year.

The Zenkoji Temple was built before Buddhism split into various schools and presently belongs to the Tendai and Jodoshu schools of Buddhism. According to legend, the image caused a dispute between the two clans and was, therefore, thrown into a canal.

The image was later rescued by Yoshimitsu Honda and the temple was named Zenko, the Chinese transliteration of Yoshimitsu’s name.

The main image at the temple is that of a hidden Buddha and is not shown to the public and nor the priests. This is one of the commandments of the temple: to keep the statue in absolute secrecy.

A replica of the statue is revealed to the public every seven years for a few days. A recent display of the statue was in 2010.

The temple has an inner chamber that is open to visitors. This chamber has a narrow staircase that leads to a dark corridor where worshippers try to touch the metal keys hanging on the wall to gain enlightenment.

Inside the compound, which is arranged in a linear manner, is the Kyozo which is said to store the Buddhist sutras.

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Trouble in Zanskar

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Sectarian interference from outside needs to be curbed to restore social calm in the remote region

Zanskar, Ladakh (India) -- Rarely heard of and very rarely portrayed, remote Zanskar sub-division of Kargil district in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir state is suddenly in news for the wrong reason. Usually sensitive issue of religious conversion is said to have polarised the local community resulting in outbreak of mob violence.

The main town of Zanskar, Padam, has been placed under curfew to prevent further trouble. So far the trouble appears to have been contained and kept within manageable limits of the local administration but, given the combustible mix of the issues at stake, nothing can be taken for granted.

Zanskar is a Buddhist-majority part of the Muslim-majority Kargil district adjoining the Buddhist-majority Leh district in the Ladakh region within the Muslim-majority J&K state. So the seemingly simple issue of majority-versus-minority, or vice versa, tends to have spiralling effect.

Because of the remote geographical location of Zanskar only sketchy details are available about the incident that triggered off the communal clash. Broadly it appears that the local Buddhist population is highly agitated over the reported recent conversion of about two dozens of their fellow-community persons to Islam and that they are demanding their immediate restoration into their original religious fold.

Even in best of circumstances, religious conversion is a highly sensitive issue. Therefore, the apprehensions being voiced on this score by the two communities need to be addressed very cautiously.

Firstly, nothing should be said or done to add fuel to the fire. Secondly, the local authorities must be sufficiently equipped to ensure that the situation does not get out of their hands. Thirdly, a lasting solution to this thorny problem should be explored through social channels of communication. Fourthly, recent history of Ladakh shows that sectarian elements there need to be held in check before they jump into the fray. Communal violence in the region tends to escalate viciously.

Allegations of forced conversion need to be convincingly investigated without fear or favour. Indeed, Islam itself prohibits forcible conversion and expressly forbids use of coercion or temptation. The Muslim community should have no objection to dispel fears on this account as it is also a religious obligation. At the same time the constitutional freedom given to individuals in matters of personal faith needs to be upheld at all costs. The twin objectives, obviously, necessitate that initiative be taken by the local administration to get the two communities together to sort out matters.

Foremost task of the administrative authorities is to prevent further violence and to gradually restore social calm. In the surcharged atmosphere neither of the two communities would be inclind to come forward and communicate with the other. Tension in the atmosphere is a huge deterrent to well-meaning citizens who might be inclind to lend their helping hand.

Going by the past experience of similar situation in Ladakh, mischievous elements far beyond the remote region jump into the fray to grind their own axe. The local administration should take effective preventive measures and not allow the fire to spread. Statements on the Zanskar situation coming from different shades of opinion across the state largely betray insensitivity. There seems to be a race between rival sides to rush in without any concern for consequences.

The localised problem should in no case be allowed to trigger off any larger conflagration. That makes it all the more necessary for the state administration to curb each and every attempt at mischief before it adds fuel to the fire. Much would, however, depend on how soon the local machinery brings the situation under control.

The issue at stake calls for utmost sensitive handling at all levels. Seeking local community’s active participation in resolving the contentious issue should be the prime objective of all concerned. Restoration of communal peace and social harmony in Zanskar has wider dimensions that transcend its limited geographical connotation.

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In a postmodern world, a return to the traditional

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Bangkok, Thailand -- While Bangkok's galleries and studios today largely vibrate with the experimental and conceptual, a practitioner of Buddhist painting and plaster-moulded bas-relief quietly keeps the ancient arts alive and relevant

Pakorn Klomkliang, curator of the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, describes Songrit Muaiprom's work, as "filled with rich simplicity, unfeigned, unsophisticated, raw and without embellishments".

While the pieces in "Northeastern Thai Buddhist Art", Songrit's first solo exhibition, are clear and accessible, that doesn't diminish the dexterity of the artist nor the relevance of his work. He won first prize in the Traditional Thai Painting category at the Bua Luang Painting Exhibition this year, and has won many other awards and been featured in several group exhibitions.

From the Northeast, Songrit shunned the traditional palatial style and presented his work as folk art, of a local and classical beauty influenced by local Buddhist temple art and Thai traditional techniques in plaster moulding, providing an original interpretation of what he considers the fundamental principles of Buddhism.

"These factors lend much to the experience of Thai painting and low relief sculpture," Mr Pakorn explains, "including its meaning and the tactile beauty and smell of fresh plaster moulded by hand, which reveals the essential truth of the material and colour.

"Some of his works are also considered archetypal within Thai traditional art, such as the bird's-eye view, depicting the filling of vessels, placing images symmetrically, the use of coloured glass and gold leaf, and stories related to Buddhism and Eastern traditions."

Born in 1987, Songrit was an ordained and practising monk for more than eight years from the age of 12, before discovering his talent in the arts and choosing a path that expresses the cultural heritage of Buddhism. Songrit studied painting and sculpture at several colleges and received a master's degree from Silpakorn University.

His work is divided between the secular and spiritual - with the secular expressed through paintings that illustrate points in the history of man, and the spiritual through sculpture that explains important moments in the Buddha's life and illustrates some truths of Buddhism.

In an age where many artists - in terms of technique, subject and medium - strive to out-experiment each other in an effort to lay claim to the avant-garde, and where intensely personal or bizarrely abstract concepts, objets trouve or retro-rehashing fall under the banner of the contemporary, it can also be refreshing to be confronted with work from a modern bastion of traditional temple art.

If you go

'Northeastern Thai Buddhist Art' is on show on the 36th floor of the Pullman Bangkok Hotel G, Silom Road, daily 10am to 7pm until Dec 28.

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To Buddha’s delight

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Yogyakarta, Indonesia -- The wave of Buddhism that spread from India to South East Asia around the first century AD lasted several centuries when many of the countries came under the Buddhist influence, with numerous temples and stupas springing up all over.

Indonesia, the largest archipelago in the world, too passed through a spell of Mahayana Buddhism, and it was more pronounced in Central Java, thanks to patronisation by rulers of the Sailendra Dynasty reigning at the time. One of their legacies was a huge Buddhist temple at Borobudur near Yogyakarta.

Though no written records about the date and purpose of its construction were available, it has been established, from a study of the relief panels and inscriptions of the temple discovered during excavations, that the structure was indeed built between eighth and ninth centuries by the kings of the Sailendra Dynasty. What was intriguing about the structure was whether it was built to be a temple or a stupa.

While the temple is mainly a place of worship entered by pilgrims, a stupa is a closed structure where Buddhist relics are kept, usually buried in a container at the base. The monument at Borobudur, as it has been interpreted, is both a temple and a stupa. Built in the shape of a stupa with a large number of miniature stupas all around, it is also a temple with stairways and corridors, niches, wall panels and images.

The area where the temple stands now is guarded by twin volcanoes of Sumbing and Sundoro on one side, and Merapi on the other, which have been erupting off and on. The plateau between them called Kedu Plains is not only enriched with volcanic ash, but fed by two rivers Progo and Elo, and a lake, making it a very fertile tableland nicknamed ‘The Garden of Java’.

The place was considered sacred by the Buddhists, who decided to build a massive stupa on a high mound to symbolise the lotus flower. So it was around 750 AD that the work on the stupa commenced. The meticulously planned construction process of the towering structure went on for as long as 75 years and culminated in 825 AD during the time of King Samaratungga.

The stupa is a colossal structure, built on a large square base with nearly 400 ft each side. There are nine platforms one above the other, the first six being square ones and the top three being circular. The whole structure has been built in such a way as to symbolise the cosmic levels one undergoes to attain purity and salvation. The first platform at the base represents Kamadhatu, a world of desires. The next five tiers are the Rupadhatu, the world of forms.

The three circular platforms and the stupa at the top together symbolise Arupadhatu, which signifies a world of formlessness. The platform at the base was hidden initially and was discovered only in 1885, and as such referred to as ‘the hidden foot’. It was found to have 160 panels narrating the meaning of Kamadhatu. In higher platforms are intricate base-relief panels, which depict events from the life of commoners, kings and queens, Gandharvas and Apsaras.

At the next level of Arupadhatu, the world of formlessness, the panels are plain and devoid of decoration. There are 2,672 relief panels in all and 504 Buddhas besides innumerable images. A labyrinth of stairs and corridors lead the way up to the top, dominated by a huge stupa encircled by 75 smaller stupas. The stupas are bell-shaped with latticed openings, with an image of a Buddha sitting inside, in the lotus posture. But the main stupa is empty.

Towards the 11th century, as Buddhism declined and the capital moved towards the east, probably to escape the repeated eruptions from volcanoes, Borobudur went into oblivion. It lay buried in a time warp for centuries under a heap of ash, and was rediscovered only in early 19th century.

The credit for bringing it to the knowledge of the world yet again undoubtedly goes to Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the then ruling British Governor General. Later on, after decades of repeated restoration, UNESCO lent great support in a massive overhaul of the whole structure, eventually declaring it as a World Heritage site in 1991. As recently as June this year, the ancient monument has also been included in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest Buddhist temple in the world.

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Schism rocks Utah’s Vietnamese Buddhists

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Painful divisions among Utah’s Vietnamese Buddhists about ownership of the Pho Quang Temple in west Salt Lake City appear to be worsening.

West Valley City, Utah (USA) -- Recent weeks have seen a protest outside another Buddhist temple and break-ins targeting the West Valley City offices of one of Pho Quang’s original founders.

<< (Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune) Nam Quoc Nguyen leads other members of the local Buddhist congregation of Pho Quang Temple as they protest outside the Temple Lien Hoa Buddhist Members of the local Buddhist congregation of Pho Quang on Saturday, Oct. 6, 2012. They hoped to highlight their conflict to the monks, who belong to the California-based Vietnamese-American Unified Buddhist Congress, which is seeking to take control of Pho Quang.

A judge ordered opposing factions to share the temple at 1185 W. 1000 North in Rose Park while litigation about who controls the property deed inches forward in 3rd District Court. Groups are holding competing worship rituals on Saturdays and Sundays, but it remains an uneasy arrangement.

"A lot of members cannot participate on Saturdays," temple co-founder Hoa Vo said. "That is very tough on us. So many people are suffering."

The conflict pits Vo, other temple organizers and their supporters against a California-based corporation known as the Vietnamese-American Unified Buddhist Congress, which is seeking control of the property on behalf of a group of Buddhist monks and nuns. Nearly two years into litigation, the case is moving slowly, punctuated by a series of motions for temporary restraining orders and protracted fights about potential evidence. A trial — if it comes to that — is unlikely until well into 2013.

Frustrated backers of the temple founders staged their street protest last month outside the Lien Hoa Temple in West Valley City, hoping to draw the attention and sympathy of visiting monks from the Congress meeting inside. About 50 demonstrators chanted and waved signs near the temple gates, but the monks inside did not respond, in what several protesters pointed to as another sign that their local Buddhist community is being betrayed by religious leaders they once trusted.

"They were silent and didn’t reach out to us," protest organizer Victoria Dang said. "They don’t even talk to us."

For their part, Congress members say they are asserting legal control over the temple and its management in hopes of restoring religious stability to its adherents and bringing into line spiritually wayward congregation leaders. They often note that a significant portion of the Pho Quang congregation has sided with them.

The Congress, a U.S. branch of a religious organization outlawed in communist Vietnam, has sought to keep a low profile throughout the dispute, with its representatives saying the group is uncomfortable about publicity for what it views as more of a private religious affair than a legal matter.

"They don’t like to have these types of battles and have sought to resolve this amicably," Salt Lake City attorney David Mortensen said. "The Congress is confident in its position and doesn’t feel it is necessary to litigate it in the media."

The conflict is embarrassing to both sides and out of step with Buddhist tenets favoring harmony and compassion. It also highlights tensions between orthodox and secular aspects of Buddhist traditions transplanted from Asia to the U.S. and reaches deeply into Utah’s growing urban Vietnamese immigrant community.

It may also be part of a bigger picture. The quarrel is uncannily similar to a fight in south Philadelphia among Vietnamese Buddhists about the Bo De Temple. There, too, temple members have clashed in court with the Vietnamese-American Unified Buddhist Congress about an attempted eviction, religious control, finances and temple ownership in a long-running schism that has left deep scars.

In Utah, Vietnamese Buddhists began worshipping at Pho Quang in 1996, when a group of as many as 100 first- and second-generation immigrants pooled resources and bought a former library after years of community fundraising. Through the years, they retrofitted the 5,952-square-foot structure with a worship hall, cloisters, classrooms and a shrine for ancestral ashes.

About 12 years ago, temple founders signed over the building’s deed to monks belonging to the Congress. The transfer was partly a religious offering and partly a move to ease mutual distrust among members about management of the congregation’s finances.

But the Congress never followed through on promises to send a resident monk to Pho Quang, leaving key ceremonial duties to lay worshippers, founders say. Financial disputes also emerged, coming to a head with construction of an $80,000 pagoda-style gate for the temple, which the Congress never authorized.

In 2011, the San Jose-based Congress transferred its ownership of the Pho Quang deed to a little-known group connected to head monk Thich Tri Lang, who oversees the Lien Hoa Buddhist Temple in West Valley City. The new deed holders moved last year to have local temple founders and their followers evicted. That ouster was halted in court.

Since then, the two sides have squabbled repeatedly about use of the temple, while they ready their cases before 3rd District Judge Kate A. Toomey. Court documents describe shouting matches, an altercation near the Rose Park temple’s altar involving one leading nun and rancor about how to handle celebrations of Vietnamese New Year.

Recent weeks have seen a protest outside another Buddhist temple and break-ins targeting the West Valley City offices of one of Pho Quang’s original founders.

A judge ordered opposing factions to share the temple at 1185 W. 1000 North in Rose Park while litigation about who controls the property deed inches forward in 3rd District Court. Groups are holding competing worship rituals on Saturdays and Sundays, but it remains an uneasy arrangement.

"A lot of members cannot participate on Saturdays," temple co-founder Hoa Vo said. "That is very tough on us. So many people are suffering."

The conflict pits Vo, other temple organizers and their supporters against a California-based corporation known as the Vietnamese-American Unified Buddhist Congress, which is seeking control of the property on behalf of a group of Buddhist monks and nuns. Nearly two years into litigation, the case is moving slowly, punctuated by a series of motions for temporary restraining orders and protracted fights about potential evidence. A trial - if it comes to that - is unlikely until well into 2013.

Frustrated backers of the temple founders staged their street protest last month outside the Lien Hoa Temple in West Valley City, hoping to draw the attention and sympathy of visiting monks from the Congress meeting inside. About 50 demonstrators chanted and waved signs near the temple gates, but the monks inside did not respond, in what several protesters pointed to as another sign that their local Buddhist community is being betrayed by religious leaders they once trusted.

"They were silent and didn’t reach out to us," protest organizer Victoria Dang said. "They don’t even talk to us."

For their part, Congress members say they are asserting legal control over the temple and its management in hopes of restoring religious stability to its adherents and bringing into line spiritually wayward congregation leaders. They often note that a significant portion of the Pho Quang congregation has sided with them.

The Congress, a U.S. branch of a religious organization outlawed in communist Vietnam, has sought to keep a low profile throughout the dispute, with its representatives saying the group is uncomfortable about publicity for what it views as more of a private religious affair than a legal matter.

"They don’t like to have these types of battles and have sought to resolve this amicably," Salt Lake City attorney David Mortensen said. "The Congress is confident in its position and doesn’t feel it is necessary to litigate it in the media."

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The riches of Tibet

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Mumbai, India -- The Buddha may have lived a simple life and advocated the middle path for his followers, but there’s nothing average about Buddhist sacred art and traditional Tibetan jewellery.“ Think of it as a sculpted painting,” says designer Sapan More, whose most recent exhibition shows jewellery inspired by ancient Buddhist art.

The pieces on display show impressive craftsmanship. Some of her jewellery uses tiny figurines of the Buddha - some no bigger than an inch - carved out of corals and stones, and inlaid with semi-precious stones and silver filigree work. “This is the most intricate jewellery you will find in this part of the world,” she says.

More was six years old when she took the first steps towards becoming a designer: she started instructing tailors on how to design her clothes. Born in Kathmandu, her father’s Japanese textile business formed her world back then. She didn’t know that a few houses away from her home, young boys her age were learning and keeping alive the ancient craft of creating Tibetan jewellery.

By the time More was 21, she was certain she wanted to be a designer. When More stumbled upon traditional Tibetan jewellery, she was inspired by its beauty and skill. As a local, she had an advantage: she met the craftsmen and artists, got to know them well and gained their confidence.

This was necessary because most artists in Nepal - thangka artists, silversmiths, sculptors etc - don’t want to share their techniques with strangers. Much of the art and craft that More sources traces its roots back to the art of the thangka. Thangkas are Tibetan silk paintings that feature intricate painted and and/ or embroidered (in gold) Buddhist deities, scenes and mandalas (geometric patterns that have different significance in Buddhist culture, representing the universe or serving as a receptacle for deities).

“Their craft is very clannish. They will not let it get out of the family,” says More. Unfortunately, most of Nepal’s younger generation isn’t particularly interested in carrying on these traditions.
More, who has lived in Mumbai for the past 15 years, now visits Nepal every few months, partly to see her parents and to source more jewellery. Finding Tibetan jewellery in Nepal is easy but not all of it is genuine and neither is it necessarily of high quality. “Ever since the fall of the royal family about a decade ago, things have turned worse in Nepal. The economy isn’t great and tourism is extremely scarce. Most artists prefer making and selling low quality products at cheaper rates because they sell more,” says More.

Most of the Tibetan jewellery that More has displayed is based on Tibetan Buddhist traditions that find their way into pendants and bracelets; usually taking the form of Buddhist deities and motifs placed on circular backgrounds. The motifs are all handcrafted on material like coral, shell and turquoise. Some are studded with precious stones like rubies and emeralds. The designs are Tibetan; the silver is Indian and the bejewelled details may be sourced from places as close to home as Jaipur or as far-flung as Japan and China.

Some of the items on display are original pieces that she bought back from her Nepal trips and others are her own original designs. Usually, More’s contribution to the jewellery is at the planning stages, when she gives her colour and size preferences to the artists. More’s designs retain the traditional heft and boldness of Tibetan jewellery. “They do a lot of work with copper and silver and occasionally on 24 carat gold,” says More. Once the elements that the Nepali artisans are making for her have been completed, she adds beads and string accents to create the final piece.

More hopes that by displaying such works, she can help people understand that Tibetan jewellery, no matter how heavy or traditional, can work well as a fashion statement. Which is why many of her designed pieces can be matched with the clothes that are also on display. “It’s all a matter of design,” she says.

Sapan More’s Treasures from Tibet will be on till Sunday, October 27 at Artisan’s art gallery.

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Dhaka rebuilding Buddhist temples

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Dhaka, Bangladesh -- Authorities have started rebuilding the Buddhist temples destroyed by mobs in Cox’s bazaar and Chittagong districts in September.

Reports from Cox’s bazaar said reconstruction work had started under a directive from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who had assured that the temples would be rebuilt. The work would reportedly be carried out by Army engineers at an estimated cost of 120 million taka.

Officials said the new designs would be finalised by Buddhist leaders to retain original shapes.

The September 29 and 30 mayhem in the Buddhist villages in Ramu, Ukhia, Teknaf and Patiya in southeast Bangladesh, adjoining the Rakhine State of Myanmar, was the worst communal violence in Bangladesh’s history. It displaced several thousand Buddhists and dozens of homes were vandalised.

The violence was allegedly triggered by an offensive Facebook post maligning Prophet Mohammad. However, most enquiry reports say the attack was planned and politically motivated. Fundamentalist organisations active along the border with Myanmar have been blame for carrying out the attack with support from the Rohingya refugees from Myanmar.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who visited the worst affected Ramu area, later told a delegation of Buddhist leaders that her government would not spare anyone involved in the attack.

The main opposition BNP has blamed the government for the attack.

The Hasina government believes the attack on Buddhists, who comprises about one per cent of the population, may have other motives: to force the government to accept the Rohingya refugees from Myanmar; to wreck the ongoing war crimes trial and to create anarchy ahead of the next general elections.

However, almost all probe reports have questioned the role of the local administration and police during the attacks as the government agencies had remained silent onlookers during the violence.

Around 250 people have been arrested over the attacks and the government has announced trial of the plotters and attackers in the Speedy Trial Court.

There is a strong allegation of fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami’s involvement in the attack.

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Buddhist body slams attack on monasteries

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KATHMANDU, Nepal -- The Buddhism Protection Concerned Coordination on Monday has expressed serious concern over the September 30 arson attack on Buddhist temples and monasteries around the Cox's Bazaar area in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh and over the destruction of hundreds of Buddha's idols there in the course of such attacks.

<< A temple burnt by Muslims is seen in Cox's Bazar September 30, 2012

In a statement, the religious body condemned the attacks by hooligans saying that to carry out such acts leading to the destruction of Buddhist temples and monasteries as well as Hindu temples and shrines was against the human civilisation.

President of Buddhism Protection Concerned Coordination, Lakpa Sherpa, stated that since such kinds of anarchic activities disturb religious tolerance, the Bangladesh government should identify the community perpetrating the attacks and prevent such activities.

He also demanded stern action against the perpetrators.

Fourteen important Buddhist temples and three Hindu temples were destroyed and 30 families were attacked by an unruly mob in the incident.

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Dharma Drum Mountain President to visit Toronto

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Dharma Drum Mountain (Ontario) Buddhist Association announces Abbot President Guo Dong Fashi Toronto Visit Oct. 20/21

Toronto, Canada -- The world is changing at a fast pace, and we need a method to put our mind at ease, in every moment. The DDMBA AbbotPresident and many Venerables are visiting Toronto to deliver their vows toward wisdom and compassion. They will bring us Buddha teachings in order to illuminate our mind and guide us along a peaceful and joyful road in life.

DDMBA Ontario (Dharma Drum Mountain (Ontario) Buddhist Association) is a registered charitable organization in Canada. The organization has been holding various activities related to the practice and study of Buddhism for over 10 years, including meditation, Buddha name recitation, study groups, Dharma ceremonies, Sutra calligraphy, and a host of other activities related to Chan (Chinese Zen) Buddhism. The organization also invites Venerable Chan teachers from New York and Taiwan to visit Toronto, several times a year, to lead various special events.

Master Sheng Yen (1930-2009), the founder of DDMBA, first proposed the idea of “protecting the spiritual environment” in 1992. Protecting the spiritual environment means protecting our mind from vexations, as well as abandoning greed, anger, and ignorance. The purpose of protecting our mind is to uplift the quality and character of humanity and, in doing so, build a pure land on earth.

By changing the way we view things, we can transform vexations and troubled thoughts into a wise, compassionate, and pure state of mind. DDMBA believes that building a pure land on earth starts from cultivating our own mind. As long as our mind is pure, the land we are in is pure; conversely, if the mind is not pure, no place on earth can be pure. Master Sheng Yen uses Buddhist philosophy as a foundation, coupled with the right views and methods in Chan meditation, to provide people in today’s world with solid methods with which to practice spiritually in their daily lives. Although Master Sheng Yen passed away in 2009, his great vow of purifying the mind and building a pure land on earth is being carried forward to this day, by all the Venerables and lay practitioners of DDMBA around the world.

To help carry forward Master Sheng Yen’s great vow, DDMBA Ontario announces today that the Abbot President, Guo Dong Fashi, will visit Toronto for the second time. He is here to lead a fundraising event, “DDMBA Ontario 2012 Dharma Gala” on October 20th, as well as to oversee a Buddha Name Recitation One Day Retreat on Oct 21st. There are a total of five Venerables and two Dhamapala leaders accompanying his visit. This is a rare opportunity for a Buddhist, or for anyone who is interested in Buddhadharma (Buddha’s teachings), to participate in and engage with the organization, as well as to learn more about Buddhism in general.

Venerable Guo Dong Fashi was appointed to be the Abbot President of DDMBA in 2006. He became the President of Dharma Drum Sangha University (in Taiwan) in 2007. From 2009-2012, he has continued to serve as the Abbot President of DDMBA. The Abbot President has a very jovial and good-natured personality, and he often delivers the Buddhadharma with witty and humorous words.

In addition to his ceaseless member-caring activities, the Abbot President constantly travels around the world to spread Buddhist teachings, sharing DDMBA’s affirmation of protecting the spiritual environment. In addition, Venerable Guo Dong encourages everyone to practice the Bodhisattva path, which incorporates both wisdom and compassion. He has remarked that we can apply Buddhist teachings in daily life, using the principals of “adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing”.

“Adding” refers to treating everyone and everything as resources to cultivate our blessings and wisdom. “Subtracting”, on the other hand, refers to continually reminding ourselves that what we need is not very much, but what we want is often too much, and that we should only take what we need and what we should take, but never take what we should not take, or what is not ours. “Multiplying” refers to cherishing all causes and conditions, since every achievement is an accumulation of causes and conditions in addition to other people’s efforts. Lastly, “Dividing” refers to abandoning any kind of ignorance, obstructions, and vexations and transforming vexations into a pure mind.

Venerable Guo Dong will lead Toronto in thevery first Buddha Name Recitation Retreat for DDMBA Ontario, on Sunday October 21st. Buddha Name Recitation is an excellent method for purifying the mind. Through reciting Buddha’s name, prostrating to the Buddha, and fast-paced chanting, we can practice letting go of one’s self and attachments. In addition, through this practice, we can generate a compassionate, repenting, and appreciating mind. All of these elements form the foundations of walking the path of Bodhisattvas and to enlightenment. In our daily life, if we can treat everyone around us (including strangers) with a compassionate and appreciating mind, the so called “pure land” will appear on earth.

Moreover, the “Dharma Gala” fundraising event on October 20th is aimed at establishing a fund for a Chan Centre in Ontario, for people to learn and practice Buddhist teachings. The Abbot President has said: “The purpose to establish a Chan Centre is not to attract donations, but to deliver orthodox Buddhist teachings to every person in the world.” Buddhadharma is a beacon guiding us toward the right direction in life. If we can light up the beacon in everyone’s mind, it will illuminate all human beings on earth. This is exactly what DDMBA Ontario is trying to promote: to lighten everyone’s mind and thereby to illuminate the darkness on earth.

The fundraising event will also include (1) Dharma talks by Abbot President Guo Dong Fashi (2) music, art performances and silent auctions, and (3) a ceremony of “illuminating the mind.” Free vegetarian meals will be served during the events. Both events are open to the public and are free of charge. Registrations are required. Donations are appreciated on the spot..

If you go:

1. “Dharma Gala”
Time: Saturday, October 20th, from 11 am to 3 pm
Location: Chinese Cultural Centre Of Greater Toronto
Address: 5183 Sheppard Avenue East, Toronto M1B 5Z5
Please register at http://chanmeditation-ddm-ontario.ca/home.html

2. “Buddha Name Recitation One Day Retreat”
Time: Sunday, October 21st, from 9 am to 5 pm
Location: North York Civic Centre at member’s Lounge underground level
Address: 5100 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON M2N 5V7

To register, please email ddmba.toronto@gmail.com, or call 416-855-0531 to leave a message

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Buddhist Meditation: Catching the Right Thought Train

Home Dharma Dew

San Francisco, CA (USA) -- Consider your mind being like the platform of a train station where different trains of thought pull through the station in each moment, heading to various destinations: childhood memories, creative ideas, revenge fantasies, cravings for chocolate, vacation plans.

The untrained mind gets on every single train that pulls through the station, only later realizing what the destination is. For instance, the "Jealousy Train" leads to a bleak wasteland -- fear, aggression, obsession, stalking your ex, burning garbage, large rodents -- you do not want to get on that train! On the other hand, the "Generosity Train" leads to a place that is spacious, happy, relaxed and connected. That's a good one to board.

The path of Buddhist meditation practice involves developing a deep understanding of what leads toward peace and happiness and what does not; what is in harmony with the truth of the way things are (Dharma) and what creates suffering by going against the grain. Wise effort involves cultivating intentions that are aligned with this goal (skillful states), abandoning those that are not (unskillful states) and knowing the difference.

Developing this skill is a lot like learning how to read; in this case, reading the mind, heart and body through knowing the energy of the intentions, emotions and thoughts that drive us in each moment. You may not remember what it was like to learn how to read, but it can take some time! I had the experience in my adult life of learning how to read another language. After I finished college, I spent time in Sri Lanka doing meditation practice at various monasteries and centers. While my family is originally from Sri Lanka, I was born and raised in the U.S., so though I could speak conversationally, I was not very good at reading Singhalese language. I could read slowly like a small child, but certainly not fluently.

I traveled around a lot by bus, and in order to take the bus, you had to stand by the side of the road and when you saw your bus coming, flag it down to get on. The trouble was, my reading of the bus signs was too slow. I would see a bus coming and try to read the sign: "Co.....Lo...." Zoom! The bus would be gone before I could finish reading the destination. "Ku....Ru..." Zoom! Again I couldn't tell if it was the right bus or not. Sometimes I would guess based on the first two characters, flag the bus to get on and finish reading from the inside of the bus, stopping the bus as fast as I could if I had guessed wrong!

But as I studied the language more, I got better at reading. So after a while, I could read the signs well and easily know which was my bus and which was not. I spent less time on buses going in the wrong direction and was able to have a smoother, faster trip to my intended destination; I traveled with less confusion and more confidence.

Similarly, as we develop our practice we can learn to get on the thought trains that are helpful and skip the ones that are not. And just like in a train station, if nobody is boarding the trains that go to a destination, they will stop running them so often, and eventually stop running them at all. This is known as the path of purification, and it is completely possible for a 21st century person to attain, if you are interested in learning.

Of course in the meantime you will often get on the wrong train, but each time can be seen as an opportunity to learn. You will spend a lot of time developing intimacy with difficult states of mind, connecting with their challenges. But you will also learn about the beautiful states of mind and the joy that they bring. Through this practice you will become more effective in whatever you are trying to do in your life: politics, social change work, parenting, business and creative arts all benefit from catching the right thought trains!

So I wish you well in your practice. Enjoy learning about your mind and heart! Your efforts will be beneficial for you and all those you meet for the rest of your life.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anushka-fernandopulle/buddhist-meditation-catching-the-right-thought-train_b_1988349.html

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Dalai Lama teaches daily living skills

Home The Americas US Northeast

DANBURY, CT (USA) -- The seven monks on stage began chanting -- slow, low, calming mantras -- quieting the audience of people who left the raging rain Friday morning for the O'Neill Center to see the Dalai Lama.

On his second day at Western Connecticut State University, he would offer a talk titled "Advice for Daily Life."

The 77-year-old Buddhist leader, the 14th Dalai Lama, shared playful anecdotes along with firm convictions during his talk about forgiveness, cultivating inner strength and the role of education in developing an approach to life.

"Your firm conviction, genuine concern for others, is the ultimate source of your own peace of mind," he said.

He warned that a self-centered attitude leads people to a sense of insecurity and fear.

"The method to conquer fear and insecurity means you must develop concern for others," he said. "When you develop inner peace, it means no matter what sort of environment you are in, your mind is calm."

The Dalai Lama generated applause during his one-hour speech from the 3,500 people on hand when he said education has a very important role, but it should include teaching about inner values.
The crowd -- from an infant in arms to seniors walking with canes and wheelchairs -- filled bleachers and folding chairs, intent on hearing the Dalai Lama.

When actor Richard Gere introduced His Holiness for the second day, he said that although people have the will to get through tough times, they have soft hearts and can learn from the Dalai Lama.

"He doesn't look Tibetan now, he looks universal," Gere said. "We have to take credit that we have the good karma to be here. Let's welcome one of the great beings to walk on this planet."

An important value in the Dalai Lama's talk was forgiveness.

"Forgiveness does not mean bowing down to others who have wronged you," he said. "It means not letting negative feeling toward the wrongdoing increase fear and distance," and not letting negative feelings toward the person grow.

Sometimes forgiveness is viewed as a sign of weakness, but that is wrong, he said.

"Forgiveness is a sign of strength. Anger is a sign of weakness.''
The Dalai Lama, who often discusses how compassionate living transcends individual religious beliefs, described how Mother Teresa and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. sincerely followed their beliefs, but that not everyone does.

There are people who profess to be religious, who say their prayers, but don't care about others, he said, but they are not following their religion sincerely or seriously.

"Once we believe, we should be serious and sincere," he said.

During the introductions Friday, WestConn President James Schmotter presented the Dalai Lama with an honorary doctor of humanities degree, saying it represented and acknowledged "deep, deep appreciation for the work of His Holiness to promote peace and compassion all around the world."

At the end of the Dalai Lama's speech, Schmotter thanked him for "giving us lessons that will be with us the rest of our lives."

"The whole campus is excited about the Dalai Lama's visit. We all embrace the message he brings to Danbury," said WestConn Assistant Social Sciences Professor Carina Bandhauer, who was in the audience Friday.

She said she has followed the Tibetan political situation for a long time and heard the Tibetan prime minister speak at WestConn last year.

"This unites the city, which has not always been so compassionate," Bandhauer said. "I hope everyone embraces the message of compassion."

Mary Bethel Coelho, of Litchfield, finds the Dalai Lama so powerful that she attended both days, bringing a son Thursday and her brother Friday. She previously saw the Dalai Lama at Emery University with her other son.

"His teachings are enlightening enough to read, but to see the tone and happiness he exudes as he is talking to a crowd is really life-affirming," Coelho said Friday.

With the world so filled with violence and war, she said, he serves as an ideal for a different way of life.

"I think the greatest change will come with what we teach our children and what they teach their children,'' she said.

She said her husband, who has been ill, has been soothed by the Dalai Lama's philosophy about the need to expand your energy to solve a problem if there is a solution, but not to waste time worrying if the solution is not available.

Her brother, Bryan Spiotti, a police officer from Oakville, said he and Coelho became interested in Buddhism at the same time, and he's found that using compassion helps him in his work.

"Learning to live in loving kindness does change your perspective," he said.

The Dalai Lama urged the members of the audience to educate themselves, to investigate concerns and bring conviction to their beliefs, so that approach would become part of their nature.

"Day by day, month by month, year by year, principles become part of daily life," he said in answer to one of the questions after his talk. "That is the way to transform life."

Read more: http://www.greenwichtime.com/news/article/Dalai-Lama-teaches-daily-living-skills-3965680.php#ixzz29u6uwPBv

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Why thousands come to see humble Buddhist monk

Home Personality

Danbury, CT (USA) -- He describes himself as a simple Buddhist monk. If only. At 77, His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama, is a man constantly on the move, from his home base in India to California, Italy, Scotland, Slovenia and Canada. He will visit 11 different countries this year on speaking tours that include more than 70 stops.

Aging, saffron-robed, heavy-framed glasses sitting on his nose, he just talks.

And at every stop, crowds -- thousands of people, clearly not all Buddhists -- flock to him.

This week, his travels will take him to the O'Neill Center at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury for public talks on Thursday and Friday.

The 7,000 tickets for the two events -- some as much as $250 each -- sold out the first day they were offered to the public through a lottery system.

"Unprecedented,'' said Paul Steinmetz, WestConn spokesman. "He's a rock star. The biggest.''

The Dalai Lama is, in fact, a man of enormous complexity who speaks of the universal values of compassion, non-violence, environmental awareness, kindness and decency.

Message resonates

Out of the tragedy of his home country's 20th century history -- Tibet has been invaded, annexed and devastated by the rule of the Chinese Communist government -- the Dalai Lama has not only prevailed, but transcended.

And the appeal of his words continues to spread.

"I believe the message he has resonates with people today who are overwhelmed by so many things," said Bhuchung Tsering, vice president of the International Campaign for Tibet, who has offices in Washington, D.C.

"He gives them spiritual renewal. Not religious, but spiritual in the broadest sense of the word."

The Dalai Lama is also famous, a figure of enormous international standing.

A winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, he has become the planet's most visible, consistent spokesman for non-violence and compassion.

A 2008 poll of six countries conducted for the International Herald Tribune found him to be the most respected leader in the world.

"Who else has his standing?" said Richard Wilson, director of the Human Rights Institute at the University of Connecticut. "Maybe Archbishop Tutu. Maybe Nelson Mandela."

His appearance at WestConn -- nearly a year in the planning -- is one of the most anticipated events in the university's 109-year history.

Local historians, trying to find a comparable event in the city's past, could only come up with the concert Leonard Bernstein -- another "rock star" -- conducted in the city in 1974 for the 100th birthday celebration of Charles Ives.

"He is a world figure," said WestConn President James Schmotter. "He is a man of very deep spiritual values, who is also a head of state. He's a very unique individual."

His presence on campus, in conjunction with the Do Ngak Kunphen Ling Tibetan Buddhist Center for Universal Peace in Redding, brings a dimension to WestConn that Schmotter said can be a transforming force in what the university offers to the area, to its students and faculty.

"We're very excited," Schmotter said. "It's the type of thing we feel we, as a university, should be able to offer to western Connecticut."

A 'unique' 14th version

A mix of complication and simplicity makes the Dalai Lama such a compelling figure -- a simple Buddhist monk, born in obscure, rural poverty who commands an international following, the respect of kings and queens, and the devotion of Hollywood celebrities.

"There's something about him that's unique even though he's the 14th version," said Ganden Thurman, executive director of Tibet House in New York City, which is a center for preserving and teaching Tibetan religion and culture.

The reason may have to do with the exotic, romantic Western idea about Tibet -- the Shangri-La glorified in the novel "Lost Horizon" and the Frank Capra movie adaptation of the book.

But Thurman and others said that is also because the Dalai Lama has never varied from his message of compassion, forgiveness, environmental awareness and non-violence.

Given his experiences in life, it's a remarkable achievement.

"Tibet has been oppressed by China," said Wilson of UConn. "But he has been unswerving in his commitment to nonviolence. He stands in a long line of nonviolence."

The comparisons, Wilson said, are to figures like Mahatma Gandhi.

"I think he stands out through the sheer force of his personality," said Jay Garfield, the Doris Silbert Professor of Humanities and a professor of philosophy at Smith College in Northampton, Mass., and the director of the Five College Tibetan Studies in India program.

Garfield said that the Dalai Lama's career as a proponent of nonviolence, a Buddhist philosopher, a prolific author and national leader all carry a moral message.

His talks to the public, Garfield said, "transcend religion" to emphasize the values of compassion and kindness.

"Others talk the talk," said Thurman of the Tibet Center. "He has walked the walk."

Future foreshadowed

That walk began in 1935 in a tiny town of Takster Qinghai in the Tibetan region of Amdo -- a region which already had been absorbed into China.

There, in a town of about 20 families, a boy then named Lhamo Thondup was born in a dirt-floored cow shed connected to his house. Neighbors remembered two crows sitting on the house when he was born; perhaps standing in as guardians.

He seemed destined to a life of rural poverty.

But Tibetan monks had already begun a visionary quest for the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama, who had died in 1933. Their journey took them to Amdo, where they saw a house that was a match to those seen in their visions of the oracles.

Inside, there was 3-year-old Lhamo Thondup. When presented with several objects, he unerringly chose those that had belonged to the 13th Dalai Lama.

He was recognized as the 14th reincarnation of his nation's leader.

Educated by Buddhist monks, he also learned about the Western world and modern science from Heinrich Herrer, a German soldier who had escaped British imprisonment in India during World War II by hiking overland to Lhaso, Tibet's capital.

In 1950, the boy, then 15, was officially designated the Dalai Lama, and given the name Tenzin Gyatso, loosely translated as Ocean of Wisdom.

His future had been foreshadowed.

When he was a teenager, he learned calligraphy by copying the last will and testament of his predecessor, Thupten Gyatso.

The will, written in 1933, foresaw the future of Tibet with frightening accuracy.

"Monasteries shall be looted, property confiscated, and all living beings shall be destroyed ... the very institutions of the state and religion shall be banned and forgotten."

"All souls shall be immersed in suffering and the night shall be dark and long," the will prophesied.

In 1959, China invaded his country. Realizing that if he stayed in Tibet, he would be imprisoned, if not assassinated, the Dalai Lama escaped, walking into India disguised as a Chinese soldier with a padded jacket and a gun slung over his soldier.

He set up his government-in-exile in Dharamsala in India, which has remained the center of his teaching and activities.

The Chinese in the years since their invasion have systematically tried to eradicate Tibetan culture, destroying more than 6,000 Buddhist temples and building prison camps.

China has also built a nuclear waste dump on the Tibetan plateau, military installations along its borders -- largely to keep Tibetans in -- and damaged its ecosystems through extensive mining.

It's also attempted to make Tibet into another part of China by moving more than 8 million ethnic Chinese into the country. They now outnumber the 6 million Tibetans.

Drawn by his gentleness

In the 1970s, the Dalai Lama began traveling to the West to speak out on behalf of Tibet, to create centers of learning and religion here, and to speak in broader terms of the need for compassion and kindness in a world where both are often in short supply.

"He is the embodiment of the Tibetan people," said Bhuchung Tsering of the International Campaign for Tibet.

But his message has broadened.

He now talks more of the need for secular ethics, and the promotion of religious unity, Tsering said.

"The issue of Tibet is third," he said. "But through all of his words, there is an awareness of the value of the culture and religion of Tibet."

Ganden Thurman of Tibet House in New York City said that when the Dalai Lama, a master scholar of Tibetan Buddhism, speaks to a general audience, it is in those general terms.

"This is a not a proselytizing religion," Thurman said.

In turn, he said, people are drawn to the Dalai Lama for his gentleness and decency.

"They recognize quality," he said.

Sonam Zoksang, a photographer, has been taking pictures of the Dalai Lama for 15 years. What strikes him, he said, is that he has remained a profoundly unpretentious person, one who enjoys laughter and conversation.

"He has spoken to presidents, to scientists, to abused women, to ex-prisoners," Zoksang said. "He reaches out to everyone.

"I have seen him so many times," Zoksang said. "Each time I see him, I grow more impressed."

A flame carried candle to candle

The Dalai Lama is also a man nearing the end of his life.

A proponent of liberal democracy, he has willingly ceded political authority to Tibet's government in exile to Lobsang Sangay, who was elected prime minister for Tibetan exiles.

Because of Chinese control of Tibet, there is fear that China will try to name the 15th Dalai Lama.

But according to the current incarnation, his country may not choose to name another Dalai Lama. If it does, he has said, his successor will be born outside Tibet as long as Tibet is under Chinese control.

In Buddhist teaching, a reincarnation is not an exact copy. It is a flame carried from candle to candle.

The Dalai Lama's teachings and his spirit have taken root over the world.

"The feeling is that he will win," said Wilson of the Human Rights Institute at UConn. "He may not be alive. He may not get there. But he will win."

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A devil's design

Home Asia Pacific South Asia Blangladesh

Fanatics used fake facebook page to run rampage in Ramu

Ramu, Bangladesh -- An unprecedented hate campaign against the Buddhist community raged through Ramu, a region known for its communal harmony for centuries until the night of September 29. Eighteen pagodas were damaged and about 50 houses burnt down in six hours of madness by Muslim zealots. Julfikar Ali Manik investigated extensively, only to find that the source of the shocking outrage was a faked facebook page.

It was all faked.

The facebook page with an anti-Islam picture that provoked the September 29 rampage against the Buddhist community in Ramu was photoshopped.

Somebody or a group had taken a screenshot of Uttam Kumar Barua's facebook profile page, cut out the address of anti-Islam website “Insult allah” and pasted it on the address bar visible in the image.

Once the fabrication was done, it looked like “Insult allah” has shared the anti-Islam image with Uttam and 26 others.

The Daily Star showed the screenshot to IT and graphics experts.

The paper has become sure that it was a manipulation done to frame Uttam, who is a local Buddhist, and wreak mayhem that left 12 Buddhist temples burned to ashes and dozens of houses damaged.

A very innocent story was also cooked up about how Uttam's so-called facebook page came to public knowledge.

Omar Faruk, a youth of Ramu, claimed his friend Abdul Moktadir alias Alif, student of a private polytechnic institute in Chittagong, came to his mobile repairing shop in the evening of September 29.

According to Faruk, his friend signed in to his facebook account and made a scene finding Uttam's profile page bearing the anti-Islam photo.

Moktadir and Faruk claimed they had taken screenshots of the “profile page belonging to Uttam”.

The fabrication of screenshot could be the first part of the plan behind the mayhem and bringing rioters from outside Ramu the second part.

Why the plotters chose Uttam's profile is not clear yet. Uttam, an underprivileged assistant deed writer, has been on the run along with his wife and child since the night of the incident.

One thing is evident in the screenshot that someone called “Abdul Muktadir” had entered Uttam's profile though he was not a facebook friend. Uttam's profile was not restricted.

The facebook account of “Abdul Muktadir” is not accessible anymore.

But Faruk's friend who came to the shop in September 29 evening is registered at Chittagong Polytechnic Institute as Abdul Moktadir.

He was detained by police on October 9.

“My son is a very bright student. He got stipend when he was in school. He has hearing problem but his memory is very sharp,” said his mother Sajeda Begum at his house at Fakirabazar on October 6.

She refused to help The Daily Star meet her son Moktadir and repeatedly requested this correspondent to drop the idea of writing about the matter.

“He can fix mobile phone problems and he has very good computer knowledge as he studies computer engineering in Chittagong,” she said.

Talking to this correspondent on October 3, Faruk expressed annoyance as his help was sought to reach Moktadir.

He dropped out after class-IV, but he is skilled at repairing computers and mobile phones, he said.

Interestingly, his facebook account claims he studied at Ramu High School and Cox's Bazar Govt Collage.

He set up a shop three to four years ago at Fakirabazar in Ramu. Locally known as “Faruk's computer shop”, it is close to Moktadir's house.

Faruk denied link with any organisation or political party. Sajeda claimed the same about his son Moktadir.

Moktadir admitted that he was involved with Islami Chhatra Shibir when he was a student of class IX and X in 2008-09 at Ramu Khizari Adarsha High School, according to a police official.

Moktadir's mother also claimed nobody among their close relatives has any involvement in politics.

However, one of her brothers-in-law is Naikhangchhari upazila chairman of in Bandarban. His name is Tofail Ahmed, who doesn't hold any official post but locally everyone knows him as a Jamaat leader.

Tofail denied his involvement with Jamaat and said he was in Islami Chhatra Shibir, student wing of the party, when he was student of Chittagong University.

Surprisingly, Sajeda Begum, while giving names and brief profile of her close relatives to this reporter, mentioned the brother-in-law as Ali Ahmed.

But when her brother said it is Tofail Ahmed, she looked embarrassed but explained nothing.

Images in Faruk's computer
Some anti-Islam images were already stored in Faruk's computer at the shop.

Faruk claimed to this correspondent he and his friend Abdul Moktadir quickly created some image files with screenshots of Uttam's facebook account.

They did this as two strangers in his shop were unhappy seeing the pictures on their facebook, he said.

They saved the pictures after the strangers left, said Faruk, adding that they had to download some software to do it.

Faruk said they created the files to prove to the locals that the picture insulting the Quran did not belong to them and was from Uttam's profile.

He also added that Uttam's account suddenly disappeared within a short time after they saved the images. Faruk's claim was very confusing as no one else, except the account holder, can deactivate a facebook account.

And, moments after the departure of the two strangers, there was a continuous flow of people curious to see the pictures. All of them were shown images stored in Faruk's computer.

The people with no knowledge about social networking site facebook believed that was Uttam's facebook page with the anti-Islam image.

Faruk and Moktadir not only exhibited fabricated screenshots of Uttam's facebook profile, but also stored many pictures downloaded from “Insult allah” and the Quran-insulting photo, which was later circulated from mobile phones to mobile phones via Bluetooth.

In fact, there were significant anomalies between the claims of Faruk, Moktadir's mother and other local witnesses who saw the pictures at Faruk's shop.

Many locals got the images from Faruk and Moktadir on September 29 evening. They were local journalists, Faruk said, adding he does not know their names but would be able to recognise everyone.

Faruk on October 3 claimed that he could not give The Daily Star the images since the Ramu police have been keeping his computer since the night of September 29.

The Daily Star got those pictures, but from Nazir Hossain, owner of a local computer-training shop. He said the pictures were spread from Faruk's shop and after September 29, he collected those from locals.

Locals and a police official said these are the images they had seen on Faruk's computer.

Faruk claimed the picture in question appeared on his facebook page. Moktadir first saw it and then him.

But the collected pictures does not support Faruk's claim. The account of “Abdul Muktadir” was used while seeing Uttam's profile page and taking the screenshots.

If someone does not restrict his/her profile, every facebook account holder can view some information of that person. Otherwise, a brief restricted version of the profile is seen.

This correspondent failed to reach Uttam for a comment.

URL FAKED
“www.facebook.com/Insultallahswt” appeared in the browser address bar of the profile page of Uttam, according to the screenshot taken by “Abdul Muktadir”.

But the image had clear signs of manipulation suggesting that “/Insultallahswt” was pasted there either to hide the real address or to convince people how bad Uttam was.

Even the information above the tagged picture on Uttam's profile --“Insult allah with Uttam Kumar Barua and 26 others” with a date of September 18 -- was similarly forged.

It was not possible to know whether this manipulation was done on Faruk's computer or it was put in his computer after making the images somewhere else.

Answers to these questions are locked in Faruk's computer seized by the police, said an expert.

WHO WERE THE STARNGERS?
According to Faruk, two men aged 23-24 saw “Uttam's facebook page” on his computer along with him and Moktadir.

Faruk had never seen the two before. Faruk was born and brought up in South Sreekul of Ramu.

Moktadir's mother Sajeda claimed that she heard that four customers in the shop made the hue and cry seeing the picture on Faruk's computer.

A person, who had seen the picture that night at the shop, requesting anonymity said being informed, he along with a few others went there around 8:30pm.

He did not find Faruk there; a boy unknown to him was showing the pictures. The “unknown nice looking” boy was also explaining to the locals the meaning of the picture.

“When the boy was giving me explanations of a picture, I told him not to explain and just to show the pictures.”

The Daily Star investigation found this unknown boy was Moktadir.

WHY MOKTADIR IN RAMU?
After passing the SSC from Ramu, Moktadir moved to Chittagong for a diploma on computer engineering at Shyamoli Ideal Polytechnic Institute.

Since then, he has been living in Chittagong and visited his mother occasionally.

Although the final exams of his sixth semester were going on, Moktadir showed up in Ramu.

His mother Sajeda said Moktadir visited her on September 25 and the following day he had gone to his uncle Tofail Ahmed's place in Naikhangchhari and returned to Ramu on September 28.

He left Ramu again for Chittagong on October 1, she said.

Referring to records, Moktadir's dormitory superintendent Imam Hossain said Moktadir was not in the dorm between September 22 and 26.

He was present on September 26 and on 27 but absent on September 29 and 30. He returned to the dorm on October 1 and left again on October 5.

Police detained Moktadir on his return to the dorm in the night of October 9.

His mother Sajeda said, “Moktadir came between the gaps of his exams to take money to pay the fees for the seventh semester admission. As he had time, he went to visit Naikhangchhari for a few days.”

Sajeda gave Moktadir Tk 17,000 for admission fees, she claimed.

However, the principal of the institute said they did not ask students for admission fees for the seventh semester since the sixth semester finals were still going on. They could ask for the fees in November.

Faruk claimed he and Moktadir went to his shop together on September 29 evening after having snacks at a local restaurant. Both saw the pictures on facebook, showed and distributed those among locals and later went to the police station.

Sajeda, however, claimed Moktadir went to Faruk's shop to repair his aunt's mobile phone around 7:30pm on September 29. At that time, he saw the pictures and after repairing the phone he retuned home within an hour.

Later, police went to their home and asked Moktadir to go to the police station to confirm that he saw the pictures at Faruk's shop.

There were several other inconsistencies between the statements of Faruk and Sajeda on the same issue.

Sajeda tried to hide many things while talking to The Daily Star on October 6 and even the information she divulged was later found to be untrue during The Daily Star investigation.

THEY LIVE CLOSE
The first campaign to incite people started from Faruk's shop at Fakirabazar of Ramu, which was close to Moktadir's home.

A small procession was brought first from near the shop. Hafez Ahmed, who lives next door to Moktadir's home, played a leading role in bringing out the procession attended by some other locals.

When this correspondent went to talk to Sajeda on October 6, Hafez Ahmed's sister-in-law was there too.

She defended Moktadir and vigorously discouraged the correspondent to write about him.

Hafez Ahmed has been on the run since pictures of him in the procession were published in newspapers on October 2.

WHO IS ALIF?
Moktadir is known as Alif in Ramu Bazar area. His mother said Alif was his nickname.

The nick was not used in the facebook account of “Abdul Muktadir”.

However, The Daily Star found a facebook account of “Abdul Muktadir Alif”.

Very little information was found the profile as it is restricted to non-facebook friends of “Abdul Muktadir Alif”. It said “Abdul Muktadir Alif” studied at Ramu High School. The profile picture was of a boy but sex was mentioned as female.

Interestingly, Faruk also uses the nick Alif for his facebook account even though it is not his name.

Asked on October 3, Faruk said he just used it for his facebook account as he liked this nickname of his friend.

MOKTADIR WAS SHIBIR MAN
Md Iltut Mish, additional superintendent of police in Chittagong, who was working in Cox's Bazar on deputation, told The Daily Star on Friday, “According to Moktadir's statement and the information in his personal diary, he was the sports secretary of Ramu thana Islami Chhatra Shibir in 2009.”

Moktadir had told police that since he was good in sports, Shibir men gave him the post, he said.

Contacted over the phone, Moktadir's uncle Tofail Ahmed said he was not involved in Jamaat. “It would not be possible for anyone to show my name in any document of Jamaat.”

Locals in Ramu said Tofail's car went to Ramu twice within a few days since the attack on Buddhist homes and pagodas.

Tofail claimed his wife went to the doctor's and some other places in Cox's Bazar and she could have visited her mother and sister in Ramu.

Moktadir's two maternal uncles Rakib and Rajib also live with Tofail in Naikhangchhari.

Locals said one of them was seen in Ramu before the attack and during the night of the attack.

Tofail ruled out the possibility of them being anywhere near Ramu on September 29 night. He said, “They [Rajib and Rakib] live with me here [in Naikhangchhari] and they were at home that night.”

Rajib told this correspondent over the phone that he had gone to Ramu on September 27 on family business and returned to Naikhangchhari the same day.

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Chinese Buddhism owes a lot to Gandhara Civilisation, envoy’s book

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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Singapore and author of the book “Chinese Made Easy” Syed Hasan Javed joined Quaid-e-Azam University faculty, scholars and students on Thursday to give an insight into the history of cultural and religious relationship between Pakistan and China.

The event, which also a seminar, on “Gandharan Buddhist Heritage: A bond between Pakistan and China”, organised by the Taxila Institute of Asian Civilisations (TIAC) at QAU, also saw the launch of “Chinese Made Easy”.

Javed encouraged students to retrace the historical context of Buddhism is vital as only limited research has been conducted on this area which still needs to be explored. “Chinese Made Easy” with its unique features is likely to become the most favourite learning Mandarin book first of its kind in Pakistan and also in the world. This book has Chinese characters, Pinyin, English translation, Roman Urdu, Urdu pronunciation and translation, in addition to rich vocabulary and specific needs based lessons. It also includes Chinese language metaphors as pearls of wisdom as an ‘icing on the cake’.

While expressing his gratitude to Javed in initiating academic collaboration abroad, QAU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Masoom Yasinzai said, “Today’s seminar garners special importance due to two facts. First, it enlightened us about so many aspects of our history. Secondly, it is valuable in terms of contributing to our historical consciousness and in turn giving us a clear vision about our future course of action. I believe that such kind of discourses and activities can be used in our nation building process. We are looking forward for signing MoUs with the Buddhist Federation of Singapore and the Institute of South Asia, a step which will further the cause of knowledge and research in Pakistan.”

He also apprised the audience that Taxila Institute of Asian Civilisations, QAU has also signed a MoU with the IsIAO Italian Archaeological Mission aiming at the promotion of academic collaboration between the two institutes. Similarly, its MoU with the Department of the Antiquity Sciences, La Sapienza of Rome, is also an encouraging step to promote scientific co-operation between Pakistan and Italy.

Javed mentioned that knowing the Chinese language will help us in fostering the diplomatic relationship with China, undoubtedly an important country due to its economic stability in the region. He explained different sources of Chinese civilisation value systems, ancient civilisation contacts between Pakistan and China, and how ancient Chinese missionaries travelled through/ to the Gandhara regions of Pakistan; even some Buddhist pilgrims visited Fata. Author illuminated the audience how Buddhism became popular in China due to its appeal to moral, virtues, purity of life and spirituality which are basic attributes of Chinese people.

TIAC Director Prof Dr M Ashraf Khan also expressed great pleasure for hosting such a grandiose academic event. According to him, the book is of vital importance in respect to the bilateral relations between the states of Pakistan and China and the people of the two republics. “Of course, one of the great religions of the world, Buddhism reached China from Gandhara, the later being one of the great centres of this religion.

Many Buddhist teachers went to China for the propagation of Buddhism. I hope that the speech by Javed will cover the scope of this important episode of our history.” Former foreign secretary Akram Zaki referred to Javed as a man of deep passion and commitment who has well researched the Chinese civilisation. Zaki gave great importance to developing friendly relationship between China and Pakistan.

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Political activists behind Buddhist attack: Bangla government probe

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Dhaka, Bangladesh -- A high-level government committee has accused activists of ruling Awami League alongside main opposition BNP and fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) for the attack on Buddhist temples and localities in south-eastern Bangladesh last month, reports said today.

Authorities have declined to "officially" immediately reveal, the probe body findings as it submitted the report to the home ministry only yesterday but several newspapers quoting sources familiar with the investigation said the government committee identified 205 people behind the September 29-30 attacks in Ramu and adjoining areas.

"Most of them (205 suspects) are local leaders and activists of Jamaat, BNP and Awami League" in Ramu sub-district and adjoining areas in Cox's Bazar, the mass circulation Prothom Alo newspaper reported.

The report said the attack on the intervening night of September 29 and 30 was preceded by a secret meeting at the residence of a JI leader Tofail Ahmed, a piece of information that substantiated the finding of a separate investigation by Supreme Court lawyers.

The report also accused the local administration and police of failure to prevent the attacks, while it came as parallel police investigations are underway with law enforcement agencies so far arresting over 200 suspects.

Incensed apparently by a Facebook posting allegedly by a follower of the Buddhist faith, the miscreants had instigated local Muslims to torch 11 Buddhist temples, damage two others and ransack some 30 houses in Buddhist neighbourhoods.

The Samakal newspaper also carried a report on the findings but said the committee could not unmask behind-the-scene patrons of the attack though it suspected infighting in local Awami League leadership largely allowed culprits to stage the attack.

Meanwhile, the lawyers investigations observed that the attack was carried out to destabilise the country and tarnish its image before the world and neighbouring countries including Buddhist-majority Myanmar, Sri Lanka and China.

Bangladesh's High Court today demanded a government explanation for "inaction" in preventing the attacks.

The order came in response to two writ petitions by a Buddhist lawyer and another Muslim alleging that the local police administration did not take any steps to prevent the attacks, a situation that later prompted authorities to "withdraw and close" the local police station.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has ordered immediate steps for exemplary punishment of the perpetrators.

The government has also allocated cash amounts for the affected and promised to rebuild the temples and houses with government money.

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Buddhist monks march in Myanmar to thwart Islamic office plan

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YANGON, Myanmar -- Thousands of Buddhist monks marched in Myanmar's two biggest cities on Monday to protest against efforts by the world's biggest Islamic body to help Rohingya Muslims involved in deadly communal clashes four months ago.

The monks, a potent political force in the predominantly Buddhist country, denounced plans by the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to set up a liaison office in northwest Rakhine state, where violence erupted in June between ethnic Buddhist Rakhines and Rohingyas.

Just hours after the monks dispersed, President Thein Sein's office announced it would not permit an OIC representation in Myanmar. It was not immediately clear if the announcement was linked to the protests or had been planned in advance.

"The government will not allow the opening of an OIC office as it is not in accordance with the desire of people," said a statement posted on its website.

The monks were joined by ordinary citizens in Yangon and Mandalay. Some carried placards with the words "get out OIC", and "no OIC" and said they would hold demonstrations until the government agreed to their demands.

Despite being one of Asia's most ethnically diverse countries, there is entrenched ill-feeling in Myanmar towards the estimated 800,000 Rohingyas, most of whom live in abject conditions.

Accused of being illegal immigrants and usually referred to as Bengalis because of their South Asian origin, the Rohingyas are not recognised as citizens by Myanmar.

"The OIC is only for Bengalis, not for us," said monk Pyin Nyar Nanda at one of the rallies.

Anger and fear still smoulder between Rohingyas and ethnic Rakhine Buddhists after the spree of arson and machete attacks that killed at least 77 people and displaced tens of thousands.

A delegation from the OIC visited Rakhine state last month after several Muslim countries voiced concern about the welfare of the Rohingyas, whom the United Nations has described as "virtually friendless".

In a report in August, the New York-based Human Rights Watch said it had found evidence of "state-sponsored persecution and discrimination" against the Rohingyas in the weeks after the violence, claims that the government strongly rejected.

While all sides of the political spectrum have called for calm, the issue has become a hot political issue for Nobel laureate and lawmaker Aung San Suu Kyi. She has faced international criticism for failing to speak out in defence of the Rohingyas, who are denied the same rights as Burmese.

During the trouble, many Rohingyas tried to flee in rickety boats to neighbouring Bangladesh, which also refuses to recognise them. Most were turned back by security forces.

The government had earlier indicated it would consider allowing the OIC to open a temporary office in the Rakhine capital, Sittwe, where aid groups and journalists say the two communities remain deeply divided.

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Buddhism has brought answers, awareness to Sokuzan Bob Brown

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Battle Creek, Michigan (USA) -- Bob Brown is convinced, all these years later, that he needed to be lost before he could ultimately be found.

<< Standing in front of an altar is Buddhist Leader Sokuzan Bob Brown in the meditation room of Sokukoji Buddhist Community in Battle Creek.

And today, at age 71, Sokuzan Bob Brown, one-time Battle Creek Central grad and a former Marine who spent his nights in the service reading about Buddhism and its teachings that spoke so directly to him, is where he always wanted to be.

Is he content?

He smiles.

“I have no more questions,” he said simply. “But the answers aren’t what I thought they would be.”

And that’s OK, too, because as the spiritual head of Battle Creek’s SokukoJi (meaning “Temple of Immediate Light”) Buddhist Temple, it is always a new day and, therefore, always a chance to learn something wonderful.

It has been a steady journey of discovery for Brown, who can be found at the temple on 33 Anderson Court, not too far from the high school he graduated from so long ago.

But back then, he had no clue about where he had been or where he was a going.

“I had confusion, suffering and difficulty in my life,” he said.

Hoping to find a direction, he enlisted in the Marines and while there, he found himself drawn to the simple message of Buddhism through the book, “Zen Flesh, Zen Bones” by Paul Reps, a book first published in 1957.

Intrigued, but still confused about what Buddhism really was, when Brown left the Marines he went to study in 1973 with Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche (the last name meaning “Precious One”), a Tibetan meditation master.

Two years later, he established the Dharma Study Group in Battle Creek and it eventually became the Sokukoji Temple, a three-story brick building tucked inconspicuously in a lot and which used to be a VFW hall.

This is where Battle Creek’s small, but dedicated, group of Buddhists come to visit, to listen to Brown and to meditate. And Brown has become one of the region’s authorities on Buddhism, speaking frequently at local colleges about this journey he has spent a lifetime on.

He is careful to say that Buddhism isn’t as much a religion as it is a “spiritual path.”

“It doesn’t posit or deny a creator,” he said. “In fact, when Buddha was asked ‘Who created all this?’ he was silent on it. People come and meditate who are Christians. We respect other peoples’ religious path. Buddhism is not at war with anything.”

Buddhism has its origins about 2,500 years ago when Siddhartha Gotama, known as Buddha (from the word budhi, which means “to awaken”) had his enlightenment at age 35. He then spread his philosophy of heightened awareness for the next 40 years and now Buddhism is practiced by some 300 million people around the world.

In Battle Creek, Brown estimates there are 50 to 100 practicing Buddhists and most find their way to the temple at one time or another to meditate or to take in one of Brown’s classes.

On this day, there were two people meditating in the prayer room, both kneeling, staring at the wall and practicing what in Japanese is known as “shikantaza” or “just sitting.” Brown said, with occasional, breaks, they will meditate for eight hours a day.

“They’re practicing what I teach,” Brown said. “They’re sharpening their awareness for everyday life.”

Brown also said that anyone interested in meditation, the main tool of Buddhism, are welcome to attend, even if they aren’t Buddhists.

“We’re totally dedicated to awareness practice,” he said.

A major part of Brown’s duties is his work in local prisons in his role on the Chaplaincy Advisory Council of the Michigan Department of Corrections. He will go to prisons around the state and offer Buddhism as a chance for them to find the answers they need. He said prisoners can change their religion choice every six months and, often, many look at Buddhism for its simplicity and message.

“It’s awareness rather than trying to fix someone,” he said. “In Buddhism, no one is broken.”

Brown has run the current temple for more than 30 years and, as a 501(c)3 nonprofit, operates exclusively off donations. And while the temple pays no taxes, the mundane, and sometimes expensive, issues of daily life also creep in.

For example, the Sokuzan interrupts an interview to check on the arrival not of someone seeking spiritual advice, but someone to provide an estimate for replacing the temple roof.

Brown, who admits the practice if Buddhism is not for everyone, has been aided by his wife, Priscilla, also a practicing Buddhist who is a social worker full time in Detroit. They have five children, four boys and daughter, and two of whom are practicing Buddhists.

And even after spending so many years in Buddhism, Brown admits he still has much to learn and much to teach. Indeed, it was in 1990 when he met his Zen Buddhist teacher, Kobun Chino Roshi, and became his student and it wasn’t until 2007 when he was ordained as a priest by the Rev. Shoho Michael Newhall. Now he is a Buddhist monk.

He has traveled the world and met the Dalai Lama (“Before he was famous,” he joked) and is planning a retreat to Japan with some of his students in December.

“I’m content in my life but extremely motivated to help people,” he said.

He is perplexed, but not surprised, at how so many religions pit people against each other.

“People are confused,” he said. “They want to be happy but instead of acknowledging that confusion they blame others. Everything is basically good, just confusion. And confusion looks like evil.”

He shakes his head.

“Buddism is not at war with anything,” he said.

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