New Confederation Seeks to Unite Buddhists

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New Delhi, India -- A Buddhist lama says a new confederation will seek to bridge the gap between the world's Buddhists and be a voice for the religion at major international events.

<< Buddhist monks pray during the inaugural ceremony of the International Conference on World Peace and Buddhism in Mumbai, India. (file photo).

In an interview with VOA Wednesday, Lama Lobzang said it was the first time in history that a consensus has been reached among the worldwide Buddhist entities to form a unified body to represent their faith.

"The main responsibility of our organization is the preservation of Buddhist heritage sites including over 100 Buddhist meditative caves in Indian states such as Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh. These ancient Buddhist sites that were previously neglected need to be protected and preserved."

Earlier this month, Buddhists from 33 countries attended the first International Buddhist Conference in New Delhi and formally launched their umbrella organization, which will arrange pilgrimages to ancient Buddhist sites in India.

"We have noticed the lack of Chinese participants in this congregation due to the refusal of the Chinese government to grant them passports. Majority of the people we invited were refused exit permits to leave the country. Despite our efforts to invite professors from Beijing University, and their willingness to participate in the congregation, the government of China has made it impossible for them to attend the congregation."

The organization will be run by the Ashoka Mission, a Buddhist non-governmental organization based in New Delhi.

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Franklin Buddhist monastery seeks expansion approval

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FRANKLIN, NJ (USA) -- A Buddhist monastery has applied to the township for permission to expand its buildings to bring its worshippers more programs.

<< Artist's conception of the proposed new temple. NJ Buddhist Vihara 

The New Jersey Buddhist Vihara and Meditation Center at 4299 Route 27 is scheduled at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 17 to come before the Franklin Township Zoning Board of Adjustment at 475 DeMott Lane in Somerset to present its application for a new three-story worship building on its property. The public hearing was originally scheduled for Dec. 6.

Vihara is a Sanskrit term for an early type of Buddhist monastery which originally meant "a secluded place in which to walk", constructed to shelter monks during the rainy season, according to Encyclopædia Britannica.

The center, established in 2003 on almost 10 acres of wooded land, features a 30-foot-tall statue of the Buddha which is the largest in the Western hemisphere, according to the center's website.

Since the unveiling of the statue in 2009, the center has become a landmark attracting a steady stream of visitors throughout the year for the the practice of Buddhism & meditation, according to the center.

The new 11,000 square-foot temple, which will eventually replace the existing 1,500-square-foot house, will house a library, meditation room, areas for community gatherings, a school for children and living facilities for clergy, as well as a meditation trail through the woods.

The estimated project costs for plans, infrastructure, building and landscaping is expected to reach approximately $2.3 million, all of which is to be raised by donations.

The Vihara has met on several occasions with township engineering committee, and first applied to the board for the proposed expansion in early September, Carol Kuehn, secretary for the fundraising committee, said.

Once the Vihara's application is approved by the township, groundbreaking should take place within a few months, with initial construction focusing on the new building and parking lot expansion, Kuehn said. The goal is to complete the project within a year but the speed of construction depends on the results of fundraising efforts, she said.

Kuehn said that once construction is completed, the Vihara will be able to expand its offerings of mediation, social, educational and religious programs to the community and to open its current offerings to a greater number of people. She said that the Vihara's neighbors and the community have been very supportive of their plans.

"The Vihara’s mission is to offer guidance and moral support to the community and members," Kuehn said. "As a member of the Franklin Township Interfaith Council, the Vihara would also be able to host interfaith programs."

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Movement Seeks Freedom for Revolutionary Buddhist Monk in Myanmar

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U Gambira released but not free, pending trial without medical treatment.

CHICAGO, USA -- U Gambira, aka Nyi Nyi Lwin, was released on bail from Insein Prison, Yangon, Myanmar. He is with family and headed back to his family home 3 hours north of Yangon.

<< U Gambira

Despite the good news of this current release, U Gambira is not free. The government still has a trial date set for Friday December 14, 2012. This is the third re-arrest since his conditional release in January 2012 with other high profile political prisoners. The current official reason and charges surround the Feb 2012 U Gambira and other monks accessing their old monasteries, which were locked by the military government after the 2007 Saffron Revolution. U Gambira was arrested and released immediately after this Feb 2012 event.

U Gambira's conditional release is such that he is likely to be sentenced to the remaining years of his 68 year sentence handed down at his 2008 trial for his leadership role in the 2007 Saffron Revolution, in addition to new charges from 2012.

U Gambira's over 4 year political imprisonment included sustained and prolonged psychological and physical torture, no medical attention for injuries or illnesses. He suffered repeated head trauma that caused immediate and persistent traumatic brain injury.

He has been suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and clinical depression directly related to his initial imprisonment and post-conditional release re-arrests, constant military intelligence overt and covert harassment and spying. He was unable to obtain a position in a monastery, which forced him to de-robe in order to live with his family. Health care providers have refused to see him for fear of government retaliation. A doctor family friend saw him and prescribed a medicine that improved his sleep disturbances. This relief was inadequate and short lived as the medicine ran out.

U Gambira has been in need of specific torture survivor and traumatic brain injury evaluation and treatment, which is not available inside Myanmar or nearby Thailand. U Gambira has agreed to specialized treatment for his illnesses overseas. But, he remains dedicated to spreading to increasing the love, understanding and peaceful co-existence and oneness, ie the Buddhist teachings and Metta, inside Myanmar. Therefore, he will not leave Myanmar illegally to pursue treatment that he desperately wants and needs. He cannot apply for a passport without his national identity card, which the government confiscated. June 2012, he first applied for the return of his national identity card, without success as of Dec 1, 2012.

Background

Since their release from prison late last week, Ashin Gambira and Ashin Issariya (aka Daung Dsaw) have moved in to Meggin Monsatery in Rangoon. They plan to rebuild and reopen this monastery that was destroyed by the Burmese regime following the Saffron Revolution of 2007. Both monks are now joined by the abbot of the monastery, Ashin Win Deka. Shortly after the monks started working in the disheveled monastery, authorities arrived and questioned them. U Gambira and U Issariya told them that this is their monastery, and they can not to go another monastery — they do not have any other place to go.

Meggin Monastery was demolished by soldiers during the brutal crackdown on the monks’ uprising in 2007. Most monks were arrested, and the monastery locked. It had been closed ever since. Meggin Monastery is one of the more than 60 monasteries that were raided, closed, and destroyed during the crackdown.

Ashin Gambira insisted in a recent interview that the military regime still needs to apologize to the Buddhist< Sangha.

“The government has transformed its external appearance into a civilian one, but their efforts to implement democracy are still rather weak, while many cases of human rights violations continue,” he told DVB. The alms boycott (Pattanikkujjana) is still in place.

Ashin Issariya (aka King Zero) says the pressure on monks is still very strong. There is no freedom of speech. Shwe Nya Wah Sayadaw, for example, was recently banned from giving Dhamma talks for one year, and was threatened with closure of his monastery.

He was accused of giving a sermon at the Mandalay headquarters of the National League for Democracy (NLD) on November 20, 2011. The Maha Nayaka Sangha Council refused his apology letter with more than 10,000 signatures and asked him to appear in front of the council on January 19.

U Gambira said, “People are talking about change in Burma, but I never see any change. It still is the same as before.”

“We want to see a real change,” adds Ashin Issariya aka King Zero.

Thirty monks have had a re-ordination ceremony in Rangoon since being released recently from prison.

However, it is difficult to find out how many monks are still incarcerated.

“The monks from our network have been released,” says Ashin Issariya. “But there is no reliable data of how many other monks still remain in prison.”

This is due to the fact that Burmese leaders waver on even acknowledging that Burma has political prisoners.

If people are arrested, they are often charged with criminal offenses, such as the Electronics Act. Ashin Pannasiri was arrested shortly after the Saffron Revolution and indicted not for his anti-military and pro- democracy activities, but for holding foreign currency.

When asked about going back to Burma, Ashin Issariya answers: “We don’t know if it is safe to go back now for those who had to flee Burma. I will go back one day. But that needs preparation and will take time.”

Ashin Sopaka remains under village arrest at this time. We have not been able to make contact with him for several weeks now. The only way of contact is through the village phone, but the villagers can’t give us any detailed information. We only know that he is still in the monastery in his home village.

“I am sure if Ashin Sopaka had a chance to leave his village, he would go back to Mandalay to connect with others. He is in a very small village, far away from the city. He can not do anything there. So the fact that he hasn’t come back yet means that he is still under village arrest,” said Ashin Issariya.

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Thai Buddhist film festival seeks to spark faith

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BANGKOK, Thailand -- Religion can be a tough sell nowadays, so instead of waiting for disciples to make their way to temple, some promoters brought 36 films with Buddhist themes to the heart of modern Thailand earlier this month.

The International Buddhism Film Festival was an effort by the government and private religious groups to popularize Buddhism among the younger generations.

"It's like prescribing medicine to children, you have to add a little sweetener there," said Somchai Seanglai, the permanent secretary of Thailand's Culture Ministry. "City dwellers or our young people are not used to the traditional way of practicing Buddhism, so we insert Buddhist dharma into art and culture that people love to consume." Dharma refers to the Buddha's teachings on the meaning of existence.

Initiated by the California-based Buddhism Film Foundation, the movie festival came to Bangkok for the first time this year since its debut in Los Angeles in 2003, and pulled in 3,700 visitors.

"Now many youngsters think of Buddhism as a religion for old people, so the film festival is trying to engage Buddhism with the contemporary world," said Santi Opaspakornkij, executive director of the Buddhadasa Indapanno Archives, an education center dedicated to promoting Buddhism through new channels in Thailand.

About 90 percent of Thailand's population is Buddhist, but many view the religion simply as a rough guide to social do's and don'ts, with vague notions encouraging good behavior.

"I don't go to temples very often," said Napasamon Jeeramaneemai, a third-year architecture student at Bangkok's Thammasat University attending the festival. "Buddhism for me is just a better way to resolve bad situations. Sometimes when you blame them on 'karma,' it's easier to accept them." Buddhists believe "Karma" rules a person's destiny depending on their deeds throughout their existence, which can span many lifetimes.

To make sure the films would cause no major offense, the Buddhadasa Indapanno Archives sought support from three leading Thai monks in the forefront of popularizing Buddhism, including the popular young preacher, Phra Maha Vudhijaya Vajiramedhi, who posts his teachings on his Twitter account for more than 500,000 followers.

The films included "Crazy Wisdom," a documentary released in 2011 by American filmmaker Johanna Demetrakas. It portrays Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, a controversial Tibetan monk who preached to thousands of students when he lived in the West but whose lifestyle was in defiance of many of Buddhism's ethical principles.

But many people considered his unconventional style a challenging but effective way of presenting Buddhist concepts.

"I personally don't agree with the way Trungpa Rinpoche teaches," Nittaya Weera, a freelance writer on telecommunication, commented on "Crazy Wisdom." ''But I understand the real essence of Buddhism is in the belief itself. The way to get there doesn't really matter."

"Crazy Wisdom" turned out to be the most popular films. Other crowd-pleasers included "Abraxas," a Japanese film about a married punk rocker turned Buddhist, and "Karma," a lighthearted Nepali film about two Tibetan nuns on a journey to get repayment of a loan.

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Buddhism seeks to explain suffering in life

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New Delhi, India -- Some people view Buddhism as pessimism. They call it the "religion of misery," because the word "suffering" or "unsatisfactoriness," which the Buddha taught in his first four noble truths, sticks in their minds.

Actually, Buddhism is not pessimism nor optimism. Buddhism is realism, a way to see things as they really are. The Buddha taught us about life from our birth till death. It covers many areas of life, such as how to live wisely and happily, how to win friends, how to accomplish our goals, and even how to die peacefully.

Why is Buddhism always talking about suffering? That is the truth of life we all have to accept and recognize in order to cure it. The Buddha did not speak about suffering only, but how to overcome suffering. That is happiness in life.

Let me share with you the secrets of happiness. There are three steps to follow.

The first step is to be happy or to enjoy whatever you do.

Abraham Lincoln said, "My father taught me to work; he did not teach me to love it." Most of us do not enjoy what we have and do, especially our work. Sometimes we depend on our like or dislike emotions too much. We do things because we feel good or like it. A lot of times we refuse and suffer if someone forces us to work. The problem is how are we going to love or be happy with the things we do.

In Buddhism, "Kuttukammayatachandha" means the willingness to do things. If we don't enjoy whatever we're doing, imagine what's going to happen. We will work eight hours a day and not enjoy it. Instead, we will hate and suffer, which I think is not healthy for body and mind.

Why don't we train ourselves to take pleasure in everything we do? There is the saying, "If you do not have the thing that you like, you have to like the thing that you have."

We have to train ourselves to love and see the positive side of things that come toward our everyday lives as a lesson. When you wake up in the morning, think that it is a great day and I'm still alive. I have a chance to do good and enjoy one more day. When you are having breakfast, enjoy that, and try the best you can to apply that to each daily moment. This is the first step to happiness.

The second step is mindfulness.

There is a saying, "The lights are on, but nobody is home." We are all in the information technology era and have a lot of convenient tools that make life easy. Sometimes we aren't even aware of doing things and we behave like a robot. We live by our old habits and are not mindful.

When you are eating, make sure you are enjoying your food, not thinking or planning. We must change our old habits, especially the natural habits in which we do things in life automatically.

If you are walking, do you know right now you are walking. In a practical way you have to know each moment, whether it is good nor bad. If you are angry, know that you're angry; if you're happy, know that you're happy. Whatever you do — sit, stand, shower, have coffee, talk, and so on — add knowing or mindfulness.

Where is your mind? Is it absent? In order to gain happiness, you must bring our mind back to the here and now, and be mindful of each moment in life. Our mind and body are together, so try not to let your mind wander often. In the Buddha way, mindful action is the most important training. All teachings of the Buddha sum up to mindfulness. Be mindful, then you practice all the Buddha's teachings.

The third step is concentration.

In Buddhist countries, there are a lot of Buddha statues. One of the statue postures that is very famous is the meditation posture. In Pali, we call it the "Samadhi posture," which means concentration. When Buddhist followers see this statue, it reminds them that you should concentrate and focus on whatever you do. When you sleep or when you eat, concentrate on eating or your mind with that eating.

Do you observe yourself doing things? Can you really focus or concentrate ? It is difficult, right ? Sometimes we do a lot of things at the same time. We ponder that we are smart, that we can do a lot of things such as watching a TV show and calling our friends at the same time. Is there a quality of doing like that? I think it is not such a good habit to be like that, especially when you drive and text or drive and talk. It can cause problems. Concentration is another key to happiness and success in life.

These are the secrets to happiness; enjoy, be mindful, and concentrate. If you follow these steps hour by hour and day by day, your practice will get stronger and strongerBut you have to begin right now to change and start new way.

Enjoy the journey to happiness.

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Tawachai Onsanit is one of the founding members of Wat Pasantidhamma temple in Carrollton. Inquiries may be addressed to Ajaan Piya at p_kind_j@yahoo.com.

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