Mahasantisukha monks’ request to countersue Buddhist council rejected, again

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Rangoon, Burma -- A second attempt by five Buddhist monks from the Mahasantisukha Monastery in Rangoon to countersue the government-backed Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee – the highest order of Buddhist monks in the country – has been rejected by a local court.

<< Buddhist monks, led by Uttara (front), are led to court in Rangoon's Tamwe Township in June. (PHOTO: Khaing Min/ FB)

On 10 June, police and the Sangha Maha Nayaka – more commonly known as the Mahana – raided the Tamwe Township monastery and detained five monks over a longstanding dispute for the monastery. The monks, including prominent Buddhist leader Uttara, were subsequently defrocked and charged for defaming religion, a move widely denounced by the Burmese public and religious leaders.

Last month, the five monks attempted to file charges against the 20 leading members in the Mahana for their “arbitrary detention and arbitrary restraint” at the Bahan Township court, but were summarily rejected.

Uttara said that their second attempt to file charges in the Tamwe Township court was also dismissed.

“Previously, Bahan Township rejected our motion to seek charges against the Mahana on ‘administrative grounds’, as the case is connected to an ongoing trial at the Tamwe Township court where we are being prosecuted,” Uttara said. “So we tried approaching the Tamwe Township court and they also rejected us, citing the ongoing trial against us.”

As the ownership dispute simmers between the Mahana and the revered Abbott Penang Sayadaw – who locals around the area consider the rightful owner of the monastery –Uttara said that their lawyers have been unable to adequately defend them without interference.

“In the 12 June trial, we were trying to present as evidence a letter by the revered Abbott Penang Sayadaw to President Thein Sein, calling on him to mediate the dispute, but the court rejected it,” Uttara said. “Our lawyers called to adjourn the trial on the grounds that turning down our evidence constitutes abatement.”

With the trial currently on hold, Uttara said that their lawyers have now proposed this piece of evidence at the Eastern Rangoon district court, which will make a decision before the lower court trial resumes on 15 August.

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Nicole, Keith and the incensed Buddhist

An incensed owner in the Latitude building in Lavender Bay has complained to its executive committee about perfumed smoke from joss sticks drifting heavenwards from the balcony of one apartment.

And now the committee has sent out a circular asking residents to be more considerate of their neighbours when they are burning incense.

Flat Chat has discovered that the complaint was made against a couple, one of whom is a devout Buddhist who prays on his balcony for a few minutes once a week in the late evening. His devotions involve the burning of incense.

His partner, who prefers not to be named, said they'd had no complaints from neighbours on either side or immediately above. Instead he believed the protests were from an owner five floors higher up the building.

"She wanted us to do it inside behind closed doors," said the 'offending' resident. "I mean, people smoke on balconies and there are barbecues happening all the time. This is once a week at exactly the same time for a few minutes."

The building's executive committee declined to issue a Notice To Comply, since there was no by-law that was actually being breached. Instead they took the less confrontational route of issuing a general note to all residents.

It is not known if Nicole or Keith were aware of their neighbours' efforts to jump on joss sticks. However it's an issue building managers confront surprisingly often.

"Incense a few minutes once a week doesn't seem unreasonable to me, but it might worry other people," says Allan Hoy, CEO of Strategic Strata Solutions. "It can even be a health issue for someone, say, who has asthma. We've had incense, and also 'unusual' cigarettes ..."

He recommends buildings put a by-law in place that covers odours travelling from balconies that could include everything from smoking and barbecues to joss sticks. "We've found that to be very successful," he says.

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Ivory Urn for Top Thai Buddhist's Remains Sparks Debate

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BANGKOK, Thailand -- In Thailand, an urn has been carved from ivory to hold the remains of the country's top religious leader, who died last year. The production of the urn comes as Thailand faces international pressure to eradicate the world’s largest market for unregulated ivory.

<< An image of the urn is seen on the front page of the Bangkok Post.

Sometime next year, a ceremony will be held to transfer the cremated remains of Thailand’s late Supreme Patriarch into an urn made of ivory.

Somdet Phra Nyansamvara died last October at the age of 100.

The Supreme Patriarch or Sangharaja was the head of the Sangha Supreme Council, overseeing all Buddhist monks in Thailand. He was appointed by the King upon the prime minister’s recommendation.

Last month, photographs of the completed ivory urn for the late Sangharaja were on the front pages of newspapers in Thailand, where 95 percent of the population is Buddhist.

The ten kilograms of ivory used to carve the urn were taken three years ago from the tusk of a 70-year-old Thai bull elephant, named Thongbai.

The tusks of captive elephants are sometimes trimmed for health reasons.

In Thailand, some Buddhist leaders have called for congregants and temples to reject the use and trade of ivory, even if it's from live captive elephants. They note the demand for ivory drives the unsustainable poaching of elephants, a revered animal in the kingdom and in Buddhism.

The assistant abbot of the Golden Mount Temple (Wat Saket) in Bangkok, Phra Maha Napan Santidhaddo, said Buddhists are to avoid intentions or acts which would cause more animals to be harmed.

“In the case it's not harming any elephant it would be fine. But we have to be careful about the message that we send to the society that 'oh, it would be great if we can do the urn from the ivory.' And maybe it causes a new circle of destroying elephant life,” Napan noted.

In Thai tradition, ivory is considered a pure and auspicious material and donating it for the urn of a highly respected figure is considered meritorious.

Other materials for the Supreme Patriarch's urn were deemed inappropriate. Gold is reserved for royalty. Using marble, ceramic or wood would have been too pedestrian.

Phra Maha Napan sees the publicity about the Supreme Patriarch's ivory urn as a Buddhist teaching moment.

“We have to respect both sides, the environmentalists and the ones who have a strong belief in making merit. It's a great chance to educate both of them,” stated Napan.

Sales of ivory from domesticated elephants are legal in Thailand.

But the kingdom has no ivory registration system in place. Thus it is not possible to trace the origins of the lucrative product.

And that, according to the TRAFFIC wildlife monitoring network, creates a loophole for bringing illegal ivory from African elephants into the Thai marketplace.

Many Thais are not aware of the link between ivory and wildlife crime.

The head of Thailand’s department of national parks and wildlife, Nipon Chotiban, is calling for an amendment to existing legislation that would help bring the domestic ivory trade under control.

Thailand, last year, pledged to close its domestic ivory market. But a military coup this year displaced the civilian government. And with the junta expected to be in control until at least late next year it is unclear whether Thailand will be able to make good on its previous commitment.

A global regulator, expressing frustration with Thailand, is warning that the country faces a total ban on wildlife trade unless it soon brings the ivory situation under control.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (known as CITES), at a meeting in Geneva last month, set a March, 2015 deadline for Thailand to make significant progress or risk wide-ranging sanctions.

Colman O Criodain, a trade analyst for the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), was at the meeting. He said the sincerity of Thai officials agreeing to act quickly in Bangkok eventually persuaded CITES against taking immediate action.

“Some member states were so incensed about the situation in Thailand that they were insisting on sanctions now. And it took a lot of persuasion to get them to back off. So, whatever, about Thailand being serious they need to recognize that the international community is serious about this and they won't be pawned off with excuses,” O Criodain said.

The sanctions would impact Thailand’s trade in species covered by CITES, including orchids and reptile leather.

CITES and environmental groups blame Thailand's de facto unregulated market for the illegal killings of African elephants.

CITES estimates more than 60,000 African elephants have been killed in the past three years, far outstripping their birth rate.

There is significant demand in Asia, especially in China, for ivory for jewelry, artwork and traditional medicines.

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Mind Your Health: Using Mindfulness to Heal Your Body

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Los Angeles, CA (USA) -- Scientist and meditation teacher Jon Kabat-Zinn includes in his pages of “Full Catastrophe Living” a horrifying story that speaks powerfully about the mind-body connection.

When renowned cardiologist Bernard Lown was in training to become a physician, he had in his clinic a patient, “Mrs. S.,” who had a narrowing of one of the valves on the right side of her heart, the tricuspid valve. She was in mild congestive heart failure; however, she functioned well enough to maintain her job as a librarian and do household chores.

She would come to the weekly cardiac clinic run by Dr. S. A. Levine, a well-respected professor of cardiology at the Harvard Medical School and at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, to receive digitalis and injections of a mercurial diuretic. One week Dr. Levine greeted Mrs. S. warmly, as he usually did — the two had an affable relationship — and then he turned to the entourage of visiting physicians and said, “This woman has TS.” With those words he abruptly left.

Dr. Lown describes what happened after that:

No sooner was Dr. Levine out of the door than Mrs. S.’s demeanor abruptly changed. She appeared anxious and frightened and was now breathing rapidly, clearly hyperventilating. Her skin was drenched with perspiration, and her pulse accelerated to more than 150 a minute. In reexamining her, I found it astonishing that the lungs, which a few minutes earlier had been quite clear, now had moist crackles… I questioned Mrs. S. as to the reasons for her sudden upset. Her response was that Dr. Levine had said that she had TS, which she knew meant “terminal situation.” I was initially amused at this misinterpretation of the medical acronym for “tricuspid stenosis.” My amusement, however, rapidly yielded to apprehension, as my words failed to reassure and as her congestion continued to worsen. Shortly thereafter she was in massive pulmonary edema. Heroic measures did not reverse the frothing congestion. I tried to reach Dr. Levine, but he was nowhere to be located. Later that same day she died from intractable heart failure.

The story is as tragic as it is inspiring: If this woman’s thoughts could induce congestive heart failure, then they also hold incredible healing powers.

In his book, Kabat-Zinn discusses a hundred or so scientific studies that suggest that our thoughts, emotions, and life experiences can very definitely influence our health. The practice of mindfulness, in particular - moment-to-moment awareness and cultivating an attitude of non-striving and non-doing - can bolster our immune system, determine which genes in our chromosomes are turned on, lower blood pressure, regulate emotions under stress, reduce pain, increase our stamina, and make us much more fun to be around.

For example, researchers at the University of Wisconsin looked at the effects of an eight-week mindfulness-based stress reduction course (MBSR) founded by Kabat-Zinn 35 years ago. The course was delivered in a corporate setting during working hours with healthy, but stressed-out employees.

The researchers found that brain scans of those that participated in the course showed activity suggesting they were handling negative emotions like anxiety and frustration more effectively (or more emotionally intelligently) than the group that was on the waiting list for the course. There was right-sided to left-sided movement within the prefrontal cerebral cortex that is involved in the expression of emotions.

The study also found that the people who completed the eight-week training in mindfulness showed a significantly stronger antibody response in their immune system after given a flu vaccine (at the end of the eight weeks of training) than did those who were on the waiting list.

Another study conducted at UCLA and Carnegie Mellon University showed that participating in an MBSR program reduced expression of genes related to inflammation, measured in immune cells sampled from blood draws. The mindfulness training also lowered C-reactive proteins in participants, which is an indication of inflammation - a core element of many diseases.

Given that on any given day, I am battling symptoms of one or more of five health conditions - bipolar disorder, Raynaud’s phenomenon, thyroid disease, pituitary tumor, and aortic-valve regurgitation - I thought I should enroll in Kabat-Zinn’s eight-week course offered at our local hospital (taught by a trained MBSR instructor). So every Friday I show up for Getting-Life-Under-Control school, where I’m taught coping skills geared for those of us with colorful childhoods and blessed with fragile mental-health genes, or for anyone who wants to look as calm as the Dalai Lama.

The twelve of us in this course are taught things like how to transform an automatic or habitual stress reaction to a mindfulness-mediated stress response, how to disengage from the emotional, alarm reaction of our automatic nervous system and be able to see with a perspective that breeds calm. The class consists of many sessions of formal meditation, where we choose an anchor for our thoughts - our breath, or sound, or an emotion - and return to that anchor over and over, learning to gently let go of any thought or thought pattern outside the present moment, such as judging, planning, or analyzing.

My illnesses haven’t disappeared. I am far from being cured. However, I’m beginning to heal. Kabat-Zinn makes that important distinction in his book.

He acknowledges that “there are few outright cures for chronic diseases or for stress-related disorders,” however, “it is possible for us to heal ourselves — to learn to live with and work with conditions that present themselves in the present moment. Healing implies the possibility that we can relate differently to illness, disability, even death, as we learn to see with eyes of wholeness.”

At the very least, I think I am communicating with my body well enough these days that if a doctor told me I had TS and walked away, I would blame his rudeness on an empty stomach, say something impolite, and then go on to think about something else.

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Originally published on Sanity Break on Everyday Health.

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Mindfulness: A Secularized Buddhist Practice in the West

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Richmond BC, (CANADA) -- Mindfulness is a technique that is integral to the Teachings of the Buddha. It is the seventh element of the Noble Eightfold Path which encapsulates the principal teachings of the Buddha.Mindfulness or ‘sati’ is a whole-body-and-mind awareness of the present moment. It is awareness of body, feelings, thoughts and phenomena that affect the body and mind.

It is the detached observation of what is happening within us and around us in the present moment. Being fully mindful means being fully attentive to everything as-it-is, not reacting to or generating thoughts on what one experiences at the moment. In the practice of mindfulness the mind is trained to remain in the present, open, quiet, and alert, focused on the present moment and to accept one’s thoughts and responses without judgement.

All judgments and interpretations of feelings and thoughts are overlooked or just registered and dropped. To be mindful is to be fully present, not lost in daydreams, anticipation, indulgences, or worry. It is a mental mode of being engaged in the present moment without evaluating or emotionally reacting to it.

Regular mindfulness training helps to enhance and strengthen the brains ability to pay attention. As with any skill, regular practice of mindfulness enhances the skill so that it arises naturally and spontaneously.

Mindfulness involves self-discovery and becoming more compassionate to self and then ultimately towards others. Mindful living leads to a more fulfilling and grounded life, being able to understand oneself and one’s environment without judgement.

It is about waking up to your life and enhancing mental and emotional resilience. Mindfulness helps to create harmony in heart and mind and therefore in the world around you as well. Mindfulness is becoming a lifestyle among some sections of the Western society. It has become an element in their daily routine bringing them benefits similar to those of physical exercise and sound relaxation.

In a society characterized by unpleasant and unhealthy effects of excessive competition, impatience and stress, mindfulness practice makes people recognize the need to slow down and pay attention. Among many people, As a remedy to an uneasy, unbalanced, troubled, discontented, distressed and unhappy mind characterized by negative mood and stress, mindfulness exercises have been found to be of much help to develop a happier, healthier and fulfilling life. Mindfulness is the most direct way to overcome sorrow and lamentation, end pain and anxiety, and realize the highest form of inner happiness. 

Mindfulness practice has been subject to much research in several disciplines in recent years and publications on mindfulness has proliferated in the Western world. The efficacy of mindfulness is supported by a growing body of scientific research. Applied research has shown that mindfulness has a positive impact on people’s health and wellbeing. 

In particular it has a positive impact on the human brain. Studies have shown that it can alter brain patterns and behavior. Hospitals and community centres have started to offer courses on Mindfulness practices. Mindfulness entered the medical mainstream in the 1970s.

Today, Mindfulness is taught and practiced in many prominent hospitals in the USA, Canada several other Western countries. Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction” practice (MBSR) developed by the Medical School of the University of Massachusetts in USA has been used successfully to treat a wide variety of illnesses.

Mindfulness exercises have helped alleviate suffering from psychological illnesses such as anxiety, panic disorders and phobias. They have become clinically proven methods for alleviating stress and chronic pain. An increasing number of Medical Centres worldwide now offer mindfulness based therapies for mood and other disorders.

Many studies have revealed the effectiveness of  mindfulness practices in reducing psychological stress. They have led to improvements in both mental and physical health, alleviating depression, anxiety, loneliness and chronic pain.  

In recent years there has been a growing interest in the practice of mindfulness as part of psychotherapy. Researchers are using brain imaging techniques to investigate the neurobiological mechanisms by which mindfulness practices work. Some psychotherapists find that mindfulness meditation as an adjunct to counseling and other treatments can help troubled people learn to release negative emotions and thought habits.

After receiving mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, patients report noticing that negative thoughts lose their power over time. Mindfulness techniques were used to help children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder to concentrate, and for soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder recover and now for professionals of various fields as a technique for developing focus, clarity and compassion. Research has shown that Mindfulness practice can be effective in managing depression. It can be as effective as antidepressants in treating depression.

Its ability to improve performance is one of the primary reasons for greater attention on Mindfulness practice in the West. Professionals and those of the corporate culture, but also institutions, companies, and nations are adopting ‘mindful’ practices and associated ‘compassion’ and listening to others as management practices to an increasing extent. 

Among some of these institutions are Google, the USA Military, especially the US Marine Corps, prisons, Social services work, LinkedIn networking site. In the US military mindfulness training includes ‘brain calming’ exercises to improve performance. Snipers benefit from mindfulness training.

It enhances attention, concentration and aim. It is gaining ground as a useful practice  among prominent sports personnel including Olympic athletes and movie stars. Students who want to boost their performance and also parents, teachers or caregivers wishing to be more attentive to others’ needs may  all find mindfulness training highly useful.

Buddhist Ethical Principles underlying Mindfulness Practice

Although lectures and public talks and discussions, publications, workshops, forums, seminars, courses, retreats and other forms of intense interactions on the subject of Mindfulness practises are conducted in the West, it is rarely that these Mindfulness Trainers and Experts” in the West, acknowledge the fact that they have learned these wholesome  practices from Buddhism.

One reason may be the fact that these practices may not be of much appeal to the ordinary Westerner, if religion” or a faith tradition is associated with it.  Most Westerners perceive erroneously that Buddhism is a religion or a belief system in the conventional sense.  The trend among modern day Westerner  is to distance themselves from religion which some perceive to be a corrupt outmoded and outdated institution which is generally corrupt and has a divisive effect on society.

In this light, the Buddhist Bhikkhu communities of the different Buddhist traditions should be in the forefront highlighting what the Buddha Dhamma or the teachings of the Buddha is all about, how it differs from the conventional theistic faith traditions and the overall spiritual benefits that could be attained through Buddhist practices such as Mindfulness as propagated in Buddhist teachings.

It is a pity that our Buddhist Bhikkhus who are found in abundance in the Western world are not actively involved in this popular trend in the West, highlighting the spiritual aspect of Mindfulness practice, and showing that spirituality associated with Mindfulness practice involves no belief system but is focused on inner transformation leading to calm and peacefulness. It will help one to deal effectively with everyday difficulties and to live a richer, happier and a fulfilling life. But more importantly, it will help one to develop a state of consciousness leading to a state of awakening to realities of life, to the ultimate meaning of life.

Mindfulness meditation helps one to develop emotional intelligence, self regulation, and empathy necessary for successful relationships. It is remarkably useful for facing interpersonal challenges.

In the Western corporate culture, in the rush to secularise it, Mindfulness have been turned into a technique divorced from ethical responsibility. In fact, its training and promotional ventures are highly commercialized often associated with a high price tag.

Mindfulness in the Buddhist tradition is to transform one’s sense of self. It is not about attaining personal goals attached to personal desires. The goal of mindfulness practice is to liberate oneself from greed, ill will and delusion (loba, dosha moha” or the three main defilements in Buddhist teachings) and not to achieve stress reduction.  The real focus of Buddhism is on awakening, on coming to some insight or wisdom about our true nature. Without that, we cannot get at the real source of our ‘dukkha’or suffering. 

From the Buddhist perspective, the ‘mindfulness movement' that is becoming increasingly popular in the Western World is not addressing the most deep-rooted forms of human suffering or ‘dukkha’. In fact, it seems to be reinforcing the kind of self-centred individualism that seems to be the basic problem in Western society.

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Burma expels Canadian prof over Buddhist tattoos on his leg

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Yangon, Myanmar -- Jason Polley is kicked out of Burma after photo of Buddhist tattoos on his leg went viral on Facebook in Southeast Asian country.

<< The Mahayana Buddhist tattoos on Jason Polley's legs that have caused such a stir in Burma.

A backpacking Canadian professor says he was forced to leave Burma after his leg tattoos caused a stir.

Jason Polley, who teaches English at Hong Kong Baptist University, said the problem started a day after he arrived in the country last week, when a local person took a picture of his Buddha tattoos and posted it to Facebook.

The photo apparently went viral in the Southeast Asian country, which experiences Buddhist-Muslim conflict and has many who consider lower body parts unclean.

In an interview from Bangkok, Polley said about 15 tourism officials came to his hotel in Inle Lake, north of the capital Rangoon, on Saturday night and “accosted” him in the lobby.

“They said: ‘Why would you put these tattoos on your leg? You understand that you’re a Facebook star in Myanmar?’ ” he said by phone Tuesday.

Polley, of Russell, Ont., is a Mahayana Buddhist and his tattoos, which chart the religion’s development, are on his leg to represent a pillar of support.

He said most Burmese practise a different branch of the religion, and officials told him they were there for his protection as radicals might hurt him over the tattoos.

In addition to demanding the couple’s passports, Polley said six officials repeatedly photographed him and his leg, and one tried to grab him when he stood up.

“He was the only official who really made things extremely uncomfortable for both of us,” Polley said, adding the others were cordial.

“I would have gladly fought him right there. In retrospect, I would still want to fight him, even though it would be a bad idea.”

Polley said the officials’ tone became kinder after questioning him when they seemed to realize he wasn’t an Islamic “fundamentalist.”

They told them not to leave the hotel until Sunday morning, when they said they expected to hear back from the country’s tourism minister.

But an hour later Polley and his Hong Kong girlfriend, Margaret Lam, were given two hours to gather their belongings. The officials then put them on a 15-hour car ride to the airport.

While officials initially told him he was to be deported, Polley said other officials told him he was being asked to leave the country for his own safety.

There is no Canadian embassy in Burma, and Polley’s guidebook told him to contact the Australian Embassy, which was closed Saturday night. He and Lam were able to ask friends in Hong Kong to contact Canadian and Chinese officials on Sunday morning.

Chinese officials responded almost within the hour and got a Burmese speaker on the phone to talk to local authorities, but the Canadians did not get back to him.

Polley planned to finish the rest of his 23-day vacation in Thailand and Laos, though he did not rule out returning to Burma in the future.

Foreign Affairs spokesman John Babcock said in a statement that countries have the “prerogative” in deciding whom to keep in their borders and consular officials cannot intervene if Canadians do not meet “entry requirements.

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The roots of intolerance and prejudice in Buddhism

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London, UK -- Violence related to Buddhism in Sri Lanka and Burma often leaves observers with a sense of bewilderment; many Buddhist practitioners have resorted to violent means in the name of what is essentially a peaceful religion. This contradiction is somewhat easier to understand when viewed from two angles – East and West.

<< Arakanese Buddhist monks pray for peace at the Sule pagoda in central Rangoon on 12 June 2012. (PHOTO: Reuters)

For the Asian Buddhist, the idea that the teachings of the Buddha could ever lead to hostility is simply dismissed. Buddhism is airbrushed from the scenes of violence and in its place is left only a threat to the nation, a threat to the culture and a threat to the religion.

The Western observer tends to assume that those committing these acts are not ‘real’ Buddhists. The original teachings have mingled with culture to such an extent as to become unrecognisable – dig beneath the culture, to the text, and there the ‘real’ message of the Buddha will be found. For the West, Buddhism has to be separated from its cultural environment. This is out of necessity – for it is assumed that Buddhism is not a ‘religion’ at all. It is a pristine ‘other’, standing alone and somewhat aloof from the messiness of the masses.

For the Asian Buddhist, the West can never culturally understand Buddhism (the West is ‘foreign’ – modern and corrupt). Whereas for the Western Buddhist, it is precisely these cultural accretions that obscure the real teachings. The East is naïve and lacks sophistication. Both sides, East and West, seek authenticity in Buddhism.

Buddhism has portrayed itself, and been described by Western commentators, as the religion untainted by ‘religiousness’ (dogmatism, violence, fundamentalism). It is the religion of choice for the compassionate, modern individual. Many believe that Buddhism has a pure history in which misdemeanors, carnage, war and hostility has been committed by everyone — except the Buddhist. This is why the recent violence in Sri Lanka and Burma elicits such shock.

In seeking the origins of these hostilities, we shouldn’t turn to the core textual tradition, even though some Buddhist groups may refer to particular texts to support their own positions. In the fundamental ideas of the Pali Canon, or the early Sutras of the Mahayana tradition, the teachings of the Buddha are based on tolerance and compassion.

The roots of intolerance might be found in the reaction of one Buddhist group to another. For example, this sectarian attitude surfaced in the emergence of the Mahayana Buddhism. The Mahayana identified itself in opposition to what it termed ‘Hinayana’ Buddhist groups. Although Mahayana is often translated as ‘Great Vehicle’ and Hinayana as ‘Smaller Vehicle’ – the term ‘hina’ actually means ‘inferior’, ‘low,’ ‘poor’, ‘miserable’, ‘vile’, or ‘contemptible’.

Evidence suggests that some Buddhist schools had uncompromising attitudes towards others. That intolerance was pronounced by the rise of Buddhism in the West (including the Asian ‘West’). There is an ongoing debate concerning which group is the most compassionate. The argument has been made that some Buddhist groups in Asia and elsewhere are using this ‘stick of compassion’ against Burmese Buddhists as a way of distancing the rest of the Buddhist world from the situation in Burma. Buddhist groups have long been vying for the claim of authenticity, an element of Buddhist history that could be at the heart of recent hostilities.

Even beyond disputes between differing factions of Buddhism, there is a broader sense of religious superiority. The notion of the superiority of Buddhism is often based upon a supposed scientific resemblance and methodology; Buddhism is better because it is viewed as scientific, rational. Because it is perceived as ‘better’, Buddhists go to war, discriminate against others, take Buddhism to be essential to national identity, and do things that we might find completely contrary to the Buddha’s teachings.

There is an historic pride in the fundamental goodness of the Dhamma which causes conflict and hostility. There are enough teachings in the Buddhist Canon that warn against these attitudes, but there are also many examples in Buddhist history where a strong sense of pride in one’s own tradition is supported. It is precisely where an attitude in which the most compassionate, the most Buddhist, the most traditional are valued – that intolerance in Buddhist culture comes into focus.

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Dr Paul Fuller has taught Religious Studies at Universities in Southeast Asia, the University of Sydney in Australia and at Bath Spa University in the UK. His research interests include early Indian Buddhist philosophy and the Buddhist ideas of Aung San Suu Kyi. His book, The Notion of Ditthi in Theravada Buddhism: The Point of View (Routledge Curzon Critical Studies in Buddhism, 2004) explores the textual basis of discrimination and attachment in the Pali Canon.

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Ceres Buddhist temple has plans for expansion

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Modesto, CA (USA) -- A group wants to expand its Buddhist temple in Ceres, at 3761 Roeding Road, but has run into some opposition from neighbors.

The plans include a 9,500-square-foot activity hall, a new ashery for cremated human remains and additions to the temple and multipurpose room. The Cambodian Buddhist Association of Ceres also proposes 122 additional parking spaces at the 3-acre site, west of Faith Home Road, just outside the city.

Stanislaus County planning commissioners are scheduled to consider the land-use permit Thursday at 6 p.m. Staff recommends they approve the permit, which would allow construction of the facilities.

According to agenda reports, the addition of 12,225 square feet of building space would increase the occupancy by 400 people. And the additional space would allow religious activities to move indoors.

The church’s property is situated near ranchettes, pasture, an egg ranch and Ceres Christian Church. County planners gave approval to the original temple in February 2007.

The county has received letters from five neighbors opposing the recent application. They express concern about large gatherings at the temple, as well as loudspeakers, compromised real estate values, increased traffic, dust and parking on the shoulder of Roeding Road.

Some letters claimed the neighborhood has been disrupted by festivals that generate large numbers of cars and loud music. Some complained about the weekly religious services.

The Planning Commission will consider whether the larger church facilities are consistent with the county general plan and would have a detrimental affect on nearby properties. So far, county officials do not see a reason to deny the church the right to use its property for religious services.

The Cambodian Buddhist Association of Ceres owned a previous temple site on Service Road before it was sold to a grocery store developer in 2006.

The county Planning Commission holds regular meetings at 6 p.m. the first and third Thursday of every month in the basement chambers of Tenth Street Place, 1010 10th St. in downtown Modesto.

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'Fake’ Buddha’s Followers Defend His Teachings

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KOH THOM DISTRICT, Cambodia -- In this rural part of Kandal province, a 35-meter-high statue of a mustachioed Buddha towers incongruously above the surrounding fields of corn and rice, providing a glimpse into the mystical world of Thean Vuthy.

<< When monks bow to lay people. The cult of Thean Vuthy

A self-professed holy man who habitually dresses in white robes and sits on a throne to receive visitors, Mr. Vuthy claims to be able to communicate with animals and to have unique insight into Buddhist teachings.

For years, he has attracted throngs of followers hoping to absorb his purported wisdom. But he has also drawn the ire of numerous devout Buddhists who call him a charlatan.

Most recently, he was publicly lambasted last week by authorities for apparently describing himself as the fifth reincarnation of Buddha and allowing monks and nuns to bow down to him.

According to his followers, he has a network of supporters that extends as far as Thailand, Vietnam and the Cambodian community in the U.S., and it is not unusual for more than 1,000 people to descend on his Tuol Preah Reachea pagoda during Buddhist festivals.

The extravagant pagoda complex, which was built by Mr. Vuthy between six and eight years ago, also includes a 20-meter-high statue of Buddha surrounded by the mythical nine-headed serpent known as a naga. Twenty gold-trimmed stupas each hold a single jade Buddha on a gold throne. Visitors are left in little doubt that he is able to draw on substantial wealth.

Ten large residential villas have been built parallel to the main temple, with a further five apparently abandoned halfway through construction. Officials also say Mr. Vuthy has a number of personal homes away from the pagoda.

The Ministry of Cults and Religion - which accused him of “seriously offending the values of Buddhism” - says it is investigating allegations he was cheating his followers out of their money.

Phen Phoan, a 43-year-old cook at the pagoda, said one family was to blame for trying to profit from videos and photographs of Mr. Vuthy, although she declined to give details.

“After teacher [Mr. Vuthy] got money from overseas, he only took a video to show them what he had done,” she said.

The pagoda was shut down on Sunday after police and officials from the Ministry of Cults and Religion discovered what they said was improper religious iconography there, including videos promoting Mr. Vuthy and pictures depicting his face over Buddha’s body.

Kandal Governor Phay Bun Chhoeun said expensive goods had been seized from Mr. Vuthy’s room at the pagoda.

“The jewelry we saw looked like it came from a big jewelry store in Phnom Penh,” he said.

Some of Mr. Vuthy’s followers had already left before the raid, while seven monks were afterward relocated to a pagoda in nearby Takhmao City.

On Tuesday, about a dozen police officers washing down their lunch with cans of Anchor beer - with orders to “protect the property” until provincial authorities said otherwise - were among a small contingent of people at the site that included a handful of curious villagers. Construction workers who were extending the pagoda also remained, hopeful that Mr. Vuthy would return to pay them.

Som Sovann, 70, one of several elderly nuns still living at the pagoda, has spent eight years at Wat Tuol Preah Reachea. She said Mr. Vuthy had “special knowledge” but never claimed to be a god—although many of those who flocked to pay their respects viewed him as one.

“We respect him because he built the pagoda and because he loves Buddha, and also he can make people believe in Buddhism,” she said. “He knows and understands a lot of dharma of monks and priests, which could make people feel that they believe in him.”

Surrounded by a group of fellow nuns who nodded in agreement, Ms. Sovann said Mr. Vuthy only sat on a throne—where a Buddha statue would normally be inside a temple—at the behest of his followers, who referred to him as “louk kru,” or teacher.

“He preached for a long time, so that since he was 16 years old he has been able to speak with animals. That is something a god can do, so people have considered him to be a god,” she said.

Ly Try, chief monk of Pichey Sakor pagoda, the nearest Buddhist temple to Tuol Preah Reachea, condemned Mr. Vuthy’s actions as being driven by commercial interests.

“These are not dharma to follow Buddha, these are dharma for cheating people,” he said, referring to the teachings of Buddha.

Erik W. Davis, a scholar of Buddhism who has interviewed Mr. Vuthy, said that unless he had dramatically changed his position recently, Mr. Vuthy did not present himself as the fifth Buddha of the era, Maitreya, but as “a person with special knowledge of Maitreya’s birth and identity.”

“I should add that…some of the pictures I have seen from the recent raid do indicate that he is placing himself in the position of the Fifth Buddha, but that this alone constitutes proof of very little,” he wrote in an email.

Mr. Davis, who is an assistant professor of religious studies at Macalester College in Minnesota, said various other figures in Buddhism throughout history had also claimed to be Maitreya, regarded as the Buddha of a new era, who will bring about a violent apocalyptic reckoning before ushering in the dawn of a new age of peace and justice.

“Making such claims, or even profiting off of them, is hardly unusual, and while the Ministry [of Cults and Religion] may charge itself with the defense of Buddhism, Buddhism is far too vigorous to need such defense, having lasted over 2500 years already,” he wrote.

“I suspect the real story here is not that Thean Vuthy was making such claims, but that he fell on the wrong side of a patronage network engaged in housecleaning.”

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