"NO'ing" Buddha

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Criminalising anti-Buddhist acts is not very Buddhist

Bangkok, Thailand -- IS "KNOWING BUDDHA" - a group of Thai Buddhists who are relentlessly tackling what they see as a disrespectful act against the image of Buddha - the new face of Thai Buddhism?

The year-old group has been battling manufacturers of all sorts of products around the world that exploit the image of the Buddha to make money. The goods range from skateboards, lampstands, armchairs and underwear to bars named after the historical Buddha such as the Buddha Bar in Paris and Buddha Tattoo.

While I sympathise with these Buddhists who feel deeply offended, I cannot condone their call to have a law enacted to make disrespectful acts or products against the Buddha a criminal offence. Do they really think the historical Buddha would have approved the jailing of people who express disrespect for him?

The group also tries to push Buddhism to become Thailand's official state religion, thus risking having religion becoming more influential in secular life and potentially alienating non-Buddhists in Thailand.

It is fine to proactively promote mutual religious respect and for this Knowing Buddha plans to distribute two million pamphlets at various spots for tourists entering the Kingdom. But calling for the jailing of "offenders" is just not Buddhist.

When the group hosted a seminar on the topic last week at the Senate, its chairwoman, Acharawadee Wongsakol, spoke with bitterness and anger. Anger and attachment are rather un-Buddhist, however.

The group needs to be reminded that the historical Buddha never approved the idea of making a statue in his liking for worship. Such a practice began with the Gandhara Buddha statues with classical Greek artistic influence in what is today's northwest Pakistan, after the lifetime of the Buddha.

What makes Buddhism unlike most other religions is that Buddha is not God, and perhaps this is why he was never supportive of the idea of having a statue made in his liking for worship. People can easily cling onto a Buddha statue instead of Buddhist teaching, which was originally more of a philosophy than a religion. And this is what groups like Knowing Buddha are clinging on to now - the image of the Buddha and the perceived disrespect done to it.

At the Senate last week I heard both Acharawadee and her colleagues speak with anger about the commercialisation of the Buddha image for foreign consumption. Surprisingly, however, nothing was mentioned about the gross commercialisation of Buddhist amulets among Thais.

As anyone who is familiar with Thailand knows, the trade in assorted Buddhist amulets is a big business here. Actually, it's not just a business, but a gross distortion of Buddhist teachings, as amulet owners believe that by owning, wearing and praying to these small images of the Lord Buddha, they will be blessed and protected and made rich, amorously attractive, popular and allegedly even bulletproof - subject to owning the right kind of genuine amulet.

Some of these popular amulets the size of a Bt10 coin and made of clay or metal could fetch Bt1 million or more and there are magazines entirely devoted to discerning the real item from the phoneys, and the facilitation of the trade.

It's ironic that a group calling itself Knowing Buddha is more concerned about what non-Buddhists in the West do to pseudo-Buddha images than what is happening to Thai Buddhists who have prioritised owning the right amulet over truly understanding and knowing Buddha and his teachings.

On the web: www.knowingbuddha.org

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Ancient meditating Buddha discovered

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Kandramanickam, Tamil Nadu (India) -- A Buddha statue in sitting dhyana (meditation) posture was recently found in  Kandramanickam while carrying out field work alongwith a team which included Dr. Kudavayil Balasubramanian.

<< Dr.B.Jambulingam with the Kandramanickam Buddha (2012)

During the 2012 field study conducted at the location, the statue was discovered while building works were carried out in Mettu Street.

Locals worshipped the Buddha by placing a lemon garland around it's neck. It also sported sandalwood paste and kumkum on the forehead. A lamp was found in front of the statue. Sacred ash was also kept there.  

Like other Buddha statues of the Chola country this statue belonged to 10th-11th century CE era. It had smiling face, tilak mark on the forehed, elongated ears, dress over the shoulder and chest. Dharmachakra was found on the hand. Flame was found over the head. Part of nose is found broken.

After some time the Buddha statue was taken from this location and exhibited in the Government Museum at Tiruvarur.

For more details, please visit: http://ponnibuddha.blogspot.in/2013/04/buddha-statues-found-during-field-study.html

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Gigantic Buddha tangka unfolds at Labrang Monastery

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Xiahe, China -- The Labrang Thangka Festival is an important festival at the old Labrang Monastery that was one of the six leading monasteries of the Geluk tradition of Tibet.

<< Lamas unveil a gigantic Buddha tangka alongside a hillside for disciples' worship in Labrang Monastery in Xiahe, northwest China's Gansu Province, Feb. 22, 2013.

Every year, warmly dressed people ascend to the high-elevation monastery to pray and get blessed. When the monks carry out the thangka, thousands of people assemble in front of the slope big and the vividly woven thangka is displayed. It is a major highlight of many a Tibetan Buddhists’ year.

Tibetan monks, pilgrims and nomads converge on the monastery to participate in the annual "Sunning of the Buddha" ritual, in which the world's largest Thangka of Buddha (90ft in length, 40ft in width) is unveiled at first light on the side of a mountain. The Monlam festival, or Great Prayer Festival, is the grandest religious festival in Tibet.

The Buddha tangka display or "the basking of Buddha" is a Tibetan tradition praying for a good year. As one of the six leading monasteries of Tibetan Buddhism, Labrang Monastery built in 1709 is home to more than 1,000 lamas and is another center of the Gelug Sect, also known as the Yellow Sect, of Tibetan Buddhism outside the Tibet Autonomous Region.

The monastery is about four hours south of Lanzhou. It is located in a high mountain valley at an elevation of about 3,000 meters or 10,000 feet.

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Iran confiscates Buddha statues from shops

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TEHRAN, Iran -- An Iranian newspaper is reporting that government authorities are confiscating Buddha statues from shops in Tehran to stop the promotion of Buddhism in the country.

Sunday?s report by the independent Arman daily quotes Saeed Jaberi Ansari, an official for the protection of Iran?s cultural heritage, as saying that authorities will not permit a specific belief to be promoted through such statues.

Ansari called the Buddha statues symbols of ??cultural invasion.??

He did not elaborate on how many have been confiscated so far, but said more would be seized from shops.

Iran has long fought against items, such as Barbie dolls and Simpsons cartoon characters, to defuse Western influence, but this appears to be the first time that Iranian authorities are showing an opposition to symbols from the East.

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Monk destined to collect Buddha idols

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Hanoi, Vietnam -- Thich Tu Nghiem, a Buddhist monk, came across museums and exhibitions of Buddha idols in many Asian countries he went to, and decided that Vietnam needs one as well.

He started his collection more than ten years ago and now has nearly 300 statues, most of them between 300 and 700 years old. He is now considered by researchers as having the biggest private collection of its kind in Vietnam.

Some of the statues are on show at the first exhibition for local private collectors in the central city of Da Nang. Some were displayed at two Buddhism festivals in the city years ago.

But Nghiem is still looking forward to a grand display for the entire collection.

Now in his 50s, Nghiem, a monk since he was 12, has made pilgrimages to around ten countries. Many of his statues were brought back from China, India, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Japan, while others were gifted by local collectors or Buddhism followers.

Nghiem feels the statues can tell the history and culture of Buddhism in each country.

“For example, although it all started in India, Buddhism has received different adaptations when it was brought to China and Vietnam, compared to Thailand or Cambodia.

“They integrated Buddhism with the distinctive local culture,” said the monk from Pho Da Pagoda in the central city of Da Nang, who took up collecting statues as his second interest after reading Buddhist books.

His collection statues, made of different materials including bronze, wood, silver, pearl and terracotta, also reflects different cultures.

One rare statue shows a Buddha in loincloth and a hat with bird feathers, which is a typical costume of Vietnamese people during the reign of the Hung kings, Vietnam’s first civilization dating back to between 2879 and 258 BC. Nghiem said that might suggest Buddhism came to Vietnam thousands of years ago.

Nghiem also has a Chinese statue of Siddhartha Gautama lying awake on a couch made in the 18th century, and an Indian statue of the Gautama Buddha with black hair.

The collection also shows Buddhism at its nadir during Tay Son, a period of peasant rebellions and decentralized dynasties between 1788–1802, when Confucianism was promoted more heavily than Buddhism.

It includes many Buddha statues from Champa, an Indianized kingdom that ruled in what is now parts of southern and central Vietnam from around the 7th century to 1832.

Among the collection is an epony statue of Maitreya – the smiling bodhisattva who is typically portrayed seated on a throne in simple dress; a 500-year-old bronze statue of Vairocana – celestial Buddha often interpreted as the Bliss Body of Siddhartha Gautama – from the Chinese Ming Dynasty; a relief of a devotee dating back a millennium ago; and a 700-year-old bronze statue of Amitabha who is said to possess infinite merit resulting from good deeds over countless past lives.

One of the most notable items in his collection, according to Nghiem, is one of Guanyin, known in Asia as the Goddess of Mercy who has the power to deliver the dead to Nirvana. This Buddha was carved on a piece of fossilized wood nearly a thousand years ago.

Some local collectors said the monk was offered VND500 million (US$24,000) for the statue but he was not interested.

Nghiem keeps a full set of three Holy Mountain Buddhas of the Chinese Qing Dynasty from more than 200 years ago that was collected over two years. Among them, the Siddhartha Gautama statue was fished out of the sea in Da Nang, and two meditational deities Mañjusri whose name can be translated into “Gentle Glory” in Sankrit were bought from Ho Chi Minh City and the third one was found in the Central Highlands town of Da Lat.

“The statues are one unit but they were separated and lost. Then, thanks to their destiny, they found each other again,” the monk said.

He considers his whole collection something that was also destined to happen.

One time he went to Ho Chi Minh City for another set of three buddhas from 500 years ago – Siddhartha Gautama’s Bliss Body Vairocana, the Siddhartha Gautama and his successor Maitreya, who Buddhists believe will appear on Earth, achieve complete enlightenment, and teach people. The set represents the past, present and future.

When he found the shop, he learned that another buyer had previously offered VND30 million ($1,440) for the statues, but the seller turned it down. Nghiem only had half the money, but the seller agreed to part with it.

That other buyer returned when he was about to take the set. The man made no complaint about the statues being given to lower offer, but also gifted Nghiem a 700-year-old statue of the Buddha in Nirvana after hearing about his exhibition plan.

Firm in his belief that his collection was meant to happen, Nghiem said he has never thought of selling any statue for any reasons.

Most of the space in his room of less than 25 square meters is taken up by the statues.

Nghiem said he has his eye on many more statues, but has not been able to get his hands on them yet. So he has hired people to paint them, and hangs the drawings around the room.

“My biggest wish right now is to be able to build a museum at the pagoda where I can display the statues to all followers, so they can understand and learn more about different sides of Buddhism culture.”

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China and India use Buddha for regional Karma

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The two would-be superpowers are using their Buddhist prestige to exert influence in Nepal, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.

New Delhi, India -- As part of their growing competition for influence in Asia, China and India are using the Buddha as weapon: sponsoring conferences, financing religious sites, and displaying relics in countries where the religion is widely adhered to.

<< India donated a five-metre statue of the Buddha to the glittering Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar [Reuters]

In December, India and Myanmar co-sponsored a three-day conference of Buddhist scholars at the Sitagu International Buddhist Academy in Yangon. India's Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid joined Myanmar's vice-president U Sai Mauk to inaugurate the conference, which brought together people from across southeast Asia.

"As the international community watches Myanmar with renewed interest, it is only apt that this important meeting of scholars - designed to provide us with a better understanding of the depth and global spread of Buddhist influences - is being organised in this golden land, Suvarnabhumi," Khurshid said in his speech.

Khurshid also attended a ceremony to mark the unveiling of a five-metre statue of the Buddha in Yangon's glittering Shwedagon Pagoda, Myanmar's most revered Buddhist shrine. The statue had been announced by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his visit to Myanmar in May.

Myanmar melee

Using the Buddha to culturally engage Myanmar makes sense, as nearly 90 percent of its people practice the religion. But India's actions are also seen as a response to recent, similar Chinese moves.

In November 2011, China sent a Buddha tooth relic on a mobile display to several cities in Myanmar, including former capital Yangon and present capital Naypyidaw. This relic had been preserved in Beijing's Lingguang Si Temple and it drew huge crowds of prayerful worshippers. The event was widely reported in Chinese media, and was followed by an agreement between the Lingguang Si Temple and Shwedagon Pagoda to promote religious ties between the two nations.

Myanmar is a growing focus of China-India competition. New Delhi is seeking to build roads, modernise ports and build dams to counter China's already impressive array of infrastructure projects in the country.

India is trying to improve access to its remote northeastern region by modernising the Sittwe port in Myanmar's troubled Rakhine state and dredging the Kaladan River that forms part of the border between Myanmar and India. Meanwhile, China is constructing a deep port at Kyaukpyu, also in Myanmar's Rakhine state. It is also building an oil-gas pipeline from near the new port to China's Yunnan Province to transport fuel from the Middle East, while avoiding the Malacca Straits between Malaysia and Indonesia, which Chinese strategists see as a choke point. 

Diplomats say India can use its soft power in this jockeying for influence. "Buddhism in Asia is one of our greatest assets, a definite element in our soft power. And being home to the Dalai Lama, who is the acknowledged leader of a large section of the Buddhist community, gives us a major advantage," said former Indian foreign secretary Krishnan Srinivasan.

Srinivasan said China now accepts Buddhism along with other religions, and is promoting its civilisational traditions abroad. "But it has a long way to go to match India," he said, while conceding Beijing also "has far greater financial resources to deploy".

China has projected its culture through the ever-increasing number of "Confucius centres" worldwide, but has lately turned to using Buddhism.

"This is not just a defensive move by Beijing to counter global criticisms of its policy in Tibet, where more and monks are self-immolating in protest against persecution," international relations expert Sabyasachi Basu Roy Chaudhuri told Al Jazeera.

"It is also to play on religious and cultural feelings to connect to countries which are largely Buddhist. This is diplomatic pragmatism unexpected of a communist country but not unexpected of today's China."

Renovating Buddha's birthplace

In Nepal, China is financing a $3bn project to develop Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha, with a new airport, a connecting highway, hotels, convention centres, temples and a Buddhist university. In 2011, the Beijing-based Asia Pacific Exchange and Cooperation Foundation signed a memorandum of understanding with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation to develop the project.

A few months after the China-financed Lumbini project was announced, India promptly organised a Global Buddhist Congregation through the Delhi-based Ashoka Mission. The congregation brought together top monks and nuns from across the world, and ended up endorsing the Dalai Lama, Beijing's bete noire, as Buddhists' global leader - emphasising India's central role in preserving Buddhism's ancient heritage.

The International Buddhist Confederation that emerged from this congregation, which envisaged a central role for the Dalai Lama, could act as a lever for India to counter China's moves in the Buddhist world.

In fact, Beijing raised objections to the Dalai Lama's participation in the Global Buddhist Congregation and was upset when Delhi refused to stop him from addressing its valedictory session. It angered Chinese officials enough that they delayed a round of border negotiations. The dialogue to settle the Sino-Indian border later resumed, but Beijing had made clear its displeasure.

Some see a long-term vision in the inception of the International Buddhist Confederation.

"This has been set up with much more strategic foresight than just a reaction to China's action on Lumbini," said China-watcher Binoda Mishra, head of the Calcutta-based Centre for Studies in International Relations and Development.

"It aims at nullifying Chinese future plans of securing the right to interfere in the selection of future Dalai Lamas, because Beijing wants to be the sole authority on the selection of [the] Dalai Lama in the future."

Nepal is an important buffer between India and China, and New Delhi is as uncomfortable with Beijing's growing influence there as in Myanmar.

'Strategic encirclement'

In August, India took the "Kapilavastu Relics" to Sri Lanka, which had been preserved in the National Museum in New Delhi. The relics were taken around the island nation, drawing large number of Buddhists who prayed before them.

Growing Chinese influence in Sri Lanka is also worrying India.

Indian planners worry about a "strategic encirclement" by China, which has steadily improved relations with almost all of India's neighbours: Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Myanmar, a set some have called the Chinese "string of pearls".

For its part, China is worried by India's growing ties with countries such as Japan, Vietnam, Australia and others. Its strategists are concerned that the US is seeking to bring India together with these countries in order to contain China.

Beijing has asked New Delhi to back off from hydrocarbon exploration in the hotly disputed South China Sea.

With no end to the tension in site, Buddhism could well continue to be an important element of soft power that both India and China are likely to use in the years ahead to win hearts and minds across the vast continent.

But some wish the two Asian giants would work together rather than compete. "It would be good to see India and China act co-operatively to protect Asian religious heritage," said former foreign secretary Srinivasan. "But that is still some way ahead for the future."

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Seokgatap pagoda, symbol of Sakyamuni Buddha

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

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

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Another looted Buddha statue found

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Ramu, Bangladesh -- Police recovered a brass statue of Lord Buddha in Ramu upazila of Cox's Bazar early Thursday, 40 days after it was looted during an attack on Buddhist community.

<< A brass statue of Lord Buddha is recovered by law enforcers in Ramu upazila of Cox's Bazar in Chittagong on Thursday. Photo: Banglar Chokh

With this, a total of six statues looted during the September 29 attack have been recovered, reports our Cox's Bazar correspondent.

On information, police raided the paddy field of one Shafi Miah beside Ramu-Naikkhangchhari road at Boiltoli around 1:00am and recovered the statue, said Gazi Shakhawat Hossain, acting officer-in-charge of Ramu Police Station.

The six-inch-tall statue weighs around one kilogram, the OC said.

Police so far arrested two people in Ukhia in connection with the looting of statues.

On the night of September 29, a mob destroyed 18 Buddhist temples and monasteries and more than 50 houses in Ramu. The violence was apparently triggered by a Facebook posting of a photo defaming the holy Quran.

Around 300 of Buddha statues were looted from different temples and monasteries during the mayhem.

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Buddha relic likely to displayed at state museum

"ASI authorities have assured us that they will hand over the bone relic to the state government soon," Mohanty said

The relic, considered sacred for Buddhist followers, was unearthed during an ASI excavation at Lalitgiri, a Buddhist site in Jajpur, in 1985.

"We first found a stone pot during excavation. When we opened it, a silver cup was found and finally the bone relic was seen in a gold cover," an ASI official said.

When the state government attempted to collect the relic from the ASI in 1985, it was opposed by some political leaders of Jajpur district.

While the leaders demanded that the relic be housed at Lalitgiri museum, the ASI refused to hand it over to them on security reason.

Meanwhile, Mohanty motivated the Jajpur leaders and got their support to keep the relic at the state Museum here.

"I took one MP, who had earlier opposed the transfer of the relic to the state government, along with me to convince the ASI authorities at Delhi," the minister said.

"The relic will initially be displayed at the state museum and later shifted to Lalitgiri, the place from where it was discovered," Mohanty said.

Meanwhile, the state government has engaged experts to design the box in which the relic would be kept for public viewing. "We are also not ignoring the security aspect

of the relic at the meuseum here," the minister said.

Stating that objective of displaying the relic at the state museum here was to attract Buddihist tourists to the state, the minister said the state government was keen

on bringing the Buddihist special train to the city.

"The state government has requested the Railways to extend the route of the Mahaparinirvan Express till Odisha so that more tourists can visit the Buddhist circuits in the state," he said.

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Buddha circuit in Gulbarga - new attraction for visitors

The Buddha Vihara in Gulbarga became an instant hit after it was inaugurated in 2009. Shortly, the 'Sleeping Buddha' in the adjoining district will draw crowds. The hills surrounding the Shahpur town in Yadgir district hold the curiosity. The visitors can hardly miss the view on a hill, which looks like 'Sleeping Buddha.' Realizing the importance of the place, the government is developing the area as a tourist attraction at Rs 4.38 crore. The Buddha hill will have a walkway, watch tower, parking facilities, open air theatre, meditation center, barbed wire fencing, direction markers and roadside facilities. The union ministry of tourism has already approved the and the state government has already released Rs 40 lakh to the Yadgir deputy commissioner.

The government is developing four acres 25 guntas of land for the purpose. The process of land acquisition has already begun and Rs seven lakh has been released for the purpose.

In Karnataka, 767 monuments have been declared as 'Protected Monuments.' The number of protected monuments in the Hyderabad-Karnatak region is 196. Of this, Gulbarga has 32 and Yadgir 55. Mosques, tombs, Dargahs, pre-historic stone circles, cairns and avenues are the most common monuments in Gulbarga and Yadgir.

The department of Kannada and culture is developing 14 monuments in the twin districts at Rs 813.35 lakh. The four-year project, which has begun in 2011-12, will be completed in 2014-15. From the tourism department, to develop the religious and historical places in Gulbarga district, Rs 17.74 crore is being spent and Rs 9.4 crore in the Yadgir district.

Besides being a tourist attraction, the Buddha Vihara, which is adjoining the Gulbarga University, has now become a meditation centre. The Vihara, which is built in 70 acres of land was inaugurated by former President Prathibha Patil and Tibetan spiritual Guru, the Dalai Lama in 2009, draws huge crowd, especially during the Full Moon Day and special occasions like Buddha Purnima. Brahmanand, a visitor, said: I visit often for meditation. I never miss to be here during the Full Moon day.'' Buddha Vihara has two floors -- ground floor has six-foot tall black stone statue of Buddha and the first floor hosts a six-foot tall statue of smiling Buddha.

Besides these two places, the authorities have unearthed several scripts and Stupas in Gulbarga district. Stupas have been found in Sannathi and Knaganahalli.

Priyank Kharge, whose father Mallikarjun Kharge, union labour minister, is responsible for the establishment of Buddha Vihara, admitted that the increasing fascination for Buddhism. But, Of late, it has become a fashion status for many, including those from the Hollywood. This shouldn't be done. Budddhism teaches only basic human values,'' he said.

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Buddha statue from the ancient Gandhara civilisation covered up

More than 10 years on Western experts say Afghanistan's ancient Buddhist and early Islamic heritage is little safer.

At the foot of the cliff where the two Buddhas used to stand 130 kilometres (80 miles) west of Kabul, an archaeological site has been found and parts of a third Buddha, lying down, were discovered in 2008.

The area of the lying Buddha is around half the size of a football pitch. A dozen statues or more lie under tonnes of stone and earth.

"We covered everything up because the ground is private and to prevent looting," says Zemaryalai Tarzi, the 75-year-old French archaeologist born in Afghanistan who is leading the project.

Tarzi says he dug first in the potato fields to find artefacts, which he buried again afterwards. All around him, under a large area of farmland, he says, lie exceptional treasures.

In the West, the presence of such riches would lead to a large-scale excavation, frantic research and in time, glorious museum exhibitions.

In Afghanistan, ground down by poverty and three decades of war, it is the opposite.

"The safest place is to leave heritage underground," says Brendan Cassar, head of the UNESCO mission in Afghanistan, adding that policing the thousands of prehistoric, Buddhist and Islamic sites dotted around the country was impossible.

Below ground, the relics are protected from endemic looting, illegal smuggling and the corrosive effects of freezing winters.

"There is looting on a large or small scale at 99.9 percent of sites," says Philippe Marquis, director of a French archaeological delegation in Afghanistan.

Middlemen pay Afghans $4 to $5 a day to dig up artefacts, which are smuggled abroad and sold for tens of thousands of dollars in European and Asian capitals, he says.

Cassar believes the solution is educating locals about the value of their history and the need to implement the law, and a global campaign using Interpol and customs to stop smuggling.

UNESCO added the rocky Bamiyan valley, with its old forts, temples and cave paintings, to its list of endangered heritage sites in 2003. But sites have been destroyed throughout the country.

Hadda in the east was home to thousands of Greco-Buddhist sculptures dating from the 1st century BC to 1st century AD, but it was devastated in the 1990s civil war. Hundreds of pieces have disappeared or been destroyed.

Marquis says the old city of Lashkar Gah, the capital of the southern province of Helmand -- whose 11th-century arch appears on the 100 afghani ($2) banknote -- was irreparably damaged by an influx of refugees.

A Chinese copper mining company has been granted a concession over an area in Logar province, south of Kabul, that includes an ancient Buddhist monastery, and researchers fear the ruins will largely be destroyed.

Archaeologists complain that culture is only a secondary consideration to development and security.

"Cultural issues are never the priority. Security, yes, which eats up 40 percent of the Afghan state budget," says Habiba Sorabi, the governor of Bamiyan province, where few public resources are allotted to archaeology.

A meeting in Paris last year decided one of the two niches that housed Bamiyan's giant Buddhas should be left empty as testimony to the destruction, while experts should look at partially reassembling the other statue on site.

But local archaeologist Farid Haidary says "lots of money" was spent on restoring the Buddhas before the Taliban destroyed them.

"What's the point in building something if the Taliban, who are 20 kilometres away, destroy it afterwards?" he asks.

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Thai society rediscovers the values of the Buddha to combat materialism and economic crisis

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Bangkok, Thailand -- In June, celebrations were held to commemorate 2600 years of illumination of the "Awakened One". In a conference, hundreds of faithful, monks and nuns discuss the value of faith and the challenges of modernity. The risks of globalization, promoting an education system capable of forming good citizens.

Against the materialism prevalent in society, the obsessive search for money, worldly possessions and the pervasive spiritual crisis, Thai Buddhists state that "the path to enlightenment" indicated by the "awakened" is the only way to create "a world of peace."

Coinciding with the celebrations for Buddha's enlightenment 2600 years, better known as "Buddha Chayatee (BC)," the faithful wanted to promote meetings and events aimed at reinforcing the centrality of faith and religion in the life of the nation. Even Thailand, in fact, in recent years has promoted a politics focused on economics, personal success, while neglecting the spiritual and religious element.

The scandals that have hit some monasteries and leading figures of Buddhism has emphasised local fractures and increased dropouts. For groups and individuals that seek to raise the value of religion, the teachings of Buddha are still essential for peace and harmony locally and internationally.

From June 4 to 30 across Thailand events and commemorations of the 2600 remember the enlightenment of Buddha were held. On the final day, the "Public Stage" movement opened a meeting at Buddhamondhol Buddhist Center in Bangkok, attended by hundreds of people, including monks, nuns and faithful.

At the heart of the encounter, the value of religion past and present, along with ways to encourage and promote Buddhism in Thai society. The role of schools and educational establishments need to be stepped up however, called to promote among students the teachings of the Buddha and their value for contemporary life.

62.8 million people live in Thailand, of which 10 million are concentrated in Bangkok. The vast majority, almost 95% profess Buddhism, while 4% are Muslims (especially in the south) and 1% Christian, of which 300 thousand Catholics. For this reason the country is still considered the world centre of religion, with over 33 thousand monasteries and institutes across the area, even if it is going through a period of deep crisis in vocations and practice of worship.

For famous columnist Somchai Preeechasilp the cause lies in a growing materialism, combined with the severe economic crisis. Globalization, he said, poses challenges to the principles of Buddhism, to the values and morals that people should use concretely strengthen their spirituality.

Prapapatra Niyom, director of the Buddhist Path School (BPS), explains that the institutions are responsible for developing all aspects of the person in the students: physical, mental, emotional and social. It has launched a pre-school for children, with the aim of forming children who are educated and formed and able to best represent the future of the nation. From an early age pupils are called to recite morning prayers, meditate on the teachings of the Buddha for at least five minutes a day and use it as a maximum in the resolution of everyday problems.

As is the case with little Saifon, whose name means "drop of rain", blind since birth, but who has wanted to be "illuminated" by following the example of the "master". A college student named Yarnapatra Yodkaew finally remembers that every good Buddhist faithful must develop three characteristics: discipline in preserving the teachings of the enlightened, the search of solitude for personal meditation and intelligence to understand the way forward when called to address a problem or a challenge.

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Buddhists march in Bangkok to speak out to the world to stop disrespecting Buddha

After being quiet for a long time on how the world uses Buddha's images and name in a disrespectful way, reportedly, Buddhists will be no be longer be queit. The Knowing Buddha organization is gathering a large group of Buddhists who don't want to be quiet any longer, and there message to the world is "Stop Disrespecting Buddha."

The March will contain signs to show that Buddha is their father religion, and they will show how the world should treats Buddha with a variety of signs. The high light of the March will be the enormous size signs depicting "Enough" on the Buddha Bar picture also the sign "No!" on the Disney movie "Snow Buddies" which use Buddha's name as a Dog.

Reportedly, there are many others business who using Buddha' images in commerce, and this will be reflected in the march. The KnowingBudda organization's purpose of the march is to improve awareness in the world, about how not to treat Buddha's images and name improperly. The KnowinBudda organization is non-profit charity, based in Thailand.

Mrs Acaharavadee Wongsakon, the foundation president, indicates that Buddha is the prophet of their religion and that it's fairly common that people should give respect to Buddha like other religious leaders - but if not, there should be no disrespect.

Mrs. Acharavadee Wongsakon, the Meditation master who is the founder and the President of Knowing Buddha organization said, "As a Buddhist, to love peace and tranquility dosen't mean you should not do what's right. We've been too quiet on these matters until the world misunderstood or forgot who Buddha is. The Buddha image is not meant for tattoo, furniture, any kind of logo, or to be used as merchandise. Once Buddhists see Buddha's image or sculptures they will immediately be reminded of his teachings and compassion; not how much money they can make or how much joy they can receive."

The organization notes that the Buddha Bar is the worst example that they have come across of shameless disrespect that encourages the world to follow their path. They urge them to stop using his name and symbol in their business.At the same time, the organization asks Disney to ask o stop using Buddha as a dog's name in their movie.

The KnowingBuddha foundation, indicates that the world have gone too far on these matters, but they have just started their work, and we will persist until the world is no longer using Buddha's image improperly.

The march is called 'Dharma Gratitude' and it will start at 5pm on Saturday at June 30th, at Khao San Road in Bngkok Thailand. The multi-nation tourists and the world will witness the Buddhist march in a way they have never seen. It will be truly unique and loud.

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Pakistan: Buddha attacked by Taliban gets facelift

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JAHANABAD, Pakistan -- When the Taliban blew the face off a towering, 1,500-year-old rock carving of Buddha in northwest Pakistan almost five years ago, it fell to an intrepid Italian archaeologist to come to the rescue.

<< In this May 24 photo, people sit near a sculpture of the Buddha whose face was destroyed by Taliban fighters at Jahanabad, Pakistan, in the Swat valley. (AP-Yonhap News)

Thanks to the efforts of Luca Olivieri and his partners, the 6-meter-tall image near the town of Jahanabad is getting a facelift, and many other archaeological treasures in the scenic Swat Valley are being excavated and preserved.

Hard-line Muslims have a history of targeting Buddhist, Hindu and other religious sites they consider heretical to Islam. Six months before the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, the Taliban shocked the world by dynamiting a pair of 1,500-year-old Buddhist statues in central Afghanistan.

The Jahanabad Buddha, etched high on a huge rock face in the 6th or 7th century, is one of the largest such carvings in South Asia. It was attacked in the fall of 2007 when the Pakistani Taliban swarmed across the scenic Swat Valley. The army drove most of them out two years later, but foreign tourists who used to visit the region still tend to stay away.

Olivieri himself had to leave in 2008 after more than two decades of tending to the riches dating back to Alexander the Great and the Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim invaders who followed. The 49-year-old head of the Italian Archaeological Mission in Pakistan returned in 2010 and is back at work.

Taliban militants climbed ropes to insert explosives in holes drilled into the face and shoulders of the Jahanabad Buddha, said Olivieri. The explosives in the shoulders failed to detonate, but the others blew off most of the face above the lips and cracked other parts of the carving and surrounding rock.

Olivieri and his team began work this month on fixing the cracks and what’s left of the face. A full reconstruction is impossible because detailed documentation and fragments of the face are lacking.

“Whatever you do in the absence of perfect data is a fake,’’ said Olivieri, who says he has wanted to be an archaeologist since age 6 and still brings a youthful exuberance to his work even as his beard grows gray.

Arriving as a university student in 1987, he was fascinated by Swat, once an important center of Buddhist culture and trade. The monk credited with introducing Buddhism to Tibet, Padmasambhava, was born in Swat.

In more recent decades, the area was known as “the Switzerland of Pakistan,’’ popular with religious tourists from China, Japan and South Korea, and the hope is that restoration of the Jahanabad Buddha will spark a revival of tourism here.

Olivieri’s mission is funded by the Italian government, which works with local Pakistani antiquities authorities. It has uncovered over 120 Buddhist sites among Swat’s soaring hills and rushing rivers. Of roughly 200 Buddhist rock carvings in Swat, the Jahanabad Buddha was among the few to survive with its face intact for so long, said Olivieri. Most were defaced centuries ago by Muslim invaders who, like the Taliban, consider Buddha a false idol.

Maulana Shamsur Rehman, a leading Islamist politician in Swat, says the attack on the Buddha should never have happened. Islam preaches freedom and protection for followers of all religions, he told The Associated Press, and “in line with Islamic rules, nobody should have an objection to the repair work on the Buddha statue.’’

In 2001, militants damaged the excavated ruins of a 7th century Hindu temple in Swat overlooking a stronghold conquered by Alexander in the 4th century B.C. Unable to protect the temple, the Italian mission had to rebury it.

Ironically, the site that Olivieri was most worried about during the Taliban’s violent reign in Swat was an Islamic one ? the roughly 1,000-year-old Udegram Ghaznavid mosque, the third oldest in Pakistan. He feared the militants would occupy and damage it, but that never happened.

Pakistani security officials say the Taliban are again trying to infiltrate Swat, but militants are not the only threat to the archaeological sites. Looters are perhaps a bigger problem. Many relics looted from Swat are in private and public collections around the world.

In December police arrested several men in Swat and seized a roughly one-meter-tall, 1,800-year-old Buddhist statue that could have fetched tens of thousands of dollars on the international antiquities market.

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Ancient Buddhist music used first time for a stage play on life of Buddha

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New Delhi, India -- Deb Chowdhury is a popular music director from the West Bengal state of India with strong and ancient Buddhist roots.

The drama company Rangapath of which he is the music director is the producer of a unique stage play entitled Thathagatha, based on Buddha’s life.

The stage play became more unique as Chowdhury decided to make use of thousands of years old ancient Buddhist music for the play.

To adapt such a music track for Thathagatha he did research in two Tantrayana Buddhist monasteries in India and five other monasteries in China.

Commenting on the kind of music he has invented for the play a Times of India writer Dibyajyajyoti Chaudhuri said, “Music transcends all barriers, they say. But when it comes to music associated with the Buddha, there is something in it that makes it universal.”

The writer further said, “The Erhu, Pipa, Ruan and Gu jheng may sound like words from a distant land but are actually names of Chinese string instruments used in authentic Buddhist music that have been adapted into the soundtrack of " Tathagata", a Bengali play based on the life of the Buddha, by the theatre group Rangapat.”

The man behind this feat further said, "For the music, I researched for more than two years. I visited monasteries in Bodhgaya and Mirik and recorded the music of Vajrayana Buddhism. English speaking Lamas translated the notations of the original music from the libraries at the gumphas." 

When Deb got a chance to fly to China in September 2011, he visited six ancient Buddhist places of worship there. "I was at the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and the Famen Temple at Xi'an, the White Horse Temple and the caves of Longmen Grottoes, both in Luoyang in the Henan Province, the Five Pagoda Temple at Haidan and the Tanjhe Temple at Memtougou, both in Beijing. I recorded the Buddhist chants and music from these places and used them in the play," Deb says. Many chants were processed at the studio and some of the music was re-created locally to get that authentic feel.

Tapanjyoti Das, the director of the play, feels that it was imperative to have that perfect music for bringing the 3,000-year-oldstory alive on the stage. "Such a deeply researched work on Gautam Buddha is perhaps being done for the first time in India. The script, written by Mohit Chattopadhyay, is a result of years of research on the Buddha. Added to that, Deb's music was the icing on the cake. The play is for a qualified audience and the first staging was only for a select few from the theatre fraternity. It was much appreciated by them," says Tapanjyoti.

"The temples are mostly 1,400 to 1,500 years old and are storehouses of Buddhists music," Deb says.

Apart from the string instruments, sounds of the Chinese flute, the Xiao, and many other Chinese percussions have been used in the play too.

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China Invests to Protect Oldest Cliff-carved Buddha

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Taiyuan, China -- A multi-million-yuan project that helps to shore up the country's oldest cliff-carved Buddha statue is to kick off before the end of June in north China's Shanxi Province.

<< Visitors look at the Mengshan Buddha statue in Taiyuan, North China's Shanxi province in this March 26, 2011 file photo. [Photo:Xinhua]

With a 74 million yuan (11.7 million U.S. dollars) investment approved by the Ministry of Land Resources, the work will focus on consolidating mines around the Mengshan Buddha, which was once in danger of collapsing, according to Taiyuan City's land resources bureau.

Qiao Qinghai, a geological environment official with the city's land resources bureau, said the project will increase greenery and eliminate the hidden geological hazards in the Mengshan scenic area, which will also improve living conditions for local residents and help the development of tourism.

The 1,461-year-old Buddha statue was carved on a cliff face on Mengshan Mountain in the year 551, during China's Northern and Southern Dynasties. It is believed to be 162 years older than the world's largest sitting stone sculpture of the Buddha in Leshan, Sichuan Province.

The Mengshan Buddha, 63 meters tall, was discovered in the 1980s with parts of it lost or buried in silt and rubbles. Continuous mining in the area led to geological disasters including landslides, ground collapses and fissures, leaving the giant statue in danger of collapse. It was opened to tourists in 2008 after repair.

A total of 211 million yuan has been invested to improve the area's geology since 2008.

The Mengshan Buddha statue is more than 20 km southwest to Taiyuan, the provincial capital.

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Buddha relic arrives in Hong Kong

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HONG KONG, China -- A skull bone believed to be from the original remains of Buddha arrived in Hong Kong on Wednesday to much fanfare.

<< A skull bone believed to be from the original remains of Buddha.

It is the first time the sacred Buddhist relic has been taken outside mainland China.

The relic is believed to be the world's only remaining parietal bone of Buddha.

It was flown in by chartered plane and was greeted at the Hong Kong International Airport by government officials and monks.

The relic was reportedly buried for thousands of years and first unveiled in Nanjing two years ago.

According to Buddhist belief, Buddha's skull bone grew naturally upward, resembling a hair bun at the top of his head.

The relic is said to be yellowish-white in colour, around 10 centimetres in diameter, and curved at the top.

Some 300,000 devotees are expected to flock to see the relic over the next six days.

The Hong Kong leg of the relic's journey coincides with "The Third World Buddhist Forum" and the Birthday of Buddha on Saturday.

The relic will head to Macau next.

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Die Welt, German national newspaper carries article on Das Buddhistische Haus -Berlin on the traces of the Buddha

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To mark the visit of Dalai Lama to the capital Berlin: Die Welt looked at a center of the eastern teachings in Frohnau.

Berlin, Germany -- Berlin is the center of Buddhism in Germany. All three large currents of Buddhism – Theravada from Southeast Asia, Tibetan Buddhism and Zen Buddhism from Japan – are represented here. If today Dalai Lama on his current visit to Germany makes a stop in Berlin, 15,000 people would want to be there.

<< Das Buddhistische Haus, Berlin Frohnau

Tissa Weeraratna (58) would also have liked to hear, what the head of Tibeten Buddhism had to say in the afternoon at the Brandenburger gate. However unfortunately I have today an appointment in Vienna, says the Buddhist originating from Colombo in Sri Lanka. Since eight years he lives in Berlin and administers Das Buddhistische Haus (Berlin Vihara) in Frohnau.

Altogether there are approximately 50 Buddhist Centers, temples and Meditation Centres in Berlin. Buddhism began to be taught for the first time in schools in Germany beginning in 2003. Even in the penal institution at Tegel, the largest prison in Germany, Buddhist meditation is taught to the prisoners.

It is difficult to say how many Buddhists are in Berlin, since Buddhism does not have a status as an official religion in Germany. However there are  about 5000 Germans engaged in Buddhist matters, according to an estimate of the Buddhist academy. And of the approximately 10,000 Chinese, who live in Berlin, one of ten visits the Buddhist temple.

Tissa Weeraratna meditates each day, always at three o’clock in the morning.  “My bio rhythm says it to me, he explains. Since I meditate I have not been sick.” And above all as a result his spirit is completely calm. He sits barefoot with a cup of tea in the library of Das Buddhistische Haus in Frohnau. His dark eyes look at the visitors calmly. He has time for discussions, worries and problems.

The Buddhist house is the oldest Buddhist Temple in Europe. It was built in 1924 by the physician and pioneer of Buddhism in Germany, Dr. Paul Dahlke. During the first few years it was used not as a monastery, but only as a place to teach the teachings of the Buddha. Dr. Paul Dahlke died in 1928. Thereafter the house stood empty. Only almost 30 years later, Mr. Asoka Weeraratna from Colombo, Capital of Sri Lanka purchased Das Buddhistische Haus from the heirs of Dr. Dahlke.

Since then Buddhist monks from Sri Lanka have been living in Frohnau. Asoka Weeraratna is the uncle of Tissa Weeraratna. “I am happy to manage the house that my uncle purchased (on behalf of the Trustees of the German Dharmaduta Society)” he says. The beautiful house with its temple on the hill, surrounded by pine trees, is a German national cultural asset. Lectures are conducted regularly in the large rooms of the library. ” All are welcome” Tissa Weeraratna says spontaneously. “Without an appointment and without payment”. This is important to him. He wants to give something to people who visit him. ” Many people who visit us suffer from the pressure and stress of everyday life, he says; Buddhism intends to increase your good qualities and eliminate bad ones. This reduces the causes of stress”.

Many people come to Tissa Weeraratna. “About 40 persons per day excluding school children who want to get information” he says.. “We hold conversations or go to the Temple to engage in meditation. His dark eyes radiate behind his eyeglasses. He derives joy from his work.

In the Buddhist house in Frohnau meditation is conducted on the lines of the Buddhist Theravada tradition. There are courses for beginners and advanced, and workshops on weekends. Two Buddhist monks constantly live in the house. And another three are staying there as guests. If they do not speak to visitors, these monks with shaven heads and dressed in red robes go out and through the town of Frohnau or even the centre of the central districts. ” They are seeking conversations with people e.g. in shopping streets or shopping centres, some also meditate there”, says Tissa Weeraratne. They invite the Berliners to come and visit us. They gladly accept gifts they are given by people. “Something to eat and drink. However no money. ” Monks are not allowed to touch money” explains the Buddhist, ” since it is the beginning of corruption.”

In the 60's the Dalai Lama once visited the Buddhist house in Frohnau. This time he will not come, but speak only at the Brandenburg Gate. The Dalai Lama is not the head of all Buddhists, he says, however he is a very wise man. He finds it problematic that the Dalai Lama is the head of state and religion at the same time. This should not be the case, says Weeraratna.  But otherwise he cannot understand why there are protests in connection with the visit of Dalai Lama. Protests should actually not be allowed. On the contrary, one must follow him.

On the web: http://das-buddhistische-haus.de/pages/en/history

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RECLAIMING BUDDHA! by Tenzin Nyinjey

By Tenzin Nyinjey

Like most children, I was a rebel too, more inclined to do things that were opposed to our Buddhist values. My friends and I enjoyed catching fish and crabs in the ponds. We often tracked down birds’ nests and followed Indians hunting wild deer and pigs in the jungles of tribal Orissa.

These huntsmen, bows and strings dangling from their shoulders and their faces smeared with soot, had some sense of fairness and justice—something perhaps folks responsible for the economic crisis in US can learn from. Once they hunted down their prey, they distributed the share equally among themselves, and even to us children who hadn’t made any contribution but simply watched them as mere spectators. Of course, we couldn’t bring our share of meat to homes for fear of our parents’ reprimand. We gave them away to stray dogs.

However, I loved the Buddhist rituals and ceremonies my parents held in our homes every now and then. For it was on such occasions that I got to enjoy the most delicious of foods. I loved the beautiful tormas made by monks and ngagpas. The sound of drums and conch shells and chanting of monks were sheer melody to my ears. The crows landing on our roofs to feast on tormas and the plume of smoke rising up in the blue sky from burned junipers was a spectacle too.

I remember my mother sending me out every evening to the local monastery to offer holy tea and coins at the altar of gods and goddesses. I always grabbed this errand with sheer delight—it was not out of religious piety however, but having the opportunity to get out of my house and play football with other kids that prompted me to do it.

Bowing and touching my heads in respect to the images of gods lining the altar of the monastery was a grueling experience. The most awe-inspiring moment was when I stood in front of the image of Palden Lhamo, unable to look into her fiery eyes—for some strange reason she was showered with more respect for being the most wrathful and protective of deities!

As I grew up and left my village and moved to Indian cities for higher education, I had to adapt my religious beliefs and practices too. Rarely any Buddhist rituals and ceremonies were held in cities that I could be a part of. Again it was my monk brother who came to my rescue. He presented me two books by His Holiness the Dalai Lama—the Art of Happiness and Ethics of the New Millennium—both of which gave me a new perspective of Buddhism that is more ‘rational’ and ‘modern.’ I was in disbelief that a Tibetan Buddhist leader, who never had ‘modern’ education in his life, could pen New York Times best sellers!

However, the struggle for survival driven by sheer competition was the norm than values such as love and compassion in cities like Delhi. The most sophisticated, intelligent and good-looking were ‘naturally selected,’ while the lesser fortunate ones were left behind in our rush to reach to the top. I witnessed lamas whom we have been taught to worship since childhood hanging around with powers that be, living in posh hotels and driving expensive cars. My spiritual and religious convictions, as a result, began undergoing changes.

I became more and more skeptical, even cynical, tilting towards all kinds of isms—atheism, socialism, communism and anarchism—drifting away from the bearings of my own community life, like a sailor whose boat was trapped amid heavy storm in the ocean, unable to find where the final shore lies! I wondered if, as the Chinese propagandists say, religion was not being used by the powerful to keep down the masses in ignorance and slavery. I wondered if there was a higher and absolute truth governing the laws of our universal world.

I began digging up my country’s history, finding to my utter indignation how religion was used as an instrument to strive for power by ruling elites. I couldn’t reconcile Buddha who gave up his own kingdom and wealth with Tibetan religious personalities sitting on political thrones and ruling the lives of ordinary people. The sectarian violence and infighting that resulted from the system of chosi-sungdrel was a blot on Buddha’s noble teaching and our country’s history—and we still suffer from its legacies.

Indeed, when people most responsible for protecting religion become corrupt, indulging themselves in wine, women and power, the worst result is young folks with highly impressionable minds lose faith in religion itself. I was no exception! I resisted (unconsciously) such corruption in my own unimaginative and uncreative ways, offending the sensibilities of my own people, alienating my parents and family. I stopped visiting monasteries, gave up reciting manis and refused to seek audience of lamas, and even made fun of fellow Tibetans who showed extreme religiosity—not cognizant of the fact that it was religion that actually gave them strength and succor in the face of overwhelming suffering caused by dislocation and dispossession of exiled life.

Historians like Gendun Chophel, Samten Karmay, Dhondup Gyal, Dungkar Lobsang Trinley, accused of being anti-Buddhists, however, taught me that the problem doesn’t lie with religion itself, but with the state that used religion to do its dirty work. These writers introduced me to other religious figures in Tibet’s history practicing religion sincerely without the taint of worldly interests such as material wealth and political power. The lives of Milarepa, Ugenpa, Thangtong Gyalpo and Tsangyong Heruka showed me the true essence of religion—love, compassion, tolerance, and service for others—rather than seeking power in the name of religion!

They helped me regain my faith and reclaim my Buddha!

The author is a political commentator based in Dharamshala.

The views expressed in this piece are that of the author and the publication of the piece on this website does not necessarily reflect their endorsement by the website.

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The Real Buddha Bar, Tended By Tokyo Monks

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At Vow's Bar in Tokyo, Buddhist monks run the place and serve up advice along with cocktails. Here's a monk serving drinks on Monday.

Tokyo, Japan -- Another Friday night at this tiny neighborhood watering hole in Tokyo: By 7:30, the bar stools and tables in this cozy joint are filling up; office workers settle in with their cocktails and Kirin beers. And by a little after 8, it's time for the main act.

Vow's Bar in the Yotsuya neighborhood has no house band, no widescreen TV, no jukebox. But it does have a chanting Buddhist monk so tipplers can get a side of sutras with their Singapore Slings or something even more exotic.

A pair of younger monks — conspicuous with their shaved heads, bare feet and religious garb — man the bar. For a non-Buddhist American like me, they shake up an order of the house specialty, shakunetsu jigoku, or "Burning Hell," and boy, they're not kidding.

This city is said to be honeycombed with 10,000 nightspots, most no bigger than an American living room. So to Japanese, it makes perfect sense that Buddhist monks would run their own themed bars, complete with incense, mandala sacred posters and religious altars. As for the monks themselves, they say that tending bar is, ironically, one of the best ways of connecting with their roots.

"In the old days, temples were the center of community life," says head monk Gugan Taguchi. "But then the temples grew powerful. Monks started getting rich, running funerals. They started to feel superior to their followers. That's not what the job is about."

Getting Out Of The Temple

Trying to suss out just what their job is about has prompted a younger generation of Japanese monks to undertake all sorts of endeavors. They start rock bands, open coffee shops and rent out their temples to theatrical productions and concerts as they search for ways of making themselves as central to their communities as their forefathers were back in the 15th century. To these men of the cloth, in other words, it's high time get out of the temple and go to where their flocks are.

Among tonight's flock is an office worker who said she spent an hour getting here, to seek counsel from the monks. She doesn't offer details, but the monks say they are asked about everything from wayward boyfriends to office politics.

"I tell people not everything is preordained or destiny," one of the younger monks says. "Love and affection change. So sometimes there's no point to trying to hang onto a relationship."

But the transition from austere temple to honky-tonk is not easy, the head monk confesses.

"At the temple, folks are always well-behaved and attentive, no matter how long or boring the sermon is," Taguchi says. "Here at the bar, they don't like my sermons — they walk out."

But for customers looking to get their advice straight up and their spirits lifted, the Buddhist bar is one place where there's always a sympathetic ear - all night long.

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