Chinese President Xi Jinping hopes traditional faiths can fill moral void in China: sources

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BEIJING, China  -- President Xi Jinping believes China is losing its moral compass and he wants the ruling Communist Party to be more tolerant of traditional faiths in the hope these will help fill a vacuum created by the country's breakneck growth and rush to get rich, sources said.

<< A monk is seen through an incense burner inside a temple as snow falls in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province, in this February 19, 2013 file photo. REUTERS-William Hong-Files (CHINA)

Xi, who grew up in Mao's puritan China, is troubled by what he sees as the country's moral decline and obsession with money, said three independent sources with ties to the leadership.

He hopes China's "traditional cultures" or faiths - Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism - will help fill a void that has allowed corruption to flourish, the sources said.

Skeptics see it as a cynical move to try to curb rising social unrest and perpetuate one-party rule.

During the early years under Communism, China's crime rate was low and corruption rare. By contrast, between 2008 and 2012 about 143,000 government officials - or an average of 78 a day - were convicted of graft or dereliction of duty, according to a Supreme Court report to parliament in March.

Xi intensified an anti-corruption campaign when he became party and military chief in November, but experts say only deep and difficult political reforms will make a difference.

Meanwhile, barely a day goes by without soul-searching on the Internet over what some see as a moral numbness in China - whether it's over graft, the rampant sale of adulterated food or incidents such as when a woman gouged out the eyes of her six-year-old nephew this month for unknown reasons.

"Xi understands that the anti-corruption (drive) can only cure symptoms and that reform of the political system and faiths are needed to cure the disease of corruption," one of the sources told Reuters, requesting anonymity to avoid repercussions for discussing elite politics.

Government agencies would moderate policies towards Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism in the hope these faiths would also help placate the disaffected who cannot afford homes, education and medical treatment, the sources said.

"The influence of religions will expand, albeit subtly," a second source said, also speaking on condition of anonymity.

"Traditional cultures will not be comprehensively popularized, but attacks on them will be avoided."

Skeptics described such tactics as a ploy to divert blame away from the party for the many problems that anger ordinary Chinese, from corruption to land grabs.

"Buddhists accept their destiny and blame their predicament on the bad deeds they did in their previous lives," said Hu Jia, an AIDS activist and Buddhist who has been intermittently under house arrest since his release in 2011 after serving 42 months in prison for subversion.

GENUINE RELIGIOUS FREEDOM?

Religious freedom is enshrined in the constitution but the officially atheist Communist Party has no qualms about crushing those who challenge its rule. The party is paranoid and would remain vigilant against cults and feudal superstition, the sources added.

China banned Falun Gong as a cult and has jailed hundreds, if not thousands, of adherents since 1999. Former president Jiang Zemin also defrocked and put under house arrest a six-year-old boy anointed by the Dalai Lama as the second holiest figure in Tibetan Buddhism in 1995.

"Relaxation and suppression go hand in hand," said Nicholas Bequelin, of New York-based Human Rights Watch.

"In China, religion must serve the state," Bequelin said. "There is greater religious freedom in China ... but to what extent is the party ready to allow genuine religious freedom?"

Washington will also need convincing.

In its 2012 report on international religious freedom, the U.S. State Department said Chinese officials and security organs scrutinized and restricted the activities of registered and unregistered religious and spiritual groups.

The government harassed, detained, arrested or sentenced to prison a number of adherents for activities reportedly related to their religious beliefs and practice, it said.

Indeed, conservatives in the party still frown on what they see as "religious infiltration". Zhu Weiqun, a vice chairman of the top advisory body to parliament, warned in an interview with China Newsweek magazine in June that party members should not even practice any religion.

Others think change is in the air.

"This is for real," Lin Chong-Pin, a Taipei-based veteran China watcher and former government policymaker, said by telephone. "To save the party and the state from the current crises, Xi must fill the spiritual void."

A "SPIRITUAL CIVILISATION"

In a sign of the changes Xi wants, Zhang Lebin, deputy director of the Bureau of Religious Affairs, wrote a commentary in July in the party's mouthpiece, the People's Daily, that said "treating religions well should become a common consensus ... and the right to practice religions should be protected".

The following month, Xi called for building both a "material and spiritual civilization" - Communist jargon for growth and morality.

Back in February, Xi met Taiwan's top Buddhist monk, Hsing Yun, in Beijing along with a delegation of dignitaries from the self-ruled island which Beijing claims as its own.

Meetings between top Chinese and religious leaders are rare.

Hsing Yun was banned from China in the early 1990s for giving sanctuary to a senior Chinese official at his temple in the United States after the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown. He is now a bestselling author in China.

"President Xi and his family have feelings for Buddhism," said Xiao Wunan, executive vice chairman of the Asia Pacific Exchange and Cooperation Foundation, a Beijing-backed non-governmental organization.

In yet another sign, Yu Zhengsheng, ranked fourth in the Communist hierarchy, visited five temples in Tibetan areas in July and August and a mosque in western Xinjiang province in May - unprecedented for such a senior leader in terms of frequency.

MAO PURGED CONFUCIUS, POSTHUMOUSLY

China estimates it has 50 million practitioners of Buddhism and Taoism, 23 million Protestants, 21 million Muslims and 5.5 million Catholics,

Independent experts put the number of practitioners of Buddhism, Taoism and folk religions at between 100-300 million.

Chinese emperors embraced Confucianism for centuries, encouraging the philosopher's teachings of filial piety and respect for teachers and authority. Mao then posthumously purged Confucius in the early 1970s.

Confucianism has since made a comeback, although not a smooth one.

A 9.5-metre (30-foot), 17-tonne statue of Confucius was erected in 2011 outside a Beijing museum adjacent to Tiananmen Square, not far from a portrait of Mao which overlooks the area. It vanished weeks later with no official reason given. Conservatives celebrated its removal, which came on the heels of an online uproar about the statue's location.

Buddhism was virtually wiped out during the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution when temples were shut and Buddhist statues smashed.

It has crept back although China maintains tight control in Tibet where monks and nuns have been jailed for their loyalty to the Dalai Lama, who fled into exile in India in 1959 after an abortive uprising against Communist rule.

About 120 Tibetans have set themselves alight in protest against Chinese rule since 2009. Most have died.

Taoism, or Daoism, a philosophy-turned-religion preaches living in harmony with nature and simplicity.

Nevertheless, despite the emphasis on fostering more openness for traditional faiths, one thing in the world's second biggest economy will remain the same.

"Economic development is still the No. 1 (priority). Moral development is No. 2," the third source said.

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Remain vigilant against religious bigots: President

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Dhaka, Bangladesh -- President M Abdul Hamid Advocate on Thursday urged all to be vigilant against the reactionary bigots with a view to maintaining traditional communal harmony in the country at any cost, reports UNB.

"A reactionary quarter of bigots is active with ill motive to misguide the people of the country in the name of religion. Ordinary people never accept the heinous activities easily. All of us will have to remain vigilant against the quarter," he told journalists at a reception programme at Bangabhaban.

The President and his wife Rashida Khanom hosted the reception for the members of the Buddhist Community on the occasion of Buddha Purnima, the biggest religious festival of the community.

The President and his wife welcomed the guests and exchanged greetings with them.

President Abdul Hamid said: "Bangladesh is a country of communal harmony. The country came into being with the spirit of building a non-communal society free from oppression? for that secularism was identified as one of the main principles in the constitution of 1972."

He said: "We've to keep in mind that people of the country are pious, but not bigots."

The President mentioned that secularism does not mean non-religiousness. Secularism means to work for national development through pursuing respective religion.

The time has come to work for building Bangladesh as non-communal country as dreamt by father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, he said.

"The state and festival are for all irrespective of religion. All of us-Hindu-Muslim-Bouddha-Christian-are Bangalis. Our today's pledge will be to advance the country towards development and prosperity with the joint efforts of all."

Abdul Hamid noted that from time immemorial, the Buddhist community has been contributing to the country's education, culture and socio-economic development. "Different archeological sites in different parts of the country bear the proof," he said.

Industries Minister Dilip Barua, State Minister for Religious Affairs M Shahjahan Miah, ambassadors and high commissioners of different countries including Myanmar, Bhutan, Vietnam, Thailand and Sri Lanka as well as representatives of various international organisations and professionals of Buddhist community attended the reception.

Secretaries to the President's office were present on the occasion.

BSS adds: Members of the Buddhist community here today celebrated their most sacred and largest festival Buddha Purnima in the city and elsewhere in the district with traditional enthusiasm and solemn devotion.

Buddhists celebrate the Purnima marking the three significant events, took place in the life of Lord Buddha- the birth, enlightenment and passing away.

Lord Buddha was born on the Full Moon day in 563 BC, attained supreme enlightenment and nirvana (the cycle of rebirth) on the same day.

The festival was celebrated in all monasteries and different Buddhist organizations with elaborate programmes.

The day's programmes were heralded with hoisting of the national and religious flags atop all monasteries in the dawn and chanting of the sacred verses from the Tripitaka.

The Buddhist devotees also offered fruits, flowers, candles etc to statues of Lord Buddha throughout the day.

Prayer meets, sermons on the life of Gautam Buddha, religious discourse, continuous recitation of Buddhist scriptures, group meditation, processions, worships of the statue of Buddha were the highlights of the day's programmes.

In the city, the main religious congregations were held at Nandankanan Buddhist temple, Katalganj Nabapandit Vihar, Purnachar International Buddhists Monasteries at Devpahar, Sarbajanina Buddha Vihar at Momin road and Biswamoitry Buddha Vihar at Agrabad.

The Buddhists in Chittagong organized a two-day programme ahead of Buddha Purnima. Deputy Commissioner of Chittagong Abdul Mannan will inaugurate a religious procession at Nandankanan Buddhist Monastery at 8 am Friday.

To mark the day, local dailies also brought out special articles while Bangladesh Betar and Bangladesh Television, Chittagong centres aired special programmes highlighting importance of the festival.

To mark the occasion, special issues of a good number of periodicals of the community like Amitabh, Sombodhi, Krishti, and Arya were brought out.

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Sri Lankan President visits China's Lingguang Buddhist Temple

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Colombo, Sri Lanka -- Beijing: President Mahinda Rajapaksa and First Lady Shiranthi Wikaramasinghe Rajapaksa, along with members of the Sri Lankan delegation, visited the Lingguang Buddhist Temple located on the outskirts of Beijing Monday.

The chief incumbent most venerable Chang Zang and fellow monks welcomed the President, the First Lady and the delegation, and invoked blessings.

The temple, which was established 1,200 years ago, has become a center for Buddhist pilgrims because of the Buddha tooth relic that it houses. The only other recognized tooth relic of the Buddha is located in the Sri Dalada Maligawa (Sacred Temple of the Tooth Relic) in Sri Lanka. The tooth relic at the Lingguang Temple had first been taken to what is now Pakistan after the passing of the Buddha before it was brought to China.

President Rajapaksa donated a gold-plated Buddha statue to the temple when he visited China in 2007.

Minister of External Affairs Prof. G.L. Peiris, Ministers Wimal Weerawansa and Douglas Devananda, Parliamentarians A.H.M. Azwer and Namal Rajapaksa, Chief-of-Staff Gamini Senarath and Sri Lanka's Ambassador in China Ranjith Uyangoda were also present.

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President presents peace lamp to Buddhist monk

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"The peace lamp would hopefully help allay the magnitude of conflict surfaced between North Korea and South Korea"

KATHMANDU, Nepal -- President Dr Ram Baran Yadav has presented a perennial holy peace lamp (Akhanda Dip) to South Korean Buddhist monk on Friday.

<< THT Online/File Photo
President Dr Ram Baran Yadav

President Dr Yadav handed over the lamp to Buddhist religious preacher Hejen of Dosunsa Monastery based in South Korea at the Presidential House in Sheetal Niwas.

A 80-member delegation of Buddhist monks headed by Hejen had arrived in Nepal from the monastery on the management of Nepal South Korea Lumbini Peace Lamp Expedition Citizen Main Function Committee.

The committee had brought the peace lamp to Kathmandu from Lumbini on Thursday. The lamp festival is set to take place in Korea to mark the Buddha Jayanti by illuminating lamps taken from Lumbini, the birth place of Buddha.

On the occasion, the President has expressed his hope that the lamp to be taken to Korea from Lumbini would impart a positive message to maintain human welfare and peace in the global context, said the committee coordinator Kapil Lama.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Madhav Prasad Ghimire and Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Ram Kumar Shrestha also expressed their view at the programme.

The peace lamp would hopefully help allay the magnitude of conflict surfaced between North Korea and South Korea, said Buddhist preacher Hejen.

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Former US president Bill Clinton turns to Buddhism

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San Francisco, CA (USA) -- According to thebuddhism.net news site, in an article dated January 10th, 2013, former US president Bill Clinton has hired his own personal Buddhist monk to teach him how to properly meditate.

Bill is learning to meditate and has reportedly turned to a vegan diet as well. All this change has apparently been influenced by his recent heart scare where in February 2004 when he was rushed to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City because he started experiencing some awful chest pains.

At that time, he had to have two coronary stints put into his heart and a few months later, in September, he had to undergo quadruple bypass heart surgery. In 2010 he then had a clogged artery that the surgeons had to reopen which was his second heart operation in five years.

He says that learning meditation helps him to relax, which apparently stress is supposedly one of the biggest contributors to this heart condition. He travels a lot and his job is highly stressful, learning to meditate he learns to relax and says he is doing much better after his two life changing decisions.

He reportedly also has a favorite mantra that he loves to chant when things get hectic and says that is really does help him to relax and think more clearer. He used to eat a lot of fast food apparently according to the news reports, but now he has decided to give up all that and replace it with a lot of fruits and vegetables with the occasional fish! Outstanding I say, we need more govt. officials turning to healthy ways of life and Buddhist meditations to relax and maybe our country would start looking up.

As 2010 and 2011 taught us, Buddhist meditation and healthier diets are starting to make a trend with everyone. More and more people are seeing the benefits that come from a life of relaxing meditation and eating healthier and changing their lives.

From Tiger Woods to Steve Jobs (RIP) Buddhism is beginning to be seen in some very high places. It is true meditation has a lifetime of relaxation and peace as well as health with it. Everyone could benefit from the changes that Mr. Clinton has made, and good for him.

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

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

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

It’s about time.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This is insanity.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Dharma Drum Mountain President to visit Toronto

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

If you go:

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

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

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

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President opens Buddha Mandiraya in Ratmalana

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Colombo, Sri Lanka -- The newly built Buddha Mandiraya in Kothalawalapura Samadhi Buddhist Centre, Ratmalana was opened by President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday.

The Buddha Mandiraya built on the instructions of the Chief Sanghanayake of the Hinidumapaththuwe Galu Korale and Samadhi Buddhist Centre Chief Incumbent Mapalagama Budasiri Nayake Thera, was opened to mark the 2600th Sambuddhatva Jayanthi. The President also launched a web site.

The construction of this Buddha Mandira was the brain child of President Mahinda Rajapaksa when he was the Opposition Leader.

Samadhi Buddha Mandiraya in Ratmalana Kothalawalapura was constructed with donations of local and foreign devotees.

Nayake Theras also participated in this opening ceremony.

Ministers Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, Senior Minister A H M Fowzie and a number of politicians participated. An alms giving to 100 members of the Maha Sangha was also held.

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