Sri Lanka Buddhist nuns long for equality

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COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- Buddhism was brought to Sri Lanka by Emperor Ashoka’s daughter Sangamitta and her twin brother Mahinda in 288 BC.

<< Ven Bodichitta, a Sri Lankan Buddhist nun

A nun herself, Sangamitta had ordained a number of Lankan women. Before long, most Lankans had embraced Buddhism and monasteries for monks and nuns sprouted across the island.

But the Saivite Chola invasion in 1017 AD put the order of the nuns in total disarray. The Bhikkhuni Sasana collapsed, and sadly, never to be revived.
The religious order came to be dominated by the male monks. Despite that, lay women continued to play a critical role in sustaining Buddhism. Many took to the religious life, shaving their heads and living in nunneries. Today, there are 427 nunneries with 1,200 novices and over 100 nuns with higher ordination.

Yet, a nun is not recognised as a ‘Bhikkuni’. She is only a Dasa Sil Matha (a mother practising the Ten Precepts). Higher ordination is denied to them. So, they are not on par with the ‘Bhikkus.’

Nunneries do not enjoy the patronage of the Buddha Sasana as represented by the Siam, Amarapura and Ramanna Orders. The Ministry of Buddhist Affairs does not recognise them or fund them. The monk’s identity card is denied to the nuns.

In 1998, a progressive monk, Sri Sumangala Thero of Dambulla, ordained 22 women as ‘Bhikkunis’. But they are yet to get official recognition.

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Thousands attend The 17th Karmapa's 8-Day teachings in Sarnath

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Sarnath, India -- His Eminence the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorjee has begun an 8-day teaching starting from February 21 at Vajra Vidya Institute, Sarnath, Varanasi- one of four holy Buddhist sites in India, with conducting extensive prayers and seminar by Buddhist monks and thousands of devotees from different parts of the world, including many who have came from Nepal.

Coinciding with an annual dharma seminar at Vajra Vidya Institute being led by Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche on Thursday, February 21, the 17th Karmapa Rinpoche has commenced a week-long series of teachings on a text which has been one of his personal favorites since a young age, called 'Tri Thung Gyatsa' or 'One Hundred Short Instructions.'

The text, composed by the glorious 8th Karmapa Mikyo Dorjee, comprises a treasury of pith instructions spanning the entire path to enlightenment. Each instruction is skillfully crafted so that the reader can enter the text at any point to find a gem of the 8th Karmapa's heart advice and enlightened wisdom. "From time to time I myself take a look through these 100 short instructions, and I really feel that they are very beneficial for me," the Gyalwang Karmapa said. "All of these instructions are given for serious practitioners," he continued, "and sometimes they are extremely forthright. They go straight to the heart of the matter."

Deciding that it would be beneficial to focus on one or two of the instructions contained within the collection, the Gyalwang Karmapa chose to begin the teachings with an instruction on 'Rules for Karma Kamtsang Meditators'. From this somewhat abstract title, His Eminence then began by emphasizing the need to contemplate death and impermanence in order to generate a sense of renunciation from worldly concerns, as a necessary precondition to genuine dharma practice. The Gyalwang Karmapa urged those gathered to use their own intelligence in understanding and practicing the essence of Buddhism, rather than just blindly following traditions or customs.

"The essence of Buddhism is being able to distinguish what it is that we need to do from what it is that we need to give up. We also need to identify what it is that will harm ourselves and others, and then we need to give that up. So you can condense it all into doing what is beneficial and giving up what is harmful. We need to know what the essence of dharma is, and then bring it into our lives."

He stressed the importance of not delaying the practice of the dharma, but rather taking the teachings on death and impermanence to heart and allowing them to motivate our practice in the present moment.

"If we are going to practice the dharma, this is what it means and we need do this now in our lives. We might think that we have our whole lives to do it, but we need to start doing it from today. This is not something that we should think, 'Oh I can start tomorrow, or I can start the next day, or I can do this when I'm older.' We need to do dharma practice now. We cannot postpone this. We need to start it right now."

devotees-sarnath-2013As the rain of dharma continued for a second day, the Gyalwang Karmapa opened the teaching by once again reiterating the urgency to practice the dharma right now, in this very moment. "We need to practice the dharma from now. We need to do it on this very seat, in this very session. It's right now that we need to begin the dharma. If we postpone it, if we think to ourselves I'm going to do it tomorrow or the next day, then we will not be able to really practice the dharma well. It's important to understand this."

From this urgent call to practice, the Gyalwang Karmapa then turned his attention to making sure that we do it properly. He observed that there are many people who wish to practice the dharma, but don't truly know how. By focusing mainly on the external appearances of our practice without carefully checking our mind, we can easily fall into the trap of spiritual materialism.

"Sometimes when we practice dharma we think that we need to show some sort of external or physical sign of it. We pay a lot of attention to the rituals and these actions of our body and speech. This is practicing dharma when we're focusing outside. But instead what we need to do is turn our attention inwards. We need to see whether what we're doing is functioning as an antidote to the afflictions or not. We need to see whether we are taming our mind or not. We need to see whether our mind is improving, getting kinder, or not. If we don't look at it in this way then there's no benefit to doing these actions – we think that we are trying to do the dharma, but actually we are just making a show with our body and speech. We are putting on appearances, and that's all we really take an interest in. And the moment that happens, this becomes spiritual materialism."

Expanding his focus to the wider twenty-first century world we inhabit, the Gyalwang Karmapa touched on both the ways it shapes us as people and the ways that we as individuals in turn can shape it. Observing the growing trend towards materialism in the modern world, he encouraged the audience to look beyond the idea that happiness can be found outwards in external things.

"These days in the 21st century it's a very materialistic time. Most of the time, we don't really know what true happiness is. Many people have the idea that external things and external conditions will bring them happiness, and will lead them to the real meaning. But when we think about material things, the more we have of these things the more disturbances we have. The more difficulties we have. Things get more and more problematic. We have more and more busyness, and what happens then is that we lose ourselves. We lose our nature, what really is there."

Continuing his exploration of our place in the modern world, the Gyalwang Karmapa skillfully reminded each person of the important role they play in shaping an increasingly interconnected and ever-more deeply interdependent world.

"In this Information Age people are developing closer and closer connections with each other. All the people in the world are seeing that they have greater mutual connections. It has become very clear to us that these are deeper and stronger connections. When we think about our own good acts and wrong acts, we can see more clearly how they have an effect on the world. We can see that the individual things that we do are connected to the benefit or the harm of the world. They are deeply connected to the happiness and suffering that is in the world. The good and bad acts of one person are becoming the good and bad of the world. When we examine the good and bad that we do, we can see that it is becoming even more profound and even more vast. It's the good and the bad that people do that determine on a fundamental level if there is peace or happiness in the world. It's very tightly connected."

Returning once again to the theme of the previous day, the Gyalwang Karmapa continued his guidance on how to practice the dharma correctly, until we eventually reach a point where the dharma and our life have merged.

"To really practice the dharma we have to understand the dharma, and we have to have full dedication and interest in it. When we have that, only at that point are our dharma practice and the individual who is practicing the dharma, no longer separate from each other and become the same in flavor. That is the point when our dharma practice and this life become part of each other and they share the same nature."

Moreover, as dharma practitioners we also need to truly understand and accept impermanence. We need to develop our ability to be relaxed and open to changes as they naturally occur, accepting situations as they arise around us.

"When, because of external or internal circumstances there comes some sort of a change, we need to be able to go along with that change. So whatever happens, we go with the flow of events. If we are able to do this, then in our own mind we can be more relaxed. We can be more expansive. When we go along with that we can be comfortable, relaxed and spacious in our minds. If we are able to do this then we are able to be happy, and to have a comfortable and content life."

His Eminence the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa then urged his students to uncomplicate their worlds, by keeping a simple outlook on life. Delivering profound guidance with skillful simplicity, he emphasized the importance of living grounded in the present moment, and of seeing the good that is already right in front of our eyes.

"The best thing is to be in the present. It's better if we don't have too high hopes for the past or the future situations. It's better just to stay in the present. Whatever is right in front of our eyes, we need to be able to see the good in it. If we can see the good in it, then good things will be able to occur from that. I really feel that it helps to try to just have a simple outlook on life."

"When we are trying to figure out what the essence or the meaning of life really is, then it's not just a question of looking inside oneself. Sometimes we have to look outwards to see the meaning we hold for others. We have to look in all different directions to be able to see what is good about our life."

On the fourth day of the Spring Teachings the Gyalwang Karmapa turned the focus firmly inwards: if we look inside our own minds, a wishful-filling jewel is already waiting. "When we are trying to figure out what the essence or the meaning of life really is, then it's not just a question of looking inside oneself. Sometimes we have to look outwards to see the meaning we hold for others. We have to look in all different directions to be able to see what is good about our life."

With the chanting lasting from morning until night, the prayers were culminated in a grand long-life prayer offering (Tibetan: Tenshug) to His Eminence the 17th Karmapa on the auspicious day of 25 February, which is known as Chotrul festival. The prayer event was lead by Ninth Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, one of the senior most Rinpoches and foremost elders of the present Kagyu lineage, who is the Abbot of the Institute in Saranath.

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China Must Realize Tibet And Tibetans Are A Reality – Analysis

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Beijing, China -- The Chinese authorities, that is the Communist Party of China (CPC), must realistically admit that its minorities especially the Tibetans, Uighurs and Mongolians are flesh and blood people.

Many of the country’s minorities have either disappeared or are too small in number to demand their identity. That, however, is not the case at least for the Muslim Uighurs of Xinjiang (East Turkistan) and Tibet.

The Uighurs, who are of Turkish origin, were settled in these areas centuries before the Han Chinese conquered them. They enjoy empathy if not open support in Turkey and the neighbouring Central Asian Republics (CARs) like Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. But China’s rise has bulldozed these countries into submission, especially the oil rich and land locked countries of the CARs. Uighur struggles, however, are beginning to get some recognition internationally.

The Tibet issue is different and in some ways, unique. The Tibetans are a deeply religious lamastic society. Their recognition came not from the Han Chinese but the Mongols. The name “Dalai Lama” (Ocean of wisdom) comes from the Mongol Khan dynasty. The Chinese emperors came much later. Tibet was independent for most of history. When the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) invaded Tibet in 1950-51, history was forced to change. Eventually, the 14th Dalai Lama accepted the position adopted by Beijing. He renounced independence of Tibet but asked for genuine autonomy.

The international community has taken a similar stand. What both the Dalai Lama and the international community demand are respect for the human rights of the Tibetans, security of their language, culture and heritage, and administration of Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) by Tibetans, within the constitution of the People’s Republic of China.

Basically, the demand is very simple. That Beijing implement its own laws and rules in TAR. Autonomy for major minority areas is a law of China. Freedom to practise religion is in the statute books. The Chinese authorities pride themselves on these laws.

Yet, there is no freedom of religion in Tibet. Possession of a photograph of the Dalai Lama is a crime. And where is autonomy? In fact, autonomous regions like Tibet, Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia are much more policed than any other administrative region in China. Minorities hardly ever rise in the hierarchy. To start with, they are suspect.

The Chinese authorities are correct when they claim development has been brought to Tibet. But who are the beneficiaries? Not the Tibetans but the Han Chinese who have been brought in. This is also a cause of resentment among the Tibetans.

But the authorities do not want to admit it, nor do they want to correct themselves. When Chinese NGOs point this out they are black listed and banned. Why?

Another problematic policy is ethnic engineering in autonomous regions. With the excuse of educating minority youth better and provide them suitable employment, they are being dispersed across the country and replaced by Hans. Today, Han Chinese are getting to be a majority in capitals and important centers in autonomous regions.

Where do minorities like the Tibetans stand? They are always suspect, as is the Dalai Lama. The Chinese authorities have suspended talks with Dalai Lama’s emissaries. This signalled a much harder position on Tibet. The Dalai Lama gave up all his political responsibilities and the Tibetan government in exile is now headed by Harvard educated Lobsang Sangey, a lay man. The Chinese authorities suspect every move from the Dalai Lama and his set-up.

The Chinese authorities were taken aback by self-immolation by Tibetan monks, nuns and even lay people since February, 2012, protesting against Chinese occupation of Tibet and demanding the return of the Dalai Lama. On a count, 99 have committed self immolation at the time of writing this article, and there are no signs that this will abate soon.

The authorities have failed to stop these self-immolations simply because they are not part of an organized affair. The Dalai Lama has also declined to interfere, despite Chinese exhortations.

In a desperate attempt, the Chinese authorities have launched a propaganda that all those who have immolated themselves had their own personal problems, mostly shameful and of personal frustrations. Some pro-government Tibetan monks were made to declare that suicide was against Buddhist religious tenets. It made no difference, and the Chinese authorities have failed to explain why these self immolators shout anti-Chinese slogans and pray for the Dalai Lama.

What is interesting is that these self-immolations are not taking place in Lhasa or the TAR. They are taking place in Tibetan areas outside the TAR in Qinghai and Sichuan provinces, parts of which the Tibetans want included in TAR. This, of course, is not acceptable to Beijing. Conceding this would give way to new questions on Chinese claim on historical sovereignty over Tibet.

At the moment, China is in a catch-22 situation on Tibet and the entire Tibetan issue. With its economy, military strength and growing influence, China is a member at the highest table in the world. It has to behave with a certain amount of responsibility. These self-immolations are not only a diplomatic embarrassment for China, but internally too people’s ideas on the Tibet issue may be changing. Many Han Chinese are resorting to Buddhism, and some of them have met the Dalai Lama. According to Chinese official media report (People’s Daily, Feb 11), an estimated 80,000 people went to the Yonghe Buddhist temple in Beijing to burn incense and pray on ‘Chinese’ new year’s day.

For most Han Chinese, Tibet is a distant, harsh place and alien to the Han way of life. The government has to give special incentives to Han Chinese to serve in TAR. This is hardly a situation that defends Chinese policy on Tibet.

Where is China going to take their war against the Dalai Lama? Their recent propaganda says that the Dalai Lama was running an anti-China training establishment in India and these people were sneaking into China to encourage Tibetans to commit self-immolation.

This propaganda has very deep and serious implications for India-China bilateral relations. The accusation comes from an official Chinese propaganda outlet and indirectly accuses India of collaborating with the Dalai Lama to sabotage China’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Of course, China has not yet taken up the issue with India officially. But the issue has been recorded, allegedly as confessions from two Tibetans who had gone there from Dharamsala recently. The accusation is in the diplomatic brief case, to be taken out as and when necessary.

What would be the next step? China has already pressured Nepal to arrest Tibetan refugees fleeing to India (Dharamsala) and return them to China. But India as a signatory to the UN Refugee convention cannot turn away refugees. In fact, India hosts the largest number of political refugees in the world, from a vast array of countries. This is a humanitarian issue.

The Dalai Lama and the Tibetan diaspora in India remains China’s target. At one time, the Dalai Lama was described by the Chinese as the “serpent’s head” which must be crushed. The Dalai Lama’s security had to be enhanced.

The Dalai Lama has made every effort to cooperate with the Chinese. This includes the recognition of Ugyen Thinley Dorjee (UTD), one of the two major claimants as the 17th Karmapa, whose monastery is in Sikkim. The 16th Gyalva Karma came from Tibet to India and established the Karma-Kargyu seat at the Rumtek monastery in Sikkim. After his death the regents of the ministry quarrelled among themselves to find their own 17th Karmapa. Tai Situ Rimpoche (TSR), one of the regents who has close relations with the Chinese, discovered UTD. Another regent Samar Rimpoche, discovered his own 17th Karmpa in Thaye Thinley Dorjee (TTD) also in Tibet. Hence, the seat of the Karmapa is in contest. The Dalai Lama recognized UTD as the reincarnation of the 16th Karmapa on the advice of TSR when he was in Rio de Janeiro to attend the Earth Summit in 1992.

UTD came to India in December, 2000. The story was he escaped from Chinese security and travelled for four nights and five days to come to India without the Chinese realizing he had escaped. It is highly inconceivable that UTD could escape from Chinese security without being discovered for such a long time. The Chinese official news agency, the Xinhua, reported his escape only after he crossed over to India. Another mystery, indeed!

UTD is a young man now and has studied religion under the Dalai Lama. But it is interesting to note that the Chinese authorities have never ever criticized UTD. And he, in turn, reciprocated the Chinese good will. This raises serious questions about India’s security, especially because Chinese officials have expressed concerns about UTD’s security.

Available evidence suggests communication exists between UTD and the Chinese authorities. This reportedly takes place through emissaries, and verbally. The argument that UTD came to India at a young age and whatever Chinese indoctrination he may have received could not last this long, does not wash. Streams of Chinese come to see him.

A trend, very clandestinely and cautiously growing over the last decade indicates an eventual Chinese controlled Karma-Kargyu seat in Sikkim. After the Dalai Lama passes away, UTD would become more free in the Tibetan Buddhism affairs. The Karma-Kargyus are a very important Tibetan sect, perhaps the richest. Without the 14th Dalai Lama, the Gelugpas will be weakened. There is no certainty about a 15th Dalai Lama. Even if there is, he will take years to mature into the unquestioned leader. The Chinese could bring the war inside India and create pro-China monasteries along the Indo-Himalayan belt.

The scenario is not a fantasy. It is time that UTD clearly demonstrated his position on Tibetans and the Tibet question. His road to the Rumtek seat is still not clear. His allegiance to the Dalai Lama and the Tibet issue is still to be tested.

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The writer is a New Delhi based strategic analyst. He can be reached at e-mail grouchohart@yahoo.com

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Jogye Order Buddhist School of International Studies holds first graduation ceremony

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Seoul, South Korea -- After 2 years since the opening, The Jogye Order Buddhist School of International Studies held it’s first graduation ceremony with 9 monastic graduates at Hwaunsa temple in Gyeonggi province on February 22nd, 2013.

These 9 monastics enrolled 2 years ago in aims of further propagating Korean Buddhism to the rest of the World. Ven. Hyun ung, the head of the Jogye Order education institute was the keynote speaker at the graduation ceremony. During his speech, he stated, “... these nine graduates will be an important resource for the promotion of Korean Buddhism in the World.”
The principal venerable, Ven. Beob in, handed out the diploma to each of the nine graduates and congratulated on them on their accomplishments.

It was noted in the keynote speech that there had been no drop outs and all nine monastics had completed the course from the beginning.

Ven. Cheong ha and Ven. Jeong Hyo will go back to the United States to continue their work on Korean Buddhist propagation, and other monastics will continue to propel the advancements for International affairs, Temple stay programs, to further propagate Korean Buddhism to the rest of the world.

Native English teachers and the 16 students who entered the school last year and this year congratulated the graduates for their accomplishments. The Jogye Order Buddhist School of International Studies will continue to develop monastics with bilingual skills to further propagate Korean traditional Buddhism to the rest of the World to liberate people across the globe from suffering.

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New direction for Buddhist programs at Yale

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To support the Yale Buddhist community after severing relations with Indigo Blue, the Chaplain’s Office is offering activities such as Dharma talks in Harkness Tower.

New York, USA -- Four months after the University ended its nine-year relationship with former Buddhist Chaplain Bruce Blair ’81 and Indigo Blue, the nonprofit center for Buddhist life at Yale, the Chaplain’s Office has unveiled a series of new religious activities and acquired two interim staff advisers for the University’s Buddhist community.

<< Photo by Vivienne Zhang.

In January, the University hired Steve Kanji Ruhl and Anne Dutton as interim Buddhist advisers, and the Buddhist Shrine in Harkness Chapel was reopened last December. The Buddhist activities currently offered this semester include Dharma talks twice per month as well as a weekly formal practice with open discussion, said Nathaniel DeLuca, the Chaplain’s Office program coordinator. Students interviewed who previously attended Indigo Blue programs said they have not attended the new programs hosted by the Chaplain’s Office.

University Chaplain Sharon Kugler said her office hopes to grow their current Buddhist program before looking into hiring a new full-time Buddhist chaplain.

“Currently we are focusing on nurturing the program that we have and are working with local and regional Buddhist communities to identify appropriate next steps to form partnerships for future endeavors,” Kugler said.

The events hosted by the Chaplain’s Office are comparable to Buddhist programs at other universities and services offered for other religious communities at Yale, DeLuca said. The Chaplain’s Office has been working “slowly but deliberately” to create a community to support displaced members of the Buddhist community after the University cut ties with Indigo Blue last fall, he said.

Kugler said she sought advice from prominent members of the national Buddhist community during the hiring process, adding that Ruhl and Dutton were chosen because their knowledge of multiple forms of Buddhist ritual is essential in a diverse college setting. The two interim fellows hold advanced degrees in Buddhist studies — Ruhl graduated from the Harvard Divinity School, and both are experienced in teaching Buddhism, she said. Dutton has been involved since the fall in efforts to “rebuild” the Buddhist program and is familiar with attendees already, Kugler added.

“I don’t have specific goals, but I do want to welcome as many Buddhist and non-Buddhist students as possible and members of Yale’s nonstudent community as well, into dynamic, meaningful conversations exploring the Dharma and how it manifests in our lives,” Ruhl said. “I want to help create a warm, inviting atmosphere for doing that.”

Dutton said she hopes to provide a space for students who wish to learn more about the Buddhist faith as well as those who use Buddhist practices to help with stress and other challenges. The new activities focus on practical applications of Buddhist teachings that are useful for students in everyday life, she added.

Kugler said she has received positive feedback from students and particularly from attendees of the Dharma talks, which are teachings on the Buddhist faith. Roughly 10 students and community members attended the second Dharma talk on Feb. 18, filling all available seats at the Buddhist chapel, Ruhl said. Students have been open to sharing personal experiences and have shown sincere interest in discussions following the Dharma talks, he added.

Hung Pham ’15, a prior attendee of Indigo Blue events and former representative of the Buddhist community on the Inter-Religious Leadership Council, said the new programs are centered on Zen Buddhism and do not appeal to students who appreciated the more diverse, pan-Buddhism approach of Blair.

“I’m sure it’s not anyone’s fault — it just so happens that the new Buddhist leaders on campus are of the Zen school,” he said. “The Chaplain’s Office is refusing to hire a new full-time Buddhist chaplain who would appeal to multidimensional Buddhism.”

But Kugler said both advisers are educated on the diverse range of Buddhist thought, and that no students have approached her office with complaints recently.

Pham said separate groups of students attend the Chaplain’s Office’s Buddhist programs than those that attend the Indigo Blue programs still offered at Blair’s home on Mansfield Street. The two options have not created a cohesive community environment, Pham said.

Ruhl previously co-chaired the Harvard Buddhist Community.

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Buddhist temple planned for NE Portland lot

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PORTLAND, OR (USA) -- The former landfill across from Madison High School near Northeast 82nd Avenue has been one of Portland’s biggest eyesores and a magnet for transients.

The area has served as a driving range and there has even been a proposal for a Wal-Mart there, but now neighbors are talking about some other big plans for the space.

By next year, it could become a Buddhist religious center with community gardens and paths connecting it to Rocky Butte.

The Dharma Rain Zen Center bought 14 acres of the land in November.

It’s been in the Buckman neighborhood for the last 25 years, but now the center wants to expand.

Besides a temple and green space, the building plans include a preschool and a 30-unit co-housing community.

Crews have already started clearing the overgrown land and reaching out to neighbors.

Kurt Muntzel still has his yard sign protesting plans to build a Wal-Mart there a few years ago. He's more open to the idea of a Buddhist center.

"I think it's going to be a great addition to the neighborhood. It's going to have nature trails and multi-use buildings and classes, so I think it's great. Better than some big retail center,” he said.

Before plans can move forward, the city has to approve the land use. There will be a public hearing March 20.

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Buddhist books top best sellers in Korea

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Seoul, South Korea -- Ven. Haemin’s book has been the top-seller in Korea for over one year selling over 2 million copies.

His book, “What You See When You Take a Break,” (translated title of Korean) was published last year on January 1st 2012,  and stayed on top of the best-seller list for 13 weeks between May and July. It was recorded that the over a 1 million copies were sold within 6 months.

And once again, six months from the milestone of selling over 1 million copies, his book is now the top selling book in Korea with over 2 million copies sold.

According to Kyobo Bookstore, Korea’s largest bookstore, the the top 5 books of the 100 best-selling books in the past year were by Buddhist monks and nuns, which proves that Buddhism is returning into the mainstream of Korean daily lives.

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