As a Buddhist and a fan of heavy and — okay — weird music, I was pretty thrilled when a friend told me yesterday about Yamantaka // Sonic Titan, a band which, as Pitchfork.com puts it, "blends philosophies of Buddhism, meditation, and mantra with the band's love of extreme sounds like black metal, industrial, and noise. Their name, for example, pins a reference to the Buddhist deity Yamantaka with a song title from doom metal band Sleep's Dopesmoker." [A classic of the doom metal genre, in case you weren't aware.] If you're into even some of the things that YT//ST blends, you might very well like it yourself. (If not, that could be a whole 'nother story.)
After the jump: more about Yanantaka // Sonic Titan via Pitchfork, plus a video and a links (including an online stream of the bands new LP, YT//ST.
More with the band's two performance-artist founders, via Pitchfork:
Pitchfork: What's the narrative behind your new rock opera?
Alaska B: We're Buddhists, so it's about the Buddhist concept of struggle to enlightenment. The sound started out trying to approximate the energy of rock'n'roll — that strong psychic energy that's been carried since the 50s. We had this idea that when you see Tantric Buddhists, it's people making a lot of noise together; it's this long journey where you start in one place and don't know exactly where you end. We were trying to imagine the same vibe but in the rock'n'roll context– replacing those sounds with our sounds.
Ruby Kato Attwood: Our aim when we perform is to create an empty space — a sacred space — compared to what's called the Samsaric world, which is ever-changing and full of chaos.
Check out the full Pitchfork piece, which has LOTS more to it, here. It also includes online streams of three songs.
The makers of Digital Dharma, the documentary about the late, legendary Tibetologist E. Gene Smith — learn all about it, and him, in our previous coverage, including film clips and more — report: "We already have thousands of dollars backed on our Kickstarter campaign to help cover the costs of completing the score, sound mix and color correction for the feature-length film, but we will also need funds to edit the 52-minute broadcast version that will be distributed globally.
But unless we raise another $ 11,332 in the next 65 hours, we may have nothing to distribute." Click here to pitch in.
Photographer Nicholas Vreeland, a Buddhist monk holding a Geshe degree and grandson of well-known fashion editor Diana Vreeland, is donating the proceeds of his latest exhibition to help reconstruct the 14th century Tibetan monastery Rato Dratsang in Karnataka, India. Photos for Rato opened in 2009 in select cities and is currently showing at ICIA House in Kala Ghoda, a precinct in South Mumbai, India; photographs from the exhibit are available for purchase through the website, with all funds going to the Rato Dratsang Foundation. From the website: "Each image, signed and numbered, is part of a limited edition of 25."
According to the Rato Dratsang Foundation website, "In 1983, the few Rato monks able to escape Tibet built a two-story building. New monks have since come from northern India, Bhutan, Nepal, Taiwan, and the United States. Today the Rato community consists of over 120 monks. Unfortunately, they live in difficult conditions, with four monks currently having to share one room.
The Rato monks therefore decided to build a new monastery to accommodate their growing community. It is designed to include a temple, 66 monks' rooms, a dining room, and a kitchen, as well as an administration building."
Seth Piritha Video , Live From TNL with Gajanayakagama Kassapa Thero Sri Lanka, *********************************************************** This Seth Pirith Chanting was sang by Buddhist monks in Hunupitiya Gangarama Vihara, Sri Lanka for daily broadcast of TNL TV channel. The site is the Seemamalakaya at Gangaramaya in Colombo. The Buddhist monks in this video are from the left hand side of yours, * Gajanayakagama kassapa Himi (Now in US) * Palatuwe Jinarathana Himi * Meegasweve Somarathana thero * Kirinde Assaji thero * Rathanasara thero * (A visited monk on that day for the temple, still we don't have the name.we will published it later.) *************************************************** www.starlankaonline.com can here a MP3 Maha Piritha ( A Different version via Star Lanka Online Dot Com), Chanted by monks in Dharmavijaya Buddhist Vihara, 1847 Crnshaw Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90019, USA **************************** To Watch our other videos visit www.youtube.com or www.youtube.com or www.youtube.com Our Other Sites are, 1. Star Lanka Online www.starlankaonline.com 2. Buddhist Channel www.thetriplegem.blogspot.com 3. Informative Site : The Future www.thefuturematara.blogspot.com 4. Cricket and Sports Updates, www.cricketschedule.blogspot.com 5. priyanthadesilva.blogspot.com Maha Piritha, Rathana Suthraya, Karaneeyameththa Suthraya, telecasted by TNL everyday. Chanted by Monks in Hunupitiya Gangaramaya, Colombo. Video Rating: 4 / 5
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Sokuzan Robert Brown, a Soto Zen priest in the lineage of the late Kobun Chino Otogawa, spends an hour a week at one of five prisons within the Michigan Department of Corrections, offering classes on meditation to prisoners. According to the SokukoJi Prison Project, "This year we have donated dozens of malas (meditation beads) and given over fifty new Dharma books to inmates in various facilities just in the last six months." Brown was recently interviewed by Christina Shockley of Michigan Radio and was asked why he got started with prison work.
"I can't help it," he replied.
He elaborated: "…I started by helping myself. I was suffering and had a lot of difficulty, anger, frustration, depression—you name it. In my very early years I was in the Marine Corps (where I first started studying Buddhism) and [I] met my teacher about twelve years later, in my early thirties.
I began sitting meditation and it started to help me see what anger actually was. Rather than continually trying to push it away or ignore it, or explain it or justify it, instead meditation helps us (as it is practiced in the Buddhist tradition, in most cases) to see exactly what is the root [of] this; and, usually, as the Buddha taught, the root of suffering, or confusion, or delusion, is desire. Or, put in simple words, 'Wanting things to be different than they are.'"
Click here to learn more about the SokukoJi Prison Project. You can contribute to help Brown and his organization continue their important work.
Catching On: Finding Peace in Prison — Prisoner Timothy Burke on how Buddhist meditation has been helpful in finding peace — and deepening his understanding of Christianity.
Murder, Injustice, and the West Memphis Three — Rod Meade Sperry shares the tale of Jessie Misskelley, Jason Baldwin, and Damien Echols. Could what happened to them happen to any of us?
A Roshi on the Row — Kobutsu Malone takes Shodo Harada Roshi on an unprecedented visit to Arkansas' death row, where two condemned men now practice Zen. One of them, Damien Echols — subject of the HBO documentary "Paradise Lost"— is believed by many to be innocent.
The Great Escape — Yoga and meditation help Pippin Ross escape the hell of America's oldest prison for women.
Jamil's Heart — Through the practice of compassion meditation, Rosalind Harris transforms the grief of her son's murder into solidarity and friendship with all young African-Americans, whose life of violence and oppression is a national tragedy.
A Taste of Freedom — "After more than thirteen years behind bars," writes Fleet Maull, "a prisoner's short, bittersweet experience of freedom is a reminder of his guru and the free, cheerful state of mind that is available at every moment."
Free Download and DVD here: yogayak.com Direct Click for DVD - bit.ly 18 Classes on 1 disk for .95 Kavita in this ancient meditation, taught by the Buddha himself, brings unconditional love to your Self, your loved ones and even learn to send unconditional love to your least favorite people. Visualizing a beautiful green light around your heart chakra encourages open and encompassing love that leaves you feeling good through and through! Mettā (Pāli) or Maitrī (Sanskrit) means unconditional and unattached loving kindness. It is one of the ten pāramitās of the Theravāda school of Buddhism, and the first of the four Brahmavihāras. The mettā bhāvanā (cultivation of mettā) is a popular form of meditation in Buddhism, practiced with mindfulness of breath, which provides concentration, so as to prevent the loss of compassion. Contraindications: If you are being treated for any form of depression or mental illness consult your healthcare practitioner before beginning any form of meditation. Video Rating: 4 / 5
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"Just when I most identified myself as a Buddhist," writes Stephen Schettini – author of The Novice: Why I Became a Buddhist Monk, Why I Quit, and What I Learned — in the Winter 2011 Buddhadharma magazine, "I behaved least like a follower of the Buddha."
Tibet News / China's Control Over Nepal / Mustang A Kingdom On The Edge
While Tibetan Buddhist is squeezed inside of China's borders, there is a place where it still survives intact: Upper Mustang - a once forbidden kingdom high in the Nepalese Himalayas. Al Jazeera's Steve Chao travels there to document the fight to preserve an ancient culture, as China expands its influence into Nepal, and the modern world slowly creeps in. Video Rating: 4 / 5
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This week, the blog turns two years old. How did that happen? Honestly, I had no idea what would come of this when I started it, but here we are. The following is the first post I ever made, back on March 23, 2009. A lot has changed in my life since then, but other things aren't all that different really. Anyway, here it is. I'll plan on reposting more of those early pieces, in part because they came before I had much of an audience. But also, because it's kind of fun to look back. Enjoy! Let me begin with a quote from Dogen, a 13th century zen master, from his teaching "Tenzo Kyokun." "Under no circumstances allow anyone who happens to be drifting through the kitchen to poke his fingers around or look into the pot." Now, let's take yourself/myself. You and I, we probably enjoy entertainment, right? In fact, we probably are more than willing to let someone drift into our world if they will entertain us away from our problems, our suffering. And isn&#
From The Under 35 Project: “A Good Death” His Holiness the Dalai Lama sends congratulations to the Australian Prime Minister and the President of Mongolia His Holiness the Dalai Lama sends congratulations to the Australian Prime Minister and the President of Mongolia Reports: China easing bans on Tibetans displaying Dalai Lama images Buddhist Monk, U Wirathu and the 969 Movement. Score one for the chimps — and all beings For the Sake of All Beings, We Vow This Conversation: A report from the Gen X Dharma Teacher Gathering Karmapa announces overhaul of Buddhist nuns’ education From The Under 35 Project: “A Good Death” Posted: 28 Jun 2013 09:00 AM PDT New from The Under 35 Project: A practitioner's thoughts on grief, death, and the loss of a parent. By Christa Joy . In her last days of life, we tended to Mom as though she were able to feel us, hear us, and experience the sensory world with us. Hospice had told us to continue on a
Ikeda calls for “nuclear abolition summit” Ikeda calls for “nuclear abolition summit” Discover the Sacred Dwelling of the Heavenly Mother in Kuala Lumpur’s Holy Thean Hou Temple Symbolism of the Dharmachakra Buddhist Tours - 7 Places You Should Visit on Buddha Trail Buddhist Tours, Places to See and Places to Stay- Tour around or stay in comfort Buddhist Monks and Monasteries in Thailand Sarnath - A Depiction of India's Rich Buddhist Heritage The Contributions Of Asian Buddhists And The Popularity Of Zen Buddhist Tours India- Five Best Buddhist Sacred Sites Buddhist prayer beads - China PEM Fastener - Sheet Metal cabinet Supplier The Dewdrop Slips Into The Shining Sea - Choral Piece Popular Buddhist Pilgrimage Spots in India and Nepal 65th Annual Northwest District Buddhist Convention coming to Spokane Buddhist Tour India: Credulous And Spiritual Soujourn Bangladesh’s “Bana Bhante” dies at age 93 Beginning Buddhist Meditation 201
As a Buddhist and a fan of heavy and — okay — weird music, I was pretty thrilled when a friend told me yesterday about 
The makers of Digital Dharma, the documentary about the late, legendary Tibetologist E. Gene Smith — 
