Italian archaeologist helps Pakistan restore defaced Buddha statue
Italian archaeologist helps Pakistan restore defaced Buddha statue |
- Italian archaeologist helps Pakistan restore defaced Buddha statue
- Mick Jagger, Meditation Advocate?
- “Journey to Pangmo” needs your help
- Video: Chong-Ko, the Buddhist robot
- Update: Largest Buddhist temple in Europe is inaugurated
- Field Of Merit
| Italian archaeologist helps Pakistan restore defaced Buddha statue Posted: 28 Jun 2012 07:00 AM PDT The Associated Press reports this week on Italian archaeologist Luca Olivieri and his team's efforts to repair the defaced Jahanabad Buddha in Jahanabad, Pakistan. The statue, which was created in the 6th or 7th century and was one of the largest monuments of its kind in South Asia, was destroyed by Pakistani Taliban, who consider such images idolatrous, in 2007. (The Taliban in Afghanistan notably destroyed the ancient Buddhas of Bamiyan for the same reason in 2001.) The reconstruction is being funded by the Italian government, which, in collaboration with Pakistan, is also helping to ensure that "many other archaeological treasures in the scenic Swat Valley are being excavated and preserved." You can read the full article here. Read More @ Source
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| Mick Jagger, Meditation Advocate? Posted: 28 Jun 2012 06:00 AM PDT
What might be surprising to some, though, is that the idea of "Mick Jagger, Meditation Advocate" seems to be grounded in reality. As I explained on The Worst Horse in September of 2010, the semi-notorious UK paper The Sun reported that Jagger is a regular visitor to Laos, where, said one source: "He spent hours with monks in the temples and chanted with them. He practises Buddhist and meditation every day. He says it's the first thing he does when he gets up in the morning." The singer has stayed away from commenting on this much more than telling the Daily Mail, wryly, "It's too debilitating to drink a lot, so I use other relaxation techniques… I sit on my own, calm down, take stock." So while the meme does put words into that world-famous big mouth (so to speak), it really might not be so far off. And as commenter Jaime McLeod wrote in response to that Worst Horse item: "I've been saying for a long time that '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction' and 'You Can't Always Get What You Want' are modern Western Buddhist hymns. Go Mick!" Read More @ Source 
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| “Journey to Pangmo” needs your help Posted: 27 Jun 2012 01:00 PM PDT
Jon Ciliberto, a graphic designer who runs the website Buddhist Art News, is raising funds to publish a book, Journey to Pangmo, filled with his drawings and watercolors of Himachal Pradesh, India. If it's published, proceeds from the book will go to benefit the Jamyang Foundation, which supports educational initiatives for Buddhist women in Northern India. Ciliberto has launched a Kickstarter campaign to get his book published, but has only until July 8 to raise over $ 3,000 more. Anyone who pledges at least $ 20 will get a copy of the book—a $ 35 value. Ciliberto drew the pictures when traveled to the Himalayas in 2010 to teach English to young girls with the Jamyang Foundation. The book will also includes stories from his travels. "During my time in India I made many drawings and paintings," Ciliberto says. "I shared these with nearly everyone I met along the way: these drawings were often a passport for me to people and places when language was unavailable. On many occasions, a gathering crowd of enthusiastic children watching me draw completely blocked the view of what I was drawing." In this video, Ciliberto explains his project, and shows some of the drawings in the book. . 
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| Video: Chong-Ko, the Buddhist robot Posted: 27 Jun 2012 11:00 AM PDT
By Claire Michalewicz Chong-Ko, who's being called the first Buddhist robot, was created by students at King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang in Bangkok to serve in an alms-giving ceremony. The 10-foot tall robot, dressed in a white shirt, helps out by picking up food and giving it to lay people, who then pass the food on to monks. Chong-Ko is controlled by a phone, and there's a webcam inside his head that can broadcast the ceremony to those who can't attend. Here's a video about Chong-Ko from CNN iReporter Sunkonthip Kanchan. . More about Chong-Ko after the jump.
One of Chong-Ko's creators, Sathittham Sangthong, explains that he and his fellow students came up with the idea of the robot to commemorate the 2600th anniversary of the Buddha's enlightenment. He says the robot is more than just a science project; it's a way to make a positive difference in the world. "This is just the beginning of the good things that we will do," Sangthong said in the video. "I would like to encourage all of you to do the good things or the things that you love to the world, and we will bring peace to this world." (Thanks to Adam Tebbe of Buddhadharma News and Sweeping Zen for the tip.) Read More @ Source
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| Update: Largest Buddhist temple in Europe is inaugurated Posted: 27 Jun 2012 10:00 AM PDT  Photo via blog-habitat-durable.com Construction of the Buddhist temple in Bussy-Saint-Georges, France, reportedly largest of its kind in Europe, has been completed. The building was inaugurated on June 24 in a ceremony attended by religious and political leaders. The building will serve as the European headquarters for Fo Guang Shan and will open its doors to the public this Sunday. The prayer room alone can hold up to 450 people, and the temple is just one building in a planned complex of other religious buildings that will also include a synagogue, a mosque and an Armenian Orthodox Church. Read More @ Source
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| Posted: 27 Jun 2012 09:00 AM PDT I wrote this last night in an effort to describe what I mean by field of merit. How does it grab you? Read More @ Source 
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