Seeing Fresh: Contemplative Photo of the Week
Seeing Fresh: Contemplative Photo of the Week |
- Seeing Fresh: Contemplative Photo of the Week
- Feast For The Eyes
- Can Buddhist training de-stress teachers?
- Psychiatrist incorporates Buddhist philosophy to heal patients
- For Belgrave Buddhist monks, it's the rite way to celebrate
- Hemis Festival Celebrated by Drukpa Buddhists with Much Fanfare
- More than 70,000 Buddhists live in Mizoram
- Shrine's IPO plan sparks public outcry
- Thai society rediscovers the values of the Buddha to combat materialism and economic crisis
- South Korea's Buddhists monks tackle modern challenges
- Upaya Chaplaincy Training Program accepting applications for 2013
- Self-immolation protests and suspicious deaths continue inside Tibet
| Seeing Fresh: Contemplative Photo of the Week Posted: 04 Jul 2012 07:00 AM PDT Last week we introduced a new weekly feature, Seeing Fresh, which showcases some of the great photos submitted to The Practice of Contemplative Photography co-author Andy Karr's website. This week, Andy shared this shot by Mark Bessoudo.
Now, one of the many great things about contemplative photography is that anyone can do it. Maybe you're a serious photographer with all the latest equipment, or maybe you've just got a camera in your mobile phone. Either way, you can take part in the creation of real art. To learn more about the practice, and to submit your own photos, visit the Seeing Fresh website and The Practice of Contemplative Photography's Facebook page. You can view all of our "Seeing Fresh" posts on Shambhala SunSpace here. Read More @ Source
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| Posted: 04 Jul 2012 01:00 AM PDT In Kathmandu it is monsoon time and...well it seems like it is monsoon time here in Britain at the moment. It's been unremitting grey days for weeks. It is so easy to get dragged down, eyes on the pavement. The summer flowers are non the less soldiering on in mute tones, the birds are doing their thing. I've never seen so much green either. For a bit of uplift why not go to Crystalfists to feast your eyes. A veritable banquet of colour and form. 
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| Can Buddhist training de-stress teachers? Posted: 03 Jul 2012 10:00 PM PDT by Rebecca Jones, Jul 2, 2012BOULDER, CO (USA) -- What Angie Mays remembers most about last Thursday's lunch was not so much how it tasted, but how it sounded.
But what struck Mays was the sound. Without the distracting noise of conversation around her, she heard the chewing going on all around her in a way she'd never noticed before. "I also found I couldn't really look at anybody, because to look was to want to engage in conversation," said Mays, an instructional coach and new teacher mentor for Weld County RE-8 school district. Stressed teachers in need of contemplative practices
But she's certain it's worth doing, and worth sharing with her colleagues in Fort Lupton. That's why she's enrolled in a two-year Contemplative Education program at Naropa. "In my experiences in working with teachers the last few years, I've seen a lot of burnout, pressure, stress. There's something missing," she said. "This program feels to me like it's not just the latest fad, but something that can reach people." Few groups are more in need of stress relief than the nation's teachers. Studies consistently show teaching to be one of the most stressful occupations, and the resulting physical and emotional ailments can be debilitating and costly. Programs such as Naropa's Master of Arts in Contemplative Education and the Cultivating Awareness and Resilience or CARE program at the Garrison Institute in Garrison, N.Y., aim to arm teachers with the Buddhist-inspired practices of mindfulness and body awareness as a means to counteract the stress of today's classroom. They've reached only a minuscule fraction of America's classroom teachers. There have been about a hundred graduates of the Naropa program over the past decade, and fewer than 500 have taken CARE training. But practitioners believe they eventually will be able to provide empirical data on the success of such practices in keeping teachers healthy. Once they can show school administrators how the training can boost the bottom line, they expect more educators will get serious about getting mindful. "This is a really new area," said Tish Jennings, senior director of the Initiative on Contemplation and Education at the Garrison Institute. Jennings was in Denver this spring to share with others involved in contemplative studies some ways to gather evidence about the impact of their work and advance the knowledge base of the field. Last year, the U.S. Department of Education awarded a $ 3.5 million grant to fund a four-year randomized controlled trial of the CARE for Teachers program in New York City schools. It will assess not only CARE's impact on teachers but also on classroom climate and student outcomes. "I was a teacher for 22 years," said Jennings. "I found myself dealing with some strong emotions in the classroom. It can be an emotionally demanding profession." Jennings also supervised student teachers, and it was through those experiences that she began to see how emotional reactivity not only creates stress, but can impair a teacher's ability to be effective. "As teachers get stressed, children get stressed," she said. When office workers get stressed, they usually have the option of stepping away for a few minutes, having a cup of coffee, speaking to another adult to help them calm down. But in a classroom, teachers must not only figure out what to do when they're upset, they must do it in a way that manages the situation and doesn't derail learning. "And they're doing it in front of a lot of children who may be highly critical of them, or not even paying any attention to them," she said. "It can be incredibly challenging." Mindfulness practices can help teachers better regulate their emotions. It helps them to step back, calm themselves, and respond to situations intentionally, not flying off the handle. "It seems like a paradox, but when we psychologically slow down, we can get a lot more done," Jennings said. "When teachers experience that effectiveness and calming, it's positive reinforcement for them to continue. It's very subtle, but it's really foundational." Richard Brown is the founder of the Contemplative Education program at Naropa, and is a co-developer of the CARE program. "It came to be because of my own experiences in the 1980s teaching most third and fourth grades in a Buddhist-inspired K-12 school in Boulder," Brown said. "I realized that a lot of insights from Meditation could be translated to non-sectarian teacher education programs." Students in the two-year Contemplative Education program at Naropa do most of their coursework online, taking classes in such subjects as contemplative teaching, compassionate teaching, transforming instruction and curriculum. But they also spend three and a half weeks together during each summer to form a contemplative learning community. They take classes in mindfulness, embodied wisdom and creating community. Much of that time is spent learning about self-care and body awareness, Brown said. Teachers learning to take care of themselves first "Teachers need to take care of themselves first," he said. "It's like the notion of putting the air mask on yourself in the airplane before you help your child put theirs on. When teachers develop that kind of emotional maturity, then they can create an atmosphere in the classroom that allows them to better serve the needs of their students." Step one of mindfulness in the classroom is being aware of what's going on in their own bodies, he said. "Teachers are constantly in their heads, but their bodies are giving them stress signals," he said. "Maybe it's a tightness in the stomach or throat. But they just soldier through rather than noticing that their body is tense, paying attention, and beginning to relax and let go." It also means really listening, hearing the sound of a child's voice rather than just the words the child may be saying. "When a child says 'I'm upset,' a mindful teacher will allow himself a second to hear that," Brown said. "But if you immediately come up with a solution, the child may not feel heard. And feeling heard is as important as any answer. "So we spend a lot of time training teachers to listen to the children before they speak. Take a moment to feel it. So if a child says 'I'm upset,' if we actually register genuine concern, then that child will trust us more than if we just say 'Oh, what's that all about?'" Brown instructs teachers in just sitting still, in noticing how they are breathing, in grounding themselves. "When you are being still, you start to notice the kind of thoughts and feelings you have," he said. "Things come up. You start to get familiar with how your mind works and how your emotional responses work." This week, he had students engage in some mindful reading – reading a descriptive passage very slowly, examining each word and noticing how different words created different emotional reactions in them. "Before, I could have given you a synopsis of the passage, but when I read it mindfully, it was like savoring each word," said Teresa Sedano, a Sacramento teacher who works with sign language interpreters. "It was like seeing a newsreel in my mind. And when we got to the word 'pain,' it took me to my own pain from an injury." Brown nodded his agreement. "When you make that personal connection, you remember it better, and you have a more meaningful experience of learning." Michele Blumberg, who is co-teaching the Mindful Teacher class with Brown, does some simple yoga-style bodywork with the students, helping them to relax and to become more aware of their bodies. After class, Mays expressed her approval of what she's learning, and how she will use it. "You know, it's not just teachers' belief in their students that will cause them to succeed or get in their way," she said. "It's teachers' belief in themselves that also matters." Source: http://www.ednewscolorado.org/2012/07/02/39676-can-buddhist-training-de-stress-teachers Read More @ Source
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| Psychiatrist incorporates Buddhist philosophy to heal patients Posted: 03 Jul 2012 09:00 PM PDT by Dava Castillo, All Voices, Jul 2, 2012
Buddhist philosophy and practice is incorporated into psychotherapty by Dr. Loizzo New York, USA -- In the practice and study of Buddhism, non-duality or wholeness is a binding philosophy and critical to achieving enlightenment. All beings are equal in wanting happiness and not wanting pain; therefore one should protect others as one protects the self. This is called "the exchange of self for others," or mindfullness.
"The main problem in our human condition has to do with the fact that our natures were adapted for life in the wild, and that because of civilization, we are living in very unnatural conditions," says Loizzo, who believes this is the primary source of stress for most people. "The stress instincts are what prepare us to fight or fly or freeze sometimes in dangerous situations. But since civilization began to sort of take over our whole lives, these stress reactions are a less and less useful part of our makeup," according to an interview with Voice of America.
"And because really what is challenging us is not a predator, but is another human being," he says, "whom we need to cooperate with and we need to negotiate with, essentially we become maladapted." Buddhist practices and philosophy have long been used for conflict resolution. Dr. Loizzo says by incorporating Buddhist techniques into his medical practice using meditation and breathing techniques, one can re-train the brain to control the body responses to reduce the stress which can lead to depression, chronic anxiety, hypertension and heart disease. "The idea is that if you're mindful, you are able to assess things more clearly, and you are able to catch the misperceptions and over-reactions as they occur and opt out of them and choose the alternative [and] to see what is happening to you. Meditation becomes sort of a teachable simple pragmatic system for strengthening the parts of our mind and our brain that we need to be healthy and happy." Personal story-telling Australian aborigines have practiced story-telling for centuries. An adolescent experiences a rite of passage in which they create their own story by going on a "walkabout." In this practice they trace the paths, or "songlines", that their ancestors took, and imitate, in a fashion, their heroic deeds in order to build their own life rooted in tradition. Personal story-telling is also one of the techniques Dr. Loizzo encourages. "That's the way our minds work. Our minds produce stories and images. And so some of the skills we teach have to do with learning to tell ourselves more constructive stories that empower us and help us to build the life that we really want to live - not the one we are trying to survive, or are afraid of being stuck in forever." Such methods have been life-changing for many of Loizzo's patients. Depression was a major problem for me," says one patient. "And through Dr. Loizzo's support and our interaction I've been able to connect myself with other people and develop a network of people who support me in more meaningful relationships, things like that. It's been a revolution in my life the way I think about myself and think about the world. I feel like I still have a long way to go but I've come a long way." Mindfulness techniques have been effective in other settings. For example, breast cancer patients whose disease has gone into remission often report PTSD-like symptoms long after treatment ends. Western medicine offers little to ease the continued fear and anxiety. For a pilot study, Loizzo taught 60 women in a 20-week course that included meditation instruction and group discussions. Afterwards, most reported feeling less anxious and more hopeful about their lives. "Apart from curing and treating the disease, it's important that we improve people's quality of life." Combining Western psychotherapy with Eastern philosophy is the basis for Dr. Loizzo's book and the direction of his practice. Like the Australian Aborigines who, by singing the songs they created in walkabout, could navigate vast distances through the deserts of Australia's interior, Loizzo's patients are learning to navigate or "walkabout" in their own lives through meditation and creating constructive stories to empower them through daily living as well as in crises. Read More @ Source
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| For Belgrave Buddhist monks, it's the rite way to celebrate Posted: 03 Jul 2012 08:00 PM PDT BY CLAIRE THWAITES, Jul 3, 2012Maroondah, Australia -- It's not every day you get offered the chance to celebrate the Dalai Lama's birthday - and certainly not an invitation you'd expect in the outer east of Melbourne.
But this weekend you can do exactly that when the Tibetan Buddhist Rime Institute in Belgrave opens its doors to the general public for the Dalai Lama's 77th birthday. Public officer for the institute Julie O'Donnell said the celebrations would provide an opportunity for people to witness monks chanting and using traditional instruments. "It is just a nice thing for people to see because you don't often get to see Tibetan rituals."
The institute has been operating in Belgrave for more than four years and has about 50 members. Ms O'Donnell said no prior knowledge of the religion was required to enjoy the weekend. "It is for the community to come and celebrate with us. You don't need to do anything - you can just come and watch if you like." It begins at 7.30pm on Friday with a traditional offering for the Dalai Lama. On Saturday, events start at 11am with a lunch offering to monks of different Buddhist traditions and a longlife puja for the Dalai Lama. A puja is a ceremony involving prayers, chants and rituals to generate blessings. In the afternoon, Tibetan films and a documentary about the Dalai Lama will be screened and handicraft and book stalls will be open. There is no need to book and entry is free, but donations for the temple are welcome. The Rime Institute is at 1584 Burwood Highway, Belgrave. Details: rimebudhism.com. Read More @ Source
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| Hemis Festival Celebrated by Drukpa Buddhists with Much Fanfare Posted: 03 Jul 2012 07:00 PM PDT The Buddhist Channel, Jul 3, 2012LEH, India -- The 2-day annual celebration by the Drukpa Buddhists - the Hemis festival began today at the Hemis Monastery, Ladakh with much fanfare.
Drukpa Buddhists celebrate the legendary Hemis Festival with great enthusiasm annually. The colourful two-day pageant falls on the 10th day (Tse-Chu) of the Tibetan lunar month. The festival duration is marked as a local holiday, and involves the entire city. Locals dress up in their finest traditional garb for the occasion and throng the festival venue.
The performers wear elaborate and colourful costumes and brightly painted masks. These masks are the most vital part of the dance. The dance movements are slow, and the expressions grotesque. The music is characteristically punctuated with sounds of cymbals, drums, and unwieldy trumpets. The monks with trumpets, Rgyaling i.e. pipe drums, cymbals, rounded shaped bells enthralled the gathering. The entire festival arena smelled heavenly because of incense sticks and other sweet smelling herbs. The first dance was setting limit or 13 black hat dancers, followed by sixteen dancers wearing copper gilded masks. Then there was the eight different forms of Padmasambhava followed by Guru Padma Vadjra . On the second day, the monks will continue their traditional performances on various instruments, put on exhibition the thanka-painting of silk patwork of great Gyelsey Rimpoche. The monks afterwards assembled in hall & started the worship of Maharaja Pehara, a protector of Buddhist teaching. At 11 am the eleven Acharyas came out in the retinue of Maharaja Pehara. About Drukpa Buddhists The Drukpa Buddhists follow the Mahayana Buddhist tradition in philosophy, i.e. the philosophy of "getting enlightened for the benefit of others" and the methods are based on the Tantrayana teachings passed down from the great Indian saint Naropa, who was born in 1016 in West Bengal royal family. "Druk" in Tibetan means "Dragon" and it also refers to the sound of thunder. In 1206, more than 800 years ago, the first Gyalwang Drukpa Tsangpa Gyare Yeshe Dorje saw nine dragons fly up into the sky from the ground of Namdruk, and he named his lineage "Drukpa" or "lineage of the Dragons" after this auspicious event. For more details, please visit: http://www.drukpa.org or http://www.drukpa-hemis.org Some of the pictures for the same may be accessed at 
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| More than 70,000 Buddhists live in Mizoram Posted: 03 Jul 2012 06:00 PM PDT PTI, Jul 2, 2012Aizawl, India -- More than 70 thousand Buddhists live in Christian-dominated Mizoram and they constitute the second largest religious group in the state, Statistical Abstract of Mizoram, 2011 said. They mostly live in the south western part of the state where Chakmas were given a separate autonomous district council in 1972, sources said. The population was based on the Census 2001 in which the number of Christians was placed at 7,72,809. Buddhist community was followed by Hindus at 31,562 and by Muslims at 19,326, the report said. There were 326 Sikhs, and 179 people following Jainism and 3,105 classified as others. 
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| Shrine's IPO plan sparks public outcry Posted: 03 Jul 2012 05:00 PM PDT by He Wei, China Daily, July 3, 2012Shanghai, China -- The latest effort to float on the capital market by Putuo Mountain, a Buddhist site, has renewed discussions over whether religious venues should turn into high-profile commercial entities through initial public offerings.
Putuo Mountain Tourism Development Co Ltd, a subsidiary company under the Putuo Mountain Scenic Management Committee, is gearing up to go public on the domestic capital market after prudent considerations and a year of preparation, a committee official told China Daily on Monday. "We are set to raise around 750 million yuan ($ 118 million) to bolster the site's development," said Zhang Shaolei, who works for the committee, which is affiliated to the Zhoushan municipal government in East China's Zhejiang province.
But he declined to reveal the timetable or comment on the revenue source or composition of the planned listed company. Putuo Mountain Tourism Development Co Ltd was unavailable for comment. The listing of companies linked to world-famous Chinese heritage sites is not new in the country's capital market. For instance, Emei Shan Tourism Co Ltd, which is primarily engaged in the sales of admission tickets and the operation of tramways and hotels in Emei Mountain, another renowned Buddhist mountain, was listed in Shenzhen in 1997. A more recent example is Famen Temple, another high-profile temple in Northwest China's Shaanxi province, which put the brakes on its IPO in May after preparing for a Hong Kong listing, according to the China Securities Journal. The issues seemed to have touched the nerves of the government, which has criticized plans to promote tourism via temples, or temples banding together to go public for fundraising. Xinhua News Agency quoted Liu Wei, an official with the State Administration for Religious Affairs, as saying last month that such plans violate the legitimate rights of religious circles, damage the image of religion and hurt the feelings of the majority of religious people. "Looking at the rest of the world, no venues for religious activities have ever been packaged for listing before," he said. Besides, the authorities are drafting documents to regulate policy boundaries that differentiate philanthropic endeavors from profit-driven activities, said Wang Zuo'an, head of the bureau. Attempts to list religious sites have apparently crossed the line because it is overly money-minded to misuse public assets for profit-driven activities, said Liu Yuanchun, a researcher on Buddhist culture with Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. According to Article 24 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Cultural Relics, no State-owned sites protected for their historical and cultural value, which are established as museums or cultural relics preservation institutes or used as tourist sites, may be made assets for business operations, Liu said. "A Buddhist temple is a public asset that belongs to the whole country, not the so-called temple managers or the local government," he said. Reports about Shaolin Temple, famous for its kung fu monks in Henan province, planning a listing sparked a public outcry when they surfaced three years ago. The temple has made huge profits in recent years from tourist visits, international stage shows, film productions and online stores. Most local governments have an inherent desire to make temples more attractive and lucrative, as the tourism industry can help boost employment and become a vital source of income, said Ling Xiao, an IPO specialist at Zhong Yin Law Firm. For example, Emei Shan Tourism Co received approximately 2.6 million visitors to Emei Mountain last year. Net profits rose 31.6 percent year-on-year to reach 145 million yuan, a majority of which came from admission and cable car fees. But it is highly "inappropriate" for the companies, which rely solely on natural and religious resources, to seek funding on the stock market, as it contradicts current laws on public listing and religious regulations. "According to the Regulations on Religious Affairs, the land legally used by a religious body or a site for religious activities is protected by law. Therefore it is impossible for the listed company to claim ownership," he said. Read More @ Source
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| Thai society rediscovers the values of the Buddha to combat materialism and economic crisis Posted: 03 Jul 2012 04:00 PM PDT by Weena Kowitwanij, AsiaOne, July 3, 2012Bangkok, 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.
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 Buddhist 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.
At the heart of the encounter, the value of religion past and present, along with ways to encourage and promote Buddhist 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 Buddhist, 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 Buddhist, 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. Read More @ Source
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| South Korea's Buddhists monks tackle modern challenges Posted: 03 Jul 2012 03:00 PM PDT By Lucy Williamson, BBC, 27 June 2012
South Korea's Buddhists monks tackle modern challenges Seoul, South Korea -- Sitting in the study at Seoul's main Jogyesa Temple, the Venerable Sung Jin wraps his wide grey tunic around him, as his round face cracks into a broad smile.
Twenty years ago, he tells me, he was a student activist in South Korea's turbulent new democracy. Running from police one day after a demonstration, he took refuge in a temple, and began chatting to the Zen master there. The rest, as they say, is history: Ven Sung Jin is now head of administration at the Jogyesa Temple.
Last month, the country's main Jogye Order was hit by scandal after video footage showed several of its monks drinking, smoking and gambling in a hotel bedroom. It was a PR disaster for South Korea's ancient national religion, already struggling to remain relevant in the face of thriving Christianity and capitalism. Allegations of un-Buddhist-like behaviour - gambling, corruption, even paying for sex - have circled the Joyge Order, fuelled by internal divisions over the organisation's leadership. The man who leaked the recent video footage, Ven Seong-Ho, told me the order was like "a patient with cancer - it's about to die, and we don't have the doctors who can fix it". Many South Koreans dismiss that as hyperbole. But the recent scandal has raised new questions about the role Buddhist monks play in modern-day Korea. Interest declining In an age of sex, smartphones and social freedoms, what motivates people to give up many of life's pleasures and spend their lives isolated from the world in quiet contemplation? "There's usually a moment," the smiling, accidental Ven Sung Jin told me. "A turning point, when someone decides to become a monk. "It could be house burning down, the death of a loved one. A moment when they realise that nothing lasts forever. It's a very personal response." But, he says, the number of people making that choice has declined. "Compared to when I became a monk," he said, "there's been a reduction of maybe 50-70% in people coming in." "I mean, look at this!" He holds up his bat-like sleeves. "When life is so convenient, when there's so much to enjoy in modern life, why would you want to shave your head, wear clothes like this, and spend time with a 70-year-old Zen master in the mountains?" Ven Sung Jin spend ten years meditating in a temple in South Korea's mountains, before moving to Seoul. "Few want to bear the great responsibility of being a monk," he says, "when even the smallest mistakes have huge consequences." Korea's Buddhist monks sign up for life - something that can create added pressures, says Ven Moo-Shim, an American who's lived here as a monk for almost 30 years. "People have a different attitude about Buddhism in Korea," he told me. "For example, in Thailand, you can go to be a monk for 3-6 months, and then return to society. But in Korea it's not that simple. Korean people believe you have to give your life to it. So when they see monks squabbling over petty things, they feel sad." 'Feisty' As a result of the recent scandal, the leaders of the Jogye Order announced 100 days of repentance, and a series of reforms designed to bar monks from running the financial or day-to-day affairs of temples without help. Bringing in financial advisors to do the accounts, they said, would not only prevent wrong-doing, but would confine the monks to their key tasks of meditation and spiritual practice. But it's not the first time scandal has hit South Korea's main Buddhist order. Just over a decade ago, TV pictures showed monks rioting in Seoul, over internal conflicts within the order itself. I asked the American Ven Moo-Shim whether Korean monks' reputation for being a bit hot-blooded was deserved. "They are a bit feisty," he said. "And part of that reputation is that they're willing to fight for what they believe is truly good, and helps the Korean people. But of course if things like this recent scandal carry on, they'll lose that good image." During earlier Japanese and Chinese invasions of Korea, the monks came out of their monasteries to fight the invaders. But with no military invasion to head off in 21st century South Korea, how does a closeted, meditative order remain relevant now? "I think it's facing a challenge," says Moo-Shim, "because Buddhism is trying to satisfy a need for scientific learning. But trying to adjust the needs of Buddhism to the needs of this age is not so easy." There have been attempts, he says, to combine Buddhist teaching with counselling, and to hold street festivals and cultural events to engage the public. But he says, at the same time "we as monks have to recognise that not everyone's ready to live like we do. And it's the monastic mind that's very interesting to a lot of people." Ven Sung Jin agrees. Buddhism was banned and repressed in Korea for centuries, and it still survived, he said. "The decision to become a monk isn't something that can be blown off course too easily," he says. It's about wanting to fill the empty mind. And for someone to be affected by the recent events? "I don't think they would have been willing to take that decision in the first place." Read More @ Source
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| Upaya Chaplaincy Training Program accepting applications for 2013 Posted: 03 Jul 2012 01:00 PM PDT
For more information about the program and for how to apply, please see here. Read More @ Source
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| Self-immolation protests and suspicious deaths continue inside Tibet Posted: 03 Jul 2012 10:00 AM PDT  Photo: Uday Phalgun via Flickr, CC-BY license Several news outlets are reporting that a Tibetan woman, Dekyi Choezom, immolated herself in the Kyigudo region of eastern Tibet on June 27. The forty-year-old is believed to have self-immolated in protest against Chinese policies, though Tibet Post International (TPI) reports that "her demands were not explicit." Dekyi has so far survived, though she is in the hospital with severe burns. At least 42 other Tibetans have self-immolated in protest of Chinese occupation since 2009. In other news, TPI also reports that on July 1, the body of a 43 year-old Tibetan monk by the name of Drakmar Phelgye was discovered near a police station in Palung County. Drakmar, the account for Xaichong monastery, had gone missing on June 20, his body found in a ditch near the police station by searchers. According to TPI, the police department released a statement about Pelgye's death, explaining that a policeman named Ma broke into the monastery with plans to steal the key to the monastery's safe. Pelgye recognized Ma, police said, and asked him why he was doing it. In a panic, the police explained, Ma gagged and killed Pelgye, and dumped his body in a ditch. Buddhadharma News is committed to keeping the Western Buddhist community informed on happenings inside of Tibet. For all previous coverage of the recent wave of self-immolation protests, see here. Read More @ Source
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She and her fellow students in her "Mindful Teacher" class at Naropa University were honing their sensory awareness skills by having a "mindful" lunch together. They ate in silence, carefully chewing and chewing and chewing each bite, noticing the subtle flavors and textures of their foods.
Joseph Loizzo, founder and director of The Nalanda Institute for Contemplative Science, has written a book called Sustainable Happiness in which he shares decades of research and clinical practice using traditional psychoanalysis, neuroscience and Buddhism in the practice of achieving wholeness.
<< Celebration: The Tibetan Buddhist Rime Institute in Belgrave is celebrating the Dalai Lama's birthday this weekend. Kimga and Tamkey are monks at the institute. Picture: Wayne Hawkins.
The festival was blessed by the spiritual head, His Holiness the Gyalwang Drukpa, and was attended by over 25000 guests from across the world. The courtyard of Hemis Gompa-the biggest Buddhist monastery in Ladakh is the permanent venue for the famous festival which commemorates the birth anniversary of Guru Padmasambhava, the 8th century Indian guru revered for spreading Tantrayana Buddhist throughout the entire Himalayas.
<< Visitors gather near the Goddess of Mercy statue at Putuo Mountain, known as a holy Buddhist mountain, in Zhoushan, Zhejiang province. Putuo Mountain Tourism Development Co Ltd is gearing up to go public on the domestic capital market. [Photo / China Daily]
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." 
<< South Korean Buddhists march with lanterns during the Lotus Lantern Festival in downtown Seoul, 19 May 2012 Buddhist communities have been holding events to try to engage the public
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