Video: See more of Samsara
Video: See more of Samsara |
- Video: See more of Samsara
- The XVIIth Congress of the International Association of Buddhist Studies to be held in Vienna in 2014
- The Tyranny Of Numbers - Counting Sheep!
- His Holiness Inaugurates Science Building at Lamdon School and Visits Ladakhi Muslims at Idgah, Leh.
- This Week in the Press: Stories of interest to Shambhala Sun readers
- Sri Lankan Youth At Risk of Beheading for Praying to Buddha in Saudi Arabia
- From The Under 35 Project: “No Cheating”
- Field Of Merit - New Project Launched
- His Holiness gives monastic ordination, meets with ITBF and visits a school in Leh
- Kasur Alak Jigme Thinley Phuntsok dies at 72
- Reflections of Raymond
- Report: Buddhist monks in Burma shunning Muslims, blocking humanitarian aid
| Posted: 30 Jul 2012 08:00 AM PDT
Samsara premiered at the Santa Barbara Film Festival in February, and it's set to be released in theaters on August 24. There's lots more information, including a schedule of screenings, at the film's website. The word samsara, Fricke explains, describes "the ever-turning wheel of life." For more on the concept of samsara, see "What Turns the Wheel of Life," by Francesca Fremantle. Read More @ Source
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| Posted: 30 Jul 2012 07:00 AM PDT
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| The Tyranny Of Numbers - Counting Sheep! Posted: 30 Jul 2012 06:00 AM PDT Tyranny is a strong word to use here. However it speaks of the strength and pull that numbers can have in our minds, towards the positive or towards the negative. Numbers, numbers and more numbers are quoted on the news and elsewhere. Constantly. But what do they actually MEAN. Just the sum of something or other. I'll leave it there though, I'd not want to get into a whole debate about numbers. We need them. They most likely are useful. And I'll not be getting overly up or down about the numbers we are exposed to. I was given a postcard the other day of this old sign which lists the words used by sheep farmers to count their sheep. The counting goes up to ten however, apparently, the counting went on indefinitely to account for fields full of them woolly beasts! I'll maybe ask a farmer what he uses, what language he uses, to count his sheep now.  Counting Sheep This post has given me the opportunity to link to this delightful animated video. Several readers will appreciate the banjo playing characters are dressed head to toe in "knits"! All together now, One! Two! Three! And you might want to watch the English Version which speaks of our knitted friends mission.... With a hat tip to Mailchimp the free Newsletter distributing service we (fieldofmerit.org) are using who directing me over to these vids. Thanks to all of you who have signed up for the Field of Merit Newsletter, who have left comments and sent emails via the contact form. Yes, I have been watching the number of subscribers rise and rise. Numbers do, of course, mean something. They mean a lot in terms of being supported in our, how do we put it, "inspirational" project! So sorry for not posting so regularly. Perhaps you can appreciate why that has been the case. Read More @ Source
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| His Holiness Inaugurates Science Building at Lamdon School and Visits Ladakhi Muslims at Idgah, Leh. Posted: 30 Jul 2012 12:00 AM PDT Homepage » News » His Holiness Inaugurates Science Building at Lamdon School and Visits Ladakhi Muslims at Idgah, Leh. » July 30th 2012 On July 27 His Holiness the Dalai Lama visited the Lamdon Model School where he was given a warm reception by its Principal, Mr. Eshey Tondup staff and students. He was first taken on a tour of two new buildings in the school premise: the dental clinic and the science block. The former is dedicated to the memory of the late Roy A. Kite, Jr. of France, whose son was there to introduce it to His Holiness. His Holiness remembered Mr. Roy's dedication and expressed to the son. During his previous visit to the school in 2009, His Holiness had urged the administrators to provide facilities to students for scientific research and offered his assistance in this. Thus, the school authorities were able to construct the science block. His Holiness was deeply impressed and said that "the result is remarkable" regarding the science block. Thereafter, His Holiness went to the stage to address thousands of students from different schools who had gathered for his public talk. The Gaden Tripa, His Eminence Rizong Sras Rinpoche, and the President of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Council, Mr. Rigzin Spalbar, and other members of the Council were among those who attended the talk. In his talk, His Holiness touched on the theme of holistic education whereby the students are imparted modern education for brain development and traditional values for the development of the
Especially, for the Buddhists, His Holiness said that education is essential because proper way to practice the teaching of the Buddha is through investigation into the deeper level of reality. We must make maximum use of our human intelligence and to that end the scientific way of examining things, primarily external world of matter, is also helpful, he said. In contrast to the modern science, he said the Buddhist traditional education does not use external gadgets but use human mind and does analytical meditation and also meditative concentration to find reality. His Holiness talked about his dialogues with western scientists for more than thirty years now. As a consequence, a number of top scientists in the west have started taking interest in studying the workings of our mind and emotions. His Holiness said the ancient Indian schools of thought, particularly the Nalanda tradition, have explained and described this in great detail. Outstanding Nalanda scholars like Master Nagarjuna have even examined the teaching of the Buddha, distinguishing the words of the Buddha into those teaching that could be accepted literally and those that must be interpreted, as they cannot stand to the test of reasoning otherwise. His Holiness said this distinction complements the Buddha's own teaching where he says: Monks and scholars,Just as gold is scorched, cut and rubbed [to check its purity] Examine well and then accept my words But, not because you respect me. His Holiness said he hoped that in the next nearly 80 years of this 21st century students from Lamdon Model School would be able to make significant contribution to the cause of happiness and peace for the people of Ladakh, as well as India and the wider world. This was His Holiness' fourth visit to the Lamdon school. Following the event at Lamdon School, His Holiness visited the Ladakhi Muslim community on the Idgah grounds, Leh. The children had lined up to welcome His Holiness. The mullah received His Holiness at the entrance. His Holiness asked about the number of Muslim families living in Leh area and was informed that there were over a thousand families with population of 12,000. In his remarks to the gathering, His Holiness shared his thoughts on secular ethics and emphasized that both the muslims and Buddhists should come together and discuss about it so that they have a common ground for furthering the cause of peace and harmony amongst them. He said the
followers of these two faiths, as well as others like Christianity, must not try to impose their own belief system on others but co-exist in order to help the masses to have peace of mind through the practice of love, compassion, tolerance, self-discipline and contentment. His Holiness added that these are values common to all major religious traditions of the world. Regarding self-discipline, His Holiness asked the Buddhists to learn about refraining from consumption of alcohols from the Islamic practitioners. Representatives of the Islamic community appreciated His Holiness' presence amongst them during this Ramadan period saying it would strengthen the bond between the various faiths, particularly the Buddhist and Muslim communities in Ladakh. They were thankful for His Holiness' effort to bring them all together. The President of Muslim association recounted the historical precedents of the Tibetan government looking after the Muslims in Lhasa and Shigatse since the time of the Great Fifth Dalai Lama who allotted land to their brethren in the 17th century in Lhasa for establishing a Mosque for the Muslim community. Before departing from the venue, His Holiness joked that on account of Ramadan, he was missing one thing from the Muslim brethren this time; a delectable meal, which he usually used to get from the Muslim community. Eventually, some food was brought for His Holiness from which he took some bites. Picking a piece of bread on his plate he teased the gathering saying that if he told them, "It's very delicious!" they would be tempted to eat. On 28 July His Holiness inaugurates the Zangdok Palri stupa of Guru Padmasambhav built on a hill-top near Leh.    Read More @ Source 
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| This Week in the Press: Stories of interest to Shambhala Sun readers Posted: 29 Jul 2012 07:12 PM PDT If you're following the Shambhala Sun on Facebook, you know that we share interesting stories from around the web there all week long. But not everyone's on Facebook, so here's what we posted in the past week.
If you're not already following us on Facebook, like the Shambhala Sun and Buddhadharma pages so you don't miss anything else. You can follow both the Shambhala Sun and Buddhadharma on Twitter, too. Read More @ Source
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| Sri Lankan Youth At Risk of Beheading for Praying to Buddha in Saudi Arabia Posted: 29 Jul 2012 07:20 PM PDT  "A Sri Lankan youth employed as a domestic aid has been arrested in Saudi Arabia for praying to a statue of Lord Buddha, which is considered an offence according to Islamic Sharia law. According to the Bodu Bala Sena, the youth bearing passport no. 2353715 identified as Premanath Pereralage Thungasiri has been arrested by Umulmahami Police, which is a grave situation. While the youth is a Buddhist, the charge levelled against him is that he paid obeisance to the Buddha at the house where he was employed. The Bodu Bala Sena organisation further said those employed in Muslim-majority countries are prevented from practicing their religious faiths, and if found to do so are punished severely. Recently a Sri Lankan woman was arrested for gazing at a child at a shopping complex, where she was accused of witchcraft, on the grounds that she had a black cord around her wrist. On prior occasions too many Sri Lankan female domestic workers were forced to embrace Islam, and wear the traditional attire, while so far four Sri Lankan youth have been beheaded in that country. (Source: Ceylon Today) Saudi Arabia is an Islamic theocratic monarchy where the religion of Islam is the official religion. Non-Islamic proselytism and conversions are illegal and conversion by Muslims to another religion (apostasy) carries the death penalty. Under Saudia Arabia Sharia Islamic law, children of Saudi parents are considered Muslim, regardless of the country or the religious tradition in which they may have been raised."
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| From The Under 35 Project: “No Cheating” Posted: 29 Jul 2012 07:17 PM PDT
Advertisements for meditation almost always contain images of airbrushed men and women in straight-backed, Buddha-like cross-legged postures, sitting under brilliant blue skies in an open meadow or on a rock next to a gently rolling sea at sunrise. Serenity blankets the meditator's face. What does not show up in the advertisements are grimaces, foot cramps, twitches, tears, boredom and the other common experiences of practicing meditators. It's especially ironic to me that popular images surrounding Buddhism and meditation are so idyllic when, in actuality, it is a philosophy based on the truth of suffering and the inevitably of death. Most people do not associate suffering and death with clear skies, perfect yogi postures and sunshine. It's not just non-meditators who glorify sitting — even much of the meditation literature supports the popular image by likening thoughts to clouds in the sky and enlightenment to their parting. As meditators we are instructed to observe the passing thoughts/clouds so that the luminous sun/awareness can shine through, warm us and offer us unending clarity. The only prescription is to sit and observe the breath and then those open meadows and clear skies will appear like the Red Sea parting. So, if the images are so tranquil and serene, why is the common experience for daily meditation practitioners so turbulent and difficult? In fact, a daily sitting practice can be excruciating. Pema Chödrön once said that if we knew what we were getting into with the kind of meditation she presents most of us would never actually start. There's a reason why Trungpa Rinpoche and others sat for extended meditations in cemeteries. There's a reason why advanced practitioners go on solo, silent retreats for months or even years. Truth in advertising would demand a disclaimer that said something like: extended periods and training may reveal severe emotional distress, physical discomfort, and bizarrely unsettling realizations. Confusion will arise. Familiar views and ideas will be shaken. To deal with this type of meditation, perhaps the only recourse, as Alan Watts was known to say, is to follow your weirdness. Maybe Alan Watts is right and weirdness is the direction to choose, but it's certain that high gloss images of clear skies and sunshine are the wrong way to go for a daily sitting practice of meditation. Arrival at enlightenment does not seem to involve a rock next to a rolling sea at sunrise. The beauty of meditation is its stark clarity. There's simply no way to cheat or fake the meditation Trungpa Rinpoche and others teach. There are no "I'm a peaceful meditator" images to hide behind alone on your chair, cushion or pillow. The breath goes in and out, thoughts and feelings emerge in such a way that none of us can sit with our own energy day in and day out and maintain that we do not have anger and sadness and remorse and envy and all the other experiences that make us human and give definition to our personalities. We cannot deny our anxiety and torment. Without fail, the dark clouds roll in and sometimes they stay for months. So why hold onto a still-life, high-gloss image of meditation as serene and tranquil? The great teachers invite us to think bigger and ask bigger questions. Why look for a respite from chaos or a moment of peace when you can live a peaceful life no matter what the circumstances? Why identify with pain and suffering, when you can open to the fullness of life? Even if we are embarrassed about our hunched posture and our inattention to breath, even if we think through entire meditations, and even if we talk to ourselves ceaselessly and beat ourselves up relentlessly, it's not the sunshine and clear skies that are going to make things alright – at least not according to the Buddha and many others – it's uncovering the compassion, wonder, learning, clarity and wisdom that are already present. Another version of this piece appears on The Under 35 Project's website under the title "Turning the Mind Off."
To see the rest of our Under 35 Project posts, click here. And to learn how you can get involved, visit the project's website. This was our last post on July's theme, "Starting and Deepening Your Meditation Practice." Next month, we'll be talking about "Being Alone and Being Together." Read More @ Source
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| Field Of Merit - New Project Launched Posted: 29 Jul 2012 10:37 PM PDT  Field of Merit website banner photograph I've been hinting in past posts that there is a project about to be launched which I am involved with. Well here it is.... fieldofmerit.org We opened the doors eight hours ago and we hope you will support our efforts any way you can. Why not be the first to leave a comment and sign-up for our monthly Newsletter for starters? Read the first two posts of our blog, read our About page. Let us know via the contact form if the pages don't display correctly on your computer. The photograph, which we are using as the website banner image, was taken in the grounds of Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey a month ago. Newcastle had just had the devastating storm which left houses and businesses washed out, the black cloud to the right speaks of serious weather near by. Incidentally, when conditions calmed down, people were kayaking up and down the flooded streets! Everybody loves a bit of fun even in the midst of serious conditions. And why not? Rev. Alicia and I have been working towards opening up our website Field of Merit and it's great to see it go live for all to see. It's the public face of our efforts to establish a new temple of our Order in Britain. Given it's history the buttercup field seemed like a good photograph for our banner image. In my own mind I offer my best thoughts, spiritual merit, to the situation that unfolded at the time the photo was taken. No doubt people are still dealing with the aftermath of the flash flood that hit them so suddenly. Perhaps those of you who have been visiting here, and early on Moving Mountains, or know me personally, will appreciate how significant this project is. There is enlightened self interest in that I'll have a permanent place to live, eventually. More importantly though is the opportunity to collaborate with another monastic working towards providing a facility close to our hearts. Read More @ Source
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| His Holiness gives monastic ordination, meets with ITBF and visits a school in Leh Posted: 29 Jul 2012 08:52 PM PDT Leh, Ladakh, 26 July, 2012 - Today, His Holiness the Dalai Lama reached the Leh Jokhang Temple, which locals call the Gonpa Soma (New Temple), at 8 o'clock. He immediately began to conduct the ceremony to ordain fifty Ladakhi Shramaneras (novice monks) as Bhikshus (fully ordained monks), which took nearly 4 hours. His Holiness was assisted on this historic occasion by the 102nd Gaden Tripa (Throne Holder of the Gaden tradition), the very venerable Kyabje Rizong Rinpoche, the Abbot of Namgyal Monastery, Thomthok Rinpoche, Geshe Tseten Namgyal, the Abbot of Tashi Lhunpo Monastery and other Bhikshus. After enjoying lunch with these senior Bhikshus, His Holiness visited the regional Head Quarters of the Indo-Tibetan Border Force (ITBF), where he planted a tree. He gave a short talk to about 300, mostly Ladakhi, members of ITBF. His Holiness stressed the importance of relating to other people on a basic human level, considering other people to be human beings like ourselves, with the same kind of positive and negative emotions. He said that placing too much emphasis on secondary attributes like race, faith, social status, nationality and so on is a cause of division amongst human beings. Both religion and contemporary science recognize that destructive emotions cause us suffering, while positive emotions bring us happiness. And as human beings we have a marvellous intelligence that enables us to differentiate between them so we can cultivate our positive emotions and reduce our negative emotions.
His Holiness next went to visit Jamyang School, founded by Ladakhi Geshe Lobsang Samten, who presented a report of the school's progress over the last three years. His Holiness was pleased and told the story of his connection with the school and his wish to help people in the remote regions of the Himalayas. "There was a couple I met who used to visit Dharamsala. I came across them again when I gave the Kalachakra Empowerment in Kalpa, Kinnaur in Himachal Pradesh. I asked where they were from and discovered that they came from the remote and undeveloped region of Dahanu in Ladakh. We talked about the need for a school and with Geshe Lobsang Samten's assistance we were able gradually improve the standards of education in such remote places."
"I am particularly pleased to know that the school has begun to employ traditional logic and debate from class five onwards, because it helps us sharpen our intelligence and develop a more penetrative understanding of whatever we are studying. We don't need to restrict our use of dialectics and debate to traditional Buddhist topics of study, but can also apply it beneficially to the study of modern subjects like science." "Wisdom and intelligence don't come about merely by reciting Manjushri's mantra and other prayers, although they may help. Real wisdom and understanding comes about through study and analysis of what you have learned from teachers or read in books. And you will deepen your understanding by thinking it over again and again, and examining it with reason."
Later, he met a group of Czech supporters and sponsors of the Springdale School in Mulbek, Kargil District, in the Jamyang School library. He told them it has long been his cherished wish to promote secular education as a way of deepening our awareness of reality. He pointed out that caring for the well-being of others is a natural human tendency, for which he has observed Czechs have a special affinity because of their own history and experience. Voluntarily helping others introduces a greater sense of compassion into society that ensures a greater sense of trust, which in turn, rooted in honesty, transparency and self-confidence, leads to a friendlier, more co-operative community. Read More @ Source 
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| Kasur Alak Jigme Thinley Phuntsok dies at 72 Posted: 29 Jul 2012 07:42 PM PDT  Photo: tibet.net Kasur Alak Jigme Thinley Phuntsok, who previously served as a kalon and speaker of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, passed away yesterday at age 72. At age seven, he was identified as the reincarnation of Jigme Tulku of Rebkong Ringpo monastery. Through the years, Phuntsok served in a variety of administrative roles within the exiled government — in addition to kalon and speaker, he was also the auditor general and chairman of the Public Service Commission. Read his full obituary here, at the Central Tibet Administration's website. Read More @ Source
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| Posted: 29 Jul 2012 07:02 PM PDT
Raymond was long involved with organizing Halifax's annual Pride Week celebrations, and for this year's Pride, Shambhala Sun senior writer Barry Boyce put together this tribute to Raymond in The Coast, a local weekly newspaper. There's also this video about Raymond that was shown at his public memorial service in May. Read More @ Source
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now | ||||||
| Report: Buddhist monks in Burma shunning Muslims, blocking humanitarian aid Posted: 29 Jul 2012 08:40 PM PDT  Monks in Rakhine during less violent times The Independent reports that Buddhist monks in Burma are urging people not to associate with Rohingya Muslims in the Rakhine state in the west of the country, and are trying to block humanitarian aid from reaching the Rohingya community. The news comes after weeks of clashes between Buddhists and Muslims in Rakhine that have left at least 80 people dead and displaced tens of thousands. This Pakistani editorial calls attention to violence against the Rohingya people, whom the United Nations consider to be one of the world's most oppressed minorities. (Photo by Daniel Julie via Flickr, using a CC-BY license.) Read More @ Source
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We've 
Here's the latest from The Under 35 Project, by Michael Felberbaum.
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