Malcolm Browne, who photographed Thich Quang Duc’s self-immolation, dies at 81
Malcolm Browne, who photographed Thich Quang Duc’s self-immolation, dies at 81 |
- Malcolm Browne, who photographed Thich Quang Duc’s self-immolation, dies at 81
- Cast your eyes upon the sage, there on his donut throne
- Letter: Protest against imbalanced reporting: Walubi has no right to speak for all Buddhists in Indonesia
- Japanese Buddhist thought and evil forces
- Lincoln Buddhist temples, organizations provide opportunity for discovery, learning
- Cambodian Monk Pursuing Leadership Skills at Harvard
- Tibetan Nuns will Build Mandala of Compassion at Trinity College
- Spreading the soothing rays of Buddhist
- Self-Immolations In Tibet: Altruism, Fatalism Or Anomie? – Analysis
- Book Brief: “Everything Is the Way”
- Audio: San Francisco Zen Center at fifty
- Archaeologists discover tombs in Tibet containing 2,000-year-old relics
- How Do We Care For Future People? Buddhist and Jain Ideas for Reproductive Ethics
- The Heart Sutra and Emptiness with Lama Dudjom Dorjee
| Malcolm Browne, who photographed Thich Quang Duc’s self-immolation, dies at 81 Posted: 28 Aug 2012 09:00 AM PDT  Browne's image of Thich Quang Duc's fiery protest, shown here on an album cover, became one of the most iconic images of the 20th century. Malcolm Browne, the Associated Press photographer who captured the iconic image of Vietnamese monk Thich Quang Duc's self-immolation on a Saigon street in 1963, died yesterday at the age of 81. Browne's iconic photo of the monk engulfed in flames appeared on newspaper front pages throughout the world, and prompted the Kennedy administration to re-evaluate its policy in Vietnam. Though numerous journalists had been told to be at the blocked-off intersection on the morning of June 11, 1963 for "something important," Browne was the only one to show up and document the immolation, which was a protest against South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem's persecution of Buddhists. Browne won a Pulitzer Prize for his work in 1964, and later spent 30 years working as a war correspondent for the New York Times. Browne's wife, Le Lieu Browne, said he was rushed to the hospital Monday night after experiencing difficulty breathing. He had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2000. See also: Read More @ Source 
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| Cast your eyes upon the sage, there on his donut throne Posted: 28 Aug 2012 06:00 AM PDT
As you may have seen here or on my website TheWorstHorse.com, I often write about Dharma-Burgers, which occur when pop-culture and Buddhist imagery or ideas collide in advertising and marketing — arenas that many Buddhists of yore probably never anticipated. Sometimes these are inspired, sometimes inspiring; sometimes, they're ridiculous. Sometimes they're just merchandise, exhibiting full-on cultural co-optation. Usually, they're some mix of all these, and — despite or because of that, I'm not sure — they're a whole lot of fun. (Except for those who might be offended, and that happens too.) This new vinyl Homer Simpson-as-Buddha statuette, (p)reviewed by KidRobot recently, takes the cake. Some sample copy: "Long ears signify past wealth, a big head represents the disconnection between mind and body, a tuft of hair symbolizes great inner wisdom, and a giant fried dough topped with pink frosting and rainbow jimmies equals deliciousness." Check out more shots of it via KidRobot, here. For more Dharma-Burgers and such from Shambhala SunSpace, click here. (And be on the lookout for more coming soon; they seem to have been piling up recently.) Read More @ Source
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| Posted: 28 Aug 2012 02:00 AM PDT by Harpin R, Jakarta, Indonesia, The Buddhist Channel, Aug 27, 2012In relation to your article: Buddhist organization urges the Commission leniency toward Hartati, our people in Indonesia who joined the facebook group Umat Buddha Mendukung KPK Menahan Yang Pantas Ditahan objected to the news which does not project balanced reporting. The following is a statement from our group: Read More @ Source 2. Siti Hartati Murdaya, being a suspect, has nothing to do with Buddhism and does not affect the implementation of Buddhism in Indonesia as a whole. 3. The Indonesian Buddhists therefore support the KPK to work professionally for law enforcement in the Republic of Indonesia, according to Article 27 in the UUD 1945 that puts all people equal before the law without exception, without being influenced or affected by any party. 
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| Japanese Buddhist thought and evil forces Posted: 28 Aug 2012 01:00 AM PDT By JOSEPH S. O'LEARY, The Japan Times, Aug. 26, 2012
The Seven Scrolls Tengu: Evil and the Rhetoric of Legitimacy in Medieval Japanese Meditation, by Haruko Wakabayashi. University of Hawai'i Press, 2012, 203 pp., $ 50.00 (hardcover) Tokyo, Japan -- Residents of Japan will be vaguely aware of the long-nose impish figures known as Tengu, thinking of them as piquant figurines without deep religious significance. Tengu take many shapes in Japanese folklore, for instance as mischievous kidnappers of children or Pucks leading travelers astray.
Heavenly dogs: Found throughout Japanese folklore, the tengu are a class of supernatural monster spirits. Meditation has long held they are harbingers of war. Depicted here "Tengu and a Buddhist monk," by Kawanabe Kyosai. Haruko Wakabayashi focuses on a grimmer aspect of the imp, as he appears in Buddhist thought, connected with evil forces such as the demon Mara who distracts monks from their spiritual path. She shows how Buddhists used Tengu images to "demonize" challengers of authority and to shore up their own institutional legitimacy. If Tengu are really so wicked, it may become hard for us to look on them benignly any longer as cute ornaments. But perhaps what Buddhist monks see as evil is really only something mildly naughty. In any case the author is of the devil's party, locating the real "evil" in the repressive Buddhist establishment, though she does not develop this idea very much.
In the Kamakura Period, adherents of new forms of Meditation, including Zen, were denounced as falling into the realm of Tengu (tengudo), a novel addition to the six realms usually distinguished. Speaking though a possessed woman, a Tengu revealed to the Tendai monk Keisei in 1239 that lots of important religious and political figures were consigned to this realm, including Emperors Sutoku and Goshirakawa. However, there are also good Tengu, and the Tengu realm can be a place where monks continue to practice and seek enlightenment. This "shows an interesting development in the concept of evil," which reflects the ideology of "original enlightenment," according to which all beings manifest the primordially enlightened Buddha and "passions themselves are enlightenment." This leads to a rhetoric about the nonduality of good and evil that is hard to swallow. Mara and the Buddha are one and the same; "hell and heaven are both pure lands"; "Tengu are indeed buddhas as they are, regardless of their evil nature"; "evil is affirmed as being one with the good." Do such declarations do justice to the reality of evil? Wakabayashi suggests that having a good understanding of evil helps one to pursue enlightenment more effectively. Even the Buddha has an evil nature, in this sense, but it does not necessarily lead him to commit evil deeds. Evil and good are one only for those who recognize evil as evil, and sincerely undertake reform. This book centers on a copiously illustrated study of seven Tengu scrolls, composed by Tendai monks in the line of Enchin at Onjoji, rival to that of Ennin at Mount Hiei. Five of the scrolls deal with the topography and history of the seven major temples of Nara and Kyoto and the fate of their monks who became Tengu because of their arrogance. Tengu are arranged in a hierarchy resembling that of the Buddhist clergy, but more rigid. Indeed the Tengu are presented as more disciplined than the Buddhist clergy, in an ironic contrast recalling Milton's "devil with devil damned, firm concord holds." The lecture meeting known as the Yuima-e was in a state of decline at this time, and the scrolls present it critically. A lecturer has the beak of a Tengu, and the ritual dance is presented with emphasis on the monks' profane enjoyment, extravagant costumes, and voyeuristic interest in the boy dancers. The other two scrolls target the new schools of Meditation. Ippen (1239-1289) is depicted as in the hagiographic Ippen hijiri-e distributing food to the poor, performing the nenbutsu dance, and distributing slips of paper bearing the name of Amida Buddha; then, with mocking intent, he is portrayed giving out his urine, an unclean medicine for his less well-off followers. These new Buddhist leaders are consigned not to the realm of Tengu, where they could still seek enlightenment, but to that of beasts. Haruko Wakabayashi may not have solved the problem of evil, but she has brought into focus a neglected chapter in Japanese culture, revealing its unsuspected depth and coherence. Read More @ Source
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| Lincoln Buddhist temples, organizations provide opportunity for discovery, learning Posted: 28 Aug 2012 12:00 AM PDT By Sarah Miller, Daily Nebraskan, August 26, 2012
Deep in the heartland of America, learning about Eastern philosophies may be easier than expected. Nebraska, USA -- Since the 1990s, a variety of groups have formed in Lincoln to give Midwesterners places to learn about Buddhist teachings. They include Jewel Heart - a Tibetan Buddhist chapter - Lotus Zen Temple and Linh Quang Buddhist Center. Lotus Zen Temple
When Melchizedek first arrived, he was involved in the Lincoln Interfaith Council that accepted non-Christian faiths. "Nobody ever could find any Buddhists to join because there just weren't any," he said. "Or, at least, they were very well hidden." After decades as a minister, Melchizedek wanted to do something for himself, and Meditation always intrigued him. "It was the openness and the idea of what Buddha stood for is more to my liking," Melchizedek said.
He said his transition from Christianity to Zen Meditation wasn't a denial of the Christian faith, but an expansion of his beliefs. Jesus and Buddha taught similar lessons, Melchizedek said. "They don't exclude each other," he said. "They complete each other, rather. So I see more of a synthesis of the two." Today he has about 15 to 20 students and he even uses Skype to hold face-to-face sessions with students who don't live in Nebraska. "These people would be stranded," he said. "They're living in areas where they cannot get to a Zen temple or a Zen meditation place." The Lotus Zen Temple currently has no official temple, but members are working to raise $ 2,000 for their own place. Melchizedek hopes it would give him space to teach Tai Chi. Linh Quang Buddhist Center In the early 1990s, Vietnamese families who had moved to Lincoln began meeting in a converted house known as the Linh Quang Buddhist Center, according to an April 2006 article in the Lincoln Journal Star. Last year, a new temple was built south of Pioneers Park to accommodate the growing Vietnamese Buddhist community. Outside the red-roofed Linh Quang Buddhist Center are tall blue and yellow columns and dragon statues. Wind chimes jingle in the wind, swaying in front of circular windows that line the sides of the building. Inside, a large room is filled with padded benches that sit only a few inches off the ground. They face an ornate display of a Buddha statue, filled with lotus flower decorations, bowls of oranges and incense. Above the Buddha statue, the ceiling is painted blue with white clouds to look like the sky. Jewel Heart Jewel Heart, the Tibetan Buddhist study group, meets Sunday mornings for a live Skype session with the organization's founder, Gelek Rimpoche, a reincarnated Tibetan monk, or lama. Members meet in the basement of the A&E Inc. building. Along the back wall, a projector displays Rimpoche as he gives his weekly teaching. Strings of lights are the only thing illuminating the Tibetan prayer flags that hang from the ceiling. After the Skype session, members talk about what they learned. Rimpoche also visits Lincoln about once or twice every year to give lectures, said Don Mazour, a member of Jewel Heart since it first opened in 1991. Rimpoche's next visit is Nov. 2 to Nov. 4. Mazour said he heard about Jewel Heart through a radio advertisement. Other members discovered the group in similar ways: newspaper articles, advertisements for classes offered by Jewel Heart and announcements of Rimpoche lectures. "There's a seed that each individual came across," said Roger Renken, a member of the group for about seven years. "Then that person, based upon their curiosity from that opportunity, continued to learn more." This trend seems common among people first learning about Meditation. For Emma Reid, a sophomore mathematics major, it was a world religion class in seventh grade that sparked her interest in Meditation. She soon decided she wanted to be a Buddhist herself. "At the time I didn't really know what that meant," Reid said. "As I've kind of grown, it really does fit with my belief system and my lifestyle." Ray Paul, a member of Jewel Heart, said Meditation is all about "decreasing negativity, increasing positivity and controlling your own mind." "It's just good values everyone should believe in, just put into a religion," Reid said. Reid does not attend any groups in Lincoln, but said she would be interested in joining someday. She plans to take one of the Meditation courses offered at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. For people interested in Meditation, Melchizedek said the best way to learn is to try it for yourself. "How do you describe to someone how an apple tastes to someone who hasn't had it before?" he said. "You have to experience it in order to know what it's about." Jewel Heart Linh Quang Buddhist Center Lotus Zen Temple 
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| Cambodian Monk Pursuing Leadership Skills at Harvard Posted: 27 Aug 2012 11:00 PM PDT Khmer Radio / Hello VOA, 27 August 2012
Bhikkhu Hoeurn Somnieng receives a degree in business management from St. Ambrose University in Iowa, USA. WASHINGTON DC, USA -- Because public management in Cambodia is still week, venerable monk Hoeurn Somnieng, is pursuing a graduate degree at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.
He told VOA Khmer on Monday that Cambodia's Buddhist in particular lacks leadership and management from the monastery to the national level. Hoeurn Somnieng said everyone needs to carefully utilize their knowledge so that it benefits the nation as a whole. "If we serve individuals, it benefits individuals, but if we use our knowledge to serve the nation, it benefits the nation," he said.
"I believe that I can help contribute to strengthening our Buddhist sector, if not for the whole country, at least the ones I am responsible for," he said. "I cannot say I am able to reform Cambodia's public sector, but I can say I will try to help strengthen our national institutions. I can see that the government has been trying to reform the public sector, but it is questionable whether it is effective." Hoeurn Somnieng said strengthening Cambodia's Buddhist sector will require a high level of capacity and genuine systematic reform. It has to start from leadership at the monasterial level. People are influenced by their social environment, he said, wherein the rule of law and the effectiveness of law enforcement have to be taken into account. Read More @ Source
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| Tibetan Nuns will Build Mandala of Compassion at Trinity College Posted: 27 Aug 2012 10:00 PM PDT The Buddhist Channel, August 27, 2012
Six Buddhist Nuns from Nepal also will participate in College Convocation HARTFORD, CT, (USA) -- Six Buddhist nuns from the Keydong Thuk-che Choeling Nunnery in Kathmandu, Nepal, have arrived in preparation for building a mandala, a sand painting used for prayer, contemplation, and healing, at Trinity College.
The Keydong nuns are among the first Buddhist female monastics to learn and practice the sacred art of the sand mandala, an ancient tradition once reserved for monks. This marks their third appearance at Trinity, having been the first Buddhist nuns to create a sand mandala in the United States in 1998. They returned to Trinity in February 2005 to build asecond mandala. In September, on a day deemed auspicious on the Tibetan calendar, the nuns will start creating a third mandala using brightly colored sand they are bringing from Nepal. The mandala will be built in the Austin Arts Center's Garmany Hall. In the Himalayan valley where the Keydong nunnery is located, the monastic women collect nuggets of white marble that they crush, wash, and dry in the sun. The sand is divided and dyed in five colors—red, blue, yellow, green, and white—representing the five "Buddha families," which contain multiple levels of meaning. The mandala will take one month to complete, and will measure approximately eight by eight feet, according to Ani Ngawang Tendol, a Keydong nun who serves as the group's leader and interpreter. ("Ani" is the honorific prefix given to a nun's name in Tibetan Buddhist, and means "Nun.") Both graphic and abstract in design, the intricate forms and spiritual symbols of a mandala can be "read" by the initiated. At the center is a square diagram of a palace inhabited by an enlightened celestial being. In this case, it is Avalokiteshvara, the Buddhist deity of compassion. Multiple circles surround the deity's palace. The exhibit, "Mandala: The Sacred Art of Sand," will be open to the public on Friday, September 14. Visitors should be prepared to take off their shoes before entering Garmany Hall. That day, public viewing of the mandala making will be at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., and will be followed by a keynote lecture at 4:30 p.m. in the adjacent Goodwin Theater. Rinchen Dharlo, president of the Tibet Fund and former North American representative of the Dalai Lama, will introduce the lecturer. Entitled "Tradition Changing Women, Women Changing Tradition: The Interface of Tibetan Nuns and the Sacred Art of Sand Mandala Making," the lecture is, in part, an eyewitness account by Melissa R. Kerin, who first observed the nuns in Nepal in 1993 while a student at Trinity. She iscurrently assistant professor of art history at Washington and Lee University. Beginning Saturday, September 15, observers are welcome to witness the mandala making on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturdays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. through October 13. There will be occasions when Garmany Hall will be closed for the nuns' religious observances, so those travelling from a distance are encouraged to call ahead at 860-297-2199 . On Sunday, October 14 at noon, the nuns will ceremoniously dismantle the mandala and disperse the sands into the Connecticut River at Charter Oak Landing in Hartford, a gesture signifying the impermanence of life. The public is invited to observe these rituals. School buses on Summit Street, adjacent to Trinity's Mather Hall, will provide free round-trip transportation. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. A concurrent display of sacred thangkas and contemporary painting from Tibet, on loan from local private collections, will be shown in Garmany Hall. Related concerts and films, all free to the public, will take place in the Goodwin Theater and Cinestudio. "Mandala: The Sacred Art of Sand" is sponsored by Trinity's Office of the President; Office of the Dean of Faculty; Hy C. and Micki Dworin Fund for Asian and Eastern European Studies; Austin Arts Center Guest Artist Series; the Center for Urban and Global Studies; and The O'Neill Asia Cum Laude Endowment. The project is supported by 26 departments and programs at Trinity. For more information about the Keydong Thuk-che Choeling Nunnery in Kathmandu, Nepal, please visit: www.keydong-thukche-choeling.org<http://www.keydong-thukche-choeling.org>. For more information about the events, please visit: http://www.trincoll.edu/arts/mandala. Read More @ Source
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| Spreading the soothing rays of Buddhist Posted: 27 Aug 2012 09:00 PM PDT by Kumudini Hettiarachchi, The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka), Aug 26, 2012
Based on Buddhist philosophy, Damrivi, comprising professionals and academics provides innovative services to meet the challenges of modern life. Colombo, Srfi Lanka -- Modern life is full of stress. Not only parents and children but even those living alone have a heavy workload. It is a race against time household chores, office work, school, extracurricular activity, tuition classes, each day starting early and ending late, only for the routine to begin the next day.
Where does one turn to, for shelter against the raging storms of life. In a small building, not away from the madding crowds but right in the midst of traffic and people is that "eye" of the storm.Right next to the Isipathanaramaya at Colombo 5, a tiny lane leads to the Damrivi Foundation where an oasis of calm prevails, extending the soothing rays of Buddhist to anyone who seeks refuge here. With Buddhist as the foundation stone, many are the innovative services Damrivi provides. Recalling how it all began nearly 10 years ago in July 2003, a Founder-member of Damrivi, Yuki Sirimane, says that the founding group felt that no one had explained the potential of the Buddhist philosophy in meeting the challenges of the modern world. No dignity or professionalism had also been awarded to Buddhist social work. Having realised that there was a gap in what society wanted and what the Buddhist temple could offer, a group of like-minded Buddhist professionals felt that this gap could be filled by creating a platform.
"Therefore, the transformation should come through the mind," Yuki points out.This was how Damrivi Foundation was born, according to Yuki, and is made up of professionals and academics who are working towards social and spiritual development through Buddhist insights. Many people found it stylish to say that they were born Buddhists but were not practising Buddhist. They did not find dignity in associating with Buddhist social work. But the Damrivi group knew the potential of Buddhist, Yuki elaborates. With the Most Venerable Nauyane Ariyadhamma Maha Thera as its Patron, the Board of Trustees of this approved charity comprises Chairman Prof. Asanga Tilakaratne, Professor of Buddhist Studies at the University of Colombo; Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekara, retired Chief of Staff of the Navy; Asoka Sirimane, Chartered Accountant; Ven. Tapowanaye Sutadhara Thera, Director of the Ventura Buddhist Study Centre of America; Dr. Pushpakumara Kandapola Arachchige, Consultant Psychiatrist; Soma de Silva, retired Regional Advisor, UNICEF South Asia; Ravi Bamunusinghe, Managing Director of the Research Consultancy Bureau; Suranjani Wickramaratne, Financial Consultant; and Dr. W.M. Palitha Bandara, Regional Director of Health, Anuradhapura. Damrivi's General Manager is Nilanjana Morugama and Senior Counsellor Suranga Amarakoon.It was, however, an uphill task, concedes Yuki, with Ravi adding that many were the challenges back in 2003. It was a pioneer concept they were working on, one that had not been tested before. They also had to start from scratch. Working with this mind-based philosophy also meant that the results were intangible, Yuki smiles. This 12-month diploma course includes counselling for both women and children.Some of the other programmes include guidance to couples on the threshold of marriage and a new life, addressing issues linked to the biological, psychological and spiritual needs for a happy life, Damrivi's Senior Counsellor Suranga Amarakoon says, explaining that another programme provides guidance for children to deal with common attitude problems. There are also meditation sessions, Sutta discussions and much more. The numbers speak for themselves. Meditation sessions of around 10 per month, every Sunday and Wednesday, draw crowds of about 250. Damrivi's heartbeat, however, is the counselling service which is a blend of western therapies with Buddhist insights/therapies provided to anyone who seeks its solace, irrespective of what that person's religion, ethnicity and nationality is, the Sunday Times learns. Yuki elaborates on 'Sithgimanhala', a live TV counselling programme on Derana held every three weeks which is a tremendous success. Many gained the confidence to seek help and counselling for psycho-social problems while there was also acceptance of Buddhist philosophical inputs as solutions for mind-based problems after seeing this programme, stresses Yuki. Around 175 seek face-to-face counselling at Damrivi every month while more than 200 serious sessions of phone counselling are carried out per month with more than 50 callers a day. In addition, counselling at the Cancer Hospital, Maharagama, is held once a week for about 10 patients and group counselling fortnightly. All indications are that due to the perseverance of this small but committed group, the bud has blossomed, spreading its scent around like the lovely lotuses that devotees place before the Buddha, attracting more and more towards Damrivi. More about Damrivi Foundation Damrivi Foundation is located at 51/A, Isipathana Mawatha, Havelock Town, Colombo 5. For more information, please access www.damrivi.net. Damrivi may be contacted on Phone/Fax: 011-2504431or 011-4956373 or email: damrivi@sltnet.lk or gm@damrivi.net. As Damrivi's programmes incur much expense, daana (donations) are welcome, according to Yuki. Donations may be channelled to Account No. 003460000458 at the Sampath Bank, Thimbirigasyaya Branch in the name of Damrivi Foundation. Please contact Suranjani Wickramaratne (0777281750) or Nilanjana Morugama ( 0773846603) for more information. Read More @ Source
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| Self-Immolations In Tibet: Altruism, Fatalism Or Anomie? – Analysis Posted: 27 Aug 2012 08:00 PM PDT By Bhavna Singh, IPCS, August 25, 2012Lhasa, Tibet (China) -- In its Annual International Religious Freedom Report released on 30 July 2012, the US held the Chinese government responsible for the wave of self-immolations amongst Tibetans over the recent years (45 deaths so far).
These are against religious repression, or for an end to the colonial style administrative set up, or against the forced patriotic education campaigns. Paradoxically, they are also cognizant of the fact that such acts are intrinsically a violation of their own religious beliefs and pacifist way of life. Then why have they turned to self-immolation as a strategy? This article makes a socio-psychological foray into the underpinnings of 'self-immolation' as a phenomenon and whether it will prove to be an evolutionarily stable strategy. Altruism
Fatalism Secondly, fatalism as an attitude has also contributed to the growing levels of frustration amongst the Tibetan population who for the lack of options feel excessively regulated and choked by oppressive discipline by the Chinese authorities. They face, what in the terms of Game theory would be called, Prisoner's dilemma, where cooperation with fellow Tibetans would manifest in achieving the goal of a free Tibet while destabilizing the Chinese state and noncooperation would result in the obliteration of their own ilk. Anomie Thirdly, the concept of Anomie also helps to explain the directionless-state of the Tibetans who reflect moral confusion and lack of social direction due to the two-directional pull from the Chinese state and the Tibetan fraternity. They confront conflicting choices due to lack of definitions on legitimate aspirations within a framework of desirable social ethics, which could otherwise impose meaning and order on the individual conscience. Pursuit of desires is restrained by constant abuse and excessive regulation. Viewed from this prism, the endorsement of self-immolations as a strategy could evince a breakdown of moral regulation within the Buddhist paraphernalia as well as Chinese visions of integration of its autonomous regions. Inadvertently, a mix of the above mentioned three factors explains the occurrence of this phenomenon in Tibet, but will it prove to be an evolutionary stable strategy is a question that requires further probing. Self-Immolations as Evolutionary Stable Strategy? Two crucial factors need to be kept in mind while assessing the potential for success of this strategy: first, the nature of the Chinese state and second, the sustainability of the strategy itself. In a certain way, an unyielding authoritarian polity provides enough space for devising a stable strategy as the reactions are largely predictable and the element of surprise is greatly reduced, though execution is a problem in the long run. For self-immolations to succeed it would require larger participation from the Tibetan community, which seems to be a dim possibility in this case. In the long-run the strategy might run out of steam as the grave personal losses encumbered by the community as a whole could impinge on the larger Buddhist precepts thus drawing rebuke from the spiritual gurus. Also, it seems impracticable as no specific time-frame can be ascertained to achieve their aspired goals which will render the efforts of the martyred few fruitless. There is a pressing need for correction of their strategy by the Tibetans so as to not advance the anomie resulting from the amalgamation of religious and political ends. Moreover, the credentials of self-immolations as an evolutionarily stable strategy are highly questionable. ------------ 
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| Book Brief: “Everything Is the Way” Posted: 27 Aug 2012 02:00 PM PDT
A commentary on various Zen koans and teachings, Everything Is the Way is at heart about awakening from the delusions that cause us suffering and pain. "Buddha is never anywhere else, never anything special or extra," says Elihu Genmyo Smith. "So, this Buddha life is always being who you are in the midst of these circumstances and conditions." Smith is the resident teacher of the Prairie Zen Center in Illinois and cofounder of the Ordinary Mind Zen School. He has studied with many of the luminaries of contemporary Zen, including Maezumi Roshi and Charlotte Joko Beck. In recent years, popular media has confused the public about what Zen really is—equating it with anything enigmatic or even relaxed. A meaty text, Everything is the Way sets the record straight. In our September 2012 magazine, Andrea Miller also reviews Elana Rosenbaum's Being Well (Even When You're Sick), Richard C. Morais' Buddhaland Brooklyn, Bruno Portier's This Flawless Place Between, Katherine Jenkins' Lessons From the Monk I Married, and several other titles worth your while — click here to read them. Read More @ Source
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| Audio: San Francisco Zen Center at fifty Posted: 27 Aug 2012 01:00 PM PDT
Fischer and Stücky, along with Blanche Hartman and Mary Morgan, discuss Zen Center's history and legacy in the Fall 2012 issue of Buddhadharma — read an excerpt of that forum here. Read More @ Source
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| Archaeologists discover tombs in Tibet containing 2,000-year-old relics Posted: 27 Aug 2012 12:00 PM PDT  Ngari, Tibet Four recently unearthed tombs in the Ngari prefecture area of Tibet are believed to contain relics from an ancient Tibetan kingdom of some 2,000 years ago. The ancient relics include wooden caskets containing human remains, as well as copperware, swords, and the skeletal remains of cattle (believed to be buried as sacrificial items). The four tombs were found near a Bön monastery in the capital of Gar County. Bön was the religion of Tibet before Buddhism, sometime in the 7th century. To read the full article at the Hill Post, be sure to visit this link. (Photo via Flickr by yuen yan, under a CC-BY license.) Read More @ Source
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| How Do We Care For Future People? Buddhist and Jain Ideas for Reproductive Ethics Posted: 27 Aug 2012 12:28 PM PDT  Buddhist ideas concerning bioethics differ from nations where the Abrahamic faiths predominate.
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| The Heart Sutra and Emptiness with Lama Dudjom Dorjee Posted: 27 Aug 2012 10:00 AM PDT
"Form is no other than emptiness; emptiness is no other than form," begins the concise yet profound Heart Sutra. Deepen your understanding and heart connection to this famous sutra through the wise, diverse and humorous teachings of Lama Dudjom Dorjee, along with guided meditations and chanting. Taught in english. $ 120 / $ 96 KTD Members Karma Triyana Dharmachakra is located at 335 Meads Mountain Road, Woodstock, NY 12498, in the Catskills. To register, call 845-679-5906 ext. 3, or e-mail office@kagyu.org, or visit online at kagyu.org. Read More @ Source
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<< News photo
Fajiàn Michael Melchizedek, from Germany, moved to Lincoln in 1986 to be a minister at a Greek Orthodox Church.
<< Bhikkhu Hoeurn Somnieng hopes to use the skills he takes from the Kennedy School to restructure the management of Cambodian Buddhist.
<< A counselling session at Damrivi. Pix by M.A. Pushpa Kumara
It identified that 'there was marked deterioration' in the government's approach in handling religious issues during 2011 and increased restrictions were placed on religious practices especially in Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and nunneries. Beijing's obvious immediate reaction has been to ridicule the report as being highly prejudiced, arrogant and ignorant. However, it is beyond doubt that the concerned actors are giving up their lives to send a definite message across the international community. 
Everything is the Way: Ordinary Mind Zen
San Francisco Zen Center
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