Meet Konchog Norbu, our newest Shambhala Sun online contributor


Posted: 01 Jul 2013 09:00 AM PDT
There's a new online contributor among us here at the Shambhala Sun Foundation, so we thought we'd let him introduce himself. Friends, meet Konchog Norbu, who recently began writing regularly for us both here and at Buddhadharma News. About himself he says:

"I come from a family of bibliophiles in which Scrabble games were gladiatorial in their intensity, and disownment was the implied threat if you couldn't write a clever letter that made the recipient snort and immediately snatch up a pen to reply. (Yes, people once wrote letters to one another. With pens.) Carrying that momentum into the study of 20th century American literature and creative writing at Brown University, I discovered my favorite application of whatever talent I possessed was promoting cool stuff that I loved. In and just out of college, this mainly meant underground music and performance, but soon thereafter I met the dharma, and, wham: That was it.
"I became a Buddhist in 1990 and ordained as a monk in 1993. Since then, I have overseen communications and media relations for several dharma organizations, authored the widely-read blog Dreaming of Danzan Ravjaa during a four-year stint in Mongolia, and filled my begging bowl on occasion with freelance writing and editing gigs. I'm delighted to be welcomed into the Shambhala Sun Foundation family now as a regular online contributor and hope to be equal to its heart and good humor."
Click here to read all of Konchog's recent posts for the Shambhala Sun.
And don't miss his earlier posts: Of "Zombies & Zen" | Mongolia: The Disaster You Haven't Heard Of
Read More @ Source


Posted: 30 Jun 2013 12:00 PM PDT

Larung Gar, in Serthar, northern Tibet
Now online: Britain's Daily Mail treats us to an extensive image gallery of Larung Gar, a remote settlement in northern Tibet that has mushroomed into one of the largest Buddhist institutions in the world. Shot by Japanese photographer Shinya Itahana during several visits in both summer and winter, the photos are both sweeping and intimate.
Larung Gar was founded in 1980 by one of the most influential lamas who chose to stay in Tibet, Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok, and at its height, his teachings would draw upwards of 100,000 people. In 2001 the Chinese government bulldozed 70% of the structures, but as these photographs show, Larung Gar has been rebuilt and is even more vast than before. After Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok's passing in 2004, manny of Larung Gar's leadership duties fell to his niece, Ani Mumtso. Her presence has drawn thousands of Buddhist nuns to take up residence there.
Click here to view all the images.
Photo by Shinya Itahana via dailymail.co.uk.

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