Buddhism // Current

Zen Sukoyaka Buddhist forum/E-Sangha - Mind, Body, and Breath

The Zen Sukoyaka E- Sangha is here to help those along their path to better understand... more

Merlyn_Seeley
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25 days ago
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Brit Hume Gives Tiger Woods Advice

jdbeadle
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1 month ago
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The Dharma is free and it matters not what school you study in

You've all seen my Natural health Column, now welcome to my additional new column... more

Merlyn_Seeley
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1 month ago
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What is idle speech?

Buddha taught the noble eight fold path, one rule is Right speech

Merlyn_Seeley
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1 month ago
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6 comments

A look back - 2009 New Years Eve at a Japanese Temple in Tokyo

As we look ahead to 2010, I look behind to 2009. Zojo-ji Temple in Hamamatsucho, Tokyo... more

SamuraiDave
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1 month ago
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Compassion and Enlightenment

Written right after my experience of another stage of enlightenment I experienced on... more

Merlyn_Seeley
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1 month ago
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Shaolin IPO: Home of kung fu to go public

Gawker pointed out this story out of China: The ancient home of kung fu, the Shaolin... more

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1 month ago
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1 comment

Was Jesus a Buddhist?

Merlyn_Seeley
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1 month ago
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29 comments

Interview with Tibetan monk in exile who fled due to taking part in a protest

Translation

Interviewer: In 2006, His Holiness asked Tibetans not to wear animal skins, especially that of wild animals, because this shows that we do not care or are not concerned about animals’ rights. I think you were in Tibet at that time, so did you take part in the burning of clothing made of animal skin?

Monk: Yes, I participated in that, because I saw that there were many reasons. The main thing is that when I last came to India, I received a lot of advice through His Holiness’s speeches. His Holiness always tells other countries that Tibetans are interested in peace and democracy, and he highlights Tibetans as a good example for the rest of the world. But the Chinese government, without supporting Tibetans’ religion or cultural traditions, points out that wearing animal skins makes Tibetans look bad to other countries. That is part of the Chinese government’s plan to diminish Tibetan culture.
Sometimes, when tourists come to Tibet, the Chinese authorities order Tibetans to wear animal skins. When Tibetans wear these skins, the authorities sometimes give them gifts. This is mostly to get Tibetans to oppose His Holiness’s advice. When I saw this happening in my area, I felt very disappointed, but there was nothing I could do. When I visited my friends in other places, I always talked about how we should stop wearing animal skins, but my efforts brought no results. Change takes a long time.

Later, in 2006, His Holiness gave a Kalachakra initiation in India. At that time, many people came from Tibet to attend. His Holiness reported that, “I have heard that these days in Tibet, many people are wearing animal skins, including the skins of wild animals. When you return to Tibet, you have to tell them that in India, His Holiness is living with shame in front of other people because of this practice.” His Holiness also emphasized that, “We have to preserve our religion and culture, but wearing animal skins is not necessary.”

We have only one His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and we usually believe and respect him. So, I feel that if I can follow His Holiness’s advice, that is very good. At that time, we held a large prayer ceremony in our place. Then, I felt that I had to take part in burning the wild animal skins. But, I couldn’t afford to buy a leopard or tiger skin, so I tried to buy a cloth that looked like animal skin, but was not real. However, I was afraid of what others would say if I burned a fake animal skin. I had also heard that people from other parts of Amdo, Ngapa and Rigong, were burning wild animal skins at Losar, on the 13th. Later, I bought a leopard skin for 6000 yuan, and I burned that.
The case for burning animal skins is that throughout the world today, many precious animal species have disappeared, or gone extinct. Also, I think that some animal skins were imported to Tibet from Afghanistan or Pakistan, and I’m afraid that the money from those skins is going to support terrorists.

Interviewer: In 2006, following His Holiness’s speech about animal skins, Chinese authorities ordered people, especially officials, to wear wild animal skins at festivals and ceremonies. Is the main purpose of this to oppose His Holiness?

Monk: Yes, of course--it’s not only to oppose His Holiness, but to express disdain for Tibetans. They want to show other countries that Tibetans are ignorant, just like animals. In our village, there was a man who bought a tiger skin a few days before Losar. He paid 10,000 yuan, and another man asked him to sell him the tiger skin so that he could burn it. But the man replied, “I don’t want to sell it to you, I want to burn it myself.” So he burned the skin, and many other Tibetans also burned wild animal skins. But the Chinese continued to order Tibetans in isolated rural places to wear the skins, while singing and dancing, and they recorded this in pictures and videos, declaring to other countries that Tibetans still wore wild animal skins.
Translated by Sangay sangay_4637@yahoo.co.inTranslation Interviewer: In 2006, His Holiness asked Tibetans not to wear animal... more

storiesfromtibet
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1 month ago
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Cat Stevens becomes Yusuf Islam

Full Hour - Cat Stevens burst onto the Pop Music scene in the swinging 70's.... more

Jenime
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2 months ago
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Author Goes To Japan Seeking Enlightenment, Ends Up Writing About Organized Crime

Author Jake Adelstein was on Jon Stewart last night talking about his new book,... more

atomiclegion
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3 months ago
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You see a child soldier with a rifle--you are in Burma--do you take the picture?

(trailer for documentary, Please Don't Say My Name, www.pleasedontsaymyname.org)... more

kzusman
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3 months ago
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2 comments

Sherpa hospital in Himalayan heights

For the Sherpas of the high Everest or Khumbu region of Nepal, keeping healthy is a... more

LadybugLady [removed]
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3 months ago
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0 comments

Buddha Sculpture Created Using Dead Bugs

There’s nothing unusual about statues and sculptures of religious deities. But... more

whitespacecarpet
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3 months ago
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A Flowchart to Determine What Religion You Should Follow [diagram]

Flowcharts are a great way to make sense out of confusing scenarios, and there's... more

GrrlScientist
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4 months ago
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23 comments

Tibetan medicine man on local sacred land

Tibetan doctors must help patients psychologically and spiritually in order to treat... more

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4 months ago
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A Look at Christianity, Through a Buddhist Lens

New book that discusses how a Catholic priest has wrestled with his beliefs after coming into close contact with Buddhism. Much more at link.

Five decades ago, Paul F. Knitter, then a novice studying to become a Roman Catholic priest, would be in the seminary chapel at 5:30 every morning, trying to stay awake and spend time in meditation before Mass.

Last Wednesday, at the same hour, he was sitting on his Zen cushion meditating in the Claremont Avenue apartment he occupies as the Paul Tillich Professor of Theology, World Religions and Culture at Union Theological Seminary in New York.

A few hours later he was talking about his pointedly titled new book, “Without Buddha I Could Not Be a Christian” (Oneworld). The book is the outcome of decades of encounters with Buddhism — and of struggles with his own faith.

“Has my dialogue with Buddhism made me a Buddhist Christian?” he writes. “Or a Christian Buddhist? Am I a Christian who has understood his own identity more deeply with the help of Buddhism? Or have I become a Buddhist who still retains a stock of Christian leftovers.”

The struggles Mr. Knitter is writing about are not the familiar ones about sexual ethics, the role of women or the failures of church leaders.

His focus here is on what he calls “the big stuff”: What does it really mean for Christians to profess belief in an almighty “God the Father” personally active in the world, or in Jesus, “his only-begotten Son” who saved humanity through his death and bodily resurrection, or in eternal life, heaven and hell?

He was not asserting, as some people have, that religions like Christianity and Buddhism are merely superficially different expressions of one underlying faith.

On the contrary, he insists they differ profoundly. Yet “Buddhism has helped me take another and deeper look at what I believe as a Christian,” he writes. “Many of the words that I had repeated or read throughout my life started to glow with new meaning.”New book that discusses how a Catholic priest has wrestled with his beliefs after... more

hpseaton
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4 months ago
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A Basic Buddhism Guide: Rebirth

For those who believe in rebirth, this should tell you everything you need to know

franksalot
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4 months ago
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Monks brains mapped during meditation

Science delves into the mysteries of meditation

franksalot
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4 months ago
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4 comments

The Buddha's Charter of Free Inquiry

BUDDHIST BLOG

franksalot
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4 months ago
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tagged w/ Buddhism

Zen Sukoyaka Buddhist forum/E-Sangha - Mind, Body, and Breath

Brit Hume Gives Tiger Woods Advice

The Dharma is free and it matters not what school you study in

What is idle speech?

A look back - 2009 New Years Eve at a Japanese Temple in Tokyo

Compassion and Enlightenment

Shaolin IPO: Home of kung fu to go public

Was Jesus a Buddhist?

Interview with Tibetan monk in exile who fled due to taking part in a protest

Cat Stevens becomes Yusuf Islam

Author Goes To Japan Seeking Enlightenment, Ends Up Writing About Organized Crime

You see a child soldier with a rifle--you are in Burma--do you take the picture?

Sherpa hospital in Himalayan heights

Buddha Sculpture Created Using Dead Bugs

A Flowchart to Determine What Religion You Should Follow [diagram]

Tibetan medicine man on local sacred land

A Look at Christianity, Through a Buddhist Lens

A Basic Buddhism Guide: Rebirth

Monks brains mapped during meditation

The Buddha's Charter of Free Inquiry

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