Thai Buddhist leaders pray for poached elephants, call for end to ivory use

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Bangkok, Thailand -- As world governments meet here to discuss global wildlife trade, revered Thai Buddhist leaders today held the first-ever Buddhist merit-making ceremony to pray for the tens of thousands of elephants poached annually. They also called on their congregations and other temples to reject the use and trade of ivory.

A large percentage of Thailand’s ivory is bought by foreign tourists, but there is significant demand among devout Buddhists for ivory carved into images of the Buddha, amulets, and other objects of worship.
Leading the merit-making ceremony were Ajahn Jayasaro, a forest monk and Buddhist teacher; Phra Maha Jerm Suvaco of the Maha Chula Buddhist University; Mae Chee Sansanee, founder and director of Sathira-Dhammasathan Center; and Phra Paisal Visalo, abbot of Wat Pasukato. Each offered teachings on conservation and the role of Buddhists in saving elephants from wildlife crime.
“We are honored to come together with the Buddhist leadership of Thailand, on this auspicious occasion of making merit for African elephants – the first ever for elephants,” said Dekila Chungyalpa, director of the Sacred Earth program for WWF. “Because faith leaders are speaking up about environmental sustainability being consistent with religious values, we are now seeing a new movement of faith-based conservation all over the world.”

Supported by WWF, the event at Wat That Thong in downtown Bangkok sought to educate the deeply religious Thai public on the link between ivory and wildlife crime, and encourage the leadership of Buddhist temples and congregations to discontinue the use and trade of ivory.
Thailand is the world’s largest unregulated ivory market and a major sink for ivory poached from Africa. In opening the current meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) here on 3 March, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra announced a shutdown of the country’s ivory market though gave no timeline.

The event also featured a giant chalk drawing of an elephant designed by artist Remko van Schaik  with messages in English and Thai saying “I am not a trinket” and “Ivory belongs to elephants.” Attendees took photos with the elephant artwork and also wrote prayers for poached elephants and hung them from trees in the courtyard of the temple.

“Having prestigious leaders from the Buddhist community in Thailand lead this ceremony here, which is usually practiced for a family member who has passed away, emphasizes that we are all interdependent and part of one great web of life,” said Phansiri Winichagoon, country director of WWF-Thailand.

Monks, members of the Thai public, government representatives, and delegates from the ongoing CITES attended the ceremony.

The CITES trade talks continue through 13 March. Conservation groups are calling on the 178 countries in attendance to take action by the end of the meeting against countries failing to comply with their international commitments to stop unregulated ivory trade. Tens of thousands of elephants are poached in Africa every year to feed world demand for ivory.

For more information contact:

Ua-phan Chamnan-ua, uchamnanua@wwf.panda.org +66 81 928 2426
Carmen Arufe, carufe@wwf.es +34 638603884

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Another tragic self-immolation has occurred in Tibet

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Dharmsala, India -- The tensions in Tibet have continued on a daily basis with another self-immolation having occurred. On March 16, 2013, Phayul.com has reported, "Breaking: Kirti monk marks March 16 with self-immolation, Toll rises to 108". At the anniversary of five years since the 2008 peaceful protests in Tibet, a Tibetan monk in Ngaba region of eastern Tibet has become the 108th Tibetan living under China’s rule to self-immolate.

<< Lobsang Thokmey

Lobsang Thokmey, 28, a monk from the Kirti Monastery, set himself on fire today at around 2:40 pm local time. Lobsang Thokmey passed away during his protest.

The Dharamshala based Kirti Monastery has said Lobsang Thokmey doused his body with kerosene in front of his monastic quarters in the west of the Kirti Monastery and than he started running towards the east.

The Kirti Monastery said in a news release, “Lobsang Thokmey was in flames as he began running with the Buddhist flag in his hands. Before he could reach the main gate, he fell on the ground.”

Lobsang Thokmey was carried to the local hospital by monks and other people gathered at the scene of his lethal protest. Shortly thereafter he succumbed to his injuries. The Kirti Monastetry source said, “A large number of Chinese security personnel arrived at the hospital soon after Lobsang Thokmey was admitted and later forcibly took away the deceased’s body to the regional headquarters of Barkham.”

Lobsang Thokmey became a monk at the Kirti Monastery at a young age and had a reputation for having had excellent conduct and he was extremely diligent in his studies.

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Anthony Kennedy Warder – in memoriam

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Renowned Indologist A.K. Warder treated Pali as an independent language, rather than just a derivative of Sanskrit

Toronto, Canada -- Professor A.K. Warder was born in England September 8, 1924 and passed away at the age of 88 on January 8, 2013.

<< The late A. K. Warder's most famous work, "Indian Buddhism"

He studied Sanskrit and Pali at the University of London (SOAS). His doctoral thesis, later published under the title Pali Metre: A Contribution to the History of Indian Literature (Pali Text Society, 1967), was supervised by the late John Brough.

Professor Warder was active for some years in the affairs of the Pali Text Society, which also published his first bookIntroduction to Pali (1963; 3rd revised edition, 2005). In this text book Professor Warder took the then revolutionary approach of treating Pali as an independent language, not just a derivative of Sanskrit.

Professor Warder's first academic appointment was at the University of Edinburgh in 1955, but like so many other talented British academics of the 1950s and 60s he sought greener pastures in what many older Brits of the time probably would have referred to as ‘the colonies’. He came to the University of Toronto in 1963, where he was to remain until his retirement in 1990.

As Chairman of the Department of East Asian Studies during a formative and prosperous period, he built up a strong programme in Sanskrit and South Asian Studies, which for some years existed as a separate Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies. During that period he hired then young and upcoming talents such as Jeffrey Masson and Bimal Krishna Matilal, who later held the Spalding Chair at Oxford.

Professor Warder was a very learned scholar and an indefatigable worker, as witnessed by his impressive output of books. His extensive contribution to Indological scholarship included his monumental 8-volume study of Indian Kavya Literature (Motilal Banarsidass, 972-2011), his well known Indian Buddhism (1st pub. 1970; 3rd revised edition, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2000), as well as his other books on Buddhism, Indian philosophy and Indian literature, not to mention his first two books Pali Metre: A Contribution to the History of Indian Literature (Pali Text Society, 1967) and  Introduction to Pali (Pali Text Society, 1963; 3rd revised edition, 2005).

A volume of studies in his honour was edited by Profs. N.K.Wagle and F.Watanabe (1993).

His private persona is somewhat shrouded in mystery. He seemed to have been reluctant to talk about himself, a very British reticence to let others into his private life. According to those who knew him better he eagerly talked about scholarly matters, about music, the performing arts, poetry, and expressed his strong and even controversial opinions about scholarly, educational and cultural subjects. I therefore take the liberty of quoting three other scholars who knew him so much better than I.

The first one is from Professor Leonard Priestley (retired) of East Asian Studies, one of Professor Warder’s first students in Toronto:

“When I said we knew the Warders ‘fairly well’, what I meant was that we had dinner with them a few times. They never said anything much, as far as I can recall, about themselves, nothing about family, how they met, anything like that. He was perhaps traditionally British in that reticence, and I think in any case had a naturally strong sense of privacy.

As for his character, my impression was that he was a kind, gentle person with a good sense of humour, but with a certain tendency to stubbornness. He enjoyed life, but his dominant passion was of course his work. He clearly had a strong sense of the injustice (and stupidity) of what he saw as common Western views of Indian culture, and insisted on the intrinsic value of the Indian tradition and the need to understand it in its own, Indian terms.

I don’t think much needs to be added to your list of his publications. But perhaps you might mention two of his articles which seem to me to be particularly important: “The Concept of a Concept” in the Journal of Indian Philosophy, Vol.1 (1971), and “Dharmas and Data”, also in the Journal of Indian Philosophy in the same volume.”

From Richard Hayes, Professor of Buddhist Studies at the University of New Mexico:

“I took several courses with Professor Warder as a graduate student. He struck me as a true humanist. That is, he had a deep appreciation and vast knowledge of the humanities. He loved the performing arts, poetry, history, philosophy and scholarly writings of all kinds. His academic specialty was the culture of India, broadly construed. He was of a generation less specialized in one particular aspect of India than most scholars of subsequent generations.

He instilled in his students a conviction that Indian culture was worth studying for its own sake and should be assessed by its own standards rather than by European colonial standards. His attitude has become the norm nowadays, but in his generation it was less common. He expressed his concern that the humanities in North America were in a state of decline through a kind of vulgarization, and he saw himself as trying, somewhat quixotically, to counter that trend.

I am sure other people may have seen Professor Warder in other ways, but those are my impressions of the man.”

Finally a few words from Jeffrey Masson, presently an animal rights activist living in New Zealand:

“Professor Warder had a very easy manner about him,  [he was] very unpretentious, very willing to talk about anything to do with scholarship, and at the same time he seemed to have broader interests.  So I was attracted to this.  His book on learning Pali is excellent, and I used it to learn Pali, and it served me well.  He was a man seemingly without prejudices.”

Professor Warder and his wife Nargez died of natural causes almost simultaneously. They had no children. They are being buried together after a Buddhist ceremony, united in death as they were in life.

Please visit: http://www.palitext.com/

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British Tourist Denied Entry to Sri Lanka for Disrespecting Buddhism

Local newspaper Lankadeepa Sinhalese reported that Antony Ratcliffe, 42, was forbidden to enter Sri Lanka because he demeaned Buddhist values when asked about the tattoo.

One of the immigration officials told the newspaper: "When questioned about the tattoo, he spoke very disrespectfully about Buddhism."

The officials at Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo decided that it was best to deny him entry to the country for his own safety. They felt his opinion regarding Buddhism would offend locals and might provoke an incident.

"If he expressed such views after entering the country, it would have been a threat to his own safety," said the unnamed immigration official.

An airport source confirmed the incident, but did not disclose the reason behind the decision to turn Ratcliffe away.

According to a BBC report, Ratcliffe was passing through Sri Lanka en route from London to Malaysia. He denied any intention to disrespect local customs.

"I like the artwork in tattoos obviously and, due to my belief in Buddhist philosophy, which I have followed for many years, I thought a quality tattoo of the Buddha was rather apt. It wasn't something I took lightly or did on the spur of the moment," he said.

According to the Central Intelligence Agency, 70 percent of the population in Sri Lanka follow the Theravada branch of Buddhism, which is recognised as the oldest branch of the religion. Ill-treatment of Buddha images is considered taboo in the country, and foreign nationals are strongly encouraged to respect local decorum and religious sensibilities.

Last August, a Sri Lankan court sentenced three French nationals to six months in prison with hard labour, suspended for five years, for posing with Buddha statues and pretending to kiss one of them.

In 2010, the American R&B singer Akon was denied entry to the country after one of his music videos showed scantily clad women dancing around a Buddha statue.

According to the BBC, around 100,000 British citizens visited the island nation last year, accounting for 10 percent of the total number of tourists.

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Transformation of Runcorn pub into Buddhist temple nearly complete

Officials from the UK Border Agency last month granted Wat Phra Singh UK ? the charity that took over the historic building ? a Type A licence to allow it to bring over monks from Thailand to work in the temple.

The five monks, including one Abbott, will be able to gain Tier 2 visas as long as they pass a B2 English language exam.

Tony Collacott, a trustee for Wat Phra Singh, which is a Southern tradition of Buddhism, is currently applying to the agency to have the Tier 2 visas changed to Tier 5.

The move would mean the monks will be able to gain their visas more quickly and would not have to sit the language exams.

However, it would limit their time in the UK to a maximum of two years.
Tony said: ?The Tier 2 visa is for ministers of religion and the Tier 5 for religious workers.

?We just want to get them over as soon as possible.

?They?re the final piece in the temple.?

The pub, which was the backdrop of popular BBC sitcom Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps ? written by Runcorn scriptwriter Susan Nickson ? closed its doors to punters on New Year?s Eve.

Tony said he is thrilled with the support the charity has received from the community so far, and cannot wait to officially open the temple in time for Thai New Year in mid-April.

He added: ?Thai New Year has always been the target.

?It is the perfect way to start a new year with a new temple.?

On Saturday, March 2, Wat Phra Singh UK held one of its popular Thai nights. More than 160 residents turned up for the event which was held at Birchfield Sports Club in Widnes.

Tony added: ?The turnout was very encouraging, there was quite a lot of new faces and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.?

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Buddhist site unearthed near Mylavaram

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The find is strikingly reminiscent of the Amaravati School of Art

Vijayawada, India -- A Buddhist site, probably belonging to the Satavahana/Ikshvaku dynasties, has been unearthed by a freelance archaeologist Kadiyala Venkateswara Rao, near Pondugula village in Mylavaram mandal of Krishna district.

<< Freelance archaeologist Kadiyala Venkateswara Rao at the Buddhist site near Pondugula in Krishna district. Photo: T. Vijaya Kumar

Mr. Rao, who hails from Tenali, is also an ex-documentation officer with the Archaeological Survey of India. Among his recent discoveries was a megalith menhir with rock engravings near Karampudi in Guntur district.

On trail of Buddhist remnants in Guntur and Krishna districts, Mr. Rao stumbled upon two marble pillars with engravings of Lotus Medallions and bricks used during the Satavahana period buried in a pit on a field at Pangadi village on the outskirts of Pondugula village, about 10 km from Mylavaram.

The row of sitting bulls and lion motifs carved intricately on the huge Palnadu white marble stones, is strikingly reminiscent of the Amravati School of Art, says Mr. Rao. Similar pillars have been found at Buddhist sites at Jaggaiahpet, Ghantasala, Amaravati, Nagarjunakonda, and Chinaganjam.

The site extending up to 10 acres is called Pattidibba in local parlance. Huge bricks, called Satavahana bricks of size 52X25X9 cm, covered with mortar lay scattered around the site. The site is also strewn with bases of broken pillars and marble pieces.

“The presence of huge bricks indicates that the site may have been used for a construction of a stupa or a vihara or a chaitya. A huge water tank filled with lotus flowers located south of Buddhist site found near the site indicates that the site may have belonged to the Satavahana/Ikshvaku times during 1-3 A.D,” Mr. Rao says.

A brick mound, called ‘Itukala Koppu’ in local parlance, has 5-6 rock cut cisterns, which indicates that the site may have another Buddhist stupa.“The discovery of white marble pillars on a Satavahana Buddhist site is important and the ASI should take steps to protect the site and shift the marble pillars to ASI Museum to protect the Buddhist antiquity in the region,” Mr. Rao added.

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Oprah Store Taken Over by Buddhist Center

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WEST LOOP, Chicago (USA) -- A North Side meditation center plans to take over the old Oprah Store.

<< A group meditating at the Shambhala Meditation Center in Rogers Park. The center plans to occupy the old Oprah Store on 31 N. Carpenter St. by late summer.
(Facebook/Chicago Shambhala Meditation Center)

The Shambhala Meditation Center, currently at 7331 N. Sheridan Rd., will soon make its home at 31 N. Carpenter St. ideally by the end of summer, according to Gina Caruso, a chair in the center's governing council.

The Buddhist-inspired organization, which has been in Rogers Park since 1995, provides lessons in meditation as well as open meditation sittings with community gatherings.

The large front room of the former Oprah store will be used as the main meditation area and could fit about 50 to 60 people for events, Caruso said. She also said that the center would provide community services and offer classes ranging from yoga to flower arranging.

"It's definitely a place where people can feel at home…and be creative and do things they might not normally get a chance to do," she said.
Shambhala is also working with Harpo Studios to provide a 30-space parking lot about a block away from the center at the corner of Carpenter and Randolph streets.

"We were so happy to find the space," said Thomas Golz, the vice chair of the center's governing council. "As soon as we walked in and saw the neighborhood, we loved this location."

The meditation center also wants to rezone the basement — previously a storage area — to have classes and community activities. That hearing will take place Friday at city hall.

The Oprah store had offered show souvenirs, infant products, books and magazines and "Oprah's Closet," which sold clothing once worn by the talk show host. The store closed in June of 2011.

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Work begins on new Buddhist temple in Canberra

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Canberra, Australia -- Construction of a new Chinese Buddhist temple is underway in Canberra's north.

The Hu Guo Bao En complex is being built on Kelleway Avenue in Nicholls and will feature a temple, landscaped gardens and residential quarters for monks.

Member for Ginninderra Chris Bourke attended a foundation stone laying ceremony on Sunday.

He says the temple will be open to all.

"The Chinese Buddhist community in the northside has been using temporary facilities until now," he said.

"This will be a purpose built facility which will celebrate their form of worship and their religion, as well as being open to our local community, as well as residents, to be able to go and enjoy the beautiful gardens and temple buildings."

Mr Bourke says construction is expected to take two years.

"This will be an important place of worship for Chinese Buddhists," he said.

"The services will be conducted in Mandarin and it's a great addition to the vibrant and multicultural community that we have here in Canberra, where we celebrate diversity and look forward to celebrating religious differences."

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Sri Lankan Buddhist Monk under attack in Tamil Nadu

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Chennai, India -- A Buddhist monk from Sri Lanka - Ven. Gnanaloka Thero (46) had been with a group of 18 students comprising Indian, Myanmar and other nationals who was in Thanjavur for academic research, bore the brunt of the latest wave of anti-Lanka protests that has gripped the State lately.

<< The Buddhist monk Gnana Tero being confronted in Thanjavur on Saturday

Police rescued Ven. Gnanaloka Thero safely and the other students had been escorted to immediate safety at the Police Station and arrangements had been made for all the students including the Sri Lankan monk to leave Thanjavur immediately and depart to the Trichy airport under police protection. From Tiruchy, he boarded a flight to Chennai before leaving for New Delhi.

Police who rescued the monk in time and safely transported him to Tiruchy Airport on Saturday, around 2 pm with heavy security, but, MDMK men pelted stones at the vehicle ferrying the monk and when the vehicle neared G-Corner. From Tiruchy, he boarded a flight to Chennai before leaving for New Delhi.

Ven Gnanaloka Thero who is pursuing a Postgraduate Diploma in Archaeology at the Institute of Archaeology of India has been studying in India in New Delhi for the past 18 months and has visited several Indian states on study tour.

The Buddhist monk, Gnana Tero (46), reached Thanjavur Big Temple on Saturday, and was learning about the archeological pattern of the iconic temple.

Members of some Tamil outfits reached there and, all of a sudden, Tamil Desiya Pothu Udamai Katchi district organiser P Rajendran and Naam Tamilar Katchi state organiser A Nalladurai assaulted the monk.

A police team led by Superintendent T S Anbu rushed to the scene and arrested Rajendran, Nalladurai and 9 others.

The Sri Lanka Deputy High Commissioner’s Office in Chennai and the Sri Lanka High Commission in New Delhi made immediate arrangements for the safe return of Ven. Gnanaloka Thero to New Delhi last evening and Ven.Thero will continue with the course of study in New Delhi .

The incident has received immediate attention at the highest levels of the Government of India and the state government of Tamil Nadu.

Police have registered a case in Ariyamangalam and have arrested 5 persons belonging to the MDMK (Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) and the NTK (Naam Tamilar Katchi) in connection with the incident.

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Richard Gere: Buddhism is my life

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Los Angeles, CA (USA) -- Richard Gere says his Buddhist faith is at the centre of everything he does and every decision he makes in his life.

The Hollywood actor is a firm believer in the Asian religion, which focuses on personal spiritual development, and says it is the guiding force that surrounds everything he does.

He explained: "It's relevant to everything I do. Buddhism is the camel of my life. It's there everywhere. I don't think you have to be Buddhist to get it, quite honestly. I'm more interested in secular ethics, about what we all have in common. What is good? What is happiness? What is our duty to ourselves?"

The 'Arbitrage' star is happily married to former model Carey Lowell - with whom he has a 12-year-old son, Homer - but, at 63, he still doesn't think he has reached sexual maturity.

Gere still has strong erotic urges and he channels of all this energy into his marriage to Carey, 52, but he tries to control it because Buddhism teaches that desire causes suffering.

In an interview with The Guardian newspaper, he said: "I haven't quite got there myself. You don't want to lose that energy but there's an unseemliness at a certain age when you're run by it, when you're not in control, that's really kind of foul.

"That's what we have to look at. How can I use desire in such a way that I might be proud of it at the end of my life? There is a way but you have to work at it. At some future date I will be there."

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Third anniversary of Ven. Beopjeong's passing commemorated

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Seoul, South Korea -- The third year funeral ritual of Ven. Beopjeong was held on March 7th, 2013 at Kilsangsa monastery in Seoul, Korea.

Venerable Beopjeong’s secular name is Park Jae-cheol. He was born in Haenam in 1932. While he was in university in 1954, he became a Buddhist monk by becoming the leading disciple of revered priest Hyobong.

Beopjeong trained himself and worked hard on his Buddhist studies at Songgwang Temple in 1975. After publishing his essay collection, “Without Possession,” in 1976, he continued to print other essays and other translation works. That’s how his spiritual philosophy became well-known to the public.

We need to meditate on the meaning of “pure poverty.” It means to suppress one’s urge to possess more. People need to feel satisfied with what they have right now. Pure poverty means not to envy others or become jealous of what others have, but to be satisfied with what has been bestowed to them in reality. It’s not to have unnecessary things.

People need to understand underprivileged people. We can’t own everything. We are all integrated in some ways, depending on each other. It’s unreasonable for a human being to possess a lot while their neighbors suffer. Though the things they own are theirs, it’s like taking away something others should have possessed.

The “non-possession” philosophy was born at the Buril hermitage, a small temple built in the deep mountain behind Songgwangsa. The secluded home was built by Beopjeng at his own expense. It was here where the late monk put his teaching of “non-possession” into practice by preparing his own meal, doing his laundry, and cultivating the soil. (excerpted from the biography of Beopjeong sunim)

The abbot of Kilsangsa temple states that, “Ven. Beopjeong did not allow us to have a funeral ritual for him. But despite his wishes, as his students we decided to have a funeral ritual out of great respect to the formalities and morals.”

Currently, the students of Ven. Beopjeong are also working to reconstruct the house that their master grew up in in Haenam.

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India Taps Potential of Rich Buddhist Heritage

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NEW DELHI, India -- India is tapping the potential of its rich Buddhist heritage by wooing more tourists from East and South East Asian countries. Buddhism originated in India but went on to gain more popularity in other Asian countries.

From a rail station in New Delhi the luxury train, the Mahaparinirvan Express, begins its winding, eight-day journey through three Indian states -- Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Orissa.
The passengers on board include a group of tourists from Thailand, who are greeted with garlands and music. At daytime, the train stops at some of Buddhism’s most sacred sites such as Bodh Gaya where Buddha obtained enlightenment, Sarnath, where he gave his first sermon, Varanasi, where he preached and Kusinagar, where he died. 
The train is sometimes delayed by dense winter fog, but the visitors from Thailand say they are satisfied with their spiritual encounter.

Buddha began preaching Buddhism in India more than 2,500 years ago. As a result, some of Buddhism’s most sacred sites - places where he lived and preached are located in India -- although the religion went on became more popular elsewhere in Asia.
Many of these holy spots lie in India’s poorest states which were not easy to access for decades. As a result only the most committed religious tourists made the effort to reach the sites, resulting in relatively few foreign visitors. 
But in recent years, India has been trying to attract more tourists from countries such with sizeable Buddhist populations such as Japan and Thailand and develop what it calls spiritual tourism. 
It has connected key Buddhist heritage sites through a rail network on which the Mahaparinirvan Express plies. And it is trying to improve other infrastructure such as highways and airports for those who want to plan their own visits. 
The head of India’s Association of Tour Operators, Subhash Goyal says the process has begun, but much more needs to be done. “In a lot of areas where hotels and other things need to come up and second is road connectivity, and there needs to be air connectivity connecting all these places with small planes or with helicopters," he said. "If the facilities improve and infrastructure improves, I am sure we can have two to three million tourists, just Buddhist tourists coming to India.”
The government recognizes the need to invest more funds to develop what it calls the “Buddhist circuit.” 
Tourism Minister, K.Cheeranjivi on a recent visit to Tokyo, said India needs more quality, budget accommodation close to prominent Buddhist sites and called on Japan to invest in the hospitality sector.   

It is not just India that is hoping to draw in Buddhist tourists. Passengers aboard the Buddhist pilgrim train are taken via bus across the border to the tiny town of Lumbini in Nepal. 
This town, where Gautam Buddha was born, has been getting a makeover for many years to provide amenities for tourists.

Sharad Pradhan at Nepal’s Tourist Board says so far most of the overseas tourists come via India, but they hope to change that. “We have many tourists coming from Sri Lanka also, there are so many tourists coming from Thailand, Japan also. Now the government of Nepal is opening airport at Lumbini," he added. "So that will be complete within two years so that tourists can directly come to Lumbini.”
In India, states rich in Buddhist heritage have begun reaping a dividend from Buddhist tourism. A decade ago, virtually no foreign tourists went to Bihar, which is among India’s poorest and least developed areas, but also the area where most Buddhist sites are located. Today, Bihar hosts nearly half a million overseas visitors.

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Buddhists, Reconstructing Sacred Tibetan Murals, Wield Their Brushes in Nepal

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LO MANTHANG, Nepal -- Dozens of painters sat atop scaffolding that soared toward the roof of an ancient monastery. With a swipe of their brushes, colors appeared that gave life to the Buddha. Gold for the skin.

<< A local woman worked on a historic mural at Thubchen Monastery in Lo Manthang, Nepal.

They worked by dim portable electric lights. Dusty statues of Tibetan Buddhist deities gazed on. From openings in the roof, a few shafts of sunlight fell through the 35 wooden pillars in the main chamber of the enormous Thubchen Monastery, the same edifice that had awed Michel Peissel, the explorer of Tibet, when he visited a half-century ago.

“In Nepal, no one knows how to do this, so we have to learn,” said Tashi Gurung, 34, a painter participating in what is one of the most ambitious Tibetan art projects in the Himalayas.

Financed by the American Himalayan Foundation, the project is aimed at restoring to a vibrant state the artwork of two of the three main monasteries and temples in Lo Manthang, the walled capital of the once-forbidden kingdom of Mustang. Bordering Tibet in the remote trans-Himalayan desert, Mustang is an important enclave of Tibetan Buddhist culture.

Tibetan leaders, including the Dalai Lama, say their culture is under assault in the vast Tibetan regions ruled by the Chinese Communist Party, which occupied central Tibet in 1951. That, along with the encroachment of modernity, means that the act of preserving or reviving Tibetan art is arguably more important than at any time since China’s devastating Cultural Revolution.

The project in Lo Manthang has stirred debate. Some scholars of Tibetan art assert that the painters in Lo Manthang are altering important historical murals and jeopardizing scholarship by painting new images atop sections of walls where the original images have been destroyed. Those involved in the project argue that residents want complete artwork in their houses of worship.

The project’s director is Luigi Fieni, 39, an Italian who first came to work here after graduating from an art conservation program in Rome. Mr. Fieni and other Westerners have trained local residents to work on the art, creating a 35-member team that includes 20 women and one monk (though there was initial reluctance from local men to tolerate the women’s participation).

There are three major religious buildings in Lo Manthang. Two of them are monasteries, and one is a temple traditionally used for ceremonies by the royal family. Their thick, red walls rise among alleyways that wind past whitewashed mud-brick homes. An 80-year-old king and his family reside in a palace in the town center. The town was founded in the 14th century, and the oldest religious buildings date to the 15th century.

Much of the Tibetan art here reflects a Newari influence, which comes from the Katmandu Valley. Centuries ago, Newari artisans were welcomed by some Tibetan rulers, especially those who followed the Sakya branch of Tibetan Buddhism, which is common throughout Mustang.

The art project began in 1999 with the cleaning of murals in Thubchen Monastery, after an initial round of architectural reconstruction. Then the painters moved on to Jampa Temple, where the dark main chamber has a towering statue of Maitreya, the future Buddha.

The walls on the first floor are adorned with remarkably detailed mandalas, a form of geometric art considered a representation of the cosmos. Here, Mr. Fieni decided to deviate from the initial approach taken at Thubchen. He wanted his team, rather than do purely restoration, to paint sections of the walls where an original mural had disappeared or been destroyed.

The painters would then try to recreate those pictures based on tradition and on what had been painted elsewhere in the chamber. Mr. Fieni also consulted with monks to ask what pictures they wanted on the walls. In 2010, the team returned to Thubchen to adopt the new approach and paint large sections.

“Call this painting, not restoration or conservation,” Mr. Fieni said. He added that this method helped restore the living nature of the artwork, as opposed to what he called the Western “colonialism” approach of preserving the old above all else.

“When we arrived, we started working following the Westerners’ theories of conservation,” Mr. Fieni said. “Then, while working and living within the community, I changed my point of view, and I decided to follow the needs of the culture I was working for. So I decided to start reconstructing the missing areas.”

Once taught how to paint, local residents decide how they want to decorate the monasteries, Mr. Fieni said.

 “All the other conservation projects I’ve seen are Westerners doing the artwork, locals fetching clay,” he said. “This is the first one where we train the locals.”

There were challenges. Painters in higher castes initially did not want artists in lower castes sitting on the scaffolding above them. And there were religious beliefs to accommodate. At the buildings, an abbot used a mirror to absorb the spirits of the gods in the statues and murals before the painting began; after the project is completed, the abbot is expected to release the spirits from the mirror so they can return.

Mr. Fieni’s approach to restoring the temples and monasteries has been contested. Christian Luczanits, a senior curator at the Rubin Museum of Art in New York, which displays Himalayan art, said he blanched at what he saw when he traveled to Mustang in 2010 and 2012. Mr. Luczanits said that sufficient scholarship had not been done into the original paintings. Now, because of the new painting, any scholar wanting to study the originals must look at photographs rather than rely on what is present in the temple, he said.

“The temple now after restoration cannot be understood anymore without the previous documentation,” Mr. Luczanits said in an interview.

Last year, he made his opinion known at a contentious meeting at the palace in Lo Manthang. Among those present were Mr. Fieni, an abbot, the prince of Mustang and representatives of the American Himalayan Foundation, which gives financial support to many development projects in Mustang. (The foundation’s president, Erica Stone, said the total being spent on the building renovations in Lo Manthang alone was $2.58 million. An additional $768,000 had been spent for restoring the town wall and constructing drainage.)

There was vigorous debate, and the royal family and the abbot both backed Mr. Fieni. The ceremonial prince, Jigme Singi Palbar Bista, said in an interview that the buildings “are renovated very well.”

Thoroughly painting Thubchen Monastery would take another three to four years, but the project’s budget will run out this year. Mr. Fieni estimated there was a total of about 3,660 square feet of wall space to paint.

He said he was thinking about moving on to restoration projects in India or Myanmar with some of the painters he had trained here. In 2006 and 2007, he took five of them to work with him at a Tibetan monastery in Sichuan Province, in western China, a project that was never completed because the Chinese authorities shut down access to the area after a Tibetan uprising in 2008.

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Buddhist groups gather weekly in Martin, Indian River counties

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Martin, Florida (USA) -- A small, golden sculpture of the Buddha faced a quiet, meditating crowd early this month in Stuart.

It was the first meeting for the newly formed Treasure Coast Dharma Practice Group, which is one of several small Buddhist groups that gather each week across Martin and Indian River counties.

Curiosity, health problems and a search for enlightenment are a few of the reasons that have led locals to join and form the groups, including the recently opened Mangalam Dharma Center for the study and practice of Tibetan Buddhism in Sebastian, and the Vero Beach Zen Buddhism practitioners.

Although about 0.5 percent of Floridians practiced Buddhism in 2008, according to a Pew Forum on Religion and Public survey, practitioners on the Treasure Coast see Buddhism slowly growing locally.

“People continue to become attracted to the psychological aspect of Buddhism,” said Jim Patteson, who leads the Zen group of about 30 in Vero Beach and is a retired professor of Eastern philosophy, among other topics, at Indian River State College. Most of Patteson’s college students, he said, have become practitioners of Buddhism upon finishing the class.

“Something else I’ve noticed that attracts people is that they can go on with their religion, yet still benefit from Buddhism,” added Patteson. “Buddhism answers most of the important things about life.”

The fundamental insight of the Buddha is: life consists of suffering, which is caused by attachment to the self, which is in turn attached to the things of this world. Liberating oneself from such attachment is done by following the Eightfold Path, including mindfulness and concentration.

Patteson learned these philosophies in 1968 as a 19-year-old Marine in Vietnam. He’d gone into town one night in search of drugs, coming across a poor family that invited him to learn to meditate.

Patteson studied Buddhism during and after leaving the military. When he landed in Vero Beach about 25 years ago, he found no Buddhism group in town. Now, there are about three Buddhism groups in Indian River County.

Patteson is helping Martin County resident Fred Walker start a Stuart Buddhism group, which is expected to meet monthly at rented space in Unity of Stuart. Patteson and Walker believe the group is the only in Stuart, with the nearest Buddhist temple in Palm Beach County.

Walker, 68, said it was a heart attack in his 40s that put him on the path to Buddhism.

“I’m reaping the benefits of Buddhism. I’m more at peace than ever,” said Walker, who went on a Buddhist spiritual retreat this month and hopes others in the area will find an interest in Buddhism.

Walker’s first group meeting attracted 25 people.

“I came to the group to learn to be calmer and not hold on to anger,” said Port St. Lucie resident Tara Raymo, 37, who attended the meeting. Raymo was raised Catholic but now is agnostic, and had been searching for a Buddhism group near her when she found a posting about the Stuart meet-up.

“I think people are coming here to learn to live a happier life,” she said.

Like Raymo, some practitioners of Buddhism are spiritual but not religious. Ram Jyoti, who leads the Tibetan center in Sebastian, said many regulars in her group of about 20, however, are members of nearby places of worship.

“They find that what they learn from Buddhist study and practice enhances their faith and ability to deal with difficulties in their lives,” Jyoti wrote in an email. “There also is a strong focus on compassion — cultivating the intention to benefit all beings and doing what is possible to help others.

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Celebrating Buddhist culture

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Hanoi, Vietnam -- Much of Viet Nam’s most famous, traditional and valued cultural heritage has been provided or inspired by Buddhism, a religion which has for centuries been deeply embedded in the national psyche.

<< Visitors contemplate Buddhist statues on display in the Ha Noi-based National Museum of History. The exhibition will last until August this year.

An extensive exhibition at the National Museum of History in Ha Noi is currently presenting and celebrating many varied examples of Buddhist culture which offer a reflection of the county’s development for over a thousand years.

Titled Vietnamese Buddhist Culture Heritage, the show introduces many valuable physical objects such as pagodas, towers, worshipping statues and paintings alongside examples of intangible heritage such as ceremonies, music and ethics.

With common cultural themes including humanity, humility and harmony, Buddhist heritage can be considered beautiful works of art, according to Nguyen Van Cuong, the museum’s director.

“Vietnamese Buddhism has left a rich and diverse history of material and spiritual cultural heritage throughout the country,” he said. “Through nearly 200 objects dating from the first to the 20th century, just a small selection in itself, we desire to introduce some general features and unique values of Buddhist heritage to the public and to contribute to efforts to preserve and raise awareness of Vietnamese culture.”

One of the most remarkable exhibits is a Canh Thinh bronze drum (dated from 1800), which was recently certified by the Prime Minister as one of Viet Nam’s National Treasures. It was discovered at Nanh Pagoda in the capital’s Ninh Hiep Commune before being moved to the museum for display.

The artefacts have been arranged according to the different time periods that they belong to. It is believed that Buddhism spread directly from India to Viet Nam via a sea route around 2,000 years ago. The Luy Lau region, which now belongs to Bac Ninh Province in the north, soon became a significant Buddhist centre. Many important vestiges of the religion have been found in the region, including notable discoveries at the pagodas of Phat Tich and Dau which are now being exhibited.

<< Still life: Gilded wooden statues dating from 17th-18th century are on display at the exhibition titled Vietnamese Buddhist Culture Heritage.

Items created in the first ten centuries of Vietnamese Buddhism soon formed part of the Cham and Oc Eo cultures in central and southern Viet Nam, with unique sculptures and statues carved from gold, stone, sandstone and wood inspired by Indian arts.

The most prosperous period for Buddhism in the country arrived during the Ly and Tran dynasties (11-14th century) when it became the national religion, and this is reflected in the cultural artefacts remaining from that time, which begin to merge religious meanings with a more unique national identity.

Although Confucianism became the official ideology under the Le and Mac dynasties in the 15th and 16th centuries, and so Buddhist relics from this period aren’t as varied as in others, visitors can still see objects from this era that have been collected by museum staff. These include statues, lamp stands and incense burners marked with clear inscriptions and dedications.

In the past, many wealthy men ordered artisans to make worshipping objects to be donated to pagodas. As a mark of thanks for the donation, the name of every benefactor would be emblazoned on stone steles at the places of worship. The exhibition has interested historians by displaying statues bearing the names of female donors, which is a unique discovery according to Cuong.

The exhibition will run until the end of August at the museum, which can be found at 25 Tong Dan Street in Ha Noi.

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Following the Buddhist trail

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Bangalore, India -- I hadn’t ever travelled in a large group in a package-tour sort of arrangement before - I love travelling by myself because then you can do the things you want to and take your time about it.

<< Tourists at the Mahabodhi Temple, Bihar.

And so, when I found myself in a group of some 50 Buddhist pilgrims from south India in a train heading to do what’s called ‘the north Indian Buddhist circuit’, I was somewhat intimidated. But it actually turned out to be fun, and certainly much less expensive than if I had visited all those places we covered in a fortnight alone.

We arrived late at night in Bhopal, and whatever little I saw of it as we headed out of the city was enough to convince me that I hadn’t missed much by not visiting the sights that it boasts of — it seemed to be one massive garbage dump. It took a little more than an hour to reach Sanchi, where we were to spend that night at the pleasant Buddhist pilgrim guest house funded by the Sri Lankan government.

Land of ‘stupas’

The sprawling ruins scattered atop a hillock and commanding an exquisite view of the surrounding countryside, testify to the importance that Sanchi once enjoyed when Buddhism flourished almost all across in India.

The enormous onion-shaped Sanchi Stupa that we’ve all read about in school is an architectural marvel, with its ornately-carved gateways, and surrounded by several smaller stupas, the ruins of numerous monasteries and a temple containing the remains of two of the Buddha’s closest disciples, Sariputta and Mogallana.

The local museum is a veritable treasure-trove of Buddhist statues and other artefacts.

From Sanchi, we headed northeast, to Gonda, in Uttar Pradesh. From there, we bundled into a bus and drove past desperately poor villages till we arrived at Shravasti. This is where the Buddha spent many rainy seasons, when he would then halt his peregrinations in the huge Jetavana grove that was gifted to the Buddhist Sangha by a rich banker, Anathapindika.

The grove is dotted with ruins of what must have once been massive structures — tanks, temples, prayer halls and monasteries — as well as spots that have a special association with the Buddha, such as a platform marking the place where the Buddha would sit and preach, and another indicating the room he stayed in.

From Shravasti, we travelled to Kapilvastu, in the Siddharthnagar district, a five-hour journey through one of the poorest parts of India. Suddhodana, Buddha’s father, is said to have been the ruler of Kapilvastu, but today nothing even remotely resembling regal splendour remains. The only indication of the town’s hallowed past is a huge stupa and the ruins of what our local guide claimed was Suddhodana’s palace.

It took us two hours to reach Sanauli, located right on the Indo-Nepalese border, from where we crossed into Nepal to visit Lumbini. The Buddha was born here, the precise spot marked by a temple built over the ruins of a third century BC structure and a majestic stone pillar erected by Emperor Ashoka, a major supporter of Buddhism.

The temple is surrounded by a number of enormous new monasteries and prayer halls built recently by various Buddhist countries, each more ornate than the other. As I peeked into some of them, I shuddered to think of what the Buddha himself would have thought about that display of ostentatious worldly splendour — and that, too, all in his memory!

Kushinagar is a five-hour bus drive from Lumbini. Reaching the town, we halted at the Burmese temple for lunch and then went to the shrine built on the spot where the Buddha attained mahaparinirvana, leaving his mortal body.

It is a simple structure, as befits the Buddha’s own life and message, and it contains a huge statue of the Buddha in repose, said to be over a 1,000 years old. Behind the shrine are stupas said to contain the Buddha’s ashes, and the ruins of numerous monasteries.

That evening, we gathered at a shrine built on the spot where the Buddha’s body was cremated, and an amazing woman — a south Indian Buddhist, possibly a recent convert — led us in a beautifully solemn prayer.

Inner peace

Our next destination was Sarnath, located on the outskirts of Benaras, whose towering stupa marks the spot where the Buddha gave his first sermon. There are numerous other Buddhist ruins here, as well as a temple containing the relics of the Buddha.

Bihar is home to numerous places with an ancient Buddhist association, and from Sarnath, we headed there to do a quick round of some of them. The sprawling ruins of the famed Nalanda University, once a major centre for Buddhist learning, stand as mute testimony to India’s long-lost Buddhist tradition. Nearby Rajgir, nestled between low-lying hills, was where the Buddha spent much time teaching and meditating.

The high-point of our visit was, of course, Bodh Gaya, also in Bihar, with its enormous Mahabodhi Mahavihara, which marks the spot where the Buddha attained enlightenment. The town is miserably filthy, though, even the area around the temple. Despite the vast number of visitors, especially foreigners, that the town receives right through the year, who obviously bring in much foreign exchange, both the local authorities and the tourism department don’t seem to think this an issue to bother about.

Thousands of pilgrims — almost all foreigners — pour into the temple throughout the day, and even at night, bowing before the Bodhi tree under which the Buddha attained nirvana, meditating in the forest of little stupas that surrounds the temple, counting their beads, spinning their prayer-wheels or chanting in low, mellifluous tones.

Tibetan lamas in ochre robes, Burmese bhikkhus in mustard, Sri Lankan lay people in white, Chinese nuns in purple and the odd-Western Buddhist convert silently circumambulate the most important of all Buddhist shrines throughout the world, their faces lit with a soft peace that you can’t help noticing.

And as you stand transfixed, gazing the massive sea of humanity converge on the spot where the Great Master finally attained ultimate wisdom and liberation, you can’t help wonder, and lament over, how few Indian faces you see among them, for Buddhism is now almost extinct in the land of its birth.

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Visiting scholar links Buddhism and physics

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The lecture focused on the fields’ shared aspects, like mindfulness, time and ambiguity

Santa Fe, CA  (USA) -- Physics offers “crisper” analogies for meditation than traditional Buddhism does, said Fred Cooper, external professor at Santa Fe Institute and former program director for theoretical physics at the National Science Foundation at a lecture last night.

Cooper, who has studied physics and meditation for over 30 years, spoke about connections between quantum physics and Buddhism in List 120 in a talk sponsored by the Brown Meditation Community.

Buddhism and physics share a common “conceptual framework” consisting of “ground, path and fruition,” but they diverge in the specifics, he said. Physics is grounded in mathematical equations, while Buddhism is grounded in the rejection of a dualistic perspective. In physics the academic path involves learning algebra and other mathematics, while in meditation the path entails transitioning from mindfulness to awareness, he said. For physicists, fruition is winning the Nobel Prize, while for meditation, fruition is reaching enlightenment.

Physics and Buddhism also both question the relationship between space and time, he said. “How do you set a standard of time?” Cooper asked. “What’s past is past. What’s future is yet to come. Time is a relative concept as a meditator.”

In order to measure small quantities of space and time, physicists use high-energy light, which warps the measurements. As a result, when measuring on smaller and smaller scales, space and time “lose their meaning,” Cooper said.

Cooper pointed to parallels between training in physics and training in meditation. “Neither discipline guarantees success. When you get your Ph.D. in physics, you learn all of the mechanics of physics,” he said. But whether a physicist makes a discovery that revolutionizes physics depends partially on luck, as does winning a Nobel Prize or attaining enlightenment.

The book “The Tao of Physics” by Fritjof Capra popularized the similarities between modern physics and Eastern religious traditions. Cooper criticized the best-selling book for claiming physics proved ideas in Eastern religion were correct about the organization of matter.

Because physics relies on an “evolving set of conceptual frameworks,” Cooper said, “The Tao of Physics” does not help either discipline. It compares the current state of physics to Eastern teachings, but the field of physics will likely change in the future, he said.

Asked whether physicists show more interest in meditation or whether meditators show more interest in physics, Cooper said without hesitation that meditators are far more interested in physics. For physicists, “there is safety in being focused on solving equations, but you can’t solve how to live,” he said.

About 80 students and community members attended the talk.

Connor Flexman ’16 agreed with Cooper’s criticism of “The Tao of Physics.”

“A lot of people make the argument for meditation based on faulty physics,” he said, adding that Cooper “didn’t try to prove meditation through quantum mechanics.”

“Meditation allows me to gather my thoughts,” said Henry Langton ’16. He added that he thinks there is a stigma against meditation but said this lecture and advances in neuroscience help justify the practice’s usefulness.

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Indo - Sri Lanka Buddhist ties strengthened

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Kandy, Sri Lanka -- An eight member Indian Buddhist delegation led by Ven Dr Bhadant Rahula Bodhi Maha Thera met President Mahinda Rajapaksa at President's House in Kandy on February 22. The visit was to strengthen ties between Buddhists of the two countries and bring India and Sri Lanka closer through the historical bond and civilisational link of Buddhism.

<< President Mahinda Rajapaksa meeting the Buddhist delegation

They also discussed the possibility of the installation of a statue in Colombo in honour of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, the Indian Buddhist savant who was instrumental in bringing a large number of Indians, especially down trodden people (Dalits) into the fold of Buddhism.

On October 14, 1956 at Deekshabhoomi, Nagpur Dr Ambedkar publicly converted to Buddhism. He took the three refuges and the Five Precepts from a Burmese Buddhist monk, Bhadant U Chandramani and in his turn administered them to the 600,000 of his followers who were present.

The Indian Buddhist team arrived in the country at the invitation of Dr Lilaknath Weerasinghe, President 'Success Sri Lanka' based in Kandy.

'Success Sri Lanka' hosted the delegation during their stay in Kandy and Colombo and accompanied them to Anuradhapura with the assistance of the All Ceylon Buddhist Congress and coordinated by the German Dharmaduta Society and the Indo - Sri Lanka Buddhist Network, all of which entities constitute Regional Centres of the World Fellowship of Buddhists (WFB).

The Indian Buddhist team comprised Most Venerable Dr Bhadant Rahula Bodhi Maha Thera, President Bhikkhu Sangha's United Buddhist Mission, India, Ramdas Athawale, former Member of Parliament, Vice President of the World Fellowship of Buddhist, India, Ven. Bhadant Rewat Bodhi, High Priest, Bhikkhu Niwas Gedam layout, Nagpur, India, Avinash Kamble, President of the United Buddhist Federation, India, R L Tambe, Principal of the Tambe Education Society College, Mumbai, Sachchidanand Fulekar, Principal of the Dr Ambedkar Law College, Nagpur, Sachin M Moon, Managing Director, Lord Buddha Television, India, Vishwas Sakru Sarode, Director, HR and I R Lilavati, Hospital and Research Centre, Mumbai.

During their visit, the Indian Buddhist delegation met the Maha Nayaka Theras of the Malwatta and Asgiriya Chapters, Ven Banagala Upatissa Nayaka Thera, President, Maha Bodhi Society, Ven Kirama Wimalajothi Maha Thera, President, Buddhist Cultural Centre, Ven Dr W Wimalagnana Thera, Gangaramaya, Peliyagoda, Ven Medagama Dhammananda, Asgiriya Maha Viharaya, Ven Getamande Gunananda Thera, Ven T Palitha, Nalandaramaya, Nugegoda, Ven Mettavihari and Ven Galayaye Piyadassi Thera, Chief Sanghanayake Thera of the United Kingdom currently on a visit to Sri Lanka.

Ven Banagala Upatissa Nayaka Thera made a public announcement that a suitable portion of land within the boundaries of the Maha Bodhi Society precincts at Maradana, Colombo 10 would be allocated for the installation of the first statue of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar and close to the pre-existing statue of Angarika Dharmapala, founder of the Maha Bodhi Society. A proposal by Ven .Kirama Wimalajothi Thera to set up an institute to commemorating Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar was also discussed. This proposed centre will provide residential facilities and training opportunities for visiting Indian Buddhist monks and nuns.

It is proposed to set up a Board of Management to plan and administer the premises and the Dhamma teachings. The establishment of a corresponding centre in India is also discussed.

The convening of an International Conference on 'The Revival and Renaissance of Buddhism in India in the 20th Century' has also been mooted.

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Sri Lanka Buddhist nuns long for equality

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COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- Buddhism was brought to Sri Lanka by Emperor Ashoka’s daughter Sangamitta and her twin brother Mahinda in 288 BC.

<< Ven Bodichitta, a Sri Lankan Buddhist nun

A nun herself, Sangamitta had ordained a number of Lankan women. Before long, most Lankans had embraced Buddhism and monasteries for monks and nuns sprouted across the island.

But the Saivite Chola invasion in 1017 AD put the order of the nuns in total disarray. The Bhikkhuni Sasana collapsed, and sadly, never to be revived.
The religious order came to be dominated by the male monks. Despite that, lay women continued to play a critical role in sustaining Buddhism. Many took to the religious life, shaving their heads and living in nunneries. Today, there are 427 nunneries with 1,200 novices and over 100 nuns with higher ordination.

Yet, a nun is not recognised as a ‘Bhikkuni’. She is only a Dasa Sil Matha (a mother practising the Ten Precepts). Higher ordination is denied to them. So, they are not on par with the ‘Bhikkus.’

Nunneries do not enjoy the patronage of the Buddha Sasana as represented by the Siam, Amarapura and Ramanna Orders. The Ministry of Buddhist Affairs does not recognise them or fund them. The monk’s identity card is denied to the nuns.

In 1998, a progressive monk, Sri Sumangala Thero of Dambulla, ordained 22 women as ‘Bhikkunis’. But they are yet to get official recognition.

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Thousands attend The 17th Karmapa's 8-Day teachings in Sarnath

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Sarnath, India -- His Eminence the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorjee has begun an 8-day teaching starting from February 21 at Vajra Vidya Institute, Sarnath, Varanasi- one of four holy Buddhist sites in India, with conducting extensive prayers and seminar by Buddhist monks and thousands of devotees from different parts of the world, including many who have came from Nepal.

Coinciding with an annual dharma seminar at Vajra Vidya Institute being led by Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche on Thursday, February 21, the 17th Karmapa Rinpoche has commenced a week-long series of teachings on a text which has been one of his personal favorites since a young age, called 'Tri Thung Gyatsa' or 'One Hundred Short Instructions.'

The text, composed by the glorious 8th Karmapa Mikyo Dorjee, comprises a treasury of pith instructions spanning the entire path to enlightenment. Each instruction is skillfully crafted so that the reader can enter the text at any point to find a gem of the 8th Karmapa's heart advice and enlightened wisdom. "From time to time I myself take a look through these 100 short instructions, and I really feel that they are very beneficial for me," the Gyalwang Karmapa said. "All of these instructions are given for serious practitioners," he continued, "and sometimes they are extremely forthright. They go straight to the heart of the matter."

Deciding that it would be beneficial to focus on one or two of the instructions contained within the collection, the Gyalwang Karmapa chose to begin the teachings with an instruction on 'Rules for Karma Kamtsang Meditators'. From this somewhat abstract title, His Eminence then began by emphasizing the need to contemplate death and impermanence in order to generate a sense of renunciation from worldly concerns, as a necessary precondition to genuine dharma practice. The Gyalwang Karmapa urged those gathered to use their own intelligence in understanding and practicing the essence of Buddhism, rather than just blindly following traditions or customs.

"The essence of Buddhism is being able to distinguish what it is that we need to do from what it is that we need to give up. We also need to identify what it is that will harm ourselves and others, and then we need to give that up. So you can condense it all into doing what is beneficial and giving up what is harmful. We need to know what the essence of dharma is, and then bring it into our lives."

He stressed the importance of not delaying the practice of the dharma, but rather taking the teachings on death and impermanence to heart and allowing them to motivate our practice in the present moment.

"If we are going to practice the dharma, this is what it means and we need do this now in our lives. We might think that we have our whole lives to do it, but we need to start doing it from today. This is not something that we should think, 'Oh I can start tomorrow, or I can start the next day, or I can do this when I'm older.' We need to do dharma practice now. We cannot postpone this. We need to start it right now."

devotees-sarnath-2013As the rain of dharma continued for a second day, the Gyalwang Karmapa opened the teaching by once again reiterating the urgency to practice the dharma right now, in this very moment. "We need to practice the dharma from now. We need to do it on this very seat, in this very session. It's right now that we need to begin the dharma. If we postpone it, if we think to ourselves I'm going to do it tomorrow or the next day, then we will not be able to really practice the dharma well. It's important to understand this."

From this urgent call to practice, the Gyalwang Karmapa then turned his attention to making sure that we do it properly. He observed that there are many people who wish to practice the dharma, but don't truly know how. By focusing mainly on the external appearances of our practice without carefully checking our mind, we can easily fall into the trap of spiritual materialism.

"Sometimes when we practice dharma we think that we need to show some sort of external or physical sign of it. We pay a lot of attention to the rituals and these actions of our body and speech. This is practicing dharma when we're focusing outside. But instead what we need to do is turn our attention inwards. We need to see whether what we're doing is functioning as an antidote to the afflictions or not. We need to see whether we are taming our mind or not. We need to see whether our mind is improving, getting kinder, or not. If we don't look at it in this way then there's no benefit to doing these actions – we think that we are trying to do the dharma, but actually we are just making a show with our body and speech. We are putting on appearances, and that's all we really take an interest in. And the moment that happens, this becomes spiritual materialism."

Expanding his focus to the wider twenty-first century world we inhabit, the Gyalwang Karmapa touched on both the ways it shapes us as people and the ways that we as individuals in turn can shape it. Observing the growing trend towards materialism in the modern world, he encouraged the audience to look beyond the idea that happiness can be found outwards in external things.

"These days in the 21st century it's a very materialistic time. Most of the time, we don't really know what true happiness is. Many people have the idea that external things and external conditions will bring them happiness, and will lead them to the real meaning. But when we think about material things, the more we have of these things the more disturbances we have. The more difficulties we have. Things get more and more problematic. We have more and more busyness, and what happens then is that we lose ourselves. We lose our nature, what really is there."

Continuing his exploration of our place in the modern world, the Gyalwang Karmapa skillfully reminded each person of the important role they play in shaping an increasingly interconnected and ever-more deeply interdependent world.

"In this Information Age people are developing closer and closer connections with each other. All the people in the world are seeing that they have greater mutual connections. It has become very clear to us that these are deeper and stronger connections. When we think about our own good acts and wrong acts, we can see more clearly how they have an effect on the world. We can see that the individual things that we do are connected to the benefit or the harm of the world. They are deeply connected to the happiness and suffering that is in the world. The good and bad acts of one person are becoming the good and bad of the world. When we examine the good and bad that we do, we can see that it is becoming even more profound and even more vast. It's the good and the bad that people do that determine on a fundamental level if there is peace or happiness in the world. It's very tightly connected."

Returning once again to the theme of the previous day, the Gyalwang Karmapa continued his guidance on how to practice the dharma correctly, until we eventually reach a point where the dharma and our life have merged.

"To really practice the dharma we have to understand the dharma, and we have to have full dedication and interest in it. When we have that, only at that point are our dharma practice and the individual who is practicing the dharma, no longer separate from each other and become the same in flavor. That is the point when our dharma practice and this life become part of each other and they share the same nature."

Moreover, as dharma practitioners we also need to truly understand and accept impermanence. We need to develop our ability to be relaxed and open to changes as they naturally occur, accepting situations as they arise around us.

"When, because of external or internal circumstances there comes some sort of a change, we need to be able to go along with that change. So whatever happens, we go with the flow of events. If we are able to do this, then in our own mind we can be more relaxed. We can be more expansive. When we go along with that we can be comfortable, relaxed and spacious in our minds. If we are able to do this then we are able to be happy, and to have a comfortable and content life."

His Eminence the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa then urged his students to uncomplicate their worlds, by keeping a simple outlook on life. Delivering profound guidance with skillful simplicity, he emphasized the importance of living grounded in the present moment, and of seeing the good that is already right in front of our eyes.

"The best thing is to be in the present. It's better if we don't have too high hopes for the past or the future situations. It's better just to stay in the present. Whatever is right in front of our eyes, we need to be able to see the good in it. If we can see the good in it, then good things will be able to occur from that. I really feel that it helps to try to just have a simple outlook on life."

"When we are trying to figure out what the essence or the meaning of life really is, then it's not just a question of looking inside oneself. Sometimes we have to look outwards to see the meaning we hold for others. We have to look in all different directions to be able to see what is good about our life."

On the fourth day of the Spring Teachings the Gyalwang Karmapa turned the focus firmly inwards: if we look inside our own minds, a wishful-filling jewel is already waiting. "When we are trying to figure out what the essence or the meaning of life really is, then it's not just a question of looking inside oneself. Sometimes we have to look outwards to see the meaning we hold for others. We have to look in all different directions to be able to see what is good about our life."

With the chanting lasting from morning until night, the prayers were culminated in a grand long-life prayer offering (Tibetan: Tenshug) to His Eminence the 17th Karmapa on the auspicious day of 25 February, which is known as Chotrul festival. The prayer event was lead by Ninth Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, one of the senior most Rinpoches and foremost elders of the present Kagyu lineage, who is the Abbot of the Institute in Saranath.

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China Must Realize Tibet And Tibetans Are A Reality – Analysis

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Beijing, China -- The Chinese authorities, that is the Communist Party of China (CPC), must realistically admit that its minorities especially the Tibetans, Uighurs and Mongolians are flesh and blood people.

Many of the country’s minorities have either disappeared or are too small in number to demand their identity. That, however, is not the case at least for the Muslim Uighurs of Xinjiang (East Turkistan) and Tibet.

The Uighurs, who are of Turkish origin, were settled in these areas centuries before the Han Chinese conquered them. They enjoy empathy if not open support in Turkey and the neighbouring Central Asian Republics (CARs) like Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. But China’s rise has bulldozed these countries into submission, especially the oil rich and land locked countries of the CARs. Uighur struggles, however, are beginning to get some recognition internationally.

The Tibet issue is different and in some ways, unique. The Tibetans are a deeply religious lamastic society. Their recognition came not from the Han Chinese but the Mongols. The name “Dalai Lama” (Ocean of wisdom) comes from the Mongol Khan dynasty. The Chinese emperors came much later. Tibet was independent for most of history. When the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) invaded Tibet in 1950-51, history was forced to change. Eventually, the 14th Dalai Lama accepted the position adopted by Beijing. He renounced independence of Tibet but asked for genuine autonomy.

The international community has taken a similar stand. What both the Dalai Lama and the international community demand are respect for the human rights of the Tibetans, security of their language, culture and heritage, and administration of Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) by Tibetans, within the constitution of the People’s Republic of China.

Basically, the demand is very simple. That Beijing implement its own laws and rules in TAR. Autonomy for major minority areas is a law of China. Freedom to practise religion is in the statute books. The Chinese authorities pride themselves on these laws.

Yet, there is no freedom of religion in Tibet. Possession of a photograph of the Dalai Lama is a crime. And where is autonomy? In fact, autonomous regions like Tibet, Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia are much more policed than any other administrative region in China. Minorities hardly ever rise in the hierarchy. To start with, they are suspect.

The Chinese authorities are correct when they claim development has been brought to Tibet. But who are the beneficiaries? Not the Tibetans but the Han Chinese who have been brought in. This is also a cause of resentment among the Tibetans.

But the authorities do not want to admit it, nor do they want to correct themselves. When Chinese NGOs point this out they are black listed and banned. Why?

Another problematic policy is ethnic engineering in autonomous regions. With the excuse of educating minority youth better and provide them suitable employment, they are being dispersed across the country and replaced by Hans. Today, Han Chinese are getting to be a majority in capitals and important centers in autonomous regions.

Where do minorities like the Tibetans stand? They are always suspect, as is the Dalai Lama. The Chinese authorities have suspended talks with Dalai Lama’s emissaries. This signalled a much harder position on Tibet. The Dalai Lama gave up all his political responsibilities and the Tibetan government in exile is now headed by Harvard educated Lobsang Sangey, a lay man. The Chinese authorities suspect every move from the Dalai Lama and his set-up.

The Chinese authorities were taken aback by self-immolation by Tibetan monks, nuns and even lay people since February, 2012, protesting against Chinese occupation of Tibet and demanding the return of the Dalai Lama. On a count, 99 have committed self immolation at the time of writing this article, and there are no signs that this will abate soon.

The authorities have failed to stop these self-immolations simply because they are not part of an organized affair. The Dalai Lama has also declined to interfere, despite Chinese exhortations.

In a desperate attempt, the Chinese authorities have launched a propaganda that all those who have immolated themselves had their own personal problems, mostly shameful and of personal frustrations. Some pro-government Tibetan monks were made to declare that suicide was against Buddhist religious tenets. It made no difference, and the Chinese authorities have failed to explain why these self immolators shout anti-Chinese slogans and pray for the Dalai Lama.

What is interesting is that these self-immolations are not taking place in Lhasa or the TAR. They are taking place in Tibetan areas outside the TAR in Qinghai and Sichuan provinces, parts of which the Tibetans want included in TAR. This, of course, is not acceptable to Beijing. Conceding this would give way to new questions on Chinese claim on historical sovereignty over Tibet.

At the moment, China is in a catch-22 situation on Tibet and the entire Tibetan issue. With its economy, military strength and growing influence, China is a member at the highest table in the world. It has to behave with a certain amount of responsibility. These self-immolations are not only a diplomatic embarrassment for China, but internally too people’s ideas on the Tibet issue may be changing. Many Han Chinese are resorting to Buddhism, and some of them have met the Dalai Lama. According to Chinese official media report (People’s Daily, Feb 11), an estimated 80,000 people went to the Yonghe Buddhist temple in Beijing to burn incense and pray on ‘Chinese’ new year’s day.

For most Han Chinese, Tibet is a distant, harsh place and alien to the Han way of life. The government has to give special incentives to Han Chinese to serve in TAR. This is hardly a situation that defends Chinese policy on Tibet.

Where is China going to take their war against the Dalai Lama? Their recent propaganda says that the Dalai Lama was running an anti-China training establishment in India and these people were sneaking into China to encourage Tibetans to commit self-immolation.

This propaganda has very deep and serious implications for India-China bilateral relations. The accusation comes from an official Chinese propaganda outlet and indirectly accuses India of collaborating with the Dalai Lama to sabotage China’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Of course, China has not yet taken up the issue with India officially. But the issue has been recorded, allegedly as confessions from two Tibetans who had gone there from Dharamsala recently. The accusation is in the diplomatic brief case, to be taken out as and when necessary.

What would be the next step? China has already pressured Nepal to arrest Tibetan refugees fleeing to India (Dharamsala) and return them to China. But India as a signatory to the UN Refugee convention cannot turn away refugees. In fact, India hosts the largest number of political refugees in the world, from a vast array of countries. This is a humanitarian issue.

The Dalai Lama and the Tibetan diaspora in India remains China’s target. At one time, the Dalai Lama was described by the Chinese as the “serpent’s head” which must be crushed. The Dalai Lama’s security had to be enhanced.

The Dalai Lama has made every effort to cooperate with the Chinese. This includes the recognition of Ugyen Thinley Dorjee (UTD), one of the two major claimants as the 17th Karmapa, whose monastery is in Sikkim. The 16th Gyalva Karma came from Tibet to India and established the Karma-Kargyu seat at the Rumtek monastery in Sikkim. After his death the regents of the ministry quarrelled among themselves to find their own 17th Karmapa. Tai Situ Rimpoche (TSR), one of the regents who has close relations with the Chinese, discovered UTD. Another regent Samar Rimpoche, discovered his own 17th Karmpa in Thaye Thinley Dorjee (TTD) also in Tibet. Hence, the seat of the Karmapa is in contest. The Dalai Lama recognized UTD as the reincarnation of the 16th Karmapa on the advice of TSR when he was in Rio de Janeiro to attend the Earth Summit in 1992.

UTD came to India in December, 2000. The story was he escaped from Chinese security and travelled for four nights and five days to come to India without the Chinese realizing he had escaped. It is highly inconceivable that UTD could escape from Chinese security without being discovered for such a long time. The Chinese official news agency, the Xinhua, reported his escape only after he crossed over to India. Another mystery, indeed!

UTD is a young man now and has studied religion under the Dalai Lama. But it is interesting to note that the Chinese authorities have never ever criticized UTD. And he, in turn, reciprocated the Chinese good will. This raises serious questions about India’s security, especially because Chinese officials have expressed concerns about UTD’s security.

Available evidence suggests communication exists between UTD and the Chinese authorities. This reportedly takes place through emissaries, and verbally. The argument that UTD came to India at a young age and whatever Chinese indoctrination he may have received could not last this long, does not wash. Streams of Chinese come to see him.

A trend, very clandestinely and cautiously growing over the last decade indicates an eventual Chinese controlled Karma-Kargyu seat in Sikkim. After the Dalai Lama passes away, UTD would become more free in the Tibetan Buddhism affairs. The Karma-Kargyus are a very important Tibetan sect, perhaps the richest. Without the 14th Dalai Lama, the Gelugpas will be weakened. There is no certainty about a 15th Dalai Lama. Even if there is, he will take years to mature into the unquestioned leader. The Chinese could bring the war inside India and create pro-China monasteries along the Indo-Himalayan belt.

The scenario is not a fantasy. It is time that UTD clearly demonstrated his position on Tibetans and the Tibet question. His road to the Rumtek seat is still not clear. His allegiance to the Dalai Lama and the Tibet issue is still to be tested.

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The writer is a New Delhi based strategic analyst. He can be reached at e-mail grouchohart@yahoo.com

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Jogye Order Buddhist School of International Studies holds first graduation ceremony

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Seoul, South Korea -- After 2 years since the opening, The Jogye Order Buddhist School of International Studies held it’s first graduation ceremony with 9 monastic graduates at Hwaunsa temple in Gyeonggi province on February 22nd, 2013.

These 9 monastics enrolled 2 years ago in aims of further propagating Korean Buddhism to the rest of the World. Ven. Hyun ung, the head of the Jogye Order education institute was the keynote speaker at the graduation ceremony. During his speech, he stated, “... these nine graduates will be an important resource for the promotion of Korean Buddhism in the World.”
The principal venerable, Ven. Beob in, handed out the diploma to each of the nine graduates and congratulated on them on their accomplishments.

It was noted in the keynote speech that there had been no drop outs and all nine monastics had completed the course from the beginning.

Ven. Cheong ha and Ven. Jeong Hyo will go back to the United States to continue their work on Korean Buddhist propagation, and other monastics will continue to propel the advancements for International affairs, Temple stay programs, to further propagate Korean Buddhism to the rest of the world.

Native English teachers and the 16 students who entered the school last year and this year congratulated the graduates for their accomplishments. The Jogye Order Buddhist School of International Studies will continue to develop monastics with bilingual skills to further propagate Korean traditional Buddhism to the rest of the World to liberate people across the globe from suffering.

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New direction for Buddhist programs at Yale

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To support the Yale Buddhist community after severing relations with Indigo Blue, the Chaplain’s Office is offering activities such as Dharma talks in Harkness Tower.

New York, USA -- Four months after the University ended its nine-year relationship with former Buddhist Chaplain Bruce Blair ’81 and Indigo Blue, the nonprofit center for Buddhist life at Yale, the Chaplain’s Office has unveiled a series of new religious activities and acquired two interim staff advisers for the University’s Buddhist community.

<< Photo by Vivienne Zhang.

In January, the University hired Steve Kanji Ruhl and Anne Dutton as interim Buddhist advisers, and the Buddhist Shrine in Harkness Chapel was reopened last December. The Buddhist activities currently offered this semester include Dharma talks twice per month as well as a weekly formal practice with open discussion, said Nathaniel DeLuca, the Chaplain’s Office program coordinator. Students interviewed who previously attended Indigo Blue programs said they have not attended the new programs hosted by the Chaplain’s Office.

University Chaplain Sharon Kugler said her office hopes to grow their current Buddhist program before looking into hiring a new full-time Buddhist chaplain.

“Currently we are focusing on nurturing the program that we have and are working with local and regional Buddhist communities to identify appropriate next steps to form partnerships for future endeavors,” Kugler said.

The events hosted by the Chaplain’s Office are comparable to Buddhist programs at other universities and services offered for other religious communities at Yale, DeLuca said. The Chaplain’s Office has been working “slowly but deliberately” to create a community to support displaced members of the Buddhist community after the University cut ties with Indigo Blue last fall, he said.

Kugler said she sought advice from prominent members of the national Buddhist community during the hiring process, adding that Ruhl and Dutton were chosen because their knowledge of multiple forms of Buddhist ritual is essential in a diverse college setting. The two interim fellows hold advanced degrees in Buddhist studies — Ruhl graduated from the Harvard Divinity School, and both are experienced in teaching Buddhism, she said. Dutton has been involved since the fall in efforts to “rebuild” the Buddhist program and is familiar with attendees already, Kugler added.

“I don’t have specific goals, but I do want to welcome as many Buddhist and non-Buddhist students as possible and members of Yale’s nonstudent community as well, into dynamic, meaningful conversations exploring the Dharma and how it manifests in our lives,” Ruhl said. “I want to help create a warm, inviting atmosphere for doing that.”

Dutton said she hopes to provide a space for students who wish to learn more about the Buddhist faith as well as those who use Buddhist practices to help with stress and other challenges. The new activities focus on practical applications of Buddhist teachings that are useful for students in everyday life, she added.

Kugler said she has received positive feedback from students and particularly from attendees of the Dharma talks, which are teachings on the Buddhist faith. Roughly 10 students and community members attended the second Dharma talk on Feb. 18, filling all available seats at the Buddhist chapel, Ruhl said. Students have been open to sharing personal experiences and have shown sincere interest in discussions following the Dharma talks, he added.

Hung Pham ’15, a prior attendee of Indigo Blue events and former representative of the Buddhist community on the Inter-Religious Leadership Council, said the new programs are centered on Zen Buddhism and do not appeal to students who appreciated the more diverse, pan-Buddhism approach of Blair.

“I’m sure it’s not anyone’s fault — it just so happens that the new Buddhist leaders on campus are of the Zen school,” he said. “The Chaplain’s Office is refusing to hire a new full-time Buddhist chaplain who would appeal to multidimensional Buddhism.”

But Kugler said both advisers are educated on the diverse range of Buddhist thought, and that no students have approached her office with complaints recently.

Pham said separate groups of students attend the Chaplain’s Office’s Buddhist programs than those that attend the Indigo Blue programs still offered at Blair’s home on Mansfield Street. The two options have not created a cohesive community environment, Pham said.

Ruhl previously co-chaired the Harvard Buddhist Community.

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Buddhist temple planned for NE Portland lot

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PORTLAND, OR (USA) -- The former landfill across from Madison High School near Northeast 82nd Avenue has been one of Portland’s biggest eyesores and a magnet for transients.

The area has served as a driving range and there has even been a proposal for a Wal-Mart there, but now neighbors are talking about some other big plans for the space.

By next year, it could become a Buddhist religious center with community gardens and paths connecting it to Rocky Butte.

The Dharma Rain Zen Center bought 14 acres of the land in November.

It’s been in the Buckman neighborhood for the last 25 years, but now the center wants to expand.

Besides a temple and green space, the building plans include a preschool and a 30-unit co-housing community.

Crews have already started clearing the overgrown land and reaching out to neighbors.

Kurt Muntzel still has his yard sign protesting plans to build a Wal-Mart there a few years ago. He's more open to the idea of a Buddhist center.

"I think it's going to be a great addition to the neighborhood. It's going to have nature trails and multi-use buildings and classes, so I think it's great. Better than some big retail center,” he said.

Before plans can move forward, the city has to approve the land use. There will be a public hearing March 20.

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Buddhist books top best sellers in Korea

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Seoul, South Korea -- Ven. Haemin’s book has been the top-seller in Korea for over one year selling over 2 million copies.

His book, “What You See When You Take a Break,” (translated title of Korean) was published last year on January 1st 2012,  and stayed on top of the best-seller list for 13 weeks between May and July. It was recorded that the over a 1 million copies were sold within 6 months.

And once again, six months from the milestone of selling over 1 million copies, his book is now the top selling book in Korea with over 2 million copies sold.

According to Kyobo Bookstore, Korea’s largest bookstore, the the top 5 books of the 100 best-selling books in the past year were by Buddhist monks and nuns, which proves that Buddhism is returning into the mainstream of Korean daily lives.

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