Aum Gung Ganapathaye Namah
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma-sambuddhassa
Homage to
The Blessed One, Accomplished and Fully Enlightened
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious,
Most Merciful
Buddhism
A Collection of Articles, Notes and References
References
(Revised:
References Edited by
An Indian Tantric
What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.
- William Shakespeare
Copyright © 2002-2010 An
Indian Tantric
The following educational writings are STRICTLY for
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8 "... Freely you
received, freely give”.
- Matthew 10:8 :: New American
Standard Bible (NASB)
1
“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.
2
People will be lovers
of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive,
disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,
3
without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control,
brutal, not lovers of the good,
4
treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure
rather than lovers
of God—
5
having a form
of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.
6
They are the
kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires,
7 always learning
but never able
to acknowledge the truth.
8
Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth--men of depraved minds,
who, as far as
the faith is concerned, are rejected.
9
But they will
not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.”
- 2 Timothy 3:1-9 ::
New International Version (NIV)
6
As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever
after the order of Melchisedec.
- Hebrews 5:6 :: King James Version
(KJV)
Therefore,
I say:
Know your enemy and know yourself;
in a hundred battles, you will never be defeated.
When you are ignorant of the enemy but know yourself,
your chances of winning or losing are equal.
If
ignorant both of your enemy and of yourself,
you
are sure to be defeated in every battle.
-- Sun Tzu, The
Art of War, c.
500bc
There
are two ends not to be served by a wanderer. What are these two? The pursuit of desires and
of the pleasure which springs from desire, which is base, common, leading to
rebirth, ignoble, and unprofitable;
and the pursuit
of pain and hardship, which is grievous, ignoble, and unprofitable.
- The Blessed One, Lord Buddha
Contents
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A Brief Word on Copyright
References
Links
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References
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A
Brief Word on Copyright
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The
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Moreover,
- This is a religious educational website.
- In the name of the Lord, with the invisible Lord as
the witness.
- No commercial/business/political use of the following
material.
- Just like student notes for research purposes, the writings of the
other children of the Lord, are given as it is, with student highlights
and coloring. Proper respects and due referencing are attributed to the
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I
believe that satisfies the conditions for copyright and non-plagiarism.
- Also, from observation, any material published on the
internet naturally gets read/copied even if conditions are maintained. If
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References
Some of
the links may not be active (de-activated) due to various reasons,
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If the
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- If the link is not active, then try to procure a hard
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provided, from a nearest library or where-ever, for
cross-checking/validation/confirmation.
References
General
Winters,
Jonah. (1994)
Thinking in Buddhism: Nagarjuna's
http://bahai-library.org/personal/jw/other.pubs/nagarjuna/
Buddhism Notes
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/buddhism/notes2.htm
Epstein,
Ronald. (
http://online.sfsu.edu/~rone/Buddhism/death.htm
Flanagan, Anthony. (
http://buddhism.about.com/library/blbudmed.htm
Gill,
K.P.S. (Monday,
http://outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20030519&fname=Booksa&sid=1
Buddha, 566 BC,
http://midgetbigot.com/god/buddha.htm
Test
Your Buddhism Knowledge
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/buddhism/quiz.htm
Cycle
of Paticcasamuppada
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/buddhism/patiquiz.htm
Barua,
Amal K. (1990) Mind and Mental Factors in Early Buddhist
Psychology.
Mahathera, Narada. (1982)
Buddhism in a Nutshell.
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/bps/misc/nutshell.html
Santina, Dr. Peter D. (1984)
Fundamentals of Buddhism.
http://www.buddhanet.net/fundbud.htm
Tan Beng Sin, Piyasilo. (Piya Tan) The Spread of Buddhism: A study of strategic patterns in global Buddhist growth.
http://www.dharma.per.sg/htm/people/light2.pdf
Buddhism in
http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/east-asia.htm
Buddhism in
http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/southeast.htm
Buddhism in
http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/south-asia.htm
Buddhism Across the
http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/to-himalayas.htm
Niwano,
Nikkyo. (2002) A Modern
Interpretation of the Threefold Lotus Sutra. Chapter 16. Revelation of the [Eternal] Life of
the Tathagata. Rissho Kosei-kai.)
http://www.rk-world.org/ftp/bft.html
Last Meal of the Gotama Buddha, Mushroom or Pork?
http://theravada.net/controversy/buddhism/vegetarianism/last_meal.html
Nalanda
http://www.visitlordbuddha.com/cities/nalanda.htm
Shib
Deb Singh. (
http://www.buddhismtoday.com/english/world/country/003-india2.htm
Nalanda
http://eastindiavyapaar.com/travel/bihar/bihar_tvl_nalanda.htm
Vaishali
http://eastindiavyapaar.com/travel/bihar/bihar_tvl_vaishali.htm
Nava Nalanda Maha Vihara,
Nalanda,
http://64.78.17.70/indiaculture/en/Org/nalanda.htm
BuddhaNet's Buddhist
http://www.buddhanet.net/asia_dir/abc_i.htm
BuddhaNet's Meditation and
Teachings in
http://www.buddhanet.net/asia_dir/2abc_i.htm
Nalanda
http://www.indiantrends.com/bihar/Nalanda.htm
Country and People Facts –
http://www.peopleteams.org/biharimuslims/statstext.htm
Atish Dipankar
http://victorian.fortunecity.com/dada/137/bio/a/a1.htm
Rajya Sabha Debate on Nava Nalanda Maha Vihara.
http://rajyasabha.nic.in/rsdebate/deb_ndx/190deb/01082000/11to12.htm
Kumar,
Manish. (
http://www.ndtv.com/morenews/showmorestory.asp?slug=Buddhist+monks+robbed+in+Jharkhand&id=44221
Tawang Monastery - The Fountainhead
of Spiritual Life
http://www.indiaprofile.com/pilgrimage/tawangmonastery.htm
Hodous,
Lewis. (January, 1924) Buddhism and
Buddhists in
http://www.cwru.edu/cgi-bin/edocs/fetch.pl?item=4120
Meyer,
Mike. Wu Tai Shan: The Holiest of
http://www.chinanow.com/english/features/travel/wutaishan.html#famouspeaks
Simons,
Craig. Storybook
http://www.chinanow.com/english/features/travel/emeishan.html
The
Associated Press. (
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Entertainment/ap20031203_2185.html
Buddhism and the
http://www.buddhistdoor.com/bdoor/0106/sources/fourmtn1.htm
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200312/14/eng20031214_130376.shtml
http://www.toptrip.cc/destination/province/sichuan.htm
http://fpeng.peopledaily.com.cn/200104/27/eng20010427_68747.html
http://fpeng.peopledaily.com.cn/200104/20/eng20010420_68198.html
Tibetan Relics Well Preserved. (
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200105/17/eng20010517_70234.html
Larson,
Kay. (
http://www.himalayanart.org/books/nytimes.cfm
Thapa, Deepak. It's Dalai Lama vs Shugden
http://www.himalmag.com/96sep/dorje.htm
Trimondi, Victor and Victoria. The
Shadow of the Dalai Lama: Sexuality,
Magic and Politics in Tibetan Buddhism
Buddhist Philosophy, Centre for Tibetan Studies Courses
http://www.tibet.net/ltwa/eng/courses/
Centre for Tibetan Studies
http://www.tibet.net/ltwa/eng/cts/
gTérchen Karma Rinpoche
http://www.aroter.org/images/nyingma/taksham_nuden_dorje.htm
Kyabjé Dudjom Rinpoche
http://www.aroter.org/images/r_teachers/dudjomr.htm
Oracles and Politics Influences in Tibetan Exile
http://www.tibet-internal.com/info2e.html
http://www.tibetankungfu.com/potala_palace_kung-fu.htm
Tsogyelgar Lamas
http://www.aroter.org/flaming_jewel/tsogyelgar_lamas.htm
Buddhist Universities
http://www.nibbana.com/budhuniv.htm
Shwegyin Nikaya
http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/seasia/shwegyin.html
Thuddama Nikaya
http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/seasia/thuddama.html
The shaman's tao: taoist breathing and meditation.
http://www.toltec.co.uk/aboutburgs.htm
Unfoldment. (
http://www.sasanarakkha.org/unfold/2002_11_01_unfold.shtml
What is the better place for
becoming a monk -
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Triplegem/message/1309
http://www.myanmars.net/newlightofmyanmar/2001/n011222.htm#INSTRUCTIONS%20FOR
Border region development projects
benefit local national people in practice.
(
http://www.myanmar.com/nlm/enlm/may20_h1.html (De-activated
link)
Glick, Jeremy. (
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jgtrek/message/18
Thai police suspect
http://theburmanetnews.editthispage.com/stories/storyReader$884
Chaulia, Sreeram. (
http://burmatoday.net/mizzima2003/mizzima/2003/06/030624_flowerless_mizzima.htm
The Connected Traveller:
http://www.connectedtraveler.com/burma.html
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/buddhism/mnstry~1.htm#India
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/buddhism/missmonk.htm#gunavamsa
Country Facts
http://private.addcom.de/asiaphoto/burma/burmafacts.htm
http://www.assamtourism.org/regions.htm
Ko,
Taw Sein. (1883-1913)
The Introduction of Buddhism into
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/buddhism/tawsein5.htm
Monks under curfew for violence. (
http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_1439305,00.html
Linn, Zin. (
http://burmatoday.net/burmatoday2003/2003/12/031204_zinlinn.htm
Revered
Monk Passes Away. (
http://burmatoday.net/irrawaddy/irrawaddy_e/2003/11/031201_sayardaw_ir.htm
Wimalasurendre, Cyril. (
http://www.island.lk/2003/11/10/news06.html
A
place in the sun. (
http://origin.sundayobserver.lk/2002/08/25/fea12.html
The
Buddhist and
http://www.dbcc.or.kr/down4.html
Worldwide
Classroom: sri_lanka Schools
http://www.worldwide.edu/ci/sri_lanka/schools/10618.html
Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya:
Brief History of the College
http://www.dbcc.or.kr/down11.html
Monks
in
http://www.siam.net/thailand-travel-guide/monks.html
http://www.1upinfo.com/country-guide-study/thailand/thailand70.html
http://www.dongguk.edu/english/
http://test.dongguk.edu/english/gs/graduate_school.htm
http://test.dongguk.edu/english/college/culture.htm
http://www.dongguk.edu/english/college/studies.htm
Foreign Students
http://www.dongguk.edu/english/student/foreign_students.htm
Korean Language Programs
http://www.dongguk.edu/english/student/kor_program.htm
Gillen,
Patrick. Should Monks Surf the Internet? No!
http://www.buddhanet.net/magsurf2.htm
Venerable
Pannyavaro. E-Learning Buddhism on the Internet.
http://www.buddhanet.net/gds-speech.htm
Venerable
Pannyavaro. Should Monks Surf the Internet?
http://www.buddhanet.net/mag_surf.htm
Venerable
Tejadhammo Bhikku. (1996) Buddhist
and Christian Monasticism in Dialogue.
http://www.ordinarymind.net/Forum/forum_may2002.htm
Links
Visit Lord Buddha
http://www.visitlordbuddha.com/
Library of Tibetan Works and Archives
http://www.tibet.net/ltwa/eng/
Profile of Tibetan Ministers
http://www.tibet.com/Govt/kalon-b-d.html
Central Institute of Higher
Tibetan Studies, Sarnath,
Institutes of Tibetan Studies
http://shikshanic.nic.in/cd50years/12/8I/AW/8IAW0I01.htm
För ett fritt
http://www.imhresurs.se/RESOR/tibet.htm
Sakyadhita
Ordination Contents
http://www.sakyadhita.org/ordination/ord_content.html#contents
Nagarjuna Institute of Exact Methods
http://www.nagarjunainstitute.com/
Blavatsky and Buddhism
http://www.blavatsky.net/forum/taylor/tibetanSources15.htm
On Visualisation in Tantric Practice
http://www.homeoint.org/morrell/buddhism/visualisation.htm#topmetals
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Educational Copy of Some of the References
FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY
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Reference
Winters,
Jonah. (1994)
Thinking in Buddhism: Nagarjuna's
http://bahai-library.org/personal/jw/other.pubs/nagarjuna/
"Misery only doth exist, none miserable,
No doer is there; naught save the deed is found.
Nirvana is, but not the man who seeks it.
The Path exists, but not the traveler on it."
- The Visuddhimagga
Truth, for Buddhism, is relative
Comparison.
Comparative.
More, there were trends of thought within some of these philosophies that come very close to the Buddha's theory of the Ultimate; the Rg-veda X.129, for example, states that in the beginning "there was neither existence nor non- existence, ...neither death nor immortality," and the Tao te Ching chapter II says that "being and non-being create each other."
The Buddha did not teach that
there is an Ultimate, nor did he deny it. He did not declare the Ultimate to be
ineffable because mystical and inherently beyond the scope of thought, nor did
he embrace agnosticism and say that we just can never know its nature. The
Buddha simply would not talk about it. When a concept was discussed in relation
to a metaphysical thing, he would declare this concept to be neither wrong, nor
right, nor both, nor neither. It just should not be
discussed.
It is not agnosticism, for the
Buddha did not just say that we cannot know about the nature of Ultimate
reality, but rather he said that it truly is "not
this, not that, not both, and not neither."
This unique non-affirming non-negating approach of the Buddha is implicit in all schools of Buddhism. It is the most explicit in three: the Perfection of Wisdom school of the first centuries BE., the Madhyamika and Yogacara movement of the first millenium C.E., and Zen and its predecessor, Ch'an, of the modern era.
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Reference
Buddhism Notes
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/buddhism/notes2.htm
first-watch-of-the-night from
midnight-watch-of-the-night from
last-watch-of-the-night from
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Reference
Epstein,
Ronald. (
http://online.sfsu.edu/~rone/Buddhism/death.htm
Bodhidharma then met a parrot imprisoned in a wicker cage. This
bird was much more intelligent than Dharma Master Shen Kuang.
Recognizing Bodhidharma as the First Patriarch, the bird said,
Mind from the West,
Mind from the West,
Teach me a way
To escape from this cage.
Although Bodhidharma had received no response from people, this
parrot recognized him. Hearing the bird's plea for help, Bodhidharma
whispered a secret expedient teaching to teach this bird how to end
suffering. He said,
To escape from the cage;
To escape from the cage,
Jut out both legs,
Close both eyes.
This is the way
To escape from the cage!
The parrot listened carefully and said, "All right! I under-
stand," and stuck out his legs, closed his eyes, and waited.
When the bird's owner came home from work, he always played with
his parrot. But this time when he looked in the cage he was shocked...
(and) was on the verge of tears. He couldn't have been more upset if
his own son had died. He pulled open the cage door and scooped up
the bird, which lay still and quiet in his hand. The body had not yet
chilled. The owner looked with disbelief at the little body. He peeked
at it from the left and right; it didn't even quiver. Slowly, he opened
his hand...PHLLRTTPHRTTPHLLRTT!! The bird broke loose from his hand
and flew away!
(Hua, The
Sixth Patriarch's Dharma Jewel Platform Sutra and
Commentary,
pp. 2-4)
That is the story of how the parrot gained its freedom.
…
Yet it was to the parrot that Bodhidharma gave the most specific instruction on how to become free from this physical, bodily existence and its accompanying mortality, and through this, how we ourselves can free ourselves from our own cages. When he tells the parrot to lie down, close its eyes, and play dead, he is perhaps telling human candidates for enlightenment to sit down in meditation and play dead, to ignore the pleasure and pain of the body, and to become living dead people. For only in imitating death, Bodhidharma counsels, will we gain our freedom from physical mortality.
(Reference: Epstein, Ronald.
(
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Reference
Flanagan,
Anthony. (
http://buddhism.about.com/library/blbudmed.htm
…samatha which literally means 'tranquility' or 'calm'. The initial stages of samatha meditation are to do with concentrating the mind, one-pointedness….When the mind is totally focused and the five hindrances (ill-will, sensual desire, anxiety, sloth and doubt) have been eradicated - if only temporarily - from the mind, the meditator gains access to 'absorptions' known as jhanas. These are states of great happiness and rapture but fall short of nibbana.
(Reference: Flanagan,
Anthony. (
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Reference
Gill,
K.P.S. (Monday,
http://outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20030519&fname=Booksa&sid=1
But there are flashes of relief and anecdotes or experimental results that will interest and excite those who incline towards meditation and practical spirituality. There are also very significant issues the discussants engage in, including the crucial influence of culture on the patterns of dominant emotions within a given population, where conventional wisdom and the prevailing (western) ethic and ideology are questioned and the possibilities of alternative worlds is explored, strongly underlining the fact that what we do, the world we live in and the very ‘nature of man’ result from our own choices far more than the major streams of modern thought are willing to recognise.
…
There are, however, more
fundamental difficulties which go into the deeper root of the Buddhist view of life and its emphasis on personal
spirituality and liberation (moksha).While this perspective cannot be
faulted from a personal, subjective point of view and while it would be
reasonable to concede that a fairly affluent and stable society could engineer
some of the cultural transformations envisaged in the book, it is far from a
demonstrable case that these transformations can be secured in the
contemporary, fractious and highly inequitable world order where there is far
too much structural violence even to secure the necessary consensus that must
precede any such experiments in mass social engineering. Regrettably, meditation and spirituality will remain, in
the foreseeable future, means to personal emancipation, growth and ‘emotional
management’ for a small minority of people in a world of overwhelming violence,
where organised religions, by and large, feed the
fire to a far greater extent than they douse it.
Nevertheless, for those who mix an interest in the unrealised potential of the mind and of the human race with an admiration for the Dalai Lama, this is a book that will yield at least a few hours of rewarding reading.
(Reference: Gill, K.P.S. (Monday,
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Reference
Buddha, 566 BC,
http://midgetbigot.com/god/buddha.htm
Had a "great awakening' while sitting under a fig tree in 528 BC where all 550 of his past life incarnations appeared before him. It felt so good he did not move for 49 days.
financial Owned three palaces, a private herd of elephants in armor, a golden chariot and renounced all his possessions at the age of 29. Spent the next 49 years begging
free time Once said if there has been another drive as powerful as sex he would not have reached enlightenment.
The meaning
comes from the opposite sense. Sex being a powerful drive, to prevent its
influence, one moves to the opposite side, to celibacy.
personal style His ears are permanently stretched from heavy jeweled earrings he wore as a prince.
As
of 1993, there used to be local old women in Kanyakumari district (rural
areas), with long, stretched ears due to the wearing of heavy earrings.
and sex? Married at 16. Father provided him with 40,000 dancing girls to dissuade him from becoming an aesthetic.
what else For 16 years his meals consisted of a single jujuba fruit, a grain of rice and a sesame seed. Died by ingesting a poisonous mushroom accidentally placed in his alms bowl.
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Reference
Test
Your Buddhism Knowledge
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/buddhism/quiz.htm
1 How
old was the Buddha when He said, "O Bhikkhus! I exhort you! Subject to
change are all component things! Strive on with diligence"?
80
years
2 The
Fifth and the Six Great Buddhist Councils (the last two Synods) were held in
this country.
3 The
name of the next Buddha to attain Enlightenment in this world (Badda Kappa)
is
Metteya
4 The
Doctrine of the Dependent Origination or Causal Genesis in Pali is
Paticca-samuppada
5
Personages who have both Abhinna (higher spiritual power) and Sabbannuttanana
(Omniscience) are known as
The
Buddhas
6 The
only property of all beings, accompanying them when they die is
kamma
7
Catumaharajika, Tavatimsa, Yama, Tusita, Nimmanarati and Paranimmita-vasavati:
all these terms refer to
Deva
realm
8 One
who is destined to enter Nibbana in no more than seven re-births in the Kamasugati-bhumi
is called a
Sotapanna
9 To
attain Enlightenment, the Bodhisattas (Buddha-to be) are always reborn in this
realm.
Human/Manussa
10
Prince Siddhattha became the Buddha through gradual development (in previous
existences) of
Paramis
11 To
ensure the noblest Rebirth, the practice of Dana and Sila should be motivated
by the desire for
Nibbana
12
'Mercy Killing' of a person or an animal for any reason is an evil Kamma that
may lead to
Niraya
(Hell)
13
Who said these words? "There appears one more fetter. I shall renounce the
world to-night"
Prince
Siddhattha
14
The first human donors of food to the Buddha after Enlightenment from Ukkala (
Tapussa
and Bhallika
15
The three basic teachings of the Buddha: Vinaya, Sutta and Abhidhamma, are
collectively known as
Tipitaka
16
According to the Abhidhamma, there are four paramatthas (Ultimate Truths).
Three of these, i.e., Rupa, Citta and Cetasika are found in any
individual
17 There
are two kinds of Meditation (Bhavana) methods. The first one is the Insight
Meditation (Vipassana bhavana). The other is called
Samatha
bhavana
18 It
is stated in the Visuddhimagga that there is no one who got enlightened without
understanding this doctrine of
Dependent
Origination
19
Hiri and Ottapa (shame and fear of doing evil) are known as the 'Guardian of
the worlds' which in Pali is known as
Lokapala
Dhamma
20
Devadatta was the notorious cousin of the Buddha. Where is he now?
Niraya
(Hell)
21
The Goal of all Buddhists is the attainment of Magga, Phala and Nibbana. These
cannot be attained without the Practice of
Vipassana
22
The Buddha said, " The beings in the Heavens and the Human world are
comparable to the sands on His finger tip; the rest of the grains of sands on
the Earth represents _, _, _, & _"
Animals,
ghosts, demons, beings in hell
23
This man committed the two worst offences known to Buddhism: attempt to murder
the Buddha and to bring about a Schism in the order. What is his name?
Devadatta
24 In
Buddhism, ex cathedra pronouncements by leading personages are unknown, because
the sole authority in Buddhism is the text of the --------.
Tipitaka
25
When the Buddha lay on his death bed and was asked who henceforth would lead
the community, He said, " In future, your Master will be the ------."
Dhamma
26
"A meditating Buddhist in advanced spiritual stage can see and communicate
with the Gotama Buddha" Is it true or false?
False
28 The
Buddha was the only religious teacher inviting all to come and see for
themselves for critical analysis of His doctrine. This salient feature of the
Dhamma is known in Pali as ----------.
Ehipassiko
29
The two chief female disciples of the Buddha were
Arahats
Khema and Uppalavanna
30 On
giving alms to Sanghas for the benefit of the deceased relatives, the latter
can enjoy it if they are reborn only in this lower world. It is called ----
-----.
Peta-world
31
Samsara is the endless series of births and deaths for all beings with the
exception of the ------- and -------.
Buddhas
and Arahats
32
The Second Sermon or the Non-Self Doctrine of the Buddha delivered to the Five
Ascetics is -------------- sutta.
Anattalakkhana
33
One rebirth in one of the four lower worlds is often followed by a number of
rebirths in one or other of them. Yes or No?
Yes
34 A
Buddha who is not omniscient and does not have the ability to preach the Dhamma
to others is --------------.
Pacceka-Buddha
35
What is the last part of the popular phrase which almost all Buddhists learn by
heart, following Anicca and Dukkha? ------
Anatta
36
When a person dies, the consciousness, conditioned by signs on death-bed,
immediately arises in a new host for rebirth, according to Theravada Buddhism.
Yes or No?
Yes
37 As
far as MERIT is concerned, feeding animals is superior to the similar act of
offering foods to a man without morality. Yes or No?
No
38
The Buddha said, "Only the one who sees the ...... sees me. One who does
not see the ...... does not see me." What is the missing word?
Dhamma
39
Giving the gift of Dhamma, as in the forms of talks, lectures, etc., is the
noblest of all dana. Who said that?
Buddha
40 Divine
eye or clairvoyance, the ability to see things or beings far or near where ever
they are is known in Pali as
dibba-cakkhu
41
"I have not deprived any living being since I was born of the Ariyan
birth. By this truth, may there be well-being for you and for the conceived
fetus." This is part of - - - - - - - - - - Paritta.
Angulimala
42
The Bodhisatta attained Buddhahood on the basis of independent reflection, and
effort. This attribute of the Buddha is called
Sammasambuddha
43
The famous first century B.C. Dhamma Discourse by Venerable Nagasena is
Milinda
Panha
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Reference
Cycle
of Paticcasamuppada
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/buddhism/patiquiz.htm
Avijja
Jati-Jara-Marana Sankhara
Bhava Vinnanam
Kamma CYCLE OF PATICCASAMUPPADA Nama-Rupa
Upadana Salayatana
Tanha Phassa
Vedana
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Reference
Barua,
Amal K. (1990) Mind and Mental Factors in Early Buddhist
Psychology.
Page 75
…all mental
phenomena come from without and not from within. Of course, by mental
phenomena we mean the majority of the mental phenomena. Through sense-organs or doors all the materials of the mental
activities are received by Mind itself.
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Reference
Mahathera, Narada. (1982)
Buddhism in a Nutshell.
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/bps/misc/nutshell.html
Notes
The
Buddha – Birth - On the fullmoon day of May, in the year 623 B.C.
…
As
the word itself implies, the Tipitaka consists of three baskets. They are the Basket of
Discipline (Vinaya
Pitaka), the Basket of Discourses (Sutta Pitaka),
and the Basket of Ultimate Doctrine (Abhidhamma Pitaka).
…
The Vinaya Pitaka
consists of the five following books:
(Vibhanga):
1. Parajika Pali
-- Major Offenses
2. Pacittiya Pali
-- Minor Offenses
(Khandaka):
3. Mahavagga Pali -- Greater Section
4. Cullavagga Pali
-- Shorter Section
5. Parivara Pali
-- Epitome of the Vinaya
…
The Sutta Pitaka
consists chiefly of discourses, delivered by the Buddha himself on various
occasions.
…
This Pitaka
is divided into five Nikayas or collections, viz:
1. Digha Nikaya
(Collection of Long Discourses).
2. Majjhima Nikaya (Collection of Middle-Length Discourses).
3. Samyutta Nikaya (Collection of Kindred Sayings).
4. Anguttara Nikaya (Collection of Discourses arranged in accordance
with numbers).
5. Khuddaka Nikaya (Smaller Collection).
The
fifth is subdivided into fifteen books:
1. Khuddaka Patha
(Shorter texts)
2. Dhammapada (Way
of Truth)
3. Udana
(Paeans of Joy)
4. Iti Vuttaka
("Thus said" Discourses)
5. Sutta Nipata
(Collected Discourses)
6. Vimana Vatthu
(Stories of Celestial Mansions)
7. Peta Vatthu
(Stories of Petas)
8. Theragatha
(Psalms of the Brethren)
9. Therigatha
(Psalms of the Sisters)
10. Jataka
(Birth Stories)
11. Niddesa
(Expositions)
12. Patisambhida Magga (Analytical Knowledge)
13. Apadana
(Lives of Arahats)
14. Buddhavamsa (The
History of the Buddha)
15. Cariya Pitaka
(Modes of Conduct)
The Abhidhamma Pitaka is the most important and the most interesting of
the three, containing as it does the profound philosophy of the Buddha's
Teaching in contrast to the illuminating and simpler discourses in the Sutta
Pitaka.
In
the Sutta Pitaka is found the conventional teaching (vohara desana)
while in the Abhidhamma
Pitaka is found the ultimate teaching (paramattha-desana).
…
The Abhidhamma Pitaka consists of seven
books:
1. Dhammasangani (Classification
of Dhammas)
2. Vibhanga (The
book of Divisions)
3. Katha-Vatthu
(Points of Controversy)
4. Puggala-Paññatti (Descriptions of Individuals)
5. Dhatu-Katha
(Discussion with reference to elements)
6. Yamaka (The
Book of Pairs),
7. Patthana (The
Book of Relations)
…
The
Buddha expounded these doctrines of Transiency, (Anicca), Sorrow (Dukkha),
and No-Soul (Anatta) some 2500 years ago while He was sojourning in
the valley of the
…
The
foundations of Buddhism are the four Noble Truths -- namely, Suffering (the
raison d'etre of Buddhism), its cause (i.e., Craving), its end (i.e., Nibbana,
the Summum Bonum of Buddhism), and the Middle Way.
What
is the Noble Truth of Suffering?
"Birth
is suffering, old age is suffering, disease is suffering, death is suffering,
to be united with the unpleasant is suffering, to be separated from the
pleasant is suffering, not to receive what one craves for is suffering, in
brief the five Aggregates of Attachment are suffering."
What
is the Noble Truth of the Cause of Suffering?
"It
is the craving which leads from rebirth to rebirth accompanied by lust of
passion, which delights now here now there; it is the craving for sensual
pleasures (Kamatanha), for existence (Bhavatanha)[7] and for annihilation
(Vibhavatanha)."[8]
What
is the Noble Truth of the Annihilation of Suffering?
"It
is the remainderless, total annihilation of this very craving, the forsaking of
it, the breaking loose, fleeing, deliverance from it."
What
is the Noble Truth of the Path leading to the Annihilation of Suffering?
"It
is the Noble Eightfold Path which consists of right understanding, right thoughts,
right speech, right action, right livelihood, right endeavor, right
mindfulness, and right concentration."
…
Just
as the Arahats Sariputta and Moggallana were made the two chief disciples in
the Order of monks, even so he appointed Arahats Khema and Uppalavanna as the
two chief female disciples.
…
Kamma,
literally, means action; but, in its ultimate sense, it means the meritorious
and demeritorious volition (Kusala
Akusala Cetana). Kamma constitutes
both good and evil. Good gets good. Evil gets evil. Like attracts like. This is
the law of Kamma.
…
According
to Buddhism, there are five orders or processes (Niyamas) which operate in the
physical and mental realms:
i. Kamma Niyama,
order of act and result, e.g., desirable and undesirable acts produce
corresponding good and bad results.
ii. Utu Niyama,
physical (inorganic) order, e.g., seasonal phenomena of winds and rains.
iii. Bija Niyama,
order of germs or seeds (physical organic order); e.g., rice produced from rice-seed,
sugary taste from sugar cane or honey etc. The scientific theory of cells and
genes and the physical similarity of twins may be ascribed to this order.
iv. Citta Niyama,
order of mind or psychic law, e.g., processes of consciousness (Citta vithi),
power of mind etc.
v. Dhamma Niyama,
order of the norm, e.g., the natural phenomena occurring at the advent of a
Bodhisatta in his last birth, gravitation, etc.
Every
mental or physical phenomenon could be explained by these all-embracing five
orders or processes which are laws in themselves.
Kamma
is, therefore, only one of the five orders that prevail in the universe.
…
Paticca
Samuppada
Paticca
means because of, or dependent upon: Samuppada "arising or
origination." Paticca Samuppada, therefore, literally means --
"Dependent Arising" or "Dependent Origination."
It
must be borne in mind that Paticca Samuppada is only a discourse on the process
of birth and death and not a theory of the ultimate origin of life. It deals
with the cause of rebirth and suffering, but it does not in the least attempt
to show the evolution of the world from primordial matter.
Ignorance
(Avijja) is the first link or cause of the wheel of life. It clouds all right
understanding.
Dependent
on ignorance of the Four Noble Truths arise activities (Sankhara) -- both moral
and immoral. The activities whether good or bad rooted in ignorance which must
necessarily have their due effects, only tend to prolong life's wandering.
Nevertheless, good actions are essential to get rid of the ills of life.
Dependent
on activities arise rebirth-consciousness (Viññana). This links the past with
the present.
Simultaneous
with the arising of rebirth-consciousness there come into being mind and body
(Nama-rupa).
The
six senses (Salayatana) are the inevitable consequences of mind and body.
Because
of the six senses contact (Phassa) sets in. Contact leads to feeling (Vedana).
These
five -- viz., consciousness, mind and matter, six senses, contact and feeling --
are the effects of past actions and are called the passive side of life.
Dependent
on feeling arises craving (Tanha). Craving results in grasping (Upadana).
Grasping is the cause of Kamma (Bhava) which in its turn, conditions future
birth (Jati). Birth is the inevitable cause of old age and death (Jara-marana).
If on
account of cause effect comes to be, then if the cause ceases, the effect also
must cease.
The
reverse order of the Paticca Samuppada will make the matter clear.
Old
age and death are possible in and with a psychophysical organism. Such an
organism must be born; therefore it pre-supposes birth. But birth is the
inevitable result of past deeds or Kamma. Kamma is conditioned by grasping
which is due to craving. Such craving can appear only where feeling exists.
Feeling is the outcome of contact between the senses and objects. Therefore it
presupposes organs of senses which cannot exist without mind and body. Where
there is a mind there is consciousness. It is the result of past good and evil.
The acquisition of good and evil is due to ignorance of things as they truly
are.
The
whole formula may be summed up thus:
Dependent
on Ignorance arise Activities (Moral and Immoral)
"
" Activities arises Consciousness (Re-birth Consciousness)
"
" Consciousness arise Mind and Matter
"
" Mind and Matter arise the six Spheres of Sense
"
" the Six Spheres of Sense arises Contact
"
" Contact arises Feeling
"
" Feeling arises Craving
"
" Craving arises Grasping
"
" Grasping arise Actions (Kamma)
"
" Actions arises Rebirth
"
" Birth arise Decay, Death, Sorrow, Lamentation, Pain, Grief, and Despair.
Thus
does the entire aggregate of suffering arise. The first two of these twelve
pertain to the past, the middle eight to the present, and the last two to the
future.
The
complete cessation of Ignorance leads to the cessation of Activities.
The
cessation of Activities leads to the cessation of Consciousness.
"
" " Consciousness leads to the cessation of mind and matter.
"
" " Mind and Matter leads to the cessation of the six Spheres of
Sense. " " " the six Spheres of Sense leads to the cessation of
Contact,
"
" " Contact leads to the cessation of Feeling.
"
" " Feeling leads to the cessation of Craving.
"
" " Craving leads to the cessation of Grasping.
"
" " Grasping leads to the cessation of Actions.
"
" " Actions leads to the cessation of Re-birth.
"
" " Re-birth leads to the cessation of Decay, Death, Sorrow,
Lamentation, Pain, Grief, and Despair.
Thus
does the cessation of this entire aggregate of suffering result.
This
process of cause and effect continues ad infinitum. The beginning of this
process cannot be determined as it is impossible to say whence this life-flux
was encompassed by nescience. But when this nescience is turned into knowledge,
and the life-flux is diverted into Nibbanadhatu, then the end of the life
process of Samsara comes about.
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Reference
Santina, Dr. Peter D. (1984)
Fundamentals of Buddhism.
http://www.buddhanet.net/fundbud.htm
…
Chapter 3 Life of The Buddha
http://www.buddhanet.net/fundbud3.htm
…
The
values that emerge from the Buddha’s life that I would like to highlight are
essentially three, and they are renunciation, loving-kindness and compassion,
and wisdom.
…
In
this context we might also remember that renunciation is the antidote for
desire, loving-kindness and compassion is the antidote for ill-will, and wisdom
is the antidote for ignorance. Through cultivating these three qualities one is
able to eliminate the defilements and attain enlightenment.
…
Renunciation
is basically a recognition that all existence is suffering. When one recognizes
the fact that all existence is suffering, this brings about what we might call
a turning about, in other words, seeing
that life is full of suffering one begins to look for something more. This is why suffering is the First Noble Truth.
This recognition that existence
is suffering is the essence of renunciation. You
may know of Prince Siddhartha’s visit to the annual ploughing ceremony at the
age of seven. It was there that while watching the ploughing the prince noticed
a worm that had been unearthed by the plough devoured by a bird. This sight led
the prince to contemplate the realities of life, to recognize the fact that all living beings kill each other for food
and this is a great source of suffering.
Already we see at this tender age in the biography of the Buddha the beginning
of this recognition that existence is suffering. If we look a little bit later
in the life of the Buddha, we will come to the famous episode of the four
sights which moved the prince to
renounce the household life and to follow a life of asceticism to seek the
truth. The sights of old age, sickness, death and
an ascetic led Him to consider why it was that He should feel uneasy when in
fact He was Himself not free from, was subject to old age, sickness and death.
This consideration led Him to develop a sense of detachment from pleasure, led
Him to seek the truth by way of renunciation. It is interesting to note that
Prince Siddhartha’s renunciation is not renunciation out of despair. He enjoyed
the greatest happiness and yet saw these sufferings of life, recognizing that no matter how great one’s indulgence in
pleasures of the senses might be, eventually one would have to face these
sufferings. Recognizing this, He was moved to renounce the household life and
seek enlightenment for the sake of all living beings.
…
Wisdom
is the most important of the three qualities because after all it is wisdom
that opens the door to enlightenment. It is wisdom that uproots ignorance, the
underlying cause of suffering. It is said that just as one can cut off the
branches and trunk of a tree and yet if the root of the tree is not taken out
the branches and trunk will grow again. So in the same way one can eliminate
desire through renunciation, ill-will through loving-kindness and compassion, but so long as ignorance is not eliminated,
this desire and ill-will are liable to grow again.
Wisdom
is achieved primarily through meditation.
…
We
are told that He studied with two foremost teachers of the time, Arada Kalama
and Udraka Ramaputra and He learned from these teachers the methods of mental
concentration.
…
Yet
we find that the prince left the two teachers because He found that meditation alone could not permanently end
suffering. This is important
because, although in its emphasis on mental development Buddhism is very much
in the tradition of the
…
… the
most basic significance of the
…
Chapter 4 Four Noble Truths
(Part I)
http://www.buddhanet.net/fundbud4.htm
…
One
of the structures that had been developed by medical science in ancient
…
When
Shariputra, one of the foremost disciples of the Buddha came upon Ashvajit (who
was one of the first five monks to whom the Buddha delivered the first sermon)
and spoke to Ashvajit about the Buddha’s teachings, Ashvajit said, "I
cannot tell you in great detail as I am relatively new to the teachings, but I
will tell you briefly." So Shariputra said, "Very well, tell me
briefly then," and Ashvajit replied with a very brief summary of the
Buddha’s teachings which is as follows — Of things that proceed from a cause, their cause the Tathagata has
told, and also their cessation: Thus teaches the
Great Ascetic. Shariputra was greatly impressed by this summary and he went to
find his friend Maudgalyayana and the two of them soon joined the Order and
became prominent disciples of the Buddha. This summary of the Buddha’s
teachings tells us something about the central concept that lies behind the
Four Noble Truths. It indicates the importance of the relationship between
cause and effect. The idea
of cause and effect is at the heart of the Buddha’s teachings and is at the
heart of the Four Noble Truths. Now in what sense?
Specifically there is a starting point, the problem of suffering. This problem
arises from causes. Finally just as there is suffering and the causes of
suffering, so too there is an end of suffering and a cause for the end of suffering.
In this case it is a negative process. In other words, when the causes of
suffering are removed then suffering ends.
…
All
of us, I am quite sure, if we are honest with ourselves, will admit that there
is a fundamental problem with life. Things are not as they should be. Something
somewhere is not quite right. And no matter how much we may try to run away
from it, at some time or other, perhaps in the middle of the night, or perhaps
in the middle of a crowd, or perhaps in the moment during one’s work, we do
come face to face with ourselves, the realization that things are not all as
they should be, that something is wrong somewhere. This is what in fact impels
people to seek solutions. They may seek solutions in more material things or
they may seek solutions in various therapies.
…
In
dealing with the truth of the end of suffering, the first obstacle that we have
to overcome is the doubt that exists in some minds of whether an end of
suffering is really possible. Whether one can really end suffering, or whether
one can really be cured. It is in this context that confidence or faith plays
an important role in Buddhism. When we speak of confidence or faith we do not
speak of faith in the sense of blind acceptance. We speak of faith in the sense
of recognizing or admitting the possibility of achieving the goal of the end of
suffering. If you do not believe that a doctor can cure you of that pain in
your abdomen you will never go to a doctor, you will never take the medicine or
have the operation and as a result you may die of that illness which could be
cured. So confidence, belief in the possibility of being cured is an
indispensable pre-requisite. Here too, as in other cases, people may say,
"How can I believe in the possibility of Nirvana? How can I believe that
the end of suffering is really possible when I have never experienced it?"
Well, as I said a moment ago, none of us would have experienced radio waves
were it not for the development of radio receivers, and none of us would have
experienced microscopic life were it not for the invention of the microscope.
Even now none of us here, unless there is any physicist in this room, have
actually observed electrons and yet we accept them because there are those
among us with the special training, and special instruments who have observed
electrons. So here too as regards the possibility of the end of suffering and
the possibility of attaining Nirvana, we ought not to reject the possibility of
attaining Nirvana outright simply because we have not experienced it, simply
because we have not seen it for ourselves. Many of you may be familiar with the
old story of the turtle and the fish. One day the turtle left the pond and
spent a few hours on the bank. When he returned to the water he told the fish
of his experiences on the bank. The fish would not believe him. The fish would
not believe that there existed a place known as dry land because it was totally
unlike what the fish knew, what the fish was familiar with. The fish would not
believe that there was a place where creatures walked rather than swam, where
one breathed air rather than water, and so forth. There are many historical
examples of this tendency to reject information that does not tally with what
we already believe, or what we are already familiar with. When Marco Polo
returned to
Chapter 5 Four Noble Truths (part 2)
http://www.buddhanet.net/fundbud5.htm
…
Right
understanding is the first step of the Noble Eightfold Path and it is followed
by Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort,
Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration. Why do we begin with Right
Understanding? It is because in order to climb a mountain we have to have the
summit clearly in view. In this sense, the first step depends on the last. We
have to have our goal in view if we are to travel a path to reach that goal. In
this sense, Right Understanding gives direction and an orientation to the other
steps of the path. We see here that the first two steps of the path, Right
Understanding and Right Thought refer to the mind. Through Right Understanding
and Right Thought we eliminate ignorance, greed and anger. But it is not enough
to say that through Right Understanding and Right Thought we eliminate
ignorance, greed and anger because in order to achieve Right Understanding and
Right Thought we also need to cultivate, to purify our mind and our body. The
way that this is done is through the other six steps of the path. We purify our
physical existence so that it will be easier to purify our mind, and we purify
our mind so that it will be easier to attain Right Understanding.
For
convenience’ sake, the Noble Eightfold Path has been traditionally divided into
the three groups of training or the three ways of practice and they are
morality or good conduct (Shila), meditation or mental development (Samadhi),
and wisdom or insight (Prajna). The eight steps of the path are divided into
these three ways of practice as follows - Right Speech, Right Action and Right
Livelihood belong to the way of good conduct; Right Effort, Right Mindfulness
and Right Concentration belong to the way of mental development; and Right
Understanding and Right Thought belong to the way of wisdom. Because it is
necessary to purify our words and actions before we can purify our mind, we
begin our progress along the path with good conduct.
…
Chapter 6 Morality
http://www.buddhanet.net/fundbud6.htm
…
Good
conduct forms a foundation for further progress on the path, for further
personal development. It is said that just as the earth is the base of all
animate and inanimate things, so is morality the foundation of all qualities.
When we look around us we can see that everything rests upon the earth, whether
it be the building, whether it be the tree and bush, or whether it be the
animal. The earth is the foundation, and in the same manner morality is the
foundation of all qualities, all virtues, all attainments ranging from the
mundane to the supra-mundane, ranging from success, good fortune all the way up
to skill in meditation, wisdom and enlightenment. Through this metaphor, we can
under-stand the importance of good conduct as a foundation for following the
path, as a basis for achieving results on the path.
…
If
you look at the moral teachings of Confucius, of Lao Tzu, of the Buddha, of
Hindu teachers, Christians, Muslims, and Jews, you will find that regarding the
basic rules of morality, there is a large degree of correspondence. But while
the rules in many cases correspond, the attitude, the ways in which the rules
are presented, understood and interpreted differ considerably from religion to
religion.
…
…if
we look closely at the scriptures, we do find what lies behind the rules of
good conduct, and the principles that lie behind that are the foundation of the
rules of good conduct, are the principles of equality and reciprocity.
What
equality means is that all living beings are equal in their essential attitudes.
In other words, all living beings want to be happy. They fear pain, death and
suffering. All want to live, to enjoy happiness and security. And this is also
true to all living beings just as it is true to ourselves. We can call this
equality the great universality of the Buddhist vision in which all living
beings are equal. On the basis of this equality, we are encouraged to act with
the awareness of reciprocity.
Reciprocity
means that just as we would not like to be killed, robbed, abused and so forth,
so would all other living beings not like to have these things happen to them.
One can put this principle of reciprocity quite simply by saying "do not act towards others in a way
which you would not want them to act towards you". Given these principles of equality and reciprocity,
it is not hard to see how they stand behind, how they create the foundation for
the rules of good conduct.
…
…if
one is to develop a society in which harmony, well-being, communication and
cooperation are goals which are to be realized, one must control, cultivate and
utilize one’s faculty of speech positively.
…
The
Buddha once said, "Pleasant
speech is as sweet as honey, truthful speech is as beautiful as a flower, and
wrong speech is unwholesome and filthy". So
let us try for our own good and that of others to cultivate Right Speech,
respect for truth, and respect for the welfare of others.
…
Specifically,
there are five kinds of livelihood that are discouraged for Buddhists. These
are trading in animals for slaughter, dealing in slaves, dealing in weapons,
dealing in poisons, and dealing in intoxicants, those are drugs and alcoholic
drinks.
…
In
one Sutra, the Buddha said, "he who has practised respect for life and so
forth, he feels as a king duly crowned and his enemies subdued. He feels at
peace, at ease."
…
…when
people look at the rules of good conduct, they often say how can they possibly
follow the rules of good conduct. It is terribly difficult to observe the
precepts. For instance, even the precept against taking life can sometimes seem
awfully difficult to follow. When you clean up your kitchen, you quite likely
may kill some ants. Again, it may seem difficult to always observe the precept
of Right Speech. How are we to deal with this problem which is a genuine one?
It is not the point whether we can observe all the rules of good conduct all
the time. The point is, if the rules of good conduct are well founded, if we
can accept that equality and reciprocity are principles we believe in, if we
acknowledge that the rules are appropriate to implementing those principles,
then it is our duty to practise, to follow the rules of good conduct as much as
we can. That is not to say that we will be able to follow the rules absolutely
all the time. But it is to say that if we accept that in order to live at peace
with ourselves and others, we ought to respect the life of other living beings,
respect their property and so forth. And if a situation arises in which we find
ourselves unable to apply a particular rule in a particular situation, then
that is not the fault of the rule. That simply is the gap between our own
practice and the ideal.
When
a navigator steers his ship across the ocean by the stars, he is not able to
follow precisely the course indicated by the stars. Yet the stars are his guide
and by following the stars however inaccurately or approximately, he reaches
his destination. In the same way, when we follow the rules of good conduct we
do not pretend that we can observe them all the time. This is why for instance
the five precepts are called the training precepts and that is why we take them
again and again. What we have in the rules of good conduct is a framework
through which we can try to live in accord with the fundamental principles that
illuminate the Buddhist teachings, the principle of the equality of all living
beings and the principle of respect for others.
Chapter 7 Mental Development
http://www.buddhanet.net/fundbud7.htm
…
There
are three steps of the Noble Eightfold Path that are included in this mental
development group and they are Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right
Concentration.
…
Right
Effort is defined as four fold. It is the effort to prevent unwholesome
thoughts from arising. It is the effort to reject unwholesome thoughts once
they have arisen. It is the effort to cultivate wholesome thoughts. It is the
effort to maintain wholesome thoughts. This last is particularly important
because it is often the case that even when we have succeeded in cultivating
wholesome attitudes, all too often these are short-lived. Between them, these
four aspects of Right Effort focus the energy of Right Effort upon our mental
states in such a way as to reduce and eventually eliminate the number of unwholesome
mental states that we entertain in our mind and to increase and firmly
establish wholesome thoughts as a natural integral part of our mental states.
…
Chapter 8 Wisdom
http://www.buddhanet.net/fundbud8.htm
…
In
other religions, we find that faith is paramount. In still other religions, we
find that meditation is supreme as for instance in Yoga. In Buddhism, faith is
preliminary, meditation is instrumental. The real heart of Buddhism is wisdom.
…
In
acquiring Right Understanding, we find that there are two types of
understanding. One is the understanding that we acquire by ourselves. The other
is the understanding that we acquire through others, that we are shown by
others. Ultimately, these two types of understanding merge because in the final
analysis real understanding of Right Understanding has to be our own. But in
the meantime, one can distinguish between Right Understanding that we achieve
through observation of the environment and the Right Understanding that we
achieve through the study of the teachings. Just as with regard to our
situation, we are asked to observe objectively what we see, what we experience
and then examine and consider its significance, so when we approach the
teachings of the Buddha we are asked to study them, to listen to them and then
to consider them, to examine them. Whether we speak in terms of observation and
enquiry, or whether we refer to study of the doctrine and we speak in terms of
reading, or listening and consideration, the third step in this process of
acquiring understanding is meditation. It is on this third stage of the process
of acquiring Right Understanding that the two types of understanding merge.
…
Perhaps
we might spend a few moments discussing the attitude that one can do well to
cultivate in approaching the teachings of the Buddha. It is said that one who
approaches the teachings ought to seek to avoid three faults in his attitude
and these faults are illustrated with the example of a vessel. In this context,
we are the vessel, the teachings are what are to be filled into the vessel.
Suppose the vessel is covered with a lid, we will not be very successful in
filling the vessel, say with milk. This is similar to one who listens to the
teachings with a closed mind, a mind that is already made up. The Dharma cannot
enter, fill the vessel. Again supposing we have a vessel that has a hole in the
bottom. If we fill the vessel with milk, the milk will run out of the hole.
This is similar to those of us who find that what we hear does not stay with
us. And finally there is the case of the vessel in which there are impurities.
Suppose we fill the vessel with milk before having cleaned it. Suppose there is
some spoiled milk left in the vessel. The fresh milk that we fill into the
vessel will be spoilt. In the same way if we listen to the teachings with an
impure mind, with impure attitudes, because for instance we want to achieve a
certain amount of honour, or fame, with these kinds of selfish attitudes or
desires, we are like a vessel tainted by impurities. We must seek to avoid
these faults in our approach to the teachings of the Buddha, in the study of
the Dharma.
…
Let
us go on to the next part of the path that belongs to the wisdom group and that
is Right Thought. Here we begin to see the reintegration, the reapplication of
the wisdom group to the sphere of good conduct because thought has an immense
influence on one’s behaviour. The Buddha has said if one acts and speaks with a
pure mind, then happiness follows as one’s shadow that never leaves. And if one
speaks and acts with an impure mind, then suffering follows as the wheel
follows the hoof of the ox. Thought has a tremendous influence on one’s
behaviour. Right Thought means avoiding desire and ill-will. So you can see how
important wisdom is because the cause of suffering is described in terms of
desire, ill-will and ignorance. Right Understanding removes ignorance. Right
Thought removes desire and ill-will. So Right Understanding and Right Thought
remove the causes of suffering.
To
remove desire and greed we need to cultivate renunciation or detachment. To
remove ill-will, we need to cultivate loving-kindness and compassion. How does
one cultivate the attitudes of renunciation, loving-kindness and compassion
which will act as antidotes for desire and ill-will? Firstly, renunciation is
cultivated by meditating upon the unsatisfactory nature of existence,
particularly the unsatisfactoriness of pleasures of the senses. We liken
pleasures of the senses to salt water. A thirsty man who drinks salt water only
finds that his thirst increases. He achieves no satisfaction. The Buddha also
likened pleasures of the senses to a certain fruit called the Kimbu fruit. It
is a fruit that is very pleasant in appearance. It has an attractive skin. It
is fragrant and tasty. But it causes disaster as it is poisonous when eaten.
Similarly, pleasures of the senses are attractive, enjoyable and yet they cause
disaster. So in order to cultivate detachment, one has to consider the
undesirable consequences of pleasures of the senses. In addition, one has to
contemplate, to understand that the nature of samsara is suffering.
…
Chapter 9 Karma
http://www.buddhanet.net/fundbud9.htm
…
Specifically,
the unwholesome actions which are to be avoided relate to the three doors or
means of action, and these are body, speech and mind. There are three
unwholesome actions of the body, four of speech and three of mind that are to
be avoided. The three unwholesome actions of body that are to be avoided are
killing, stealing and sexual misconduct. The four unwholesome actions of speech
that are to be avoided are lying, slander, harsh speech and malicious gossip.
The three unwholesome actions of mind that are to be avoided are greed, anger
and delusion. By avoiding these ten unwholesome actions we will avoid their
consequences.
…
Karma,
be it wholesome or unwholesome, is modified by the conditions under which the
actions are performed. In other words, a wholesome or unwholesome action may be
more or less strong depending upon the conditions under which it is done. The
conditions which determine the weight or strength of karma may be divided into
those which refer to the subject - the doer of the action - and those which
refer to the object - the being to whom the action is done. So the conditions
that determine the weight of karma apply to the subject and object of the
action.
…
Similarly,
there are five conditions that modify the weight of karma and they are
persistent, repeated action; action done with great intention and
determination; action done without regret; action done towards those who
possess extraordinary qualities; and action done towards those who have
benefited one in the past. Here too there are subjective and objective
conditions. The subjective conditions are persistent action; action done with
intention; and action done without regret. If one does an unwholesome action
again and again with great intention and without regret, the weight of the
action will be enhanced. The objective conditions are the quality of the object
to whom actions are done and the nature of the relationship. In other words, if
one does a wholesome or unwholesome action towards living beings who possess
extraordinary qualities such as the arhats, or the Buddha, the wholesome or
unwholesome action done will have greater weight. Finally the power of
wholesome or unwholesome action done towards those who have benefited one in
the past, such as one’s parents, teachers and friends, will be greater.
The
objective and subjective conditions together determine the weight of karma.
…
The
effects of karma may be evident either in the short term or in the long term.
Traditionally we divide karma into three varieties related to the amount of
time that is required for the effects of these actions to manifest themselves.
Karma can either manifest its effects in this very life or in the next life or
only after several lives. When karma manifests its effects in this life, we can
see the fruit of karma within a relatively short length of time. This variety
of karma is easily verifiable by any of us. For instance, when someone refuses
to study, when someone indulges in harmful distractions like alcohol and drugs,
when someone begins to steal to support his harmful habits; the effects will be
evident within a short time. They will be evident in loss of livelihood and
friendship, health and so forth. We cannot see the long-term effect of karma, but
the Buddha and His prominent disciples who have developed their minds are able
to perceive directly the long-term effects. For instance, when Maudgalyayana
was beaten to death by bandits, the Buddha was able to tell that this event was
the effect of something Maudgalyayana had done in a previous life when he had
taken his aged parents to the forest and having beaten them to death, had then
reported that they had been killed by bandits. The effect of this unwholesome
action done many lives before was manifested only in his last life. At death we
have to leave everything behind - our property and our loved ones, but our
karma will accompany us like a shadow. The Buddha has said that nowhere on
earth or in heaven can one escape one’s karma. So when the conditions are
correct, dependent upon mind and body, the effects of karma will manifest
themselves just as dependent on certain conditions a mango will appear on a
mango tree. We can see that even in the world of nature certain effects take
longer to appear than others. If for instance, we plant the seed of a papaya,
we will obtain the fruit in shorter period than if we plant the seed of a
durian. Similarly, the effects of karma manifest either in the short term or in
the long term.
…
Chapter 10 Rebirth
http://www.buddhanet.net/funbud10.htm
…
In
Buddhism, rebirth is part of the continuous process of change. In fact, we are
not only reborn at the time of death, we are born and reborn at every moment.
This too, like many other Buddhist teachings, is easily verifiable by reference
to our own experience and by reference to the teachings of science. For
instance, the majority of the cells in the human body die and are replaced many
times during the course of one’s life. Even those few cells which last one’s
entire life undergo constant internal changes. This is part of the process of
birth, death and rebirth. If we look at the mind too, we find that mental
states of worry, happiness and so forth are changing every moment. They die and
are replaced by new states. So whether we look at the body or the mind, our
experience is characterized by continuous birth, death and rebirth.
In
Buddhism, it is taught that there are various realms, spheres or dimensions of
existence. There are thirty-one planes of existence listed, but for our
purposes, we are going to utilize a simpler scheme which enumerates six realms
of existence. In general, the six realms may be divided into two groups, one of
which is relatively fortunate and the other relatively miserable. The first
group includes three of the six realms and they are the realm of the gods, the
realm of the demigods and the realm of human beings. Rebirth in these fortunate
realms is the result of wholesome karma. The second group includes the three
realms that are considered relatively miserable. They are sometimes called the
realms of woe, and they are the realm of animals, the realm of hungry ghosts
and the realm of hell beings. Rebirth in these states of woe is the result of
unwholesome karma.
…
The
Buddha spoke about the rarity and the precious nature of opportune birth
amongst human beings. He used a simile to illustrate this point. Suppose the
whole world were a vast ocean, and on the surface of this ocean there were a
yoke floating about, blown about by the wind, and suppose at the bottom of the
ocean there lived a blind tortoise which came to the surface of the ocean once
every hundred years. Just as difficult as it would be for that tortoise to
place its neck through the opening in that yoke floating about in the ocean,
just so difficult is it to attain opportune birth as a human being. Elsewhere,
it is said that just as if one were to throw a handful of dried peas against a
stone wall, and just as if one of these peas were to stick in a crack in the
wall, so to be born as a human being with the opportunity to practise the
Dharma is similarly difficult.
…
When
the karma, wholesome or unwholesome, that causes us to be born in any of the
six realms is exhausted, rebirth will occur, and we will find ourselves again
in another realm. In fact, it is said that all of us have circled in the these
six realms since beginningless time, that if all the skeletons that we have had
in our various lives were heaped up, the pile would exceed the height of
…
In recent
years, there has been a tendency to interpret the six realms in psychological
terms. Some teachers have suggested that the experience of the six realms is
available to us in this very life. Undoubtedly, this is true so far as it goes.
Those men and women who find themselves in prisons, tortured, killed, and so
forth are undoubtedly experiencing a situation similar to that of the hell
beings. Similarly, those who are miserly and avaricious experience a state of
mind similar to that of the hungry ghosts. And those who are animal-like
experience a state of mind similar to that of the animals. Those who are
quarrelsome, powerful and jealous experience a state of mind similar to that of
the Asuras. Those who are proud, tranquil, serene and exalted experience a
state of mind similar to that of the gods. Yet, while it is undoubtedly true
that the experience of the six realms is to some extent available to us in this
human existence, I think it would be a mistake to assume or to believe that the
six realms of existence do not have a reality which is as real as our human
experience. The hells, the realm of the hungry ghosts, animals, demigods and
gods are as real as our human realm. We will recall that mind is the creator of
all mental states. Actions done with a pure mind motivated by generosity, love
and so forth result in happy mental states or states of existence like the
human realm and the realm of the gods. But actions done with an impure mind
affected by greed, ill-will and so forth result in unhappy lives like those of
the hungry ghosts and hell beings.
Finally,
I would like to distinguish rebirth from transmigration. You may have noticed
that in Buddhism, we consistently speak of rebirth and not transmigration. This
is because in Buddhism we do not believe in an abiding entity, in a substance
that trans-migrates. We do not believe in a self that is reborn. This is why
when we explain rebirth, we make use of examples which do not require the
transmigration of an essence or a substance. For example, when a sprout is born
from a seed, there is no substance that transmigrates. The seed and the sprout
are not identical. Similarly, when we light one candle from another candle, no
substance travels from one to the other, and yet the first is the cause of the
second. When one billiard ball strikes another, there is a continuity, the
energy and direction of the first ball is imparted to the second. It is the
cause of the second billiard ball moving in a particular direction and at a
particular speed. When we step twice into a river, it is not the same river and
yet there is continuity, the continuity of cause and effect. So there is
rebirth, but not transmigration. There is moral responsibility, but not an
independent, permanent self. There is the continuity of cause and effect, but
not permanence.
…
Chapter 11 Dependent Origination
http://www.buddhanet.net/funbud12.htm
…
Let
us take a few examples that establish the nature of dependent origination. Let
us take first an example used by the Buddha Himself. The Buddha has said the
flame in an oil lamp burns dependent upon the oil and the wick. When the oil
and the wick are present, the flame in an oil lamp burns. If either of these is
absent, the flame will cease to burn. This example illustrates the principle of
dependent origination with respect to a flame in an oil lamp. Let us take the
example of the sprout. Dependent upon the seed, earth, water, air and sunlight
the sprout arises. There are in fact innumerable examples of dependent
origination because there is no existing phenomenon that is not the effect of
dependent origination. All these phenomena arise dependent upon a number of
causal factors. Very simply, this is the principle of dependent origination.
…
Let
me briefly list the twelve components or links that make up dependent
origination. They are ignorance, mental formation, consciousness, name and
form, the six senses, contact, feeling, craving, clinging, becoming, birth, and
old age and death.
There
are two principal ways in which we can understand these twelve components. One
way to understand them is sequentially, over a period of three lifetimes: the
past life, the present life and the future life. In this case, ignorance and
mental formation belong to the past life. They represent the conditions that
are responsible for the occurrence of this life. The following components of
dependent origination - consciousness, name and form, the six senses, contact,
feeling, craving, clinging and becoming - belong to this life. In brief, these
eight components constitute the process of evolution within this life. The last
two components - birth and old age and death - belong to the future life.
According to this scheme, we can see how the twelve components of dependent
origination are distributed over the period of three lifetimes, and how the
first two - ignorance and mental formation result in the emergence of this life
with its psycho-physical personality and how in turn, the actions performed in
this life result in rebirth in the future life. This is one popular and
authoritative way of interpreting the twelve components of dependent
origination.
But
for today, I am going to focus on another interpretation of the relation
between the twelve components of dependent origination. This interpretation too
is authoritative and has the support of recognized Buddhist masters and saints.
This interpretation might be called a cyclical interpretation because it does
not depend upon a distribution of the twelve components amongst three
lifetimes. Rather, it divides the twelve components into three groups, and
these are defilements (Klesha), actions (Karma), and sufferings (Duhkha). This
scheme has the advantage of not relying upon a temporal distribution amongst
three lifetimes. According to this scheme, ignorance, craving and clinging
belong to the group of defilements. Mental formation and becoming belong to the
group of actions. The remaining seven, that is, consciousness, name and form,
the six senses, contact, feeling, birth, and old age and death belong to the
group of sufferings. Through this interpretation we can see how the teaching of
the Four Noble Truths and particularly the teaching of the Second Noble Truth -
the truth of the cause of suffering, is conjoined with the teaching of karma
and rebirth; and how together these two important teachings explain in a more
complete way the process of rebirth and the origination of suffering.
…
…Buddha
has said that he who sees dependent origination sees the Dharma and he who sees
the Dharma sees the Buddha. This is why the Buddha has, as I have mentioned
earlier, said that understanding dependent origination is the key to
liberation. So once we see the functioning of dependent origination, we can
then set about breaking this vicious circle of dependent origination. We can do
this by removing the impurities of the mind - ignorance, craving and clinging.
Once these impurities are eliminated, actions will not be performed, and habit
energy will not be produced. Once actions cease, rebirth and suffering will
also cease.
Chapter 12 3 Universal Characteristics
http://www.buddhanet.net/funbud13.htm
…
The
three characteristics of existence that we have in mind are the characteristics
of impermanence (Anitya), suffering (Duhkha) and not-self (Anatma). These three
characteristics are always present in or are connected with existence, and they
tell us about the nature of existence. They help us to know what to do with
existence. What we learn to develop as a result of understanding the three
characteristics is renunciation. Once we understand that existence is
universally characterized by impermanence, suffering and not-self, we eliminate
our attachment to existence. Once we eliminate our attachment to existence, we
gain the threshold of Nirvana. This is the purpose that understanding the three
characteristics serves. It removes attachment by removing delusions, the
misunderstanding that existence is permanent, is pleasant and has something to
do with the self. This is why understanding the three characteristics is part
of the contents of wisdom.
…
Chapter 13 The Five Aggregates
http://www.buddhanet.net/funbud14.htm
…
…the
five aggregates (Skandhas): Rupa, Vedana, Samjna, Samskara and Vijnana.
…
It
has even been suggested that in the Abhidharma and in the analysis of personal
experience into the five aggregates, we have a psychological equivalent to the
table of elements worked out in modern science. What we have in the Buddhist
analysis of personal experience is a very careful inventory and evaluation of
the elements of our experience.
…
Let
us first look at the aggregate of matter or form (Rupa). The aggregate of form
corresponds to what we would call material or physical factors. It includes not
only our own bodies, but also the material objects that surround us - the
earth, the oceans, the trees, the buildings, and so forth. Specifically, the
aggregate of form includes the five physical sense organs and the corresponding
physical objects of the sense organs. These are the eyes and visible objects,
the ears and sound, the nose and smell, the tongue and taste, and the skin and
tangible objects.
But physical
elements by themselves are not enough to produce experience. The simple contact
between the eyes and visible objects, or between the ears and sound cannot
result in experience without consciousness (Vijnana). The eyes can be in
conjunction with the visible object indefinitely without producing experience.
The ears too can be exposed to sound indefinitely without producing experience.
Only the co-presence of consciousness together with the sense organ and the
object of the sense organ produces experience. In other words, it is when the
eyes, the visible object and consciousness come together that the experience of
a visible object is produced. Consciousness is therefore an indispensable
element in the production of experience.
…the
existence of one more set of an organ and its object, and here I speak of the
sixth-sense -the mind. This is in addition to the five physical sense organs -
eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin. Just as the five physical sense organs have
their corresponding physical objects, the mind has for its object ideas or
properties (dharmas). And as in the case of the five physical sense organs,
consciousness is present to unite the mind and its object so as to produce
experience.
Let
us now look at the mental factors of experience and let us see if we can
understand how consciousness turns the physical factors of experience into
personal conscious experience. First of all, we must remember that
consciousness is mere awareness, or mere sensitivity to an object. When the
physical factors of experience, as for example the eyes and a visible object,
come into contact, and when consciousness too becomes associated with the
physical factors of experience, visual consciousness arises. This is mere
awareness of a visible object, not anything like what we could call personal
experience. The way that our personal experience is produced is through the
functioning of the other three major mental factors of experience and they are
the aggregate of feeling, the aggregate of perception and the aggregate of
mental formation or volition. These three aggregates function to turn this mere
awareness of the object into personal experience.
The
aggregate of feeling or sensation (Vedana) is of three kinds - pleasant,
unpleasant and indifferent. When an object is experienced, that experience
takes on one of these emotional tones, either the tone of pleasure, or the tone
of displeasure, or the tone of indifference.
Let
us next look at the aggregate of perception (Samjna). This is an aggregate
which many people find difficult to understand. When we speak of perception, we
have in mind the activity of recognition, or identification. In a sense, we are
talking about the attaching of a name to an object of experience. The function
of perception is to turn an indefinite experience into an identified and
recognized experience. Here, we are speaking of the formulation of a conception
of an idea about a particular object. Just as with feeling where we have a
emotional element in terms of pleasure, displeasure or indifference; with
perception, we have a conceptual element in the sense of introducing a
definite, determinate idea about the object of experience.
Finally,
there is the aggregate of mental formation or volition (Samskara). This
aggregate may be described as a conditioned response to the object of
experience. In this sense, it partakes of the meaning of habit as well. We have
spent some time discussing the component of mental formation when we considered
the twelve components of dependent origination. You will remember that on that
occasion, we described mental formation as the impression created by previous
actions, the habit energy stored up from countless former lives. Here, as one
of the five aggregates also, the aggregate of mental formation plays a similar
role. But it has not only a static value, it also has a dynamic value because
just as our reactions are conditioned by former deeds, so are our responses
here and now motivated and directed in a particular way by our mental formation
or volition. Mental formation or volition therefore has a moral dimension just
as perception has a conceptual dimension, and feeling has a emotional
dimension. You will notice I use the terms mental formation and volition
together. This is because each of these terms represents one half of the
meaning of Samskara - mental formation represents the half that comes from the
past, and volition represents the half that functions here and now. So mental
formation and volition function to determine our responses to the objects of
experience and these responses have moral consequences in the sense of
wholesome, unwholesome or neutral.
…
What
is the use of this analysis of personal experience in terms of the five
aggregates? What is the use of this reduction of the apparent unity of personal
experience into the various elements of form, feeling, perception, mental
formation or volition, and consciousness? The purpose of this analysis is to
create the wisdom of not-self. What we wish to achieve is to arrive at a way of
experiencing the world which is not constructed upon and around the idea of a
self. We want to see personal experience in terms of processes, in terms of
impersonal functions rather than in terms of a self and what affects a self
because this will create an attitude of equanimity, an attitude which will help
us overcome the emotional disturbances of hope and fear. We hope for happiness,
we fear pain. We hope for praise, we fear blame. We hope for gain, we fear
loss. We hope for fame, we fear infamy. We live in a state of alternating
between hope and fear. We experience these hopes and fears because we
understand happiness and pain and so forth in terms of the self. We understand
them as personal happiness and pain, as personal praise and blame, and so
forth. But once we understand them in terms of impersonal processes, and once
through this understanding we get rid of the idea of the self, we can overcome
hope and fear. We can regard happiness and pain, praise and blame and all the
rest with equanimity, with even-mindedness, and we will then no longer be
subject to the imbalance of alternating between hope and fear.
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Reference
Tan Beng Sin, Piyasilo. (Piya Tan) The Spread of Buddhism: A study of strategic patterns in global Buddhist growth.
http://www.dharma.per.sg/htm/people/light2.pdf
After about 1,500 years in
Ironically, Muslim violence in
end of its Golden Age (which was the 9th to the 13th centuries).
the Dūta Sutta, the Buddha lists the five qualities of an ideal missioner (dūta)
Before an assembly, he is not nervous;
He is not at a loss for words;
He hides not the message;
He speaks without doubtfulness; [alt. tr.: “He can speak
views not his own” (Pek:„
115)]
He is not agitated when questioned––
That monk is worthy to go on a mission. (V 2:201f = A 4:196)
In other words, a Dharma
missionary or Buddhist worker should be confident
before a crowd, a good and clear speaker,
full of faith (even if representing the
views of another), and calm and compassionate when
questioned.
Buddhism has been a missionary religion. In fact, Buddhism is the world’s first missionary religion.
2
The Buddha’s Great Commission (admonition to go out and teach the Dharma) was recorded over
2,500 years ago in the Vinaya account, where the Buddha himself sent out the first 60 enlightened
disciples, shortly after the First Discourse:
Go forth, O monks, for the good of the many, for the happiness of the many, out of compassion for the world; for the good, the gain and the welfare of gods and men.
Let not two go the same way. Teach, O monks, the Dharma, good in the beginning, good in the middle, good in the ending. Declare the Holy Life, altogether complete, altogether pure, both in the spirit and in the letter.
There are beings with little dust in their eyes, who not hearing the Dharma, would fall away. There will be those who will understand the Dharma.
I, too, O monks, will go to Uruvilva in Senānī,nigama, to expound the Dharma.
(V 1:20 f.; cf D 3:219, M 3:280)
The missionary spirit of early Buddhism is further reflected in the work of the Arhats converting individuals and groups in various regions of India and beyond: Mahā Katyāyana in Mathurā; Ānanda’s disciple, Madhyāntika, in the northwest; Mahendra in Sri Lanka; Gavāmpati in Burma; the “500 Arhats” in Kashmir and so on.
In his paper “The Movement of
Buddhist Texts from
Chinese Buddhist Canon”
(1993b:518 ff.), Prof. Lewis Lancaster, summarizes the
factors favouring the spread of Buddhism (especially outside
- Holy persons who could travel freely without being polluted.
- Sacred relics of the Buddha and other esteemed dead that could impart power to whatever site they were placed.
- Images of the Buddha in sculpture and paintings that could be freely moved form place to place.
- Teachings, presented in oral and written form, that retained their importance in translation.
The four factors all point to the fact that Buddhism is a religion of portable sanctity.
If Buddhism is the world’s first
missionary religion, it follows that it is also the world’s first “portable”
religion. Unlike Buddhism, Brahmanism (and Hinduism that followed) is an example of fixed sanctity “since out of caste people cannot be a part of it, holy men cannot travel long distances without becoming ritually impure” (Lancaster, 1993a: 41).
Portable religions are
characterized by freedom from pollution fears,
especially the pollution of the
dead.
(Reference:
Tan Beng Sin, Piyasilo. (Piya Tan) The Spread of Buddhism:
A study of strategic patterns in global Buddhist growth.)
http://www.dharma.per.sg/htm/people/light2.pdf
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Reference
Buddhism in
http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/east-asia.htm
Spread
of Buddhism Among the Chinese
The
earliest translators had some difficulty in
finding the exact words to explain Buddhist concepts in Chinese, so they made use of Taoist terms in their translations.
Among the Chinese monks, Dao-an
who lived in the fourth century was the most outstanding. Though he had to move
from place to place because of political strife, he not only wrote and lectured
extensively, but also collected copies of the translated scriptures and
prepared the first catalogue of them. He invited the famous translator,
Kumarajiva, from Kucha. With the help of Dao-an's disciples, Kumarajiva
translated a large number of important texts and revised
the earlier Chinese translations. His fine translations were popular and
helped to spread Buddhism in
(Reference:
Buddhism
in East Asia)
Cross-reference
on translation:
19. He who is without craving and grasping, who is skilled in the
science
of language and of grammar, who knows the order of letters
in
their prior and posterior relations, he wears this body
for the
last time and is truly called a great Sage. (352)
- The Dhammapada. Canto XXIV – Craving
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Reference
Buddhism in
http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/east-asia.htm
The
Development of Chinese Schools of Buddhism
Other schools arose which focused
on different areas of the Buddhist teachings and practice. The two most
prominent schools were the Chan and the
Xuan-zang's
Pilgrimage to
His travel record gives detailed
descriptions of
Further
Development of Buddhism in
In the middle of the ninth
century, Buddhism faced persecution by a Taoist emperor. He decreed the
demolition of monasteries, confiscation of temple land, return of monks and
nuns to secular life and the melting of metal Buddha images. Although the
persecution lasted only for a short time, it marked the end of an era for
Buddhism in
Cross-reference:
Evolution process
Period of Suppression of
Buddhism in
Under the new rule of the Yi Dynasty from the end of the fourteenth century to the early twentieth century, Buddhism lost the support of the court when Confucianism became the sole official religion of the state. Measures were taken to suppress the activities of the Buddhist community. Buddhist monks were forbidden to enter the capital, their lands were confiscated, monasteries closed and Buddhist ceremonies abolished. Despite all the troubles of this difficult period, there were occasionally some great monks who continued to inspire their followers and kept Buddhism alive.
Introduction
of Buddhism to
The
The Zen
Sect
The Zen sect is actually a
Japanese version of the Chan
Buddhism
from the Sixteenth to the Nineteenth Century
From the sixteenth century,
Buddhism lost favour with the military rulers who feared the rising power and influence of Buddhist religious
groups in
Cross-reference:
Celibate army; The black robed, armed monks of
In the middle of the nineteenth
century, the Japanese emperor took
control of the government. He did not support
Buddhism. In fact, many Buddhist temples were demolished and valuable
Buddha images and scriptures burned. The Buddhists in
(Reference:
Buddhism
in East Asia)
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Reference
Buddhism in
http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/southeast.htm
Buddhism
in
Before the thirteenth century,
the region now called
About half a century later, there was another devout and learned king called Luthai who was a strong supporter of Buddhism. He joined the Order for a period of time and is said to have initiated the Thai tradition of Buddhists becoming monks for a limited period of time, usually about three months.
In spite of the wars in the centuries following, Buddhism continued to grow in importance and enjoyed uninterrupted state support. The Thai Order is as influential today as it was in the past. However, some reforms have been introduced since the turn of the present century. There is greater emphasis on Buddhist education and the monks are actively involved not only in teaching the religion, but also in providing secular education for the lay people. Many monks still teach in the primary and secondary schools that have been set up in the Buddhist monasteries throughout the country. Many others also pursue higher studies at Buddhist colleges and universities. Over the past few decades, some monks have been sent overseas to spread the teachings of the Buddha.
(Reference:
Buddhism
in Southeast Asia.)
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Reference
Buddhism in
http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/south-asia.htm
On
Nagarjuna
Nagarjuna
was born in the southern part of India towards the end of the first century CE
According to legend, his parents had long wanted a son, so they rejoiced at his
birth. However, their happiness soon turned to sorrow when a local soothsayer
told them that the boy would not live beyond the age of seven. When the boy's
seventh birthday drew near, his parents, who did not want to see him die before
their eyes, sent him on a journey accompanied by attendants. At the great
monastic
Cross-reference:
Andhra Pradesh
Nagarjuna wrote many books
explaining the profound teaching of "Emptiness". These works rank
among the best of the philosophical writings ever produced by man. Widely
regarded as a Bodhisattva, Nagarjuna gained great fame in
Later, when Buddhism reached
The two brothers, Asanga and Vasubandhu, were well known Buddhist scholars who lived in the fourth century CE Like Nagajuna, they contributed greatly to Buddhist philosophy. Both wrote many books describing the role of the mind in the origin of suffering and in the attainment of buddhahood. Buddhists of the Mahayana tradition believe that Asanga received instruction directly from Maitreya, the future Buddha, and wrote down what he was taught for the benefit of others.
(Reference:
The Buddhist World: Buddhism
in South Asia – India, Sri Lanka.)
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Reference
Buddhism in
http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/south-asia.htm
On
written codification of the Laws
The
First Council
The first council arose out of Maha Kashyapa's concern for the future of the Dharma, as a result of the following incident. Maha Kashyapa was proceeding to Kushinagara at the head of a large assembly of monks when he was informed of the Buddha's Final Nirvana. On hearing this news, some monks were very sad, but one monk said that they should not grieve because they were free to do as they wished, now that the Buddha was no more with them. This remark made Maha Kashyapa uneasy. He was concerned that the Buddha's teachings would eventually disappear unless action was taken to preserve it.
Therefore, after the Buddha's body had been cremated and His relies distributed, Maha Kashyapa, with the support of many of the senior monks, decided to hold a council. At this council, the monks would come to an agreement on the Teaching and Discipline that the Buddha had taught. Maha Kashyapa presided over this first council, which was held at Rajagriha. He began by questioning Upali on the rules governing the life of the monastic community. Based on Upali's answers, the content of the Discipline (Vinaya) was agreed upon. Similarly, Maha Kashyapa questioned Ananda on the sermons taught by the Buddha. Based upon his answers, the Teaching (Dharma) was established.
(Reference:
The Buddhist World: Buddhism
in South Asia – India, Sri Lanka.)
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Reference
Buddhism in
http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/south-asia.htm
On
Hinayana/Theravada and Mahayana
The
Second Council
About a hundred years after the Buddha's Final Nirvana, a second council was held at Vaishali. The purpose of this council was to settle a disagreement that had arisen between a group of monks and the elders of the Order. This group of monks resented the exclusive authority of the elders and wanted greater freedom in the application of the rules of the Discipline. They adopted practices, which many of the elders considered to be breaches of the rules of the Discipline. These practices included trivial items as well as more significant ones, such as the practice of accepting gold and silver.
With regard to the Teaching, these dissenting monks did not agree that becoming an Arhat was the highest attainment possible for most people. They believed that the Arhats, who did not possess the extraordinary qualities of the Buddha, were still fallible in many ways. According to them, the only goal worthy of attainment was buddhahood. Moreover, the dissenting monks felt that their views represented the original spirit of the Buddha's teachings.
Cross-reference:
Hinayana and the closed concept or termination
1.
Jaina – Tirthankar (Lord Mahavira, the 24th and the last Tirthankar)
2.
Sikhs – Gurus (Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th and the last Sikh Guru)
At the second council, the practices of the dissenting monks were declared to be unacceptable. The dissenting monks, however, refused to accept the decision of the council and proceeded to hold their own council elsewhere. They called themselves the "Great Community" because they were sympathetic to the concerns of the majority of the ordinary monks and the lay community, and had their support.
The division between the monks of
the "Great Community" and the elders gradually led to the appearance
of two major Buddhist traditions: Theravada (Way of
the Elders) and Mahayana (the
(Reference:
The Buddhist World: Buddhism
in South Asia – India, Sri Lanka.)
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Reference
Buddhism Across the
http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/to-himalayas.htm
The
Growth of Indian Buddhist Influence in
In the eighth century, one of the
later rulers, while hearing of the biography of Srong-tsan-gam-po, also
developed an interest in the Teaching of the Buddha. He invited Shantarakshita,
a famous Buddhist scholar, to
There were, however, many
powerful people at the Tibetan court who were opposed to Buddhism and they put
pressure on the king to expel Shantarakshita. The king discussed the matter
with Shantarakshita and they decided that it was better for him to go to
During the time of these two
great masters, great monasteries were built and the first Tibetans were
ordained. Many of the first Tibetan monks achieved outstanding meditative
powers. In the course of the next fifty years, many more translations of Buddhist
texts were made and the earlier translations revised. A catalogue of the
translations was also prepared. Teams of Indian and Tibetan monks working
together accomplished all this. By now
The
Later Transmission of Buddhist Teaching from
In the ninth century, there was a
short-lived persecution of Buddhism in
Atisha,
who came from the cast of India, was very learned. Before becoming an abbot of
one of the great monastic universities of
Cross-reference: Strange new stars and
cosmic explosions early in the last millennium.)
AD
1054 is the year in which
Atish Dipankar, Buddhist monk and missionary, still a household name in
Milarepa, who lived in the
eleventh century, was of a humble background. He studied diligently under one
of the noted Tibetan teachers and translators who had returned from
Over the course of several
centuries, not only did many outstanding Indian masters visit
Virtually the entire collection
of Buddhist literature from
Introduction
of Buddhism to
The thirteenth century saw the
rise of Mongolian power in
At that time, an army under a
Mongol prince threatened
Sakya Pandita succeeded in converting the Mongol prince and his court to Buddhism. He began the work of translating the Buddhist scriptures into Mongolian and taught the Dharma to the Mongols until his death.
Later Sakya Pandita's nephew,
Cho-gyal-phag-pa, was invited by the famous Kublai Khan to visit the Mongol
court in
The
Institution of the Dalai Lama
By the sixteenth century, the
number of Tson-kha-pa's followers in
The Dalai Lamas are believed to be embodiments of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara who, out of compassion for sentient beings, assumes human form. Upon the death of a Dalai Lama, a search is made for his successor, who is then recognised as the next embodiment of the Bodhisattva. Today as in the past, the Dalai Lama is held in high esteem by Tibetan and Mongolian Buddhists everywhere.
In the eighteenth century, the
Manchus intervened to end a long period of political strife in
Like the Tibetans before them,
Buddhism transformed the Mongols from a primitive people to a nation respected
for its learning and wisdom. From the thirteenth to the twentieth century,
(Reference:
Buddhism
Across the Himalayas.)
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Reference
Last Meal of the Gotama Buddha, Mushroom or Pork?
http://theravada.net/controversy/buddhism/vegetarianism/last_meal.html
Last Meal of the Gotama Buddha, Mushroom or Pork?
The term `sukara-maddava' appears in the whole part of Tipitaka (Pali) twelve times.26 It is set forth six times in Mahaparinibbana Sutta, Digha Nikaya, Sutta Pitaka, and on the other part it is set forth in Cunda Sutta, Udana, Khuddaka Nikaya, Sutta Pitaka. These two sources refer to the same event, namely that: the householder Cunda --a rich goldsmith-- invited and served the food in the form of sukara-maddava to the Gotama Buddha. This dish of food became the last meal of the Gotama Buddha before His Absolute Release (Mahaparinibbana).
Recently, there is apparently an effort to translate the term sukara-maddava into "a kind of mushroom liked by pigs" or "a kind of mushroom that grows in ground trodden under foot by swine" or "a kind of mushroom growing at the places where pigs usually stay".27 It is not known definitely who made this translation appear for the first time, but it is clear that this translation is fully supported by the vegetarian Buddhists. From the former times, they have really done their utmost in various ways to prove that the Gotama Buddha was a vegetarian abstaining from any food made of meat. The translation should be examined more profoundly.
In Sumangalavilasini --the book
of commentary on Mahavagga, Digha Nikaya--, Buddhaghosa Thera 28 wrote that
what is called sukara-maddava is "meat of pig of prime species, which is
in moderate age --not too young but not too old--, which is tender, which is
available in the market for public consumption (pavatta-mamsa)." This
opinion is strongly supported by Dhammapala Thera, writer of Paramatthadipani
--the commentary book of Udana, Khuddaka NNikaya-- saying that in
Maha-atthakatha 29 there is also such a statement. In addition, Buddhadatta
Thera who wrote Mathuratthavilasini --a book of commentary on Buddhavamsa,
Khuddaka Nikaya-- also stated that one of the thirty natural points for each
Sammasambuddha is: His last meal before Final Release is `animal meat'
(parinibbanadivase mamsarasabhojanam). In the Tipitaka Scripture in Thai
language --published by Mahamakut-rajavidyalay--, and in Burmese language (and
its translation in English) --published by
If it is examined according to its derivation of word, the validity of the translation should not be doubted anymore. The term sukara-maddava is derived from two words, namely: `sukara' and `maddava'. In "A Dictionary of the Pali Language" compiled by Robert Caesar Childers, and in "Pali Glossary" compiled by Dines Anderson, as well as in "Concise Pali-English Dictionary" compiled by Ven. A.P. Buddhadatta, the noun sukara is translated into "a pig, a hog, a boar", whereas the adjective maddava is translated into "flaccid, mildness, softness". Thus, based on the derivation of word, the term sukara-maddava actually bears no relation to "mushroom" or any kind of fungus.
In the meantime, it should be understood that householder Cunda was a devote 31 who knew that the Gotama Buddha was in poor health condition. He cooked intentionally a special food, sukara-maddava, with the expectation that His health would be improved. It would be very risky if the served food was a kind of food mixed with `mushroom' --since a very long time ago known by the people as a kind of plant which `may be' poisonous 32 --at least, according to the nutritionists, which may cause weakness and intoxication. Moreover, mushroom is a food of a very low nutrient content and even it may be said to have insignificant nutritive value.33 In other words, mushroom are not any more nourishing than juicy cabbage leaves. Therefore, it is very improper to expect that such a food will support the health. It should also be known that the Absolute Extinction of the Gotama Buddha was actually not caused by sukara-maddava served by the householder Cunda --as misconstrued by many persons--; but it was because of the extreme weakness of His body, and because of the period of life he had to live having been exhausted. Three months before, He determined to terminate His life when it was full moon in the month of Vesakha. In the event presently recorded in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta and the Cunda Sutta, the Gotama Buddha had never said that sukara-maddava served by the householder Cunda contained killing poison.34 He only said that in this world, no one, man, brahmin, ascetic, god, mara or brahma would be able to `digest' (jirapeti) the dish of food, except himself. Nagasena Thera and Buddhaghosa Thera commented that when the sukara-maddava was being cooked, many gods put heavenly `oja' (nutriments) in a large quantity into it, thinking that it was the last meal of the Gotama Buddha. Seeing the event, the Gotama Buddha told the householder Cunda not to offer the sukara-maddava containing the heavenly `oja' to the monks who accompanied Him, which might cause `overdose'. The gods put the heavenly `oja' in the dose especially allocated to the Gotama Buddha. Thus, the translation of the term sukara-maddava into `mushroom' with the presumption that the Absolute Extinction of the Gotama Buddha was caused by the `poison' contained in the food, is really not in conformity with the fact.
In any way, it is actually not so important and should not be used as material of debate by the Buddhists. Whether sukara-maddava is really mushroom or not, it cannot be used as the ground or reason to support the Vegetarianism. The kind of food ever eaten by the Gotama Buddha certainly cannot be concluded only by seeing His `last meal'. Several sources in the Tipitaka Scripture clearly indicate how the Gotama Buddha had His own attitude towards the Vegetarianism, and applicable to His disciples.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
26 This term also appears in the "Milinda Panha" --a Pali scripture which tells about the debate between King Milinda and the Nagasena Thera.
27 In Mahaparinibbana Sutta and Milinda Panha, Prof. Rhys Davids translated this term as `dried flesh of the boar' and `tender pork'. But, I.B. Horner, in her translation of Milinda Panha, translated this term as `truffle'.
28 He was a famous commentator on several parts of the Tipitaka (Pali) Scripture living about the fifth century A.D..
29 An eldest and most important
book of commentary (on Tipitaka Pali) taken to
30 In the Singhalese (
31 Commentator said that he attained the stage of Sotapanna, one who has entered the stream of Path (to the Real Emancipation/Nibbana).
32 In
"The World Book Encyclopedia", it is written that only botanists who
are quite accurate will be able to differentiate between poisonous fungus and
unpoisonous fungus. It is due to the fact that edible mushrooms sometimes have
similar type, odor, and colour to those of toadstool.
33 Almost all kinds of mushroom are composed of: more than 90 per cent of water, less than three per cent of protein, less than five per cent of carbohydrate, less than one per cent of fat, and about one per cent of mineral salt as well as vitamin.
34 Supposing it contained poison, caused disease or caused His Absolute Extinction, the dish of food would certainly not be declared as an offering which would grant a very great merit, equivalent to the offering served by Sujata before the attainment of His Supreme Enlightenment.
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Reference
Nalanda
http://www.visitlordbuddha.com/cities/nalanda.htm
NALANDA 90 kms South of
Nava Nalanda Mahavihara is devoted to study and research in Pali Literature and Buddhism.
The name may derive from one of Shakyamuni's former births, when he was a king whose capital was here. Nalanda was one of his epithets meaning "insatiable in giving."
The sitting place of Shakyamuni and the buddhas who had come before him was marked by a stupa, as was the spot nearby where Bimbisara first came to greet the Buddha.
…the standard biographies of the teacher Nagarjuna, believed by most historians to have been born around 150 AD, are quite specific about his having received ordination at Nalanda monastery when he was seven years old. Further, his teacher Rahulabhadra is said to have lived there for some time before that.
The monks' time, measured by a water clock, was divided between study and religious rites and practice.
from 750 AD, in the Pala age, there was an increase in the study and propagation of the tantric teachings. This is evidenced by the famous pandit Abhayakaragupta, a renowned tantric practitioner who was simultaneously abbot of the Mahabodhi, Nalanda and Vikramashila monasteries. Also Naropa, later so important to the tantric lineages of the Tibetan traditions, was abbot of Nalanda in the years 1049- 57.
Much of the tradition of Nalanda
had been carried into
Nalanda was perhaps most
important for its mahayana activities. Under the guidance of Nagarjuna, formulator
of the middle way, it eclipsed even the monastery at Bodhgaya. Aryadeva, Nagarjuna's
principal disciple, held his famous debate with Maitrichita at Nalanda.
Two further disciples of Nagarjuna to attain great fame in
Arya
Asanga, father of the lineage of extensive teachings and formulator of the mind-only school, also spent twelve years at
Nalanda. His brother Vasubandhu, introduced
to the mahayana by Asanga, became abbot after Asanga retired and taught to
thousands. The great mahayana logician Dignaga,
author of the Pramanasamuccaya, was another
abbot at Nalanda. His excellent successor Dharmakirti,
who defeated the renowned hindu scholar Shankaracharya
in debate, also received his training at Nalanda. Also of this lineage, Kamalashila wrote most of his works at Nalanda. He
and Shantiraksita, another renowned scholar
of Nalanda, were among the very first teachers to carry the Dharma to
Nalanda is 97 kms. south-east of
A
Emperor Ashoka built a vihara. King Harshavardhana of Kanauj built the 26 metre-high copper statue of the Buddha.
A museum houses the antiquities
from the site. An international centre for the study of Buddhism was
established here in 1951. Buddhist manuscripts are
kept in the
There are Burmese, Japanese and Jain rest houses.
(Reference:
Nalanda.)
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Main
Points
. In 1235 the Tibetan pilgrim Chag Lotsawa found a
ninety-year- old teacher, Rahula Shribhadra, with a class of seventy students.
Rahula Shribhadra managed to survive through the
support of a local brahmin and did not leave until he had completed educating his
last Tibetan student.
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Reference
Shib
Deb Singh. (
http://www.buddhismtoday.com/english/world/country/003-india2.htm
The following Universities have made provision for the teaching of Pali language (1) Banaras Hindu University, (2) Poona University, (3) Baroda University, (4) Nagpur University, (5) Bombay University, (6) Lucknow University, (7) Kurukshetra University, (8) Delhi University, (9) Visva Bharti University, (10) Punjabi University, Patiala, (11) Nava Nalanda Maha Vihara, (12) Magadh University, (13) Nalanda Pali Institute, Rajgir.
(Reference:
Shib Deb Singh. (
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Reference
Nalanda
http://eastindiavyapaar.com/travel/bihar/bihar_tvl_nalanda.htm
Nalanda
The ruins of Nalanda is located
90 km from
Kundalpur is nearly 2 km from the ruins of Nalanda. Lord Mahavira, the 24th and the last Tirthankar was born here kundalpur is a small village where several ancient Jain temples are located.
Nav Nalanda Vihar
Transport and Communication
Rail - The nearest railway
station is Rajgir 12 kms, and
Road - Nalanda is connected by good roads with Rajgir- 12 km, Gaya- 65 kms, Bodhgaya- 50 kms and Patna- 90 kms.
(Reference:
Nalanda.)
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Reference
Vaishali
http://eastindiavyapaar.com/travel/bihar/bihar_tvl_vaishali.htm
Lord Mahavira was also born in 527 B.C. on the outskirts of vaishali.
(Reference:
Vaishali.)
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Reference
Nava Nalanda Maha Vihara,
Nalanda,
http://64.78.17.70/indiaculture/en/Org/nalanda.htm
Courses Conducted
- Post Graduation in Pali
- Postgraduation in Philosophy
- Postgraduation in Ancient Indian and Asian Studies
- Pali Achariya
- Diploma in Pali
- Diploma in Japanese
- Diploma in Chinese
- Diploma in Hindi
- Certificate in Pali
- Ph.D.
- D. Litt
Regarding your grievances, please contact:
Shri R. C. Sinha
Registrar
Nav Nalanda Mahavihara
Nalanda,
Phone: 06112-81820
Fax: 06112-81820
(Reference:
Nava Nalanda Maha
Vihara, Nalanda, Bihar.)
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Reference
BuddhaNet's Buddhist
http://www.buddhanet.net/asia_dir/abc_i.htm
The Burmese Vihara
Dist,
Tradition: Theravada
Daijokyo Japanese Monastery
Bodhgaya, Dist,
Tel: (0 631(400747)
The International Meditation Centre
Dist,
Abbot: Ven. Dr. Rastrapal, Mahathera
Affiliated to: Mahasi Sayadaw Meditation Centre
Gaya District,
Tel: -631400733
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.saigon.com/~hoasen
Contact: Ven Thich Huyen Dieu
(
Bodhgaya,
Tel: 631-400528, Fax: 91-631-400845
(Reference:
BuddhaNet's Buddhist
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Reference
BuddhaNet's Meditation and
Teachings in
http://www.buddhanet.net/asia_dir/2abc_i.htm
Bodhgaya
There are four holy places associated with the Buddha: Lumbini, in Nepal, where he was born; Sarnath, near Varanasi, where he gave his first teachings; Kushinagar, near Gorakhpur, where he died; and Bodhgaya where he attained Enlightenment. A Bo tree growing at Bodhgaya is said to be a direct descendant of the original tree under which the Buddha sat, meditated and achieved Enlightenment.
Buddhist from all over the world flock to Bodhgaya, along with many westerners who come to learn about Buddhism and meditation
How to get there from
Several government-run Nagar Seva
buses journey each day to Bodh Gaya from the railway station in Gaya (last
service 6pm; Rs3), as do private buses from the Zila School bus stand, 1km
south of the station. Auto-rickshaws cost around Rs80, while horse drawn
The
Burmese Vihara
Location: In
The Burmese monastery is particularly popular because of its study courses. There are often western visitors here although most of the rooms are very basic. The monastery has a garden and a library with English books. If you stay remember that dignified conduct is expected of the guests. There is no charge for staying here but you should, of course, make a donation.
Daijokyo
Japanese Monastery
Bodhgaya
Tel: (0 631(400747)
Location: In
The Japanese Monastery, next to
the Karmapa monastery, is clean and comfortable but during the tourist season,
November to late January, it can be packed out with Japanese tour groups. Your
stay there is limited to three days. It has a very beautiful image of the
Buddha brought from
Bodhgaya,
Tel: 91-631-400528, Fax: 91-631-400845
Location: In
There are Thai monks staying at the temple. From time to time, meditation retreats are held at the temple. The Thai temple is built as a typical Wat with a terracotta roof of overlapping eaves. It is in a decorative garden at the end of a short road
Two ten-day courses in the Vipassana Theravadin tradition, run by Christopher Titmus, a western Buddhist, are held every January at the Thai temple; the price (US$70) includes food and lodging - ask at the Burmese Vihara or Thomas Jost at the Burmese Vihara ; information can also be obtained in advance from Gaia House, West Ogwell, Newton Abbot, Devon TQ12 6EN, UK. Telephone: (+ 44) (0) 1626 333613
• Email: [email protected]
• Web site: www.gn.apc.org.gaiahouse
The
International Meditation Centre
Dist,
Abbot: Ven. Dr. Rastrapal, Mahathera
Meditation System: Affiliated Mahasi Sayadaw Meditation Centre
The International Meditation Centre hosts ten-day beginners' courses in Vipassana, and thirty-day courses for the more experienced. Donations are accepted, as there are no fixed fees. Their new and underdeveloped site, 5km away near the university, the Dhamma Bodhi International Meditation Centre, also organises ten-day courses and offers a motley collection of basic bungalows and tents. Several other courses take place throughout the winter.
Root Institute (FPMT)
Tel: (+6 31) 400714 Fax: (+6 31) 444548
• E-mail: [email protected]
• Web site: www.rootinstitute.com
Director: Tony Simmons
Tradition: Tibetan. Foundation For the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT). Along with seminars, the Root Institute for Wisdom Culture, in a rural setting 1.5km west of the main temple, organises short and week-long residential courses, mostly focussing on the Mahayana tradition. The institute does not belong to any religious order, and has a low-key approach, working with the local community on education and health projects. Mud huts are available for retreats, and guests who appreciate a quiet environment are also welcome.
Gaya District,
Tel: 0091-631400733
• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.saigon.com/~hoasen
(Reference: BuddhaNet's Meditation and Teachings in
India.)
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Reference
Nalanda
http://www.indiantrends.com/bihar/Nalanda.htm
The courses of study included scriptures of Buddhism, Vedas, Hetu Vidya (Logic), Shabda Vidya (Grammar), medicine etc.
(Reference:
Nalanda.)
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Reference
Country and People Facts –
http://www.peopleteams.org/biharimuslims/statstext.htm
Socio-economic
status:
Religion:
(Reference: Country and People Facts – Bihar.)
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Reference
Atish Dipankar
http://victorian.fortunecity.com/dada/137/bio/a/a1.htm
Atish Dipankar, Sri-Gyan
982-1053
Born in Bazrajogini village in
Bikram Pur,
Parents named him Adinath
ChandraGarva. At the age of 19, he was converted to Buddhism by Maha-Songikacharjya
Silrakkhita of Danda Puri, and was given a new name, Dipanker Sri-Gyan. He was,
at the early age, educated by his mother, and later by Abadhuta Jaterie on
theology. He was educated on Buddhist theology by Krisna Giri Rahul of
In 1011, he went to
Hla Lama, king of Tibet, sent him
expensive gifts and invited him to go there to spread Buddhism, but he refused.
After the death of Hla Lama, he was invited again by the next king, Chan-Chab
Gyan-Pravo and went to
He wrote books on Buddhist
theology, medicine and engineering in Tibetan language and was given the
prestigious title, 'Atish'. He discovered many old Indian Puthi(poems) in
Sanskrit in
There was a massive flood in
He was worshiped as a prophet
(Abotar)of Buddha in
(Reference: Atisha or Atish Dipankar.)
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Reference
Rajya Sabha Debate on Nava Nalanda Maha Vihara
http://rajyasabha.nic.in/rsdebate/deb_ndx/190deb/01082000/11to12.htm
Uncorrected/Not for Publication - 01.08.2000
PB-AG/1c-2
QUESTION NO. 121(CONTD.)
SHRI VEN'BLE DHAMMAVIRIYO : Sir,
my first question is regarding Vaishali. As we all know, Vaishali is the
birth-place of democracy and, Sir, it is because of democracy we are here. Sir,
thousands and thousands of Buddhists, not only from India but from all over the
world, come to Vaishali to pay their respects to Buddha and get inspiration
from his teachings. But, Sir, in spite of 50 years of
My next question is about Nalanda, the ancient Nalanda. Sir, Pandit
Uncorrected/Not for Publication - 01.08.2000
PB-AG/1c-3
QUESTION NO. 121(CONTD.)
Jawaharlal Nehru had been kind enough to help us in constructing the Nava Nalanda Maha Vihara, the first graduate institute where more than 300 foreign students come from Thailand and Japan for the study of Indian culture. But there is no place for them to stay there. Moreover, the hon. Minister has appointed such a person as Director there who does not know the a,b,c,d of teaching, who has no knowledge of teaching, who has no experience. As a result of this, all the scholars are leaving. How is he taking classes for M.A.? How can he conduct research work? A person who is a Proof Reader in our institute has been appointed as a Director. Sir, what message would go to the outside world of Buddhist countries? Previously, Huen-t-Sang came to study there, but now, who will come there to study?
(Contd. by 1d)
MKB/1D-1/11-15. Uncorrected/Not
for publication -
Q. No.121 - contd.
VEN'BLE DHAMMAVIRIYO (Contd.): My
third question is that Bodh Gaya is a place of international fame. No budget
has been earmarked for construction of guesthouses there. Bodh Gaya is
completely dependent on foreign monasteries. Japan, Thailand,
SHRI ANANTH KUMAR: Sir, I request the indulgence of the hon. Member to get the utilisation certificate for whatever amount we have given to have a tourist complex at Vaishali, which has not been constructed even by 30 per cent. We have allocated Rs.44 lakhs, and we have released Rs.14.5 lakhs. We have not yet received the utilisation certificate. If he can use his best offices with the State Government and get us the utilisation certificate, there will be a very good tourist complex of the Yatri Niwas there.
His second supplementary pertains to the zero hour. Therefore, I cannot reply to that.
Regarding the Nalanda Mahavidyalaya, ...
SHRI PRANAB MUKHERJEE: Sir, I would like to seek your indulgence. Yesterday also, one Minister said that the supplementary did not arise out of the
MKB/1D-2. Uncorrected/Not for
publication -
Q. No.121 - contd.
question. Who has to decide about it? Has the Chair to decide about it or has the Minister to decide about it? He has made a specific allegation in regard to the qualification of the Nalanda Mahavidyalaya. If the Minister does not have that information, he can say that he will collect the information and furnish it. When you have not ruled the supplementary out as not arising out of the question, how can the Minister sit on judgement? ..... (Interruptions) ....
SHRI ANANTH KUMAR: Sir, I request the veteran parliamentarian
..... (Interruptions) ....
SHRI MD. SALIM: Sir, the Minister is also saying that the supplementary pertains to the zero hour. Sir, you have no work now! They will decide about the zero hour also!
SHRI ANANTH KUMAR: Sir, I request your guidance on this.
SHRI T.N. CHATURVEDI: If the Member has not given notice in writing, the question does not arise. That is all.
SHRI PRANAB MUKHERJEE: If the Minister is not prepared and says that he will require notice, he is perfectly entitled to do that. But he
cannot make a comment that the matter pertains to the zero hour. This is my submission. ..... (Interruptions) ...
MKB/1D-3. Uncorrected/Not for
publication -
Q. No. 121 - contd.
SHRI VEN'BLE DHAMMAVIRIYO: The person appointed as the Director or the Vice-Chancellor of this institute of international fame does not have the experience of a lecturer or a teacher even.
MR. CHAIRMAN: Hon. Member, this question is regarding Yatri Niwases. Your question is very important. I think you will definitely give a separate notice for this and the Minister will reply to it. If it refers to the Ministry of Human Resource Development, it will go to that Minister. .... (Interruptions) .....
That is all right. What you are saying is correct. It is a very important place. Everything should be there. Your supplementary was about appointment of a teacher who teaches. This question is regarding Yatri Niwases, not about educational institutions. Your question should go not to him but to another Minister.
VEN'BLE DHAMMAVIRIYO: This is connected with the Ministry of Culture. This is under the Ministry of Culture.
MR. CHAIRMAN: This is a question
on tourism. Shri
SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD: Sir, I have
to ask of the hon. Minister whether the Government of
(Contd. by 1E)
1E-1/11.20/OPM Uncorrected/Not for publication - 1.8.2000.
Q. No. 121 - contd.
SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRAAD (CONTD.): Nalanda, Bodh Gaya and Rajgir are areas of great Buddhist cultural heritage. So, my question is whether the hon. Minister has received any proposal from the State Government for the upgradation of these three great centres of Buddhist heritage.
SHRI ANANTH KUMAR: My answer to part (a) of the question of the hon. Member is that we have sent reminders to State Governments regarding procuring utilisation certificates for unfinished projects.
Part (b) of his question is regarding development of Buddhist circuits. We have got OECF funding to the tune of Rs.251 crores. The money is being spent at various points for various upgradation projects like infrastructure, lighting, sewage and all that.
(ends)
(Reference:
Rajya Sabha
Debate on Nava Nalanda Maha
Vihara. (
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Reference
Kumar,
Manish. (
http://www.ndtv.com/morenews/showmorestory.asp?slug=Buddhist+monks+robbed+in+Jharkhand&id=44221
Buddhist monks robbed in Jharkhand
Manish Kumar
In a shocking incident, three senior Japanese Buddhist Monks were robbed and beaten up by some unidentified criminals in Jharkhand's Hazaribagh District.
The incident took place, on Saturday evening but no arrests have been made so far.
All the three injured monks including a sixty-five-year old woman are now in Kolkata in a state of shock and have refused to meet the media.
"We've been coming here for the last 35 years but such an incident has never happened," said Reverend K Yoda, victim's friend
The three monks were visiting the
Shanti Stupa in
However, the Indian airlines flight got cancelled and they were instead sent to Kolkata in a taxi and were brutally robbed while on their way.
"I can't understand why Indian
Airlines provided a taxi to Kolkata. Sending them by another flight via
Every year, thousands of Buddhist monks and tourists visit Rajgir and Bodh Gaya. The robbery is clearly a wake up call not just for monks to not take their security for granted, but also for the governments of Bihar and Jharkhand for whom tourism is a valuable source of revenue.
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Reference
Tawang Monastery - The
Fountainhead of Spiritual Life
http://www.indiaprofile.com/pilgrimage/tawangmonastery.htm
Festivals
The
Tawang Monastery is associated with the famous Torgya Festival which is held in
the eleventh Monpa month called the Dawa Chukchipah (Dec-Jan). special dance
parties perform ritual dances for three days during this festival bearing
beautifully designed costumes and colourful masks. This festival is celebrated
to drive away evil spirits so that the people may enjoy a happy prosperous life
in the coming year. In the courtyard of the monastery a variety of dances are
performed like the Pha Cham, Loshker Chungiye Cham where the dancers dress up
as cows, tigers, sheep, monkeys etc. Each dance is associated with some myth or
legend. Dances like Losker Chungiye Cham are performed by the monks themselves.
The
monks worship in the temple for three days and prepare the torgya which is a
pyramidal structure about three feet high and made of millet flour.
On
the last day of the festival, the torgya is taken out in procession and is
followed by the monks
in full warrior’s dress with helmets, swords and shields, to a fire lit outside the walls of the monastery
and then thrown into the fire by the abbot (Rimpoche) of the monastery.
(Reference: Tawang
Monastery - The Fountainhead of Spiritual Life.)
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Reference
Hodous,
Lewis. (January, 1924) Buddhism and
Buddhists in
http://www.cwru.edu/cgi-bin/edocs/fetch.pl?item=4120
A missionary no less than a professional student of Buddhism needs to approach that religion with a real appreciation of what it aims to do for its people and does do. No one can come into contact with the best that Buddhism offers without being impressed by its serenity, assurance and power.
He has sought to be absolutely
fair to Buddhism, but still to express his own conviction that the best that is in Buddhism is given far more adequate expression in
Christianity.
It seeks to help the student to discriminate, to think in terms of a devotee of Buddhism when he compares that religion with Christianity. It assumes, however, that Christianity is the broader and deeper revelation of God and the world of today.
Chapters 1 – 6 Introductory
http://www.cwru.edu/cgi-bin/edocs/fetch.pl?item=4121
No outsider was privileged to witness the solemn taking by each candidate for the priesthood of the vow to “keep the Ten Laws,” followed by the indelible branding of his scalp, truly a “baptism of fire.”
(Cross-reference:
The “spots”. Burning or branding scenes in the Movie: 36th Chamber
of Shaolin)
…aspects of the alchemy of the soul by which the real devotee of one religion perceives values which are dear to him in another religion.
(Cross-reference:
This
is to say, that without
being a Buddhist one can absorb and perhaps transcend the best that Buddhism
has to offer; without sharing in the
nonsense of a conventional or unconventional creed, one can extract from it
its essence and adapt it to one’s own needs and conditions.
No
doubt the
ancient Egyptian priesthood were aware of this fact;…
(Reference: Bromage, Bernard. (1960) The Occult Arts of Ancient
Chapters 7 - end
http://www.cwru.edu/cgi-bin/edocs/fetch.pl?item=4122
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Reference
Meyer,
Mike. Wu Tai Shan: The Holiest of
http://www.chinanow.com/english/features/travel/wutaishan.html#famouspeaks
There is an expression in
Chinese, "san shan wu yue," which
refers to
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Reference
Simons,
Craig. Storybook
http://www.chinanow.com/english/features/travel/emeishan.html
"Buddhists believe that wisdom
comes from being still in body and mind," Xiao Qi,
a monk at the
(Reference: Simons, Craig. Storybook
China: Emei Mountain. ChinaNow.com.)
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Reference
The
Associated Press. (
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Entertainment/ap20031203_2185.html
Chinese Art Exhibit Depicts Buddhist Monks
Exhibit of Chinese Art Depicts Ordinary Life of 'Supernatural' Buddhist Monks
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON Dec. 3 — Buddhist disciples known as guardians were thought to have supernatural powers, but they did their laundry the old-fashioned, mortal way in a stream. An 800-year-old painting, part of a new exhibit of Chinese art, provides a rare and vivid depiction of the monks performing that humble task. It is one of two brightly colored scrolls from the year 1178 included in "Guardians of the Law" at the Smithsonian's Freer Gallery of Art.
The
Indian prince Siddhartha Gautama Buddha, "the Enlightened One" is
said to have entrusted 16 disciples with the task of guarding the faith. They were to remain on Earth until all other earthly
beings went through a series of rebirths and achieved spiritual enlightenment
like themselves.
Buddha received his own enlightenment under the leaves of the Bodhi tree. The exhibit includes four such fragile fig-shaped leaves, on which Chinese artists painted religious images as late as the 1800s.
Though Buddhism almost
disappeared in
The scroll that shows monks
washing their clothes in a mountain stream as servants watch is part of a
larger group of 100 that depicted the 500 guardians. Most
of the 100 scrolls are now in a temple at
Later
images of the guardians, called "luohan" paintings, depicts the
monks reading Buddhist texts, riding on a reed and on dragons and flying over
the sea. In one painting, a guardian has tamed a
lion and is patting the beast's head but a friend seems unsure and is holding
up a Buddhist text to protect him.
Another shows a guardian descending on a cloud, holding in one hand his elongated ear.
"A wisp of smoke-like energy emits from the same ear evoking the supernatural," says the exhibit's narrative text.
The exhibit will be open through May 23. Admission is free.
On the Net
Freer Gallery of Art:
photo credit and caption: This image of "Luohan, Attendant, and Tiger." an album leaf of ink and color on silk, dating from the Qing Dynasty in China, circa 1708, is one of the 22 paintings done over a span of 800 years, on exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution's Freer Gallery in Washington, and dedicated to the "Guardians of the Law." Buddhist lore tells of these Luohan or near-immortals, who had servants, but were so humble they did their own laundry in mountain streams. The exhibit will be open through May 23.(AP Photo/Smithsonian Institution, Freer Gallery)
Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
(Reference: The Associated Press.
(
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Reference
Buddhism and the
http://www.buddhistdoor.com/bdoor/0106/sources/fourmtn1.htm
In the world of Buddhism, the Buddha is the Enlightened One. A Bodhisattva only lacks the last aspect in the three meanings of Enlightenment:
- Enlightenment for self
- Enlightenment for others
- Perfect enlightenment and accomplishment
Those who have achieved the first
is an Arhat. Those who have achieved the first two is a Bodhisattva. When all
three have been attained, the being becomes a Buddha. So a Bodhisattva is in
fact a Buddha-to-be. It is a Bodhisattva's task to help the Buddha deliver all
mortal beings from the
…the
solitude of the mountain sanctuaries symbolises the Buddhist philosophy.
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Reference
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200312/14/eng20031214_130376.shtml
Last updated at: (
The on-going maintenance projects for the
The on-going maintenance projects for the
"Since its founding in 1949, the Chinese government has spent over 600 million yuan (about 72.3 million US dollars) in the preservation of Tibetan historical and cultural relics," said Rinqen Cering, director of the local bureau of cultural heritage.
Before the recent investment of 333.3 million yuan,
As a result of the early efforts, many famous historical and cultural relics, such as the Samye Temple, the oldest temple in Tibet, the Zhaxilkunbo Temple, the temple where the Panchen Lama lives, the Jokhan Temple and the Shalu Temple, have been protected.
Tibet boasts more than 2,000 sites of cultural relics, with theearliest dating from the New Stone Age, of which 27 are under state protection and 55 are under local protection.
The
"As the symbol of Tibet, the three major cultural relics are not only holy sites for Tibetans, but also a treasure of the Chinese people," said Gao Qiang, then deputy secretary-general of the State Council, when he attended a ceremony for the start of the renovation.
But the passage of time and the changing environment have left the three major Tibetan historical buildings aged and worn.
Before the start of the maintenance work, a thorough investigation was made by experts in ancient architecture, geologyand hydraulic engineering, said Rinqen Cering.
The maintenance projects, which will take five years, started in June 2002. "It is the largest maintenance project with the mostinvestment in the history of Tibetan ancient architecture protection and maintenance," said Rinquen Cering.
Qiangzhen, an elderly Tibetan woman, said: "It's lucky for us disciples
that such a large sum of money was invested in the maintenance of Potala, our
Rinquen Cering said the completed restoration project in the Ngari prefecture, which lasted for 3 years and cost about 11 million yuan (about 1.33 million US dollars), had received archaeologists' approval.
"Rare cultural relics of the Ngari prefecture dating 1,300 years ago
including the Guge dynasty remains and the
"Moreover, a general investigation of Tibetan cultural relics in
Chamdo, Lhoka and Nyingchi prefectures has been made and all cultural relics in
Copyright by People's Daily Online, all rights reserved
(Reference: China
invests over $72 million for preservation of Tibetan cultural relics. (
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Reference
http://www.toptrip.cc/destination/province/sichuan.htm
Its main scenic spots and
historical sites include
Cross-reference:
The National Geographic Series on Tofu ( a kind of Chinese bread made from
soya-beans) making in
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Reference
http://fpeng.peopledaily.com.cn/200104/27/eng20010427_68747.html
Friday, April 27, 2001, updated at
Life
The central government of
However, he failed to give the exact amount of investment for the three
projects, namely the
An inspection team composed of experts from all sectors has been formed to make technical appraisals. A detailed renovation plan has been submitted for examination, he said.
The
This will be the second repair on the
First built in 1073, the Sagya Lamasery has long enjoyed almost the same fame with the Dunhuang Grottoes for its large collection of Buddhist scriptures, valuable porcelains and vivid murals dating back to nearly 1,000 years ago. It is believed to be the birthplace of Sagyapa (Stripped Sect) of the Tibetan Buddhism.
At present, cracks can be seen in many parts due to the weather and erosion by insects.
Norbuglinkha, built in 1751, used to be the summer resort of all the Dalai Lamas. It houses 30,000 valuable cultural relics, 7, 000 of which are under top government protection. It is now truly a park for all people to enjoy.
Over the past two decades, the central government has renovated 1,700
temples and lamaseries in
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright by People's Daily Online, all rights reserved
(Reference: Tibet
to Renovate Three Key Lamaseries. (
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Reference
http://fpeng.peopledaily.com.cn/200104/20/eng20010420_68198.html
Friday, April 20, 2001, updated at
Life
The Norbu-Linkag was built in 1751 by the 7th Dalai Lama. It is there that Dalai lamas resided, studied, chanted scriptures and handled official affairs.
In March of 1988, the Norbu-Linkag was designated as one of the national-level cultural relic nits under special government protection.
At present, the Norbu-Linkag has a total of 30,000 cultural relics, 7,000 of them at the national level.
In recent years, excessive rainfall has seriously eroded the ancient buildings of the Norbu-Linkag, and even caused parts of ancient city walls to collapse.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright by People's Daily Online, all rights reserved
(Reference: Tibet
to Repair Norbu-Linkag. (
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Reference
Tibetan Relics Well Preserved. (
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200105/17/eng20010517_70234.html
Thursday, May 17, 2001, updated at
Life
Tibetan Relics Well Preserved
"In my view, it is ridiculous and shameful for the Dalai Lama to say that the Chinese government has destroyed and looted all the Tibetan relics," said Gyayang, director of the Tibet Autonomous Regional Administration of Cultural Heritage.
In an exclusive interview with Xinhua, Gyayang said
The official disclosed that over the past two decades and more, the central government has spent more than 300 million yuan (36.14 million U.S. dollars) on the repair of more than 1,400 temples in Tibet, and as a result, a large amount of relics in the region are well protected.
Currently, the central government allocates 4 million to 5 million yuan for protecting Tibetan relics annually.
Relics experts said Thursday that
Relics departments are sorting out) the relics at the
Exhibited at the 10,000-square-meter exhibition hall of the
The museum also houses gold vessels used for choosing reincarnated soul boys of Dalai and Panchen lamas and over 1,200- year-old Buddhist Scriptures on pipal (palm leaves used as paper). All of these precious Tibetan Buddhism relics are protected by toughened glass and a constant temperature and humidity level.
Qoizhoin, a worker at the museum, said the museum houses sutras inscribed on birch bark, which is more than 1,000 years old. The characters on the birch bark are still very clear and easy to identify.
More rare relics are stored in the region's 1,000 other temples.
The Sagya Monastery, the major temple of the Sakyapa sect of Tibetan Buddhism, stores more than 6,000 ancient Buddhist statues, a large number of relics from the Yuan Dynasty and numerous volumes of sutras.
Preserved in the Samye Monastery, the first temple in
Copyright by People's Daily Online, all rights reserved
(Reference: Tibetan
Relics Well Preserved. (
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Reference.
(Complete article)
Larson,
Kay. (
http://www.himalayanart.org/books/nytimes.cfm
THE NEW YORK TIMES,
By KAY LARSON
From a nose-length away, Robert Thurman is scrutinizing the three glaring bull's-eyes and two fire-spouting horns of a fierce Tibetan deity. A row of skulls parades across the creature's blue-black head. Roaring red flames wreathe its body. But Mr. Thurman points to a peaceful face on the creature's headdress: Manjushri, representing sublime cosmic wisdom.
"Manjushri has adopted this ferocious form," Mr. Thurman says, "to subdue this guy" - he points to a small black demon at the bottom of the picture - "Yama, the god of death."
Mr. Thurman, leading a visitor
through the exhibition "Worlds of Transformation: Tibetan Art of Wisdom
and Compassion," at
How
do you take the mind's penchant for evil and turn it into wisdom? Yamantaka, the bullish protector, brings Yama the god of
death, to heel, says Mr. Thurman, by scaring
him silly: "He puts death through death" by revealing the
interconnectedness of all things. Mr. Thurman continues: "In
He
describes a meditation Tibetans use: " 'Come Yamantaka, destroy my killer
heart,' meaning my self centered egocentric narcissism."
Insights like these into the formerly closed world of Tibetan art are one reason the high-wattage Mr. Thurman, who is professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist studies at Columbia University and a co-founder of Tibet House, has become the foremost Western spokesman for Tibetan culture (although in some circles he is more famous as the father of Uma).
The exhibition he has organized with Marylin M. Rhie exhaustively analyzes 200 Tibetan paintings from the 15th century onward, taking up where the pair's 1991 exhibition, "Wisdom and Compassion," left off. "Wisdom and Compassion," which is still touring the world, offered the first significant look at what seemed at the time to be a mysteriously opaque art form.
In "Worlds of
Transformation," the doors open a little wider. The catalogue is
two-thirds the size of a
Excavating
the mind, Tibetans have found terrifying things. This horrific imagery is
enlisted to show people how to deal with darkness. "The fierce deities are
the powers of nature transmuted into helpful forces for the teaching of
enlightenment," Mr. Thurman says. "Wisdom
is not just some hopeful wishful thinking that the world is nice. Wisdom is
able to confront the seemingly most negative thing in the world and see through
that and find the positive possibility."
Tibetan
deities are flickering, shape-changing beings able to take whatever form best
serves to open people's eyes. They can choose to emanate what Mr.
Thurman calls "supernova flames, world-end
flames -like nuclear fission, really hot." But when they're not being
wrathful, they show a composed and compassionate face. Besides the scary
material, the show includes pictures of peaceful, vibrant, serenely blissful
beings floating in what seems like a virtual reality of radiating light and
electric red, blue and yellow auras. Some of these figures are humans - saints,
monastics and arhats (sages) - who
successfully applied these alchemical transformations to themselves, converting their own
delusions into wisdom and compassion.
But Mr. Thurman, pausing before one particularly gory flaying scene, admits that Tibetan art has been nearly swamped by New Age misinformation. "Because of the subconscious stuff, the violent and erotic imagery," he says, "people have used that already to give a wrong idea about Tibetan tantra." The Dalai Lama, he says, has decided to speak openly about tantric rituals to clear the air.
Assembling this show, Mr. Thurman
and Ms. Rhie had the pick of some 1,000 paintings acquired over the last 15
years by Donald Rubin, who owns a managed care company in
He
observes that violence is not confined by any borders: "Wilhelm Reich
wrote that we all have a Nazi in us. It is getting a handle
on that Nazi in us that is the important thing.
By realizing it's there you can control it. Awareness is the first step."
Mr. Rubin says he has purchased a
building in
Tibetan
art has been victimized by the very anarchic forces it invokes.
Paintings began showing up in quantity in the West after the Chinese invasion
in the 1950's. When the Dalai Lama escaped in 1959,
he carried on his back a tantric painting (of
the destroyer-goddess Penden Lhamo, the Tibetan form of Kali, mother of the
world) that only Dalai Lamas are allowed to
view. Tibetans fleeing to India in the early 60's packed out paintings,
which often ended up in curio shops in Katmandu, New Delhi,
By Mr. Thurman's estimate, the
Chinese have destroyed 90 percent of
Tibetans
were originally warriors, no less inherently violent than anyone else. "A
thousand years ago the Tibetans were very frightening, a Gengis Khan-type
people," Mr. Thurman says. "They
conquered the silk route, they beat up the Arabs, they destroyed the Chinese a
few times. They were a very fierce predatory country. But then they became
completely peaceful. They ceased their own ways of being conquerors and
killers, and they stopped harassing their neighbors."
He points to a red female deity poised gracefully on one foot at the
center of a six-sided star: Vajravarahi, the Diamond Sow, one of the erotic
manifestations. Mr. Thurman lists her attributes: She is naked because there is no barrier between her and
reality. Holding a skull bowl filled with demon blood elixir; waving a garland
of freshly severed heads, she dances on a corpse - male- that symbolizes ignorance conquered. "We don't want to give Gloria Steinem any
ideas," Mr. Thurman says, laughing. "She
is both male and female. Her female side is wisdom, her male side is
compassion. She's totally in balance and knows what's going on."
Having faced down and passed through the terrors' of the self, Mr. Thurman says, Vajravarahi has found "erotic, ecstatic oneness with reality." He continues: "It's total ecstatic freedom and bliss. You remain balanced and aware of the infinite interconnectedness of things. You're released from the stress of having to hold anything separate from reality." Celebrating wisdom, the Diamond Sow dances. Mr. Thurman wonders: Will the world ever dance with her?
Copyright © 2002 Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation.
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Reference. (Relevant Abstract)
Thapa, Deepak. It's Dalai Lama vs Shugden
http://www.himalmag.com/96sep/dorje.htm
Demons
and Oracles
Shugden is one of the gods known as the dabla (enemy-defeating gods). The dabla are known to be very scrupulous in protecting their followers against enemies and very generous in bestowing wealth on their devotees. Among the dabla, Shugden is considered to be very quick in acceding to requests—one reason which explains its popularity.
But even though Shugden worship may be more rewarding, it is said to be very difficult to follow because it involves praying and meditating every day for the rest of one’s life. And while Shugden is quick to respond to supplications, so is it in punishing those who deviate from its path.
Tibetans of all orders, in general, are afraid of Shugden’s anger and shy away even from taking its name. The Dalai Lama himself is most careful when talking about Shugden.
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Reference
Trimondi, Victor and Victoria. The
Shadow of the Dalai Lama: Sexuality,
Magic and Politics in Tibetan Buddhism
Buddhism and Misogyny (historical overview)
http://www.american-buddha.com/bud.misogyny.htm#BUDDHISM%20AND%20MISOGYNY%20(HISTORICAL%20OVERVIEW)
…
The
equation of the female with evil, familiar from all patriarchal cultures, was
also an unavoidable fact for the historical Buddha. In a famous key dramatic
scene, the “daughters of Mara” try to tempt him with all manner of ingenious
fleshly lures. Woman and her erotic love — the anecdote would teach us —
prevent spiritual fulfillment. Archetypally, Mara corresponds to the devil
incarnate of Euro-Christian mythology, and his female offspring are lecherous
witches. But Shakyamuni remained deaf to their obscene talk and was not
impressed by their lascivious gestures. He pretended to see through the beauty
of the devil’s daughters as flimsy appearance by roaring at them like a lion, “This [your] body is a swamp of garbage, an
infectious heap of impurities. How can anybody take pleasure in such wandering
latrines?” (quoted by Faure,
1994, p. 29).
During
his lifetime, the historical Buddha was plagued by a chronic misogyny; of this,
in the face of numerous documents, there cannot be slightest doubt. His
woman-scorning sayings are disrespectful, caustic and wounding. “One would sooner chat with demons and
murderers with drawn swords, sooner touch poisonous snakes even when their bite
is deadly, than chat with a woman alone”
(quoted by Bellinger, 1993, p. 246), he preached to his disciples, or even more
aggressively, “It were
better, simpleton, that your sex enter the mouth of a poisonous snake than that
it enter a woman. It were better, simpleton, that your sex enter an oven than
that it enter a woman” (quoted by Faure, 1994,
p. 72). Enlightenment and intimate contact with a woman were not compatible for
the Buddha. “But the
danger of the shark, ye monks, is a characteristic of woman”, he warned his followers (quoted by Hermann-Pfand,
1992, p. 51). At another point, with abhorrence he composed the following:
Those
[who] are not wise
Act
like animals
Racing
toward female forms
Like
hogs toward mud
……………….
Because
of their ignorance
They
are bewildered by women, who
Like
profit seekers in the marketplace
Deceive
those who come near
(quoted
by D. Paul, 1985, p. 9)
Buddha’s
favorite disciple, Ananda, more than once tried to put to his Teacher the
explicit desire by women for their own spiritual experience, but the Master’s
answers were mostly negative. Ananda was much confused by this refractoriness,
indeed it contradicted the stated view of his Master that all forms of life,
even insects, could achieve Buddhahood. “Lord, how should we behave towards
women?”, he asked the Sublimity — “Not look at them!” — “But what if we must
look at them?” — “Not speak to them” — “But what if we must speak to them?” —
“Keep wide awake!” (quoted by Stevens, 1990, p. 45)
…
The
meditative dismemberment of woman: Hinayana Buddhism:
At
the center of Theravada, or Hinayana, Buddhism — in which Shakyamuni’s
teachings are preserved and only negligibly further developed following his
death — stands the enlightenment of the individual, and, connected to this, his
deliberate retreat from the real world. The religious hero of the Hinayana is
the “holy man” or Arhat. Only he who has overcome his individual — and thus
inferior — ego, and, after successfully traversing an initiation path rich in exercises, achieves Buddhahood,
i.e., freedom from all illusion, may call himself an Arhat. He then enters a
higher state of consciousness, which the Buddhists call nirvana (not-being). In
order to reach this final stage, a Hinayana monk concerns himself exclusively
with his inner spiritual perfection and seeks no contact to any kind of public.
The
Hinayana believers’ general fear of contact is both confirmed and extended by
their fear of and flight from the feminine. Completely in accord with the
Master, for the followers of Hinayana the profane and illusionary world
(samsara) was identical with the female universe and the network of Maya. In
all her forms — from the virgin to the mother to the prostitute and the ugly
crone — woman stood in the way of the spiritual development of the monk. Upon
entering the sangha (Buddhist order) a novice had to abandon his wife and
children, just as the founder of the order himself had once done. Marriage was
seen as a constant threat to the necessary celibacy. It was feared as a
powerful competitor which withheld men from the order, and which weakened it as
a whole.
Taking
Buddha’s Mara experience as their starting point, his successors were
constantly challenged by the dark power and appeal of woman. The literature of
this period is filled with countless tales of seductions in which the monks
either bravely withstood sexual temptations or suffered terribly for their
errant behavior, and the victory of chastity over sexuality became a permanent
topic of religious discussion. “Meditational formulae for alleviating lustful
thoughts were prescribed”, writes Diana Paul, the American religious scholar,
“The cathartic release of meditative ecstasy rivaled that of an orgasm [...]
The image of woman had gradually developed as the antithesis of religion and
morality.” (D. Paul, 1985, p. 8) The Buddha had already said of the
“archetypal” holy man of this period, the ascetic Arhat, that “sexual passion
can no more cling to an Arhat than water to a lotus leaf” (quoted by Stevens,
1990, p. 46).
In early
Buddhism, as in medieval Christian culture, the human body as such, but in
particular the female body, was despised as a dirty and inferior thing, as
something highly imperfect, that was only superficially beautiful and
attractive. In order to meditate upon the transience of all being, the monks,
in a widespread exercise, imagined a naked woman. This so-called “analytic
meditation” began with a “perfect” and beautiful body, and transformed this
step by step into an old, diseased, and dying one, to end the exercise by
picturing a rotting and stinking corpse. The female body, as the absolute
Other, was meditatively murdered and dismembered as a symbol of the despised
world of the senses. Sexual fascination and the irritations of murderous
violence are produced by such monastic practices. We return later to historical
examples in which monks carried out the dismemberment of women’s bodies in
reality.
There
are startling examples in the literature which show how women
self-destructively internalized this denigration of their own bodies. “The
female novice should hate her impure body like a jail in which she is
imprisoned, like a cesspool into which she has fallen”, demands an abbess of
young nuns. (Faure, 1994, p. 29) Only in as far as they rendered their body and
sexuality despicable, and openly professed their inferiority, could women gain
a position within the early Buddhist community at all.
In
the Vinaya Pitaka, the great book of rules of the order, which is valid for all
the phases of Buddhism, we find eight special regulations for nuns. One of
these prescribes that they have to bow before even the lowliest and youngest of
monks. This applies even to the honorable and aged head of a respected convent.
Only with the greatest difficulty could the Buddha be persuaded to ordinate
women. He was convinced that this would cause his doctrine irreparable damage
and that it would thus disappear from
But
even after granting his approval the Buddha remained skeptical: “To go forth
from home under the rule of the Dharma as announced by me is not suitable by
women. There should be no ordination or nunhood. And why? If women go forth
from the Household life, then the rule of Dharma will not be maintained over a
long period.” (quoted by D. Paul, 1985, p. 78). This reproach, that a nun would
neglect her family life, appears downright absurd within the Buddhist value
system, since for a man it was precisely his highest duty to leave his family,
house and home for religious reasons.
Because
of the countless religious and social prejudices, the orders of nuns were never
able to fully flourish in Buddhist culture, remained few in number, and to the
present day play a completely subordinate role within the power structures of
the androcentric monastic orders (sangha) of all schools.
The transformation of
women into men: Mahayana Buddhism:
…
“Everything
is empty” (Madhyamika school) or “everything is consciousness” (Yogachara
school) are the two basic maxims of cognitive theory as taught in Mahayana.
…
Many
radical theses of Mahayana Buddhism (for example, the dogma of the “emptiness
of all being”) lead to unsolvable contradictions in the gender question. In principle, the Dharma (the teachings) say
that a perfect being is free from every desire and therefore needs to be
asexual. This requirement, with which the
insignificance of gender at higher spiritual levels is meant to be emphasized,
however, contradicts the other orthodox rule that only men have earned
enlightenment. Such dissonant elements are then taken advantage of by women.
There are several extremely clever dialogs in which female Buddhists
conclusively annul their female inferiority with arguments which are included
within the Buddhist doctrine itself. For example, in the presence of Buddha
Shakyamuni the girl Candrottara explains that a sex change from female to male
makes no sense from the standpoint of the “emptiness of all appearances” taught
in the Mahayana and is therefore superfluous. Whether man or woman is also
irrelevant for the path to enlightenment as it is described in the Diamond
Sutra.
The asexuality of Mahayana Buddhism has further led to a religious
glorification of the image of the mother. This
is indeed a most astonishing development, and is not compatible with earlier
fundamentals of the doctrine, since the mother is despised as the cause of
rebirth just as much as the young woman as the cause of sexual seduction. An
apotheosis of the motherly was therefore possible only after the monks had
“liberated” the mother archetype from its “natural” attributes such as
conception and birth. The “Great Mothers” of Mahayana Buddhism, like
Prajnaparamita for instance, are transcendental beings who have never soiled
themselves through contact with base nature (sexuality and childbearing).
They
have only their warmth, their protective role, their unconditional readiness to
help and their boundless love in common with earthly mothers. These
transcendental mothers of the Mahayana are indeed powerful heavenly matrons,
but the more powerful they are experienced to be, the more they dissolve into
the purely allegorical. They represent “perfect wisdom”, the “mother of
emptiness”, “transcendent love”. When, however, the genesis of these symbolic
female figures is examined (as is done at length in our analysis of Vajrayana
Buddhism), then they all prove to be the imaginary products of a superior male
Buddha being.
In
closing this chapter we would like to mention a phenomenon which occurred much more frequently than one would like to
accept in Mahayana: “compassionate
copulation”. Sexual intercourse between celibate monks and female beings was
actually allowed in exceptional circumstances: if it was performed out of
compassion for the woman to be slept with. There could even be a moral
imperative to sleep with a woman: “If a woman falls violently in love with a Bodhisattva and is about to
sacrifice her life for him, it is his duty to save her life by satisfying all
her desires” (Stevens, 1990, p.
56). At least some monks
probably took much pleasure in complying with this commandment.
In
Western centers of modern Buddhism too, irrespective of whether Zen or Lamaist
exercises are practiced, it is not
uncommon for the masters to sleep with their female pupils in order to
“spiritually” assist them (Boucher, 1985, p.
239). But it is mostly a more intimate affair than in the case of the
present-day Asian guru who boasted to an American interviewer, “I have slept
with a thousand women. One of them had a hump. I gave her my love, and she has
become a happy person. ... I am a ‘Buddhist scouring pad’. A scouring pad is
something which gets itself dirty but at the same time cleans everything it
touches” (Faure, 1994, p. 92).
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Cross Reference
…Mohini says to Brahma, ‘Whether a man be a householder or ascetic or lover, he must not abandon a woman who comes to him or he will go to hell.’ (Similarly, a demon disguised as Siva tries to seduce Parvati, saying, ‘Women who deny sexual intercourse to a man racked with pain are certain to fall into hell.’)
(Reference: Sadhu Santideva. (Edited) (2000) Ascetic Mysticism: Puranic Records
of Shiva and Shakti.
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Tantric Buddhism
http://www.american-buddha.com/tantric.bud.htm#TANTRIC%20BUDDHISM
The
tantras describe erotic performances without the slightest timidity or shame.
Technical instructions in the dry style of sex manuals can be found in them,
but also ecstatic prayers and poems in which the tantric master celebrates the
erotic love of man and woman. Sometimes this tantric literature displays an
innocent joie de vivre. The instructions which the tantric Anangavajra offers
for the performance of sacred love practices are direct and poetic: “Soon after
he has embraced his partner and introduced his member into her vulva, he drinks
from her lips which are dripping with milk, brings her to coo tenderly, enjoys
rich pleasure and lets her thighs tremble.” (Bharati, 1977, p. 172)
…
It is
thus impossible to avoid the impression that the “hotter” the sex gets the more
effective the tantric ritual becomes. Even the most spicy obscenities are not
omitted from these sacred activities. In the Candamaharosana Tantra for
example, the lover swallows with joyous lust the washwater which drips from the
vagina and anus of the beloved and relishes without nausea her excrement, her
nasal mucus and the remains of her food which she has vomited onto the floor.
The complete spectrum of sexual deviance is present, even if in the form of the
rite. In one text the initiand calls out masochistically: “I am your slave in
all ways, keenly active in devotion to you. O Mother”, and the “goddess” —
often simulated by a prostitute — answers, “I am called your mistress!”
(George, 1974, pp. 67-68).
…
But
alongside such ribaldry we also find a cultivated, sensual refinement. An
example of this is furnished by the astonishingly up-to-date handbook of erotic
practices, the Treatise on Passion, from the pen of the Tibetan Lama Gedün
Chöpel (1895–1951), in which the “modern” tantric discusses the “64 arts of
love”. This Eastern Ars Erotica dates from the 1930s. The reader is offered
much useful knowledge about various, in part fantastic sexual positions, and
receives instruction on how to produce arousing sounds before and during the
sexual act. Further, the author provides a briefing on the various rhythms of coitus, on special
masturbation techniques for the stimulation of the penis and the clitoris, even
the use of dildos is discussed. The
Tibetan, Chöpel, does not in any way wish to be original, he explicitly makes
reference to the world’s most famous sex manual, the
Such permissive “books of love” from the tantric milieu are no longer — in our
enlightened era, where (at least in the West) all prudery has been superseded —
a spectacle which could cause great surprise or even protest. Nonetheless,
these texts have a higher
provocative potential than corresponding
“profane” works, in which descriptions of the same sexual techniques are
otherwise to be found. For they
were written by monks for monks, and read and practiced by monks, who in most
cases had to have taken a strict oath of celibacy.
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Cross Reference
Swami Krishnananda. (1994) A
Short History of Religious and Philosophic Thought in
http://www.swami-krishnananda.org/hist/history.pdf
The
Indian love-god or Cupid is called Kamadeva. Though he is identified with the
Kama that is mentioned in the Nasadiya-Sukta of the Rig-Veda and thus is a kind
of self-born being, it is evident that the Kama of this Sukta is an epithet of
the cosmic creative Will and cannot be identified with the Kamadeva of the
Epics and Puranas.
(Reference: Swami Krishnananda. (1994) A Short History of
Religious and Philosophic Thought in India. Sivananda Ashram,
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For
this reason the tantric Ars Erotica even today awake a great curiosity and
throw up numerous questions. Are the ascetic basic rules of Buddhism really
suspended in Vajrayana? Is the traditional disrespect for women finally
surmounted thanks to such texts? Does the eternal misogyny and the denial of
the world make way for an Epicurean regard for sensuality and an affirmation of
the world? Are the followers of the “Diamond Path” really concerned with
sensual love and mystical partnership or does erotic love serve the pursuit of
a goal external to it? And what is this goal? What happens to the women after
the ritual sexual act?
…
The
“holy marriage” suspends the duality of the world and transforms it into a
“work of art” of the creative polarity. The resources of our discursive
language are insufficient to let us express in words the mystical fusion of the
two sexes. Thus the “nameless” rapture can only be described in words which say
what it is not: in the yuganaddha, “there is neither affirmation nor denial,
neither existence nor non-existence, neither non-remembering nor remembering,
neither affection nor non-affection, neither the cause nor the effect, neither
the production nor the produced, neither purity nor impurity, neither anything
with form, nor anything without form; it is but the synthesis of all dualities”
(Dasgupta, 1974, p. 114).
Once
the dualism has been overcome, the distinction between self and other becomes
irrelevant. Thus, when man
and woman encounter one another as primal forces, “egoness [is] lost, and the
two polar opposites fuse into a state of intimate and blissful oneness” (Walker, 1982, p. 67). The tantric Adyayavajra described this
process of the overcoming of the self as the “highest spontaneous common
feature” (Gäng, 1988, p. 85).
…
Divine
erotic love thus leads to enlightenment and salvation. But it is not just the two
partners who experience redemption, rather, as the tantras tell us, all of
humanity is liberated through mystical sexual love. In the Hevajra-Tantra, when
the goddess Nairatmya, deeply moved by the misery of all living creatures, asks
her heavenly spouse to reveal the secret of how human suffering can be put to
an end, the latter is very touched by her request. He kisses her, caresses her,
and, whilst in union with her, he instructs her about the sexual magic yoga
practices through which all suffering creatures can be liberated (Dasgupta,
1974, p. 118). This
“redemption via erotic love” is a distinctive characteristic of Tantrism and
only very seldom to be found in other religions.
…
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Reference
Buddhist Philosophy, Centre for Tibetan Studies Courses
http://www.tibet.net/ltwa/eng/courses/
Discipline, Patience, Effort and Concentration
Text: Chandrakirti’s Supplement to the “Root Wisdom” (Madhyamakavatara, dBu ma ’jug pa) Chapter 2, 3, 4 & 5
Discipline is an act of voluntary abstinence from negative actions and thoughts for fear of their negative consequences. Patience, as Acharya Chandrakirti explains, is not merely confined to the act of forbearing external anger and hostility, but also includes a willingness to endure all the obstacles we encounter along our spiritual journey to enlightenment. Effort is an unfailing enthusiasm towards cultivating whatever is virtuous. And concentration is the single-pointed placement of the mind on an object of virtue in order to gain a non-distracted, non-conceptual penetrative insight into phenomena’s ultimate mode of existence.
Chandrakirti explains how in the “Immaculate,” “Luminous,” “Radiant” and “Difficult to Overcome,” the second, third, fourth and fifth Bodhisattva levels, one surpasses the transcendental perfection of discipline, patience, effort and concentration.
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Reference
Centre for Tibetan Studies
http://www.tibet.net/ltwa/eng/cts/
Thangka painting is one of the most important aspects of traditional Tibetan culture. It is regarded as a reflection of the life and imagination of the Tibetan mind. The education of a thangka painter goes far beyond mere painting techniques. Iconography, Tibetan philosophy, and art history are all aspects of the training.
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Reference
gTérchen Karma Rinpoche
http://www.aroter.org/images/nyingma/taksham_nuden_dorje.htm
At the age of twenty five he went into solitary retreat for thirteen years. During this period of complete seclusion he completely realised all the lineages of teaching he had received. During that time he received direct visions of Padmasambhava and it was from that point that his life as a gTértön began. He discovered numerous sa gTérs - 'earth gTérmas' - sacred objects hidden by Padmasambhava and Yeshé Tsogyel in Tibet in order to be discovered in future times by those they predicted to be gTértöns. He has since discovered thirteen immense volumes of teachings - including numerous empowerment texts, treatise on Chagya chenpo and Dzogchen, and an entire medical gTérma.
In
present day
…
In his day Taksham Nuden Dorje,
which means 'Powerful Tiger-skirted Vajra',
was regarded as a zhig-po - a wisdom-eccentric or enlightened
madman. He was born in the Lhorong
(Reference:
gTérchen
Karma Rinpoche.)
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Reference
Kyabjé Dudjom Rinpoche
http://www.aroter.org/images/r_teachers/dudjomr.htm
In this photograph he wears his hair in the Phodka Ling-ngé (phod ka ling nge) - yogic 'flowing hair' style. He wears the robes of an ordained ngak'phang practitioner of the gö-kar chang-lo'i dé (gos dKar lCang lo'i sDe) the 'white sangha' of vajrayana practitioners.
(Reference:
Kyabjé Dudjom
Rinpoche.)
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Reference.
(Complete article)
Oracles and Politics Influences in Tibetan Exile
http://www.tibet-internal.com/info2e.html
Influences
in Tibetan Exile
At the age of 16, His Holiness
the Dalai Lama became responsible for the politics of a
In
old
Gyalo
Dondrub, the Dalai Lama's elder brother, used the new situation in exile
to gain more influence than had previously been possible for him. Phala, Surkhang and Yuthog, experienced nobles from the
old Tibet, achieved great benefit for the Tibetan people in exile. They,
however, stood in the way of Gyalo Dondrub's striving for increased power. In
the mid 60's, the Dalai Lama's brother succeeded in setting public opinion
against Surkhang and Yuthog, who were thus forced to leave
Oracles
and Deities
Another
person who sought influence in exile was the Tibetan state oracle. The flight from
Tibetan Buddhism recognizes
various types of deities. Supramundane deities are
aspects of Buddha who generally cannot be contacted directly. Worldly deities are beings invisible to humans, yet
nevertheless have a close connection with this world and with the fate of
mankind. Some of these help humans; others hurt them. Their perceptive
faculties regarding past, present and future are higher than those of ordinary
humans. By means of oracles, such deities can be contacted.
An
oracle is a human being whose body can be used by a supramundane being
appearing in the aspect of a worldly deity, or by a worldly deity. The deity
puts the mind of the human into an unconscious state and then uses the body of
this human to provide consultation. One can imagine the great benefit
humans can derive from such a deity if the deity is
a powerful being in complete control of the oracle's body, and is a being with
perfect perception of situations and developments and solely driven by the
desire to help humans to achieve a wholesome life. If the deity is less powerful and the mind of the oracle
remains active during consultation, then it is uncertain who speaks: it may be
the deity, but it may also be the ordinary human being. Moreover, if the deity
or still active oracle is motivated by selfishness, then its responses will
hardly be of use to humans and can be the source of tremendous disturbance to a
society.
In
Dorje
Shugden is considered the incarnation of the Master Dragpa Gyaltsen, who
appears in the form of a worldly deity. Dragpa
Gyaltsen and the 5th Dalai Lama were masters of similar rank at
Drepung Monastery, although Master Dragpa Gyaltsen enjoyed far greater
popularity and renown than the 5th Dalai Lama. The chief
minister of the 5th Dalai Lama is said to have murdered Dragpa
Gyaltsen in 1656 out
of jealousy, unable to accept a possible rival to his own protégé.
Master Dragpa Gyaltsen took rebirth in the form of
the deity Dorje Shugden with the purpose of protecting the teachings of Buddha
in general, and in particular the teachings of
Master Je Tsongkhapa.
There
exist several oracles of Dorje Shugden. Through his oracle of Panglung
Monastery, Dorje Shugden gave precise instructions
for the escape of the Dalai Lama in 1959. Panglung Rinpoche, the head
lama of Panglung Monastery, is now a teacher at the University of Munich, and the oracle of Panglung now lives in
Oracles
in the Exile Government
In the 70's, the state oracle
gained increasing influence over the decisions of the Dalai Lama. Repeated
prophecies were made that
The state oracle blames its failures on Dorje Shugden: "Everything would have occurred as I predicted if Dorje Shugden had not prevented it." These statements seem to be taken seriously by the exile government and this may be the actual source of such phrases as, "The worship of Dorje Shugden damages Tibetan matters."
Oracles have played a role in
Tibetan history for a long time. Their influence,
however, has never been as dominant as now in Dharamsala.
Those
Surrounding His Holiness the Dalai Lama
In recent years three further
oracles have joined the state oracle. In addition to Gyalo Dondrub, the narrow
circle around the Dalai Lama seems to consist of more and more people
attempting to use the Dalai Lama merely for their own selfish purposes. This
development has been noticed with great concern within the Tibetan community.
On
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Reference
http://www.tibetankungfu.com/potala_palace_kung-fu.htm
The Tibetan monastic system
supported a staggering number of monks. Surveys show that there were 97,528
monks in
(Reference: Potala Palace
Kung-Fu.)
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Reference
Tsogyelgar Lamas
http://www.aroter.org/flaming_jewel/tsogyelgar_lamas.htm
Padmasambhava
was a Mahasiddha whose enlightened powers were
beyond compare. As part of his teachings, he hid
spiritual treasures - terma - in the mindstreams of his primary 25 disciples. These treasures, like time-released capsules,
reveal themselves when the time and place are most suited for the sublime teachings
of the Inner Tantras.
(Reference: Tsogyelgar
Lamas.)
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Reference
Buddhist Universities
http://www.nibbana.com/budhuniv.htm
The
URL: http://web.ukonline.co.uk/buddhism/stacdamy.htm
URL: http://www.sitagu.org/projects.html
Email:
[email protected]
Diploma
and Degree Programs
M.A. in Buddhist Studies
Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies
Admission
Policy
Admission to
Address
for more Information
Sagaing
Hills,
Mayangone
P.O. Yangon,
URL: http://web.ukonline.co.uk/buddhism/univsity.htm
Email: [email protected]
Mahasantisukha Buddhist Missionary Centre
Natchaung
Ward,
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/buddhism/mahasant.htm
World Buddhist Meditation Institute
5 Pan pin Kone,
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/buddhism/wbmi.htm
1 INR = 0.128486 MMK (Kyat) 1 MMK = 7.78297 INR Dated
3/50 F, Nyaya Marg, Chanakyapuri
New Delhi-110021
Tel: (+91-11) 688 9007
Fax: (+91-11) 688 9008
Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
http://www.namasthenri.com/embassies/m.html
Indian Address
Embassy of the
No.3 / 50F,
Nyaya Marg,
Chanakyapuri,
Phone : 6889007, 6889008
Telex : 31-72224 MEND IN
Fax : 6877942
Other Address
Embassy of
No.545-547,
Merchant Street,
Post Box No.751,
Phone : 00-95-1-282550 to 52, 282933
Telex : 21431 INDEMB BM
Fax : 00-95-1-89562
http://www.namasthenri.com/embassies/b.html
Indian Address
High Commission for the People's
Republic of
56, Ring Road,
Lajpat Nagar-III,
Phone : PABX 6834668, 6839209
Telex : 031-7528 DOOT IN
Fax : 91-11-6839237, 68405
Other Address
High Commission of
House No.120,
Road No.2,
Dhanmondi Residential Area,
Phone : 00-880-2-503606, 504166
Telex : 642336 HCIDA BJ
Fax : 00-88-02-863662
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Reference
Shwegyin Nikaya
http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/seasia/shwegyin.html
Shwegyin Nikaya
Doctrines
The
Shwegyin Nikaya is stricter than the Thudamma Nikaya. Schwegyin does not allow its members to smoke, to chew
betel nut, to consume drinks after the
History
The Shwegyin Nikaya derives its
name from the village of the abbot who founded the new order in the middle of
the 19th century. At this time
By the time of Mindon's death in
1878 the Shwegyin Nikaya had moved away from
Symbols
Mahamuni Buddha - image of Buddha as world conqueror.
Adherents
Shwegyin Nikaya has about 50,000 monks (Spiro 1982, 316).
Headquarters/Main
Centre
The monastery known as the Mahawithudarama Taik is the seat of the leader of the Shwegyin Nikaya.
(Reference: Shwegyin
Nikaya.)
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Mahawithudharama
Monastery, Pakokku, Magway Division
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Reference
Thuddama Nikaya
http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/seasia/thuddama.html
Thuddama Nikaya
Doctrines
The Thuddama Nikaya adheres to the basic tenets of Buddhist doctrine. It differs from the Shwegyin Nikaya in adopting a more pragmatic view of monastic discipline. This allows, for example, monks to become directly involved in national politics.
History
The Thuddama Nikaya derives its
name from the religious council (Thudamma) which was founded towards the end of
the 18th century by King Bodawpaya (r.
1782-1819). Bodawpaya was a reckless megalomaniac
king who provoked a number of border clashes with the British in
In
1852 the British took possession of western
Symbols
Temples, pagodas, images of the Buddha.
Adherents
Thuddama comprises about 85 to 90 per cent of the Burmese Sangha. (Spiro 1982, 316) It has about 250,000 ordained monks. (Harris et al. 1992, 351)
Headquarters/Main
Centre
Thuddamma centres are to be found throughout Burma
(Reference: Thuddama
Nikaya.)
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Reference
The shaman's tao: taoist breathing and meditation.
http://www.toltec.co.uk/aboutburgs.htm
The Teacher
Burgs has been taught and trained extensively over seven years by two of the greatest living meditation masters. After showing extraordinary promise, both of his teachers have devoted considerable care and attention in preparing him to teach these high levels of meditation in the west. Under the guidance of Venerable Pa Auk Sayadaw, he practised in his Forest Monastery of Southern Burma where he became the only westerner and lay person to complete both the entire Samatha and the Rupa and Nama Kamatthana: the detailed analysis of ultimate states of materiality and mentality.
Under the guidance of the famous Balinese meditation teacher and healer Merta Ada, he has been intensively trained for over eight years to become the first person qualified to teach and practice these techniques.
Not only does he have an exceptional ability
to establish beginners successfully on the path of meditation but he has helped
numerous yogis with considerable experience to overcome the many and varied
difficulties they face in their practice.
His success stems from his ability to follow
the progress of each individual's meditation and know exactly at what stage their practice is at and so when and how to
guide them forward. This particular
skill as a teacher is most rare and a precious gift to those determined to
attain.
In his capacity as a healer, he
uses the same abilities to identify the root causes of sickness in others.
Burgs demonstrates in healing the extraordinary
potential of undertaking meditation: that the harmonious mind can heal us, it
can heal others.
(Reference: The shaman's tao: taoist
breathing and meditation.)
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Reference
Sayadaw
U Acinna (known as
(Reference:
Sati Center for Buddhist Studies – Spring
2001.)
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Reference
Unfoldment. (
http://www.sasanarakkha.org/unfold/2002_11_01_unfold.shtml
Ven. Ariyadhamma Mahathera and
Dhammaramsi Thera from
(Reference: Unfoldment. (
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Reference
What is the better place for
becoming a monk -
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Triplegem/message/1309
From: "Deshappriya Jayasuriya" http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Triplegem/post?protectID=034176253185050213249218175219231253071179066034
Date:
Subject: Re: [Triplegem] Re: What
is the better place for becoming a monk -
It depends on which temple in
Maharagama Bhicshu Training
college which is linked to
school or Vajiraramaya in
Bambalapitiya.
But I am in US and I go to Burmese temple. Bhante Wimal can help you .
-----Original Message-----
Date:
Subject: [Triplegem] Re: What is
the better place for becoming a monk -
or
> --- In http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Triplegem/post?protectID=101212020115018198048038072248100208071048, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Triplegem/post?protectID=070064020165193209015158190036129 wrote:
> > Forwarded Message from a Russian Buddhist:
> >
> > Hello everybody!
> >
> > My name is Evgeny, I am
a young man (22 years old) from
> I
> > have recently graduated from the university of foreign languages
> and
> > now I am going to
> >
> > I have recently visited this excellent Burmese Buddhist site*,
> > have looked through and truly admired the pages about the
> educational
> > institutions and other things, and I have a question to anyone who
> > would be willing to
answer me: what is the difference between
> >
studying Buddhism and becoming a monk in
> >
> > Please respond me as soon as possible.
> >
> > Waiting for your advice,
> >
> > Best regards,
> >
> > Evgeny.
> >
> > * Nibbana.com ( <A HREF= http://www.nibbana.com/ TARGET="_new"><FONT
COLOR="BLUE"> http://www.nibbana.com/ </FONT></A> )
> ---------------------------------------------------
>
> (Here is the answer from a monk who practises, studies and
> propagates Buddhism in the West;
> <A HREF= http://www.nibbana.com/sasana07.htm TARGET="_new"><FONT
COLOR="BLUE"> http://www.nibbana.com/sasana07.htm </FONT></A> , Moderator)
>
> Dear Evgeny,
>
> I am a Burmese Buddhist monk working on contemporary of Buddhism in
>
>
> I would like to advise you to ordain in a
meditation tradition and
> then study Buddhism more after a few years of
meditation practice,
> say about two to three years of living under the
guidance of your
> preceptor. This is necessary.
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Cross-reference
The
http://www.suscopticdiocese.org/frames/magazine/holyfathers.html
The
History of Dorotheos of
……And whose life was one of spiritual excellence, and who had lived in a cave for sixty years. And he commanded me to live with him, and to lead a life of self-denial with him for a period of three years, so that the passions of the flesh might leave me. For the blessed Isidore knew that blessed old man, and he knew that his life was stern and severe, and he admonished me saying, "When thou hast completed this period of three years, return unto me for the remainder of the doctrine of spiritual knowledge." But I was unable to fulfill these three years with him, on account of a severe illness into which I fell, and so I departed from Dorotheos before the end of the period, and I returned to him that had brought me out, and entered his abode that I might learn the doctrine of the spirit.
…
And this blessed man Isidore, the overseer of the hospital in Alexandria, related unto me the story of Dorotheos, which is worthy of record, and he heard it from the blessed Anthony where he lived with him in the desert in the days of Emperor Maximinus, the prosecutor.
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>
> To ordain in a meditation
tradition, you need to choose between
> and
>
meditation centres are common feature only in these two countries.
>
> Pa-Auk Tawya in
> more but for a foreigner, this is a good place. Chan-Myay meditation
> centre, (eg. its branch in Hmaw-bi) is also very good. They are meant
> to train new monks.
>
> For
> is especially designed for foreign monks to live and meditate in a
> forest. The founder of this monastery is none other than the present
> abbot of Amaravati, Ajhan Sumedho, the American born senior bhikkhu
> and a famous meditation teacher.
>
> By joining the forest tradition or meditation
tradition, you will
> learn both vinaya, the monastic displines and meditation.
>
> Remember, it is essential to live with your preceptor for a few years.
>
> Well, my advice should be seen as a start, not a complete list of
> monasteries which can offer you the best training.
>
> For academic study of
> other two. I have lived in all of them.
>
> with metta,
>
> Venerable Dhammasami
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Reference
http://www.myanmars.net/newlightofmyanmar/2001/n011222.htm#INSTRUCTIONS%20FOR
INSTRUCTIONS FOR ADMISSION
EDUCATION REQUIREMENT
Foreign monks, nuns and laymen who apply for one-year Diploma course must have passed at least the Matriculation or equivalent. For the layman who is Myanmar citizen must have their first degree, B.A. or B.Sc. Myanmar monks and nuns who apply for Diploma course must not be younger than 18 and not older than 45. Age limit for students who apply for one-year Diploma course only will be given consideration. The Selection Board reserves the right to decide whether a particular applicant has met the requirements or not.
ENTRANCE EXAMINATION
Foreign candidates are required
to sit for the written examination at the Embassy of
VISA & OTHER EXPENSES
Once a foreign student is admitted to the Diploma course, the Ministry of Religious Affairs will take care of visa application and its extension. Tuition, boarding and messing for foreign students will be provided free by the University. Traveling expenses for joining the University will not be borne by the University.
For further information,
inquiries may kindly be made to the nearest
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1 INR = 0.128600 MMK (
Dated
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Additional
Reference (Key points only)
TTBT concludes six-month-long
teachers training. (
http://burmatoday.net/network_media/2003/11/031201_ttbt_nmg.htm
…
In the graduation ceremony, Dr
Thein Lwin, who got PhD from
…
(Reference:
TTBT
concludes six-month-long teachers training. (
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Reference
Border region development projects
benefit local national people in practice.
(
http://www.myanmar.com/nlm/enlm/may20_h1.html (De-activated
link)
They went to Naga Hnakaung Monastery in Tachilek
and paid homage to Naga Hnakaung Sayadaw Agga Maha Pandita Agga Maha Saddhamma
Jotikadhaja Bhaddanta Dhammasiri and donated provisions to the Sayadaw.
They inspected the construction of a
school building and progress in building a five-storey
(Reference: Border region development
projects benefit local national people in practice. (
http://www.myanmar.com/nlm/enlm/may20_h1.html (De-activated
link)
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Reference
Glick, Jeremy. (
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jgtrek/message/18
I live on the mountain top. It is really
beautiful. I have a bed, electricity and running water that is usually clear.
It's great.
At first I was a little nervous, I heard
that some people get very sick, including the Abbot Ven. Pa Auk Sayadaw. I'm
very happy to be here, and they are even building a hospital here so we can die
here too!
(Reference: Glick, Jeremy. (
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Reference
Thai police suspect
http://theburmanetnews.editthispage.com/stories/storyReader$884
Kyodo: Thai police suspect
MAE HONG SON,
Thai police said Wednesday they have put
more than 200 Buddhist monks from
Most of the monks belong to
Many of them are closely watched since
they often cross the border between the two countries, according to the chief
of a Mae Hong Son district police station, Col. Tinnapat Pumarin.
'Some monks are moving around the border
areas seeking to make friends with Thai military officers guarding the areas,'
he said.
The Thai Royal Police ordered all
stations in border areas to beef up their control of the movement of Buddhist monks from neighboring
Some 40
The Thai military estimated earlier that
hundreds of people from
Monks and fortune tellers are difficult
to control since some senior Thai officials and their wives are followers, Tinnapat said.
Sour relations between
(Reference: Thai
police suspect Myanmar monks of spying.
(
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Reference
Chaulia, Sreeram. (
http://burmatoday.net/mizzima2003/mizzima/2003/06/030624_flowerless_mizzima.htm
In 2001, Jaswant Singh, Vajpayee’s first
foreign minister, inaugurated the ‘
This year,
(Reference: Chaulia, Sreeram. (
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Reference
The Connected Traveller:
http://www.connectedtraveler.com/burma.html
Welcome to
…
Shwedagon Pagoda is covered in gold…an
exotic dance of sound and light. It was built to house eight of Buddha's hairs.
…
But, despite the calm, there are spies
about. We were warned keep our voices down in restaurants. A westerner who
works in
…
But monasteries are sane sanctuaries in a country that is otherwise filled with superstition and oddball spirits. SLORC generals said to seek guidance from astrologers.
And, rising out of the plain, is a mountain
with a fairytale palace perched on top inhabited by some rather bizarre
fairies. People make pilgrimages to
The King of Nats, Thagyamin, descends to
earth like Santa to find out who is naughty or nice. He records the names of
the nice in a gold-bound book and the naughty in one covered with dogskin. Nats
can bring you good luck or wreak misery. Every year thousands make pilgrimages
to
…
But, isolating yourself from a place and the
people you visit, whether it is through the windows of a posh ship or an air
conditioned tourbus, can be a pretty empty experience. You can't really go to a
place like
If you are thinking about going to
Make a careful decision. Lonely Planet
offers some sane advice: Don't go someplace unless "the people" want
you there.
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Reference
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/buddhism/mnstry~1.htm#India
Mo Lan
(Reference: Myanmar
Monasteries Abroad.)
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Reference
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/buddhism/missmonk.htm#gunavamsa
Sayadaw Bhaddanta Gunavamsa
of Mo Lan
Agga Maha Saddhamma Jotikadhaja
Age 70; Vasa 51
Born of Father U Ngwe Hmin and Mother Daw Aye Tin, Thazi Village near
Thaung Twing Kon town, Taungoo District, Pago Division on Monday the 6th waning
moon of Tazaungmoon M.E 1289 (A.D. 1927).
He was ordained on 15 waxing moon of
Tabodwe M.E 1308 (A.D 1946) with Sayadaw U Tayeinda of Sasanavepulla Monastery
at Padank Khin Village, Ok Twin Township, Pago Division as his Preceptor.
He received his education in Pariyatti from Sayadaw U Sasana of Ywa U
Monastery, Thazi village, Sayadaw U Tayeinde of Sasanavepulla Monastery, Nyaung
Lan Tawya Branch, Padauk Khin village, Ok Twin Township, and the Third Padana
Nayaka Sayadaw U Nayaka of Nyaung Lun Tawya Monastery. He passed Dhammacariya
Examination.
He was an assistant lecturer of Pariyatti at Nyaung Lun Tawya Monastery.
In 1953, the Government of the
The Government of the
(Reference: Myanmar Missionary Monks
Abroad.)
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Reference
Country Facts
http://private.addcom.de/asiaphoto/burma/burmafacts.htm
History
Sometime in the first few
centuries before Christ, a people called the
It was Nicoto di Conti, a
Venetian, who was the first European to encounter
The British granted independence
to
People & Culture
Ethnically diverse,
(Reference:
Country Facts
Burma.)
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http://www.assamtourism.org/regions.htm
(Reference:
Assam Tourism – Places of
Interest.)
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Reference
Ko,
Taw Sein. (1883-1913)
The Introduction of Buddhism into
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/buddhism/tawsein5.htm
The Burmese alphabet is almost the same as the Talaing*, and the circular form of both strongly indicates the influence of the Singalese, or the Tamulic type of letter."— Fytche's Burma Past and Present, Vol. II, page 171.
*
('Mon' is the preferred word, nowadays, Editor, Nibbana.com)
…
If, before the foundation of
Pagan in the second century A. D., Buddhism prevailed at Prome, it appears to
have been of the Southern School, which was probably corrupted, later on, by
the tenets of the Northern School as well as by Saivaism and Vaishnavaism.
Burmese history relates that,. on the accession of Thaiktaing, the 13th
King of Pagan, who began his reign in 513 A.D., the
Naga-worship, with the Aris as its priests, arose at Pagan. It lasted
for over five centuries, till it was finally suppressed by Anawrata. There is
not much information available about the Aris or the system of faith taught by
them. About the same period, i.e., 6th century A. D., in Northern
India, Buddhism had lost its vigour of expansion,**
and Indian Buddhists had migrated to China and
neighbouring countries. Buddhism itself had been corrupted by the
Tantric system, which is a mixture of magic, witchcraft and Siva-worship; and
this Tantric Buddhism apparently percolated into
The immorality of the Aris finds a
parallel among the Lamas of
The priests of the Bhutias and Lepchas of the present day also appear to reflect the 'Aris' of Pagan in some degree and the following is Dalton's account of them ;—
"The Ghylongs, Lamas or priests, form a very large proportion of the Bhutia population. Admission to the priest hood is obtained by permission of the Deb (King), on payment of a fee. In addition to the religious duties, the Lamas are charged with the medical care of the people; but, as exorcism is the only system of treatment attempted, assurance in the practitioner, and faith in the patient, are all that is needed. The Lamas have been estimated at 1,500 to 2,000. They live in monasteries, the chief of which is the headquarters of the Government. In knowledge of the mysteries of the Buddhist religion, and in the literature of their country, they are very inferior to the Kampti Bapus or Phungis."***
** At page 437 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Ninth edition,
Vol. 4, Professor Rhys Davids says: "Buddhism began to decay soon after
the commencement of the Christian Era. In 400 A. D., when Fa Hian visited
***
…
The sacred language of Buddhism,
whether of the Northern or Tantric school, was Sanskrit, and not Pali.
Inscriptions of the eleventh and twelfth centuries have been found at Pagan,
whose paleographical development is clearly traceable to the Indo-Pali alphabet
of Kanishka (vide Cunningham's Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, Plate XXVII). This
Scythian king, who convened the Fourth Buddhist Council in Kashmir in the first
century of the Christian era, had the Tripitaka arranged in Sanskrit, and did
for the Northern School what Asoka had done for the Southern. Further,
terra-cotta tablets bearing Sanskrit legends have been found at Pagan and
Tagaung; and Professors Fawsboll and Trenckner have noticed the marked
preference shewn for the Sanskritic form of certain words in the Buddhist books
of
(i) that the form of Buddhism first
introduced into
(ii) that the Buddhist Scriptures when
first introduced were written in Sanskrit, which is the language of the
(iii) that the Southern school or Hinayana, the language of whose Scriptures is Pali, subsequently absorbed and assimilated, by its stronger vitality, the Northern School, which, through intermingling with the Tantric doctrine of Assam and with the Bon religion (Jaschke's Tibetan-English Dictionary, page 372, Waddell's Buddhism of Tibet, pages, 19, 41, 55) or Shamanism of Tibet, had fallen into corruption and decay.
…
A monastery is called a 'Vihara' in Pali, and 'Kyaung'
in Burmese, the form used in Tavoy being 'Klong'. In Mandarin, the
corresponding word is 'Kung', the form used in
…
At Pagan, the primitive system of faith was the Bon religion with its animistic worship and devil-dancing. The Burmese Pantheon of the 37 Nats, whose images are in the Shwezigon Pagoda at Pagan, only dates from the reign of Thinligyaung (344-387 A.D.) The Bon religion was superseded by the Mahayana School with its Sanskrit Scriptures, which, in its turn, had to give way, in the sixth century A. D. to the Tantric system with its immoral professors, the Aris and the form of Naga-worship. It was not till the 11th century A.D., that the Hinayana doctrine of the Southern School was introduced from Thaton. Possibly, there was also an admixture. of Jainism, Saivaism and Vaishnavaism. Vaishnava temples have been discovered at Pagan, and traces of the Siva cult have been found at Prome and in Arakan.
The stratification of these various
systems of faith can only be elucidated by the exploration of ancient ruins in
In studying the Burmese form of
Buddhism, we have hither to been accumstomed to look only to
…
Reference has been made above to
the division of Buddhism into two great branches: the Northern and Southern
Schools. China, Nipal, Bhutan, Tibet, Mongolia, Corea, Japan, and Cochin China
belong to the Northern, while Ceylon, Burma, and
…
A history of Buddhism in
(Reference:
Ko, Taw Sein.
(1883-1913) The Introduction of
Buddhism into Burma.)
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Reference
Monks under
curfew for violence. (
http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_1439305,00.html
Monks under curfew for violence
Yangon - Myanmar's monks have been ordered to observe a curfew and monasteries and mosques are under surveillance after violence between Buddhists and Muslims left a dozen people dead, officials and witnesses said on Sunday.
The unrest broke out in the
central town of
Eyewitness reports obtained by AFP said the trouble began in Kyaukse during mid-October festivals to mark the Buddhist Lent, including competitions and festivities centred on Buddhist monasteries.
After a minor dispute over one of the competitions a stone was thrown into a monastery compound, sparking anger among the monks who wrongly believed the occupants of a nearby mosque were responsible.
Several Muslims were injured in the ensuing rampage, while others fearing for their lives were taken into the homes of their Buddhist neighbours for protection, the witnesses said.
Despite the resolution of that
conflict, exaggerated rumours of the trouble spread
to politically active monks in
The
ruling junta, which is ever fearful of public unrest that could flare into
protests against the regime, took swift
action against the
Buddhist clergy which have been involved in political rebellion in the past.
Buddhism's ruling body, the Sangha, issued a notification banning all monks from leaving their monasteries between 19:00 and 04:00, a township-level official told AFP.
"We have also summoned Muslim
leaders and trustees of all the mosques in
Eyewitnesses said monks seen patronising tea-shops after dark were
rounded up by security personnel in the satellite town of
In
Security officials were also
monitoring mosques and monasteries and any monks
seen travelling in and out of towns and cities were watched closely.
(Reference:
Monks
under curfew for violence. (
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Reference
Linn, Zin. (
http://burmatoday.net/burmatoday2003/2003/12/031204_zinlinn.htm
ASIAN TRIBUNE: http://www.asiantribune.com/show_news.php?id=8195
Date : 2003-12-06
By Zin Linn
Much to everybody's shock and
consternation, the Burmese military regime has again condemned, this time a
Buddhist abbot. The military court in
Earlier, in mid-October,
religious unrest broke out in Kyauk-se, a town in central
According to reports, the religious unrest broke out with a minor dispute, as someone threw a stone into a Buddhist monastery compound and it sparked the anger of the Buddhist monks, who mistakenly believed that the occupants of a nearby mosque were responsible for the alleged stone throw.
Subsequently, number of Muslims were attacked and injured in the religious riot that ensued, while others fearing for their lives sought shelter in the homes of the neighbouring Buddhist families.
According to local populace, many
Buddhist monks in
Following the untoward incidences, Buddhist monks were ordered to observe curfew and monasteries and mosques came under surveillance of the state officials, witnesses said.
The ruling junta took swift
action against the Buddhist clergies before public unrest broke out,
anticipating that the riot could have been termed as protests against the
regime. However, people suspected that that the
religious riot was a state orchestrated one.
The Sangha Mahanayaka (Chief
Buddhist Prelate) or Buddhist monks’ administrative body issued an instruction,
banning all monks not to leave monasteries between
Security personnel also monitored mosques and monasteries and watched closely the activities of the monks.
During the religious unrest in October, the military intelligence services arrested at least 315 people including monks.
Moreover, according to confirmed reports, two monks and a dozen people were killed in the incident.
One abbot, the venerable Kyauk-thin-baw Sayadaw from Kyauk-se and his follower Pho Zaw were murdered at Letpanhla village on October 16. The two Buddhist monks were killed while on their way to Kyunhla village for religious purpose.
On October 19, eleven Muslim were also killed in the religious riot in Kyauk-se..
A monk was shot dead during a
demonstration in
Accordingly, in the religious unrest which rage the country in October, 14 lives were lost and the junta arrested over 300 people.
But
according to reliable sources, there are no major conflict between the Buddhist
and Muslim religious factions. In the past 40 year the country experienced time
and again religious and racial riots, and it was alleged that the military
dictators were the culprits, who from the backstage pulled strings in order to
derail public outrage against the political or economic crisis.
It's surprising that, out of 315
detainees, the Venerable Abbot U Cendhimar, who is the chief monk of the
Nyein-chan-ye (Peace) monastery in Kyauk-se, was put on trial in the
According to information, lawsuit
against the venerable prelate was filed on
The names of the 5 teenagers were
not known as yet. The military intelligence service
has threatened the respective officials of the judicial military court to be
secretive and not to divulge any information about the case and the
proceedings.
Sources inside
Several when contacted express dissatisfaction with the decision of the junta's special court to condemn with capital punishment the most Venerable U Cendhimar.
- Asian Tribune -
(Reference: Linn, Zin. (
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Reference
Revered
Monk Passes Away. (
http://burmatoday.net/irrawaddy/irrawaddy_e/2003/11/031201_sayardaw_ir.htm
Revered Monk Passes Away
The
Thamanya Sayadaw, formally known as Bhaddanta Vinaya, is highly respected among Burmese Buddhists. Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi visited his monastery to pay homage to him when she was released from her first and second periods of house arrest in 1995 and 2002.
The 93-year-old monk passed away
at
One
An obituary piece in the
state-run New Light of
The
area surrounding the Thamanya temple has been declared a "peace zone"
despite both anti-Rangoon Karen soldiers and Burmese military troops operating
in the area. Visitors to the area must also discard all non-vegetarian foods
before entering.
Thamanya Sayadaw also built schools and pagodas and provided maintenance for local roads with the money people donated to him.
Because
of the monk’s reputation, Thamanya mountain has for years welcomed visitors
from throughout
(Reference: Revered
Monk Passes Away. (
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Reference
Wimalasurendre, Cyril. (
http://www.island.lk/2003/11/10/news06.html
Monks arrested over robbery of Buddha statues
by Cyril Wimalasurendre
KANDY - After following the movements of two young monks from Pitigala in remote Udadumbara, a team of police personnel, led by SI R. M. R. G. Maddumabandara, OIC Kandy Division Vice Unit (KDVU), recovered two marble Buddha statues which had been reported lost from the ancient Pitigala Vihare and Janalankara Vihare of Daulagala in Udunuwara.
With the recovery of the two statues, police took into custody three monks and five laymen, in connection with the robbery of the artefacts.
A 17-year-old monk and two army deserters were among the eight suspects in custody, police said.
According to police, two young monks and four laymen were arrested in connection with the marble statue of the Buddha found buried in a land at Madugallewatte in Udadumbara.
The statue was reported lost from the ancient Vihare of Pitigala Dalada Gaman Vihare some time back.
The arrest of the suspects led to the recovery of a marble Buddha statue reported to have disappeared from Janalankara Vihare of Daulagala in Udunuwara recently.
The statue was recovered from a jewellery shop at Kiribathkumbura near Peradeniya. The jeweller and a monk were taken into custody following the recovery of the statue, police said. The two marble statues weighed at least 04 cwts.
The statue found at Pitigala in Udadum-bara was to be disposed of to bidders for Rs. 650,000. While the statue found at the jeweller of Kiribathkumbura was sold for Rs. 50,000, police said.
The suspects were produced before
the
Two monks and 4 laymen held in connection with the disappearance of the statue from Pitigala Vihare were remanded till Nov. 19, while the monk and the laymen alleged to have been responsible for the disappearance of the statue from Daulagala Vihare were remanded till Nov. 12.
The raid and investigations were conducted by SI Maddumabandara, SI Fonseka, PSs. Senarath, Bulathwatte, Navaratne, PCs. Dhammika, Wijesundera, Ratnapala, Bandara and Gamini.
(Reference: Wimalasurendre, Cyril. (
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Reference
A
place in the sun. (
http://origin.sundayobserver.lk/2002/08/25/fea12.html
A
place in the sun
Time
is beyond matter. Nevertheless it is a matter that concerns all of us. Whatever
'Time' is what matters is that we know how to use it and how to measure it. One
of the ways to measure time is to watch the movement of the sun, when it rises
and when it sets. Thus a day begins as the sun rises and the day ends as it
sets. A week begins on the day of the sun: Sunday.
The
Sinhalese have several words to refer to the sun. One of the oldest is
'su:rya', a word our ancestors brought from
'su:ry-ya'
(the sun)
'su:rya-yek'
(a sun)
'su:rya-yo:'
(suns)
An
animate nouns is used to denote the sun because the ancient Sinhalese believed
that the sun is a living being, a god, 'divya ra:jaya:' He was named 'su:rya
divya ra:jaya:' (the Sun God). Sinhalese
Buddhists also believe that the world will come to an end when seven suns rise. To refer to these seven suns the animate markers
'denek' and 'dena:' are used after the word for seven 'hat':
su:ryayo
hat denek (seven suns)
su:ryayo
hat dena: (the seven suns)
In
Pali writings, the sun is called 'suriya'. In the course of time, both 'su:rya'
and 'suriya' changed into 'hiru' and 'iru' and these are the words that occur
in contemporary Sinhala, both in speech and writing.
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The
Buddhist and
http://www.dbcc.or.kr/down4.html
The
Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka was founded by the government of the
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka based on the Act article 74 in 1981 and
was officially opened in April 1982. The chief purposes of the university
foundation are to stimulate the studies of Pali Buddhism both at home and
abroad and to provide conveniences for the researchers in relevant fields. In
the selection of students, no restrictions are imposed on sexes, races, status
and beliefs.
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Reference
Worldwide
Classroom: sri_lanka Schools
http://www.worldwide.edu/ci/sri_lanka/schools/10618.html
Buddhist
and
Attention:
Ven. Akuratiye Nanda
Address:
214 Bauddhaloka Mawatha
City:
Country:
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1 INR
= 2.06000 LKR (Sri Lanka Rupee) 1 LKR =
0.485436 INR (
Dated
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Reference
Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya:
Brief History of the College
http://www.dbcc.or.kr/down11.html
Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya
University was established in 1887, 114
years ago from the present, by King Chulalongkorn (RamaⅤ)
of
And, in the master and doctoral courses of the
graduate school, a great number of Buddhist monks and leaders from all over the
world are studying. The university
administered with a credit system have authorized
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1 INR
= 0.896165 THB (Thai Baht) 1 THB =
1.11587 INR (
Dated
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Reference
Monks
in
http://www.siam.net/thailand-travel-guide/monks.html
The
Sangha is divided into two sects : the Mahanikai (Great Society) and the
Thammayut (from the Pali dhammayutika or 'dharma-adhering). The latter is a minority sect (the ratio being one Thammayut to 35 Mahanikai)
begun by King Mongkut and patterned
after an early Mon form of monastic discipline
which he had practiced as a monk ('bhikkhu'). Members of both sects must adhere
to 227 monastic vows or precepts as laid out in the Vinya Pitaka - Buddhist
scriptures dealing with monastic discipline. Overall discipline for Thammayut monks, however, is generally stricter.
For example, they eat only once a day - before
(Reference: Monks in Thailand.)
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Reference
http://www.1upinfo.com/country-guide-study/thailand/thailand70.html
The motivation for monkhood of such short duration is complex, but even the temporary status, for those who are unable or unwilling to commit themselves to the discipline for life, brings merit, not only to the monk but also to his parents, particularly to his mother. (Some Buddhist women live as nuns, but they enjoy lower status than monks do.) Whether temporary or permanent, a monk in principle is subject to the 227 rules of conduct embodied in that portion (basket) of the Tipitaka devoted to the sangha.
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Reference
http://www.dongguk.edu/english/
Contact Address:
26, 3-ga, Pil-dong,
Chung-gu,
Phone: 82-2-2260-3114
Fax: 82-2-2277-1274
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Reference
http://test.dongguk.edu/english/gs/graduate_school.htm
Name of
Department Master's Program Doctor's Program
Buddhist Studies O O
Seon
(Zen) Studies O O
Indian Philosophy O O
Korean Language &
Literature O O
Area
Human and Social
Science
Business
and
The Research Institute
of Korean Buddhist Culture & Thought Education
Selected
(relevant) Department
Buddhist Studies
Advantage
Scholarship to be given
through selecting procedures by department
For more detailed
information, contact the graduate school academic affairs on the
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Reference
http://test.dongguk.edu/english/college/culture.htm
A
hall of learning, the
The Major of Buddhist Studies
The
Major of Buddhist Studies is divided into three areas- Buddhist thoughts, history of Buddhism, and applied
Buddhism. The area of Buddhist
thoughts researches creeds and philosophical thoughts of various denominations
covering fundamental Buddhism to Mahayanist Buddhism. The area of history of
Buddhism studies development of history of Buddhism studies development of
Buddhism in
The Major of Seon Studies
The
Major of Seon Studies investigates history and thoughts of Seon Buddhism
critically, reviews the history of the formation and ideas of Seon Buddhism,
and obtains the spirit and methods of practicing Seon Buddhism. Further, it researches and reviews from several
viewpoints the true nature of Seon Buddhism as the religion of life,
self-consciousness, and wisdom. By applying thoughts
of Seon Buddhism to the present and the future, it seeks to accomplish dignity
and trust for each individual, and then, to contribute to the peace and
well-being of mankind.
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Reference
http://www.dongguk.edu/english/college/studies.htm
The
…
Major of Seon Studies
Seon
Studies is the science of practicing Buddhist doctrines, awakening self-nature,
and developing humanity.
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Reference
Foreign Students
http://www.dongguk.edu/english/student/foreign_students.htm
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Reference
Korean Language Programs
http://www.dongguk.edu/english/student/kor_program.htm
Dongguk Korean Language Programs are carefully designed to give you the best possible learning and living experiences.
Korean Intensive Program (10 weeks)
For students who want to prepare for academic work in a Korean university or college or who want to improve their Korean for business or personal reasons.
Schedules Term Deadline for Registration Term Period Tuition and Fees
Spring 2003. 02. 25 2003. 03. 24 - 06. 03 Ш900,000
(Textbook and Fieldtrip
are not included)
Summer 2003. 06. 03 2003. 06. 30 - 09. 05
Fall 2003. 09. 05 2003. 09. 29 - 12. 08
Winter 2003. 12. 08 2004. 01. 05 - 03. 19
* Monday, Tuesday, Thursday,
Friday,
For more information on Dongguk Korean Language Program :
The Center for Language Research
and Instruction,
:::: Phone: +82-2-2260-3471, 3590, 8794
:::: Fax: +82-2-2260-3691
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1 INR
= 25.8900 KRW (
Dated
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Reference
Gillen,
Patrick. Should Monks Surf the Internet? No!
http://www.buddhanet.net/magsurf2.htm
Should Monks Surf the Internet? No!
Dear Venerable Pannyavaro,
I don't think monks should surf the Internet. I don't have any problem with monks posting their teachings onto the Internet. But a monk writing HTML or whatever else seems like a bad idea to me.
The reason I claim this is because of personal experience. I work in an investment bank. Most of my day is spent in front of a computer. I analyse data, write short programs, send tonnes of email, all day long. When I come home in the evening, there's nothing I'd like to do more than continue to sit in front of my home computer, surf the internet, send some more email. I'd be better off talking to my girlfriend, taking a walk, playing my cello, reading a book. In the cold light of day, I believe anyone would agree that working with a computer is unsatisfying most of the time. I mean there's something about computers that exaggerates this "desire brings suffering" paradigm. Could it be that with computers, you have the shortest possible connection between the mind and outside the mind. I mean there's only a keyboard and a few small circuit boards between what's going on inside (in the mind) and what's going on outside (in the computer).
Either this is ringing true to you, or it's something that only I experience. I love learning and intellectual stuff. You might say that's why I "enjoy" using computers so much. However, I also enjoy learning languages, playing my cello, exercising, cycling, other stuff. With the other stuff, there comes a certain point when I say enough is enough, and put it away and move onto something else. There's definitely pain in these areas too, when I doubt whether I'm making enough progress. But with computers, although there are times when I can great satisfaction after designing some great system or other, much of the time is spent sending stupid email, empty the trash can, deleting unnecessary files, trying to create perfection, and being frustrated in the end because there's always the desire to make it better.
Let me ask you something. When you write your HTML, and then someone calls you away
from your computer, do you not find, that more than most other things, residual
thoughts of computer work linger in you mind. Do you not find that the computer
fills you full of fuzz, disturbing thoughts throwing you off balance, making
you wolf down your meal. And when you return to your computer, do you not have
those moments when you realise that caring so much about whether the left
margin is 1 inch or 2 inches doesn't really matter in the big scheme of things.
I absolutely don't mean to
critisize what you're doing. I'm just wondering what's
your take on things. Looking back, when you put all that effort into
setting up the Buddha Net, when it was all you could think about, do you not
think in circumspect that you would have been better off trying to remain
balanced and maybe doing some physical work, something where there is more distance
between your internal thoughts and what was in your hand.
The thought has occurred to me that my own physiology may be behind the special nature of computers in my own life. I could well be a bit neurotic (not medically, I just mean I went to graduate school and in my experience such people are often a bit neurotic, a bit obsessive about things). However, if this isn't the case, then this would be my suggestion as why computers present a special distraction to Buddhists. And as such why they should be shunned by monks. As a Buddhist, you're trying to see things as they really are. What they really are, is shaped by the reality around us, by the physical nature of things (ok, whatever that is) around us —- Not by your internal thoughts. I would say that as a Buddhist, you don't do things because they feel right (what's going on inside), you do things because they fit right (what's going on outside). Now, a computer is a pretty unique tool because it's a tool of the mind. It's the closest link possible so far between computers (which exist outside the mind) and our own thoughts (which exist inside the mind). When we manipulate the data inside a computer, we're spending time manipulating things inside our minds (like a patient spending years on a psychiatrist's couch), rather than spending time letting the outside world manipulate things inside our minds. The latter, I would say, is what we should be doing. (My writing is not expressive enough: what I mean by the latter is not to be confused with the hussle and bussle of the daily world. I would say this is not at all the hussle and bussle of the daily world, but rather the hussle and bussle of our minds in the daily world. I mean it's not the cars whizzing by, nor the telephone ringing off its hooks that's so disturbing and uncalming, rather it's all those other minds and our minds whacking off each other and disturbing one another's thoughts.)
In short, by all means post stuff on the Internet. But should you post it yourself. (Yah, I know you're going to ask, who then should post is. Maybe find someone who isn't at all interested in computers?!)
Good luck with your work, and kindest regards,
Patrick Gillen
Hampstead Heather,
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Personal
Note
Imagine
the scenario that I go to a foreign country with a different language. If I
move around the local population and use English for communication, I am still
“acting as foreigner” with little access to the hearts of the local people. But
if I speak their language, and they become aware that “Oh, he is a foreigner
and still he speaks our language”, the hearts open up. “He studied our
language. He cares for us. He is one of us” type of attitude forms.
So too
when a monk moves over or evolves as a “cyber-monk”. How hard-working and
diligent in learning a new tool and compiling information and data concerning
Buddhism from various sources under a single umbrella. That hard-work of a
monk, one who left the worldly pleasures, for no personal monetary gain, adds
an extra value when reading those collected works.
From
any part of the world, even where the knowledge of Lord Buddha’s teachings is
less or negligible, men and women can access the vast storage of information
with a few typing and mouse clicks, provided they have access to the internet.
In terms of spreading the dhamma, that information repository compiled by the
careful selection of a monk, like a bee gathering nectar from different flowers
for honey, is indeed a plus factor.
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Reference
Venerable
Pannyavaro. E-Learning Buddhism on the Internet.
http://www.buddhanet.net/gds-speech.htm
E-Learning Buddhism on the Internet
Venerable Pannyavaro - webmaster of buddhanet.net
President of the Buddha Dharma Education Association
and Vice-president of the
Buddhist Federation of
A speech given at the invitation of the German Dharmaduta Society to commemorate the second death anniversary of Asoka Weeraratna (later Ven. Mitirigala Dhammanisanthi Thero) at the Mahaweli Centre Auditorium in Colombo, Sri Lanka on the 7th of July 2002.
Asoka Weeraratna, whose second death anniversary we are commemorating today, was one of those rare individuals whose drive and vision significantly contributed to the enormous growth of the Buddha's Dharma we are seeing in the West today.
As the founder of the Mitirigala Forest Hermitage and the Berlin Buddhist Vihara, Asoka Weeraratna, or later Ven. Mitirigala Dhammanisanthi Thero, was the reason that many local and foreign monks were given the opportunity to train in Vipassana meditation with such an exceptional teacher as that of the late Ven. Matara Sri Nanarama Maha Thera.
We can find inspiration in the far sightedness and great generosity of Asoka Weeraratna's effort of trying to bring the Buddha's dispensation to the West; as we now need people of the same calibre who have the drive and vision to translate and present the Dharma so that it is relevant in a global culture driven by technological innovation and a relentless free-market economy.
The challenge that faces Buddhism
today is not with the Dharma itself, the Buddha's teaching - as the timeless message
embedded in the Four Noble Truths maintains it validity - but how to present this ancient teaching as a meaningful alternative to the young who has been shaped by the values of the consumer
society.
There is a new era of technological innovation sweeping the world, which has spawned a new medium - the Internet's world wide web, a very powerful communications network and learning environment. The Internet should not be seen as just a new way to disseminating or repackage the Buddha's teachings but potentially as a base for an innovative online Dharma community - a Cyber Sangha, that offers alternative social and spiritual values.
Online
growth - the Statistics
On what grounds can we
realistically predict the future of the Internet? Well we can get some idea
from the trend in the online growth. At present about 6% of the world's
population uses the Internet. Almost one billion
people, or 15 per cent of the world's population, are predicted to be using the
Internet by 2005. Last year, the
In less-developed nations, the
reality is that, most people lack access or cannot afford the Internet or modem
communications. Overall, about 400 million of the
world's six billion use the Internet daily. Those growing up on the Internet
will one day make up the bulk of the population and there will be very few
nonusers down the road.
When you look at online religion
- it can be expected to boom. Eight per ceent of adults and 12 per cent of
teenagers in the
A
Globalise World
The linking together of the
world's population in the globalised economy is undermining the individual's ability
to function as a cooperative, responsible member of their society. This happens
because the ultimate effect of corporate culture is to reduce the person to a
mere consumer, on the assumption that happiness can
be achieved through acquisitiveness and the enjoyment of goods.
Buddhism has within it a social dimension that can address global problems, a way to "heal the wounds of the world". This way is the Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path. The practice of which while personal, requiring individual effort has consequences that are deeply social. So there is a need now for the socially engaged side of Buddhism to be combined with personal growth and the Path of Liberation as the answer to the individual's alienation.
It
will require radical changes before we can see any alternative to
current values and attitudes. Yet the Internet could bring about such a social
revolution in values, as the corporate world, try as it might has not yet
succeeded in dominating it. The Internet was
created by the
Ironically, it has also giving us the means to stand outside the so-called free market economy that would enslave us to a purely materialistic world. If we creatively use the technology, the net can catering for the religious or spiritual side of human nature and the mean of offering care and compassion in this digital world.
Buddhism with its ancient teaching and cultures must seize the opportunity and adapt itself so that it can make a meaningful contribution to the social and spiritual needs of the inhabitants of this blue planet via this new medium.
While Buddhism
is not a religion that proselytes, that is, seeking to win over or convert,
it certainly has a sense of its own mission in spreading its message. In the
past the Buddha's Teachings spread slowly, not only due to the limitations of
ancient communications, but because it needed to
make a local adaptation to each new culture it encountered.
For example, it took the Buddha's Dharma about 500 years to go from
The difference in a Globalised
World is that the acceptance of the Buddha's Teachings does not depend on
whether it can accommodate itself to a particular culture or religion but the appeal of its core insights. In fact the
cultural accretion has to be differentiated from the core understandings before
it can be seen to resonate with universal truths. So, in an increasingly
secular and globalised world where technology and scientific appraisal is all
pervasive, the Dharma or Truth itself stands alone.
The
challenge now is can the Sangha, that is, committed communities of Buddhists,
use the tools and acquire the skills of the Digital Age? And further,
can we find new ways and means of presenting the Buddha's Teachings that are relevant to the digital world rather than
the traditional methods of sermons and ritual that has little or no appeal to the technocratic generation.
It's
not just technical skills that are needed but the
motivation of selfless service and compassion
- core values of the Buddha Dharma as exprressed in the ancient Bodhisattva
ideal. It is becoming increasingly
self-evident that we have to move from the
limitation of individual and national boundaries to a worldview of a shared planet.
If such a notion as a Cyber
Sangha is to come into being - and realistically it will probably take a
generational change - it will either come about
when young monks in the scholarly tradition in Buddhist countries go online or more likely, as is happening now, the new generation
of Western Buddhists, who are not on the whole conditioned by a particular
Buddhist culture, produce more appealing e-Dharma content for its own.
For the traditionalists - hankering for the past - there can be no going back, as it would be foolish to think that one can create some sort of "Virtual Temple" based on ritual and ceremony. Or that one can recreate the particular cultural customs of Buddhism on the net, which unfortunately the pure Buddha's teachings have become so embedded in.
The role of an online Sangha is
to offer a spiritual alternative while dissemination the Dharma through E-learning (Electronic Dharma). This would need to
go hand in hand with the servicing of the needs of
people who are experiencing negative aspects of the globalised economy - the
pressures and stresses it creates.
Buddhist Insights and the Internet
In a rapidly changing digital world, where many are stretched and stressed, we need to come to terms with the effects of such stress and pressure on the human psyche. I'm not suggesting that we create some 'virtual utopia' as the Dharma tells us that there is no certainty, that things are inherently unstable, insecure. The experiential knowing of this insight allows us to let go and be free of clinging to the known, to blocking the flow. This acceptance of change and the ability to work with it is in the words of Alan Watts the "Wisdom of Insecurity".
The Internet gives us many opportunities to promote Buddhist values, understandings and insights on a global scale. Buddhism has survived materially until now because of the practice of "Dana", which is a culture of sharing and service, as opposed to the greed culture based on monetary values. This leads to misuse of the technology, as the motivation is merely to make a dollar, as we have seen in the recent collapse of the dotcoms, which views the Internet as a market place it can exploit. In contrast to this we have the example to the earlier BBS (Bulletin Board System), which had a culture based on a genuine sharing and learning community offering a largely free service operated by volunteers. This is the way an online Dharma community will ideally operate - as a focal point, a hub for community sharing and support.
In the spiritual vacuum called the modern world - with its preoccupation with having it all, there is a need to make known the contribution that Buddhist mental culture can offer. The techniques of meditation, for example, can be explained and illustrated very well on the net though streaming audio and video, with the student being guided by an online teacher. The characteristic of the Internet is its interconnectivity - global interdependence. This is a core Buddhist understanding, a universal truth. Its appreciation leads to the maturity that moves from an ego-self preoccupation to an interconnectivity that empathizes with all suffering life.
There
will be a new emphasis on lifelong learning, on training and retraining, of development and
innovation. This era of all-encompassing change will need to be
accompanied by an ability to cope with the pressures caused by the new
technologies, without becoming overextended and stressed. So we will need to have the skills to manage our own mental health through
the healing practices and insights that the Dharma can give us.
We are seeing that the psychological and healing side of Buddhism is being utilized by modern Psychotherapy. That there has been a shift from what was predominantly the ritual needs of lay people to a search for help and support in an increasingly alienated world. So counseling services in the form of interactive multimedia via the net is the way of the future, as is demonstrated by the popular "chat culture" on the net.
It is to be hoped that a Cyber Sangha would be supported by, or be an extension of, the locally based Buddhist establishments, as it evolves into a network of like-minded people - lay and ordained - who come together as an online community - followers of the Buddha - living out the insight of the Dharma and communicating the Buddha's message of intelligence and compassion in this new Digital World.
E-learning or Electronic Buddhist learning can become a tool for spiritual as well as social development, when access is improved and learning techniques are refined. The reality is that it can never altogether replace face-to-face teachings but has added a new delivery medium that allows for skill-enhancement and easy accessible training. The worldwide Buddhist community will need to develop its own e-learning content with the traditions coming together and pooling their knowledge and skills and researching new ways of presenting the Buddha's Teachings out of compassion for this suffering world.
Information
or Knowledge?
It has never been considered that
the Buddha's teachings are to be found only in the text, actually in the past
the Dharma was transmitted as much through oral teachings. There is a temptation to merely dump data (facts) online
rather than exploit the new ways of presenting information that the technology
provides. Data and information do not necessarily translate into knowledge.
The temple approach in teaching the Dharma is through sermons with the teacher or the content being unchallenged. The new way is through group learning via discussion. On the net its chat groups where the teacher or moderator acts as a facilitator for an ongoing debate or discussion.
The benefit of Internet learning is that you have access to information, and you also have access to other people, students or experts. It's the combination of the two that provides an extra dimension than most other technologies. In fact what is happening now is that students are looking for resources themselves and then interacting with them.
Learning from animated characters that act as virtual teachers, could be the future of online learning. Experts predict that successful electronic learning computer programs will become more sensitive to human nuances and motivation - software that imitate human interaction.
The
Digital Divide
Until recently, exaggerated publicity or hype in the news media about the Internet was common, but with the collapse of the dotcoms we can take a more sober view of the situation. The reality was and is more of a digital divide, which is a term for the difficulties some groups in society face in even getting access to computers and the Internet.
This especially applies to the
economically disadvantaged Buddhist countries in the Theravada tradition:
True Buddha's Teaching or Not?
Another matter that we will have to face is how can we know that what is posted on the Internet is an authentic Buddhist Teaching or not? The way to judge this is to match what is posted with the Four Noble Truths as all Buddhist traditions accept the Four Noble Truths as the structure for their practice in one form or another. But there have been individuals who make extravagant, even bizarre claims to some special knowledge or enlightenment. I can suggest at least one way to judge this. The transmission of knowledge in Buddhism is essentially based on lineage, which is the verification of the students understanding by a lineage teacher or master. While there is a purely text based teachings, the scholarly tradition, the practice of mental culture is based on experiential learning which can be checked by a lineage holder. So whether the postings on the Internet claiming to be the Buddha's Dharma is authentic Buddhist Teaching or not, or whether it is just the concoction of a cult - could be checked through its lineage, or lack of it.
What of The Future?
While for some it may seem rather futuristic, broadband and interactive technology promises an enormous expansion of the potential of the World Wide Web to create a true online community and enhance online learning. On the other hand, we have to work with the current limitations until the interactive technology matures. And especially we will have to come to terms with the realities in Buddhist countries that are being left behind in the information revolution.
One way to address this problem is the use of hybrid technology. To this end we are developing ways to deliver e-learning content via the text-based material on the web or through intranets using CD-ROM. For example, BuddhaNet has produced a CD-ROM on "Buddhist Studies for Primary and Secondary Students" that can be use on an Intranet in schools or Dharma centers. The CDs is actually a web page (HTML files) that includes Adobe PDF (Portable Document Files) documents of all of the material, which when printed can then be photocopied. Also we have produced a multimedia CD that interfaces with our Web site, and includes over sixty Buddhist e-books.
The traditional temples and bricks and mortar centres will continue to service people needs for the Dharma, yet this can be expanded and enhance, and may I say possibly made more relevant, if the evolving Cyber Sangha, who need resources, is supported in its aim to develop the Dharma online using the latest technology that is available.
Because a teaching is ancient that doesn't mean that it cannot sit comfortably with the new technology. If the Buddha were alive today, he would surely be at ease in the Digital World. There is a new generation growing up with the Internet's technology, who regard it as the natural place to find information, for online learning and for spiritual and emotional support. Can we can hope that it will be a place that one goes to have a meaningful experience of the Buddha's Dharma as well — it's the future!
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Reference
Venerable
Pannyavaro. Should Monks Surf the Internet?
http://www.buddhanet.net/mag_surf.htm
Should Monks Surf the Internet?
Should monks surf the Internet? Is spreading the Dhamma electronically sacrilegious? Is a computer just a glorified typewriter or tablet? It is not as if Buddhists are any more technophobic than any other members of the religious community are, but there needs to be an acceptance of computers and new technology as we enter the twenty-first century, which isn’t necessarily apparent at the moment.
What is happening now is that we have new tools and more sophisticated ways to spread
the Dhamma. So now monks, who have always
had the role of teachers and scholars, are
becoming increasingly computer literate. So it is the cyber monk, skilled
in the new medium of the Internet, that will take the Buddha-Dhamma into the
twenty-first century and beyond.
Monks and computers are still a novel combination. For traditional lay Buddhists that can pose a dilemma, especially if the monk’s lifestyle is perceived only as reclusive. So when you put monks and technology together, some traditional Buddhists have problems with it. There tends to an uncomfortable view of a monk using a computer. I, as a "cyber-monk", have found myself telling and sometimes reassuring people that I do not play computer games! I often get a distinct feeling of disapproval, as there seems to be the misconception that using a computer somehow conflicts with or goes against the Vinaya. Well of course there were no computers at the time of the Buddha, but is a computer any different than more traditional forms of communication? Is there any difference between typing a word document and writing with a quill on a parchment? Surely it’s the content that is more important.
But only rarely have I experienced outright hostility: Once a long-time supporter came to my office and watched me at work. I could see that she was disturbed about something, in fact she seemed to be very upset. Suddenly she said, "Your computer screen is dirty!" And then as she stormed out, added "…and so are your glasses!"
If
anybody can set up a Buddhist web site and present
what they believe to be the Buddha’s Dhamma,
is it the true Dhamma? Where is the guarantee of authenticity, the orthodox may
ask? Well fortunately nobody can control the Internet so all sides and
opinions are expressed equally. It is this freedom
that makes the Internet flourish as a true
global village without the dictation of any
one religion or politically motivated party (not even Bill Gates!).
Therefore, the Dhamma, as always, can only be recognised through the genuine experience of
individual practitioners and not by any
arbitrary authority.
The
Internet, with its worldwide connectivity, will
eventually globalise the Dhamma and free it
of all its cultural accretions. Here then is
an opening for Buddhism to re-express its
essence, freeing itself from the institutional grip and the irrelevancies
of non-Buddhist cultural practices. The new ‘cyber
temple’ will become the meeting place for an online Buddhist community
of practitioners, as is already happening in the newsgroups and chat channels
worldwide. As the infrastructure improves on the net the dataline to the
virtual Buddhist community could bring about a
renaissance of Buddhism. The idea of
Buddhism on the Internet does not threaten or compete with the ancient
understandings - it can only make it more accessible and enhance the original
teaching, providing an international forum for discussion and education.
The content of the Internet already offers a limitless ocean of information on the Buddha-Dhamma in the form of text based web pages. But increasingly the Dhamma be will be experienced through multimedia, most probably as Web/TV. This means that Buddhist material will be presented in a multimedia context making it more accessible and interesting to the average user and Buddhist student. Buddhism on the Internet will become a powerful communication tool. It gives us new ways of interacting with the world.
The inevitable globalisation of Buddhism, which is happening in business and commerce, will be accelerated by the new medium of the Internet. Why, therefore, are we not now putting the resources into this new medium? How many more temples, stupas, big Buddha statues, etc do we really need? Can we not now see the merit in supporting Buddhist web sites / CD-ROMs for spreading the Dhamma to the office and / or lounge room?
Who has the commitment to keep alive the Buddha’s teachings? In the past it has typically been the monks and scholars with specialised training in the Dhamma. Traditionally they have preserved and spread the Teachings. But 21st century Buddhism will be left behind as a museum piece if we do not harness ourselves to the new technologies and the Internet. Who will be the Buddhist web masters - the teachers on the Internet? It will be the computer literate monks and nuns, the Cyber Sangha who will provide the dataline to Enlightenment.
I for example, as a Buddhist monk, who after some years of intensive meditation practice and study in Thailand, Burma and Sri Lanka returned home to Australia and established a meditation centre in Sydney about six years ago, without the traditional support.
I started to use computers for
word processing and simple desktop publishing, then, acquiring a modem started the first bulletin board service (BBS) ever run by a
monk, called BuddhaNet. Naturally as the technology developed I moved
with it. I progressed to the net three years ago, hand-cutting simple HTML code
(web page programming language) growing naturally with the new medium. I must
confess I was a beta-tester for Windows 95. BuddhaNet - the information network
- joined MSN (Microsoft Network) "On
I am pleased to inform you that the BuddhaNet web site now is a successful non-sectarian Buddhist information network, which includes an online Buddhist magazine – BuddhaZine; and a very popular on-line instructional meditation section: "Insight Meditation Online" plus a section on Buddhist Studies. As a teaching monk, I give regular meditation classes and talks during the week – perhaps up to sixty people or more. But on BuddhaNet’s web site, there are over 50,000 visitor per day, and a plethora of e-mail inquires on Buddhism as well.
To tell you the truth, I think the Buddha would have been quite at home using
the new technology of the Internet to propagate his teachings. There is a belief in some Buddhist traditions of a
future Buddha, called Maitreya - who it is said will come to revitalise the
Dhamma. Now, without being disrespectful to the romantic associations of
that belief, I can not honestly see how any future
Buddha, or future followers of the historical Buddha, would not naturally use
the available technology and be at quite at ease surfing the Internet.
What do you think?
Venerable Pannyavaro (Webmaster)
A response to the above article - in the negative
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Reference
Venerable
Tejadhammo Bhikku. (1996) Buddhist
and Christian Monasticism in Dialogue.
http://www.ordinarymind.net/Forum/forum_may2002.htm
The most important thing however, has always been that the spiritual life, the monastic life, is about freedom, is about vimutti, which is freedom from dukkha. In the Majjhima Nikaya, the Buddha is recorded as saying,
Monks, the aim of the religious life, the aim of the monks' life, is not to gain material profit, nor is it to win veneration nor to reach the highest morality, nor is it to be capable of the highest mental concentration. Monks, the ultimate end of the religious life, the spiritual life, is the unshakeable freedom of the heart and mind. This is the essence. This is the core.
…
If you commit a parajika offence
- a 'defeat' offence - you are no longer aa monk or nun in the eyes of the Buddhist
community. The four parajika offences are: intercourse, because monks are meant
to be celibate; theft; depriving a human being of life; and going around displaying special powers, displaying the
siddhis. Strictly speaking, according to the texts, anyone who has committed one of these offences cannot
become a monk and a nun again in this lifetime.
The next category of penalties
are what are called sanghadisesa. This literally means 'getting a group of the
community together,' calling a community meeting and deciding what is to be
done in response to the offence. These meetings are for very serious things.
You would not have a sanghadisesa offence, for instance, for eating after
The
next category, the thullaccaya, are called 'grave offences' and these require
confession to another monk. There are numerous such grave offences. They are
taken care of simply by going to another monk' going through a small ritualised
confession, where you tell the other monk what it is that you have done. You
must be specific, this is the important thing. You have got to say exactly what
your offence was and then you ask his forgiveness and you admit that you did
it. He then acknowledges that and says to you, 'I've heard you and I ask that
you also forgive anything that I might have done with regard to you or with
regard to the community' and so on.
This
is very common in the Theravadin tradition. When I first became a monk, I used
to wonder, 'What on earth are these people doing?' I would see two monks walking along a pathway and then,
suddenly, one would give some kind of indication and they would both squat down
and would kind of whisper to each other. Then they would bow and turn around
and go off. It took some time before it was explained to me that this is what
was happening, that when they broke a
particular rule there was a duty and a need to do something about it in this
way.
The next category, the pacittiya, is a very large category, and concerns offences that requires expiation of some kind. In other words, something has to actually be done about what you have done. It might be giving back something. You might have accepted a set of robes that you ought not to accept. You might have exceeded a limit on something. There are what are called confessable offences; they are like the grave offences requiring confession to another monk. There are things called dukkata, which are literally 'things that give rise to suffering.' In English, we would simply call them 'wrongdoings.' They are kind of mindless things that you might do. A lot of them are to do with etiquette. One of the rules says, 'I will not sit in a public place swinging my legs.' 'I will not go into town with my arms akimbo.' The last group, the dubbhasita has to do with the incorrect use of speech.
The Rule is very important in the Buddhist monastic tradition and is meant to facilitate the living of the spiritual life. It is meant to make it easier to live in a community of other monks or other nuns and it is meant to make it easier if you are not living in a community of other monks and other nuns. It is also meant to be flexible and adaptable.
Many people seem to have an image of Buddhist monks being kind of remote and hermit-like. This is not found in the earliest texts. In fact, we find the Buddha actively discouraging people from going off and living in really secluded and isolated places on their own. By insisting that monks remain almsmen - going on alms round for their food - the Buddha largely prevented that from happening. You can not live on the top of a mountain that takes you eight hours to walk up, if you have got to come down to the village every day to collect food. The Buddha also says that you cannot keep food at the monastery. They are allowed to keep certain foodstuffs there, but to keep whole food and so on is actually an offence in the monastic Rule.
I would like to finish with the
suggestion that the Buddha deliberately made a monk
into someone who is useless. The monk traditionally does not produce anything.
The monk does not, in a sense, even have a function within society. In other words, society could get on quite well without
monks. And yet, there is a kind of reciprocal dependency that arises between
the Buddhist monastic tradition and the society which supports it.
If we take the roses out here in
the garden, that rose plant is, in some ways, like Buddhist monasticism. Like a
Buddhist monk or nun, it does not really have a use. If you appreciate it for
its beauty however, you can say that beauty is a useful thing. If you try and imagine what it would be like with no rose
plants in your world, it would be rather strange. The rose plant also has a number of features that are
similar to the Buddhist monk or nun. First of all, it is grafted onto
something else and the Buddhist monk, the Buddhist nun, is always grafted onto
a rootstock. That rootstock is the Buddha himself. This does not mean that
there cannot be variations; there are hundreds of varieties of roses. The rose
also has a perfume, and a monastic sangha which lives well - which lives
according to the Buddha's aim for the monastic life as directed towards freedom
- is a bit like the perfume of the rose. <It can
have a very pleasant and very beneficial effect on those who come into contact
with it, those who are around it.
I do not think it is possible to imagine Buddhism without some kind of monastic expression. It may not always look like this or that; like the Tibetan expression or like the Chinese expression or whatever it is. It seems to me however, that the monastic tradition is actually at the very heart of the experience of Buddhism, of the experience of the Buddha himself.
(Reference: Venerable Tejadhammo
Bhikku. (1996) Buddhist and
Christian Monasticism in Dialogue.
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http://in.geocities.com/anindiantantric/buddhism.html
Published on internet:
Revised:
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
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Persons using this information for whatever purpose must rely on their own
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“Thou
belongest to That Which Is Undying, and not
merely to time alone,”
murmured the Sphinx, breaking its muteness at last. “Thou art eternal, and not merely of the vanishing flesh. The soul in man cannot be
killed, cannot die. It waits, shroud-wrapped, in thy heart, as I waited, sand-wrapped, in thy world. Know thyself,
O mortal! For there is One within thee, as in all men, that comes and stands at the
bar and bears
witness that there IS a God!”
(Reference: Brunton, Paul. (1962) A Search in Secret
Amen