11-year-old becomes high-ranking lama

I wonder when Buddhists found out that reincarnation became globalized...

An 11-year-old schoolboy from Boston, Massachusetts has been made the head of a Buddhist sect in India after he was recognized as the reincarnation of a high-ranking lama who died more than 750 years ago.

Jigme Wangchuk has been anointed as the Rinpoche, the second reincarnation of Gyalwa Lorepa of the Drukpa sub-sect after going into a trance and describing a Buddhist monastery in detail.

Read full article.

Image from Daily Contributor

Buddhists and Catholics call for government reform

" South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and his administration remain under attack for failing to help the poor, protect the environment and for violating human rights.

Since the start of the month 124 intellectuals and university professors have complained that South Korea’s democracy, press freedom and media independence have been weakened. Two days ago Buddhist and Catholic religious leaders have joined the fight.

On Monday thousands of Buddhist monks and hundreds of Catholic priest issued separate statements calling on President Lee to change his style of government. "

Read full article.

"Adopt a Monk"

The Tricycle has posted a notice about a new program called "Adopt a Monk", organized by the Clear View Project. It's goal is to help the Burmese monks and nuns imprisoned from the Saffron Revolution. Here's how it works:

• Contact Clear View Project to choose a monk or nun.
• Send regular letters on his/her behalf to the United Nations, Burmese Generals, & US government.
• Send funds to buy more food & medicine for that monk. (details follow)
• Hold monthly meditations at your center or public vigils in honor of the monk or all imprisoned monastics.
• Send loving kindness to the monks & nuns, their families and the Burmese generals.

For more information, visit the Clear View Project website.

Legal Education in Tibet

"Tibet has reported success in a year-long legal education at its monasteries, where monks have been told to abide by laws and regulations in religious practice, rallies and parades, officials in charge of religious affairs said Monday.

More than 2,300 officials were sent to Tibet's 505 monasteries after the deadly riots of March 14 last year to promote the legal awareness of monks and nuns and dissuade them from being duped by separatist forces and ensure the normal practice of Buddhism, said Soinam Renzin, deputy chief of the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Tibet Regional Committee."

Read full article.

Photo from ChinaView

The Passing of Ven. Geshe Tsultim Gyeltsen

Venerable Geshe Tsultim Gyeltsen
Founder and Spritual Director of Thubten Dhargye Ling

"Dear Friends,

We have very sad news. Our great and dear teacher Ven. Geshe Gyeltsen passed from our world today, Friday February 13th at around 12:20 p.m. Ven. Geshela died peacefully, surrounded by monks from Gaden Shartse Monastery and family members.

All prayers and necessary rituals were performed by the monks. His Holiness the Dalai Lama and other lamas called and spoke to Ven. Geshela earlier this week.

Please pray for Geshela's swift return to continue his teachings for the benefit of all sentient beings.

Students are encouraged to include the King of Prayers into their daily practice, wishing Geshela to return quickly to continue to teach us.

Thubten Dhargye Ling / Center for the Study of Buddhism and Tibetan Culture"

Learn more about Venerable Geshe Tsultim Gyeltsten.

Photo from UrbanDharma

"Let's Go After the Buddhists"

A rather clever and catchy song posted by Rev. Danny Fisher.

"Let's Go After the Buddhists" by Roy Zimmerman.

Master Sheng Yen dies at age 80

Tuesday, Feb. 3, Venerable Dharma Master Sheng Yen died of renal disease at National Taiwan University Hospital at the age of 80.

Read full article.

Photo from The Buddhist Channel

According to The Buddhist Channel, he wrote this poem before he passed away:

無事忙中老，
空裡有哭笑，
本來沒有我，
生死皆可拋。

Busy with nothing, growing old.
Within emptiness, weeping, laughing.
Intrinsically, there is no "I."
Life and death, thus cast aside.

Dalai Lama may choose his own reincarnation

The Dalai Lama may choose the reincarnation set to replace him as leader of the Tibetans.

"The Dalai Lama has openly speculated about his next life, his reincarnation, musing that he might upend historical and cultural practice and choose his reincarnation before his death, the better to safeguard his exiled people."

Read the full article.

Indonesian Monks against Buddha Bar

Indonesian Buddhist urge to have the newly opened Buddha Bar, a Paris-based franchise restaurant, shut down.

"We urge the Jakarta administration to take strong action against the use of the name Buddha to avoid angering Buddhists," Brilian Moktar, head of the Buddhist association in Medan, was quoted as saying by Antara.

Jakarta became the first South-east Asian city to have the Buddha Bar in December, joining major international cities like London, New York and Dubai.

Read full article.

Chinese delegation investigate monk murder case

"A Chinese delegation arrived in Taiwan late on Sunday to help deal with an incident in which two visiting monks from China’s Linggu Temple died at a Hsinchu hotel last week. The delegation was headed by Li Huaining (李淮寧), a Nanjing City Government department chief in charge of ethnic and religious affairs.

Li said after his arrival at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport that his group expected to get first-hand information about the incident.

He was referring to a suspected homicide-suicide case last Wednesday in which Dharma Master Jing Ran (淨然), abbot of Linggu Temple, was believed to have been killed by Dharma Master Chun Ru (純如), supervisor at the same temple, who later committed suicide."

Read full article.

DharmaNet International

I hope everyone is having a safe and happy holiday.

Here is a website recommended to me by Venerable Kusala called DharmaNet International.

"The new DharmaNet is providing an independent, non-sectarian informational and educational resource on Buddhism to the ever-widening world-wide audience of people impacted by Buddhism. While there are hundreds of Buddhist web sites, there is still no seminal, non-sectarian informational and educational web site that presents the full range of the Dharma to those seeking to engage the teachings."

DharmaNet also offers videos in copperation with BDK, of which Kusala and many others are featured:

"In 2005, the Society for the Promotion of Buddhism (Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai) [BDK] initiated a BDK TV Series shown in Southern California. The weekly 15-minute shows featured interviews and teachings from major American Buddhist followers and teachers. In cooperation with BDK, DharmaNet will gradually be adding these programs to this page. Four new and different segments will be previewed each month. We invite the world to share in the Buddha-Dharma through this new means of communication."

For videos, click here.

Buddhists gone bad in Bangladesh

Buddhist monks in cooperation with local council officials are holding 13 converted tribal Christians captive to try to convert them to Buddhism by force. They are being held captive in a pagoda in a southeastern mountainous district of Bangladesh.

According to the Compass Direct News article, the Bangladeshi population is 90% Muslim, 9% Hindus, and 0.7% Buddhist, leaving less than 0.3% of the population left to be Christian or other.

Read full article.

Thailand's "Tiger Temple" accused of drugging animals

At Wat Pa Luang Ta Bua Temple, monks live peacefully with 34 tigers. Abbot Pra-Acharn Phusit remembers the first tiger being brought to the temple years ago as a tiger cub orphanese by poachers. Since then, the monks have bred and raised these tigers and nine years later, they become the stars of the temple, attracting up to 1,000 toursits from all over the world.

At this temple, people can directly interact with the tigers, who have been tamed by the monks since the age of the three. Skeptics believe that the tigers are so tame because they have been drugged. However, the temple denies all accusations and welcome anyone to investigate or come personally see what goes on at the temple.

Read Full Article.

Photo from ABC

The Ten Worst Buddhist Movie Characters

Rev. Danny Fisher compiles a list of the ten worst Buddhist movie characters. It's interesting to see the way even stereotypes can be bent and molded in so many diffferent ways.

Top 10 Buddhist teachers living in America

The Huffington Post features Waylon Lewis and his list of top 10 Buddhist teachers living in America. It's important to note that Lewis has not included in his list:

"...charlatans (Genpo Roshi, who is well-loved in many circles, has recently been accused of such), promising youngsters who have yet to prove themself...and those who you can't really study with because they're too famous to actually study with (Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh), in private meditation retreat all the time (Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche), or rarely in the West (The Karmapa, Khandro Rinpoche)."

Here's the breakdown (for individual descriptions, click the link at the beginning of this post for the whole article):

1. Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche
2. Pema Chodron
3. Sharon Salzberg
4. Ponlop Rinpoche
5. Joan Halifax Roshi
6. Dr. Reggie Ray
7. Robert Thurman
8. Norman Fischer
9. Dr. Judith Simmer-Brown, Dale Asrael, Frank Berliner
10. Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche

Chanting prayer ceremony at Bodh Gaya

Starting Monday, hundreds of Buddhist monks and practioners from all over the world gathered in Bodh Gaya for an eleven-day chanting prayer ceremony.

At the Mahabodhi temple, monks and nuns chanted from the "Tipitaka", praying for world peace and prosperity for all living beings. It is said that the Buddha attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, where 250 years later, emperor Ashoka built the Mahabodhi temple.

Bodh Gaya is a city in the Indian state of Bhihar.

Kuan Yin Shrine near Adelanto

A new meditation center has been established near rural San Bernadino County by Venerable Thich Dang Phap. A 24-foot high marble statue of Kuan Yin, the Boddhisatva of Compassion,

Phap's goal is to build a monastery "that would draw Buddhist and others from across the nation".

"A wooden sign hopefully proclaims the Chan Nguyen Buddhist Meditation Center. But it is still a work in progress.

A recently built concrete walkway is lined with 22 empty pedestals. Seven-foot-tall statues that will adorn them sit a few inches away, still in their packing crates and wrapped in plastic. Two gazebos topped by giant fiberglass lotus flowers are under construction. Boxes with roof tiles sit nearby. The rest of the 15-acre site is mostly barren desert that Phap long ago cleared of chaparral.

Yet the shrine already is attracting Buddhists from Riverside and San Bernardino counties -- there are as many as 100,000 Buddhists in the Inland area -- and other parts of Southern California."

Interview with Master Sheng Yen

Here's an interview with Chinese Buddhist Master Sheng Yen by the Religion News Service. He is a prominent and influential figure in Chan (or in Japanese, Zen) Buddhism, teaching in America and writing about Buddhism for the West. You can read a short bio at Wikipedia as well as his new more in-depth memoir, Footprints in the Snow. Here are some interesting questions he answered in the interview:

Q. How did you get through the difficult times in your life?
A. There is no problem that cannot be overcome. To use our heart means to understand how we should go about carrying on. To persevere means to try again and again, and do not be worried and afraid. When I was in mountain, living alone, (I) never thought I was alone. I felt that there are many sentient beings and many bodhisattvas (enlightened beings) to help me.

Q. Why is it better for Buddhists to not get involved in politics?
A. This has something to do with Buddhist tradition. The Buddha was a prince who left home and did not want to get involved in politics any more. Politics is necessary for worldly people. But as soon as one is involved in politics, there will be a lot of problems regarding who is right and who is wrong. As a monastic or a practitioner, one should know what one needs to know about politics, but one should not get involved. As soon as one gets involved, one will immediately be sucked into the worldly, secular environment and be tangled up with it. This will obstruct one's cultivation in the practice.

Q. You recently decided to refuse a kidney transplant. Why?
A. Since I am already 80 years old, if a kidney is transplanted to my body, at most it will be used for 20 more years. If it is transplanted to a younger person the function to be fulfilled by the kidney will be greater. Therefore I think it is wasteful to transplant a perfectly functioning kidney into my body.

Urban Dharma Newsletter 11-28-08

In This Issue: Buddhism and Bhikkhu Bodhi

HI,

It's been awhile since the last newsletter, life is really full...
This newsletter is focused on Bhikkhu Bodhi... I hope you find it useful and interesting.

-Kusala-

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~The Urban Dharma Newsletter Archives~

Buddhists learn English

On Tuesday, China began an English training program for Buddhist followers in order to prepare them for future global exchanges. This program opened at the Shanghai International Studies University, organized by the China Religious Culture Communication Association (CRCCA) and the Buddhist Association of China (BAC).

"Qi Xiaofei, deputy head of the CRCCA, said at the opening ceremony that the half-year course would train translators and interpreters for the Second World Buddhist Forum, scheduled to be held in China next year."

"China hosted the first World Buddhist Forum in April 2006."