Facebook the Thai Temple!

So I just found out from arunlikhati over at Dharmafolk that you can now request to be Facebook friends with the Berkeley Thai Temple! How amazing is that! Thanks to all those who helped keep the Thai Temple alive - you can receive updates on their status in the future through Facebook by friending them here: Wat Mongkolratanaram Berkeley.

The West’s largest Buddhist stupa rises in Spain

So what is it doing there in Spain??

"This isn’t to say that the Benalmádena stupa is devoid of political overtones. “The target may be other Buddhist groups,” suggests Martin Baumann, a professor of religion at Lucerne University (Switzerland) who researches the political impact of religious buildings. Many Tibetan Buddhists believe that their tradition is the purest. “In this way,” Dr. Baumann adds, “the Dalai Lama and other lamas are seen as being the carriers of unpolluted spirituality.” Built in strict accordance with traditional prescriptions and rituals, the stupa thus gives Tibetan Buddhism high visibility in the West’s Buddhist landscape.

The stupa also plays into an internal dispute within one of the four principal schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the Karma Kagyu. The Dalai Lama is the most prominent international spokesman for Tibetan Buddhism and for the Tibetan diaspora. This shines the spotlight on the school he heads, the Gelugpa school. Some speculate, however, that upon his death, focus could shift to the Karma Kagyu school and its head, known by the title of “Karmapa,” as the rallying point for Tibetans in exile."

Read Full Article.

Buddhist Life in South Korea

The LA Times gives "A taste of Buddhist life in South Korea"

"South Korea may well be the land of TV soaps and reality shows, but it is also where Seon Buddhism, Korea's answer to Japan's Zen, has remained the purest, or so the Koreans say.

I was sampling it at the Hwagyesa temple at the foot of the pine-tree covered Mount Samgaksan, where Koreans go hiking on weekends. Also called the Seoul International Zen Center, this is one of several temples where tourists can get a taste of Korean Buddhism for a day or more — and take a restoring break from the tumult of the economic meltdown."

Read full article.

Humanistic Buddhist Monastic Life Program

I received news of this program from the UCLA Center of Buddhist Studies. Sounds like a great way to start off your summer!

Humanistic Buddhist Monastic Life Program

Program Location

The Humanistic Buddhist Monastic Life Program (HBMLP) will take place at the Fo Guang Shan Monastery outside the city of Kaohsiung (Gaoxiong) in southern Taiwan. All participants will be provided lodging on the monastic grounds. All courses and activities will be conducted in English.

Program Objectives

The objective of this program is to promote the understanding of Chinese Buddhism by exposing the participants to the daily practice of Humanistic Buddhism within a traditional Buddhist monastery. The Buddhist Monastic Life Program provides international graduate and undergraduate students interested in the study of religion, Buddhism and/or Chinese culture first-hand experience in the lifestyle, training, and rituals of contemporary Chinese Buddhist monastics. This year, approximately 40 applicants will be selected to participate in the program. The primary goals of the program include:

• Offering participants a chance to view and experience Buddhism as it is practiced in modern-day Taiwan.
• Providing courses on Buddhism and Chinese culture, taught by Buddhist monastics from Fo Guang Shan
• Introducing participants to the concepts and practices of Humanistic Buddhism
• Teaching Buddhist monastic disciplines and traditions
• Exposing participants to Chinese culture and language
• Cultivating spirituality through meditation

All of these goals are to be achieved within the context of the monastic experience.

For more information, visit their website.

Results of Thai Temple ZAB Hearing

Update on the results of the ZAB hearing for Wat Mongkolratanaram.

"On February 12, 2009 the Zoning Adjustment Board voted in favor of the Thai temple 8 yes to 1 no. Though the board has given the temple its approval for the project, it is NOT the final approval. The final approval will come after the conditions recommended from the city to the ZAB have clarified. The major points of contention that temple had was in part due to the vagueness of the language. The language is being revised under the direction of the ZAB with recommendations, modifications, and removal of some conditions. At the next hearing, the board will vote to give the project final approval based upon the revisions to the conditions.

The first part of this journey is almost at an end.

The complainants will have the right to appeal, however, that appeal process cannot begin until after the ZAB gives its final approval. Once that approval is final, the complainants will have 2 weeks from the time everything is processed. That normally takes 2 to 3 days after the vote. If the complainants appeal, the case will be heard in front of the Berkeley City Council.

From the entire team, we want to thank each and every one of you for your heart felt support. It was your belief in our cause and our team that gave us the energy to work hard over the course of the past 10 months.

Please continue to visit this site for future updates on the status of the final approval."

Visit their website.

Save the Thai Temple - Berkeley Hearing

The Berkeley ZAB hearing is this Thursday, February 12, 2009 and this is the last time to vote and save the temple. Hear the cause to save Wat Mongkolratanaram from those supporting the temple (as well as a brief segment from those opposing) in city hearings:



Also, please visit savethethaitemple.com.

Thanks to arunlikhati from DharmaFolk who has posted on this issue.

Vegatarian Bodh Gaya Campaign

Tibetans for a Vegetarian Society, a nonprofit public charitable trust, is campaigning for the Bodh Gaya to be a vegetarian zone.

"We are trying to create awareness and mobilise support of locals as well as tourists transforming Bodh Gaya into a vegetarian zone.

Abstaining from buying, selling, or consuming any form of meat during the pilgrimage tour in the holy land is the key to the success of the campaign"

Read full article

Buddhist's New Year

Here's a Buddhist's New Year Guide from Shambhala Sun Space:

"Still not sure how you’ll celebrate the arrival of 2009? Well, for meditators, there are seemingly as many possibilities as their are methods and schools. Here are just a few. Just click on their links for more info."

Read full article

Photo from Shambhala Sun Space

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.

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

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."

News Roundup

This week, there's all sorts of juicy Buddhist news out there. Here's a brief list of what's been happening:

'Buddha's skull' found in Nanjing
"Chinese archaeologists have claimed that a 1,000-year-old miniature pagoda, unearthed in Nanjing, holds a piece of skull belonging to Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism."

World Buddhist forum to be held next year
"Buddhist monks and scholars from around the world will gather at a forum in China in March next year to discuss how Buddhism can contribute to the building of a harmonious world, organizers said Sunday."

China's Xinhua publishes criticism of Dalai Lama
"China's state press Monday condemned the Dalai Lama and his followers for their "support of secession" in the first comments published in the country since Tibetan exiles decided to stick with a moderate China policy."

Thai protesters ready for "final battle"
"Thousands of anti-government protesters have gathered at Thailand's Government House for what's being called the 'final battle' against the government of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat."

Miss Tibet, a Pageant Loaded With Controversy and Drama
"The Miss Tibet pageants, seen by many as a showcase of feminine beauty, have been fraught with controversy and drama. Even though the contests take place in a drowsy Himalayan town in India -- home to the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan exiles -- the Chinese government and some Tibetan elders have pressured contestants to withdraw."

Hsi Lai Temple awarded scholarships

The Hsi Lai Temple and the Buddha's Light International Association awarded 160 scholarships to elementary, middle, and high school students from the Hacienda La Puente Unified School District. Elementary students were given $100, middle students $150, and high school students $200.

"Located in a low-income neighborhood, the families put the money to good use.

'It's all part of our community outreach program. We value education and want to help our local schools,' said the Venerable Miao Hsi, a Buddhist monk at the Hacienda Heights temple."

First international Buddhist temple opens in Arizona

The Arizona International Buddhist Meditation Center, the only international Buddhist temple in Arizona, has held its grand-opening ceremony on Saturday at Mesa. Not only did the ceremony mark the center's grand opening but it also acted as the Kathina Ceremony, signifying the end of the rainy season in Sri Lanka. The temple serves as a mediation center as well as a place for the Sri Lanka Buddhist community to meet.

San Francisco's Buddhist Pilgrimage

Here's a picture slideshow on the New York Times "Escapes" sections specializing on San Francisco's Buddhist Pilgrimages.

"Today, a spiritual tourist, whether Buddhist or not, can find inspiration if not enlightenment following in the footsteps of American Buddhism on a pilgrimage throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. "

Buddhist monks can't use house as temple

"Virginia Beach - Buddhist monks must stop holding services at their home near Pungo.In an 8-2 vote Tuesday, the Virginia Beach City Council denied the monks' request to use their West Neck Road house as a temple with a Sunday service for two more years."

This makes me a bit sad because a large part of my exposure to Buddhism as a child came from Buddhist monastics who used residential houses as a temple. My parents would take me to the temple-house usually during weekends and light incense, talk with the monks, have lunch, and listen to the monks chant. I especially enjoyed the personal touch of being in a house rather than a temple. I found that I became a lot closer to the monks from the temple-house than ones from a temple. Of course, this was in Southern California, where there are Asian ethnic suburbs that may be more tolerant and familiar with Buddhism than a neighborhood in Virginia.

Here's the full background story.