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| Articles about Buddhist |
| buddhist holiday - Wan Khao Phansa (วันเข้าพรรษา) | | 2008-07-17 14:26:36 | | today is a buddhist holiday here in thailand.Public_holidays_in_Thailandas far as I could see, all the nightclubs, and bars were closed. I pretty much stayed indoors most of the day and only went to the lobby late at night.at the lobby, only the diehard regulars could be found. timberwolf, zorba the greek, the barber, the analog man. around 11pm thereabouts, the shadow honored us with his presence. we basically talked about nothing for a few hours while hanging out in the parking lot. the shadow just had a couple of dental implants done. his face is all numb, and puffed up.not much to announce. the day was slow. tomorrow is friday night. let's hope the scene picks up then. | | By: Life of a Lounge Lizard | | |
| | Edicts of King Asoka – A window into shape of Buddhist government | | 2008-06-17 10:39:34 | | Asoka's edicts are to be found scattered in more than thirty places throughout India, Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The edicts are mainly concerned with the reforms he instituted and the moral principles he recommended in his attempt to create a just and humane society. As such, they give us little information about his life, the details of which have to be culled from other sources. The purpose of the edicts was not to expound the truths of Buddhism, but to inform the people of Asoka's reforms and to encourage them to be more generous, kind and moral.Asoka frequently refers to the good works he has done, although not in a boastful way, but more, it seems, to convince the reader of his sincerity. In fact, an anxiousness to be thought of as a sincere person and a good administrator is present in nearly every edict. Asoka tells his subjects that he looked upon them as his children, that their welfare is his main concern; he apologizes for the Kalinga war and reassures the people beyon | | By: Lanka Rising | | |
| | My 3-Day Tibetan Buddhist Meditation Course | | 2008-05-01 00:09:18 | | A week to the day after completing my trek, I walked to the Ganden Yiga Chozin Buddhist Meditation Center in the northern section of Pokhara’s Lakeside district. I wanted to find out about the 3-day meditation course they offered. My timing couldn’t have been better, as it was a weekend course set [...] | | By: GoBackpacking | | |
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| Impression from the 8th Annual Aikido Summit at the Denver Buddhist Temple in Denver, Colorado – March 22nd 2008 | | 2008-04-07 14:07:00 | | Edgar Johannsen Sensei's personality and drive is, perhaps, the only reason that the Colorado Aikido Summit has come to fruition once again. It is only because of Edgar's amiable, easy going disposition that he is able to successfully blend with all the diverse personalities in the Colorado Aikido community and bring us all together each year to share in our similarities and learn from our differences. The Aikido Summit is a great place for younger Aikido students to experience a wide array of Aikido styles once they have attained their black belt and created a foundation from which to build. It is also an opportunity for more veteran black belts to get refocused on their own training and decide what aspects to develop on in the coming year. Having attended several previous Colorado Aikido Summits, this year's was in many ways very much the same as years past. Therefore, it was my responsibility to be sure that I took away from it something new and different. The Aikido styles repres | | By: Castle Rock Aikido | | |
| | Buddhist Christians - A New Spin | | 2008-03-31 21:47:54 | | Spiritual Path Can Take Unexpected Turns:Although critics get hung up on labels, Buddhist Christians meditate on the benefits they discover.By JEFF STRICKLER, Star Tribune Joey McLeister, Star TribuneMary Jo Meadow is an expert on Buddhist Christians — people who apply Buddhist meditation techniques to Christian prayer.Mary Jo Meadow avoids using what she calls the "B word." It's not the "B word" you might expect, but the retired religious studies professor says that many people consider it just as profane, in its own way.The word is Buddhist. Meadow is considered one the world's foremost experts on Buddhist Christians, although some people try a slightly different spin by calling themselves Christian Buddhists."It doesn't really matter which word comes first," Meadow said. "Once people hear the 'B word,' that's all they react to. As a result, a lot of people [who practice it] keep it secret, including a man who told me, 'If my fundamentalist father-in-law found about this, I'd be d | | By: Spiritual Village | | |
| | The Uniqueness of Buddhist view of Anatta (Not-self/No-soul) | | 2008-03-25 05:42:41 | | Almost all main religions including Christianity, Islam and Hinduism are based on concept of self or soul. Buddhism stand unique that it is the only philosophy that not only clearly reject the concept of “self/soul” as a false view, but also consider this false view as a major cause of suffering of individuals as well as one of the root cause of problems in the society as whole. The vast majority of people still believe in ‘self’ or ‘soul’ and therefore, almost all the economic principles, political views and other social aspects molded by people who believe in this false concept carry the same falsity. Most of the current marketing, advertising and even management concepts are highly based on accepting the existence of ‘self’ or ‘soul’. We can easily understand current world problems and unrest of people by clearly understanding the false concept of ‘self/soul’ in the light of the Buddha’s unique teaching of Anatta (not-self/no-soul).The concept of self/soulW | | By: Lanka Rising | | |
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| | Buddhist Sites and Buddhism in India | | 2007-11-30 23:46:53 | | Buddhism was founded in northern India in about 500 BC, spread rapidly when emperor Ashoka embraced it but was gradually reabsorbed into Hinduism. To1 Vote(s) | | By: JeQQ it | | |
| | A Buddhist view on ban on use of speakers in the night | | 2007-11-13 10:33:24 | | With the supreme courts order banning the use of speakers in night (between 10.00 p.m. to 6.00 a.m.), there is buzz in the society especially in the religious sphere. Noise is today recognized as a serious personal and environmental pollutant troubling everyone to some extent. It causes deafness, stress, and irritation, breeds resentment, saps energy, and inevitably lowers efficiency.Origin of dispute:Interestingly, the sound pollution issue was originated between fractions of Muslims affiliated to two separate mosques located near by in Waligama, Matara. The quarrel reached the supreme courts and the injunction is an interim result of that.Signs of matured society:The court order was taken in good faith by most of the segments of the society. This is good sign that Sri Lankan society has now matured enough to look at pollution and health related issues in broad spectrum without enframed in to narrow religious views.There was very little resistance from Catholic bishops and devotees. It is a religion evolved and practiced mainly in the West where individual freedom having high regard, and the local Catholics seem to have adapted the same approach in practicing their religion.The traditional practice of Hinduism in Sri Lanka is also closer to the nature and non invasive to the society. The Hindus hardly use excessive artificial noise in practice and therefore, they seem to be happy with the new rule.Traditional Buddhist attitude towards noise pollution:Pollution to this extent was unheard of during the time of the Buddha. But there is sufficient evidence in the Pali canon to give us insight into the Buddhist attitude towards the pollution problem. Several Vinaya rules prohibit monks from polluting green grass and water with saliva, urine, and feces. These were the common agents of pollution known during the Buddha's day and rules were promulgated against causing such pollution.The Buddha's attitude to noise is very clear from the Pali canon. He was critical of nois | | By: Lanka Rising | | |
| | Buddhist economics theory – A practical approach | | 2007-10-27 10:52:01 | | The popular definition of western economics is “The science that analyzes the behavior of man trying to fulfill his unlimited desires using limited resources.”By simply analyzing the definition itself, one could understand that this so called ‘Economics’ is mere a futile effort. How in this world, one find a way to satisfy unlimited desires using limited resources. As long as resources are limited (a fact), you can not met with unlimited desires of even a single person, and not to mention on trying to meet desires of all the people. It is just an attempt to find a solution for a problem which they accept by definition as non feasible problem to resolve.If one still remembers his college algebra, this is just like a futile attempt to find real roots of a square equation of which no real roots available. (i.e ax2 + bx + c = 0 where b2-4ac is less than zero) The mathematicians proved that this type of equations can not have real roots (solutions) and they come up with different s | | By: Lanka Rising | | |
| | Success of Google - Running the business in Buddhist way | | 2007-10-16 12:12:46 | | There is popular miss-conception in the society that the core values of Buddhism are hindrance to material success of individual or succeeding in business. The success of Google is a clear answer for this myth.Google was not started by a businessman with mere profit in mind, but it began as a research project in January, 1996 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, two Ph.D. students at Stanford University, California. They hypothesized that a search engine that analyzed the relationships between websites would produce better results than existing techniques. So they turn their idea into a business."A lay follower should not engage in five types of business. Which five? Business in weapons, business in human beings, business in meat, business in intoxicants, and business in poison."- The Buddha (Right Livelihood)Democracy on the web works.While other search engines like Yahoo was making money by both URL submit and search facility, Google never intended to make money from web site owners to get them undue preference in searching in return for their paying. Google identified that this will result in poor search experience for web search users. Google assesses the importance of every web page using a variety of techniques, including its patented PageRankâ„¢ algorithm which analyzes which sites have been "voted" the best sources of information by other pages across the web.Simplicity is the powerThe start starter/home page for the Google is one of the simplest web pages in the net. Ordinary people expect that when a company or person is growing, there need to be increase complexity. However, it’s amazing that Google keeping its simplest form in google search and they have adapted the same approach in products like GMail, Google Talk, etc as well.Google's services are run on several server farms, each consisting of thousands of low-cost commodity computers running stripped-down versions of Linux which is contrary to traditional tend of using big super processor mainframes. So success of google search is based on power of large number of small processors than having big super processor.You can make money without doing evilGoogle is a business. The revenue the company generates is derived from offering its search technology to companies and from the sale of advertising displayed on Google and on other sites across the web."Of those, right view is the forerunner. And how is right view the forerunner? One discerns wrong livelihood as wrong livelihood, and right livelihood as right livelihood. And what is wrong livelihood? Scheming, persuading, hinting, belittling, & pursuing gain with gain. This is wrong livelihood.- The Buddha (The Great Forty)However, you may have never seen an ad on Google. That's because Google does not allow ads to be displayed on their results pages unless they're relevant to the results page on which they're shown. So, only certain searches produce sponsored links above or to the right of the results. Google firmly believes that ads can provide useful information if, and only if, they are relevant to what you wish to find.Not flashy and hindrance to the userGoogle has also proven that advertising can be effective without being flashy. Google does not accept pop-up advertising, which interferes with your ability to see the content you've requested.Trustworthy and reliableAdvertising on Google is always clearly identified as a "Sponsored Link." It is a core value for Google that there be no compromising of the integrity of our results. Google never manipulate rankings to put our partners higher in our search results. No one can buy better PageRank. Therefore users trust Google's objectivity and no short-term gain could ever justify breaching that trust.Pleasant working experienceOne of Googles key philosophy for employment is that “Work and play are not mutually exclusiveâ€."In five ways should workers and servants as the lower direction be respected by an employer: by allocating work according to aptitude, providing wages and food, looking after the sick, sharing special treats, and giving reasonable time off work.- The Buddha (Sigalovada Sutta)Every Google engineer is encouraged to spend 20 percent (20%) of their work time on projects that interest them. Some of Google's newer services, such as Gmail, Google News and orkut, originated from these independent endeavors.Promoting Open SourceGoogle has recently formed a partnership with Sun Microsystems to help share and distribute each other's technologies. As part of the partnership Google will hire employees to help the open source office program openoffice.org.Google Code and Google Docs are two of the main project aiming toward free and open source culture.If you're respectful by habit,constantly honoring the worthy,four things increase:long life, beauty,happiness, strength.- The Buddha (Dammapada)Ref:http://www.google.com/corporate/tenthings.htmlhttp://www.google.com/support/jobs/bin/static.py?page=about.html&about=top10- Dighajanu (Vyagghapajja) Sutta- Buddhist Approaches to Present-day Problems- The Buddha's Advice to Sigalaka | | By: Lanka Rising | | |
| | The Law: Roman-Dutch mismatch in Sinhala Buddhist society | | 2007-10-01 10:59:35 | | Law is one of the corner stone of the society and we have been keeping the foreign Roman-Dutch law, even after sixty years since independence.It is a shame for a country, having more than 75% of its population consist of Theravadha Buddhist, still relying on Roman-Dutch law which is based on Christianity.Mechanism based on right to lieUnlike the traditional eastern stream of law that is based on truthfulness and justice, Roman-Dutch law is completely based on mere debating based on right to defend and truthfulness play very little value there.This western law system has introduced a third party named lawyer who can lie in all means to defend his client and he has no liability for that. Therefore, this system is based on sheer logic and it has very little concern for human values. In a nut shell, it is just a tussle between two licensed liars while the actual parties involved in the dispute are playing very passive role.Buddhist culture based on moral valuesThe minimum moral basis of a Buddhist is the Five Precepts (Pañcasila). The standards set by the precepts are simple — no intentional killing, stealing, having illicit sex, lying, or taking intoxicants. It's entirely possible to live in line with these standards. Not always easy or convenient, but always possible.Clear-cutThe precepts are formulated with no ifs, ands, or buts. This means that they give very clear guidance, with no room for waffling or less-than-honest rationalizations. An action either fits in with the precepts or it doesn't.Right speech, a key element in middle path"And what is right speech? Abstaining from lying, from divisive speech, from abusive speech, & from idle chatter: This is called right speech."— Buddha (Magga-vibhanga Sutta)Lawyer (Professional Liar)There are only few professions that directly conflict with the Five Precepts (Pañcasila) .A butcher who kill animals, a robber who steal others property, a prostitute who involved in commercial sex, and lastly it is a practicing lawyer who has to lie (there is about 50% of chance that a practicing lawyer has to lie in the court each day!) in the (Roman-Dutch) courts. It is strange that while all the other stated professions are considered as shameful; still profession of law has still being regarded high in our society.The lawyers are governed by code of conducts and ethics and one of the codes is that ‘they have to accept client regardless of him being the accuser or accusedâ€, and of course, only one party will be innocent and lawyer whom is hired by other party has to defend his client by lying in all manner. Usually high earned lawyers are those representing for accused in murdering and other criminal acts.In current Roman-Dutch law system every lawyer has no option but to obligate in this mechanism willingly or not !The danger in lyingThe person who lies,who transgress in this one thing,transcending concern for the world beyond:there's no evil, he might not do.- The Buddha, Itivuttaka (Kuddaka Nikaya)It's not good,the doing of the deedthat, once it's done,you regret,whose result you reap crying,your face in tears.- The Buddha, Dammapada (Balavagga)I might argue that lawyer is profession and he is not lying for his behalf.“chethanaham bikkawe kamman vadami†– The BuddhaThe lawyer’s intention for lying is earn money and he is lying for money and he is clearly committing demerit act.If doing sin as part of profession is allowed, the Buddha may have exempt butchers (who kill wage) and prostitutes (who sexually misconduct for money) as well.Politics and LawThe bulk of the members of the parliament are lawyers, or in plain word, professional liars. It is no wonder lying is a principal in politics! It is the court that has taken away the fear of lying of these MPs. Because of the political power for lawyers, unlike butchers and prostitutes, this profession of liars has kept high status in the society. However, one thing that all the lawyers must remember is regardless of their social status, they have to face the natural law of the nature, the karma, in next lives.What can we do?It is lawyers themselves that lie, so the greatest responsibility is within the lawyers (if they really do not want to go to hell) to push to change this Catholic law system. All the Buddhists should unite and demand for law system which is based on core Buddhist values or at least for more reforms for the existing system so that it is based on truthfulness rather than power of lying. | | By: Lanka Rising | | |
| | Buddhist meditation center lands in Mesa | | 2007-09-20 06:10:00 | | Those interested in meditation have a new place to learn and practice it in the Southeast Valley. The Arizona International Buddhist Meditation Center has established a venue in Mesa. The registered, tax-exempt, non-profit society is primarily run by Sri Lankan Buddhist monk Venerable Siyabalagoda Ananda and the Rev. Dhammapala Kennard."I've been here 17 years trying to get a center. Finally, we can start the work," said Dhammapala of Chandler, who embraced Buddhist philosophy and was ordained in Malaysia in 1995.
| | By: Buddhism News | | |
| | International Buddhist centre for Yatinuwara | | 2007-09-03 18:18:00 | | KANDY: Urban Development and Sacred Areas Development Minister Dinesh Gunawardane, said it is a national duty and a great responsibility to impart pure Buddhism to the younger generation as it is the most valuable contribution that we can give to the world. The Minister made these observations at a ceremony, after declaring Yatinuwara, Suriyagoda, Sri Narendrarama Raja Maha Vihare a Sacred Area, on the instructions of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The building constructed at the Vihara premises for an International Buddhist Centre to commemorate the Ven. Weliwita Saranankara Sangha Raja Thera who had resided in the temple and who had pioneered the cause of higher ordination for the Maha Sangha during the reign of Kirthi Sri Rajasinghe.
| | By: Buddhism News | | |
| | Buddhist confab to be held in Taiwan | | 2007-08-30 17:30:00 | | The International Network of Engaged Buddhists (INEB), a self-governing organization of Buddhists from more than 20 countries, will hold its 2007 conference in northern Taiwan's Taoyuan County from Aug. 31 to Sept. 2. Nearly 100 delegates from around the world will attend the conference at the Buddhist Hongshi College in Kuanyin township. These delegates are coming from Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Burma, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Australia, the United States and China.
| | By: Buddhism News | | |
| | Buddhist Mother Festival gets off to joyous start | | 2007-08-24 18:59:00 | | The Buddhist Mother Festival (Le Vu lan) began Friday in Ho Chi Minh City with a clutch of events to honor Buddhism and Vietnamese mothers. The festival, which falls in the middle of the seventh month in the lunar calendar, opened with a mass worship day at Pho Quang Pagoda in Tan Binh district, with devotees wearing red roses on their chests if their mothers were still alive and white flowers otherwise. Other pagodas around the city too have been holding prayers.
| | By: Buddhism News | | |
| | | Beginner Buddhist Meditation | | 2007-08-12 22:08:00 | | Stress surrounds our everyday life. It is often difficult to free ourselves from this stress to see the big picture. Sometimes we are so caught up in the hustle and bustle of our busy lives that we don’t take the time to relax properly or effectively. This short article hopes to educate you on the [...] | | By: Online Business Alliance & Niches | | |
| | Pilgrims flock to India for Buddhist ‘dragon’ celebration | | 2007-07-31 05:24:00 | | Pilgrims from as far a field as Malaysia and Mexico have flocked to India’s isolated region of Ladakh this week for celebrations to mark 800 years of the “dragon” sect of Tibetan Buddhism. The events have included hours of chants and prayers around the 44-year-old Gyalwang Drukpa, the head of the Dragon lineage, plus a more contemporary song contest inspired by his motto, “Live to Love.” “It was like love at first sight,” said pilgrim Trent Williamson, who embraced the faith after meeting the Gyalwang Drukpa in Williamson’s native Australia.
| | By: Buddhism News | | |
| | | Tucson is becoming a hotbed of Buddhist activity | | 2007-07-13 00:22:00 | | The great mahasiddha (mystic) Naropa is said to have meditated here, possibly reading or writing the Kangyur, as some of these pechas are called, which contain the actual words of the Buddha; or perhaps the Tengyur, those pechas that possess commentaries.
| | By: Buddhism News | | |
| | Buddhist TV channel | | 2007-07-02 04:23:00 | | The satellite TV channel The Buddhist, inaugurated by the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in Colombo on Friday, would be a celebration of the ancient cultural and religious ties between Sri Lanka and India, a top Sri Lankan official said.
| | By: Buddhism News | | |
| | Tibetan Buddhist leader to visit Salem | | 2007-06-29 02:55:00 | | More than a week's worth of events are planned for a Tibetan Buddhist leader set to visit Salem in July. Healing practices, meditation, ceremonies and dinners are scheduled to honor Venerable Lama Karma Namgyel of Bhutan. The Lama Karma also will give talks about Tibetan Buddhism. The first event is July 11 and will be held at 872 Belmont St. NE. For information and a list of events, call Donna Shelby at (503) 363-3560 or go to www.sacredesignpdx.com.
| | By: Buddhism News | | |
| | China demolishes giant Buddhist statue in Tibet | | 2007-06-16 23:55:00 | | Chinese authorities have demolished a statue of a Buddhist master at Tibet's oldest monastery, an activist group said Friday, the latest act in what critics say is an effort by Beijing to dilute Tibet's unique Buddhist culture.
| | By: Buddhism News | | |
| | Buddhist monks hunger strike | | 2007-06-15 09:14:00 | | The number of Buddhist monks participating in a group hunger strike rose to 18 yesterday, the ninth day of their peaceful protest to have Buddhism included in the new constitution as the national religion.
| | By: Buddhism News | | |
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