MahaSangha News

Buddhist Pilgrimage — new edition 2009 (free download)

Buddhist Pilgrimage (new edition 2009) by Bro. Chan Khoon San — free download

This is the third edition of Buddhist Pilgrimage since it was first published in 2002. It comes with a new cover design and contains many new topics and fresh information on several Buddhist sites. An error concerning the religious history of the Matha Kuar shrine in Kushinagar has been rectified. Since 2002, the author has revisited the Buddhist circuit seven times and travelled to many new Buddhist heritage sites, Read More »

Danny Fisher interviews Oscar nominee U Pyinya Zawta

On the Buddhist Beat’s Danny Fisher interviews U Pyinya Zawta about his work for democracy in Burma.

Read the post here.

An Introductory Course in Early Buddhism (free download)

An Introductory Course in Early Buddhism – Compiled and published for free download by Bro. Chan Khoon San.

Over the last few years, several readers have indicated that the articles in the Introductory Course in Buddhism were too brief and should be expanded to provide more details. This new book, entitled “Buddhism Course,” is a carefully researched and updated version. It contains 17 chapters dealing with most of the relevant topics on Buddhism, such as Life of the Buddha, Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Noble Path, Dependent Origin, Law of Kamma, Death and Rebirth, Five Destinations, World Cycles when Buddhas Appear, Ten Bases of Meritorious Action, Buddhist Vipassana Meditation, Recollection of the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha and the Three Baskets (Tipitaka) in Buddhism. Read More »

Green Monasticism: A Buddhist-Catholic response to an environmental calamity

Green Monasticism is a collection of articles and talks from the third Gethesemani Encounter, which took place in 2008. The theme was the Buddhist and Catholic response to the environmental crisis. In addition to covering a wide range of Catholic thought, the essays come from both the Theravadan and Mahayana traditions and cover both North American and international monastic orders.

For more than forty years—inspired by the pioneering dialogues of the Trappist monk Thomas Merton, with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and the Zen master Daisetz T. Suzuki— Read More »

Internship program for young dharma practitioners

From Rangjung Yeshe Gomde, California

We invite interested students to participate in the sixth year of the Kumara Internship Progr am, a combination of learning, meditation, and work. The program offers com-mitted young Dharma students an opportunity to spend the summer on Gomde’s land in Northern California’s Mendocino County, in an atmosphere of practice, learning and work. Interns will be able to attend Gomde’s teaching programs and practices, culminating with Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche’s Madhyamika teachings July 28 – August 1. Read More »

Prison meditation in San Diego

Think Good Thoughts, Speak Good Words, Do Good Things
By Dharma Bum Jeff

With one hand clutching the bible, the other hand rests gently in his lap. The meditation begins after striking the bell 3 times and we start with taking 3 deep breaths. Here we sit in the downtown San Diego prison, 20 men all there for various reasons. As the meditation is led, I realize once again there are no Buddhists in the room, except for me of course. I am reminded the importance of Buddhist teachings is not so much to “be Buddhist” but to cultivate ultimate wisdom and compassion. Read More »

Dhamma Dana: Documentary on Burmese Buddhism screening in Manhattan March 19

Dhamma Dana, an award winning documentary on the Theravada Buddhist tradition in Myanmar (Burma), will be screening at The Interdependence Project in New York City’s East Village. The film won the Best Domestic Documentary Prize at the 2009 Queens International Film Festival. It introduces the Theravada philosophy of monastic life while visiting monasteries, meditation centers, and sacred sites around the country.

This event is being offered for free. The filmmaker will join in meditation before the screening and be available for Q&A after. We ask that all attendees please send an RSVP email to info@theidproject.org. The film is on sale for a good cause. All profit from the sale of the film benefits the Dhamma Moli Project. Read More »

China’s Panchen Lama receives top appointment

Nineteen-year-old Gyaltsen Norbu, named the 11th Panchen Lama by Chinese officials in 1995, has been appointed to China’s top advisory board (see New York Times article). It’s viewed by many Western observers as a move to promote Gyaltsen Norbu as a future leader of the Tibetan people, though it’s unlikely to have that effect. The Dalai Lama identified another boy as the Panchen Lama in 1995—Gedhun Choekyi Nyima (left)—and a few weeks after the announcement, the boy and his family vanished. Chinese officials claim they are in protective custody. Efforts continue to find the Panchen Lama and gain his release from Chinese custody. The Panchen Lama is the second-highest-ranking lama after the Dalai Lama in the Gelugpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism, and is believed to be the reincarnation of Amitabha Buddha.

What to do at India’s Buddhist holy sites

From Siddhartha’s Intent and the Khyentse Foundation

Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche offers advice to pilgrims in his new book, What to do at India’s Buddhist Holy Sites, available for download as a PDF.

Rinpoche wrote the book in response to the questions students frequently ask about going on pilgrimage to Buddhist holy sites. What to do at India’s Buddhist Holy Sites is not a guidebook for ordinary tourists, but for Buddhists who wish to purify their defilements and accumulate merit by going on pilgrimage. Focusing primarily on the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha and the great Indian masters of the past, Rinpoche offers pilgrims advice on Read More »

Oprah interviews Thich Nhat Hanh

“The moment I meet Thich Nhat Hanh at the Four Seasons Hotel in Manhattan, I feel his sense of calm. A deeply tranquil presence seems to surround the Zen Buddhist master.” —Oprah

Click here to read the article and interview on Oprah’s website, which includes Thich Nhat Hanh giving Oprah meditation instruction. Here’s an excerpt:

Oprah: What is happiness?

Nhat Hanh: Happiness is the cessation of suffering. Well-being. For instance, when I practice this exercise of breathing in, I’m aware of my eyes; Read More »

Conference to explore roles and practices in ordained Buddhist orders in America

Posted by the Won Institute

The Won Institute of Graduate Studies Forum on March 28, 2010 will be a historic event, opening a dialogue among major US Buddhist schools and seeking common understanding of the requirements for successfully rooting the traditions in America.

In particular, what policies do Buddhist orders in the US have in the areas of clergy training, criteria for ordination, assigned roles after ordination, compensation, and marital status? Won Buddhism wants to learn from other Buddhist orders’ experiences and to share those lessons with the various Buddhist schools in America to create a collaborative effort to ensure that Buddhism will become strongly rooted in the US. At the full-day conference on March 28, leading Buddhist scholars and teachers will exchange views on the roles of ordained clergy and other religious specialists within Buddhist orders in America. Read More »

Vote for Lotus Outreach!

Lotus Outreach has been nominated to join the CauseWorld community, where users “check in” at stores, using their smartphones to collect “karmas.” These karmas are then donated to charities (like ours), directly influencing philanthropic actions. Please vote for us to be included in the CauseWorld community! Visit blog.causeworld.com and select “Help women in developing countries with: Lotus Outreach” from the voting box on the right side of the page. It takes just 5 seconds!

The top 3 causes with the most votes will have the opportunity to be featured in the CauseWorld application. We can’t win without your help, so please submit your vote and spread the word today. The contest ends on February 28.

The Expert’s Mind: A talk and performance series

The San Francisco Zen Center is sponsoring ten interdisciplinary talks and performances to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Suzuki-Roshi’s classic book, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind.

Each Expert’s Mind event will delve into the minds of scientists and artists across disciplines, engaging them in conversations and performances that invite all involved to experience expertise in fresh and surprising ways. Cognitive linguist George Lakoff suggests, “To be an expert is always to be a beginner, because expertise opens up new worlds constantly.” Read More »

Buddhist Council of the Midwest seeks applications for Women and Engaged Buddhism Award

The Buddhist Council of the Midwest is seeking applications for the 2010 Women and Engaged Buddhism Award: Deadline is March 26, 2010. The award will be presented at the Fifth Annual Buddhist Women’s Conference, May 1, 2010, at DePaul University in Chicago. Read More »

Outstanding Women in Buddhism Awards

The annual Outstanding Women in Buddhism Awards will be held in Bangkok on Friday, March 5. Each year the awards are celebrated as part of International Women’s Day, which is on March 8. This year there are eleven recipients, including Bhiksuni Karuna Dharma (left) from the United States. The primary objective of the awards is to promote the status of women within Buddhism and Buddhist societies.

2010 celebrations of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche begin

From Mangala Shri Bhuti

February 20 — To walk into the courtyard of Shechen Monastery yesterday morning, in Bodanath, Nepal, was to enter into a display of warmth and devotion on a grand scale. A white silk canopy hundreds of feet across rose and fell on the gentle morning breeze over the eighty or so lamas, all close students of Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, who have gathered, along with countless monks, nuns and students from the West and Asia, to join in recalling their teacher’s life and activity. [To quote] the concluding lines of Neten Chokling’s devotional film homage to Khyentse Rinpoche, titled Brilliant Moon, “the teacher lives on in each student’s heart.” Nothing better summarizes the feeling of the Centennial Celebration, and surely, this is what distinguishes the path of Buddhist practice from being a limited worship of something outside oneself. However, this wouldn’t diminish in any way the joy one feels in witnessing the presence of so many younger teachers at the event, like HE Khamtrul Rinpoche and, of course, Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche himself.

Watch video of the event here.
Follow the celebrations here.

Photos by Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi

Dear Friends,

I share with you some photos I recently took at Chuang Yen Monastery. They are an attempt to emulate the mood of classical Chinese landscape painting. This is my first attempt at photography since I was a boy, so please let the experienced photographers pardon the flaws.

With metta,
Bhikkhu Bodhi

Do you have a question about Buddhist practice?

From Tynette Deveaux, editor of Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Quarterly

If you have a question about your Buddhist practice, or about some aspect of the Buddhist teachings and how to integrate them in your life, you can submit it to Ask the Teachers via email: teachers@thebuddhadharma.com. Ask the Teachers is a regular column in Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Quarterly. In each issue, the teachers—Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, Narayan Liebenson Grady, and Zenkei Blanche Hartman—answer a practitioner’s question, offering helpful guidance and insight.

The Dharma Bum Temple

Dharma Bum zazen

Article by Matthew Lickona, San Diego Reader

An old “B.C.” comic strip holds down one corner of the picture window that looks in on the Dharma Bum Temple — a whimsical accent tacked onto an otherwise serene and tasteful tableau:

“Whatcha doing today?” one caveman asks another.
“Nothing.”
“You did that yesterday.”
“I wasn’t finished.”

For Dharma Bum Jeff, who runs the temple’s Sunday-night introductions to Buddhism, it’s an example of Western culture illuminating Eastern wisdom. After the eight souls gathered into the temple’s cozy loft have taken time to settle their minds by sitting and focusing on breathing, Jeff asks, “What did you do to make the mind so still? Read More »

Burmese monk sentenced to 7 years in prison

From a report by Dwyer Arce for The Jurist

A Buddhist monk was sentenced to seven years imprisonment in Myanmar [Burma] during a visit by UN High Representative for Human Rights Tomas Ojea Quintana, an opposition lawyer confirmed Saturday. Gaw Thita was convicted Wednesday by a special court in Insein Prison for violating immigration laws in relation to a trip he took to Taiwan, unlawful association, and for failing to declare foreign currency, according to Aung Thein, a former lawyer for the National League for Democracy (NLD). Thita was arrested at Yangon International Airport in August along with seven other monks Read More »

Whole Child International welcomes His Holiness the Dalai Lama

His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Sheryl Crow join Whole Child International in Los Angeles on Sunday, February 21, at 1:30 pm, at Gibson Amphitheatre, for a special event:

Cultivating Compassion and the Needs of Vulnerable Children

Tickets are still on sale at Live Nation.

President Obama offers support to the Tibetan people

President Obama met with the Dalai Lama, and the Dalai Lama told reporters afterward he was “very happy” with the meeting and that President Obama was “supportive.” According to White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, “The president stated his strong support for the preservation of Tibet’s unique religious, cultural and linguistic identity and the protection of human rights for Tibetans in the People’s Republic of China.” For more on the story, visit SunSpace and this report on Yahoo News.

Investigating and Integrating Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society

Given all of our coverage of the mindfulness movement — in the current “Mindful Guide” issue of Shambhala Sun, on ShambhalaSun.com, and on Shambhala SunSpace — we’d be remiss if we didn’t tell you about the coming event, “Investigating and Integrating Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society: The 8th Annual International Scientific Conference for Clinicians, Researchers and Educators.”

Taking place from April 7-11, 2010 at the UMass Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society in Worcester, Massachusetts, the meeting will be an exceptional opportunity for you to interact with other conference participants and to be inspired by a group of outstanding presenters. Read More »

President Obama and the Dalai Lama meet today

This afternoon President Obama will welcome the Dalai Lama at the White House for a private meeting, despite objections by the Chinese government. This is President Obama’s first official meeting with the Dalai Lama since becoming president. Tomorrow morning, the Dalai Lama will be awarded the Democracy Service Medal from the National Endowment for Democracy at a ceremony at the Library of Congress. For more on the story, visit the International Campaign for Tibet and this article by Reuters.

UPDATE: Here’s official word from the White House on what happened at the meeting.

Interview with filmmaker reveals documentary’s tensions

On the Buddhist Beat, SunSpace blogger Rev. Danny Fisher interviews Buddhist filmmaker James Zito on the challenges of making his new film, Inquiry into the Great Matter: A History of Zen Buddhism.

New magazine shows the face of Bhutanese spirituality to the world

The Bhutan Observer announces its first issue, online and on glossy paper: “In a world first, a new magazine is taking the sacred spirituality of Bhutan to the rest of the world. Top Bhutanese and international writers include Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche on “Going Beyond Space and Time,” Chogyam Trungpa’s life-changing journey to Tigers Nest, Professor Bob Thurman on the emergence of western Buddhism, plus a 6-page feature on the very special teacher-student relationship between Dilgo Khyentse and the Queen of Bhutan with photos from her personal archive.” Read More »

Songs of yogic joy

The Marpa Foundation is proud to announce the launch of a new website for Stars of Wisdom, the latest book by Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso, who is is known for his joyful songs of realization and his spontaneous and skillful teaching style. In this book he explains how to gain clarity, peace, and wisdom through step-by-step analysis and meditation on the true nature of reality. He also introduces readers to the joy and profundity of yogic song, and reveals the power of altruistic aspiration prayers to inspire, transform, and brighten our hearts.

Bat Nha: A Koan — A new message from Thich Nhat Hanh

Posted by Travis May

Many of you have been following the crisis in Vietnam regarding the government’s persecution of Buddhist nuns and monks and the closing of many monasteries there. In a long email, Br Chan Phap Lai sends us an update on what has been happening of late. Vietnamese Buddhists continue to be under assault from the government: being physically abused, humiliated, and forced from their homes — all under the pretext that monasteries, such as Bat Nha, represent a threat to the national security of Vietnam. What is most amazing is the response from the nuns and monks of Vietnam. The marks of their practice are very evident in how they respond to this oppression with compassion, continued peacefulness, and nonviolence. The events now taking place in Vietnam are not at all dissimilar to the diaspora that occurred in Tibet in 1959, and our dharma sisters and brothers in Vietnam deserve whatever support we are able to offer. In Thay’s deeply moving new message, Bat Nha: A Koan, he demonstrates how the situation at Bat Nha is not simply the problem of 400 Vietnamese monks, but something much greater and far-reaching.

The Meditation Initiative – Still the Body, Still the Speech, Still the Mind

Did you ever think a public school assembly in the United States would end with a meditation? It has been quite a journey, but last week Albert Einstein Academy in San Diego concluded its awards ceremony with a guided meditation. The meditation was led by Jeff Zlotnik, co-founder and executive director of The Meditation Initiative, a nonprofit organization sharing secular meditation with thousands of people.

Albert Einstein Academy Assembly

Since the assembly, people have asked if 250 kids actually sat in silence. “Absolutely not!” is the response. But wow, what an experience it was. For about 5 minutes, the kids were asked to observe the sounds and attempt to keep their mind focused on their breath. Life is filled with noise and distractions and our practice is to observe them, yet stay focused on the present moment.
Read More »

They’re expecting!

The head of the Shambhala Buddhist lineage, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, announced today that he and his wife, Khandro Tseyang, are expecting a baby. The two were married in June 2006 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Sakyong Mipham made the announcement during his annual Shambhala Day address. The baby is due in August. Will it be a boy or a girl?? For more on the story, visit the Shambhala Times.