65th Annual Northwest District Buddhist Convention coming to Spokane

Spokane Buddhist Temple

This February 17 through 19, more than 350 Shin Buddhist practitioners will gather at the Davenport Hotel in Spokane, WA for the 65th Annual Northwest District Buddhist Convention — the theme being “Under Amida’s Umbrella of Compassion.” Hosted by the Spokane Buddhist Temple of Spokane, the opening speaker will be Ven. Bhante Seelawimala of the Institute of Buddhist Studies and the keynote speaker will be Rev. Marvin Kenji Harada of the Orange County Buddhist Church.

The convention will include an opening and closing Buddhist service, a day of workshops in English and Japanese, a bookstore & gift shop, a banquet with entertainment (Spokane Taiko Japanese Drumming & a DJ with dancing), and a hospitality room. Speakers will deal largely with the topic of compassion. Read More »

Bangladesh’s “Bana Bhante” dies at age 93

The Daily Star reports that Sadhana Nanda Mohasthabir — the venerated Bangladeshi
Buddhist monk better known as “Bana Bhante” — died recently in hospital care in his hometown of Rajban Bihar in Rangamati. Arun at the “Angry Asian Buddhist” blog does an excellent job of putting Bana Bhante and his importance into historical perspective (and offers links to his teachings online) — we recommend checking that out, here.

13th Sakyadhita International Conference on Buddhist Women calls for papers

The 13th Sakyadhita International Conference on Buddhist Women — which will be held this year in Vaishali, India — has issued its annual call for papers. The theme this year is “Buddhism at the Grassroots.” Sakyadhita, or “Daughters of the Buddha,” describes itself as “the world’s leading international organization of Buddhist women… an alliance of women (and men) committed to transforming the lives of women in Buddhist societies.” You can watch highlights from last year’s conference, which was held in Thailand, here.

Commemorating the parinirvana of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche

Photo (detail) by James Gimian. Used by permission.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the passing of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche — the great Buddhist teacher who (among many other accomplishments) founded the Shambhala Sun magazine. To mark this, the January 2012 Shambhala Sun includes “Ocean of Dharma,” Barry Boyce’s look at the life and work of Trungpa Rinpoche, and we’ll be sharing teachings from Rinpoche in the magazine all year. (Look for “A Meditation Instruction,” the first of these teachings, in the next, March 2012 issue.)

Also remembering Trungpa Rinpoche are our friends at Sounds True, who are offering “When Lightning Strikes,” a six-week online interactive event series about his life and teachings, led by Reggie Ray. It begins on February 15. For information about “When Lightning Strikes,” click here.

Tibetan counties on lockdown, another Tibetan shot dead

The counties of Draggo and Serta in Tibet are on lockdown now — no telephone, internet, or visitors to the area since Chinese forces opened fire on protesters there on January 24 and 25. According to the Tibetan Review, “Exile Tibetan and Tibet support groups have said up to six Tibetans were killed in Draggo and at least five killed in Serta, while many other[s] were injured and that there had been large scale arrests.” Read More »

Update: Right Livelihood — Shambhala Sun Foundation hiring for three positions

We at the Shambhala Sun Foundation — the independent, nonprofit corporation that publishes the Shambhala Sun and Buddhadharma magazines — seek three new colleagues. Click here for details.

India: University of Buffalo professor researching Buddhist legal systems

University of Buffalo Professor Rebecca French, an expert in Tibetan law, is currently on a Fulbright scholarship in New Delhi, India, conducting research on Buddhist legal traditions. Hosted by Jawaharlal Nehru University, her project is titled “The Buddha’s Theory of Secular Law.”

In a piece from the UB Reporter, French explained that “the result of this project will be a book that will provide a more nuanced understanding of legal ideas during the Buddha’s life, Read More »

1991 Wat Promkunaram massacre retrial begins

Jonathan Doody's booking shot

In 1991, Wat Promkunaram in Waddell, Arizona, was shaken by a mass murder — the largest in the state’s history — which left six monks, a nun, and two temple helpers dead. Two years later, 17-year-old Jonathan Doody was convicted of the crime. He was sentenced to 281 years in prison, based on the testimony of an alleged accomplice and his own confession.

In 2010, however, Doody’s conviction was thrown out by the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals, which found that his confession had been coerced. Read More »