Monthly Archives: September 2011

Tibetan monk promotes peace and diversity in Queens

Photo via khenpokarten.org

In Jackson Heights, a diverse neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens, the Ven. Khenpo Karten Rinpoche recently addressed a group of Latino men and women at the Muhammadi Community Center mosque, there to promote love, compassion and forgiveness. Invited to speak at the behest of the Latin American Intercultural Alliance, the Himalayan-born Rinpoche spoke through his Spanish translator during the event.

See the full article at YourNabe.

Posted on: September 19, 2011 – 1:51 pm

Thich Nhat Hanh to bring mindfulness to House of Representatives and Senate

Thich Nhat Hanh — as Elephant Journal reports — will be “giving a lecture and leading an overnight mindfulness retreat in late October for Members of Congress, their family members and Congressional staff.” It’s not the first time he’s done this. You can read Thich Nhat Hanh’s 2003 address to Congress in the Shambhala Sun archives.

For more, check out Elephant’s coverage, which includes a link for info on how to encourage Members of Congress to attend the retreat and lecture. And for more about the many ways that mindfulness is practiced and understood as a means toward a better way of life for us all, you may wish to check out the Creating a Mindful Society conference, coming to New York at the end of the month. (Unable to attend? Then you may wish to check out the free livestream of many of the conference’s events.)

Posted on: September 19, 2011 – 10:47 am

Korean Seon master Jinje leads prayer procession at 9/11 memorial

The 79th Patriarch of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, Jinje Seonsa, visited the 9/11 memorial in New York at Ground Zero last week to pay his respects to those who lost their lives on 9/11. Sounds of the Korean moktak and chanting filled the air as Master Jinje led a prayer procession of monastics to the location. Master Jinje was in New York to deliver a talk at New York’s Riverside Church later that evening.

Click here for video. More on the story here.

Posted on: September 19, 2011 – 9:41 am

Take an early peek at “The Zen of Steve Jobs” (Updated)

By Adam Tebbe

Steve Jobs, the now-retired CEO of Apple, is featured in an upcoming graphic novel put out by Jess3 and Forbes this fall. The narrative is a reimagining of Jobs and his relationship with the late Kobun Chino Otogawa, the Soto Zen priest who helped at Tassajara Zen Center during its early years and who went on to establish a vibrant lineage in the United States and Europe. Jobs met Kobun Roshi in the late 1970s while Kobun was at Haiku Zendo (Los Altos Zen Center) in California, and carried on his friendship with the late master in the decade that followed.

More, with a peek at a page from The Zen of Steve Jobs, after the jump — now updated with a link to four full pages from the graphic novel. Read More »

Posted on: September 18, 2011 – 9:23 am

Connecting Cambodian-American youth to their language and Buddhist culture

Photo via khmerican.com

How can Cambodian-American youth maintain a connection with the Khmer language and culture, and with their Buddhist roots? The Buddhist Center of New England in Providence, Rhode Island, seeks to answer this question.

Check out this article at The Khmerican to read the story.

Posted on: September 15, 2011 – 1:14 pm

Dalai Lama inaugurates the Centre for Tibetan Studies at Indira Gandhi National Open University

On September 5, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama inaugurated the Centre for Tibetan Studies at Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) in New Delhi. His Holiness was also honored with a degree of Doctor of Letters for his ongoing efforts for peace and for his contributions to the university. According to Gracious Thomas, Director of the University’s School of Social Work, “[the Centre] will develop and launch various programs of study at the graduate and postgraduate levels and provide authentic Tibetan Buddhist teachings to promote dialogues between trans-national scholars, clergy and Tibetan teachers.”

More on the story here, and here, and here.

Posted on: September 14, 2011 – 2:08 pm

Heart Shrine Relic Tour to visit America, Europe, Israel, and Australasia in 2011 and 2012

The Heart Shrine Relic Tour, “a unique and precious collection of more than 1000 sacred Buddhist relics,” has posted an updated schedule. The relics will be seen in a wide, far-flung range of destinations including (but by no means limited to) Iowa, Colombia, New York, Paris, and Brisbane.

Click here for details.

Posted on: September 13, 2011 – 6:16 pm

New Jersey Buddhist Vihara unveils statue of Col. Henry Steel Olcott

Col. Henry Steel Olcott, a New Jersey native, has been immortalized with a statue at the New Jersey Buddhist Vihara, in Franklin Township. As MyCentralJersey.com reports — and as was recounted in the book The White Buddhist by Stephen Prothero — Olcott “left the U.S. in 1878 looking for Buddhism and oriental wisdom and ended up devoting the last three decades of his life to its revival.” Read the full story here. For more about the New Jersey Buddhist Vihara, click here.

Posted on: September 12, 2011 – 3:24 pm

Celebrating “Mindfulness Day”

If you choose a single day to be mindful this year, Wisdom Publications, longtime publisher of books on Buddhism and mindfulness (Mindfulness in Plain English, for example, is a bestseller), hopes you’ll make it today, September 12th.

The publisher’s inaugural Mindfulness Day is meant to raise awareness about the value and benefit mindfulness brings, and to give individuals and communities the chance to experiment with and practice meditation. Read More »

Posted on: September 12, 2011 – 9:55 am

Won Dharma Center Grand Opening

Posted by the Won Institute

Won Buddhism Takes a Major Step Forward in Its North American Ministry

The year 2011 marks the beginning of a historic era in the development of Won Buddhism, with the Grand Opening on October 2 of the Won Dharma Center (WDC, www.wondharmacenter.org), its new retreat center and North American headquarters, in Claverack, New York. The retreat center design, by Hanrahan Meyers Architects (hMa), received the 2010 Faith and Form Design Award from the IFRAA International Award Program for Religious Art and Architecture. The project was featured in the 2010 Awards issue of Faith and Form Magazine and was displayed at the National Convention of the American Institute of Architects in New Orleans on May 12, 2011.

Dr. Thomas Coburn, President Emeritus of Naropa University, commented, “The opening of the Won Dharma Center and the events surrounding the visit of the Head Dharma Master to the United States signal a new maturation in the establishment of Won Buddhism in America.  Read More »

Posted on: September 8, 2011 – 4:28 pm

Khensur Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup passes away

Via FPMT.org

The Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT) reported today that Khensur Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup, former abbot of Kopan Monastery in Kathmandu, has died after a long battle with cancer. (You can read his biography on the Kopan Monastery website, here.) The FPMT reports that he died during a puja ceremony in his name, at Kopan, on September 7, at 11:10 p.m. Nepal time. Follow the FPMT on Facebook for more details and to offer condolences online.

Posted on: September 7, 2011 – 4:34 pm

Making a pledge to Buddhist Global Relief’s “Walk to Feed the Hungry”

By Tynette Deveaux

I finally made my pledge today in support of Buddhist Global Relief’s 2nd annual Walk to Feed the Hungry, sponsoring Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi. The walk will take place Saturday, September 10, in New York and other parts of the country (Bhikkhu Bodhi will be leading a walk in Ann Arbor, Michigan).

Buddhist Global Relief is a wonderful organization that we’ve featured in the pages of Buddhadharma and, in fact, helped spark the creation of by publishing an impassioned commentary by Bhikkhu Bodhi on the subject of Buddhist social engagement several years ago. Bhikkhu Bodhi has been ill of late and has taken time over the summer to deal with his health issues. I know this walk won’t be easy for him, and I admire his commitment and passion for helping others.

Posted on: September 7, 2011 – 10:40 am

Reflecting on Chögyam Trungpa, 25 years after his parinirvana

“April 4, 2012 will be the 25th Anniversary of the Parinirvana (death) of the Vidyadhara the Venerable Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche,” writes Carolyn Rose Gimian on the Chronicles of Chögyam Trungpa website. “Seeing the continuity and growth in the appreciation of his teachings is reason enough to celebrate!”

The Chronicles site has invited Carolyn to launch a discussion on the significance of the 25th Anniversary, how to preserve and propagate Trungpa Rinpoche’s legacy, and how people are going to celebrate or mark this anniversary throughout 2012. For more information and to participate, click here.

Posted on: September 7, 2011 – 9:54 am