Posted on Wednesday, July 8, 2009 by Bill
Saffron robes or jeans and T-shirt? | Naseem Khan | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk
In the days when I was an Indian classical dancer, we were beset by doubts and anxieties about authenticity. How could we possibly practise an ancient art form in the rootless west? Were modifications to the form or the teaching method possible? Or were they anathema? If we learned one form of the dance, was it alright to go to a teacher of another form?
I was reminded of those anguished late-night debates at Joseph Goldstein’s session at King’s Place for London Insight Meditation on Sunday. Similar anxieties were raised in the questions from the packed and respectful audience. Broadly, they provided a stream of queries that fell into two camps – firstly how to live the dharma in daily life here – “How do I deal “skilfully” with a neighbour who persistently hems my car in?” – and secondly, how precise about its boundaries should western Buddhism be….
Filed under: Awareness, Buddhism, Dharma, Right Understanding, Sangha, beliefs | Leave a Comment »
Posted on Friday, July 3, 2009 by Bill
Even Amish values aren’t recession-proof
In a 20,000-person community of Amish in northern Indiana, fancy Dutch Harness horses and carriages lined “in dark velvet and illuminated … with battery-powered LED lighting” were the definition of living large. But no matter what your value system, when the economy turns south and you’re suddenly living beyond your means, trouble looms.
Filed under: Business, Philosophy, Religion, beliefs | Leave a Comment »
Posted on Thursday, July 2, 2009 by Bill
An Indian court has ruled that homosexual intercourse between consenting adults is not a criminal act, overturning a federal law dating from the colonial era. MORE>>>
Filed under: GLBT, Human Rights, Relationships, Right Action, Right Speech, Right Understanding | Leave a Comment »
Posted on Thursday, July 2, 2009 by Bill
Posted on Tuesday, June 30, 2009 by Bill
Tibetan Monks and Nuns Turn Their Minds Toward Science – NYTimes.com
DHARAMSALA, India — Tibetan monks and nuns spend their lives studying the inner world of the mind rather than the physical world of matter. Yet for one month this spring a group of 91 monastics devoted themselves to the corporeal realm of science.
Instead of delving into Buddhist texts on karma and emptiness, they learned about Galileo’s law of accelerated motion, chromosomes, neurons and the Big Bang, among other far-ranging topics.
Many in the group, whose ages ranged from the 20s to 40s, had never learned science and math. In Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and nunneries, the curriculum has remained unchanged for centuries….
Filed under: Awareness, Buddhism, Dharma, Education, Right Understanding, Science | Leave a Comment »
Posted on Tuesday, June 30, 2009 by Bill
China’s sacred Mt. Wutai, witness to Buddhist history, joins UN Heritage list _English_Xinhua
Numerous Buddhist constructions, including 68 temples, 150 towers, 146,000 sculptures and many frescoes and tablet inscriptions, were preserved during thousands of years on Mt. Wutai, which witnessed the development of Buddhism in China, Liang told Xinhua.
The mountain, the highest in northern China, had been entwined with Buddhism for more than 1,600 years and appeared in many Buddhist books, Liang said
Filed under: Buddhism, history | Leave a Comment »
Posted on Monday, June 29, 2009 by Bill
Posted on Thursday, June 25, 2009 by Bill
