If you don’t believe in a creator, or in the laws of nature, or in a permanent object, or in an absolute subject, or in both, or in none, what do you believe in, then? What remains that you can consider a fundamental reality? The answer is simple — it is so simple that we barely consider it being a philosophical statement.
Buddhist Christians apply Buddhist techniques — especially meditation — to their spiritual exploration of Christianity. Because so many people do this on the QT, no one is sure exactly how many practitioners there are…
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — Buddhist monks hurling rocks at Chinese in Tibet, or peacefully massing against Myanmar’s military, can strike jarring notes.
These scenes run counter to Buddhism’s philosophy of shunning politics and embracing even bitter enemies — something the faith has adhered to, with some tumultuous exceptions, through its 2,500-year history.
But political activism and occasional eruptions of violence have become increasingly common in Asia’s Buddhist societies as they variously struggle against foreign domination, oppressive regimes, social injustice and environmental destruction.
The Associated Press: Monk-Led Protests Show Buddhist Activism
Burma Digest provides a link to the eBook, Bullets in the Alms Bowl, published by the Burma government in exile, an analysis of the SPDC suppression of the September 2007 “Saffron Revolution.”
You can download it here (PDF file).
I was struck by a surprising thought as I slid open the paper screen doors: Monks make wonderful gardeners. Below me was a beautifully crafted oasis, nicely pruned pines and maples swaying gently in the summer breeze. I listened to the soothing sound of trickling water as I sipped bitter green tea. It was serene, peaceful, perfect.
Visiting the birthplace of Japanese Buddhism – Travel – LATimes.com
MADISON, Wisconsin, March 27, 2008 (ENS) – A Wisconsin bioscience company and Royal Dutch Shell say they have developed a process to convert plant sugars directly into gasoline and gasoline blend components, rather than ethanol.
The sugars can be sourced from non-food sources like corn stover, switchgrass, wheat straw and sugarcane pulp, in addition to conventional biofuel feedstock like wheat, corn and sugarcane.
The companies have so far collaborated for one year on the research. They say the technology has advanced rapidly, exceeding milestones for yield, product composition, and cost.
Plants Converted Directly Into Biogasoline, Not Ethanol
I’m still not getting the part where this does much beyond depleting our ability to use land area for food crops, but at least it’s better than the ethanol scam.
SHANGHAI — A group of prominent Chinese intellectuals has circulated a petition urging the government to stop what it calls a “one sided” propaganda campaign about Tibet and initiate direct dialogue with the Dalai Lama.
The petition, which was signed by more than two dozen writers, journalists and scholars, contains 12 recommendations. Taken together, they represent a sharp break from the government’s response to the wave of demonstrations that swept Tibetan areas of the country in recent weeks.
Most of the signers are Han Chinese, China’s dominant ethnic group. Their petition accused the government of “fanning racial hatred” in China by blaming ethnic Tibetans for the violence and seeking to inflame passions among the Han to support the crackdown.
Prior to the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet, the majority of the Tibetan people practiced an animistic religion called Bon. Bon originated in Olmo Lungring, a region west of modern day Tibet; it then spread east to Zhang Zhung and finally, to Tibet where it took root. It is still practiced by a minority of Tibetans today as well as, by a significant percentage of Lepchas, the indigenous inhabitants of Sikkim.
Unfortunately, although Tibetan history stretches back thousands of years, writing was only brought to Tibet with Buddhism. In addition to this hindrance, due to persecution of Bon religion, Bon adopted many Buddhist practices (and vice versa). So while we have a good oral history of Bon, no one knows how accurate it is and what the original Bon religion was like. A brief history of Tibetan Buddhism
SHANGHAI — Tibetan monks shouting pro-independence slogans caught Chinese officials by surprise on Thursday during a highly scripted tour for Western journalists in Lhasa’s central Buddhist temple. The protest disrupted China’s effort to portray the recent Tibetan rioting as the work of violent thugs and separatists.
“Tibet is not free! Tibet is not free!” yelled one young Buddhist monk, who then started crying, according to an Associated Press correspondent in the tour.
Government handlers shouted for the journalists to leave and tried to pull them away during the 15-minute protest by about 30 monks at the Jokhang Temple in central Lhasa. It was unclear whether the protesting monks were arrested.
Financial news powerhouse Dow Jones and Company has launched new “dharma indexes” to track the stocks of companies that observe the values of dharma-based religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism.
The Dow Jones Dharma Indexes are the first to measure dharma-compliant stocks and now track more than 3,400 companies globally, according to the company. In addition to the global index, Dow Jones has created dharma indexes for the United States, Britain, Japan and India.
Dharma Investments, a private faith-based Indian firm, partnered with Dow Jones to create the indexes.
“The principle of dharma contains precepts relevant to good conduct, but also the implicit requirement of mindfulness about the sources of wealth — and therefore responsible investing” … Wealth and Responsibility: Dow Jones unveils ‘dharma index’
OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
New Delhi, March 26: The BJP’s top leadership today lashed out at the Manmohan Singh government for its cautious handling of the Tibet turmoil.
The party said Delhi had not fulfilled its duty and had demonstrated its readiness to compromise with independent foreign policy.
The BJP has been critical of the UPA government’s “inadequate response” ever since China used force to suppress the Tibetan uprising.
In a joint statement issued by leader of Opposition L.K. Advani, BJP president Rajnath Singh and former foreign minister Jaswant Singh, the party said: “India must give voice to its concerns — correctly, unequivocally and unambiguously. This is not any interference. It is standing up, by India, for preserving that which is our own, and that which is India’s contribution to all humanity — Tibet’s Buddhist culture and civilisation. This is our bounden duty and our very dharma.”
The BJP leaders pointed out that the Ashok Chakra on the Tricolour is a Buddhist symbol — the Dharma Chakra. “How can we adopt the symbol but ignore the reality?”
by Dr Manpreet Singh
Vietnamese Buddhist master Thich Nhat Tu sits with a group of monks in a temple room at 2am, planning meticulously for the Buddha’s Big Day celebrations – the United Nations Day of Vesak 2008 (UNDV) in Vietnam. He has just arrived from his monastery in Ho Chi Minh City to this hundreds of years’ old Buddhist Temple in Hanoi, for attending the March Second Preparatory meeting of the International Organising Committee (IOC) for UNDV 2008.
This short and bespectacled hard-working master is also the secretary of IOC for the UNDV 2008 – the first-ever and the biggest Buddhist International event to be held in Hanoi from May 14 to 17. Realising the immense importance this international event holds for the Vietnam’s Buddhists, government and the public, master Nhat Tu has been working relentlessly and has come to represent the face of Vietnamese Buddhist preparations for the event.
“It’s a moment of great honour for the Vietnamese people and Buddhists to organise this sacred event of international scale. We all are working against the clock to ensure successful celebrations,” stresses master Nhat Tu, as he keys in on his laptop, rapidly.
Buddhism has a long history of more than 2000 years in Vietnam. Continue reading
While not a work of travel literature in a strict sense, Iyer nevertheless infuses the story of the quiet, compassionate Buddhist monk with vivid descriptions of the many places he takes his message of peace and understanding, particularly his headquarters-in-exile, in Dharamsala, India.
In Iyer’s first interview about the work, I talked with him by phone Monday from Santa Barbara, where he lives three months out of the year….
World Hum | Travel Interview | Pico Iyer: On ‘The Open Road’ and 30 Years With the Dalai Lama
