Filed under: Buddha, Buddhism, Buddhist Studies, India, Indian History, Links, Monks, Nepal, News, Non-fiction, Religion, Sir Lanka, Spirituality, Tibet, Tibetan Buddhism, archaeology, dharma, enlightenment, history, meditation, monasticism, non-violence, osho, peace, philosophy, revolution, social reform, tantra | Tags: archaeology, Buddhism, Buddhist Studies, history, India, Indian History, monasticism, Monks, netbooks, Nuns, Religion, Shangri La, Sri Lanka, tantra, Tibetan Buddhism
Here’s what’s going on in the world of Buddhism:
Jonney Shih, Chairman of Asustek, which introduced the first netbook three years ago, “ushered in a revolution in the stagnant PC industry.” He partially credits Buddhism for allowing him to “think clearly” enough to create the netbook. But really, is the netbook that revolutionary? While laptops have gradually gotten larger over the years, now they are just getting smaller and more compact. It’s interesting that Apple refuses to produce a netbook…until next year, when they will inevitably own the market… If this lil’ diddy aint Zen, I don’t know what is.
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People are still trying to find Shangri-La. Although the art found in the Nepal cliff is beautiful, it doesn’t prove Shangri-La, or the antiquity of Buddhism. Since Shangri-La was a literary invention of James Hilton, who wrote Lost Horizon, there’s a very good chance it does not actually exist. And here’s another link to people relentlessly searching.
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Did you know that some Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka have their own political party? Venerable Battaramulle Seelaratana Thera will run for the presidency in January. The Venerable monk is the Secretary for the Perekum Housing Project. So I guess he likes helping poor people. At least the Janasetha Peramuna party got two votes (.01%) in an election in September. They got 67 (.01%) in the UVA Provincial Council Elections. As long as there’s a chronological difference between the two elections, there’s at least a slight voting increase. Here’s a thoughtful piece on the campaign for self-determination for the Tamil minority in Sri Lanka.
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Tantra now used in dating in Europe. I don’t know what this means, really, but it sounds fun. Sounds like something Osho could have supported… According to the article, “Tantra teachers are also giving out tips on how to be more attractive.” Sign me up.
From Oshoviha.org
Filed under: Biography, Book, Buddha, Buddhism, Buddhist Studies, India, Indian History, Mahabodh, Monks, Religion, Spirituality, archaeology, awakening, book review, books, dharma, enlightenment, history, meditation, monasticism, philosophy | Tags: Book Reviews, Buddhism, Buddhist Studies, history, India, Indian History, Kevin Trainor, Relics, Religion, Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan history, Veneration
Periodically I will be presenting “aggregated” book reviews — that is, academic reviews of important scholarly books on Buddhist studies. What do I mean by aggregated? Well, I collect numerous reviews from various journals and present the important pieces from the reviews on this blog. In this manner, the collated bits of information will hopefully be a resource for the book’s content, argument, and controversy (if any). Together, the bits of information will ultimately give a faithful summary of the book and of any opposing views. Just the facts, quick and easy. At least that is the intention.
This week’s book:
Relics, Ritual, and Representation in Buddhism: Rematerializing the Sri Lankan Theravada Tradition. By KEVIN TRAINOR. Cambridge Studies in Religious Traditions, vol. 10. Cam- bridge: CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, 1998. Pp. xiv + 223. $54.95.
Filed under: Buddha, Buddhism, Buddhist Studies, India, Links, Mahabodh, Monks, Nepal, Opinion, Religion, Spirituality, activism, archaeology, awakening, dharma, enlightenment, history, meditation, monasticism, peace, philosophy | Tags: archaeology, Buddhism, Buddhist Studies, India, monasticism, Monks, Nuns
Here’s what’s going on in the world of Buddhism:
Fully Ordained Sister Dhammavijaya with Nepalese girls, from Dhamma Moli’s website
On October 22nd, 2009, in Perth, Australia, there was a controversial ordination of a number of Theravadin nuns (Bhikkunis). However, now, Thanissaro Bhikku, a semi-famous white Buddhist convert from the United States, has written a testy rejection of the ceremony according to his knowledge of the Pali vinaya. Whether or not his logic computes or not, I have to wonder how two particularly bold Burmese bhikkunis feel about the matter. Look at Dhamma Moli’s website to see what the courageous Bhikkunis Molini and Dhammavijaya (both holders of PhDs) are up to now-a-days. From their website: [The Dhamma Moli project provides] shelter and education in a Buddhist monastic environment to needy young Nepalese girls who may fall victim to human traffickers and child labor.
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In Bodh Gaya, there is still tension over the control of the sacred Mahabodhi temple. The tension began in the late 19th century when Anagarika Dharmapala (1964 – 1933), a Theosophist, visited Bodh Gaya and “spontaneously” decided to wrestle the site away from the controlling Hindus. He credited Sir Edwin Arnold’s “The Light of Asia” as inspiration. Dharmapala separated from the Theosophists later and established the Mahabodhi Society, a group that still exists. The group strives for Buddhist control of the Mahabodhi temple and urges its followers to create an awareness of Buddhism in India.
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Archaeology continues to be employed to deceive people about the truth and non-truths about ancient Buddhism’s antiquity. According to The Buddhist Channel, two terracotta figures were discovered in the Gujarat. The article dates the two Padmasana figures to the Third Century BCE. This “remarkable” discovery sounds sketchy, at best, as 1.) evidence for the existence of Buddha images before the 1st century CE is scarce if not entirely absent; 2.) what is Padmasana pose? Did they mean Bhumi-sparsha-mudra? If so, the development of the Shakyamuni bodhisattva is not until well into the Common Era — this stylistic fact would place these figures into the Common Era and not before it. However, historical skepticism aside, if these figurine truly are 3rd century BCE, then this changes everything we might know about early Buddhist art in India; 3.) who excavated this site? The article is remarkably barren of citations and a single reference to ASI State Director YS Rawat does not justify this so-called major discovery.
Filed under: Biography, Buddha, Buddhism, Buddhist Studies, India, Indian History, Religion, awakening, dharma, enlightenment, history, lecture, meditation, peace, philosophy, podcast, webcast
I recently posted a link to an excellent webcast/podcast by Professor Richard Salomon from the University of Washington regarding searching for the Buddha-vacana (words of the Buddha). The hour-long webcast contains valuable information about ancient Buddhism and for those of you who cannot watch, or have the patience to watch, the webcast, I have summarized it for you here.
The title of the talk is “In Search of the Words of the Buddha” and can be located in its digital form at the following link: http://depts.washington.edu/uwch/katz/20052006/richard_salomon.html.
I have done my best to write-up a quick summary of the talk by Salomon. In the summary, I attempted to avoid academic jargon and the summary is, by no means, an academic piece of work or a reflection of my scholarly aptitude. It is simply a 30 minute write-up for blog publication. Please forgive my grammatical shortcomings.
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A young nobleman named Siddartha Gautama lived in Northeastern India around the fifth century B.C.E. (Before Common Era). He obtained enlightenment, earned the title Buddha, and his followers orally transmitted his teachings and words (Buddha-vacana) in the first few centuries of the new religion’s existence. During the first century B.C.E., it is hypothesized that the Buddha-vacana first began to be written down. However, the earliest manuscripts available to researchers date to the extremely late centuries C.E. (5th-10th). With the production of a written Buddha-vacana came canonization. A single Buddha-vacana canon, however, is extraordinarily voluminous and with such a large collection comes a fundamental problem: nobody can master all of it. (more…)
