By Barb Brouwer

Contributor

A warm breeze blows gently through a window of the Salmon Arm Meditation Centre.

There is peace and welcome in this place.

Several rows of chairs face a shrine, which is home to a large statue of Buddha. In front of the shrine is a photo of Geshe La Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche, a master practitioner.

Mike Boudreau, who teaches at the centre and leads weekly meditation sessions, became a practising Buddhist in 2010. The economy had stalled and Boudreau, who owns Technology Brewing, had to downsize his business and, in his words, felt sad for himself.

Nancy Whitticase, a local yoga instructor at the time, sent Boudreaus wife an email letting her know Kelsang Sanden, a teacher from Fraser Valley, was going to lead meditation sessions in Salmon Arm.

Skeptical, Boudreau said he procrastinated for several weeks then attended his first session cautiously, looking for some form of manipulation.

Instead, he was introduced to what he says is a scientific method of finding happiness, which is in developing a happy mind.

Holy cow, this guy figured it out 2,500 years ago, he said of Siddhartha Gautama, a wealthy prince who lived in northern India. Moved by suffering in the world, Gautama left the family compound against his fathers wishes.

Determined to find the answer to happiness, Gautama meditated beneath a Bodhi tree for 49 days before attaining enlightenment. He then set about sharing his path to enlightenment with the world.

Boudreau has learned that most peoples reality is mistakenly based on attachment, when the source is actually ones own heart.

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He believes in the universal law of karma and reincarnation, and said every action a person does creates the cause for them to experience that action in the future.

There are two universal wishes; to be happy and not suffer, he said. If we truly dont wish to suffer in the future, we can purge negative karma and reduce negative mental habits.

Finding happiness requires patience, something he described as the mind that joyfully accepts whatever is appearing in ones life and something that can never exist with the presence of anger.

We need to identify habits that make us want to do positive things and try to let go of the negative, he said, noting Buddhism is a non-judgmental practice and practitioners do not tell others how or what to do.

Boudreau follows the Mahayanist tradition of Buddhism, which seeks to benefit others.

To do that, we have to be on a path to attain enlightenment, he said. This is about training your mind to be peaceful, which leads to happiness, which, in turn, helps others to be happy.

Meditation classes will begin again in the second week of September. To find out more, go online to shuswap.kadampamediation.ca. To register, open the weekly classes tab.

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Focused on the positive: Salmon Arm entrepreneur pursuing path to enlightenment Salmon Arm Observer - Salmon Arm Observer

Tomioka Tessai and Japan art: Flow of Edo, Meiji, and Taisho

Lee Jay Walker

Modern Tokyo Times

Tomioka Tessai(1837-1924) was born in a mainly isolated period in Japan. This concerns the Edo Period that would succumb to the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Of course, Chinese culture and ideas remained potent in Japan throughout the Edo Period. However, before the ending of Edo, the gradual encroachment of America and other Western nations was occurring.

Spirituality, philosophy, and the world of high culture were all embedded within the soul of Tessai. Yet, the Meiji Restoration would alter the dynamics of Chinese culture and civilization that had benefitted Japan enormously. Hence, Japanese nationalism responded to Western colonialism and modernization by copying similar ideas. Therefore, the power dynamics of Northeast Asia were changing dramatically.

Tessai was a bridge in the Japanese art world. For example, he spanned the ending period of eminent bunjinga artists (literati art that looked to Chinese art and ideas). Equally, he was among the earliest artists to focus on nihonga art (Japanese style art that emerged during the Meiji Period).

Also, in the realm of religion, philosophy, and nationalism: Tessai is a bridge to the internal dynamics of the Meiji Period. Hence, during his informative years: he studied Buddhist scriptures, Confucianism, and Taoism. However, with anti-Buddhist edicts and the destruction of vast numbers of Buddhist temples and compounds, Tessai now began to support the restoration of Shinto shrines in tune with the changing power dynamics of Meiji.

The Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art says, Tomioka Tessai was born in Kyoto City, as the second son of a Buddhist vestment dealer. He studied Chinese-style painting in the combination style of both Northern and Southern schools, while being under the scholarly mentorship and support of the Buddhist poet Otagaki Rengetsu. After the Meiji Restoration, Tomioka served as a Shinto priest in present-day Nara, Osaka and Kyoto. Tomioka was an Imperial Household Artist. In his final years, he pursued the ideal of a free, unrestricted man of letters.

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Tomioka Tessai and Japan art: Flow of Edo, Meiji, and Taisho - Modern Tokyo Times

By PTI

AURANGABAD: Amid a row over the national emblem installed atop the new Parliament building in Delhi, its sculptor Sunil Deore said the sculpture should be seen from a distance and from the same angle as the original version at Sarnath is viewed.

The controversy over the national emblem atop the new Parliament building erupted on Tuesday with the opposition accusing the government of giving a "ferocious" look to the sculpture and insulting the symbol, while the BJP dismissed it as yet another "conspiracy" to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Modi had on Monday unveiled the cast of the national emblem on top of the new Parliament building.

The new statue is an adaptation of an ancient sculpture 'Lion Capital of Ashoka' at Sarnath in Uttar Pradesh, dating back to 250 BC.

Its sculptor Deore, who is based in Aurangabad, claimed that he has made the replica of the emblem based on its original version, and added that the new sculpture should be viewed from a distance.

"The original structure is 3.5 feet, while the height of the new one is seven meters. The photo (of the one atop Parliament) which has gone viral on social media is shot from the ground-level angle. But if it is clicked in the manner that shows it parallel to the ground, we can see that it was copied from the national emblem," he told a news channel.

"I am an artist. What sort of expressions people look for I cannot tell. I studied the original model, made a small replica of it initially and a bigger one later. I have made the sculpture only after a detailed study and by following the routine methodology. I had no purpose to show any expressions. I did what is authentic," Deore said.

People should see the emblem atop the new Parliament from the same angle as the original sculpture of Sarnath is viewed, he said.

The opposition parties have accused the Centre of replacing the "graceful and regally confident" Ashokan lions with those having menacing and aggressive posture, while the ruling BJP asserted that the lions atop the new parliament building are a "scaled up" version of the original emblem.

India's democracy has been deeply influenced by Buddhist ideals and symbols, President Ram Nath Kovind said on Wednesday and referred to the national emblem taken from the Ashoka Pillar at Sarnath with the 'Dharmachakra' engraved on it.

The mention of the national emblem by the president at a Buddhist event came amid a controversy over its newly-unveiled cast atop the new Parliament building with the opposition accusing the government of insulting the symbol by giving it a "ferocious" look.

The BJP has dismissed the criticism.

Addressing the Dhammacakka Day 2022 celebrations at Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh through a video message, Kovind said that Buddhism has been one of the greatest spiritual traditions of India.

"Many holy sites associated with the life and teachings of Lord Buddha are located in India. Among those many places, there are four main places,first Bodh Gaya, where he attained enlightenment; second Sarnath, where he gave his first sermon; third Shravasti where he spent most Chaturmases and gave most of the sermons; and the fourth Kushinagar, where he attained the Mahaparinirvana,"Kovind said.

He said that after the Mahaparinirvana of Lord Buddha, many monasteries, places of pilgrimage, universities associated with his teachings were established that have been centers of knowledge.

"Today all these places are part of the Buddha circuit which attracts pilgrims and religious tourists from across India and abroad,"Kovind said.

The president said that "our democracy has been deeply influenced by Buddhist ideals and symbols", according to a statement issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

"The national emblem is taken from the Ashoka Pillar at Sarnath, which also has the Dharmachakra engraved on it. Behind the chair of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the sutra 'Dharma Chakra Pravartanaya' is inscribed,"he said.

Kovind said, the chief architect of the Indian Constitution, Babasaheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar had said that many processes of ancient Buddhist associations have been adopted in the country's parliamentary democracy.

The president said that according to Lord Buddha there is no greater joy than peace.

In the teachings of Lord Buddha, emphasis has been given to inner peace, he said, adding that the purpose of remembering these teachings on this occasion is that all people should inculcate the right meaning of the teachings and remove all the evils and inequalities to make a world full of peace and compassion.

The Ministry of Culture in association with the International Buddhist Confederation is celebrating the Ashadha Purnima Divas, as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, it added.

Read more from the original source:

National emblem atop Parliament should be seen from same angle as original Sarnath version is viewed: Sculptor - The New Indian Express

A recent article by conservative watchdog Campus Reform targeted my collaborative research talk on racial justice work in and as Buddhist practice. The talk traced the multiple ways whiteness has operated in American Buddhism including the erasure of Asian American heritage communities and detailed some of the strategies by which Buddhists of Color and their white allies have been confronting structural racism in their communities for over three decades.

While opponents have dismissed such initiatives as the intrusion of identity politics into the tradition, Joy Brennan, my collaborator, showed how the Yogacara school of Buddhist philosophy provides a framework for recognizing and being liberated from whiteness. Jessica Zu, our respondent, provided historical continuity by linking anti-racist Buddhist work to neglected Asian Buddhist figures such as Lu Cheng, the Chinese Buddhist modernist who forged socially progressive visions of the tradition in the early twentieth century.

Rather than engage with the actual content of the talk, the reporter opted for a website quote from White Awake, one of the anti-racist organizations working with Buddhist communities, and solicited a comment from anti-woke crusader and mathematician James Lindsay in which he linked whiteness to communism and the abolition of private property.

As he put it, Whiteness is the racial repacking of Marxs concept of bourgeois private property. Reposted by Legal Insurrection, another conservative organization, one reader added Critical race theory is more than a delusion, its a disease; another suggested our karmic punishment should be reincarnation as vultures.

The attack on racial justice scholarship by Campus Reform is unsurprising. The conservative organization has an established history of targeting scholars who work on racial justice, with many of my colleagues in religious studies coming under fire.

Research has shown that Campus Reforms so-called attempts to reduce liberal bias have led to professors facing harassment and even being dismissed by their institutions. Such attacks have now become state-sponsored with anti-critical race theory laws being passed for K-12 schools in a number of Republican states and further bills aimed at higher education proposed.

What many will perhaps find more surprising is that the rhetoric being used by Campus Reform and their ilk is far from new to me or fellow researchers working on racial justice in American Buddhism. Rather it echoes some of the white Buddhist backlash to racial justice work. A number of white Buddhists* have adopted the language of invasion and infection in an attempt to discredit long overdue racial justice initiatives in their communities.

Popular Zen teacher Brad Warner, for instance, has declared that racial justice work has nothing to do with Buddhism but is merely a tool of identity politics designed to shame white men. Secular mindfulness teacher Shinzen Young, meanwhile, delivered an explosive rant in which he claimed critical race theory was being used as a hammer to beat half of America to death with and blamed it for the election of a jerk.

Brenna Grace Artinger and I have charted the emergence of a broad spectrum of anti-woke white Buddhists who have attempted to delegitimate and derail racial justice work. We organize these anti-social justice Buddhists into three distinct but overlapping categories: Reactionary Centrists, the Buddhist Right, and alt-Right Buddhists.

We borrow the term reactionary centrist from political theorist Aaron Huertas who defines it as someone who says they are politically neutral but who usually punches left while sympathizing with the right. Reactionary centrism, in other words, is a conservative ideological stance that sees and presents itself as transcendent of ideology.

Such an approach is clearly at work among white Buddhists who claim to be apolitical while mobilizing conservative assumptions and strategies to delegitimate anti-racist work in Buddhism as ideological. A good example here comes from the transnational Buddhist Triratna community.

Given their strong links to the Ambedkar Buddhist Dalit community, an engaged Buddhist lineage that has combatted caste violence and discrimination in India, one might expect to find a similar commitment to justice for other marginalized populations. Indeed, some Triratna practitioners have confronted the legacy of racism within and beyond their communities by consciousness-raising, compiling anti-racist resources, and starting PoC affinity groups and white awareness groups.

In reaction to racial justice efforts, however, seven white male members, an affinity group of its own sort, produced a website called Apramada: Buddhist Perspectives on Society and Culture, whose mission statement declares: The aim of Apramda is to bring Buddhist perspectives to bear on questions facing the world todaya task of urgent importance in an era when public discourse is often clouded by divisive ideologies and partisan animosity. One article title suggests that Buddhists should leave their politics at the temple door. On further reading, however, its clear that its not politics per se but rather a certain type of politics that arent welcome. To give a hint: as the author explains, diversity, like social justice, is one of those words that sounds innocent and good, but is informed by a political ideology that is not so innocent and good.

One wonders why the author sees the call for racial justice in his community as ideological rather than as reflecting the lived experiences of his PoC sangha members. Why did he not include any of the first-person reports by Triratna members of color who have experienced racism within and beyond white dominant Triratna spaces? In fact, in a commonly employed reactionary reverse victim strategy, the only identity group he does name as vulnerable in Triratna are conservatives.

One also wonders how he squares his apolitical call with some of the articles written by his co-editors. Reproducing familiar conservative rhetoric, one of these denounces the postmodern anti-racism of Black Lives Matter and Critical Race Theory but adds a unique twist by comparing the current police racism panic to the ritual panic abuses of the 1980s. Another compares responses to structural racism, climate change, and Covid-19 to mental illness that are wreaking havoc in Western society. Just like Campus Reform, he turns to James Lindsays anti-woke polemics for support.

While Buddhist reactionary centrists seek to naturalize their own conservative political positions as transcendent of ideologies, what we identify as the Buddhist Right explicitly embrace their right-wing positions. In response to a Statement Against Anti-Asian Violence by the Buddhist Churches of America, the oldest Buddhist organization in the U.S., published in the wake of the shootings in Atlanta that left eight people dead, including six women of Asian descent, Jason Manu Rheaume released an article titled Critical Race Theory is Corrupting Buddhism, which claims that critical race theory has not only infiltrated colleges but also Buddhism in America.

Rheaume and two other white Americans, David Reynolds, a former Theravada monk, and Mark Vetanen, a Zen practitioner, have started a new podcast called The Spiritual Right, which reproduces much of Christian conservative anti-woke rhetoric: The West has become a spiritual wasteland of progressive and materialistic forces. Wokeness masquerades as authentic spiritual tradition, gutting and commodifying ancient teachings to fit its values.

Writing under the signifier politically incorrect Dharma, Reynolds had earlier called for an Alt-Buddhism, namely a relatively conservative, non-feminist (in the emasculating, man-hating socialist sense of the word) spiritual system directed mainly by men. One response came in the form of the self-proclaimed alt-right Buddhist group Right-Wing Dharma Squads.

Hiding behind pseudonyms, these four white men have produced a series of podcasts that mock liberal Buddhism and interweave reflections on Buddhist texts with misogyny, antisemitism, and the celebration of Asian Buddhist monastic extremists such as U Wirathu who have incited violence against Muslims.

For those readers who associate Buddhism with progressive liberal values, or hold an ahistorical reading of the tradition as apolitical, the white backlash to racial justice will be a surprise. As within all religious traditions, however, Buddhist doctrine has been used to both support and resist power regimes.

Rather than argue for a real interpretation of the tradition, scholars can illuminate the ways in which reactionary Buddhists attempt to naturalize their own positions while simultaneously claiming progressive positions as distorted by ideology. They can also point out that such a strategy itself performs the operations of whiteness: as African American philosopher George Yancy notes, others have racialized identities but white people are the transcendental norm.

###

*Correction: The word teachers was removed in order to clarify that the subsequently mentioned teachers were not the ones who had in fact used the terms invasion and infection.

###

This article was made possible in part with support fromSacred Writes, a Henry Luce Foundation-funded project hosted by Northeastern University that promotes public scholarship on religion.

See the article here:

Reactionary White Buddhists Have Joined The Fight Against Critical Race Theory - Religion Dispatches

Gary Fishkin found himself in a difficult place after a difficult season.

The Lehigh senior tennis player wasnt happy with his play last season, and so he went searching for a change.

He found Buddhism.

I didnt know much about Buddhism, it was all fairly new, but I was excited to take the journey, Fishkin said. Overall, Im happy with my decision, and I will stick to it.

This was his second conversion in three years, having converted from Judaism to Christianity during his sophomore year. Fishkin said his conversion to Buddhism was a mental challenge, and one he welcomed. He had to change his values to something different in order to find light on the other side. He feels that he has emerged stronger through the journey.

According to the National Geographic Society, Buddhism is centered on the belief that human life is a cycle of suffering and rebirth, where an individuals soul is born again into a different body based on how they lived their past life, which is called karma. However, through techniques such as meditation, good behavior, and spiritual and physical labor, one can achieve nirvana. Nirvana is Buddhists term for a state of enlightenment.

I found myself again, and its clearly showing in my tennis game this season, and I hope it continues, Fishkin said.

Lehigh Mountain Hawks Gary Fishkin, left, and Marc Blekhman speak during their No. 2 doubles match Sunday, March 27, 2022, at Lewis Tennis Center. Fishkin and Blekhman lost, 7-6 (7-5), against Colgates Nick Potter and Rohan Gupta. (Sophie Baraker/B&W Staff)

Being one of two seniors on the team, Fishkin is a leader to his teammates. Last season, Fishkin went 2-0 in singles at the No.6 spot and was the one who delivered the teams walk-off win in the Patriot League quarterfinals against Boston University. This season, Fishkin is 5-4 in doubles and 9-3 in singles after Sundays 7-1 dual win against Colgate.

Fiskin notes a change in his on-court performance and said he has noticed a steady change in his off-court mentality, as well, specifically in the classroom.

I have seen a change, especially from last season to this season, Fiskin said. Im finding a better rhythm, and Im thinking clearer on the court.

Lehigh senior Gary Fishkin, right, and first-year Marc Blekhman adjust the score during their doubles match against Colgate on Sunday, March 27, 2022, at Lewis Tennis Center. They were defeated, 7-6 (7-5). (Katie McNulty/B&W Staff)

This change in Fishkins play has not gone unnoticed.

He is definitely more calm and collected on the court and thinks through problems much better than before, junior teammate Matt Kleiman said. I also think he has had a much more positive mindset in the way he acts on and off the court.

Sophomore teammate David Missry says converting has helped Fishkin find an inner peace, and rather than having a negative outlook when he plays poorly, it has become more neutral, which then allows positive thoughts back in.

I think it was a very good change for him, Missry said. I know we all support him and are happy for him making that decision for himself.

Fishkin is known to be the clutch player for the team. Against Colgate, he won his No. 4 singles match for Lehigh, which ultimately sealed the Mountain Hawks win, as he defeated Benito Vlassis, 5-7, 6-2, 6-1.

He is a very positive player who makes sure that his teammates are also staying positive, Missry said. He just comes through when we need him.

See the rest here:

Journey toward change leads men's tennis player to Buddhism - The Brown and White

After Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha Gautama more than 2,500 years ago in India, it branched off into three different sects: Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana.

In Japan, Zen Buddhism is mostly practiced, which falls under the school of Mahayana Buddhism. Throughout Japan, however, there is a mixture of Buddhism, Shintoism and Taoism, which are easily recognized within the culture.

Respect for nature, as well as reverence for bodhisattvas those who direct their attention, their lives, to practicing the way of life of a Buddha can even be seen in Japanese animations, teaching children and even adults.

With the Academy Awards taking place on March 27, a Bhutanese film Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom offers a Buddhist lesson in fulfillment. It is nominated for Best Picture in the foreign film category.

READ: 5 Things You Didn't Know About The Feast Of St. Patrick

READ: Tricycle's Western Buddhism Essay Shows How Religions Adapt To New Environs

With a movie about Buddhism at the forefront of so much recent attention, below are five animations films of a different sort and within the world of anime that have Buddhist themes and references:

First up and most obvious on the list would be the anime movie Buddha: The Great Departure. It was adapted from the 1972 manga drawn by Osamu Tezuka, who is known for his notable mangas Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion.

Read the rest here:

5 Films That Show How Buddhism Has Influenced Japanese Animation - Religion Unplugged

Buddhist monk, make-up artist, and LGBTQIA+ activist Kodo Nishimura on self-acceptance and the meaning of beauty

Kodo Nishimura talks to us about make-up, meditation, and more

There is an easy metaphor in the fact that Kodo Nishimuras kimono is made out of Uniqlo shirts. The Buddhist monk, make-up artist, and LGBTQIA+ activist has made a career out of combining centuries-old traditions with modern sensibilities. Now, he has published his first book, This Monk Wears Heels, and has just finished celebrating its launch with a series of events at Londons fashionableoutlet for Nordic andJapanese food, clothes and knickknacks,Pantechnicon.

Im speaking to Nishimura in one of Pantechnicons Japanese-style dining rooms. Weve reached the end of our interview but we hang back so that Nishimura can talk me through what hes wearing that day and show me the outfit pictures he regularly posts on his Instagram. The kimono-shirt is the creation of his stylist who bleached, dyed and sewed new buttons onto two button-up shirts. Button the two shirts together, Nishimura tells me, slip the shirt on backwards and tie the sleeves around your waist like a belt.

It might seem contradictory that a Buddhist monk is so fascinated with clothes and make-up, and that he documents these interests on Instagram, or even has an Instagram account at all. There was a point when it seemed that way to Nishimura too, who was born into a family of Buddhist priests and grew up in a temple. In adolescence, he struggled to understand how he could reconcile his LGBTQIA+ identity with his Buddhist upbringing, and it wasnt until he moved to New York at 18that he began to fully embrace his homosexuality.

When I was in New York, or when I was travelling in Europe, I felt that religious values are one of the biggest hindrances for people to be themselves. When I studied Buddhism I used to hate it because how can you be liberated by chanting? But my mother, who is a pianist, told me that before you say you dont like Mozart, you have to study his music. You have to analyse the composition, play it, and then you can have a valid opinion.

I didnt have that valid opinion about Buddhism, so I decided to go into monk training, to see what its like and if it could help me evolve as a person. Returning to Japan and embarking on two-year monk training made Nishimura realise that Buddhism actually supports LGBTQ people and that it says that everybody and anybody can be liberated equally. The essence of Buddhist teaching is not to maintain and preserve a traditional image but to help people. So I thought, why dont I apply that teaching to what people are interested in today, such as make-up or fashion, in order to make Buddhism more relevant and approachable?

Nishimura believes that beauty is the ability to find beauty and make-up is a tool that can be used to enlighten that discovery. His make-up tutorials are designed for all genders with a particular focus on men and trans women. The tutorials encourage them to embrace bold make-up looks that they have admired but might have been too nervous to try themselves; or offer tips like how to use an orange-hued concealer to cancel out the blue-shades of beard shadow.

As Nishimura sees it, the desire to look beautiful can be a positive force rather than a hindrance in your life.

Desire can be the source of suffering, if you are addicted to something that can choke you in the long run, he says. But completely detaching yourself from any kind of desire, whether that is wanting to look beautiful or wanting to have more things, or whatever it is, is not necessarily right. As long as we are human, we must want to live, we must want to eat and sleep, and have sexual desires. So denying desire is not the goal, but eliminating certain desire is the solution.

For instance, if you suffer from a hopeless situation, like losing someone you cant get back, then youneed to give up that desire and move on. If you are so addicted to buying nice clothing that its causing you to run out of money, then giving up the desire and realising that you actually dont need those things is the solution. But becoming entirely free of desire itself is not the goal.

Nishimuras approach to mediation is equally inclusive. He recognises that the idea of emptying your mind might not appeal to everyone, in fact, it doesnt even appeal to him.

I prefer to sort of vomit all the emotions and thoughts onto paper or talk to people about it, he says. Thoughts are like ghosts. Unless you make them tangible, they are going to haunt you. If you write down your thoughts, make them something you can see, then they cant scare you anymore. Its like turning on the lights of the haunted mansion at Disneyland; youre suddenly not scared anymore because you know the why and how.

Another thing Buddhism talks about is how everything has a reason. No one is really trying to make you feel angry or sad, rather [their behaviour towards you] is a reflection of what theyre going through. Being able to see from a distance by writing thoughts and experiences out, and analysing them makes it easier to see how a person is just reflecting their current situation onto us and ultimately makes us feel more chill.

Is there one piece of advice he finds himself thinking about all the time, I ask Nishimura? Its a sin to lie to your heart, he says without missing a beat. Which means finding a way to be in sync with the world around you and not lying to yourself. I keep telling myself because its hard, but thats the only way to make everybody happy, even if it means going against the expectations of your society or community.

Visit link:

Buddhist monk, make-up artist, and LGBTQIA+ activist Kodo Nishimura on self-acceptance and the meaning of beauty - Wallpaper*

Japan art andGoshun: Flow of Buddhism, China, Confucianism, and Kansai

Lee Jay Walker

Modern Tokyo Times

Matsumura Goshun (1752-1811) was a Japanese artist. He belongs to the Edo Period and within a class that adored the rich cultural traits of the Middle Kingdom (China). Hence, from a very early age, the path of Goshun was planned by his wealthy family.

The region of Kansai also enriched the soul of Goshun. This concerns the amazing cultural and religious traits of Kyoto, Koyasan, Nara (the cradle of high culture in Japan), and other esteemed places.

One can easily imagine the early life of Goshun concerning classical history, calligraphy, literature, painting, poetry, and other areas related to the rich cultural traits of his native country and the Middle Kingdom. Equally important, the ties of religion and philosophy emanating from the plethora of Buddhist temples where he lived to the indigenous connection of Shinto and the natural world.

The Met Museum says, Goshun is one of the most important painters of late eighteenth-early nineteenth-century Japan. He is renowned as the founder of the Shij school, itself generally allied with the Maruyama school established by the realist painter Maruyama kyo (17331795). Goshun began his career as an artist when he left his prestigious job as an official at the government mint to study painting; the artists who influenced his development included his teacher Yosa Buson (17161783), one of the great masters of the Nanga school, and kyo, whose studio he joined in 1787.

Goshun first seriously studied painting in the rich cultural settings of Kyoto. His teacher, Onishi Suigetsu, provided a firm foundation for Goshun. In time, he would study the world of poetry and painting under the esteemed Yosa Buson.

The early 1780s were a time of deep anxiety and pain for Goshun. This concerns the death of his wife, his father, and Buson also departed from this world. However, from this tremendous adversity, Goshun would re-emerge and start on a new artistic path.

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/816216

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Japan art and Goshun: Flow of Buddhism, China, Confucianism, and Kansai - Modern Tokyo Times

Posted on: March 24, 2022, 08:35h.

Last updated on: March 24, 2022, 09:36h.

A Buddhist monk tasted what its like to have a huge cache of money after winning the lottery. As quickly as it came, the money went, as the monk decided to give away his fortune.

Many people dream of hitting it big in the lottery. They fantasize about what they would do with their newfound fortune. For most, the money means trips, paying off bills, and shopping sprees.

One man in Thailand tasted wealth earlier this month, but only for a fleeting moment. Surprised that he won, a Buddhist monk gave away his fortune to villagers. $500,000 goes a long way in Thailand.

Late last month, a Buddhist monk in the Thai city of Nakhon Phanom purchased three lottery tickets, according to media outlet Thairat. He bought the tickets, not in search of fame and fortune, but, as he tells the story, to help out a lottery vendor who was going through a rough patch.

The lottery draw took place on March 1, and after learning he had won 18 million Thai baht (US$500,000), the unidentified 47-year-old monk suddenly found himself in a quandary. He likely didnt expect to win, but quickly realized that he could make others lives better.

The monk began giving away his fortune, which he called money that belonged to the angels. Initially, according to the media outlet, he donated to his temple, local schools, and civic organizations. In just the first week after receiving his winnings, he had donated 1.5 million baht (US$45,000).

He then decided to give to the locals, in a community where the average monthly wage is 14,053 baht (US$419), 500 baht (US$15) each. However, as word spread, people began lining up for handouts. After giving away $15,000, he reduced the amount to 200 baht (US$6) per person.

The scene, at one point, got out of hand. Local police arrived to control the crowds and make sure the charitable initiative didnt get too wild.

In 2018, a trio of Thai monks pitched in to buy a lottery ticket. They won 18 million baht. However, that lucky draw had a different outcome.

As news outlets reported at the time, the monks decided to drop out of sight in order to meditate. No further details emerged after that.

Two years later, another monk, Montri Samajjo, won 18 million baht after he purchased three tickets. As with the latest winner, he, too, made the purchase in order to help out a vendor going through a difficult time.

He gave each of his three children one million baht (US$29,820), while a part of the money went to the temple and to charity. The rest, according to media outlets, became part of a future charity fund.

Nothing in Buddhism prevents monks from recreational gambling. On the other hand, in strict Buddhism, theyre not allowed to hold money. Therefore, participation in gambling isnt a common activity.

There have been some exceptions that have called into question Buddhist practices. Over the years, a number of incidents involving Buddhist monks caught gambling and partying have made headlines. However, the decision of the Nakhon Phanom monk shows what the religion is all about.

See more here:

Thai Monk Hits Big Lottery Win, Gives It All... - Casino.Org News

Ill begin with a story: One day, the venerable Ananda, the Buddhas first cousin and beloved attendant, sat by the Buddhas side beholding all that was before them. Ananda said to the Blessed One, This is half of the holy life, lord: admirable friendship, admirable companionship, admirable camaraderie.The Buddha replied, Dont say that, Ananda. Dont say that. Admirable friendship, admirable companionship, admirable camaraderie is actually the whole of the holy life. When one has admirable people as friends, companions, & colleagues, they can be expected to develop & pursue the noble eightfold path the path leading to the release from suffering.

From the Buddhas perspective, spiritual friendship is the whole of the holy life. What are the implications of this?

First off, I want to take a moment to tease myself about the images that come to mind when I hear the word holy. It has no doubt been shaped by many Christian influences the word can evoke images of angels, halos, priests, monks, & nuns in prayer, the clouds parting and a beam of sunlight shining down upon a particularly pious person Its interesting to notice how foreign it can feel to me to even consider my own life as holy.

I mean, come on I like to swear. I fart. I am not pure. I can have mean and sometimes violent thoughts. Mother Teresa, I aint.

But in writing this talk and reflecting on the automatic associations I have with the word, my understanding of the holy life shifted. To me, all life is sacred. It is also messy and painful. Perhaps living a holy life is more about a commitment to trying to recognize and remember the sacredness, the emptiness, the Buddha nature that pervades the whole universe, existing right here and now in ourselves and all beings. And of course, falling short, again and again. And then returning, again and again, to that commitment.

From this perspective, its easier for me to think that yeah, maybe this very Mo, this very life, as messy and imperfect as it might be as many mistakes as I make maybe this is a holy life, farts and all.

And maintaining this aspiration and commitment to living in an upright and compassionate way definitely requires help. No one else can do it for us, but we also cant do it alone.

According to the Buddha, spiritual friendship is the whole of the holy life. Friendships like these are regularly seen in sanghas. Sangha is a Sanskrit term that means community, and originally referred to the Buddhas ordained followers. In fact, the Sutra of the Wheel of Dharma tells us that after the Buddhas enlightenment, his very first public teaching about the four noble truths was to 5 former friends ascetics he had studied alongside for many years, who then became the first Buddhist monks and members of the first sangha.

As Buddhism has spread to the west, the word sangha has evolved to refer to Buddhist communities as a whole, lay and ordained alike. Fellow walkers of The Way, now with vastly more householders, forming communities of spiritual friends.

This is where we can find people who are learning and studying and practicing the Buddhas teachings people who have perhaps clarified some things in their lives, who continually seek a deeper and more intimate understanding, and who can help guide others.

Fellow walkers of The Way who make compassion and ethical living an active and intentional practice.

And while this can sound somewhat ideal, much like my original associations with the word holy, do not be fooled every sangha filled with great people is still very much human, still 100% subject to grappling with greed, anger, ignorance, distraction, ego, miscommunication, and mistakes. Good people who can still fuck up and hurt each other.

And it is for this very reason that I believe the Buddhas words to be true: Admirable friendship, companionship, and camaraderie is actually the whole of the holy life. Because its not just about our relationships when things seem to be going well importantly, critically, its also about how we navigate conflict and difficulty.

I used to collect rocks growing up, and one year I got a rock tumbler as a birthday gift. It was this small drum-like bucket that I put some of the stones Id collected into; added a bit of water, closed the bucket, turned on the little motor, and the tumbler would turn the drum round and round, knocking the rocks into each other over and over again. In time, the rocks eventually became smoother and more polished; they were still very much the same ol rocks, but through the process different qualities were brought forth. This was only possible because they tumbled together, knocking into one another and helping to smooth out each others rough edges.

I did not grow up with a strong understanding of community. While I was very close with my immediate family, we lived over 500 miles away from our nearest relatives; 800 miles away from my nearest grandparents; and almost 1,200 miles from my nearest cousins. I had friends in my neighborhood, but there was no real sense of community. I went to an Episcopal church and Sunday school as a child, but there was no strong sense of community there either it was just something my parents made us do on Sundays until middle school, when they got divorced. The closest experience I had to feeling like part of a community back then was at my high school.

Thankfully I learned about Buddhism during these years, and met people who claimed to be Buddhist, but really Zen was just conceptual at the time. Lots of fascinating ideas, but it was definitely not a verb not something I understood or knew how to do. It wasnt until I met Tom our freshman year of college (and who is now my husband, also a senior dharma teacher in Empty Moon), that I first encountered an authentic practitioner who studied and sat zazen. I didnt at all understand the scope or importance at the time, but among many other things, meeting Tom completely altered the course of my spiritual life. Hes the one who really introduced me to the Buddhadharma and Zen practice one of many things I am endlessly grateful to him for.

So to become a Zen Buddhist, one must receive and uphold the precepts, and take refuge in the three jewels: Buddha, Dharma, Sangha. Tom really introduced me to the first two, and of these three jewels, I came to sangha last many years later.

I want to pause here and unpack what it means to take refuge for a moment.

Taking refuge means to find a place of shelter and protection from some kind of danger. In Zen, we seek refuge from the many passions that jerk us around; from our cravings and aversions; from feeling distressed, broken, fearful from suffering at large. We seek shelter from the wheel of samsara, the endless cycle of death and rebirth.

But how can we find any measure of safety and security in this inherently unsafe and unstable world? What solid ground is there to be found?

You might recognize this from chanting The Three Refuges: Buddham Saranam Gacchmi, which means I take refuge in Buddha. The literal translation of those Pali words is not I take refuge in Buddha however the literal translation is, I will undertake to find my home in the Buddha.

To take refuge in Buddha is to accept that we can realize and awaken to our true buddha-nature, just as the man Siddhartha Gautama did. Buddha was not his name, after all; it was a title he received after his enlightenment, meaning One who is awake or the Awakened One.

Taking refuge in Buddha means we will undertake to find our home in Awakening.

To take refuge in the Dharma is to undertake finding our home in the teachings the Four Noble Truths, and practicing the Eightfold Path. Its a commitment to seeing things as they really are, an intricate web of connections beyond all concepts of Self and Other; an awakened way of seeing the world that leads us out of suffering and to the opening of the heart.

And taking refuge in Sangha, the jewel that I came to last? Here, we undertake to find our home among spiritual friends. Here, we vow to look for and offer support, inspiration, and guidance among those who practice the Eightfold Path fellow walkers of The Way.

When we practice living our lives like this an aspirational way of living that we are sure to fail in, again and again what were really saying is, I promise to do all I can to uphold and embody these teachings, to live with an open heart.

Tom was my first true spiritual friend in Zen, and for many years I studied and practiced with few others. My spiritual life was very much a personal practice, not one that I wanted to share with a wider community.

Years later this completely changed when I was introduced first to the Zen Peacemakers, then to the Boundless Way sangha (where we first met James, Jan, and Ed), and now these past 6 years with Empty Moon, meeting Janine and Chris, and practicing with all of you in this vibrant sangha. These communities have had a profound impact on my life, shaking the ground of a practice that at first Id held quite close to my chest.

In a way, discovering the jewel of Sangha has been like moving into technicolor the experience of regularly sitting zazen with other people; having interviews with teachers; engaging in koan practice; participating in precept and study groups; learning how to chant and do kinhin; the humbling experience of learning how to bow; finding opportunities to contribute and learning to receive (not easy); joining and serving in retreats, both in-person and virtual; and above all, forming friendships with other beautifully flawed practitioners.

Ive been continually gobsmacked by the ways that Sangha breathes life into the other jewels, Buddha and Dharma. This has brought a wholeness to my practice that I didnt even know I was missing in those early years. And not because its all sunshine and lollipops even among spiritual friends, people are still people: they can be as encouraging and inspiring as they are frustrating and disappointing. But thats part of our agreement as a community to lean into discomfort and difficulty together, and to support each other in our mutual aspiration and commitment to living in an upright and compassionate way.

Practicing together, in this community of spiritual friends, is precious. And pretty incredible that weve achieved this while anchoring ourselves as a primarily virtual community these past couple of years. Each one of us contributes to the life of our sangha in a meaningful way. We are mirrors, encouraging and challenging each other, always aiming to deepen our practice and our intimacy with just this even when just this aint so pretty. We explore what it means to be human together, returning again and again to curiosity, compassion, and to our breath.

No one else can do this for us, yet we cannot do it alone. Please, reflect on the implications of this; do not take it, or each other, for granted. Together, we seek to find the perfection of the wise heart. We make our way through this one continuous mistake, tumbling together and smoothing out each others rough edges, while navigating the many passions that jerk us around. Together, we practice.

Our sangha, our spiritual friendships it is here that we find not half, but the whole of this sacred and holy life, farts and all where we undertake to find our home in Awakening. How can we be anything but grateful?

See more here:

The Holy Life, Farts & All | James Ford - Patheos