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Science, Reality, the Internet and Buddhism. Ajahn Brahm in Vancouver 2005
Ajahn Brahm gave this talk at Simon Fraser University on Thursday November 17, 2005 in Burnaby, near Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Ajahn Brahm was tou...

By: Brian Ruhe

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Science, Reality, the Internet and Buddhism. Ajahn Brahm in Vancouver 2005 - Video

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Buddhism : The Wisdom of Compassion and Awakening vol 3

By: Philip Chuah

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Buddhism : The Wisdom of Compassion and Awakening vol 3 - Video

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Buddhism : The Wisdom of Compassion and Awakening vol 2

By: Philip Chuah

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Buddhism : The Wisdom of Compassion and Awakening vol 2 - Video

An Introduction to Buddhism

To do no evil;

To cultivate good;

To purify one's mind:

This is the teaching of the Buddhas.

--The Dhammapada

The Buddha was born Siddhartha Gautama, a prince of the Sakya tribe of Nepal, in approximately 566 BC. When he was twentynine years old, he left the comforts of his home to seek the meaning of the suffering he saw around him. After six years of arduous yogic training, he abandoned the way of self-mortification and instead sat in mindful meditation beneath a bodhi tree.

On the full moon of May, with the rising of the morning star, Siddhartha Gautama became the Buddha, the enlightened one.

The Buddha wandered the plains of northeastern India for 45 years more, teaching the path or Dharma he had realized in that moment. Around him developed a community or Sangha of monks and, later, nuns, drawn from every tribe and caste, devoted to practicing this path. In approximately 486 BC, at the age of 80, the Buddha died. His last words are said to be...

Impermanent are all created things;

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An Introduction to Buddhism - My Webspace files

HOME Online Since 1995 BUDDHISM & SHINTISM IN JAPAN A-TO-Z PHOTO DICTIONARY OF JAPANESE RELIGIOUS SCULPTURE & ARTVIDEO of site author explaining Ni iconography (Oct. 2013) VIDEO of site author exploring Buddhist treasures (April 16, 2013) INTERVIEW with site author (Japan Times, August 7, 2010)

This photo library and dictionary is a labor of love. After moving to Kamakura in 1993, I became intrigued by the many deities and faces of Japanese Buddhism and Shintism. There are dozens of Buddhist temples and Shint shrines near my home, many dating from the 8th to 13th centuries, many open to the public. There are 400+ deities in this dictionary, and 4,000+ photos of statuary from Kamakura, Nara, Kyoto, and elsewhere in Japan. Use the search box to search in English, Japanese, Chinese, or Korean for deities not listed at left. Any mistakes or omissions at this site are my responsibility. Please contact me if you discover any. In July 2006, I launched the online store and gallery Buddhist-Artwork.com. It sells quality hand-carved wood Buddha statues and Bodhisattva statuary from Japan, China, and SE Asia. It is aimed at art lovers, Buddhist practitioners, and laity alike.

WHATS NEW (Sept. 2014) Mt. Tiantai Art (110 pix) Zodiac & 28 Moon Lodges Hina Dolls & Scapegoats Medicine Buddha (50 pix) Videos on Buddhism Seven Luckies Revisited Star Worship in Japan Korean Buddhism (280 pix) Modern Artists (35 pix) Benzaiten (260 pix) Medieval Art in Japan Tanuki (175 pix) Becoming a Shrine Priest Bishamonten (80 pix) Daruma & Zen (80+ pix) Kappa Revisited (31 pix) Baku - Nightmare Eater Shki - Demon Queller Kannon Guide (130+ pix) Jiz Handbook (90+ pix) CHINA RELATED Longmen | Ni | Shitenn

Fourth, this project was prompted by a dissatisfaction with existing literature on Japanese Buddhist statuary. I still visit book stores and libraries hunting for the perfect English handbook on Japanese Buddhist sculpture. But I must admit, I have yet to find anything that satisfies me. Mountains of publications are out there. Many are aimed at the scholarly community, devoted to hyper-specialized topics, and extremely academic (thus "indecipherable" to the lay community). Another wellspring of information comes from museums, curators, art historians, and collectors. While lavishly illustrated exhibition catalogs and glossy art magazines are much appreciated and easier to read, these publications tend to ignore the religious underpinnings of Asian art. Instead of providing a broad historical view of the statue and its significance as a living icon, they tend to emphasize a piecemeal "bite-size" approach involving aesthetics, dating and provenance, technique, material, genre, and style. A third copious source of information comes from temples, practitioners, spiritualists, and independent web bloggers. Their publications are written for the general public but suffer from too much preaching, promoting, fabrication, self-interest, inconsistency, inaccuracy, and just plain "unreadability."

Dont get me wrong. There are excellent resources (see bibliography) out there by scholars and art historians, but yet I'm unsatisfied. The best of the lot, in my mind, are the books entitled Sculpture of the Kamakura Period (by Hisashi Mori, 1974), Portraits of Chgen: The Transformation of Buddhist Art in Early Medieval Japan (by John M. Rosenfield, 2010), and Faith and Power in Japanese Buddhist Art from 1600 to 2005 (by Patricia Graham, 2007). As for online resources, the Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System (JAANUS) is by far the best digital dictionary devoted to Japanese art. It contains English definitions for over eight thousand Japanese terms related to religious sculpture, architecture and gardens, painting, ceramics, textiles, metalwork, and art-historical iconography. Another monumental work is the Digital Dictionary of Buddhism or DDB (log in with user name = guest). This online dictionary contains English definitions for over sixty thousand Chinese terms (as of May 2013), along with pronunciations in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese. The DDB is also linked to the SAT Taish Shinsh Daizky (a digitized & searchable version of the Buddhist canon). Together they represent an invaluable reference work for Buddhist studies.

The study of Japanese religions and religious art has expanded greatly in the West over the past five decades. Until the 1960s, the field was populated mostly by college teachers and museum curators interested in collecting, but they had little or no training in Asian languages. Today the field is rooted firmly in Asian language sources and is highly specialized, with most universities emphasizing cult-specific, site-specific, ritual-specific, and deity-specific studies. These changes have deepened the discipline enormously, despite the tendency of hyper-specialization to narrow the outlook.

Thus I began in 1995 with my first digital camera, along with the help of my scanner. Ive been digging around ever since. This site is my tribute to Japanese Buddhist sculpture and, to a lesser degree, Shint art. It is written for scholars, art historians, practitioners, and laity alike, and attempts to remedy the dissatisfactions I mention above. Finally, let me express my gratitude and thanks to all the fine people, temples, shrines, museums, web sites, books, magazines, and other resources that have contributed to this ongoing project.

TIMELINE

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JAPANESE BUDDHISM - Onmark Productions Web Designs ...

Buddhism is not only a religious philosophy, but a science encompassing the entire universe. It is the Buddha who first divulged the existence of life in outer space rather than western scientists who conducted international research on space today, said Construction, Engineering Services, Housing and Common Amenities Minister Wimal Weerawansa.

The Minister said so addressing a meeting held at the Hanwella Jalthara Yogashramaya, to felicitate its Viharadhipathi Ven. Koratota Wimaladhamma Thera, who was appointed Chief Sanghanayake Thera of Hewagam Korale with the honourary title Sri Kashyapa Wansalankara Shasana Sobhana recently.

Minister Weerawansa who said that Western magic could not contest the sublime truth found in Buddhism, said Buddhism was a philosophy of life which had identified and addressed our hearts. That was the reason we were able to reverse attempts made by terrorists to come out as a separate state in this country when values of generosity and sacrifice imbibed by Buddhism encouraged thousands of youth to join the armed forces in the face of imminent death to defend the country at the last minute.

This showed the sense of discipline evident in Buddhism which was not found elsewhere in the world. Minister Weerawansa said similarly the country had achieved various victories in its history due to the guidance and patronage of the Maha Sangha.

Imperialist forces which understood this close link between the Maha Sangha and the public, tried to break this bond by attempting to create disharmony by various tactics adopted through their local agents.

The Minister who described Ven. Wimaladhamma Thera as an erudite monk who worked for the benefit of society with deep self sacrifice, added that it was most fitting to honour him with the new Chief Sanghanayake title.

Minister Weerawansa also presented the scroll bearing the act of appointment to the new Chief Sanghanayake Thera.

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New Chief Sanghanayake of Hewagam Korale

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Buddhism The Wisdom of Compassion and Awakening vol 7

By: Philip Chuah

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Buddhism The Wisdom of Compassion and Awakening vol 7 - Video

TAUNGBYON, BURMAWith his right hand encrusted in heavy gold rings, his hair in a ponytail and traces of makeup visible around his eyes and cheeks, the man gestures at the heavens, then himself.

Hes talking religion, and hes vaguely annoyed. Explaining the complex relationship between Buddhism, Islam and spirit worship in Burma to a foreigner isnt easy.

But if anyone can do it, he can.

His name is Aung Lin Gaung and he is a nat kadaw, a traditional Burmese shaman whose ritual dancing connects the spirit world of vengeful nats with the humans who seek to appease them with gifts of money, alcohol and cigarettes.

At 38, hes been a nat kadaw for 25 years, and is one of the top shamans in Rangoon, Burmas commercial capital. Hes even performed an exorcism on a luxury hotel, which became overrun with snakes after its foreign manager inadvertently offended the local dragon spirit.

Tonight, Aung Li Gaung will apply heavy foundation over his five oclock shadow, don medieval Burmese palace gowns and dance until dawn.

The shamans are often transgender women, and the community of nat kadaws is interwoven with Burmas gay subculture. Their clients are mainly Buddhists, and seek the support of the nat spirits to improve their businesses or marriages.

Nat worship predates Buddhism and Islam in Burma, and the three religious systems have for centuries coexisted here in an uneasy truce one thats begun to break down, at least among Buddhists and Muslims.

Although Buddhists are the overwhelming majority in Burma (Muslims comprise about 5 per cent of the population), religious tensions remain and sectarian unrest has increased since the government launched democratic reforms in 2011.

Some 240 people have been killed and more than 140,000 displaced in anti-Muslim violence since 2012, including a Muslim and a Buddhist who died in riots in Mandalay in July, the most recent of the troubles.

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Can debauchery unite Burmas Buddhists and Muslims?

By Spencer Parts

PRINCETON The brightly colored sand, intricately arranged, has been drawing crowds at all hours of the day.

While two Buddhist monks applied the sand using a steel cone and an antler horn, another explained to passing Princeton University students and faculty what was happening: The monks were creating a mandala, a symbol of Buddhism, outside the Chancellor Green Library. They worked on it all week and finished it Thursday.

It was one of a number of campus events in the weeks leading up to the visit of the 14th Dalai Lama on Tuesday. There were meditation sessions as well as talks intended to help community members understand the pre-eminent spiritual figure of Buddhism.

The Dalai Lama and all the Dalai Lamas are incarnations of a single consciousness, Jonathan Gold, professor in the universitys religion department said, explaining the function of the Dalai Lama in Buddhist tradition.

Gold mentioned that the Dalai Lama is significant not only as a religious figure, but also as a political one.

The Dalai Lamas are considered special protectors of Tibet, he said, adding that the role is significant because the country is engaged in a struggle with the Peoples Republic of China by which it is governed with limited self-rule for cultural preservation and political autonomy.

Retaining cultural customs in Tibet is a major priority for Tibetan Buddhists in their relationship with China, Gold explained, but they have also made strides to create worldwide awareness of the culture. Creating mandalas in public spaces, like the one at Princeton, serves that purpose.

The monks who are building the mandala come from the Do Ngak Kumphen Ling monastery in Redding, Conn., and have created them across the country, exposing passers-by to their cultural traditions.

All of the people Ive talked to have seemed very impressed, said Lobsang Sherab, one of the monks, of his experience at Princeton so far.

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Monks create mandala of sand ahead of Dalai Lama's visit to Princeton

Iraqis celebrate the Islamic New Year outside a mosque in Samawah(Getty Images)

Today marks the beginning of the Islamic New Year, otherwise known as the Hijri New Year. Starting on the evening of the 24 October and ending on the 25 October, it is observed on the first day of Muharram the first month in the Islamic calendar.

The Islamic lunar year is shorter than the solar Gregorian year, usually by 11 or 12 days. Therefore, the Islamic New Year does not coincide with the same day of the Gregorian calendar 2014 is the year 1436 AH.

AH, the Latin for "Anno Hegirae" or "After Hijrah" which means "emigration", is a reference to the first Islamic year beginning in 622 AD. It marks the emigration of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina, known as the Hijra.

The Hindu New Year also falls on 24 October, on the same week as Diwali the "festival of lights". Today marks the beginning of the year Vikram Samvat 2071.

Vikram Samvat is the calendar believed to be established by emperor Vikramaditya of Ujjain in central India in 56 BC. It uses lunar months and the solar sidereal year, the time taken by the Earth to orbit the Sun once with respect to the fixed stars, and is the official calendar of Nepal.

Based on ancient Hindu tradition, the Vikram Samvat calendar is 56.7 years ahead of the solar Gregorian calendar,(also known as the Western calendar).

Candles are lit at the Madan Mohan Malviya stadium in Allahabad, India, on Diwali(AFP)

According to the Hebrew calendar, the year AM (Anno Mundi) 5775 began at sunset on 24 September 2014. The calendar has evolved throughout history, with Babylonian influences.

The Hebrew lunar year is about eleven days shorter than the solar cycle and uses the 19-year Metonic cycle to coincide with the solar cycle. It also has the addition of an intercalary month every two or three years, for a total of seven times per 19 years.

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Islamic New Year 1436 AH: What Year is it in Hinduism, Judaism and Buddhism?