Dalai Lama live over the holidays (webcast)

Mara Schaeffer, Wisdom Quarterly

Here's hoping everyone's holidays are fun. For me this series of talks by the Dalai Lama is the best thing going. Enjoy the winter solstice, the Mayan New Age and, of course, "The Big Day" in India, a celebration of all religions.

• Webcasts: Shantideva's "Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life"

Great seasonal/perennial teachings from the Dalai Lama with two sessions over four days to live stream or download (video/audio) later, Dec. 24-27:

• 8:00-10:00 pm PST and 11:30 pm-1:30 am PST 
• (9:30-11:30 am and 1:00-3:00 pm IST)

New Delhi carolers (Julie McCarthy/NPR.org)

This is really interesting for many who enjoyed the broadcasts of Pema Chödrön discussing Shantideva's "Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life" and/or her book: Don't Bite the Hook: Finding Freedom from Anger, Resentment, and Other Destructive Emotions. (DalaiLama.com/webcasts)

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Time is short, Life is long: How to Meditate

Wisdom Quarterly; Jack Kornfield (spiritrock.org); FPMT, Inc. (video); COUNTDOWN: -3

A definition and purpose for meditation, how to sit, how to set up a meditation session, different meditation techniques, and how to deal with obstacles. Follow this course FREE at the FPMT Online Learning Center and learn more about Discovering Buddhism.

Time, which contracts and expands at will, is short -- whereas "life" (samsara) is long, endless on its own, except that it's always ending. But it renews again the next moment. 

Each moment divides into three sub-moments, an arising phasing, turning, and falling. This is the incessant "rise and fall" the breath mimics at a much slower speed. Moments pass too quickly to discern -- as showers of particles and mind-moments rise, turn, and fall -- just on the inhale, to say nothing of the retention phase and exhalation.

This becomes much clearer as consciousness sharpens and intensifies and the invisible becomes visible. Mind is superior to phenomena, which can be discerned directly IF only the mind were purified and serene, lucid, and made wieldy by mindful application.

Western Theravada monk explains Thai forest approach (VY)

We are here. How will we get there? Every journey begins with a footstep, every meditation with an inhalation.

Another name for nirvana is "the beyond" or more literally the beyond-beyond, the "farther shore." We are here on this shore with all its dangers and fearful states. And we look beyond the flood, the body of water, the deluge. And we see on that side a farther shore, safe, free of fear, without danger. How to go from here to there, how to "cross over"?

 

Partially-enlightened former monk current lay teacher Jack Kornfield

A strong person, the metaphor continues, might flex a stretched arm or stretch a flexed arm and be there in the twinkling of an eye. We must sit, settle, remain attentive, and thereby be transported by effort to see things just as they are.
 
The major Buddhist schools -- Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana (a large Mahayana subschool) -- have their methods. Here a Western lama in the banned New Kadampa Tradition (Tibetan Vajrayana not affiliated with the current Dalai Lama) offers advice on how to meditate.

 

The 14th Dalai Lama on developing mind (2010)

• Why is FPMT not affiliated with the Dalai Lama? 
• The Shugden controversy divides Tibetan schools

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Dalai Lama: live online (webcast)

Mara Schaeffer, Wisdom Quarterly

Live webcasts: 18 Great Stages of the Path (Lam Rim) Commentaries

  

Kalmyk president with the Dalai Lama

Want to attend live Dharma talks in India with the 14th Dalai Lama? Here's how without flying to Dharamsala, his home in exile. Catch his talks evenings at: dalailama.com/live-english

Recently while listening to the end of the first session, I found myself surprised by his refreshing honesty and practicality. He was very specific about the details of practice: "Do this. Don't do that."

He spoke more profoundly than he usually does for his public talks while addressing both monastics and lay people. These talks are topic-centered, with quotes, citing specific page numbers, and covering a number of texts.

Many of the texts being commented on are available free online: jangchuplamrim.org/jangchup-lamrim/text-translations/text-translations-english

Teachings in Mundgod, India: Days 8-9 of 14, Dec. 7-8, 2012 (View)

 
Live webcasts of teachings on the 18 Great Stages of the Path Commentaries in Tibetan with simultaneous translations into English, Chinese, Russian, and Mongolian available. View

• Nov. 30-Dec. 13, 2012
• Morning Session: 7:30 am-9:30 am PST 
• Afternoon Session: 11:30 am-1:30 pm PST

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Meditation Guilt.

(gassho)

As I'm sure you've noticed, I've been away. I needed a break. I took some time to empty my mind of everything Buddhist and simply live my life. I was holding onto Buddhism too tightly and needed to let go for awhile, so that I didn't loose perspective. It was a great reminder that even Buddhism itself can be an attachment. The time-off has reinvigorated my mind, my writing and commitment to the Dharma.

Today I wanted to write about meditation guilt. What do I mean by "meditation guilt?" Well, often the perception in western society of Buddhism is a religion centered upon meditation. Hollywood gives the impression that Buddhists are epitomized by a statuesque monk sitting endlessly for hours. While that is partly true, most can not maintain the commitment and practice of monks--they are essentially the professional athletes of meditation. If we expect to meditate like the monks do then we are surely setting ourselves up for disappointment, disillusionment and failure.

Traditionally, meditation hasn't been as central to the average Buddhist's life as is often the case in America. Kusala of the "Urban Dharma" blog elaborates:

For the most part, laity in immigrant Buddhism, like laity in Asia, don't engage in meditation -- a practice for the ascetic monks who are imitating the Buddha's lifestyle of renunciation. They don't expect to become enlightened beings like the Buddha.

Yet it seems a lot of "American Buddhists" are obsessed with meditation. I think some feel that meditation is a bit like prayer in Christianity. The perception being, if you aren't meditating daily then you are somehow "failing" as a Buddhist. The truth, of course, is that expecting to meditate daily like the monks is like expecting yourself to run a marathon without the time, body and training that regular runners can afford to give to their fitness. Monks have the luxury of not having a job and living in an environment where all worldly burdens are stripped, enabling the kind of focus and dedication needed to maintain a steady, meditation regime.

Does that mean meditation is pointless for non-monks? Or, that we shouldn't meditate? No, not at all. I think any monk would encourage meditation but I think we have too many expectations about meditation. We have to be realistic if we are going to stay committed to the Dharma, long-term. We expect ourselves to live up to a standard that few can do, and when we can't do it we punish ourselves with guilt. The guilt is truly unnecessary when you simply accept that you don't need to worry so much about enlightenment in this lifetime. Unless you are a monk, most of us Buddhists are just trying to be a better person for not just family, friends and strangers but for ourselves, too. Meditation is a wonderful way to re-calibrate and remind ourselves to stop and enjoy the moment. As well as the beauty and peace of being alive, in this moment, together--as one.

If a lay Buddhist finds they can, and want to meditate daily then by all means continue. I encourage meditation as a beneficial tool in dealing with the chaos of societal demands for greed, hatred and delusional thinking. However, don't expect yourself to be the Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh or even the average monk. I am of the belief that the number of monastics is low compared to the general population because their karma has prepared them for this moment for countless lifetimes. We don't have to become monks or "marathon meditation masters" to benefit to be faithful Buddhists.

Use this life to become better people, so that perhaps in a future life we will be ready, able and willing to reborn into better circumstances. The beauty, compassion and optimism about Buddhism is that we can be reborn anew each lifetime, so that we have plenty of opportunities to develop along the path of enlightenment. I think a lot of convert Buddhists (who are former Christians, like myself) still harbor the absolutism of that belief system. We haven't fully abandoned the subconscious fear of "not getting it right" in this one lifetime. In Christianity, of course, there is only this lifetime to "get it right" and if you "fail," that's it--no more chances. I think we still harbor that "all or nothing" mentality as newly converted Buddhists, which is often carried over into our expectations of meditation practice.

If you can meditate daily then obviously you'll get more from such a regular practice, but even irregular meditation can bring benefits. The key is to not feel guilty because you can't meditate like the monks--not many can. You aren't a "bad Buddhist" if you can't formally meditate daily. Besides, there are numerous forms of meditation, such as walking meditation. As you walk, you focus on your breath to be fully present in the moment and aware of the oneness between yourself, the natural world and those you encounter upon your walks. As well as being aware of how we are apart of the greater family or sangha of humanity. It is an active form of meditation that the physically restless often find easier and more beneficial. If you need other suggested ways of meditation, look into the writings and teachings of Zen master, Thich Nhat Hanh.

~I bow to the Buddha within you all~

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Peaceful Buddhists on murderous rampage?

Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly; Abbot Ven. Karunananda, Ph.D., Bodhi Vihara

In this anti-Buddhist propaganda photo suggesting Buddhists monks (Tibetan lamas) are up to no good standing among corpses, what is really happening is quite the opposite. Lamas were brought in to bless and comfort victims after a massive Himalayan landslide in Tibet -- in this inflammatory, undated photo tagged with a url link to a video reporting atrocities committed against Burma's minority Muslim Rohingyas, which the world seems to be ignoring: tinyurl.com/93hqzme.

    

UPDATE: The editors of Wisdom Quarterly are not apologists (defenders the faith ready to explain any and every negative thing away). If monastics or  nominal lay "Buddhists" harm others, we report it. Reports have reached us that Buddhists did NOT go on murderous rampages. They might have, but there is a more plausible explanation. Rohingyas are in a tense stand off with their coompatriot neighbors, Burmese Buddhist villagers and co-religionist Muslims in nearby Bangladesh. Buddhists are angry about a sensational rape of a Buddhist female by Rohingya boys, ongoing drug dealing, and general anti-social behavior. But it is alleged that Rohingyas set fire to their own villages using gun powder provided to them from some outside source agitating for change. Rohingyas want to have their plight recognized, so they had to do something to get sympathy and vital humanitarian relief from either the world in general or Bangladeshi officials in particular.

  

Burma has a history of massacring minorities.

The worldwide MIC (transnational military-industrial complex) has succeeded in sucking in some Buddhists, tragically pitting some poor Burmese villagers against their fellow countrymen, an ethnic minority known as the Rohingya. Neighboring Muslim Bangladesh has refused to help save lives and prevent this nascent genocide by admitting Rohingyas attempting to flee the violence, which goes both ways with Rohingyas attacking minority Bangladeshi Buddhist temples and villagers and majority Burmese Buddhists retaliating.

But this is not a simple case of neighbor-on-neighbor violence. Pres. Thien Sein of Burma has admitted that the monstrous Myanmar military -- which in 2007 attacked, imprisoned, and slaughtered uncounted Buddhist monks and pro-democracy protesters in the ongoing Saffron Revolution -- has been systematically executing Rohingya. The military junta headed by Burmese dictator Gen. Than Shwe have ruthlessly attacked and waged war against many of Burma's ethnic minorities, including Buddhists along the its mountainous borders with Thailand and China.

• Why are the Buddhists killing Muslims in Burma?
• The plight of the Rohingya
• Why is the world ignoring Myanmar's Rohingya?

What is going on?

Stop! Consider the consequences of shortsighted action (karma)! Hatred will never cease by hatred. Every gain will mean even more loss (Ahsanul Bari).

  
We go to Bangladeshi Buddhist abbot and scholar Ven. Karunananda, Ph.D. for comment. 

WQ: "Venerable sir, Buddhists are killing Muslims?"

VK: "Villagers are fighting, but this has absolutely nothing to do with religion. This is not a religious crusade or anything Buddhist monastics sponsor. Rohingya attacked Buddhists in Bangladesh; Buddhists in Burma are attacking Rohingya."

WQ: "Where is Hillary Clinton in all this?"

VK: "That is a good question."

WQ: "Worse yet, where is our heroine Nobel Peace Laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi?"

VK: "This is a very delicate matter, very tragic."

There is a dictum in Buddhism that any person who attacks another is wrong to do so, but a person who retaliates is worse. Revenge is NOT justified in Buddhism, contrary to Western conceptions of God and Jewish-Christian ideals of vengeance, following a tribal God(s) into war against neighbors.

  

Fortunately, New Testament Christians speak of a new ideal (forgiveness) and a new God (Issa/Jesus) replacing the warring eye-for-any-eye mentality attributed to YHWH.

But many Christians in the West (US, UK, EU, and the Holy See) do not distinguish Old and New Testament Gods when it comes to such things as revenge, war, imperial-crusades, and ethnic-genocides. Conducting war in the name of One God (peruse the Christian Bible's Book of Judges if there's any doubt) and world domination is a mainstay in the Far West and, sadly, the Middle East as well.

  

The CIA can't make all this war without some help from a minority of Muslims bent on upholding the eye-for-an-eye mentality of monotheistic tradition. But to whom are we to attribute most of the violence in the world today?

Who does what?

(americanbedu.com)

Photographer Kombizz Kashani rhetorically asks: "Who started the first world war? Muslims?? Who started the second world war? Muslims?? Who killed ten million aborigines in Australia? Muslims?? Who dropped nuclear bombs on civilian [non-combatants] in Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Muslims?? Who killed more than 100 million Native American-Indians in North America? Muslims?? Who killed more than 50 million indigenous-Indians in South America? Muslims?? Who trafficked ~180 million Africans as slaves with 88% of them dying or being thrown into the Atlantic?? Muslims??"

No, they weren't Muslims! They were mostly [nominal] Christians.

Let's define "terrorism." If a non-Muslim does something untoward, it's a "crime." But if a Muslim commits the exact same misdeed, it's "terrorism." We first have to disabuse ourselves of this biased double-standard.

• RohingyaSocietyInMalaysia.org

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China: "Buddhism has a 'devil' as its 'Pope'"

Ashley Wells, Dhr. Seven, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly HALLOWEEN SERIES

China thinks this humble CIA operative/asset (not "agent") -- spiritual leader and former head of state, Tibetan "God-King" or Vajrayana "Pope" -- is the devil (AP/Examiner.com).

  

Bon is the  pre-Buddhist black magic infused shamanism of Tibet and Bhutan. It blended with the missionary religion of peace and enlightenment from the subcontinent below.
  
But Buddhism did not displace Himalayan superstitions, necrcomancy, talk of spirits, banshees, and Abominable Snowmen. Wise old wives' tales remain and the necessity of doing something to ward off disgruntled ghosts, vile demons, and other unseen inimical forces.
  
The Shugden controversy is related to the worship of forces the current Dalai Lama believes resulted in the invasion of ancient Tibet by imperial atheistic-communist China.
  
In the exquisite photo above the 14th Dalai Lama uses his hands as horns speculating on the Chinese government's views of his freedom-fighting efforts. "His Holiness" has just completed 50 years in exile from Tibet, from which he was able to escape with the help of CIA agents out to subvert China and its expansionist Cultural Revolution.
  

China is a ruthless police state opposing Tibet.

In spite of their violent invasion, he (Tenzin Gyatso) remains remains compassionate, forgiving, and jovial about the situation -- one worsened by multiple self-immolations protesting Chinese police state tyranny. He hopes to return to Tibet, even if it remains a part of China, but the current Chinese government will not stand for it. The Dalai Lama frequently visits Washington DC and tours the US, drawing sell out crowds in massive arenas wherever he appears. Calling him "the devil" is an interesting commentary to confer on him. For no matter how he is attacked, he remains a leader in the campaign against injustice toward all living beings. (See official Website).

Dharamsala, India's Tibetan exiles hold candlelit vigil after Tamdrin Dorjee's demonstration-suicide in Tsoe Monastery, Gansu province, 10-13-12 (AP/Ashwini Bhatia).

   

Tibetan nun sets herself ablaze in China (AFP).

BEIJING -- Two Tibetan cousins set fire to themselves in their village to protest Chinese rule, bringing the total number of self-immolations this week to seven, the highest since the protests began last year, a rights group said Saturday.

  

The London-based group Free Tibet said cousins Tsepo, 20, and Tenzin, 25, called for independence for Tibet as they set themselves ablaze Thursday in front of a government building in their village in Biru county north of Lhasa, Tibet's main city.

  

Tsepo reportedly died and Tenzin's condition was unknown after he was taken away by authorities, Free Tibet said. 

Dozens of ethnic Tibetans have set themselves on fire in heavily Tibetan regions since March 2011 to protest what activists say is Beijing's heavy-handed rule in the region. Many have called for the return of the Dalai Lama, their exiled spiritual leader.

  

The protests have intensified as Beijing nears a once-a-decade power transfer in early November. More

Real vampire arrested in Texas, USA

What we think we become [because "Mind/heart is the forerunner of all conditions" (Dhp. 1)]. This means that it is important to think of ourselves in the best possible way. For as it is said since the days of Dale Carnegie's friendly-and-influential-popularity, "If we can conceive it and believe it, we can achieve it" (Napoleon Hill). It works to our detriment as well, wallowing in our depression, self-pity, "evil," or perceived shortcomings. We are without limits and capable of achieving anything -- even heavenly splendor, full enlightenment in this very life, even the ability to teach as a perfectly awakened buddha.

•  AUDIO: Mind is the Forerunner of all?

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How to lead a Buddhist life 1: Poisons

Dhr. Seven, CC Liu, Amber Dorrian, Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly (edited from Alankhoo)

The 14th Dalai Lama admonishes happy Westerners (overgrownpath.com)

  
The fundamental message of Buddhism (of all previous buddhas) was summarized by Shakyamuni in the Dhammapada ("Dharma-path"):

 

To not do any harm,
To cultivate all that's good,
To purify one's mind --
This is the teaching of all buddhas.

 

The instruction is simple, but that does not mean the practice of it is easy. Even a three-year-old child knows this much, but that is not to say that such a child can practice it. Even a 100-year-old can hardly manage to put it into practice in daily life.

VIRTUE

Kwan Yin Bodhisattva (123Chic/flickr.com)

Virtue (sila) is the preliminary stage on the path to enlightenment whether as a disciple (savaka, "hearer") or as a supremely-awakened teacher (buddha). It is a necessary but insufficient condition, a foundation for the concentration (samadhi) and wisdom (prajna) essential for liberation.

  

Virtue in Buddhism is practical, ethical, and based on personally verifiable individual experience in this very life. It is regarded as the one of the best moral codes ever taught in the world, as it avoids extremes on both sides.

What is the criteria of virtue in Buddhism? In one admonition given by the Buddha to his son, the new and very young monk Rahula, an answer is discernible: 

"If there is a deed, Rahula, you wish to do, reflect: 'Is this deed conducive to my harm, to another's harm, or to harm for both?' If so then this is an unprofitable deed leading to suffering when it eventually comes to fruition. From such a deed, wishing to avoid suffering, you should desist.'

"If, however, there is a deed you wish to do, reflect: 'Is this deed neither conducive to my harm, to another's harm, nor to harm for both?' If so this is a profitable deed leading to happiness when it eventually comes to fruition. Such a deed do again and again."

  

So a Buddhist takes into consideration the interests of everyone involved -- oneself, the other, and "both" [the collective or everyone impacted, which includes future generations, animals, unseen beings, and the environment.]

  

To better understand this standard of virtue, one may study the Dhammapada, a collection of Buddhist aphorisms preceded by their origin story. Many other sutras are also very helpful. The most useful to lay Buddhists is the "Advice to Householders" (Sigalovada Sutra), a discourse with additional fragments that form a long sutra explaining the reciprocal duties of everyone in society -- children (like Sigala), parents, teachers, monastics, bosses, workers, servants, and friends. Also see:

• Vyagghapajja Sutra
• Mangala Sutra
• Mutta Sutra
• Parabhara Sutra
• Vassla Sutra
• Dhammika Sutra

THE THREE POISONS

Good (profitable) deeds are essential for one's emancipation. And when the ultimate goal (enlightenment/seeing nirvana) of the supreme life is attained, one transcends both good and bad. Virtue is a means to an end, not an end in itself. It is not that it is pleasing to some deity (though such deities may indeed be pleased by it, having reached their delightful rebirth due to it). It is that it leads to everyone's relief and happiness.
  

There are three "poisons" or unwholesome roots. In Mahayana Buddhism's "Flower Adornment Sutra" states that all detrimental karma created in the past is based on beginningless greed, hatred, and delusion born of body, mouth, and mind.
  
Wishing to no longer do harm but to become helpful and compassionate, one turns around. We have all done harm, and that is nothing to feel bad about. Instead, repenting of past harm, one reforms without wallowing in guilt (which would be a serious form of unskillful mental karma).  Rather than guilt, one lives anew, in the now, becoming a blessing to oneself and others.

  

In the ancient original sutras as well as the later Mahayana Repentance Verse, the distinction between what is "good" (beneficial) and what is "bad" (harmful) is straightforward: It hinges on the intention or motivation from which an action (karma) springs. "Karma" just means action, but the Buddha clarified that what gives karma its direction is intention (cetana). Deeds that are associated with greed/attachment, hatred/aversion (and fear), and/or delusion/ignorance are harmful.

  

These three "poisons" of the heart/mind -- broad categories called greed, hatred, and delusion are called the "Three Poisons" and the "Three Unwholesome Roots." They are the primary source of all suffering by their intrinsic nature. It is for this reason that the Buddha pointed them out to his hearers. It is because the three antidotes -- broad categories called simply nongreed, nonhatred, and nondelusion -- ripen in happiness that he pointed them out and encouraged seekers in that direction. 

Ancient temple complex, Indonesia (LittleMissBigFeet/flickr.com)

  
Ultimately, one does not become attached to either. But in the meantime, the good is helpful (when the real goal is liberation) in all places everywhere -- even in harmful scenarios. For example, it is only because of past good karma that a criminal succeeds in business, not because of the unwholesome business s/he is engaged in now. It is very hard to accurately label anyone "good" or "bad" because prior to full enlightenment, everyone is a mix of both. But not all of it is manifesting its results at the present time. It will.

  

So we may consider ourselves "good" but know that our motives are flawed even as others applaud us. Moreover, we may consider ourselves "bad" forgetting how much good (nonharming) we do everyday. It all stores up and comes to fruition opportunistically. And the one thing almost everyone wishes on his/her dying bed is having racked up a greater store of merit, which follows one into lives to come.

These three -- craving, aversion (including cowardice), and confusion -- create all bad karma. What makes it "bad"? The results, when experienced, are unpleasant, unwelcome, and unwished for. One may think that "Crime doesn't pay." But it does pay for a while, as one exhausts one's store of merit. When it is exhausted and one begins to experience the results of unwholesome karma, it is universally unpleasant and unwelcome.

  

Unskillful karma results in all kinds of unsatisfactoriness, unpleasantness, disappointment, distress, and suffering of all kinds. But this is not due to a strict cause-and-effect relationship. For if it were, everyone would know it and understand it. It is infinitely more complex, a net, a web, an entanglement, a thicket. Nevertheless, many seers discern general laws (axioms). Like begets like, good good and bad bad. We do unto others knowing that that is what will (eventually) come to us. The thought that it will or should come immediately to us is a delusion a wrong view, and that leads to disappointment.

  

The Buddha to come (Snap-shooter/flickr.com)

The law of karma is much more subtle, much more uneven or asymmetrical. The little good we do becomes great; the little harm is magnified. Killing, for instance, is very harmful and is not easily exhausted. It may drag us at the time of death to realms of woe, the return from which is very difficult and uncertain.
  
And even when we return to the human world or better, it may still dog us. In just the same way, a small good grows. It connects to other good and forms the basis of far greater good than it should if karma were "cause and effect." One cause will have many effects, and each of those effects will go on to become a cause.

The Three Poisons are an obstacle, a hindrance, a frustration to attaining merit (a general term for one's store of good karma). So it is something we are wise to abandon by all means. And even if we do not abandon the unwholesome, it is extremely beneficial to cultivate the good. Why else are "bad" people handsome, rich, debonair, cunning (intelligent), and so on? It is not from cultivating harm but rather by misspending it through current choices.

GREED

Greed (sensual desire, craving) is the proximate cause of many offenses. The five greedy or selfish desires are for wealth, sensual enjoyment, fame, eating, and sleeping. 

  

Greed-based desire is endless and can therefore never be satisfied. The lesser the greed we entertain, the happier and more satisfied we are. The best prescription to deal with greed is giving (letting go) for the benefit of others. 

  

HATRED
Hatred (aversion, anger) is another cause of unwholesome karma. When we lose our temper and get angry, we are unhappy while making others miserable as well. The best prescription for calm and patience is kindness and appreciative joy (or again and again reflecting on the harm that arises based on hate).

DELUSION
Delusion (wrong views, ignorance, confusion) means holding persistent beliefs at variance with reality, distortions, perversions, misunderstanding, or simply not knowing any better. The best prescription is mindfulness (not "thinking" but being clearly cognizant of the present moment). It is also very useful to hear the Dharma, investigate it, ask questions, observe, and think (or at least reflect) in an objective manner. It is very useful to avoid or abandon our prejudices, which only hinder our understanding.

 

For instance, if we don't believe in karma (the fruition of deeds long after they are performed in accordance with an impersonal law or principle that is not a judgment by the universe or a god. Instead, we usually commit offenses in line with our mistaken belief or wrong views and much later suffer the natural result. CONTINUED IN PART II

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American to head Tibetan monastery

Kim Lawton, Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly via Religion News Service

Nicholas Vreeland is the first Westerner to be abbot of Rato Monastery in India (RDF).

    

NEW YORK - The Dalai Lama has given [Ven.] Nicholas Vreeland [now Khen Rinpoche], director of The Tibet Center in New York, a daunting new assignment.

  

On July 6, Vreeland [was] enthroned as the new abbot of Rato Monastery in southern India, one of the most important monasteries in Tibetan [Vajrayana] Buddhism. 

   

He will be the first Westerner to hold such a position. In making the appointment, the Dalai Lama told Vreeland, "Your special duty (is) to bridge Tibetan tradition and (the) Western world."

• RatoDatsangFoundation.org

"His Holiness wishes to bring Western ideas into the Tibetan Buddhist monastic system, and that comes from his recognition that it is essential... that there be new air brought into these institutions," Vreeland told the PBS program "Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly."

   

For many observers, the choice of an American for the role may be a surprising one, and perhaps even more surprising given the background of this particular American.

   

Vreeland had a privileged upbringing -- the son of a US diplomat and the grandson of Diana Vreeland, the legendary editor of Vogue magazine during the 1960s. More

• Dalai Lama wins Templeton Prize for science, religion
• Buddhist father-son struggle in “My Reincarnation”
• Buddhist news and trends (West Wight Sangha)

Huffington Post

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Russell Brand Opens Dalai Lama Talk For Young People At The Manchester Arena

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Tibetan Self-Immolates In China's Northwest

BEIJING - A Tibetan man set himself on fire Friday morning in northwest China's Qinghai province, advocacy groups for Tibetan rights reported. It adds to...

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Snowy Eastern Mountain (Tibetan chanting)

Wisdom Quarterly; Tibet: The Heart of Dharma; Chillout108

Shar Gan-Ri Ma ("The Snowy Eastern Mountain")

  

The universe is spinning. Flowers are growing. The world is changing. Lives are ending. Lives are beginning. Waves are crashing. The oceans are bulgding. Storms are coming. Leaves are falling. Trees are bending. Children are playing. The sky is shining. Things are vibrating. People are struggling. Beings are enjoying peace. Freewill is finding freedom. - Inspired by MrSNS.

The beauty of the Himalayas: "Hope for Enlightenment" (Lama Gyurme)

• Global warming (Jimmy Dore Comedy)
• Is B.S. Obama really G.W. Bush?
• Monks Without Borders
• "Goatman" is hunter in disguise
• Remodeling Mt. Baldy Zen Center

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The Truth About Kashmir (audio)

AR (alternativeradio.org)

The 14th Dalai Lama visits troubled Kashmir, the gateway to Buddhist India (Ladakh)

• Alternative Radio (Pacifica), Monday, July 16, 2012 8:00 am
  

PLAY NOW (download)

Kashmir: Buried Evidence

Among the many issues plaguing South Asia, none is as violent or deeply contested as Kashmir.
  
The problem mirrors China's Tibet and America's Palestine -- an intransigent land issue of genocidal proportions.

   
The major unresolved issue of the disastrous British partition of India in 1947, Kashmir has been the site of wars and the threat of wars, and probably the world's longest and most extensive military occupation....

  

Dr. A.P. Chatterji (greaterkashmir.com)

Dr. Angana P. Chatterji is an anthropologist, activist, and feminist historian from Calcutta, India. She is a co-convener of the International People's Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice in Indian-administered Kashmir.

  

Dr. Chatterji's research is closely related to her activism and focuses mainly on India. An anthropologist by profession, she has studied "militarized governance, gender and identity, and self-determination" in Indian-administered Kashmir and communal violence in Orissa.
 

In the context of the United States, she has researched issues related to "hyper-nationalism, diaspora, and identity politics" in American society.

  

She was formerly (1997-2011) part of the faculty at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), a private educational institution based in San Francisco, along with her husband, Richard Shapiro. More

• The US connection? Arm sales!
• India as arms customer: Pentagon
• India's rise, America's interest
• Child molestation in D.C. (FranklinScandal.com) 
• Where was the Buddha really born?

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Tibet: "Unmistaken Child" (full movie)

48adidaphat; Wisdom Quarterly

The Buddhist concept of rebirth -- often poorly translated as "reincarnation" -- while both mysterious and enchanting, is hard for most Westerners to grasp.

UNMISTAKEN CHILD follows the four-year search for the reincarnation of Lama Konchog, a world-renowned Tibetan master who passed away in 2001 at the age of 84.

The 14th Dalai Lama, who himself is believed to be the same being reborn on Earth life after life to save or protect the people of Tibet, charges the deceased monk's devoted disciple, Tenzin Zopa (who had been in his service since the age of seven), to search for his master's reincarnation.

Tenzin sets off on this unforgettable quest on foot, mule, and even helicopter, through breathtaking landscapes and remote traditional Tibetan villages. Along the way Tenzin listens to stories about young children with special characteristics and performs rarely seen ritualistic tests designed to determine the likelihood of reincarnation.

He eventually presents the child he believes to be his reincarnated master to the Dalai Lama so he can make the final decision.

Stunningly shot, UNMISTAKEN CHILD is a beguiling, surprising, touching, and humorous experience.

• Download DVD ISO (mediafire.com)
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President Obama on Tibet (video)

FreeTibet.org

The CIA got what it wanted from Tibet and its pope-king, gave little back, and has now moved on to newer war projects and clandestine operations around the world.

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Protecting Dalai Lama from chemicals, poisons

IndianExpress.com; Wisdom Quarterly

People mistake poison chemtrails for rare rainbows or "Buddha lights" (zhaxihuoma.net)

  

14th Dali Lama (AFP)

The Dalai Lama -- who has made Dharamsala, India, his home ever since he fled China decades ago -- is possibly the most protected VIP in the state of Himachal Pradesh. Now a new perceived threat has taken his security to levels never before seen. These measures have been ramped up in the weeks since the 76-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner [who recently met fellow laureate Aung San Suu Kyi for the first time] went public with a claim that Chinese agents may be plotting to poison him. Among the most significant of these new steps is the screening of the Dalai Lama’s food and medicines, while there is also a proposal to use chemical detectors on visitors. More

• Climbers dead on US's tallest mountain
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• Lights of Lake Erie: UFO footage (PHOTOS) 
• 3 reasons young Americans are giving up on God
• AUDIO: Mindfulness grows in popularity, profits
• Humanity (officially) escapes solar system
• Taft's Magic Tree 

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"When the Iron Bird Flies" (film)

ChariotVideos.com; BuddhaFest.org; Wisdom Quarterly

(Victress108) "Can these age old teachings help us find genuine happiness and save the planet as well?" This is a timely look at the impact Tibetan Buddhism is having on western society. It is a comprehensive exploration and collaboration between East and West. See film below.

   

The film's directors at work with final editing

An ancient Tibetan prophecy states that "When the iron bird flies, the Dharma will reach the West."
  
Western Theravada nun Ayya Khema explores this through meditation, particularly reviving the Buddha's teachings on fruitful "right concentration" through the absorptions (jhanas).
   
Western  Vajrayana allies have gone further to explore the arrival of the Dharma by going on KICKSTARTER and raising funds to make a pivotal feature film. About 480 backers pledged $32,000 taking the project over its goal.

• "Yogis of Tibet," When Buddhism Comes West
• VIDEO: Meditation now, Absorption soon

There have been other Westerners -- such as the French Tibetan Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard and the American Tibetan Buddhist monk, professor, and father of actress Uma Thurman, Robert Thurman -- who have worked closely with the current Dalai Lama to translate the teachings and make them more accessible to European and American audiences. 
 

Funding and making the movie from inspiration to realization

Tibetan Buddhism Arrives in the West

This is the first feature-length documentary to take a comprehensive look at the impact Tibetan Buddhism (a variety of Mahayana called Lamaism, Tantrayana, or Vajrayana) is having on Western culture. 

   

14th Dalai Lama (Reuters)

The film presents a vivid portrait of the world of Tibetan Buddhism as it is manifesting in the West -- from the personal experiences and insights of teachers and practitioners to the wide ranging dialogues taking place between the Buddha's Dharma and the worlds of science, psychology, and the arts.

   

The filmmakers began shooting in April of 2009. It was a huge undertaking that has come to its thrilling final phase of editing. They hope all Buddhists in the West will feel inspired to contribute, spread the word, or simply take time to learn about this important project. More
  

When the Iron Bird Flies

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