"My Brother, Buddhist Monk" (film)

Sage Yelm; Wisdom Quarterly

"My Brother, Buddhist Monk" 2012 documentary from Finland in Finnish with English subtitles

This approximately 26-minute film covers the spiritual adventure of a 26-year-old Finnish guy who is leaving the household life and his home country to become a Buddhist monk in an ancient Theravada school offshoot known as the "Forest Tradition," as inspired by Ajahn Chah and other prominent teachers many of whom were made famous by Jack Kornfield's Living Buddhist Masters, in the mountainous jungles of south central Thailand at a hermitage named Wat Map Chan. The journey was documented by the protagonist's sister. She provides the narration and video footage at the monastery and with their Scandinavian family. She spent a month in a Buddhist monastery. More at International Wanderings:

• Buddhist monastery for a month
• Month in a Buddhist hermitage

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Northwest Buddhist treasures in NYC

Tribune.com.pk (2011); Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly (2012)

A vision of paradise (Mohammed Nagri, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 4th Cent.) BELOW: Maha Maya's Dream in Kapilvastu, Sikri, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 2nd-3rd Cent. (sites.asiasociety.org).

  

The Buddha's mother's dream

LAHORE, Pakistan [formerly Northwest India] - Fifty Gandhara Civilization artifacts from the Lahore Museum collection have received a tremendous response from media and visitors to the New Asia Society Museum in New York in the United States.

  

India before 1947 and Pakistan (leics.gov.uk)

Elaine Merguerian, Director of Communications at the New Asia Society Museum, said via email that the exhibition “has received much enthusiastic attention from the media and many, many visitors who are interested in Pakistan, Buddhist heritage, and the story behind the exhibition.”

   

She added that the exhibition was “probably a once in a lifetime opportunity to see these great works of art from Pakistan in the United States.”

  

Lahore Museum (Ed Sentner)

LAHORE MUSEUM Director Humaira Alam said museums in South Korea, Japan, and Sri Lanka had repeatedly asked the Lahore Museum for artifacts. “They are not sent until we are assured about the timely return of the artifacts and their security,” she said.

  

The collection was also displayed in Germany, France, and Switzerland between 2008 and 2010 and as part of an exhibition in Japan in 1999.

Last seen at home?

It was not clear when or if the pieces that have been winning rave reviews in New York were last on display at the Lahore Museum itself, since museum officials made conflicting statements. More

• Dispute over the Buddha's birthplace
• VIRTUAL TOUR: Lahore Museum, PK
• Rescuing Afghanistan's Buddhist history
• The Splendors of Afghanistan (Gandhara)

Discovering Buddhist-Afghanistan
Michal Przedlacki; edited by Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly

(Dziadek) Archeologists clean the remains of 2,600-year-old Buddhist monasteries and buildings in the MES AYNAK VALLEY. Of an area of roughly 1,000 hectares (1.5 km by 1.5 km) only a tiny portion has been uncovered to date. And not a single site has been fully excavated. Archeologists believe there are three distinct archeological levels in Mes Aynak ("Copper Well"). Excavations are currently underway only on the first (newest) layer, dating back to 2-9th century B.C.E. (PHOTOS)

Mes Aynak excavation site 25 miles east of Kabul (Jerome Starkey)

The World's Oldest Buddhist Monastery

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British Buddhism

BBC Religion

How many Buddhists are there in Britain?

In 2001, according to the census, there were 151,816 Buddhists in Britain. However, that does not take into account those who regard themselves as Buddhists as well as Christians, or Jews, or Taoists, or anything else.

  

The census form made no provision for such people to be counted. There are also those who refuse to label themselves as "Buddhists" because it runs counter to the principle of selflessness or egolessness. They prefer to think of themselves as free spirits.

  

Irrespective of how many Buddhists there are in Britain today, there is unquestionably a growing interest.

  

How has Buddhism developed in Britain?

Japanese-style Buddhist garden in Europ

Buddhism first found its way into Britain in the 19th century through translations of scriptures from the various schools in different parts of the east. In 1879 Sir Edwin Arnold compiled an epic poem, The Light of Asia, describing the Buddha's life. This was to become a classic and is still in print today.

  

The limited number of books available in those early years was enough to inspire a few to begin actually practicing Buddhism as a way of life. One of those, Allan Bennett, went to Sri Lanka in 1898 and returned as Ananda Metteyya, the first Englishman to be ordained as a Buddhist monk (bhikkhu) of the Theravada tradition.

   

[An Irishman -- Lawrence Carroll a.k.a. Lawrence O'Rourke or William Colvin -- preceded Bennett. He became Venerable Dhammaloka, the first Westerner to become a Buddhist monk, which he did in Southeast Asia years before.]

 

The Buddha sent the Dharma far and wide

In 1907 a number of people got together and formed The Buddhist Society of Great Britain and Ireland. This was succeeded in 1924 by The London Buddhist Society, founded by Christmas Humphreys. It was the first really successful organization in Britain to provide a platform for all schools and traditions of Buddhism. It stood alone for almost 50 years as the focal point for Buddhists in Britain.

Sixties Britain brought eastern religions into fashion for the first time, including Buddhism. The Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1950 eventually led to the exodus of thousands of Tibetans with the Dalai Lama in 1959. This brought lamas to the west. These two factors in particular led to the mushrooming of new Buddhist groups. As a result, today almost every Buddhist tradition is represented in Britain. More

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Karma: Law of Cause and Effect (video)

Land of Medicine Buddha

(Part 1/13) PART 2

Venerable Robina Courtin gives the essence of the Buddha's teaching of karma (actions with the ability to yield results when, like seeds, they come to fruition). This teaching is great for beginners to get a taste of the meaning of karma in simple terms as well as for long time students to remember the essence of this complex subject.

• Purchase video (medicinebuddha.org)
• VIDEO: Dalai Lama's Intro to Buddhism

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