"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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President Obama Visits Wat Pho Monastery in Bangkok, Thailand.

The above image is one of my favorite pictures of late. U.S. President Barack Obama and U.S. Secretary of State Clinton recently visited Wat Pho monastery and head-monk, Chaokun Suthee Thammanuwat in Thailand, Bangkok (link). The American leaders both observed the Buddhist tradition of removing shoes before ending a temple. In the blue trousers is U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The one wearing socks and dark blue slacks is President Obama. The head-monk is the one wearing orange.

I find this image so striking and full of lessons. The photo is poignant reminder that regardless of our station in life, we are all sentient beings having the same worth and importance. If I didn't mention the names, we'd never know who those feet represent. In this angle, President Obama isn't the most powerful man in the world but simply another sentient walking the path of life.

The picture evokes letting go of our egos and the self-important images we sometimes display. This photo transcends their lofty titles of president, secretary and monk to expose them as being just like the rest of us. They must walk the path of samsara like all of us. They have weaknesses, attachments and set-backs like any other human being, regardless of their importance. How wonderful a lesson it is to view life from alternative perceptions and angles. In this case, literally!!

~i bow to the buddha within all beings~

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Would the Buddha carry an iPad? (Yes, if...)

Xochitl, Wisdom Quarterly; Bangkok Post via John Brownlee (cultofmac.com), Nov. 9, 2012

What is it with Thailand, the Apple Corporation, and Buddhist temples lately? First, abbot of the Dhammakaya temple said that former Apple CEO Steve Jobs is kickin’ it in the afterlife as a mid-level deva with his own celestial palace in space. Now a temple in Thailand’s Chom Phra district has decided that the Buddha carries around an iPad with him wherever he goes.

  

Ban Jabok-Ban Nong Leg temple in Thailand’s northeastern Surin province is now trying to send a message by making the Buddha hold an iPad in their next statue, says The Bangkok Post:

Traditionally, Phra Sivali, a pose of the Buddha, carries a walking stick, an umbrella, and a bowl, and is worshipped for those seeking love, luck, and prosperity.

But the one to be built by the temple will have one hand carrying the umbrella -- and the other one clutches one of the innovative bestsellers launched by the late Steve Jobs instead of the stick.

[WQ: This is quite incorrect. Venerable (Phra) Sivali is not "a pose"; he was a famous enlightened Buddhist monk, now a popular and powerful source of veneration because of his incredibly good karma and resultant good luck. He easily obtained all he wanted. Many Thai good luck charms and amulets are based on him as a well known arahant. Theravada Buddhism does not have many such prosperity figures, so Southeast Asia loves Great Sivali. Therefore, this entire Bangkok Post story is misleading: It will not be "the Buddha" holding a posh iPad, a modern symbol of abundance and cool, but Sivali.]

This might seem like an attention-grabbing gimmick, and maybe it kind of is. But the message the temple wants to send is good and forward-facing. They want to stress that monks need to embrace the technology of the modern world in getting their message across:
  

“Monks have to catch up with the changes and use those gadgets, such as the iPad, to lure the [younger] generation to the temple. Monks can use them to teach Dhamma to those who live their life with new communication technologies,” a temple spokesman said.

Apple CEO reborn in space?
Seven Dharmachari and Amber Dorrian, Wisdom Quarterly (COMMENTARY)

Bright golden complexion of the Buddha entering nirvana, Thailand (Luped/flickr.com)

  
Would a Buddha statue carry an iPad? Yes, if... it were in Thailand. The Buddha himself, not so much. In his day he delighted in letting go of those things which are powerful sources of grasping and clinging in the world.

In his day he instructed his disciples in pursuing the joy and liberation that comes from letting go of impermanent, unsatisfactory, impersonal things and, moreover, the personal phenomena we cling to as ourselves. That can only be let go of through wisdom, as insight uproots what is otherwise impossible to drop.

But Thailand's massive lay meditation movement, known as Dhammakaya ("body of the Dharma"), is kidding about Steve Jobs in "heaven," right?

Buddhism is atheistic? No There is no all-producing creator God; there are many gods (brahmas), many of whom are creative and powerful. Buddhism is scientific? Maybe. It is certainly the spiritual tradition most consistent and amenable to science. Buddhism is nihilistic? No.
  
Unlike modern nerds who think or hope or fear everything ends at death, that's not what happens. Conventionally speaking, life carries on like nothing happened. Ultimately speaking, "we" are dying from moment to moment and do not need to wait for bodily collapse/death to start crying about it or feeling relieved.

"Everything (all conditioned phenomena) is hurtling towards destruction; work out your liberation with diligence," the historical Buddha is reputed to have said (Mahaparinibbana Sutra, DN 16). These were his last words before passing into final nirvana. The fully enlightened do not die, because "death" entails being reborn (as well as currently existing in some ultimate sense). But we do die, conventionally speaking. And Steve Jobs has. With the coming together of the aggregates, there is renewed-becoming an instant later.
  
And there are many worlds in space to be reborn in. "Space" (akasha) to the ancients was called "sky." That "celestial" world above is the endless blue that goes to black nightly. There are many levels superior to the human plane. It is not too difficult to be reborn into these worlds of devas ("shining ones"), which are increasingly more subtle and refined, brilliant and long-lived. The first two "heavens" are far more advanced technologically and closely related to this world. The proof, the scientific evidence?

They can be seen now before dying. Because the knowledge is filtered and kept from us does not mean it is concealed form all scientists. And when they become whistleblowers telling us what they've seen and worked on, the knowledge-filterers tell us they're bonkers and not to be listened to. There are two ways to see, internally and externally. The first is harder but more convincing; the second is tough but will leave one feeling bonkers.
  
(What is it? Get a job in a scientific field in academia or the private sector then get recruited to work on black budget project, top secret stuff. Go to Washington through underground highspeed trains through tunnels beneath this country and scattered around the planet, or to Area 51, or Dreamland, or the Skunkworks, or any other secret site).

The first is developing insight (vipassana) and wisdom (prajna). This does not come from studying and thinking, but from intensive serenity-concentration and mindfulness-contemplation. Good luck. It takes effort. So for everyone who would rather study, the texts are there. Drink deep, for a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

We won't like the answer we see; it's too much like the Christianity we laugh at as moronic and senseless. The truth is more mystic than systematic. But Buddhist practice is great for being systematic resulting in mysticism, rather than mysticism resulting in confusion.

(Dhammakaya International)

All religious traditions teach something worthwhile. It is not their fault if we do not understand what they are trying to say. The shamans were right, the mystics were onto something. But how do we get from here to there? There's an eightfold path that lays out the basics. And there is a very detailed 37 Requisites of Enlightenment that lays bare all the Buddha taught as necessary for seeing and experiencing enlightenment in this very life.

Steve Jobs in a heaven (akasha deva world)? It could be, but we doubt it. After selling millions of human beings out to the monsters on the planet who would spy on everyone, control us, damage our DNA, entrance us, lull us into sleep, enslave us, wipe us out? If he was a man caught up in his work, obsessed with innovation, okay. Great.

But if he was a man who sold the world for earthly success and fame, then... It doesn't look good for him. A "bad" person can go to a heaven. Christianity understands this, but Christians don't. It is not by being forgiven or absolved for our karma. It is by being fortunate at the moment of passing from this life to the next, by having a skillful, useful, lovely act (deed, karma, intention, will, fruition, impulsion) come up for us.

That will be a lot easier to do if we begin to calm our minds/hearts now and store up many more beneficial acts than detrimental ones. Why do harm when it only comes back around to us to harm us? What did Jobs do? What else did he do? He surely did terrible things (just ask the FBI and CIA and NSA). But all his hands toting iProducts love him, too. Look, there's a Buddha statue holding one!

So if he did acts motivated by nongreed, nonhatred/fear, nondelusion, then he is quite possibly in a better place. These heavens are not permanent, but they are much longer-lived than this human realm. There are other human and human-like realms, too. Here is a simplification that sounds an awful lot like Christianity and even Islam, like what shamans see and rabbis teach. Rather than laugh, ask: In what way is this true, too? More (with insert photos explained for those activating Google Translate)

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Burma's amazing ethnic Karen people

Wisdom Quarterly; Harry Ignatius Marshall, "The Karen People of Burma: A Study in Anthropology and Ethnology" (a Project Gutenberg of Australia eBook, No.: 0800061h.html)

From Scandinavia to Southeast Asia with love: working with the Karen on the Burma-Thailand border. "I am very fortunate to work with these fantastic people!" (Line Ramstad)

 

Page: Meet Burma's dictator.

We are American Buddhists. We love Burma and ALL the people of Burma, a fraction of which is not Buddhist. Some of the loveliest are the Karen. We are American Buddhists. We do not stand idly by while Dictator Than Shwe and his military regime run the country into the ground then sell it out to the highest bidder (which used to be a Chinese relative of Gen. Shwe but is now US Sec'y of State Hillary Clinton). Burma's monastic-led Saffron Revolution was against this criminal military regime. Revolutions, however, started long before and continue to be waged by ethnic minority rebels fighting for their lives and separate identities, like the desperate Rohingya.
 

The gorgeous, animist Karen (phototravelasia)

MOUNTAINS OF BURMA - To many a visitor to Burma, who views the country from the deck of an Irrawaddy River streamer or from the window of a railway carriage, there appears to be little difference between [Sino-Tibetan speaking ethnic Burmese tribes] THE KAREN and the Burman.

This is not strange, for many individuals of the non-Burman tribes wear the Burmese costume and speak the Burmese language, and they present no markedly different characteristics in feature or color of skin.

I have often heard the remark that "there is no difference between the Burman and the Karen." It is doubtless because the Government of Burma recognizes that there is a difference in the tribal characteristics, customs, and religion that it has adopted the wise policy of publishing a series of complete studies, of which this purports to be one, of these various peoples.

Karen in the mountain jungle (karen.org.au)

If the reader will have the patience to read these pages, it is hoped that he will realize that, though the Karen have lived for generations in the closest proximity to the Burmese, they preserve their own racial traits, which are quite distinct from those of their more volatile neighbors with whom they have had little in common.
 

This work deals more particularly with the Sgaw branch of the Karen people. My own experience has been more intimate with this tribe, though I have known many of the other groups. This circumstance, together with the fact that the Bwe and Taungthu peoples have already been described in the Upper Burma Gazetteer...

[SEX] THE GUEST-CHAMBER AND CLUB-ROOM

Rebels in Burma (moreintelligentlife.com)

In the earlier days among the Karen of the hills the "blaw" was an important feature of village life....It is the guest and club-room reserved in the central part of the village-house. Strangers coming in for a visit or passing by on their journey are entertained here. Such a convenience was quite necessary in the days when the taboo of the "Bgha" feast was strictly observed and no outsider was allowed to enter the family-rooms.

My party and I have been entertained in the "blaw" of villages in the Pegu Hills on the Tharrawaddy side, while on tour.

Gautama Buddha (N.A./flickr.com)

In one village, which had adopted some Buddhist practices, along one side of the guest-room extended a high shelf upon which stood a small image of Gautama Buddha, with the usual offerings of paper flage and wilted leaves and flowers.

At the back of the room was the raised dais on which I spread my bed, but I was prevented from enjoying a good night's rest by the number of other occupants. My cook prepared my meals at the little fireplace in the middle of the room. The villagers sat about and visited with us. When meal-time came the women and girls brought in their generous supplies of food, consisting of two large trays piled high with snow-white steaming rice, besides smaller trays and bowls filled with several kinds of curry, "ngape" water, and vegetables.

The visitors were expected to eat something from every dish. While the meal was in progress the hosts withdrew, except one or two elders, the women returning afterwards to clear away the dishes and uneaten food with the polite remark that their guests had eaten very little. Many shared in receiving us, and we were spared the embarrassment, not to say the danger according to our belief, of violating the taboo that prevented our being entertained at the time by family in their own quarters.

Burmese migrant worker rallies in Thailand holding up a sign that reads: "Mother Aung San Suu Kyi, Be Happy," May 31, 2012 (Wason Wanichakorn/AP/In Focus/TheAtlantic.com)

 
Besides serving as a guest-chamber, the "blaw" has another important use, namely, as the gathering-place for the young men of the village. When a boy becomes a youth ("hpo tha hkwa taw"), he is expected to spend his leisure time in his parents' room, working and eating with them, as seems to be the custom. When evening comes, he repairs to the "blaw" to be with his fellows and to sleep there.

This is a custom that is common among the Kachins of Burma and many other tribes of the Orient. Among the Kachins the "blaw" is a place of license.
  
The Brecs also allow a great deal of liberty to their young people, and evidently advantage of it is taken by them. But among the Sgaw Karens, at any rate, the girls remain with their mothers. There is no common room for the girls, or any place where both youths and maidens may meet for restrained intercourse.
 

No doubt among the Karen the use of the "blaw" as a club-room is for the purpose of keeping the young men together and separating them from the young women, thus preventing offense of the "by na," which would bring a curse upon the soil and damage to the crops.

(Gereb/flickriver.com)

It has never been possible for parents to prevent all social intercourse between young people of the opposite sexes. In fact, it has hardly ever been attempted.

As is shown elsewhere in this volume, there are occasions among the Karen when the sexes mingle, for example on fishing expeditions and at marriages, funerals, etc. If, however, a youth desires to visit a maiden, etiquette prescribes the way: he must take his harp ("t' na"), appear before her house, and serenade her. Sitting down, he sings to the accompaniment of his instrument.

If she replies to his request to be permitted to visit with her, she does so on the jew's-harp ("t' xe"), answering him in verse. He then mounts the ladder and they visit together, either singing over "htas" already familiar to them or, if skilled in improvising, putting their own thoughts into rhyme. If too long an interval should elapse without the sound of either instrument, the elders would very likely put in an appearance to find out the reason.

Love runs in two directions (Line Ramstad)

The precept on indolence is full of moralizing. It condemns laziness and enjoins hard work in order to obtain paddy [raw rice]. It teaches the people to do their work with cheerfulness and gladness, as also thoroughly and well. "We love happiness," says the precept, "and our greatest happiness is to clear our fields and build our houses.
 
Everything is in the earth. Work hard with the hoe to dig it out, and one can buy drums and silver and other things. It is better to work for wealth than to obtain it by raids and forays." This saying overlooks neither the spiritual nor material reward of labor.

The precept on helping the poor, as well as those on fornication and adultery, contain references to famine, indicating that periods of extreme dearth of food must have been of frequent occurrence among the Karen. Fornication and adultery are dreadful sins because, among other reasons, they produce bad crops and scarcity of game. In times of famine the rich should help the poor...

Karen flee gunfire, mortars (DailyMail.co.uk)

The presence of certain birth-marks on the children of Mongolian parents has been thought by some scientists to be an important criterion for distinguishing members of that race.[3-3] The Karen infants certainly have these blue patches on the back and buttocks. Sometimes they are so indistinct as to be hardly noticeable... The Karen explanation for them is that they are the stains of leaves, on which the spirits of the children sat or laid down to rest in the course of their long and wearisome journey from their former abode.
    
These marks are thought to show that the children having them will be strong, and mothers are glad to see them on their offspring. Perhaps they reason that if the baby spirit was able to stand the long journey necessary to come to the birth, it will endure the longer journey of this human existence.

I have noticed a few cases of homosexuals among the Karen, though they do not seem to be as common as among the Burmese. These individuals, who assume more or less the dress and customs of the [other] sexes, have been known to contract unions with the same sex to live as husband and wife. The cases I found have all been on the plains. More
  

 

Felicity Huffman gives voice to the "Burma: It Can't Wait" campaign

• PHOTO GALLERY: Changing Face of Burma
• Karen people website (karen.org) 
• Burmese escape fighting on Thai border 
• Buddhist temples burned (Burma/Bangladesh) 
• Karen refugees fleeing to Thailand
• Meet Burma's Opposition
• Burma: It Can't Wait (petition)

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Duddhism and the Wonders of Thailand (video)

Amber Dorrian, CC Liu, Seth Auberon, Wisdom Quarterly

Dude-ism: Path to Big Lebowski Enlightenment

(ABC) Inside the bathrobe-wearing, hard-drinking, real-life Church of The Latter Day Dude as conceived of in Buddhist Thailand
     

Bangkok and Bhutan's Religious Penises

Bangkoksightseeing.org

(alinavitenberg/flickr.com)

BANGKOK, Swissotel Nai Lert Park, Thailand - The Penis Shrine, which is no laughing matter for squeamish Westerners, is dedicated to the spirit of Chao Mae Tubtim -- a female tree spirit believed to live in the giant banyan there. 

  

A woman once came desperately trying in vain to get pregnant. Nine months after asking Chao Mae Tubtim for it, she gave birth to a healthy child. So as a way of showing gratitude, she came back with a huge, wooden penis carving. She told others about it, and now hundreds of women come to ask for fertility offering penises of all sizes and shapes. This symbol can be found all over Thailand. It is a talisman Thais call palad khik. More

• (Global Post) Approaching enormous penises (linga)? The last time that happened I was in Bhutan, the last of the Buddhist Himalayan kingdoms, where I reported on the Buddhism-inspired phallic imagery locals there paint on their houses to ward off evil spirits. Similar "phallic worship" rituals exist in Japan, as reported by GlobalPost in a story and photo essay on penis and vagina festivals. More

Thailand Travel: Fat Fong's, Bangkok

(World-cruise2010.com, EGW) Bangkok's world-famous red light district, named after a Chinese gangster kingpin and pronounced "Pat Pongs," is a mild marketplace by day and a frenzy of sexual expression for tourists by night.

• The "Face Bikinis" of China
• GOD and Isaac threaten GOP convention

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The Asian Tsunami (movie)

DarlowSmithson Productions Ltd. for Channel 4; Wisdom Quarterly

"Tsunami: Caught on Camera" (Part 1 of 7)

The Asian Tsunami that struck on Boxing Day 2004 has now been made into a film -- using real footage from three vantage points. Buddhist Thailand and Sri Lanka and formerly Buddhist Indonesia are all shown close up as the earthquake and waves hit. The footage was recorded by European tourists on Christmas vacation in paradise.

The deadliest tsunami in history?

• Part 3
• Part 4
• Part 5 
• Part 6 
• Part 7

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The Big Buddha, Phuket; India; Central Asia

Wisdom Quarterly

Devi near the Big Buddha treasure in Phuket, southern Thailand (Julie0904/flickr.com)

  
(Phuket.com) A few years ago, if anyone traveled anywhere south of Phuket [poo-KIT] City and looked up at the ridge of hills running down the center of the island [peninsula], one would see a towering monument under construction right at the top. 

   

This is the Big Buddha, as it is known locally, destined to become a local landmark and a place for both tourists, pilgrims, and devout Thai Buddhists to visit.

  

The Big Buddha, Phuket, Thailand (media-cdn.tripadvisor.com)

   

About 10 years ago a group of friends were walking through the forest in the Nakkerd Hills between Chalong and Kata [Beaches] when they stumbled upon a place with stunning vistas of both sides of the island -- Chalong Bay lay in one direction, while on the other they looked down over Kata Beach and the Andaman Sea. It would, they thought, make a perfect place for a viewpoint -- something that could become as well known as Phuket’s favorite sunset viewpoint, Laem Phromthep.  More

 

Ananda Buddha Vihara, Hyderabad, India (VenkataSaiKrishna/flickr.com) video

  
Buddhist Temple in India
(Urban-India.net) I read a small byline in my Lonely Planet Guide about a quaint Buddhist temple on a hill in Hyderabad.
  
Off we went to the Ananda Buddha Vihara. We went up to East Maredpally and from there took a rickshaw to Mahendra Hills. Not surprisingly, the rickshaw driver hadn’t heard of the place either. We asked him to take us to Mata Amritanandmayi’s Ashrama, which is next to the temple, as he concentrated on coaxing the rickshaw up the steep streets. This Buddhist temple is the last building at the edge of a hillock [with a great view over the city]. More 
   
Western-style Buddha of Central Asia (Gandhara, Bactria, Greece)

Gandhara is an ancient region or province invaded in 326 B.C. by Alexander the Great, who took Charsadda (ancient Puskalavati) near present-day Peshawar (ancient Purusapura) and then marched eastward across the Indus into the Punjab as far as the Beas river (ancient Vipasa). Gandhara constituted the undulating plains, irrigated by the Kabul River from the Khyber Pass area, the contemporary boundary between Pakistan and Afghanistan, down to the Indus River and southward towards the Murree hills and Taxila (ancient Taksasila), near Pakistan's present capital, Islamabad.

  

Its [Westernized] Buddhist art, however, during the first centuries of the Christian era, had adopted a substantially larger area, together with the upper stretches of the Kabul River, the valley of Kabul itself, and ancient Kapisa, as well as Swat and Buner towards the north. More
  

Thai faith is strong (Wacharapol)

• PHOTOS: Phuket from Chalong Circle to the Big Buddha

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Riots in Burma: Buddhists vs. Muslims?

Safety fears restrict relief work after Myanmar riots

Reuters; Manny Mogato in Manila; writing Martin Petty; editing Andrew Heavens

Armed troops patrolled Burma's northwest city of Sittwe on Friday [June 15, 2012] as a fragile peace held in the wake of days of sectarian violence that has stoked nationalist fervor and displaced 30,000 people, with many feared dead.

   

Heavy rain kept many residents indoors in the Rakhine state capital as police and aid groups struggled to get food to thousands of ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Muslim Rohingyas [next to formerly Buddhist now Islamic Bangladesh] displaced by rioting and arson that have presented a big test to Burma's post-military-dictatorship and new 15-month-old quasi-civilian government.

• Plight of Muslim minority threatens Burmese Spring
• Burmese refugees turned back by Bangladesh - UN
• Who are the Royhingya people of Burma? 
• Travel Postcard: 48 hours in Bhutan's capital

Who are the tribes? (USCampaignforBurma.org)

United Nations officials told Reuters three of their staff, two from the UNHCR refugee agency and one from the World Food Programme (WFP), all Burmese nationals, had been detained by police in the Rohingya-dominated town of Buthidaung for unknown reasons.

   

The WFP had provided hundreds of sacks of rice to some areas, said Aye Win, spokesman for its operations in Burma.

  

Dealing with anyone in the way of oil pipelines

"We will try to get to other camps as soon as we can, when it is safe and secure. We are doing as much as we can. We will go in but security is paramount," he added.

  

More than 20 houses were burned down late on Thursday in a village near Sittwe, residents said, adding to the 2,500 torched in the past week. But there were no reports of further deaths. More

Why is there "ethnic" trouble?
Wisdom Quarterly (COMMENTARY)

Daw Suu Kyi, the new face of Burma with same dictators

It is common to stoke up ethnic strife to cover up worse crimes. What could be worse than pitting Buddhists and Muslims against one another? Dictator Than Shwe's dreams of an oil pipeline around Bangladesh and into India (then secretly China). Who is in the way? Ethnic minorities displaced by the project. Burma is a police state and has been since at least 1948 (which inspired Burmese-British writer George Orwell to title his most important work 1984).

• What hasn't changed: Shwe Gas and China pipeline
• Rush for Burma’s oil and gas: not so fast, says Suu Kyi
  

Burma's dictator and head of the ruling junta General Than Shwe (Time.com)

  
As such its ruling junta has remained in power -- changing the country's name, enslaving millions, relocating the capital, imprisoning its duly elected democratic leader (Daw Aung San Suu Kyi), and killing complainers at will -- even if they are Buddhist monastics engaged in peaceful demonstrations known as the Saffron Revolution. Actress Ellen Page referred to the little known  as less recognized Than Shwe as "Hitler." In response to world pressure, Burma has done what America has always done: put on a show of democracy while engaging in the same oligarchical/police state practices it was founded to oppose.
  

Released from custody, Suu Kyi holds little power

The US remains a colonial power of the military-industrial complex bankrolled by old European banking interests. Burma now hides behind the veneer of an elected president and even a minor minister (Daw Aung Suu Kyi).
   
Where have all the dictators gone? They are at home at ease in futuristic mansions of a made up city called Naypyidaw. Corporations 1, People 0.
  
If ethnic tribes want to stand in the way of Shwe Gas, there is going to be hell to pay. And where is America (aka "the police of the world") in all this? They are first in line to wheel and deal, as recent visits by Hillary Clinton demonstrated. We were not about to sit back and let China and India divide the spoils. Clinton only asked one thing: Pretend to respect human rights. (We'll show you how).
   

Than Shwe with UN's Ban Ki Moon (AFP)

So Daw Suu Kyi was given a nominal seat in government and has gone out into the world portraying the country as "reforming." It is far from reformed or reforming. It is merely becoming entrenched in a more sustainable deception. False appearances are much easier to maintain than shows of brute force, and it is especially nice when a government can do both and simply hide behind its reforms. We're not like the old Burma; we're the new progressive people's choice as shown by paid selections being called "free elections."

SHWE GAS: Corporations and governments are commonly very secretive to the public regarding routes for construction and there has as yet been no mentioning of an Environmental and Cultural Impact Assessment along any of these routes.

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Getting a Buddhist Tattoo.

I've written on this subject before but seeing how it's in the news again, I figured it was time to revisit the topic:

As our ancestors emerged from the ancient mists of the Neolithic age, they carried with them a deep reverence for spirituality. It was as beneficial to their survival as their closely guarded fire. Even to their rudimentary brains, they understood that the universe around them was special, and radiated with a spiritual energy. All of nature seemed to be pulsating with a vibrant glow that echoed a timeless message of divine power. In reverence of that energy, they began marking their bodies with tattoos. These also served as messages before the time of written texts and languages. Tales of their history and spiritual beliefs were laid out upon their bodies as a sort of semi-permanent record.

It is a tradition that is carried forth by modern humans who mark their bodies to honor ancestors and their spiritual beliefs. They often carry inspirational meanings for those who wear them. Some believe that tattoos are a sign of disrespect for a body that is considered a sacred temple. However, for those who believe in the power of tattoos, they see it a bit differently; those with tattoos often agree that the body is a sacred temple, and that they are honoring that temple by adorning it with sacred and personal symbols of spiritual inspiration.

The belief by some Buddhists that tattoos are disrespectful of our bodies is odd given that Buddha spoke of not attaching too much importance upon the body due to it's impermanent nature. Despite this, some Buddhists in Thailand are decrying Buddha tattoos done in their country as insensitive; which puzzles me a bit because Buddha didn't even want his image to be used at all!! So, if getting a Buddha tattoo is disrespectful than so is adorning Buddhist temples with gilded Buddha statues (as is common in Thai Buddhist temples). The bigger lesson here, in my view, is to not get so attached to an image that we become angry, distressed or otherwise thrown into suffering over an image that is nothing but a symbol.

So, if you want a Buddha tattoo, I say, go for it. Just don't expect that tattoo to bring you long term happiness, or forever stay beautiful. Just like all things of this world, it will one day fade and completely disappear with the death of your body. I personally feel it's also important not to get a tattoo with the intention to "impress" people. Then it becomes purely about the ego. In addition, seeing it as something that protects you from suffering is a misguided view within the Buddhist teachings; as there is no magic in this world to help us avoid doing the work to over-come suffering. There are no short-cuts in samsara. No symbol, chant, ritual or prayer will take the place diligently following stepping stones of the Dharma toward ultimate liberation from suffering. No one can do the work for us. No symbol has the power to help us avoid the process of personal refinement.

A tattoo is no different than any of the helpful symbols in life; they are fingers pointing at the moon. In other words, they are helpful but only as guide posts pointing the way. The guide posts can't transform your suffering into the pure freedom of Nirvana. But, still, tattoos aren't any less disrespectful than a bird pooping on a Buddha statue in the temple garden!! Or, the ornate carvings that add to the beauty of most Buddhist temples. I don't believe that we shouldn't have a little fun in this life, either. We shouldn't take ourselves so seriously all the time.

~Peace to all Beings~

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Dzogchen Ponlop on an American Buddhism.

Interesting view point from the author of "Rebel Buddha" (see my review of the book by clicking on this sentence) on the possibility and viability of an "American Buddhism." Special thanks to the "Rebel Buddha" blog for the video. This isn't coming from a pop-star, celebrity or a person who tries on the latest, "Buddhist flavor of the month." This is Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche. A very respected, world-renowned, Tibetan Buddhist scholar, and one of the highest teachers in the Nyingma lineage. He is also an accomplished Karma Kagyu lineage holder, and abbot of Dzogchen Monastery, which is one of the great monasteries of his lineage.
James: Even if there evolves a mixed-Buddhist lineage in America from the cauldron of melting Buddhist ideas; there will still be a place for the traditional lineages. Zen, Theravada, Tibetan, Pure Land, and the others will always have a strong, undiluted foot-hold here in America. However, it is inevitable as the Rinpoche describes for a specific American Buddhist tradition to form. No one can say what it will look like exactly but the melting is well underway.

I personally am happy right where I am in the Zen tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh. However, I would have to kindly disagree with the notion that Buddhism in Asia is "pure." Buddhism in Vietnam for example is a blend of Mahayana, Theravada and Pure Land Buddhism. Yet, not many people attack it as a bastardization of Buddhism as some say of Buddhism in America.

Culture wise, Tibetan Buddhism is rather particular to Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan. Their cultural traditions are very different from say the traditions of practice in Thailand or Japan for example. Yet, not many say they are a watered down mess of Buddhist ideas. All I am saying is that Buddhism is fluid and subject to change and adjustments like any other phenomena in this ever evolving life-span. Personally, I keep practicing my Soto Zen lineage but delight in the proliferation of ideas merging together in the cauldron of change.

I must admit that It is a bit odd to me that the people who oppose a mixing of traditions to form a unique "American Buddhism" are so resistant to change when Buddha taught that it is inevitable. Why would Buddhism be immune to it? And, why assume that change must be "bad" or "less than" other forms of Buddhism because it's adapting to a new culture -- American culture? Perhaps the traditionalists need to probe their discomfort with such a change and meditate on why it bothers them so much. There is plenty of room for everyone, and not everyone walks the exact same path in Buddhism -- even within the same lineage or tradition. Including the older, established ones such as in Theravada. Even within Theravada (which is arguably the tradition that sticks to uniformity the most) has it's variations.

We all must remember that change isn't necessarily always "bad." That said, an "American Buddhism" won't be for everyone and that's not just fine, it's the way things have to be in a complex, diverse, ever-changing world. If it adheres to the three jewels, the four noble truths, and the eightfold path while teaching compassion, emptiness and the other biggies in Buddhism then I welcome it.

~Peace to all beings~

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May Thailand Know Peace and Reconciliation.

The political situation in Thailand of late (the past two months) has been intense to watch unfold and tensions seems wound tighter than a stretched and fraying rope. There have been protests of the elitists in Thailand (The government, military, entrenched business interests, and some claim the monarchy) by the poor and working classes called, "The Red Shirts" over a perceived lack of say in affairs of the state. In the past the King has intervened during protests to calm the situation but some say that the monarchy has been too politicized this time. In part because the royalist/elitist faction claims the red-shirt goal is nothing short of tearing down the monarchy itself. Irregardless the King has not done much anyway to tamp down the conflict.

So, in that vacuum of leadership there was no one to keep things from escalating into full-blown rage, which we Buddhists know can easily ignite a bigger emotional fire that involves the spilling of blood. Just so, violence has erupted and is now dangerously close to evolving into full civil war. As it is the military has called the demonstration areas, "live-fire zones," and so far, 37 people have been killed. This is a risky option given the issues in Sri Lanka of monks being (perhaps) too politicized, but is the only institution capable of bringing Thailand back from the brink the great Sangha?

Is it possible they could mediate as the Great Buddha once did during his time walking this Earth? It would be the hope of this humble member of the Greater World Sangha that they could without directly undertaking a political role in the long-term governance of that beautiful, Buddhist, Southeast-Asian country. That all said, however, some wheels once set into motion gather enough speed to be unstoppable. Sometimes violence is what develops from a long string of less than helpful actions by groups and/or whole countries. This collective "karma" of a mass of people has a lot of force behind it and sometimes the only way a person can respond is to do the best in living as mindfully in that storm as possible. It's during massive turmoil such as these where one's practice becomes very helpful.

Perhaps that message is germinating amongst the two parties. A representative of the government who spoke today hoped the countries Buddhist culture would be nourished in this time of need. He claims that because of this culture the Thai people people aren't predisposed to violence. “Between 80 and 90 per cent of Thai people are Buddhists,” he said. “Buddhists are taught that to kill — even animals — is just wrong.” Still, even Buddhists aren't immune from anger and violence. As well as being manipulated to fit a political ideology.

To prove the point, Buddhism was called upon, even while protesters vowed to keep up the fighting, "As night fell, defiant Red Shirt leaders led followers in Buddhist prayers." This is still the realm of samsara after all. May Thailand soon know a greater peace and achieve recalibration upon the middle-path through political reconciliation. I wish my brothers and sisters in Thailand well, and please know that you are all in my thoughts.

PHOTO CREDIT: Thai monks join red-shirted anti-government protesters before donating their blood during a mass demonstration.

~Peace to all beings~

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