Contentious Tibetan Buddhist deity worship discussed in London panel

Last updated on: August 17, 2014 at 6:23 pm By Justin Whitaker

In what may have been a first-of-its-kind event, representatives of the International Shugden Community joined academics, a Geluk Buddhist monk, and a former member of the New Kadampa Tradition to discuss the history and current status of Dorje Shugden. Shugden, in short, is a ‘protector deity’ historically associated with the Geluk school of Tibetan Buddhism. His supposed power has led to great devotion by a number of esteemed Buddhist teachers, foremost among them Pabongkha Rinpoche, whose works helped shape Geluk... Read more

Vegetarianism and Animals in Early Indian Buddhism

Last updated on: August 14, 2014 at 3:35 pm By Justin Whitaker

In this presentation, University of Toronto graduate student Sean M. Smith discusses the relationship between humans and other animals in the psychological and cosmological teachings of early Buddhism. I knew I would like the talk after the first 30 seconds, when he said: As a philosopher I am not interested in contingent historical details. I’m interested in truth, and I think Buddhist Philosophy, and especially Buddhist Philosophy in its early Indian guise – sometimes called the Theravadin school of Buddhism... Read more

Buddhist abbot Ajahn Brahm says that it is ‘Unacceptable’ that religion has been so cruel to LGBTIQs

Last updated on: July 30, 2014 at 4:51 pm By Justin Whitaker

Before a large audience in Singapore in June, the outspoken Theravadin Buddhist monk cited the Buddha’s call for compassion toward all sentient beings as a starting point for a Buddhist position on the LGBTIQ community. He said he was very proud to be able to perform a gay marriage in Norway. He continued: “There is nothing in the sutras, in the teachings of the Buddha, which discriminates against anybody no matter what race, religion, or sexual orientation. I do ask all Buddhists to please... Read more

Sand castles: Buddhist advice on what holds us back in life

Last updated on: July 23, 2014 at 12:52 am By Justin Whitaker

I stumbled across this sutta the other day and appreciated the fact that the Buddha, 2500 years ago, was talking about sand castles (or ‘dirt houses’). The images of amazing creativity, wonder (perhaps infatuation), and impermanence of such structures couldn’t have been very different from what we see and think of today. This is especially true for those who know of the Tibetan Buddhist practice of creating, and then destroying, beautiful sand sculptures like the one above (see the video... Read more

Korean nuns rap the Heart Sutra

Last updated on: July 20, 2014 at 5:36 pm By Justin Whitaker

From the HuffingtonPost: More than 300 nuns and monks convened in a Seoul temple on Thursday to participate in a prayer competition hosted by the Jogye Order, Korea’s largest Buddhist organization. While most recited traditional prayers, several brave nuns took to the stage with rap and hip hop performances. A group of three nuns performed a variation on the classic Heart Sutra, beating on traditional drums and rapping their own lyrics: “Great wisdom, perfect wisdom. Buddha’s teachings that show you the way!”... Read more

A Make-up tutorial with a surprisingly Buddhist message

Last updated on: July 11, 2014 at 4:54 pm By Justin Whitaker

A make-up video as a topic for Buddhist reflection? That probably won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but I’d say give it a watch, or skip right to the reading below it. The description of the video, published last month, reads “The power of make up is incredible, but the power of you is cray cray.” And since I came across this via the wonderful Full Contact Enlightenment page on facebook, I gave it a watch. While much of it... Read more

Novak Djokovic combines Buddhist Mindfulness AND Ethics with Tennis at Wimbledon

Last updated on: July 6, 2014 at 11:47 am By Justin Whitaker

World number 1 tennis player (now #2 behind Nadal), Novak Djokovic has scraped through a tough match against the Croation player Marin Čilić and an equally thrilling contest with Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov. That brings the Serbian Novak Djokovic once again to the Wimbledon finals (games start at 2pm GMT / 9am EST, Sunday, July 6th). Last year, when Djokovic was in the same position playing against Andy Murray, it was widely reported, including here, that part of his training included visits to... Read more

Petition created for the United Nations Day of Vesak (UNDV) to allow Ajahn Brahm’s gender equality paper in 2015

Last updated on: July 7, 2014 at 1:20 pm By Justin Whitaker

Last month, Ajahn Brahm, one of the world’s best known Theravadin monks, was scheduled to give a talk on gender equality (and lack thereof) in Buddhism in Vietnam at the annual UN Day of Vesak conference. However, at the last minute his talk was canceled. Here Ajahn Brahm talks about why: Now you can sign a petition, launched today in the UK, asking the UNDV conference to allow his talk to be given next year. According to the petition site... Read more

Happy Saga Dawa Duchen – Tibetan Buddhism’s holiest day

Last updated on: June 13, 2014 at 5:32 pm By Justin Whitaker

Saga Dawa is the fourth lunar month of the Tibetan calendar, this year falling between May 29 and June 27. It is the holiest time of the year for Tibetan Buddhists. The middle of the month, the full moon day, is the most important. On that day the fruits of one’s karma (actions) are said to increase one billion (1,000,000,000) times or more. It is the day that Tibetan Buddhists celebrate the birth, awakening, and death of the Buddha. That... Read more

The Creative Power of Mindfulness, guest post by Janet Kathleen Ettele

Last updated on: June 11, 2014 at 7:24 pm By Justin Whitaker

Mindfulness. Impermanence. Karma. Compassion. Whether or not these words are part of your every-day vocabulary, even if unspoken they are an active part of your life. Several years ago I completed the certification program for Life Coaching at New York University, SCPS. I learned about the Model of Human Functioning; a model that demonstrates the sequence of events that occur within human experience. The sequence is this: 1st Thoughts, 2nd Feelings, 3rd Actions, and 4th Results. People often debate the accuracy... Read more