Thursday, 23 October 2014

William Blake, Buddhism and Human Rights – value of praxis over ideology

http://groundviews.org/2014/09/25/william-blake-buddhism-and-human-rights-value-of-praxis-over-ideology/

William Blake, Buddhism and Human Rights – value of praxis over ideology

Marriage of Buddhism and modern dance

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/culture/2014/10/145_165890.html

Marriage of Buddhism and modern dance

By Kwon Mee-yoo

Masked dancers run through gilded Buddhist statues on stage and roll over with them. The dancers also pile up plastic baskets on stage and knock them down, as if symbolizing Koreans accepting and consuming new culture rapidly.

This is the Korea National Contemporary Dance Company (KNCDC)'s "Bul-ssang," which will be staged on Friday and Saturday at Main Hall Hae of National Theater of Korea on Mount Nam.

Saturday, 18 October 2014

ShambhalaSun : Awake in the World

http://us7.campaign-archive2.com/?u=59fbde8a5794d670ab3a8a1a0&id=5375d9e255&e=1600c8252d


We are pleased to share this special event hosted by our friends at Shambhala Mountain Center.

Sign up here to access all 6 days of dialogues, presentations, and guided meditations (at no cost) 


Awake in the World features over 20 top thought leaders and wisdom holders sharing their experience and guidance on: integrating lessons from yoga and meditation into your everyday life, mindful eating, reducing stress, cultivating healthy relationships, working with difficult situations at work, establishing a meditation practice, working with compassion and much more!


Click here to register for the free online event October 19-24. After this timeframe the recordings of the event will be available for purchase here.

 

Presenters and Hosts Include:

Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, Tara Brach, Dr. Roger Teel, Roshi Joan Halifax, Charles Eisenstein, Roshi Bernie Glassman, Richard Reoch, Acharya Fleet Maull, Susan Piver, Lodro Rinzler, Acharya Adam Lobel, Irini Rockwell, Acharya Susan Chapman, Michael Carroll, Acharya Dan Hessey, Shastri Janet Solyntjes, Seane Corn, Acharya Gaylon Ferguson, Shiva Rea, Susan Skjei, Alexandra Shenpen, Kazuaki Tanahashi, and many more!

Online Event Schedule
Day 1:  Envisioning an Awakened World with hosts Acharya Dan Hessey and Acharya Adam Lobel
Day 2:  Waking Up to Personal Health & Well-being with host Holly Gayley
Day 3:  Waking Up Through Relationships with host Susan Piver
Day 4:  Waking Up Through Work with host Lodro Rinzler
Day 5:  Waking Up Through Service with host Acharya Fleet Maul
Day 6:  Interreligious Dialogue Featuring senior teachers from 6 religious traditions

Event Partners include:
Shambhala Sun, Naropa University, Shambhala Publications, Tricycle Sounds True, Elephant Journal, Buddhafest and Nexus.

Click here to learn more


 

SUBSCRIBE TO SHAMBHALA SUN

SAVE 50%  and get a free digital booklet when you subscribe today.

Thursday, 16 October 2014

Looking east for guidance: The influence of Buddhism, Hinduism and Taoism on Tolstoy’s life

http://rbth.co.uk/literature/2014/10/10/looking_east_for_guidance_the_influence_of_buddhism_hinduism_and_t_40519.html

Looking east for guidance: The influence of Buddhism, Hinduism and Taoism on Tolstoy’s life 


October 10, 2014 Ajay Kamalakaran, RBTH In the latter part of his life, the great writer was considerably influenced by eastern religions. How did these teachings affect Tolstoy's writing and his own philosophical ideas?
Source: Russia Beyond the Headlines - http://rbth.co.uk/literature/2014/10/10/looking_east_for_guidance_the_influence_of_buddhism_hinduism_and_t_40519.html)

The Meaning of Life

http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/10/15/buddhism-meditation-spiritual-mindfulness/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

The Meaning of Life

Whether or not the latest wave of self-helping meditators or corporate practitioners of ‘mindfulness’ know it, the spiritual enlightenment sweeping America has strong ties to Buddhism, thanks in part to one huggable ex-monk in California.

REC: Commission on Religion and Belief in British Public Life

From: Sophie Agrotis [mailto:sophie@religiouseducationcouncil.org.uk]
Sent: 10 October 2014 10:57
To: Sophie Agrotis
Subject: FW: From Baroness Butler-Sloss - Re: Commission on Religion and Belief in British Public Life
 
Dear Member representative,
 
The Commission on Religion and Belief in British Public Life have asked that we circulate to you details of their current public consultation. Please find below a message from  Mohammed Aziz, head of the Commission Secretariat:
 
The Commission has been convened by the Woolf Institute, Cambridge, and would welcome your views on the topics with which it is dealing, as outlined in the consultation document at http://www.corab.org.uk/national-consultation.
 
Very briefly summarised, the commission would like to know people’s views on the role of religion and belief in British public life with particular regard to media coverage of religion and belief issues, social action, developments in UK education systems, civil and criminal law, and dialogue and engagement. You are of course welcome to focus on topics and questions which are of particular interest to you – you are not expected to reply to each and every single question in the document.
 
Responses can be of any length and can be accompanied by copies of relevant documents. In its eventual report the Commission will acknowledge all the responses which it receives and will almost certainly wish to quote from some of them directly.
 
You are welcome to forward this message and its attachment to colleagues and contacts who might wish to respond, and to mention it in newsletters or bulletins, and to place it on the agendas of meetings.
 
Responses should please be sent by 31 October to maa74@cam.ac.uk or by post to the Woolf Institute, 12-14 Grange Road, Cambridge CB3 9DU. Enquiries should be addressed to Mohammed Aziz, head of the Commission Secretariat.
 
 
- - - - - - - - - - -
 
Sophie Agrotis | Office and Finance Administrator
 
Religious Education Council
CAN Mezzanine
49-51 East Road
N1 6AH
 
Phone:  0207 250 8166

Wednesday, 8 October 2014

Centre plans to launch AC train in Buddhist circuit from 2015

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-centre-plans-to-launch-ac-train-in-buddhist-circuit-from-2015-2021961

Centre plans to launch AC train in Buddhist circuit from 2015


The Centre today announced a slew of measures including launching an air-conditioned train in Buddhist circuit from next year and putting signboards in languages of different countries for non-English speakers to make Bodh Gaya and other places associated with Lord Buddha more attractive for visitors.
All the electric poles would be removed at Bodh Gaya and wires be placed under ground to spruce up the place where Buddha had attained enlightenment, Union Tourism minister Shripad Naik said at the three-day Buddhists International Festival.
Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, Union Tourism Secretary Parvez Diwan, Uttar Pradesh Technical Education minister Shivkant Ojha, Bihar Tourism minister Javed Iqbal Ansari and his counterpart in Food department Shyam Rajak were present on the occasion.
Around 132 delegates from 31 countries including Japan, UK, Russia, Australia, Taiwan, Cambodia, Spain, Sri Lanka and Serbia are participating in the festival that begun yesterday at Bodh Gaya, the famous Buddhist place, about 100 km from capital Patna.
Naik said a fully air-conditioned Train would start running in the Buddhist circuit from 2015. The train would have facility of separate kitchen in the train itself in which foreign tourists could cook and enjoy food of their country. He said a sum of Rs 1,000 crore has been sanctioned for development of Buddhist circuit.
Lumbini, Bodhgaya, Sarnath and Kushinagar in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are the primary pilgrimage places of Buddhist Circuits associated with the life and teachings of Lord Buddha.
The Union Tourism minister said that presently it has been seen that foreign tourists come here mainly in winter season. But to draw them here in summer season too, fortnight-long country-specfific festival would be organised in monasteries of different countries.
Naik said a statue of Lord Buddha would be installed inside the lake at Ghora Katora in Rajgir in Nalanda district.
Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi drew importance of tourism and said if the sector is properly developed it could feed economy of resource-crunched state of Bihar alone.
Manjhi said he would soon meet Union Civil Aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju for development of Gaya Airport and starting flight services from Delhi, Kolkata and Kathmandu to Gaya for convenience of foreign tourists in particular.
The CM said his government has set up tourist police station at Bodh Gaya and deployed a Deputy Superintendent of Police level officer to deal with vehicular congestion.
Drawing attention towards poor condition of National Highways in the state, Manjhi urged the Centre to reimburse about Rs 1,000 crore to the state which previous CM Nitish Kumar had spent for repair of the NHs from state coffer. This money would be spent for repair of NHs again, he said.
Manjhi said plan was afoot to construct a dam on river Falgu, the venue of "Pitri paksha" (worship of forefathers), which could have 2-3 feet of water throughout the year.
The Bihar CM said that due to initiatives of the state government, flow of tourists, both domestic and foreigners, have risen astronomically. Bihar had received 68.8 lakh domestic and 63,000 thousand foreign tourists in 2005 which went up to 2.15 crore from within the country and 7.65 lakh from abroad in 2013, he said reeling out the statistics.
Uttar Pradesh Techinical Education minister Shivnath Ojha said that world's tallest statue of Lord Buddha at 212 feet would be installed in Kusinagar. He said Akhilesh Yadav government has earmarked Rs 1,008 crore for development of Sarnath to Kusinagar road.
During International Buddhist festival that would end tomorrow, pilgrims, tour operators and others associated with tourism would visit different Buddhist temples and international monasteries at Bodh Gaya.