Akshara Bookshop Product List 14 08 2020
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Buddhism in America
Buddhism in America The Columbia Contemporary American Religion Series Columbia Contemporary American Religion Series The United States is the birthplace of religious pluralism, and the spiritual landscape of contemporary America is as varied and complex as that of any country in the world. The books in this new series, written by leading scholars for students and general readers alike, fall into two categories: some of these well-crafted, thought-provoking portraits of the country’s major religious groups describe and explain particular religious practices and rituals, beliefs, and major challenges facing a given community today. Others explore current themes and topics in American religion that cut across denominational lines. The texts are supplemented with care- fully selected photographs and artwork, annotated bibliographies, con- cise profiles of important individuals, and chronologies of major events. — Roman Catholicism in America Islam in America . B UDDHISM in America Richard Hughes Seager C C Publishers Since New York Chichester, West Sussex Copyright © Columbia University Press All rights reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Seager, Richard Hughes. Buddhism in America / Richard Hughes Seager. p. cm. — (Columbia contemporary American religion series) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN ‒‒‒ — ISBN ‒‒‒ (pbk.) . Buddhism—United States. I. Title. II. Series. BQ.S .'—dc – Casebound editions of Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent and durable acid-free paper. -
Teacher Transition in the Insight Meditation Movement
Teacher Transition in the Insight Meditation Movement Introduction In the next ten years, nearly all of the founding and senior teachers in the Insight movement will reduce or stop their teaching, and possibly some will die. We have just begun an important time of transition, worthy of reflection and considered action. Buddhism in the West is very young. We are still learning what it is by our very acts of practicing and teaching it. We still have much to learn from the particular sufferings and challenges of our modern life, from the ancient texts, and from each other. The seed has sprouted, and it needs nourishment. In some ways, there is nothing new happening here. Spiritual movements have been evolving beyond their founders for millennia, with a wide range of results. Buddhism itself has moved into new regions many times, as well as adapted to sweeping changes in a given region over time. We are fortunate to live in a time when there is access to such historical knowledge, as well as frameworks and tools from more modern disciplines. Nonetheless, this is the present place and time. We must act within our particular circumstances, with the people who are present, and with the resources at hand. Although our case is not special, it is, like all cases, unique. The Insight Meditation Movement in the West does not have a sharp definition, but neither is it vague or undefined. It was started by Westerners who trained at Theravada monasteries in Southeast Asia – these founding teachers include Joseph Goldstein, Jack Kornfield, Sharon Salzberg, Christina Feldman, Christopher Titmuss, and Ruth Denison. -
Dealing with Life’S Issues a Buddhist Perspective
Dealing with Life’s Issues A Buddhist Perspective B Ven. Thubten Chodron Published for Free Distribution Only Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery Dharma Propagation Division Awaken Publishing and Design 88 Bright Hill Road Singapore 574117 Tel: (65) 6849 5342 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.kmspks.org 1st Edition, January 2008 2nd reprint of 5,000 copies, April 2008 ISBN-13: 978-981-05-9395-7 EISSUES-0102-0408 © Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery Cover design: BigstockPhoto.com@rgbspace Although reprinting of our books for free distribution is encouraged as long as the publication is reprinted in its entirety with no modifications, including this statement of the conditions, and credit is given to the author and the publisher, we require permission to be obtained in writing, to ensure that the latest edition is used. Printed by Zheng Yong Binding (S) Pte Ltd Tel: (65) 6275 6228 Fax: (65) 6275 6338 Please pass this book around should you feel that you do not need it anymore. As the Buddha taught, the gift of Truth excels all other gifts! May all have the chance to know the Dharma. It is very, very rare for one to have a precious human life and still be able to encounter the Buddha-Dharma, therefore please handle this book with utmost respect and care. Printed in Singapore on 100% recycled paper. Cover is printed using paper manufactured from 55% recycled fibre and 45% pulp from responsibly managed forests. Contents Preface M v m Romantic Love & Marriage M 1 m Dharma & the Family M 14 m Dharma Guidance on World Events M 30 m Dharma & Terminal Illness M 67 m Dharma & Suicide M 103 m Dharma & the Prison: Making Friends with Ourselves M 127 m Dear Reader, If you wish to share the production costs of this and many other beautiful Dharma Books and CDs for free distribution, so that more people can be touched by the beauty of Dharma and be inspired to live a happy and meaningful life, please photocopy the sponsorship form at the back of this book, fill in your particulars and return it to us. -
Compassion & Social Justice
COMPASSION & SOCIAL JUSTICE Edited by Karma Lekshe Tsomo PUBLISHED BY Sakyadhita Yogyakarta, Indonesia © Copyright 2015 Karma Lekshe Tsomo No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the editor. CONTENTS PREFACE ix BUDDHIST WOMEN OF INDONESIA The New Space for Peranakan Chinese Woman in Late Colonial Indonesia: Tjoa Hin Hoaij in the Historiography of Buddhism 1 Yulianti Bhikkhuni Jinakumari and the Early Indonesian Buddhist Nuns 7 Medya Silvita Ibu Parvati: An Indonesian Buddhist Pioneer 13 Heru Suherman Lim Indonesian Women’s Roles in Buddhist Education 17 Bhiksuni Zong Kai Indonesian Women and Buddhist Social Service 22 Dian Pratiwi COMPASSION & INNER TRANSFORMATION The Rearranged Roles of Buddhist Nuns in the Modern Korean Sangha: A Case Study 2 of Practicing Compassion 25 Hyo Seok Sunim Vipassana and Pain: A Case Study of Taiwanese Female Buddhists Who Practice Vipassana 29 Shiou-Ding Shi Buddhist and Living with HIV: Two Life Stories from Taiwan 34 Wei-yi Cheng Teaching Dharma in Prison 43 Robina Courtin iii INDONESIAN BUDDHIST WOMEN IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE Light of the Kilis: Our Javanese Bhikkhuni Foremothers 47 Bhikkhuni Tathaaloka Buddhist Women of Indonesia: Diversity and Social Justice 57 Karma Lekshe Tsomo Establishing the Bhikkhuni Sangha in Indonesia: Obstacles and -
The Groups Pali Terms
the groups Pali Terms from Dharma discourses Note to readers. Dhamma is the Pali spelling. Dharma is the Sanskrit spelling The Buddha often formulated his teachings into groups for ease to remember. The groups also show the depth and expanse addressed of human issues. The major groups are: Two kinds of meditation Three Jewels Three Characteristics of Existence Four Noble Truths (Four Truths for the Noble Ones) Four Applications of Mindfulness, Four Divine Abidings Five Aggregates Five Hindrances Noble Eightfold Path 12 Links of dependent arising (of issues involving suffering) 1. Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sammàsambuddhassa (Full Respect to the Blessed One, Accomplished And Fully Awakened) 2 . Two Kinds of Meditation Dhammapada – note to verse 384 – page 660 1. samatha meditative concentration 2. vipassanā insight 3 Characteristics of Existence (ti-lakkhaṇa) 1. anicca impermanence, impermanent, transiency, unstable 2. dukkha unsatisfactoriness, problems, suffering 3. anattā not-self, non-ego, egolessness, impersonality, not I, not mine, soullessness 3 Non attachments (viveka) 1. kāya-viveka bodily non attachment 2. citta-viveka mental non-attachment 3. upadhi-viveka non-attachment to a substrata of existence 3 fold Training 1. sīla ethics 2. samādhi concentration 3. paññā wisdom 1 3 Kinds of clear Knowledge (or: The Three True Knowledges) (tevijjā) (MN 6.17, MN 4.27-33, MN 12.17-19, MN 39.19-21, MN 51.24-26, MN 73.22, MN 77.34, MN 101.42-44, MN 108.21) 1. knowledge of recollecting past lives 2. knowledge of the passing away and reappearing of beings (the divine eye) 3. knowledge of the destruction of the taints (also: cankers or corruptions) 3 Kinds of Craving (taṇhā) (The Dhammapada - page 416, notes to verse 334, page 584) 1. -
The Tulku System in Tibetan Buddhism: Its Reliability, Orthodoxy and Social Impacts
The Tulku System in Tibetan Buddhism: Its Reliability, Orthodoxy and Social Impacts By Ramin Etesami A thesis submitted to the graduate school in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts at the International Buddhist College, Thailand March, 20 Abstract The Tulku institution is a unique characteristic of Tibetan Buddhism with a central role in this tradition, to the extent that it is present in almost every aspect of Tibet’s culture and tradition. However, despite this central role and the scope and diversity of the socio-religious aspects of the institution, only a few studies have so far been conducted to shed light on it. On the other hand, an aura of sacredness; distorted pictures projected by the media and film industries;political propaganda and misinformation; and tendencies to follow a pattern of cult behavior; have made the Tulku institution a highly controversial topic for research; and consequently, an objective study of the institution based on a critical approach is difficult. The current research is an attempt to comprehensively examine different dimensions of the Tulku tradition with an emphasis on the issue of its orthodoxy with respect to the core doctrines of Buddhism and the social implications of the practice. In this research, extreme caution has been practiced to firstly, avoid any kind of bias rooted in faith and belief; and secondly, to follow a scientific methodology in reviewing evidence and scriptures related to the research topic. Through a comprehensive study of historical accounts, core Buddhist texts and hagiographic literature, this study has found that while the basic Buddhist doctrines allow the possibility for a Buddhist teacher or an advanced practitioner to “return back to accomplish his tasks, the lack of any historical precedence which can be viewed as a typical example of the practice in early Buddhism makes the issue of its orthodoxy equivocal and relative. -
The Lion-Faced Ḍākinī Sadhana སེང་གདོང་མའི
The Lion-Faced Ḍākinī Sadhana By Karma Chagme སེང་གདོང་མའི་སྒྲུབ་ཐབས་བཞུགས་སོ། ། ཆགས་མེད་ར་ག Translated and edited by Adele Tomlin The Lion-Faced Ḍākinī Sadhana Author: Karma Chagme Translator and Editor: Adele Tomlin Lion-Faced Ḍākinī EMPOWERMENT AND TRANSMISSION ARE ESSENTIAL BEFORE READING OR PRACTISING THIS TEXT First Edition, 2018. Publishing and Content Copyright: Adele Tomlin/Dakini Publications, 2018. Available for free private use and download. Please do not copy, re-produce or publish without express permission. 1 Translator’s Introduction The Lion-Faced Ḍākinī (seng ge gdong ma, Skt: Siṃhamukhā) is a female deity considered to be especially effective for dispelling black magic, curses, obstacles and harm-doers. In the Nyingma terma tradition, she is considered as one of the many forms of Padmasambhava, specifically a secret form of Guru Rinpoche manifested to avert spiritual obstacles and negativity. In the Sarma traditions she arises out of the Chakrasamvara cycle of tantras and belongs to the Highest Yoga Tantra 'wisdom' classification. The revelation of the root mantra for Lion-Faced Ḍākinī is also associated with the name of a famous translator and Sakya master, Bari Lotsawa (ba ri lo tsA) (aka Rinchen Drak (rin chen grags)) (1040-1111) — the second throne holder of Sakya school (Sakya Trizin). At the age of 63, he retained the seat of Sakya for a period of eight years (1102-1110). The great Sakya and Nyingma master, Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo wrote a history of the lineage of Siṃhamukhā, which has been translated and published in English onlinei. According to that biography, Bari was shown how to reveal the mantra treasure directly by Lion-Faced Ḍākinī herself, in order to avert the black magic and sorcery of an Indian master. -
Virtues Without Rules: Ethics in the Insight Meditation Movement Gil Fronsdal
Virtues without Rules: Ethics in the Insight Meditation Movement Gil Fronsdal INTRODUCTION Observers have commented that for Buddhism to take firm hold in the West it needs to develop a well- articulated ethic. This chapter is a study of how Buddhist ethics is taught within one rapidly growing movement of Western Buddhism: what I will be calling the Insight Meditation movement. While the movement has so far published no overview of its ethics, enough material is now available for us to discern some general points. Among Buddhist movements in the West, the Insight Meditation movement is unique in that it is not simply a transplant of an Asian Buddhist tradition. Rather, it can be seen as a new tradition taking shape in the West around particular meditative practices of vipassanā, often translated as “insight meditation” or colloquially as “mindfulness practice.” Vipassanā practice is clearly derived from the Theravāda Buddhism of South and Southeast Asia, where it has a central soteriological role. However, in bringing this meditation practice to the West, the founders of the Insight Meditation movement have consciously downplayed (or even jettisoned) many important elements of the Theravāda tradition, including monasticism, rituals, merit-making, and Buddhist cosmology. Without these and other elements, the Insight Meditation movement has been relatively unencumbered in developing itself into a form of Western Buddhism. In doing so, it has retained only a minimal identification with its Theravāda origins. Ethics, morality, and virtue have central roles in the Asian Theravāda tradition. All three of these English terms can be used to translate the Pāli word sīla that appears in the important three-fold division of the Therāvadin Buddhist spiritual path: sīla, samādhi, and paññā (ethics, meditative absorption, and wisdom). -
1. Introduction
1. Introduction 1. INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................2 ORIGINS OF BUDDHISM .......................................................................................................................2 THE PRACTICE LINEAGES ....................................................................................................................3 The Kagyü Lineage........................................................................................................................3 The Nyingma Lineage.....................................................................................................................5 The Surmang Tradition..................................................................................................................5 VIDYADHARA, THE VENERABLE CHÖGYAM TRUNGPA, RINPOCHE .............................................................6 THE VAJRA REGENT ÖSEL TENDZIN......................................................................................................9 THE SAKYONG, JAMGÖN MIPHAM RINPOCHE .......................................................................................12 RELATED ORGANIZATIONS................................................................................................................14 Nalanda Foundation....................................................................................................................14 Naropa University.......................................................................................................................16 -
The Wisdom of the Unsayable in the Chinese Tradition Karl-Heinz Pohl
3 The Wisdom of the Unsayable in the Chinese Tradition Karl-Heinz Pohl Concerning Eastern teachings such as Daoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism, there is often widespread confusion about how these are to be classified—as religion or as philosophy. This problem, however, is culturally homemade: the distinction between religion and philosophy based on European cultural tradi- tions often does not apply when we leave our culture behind. Thus, the Eastern teachings, which are often referred to as “wisdom religions” (e.g. by Hans Küng), are either religion and philosophy or neither religion nor philosophy; whichever way you prefer ideologically. As is well known, there is a certain “family resemblance” (as Wittgenstein would put it) between Daoism and Buddhism. There is, however, very little that connects these Asian philosophies and religions with the European tradition emanating from Greco-Roman and Christian thought. This does not mean that their philosophemes would be fundamentally alien to the Europeans: at most they do not belong to the European mainstream. So the family resemblance could certainly be extended to certain European philoso- phers and schools: There is in Europe a tradition—from the pre-Socratics through the apophatic theology and mysticism of the Middle Ages to existen- tialism and philosophy of language of modernity—that has very much in common with Daoism and Buddhism. Hence, a blend of selected passages from Heraclitus (cf. Wohlfart 1998: 24–39), Neo-Pythagoreanism, Sextus Empiricus, Gnosticism, Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, Nicholas of Cusa, Meister Eckhart, Jacob Boehme, Montaigne, Hegel (cf. Wohlfart 1998: 24–39), Heidegger, Wittgenstein, Derrida, et al. -
Sacred Arts of Tibet Tour ••• (562)225-3072 ••• ~Page 1~
Sacred Arts of Tibet Tour ••• (562)225-3072 ••• www.sacredartsoftibettour.org ~page 1~ Sacred Arts of Tibet Tour 2014 - 2015 FOR HIGH RESOLUTION IMAGES PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE www.sacredartsoftibettour.org Table of Contents Gaden Shartse Monastic College Brief History of Buddhism in Tibet and the Effect of the Chinese Cultural Revolution Shartse Today History of Phukhang Purposes of the Tours Stage Performances Empowerments Healing Rituals Special Rituals Sand Mandala Lecture Topics School Prograns Monks' Biographies Suggested Donations Monks Bios Sacred Arts of Tibet Tour ••• (562)225-3072 ••• www.sacredartsoftibettour.org ~page 2~ GADEN SHARTSE MONASTIC COLLEGE Gaden Shartse Monastic College is situated amid lush green hills and jungle in the remote countryside of southern India. It was founded in 1969 as an effort to re-establish one of the great monastic traditions of Tibet. A small group of elder monks and fifteen young boys, all of whom had managed to escape the destruction in Tibet, settled on land given to them by the Indian government in Mundgod, Karnataka. Today the college is at the forefront of the revival of Tibetan Monastic education, with more than 1600 resident students, teachers, scholars, and spiritual practitioners. More than 70% of the members are between the ages of 10 and 25 and 80% of these were born in Tibet. To this day, young monks arrive at the Monastery weekly from Tibet, seeking shelter and education. Due to the success of the academic program and the quality of the teachers at the monastery, Gaden Shartse has established a reputation as being the leader in the field of Buddhist and Tibetan studies. -
The Transmission of Dharma in the Modern World
From Warm Heart to Warm Heart: The Transmission of Dharma in the Modern World Interviews from Mandala, 1982–2017 A Mandala Ebook © 2017 Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system or technologies now known or developed, without permission in writing from the publisher. Cover: His Holiness the Dalai Lama being greeted by Jim Blumenthal, Portland, Oregon, US, May 2013; photo by Marc Sakamoto. Blue sky photo by Outside the Fray, Flickr Creative Commons attribution. Mandala/FPMT, Inc., 1632 SE 11th Avenue, Portland, OR 97214, US; fpmt.org Table of Contents Editor’s Introduction Foreword by Lama Zopa Rinpoche: Some Thoughts on the Future of Buddhism, 2004 1. Lama Yeshe: Taking the Essence, 1982, Mandala July–December 2016 2. Geshe Lhundub Sopa: Transmitting ‘Gold’, Mandala November 1996 3. Yangsi Rinpoche: Lamrim in the West, Mandala December 2003–January 2004 4. Ven. Antonio Satta: Mindfulness-Awareness Meditation, Mandala October–November 2006 5. Dr. Robert Thurman: Engaged Realism, Mandala October–November 2006 6. Rob Preece: Psychology—The Bridge Between Buddhism and the West, Mandala July–September 2013 7. Dr. John Dunne: On Mindfulness, Mandala Online January–March 2014 8. Ven. Thubten Chodron: Buddhism’s Common Ground, Mandala October–December 2014 9. Dr. Jeffrey Hopkins: Transmitting Honesty, Mandala Online January 2015 10. Rasmus Hougaard: Bringing Dharma into the Corporate World, Mandala Online March 2015 11. Dr. Anne Carolyn Klein: The Transmission of Tibetan Buddhism to the West, Mandala Online July–December 2015 12.