A member of the Occupy Wall Street movement looks for tent in Zuccotti Park as the first winter snow falls in New York, Oct. 29, 2011 (Lucas Jackson/Reuters).
Showing posts with label East. Show all posts
Showing posts with label East. Show all posts
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Occupy Wall Street: Snow on American Fall
A member of the Occupy Wall Street movement looks for tent in Zuccotti Park as the first winter snow falls in New York, Oct. 29, 2011 (Lucas Jackson/Reuters).
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Greek Buddhism (video)
Opensourcebuddhism.org, Wisdom Quarterly
(Open Source Buddhism) Mike Watters through Professor Rev. Dr. James Kenneth Powell II
(Open Source Buddhism) Mike Watters through Professor Rev. Dr. James Kenneth Powell II
Buddhism was a beloved Greek/Bactrian/Scythian tradition influencing the Dharma and toga-sporting depictions of the Buddha as East met West in Alexander's expansive Indo-Greek empire, which encompassed parts of northwest frontier India (Gandhara, Afghanistan, Indus River valley).
This detailed study of the intriguing interactions of the ancient Greeks, Indians, and Buddhists as greater Greece became a major conduit of communication.
Greek Skeptics and Stoics were greatly influenced by their connections with Buddhism, but not the Cynics. Diogenes was certainly a Buddhist man in the West. The contrast between his view and that of Socrates and Plato is well articulated. He is far more in agreement with the Buddha than the others.
This detailed study of the intriguing interactions of the ancient Greeks, Indians, and Buddhists as greater Greece became a major conduit of communication.
Greek Skeptics and Stoics were greatly influenced by their connections with Buddhism, but not the Cynics. Diogenes was certainly a Buddhist man in the West. The contrast between his view and that of Socrates and Plato is well articulated. He is far more in agreement with the Buddha than the others.
Watters' chronicle of the origins and development of the Alexandrian then Ashokan civilizations is concise yet replete with details. The travels of the two Greek Dharmaraksitas is a fascinating revelation following Greco-Buddhism to Sri Lanka.
The study of King Menander (Milinda) pushes home how Buddhism took root in Central Asia and the philosopher-monk Nagasena's arguments in Greek court were historically pivotal.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Our Unnatural Line of Earthquakes
AboveTopSecret.com, Wisdom Quarterly
Few seem to have noticed that there is nothing "natural" about recent temblors, weather, and flooding disasters (abovetopsecret.com).
Tenpensdown often checks the earthquake.usgs.gov site for earthquake updates. And among others [on Coast to Coast] has noticed a strange pattern emerging since the East Coast quake that hit Washington, DC, NY, and Virginia. Add a red line across the unusual activity, and the unnatural linear pattern emerges. Add data points from an eight-day animation, and it appears there were even more earthquakes along this line marking quakes in different locations. Is this a common trend? The map above is updated frequently for anyone to check. Of course, no one will be surprised to discover that our shadowy government obscures patterns and distorts data when it finds them inconvenient. Source
Patterns? What patterns? It's only an "act of God."
Few seem to have noticed that there is nothing "natural" about recent temblors, weather, and flooding disasters (abovetopsecret.com).Tenpensdown often checks the earthquake.usgs.gov site for earthquake updates. And among others [on Coast to Coast] has noticed a strange pattern emerging since the East Coast quake that hit Washington, DC, NY, and Virginia. Add a red line across the unusual activity, and the unnatural linear pattern emerges. Add data points from an eight-day animation, and it appears there were even more earthquakes along this line marking quakes in different locations. Is this a common trend? The map above is updated frequently for anyone to check. Of course, no one will be surprised to discover that our shadowy government obscures patterns and distorts data when it finds them inconvenient. SourcePatterns? What patterns? It's only an "act of God."
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Enlightened Nun to Teach in D.C. Area
Wisdom Quarterly
In a rare opportunity to see a noble Buddhist teacher, a local Dharma advocate has arranged for an extraordinary nun to teach openly. Sayalay Susila will be offering three afternoon Dharma sessions in the Washington, DC area on July 23, July 30, and August 6, 2011. The format for the afternoon is an hour of sitting meditation, an hour long Dharma talk, and an hour of Q&A.
- There is no charge for these sessions; dana will be accepted [which is extraordinarily meritorious]. To attend, register with Fran Oropeza (OropezaF at AOL.com) because space is limited to 45 people. It is wise to sign up early.
July 23, 2011
Sayalay Susila will teach "The Exposition of the Elements" (Dhatuvibhanga Sutra, MN 140). This first session will be held from 1:00-5:00 pm in Meeting Room 104 A/B of the Martha Washington Library. The library is located at 6614 Fort Hunt Road, Alexandria, VA 22307, (703) 768-6700. Directions: I-495 /Capital Beltway to the Alexandria Exit 177A-177B, U.S 1, South toward Fort Belvoir. Travel on U.S. 1 for approximately 0.2 miles to a slight right fork with a stoplight. (Get in a turn lane to make a 90 degree turn across U.S. 1 onto Fort Hunt Road/State Route 629). Turn left across U.S. 1 onto Fort Hunt Road and go approximately 1.2 miles. Library is on the right.
Sayalay Susila will teach "The Exposition of the Elements" (Dhatuvibhanga Sutra, MN 140). This first session will be held from 1:00-5:00 pm in Meeting Room 104 A/B of the Martha Washington Library. The library is located at 6614 Fort Hunt Road, Alexandria, VA 22307, (703) 768-6700. Directions: I-495 /Capital Beltway to the Alexandria Exit 177A-177B, U.S 1, South toward Fort Belvoir. Travel on U.S. 1 for approximately 0.2 miles to a slight right fork with a stoplight. (Get in a turn lane to make a 90 degree turn across U.S. 1 onto Fort Hunt Road/State Route 629). Turn left across U.S. 1 onto Fort Hunt Road and go approximately 1.2 miles. Library is on the right. July 30, 2011
Sayalay will be offer her talk “Conquering the Enemy.” This second session will be held from 1:00-5:00 pm in the George Mason Meeting Room of the George Mason Regional Library, located at 7001 Little River Turnpike, Annandale, VA 22003, (703) 256-3800. Directions: I-495 /Capital Beltway to Annandale Exit 52, Little River Turnpike, VA - 236 - East. Travel on VA - 236 - East for approximately 1.8 miles. Library is on the right.
Sayalay will be offer her talk “Conquering the Enemy.” This second session will be held from 1:00-5:00 pm in the George Mason Meeting Room of the George Mason Regional Library, located at 7001 Little River Turnpike, Annandale, VA 22003, (703) 256-3800. Directions: I-495 /Capital Beltway to Annandale Exit 52, Little River Turnpike, VA - 236 - East. Travel on VA - 236 - East for approximately 1.8 miles. Library is on the right.
August 6, 2011
Sayalay will be teaching about the "Five Aggregates" (constituents of existence). This third session will be held from 1:00-5:00 pm in the City of Fairfax Regional Library Meeting Room A. The library is located at 10360 North Street Fairfax, VA 22030, (703) 293-6227. Directions: I-495 /Capital Beltway to Annandale Exit 52, Little River Turnpike, VA - 236 - West. Travel on VA - 236 - West for approximately 5 miles. Turn right on Old Lee highway and travel approximately 500 feet. Left on North Street. Library is approximately 500 feet on right.
- Bring items needed for sitting meditation, such as cushion for hard floor.
ABOUT THE TEACHER: Fluent in English, Chinese, Burmese, Hokkien, and Malay, Sayalay Susila started insight meditation (vipassana) while pursuing a degree in Mass Communications at USM in Malaysia. Before ordination she was a full-time practitioner for a year and a half. After her ordination in 1991, she practiced under the guidance of U Pandita Sayadaw in Panditarama Monastery, Burma, until 1994. Then she began to practice under the guidance of the great scholar-practitioner Pa Auk Sayadaw at Pa Auk Tawya Meditation Center, Burma. She was born in 1963 in Pahang, Malaysia and ordained at the age of 28 at the Malaysian Buddhist Meditation Centre (MBMC) in Penang. Beginning in 2000, with the encouragement of Pa Auk Sayadaw, she has taught Abhidharma in Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, Canada, and the US. Her Dharma talks are widely praised as lucid and precise. They have been well received at North American Buddhist centers such as Spirit Rock (California) and the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies (Massachusetts), and the Bhavana Society (West Virginia). Her publications include Unravelling the Mysteries of Mind and Body Through Abhidhamma in English and The Nine Attributes of the Buddha in Chinese.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Harvard Zen
Wisdom Quarterly visits Harvard University and the Cambridge Zen Center
Cambridge is the penultimate college town. And Harvard Square is its epicenter. MIT geniuses walk by remembering to chew, step, chew, step -- caught up in daydreams of ultimate reality and material sciences.
Garden Buddha at the Cambridge Zen Center (cambridgezen.com)
Modica Way in on the path to Cambridge Zen (Kwan Um school). And its array of heady graffiti is good preparation for the blank wall one will soon be staring at in zazen: Daydreams are as vivid as the imaginations of street artists.
The subway underground, art, Harvard Square, nascent nerd overlords... Mass. is an amazing place. But the jewel in the center of the lotus is surely the Mahindra Humanities Center. Its offering are potent and academic, rivaling UCLA's Mindfulness Awareness Research Center and Berkeley's Buddhist Institute, Dept. of Buddhist Studies, and Buddhist monastery.
Ah, to be bicoastal! Flying east and west, merging cultures, and watching Woody Allen movies in between would be the best of both worlds. The Midwest is the great divide, as most of Wisdom Quarterly's American readers hail from east of the Mississippi as our editors sit staring at the Pacific from under the Hollywood sign.
The way to Harvard's Mahindra Humanities Center is as colorful as it offerings.
We went to see the scene at the Cambridge Zen Center, where Harvard elites can gather in silence. Until the questions start and life advice is sought.
Cambridge is the penultimate college town. And Harvard Square is its epicenter. MIT geniuses walk by remembering to chew, step, chew, step -- caught up in daydreams of ultimate reality and material sciences.
Garden Buddha at the Cambridge Zen Center (cambridgezen.com)Modica Way in on the path to Cambridge Zen (Kwan Um school). And its array of heady graffiti is good preparation for the blank wall one will soon be staring at in zazen: Daydreams are as vivid as the imaginations of street artists.
The subway underground, art, Harvard Square, nascent nerd overlords... Mass. is an amazing place. But the jewel in the center of the lotus is surely the Mahindra Humanities Center. Its offering are potent and academic, rivaling UCLA's Mindfulness Awareness Research Center and Berkeley's Buddhist Institute, Dept. of Buddhist Studies, and Buddhist monastery.Ah, to be bicoastal! Flying east and west, merging cultures, and watching Woody Allen movies in between would be the best of both worlds. The Midwest is the great divide, as most of Wisdom Quarterly's American readers hail from east of the Mississippi as our editors sit staring at the Pacific from under the Hollywood sign.
- The Harvard Buddhist Studies Forum provides an opportunity for faculty, students, and participants to discuss approaches to Buddhist studies that are as diverse as philology, intellectual history, anthropology, art history, literary studies, and religious studies. In addition to being interdisciplinary, lectures discuss Buddhism within a variety of geographic contexts, including South, Southeast, Central, and East Asia. More
Friday, June 17, 2011
"Mindful Music Night" (Against the Stream)
Against the Stream Meditation Society (Melrose), Dharma Punx
Wonderful artists are on the bill in Hollywood tonight, musicians who are also meditators: Against the Stream's very own Pablo Das, the sublime Patrick Hildebrand of the Ooks of Hazard, Buddhist yogi Rick Colella ("Rick Chant") doing wild and jazzy kirtan, and the irrepressible Andy Sykora banging amazing gongs. The evening will consist of instruction in "music meditation," followed by four half-hour sets/sits. The nigh will close with food and merry-making.
- WHEN: Friday June 17, 7:30 pm
- WHERE: A.G.S. 4300 Melrose Ave., LA 90029
- WHY: formal meditation to live mindful music
- HOW: No sign up, donation (dana) based event
Wonderful artists are on the bill in Hollywood tonight, musicians who are also meditators: Against the Stream's very own Pablo Das, the sublime Patrick Hildebrand of the Ooks of Hazard, Buddhist yogi Rick Colella ("Rick Chant") doing wild and jazzy kirtan, and the irrepressible Andy Sykora banging amazing gongs. The evening will consist of instruction in "music meditation," followed by four half-hour sets/sits. The nigh will close with food and merry-making.
(Triycycle) “This is why we come early,” Buddhist singer-songwriter Ravenna Michalsen says for the third time this trip, as we search for the correct turn into Wellesley College. She’s playing a show for the college’s Buddhist Community tonight, and we’ve driven up to Massachusetts from New Haven, Connecticut, where various karmic causes and conditions have brought the two of us together again for another semester....
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