Dalai Lama becomes a "Masterchef" (video)

Greig Box-Turnbull, Daily Mirror July 19, 2011 (Mirror.co.uk)

The Dalai Lama (Tibet's pope-king) appeared as guest judge on "Masterchef."

The Dalai Lama yesterday [July 18, 2011] made a bizarre appearance as guest judge on the Australian version of Masterchef.

Stunned contestants prepared lunch for the Tibetan spiritual leader -- but he refused to rate their offerings, saying it would be against his Buddhist principles.

In a special episode of the hit TV show, the religious figurehead was presented with several sweet and savory veggie dishes as he took time out from his official duties on a visit Down Under.

Kindness is appreciated everywhere.

He liked a Sri Lankan curry with roti bread, but gnocchi -- an Italian dumpling -- was his least favorite. However, his most severe criticism about the gnocchi was the comment that the contestant “tried their best.”

Speaking about fine dining, the Dalai Lama also told the contestants: “My knowledge of these things is very limited. Whatever I get, I accept.

“As a Buddhist monk it is not right to prefer this food or that food.”

But he did [regrettably] reveal he was a huge fan of cheese and also said his other favorite foods included bread, tofu, mushrooms, desserts, and “especially” coriander.

Speaking about the food he was presented with on the show, he said: “They all had a special taste and beauty.” Source

Lama lectures Justin Bieber (video)

Wisdom Quarterly

Michael the Monk (Ven. Lobsang Yeshe), a teacher and translator at the Tara Institute in East Brighton, has a message for pop idol and child actor Justin Bieber. I love your music and charisma. You have great potential. So please set a good example and steer clear of drugs. And watch out when you turn 18 because that's the time of greatest temptation.

Thank goodness cherub has separated from his adult girlfriend, Selena Gomez. It always seemed like a stunt -- public displays of affection, just like his releasing a song with a rapper or trying to wrap himself. The public image has to generate controversy if the Bieber brand is to make money.

Avril Lavigne's strange shape-shifting teeth

Ordaining nuns in Theravada Buddhism?

Nun Thong Nghi at Van Hanh Temple leads a procession during a celebration of the Buddha's birthday which drew hundreds to the Vietnamese nunnery, the only one in Washington, according to chief nun Giac Huong Le (Erika Schultz/The Seattle Times).

The topic of full ordination for Buddhist women in the oldest living Buddhist tradition (Theravada) remains controversial. Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana) never had such a tradition, although the Dalai Lama supports it. Chinese Buddhism (Mahayana) has nuns who have been able to offer ordination to Theravada and Vajrayana women. On one side is the Sangha's traditional view that it can no longer be allowed. On the other side, Buddhist women and Western monks look more deeply at the issue. Many traditional monks, including foreign elders, now support it. But they do so quietly. Background and Buddhist Nuns

(Harvard Divinity School/Rebecca Esterson)

Interpreting monastic discipline (Vinaya)

American Thai Vinaya expert Ven. Ajahn Thanissaro (Geoffry DeGraff, a prolific Internet writer and Abbot of Wat Metta near San Diego, California) opines on the ordination of nuns (Nov. 13, 2009):

He was sent a copy of the transaction statements used at the recent nuns' ordination ceremony in Australia and asked for his opinion as to their validity.

"After looking them over and rereading the relevant passages in the Canon and commentaries, I would like to focus on one aspect of the statements: the use of a form in which two candidates are mentioned in a single proclamation. This is a detailed technical point, and the discussion will have to be long, so please bear with me.

"First, to establish context: A striking feature of the Canon’s rules for the bhikkhunīs [nuns], when compared with its rules for the bhikkhus [monks], is how sketchy they are. Many procedures are mentioned without a detailed explanation of how they should be done; the Vibhaṅgas, or explanations of the Bhikkhunī Pāṭimokkha rules, omit many discussions that would be par for the course in the Vibhaṅgas for the Bhikkhu Pāṭimokkha rules; the Pāṭimokkha rules that the bhikkhunīs have in common with the bhikkhus are not listed in the Canon; and the narratives surrounding the stage-by- stage development of specific procedures contain large gaps. Thus the traditional approach in filling in these blanks has been to apply the Great Standards (mahāpadesa) given in Mahāvagga VI:

“Bhikkhus, whatever I have not objected to, saying, ‘This is not allowable,’ if it conforms with what is not allowable, if it goes against what is allowable, that is not allowable for you.

“Whatever I have not objected to, saying, ‘This is not allowable,’ if it conforms with what is allowable, if it goes against what is not allowable, that is allowable for you.

“And whatever I have not permitted, saying, ‘This is allowable,’ if it conforms with what is not allowable, if it goes against what is allowable, that is not allowable for you.

“And whatever I have not permitted, saying, ‘This is allowable,’ if it conforms with what is allowable, if it goes against what is not allowable, that is allowable for you.” — Mv.VI.40.1 More

Ten-precept Buddhist novices live as monastics but are not allowed full ordination in Burma and other Theravada Buddhist countries (Roulette404)

Nuns, Invisibility, and the Question of Buddhist Activism
Natalie Wendt (Tikkun.org)
Bhikshuni [full Buddhist nun] ordination is practiced frequently in Taiwan and some other parts of East Asia, but is unavailable in the Tibetan tradition and to most Theravada women.

Though the Tibetan tradition has novice nuns, bhikshuni ordination never reached Tibet, and a movement to introduce it has met with strong resistance from some Tibetan teachers.

[The 14th] Dalai Lama and some other prominent teachers support bhikshuni ordination, but they are a minority. Nuns who want to fully ordain are forced to go outside of the tradition, sometimes without support of their teachers. More

Nuns (center) at Santi Forest Monastery, Buddhist Meditation in Bundanoon, Australia

The nuns of Australia
Santi Forest Monastery is a Buddhist education and meditation residence for monks, nuns, and laypeople. Established by Bhante Sujato in 2003, it is set in the rugged bush ravines of the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia. Santi offers accommodation, teaching, and support for study and practice in the Forest Tradition, with a special emphasis on the earliest teachings of the Buddha that are shared by all Buddhist traditions. Since 2005, the Sangha of Santi has performed ordinations each year and has become internationally recognized for its advocacy of full ordination for Buddhist nuns (bhikkhunis). Information

Where does Bhikkhu Bodhi stand?

The American monk (Sri Lankan-Theravada tradition), super scholar, author, and abbot of Bodhi Monastery (named prior to his arrival) also weighs in. Bhikkhu Bodhi is now in residence at BAUS in Upstate New York.

Letters on the ordination of nuns
The Buddhist Channel, Nov 11, 2009

He wrote to Ajahn Sujato regarding the full ordination of Buddhist "nuns" in Perth, Australia in September 2009. The first letter dated Nov. 3 was a letter of support, but on Nov. 6, Bhikkhu Bodhi issued a retraction. First published at sujato.wordpress.com

(Nov. 3 2009) Dear Ven. Sujato, Thank you for informing me of this event, a report of which I had already stumbled upon quite by accident on the internet last week... Please convey my congratulations to Ajahn Brahm for his courageous decision, and also accept for yourself my appreciation for spearheading this development. Also, if you can do so, please convey my congratulations to the new bhikkhunis, especially Ajahn Vayama, an old Dhamma friend from my Sri Lankan days. More

The Revival of Bhikkhuni Ordination in the Theravada Tradition (Bhikkhu Bodhi, 2007)

Full Buddhist nuns in California
Wisdom Quarterly 2010
Fortunately, through the bravery of elder Theravada Buddhist monks living in America (such as Bhante Gunaratana of West Virginia and Ven. Piyananda of Los Angeles, and Bhikkhu Bodhi of New York), it is possible for a woman to gain full admission into the Buddhist Monastic Order as a bhikkhuni (Theravada nun), not simply a novice.

• Women in Buddhism (Buddhanet.net)
• American, European nuns ordained in Taiwan
• Tibetan nun's ordination at Tushita Meditation Centre
  
• Thubten Chodron: Nuns in Tibetan Buddhism
  
• Thai monks oppose Western Australia nun ordination
  Back in October 2009 the Buddhist Society of Western Australia (BSWA) had sent a letter of support to the recently ordained nuns of Dhammasara Monastery. On Dec. 22nd an article about the controversy around this matter appeared in The West and on Dec. 30th 2009 a sector of the Thai clergy in Bangkok made an audacious claim on the sovereignty, property, and affairs of the BSWA.
• Ajahn Brahm expelled for ordaining nuns in Australia
• [Ajahn Chah's] Wat Pah Pong Temple official expulsion
• First bhikkhuni ordination in Australia (Facebook)
• Sakyadhita 2011 Int'l Conference on Women (Ven. Sujato)

Tibetan nuns and monks surrounding the 14th Dalai Lama (tushita.info)

Searching for Satori under a full moon

Amber Dorrian (Wisdom Quarterly)

A golden conclave of Buddhas, Chiang Mai, Thailand (Ganga108/Flickr.com)

Full moon day in June, Poson. Sri Lankan Buddhist temple, Pasadena. On a quest for an epiphany, a Zen Satori. We gathered round, dressed in white. End to end, knee to knee, back to back, four of us -- Ashley, Pat, me, and Seven.

I could feel breaths expanding and sinking slowly. Soon we were in rhythm. Slower and more slowly. The islanders marveled. What were Americans doing her chanting in an ancient Buddhist language with them?

Pasadena Chalk Festival 2011

The night before, the city was alive with Afro-Funk music at Levitt Pavilion, Memorial Park Metro station. Within walking distance of the temple. And the sidewalk chalk festival was in full bloom. Blissed out, long haired, wearing linen as if we had just been pulled in from San Francisco.

Seven said it was as easy as breathing. All seven of us are Seven so we all agree. But Ashley explained that it's even easier than that. The nun Ayya Susila confirmed it:

"It's impossible, it cannot be that anyone now interested in meditation did not practice in a past life."

If it were not for that past habit, that past practice, they would not now -- in these sour times -- take up so lofty an aspiration. So it's as easy as remembering without thinking, but remembering in the body instead. O, it went like this. This feels right. I just let go, just breathe, just believe.

Maybe it is as easy as dropping doubt, trust and confidence that the Buddha knew and said what he knew. Practice is the highest form of veneration in Buddhism.

• Pasadena: Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara
• Meditation on Wisdom Quarterly
• Vegeyum: A life (time) of cooking

Dose of Dalai Lama for $10,000 a pop

Janine Hill (sunshinecoastdaily.com.au)

China accuses the Dalai Lama (L), seen here with Richard Gere, of being a "splittist" [separatist] bent on dividing country (AFP/Getty Images/Stephen Chernin).

Tickets to the Dalai Lama’s visit to the Sunshine Coast have sold out, but a spare $1,000 or $10,000 [Australian dollars] will still buy some time in the presence of "His Holiness."

Maureen Walshe, director of the Chenrezig Institute of Buddhist wisdom and culture at Eudlo, said tickets at $50 and $35 for His Holiness’s June 16 visit sold out in February.

Benefactor packages, ranging from $1,000 for two people in the public teaching area to $10,000 for two people in the VIP area, plus a commemorative plaque and photo opportunity, remain available.

Ms. Walshe said Chenrezig had kept general ticket prices down to make the event affordable for as many people as possible.

“There are people who say we could have charged $100 a ticket, but that’s not what we’re about,” she said.

She said the $125,000 raised by general ticket sales covered the basic costs of staging the event, including a speaker’s fee.

Further money raised by the benefactors’ packages would help cover other costs, such as transport and security, she said. “We’ve just broken even,” she said. Ms. Walshe said two $10,000 packages had already been sold. More

• Richard Gere says US must do more for Tibet
• Miss Tibet 2011 Beauty Pageant kicks off
• New star steers Tibetan transition
• DHARAMSALA, India - When exiled Tibetan spiritual-cum temporal leader the Dalai Lama announced his retirement from political life in March, he had reasons to be optimistic that the torch of self-determination for his people would be carried forward by a younger generation. The timing to separate the religious mandate of the institution of Dalai Lama from its political one seemed to coincide with free elections in which a suave Harvard-educated [USA controlled?] lay intellectual was elected as the new prime minister.
• Tibetan student wins essay, offers advice to US students
• Dalai Lama to convene free forum in Brisbane, Australia
• How to draw a proper Yeti (abominable snowman)
• Sunshine Coast prepares for Dalai lama visit

Dalai Lama "won't seek rebirth"

The Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, in an interview with Taiwan television aired [in 2009], said he is in excellent health -- but won't seek reincarnation [rebirth]. In an interview with Taiwan's Formosa TV, which was conducted in India to mark the 50th anniversary of China's occupation of Tibet, the Dalai Lama said it would be up to the Tibetan people to decide if there should be a reincarnation after his death. Tibetan Buddhists believe the Dalai Lama to be the current incarnation of their supreme Buddhist leader, whose holiness has exempted him from the cycle of birth and death, and can instead be reincarnated of his own free will. More

Fun with Texting!!!

Steven Hodson (Inquistr.com, Australia)

"OMG, hi!!! this is so fun!!!" "0.k., now u send me 1."

As a society we seem to love nothing better than creating psychological disorders around every new fad that comes our way. And it seems that texting is no different.

The Sydney Morning Herald in Australia has a post up in which Jennie Carroll, a Melbourne technology researcher with RMIT University, claims to have "discovered" four separate disorders when it comes to texting and children.

Yes, children are once again in danger of themselves and this wicked and evil texting thing. Why? Well, they just don’t know any better.

Carroll says teenagers who text too much could find themselves suffering from:

1. Textaphrenia: thinking we’ve heard or felt a new text message vibration when there is no message.
2. Textiety: a feeling of anxiety from not receiving or sending any text messages.
3. Post-Traumatic Text Disorder: injuries related to texting, such as walking into objects by not paying attention to surroundings.
4. Binge Texting: sending massive numbers of texts to build self-esteem among peers. More
   

Buddhism fastest growing religion in Australia

A large Buddhist site is being built in Bendigo, near Melbourne (Map: lonelyplanet.com).

A Buddhist tradition
S. Muthiah (The Hindu)
The fastest growing religion in Australia is Buddhism, and its roots have been traced back to Sri Lanka. But the question is, Will it continue?

Growing interest
Buddhism is the fastest growing religion in Australia, and the biggest reliquary-burial mound (stupa) outside countries with significant Buddhist populations is being built in Bendigo, not far from Melbourne.

It was while doing 18 months of research on Buddhism in Australia for two articles on the subject that now appear in the Cambridge University Press' massive tome The Encyclopedia of Religions in Australia that [D.S. Abeygunawardena] not only came across these two nuggets but also discovered that Australia had 570 listed Buddhist organizations, including monasteries, temples, retreat [center]s, meditation centers, and meeting places for Buddhist societies.

A 3-D model of The Great Stupa, the biggest reliquary-burial mound outside countries with a significant Buddhist presence.

Today these are patronized by a Buddhist population of a little over 400,000 (two percent of the total population), almost double the 1996 census count ten years earlier. Islam has only about three-fourths that number and Hinduism a third. With nearly 13 million listing themselves as Christian, this tale of Buddhism in Australia is just one of Abey's typical, but solidly fact-based, footnotes.

It's a story that begins with a boatload of Chinese arriving in Adelaide in 1851 to walk to the Victorian goldfields. Many of them were Buddhists. But there is no record what happened to them or their faith. Better recorded is the 500 Sinhalese [Sri Lankan] Buddhists from the Galle area in southern Sri Lanka. They came to work as contract labor in the Queensland sugar plantations.

Given their urban background, they soon moved out of the plantations and found work in Broome, Darwin, and Thursday Island in the pearl industry. (Some of their descendants are still in the jewellery business). On tiny Thursday island, the 100 or so Sinhalese families that settled there built the first Buddhist shrine in Australia. But when their descendants moved out, the shrine vanished. More

Ajahn Brahm
Ajahn Brahmvamso's monastery is located at 216 Kingsbury Drive, Serpentine 6125, Serpentine, Western Australia (Map) - Ajahn who? - Books - Donate - Where - About - Contact