Vesak: Most Sacred Holy Day of Theravada Buddhism
By Admin Webmaster 5/26/2021 2:16:43 PMVesak is the most sacred holy day of Theravada Buddhism. Also called Visakha Puja or Wesak, Vesak is an observation of the birth, enlightenment, and death (parinirvana) of the historical Buddha.
Huayan Buddhism
By Admin Webmaster 5/19/2021 9:59:12 AMThe Huayan or Flower Garland school of Mahayana Buddhism is respected to this day for the quality of its scholarship and teaching.
Introduction to Theravada Buddhism
By Admin Webmaster 5/5/2021 9:16:17 AMTheravada is the dominant form of Buddhism in most of southeast Asia, including Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Laos, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. It claims about 100 million adherents worldwide.
Origins of Mahayana Buddhism
By Admin Webmaster 3/10/2021 9:31:03 AMFor nearly two millennia, Buddhism has been divided into two major schools, Theravada and Mahayana. Scholars have viewed Theravada Buddhism as "original" and Mahayana as a divergent school that split away, but modern scholarship questions this perspective.
Schools of Tibetan Buddhism
By Admin Webmaster 3/1/2021 10:13:10 AMBuddhism first reached Tibet in the 7th century. By the 8th-century teachers such as Padmasambhava were traveling to Tibet to teach the dharma. In time Tibetans developed their own perspectives and approaches to the Buddhist path.
US Congress Recognizes Reincarnation
By Admin Webmaster 12/30/2020 9:20:34 AMWASHINGTON, D.C., December 24, 2020 (Religion News Service): Among the hodgepodge of legislative loose ends that made their way into the $900 billion spending bill passed by Congress on Monday night (Dec. 21) was a significant update to the 18-year-old Tibetan Policy Act, strengthening U.S. support for Tibetan autonomy and religious freedom for followers of Tibetan Buddhism around the globe.
Nourishing our Togetherness, Protecting our Planet
By Admin Webmaster 3/18/2016 9:54:35 AMAs we approach our next retreat on “Sustainability, Mindfulness and Community Life” at the European Institute of Applied Buddhism (EIAB) in Germany from March 31st to April 3rd...
YES! Enshrine Buddhism as Thailand State Religion
By Admin Webmaster 3/8/2016 10:46:16 AMBuddhist teachings like any other religions, tries to influence its followers to do good and be morally and ethically correct according to the interpretation of its teachings. In many other countries, over time, some of these religious rules and teachings are interpreted and incorporated into the nation secular laws or becomes laws in themselves.
Three Ways, Two Paths, and One Practice for Rebirth
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMAwakening the aspiration for enlightenment, believing deeply in the law of causality, and chanting the Mahayana sutras and encouraging people to follow their teachings.
Borobudur to Become an International Destination for Buddhist Pilgrims
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMIndonesia’s coordinating minister for maritime affairs has said that Indonesia aims to make Borobudur, an ancient Mahayana Buddhist temple complex and UNESCO world heritage site in Central Java...
Survey Reveals Over 12,000 Temples in Japan Lack Resident Monks
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMA recent survey carried out by The Asahi Shimbun newspaper showed that 12,065 Buddhist temples in Japan are without resident monks, representing 16 per cent of temples affiliated with the 10 most popular schools of Buddhism in the country.
Thich Nhat Hanh Speaks First Words Since November 2014 Stroke
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMRenowned Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, affectionately known to his followers as Thay, has spoken his first words since suffering a stroke in November 2014, according to an update on his condition from the monks and nuns of Thay’s Plum Village community...
Rethinking Life Release
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMIn recent years, the Buddhist practice of life release, or in Chinese, fangsheng (放生), has become a highly contentious topic, pitting life release advocates against environmentalists, animal rights activists, and even other Buddhists. While everyone agrees on the virtues of...
The Journey of Women Going Forth into the Bhikkhuni Order in Bangladesh
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMThere is an ongoing controversy within the Theravada tradition over the validity of bhikkhuni or female ordination. However, with strong support from some senior and influential monks within the sangha, the bhikkhuni order is now undergoing a revival...
Conscientious Compassion—Bhikkhu Bodhi on Climate Change, Social Justice, and Saving the World
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMAmerican scholar and Theravada monk Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi might not receive the same high-profile press coverage as the Roman Catholic Church’s charismatic standard-bearer Pope Francis, but it is becoming evident to Buddhism watchers and commentators ...
Time to look within
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMThe annual three-month Buddhist Lent, starting today, aims at giving monks time for intensive meditation and spiritual contemplation. Many devout Buddhists also use this period to observe more strictly the sila or moral precepts ...
Thai Buddhists to help anti-Muslim Myanmar monks set up radio station
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMThai Buddhists have offered to help a network of hardline anti-Muslim Myanmar monks set up a radio station to spread their message across a nation where sectarian hatred is on the rise.
Dharma and the Erotic: How Should We Love?
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMA good deal of contemporary Buddhist literature exists that confronts unhealthy and deluded ideas of romantic and sexual love. Today’s popular media and advertising certainly peddles a distorted vision of erotic desire, or eros, as one of self-fulfillment and attachment...
Nationalism, not Buddhism, is Thailand's true religion
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMEvery time Thailand hits world headlines — be it because of forced or child prostitution, slave labor, human trafficking or political violence — the world asks: how could a Buddhist country commit such crimes?
Buddhists invited to join nationwide celebration of Visakha Puja Day 2015
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMThe Department of Religious Affairs has invited Buddhists in Thailand to perform good deeds and wear white clothes on their visit to nearby temples on the occasion of Visakha Puja Day and Atthamee Puja Day 2015.
Eighteen International Scholars Awarded 2014/15 in Buddhist Studies
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMThe Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation announced on 12 May that 18 scholars who are seeking to shed fresh light on a range of Buddhism-related subjects have been selected for grants under The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Program in Buddhist Studies.
The Magha Puja Festival: A Time to Make Merit for Southeast Asian Buddhists
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMThe Southeast Asian countries Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar are known for their many colorful and enjoyable festivals. One of the most popular is Magha Puja or Sangha Day, an important Buddhist festival that extends across many cultures and beliefs...
Amitabha-invocation Should Not Be Mixed With Other Buddha-invocations
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMin order to ensure rebirth in the Land of Bliss, Pure Land practitioners should not mix Amitabha-recitation with other Buddhist practices. It is essential not to mix practices because keeping the practice pure shows the practitioner’s full confidence and reliance on “Buddha power” in order to attain the Buddha’s merit and ...
Thailand Celebrates Makha Bucha
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMThe Buddhist holiday of Makha Bucha, or Magha Puja, was celebrated in Thailand this year on 4 March. The holiday is mainly observed in Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos, and according to the lunar calendar, falls on the full moon day of ...
Ancient Buddhist Sites in Pakistan in Urgent Need of Conservation
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMMany ancient Buddhist sites in Pakistan are deteriorating due to the lack of any proper conservation effort. According to The Express Tribune, further damage has been done to these sites through indifference and neglect on the part of the government ...
Is My Faith in Amitabha Buddha Not Deep Enough?
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMWhat is next after we place our faith in Amitabha’s deliverance? One is considered to have established the two kinds of deep faith when one is earnest in one’s aspiration to be reborn in the Land of ...
The different kinds of Buddhists
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMIf we really had to point it out, we can say that there are six "kinds" of Buddhists. Some of these Buddhists are born Buddhists, other find it, while some just think it's cool. Titling ourselves as Buddhist is like titling ourselves as one of the "cool kids" at school...
Buddhism and freedom of speech
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMHow to be truthful in a hostile environment? How to say things that need to be said to avoid coercion and violence from low tolerance of criticism? What should we respect more in an open society where different cultural norms often compete and clash ...
Buddhism and Debt
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMThe incomparable loftiness of the monk figure—placid and disinterested, having renounced desire—leads many to think of Buddhism as a religion detached from all worldly concerns, especially those of economy. But Buddhism has always addressed a continuum...
Supporting the Ordination of Theravada Nuns
By Admin Webmaster 2/6/2016 10:31:10 AMOn 29 November, 8 bhikkhunis and 47 novices were ordained at Thippayasathandhamma Bhikkhuni Arama, a nunnery located on the islet of Koh Yor in Thailand’s Songhkla Province. The ceremony was performed by...