This post is from Jie's webmaster.
Sorry there have been no updates to "Ecumenical Buddhism" lately. From what I have been told, Jie has been kidnapped by Tibetan seperatists who found out where he was traveling in Sichuan, and has been unable to submit updates to me. His family are trying to secure his release by directly negotiating with this secessionists, choosing not to involve the Chinese government in this. Updates will resume as soon as he can be freed from these terrorists. Even though these extremists have done this, Jie would be the first to say that such actions do not represent the Tibetan people or Tibetan Busshism as a whole, these individuals are extremists misrepthe true teachings of their supposed faith for secular reasons of power.
10 June 2009
Update on No Updates
23 March 2009
Killing the Buddha Manifesto
Killing the Buddha is a religion magazine (and a book, see below) for people made anxious by churches, people embarrassed to be caught in the “spirituality” section of a bookstore, people both hostile and drawn to talk of God. It is for people who somehow want to be religious, who want to know what it means to know the divine, but for good reasons are not and do not. If the religious have come to own religious discourse it is because they alone have had places where religious language could be spoken and understood. Now there is a forum for the supposedly non-religious to think and talk about what religion is, is not and might be. Killing the Buddha is it.
The idea of “killing the Buddha” comes from a famous Zen line, the context of which is easy to imagine: After years on his cushion, a monk has what he believes is a breakthrough: a glimpse of nirvana, the Buddhamind, the big pay-off. Reporting the experience to his master, however, he is informed that what has happened is par for the course, nothing special, maybe even damaging to his pursuit. And then the master gives the student dismaying advice: If you meet the Buddha, he says, kill him.
Why kill the Buddha? Because the Buddha you meet is not the true Buddha, but an expression of your longing. If this Buddha is not killed he will only stand in your way.
Why Killing the Buddha? For our purposes, killing the Buddha is a metaphor for moving past the complacency of belief, for struggling honestly with the idea of God. As people who take faith seriously, we are endlessly amazed and enraged that religious discourse has become so bloodless, parochial and boring. Any God worth the name is none of these things. Yet when people talk about God they are talking mainly about the Buddha they meet. For fear of seeming intolerant or uncertain, or just for lack of thinking, they talk about a God too small to be God.
Killing the Buddha is about finding a way to be religious when we’re all so self-conscious and self-absorbed. Knowing more than ever about ourselves and the way the world works, we gain nothing through nostalgia for a time when belief was simple, and even less from insisting that now is such a time. Killing the Buddha will ask, How can we be religious without leaving part of ourselves at the church or temple door? How can we love God when we know it doesn’t matter if we do? Call it God for the godless. Call it the search for a God we can believe in: A God that will not be an embarrassment in twelve-thousand years. A God we can talk about without qualifications.
Killing the Buddha insists that if religion matters at all it matters enough to be taken to task. We believe it’s high time for a new canon to be created, and that the Web is just the place to collect it. We refuse to accept the internet as a world wide shopping mall. We know intuitively it can be a sort of Talmudic cathedral, a tool of transcendence made of words. We’re here to build it. If the end result looks more like Babel than the City of God
Killing the Buddha: A Heretic’s Bible
by Peter Manseau and Jeff Sharlet
An entirely original book that delivers the spiritual state of the nation in 13 dispatches that range from a prophet in pasties in Geneva, Illinois to a church caught in the ashes of Ground Zero. Interspersed are 13 versions of biblical scripture, recast by our favorite Buddha-killing writers, including Rick Moody, Francine Prose, Haven Kimmel, A.L. Kennedy, and many more. This is the book that Publishers Weekly called “the most original and insightful spiritual writing to come out of America since Jack Kerouac first hit the road.”
23 February 2009
Treatment of Sickness
As sickness rises from wrong conditions or maladjustments of good conditions, the followers of Buddha, by observing the Precepts, following the Noble Path and practicing meditation, should be largely if not wholly free from sickness. Wise control of the mind is the best preventative of sickness and is the best method of cure. If our body, mind and breathing are well regulated and our circumstances are in harmony with the teachings of Buddha, we should be able to throw off most sicknesses and heal most wounds. We should do everything we can to keep well, because sickness is a discredit to our enlightenment; besides being a hindrance to our practice of meditation.
There are two divisions of this subject that should be kept in mind: First, the nature of the sickness, its development and its symptoms; second, methods of treatment. Under the first heading we should distinguish between sickness caused by external conditions and sickness caused by irregularities within our own minds. In either case we should notice the beginning of sickness and try to prevent its becoming serious by remedying the conditions both external and internal as early as possible. What are the best remedies? The best remedy is the practice of stopping and insight. Stopping means removing dangerous conditions and ending bad habits. Insight means an examination of and reflection on the emptiness aspect of all phenomena. If we cease to let the mind dwell upon symptoms and hold it to a reflection upon the unreality of both body and ideas concerning its state, then the mind will speedily become tranquil, and the symptoms will disappear. The reason for this is that most of our sicknesses come from irritations within the mind; and if these can be controlled by right mindfulness, then the mind will become kind and tranquil and the sickness will disappear. Medicines made up of either minerals or herbs or both may be used if they have some correspondence with the sickness. The same thing is true, also, in the application of ways and means for practicing insight – each practice must have correspondence with its mental sickness,
In the treatment of sickness by some process of insight, it is necessary for us to do so in ten ways, if we are to expect good results. The ten ways are:
(1) Faith. We must believe that the remedy is going to help us.If we treat our sicknesses in these ways, no doubt we will have good results.
(2) Application. We must make use of the remedy in the right way and at the right time.
(3) Diligence. It means to apply the remedy whole heartedly, without relaxation until the sickness is cured.
(4) Permanent conditions, This means that we are to keep the mind concentrated upon the Dharma.
(5) Discernment of causes.
(6) Expedient means. This means that we are to keep our right breathing, right practice, and right use of our thoughts in good adjustment and balance.
(7) Long practice. This means that if we are benefited by the means or practice, we are to continue it faithfully without regard to the passing of time.
(8) Choice of means. This means that we are to use observation to note whether a remedy is useful or harmful and be governed as to its continued use accordingly.
(9) Maintenance and protection. This means that we are to protect the body by the best use of our mind.
(10) Hindrances. This means that if we are benefited by our practice of meditation we shall not boast of it to others, and if we are unsuccessful in getting rid of hindrances we must not give rise to doubts and slanders.
12 February 2009
What we don't hear about Tibet
While the world moralises over China's occupation, feudalism and abuse in Tibetan culture has been conveniently forgotten
Sexual abuse in monasteries and oppressive feudalism in traditional Tibetan society has been factored out of the argument against China's occupation, oversimplifying it.
Tibet seems like as a celestial paradise held in chains, but the west's tendency to romanticise the country's Buddhist culture has distorted our view. Popular belief is that under the Dalai Lama, Tibetans lived contentedly in a spiritual non-violent culture, uncorrupted by lust or greed: but in reality society was far more brutal than that vision.
Last December, Ye Xiaowen, head of China's administration for religious affairs, published a piece in the state-run China Daily newspaper that, although propaganda, rings true. "History clearly reveals that the old Tibet was not the Shangri-La that many imagine", he wrote "but a society under a system of feudal serfdom."
Until 1959, when China cracked down on Tibetan rebels and the Dalai Lama fled to northern India, around 98% of the population was enslaved in serfdom. Drepung monastery, on the outskirts of Lhasa, was one of the world's largest landowners with 185 manors, 25,000 serfs, 300 pastures, and 16,000 herdsmen. High-ranking lamas and secular landowners imposed crippling taxes, forced boys into monastic slavery and pilfered most of the country's wealth – torturing disobedient serfs by gouging out their eyes or severing their hamstrings.
Tashi Tsering, now an English professor at Lhasa University is representative of Tibetans that do not see China's occupation as worse tyranny. He was taken from his family near Drepung at 13 and forced into the Dalai Lama's personal dance troupe. Beaten by his teachers, Tsering put up with rape by a well-connected monk in exchange for protection. In his autobiography, The Struggle for Modern Tibet, Tsering writes that China brought long-awaited hope when is laid claim to Tibet in 1950.
After studying at the University of Washington, Tsering returned to Chinese-occupied Tibet in 1964, convinced that the country could modernise effectively by cooperating with the Chinese. Denounced during the Cultural Revolution, arrested in 1967 to spend six years in prison and labour camps, he still maintains that Mao Tse-Tung liberated his people.
After 1959, it abolished slavery, serfdom and unfair taxes. Creating thousands of jobs through new infrastructure projects, it built Tibet's first hospitals and opened schools in every major village, bringing education to the masses. Clean water was pumped into the main towns and villages and the average life expectancy has almost doubled since 1950, to 60.
Even so, in 2001 the Dalai Lama said: "Tibet, materially, is very, very backward. Spiritually it is quite rich. But spirituality can't fill our stomachs."
Freedom for Tibet is not simply a case of liberation from China and the reinstatement of traditional values. Around 70 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line and enhanced spirituality alone will not improve economic conditions. Poverty is not quaint no matter how colourful the culture and the Tibet question is one that should be addressed from a rational, rather than an idealised viewpoint.
Nearby Bhutan, which has a similar Buddhist culture that it tried to preserve by banning television until 1999 and limiting foreign visitors, only held its first democratic elections in 2007. The Dalai Lama now promotes democracy, but Tibet may well have looked worse than it does today if the old order had been left to its own devices.
03 February 2009
25 January 2009
2009 Buddhist Holidays
[There is no one Buddhist calendar. Zen Buddhist holidays (with roots in Japan) are based on the Japanese ( Gregorian) calendar and have fixed dates. Tibetan Buddhist holidays (also referred to as Vajrayana Buddhist holidays and Tantric Buddhist holidays) (with roots in Tibet) are based on the unique Tibetan lunisolar calendar. The Tibetan New Year begins just after, or a month following, the Chinese New Year. The Chinese month begins on the day of the New Moon; the Tibetan month begins the day following the New Moon. Chinese Mahayana Buddhist holidays are based on the Chinese lunisolar calendar and are calculated based on Chinese time. Pursuant to prevailing practice, Tibetan Buddhist holidays are calculated based on Universal time. Those who wish to practice according to local time may need to make adjustments. Due to the necessity of "missing days" in the Tibetan calendar, some holidays (e.g. Tara Pujas) may be celebrated one day earlier/later on the Gregorian calendar than the date given. Though some Tibetan Buddhist holidays occur annually, many occur fortnightly or monthly. Theravada Buddhist holidays (with roots in Sri Lanka and Thailand) are based on a Theravada lunisolar calendar and are also calculated based on Universal Time.]
* 1/3: Mindfulness Day--Zen Buddhist day for being mindful of the peace, joy, and beauty of the moment.
* 1/4: Day for meditation on Tantric Buddha Deities Amitayus and White Tara, who grant good health and long life. Buddhists study sacred texts, meditate, pray, chant mantras, and make devotional offerings to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. [White Tara Mantra: Om Tare Tuttare Ture Mama Ayu Punya Jnana Pushtim Kuru Svaha] [Amitayus Mantra: Om Amarani Jivan Tiye Svaha] [Medicine Buddha Mantra: Om Bhaisajye Bhaisajye Mahabhaisajye Bhaisajye Raja Samudgate Svaha] [a/k/a Amitayus Buddha Day, Tara Puja, Medicine Buddha Day, 8th Tibetan day]
* 1/6: Dakas' Day--Day Tantric Buddhists make offerings to Father Tantra; day to unite will and power to manifest positive social change and environmental healing. [Observed primarily by Tantric initiates.] [a/k/a Father Tantra Puja, Tsog, Tsok, 10th Tibetan day]
* 1/11: Amitabha Buddha Day--Day Tibetan and Mahayana Buddhists do good deeds and chant the name of Buddha God Amitabha/Omito/Amida to gain entry to His Pure Land and aid in attaining nirvana. [Amitabha Mantra: Om Amideva Hrih] [15th Tibetan day, UT Full Moon day]
* 1/18: World Religions Day--Day to contemplate all religions as different paths to the one universal Deity of many names and aspects.
* 1/19: Dakinis' Day--Day Tantric Buddhists make offerings to Mother Tantra; day to unite will and power to manifest positive social change and environmental healing. [Observed primarily by Tantric initiates.] [a/k/a Mother Tantra Puja, Tsog, Tsok, 25th Tibetan day]
* 1/26: Shakyamuni Buddha Day--Day Tibetan Buddhists meditate on the Buddha's teachings and strive to fulfill the Precepts. [Shakyamuni Mantra: Om Muni Muni Mahamuni Shakyamuni Svaha] [a/k/a Siddhartha Buddha Day, 30th Tibetan day, UT New Moon day]
* 1/26 to 1/29: Hsih Nien/Suhl/Tet--Chinese and East Asian Lunar New Year (Year 4707: the Ox).
* 2/3: Tara Puja--Tibetan Buddhist fast of Bodhisattva Goddess Tara. All are equal in Her circles; She is worshipped with meditations on mandalas and chanting of mantra. [Green Tara Mantra: Om Tare Tuttare Ture Svaha] [8th Tibetan day]
* 2/4: Dakas' Day--Day Tantric Buddhists make offerings to Father Tantra; day to unite will and power to manifest positive social change and environmental healing. [Observed primarily by Tantric initiates.] [a/k/a Father Tantra Puja, Tsog, Tsok, 10th Tibetan day]
* 2/7: Mindfulness Day--Zen Buddhist day for being mindful that you, and all that is, are in the process of transformation.
* 2/9: Amitabha Buddha Day--Day Tibetan and Mahayana Buddhists do good deeds and chant the name of Buddha God Amitabha/Omito/Amida to gain entry to His Pure Land and aid in attaining nirvana. [Amitabha Mantra: Om Amideva Hrih] [15th Tibetan day, UT Full Moon day]
* 2/15: Nehan--Zen Buddhist celebration of the Buddha's paranirvana (483 BCE). The Buddha taught an eight-fold path to enlightenment - right views, right aspiration, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right contemplation. [563-483 BCE: exact dates unknown] [Forms of Buddhism include Theravada, Tantra (Tibetan), and Mahayana (Zen and Pure Land).]
* 2/19: Dakinis' Day--Day Tantric Buddhists make offerings to Mother Tantra; day to unite will and power to manifest positive social change and environmental healing. [Observed primarily by Tantric initiates.] [a/k/a Mother Tantra Puja, Tsog, Tsok, 25th Tibetan day]
* 2/23: Sojong Day--Tibetan Buddhist day of fasting, confession, and reparation for harm done. [Observed primarily by monks and nuns.] [a/k/a Sojong Chemno]
* 2/24: Shakyamuni Buddha Day--Day Tibetan Buddhists meditate on the Buddha's teachings and strive to fulfill the Precepts. [Shakyamuni Mantra: Om Muni Muni Mahamuni Shakyamuni Svaha] [a/k/a Siddhartha Buddha Day, 30th Tibetan day, UT New Moon day]
* 2/25 to 3/11: Losar/Tibetan Buddhist New Year (Year 2136: the Earth Ox) & Monlam Chenmo/Great Prayer Festival--Commemorates miracles performed by the Buddha. Rituals, dances, and sculptures are offered to drive out evil spirits and to protect and benefit all sentient beings.
* 3/4: Tara Puja--Tibetan Buddhist fast of Bodhisattva Goddess Tara. All are equal in Her circles; She is worshipped with meditations on mandalas and chanting of mantra. [Green Tara Mantra: Om Tare Tuttare Ture Svaha] [8th Tibetan day]
* 3/6: Dakas' Day--Day Tantric Buddhists make offerings to Father Tantra; day to unite will and power to manifest positive social change and environmental healing. [Observed primarily by Tantric initiates.] [a/k/a Father Tantra Puja, Tsog, Tsok, 10th Tibetan day]
* 3/7: Mindfulness Day--Zen Buddhist day for being mindful that you are connected to each and every sentient being that has ever existed.
* 3/11: Amitabha Buddha Day--Day Tibetan and Mahayana Buddhists do good deeds and chant the name of Buddha God Amitabha/Omito/Amida to gain entry to His Pure Land and aid in attaining nirvana. [Amitabha Mantra: Om Amideva Hrih] [15th Tibetan day, UT Full Moon day]
* 3/15: Mahayana Buddhist festival of Bodhisattva Tara/Kuan Yin/Kannon; celebrates Her "birth." She declared women the spiritual equals of men. [2nd Chinese month, 19th day]
* 3/21: Dakinis' Day--Day Tantric Buddhists make offerings to Mother Tantra; day to unite will and power to manifest positive social change and environmental healing. [Observed primarily by Tantric initiates.] [a/k/a Mother Tantra Puja, Tsog, Tsok, 25th Tibetan day]
* 3/21: Haru-no-Higan--Day Japanese Buddhists mark the time of change by meditating on the impermanence of death. [a/k/a Ohigan]
* 3/26: Shakyamuni Buddha Day--Day Tibetan Buddhists meditate on the Buddha's teachings and strive to fulfill the Precepts. [Shakyamuni Mantra: Om Muni Muni Mahamuni Shakyamuni Svaha] [a/k/a Siddhartha Buddha Day, 30th Tibetan day, UT New Moon day]
* 4/3: Day for meditation on Tantric Bodhisattva Deities Avalokitesvara and Green Tara, consciousness and empowerment of Compassion. Buddhists recognize the equality of all sentient beings. [Green Tara Mantra: Om Tare Tuttare Ture Svaha] [Avalokitesvara Mantra: Om Mani Padmi Hum] [a/k/a Tara Puja, 8th Tibetan day]
* 4/4: Dakas' Day--Day Tantric Buddhists make offerings to Father Tantra; day to unite will and power to manifest positive social change and environmental healing. [Observed primarily by Tantric initiates.] [a/k/a Father Tantra Puja, Tsog, Tsok, 10th Tibetan day]
* 4/4: Mindfulness Day--Zen Buddhist day for being mindful that the joys and suffering of others are your joys and suffering.
* 4/8: Zen Buddhist celebration of the Buddha's birth (563 BCE). [563-483 BCE: exact dates unknown]
* 4/9: Amitabha Buddha Day--Day Tibetan and Mahayana Buddhists do good deeds and chant the name of Buddha God Amitabha/Omito/Amida to gain entry to His Pure Land and aid in attaining nirvana. [Amitabha Mantra: Om Amideva Hrih] [15th Tibetan day, UT Full Moon day]
* 4/20: Dakinis' Day--Day Tantric Buddhists make offerings to Mother Tantra; day to unite will and power to manifest positive social change and environmental healing. [Observed primarily by Tantric initiates.] [a/k/a Mother Tantra Puja, Tsog, Tsok, 25th Tibetan day]
* 4/22: Earth Day--Day to honor the Earth and to meditate on Deity manifesting as Mother Earth. [a/k/a International Earth Day, National Earth Day] [For information about Earth Day activities, see Earthday Network website; Envirolink website; U.S. government website for Earth Day; U.S. E.P.A. website for Earth Day.]
* 4/25: Shakyamuni Buddha Day--Day Tibetan Buddhists meditate on the Buddha's teachings and strive to fulfill the Precepts. [Shakyamuni Mantra: Om Muni Muni Mahamuni Shakyamuni Svaha] [a/k/a Siddhartha Buddha Day, 30th Tibetan day, UT New Moon day]
* 5/2: Tara Puja--Tibetan Buddhist fast of Bodhisattva Goddess Tara. All are equal in Her circles; She is worshipped with meditations on mandalas and chanting of mantra. [Green Tara Mantra: Om Tare Tuttare Ture Svaha] [8th Tibetan day]
* 5/2: Mindfulness Day--Zen Buddhist day for being mindful that everything you do, or fail to do, affects all sentient beings.
* 5/4: Dakas' Day--Day Tantric Buddhists make offerings to Father Tantra; day to unite will and power to manifest positive social change and environmental healing. [Observed primarily by Tantric initiates.] [a/k/a Father Tantra Puja, Tsog, Tsok, 10th Tibetan day]
* 5/9: Amitabha Buddha Day--Day Tibetan and Mahayana Buddhists do good deeds and chant the name of Buddha God Amitabha/Omito/Amida to gain entry to His Pure Land and aid in attaining nirvana. [Amitabha Mantra: Om Amideva Hrih] [15th Tibetan day, UT Full Moon day]
* 5/19: Dakinis' Day--Day Tantric Buddhists make offerings to Mother Tantra; day to unite will and power to manifest positive social change and environmental healing. [Observed primarily by Tantric initiates.] [a/k/a Mother Tantra Puja, Tsog, Tsok, 25th Tibetan day]
* 5/24: Shakyamuni Buddha Day--Day Tibetan Buddhists meditate on the Buddha's teachings and strive to fulfill the Precepts. [Shakyamuni Mantra: Om Muni Muni Mahamuni Shakyamuni Svaha] [a/k/a Siddhartha Buddha Day, 30th Tibetan day, UT New Moon day]
* 5/31: Tara Puja--Tibetan Buddhist fast of Bodhisattva Goddess Tara. All are equal in Her circles; She is worshipped with meditations on mandalas and chanting of mantra. [Green Tara Mantra: Om Tare Tuttare Ture Svaha] [8th Tibetan day]
* 6/2: Dakas' Day--Day Tantric Buddhists make offerings to Father Tantra; day to unite will and power to manifest positive social change and environmental healing. [Observed primarily by Tantric initiates.] [a/k/a Father Tantra Puja, Tsog, Tsok, 10th Tibetan day]
* 6/6: Mindfulness Day--Zen Buddhist day for mindfully seeing the interdependence of all things at all times.
* 6/7 (Ch B 5/2, Th B 5/9): Saga Dawa Duchen--Tibetan Buddhist festival celebrating the birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana of Buddha Siddhartha Gautama (563-483 BCE). [a/k/a Wesak, Vesak, Vesakha Puja, Visakha Puja, Budh Purnima, Buddha Jayanti] [Tib B: 4th Tibetan month, 15th day; Ch B: 4th Chinese month, 8th day; Th B: May UT Full Moon day]
* 6/7: Amitabha Buddha Day--Day Tibetan and Mahayana Buddhists do good deeds and chant the name of Buddha God Amitabha/Omito/Amida to gain entry to His Pure Land and aid in attaining nirvana. [Amitabha Mantra: Om Amideva Hrih] [15th Tibetan day, UT Full Moon day]
* 6/18: Dakinis' Day--Day Tantric Buddhists make offerings to Mother Tantra; day to unite will and power to manifest positive social change and environmental healing. [Observed primarily by Tantric initiates.] [a/k/a Mother Tantra Puja, Tsog, Tsok, 25th Tibetan day]
* 6/22: Shakyamuni Buddha Day--Day Tibetan Buddhists meditate on the Buddha's teachings and strive to fulfill the Precepts. [Shakyamuni Mantra: Om Muni Muni Mahamuni Shakyamuni Svaha] [a/k/a Siddhartha Buddha Day, 30th Tibetan day, UT New Moon day]
* 6/30: Tara Puja--Tibetan Buddhist fast of Bodhisattva Goddess Tara. All are equal in Her circles; She is worshipped with meditations on mandalas and chanting of mantra. [Green Tara Mantra: Om Tare Tuttare Ture Svaha] [8th Tibetan day]
* 7/2: Dakas' Day--Day Tantric Buddhists make offerings to Father Tantra; day to unite will and power to manifest positive social change and environmental healing. [Observed primarily by Tantric initiates.] [a/k/a Father Tantra Puja, Tsog, Tsok, 10th Tibetan day]
* 7/4: Mindfulness Day--Zen Buddhist day for being mindful that alienation and hunger for possessions results from ignorance of interconnectedness.
* 7/4 to 7/11: Mahayana Buddhist festival of Tara/Kuan Yin/Kannon, Supreme Goddess of Nature and Perfect Buddha of many emanations; celebrates Her enlightenment and Her vow to help all sentient beings. [Buddhists act daily on their vows to help all sentient beings.] [6th Chinese month, 12th to 19th days]
* 7/7: Amitabha Buddha Day--Day Tibetan and Mahayana Buddhists do good deeds and chant the name of Buddha God Amitabha/Omito/Amida to gain entry to His Pure Land and aid in attaining nirvana. [Amitabha Mantra: Om Amideva Hrih] [15th Tibetan day, UT Full Moon day]
* 7/13 to 7/15: Obon--Zen Buddhist festival honoring departed ancestors. [a/k/a Bon]
* 7/17: Dakinis' Day--Day Tantric Buddhists make offerings to Mother Tantra; day to unite will and power to manifest positive social change and environmental healing. [Observed primarily by Tantric initiates.] [a/k/a Mother Tantra Puja, Tsog, Tsok, 25th Tibetan day]
* 7/22: Shakyamuni Buddha Day--Day Tibetan Buddhists meditate on the Buddha's teachings and strive to fulfill the Precepts. [Shakyamuni Mantra: Om Muni Muni Mahamuni Shakyamuni Svaha] [a/k/a Siddhartha Buddha Day, 30th Tibetan day, UT New Moon day]
* 7/25 (Th B 7/7): Chokhor Duchen--Tibetan Buddhist celebration of the Buddha's first teaching. [Theravadin Buddhist festival a/k/a Esala, Ashala Dhamma, Asalha Puja] [Tib B: 6th Tibetan month, 4th day; Th B: July UT Full Moon day]
* 7/29: Tara Puja--Tibetan Buddhist fast of Bodhisattva Goddess Tara. All are equal in Her circles; She is worshipped with meditations on mandalas and chanting of mantra. [Green Tara Mantra: Om Tare Tuttare Ture Svaha] [8th Tibetan day]
* 7/31: Dakas' Day--Day Tantric Buddhists make offerings to Father Tantra; day to unite will and power to manifest positive social change and environmental healing. [Observed primarily by Tantric initiates.] [a/k/a Father Tantra Puja, Tsog, Tsok, 10th Tibetan day]
* 8/1: Mindfulness Day--Zen Buddhist day for being mindful that desire for power over others results from ignorance of interdependence.
* 8/5: Amitabha Buddha Day--Day Tibetan and Mahayana Buddhists do good deeds and chant the name of Buddha God Amitabha/Omito/Amida to gain entry to His Pure Land and aid in attaining nirvana. [Amitabha Mantra: Om Amideva Hrih] [15th Tibetan day, UT Full Moon day]
* 8/15: Dakinis' Day--Day Tantric Buddhists make offerings to Mother Tantra; day to unite will and power to manifest positive social change and environmental healing. [Observed primarily by Tantric initiates.] [a/k/a Mother Tantra Puja, Tsog, Tsok, 25th Tibetan day]
* 8/20: Shakyamuni Buddha Day--Day Tibetan Buddhists meditate on the Buddha's teachings and strive to fulfill the Precepts. [Shakyamuni Mantra: Om Muni Muni Mahamuni Shakyamuni Svaha] [a/k/a Siddhartha Buddha Day, 30th Tibetan day, UT New Moon day]
* 8/28: Tara Puja--Tibetan Buddhist fast of Bodhisattva Goddess Tara. All are equal in Her circles; She is worshipped with meditations on mandalas and chanting of mantra. [Green Tara Mantra: Om Tare Tuttare Ture Svaha] [8th Tibetan day]
* 8/30: Dakas' Day--Day Tantric Buddhists make offerings to Father Tantra; day to unite will and power to manifest positive social change and environmental healing. [Observed primarily by Tantric initiates.] [a/k/a Father Tantra Puja, Tsog, Tsok, 10th Tibetan day]
* 9/4: Amitabha Buddha Day--Day Tibetan and Mahayana Buddhists do good deeds and chant the name of Buddha God Amitabha/Omito/Amida to gain entry to His Pure Land and aid in attaining nirvana. [Amitabha Mantra: Om Amideva Hrih] [15th Tibetan day, UT Full Moon day]
* 9/5: Mindfulness Day--Zen Buddhist day for being mindful that harm to the Earth and sentient beings results from ignorance of interdependence.
* 9/14: Dakinis' Day--Day Tantric Buddhists make offerings to Mother Tantra; day to unite will and power to manifest positive social change and environmental healing. [Observed primarily by Tantric initiates.] [a/k/a Mother Tantra Puja, Tsog, Tsok, 25th Tibetan day]
* 9/18: Shakyamuni Buddha Day--Day Tibetan Buddhists meditate on the Buddha's teachings and strive to fulfill the Precepts. [Shakyamuni Mantra: Om Muni Muni Mahamuni Shakyamuni Svaha] [a/k/a Siddhartha Buddha Day, 30th Tibetan day, UT New Moon day]
* 9/23: Aki-no-Higan--Day Japanese Buddhists mark the time of change by meditating on the impermanence of life. [a/k/a Ohigan]
* 9/26: Day for meditation on Tantric Bodhisattva Goddess Gold Tara, provider of all sustenance and necessities. [Gold Tara Mantra: Om Tare Tuttare Ture Pushtim Kuru Om] [a/k/a Tara Puja, 8th Tibetan day]
* 9/28: Dakas' Day--Day Tantric Buddhists make offerings to Father Tantra; day to unite will and power to manifest positive social change and environmental healing. [Observed primarily by Tantric initiates.] [a/k/a Father Tantra Puja, Tsog, Tsok, 10th Tibetan day]
* 10/3: Mindfulness Day--Zen Buddhist day for being mindful that fear and hatred of others results from ignorance of interconnectedness.
* 10/4: Amitabha Buddha Day--Day Tibetan and Mahayana Buddhists do good deeds and chant the name of Buddha God Amitabha/Omito/Amida to gain entry to His Pure Land and aid in attaining nirvana. [Amitabha Mantra: Om Amideva Hrih] [15th Tibetan day, UT Full Moon day]
* 10/5: Day honoring Zen Buddhist philosopher Bodhidharma (470-543), who believed one could attain Buddhahood by realizing one's own Buddha nature. [a/k/a Bodhidharma Day]
* 10/7: Mahayana Buddhist festival of Bodhisattva Tara/Kuan Yin/Kannon; celebrates Her attainment of Bodhisattvahood. Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are aspects of Adi-Buddha - the masculine and feminine, transcendent and immanent, omniscient and omnipotent, primordial and eternal Absolute. [9th Chinese month, 19th day]
* 10/13: Dakinis' Day--Day Tantric Buddhists make offerings to Mother Tantra; day to unite will and power to manifest positive social change and environmental healing. [Observed primarily by Tantric initiates.] [a/k/a Mother Tantra Puja, Tsog, Tsok, 25th Tibetan day]
* 10/18: Shakyamuni Buddha Day--Day Tibetan Buddhists meditate on the Buddha's teachings and strive to fulfill the Precepts. [Shakyamuni Mantra: Om Muni Muni Mahamuni Shakyamuni Svaha] [a/k/a Siddhartha Buddha Day, 30th Tibetan day, UT New Moon day]
* 10/26: Tara Puja--Tibetan Buddhist fast of Bodhisattva Goddess Tara. All are equal in Her circles; She is worshipped with meditations on mandalas and chanting of mantra. [Green Tara Mantra: Om Tare Tuttare Ture Svaha] [8th Tibetan day]
* 10/28: Dakas' Day--Day Tantric Buddhists make offerings to Father Tantra; day to unite will and power to manifest positive social change and environmental healing. [Observed primarily by Tantric initiates.] [a/k/a Father Tantra Puja, Tsog, Tsok, 10th Tibetan day]
* 11/2: Amitabha Buddha Day--Day Tibetan and Mahayana Buddhists do good deeds and chant the name of Buddha God Amitabha/Omito/Amida to gain entry to His Pure Land and aid in attaining nirvana. [Amitabha Mantra: Om Amideva Hrih] [15th Tibetan day, UT Full Moon day]
* 11/7: Mindfulness Day--Zen Buddhist day for mindfully seeing and acting with compassion for the Earth and all creatures.
* 11/9: Lha Bab Duchen--Day Tibetan Buddhists celebrate the Buddha's descent from heaven after teaching the Dharma there. [9th Tibetan month, 22nd day]
* 11/11: Dakinis' Day--Day Tantric Buddhists make offerings to Mother Tantra; day to unite will and power to manifest positive social change and environmental healing. [Observed primarily by Tantric initiates.] [a/k/a Mother Tantra Puja, Tsog, Tsok, 25th Tibetan day]
* 11/16: Shakyamuni Buddha Day--Day Tibetan Buddhists meditate on the Buddha's teachings and strive to fulfill the Precepts. [Shakyamuni Mantra: Om Muni Muni Mahamuni Shakyamuni Svaha] [a/k/a Siddhartha Buddha Day, 30th Tibetan day, UT New Moon day]
* 11/25: Day for meditation on Tantric Bodhisattva Goddess White Tara, who guides the dead to Buddha Amitabha's Pure Land, where all will find salvation. [White Tara Mantra: Om Tare Tuttare Ture Mama Ayu Punya Jnana Pushtim Kuru Svaha] [a/k/a Tara Puja, 8th Tibetan day]
* 11/27: Dakas' Day--Day Tantric Buddhists make offerings to Father Tantra; day to unite will and power to manifest positive social change and environmental healing. [Observed primarily by Tantric initiates.] [a/k/a Father Tantra Puja, Tsog, Tsok, 10th Tibetan day]
* 12/2: Amitabha Buddha Day--Day Tibetan and Mahayana Buddhists do good deeds and chant the name of Buddha God Amitabha/Omito/Amida to gain entry to His Pure Land and aid in attaining nirvana. [Amitabha Mantra: Om Amideva Hrih] [15th Tibetan day, UT Full Moon day]
* 12/5: Mindfulness Day--Zen Buddhist day for mindfully seeing and acting with compassion for the poor and oppressed.
* 12/8: Rohatsu--Zen Buddhist celebration of the Buddha's enlightenment. [a/k/a Bodhi Day]
* 12/11: Dakinis' Day--Day Tantric Buddhists make offerings to Mother Tantra; day to unite will and power to manifest positive social change and environmental healing. [Observed primarily by Tantric initiates.] [a/k/a Mother Tantra Puja, Tsog, Tsok, 25th Tibetan day]
* 12/11: Day for meditation on Tantric Bodhisattva Deities Manjusri and Prajna-Paramita, consciousness and empowerment of Wisdom. Prajna-Paramita is considered Mother of All Buddhas. [Prajna-Paramita Mantra: Om Namo Bhagavatyai Aryaprajnaparamitayai] [Manjusri Mantra: Om Ah Ra Pa Ca Na Dhih] [10th Tibetan month, 25th day]
* 12/16: Shakyamuni Buddha Day--Day Tibetan Buddhists meditate on the Buddha's teachings and strive to fulfill the Precepts. [Shakyamuni Mantra: Om Muni Muni Mahamuni Shakyamuni Svaha] [a/k/a Siddhartha Buddha Day, 30th Tibetan day, UT New Moon day]
* 12/24: Day for meditation on Tantric Bodhisattva Goddess Red Tara, protector against evil and harm. [Red Tara Mantra: Om Tare Tuttare Santa Ra Hri Svaha] [a/k/a Tara Puja, 8th Tibetan day]
* 12/26: Dakas' Day--Day Tantric Buddhists make offerings to Father Tantra; day to unite will and power to manifest positive social change and environmental healing. [Observed primarily by Tantric initiates.] [a/k/a Father Tantra Puja, Tsog, Tsok, 10th Tibetan day]
* 12/31: Amitabha Buddha Day--Day Tibetan and Mahayana Buddhists do good deeds and chant the name of Buddha God Amitabha/Omito/Amida to gain entry to His Pure Land and aid in attaining nirvana. [Amitabha Mantra: Om Amideva Hrih] [15th Tibetan day, UT Full Moon day]
24 January 2009
Ten Ethnic Minority Spring Festival Celebrations
Spring Festival, celebrated at Lunar New Year, is as joyful an occasion in China as Christmas is in the West. Each ethnic minority of the Chinese Nationality, along with the Han Ethnic Group, has its customary way of celebrating the holiday.
Tibetan Ethnic Group
Tibetans welcome the Lunar New Year grotesquely masked and brightly attired. Young men perform a spinning dance as they sing for blessings in the coming year, to the accompaniment of a large drum and fanfares on bugle and conch. On New Year's morning, women fetch the "propitious water" that brings blessings to all in the New Year.
Zhuang Ethnic Group
People of the Zhuang ethnic group generally live in southwestern China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, also in Guizhou, Yunnan and Guangdong provinces. It is the Zhuang custom to spend Lunar New Year's Eve preparing sticky rice, which augurs good luck and prosperity. The next morning, everyone gets up early, dresses in new clothes and gathers to set off firecrackers that frighten off any malevolent spirits on the first day of the new year. It is also customary for women of the Zhuang ethnic minority to bring "new water" from a well or river, symbolic of a new year of life, to the household.
Buyi Ethnic Group
Families of the Buyi ethnicity spend Lunar New Year's Eve beside the village pond. At New Year's daybreak young Buyi women compete to draw the most water from the pond in the shortest time. The happy winner is the most hardworking girl.
Man Ethnic Group
There are four subdivisions of the Man ethnic group, known as the Red, Yellow, Blue and White Flags. At Spring Festival each group hoists its respective flag in auspicious welcome of the New Year.
Dong Ethnic Group
People of the Dong ethnic group generally live in southwestern China's Guizhou and Hunan provinces. At Spring Festival two Dong villages jointly stage a gala celebration of singing and dancing in the square to the accompaniment of the lusheng(a reed pipe instrument).
Bai Ethnic Group
People of the Bai ethnic group of southwestern China's Yunnan province welcome the Lunar New Year by igniting long bamboo tubes filled with gun powder. The bamboo bursts with a loud crack, which gives the custom its name fanggaosheng, meaning to launch. Tossing a Silk Ball is a popular Bai minority courting game at New Year.
Tujia Ethnic Group
The Tujia people dance the intricate hand waving dance at Spring Festival that celebrates life and vitality.
Lahu Ethnic Group
Taking a bath and preparing sticky rice is the Lahu minority custom on Lunar New Year’s Eve. On New Year's morning all family members, domestic animals included, eat the rice, which is also smeared on farming tools to invite prosperity in the coming Year.
Daur Ethnic Group
The Daur people live on the banks of the Nejiang river in northeastern China. On Lunar New Year's morning, the younger Daur villagers dress in new clothes and go out to pay respects to the village elders. They later visit their relatives' homes and eat braised rice-cakes.
Oroqen Ethnic Group
Families of the Oroqen ethnic minority exchange toasts on Lunar New Year's morning in celebration of Spring Festival. Horse races are held on the second and third day of the New Year, and on the 15th day each family holds a sumptuous feast. On the morning of the 16th day, the younger people kowtow to their elders, and all concerned smear cinders on one another's faces. This Oroquen custom is a way of expressing blessings to all and respect for village elders.
23 January 2009
The Story of Spring Festival
Tradition has it that in ancient China there was a monster named “Year” with long tentacles on its head that was extremely ferocious. “Year” generally lived deep down on the ocean floor, climbing to the shore only on the Lunar New Year to devour livestock and people.
Because of this, every year on that day, people of every village, the old and the young alike, would flee to remote mountains to avoid being attacked by the beast.
This New Year’s Day, as the people of Peach Blossom Village were escorting the old and young to the safety of the mountains, an old man with a silvery beard and eyes that seemed to be sparkling came begging, his frame resting on a single walking-stick and his arms carrying a sack.
Some people in the town were sealing up their windows and doors, others were cleaning and preparing for the journey, still others were herding their livestock; the chaotic sounds of bustling, panicked people and horses were everywhere. No one thought to look after this old beggar.
An old granny from the town’s east end was the only person to give the old man a bite to eat and urge him to head up the mountain and avoid the beast. The old man smiled, stroking his beard, and said, “Granny, if you let me stay in this house for one night, I’m sure I can drive this ‘Year’ beast away.”
The old woman was shocked; looking closer she saw the beggar’s frame was hearty, that he looked spirited and poised. But when she continued to advise the man to go up the mountain, he simply smiled, saying nothing. The old lady felt it was hopeless; out of necessity she left her house and took asylum in the mountains.
At midnight, the “Year” monster burst into the village. He discovered that the scene was different than in years past; in the grandmother’s house on the east side of the village red strips of paper were pasted around the doorway, and inside the room a lone fire glowed brightly. The monster trembled, and let out a strange scream.
“Year” glared at the woman’s house for a moment, then screamed madly towards it. When he neared the doorway, the sudden “Bang! Pow!” of explosions filled the air. “Year” quivered and shook, unwilling to approach the house again.
As a matter of fact, the things “Year” feared the most were the color red, bright flames, and the sound of explosions. The door to the old woman’s house burst open, and in the doorway stood a man wrapped in a red cloak, laughing uproariously. “Year” turned pale with fright and helplessly jumped upwards.
The next day was the first of the new year; as the people hiding in the mountains returned to their homes they were shocked to see that everything in the village was safe and sound. Suddenly, the old grandmother realized what had happened, and hastily told the other villagers of the old beggar’s promise.
Everyone crowded towards the old woman’s home, all they could see were the red paper strips, some unburned bamboo still exploding “bang!” in the courtyard, and a red candle still flickering inside the room…
The villagers were wild with joy, to celebrate this auspicious event they put on new clothes and hats and visited the homes of their friends and family to share congratulations. This news spread quickly through the surrounding villages; soon everybody knew the way to banish the “Year” monster.
From then onward, every year on New Year’s Eve every family puts up red scrolls, sets of firecrackers, and keeps candles brightly lit, keeping watch during the night. When dawn comes, they still go to the houses of friends and family and exchange congratulations. This custom continued to spread and grow as it was passed down, and became Chinese people’s most important traditional festival.
Although traditions of celebrating the new year through sacrifices to the gods and ancestors may have started as early as the Shang dynasty (roughly 1600 B.C.E.-1000 B.C.E.), when the new year officially began doesn’t appear to have been fixed formally until the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.E.–220 C.E.). The tradition of writing couplets on red paper for the festival began in the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644 C.E.)and the tradition of posting 福 (happiness) on the door is from the Song Dynasty (960-1279 C.E.) or earlier. The tradition of spending New Year’s eve with ones family comes from the Wei-Jin period (220-420 C.E.)
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