Down here in Christchurch the FGS Buddha's Birthday is this Saturday, 20th. Maybe they do it early down here in NZ while the weather is nicer. I'll try to remember to ask on Saturday.
Mike
Search found 168 matches
- Tue Apr 16, 2024 10:01 am
- Forum: Chan
- Topic: Fo Guang Shan date for Buddha's Birthday?
- Replies: 1
- Views: 223
- Fri Mar 29, 2024 10:12 pm
- Forum: Suggestion Box
- Topic: Why are DharmaWheel and DhammaWheel separated?
- Replies: 32
- Views: 1995
Re: Why are DharmaWheel and DhammaWheel separated?
There are EBT fundamentalists who reject not just Mahayana texts but later Theravadan commentaries like the Visuddhimagga, and who even scrutinize Pali Suttas to determine which were truly "early". It does aboutas much good to argue with them as with a young e arth cr eationist. However, ...
- Wed Mar 06, 2024 7:56 pm
- Forum: Tibetan Buddhism
- Topic: Stagnant sanghas, teachers not teaching
- Replies: 126
- Views: 6475
Re: Stagnant sanghas, teachers not teaching
Pedagogical method has come a long way since Ms. Crabapple wrote the lessons on the board and the students just copied. I am sure many of those theories and methods could find beneficial expression in Dharma Halls. I agree, and a key shift is emphasis on learning, rather than teaching. But actually...
- Sat Feb 24, 2024 8:53 am
- Forum: Media
- Topic: Decoding the Gurus - Sam Harris
- Replies: 14
- Views: 834
Re: Decoding the Gurus - Sam Harris
It’s fascinating because both the hosts are very intelligent and well-educated, but they fundamentally cannot grasp what Harris is saying in terms of experience, I think largely because they don’t meditate. One of them (the psychologist, funnily enough) doesn’t seem to understand 1the difference be...
- Fri Feb 23, 2024 9:22 pm
- Forum: Media
- Topic: Decoding the Gurus - Sam Harris
- Replies: 14
- Views: 834
Re: Decoding the Gurus - Sam Harris
It’s definitely true that both have views of spirituality colored by their materialist views… but that is a big chunk of society, so to me this difference is helpful, because I’m getting a detailed explanation of how most of my (non-Dharma) friends and family see the world. Yes, I've listened to a ...
- Fri Feb 16, 2024 9:52 pm
- Forum: Dharma in Everyday Life
- Topic: Politics in dharma center - article
- Replies: 202
- Views: 8493
- Fri Feb 16, 2024 9:40 pm
- Forum: Dharma in Everyday Life
- Topic: Politics in dharma center - article
- Replies: 202
- Views: 8493
Re: Politics in dharma center - article
To borrow Malcolm X's quote, "The Revolution will not be televised." Slightly off topic, but I can't find a Malcolm X quote that matches the line in Gil Scott-Heron's song, though obviously it's connected: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Revolution_Will_Not_Be_Televised https://faroutma...
- Sun Nov 12, 2023 9:57 am
- Forum: Dying and Death
- Topic: Reincarnation cases not following the Buddhist model
- Replies: 230
- Views: 14068
Re: Reincarnation cases not following the Buddhist model
Bhante Dhammika writes: "While Theravàda Buddhism denies the reality of the in-between state, the Pàli texts imply that there is an interval between death and rebirth. The Buddha spoke of the situation `when one has laid down the body (i.e. died) but has not yet been reborn' (S.IV,400). On sev...
- Tue Apr 18, 2023 8:23 am
- Forum: Lounge
- Topic: Buddhist missionaries in Africa
- Replies: 51
- Views: 3015
Re: Buddhist missionaries in Africa
I wonder how old the programme is? Do you know? I ask because I have dim memories of a former DW member, Ven Huifeng, mentioning working in Afria as (I think) part of his training with a highly respected Taiwanese Buddhist group. Their (relatively new) tradition was known as Humanist Buddhism, if I...
- Sun Apr 02, 2023 1:24 am
- Forum: Lounge
- Topic: Keeping AIs honest
- Replies: 83
- Views: 7659
Re: Keeping AIs honest
Ha, yes. Various musicians unions tried to ban mellotrons and synthesisers too. I recall some UK rock bands having difficulties on US tours in the late 60s/ early 70s. (Groups like The Moody Blues, Yes, etc).
- Tue Feb 21, 2023 9:16 pm
- Forum: Lounge
- Topic: Why the Earth Spirit testified for Siddhartha Gautama's insights
- Replies: 19
- Views: 1008
Re: Why the Earth Spirit testified for Siddhartha Gautama's insights
Phra Mae Thorani is a popular image in Thailand...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phra_Mae_Thorani
Mike
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phra_Mae_Thorani
Mike
- Tue Feb 14, 2023 10:51 pm
- Forum: Tibetan Buddhism
- Topic: Because the Dharma cannot be owned, it cannot be sold
- Replies: 174
- Views: 7171
Re: Because the Dharma cannot be owned, it cannot be sold
My point is that "customer" is the wrong word to use, because it is not used for students. Why? If you pay a regulated product, be it a good or a service, you are a customer, no? Unfortunately, educational institutions have drifted towards the "customer" terminology. I find this...
- Tue Feb 14, 2023 8:47 pm
- Forum: Tibetan Buddhism
- Topic: Because the Dharma cannot be owned, it cannot be sold
- Replies: 174
- Views: 7171
Re: Because the Dharma cannot be owned, it cannot be sold
Dharma has never been free in any real sense. For example, in a traditional Dharma oriented culture, even if Dharma is freely given to the public, the locals still must support that monastery. ... This is something that is often overlooked by the Theravada-oriented people linked in the OP. Furtherm...
- Tue Feb 14, 2023 8:35 pm
- Forum: Lounge
- Topic: Google Panics Over ChatGPT
- Replies: 41
- Views: 2355
Re: Google Panics Over ChatGPT
Couldn't help myself Chat GPT explaining Bodhicitta in the style of Donald Trump Well let me tell you, folks, Bodhicitta is tremendous, really tremendous. It's the Buddhist concept of an enlightened mind that's filled with compassion for all living beings. You know, it's like having a heart of gold...
- Sun Feb 12, 2023 8:08 pm
- Forum: Lounge
- Topic: Google Panics Over ChatGPT
- Replies: 41
- Views: 2355
Re: Google Panics Over ChatGPT
The line
is also a bit off.With every step, I leave a trace
would resonate with quite a few texts...With every step, I leave no trace
Mike
- Sat Nov 26, 2022 12:12 am
- Forum: Lounge
- Topic: World Cup 2022
- Replies: 333
- Views: 13754
Re: World Cup 2022
Can I make a suggestion? Next time you are watching a football match and a striker is running towards goal, switch your attention away from her/him and focus on the defence players particularly the goalkeeper. Watch their skill in impeding the striker without incurring a penalty and the saves made ...
- Sun Oct 09, 2022 7:45 am
- Forum: Lounge
- Topic: World Cup 2022
- Replies: 333
- Views: 13754
Re: World Cup 2022
Yeah, that's why it's best to stick with rugby league, where money counts for nothing and one can enjoy the sight of the world's last superpower routinely getting annihilated by the likes of New Zealand, Papua and New Guinea, and even Tonga. Or the Women's Rubgy World Cup, which started here yester...
- Fri Jul 22, 2022 9:27 am
- Forum: Lounge
- Topic: Any ideas on Carlos Castaneda?
- Replies: 44
- Views: 4307
Re: Any ideas on Carlos Castaneda?
It seems #7 is the favoured choice among posters to this thread. Personally I lean more towards #6, though replacing "science-fiction" with the "magical realism" suggested by Namdrol. Steve Armstrong, who was a monk in Burma for several years back in the 80s occasionally reads f...
- Mon Jul 18, 2022 10:58 am
- Forum: Academic Discussion
- Topic: What types of meditation did Shakyamuni teach in the sravaka canons?
- Replies: 7
- Views: 758
Re: What types of meditation did Shakyamuni teach in the sravaka canons?
Hi Nalanda, This Wikipedia article may be a place to start: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamma%E1%B9%AD%E1%B9%ADh%C4%81na The classification of these 40 meditation subjects is from the Visuddhimagga, a later Commentary, rather than the suttas themselves. These subjects are in the early suttas, but ...
- Thu Jul 14, 2022 10:16 am
- Forum: Lounge
- Topic: Corporate Buddhism
- Replies: 37
- Views: 2398
Re: Corporate Buddhism
Also - I really dislike the term “mindfulness”. Does it mean we are full of mind? Mind is full of something? We are attentive to something? For such a widely-used term, it is remarkably unhelpful. Heh, a lot of newer mental health stuff has moved towards simply not using the term because of its pop...