Buddhism in UK prisons
Forest monk and reknowned teacher Ajahn Chah gave the thumbs up to the project in 1977. His student Venerable Khemadhammo transformed the dream into reality.
It is one singular word of his master that he has been following for over three decades. In 1977 Khemadhammo, a Briton already ordained as a monk, followed Ajahn Chah on what he initially thought would be a two-month trip to revisit his homeland, Britain. One day sitting on a train, the disciple consulted his mentor about how to respond to a request inviting him to serve as a visiting Buddhist minister at three prisons there. "Pai", or "go", was what the late Ajahn Chah uttered.
"That was it. And I have been going to prisons ever since," said Khemadhammo, founder and spiritual director of Angulimala, achaplaincy organisation that has introduced Buddhism to over a hundred prisons throughout the UK. For his dedicated service to prisoninmates, in 2003 Queen Elizabeth II bestowed him with an OBE (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire), and the following year His Majesty the King of Thailand granted him the ecclesiastical title of Chao Khun Bhavanaviteht, the second foreign-born monk to receive such an honour.
On his recent visit to Thailand the monk, now 66, was invited to be a keynote speaker at an annual talk organised by SEM (Spirit in Education Movement). It was part of the Thai NGO's month-long programme to improve public understanding of people who have supposedly "gone astray", during which the venerable monk got the opportunity to meet and share his experiences, in a closed-door meeting, with Thai people who work with prison inmates andjuvenile delinquents.
Luang Por Khemadhammo began his talk with a brief summary of his background. Born into a middle-class Christian family, at 17 he took up professional acting and later became interested in Buddhism. At 27, he decided to travel to Asia, and ended up in Bangkok where he was ordained as a novice. One day, he chanced upon an old friend from London, who said to him: "If you want to be a real monk, there's only one place: Wat Nong Pah Pong". And off he went to Ubon Ratchathani province where he spent the next five and a half years under the tutelage of Ajahn Chah, one of the most famous meditation masters at that time
Then he returned to England. And from the first three prisons he visited, over time his coverage expanded and the venerable Khemadhammo found himself visiting other prisons, following the inmates as they were transferred to serve their terms elsewhere. During the talk in Bangkok he recalled being teased by some of them as having to serve a "very long sentence."
In the beginning the monk admitted to feeling uncertain in this new role: until then he had neither been to prison nor seen a prisoner. The closest he had ever come was, while still an actor, playing out a character who had been captured.
Then it dawned on him that ''actually, there were some parallels'' between inmates held in captivity and the seclusion of a forest monastery. While inmates are locked away in cells, during his years at Wat Nong Pah Pong the monk wasconfined to a small hut with no or very few distractions. Without some ability to deal with one's mind, noted the monk, such solitude could become very difficult and painful
'There were differences but there were similarities. I too had been uncomfortable and it was my sense of unease that had led me to look beyond the then narrow confines that restricted me for answers. Yes, Irealised, I did understand something about imprisonment,'' heconceded.
''And after all, quite apart from any comparisons between prison and monastic life, aren't we all imprisoned by our greed and aversion, by our ignorance, and our prejudices and attachments? It was my belief then, as it is now, that Buddhist techniques equip us with the means to escape that imprisonment and enjoy a secure and lasting peace.''
Thus he set out to teach inmates Buddhism. With more laypractitioners assisting him, on Magha Puja Day in 1985, he founded Angulimala, now recognised as ''the official representative of Buddhism in all matters concerning prison service in England and Wales'', and there is an Angulimala Scotland, too.
Khemadhammo disclosed that there are about 50 Buddhist chaplains in Britain who come from different schools of Buddhism. ''In Angulimala we work together very well'', a phenomenon which is note-worthy in itself, added the monk who also serves as a Buddhist Adviser to the Prison Services Multifaith Chaplaincy Council.
According to the organisation's website, every Buddhist chaplain is required to attend at least one workshop a year, but new recruits must attend two annually the first three years. They get to learn about Buddha's teachings and practices, with particular focus on how they might be applied or taught in prisons, listen to invited speakers involved in Britain's penal system, and share experiences of their past activities dealing with the inmates and their guardians
The venerable monk stressed that the best way to change people is by setting an example. ''When we want people to change, we have to be the institution of that change ourselves. I am very fussy about ensuring that Buddhist chaplainsall do their best to practice and train themselves, especially to live by the five precepts of Buddhism - abstaining from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying and consuming addictive substances.''
It may come as a surprise to hear him espouse the value of these precepts that many Buddhists have taken for granted. In particular he ventured how the fifth might be the most important: if you break it, you can break all the rest. A number of inmates he has met committed terrible crimes and had their lives altered tragically just because they used alcohol and drugs.
''I beg you all to take these five precepts seriously. They'll protect you and they'll protect others.''
Why do people commit crime anyway? Is it because of anger, greed, or destitution? He argued the punitive approach- based on the principle that if you hurt someone hard enough, then they won't commit wrong deeds (again) - has been proven it doesn't work. Often, people emerge from prison angry, having no home, money nor family and thus are ready to commit more crimes. Accepting that one cannot stop governments from pursuing their policies, through the Angulimala project, Venerable Khemadhammo and his team have sought to provide an alternative avenue for inmates to do something ''useful and constructive''. They learn how to meditate, to watch their mind and come to terms with themselves. Since the early '90s, thanks to an Angulimala initiative, a handful of prisons in England have allowed the setting up of a ''Buddha Grove'', an area open to prisoners from all denominations to do contemplative work in a quiet, peaceful ambience.
''When it is suggested that I was involved in some kind of Buddhist social action, I'd rather reject that term. I think I am just doing my duty as a Buddhist monk. I feel Buddhism is an amazing teaching and practice. I have had the goodfortune to come to Thailand and practice with Luang Por Chah. He once said [to me] 'everything is your practice'.
''What I've been doing with people in the prison is the same as what I do anywhere. When we teach Buddhism, we are trying to offer people a way to end their suffering, a way to deal with kilesa [desire] that brings suffering.
''Of course, people in prison can't come to the temple, so we have to take the temple to them,'' he said.
Like the poignant tale of serial killer-turned-monk Angulimala (see sidebar), the venerable Khemadhammo believes that people can _ and will _ change if given an opportunity. Apparently, he never tires of retelling again and again how Buddha, through his compassion, was able to transform a supposedly evil man without resorting to force. Likewise, in his years of visiting prisoners, he said he has observed some of the so-called ''most notorious and dangerous people'' showing kindness to their fellow inmates, be it to share milk or sugar (which is akin to ''gold'' in such places), or to raise funds to help those family members who need to undergo surgery.
''I think it is very important that we let go of that tendency to make judgements and realise that people are verycomplex. None of us are just black and white; everyone here has some good things and not very good things. We do unpleasant things. We get angry, jealous, upset, we act on impulses.
''I hope you will learn not to attach to views or opinions, especially the views and opinions about other people. Give everyone a chance,'' he concluded.
For more details about the Angulimala Project and other works by the venerable Khemadhammo, visit his temple's website at http://foresthermitage.org.uk
CROSSING BRIDGES
There are so many kinds of bridges in this world. Each is built of a different material. Some bridges are short, others long. Some are made of solid steel or firm concrete, others of flimsy wooden planks. The designs of those bridges depend on their purpose, but they all serve one common use: to allow people to walk over in order to reach their destinations of choice.
In my life, I have crossed so many bridges. I have benefited much from the structure in my pursuit to reach the other shore. But oftentimes I also wasted my time searching for another far-away bridge, even though I had already arrived at the foot of one. Sometimes I was not sure if the bridge in front was strong enough for me to walk over. Or I washesitant, being doubtful if it was made of real or artificial wood.
Nowadays, I continue to rely on bridges every now and then. From the previous steps I took in life, I have learned to just walk ahead, and to be less concerned about what I am walking on. It is no longer necessary to look for blemishes that might be there, in the bridge under my feet. Nor to spend time analysing the authenticity of the materials. As long as we can reach the other shore, so that we can do something good for others, it is fine for me. Even though I may have to pay the toll fees once in a while.
(Source: Bangkok Post, IN SPIRIT, Unlocking the Mind, British monk takes Buddha's message of compassion to prison inmates 'gone astray', 5/04/2011, Vasana Chinvarakorn, link) Bangkok Post
It is one singular word of his master that he has been following for over three decades. In 1977 Khemadhammo, a Briton already ordained as a monk, followed Ajahn Chah on what he initially thought would be a two-month trip to revisit his homeland, Britain. One day sitting on a train, the disciple consulted his mentor about how to respond to a request inviting him to serve as a visiting Buddhist minister at three prisons there. "Pai", or "go", was what the late Ajahn Chah uttered.
"That was it. And I have been going to prisons ever since," said Khemadhammo, founder and spiritual director of Angulimala, achaplaincy organisation that has introduced Buddhism to over a hundred prisons throughout the UK. For his dedicated service to prisoninmates, in 2003 Queen Elizabeth II bestowed him with an OBE (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire), and the following year His Majesty the King of Thailand granted him the ecclesiastical title of Chao Khun Bhavanaviteht, the second foreign-born monk to receive such an honour.
On his recent visit to Thailand the monk, now 66, was invited to be a keynote speaker at an annual talk organised by SEM (Spirit in Education Movement). It was part of the Thai NGO's month-long programme to improve public understanding of people who have supposedly "gone astray", during which the venerable monk got the opportunity to meet and share his experiences, in a closed-door meeting, with Thai people who work with prison inmates andjuvenile delinquents.
Luang Por Khemadhammo began his talk with a brief summary of his background. Born into a middle-class Christian family, at 17 he took up professional acting and later became interested in Buddhism. At 27, he decided to travel to Asia, and ended up in Bangkok where he was ordained as a novice. One day, he chanced upon an old friend from London, who said to him: "If you want to be a real monk, there's only one place: Wat Nong Pah Pong". And off he went to Ubon Ratchathani province where he spent the next five and a half years under the tutelage of Ajahn Chah, one of the most famous meditation masters at that time
Then he returned to England. And from the first three prisons he visited, over time his coverage expanded and the venerable Khemadhammo found himself visiting other prisons, following the inmates as they were transferred to serve their terms elsewhere. During the talk in Bangkok he recalled being teased by some of them as having to serve a "very long sentence."
In the beginning the monk admitted to feeling uncertain in this new role: until then he had neither been to prison nor seen a prisoner. The closest he had ever come was, while still an actor, playing out a character who had been captured.
Then it dawned on him that ''actually, there were some parallels'' between inmates held in captivity and the seclusion of a forest monastery. While inmates are locked away in cells, during his years at Wat Nong Pah Pong the monk wasconfined to a small hut with no or very few distractions. Without some ability to deal with one's mind, noted the monk, such solitude could become very difficult and painful
'There were differences but there were similarities. I too had been uncomfortable and it was my sense of unease that had led me to look beyond the then narrow confines that restricted me for answers. Yes, Irealised, I did understand something about imprisonment,'' heconceded.
''And after all, quite apart from any comparisons between prison and monastic life, aren't we all imprisoned by our greed and aversion, by our ignorance, and our prejudices and attachments? It was my belief then, as it is now, that Buddhist techniques equip us with the means to escape that imprisonment and enjoy a secure and lasting peace.''
Thus he set out to teach inmates Buddhism. With more laypractitioners assisting him, on Magha Puja Day in 1985, he founded Angulimala, now recognised as ''the official representative of Buddhism in all matters concerning prison service in England and Wales'', and there is an Angulimala Scotland, too.
Khemadhammo disclosed that there are about 50 Buddhist chaplains in Britain who come from different schools of Buddhism. ''In Angulimala we work together very well'', a phenomenon which is note-worthy in itself, added the monk who also serves as a Buddhist Adviser to the Prison Services Multifaith Chaplaincy Council.
According to the organisation's website, every Buddhist chaplain is required to attend at least one workshop a year, but new recruits must attend two annually the first three years. They get to learn about Buddha's teachings and practices, with particular focus on how they might be applied or taught in prisons, listen to invited speakers involved in Britain's penal system, and share experiences of their past activities dealing with the inmates and their guardians
The venerable monk stressed that the best way to change people is by setting an example. ''When we want people to change, we have to be the institution of that change ourselves. I am very fussy about ensuring that Buddhist chaplainsall do their best to practice and train themselves, especially to live by the five precepts of Buddhism - abstaining from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying and consuming addictive substances.''
It may come as a surprise to hear him espouse the value of these precepts that many Buddhists have taken for granted. In particular he ventured how the fifth might be the most important: if you break it, you can break all the rest. A number of inmates he has met committed terrible crimes and had their lives altered tragically just because they used alcohol and drugs.
''I beg you all to take these five precepts seriously. They'll protect you and they'll protect others.''
Why do people commit crime anyway? Is it because of anger, greed, or destitution? He argued the punitive approach- based on the principle that if you hurt someone hard enough, then they won't commit wrong deeds (again) - has been proven it doesn't work. Often, people emerge from prison angry, having no home, money nor family and thus are ready to commit more crimes. Accepting that one cannot stop governments from pursuing their policies, through the Angulimala project, Venerable Khemadhammo and his team have sought to provide an alternative avenue for inmates to do something ''useful and constructive''. They learn how to meditate, to watch their mind and come to terms with themselves. Since the early '90s, thanks to an Angulimala initiative, a handful of prisons in England have allowed the setting up of a ''Buddha Grove'', an area open to prisoners from all denominations to do contemplative work in a quiet, peaceful ambience.
''When it is suggested that I was involved in some kind of Buddhist social action, I'd rather reject that term. I think I am just doing my duty as a Buddhist monk. I feel Buddhism is an amazing teaching and practice. I have had the goodfortune to come to Thailand and practice with Luang Por Chah. He once said [to me] 'everything is your practice'.
''What I've been doing with people in the prison is the same as what I do anywhere. When we teach Buddhism, we are trying to offer people a way to end their suffering, a way to deal with kilesa [desire] that brings suffering.
''Of course, people in prison can't come to the temple, so we have to take the temple to them,'' he said.
Like the poignant tale of serial killer-turned-monk Angulimala (see sidebar), the venerable Khemadhammo believes that people can _ and will _ change if given an opportunity. Apparently, he never tires of retelling again and again how Buddha, through his compassion, was able to transform a supposedly evil man without resorting to force. Likewise, in his years of visiting prisoners, he said he has observed some of the so-called ''most notorious and dangerous people'' showing kindness to their fellow inmates, be it to share milk or sugar (which is akin to ''gold'' in such places), or to raise funds to help those family members who need to undergo surgery.
''I think it is very important that we let go of that tendency to make judgements and realise that people are verycomplex. None of us are just black and white; everyone here has some good things and not very good things. We do unpleasant things. We get angry, jealous, upset, we act on impulses.
''I hope you will learn not to attach to views or opinions, especially the views and opinions about other people. Give everyone a chance,'' he concluded.
For more details about the Angulimala Project and other works by the venerable Khemadhammo, visit his temple's website at http://foresthermitage.org.uk
CROSSING BRIDGES
There are so many kinds of bridges in this world. Each is built of a different material. Some bridges are short, others long. Some are made of solid steel or firm concrete, others of flimsy wooden planks. The designs of those bridges depend on their purpose, but they all serve one common use: to allow people to walk over in order to reach their destinations of choice.
In my life, I have crossed so many bridges. I have benefited much from the structure in my pursuit to reach the other shore. But oftentimes I also wasted my time searching for another far-away bridge, even though I had already arrived at the foot of one. Sometimes I was not sure if the bridge in front was strong enough for me to walk over. Or I washesitant, being doubtful if it was made of real or artificial wood.
Nowadays, I continue to rely on bridges every now and then. From the previous steps I took in life, I have learned to just walk ahead, and to be less concerned about what I am walking on. It is no longer necessary to look for blemishes that might be there, in the bridge under my feet. Nor to spend time analysing the authenticity of the materials. As long as we can reach the other shore, so that we can do something good for others, it is fine for me. Even though I may have to pay the toll fees once in a while.
(Source: Bangkok Post, IN SPIRIT, Unlocking the Mind, British monk takes Buddha's message of compassion to prison inmates 'gone astray', 5/04/2011, Vasana Chinvarakorn, link) Bangkok Post
The Existential Fears of Buddhists in Sri Lanka must be given high priority and addressed without delay
Shenali D Waduge
Lanka Web: August 13th, 2013
A specter is haunting Sri Lanka. The specter of the country being overrun by Muslims. That something so unpleasant might happen in Sri Lanka virtually unopposed and unresisted by those who have been elected to power exclusively by the urban and rural Buddhist vote explains to a great extent the despair and sense of betrayal of Buddhism and the national interest by the powers that be which in turn is manifesting in the forms of suspicion and distancing between the two communities i.e. Buddhist and Islamic, in this country.
Thanks to Muslim obduracy and incursions into traditional Buddhist space through increasing construction of Mosques in sacred Buddhist citadels such as Anuradhapura, Dambulla, Mihintale, Mahiyangana and in numbers totally disproportionate to the actual numbers of believers in Islam, use of loudspeakers at Mosques in every nook and corner of the country blaring shrieking sounds in Arabic five times a day totally oblivious to the violation of the fundamental right to silence of every citizen, and the nuisance and disturbance it is causing to the vast majority of the people who wish to live in peace amidst a quiet and serene environment, brutal killing of cattle and other animals and display of slaughtered animal carcasses on main and side roads, irrespective of the disgust it is causing to the majority of the public weaned on principles of non – killing and compassion towards animals, animal sacrifice a practice repugnant to Buddhists and condemned by the Buddha, opposition to the continuation of the historic identity of Sri Lanka as a Buddhist country, and promotion of the alien Arabic culture through unacceptable dress codes, food habits, arrogant behaviour and flaunting of wealth by members of this minority group in pre-dominant and traditional Buddhist areas of the country, have awakened the sleeping Sinhala Buddhists to the threat posed to their very survival in the country both in the short and the long term. This fear is also spreading right across Buddhist Asia in varying degrees.
Validity of Existential fears of Buddhists
One thousand years ago Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Kashmir, Indonesia and Maldives were all Buddhist. It is no more now. The very forces that have taken over these countries are now threatening the survival of Buddhism in Myanmar (Burma), and posing a challenge to the dominance of Buddhism in both Sri Lanka and Thailand. The existential fears are what the current Buddhist world is concerned about.
To understand the crux of the argument the following lines by the Indonesian Christian priest Father Daniel Byantoro is relevant:
“For thousands of years my country (Indonesia) was a Hindu-Buddhist kingdom. The last Hindu king was kind enough to give a tax exempt property for the first Muslim missionary to live and to preach his religion. Slowly the followers of the new religion were growing, and after they became so strong the kingdom was attacked, those who refused to become Muslims had to flee for their life to the neighboring island of Bali or to a high mountain of Tengger, where they have been able to keep their religion until now. Slowly from the Hindu Buddhist Kingdom, Indonesia became the largest Islamic country in the world. If there is any lesson to be learnt by Americans at all, the history of my country is worth pondering upon. We are not hate mongering, bigoted people; rather, we are freedom loving, democracy loving and human loving people. We just don’t want this freedom and democracy to be taken away from us by our ignorance and misguided ‘political correctness’, and the pretension of tolerance.”
Betrayal of Buddhism
This is the threat that all the current Buddhist nations fear especially the Buddhist populations who do not wish to experience what Buddhists in all the nations that had Buddhist populations experienced when they were wiped out or converted to ensure ONLY Islam prevailed. Buddhists have not gone to any country by force or taken over countries – the countries where Buddhists prevail are only trying to preserve their culture and identity. Leaders should not betray that for their personal and political benefit.
Media snubs on Buddhists, the tagging of Buddhists as extremists, fascists and racists are mere attempts to psychologically corner and dampen the Buddhists. The Buddhists refuse to be cornered into shunning their past – Buddhists wish to remain proud of their country, their heritage, their culture and religion and it should remind leaders that they need to be nationalists and not multiculturalists and secularists. Today, Hindus in India are a lost and abandoned group for it has become fashionable to not be proud of the once glorious Hindu heritage in India and the present lot of Indian leaders are totally to blame for this state of affairs.
Elsewhere the natives have awoken too. The British are now echoing the same sentiments, Australians are likewise echoing similar sentiments to their Governments while Governments like in Sri Lanka having resorted to bartering the space of the indigenous culture and their religion for the carrot of petro dollars from Arabia has created the current predicament whereas countries like Russia have said a firm no despite the carrot of a rich arms deals for giving up President Assad of Syria.
Contrary to the intolerance that is being conveniently projected let us not forget that the country’s tolerance and unprecedented religious accommodation has enabled 48 mosques to be built in a small township i.e. Katankudy, with less than 40,000 Muslims, some of these areas have been turned into “only Muslim zones” no different to the “Shariah zones” now prevalent in the UK to which the English Defense League is coming forward to object against – these zones obviously came about because British authorities allowed them and now social groups have to come forward to make the objections on behalf of the British majority. When UK issues statements against Sri Lanka citing the Bodu Bala Sena, we can in turn seek UK’s response to the EDL and the attacks on Muslims following the killing of a British soldier in broad daylight resulting in scores of mosques being attacked and burnt through arson.
Buddhist citadels under threat
Over a period of time there has been a deliberate and planned effort to increase the number of mosques and prepare the ground for Islamisation of Sri Lanka. When non-Muslims cannot even place a foot in Mecca, Muslims claim a takaran shed is a mosque or Muslim shrine in the hallowed Mahamegha Uyana, the former royal park to the south of the Buddhist holy city of Anuradhapura, which was gifted by King Devanampiyatissa to the Buddha Sasana after embracing Buddhism upon the arrival of Arahant Mahinda in 300 B. C.
In other sacred Buddhist sites or in their vicinity shops and makeshift prayer centers eventually become “mosques” and Muslim extremists end up plugging a fictitious historical element to stake claim while Government appointed Ministers and officials have even been tweaking with the country’s history text books while fraud in law entrance exams eventually end up expanding the batches without nullifying the fraudulent examination results enabling a disproportionate number of Muslims to probably push for Sharia law as a parallel law of the country. This is the next likely threat.
Buddha Gaya subject to continuous disturbance by Azan calls
Even Buddha Gaya the holiest place of all Buddhists has been disturbed by a new mosque that is playing azan 5 times a day disturbing the meditation of the priests and the daily worshippers. That the mosque was non-existent until of late and was strategically placed to disturb the Buddhists in prayer speaks louder than words – because calls to close the mosque is met with accusations that Buddhists are discriminating the Muslims ignoring that the incursion and provocation is what should matter. These incursions have been not exclusive to Sri Lanka but Sri Lanka has been far more alert than other countries as was seen by the manner that the halal issue forced the Government into action. Nevertheless, the Government cannot afford to be taking action on case by case basis and only when the masses begin to turn the heat on them because their eyes begin to open when they realize their block vote base is unhappy. This is not how the country can be run. This is why monk Wirathu of Mynamar has come forward.
It must be remembered that it was the deep sense of injustice and destruction of Buddhist Universities, and killing of innocent Tibetan Monks at Nalanda and other heritage sites in India by Islamic hordes ( Tibetans share the same DNA with Mongols and Burmese) that provoked the Mongols led by Genghis Khan and followed by his grandson Hulagu who went all the way from Mongolia to Iraq and destroyed the Islamic Caliphate and the Islamic library at Baghdad as sweet revenge for the destruction of Buddhist universities and libraries like Nalanda in India.
In Burma the monks are alert and they are taking control of the situation and they are not allowing their country to be usurped by later cultures.
Moratorium on building of new Mosques
The West with all its laws in place is under similar threats elevated by the fact that foreign politicians turn to immigrant vote bases to secure electoral wins. But now, US, UK, most of the EU nations are all calling for moratoriums on new mosques and stricter laws to govern Muslim incursions.
It is time that Sri Lanka’s Government does the same. France has gone a step further by banning the burka and niqab and even Human Rights Watch has not disagreed that the dress is not part of Islam but one that is associated with Arabic culture. Arabic culture is however not Islam. People in Sri Lanka certainly do not mind the Muslim women covering their head but they do not like to see black clothes which was not prevalent decades ago and questions what type of new Islam is being promoted with even the men now changing their attire to resemble tribal dress? It is also noteworthy that none of the elite Muslims adorn these garments and questions whether a monetary component is involved with lower middle class and poor only dressing in black given that billions are been thrown to spread this type of new culture throughout non-Muslim nations.
We must also wonder how far Raymond Ibrahim’s theory is also part of the problem: “What if an entire civilization developed an inferiority complex? What ramifications would that have on the rest of the world? How would such paranoia play itself out in the interaction of civilizations? Translating “The Broder Dilemma and Inferiority Complex,” written by Muslim intellectual Khaled Montaser, :
“We Muslims have an inferiority complex and are terribly sensitive to the world, feeling that our Islamic religion needs constant, practically daily, confirmation by way of Europeans and Americans converting to Islam. What rapturous joy takes us when a European or American announces [their conversion to] Islam—proof that we are in a constant state of fear, alarm, and chronic anticipation for Western validation or American confirmation that our religion is “okay.” We are hostages of this anticipation, as if our victory hinges on it—forgetting that true victory is for us to create or to accomplish something, such as those [civilizations] that these converts to our faith abandon….. “
http://www.raymondibrahim.com/from-the-arab-world/the-muslim-worlds-inferiority-complex/
Denial of religious freedoms in West Asia
Can Muslims demand what they do not wish to concede to non-Muslims?
Is the Islam being practiced by nations of the Muslim world tolerant of other religions?
Can non-Muslims put up a place of religious worship in the Arabian peninsula?
Did the Muslims not recently declare that Arabia should be ONLY for Muslims and all others should be chased out?
The territory and space of Islam is non-negotiable and if Islam is non-negotiable what is wrong with others saying the same?
Muslims clearly draw the line on what they tolerate and what they will not – whether we like it or not we have no choice but to accept. No one challenges the non-negotiable nature of religious space in majority Muslim nations and not a single international entity including NGOs or UN would even demand that their laws be changed to give equality to all faiths. Yet, the Muslims make these demands that they do not give in their lands. Buddhism is not a religion of the Book i.e. Quran. Therefore it is not recognized as a religion in Arabian countries. It is banned in Kuwait, Egypt, Iran and all other gulf and Arabian countries.
Dialogue of civilization impossible without mutual recognition
What dialogue can be had with those who do not recognize your existence as a legitimate world religion?
Whether we should believe in God or not is our religious choice. We expect Muslims to respect our choice and allow us to practice what we believe in. Unfortunately Buddhists in the whole of the Middle East are denied the fundamental religious freedoms that Muslims enjoy in almost every Buddhist majority country. The possession of citizenship is specious argument brought in to defend the denial of a basic human right.
We must also not forget that non-Muslims cannot even take a statue of the Buddha or book on Buddhism to Arabia and despite giving 300,000 Maldivians to work, live and study in Sri Lanka, Maldives will not allow Sri Lankans to carry a Buddha statue to Maldives – what a humiliation and slap on the face for Sri Lanka and does the Foreign Minister and other diplomats even object to such harassment of our people by people of a little country i.e. Maldives, that is eternally relying on Sri Lanka for most of their needs. Why is there no question of reciprocity as a basis of diplomatic relations between these two countries?
When is the Ministry of External Affairs going to stand up for the rights of our Sri Lankan people in the international arena?
The increasing friction between ethnic and religious communities is largely due to the failure of the Government to draw a clear line.
Immediate action
The Government must immediately address the following:
· Moratorium on mosques: In proportion to the Muslim population there are far too many mosques
· No Loud Speakers: It continues to violate the fundamental right to silence of our people and made clear in the judgment of the Supreme Court on noise pollution and grant of an interim order placing limits on use of loudspeakers at Mosques.
· No Cattle slaughter: There was no animal slaughter until the legalizing of such by the British after 1815. Majority of Buddhists are sensitive to killing animals and eating beef – why are these sensitivities not respected when Buddhists respect the Muslim abhorrence for pork?
· No halal logo and no Shariah laws – while most believe the halal issue is resolved, there continues to be halal logos on food items on the excuse that the batch quantities are not over.
· Issue of conversions : Anti-Conversion bill is lying in limbo
Immediate Enactment of the Animal Welfare Bill prepared by the Law Commission. It is a national shame that fear of minorities i.e. Muslims, is preventing the Buddhists of this country from giving legislative and state protection to animals which every king and ruler since King Devanampiyatissa piously gave following the noble example set by Emperor Dharmasoka of India and taught by the Buddha. What a come down for the Buddhist heritage and unique animal friendly civilizational values of this country when our current politicians do not care for them!
In going behind the minority votes the politicians have bartered the space of the Buddhists and when these minorities are now beginning to demand their pound of flesh the majority realizes what the politicians have done and the reactions are what has taken place in the Grandpass area (how valid is a permit letter dated 10th August 2013 after building a mosque on the pretext of a “warehouse”).
We again question whether the Ministry of Buddha Sasana is functioning on behalf of the Buddhists or to preserve and promote every religion other than Buddhism for we have not forgotten that the Ministry did not issue a statement on the attacks on Buddhists and ancient Buddhist Temples in Bangladesh but was quick to issue a statement on a film trailer that most had not even seen but sparked riots across the Muslim world.
Status of Buddhism in Myanmar; Non – Negotiable
In Burma, the status of Buddhism is non-negotiable and in spite of Article 9 alongside a rich historical civilization the country’s politicians are bartering away Buddhism when all the while history is evidence of what happens to nations that gives up their identity whether willingly or by force. Every nation that Muslims have set foot upon has eventually turned into a Muslim nation unless proper laws are set in place. It is now time that the Sri Lankan Government also lays down its laws because the majority of Muslims in Sri Lanka have been living with the Buddhists adapting to the Sinhalese culture and customs and even dress as historical evidence will show. Many of these Muslims too do not like the present wave of new radical Islam sweeping across the nation but are too afraid to boldly come out and say so though silently they too wish that the Government puts these incursions to a halt.
If the Government is able to stop all these new incursions taking place on the ground that what exists more than suffices for the 9% Muslims, everyone in the country will be able to go on with their lives without fear. The Government cannot dither and needs to draw the lines safeguarding predominately Buddhist Sri Lanka and media needs to learn to relay the facts not according to their agendas.
Thanks to Muslim obduracy and incursions into traditional Buddhist space through increasing construction of Mosques in sacred Buddhist citadels such as Anuradhapura, Dambulla, Mihintale, Mahiyangana and in numbers totally disproportionate to the actual numbers of believers in Islam, use of loudspeakers at Mosques in every nook and corner of the country blaring shrieking sounds in Arabic five times a day totally oblivious to the violation of the fundamental right to silence of every citizen, and the nuisance and disturbance it is causing to the vast majority of the people who wish to live in peace amidst a quiet and serene environment, brutal killing of cattle and other animals and display of slaughtered animal carcasses on main and side roads, irrespective of the disgust it is causing to the majority of the public weaned on principles of non – killing and compassion towards animals, animal sacrifice a practice repugnant to Buddhists and condemned by the Buddha, opposition to the continuation of the historic identity of Sri Lanka as a Buddhist country, and promotion of the alien Arabic culture through unacceptable dress codes, food habits, arrogant behaviour and flaunting of wealth by members of this minority group in pre-dominant and traditional Buddhist areas of the country, have awakened the sleeping Sinhala Buddhists to the threat posed to their very survival in the country both in the short and the long term. This fear is also spreading right across Buddhist Asia in varying degrees.
Validity of Existential fears of Buddhists
One thousand years ago Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Kashmir, Indonesia and Maldives were all Buddhist. It is no more now. The very forces that have taken over these countries are now threatening the survival of Buddhism in Myanmar (Burma), and posing a challenge to the dominance of Buddhism in both Sri Lanka and Thailand. The existential fears are what the current Buddhist world is concerned about.
To understand the crux of the argument the following lines by the Indonesian Christian priest Father Daniel Byantoro is relevant:
“For thousands of years my country (Indonesia) was a Hindu-Buddhist kingdom. The last Hindu king was kind enough to give a tax exempt property for the first Muslim missionary to live and to preach his religion. Slowly the followers of the new religion were growing, and after they became so strong the kingdom was attacked, those who refused to become Muslims had to flee for their life to the neighboring island of Bali or to a high mountain of Tengger, where they have been able to keep their religion until now. Slowly from the Hindu Buddhist Kingdom, Indonesia became the largest Islamic country in the world. If there is any lesson to be learnt by Americans at all, the history of my country is worth pondering upon. We are not hate mongering, bigoted people; rather, we are freedom loving, democracy loving and human loving people. We just don’t want this freedom and democracy to be taken away from us by our ignorance and misguided ‘political correctness’, and the pretension of tolerance.”
Betrayal of Buddhism
This is the threat that all the current Buddhist nations fear especially the Buddhist populations who do not wish to experience what Buddhists in all the nations that had Buddhist populations experienced when they were wiped out or converted to ensure ONLY Islam prevailed. Buddhists have not gone to any country by force or taken over countries – the countries where Buddhists prevail are only trying to preserve their culture and identity. Leaders should not betray that for their personal and political benefit.
Media snubs on Buddhists, the tagging of Buddhists as extremists, fascists and racists are mere attempts to psychologically corner and dampen the Buddhists. The Buddhists refuse to be cornered into shunning their past – Buddhists wish to remain proud of their country, their heritage, their culture and religion and it should remind leaders that they need to be nationalists and not multiculturalists and secularists. Today, Hindus in India are a lost and abandoned group for it has become fashionable to not be proud of the once glorious Hindu heritage in India and the present lot of Indian leaders are totally to blame for this state of affairs.
Elsewhere the natives have awoken too. The British are now echoing the same sentiments, Australians are likewise echoing similar sentiments to their Governments while Governments like in Sri Lanka having resorted to bartering the space of the indigenous culture and their religion for the carrot of petro dollars from Arabia has created the current predicament whereas countries like Russia have said a firm no despite the carrot of a rich arms deals for giving up President Assad of Syria.
Contrary to the intolerance that is being conveniently projected let us not forget that the country’s tolerance and unprecedented religious accommodation has enabled 48 mosques to be built in a small township i.e. Katankudy, with less than 40,000 Muslims, some of these areas have been turned into “only Muslim zones” no different to the “Shariah zones” now prevalent in the UK to which the English Defense League is coming forward to object against – these zones obviously came about because British authorities allowed them and now social groups have to come forward to make the objections on behalf of the British majority. When UK issues statements against Sri Lanka citing the Bodu Bala Sena, we can in turn seek UK’s response to the EDL and the attacks on Muslims following the killing of a British soldier in broad daylight resulting in scores of mosques being attacked and burnt through arson.
Buddhist citadels under threat
Over a period of time there has been a deliberate and planned effort to increase the number of mosques and prepare the ground for Islamisation of Sri Lanka. When non-Muslims cannot even place a foot in Mecca, Muslims claim a takaran shed is a mosque or Muslim shrine in the hallowed Mahamegha Uyana, the former royal park to the south of the Buddhist holy city of Anuradhapura, which was gifted by King Devanampiyatissa to the Buddha Sasana after embracing Buddhism upon the arrival of Arahant Mahinda in 300 B. C.
In other sacred Buddhist sites or in their vicinity shops and makeshift prayer centers eventually become “mosques” and Muslim extremists end up plugging a fictitious historical element to stake claim while Government appointed Ministers and officials have even been tweaking with the country’s history text books while fraud in law entrance exams eventually end up expanding the batches without nullifying the fraudulent examination results enabling a disproportionate number of Muslims to probably push for Sharia law as a parallel law of the country. This is the next likely threat.
Buddha Gaya subject to continuous disturbance by Azan calls
Even Buddha Gaya the holiest place of all Buddhists has been disturbed by a new mosque that is playing azan 5 times a day disturbing the meditation of the priests and the daily worshippers. That the mosque was non-existent until of late and was strategically placed to disturb the Buddhists in prayer speaks louder than words – because calls to close the mosque is met with accusations that Buddhists are discriminating the Muslims ignoring that the incursion and provocation is what should matter. These incursions have been not exclusive to Sri Lanka but Sri Lanka has been far more alert than other countries as was seen by the manner that the halal issue forced the Government into action. Nevertheless, the Government cannot afford to be taking action on case by case basis and only when the masses begin to turn the heat on them because their eyes begin to open when they realize their block vote base is unhappy. This is not how the country can be run. This is why monk Wirathu of Mynamar has come forward.
It must be remembered that it was the deep sense of injustice and destruction of Buddhist Universities, and killing of innocent Tibetan Monks at Nalanda and other heritage sites in India by Islamic hordes ( Tibetans share the same DNA with Mongols and Burmese) that provoked the Mongols led by Genghis Khan and followed by his grandson Hulagu who went all the way from Mongolia to Iraq and destroyed the Islamic Caliphate and the Islamic library at Baghdad as sweet revenge for the destruction of Buddhist universities and libraries like Nalanda in India.
In Burma the monks are alert and they are taking control of the situation and they are not allowing their country to be usurped by later cultures.
Moratorium on building of new Mosques
The West with all its laws in place is under similar threats elevated by the fact that foreign politicians turn to immigrant vote bases to secure electoral wins. But now, US, UK, most of the EU nations are all calling for moratoriums on new mosques and stricter laws to govern Muslim incursions.
It is time that Sri Lanka’s Government does the same. France has gone a step further by banning the burka and niqab and even Human Rights Watch has not disagreed that the dress is not part of Islam but one that is associated with Arabic culture. Arabic culture is however not Islam. People in Sri Lanka certainly do not mind the Muslim women covering their head but they do not like to see black clothes which was not prevalent decades ago and questions what type of new Islam is being promoted with even the men now changing their attire to resemble tribal dress? It is also noteworthy that none of the elite Muslims adorn these garments and questions whether a monetary component is involved with lower middle class and poor only dressing in black given that billions are been thrown to spread this type of new culture throughout non-Muslim nations.
We must also wonder how far Raymond Ibrahim’s theory is also part of the problem: “What if an entire civilization developed an inferiority complex? What ramifications would that have on the rest of the world? How would such paranoia play itself out in the interaction of civilizations? Translating “The Broder Dilemma and Inferiority Complex,” written by Muslim intellectual Khaled Montaser, :
“We Muslims have an inferiority complex and are terribly sensitive to the world, feeling that our Islamic religion needs constant, practically daily, confirmation by way of Europeans and Americans converting to Islam. What rapturous joy takes us when a European or American announces [their conversion to] Islam—proof that we are in a constant state of fear, alarm, and chronic anticipation for Western validation or American confirmation that our religion is “okay.” We are hostages of this anticipation, as if our victory hinges on it—forgetting that true victory is for us to create or to accomplish something, such as those [civilizations] that these converts to our faith abandon….. “
http://www.raymondibrahim.com/from-the-arab-world/the-muslim-worlds-inferiority-complex/
Denial of religious freedoms in West Asia
Can Muslims demand what they do not wish to concede to non-Muslims?
Is the Islam being practiced by nations of the Muslim world tolerant of other religions?
Can non-Muslims put up a place of religious worship in the Arabian peninsula?
Did the Muslims not recently declare that Arabia should be ONLY for Muslims and all others should be chased out?
The territory and space of Islam is non-negotiable and if Islam is non-negotiable what is wrong with others saying the same?
Muslims clearly draw the line on what they tolerate and what they will not – whether we like it or not we have no choice but to accept. No one challenges the non-negotiable nature of religious space in majority Muslim nations and not a single international entity including NGOs or UN would even demand that their laws be changed to give equality to all faiths. Yet, the Muslims make these demands that they do not give in their lands. Buddhism is not a religion of the Book i.e. Quran. Therefore it is not recognized as a religion in Arabian countries. It is banned in Kuwait, Egypt, Iran and all other gulf and Arabian countries.
Dialogue of civilization impossible without mutual recognition
What dialogue can be had with those who do not recognize your existence as a legitimate world religion?
Whether we should believe in God or not is our religious choice. We expect Muslims to respect our choice and allow us to practice what we believe in. Unfortunately Buddhists in the whole of the Middle East are denied the fundamental religious freedoms that Muslims enjoy in almost every Buddhist majority country. The possession of citizenship is specious argument brought in to defend the denial of a basic human right.
We must also not forget that non-Muslims cannot even take a statue of the Buddha or book on Buddhism to Arabia and despite giving 300,000 Maldivians to work, live and study in Sri Lanka, Maldives will not allow Sri Lankans to carry a Buddha statue to Maldives – what a humiliation and slap on the face for Sri Lanka and does the Foreign Minister and other diplomats even object to such harassment of our people by people of a little country i.e. Maldives, that is eternally relying on Sri Lanka for most of their needs. Why is there no question of reciprocity as a basis of diplomatic relations between these two countries?
When is the Ministry of External Affairs going to stand up for the rights of our Sri Lankan people in the international arena?
The increasing friction between ethnic and religious communities is largely due to the failure of the Government to draw a clear line.
Immediate action
The Government must immediately address the following:
· Moratorium on mosques: In proportion to the Muslim population there are far too many mosques
· No Loud Speakers: It continues to violate the fundamental right to silence of our people and made clear in the judgment of the Supreme Court on noise pollution and grant of an interim order placing limits on use of loudspeakers at Mosques.
· No Cattle slaughter: There was no animal slaughter until the legalizing of such by the British after 1815. Majority of Buddhists are sensitive to killing animals and eating beef – why are these sensitivities not respected when Buddhists respect the Muslim abhorrence for pork?
· No halal logo and no Shariah laws – while most believe the halal issue is resolved, there continues to be halal logos on food items on the excuse that the batch quantities are not over.
· Issue of conversions : Anti-Conversion bill is lying in limbo
Immediate Enactment of the Animal Welfare Bill prepared by the Law Commission. It is a national shame that fear of minorities i.e. Muslims, is preventing the Buddhists of this country from giving legislative and state protection to animals which every king and ruler since King Devanampiyatissa piously gave following the noble example set by Emperor Dharmasoka of India and taught by the Buddha. What a come down for the Buddhist heritage and unique animal friendly civilizational values of this country when our current politicians do not care for them!
In going behind the minority votes the politicians have bartered the space of the Buddhists and when these minorities are now beginning to demand their pound of flesh the majority realizes what the politicians have done and the reactions are what has taken place in the Grandpass area (how valid is a permit letter dated 10th August 2013 after building a mosque on the pretext of a “warehouse”).
We again question whether the Ministry of Buddha Sasana is functioning on behalf of the Buddhists or to preserve and promote every religion other than Buddhism for we have not forgotten that the Ministry did not issue a statement on the attacks on Buddhists and ancient Buddhist Temples in Bangladesh but was quick to issue a statement on a film trailer that most had not even seen but sparked riots across the Muslim world.
Status of Buddhism in Myanmar; Non – Negotiable
In Burma, the status of Buddhism is non-negotiable and in spite of Article 9 alongside a rich historical civilization the country’s politicians are bartering away Buddhism when all the while history is evidence of what happens to nations that gives up their identity whether willingly or by force. Every nation that Muslims have set foot upon has eventually turned into a Muslim nation unless proper laws are set in place. It is now time that the Sri Lankan Government also lays down its laws because the majority of Muslims in Sri Lanka have been living with the Buddhists adapting to the Sinhalese culture and customs and even dress as historical evidence will show. Many of these Muslims too do not like the present wave of new radical Islam sweeping across the nation but are too afraid to boldly come out and say so though silently they too wish that the Government puts these incursions to a halt.
If the Government is able to stop all these new incursions taking place on the ground that what exists more than suffices for the 9% Muslims, everyone in the country will be able to go on with their lives without fear. The Government cannot dither and needs to draw the lines safeguarding predominately Buddhist Sri Lanka and media needs to learn to relay the facts not according to their agendas.
Isan monks helping their communities
by Sanitsuda Ekachai, Assistant Editor
Fed up with rogue monks? Losing hope in ability of the lax and closed clergy to lead the way? Meet Luang Por Ang, Luang Por Chair, and Phra Kru Somsri. All Isan monks. All dedicated to lift the livelihood and spirituality of their villagers. All are living examples of why monks still matter. Probably more so now than ever.
The three so-called "development monks" were in Bangkok earlier this week to talk about their past work and presentchallenges at a time when the rural folks' way of life and political awakening have dramatically changed from fourdecades ago.
Luang Por Ang, or Phra Kru Pattanakijjanuwat, is abbot of Wat Huay Bueng in Nakhon Ratchasima's Dan Khun Thot district.
"I finished only Prathom 4," said the elderly monk. "I never thought of such high words as inequality or development. But scarcity was all around me. Right from when I first became a monk, I kept asking myself what I could do to repay the poor villagers who feed me."
He led the villagers in building roads and bridges so that the sick could go to the hospital and farmers could sell their crops. He set up medicine banks, learned how to use needles and syringes, taught himself to be a mechanic, a house builder, and filled in whenever the rice paddies needed more labour. He helped the villagers set up communitysavings groups and welfare funds. He also succeeded in convincing the villagers to donate land to build a reservoirfor common agricultural use.
When dusk fell, the monk completed his day's mission by talking to the villagers about the use of dharma in one's life.
At the height of the communist insurgency in the '70s, he was accused by the authorities of being a communist. "Butthat didn't bother me. All I wanted was to help the villagers."
He was not alone. Other development monks, like Luang Ta Chair or Phra Kru Amornchaikhun of Wat Asom Dhamatayat in Korat, faced the same fate when he led the villagers to save their community forests from the localmafia.
Fast-forward 40 years. Isan has now changed. So have the Isan people's aspirations.
Transportation, public health and electricity are no longer a concern. The region is now deep in the cash economy with all its urbanisation benefits and pitfalls. Modern telecommunications have connected the villagers with the world, reshaping the villagers' world-views, consumption patterns and life dreams. Farming, meanwhile, is still a losing business. Perennial debt and extra off-farm work have left the villagers little time for the community as before. Like the rest of the country, many villages have also slipped into the deep political divide.
How have development monks dealt with the new challenges?
Knowledge - both in technical skills and management - is now the key, said Phra Kru Somsri, whose official title is Phra Kru Bhodhivirakhun, abbot of Wat Bhodhikaram in Roi Et.
His temple operates as a non-formal education centre offering a wide range of occupational training free of chargeso as to give the youth new skills and opportunities.
The temple has also set up a community grocery store, managed by the villagers as a cooperative. The community savings has also grown into a community bank, run transparently by elected village committees to provide low-interest loans, with profits going back to community welfare funds.
Working together is at the heart of these activities. And when the communal, open management structure is already in place, the community can deal with any new challenge, he said, including the political divide which is bridged only when the villagers have to rely on kinship and communal ties to solve common problems.
"When in the temple, they also have the chance to pray, to reflect, to be close to dharma to guide their lives," he added with a smile
More changes are coming. "But don't be alarmed," said Luang Ta Chair pensively. "You can't stop change. Nothing stays the same. It's part of dharma, the way things are. Our duty is to help the villagers be ready to cope with it."
(Source: Bangkok Post, COMMENTARY, Isan monks helping their communities, 18/08/2011, Sanitsuda Ekachai, Assistant Editor, link)
The three so-called "development monks" were in Bangkok earlier this week to talk about their past work and presentchallenges at a time when the rural folks' way of life and political awakening have dramatically changed from fourdecades ago.
Luang Por Ang, or Phra Kru Pattanakijjanuwat, is abbot of Wat Huay Bueng in Nakhon Ratchasima's Dan Khun Thot district.
"I finished only Prathom 4," said the elderly monk. "I never thought of such high words as inequality or development. But scarcity was all around me. Right from when I first became a monk, I kept asking myself what I could do to repay the poor villagers who feed me."
He led the villagers in building roads and bridges so that the sick could go to the hospital and farmers could sell their crops. He set up medicine banks, learned how to use needles and syringes, taught himself to be a mechanic, a house builder, and filled in whenever the rice paddies needed more labour. He helped the villagers set up communitysavings groups and welfare funds. He also succeeded in convincing the villagers to donate land to build a reservoirfor common agricultural use.
When dusk fell, the monk completed his day's mission by talking to the villagers about the use of dharma in one's life.
At the height of the communist insurgency in the '70s, he was accused by the authorities of being a communist. "Butthat didn't bother me. All I wanted was to help the villagers."
He was not alone. Other development monks, like Luang Ta Chair or Phra Kru Amornchaikhun of Wat Asom Dhamatayat in Korat, faced the same fate when he led the villagers to save their community forests from the localmafia.
Fast-forward 40 years. Isan has now changed. So have the Isan people's aspirations.
Transportation, public health and electricity are no longer a concern. The region is now deep in the cash economy with all its urbanisation benefits and pitfalls. Modern telecommunications have connected the villagers with the world, reshaping the villagers' world-views, consumption patterns and life dreams. Farming, meanwhile, is still a losing business. Perennial debt and extra off-farm work have left the villagers little time for the community as before. Like the rest of the country, many villages have also slipped into the deep political divide.
How have development monks dealt with the new challenges?
Knowledge - both in technical skills and management - is now the key, said Phra Kru Somsri, whose official title is Phra Kru Bhodhivirakhun, abbot of Wat Bhodhikaram in Roi Et.
His temple operates as a non-formal education centre offering a wide range of occupational training free of chargeso as to give the youth new skills and opportunities.
The temple has also set up a community grocery store, managed by the villagers as a cooperative. The community savings has also grown into a community bank, run transparently by elected village committees to provide low-interest loans, with profits going back to community welfare funds.
Working together is at the heart of these activities. And when the communal, open management structure is already in place, the community can deal with any new challenge, he said, including the political divide which is bridged only when the villagers have to rely on kinship and communal ties to solve common problems.
"When in the temple, they also have the chance to pray, to reflect, to be close to dharma to guide their lives," he added with a smile
More changes are coming. "But don't be alarmed," said Luang Ta Chair pensively. "You can't stop change. Nothing stays the same. It's part of dharma, the way things are. Our duty is to help the villagers be ready to cope with it."
(Source: Bangkok Post, COMMENTARY, Isan monks helping their communities, 18/08/2011, Sanitsuda Ekachai, Assistant Editor, link)
Japan’s Buddhist Temples keeping up with the times using DJs, apps, video games, booze and more Rocket
News 24, July 17, 2013 Tokyo, Japan --
While religions of all stripes have something to offer in terms of support and advice, they also share a common detriment: they’re all really, really old. While age brings with it wisdom and experience, if religion can’t relate to modern society it runs the risk of getting left behind.
To help prevent this, several monks across Japan have been adopting new technology and trends or have tried simply reaching out to people differently, in less orthodox and more human ways.
Higher Tech Attainment
Walking around and looking at the masses of people with eyes looked on their smartphone it’s hard to ignore the pull of digital media. Higan Temple has been at the forefront of tapping into cyberspace to expose the masses to Buddhism.
What started as a blog chronicling Kosuke Matsumoto’s journey to becoming a monk has blossomed into a virtual online temple. Now several Buddhists and monks contribute articles offering their viewpoints on business, parenting, food, and more. The monks also answer questions asked via Twitter.
There is a small English section too where Mr. Matsumoto occasionally writes articles. The temple also released an app for iPhone and Android called Undo to assist in meditation.
Another website called Tera Koya Buddha works as a calendar of events for Buddhist related activities running the gamut from yoga classes to jazz festivals. Buddhist Temples have also be stepping up their game in the entertainment field as well.
Sutra Hero
One way to get recognition is to put out an interesting and entertaining product for people to latch onto. A few of our readers are likely familiar with Ryoho Temple, otherwise known as Moe Temple for its liberal use of moe characters all around the grounds.
A while back we reported on their video game Sutra Master, a rhythm game using traditional Buddhist “instruments”, characters and symbols.
Well, it seems as if Moe Temple was just getting started in the video game business. Now they have released an RPG game for use on iPhone and Android called Welcome to Ryoho Temple [Free Training Yokai Card Game]. The game is a strategy-based card game which uses moe versions of about 1,000 different traditional Japanese creatures such as tengu and akaoni.
Parties
Another way to lure people with technology is to throw a kick-ass party. Earlier this year Gokokuji Temple held the Tibet Festival Tokyo with the participation of Tibetan monks. At the festival the temporary beauty of a sand mandala being made in-person could be seen.
However, after sunset the beauty of the temple gets kicked up a notch thanks to some projection mapping. Here’s a time lapse video of the event.
Also earlier this year was Kohgen 2013, which held various religious events at four temples and shrines in Gunma Prefecture. In particular the Joko Temple event was a feast for the senses. Inside the main hall of the temple, incense was lit to mellow the audiences sense of smell, vegetarian food was served to tingle taste buds and a DJ and live band played along with cryptic projections on the wall. Perhaps next year the musical stylings Tariki Echo could be worked in.
Heartbreak and Hard Drinks
While flashing lights and websites are all well and good, they’re a dime a dozen these days. Perhaps to really get in touch with people you have to get out of the temple and into the real world.
That’s what a group of monks from various Buddhist sects did when they set up a bar. Geting away from all your worries sure would help a lot, so why not go where everyone knows a sutra – Vowz Bar in Tokyo. Listed as one of weirder theme bars in Tokyo with their Buddhist inspired cocktail names, it’s the best place to go for some sagely advice after a hard day.
If drinking’s not your thing you might be able to find one of the growing trends of sutra readings popping up around the countries. Here you can join a monk as they give you their own interpretations of sutras with interaction from the audience. It can be enlightening to see how those cryptic chants can apply to real life situations such as a break up or family dispute.
This is just a taste of what Buddhism is doing to stay active and relevant in Japan. Surely there will be more moe video games and electronica to come from this 2,500-year-old religion.
http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=44,11547,0,0,1,0#.UfvRSNKbd9U
While religions of all stripes have something to offer in terms of support and advice, they also share a common detriment: they’re all really, really old. While age brings with it wisdom and experience, if religion can’t relate to modern society it runs the risk of getting left behind.
To help prevent this, several monks across Japan have been adopting new technology and trends or have tried simply reaching out to people differently, in less orthodox and more human ways.
Higher Tech Attainment
Walking around and looking at the masses of people with eyes looked on their smartphone it’s hard to ignore the pull of digital media. Higan Temple has been at the forefront of tapping into cyberspace to expose the masses to Buddhism.
What started as a blog chronicling Kosuke Matsumoto’s journey to becoming a monk has blossomed into a virtual online temple. Now several Buddhists and monks contribute articles offering their viewpoints on business, parenting, food, and more. The monks also answer questions asked via Twitter.
There is a small English section too where Mr. Matsumoto occasionally writes articles. The temple also released an app for iPhone and Android called Undo to assist in meditation.
Another website called Tera Koya Buddha works as a calendar of events for Buddhist related activities running the gamut from yoga classes to jazz festivals. Buddhist Temples have also be stepping up their game in the entertainment field as well.
Sutra Hero
One way to get recognition is to put out an interesting and entertaining product for people to latch onto. A few of our readers are likely familiar with Ryoho Temple, otherwise known as Moe Temple for its liberal use of moe characters all around the grounds.
A while back we reported on their video game Sutra Master, a rhythm game using traditional Buddhist “instruments”, characters and symbols.
Well, it seems as if Moe Temple was just getting started in the video game business. Now they have released an RPG game for use on iPhone and Android called Welcome to Ryoho Temple [Free Training Yokai Card Game]. The game is a strategy-based card game which uses moe versions of about 1,000 different traditional Japanese creatures such as tengu and akaoni.
Parties
Another way to lure people with technology is to throw a kick-ass party. Earlier this year Gokokuji Temple held the Tibet Festival Tokyo with the participation of Tibetan monks. At the festival the temporary beauty of a sand mandala being made in-person could be seen.
However, after sunset the beauty of the temple gets kicked up a notch thanks to some projection mapping. Here’s a time lapse video of the event.
Also earlier this year was Kohgen 2013, which held various religious events at four temples and shrines in Gunma Prefecture. In particular the Joko Temple event was a feast for the senses. Inside the main hall of the temple, incense was lit to mellow the audiences sense of smell, vegetarian food was served to tingle taste buds and a DJ and live band played along with cryptic projections on the wall. Perhaps next year the musical stylings Tariki Echo could be worked in.
Heartbreak and Hard Drinks
While flashing lights and websites are all well and good, they’re a dime a dozen these days. Perhaps to really get in touch with people you have to get out of the temple and into the real world.
That’s what a group of monks from various Buddhist sects did when they set up a bar. Geting away from all your worries sure would help a lot, so why not go where everyone knows a sutra – Vowz Bar in Tokyo. Listed as one of weirder theme bars in Tokyo with their Buddhist inspired cocktail names, it’s the best place to go for some sagely advice after a hard day.
If drinking’s not your thing you might be able to find one of the growing trends of sutra readings popping up around the countries. Here you can join a monk as they give you their own interpretations of sutras with interaction from the audience. It can be enlightening to see how those cryptic chants can apply to real life situations such as a break up or family dispute.
This is just a taste of what Buddhism is doing to stay active and relevant in Japan. Surely there will be more moe video games and electronica to come from this 2,500-year-old religion.
http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=44,11547,0,0,1,0#.UfvRSNKbd9U
A Charity Aims to Bring Buddhist Studies Into the Modern WorldBy YENNI KWOK,
New York Times, July 29, 2013
Robert Y.C. Ho, a scion of a historic Hong Kong family, is the chairman of the Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation, which supports study in the fields of Buddhism, Chinese art and culture. The charity is named after Mr. Ho’s father, who founded it in 2005.It has given endowments for Buddhist programs at Harvard University, Stanford University and the Courtauld Institute of Art in London. In May, it gave a $1.9 million grant to the American Council of Learned Societies for the research and teaching of Buddhist studies.
Why did your father decide to focus on Buddhism?
Buddhism was easier because his grandmother, Lady Clara, set up a temple in Hong Kong, Tung Lin Kok Yuen, in 1935 — it later grew to two charity organizations, in Hong Kong and Canada — and there’s a school associated with it. So Buddhism has been part of the family.
We also support Chinese art and culture because my father, who grew up in Hong Kong, appreciates Chinese arts — classical, traditional and contemporary.
Buddhist studies are usually associated with history. How do you make them relevant to today?
Generally speaking, Buddhist studies in higher institutions have been archaic and old-fashioned, in the sense that it’s mostly text-based, where we have scholars who are experts in Pali, Sanskrit, classical Chinese, Japanese, old languages. They read these texts and they talk about them. A lot of time, it’s not really related to what happens in the real world.
But a lot of younger scholars are pushing into new areas, like studying about Buddhism and politics, Buddhism and the environment, conflict resolution, Buddhism and psychology, things like that, and how they manifest in the world. Most of our grants are geared toward the area, which is Buddhism in the contemporary world. This is the area we want to push, to advance the field, to make it relevant to the contemporary audiences.
Why do you work largely with universities and institutions in the West, as opposed to in China or other parts of Asia?
We’re looking for the right partner, the right institution. The standard of scholarship is traditionally, at least in the modern and contemporary era, much higher in North America and the West, so there’s a practical consideration.
We’re looking into working in China, but they’re all state-funded institutions. That makes it tricky to find a partner.
Southeast Asia is another story. For example, in Thailand and Sri Lanka, they have a category of institutions called Buddhist universities, and they study Buddhism in a traditional way. They take their model back from India in the Middle Ages: They have a big monastery and next to the monastery, they would have a university where they’d teach Buddhist scholarship from a traditional point of view. That’s not what we’re looking for.
Through Tung Ling Kok Yuen in Hong Kong, we helped set up the Buddhist Studies Center at Hong Kong University — it was before we started the family foundation. After we’ve started the foundation, most of our grants for Buddhist-related areas are mostly through the foundation.
In Hong Kong, where the foundation is based, you seem to focus on arts and culture education. Why is that?
With Hong Kong being mostly Chinese, we see the program as under the umbrella of Chinese art and culture. It’s a basic belief that arts and creativity are part of a human being and the human psyche — that is important to make a person well-rounded, and to have some exposure to that is very important. It’s important not only to individuals but also to a healthy society.
The government has some initiatives to try to make Hong Kong a culture or art hub.
They are putting a lot of effort in the hardware. That’s good, that’s an important part of it, but you also need the audience.
The software is the education program, so that people who go to art events can appreciate, talk about and criticize them. You need that aspect. What we are trying to do is a small bit, but we believe if Hong Kong wants to be a world city, it needs this component.
http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=46,11545,0,0,1,0#.UfvQ9tKbd9U
Robert Y.C. Ho, a scion of a historic Hong Kong family, is the chairman of the Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation, which supports study in the fields of Buddhism, Chinese art and culture. The charity is named after Mr. Ho’s father, who founded it in 2005.It has given endowments for Buddhist programs at Harvard University, Stanford University and the Courtauld Institute of Art in London. In May, it gave a $1.9 million grant to the American Council of Learned Societies for the research and teaching of Buddhist studies.
Why did your father decide to focus on Buddhism?
Buddhism was easier because his grandmother, Lady Clara, set up a temple in Hong Kong, Tung Lin Kok Yuen, in 1935 — it later grew to two charity organizations, in Hong Kong and Canada — and there’s a school associated with it. So Buddhism has been part of the family.
We also support Chinese art and culture because my father, who grew up in Hong Kong, appreciates Chinese arts — classical, traditional and contemporary.
Buddhist studies are usually associated with history. How do you make them relevant to today?
Generally speaking, Buddhist studies in higher institutions have been archaic and old-fashioned, in the sense that it’s mostly text-based, where we have scholars who are experts in Pali, Sanskrit, classical Chinese, Japanese, old languages. They read these texts and they talk about them. A lot of time, it’s not really related to what happens in the real world.
But a lot of younger scholars are pushing into new areas, like studying about Buddhism and politics, Buddhism and the environment, conflict resolution, Buddhism and psychology, things like that, and how they manifest in the world. Most of our grants are geared toward the area, which is Buddhism in the contemporary world. This is the area we want to push, to advance the field, to make it relevant to the contemporary audiences.
Why do you work largely with universities and institutions in the West, as opposed to in China or other parts of Asia?
We’re looking for the right partner, the right institution. The standard of scholarship is traditionally, at least in the modern and contemporary era, much higher in North America and the West, so there’s a practical consideration.
We’re looking into working in China, but they’re all state-funded institutions. That makes it tricky to find a partner.
Southeast Asia is another story. For example, in Thailand and Sri Lanka, they have a category of institutions called Buddhist universities, and they study Buddhism in a traditional way. They take their model back from India in the Middle Ages: They have a big monastery and next to the monastery, they would have a university where they’d teach Buddhist scholarship from a traditional point of view. That’s not what we’re looking for.
Through Tung Ling Kok Yuen in Hong Kong, we helped set up the Buddhist Studies Center at Hong Kong University — it was before we started the family foundation. After we’ve started the foundation, most of our grants for Buddhist-related areas are mostly through the foundation.
In Hong Kong, where the foundation is based, you seem to focus on arts and culture education. Why is that?
With Hong Kong being mostly Chinese, we see the program as under the umbrella of Chinese art and culture. It’s a basic belief that arts and creativity are part of a human being and the human psyche — that is important to make a person well-rounded, and to have some exposure to that is very important. It’s important not only to individuals but also to a healthy society.
The government has some initiatives to try to make Hong Kong a culture or art hub.
They are putting a lot of effort in the hardware. That’s good, that’s an important part of it, but you also need the audience.
The software is the education program, so that people who go to art events can appreciate, talk about and criticize them. You need that aspect. What we are trying to do is a small bit, but we believe if Hong Kong wants to be a world city, it needs this component.
http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=46,11545,0,0,1,0#.UfvQ9tKbd9U
Prison Ministries for Buddhist Growing
LANSING, Kan. — Lama Chuck Stanford started visiting a small group of Buddhist inmates in Kansas about six years ago.
“Then word got around that that I was doing this,” Mr. Stanford said, “and I started getting calls from prison chaplains around here telling me they had Buddhist inmates interested in getting groups going.”
Now Mr. Stanford serves four prisons — the Lansing Correctional Center, the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks in Leavenworth, and two state prisons in Missouri. He’s on the road two days a week, most days serving groups of about 10 men at each prison.
He is among a quietly growing number of Buddhist teachers working in U.S. prisons, tending to inmates who had been raised Buddhist or who discovered the ancient faith later, many while incarcerated. U.S. prisons are also offering meditation and yoga for their general populations.
The Prison Dharma Network in Boulder, Colo., leads yoga and meditation and also sends books and correspondence to inmates nationwide. The Buddhist Peace Fellowship in Berkeley, Calif., has meditation, yoga and journal-writing programs in several California prisons, and the National Buddhist Prison Sangha in Mount Tremper, N.Y., has been supporting prison inmates since 1984 with visits, letters and reading material.
Kate Crisp, executive director of the Prison Dharma Network in Boulder, teaches yoga, meditation and peacemaker classes at the Boulder County Jail.
Her organization also teaches classes on meditation at the Lookout Mountain Youth Services Center in Golden, Colo. The facility is Colorado’s only long-term maximum-security correctional facility for boys.
It took a couple years to convince corrections officials that Prison Dharma Network could be of some help at Lookout, Miss Crisp said. She said the youths at Lookout, who range in age from 14 to 21, “have never experienced anything like meditation in their lives.”
“They’ve always been worried about ‘Who’s going to get me? Who’s going to shoot me?’ Now it’s ‘Oh my God, there’s a place where I can relax. I have a choice.’ It slows them down from the constant pounding in their heads,” she said.
Kalen McAllister, director of Inside Dharma, a Buddhist organization in St. Louis that offers support to prisoners and recent parolees, makes visits to five eastern Missouri prisons. Her group is hoping to add all 23 Missouri prisons to its list of volunteer visit sites.
“We’re not judgmental,” said Miss McAllister, who allows anyone who expresses interest to take part in her sessions, which include prayer, discussion and meditation.
“For a while we had four Sufis, and we called them Su-Bu’s,” she said. “Then we had a Jewish man, we called him a Jew-Bu and then a Wiccan came to class and we called him a Wi-Bu.”
Buddhism has no centralized authority, and its practices vary greatly worldwide, although meditation is a common ritual. The exact number of U.S. Buddhists is not known. However, the population grew significantly after the United States eased immigration rules in 1965, admitting millions of Asians. American interest in the faith spiked during youth rebellions of the same period, drawing many more followers who remain active today.
Buddhist Scott Whitney works as a staff prison chaplain in Washington state, ministering to people of all religions at the Stafford Creek Corrections Center in Aberdeen. While he has heard mostly positive feedback, he said some Christian inmates have questioned his faith.
“One of them said to me, ‘If you’re Buddhist, you don’t even believe in God the Father, so how can you be our chaplain?’ ” Mr. Whitney said.
Mikel Monnett runs Buddhist services at the Southeast Correctional Center in Charleston, Mo. He has been making the two-hour drive twice a month from his home in St. Louis for about two years, and says he has seen a lot of personal growth among the Buddhist inmates.
“They still get thrown into the hold, but it’ll be less often or not because they did something to somebody, but rather because someone did something to them,” Mr. Monnett said of the inmates he teaches.
“They’re learning about this gap, this freedom to decide whether or not to act.”
Tony Farnan, 41, a former inmate, said Buddhism “has basically saved my life.”
His route to the tradition began in 1999, during his third trip back to prison. Serving time for drug possession and burglary, he picked a fight with a young inmate, then was overcome with remorse.
“I thought, “What I want to do is, I want to be a man of honor and integrity, most of all,’ ” said Mr. Farnan, who at the time was sporting a swastika tattoo and another that said “White Trash” across his back.
Mr. Farnan, who had learned meditation while studying martial arts, began meditating and reading books on philosophy and Buddhism. He was eventually moved to a prison where a Buddhist group met regularly.
Mr. Farnan, who cares for his 95-year-old grandfather, makes a living repairing foundations. He’s spent thousands of dollars covering up his tattoos.
“I decided if I really believe what I’m doing,” Mr. Farnan said, “then I have to change everything, including that.”
Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2006/nov/24/20061124-105912-3506r/#ixzz2b0kWF94u
Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter
“Then word got around that that I was doing this,” Mr. Stanford said, “and I started getting calls from prison chaplains around here telling me they had Buddhist inmates interested in getting groups going.”
Now Mr. Stanford serves four prisons — the Lansing Correctional Center, the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks in Leavenworth, and two state prisons in Missouri. He’s on the road two days a week, most days serving groups of about 10 men at each prison.
He is among a quietly growing number of Buddhist teachers working in U.S. prisons, tending to inmates who had been raised Buddhist or who discovered the ancient faith later, many while incarcerated. U.S. prisons are also offering meditation and yoga for their general populations.
The Prison Dharma Network in Boulder, Colo., leads yoga and meditation and also sends books and correspondence to inmates nationwide. The Buddhist Peace Fellowship in Berkeley, Calif., has meditation, yoga and journal-writing programs in several California prisons, and the National Buddhist Prison Sangha in Mount Tremper, N.Y., has been supporting prison inmates since 1984 with visits, letters and reading material.
Kate Crisp, executive director of the Prison Dharma Network in Boulder, teaches yoga, meditation and peacemaker classes at the Boulder County Jail.
Her organization also teaches classes on meditation at the Lookout Mountain Youth Services Center in Golden, Colo. The facility is Colorado’s only long-term maximum-security correctional facility for boys.
It took a couple years to convince corrections officials that Prison Dharma Network could be of some help at Lookout, Miss Crisp said. She said the youths at Lookout, who range in age from 14 to 21, “have never experienced anything like meditation in their lives.”
“They’ve always been worried about ‘Who’s going to get me? Who’s going to shoot me?’ Now it’s ‘Oh my God, there’s a place where I can relax. I have a choice.’ It slows them down from the constant pounding in their heads,” she said.
Kalen McAllister, director of Inside Dharma, a Buddhist organization in St. Louis that offers support to prisoners and recent parolees, makes visits to five eastern Missouri prisons. Her group is hoping to add all 23 Missouri prisons to its list of volunteer visit sites.
“We’re not judgmental,” said Miss McAllister, who allows anyone who expresses interest to take part in her sessions, which include prayer, discussion and meditation.
“For a while we had four Sufis, and we called them Su-Bu’s,” she said. “Then we had a Jewish man, we called him a Jew-Bu and then a Wiccan came to class and we called him a Wi-Bu.”
Buddhism has no centralized authority, and its practices vary greatly worldwide, although meditation is a common ritual. The exact number of U.S. Buddhists is not known. However, the population grew significantly after the United States eased immigration rules in 1965, admitting millions of Asians. American interest in the faith spiked during youth rebellions of the same period, drawing many more followers who remain active today.
Buddhist Scott Whitney works as a staff prison chaplain in Washington state, ministering to people of all religions at the Stafford Creek Corrections Center in Aberdeen. While he has heard mostly positive feedback, he said some Christian inmates have questioned his faith.
“One of them said to me, ‘If you’re Buddhist, you don’t even believe in God the Father, so how can you be our chaplain?’ ” Mr. Whitney said.
Mikel Monnett runs Buddhist services at the Southeast Correctional Center in Charleston, Mo. He has been making the two-hour drive twice a month from his home in St. Louis for about two years, and says he has seen a lot of personal growth among the Buddhist inmates.
“They still get thrown into the hold, but it’ll be less often or not because they did something to somebody, but rather because someone did something to them,” Mr. Monnett said of the inmates he teaches.
“They’re learning about this gap, this freedom to decide whether or not to act.”
Tony Farnan, 41, a former inmate, said Buddhism “has basically saved my life.”
His route to the tradition began in 1999, during his third trip back to prison. Serving time for drug possession and burglary, he picked a fight with a young inmate, then was overcome with remorse.
“I thought, “What I want to do is, I want to be a man of honor and integrity, most of all,’ ” said Mr. Farnan, who at the time was sporting a swastika tattoo and another that said “White Trash” across his back.
Mr. Farnan, who had learned meditation while studying martial arts, began meditating and reading books on philosophy and Buddhism. He was eventually moved to a prison where a Buddhist group met regularly.
Mr. Farnan, who cares for his 95-year-old grandfather, makes a living repairing foundations. He’s spent thousands of dollars covering up his tattoos.
“I decided if I really believe what I’m doing,” Mr. Farnan said, “then I have to change everything, including that.”
Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2006/nov/24/20061124-105912-3506r/#ixzz2b0kWF94u
Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter