Dr. Jon Kolkin’s photographic volume Inner Harmony: Living in Balance exudes creative ambition and heart. A cursory look at the time it took for him to compile this collection of images – seventeen extended visits to Asia from 2007 to 2018 – attests to the time, patience, and toil that the distinguished and globe-trotting creator […]
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Buddhism in International Relations: The Sino-Indian Relationship
This series on Buddhism and international relations by Durgesh Kasbekar is a modified series from an essay “Buddhism in International Relations” by the same author. International relations and global politics are often absent from reflections about Buddhism in academia. This series aims to provide a small corrective and highlight how Buddhism affects and is affected by […]
On Not Taking Sides
It has been heartbreaking to watch my adopted city tearing itself apart and becoming awash with anger and hatred. The events that have led to this are well known both in Hong Kong and around the world and I am not going to rehearse them here. I did in fact sketch my own narrative of […]
Mongolia’s Buddhist Diplomacy and India’s Union of Religious and Foreign Policy
The Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF), along with Indian, Japanese, and Mongolian partners, hosted its third Samvad (which, in Hindi, means “dialogue”) conference in Ulaanbaatar over last Friday and the weekend. As reported in BDG’s news article on the conclave, Mongolian political and religious leaders took this event very seriously. In his closing speech on the […]
A Time Before Teachers
No one was there to show them how to tie a knot orsew a pelt. They just learned how to do it. No cave bear could teach them how to survive amongcave bears. They just did. Somehow they learned. In the age of ice, no one was there to show themhow to catch fish or cut wood into tools. They just […]
The Shuilu Fahui at Tung Lin Kok Yuen Canada Society
The 25th anniversary of Tung Lin Kok Yuen Canada Society (TLKY CS) in Vancouver was marked by the shuilu fahui ritual last month. It is so grand and taxing that not every temple can host it. Those that do, commit considerable time and resources of both a financial and human nature to ensure this ritual’s […]
Bodhgaya International Theravada Bhikkhuni Ordination January 2019
Fully accepted, fully ordained. New bhikkhunis with their teachers, preceptors and their ordaining Dual Sangha upon the completion of two full days of bhikkhuni ordinations. Photo courtesy of Kanjana Suthikul By Ven. Tathaloka Theri Sukha Sanghassa Samaggi—“Happy is the Harmony of the Sangha” [1] Buddhagaya, the site of the Buddha’s Great Awakening or Maha Bodhi, is […]
Let the Lotus Bloom Forth: Buddhism in India
2019 marked the 70th anniversary of the promulgation of India’s constitution: itself a complex and multilayered story in which Buddhism is interwoven. This year’s reception bid farewell to Mr. Puneet Agrawal as India’s consul-general in Hong Kong and Macau. Buddhistdoor Global first began collaborating on Buddhist projects with his predecessor. Under Shri Puneet Agrawal’s consulship, […]
In Praise of the Monastic Experience, a Taste of Chinese Buddhism
In July I read the account of a philosopher spending time at the famous Trappist monastery called the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky. This is the place where Thomas Merton lived for a while in the 1960s. Reflecting on the beauty and simplicity of monastic vocation, the philosopher wondered, “why do so few people choose […]
China’s Harmony and Freedom from Fear
Amid the turmoil and scandal of the contemporary political world, many eyes are turning toward China as a natural counterbalance to the stumbling United States. The continued growth, both internally and externally in influence, trade, new ports and infrastructure around the world should give pause to any China skeptics still remaining out there. The political […]