Narendra Modi has been re-elected as prime minister of India in a landslide, with the BJP winning sweeping victories across the states. Perhaps the Hindu gods smiled upon him, rewarding his party’s fierce Hindu nationalism. He should also pleased that the Buddha, or at least the Buddhist acolytes and spokespeople Modi appealed to for the […]
india
Simon Hui’s Mindful Studio for Life
Simon Hui is founder of Mindful Studio HK, a yoga studio offering courses to seekers of physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing. Try imagining someone born in Hong Kong who grew up in Nigeria, was educated in the US, learned yoga in India, and ordained as a monk in Myanmar. That is my continuously unfolding adventure, and […]
Dharamshala’s Cafe129: A Haven of Indo-Korean-Tibetan Friendship
Although I’ve visited India several times, I’ve never been to Dharamshala before. This cramped but beautiful city, which shot to international fame as a community for Tibetans, is home to a cozy new café called Café129. This beautiful establishment is under the stewardship of journalist-turned-restaurateur Yeonsuk Ka, who in the short span of less than […]
The Image of Sarasvati in Buddhist Art
White Sarasvati, mural at the Namdroling Monastery in South India. Image courtesy of the author Sarasvati (Tib. yang chenma) is the goddess of knowledge, education, music, poetry, and culture. Her name can be found in the Vedic hymns. In these ancient Indian texts, she is worshiped as the divine power of ritual chants and sacrificial […]
Dalits: A Community Excluded from the Common Good
By Sangita Bauddh The word dalit is an Indian Hindi word that represents a unique class of Indian society with few parallels in any other social system. Dalit means “depressed class,” which included scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, and other backwards classes in British India but now includes only scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. Caste is […]
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 […]
Marichi, Goddess of the Dawn
Marichi. From theyoginiproject.org Marichi (from Sanskrit “ray of light”) is the Goddess of the Dawn, who is revered in the Buddhist tradition as a heavenly warrior and powerful protector. Her name in Tibetan is Oser Chenma, which means “Goddess of the Great Light.” Marichi protects human beings from physical dangers and harm, sudden death, thieves, […]
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, […]
Shortcomings and Spiritual Renewal
In the March of 2017, during a conference trip to Nalanda in India (the old site of this long-lost seat of Buddhist learning is particularly dusty during this time of year), I came down with a terrible hacking cough. I remember my diaphragm aching with each breath I took, even as I felt the overwhelming […]
Dharma Dispatch, 17-21 September 2018: Mindfulness in Kenyan Prisons, Vietnamese Reconciliation, and Maharashtra Development
Good morning! Naivasha GK, Kenya’s largest maximum-security prison located just north of the capital Nairobi, is using a mindfulness training program to control violence and bring inmates and guards closer together. Dr. Inmaculada Adarves-Yorno, a lecturer in leadership studies at Britain’s University of Exeter, introduced the idea to the prison’s management. The mindfulness program seeks to improve prison culture […]