Today, the 14th, marks Buddha Purnima in Mongolia and a symbolic milestone in Buddhist-influenced Indo-Mongolian relations. Two days ago, Minister of Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju led a 25-member delegation to Ulaanbaatar, meeting Khamba Lama Gabju Choijamts Demberel, the most senior Buddhist leader in the country. Accompanying the delegation was a quartet of relics of the […]
Vajrayana
From Chu’s Gallery to Oneness: Rebirth of an Art Icon in Central
Images by Lai Chun Hei Standing for 27 years on Hong Kong’s Hollywood Road is a gallery owned by a family for over two generations: Chu’s Gallery. It is an art dealer that contributed to the cultural development of Central district’s emergence as an art hub distinct from Central’s financial and professional emphases. Chu’s Gallery was […]
The Tibetan Buddhist Encyclopedia: A Cause Worth Supporting
For years, the Swedish-born monk Vello Väärtnou has toiled on two core projects: the opening of a Buddhist Studies institute in Sweden and an online Tibetan Buddhist Encyclopedia. It brings together Tibetan, Chinese, Sanskrit, and Pali terms in a collection of approximately 81,700 entries explaining the terminology and discourse of Vajrayana Buddhism. I have known him […]
Answering the Conch Shell’s Call: Schooling and the Religious Life
This is the second instalment of Life Religiously Lived, a biography of Choje Lama. We opened with the birth circumstances of the boy then-known as Wangchuk Topden, and in this chapter we look at how his school years shaped his life in preparation for his growing religious vocation. * Each human life is an open […]
Life Religiously Lived: A Biography of Choje Lama
Preface This series of articles belongs to a biography I am writing of Choje Lama Wangchuk Topden. Formally, “Choje Lama” is a rare title bestowed upon him by His Holiness the Karmapa, and he has been given the task of realizing Ven. Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche’s vision for the monastic community of the Vajrayana Kagyu school. It […]
The Bodhi Stupa in Gelephu, Bhutan: A To-Be-Completed Structure of Beauty and Compassion
Stupa projects are often initiated by an aspiration or prophecy. A modern-day example of this is in Gelephu, a town (thromde) in Sarpang District, southern Bhutan. It shares a border with India, and one can cross into Bhutan here through Assam. It is a hub for Indo-Bhutanese trade, with a pleasant, moderate climate and rainy […]
Announcement: The Practice of 21 Tara, with Khenchen Tsewang Gyatso Rinpoche
Yayasan Pema Norbu Vihara (YPNV) is delighted to invite you to a precious teaching on the practice of the 21 Tara. This teaching is being given one of the most senior Buddhist luminaries of the Nyingma tradition and the Palyul Lineage, Khenchen Tsewang Gyatso Rinpoche. During this Zoom event, attendees have the precious opportunity to […]
The TLKY International Conference 2021 Interview Series – Dr. Georgios T. Halkias
Welcome to our series of conversations with participating speakers at this year’s Tung Lin Kok Yuen International Conference – Buddhist Canons: In Search of a Theoretical Foundation for a Wisdom-oriented Education (27–28 November 2021). In each blog post, I speak with keynote speakers and paper presenters about their subject at this conference. Register for this […]
“The Extraordinary Life of His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama: An Illuminated Journey”
“As I have often said, I am a simple Buddhist monk. Nothing more, nothing less.” This is a famous catchphrase by His Holiness, which had it been from the lips of anyone less than a holy figure, would probably have turned into a meme on social media a long time ago. In more world-weary eyes, […]
Women in Indian Tantric Buddhism, Part Two
Dombipa and Dombi Yogini. Drawing by the author Tantric women who are mentioned in the biographies of the great mahasiddhas as their spiritual wives or teachers share their spiritual achievement. Among them are the female partners of Dombipa, Ganthapa, Babhaha, Karbaripa, Saraha, Tilopa, Naropa, Marpa, Maitripa and others. Dombi Yogini. Drawing by the author