religion « Truth Is Within

Buddhist Monk Says He’s Harmless (Letter to Moorpark Acorn)

The following letter was printed in today’s issue of the Moorpark Acorn, without the “Dear Citizens of Moorpark,”. Instead, there is seen the heading “Buddhist Monk Says He’s Harmless”.

Dear Citizens of Moorpark,

I am writing to introduce myself as a new resident of your city. I am a Buddhist monk and I teach [...]

Another Small Piece of Heaven – Asalha Puja

After the hit that was this year’s Visakha Puja celebration, I wouldn’t have thought we could manage to pull it off again. In another amazing feat of determination and perseverence, we managed as a group to pull off another makeshift Buddhist celebration to rival any I’ve seen. Maybe I just like the small nature [...]

Asalha Puja at Moorpark

Dear friends, I apologize for the late announcement; I’ve been a bit preoccupied lately. Today we will be celebrating the Buddha’s first teaching a day early, since today is Sunday and we hope more people will be able to come today than tomorrow. Please join us at 8 PM on this Sunday, July 25th [...]

Monk’s Life In A Day

Today I got sidetracked into taking part in “Life In A Day“, via YouTube. I’ve been filming since 12:01 AM and have gone through most of the following list already (the four questions are part of the requirements, not something I thought up):

• 12 AM – Pre-day – thoughts, reasons, intentions • 4 [...]

Jail Monk, Part Two

This Wednesday, July 7th, 5 PM, at the Los Angeles Metropolitan Detention Center, see the monk go back to jail.

I’m volunteering with Religious Services at the Federal Detention Center in downtown LA. Not quite sure what I’ve gotten myself into, but thinking back over the mental anguish of imprisonment, a once-a-week chaplaincy [...]

Meditation in Thailand

Here’s a list sent graciously by the Vice-President of the Tourism Authority of Thailand at an off-hand request. Maybe it will be of some use to someone, somewhere, looking for something. (PDF version here)

Meditation in Thailand :

International Buddhist Meditation Centre (IBMC)

Dhamma Wichaya Hall, Wat Maha That, Tha Prachan, Bangkok [...]

Thirty-Something, or Nine on the Ninth

Here’s pictures of today; it was a grand day, made possible only by the concerted efforts of a number of very kind people; thanks to everyone for making this day one for the books. We hit nine monasteries in about ten hours, leaving cast-off robes for the monks at each place we visited – [...]

Temple or Monastery

A word on some of what has happened recently. I imagine news of the nature of my thoughts on this weblog has garnered me some new and unexpected audience members, hungry for at the least an explanation of the events leading up to what became an unfortunate misunderstanding between myself and a certain group of fellow human beings. I am sorry to say I will not satiate this desire; sorry only in the sense that one might wish to do one’s best to oblige the thirsts of others. But this story will have to lay unwritten. I was asked, ordered even, to at the very least post a revised version of my thoughts on the proper role of a Buddhist monastery in regards to the rest of human society and the proper every day attitude, behaviour and comportment of a Buddhist monk; revised, that is, from a recent post I put up briefly and quickly took down, though not quick enough.
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The Buddhism of Bill Maher

‘Brethren, if outsiders should speak against me, or against my teaching, or against my disciples, you should not on that account either bear malice, or suffer heart-burning, or feel ill-will. If you, on that account, should be angry and hurt, that would stand in the way of your own self-conquest. If, when others speak against us, you feel angry at that, and displeased, would you then be able to judge how far that speech of theirs is well said or ill?’

‘That would not be so, Sir.’

‘But when outsiders speak in dispraise of me, or of my teaching, or of my disciples, you should unravel what is false and point it out as wrong, saying: “For this or that reason this is not the fact, that is not so, such a thing is not found among us, is not in us.”

- DN 1 (Brahmajala Sutta)

I was recently alerted via twitter to a Bill Maher article in which he does some pretty serious Buddhism-bashing. The alert came from this Buddhist blog, in the form of an open letter to Mr. Maher. I think the letter was quite well written, but not exactly how I would address this issue.
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Tiger Woods Was Buddhist

Great to hear, though I’m a bit skeptical… I’ve quoted him before as saying he didn’t believe it humanly possible to follow the Buddha’s path, which is perhaps the reason he fell off it in the first place? Anyway, here’s the quote of the day:

Part of following this path for me is Buddhism, [...]

Truth Is Within