Archive for 2015

In Hong Kong pet owners brought their pets to take refuge in the Three Treasures and receive blessings. The happy owners, their friends, and some of the animals are shown above. Twenty dogs, eight cats, two birds, and four turtles received the refuge vows and came forward with their owners and handlers to receive a sprinkling and a Vajra-Bodhi Pill to help develop their affinity for the Dharma and be able to continue to listen to the Dharma in their ...

Zhaxi Zhuoma Rinpoche gave the refuge vows to 22 new students on December 11 and conducted two one-day meditation retreats at the Good Fortune & Wisdom Charity Fund on December 12 & 13 and also held interviews and transmitted dharma on those days and the day after. This included a special refuge ceremony held for the Liberation of the Animals where people brought their pets to take refuge and receive blessings that was held on Monday evening, December 14.

This was the ...

One of the reasons for going to Thailand was to experience what it was like to live in a Buddhist country–something you felt from the moment you arrived at the airport.

There were the uniquely Thai temples everywhere. Some small, but many very large magical structures. From rinpoche’s room on the fourth floor at the Salathum Retreat Center north of Bangkok, seven giant temple complexes could be seen along the river. We were there during the King’s birthday and the place was unusually ...

The last day of the Thai retreat included a trip to the Buddhamonthon (Buddhist Mandala), a park devoted to Buddhism and a gift of the king to his subjects. It was dedicated in 1957 to commemorate the birthday of Shakyamuni Buddha who was born approximately 2,500 years earlier. The entrance is graced with the beautiful 57 foot statue shown above and believed to be the tallest free standing statue of Shakyamuni Buddha in the world. It is a popular place ...

One attendee wrote: “Our 2015 retreat in Thailand was in a very special setting on the banks of the Chao Phraya River north of Bangkok. How wonderful it was to practice and listen to the dharma in this place of abundance and jewel-like beauty. Birds, fish, butterflies, lotus ponds and green woods of coconut, banana and bamboo lent an air of ease and serenity to our dharma practice, while the river almost literally carried away the worries and pressures of ...

The addition to the temple that will house the accessible rest rooms is under way. Today the tresses arrived and Charlie’s crew quickly removed the stucco from the outside wall of the temple and quickly framed out the roof. By the end of the day the roof was enclosed.

Bhikkhu Gunaratana visited the Mahaweli Maha Seya, a stupa under construction in Kotmale, Sri Lanka, and sent us these photos. Kotmale is in a tea growing area in the central province of the island. The very large stupa is hollow with a smaller stupa inside. It will be used as a meditation center when finished. Sri Lanka has a long tradition of building these very large stupas, some dating to the second century BCE. This one is being built by ...

Bhikkhu Gunaratana visited Lumbini in Nepal just before the big quake hit Nepal in April. He found that Buddhist from many parts of the world were erecting temples, monasteries, and stupas to commemorate the place where Shakyamuni Buddha was born including the one above of the United Tungram Monastery that was built by Nepal. Here are a few of the photos he sent back from his visit of these offerings from Cambodia, Austria, Japan, Germany, Burma, and China. Bhikkhu can also ...

Loquat, another of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III’s recent paintings has been sold in New York City at the Gianguan Auctions on September 12, 2015, for US$10,200,000.  Experts have commented, “H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha’s painting is charismatic and unfathomable, the brush strokes are miraculous and with infinite charm. ‘Loquat’ is a remarkable painting. A few strokes is able to express a broad view of great insight. The movement is lyrical and elegant; simple and tranquil.”

H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III inscribes on the painting, “A mere few strokes and ink tones achieve ...

Disciple Bhikkhu Gunaratana, who is spending the year studying in Sri Lanka and Nepal, reports on the annual ancient Buddhist festival honoring the Tooth Relic held in Kandy, Sri Lanka. For his complete report go to the Xuanfa Institute website and to see more photos of the Temple of the Tooth and Kandy, go to Flickr.