Buddhist Culture in Japan

By Sona Kanti Barua

Buddhist Culture in Japan

There are thirteen Buddhist sects in Japan. They are: The Kegon (the Avatamsaka school), the Ritsh (the Vinaya school), the Hosso (the Dharma – Laksna school), the Tendai, the Shingon (Tantric Buddhism of Charyapada, Bangladesh), the Jodo, the Jodo – shin, the Yuzunenbutsu, the Ji, the Rinzai, there were three others, namely, the Sanron (the Three sastra school of Madhyamika), the Kusha (the Abhidharma kosa school) and Zen Buddhism or the Jojitsu (the Satyasiddhi sastra school), they are more or less extinct and have little independent influence.  Chinese Buddhist sects are sources of Japanese Buddhist sects.  Tantric Buddhism (Sahajiya Buddhism of Charyapada) was founded by Great monk Kukai (774 to 835) who was the founder of modern Japanese alphabets. 

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Conversion of Yasa and 54 friends

Conversion 

Monks reading and checking things that have been destroyed

At Benares, there was a millionaire’s son named Yasa who had abundant material wealth. One night, he fell asleep during a musical performance by his female dancers and musicians. He woke up in the early hours of the morning to the sight of his sleeping performers in unbecoming postures. The entire scene before him was one that resembled that in a cemetery. He left home feeling distressed and oppressed and walked in the direction of Isipatana, where Buddha was residing. When Yasa moaned his distress upon seeing the Buddha, He assured Yasa that there was neither distress nor oppression there.

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8 Kinds of Ordination

1.  ‘Ehi Bhikkhu……’    ‘Come, O monks….’

Monks going to Als-Round

This was the first kind of ordination. After listening to the discourse, any matured person who was convinced of the Dhamma, could be ordained by the Buddha in this manner. Buddha stretched his right palm and say Ehi Bhikkhu and the man would be accepted into the order. He would don his robe and shaved his head. This ordination became higher ordination at the same time. Today the tradition is different as both ordination and higher ordination are on 2 occasions. (Pabbajjan is ordination, i.e. entrance to the order. Upasampada is higher ordination.) 

Tihi Sarana gamana pabbajja

Tihi Sarana gamana pabbajja

Initially, only Buddha could ordain monks. This became time and energy consuming. Buddha then said to his monks “O monks, I advise you to give ordination and higher ordination wherever you are. Today, I’m going to share with you the ordination process. From today onwards, you will be able to ordain others.” Ordination process introduced by Buddha: - where the monks take refuge in Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha.

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Jamat Misuses Islam in Bangladesh

Author: Sona Kanti Barua

Muslims fundamentalists (Taliaban, Al-quida, Mujaheedin etc) copied violence from the Brahmin and Hindu fundamentalists and let us see what happens in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. Pakistan, Bangladesh and India’s minority and peace loving Muslim people are appealing to the world conscience, world mass media and the United Nations for security in their homelands. The Jamaitul Mujahideen group calls for the establishment of an Islamic caliphate in Bangladesh while nation’s worst fears came true when the nation stood terrorized as set of off 400 bombs on August 17, 2005. So, Al – Qaeda Group suspect in Bali and Bangladesh Terror explosion. Buddhists all over the world have been shocked in January 1985 upon reading the news of the outrage at Borobudur Bombing in Indonesia.  Al-Qaeda and Taliban regimes destroyed two historic Great Buddha statues: one measuring 53 metres and the second one 48 metres in central Bamiyan province of Afghanistan in February 2001. So the 9/11 of the U.S.A. did not come without warning. Several of decades old Bangladesh state-sponsored campaign of blatant discrimination and barbaric atrocities against Bangladesh’s religious and ethnic minorities turned into one of religious and ethnic cleansing or genocide. Great poet Rabindranath Tagore encouraged us, “Fear not comes the message the direction of the rising Sun, those that will give life to the last throb; will diminish not, never.” But Holy Qur’an declared, “You can not abuse other religion. (6 : 106)” Even the Qur’an warned, “No religious place should be demolished.(22 : 38).” During the 10^th and 11^th centuries, Buddhism in South Asia was eclipsed by Islamic invaders.

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Happy Vesākha Puja Day 2013/2256

Happy Vesākha Puja Day 2013/2256
The Birth, The Enlightenment and the Demise

Vesākha, Wesak or Vesak is a holy day observed traditionally by Buddhists in Tibet, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and the South East Asian countries of Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Sometimes informally called "Buddha's Birthday", it actually commemorates the birth, enlightenment (nirvāna), and pass away (Parinirvāna) of Gautama Buddha.

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The Birth of Prince Siddhartha Gautama

The Birth of Prince Siddhartha Gautama

The Birth of Prince Siddhartha Gautama

All God come to blessing 563 BCE: Siddhārtha Gautama, Buddha-to-be, is born in Lumbini into a leading royal family in the republic of the Shakyas, which is now part of Nepal.
The Buddha was born at Lumbini Garden.
After ten months, the moment for giving birth. Mahamaya was passing by the Lumbini Garden when, quick as a flesh of lightening, she grasped a branch of the laksha tree with her right hand. The child emerged from her right side, and Brahma and Indra descended to Earth to make offerings, wrapping him in a pure silk cloth. After the gods and nagas bathed him, the child took seven steps in each of the four directions. He became known as Siddhartha (the fulfiller of wishes) because he revealed many tresures at that time and fulfilled the wishes of his father. As his mother passed away seven days after his birth, the queen's sister brought up the prince with great affection and tenderness. He was surrounded by all kinds of luxuaries. Though still a child and attended in this fashion by the various kinds of sensory pleasure suitable to his age, yet in gravity, purity, thoughtfulness and dignity he was unlike a child. He received an all-round education. Being intelligent and eager to learn, the Prince became very good at studies and military skills. All the Brahmins and astrologers prophesied that if the child renounced the kingdom, he would become a Buddha; otherwise, he would become a universal monarch. One day a rishi called Krishna, along with his nephew, came to the kingdom for the Himalayas. King Suddhodana asked: "Why have you come here?" and the rishi replied: "Great king, I have come to see your son - the sage and liberator of sentient beings. I have to come and see. What kind of prediction have others made about him?" King Suddhodana replied: "He will become a wheel-turner king. The treasure of the teaching contains all the virtues. He will achieve Buddhahood, becoming victorious over all the faults. He will work for the welfare and happiness of mankind."

 

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My experiences from meditation retreat in Buddhamonthon 2009.

Introduction

On 17^th December I went to Buddhamonthon for ten days meditation retreat organized by the University Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya. 17^th was the first day so everyone was little busy with tend preparation and the opening ceremony. Then on 18^th was the second day and we all were busy meditating. There were three meditation teachers to show how to meditate in the proper ways, not only that there were three security gards as well, their names are as follows: Phra maha Doung dee, Phra maha Suriyo and Sridee. They were the monks to control the students up there. At first I was unable to sit still with all the problems that I faced up there but I sat still calmly. Because some of us were warned that we have to go back if we don’t change our tends immediately. So whenever we go to meditate we saw a monk checking our tends. So due this I was frightened that i will be suspended from there. Slowly slowly I made up my mind to try to meditate properly so that I can get rid of the fear.

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Define the terms:What is forgiveness? and Buddhist view points of forgiveness.

A: What is forgiveness?

Forgiveness is the process/willingness of concluding resentment, or let go of anger. Forgiveness means a form of realism. Forgiveness means an internal process. Forgiveness means a sign of positive self-esteem. Forgiveness means letting go of the past. Forgiveness means not want to punish those who hurt us.  Forgiveness means to move on. Two kinds of forgiveness: Divine Forgiveness, Human Forgiveness.

B: Buddhist view points of forgiveness.

Forgiveness is a central concept in Buddhism, and understanding forgiveness is essential to nirvana. Our general understanding of forgiveness is that we think the other party has done us some wrong in the first place, and we now want to forgive him for whatever reason. Forgiveness is part of the all-embracing practice of loving-kindness (metta), which stresses the importance of reconciliation in establishing harmony in the world, considering that all living beings are interconnected. Forgiveness is the understanding of the universal law of kamma; or the natural law of cause and effect. The idea of Karma is that all actions have consequences. We must always remain aware of this.

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Religion of Islam

Islamic Way of Life

By

Binoy

Introduction

The word "Islam" is an Arabic word which means "submission to the will of God". This word comes from the same root as the Arabic word "salam", which means "peace". As such, the religion of Islam teaches that in order to achieve true peace of mind and surety of heart, one must submit to God and live according to His Divinely revealed Law. The most important truth that God revealed to mankind is that there is nothing divine or worthy of being worshipped except for Almighty God, thus all human beings should submit to Him.

The word "Muslim" means one who submits to the will of God, regardless of their race, nationality or ethnic background. Being a Muslim entails willful submission and active obedience to God, and living in accordance with His message. Some people mistakenly believe that Islam is just a religion for Arabs, but nothing could be further from the truth. Not only are there converts to Islam in every corner of the world, especially in England and America, but by taking a look at the Muslim World from Bosnia to Nigeria, and from Indonesia to Morocco, one can clearly see that Muslims come from many various races, ethnic groups and nationalities. It is also interesting t[1]o note that in actuality, more than 80% of all Muslims are not Arabs - there are more Muslims in Indonesia than in the whole Arab World! So though even though it is true that most Arabs are Muslims, the large majority of Muslims are not Arabs. However, anyone who submits completely to God and worships Him alone is a Muslim. The numerous tragic events of the past few years, such as the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers in New York, Bali, Madrid and London, the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, the ongoing violence in those two countries and the attack on Lebanon, have created an interest in Islam generally, and more particularly in the phenomenon known as the ‘Islamic revival’.

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