Clipmarks | brobeckk's clips

The God debate in Buddhism

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 22:16:46 GMT

clipped by: brobeckk

Buddhists do believe in god

One of the points that I run into all the time is that Buddhism is a religion without god, that is it is an atheistic religion. I admit this assertion as an ideal or elite belief, but contend that the vast majority of the world's Buddhists are theists, so one can't simply present Buddhism as an atheistic religion when most Buddhists are not atheists. I do tend to agree that Western converts to Buddhism are often atheists, and that's one reason Westerners view it as atheistic religion since the Buddhists they are most likely to know are not ethnically Asian ones. The US Religious Landscape Survey actually has some questions which assess the beliefs of American Buddhists.

The 17th Karmapa is in the U.S.

Fri, 16 May 2008 21:12:50 GMT

clipped by: brobeckk

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Young Spiritual Leader Arrives in New York, Ready to Teach and Be Taught

The 22-year-old living Buddha seemed joyfully aware to feel no jet lag whatsoever. So far. “Maybe tonight,” he said in English on Thursday. “But not yet.” He had just arrived at a Midtown hotel with his security detail after a 14-hour flight from New Delhi to Newark.

“It is the first time I’ve ever visited the United States, and it’s a bit like a dream,” said His Holiness, the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa Ugyen Trinley Dorje, one of the most important leaders in Tibetan Buddhism.

Despite his youth, he is revered by followers as a master teacher, and on Thursday he began his whirlwind tour of the United States, an 18-day visit to New York, New Jersey, Boulder, Colo., and Seattle.

Yes, he is that Karmapa: the young master who made headlines across the world at age 14 with his daring escape from China to India across the Himalayas in 1999.

UN Vesak celebration

Wed, 14 May 2008 15:40:43 GMT

clipped by: brobeckk

Clip Source: digital-dharma.net

UN Vesak celebrations begin in Hanoi

The much awaited United Nations Day of Vesak celebrations in Vietnam which began today were an amazing spectacle of religious and ritual festivity at Hanoi, with thousands of Buddhists from the world over gathering at the Capital’s National Convention Center to spread Buddha’s message of peace, love and harmony.

Over 600 Buddhist delegations consisting of about 5,000 representatives from 90 countries will meet during the three-day Conference, the biggest ever Buddhist international event in Buddhism’s over 2000 year’s long history in Vietnam.

Buddhist monks in Burma aid cyclone victims

Tue, 13 May 2008 15:57:29 GMT

clipped by: brobeckk

Clip Source: www.msnbc.msn.com

Monks back on front line to aid cyclone victims

But they say military is curbing their efforts, even as it fails to deliver aid

KYI BUI KHAW, Myanmar - The saffron-robed monks who spearheaded a bloody uprising last fall against Myanmar's military rulers are back on the front lines, this time providing food, shelter and spiritual solace to cyclone victims.

The military regime has moved to curb the Buddhist clerics' efforts, even as it fails to deliver adequate aid itself. Authorities have given some monasteries deadlines to clear out refugees, many of whom have no homes to return to, monks and survivors say.

"In the past I used to give donations to the monks. But now it's the other way around. It's the monks helping us," said Aung Khaw, a 38-year-old construction worker who took his wife and young daughter to a monastery in the Yangon suburb of Hlaingtharyar after the roof of his flimsy house was blown away and its bamboo walls collapsed.

For those concerned about Burma

Wed, 07 May 2008 17:49:24 GMT

clipped by: brobeckk
clipper's remarks: The NYTimes has published a short list of agencies planning on contribution to disaster relief.

Clip Source: thelede.blogs.nytimes.com

Myanmar Disaster Relief: How to Contribute

By Robert Mackey

For readers interested in contributing to help victims of the cyclone in Myanmar, here is an alphabetical list of contact information and links for some agencies that plan to provide relief. The New York Times does not certify the charities’ fund allocations or administrative costs. More information about giving, for this and other causes, is available online from the GuideStar database on nonprofit agencies.

In Buddhist news

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 14:21:40 GMT

clipped by: brobeckk

Clip Source: www.washingtonpost.com

For 'Dharma Indexes,' Firms' Conduct Matters

Dow Jones has launched "dharma indexes" to track the stocks of companies that observe the values of dharma-based religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism.

The Dow Jones Dharma Indexes are the first to measure dharma-compliant stocks and now track more than 3,400 companies globally, including about 1,000 in the United States, according to the company. In addition to the global index, Dow Jones has created dharma indexes for the United States, Britain, Japan and India.

Dharma Investments, a private faith-based Indian firm, partnered with Dow Jones to create the indexes.

Advisory committees of religious leaders and scholars will screen and monitor companies' policies on the environment, corporate governance, labor relations and human rights, among other criteria. Companies from business sectors deemed un-dharmic, such as weapons manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, casinos and alcohol, are barred from the index.