"Saman Deviyo, who was present, appealed to the Buddha to leave behind a memento which they could venerate after the Buddha departed. The Buddha obliged by giving a few locks of hair (Kesa Dhatu) which were then deposited in a gold casket and enshrined in a stupa — the first to be built in Sri… Continue reading BUDDHA’S HAIR RELIC STUPA AND FIRST ‘PEACE MISSION’ TRIP TO MAHIYANGANAYA, SRI LANKA: Mahiyangayana (flat-land) ‘hair relic’ stupa, the eighteen hair-pin bend road from Kandy, ancient Bodhi tree, and tallest standing Buddha on the island (Sri Lanka Pilgrimage IV)
Month: March 2024
THE OLDEST BUDDHIST CAVES COMPLEX IN SRI LANKA: Great King Caves of Dambulla (Sri Lanka pilgrimage III)
The next place I visited on my Buddhist pilgrimage in Sri Lanka was the Dambulla Cave monastery complex (Sinhala: Dam̆būlla Raja Maha Vihāraya), also known as the Golden Temple of Dambulla, situated in central Sri Lanka. Like Kelaniya, and the tooth relic temple in Kandy, the caves also have UNESCO world heritage site status (1991):… Continue reading THE OLDEST BUDDHIST CAVES COMPLEX IN SRI LANKA: Great King Caves of Dambulla (Sri Lanka pilgrimage III)
BUDDHIST TEACHINGS ON NOT EATING SLAUGHTERED ANIMALS IN THE HINAYĀNA, MAHAYĀNA AND VAJRAYĀNA
There is a common, yet gross misunderstanding among many Buddhists (and non-Buddhists) that Shakyamuni Buddha taught that people could eat slaughtered animals for health reasons and/or that as long as you don't personally kill the animal then it has no karmic negativity in buying and consuming it. This is not correct. As I explore here… Continue reading BUDDHIST TEACHINGS ON NOT EATING SLAUGHTERED ANIMALS IN THE HINAYĀNA, MAHAYĀNA AND VAJRAYĀNA
Understanding Key Buddhist Terms I: New online course (April 2024)
Ever wanted to know what some of the most common and key Tibetan words found in Buddhist sadhanas, aspirations and philosophy texts are and why? Now is your chance! Following on from the Reading the Heart Sutra and Learning to Read Tibetan class for Beginners I, I am delighted to offer a new course (for… Continue reading Understanding Key Buddhist Terms I: New online course (April 2024)
THE SWEET SACRED TOOTH OF KANDY: Buddha’s tooth relic temple in Kandy, Nàtha Devàla the oldest building and Bodhi Buddha statue (Sri Lanka Pilgrimage II)
In the second part of a series of' Buddhist pilgrim 'travelogues' in Sri Lanka, here is one about my trip to visit the sacred Buddha's tooth relic in the central city of Kandy and other Buddhist statues and sites nearby. I spent most of my one month in Sri Lanka, in Kandy as the base… Continue reading THE SWEET SACRED TOOTH OF KANDY: Buddha’s tooth relic temple in Kandy, Nàtha Devàla the oldest building and Bodhi Buddha statue (Sri Lanka Pilgrimage II)
THE AUTHENTIC ROOTS AND FRUITS OF THE KĀLACAKRA TANTRA AND ITS AUTHOR MAHASIDDHA NĀROPA: Interview with Niraj Kumar (Dakini Conversations, Ep.7)
"Kālacakra is infatuated with machines [and numbers]....the goal of Kālacakra is to have a machine-like personality, where there is a cessation of the flow of karma, machines do not expect fruits from their work...We can thus see that before the likes of Da Vinci and Descartes in Europe, a mechanistic view of the human… Continue reading THE AUTHENTIC ROOTS AND FRUITS OF THE KĀLACAKRA TANTRA AND ITS AUTHOR MAHASIDDHA NĀROPA: Interview with Niraj Kumar (Dakini Conversations, Ep.7)
‘SOARING IN THE SKIES OF THE WORLD, THIS MAN, KARMAPA’: Translation of praise to 17th Gyalwang Karmapa composed by Karma Kagyu heart-son, 11th Pawo Rinpoche, used in a Tibetan song
"A ‘cool’ youth of TibetWith extended wings of ‘intelligence’Soaring in the skies of the world,This man, Karmapa." --verse from 11th Pawo Rinpoche's Praise 'This man, Karmapa' A few days ago I noticed that a Tibetan song for the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, using words of praise composed by the 11th Nenang Pawo Rinpoche himself, was posted… Continue reading ‘SOARING IN THE SKIES OF THE WORLD, THIS MAN, KARMAPA’: Translation of praise to 17th Gyalwang Karmapa composed by Karma Kagyu heart-son, 11th Pawo Rinpoche, used in a Tibetan song
THE PLACES BUDDHA VISITED IN SRI LANKA: KELANIYA (Sri Lanka pilgrimage I)
“The sins of a life time are all rendered null, once Kelaniya is worshiped, a single time." --Mahāvaṃsa text "The Mahāvaṃsa records that the original Stupa at Kelaniya enshrined a gem-studded throne on which the Buddha sat and preached. " During the past month of Saga Dawa (February 2024), especially during the first fifteen days… Continue reading THE PLACES BUDDHA VISITED IN SRI LANKA: KELANIYA (Sri Lanka pilgrimage I)
A LOTUS WISDOM WOMAN’S SONG OF SALEY-O: International Women’s Day, March 8 2024
"Well-behaved women seldom make history.” “At first, a smiling, divine man,In the middle, a black-faced demon,At the end, a bull ready to beat you.Thinking thus, melancholy arises.So, this girl shall practice divine Dharma, andBe a companion of vajra-sibling friends!"--excerpt from Saley O’s song to Milarepa “..not only are the Buddhist past and Western scholarship on Buddhism… Continue reading A LOTUS WISDOM WOMAN’S SONG OF SALEY-O: International Women’s Day, March 8 2024
SHOWER OF RIPPLES IN THE WHIRLING GREAT BLISS GORGE: New long-life aspiration for 90th Birthday of Khenchen Tsultrim Gyatso Rinpoche by 17th Gyalwang Karmapa with new English translation
"The buddhas surely do sing and dance.To sing and dance is surely profound practice.By practicing profound song and dance,We reach enlightenment—how amazing!" --Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, Buddhas Sing and Dance (2009) Introduction For Dakini Day today, here is my English translation (compiled together with the Tibetan original and phonetics) of a long-life praise and aspiration… Continue reading SHOWER OF RIPPLES IN THE WHIRLING GREAT BLISS GORGE: New long-life aspiration for 90th Birthday of Khenchen Tsultrim Gyatso Rinpoche by 17th Gyalwang Karmapa with new English translation