"Pāṇâtipāta: destruction of life，slaying，killing，murder.（pāṇātipātā veramaṇī，refraining from killing, the first of the dasasīla)." "These five precepts lead with good behavior to bliss, with good behavior to wealth and success, they lead with good behavior to happiness, therefore purify behavior." (Imāni pañca sikkhāpadāni. Sīlena sugatiṃ yanti, sīlena bhogasampadā, sīlena nibbutiṃ yanti, tasmā sīlaṃ visodhaye)." --closing words of… Continue reading The Five Main Buddhist Vows (I): Not Killing (Pāṇātipātā veramaṇī)
Month: October 2024
THE GELUGPA ‘ONE-WAY STREET’ SECTARIANISM: The misuse of ‘non-sectarian’ (Ri-mey) terminology to stifle dissent and critique, and defend Gelugpa Sectarianism and political and religious domination in Tibet, pre- and post-1959, in the name of ‘unity’
"Even though most followers of Genden [Gelug] by shunning alcohol, drugs and so on, makes them role models of the teachings. Yet, as most also see no faults in killing and maiming. Such hateful hostility is a huge enemy, so please be careful!" དགེ་ལྡན་པ་ཕལ་ཆེར་ཆང་ནག་སོགས་འཛེམ་པས་བསྟན་པའི་མིག་ལྟོས་ལེགས་ཀྱང༌། ཕལ་ཆེར་གསོད་གཅོད་ལྷུར་ལེན་པ་ལ་སྐྱོན་དུ་མི་ལྟ་བས། ཞེ་སྡང་འདི་དགྲ་ཆེ་བས་གཟབ་འཚལ། --Jigme Lingpa "A person who doesn’t know their lineage… Continue reading THE GELUGPA ‘ONE-WAY STREET’ SECTARIANISM: The misuse of ‘non-sectarian’ (Ri-mey) terminology to stifle dissent and critique, and defend Gelugpa Sectarianism and political and religious domination in Tibet, pre- and post-1959, in the name of ‘unity’
International Day of the Girl Child 2024: A Poetic Commemoration
"Let’s teach our daughters it’s not about being beautiful. Teach them to be bold. Be silly. Be strong. Be confident. Be independent and intelligent. Be brave and be fierce. Be real, in a world full of fake. Let’s redefine beauty." "We've begun to raise daughters more like sons... but few have the courage to raise… Continue reading International Day of the Girl Child 2024: A Poetic Commemoration
THE ANCIENT FOUR-WALLED CITY OF CHIANG MAI AND THE KAGYU MONLAM ‘JUMP SHIP’ CANCELLATION: History and background of the old city walls of Chiang Mai protecting locals to this day, sudden, inexplicable cancellation of Kagyu Monlam Thailand citing non-existent floods, and questionable ‘non-Buddhist’ conduct of the Chinese organisers
“Old is gold.” "Like other cities of the period, Chiang Mai was built according to traditional astrological and religious principles. This meant that every aspect of the city’s layout, including walls, gates and moats, were designed to appease spirits and gods so they’d protect the city. Ceremonies and festivals dedicated to these protective spirits are… Continue reading THE ANCIENT FOUR-WALLED CITY OF CHIANG MAI AND THE KAGYU MONLAM ‘JUMP SHIP’ CANCELLATION: History and background of the old city walls of Chiang Mai protecting locals to this day, sudden, inexplicable cancellation of Kagyu Monlam Thailand citing non-existent floods, and questionable ‘non-Buddhist’ conduct of the Chinese organisers
New ‘Books/E-books: Downloads’ section on website
Am happy to announce a new 'Books/Downloads' section on the website, that lists the hard copy books and e-books published, as well as almost ninety unrestricted, freely downloadable .pdf files of translations of commentaries, sadhanas, praises and so on. However, there are a lot more translations contained within the six hundred or so website articles… Continue reading New ‘Books/E-books: Downloads’ section on website
Buddhism in a Nutshell: What is “Sangha” community?
In the latest in the 'Buddhism in a Nutshell" reel series, I answer the question "What is Sangha?". Buddhists take refuge in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, so what is meant by this Sanskrit term? Normally it refers to beings who have attained the first Bhumi level and realised emptiness. Which excludes most beings! To lower… Continue reading Buddhism in a Nutshell: What is “Sangha” community?
Court case filed to remove a resident ‘celibate monk’ teacher for alleged sexual misconduct and deception at a Kalu Rinpoche centre in Maui, Hawai
Today is Dharma Protector day, and on this day, I was saddened and yet sadly not surprised to hear (from a Dharma protecting 'whistleblower') of a new court case filed in September 2024 to remove the 56 year-old resident teacher 'monk' Lama Gyaltsen Tamang of the Karma Rimey Osel Ling Dharma centre in Maui, Hawai,… Continue reading Court case filed to remove a resident ‘celibate monk’ teacher for alleged sexual misconduct and deception at a Kalu Rinpoche centre in Maui, Hawai