Account of a hectic 1,500 km round trip to see the main Buddhist pilgrimage sites in India.
Photographs from the Patna Museum
Account of the the State Museum of Bihar at Patna and the Buddhist artifacts that are found there.
Photographs from Bodhgaya
Photographs from in and around Bodhgaya, including nearly 100 photographs from the Mahabodhi temple.
Bhante Anandajoti: Representing the Buddha
A video based on a talk about the scriptural and sculptural respresentations of the Buddha as they developed over the years, which is illustrated with relevant texts, maps and photographs.
Nirvana – The Spread of Buddhism across Asia: images by Jeremy Horner
Wonderful photographs from all over Buddhist Asia by Jeremy Horner.
Indian Buddhist Art Schools (6 Maps)
A new set of six maps showing the main schools of Buddhist Art in India and their provenance, together with further information about the schools.
Photographs from Nalanda University
Photographs from Rajgir
Report of a trip to the many pilgrimage sites around the old capital of Magadha, Rajgir, where the Buddha was given his first monastery and gave many of his discourses.
Text and Translation of Namakkārapāli
A new text and translation of a popular Burmese chanting text, together with extracts from the commentary.
Photographs from the Indian Museum, Kolkata
Two collections of photographs taken at the Indian Museum, Kolkata of the Bharhut Stupa and the Statues from the Gandhara, Mathura and later Gupta periods.
Bhante Anandajoti on the Bodhisatta in the Theravada Tradition
The origin of the idea of the Bodhisatta in the Theravada Tradition, how the idea was developed until it became a central part of the teaching in the early medieval period, and a look at the influence the teaching had on the Theravada countries.
BWV 071: The Consequences of Listening to Slander
A jackal using slander sets two friends fighting, a bull and a lion, and eventually they kill each other. The jackal then eats their flesh. The King of men (the Bodhisatta) reflects on it in these verses addressed to his charioteer.
Trip to the Barabar Caves in Bihar
A trip to see the Barabar cave complexes, north of Gaya in the Jehanabad district, and the nearby village of Kawa Dol, where a magnificent (but damaged) statue of Buddha is situated.
BWV 070: Deeds not Words Measure a Friend
A King of the geese is invited by the King of men to stay with him, but he declines with these words.
BWV 069: True Friends
The Bodhisatta is an ascetic who is invited by the King to stay in his park. After some time the King plots to kill him, and he decides to leave. When questioned why he is going this is his reply.
13th anniversary of Acharya Godwin Samamaratne
Short post commemorating the 13th anniversary since the passing of the well-known Sri Lankan meditation teacher Godwin Samamaratne.
Nalin Swaris: Buddhism, Human Rights and Social Renewal
A new edition of this important work on the social ramifications of the Buddha’s teachings by Nalin Swaris
BWV 068: Friendship is more Valuable than Wealth
A rich man gives half his wealth to one fallen on hard times; but when he is in need himself the other offers him only rice gruel. He accepts it so as not to rebuff the obligations of friendship. Later the King hears about it and restores his wealth.
The Buddha Sangha’s Constitution
Membership in the Buddha’s Sangha was not determined by birth, but by free choice of an aspirant and literally by formal adoption into a new type of kinship group.
