To begin, we have the best reasons for thinking that the habit of adoring human images, and even the art of fabricating them, were still less general in the India of the Brahmans before Alexander than in the Gaul of the Druids before the time of Caesar.
The Sinhalese Cemetery in Kuala Lumpur
Recently I had a short stay in Kuala Lumpur, and I took the opportunity to do some more photography while I was there. The first place I visited was the Sinhalese Cemetery which now lies alongside the Cheras Highway.
Bhante Anandajoti: The Rarities
Strive on, monks, with heedfulness: the arising of a Buddha in this world is rare, acquiring a human existence is rare, gaining confidence is rare, being one gone forth is rare, hearing the True Dhamma is extremely rare.
The Beginnings of Buddhist Art by A. Foucher – I
The following essay discusses the important aniconic phase of Buddhist art, giving a reasonable thesis for its production and development.
Thomas Berry and the Earth Community
Thomas Berry was one of the most profound Catholic philosophers of the last century who dared to take a new look at the world that science was bringing to light and found inspiration in it.
Bhante Anandajoti: The Invitation for Correction
The close of the Rains Retreat sees the Invitation for Correction (Pavāraṇa) that the monks and nuns make to each other, which requires that each of them be easy to speak to and able to correct their wrongs.
The History and Production of Silk
In July 2007, archeologists discovered intricately woven and dyed silk textiles in a tomb in Jiang-xi province, dated to the Eastern Zhou Dynasty roughly 2,500 years ago.
Bhante Anandajoti: Precepts, Restraint and Practice
This is a short talk in which I mention the factors that are necessary to be fulfilled for a precept to be broken, and I give them here for reference in the form of a poster, which is linked to a high-definition copy of the same file.
Appeal for Victims of Cyclone Giri
An appeal is being launched following the destructive cyclone which hit Western Myanmar last month. The Rakhine Thahaya Athin (Arakanese Welfare Association) based in Yangon is organizing Emergency Relief Measures.
My Not-So-Square Monitor
Now there are several advantages of a laptop, but it comes with a price, which is that there is little room on the monitor to work with, and its almost an equation that the more portable :: the less room.
The Silk Road Transmission of Buddhism
The Silk Road transmission of Buddhism to China started in the 3rd century BCE during the reign of the first emperor of China, Qin Shihuang.
Appeal following Natural Disasters in S E Asia
We see over the past few years that there have been an increasing number of natural disasters around the world. Responding to all these events that follow one upon the other is very challenging indeed, but we are all in this together.
Ven. S. Dhammika: To Eat Or Not To Eat Meat – The Book
Yesterday I posted an introduction to Ven. S. Dhammika’s new book To Eat Or Not To Eat Meat, and today he has given me permission to publish the book in its entirety on the blog here.
Ven. S. Dhammika: To Eat Or Not To Eat Meat – Introduction
I consider Ven S. Dhammika to be one of the more intelligent and thoughtful writers on Buddhism writing today, so I am happy to see he has put his considerable talents to examining the question of vegetarianism in Buddhism.
The Travels and Work of Xuan-zang
Xuan-zang was fully ordained as a monk in 622, at the age of twenty. The myriad contradictions and discrepancies in the texts at that time prompted Xuan-zang to decide to go to India and study in the cradle of Buddhism.
Thangkas 2: Some Examples
I follow up yesterday’s post on the Buddhist art of Thangka painting with a small collection of photographs from Wikimedia. The highest-definition files I could find are linked to by the small reproductions shown here.
Angkor Wat Lotus Temple
This is a short video from National Geographic’s Atmosphere podcast, which looks at Angkor Wat in Cambodia, which I visited twice this year.
Naḷinikā’s Story
The story is an interesting, if highly improbable, fable: a sage lives alone in the Himālayas, there is semen in the urine he passes, and a deer who happens to eat the grass in that place gets pregnant from it.
Godwin on iPad
In 2009 Awaken Publishing and Design in Singapore produced a very beautiful book of Godwin’s teachings called Discovering Meditation. Now they have just managed to put out a collection of 19 books for the iPad, which includes Godwin’s book.
