Here are some wonderful paintings by Virginia Peck of Buddha Heads. I am always happy to see artists reimagine the forms of the past, which shows that they are still alive and living in someone’s imagination.
A New Buddha Head
I went to Penang last week to take some books to various centres on the Island, and at the last place I went to I noticed an incongruous life-sized Buddha Head sticking out of a cardboard box.
Publication of The Life of the Victorious Buddha
My simplified translation of the Pāḷi text Jinacarita has just been published in Singapore by Awaken Publishing & Design. The book is a retelling in simple and poetic language of the story of The Life of the Buddha.
The Ganges by Ven. S. Dhammika
A reprint of Bhante Dhammika’s excellent article on the river Ganges from his online Buddhism A-Z, showing how important the river was for the Buddha. Illustrated with some stills from the documentaries.
The Buddha and Blasphemy
Should others, monks, speak dispraise about me, or the Dhamma, or the Sangha, do not let there be any hatred, resentment, or dissatisfaction for you in your mind.
J.K. Nariman: Aśvaghoṣa and the Buddhacarita
Here is a re-edited short appreciation of the Buddhacarita by Aśvaghoṣa by J.K. Nariman, which can be found in full on my Ancient Buddhist Texts website.
Buddha, a poem by A. Christina Albers
Today I am publishing one of the shortest biographies of the Buddha I have come across. It is by A. Christina Albers who was the author of numerous books and articles on both Buddhist and Hindu subjects.
Episodes from the Life of the Buddha 2: The Invitation
Every second week, with the waxing and the waning of the moon Buddhist monks hold the uposatha meeting. If there are enough monks available then we will confess our offenses and the Pātimokkha will be chanted by one of the monks, while we sit together in unison.
Sakyamuni in a Modern City
This is a poster I made earlier in the year. I had the photograph for quite some time, and the idea to make it into a poster, but couldn’t find an appropriate verse until I came across this one again from the Dhammapada which fits perfectly with the idea I had.
Publication of a Reading of the Exalted Utterances on CD
My reading of the translation I made of the Udāna, entitled Exalted Utterances, has just been published on mp3 CD in Singapore. Most of the discourses run for around 5-10 minutes so they make for a good short contemplation of the teaching.
Kazu Shimura: Buddha Meditation Ink Drawing
In this wonderful video of Sumi-e ink and wash drawing of the Buddha we see both the tension and the flowing movement of the young artist Kazu Shimura as he manages to bring a Buddha to life on his canvas.
The Buddha goes to War
Although the story recorded here is not found in the Pāḷi Canon, nor to my knowledge, anywhere in the Canonical texts of the other schools, it has a certain verisimilitude that gives it some authenticity.
Jātaka Tales of the Buddha – The Goat that Laughed and Wept
It was while staying at Jetavana that the Buddha told this story about a Feast for the Dead. One day, some bhikkhus asked the Buddha whether there was any benefit in sacrificing goats, sheep, and other animals as offerings for departed relatives.
Jātaka Tales of the Buddha – Review
Ken and Visakha Kawasaki have been using the Jātaka Stories in their English teaching activities amongst the Buddhist monastic and lay communities in S.E. Asia for more than 3 decades.
The Buddha’s Journey from Uruvilvā to R̥ṣipatana
The translation that follows is from a section of the Mahāvastu (Great Story) dealing with the period after Lord Buddha left the area where he had attained Awakening until he arrives at the place where he will give his first recorded teachings.
Poster on Impermanence: FastStone Image Viewer
When I was at the Taiping Temple I became quite expert at quite quickly getting up what I hope were eye-catching and attractive posters in an attempt to interest people in our events.
Verses Spoken on the Passing of the Buddha
“Impermanent indeed, are (all) processes, arisen they have the nature to decay, after arising they come to cessation, the stilling of them is blissful.”
Devadatta and the Swan: Who really owns a Life?
As a follow up to yesterday’s post I am including this story about the young Bodhisatta and his cousin Devadatta. The story originally appear in the Abhinishkramanasutta, but the retelling here is by the Sri Lankan monk Ven. Sīlacāra.