American Buddhist Net

At 6:15 p.m. on August 29, 2010, at a secluded mountaintop hermitage overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Sonoma County, California, four women, all long-time dedicated practitioners, were declared fully ordained as bhikkhunis, Buddhist nuns, in the Thai Theravada tradition. It was the first such ordination ever in the Western hemisphere, and it was epochal since their preceptors were nuns in their same tradition.

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Seven Tibetan Buddhist monks will lead music, art, and prayer events as well as conduct workshops in northwest Ohio from Tuesday through Sept. 11.

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Namgyal Monastery Institute of Buddhist Studies will host a Get-Acquainted Open House from 6 to 7 p.m. today Wednesday at the Monastery, 412 N. Aurora St.

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Sweetwater Zen Center is offering classes on the basics of Zen Practice in September. Please join us on Sundays at 11am. Everyone is invited. You are also welcome to join the regular program starting at 9:30am. http://bit.ly/af1W5P

Topics and Speakers

9-5 The role of ritual and discipline in Zen practice
Speaker: Herb Eko Deer, Dharma Holder

9-12 Zen meditation (zazen) and intensive practice (sesshin) Speaker: Tia Jitsujo Gauthier, Senior

Meditation Service: every Tuesday from 6-7pm, bring your zafu/cushion.

Classes: 1st and 3rd Tuesdays, “Practical Buddhism” from 7-8pm.

2nd and 4th Tuesdays, Advanced Sutra Study from 7-8pm. Currently “The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way” by 2nd century philosopher Nagarjuna. Limited texts available during class.

Location: Eye of the Buddha, corner of Park and El Cajon Blvd., Hillcrest.

More info: www.cfabp.org

CUYAHOGA FALLS: The smell of incense filled the room as more than 60 people gathered for a Green Tara empowerment ceremony at the Akron-Canton Shambhala.

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Seven Tibetan Buddhist monks will lead music, art, and prayer events as well as conduct workshops in northwest Ohio from Tuesday through Sept. 11.

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UTICA — The long wait is over for the Buddhist temple on Riverside Drive, which finally erected its statue of Quan Am this week.

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I hope that other areas will not take this as a model for how to expand a small temple. More comments and link to the back story here: NY: Buddhist temple takes statue fight to Supreme Court. ABN

The economic downturn has slowed but not stopped progress on the new Tibetan Buddhist Namgyal Monastery on South Hill.

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Dharamsala; August 27 – His Holiness the Dalai Lama will return to the prestigious Emory University this October in his capacity as Presidential Distinguished Professor to participate in a series of public events from October 17th -19th, 2010.The events include programs on science research and meditation, creativity and spirituality, an interfaith dialogue and a teaching for the Buddhist community on compassion.

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Just six months after several sold-out appearances at Broward County universities, the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan leader-in-exile and one of the most revered spiritual figures in the world, has announced his return for a two-day speaking tour in South Florida Oct. 25 and 26.

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The White Heron Sangha is a nonsectarian Buddhist group made up of people in and around San Luis Obispo County who have come together to pursue their common spiritual quest.

We have no formal affiliation with any outside groups, lineages, or styles of Buddhism, or with any particular teacher. We accept the value and usefulness of all traditions and attempt to learn whatever we can from the unique approach of each.

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Two expert speakers from the Christian and Buddhist traditions will discuss how each tradition addresses the experience of suffering and its meaning for the spiritual life.

...This free event will be from 7 to 8:30 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 26, in the parish hall of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 211 Mulberry St., Lewes.

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I get questions from people from time to time about how they should "become" a Buddhist. This isn't a silly question because a lot of religions have a very intricate process one must go through before they can call themselves a member of that faith. Unless you're becoming a monk there isn't exactly the same process in Buddhism. Traditionally a practitioner became a monk after taking formal refuge in the "Three Jewels" (The Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha). The idea of refuge is vital to understanding these. By coming to the monastery the novice was renouncing the failed appeasements of the world and embracing the shelter or refuge and help of the Buddha's example, his teachings (the Dharma) and the community of monks (Sangha).

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Sooner or later, every traditional faith has to confront sexual impropriety by its spiritual leaders: extramarital sex, or sex with the wrong people (members of the congregation, minors), or, for supposedly celibate clergy, any sex at all.

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Ethan Nichtern

Critical theorist Slavoj Zizek has an interestingly harsh critique of Western Buddhism and the meditation tools it employs. Framing his critique in Marxist terms, he argues that Buddhism is the perfect spiritual tradition to be co-opted by our self-absorbed, destructive, and consumeristic society. For him, Buddhism represents the perfect ideology for passive acquiescence to the world as it is, a panacea of inner peace that fits neatly into an advertising culture where, by now, "be present" could just as well be the slogan of a credit card company as an instruction from a meditation teacher.

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Good essay. Worth reading. The misconceptions Nichtern describes are very common and worth addressing from time to time. ABN

NEWMARKET — Over the past 25 years the Aryaloka Buddhist Center, located not far from the center of town on Heartwood Circle, has touched many lives. People from across the area and throughout the region have come to the center to learn and experience the freedom and joy inherent in Buddhist teachings and practices.

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20 August, 2010 - A memorandum of understanding recently signed between the royal university of Bhutan (RUB) and US university, Naropa, is expected to improve and expand counselling services in the country.

“Naropa has a long history of integrating Buddhism and Western psychology, and I believe a partnership between our two institutions is desired by all parties,” said Naropa U provost and vice president for academic affairs, Stuart Sigman (PhD). “Naropa is pleased to have signed a memo of understanding with RUB,” he said.

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Inside the temple, about 50 devoted members attending Friday night meditation close their eyes and chant before Buddha.

The head monk, Phra Worasak Worathammo, prostrates before a massive golden statue and leads the evening chants, along with four other resident monks.

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NEWMARKET — The Dharma is alive and well, and being taught and practiced in the woods of Newmarket.

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Wat Buddadhama temple faces allegations of mismanagement by former board members

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EDWARDS, Colorado — A free public talk by Venerable Tenzin Priyadarshi will take place Friday from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Edwards Ambi Building Community Classroom, 1055 Edwards Village Blvd.

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BOULDER — It's not easy being the young incarnation of a great Tibetan Buddhist spiritual teacher.

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The battle is in our own minds

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SAN FRANCISCO — Zen Buddhist monk Jana Drakka married same-sex couples in 2004, when San Francisco attempted to legalize such unions, and again in 2008. She was at City Hall on Thursday prepared to marry couples.

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For more than three months, Gady Pitaru and a team of 85 volunteers have been preparing Unity Church of Mesa for a tour of Buddhist relics that have traveled the globe.

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Phillip Moffitt, author of Dancing With Life: Buddhist Insights for Finding Meaning and Joy in the Face of Suffering, is coming to Western Massachusetts to speak on the paradox of desire. The Buddha taught that suffering results from craving, which is often misinterpreted to mean that we must rid ourselves of desire. However, it isn't desire but the craving it elicits that makes us unhappy. Our challenge is therefore to choose our desires wisely and respond skillfully. The public is invited to attend on September 7 at Lyman Hall, First Churches, 129 Main Street in Northampton, 7:00pm-9:00pm. A donation of $5-$20 is suggested, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Mr. Moffitt's book will be available for purchase at the event.

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