BPF announces $1000 grants for socially engaged projects

Buddhist Peace Fellowship
March 19, 2013

Since BPF’s inception in 1978, the mandala of socially engaged Buddhism has blossomed. Today’s landscape of political Buddhism is rich and varied: Buddhists are working on global warming, mindfulness in prisons,organizing for freedom against colonial powers, ending global hunger, building an inclusive, social justice-oriented sangha, and accompanying Peace Communities in war-torn Colombia, among so many other things. While BPF can’t claim to have spearheaded even a fraction of those projects, we are proud to have served as a beacon of affirmation that politics and Buddhism can and do belong together.

This is why we are especially excited to announce a new partnership with The Pollination Project. The Pollination Project gives away $1,000 grants every day to individuals who are poised to use the money for social change projects that put consciousness and compassion into action.

New York Asian art auctions span bronze antiquities to contemporary art

Reuters
By Chris Michaud
NEW YORK | Sat Mar 16, 2013 3:59am IST

(Reuters) – Rare bronzes, contemporary masterpieces, museum-quality furniture and antiquities dating back more than 3,000 years are among thousands of art objects hitting the auction block in New York next week during Christie’s and Sotheby’s Asia week sales.

The four days of auctions, estimated to take in anywhere from $74 million to $106 million, begin on Tuesday with Sotheby’s sales of contemporary Indian art and Chinese ceramics and art, and Christie’s Indian and Southeast Asian sale, which includes some of its higher-priced works.

The semi-annual sales of Asian works of art have become an important driver in the global market, with strong activity in recent years. But a recent report found art spending by Chinese collectors fell 24 percent last year because of slowing economic growth and a lack of availability of top-quality works.

“Light reading can be enlightening.”

There is a place on the internet for those interested in Buddhist Fiction, unpretentiously titled, The Buddhist Fiction Blog.

Copied below is the About page, featuring information on the editors and their purpose:

The Buddhist Fiction Blog was created to connect with other readers of “Buddhist Fiction” and, hopefully, serve as a space for sharing thoughts about books and short stories of Buddhist fiction, or even about the very idea that a grouping of popular fiction novels and short stories can be labeled Buddhist Fiction.

Why Would You Ever Give Money Through Kickstarter?

A number of Buddhist art projects have been financed through Kickstarter, one of the more recent and notable being Brent Huffman’s film on Mes Anynak. A book recently reviewed on this site was funded through a Kickstarter competitor, Indiegogo. While the reflection below is not specifically about Buddhist art, it seems crowd funding is now an important resource in producing Buddhist art, and may even be thought of as a modern manifestation of dana, the Buddhist principle of giving.

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NY Times
By ROB TRUMP
February 8, 2013

For about three years, between the ages of 12 and 15, I spent much of my free time on Internet forums devoted to the collectible-card game Magic: The Gathering. It became an obsession, consuming my mind and becoming the only thing I wanted to talk about. And once I realized that nobody I ever met face to face was particularly interested in a long debate on the merits of Zuran Orb vis-à-vis Claws of Gix, I turned to the Web.

On one site in particular, I became a regular — not only in conversations about Magic rules and strategy but on general issues like politics, culture, science and sports. Over time, even as my interest in the game waned and I played less, my connection to the people I met stayed strong, and I was spending more and more time on the site. Many regulars and I became close friends. Yet my family was still freaked out when one community member, having decided to leave the game of Magic, sent me a huge box of his old cards.

When my mother found out that my mysterious benefactor by mail was a guy in his 20s, she immediately took the position that he was a child molester trying to lure me out to California from Minnesota. In all fairness, I have no evidence that he wasn’t a predator, but the simpler explanation seems much more likely: he just wanted to give me a gift.

The Art of Zen: Paspaley Launch Buddhism-Inspired Jewellery

Art Info
Nicholas Forrest
February 10, 2013

Renowned Australian pearl jewellery brand Paspaley has launched a new Buddhist-inspired collection of just in time for Chinese New Year.  Each piece of the “Enlightened by Paspaley” series features a magnificent patented diamond cut in sculptural facets to portray the beloved Chinese Buddha, Budai, sitting atop a magnificent white Australian South Sea Pearl.

Core to the appeal of “Enlightened by Paspaley” is the powerful, positive appeal of the Buddhist beliefs about life as a gateway to true happiness and contentment; tenets embraced and celebrated by western as well as eastern cultures.

Book Review: The Female Buddha

Jeffrey Martin

The Female Buddha is an inspirational photo book of statues of female Buddhist deities, Buddhist nuns and female lay practitioners. The layout of the book features a single photo on one page, paired on its facing page with a quotation from female teachers, leaders and poets. The book is intended not to be read so much as imbibed, perhaps kept on a bedside stand for something to sleep and dream upon, or at an office desk for spiritual refreshment. Reading it cover to cover will take no more than 30 minutes, including the introductory essays.

‘Sri Siddhartha Gautama’ releasing Jan 24

The SundayTimes
20 Jan 2013

“Siddhartha the Buddha’, long awaited movie on the life journey of the Lord Buddha will be released at Liberty cinema Colombo and other EAP circuit cinemas around the country from January 24.

Directed by internationally acclaimed filmmaker Chandran Rutnam, the film is co-directed by Saman Weeraman and Bollywood famed Nepali actress Manisha Koirala.

Produced by the Light of Asia Foundation the film is and international production for which international cast and technicians contributed.

India-China ‘battle for Buddha’ reaches Myanmar

Deccan Herald
Anirban Bhaumik
New Delhi
Dec 14, 2012

The India-China “battle for Buddha” has now reached Myanmar, with New Delhi sponsoring an International Conference on Buddhist Cultural Heritage in Yangon over the weekend, while Beijing has since last year been trying to leverage the legacy of “Shakya Muni” to connect with the religious majority in its south-western neighbour.

External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid will join Myanmar’s Vice-President U Sai Mauk to inaugurate the international conference at Sitagu International Buddhist Academy in Yangon on Saturday. The three-day conclave is expected to bring together Buddhist scholars, not only from India and Myanmar, but also from other countries in the region, like Cambodia, Lao PDR, South Korea, Vietnam and Malaysia. The Indian government is co-sponsoring the event along with the ministry of religious affairs of Myanmar.

A spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday stated that Khurshid would also attend a ceremony to mark the unveiling of a 15-foot-statue of Gautama Buddha in Shwedagon Pagoda, the most revered Buddhist shrine in Myanmar. India had gifted the statue to Myanmar during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to the neighbouring country last May.

Podcast: Buddhist Fiction with Chris McKenna

Secular Buddhist Association
21 Oct 2012

Author Chris McKenna speaks with us about his new Buddhist themed fiction book, Bardo.

More and more, we’re seeing an increase in the mainstream media of Buddhist practices and ideas. There is Buddhist inspired rock and roll, art sites that focus on Buddhist themes, and happily for those of us who are avid readers, plenty of books that address Buddhist topics. And, also happily, some of these are fiction stories that take their inspiration from Buddhism.

Chris McKenna is from Blantyre, Scotland in the United Kingdom. He has a background in computer science having graduated from the University of Strathclyde, and worked for a few years in the programming industry in both Scotland and subsequently in Vienna, Austria with a company called Altova. Chris is currently working as an English language teacher near Jakarta.

So, sit back, relax, and have a nice Balvenie Doublewood, neat.

Podcast

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Tibetan Buddhists perform sacred dances in India

From NBC News Photoblog. Follow the link to view more images of Buddhist life in Ladakh, India.

Buddhist monks of the Drukpa Tibetan Buddhist lineage play instruments during the annual festival of sacred dances at the Hemis monastery in Ladakh, northern India, Nov. 12. Kevin Frayer / AP