setthanada - the lion's supreme roar: May 2013

Saturday, May 25, 2013

The Lazy Person’s Guide To Not Being Lazy

MATTHEW M. McEWAN WRITES: Do you feel dead tired after work? Can’t wait to sit down in that comfortable sofa of yours? Basically, you feel lazy, right?

You see, what I have noticed is how the negative spiral of laziness just takes a big hold of our entire lives and never lets go. Until we really make a change that is.

Friday, May 24, 2013

IN THE NEWS: Thailand Celebrates World Day of Vesak 2013

DAY NEWS WRITES: The Thai government, together with the Office of National Buddhism is preparing for several activities to commemorate World Day of Vesak from May 18 to 24, 2013.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Music and Memory: Using Music to Treat Alzheimer’s

MINDFUL LIVING NETWORK WRITES: Music may brighten our day, but for seniors suffering from dementia, it can do so much more. Non-profits organizations like Music and Memory are leading the way, using music to help elders recall memories, reduce their anxiety, and improve their sociability.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

FOCUS ON SANGHA: Christmas Humphreys

When my interest of Buddhism was kindled as a secondary school student, the first book I bought was ‘Buddhism, An introduction and guide’, written by Christmas Humphreys. Over the last century, Christmas Humphrey’s numerous literary works and endeavours elsewhere within Western Buddhism have inspired and educated many.

IN THE NEWS: Peace and reconciliation are possible if Thai citizens and politicians renew and apply engaged Buddhism in their lives and political activities

THE BANGKOK POST WRITES: The interview with Zen master and Buddhist icon Thich Nhat Hanh was unique. He did not impart his message through words, but principally through his being and interaction with the interviewer.

Saturday, May 18, 2013

ARTICLE FROM THE EDITOR: Observing the Uposatha

“So whoever — man or woman — is endowed with the virtues of the eight-factored Uposatha, having done meritorious deeds, productive of bliss, beyond reproach, goes to the heavenly state.”

Muluposatha Sutta: The Roots of the Uposatha, AN 3.70.

Uposatha is a day of observance for both monastic and lay Buddhist communities around the world. This time-honoured tradition has been maintained since the time of Gautama Buddha and continues to be practiced as the Enlightened One intended.

Friday, May 17, 2013

IN THE NEWS: UK Census: religion by age, ethnicity and country of birth

THE GUARDIAN WRITES: Muslims are the most ethnically diverse, Christians the oldest and Hindus are the most likely not to be born in the UK. Here is what the latest 2011 census data tells us...

The Buddhist Concept of Impermanence

MANAV SIMHA WRITES: Early Buddhism dealt with the problem of impermanence in a very rationale manner. This concept is known as anicca in Buddhism, according to which, impermanence is an undeniable and inescapable fact of human existence from which nothing that belongs to this earth is ever free.

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Worry Beads

CLARK STRAND WRITES: TAKE UP A BUDDHIST MALA, and right away you notice how good it feels in your hands. The same is true of the prayer beads of any religious tradition. First, there is the soothing feel of the beads themselves, which only increases as they become smoother or darken with use. Then there is what they symbolize—the tangible link to an age-old tradition.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

When I Die : Lessons from the Death Zone

WHENIDIEFILM WRITES: In "When I Die" Philip Gould shares his thoughts and insights as he confronts his impending death from oesophageal cancer. How do we approach death whilst embracing life? How can we change the conversation around death and palliative care for the terminally ill?

Watch the Video

Friday, May 10, 2013

IN THE NEWS: Tamerlan Tsarnaev Buried: Body Of Boston Marathon Bombing Suspect Entombed At Undisclosed Location

THE HUFFINGTON POST WRITES: WORCESTER, Mass. -- The body of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev was entombed in an unknown gravesite Thursday after police said an anonymous person stepped forward to help arrange the secret burial.

Thursday, May 09, 2013

Build a Regret-Free Life

MINDFUL MAGAZINE WRITES: Bronnie Ware, author of The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, on what she learned while working in palliative care and how her meditation practice saved her life.

Wednesday, May 08, 2013

IN THE NEWS: Tamerlan Tsarnaev Burial Spot: Paul Douglas Keane Offers Plot To Deceased Boston Bombing Suspect

THE HUFFINGTON POSTS WRITES: A Vermont man is offering to donate a burial plot to deceased Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev.

Tsarnaev's family has struggled for weeks to find a location willing to bury him.

Tuesday, May 07, 2013

IN THE NEWS: Buddha Buzz: Sex Tape and the Sangha

TRICYCLE WRITES: In Lowell, Massachusetts, a sex-tape scandal involves neither unscrupulous celebrities nor hapless victims of disgruntled exes, but a Buddhist temple, a monk, and a community organizer with some shady finances.

Saturday, May 04, 2013

Dalai Lama calls for end to violence in Burma/Myanmar

JAMES BLAKE WRITES: Read on for links to statements by the Dalai Lama and other leading Buddhists, plus sources for following the news from Burma.

Thursday, May 02, 2013

IN THE NEWS: Buddhist leaders use technology to reach masses

YONHAP NEWS WRITES: Seoul, South Korea -- Yes, South Korea is the most wired country in the world, but the preconceived stereotypes of Buddhist monks living in ascetic, rustic conditions nevertheless do not blend well with smartphones.

A state of mindfulness

DANIELLE KIRK WRITES: It’s 5.30am. It’s dark outside the yoga studio, it’s dark behind my eyelids and I’m struggling to focus on anything that isn’t my stomach. It may not be the most fortuitous of starts to 31 days of mindfulness, but it can only go up from here.

Wednesday, May 01, 2013

The Mouse That Roared

H.E JETSUN KHANDRO RINPOCHE WRITES: This morning, a little mouse—probably more than one—got run over by our tractor. Please include these mice in your prayers today, as well as all the many seen and unseen animals that we accidentally, unintentionally, and so often run over with our various machines. Only those that are visible strike our hearts very much; but if you could see the invisible numbers of beings killed on the land, it is many times that. So light a few butterlamps dedicated to all of them and keep them in your prayers.