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Buddhists are celebrating month long Kathina robe offerings

Posted by Unknown | Sunday, 2 November 2014 | Posted in , ,

Uzzal Barua Basu : Buddhists are celebrating month long kathina robe offerings to monks in the various countries of the world. Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand and many other countries are celebrating this occasion in festive mood. Buddhists get this festive once in a year.

What is Kathina robe offerings?

Kathina robe offerings is a Buddhist festival which comes at the end of Buddhist Lent of vassa(Vas in Sinhala, and Vassa in pali which refers to rainy season). Katina literally means ‘firm,’ or ‘solid,’ because the offering of a Katina robe helps to earn solid good karma. The Kathina festival is a major observance of Theravada Buddhism. Laypeople offers cloth for robes and other necessities to the Buddhist monks in this time. Kathina takes place every year. After the three months of rainy season it is take place once in a Buddhist temple within one month.
It is the time to express gratitude to monks. Lay Buddhists offers various things especially new robes to monks in this festive. Katina refers to the offering of the special robe prepared and presented to monks who have completed the three-month period of retreat.

History

According to the Mahavagga, which is a section of the Vinaya-pitak, .thirty bhikkhus stared their journey to spend vassa with Buddha. But Vassa began before they reached their destination and they had to stop. According to Buddha's guidelines for Vassa, monks cannot travel during the rainy season as they may unintentionally harm crops and/or insects during their journey.  As such, the monks had to stop.
When the thirty monks came to the Buddha after vassa, the Budda rewarded the monks by demonstrating a way to practice sharing and generosity. A lay disciple had previously donated cloth to the Buddha, the Buddha  gave that cloth to the group of monks and told them to make it into a robe and then offer it as a gift to one of them. A frame, called a Kathina, was used to spread the robe while it was being made.

The Buddha also established a procedure for giving and receiving cloth to make robes.After the successful  end of Vassa, gifts of cloth may be given to a sangha, or community, of monks, but not to individual monks. The cloth must be given freely and spontaneously; monks may not ask for cloth or even hint that they could use some.
So, Kathina is not just about cloth; it is also about firm commitment to monastic life.

Who donated kathina robe first?

Prominent chief lay lady disciple Visakha donated kathina robe first. On one occasion
Visakha expressed her desire to offer a special piece of cloth to each monk and
invite monks for Vas observation in the monastery. The Buddha accepted the invitation.
Following this custom, Buddhists follow the practice of inviting monks to go into retreat.

Why is the Katina robe special?

Ven. Nagit  Sthabir explained the unlimited results of this Kathina robe offerings which we get in holy Tripitaka.
The Katina robe is  very must significant for Buddhists  because during the three-month Vas period, Buddhist monks remained  fully dedicated to purifying themselves through
the rigorous practice of meditation and moral conduct. As the monks end the retreat and
come back to society, they become deservedly worthy of offering and veneration as
‘punnakkhetta’ or ‘field of merit’ to the fullest extent possible. The offering of the Katina robe is considered immensely meritorious since it
involves three months of preparation and dedication. The ceremony become important
and meritorious because of the potency of the merit gathered during the period of retreat,
both by the monks and the devotees. The Katina robe is symbolizes the successful
culmination of the rainy retreat.

Now a days kathina robe offerings varies from region to region or country to country. In Bangladesh the devotees of Rajban Vihar, Rangamati prepare the robe within 24 hours and donate it to the monks. Few other devotees of other region also do this in same way. But most of the Bangladeshi Buddhists offer a readymade cloth or robe to the monks in this special day. Buddhists of the world are  celebrating this festival in different festive mood.


Biblio File: Tibetan Buddhist teacher returns to Chico

Posted by Celebrate Life Style information Blog | Sunday, 26 October 2014 | Posted in

The Venerable Lama Losang Samten, a frequent visitor to Butte College and Chico State University, has returned to Chico to present a series of teachings and to construct an intricate sand mandala, now through Nov. 8. A schedule of events is available at http://bit.ly/12qeHSD; those interested can contact Bejay Moore in Chico at bejaymore@sbcglobal.net and she can provide details.
Born in Tibet, Losang Samten lives in Philadelphia where he is spiritual director of a number of Buddhist centers. The former monk was a personal attendant to His Holiness the Dalai Lama ("lama" means "teacher of the dharma") and an advisor for (and actor in) Martin Scorsese's film Kundun.
To enable a fuller understanding of Tibetan Buddhism, Losang Samten has written "Ancient Teachings In Modern Times: Buddhism For The 21st Century" ($20 in paperback, self-published, available at losangsamten.com), edited by Lori Petruskevich.
In a conversational style that includes a number of anecdotes and reflections on his life (he is no stranger to suffering), the author explores karma, finding a guru (he is bothered by teachers who have succumbed to the lures of material possessions), meditation varieties (in Tibetan "samten" refers to "concentration meditation"), enlightenment, retreats and more.
The author notes that "in Buddhist teachings, there exist two different Truths: conventional truths and ultimate truths." The conventional truth is that the self exists, but the ultimate truth is that the self "does not exist independently; rather, it exists interdependently."

For the author, "the goal of spirituality is to overcome suffering, and suffering is caused by delusions, as a result of the three poisons (anger, attachment, and ignorance), with ignorance being at the root of all delusion and suffering. The delusions and imprints of delusions are like a debilitating disease, and the dharma is like a medicine or antidote. From the example of the garlic and the smell, it is clearly much more difficult to remove the smell of the garlic than to remove the garlic itself."


"It is my dream that everyone is kind to one another, showing deep respect and compassion for all humanity, all sentient beings, and Mother Earth."

Dan Barnett teaches philosophy at Butte College. Send review requests to dbarnett99@me.com. Columns archived at dielbee.blogspot.com.

Devoted to painting

Posted by Celebrate Life Style information Blog | Saturday, 25 October 2014 | Posted in ,

Lok Chitrakar
Nepal’s paubha master takes Kathmandu’s traditional art to Japan Lok Chitrakar, 54, is Nepal’s most famous painter of paubha, the devotional art form that went from Nepal to Tibet to become the thangka. Now, he is taking 32 of his paintings even further to Japan where it will be part of a larger collection on permanent display at a museum.

As an autodidact, Chitrakar came from a family of artists and started using brushes at 12. Today, his work is renowned worldwide with some of his paintings featuring in permanent exhibitions from Pakistan to Finland.


Chitrakar has been working with the Kanzouin Museum in Tokyo for the past 12 years which already has 30 of his paintings, and soon will be adding 32 more to complete a series that will ultimately have 108 paintings from Kathmandu.

Lok Chitrakar was working on a mandala for a Japanese client in 2000, and had to learn Japanese techniques to complete it. For this he got in touch with a Japanese friend who showed his work to people in the art scene there. There was no looking back, the Japanese were hooked.

Paubhas were first taken from Kathmandu Valley to Tibet in the 8th century when Bhrikuti was married to king Sron Tsan Gampo. She took paubha artists with her to Tibet, and this style later evolved into the thangka, which is distinguishable by newer Chinese styles. Thangkas depict Buddhist subjects or even deities from the pre-Buddhist Bon faith, while paubhas contain Hindu and Buddhist deities, reflecting the ancient symbiosis of Hinduism and Buddhism in Kathmandu Valley.

Some of the Paubhas that will go to the Kanzouin Museum in Tokyo were on a brief farewell display at Yala Maya Kendra from 26-29 September. “I like to show my work to the Nepali public before sending them abroad,” Chitrakar says of the paintings that will be shipped out later this month.
Six pictures in the Yala Maya Kendra’s exhibition were from private collections, like the striking Green Tara and Ganesh. Artist Ashmina Ranjit, who was at the exhibition said she has always been mesmerised by Lok Chitrakar’s work. “His paintings can put us in kind of a meditative state,” she said.

Given how intricate the paintings are, Lok Chitrakar is often asked how long it takes to complete one painting. “I never count the days, otherwise I’ll be discouraged,” Chitrakar replies laconially. “I just write the date on which I finish the work at the bottom.”

Lok Chitrakar paintings 3
Paubhas are a visual representation of religious philosophy, and always feature a central deity with moral and spiritual significance. The background and the details are up to the artist, but for the deity there are strict standards: body postures, facial expressions, skin complexions and hand gestures all carry important symbolism, developed over many centuries.

The deity’s eyes are always painted last. Chitrakar makes his own paint with crushed stones and vegetable dyes such as indigo, sometimes mixing silver and gold dust.

Lok Chitrakar is now used to international acclaim at various exhibitions he has been asked to put up at Harvard University or the Historical Museum of Shiga, Japan. When asked if he is proud to represent Nepal’s original Buddhist art form to the international public, Chitrakar answers simply: “I’m just proud to be an artist.” - Nepali Times.

'Mandala' Buddhist paintings rarely seen by public set to go on display

Posted by Celebrate Life Style information Blog | | Posted in


Two rarely shown painted “mandala” that depict the Buddhist universe will go on public display at Toji temple, a World Heritage site, on Oct. 31.


The “Ryogai Mandala-zu” (Paintings of mandala of two realms) that date to 1693 were shown to the media on Oct. 24. They are being exhibited in the temple’s Kanjoin hall as part of the “Kyoto Hikokai Bunkazai Tokubetsu Kokai,” a special event to display cultural properties that are rarely displayed.

A total of 18 locations, including temples and shrines, will take part in the exhibition.

It will be the first time that the two “Ryogai Mandala-zu” will be shown to the public in the Kanjoin hall.

The two works are designated by the government as an important cultural property. They were originally used in a secret ritual by the Shingon Mikkyo (an esoteric Shingon Buddhist sect).

One is titled “Kongo-kai” (diamond realm) and the other is “Taizo-kai” (womb realm). Both are 4.1 meters high and 3.8 meters wide.

During the media preview, they were illuminated by about 40 light-emitting diode (LED) lights. The LEDs, made by Kyoto-based Rohm Co., do not emit ultraviolet radiation or heat that can damage fragile artworks.

The Kyoto Hikokai Bunkazai Tokubetsu Kokai event will run until Nov. 9. Dates will differ depending on location.

The Kyoto Heritage Preservation Association is among organizations that arranged the showing. The Asahi Shimbun is also one of the sponsors.-The Asahi Shimbun
 

Bagan renews efforts to win World Heritage

Posted by Celebrate Life Style information Blog | Friday, 24 October 2014 | Posted in

After the listing of Pyu ancient cities, Myanmar launches process for World Heritage nomination of Bagan Myanmar is kicking off another campaign to reengage with the world and also draw more hard-earned foreign currency, this time involving the ancient city of Bagan.
According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), the process to nominate Bagan to its World Heritage List will begin with an international consultation meeting in Bagan from October 10-12.


"The ancient archaeological site is at the top of the country's priority list for future World Heritage nominations. The meeting will bring together experts from around the world to discuss the future safeguarding of Bagan under the World Heritage framework with national and local stakeholders. These inputs will be particularly timely in the face of accelerated development at the site caused by a boom in visitor arrivals and tourism-related investment," Unesco said in a statement.

Almost every traveller has heard of Bagan, or Pagan, the spectacular 11th to 13th-century ruins of more than 3,000 Buddhist temples and monuments spread over an 80-square-kilometre plain in central Myanmar. Myanmar nominated Bagan to the World Heritage Committee in 1996, but the submission process, which usually takes years, ran into problems with Myanmar's ruling junta.

Instead of getting the prestigious listing for Bagan, Myanmar succeeded in winning the first World Heritage listing for Pyu ancient cities in June this year. Three ancient Pyu cities - Halin, Beikthano and Sri Khsetra - were added to the World Heritage List in June. The Pyu kingdoms flourished for more than 1,000 years, between 200 BC and AD 900. The three cities are partially excavated archaeological sites.

Remains of the palace citadels, brick Buddhist stupas and burial grounds at the site currently draw around 60,000 local and foreign visitors every year, according to Daw Me Me Khaing, director of the archaeology department at Myanmar's culture ministry. She hopes the new status will bring many more.

"The situation of our heritage sites will improve as we gain experience from this," she said.

Myanmar is busy working out plans to boost its tourism industry. A tourism master plan is being implemented in 12 areas - Yangon, Bagan, Mandalay, Kyaikhteeyoe, Ngapali, Ngwesaung, Putao, Myeik, Naga, Natmauk Mountain, Loikaw and Inle.

Tin Tun Aung, an executive from the Union of Myanmar Travel Association, said: "This is part of the master plan for the tourism sector. The plan has been realised in Inle, Kayah State and some other tourist attractions."

The consultation meeting in Bagan is organised by Unesco and the Ministry of Culture. Culture Minister Aye Myint Kyu will preside at the meeting alongside the Italian Ambassador to Myanmar, Paolo Bartorelli.

The meeting is conducted within the framework of a project to increase the capacity of Myanmar to safeguard its cultural heritage. The project is funded by Italy, the lead donor country supporting Myanmar's World Heritage efforts. Starting in 2012, the project was the first Unesco culture sector cooperation initiative in Myanmar in more than a decade. Through the project, leading international and national experts on Myanmar cultural heritage are working closely with Myanmar authorities to protect the nation's important cultural heritage sites within the World Heritage framework and to leverage these assets to contribute to sustainable local development.

The project provided intensive support for Myanmar's efforts to nominate Pyu ancient cities. Their inscription has been hailed by the international community as a major milestone for Myanmar's re-engagement with the World Heritage Convention.

Besides Italy, the governments of Japan and Switzerland are also supporting Unesco's work at Bagan. - The Nation
 

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