Buddhist monks attended a mass alms-offering ceremony in Bangkok's shopping district on Sunday.

According to organisers over 10,000 Buddhist monks from 323 temples attended the event.

Food and funding received from the event was given to monks in the four southern provinces of Thailand.

Buddha, The Unwanted Visitor

While I was trawling the net for a suitable picture to use in the previous post I came across this one by chance...........................

Visiting the hosting page, a photo blog by Marwan Tahtah, I found the story of how six years ago film director Silvio Tabet had imported the statue of the Buddha and had erected it on his own private land, high up in Baskinta in the mountains of the Metn, northeast of Beirut.

As you can see this does not seem to have gone down well with the locals in this Lebanese Christian area. The statue is about 100 meters away from the historic Mar Youssef Church and the world’s tallest lit cross which attracts believers and tourists from around the world.

NEW MOON - Friday 21st November 2014

Loneliness

Having found no companion
who has travelled at least as far as ourselves,
it is better to go alone than to accompany those 
who remain irresolute. 

Dhammapada v. 61

Until we have looked closely into the actual experience of loneliness, this painful feeling always appears as an enemy, showing us up as a failure. From the perspective of unawareness this life-denying sensation seems only to indicate how far we have gone wrong. From the perspective of wise reflection however, this very same experience lights up the direction we need to go if we want freedom. Suffering is a message; it is not an indictment against us. The feeling of loneliness is like a narrow doorway that we must go through to be free of the confines of the prison of self obsession. It is for paying attention to, not for running away from.

With Metta, Bhikkhu Munindo

Thich Nhat Hahn Gravely Ill

Plum Village, November 12, 2014

To all Plum Village Practice Centers,
To all Practice Centers and Sanghas World Wide,
To our Dear Beloved Friends,

With a deep mindful breath we announce to the world the news that yesterday, the 11th of November 2014 Thay, Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, experienced a severe brain hemorrhage. Thay is receiving 24 hour intensive care from specialist doctors, nurses and from his monastic disciples.

At present, Thay is still very responsive and shows every indication of being aware of the presence of those around him. He is able to move his feet, hands and eyes. There are signs that a full recovery may be possible.

For the last two months, Thay’s health had already been fragile due to his advance age. He was hospitalized in Bordeaux on the 1st of November. He was gaining strength day by day until this sudden and unexpected change in his condition.

A Great Day at Chithurst Buddhist Monastery

Yesterday we got together with the Newport Soto Zen group for a day out at Cittaviveka, the Thereavada Buddhist Monastery at Chithurst over on the North island.


We seem to have left the rain behind on the island and enjoyed a beautiful, bright sunny day only catching the rain when we came back home! The monastery was an oasis of calm and peace with the only sounds those of bird song and the occasional high flying aircraft.

We had a very good turnout from the West Wight and it was a real pleasure to see how much those Sangha members who had not been before enjoyed the experience. 

FULL MOON – Thursday 6th November, 2014

Truly Beneficial

It is easy to do that which is 
of no real benefit to oneself, 
but it is difficult indeed to do that 
which is truly beneficial and good.

Dhammapada v. 163

There are times when it is right to cultivate ‘going with the flow’. At other times going against the flow is more beneficial. The momentum of our habits easily propels us into actions of body, speech and mind that undermine our efforts to deepen in practice. If we find we keep making the same mistake over and again, something needs to change, but how do we bring about that change? To see beyond the way things appear to be – to the way things actually are – takes energy. Mindful restraint, or going against the flow, is one way of generating that energy. Contrary to the values of popular culture it is O.K. to frustrate our preferences. Always doing what feels good might be ‘my’ way, but maybe not the Buddha’s.

With Metta, Bhikkhu Munindo