The Buddha, a two-hour documentary for PBS by award-winning filmmaker David Grubin and narrated by Richard Gere, tells the story of the Buddha’s life, a journey especially relevant to our own bewildering times of violent change and spiritual confusion. The program was produced in conjunction with the exhibition Pilgrimage and Buddhist Art, organized by Asia Society Museum, New York, opening in March 2010.

The companion website for The Buddha, launching in early 2010, will feature the work of some of the world’s greatest artists and sculptors, who across two millennia, have depicted the Buddha’s life in art rich in beauty and complexity. Hear insights into the ancient narrative by contemporary Buddhists — including Pulitzer Prize winning poet W.S. Merwin and His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Join the conversation and learn more about meditation, the history of Buddhism, and how to incorporate the Buddha’s teachings on compassion and mindfulness into daily life.

Premiering April 7, 2010 at 7 p.m. CST on PBS stations nationwide (check local listings)

GO TO THE PBS WEBSITE FOR "THE BUDDHA"...
READ AN INTERVIEW WITH THE DIRECTOR FROM THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE...

"One hundred years ago tonight, 58 brave men lost their lives in a single avalanche at the summit of Rogers Pass, in the Selkirk Mountains northeast of Revelstoke. This evening, we are assembled to honour their memory, to reflect on our relationship with the mountains, and to hope for the safety of all those who travel in the mountains in the winter,"

Those were the words of Karen Tierney, Superintendent of Mount Revelstoke and Glacier National Park and Rogers Pass National Historic Site, as she addressed a crowd of over 500 people at a special commemorative service held in Revelstoke, B.C. this week.

Thirty-two of those men were Japanese immigrants and were most likely Buddhists. So, as part of the ceremony, their names were read and a short service was performed by Bishop Fujikawa of the Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Temples of Canada.

There is another event planned for August 15, 2010. CPR and Parks Canada will be designing a memorial monument at Roger's Pass. The 1910 Avalanche Committee wish to have an Obon Service and Bon Odori to be part of the centennial events. Sensei Doctor Leslie Kawamura of Calgary will be in Revelstoke to perform the service.
 
Should you be planning your holidays around this time, please try to include a trip to Revelstoke and take in this event.

-With information from Roy Inouye

GO TO THE REVELSTOKE TIMES-REVIEW TO SEE A SLIDE SHOW, VIDEO AND ARTICLE OF THE EVENT...

Sensei Ulrich of the Manitoba Buddhist Temple took some time to visit his 93-year old mother in Lawrence, Kansas in January. And through his sister, Dr. Lois Kay Metzger, he was invited to teach a two hour meditation session on Loving-Kindness (Metta) to a unique women's group.

The Woman's Spirit Connection is a support group that includes women of all faiths and ethnic derivations. The evening of meditation was a success because the women were well prepared by their years together. Rev. Ulrich claims that it was one of the best Loving-Kindness sessions that he has ever experienced. And while there were some participants who were new to this kind of practice, the positive relationships in this spiritual group readily included these 'beginners' in the activities.

Many of the participants have since reported to have continued these meditations on their own as an important component of their own private practice. It turns out it was an important two hours for everybody.

VISIT THE WOMAN SPIRIT CONNECTION IN KANSAS...
LEARN MORE ABOUT LOVING-KINDNESS...

I owe it to my family to become a better person. I owe it to those closest to me to become a better man. I have a lot of work to do, and I intend to dedicate myself to doing it. Part of following this path for me is Buddhism, which my mother taught me at a young age. People probably don't realize it, but I was raised a Buddhist, and I actively practiced my faith from childhood until I drifted away from it in recent years. Buddhism teaches that a creation of things outside ourselves causes an unhappy and pointless search for security. It teaches me to stop following every impulse and to learn restraint. Obviously, I lost track of what I was taught.

And with that announcement, Tiger Woods sent searches for the word "buddhist" into the top 10 on Google Trends. Here's a sample of some of the articles written following the announcement:

CNN
Buddhist scholars say that forgiveness and redemption are core components of the faith. "You're always beginning again in the Buddhist tradition," said John Kornfield, a prominent Buddhist teacher based in California. "You see that you're causing harm, you repent and ask forgiveness in some formal or informal way, and you start again."

MacLean's
Thankfully for Tiger, Theravada Buddhism does have a tradition of atonement. There’s no specific ritual, but in Thailand, for instance, Buddhists will go to a local temple to light incense and offer alms to the monks to repent for their sins. However, Tiger should keep in mind the effectiveness of this process is contingent on following the principle of “right effort,” says Donald Williams (a professor of philosophy at Purdue University). For Woods, that means he will have to identify those behavioural patterns that led him to stray from the precepts and cut them out entirely.

Chicago Sun-Times
Buddhism does allow for forgiveness and redemption, but not in the same way as Christianity. Patti Nakai, an Associate Minister, Buddhist Temple of Chicago, was addressing controversial comments made by Fox News' Brit Hume made earlier this year urging Woods to turn to Christianity because Hume didn't think Buddhism offered the forgiveness and redemption offered by Christianity. Buddhism focuses on the need for followers "to get to that place where you can totally accept who you are and all the circumstances that brought about that,"

Newsweek-Washington Post
People recover from addiction even when they find themselves unable to believe in any form of Higher Power apart from the men and women they attend meetings with, and with whom they struggle to recover a meaningful and valuable life. That notion of Higher Power is remarkably similar to what Buddhists find in Sangha, the community of fellow practitioners who are doing their best to live compassionately and to live well.

We leave the last word to Jodo Shinshu scholar, Taietsu Unno from his book, "Shin Buddhism: Bits of Rubble Turn into Gold":
"Foolish beings, however, are the primary concern of Amida, and it is upon them that the flooding light of boundless compassion shines, eventually bringing about a radical transformation in life–hopeless to hopeful, darkness to light, ignorance to enlightenment, bits of rubble to gold."

In 2008, the Vancouver Buddhist Temple organized a series of lectures featuring ministers from North American temples. The West Coast Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Temples Lecture Series was very well received and thanks to the Living Dharma Centre, some of the talks were recorded.

Another talk by Sensei Bob Oshita of the Buddhist Church of Sacramento was recently uploaded. His presentation was titled "Buddhism for Dummies". Rev. Oshita is an excellent speaker who is able to connect with all audiences.

WATCH MORE TALKS FROM REV. OSHITA AT THE BUDDHIST CHURCH OF SACRAMENTO WEBSITE...
STAY TUNED FOR MORE VIDEOS AT THE LIVING DHARMA CENTRE YOUTUBE SITE...

While looking how groups are celebrating Shinran's 750th anniversary, I came across the "Singing Priest". Fukashi Hojo is a singer-songwriter who recently celebrated Shinran's Memorial by holding a concert in honour of our founding father.

Fukashi Hojo is also a practising Jodo Shinshu Minister in Tokyo. In an article posted on his website, Hojo explains how he combines him music with his beliefs, "When you breathe in and absorb the spirit of Buddhism, when we breathe out is the song . It is expressed in music. It is expressed in Buddhism."

While the teachings of Shinran may be influencing the music, listen for signs of Dylan who might have a larger role in Hojo's songs.

Here is an excerpt from a concert was called "Shinran Shonin on My Mind" that took place in Tokyo in 2009 as part of Shinran's 750th Memorial celebrations.

VISIT FUKASHI HOJO'S WEB SITE (AVAILABLE IN JAPANESE ONLY)...
LISTEN TO BLUES FOR BUDDHA...

Socho Koshin Ogui, Bishop of the Buddhist Churches of America

Living in San Francisco, Socho Koshin Ogui is the writer of the popular column “Nyozegamon,” which appears in the Hokubei community newspaper and website.

The English translation for "Nyozegamon" is "I have heard it in this way". This refers to the passing down of stories from generation to generation.

Recent column topics include "Finding Happiness in the Midst of Misfortune" and "Why Does She Say She Has Nothing When She Has Plenty?".

Upon his appointment as Bishop of the the Buddhist Churches of America, Ogui was asked what his goals were as Bishop. Ogui said that his personal goal is to convey the wonderful nature of Buddhist tradition in the U.S. Further adding, "To do this, we must convey the traditions in a manner that is convincing to Americans."

Nyozegamon is a wonderful way of communicating these ideas.

READ BISHOP OGUI'S COLUMNS...