Hello, Dalai

A few years ago, Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama said that when he turns 90, he would decide whether he should be reincarnated. I suppose some of us have a choice.

The Dalai Lama is now 85 and CNN believes that when the Dalai Lama dies, his reincarnation will be a religious crisis.

When the current Dalai Lama shuffles off this mortal coil most observers believe the Chinese Communist Party will attempt to pick the 15th incarnation.

Should the D.L. choose to reincarnate, he says the responsibility for locating the 15th D.L. rests with a group he founded, the Gaden Phodrang Trust.

As I wrote in June, 2015, the D.L. as gone so far as to hint that the 15th D.L. might be an attractive blonde female. At the time, quite a few progressive, Western Buddhists took offense to the D.L.'s "sexist" remarks. I'm surprised he hasn't been cancelled.

According to the CNN report, in December 2020, the US threatened to sanction any Chinese government officials who chose a reincarnation of the Dalai Lama over the wishes of the Tibetan people. Of course, that was when Trump was POTUS and I'm sure POTUS Biden will soon sign an executive order overriding that - if he hasn't already done so.

Dumaguete's Chinese Bell Church

I've been residing outside Dumaguete for three years, and before moving here, I had traveled here - off and on - for nearly 17 years. I was certain that I knew all there was to know about the city and its sights. However, I was very surprised, recently to learn of the Chinese Bell Church.

The church is located in an area where I hadn't roamed until a few weeks ago, and I probably would never had discovered the church had it not been for the repair work being done on one of the bridges that crosses the Banica River. It was while taking this detour that I first spotted the Chinese Bell Church.

This afternoon, I drove out to the church for photos - I took more than 75 photos. Of course, I won't be posting all of those here.

Naturally, I wanted to post a few of these onto the Google Maps website. In addition to these sample photos, I'm also including a map to the church which can be found following the photos below.

White Folks Showing Up

The Newspaper and on line website, National Catholic Reporter, is commonly known in traditional Catholic circles as National Catholic Distorter because of the editorial staff's less than orthodox views on Catholic teachings.

An example of one such view can be found in a recent article, "Showing Up: A white person's guide to racial justice". One of the tags for this article is Buddhist meditation.

The writer of the article, Mary Ann McGivern tells us of Jardana Peacock, who believes part of the solution for racial justice is the Practice of Showing Up. Ms. Peacock describes this practice as a combination of Buddhism and Yoga which includes sitting, bringing the mind back to attention, or even "doing the dishes mindfully".

McGivern says working through the exercises on the website is only isn’t [sic] a huge investment of time or energy. I've looked over the site, and I can't seem to locate these exercises. Perhaps I need the decoder ring.

Maybe McGivern and Peacock are over thinking the problem. Seems to me, the solution to racial injustice might be simply treating everyone the way you like to be treated. I'm hardly the first to suggest that.

Dead Monk Stays That Way.

I've fallen behind on my duties. On January 28th of this year, I was publishing a post on Donald Trump - Benito Mussolini with (Bad) Hair when I should have been publishing an update on Ashutosh Maharaj, whose clinically dead body has been kept in a freezer for two years now.

Of course, the founder and head of the Divya Jyoti Jagrati Sansthan (Divine Light Awakening Mission) is still dead (or still in deep meditation, if you prefer) so I guess it's a case of no harm-no foul if I'm a few weeks late in posting my update.

The courts in India have yet to decide what is to be done with Ashutosh Maharaj's remains. At stake is property worth "crores of rupees".

The Blonde Dalai Lama.

Like all Progressives, American Buddhists have no sense of humor.

I classify American Buddhists with Progressives, because for the most part they are political Progressives who were looking for some religious meaning in this world and have latched on to an Americanized version of Buddhism because, simply put, it isn't.....well, Christianity.

For the Progressive, Christianity just isn't hip enough; Christianity isn't for those special folks - the elite, the Brights. But, you can call yourself a Buddhist and go on believing whatever un-Buddhist depravity you want to believe and no one is going to know the difference. No one is going to call you out on your American Buddhism but me, and who am I?

To show just how little sense of  humor the America Buddhists have, we need look no further than their reaction to the latest story concerning the Dalai Lama.

For years, the Chinese government has been attempting to co-op the Dalai Lama's next reincarnation so as to exercise more control over the people of Tibet. In what can probably be called a bit of tongue in cheek poking at the Chinese government, the Dalai Lama recently said in an interview, that after he has finally shed this mortal coil, he will most likely reincarnate as a mischievous, blond female. He added that she will have an attractive face because no one will pay attention to her otherwise.

Over at the Buddhist channel at Patheos.com, not a few irate American Buddhists have their knickers in a twist over his comments.

One such Buddhist wrote:

"The Dalai Lama is a fraud. And this comment reflects his true nature.He talks of peace and tolerance abroad and destroys it in the Tibetan exile community. He talks of harmony and has caused division amongst Buddhists. He talks of kindness and eats veal. He is the worst example of a Buddhist, let alone a monk or a human being."

Another writes:

"Wow can it get any worse. The world's most famous "Buddhist" talks about reincarnation in this way? I'm so grateful this politician is not my teacher. And to say a woman will only receive attention if her face is attractive...what a creep. Forget all that stuff Buddha taught about cultivating a good heart hey! AND what's with the mischievous bit your "holiness"?"

In Asia, however, comic artists in Taiwan and Hong Kong have been inspired by the Dalai Lama's comments to draw images and to write stories of the future 15th Dalai Lama as a blonde woman. They've even gone so far as to create their own Facebook page (what else?) The Blonde Dalai Lama .

The page is in Chinese, but there are lots of drawings, and we all know the relationship between words and pictures.

More on the "Meditating" Monks.

This past Friday, I published a post on a mummified monk found in Siberia who some had speculated was not dead but in deep meditation.

I wrote that the story was not unlike the claims by followers of Ashutosh Maharaj who believed that he was also in samadhi and not dead.

Ashutosh had been declared clinically dead in January, 2014 but has been kept in a freezer since that time, rather than cremated. As I reported, the followers Ashutosh had won a court battle in Dec. 2014, delaying his cremation until February 9, 2015.

Now, as reported by two Indian websites ( hindustantimes and the hindu.com) a Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court adjourned till March 19 the matter of Ashutosh's cremation. It looks as if he'll remain in deep freeze for at least another month or so.

Today, The Siberian Times is reporting an update on the mummified monk.

Professor of the Mongolian Institute of Buddhist Art at Ulaanbaatar Buddhist University, Ganhugiyn Purevbat said he is certain the remains are those of a man called Tsorzh Sanzhzhav, who lived 200 years ago. Last week, Purevbat had speculated that the mummy was not dead, but in deep meditation, but Purevbat has changed his mind.

He said: "Earlier I said that maybe Lama is not dead but was in very deep meditation in the ancient tradition of Buddhist lamas. But it is not so. Tsorzh Sanzhzhav and his teacher were specially buried in this form".

The story did not explain the reason for the professor's change of heart.

The mummy will be cleaned and taken back to Sodnomdarzhaa Mountain, 50km from the Tsakhir in the Arkhangai district, where he was found on January 27.

Mummified Monk , "Not Dead".

I reported, in a post from Dec. 16, 2014, of spiritual guru Ashutosh Maharaj, founder and head of the Divya Jyoti Jagrati Sansthan, who suffered a heart attack and was declared clinically dead by a team of doctors on January 29, 2014.

Many of his followers, however, believe Ashutosh Maharaj to be in a state of deep meditation (samadhi) and won a court battle in Decemeber, 2014, delaying his cremation until February 9, 2015.

As I write this, we are still 3 days away from the latest cremation date. So far, no new news to report on that.

However, I've learned today, from a report on the Siberian Times website, of a 200 years old mummified monk found in the lotus position on January 27 in the Songinokhairkhan province of Mongolia. Ganhugiyn Purevbata, who is the founder and professor of the Mongolian Institute of Buddhist Art at Ulaanbaatar Buddhist University, said:

'Lama is sitting in the lotus position vajra, the left hand is opened, and the right hand symbolizes of the preaching Sutra.

'This is a sign that the Lama is not dead, but is in a very deep meditation according to the ancient tradition of Buddhist lamas'.

Looks as if we could do with an updated Monty Python sketch.

Bar Manager Faces Prison for Insulting Buddhism.

Philip Blackwood, general manager of the VGastro bar in Myanmar faces up to two years in prison after he insulted Buddhism by depicting Buddha wearing headphones in a promotional poster for an event at the bar.

Police arrested Blackwood on Wednesday, along with the bar's owner, Tun Thurein, and another employee, Htut Ko Ko Lwin.

According to the Big Story, the image, posted online, was a "psychedelic image" of a "neon pink Buddha wearing DJ-style headphones".

Blackwood should consider himself lucky. Two years in prison certainly beats the 20 years he could have received had he kicked ol Buddha's gong.

The Buddha Abandoning His Family.

I love the picture posted to the left. It is, to the best of my recollection, the only painting I've seen of a rarely discussed episode in the life of Siddhartha Gautama - AKA the Supreme Buddha -. This image depicts the Buddha, darling of Progressives everywhere, as he abandons his wife and infant son.

I've been told, by one American Buddhist-wannbe, that we can't really call the Buddha a deadbeat dad because, being a Prince, he left his family financially well off when he wandered off into the forest to seek Enlightenment.



Tell that to children whose fathers left them when they were babies.

What Would Buddha Do?

Regular readers of this blog know that I am a fan of Dominique Cimafranca and his blog, village idiot savant . In a recent post, entitled Ryonouke's "The Spider's Thread" , Dom gives an excellent commentary on the 1918 short story. Reading the post, I was reminded of a conversation I once had with an old friend. I left a comment saying as much; I want to elaborate on the comment I made.

More than a few "baby boomers" abandoned their Christian upbringing for the more exotic Buddhism. I suspect that, for many, it was a way to show themselves to be superior and more sophisticated than the great unwashed. It's not unusual to find that many of these Western Buddhists do not practice the precepts of the religion; they never meditate and are ravenous carnivores to boot.
This old friend told me of two books he had enjoyed reading; Charlotte Kasl's "If the Buddha Dated" and "If the Buddha Married".

I haven't read either book, but in an article about the books, Kasl glosses over the fact that Prince Siddhartha Gautama abandoned his pregnant wife in his search for enlightenment.

"One might rightly ask, then, why would we look for wisdom on marriage from a man who left his wife and child for a life of celibacy? The answer lies in his exploration into the roots of human suffering and the profound wisdom of his teachings that lead to joy, compassion, and loving kindness-traits that free us to form loving relationships."

The fact is, according to Buddhist tradition, upon learning that his wife had given birth to a son, the future Buddha gave him the name Rāhula, saying  "A rāhu is born, a fetter has arisen."

Very telling. Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary defines "fetter" as :
1 : a chain or shackle for the feet
2 : something that confines

So, we're "to form loving relationships" by abandoning the ones who are most dependent on us.
If the way to Nirvana means leaving my wife and child, I'll pass on Nirvana.