Oldest US Buddhist monk at 100 (10/11)

• RSVP (FREE to attend):
• Disclosure Project, Los Angeles
• PasaDharma, Foothills
• Nature Center, Valley

Long ago, despairing of authentic Early Buddhism in Los Angeles, I found the closest thing to it in my own hometown, Hollywood. That's where Ven. Dhammarama was abbot on Beachwood Drive, under the Hollywood sign between one of Sunset Gower Studios and Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

I had left the pre-Coming West Temple, which had a thriving Taiwanese Mahayana Buddhist community in a small out-of-the-way LA County industrial quarter (barrio/ghetto) called Maywood. It was a strange place for an Asian Buddhist temple, but what did I know?

C;'mon, everyone, let's go find Buddhism in LA

It's LA, I had a car. Nobody walks in LA. Every Sunday I'd get on the freeway from Highland Park and head over for a vegetarian/vegan feast and a sermon in Taiwanese or Mandarin Chinese or some Asian language I could make neither heads nor tails of.

WHAT HAPPENED?

Some of the most popular videos now playing on Mindfulness Meditation TV USA

Sri Lankan art of Buddhism's arrival

The event is still going on at 9:00 pm, with many speeches and felicitations, the announcement of a new app (iPhone and Android) for the Mindfulness Meditation Center (mmctvusa.com) to watch these sorts of events and other inspirational (often Sinhalese language) material remotely and throughout the world, broadcasting from one whole floor of a medical center a stone's throw from MacArthur Park near downtown Los Angeles.

• The best presentation was by the Nepali monk who resides at the MMC, announcing the publication of new academic journal. It will feature a commemoration of the old monk, a retrospective of his life. Its publication was delayed because it is being published on the Island. It will now be distributed at the Temple's Kathina ceremony in a few weeks. Wisdom Quarterly will follow up when it comes out.

This tower also houses a magical Buddhist relic in a shrine on the roof, which we have seen with our own eyes thanks to knowing the owner, one of the Center's few multimillionaire donor doctors and real estate magnates. (Devas and magic are very real even if Westerners will not stand for it but try to "prove" that to anyone). About 300 gathered with 30-40 monks and a couple of Korean nuns accompanying some venerable Mahayana well-wishers in a hall/church full of Theravada Buddhists. Speeches, awards, photo ops, more speeches, tasty island food and snacks, more speeches...it went on for almost four hours, with many in attendance dressed in all white.

This is the largest and one of the oldest Theravada Buddhist temples in the USA. The next public event is Oct. 17, 2026, for a free full-day mindfulness meditation retreat. Call or text: (626) 364-7497: mindfulnessmeditationcenter.org

How Wisdom Quarterly came to be

When our dharma (duty) meets samsara (cycle)

But I found a book in the library that looked vintage and full of philosophy. I loved it. I was like Lisa Simpson onto something. I went from that book to the Bodhi Tree Bookstore, a famous New Age boutique in upscale West Hollywood. That book and the feast kept me coming back to learn more.

I was a new vegetarian, having learned the compassionate diet from Raja Yoga, and felt at home with other vegetarians, practicing what the famous Indian Siddhartha had practiced.

From the sky, Hsi Lai is a bodhi tree leaf.

There was a model of some pie-in-the-sky dream temple they were going to build on a mountain top in Los Angeles once they could get the money together and find the land. It was a nice model, but I thought they were naive to think they could build a giant golden bodhi tree leaf in LA's San Gabriel Valley.

(They proved me wrong by soon gathering enough donations from here and abroad to build Coming West Temple, the largest Buddhist temple in the Western hemisphere with its own accredited Buddhist college, University of the West.

I would eventually enroll to finish writing an adventurous Buddhist book about the 37 Requisites of Enlightenment. The dean at that time was former US Ambassador from Sri Lanka Dr. Ananda W. P. Guruge, Ph.D.

Faith in Mahayana, worship of maha-bodhisattvas

Dismayed that "Mahayana" Buddhism was all worship, food, rules, and culture, I returned to Bodhi Tree Bookstore to see if there might be another Buddhism. Of course there is! It became clear in the big Buddhist section of the store.

Most books were glossy and fancy, but there were these other pamphlet-like titles tucked in everywhere Bodhi Leaves and Wheel. I started collecting them, noticing that the publisher was BPS.lk.

What the Buddha Taught (Ven. Walpola Rahula)

It became clear: There are two Buddhisms, a BIG one ("Great Vehicle," the gaudy big tent player representing 90% of Buddhists, an umbrella term for many popular schools), and a back-to-basics movement (the "Teaching of the Enlightened Elders" who knew the historical Buddha). This second kind of Buddhism was trying to do everything The Buddha Taught without changing or trying to "improve" it. This was Theravada, and it was the one for me!

By then I was attending the massive Mystic Dharma Temple in Highland Park, a strange and nearly empty place with lovely Chinese decoration but a Sri Lankan Mahayana abbot (Ven. Chao Chu) in charge. When I asked him about my suspicion that there were two Buddhisms, he said: "Nonsense! There's only one."

So I took to the phonebook and found Ven. Dhammarama's Beachwood Temple in Hollywood. I knocked on the door. He invited me in. But I wouldn't cross the threshold until he answered one crucial question: "What kind of Buddhism is this?" I didn't have the names of the two schools, so that was the only way I could ask it.

He didn't understand. So I asked a different way: "Are you familiar with the Buddhist Publication Society? They talk about the right kind of Buddhism."

He smiled broadly and opened the door, pointing at a rack of BPS titles. I was home. I came in, we meditated, drank tea, talked about why Chao Chu said there was just one Buddhism.

Ancient Buddhism exists in Sri Lanka because Indian Buddhist Emperor Ashoka sent his enlightened monastic children, Mahinda and Sanghamitta, to the island as missionaries.

.

The sacred island that saved ancient Buddhism

Ven. Dhammarama knew that monk, both being from the same country (the Buddhist island off the tip of India called Serendip, Ceylon, and Sri Lanka, where Buddhism survived when it vanished from the mainland subcontinent or Jambudipa).

Ven. Dhammarama explained how a Chinese missionary came and took Ven. Chao Chu from Lanka, the Island, to train him in China with the purpose of creating a new syncretic Buddhist tradition fusing the two big schools. That's why.

Wisdom Quarterly: American Buddhist Journal exists because one day Ven. Dhammarama asked me to edit the defunct temple newsletter, which he had called Sarana (commonly mistranslated as "Refuge" but which really means "Going for Guidance").

I produced a newsletter, but one open to all kinds of Buddhisms (of which there are many more than two), spiritual ideas, Engaged Buddhism (sensitive to social justice issues), Dharmic cultures, and Asian art, punk rock, extreme metal, and "musick" in general, New Age, conspiracy theories, whistle blower accounts...

I was only my way to UC Berkeley, so it should have come as no surprise that I was interested in Truth, justice, rebellion, revolution, rock 'n roll, equality, EDM, the Sixties, and all that good Left-leaning stuff most Americans would agree with, even the fiscally conservative folks.

Most Americans, even Republicans, are liberal on most social issues. The historical Buddha certainly seems to have been. The world is not the most important thing; spiritual matters are. But in the meantime, we must correct injustices and love and help everybody.

What is "Buddhism"? It is "the marriage of wisdom and compassion." So Ven. Dhammarama assigned me a female co-editor to bring me back to a narrower vision of what a quarterly "newsletter" should be.

This caused the name change and an increase in outlets, with the other Buddhist temples in LA looking askance at any publication that did not glorify their particular view of things.

It had to become broader and broader to please everyone while failing to please anyone, any single view. That's when helpful Maya had an idea. It should go online if it was going to try to go in-depth in the things it was talking about.

Originally, we only really wanted to talk about sutras (discourses) and their deeper meaning, but so much was going on in the world. No one would understand sutras when they hadn't even understood life and how this society of ours really works. So the Wisdom Quarterly's mission became bigger, but simple, just trying to answer one BIG question: Why do things (really) happen? What's behind the surface, the narrative the media feeds us?

He liked it, but not for the temple. For the temple, it must limit itself just to temple matters, upcoming celebration days. He only wanted a newsletter to appease the committee that ran the vihara and glorify one cultural interpretation of the Buddha Dhamma. But the Dharma is bigger than the great Pali canon.

Ven. Dhammarama and I visited Sri Lanka together so I could find Bhikkhu Bodhi to ordain under him or get his personal advice on where to go to become the sort of Buddhist monk not involved in the world but dedicated completely to the goal the Buddha mentioned in his final words and exhortation to the countless disciples and devas present: "All things are hurtling towards destruction; work out your liberation with diligence."

Other things happened, which are hard to state in brief within the story. So I'll list them here:

• Ven. Chao Chu and I stayed friends and went to the same college, while his American sidekick Dana went to UCLA to get his PhD.
• Then I went to study abroad at Oxford University in England and came back when I got accepted to
• UC Berkeley. Then I won a giant award to study at
• Yale University, to prepare for graduate school at the university of my choice.
• And wouldn't you know, karma being what karma is, karma brought me back to Los Angeles to get my PhD at UCLA.
• I needed to get to India to make real the place I read so much about in the ancient texts, like there's something magic about the philosophical East.
• I took Bhikkhu Bodhi's advice that there might be a better Buddhist country than Sri Lanka for the sort of serious Buddhist meditation I was interested in, one next to India.
• Then living in the SGV, my landlord revealed he was a Buddhist (culturally, not so much in practice) and that a very prominent Buddhist scholar was coming to talk about the Abhidhamma at a nearby temple, asking if I would be interested in attending.
• "Not 100 miles that way, that way, that way, or that way (North, East, West, or South), I said pointing, "is there a human more interested in this topic than I," I answered.
• I went, the scholar blew my mind, told me about a teacher, the greatest in the land, who practiced in accordance with the historical Buddha, was a vegetarian, talk women as well as men, attained and taught the absorptions, had people remember past lives in no long time, kept all the precepts (and Monastic Disciplinary Code), and... TO BE CONTINUED

• List of Buddhist temples in the USA (Wikipedia)
• VIDEO: Why Hinduism never caught on, whereas Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam all went global

Ajahn Chah: Detachment within activity

Ajahn Chah - Detachment Within Activity (1983dukkha)

Prince Siddhartha's wife: Yasodhara

The Buddha did not have a wife, but the person who became the Buddha (Siddhartha) did.

Princess Yasodhara (Bimba Devi, aka Rāhulamātā)

Sid and Bimba agreed leaving would be good.

Rāhulamātā is the name, generally given in the ancient texts, of "Rāhula's mother" (e.g., Vin.i.82) was Prince Siddhattha Gotama's wife.

She is also called Bhaddakaccā* and, in later texts, Yasodharā (BuA., p.245; Dvy.253), which is a descriptive title not a name. Her name was Bimbā (J.ii.392f.; DA.ii.422), and "princess" is the human meaning of devī. She was probably also called Bimbāsundarī (J.vi.478 [12]), "Beautiful Bimba."

• *For example, Bu.xxvi.15; Mhv.ii.24 calls her Bhaddakaccānā ("Lucky Kaccana"), but see Thomas, op. cit., 49; she is also called Subhaddakā, this being probably a variant of Bhaddakaccānā.
• The Untold Story of Yasodhara: Prince Siddhartha's Wife (Tricycle)
• VIDEO: What about the Buddha's WIFE?

Scythian Princess Bimba/Yasodhara

The Northern (Mahayana) texts seem to favor the name of Yasodharā, but they call her the daughter of Dandapānī. (See also Rockhill, op. cit., where various other names are given as well).

It is probable that the name of Gotama's wife was Bimbā, and that Bhaddakaccā, Subhaddakā, Yosadhāri, and other names were descriptive epithets applied to her, which later became regarded as additional names.

It is also possible that in Gotama's court there was also a Yasodharā, the daughter of Dandapānī, and that there was a later confusion of names.

The Commentarial explanation (e.g., AA.i.204), that she was called Bhaddakaccānā because her body was the color of burnished gold, is probably correct. To suggest (e.g., Thomas, op. cit., 49) that the name bears any reference to the Kaccānagotta seems to be wrong because the Kaccāna clan (gotta) was a Brahmin clan, and the Sākiyans (Scythians, Sakas) were not Brahmins but "nobles" (khattiyas, deemed "warrior caste" though they were not likely part of proto-India's caste system).

Rāhulamātā was born on the same day as the Bodhisatta (J.i.54; BuA. 106, 228). She married him (Prince Siddhattha Gotama) when they were both 16 years old. (The following account is taken chiefly from J.i.58ff). She was placed at the head of 40,000 women, given to Siddhattha by the Sākiyans after he had proved his manly prowess to their satisfaction.

Siddhartha Gotama renounced his riches and royal position and left the household life on the day of the birth of their son, Rāhula. (According to one account, referred to in the Jātaka Commentary, i.62, Rāhula was seven days old).

It is said that just before he left home, he took a last look at his wife from the door of her room, not daring to go nearer, lest he should inadvertently awake her.

When as the Buddha he returned and paid his first visit to the country/seasonal capital city of Kapilavatthu after his great enlightenment, on the second day of that visit, he walked for alms in the streets. This news of this quickly spread, and Rāhulamātā looked out of her window to see if it were true.

She saw the Buddha and was so struck by the beaming glory of his personality that she uttered eight verses in its praise.

These verses have been handed down under the name of Narasīha-gāthā; on that day, after the Buddha had finished his meal in the palace, which he took at the invitation of his father, King Suddhodana, all the ladies of the court, with the exception of Rāhulamātā, went to pay him honor.

She refused to go, saying that if she had any virtue in her the Buddha would come to her. The Buddha went to her with his two chief male disciples and gave orders that she should be allowed to greet him as she wished.

She fell at his feet, and clasping them with her hands, put her head on them. King Suddhodana related to the Buddha how, from the time he had left home, Rāhulamātā had herself abandoned all luxury and had lived in the same manner as she had heard that the Buddha lived:

• wearing saffron robes,
• eating only once a day,
• sleeping on the ground,
• and so on.

The Buddha then related the Candakinnara Jātaka, to show how, in the past, too, her loyalty had been supreme.

On the seventh day of the Buddha's visit, when he left the palace at the end of his meal, Rāhulamātā sent Rāhula to him saying: "That is your father. Go and ask him for your inheritance."

Prince Rāhula followed the Buddha and, at the Buddha's request, was ordained as a monk-in-training (samanera) by Ven. Sāriputta. The account of this event is given in Vin.i.82; this is probably the only passage in the Pitakas where Rāhulamātā, is mentioned by name.

Later, when the Buddha allowed women to join the Order, Rāhulamātā became a nun under Mahā Pajāpatī Gotamī (AA.i.198).

Buddhaghosa identifies (AA.i.204f) Rāhulamātā with Bhaddakaccānā who, in the Anguttara Nikāya (A.i.25), is mentioned as chief among nuns in the possession of supernormal powers (mahābhiññappattānam).

She was one of the four disciples of the Buddha who possessed such attainment, the others being Sāriputta, Moggallāna, and Bakkula. She had wished for this achievement ta the time of Padumuttara Buddha.

In this account Bhaddakaccānā is mentioned as the daughter of the Sākyan Suppabuddha and his wife Amitā.*

• *Cf. Mhv.ii.21f. It is said (DhA.iii.44f) that Suppabuddha did not forgive the Buddha for leaving his daughter; Devadatta was Bhaddakaccanā's brother, and it has been suggested that Devadatta's enmity against the Buddha was for reasons similar to her father's.

She joined the Order of Nuns under Pajāpatī Gotamī in the company of Janapada-kalyānī (the "Belle of the Land," the Buddha's half-sister Sundari Nandā).

In the Nuns' Order she was known as Bhaddakaccānā ("Lucky Kaccana") Therī ("senior nun"). Later, she developed insight and became an arahant (fully enlightened). She could, with one effort, recall one asankheyya (indeterminate kappa or kalpa) and 100,000 ordinary kappas (AA.i.205).

In the Therī Apadāna (Ap.ii.584ff) an account is found of a therī (senior nun), Yasodharā by name, who is evidently to be identified as Rāhulamātā because she speaks of herself (vvs. 10, 11) as the Buddha's pajāpatī before he left the household (agāra) and says that she was the chief (pāmokkhā sabbaissarā) of 90,000 women.

In the time of Dīpankara Buddha, when the Bodhisatta was born as Sumedha, she was a Brahmin maiden, Sumittā by name, and gave eight handfuls of lotuses to Sumedha, which he, in turn, offered to the Buddha. Dīpankara, in declaring that Sumedha would ultimately become the Buddha, added that Sumittā would be his companion in several lives.

The Apadāna account (vvs. 1ff) mentions how, just before her passing into final nirvana, at the age of 78, she took leave of the Buddha and performed various miracles. It also states (Ap.ii.592f) that 18,000 arahant nuns, companions of Yasodharā, also passed on the same day. More: Rāhulamātā

• Prettiest lady in the universe, the Arhat Yasodhara Maha Theri (Ven. Bimba, Bhaddhakaccana, Rahulamata)
• G.P. Malalasekera, Dictionary of Pali Proper Names, edited by Dhr. Seven (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

Hidden Buddhist monasteries of Mongolia

The hidden monasteries of Mongolia: How Buddhism shaped Mongolia’s nomadic soul | SLICE

(SLICE) In the heart of Central Asia, Mongolia’s vast, untouched landscapes have shaped a unique form of Buddhism, where spirituality and nature exist in perfect harmony.

Introduced in the 16th century, Buddhism spread across the endless steppes, carried by merchant caravans alongside silk and spices. Monasteries rose like mirages in the wilderness, blending seamlessly with the land’s raw power.

Through centuries of resilience, Mongolian Buddhism has evolved, influenced by Tibetan traditions yet deeply rooted in nomadic life.

• Buddhism in Mongolia

From sacred rituals to the revival of monasteries after Soviet repression, this is the story of a faith (saddha) that has withstood time, exile, and change.

Documentary: Sacred Spaces – Asian temples. Humans, Nature, and Gods. Directed by: Véronique Legendre. Production: ZED, ARTE FRANCE, CuriosityStream. SLICE fully owns the rights to the use of the published content. Any illegal reproduction of this content will result in immediate legal action. SLICE wants to fill up viewers' curiosity! Accessible to anyone from anywhere at any time, this channel is a weekly dose of short docs about curious facts, discoveries, astounding info, unusual stories, weird, fun, and instructive. Be smart, have a slice! Subscribe now ► @slicedocumentary Become a fan: @slicedocumentary. Follow: 👇 In French: slicefr. Facebook: slicedocs. Instagram: slicedocs. #documentary #slice #fulldocumentary #freedocumentary #mongolia #buddha #buddhism #history #religion #sacred #temple #amazing #spirituality #spiritual #monl #prayer #pray

• SLICE, Feb. 13, 2025; CC Liu, Crystal Q., Sheldon S. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

SUTRA: Final words of the Buddha (DN 16)

Sister Vajira and Francis Story (trans), Maha-Parinibbana Sutta: "Last Days of the Buddha" (DN 16 PTS: D ii 72), 1998; Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Welfare of the Wandering Ascetic Order

6. Then, soon after Vassakara's departure, the Blessed One [the Buddha] addressed Venerable Ananda: "Go now, Ananda, and assemble in the main hall as many monastics as live around [the royal city of] Rajagaha."

"Very well, venerable sir." And Ven. Ananda did as requested and informed the Blessed One: "The monastic community is assembled, venerable sir. Let the Blessed One do as he wishes."

The Blessed One rose from his seat, went to the hall, took the seat prepared for him, and addressed those gathered:

"Seven conditions leading to welfare shall I set forth, meditators. Listen and pay heed to what I shall say."

"Indeed, venerable sir."

"The growth of the monastic community is to be expected, not its decline, meditators,

1. so long as they assemble frequently and in large numbers
2. [so long as they] meet and disperse peacefully and attend to the affairs of the Monastic Community (Sangha) in concord
3. so long as they appoint no new rules, and do not abolish the existing ones, but proceed in accordance with the Code of Training (Vinaya) laid down
4. so long as they show respect, honor, esteem, and veneration towards the elder meditators, those of long standing, long gone forth [as monastics], the fathers and leaders of the Monastic Community, and think it worthwhile to listen to them
5. so long as they do not come under the power of the craving that leads to fresh becoming [rebirth]
6. so long as they cherish the forest depths for their dwellings
7. so long as they establish themselves in mindfulness so that virtuous meditators of the Monastic Order who have not come yet might do so, and those already come might live in peace.

So long, meditators, as these seven conditions leading to welfare endure among the meditators and the meditators are known for it, their growth is to be expected, not their decline.

Siddhartha dwelled in the forest to awaken.

7. "Seven further conditions leading to welfare shall I set forth, meditators. Listen and pay heed to what I shall say."

"Indeed, venerable sir."

"The growth of the Monastic Community to be expected, not its decline, meditators,

1. so long as they do not delight in, are not pleased with, and are not fond of activities,
2. talk,
3. sleep, and
4. company [socializing]
5. so long as they do not harbor and do not come under the spell of harmful desires
6. have no bad friends, associates, or companions
7. and so long as they do not stop halfway on account of some trifling achievement,

So long, meditators, as these seven conditions leading to welfare endure among the meditators and the meditators are known for it, their growth is to be expected, not their decline.

Seven Good Qualities [6]

8. "Seven further conditions leading to welfare shall I set forth, meditators. Listen and pay heed to what I shall say."

"Indeed, venerable sir."

"The growth of the Monastic Community is to be expected, not their decline, meditators,

1. so long as they have faith [confidence, saddha]
2. so long as they have moral dread
3. and fear of misconduct,
4. are proficient in learning,
5. resolute,
6. mindful,
7. and wise.

"So long, meditators, as these seven conditions leading to welfare endure among the meditators, and the meditators are known for it, their growth is to be expected, not their decline.

Seven Factors of Enlightenment [7]

9. "Seven further conditions leading to welfare shall I set forth, medtiators. Listen and pay heed to what I shall say."

"Indeed, venerable sir."

"The growth of the Monastic Community is to be expected, not their decline, meditators, so long as they cultivate the Seven Factors of Enlightenment, that is:

1. mindfulness,
2. investigation of phenomena,
3. energy,
4. bliss,
5. tranquility,
6. concentration, and
7. equanimity.

"So long, meditators, as these seven conditions leading to welfare endure among the meditators, and the meditators are known for it, their growth is to be expected, not their decline.

Seven Perceptions

10. "Seven further conditions leading to welfare shall I set forth, meditators. Listen and pay heed to what I shall say."

"Indeed, venerable sir."

"The growth of the Monastic Community is to be expected, not their decline, meditators, so long as they cultivate the

1. perception of impermanence,
2. of egolessness [the impersonal nature of all things, particularly the Five Aggregates clung to as self],
3. of (the body's) impurity,
4. of (the body's) wretchedness,
5. of relinquishment,
6. of dispassion,
7. and of cessation.

"So long, meditators, as these seven conditions leading to welfare endure among the meditators, and the meditators are known for it, their growth is to be expected, not their decline.

Six Conditions to be Remembered [8]

11. "Six further conditions leading to welfare shall I set forth, meditators. Listen and pay heed to what I shall say."

"Indeed, venerable sir."

"The growth of the Monastic Community is to be expected, not their decline, meditators,

1. so long as they attend on each other with loving kindness in deed,
2. word,
3. and thought, both openly and in private
4. so long as in respect of what they receive as due offerings, even the contents of their alms bowls they do not make use of without sharing them with virtuous fellow members of the community
5. so long as, in company with their companions, they train themselves, openly and in private, in the rules of conduct (Patimokkha and Vinaya), which are complete and perfect, spotless and pure, liberating, praised by the wise, uninfluenced (by mundane concerns), and favorable to concentration [coherence] of mind
6. and in company with their companions, preserve, openly and in private, the insight [vipassana] that is noble and liberating, and leads one who acts upon it to the utter destruction of suffering.

"So long, meditators, as these six conditions leading to welfare endure among the meditators, and the meditators are known for it, their growth is to be expected, not their decline.

Counsel to the Wandering Ascetics

12. And the Blessed One, dwelling in Rajagaha, on the hill called Vultures' Peak, often gave counsel to the meditators:

"Such and such is virtue; such and such is concentration; and such and such is wisdom. [9]

"Great becomes the fruit, great is the gain of concentration [coherence, samadhi] when it is fully developed by virtuous conduct (sila); great becomes the fruit, great is the gain of wisdom when it is fully developed by concentration (samma-samadhi).

"Utterly freed from the taints [10] of lust, becoming, and ignorance is the mind (heart) that is fully developed in wisdom." More

The Little Hours: Sisterhood of Bad Nuns (film)

George Prentice (BoiseWeekly); The Little Hours; Seth Auberon, Crystal Q., Wisdom Quarterly

WARNING: Comedy The Little Hours RED BAND trailer with Aubrey Plaza, Dave Franco, Fred Armisen, Alison Brie, Molly Shannon, Kate Micucci, John Reilly, and Nick Offerman.

 

The opening scene of The Little Hours, which is based on Giovanni Boccaccio's 14th century novella The Decameron, the "Human Comedy," is idyllic.

Framed by wildflower-covered hills of Tuscany, Italy, a young nun slowly leads a donkey as a choir sings, presumably from a not-too-distant convent. Moments later, a young man smiles at two passing nuns.

"Good day," he says. "It's a beautiful morning, sisters." "Don't f*cking talk to us!" screams one nun, reaching for a hatchet. The other chimes in with more profanity -- the most I've ever heard spoken in 10 seconds.

The most blistering of the torch-tongued is none other than Aubrey Plaza, who rolled her eyes as "April Ludgate" for all seven seasons of NBC comedy Parks and Rec. Plaza is also a co-producer of The Little Hours, along with her boyfriend... More

What is Buddhist "LENT" in Theravada Thailand?

Karuna Kusalasaya, Buddhism in Thailand: Its Past and Present (Wheel 85, BPS.lk) via accesstoinsight.org; Amber Larson, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Wikipedia edit

Thai woman offers dana to group of temporary monks (novices) in Thailand (Bugphai).

Buddhist "Lent" is a time for intensive study or practice. A samanera (lit. "little monk") quietly reads in Burma. Novices, usually aged 7 to 20, temporarily go forth to try monastic life (Anek Suwannaphoom/flickr).

.

Golden Thai Buddhas (drhill/flickr.com)

With the rapid progress of science and with the shrinking of the world, Buddhist leaders of Theravada Buddhist Thailand, monastics and laypeople, are awakening to the necessity of imparting broader education to members of the Monastic Order (Sangha) if it is to serve Buddhism as the historical Buddha intended: "for the gain of the many, for the welfare of the many."

 

As a result of the new outlook there now function in Bangkok two higher institutes of learning exclusively for monastics and temporary novices (trainees). ...Inclusion in the curriculum of some secular subjects compatible with Monastic Code of Discipline (vinaya) is among the notable features of these two institutes.

The aim is to give an all-round education to monastics in order to enable them to be of better service to the cause of Buddhism amid modern conditions.

There are monks and more and more nuns in Thailand; they practice long-term. Mostly, there are novices, who enter the Monastic Order temporarily, many for a period of three months during the Rains Retreat or Vassa, called Buddhist Lent (explained below).

Buddhist novices in Burma offer candles to seated Buddha statue (notjustnut/flickr.com).

.

Their education is brief and devoted to the main tenets and features of Buddhism. Such people enter monasticism either by their own genuine intention to gain for knowledge of the Dharma, others who enter out of Thai custom, or the two reasons combined.

Monastics of this kind return to lay life again as soon as Lent is over.

This is the reason why accommodations in monasteries and nunneries (wats) are usually full during the Lenten period of the Rains Retreat.

Nowadays, owing to the pressure of modern life, the custom of temporarily entering a monastery is not so rigorously observed by people living in urban areas as by those in the countryside. The custom has its parallel in Burma, Cambodia, and Laos where Theravada Buddhism prevails.

What do they do for Buddhist "Lent"?

Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Wikipedia edit

Theravada monk kindly taming a wild elephant (Nudiat69/pornhashtag.com/flickr.com)

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The traditional Asian rainy season known as Vassa is often glossed in English as the Rains Retreat or Buddhist Lent.

It is "Lent" by analogy to Christian Lent (which Vassa predates by many centuries).

 

For the duration of Buddhist Lent, monastics remain in one monastery or temple grounds (vihara). In some monasteries, monastics dedicate this period of three lunar months to intensive meditation.

Some Buddhist lay people choose to observe Lent by adopting more ascetic practices than usual, such as giving up meat, abstaining from alcohol, or breaking the addiction of smoking.

While Vassa is sometimes casually called "Buddhist Lent," some object to this terminology. And the Buddha's birthday -- which also falls on the day of his great enlightenment and passing into nirvana -- probably should not really be called "Buddhist Christmas," but the West needs the shorthand.

Commonly, the number of years a monastic has spent in monastic life as a fully ordained bhikkhu or bhikkhuni is expressed by counting the number of Vassas (or rains) since ordination.

 

Vietnamese Zen monk Thich Nhat Hanh

Most Mahayana Buddhists do not observe Vassa, but Vietnamese Zen (Thiền) and Korean Zen (Seon) monastics observe an equivalent retreat of three months of intensive practice in one location, a practice also observed in Tibetan Buddhism.

 

Lent begins on the first day of the waning moon of the eighth lunar month, which is the day after Asalha Puja or Asalha Uposatha (the fasting or lunar observance "Dharma day"). It ends on Pavarana, when all monastics come before the community (Sangha) and atone for any offense or monastic rule infraction that might have been committed during Lent.

 

Lent is followed by Kathina, a festival in which the lay Buddhists express gratitude to monastics. Lay Buddhists bring gifts, donations, and offerings of support to temples, especially new robes for monks.

 

No rain, but we follow the same dates.

The Lent or Rains Retreat tradition predates the time of the historical Gautama Buddha. It was a long-standing custom for mendicant ascetics in and around Ancient "India" (when it was many independent kingdoms and clan territories) not to travel during the rainy season as wandering ascetics might unintentionally harm crops, insects, frogs, or even themselves during their travels.

Many Buddhist ascetics now live in regions of the world that lack an actual rainy season. Consequently, there are places where formal Lent may not be typically observed. The 2016 dates for Vassa were July 20 through October 16. More

What is a Buddhist wat?

Monastic temple complex aerial view with central reliquary, stupa/pagoda, laid out as map of the cosmos, Wat Phra That Luang, Vientiane, Laos (Sasin Tipchai/Bugphai/flickr.com).

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The central reliquary or stupa

The word wat means monastic-temple complex. It is the residence of monastics and novices. There are about 21,000 wats in Thailand. In Bangkok alone there are nearly 200. Some big wats in Bangkok have as many as 600 resident monastics and novices.

Wats are centers of Thai art and architecture. Thai culture, to a considerable extent, flows from wats. Temple lands and construction on them is donated by royals, wealthy people, and the public in general.

The wat is the most important institution in Thai rural life. The social life of the rural community revolves around the wat. Besides carrying out the obvious religious activities, a wat serves the community as a recreation center, dispensary, school, community center, home for the aged and destitute, social work and welfare agency, village clock, rest-house, news agency, and information center.

The Buddha surrounded by devas

It is headed by an "abbot" (chao avas) who is responsible for the maintenance of the wat discipline, the proper performance of religious services and rituals, and the general welfare of residents. Besides monastics and novices, there are also the "temple boys" in wats, who assist monastics and novices in various ways, such as bringing and arranging food, cleaning dormitories, washing saffron robes, and so on.

Usually these boys are related to resident monastics in one way or another, and their stay is free of charge. Most of them are students whose homes are far away and who would otherwise find it impracticable to get an education. This is especially so in Bangkok where accommodation is difficult to get and where all higher seats of learning of the country are situated. 

The census of 1954 revealed that there are as many as 119,044 temple boys in Thailand. The social institution of the wat, a gift of Buddhism, therefore contributes to the social welfare and progress of Thai Buddhists.

 

Apart from engaging themselves in sutra studies and observing the disciplinary code in general, monastics are expected to be "friends, philosophers, and guides" to people.

Teaching face to face or on the radio is one of the most common ways by which they help the promotion of moral stability. To reiterate, Buddhism emphasizes the necessity of leading a virtuous life in order to obtain happiness in this life and lives hereafter. More

Buddhist Summer School: Lesson 10 (audio)

Bhikkhu Bodhi (BM/BAUS); Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells, Amber Larson, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly

Buddhist hall, Thrangu Monastery, Richmond, BC, Canada (nathanbauman.com)

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Wisdom Quarterly's Buddhist Summer School started Monday, June 20, 2016. It is open to all and taught by our principal teacher, American monk Bhikkhu Bodhi. Place a note in the comments section.
  

How can I learn Buddhism in one summer?

American scholar-monk Bhikkhu Bodhi is the famous translator of many Buddhist sutra collections into English.

He created a series of ten recordings on the fundamentals of what the Buddha taught. Those audio lessons are linked below.
  

The series, "The Buddha's Teaching: As It Is," can also be streamed online HERE (free).
  

TEN AUDIO LECTURES

1. The Buddha
2. The Four Noble Truths
3. The True Nature of Existence
4. Dependent Origination
5. Rebirth and Karma
6. Nirvana
7. The Noble Eightfold Path
8. Meditation
9. Social Teachings of the Buddha
10. The Sangha

Lesson 10: The Sangha [Monastic Community]

"The Buddha's Teaching As It Is" by Bhikkhu Bodhi (BodhiMonastery.org)