Buddhist monk left Science: Matthieu Ricard

(Study Buddhism) The Western Nepalese Vajrayana Buddhist monk (lama) who left Western science behind: Dr. Matthieu "Happiest Person in the World" Ricard on finding human perfection

Buddhism explained with an Irish accent

Well, don't that beat all? Tuatha Dé Danann, I tink that's brilliant, always been partial to Booda.

(Cognito) Irish brogue/Gaelic accented "BUDDHISM EXPLAINED"

What's the Irish version of Buddhism?

We are the Tuatha Dé Danann

Buddhism is the THIRD largest religion in the world when we restored the 1 billion Buddhists in China the communist regime refuses to count since communism is officially atheist and insists party member comply.

Nearly all Chinese Buddhists follow three blended traditions (Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism) and now have to mix those with a communist version of capitalism). The country's regime is trying to supplant religion with this new capitalist-friendly communism and a nanny state with mass surveillance, bringing the actual total number of Buddhists to more than 1.5 billion. That makes Buddhism the third largest missionary (universalist) "world religion."

Good thing we in US are not spied on

(The Young Turks) What the FLOCK (AI-driven camera system)?

Catholicism is the biggest religion in the world. Combining its total with Protestantism and Eastern Orthodoxy, and many strange sects and post schismatic traditions, Christianity has the most nominal adherents.

Islam is said to be growing but is already the second biggest world religion, having gone from place to place by the sword, just as Christianity used to do with imperial crusades, ethnic cleansings, and forced conversions.

Buddhism is the original missionary tradition, but neither then nor now is it out to convert anybody away from their faith. Exposing them to the Teachings of the Awakened One capable of curing suffering and making people better at adhering to their beliefs and practices, it has been most welcome.

Why? Just as in the Buddha's time, the Buddha's Dharma ("Doctrine") is not actually a "religion." But the West treats all daily activities and beliefs as "religious" systems when, since the time Sumer, Greater Egypt, and the very advanced Indus Valley Civilization held sway, what we now call "religion" was just the collective daily habits and somewhat superstitious customs of whole societies that made little to no distinction between ordinary life and spirituality.

Buddhism in Celtic Britain and Ireland before Christianity?

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Buddhism in Celtic areas?

Transcultural Buddhism: Celtic Buddhism in pre-Christian Britain

The first Western Buddhist convert to become a monk was Irish

British forces arrival in Mandalay, Burma, in 1885: U Dhammaloka (wiki)

Irish Burmese Theravada Buddhist monk Ven. Dhammaloka in 1902, age approximately 50

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The Irish Buddhist: Forgotten Monk

His name was Venerable (U) Dhammaloka (born Laurence Carroll in the 1850s) from Boostertown, Dublin County, Ireland.

He reportedly gave at least five names for himself, including Laurence O'Rourke and William Colvin [2]. On occasion he used the nom de plume "Captain Daylight."

It is accepted that he was Irish, almost certainly born in Dublin in the 1850s, and emigrated to the United States, possibly via Liverpool. More

Celtic Buddhism, a new lineage

celticbuddhism.org

Welcome to CelticBuddhism.org, a site of benefit and inspiration to those who enter and proceed on the path of Dharma.

The lineage of Celtic Buddhism was suggested in the 1970s during a conversation between the renowned [and abusive, scandal-ridden, Shambhala] Tibetan lama Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and his student John Perks. The actual development is the result of the mixing of their minds.

What would an Irish Buddhist do?

The lineage was formally incorporated as a non-profit in 1989, when it took on official status. After meeting for years in rented rooms, Venerable Seonaidh Perks established the Anadaire Celtic Buddhist Center on 11 acres in Saxtons River, Vermont, where the sangha ("spiritual community") erected a stone circle that has aided in increasing and focusing energies for transformation.

Sangha members are encouraged to establish a daily meditation practice. Practices range from a host of traditional Tibetan [Vajrayana] Buddhist practices to the more contemporary practices of the Celtic Fire visualization and working with the mandala of the Celtic cross. We also encourage integrating everyday practices in art, music, healing through various modalities -- including animals, and in the world of business.

As a group, some members have gone on yearly retreats to Maine (USA) or to further connect with latent Celtic energies to Ireland and Scotland. One member has delved into thangka painting to explore the emerging Celtic Buddhist mandala.

In March 2010, we celebrated the ordination of Sister Griffin as abbess of Glen Ard Abbey, a newly formed Celtic Buddhist monastery. More: celticbuddhism.org

• Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson, Amber Larson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Ajahn Brahm: Community, Trust, Dec. 2025

Community and Trust | Ajahn Brahm | 12 December 2025

I became a Taoist monk for a year

(George Thompson) I lived as monk for year. Here's what happened. Wuhan pandemic lockdown

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  Tai chi (moving meditation) and sitting meditation in Taoism, the Way [of harmony with nature], on a holy mountain in China with Master Gu, I had to do it. Then I had to go back for the yin and the yang. For an atheist, what is the Tao?

Dalai Lama in Wisconsin: Kalachakra

14th Dalai Lama praying in pavilion, closing Kalachakra mandala (Verizon Center, D.C.)

The 14th Dalai Lama comes to Wisconsin to perform the ancient Kalachakra ritual.

The Dalai Lama's Gift

Tantric Dakini deity

(Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive) A hidden ritual. A sacred promise. A transmission into a buddha's transcendent compassionate wisdom. A corn field transformed.

In 1980, HH the Dalai Lama received a humble request from a revered Tibetan monk in America: Perform the Kalachakra initiation—a powerful tantric ritual never before held outside of India or Tibet—in the heart of rural Wisconsin.

 

What followed was nothing short of miraculous. In just a few months, the lama's devoted students overcame local resistance, built a temple from the ground up, and transformed a Midwestern cornfield into a site of ancient wisdom and spiritual awakening, attracting over 1,000 spiritual seekers from around the world.

Captured on film then locked away in Smithsonian vaults for over 40 years, this long-lost footage resurfaces to reveal a story of transformation to buddhahood, and a moment when time, space, and a sacred initiation converged in the unlikeliest of places.

This story of the 1981 Kalachakra is told through the voices of distinguished scholars and the initiates who participated in the 1981 Kalachakra and through personal interviews of the Dalai Lama, filmed in 1981, throughout the preparation and the event.

The Dalai Lama’s Gift is a cinematic meditation on faith, legacy, and the power of one sacred encounter to ripple across generations.

For more information, please explore DalaiLamaGift.org. We invite all to support this project at spiritualpaths.net/donate.

2O24 | US | English | 76 minutes. DIRECTOR/PRODUCER Ed Bastian. Co-PRODUCER  Sharpa Tulku, Catherine Wyler, Jennifer Beman. EDITOR/WRITER Jennifer Beman. MUSIC: Nawang Khechog, Three Dog Night, Daniel Moore. ART AND ANIMATION: Pema Namdol Thaye.

ABOUT: Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive. Bringing the teachings of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche and the "Kalachakra - Wheel of Time" transmission. Visit at LamaYeshe.com.

• Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive, Nov. 29, 2025; CC Liu, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Bear Awareness: Wild Mind (Ajahn Brahm)

Seeing sexiness everywhere, even a bear becomes plush and eroticized. Help, Ajahn Brahm!

I didn't tame my wild mind. It led to pregnancy and these two knuckleheads I'd kill to protect.

Bear Awareness: Questions and Answers on Taming Your Wild Mind

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Bear Awareness: Wild Mind

British Theravada Buddhist monk Ajahn Brahm has 4.8 out of 5 stars with 79 ratings.

The bestselling author of Who Ordered This Truckload of Dung? and one of the world’s most beloved Buddhist monks answers meditators’ questions.

In Bear Awareness Englishman monk Ajahn Brahm answers actual questions from his meditation students––questions other sitters may have had as well.

Kindfulness with mindfulness for fullness.

While most mindfulness meditation teachers praise the benefits of "bare awareness," he teaches BEAR awareness. Huh? He helps us make friends with the scary things that come up on the cushion, and he knows how to lift the mood with a well-placed stuffed teddy––or a well-timed pun.

The intimacy of the question-and-answer format provides a fresh experience of learning from a master meditator.

Whether Ajahn Brahm is urging readers to fly Buddha Air (sit back and relax on the way to nirvana), giving tips for dealing with panic attacks or depression, or extolling the bliss of meditation that is better than sex, he gives us permission to enjoy our lives and our kindful and joyful practice. More (Amazon.com)

• Ajahn Brahm (BSWA.org), Nov. 2017; Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

From US Marine to Zen Monk (doc)

From US Marine to Zen Monk

DOCUMENTARY (米海兵隊から禅僧へ) (ドキュメンタリー)

I'm walkin here! Enraged Buddhism (mf mudra)

(TheUwagaPies) American Scott Mangis is a former US Marine who now lives life as a Zen Buddhist monk near Tokyo, Japan.

Let's explore Scott's daily life and the path that lead him to completely change his way of living. Video by Tofu Media Production, Krzysztof Gonciarz and Kasia Mecinski (tofu.media).

Look, I'm a Zen nun, mindful and demure!

Shot on Canon 5D Mark III (amzn.to/2rChZ2H). Lenses: Tamron 24-70 IS 2.8 (amzn.to/2q45ADx). Zeiss 50 1.4 (amzn.to/2rCCVXh). Canon 100 IS 2.8 USM (amzn.to/2qBWOiw). Stabilizing: DJI Ronin (amzn.to/2qF2QzB). Manfrotto monopod and tripod. Slidecamera slider. Edited in Adobe Premiere, graded in Magic Bullet Looks.

• Visiting Japan? Get a JR Pass (tinyurl.com/59zbdc5e)

Commentary

Not all forms of Buddhism are alike.

(WQ) It would be good if Ananda's student, Doggone, could learn from Ven. Scott, the former U.S. soldier who found peace through Zen, which includes a lot of Taoist philosophy and practice.

Instead of muscling through everything, efforting and straining, there's a better way that bends with the wind, goes with the flow, and follows the Way known as the Tao.

Alan Watts speaks of a great divide in outlook, self-power (jiriki) versus other power (tariki). Can we do the impossible and pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps, or must we rely on a higher power, an outside source of energy or intelligence, to pull us out?

In practice, the latter may make more sense or be much easier. The former may work, but it will take subtlety that ego is not just leading ego around, self-willed as always, thinking it's getting anywhere. Will faith in something outside us save us, or must we take responsibility for our own behavior and own wisdom?

Two Buddhisms have developed in Japan over this vital question. Shall we follow the example of the historical Buddha or Cosmic Buddhas (gods) like Amitabha, Ksitigarbha, Guanyin (Avalokiteshvara), Budai, or whoever? It is the Kali Yuga (the "Decadent Age") after all, as the Hindu Vedas tell Mahayana Buddha.

Let's repeat this basic message in the next post with an added video of Watts making the great distinction in religious endeavor: self-power vs. other-power.

• Krzysztof Gonciarz, Kasia Mecinski (tofu.media), March 17, 2015; Pfc. Sandoval, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Day in life of a Western Buddhist monk

A Day in the Life of a Buddhist Monk: full of great self-isolation techniques

(TrueTube) Say hello to Venerable Manapo (the "Likeable One"). He’s a Westerner and a Theravada Buddhist monk. TrueTube followed him around with a camera to find out what he does all day.

American hermit gains no samadhi or insight

This is a film by Jonathan Green. Check out the Vimeo page: vimeo.com/mrjonathangreen. For more free videos and resources, visit: truetube.co.uk. Subscribe to TrueTube's channel: @truetube5717. Facebook: truetube. Twitter: truetube. Instagram: truetube.

• TrueTube, March 26, 2020; Pat Macpherson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

'Blue Eyes in Saffron Robes' (film)

Blue Eyes in Saffron Robes | full documentary | Theravada Buddhism

There are nuns and sisters, too! 

(Dhamma Source) Radharc stumbled upon a group of Americans and Europeans living as Theravada Buddhist monks deep in the rain forest near the borders between the Golden Triangle countries of Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia.

Country: Isan/Siam. Date: 4/10/79. Duration: 26.45 mins. Director: DUNN, Fr. Joe. Support this documentary at: radharc.ie/product/ref-no-0136-blue-eyes-in-saffron-robes. Dhamma Source is a free archive and directory of Buddhist media focused mainly on [Early] Theravada Buddhism [as recorded in the Pali language canon]. May all beings be at peace; may all beings be free from suffering.

• The Buddha really had blue eyes? and Jesus was neither blond, Nordic, nor anything like most paintings of him? Is that why depictions of Muhammad are forbidden?

The Buddha's Blue Eyes - Wisdom Eyes, Meaning, Buddhist Symbols, Images from Nepal

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The Blue-Eyed Buddha

(Robert Sepehr) Blue Eyed Buddha and the Aryan (Noble) Path

• VIDEO: Is India the world's oldest civilization? Iron Age began thousands of years earlier (Indus script challenge)
• Buddhism in Sweden
• The ancient Viking Helgö Buddha of Sweden
• The Buddha in Viking Sweden
• Pale Central Asian Buddhas of Burma
• Viking with a Buddha: ancient Asian arts

All blue-eyed people come from a shared common ancestor

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(VERIFY) April 28, 2023: All blue-eyed people share a specific genetic trait (mutation) that leads scientists to believe that all blue-eyed people share an ancestor from 6,000 to 10,000 years ago. Read more: verifythis.com/article/ne...

How'd blond hair, blue eyes spread to Europe?

(Celtic History Decoded) Look at this map that shows the countries with the most people with blue eyes in the world. Now look at this map that shows the countries with the most people with naturally blond hair in the world. As we can see, there is a strong overlap in Scandinavia and the northeast of Europe.

• Now we can all have blue eyes, too! (Myeyebb Sale)

CHAPTERS

• 0:00 Intro
• 0:36 True Origins of Blue Eyes
• 2:46 Origins of Blond/Blonde Hair
• 4:21 How Did Blond Hair & Blue Eyes Spread to Europe?
• 5:30 What About the Indo-Europeans? Yamnaya
• 6:56 Bell Beakers
• 7:17 Corded Ware Culture
• 8:18 Vote for Video Topics
• 8:34 Attractiveness Theory
• 9:09 Adaptive Advantage?
• 9:34 Vikings

Burmese gilded marble Buddha

Countries like Sweden, Finland, Norway, Estonia, as well as Iceland (which was settled by Nordics known as the Norse), have the highest levels of people with blond hair and blue eyes in the world.

Why is this though, and when did this phenomenon of blond hair and blue eyes first develop, and how did it spread to Europe? Let’s start by looking at the origins of blue eyes and blond hair.

First up is blue eyes. I often see people on the internet quoting outdated information on the origin of blue eyes. This is because the initial research came from a team from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2008 who identified the genes involved in blue eye color developing in humans. #blueyes #blondehair #ancestry

SOURCES

• Mathieson I et al. The genomic history of southeastern Europe. Nature. 2018 Mar 8;555(7695):197-203. doi: 10.1038/nature25778. Epub 2018 Feb 21. PMID: 29466330; PMCID: PMC6091220. The Genomic History of Southeastern Europe - PMC (nih.gov)
• Iosif Lazaridis et al. A genetic probe into the ancient and medieval history of Southern Europe and West Asia.Science377,940-951(2022).DOI:10.1126/science.abq0755 Bronze Age Britain (warwick.ac.uk)
• Malmström, H. et al. The genomic ancestry of the Scandinavian Battle Axe Culture people and their relation to the broader Corded Ware horizon - Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, Volume 286, Issue 1912 2019 doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.1528
• Recent origin of the ‘blonde hair-blue eye phenotype’ combination: Corded Ware culture | by Andreas Weber | Medium
• Blue-eyed humans have a single, common ancestor | ScienceDaily
• The Genetics of Blond Hair | Science | AAAS
• Eiberg, H., Troelsen, J., Nielsen, M. et al. Blue eye color in humans may be caused by a perfectly associated founder mutation in a regulatory element located within the HERC2 gene inhibiting OCA2 expression. Hum Genet 123, 177–187 (2008). doi.org/10.1007/s00439-007-04...
• Ancestral contributions to contemporary European complex traits | bioRxiv
• Skin colour and Vitamin D: An update - Hanel - 2020 - Experimental Dermatology - Wiley Online Library
• Fu, Q., Posth, C., Hajdinjak, M. et al. The genetic history of Ice Age Europe. Nature 534, 200–205 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature17993 Günther T,. et al.
• Population genomics of Mesolithic Scandinavia: Investigating early postglacial migration routes and high-latitude adaptation. PLoS Biol. 2018 Jan 9;16(1):e2003703. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.2003703. PMID: 29315301; PMCID: PMC5760011. Population genomics of Mesolithic Scandinavia: Investigating early postglacial migration routes and high-latitude adaptation - PMC (nih.gov)
• Creative Commons Imagery:
• Dark Tichondrias File: Light hair coloration map.png - Wikimedia Commons Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Deed - Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported - Creative Commons Peter Frost File: Eye color map Europe.png - Wikimedia Commons Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Deed - Attribution 4.0 International - Creative Commons पाटलिपुत्र World map: DalGobboM - Phenotype map: Andrea Hanel, Carsten Carlberg File: Archaeogenetic analysis of human skin pigmentation in Europe (with Asia geographic extension).png - Wikimedia Commons Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Deed - Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International - Creative Commons
• Jbuket पाटलिपुत्र File: Eastern Hunter Gatherer.jpg - Wikimedia Commons Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
• Matteo De Stefano/MUSE File: Homo sapiens - Neolithic - reconstruction - MUSE.jpg - Wikimedia Commons Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Deed - Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported - Creative Commons
• Wojciech Pędzich, Robert Molyneaux File:Yamnaya phenotype, Reconstruction, male, grave Novooleksiivka; Ukraine.png - Wikimedia Commons Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Deed - Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International - Creative Commons
• Scandinavian hunter gatherers

Subscribe to Celtic History Decoded: @celtichistorydecoded. Vote for the video topics audience wants to see: historydecoded

• Dhamma Source, 11/6/22; VERIFY, 4/28/23; Celtic History Decoded; Celtic History Decoded, 10/20/24; Pat Macpherson, Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Finland: 'My Brother, Buddhist Monk'

Facts about the personality traits of blue eyed people (ar.inspiredpencil.com)

(TH) By hitting the CC (close caption) icon, English subtitles become visible for non-Finnish speakers

My Brother, Buddhist Monk | short documentary

We have an ancient Scandinavian Helgo Buddha

(Dhamma Source) This cinematic short covers a 26-year-old Finnish man who is leaving his frigid Scandinavian home country to become a Theravada Buddhist monk in the southcentral Thailand, at a Thai Forest Tradition hermitage called Wat Map Jap (aka Wat Marp Jan). This documentary was filmed by his sister, who includes the narration as she videos his departure and arrival at the faraway Asian monastery and their family's reaction to his decision to lead a pure monastic life, striving for enlightenment in this very life.

• VIDEO: Is India the world's oldest civilization? Iron Age began thousands of years earlier (Indus script challenge)
• Buddhism in Sweden
• The ancient Viking Helgö Buddha of Sweden
• The Buddha in Viking Sweden
• Pale Central Asian Buddhas of Burma
• Viking with a Buddha: ancient Asian arts

• Dhamma Source, Aug. 1, 2023; Amber Larson, Pat Macpherson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Mindful Way: Theravada w/Ajahn Chah

The Mindful Way | documentary on Theravada Buddhism | Ajahn Chah

(Dhamma Source) This BBC documentary, made in 1977, shows the daily life in Ajahn Chah's monastery, Wat Pah Pong, in Ubon Rachathani, Isan (Northeast Thailand).

Ven. Chah Subhaddo (Thai ชา สุภัทโท, known in English as "Ajahn Chah," occasionally with the honorific titles Luang Por and/or Phra) is also known by his honorific name "Phra Bodhiñāṇathera" (Thai พระโพธิญาณเถร, Chao Khun Bodhinyana Thera) lived from June 17, 1918–January 16, 1992.

He was a famous Thai Theravada Buddhist monk, an influential teacher of the Buddha-Dhamma, and a founder of two major monasteries in the Thai Forest Tradition, Wat Pah Pong and an international meditation center specially for Westerners called Wat Pah Nanachat.

• Ajahn Chah is the revered teacher of the great British monk Ajahn Brahm (formerly Peter Betts), now abbot of Bodhinyana Monastery in Australia, and the great American monk Ajahn Sumedho (Robert Karr Jackman), instrumental in the founding of Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in England, and many other successful Western meditators.

Respected and loved in his own country as a monastic of great wisdom, he was instrumental in establishing Theravada Buddhism in the West.

Beginning in 1979 with the founding of Cittaviveka (England's Chithurst Buddhist Monastery) in the United Kingdom, the Thai Forest Tradition of Ajahn Chah has spread throughout the United States, Europe, and the British Commonwealth.

The Dhamma talks of Ajahn Chah have been recorded, transcribed, and translated into several languages. Read more about Theravada Buddhism on Dhammasource.com. Rights owned or controlled by The Open University.

• BBC via Dhamma Source, July 26, 2021; Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Pat Macpherson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly