Buddhism in Uganda, Africa: ancient tradition of alms round
Showing posts with label pindapata. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pindapata. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 21, 2026
Buddhism in Uganda, Africa
Monday, January 19, 2026
Monks' Peace Walk: Meet Aloka the Dog
(AmeriScope) 2,300-mile Peace Walk through state capitals across USA is touching a nerve
Aloka is a very special male Buddhist rescue dog of Indian origin, who has become widely known as "Aloka the Peace Dog" in 2025–2026. Why? It is due to [the karma of] accompanying a group of Theravada Buddhist monks (bhikkhus) from Chùa Hương Đạo Temple on a Walk for Peace across the United States [1].
According to the monks, Aloka began following them during their walk and despite facing hardships – including being hit by a car and falling seriously ill during the journey – it (he) repeatedly rejoined the peace procession.
Aloka's prominence grew when it joined a larger American initiative called the "Walk for Peace." This event began on October 26, 2025, when a group of approximately 19 Theravada Buddhist monks from the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth, Texas, set out on a roughly 2,300‑mile walk from Texas to Washington, D.C.
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| Aloka's 2,300-mile route goes through ten states and their capitals all the way to DC. |
This story is easy to do because the men at Wisdom Quarterly are dog people, who love dogs and fish and only recently warmed up to the wonder of cats. Who would have guessed that a dog can be a monk's best friend?
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| I need good human companions on this path. |
- Animals in Buddhism
- Karma (the deeds we do) in Buddhism
- Buddhist concept of friendship
- Photo: Sam Dixon | Facebook
It is believed to be a Pariah dog originally living as a stray when it encountered a group of Vietnamese American Buddhist monks in 2022 [2], participating in a peace pilgrimage across India.
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| Excellent medical care for best friend Aloka |
- PHOTOS: Aloka the Peace Dog recovering from surgery after being injured during peace walk with Buddhist monks
- Aloka the dog had leg surgery. Will he [be able to] rejoin [the Buddhist] monks on Walk for Peace?
- FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
- Walk for Peace | Facebook
- Aloka the Peace Dog | Facebook
- Aloka the Peace Dog (@alokathepeacedog) • IG
- Abbot: Bhikkhu Paññākāra (chuahuongdao.org)
The monks then adopted the dog, named it Aloka (guiding light), and brought it back to the United States [3, 4].
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| Can we make peace? (insightla.org) |
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| You love dogs? - I love ALL living beings. |
Aloka has walked alongside the Buddhist monks, sometimes on foot and other times riding in a support vehicle when needed [3].
It has a distinctive heart‑shaped marking on its forehead and has amassed a large following on social media platforms [5]. More
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| Map of the monks' spiritual journey (yatra) from Fort Worth, TX, to Washington, DC |
- (The Week) Meet Aloka, the dog who is accompanying 19 American Theravada Buddhist monks from Southeast Asia on a 37,000 km peace walk to spread peace and kindness throughout the USA
- As a literal mark of skillful karma performed in the past, one is reborn (due to some heavier unskillful karma) in the Animal Realm below the human plane of existence but with beauty and marks on the fur, skin, or feathers. Behold the perfectly formed white heart on Aloka's third eye/forehead.
- Aloka literally means "light" and is sometimes used as a synonym for "white"
- Aloka the Peace Dog recovering from surgery after being injured during a peace walk with Buddhist monks
- Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center | Fort Worth TX | Facebook
- Huong Dao Temple (92 photos) 4713 E Rosedale St, Fort Worth
- The Week (India); Seth Auberon, Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson, Pfc. Sandoval, Sheldon S. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edit
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Martial Law declared all over Buddhist Thailand
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| Martial law was declared throughout the most Buddhist country in the world this morning with an announcement from the military, Pacifica is reporting from Berkeley, claiming that it is due to the interim "caretaker" governing PM refusing to step down. Monastics are presumably trapped in hermitages unable to seek alms food (pindapat') as is done daily throughout the country according to ancient tradition laid down by the Buddha. |
Going on Alms round
G.P. Malalasekera; Wisdom Quarterly (Pinda Sutta)
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| Buddha walking (WQ) |
Once the Buddha was at Pañcasālā when the day came for all young people to send gifts to one another.
The Buddha went on alms round to the village as was the custom of wandering ascetics in India. But the villagers, influenced by Māra, gave nothing, and he returned with his bowl empty.
Māra tried to influence the Buddha to go a second time, but he refused to do so (S.i.113; the incident is also found at DhA.iii., p. 257f).
The Commentary explains (SA.i.141) that Māra did not want the Buddha to accept the gifts of the maidens and to preach to them, because then they would pass beyond his lustful, fearful, delusive influence.
Monday, November 30, 2009
The Two Buddhist Schools on Rules
Processon of monastics representing all traditions, Vesak 2009, Orange County (WQ)
There are two distinct Buddhist traditions, the older more "orthodox" Theravada and the newer, more "reformed" Mahayana. (Other traditions, like Zen and Vajrayana, are actually forms of Mahayana Buddhism). People rarely make the distinction because the separation is not absolute. Most of what is known about Buddhism is less to do with the historical Buddha and more to do with the Mahayana school and its teachings.
Buddhist monastics, known as the Sangha, are governed by 227 to 253 rules depending on the school or tradition for males (bhikkhus). There are between 290 and 354 rules, depending on the school or tradition, for females (bhikkhunis). These rules, contained in the Vinaya, are divided into several groups, each entailing a penalty for their breech, depending on its seriousness.
There are two distinct Buddhist traditions, the older more "orthodox" Theravada and the newer, more "reformed" Mahayana. (Other traditions, like Zen and Vajrayana, are actually forms of Mahayana Buddhism). People rarely make the distinction because the separation is not absolute. Most of what is known about Buddhism is less to do with the historical Buddha and more to do with the Mahayana school and its teachings.- The Bhikkhus' Rules: A Guide for Laypeople (Bhikkhu Ariyesako)
- Questions about meeting a Buddhist monk (Dhammasukha.org)
Buddhist monastics, known as the Sangha, are governed by 227 to 253 rules depending on the school or tradition for males (bhikkhus). There are between 290 and 354 rules, depending on the school or tradition, for females (bhikkhunis). These rules, contained in the Vinaya, are divided into several groups, each entailing a penalty for their breech, depending on its seriousness.Four rules for males and the first eight for females, known as parajika or "rules of defeat," mean immediate expulsion from the Sangha. The four applying to both sexes are:
- sexual intercourse
- killing a human being
- stealing to the extent that it entails a gaol sentence
- claiming miraculous or supernormal powers
Nuns have additional rules related to various physical contacts with males with one relating to concealing from the Sangha the defeat of another. Before his passing, the Buddha instructed that permission was granted for the abandonment or adjustment of minor rules should prevailing conditions demand such a change. These rules apply to all Sangha members irrespective of their Buddhist tradition. The interpretation of the rules, however, differs between the Mahayana and Theravada traditions.
The Theravadins, especially those from Thailand, claim to observe these rules to the letter of the law. But in many cases the following is more in theory than in actual practice. The Mahayanists interpret the rule not to take food at an inappropriate time as not meaning fasting from noon to sunrise, like the Buddha specifies in the Vinaya, but to refrain from eating between mealtimes. The rule of fasting (from solids) from noon one day to sunrise the next might be inappropriate, from a health angle, for monastics living in cold climates such as China, Korea, and Japan.
When one examines why this rule was instituted initially, it is possible to reach the conclusion that it is currently redundant. It was the practice in the Buddha's time for mendicant ascetics to go to a village with bowls to collect alms. To avoid disturbing the villagers unnecessarily, the Buddha ordained that monastics only visit once a day, in the early morning. This would allow the villagers to be free to conduct their day to day affairs without being disturbed by ascetics requiring food. Today, however, people bring food to temples, monasteries, and nunneries or prepare it on the premises. So at least part of the original reason for the restriction may no longer apply. In any case, that is how the Mahayanists have chosen to alter the rule.
In Theravadin countries, the monastics still go on early morning alms rounds. This is, of course, more a matter of maintaining tradition than out of necessity. (It humbles and disciplines a person to recollect that s/he is dependent on the support of others -- and it is just this sort of asceticism that reform movement reject).
There is also a rule prohibiting the handling of "gold and silver," in other words, money. Mahayanists consider this rule a handicap, if it were it to be strictly observed in today's world. So they interpret it as avoiding the accumulation of riches, which leads to greed.
Theravadins split hairs on this rule in that, although most will not touch coins or cash, some might carry credit cards or check books, which they recognize as money. This skirts the letter of the rule but no way skirts the clear spirit of the rule. It is a wrongdoing to be confessed by conscientious ascetics. There is an alternative in place as laid down by the Buddha, and neither school need violate this precept: It is permissible to have money set aside for an individual monastic or collectively for those living together through a steward.
The steward is a responsible layperson (or a ten-precept observer) who handles money and requisites donated. Permissible items and needs, having been donated and deposited with a steward in a monk or nun's name, are then able to be utilized without violating the rule against handling money. More>>
Friday, April 24, 2009
Gathering Alms (Pindapata)
Every morning in Theravadan Buddhist societies (Laos, Burma, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and so on), the monks gather their alms bowls just before daybreak. The exact time varies season to season and even day to day. (Technically, it is precisely determined as the time when the lines of the hand first become visible).
Enormous drums signal the monks are setting off from the monastery. Monks or bhikkhus then walk throughout the surrounding neighborhoods collecting foods and goods they will use for their daily sustenance. Family supporters are often the most dedicated. But many are eager to accrue merit (very beneficial karma). The Buddha taught that the Sangha is the foremost field of merit in the world.
Often, particularly from the point of view of Westerners, this practice is thought of as begging. It is the opposite. Practiced correctly, it is giving ordinary people the opportunity to gain merit and to develop the wholesome character trait of generosity. It is a tradition dating back to the time of the Buddha in ancient India. The Buddha engaged in this practice even on returning to his affluent kingdom, which angered his father who was rich and able to support him. The Buddha was determined to offer everyone the opportunity to give. If no one gave, he went hungry.
- The Blessings of Almsgiving (Pindapata)
Many Buddhists living in Northern Buddhist lands know little of the Buddha's ancient practice of humility and generosity, to say nothing of non-Buddhists. - earthwormenvy.com
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