Gandharan Buddhist Texts: Rhino Sutra

(Tan Lay) Ancient Gandharan (Proto-Indian) Buddhist text: Rhinoceros Sutra (audiobook)

• Snp 1.3: Khaggavisāṇa Sutta—Ven. Sujato (translation)

First statues of the Buddha

In the years following Alexander the Great’s conquest of the East, a series of empires rose up along the Silk Road. In what is now northern Pakistan, the civilizations in the region called ancient Gandhara became increasingly important centers for the development of Buddhism, reaching their apex under King Kaniska of the Kusanas (Kushan Empire) in the second century CE.

Gandhara has long been known for its Greek-Indian (Greco-Buddhist) synthesis in architecture and statuary, but until about 20 years ago, almost nothing was known about its Buddhist literature (Gandhāran Buddhist texts).

Buddhist Lit of Ancient Gandhara

The insights provided by manuscripts unearthed over the last few decades show that Gandhara was indeed a vital link in the early development of Buddhism, instrumental in both the transmission (Journey to the West, Monkey King) of Buddhism to China and the rise of the Mahayana tradition.

The Buddhist Literature of Ancient Gandhara surveys what we know about Gandhara and its Buddhism, and it also provides translations of a dozen different short texts, from similes and stories to treatises on time and reality.

Afghan Buddhas: The Ancient Art of Gandhara || Overlooked Art History

Afghanistan's Buddhas: The Ancient Art of Gandhara || Overlooked Art History

(Athena Art Foundation) Feb. 20, 2023: The history of ancient Gandharan art is a reminder of Afghanistan's diverse and beautiful history, in poignant contrast to its current political turmoil. 🇦🇫 Gandhara was an ancient region located in parts of present-day northeast Afghanistan and northwest Pakistan. Gandharan sculpture is characterized by its combination of ancient Greek and Buddhist styles, highly influenced by the conquest of Alexander the Great in 327 BC. #sculptor #arthistory #learnart

• 0:00-0:55 Introduction
• 0:56-1:30 Gandharan history
• 1:31-2:40 First human depictions of the Buddha
• 2:40-3:46 Other subject matter

Gandhara: Pakistan's Buddhist Legacy (exploring Taxila, Takht-i-Bhai, Shindagar (Swat)

• Takht-i-Bahi, Buddhist Afghanistan
• Mes Aynak, Little Copper Well, unexcavated Buddhist temple complex
• Buddhism in Afghanistan, Central Asia
• Buddhism in Central Asia
• Gandhāra (kingdom)
• Buddhism in Pakistan
• Ajina Tepe, Tajikistan
• Greco-Buddhist monasticism

Superiority of Solitude in Early Buddhism: "The Rhinoceros Sutta"

(Doug's Dharma) Nov. 27, 2023: Is solitary practice superior? [The best companionship is with a kalyana-mitta or "noble friend," and the second best, if no such friend can be found, is to go alone.] Let us consider the problem through a look at one of the most powerful and enigmatic early Buddhist poems, the Rhinoceros Sutra. What does it tell us, and who composed it?

• 00:00 Intro — viewer question and a poem
• 02:26 What does the poem say?
• 04:37 The central tension of Buddhist practice: solitude and community
• 08:06 Who composed the poem, when, and why?
• 09:14 Pre-Buddhist origin?
• ["Pre-Buddhist" refers to when there were only silent or non-teaching (pacceka-) buddhas, considered pre-Buddhist because the historical Supremely Enlightened Buddha (samma-sam-buddha) Siddhartha Gautama or Shakyamuni has not yet arisen in the world; however, there have been other supremely awakened teaching buddhas in the distant past. This means there were Buddhists before Buddhism even if they were not called that and a long line of at least 28 teaching-buddhas mentioned by the Buddha as having preceded him.]
• 09:59 Buddhist origin?
• 14:10 Both origins?

📙 BOOK: A Handbook of Early Buddhist Wisdom, with a foreword by Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi. 🧡 Find this material useful? Check out Dr. Doug's Patreon page and get fun benefits like exclusive videos, audio-only versions, and extensive show notes: dougsseculardharma. 🧡 Donate: paypal.me/dougsdharma ☸️ Free mini-course at the Online Dharma Institute: onlinedharma.org. 🎙Check out podcast with Jon Aaron, "Diggin' the Dharma," digginthedharma.com

✅ Books mentioned

• Bhikkhu Bodhi (trans.) The Suttanipāta: An Ancient Collection of the Buddha’s Discourses Together with its Commentaries (Wisdom Publications, 2017)
• Richard Salomon, The Buddhist Literature of Ancient Gandhāra (Wisdom Publications, 2018)
• The Buddhist Literature of Ancient Gandhara: An Introduction with Selected Translations (Classics of Indian Buddhism)

NOTE: As an Amazon associate, Dr. Doug earns from qualifying purchases. Amazon links are affiliate links where he will earn a very small commission on purchases made at no additional cost to purchaser. This goes a tiny way towards defraying the costs of making these videos. Thanks!

✅ Video mentioned: The Early Ideal of the "Lone Buddha" or Pacceka-buddha — • The Early Ideal of the "Lone Buddha"...

✅ Sutta mentioned: suttacentral.net/mn122/en/sujato

Webpage: dougsdharma.com. Facebook: onlinedharmainstitute. Mastodon: mindly.social/@dougsdharma. Instagram: dougsdharma. Threads: threads.net/@dougsdharma. Thumbnail photo courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

❤️ Thanks to Patreon Patrons: Anonymous (3) John Oborne DunJing Jimmy Maa Debbie Mattison Fine Art Steve H. Ron Peat Matthew Smith Shantha Wengappuli Karma_CAC Jorge Seguel Christopher Apostolof GailJM Brett Merritt David Bell T Pham VCR Upayadhi Andi and Erik ATGuerrero686 Michael Scherrer khobe schofield Alex Perdomo Benji Forsyth Blaze Way Sonny Flink Steve Marlor Joy L Lee Andrew Tom Anthony Tucker Karlee R Ethan M Billy in Singapore Olivia Otter Carl Lennartson xiao mao Jeff Harvey Andrew Ingrouille Kenneth Grandchamp Doug Fonner Rene Gariepy Russell Needham Smoggyrob Mac Roja Bernardo Clémence Ortega Douville Kwan Alex Scott Johnston Richard J Beninger Nathanael O. Arnquist SaturnianMandala Trin P Letesa Isler Dorien Izel Robert Paterson Jake Tobiason Louvenia Ortega Steve S. Richard Rappuhn Sarah Kress John Aaron Paul Niklewski Kong Ing Kai Dave Gorman rhys reed Osanda Wijeratne Billy Scarlett Farrow

• Gandhara: A Forgotten History by Jay Vardhan Singh
• Tan Lay; Doug's Dharma; Dhr. Seven and Amber Larson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Malcolm X election advice (audio)

Ancient African manuscripts rescued from foreign [white] invaders

Black Liberation, Buddhism...

(African History Fountain) Oct. 19, 2024: In the heart of ancient Africa (Kemet), where knowledge flowed like the lifeblood of civilizations, priceless manuscripts lay hidden beneath the sands (in the first "university," Timbuktu, their secrets buried to escape the clutches of foreign invaders.

These texts, filled with centuries of wisdom, science, and spiritual insight, were not merely documents, but the guardians of a forgotten legacy.

Black lives will matter when all lives matter.

As invaders marched upon the lands, determined to erase the cultural heritage of a proud Black peoples, brave scholars risked everything to preserve these treasures.

Protected in underground vaults, smuggled away under the cover of darkness, these manuscripts survived against all odds, carrying with them the unbroken spirit of African intellect and resilience. #blackhistory #AfricanHistory #BlackHistoryMatters

Syria did NOT launch chemical attack

Anti-War Radio (ScottHorton.org, KPFK); Pfc. Sandoval, Pat Macpherson, Wisdom Quarterly

Anti-War Radio with Host Scott Horton, Pacifica L.A. (KPFK FM), Sundays, 8:30 am

The US mainstream media, a branch of the CIA's Project Paperclip, issues war propaganda.

 

State actors are war criminals like many rebels

Former CIA Officer and Director of the Council for the National Interest Philip Giraldi says that “military and intelligence personnel” “intimately familiar” with the intelligence say that the narrative that Assad or Russia did it [a chemical attack] is a “sham,” instead endorsing the Russian narrative that Assad’s forces had bombed a storage facility [that contained war-chemicals stored by the rebels themselves].

War, let's have a war! For the kids!

Giraldi’s intelligence sources are “astonished” about the government and media narrative and are considering going public out of concern over the danger of worse war there [due to Pres. Trump's asinine and illegal bombing attack].

Trump, buddy, it's you, Putin, and me!

Giraldi also observes that the Assad regime had no motive to do such a thing at this time [given that only 48 before this he was granted the right to remain president of Syria in spite of being a despot, dictator, and war criminal. The U.S. doesn't mind war criminals as long as they're our war criminals friendly to our financial interests across the globe]. More (Interviews)

• 4/9/17 Questions
• Here’s the latest Q&A. Podcast (of today's show): Play in new window; Download (1:18:23, 71.8MB)
• Subscribe: iTunes | Android | RSS
• What does CODE PINK say about war on Syria?

Will US citizens root for more war?

Trump, we advise you to go to war with Syria. Regime change, baby. A propaganda campaign in the mainstream media to whip up support for bombings and boots on the ground is already on! Hillary Clinton wants this war. Are you in?

Colombia rejects peace; Pres. gets Nobel Prize

Amy Goodman (DemocracyNow.org, UPDATED); Seth Auberon, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly

Colombian president wins Nobel Prize for Peace Accord after peace loses nat'l referendum

In Colombia, voters have rejected a peace agreement between the government and the nation’s largest rebel group in a shocking turn of events that threatens to prolong the nation’s 52-year-old civil war. By a razor-thin vote of 50.2 to 49.8 percent, Colombians rejected the peace deal hammered out with the FARC guerrilla movement and signed just days ago by Pres. Juan Manuel Santos. It was a stunning upset for a referendum that was expected to pass overwhelmingly. DN! speaks to Mario Murillo, a longtime Colombian activist and author of Colombia and the United States: War, Unrest, and Destabilization. More

• Historic Colombian peace deal must include women, address sexual crimes on both sides, say advocates
• Part 2: Will peace agreement between Colombia and FARC end years of war, unrest and destabilization?

Thai Elephant steps on Burmese landmine

Elephant tears (Tasos_49/Digifancanon/Flickr)

(Telegraph.co.uk) Soraida Salwala of the Friends of the Asian Elephant conservation group in northern Thailand says the pachyderm's left foot was severely hurt in Sunday's blast in Burma's Kayin state.

Salwala said Tuesday that the elephant named Pa Hae Po was taken by truck to the group's hospital in the Thai city of Lampang and is expected to recover.

The elephant is the 14th such injury to be treated at the hospital since it began operating in 1993. He joins three other landmine victims that remain hospitalized at the facility. Rights groups say both the Burma army and rebels have laid mines during decades of conflict.

• Thai teacher accused of raping student kills himself
  
• Cambodian baby who suckles from cow considered weird (Reuters)
• Death industry reaps grim profits as Japan dies (killed by NWO)
• China condemns Mexican president's meeting with Dalai Lama

Buddha's Kapilavastu relics to go from India to Sri Lanka

The relics were excavated in the 19th century by Alexander Cunningham, the first director of the Archaeological Survey of India. The place of excavation, now called Piprahwa in Bihar, was known as Kapilavastu earlier [leading to Indian claims that the Buddha was born in India proper rather than in an outlying region, be it in what is now Afghanistan or Nepal]. Indian and Sri Lankan officials on Saturday unveiled a 16-foot tall [statue of the] Buddha in the Sarnath style from the Gupta period, installed at the entrance to the International Buddhist Museum complex...

Kashmir rising: Indian troops killed

(BBC) Hundreds of thousands of troops are based in and around Kashmir, India, which is fighting a cold war with China on one border ("line of control") and a hot war with Pakistan (and Kashmiri insur-gents) on another part of the same border.

Kashmir is the gateway to Buddhist India (Ladakh) along the border with Tibet in the vicinity of Dharamsala, home of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government in exile.

Suspected militants have now killed two Indian paramilitary soldiers in Indian-administered Kashmir, police say. The Central Reserve Police Force soldiers were shot at close range in a busy market near the historic Lal Chowk area in the summer capital, Srinagar. More>>

Map of India depicting "line of control" at top. The reason the "external boundaries of India on this map have not been authenticated and may not be corrrect" is that they are hotly contested with hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the area on all three sides. The dispute between regional super powers, even if settled, is not likely to be accepted least of all by a non-autonomous Kashmir.

ELECTION BLUES

• Why many hold deep resentment against Indian rule in Srinagar
• Grieving families: Why did our sons die?
• Rising tensions over shrine land
• Lost chances for peace
• Changing priorities for Srinagar's youth

BACKGROUND

• Kashmir quick guide
• Who are the militants?
• Q&A: Kashmir dispute
• The nuclear constraint

CLICKABLE GUIDE

• Kashmir's future? Possible solutions to the deadlock between India and Pakistan - in maps
• Full in-depth report

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Sri Lanka to stop airstrikes, shelling Tamils

Canadian protester chants as Tamils demonstrate on a downtown Toronto street protesting the political turmoil in Sri Lanka, 4/27/09. Colombo dismissed a Tamil truce. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels are now cornered in less than 4 sq miles (10 sq km) of coastline by a Sri Lankan military intent on ending a disastrous war separatists started in 1983 (Reuters/Mark Blinch).

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Sri Lanka agreed to stop firing heavy weapons into the northern war zone to safeguard thousands of civilians trapped there, but resisted growing pressure today for a cease-fire in its war with the Tamil Tiger rebels.

The rebels accused the government of instantly violating its promise by launching airstrikes from three sides on a village in a densely populated no-fire zone, a pro-guerrilla Web site reported. More>>

• Slideshow: Sri Lanka Unrest
• Peace in peril, but Pakistan says don't "panic"

Red Cross: Catastrophe in Sri Lanka

Area controlled by Tamil Tiger separatist rebels in northern Sri Lanka. Separatists have just a few hours left to surrender by a government deadline, as tens of thousands of civilians flee from the sliver of jungle the guerrillas still control (AFP/Graphic).

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Tens of thousands of civilians trapped in Sri Lanka's northern war zone face a "catastrophic" situation, the Red Cross said today, amid fears a final assault against the Tamil Tiger rebels would lead to a dramatic rise in casualties.

• Slideshow: Sri Lanka Unrest
• Raw Video: Sri Lankan civilians escape civil war (AP)
• Video: ''Catastrophe'' in Sri Lanka (Reuters)

The U.N. and others have called for a negotiated truce to allow civilians to leave the rebel-held coastal strip — and the government says more than 52,000 had escaped since yesterday. But it has refused to heed those international pleas to halt the fighting, saying it is on the verge of crushing the separatists and putting an end to the 25-year-old war.

The United Nations estimated more than 4,500 civilians have been killed in the past three months. The separatists said more than 1,000 civilians died Monday in a government raid, while the government said it rescued thousands after they broke through a barrier built by the insurgents that protects their last stronghold.

Human rights groups say the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam are holding many people in the enclave against their will and using them as human shields. Those groups have also accused the government of indiscriminate shelling in the region. Both sides deny the allegations.

Thousands of civilians also fled in packed small boats, and they were picked up by navy patrols and transported to camps where Tamils who have escaped the war are being held. More than 2,000 people in about 100 boats were picked up Monday.

The Red Cross said about 50,000 civilians were still stranded, while Human Rights Watch put the number between 50,000 and 100,000.

A worker for Doctors Without Borders said hundreds of wounded were arriving at her hospital in Vavuniya, south of the war zone, in government-arranged buses, and some had died en route. The hospital is overcrowded with 1,200 people being accommodated in a facility with only 400 beds, said mental health officer Karen Stewart, according to a statement from the aid group.

U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres was concerned about the "dramatic situation" for civilians still in the war zone, said commission spokesman Ron Redmond.

"There are innocent civilians — women and children — caught in the middle of the conflict...so the high commissioner is saying there should be a pause in the hostilities and the LTTE should allow civilians to leave," Redmond said. More>>

Sri Lanka war near end, ethnic tension remains

Ravi Nessman (AP)

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – The Sri Lankan government is poised to crush the Tamil Tiger rebels and end a quarter-century civil war that has killed tens of thousands. But it still faces a major challenge beyond the battlefield: resolving the ethnic conflict that fueled the uprising.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has consistently expressed support for a deal to give the ethnic Tamil minority on this South Asian island nation more say in a government long dominated by the Sinhalese majority.

"The sowing of discord belongs to the past. The future belongs to those who sow the seeds of unity," he said in a speech [2/04/09] marking Independence Day.

Critics welcome the words, but they say little has actually been done to reconcile the ethnic groups. More>>