Dang Zang

I’ve been busy lately, but have time now to report that

• on the Kagyu side, Dekhung Gyaltsey Rinpoche will be here in August - if interested, check the Kagyu Samten Choeling site.
• on the Nyingma side, Lama Pema Dorje Rinpoche will be here in August too. Here is a flyer about his visit to Canberra, Sydney, Blue Mountains and Bellingen, while this link is to a flyer specifically about the Sydney visit, where he will teach on Guru Yoga, Dzogchen and Lu Jong.

… the one who has taught in England since the late 60s, my first teacher, and from Benchen if not the “Benchen Chime Rinpoche” (rather the Radha Lama of Benchen, at the risk of labouring the point), Dave Lawson is again responisible for this picture. In fact I think it was taken on the same occasion as the HH Dalai Lama picture I posted recently.

The comment from Tashi to my last post includes this link to pictures of a trip to Benchen in 2005 that I enjoyed so much I thought I’d “elevate” it to mention in a front-page post.

Interestingly, the Polish site includes pictures of the Chime Rinpoche of Benchen. I include below a picture including a stupa containing relics of his previous incarnation. I should make it clear that when I referred in the previous post to “Chime Rinpoche”, I was actually thinking of my first teacher, known in the West by his personal name of Chime, but more properly called the Radha Lama or Chime Radha Rinpoche. He is also from Benchen, but the commonality of name is a coincidence. Getting confused about this has been known to upset a few people in the past, and some odd stories (that I need not repeat) went round. But in fact both lamas are entirely genuine, both are connected to Benchen – they are just two different people.

Tashi’s friend’s pictures are far better than anything I ever took, and it looks like they had a great trip. For contrast, here are a few from 1992:

Chime (Radha) Rinpoche on the verandah at Benchen

Me at the stupas - the one on the right is the "other" Chime's stupa

The plains of Amdo are wide open!

Home monastery of Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche, Tenga Rinpoche and Chime Rinpoche. Looks a bit more spruce than when I was there in ’92!

Benchen 2005

The picture was sent out as a digital new-year card from Marpa House a year ago – thanks!

This question often comes up, and did so just yesterday on e-sangha. I thought I’d repeat the answer I suggested to someone else a month or two ago, where the animal involved was a cat:

Dear …,

I do feel for you, as a cat lover myself. Many Western Buddhists have been through this. I can only offer you my opinion, based on discussions with quite a few other people.
1) You have already given your cat a far better, longer life than nature would.
2) The ulitmate critereon has to be compassion.
3) It’s obviously got to the stage where all that awaits your cat is more suffering.
4) *If* there is something “bad” about the euthanasia, take the consequences on yourself (the “bad karma”, if there is any, and the heartache) gladly out of love for your cat.

I have known people who have wished that they could be given the same release.

Like I say, only my opinion, but one that is widely shared.

Obviously, if you also know any prayers for the dead, they may help a bit, especially with your own feeling.

Best wishes to you both

It really gets up my nose when people start to put rules and speculations about the way karma works (suggesting, for instance, that you should leave the animal to suffer so that it can “complete working out its karma”) above compassion.

This is just too good not to pass on:

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – What happens when you put a Muslim imam, a Christian priest, a rabbi and a Buddhist monk in a room with 10 atheists?

Turkish television station Kanal T hopes the answer is a ratings success as it prepares to launch a gameshow where spiritual guides from the four faiths will seek to convert a group of non-believers.

The prize for converts will be a pilgrimage to a holy site of their chosen religion — Mecca for Muslims, the Vatican for Christians, Jerusalem for Jews and Tibet for Buddhists.

But religious authorities in Muslim but secular Turkey are not amused by the twist on the popular reality game show format and the Religious Affairs Directorate is refusing to provide an imam for the show.

“Doing something like this for the sake of ratings is disrespectful to all religions. Religion should not be a subject for entertainment programs,” High Board of Religious Affairs Chairman Hamza Aktan told state news agency Anatolian after news of the planned program emerged.

The makers of “Penitents Compete” are unrepentant and reject claims that the show, scheduled to begin broadcasting in September, will cheapen religion.

“We are giving the biggest prize in the world, the gift of belief in God,” Kanal T chief executive Seyhan Soylu told Reuters.

“We don’t approve of anyone being an atheist. God is great and it doesn’t matter which religion you believe in. The important thing is to believe,” Soylu said.

The project focuses attention on the issue of religious identity in European Union-candidate Turkey, where rights groups have raised concerns over freedom of religion for non-Muslim minorities.

Detractors of the ruling AK Party government, which is rooted in political Islam but officially secular, accuse it of having a hidden Islamist agenda, a charge it denies.

Some 200 people have so far applied to take part in the show and the 10 contestants will be chosen next month.

A team of theologians will ensure that the atheists are truly non-believers and are not just seeking fame or a free holiday.

(Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Dominic Evans)

It’s not till Monday, but congratulations and best wishes to His Holiness the Dalai Lama for then.

Here’s a picture kindly provided with free copyright by Dave Lawson:

Happy birthday to HHDL