Month: December 2009

A Letter from Bhikkhuni Yifa

| arun

Check out a letter on the Buddhist Channel by Ven. Yifa on the October bhikkhuni ordination in Australia. Although also a scholar of the Vinaya, she couches her words in a different framework than the legalist exchanges that have dominated much recent discussion among Theravada monastics. She also includes a quote from Edwin Markham, whose words are particularly apt.

They drew a circle that shut me out,
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout!
But love and I had the wit to win
We drew a circle that took them in.

She closes by saying, “There is a simplistic impression that all Theravada monks are against women’s ordination. That is not true. Fo Guang Shan has given several international ordinations; they were all supported by different groups of Theravada monks. Is it possible to use a ‘humane’ way to reconsider this issue rather than focusing on the letter of the law?”

Back from Chicago!

| arun

I just returned from a trip to Chicago, where I complained incessantly about the lack of 80 degree weather. Prompted by a question from Richard Harrold, one of the places I returned to was Wat Phrasriratanamahadhatu. Years ago I used to go there for chanting and meditation, and also for some of the major holidays. I also swung by Wat Khmer Metta, where some close friends of mine used to serve as monks. If any readers have visited either of these temples, I’m curious to hear your thoughts. Photos below!

(The larger space; front entrance on Broadway.)
Wat Khmer Metta
There is a lion in front!

Ikuo Hirayama

| arun

Renowned artist and cultural conservationist Ikuo Hirayama (平山 郁夫) has died at age 79.

He is known for his efforts to preserve cultural treasures such as the Angkor Wat temples in Cambodia, China’s Mogao Caves and Afghanistan’s Bamiyan Buddhist monuments, which were dynamited in 2001 by the Taleban.

His goal was ‘to make people of all races and religions aware of the value of these human treasures, thus leading to mutual understanding and the promotion of world peace’, said the UN cultural organisation, which made him a goodwill ambassador in 1988.

You can see images of Hirayama’s own art here and here. To learn more about the Ikuo Hirayama Museum of Art, visit here or here.