Buddhists Clean Up Streets For New President

To celebrate the appointment of new Indonesian President, Joko Widodo (Jokowi),on October 20, 2014 a group consisting of 65 volunteers from the Buddhist Tzu Chi Fellowship held a rubbish collection session on the streets leading to the National Palace, the venue where the appointment of the new appointment would be held

Clad in their blue and white uniforms and a cap, the volunteers put on hand gloves and went around picking up rubbish in the streets of the country's capital city. According to the group's coordinator, Joe Riady, " We want to keep the capital city clean on the date of the appointment of the President "

They started their work at 10.00am and by they called it a day, 180 bags fulled of rubbish were collected.

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Buddhist Story - The Boy And The Pet Shop Owner

One day as he was walking home after school, a boy passed by a pet shop. There he saw some puppies up for sale. As he liked dogs very much, he went inside the shop to take a look at the puppies. The puppies wagged their tails upon seeing the boy. The boy played with each and every puppies there. He wanted to buy one of them.

He pointed to a particular puppy and asked the shop owner " Sir, how much does this puppy cost ? ". The shop owner answered " $200, this puppy is of good breed, so it's a little expensive ".

Shocked at the high price of the puppy, the boy then asked the shop owner again " Sir, do you have a cheaper one ? ". The shop owner answered " No, all the puppies here cost that much ". As he could not afford to buy the puppy , the boy waved goodbye to the puppies and started to leave. As he was leaving the shop, the shop owner shout " Wait ! young boy. I have another dog at the back of the shop. Do you want to take a look at him ? " The boy jumped in excitement and said " Yes, i want to look at that puppy ". The shop owner went to the back of his shop and brought a little puppy. The puppy wagged its tail non-stop at the boy. The puppy crawled to the boy and licked his shoes. The boy bent down to take a closer look at the puppy and then said to the shop owner " Sir, i like this puppy, how much does this puppy cost ? ".

The shop owner looking suprised answered the boy " The hind legs of this puppy are deformed. He can't run and jump like a normal puppy. Are you sure you like this one ? ". Without any hesitation, the boy said to the shop owner, " Yes, yes i like this one. How much does he cost ? ". The bewildered shop owner said to the boy, " My dear, no one wants this puppy, so you can't have this puppy for free ".


Upon hearing this, the boy told the shop owner " No, sir, i won't take this puppy from you for free. OK i will pay you $200 but can you allow me to pay in installments " The confused shop owner answered " Eeerh, i can allow you to pay instalmment but why ? With $200 you can have a normal puppy ".

Answering in firm tone the boy said " Thank you sir, i want this puppy. I don't want the other puppies ". He then pulled up his pants and show his left leg to the shop owner. He said " Sir, look at my left leg. It is also deformed just like the puppy's. I use artificial leg to walk. Eventhough I can't run and jump like other boys but i am not useless. I can go to school on my own, i can help my father to pick woods from the forest, i can help my mother at home, i can do many things that other boys do. Despite my handicapped, i am a normal boy. This puppy is just like me. Sir, i will pay you $200 for this puppy. It does not worth any lesser than the other puppies.

The shop owner was so touched after hearing the boy's words. Tears began flowing out from his eyes as he went down to his kness and hugged the boy. He said to the boy " My dear, i am sorry. I have done wrong. I shouldn't have shown disrespect to the puppy. Take this puppy home. You can pay me the $200 in installments. He thought to himself " This puppy will lead a happy life with the boy ".

Moral of the story, do not judge a book by it's cover and do not show disrespect to people who have physical weaknesses.

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Buddhist Personality : Zhang Tie Lin

Name : Zhang Tie Lin
Nationality : British
Date Of Birth : 15th June 1957
Height : 178cm
Profession : Actor / Director

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Vesak Song

New Vesak song released just a few days ago by veteran Sri Lankan singer Victor Ratnayake

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Monk Bar Of Tokyo

The Vowz Bar in Tokyo was opened in 2005. The uniqueness of this bar is that it is fully run by Buddhist monks. Everyday at 10pm, the bar co-founder and spiritual leader, Gugan Taiguchi, a blind monk gives a short lecture and responds to problems raised by the bar customers.










The monks behind the bar

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Thai Monk Joins US Army

University of the West (UWest), the only accredited Buddhist university in Los Angeles County, graduated on May 15 a former Buddhist monk from Thailand who will use his training to become the second Buddhist chaplain in the US Army ranks.

First Lieutenant Somya Malasri, 39, of Rosemead, seemed an unlikely candidate for the US Army in 2001, when he arrived in the United States garbed in a saffron robe, the traditional attire of a Buddhist monk. Originally from a small village in Buri Ram province, Thailand, Malasri had been a Buddhist monk since he was 17 years old.

The US military has been actively trying to recruit Buddhist chaplains since the Second World War, said Rev Danny Fisher, programme coordinator for the MDiv in Buddhist Chaplaincy at UWest.

Before this point, there have only ever been two Buddhist chaplains in the US military, Fisher said. Both are on active duty now.

One of the two is also a UWest student: Jeanette Shin is earning her PhD in Buddhist Studies at UWest and is currently a Buddhist chaplain in the Navy. The other is Thomas Dyer, who is in the Army and became the Army's first-ever Buddhist chaplain about a year ahead of Malasri, Fisher said.

The US Army currently has an estimated 3,300 soldiers claiming a Buddhist affiliation. It wasn't until Malasri met some US soldiers who were Buddhist that he realised their need for chaplains. So, Malasri disrobed to join active service in the Army.

After graduation last month, Malasri expects to be deployed, although he is not yet sure where.

''I'm very happy, and also at the same time I don't know what to expect in the Army,'' Malasri said. ''When I adjust to everything. it'll be okay. I'm really happy.''

In 2007, Malasri became the first Buddhist chaplain candidate for the Army. He would have become the first chaplain, but Dyer, a chaplain from a Christian background, converted to Buddhism, making Malasri the likely second Buddhist chaplain ever in the Army. He will become a full chaplain by the end of 2010, Malasri said.

Malasri did achieve a first by becoming the first student to graduate from UWest's MDiv in Buddhist Chaplaincy programme. The MDiv in Buddhist Chaplaincy programme at UWest is one of only three accredited Buddhist chaplaincy training programmes in the United States.

''Graduating our first chaplain is a joyous way to cap off the first year of the programme's existence,'' Rev Fisher said. ''In addition, Somya, who has done so much training already as a former Theravada Buddhist monk and chaplain candidate in the US Army, has set a wonderful example for his fellow students.''

''I learned a lot from the programme,'' Malasri said. ''For example, I learned how to be a good facilitator, how to be a good counsellor.''

To have more Buddhist chaplains in the military is important because servicemen and women have been needing and asking for them for a long time now, Rev Fisher said.

University of the West is a Buddhist-founded campus open to all students and located in the Eastern suburbs of Los Angeles County. More information can be found at http://www.uwest.edu

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Dalai Lama In Gucci ?

News have been circling in the internet for quite a while that Dalai Lama wears luxury goods while he travels around the world. This was started by Australian tycoon Rupert Murdoch in which during an interview with a magazine, he called Dalai Lama as " a political monk shuffling around in Gucci shoes ". I am apolitical in issue pertaining to Dalai Lama, i don't support him, neither nor i dislike him. My intention of posting this is not to discredit the Dalai Lama but just to share with you all what some people have been saying about him. Below are a few photos of Dalai Lama, you decide if these photos are real or fake. This photo showing the Dalai Lama wearing Gucci shoes This one showing Dalai Lama wearing the luxurious Patek Philippe watch
























This photo was taken during his trip to America a few years ago to meet President Obama, he was seen wearing only a pair of very basic sandals.

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