Northwest Arkansas Buddhists will celebrate Vesak 2008 with a potluck picnic beginning at 3:30 pm (dinner starts around 5:30 pm) on Sunday, May 18 at Agri Park in Fayetteville.  All area Buddhists and all those interested in Buddhist theory and practice are cordially invited to attend. 

Sometimes informally called “Buddha’s birthday,” Vesak celebrates the birth, enlightenment (Nirvana), and passing (Paranirvana) of the historical Buddha Sakyamuni. An official state holiday in many Buddhist countries, Vesak is also known as Vaisakha, Buddha Jayanti, and Saga Dawa. The exact date of Vesak varies according to the various lunar calendars used in different traditions.  For many of those traditions, Vesak falls on May 20 in 2008.

Please bring food and drink, plates, cups, and utensils to share with those attending, as well as lawn chairs, games, etc.  Local practice groups are invited to bring information about their group’s practice and activities to share with others.  Those who wish may bring offerings of fruit, flowers, incense, or candles to be placed on the altar.

The event will feature a period of silent meditation, and perhaps a Dharma talk or two.  At the close of the event, Ven. Geshe Thupten Dorjee will offer to those interested the Eight Precepts Vow, to be honored for the 24-hour period beginning at sunrise on Tuesday May 20.  Participants who take the vow undertake to abstain from: taking life (both human and nonhuman); taking what is not given (stealing); all sexual activity; telling lies; using intoxicating drinks and drugs which lead to carelessness; eating at the wrong time (the right time is eating once, after sunrise, before noon); singing, dancing, playing music, attending entertainment performances, wearing perfume, and using cosmetics and garlands; and using luxurious places for sitting or sleeping.

Located on Garland Avenue north of the University of Arkansas and Deane Street, Agri Park features a covered pavilion; in the event of rain, the event will proceed as planned.

Click here to download a flyer for the event.

The University Programs Cultures & Concepts Committee in partnership with The Fulbright College Honors Program and The Religious Studies Program will present a documentary film showing of “10 Questions for the Dalai Lama” with director Rick Ray on Monday, March 31st, 2008 at Giffels Auditorium, 2nd floor of Old Main, at 7:00pm.

Rick Ray examines some of the fundamental questions of our time by weaving together observations from his own journeys throughout India and the Middle East, and the wisdom of an extraordinary spiritual leader. This is his story, as told and filmed by Rick Ray during a private visit to his monastery in Dharamsala, India over the course of several months. Also included is rare historical footage as well as footage supplied by individuals who at great personal risk, filmed with hidden cameras within Tibet.

Part biography, part philosophy, part adventure and part politics, 10 Questions for The Dalai Lama conveys more than history and more than answers - it opens a window into the heart of an inspiring man. Ray will briefly talk about his experience and answer questions following the documentary film showing.

The event is free to all students, faculty, staff, and guests. For more information about the Cultures & Concepts Committee, contact Roberto Noensie at (479) 575-5255.

Prior to the vigil, beginning at 6:00 pm in Giffels Auditorium, Professor Sidney Burris will present a lecture on His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and the history of Tibet leading up to the 1950 Chinese invasion. 

The lecture and vigil are part of the U of A History of Non-Violence class taught by Professor Burris and Geshe Dorjee; but this event is open to the public.  All are welcome to attend.

The Tibetan Book of the Dead
Directed by Ishu Patel
Narrated by Leonard Cohen

Thursday, March 27 at 7:00 pm
Chemistry Auditorium (CHEM 132)
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Admission is free and open to the public

[Please note the venue change from previous screenings. The Chemistry Building is located just to the southwest of the Peace Fountain in front of Old Main.]

Death is real, it comes without warning and it cannot be escaped. An ancient source of strength and guidance, The Tibetan Book of the Dead remains an essential teaching in the Buddhist cultures of the Himalayas. Narrated by Leonard Cohen, this enlightening series explores the sacred text and boldly visualizes the afterlife according to its profound wisdom.

Part 1: A Way of Life reveals the history of The Tibetan Book of the Dead and examines its traditional use in northern India, as well as its acceptance in Western hospices. Shot over a four-month period, the film contains footage of the rites and liturgies for a deceased Ladakhi elder and includes an interview with the Dalai Lama, who shares his views on the book’s meaning and importance.

Part 2: The Great Liberation follows an old lama and his novice monk as they guide a Himalayan villager into the afterlife using readings from The Tibetan Book of the Dead. The soul’s 49-day journey towards rebirth is envisioned through actual photography of rarely seen Buddhist rituals, interwoven with groundbreaking animation by internationally acclaimed filmmaker Ishu Patel.

SPECIAL INTRODUCTION AND Q&A SESSION

Tibetan monks Geshe Thupten Dorjee and Rinzin Dorjee will provide an introductory chant, and will be available to answer questions about the film and about their lives in exile following the screening.

The Tibetan Cultural Institute of Arkansas, founded by Ven. Geshe Thupten Dorjee and Professor Sidney Burris, is dedicated to helping the Tibetan people preserve their culture and religion within the emerging global village. The Institute pursues its objectives through education, through providing the public with teachings, demonstrations, exhibits, lectures, films, study trips - in short, with any activity that artfully showcases one of the world’s oldest and most comprehensive civilizations.

This meeting is free and open to all interested members of the public.

 
Ven. Geshe Thupten Dorjee, of the Tibetan Cultural Institute of Arkansas, will lead a weekend retreat at the Rime Buddhist Center in Kansas City, January 25-27, 2008.  This weekend retreat is devoted to the study of the Six Paramitas, also known as the Six Perfections. They include generosity, ethical behavior/virtue, patience, effort, concentration/meditation and wisdom.  
 
Fees:
 
Residential Retreat (all teachings): $120 in advance or $140 at the door, plus $25 per night stay. Stay includes two meals per day (breakfast and lunch). Retreatants are on their own for dinner; there are many restaurants near the Rime Center and the Rime kitchen is always available for use.
 
Non-Residential Retreat (all teachings): $120 in advance or $140 at the door. No meals are included.

For more information or to register for the retreat, visit www.rimecenter.org

DHARMA RIVER

Journey of a Thousand Buddhas

Tuesday November 20, 7:00 pm
Giffels Auditorium, Old Main
Admission is Free and Open to the Public

Yatra is the Sanskrit word for pilgrimage or spiritual journey. As the first documentary in the Yatra Trilogy, Dharma River is a timeless journey through legendary rivers to the greatest Buddhist temples and mystical sites of Laos, Thailand, and Burma. It offers a direct experience of lost civilizations, sacred spaces, and ancient traditions. The Buddha image reverberates continually through Dharma River and in dozens of temples, caves, and shrines, yet it is never the same. Journey into the living traditions and lost civilizations of this vibrant part of the world and explore the universal ideals of wisdom, compassion, and inner peace at the very heart of these ancient Buddhist cultures.

“Dharma River carries us along in the stream of spiritual blessings and delight. This visual feast transports us into the ancient yet timeless mystic East in a way that goes beyond place and time to touch the eternal. Watching DHARMA RIVER is a visual meditation and a contemplative experience. I thoroughly enjoyed making this sacred journey with John Bush and know others will too.”

Lama Surya Das, Author of Awakening the Buddha Within

Click here to view the movie trailer.

SPECIAL INTRODUCTION AND Q&A SESSION
Tibetan monks Geshe Thupten Dorjee and Rinzin Dorjee will provide an introductory chant, and will be available to answer questions about the film and about their lives in exile following the screening.

UPCOMING FILMS IN THE TIBETAN FILM SERIES
Feb 20: Wheel of Time
Mar 27: Tibetan Book of the Dead

The presenter is Jhampa Kalsang, Ph.D.  Dr. Kalsang graduated in 1989 from the Tibetan Medical and Astrological Institute of H.H. the Dalai Lama, in Dharamsala, India. He completed a full course of study and six years of training in Tibetan studies with an emphasis on traditional Tibetan astronomy, astrology, medical astrology and Buddhist philosophy. He has been on the staff of Tibetan Medical and Astrological Institute and was one of their senior lecturers.

Kalsang will be available after the lecture for question and answer, and then for practicing Tibetan astrology.

If you would like to schedule a one-on-one reading, call much earlier to 619-733-5282.  Personal readings are $130.  The lecture will be of interest to many fields, including those in the medical field, philosophy, astrology, and more.  The event is sponsored by Students for a Free Tibet.

Weekend Schedule November 3-4
On Saturday, November 3, Rinzin will be working from 8-12 a.m., and on Sunday, November 4, from 1-5 p.m.  Please visit, bring your friends, and any kind of offering you might want to leave for him (fruit, flowers, monetary donations, anything to show him our appreciation for his wonderful work on our behalf.)  Next weekend’s schedule will depend on the progress made during the coming week, but we will post updates here.  Although you’d never know it from watching Rinzin work, the process of making a mandala is a grueling one, mentally and physically, and as the weeks progress, the strain on the body and the mind grows exponentially.  So keep Rinzin in your thoughts over the next couple of weeks, and pay him a visit if you can.  Hope to see you at The Jones Center!

The Jones Center for Families is easy to find.  It’s located at 922 E Emma Avenue in Springdale.