We try to record all talks and make them available for purchase on CD at a cost of £7.00 from the Library Book Shop or by post at a cost of £7.80 including post and packing. We do not always hold stock of CD’s so please allow two weeks between order and delivery. Our Audio Catalogue is available at a cost of £1.00

Hidden Wonders of Korea
Wednesday 8th September 2010 at 6.30 pm

Hang-jin Chang and Matthew Jackson will serve traditional Korean food and beverages following a series of short films on Korea’s Buddhist heritage and its recent history. The talk will focus on the miraculous achievements of devout Buddhist artisans and artists, and the innovative techniques used by world-leading Korean companies in modern times. It is an opportunity for those unable to attend the talk in February, and those who wish to repeat the experience!

We estimate that the talk and films will take roughly 60 minutes.

The films, accompanied with explanatory talks, will comprise:

Sarira Reliquary of Kameunsa Temple

Sokkuram Grotto

Koryo Buddhist Paintings

Korea Today

Selflessness and Emptiness
by Anil Goonewardene
Wednesday 6th October 2010 at 6.30pm

Gotama Buddha explained Selflessness, Anatta, in Anattalakkhana Sutta, that a living being has no permanent unchanging self. Eastern (Mahayana) Buddhism developed this idea as emptiness, Sunyata, and set it out in the Prajna Paramita Sutra. Anil will developed this theme and compare the texts, probably for the first time in the current Buddha Sasana. The material for this talk is taken from Ch, 6 of Anil's latest book "Buddhayana : Living Buddhism" (Continuum, 2010).

Anil Goonewardene, Attorney-at-Law (Sri Lanka), Barrister, The Inner Temple, is a Buddhist born in Sri Lanka in a family which has been Buddhist for generations. He taught at the London Buddhist Vihara Dhamma School for over twenty years, and at The Buddhist Society, London for several years. He taught Buddhism at the London Metropolitan University, in addition to his main teaching in the Law Department. His publications include 'Buddhist Scriptures' (Heinemann, 1994) used in schools, the Buddhism section in the 'Six World Faiths' (Cassell/Continuum 1996) an Open University set text used in universities, and 'Buddhayana:Living Buddhism' (Continuum 2010). He has published research papers in The Buddhist Society journal 'The Middle Way', in the 'Buddhist' the journal of the Colombo, Sri Lanka YMBA and in other journals. He is the Buddhist representative in the Religious Education Council for England and Wales. He continues to give public talks on Buddhism in Sri Lanka and England, and has been involved in drafting syllabuses for teaching Buddhism at national and local level.

There will be a Reception afterwards with refreshments in our Library and an opportunity to purchase this book at a special cost and have it signed by the author.

From Tibet to California
by Arjia Rinpoche
Wednesday 13th October 2010 at 6.30 pm

Arjia Rinpoche discussing Tibetan Issues with the Dalai Lama, 1998		Arjia Rinpoche, center, in a September 2008 file photo during a visit to Alderman Library's Tibetan section at the University of Virginia

Arjia Rinpoche (Lobsang Tubten Juimai Gyatso) (b.1950) was recognized as a tulku, or reincarnate lama at a very young age. He was only two years old when he was recognized by the Panchen Lama as the 20th Arjia Danpei Gyaltsen, the reincarnation of Lama Tsong Khapa's father, Lumbum Ghe, and the throne holder and abbot of Kumbum Monastery in Amdo, Tibet.

Rinpoche has trained with lineage teachers, such as His Holiness the Dalai Lama, His Holiness the Panchen Lama, and Gyayak Rinpoche, from whom he received many sacred teachings and ritual instructions in Buddhist philosophy, sutra and tantra, as well as Buddhist art and architectural design.

Arjia Rinpoche continued serving as Abbot of Kumbum for many years, overseeing the renovations in the monastery and re-establishing monastic studies there. In 1991 he launched several projects including the following:
· Red Cross Organization in Kumbum
· Disaster Relief Project for local villages
· Clinic run by monks of the Tibetan Medical Institute and School for local village children

Rinpoche who now lives in the United States, founded the Tibetan Center for Compassion and Wisdom (TCCW) in Mill Valley, California. He was appointed Director of the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center (TMBCC) in Bloomington, Indiana in 2005 by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. At present he directs both centers, which are dedicated to the preservation of Buddhist teachings, art and culture within and outside of Tibet and Mongolia.

Arjia Rinpoche is the only Tibetan high lama of Mongolian descent, and he will be talking about his fascinating life story.

Following the talk there will be a short Reception with tea and cakes in our Library and a chance to meet the speaker.

Teachings of the Buddha:
The Wisdom of the Dharma, from the Pali Canon to the Sutras (Eternal Moments)
by Desmond Biddulph and Darcy Flynn
Wednesday 24th November 2010 at 6.30 pm

Dr Desmond Biddulph will read selections from the book. There will be a Reception afterwards with refreshments in our Library and an opportunity to purchase this book at a special cost of £9.00 and have it signed by the authors.

The following text is taken from the publisher Duncan Baird’s website -

A selection of stories and insights from the Buddhist tradition, as well as from the Buddha's original teachings – a beautiful illustrated anthology of important and inspiring texts for a popular readership.

This essential collection brings together essential insights from the Buddha, alongside atmospheric photographs. 'My teaching,' said the Buddha is about suffering and how to end it.' Often described as the 'great physician', he aimed to diagnose and offer a remedy for the pain and turmoil that characterise all human experience.

Teachings of the Buddha contains selections from the Pali canon and the later Mahayana sutras, as well as traditional Buddhist tales and fascinating extracts from Zen masters. Passages of commentary illuminate key meanings. Rooted in knowledge acquired thousands of years ago in the foothills of the Himalayas, the insights of the Buddha remain just as relevant today.

The book is in hardback, 176 pages, ISBN: 978-1-84483-817-2. It normally retails for £12.99 however if you purchase it as part of this event the cost will be £9.00

Japanese Swordsmanship, Shugendo and Shingon.
by John Evans
Wednesday 15th December 2010 at 6.30 pm

In Mikkyo—Japanese esoteric Buddhism—the dragon Kurikara symbolizes the internal energy developed through sword practice. Kurikara is a manifestation of the fierce bodhisattva Fudo Mo O, the patron of ascetics and warriors in Japan, who uses his sword to destroy delusions and sever attachments. Fudo’s sword represents the gaining of discriminative power and decisiveness—the ability to cut through illusion and attachment. With deeper practice based on Sammitsu Yuga - the three secrets integration practice of Shingon Buddhism, this leads to the development of an inner energy that allows one to “burn up” obstacles to spiritual freedom.

John Evans began practising yoga and Tai chi in his teens. At Oxford University he trained in Karate and after graduation went to live at an Anglican monastery where for five years he continued studies in tai chi, Sanskrit and yoga. In 1981 he went to Japan and began studies in Mikkyo (esoteric Buddhism) and kenjutsu (swordsmanship) near Mount Takao near Tokyo. The yamabushi (mountain ascetics) instruct through a systematic and progressive training in the mountains called shugendo, “the path of training and testing”. After 3 years his teacher decided that he should focus on swordsmanship as a way of inner cultivation and introduced him to three of the most senior sword teachers in Japan. In 1987 his training regime of Kenjutsu and Shugendo was profiled in a 30 minute NTV programme in Japan entitled “Igirisujin no Mushashugyo” (An Englishman’s Warrior Discipline). In 1992 he published Trog (ISBN-10: 0-935086-20-X) a book of poems about shugendo. Following his return to England in 1993 he founded the Fudokan dojo in London. Incorporating the training methods he learnt from Shugendo and Shadow Yoga he developed a system of tanren (conditioning) and misogi (purification) to cultivate internal energy. He received his 7th Dan in Battodo in Japan in 2008.

Book KURIKARA – THE SWORD AND THE SERPENT
The Eightfold Way of The Japanese Sword
(To be published by Blue Snake Books in December 2010)
This book sets out the eight components of training essential to complete Japanese swordsmanship. This is not a manual of a single system but indicates the principles that underlie all sword schools giving practical examples and anecdotes from the author’s wide experience. This book explains how inner power is necessary to achieve mastery and how it can be developed. This systematic approach is based on the authors training in Mikkyo (Japanese Vajrayana Buddhism) and shugendo (mountain asceticism).