|  | | Events > Public Lectures 
At The Buddhist
Society 58 Eccleston Square London SW1V 1PH |
| 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
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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
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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.
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From Tibet to California
by Arjia Rinpoche
Wednesday 13th October 2010 at 6.30 pm
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Arjia Rinpoche discussing Tibetan
Issues with the Dalai Lama, 1998
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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.
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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
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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).
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