“Now he has departed from this strange world a little ahead of me. That means nothing. People like us, who believe in physics, know that the distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.”
Albert Einstein
Sunday, 21 November 2010
Another 3D Magic Eye Buddha Stereogram
These Magic Eye stereograms are fun if you can get them though not everybody can.This is a particularly fine example of a Buddha. Try relaxing your eyes and stare intently from about 10cm away. When (and if !) you finally get it you will be able to quickly see the 3D image from then on. It's as if once you're brain has cracked it it remembers the patterns.
3D Buddha Image Stereogram
These were very popular about 20 years ago when they first come out - in keeping with the theme of this blog see if by staring at it the 3D Buddha image can click into view. Persevere it's worth it.
“A wise man, recognizing that the world is but an illusion, does not act as if it is real, so he escapes the suffering.”
The Buddha's Face
3D Buddhist Images from Japan
3D photos work by taking two different images slightly separated from each other and when viewed through a stereoscopic viewer helps to ensure each eye sees a slightly different images which is combined to produce 3d depth of field. The effect can be recreated using animated gifs of the stereo pair images. Here are three taken of Buddhist themes from the late 19th century and early 20th century.
The Buddha's Face
200th Post – The Best of the Buddha’s Face – Viewers Choice
When I started this blog just over a year ago I had no idea where it would ultimately go or what it would all mean. It started to help drive traffic to our main merchant website and then as I became more immersed in the topic of the Buddha and Buddhism and Buddhist culture it took on a life of its own slightly divorced from the original concept.
It has been guided by the Buddha's message “There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth...not going all the way, and not starting.”
In that time we have roamed far and wide and for my 200th post it would be a good opportunity for review our audience stats to be the Best of the Buddha’s Face Blog (viewers choice). I will do my own favourites in a forthcoming blog.
The blog as of today has had over 11,500 page views and along with our Buddha’s Face You Tube Channel which has had over 30,000 views we are delighted that we have an audience on the web who wants to share some of our journey and joy.
Many thanks for stopping by I hope we have made a small difference. Don't forget our Buddhism 101 project - probably the most comprehensive Buddhist resource on the web.
Click here if you want to see my own personal favourites from the Blog.
Without health life is not life; it is only a state of languor and suffering - an image of death. Buddha
The Buddha’s Face Blog Top 10
(in terms of view counts)
Buddha Hand gestures in
The Buddha's Enlightenment 520
Asian Buddha Wall Art Decor - Our First Blog 334
The Use of Buddhas in Gardens and Garden Design 200
Buy this Buddha Wall Art and help the UK Thai Children’s Fund 122
Maybe the best Buddha quote of all time? 112
Attributes of the Buddha in
Believe Nothing - Analysis of the Buddha's Words 58
The most popular Buddha image on Google 56
In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west; people create distinctions out of their own minds and then believe them to be true. Buddha
The most popular video on The Buddha’s You Tube channel .....
Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship. Buddha
The Buddha's Face
Saturday, 20 November 2010
The Beatles and Buddhism - John Lennon
Prior to my 200 post (the next one !) western pop music seems to be my zeitgeist when writing the blog at the moment ! There has been no greater popular music force in the 20th century than the Beatles and John Lennon was seemingly the most spiritually adventurous of the band and the leading force behind the Beatles's experiments with Eastern religions and metaphysics.
He made use of Buddhist chants in his song "Across the Universe." Buddhist hymns, saffron /orange dress and Buddhist artworks were hugely popular among hippies in this period. This culminated with the Fab 4 flying to India to meet with the Transcendental meditation Guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. After the band split in 1970 the band members all went their own ways and towards the end of the 1970's John Lennon had left behind most of his new found enthusiasm for religions of whatever bent.
In their album revolver John Lennon makes references to Zen Buddhism in the track "Tomorrow Never Knows". In the first instance he had wanted Buddhist monks to chant along on the backing track. Lyrics include surrender to the void and the meaning is within.
When asked by a reporter about Bob Dylan's short lived conversion to Christianity he replied "I'm not pushing Buddhism because I'm no more a Buddhist than a Christian. But there's one thing I admire about the religion. There's no proselytizing."
"We were all on this ship in the sixties, our generation, a ship going to discover the New World. And the Beatles were in the crow's nest of that ship. "
John Lennon
More Famous Buddhists - Artist Laurie Anderson
She reached breakthrough popularity with her single "O Superman" which charted at no 2 in the UK in 1981. Despite her Christian upbringing Laurie Anderson now identifies herself as a Buddhist.
Laurie Anderson is regarded as one of the most significant artists of this century; she is a poet, writer, visual artist, sculptor and humanitarian but best known as a singer , where her technical wizardry and amazing live shows have cemented her reputation as one of the world's most eccentric and unique performers.
"In Buddhist thought, there's the thing and there's the name for the thing and that's one thing too many"
Famous Buddhists - Annie Lennox - Eurythmics
When I was researching my original Top 10 Famous Buddhists - they were mainly Hollywood stars and of course ending with the most famous of them all the Dalai Lama. Whilst browsing Spotify this morning looking for remixes I came across the Eurythmics Remix of Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) and I dimly remembered seeing something at one time about her being a Buddhist. So off the web I go to confirm this hunch and she is indeed a Buddhist.
Annie Lennox was born on Christmas Day 1954 in Aberdeen,Scotland. From 1980 to 1990 her and the guitarist and former lover Dave Stewart had a string of memorable hits and were a key part of the sonic landscape of that decade. She has written the foreword to Coffee with the Buddha.
"The future hasn't happened yet and the past is gone. So I think the only moment we have is right here and no, and I try to make the best of those moments, the moments that I'm in." Annie Lennox
The Heart Sutra Revisited
Until we achieve enlightenment, I and all beings,
Go for safety to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.
Through the virtues I receive by giving and other perfect actions
May I become a Buddha for the good of all.
The First Western Buddhist
"The best religion is nothing but the truth."
Buddhism in the west is a very recent phenomenon and the honour of being the first well known westerner to convert to Buddhism was a member of the American military,journalist,lawyer and co-founder of the Theosophical Society. His name was Colonel Henry Steel Olcott and he was born in Orange,New jersey in 1832.
As co-founder along with Madame Blavatsky they founded the Theosophical Society which is still going strong today and the launched it to advance the understanding of spiritual principles and the search for truth.
They arrived in Colombo,Sri Lanka in May 1880 and both took the 5 precepts at the Wijayananda Temple in Galle on May 19, 1880.
So important is this event believed to be in the westernization of Buddhism that the Sri Lankan government still honour his memory to this day and a statue was built to him outside Colombo's main railway station. He also created the multicoloured Buddhist flag. He died on February 17th 1907.
The Buddha's Face
Friday, 19 November 2010
The Heart Sutra - The Little Buddha
One of the most poignant scenes from the Hollywood movie The Little Buddha is when the monks chant the Heart Sutra which is one of the most popular of Buddhist scriptures and a Perfection of Wisdom. The perfection of a space beyond all that we think we are of utter perfection is the enlightenment we seek , the freedom beyond suffering , the Buddha's Peace.
ALL WILL END
No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path. Buddha
My Favourite Little Buddha Music Video - Keane
One of my favourite Buddha movies is The Little Buddha by Bertolucci starting a young Keanu Reeves as the Buddha. The movie has been deconstructed by many for it's ravishing Hollywood images of what the Buddha's life might have been like. Some have been set to music including quite a few at our own dedicated You Tube channel thebuddhasface. The grand daddy of these videos and still my favourite is the set to the music of the UK band Keane - Somewhere Only We Know.
Love it .
"We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world." Buddha
Online Buddha's Face Jigsaw Puzzle
I hope you all studied carefully the very interesting Buddhism and Science lecture in my last blog. Now back to a bit of fun - was surfing for Buddha / Buddhist games to promote through the Buddhism 101 blog and I came across this online jigsaw maker. Hope you enjoy the puzzle - the picture is one of our silver/grey Buddha wall art panels.
Lecture on Buddhism and Science
After all the talk of flying animated birds,mummified monks and talking cartoon characters it is timely to get back to some serious material. This academic lecture given at the University of Michigan in 2008 is on Buddhism and Science and he debunks the famous Einstein quote which I have previously used ! It is quite long at 53 minutes and given by the author of the book Buddhism and Science Donald S.Lopez but well worth the listen.
However many holy words you read, however many you speak, what good will they do you if you do not act on upon them? Buddha
Thursday, 18 November 2010
Buddhism and Wall Street - Greed is not Good
Inflamed by greed, incensed by hate, confused by delusion, overcome by them, obsessed by mind, a man chooses for his own affliction, for others' affliction, for the affliction of both and experiences pain and grief” Buddha
Did Jesus learn from the Buddha ?
The Buddha was born 500 years before Jesus and there are many similarities between the teachings of Jesus and of the Buddha. Did Jesus learn compassion and love from India and a direct lineage to the teachings of the Buddha ? Why does the Bible have nothing to say about Jesus between the ages of 12 to 30 ? Where was Jesus and what was he doing from ages 12-30? What happened to Jesus after he was crucified ? Why is this information not in the Bible ?
“Don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. (Matthew 6:34)
"Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment." Buddha
The Buddha's Face
Wednesday, 17 November 2010
Buddha's Face Complete Blog Index
As part of our Buddhism 101 Project I have updated our complete blog index over at the Buddha's Face main merchant site .
Hope you enjoy it !
Kind Regards
Monday, 15 November 2010
Depressing Buddha Children's Cartoon !!
Is this the most depressing Buddhist cartoon ever ? Admittedly it is a small field but this dour Buddha cartoon thoroughly depressed me as an adult where I want to will this into life. The Buddha sounds like a monotone robot. I was searching for his enlightenment sad to see I didn't find it. Borders on the funny though !
Sunday, 14 November 2010
Cartoon - Why Buy from The Buddha's Face
Just been fiddling round with some great new software from our friends over at xtranormal where you can direct and publish your own animated cartoons. If you buy before November 28th we have an extra special 20% off everything .
Use the discount code buddha20 at checkout.
The Buddha's Face
Dead Thai Monk mummified in a glass coffin
I remember one particular story which personally sums up for me the gob-smacking magic and surprise of Thailand. We had been holidaying in the south of the country on the coast and had arranged for a car and driver to take us to the airport and stop at places along the way. I had been watching sensationalist Thai TV the night before which had a programme featuring a dead monk preserved in a glass coffin complete with dark sunglasses ! I had seen one before -the same one as in the video below - as they are quite common around Thailand. As we drove along I started to think I wouldn't mind seeing a dead monk ! And it was at exactly this point the driver said in Thai "would you like to see a dead monk?". Of course we agreed !
Wat Khao Suwan Pradit was home to one of South Thailand's most famous Buddhist monks. Phra Kru Suwan Praditkan or Luang Phor Choi was the chief Abbot here and had this temple restored. His mortal remains are preserved in a glass coffin in the temple which lies at the foot of the mountain.
What We Think We Become - The Buddha
The Buddha's Face
What is Enlightenment ?
It is the absence of delusion and seeing the nature of reality through true eyes. In this video from menoftheinfinite the narrator discusses this issue.
“The greatest gift is to give people your enlightenment, to share it. It has to be the greatest.” Buddha
HD Animated bird's journey through the world's biggest temple
An animated bird takes you on a HD CGI journey through what will be the world's largest Buddhist temple ever. Bizarre and uplifting and is that Irish lilting music I hear near the end - now for my breakfast !
"Do not overrate what you receieve , nor envy others. He who envies others will not get peace of mind." Buddha
A Christian Takes on Buddhism
Save your energies brother we can only save our selves. As he says Buddhism is one the fastest growing religions in the world - the reason is that its belief system chimes with what we see,feel and hear. Intellectual atheists as he call us. He sums up Buddhism pretty well though - good work fella - go in Peace
"I do not believe in a destiny that happens to men however they act; but I do believe in a destiny that happens to them unless they act." Buddha
Saturday, 13 November 2010
The Largest Buddhist Temple in the World - Dhammakaya
What happens when traditional 2500 years old Buddhism that eschews wealth and possessions (the Buddha was a Prince that left his worldly goods behind) meets 21st century marketing and a belief that the better you can be with a mastering of your mind can lead to your own greater wealth and happiness.
Meet the Dhammakaya Foundation - Thailand's most controversial Buddhist sect that believes in bigger and better. And by big I mean big - they are planing a temple hall 3.2km long and have the largest Buddhist gatherings ever seen. In this video they use CGI modelling to show their plans underway for the biggest Buddhist complex ever built - in their words a wonder of the world. They also have a 24 hour TV station and are expanding rapidly across the world.
"One who has more, has less. One who has less, has more."
A question to ponder: Who is the richer, one who has more and wants more, or someone who has less but whose wants are lesser?
The Buddha's Face
CGI Buddhist Monks Music Video
The Dhammakaya Foundation in Thailand (a sort of Evangelical wing of Buddhism that is obsessed with wealth and creating huge spectacles with hundred's of thousands of adherents ) created this interesting CGI music video showing a computer generated rated monk receiving and respecting his saffron Buddhist monk's robes. The words are in Thai but they have helpfully included English subtitles - Enjoy !
the
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