Our regular blog on all things relating to Buddhism and the Buddha - including the bizarre ,strange ,magnificent and awesome elements of what is the world's most peaceful and inspiring religous philosophy.
"I never see what has been done; I only see what remains to be done."
Buddha
Today is the day that I finish full time work for the government. For 26 years I have worked in various guises for different branches of the UK central government. Indeed it was a posting in the Embassy in Thailand in 2003 where I met my wife and was exposed to a Buddhist society for the first time and where I met my friend and business partner who founded the Buddha’s Face. I will be sad to leave the warm companionship of work with shared objectives and goals and a sense of purpose. But I won’t be sorry to leave the increasing pressure, impossible deadlines and unfeasible policy decisions that require hapless strung out civil servant to try and execute the impossible by yesterday.
With the time I have available I will be working more on the Buddha’s Face website and blog and hopefully be more engaged with the spiritual having time to reflect and engage with the world in which I live.
Time is short and our life on this world passes quickly – one day we’re at school wishing our days away to the holidays and the next I’m at the cusp of a new life away from the large unfeeling bureaucracy with its guaranteed monthly pay check.
Buddhism has taught me that;
I am responsible for my own future
I have choices
The best things in life are not things
It’s easier to follow the pack – and we shouldn’t be frightened at having the courage to fail
And finally I find it comforting to remember the Buddha’s last words when embarking on a new direction in my life…
As I’ve mentioned before the most popular articles on the Buddha’s Face blog are the 3D stereogrammes of which I’ve now published a few. So I thought I’d take the opportunity to make you and google find the whole list a lot more easily – here they are - I hope you enjoy them. It has even been said that repeated practice of viewing the sterogrammes can have a beneficial effect on your eyesight !
3 years in the making and only the 3rd full length cartoon made in Thailand’s movie history – the Life of the Buddha cost over £1 million pounds to make and was the personal project of the rich Thai business woman Wallapa Phimtong. The film is well made and worthy and resembles the modern Walt Disney style.
However the film was not received well critically the Bangkok Post remarked that the movie whilst well-meaning lacked depth and would appeal mainly to children. From this short clip sadly I would tend to agree.
Keeping on with the theme of Buddhism in popular animated cartoon series is this particular gem. Less popular than the Simpsons but with a long and established fan base the Fox animated situation comedy King of the Hill featured a prolonged Buddhist theme for its 78th episode back in 2000.
BOBBY - "Let the wind take the world away. What do you hear inside, Connie?"
CONNIE - "I just hear my dad's ignorance and my mum’s empty headed materialism. No, wait, I hear my dad's empty headed materialism too. That's the loudest."
Just back from Glastonbury which as always is a full on experience. Whilst searching for more Zen Koans which is my groove at the moment I came across the following video. Jungle music and Zen as told by Genno Roshi.
Not many people know but the long running US animated cartoon series has featured the Buddhist religion in the 6th episode of the 13th season in 2002. In the usual complicated Simpsons plot line we see Lisa Simpson abandoning an over commercialized Christianity and embracing Buddhism along with a cartoon Richard Gere (who is one the cartoon’s best looking celebrity visualizations) who also espouses his spirituality.
It is thought that Lisa has continued to be a Buddhist in subsequent episodes and on that basis I think we can safely say that Lisa Simpson is the longest running Buddhist cartoon characters in history!
“All things are empty of inherent existence.” Lisa Simpson
A nun sought enlightenment just like the Buddha and to inspire her she had a Buddha statue made and covered it in gold leaf. This was her constant companion and she carried this Buddha statue along with her wherever she went. Eventually when she was old she went to live in a little temple in a country which had many Buddha temples and many Buddha shrines.
To pay homage to her statue she liked to burn incense in front of her particular Buddha but was disturbed to think that this smoke could filter away from her golden Buddha and go to other shrines. So thinking about this problem she constructed a funnel which would gather the smoke and deliver it only to her much–loved Buddha statue. This had the effect of darkening the nose of her golden Buddha thus rendering it especially ugly.
Hyakujo - who was a famous Chinese Zen teacher would work alongside his students even when he reached the ripe old age of 80. His work included tending the gardens keeping the monastery grounds clean and tidy.
His students felt he should stop work and rest his aged body but he just would not listen to their advice. So to make him stop they hid away his tools where he couldn't find them.
The very next day Hyakujo refused to eat and he repeated this the day after. The students reflected on their actions and decided to put his tools back in the place where he had taken them.
That night the Zen master worked and ate as was his normal routine. When he had eaten he told his students “No work, no food”.
Whilst on the subject of advertising and marketeers subverting and hijacking the message and iconography of Buddhism and in particular meditation here’s an ad for Amex starring Ellen Degeneres. We’ve all been there - we are trying to meditate and our minds won’t be stilled – the issues and problems of our lives race around in our disordered minds seeking solutions and just won’t go away. The answer is not now go away – for now I am stilling my mind – if all else fails then take out Buddhist meditation insurance for those days when you know you can’t be calm!
We can live without religion and meditation, but we cannot survive without human affection. Dalai Lama
Right back to classic Buddha's Face blog with little gem from You Tube. A life affirming quirky ad for the ultimate in mindful coffee drinking - the Dalai Lama Latte. Taiwan's Villa Garden Hotel has come up with the funky idea of a latte with a picture of his holiness in the froth. Not sure it would go down so well in mainland China though.
Can I have mine with an extra portion of compassion please - nice music too !
The purpose of our lives is to be happy - Dalai Lama
It is very important to create a good attitude for your self, and have a good heart, as much as you can. For from this attitude, happiness in both the short term and the long run for yourself and others will come. Dalai Lama
Just off to Glastonbury for the week so there will no more blogging until I return. Festivals are a wonderful place to recharge your batteries, experience a lot of new sensations and meet some great people. Glastonbury of course is the child of the wonderful human being Michael Eavis whose father was Methodist lay preacher and he himself is an inspiring libertarian teetotalling farmer with a love of music. It is now firmly the world’s greatest art and music festival taking place over 4 days and attracting 185,000 visitors.
There is a lesser known equivalent Buddhist 'Glastonbury' this is a community of men and women who follow the Buddha's path and see nature , natural living and living in the community all part of their life's journey. They meet annually at the Buddhafield festival which is a spin out from the Glastonbury healing fields in the early nineties. There's comunity, good food, music meditation and inspiration and as they follow the five Buddhist precepts there is strictly no intoxicants sold or consumed on the site. I hope some day I’ll join them.
All major religious traditions carry basically the same message, that is love, compassion and forgiveness the important thing is they should be part of our daily lives. Dalai Lama
Every day if we watch the news we are confronted by man’s inhumanity to man. The latest natural catastrophe, war, famine or a mixture of all three. Financial meltdown, insecurity, rampant greed and selfishness. These can appear to be the way of the world and if we concentrate on them than we may become troubled – filled with despair and gloom and anxious for our futures.
How can we avoid this – well firstly by not focusing on all the ills – the news seldom reports the good things that happens , the myriad acts of kindness that occur each and every moment , the inherent goodness of people when they are allowed to be good, the smiles we share , the communion of friends and family. So switch it off and seek more inspiring thoughts. Go for a walk – get off the internet – look at the marvellous world which we inhabit and study a tree or flower.
If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly then our whole life would change. Buddha
That’s where I hope the Buddha’s Face blog comes in. It must be said I started this as an adjunct to our commercial website The Buddha’s Face and as an aid to gaining traffic for the website. However as I have become more involved in finding information to write about and searching the web for quotes, inspiring stories and videos I have gone on a journey as well that has changed my purpose and focus.
Just exposing yourself to his life story, the message and the way of the Buddha cannot but change you – at first in subtle ways and then one day you just wake up and realise that the Buddha is in your heart. If I had to say what is the most important feature of this Buddhism-lite it is that it gives me a toolkit to understand my life and my place in the world and to live more in the moment and by so doing begin to really enjoy life. Once we stop wanting we can begin living.
I’ll leave you with some quotes from probably the most famous Buddhist who has ever lived – the Dalai Lama and a video I made for the Buddha’s Face You Tube site.
If you can, help others; if you cannot do that, at least do not harm them.
If you have a particular faith or religion, that is good. But you can survive without it.
Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.
Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.
Buddha is a Japanese manga comic drawn by the noted artist Osamu Tezuka and is his own interpretation of the life of the Buddha, the founder of the Buddhist ‘religion’. The critically acclaimed series is often thought to be close to the bone even sexual, depiction of the life of the Buddha.
This received the 2004, 2005 Eisner Award. And at the beginning of 2006, each volume had sold nearly of 9000 copies, with one edition Kapilavastu sold a stunning 20,000 copies.
An anime feature length film has been made of the work and has just been released.
I really don’t know where this stunning Buddha artwork has come from but it looks like a typical Japanese manga cityscape with a Buddha at its heart radiating light at the centre of a dark and seemingly demonic city.
And that’s why I find it so inspiring - the simple image sums up precisely what the message of the Buddha is - light in a darkening world – making sense of the chaos of our lives and reminding us of the transient nature of ourselves and our existence. A man who thought long and hard and in the end realizes that only compassion can save us from ourselves.
“On life's journey faith is nourishment, virtuous deeds are a shelter, wisdom is the light by day and right mindfulness is the protection by night. If a man lives a pure life, nothing can destroy him.” Buddha
I’ve always had a strong feeling that the classic story The Wizard of Oz is a Buddhist parable. Dorothy and the cowardly lion, the tin man and the scarecrow are off following the yellow brick road to meet the Wizard who will be the answer to their prayers. Their journey as we know is one of many adventures and in which they confront danger and evil to finally arrive at the moment of their enlightenment. Which is of course that the Wizard is no such thing a charlatan who has fooled everybody. On hearing this they each have their moment of personal enlightenment when they realise that they are responsible for their own happiness and destiny and it is through their own beliefs and actions that they will finally be whole and complete.
I like this one - a lot. It's a fine example of a gifted amateur letting his imagination and talents free rein and showcasing the finished product via You Tube. It reminds me of the sort of animations that used to feature in the BBC children's programme Vision On in the 1960s and would have taken a whole plethora of 60s film equipment to make it happen. Not now a small digital camera and imagination , a computer and an internet connection and you're cooking.
If you can, help others; if you cannot do that, at least do not harm them. Dalai Lama
No one has yet done to my knowledge true 3D videos of a Buddhist theme on You Tube but my feelers are out and will look forward to premiering one as soon as it appears. In the meantime we will have to make do with some superb renditions including this CGI marvel of a 3D Buddhist monk and a lotus flower.
"Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions." Dalai Lama
Zen Buddhism meets Film Noir in Zen Noir – has to be said not a great fan of film noir I find it too stylised and knowing in its exposition but that’s just a personal view.
It’s a 2006 Buddhist murder mystery and since the review site Rotten Tomatoes has given it a disappointing 29% it seems to predict what my worse nightmares would be.
Too many unhappy memories as student of forcing me to watch obscure foreign movies in out-of-the-way art house cinemas. However it meets the criteria of the Buddha’s Face blog so it’s in!
"Do not overrate what you have received, nor envy others." Buddha
Wow - the stats speak for themself - so whilst looking for the previous 3D Buddha I also came across this one which appears to be a ball suspended over a mound but uses Buddha images as part of its matrix.
Anger will never disappear so long as thoughts of resentment are cherished in the mind. Anger will disappear just as soon as thoughts of resentment are forgotten.
Ok my stats tell me that the 3D Buddha stereogrammes are the most popular blog entries - never mind all the refined philosophy, religious insight and inspiring tales of the Dhamma it's 3D pictures of the Buddha that you want so that is what you'll get. This is I think the best I've found so far and is even on a natural photo theme. Hope you enjoy it .
We live in illusion and the appearance of things. There is a reality. We are that reality. When you understand this, you see that you are nothing, and being nothing, you are everything. That is all.
What would a world be like where the people lived truly to Buddhist principles and morals – would it be a veritable Shangri-La ? This 1973 Hollywood movie telling James Hilton's Utopian lost world is now a very pleasant retro musical with Bacharach pop music.
A group of westerners escape from war-torn China but their plane crashes in the Himalayas. Here they are rescued and taken to the mysterious Valley of the Blue Moon, Shangri-La. Secret from the rest of the planet Shangri-La is a country of peace and tranquility for tired-of-the-world diplomat Richard Conway (Peter Finch). There is no crime, war, illness or sadness and people can live for hundreds of year. Richard’s brother, George (Michael York), views it as a gaol from which he wants to escape, even at the expense of his life and bringing destruction to the noble ancient traditions of Shangri-La. In this clip they have crashed and climbed through the mountains to get their first view of paradise.
Chang: Miss Hughes! You are in the midst of life. Do not seek death; it will find you. But choose the road that makes death a fulfillment.
The blog moves in themes and we are now on a movie journey. The following trailer is a highly commended film about Buddhism in Thailand, Laos and Burma. The traditional Theravadan Buddhism practised there is now centuries old and informs and infuses the life of the people in these countries. This movie travels through these countries documenting beautifully the landscape, people, temples and the myriad representations of the Buddha image.
There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting. Buddha
