Thai Culture Minister wants Buddha tattoos banned

Thailand’s Minister for Culture Niphit Intharasombat has suggested that tourist should be banned from having tattoo designs of the Buddha done in a country where Buddha images are revered. He remarked that foreigners (farang in Thai) see them as a fashionable design and do not have them out of any particular devotion to Buddhism or reverence for the Buddha image.

"Foreigners see these tattoos as fashion," Niphit said on the ministry's website.

Thailand’s religion is nearly 96% Buddhist, and Buddha statues and Buddha images are considered sacred objects of worship. The minister was reported to have asked the culture ministry to tell Thai tattoo parlours to cease the activity.

According to the Thai official news agency, NNT, he also requested that provincial governors should "inspect tattoo studios and seek their co-operation".

Finally the news agency reported that the minister was seeking a new law banning the practice.

“In a controversy the instant we feel anger we have already ceased striving for the truth, and have begun striving for ourselves.” Buddha

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Islam and Buddhism - An Irrational Faith ?

After writing extensively on Jesus and Buddhism I decided to have a look on the web and You Tube see what what has been written about another of the world's great religions - Islam and Buddhism. The first video that came to my attention was this one. It has a woman advertising a book which appears to be a deconstruction of Buddhism as an idolatrous religion. So be careful folks as your religion - if you are a Buddhist is incompatible with human rationality - there is no logic to it !

The Buddha's Face

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Jesus and the Buddha - Complete List of Blog Entries

We’ve written a lot about the Buddha and Jesus recently so I though it would be timely to do a complete list of all the Buddha’s Face blog entries on this interesting and fascinating subject.

Full list of Jesus and Buddha blog articles

Did Jesus Learn from the Buddha?

Who is Jesus – The Buddhist Perspective

The Peaceful Christian Looks at Buddhism

A Christian analyzes Buddhism

A Christian takes on Buddhism

If Buddha and Jesus went on holiday ….

Jesus was a Buddhist monk – full BBC documentary

The Buddha and Jesus – The Sermon on the Mount

Buddha and Jesus - Sermon on the Mount by Wordle

Jesus and the Buddha were teachers of a world-subverting wisdom that undermined and challenged conventional ways of seeing and were of their time and also timeless. Their wisdom subverted the established truth and also provided an alternative wisdom: they taught their followers a way to transform their lives. And so we can say they were both teachers of the way less travelled.

Jesus: If anyone should strikes you on the cheek, offer them the other cheek .
Buddha: If anyone should give you a blow with his hand , stick, or knife, you should abandon any desires and utter no evil words.

The Buddha's Face

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Jesus was a Buddhist Monk - Full BBC Documentary

As the blog has been majoring on Christianity quite a bit recently I have been searching the web for relevant material. I was fortunate to find this a recent BBC documentary and in it they reach some startling conclusions.

They conclude that the three wise men were Buddhist monks who discovered Jesus and returned to find him around puberty. He was trained in a Buddhist Monastery and he he spread the Buddhist philosophy, he ultimately survived the crucifixion, and fled to Kashmir, Afghanistan where he died at the age of 80.

The Buddha's Face

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Who is Jesus - The Buddhist Perspective

In this fascinating lecture from a Zen Buddhist he gives the Buddhist perspective on Jesus. He examines the nature of Jesus and concludes from a Buddhist point of view that he was a Bodhisattva - an enlightened being. The Christian priest who is sitting just below the podium squirms throughout as his belief is questioned analytically. The main point is the Buddha never claimed to be a god unlike other "deities" who claim to be God and by freeing his mind from delusion reached enlightenment.

The Buddha's Face

The best place to buy wholesale and retail Buddha statues,sculptures and wall panel decor for both the home and garden

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The Peaceful Christian looks at Buddhism

A sort of interesting look at Buddhism from an American Christian perspective who remarks that it is now cool to be a Buddhist and that often practising Buddhists are more "Christ-like" than many contemporary Christians. He then goes on to describe the practice of Buddhism. He ultimately sees Buddhism as a nihilistic religion and then finishes on what Christians can learn from Buddhists. Ultimately his conclusion is that the lesson Buddhists can learn from Christians is that life should be lived and not escaped from.

Do not overrate what you have received, nor envy others. He who envies others does not obtain peace of mind. Buddha

The Buddha's Face

The best place to buy wholesale and retail Buddha statues,sculptures and wall panel decor for both the home and garden

Bespoke design available, from small buddha statues to large buddha wall art in colours from natural wood to gold ,all carved by our Buddhist artists and 100%fairtrade.

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Silent Movie about the Buddha - Light of Asia (1925)

This must surely be one of the earliest fims depicting the Life of the Buddha made in 1925 The Light of Asia (Prem Sanyas) has a cast of thousands which was made possible by the support of the extremely powerful Maharajah of Jaipur.

The German-Indian production Prem Sanyas or Die Leuchte Asiens (1925, Franz Osten and Himansu Rai) is a compelling hybrid between exoticism and historical biography. It made stars of the two young leads, Seeta Devi and Himansu Rai. Rai was one of the founders of the Indian cinema.

The Buddha's Face

The best place to buy wholesale and retail Buddha statues,sculptures and wall panel decor for both the home and garden

Bespoke design available, from small buddha statues to large buddha wall art in colours from natural wood to gold ,all carved by our Buddhist artists and 100%fairtrade.

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Dinner with Andre - Network and Bill Hicks - Watch this if you want to be Human !

There is a very good video mash up from my alter ego ibilly99 over on his you tube channel. I made it very simply by stringing several clips together and added the Erik Satie piano Gymnopedie track which is the closing music of the movie over the end of my clips.

I uploaded it just over 2 1/2 years ago and in that time its had over 26,000 hits and is the most highly rated of all my videos. I first saw the movie Dinner with Andre over 30 years ago on a small black and white tv and simply couldn't believe what I was seeing. It's simply a movie which takes the form of two old friends meeting up after many years apart and put their differing views and approaches to life. It amazed me then and it still amazes me today.

Andre: OK. Yes, we are bored. We're all bored now. But has it ever occurred to you Wally that the process that creates this boredom that we see in the world now may very well be a self-perpetuating, unconscious form of brainwashing, created by a world totalitarian government based on money, and that all of this is much more dangerous than one thinks? and it's not just a question of individual survival Wally, but that somebody who's bored is asleep, and somebody who's asleep will not say no?

The Buddha's Face

The best place to buy wholesale and retail Buddha statues,sculptures and wall panel decor for both the home and garden

Bespoke design available, from small buddha statues to large buddha wall art in colours from natural wood to gold ,all carved by our Buddhist artists and 100%fairtrade.

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The Story of the Buddha - Children's Cartoon

This is a delightful children's cartoon which I think originates from India and serves as a quick introduction to the story of the Buddha in plain simple English. Gets most of the important milestones in the Buddha's life in an economical 8 minutes !

“Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful.” Buddha

The Buddha's Face

The best place to buy wholesale and retail Buddha statues,sculptures and wall panel decor for both the home and garden

Bespoke design available, from small buddha statues to large buddha wall art in colours from natural wood to gold ,all carved by our Buddhist artists and 100%fairtrade.

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Maz Jobrani - Buddhist Bomber - Stand Up Comedy

Don't know where to start with deconstructing this stand -up as a true Buddhist wouldn't want to blow up anything anyway. Still it's comedy and the Buddhist joke is only a small part but it passes the Buddha's Face blog test so it's in !

Enjoy !

Q. How many buddhist monks does it need to change a light bulb ?

A. 4

one to change it

one not to change it

one to change it and not to change it

and one neither to change it nor not to change it

The Buddha's Face

The best place to buy wholesale and retail Buddha statues,sculptures and wall panel decor for both the home and garden

Bespoke design available, from small buddha statues to large buddha wall art in colours from natural wood to gold ,all carved by our Buddhist artists and 100%fairtrade.

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Buddha and Jesus - Sermon on the Mount

Shortly before my dear father passed away we discussed Christianity (he was a sometimes Methodist and a follower of Lord Donald Soper ) and at that time I was a militant atheist and communist. We honed in on the sermon on the mount as a passage in the Bible that had great power and encapsulated what is at the heart of true Christian belief - we both agreed this was a wonderful speech and probably the best in the Bible. I remembered this after he died and we read this at his funeral as a tribute to him. It strikes me that Jesus in the heart of his teachings has a lot of similarities to Buddhism and I have explored this previously in the blog. The Jesus that comes to us today has been filtered through generations of tradition and orthodoxy . But as the saying goes all roads lead to Rome. Take a short time to listen and enjoy these great words and a great performance by Robert Powell.

Buddhism and Christianity - Wikipedia

"Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace." Buddha

The Buddha's Face

The best place to buy wholesale and retail Buddha statues,sculptures and wall panel decor for both the home and garden

Bespoke design available, from small buddha statues to large buddha wall art in colours from natural wood to gold ,all carved by our Buddhist artists and 100%fairtrade.

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Buddhist Rap Hip Hop Artist - A Cultivator Revisited - Video It's Not Easy

We've done a blog post on the A Cultivator - the Buddhist hip hop artist before and whilst seraching for new material for this blog came across his video on You Tube. So in a Buddha's Face Blog premiere I'm proud to present A Cultivator - rap with the Dhamma my homey - peace and love !

The Buddha's Face

The best place to buy wholesale and retail Buddha statues,sculptures and wall panel decor for both the home and garden

Bespoke design available, from small buddha statues to large buddha wall art in colours from natural wood to gold ,all carved by our Buddhist artists and 100%fairtrade.

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The Buddha HD Documentary PBS

One day one man would come to change the world and the realisation of the truth in a single moment in a single day would change his life and the world forever - coming soon to a TV or PC near you !

HIS LIFE - HIS JOURNEY - HIS AWAKENING

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

The Buddha's Face

The best place to buy wholesale and retail Buddha statues,sculptures and wall panel decor for both the home and garden

Bespoke design available, from small buddha statues to large buddha wall art in colours from natural wood to gold ,all carved by our Buddhist artists and 100%fairtrade.

Visit our Buddhism 101 Enlightenment Project