Rev. Danny Fisher

Our friend and past interviewee Kobutsu Malone has a new teaching available online at the Buddhist Channel. Here’s just a taste:

All the credentials, seals, certificates and authorizations in the world cannot make a saint of a liar, or a holy man out of an arrogant philanderer who carefully builds himself up with self-created mythology based on lies and deception. A lying thief and braggart who dresses as a king in garments costing thousands is still a lying thief, whether dressed in an exquisitely tailored Italian business suit or the finest Japanese ceremonial brocade.

It can be said that a “good student can learn from even a bad teacher” this may be true in some cases but by and large it is a waste of time and resources. Bad teachers need to be identified, exposed and relegated to the dustbin of their own wishful created mythology.

This from the Office of His Holiness of the Dalai Lama:

I am greatly encouraged by the launching of a Charter ’08 by academics, artists, farmers and lawyers in China on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Their call for political, legal and constitutional reform is admirable.

I personally believe that President Hu Jintao’s call for a harmonious society is a laudable initiative that can provide space to the viewpoints being expressed by a growing number of Chinese people. A harmonious society can only come into being when there is trust among the people, freedom from fear, freedom of expression, rule of law, justice and equality.

I would like to urge the Chinese leadership to consider making efforts to bring about unity and stability in a civilized way.

I would also like to take this opportunity to call upon the government of the People’s Republic of China to release prisoners of conscience, including Hu Jia, who have been detained for exercising their freedom of expression.

THE DALAI LAMA
Friday, December 12, 2008

According to U.S. News & World Report, my job is one of the “Best Careers” for 2009. This makes me feel a little bit better about my own personal fate vis-à-vis the economic crisis!

[This post has been updated as of 7:00 p.m. EST on 12.12.08.]

Today’s mailbag question comes to us from my pal Darcie–a social worker, yoga teacher, and mother living in Chicago. Years back, she and I and past interviewee Ravenna Michalsen traveled through India together as part of the 1999 Antioch Education Abroad Buddhist Studies in India program. I met up with Darcie, her husband Chris, and their beautiful daughter Sylvia while I was in Chicago recently for the American Academy of Religion 2008 Annual Meeting. During an exchange of emails recently, Darcie posed a question to me about good Buddhist children’s books to read to Sylvia. I’ve done my best to point her to some good titles. As always, though, I could use your help! Please feel free to leave your recommendations, as well as comments, questions, quibbles, and so on below.

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DEAR DANNY: Curious if you know of any Buddhist children’s books. Sylvia is being raised in household of many faiths and we’ve been reading lots of Christian books (with Christmas on the horizon) and I haven’t been able to find any great kids books about Buddhism. There is a great Babar book about yoga. If you of know anything, could you send me your thoughts. — DARCIE

DEAR DARCIE: The first thing I’d recommend is that you take a look at children’s books listed in the catalogs at Dharma Publishing (their “Jataka Tales Series” is really something), Parallax Press (which puts out many books for kids by Thich Nhat Hanh), Wisdom Publications, and Snow Lion Publications. (Shambhala Publications doesn’t seem to have a section for children’s books in their catalog, but they do offer several titles on the subject of parenting.)

Buddhanet’s eBook Library also offers dozens of neat children’s books for free download.

In addition to the books you’ll find through these publishers, Demi’s Buddha and The Dalai Lama are also really lovely. (She’s done a slew of wonderful children’s books about ancient and modern spiritual teachers.) Jon J. Muth has done a number of terrific books too, including Zen Ties, Zen Shorts, Stone Soup, and The Three Questions. There’s also The Golden Goose King: A Tale Told by the Buddha by Judith Ernst, The Buddha’s Question by W. W. Rowe, The Mouse & the Buddha by Kathryn Price, Becoming Buddha: The Story of Siddharta by Whitney Stewart and Sally Rippin, Zen ABC by Jessie Spicer Zerner, and Peaceful Piggy Meditation by Kerry Lee Maclean.

Jonathan Landaw’s Prince Siddhartha: The Story of Buddha and its companion coloring book, both published by Wisdom, are also very popular. (Molly De Shong of Shambhala Sun reminds us that Landaw authored a relevant piece for their magazine entitled “Books for Your Little Buddha”.)

In addition, there are a number of good treasuries that you and Chris and Sylvia might like. I especially recommend Dharma Family Treasures: Sharing Buddhism With Children by Sandy Eastoak, Kindness: A Treasury of Buddhist Wisdom for Children and Parents by Sarah Conover and Valerie Wahl, Buddha at Bedtime: Tales of Love and Wisdom for You to Read with Your Child to Enchant, Enlighten and Inspire by Dharmachari Nagaraja, and Demi’s Buddha Stories.

Other good collections include The Wisdom of the Crows and Other Buddhist Tales by Sherab Chodzin, I Once Was a Monkey: Stories Buddha Told by Jeanne M. Lee, Tibetan Tales for Little Buddhas by Naomi C. Rose, The Hungry Tigress: Buddhist Myths, Legends, and Jataka Tales by Rafe Martin, Buddhist Animal Wisdom Stories by Mark W. Mcginnis, Twenty Jataka Tales by Noor Inayat Khan, and One Hand Clapping: Zen Stories For All Ages by Rafe Martin, Manuela Soares, and Junko Morimoto.

Eyewitness Books, which does really cool “everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know” books for kids, publishes one called Buddhism by Philip Wilkinson and Peggy Morgan.

The are also a number of good books about Himalayan Buddhists, including Tibet: Through the Red Box by Peter Sís, All the Way to Lhasa: A Tale of Tibet by Barbara Helen Berger, The Mountains of Tibet by Mordicai Gerstein, Where is Tibet? by Gina Halpern, Three Silver Coins: A Story from Tibet by Veronica Leo, and In Search of the Thunder Dragon by Sophie and Romio Shrestha. My favorite, though, would have to be Our Journey from Tibet by Laurie Dolphin and Nancy Jo Johnson.

And if you decide to go deeper in your exploration of Buddhist teachings with Sylvia, I suspect you will find the following helpful: Taking Our Places: The Buddhist Path to Truly Growing Up by Norman Fischer, Baby Buddhas: A Guide for Teaching Meditation to Children by Lisa Desmond, and The Family Meditation Book by Kerry Lee MacLean. — DANNY

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Got a question for me? You can send it to me via email, Facebook, or Myspace, or by leaving a comment in this or other posts.

NEXT TIME: Maybe the lineage of Buddhist military chaplains. Maybe something else. We’ll see!

In today’s paper, the The New York Times has a piece on ashrams and Buddhist monasteries in the Catskills. Specifically, the mention the following Buddhist monasteries: Blue Cliff Monastery, Dai Bosatsu Zendo, Karma Triyana Dharmachakra, and Zen Mountain Monastery.