2010 February 02 « Rev. Danny Fisher

February 2, 2010

A Gift of Dharma for 2.2.10

Today’s quote comes to us from the great Sulak Sivaraksa–Thailand’s preeminent social activist and one of the titans of the modern engaged Buddhist movement–whom I previously quoted and wrote a little biography for in this post. I also posted about his recent On Faith profile earlier today. This is today’s quote:

The concept of interdependent co-arising is at the crux of Buddhist understanding. Nothing is formed in isolation and like the jewel net of Indra, each individual reflects every other living being infinitely many times. An attachment to an atomized sense of self and the self-Other binary is the antithesis of interdependence and an obstacle to achieving the peace of enlightenment. A commitment to nature and a deep respect for all life can help foster a change from an individualized self to a self as interbeing. Thich Naht Hanh, the well-known Vietnamese monk, uses the term interbeing to describe a self made up entirely of non-self elements including conditions and relationships. To acknowledge these non-self elements is to realize how one’s survival and ability to flourish is entirely contingent upon the quality of engagement with other sentient beings.

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February 2, 2010

University of the West Celebrates $1.1 Million in Scholarships for Buddhist Studies

This news from my workplace, University of the West:

Contact: Jason Kosareff
Enrollment Counselor
University of the West
1409 N. Walnut Grove Ave.
Rosemead, CA 91770

Phone (626) 677-3311
jasonk@uwest.edu

Press Release

University of the West Celebrates $1.1 Million in Scholarships for Buddhist Students

International Buddhist Education Foundation tops $1.1 million in scholarships with major donation

ROSEMEAD, Calif., January 27, 2010: University of the West, the only accredited Buddhist campus in Los Angeles County, will host the International Buddhist Education Foundation Scholarship Ceremony at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010 in Exhibition Hall.

“This will be a great occasion for students to meet and say thank you to the donors who have sponsored and supported our students at UWest,” said Grace Hsiao, UWest’s Admissions Officer.

As of last semester, IBEF has donated $1,111,580 in scholarships to University of the West students in the Buddhist Studies, Comparative Religions and M.Div. in Buddhist Chaplaincy program. IBEF is a group of Los Angeles area business owners and community leaders who are also Buddhists who developed the scholarship fund for UWest students in 2006.

IBEF has awarded 318 scholarships since spring semester 2006. Scholarships range from $4,000 per year for bachelor’s degree-seeking students to $8,000 per year for doctorate-seeking students.

IBEF awards roughly 50 of these scholarships to new and returning per semester. During the latest semester, fall 2009, IBEF donated $170,500 in scholarships to 47 recipients.

Students must be enrolled full time as well as have and maintain a minimum 3.5 grade point average, among other factors, to qualify for the scholarship.

For some students, particularly clergy members from Buddhist, Christian or other faiths, the IBEF scholarship is the only thing that makes a college degree possible.

Once a year, IBEF also provides 10 UWest students with free trips to Taiwan to visit the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Temple in Kaohsiung. Fo Guang Shan is the parent organization of University of the West and Hsi Lai Temple, the Western hemisphere’s largest Buddhist temple located in Hacienda Heights, Calif.

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February 2, 2010

“The Activist Buddhist”

The Washington Post/Newsweek venture On Faith profiles the great Engaged Buddhist icon Sulak Sivaraksa. Don’t miss this piece.

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February 2, 2010

Burma Awareness Week

February 2, 2010

Happy Groundhog Day!

Happy Groundhog Day, everyone! As expected, somebody produced the annual piece about the movie Groundhog Day and Buddhism. This time around, it’s the A.V. Club:

Though everyone from secular self-help therapists to Catholics have claimed it as their own,Groundhog Day is especially beloved by the Buddhists, who view it as an illustration of the notion of “samsara”—the endless cycle of birth and rebirth that can only be escaped when one achieves total enlightenment. In the film, Murray’s sarcastic, self-serving weatherman is forced to repeat a single day out of his life until he comes to terms with the Four Noble Truths: 1) Life is suffering (but that doesn’t mean you have to add to it by being a jerk). 2) The origin of suffering is attachment to desire (so don’t spend your days robbing banks, stuffing your face with danishes, and trying to bamboozle your way into Andie MacDowell’s pants). 3) There is a way out (by dedicating your time to bettering yourself), and 4) it involves following the “eightfold path,” which means revoking self-indulgence and becoming a “bodhisattva”—someone who acquires skills and uses them in the selfless service of others (like changing an old lady’s tire, saving kids who fall out of trees, and performing the Heimlich maneuver on a choking victim). As a result of Murray’s generous acts, he receives the love of the whole town—a oneness with the universe—and is allowed to evolve past the cycle of samsara to nirvana. In this case, “nirvana” means renting a house in rural Pennsylvania and waking up next to Andie MacDowell every day, but hey, whatever makes him happy.

For other good pieces about Groundhog Day and Buddhism, check out the New York Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and The Huffington Post. I’ve also written more than a few posts about the film’s relevancy for Buddhists in the past. Check ‘em all out here.

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