Weekend at the UCBerkley Campus

These are all pictures from the Berkley Campus... I really enjoyed walking around and getting a feel for what life is like attending this famous University. When the time comes...hopefully...this will probably be the next destination on my journey. Enjoy the pics!

I recently returned from an academic conference at UCAL Berkley. Here is the Info-

IEAS - Institute of East Asian Studies, UC Berkeley

"Text, Translation, and Transmission"

DATE:	Thursday-Saturday, October 18-20, 2007
PLACE:	Toll Room, Alumni House, UC Berkeley
FORMAT:	Conference
SPONSOR:	Center for Buddhist Studies

• Description
• Schedule
• Participants
• Directions

Schedule

All panels are free and open to the public.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Opening reception by invitation

Friday, October 19, 2007

9:30 am - 11:45 am

Panel I - Translating Buddhist Doctrine

Dan Arnold, University of Chicago
Understanding and/as the Translation of Buddhist Philosophy

Parimal Patil, Harvard University
A Buddhist Historiography for Buddhist Philosophy

Shoryu Katsura, Ryukoku University
A Shift of Buddhist Logic from Dignāga to Dharmakīrti

Leslie Kawamura, University of Calgary
Translation of Yogācāra Buddhism: Chinese, Tibetan and Sanskrit Texts

Moderator: Alexander von Rospatt, University of California, Berkeley

11:45 am - 1:00 pm
Lunch break

1:00 pm - 2:30 pm

Panel II - Early Buddhist Literatures

Michael Zimmermann, Hamburg University
The Pierced Foot: The Transformation of an Episode from the Buddha's Life

Phyllis Granoff, Yale University
Birds, Babes, and Bodhisattvas: Truth and Fiction in the Life of the Buddha

Moderator: Richard Payne, Institute of Buddhist Studies

2:30 pm - 3:00 pm
Coffee break

3:00 pm - 4:30 pm

Panel III - Beyond Doctrine

Alexander von Rospatt, University of California, Berkeley
The Last Phase of Sanskrit Buddhist Literature: Remarks on the Svayambhūpurāṇa

Richard Payne, Institute of Buddhist Studies
Translating Ritual, Translating Buddhism: Moving Beyond our Obsession with Doctrine

Moderator: Lisa Grumbach, Institute of Buddhist Studies

5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Reception/Dinner (for participants and attendees)
Jodo Shinshu Center
2140 Durant Avenue, Berkeley

Saturday, October 20, 2007

9:00 am - 11:15 am

Panel IV - Transmissions in Tibetan Buddhism

Lara Braitstein, McGill University
Re/Writing History: Politics and Religion in the Life of the 10th Zhwa dmar pa

Robert Mayer, University of Oxford
The Dunhuang Thabs kyi zhags pa padma phreng Manuscript: A Source for Understanding the Transmission of Mahāyoga in Tibet

Tadeusz Skorupski, University of London
How and Why New Buddhist Traditions Arise

Peter Verhagen, Leiden University
Latter-day Lo-tsā-bas: Translation Activities in 18th-century Tibet

Moderator: Patricia Berger, University of California, Berkeley

11:15 am - 12:30 pm
Lunch break and photo session

12:30 pm - 2:00 pm

Panel V - Interpreting Chinese Textual Traditions

James Benn, McMaster University
Hybrid Cosmologies in the Śūramgama Sutra

Natasha Heller, University of California, Los Angeles
Epistolary Chan

Koichi Shinohara, BDK Publication Committee
The Buddhist Culture of the Seventh Century Anthology 'Fayuan zhulin' ('The Jade Forest in the Dharma Garden')

Moderator: Robert Sharf , University of California, Berkeley

2:00 pm - 2:15 pm
Coffee break

2:15 pm - 3:45 pm

Panel VI - Rethinking Sources

Jamie Hubbard, Smith College
Textual Communities in the Production, Translation, and Transmission of Buddhist Scriptures, Then and Now

Michel Mohr, University of Hawaii
On the Proper Use of Traps and Snares: Reflections on Language and Translation

Moderator: Duncan Williams , University of California, Berkeley

Copyright © 2005-2007 UC Regents. All rights reserved.

I learned a good deal of information while attending all these lectures. The important understanding that I received was in relationship to the differences and similarities between academic (in the Western Universities) Buddhist studies, and my own studies here at Dharma Realm Buddhist University. I wont go into all of those similarities and differences now, but I will say that they exist.

Overall, it was a good experience for me.

Humboldt State University visits CTTB

Hello Everyone!

These are some pics from last weekend. Danny teaching Tai Ji to HSU, and demonstrating on me. The monk is Dharma Master Heng Shun 恆順法師. He is the one who answered most questions during the weekend.

Last weekend Humboldt State University came to CTTB for their annual weekend retreat. I had the privilege to take care of them during their stay. At 3:30 AM I went throughout the courtyard hitting the wooden boards to wake them all up for morning ceremony. Most of them actually got up.
I greatly enjoy when these students come because they bring with them a lot of good questions and energy to the discussions and panels we hold. Through their questions and the answers from various Dharma Masters (monks and nuns) I am able to hone my skills at introducing and explaining Buddhism to people from various backgrounds and traditions.
The topic of the Panel on Saturday evening was Buddhism and World Peace. There were eight speakers total who were invited to speak on this very broad topic. The essential principle that they all spoke on was the idea that if we really want to help the world, we have to start by helping ourselves. Helping ourselves just means practicing pacifying our own hearts and minds, before trying to pacify others. We can help externally equivalent to the amount of greed, anger, and ignorance that we have transformed internally. Through this constant grinding away of our own inherent issues, we are better equipped to help others with theirs.

That is the principle and here is its application. There are actually a lot of things people can do to help the world.

1. Educate yourself- What you don't know can kill you. Ignorance is suffering.

2. Pray- The power of Prayer is proven (regardless of religion). Send out goodness to those in
suffering.

3. Follow moral principles- By not engaging in the same things that hurt the world (ie. killing, stealing, lying, raping and cheating, abusing substances etc.) you become a healing force in the world. Try it out and see for yourself.

4. Meditate- take time out of your day to stop everything. Quiet your mind and relax your body. Develop concentration that you can apply to skills in daily life. 5 minutes is not too short to start. Soon it can easily be an hour.

--As far as education goes- Research what goes into your body. What are you feeding yourself and your family? Is it harmful? What are you dependent on? Why? Can you reduce your waste? Learn how to be a smart consumer, and not another Wal-Mart junkie.

--The key is to understand what effect you are having on the world and how you can make it better.

This was what I heard from the panel, and what I have come to understand through living here at CTTB. Take what you think is useful, and please don't hesitate to correct me or criticize me.

Take care and take responsibility for your life and its effect on the world. I'll try to do the same.

-kenny

feelings from the farm...

Sorry for the low quality pictures, my new digital camera should be coming in very soon. After which i will have many more pictures to post on this blog.

I work on the organic farm here once per week for two hours or so. Today i was picking tomatoes and after a little while i remembered how rewarding getting your hands dirty and working outside in the earth can be.

Fresh, cool, misty morning air weighed down with dew penetrated my whole body refreshing me every time i took a breath. I worked slow in order to be as thorough as possible in getting all the tomatoes...I squatted down into horse stance (I try to train my kung-fu while doing work) and plucked the ripe tomatoes off the vine. After my legs got sore, i stood up straight to relax and breathe deeply. Looking into the distance I could see the mountain emerging out from the swirling mist of morning. Time stood still, thoughts quieted, my body relaxed, and i felt peace.

Of course I didn't waste all my time standing in awe of the magnificent glory that is nature. I managed to fill up three full crates of tomatoes. In between these lovely little breaks from picking I thought how wonderful a chance it is to do work, any work outside really, and how special are those who actually have this a part of their daily life.

Being of suburban blood, i never farmed once as a child. I was actually very freighted by most insects. However after living here for two years I have conquered that fear almost completely. Not only that, i have come to understand the importance of work. By work I mean skills required to survive. Some examples would be farming, cooking, knitting, carpentry, mechanical skill, and cleaning. If I am honest with myself then I will admit I have a mere appreciation for these skills and not the actual possession of them. My skills are very few, and this brings me to my next stream of consciousness I've been living in lately.

What skills do I want, and why do I want them?

I wont go into my personal aspirations here and now, but I think it is a very wonderful question anyone young or old can ask themselves and think about.

An interesting question for myself would be, what would I do without electricity, or running water? How about something as simple as food? I take it for granted I can simply goto a place and buy anything I want to eat. I, unlike my father who has many genuine skills, am skill-less.

I would probably die if left to fend for myself alone in the woods.

I am here to change that.

Well thats all for now! I will post soon with info from some classes. Particularly Philosophy of Education has been very rewarding...But I am quite busy so we will see. Any thoughts, comments, and criticisms are welcome and appreciated.

Go get your hands dirty.