Links for Lunch/movie day ‘Just Enough’

A few days ago we had one of our lunch/movie meetings in the Tai Pan Hotel. The topic was ‘Just Enough’, as a reflection on the nature/necessity of giving up sense pleasures.
Video’s were as much for fun as serious debate. The longer videos came from the brilliant TED website.
We looked at the ‘Paradox of Choice’ [...]

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Littlebang’s State of the Union

Report on past, present and future of Littlebang:
“Littlebang” started about two years ago as a temporary site to provide further information on a set of talks at Baan Aree Library. I had the intention to do some dhamma talks once a year as my contribution to society and the international community, during the Pansa (July-Sept) [...]

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Ajahn Tiradhammo’s talk

Ajahn Tiradhammo, senior monk at Bodhinyanarama monastery in New Zealand, is back in Thailand this week, and last night gave an inspiring talk on transforming life’s challenges into wisdom. There’s been a lot of

good new art put up at the Baan Aree Library since my last visit, but the amplification system was as temperamental [...]

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U Vamsa on Wealth

U Vamsa gave a talk on wealth – spiritual and material, last night to our Little Bangkok Sangha.
‘The Corporation was one movie he mentioned, and also the ‘Money Masters’ which is available to DL.
Jennifer, who was there last night wrote:
Wow! I’ve been listening to The Money Masters for 3-1/2 hours and my jaw’s dropping. It [...]

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Finding Time

Here’s a nice passage forwarded from Jamie. It is from a Tibetan lineage publication:
Sometimes it is difficult to find time to meditate each day. But we always have time to watch TV. We always have time to go shopping. We always have time to get a snack from the refrigerator. Why is it that the [...]

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Starting the year with a Little Bang

Thanks for all the New Year wishes.
One Thai message from DTAC (phone company) reads a little quirky in translation:
May you have good life
Good love
Good health
A good face
and happy all year long.
Late US columnist Bill Vaughan quips:
An optimist stays up until midnight to see the New Year. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old [...]

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Out of Mind Experiences

 Following up from our group view of the Jill Bolte Taylor video at the Tai Pan Hotel.
Jill Bolte Taylor certainly had some odd experiences during her stroke. Where other people might (rightfully) panic, there was always one part of her that thought
How fabulous, here I am a neuro-scientist given the opportunity to study the brain [...]

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The Missing Black Box

 
The Missing Black Box
Since we will be looking at the brain on Saturday, this seems like a good time to take an overview of how this vital organ works. Basic stuff, but not everyone knows the basics…
Brain Basics

The brain is a loose term for the Central Nervous System which runs from the underneath of the [...]

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Workshop photos

Below: a couple of photos from the one day workshop with Jeff Oliver. The centre we used was quiet and ideal in every way. Food was excellent and thanks to the owner for providing this and the rest of the facilities for us free of charge. There was less meditation than promised, but we let [...]

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Beer and Meditation

No – this is not an admonishment … a note on the excellent online magazine Tree Hugger which is running a story on a Buddhist temple in Thailand that is made from Beer bottles.

head over to tree hugger for the full details and lots of pictures: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/10/temple-built-from-beer-bottles.php
One wonders if the bottles are actually cheaper than [...]

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Donations

Summary of our funds:
Each week through the recent Dhamma Talks at Wat Yannawa we collected donations, and these were kept by Dr Holly (or Deputy). By way of transparency we can announce our collections/expenses. We don’t really needs large funds for anything – we are not building large stupas or stocking libraries … this is [...]

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Photos from Tolle event

A few photos from the Eckhart Tolle afternoon at the Tai Pan Hotel 2008.
Buffet lunch for 170 baht per person in pleasant surroundings. We reserved 8 tables.
 

Oprah is the Guru-maker extraordinaire – she ran a 10 part series on the usually laconic Tolle.

Next time perhaps we can arrange the chairs to aid seeing who has [...]

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Living Dhamma Photos (1)

Original photos by Toffee (full set on his blog)  

Flashless photos from the front

And a few more:
 
 

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Christian Meditation

[Summary: a Buddhist's thoughts on the Christian Meditation seminar with Father Lawrence Freeman, in Bangkok 2008]
What is Christian Meditation?
The all important aim in Christian Meditation is to allow God’s mysterious presence within us to become more and more not only a reality, but the reality which gives meaning, shape and purpose to everything we do, [...]

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Last word on Marjoe

[Summary: final word on the documentary Marjoe, which we watched as a group last week]
Last week we watched the 1973 Academy Award winning documentary ‘Marjoe’ as a group. There were about 25 of us, and as hoped the film raised quite a few questions. It is always nice to hear other people’s view about something [...]

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Meditator’s Boobytrap

[Summary: exoteric/esoteric religion - which is better, and how to judge.  Who gets the most out of religion?]
Don’t all monks meditate?
asked Richard
No, not many at all …
was the inevitable reply. And it is true, most people’s religion does not rest on meditation at all.
The common man’s religion comprises mostly ritual, of going to the temple [...]

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U Vamsa Talk 3 Photos

[Summary: photos from the third talk by U Vamsa for Little Bangkok Sangha]
Click on the Thumbnails for a larger shot. If you would like a full size original for any reason do ask. Although the originals have not been touched up or filtered. Not that any monk would actually photoshop his profile shots ….. ahem.
   [...]

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Bye to Suan Phai

[Summary: Suan Phai Vegetarian food court is closing down]
…
No sooner do you find a good place to go, than something changes. Suan Phai Vegetarian food court, that we had been using frequently for lunches and the God Delusion documentary, is closing down. The owner of the land had not used it for some time, and [...]

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Mission Improbable

Christmas day, and the school of 2000 children that fills all horizons from my window has employed its favourite device of torment to full effect – its loudspeakers. For an hour this morning rang a child’s voice giving an impressively well delivered rendition of the story of baby Jesus being born in the manger. Now [...]

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The Queen of Mean

[Summary: In an earlier blog about giving (dana) A hotel magnate was referred to for giving her pet dog 6m dollars in her will. Follow up news]
…
The ‘Queen of Mean’ was the nickname given to a millionaire hotel magnate who was well known for her spite. She cut a number of relatives from her will, [...]

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Because I Said So!

[ Getting a theological bashing in a cafe - all the ultimate proof you could ever need. ]
“Because I Said So” was the title of a recent movie, with ex-Gilmore Girls Lauren Graham, and it refers to a common mother’s ‘explanation’ of something when asked “why?“.
It must be in the mother’s handbook for childrearing – [...]

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Buddhist Scriptures – Bring it on Dawkins!

[Final look at how Buddhist scriptures hold up in the light of the New Atheist's criticisms. The Tripitaka s not "revealed" or the final word - it is only a tool to be taken up, tested and used.  Part I ... Part II]
Bring it On Dawkins!
One branch of Dawkins and the ‘New Atheists’ attack on [...]

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Buddhist Scriptures Part II – The Record

[Summary: A look at Asian Chanting as a form of record compared to the written word. Arguments for chanting being more accurate. Written in response to the New Atheist contention that all scripture is worse than fairy tale. Continued from Part I "Buddhist Scriptures  - Their Veracity]
“New Atheists” Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris et [...]

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Buddhist Scriptures – Part I – Their Veracity

[Summary: A brief look at the formation of the Buddhist scriptures - since the New Atheists claim that all religious scripture is nonsense, and worse, dangerous nonsense. ]
I can’t stand anyone who believes in God, who invokes the divinity or who is a person of faith.
says Christopher Hitchens, whose book God is Not Great was the topic [...]

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Christopher Hitchens – God is not Great

 God is not Great is a popular book by Christopher Hitchens on the topic of atheism. He is one of an unholy trinity of writers on the topic in the last few years, the others being Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris. The book is available in bookshops around Bangkok.
In brief, Hitchens takes a look through [...]

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