The Wisdom of Buddha

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Transcend obsessive thinking, Pass beyond sorrow and grief, Go to peace, And have nothing to fear. — Buddha Thimphu, Bhutan

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Your work is to discover your work and with all your heart give yourself to it. — Buddha Lhasa, Tibet

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Don’t get entangled

With what you long for or dislike.

Not seeing what you long for is suffering;

So also is seeing what you dislike. — Dhammapada 210 (Buddha) Bagan, Myanmar

When watching after yourself, you watch after others. When watching after others, you watch after yourself. — Buddha Bagan, Myanmar

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As a water bead on a lotus leaf, as water on a red lily does not adhere, so the sage does not adhere to the seen, the heard, or the sensed. — Buddha Bagan, Myanmar

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It is the nature of things that joy arises in a person free from remorse. — Buddha Bagan, Myanmar

Vigilant among the negligent

Wide awake among the sleeping, The wise one advances

Like a swift horse leaving a weak one behind. — Dhammapada 29 (Buddha) Kathmandu, Nepal

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Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. — Buddha Lhasa, Tibet

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pp. 48-49: Bhutan is romantically described as the last Shangri-la due to its pristine natural beauty and remoteness in the Himalayan mountains. Prayer flags and prayer wheels are seen everywhere around this Buddhist Kingdom. The wind is thought to activate the prayers and the clockwise turning of the mantra inscribed wheel is believed to create good karma. Bhutan practices a strict and limited tourist policy in order to preserve their culture and the beauty of their land.

p. 73: Wat Phra Kaew (The Temple of the Emerald Buddha) located on the grounds of the Royal Palace, is the most sacred of the Buddhist Temples in Thailand. Housed within the gorgeous Old Bangkok-style temple stands a jade Buddha, a potent religiopolitical symbol. Buddhism in Thailand is largely the Theravada School which is followed by 95% of the population.

p. 77: The Himalayan Mountain range is featured several times in The Wisdom of Buddha. Siddhartha Gautama (who became the Buddha) was born in Lumbini, a province at the foot of the Himalayan Mountains. His teachings have spread throughout the Himalayas and include both the Mahayna and Vajrayana traditions of Buddhism. Rongbuk Monastery is the highest of the Himalayan Monasteries at 16,340 feet, at the base of Mt. Everest.

p. 78: A young monk studies at Nat Taung Kyaung, a 200 year old teak wood monastery in Bagan, Myanmar. Every Buddhist Burmese boy between ages 7-13 is expected to enter the monastery as a novice monk for period of a few weeks to several months. He can return to life outside the monastery or stay on as a monk. Sometimes the free education that the monastery provides is a motivator to young boys from rural and poorer backgrounds to stay on as a monk.

p. 84: At 12,139 feet, Potala is the highest Palace in the world.

The 1,300 year old structure used to serve as the Winter Residence for the Dalai Lama.

Since his exile in 1959 the grounds have been used as a museum and are still a major destination for Buddhist pilgrims. In Potala Palace, (“Heavenly High Realm”) there are 1,000 rooms, 200,000 statues, 10,000 altars and eight tombs of former Dalai Lamas.

pp. 88-89: On Lantua Island in Hong Kong sits Tian Tan Buddha, the largest outdoor seated Buddha in the world. The Big Buddha, as he is commonly called, is 111 feet tall and has one hand raised placing a blessing on all. Opposite the statue sits Po Lin Monastery, one of Hong Kong’s most important Buddhist sanctums founded in 1906. Academic studies and research of Buddhism in Hong Kong have thrived over the past decades; 21.3% of Hong Kong’s population is Buddhist.

p. 109: Inside the Ananada Temple in Bagan, Myanmmar stands four gold leaf adorned Buddhas. Each Buddha faces a direction from north to south representing a different state of Nirvana. Kakusandha, pictured here, is the north facing Buddha. His hand position depicts the dhammachakka mudra, which symbolizes the Buddha’s first sermon.

pp. 110-111: Sangchhen Dori Lhuendrup Nunnery in Punakha Bhutan is perched on a ridge overlooking three valleys.

Nunneries in Bhutan used to focus their religious practice mostly on meditation and prayer while the advanced philosophical studies were left exlusively for the monks. This has been changing in recent years along with a movement to improve the living standards, health and education of female monks.

p. 112: Most Tibetan painting is in the form of murals on monastery walls. Tibetan art is expected to be a tool for enlightenment rather than an expression of the self. The murals depict bodhisattvas, scenes from the life of Buddha, Buddha protectors and demon like dharmpalas. Sadly many of the murals were lost during the Cultural Revolution from 1966-76.

Bhutan Nuns Foundation A percentage of sales from The Wisdom of Buddha will be donated to the Bhutan Nuns Foundation.

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The Bhutan Nuns Foundation provides a high leverage means of empowering and educating Bhutanese girls and women, improving the living conditions and economic vitality of rural villages, and preserving Bhutan’s strong, sustainable culture as it faces rapid economic development.

Many girls and women in Bhutan enter nunneries for short to long periods to gain an education and escape poverty and abuse. These women dedicate their lives to serving society. They are very involved in local communities, often helping needy families and serving as role models for other girls and women.

Despite the great contribution nuns make to society, Bhutan’s twenty-one nunneries receive nearly no support. They often lack basic sanitation, sleeping and cooking quarters, trained teachers and learning materials.

The goals of the Bhutan Nuns Foundation include ensuring that each nunnery maintains adequate, healthy living conditions, provides a practical, useful education for girls and women, and achieves economic self-sufficiency. Because the nuns are such an important part of Bhutanese society, these efforts will enhance the economic vitality of local villages and help to preserve Bhutanese culture. Supporting nunneries as a means of enhancing larger society has the potential to be an important component of Gross National Happiness – Bhutan’s unique development and cultural preservation program.

To further support their efforts you may make a donation at http://www.bhutannuns.org