By Shyamal Sinha

Buddhism in Myanmar is predominantly of the Theravada tradition, practised by 89% of the country’s population It is the most religious Buddhist country in terms of the proportion of monks in the population and proportion of income spent on religion.
Myanmar’s minister of Religious Affairs and Culture, U Aung Ko, has urged the country’s highest Buddhist authority, the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee (Ma Ha Na) to take action against wayward monks who violate monastic rules and regulations and insigate communal unrest.

Monks who violate the rules and through words or actions disrespect Buddhism should be prosecuted, said U Aung Ko during the annual meeting of Ma Ha Na in Yangon on Tuesday, which was attended by all of Ma Ha Na’s 47 senior Buddhist monks along with senior government officials.

Ma Ha NA is a government-appointed council that overseas and regulates Myanmar’s Buddhist clergy. It is the only sangha organization recognized by the government and the only agency with the authority to discipline monks under Myanmar law. Before a monk can be detained by police, for example, Ma Ha Na needs to consent to the arrest.

There has been an increase in incidents related rogue monastics in Myanmar, with reports of fake monks harassing the public for money, monks engaging in gambling, and ultra-nationalist monks encouraging civil unrest across the country.

U Aung Ko emphasized how the actions of these monks demonstrated a lack of respect for Buddhism and could pose a threat to the religion: “Because these monks commit violations, it will tarnish the reputations of other disciplined monks and could pose a threat to the future of Buddhism,” Aung Ko told the council. “Some monks and novices have been acting irreverently against the religious rules, that’s why I would like to ask the State Sangha council to let the government take action against them.” (Myanmar Times, Radio Free Asia)

U Aung Ko called on the council to work with administrative bodies to enforce Directive No.72, which lists basic rules and regulations for monks.

The chairman of Ma Ha Na, Bhaddanta Kumara Bhivamsa, agreed with the minister, stating: “The actions of misbehaving monks affects the faith of believers and gives a negative image to non-Buddhists.” He added that the committee should enforce religious laws more strictly, and that the basic rules and instructions for proper behavior, such as those written into Directive No. 72, should be published.

In addition, the minister requested that instructions be sent to all levels of the sangha to regulate temple trustees and prevent the abuse of donations by these groups. The basic principles of sangha organizations were outlined in 1980, and at that time it was also determined that sanghasadjudicate their own cases of abuse.

The Ma Ha Na chairman presented his resignation at the meeting, but the committee refused to accept it and requested that he continue to perform the functions of his office.

Ma Ha Na has in the past disciplined members of the sangha for transgressions. Last year, for instance, the committee prohibited the ultra-nationalist monk Ashin Wirathu from preaching for a year—a ban that expires next month—after he was accused of spreading hate speech that could lead to religious conflict, and also banned organizations from operating under the “Ma Ba Tha” moniker, which was used as an identifier for the ultra national Committee for the Protection of Nationality and Religion, a collective of hardline Buddhist abbots and influential monks founded in 2013.

More than 80 per cent of Myanmar’s 52 million citizens are Buddhists, and according to Myanmar’s Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture, Myanmar has more than 500,000 Buddhist monks.

The overwhelming majority of Burmese monks wear maroon robes, while others wear ochre, unlike in neighbouring Theravada countries like Thailand, Laos and Sri Lanka, where monks commonly wear saffron robes.

By Shyamal Sinha

Drepung Monastery was founded in 1416 A.D., as a Buddhist educational institution. Its founder was Jamyang Choje, a close disciple of the revered Je Tson Khapa. This was the largest monastery in Tibet, initially with two colleges (dratsang), of which Gomang was one. It is of the Gelugpa sect of Buddhism, which is the lineage of the Dalai Lama.
Three senior lamas from one of the most renowned centers of Tibetan Buddhist learning, contemplation, and practice, Drepung Gomang Monastic University, are visiting Moscow from 14 February–11 March to give teachings on Buddhist philosophy and Tibetan religious traditions and conduct tantric rituals for Russian Buddhists. The official delegation consists of Tulku Tenzin Geleg Rinpoche, Geshe Sonam Choydar, and Geshe Lodro Jinpa, each of them experts in sutra and tantra teachings.

The monks are conducting a series of events at the Ethnocultural Center Selenge from 15–25 February, which began with a ritual for the Protectors of Dharma, known as Gutor and practices for dispelling negative influences, including the Heart Sutra and the mantra of the lion-faced dakiniSinghamukha. On 16 February, during celebrations for Losar, the traditional Tibetan New Year, the monks led practices dedicated to the female protector Palden Lhamo and White Tara. The program from 17–25 February includes sutra readings, prayers for the deceased, practices with the wrathful deity Yamantaka, the female protector Sitatapatra, and the Medicine Buddha, and six initiation and empowerment rituals.

Drepung Gomang Monastic University is part of Drepung Monastery, one of the three great seats (Tib. den sa sum) of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, along with Ganden Monastery and Sera Monastery. Monks from Drepung Gomang Monastic College have made several visits to Russia, and have established a branch presence, the Fund Drepung Gomang Center. The center’s main spiritual teacher is Kundeling Tatsak Rinpoche, who was born in Lhasa in 1983 before leaving Tibet at the age of 10 to study at Drepung Gomang Monastery in the southwestern Indian state of Karnataka. The center’s founders also include representatives from Buddhist regions of the Russian Federation.

The next stage of the visiting monks’ program will run from 27 February–2 March at the Fund Drepung Gomang Center, and will be dedicated to the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. According to the Central Tibetan Administration’s Department of Religion and Culture, following instructions of the protector deity Nyenchen Tanglha received by the Nechung Oracle, to strengthen the health of His Holiness, his followers are requested to read the mantras of the Medicine Buddha, Shakyamuni Buddha, and Vajrasamaya.

From 3–4 March, Tenzin Geleg Rinpoche will conduct two rituals at the Center Karma Drodul Ling. The first is a long-life practice with Ushnishavijaya, one of three long-life deities along with Amitayus and White Tara. The second is a Green Tara initiation (Tib. jenang). The Gelug monks’ visit will conclude at the Cultural Center White Clouds from 6–11 March, where they will perform ceremonies of purification, protection, and accumulation of merit. Before each ritual, Tenzin Geleg Rinpoche will explain its meaning and benefit.

Drepung Monastery, the largest in Tibet, was founded in 1416 by Jamyang Choje Tashi Palden (1379–1449), a disciple of Je Tsongkhapa (1357–1419), the founder of the Gelug school. The monastery is divided into seven colleges: Gomang, Loselling, Deyang, Ngagpa, Shagkor, Gyelwa, and Dulwa, of which Drepung Gomang Monastic University is the oldest. It has produced many eminent scholars who contributed to the dissemination of Tibetan Buddhism. After 1959, 60 monks from the monastery fled Tibet and re-established the monastery in southern India.

Since then, monks from Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and the Russian Federation have attended Drepung Gomang Monastic College to complete their Buddhist studies. Drepung Gomang Monastery in India, which currently accommodates about 1,850 monks, is headed by Khen Rinpoche Geshe Lobsang Gyaltsen, who was appointed abbot in 2015 by the Dalai Lama.

By Shyamal Sinha

Buddhism is the most popular religion in Taiwan, with over 10 million followers or half of the island’s population.

Taiwanese technology manufacturer Acer, best known for its computers and consumer electronic devices, has announced its latest product; a digital upgrade of the traditional mala. Also dubbed “smart prayer beads,” Acer’s latest product is aimed at making it even easier to keep track of your mantra recitations.

It’s a beaded bracelet with an embedded chip that connects with an app on your phone to tally up how many prayer recitations you notch down each day. That info is then presumably beamed somewhere to Buddhist bean counters sitting at the gates of digital nirvana.

The smart prayer beads, which Lions Roar reports will be called “Leap Beads,” look just like regular prayer beads or mala (Skt.). The difference lies in the smat chip embedded in one of the beads, which can connect to your mobile device and automatically count the amount of times you recite a mantra as the beads pass through your fingers.

Mala have been used for centuries to keep track of recitations, and Acer’s digital upgrade of the traditional practice is touted as making reciting even easier. According to Acer, the smart prayer beads were developed to help users to focus on the mantras they are reciting, rather than be distracted by trying to keep count of the number of recitations.

“Acer is continually talking to customers and looking for ways to use technology to simplify everyday life,” said a representative of Acer Taiwan. “The intent is to help people concentrate on the mantra versus being distracted by counting the times the mantra is recited.” (Lions Roar)

In addition to keeping track of recitations, the smart chip sends information to an app on your smartphone, which, Acer claims, can translate the number of mantra recitations into digital “merit,” which you can share with your social media network, and even transfer merit to friends and family.

Acer plans to launch the beads in Taiwan, where more than 8 million people (a third of the population) identify as Buddhist. For now, they are limiting their marketing efforts to Buddhist organizations, to whom they plan to offer customization packages. Buddhist organizations interested in the mala can personalize both the functions and appearance of the beads. Acer is also researching whether the beads can contain other functionality, such as facilitating donations or electronic payments. According to EJ Insight, part of the Hong Kong Economic Journal, Acer has already received tens of thousands of advance orders.

Not everyone is enthusiastic about the development, however, and some netizens are questioning Acer’s motives for producing the beads. Some argue that the smart beads are merely part of a marketing scheme by the tech giant to access the Buddhist consumer base.

Buddhist technology and gadgets, however, are nothing new. And while Buddhists teachers tell us that electronic interaction can and should never replace human interaction, they do admit that it can, at times, be helpful. Buddhists all around the world have entered the tech revolution, using websites and social media to reach their audience, while temples now often have electronic payment systems to facilitate donations, and there are numerous apps for your smart phone helping you meditate, or providing relevant Buddhist information, such as the mobile app launched last year by the Dalai Lama, and the Khyentse Foundation’s “Bodhgaya Finder” app.

By Shyamal Sinha

Amravati is quiet a familiar name for the Buddhists in India, It is a town located on the banks of the Krishna in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh. It was the capital of the Satavahanas, the first great dynasty of the Andhra kings who ruled between 2nd century B.C to the 3rd century A.D. At that point of time, it was known as Dhanyakataka. Amravati was also once amongst the four major learning centres in India which attracted a large number of students from all over the world. It gave impetus to the development of art, architecture, trade and was instrumental in in spreading Buddhism to the east coast
The first Amaravati Buddhist Heritage Festival was held in the southeastern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh on 3–5 February, The opening ceremony began with a collective chant for world peace and harmony by more than a 1,000 monks representing the Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana schools, with more than 45,000 people from around the world participating via the Internet, setting a world record for the largest global chant.

More than 4 million people followed the proceedings of the three-day event online, and thousands of visitors attended in person to experience an array of Buddhist culture, cuisine, and handicrafts. The festival, organized by the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Authority, featured spiritual sermons, guided meditation, exhibitions, foods, heritage walks, discussions, and cultural performances, including abansuri (bamboo flute) performance by internationally acclaimed flautist Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, a recital of the Heart Sutra, the recitation of famous Buddhist scriptures by students of Maitreya School in Bodh Gaya, a Cham dance performed by Buddhist monks, and performances by classical artists from across India.

Irrigation Minister Devineni Umamaheswara Rao of the state government, who attended the event, noted that the festival had become the perfect platform for a global prayer for peace, and that hosting the event was a proud moment for Andhra Pradesh. He described how Buddhism has flourished in Andhra Pradesh, and that many of the great Buddhist philosophers, such as Acariya Nagarjuna (150–250 CE), who has contributed greatly to Buddhism around the world, had ties to the region.

“We’re happy to host a first-of-its-kind Buddhist festival that will bring together monks, patrons and artists from different parts of the world right here in Andhra Pradesh,” said Mukesh Kumar Meena, secretary of the Government, Tourism, and Culture Department of Andhra Pradesh. “Global Shanti is not only a festival but a global movement toward the Buddhist tenets of peace and universal brotherhood,” he observed, thanking the senior monks who lead the chanting ceremony. (The Indian Express).

Bhikku Rahul Ratna of Bangladesh Monastery in Bodh Gaya called upon the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Authority to make the festival an annual event. “Not many people know that Andhra Pradesh has a rich Buddhist heritage,” he commented, applauding the efforts of the state government to protect and promote Buddhist heritage sites via events such as the festival. (The Hindu)

Amaravati is a Buddhist site on the southern bank of the Krishna River, once a renowned center of Buddhist learning from the 2nd century BCE to the 3rd century CE. The historic site is home to the Amaravati Stupa, now in ruins, which was built during the reign of the Indian emperor Ashoka (r. c. 268­–232 BCE).

Aiming to increase tourism in the region, the state government is seeking to establish a “Monastery Boulevard” in Amaravati, where different Buddhist orders can build monasteries and temples, making the city a truly international Buddhist hub similar to Bodh Gaya in the north eastern Indian state of Bihar. The festival was a part of a government drive to promote the region.