SUMERU » Psychology

Designer Babies Welcome in Buddhism

Yönten — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:54:23 +0000

Suwanda Sugunasiri, Canadian Buddhist scholar and community activist, weighs in on Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis, an important aspect of bioethics, with a Buddhist perspective: http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=44144

CBC Quirks and Quarks on Vipassana

Yönten — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 18:53:02 +0000

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s weekly science show, Quirks and Quarks, did a segment this week on the positive medical science associated with insight meditation. The coverage consists of an interview with Dr. Judson Brewer, of the Yale Therapeutic Neural Science Centre, speaking about his recent research study.

Listen here: http://www.cbc.ca/quirks/media/2011-2012/qq-2012-01-28_06.mp3

The Cyborg Buddha Project

Yönten — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:29:43 +0000

From the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies (IEET), comes this article on Religion and Transhumanism, written by Alex McGilvery, a United Church minister in Flin Flon, Manitoba. Normally, that would not be something we cover at Sumeru, but he makes extensive reference to Buddhism, and especially the “Cyborg Buddha Project.”

Here’s the IEET link: http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/McGilvery20120122

For more information about the Cyborg Buddha Project, follow this link: http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/cyborgbuddha

Mazeway Resynthesis, Mary Cobham, Shambhala and Little Tibet

Yönten — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:17:54 +0000

Parkdale singer Mary Cobham’s second CD is titled “Mazeway Resynthesis” and is thematically connected to both her Shambhala practice and her many Tibetan neighbours.

Here’s the story: http://www.insidetoronto.com/what’s%20on/article/1271323–songs-helped-artist-articulate-the-abstract

Buddhism & Psychology Student Union @ U of T

Yönten — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 11:31:25 +0000

This is a very recently-formed organization.

Here is their mission statement:

The Buddhism and Psychology Student Union (BPSU) is a child of the ongoing dialogue between Buddhism and the mind sciences. Our main aim is to offer a forum for University of Toronto students to openly investigate and uncover whatever implications this dialogue may bring.

Additionally, we hope to provide opportunities for our members to integrate the Dharma into their other academic and personal pursuits. Although BPSU represents students in the Buddhism, Psychology, & Mental Health (BPMH) program, everyone is welcome to attend our academic and social events. More importantly, everyone is encouraged to participate in what we feel is an expansion of what it means to study the body-mind complex.

Here is their contact information:

Buddhism & Psychology Student Union
St. George Campus, University of Toronto
Toronto, ON
M5A 2N4
http://bpsu.blogs.chass.utoronto.ca/
E-mail: ut.bpsu@gmail.com

More contact details can be found on our sister site: www.canadianbuddhism.info

Lama Chöpa, by Panchen Lozang Chökyi Gyaltsen, the 4th Panchen Lama

Yönten — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 23:50:13 +0000

Lama Chöpa (The Guru Puja) is a central practice in the Gelugpa Vajrayana tradition, often incorporating a Tsog Offering (ritual tantric feast). One of the most beloved versions of this prayer service is one that was written about 360 years ago by the fourth Panchen Lama (or sometimes referred to as the first Panchen Lama), Panchen Lozang Chökyi Gyaltsen.

Until recently, the only English version of this important liturgy has been a 1979 edition from the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in a bi-lingual format. However, that scholarly translation does not follow the beautiful, traditional melodies of the service or include any information about the ritual gestures associated with particular passages.

Fortunately, Robert Preece, a western practitioner, undertook the task of creating a new translation that would capture the essence of the text, while parsing exactly to the traditional melodies of the different sections of the service. Rob is an excellent translator and writer, as can be seen from his other books about Tibetan Buddhism (The Courage to Feel: Buddhist Practices for Opening to Others; The Psychology of Buddhist Tantra; and The Wisdom of Imperfection: The Challenge of Individuation in Buddhist Life), in addition to his being a professional psychotherapist.

The Sumeru Press Inc. is excited and proud to announce that we will be publishing Rob Preece’s Lama Chöpa translation in a new edition, including musical and mudra notations. It is our hope that this new edition will open a wonderful new dimension for practitioners of this profound puja sadhana.

More details as they become available…

Natural Appearances, Natural Liberation published

Yönten — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 23:04:30 +0000

Sumeru is pleased to announce publication of:

NATURAL APPEARANCES, NATURAL LIBERATION
A Nyingma Meditative Guide on the Six Bardos
of Living and Dying
By Master Tam Shek-wing
Translated by Samten Migdron
Foreword by Tulku Thondup Rinpoche

ISBN 978-1-896559-10-0 $24.95 US/CAN €17.50 EUR
Perfect bound paperback, 180 pages, 6” x 9″

Available worldwide at
www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com and other online vendors.

This commentary is based on the six bardos teachings from a series of hidden treasure texts known as the Profound Dharma of Natural Liberation through the Intention of the Peaceful and Wrathful Ones (Zab chos zhi khro dgongs pa rang grol), discovered by the great terton Karma Lingpa in the fourteenth century. The word “bardo,” made popular in the West through the English translation of the Bardo Thodol or The Tibetan Book of the Dead, which also belongs to the same series of treasure texts, means an intermediate or in-between state. The practice of the six bardos, according to the hermeneutics of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, is essentially the meditative practice of living and dying.

Natural Appearances, Natural Liberation not only contains very practical advice, but also has many teachings of the Nyingma tantric tradition embedded in it. The original text is not intended as a study of spiritualism or psychology. Neither is it intended to be viewed as handbook for taking care of the deceased, nor as a treatise on emptiness. The intention is to condense the very deep and profound tantric teachings of the six bardos into practices approachable by all sentient beings so that many can swiftly attain various states of liberation. This book offers a scholarly but accessible explanation of the ancient wisdom embedded in this ancient Buddhist classic.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tam Shek-wing (1935-) is a Buddhist scholar, painter, poet, writer and social critic. He is the founder of the Vajrayana Buddhism Association and Sino-Tibetan Buddhist Studies Association in North America.

Master Tam was born in Guangzhou, China. As a young man, he received systematic training in the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism under the guidance of H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche. In 1986, Master Tam emigrated from Hong Kong to Hawaii, and then to Toronto in 1993. As early as the late 1970s, Master Tam began publishing writings on Buddhism, with an emphasis on the teachings and meditative practice in Vajrayana Buddhism.

To establish Sino-Tibetan Buddhist studies as a legitimate field in Buddhology, Master Tam helped organize publication of the Monograph Series in Sino-Tibetan Buddhist Studies. The published works sparked interest in establishing new curricula in Buddhist Studies in a number of universities in China, including Renmin University of China in Beijing, Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou, and Nanking University in Nanjin. Since 2008, Master Tam has been a visiting professor at these universities, where he lectures on the tathagatagarbha doctrine and its practice.

Natural Appearances, Natural Liberation

Yönten — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 12:17:13 +0000

Coming soon from The Sumeru Press Inc.

NATURAL APPEARANCES, NATURAL LIBERATION:
A Nyingma Meditative Guide on the Six Bardos of Living and Dying
by Master Tam Shek-wing

Translated by Samten Migdron and with a Foreword by Tulku Thondup Rinpoche

ISBN: 978-1-896559-10-0

180 pages, 6″x9″ paperback

“Buddhism & Psychology” Student Essay Competition

Yönten — Fri, 13 May 2011 22:42:24 +0000

The 2011 Buddhist Education Foundation for Canada Essay Prize

The Buddhist Education Foundation for Canada announces a student essay competition demonstrating the association between Buddhism/ Buddhist psychology and western psychology, science or society. Submissions should focus on the specific and creative ways that the western academic and clinic disciplines, (e.g. psychology, sociology, religious studies, philosophy, medicine, psychotherapy, cognitive sciences) have encountered Buddhism and Buddhist psychology. Innovative explorations of this interaction, focusing on synthesis and integration, are especially encouraged.

Eligibility: Students attending any Canadian university are eligible to apply.

Deadline: May 31, 2011 (EXTENDED FROM THE ORIGINAL DATE!)

Prizes: Three cash prizes of $1,000, $400 and $200. Winning essays will also be published in the second issue of Upaya in 2011, the undergraduate journal of the Buddhist Psychology Student Union.

Submission Guidelines: The maximum length of the essay should be 3000 words (excluding references) double-spaced and using font 12 Times New Roman. Please submit essays by email to Ms. Christine Ng at BuddhistEduFoundation@rogers.com with “2011 Buddhist Education Foundation for Canada Essay Prize” in the subject line. Your submission should be accompanied by: a brief abstract (which should not exceed 100 words) and contact information on the cover page.

Announcement of the Winners: Winners will be contacted by email by September 15, 2011 and invited to attend an event of the BEFC in the fall of 2011 to accept their prizes.

Evaluation Criteria: The following criteria will be used to assess the submissions: originality of the thesis, clarity of expression, soundness of the argument, grammar and writing style.

Further Information: Please contact Tony Toneatto, at tony. toneatto@utoronto.ca if you have any questions or require additional information.

Buddhism explains stoic reaction to disaster

Yönten — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 16:42:13 +0000

From the Winnipeg Free Press, April 2, 2011:

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/life/faith/buddhism-explains-stoic-reaction-to-disaster-119110664.html