SUMERU » Toronto

A day in the life of Phap Van Buddhist Temple

Yönten — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:22:04 +0000

From the National Post:

http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/02/04/a-day-in-the-life-of-the-phap-van-buddhist-temple/

Yamantaka//Sonic Titan

Yönten — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:18:38 +0000

New album now available to play or download from their website:

http://yamantakasonictitan.bandcamp.com/

Yamantaka: the Band

Yönten — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:49:09 +0000

Yamantaka // Sonic Titan are a music collective from Montreal. They bill themselves as a Black Metal band. The two leads, Alaska B and Ruby Atwood, identify themselves as practicing Buddhists. Here’s a recent article about them: http://www.avclub.com/toronto/articles/alaska-b-and-ruby-atwood-of-yamantaka-sonic-titan,68404/

Speaking of Buddhist Metal (?), don’t forget Affinity in Toronto, with Sean Hillman on drums. Sean is a former Gelugpa monk, currently a Buddhist scholar at the University of Toronto, and publisher of the blog, http://www.torontobuddhistethics.blogspot.com/. You can follow the band via their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/affinityband

Numata Lectures

Yönten — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 12:13:12 +0000

The University of Toronto/McMaster University Numata Buddhist Studies Program presents

“Conventional Truth and Symbolic Terms in Saraha’s Adamantine Songs”
Dr. Lara Braitstein, McGill University
Lecture: Thursday, January 26, 4-6 pm, University Hall 122, McMaster University

“Rdo ring pa’s Rnam thar and the Limits of Reading History from Autobiography”
University of Toronto Reading Group Session
Friday, January 27, 3-5 pm, Jackman Humanities Building, Room 318, 170 St George Street, University of Toronto

ABSTRACT: The Shamarpas (zhva dmar pa), or Red Hat Lamas, are the second-oldest reincarnate lineage in Tibet and among the highest ranked hierarchs of the Kagyu School. In earlier times, the Shamarpas were renowned for their contributions to poetry, philosophy, political mediation, and for the establishment and maintenance of monasteries. The events surrounding the life of the 10th Shamarpa, Chodrup Gyatso (1742-1792) mark a dramatic shift in that perception, one that led to a 171-year long ban on his reincarnation. This paper studies the life and death of this now infamous figure from Tibet’s past in light of the diary of the 18th century Tibetan politician Tenzin Peljor Doringpa (bstan ‘dzin dpal ‘byor rdo ring pa), suggests that there are many ways to interpret the life and death of this renegade Rinpoche, and much to be learned from how his story has been remembered.

For reading group materials and questions, please contact frances.garrett@utoronto.ca

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

A scandal we missed in 2011

Yönten — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:07:34 +0000

Back in 2011, Peter Mander was running a Ponzi scheme in Toronto in which SGI Canada was caught up, unbeknownst to them at the time. It turns out Mander was an ardent supporter of this Canadian Nichiren organization and gave them more than $320 thousand in donations over the period of a few years. When his scheme fell apart and he was exposed in 2011, SGI Canada was put in the awkward position of having to decide what to do. They decided to return the money. The story was complicated by the mysterious death of Mr. Mander in his home (in Flamborough, Ontario), and infighting amongst disaffected SGI members. The Globe and Mail ranked it as one of the top scandals of 2011.

Here are a few of the links:
http://www.thestar.com/business/article/946896–ponzi-scheme-duped-gta-dentists
http://mingkok.buddhistdoor.com/en/news/d/11652
http://m.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/death-adds-to-mystery-of-businessman-at-centre-of-investor-lawsuit/article1510110/?service=mobile
http://fraughtwithperil.com/markrogow/2010/07/16/sgi-canada-conman-dialogue-and-suicide/

Free Tibet Rally, Toronto 10.24.11

Yönten — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 23:46:15 +0000

This article turned up on www.phayul.com: http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?c=10&t=1&id=30219&article=HUNDREDS+GATHER+AT+TORONTO+CITY+HALL+TO+STAND+UP+FOR+TIBET

Toronto Shark Fin Ban

Yönten — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 00:04:59 +0000

Sorry, forgot to post this earlier – Toronto overwhelmingly voted to ban shark fin products on October 25th, 2011.

Here’s the news story from CBC: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2011/10/25/shark-fin-ban-vote.html

Michael Stone on “Occupy…”

Yönten — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 12:10:19 +0000

From The Globe and Mail: Michael Stone a street sage with no easy answers.

Numata lectures @ UofT + McMaster

Yönten — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 23:19:42 +0000

The University of Toronto / McMaster University Yehan Numata Buddhist Studies Program

Presents

Tōru Funayama (Kyoto University)

Professor Tōru Funayama has been described as a Buddhological renaissance man because of the breadth of his knowledge about Buddhism in India, Tibet, China and Japan. He has published six books and more than 50 articles or book chapters dealing with Indian philosophy, the linguistic features of texts translated from Sanskrit into Chinese, Chinese biographies of Buddhist monks, lay Buddhist practice in China, and Chinese philosophy in the fifth and sixth centuries. He has taught at various universities in Japan (including Koyasan University, Kyushu University, Otani University, Ryukoku University, University of Tokyo, and Tsukuba University) and abroad (including Harvard, Heidelberg, Leiden, and Stanford).

“Kamalaśīla’s View on Yogic Perception and the Bodhisattva Path”

Thursday, December 1, 3-5 pm

University of Toronto Reading Group Session

Department for the Study of Religion (170 St George St.), Room 317

“Mahāyāna Vinaya? Aspirations for the composition of a Vinaya for bodhisattvas in India and China”

Friday, December 2, 4-6 pm

University Hall 122, McMaster University

ABSTRACT: As is clearly evident from Chinese Buddhist catalogs, medieval Chinese Buddhists accepted the view of a “Mahāyāna Vinaya” (dasheng lü). On the other hand, we know that such a vinaya never existed in the history of Indian Buddhism. Is this idea a result of Chinese misunderstanding? Naturally this question is also concerned with Sinification of Buddhism. In this talk, I will attempt to explore the origin and development of this notion with a special focus on the Scripture of Brahma’s Net (Fanwang jing). By referring to internal evidence, I want to point out that this well-known apocryphal sutra played a critical role for the establishment of the term dasheng lü in China. Further, I want to verify that basically the same idea, if not entirely identical, is found in the Skt. Bodhisattvabhūmi, the most significant text for bodhisattva precepts in India, in order to claim that early Yogacarins wished to establish a Mahāyāna equivalent of the orthodox Vinaya in India and that such an intention was more emphasized by the composition of the Scripture of Brahma’s Net in China.

For reading group materials and questions, please contact frances.garrett@utoronto.ca