Mangalam Research Center

The Awake Network and Shambhala are hosting a summit of over 20 Buddhist teachers of African descent (Feb 18-25). https://www.blackandbuddhistsummit.com

A wonderful set of online lectures on the Archeology of Buddhism by Professor Jason Hawkes at Leiden University. The lectures are posted as they become availabl...e. Topics and synopses are below. https://video.leidenuniv.nl//2012301/1_lvy8x85q/1_l1o4ccs1 1. Introduction: Geographic, Historical and Theoretical Orientation This lecture will introduce the course as a whole. In doing so, it will review the chronological, geographical and thematic scope of the course. It will also consider how we have come to know what we think we know about early Buddhism in South Asia (or ancient India), through charting the development of different disciplinary approaches (textual history, histories of art and architecture, archaeology) to Buddhism since the 18th century. 2. Trying to define an archaeology of Buddhism This lecture will consider what we mean by an archaeology of Buddhism. It will look first at the available archaeological evidence for Buddhism and what these can tell us about Buddhism; before then considering other sources of evidence, including images and texts. In doing so, we will also consider what it is that we are trying to study when we examine religion in the ancient past. 3. The wider societal background to the birth of Buddhism This lecture will review the evidence for the societal and cultural background to the emergence of Buddhism in northeast India and Nepal. Starting with the textually-derived narratives of the life of the Buddha, it will then situate these within histories of the early states and kingdoms before demonstrating how archaeological evidence can be used to reconstruct the economic, social and political dynamics of time. In doing so, we will attempt to understand how and why Buddhism emerged where and when it did. The lecture will end with a review of the earliest archaeological evidence that we have for Buddhism. 4. The spread of Buddhism and the Mauryan Empire Following the emergence of Buddhism in northeast India and Nepal, this class will chart its growth and spread throughout the Indian subcontinent. From the third century BCE, Buddhist sites become very easy to identify in the archaeological record thanks to the construction of permanent monuments in brick and stone. This lecture will review these developments, and their relation to the patronage afforded by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka. 5. Case Study 1. Buddhism in Central India Having sketched the broad outlines of the emergence and initial spread of Buddhism in South Asia, the second part of this class will focus on our first case study: early Buddhism in Central India. Focussing on the Buddhist sites at Bharhut, Sanchi and Pauni, we will look at the main features of the earliest early ‘classic’ forms of Buddhist monumentsstupastheir associated remains, and what these can tell us about early Buddhism in these areas. 6. Theme 1. The Stupa and the Relic Cult, and the formation of a Buddhist Landscape In this class we will consider what Buddhist monuments (in particular, stupas) meant within Buddhism, and their significance to both Buddhists and wider society alike. The origins of stupas appear to lie in earlier practices of erecting funerary mounds. Very quickly, they became the foci of ritual activities, and the centre of widespread burial ad sanctos. This raises a number of questions to do with the extent to which early Buddhism can be deemed a relic cult, and how we resolve the apparent contradiction with textual prescriptions against worship and devotion. Building on these themes, we will end the lecture by considering what the physical presence of Buddhist monuments in the landscape would have meant to people that lived there at the time. 7. Case Study 2. The Deccan Peninsula and the Buddhist Monastery This lecture will look at another case study of the early spread of Buddhism the early Buddhist remains in the Deccan Peninsula region of India. In particular the western Ghats where early Buddhist sites are typified by a series of rock cut monasteries. We will review the evidence provided by these sites and their setting in the landscape, and what these can tell us about early Buddhism in these areas. 8. Theme 2. Patronage, Politics and Economics This lecture will consider the patronage of the Buddhist monastic community, which is frequently thought to have been central to their growth and expansion in South Asia. Initially, their most important patrons were royal. The most famous early patron being the emperor Ashoka who is often credited with building thousands of stupas. In the first part of this class we will look at the role Ashoka played in the spread of Buddhism, and how this relationship appears to have benefitted him and his political ambitions. Over time, patronage shifted towards collective donation. This is reflected in votive inscriptions at many early Buddhist sites and is often attributed to the merit (and thus religious legitimation) lay donors would receive in return. 9. Case Study 3. Gandhara and the northwest Continuing to chart the spread of Buddhism throughout South Asia, this lecture will be concerned with appearance and development of Buddhism in the far northwest. In modern day Pakistan and Afghanistan. Buddhism arrived here by at least the third century BCE, yet our ability to chart its development is complicated by repeated waves of invasion and migration from outside South Asia. Our picture of developments finally snaps back into focus during the early centuries CE during the reign of the Kushans. We will review the archaeological evidence from the region, and see how new patterns of patronage and relationships with trade emerged here, before then looking at important changes in Buddhist art and architecture that appear to reflect important religious and philosophical developments within Buddhism, as well as changes in religious practice at Buddhist sites. 10. Buddhism in South India This class will look at the continued development of Buddhism in South Asia as it is reflected in the sites and monuments of South India. The evidence from key sites, such as Ajanta and Amaravati, will be reviewed; and, drawing on a number of earlier lectures, what they can tell us about Buddhism and the ways it was related to wider society will be considered. 11. The spread of Buddhism Religious Change and Transmission Having spent the last ten weeks looking at various case studies of early Buddhism in South Asia, this class will focus on something that has always been implicit the questions of how Buddhism spread and was transmitted, and the ways in which religion changed in these different regions. 12. The spread of Buddhism outside South Asia Having spent the last ten weeks looking at the archaeology of Buddhism within South Asia, this class will turn to the consideration of the spread of early Buddhism outside of South Asia. Here, we can identify three main trajectories: overland to Central Asia and China, and across the Sea towards Myanmar. This first lecture of the class will review the archaeological evidence that we have for the movement of people and the transmission of ideas. The decline of Buddhism in India This class will chart the continued development of Buddhism in South Asia during the rule of the Guptas (c. third to sixth centuries CE) and beyond. This period is extremely problematic from an archaeological point of view, making it difficult to reconstruct the same societal contexts that benefit our understanding of Buddhism during earlier centuries. This lecture will discuss these issues and review what we do know about history of early medieval society, before then reviewing the archaeological evidence that we have for Buddhism at this time and what we are able to say about Buddhism on the basis of these remains. We will then consider the traditional historical narrative of the decline of Buddhism in South Asiaits dwindling fortunes in the face of the inexorable rise of Hindu temples, followed by the destruction wrought by Muslim invasions. Finally, we will review the archaeological evidence that exists for Buddhism during the late first and early second millennia CE to establish a better sense of this decline and how Buddhism continued to change over time.

"Within us are an infinite variety of seeds: seeds of suffering, happiness, hatred, delusion, jealousy, joy, kindness, justice, greed, forgetfulness, and enlightenment. The seeds of racialized consciousness are also present within our internalized trauma, racial perceptions and names, and our social habits. The seeds of racialized consciousness and its karmic affects are part of the very fabric of American life, so much so that many don't know how to breathe outside of the climate of white supremacy. How sad a retribution that is ... The seeds or potentials manifest themselves as a living presence in the individual and collective thinking speech and behaviors fueling interning of America's karmic wheel."

Some wisdom today from the incomparable bell hooks: "To commit to love is fundamentally to commit to a life beyond dualism. That’s why love is so sacred in a culture of domination, because it simply begins to erode your dualisms: dualisms of black and white, male and female, right and wrong."

In celebration of Black History Month, MRC shares this short article describing the exchange between W.E.B. Du Bois and B.R. Ambedkar on their feeling of common cause in the fight against anti-Black racism in America and caste and colonial oppression in India. B.R. Ambedkar is important to Buddhism in that he drew on Buddhist teachings (especially, its anti-caste ethics) in his drafting of the Indian constitution and fight against caste oppression. He led the largest ever mass conversion to Buddhism in his effort to help Dalits overcome the social and psychological oppression of the caste system. This exchange should go alongside that of Thich Nhat Hanh and Martin Luther King, Jr, as we examine the social liberatory possibilities of Buddhism today.

2020 Summer Programs for Buddhist Scholars - https://mailchi.mp//announcing-2019-language-programs-in-t

Dedicate your Saturday morning to explore senses and feelings, following practices of Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga and poetical writings. The workshop, led by Ken Mckeon and Marion Frank, intends to reinvigorate your body and mind, exercising your creativity and well-being in a playful way. It happens on Saturday, the 25th January, from 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM, at Mangalam Center (2018 Allston Way, Berkeley). Price: $15.

When you are fully present, the way you see the world transforms. Your senses open, and life becomes a journey rich with meaningful events. That is the heart of Full Presence Mindfulness, a way of stimulating your mind to experience differently. Come practice with us on Saturday, December 7th from 10 AM to noon, at Mangalam Center in downtown Berkeley. Mindfulness practices will be integrated with Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga, a way to explore mind and body together. The program will... be led by Jack Petranker, director of Mangalam Center and founder of Full Presence Mindfulness, and by Marion Frank, an authorized Kum Nye teacher. A heartfelt way to start your weekend. Price: $ 20.

On Saturday November 23, from 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM, come to Mangalam Center to practice Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga and Full Presence Mindfulness techniques of breathing. Through physical movements and meditation practices, you will feel a deep sense of harmony pervading body and mind. A very peaceful way to start your Saturday evening. Price: $10.