“Then again, a certain person makes a gift to an ascetic or a brahmin, offering him food … or lighting. He now hears of the long life, the beauty, and the great happiness of the devas of Brahmā’s company, and he wishes to be reborn among them. He sets his mind on that thought, keeps to it firmly, and fosters it. This thought of his aims at what is low, and if not developed to what is higher, it will lead him to just such a rebirth. After his death, when his body breaks up, he will be reborn among the devas of Brahmā’s company. This, however, I declare only for the morally pure, not for the immoral; only for one free of lust, not for one who is lustful. Because he is without lust, monks, the heart’s desire of the morally pure succeeds.

 “Thus, student, the way that leads to short life makes people short-lived, the way that leads to long life makes people long-lived; the way that leads to sickliness makes people sickly, the way that leads to health makes people healthy; the way that leads to ugliness makes people ugly, the way that leads to beauty makes people beautiful; the way that leads to being uninfluential makes people uninfluential, the way that leads to being influential makes people influential; the way that leads to poverty makes people poor, the way that leads to wealth makes people wealthy; the way that leads to low birth makes people low born, the way that leads to high birth makes people high born; the way that leads to stupidity makes people stupid, the way that leads to wisdom makes people wise. “Beings are owners of their actions, heirs of their actions; they originate from their actions, are bound to their actions, have their actions as their refuge. It is action that distinguishes beings as inferior and superior.”

American singer-songwriter and Noble laureate Bob Dylan wrote in his song Ballad of a Thin Man:Because something is happening hereBut you don’t know what it isDo you, Mister Jones?

All children, regardless of race or nationality, when given equal opportunity and a conducive environment, learn fast and enjoy learning—especially when the lessons are practical and include audio and visual stimuli. By emphasizing the practicality of a lesson, the children can see the relevance of the teachings to real life and embrace what they learn.

While the world scrambles to offset the increasingly extreme effects of anthropogenic climate change on weather patterns, food production, ecosystems, and animal populations, the Buddhist Kingdom of Bhutan last year became the first and only carbon-negative country on the planet. A living example and model that there are better, more workable approaches to economic development and sustainability, Bhutan did something every country has the power to do: it stopped destroying its environment and started protecting it.

Prince Siddhartha left the cloistered world of his palace home to wander in search of truth. His father had striven to shield him from the four aspects of suffering (Skt: duhkha), namely, birth, illness, aging, and death, that form the basis of the First Noble Truth of Buddhism. 

With a new law coming into effect later this month, Buddhist Temples across Japan will be able to rent out their spare rooms to tourists, opening up opportunities for temple stays across the country and allowing them to tap into Japan’s tourism boom.

Twelve years ago, as part of Core of Culture’s dance research and documentation of ritual dances in the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan, we brought with us Mike Borre, a 45-year-old American man, to meet six traditional healers over the course of a month. Several of these healers used dance, or were connected with ancient dance lineages. More generally, there is a movement continuum between dance, martial arts, meditation, massage, sound, and healing—whether a two-man Ayruvedic massage rippling non-stop from wrist to ankle, or the conferring of power from a reincarnated master of an ancient lineage of visionary dances, movement is a means of transformation. Healing processes use movement as a gateway to other dimensions of the self where change can occur. 

Buddhism and astrology might seem to be unrelated fields. Buddhism affords a set of teachings intended to liberate us from cycles of rebirths, while astrology concerns itself with how human activities are affected by the planets. However, astrology appears in Buddhist texts and practices throughout history. Jeffrey Kotyk is one of the few scholars who specializes in this subject. His doctoral thesis at Leiden University in the Netherlands was on “Buddhist Astrology and Astral Magic in the Tang Dynasty” (funded by the Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Dissertation Fellowship and the BDK Canada Fellowship). Originally from Canada, Kotyk completed his MA in Buddhist studies at Komazawa University in Japan. Presently, he is a visiting researcher at the International Consortium for Research in the Humanities (Friedrich-Alexander-Universität) in Germany. In this interview, he elucidates the connections between the two equally fascinating worlds of Buddhism and astrology.