Too cute not to forward.. Enjoy
|
--
|
In case you are interested:
Dear Dharma Friends and Chan Practitioners,
DDMBA Ontario warmly welcomes Chan Teacher and Abbot of Dharma Drum Retreat Center, Venerable Guo Xing Fashi, to Toronto, to oversee a series of events related to Chan Buddhist practice from February 24 to 27, 2011 at the Member’s Lounge of North York Civic Centre, 5100 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON, M2N 5V7.
Great Compassion Repentance Ceremony* and Refuge Taking Ceremony
“The Buddha”- Movie Time and Dharma Talk by Venerable Guo Xing
We will be showing “The Buddha” (dir. David Grubin), a two hour documentary film of the Buddha’s life, a journey especially relevant to our own bewildering times of violent change and spiritual confusion. Hear insights into the ancient narrative by contemporary Buddhists, including Pulitzer Prize winning poet W.S. Merwin and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Join the conversation and learn more about meditation, the history of Buddhism, and how to incorporate the Buddha’s teachings on compassion and mindfulness into daily life.
Living Chan Meditation Workshop
This is a one day workshop instructed by Chan master Venerable GuoXing. The goal is to take you deeper into life through meditation, by connecting daily living with meditative practice. Come and learn about how to apply meditative practices into your daily routine.
Christian Wedemeyer, Assistant Professor of the History of Religions at the University of Chicago Divinity School, will be a Numata Program visiting speaker on March 3, 2011, from 4-6 pm at the Jackman Humanities Building (170 St George St), Room 317. He will deliver a lecture entitled “The Trouble with Tribals: Indian Esoteric Buddhism and Fantasies of the Primitive.”
Prior to coming to the University of Chicago, Christian Wedemeyer was University Instructor of South Asian Studies and Director of the Tibetan Studies program at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark (Københavns Universitet). He has also taught at Columbia University, Barnard College, Antioch University and Wesleyan University. He teaches a variety of courses on Buddhism, South Asian religions and the academic study of religion(s) and does research on the history, literature and ritual practice of Indian and Tibetan Buddhist communities, ca. AD 700–1400.
New Voices, New Visions
A Film & Workshop Series on Documentary Film in Tibet and Burma
On February 18-20, 2011, the University of Toronto's Department for the Study of Religion has organized a showcase of films by emerging Tibetan and Burmese filmmakers. Filmmakers will be in attendance to discuss their films and discuss their work with Canadian documentary filmmakers.
The film presentations will be held on two of the University of Toronto campuses and will feature ethnographic films by young Tibetans from within China and young Burmese filmmakers, a lecture and film on Buddhism in Burma, and a workshop on documentary film and development in Asia. Interesting similarities between Burmese and Tibetan cultures – both of which flourish in strongly Buddhist, intellectually rich yet economically poor communities living within difficult political boundaries – make this cross-cultural comparison especially compelling. The weekend will feature works of emerging and established Tibetan filmmakers, most of which have never been shown outside China, Burmese students participating in the Yangon (Rangoon) Film School, and established Anglo-Burman filmmaker Lindsey Merrison. Films will be followed by discussions with invited Toronto filmmakers. Discussions will also focus on the special value of participatory film projects for young people living in threatened cultural groups and on the potential of open access and open source tools and practices for these communities. The event venues will be enhanced by a stunning exhibit of images by Plateau Photographers, an open participatory photography project that trains minority students in western China.
Canadian Gemini Award winning filmmakers in attendance include Shelley Saywell, Cyrus Sundar Singh and others. Filmmaker Dorje Tsering Chenaktsang (aka Jangbu), who is considered by many to be Tibet’s greatest living poet, will be joined by Anglo-Burman director and producer Lindsey Merrison, Tibetan Studies scholar Dr. Françoise Robin, and two Tibetan student filmmakers, Dondrup Dorje and Otto Wendekar, who will present their work to Canadian audiences for the first time.
Organized by the U of T’s Department for the Study of Religion, the event series is co-sponsored by the Jackman Humanities Institute, the Dr. David Chu Distinguished Leaders Program, the UTSC Tung Lin Kok Yuen Perspectives on Buddhist Thought and Culture Program, the Asian Institute, the East Asia Group, the Centre for Southeast Asian Studies, the Cinema Studies Institute, Open Scholarship, and the Religion in the Public Sphere Initiative.
For more information, see http://www.religion.utoronto.ca/new-voices-new-visions/ or contact Frances Garret, frances.garrett@utoronto.ca
Professor Anne Monius, Harvard Divinity School, Harvard University
On Thursday, February 3, 2011, at 4 - 6 pm. Professor Anne Monius’ Lecture, “With No One to Bind Action and Agent: The Fate of Buddhists as Religious 'Other' in Tamil Śaiva Literature”, will be held at McMaster University, in University Hall 122.
On Friday, February 4, 2011, 4-6 pm Professor Anne Monius will join the Numata Reading Group at U of T, Jackman Humanities Building, 170 St. George St., Room 318. Our guest, faculty, and students, will discuss the readings from “The Vīracōliyam. Language, Literary Theory, and Religious Community, and Imagining Community through Commentary”. Please contact christoph.emmrich@utoronto.ca if you would like to join and receive the required materials.