U of T: November Buddhism Lectures

Nov 3, 2010 7:30-9:00pm
Wednesday, November 3th (7:30-9:00pm) at AA112, University of Toronto, Scarborough.

FREE public lecture. All are welcome.
Please RSVP your attendance to aep@utsc.utoronto.ca.
A FREE shuttle bus service will leave from Hart House Circle at 6pm, and return after the lecture.

What does an immigrant parent feed her child? How does she find health-giving foods that bridge the gap between her own body, nourished under her parents' care, and the resources available to her in a new country?

Under what circumstances do immigrant societies come to grow their own food in a new place? Do they grow a few spices in a home garden, or do some families actually become farmers, negotiating the challenges of unfamiliar climates, soils, markets and regulatory regimes?

The translation and re-production of culture during migration always happens in a specific ecological context. In the immigrant context, pregnant women, new parents and grandparents, growing children, farmers, home gardeners and traditional medical practitioners all create networks around that reproduce and translate the tastes, smells and medical practices of a distant culture at the same time that they create healthy people.

In this talk Dr. William Tuladhar-Douglas will argue that the social practices of agriculture and parenting among immigrant Buddhist families around North America should be considered together. With the help of skilled informants from various communities around Toronto, we will discover that existing support for farmer's markets and near-urban farms, when combined with targeted support for immigrant farmers, leads naturally to the healthy reproduction of immigrant Buddhist societies.


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Friday, November 5th (1-5 pm) and Saturday, November 6th (10am-4pm) at
Miller Lash House, University of Toronto, Scarborough.

A FREE symposium on social practices of place and environment in Buddhist societies.
Space is very limited. Attendance by RSVP only. Please email RSVP to aep@utsc.utoronto.ca.

Taking the form of a lively conversation structured by occasional presentations by a wide range of interested folk: practitioners and priests, ethnographers and textualists, long-time Turtle Island inhabitants and recent immigrants, and perhaps even a few artists.

The purpose of the workshop is to ask several questions:

* what social practices (rituals, forms of speech, architectural genres) were or are there, through which Buddhist communities inhabit and create their landscapes?
* are there particularly Buddhist theories about place and dwelling?
* what material or intellectual projects are apparent among Buddhist communities around the Greater Toronto Area?
* how should Canada's new Buddhist communities learn to inhabit this place?
* what can be learned through conversations between Aboriginal and new Buddhist experts in dwelling practices and rituals?
* are there specific ethical or practical commitments that ought to inform Buddhist communities in North America?

See http://tending.to/garden/projects/tlky/how-is-this-place-buddhist



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Julie Witt
Events Planning & Management Coordinator

Arts & Events Programming
Dept. of Humanities
University of Toronto Scarborough
1265 Military Trail, AA-313
Toronto, ON M1C 1A4

Tel: 416.287.7076
Fax: 416.287.7116

Email: jwitt@utsc.utoronto.ca
Web: www.utsc.utoronto.ca/aep

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Fable of the porcupine

Sharing the following email with you:

Have you ever seen a baby porcupine?

Fable of the porcupine: A close relationship

It was the coldest winter ever and many animals died because of the cold.

Some porcupines, realizing the gravity of the situation, decided to group together to share warmth.

This way they were better covered and protected; however - the quills of each one wounded their closest companions.

After a while they decided to distance themselves one from the other and soon after they began to die, alone and frozen.

So they had to make a choice: either accept the quills of their companions or disappear from the Earth.

Wisely, they decided to go back to being together.

They learned to accept the little wounds that were caused by these close relationships, in order to benefit from what their companions offered.

It was this way that they were able to survive and thrive.


Moral of the story:

The best relationships are not ones that bring together perfect beings, but are instead ones where individuals learn to live with the imperfections of others and can still accept the gifts they have to offer.
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My comments:

Yes it is very good to have a close relationship. But one will have too many things at sake in involving in a close relationship. That is why so many people are choosing to be single or having no kids.

Most of the friendship one has nowadays are only based on self-benefits. How many friends we have that we can pour our hearts out or rest our lives upon??? People at this age do not even have time or heart to build a friendship...

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Good Laugh: Is my time up?

Sharing the following email with you:

Is my time up?

A 54 year old woman had a heart attack and was taken to the hospital.

Whilst on the operating table she had a near death experience.

Seeing God she asked "Is my time up?"
God said, "No, you have another 43 years, 2 months and 8 days to live."

Upon recovery, the woman decided to stay in the hospital and have a face-lift, liposuction, breast implants and a tummy tuck. She even had someone come in and change her hair color and brighten her teeth! Since she had so much more time to live, she figured she might as well make the most of it.

After her final operation, she was released from the hospital.

Whilst crossing the street on her way home, she was killed by an ambulance.

Arriving in front of God, she demanded, "I thought you said I had another 43 years to live. Why didn't you pull me from the path of that ambulance?"

(You'll love this)

God replied: "I didn't recognize you!"

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Divorced Barbie

Sharing the following email with you:

Divorced Barbie

One day a father gets out of work and on his way home he suddenly remembers that it's his daughter's birthday. He pulls over to a Toy Shop and asks the sales person, 'How much for one of those Barbie's in the display window?'

The salesperson answers, 'Which one do you mean, Sir? We have: Work Out Barbie for $19.95, Shopping Barbie for $19.95, Beach Barbie for $19..95, Disco Barbie for $19.95, Ballerina Barbie for $19.95, Astronaut Barbie for $19.95, Skater Barbie for $19.95, and Divorced Barbie for $265.95'.

The amazed father asks: 'It's what?! Why is the Divorced Barbie $265.95 and the others only $19.95?'

The annoyed salesperson rolls her eyes, sighs, and answers: 'Sir..., Divorced Barbie comes with: Ken's Car, Ken's House, Ken's Boat, Ken's Furniture, Ken's Computer, one of Ken's Friends, and a key chain made with Ken's balls.

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Law of Reversed Effort

Anthony wrote:

"Dear all,

I came across the following quote in a newspaper one day and want to share it with you. It does have some connection with the chapter (in THE SUTRA OF COMPLETE ENLIGHTENMENT 圓覺經 ) we’ll be studying.

There is a Law of Reversed Effort. The harder we try with the conscious will to do something, the less we shall succeed. Proficiency and the results of proficiency come only to those who have learnt the paradoxical art of doing and not doing, or combining relaxation with activity, of letting go as a person in order that the immanent and transcendent Unknown Quantity may take hold. We cannot make ourselves understand; the most we can do is to foster a state of mind, in which understanding may come to us.

- Aldous Huxley

Amen.

Anthony

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Ing Direct: Children's Saving Account Bonus

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LInk to World Subway Maps

World Subway maps

To be kept handy.
Very useful!

http://www.amadeus.net/home/new/subwaymaps/en/

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