New Global Order and Oneness Principle

Thirty years ago the historian Arnold Toynbee and Daisaku Ikeda, head of the Japanese Buddhist Soka Gokkai International, discussed at length various pertinent issues, trying to discern the future direction that our world must take if it is to survive these "times of the end".

Toynbee remarks, "...The question of mankind's future religion arises because all the current religions have proved unsatisfactory... A future religion that is to bring into being, and to keep in being, a new civilisation will have to be one that will enable mankind to contend with, and to overcome, the evils that are serious present threats to human survival."

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Jainism: Tension of Opposites Central to Existence

According to Acharya Mahaprajna, opposition is a fundamental rule for existence. "There is no type of existence in which opposites do not co-exist. In a sense, existence may also be defined as the coming together of opposites. It is the principle of the quest for unity between two apparently different characteristics of a substance. It tries to point out that the characteristics which differences have, also have an identicality. Reconciliation, which is a principle of anekant , comes about only with the recognition of the identity principle.''

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The Story of Zamzam

The holy water known as ZamZam, brought from Makkah (Mecca) by Hajjis returning home, is believed to have healing powers.

In a parched desert where there wasn't a trace of water, Allah showered his blessings on Ibrahim's family, by commanding Angel Jibreel to dig the earth with his heel (or his wing), and water started flowing in the desert to quench the thirst of Ibrahim's wife Hajar and her son Ismael.

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Drop All Conclusions About God Almighty

It takes enormous courage for a person to look beyond the conditioning of his belief systems and admit that he knows nothing about even the most basic aspects of his life.

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Krishna and Kaliya: Good fights Evil - Krishna and Kaliya

It is a universal law: If we have ego, we will suffer. If we are arrogant, again, we will suffer till we are forced to surrender. The subduing of Kaliya the serpent by Krishna illustrates this.

The tenth canto of the Srimad Bhagvatam recounts the Kaliya daman lila performed by Krishna. Kaliya was a venomous serpent that lived in the Yamuna river. One summer Krishna's cowherd friends fainted and died when they drank water from the Yamuna. Kaliya had contaminated the river so much that vapour from the river was lethal enough to kill birds flying across.

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Relevance of Buddhism In the New Century

In the 20th century great changes took place as a result of experiments and developments in a broad range of human activities, in economics, politics, and science. The past hundred years' experiences have made us appreciate the importance of freedom, and the significant contributions of individual and private enterprise in improving the economy. We also began to recognise the importance of putting a stop to the production and proliferation of weapons of tremendous destructive power.

By The Dalai Lama

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Science and Spirituality: Symbiosis Between Science & Spirit

Some years ago, I called upon the great scientist Prof S Chandrasekhar in Chicago and asked him how seers of the Vedas and Upanishads had two astounding insights that have emerged in modern science only recently.

The first is the concept of anantakoti brahmanda , endless universes. The second is the concept of vast aeons of time through which creation passes, much like the ancient belief that a single day of Brahma is 4.32 million human years long, so that his one year corresponds roughly to the age of planet earth. When I suggested that perhaps this knowledge came to seers in enhanced states of consciousness, Prof Chandrasekhar seemed to agree.

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Islam and Hinduism: The Thousand Names of Vishnu and Allah

Allah is Al-Ahad or The One and Vishnu is called Eka, The One. It's curious but there are striking similarities between the many names of Vishnu and those of Allah.

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Buddhism - Buddhist Festivals: Dharma Day

Dharma day marks the beginning of the Buddha's teaching. The word Dharma can be translated as truth and is the term used for the path to enlightenment, or the Buddhist teaching.

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Pali Chanting in the Theravada Buddhist Tradition

With translation to enlglish, including

Vandan a - Homage to the Triple Gems

Ti-Sarana - The Three Refuges

Panca-sila - The Five Precepts

Buddha Vandana - Homage to the Buddha

Dhamma Vandana - Homage to the Teachings

Sangha Vandana - Homage to the Disciples of the Buddha

Maha-Mangala Sutta - Discourse on Blessings

Karaniya Sutta - Discourse on Loving Kindness

Ratana Sutta - The Jewel Discourse

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Sacred Places: Tree Of Knowledge Can Liberate You

Siddhartha Gautam roamed in search of the secret of sorrow and suffering. At Gaya, a village on the banks of the river Niranjana in Bihar, he sat in silent contemplation under a banyan tree.

He attained enlightenment there, and became known as the Buddha. The spot began to be referred to as the Throne of Wisdom, and the banyan tree is now known as the Eternal Wisdom Tree, the Akshaya Bodhibriksha .

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Emotions: We Know too Much, Feel too Little

A telephone operator in a small town would receive a daily call from a man who asked for the exact time. Finally, the operator asked him why he called every day. "Because", he said, "I am the man responsible for blowing the whistle at noon each day." "Well, that's strange", the operator replied: "Every day, exactly at noon, I set my clock by your whistle".

Individual lives cannot be compartmentalised; through our actions, we impact each other more than we realise. It follows that there is a profound relationship between the individual and the universe. So it's important for us to understand one another better. One way is to learn more about emotions, a key to understanding human behaviour and relationships.

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Dharma and Religion - Many Paths to One

A four-line verse of wisdom in Sanskrit - Subhashit - pronounces the commonness among animals and men of certain primal appetites and urges, and proclaims the supremacy of Dharma in man's actions and life, without which he would be no different from animals. Here, Dharma is to be understood as encompassing man's entire life, including all his thoughts and deeds, and is not to be confused with any religion.

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Creative Math of the Origins of Universe

For the creation of anything three causes are required to be fulfilled: Material cause, instrumental cause and supporting cause. In Creation, Brahman is all of these three causes. He evolves Himself into Mulaprakriti or primordial matter.

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Kadampa Buddhism: The New Kadampa Tradition

The New Kadampa Tradition is one of the fastest growing Mahayana Buddhist traditions in the West, with over five hundred meditation centres in thirty-seven countries. Founded by the Tibetan Meditation Master Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rimpoche, it provides local access to Buddha's teachings, meditation practice and an alternative view to life that promotes peace and harmony.

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Prosperity Consciousness: Bridges or Walls - You Choose

Life continually brings to us more gifts than we can accept and acknowledge, more than we can treasure with thankful hearts. As we pursue the lonely journey through our own life experience, we carry with us the potential to reach heights of excellence. It is our vision of life that matters. We can either paralyse ourselves or set ourselves free. We can choose to open doors to a new life or we can choose to close them forever. We can either build walls or bridges in our life. The choice is ours.

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Motor Your Mind Towards Godhead

Compare your wealth to the automobile that you drive everyday. When you are at the wheel, you have two options: You can either drive without direction or, you can drive steadily to the temple and derive long-lasting happiness. The decision is yours. So are the effects. You are the master of your destiny. You may choose to amass wealth and use it for inferior means of consumption or decide to use your resources to serve humanity and therefore, Lord Krishna.

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Compassion: Cultivating Positive Emotions

All major traditions in the world agree that negative emotions cause both physical and mental suffering. To be happy and free of suffering we need to cultivate positive attributes like compassion, generosity and loving-kindness. Buddhism acknowledges that outer circumstances are often beyond our control.

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Buddhism: History of the Buddhist schools

Three months after the passing of Gautama Buddha, The First Council was held at Rajagaha by his immediate disciples who had attained Arahantship (Enlightenment). Maha Kassapa, the most respected and elderly monk, presided at the Council. Only two sections the Dhamma and the Vinaya were recited at the First Council. All Arahants unanimously agree that no disciplinary rule laid down by the Buddha should be changed, and no new ones should be introduced. At this point, no conflict about what the Buddha taught is known to have occurred, so the teachings were divided into various parts and each was assigned to an elder and his pupils to commit to memory. These groups of people often cross-checked with each other to ensure that no omissions or additions were made.

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The chains that tie you to this wheel of Samsara or Bhava-Chakra or round of births and deaths, are your desires. So long as you desire objects of this world, you must come back to this world in order to possess and enjoy them. But, when all your desires for the mundane objects cease, then the chains are broken and you are free. You need not take any more births. You attain Moksha or the final emancipation.

You wander in this Samsara as you think that you are different from the Lord. If you unite yourself with Him through meditation and Yoga, you will obtain immortality and eternal bliss. Cut the bonds of Karma through Knowledge of the Eternal and enjoy the Supreme Peace of the Atman, thy innermost Self and Inner Ruler. You will be freed from the round of births and deaths. Freed from sin, freed from passion, you will become a Jivanmukta or liberated sage. You will see the Self in the self and see the Self as all.

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Buddhism is a philosophy and/or religion based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama (Sanskrit; in Pali, Siddhattha Gotama), who lived between approximately 563 and 483 BCE. Originating in India, Buddhism gradually spread throughout Asia to Central Asia, Tibet, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, as well as the East Asian countries of China, Mongolia, Korea, and Japan.

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Nine Beliefs of Hinduism

Beliefs are the building blocks of the mind. Our beliefs determine our thoughts and attitudes about life, which in turn direct our actions. By our actions we create our destiny. Beliefs about sacred mattersÑGod, man and cosmosÑare essential to oneÕs approach to enlightenment. But beliefs are not mere matters of agreement. They are what we value and hold as true. Hindus believe many diverse things, but there are a few bedrock concepts on which most Hindus concur. The following nine beliefs, though not exhaustive, offer a simple summary of Hindu spirituality.

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