If you have family and friends who are baffled by your interest in Buddhism, urge them watch The Buddha, to be shown April 7 on PBS. The documentary is a re-telling the the life of the historical Buddha and a thoughtful presentation of his basic teachings. The viewer who thinks of "Buddha" only as a gilded Asian idol will be introduced to The One Who Woke Up and what he taught.
I have viewed The Buddha and give it a thumb's up. The narrative is well crafted and does a credible job, presenting the Buddha's teachings simply and clearly. Filmmaker David Gruber illustrates his story with traditional art, some animation, and film of places where the Buddha lived and taught as they look today.
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PBS Documentary: The Buddha originally appeared on About.com Buddhism on Thursday, April 1st, 2010 at 00:20:05.
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While the Tathagata, in his teaching, constantly makes use of conceptions and ideas about them, disciples should keep in mind the unreality of all such conceptions and ideas. They should recall that the Tathagata, in making use of them in explaining the Dharma always uses them in the semblance of a raft that is of use only to cross a river. As the raft is of no further use after the river is crossed, it should be discarded. So these arbitrary conceptions of things and about things should be wholly given up as one attains enlightenment. -Buddha...
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News that a new, really big reclining Buddha has been dedicated in Vietnam sent me scurrying off to look for updates to the Big Buddha photo gallery. Because, you know, there is nothing like a really big Buddha statue to make one say, "Whoa. That's a big Buddha."
The new 52-meter Buddha of the Binh Duong Buddhist Culture Center is no match for the 90-meter Monywa Buddha of Burma, which as far as I know is the largest finished reclining Buddha in the world. But what has happened to the fabled reclining Buddha reportedly being carved out of a mountain in Jiangxi Province, China? The one that will be a whopping 416 meters long?
No new news. As near as I can tell the Jiangxi Buddha still being carved, which means the Monywa Buddha probably is still the record holder.
A New Big Buddha originally appeared on About.com Buddhism on Tuesday, March 30th, 2010 at 18:35:34.
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