tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1012277645322483593.post4640603421077422610..comments2024-03-27T23:37:20.556-07:00Comments on dhamma musings: Gaps In The Maps?Shravasti Dhammikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06246408068143301108noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1012277645322483593.post-37817317205967497532009-04-07T02:38:00.000-07:002009-04-07T02:38:00.000-07:00Dear AQJ,L'Shana haba bi'Yerushalayim. Or mabye Bo...Dear AQJ,<BR/>L'Shana haba bi'Yerushalayim. Or mabye Bodh Gaya.Shravasti Dhammikahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06246408068143301108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1012277645322483593.post-72182957796441881682009-04-06T08:10:00.000-07:002009-04-06T08:10:00.000-07:00Ah the story of the Tang priest and his Journey to...Ah the story of the Tang priest and his Journey to the West! In recent years, a Buddhist organization out of Taiwan, Tzu Chi, published a photographic chronicle of the journey along with a map, based on his own records. In fact, his records have led archaeologists to discover lost Buddhist sites in Afghanistan (and one hopes they won't be lost again to ignorance in action by the Taliban). <BR/><BR/>More recently, I took that very journey myself -- if only metaphorically, since 26 storytellers in New York City recently told the entire Journey To The West in an 18 hour marathon. I was thrilled to be one of those tellers. And the telling was kind of a ritual reenactment for all of us, an 18 hour narrative meditation. And of course, there are no maps for that. <BR/><BR/>Looking to renaissance Europe, and Dante's trilogy, many have created maps based on his cosmology, which includes a mountain that represents Purgatory. Sort of the inverse of the descent to the Inferno (an odd name considering that the lowest rung was in fact a frozen lake). <BR/><BR/>Cosmological maps are only metaphors after all. But than again, real maps are only metaphors as well. As many a spiritual teacher has said: the map is not the territory. <BR/><BR/>And speaking of spiritual pilgrimages, this Jewish Buddhist wishes you a very happy Passover.anotherqueerjubuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18234893819374025177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1012277645322483593.post-54813460088789663682009-04-02T16:49:00.000-07:002009-04-02T16:49:00.000-07:00Dear Xiong, The story is from the Mahavagga, the ...Dear Xiong, <BR/>The story is from the Mahavagga, the first part of the Vinaya. Not difficult to find.Shravasti Dhammikahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06246408068143301108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1012277645322483593.post-48143857612888731092009-04-02T02:37:00.000-07:002009-04-02T02:37:00.000-07:00Interesting link on map history:http://www.bbc.co....Interesting link on map history:<BR/><BR/>http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/interactive/animations/map_making/index.shtmlChuan Guan bhikkhuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05676143172391914614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1012277645322483593.post-46922051500075709782009-04-02T02:31:00.000-07:002009-04-02T02:31:00.000-07:00Comparing "Asian Buddhist maps" with western map m...Comparing "Asian Buddhist maps" with western map mapping seem to be comparing apples and oranges. Is it a Buddhist trait or an Asian trait? Indian, Sri Lankan, Burma, Thai or Cambodian? <BR/><BR/>Does the Chinese count in? I wonder how other Chinese maps would stack up here. It would be interesting to give it a more balanced view.<BR/><BR/>Further, in terms of practical usefulness, it depends on the unit of measure. If one were to quantify practical usefulness by how one could use one's knowledge to conquer and colonise foreign lands for material gains, then map making would count as useful, while meditation could be deemed unuseful.<BR/><BR/>In addition, would the tendency towards oral transmissions of teachings have included travel directions? If so, this may have meant that visual aids such as maps never quite catch on.Chuan Guan bhikkhuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05676143172391914614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1012277645322483593.post-25976692262846217252009-04-01T11:24:00.000-07:002009-04-01T11:24:00.000-07:00Hi VenerableI am trying to find the story of 'the ...Hi Venerable<BR/><BR/>I am trying to find the story of 'the river' from the Tipitaka so as to get the correct details of the story but have not been successful from the web. Would you be able to advice? I read the story from another source which did not state the sutta it may have originated from.<BR/><BR/>Cheers!Liew Shi Xionghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00913582954546814734noreply@blogger.com