The Elephant Story

Buddhism Bail-Out in Japan

Sep 04, 2017 | 0 comments

The author lived in Japan for three years and quickly learned that religion was a rather unusual concept for the Japanese. Two-thirds of the people would say they were atheist, maybe 30 percent Buddhist and the remaining small bits would say Christian and/or Shinto. Maybe "and" would be a better way to describe all the options as a cocktail mixture of faiths or customs. Fundamentally, most Japanese celebrate holidays at Shinto shrines, may marry in a Christian ceremony and are buried in a Buddhist ceremony.Initially, we lived in Tokyo around the corner from the Meiji shrine which is the most...

The Dalai Lama

Mar 27, 2017 | 0 comments

If anyone was asked who was the most famous Buddhist in the world, most would say The Dalai Lama. In actual fact, he is the 14th Dalai Lama whose religious name is Tenzin Gyatso. He was born in 1935 in a small Tibetan village and was designated as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama in 1937 and enthroned as the 14th Dalai Lama in 1950. Although he is recognized as one of the leading figures in the world, he continues to represent a thorn in the side of China since he fled Tibet to India in 1959. The communist...

What Is Buddhism All About?

Dec 12, 2016 | 0 comments

The author has lived or worked in Buddhist countries most of his adult life and worn Buddhist amulets for protection from bad guys in the bush or those more gentile, though equally bad sorts, in the business world. However, more recently the author has become focused on the basic precepts of Buddhism to improve his life. There are massive volumes describing the history of Buddhism and teachings of Buddha dating back some 2,600 years ago. Nonetheless, there are a few simple concepts that would enable most anyone to live more comfortably within their own body and with their fellow man....