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Table of Contents
- Re: QUERY> Question about the natural dyes used to dye monastic robes
- Re: QUERY> Meat Eating in Monastic Contexts
- ANN> OCBS Pali Reading Club
- Re: QUERY> Question about the natural dyes used to dye monastic robes
- OBITUARY> Stanley Weinstein (1929-2017)
Re: QUERY> Question about the natural dyes used to dye monastic robes
by Bertram G.
Liyanage
Dear friend,To the best of my knowledge, the Buddha has not recommended certain trees to make dyes, but there are some trees that cannot be used because the color they produce is not appropriate for robes. Except these inappropriate trees, monks have used many varieties of trees for making dyes regarding their much availability in the neighborhood. Before writing this comment I talked with three forestry monks (monks living in forestry areas) about their practice of dyeing today. They differ from each other and told that they use some trees prescribed by their teachers. All of them agree to use barks of banyan tree, jack fruit tree and mahogany; barks, flowers and fruits of Red-bead trees (adenanthera pavonina); leaves of symplocos cochinchinensis. None of them have used caesalpinia sampan. But this doesn't mean that tree is not used at all. Maybe, there are some monks who use this tree also. Since I was a monk in my childhood, I know by my personal experience that no one uses only one material to make the desired color. They use certain combination, for instance barks of banyan tree and barks of jack fruits, to make dye. This combination is usually followed by a certain monastic family (from teacher to students) and it becomes their identity. I hope you have already read the second chapter of Buddhist Monastic Code II by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
With maitri
Bertram
Re: QUERY> Meat Eating in Monastic Contexts
by Geoffrey Barstow
Dear Justin,I am not aware of any studies that focus specifically on the monastic rule that allows monks to request meat when they are ill. That said, one chapter of my forthcoming book on Tibetan vegetarianism (titled Food of Sinful Demons: Meat, Vegetarianism, and the Limits of Buddhism in Tibet, and due out in a month from Columbia University Press) has an extensive discussion of Tibetan medical assumptions about meat, and the impact of those attitudes on the question of vegetarianism. While it is not the specific focus of the chapter, I do discuss the idea that medicinal need for meat sometimes trumps the ethical standard of vegetarianism, especially within the context of monasticism. So this chapter may be of some use for you. I also have a good deal of primary source material (mostly in Tibetan) on this topic, and would be happy to share that with you if you would like. If you would like, please feel free to contact me off-list.
All the best,
Geoffrey Barstow
Assistant Professor
Oregon State University
barstowg@oregonstate.edu
ANN> OCBS Pali Reading Club
by Alexander Wynne
Dear Colleagues,Announcing the Pali Reading Club (PRC)
The PRC is an online group for intermediate students who would like to improve their understanding of Pali. Thirty weekly meetings, each lasting 1-1.5 hrs, are scheduled for the academic year 2017-18. The schedule is as follows:
Michaelmas Term, 10 weeks beginning Sunday
October 1st, reading: Majjhima Nikāya Suttas.
Hilary Term, 10 weeks beginning Sunday January
7th, reading: Vinaya Mahāvagga, on the foundation of the Buddhist order
Trinity Term, 10 weeks beginning Sunday April
15, reading: Saṃyutta Nikāya I, Devatā-saṃyutta.
No preparation or contribution is required: the format of the PRC is a
guided translation by myself, along with group discussion. Readings are
circulated at the beginning of each term, and analysis documents, including
full translation, are provided a week in advance of each meeting. Each meeting
is recorded and made available for viewing throughout the year.Over the course of 2017-18, approximately 90 pages of the Pali canon (a/c PTS pagination) will be covered. For further information please see:
https://ocbs.org/courses/pali-reading-club/
Kind regards,
Alexander Wynne
Re: QUERY> Question about the natural dyes used to dye monastic robes
by Pierce Salguero
When I was in far north-east Thailand, I was told monks use the heartwood of
the jackfruit tree to dye their robes. Chips of wood are boiled in water,
producing a dye called "gaen-kanun." Additionally, instead of
washing, robes are reboiled in jackfruit dye once per week and are hung to dry
in the sun. Robes treated in this manner are said to protect the skin from
fungal infections, skin disorders, and body odor. Pierce Salguero
Penn State Abington
OBITUARY> Stanley Weinstein (1929-2017)
by Charles Muller
Posted on behalf of Tim Barrett, James Dobbins, and Paul Groner
Stanley Weinstein 1929-2017
It is with great regret that we announce that Stan
Weinstein, Professor Emeritus at Yale University and specialist in Japanese and
Chinese Buddhism, passed away on September 17, 2017. Stan received degrees from
Komazawa University and Tokyo University, and completed his Ph.D. at Harvard
under Nagatomi Masatoshi in 1966. He first taught at the School of African
and Oriental Studies at the University of London and later moved to Yale
University, where during his long tenure he trained many Ph.D. students. Stan
was the author of Buddhism Under the T’ang, and wrote numerous
articles, including more than a hundred entries for the Encyclopedia
of Japan. A memorial service will be held at the “Sixth Floor Common Area”
of the Whitney Center at 11AM
on Monday, September 25 (200 Leeder Hill Drive, Hamden, CT 06517). A full obituary
will appear in a later post.
Tim Barrett. James Dobbins, Paul Groner
