I'm Linkedin!!

I finally signed up for Linkedin, so you can find me at the link below:

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/ure-james/26/73a/608

~Peace to all beings~

Buddhadharma Magazine Mention.

As some of you know, Buddhadharma magazine was working on an article on unaffiliated Buddhist practitioners. I'm not exactly unaffiliated but I do not have a regular sangha for many reasons that I've already mentioned here before. Well, I was approached awhile back to submit a paragraph on the subject. Yesterday the Spring issue arrived and I have been savoring the in-depth article like a bone. I was surprised but excited that they had included my submission. Here is what I said about unaffiliated Buddhists:

There is a long history in Buddhism of hermit monks, which has been lost a bit but can perhaps be seen rising again with the many lone-wolf practitioners around the world. The hermits still studied with others from time to time but knew that it comes down to the individual practicing. After all, the Buddha was just one person meditating off in the woods, he didn't mean to set up a formal religion. Who knows what he'd think of our sanghas today, especially how they are structured in the West. I think monasteries and temples are important to maintain and keep, as they train the next generation of teachers and students looking for more instruction and structure. However, I think one can still fulfill taking refuge in the sangha without having to physically take up space.

James: I just wanted to post something short to thank Buddhadharma for including my remarks within a great article. I am humbled, honored and only hope that my words help in some way advance the discussion. It really is a very in-depth article encompassing several pages and is worth picking up. I really applaud Buddhadharma magazine for taking on the subject of unaffiliated Buddhists in such an inclusive and broad way. It's nice to read something serious on the subject instead of unaffiliated Buddhists being laughed off and treated like they committed heresy.

~Peace to all beings~

The Art of James R. Ure

I finally have my new art website up and running so you can check it out if you haven't seen my work yet. I have reduced prices on the prints and the originals. I have done two paintings available for purchase that are Buddhistm related. Just click on the titles below:

Lord Buddha

The Awakening

The painting below is not specifically Buddhist but does touch on Buddhist themes:

The Veil of God

PHOTO: James working on a new painting that will depict the element Earth including bamboo stalks. I am painting a series of these based on the Taoist emphasis on nature, which will include all four elements.

~Peace to all beings~

Why I Love My Mother.

I found this picture of my mom and I back when I was younger and skinner. And so I thought that I'd write an ode to her today. She's a sweetheart and one of the nicest, most loving and compassionate persons that I know. She's a hero of mine and one of my best friends.

Throughout all the years that I was living at home she would get up earlier than I and cook me a full breakfast (pancakes, bacon, eggs, juice--the whole works) and her cooking is better than any restaurant food I'd ever eaten (her potato salad is beyond delicious just to name one dish that she makes) And on my birthday she'd make (and still does) all of my favorites.

When I was in primary/elementary school I usually walked home and would pick dandelions (they have a bright yellow flower on top of a long skinny stem but most see them as weeds). Well anyway I use to bring them home to give to my Mom and despite them being sticky and "weeds" she accepted them with so much love and happiness. She would always then fill up a juice glass with water and place the dandelions in it.

And when I would get sick (and still when I get sick) she would always take care of me better than any nurse could. She would buy comfort foods for me that sat well with my body such as my stomach when I'd get the flu. And when my stomach ached or if I had a fever she would hold my hand or place a cool wash cloth on my forehead to calm me down and ease my fever.

Some of my earliest and fondest memories where that she was the first person that I saw after waking up from a nap and was always greeted with a smile and a little snack. I'm getting teary eyed writing this--my heart is full to the brim with love today.

She is also one of the best listeners and that is such a great quality to have because most times we all just want to be heard and understood when we have struggles. She is also one of these people who always knows just what to say at the perfect moments. She is one of the happiest people that I a know and always seems to have a smile on her face. I love how excited and happy she gets when she sees me. She really knows how to make people feel appreciated.

She taught me well the value of respect and tolerance for all people regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, age or sex. And respect is something that is sorely lacking in our modern world. I was rightly taught that I am no more important or less than any other being in this world and that has served me well in life. It helps keep me humbled while at the same time giving me a sense of self-worth.

My mom is also deeply spiritual and helped me cultivate my own sense of spirituality and gave/gives me a peaceful, strong and yet humble example of the essence of spirituality. And while we now follow different religions we are able to find common ground and support each other. And because of our deep spiritual discussions we both came to realize that our two paths are actually quite similar in many ways. Those are just a few of the many reasons why I love my mother dearly and will always do so.

She is one of the most amazing people that I have ever met and cherish each moment that I have to be with her. Thank-you mom for all that you have done for me, do for me and share with me. My life has been greatly sculpted by your influence and it is all for the better. I love her so much and think the world of her. I am so happy that I have this life/chance to enjoy her energy and presence. That being said, I know that her and I have had a deep connection and relationship that goes beyond this lifetime and will always do so. She's a true Bodhisattva. She wants nothing more than for all beings to be happy and loved. If I can live up to her example in this life then I will die a very happy and content man.

---End of Transmission---

Revealing James Ure. Plus, "Buddha's Warriors."

For those wondering what I look like I've decided to reveal myself a bit more than I have before:

(Profile shot wearing my favorite hat, it's called a newsboy or cabby hat):(Relaxing in my Rockies baseball jersey):

(Here I am trying to look cool in a pair of sunglasses):(Here I am in front of our camping/backpacking tent):(These next two pictures are of me before I gained weight from my medications):

American cable news network is going to air a documentary titled, "Buddha's Warriors:"The program will be on t.v. this Saturday and Sunday 8 and 11pm eastern standard time here in the U.S. It will cover the following issues amongst others:

-Dalai Lama challenged by new generation of of Buddhist activists.

-Amanpour investigates split between Dalai Lama and his unruly flock.

-Buddhist monks risk arrest to march from India to Tibet.

-Inside the secretive world of Burma.

~Peace to all beings~

Article for Which I was Interviewed for Published. Plus, All Beings are Buddha

All beings are by nature Buddha,
as ice by nature is water.
Apart from water there is no ice;
apart from beings, no Buddha

-Hakuin Zenji, "Song of Zazen"

James: On another note the article that I was interviewed for was published in the Hartford Courant newspaper in Hartford, Connecticut, USA. Here is the full text:

Worship on the Web
By Phil Hall
April 5, 2007

The late Quaker theologian D. Elton Trueblood said evangelism "is not a professional job for a few trained men but is instead the unrelenting responsibility of every person."

Many people, particularly those with webpage-building skills, have taken Trueblood's words to mind and modem, creating a new online era of conversation and commentary in all matters theological.

In some cases, the Internet has provided a new extension of an existing theological experience. In 2005, for example, the Unitarian Church in Westport expanded its audience for Sunday services by having sermons digitized for podcasting or real-time broadcast from its website (www.uuwestport.org).

"In the past 12 months, there have been 1,837 requests for podcasts, and 519 sermons have been listened to online," says webmaster Charles Klein, who adds that the church's Net audience stretches far beyond its Connecticut congregation. "The website gets approximately 4,700 visitors monthly. The site is visited from all over the United States, much of Europe and even the Middle East."

Still, Klein is aware of the local value of this Net outreach.

"Those who are elderly have indicated a strong desire to visit the site specifically for the podcasts," he says. "Some listeners have moved away, and it is a way to stay connected. Others have either vision or hearing issues, and this really goes far in making sermons accessible to them. Others might be ill at home and do not wish to miss a service or have become shut-ins due to ill health. Others simply enjoy having the services available at their leisure while driving, walking, exercising, or at work."

For those who'd rather be in the pulpit than the pews, the Net allows personal views on matters of a divine nature. Blogging provides a more intimate discussion of faith, as James Ure discovered when he launched The Buddhist Blog (www.thebuddhistblog.blogspot.com) in 2005.

"An important aspect to Buddhism is the `Sangha,' or community of followers," says Ure, an artist in Loveland, Colo. "Being disabled with mental health issues, I have a difficult time staying connected to my physical Sangha, so I started this blog to stay connected with followers online. This blog has helped me see and connect with that worldwide community of followers that I call `The Greater Sangha.' Further, it has helped me realize that we are interconnected with the entire planet [Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike] and therefore one giant community."

Ure says he appreciates the depth of the connection (he averages 100 hits per day) and the diversity of experiences that lace these interactions. "I receive comments and stay in contact with bloggers of the Sufi Islam faith, mystics, agnostics, Christians, Taoists and Hindus," he says.

Cutting across religious traditions has benefited the Dalit Freedom Network, a nonprofit advocacy group devoted to bringing civil rights to the Untouchable caste within India's Hindu faith. Benjamin Marsh, social justice coordinator, notes the group's website (www.dalitnetwork.org) has attracted a strong level of global non-Hindu attention.

"A good deal of our traffic comes from the U.S., U.K., Canada and a surprising amount from China," he says, adding the one group that has tapped into the site is the community in its focus. "Most Dalit have no access to electricity, let alone the Internet."

Distinctive approaches to faith can also be addressed online. Michael Elliott discovered this when he launched The Christian Critic's Movie Parables (www.christiancritic.com) in October 1998.

"My interest is in trying to show how Scripture could be applied to life -- using the lives of the characters we see in the movies as examples," says Elliott, who runs his site from Orlando, Fla. "So, for me, R-rated films are every bit as valid as G-rated films."

Elliott says his initial efforts were not well received.

"Believers were concerned for my soul, thinking that I was naively subjecting myself to the negative influences of a devilish temptation," he says. "Unbelievers were offended that I was bringing religion to their secular entertainment. Over time, the negative feedback has all but disappeared. Most of my e-mail now is simply filled with suggestions of films people want me to review or, better yet, biblical examples that people have seen in films that I haven't yet had an opportunity to review."

Of course, some degree of negativity aimed at faith-based Net entities exists -- yet the digital environment allows intolerance to be erased with little more than a Delete Button click. Leslie Bunder, editor and publisher of the website Something Jewish (www.somethingjewish.co.uk), can afford to be blase when anti- Semitic e-mail is sent.

"We get a few e-mails of that nature, but generally we ignore it," says Bunder.

For Ure, the main problem facing Net-based faith is not the lack of tolerance, but the lack of face-to-face interaction.

"Perhaps the only negative that I can see between religion and the Internet would be that perhaps it might keep some people from interacting with others in person regarding religion," he says. "However, in today's busy world many people are finding it easier [and just as rewarding] to commune online vs. visiting a physical temple or church. In fact, my teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh, says it is not enough to be mindful at temple or while meditating -- that one should stay mindful and present throughout the day while engaging in various tasks."

PHOTO: One of my favorite representations of the Buddha called, "Resting Buddha." I first saw it as a large sculpture available in the "Dharma Crafts" magazine but for hundreds of dollars. I can't seem to find a smaller version. I guess I'll have to paint one!!

~Peace to all beings~