Buddhist Christmas 2014

Merry Buddhist Christmas and a happy New Year 2015! 

Dear readers,

another year has passed. Christmas is just around the corner. Isn't our calender a wonderful tool that reminds us of impermanence. Time goes by so quickly. Without noticing, New Year 2015 is suddenly approaching. We have again become a year older. Of course, it shouldn't have come as a surprise, because the clock has been constantly ticking. Without noticing it, our life-span has  decreased with each moment that passed.

Therefore, we can also relate to big and joyful events like birthdays, New Year and Christmas as reminders of impermanence. So many extra-ordinary people have passed the last year. The loss of the great Tibetan Buddhist master Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche is still present in the minds of Tibetan Buddhists. Also numerous celebrities like Robin Williams, Shirley Temple, Peaches Geldof, Philipp Seymour Hoffman, Maximilian Schell, Eusébio, Mickey Rooney, James Garner and Lauren Bacall have left us forever this year. We may have had to mourn the demise of close ones, friends  and dharma brothers and sisters around us.  

Buddhist teachings tell us, that every being which has been born will surely die one day. If even the greatest among us are subjected to death, the Lord of Death will certainly not spare us either. For a practitioner, it is actually important to become aware of death. In the Parting from the Four Attachments, which have been the subject of the last post, it is said that "if one clings to this life, one isn’t a dharma practitioner". In  the context of these instructions, it is therefore explained that one should make an effort to develop an understanding of death and impermanence. This acts as a remedy for being too much involved with this life. 

Buddha is Everywhere

Some Impressions from Mannheim, Germany

The following pictures were taken during two short walks through my hometown Mannheim where I spent the Christmas holiday. Wherever I went, yet another Buddha manifested. It almost seemed as if they were following me. After some time, I started to take pictures of them...

This lovely head of a Buddha is situated next to a small café in the center of the town. Quite a strange idea to have a Buddha carry a flower pot on his head...

The following Buddha was spotted at Fressgasse, inside the squares. Mannheim is a quite unusual German town in that the layout of its center follows a grid pattern. It is therefore also known as "Quadratestadt" or "the city of squares". (Note: the name is not suggestive of the population being particularly square-headed)...



These two pictures were taken through the window of a carpet shop.

Buddhist Christmas

What does Buddhism have to do with Christmas?

Not much of course. Nevertheless, while Christmas becomes more and more visible through all kinds of merchandise articles in Eastern countries, it still plays a very important role for Western Buddhists. Most grew up in an environment where Christmas was the major event of the year. Even if one had parents that were no regular churchgoers, they would not miss out the mass of Christmas eve.

Whether pious Christians like it or not, Christmas isn't any longer only a celebration for the religious in the West. It is an event that is celebrated by the masses regardless of its religious content. For many, it will certainly still be one of the religious highlights of the year, but for the growing non-religious mass, it is equally important as a general festival. Many of the European countries which have a purely Christian ancestry since centuries, many customs and traditions can't be separated anymore from their religious background. Whether one belongs to a specific creed or no, Christmas is certainly the most important event of the year in Europe.

No-one wants to miss out on the great celebration of love when family and friends come together or have to celebrate it alone. You bake Christmas cookies, sing Christmas songs , eat together, go to mass, and enjoy the special festive atmosphere. It is only natural that many Western Buddhists like to celebrate it as well, and why shouldn't they? Even many of my Muslim friends celebrate it.