The indefatigable Sam DeWitt sends two more Dharma-Burgers from NYC:

“While looking around for a graphic novel to buy for my one of my nephews, I spied this book on the bottom shelf.

“I had no idea what it was, but a quick Google function brought up this tidbit:

“‘We work tremendously hard to ensure that Degrassi is relevant to the lives of teens,’ said Degrassi creator Linda Schuyler, president of Epitome Pictures. That’s why being at the forefront of the English-language manga movement is incredibly exciting – it’s an art form that kids everywhere are embracing.’ Adds Christopher Jackson of Madison Press Books, DEGRASSI: EXTRA CREDIT titles will be must-haves, for fans of the show and fans of graphic fiction alike. ”

“Also,” Sam writes, “while running around shopping for the relatives (by far my most favorite thing to do!), I came across a street vendor selling his own t-shirt designs, and had to buy 2. Here are the front and back images.

“The artist’s website is http://www.iteetoo.com/”

Thanks, as always, Sam…!

This Dharma-tattoo was originally posted when the Horse’s original (now-defunct) blog first launched; maybe it’s new to you. It comes from reader Jenny W., from Okayama, Japan. About it she writes:

“I got this tattoo of Jizo Bosatsu at Chopstick Tattoo in Osaka, Japan in May 2006. The artist was Magoushi and I would recommend him highly to anyone in, or travelling to, the Kansai area. He was able to draw and execute this design with very little notice and dealt graciously with non-Japanese speaking clients. This is my third tattoo, the first two are also custom pieces which represent journeys, but this is the only one on an explicitly Buddhist theme.

“When I had it done I had just completed a major Buddhist pilgrimage route in Japan – the Shikoku 88 Temple route, a 1,000 kilometer circular route around Japan’s fourth largest island. Jizo is not the main focus of the pilgrimage but he is everywhere in rural Japan – at every temple, at roadside shrines, in fields and woodlands and cemeteries.  He is the guardian of travellers and has come to be associated particularly with looking afterthe souls of the dead and with children. Traditionally, many women make offerings to him to remember children they have lost through miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion.

“His image was a constant presence on the journey and so I chose him to sum up my time in Japan, and to be a kind of personal guardian whilst I wander around.  In this interpretation he is surrounded by falling petals of cherry blossoms – another reminder of impermanence and of Japan. Jizo has treated me well – I returned to Japan in November 2006 and hope to be here another year so that I can continue to develop my practice. I am part way through another pilgrimage route, to return to Shikoku in 2008.”

Thanks, Jenny!

Huge thanks to reader Amelus for sending this tasty bit of weirdness. Its source is the Buddhist teacher Luang Por, who seems to be affiliated with DMC. No, not DMC of RUN-DMC (though, can you imagine?), but instead the Dhamma Media Channel, a Thai TV and web operation whose tagline is pretty heavy: “The Only One.” Well, whoa.

(Amelus also sends this morsel of a Dharma-Burger. As he suggests so succinctly and sarcastically: “Zen: Japanese fast food!” Thanks again, Amelus.)

The unstoppable Sam DeWitt sends this trippy video-link. He writes:

“Nepal looks for girl to serve as new ‘living goddess’”

KATHMANDU, Aug 12 (Reuters) – Religious authorities in Nepal have begun the search for a girl who could be as young as three or four to serve as the new Kumari, or the virgin “living goddess”, in a centuries-old tradition.

Astrologers were consulting horoscopes of candidates from Buddhist Shakya families to replace the current Kumari, Preeti Shakya, who is 11 and should retire during the annual Hindu festival of Dasain in October, temple officials said.

“If we don’t change her now, we’ll have to wait until next year which could be late,” said Deepak Bahadur Pandey, a senior official of the state-run Trust Corporation that oversees the country’s cultural matters.

“If the girl starts menstruating while serving as Kumari, it is considered inauspicious,” Pandey told Reuters on Tuesday. [Read more here.]

Big thanks to reader Andreas from Germany, who writes:

Hello there,

I found this item on Ebay . A “Buddha Teddy bear”. An item made by  the a famous German Teddy-Bear manufacturer, “Steiff.”

In the item description on the website manufacturer (http://www.steiff.de) is written:

Tranquillity breeds strength. Strength that comes from your centre – the belly: this is one of the most principles of Buddhist philosophy. The Buddha bear is part of this tradition. He is made of brass-coloured mohair and his facial expression, posture and aura were inspired by classic Buddha figures.

This bear is also available as keyring to “attach” it to you keys

In my opinion,  a really “worst horse” ( or bear ?)

Regards
Andreas from Germany
(Proud to be the worst horse )

…Thanks so much, Andreas!

…that’s what it was when I stumbled upon this shot of a kid absolutely shredding while wearing his pro-Tibet gear on Boardpusher:

Big thanks to reader Roman G. for sending this new Dharma-Burger. He provides his own commentary, too.  Take it away, Roman:

Does a duck have buddha nature ?  Well, according to Celebriducks, a company that manufactures bathtime rubber duckies, the answer is a resounding “Yes.”

Enter the Buddha Celebriduck, a vinyl bathtime version of Hotei with his own mala and fan.

Rather than just being an exploitation of the Hotei image, the folks at Celebriducks went out of their way to explain it and its origins on their web site and provided links for further reading.

And, lest Celebriducks be accused of picking on Buddhists unfairly, there’s Jesus, Moses, Guardian Angel, Nun, Pope, and Satan ducks as well. Each is available, of course, for an additional $11.99.

Does a duck have buddha nature ? Maybe. But we know this duck tastes terrible with duck sauce.

OK. Not really. But kinda. Check it out. We got an email from none other than the very venerable monk, Ven. Amaranatho, wherein he sent this shot and the below explanation:

“Hi There,

“we did this graffiti with the kids and young people and Amaravati Buddhist Monastery family camp 2002. We’ll probably do another one this year. It was done on the end of the tool workshop at the monastery.

“the theme of the family camps 2002 was Annica – change .

“It says ‘fireman – the eye is burning…’ The fireman being a reference to the Buddha and the fire sermon which we must of spoke about [then]… it was a long time ago.

“The fireman – telling you how it is and following what the buddha is teaching and it will put the fire out! A fireman…Flames representing change…”

And there’s more, as Ven. kindly points out. The below shot is from a bunch found here, all the results of kids being egged on by Buddhist monks to do graffiti. What a world, huh?

What a great, it’s-actually-getting-better-all-the-time world.