Media
Aug 14th, 2011 by Brian Ruhe
Northwest Dharma News (Seattle, Washington)
January 2002 Edition / Volume 14 * Issue 6 / www.nwdharma.org
VANCOUVER TEACHER SHARES DHARMA THROUGH SCHOOL SYSTEM
Brian Ruhe has taken an unusual approach to making the Dharma available to people: he teaches it through the Vancouver, BC educational system.
Ruhe, who was a monk in Thailand for seven months, has spent the last four years teaching Buddhist principles in a series of adult education classes in Vancouver. He offers these through four public school boards, the University College of the Fraser Valley and five local community centres.
According to Ruhe, this approach allows him to make the Dharma available to people without the complications of operating a centre. “I move to where the people are,” Ruhe said. “It works well for reaching people.”
He’s also modest about his goals as a teacher, saying that he’s interested in introducing people to the Dharma so they can seek deeper teachings and guidance from more accomplished teachers.
His own teacher is Ajahn Sona, abbot of Birken Forest Monastery of British Columbia. While Ruhe principally teaches in the Theravadin tradition, his initial training was through Shambhala in Vancouver. Ruhe also bases his classes on his self-published book, Freeing the Buddha, soon to be re-issued by a publisher in India.
Several Vancouver educators have found the program beneficial for students. Audrey Nawrocky, program coordinator for continuing education for the Vancouver School Board, said Ruhe’s courses have proven very popular. She sees no issues of separation of church and state, pointing out that her program also offers classes in Christianity and Islam.
“As we see it, our role is to provide opportunities for the general public to explore options they may not have had when they were going to University,” she said. “I think what he does most is to promote thinking.
The Vancouver Courier
Friday, October 20 2000
GOD.COM
Internet chatrooms are helping the spiritually disenchanted reestablish connections with their faith
By Peter Chattaway, Contributing Writer
As one of the more popular cliches in religious circles puts it, churches are communities of people, not buildings. But the Information Age is changing the way we think about community, and with it, the way some people think about religion. For many, chat rooms, newsgroups and e-mail discussion lists have become a significant part of their spiritual lives…
pg. 3 “Anonymity encourages debate”
“I regard the Internet as a supplement, a tool, to help the main thing. The main thing is still people helping each other and relating to each other.” -Brian Ruhe, Buddhist teacher
…Gerry Bowler, a culture critic who works out of Winnipeg, says Christians in particular have been quick to capitalize on the Internet. “Just in terms of numbers of sites and newsgroups,” he says, “if we took sex out of the equation, I’m sure Christians would outnumber commercial interests…”
How big a part of modern Jewish life is the Internet? Local Orthodox Rabbi Tzvi Freeman said, “Let me put it this way; if the Internet were to disappear tomorrow, the international Jewish community, especially the Orthodox, would be thrown into chaos. Maybe that’s too extreme. We would sit there stunned.”
Brian Ruhe, a former Buddhist monk who now teaches courses on Theravadin Buddhism in Vancouver, says the Internet has become essential in his work, too. Ruhe keeps in touch with his students through e-mail and engages in debates with fellow Buddhists online. He has even led teleconferences in which he taught meditation to busy corporate executives.
Ruhe says the Internet is especially valuable for Buddhists because there are so few in Canada. “Only one or two percent of the country is Buddhist,” he says. “So if you live in a small town, there might be nobody around you who is a Buddhist. So at least you’re connected by the Internet to these people far away in the big city. It’s very meaningful to them.”
Bringing like-minded people together is one thing. But one of the Internet’s greatest assets is its ability to engage people with different beliefs in ongoing dialogue. Sometimes, discussions degenerate into virtual grudge matches. But it’s still possible to arrive at a deeper mutual understanding…
Brian Ruhe says the Internet creates a level playing field, giving people outside official authority structures an opportunity to share their insights with others. In one Buddhist discussion group, Ruhe presented historical evidence that, he said, showed Tibetan Buddhism was a combination of elements from various religions, and may not be the purest form of Buddhism.
His arguments angered some Tibetan Buddhists on the list. But the discussion continued.
“In a lot of religions, there’s this tendency to defer to the guru and the tradition and the elders, so there are some things that are kind of suppressed.” he says. “But when you have the power of the Internet, someone on the outside like myself can really stir up some dust. I don’t have too much to lose. They can’t kick me out, because I’m already an outsider. But they’ll let me be part of the e-mail discussion group.”
The Internet gives a whole new twist to the ancient question of how individuals and communities ought to relate to one another, especially within a religious tradition. Faith is an intensely personal matter, but it requires interaction with fellow humans…
Brian Ruhe says it’s easy to stay isolated behind the computer screen, which can have the adverse effect of reinforcing one’s ego, instead of overcoming it. “One of the advantages of a community is that you can’t do whatever you feel like. There are people there who say No,” he says.
Ruhe says he prefers to look at the Internet as a way of reaching out to people caught in a “transitory” society, and helping them re-establish their spiritual connections.
“You can’t replace people actually getting together in a group, like a meditation group or a temple, because people still want to get together,” he says. “I regard the Internet as a supplement, a tool, to help the main thing. The main thing is still people helping each other and relating to each other.”
The Vancouver Sun
Monday, September 11, 2000
VATICAN STATEMENT SEEN AS A CHALLENGE
Religious leaders say the statement of superiority is disappointing, but need not curtail interfaith dialogue.
By Douglas Todd
Greater Vancouver Anglican, Buddhists and Muslims have been taken aback by a blunt statement from the Vatican that trumpets Roman Catholic authority and strongly rejects the idea other religions are equal.
But the non-Catholic leaders said it’s not necessarily a disaster – or an end to expanding religious dialogue – that the Vatican this week reaffirmed its doctrine that non-Catholic churches “suffer from defects” and that major world religions are “gravely deficient.”
A spokesman for the Anglican diocese in Vancouver, Very Reverend Peter Elliot, said Thursday he was “disappointed” by the Catholic statement, which aims to combat the “so-called theology of religious pluralism,” which suggests Catholics are on a par with Protestants, as well as Muslims and Buddhists.
Echoing the dismay of Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey, spiritual leader of Anglicans, Elliot said the tone of the declaration does not help to build common ground between Catholics and Anglicans.
At the same time, Elliot added, the statement doesn’t say anything startlingly new.
Vancouver Buddhist teacher Bryan Ruhe said he doesn’t agree with the 36-page statement unveiled Tuesday by Cardinal Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which was approved by the Pope.
But the Theravadan Buddhist said he admires the Catholic church’s spunk for being so forthright.
“My feeling is many religious people have lost the courage to be elitist, to say, in a sense, ‘This is what I believe. I’m going to take a stand.’”
As a Buddhist, Ruhe said he is also convinced his religion is better than Catholicism.
“True tolerance,” Ruhe said, “doesn’t mean emphasizing similarities, it means respecting people with whom you disagree.”
Aziz Khaki, a liberal Muslim who heads Vancouver’s Pacific Interfaith Association, was surprised by the document, which flies in the face of decades of growing dialogue among diverse religions, including Catholicism…
The Vancouver Sun
Saturday, May 29, 1999
LIBERATING SOULS BY LIBERATING ANIMALS
By Douglas Todd
Gautama’s birthday is coming up and many of Greater Vancouver’s 100,000 Buddhists will be celebrating.
…Douglas College Buddhism teacher Brian Ruhe, author of “Freeing the Buddha” (Buddhist Spectrum), and his Thai wife, Pia, will be among those who buy a live crab, lobster or salmon from local supermarkets to release them at Kitsilano beach and elsewhere this weekend.
However, this holy event – marking not only the birth, but the death and enlightenment of Gautama, the Buddha (the “awakened one”), in the 6th century B.C. – is one of the rare things that links Greater Vancouver’s unusually large pocket of more than 100,000 Buddhists…
Some Buddhists think enlightenment can only be attained through strict self-control and meditation; others are convinced there’s a devotional short-cut…
It’s called Pure Land…
Devotees of Pure Land come to the Richmond temple to chant the name of Amitabha in hopes of being transported to Buddha paradise when they die. They are like evangelical Christians, Ruhe found, putting faith in an external power to elevate them to heaven…
When Ruhe arrived at the Buddhist International Society temple, he was surprised there was no place to meditate. “Pure Land Buddhists promote an appealing idea; that a higher power will save you. But the Buddha didn’t teach that,” says Ruhe, who, not surprisingly, no longer works at the temple.
For his part, Buddhist International Society official Tom Tong did not want to discuss the ideological conflict, saying only that Buddhists should not criticize other Buddhists.
Ruhe, however, believes he must be honest. And needless to say, he believes the true route to enlightenment is the “hard way.”
Ruhe typifies the second major Buddhist cluster in North America, the typically Caucasian Buddhists who are in tune with abstract Zen thought and the philosophically sophisticated Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama…
These two Buddhist schools amuse and annoy each other – in much the same way a liberal, intellectual United Church member and a devotion-charged Pentecostal drive each other to distraction…
Similarly, on Gautama Buddha’s birthday, both kinds of Greater Vancouver Buddhists emphasize compassion, even toward each other – realizing, at the least, they are linked by a potent tradition and a sacred hero.
______________________
Douglas Todd’s column runs Saturdays. He can be reached via e-mail at:
[email protected]
The Vancouver Courier
Wednesday, January 7, 1998
SCHOOL BOARD OFFERS ADULTS SPIRITUAL PATH
The school board offers non-theologically threatening courses to widen people’s spiritual path.
By Ann Sullivan, Contributing writer
The Vancouver School Board might not be the first place to turn for spiritual enlightenment, but these days it’s a good place to start.
The VSB is offering courses introducing people to new spiritual paths.
Connie Gibbs, program coordinator with continuing education, said the idea of offering more spiritual courses came to her after she read a book by Douglas Todd on religion and well-known Canadians. The book suggested that most people aren’t affiliated with any religion.
“I thought, ‘How do these people connect with one another and how do they discuss those [spirituality] issues?’” Gibbs said.”It seemed to me there was a big void out there.”
Gibbs attempted to fill the void with courses like ‘Buddhism’ and ‘Discovering and Developing your Spirituality’, which were offered for the first time last fall…
“Because people can get (Christian spirituality) through the churches, that need is being met,” she said.
Brian Ruhe, who offers a course in Buddhism, agreed people are looking for spiritual paths they may not find in their own churches.
“Since society is more secular as a society, maybe people are more accepting of religion in a secular setting,” he said.
VSB winter courses start in mid-January. For information and registration, call 713-4550.
The Richmond Review
Saturday, January 3, 1998
AN INNER JOURNEY
Many locals are turning to meditation to improve their mental, physical, spiritual and emotional well-being, with the help of courses offered at the Buddhist temple on Steveston highway. At top, instructor Brian Ruhe (left) leads a morning meditation class; above right, participants work to clear their mind of clutter; and, above left, a touch of a traditional bell indicates stop or start instructions during a walking meditation exercise. For more information or for a free tour, call Brian Ruhe between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. at 274-2822. (photos by Mark Patrick)
The Province
Sunday, July 13 1997
BUDDHISTS LIBERATE THE LIVING
By Lora Grindlay, Staff Reporter
(This article is about releasing live crabs into the ocean on Visaka Day to gain merit. This is the day to commemorate the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and death – parinirvana.)
…Brian Ruhe, a teacher with the International Buddhist Society in Richmond, called the ceremony “very Asian.” He said it’s commonly held at Buddhist temples in the Lower Mainland.
There are six realms in Buddhist cosmology. The lowest positions are the animal realm, the ghost realm and the hell realm.
One wins a human birth, said Ruhe, because of efforts made in a past life to preserve life.
To liberate the living, Ruhe said, is to earn merit.
“The idea is to extend your compassion to the lower realms instead of just to human beings,” he said.
“It’s about compassion. The Buddhists are looking for any creative way to manifest compassion.”
In 1991 Ruhe, who spent four years in Thailand, bought a crab and released it at a beach.
“You are liberating them from death. I let this crab go and I watched him walk away….”
The Vancouver Sun
Saturday, May 17, 1997
LOOKING FOR THE CENTRE OF GOD
By Douglas Todd
The uncommon forms of meditative prayer that Rev. Rohana Laing teaches at Capilano United Church are still a source of befuddlement to a few people in her congregation.
…Laing’s Buddhist friend, Vancouver meditation teacher Brian Ruhe, is excited that meditative prayer techniques once limited to medieval monks are becoming available to Western lay people.
Prayer, in various forms, is very much alive today….
