Heading down to the local Buddhist tavern

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Eric G, modified 9 Years ago at 7/1/14 3:56 PM
Created 9 Years ago at 7/1/14 3:56 PM

Heading down to the local Buddhist tavern

Posts: 133 Join Date: 5/6/10 Recent Posts
[url=]Vowz bar in Tokyo
Long ago, Buddhist temples were a gathering place for people to drink and socialize, as well as a place to hear sermons and homilies from Buddhist priests.
Any truth to this practice?
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Daniel M Ingram, modified 9 Years ago at 7/1/14 10:44 PM
Created 9 Years ago at 7/1/14 10:44 PM

RE: Heading down to the local Buddhist tavern

Posts: 3268 Join Date: 4/20/09 Recent Posts
still are: when I was at MBMC people would gather and eat and feed the monks and meditators and they would give talks and they had something like Sunday school, etc.
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Dream Walker, modified 9 Years ago at 7/1/14 11:21 PM
Created 9 Years ago at 7/1/14 11:21 PM

RE: Heading down to the local Buddhist tavern

Posts: 1657 Join Date: 1/18/12 Recent Posts
I think this bar is a bit different than sunday school.
Vowz Bar -
http://www.odditycentral.com/travel/tokyos-monk-run-bar-mixes-cocktails-with-buddhism.html
Who says booze and religion don’t mix? That’s certainly not the case at Vowz, a unique Tokyo bar run by two Buddhist monks who serve customers delicious cocktails, religious chants and sermons.
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Simon T, modified 9 Years ago at 7/2/14 11:48 AM
Created 9 Years ago at 7/2/14 11:46 AM

RE: Heading down to the local Buddhist tavern

Posts: 383 Join Date: 9/13/11 Recent Posts
Remind me of the Trappist Monks that made beer as it was all they were allowed to ingest during Lent. As alcohol is generally frowned upon in most Buddhist tradition, with the exception of some Tantric practices, which I don't know to have made there way to Japan. Monasticism in Japan is unique in many ways, with more than one sect, some monks being warriors and monks having wives. 

Thailand has many "Buddha's day" during the year when people gather in temples to give alms, pay respect, get blessings, etc. But it's generally not social in the sense that we are talking here. I took part in New Year celebration organized by the Arahant V. Vajiramedhi. They had installed a few hundreds small camping tents to allow people to stay overnight and there was more than a thousand people. The celebration included dharma talks, pop singer performance, story telling, comedy, fireworks and lighting sky lantern. Vajiramedhi borrow a lot from the west to get people attention to the Dharma so it wasn't completely traditionnal.

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