Buddhist Wine

[sabaijai]

Blending compassion for wine with 100% charity

NEW OREGON, USA: Ever heard of a liquor company giving its entire profits to charity? Or does Buddhist philosophy have any relation with liquor industry?

Oregon-based Bodhichitta Winery has combined the fine art of wine making to cater to the market demand but at the same time adhere to the core principles of Buddhism on which the company is floated. Bodhichitta (pronounced "bodda-cheetah") is a Sanskrit word meaning "to give of oneself".

The winery produces a range of quality, handcrafted wines such as Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the Willamette Valley and Contemplative Cabernet Sauvignon and Giggling Pinot Gris from Southern Oregon, as well as lavender aromatherapy products. The wines are available for sale on the winery's website, www.bodhichittawinery.com. One hundred percent of the profits from Bodhichitta sales are donated to charity.

Founded in 2008 by Mark Proden, a student at the Northwest Viticultural Center and former Air Force pilot, Bodhichitta was born of the Buddhist idea that everything in this life and the next starts with a thought; a thought may then turn an intangible concept such as "easing the suffering of others" into a concrete reality. According to Proden, "The winery's vision and purpose, 'passion for wine; compassion for others', underscores my desire to serve others while working in this great industry."

Bodhichitta has already begun its mission of giving to others with a recent $12,000 donation to the Central Asian Institute (www.ikat.org), which builds schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Inspired by Greg Mortensen, Director of the Central Asian Institute and author of New York Times bestseller, Three Cups of Tea, Proden developed a "Three Cups of Wine" fundraiser during Crush 2008. The proceeds from sales of $20 t-shirts on the winery's website plus funds received from a private donor will cover the cost of materials for one K-5 school.

Bodhichitta is run by Proden and his all-volunteer team of friends and family who are donating time, energy and materials to build the winery from the ground up. The wines are made entirely by hand from fermentation to bottling and in an environmentally friendly and sustainable manner. The winery recycles bottles from local wineries and friends, soaking off the labels and sanitizing them before bottling. The purple lotus flower on its label represents the winery team's innate yearning for the happiness of others, and the Om symbol is a reminder that all things are possible.

The winery will produce 600 cases in 2009 and grow to a maximum of 10,000 cases as demand increases. Once Proden completes schooling at the Northwest Viticulture Center at the end of the year, he will look to planting Bodhichitta's own vineyard, lavender field, apple and olive orchard, as well as an apiary to provide honey and wax for its product lines. A more permanent and larger facility will then be sited to support increased production -- one that will offer a retreat from the fast pace of modern life, concentrating on healing and the easing of suffering through a beautiful, natural setting, counseling, tai chi and yoga.

Bodhichitta has passion for wine and compassion for others. While not currently open to the public, its wines, lavender aromatherapy and culinary products are available through direct sales in person, online, select wine shops and stores. More details on www.bodhichittawinery.com.

Bodhichitta (pronounced "bodda-cheetah") is a Sanskrit word for the basic human wisdom that can drive away the sorrows of the world. Bodhi means "awake"; free from the ordinary, confused mind, free from the illusion that we are separate from one another. Chitta means "heart" or mind." According to the Buddha, the unbiased mind and good heart of bodhi hold the key to happiness. Bodhichitta Winery is a vision to embody that spirit in each feeling, thought and action in our daily lives to bring compassion, equanimity, joy and kindness to our world -- to ease our eliminate suffering and pain. Bodhichitta Winery believes that everything in this life and the next begins with a thought -- a thought that can bring possibilities that already exist into fruition.

(Courtesy: PRLog)

[SeerObserver]

Not to knock the charity behind the whole thing, but it's an interesting trade for a Buddhist cause. Regardless of what is done with the proceeds, this still falls under trade in poison/intoxicants.

[sabaijai]

First Buddha Bar, now Bodhicitta Wine. The website is quite vague about any Buddhist connection.

[Groongthep]

It sounds like this guy's intentions are good as charity is always laudable but I can't accept that producing and selling alcohol for consumption is in any way a Buddhist concept. Could you imagine the abbot of a local Wat producing and selling lao sato to raise money for the poor?

[sabaijai]

Meanwhile here in Thailand:

Breast stupa cookery

[camerata]

Bodhichitta (pronounced "bodda-cheetah") is a Sanskrit word for the basic human wisdom that can drive away the sorrows of the world. Bodhi means "awake"; free from the ordinary, confused mind, free from the illusion that we are separate from one another.

Right. And a bottle of wine will really wake you up, clear your mind and free you from illusion. What a bunch of crap!

And here's another story about a so-called Buddhist who pretty much does as he pleases...

Sex and Hardcore Zen

Zen Master Brad Warner meditates on Buddhism, sex work, porn, and why Buddhism makes sex hotter

It was the "sex" part that made me do a double take; and that Warner writes a column for soft-core pinup Suicide Girls opened up a world of wonder; how, exactly, do sex and Zen go together? Sure, I've heard plenty of puerile pontification from Yoga nerds about "achieving Nirvana, baby" while they show you their downward dog, and this town already has a New Age-y sex cult or two where it's always "ladies' night." But Warner is on the level; "Zen Wrapped In Karma" is a no-bullshit first-person account of the year Warner's life completely fell devastatingly apart as he navigated heartbreak and loss, becoming a self-described "porno Buddhist" as his day job, all while he counseled Zen practitioners through their own crises.

[...]

Violet Blue: What's the basic philosophy about sex from a Zen perspective?

Brad Warner: There's no specific philosophy as such. When you enter the Buddhist order either as a layperson or clergy you take ten vows, one of which is not to abuse sexuality. But there is no specific definition of what that means. In the earliest Buddhist sanghas they decided that meant you had to be celibate. And some orders still interpret it that way. Lucky for me, Japanese-style Zen Buddhism does not interpret it in that way! In Zen it's up to each individual to decide what "abusing sexuality" means. For me it's even more vague because my teacher changed the wording of that precept and rather than asking them to avoid abusing sexuality he asks his students to vow to "not to desire too much."

Full story at sfgate.com.

[sabaijai]

Just to put in a word for Brad Warner, his book Hardcore Zen: Punk Rock, Monster Movies, & the Truth about Reality is one of the best books on Zen I've read. He's not as libertine as he comes off in that interview, although of course in the Zen tradition there's plenty of room for the 'mad monk' approach