The Feast October 6, 2008
Posted by Lin Jensen in : Zen , 1 comment so farSometimes when I think things are going my way, they aren’t. And when I fail to notice this it’s usually because I’m not paying sufficient attention. It’s much better to keep watch over events as they unfold than to form doubtful impressions of them. That way I’m given a chance to notice that things aren’t necessarily the way I think they are. The fact is that life refuses to be shaped into conformity with my own hopeful version of events. There’s humility, gentleness, even wisdom that comes with the discovery of personal limits. I know all this, and yet I sometimes forget that my happy imaginings exercise no necessary influence over the way events actually unfold. That’s when I’m most likely to think I have things under control, failing to notice indications that suggest otherwise.
For three years now, I’ve served as Senior Buddhist Chaplain at High Desert State Prison, a maximum-security prison in Susanville, California. The Buddhist inmates at the prison had been without a teacher for more than four years at the time, and so I was asked if I would please come. I had my plans pretty well mapped out at the time and didn’t really want to undertake another responsibility. Furthermore, High Desert State Prison is on the east side of the Sierra Nevada Range, a two-and-a-half-hour drive from the west side town of Chico where I live. I said I’d think it over.
The decision was taken out of my hands the day I first laid eyes on the prison complex and met the first of my potential students, most of whom are serving life sentences. After passing through the outer perimeter of the prison with its lethal web of electrically charged wiring and after negotiating a seemingly endless series of electronically controlled gates that opened and shut behind me, I finally arrived on a catwalk outside cell C5–218 where I peered through a thin slit of a window at the face of a nineteen-year-old Asian boy who was serving a sentence for first-degree murder and wouldn’t even be considered for parole until he was in his mid-fifties. I told him who I was and what I’d come for. At first he seemed confused by the information, wondering what my appearance at his cell meant for him. But then, he suddenly brightened, a smile breaking out on his face, and he asked, ”Are you my teacher?” And without a thought for the consequences, I said, “Yes, I’m your teacher,” “Are we going to have Buddhist services?” “We’ll have services,” I told him. And so for all my plans to the contrary, life had turned me in a direction the difficulties and blessings of which I could never have foretold. (more…)
The Image(s) of Tibet October 1, 2008
Posted by Philip Ryan in : Dalai Lama, Tibet, china , 2 commentsThe Epoch Times (founded by members of Falun Gong; here’s their About Us page) has just concluded its four-part talk with Ms. Zhu Rui, a Han Chinese woman who has spent time in Tibet. It’s called “The Distorted Image of Tibet”. Don’t expect perfect impartiality, but it is interesting:
When we arrived in Tibet, I found that everything was different: the language, the clothing, the buildings, the religious sites—and I liked them all. As I was strolling down Barkhor Street—the busiest shopping street in Lhasa—I was totally absorbed. The earthen jars, the stringed flags, thang-ga paintings, turquoise necklaces, and costumes all amazed me. When I entered the Buddhist temples, I was awed by the beauty of the architecture. People in them were all so quiet and I was surrounded by an atmosphere of serenity.
The Guardian tells a tale of two Tibets: the Manichaean duelling viewpoints of people staring at each other across a chasm even though they might be living next door to one another.
Glyn Ford, a Labour MEP, has just returned from Tibet. He is said to be the first Western politician to visit since well before the Olympics. He says that making peace with the Dalai Lama will be the fastest and best thing for China, which is looking to move forward and stop talking about Tibet.
Slow Recovery in Cyclone Zone
Posted by Philip Ryan in : Burma , add a commentAid is dwindling for victims of the cyclone who remain extremely vulnerable to another catastrophic storm:
It is five months since Cyclone Nargis tore across the Irrawaddy delta and the city of Rangoon. On the face of it, the catastrophe has been brought under control. After early obstruction by Burma’s military Government, a large international aid effort has relieved the worst effects of the disaster and begun the job of rebuilding.
Food, medicines and shelter are flowing into the delta, with no secondary disaster from hunger or disease, as many had feared.
Outside Burma, the catastrophe is a fading memory; after a surge of donations in the early weeks, new funds for aid groups have dwindled to a trickle.
But the cyclone is still doing its damage — to livelihoods, education and health, as well as through the terror lingering in the minds of those who survived it. And the people of the Irrawaddy delta are no better placed to resist a future cyclone than they were five months ago.
“These new houses we have made now cannot stand another serious storm,” says a man named Hla Thaing, in Ahgnu. “It would be hell to face it all over again.”
Infrastructure was destroyed, food reserves were decimated, and so the misery from Nargis lingers.
Burma calls sanctions unfair and immoral, then makes more arrests September 30, 2008
Posted by Philip Ryan in : Burma , add a commentBurma says the sanctions leveled at it are unfair and immoral:
Burmese foreign minister U Nyan Win told the United Nations General Assembly yesterday that Burma could enhance regional energy and food security if sanctions against the country were lifted.
Nyan Win told the assembly during its annual general debate that it was the most vulnerable people, such as women and children, who were worst affected by the sanctions.
“Unilateral sanctions are also against international law,” a UN statement quoted him as saying.
Meanwhile Amnesty International calls out the junta for re-arresting people released just days ago, such as U Win Htein, a 66-year-old close associate of Aung San Suu Kyi. The arrests were made on the 20th anniversary of the National League for Democracy.
Dharma Combat! September 29, 2008
Posted by Philip Ryan in : Zen , 1 comment so farThe Worst Horse points us to another round in the Hardcore Zen - Big Mind knockdown drag-out dharma combat. Brad’s post here.
Buddhist Leaders Urge You to Get Political
Posted by Philip Ryan in : Dalai Lama, News , 2 comments[Names added 9/25/08, 9/26/08, and 9/29/08]
When a society comes together and makes decisions in harmony, when it respects its most noble traditions, cares for its most vulnerable members, treats its forests and lands with respect, then it will prosper and not decline…”
- Mahaparinirvana sutra
Whatever your political beliefs, your active informed citizenship is a part of a wise household practice. We are at a critical juncture in American history, with major decisions to make about the global environment, economics, foreign policy and social justice, decisions that will deeply affect all of us for generations ahead.
We urge you to engage, respectfully, and to act on your values: register voters, go to work in swing states, support what you believe to be wise social action and enlist others to join you in your work. Let the inner qualities of wisdom and compassion inspire your outer vision and find a way to support and embody these values for the benefit of all.
Lama Palden Alioto – Sukkhasiddhi Foundation
Sylvia Boorstein – Spirit Rock Center
Norman Fischer – Former abbot San Francisco Zen Center
Trudy Goodman – Insight LA
Jack and Liana Kornfield – Spirit Rock Center
Lew Richmond – Vimala Sangha
Sharon Salzberg – Insight Meditation Society
John Tarrant, Roshi - Pacific Zen Institute
Roger Walsh – Dzogchen Foundation
Joseph Goldstein – Insight Meditation Society
Lama Tsultrim Allione – Tara Mandala
Tara Brach – Insight Meditation Community of Washington
Rodney Smith – Seattle Insight Meditation Society
Eugene Cash – San Francisco Insight
Mary Grace Orr – Vipassana Santa Cruz
Robert Hall - El Dharma, Mexico
Diana Winston – Spirit Rock Meditation Center
Howard Cohn – Spirit Rock Meditation Center
Wes Nisker – Spirit Rock Meditation Center
Myoshin Kelley – Insight Meditation Society
James Baraz – Spirit Rock Meditation Center
Wendy Egyoku Nakao, Roshi - Zen Center of Los Angeles
Lama Surya Das
Carol Wilson – Insight Meditation Society
Michael and Narayan Liebenson Grady – Cambridge Insight Meditation Center
What will the 21st century taste like?
Posted by Philip Ryan in : Science , add a commentAccording to Momofuku chef David Chang, it will taste like veggies:
At the table, this means our plates will be heavier on grains and greens, and meat will shift from the center of the dish to a supporting role–the role it’s played throughout history in most of the world’s cuisines.
Monks Stage Protest in Burma
Posted by Philip Ryan in : Burma, General, Peace , add a comment100 monks staged a peaceful protest in Sittwe in western Burma to mark the anniversary of the crackdown. This mind-bogglingly courageous act will not go unpunished. Cue the jackbooted thugs.
Monks in Pungo are fighting the power too, but here they can use lawyers.
Only Buddhists can now head up the Mahabodhi Society according to a recent rules change. The Society was founded in Sri Lanka but soon moved to Indian soil with the help and support of the Indian government. Critics call the move political and say it will primarily benefit Sri Lanka. So it seems like a little tug-of-war between neighbors.
Plus Danny Fisher has a list of Buddhist movies. This is definitely a post that will keep growing over time.
Bomb Blast in Burma September 26, 2008
Posted by Philip Ryan in : Burma, News, Zen , add a commentA bomb blast in Rangoon on the anniversary of the crackdown and a second one defused. Seven people reported wounded. The International Herald Tribune reminds us that despite this rare case of terrorism in a totalitarian state, the generals still rule with an iron fist.
Monks in Pungo, Virginia claim discrimination and file a federal lawsuit.
A Japanese nun writes a mobile phone novel, which is all the rage in Japan.
Global Peace Index 2008
Posted by Philip Ryan in : Peace , 1 comment so farIceland is first overall. The U.S. is in the bottom third. Among countries where Buddhism is a major influence on the culture, Japan and Bhutan top the list.