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Distractions come in all sizes, shapes, and flavors. Buddhist philosophy has organized them into categories. One of them is the category of hindrances. They are called hindrances because they block your development of both components of meditation, mindfulness and concentration. A bit of caution on this term: The word "hindrances" carries a negative connotation and indeed these are states of mind we want to eradicate. . . That does not mean, however, that they are to be repressed, avoided or condemned. Let's use greed as an example. We wish to avoid prolonging any state of greed that arises, because a continuation of that state leads to bondage and sorrow. That does not mean to toss the thought out of the mind when it appears. We simply refuse to encourage it to stay. We let it come, and we let go.~ Henepola Gunaratana, Mindfulness in Plain English
Dalai Lama envoy upbeat on China talks::read moreAn envoy of the Dalai Lama said on Tuesday that one-day talks with China on the unrest in Tibet had been "a good first step" and that the two sides would meet again after he reports back to the exiled spiritual leader......
Despite some skepticism among analysts over whether the recent diplomatic overture would yield any substantive breakthrough given the failure of previous talks, the two Tibetan envoys struck a positive note following the meeting with Chinese negotiators they've known for years.
"We had very candid discussions ... we have a good rapport, so that is always very helpful," Lodi Gyari told Reuters at Hong Kong airport as he prepared to board a flight for India, home of the Tibet government-in-exile.
[W]hen we realize that we are forced to change positions because of pain, we should question further to find out if there are other reasons. If the answer is that we change because we want to be comfortable, this is incorrect. It is incorrect because it is a distortion of happiness. The correct answer is that we change in order to "cure" the pain. We do not change to acquire happiness. The wrong answer comes from misunderstanding, and if we do not have the right comprehension when we change positions, defilements can and will spring up. Changing positions to "cure" pain indicates that we have to remedy the situation at all times. We should not misjudge and think that the reason is to attain happiness, since the curing of pain all the time is the same as having to take medicines constantly. It is like nursing a continuous sickness. Thus, we should not look upon nursing sickness and curing pain as being happiness at all.~ Achaan Naeb, in Jack Kornfield's Living Dharma
VATICAN CITY, 29 APR 2008 (VIS) - Made public today was the annual Message to Buddhists for the Feast of Vesakh, issued by the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue and signed by Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran and Archbishop Pier Luigi Celata, respectively president and secretary of the council.::linkVesakh, the main Buddhist festivity, marks three fundamental moments in the life of Gautama Buddha. It is held during the full moon of the month of May because, according to tradition, Buddha was born, achieved enlightenment and passed away in that period.
This year's message - published in English, French and Italian - is entitled "Christians and Buddhists: Caring for the Planet Earth". It indicates that:
"Preservation of the environment, promotion of sustainable development and particular attention to climate change are matters of grave concern for everyone. Many governments, NGOs, multi-national companies, and research and tertiary institutes, in recognising the ethical implications present in all economic and social development, are investing financial resources as well as sharing expertise on bio-diversity, climate change, environmental protection and conservation."Religious leaders too", the message adds, "are contributing to the public debate. This contribution is of course not just a reaction to the more recent pressing threats associated with global warming. Christianity and Buddhism have always upheld a great respect for nature and taught that we should be grateful stewards of the earth. Indeed it is only through a profound reflection on the relationship between the divine Creator, creation and creatures that attempts to address environmental concerns will not be marred by individual greed or hampered by the interests of particular groups.
"On a practical level can we Christians and Buddhists not do more to collaborate in projects which confirm the responsibility that falls to each and everyone of us? Recycling, energy conservation, the prevention of indiscriminate destruction of plant and animal life, and the protection of waterways all speak of careful stewardship and indeed foster goodwill and promote cordial relations among peoples. In this way Christians and Buddhists together can be harbingers of hope for a clean, safe and harmonious world".
The message concludes by expressing the hope that such ideas may be promoted "within our respective communities through public education and our good example in respecting nature and acting responsibly towards our one common planet Earth".
China doesn’t care what you think:::read moreChina has stepped up persecution of Buddhist monks with mass detentions, Tibet activists said Wednesday, as China prepares to take the Olympic torch to the top of Mount Everest.
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - ::link Envoys of the Dalai Lama will travel to China to meet the government over the crisis in Tibet, the government-in-exile said on Friday.::read more"During this brief visit, the envoys will take up the urgent issue of the current crisis in the Tibetan areas," the government-in-exile said in a statement on its Web site.
After a crackdown on protests against Chinese rule in Tibet, an international diplomatic chorus earlier this year urged dialogue with the Dalai Lama. Beijing abruptly announced in late April that it intended to meet his aides.
The envoys are due to arrive in China on Saturday for what the Tibetan side called "informal talks".
Sitting astride the senses is a shadowy, phantomlike figure with insatiable desires and a lust for dominance. His name? Ego, Ego the Magician, and the deadly tricks he carries up his sleeve are delusive thinking, greed, and anger. Where he came from no one knows, but he has surely been around as long as the human mind. This wily and slippery conjurer deludes us into believing that we can only enjoy the delights of the senses without pain by delivering ourselves into his hands. Of the many devices employed by Ego to keep us in his power, none is more effective than language. The English language is so structured that it demands the repeated use of the personal pronoun "I" for grammatical nicety and presumed clarity. . . . All this plays into the hands of Ego, strengthening our servitude and enlarging our sufferings, for the more we postulate this I the more we are exposed to Ego's never-ending demands.~ Philip Kapleau, in Thich Nhat Hanh's Zen Keys
The practice of metta, uncovering the force of love that can uproot fear, anger, and guilt, begins with befriending ourselves. The foundation of metta practice is to know how to be our own friend. According to the Buddha, You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection. How few of us embrace ourselves in this way! With metta practice we uncover the possibility of truly respecting ourselves. We discover, as Walt Whitman put it, I am larger and better than I thought. I did not think I held so much goodness.~ Sharon Salzberg, Lovingkindness
A primary cause of suffering is delusion: our inability, because of a subtly willful blindness, to see things the way they truly are but instead in a distorted way. The world is in fact a seamless and dynamic unity: a single living organism that is constantly undergoing change. our minds, however, chop it up into separate, static bits and pieces, which we then try mentally and physically to manipulate. One of the mind's most dear creations is the idea of the person and, closest to home, of a very special person which each one of us calls "I": a separate, enduring ego or self. In a moment, then, the seamless universe is cut in two. There is "I" - and there is all the rest. That means conflict - and pain, for "I" cannot control that fathomless vastness against which it is set. It will try, of course, as a flea might pit itself against an elephant, but it is a vain enterprise.~ John Snelling, Elements of Buddhism
The alarm clock rings at 4am in Martha Hunter's North London flat, as it has every morning for 13 years. The single mother gets up, dresses and heads into Central London to start her cleaning job at 6am.::read more
Cars and cows both emit noxious gases that deplete the ozone layer. Cars, we now know, can be fuelled by plants, just like cows. The trouble is, there are billions of people on this planet who are rather fond of eating. An acre of land can grow up to 20,000 pounds of potatoes but, when that same acre is used to grow cattle feed, it produces just 165 pounds of "edible cow flesh". Cows and cars both put pressure on the planet's scant resources.
~ Jonathan Cainer
TibetInfoNet Update 29 April 2008
China's official news agency Xinhua announced on 25 April 2008
that a meeting would take place "in the coming days" between
"a private representative" of the Dalai Lama and "the relevant
department of the central government". The announcement
follows a series of statements by the Chinese authorities that
portrayed themselves as "patiently keeping contact with the
Dalai Lama side" while accusing the Tibetan leader of "destroying
the base for dialogue". Although the announcement, issued
while China held consultations with the EU, is a conspicuous
attempt at appeasement, the ground for dialogue with the Dalai
Lama appears to have been laid in March 2008, prior to the
Olympic torch relay debacle, with the declared purpose of
co-opting the Dalai Lama's participation into easing current
pressures. While it is too early to predict whether forthcoming
talks will bear results and what those results might be, it is clear
that another inconclusive round of dialogue would be unlikely
to serve any of the parties concerned.The first statement hinting at a possible forthcoming meeting
was made on 31 March 2008 by Wen Jiabao, Prime Minister
of the People's Republic of China (PRC).....
A 2002 documentary on the history of Tibetan tragedy. Time 1 hour 43 minutes.As he says:
Spread the word!
Today I would like to make a personal appeal to all Chinese spiritual brothers and sisters, both inside as well as outside the People’s Republic of China, and especially to the followers of the Buddha. I do this as a Buddhist monk and a student of our most revered teacher, the Buddha. I have already made an appeal to the general Chinese community. Here I am appealing to you, my spiritual brothers and sisters, on an urgent humanitarian matter.
The Chinese and the Tibetan people share common spiritual heritage in Mahayana Buddhism. We worship the Buddha of Compassion – Guan Yin in the Chinese tradition and Chenrezig in Tibetan tradition – and cherish compassion for all suffering beings as one of the highest spiritual ideals. Furthermore, since Buddhism flourished in China before it came to Tibet from India, I have always viewed the Chinese Buddhists with the reverence due to senior spiritual brothers and sisters.
As most of you are aware, beginning with the 10th of March this year, a series of demonstrations have taken place in Lhasa and across many Tibetan areas. These are caused by deep Tibetan resentment against the policies of the Chinese government. I have been deeply saddened by the loss of life, both Chinese and Tibetans, and immediately appealed to both the Chinese authorities and the Tibetans for restraint. I specially appealed to the Tibetans not to resort to violence.
Unfortunately, the Chinese authorities have resorted to brutal methods to deal with the development despite appeals for restraint by many world leaders, NGOs and noted world citizens, particularly many Chinese scholars. In the process, there has been loss of life, injuries to many, and the detention of large number of Tibetans. The crackdown still continues, especially targeting monastic institutions, which have traditionally been the repository of ancient Buddhist knowledge and tradition. Many of these have been sealed off. We have reports that many of those detained are beaten and treated harshly. These repressive measures seem to be part of an officially sanctioned systematic policy.
Continue reading "the dalai lama: an appeal to all chinese spiritual brothers and sisters" »
Perspectives: Y.Z. Kami," now on exhibition at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, is itself a meditation -- a meditation in three paintings, big ones from New York.
Sometimes religion becomes yet another source for more division and sometimes open conflict. Because of that situation, I feel the different religious traditions have a great responsibility to provide peace of mind and a sense of brotherhood and sisterhood among humanity~ His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Chinese officials will meet representatives of the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism who China blames for a wave of unrest, state-run Xinhua news agency reported on Friday, citing official sources.
"In view of the requests repeatedly made by the Dalai side for resuming talks, the relevant department of the central government will have contact and consultation with Dalai's private representative in the coming days," Xinhua quoted an official as saying.
China denounces the Dalai Lama, who fled into exile after a failed 1959 uprising against Communist rule, as a traitor but since the anti-government unrest began in March it has been under pressure to resume dialogue with his envoys.
Update ::more here
Question: "What is your perspective on the relevance of Buddhst teachings in our day and time, considering there seems to be an awakening happening that is formless, with teachers like Eckhart Tolle not encouraging certain rituals and practices beyond presence?"::continued hereAnswer: As a former Zen monk, I have tremendous respect for the Buddhist tradition and find that the fundamental teachings on the cause and alleviation of suffering and on working with the mind have timeless relevance. They derive from direct, profound insight into the nature of reality by Buddha and the enlightened teachers that followed in his footsteps.
At the same time, Buddhism has tended to become encrusted with beliefs and practices that have little to do with the experience of waking up to who we really are, which is, after all, what the Buddha (the awakened one) was inviting his disciples to do. In particular, there seems to be more of an emphasis on becoming a skilled "practitioner," which of course helps perpetuate the practice center and the organization that springs up around it, and less upon enlightenment, which often becomes a kind of distant dream, possible only for the rare few.
::via topix
May 29 - June 1, 2008::more details hereOmega Institute, Rhinebeck, New York
“All In The Same Boat”
........................................................
June 6 - 8 Columbia University
International School of Conflict Resolution in New York City
“Practicing Peace in Times of War”
Gedhun Choekyi Nyima was kidnapped by the Chinese authorities just 2 months after he was officially recognized in 1995 as the 11th Panchen Lama, one of Tibet's most important religious leaders. On Friday, April 25th, 2008 he will turn 19 years old. His birthday will be marked by another year spent under Chinese detention.
Background
After the Dalai Lama, the Panchen Lama is widely considered to be the most important religious figure in Tibetan Buddhism. Historically, the Panchen Lama has played a pivotal role in identifying the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, and vice versa. The Panchen Lama, Gendhun Choeyki Nyima, was only 6 years old at the time of his abduction by the Chinese government, which installed another young boy – Gyaltsen Norbu – in his place. The Chinese government continues to meddle ruthlessly in Tibetan Buddhist affairs in an attempt to exert political and social control over Tibetans through the religious institutions at the center of Tibetan life. Tibetans nonetheless refuse to acknowledge China's impostor "Panchen Lama" as their religious leader. To date, China has denied all requests from the international community to see Gendhun Choeyki Nyima, the real Panchen Lama; his whereabouts remain unknown.
As seen in the film 'Seven Years in Tibet',
Austrian soldier Heinrich Harrer escaped from a British POW camp in India in World War II and ended up as the young Dalai Lama's tutor in Tibet. Harrer wrote about his cultural immersion for the July 1955 edition of National Geographic. Republished in the May 2008 special issue on China.
::link to national geographic story (17 pages)
There's much interesting information in this article on the young Dalai Lama and life in Tibet before the Chinese invasion.
HARARE (Reuters) - A shipment of Chinese arms bound for Zimbabwe will be recalled after South African workers refused to unload the vessel and other neighboring countries barred it from their ports, China said on Thursday.::read moreThe recall of the An Yue Jiang, carrying 77 tonnes of assault rifle ammunition, mortars and rifle grenades, came after unprecedented regional opposition in addition to Western pressure over Zimbabwe's election crisis.
Ordinarily, we spend all our time comparing and discriminating between this and that, always looking around for something good to happen to us. And because of that we become restless and anxious about everything. As long as we are able to imagine something better than what we have or who we are, it follows naturally that there could also be something worse. We are constantly pursued by misgivings that something bad will happen. In other words, as long as we live by distinguishing between the better way and the worse way, we can never find absolute peace such that whatever happens is all right. When we let go of our thoughts that distinguish better from worse and instead see everything in terms of the Universal Self, we are able to settle upon a different attitude toward life - the attitude of magnanimous mind that whatever happens, we are living out Self which is only Self. Here a truly peaceful life unfolds.~ Kosho Uchiyama, Opening the Hand of Thought
It’s best not to get too excited or too depressed by the ups and downs of life~ His Holiness the Dalai Lama
The United States on Wednesday urged China to stop vilifying the Dalai Lama and instead talk to the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader in order to achieve peace and stability in troubled, Chinese-ruled Tibet.::continue reading here"The Chinese government should seize the opportunity to talk to those Tibetans, represented by the Dalai Lama, who oppose violence and do not seek independence for Tibet," Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte told a U.S. Senate hearing.
"Public vilification of the Dalai Lama will not help defuse the situation," he said of China's angry tide of statements since protests erupted across Tibet in March.
Zenkoji Temple in the city of Nagano was vandalized between Saturday night and Sunday morning with spray-painted graffiti, police said.::link to Japan TimesThe 1,400-year-old Buddhist temple had declined Friday to serve as the starting point for the Japan leg of the Beijing Olympic torch relay next Saturday, citing the crackdown on monks in Tibet as well as security concerns.
Former Beatle Paul McCartney is urging the world to go vegetarian in a bid to fight global warming and is surprised more green groups don't promote it....
A 2006 United Nations report found that cattle-rearing generated more greenhouse gases than transportation.
High in the Himalayas, above this peaceful valley (in Bhutan) where farmers till a patchwork of emerald-green fields, an icy lake fed by melting glaciers waits to become a "tsunami from the sky."
The lake is swollen dangerously past normal levels, thanks to the global warming that is causing the glaciers to retreat at record speed. But no one knows when the tipping point will come and the lake can take no more, bursting its banks and sending torrents of water crashing into the valley below.
Such floods from above have hit Punakha before, most recently in 1994, a calamity that killed about two dozen people and wiped out livelihoods and homes without warning. But scientists say a new flood could unleash more than twice as much water and be far more catastrophic.
Famed astrophysicist Stephen Hawking has been thinking a lot about the cosmic question, "Are we alone?" The answer is probably not, he says.::read moreIf there is life elsewhere in the universe, Hawking asks why haven't we stumbled onto some alien broadcasts in space, maybe something like "alien quiz shows?"
Hawking's comments were part of a lecture at George Washington University on Monday in honor of NASA's 50th anniversary. He theorized that there are possible answers to whether there is extraterrestrial life.
One option is that there likely isn't life elsewhere. Or maybe there is intelligent life elsewhere, but when it gets smart enough to send signals into space, it also is smart enough to make destructive nuclear weapons.
Hawking said he prefers the third option:
"Primitive life is very common and intelligent life is fairly rare," he then quickly added: "Some would say it has yet to occur on earth."
So should you worry about aliens? Alien abduction claims come from "weirdos" and are unlikely. However, because alien life might not have DNA like us, Hawking warned: "Watch out if you would meet an alien. You could be infected with a disease with which you have no resistance."
China condemned on Tuesday Paris's decision to make the Dalai Lama an honorary citizen::link
::monastery raids by the Chinese security forces and re-education sessions by "work teams" continue to be met with resistance by Tibetan monks, nuns and laypeople across the Tibetan plateau. Violent responses against the steadfast Tibetans also continue to be reported.
If we love someone, we should train in being able to listen. By listening with calm and understanding, we can ease the suffering of another person.~ Thich Nhat Hanh, True Love. A Practice for Awakening the Heart.
I remember a short conversation between the Buddha and a philosopher of his time.~ Thich Nhat Hanh, Zen KeysI have heard that Buddhism is a doctrine of enlightenment. What is your method? What do you practice every day?
We walk, we eat, we wash ourselves, we sit down.
What is so special about that? Everyone walks, eats, washes, sits down
Sir, when we walk, we are aware that we are walking; when we eat, we are aware that we are eating. When others walk, eat, wash, or sit down, they are generally not aware of what they are doing.
Of course, when fanatics can’t attack a man for anything he’s actually done that’s downright despicable, they’ll go after him for what he’s said, and if they can’t find anything he’s said that’s awful they’ll go after him for what his friends or associates have said.Apparently, that’s why Fox News has endlessly replayed those clips of Senator Obama’s pastor saying controversial things. All they can charge Obama with is knowing the man, not exactly a crime yet in America, and the Fox newscasters aren’t the least bit mollified that Obama has repudiated Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s comments. Fox is engaging in the old Joe McCarthy smear tactic of guilt by association. Back in the Fifties, if you happened to ride on the same bus with a Commie, it made you a “fellow traveler.”
From Jerusalem Peacemakers:
We had the honor to host and guide Jack Kornfield on a recent
peacemaking tour of the Holy Land. Jack Kornfield is teacher of
Buddhism, author, and founder of the Spirit Rock meditation center in
Marin County, CA. Here is his account:
"In a recent visit to the peacemaking communities of Holy Land, I
found an astonishing (and hardly reported) web of hundreds of
organizations fostering reconciliation and peace in powerful ways
among goodhearted people on all sides. Careening around the West
Bank through armed checkpoints, guided by the wise Sheikh Abdul Aziz
Bukhari and unflappable Jewish activist Eliyahu McLean, founders of
Jerusalem Peacemakers, I was led to meet with leaders (and to offer
teachings to) Arabs, Israelis, Christians and Druze who are dedicated
to planting seeds of respect and healing in this torn land."
Some encouraging news for Apple (AAPL) ahead of its March quarter earnings next week: Mac sales continue to grow much faster than the overall PC market, according to stats from research firms Gartner and IDC.
::read moreThe Zenkoji temple in Nagano was to be the starting point for the Japanese leg of the Olympic torch relay. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
A famous Buddhist temple in Japan has been withdrawn from the Olympic flame relay over security concerns and anger at China's crackdown on Tibetans.
The Zenkoji temple in the city of Nagano said it had received 1,000 letters from across Japan calling for it to withdraw from the April 26 procession after the crackdown in predominantly Buddhist Tibet, where monasteries were raided and monks arrested.
Avaaz message:
Dear Friends,
The Beijing Olympics are a crucial chance to persuade China's leaders to support dialogue and human rights in Tibet, as well as Burma and Darfur, and we need to seize it.
China wants the Olympics to be a coming out party for a newly modern, powerful, and respectable nation. But the Olympics are about humanity and excellence--we can't celebrate them in good conscience while ignoring the suffering of Tibetans and others.
So Avaaz is launching a major new campaign: SAVE THE OLYMPICS. We'll ask China to save the Olympics for all of us, by making specific, reasonable progress in dialogue with the Dalai Lama, securing release of Burmese and Tibetan political prisoners, and supporting peacekeeping in Darfur.
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