lotusinthemud

gansha: a person of vow

Dharmavidya writes, of a decision made during the Amida Ordained Conclave:

The term gansha means 'person of the vow'. "Gan" means a vow or prayer or deep aspiration as in the key phrase from Tan Butsu Ge "Gan ga sa butsu" = "my prayer [is that I] become buddha". "Sha" means person. So the term gansha has a double meaning. On the one side it means a person who lives in the light of Amida's vow - and the vows of all buddhas of all times. On the other side it means someone who longs to become buddha for the sake of all sentient beings. When we operate from an other-power perspective we know that we do not have the power ourselves to make ourselves into buddhas, but we know that if we long for it the buddhas who do have such power will hear and shed their light upon us. Thus through our prayer or longing, our lives will become instruments of liberation for many beings even though to ourselves the process will remain mysterious. Buddhism has always placed great store upon a person's gan. According to the gan, so the future. It matters what we dedicate ourselves to, however good at fulfilling that dedication we may be because this is what will work upon the karmic stream.

We have decided that within the Amida Order we shall use the term gansha to refer particularly to those who have taken the 156 precepts - a group that have heretofore been referred to as "chaplains". This has become overly confusing since "chaplain" is also, and primarily, a functional term. We have therefore had the situation where there were chaplains who did not do much chaplaincy and some people doing chaplaincy who were not chaplains. It was clear, therefore, that a shift of terminology was called for. For the time being this development is still experimental, but if it sticks we will later propose that it be incorporated into Provisions which is the constitutional document for Amida-shu.

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obama administration in talks with dalai lama

The Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama today confirmed that discussions between the Dalai Lama and a senior US Government delegation took place in Dharamsala on September 13 and 14.

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buddhist inmate wins religious lawsuit

A Buddhist prison inmate in Texas has won a lawsuit over rules for religious practice.

The prison system requires religious services to be performed by a chaplain or approved religious volunteers. Muslims were allowed to hold religious meetings, but chaplains had declined to lead Buddhist services because of lack of knowledge or because it conflicts with their own beliefs, according to Kelly Shackleford, chief counsel of Liberty Legal Institute.

A federal appeals court stands by the Buddhist inmate.

"Basically what the court said is, 'Look, you've got to give people the same rights' -- that you can't say that there are some faiths that have a right to meet together and pray together and other faiths don't have that right," he notes.

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tibet news digest 14 - 27 march 2009

- Kalon Tripa says Tibetans ready to talk
- Three foreigners detained in Kathmandu
- Bomb blast in Kardze
- Monks taken for ‘study' after peaceful protest
- Karmapa gives rare interview
- Luxury train to Lhasa postponed
- China arrests a Tibetan civil servant
- China approves "modern redesign" of Lhasa
- Nun stages protest march in Kardze
- Fear of more HIV infections
- Youths and monks held for marking uprising anniversary
- Arrests over farming boycott
- Tibetan writer arrested
- Danish PM hopes to meet Dalai Lama in May
- Chinese bank lends to mines in Tibet
- Ragya monastery encircled and under severe restriction
- Tibet re-opens to foreign tourists from April
- Tibetan writer-photographer arrested in Gansu Province
- Nuns arrested in Kardze
- China block footage of Tibet violence on YouTube
- Peace conference "postponed" after Dalai Lama refused visa

water meters in all uk homes by 2030 to ease shortages

Many parts of the country face crippling water shortages in the near future unless immediate action is taken to protect precious supplies, according to an Environment Agency (EA) report to be published this week. Measures include compulsory water meters in every home.

The EA warns in the Water Resources Strategy document that many rivers, particularly those in south-east England, could be reduced to a trickle in summer by the middle of the century because of climate change. On average, flows are likely to be cut by 50 to 80%.

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tibet news digest 31 january 2009 - 13 february 2009

TibetInfoNet - www.tibetinfonet.net
News Digest 31. Jan 2009 - 13. Feb 2009
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- Two sentenced in Kardze
- Four nuns and two laymen sentenced in Kardze
- Details of Kardze Protests Emerge
- Seven monks arrested, abbot missing in Chamdo
- Nine monks sentenced, other committed suicide
- More Tibet unrest cannot be ruled out - officials
- Tibetan nomads, farmers may be losers in China's ecology protection plan
- So far 76 sentenced for 2008 unrest in TAR
- Dalai Lama: situation as "very tense"
- China wants to "improve" regional autonomy
- Many Tibetan areas closed to foreigners

single cell 'can store memories'

Just one brain cell is capable of holding fleeting memories vital for our everyday life, according to US scientists.

A study of mouse brain cells revealed how they could keep information stored for as long as a minute.

A UK specialist said that understanding these short-term memories might help unlock the secrets of Alzheimer's Disease.

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obama 'to act over car emissions'

US President Barack Obama is expected to allow states to set their own stricter standards for vehicle exhaust emissions, overturning a Bush administration decision which favoured a national standard for vehicle pollution.

mindfulness and the inauguration as a world event

William writes:

Kurt Barstow - Mindfulness and the Inauguration as a World Event

A nice post from Kurt on today's Inauguration and its world impact. He makes some nice observations about the hopes so many of us have for this new administration, and the realities that threats that face us all, both externally and internally.

Mindfulness and the inauguration as a world event

by Kurt Barstow, LA Religion & Spirituality Examiner

Shephard-Fairey, Barack Obama

It is an awfully big moment. In a certain respect, race has the least to do with it, since, although one is keenly aware of the historical and cultural importance of having Barack Obama take the oath of office as our first black president, race can also be seen as the most superficial division between people. It was Martin Luther King's wish, after all, that there would be a day when people were judged "not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." What makes the moment even bigger than an important first in American politics is not only that we will now have a president that, in the current ethnocentric division of race in this country to whites on the one hand and people of color on the other, we will have a president that for the first time resembles the majority of the world more than any other. That would not be so important in and of itself if we didn't also sense this changing of the guard as a change from an administration that has in many though not all respects been informed by a kind of small-minded provincialism, arrogance in world affairs, and greed.

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his holiness the dalai lama congratulates barack obama

(The Tibet Post International 6 November 2008) His Holiness the Dalai Lama congratulated United States President-elect Barack Obama on his election win in a message sent Wednesday November 5, 2008.

Obama defeated opposing candidate Senator John McCain to become the first African-American elected President of the United States in the election held on Tuesday November 4, 2008.

In his message, His Holiness wrote, “I am encouraged that the American people have chosen a President who reflects America's diversity and her fundamental ideal that any person can rise up to the highest office in the land.  This is a proud moment for America and one that will be celebrated by many peoples around the world.”

As a United States Senator and Presidential candidate, Obama has repeatedly voiced his support for the Dalai Lama and the struggle of the Tibetan people for greater human rights in Tibet. In a statement following the uprisings in March of this year Obama said, “If Tibetans are to live in harmony with the rest of China's people, their religion and culture must be respected and protected. Tibet should enjoy genuine and meaningful autonomy.”

The President-elect and His Holiness last met at a US Senate Foreign Relations Committee event in 2005. During the Dalai Lama’s July 2008 visit to the United States they corresponded through telephone and post but were unable to meet face-to-face due to Obama’s tight campaign schedule.

The Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile also sent their congratulations to the new President-elect. In their  congratulatory message, Speaker Karma Chopel wrote, “During the course of the electioneering, we have noted with satisfaction your interest in the Tibetan issue and your growing support for the Tibetan cause. Your distinguished predecessors, irrespective of their party affiliations, have supported the Tibetan issue strongly and have had a close and friendly relationship with our leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama. We hope that you will not only maintain the tradition but give an added thrust in view of the strong resentment shown openly by our people living under the Chinese rule in Tibet,”

Full text of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s message to President-elect Barack Obama:
November 5, 2008

H.E. Barack Obama
President-elect of the United States of America
Washington, DC
U.S.A.

Dear President-elect Obama,

Congratulations on your election as the President of the United States of America.

I am encouraged that the American people have chosen a President who reflects America's diversity and her fundamental ideal that any person can rise up to the highest office in the land.  This is a proud moment for America and one that will be celebrated by many peoples around the world.

The American Presidential elections are always a great source of encouragement to people throughout the world who believe in democracy, freedom and equality of opportunities.

May I also commend the determination and moral courage that you have demonstrated throughout the long campaign, as well as the kind heart and steady hand that you often showed when challenged.  I recall our own telephone conversation this spring and these same essential qualities came through in your concern for the situation in Tibet.

As the President of the United States, you will certainly have great and difficult tasks before you, but also many opportunities to create change in the lives of those millions who continue to struggle for basic human
needs.  You must also remember and work for these people, wherever they may be.

With my prayers and good wishes,

Yours sincerely,

THE DALAI LAMA

    

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