China's Wild West

A documentary from Current.com. Time 27 mins.

Unlike their Hollywood friendly brethren, the Tibetans, the Uighurs of northwestern China, claim to be an oppressed minority group that no one has ever heard of. That is, unless the Chinese government publicizes an attack by Uighur insurgents, such as the one that killed 16 Chinese police officers on the eve of the Beijing Olympics. In this Vanguard report, Laura Ling travels to the wild-west frontier in China's Gobi Desert, an area the Chinese named Xinjiang, or New Land, but a place many Uighurs believe should be an independent Uighur nation.

Leaving Fear Behind

Blurb: Leaving Fear Behind (in Tibetan, Jigdrel) is a heroic film shot by Tibetans from inside Tibet, who longed to bring Tibetan voices to the Beijing Olympic Games. With the global spotlight on China as it rises to host the XXIX Olympics, Tibetans wish to tell the world of their plight and their heartfelt grievances against Chinese rule. The footage was smuggled out of Tibet under extraordinary circumstances. The filmmakers were detained soon after sending their tapes out, and remain in detention today.

Time 25 minutes. Click screen icon for fullscreen.


For further info, visit leavingfearbehind.com

Matthieu Ricard on France 24

"30 years ago, Matthieu Ricard, the son of French philosopher Jean-François Revel, decided to convert to Buddhism and become a monk. He now lives in Nepal and is the French interpreter for the Dalai Lama, with whom he has built close ties."

Have a look at the interview touching briefly on politics, meditation, and scientific research.

Matthieu Ricard, Buddhist monk - Interview
Uploaded by FRANCE_24

Media and politics

Some valid points from Carter Phipps at Chopras' IntentBlog:

"...if the highest truth we’re recognizing is the need to give all sides of the debate a fair hearing, then we’re in trouble. Why? Because all sides of any debate don’t deserve a fair hearing. I suspect that this accounts for the rise of “news” shows that feature a very opinionated person or anchor—Keith Olberman’s special comments are an example—because then one doesn’t have to operate within these same constraints. Heck, I can’t stand some of the things Lou Dobbs says on CNN, but I do find it a relief just to hear him state a very clear opinion.

Now where this dynamic gets truly strange is in the phenomenon of the Daily Show with John Stewart. I mean, one of the reasons why young people like Stewart so much is that because it is a comedy show he has more license to say things as they are…or at least as he sees them. Now how bizarre is that? A spoof news show can be a better source for objective analysis—simply because he doesn’t have to walk the hopelessly politically correct line of fair and balanced reporting, which as we have seen over and over again, ends up being neither fair nor balanced—no matter how well-intentioned are the individual journalists."

Read the whole piece.

Brian Eno vs. War

From the talk at the "Illegal" Troops Out demo, Trafalgar Square, London on Monday 8 October 2007:

...For the sake of our country, and Iraq - as well as for the sake of all those who in the future are going to be cast as 'our enemies', we must get off this war-mongering treadmill. Our government talks about our 'special relationship' with America, but we should be asking how special that really is. And I think we should be looking at another relationship we have that seems to me much more special: that with Europe. If we'd followed the European line rather than the American, it's likely not only that we wouldn't have been part of this stupid invasion, but that it wouldn't have happened at all. Our cooperation was what gave the Americans the figleaf to cover the dirty little secret that this was an invasion carried out for their benefit alone. Our complicity made it look acceptably international.

In the last couple of weeks several people at the BBC have resigned because someone called a cat Socks instead of Cookie, and because the Queen was wrongly depicted as being in a huff. At the same time we are waging and losing a pointless war that has killed perhaps as many as one million people. Will there ever be any resignations over that?

We have a serious problem on our hands. We have a government that was elected by 22% of the eligible voters, but somehow gained 55% of the seats in Parliament. We have been conned into an illegal invasion by shameless propaganda and media manipulation. We have a foreign policy in place that is hugely unpopular, but which continues nonetheless. We have risen to third place in the rankings of arms-exporting countries. And here we are today at a demonstration that has been declared illegal.

Is this what we mean by democracy when we so proudly export it--in missile form--to other countries?

Ken Wilber on Politics

Here's a free video download available for everyone if you're not a member at Integral Naked. The format is Quicktime/iTunes and the size is 130 MB. There's also an audio version of the 30 minutes clip, plus a useful intro on stages of structural ("vertical") development at the same page. Go for it.

UPDATE! Just been made available on youtube, so here it goes:

A Message from a Japanese Buddhist Priest

A declaration of solidarity by a Japanese Buddhist priest (of Tendai school), uploaded at Dailymotion. Available also with French subtitles, or see English rendering of the declaration itself below. The reading of declaration is preceded by some informal talk in the studio concerning the Tibetan/Chinese situation and the absence of adequate response from the Japanese Buddhist community.

I hope this is accurate -

"We, Japanese Buddhist monks, are now put to the test. We cannot help expressing our deep sadness and protest against China's military actions in Tibet that deprive Tibetans from religious freedom. As spiritual practitioners and Buddhists, we cannot overlook Tibetan monks and lay people suffer any more. The most important thing is that Tibetans preserve their religious tradition of Tibetan Buddhism by Tibetan people's free intention.

You might wonder what monks throughout Japan are doing. Each sect and religious organization in Japan have devoted their energies to the restoration of Buddhist temples related to their temples in various parts of China after the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and China. I myself was also involved in the restoration of Buddhist temples in China.

However, it was not possible to exchange with Buddhist temples in China without the approval of Beijing (government) and actually we had no freedom. Most monks across Japan know this and think that this might be unchanged even in the future. We also know that Beijing (government) feels unpleasant when Japanese Buddhist organizations exchange with the Dalai Lama. I think that religious freedom is the most important issue.

However, Japanese Buddhists have not expressed anything in 3 weeks or more after the Tibetan case broke out. If Chinese Buddhism association is our important friend, why do we tell nothing to it? Is it good without doing? Tibet that has accumulated its history as a Buddhist country with the leadership of the Dalai Lama is about to disappear. To save them, we should give the voice from grass roots as spiritual practitioners and Buddhists.

Even so, if we do, Chinese Buddhists concerned may protest to the religious sect I belong to, and I may be scolded by it. So, it does not mean that I request you to act together with me. But, I ask you who are Buddhist monks and supporters to think voluntarily with this case as a start. Some of you as Buddhist monks may plan to visit the Chinese temples related to your temples during the Beijing Olympics 2008.

Under such circumstances, what will you talk with them? If you are not able to say your opinion to your Chinese counterparts in a resolute attitude, what can we preach to our supporters and followers in Japan? This might be the last chance for us as spiritual practitioners and Buddhists."

Zizek scores on Tibet

Quite a few valid points made by the "orthodox Lacanian Stalinist" Slavoj Zizek in Le Monde Diplomatique. Several excerpts follow:

...Before 1950 Tibet was no Shangri-la, but a country of harsh feudalism, poverty (life expectancy was barely 30), corruption and civil wars (the last, between two monastic factions, was in 1948 when the Red Army was already knocking at the door). Fearing social unrest and disintegration, the ruling elite prohibited any development of industry, so all metal had to be imported from India. This did not prevent the elite from sending their children to British schools in India and transferring financial assets to British banks there.

...The Cultural Revolution which ravaged the Tibetan monasteries in the 1960s was not imported by the Chinese. Fewer than a hundred of the Red Guards came to Tibet with the revolution, and the young mobs burning the monasteries were almost exclusively Tibetan.

...A main reason why so many in the West have taken part in the protests against China is ideological: Tibetan Buddhism, deftly spun by the Dalai Lama, is a major point of reference of the New Age hedonist spirituality which is becoming the predominant form of ideology today. Our fascination with Tibet makes it into a mythic place upon which we project our dreams. When people mourn the loss of the authentic Tibetan way of life, they don’t care about real Tibetans: they want Tibetans to be authentically spiritual on behalf of us so we can continue with our crazy consumerism.

Read the whole article.

The Dirty Word: C%#t

In this absurd Monthy Pythonesque episode starring the British Police, Church of Scientology, and the Anonimous, a 15-year old is facing prosecution for using the word "CULT" to describe the Church of Scientology!

The incident happened during a protest against the Church of Scientology on May 10. Demonstrators from the anti-Scientology group, Anonymous, who were outside the church's £23m headquarters near St Paul's cathedral, were banned by police from describing Scientology as a cult by police because it was "abusive and insulting".

Writing on an anti-Scientology website, the teenager facing court said: "I brought a sign to the May 10th protest that said: 'Scientology is not a religion, it is a dangerous cult.'

"'Within five minutes of arriving I was told by a member of the police that I was not allowed to use that word, and that the final decision would be made by the inspector."

A policewoman later read him section five of the Public Order Act and "strongly advised" him to remove the sign. The section prohibits signs which have representations or words which are threatening, abusive or insulting.

The teenager refused to back down, quoting a 1984 high court ruling from Mr Justice Latey, in which he described the Church of Scientology as a "cult" which was "corrupt, sinister and dangerous".

After the exchange, a policewoman handed him a court summons and removed his sign.

Article at Guardian.

Children into Slavery

BEIJING (Reuters) - Thousands of children in southwest China have been sold into slavery like "cabbages", to work as labourers in more prosperous areas such as the booming southern province of Guangdong, a newspaper said on Tuesday. Read the whole story at Reuters.

Cry of the Snow Lion

A 2002 documentary on the history of Tibetan tragedy. Time 1 hour 43 minutes. Spread the word!

Spreading Democracy

Chinese soldiers posing as monks

Quote: "Britain's GCHQ, the government communications agency that electronically monitors half the world from space, has confirmed the claim by the Dalai Lama that agents of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, the PLA, posing as monks, triggered the riots that have left hundreds of Tibetans dead or injured." Read the whole thing. Source: Canada Free Press

What GDP is NOT

Speech by Robert Kennedy, 18 March 1968, University of Kansas.

"We will never find a purpose for our nation nor for our personal satisfaction in the mere search for economic well-being, in endlessly amassing terrestrial goods.
We cannot measure the national spirit on the basis of the Dow-Jones, nor can we measure the achievements of our country on the basis of the gross domestic product (GDP) Our gross national product counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. It counts special locks for our doors and the jails for those who break them. It counts napalm and the cost of a nuclear warhead, and armored cars for police who fight riots in our streets. It counts Whitman's rifle and Speck's knife, and the television programs which glorify violence in order to sell toys to our children.

Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages; the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage; neither our wisdom nor our learning; neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country; it measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile. And it tells us everything about America except why we are proud that we are Americans."

Monk's Struggle

From "A Monk's Struggle" by Pico Iyer:

"The central question surrounding Tibet, of course, is what will happen when the current Dalai Lama dies. In preparation for that event, the man has been stressing for years that the function of any Dalai Lama is only to fulfill the work of the previous Dalai Lama; therefore, any young child selected by Chinese authorities and declared to be the 15th Dalai Lama, a Beijing puppet, will not be the true "Dalai Lama of Tibetan hearts." As practical and flexible as ever and holding to the Buddhist ideas of impermanence and nonattachment, he told me as far back as 1996, "At a certain stage, the Dalai Lama institution will disappear. But that does not mean that Tibetan Buddhist culture will cease. No!" Most Tibetans, however, cannot abide the thought of a future without their traditional leader.

The deeper issue, as the Dalai Lama always stresses, is that names and forms are unimportant so long as something more fundamental is sustained. The Buddha's job—and therefore that of his most prominent contemporary student—was not just to be clear-sighted and compassionate but also to show how compassionate and clear-sighted any one of us can be. In that regard, it hardly matters whether the terms Dalai Lama or Buddhism or even Tibet continue to exist. As it is, thanks to the exodus of Tibetans in the past half-century, Tibetan culture and Buddhism have become part of the global neighborhood. Whereas there were all of two Tibetan Buddhist centers in the West in 1968, there are now more than 40 in New York City alone. In Taiwan, there are more than 200. More French people call themselves Buddhist than Protestant or Jew.

Perhaps most significant, some of the people most eagerly drawn to Tibetan tradition and Buddhism are, in fact, citizens of China, who have been denied any religious sustenance for more than 50 years. The last time I visited Lhasa, in 2002, I saw more and more Chinese individuals going to the Jokhang Temple at the center of town as pilgrims, seeking out Tibetan lamas for instruction, even trying to learn Tibetan, the same language that is all but banned for Tibetans. When I traveled across Japan with the Dalai Lama last November, I saw dozens of Chinese people clustering around him, sobbing and asking for his blessing and, 30 minutes later, saw another group of Chinese, much more poised and sophisticated, eager to talk to him about their plans for democracy in the mainland."

Read the whole piece at TIME. Thanks to Bill Harryman for heads up.

Water Day

Key statistics from "The Water Report":

• 1.1 billion people don’t have safe, clean water to drink
• 5000 children die every day from water-related diseases
• water-related disease is the second biggest killer of children worldwide, after acute respiratory infections like tuberculosis
• 443 million school days are lost each year due to water-related diseases
• the average European uses 200 litres of water every day; North Americans use 400 litres
• the average person in the developing world uses 10 litres of water every day for their drinking, washing and cooking. This is the same amount used in the average flush of a UK toilet
  
• households in rural Africa spend an average of 26% of their time fetching water, and it is generally women who are burdened with the task
• an extra US$10 billion each year is needed to reach the Millennium Development Goal target of halving the proportion of people without access to safe water and sanitation – about half of what rich countries spend on mineral water

Open or download the Water Report in .pdf. March 22nd is the Water Day. For more, visit Wateraid. org

Pelosi on Tibet

A senior US lawmaker, Nancy Pelosi, has called for an independent investigation into China's claims that the Dalai Lama instigated the violence in Tibet. Ms Pelosi, Speaker of the US House of Representatives, also called on the international community to denounce Chinese rule in Tibet. She spoke out while holding talks in northern India with the Dalai Lama. (...) Speaking in Dharamsala, seat of Tibet's government-in-exile, Ms Pelosi said: "We call upon the international community to have an independent outside investigation on accusations made by the Chinese government that His Holiness [the Dalai Lama] was the instigator of violence in Tibet." She added: "The situation in Tibet is a challenge to the conscience of the world. "If freedom-loving people throughout the world do not speak out against China and the Chinese in Tibet, we have lost all moral authority to speak out on human rights." Ms Pelosi said she was not seeking a boycott of the Beijing Olympics, but warned that the "world is watching" events in China. Ms Pelosi is one of the sharpest critics of Beijing's human rights record in the US Congress. Her visit at the head of a congressional delegation was planned before the protests began.

Read the whole story at BBC NEWS.

Torture

Torture doesn't work? Well, good morning. Former FBI Interrogator Jack Cloonan explains that regular interrogation tactics work well on even the worst terrorists, that there's no such thing as a "ticking timebomb" scenario, and that waterboarding has done much more harm than good. Do terrorists joke and cry? Sure they do.

Interview with Jack Cloonan, clip one and clip two.

Also, "Taxi to the dark side" trailer:

The Seductive Utopia of Hope

Some quality analysis by Steven Warshawsky at American Thinker:

"...the Obama campaign truly has taken on a cult-like quality. His starry-eyed supporters actually believe that simply electing Barack Obama as president will solve, not just this country's, but the world's most difficult problems - problems that have been with us since the dawn of history: human conflict, economic scarcity, pollution, fear, and so on. Obama may believe this fantasy himself. Witness his messianic campaign slogan, "We are the ones we've been waiting for," which is repeated several times near the end of the video.

Anyone who spends a few minutes thinking about this, knows that a President Obama never will be able to deliver on this dream of "change" and "hope." And not just because his actual policy prescriptions reflect standard liberal tax-and-spend collectivism. Under any set of policies, the problems facing this country, let alone the world, are not going to go away anytime soon. They are part of the human condition. At best, they can be managed and ameliorated.

Yet how will Obama and his supporters react when they realize that his achievements as president, whatever they may be, will never match his -- or their -- aspirations? Will they react in a mature manner, or will they lash out in anger against those whom they perceive as standing in the way of "progress"? Will they make a good faith effort to work with independents and conservatives, or will they vilify their political opponents (including with charges of "racism") and try to exclude them from meaningful political participation? Frustrated idealists are not known for their calmness, rationality, and willingness to compromise."

Read the whole piece. Thanks to Gagdad Bob for heads up.

Zen and the West

My friend Stuart Lachs has produced a series of articles, the most recent of which is entitled "Zen Master in America: Dressing the donkey with bells and scarves". This one follows in the line of inquiry from previous papers and articles by Lachs, all of which can be found below in .pdf format for download. The focus is not on practice, or the doctrinal basis, but on institution and its pervasive influence on both practice and view. I recommend these articles as fine examples of spiritual authenticity, forged in longterm practice, combined with intellectual honesty through critical inquiry. But first, an intro to the articles by the author himself -

"I have been a Zen practitioner for roughly forty years. Many years ago I became interested in viewing Zen from a scholarly point of view as a way to explain the great disparity I witnessed between how the Zen institution claimed its leaders behaved and what I saw first hand. I was driven to understand what was happening and why, not out of a dry, academic interest, but rather, by the confusion, trouble and suffering that I and others were experiencing.

By luck, in the early 1990's, I met an academically-minded monk connected with Chinese Buddhism. From him, I was introduced to an academic view of the history of Zen that strongly contrasted with the more familiar history promulgated by the Zen institution. Needless to say, it was an eye opener that led to many exciting hours of study up to this day. Later, through a friend, I became interested in the sociology of religion and of institutions.

Looking at Zen through both the lens of academic history and the lens of the sociology of religion and institutions, I hope to show how Zen developed over time, and how it responded to historical settings and necessities. I will show how the institution that has grown up around Zen functions - as do most institutions - to promote and protect itself, and how it empowers its leaders and enables that power to function.

I am attempting to make clear for myself and other Zen practitioners what is happening at Zen centers in America. I have found some conceptual tools that helped me analyze how these Zen centers operate. These tools were especially helpful in understanding how the conceptions of Dharma transmission and unbroken lineage and their supporting structures impact Zen students' lives at their Centers.

Critical thinking is Buddhist and Buddhism is critical thinking. By demanding tough answers and not being satisfied with easy ones, I hope to improve the situation of Zen in America which, since the mid- 1960's , has suffered from repeated scandals - scandals that hurt its practitioners, caused others to leave and marred its reputation for years to come.

Buddhism has a history of adaptability to many cultures. No doubt, it will adapt to the West. We have an opportunity, by understanding the institutions and history of Zen, to claim its true spirit and inherent freedom for our lives."

Links to articles in .pdf format:
Coming Down from the Zen Clouds (1994)
Means of Authorization (1999)
The Myth of the Zen Roshi (2002)
Zen Master in America (2006)

The trap and the dream of freedom

"The Trap" by Adam Curtis, or "What happened to our dreams of freedom" (for info, see detailed entry at Wikipedia, from which descriptions below are taken). On liberty, individual freedoms, illussions, control, and politics. Watch at Google video, links for each of the three programs below. Each program 1 hour. Enjoy!

Episode One entitled "Fuck You Buddy":

In this episode, Curtis examines the rise of game theory during the Cold War and the way in which its mathematical models of human behaviour filtered into economic thought. The programme traces the development of game theory with particular reference to the work of John Nash, who believed that all humans were inherently suspicious and selfish creatures that strategised constantly. (...) The episode ends with the suggestion that this mathematically modelled society is run on data—performance targets, quotas, statistics—and that it is these figures combined with the exaggerated belief in human selfishness that has created "a cage" for Western humans. The precise nature of the "cage" is to be discussed in the next episode.

Episode Two entitled "The Lonely Robot":

The second episode reiterated many of the ideas of the first, but developed the theme that the drugs such as Prozac and lists of psychological symptoms which might indicate anxiety or depression were being used to normalise behaviour and make humans behave more predictably, like machines. This was not presented as a conspiracy theory, but as a logical (although unpredicted) outcome of market-driven self-diagnosis by checklist based on symptoms, but not actual causes, discussed in the previous programme. (...) Curtis's narration concludes with the observation that the game theory/free market model is now undergoing interrogation by economists who suspect a more irrational model of behaviour is appropriate and useful. In fact, in formal experiments the only people who behaved exactly according to the mathematical models created by game theory are economists themselves, and psychopaths.

Episode Three entitled "We Will Force You To Be Free" (see comment for alternative links to part three):

The final programme focussed on the concepts of positive and negative liberty introduced in the 1950s by Isaiah Berlin. Curtis briefly explained how negative liberty could be defined as freedom from coercion and positive liberty as the opportunity to strive to fulfill one's potential. The programme began with a description of the Two Concepts of Liberty, reviewing Berlin's opinion that, since it lacked coercion, negative liberty was the 'safer' of the two. Curtis then explained how many political groups who sought their vision of freedom ended up using violence to achieve it. (...) In essence, the programme suggested that following the path of negative liberty to its logical conclusions, as governments have done in the West for the past 50 years, resulted in a society without meaning populated only by selfish automatons, and that there was some value in positive liberty in that it allowed people to strive to better themselves. The closing minutes directly state that if western humans were ever to find their way out of the "trap" described in the series, they would have to realise that Isaiah Berlin was wrong and that not all attempts at creating positive liberty necessarily ended in coercion and tyranny.

Power of Nightmares from BBC

An amazing documentary in three parts by Adam Curtis from BBC on the rise of "Neocons" and "Islamism", each part 1 hour. Originally aired in 2004. (Wiki entry here)

The Power of Nightmares episode 1 is about the ideological revulsion to the consumer society created by industry and public relations. Simultaneously, Sayyid Qutb resolved to purge the Muslim world of Western consumerism while Leo Strauss resolved to make consuming Americans Crusaders for freedom around the world. Ayman Zawahiri was a student of Qutb and Paul Wolfowitz was a student of Strauss. (see alternative links for this part in comment section)

The Power of Nightmares episode 2 shows Bin Laden and the Neo cons fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan and how the Soviet collapse left without an enemy to herd their public with.

The Power of Nightmares episode 3 shows how 911 was used to give those "with the most fear, the most power" and how the Neo cons recreated the terrorist threat.

Century of Self from BBC

A documentary from BBC by Adam Curtis. Each part 1 hour. (Wiki entry here) See each at Google video, links below.

The Century of the Self episode 1 begins with, Sigmund Freud's nephew, Edward Bernays. He went from Enrico Caruso's publicist to WW1 propagandist and repackaged propaganda as "public relations". Herbert Hoover applied his ideas to turn Americans into the consumers industry needed. Joseph Goebbels, is shown explaining how Bernays' same ideas were used to turn the Germans into Nazi's.

The Century of the Self episode 2 begins with Sigmund Freud's daughter, Anna. Studies of traumatized soldiers in WW2 showed their upbringing made them psychologically vulnerable. Anna Freud popularized the idea that imposing conformity strengthened the ego. Thus leading to the conformity of the 50's.

The Century of the Self episode 3 shows the overthrow of Anna Freud's ideas and reverses them with the idea that it is society that is sick and individuals need to free themselves of it. Thus the counter culture and the self actualization movement. Industry no longer wanted to make standard products, they married their new products with expressing individuality. Maslow's hierarchy of needs provided a model for this and was used to elect Ronald Reagan.

The Century of the Self episode 4 shows how the public had become consumers of politics in the same way they had earlier become consumers of products. Focus groups determine policy, first for the Right, and then, to survive, for the Left, especially, Bill, Hillary, and Tony Blair.

Thanks to Daily Kos.

The intensely liberating sexist religion

From an article by Rita Gross, published in Shambhala Sun, July 2005:

"As we survey the issues important to Buddhist women, it is easy to see why people have such drastically different impressions of Buddhism. The public face of Buddhism as seen in its Asian cultural context is very male-dominated, so much so that many women would not consider exploring Buddhism because it is clear to them that Buddhism is just another sexist religion. Others who have explored Buddhism more personally have found Buddhism so intensely liberating that they devote much of their life to its study and practice.

Paradoxically, both impressions are correct. Buddhism has been quite disadvantageous to women, and yet Buddhism can provide freedom, dignity, and peace to women. It all depends on how Buddhism is practiced, and much of that depends on the initiative, courage, and imagination of women practitioners, especially those who pioneer a gender-neutral and gender-free way of understanding and practicing Buddhism. These women practice a middle path of neither ignoring obvious sexist practices in Buddhism nor being so alienated by that sexism that they abandoned Buddhism. We will need to stay on that middle path for some time to come. It would be naive to assume that Buddhist patriarchy is gone for good in such a short period of time, given patriarchy’s venerable place in Buddhism throughout its history."

Read the whole piece.

In Our Name

IN GOD'S NAME, a CBS primetime special produced in association with the acclaimed French filmmakers Jules and Gedeon Naudet ("9/11"), will explore the complex questions of our time through the intimate thoughts and beliefs of 12 of the world's most influential spiritual leaders.



The content was "currently unavailable" when I last tried to have a look at AOL Video, but there are a dozen of related short clips with spiritual leaders (if you can endure the ads before each).

Time and Putin

Person of the year, according to Time magazine, is Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, the current president of the Russian Federation. Wikipedia quotes he was born in 1952, and so everyone believes, except Time's journalists at the interview, editor-in-chief John Huey and managing editor Richard Stengel, who believe Mr Putin was born in 1946!!! A great way to open an interview with the Person of the year, that person also being one of most powerful individuals in the world today.

Read the whole interview in Time, it's worth the effort, OR read a different text of it where the foolish mistake wasn't edited out. Then, there's the "A Tsar is Born" article by Adi Ignatius, written a bit for people who don't travel abroad, and also "Putin and TIME: the view from Russia" by Time's own Yuri Zarakhovich, not so persuasive. There's a tradition in United States to look at Russia with a lot of projections from its own shadow (China is simply too different for that purpose), so the choice of Putin as the "dictator" of the year is somewhat a symptom of how TIME actually sees Bush.

There are also videos of the interview in different versions, this one at Youtube (time 39 minutes). Look for the last answer on his personal religious views: "There are some things that I feel one should not in my position exhibit for public viewing, because then it becomes like self-advertising or political striptease, neither of which - I believe - are acceptable." The Russian wording is a bit different, more subtle. Anyway, nice touch. If you don't have enough time for the above video, here's a shorter one, time 9 minutes.

Dharma MUST be political

'...It’s fair to say that— within contemplative communities—discourse about specific social and political issues has typically been met with a general unease. This discomfort even extends to many people who feel deeply passionate about social issues in their personal lives, but feel wary about bringing that discourse into the conversations and interactions that occur within their meditation community. Even on the pages of a magazine like this, a letter to the editor expressing dissatisfaction with politically oriented content could make the editorial staff fret that the magazine is being viewed as “too political.” A general fear of appropriateness abounds, coming from a compassionate intention not to alienate those who don’t share our political inclinations.

This uneasiness seems to hinge on a worldview that sees participation in political and social issues as a personal choice. Some people choose to be political, some people don’t, this worldview claims. No matter what choice they make, the inner work of meditation can benefit them. So please, let’s not alienate those who have chosen differently from us. From this point of view, keeping the context of our meditation practice personal and apolitical seems to be the most compassionate and inclusive thing to do. Everyone can work on personal issues, and no one feels alienated. In the various training programs I attended to become a teacher of meditation, we were warned multiple times against using too many political or societal examples in lectures and discussions. There is only one little problem: the view that participation in social and political issues is a matter of personal choice is based on a complete and utter fallacy...'

Read the whole thing by Ethan Nichtern.

No democracy, no dictatorship

"I didn’t begin my study of Buddhism with the intention of ever becoming the leader of a Buddhist organization. I have no interest in politics or bureaucracy. I am not in this for power or money. I have no desire at all to convert others to my way of thinking or to impose my will upon anyone. I didn’t even want to become a monk. I didn’t like the robes. I didn’t like the ceremonies. I still don’t. I just wanted to practice. That remains my only interest in Buddhism. Just practice. Only practice. Nothing more than practice.

I began my study of Buddhism not because I wanted some position within an organization but because there were burning questions I needed to know the answers to. To a large extent, my practice has helped me resolve these issues. Because the practice is useful and beneficial, I would like to make it available to others. And that is all.

...It’s not necessary to worry too much about what others think of our group even if those others call themselves Buddhists. If there is anything I’ve learned from my work as a musician and writer it’s that any time you create something, there will always be someone to say it’s not good enough, or it’s not what they wanted or expected. On some rare occasions these critics have something valuable to contribute. But for the most part they are only expressing their opinions and such opinions are often ill-informed and have little value. It is far more important to find our own true and balanced way than to try to conform to the unbalanced expectations and desires of others — even when more people seem to disagree with you than to agree with you.

...There will be no board of directors of DSI. There will be no voting on any issues. There will be no members elected for limited terms. There will be no ranking of members. In registering the group legally I have found it necessary to name a treasurer and a secretary. These are just provisional appointments to fulfill legal requirements. Beyond that no more such appointments are necessary now, nor will they ever become necessary. I’m afraid that DSI has never been and will never become a democratic institution. I know that doesn’t sit well with some members. But please consider that DSI has never been democratic in the past, so the organization you’ve been involved with up until now was not a democracy either. This doesn't mean it's a dictatorship, though. I do not plan to dictate anything to anyone. There may not be a word yet for what it will be. But democracy and dictatorship are not the only options."

Read the whole piece by Brad Warner, posted on Dogen Sangha Blog. I happen to agree with many of his points, though I have more symphathy for structure, a structure that does its best to reflect and embody the very points he makes. To me, that's the very purpose of politics.

Global warming not a crisis (?!)

I'm a fan of Michael Crichton. He does TV, movies, books and he really uses his brain to arrive at conclusions that have to do with reason and responsibility. Example, the global warming debate. You might think, "Is there an actual debate?" Well, seems that the prevailing "awareness" on global warming is more a product of consensus than rigorous scientific research and careful consideration of facts, data and known history.

This is taken from ~C4Chaos (thanks for heads up!)

"Note that the debate is not whether Global Warming is real or not, but whether is it a crisis or not. And by the time the debate was over Michael Crichton and team *won* the debate. So much for consensus. Here are the links. It's divided into 10 parts."

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10

You can also download the transcript [PDF].

Here's Part 4 where Michael Crichton presented his case:



If you enjoyed this short video, perhaps you wish to see "An hour with Michael Crichton" at Charlie Rose's. Here's the link (Google Video). Time 57 min.

*NOTE: after several comments elsewhere on the web, just a brief point to clarify my position here. To that purpose, I have modified the title (see parenthesis). I don't think global warming is not a problem, since it's quite evident it is happening, and YES we should continue to move away from carbon. Still, I do believe we need to study it more thoroughly before turning it into a contested political issue - which it has already become - thus severely limiting unbiased scientific research. Frankly, we still don't know the ratio of our contribution to global warming versus a dozen other contributing factors. And again, consensus by itself was never a measure of good science. (The Church at the time of Galileo also had a scientific consensus.) Future predictions are not the best way to pursue this conversation, until we develop much more sofisticated models, since at this point we can't even predict the weather 30 days from now. I also believe there are other, quite astonishing and immediate crisis facing our humanity, from access to drinking water, infant mortality, hunger, to illiteracy and human rights etc. that need express global action. Therefore, I'm inclined to see in the global warming "story" (not the actual global warming that takes place anyway) another doomsday scenario offering fear and panic to the public, instead of education and information. I rest my case.

Wilber on Politics

Ken Wilber speaks on politics. Duration 17:45 Enjoy the show!