America is NOT a Police State

Uh, okay, so maybe America is a police state. If it was good enough for Germany, and it's good enough for China, go consume. And don't forget your vaccination.

BERKELEY, California (Feb. 26, 2010) - Overnight, an impromptu "riot" to protest budget cuts and tuition increases at the University of California at Berkeley snowballed to include more than 200 people and resulted in flaming dumpsters, broken windows, and [God forbid!] dancing in the streets. The school newspaper (The Daily Californian) reports that the riot emerged from a campus dance party and metastasized into an all-out fiery clash between students and police. More>>

• VIDEO: Raw footage: Riot on the streets of Berkeley
• Taking Wheeler Hall on campus with police

Wisdom Network News II

Ashley Wells, Assistant Editor, Wisdom Quarterly

Walking in the footsteps of the Buddha in Bihar, India
“It's no coincidence that we at the WTO endorse this conclave in the very birthplace of Buddhism. In our stressful world, the Buddha's teaching of the...

• Sylvia Boorstein, renowned Buddhist teacher, to offer online retreat
  As some of the West's earliest teachers of Buddhist wisdom/practice look toward retirement, they are discovering they don't need to stop teaching the Dharma...
• Dalai Lama really does post to Twitter
  The 14th Dalai Lama, the highest holy man in Tibetan Buddhism, now has a Twitter account with 109,049 followers after 13...
• "World's NEXT top lama" to visit Europe
  With his rare combination of humour, gentleness, and charisma, the Dalai Lama remains, at 75, the undisputed Western poster boy for both Buddhism and Tibet. (The Guardian)
• Why no Hindu or Buddhist representation?
  Of 32 religious leaders, academics, and consultants that made the cut, not a single one belongs to a Dharma tradition -- Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, or Jainism... (On Faith)

Goldie Hawn wants to teach Buddhism to British kids
Goldie Hawn is in talks to set up a Buddhist school in the United Kingdom. The actress' Hawn Foundation already teaches kids Buddhist techniques in schools... (SF Chronicle)

• Buddhist follower opens a new Dharma center in the Avenues
  A new Buddhist figure from China is finding followers across the United States and now has at least one in Utah -- Margaret Esterman...
• Free "Blue Jean Buddha" program scheduled for Drury
  Sumi Loundon Kim traces the role of Buddhism in four generations of her family as it reflects the broader history of Buddhism in America.
• Buddhist temple takes statue fight to NY Supreme Court
  After losing several rounds with the city Zoning Board of Appeals, a North Utica, NY, Buddhist temple is taking to court its fight to...
• When religious zeal displaces the truth in history books
  To his credit, Davis delicately tried to explain that Buddhism dates to between the 6th and 4th century BC, as in before Christ, so obviously it was a... (Sacramento Bee)
• Lifting hazy veils from centuries of Vietnamese art
  None, alas, yields the merest clue to who the people of Fu Nan were, nor to the circumstances in which Hinduism and Buddhism came to spread.

• New rules introduced for visitors at Borobudur temple
  “We realize that many visitors did not respect the fact that both sites are above all sacred sites for Buddhism and Hinduism...."
• Fighter pilot and the monk
  But, seriously, a Buddhist monk and a fighter pilot? If Buddhism's reputation for pacifism seems an odd fit for the death-from-above set...
• The Zeitgeisty Report (blog)

• Tibetans, Han ignore politics to build uneasy ties
  The two peoples share a long historical attachment to Buddhism which years of Communist rule has never managed to kill. China's economic boom has also...
• Monumental revelations
  As a site of historic significance for Buddhism, too, Borobudur deserves respect. If it soon becomes impossible to wander up this hulking mass in the grey... (The Australian)
• Tibet is no Shangri-La (Morung Express)
• Environmentalists and Buddhists go head to head in Taiwan
  Taiwanese Buddhists release catfish into a river during a "mercy release" ceremony in Taipei. (Telegraph.co.uk)

Obama-Dalai Lama meeting pleases critics (Oregon Faith Report)
resident Obama finally met with Tibet's Dalai Lama in a face off that seemed more snub to China than pledge to help human rights in Taiwan, Uighur country, or Tibet -- all restive portions of the Chinese empire. But the perceived insult seems to have pleased many critics.

• What Taiwan can learn from Obama-Dalai Lama meeting
• Karmapa Lama says he hopes to get back to Tibet
  The 17th Karmapa Lama, spiritual head of the Tibetan Kagyu sect who fled to India in 1999, today said he... (PTI)
• Dalai Lama captivates with compassion

Dalai Lama doesn't fault Obama for low-profile reception...
The Dalai Lama said he did not know who Woods was, but said self-discipline is among Buddhism's highest values. When it comes to adultery, he said... (Canadian Press)

• VIDEO: Obama meets Dalai Lama (NewsX)
• Dalai Lama Visits Los Angeles (KTLA)
• Dalai Lama visits D.C. to meet with President Obama (Examiner)
• Tsechu Buddhist fair begins at Rewalsar
  Mandi: The famous Tsechu Buddhist began on the banks of sacred Rewalsar Lake on Wednesday. Thousands of Buddhist pilgrims from home and abroad converged at...

• Thousands gather in Himachal to celebrate Buddhist fair
• Under Indonesia's surface, an intricate quilt of faiths
  About 90 percent of Indonesians are now Muslim, with only pockets of Buddhists and Hindus left. But Hinduism and Buddhism, Java's dominant religions for a...
• Diamond Way group practices ancient methods of Buddhism
  Buddha's highest methods have been practiced in Tibet and India for centuries and are carried out through UW-Whitewater's Diamond Way Buddhist group. (Royal Purple)
• Stony author explores effects of Christianity in China
  "In my view, Christianity is part of a solution in giving China a better society, because the traditional religions in China like Buddhism, Taoism…"
• What would Sid do on a snow day like today?‎
  How would he combine Buddhism and dating? How would he handle stress in the workplace? "What would Sid do?" is devoted to taking an honest look... (Beliefnet)

Exhibition explores Buddhist, Shinto religious beliefs
“The Way of the Gods: Shinto Shrines and Their Art” explores interaction between Buddhist and Shinto beliefs and imagery.

• Seokguram: Korea's Supreme Grotto
  As Buddhism flowed into the early Korean kingdoms, however, they only carved the holy images on cliffs and boulders on their craggy granite mountains... (Korea Times)
• People & Events
  Explore Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, and Buddhism by looking at art in the exhibition, “Illuminating: Spiritual Symbols and Stories.” (Community Journal)
• The Toyota name is all about good luck
  The kanji symbol for eight widens at the bottom, suggesting that a more prosperous future awaits. Eight is also the number of auspicious symbols in Buddhism.
• Pastor apologizes personally to Buddhist and Taoist fed's
• Singapore denounces pastor for ridiculing Buddhists
• Some who viewed the videos felt the pastor had insulted the Buddhist and Taoist faiths. On Monday, the pastor was called up by the ISD.
• Buddhist, Taoist leaders accept pastor's apology (AsiaOne)
• Tibet House US benefit
  ...ancient bastion of Himalayan tranquility known as West 15th Street, where the cultural center operates a gallery space, Buddhist shrine and library.
• Tibet House's XX annual benefit at Carnegie Hall
• Bristol lays siege to TV
  "Whether you call it Buddhism or another religion, self-discipline, that's important," he said. "Self-discipline with awareness of consequences."
• The spirit of the matter
  Since Buddhism had come out of India, he said, "I always describe myself as a messenger of India, because I am a Buddhist." Speaking of the Buddha... (Times of India)
• Petals from the Sky
  Yip deviates from the expected with her injection of Buddhism throughout the novel, which not only enhances the plot, but adds elements of poetry and art... (UPI Asia)
• Calif. Pastor Weighs in on Abortion, Homosexuality, Woods' Buddhism
  Commenting on the professed faith of pro golfer Woods, he stated, "Here's the problem with Buddhism: they don't believe in a personal God that is there to... (Christian Post)
• Shechen Monastery centennial
  The monastery was founded by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche (1910-1991) who was a luminary of Buddhism, respected throughout the world for his teachings. (Nepali Times)

The Buddha at Bamiyan was destroyed by the Taliban. It was the largest in the world because Afghanistan was once an important center of learning on the western frontiers of greater-India (Bharat). Which is to scale and which has been photographed to seem smaller? (See men at bottom for size).

• "Taliban's conversion rider stalled Japan's Bamiyan bid"
  He said that an official delegation from Japan, along with a Buddhist group from Sri Lanka, offered to remove the statues piece by piece and reassemble them... (Times of India)
• “In the Realm of the Buddha” opening explores the sacred arts...
  Buddha is part of the film series, “Tibetan Buddhism: Films from Around the World,” presented by the Freer and Sackler, in conjunction with the...
• Anti-Christian sentiment marks journey for Bhutan's exiles
  Bhutan began expelling almost one-eighth of its citizens for being of Nepali origin or practicing faiths other than Buddhism in the 1980s.

Worshipping money, China won't gain trust
Long under the influence of Buddhism, the most secular among the dominant religions, local culture lacks power in restraining the desire for money.

• Firecrackers destroy historical site as China celebrates Spring Fest
• ...festival led to the destruction of a historical structure in north China's Zhengding County, known as the birthplace of several schools of Zen Buddhism. (Times of India)
• China's Panchen Lama voted VP of state Buddhism body: report
  He added he would "adhere to socialism, safeguard national unification, strengthen ethnic unity, and expand Buddhist exchanges, on the basis of adherence to..." (AFP)‎
• 11th Panchen Lama elected VP of China Buddhist association (Xinhua)
• 11th Panchen Lama elected China Buddhist association VP (CCTV)
• China warns of Obama-Dalai Lama meeting (UPI)
• Tuva-Online: Moscow assigned land for Buddhist temple
  The leaders of Moscow assigned land for building a Buddhist temple in Victory Park on Poklonnaya Mountain. This was announced by RIA Novosti, referring to...

Australian elephant blessed by Buddhist monks
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- Mali the baby elephant played with a red rubber ball as three Buddhist monks splashed her face with water Thursday in blessing ceremony for the Melbourne Zoo's newest star. The baby was born six weeks ago to mother Dokkoon after a naming ceremony performed by Buddhist monks in Melbourne, Australia. Mali is Thai for jasmine and was chosen out of five possibilities derived from her Thai lineage in a public vote held by the zoo.

Full coverage: Tiger loses another sponsor

Another big sponsor drops Tiger Woods
The world's greatest golfer loses another sponsorship as the fallout from his infidelity scandal continues. "We wish him all the best" - Nike "happy" with absence - "Candid" pics were staged
Tiger Woods' sponsors

• New rule: Stop saying "Sex Addict" like it's a bad thing
• He said Buddhism teaches you the way to inner peace is letting go of desire -- and if that doesn't sound like marriage, I don't know what does....
• Area Buddhists see Tiger's return to faith as positive move
• Revelations by Tiger Woods last Friday that he will turn to his Buddhist faith as he seeks to atone for his infidelity... (Chicago Sun-Times)
  
• FOCUS: Can Buddhism help Tiger restore image, life?
• He cited the role of Buddhism in his life — and will look to it to help him recover from serial infidelity. “People probably don't realize it..."
• Year of the Iron Tiger: Sex addiction, celebrity, and 12-step Buddhist recovery (HP)
• Search for self, not golf, is priority for Tiger (Golf Digest)
• Up & Down: Tiger and the Lama -- strangers or playing partners? (CBS Sports)
• Tiger Woods, Buddhism, Sermon on the Mount, Basic Goodness, and Compassion... (Beliefnet)
• New film to analyze Tiger Woods' apology
• Woods apology: Buddhist, biblical and Bill Clinton-esque
• A deeply apologetic Tiger Woods today added to his lengthy litany of sins, regrets and promises of repentance that he needs to return to Buddhist traditions... (USA Today)
• Brit Hume still saying Tiger Woods better off if Christian...
• If Hume commits some sort of moral faux pas, would Tiger be entitled to suggest a switch to Buddhism? I daresay the backlash of his ever doing that would...
• California pastor weighs in on...Woods' Buddhism
• Commenting on the professed faith of pro golfer Woods, he stated, "Here's the problem with Buddhism: they don't believe in a personal God that is there to... (Christian Post)
• Tiger loses another big sponsor
• Another big sponsor drops Tiger Woods

The Lady: Burma's Democracy Leader

US condemns Burma over Suu Kyi verdict
The US has criticized Burma's Supreme Court for not releasing Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, with one lawmaker saying the time had come...

My impossible task making Oscar nominee "Burma VJ"
It was at the end of 2004, before the Saffron Revolution, before the cyclone and before an American decided to swim across a lake to visit Aung San Suu Kyi...

• Canada condemns rejection of Suu Kyi freedom bid (AFP)
• Suu Kyi's appeal dismissed (The Hindu)
• Detention appeal by Suu Kyi rejected (Irish Times)
• UN Envoy Denied Meeting with Burma's Suu Kyi
  (VoA) Khin Maung Swe says party members are eager to meet with detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi before officially deciding whether to participate.
• UN envoy presses Myanmar ministers on Suu Kyi (AFP)
• UN envoy leaves Burma with very modest gains (CSM)
• Burma jailed monk during UN envoy's visit (WP)
• MediaWATCH: How the world sees Thai Verdict
• Senate fails to pass unemployment extension
  A high court in Burma today rejected an appeal by Burmese pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi. She had appealed to end her recently extended house arrest... (FSRN)
• Suu Kyi deputy tastes freedom after seven years
  RANGOON — Burma opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi's second-in-command relished his first taste of freedom for seven years Sunday after the ruling junta... (AFP)
• UN envoy arrives in Burma (Aljazeera.net)
• Burma frees NLD leader Tin Oo (BBC News)
• Suu Kyi supporters jailed (News24)

• Suu Kyi is happy Tin Oo is back
  Detained pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, said she is happy that recently-freed deputy leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD)...
• A First Step Toward Democracy?
  For the first time since 1990 — when officials arrested 2000 people, including the opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, after the last general election...
• Fiancee of Burma prisoner "betrayed" by US (AFP)
• Burma's looming election sham (ISN)
• Six on hunger strike in Insein prison (DVB)
• Burmese PM resumes media attacks on Suu Kyi
  In a renewed Burmese regime attack on opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Prime Minister Gen. Thein Sein said on that no Burmese citizen...
• Burma's Suu Kyi undecided on junta's elections
  RANGOON — Burma's detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi says that the military-run country's upcoming elections cannot be credible unless... (AP)
• No decision on polls till electoral process is announced: Suu Kyi
• Opposition parties face election uncertainty

Burma Awareness Week

US Campaign for Burma: Burma Awareness Week February 2010 at Goucher College

UC Berkeley Dance/Riot

The statewide day of action to protest university fee increases is March 4, 2010.

LISTEN: HEADLINES

• Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi appeal denied
• Senate fails to pass unemployment extension
• VA to reexamine claims of Gulf War Syndrome
• UC Berkeley students protest fee increases; police riot

• Paterson drops out of NY governor’s race.
• Coca Cola labor abuse in Columbia More>>

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Buddhists to Tiger Woods: See you Sunday!

(TMZ) Tiger Woods does his best work on Sundays -- which works out just perfectly for the Buddhist temple near Tiger's home. That is, if Tiger is truly serious about returning to his Buddhist roots. The Media Zone spoke to Howard Yeh of the [Chinese Mahayana] Guang Ming Temple in nearby Orlando, Florida. Yeh teaches an English speaking class that meets every Sunday in a group style atmosphere. [Never mind that Tiger is Thai Theravada, right? I mean, TMZ, everyone knows all Buddhism is the same-same. Wink.] The class focuses on helping people with their daily life practices. Yeh told TMZ, "We welcome everyone. We get a lot of walk-ins... He can just come right in." Looks like the Dharma is your court, Tiger. Source

• "Sex Addiction Sunday" (Feb. 28, 10:00 PM) on Loveline
• Pornstar mistress wigs out over Tiger's apology
• A Tiger golfs with Buddha (essay) (WSJ)
• I'm a Buddhist but I lost my way (thedailyvoice.com)
• Dalai Lama now knows who Tiger Woods is:
• The Dalai Lama, who met with President Obama last week over the fierce objections of the Chinese government — which has called the spiritual leader “a jackal clad in Buddhist monk’s robes” — also said that “all religions have the same idea” about adultery [and abuse in any relationship].
• Tiger Woods’ resurfacing is all about sex rehab
• Tiger Woods photographed swinging
• Tiger Woods: I'm recommitting myself to Buddhism
• Tiger Woods back to sex rehab!

The Google-NSA Alliance: Q&A

JR Raphael (PC World)

Google's facing a gaggle of questions over reports that it's working with the National Security Agency. According to a story first published by The Washington Post on Thursday, Google's enlisting the help of the NSA to better secure its electronic assets. The partnership is reportedly a response to the recent attack on Google's networks -- you know, the one that led to the whole "we're leaving China" debacle. The news, not surprisingly, is generating a wave of reaction on the Web: Is this normal? Is our information still secure? Is Google really evil after all? And has the NSA been writing those crazy Google interview questions all along? More>>

Buddhism: Between Extremes

Buddhism: Between Overindulgence and Self-Hatred

Sharon Salzberg (Huffington Post)

It is said that the Buddha did not inform or instruct others about the Dharma, but rather he proclaimed the truth, or more exactly, he revealed it. We can't give the truth to someone as an object, we can only point to it, inviting inspection. It is in that spirit that we can hear or read a teaching and then look at our own lives, at our own experiences to see whether anything might have been revealed about them.

In the Buddhist texts there are phrases depicting the response of people hearing a teaching: "That which was overturned has been righted, the hidden revealed, the way has been shown to one who was lost, a lamp has been held up in the darkness." In the end, we can't hold on to the teachings as an identity or an object, we cannot become attached to them because in some strange sense there is nothing to claim. There's no commodity we can take with us. There is only our lives, whether we live them wisely or whether we live them in ignorance. And this is everything.

The Buddha said once, "I do not argue with the world. It is the world which argues with me." Many times the Buddha was asked what he thought about a certain teacher, or a certain presentation or doctrine. He would often say things like, "Look to see if the path, if the practice, leads to the complete ending of greed, hatred, and delusion in your lives. And if it does, you can trust it." "Look to see whether it leads to the end of suffering. Look for yourselves." That is our invitation and responsibility. More>>

• Senate votes to extend USA Patriot Act for 1 year
• India and Pakistan hold first talks in 15 months
• Italy convicts 3 Google execs in abuse video case
• Brazilian president says Castro seems recovered
• Students walk out of UC San Diego teach-in-protest
• Bid process mars the Pentagon's attempts…
• Whale kills trainer as horrified spectators watch
• UK prime minister apologizes to child migrants

Burmese troops commit atrocities

BANGKOK, Thailand – Burmese troops have gang-raped, murdered, and even crucified Karen women, or those in their charge, who took on the roles of village chiefs in hopes they would be less likely abused than traditional male leaders, a Karen group said Thursday.

The atrocities – which also include beheadings, torture, forced prostitution, and slave labor – are often committed as the troops attempt to root out a 60-year-old insurgency by guerrillas of the Karen ethnic minority, the Karen Women Organization said in a report.

Although the United Nations and other organizations have documented similar atrocities against Burma's ethnic minorities, the government has consistently denied allegations of human rights abuses, saying its troops are only engaged in anti-terrorist operations. More>>

CLICK TO ENLARGE

• South Korea firm signs billion dollar Burma gas deal
• Fiancee of Burma prisoner "betrayed" by US
• UN envoy leaves Burma with very modest gains
• American torture memos: John Woo of UC Berkeley
• SeaWorld suspends killer whale show after death
• Former guard says Demjanjuk was at Nazi camp

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What is Buddhism? Part III (video)

• Photos: Traveling in Tibet and China

Dick Cheney survives 5th heart attack

Whew, thank goodness Dick Cheney sur-vived yet another revolt from his own heart. The internal revolution was put down by doctors using stents or secret procedures, which they are not willing to reveal at the moment. A pacemaker had already been installed. But one would think that with all the billions steered to Haliburton (which he was formerly CEO of) doctors could do a little more, like maybe steal/purchase someone else's heart. But conservatives who are very compassionate, like the group Cheney addressed only last week, would never consider that.

• Bob Dole hospitalized, undergoing therapy (AP)
• Obama White House to its security critics: We are tough, just like Bush (Christian Science Monitor)
• Cheney hates Obama, calls him "one-term president"
• Outlook no brighter for Obama's new health plan (AP)
• Schwarzenegger breaks with GOP on health care, stimulus
• Cheney hospitalized after experiencing chest pains (Reuters)
• Comics (after all, laughter is the best medicine)

Nagas in the News: single-sex species

Mystery of single-sex species solved
How female-only species survive without genetic variation has long baffled biologists (Wired.com). What are Nagas? - Asexual reproduction - Primates near extinction - Frozen human genome

• Pentagon ends ban on females aboard subs
• India developing anti-satellite spacecraft
• India: $40 prosthetic puts amputees back on their feet
• Disturbing facts about household dust

Huge space-junk collision averted
Mayhem in the heavens is avoided when two space objects just miss crashing into each other.

• View of shuttle from Int'l Space Station
• Worst space debris moments in history
• VIDEO: Expanding danger of space junk

What your face reveals about your health
In Chinese medicine, different parts of your face give clues to what’s going on inside your body. Five facial zones - Healing power of tea - Natural pain relief tips - Chinese medicine

• Argentine stolen at birth, now 32, learns identity
• UN: Aboriginal program violates human rights
• Five dangerous times for your heart
• Haiti adoption fights mirror desperation
• ABC News announces massive staff cutbacks, restructuring

New dinosaur species discovered in Utah
The giant Brachiosaurus creatures were embedded in stone so hard that explosives were necessary. Meet "Abydosaurus" - Dinos that didn't chew

Ancient wall may unlock Bible mystery
Newfound ruins could help settle a long-running dispute about the Bible's historical accuracy. More relics found in dig - Shroud of Turin exhibit - U.S. returning stolen coffin