Wisdom Network News: Dalai Lama's Sister

Ashley Wells (Wisdom Quarterly)

Thailand denies visa to Dalai Lama's sister
BANGKOK — Thailand has denied a visa to the sister of Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, fearing it could upset relations with China. A top Thai Foreign Ministry official said that the Jetsun Pema [who some regard as the "Mother of Tibet," see video] and her husband had applied for visas to attend a cultural festival in Bangkok at Thailand's Embassy in New Delhi, India, but were rejected.

About 30 other Tibetan exiles in India were granted visas to attend a "Festival of Tibetan Spirituality, Arts and Cultures." "We welcome cultural diversity and have no problem with people coming in and participating in the activities," said Chavanond Intarakomalyasut, secretary to the foreign minister, but he added: "In this case, we fear giving permission will be linked to politics. We don't want to be in the middle of international conflicts."

• Dalai Lama is "political monk," says Chinese official
• Choosing the direct, democratic approach
• Want to look rich in China, buy a Tibetan
• Dalai Lama's sister denied visa

Fresh air for Burma's music

RANGOON, Burma — The dance music thundered through a crowd of thousands of drunken fans, past the pavilions where skinny women in impossibly high heels gyrated around metal poles and into the streets filled with taxis that ferried partygoers to this free, whiskey-soaked concert in the park: See VIDEO. “Our parents don’t allow it, but we do it anyway,” said Zun Pwint Phyu, one of the dancers who endured hours of lascivious stares.

Nepal's deposed king raises hope of return
KATHMANDU (AFP) — The former king of Nepal has hinted he hopes the country's centuries-old Hindu monarchy may one day be restored, nearly two years after he was dethroned. Ex-king Gyanendra lost his royal title in 2008 after Nepal's [communist] Maoists, who had fought a decade-long civil war with the state, won landmark polls and scrapped the world's last Hindu monarchy. "I don't think the monarchy is over," he said in a rare interview...

• Ex-King's statement on monarchy a daydream, say Nepali leaders
• Ex-king Gyanendra reviled for "trying to reassert monarchy"

Sanskrit mantras to open both Alaska Senate and House
Both the Alaska State Senate and House of Representatives in Juneau (USA) will open with Hindu prayers reportedly for the first time on April 9, 2010. Rajan Zed, Hindu statesman and leader, will read the opening prayers from the ancient Sanskrit scriptures before senators and representatives. After the Sanskrit delivery, he will read the English translation. Sanskrit is considered a sacred language in Hinduism and root language of all Indo-European languages.

Mindfulness on the menu
“When we eat, all our senses are in touch with the food in front of us,’’ says Harvard School of Public Health’s Lilian Cheung. Eating is as much about mind as matter. That’s one of the main points of Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life, by Thich Nhat Hanh and Lilian Cheung. Ven. Hanh is a Buddhist monk who lives in France, whereas Cheung, 57, is a lecturer and director of health promotion and communication at the Harvard School of Public Health.