BY BILL BLANKENSHIP
Created June 27, 2010 at 5:52pm
Updated June 27, 2010 at 10:58pm
MANHATTAN — One expects to see a sea of cowboys — or at least lots of wrangler wannabes — at the Country Stampede, but there was one Indian on stage to entertain them on closing day.
Dennis Rogers, a Navajo from Topeka where he has worked for years as a Native American educator, performed traditional dances Sunday afternoon in the first set on the Tuttleville stage at the Stampede at Tuttleville Creek State Park north of Manhattan.
"What's a real country event without Native Americans?" said Rogers, who was dressed in his traditional regalia. "When you talk about Kansas and the history of Kansas, it just seemed fitting to have a Native American event here at the Stampede."
Rogers said he was performing at the invitation of the Golden Eagle Casino, run by the Kickapoo Tribe west of Horton. The casino signed on this year as a major sponsor of the 15th annual edition of the country music festival, which began Thursday.
"We're real honored to be here to represent Golden Eagle Casino. We just want to represent all Native Americans in Kansas," said Rogers, who is the first solo Native American act at the Stampede.
However, Rogers isn't the first Indian entertainer at Stampede. Williams & Ree, a comedy duo who bill themselves as "The Indian and the White Guy," have twice performed on the Stampede main stage.
While Rogers was making his Country Stampede debut, he is no stranger to country music events or entertainers.
Rogers has been on the road with the country act BlackHawk to help it perform its song "SpiritDancer," which is dedicated to the memory of band co-founder Van Stephenson. Rogers also has opened for and performed with John Anderson, including creating choreography for his single, "Seminole Wind." Rogers did both of those dances at the Stampede.
Rogers also has on his performance resume five Farm Aid festivals with Willie Nelson and Neil Young.
Rogers said his path to performing across the country and around the world got started as director of Indian education for Topeka Unified School District 501 where he taught children aspects of their native culture.
"With native children, they need that encouragement to get up and dance, and I thought, 'I need to lead by example,' " he said.
His education efforts continued at the Stampede where he explained to spectators the origins and significance of each dance he did. Rogers also brought along singers Ross Cooper, a member of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, and Ron Brave, a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe.
Rogers dubbed his Country Stampede set "native country." He also noted Sunday was a bit cooler than the prior two blazing hot days at the event.
"I'd like to say I have the Spirit with me," he said. "We brought in that cool breeze a few minutes ago, and we had a few raindrops. We're taking that as a good sign we're going to have a good performance."
Bill Blankenship can be reached at (785) 295-1284 or bill.blankenship@cjonline.com.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Guru Meditation and Guru History
PERSPECTIVES 19 June, 2010 - Many Sources on Guru’s Life
21st June marks the birth anniversary of Guru, the son of King Indrabhuti in some accounts, or the lad of lotus blossom in most accounts , born in Udiyana in a place that we cannot identify exactly now.
His emergence out of a lotus flower may escape the understanding of history and science, or even anthropology. But to deny multiple meanings and realities is uni-dimensionally narrow. The awesome life, travels, works and ideas of Guru are subject of numerous terma biographies, revealed by Nyangrel Nima Yoser (1124-1192), Guru Choewang (1212-1270), Ugyen Lingpa (b.1323), and Pemalingpa (1450-1526). There is one written by Jonang Taranatha (1575-1634) from Indian sources. Jamgon Kongtrul (1813-1899), who came from a Bon family, added a Bon version of Guru’s biography (Ngawang Zangpo 2002). The terma biographies are rich literature written in allusive, metaphorical language. Among them, Ugyen Lingpa’s Padma Kathang is crowning jewel of many colours: lyrical, stirring, vast, shocking, raw, baffling, mysterious, tense and inhumanly brilliant.
Other books yield direct, additional information about Guru’s life. Guru’s relationship with Bhutan (Monyul) is clearer from biographies of other individuals. The Hagiography of Sindharaza and Clear Mirror of Prediction’ by terton Ugyen, who was an emanation of Denma Tsemang, is a key text. A version of this story was documented first by a certain Tibetan terton Molmokhyil (1087-1146), and incorporated into Jamgon Kongtrul’s (1813-1899) Rinchenterdzod in 1880 (Aris 1979: 50-82). The terma biography of Guru by Pemalingpa (1450-1526); the biography of Yeshey Tshogyal, originally written by Gyalwa Jangchub and Namkhai Nyingpo but revealed as terma by Taksam; the fragments of biography and works of Terton Sherab Member (contemporary of Ugyen Lingpa and Longchen’s root lama Rinzin Kumara raza, hence much before Pema Lingpa); the biography of Ratna Lingpa (1403-1478), the author who redacted Nyingma Gyudbum (100,000 tantras of Nyingma) are useful sources.
Vajrayana Vision of Human Potentials
Guru is still active, through his promised appearances in the pure vision of adherents, particularly on his birthdays. As a dharmakaya figure (chos sku), Guru exists in the fourth or primal time that is not past, present or future. Through his real activities in the 8th century and emanations’ deeds, he animated consciousness of accomplished practitioners and nourished a particular kind of civilization in this country known as Monyul in his time. The complex concept of chos sku represents both a potential for human existence (Samuel G. 1993: 19) and a social, economic and cultural pattern that favour the realization of the Vajrayana view of human potentials. There are now other competing views of human existence and potentials which drive the activities of the people and the State. But the Vajrayana view of human potentials was what Guru brought to us in the 8th century, along with an approach to structuring the mind towards non-duality and the cultivation of a different kind of consciousness.
Guru came at a moment in history, the 8th century, when tantric practices dominated Buddhism in India. The word, Vajrayana, itself had appeared in the tantric texts only in the late seventh century, although tantric texts appeared first in the 3rd century (Williams P. 2000: 194-199). Guru’s coming Bhutan and Tibet was of gigantic socio-economic and political consequences, beyond his introduction of sutra and mantra. Tantra-based Buddhism he brought oriented people towards an alternative state of consciousness about a more humane relationship among people and between people and the natural order. This alternative consciousness emerged from shamanic process that led practitioners into visionary states or revelation (see Samuel 1993: 363-377 for an extensive discussion on shamanic process). Samuel contrasted shamanic process with rationalized process. The word shamanic, being associated with pawo and nenjom, is likely to be misunderstood in Bhutan without a couple of examples. Key Buddhist practices can be seen as shamanic. Insight meditation is a shamanic method to enter into a visionary state. Buddha’s overcoming of Mara’s attack was a shamanic control that Guru repeated with his symbolic control over spirits over and over again. A wandering ascetic like Thangtong Gyelpo (1385–1464?) or Drukpa Kunlay (1455-1529) was an enlightened shaman drawing authority and inspiration from beyond the organized, monastic structures.
Against this broader background, Vajrayana variety Guru brought can be seen as particularly more yogic, shamanic, tantric, de-centered and social centric.
As we will come across later, all of Guru’s great heirs, such as Dorji Lingpa, Thangtong Gyelpo, Guru Choewing, Ratna Lingpa, Sherab Member, Pema Lingpa, Drukpa Kunley, Dudjom Rinpoche who operated in Bhutan were part of this visionary tradition. Others like Phajo Drukgom and Zhabdrung Rinpoche were more clerical and institutional. Guru’s introduction of Vajrayana resulted in dominant national characteristics of which a few can be discussed briefly here.
Inner and Outer Healing
The first effect we still enjoy is that our land became broadly pacified and peaceful under the influence of Vajrayana. It is important to appreciate the cause of peace, just as the state of peace itself. Because of the spread of Buddhism by Guru and his disciples and their disciples during both the first and second transmissions (bstan pa snga ‘gyur dang phyi ‘gyur), a particular world view took hold and that influenced polity and culture. The stress on cultivation of peace within people led broadly to peace in communities.
To the North, Guru’s conversion of Tibet to Vajrayana pacified Tibet’s imperial ambitions so that it became a non-threatening empire, as its polity changed (Ngawang Zangpo 2002: 87-88). Tibetan legislation since Trisong’s reign harmonized relatively more with Buddhist moral principles, with certain exceptions (see Kapstein 2000: 57).
Guru brought peace to Bhutan in an overt way by stopping the war between King Sindharaza of Mon Bumthang and King Nauche of India. But external peace cannot be sustained without peace at heart.
For inner development and peace, the peace conference between the two was concluded by giving empowerment of Druba Kagyed or the Eight Great Herukas (sgrub pa bka brgyad), making the two kings become friends. Guru also gave heart-essence (snying gyi thigs pa) teachings of ‘dzogpa chenpo selwai melong’ to a 500 strong entourage of Sindharaza and Kyikha Rathoed in Kurjay, leading them to the fruits of enlightenment on the spot. It was a devotional scene reminiscent of events down the centuries where lamas gave teachings to lay people and nobles in the wide meadows of Kurjay. Thus Dzogchen teachings started early in Bhutan by this account.
Enlightenment Education
The second effect of Guru’s visit to the Himalayas was the spread of enlightenment education through translations of Indian texts into classical Tibetan which are read increasing widely today among scholars. Guru was a colossal engine of translation and transmission of works from Indian civilization to the Himalayas. Two chapters (87 and 88) in Padma Kathang enumerates the translation Guru carried out with 108 Tibetan translators and 21 Indian pandits (KMT edition of mkha’ ‘dro Yeshey Tshogyal gyi rnam mthar 2005: 151. Hence abbreviated to KMT) at Samye under Trisong’s magnificent patronage. Among the sutras, almost all the classic authors studied today like Vasubandhu, Nagarjuna, Santarakshita, Kamalasila, Asvagosha, Chandrakirti, Dinaga, Asanga, Shantideva, Dharmakirti, and Arya Deva were translated at that time in Samye. The list of tantras translated is far longer. Without the availability of these translated texts, Buddhism would not have cascaded down the slopes of Himalayas and spread over the wide plateau of Tibet. Nor would 73 million-words long Kanjur and Tenjur get compiled gradually over the centuries without the high, initial burst of translation (Tharthang Trulku in Introduction to Toussaint 1978). Through the transmission of learning based on these classic texts, the same ideas about cosmology and causation framed the views of most Bhutanese, until Western schooling started in the 1960s. Though people do not believe in world geography according to Abhidharma, a lack of reasoning among a growing section of the Bhutanese in the necessary connection between samsara and karma is surely a profound shift occurring today (see Khewang Tshultrim Lodrey, 2003 for a lucid defense of such classic reasoning). From our cultural point of view, it is even more radical that big private and public organizations do not take account of this ethical reasoning in their operations. Ministries and corporations hedging under corporate social responsibility may fall far short of this fuller ethical reasoning.
Silent Zones
The third result of Guru’s visit is the notion of living in the midst of sacral sites associated with Guru such as Kurjay, Singye Dzong, Gomokora and Taktshang. Guru visited numerous parts of Bhutan for teaching and practice. They are our holy lands. Take Singye Dzong’s direct association with Guru. Nyangrel’s Phurba Yangsang Lamed (p. 2) names five key disciples of Guru, namely, Namkhai Nyingpo, Gyalwa Chogyang, Nanam Dorji Dudjom, Ladrong Konchog Jungney, Shelkar Za, and Yeshey Tshogyal as having received Vajrakila teachings at Singye dzong from Guru. There is a big flat boulder in Singye dzong claimed to have been the place, according to oral tradition, where Guru and his disciples sat in discourse. Yeshey Tshogyal was in Singye Dzong, arriving first with her two companions. One of the companions was her ritual partner, an Indian youth (Acharya) from Nepal who had a Yemenis sounding name called Saleh (KMT: 7). As foretold by Guru, she had fetched him earlier at great price from Nepal. Guru gave thirteen teachings on Vajrakila at Singye Dzong to Yeshey Tshogyal (bdag mkha’ chen bzas/ rdo rje phur pai skor la yang zab snying poi chos skor cu gsum zhus). From Singye Dzong, Yeshey Tshogyal and her fellow practitioners went to live at least seven months in Paro Taktsang to meditate on Guru Amitayus. Guru stayed for three months in Singye dzong, four months in Taktsang and two months in Chumophug and for more than year in other places including Cheldrag in Paro (see Pema Lingpa’s Chos ‘gyung Mun sel sDron me smad chag: 277). Padma Kathang notes that Guru spent, among other places in Monyul, three months in Mon Gom, or Gomokora. In Mo rgyud kuntu bzang mo klong gsel’ bar ba Nyima’ gsang rgyud, Terton Sherab Membar reveals that this female tantra text was recorded by Yeshey Tshogyal during its teaching by Guru at Taktshang. The omnisient Jigme Lingpa (1729–1798), who hardly missed anything printed, also noted that Guru stayed for three months in Singye Dzong and four months in Paro Taktsang (see Jigme Lingpa’s gTam tshog: 608).
These holy places of Guru have triggered that part of us as pilgrims, in search of our own divine nature that is increasingly obscured. Travels in the footsteps of Guru are a way of re-igniting his teachings and practices among us on the pilgrimage process. Yet commodification of these spiritual arenas will hollow them, instead of hallowing them. The outbreak of tourists to fulfill their momentary curiousity about these places, as opposed to pilgrims on the path of spiritual renewal, presents new problems. If the key sacral places become spectacles of tourism, they lose their attributes as isolated mountains sites for contemplation (dba’n pai ri khrod) (See Kumar Satish, 2009 for differences between pilgrims and tourists).
Rocks Archives of Ter
Most of these sacral places are also venues where Guru and his root-disciples deposited texts and other relics as ter. Some of the ters were concealed by Guru but a vast number of teachings by Guru were recorded textually by Yeshey Tshogyal in dakini and other scripts and hidden as ter. Taktshang, Kurjay, and Singyedzong are hallowed not only because Guru practiced and taught in these places. They became charged with ters that were retrieved later by pre-ordained masters to reinvigorate teachings. From Taktshang, Thangtong Gyalpo retrieved 1 scroll of yellow paper (see his biography: 202); Dorji Lingpa (1346-1405) retrieved a zab ter Sethurma(see his biography: 56, see Karmay Samten); and Dudjom Jigrel Yeshey Dorji (1904-1987) revealed Phurpa Pudri Regphung (Samuel G 2008). Sherab Member retrieved a list of ter he was to extract from a cave called Zangphug behind Singye Dzong. Ratna Lingpa also visited Singye Dzong and revealed a text titled ‘glong gsal snying tig’. In his biography (bka’ ‘bum: 70), Ratna Lingpa gives a description of Singye Dzongsum in terms of Pawo Padma dzong on the right, Khando Rinchen dzong on the left, Drakar Singye Dzong at the centre and Nering meadows in the front. Ratna Lingpa reveals zab ter dam chos klong gsal nying tig while he was at Singye Dzong ((bka’ ‘bum), The latest terma text was the corpus of ‘chimed srog thig, revealed by Terton Zilnon Namkha Dorji in 1908 (Dudjom 1999, Vol 14; Cantwell Cathy et al 2009). Other places where Guru’s ters were found repeatedly by successive tertons were concentrated in Bumthang: at Rimochen, Nering Drag, Jamba Lhakhang, and Tselung Lhakhang.
Many extraordinary individuals have been thrown into a visionary state when they were at Taktshang. They included Chogyam Trungpa (1940-1987) and Dilgo Khyentse (1910-1991) both of whom composed at Taktshang in a visionary state. Most recently, on 21 February 2010, His Majesty the King, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, had a solitary day of prayer in the cave of Taktshang, during which he had a sublime experience and a powerful impulse to write a supplication text to Guru (HM Khesar 2010).
Ideals of Relationship
The effects that we just discussed are familiar. But the others are far more subtle. Space hardly allows us to go over them, but let us take one example for the fourth effect. Vajrayana notion of ideal of relationship, in which damtshig or lifelong faith in a guru is a key value, has shaped wider relationships, beyond itself. Relationships such as the ones between parents and children, and lords and subjects were often homologized with that of a lama and disciple. As the archetypal lama, Guru was both the personally experienced, transmitter of fast-track Vajrayana enlightenment techniques and the lightning rod for the beneficence of yidams (deities of sadhanas). In most visualization schemes, Guru is envisaged as both a lama and a tantric deity. Take one element of a complex visualization scheme. A mental image of Guru merges into the disciple in incredibly radiant colours, light, details, and vivacity. The disciple holds on the generated images for a long time (for broader discussion, see Harrington A. et al 2006: 96). By transforming the disciple’s consciousness, and arousing Boddhicitta, the meditator becomes mentally the meditated, Guru. (Samuel G. 1993: 250-257). This transforms the afflictive mental states (nyon mongs) into five forms of transcending awareness (yeshey nga), triggering off Buddhahood present in an accomplished meditator. However, the other kinds of binary relationships like ordinary school teacher and student, and employees and employers are qualitatively different because they are not oriented toward enlightenment. Yet the lofty ideal of guru-disciple relationship has inspired the best of human relationships.
Consciousness and Its Pathologies
The most important effect stemming from Guru’s teachings has been on the reduction of all too human pathologies and compulsiveness towards the self. The philosophy of freedom from self-afflictions is a general Buddhist theme, but Vajrayana expanded the path and perspective. In brief, the Vajrayana path to freedom from self-afflictions consists eventually of being just aware of pure awareness that has no content in terms of sensory inputs from memory, external perceptions, concepts, or thought about past or future. But such an achievement does not come easily, unless one learns through hard practice to hold visualized imageries, whether dynamic or still, in a stable and vivid way for a long time with appropriate changes in mental faculty. Imagery training is ultimately intended to promote emotional balance as well as cognitive balance (Harrington A. et al 2006: 100-114, 135-137). But the use of the mind in visualization and meditation is not the only method as it is in the sutra system. In Vajrayana, the mind as well as the subtle body energy system - the basis of mind - is mobilized (Dalai Lama 2005: 165-183). The subtle body energy system, known as rtsa-klung-thigle, involving neural, circulatory, respiratory and libido channels are activated and ‘awakened’ to improve physiological and psychological functions. Some sadhanas Guru’s devised, such as the longevity practice focused on Amitayus, entail nutritional changes called consumption of essences (blends) made from rocks (minerals) and herbs (Terton Zilnon Namkha Dorji, see Dudjom Vol. 14 1999: 449-450).
Vajrayana method of meditation and visualization is seen as an advancement because it can combine generation of skillful means with wisdom and compassion (thabs dang shesrab), corresponding with simultaneous experience of bliss and voidness (bde stong gzung mjugs). Buddhist understanding states that in the shortest possible split second, mental activity can only have one way of apprehending (hear Alexander Berzin on Berzinarchive.com). It also says that in the shortest possible split second, we can either have a visual phenomena or a mental phenomena (concepts, emotions), but not both (Harrington A. et al 2008: 42). The implication is that even if we try to foster single-pointed concentration, our concentration will alternate between compassion at one moment and voidness in the next moment, without being able to subjectively experience it simultaneously. Vajrayana applies this understanding of mental constraint to improvise further techniques. Let me jump over the many stages, simplify and compress the visualization process to bring out the main technical improvement, as I understand it. The generation of the appearance of a deity like Amitayus in the mind of meditator during Amitayus practice is considered symbolic of voidness. Of course, creating clear imageries bathed in radiant colours and light is much more taxing than perceiving them from external objects. But it is now known from scientific experiment that being able to do so activates the same areas in the brain which are usually engaged during visual perception of external objects. The strength of the activation depends on the capacity of the meditator to create more vivid and stable imageries. If the images are dynamic, harder still is the mental exertion to create them. As the meditator merges himself mentally into the meditated deity, and the meditator imagines himself as Guru Amitayus. With the meditator becoming more able, the meta-awareness, the awareness that he is just trying to imagine he is Amitayus while he is not, should decrease and disappear. At a successful stage of meditation and visualisation, it is the Buddha figure performing mental rotations of various multi-coloured mantra letters and holding in view other subsidiary Buddha figures. The implication is that the body image of the meditator has transformed “into the healthy, vital and enlightened being of the central deity” (Samuel G. 2008, 2009). In this context, Amitayus is the exemplar of compassion. Enlightenment is defined by compassion. At the level of subjective reality, this meditation and visualization thus brings compassion and voidness together within every shortest possible split-second. That means that consciousness, which is subjective, is transformed for that moment. More moments of such kind can create notions of continuum.
Finally, the object of meditation, the meditation and the meditator are all made to dissolve first into a seed syllable letter, and in turn the seed syllable letter into dark space. As images come from within voidness at the beginning of a visualization session, they return to voidness at the end. The idea is to see the phenomenal world (consciousness) just as an appearance. The process combines understanding of voidness with the generation of compassion. But it is well said that it can be experienced, not explained because bde stong gzung mjugs is considered ineffable part of Vajrayana.
21st June marks the birth anniversary of Guru, the son of King Indrabhuti in some accounts, or the lad of lotus blossom in most accounts , born in Udiyana in a place that we cannot identify exactly now.
His emergence out of a lotus flower may escape the understanding of history and science, or even anthropology. But to deny multiple meanings and realities is uni-dimensionally narrow. The awesome life, travels, works and ideas of Guru are subject of numerous terma biographies, revealed by Nyangrel Nima Yoser (1124-1192), Guru Choewang (1212-1270), Ugyen Lingpa (b.1323), and Pemalingpa (1450-1526). There is one written by Jonang Taranatha (1575-1634) from Indian sources. Jamgon Kongtrul (1813-1899), who came from a Bon family, added a Bon version of Guru’s biography (Ngawang Zangpo 2002). The terma biographies are rich literature written in allusive, metaphorical language. Among them, Ugyen Lingpa’s Padma Kathang is crowning jewel of many colours: lyrical, stirring, vast, shocking, raw, baffling, mysterious, tense and inhumanly brilliant.
Other books yield direct, additional information about Guru’s life. Guru’s relationship with Bhutan (Monyul) is clearer from biographies of other individuals. The Hagiography of Sindharaza and Clear Mirror of Prediction’ by terton Ugyen, who was an emanation of Denma Tsemang, is a key text. A version of this story was documented first by a certain Tibetan terton Molmokhyil (1087-1146), and incorporated into Jamgon Kongtrul’s (1813-1899) Rinchenterdzod in 1880 (Aris 1979: 50-82). The terma biography of Guru by Pemalingpa (1450-1526); the biography of Yeshey Tshogyal, originally written by Gyalwa Jangchub and Namkhai Nyingpo but revealed as terma by Taksam; the fragments of biography and works of Terton Sherab Member (contemporary of Ugyen Lingpa and Longchen’s root lama Rinzin Kumara raza, hence much before Pema Lingpa); the biography of Ratna Lingpa (1403-1478), the author who redacted Nyingma Gyudbum (100,000 tantras of Nyingma) are useful sources.
Vajrayana Vision of Human Potentials
Guru is still active, through his promised appearances in the pure vision of adherents, particularly on his birthdays. As a dharmakaya figure (chos sku), Guru exists in the fourth or primal time that is not past, present or future. Through his real activities in the 8th century and emanations’ deeds, he animated consciousness of accomplished practitioners and nourished a particular kind of civilization in this country known as Monyul in his time. The complex concept of chos sku represents both a potential for human existence (Samuel G. 1993: 19) and a social, economic and cultural pattern that favour the realization of the Vajrayana view of human potentials. There are now other competing views of human existence and potentials which drive the activities of the people and the State. But the Vajrayana view of human potentials was what Guru brought to us in the 8th century, along with an approach to structuring the mind towards non-duality and the cultivation of a different kind of consciousness.
Guru came at a moment in history, the 8th century, when tantric practices dominated Buddhism in India. The word, Vajrayana, itself had appeared in the tantric texts only in the late seventh century, although tantric texts appeared first in the 3rd century (Williams P. 2000: 194-199). Guru’s coming Bhutan and Tibet was of gigantic socio-economic and political consequences, beyond his introduction of sutra and mantra. Tantra-based Buddhism he brought oriented people towards an alternative state of consciousness about a more humane relationship among people and between people and the natural order. This alternative consciousness emerged from shamanic process that led practitioners into visionary states or revelation (see Samuel 1993: 363-377 for an extensive discussion on shamanic process). Samuel contrasted shamanic process with rationalized process. The word shamanic, being associated with pawo and nenjom, is likely to be misunderstood in Bhutan without a couple of examples. Key Buddhist practices can be seen as shamanic. Insight meditation is a shamanic method to enter into a visionary state. Buddha’s overcoming of Mara’s attack was a shamanic control that Guru repeated with his symbolic control over spirits over and over again. A wandering ascetic like Thangtong Gyelpo (1385–1464?) or Drukpa Kunlay (1455-1529) was an enlightened shaman drawing authority and inspiration from beyond the organized, monastic structures.
Against this broader background, Vajrayana variety Guru brought can be seen as particularly more yogic, shamanic, tantric, de-centered and social centric.
As we will come across later, all of Guru’s great heirs, such as Dorji Lingpa, Thangtong Gyelpo, Guru Choewing, Ratna Lingpa, Sherab Member, Pema Lingpa, Drukpa Kunley, Dudjom Rinpoche who operated in Bhutan were part of this visionary tradition. Others like Phajo Drukgom and Zhabdrung Rinpoche were more clerical and institutional. Guru’s introduction of Vajrayana resulted in dominant national characteristics of which a few can be discussed briefly here.
Inner and Outer Healing
The first effect we still enjoy is that our land became broadly pacified and peaceful under the influence of Vajrayana. It is important to appreciate the cause of peace, just as the state of peace itself. Because of the spread of Buddhism by Guru and his disciples and their disciples during both the first and second transmissions (bstan pa snga ‘gyur dang phyi ‘gyur), a particular world view took hold and that influenced polity and culture. The stress on cultivation of peace within people led broadly to peace in communities.
To the North, Guru’s conversion of Tibet to Vajrayana pacified Tibet’s imperial ambitions so that it became a non-threatening empire, as its polity changed (Ngawang Zangpo 2002: 87-88). Tibetan legislation since Trisong’s reign harmonized relatively more with Buddhist moral principles, with certain exceptions (see Kapstein 2000: 57).
Guru brought peace to Bhutan in an overt way by stopping the war between King Sindharaza of Mon Bumthang and King Nauche of India. But external peace cannot be sustained without peace at heart.
For inner development and peace, the peace conference between the two was concluded by giving empowerment of Druba Kagyed or the Eight Great Herukas (sgrub pa bka brgyad), making the two kings become friends. Guru also gave heart-essence (snying gyi thigs pa) teachings of ‘dzogpa chenpo selwai melong’ to a 500 strong entourage of Sindharaza and Kyikha Rathoed in Kurjay, leading them to the fruits of enlightenment on the spot. It was a devotional scene reminiscent of events down the centuries where lamas gave teachings to lay people and nobles in the wide meadows of Kurjay. Thus Dzogchen teachings started early in Bhutan by this account.
Enlightenment Education
The second effect of Guru’s visit to the Himalayas was the spread of enlightenment education through translations of Indian texts into classical Tibetan which are read increasing widely today among scholars. Guru was a colossal engine of translation and transmission of works from Indian civilization to the Himalayas. Two chapters (87 and 88) in Padma Kathang enumerates the translation Guru carried out with 108 Tibetan translators and 21 Indian pandits (KMT edition of mkha’ ‘dro Yeshey Tshogyal gyi rnam mthar 2005: 151. Hence abbreviated to KMT) at Samye under Trisong’s magnificent patronage. Among the sutras, almost all the classic authors studied today like Vasubandhu, Nagarjuna, Santarakshita, Kamalasila, Asvagosha, Chandrakirti, Dinaga, Asanga, Shantideva, Dharmakirti, and Arya Deva were translated at that time in Samye. The list of tantras translated is far longer. Without the availability of these translated texts, Buddhism would not have cascaded down the slopes of Himalayas and spread over the wide plateau of Tibet. Nor would 73 million-words long Kanjur and Tenjur get compiled gradually over the centuries without the high, initial burst of translation (Tharthang Trulku in Introduction to Toussaint 1978). Through the transmission of learning based on these classic texts, the same ideas about cosmology and causation framed the views of most Bhutanese, until Western schooling started in the 1960s. Though people do not believe in world geography according to Abhidharma, a lack of reasoning among a growing section of the Bhutanese in the necessary connection between samsara and karma is surely a profound shift occurring today (see Khewang Tshultrim Lodrey, 2003 for a lucid defense of such classic reasoning). From our cultural point of view, it is even more radical that big private and public organizations do not take account of this ethical reasoning in their operations. Ministries and corporations hedging under corporate social responsibility may fall far short of this fuller ethical reasoning.
Silent Zones
The third result of Guru’s visit is the notion of living in the midst of sacral sites associated with Guru such as Kurjay, Singye Dzong, Gomokora and Taktshang. Guru visited numerous parts of Bhutan for teaching and practice. They are our holy lands. Take Singye Dzong’s direct association with Guru. Nyangrel’s Phurba Yangsang Lamed (p. 2) names five key disciples of Guru, namely, Namkhai Nyingpo, Gyalwa Chogyang, Nanam Dorji Dudjom, Ladrong Konchog Jungney, Shelkar Za, and Yeshey Tshogyal as having received Vajrakila teachings at Singye dzong from Guru. There is a big flat boulder in Singye dzong claimed to have been the place, according to oral tradition, where Guru and his disciples sat in discourse. Yeshey Tshogyal was in Singye Dzong, arriving first with her two companions. One of the companions was her ritual partner, an Indian youth (Acharya) from Nepal who had a Yemenis sounding name called Saleh (KMT: 7). As foretold by Guru, she had fetched him earlier at great price from Nepal. Guru gave thirteen teachings on Vajrakila at Singye Dzong to Yeshey Tshogyal (bdag mkha’ chen bzas/ rdo rje phur pai skor la yang zab snying poi chos skor cu gsum zhus). From Singye Dzong, Yeshey Tshogyal and her fellow practitioners went to live at least seven months in Paro Taktsang to meditate on Guru Amitayus. Guru stayed for three months in Singye dzong, four months in Taktsang and two months in Chumophug and for more than year in other places including Cheldrag in Paro (see Pema Lingpa’s Chos ‘gyung Mun sel sDron me smad chag: 277). Padma Kathang notes that Guru spent, among other places in Monyul, three months in Mon Gom, or Gomokora. In Mo rgyud kuntu bzang mo klong gsel’ bar ba Nyima’ gsang rgyud, Terton Sherab Membar reveals that this female tantra text was recorded by Yeshey Tshogyal during its teaching by Guru at Taktshang. The omnisient Jigme Lingpa (1729–1798), who hardly missed anything printed, also noted that Guru stayed for three months in Singye Dzong and four months in Paro Taktsang (see Jigme Lingpa’s gTam tshog: 608).
These holy places of Guru have triggered that part of us as pilgrims, in search of our own divine nature that is increasingly obscured. Travels in the footsteps of Guru are a way of re-igniting his teachings and practices among us on the pilgrimage process. Yet commodification of these spiritual arenas will hollow them, instead of hallowing them. The outbreak of tourists to fulfill their momentary curiousity about these places, as opposed to pilgrims on the path of spiritual renewal, presents new problems. If the key sacral places become spectacles of tourism, they lose their attributes as isolated mountains sites for contemplation (dba’n pai ri khrod) (See Kumar Satish, 2009 for differences between pilgrims and tourists).
Rocks Archives of Ter
Most of these sacral places are also venues where Guru and his root-disciples deposited texts and other relics as ter. Some of the ters were concealed by Guru but a vast number of teachings by Guru were recorded textually by Yeshey Tshogyal in dakini and other scripts and hidden as ter. Taktshang, Kurjay, and Singyedzong are hallowed not only because Guru practiced and taught in these places. They became charged with ters that were retrieved later by pre-ordained masters to reinvigorate teachings. From Taktshang, Thangtong Gyalpo retrieved 1 scroll of yellow paper (see his biography: 202); Dorji Lingpa (1346-1405) retrieved a zab ter Sethurma(see his biography: 56, see Karmay Samten); and Dudjom Jigrel Yeshey Dorji (1904-1987) revealed Phurpa Pudri Regphung (Samuel G 2008). Sherab Member retrieved a list of ter he was to extract from a cave called Zangphug behind Singye Dzong. Ratna Lingpa also visited Singye Dzong and revealed a text titled ‘glong gsal snying tig’. In his biography (bka’ ‘bum: 70), Ratna Lingpa gives a description of Singye Dzongsum in terms of Pawo Padma dzong on the right, Khando Rinchen dzong on the left, Drakar Singye Dzong at the centre and Nering meadows in the front. Ratna Lingpa reveals zab ter dam chos klong gsal nying tig while he was at Singye Dzong ((bka’ ‘bum), The latest terma text was the corpus of ‘chimed srog thig, revealed by Terton Zilnon Namkha Dorji in 1908 (Dudjom 1999, Vol 14; Cantwell Cathy et al 2009). Other places where Guru’s ters were found repeatedly by successive tertons were concentrated in Bumthang: at Rimochen, Nering Drag, Jamba Lhakhang, and Tselung Lhakhang.
Many extraordinary individuals have been thrown into a visionary state when they were at Taktshang. They included Chogyam Trungpa (1940-1987) and Dilgo Khyentse (1910-1991) both of whom composed at Taktshang in a visionary state. Most recently, on 21 February 2010, His Majesty the King, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, had a solitary day of prayer in the cave of Taktshang, during which he had a sublime experience and a powerful impulse to write a supplication text to Guru (HM Khesar 2010).
Ideals of Relationship
The effects that we just discussed are familiar. But the others are far more subtle. Space hardly allows us to go over them, but let us take one example for the fourth effect. Vajrayana notion of ideal of relationship, in which damtshig or lifelong faith in a guru is a key value, has shaped wider relationships, beyond itself. Relationships such as the ones between parents and children, and lords and subjects were often homologized with that of a lama and disciple. As the archetypal lama, Guru was both the personally experienced, transmitter of fast-track Vajrayana enlightenment techniques and the lightning rod for the beneficence of yidams (deities of sadhanas). In most visualization schemes, Guru is envisaged as both a lama and a tantric deity. Take one element of a complex visualization scheme. A mental image of Guru merges into the disciple in incredibly radiant colours, light, details, and vivacity. The disciple holds on the generated images for a long time (for broader discussion, see Harrington A. et al 2006: 96). By transforming the disciple’s consciousness, and arousing Boddhicitta, the meditator becomes mentally the meditated, Guru. (Samuel G. 1993: 250-257). This transforms the afflictive mental states (nyon mongs) into five forms of transcending awareness (yeshey nga), triggering off Buddhahood present in an accomplished meditator. However, the other kinds of binary relationships like ordinary school teacher and student, and employees and employers are qualitatively different because they are not oriented toward enlightenment. Yet the lofty ideal of guru-disciple relationship has inspired the best of human relationships.
Consciousness and Its Pathologies
The most important effect stemming from Guru’s teachings has been on the reduction of all too human pathologies and compulsiveness towards the self. The philosophy of freedom from self-afflictions is a general Buddhist theme, but Vajrayana expanded the path and perspective. In brief, the Vajrayana path to freedom from self-afflictions consists eventually of being just aware of pure awareness that has no content in terms of sensory inputs from memory, external perceptions, concepts, or thought about past or future. But such an achievement does not come easily, unless one learns through hard practice to hold visualized imageries, whether dynamic or still, in a stable and vivid way for a long time with appropriate changes in mental faculty. Imagery training is ultimately intended to promote emotional balance as well as cognitive balance (Harrington A. et al 2006: 100-114, 135-137). But the use of the mind in visualization and meditation is not the only method as it is in the sutra system. In Vajrayana, the mind as well as the subtle body energy system - the basis of mind - is mobilized (Dalai Lama 2005: 165-183). The subtle body energy system, known as rtsa-klung-thigle, involving neural, circulatory, respiratory and libido channels are activated and ‘awakened’ to improve physiological and psychological functions. Some sadhanas Guru’s devised, such as the longevity practice focused on Amitayus, entail nutritional changes called consumption of essences (blends) made from rocks (minerals) and herbs (Terton Zilnon Namkha Dorji, see Dudjom Vol. 14 1999: 449-450).
Vajrayana method of meditation and visualization is seen as an advancement because it can combine generation of skillful means with wisdom and compassion (thabs dang shesrab), corresponding with simultaneous experience of bliss and voidness (bde stong gzung mjugs). Buddhist understanding states that in the shortest possible split second, mental activity can only have one way of apprehending (hear Alexander Berzin on Berzinarchive.com). It also says that in the shortest possible split second, we can either have a visual phenomena or a mental phenomena (concepts, emotions), but not both (Harrington A. et al 2008: 42). The implication is that even if we try to foster single-pointed concentration, our concentration will alternate between compassion at one moment and voidness in the next moment, without being able to subjectively experience it simultaneously. Vajrayana applies this understanding of mental constraint to improvise further techniques. Let me jump over the many stages, simplify and compress the visualization process to bring out the main technical improvement, as I understand it. The generation of the appearance of a deity like Amitayus in the mind of meditator during Amitayus practice is considered symbolic of voidness. Of course, creating clear imageries bathed in radiant colours and light is much more taxing than perceiving them from external objects. But it is now known from scientific experiment that being able to do so activates the same areas in the brain which are usually engaged during visual perception of external objects. The strength of the activation depends on the capacity of the meditator to create more vivid and stable imageries. If the images are dynamic, harder still is the mental exertion to create them. As the meditator merges himself mentally into the meditated deity, and the meditator imagines himself as Guru Amitayus. With the meditator becoming more able, the meta-awareness, the awareness that he is just trying to imagine he is Amitayus while he is not, should decrease and disappear. At a successful stage of meditation and visualisation, it is the Buddha figure performing mental rotations of various multi-coloured mantra letters and holding in view other subsidiary Buddha figures. The implication is that the body image of the meditator has transformed “into the healthy, vital and enlightened being of the central deity” (Samuel G. 2008, 2009). In this context, Amitayus is the exemplar of compassion. Enlightenment is defined by compassion. At the level of subjective reality, this meditation and visualization thus brings compassion and voidness together within every shortest possible split-second. That means that consciousness, which is subjective, is transformed for that moment. More moments of such kind can create notions of continuum.
Finally, the object of meditation, the meditation and the meditator are all made to dissolve first into a seed syllable letter, and in turn the seed syllable letter into dark space. As images come from within voidness at the beginning of a visualization session, they return to voidness at the end. The idea is to see the phenomenal world (consciousness) just as an appearance. The process combines understanding of voidness with the generation of compassion. But it is well said that it can be experienced, not explained because bde stong gzung mjugs is considered ineffable part of Vajrayana.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Dalai Lama Talking Smack about Japanese Brothers
By Stuart Biggs
June 19 (Bloomberg) -- The Dalai Lama, Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, said he has no plan to request official talks that would “inconvenience” Japan’s government and that his lecture tour in the country is “non-political.”
The Dalai Lama, 74, arrived in Japan yesterday to lecture on Buddhism at a temple in central Japan’s Nagano prefecture, and in Yokohama. He spoke to reporters today at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan in Tokyo.
Overseas receptions of the Tibetan religious leader have angered China’s government, which regards him as a separatist since he fled to India in 1959. China objected to the Dalai Lama’s meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama in February and canceled a China-European Union summit after French President Nicolas Sarkozy met with him in 2008.
“This is a non-political visit, so I have nothing to ask or discuss with the government,” the Dalai Lama said today. “I don’t want to create any inconvenience to anybody.”
China opposes outside pressure on how the country runs Tibet, which was brought under its rule in 1950.
--Editors: Mike Millard, Jim McDonald.
To contact the reporters on this story: Stuart Biggs in Tokyo at sbiggs3@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jim McDonald at jmcdonald8@bloomberg.net
June 19 (Bloomberg) -- The Dalai Lama, Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, said he has no plan to request official talks that would “inconvenience” Japan’s government and that his lecture tour in the country is “non-political.”
The Dalai Lama, 74, arrived in Japan yesterday to lecture on Buddhism at a temple in central Japan’s Nagano prefecture, and in Yokohama. He spoke to reporters today at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan in Tokyo.
Overseas receptions of the Tibetan religious leader have angered China’s government, which regards him as a separatist since he fled to India in 1959. China objected to the Dalai Lama’s meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama in February and canceled a China-European Union summit after French President Nicolas Sarkozy met with him in 2008.
“This is a non-political visit, so I have nothing to ask or discuss with the government,” the Dalai Lama said today. “I don’t want to create any inconvenience to anybody.”
China opposes outside pressure on how the country runs Tibet, which was brought under its rule in 1950.
--Editors: Mike Millard, Jim McDonald.
To contact the reporters on this story: Stuart Biggs in Tokyo at sbiggs3@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jim McDonald at jmcdonald8@bloomberg.net
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Spiritual India at Le Sutra
An oasis of calm: Embark on a spiritual journey through India at Le Sutra
As you drift through the mystical world of Indian art and philosophy set amid the tranquil earthy mysticism and eroticism of Le Sutra, you'll be transported to a time and place far away.
It's an oasis of calm in stark contrast to the vibrant suburban west side of Mumbai with a bright orange mural on its outer wall that's really hard to miss. The wall was painted and signed by Baz Luhrmann, the award winning director of “Romeo and Juliet” and “Moulin Rouge”, and the Australian artist Vincent Fantauzzo known for his portrait of the late Heath Ledger and Baz Luhrmann himself.
Once inside, it's easy to forget that you're in a city, surrounded by the pandemonium of fast cars, busy people, typical Mumbai chatter and a shopping district that lures residents to indulge in retail therapy.
Ascend the chakras
At Le Sutra, you'll be drawn away from the mundane and material as you float in a sort of semi trance on a journey that begins in the lobby and continues as you ride up the elevator, ascending up the 7 ‘ chakras' (the spiritual body's energy centres located along the spine) to the pinnacle of peace. Everything here seems surreal, but that's what makes the experience so unique.
Sutra in Sanskrit means ‘a thread that binds things together' and Le Sutra is a place where art and philosophy are woven into a tapestry of Indianness framed for the wall of hospitality. A mind-body-soul communion in a place where art form, energy and inspiration are crafted into contemporary artwork that speaks of Indian mysticism is what Le Sutra is all about. Under an hour's drive from Mumbai's international airport and conveniently close to West Bandra's colourful shopping area with plenty of posh pubs and restaurants the hotel is ideally located for the discerning traveller.
This 16-room boutique hotel will take you on a spiritual journey through India with the luxuries of personalised service and hotel amenities, features and facilities that make your stay in Mumbai both interesting and comfortable.
“With a tour of Le Sutra you can actually complete a spiritual or mystic learning of India, which is far more exciting than in an ashram; not that I'm competing with ashrams,” says Mr. Bajaj, the company's director.There's something intriguing about climbing down the curving stairways and walking through the corridors with antique jaalilamps over head casting lacy shadows around you. There's an aura waltzing through every chamber, every hallway here that takes you journeying back in time through Indian mythology.
The reception, where you start your journey through the pages of Indian philosophy, is a rendition ofKundalini, the coiled cosmic energy lying dormant at the base of the spine. This is the energy needed to ascend through the three gunas or levels of consciousness: Taamsic, 'Raajsic' and 'Saatvic', up the seven chakras (the energy centres on the vertical axis of the spiritual body) that appear in succession as you ride up in the lift to the top floor. The three gunas are the themes on which the art and design of the hotel are based with a floor devoted to each idea.
Each room is a contemporary personification of Ravana, Ashoka or Buddha or an embodiment of sensuality, love or purification and each offers a new experience and whispers a different secret. There's Dyutta, the gambling room; the Kathak room that depicts the classical Indian dance form and 14 more uniquely decorated chambers here.
As you drift through the mystical world of Indian art and philosophy set amid the tranquil earthy mysticism and eroticism of Le Sutra, you'll be transported to a time and place far away.
It's an oasis of calm in stark contrast to the vibrant suburban west side of Mumbai with a bright orange mural on its outer wall that's really hard to miss. The wall was painted and signed by Baz Luhrmann, the award winning director of “Romeo and Juliet” and “Moulin Rouge”, and the Australian artist Vincent Fantauzzo known for his portrait of the late Heath Ledger and Baz Luhrmann himself.
Once inside, it's easy to forget that you're in a city, surrounded by the pandemonium of fast cars, busy people, typical Mumbai chatter and a shopping district that lures residents to indulge in retail therapy.
Ascend the chakras
At Le Sutra, you'll be drawn away from the mundane and material as you float in a sort of semi trance on a journey that begins in the lobby and continues as you ride up the elevator, ascending up the 7 ‘ chakras' (the spiritual body's energy centres located along the spine) to the pinnacle of peace. Everything here seems surreal, but that's what makes the experience so unique.
Sutra in Sanskrit means ‘a thread that binds things together' and Le Sutra is a place where art and philosophy are woven into a tapestry of Indianness framed for the wall of hospitality. A mind-body-soul communion in a place where art form, energy and inspiration are crafted into contemporary artwork that speaks of Indian mysticism is what Le Sutra is all about. Under an hour's drive from Mumbai's international airport and conveniently close to West Bandra's colourful shopping area with plenty of posh pubs and restaurants the hotel is ideally located for the discerning traveller.
This 16-room boutique hotel will take you on a spiritual journey through India with the luxuries of personalised service and hotel amenities, features and facilities that make your stay in Mumbai both interesting and comfortable.
“With a tour of Le Sutra you can actually complete a spiritual or mystic learning of India, which is far more exciting than in an ashram; not that I'm competing with ashrams,” says Mr. Bajaj, the company's director.There's something intriguing about climbing down the curving stairways and walking through the corridors with antique jaalilamps over head casting lacy shadows around you. There's an aura waltzing through every chamber, every hallway here that takes you journeying back in time through Indian mythology.
The reception, where you start your journey through the pages of Indian philosophy, is a rendition ofKundalini, the coiled cosmic energy lying dormant at the base of the spine. This is the energy needed to ascend through the three gunas or levels of consciousness: Taamsic, 'Raajsic' and 'Saatvic', up the seven chakras (the energy centres on the vertical axis of the spiritual body) that appear in succession as you ride up in the lift to the top floor. The three gunas are the themes on which the art and design of the hotel are based with a floor devoted to each idea.
Each room is a contemporary personification of Ravana, Ashoka or Buddha or an embodiment of sensuality, love or purification and each offers a new experience and whispers a different secret. There's Dyutta, the gambling room; the Kathak room that depicts the classical Indian dance form and 14 more uniquely decorated chambers here.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Spiritu and Terrosim Talks on Same Weekend
Seeking to take the ‘Thimphu spirit' forward, Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram will travel to Islamabad on Friday for a two-day visit, during which he will discuss greater regional interaction on combating terrorism with his counterparts from the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries.
Mr. Chidambaram will also seek more vigorous investigation by Pakistan into the role of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) on the basis of interrogation of David Headley, a Pakistani-American suspected of reconnaissance of sites for the November 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Soon after arrival, on what will be the first Indian Ministerial visit since the November 2008 attacks, Mr. Chidambaram will have bilateral talks with Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik. Both leaders are expected to focus on bilateral mechanisms to curb terrorist activities. India will also seek greater focus from Pakistan on prosecuting the Mumbai attacks accused, especially LeT founder Hafiz Saeed and the handlers who directed the attackers.
Mr. Chidambaram will also ascertain the progress made by Pakistan in investigating the leads provided by India in the 10 dossiers submitted from time to time. Both sides will also consider measures to foster people-to-people contacts by a more liberal visa regime and other measures to reduce the “trust deficit,” pointed out by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after meeting his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani on the sidelines of the SAARC summit in Thimphu, Bhutan, in April this year.
Official sources said though Mr. Chidambaram's prime focus is to attend the SAARC Interior Ministers' conference, his visit should be seen in the context of Dr. Singh's Thimphu resolve to hold high-level interactions, aimed at reducing misgivings between the two countries. While Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao held talks with counterpart Salman Bashir on Wednesday, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna will visit Islamabad on July 15.
On the SAARC front, Interior Ministry officials from the eight member countries have already begun deliberations aimed at moving from the declaratory to the implementation phase on security issues. They will seek to strengthen police coordination in the region to curb criminal gangs and terrorist groups indulging in violence and trafficking of narcotics and humans.
The conference will also consider invigorating two centres for exchanging intelligence on drug trafficking and terrorist activity —SAARC Terror Offences Monitoring Desk and Drug Offences Monitoring Desk —besides the need for some countries to ratify the SAARC Mutual Legal Assistance agreement on criminal matters.
The meet is also likely to take up the theme of maritime security, an aspect that is of concern to island members of SAARC, such as the Maldives and Sri Lanka.
Mr. Chidambaram will also seek more vigorous investigation by Pakistan into the role of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) on the basis of interrogation of David Headley, a Pakistani-American suspected of reconnaissance of sites for the November 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Soon after arrival, on what will be the first Indian Ministerial visit since the November 2008 attacks, Mr. Chidambaram will have bilateral talks with Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik. Both leaders are expected to focus on bilateral mechanisms to curb terrorist activities. India will also seek greater focus from Pakistan on prosecuting the Mumbai attacks accused, especially LeT founder Hafiz Saeed and the handlers who directed the attackers.
Mr. Chidambaram will also ascertain the progress made by Pakistan in investigating the leads provided by India in the 10 dossiers submitted from time to time. Both sides will also consider measures to foster people-to-people contacts by a more liberal visa regime and other measures to reduce the “trust deficit,” pointed out by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after meeting his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani on the sidelines of the SAARC summit in Thimphu, Bhutan, in April this year.
Official sources said though Mr. Chidambaram's prime focus is to attend the SAARC Interior Ministers' conference, his visit should be seen in the context of Dr. Singh's Thimphu resolve to hold high-level interactions, aimed at reducing misgivings between the two countries. While Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao held talks with counterpart Salman Bashir on Wednesday, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna will visit Islamabad on July 15.
On the SAARC front, Interior Ministry officials from the eight member countries have already begun deliberations aimed at moving from the declaratory to the implementation phase on security issues. They will seek to strengthen police coordination in the region to curb criminal gangs and terrorist groups indulging in violence and trafficking of narcotics and humans.
The conference will also consider invigorating two centres for exchanging intelligence on drug trafficking and terrorist activity —SAARC Terror Offences Monitoring Desk and Drug Offences Monitoring Desk —besides the need for some countries to ratify the SAARC Mutual Legal Assistance agreement on criminal matters.
The meet is also likely to take up the theme of maritime security, an aspect that is of concern to island members of SAARC, such as the Maldives and Sri Lanka.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Huge Religious Statues Can Be Iconic
By Nick Gier, Unfiltered 6-23-10
The more notable a statue is, the more people will hear of it,
see it, and have the chance to benefit from it.
--Justification for a 500-foot Buddha in Northern India
The 62-foot Jesus statue erected by Monroe, Ohio’s Solid Rock Baptist Church went up in flames on the night of June 14. It is not the first religious statue to be hit by lightning, but complete destruction, as in this case, is rare.
For their story in The Washington Post the two reporters found that in 2008 the world-famous 130-foot Christ the Redeemer above Rio de Janeiro was just “singed on the eyebrows and fingers.” In 2007 a heavenly bolt severed the arm and damaged the feet of a 33-foot Christ outside of Golden, Colorado.
In Asia there are 69 Buddhist, Jain, and Hindu statues taller than Ohio’s “Touchdown Jesus,” so named because of his triumphant, up-stretched arms. The Spring Temple Buddha in Lushan, China is the highest at an imposing 420 feet.
Except for a large Thai Buddha that was destroyed by lightning in the 16th Century, all of these colossi have successfully braved the elements in a climate just as prone to violent thunder storms as the American Mid-West.
The Washington Post story on the Touchdown Jesus opened with: “It appears God has sacrificed his only son. Again.” Two readers objected that this lead was “tacky, tasteless, and mocking” and did not belong in the “On Faith” section.
Darlene Bishop, co-pastor of Solid Rock Baptist, appears to reject this charge of blasphemy. She told her parishioners that “Jesus took a hit for you last night.” Her view is that Jesus, in the form of the $250,000 structure, sacrificed himself so that the church could survive.
The insurance company involved will of course declare the strike an “act of God.” A pious reader of the Washington Post article agrees: "God is real! He had this statue made so he could destroy it and awaken the nation whom he and he alone founded!”
Another person on the Post’s blog believed that this was punishment for the church’s hubris, the overweening pride made famous in the Greek story of Prometheus, the Titan who dared to challenge Zeus.
Early in my academic career I started a 20-year study of hubris and the world religions. The result was a book entitled Spiritual Titanism, which I define as an extreme form of humanism in which humans take on divine attributes and prerogatives. For the book’s cover I chose an image of a 59-foot statue of a well endowed and naked Jain saint in Southern India.
Some Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists believe that human beings, on their own initiative and power, can make themselves into pure spiritual beings. As one Jain philosopher states: “Our saints attained fullest self-realization and absolute perfection, bringing out to the full the divinity and godhood inherent in man.”
The Jain statue on my book cover has stood unmolested for a 1,000 years, and an even taller 82-foot statue of a Jain saint in Northern India has stood unharmed since the 12th Century. Evidently, the heavenly powers do not seem to be angry at such displays of extreme humanism.
There may be no supernatural powers and the relatively few Asian statues destroyed may just be the result of nature’s roll of the dice.
If there is, however, a God who intervenes in nature and history, there is one theological lesson that we could draw. It is not so much uppity humans that God dislikes; rather, it is a religion that describes God as vindictive and wrathful, as the Washington Post blogger wrote above.
There is also one practical lesson that we can draw. The Asian statues are made of stone or concrete, and one would have thought that the Solid Rock Baptists would know from Jesus’ teachings that a statue built mostly of wood, styrofoam, and fiberglass would simply not last.
The Solid Rock pastor reassured a distraught parishioner: "Honey, it's just some fiberglass," so a Washington Post blogger may be forgiven for exclaiming “He is Resin!”
Solid rock Buddhas stand the tests of time, but a fiberglass Jesus is no match for the great forces of Mother Nature, blessed be her name!
Nick Gier taught religion and philosophy at the University of Idaho for 31 years. Read the full version with pictures at www.home.roadrunner.com/~nickgier/JesusStatue.pdf Read a summary and reviews of Spiritual Titanism at www.class.uidaho.edu/ngier/steab.htm
The more notable a statue is, the more people will hear of it,
see it, and have the chance to benefit from it.
--Justification for a 500-foot Buddha in Northern India
The 62-foot Jesus statue erected by Monroe, Ohio’s Solid Rock Baptist Church went up in flames on the night of June 14. It is not the first religious statue to be hit by lightning, but complete destruction, as in this case, is rare.
For their story in The Washington Post the two reporters found that in 2008 the world-famous 130-foot Christ the Redeemer above Rio de Janeiro was just “singed on the eyebrows and fingers.” In 2007 a heavenly bolt severed the arm and damaged the feet of a 33-foot Christ outside of Golden, Colorado.
In Asia there are 69 Buddhist, Jain, and Hindu statues taller than Ohio’s “Touchdown Jesus,” so named because of his triumphant, up-stretched arms. The Spring Temple Buddha in Lushan, China is the highest at an imposing 420 feet.
Except for a large Thai Buddha that was destroyed by lightning in the 16th Century, all of these colossi have successfully braved the elements in a climate just as prone to violent thunder storms as the American Mid-West.
The Washington Post story on the Touchdown Jesus opened with: “It appears God has sacrificed his only son. Again.” Two readers objected that this lead was “tacky, tasteless, and mocking” and did not belong in the “On Faith” section.
Darlene Bishop, co-pastor of Solid Rock Baptist, appears to reject this charge of blasphemy. She told her parishioners that “Jesus took a hit for you last night.” Her view is that Jesus, in the form of the $250,000 structure, sacrificed himself so that the church could survive.
The insurance company involved will of course declare the strike an “act of God.” A pious reader of the Washington Post article agrees: "God is real! He had this statue made so he could destroy it and awaken the nation whom he and he alone founded!”
Another person on the Post’s blog believed that this was punishment for the church’s hubris, the overweening pride made famous in the Greek story of Prometheus, the Titan who dared to challenge Zeus.
Early in my academic career I started a 20-year study of hubris and the world religions. The result was a book entitled Spiritual Titanism, which I define as an extreme form of humanism in which humans take on divine attributes and prerogatives. For the book’s cover I chose an image of a 59-foot statue of a well endowed and naked Jain saint in Southern India.
Some Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists believe that human beings, on their own initiative and power, can make themselves into pure spiritual beings. As one Jain philosopher states: “Our saints attained fullest self-realization and absolute perfection, bringing out to the full the divinity and godhood inherent in man.”
The Jain statue on my book cover has stood unmolested for a 1,000 years, and an even taller 82-foot statue of a Jain saint in Northern India has stood unharmed since the 12th Century. Evidently, the heavenly powers do not seem to be angry at such displays of extreme humanism.
There may be no supernatural powers and the relatively few Asian statues destroyed may just be the result of nature’s roll of the dice.
If there is, however, a God who intervenes in nature and history, there is one theological lesson that we could draw. It is not so much uppity humans that God dislikes; rather, it is a religion that describes God as vindictive and wrathful, as the Washington Post blogger wrote above.
There is also one practical lesson that we can draw. The Asian statues are made of stone or concrete, and one would have thought that the Solid Rock Baptists would know from Jesus’ teachings that a statue built mostly of wood, styrofoam, and fiberglass would simply not last.
The Solid Rock pastor reassured a distraught parishioner: "Honey, it's just some fiberglass," so a Washington Post blogger may be forgiven for exclaiming “He is Resin!”
Solid rock Buddhas stand the tests of time, but a fiberglass Jesus is no match for the great forces of Mother Nature, blessed be her name!
Nick Gier taught religion and philosophy at the University of Idaho for 31 years. Read the full version with pictures at www.home.roadrunner.com/~nickgier/JesusStatue.pdf Read a summary and reviews of Spiritual Titanism at www.class.uidaho.edu/ngier/steab.htm
Hugging Saint Visits Dallas June 27 & 28, 2010
he ‘Hugging Saint’ Amma Visits Dallas June 27-28, 2010, Offering Spiritual Upliftment to People of All Faiths
The ‘Hugging Saint’ Amma offers spiritual upliftment to people of all faiths in Dallas, TX, on June 27th and 28th, 2010. Spiritual seekers are invited to attend any of the four programs over two days to experience her love and compassion in person.
Dallas, TX (PRWEB) June 18, 2010 -- The ‘Hugging Saint’ Amma (http://www.amma.org) will hold free programs in Dallas on June 27th and 28th as part of her 2010 North American Tour. People of all faiths are invited to attend any or all of the four programs. Two programs will be held each day to make it easy for all who are interested in receiving her blessing. Amma was born in India and she is known throughout the world for her humanitarian works and spiritual leadership.
“Amma presents the kind of leadership we need for our planet to survive. This is the most heroic person I’ve probably ever met. Because she is sitting there hugging people…. The most heroic thing is caring, and she does that,” said American author Alice Walker, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Color Purple.
Word of her selfless actions spread beyond her local community, and in 1987, Western devotees invited her on what would become the first of her many world tours. She now visits cities in North America, Africa, Europe, Australia and Asia on a regular basis offering herself for hours at a time to anyone who wishes to experience the healing power of unconditional love.
When asked, “What happens when you hug people?" Amma replied:
“When Amma embraces people, it is not just physical contact that is taking place. The love Amma feels for all of creation flows toward each person who comes to her. That pure vibration of love purifies people, and this helps them in their inner awakening and spiritual growth.”
Today the Ammaritpuri Ashram located in Amma’s birthplace of Kerala, India, is the headquarters of her worldwide social service organization, Embracing the World (ETW). With the help of donations and thousands of volunteers, ETW has built more than 40,000 houses for the homeless in India; awarded more than 30,000 scholarships to impoverished children; built orphanages in India, Africa and Haiti; and provided medical care, food and supplies to victims of tsunamis, floods, hurricanes and earthquakes throughout the world, including American victims of Hurricane Katrina.
The location of the 2010 Dallas event is:
Hyatt Regency DFW
at the Dallas / Fort Worth Airport
972-453-1234
Maps & Directions
http://dfwairport.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/services/maps/index.jsp?icamp=propMapDirections
The Program dates and times are:
June 27th, 2010 (Sunday) 10 am and 7:30 pm
June 28th, 2010 (Monday) 10 am and 7:00 pm
For more information about Amma or the two day Dallas event, call Jeff Warren at 214-755-7146, email jwarren(at)markmangroup(dot)com or visit http://www.ammadallas.org/
The ‘Hugging Saint’ Amma offers spiritual upliftment to people of all faiths in Dallas, TX, on June 27th and 28th, 2010. Spiritual seekers are invited to attend any of the four programs over two days to experience her love and compassion in person.
Dallas, TX (PRWEB) June 18, 2010 -- The ‘Hugging Saint’ Amma (http://www.amma.org) will hold free programs in Dallas on June 27th and 28th as part of her 2010 North American Tour. People of all faiths are invited to attend any or all of the four programs. Two programs will be held each day to make it easy for all who are interested in receiving her blessing. Amma was born in India and she is known throughout the world for her humanitarian works and spiritual leadership.
“Amma presents the kind of leadership we need for our planet to survive. This is the most heroic person I’ve probably ever met. Because she is sitting there hugging people…. The most heroic thing is caring, and she does that,” said American author Alice Walker, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Color Purple.
Word of her selfless actions spread beyond her local community, and in 1987, Western devotees invited her on what would become the first of her many world tours. She now visits cities in North America, Africa, Europe, Australia and Asia on a regular basis offering herself for hours at a time to anyone who wishes to experience the healing power of unconditional love.
When asked, “What happens when you hug people?" Amma replied:
“When Amma embraces people, it is not just physical contact that is taking place. The love Amma feels for all of creation flows toward each person who comes to her. That pure vibration of love purifies people, and this helps them in their inner awakening and spiritual growth.”
Today the Ammaritpuri Ashram located in Amma’s birthplace of Kerala, India, is the headquarters of her worldwide social service organization, Embracing the World (ETW). With the help of donations and thousands of volunteers, ETW has built more than 40,000 houses for the homeless in India; awarded more than 30,000 scholarships to impoverished children; built orphanages in India, Africa and Haiti; and provided medical care, food and supplies to victims of tsunamis, floods, hurricanes and earthquakes throughout the world, including American victims of Hurricane Katrina.
The location of the 2010 Dallas event is:
Hyatt Regency DFW
at the Dallas / Fort Worth Airport
972-453-1234
Maps & Directions
http://dfwairport.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/services/maps/index.jsp?icamp=propMapDirections
The Program dates and times are:
June 27th, 2010 (Sunday) 10 am and 7:30 pm
June 28th, 2010 (Monday) 10 am and 7:00 pm
For more information about Amma or the two day Dallas event, call Jeff Warren at 214-755-7146, email jwarren(at)markmangroup(dot)com or visit http://www.ammadallas.org/
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
When in Tibet, Jkhang Temple is a Must
The Jokhang Temple, as a Tibetan Buddhism monastery, is one of the major historic and cultural sites under state protection in Lhasa, capital city of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). With a history of 1,350 years, the Jokhang Temple holds a sovereign status in Tibetan Buddhism.
In Nov. 2000, the Jokhang Temple has been listed on the "UNESCO World Heritage Site".
"Without visiting the Jokhang Temple, the trip to Lhasa is not a real trip," said Nyima Tsering, a well-known Buddhist from the Jokhang Temple. The popular sentence isshared among tourists.
The fane of the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa is also called "Zolhakang" or "Juekang", meaning a holy palace in the Tibetan language.
The Jokhang Temple was built by King Songtsan Gambo in 647 AD in honor of Princess Bhrikuti Devi, a princess from a region in south Tubo, today's Nepal.
Source: China Tibet Information Center
In Nov. 2000, the Jokhang Temple has been listed on the "UNESCO World Heritage Site".
"Without visiting the Jokhang Temple, the trip to Lhasa is not a real trip," said Nyima Tsering, a well-known Buddhist from the Jokhang Temple. The popular sentence isshared among tourists.
The fane of the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa is also called "Zolhakang" or "Juekang", meaning a holy palace in the Tibetan language.
The Jokhang Temple was built by King Songtsan Gambo in 647 AD in honor of Princess Bhrikuti Devi, a princess from a region in south Tubo, today's Nepal.
Source: China Tibet Information Center
Monday, June 21, 2010
Bang the Gong for Spiritual Sounds
By Kim Haan-young
Contributing writer
``Samul” or Four instruments represent the basic percussion instruments installed in the temple bell pavilion. The main purpose of these instruments is to express the Buddha’s teaching symbolically through sound. They are ‘Beomjong’ (Temple bell), ‘Beopgo’ (Dharma drum), ‘Mokeo’ (Wooden fish) and ‘Unpan’ (Cloud gong).
Each percussion instrument is used for the purpose of liberating all sentient beings in the universe: ‘Beomjong’ is for those living on Earth; ``Beopgo” for those residing in heaven and hell; ``Mokeo’’ for those belonging to the water world, the rivers and seas and ‘Unpan’ for those in the sky.
``Samul-nori” or the Four-instrument ensemble, the most famous Korean traditional musical performance is often said to be derived from this Buddhist paradigm. Samul-nori is comprised of the four Korean percussion instruments, ``buk (big drum), ``janggu” (small drum), ``jing (big gong); and ``ggwaeng-gari” (small gong).
Contributing writer
``Samul” or Four instruments represent the basic percussion instruments installed in the temple bell pavilion. The main purpose of these instruments is to express the Buddha’s teaching symbolically through sound. They are ‘Beomjong’ (Temple bell), ‘Beopgo’ (Dharma drum), ‘Mokeo’ (Wooden fish) and ‘Unpan’ (Cloud gong).
Each percussion instrument is used for the purpose of liberating all sentient beings in the universe: ‘Beomjong’ is for those living on Earth; ``Beopgo” for those residing in heaven and hell; ``Mokeo’’ for those belonging to the water world, the rivers and seas and ‘Unpan’ for those in the sky.
``Samul-nori” or the Four-instrument ensemble, the most famous Korean traditional musical performance is often said to be derived from this Buddhist paradigm. Samul-nori is comprised of the four Korean percussion instruments, ``buk (big drum), ``janggu” (small drum), ``jing (big gong); and ``ggwaeng-gari” (small gong).
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Shaolin Temple in Sherman Oaks California
Shaolin Temple's real kick is inner peace
By Ann M. Simmons, Los Angeles Times, June 19, 2010
Closely aligned with the temple in China, the shrine in Sherman Oaks focuses on philosophy and meditation.
Los Angeles, CA (USA) -- China's world-famous Shaolin Temple gained prominence among many Americans with the release of the 1980s martial arts movie of the same name. An updated version of the film, loved by fans for the riveting kung fu stunts of the temple's legendary fighting monks, is in the works. And in recent weeks, Hollywood's remake of "The Karate Kid" has topped the box office, wowing audiences with its seemingly magical martial arts techniques.
But while kung fu continues to make a splash on the big screen, members of the Shaolin Buddhist Temple in Sherman Oaks are keen to spread a different message about the Shaolin culture and what their sanctuary has to offer.
"When people come here, it's not just about martial arts," said the temple's master, Italian-born Franco Testini, 43, whose Buddhist name, Shifu Shi Yan Fan, was given to him by the abbot of the Shaolin Temple in China.
"Hollywood has completely exaggerated the martial arts scene," added Cindy Truong, 32, a temple volunteer and event coordinator. "It's not all about Chinese people being thrown over chairs. The martial arts you see in the movies, that's Americanized. It's a very small part of Shaolin culture."
Situated on a busy stretch of Ventura Boulevard, the temple opened in 2008 and offers a tranquil escape from the world outside. Instruction focuses on Buddhist philosophy and meditation, the art of ancient Chinese tea ceremonies, a combination of stretching and breathing exercises known as chi gong, tai chi — and, of course, martial arts.
"But we don't train people to punch and kick," said Truong. "We train people to become strong internally, and that emanates externally. We try to educate people, that it's more than just fighting and fancy moves."
Testini stressed the link between breathing, listening and learning as a key to developing harmony between the mind and body.
Although there are several Shaolin schools in Los Angeles, only the Sherman Oaks shrine is listed on the official website of China's Shaolin Temple, where it is described as "the first official branch organization in North America."
What makes the Sherman Oaks temple even more unusual is Testini, its master.
In 2007, Testini became the first Westerner to be accepted into the elite of the 1,500-year-old Shaolin Temple in eastern central China, his supporters said. In an ancient ritual, he received the Buddhist brand marks that symbolize his high status in Shaolin culture, they added.
Articles in Chinese news media and American martial arts magazines publicized the honor bestowed on Testini, whose journey to monkhood began when he was a youngster in his hometown of Brindisi, an Italian port city.
Testini was 7 when he started taking martial arts lessons, he said. At 9, he began to compete. By his teens, he had won numerous competitions. And at age 21, he entered the monastery and eventually took vows to become a monk. His study at home was complemented by numerous trips to China's Shaolin Temple, to solidify his discipline and faith.
In 1994, Testini arrived in the United States. He didn't speak English and he was homeless for the first several months, sleeping on the beach or in abandoned cars. He traded martial arts instruction for food and soon developed a following of students and friends, who eventually found him permanent shelter. And in 2008, his students helped him lease a former furniture store that became the Sherman Oaks temple.
For Testini, his good fortune wasn't the result of luck but of his unwavering conviction that "everything is within reach."
It's a message he preaches daily, over tea, to the more than 50 people who have become members of the temple.
"You have to learn to believe in yourself," said the monk, who still struggles to tackle some English words and grammar.
On a recent morning, about a dozen students gathered in the shrine's small hall, decorated with Chinese murals and ornate golden figurines, to practice chi gong. Testini drifted among the participants, gently adjusting their positions.
"He can feel your aura and energy, your intensity and anxiety level," said Truong, as she observed what has become a familiar ritual. "Just by looking at a person's facial expression, he can see what kind of stress they have inside."
The breathing exercises and positive thinking Testini teaches help to relieve that stress, said Gene Cantamessa, who attends the temple five days a week.
Cantamessa, who said he is "pushing 70," is among the temple's longtime members, whose ages range from 2 to 80. Some are novices to the exercises and meditation; others have years of experience. Several work in the film industry and use the Sherman Oaks shrine to escape from the Hollywood hustle.
"I find the meditation very good," said Cantamessa, a retired production sound mixer. "I like the experience of concentrating … the peace of mind. I feel like a different person when I'm in here."
"You find a sense of inner calm," actor Adrian Paul, 50, said of his frequent attendance at the temple. "It allows you to enter another world, which centers you. Shaolin is what ballet is to dance. It's the foundation that gives you the ability to do what you want to do, better."
Rosie DiPrima said she got interested in the temple after observing her children, aged 7 and 10, participate in a martial arts class.
"After a week of watching, I started participating," said DiPrima, 37, a movie industry chef. "It's completely changed my life."
Source: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-beliefs-shaolin-20100619,0,3381470.story?track=rss
By Ann M. Simmons, Los Angeles Times, June 19, 2010
Closely aligned with the temple in China, the shrine in Sherman Oaks focuses on philosophy and meditation.
Los Angeles, CA (USA) -- China's world-famous Shaolin Temple gained prominence among many Americans with the release of the 1980s martial arts movie of the same name. An updated version of the film, loved by fans for the riveting kung fu stunts of the temple's legendary fighting monks, is in the works. And in recent weeks, Hollywood's remake of "The Karate Kid" has topped the box office, wowing audiences with its seemingly magical martial arts techniques.
But while kung fu continues to make a splash on the big screen, members of the Shaolin Buddhist Temple in Sherman Oaks are keen to spread a different message about the Shaolin culture and what their sanctuary has to offer.
"When people come here, it's not just about martial arts," said the temple's master, Italian-born Franco Testini, 43, whose Buddhist name, Shifu Shi Yan Fan, was given to him by the abbot of the Shaolin Temple in China.
"Hollywood has completely exaggerated the martial arts scene," added Cindy Truong, 32, a temple volunteer and event coordinator. "It's not all about Chinese people being thrown over chairs. The martial arts you see in the movies, that's Americanized. It's a very small part of Shaolin culture."
Situated on a busy stretch of Ventura Boulevard, the temple opened in 2008 and offers a tranquil escape from the world outside. Instruction focuses on Buddhist philosophy and meditation, the art of ancient Chinese tea ceremonies, a combination of stretching and breathing exercises known as chi gong, tai chi — and, of course, martial arts.
"But we don't train people to punch and kick," said Truong. "We train people to become strong internally, and that emanates externally. We try to educate people, that it's more than just fighting and fancy moves."
Testini stressed the link between breathing, listening and learning as a key to developing harmony between the mind and body.
Although there are several Shaolin schools in Los Angeles, only the Sherman Oaks shrine is listed on the official website of China's Shaolin Temple, where it is described as "the first official branch organization in North America."
What makes the Sherman Oaks temple even more unusual is Testini, its master.
In 2007, Testini became the first Westerner to be accepted into the elite of the 1,500-year-old Shaolin Temple in eastern central China, his supporters said. In an ancient ritual, he received the Buddhist brand marks that symbolize his high status in Shaolin culture, they added.
Articles in Chinese news media and American martial arts magazines publicized the honor bestowed on Testini, whose journey to monkhood began when he was a youngster in his hometown of Brindisi, an Italian port city.
Testini was 7 when he started taking martial arts lessons, he said. At 9, he began to compete. By his teens, he had won numerous competitions. And at age 21, he entered the monastery and eventually took vows to become a monk. His study at home was complemented by numerous trips to China's Shaolin Temple, to solidify his discipline and faith.
In 1994, Testini arrived in the United States. He didn't speak English and he was homeless for the first several months, sleeping on the beach or in abandoned cars. He traded martial arts instruction for food and soon developed a following of students and friends, who eventually found him permanent shelter. And in 2008, his students helped him lease a former furniture store that became the Sherman Oaks temple.
For Testini, his good fortune wasn't the result of luck but of his unwavering conviction that "everything is within reach."
It's a message he preaches daily, over tea, to the more than 50 people who have become members of the temple.
"You have to learn to believe in yourself," said the monk, who still struggles to tackle some English words and grammar.
On a recent morning, about a dozen students gathered in the shrine's small hall, decorated with Chinese murals and ornate golden figurines, to practice chi gong. Testini drifted among the participants, gently adjusting their positions.
"He can feel your aura and energy, your intensity and anxiety level," said Truong, as she observed what has become a familiar ritual. "Just by looking at a person's facial expression, he can see what kind of stress they have inside."
The breathing exercises and positive thinking Testini teaches help to relieve that stress, said Gene Cantamessa, who attends the temple five days a week.
Cantamessa, who said he is "pushing 70," is among the temple's longtime members, whose ages range from 2 to 80. Some are novices to the exercises and meditation; others have years of experience. Several work in the film industry and use the Sherman Oaks shrine to escape from the Hollywood hustle.
"I find the meditation very good," said Cantamessa, a retired production sound mixer. "I like the experience of concentrating … the peace of mind. I feel like a different person when I'm in here."
"You find a sense of inner calm," actor Adrian Paul, 50, said of his frequent attendance at the temple. "It allows you to enter another world, which centers you. Shaolin is what ballet is to dance. It's the foundation that gives you the ability to do what you want to do, better."
Rosie DiPrima said she got interested in the temple after observing her children, aged 7 and 10, participate in a martial arts class.
"After a week of watching, I started participating," said DiPrima, 37, a movie industry chef. "It's completely changed my life."
Source: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-beliefs-shaolin-20100619,0,3381470.story?track=rss
Dalai Lama Non Violent Protestor Even for Whales
(AFP) – 1 day ago
TOKYO — The Dalai Lama on Saturday criticised wildlife activists for staging what he said were violent protests over Japan's hunting of whales.
The rebuke came as the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader visited Japan for an 11-day lecture tour.
At a news conference, he said he had told the US-based Sea Shepherd Conservation Society to stop its violent harassment of Japan's whaling fleet.
"One time I wrote a letter...(saying) their activities should be stopping," he told reporters.
The Dalai Lama said he supported Sea Shepherd's goal of preventing whalers from harming the giant sea mammals but added that "their (activities) should be non-violent".
Japan's annual whale hunt -- carried out under a loophole to an international moratorium that allows killing for what it calls scientific research -- has long been criticised by conservationists.
Japanese prosecutors have demanded two years in prison for a New Zealand anti-whaling activist on trial for assault and charges relating to his boarding of a harpoon ship in Antarctic waters.
The Dalai Lama, who has no plans to meet government ministers during the visit, will give a public lecture Sunday in Nagano prefecture, hosted by monks of the Zenkoji Buddhist temple.
He will then offer a lecture on Buddhism Tuesday in Ishikawa prefecture, followed by a sermon and a speech on June 26 in Yokohama, south of Tokyo.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner escaped Tibet in 1959 in disguise on horseback to start life in exile in India after a failed uprising against Chinese rule.
He praised his host nation, saying he hoped to promote "harmony" which has been cherished in India for more than 1,000 years.
Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
TOKYO — The Dalai Lama on Saturday criticised wildlife activists for staging what he said were violent protests over Japan's hunting of whales.
The rebuke came as the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader visited Japan for an 11-day lecture tour.
At a news conference, he said he had told the US-based Sea Shepherd Conservation Society to stop its violent harassment of Japan's whaling fleet.
"One time I wrote a letter...(saying) their activities should be stopping," he told reporters.
The Dalai Lama said he supported Sea Shepherd's goal of preventing whalers from harming the giant sea mammals but added that "their (activities) should be non-violent".
Japan's annual whale hunt -- carried out under a loophole to an international moratorium that allows killing for what it calls scientific research -- has long been criticised by conservationists.
Japanese prosecutors have demanded two years in prison for a New Zealand anti-whaling activist on trial for assault and charges relating to his boarding of a harpoon ship in Antarctic waters.
The Dalai Lama, who has no plans to meet government ministers during the visit, will give a public lecture Sunday in Nagano prefecture, hosted by monks of the Zenkoji Buddhist temple.
He will then offer a lecture on Buddhism Tuesday in Ishikawa prefecture, followed by a sermon and a speech on June 26 in Yokohama, south of Tokyo.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner escaped Tibet in 1959 in disguise on horseback to start life in exile in India after a failed uprising against Chinese rule.
He praised his host nation, saying he hoped to promote "harmony" which has been cherished in India for more than 1,000 years.
Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Documentary About Enlightenment
Why does a Buddhist monk climb a mountain? To reach enlightenment on the other side.
In Frederick Marx’s strangely old-fashioned documentary, the monk is Geshe Lobsang Yonten; the “Geshe” means he’s a doctor of Buddhist Philosophy. The mountain is a 5,200-metre pass in northern India. And the enlightenment is the only Tibetan-language school for hundreds of miles in any direction.
Yonten, who grew up in the dirt-poor region of Zanskar, has decided to ferry 17 local children to Manali, where they can be schooled in their native language and culture. (Before partition, the Kashmiri region of Zanskar was part of Tibet.)
He must choose between three routes, each with its own perils. One requires expensive road transportation and could be snowed in. Another is beset by anti-Buddhist extremists. (The onscreen map helpfully adds cartoon explosions to denote danger.) The most direct path requires a 300-kilometre slog on foot, accompanied by packhorses and the occasional snow-ploughing yak. The monk decides to hoof it.
Marx, one of the makers of the 1994 Oscar-nominated doc Hoop Dreams, creates a simple structure consisting of various voiceovers, footage of the children en route, and narration by Richard Gere, Hollywood’s go-to guy for Buddhist and Tibetan causes. We watch as the children’s mostly illiterate parents weigh the benefits of proper education against the likelihood of not seeing their offspring, aged between four and 12, for several years.
The on-foot route at least allows some parents to accompany their children, although the adults -- and particularly Yonten himself -- seem the most affected by the cold and high altitude. The caravan is dealt a blow when the crucial pass is deemed impassable, and they must double back and try a different way.
“We lose everything,” says Yonten cheerfully; his serenity is such that even the possibility of death seems to strike him as no more than a minor distraction or modest setback. “We are not bodhisattva but we took bodhisattva vows,” he adds, the kind of joke that probably plays better to a Buddhist crowd.
Yonten then decides to raid his monastery’s coffers and go for broke, but he can’t find an inexpensive ride through the mountains. Unfortunately, Buddhists are not Jedi; calmly repeating to drivers that their prices should be lower has no affect.
By the end of the film, which also features an appearance by the Dalai Lama, the whole thing has started to feel suspiciously like an advertisement for the monks’ doubtlessly worthy causes. Sure enough, as the credits roll the first thing we see are instructions on how to donate.
Nevertheless, the journey is a compelling one to behold, and its leader is an inspiring, soft-spoken figure. He explains at one point that he only chose monkhood over marriage (at age 10!) because he liked the idea of chanting and tea ceremonies. But he has grown into his vocation, and if his vows -- to relieve all humans of suffering -- may never be completely fulfilled, he’s determined to do right by his 17 young charges.
In Frederick Marx’s strangely old-fashioned documentary, the monk is Geshe Lobsang Yonten; the “Geshe” means he’s a doctor of Buddhist Philosophy. The mountain is a 5,200-metre pass in northern India. And the enlightenment is the only Tibetan-language school for hundreds of miles in any direction.
Yonten, who grew up in the dirt-poor region of Zanskar, has decided to ferry 17 local children to Manali, where they can be schooled in their native language and culture. (Before partition, the Kashmiri region of Zanskar was part of Tibet.)
He must choose between three routes, each with its own perils. One requires expensive road transportation and could be snowed in. Another is beset by anti-Buddhist extremists. (The onscreen map helpfully adds cartoon explosions to denote danger.) The most direct path requires a 300-kilometre slog on foot, accompanied by packhorses and the occasional snow-ploughing yak. The monk decides to hoof it.
Marx, one of the makers of the 1994 Oscar-nominated doc Hoop Dreams, creates a simple structure consisting of various voiceovers, footage of the children en route, and narration by Richard Gere, Hollywood’s go-to guy for Buddhist and Tibetan causes. We watch as the children’s mostly illiterate parents weigh the benefits of proper education against the likelihood of not seeing their offspring, aged between four and 12, for several years.
The on-foot route at least allows some parents to accompany their children, although the adults -- and particularly Yonten himself -- seem the most affected by the cold and high altitude. The caravan is dealt a blow when the crucial pass is deemed impassable, and they must double back and try a different way.
“We lose everything,” says Yonten cheerfully; his serenity is such that even the possibility of death seems to strike him as no more than a minor distraction or modest setback. “We are not bodhisattva but we took bodhisattva vows,” he adds, the kind of joke that probably plays better to a Buddhist crowd.
Yonten then decides to raid his monastery’s coffers and go for broke, but he can’t find an inexpensive ride through the mountains. Unfortunately, Buddhists are not Jedi; calmly repeating to drivers that their prices should be lower has no affect.
By the end of the film, which also features an appearance by the Dalai Lama, the whole thing has started to feel suspiciously like an advertisement for the monks’ doubtlessly worthy causes. Sure enough, as the credits roll the first thing we see are instructions on how to donate.
Nevertheless, the journey is a compelling one to behold, and its leader is an inspiring, soft-spoken figure. He explains at one point that he only chose monkhood over marriage (at age 10!) because he liked the idea of chanting and tea ceremonies. But he has grown into his vocation, and if his vows -- to relieve all humans of suffering -- may never be completely fulfilled, he’s determined to do right by his 17 young charges.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Sunday Fellowship in Colorado
George McHendry, Enterprise columist
Posted: 06/17/2010 12:00:00 AM MDT
I recently attended Harvest Fellowship Church for a Saturday evening worship service, and it was a great experience.
The Saturday service is at 6 p.m., and there are two services on Sunday at 9:30 and 11 a.m. Prior to the first Sunday service, there is a prayer service from 8 to 8:45 a.m. Harvest Fellowship is at 11401 E. 160th Ave., basically on Colo. 7 east of Northern Hills Church, this side of downtown Brighton.
The last time I visited the church, it had just moved from its location at a school in Brighton. The founding pastor at the church is Steven Blackwell, and one of the things that is encouraging about the church is Blackwell and his staff have gone from a church that began in the basement of his home to a near-new facility and membership of about 500 adults. At the service, there was mention of starting a building fund for a gymnasium, so there are plans to get even bigger.
One of the things I really love about the church is the coffee bar and the area where folks just get together to talk and share. I arrived at the service about 20 minutes early, and there was a large group of adults just hanging out and talking. It took more than 17 years to come to where it is now, but it`s obvious the church is strong in faith and finances, and it will continue to grow.
Before the service, I spent some time talking to Blackwell, who had just returned from a two-week vacation to southern California and Disneyland. He has a great sense of humor (both in person and at the pulpit), and I really enjoyed meeting him and his adorable granddaughter before the service to chat about church stuff. He used a number of photos from his trip to California to help illustrate his message on humility.
The worship style at the church is contemporary, and the service begins with a session of praise and worship music, followed by prayer and the message by Blackwell. I couldn`t help but notice that women make up the majority of the worship band. Normally men make up the majority of a band at a church, but at Harvest, women rule.
The drive from Broomfield to Harvest Fellowship is only about 15 to 20 minutes, and it might just be the church for which you`ve been looking. Harvest is involved in a number of mission projects, and strongly believes in small group ministry throughout the week. The phone number is 303-654-9894 and the Web site is harvestbrighton.org. The site is well put together and contains a great deal of information about the church and the folks who are part of the church.
Heavenfest coming soon
Yes friends, Heavenfest is back, and it`s going to be bigger than ever. The date this year is July 31. Gates will open at 10 a.m., and the all-day event will run from noon to midnight. Because of the traffic chaos last year, when the event was held next to Northern Hills Church on Colo. 7, it has moved north to Union Reservoir in Longmont, 461 County Road 26.
The musical lineup is amazing, with the cream of the Christian crop on hand to perform on seven stages on 300 acres. Heading the lineup will be Grammy winners Casting Crowns, and they will be joined by the likes of Kutless, Mary Mary, Barlow Girl, Sanctus Real, Phil Wickham and 60-plus bands that most of us haven`t heard of, but are working their way up the ladder in hopes of attaining fame and fortune in Christian music.
Tickets this year are $35 for adults, $19 for ages 6 to 12, and free for kids 5 and younger. They can be purchased at King Soopers stores, online at TicketsWest.com or by phone at 866-464-2626. Parking will be $5 per vehicle; on-site camping is available Friday and Saturday night. For more information check out heavenfest.com.
Free water will be provided, but you need to bring your own container. Food vendors will be there, and there will be plenty of toilets. Other features include the Kidz Area, a skate park and swimming at the reservoir.
Last year, more than 10,000 people turned out for Heavenfest. This year, my guess is it will be even bigger. The weather has been great each year since Heavenfest began. Let`s just hope this year the rain and the heat stay away as well.
E-mail George McHendry at Georgemchendry@aol.com.
Posted: 06/17/2010 12:00:00 AM MDT
I recently attended Harvest Fellowship Church for a Saturday evening worship service, and it was a great experience.
The Saturday service is at 6 p.m., and there are two services on Sunday at 9:30 and 11 a.m. Prior to the first Sunday service, there is a prayer service from 8 to 8:45 a.m. Harvest Fellowship is at 11401 E. 160th Ave., basically on Colo. 7 east of Northern Hills Church, this side of downtown Brighton.
The last time I visited the church, it had just moved from its location at a school in Brighton. The founding pastor at the church is Steven Blackwell, and one of the things that is encouraging about the church is Blackwell and his staff have gone from a church that began in the basement of his home to a near-new facility and membership of about 500 adults. At the service, there was mention of starting a building fund for a gymnasium, so there are plans to get even bigger.
One of the things I really love about the church is the coffee bar and the area where folks just get together to talk and share. I arrived at the service about 20 minutes early, and there was a large group of adults just hanging out and talking. It took more than 17 years to come to where it is now, but it`s obvious the church is strong in faith and finances, and it will continue to grow.
Before the service, I spent some time talking to Blackwell, who had just returned from a two-week vacation to southern California and Disneyland. He has a great sense of humor (both in person and at the pulpit), and I really enjoyed meeting him and his adorable granddaughter before the service to chat about church stuff. He used a number of photos from his trip to California to help illustrate his message on humility.
The worship style at the church is contemporary, and the service begins with a session of praise and worship music, followed by prayer and the message by Blackwell. I couldn`t help but notice that women make up the majority of the worship band. Normally men make up the majority of a band at a church, but at Harvest, women rule.
The drive from Broomfield to Harvest Fellowship is only about 15 to 20 minutes, and it might just be the church for which you`ve been looking. Harvest is involved in a number of mission projects, and strongly believes in small group ministry throughout the week. The phone number is 303-654-9894 and the Web site is harvestbrighton.org. The site is well put together and contains a great deal of information about the church and the folks who are part of the church.
Heavenfest coming soon
Yes friends, Heavenfest is back, and it`s going to be bigger than ever. The date this year is July 31. Gates will open at 10 a.m., and the all-day event will run from noon to midnight. Because of the traffic chaos last year, when the event was held next to Northern Hills Church on Colo. 7, it has moved north to Union Reservoir in Longmont, 461 County Road 26.
The musical lineup is amazing, with the cream of the Christian crop on hand to perform on seven stages on 300 acres. Heading the lineup will be Grammy winners Casting Crowns, and they will be joined by the likes of Kutless, Mary Mary, Barlow Girl, Sanctus Real, Phil Wickham and 60-plus bands that most of us haven`t heard of, but are working their way up the ladder in hopes of attaining fame and fortune in Christian music.
Tickets this year are $35 for adults, $19 for ages 6 to 12, and free for kids 5 and younger. They can be purchased at King Soopers stores, online at TicketsWest.com or by phone at 866-464-2626. Parking will be $5 per vehicle; on-site camping is available Friday and Saturday night. For more information check out heavenfest.com.
Free water will be provided, but you need to bring your own container. Food vendors will be there, and there will be plenty of toilets. Other features include the Kidz Area, a skate park and swimming at the reservoir.
Last year, more than 10,000 people turned out for Heavenfest. This year, my guess is it will be even bigger. The weather has been great each year since Heavenfest began. Let`s just hope this year the rain and the heat stay away as well.
E-mail George McHendry at Georgemchendry@aol.com.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Peace of Mind Needs a Chance
Soon after the return of 4,000 Nagas from Europe in 1918, having served the Allied Forces in the 1st World War with distinction and commitment, the elders who breathed the air of freedom and defended the independence of others found themselves enlightened by the very idea of freedom and Independence for their own homeland. The idea fermented into what is known as the formation of Naga Club in 1918. The submission of the Memorandum to Simon Commission in 1929 gave new meaning and direction to the Naga elders, who by now were very clear about the future political arrangements in the event of the British leaving India after 400 years. The ultimate fruition of the nearly three decade political undercurrent was the formation of the Naga National Council on 2nd February 1946. At that point of Naga History, Civil societies and NGOs had not yet appeared on the horizon to make any positive or negative impact on the National struggle. The only platform for the Naga people to voice their political aspiration was the NNC.
GPRN/NSCN is aware that today there are more than 90 Naga tribes and sub-tribes scattered across Nagaland, Assam, Manipur, Arunachal and in Myanmar. While appreciating the view and opinion of Naga Hoho and NSF with regard to their open letter to Mr. Kughalu Mulatonu, Envoy to Collective Leadership, NSCN, dated 12th June 2010, GPRN/NSCN would like to clarify that the press conference was held right after the joint council meeting of the GPRN/NSCN which was also attended by senior Kilonsers. GPRN/NSCN stands for the right of every Naga tribe and sub-tribe spread across India and Myanmar and if any apolitical organization imprisons its wisdom and activity to patronize one faction and one region, it loses its credibility. The activities of the two organizations has left every sensible Naga pointing out that that two organizations have sold themselves to a particular faction. Credibility of any organization will naturally evaporate. If the Naga Hoho and the NSF feels the envoy is “dehumanizing, warning and questioning the credibility of civil societies” GPRN/NSCN would only appeal to the two organizations to retain hope and confidence of the entire Naga people. Their actions and intensions should not force other Nagas to view it with contempt. Today there are just seven tribes under the banner of Naga Hoho and another seven units under NSF in the state of Nagaland, Can the Nagas deny it? It is very clear that ENPO and ENSF have more Naga tribal representatives than the Naga Hoho or NSF. Will the GOI appease 15% Nagas and leave 85% fuming? Truly a drastic re-evaluation of Naga Hoho and NSF by Naga people is needed if it truly wishes to reflect the voice of the Nagas.
At the all India Chief Minister’s conference in New Delhi last winter, the Chief Minister of Nagaland state declared that IM was working hand in glove with Indian Mujahiddins. If the Chief Minister of Nagaland state believes it, Naga Hoho and NSF has little to complain. Naga Nation and its salvation is greater that any Hoho or Civil Society. It harbors no ill will against any organization however it will also not be afraid to point out the mistakes for common good.
If the Nagas would look deeper into the living room of Naga politics, it is very clear that individuals heading frontal organizations are clearly inconsistent, wise in double talks, adept in changing tones every season. Habitually toeing the line of any political group they meet is a reality, miserably failing to act as peace brokers in the process. Perhaps Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR) is the only exception. Whether it is the Naga Hoho, NSF or the NPMHR, the legacy of biasness continue to this day which is extremely detrimental to Naga reconciliation and unity. For anyone to contest this truth, the 13 years of fruitless negotiation between IM and GOI with fullest possible support of Naga Hoho, NSF and NPMHR including hollow political propaganda stands testimony to this fact. This is why GPRN/NSCN calls on the Nagas to first identify the parasites that hides underneath the garments of Naga Hoho, NSF and NPMHR. GPRN/NSCN would regretfully point out that factional clashes, on many occasions, occurred because the frontal leaders carrying olive branches also carried acid bottles underneath, killing any hope for peace. Biased leadership engaging in biased diplomacy is the bane of Nagas. When a simple body language could easily give away a person’s true intentions, Naga Hoho and NSF cannot sing pop music in the church and expect the Nagas to sing along. Truly there should be a meeting point between all classes of people. GPRN/NSCN would once again appeal to all Nagas not to handle situations with pre-conceived mind. It is also ready to meet individuals and Organization to put at rest any doubt or misgiving.
Hothrong Yimchungru,
Kilo Kilonser, GPRN/NSCN.
GPRN/NSCN is aware that today there are more than 90 Naga tribes and sub-tribes scattered across Nagaland, Assam, Manipur, Arunachal and in Myanmar. While appreciating the view and opinion of Naga Hoho and NSF with regard to their open letter to Mr. Kughalu Mulatonu, Envoy to Collective Leadership, NSCN, dated 12th June 2010, GPRN/NSCN would like to clarify that the press conference was held right after the joint council meeting of the GPRN/NSCN which was also attended by senior Kilonsers. GPRN/NSCN stands for the right of every Naga tribe and sub-tribe spread across India and Myanmar and if any apolitical organization imprisons its wisdom and activity to patronize one faction and one region, it loses its credibility. The activities of the two organizations has left every sensible Naga pointing out that that two organizations have sold themselves to a particular faction. Credibility of any organization will naturally evaporate. If the Naga Hoho and the NSF feels the envoy is “dehumanizing, warning and questioning the credibility of civil societies” GPRN/NSCN would only appeal to the two organizations to retain hope and confidence of the entire Naga people. Their actions and intensions should not force other Nagas to view it with contempt. Today there are just seven tribes under the banner of Naga Hoho and another seven units under NSF in the state of Nagaland, Can the Nagas deny it? It is very clear that ENPO and ENSF have more Naga tribal representatives than the Naga Hoho or NSF. Will the GOI appease 15% Nagas and leave 85% fuming? Truly a drastic re-evaluation of Naga Hoho and NSF by Naga people is needed if it truly wishes to reflect the voice of the Nagas.
At the all India Chief Minister’s conference in New Delhi last winter, the Chief Minister of Nagaland state declared that IM was working hand in glove with Indian Mujahiddins. If the Chief Minister of Nagaland state believes it, Naga Hoho and NSF has little to complain. Naga Nation and its salvation is greater that any Hoho or Civil Society. It harbors no ill will against any organization however it will also not be afraid to point out the mistakes for common good.
If the Nagas would look deeper into the living room of Naga politics, it is very clear that individuals heading frontal organizations are clearly inconsistent, wise in double talks, adept in changing tones every season. Habitually toeing the line of any political group they meet is a reality, miserably failing to act as peace brokers in the process. Perhaps Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR) is the only exception. Whether it is the Naga Hoho, NSF or the NPMHR, the legacy of biasness continue to this day which is extremely detrimental to Naga reconciliation and unity. For anyone to contest this truth, the 13 years of fruitless negotiation between IM and GOI with fullest possible support of Naga Hoho, NSF and NPMHR including hollow political propaganda stands testimony to this fact. This is why GPRN/NSCN calls on the Nagas to first identify the parasites that hides underneath the garments of Naga Hoho, NSF and NPMHR. GPRN/NSCN would regretfully point out that factional clashes, on many occasions, occurred because the frontal leaders carrying olive branches also carried acid bottles underneath, killing any hope for peace. Biased leadership engaging in biased diplomacy is the bane of Nagas. When a simple body language could easily give away a person’s true intentions, Naga Hoho and NSF cannot sing pop music in the church and expect the Nagas to sing along. Truly there should be a meeting point between all classes of people. GPRN/NSCN would once again appeal to all Nagas not to handle situations with pre-conceived mind. It is also ready to meet individuals and Organization to put at rest any doubt or misgiving.
Hothrong Yimchungru,
Kilo Kilonser, GPRN/NSCN.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Malaysia Embraces Help for Its Students
Malaysia's national development company has awarded grants totalling 750,000 ringit to economically weak students from the ethnic Indian community to enable them pursue university degrees.
Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak assured the community of his government's support as he presented 15,000 ringgit ($4,565) each to 50 students who excelled in their high school exams.
"Wherever you are, wherever you come from, you are not alone. We (the Government) are here for you," he said.
The grants totalling $228,275 (750,000 'ringit) have been given out by the 1Malaysia Development Berhad, a state-owned strategic development firm, to poor ethnic Indian students for their studies.
"Poverty is no hindrance if the mind and spirit are strong enough to achieve success," said Najib, the chairman of the 1MDB board of advisers, after presenting the grants in conjunction with a Sri Murugan Centre (SMC) event here.
He also said that he was touched by a Tamil song called Acam Acam Ilai (I Have No Fear) which was performed at the event.
"The lyrics say that 'I have no fear, no trace of hidden grudges, our time has come, times have changed, hope has arrived for a better future," he said.
Najib said the song was meaningful as it emphasized the need to shed the culture of fear to brave the challenges of the future.
The SMC, a non-government organisation that provides tutorial and guidance to children from poor households over the last 28 years, handpicked the most deserving students from 423 applications.
"Poverty of spirit and mind is the worst kind of poverty," Najib said.
He also praised SMC director M Thambirajah for helping guide Indian students from poor households.
"SMC is a shining example of a volunteer body that has provided sterling service to the Indian community," he said.
Najib said he would work with SMC for the benefit of the Indians and called on all Malaysians to work together to build a new Malaysia.
"This is our home. This is the country we live for, a country that we will all die for. Together we must work to make this country stronger and more prosperous," he said.
To tap Malaysia's potential to the maximum, he said, equitable opportunity must be given to the best talent from every community especially those from poor families.
Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak assured the community of his government's support as he presented 15,000 ringgit ($4,565) each to 50 students who excelled in their high school exams.
"Wherever you are, wherever you come from, you are not alone. We (the Government) are here for you," he said.
The grants totalling $228,275 (750,000 'ringit) have been given out by the 1Malaysia Development Berhad, a state-owned strategic development firm, to poor ethnic Indian students for their studies.
"Poverty is no hindrance if the mind and spirit are strong enough to achieve success," said Najib, the chairman of the 1MDB board of advisers, after presenting the grants in conjunction with a Sri Murugan Centre (SMC) event here.
He also said that he was touched by a Tamil song called Acam Acam Ilai (I Have No Fear) which was performed at the event.
"The lyrics say that 'I have no fear, no trace of hidden grudges, our time has come, times have changed, hope has arrived for a better future," he said.
Najib said the song was meaningful as it emphasized the need to shed the culture of fear to brave the challenges of the future.
The SMC, a non-government organisation that provides tutorial and guidance to children from poor households over the last 28 years, handpicked the most deserving students from 423 applications.
"Poverty of spirit and mind is the worst kind of poverty," Najib said.
He also praised SMC director M Thambirajah for helping guide Indian students from poor households.
"SMC is a shining example of a volunteer body that has provided sterling service to the Indian community," he said.
Najib said he would work with SMC for the benefit of the Indians and called on all Malaysians to work together to build a new Malaysia.
"This is our home. This is the country we live for, a country that we will all die for. Together we must work to make this country stronger and more prosperous," he said.
To tap Malaysia's potential to the maximum, he said, equitable opportunity must be given to the best talent from every community especially those from poor families.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
U.S. Senate Has Committee on China Government Spiritual Movement Policies
06/18/2010 2:00PM - 3:30PM
Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 628
Address: Constitution Avenue and 1st Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20002
Senator Byron Dorgan, Chairman and Representative Sander Levin, Cochairman of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China invite you to a roundtable discussion on “China's Policies Toward Spiritual Movements.”
At this CECC Roundtable, panelists will examine the Chinese government's policies toward spiritual movements and the factors that drive its treatment of members of spiritual groups. The Chinese government has allowed space for some spiritual movements to operate in China, but has banned other groups, such as Falun Gong. Authorities have subjected members of Falun Gong and other banned groups to strict surveillance, and in some cases, imprisonment, detention outside the legal system, and other abuses. Why does the Chinese government consider some spiritual movements a threat? What challenges and prospects do Falun Gong practitioners face in China that adherents of other groups do not? What does the Chinese government's treatment of spiritual movements mean for the future of religious freedom in China?
Panelists:
James Tong, Professor, UCLA Department of Political Science
Ethan Gutmann, Adjunct Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Mark Shan, Program in Philosophy, Theology and Ethics, Boston University
CECC Roundtables are open to the public. No RSVP is necessary.
Visit the Commission's Web site at www.cecc.gov for analysis of recent developments and other resources related to the development of the rule of law and human rights in China.
Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 628
Address: Constitution Avenue and 1st Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20002
Senator Byron Dorgan, Chairman and Representative Sander Levin, Cochairman of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China invite you to a roundtable discussion on “China's Policies Toward Spiritual Movements.”
At this CECC Roundtable, panelists will examine the Chinese government's policies toward spiritual movements and the factors that drive its treatment of members of spiritual groups. The Chinese government has allowed space for some spiritual movements to operate in China, but has banned other groups, such as Falun Gong. Authorities have subjected members of Falun Gong and other banned groups to strict surveillance, and in some cases, imprisonment, detention outside the legal system, and other abuses. Why does the Chinese government consider some spiritual movements a threat? What challenges and prospects do Falun Gong practitioners face in China that adherents of other groups do not? What does the Chinese government's treatment of spiritual movements mean for the future of religious freedom in China?
Panelists:
James Tong, Professor, UCLA Department of Political Science
Ethan Gutmann, Adjunct Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Mark Shan, Program in Philosophy, Theology and Ethics, Boston University
CECC Roundtables are open to the public. No RSVP is necessary.
Visit the Commission's Web site at www.cecc.gov for analysis of recent developments and other resources related to the development of the rule of law and human rights in China.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Buddha Bones in China Buddhist Temple
Press Trust Of India
China, June 12, 2010
Precious relics believed to be part of the skull of Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, found three years ago, were enshrined on Saturday at Qixia Temple in Jiangsu province in China.
The relics were sent to the country by the great Indian Emperor Ashoka and buried beneath a Chinese temple over 1000 years ago.
The significance of the enshrining ceremony, attended by scores of Buddhist monks from across China including Tibet, Macau, Hong Kong as well as Taiwan, was that for the first time after the Communist takeover of the country the event was allowed to beamed live by television channels.
The casket, in which the relics known as "sarirars" (parts of the body of Buddha) were preserved in two different boxes, was opened amid chanting of hymns by the monks.
CTV which commissioned Indian and Buddhist scholars to elucidate on the history and importance of Buddhism announced that the relics represented the evidence of "Buddha's enlightenment and spiritual purity".
The casket, containing small size stupa of Emperor Ashoka in which the relics were preserved, is the largest and finest ever found in China.
"Its complicated techniques are rarely seen as it was made 1000 years ago" and it was discovered during excavations of the temple three years ago, according to one Buddhist scholar.
The casket made of gold, silver and sandalwood was found among scattered objects in an underground chamber. The relics were kept carefully in a small box made of gold, which also contained a bottle of perfume. Its objects which displayed to the public were closely scrutinised by magnifying cameras.
According to Buddhist scriptures, Emperor Ashoka collected all of Sakyamuni's sarira, stored them in pagoda-shaped shrines, before sending them to different parts of the world.
China is believed to have received 19 of them. Search is on for the rest. These caskets were not opened fearing bad luck.
Buddhism came to China in 68 AD when first Buddhist temple called White Horse temple was built in Luoyang by Chinese Monk Xuanzang after a 17-year-long voyage to India.
Luoyang was in news recently when President Pratibha Patil inaugurated an Indian style Buddhist temple which was built in association with India to revive the age old spiritual links between the two countries.
Buddhism flourished in China with patronage from successive ruling dynasties and dominant spiritual forces until the Communist take over in 1949 after which it was brought under state control.
During the cultural revolution in 1960s and 70s some its temples were destroyed and vandalised. In recent years, however, Buddhism steadily staged a come back as more and more Chinese beginning to rediscover their religious roots.
Officially, China has over 10 million Buddhists.
China, June 12, 2010
Precious relics believed to be part of the skull of Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, found three years ago, were enshrined on Saturday at Qixia Temple in Jiangsu province in China.
The relics were sent to the country by the great Indian Emperor Ashoka and buried beneath a Chinese temple over 1000 years ago.
The significance of the enshrining ceremony, attended by scores of Buddhist monks from across China including Tibet, Macau, Hong Kong as well as Taiwan, was that for the first time after the Communist takeover of the country the event was allowed to beamed live by television channels.
The casket, in which the relics known as "sarirars" (parts of the body of Buddha) were preserved in two different boxes, was opened amid chanting of hymns by the monks.
CTV which commissioned Indian and Buddhist scholars to elucidate on the history and importance of Buddhism announced that the relics represented the evidence of "Buddha's enlightenment and spiritual purity".
The casket, containing small size stupa of Emperor Ashoka in which the relics were preserved, is the largest and finest ever found in China.
"Its complicated techniques are rarely seen as it was made 1000 years ago" and it was discovered during excavations of the temple three years ago, according to one Buddhist scholar.
The casket made of gold, silver and sandalwood was found among scattered objects in an underground chamber. The relics were kept carefully in a small box made of gold, which also contained a bottle of perfume. Its objects which displayed to the public were closely scrutinised by magnifying cameras.
According to Buddhist scriptures, Emperor Ashoka collected all of Sakyamuni's sarira, stored them in pagoda-shaped shrines, before sending them to different parts of the world.
China is believed to have received 19 of them. Search is on for the rest. These caskets were not opened fearing bad luck.
Buddhism came to China in 68 AD when first Buddhist temple called White Horse temple was built in Luoyang by Chinese Monk Xuanzang after a 17-year-long voyage to India.
Luoyang was in news recently when President Pratibha Patil inaugurated an Indian style Buddhist temple which was built in association with India to revive the age old spiritual links between the two countries.
Buddhism flourished in China with patronage from successive ruling dynasties and dominant spiritual forces until the Communist take over in 1949 after which it was brought under state control.
During the cultural revolution in 1960s and 70s some its temples were destroyed and vandalised. In recent years, however, Buddhism steadily staged a come back as more and more Chinese beginning to rediscover their religious roots.
Officially, China has over 10 million Buddhists.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
It's All Spirit at the World Cup
By NESHA STARCEVIC (AP) – 21 hours ago
ERASMIA, South Africa — Germany has arrived in South Africa with the second youngest team in its World Cup history, the average age under 25 years old.
Captain Philipp Lahm believes its the best team he's ever been part of despite its youth.
The young players have brought flair and unpredictability to the traditional German strengths of power and speed. The teams of the past rarely outplayed opponents with dazzling dribbling, instead outrunning and outmuscling them on the way to three World Cup titles.
Now, the German team includes 11 players of immigrant background, from Ghana to Turkey, who have added an element of skill rarely seen before.
Lahm, who has played in one World Cup and two European championships, is excited about the talent that can be found on his team.
"This young team has a lot of quality and exuberance in it," he said ahead of Germany's opener Sunday against Australia. "Of course we want to start with a win because this would give us even more confidence. We are convinced that we have a good team."
Mesut Oezil, whose parents are Turkish, murmurs Koranic verses before games, then makes unpredictable runs into the penalty box and has an eye for the unexpected pass to the free man.
Marko Marin, a Bosnian Serb by birth who plays alongside Oezil in Werder Bremen's midfield, likes nothing better than to take on a defender and dribble past him.
Sami Khedira, whose father is Tunisian, will take over some of the midfield duties of the injured Michael Ballack, normally the leader of the team.
Six of Germany's players won the under-21 European title last year, and assistant coach Hansi Flick said the youngsters have brought a more carefree spirit to the side.
"I find it good how they communicate with each other," Flick said.
Bastian Schweinsteiger, who at 25 is one of the senior players, said he is very confident.
"We know from experience how such a tournament runs. We will pass this on to the young players, who are very much looking forward to the games," Schweinsteiger said.
Germany still may not have the flair of Brazil, but Loew has been insisting on an attacking style. His predecessor, Juergen Klinsmann, began the trend and Loew has further developed it, intentionally bringing up young players with a certain profile and dropping some veterans.
The Germans will not neglect the qualities that have made them a soccer power, though. This team will be just as fit as any previous and ready to run any opponent into the ground.
"They show a lot of joy in their game," coach Joachim Loew said. "They are always moving and they are very enthusiastic."
Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
ERASMIA, South Africa — Germany has arrived in South Africa with the second youngest team in its World Cup history, the average age under 25 years old.
Captain Philipp Lahm believes its the best team he's ever been part of despite its youth.
The young players have brought flair and unpredictability to the traditional German strengths of power and speed. The teams of the past rarely outplayed opponents with dazzling dribbling, instead outrunning and outmuscling them on the way to three World Cup titles.
Now, the German team includes 11 players of immigrant background, from Ghana to Turkey, who have added an element of skill rarely seen before.
Lahm, who has played in one World Cup and two European championships, is excited about the talent that can be found on his team.
"This young team has a lot of quality and exuberance in it," he said ahead of Germany's opener Sunday against Australia. "Of course we want to start with a win because this would give us even more confidence. We are convinced that we have a good team."
Mesut Oezil, whose parents are Turkish, murmurs Koranic verses before games, then makes unpredictable runs into the penalty box and has an eye for the unexpected pass to the free man.
Marko Marin, a Bosnian Serb by birth who plays alongside Oezil in Werder Bremen's midfield, likes nothing better than to take on a defender and dribble past him.
Sami Khedira, whose father is Tunisian, will take over some of the midfield duties of the injured Michael Ballack, normally the leader of the team.
Six of Germany's players won the under-21 European title last year, and assistant coach Hansi Flick said the youngsters have brought a more carefree spirit to the side.
"I find it good how they communicate with each other," Flick said.
Bastian Schweinsteiger, who at 25 is one of the senior players, said he is very confident.
"We know from experience how such a tournament runs. We will pass this on to the young players, who are very much looking forward to the games," Schweinsteiger said.
Germany still may not have the flair of Brazil, but Loew has been insisting on an attacking style. His predecessor, Juergen Klinsmann, began the trend and Loew has further developed it, intentionally bringing up young players with a certain profile and dropping some veterans.
The Germans will not neglect the qualities that have made them a soccer power, though. This team will be just as fit as any previous and ready to run any opponent into the ground.
"They show a lot of joy in their game," coach Joachim Loew said. "They are always moving and they are very enthusiastic."
Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Sunday School for Autistic Kids
For the moment, there is only one Sunday school pupil in Room 120 at State Street Baptist Church, a 19-year-old man who loves puzzles and songs and has painstakingly memorized the books of the Bible.
John Stack’s autism and halted mental development set him apart. But his parents, Tim and Ann Stack, don’t believe that should limit their son’s access to Sunday school and the spiritual lessons that have been so important to him through his life.
The Stacks have developed a class for teenagers and young adults like John Stack, people with special needs who require routine and repetition but who have “aged out” of traditional Sunday school classes.
They hope that soon John will have classmates joining him in Bible study.
“We had been thinking about this for several years,” Ann Stack said. “He really towered over the other children, because they were third- and fourth-graders. Mentally he fit, but physically he didn’t.”
John Stack always had enjoyed Sunday School and church. For years, a church volunteer, Kathy Collins, served as his “shadow,” attending classes with him and helping him follow the Bible lessons and craft instructions.
But the Stacks knew that John no longer belonged at the little tables.
“We just felt that it was time for him to move on, and there wasn’t another place for him to go,” his mother, a retired school teacher, said. “We wanted him to continue to grow spiritually and in the church, and we just didn’t see that that would happen there.”
The “A” Word
As a baby, John Stack developed normally until about 10 months of age, when he suffered a massive seizure.
He continued having small seizures, and at about 1 year of age was diagnosed with epilepsy, his parents said. At 18 months, his intellectual abilities started to slide.
“We went through all the available medications at that time,” Ann Stack said, “and that is how we got on the surgery track.”
Eventually, after examination at the Medical College of Georgia, Emory University and the Scripps Institute in California, John underwent the first of several surgeries at age 4 to remove parts of the brain that triggered the seizures.
Then, at age 6, doctors told the Stacks that John was autistic.
“It was the first time we had heard the ‘A’ word,” Ann Stack said.
They adjusted their lives — and their dreams — to accommodate their son’s needs, and worked to keep him at home.
“In 2001, he was so mentally unstable we didn’t know if we could keep him,” Ann Stack said. But eventually, their son’s physicians were able to prescribe medications that stabilized their son.
“We wouldn’t trade him for anything,” she said. “So many people have regrets and don’t live the life God gave them. We feel like that they are God’s gifts and we can learn from them.”
God as your next-door neighbor
The couple researched curriculum and attended special needs classes at congregations to prepare for the kind of class that would appeal to mentally and physically challenged young people like their son.
Several large congregations, including First Baptist Church in downtown Columbia, have developed such programs.
They attended classes at Mount Horeb United Methodist Church in Lexington, which not only offers a weekly Sunday school class but also a special needs Vacation Bible School and basketball league.
The Stacks also sought counsel from Steve Cannon, whose late father founded a successful special education class in 1967 at Spartanburg’s Bethel United Methodist Church. Jack Cannon developed the class because his daughter, Suzanne, was mentally and physically challenged, his son said.
“We have been going strong for 42 years,” said Cannon, who took over as director of the class after his father’s death in 1996. The Spartanburg class averages about 30 to 35 students weekly, all mentally challenged and some autistic. It has been an ecumenical outreach, Steve Cannon said, drawing Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Greek Orthodox and Mormons among the membership.
“You don’t know exactly what gets in their heads,” Cannon said. “You have to present God as if he was your next-door neighbor.”
He predicted that once word spreads about the Stacks’ class, families will avail themselves of the spiritual opportunity.
“If they build it, they will come,” he said.
The Stacks already knew that repetition and routine worked for John in his daily life, and they were determined to keep that orderly approach as they worked on their lesson plans, just as Cannon and others recommended.
“We really copied a lot of his format,” said Tim Stack. “You really can’t go deep. You have to stay on the surface.”
God and family
On a recent Sunday, the lesson came from 1 Timothy 5:4: “But if any widow has children or children’s children, let these see that it is right to take care of their family and their fathers and mothers: for this is pleasing in the eyes of God.”
For special needs students, that Biblical complexity is reduced to one simple phrase: “Take care of your family.”
But first, John participated in his every Sunday routine: singing “America the Beautiful,” and reciting three pledges: the Pledge of Allegiance, the Christian Pledge of Allegiance, and the Pledge to the Bible. He then recited familiar Bible verses including John 3:16 and Psalm 23 and sang some favorite songs.
John followed along on a television set linked to a computer. Cayce police officer Tim Shealy, a member of the State Street congregation, arranged for the donation of the equipment from a Cayce civic club.
John then read a simple version of the Old Testament story of Joseph, who reunited with and forgave the brothers who sold him into slavery in Egypt.
Tim Stack asked simple questions to make sure John understands the story: “Where did Joseph live?” “How can we show that we love and care for our family?”
And this: “Who is in your family?”
John looked from one parent to the other: “Mommy, Daddy and John.”
After a prayer, the lesson ended right on time, and John prepared for his snack.
But not before he turned and hugged his mother.
Reach Click at (803) 771-8386.
John Stack’s autism and halted mental development set him apart. But his parents, Tim and Ann Stack, don’t believe that should limit their son’s access to Sunday school and the spiritual lessons that have been so important to him through his life.
The Stacks have developed a class for teenagers and young adults like John Stack, people with special needs who require routine and repetition but who have “aged out” of traditional Sunday school classes.
They hope that soon John will have classmates joining him in Bible study.
“We had been thinking about this for several years,” Ann Stack said. “He really towered over the other children, because they were third- and fourth-graders. Mentally he fit, but physically he didn’t.”
John Stack always had enjoyed Sunday School and church. For years, a church volunteer, Kathy Collins, served as his “shadow,” attending classes with him and helping him follow the Bible lessons and craft instructions.
But the Stacks knew that John no longer belonged at the little tables.
“We just felt that it was time for him to move on, and there wasn’t another place for him to go,” his mother, a retired school teacher, said. “We wanted him to continue to grow spiritually and in the church, and we just didn’t see that that would happen there.”
The “A” Word
As a baby, John Stack developed normally until about 10 months of age, when he suffered a massive seizure.
He continued having small seizures, and at about 1 year of age was diagnosed with epilepsy, his parents said. At 18 months, his intellectual abilities started to slide.
“We went through all the available medications at that time,” Ann Stack said, “and that is how we got on the surgery track.”
Eventually, after examination at the Medical College of Georgia, Emory University and the Scripps Institute in California, John underwent the first of several surgeries at age 4 to remove parts of the brain that triggered the seizures.
Then, at age 6, doctors told the Stacks that John was autistic.
“It was the first time we had heard the ‘A’ word,” Ann Stack said.
They adjusted their lives — and their dreams — to accommodate their son’s needs, and worked to keep him at home.
“In 2001, he was so mentally unstable we didn’t know if we could keep him,” Ann Stack said. But eventually, their son’s physicians were able to prescribe medications that stabilized their son.
“We wouldn’t trade him for anything,” she said. “So many people have regrets and don’t live the life God gave them. We feel like that they are God’s gifts and we can learn from them.”
God as your next-door neighbor
The couple researched curriculum and attended special needs classes at congregations to prepare for the kind of class that would appeal to mentally and physically challenged young people like their son.
Several large congregations, including First Baptist Church in downtown Columbia, have developed such programs.
They attended classes at Mount Horeb United Methodist Church in Lexington, which not only offers a weekly Sunday school class but also a special needs Vacation Bible School and basketball league.
The Stacks also sought counsel from Steve Cannon, whose late father founded a successful special education class in 1967 at Spartanburg’s Bethel United Methodist Church. Jack Cannon developed the class because his daughter, Suzanne, was mentally and physically challenged, his son said.
“We have been going strong for 42 years,” said Cannon, who took over as director of the class after his father’s death in 1996. The Spartanburg class averages about 30 to 35 students weekly, all mentally challenged and some autistic. It has been an ecumenical outreach, Steve Cannon said, drawing Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Greek Orthodox and Mormons among the membership.
“You don’t know exactly what gets in their heads,” Cannon said. “You have to present God as if he was your next-door neighbor.”
He predicted that once word spreads about the Stacks’ class, families will avail themselves of the spiritual opportunity.
“If they build it, they will come,” he said.
The Stacks already knew that repetition and routine worked for John in his daily life, and they were determined to keep that orderly approach as they worked on their lesson plans, just as Cannon and others recommended.
“We really copied a lot of his format,” said Tim Stack. “You really can’t go deep. You have to stay on the surface.”
God and family
On a recent Sunday, the lesson came from 1 Timothy 5:4: “But if any widow has children or children’s children, let these see that it is right to take care of their family and their fathers and mothers: for this is pleasing in the eyes of God.”
For special needs students, that Biblical complexity is reduced to one simple phrase: “Take care of your family.”
But first, John participated in his every Sunday routine: singing “America the Beautiful,” and reciting three pledges: the Pledge of Allegiance, the Christian Pledge of Allegiance, and the Pledge to the Bible. He then recited familiar Bible verses including John 3:16 and Psalm 23 and sang some favorite songs.
John followed along on a television set linked to a computer. Cayce police officer Tim Shealy, a member of the State Street congregation, arranged for the donation of the equipment from a Cayce civic club.
John then read a simple version of the Old Testament story of Joseph, who reunited with and forgave the brothers who sold him into slavery in Egypt.
Tim Stack asked simple questions to make sure John understands the story: “Where did Joseph live?” “How can we show that we love and care for our family?”
And this: “Who is in your family?”
John looked from one parent to the other: “Mommy, Daddy and John.”
After a prayer, the lesson ended right on time, and John prepared for his snack.
But not before he turned and hugged his mother.
Reach Click at (803) 771-8386.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Swami Against Caste Based Census in India
2010-06-10 18:10:00
A group of concerned citizens from various walks of life have come together to build pressure on the government against a caste-based census.
The eminent citizens including former civil servants, politicians, scientists, artists, industralists and journalists have decided to form a group, `Sabal Bharat' (strong India), to mobilise the people against the caste based census.
'We will use online petition and other modes of technology to reach out to people to mobilise opinion against the highly divisive move,' J. C. Sharma, a former secretary in the external affairs ministry and a member of the coordination committee of Sabal Bharat, told IANS.
He said a few citizens got together after the government showed it might consider a caste-based census after political pressure from the Yadav trio - Mulayam Singh Yadav, Lalu Prasad and Sharad Yadav.
'The government almost announced that it was going for caste-based census on the last day of budget session. We felt that the concerned citizens must raise their voice. The move (caste-based census) has strong divisive potential. It is not good for the country,' Sharma said.
He said former Lok Sabha secretary general Subash Kashyap, columnist Ved Pratap Vaidik, industralist Sanjay Dalmia, senior journalist Shravan Garg, theatre artists Gopal Sharman and Jalabala Vaidya, filmaker Loveleen Thadani and social activist Alka Madhok were among those who took part in the initial meetings of the group.
The group has received support from senior politicians across the political spectrum including former speaker Balram Jakhar and former union ministers Jagmohan, Vasant Sathe, Ram Jethmalani and Arif Mohammad Khan. Cultural historian Kapila Vatsyayan, MP, eminent scientist M. G. K. Menon, senior journalist Dileep Padgaonkar and eminent dancer Sonal Man Singh have also come out in support, he said.
Sharma said that spiritual leaders such as Swami Ramdev, Satya Narayan Goenka and Pranav Pandya have also assured them of their support.
'The caste-based census negates the vision of the founding fathers of the constitution. It is a retrograde step which will take India backwards,' he said.
The group of eminent citizens has opened an office on Barkhamba Road and has scheduled a press conference Friday.
Sharma said they will give copies of their memoranda to the Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee which is looking into the issue of caste-based census.
The government had referred the contentious issue of caste-based census to the GoM following lack of consensus on the issue in the cabinet.
Indo-Asian News Service
ps/tb/ps
A group of concerned citizens from various walks of life have come together to build pressure on the government against a caste-based census.
The eminent citizens including former civil servants, politicians, scientists, artists, industralists and journalists have decided to form a group, `Sabal Bharat' (strong India), to mobilise the people against the caste based census.
'We will use online petition and other modes of technology to reach out to people to mobilise opinion against the highly divisive move,' J. C. Sharma, a former secretary in the external affairs ministry and a member of the coordination committee of Sabal Bharat, told IANS.
He said a few citizens got together after the government showed it might consider a caste-based census after political pressure from the Yadav trio - Mulayam Singh Yadav, Lalu Prasad and Sharad Yadav.
'The government almost announced that it was going for caste-based census on the last day of budget session. We felt that the concerned citizens must raise their voice. The move (caste-based census) has strong divisive potential. It is not good for the country,' Sharma said.
He said former Lok Sabha secretary general Subash Kashyap, columnist Ved Pratap Vaidik, industralist Sanjay Dalmia, senior journalist Shravan Garg, theatre artists Gopal Sharman and Jalabala Vaidya, filmaker Loveleen Thadani and social activist Alka Madhok were among those who took part in the initial meetings of the group.
The group has received support from senior politicians across the political spectrum including former speaker Balram Jakhar and former union ministers Jagmohan, Vasant Sathe, Ram Jethmalani and Arif Mohammad Khan. Cultural historian Kapila Vatsyayan, MP, eminent scientist M. G. K. Menon, senior journalist Dileep Padgaonkar and eminent dancer Sonal Man Singh have also come out in support, he said.
Sharma said that spiritual leaders such as Swami Ramdev, Satya Narayan Goenka and Pranav Pandya have also assured them of their support.
'The caste-based census negates the vision of the founding fathers of the constitution. It is a retrograde step which will take India backwards,' he said.
The group of eminent citizens has opened an office on Barkhamba Road and has scheduled a press conference Friday.
Sharma said they will give copies of their memoranda to the Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee which is looking into the issue of caste-based census.
The government had referred the contentious issue of caste-based census to the GoM following lack of consensus on the issue in the cabinet.
Indo-Asian News Service
ps/tb/ps
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Sri Lanka Assures India on Displaced People
2010-06-09 21:40:00
Sri Lanka on Wednesday assured India of expediting the rehabilitation of remaining internally displaced persons (IDPs).
"During their meet, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh was apprised about the measures taken by the Sri Lankan Government to bring about a rapid and sustainable resettlement of the bulk of the IDPs. It was stated that the process of resettling the limited number still remaining in the transit facilities would be further expedited," a joint statement said after bilateral talks held between India and Sri Lanka today.
"Both leaders agreed on the urgent need for the resettlement of the remaining IDPs, along with speedy rehabilitation, reconstruction and development in the North and the East of Sri Lanka. They agreed to work closely towards this end," the statement added.
Sri Lanka, in this context, greatly appreciated India's assistance to rebuild infrastructure, including railway infrastructure and set up several Vocational Training Centres.
Besides, it also appreciated Indian assistance in repairing and constructing schools, houses, stadium and recreational facilities, supplying much-needed inputs for agricultural regeneration and undertaking several other projects.
President Rajapaksa warmly welcomed the offer of Indian support for this programme.
Earlier, Prime Minister Dr. Singh congratulated President Rajapaksa on his recent electoral victories and conveyed that the recent elections, together with the cessation of hostilities in Sri Lanka in May 2009, provided a historic opportunity for the country's leaders to address all outstanding issues in a spirit of understanding and mutual accommodation and to work towards genuine national reconciliation.
Dr. Singh emphasised that a meaningful devolution package, building upon the 13th Amendment, would create the necessary conditions for a lasting political settlement.
President Rajapaksa reiterated his determination to evolve a political settlement acceptable to all communities that would act as a catalyst to create the necessary conditions in which all the people of Sri Lanka could lead their lives in an atmosphere of peace, justice and dignity, consistent with democracy, pluralism, equal opportunity and respect for human rights.
Dr. Singh expressed India's constructive support for efforts that build peace and reconciliation among all communities in Sri Lanka.
President Rajapaksa during his meet with the Indian PM appreciated India's substantial and generous assistance including through a grant of Rupees 500 crore for the humanitarian relief, rehabilitation and resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
"The steps taken by India for humanitarian assistance, including supply of family packs of food and clothing, medicines, setting up of a field hospital and an artificial limb fitment camp and for the resettlement of IDPs, including provision of shelter material, cement bags and agricultural implements and deployment of de-mining teams, were important and timely," President Rajapaksa noted. (ANI)
Sri Lanka on Wednesday assured India of expediting the rehabilitation of remaining internally displaced persons (IDPs).
"During their meet, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh was apprised about the measures taken by the Sri Lankan Government to bring about a rapid and sustainable resettlement of the bulk of the IDPs. It was stated that the process of resettling the limited number still remaining in the transit facilities would be further expedited," a joint statement said after bilateral talks held between India and Sri Lanka today.
"Both leaders agreed on the urgent need for the resettlement of the remaining IDPs, along with speedy rehabilitation, reconstruction and development in the North and the East of Sri Lanka. They agreed to work closely towards this end," the statement added.
Sri Lanka, in this context, greatly appreciated India's assistance to rebuild infrastructure, including railway infrastructure and set up several Vocational Training Centres.
Besides, it also appreciated Indian assistance in repairing and constructing schools, houses, stadium and recreational facilities, supplying much-needed inputs for agricultural regeneration and undertaking several other projects.
President Rajapaksa warmly welcomed the offer of Indian support for this programme.
Earlier, Prime Minister Dr. Singh congratulated President Rajapaksa on his recent electoral victories and conveyed that the recent elections, together with the cessation of hostilities in Sri Lanka in May 2009, provided a historic opportunity for the country's leaders to address all outstanding issues in a spirit of understanding and mutual accommodation and to work towards genuine national reconciliation.
Dr. Singh emphasised that a meaningful devolution package, building upon the 13th Amendment, would create the necessary conditions for a lasting political settlement.
President Rajapaksa reiterated his determination to evolve a political settlement acceptable to all communities that would act as a catalyst to create the necessary conditions in which all the people of Sri Lanka could lead their lives in an atmosphere of peace, justice and dignity, consistent with democracy, pluralism, equal opportunity and respect for human rights.
Dr. Singh expressed India's constructive support for efforts that build peace and reconciliation among all communities in Sri Lanka.
President Rajapaksa during his meet with the Indian PM appreciated India's substantial and generous assistance including through a grant of Rupees 500 crore for the humanitarian relief, rehabilitation and resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
"The steps taken by India for humanitarian assistance, including supply of family packs of food and clothing, medicines, setting up of a field hospital and an artificial limb fitment camp and for the resettlement of IDPs, including provision of shelter material, cement bags and agricultural implements and deployment of de-mining teams, were important and timely," President Rajapaksa noted. (ANI)
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Pope Tells Youth "Let The Spirit Guide You"
Let the Spirit Guide You, Pope Tells Youth
VATICAN CITY, MAY 19, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI today noted the Novena of Pentecost that began last Friday, and encouraged young people to be docile to the Holy Spirit's work.
The Pope made this recommendation today at the traditional conclusion of the general audience, in his greeting to youth, the sick and newlyweds.
"I invite you, dear young people, to be docile to the action of the Holy Spirit, given to believers in the sacraments of baptism and confirmation," he said.
The Pontiff noted the Spirit's role in comforting those who suffer, inviting the sick "to receive the Consoling Spirit, so that he will assist you in difficulties and help you to transform suffering into a pleasing offering for the good of your brothers."
Finally, he wished for newlyweds "that the life of your family is always nourished by the fire of the Spirit, who is the Love itself of God."
VATICAN CITY, MAY 19, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI today noted the Novena of Pentecost that began last Friday, and encouraged young people to be docile to the Holy Spirit's work.
The Pope made this recommendation today at the traditional conclusion of the general audience, in his greeting to youth, the sick and newlyweds.
"I invite you, dear young people, to be docile to the action of the Holy Spirit, given to believers in the sacraments of baptism and confirmation," he said.
The Pontiff noted the Spirit's role in comforting those who suffer, inviting the sick "to receive the Consoling Spirit, so that he will assist you in difficulties and help you to transform suffering into a pleasing offering for the good of your brothers."
Finally, he wished for newlyweds "that the life of your family is always nourished by the fire of the Spirit, who is the Love itself of God."
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Shree Sanatan Hindu Mandir Opens in Wembly England
Catrin Nye
BBC Asian Network
Wembley's newest looming landmark has opened it doors after 14 years of construction.
It is the £16m Shree Sanatan Hindu Mandir, which loosely translates as the all-inclusive temple.
There is none of the metal core most buildings have and, instead, it has been built using ancient techniques based on Hindu scriptures.
The method dates back thousands of years and was used to construct the world famous Angkor Wat in Cambodia.
Many of the temple's component pieces have been hand carved in limestone in the tiny town of Sola - located in the Indian state of Gujarat - before being flown over and pieced together in the UK.
There were also 41 marble deities made in India especially for the mandir.The temple covers 2.4 acres (9,700 sq m) on the Ealing Road and, at its highest point, is 66ft (20m) tall.
Its bright sand-coloured walls stand out in stark contrast to the unassuming surroundings.
A ceremony called Pran Prathistha was held to "infuse the spirit of God into the statues" as part of the temple opening.
A VIP opening was then held with donors, sponsors and local dignitaries in attendance.
Ajay Jobanputra is governor of Shri Vallabh Nidhi UK (SVNUK), the charity which raised the funds to build the Shree Sanatan Hindu Mandir.
He hopes the temple will provide a place of worship for all Hindus and welcome those of other faiths."Famous spiritual leaders and forms of Gods from other religions are featured in the carvings such as Mother Teresa, Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji (a Sikh Guru), Meerabai, Lord Swaminarayan and many more.
"It's about showcasing the importance of respect, love and compassion for all religions, making the temple dynamic and universal.
"The message being promoted is of Vasudev Kutumbakaum, a Hindu term to describe the world as one big family."
The chief priest at the Shree Sanatan Hindu Mandir is Dr Raj Pandit Sharma, who said the new temple may stand out as a structure but it fits in with the eclectic local community.
"I think it will add to the charm of the area," he explained.
"Ealing Road already has mosques and churches and I think this temple will stand out as something unique that can be seen from some distance.
"I would hope that anybody who comes to the temple would find it a place where they will feel relaxed. It's like a sanctuary of peace amongst the bustling heart of London."
Special events
Each morning there will be prayers at the new temple in line with Hindu tradition.
It will house special events for such occasions as Diwali and Navratri as well as annual religious functions to celebrate the birth of Hindu saints and Gods like Jalaram Jayanti (Saint Jalarambapa) and Janmasthami (Lord Krishna).
Mr Jobanputra says the temple is expected to draw crowds from across London and visitors from much further afield.
"We're estimating around 400 to 500 local people will visit us during the weekdays and double that on weekends.
"We also expect visitors from other parts of the UK and Europe.
"We have already had visit requests from Spain, Portugal and Switzerland."
BBC Asian Network
Wembley's newest looming landmark has opened it doors after 14 years of construction.
It is the £16m Shree Sanatan Hindu Mandir, which loosely translates as the all-inclusive temple.
There is none of the metal core most buildings have and, instead, it has been built using ancient techniques based on Hindu scriptures.
The method dates back thousands of years and was used to construct the world famous Angkor Wat in Cambodia.
Many of the temple's component pieces have been hand carved in limestone in the tiny town of Sola - located in the Indian state of Gujarat - before being flown over and pieced together in the UK.
There were also 41 marble deities made in India especially for the mandir.The temple covers 2.4 acres (9,700 sq m) on the Ealing Road and, at its highest point, is 66ft (20m) tall.
Its bright sand-coloured walls stand out in stark contrast to the unassuming surroundings.
A ceremony called Pran Prathistha was held to "infuse the spirit of God into the statues" as part of the temple opening.
A VIP opening was then held with donors, sponsors and local dignitaries in attendance.
Ajay Jobanputra is governor of Shri Vallabh Nidhi UK (SVNUK), the charity which raised the funds to build the Shree Sanatan Hindu Mandir.
He hopes the temple will provide a place of worship for all Hindus and welcome those of other faiths."Famous spiritual leaders and forms of Gods from other religions are featured in the carvings such as Mother Teresa, Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji (a Sikh Guru), Meerabai, Lord Swaminarayan and many more.
"It's about showcasing the importance of respect, love and compassion for all religions, making the temple dynamic and universal.
"The message being promoted is of Vasudev Kutumbakaum, a Hindu term to describe the world as one big family."
The chief priest at the Shree Sanatan Hindu Mandir is Dr Raj Pandit Sharma, who said the new temple may stand out as a structure but it fits in with the eclectic local community.
"I think it will add to the charm of the area," he explained.
"Ealing Road already has mosques and churches and I think this temple will stand out as something unique that can be seen from some distance.
"I would hope that anybody who comes to the temple would find it a place where they will feel relaxed. It's like a sanctuary of peace amongst the bustling heart of London."
Special events
Each morning there will be prayers at the new temple in line with Hindu tradition.
It will house special events for such occasions as Diwali and Navratri as well as annual religious functions to celebrate the birth of Hindu saints and Gods like Jalaram Jayanti (Saint Jalarambapa) and Janmasthami (Lord Krishna).
Mr Jobanputra says the temple is expected to draw crowds from across London and visitors from much further afield.
"We're estimating around 400 to 500 local people will visit us during the weekdays and double that on weekends.
"We also expect visitors from other parts of the UK and Europe.
"We have already had visit requests from Spain, Portugal and Switzerland."
Monday, June 7, 2010
Dalai Lama Advocates Non Violence Path for Tibet
PTI
Paddar(J&K), June 7, 2010
Maintaining that Tibetans follow the non-violent path for their fight for Tibet, Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Sunday said they are not seeking independence but meaningful "autonomy".
"We are not seeking independence... we are seeking meaningful autonomy for Tibet. That is the guarantee for preservation of Tibetan culture including language," the Lama told reporters when asked if Tibetans would achieve freedom from China.
"Now every Tibetan wants modernised Tibet. Therefore, as far as development is concerned, it is all in the interest of the people," he said.
Asked if there are differences among youth to adopt violent ways to achieve the goal, Lama said, "No, more than 99 per cent of Tibetans follow the non-violent path including youth organisations for peace resolution".
"Youth organisations right from the beginning stood for struggle for independence. (But) We are not fighting for independence, so there are differences. But, as far as non- violence is concerned, all agree."
The spiritual leader had on Saturday arrived here on a two-day visit to address a religious congregation. The city has a Buddhist population of about 7000.
This was his first visit to the area as his visits so far were confined to Leh and Ladakh where Buddhism is the main religion.
About India he said, "It is preserving its culture and promoting peace in the region. I am closely associated with India and consider myself as its peace ambassador."
Paddar(J&K), June 7, 2010
Maintaining that Tibetans follow the non-violent path for their fight for Tibet, Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Sunday said they are not seeking independence but meaningful "autonomy".
"We are not seeking independence... we are seeking meaningful autonomy for Tibet. That is the guarantee for preservation of Tibetan culture including language," the Lama told reporters when asked if Tibetans would achieve freedom from China.
"Now every Tibetan wants modernised Tibet. Therefore, as far as development is concerned, it is all in the interest of the people," he said.
Asked if there are differences among youth to adopt violent ways to achieve the goal, Lama said, "No, more than 99 per cent of Tibetans follow the non-violent path including youth organisations for peace resolution".
"Youth organisations right from the beginning stood for struggle for independence. (But) We are not fighting for independence, so there are differences. But, as far as non- violence is concerned, all agree."
The spiritual leader had on Saturday arrived here on a two-day visit to address a religious congregation. The city has a Buddhist population of about 7000.
This was his first visit to the area as his visits so far were confined to Leh and Ladakh where Buddhism is the main religion.
About India he said, "It is preserving its culture and promoting peace in the region. I am closely associated with India and consider myself as its peace ambassador."
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Spiritual Course - Watch the Fee Cost
LINDA LEICHT • NEWS-LEADER • JUNE 5, 2010
The tiny hermitage in the middle of the 23 acres of Mystic Trace provides the perfect place for Romona Baker to get away for a few days on a spiritual retreat.If she would prefer the smell of fresh baking bread and a little company, she can stay at the bed and breakfast.
Chris Davison and his family visit the retreat every few weeks for a Sunday morning small-group gathering where people share their spiritual questions and insights.
The retreat center near Pleasant Hope also offers spiritual direction and counseling by Tom and Kathryn Boone, co-founders of Life Development Ministries.
The Boones hope to introduce their unique retreat center and inclusive embrace of spirituality by inviting the public to a music festival next weekend.
On Saturday night, there will be three live bands, playing everything from folk to funk. Campers are invited to take advantage of the setting, and everyone is invited back on Sunday morning for music and storytelling, an alternative to traditional church worship.
Taking Root
Mystic Trace started as a spark of an idea in 1998 when Tom Boone began his own spiritual direction with a local adviser. "That's when I began to think about Christian spirituality as something different from the Christian religion and the church," he explains.
Boone is an ordained Baptist minister, serving in churches from 1971 until 2005, when he resigned his position as college student minister at University Heights Baptist Church after working there 16 years.
He earned his master's degree in Christian spirituality from Creighton University, adding to his seminary degree in religious education, and certification as a spiritual director and directed retreat leader.
Kathryn Boone is a licensed professional counselor who has a private practice in Springfield and at Mystic Trace.
While her services include traditional approaches, she will also add a "spiritual dimension," based on the desires of the client.
"It's not doctrinal or religious," she says. "It is just spiritual, helping the person tap into the resource of divine connections."
The tiny hermitage in the middle of the 23 acres of Mystic Trace provides the perfect place for Romona Baker to get away for a few days on a spiritual retreat.If she would prefer the smell of fresh baking bread and a little company, she can stay at the bed and breakfast.
Chris Davison and his family visit the retreat every few weeks for a Sunday morning small-group gathering where people share their spiritual questions and insights.
The retreat center near Pleasant Hope also offers spiritual direction and counseling by Tom and Kathryn Boone, co-founders of Life Development Ministries.
The Boones hope to introduce their unique retreat center and inclusive embrace of spirituality by inviting the public to a music festival next weekend.
On Saturday night, there will be three live bands, playing everything from folk to funk. Campers are invited to take advantage of the setting, and everyone is invited back on Sunday morning for music and storytelling, an alternative to traditional church worship.
Taking Root
Mystic Trace started as a spark of an idea in 1998 when Tom Boone began his own spiritual direction with a local adviser. "That's when I began to think about Christian spirituality as something different from the Christian religion and the church," he explains.
Boone is an ordained Baptist minister, serving in churches from 1971 until 2005, when he resigned his position as college student minister at University Heights Baptist Church after working there 16 years.
He earned his master's degree in Christian spirituality from Creighton University, adding to his seminary degree in religious education, and certification as a spiritual director and directed retreat leader.
Kathryn Boone is a licensed professional counselor who has a private practice in Springfield and at Mystic Trace.
While her services include traditional approaches, she will also add a "spiritual dimension," based on the desires of the client.
"It's not doctrinal or religious," she says. "It is just spiritual, helping the person tap into the resource of divine connections."
John Wooden was a Spiritual Man
MARTINSVILLE, Ind. -- The stately gym still stands, a massive red-brick edifice dating back more than 80 years -- to a time when The Wizard was The Martinsville High School gymnasium opened in 1924, and it was built to Hoosier Hysteria scale. The original capacity was 5,200 -- in a town with a population of 4,800 at the time. They built the thing with 16 locker rooms, in hopes of attracting the Indiana state high school tournament.
Even then, just 33 years after James Naismith produced basketball's Big Bang in Springfield, Mass., the hoops universe was expanding rapidly in Indiana.
And it was in this gym, which is now on the National Register of Historic Places, that the nascent hoops universe gave birth to one of its brightest stars.
This was the place where John Wooden's incomparable basketball life began taking real form. He would ultimately earn his prominent place in America's sports pantheon for work done far away, but the unrivaled 10 NCAA titles at UCLA were built on a moral, intellectual and athletic foundation established here in the heartland.
You could take him to the big city and make him a globally worshipped coaching icon, but you could never take the small-town Indiana out of John Wooden. And he was proud of that.
"He coached with the values and principles he learned in Indiana," said Wooden's closest living friend in Martinsville, Larry Maxwell.
In reciprocity, Martinsville still cherishes its identity as Wooden's hometown. In 1989 they named the current high school gym after him, and his signature is on the court. A street near the school bears his name. The trophy case contains pictures of a teenage Wooden in uniform. And a huge hightop sneaker in the school lobby is decorated on one side with the coach's famed Pyramid of Success.
"It's a big deal," being the hometown of John Wooden, said Martinsville athletic director Don Lipps, sitting in his office beneath a large framed print of The Wizard. "It means quite a bit."
Even into his dotage, Martinsville meant quite a bit to Wooden. Whenever he was in Indianapolis for the Wooden Tradition, an annual college doubleheader, the coach would make the rustic, 30-mile drive south for a day.
The one place he never failed to visit was the small cemetery in Centerton, seven miles from Martinsville, where the Woodens lived when John was a boy. His parents and two sisters are buried there.
You could usually count on a visit to the eponymous high school gym, too. More than once, Lipps said, they unlocked the gym on a Sunday so Wooden's great-grandchildren could scurry around the gym playing basketball. The eternal coach would sit in a chair watching them, critiquing shooting form and chiding anyone who dribbled behind their back.merely a sorcerer's apprentice.And no trip home could be complete without a visit to Poe's Restaurant. Wooden loved the persimmon pudding.
"I think he was very appreciative of his roots," Lipps said.
The roots run deep. Nearly to the beginning of basketball time.
Befitting the Hoosier archetype, Wooden first started shooting baskets at a hoop his father, Joshua, put up outside the barn on the family's hog farm in Centerton. When tainted hog cholera medication cost the Woodens their herd and ultimately their farm, hard times set in.
They moved to the seat of Morgan County and shuffled from residence to residence while Wooden went to Martinsville High and became one of the infant sport's earliest heroes.
In brittle black-and-white pictures that hang just inside the gym's doorway, he wears a sternly serious expression and a jersey that read "Artesia City" -- in reference to Martinsville's plethora of restorative mineral water springs. His socks are curled down over his canvas shoes.
Playing for Glenn Curtis -- a disciplinarian who would win four state titles and one day have the old gym named after him -- muscular and intense Johnny Wooden was something to see.
From 1926-28, he would lead Martinsville to three straight state championship games, losing as a sophomore and a senior and winning it as a junior. Later at Purdue, he would become the first consensus three-time All-American in the history of college basketball.
And then he merely became the greatest coach in the history of team sports.
His first stop was at a high school at Dayton, Ky., not far from Cincinnati. The Dayton Green Devils would go 6-11 that first year -- the one and only losing season Wooden ever experienced, as a player or coach.
After that it was nothing but success at South Bend Central High School, then Indiana State (where he succeeded his old high-school coach, Curtis), and finally UCLA. Los Angeles, of all places, and the 1960s and 70s, of all times, was the setting for Wooden to export his middle-American sensibilities and Hoosier hoops fundamentals to the world."When you think about what was going on in Southern California at that time, it's amazing that he could coach the way he did," Maxwell said. "He held to what he learned here.
"People say he couldn't win today, with today's players. I think you put him on the end of the bench, he'd find a way to win."
In an era that celebrated the free spirit, Wooden steadfastly championed team spirit. He was a square and a stickler at a time when authority was vilified. And yet it worked.
In October 1972, of the two best players he had, hippie-on-training-wheels Bill Walton, showed up for the Bruins team picture with a beard. Walton argued that he had the right to grow a beard and should not be ordered to shave it.
"Bill, I appreciate that," Wooden told him. "And we will miss you."
Walton shaved in time for the picture.
Wooden's word was law, but he still approached his profession as more of an educator than a dictator. He possessed an academic quality almost completely missing in today's coaching ranks.
How many other basketball coaches quoted Shakespeare or wrote poetry? Who else in coaching has come up with anything as enduring and popular as Wooden's Pyramid of Success? What other coach has ever sounded so wise when talking about everything but basketball?
All of that was a product of the upbringing Wooden got in his home state -- first in Hall, Ind., where he was born ("just a wide spot in the road," Maxwell said). Then Centerton, where the family farm house still stands, though the barn does not. Then Martinsville.
Early in his high school days, Wooden met a girl named Nellie Riley at a carnival. He spent the next few years visiting Nell's house at 90 South Wayne Street, but had to be careful doing it -- Glenn Curtis lived nearby, and he forbade his players from having girlfriends.
The girlfriend thing would only happen once for Wooden. Nell became his wife, and even after her death in 1985 he never dated another woman. He was a one-woman man his entire life, exporting Nell Wooden beyond Indiana as well.
One of the few things John Wooden didn't take with him from his hometown was its unfortunate racial history. There was a major Ku Klux Klan rally in the town square during Wooden's youth, and the overwhelmingly white town long carried a reputation as a forbidding place for minorities.
But it was Wooden who broke the color barrier in the NAIA national basketball tournament, playing reserve guard Clarence Walker while the coach at Indiana State in 1947. The previous year, Wooden had declined an NAIA tourney bid because it prohibited African-Americans from playing.
That was consistent with the nobility and wisdom so often ascribed to John R. Wooden. Those are characteristics he learned growing up in a small Indiana town -- characteristics he exported from Martinsville to the world.
Pat Forde is a senior writer for ESPN.com. He can be reached at ESPN4D@aol.com.
Even then, just 33 years after James Naismith produced basketball's Big Bang in Springfield, Mass., the hoops universe was expanding rapidly in Indiana.
And it was in this gym, which is now on the National Register of Historic Places, that the nascent hoops universe gave birth to one of its brightest stars.
This was the place where John Wooden's incomparable basketball life began taking real form. He would ultimately earn his prominent place in America's sports pantheon for work done far away, but the unrivaled 10 NCAA titles at UCLA were built on a moral, intellectual and athletic foundation established here in the heartland.
You could take him to the big city and make him a globally worshipped coaching icon, but you could never take the small-town Indiana out of John Wooden. And he was proud of that.
"He coached with the values and principles he learned in Indiana," said Wooden's closest living friend in Martinsville, Larry Maxwell.
In reciprocity, Martinsville still cherishes its identity as Wooden's hometown. In 1989 they named the current high school gym after him, and his signature is on the court. A street near the school bears his name. The trophy case contains pictures of a teenage Wooden in uniform. And a huge hightop sneaker in the school lobby is decorated on one side with the coach's famed Pyramid of Success.
"It's a big deal," being the hometown of John Wooden, said Martinsville athletic director Don Lipps, sitting in his office beneath a large framed print of The Wizard. "It means quite a bit."
Even into his dotage, Martinsville meant quite a bit to Wooden. Whenever he was in Indianapolis for the Wooden Tradition, an annual college doubleheader, the coach would make the rustic, 30-mile drive south for a day.
The one place he never failed to visit was the small cemetery in Centerton, seven miles from Martinsville, where the Woodens lived when John was a boy. His parents and two sisters are buried there.
You could usually count on a visit to the eponymous high school gym, too. More than once, Lipps said, they unlocked the gym on a Sunday so Wooden's great-grandchildren could scurry around the gym playing basketball. The eternal coach would sit in a chair watching them, critiquing shooting form and chiding anyone who dribbled behind their back.merely a sorcerer's apprentice.And no trip home could be complete without a visit to Poe's Restaurant. Wooden loved the persimmon pudding.
"I think he was very appreciative of his roots," Lipps said.
The roots run deep. Nearly to the beginning of basketball time.
Befitting the Hoosier archetype, Wooden first started shooting baskets at a hoop his father, Joshua, put up outside the barn on the family's hog farm in Centerton. When tainted hog cholera medication cost the Woodens their herd and ultimately their farm, hard times set in.
They moved to the seat of Morgan County and shuffled from residence to residence while Wooden went to Martinsville High and became one of the infant sport's earliest heroes.
In brittle black-and-white pictures that hang just inside the gym's doorway, he wears a sternly serious expression and a jersey that read "Artesia City" -- in reference to Martinsville's plethora of restorative mineral water springs. His socks are curled down over his canvas shoes.
Playing for Glenn Curtis -- a disciplinarian who would win four state titles and one day have the old gym named after him -- muscular and intense Johnny Wooden was something to see.
From 1926-28, he would lead Martinsville to three straight state championship games, losing as a sophomore and a senior and winning it as a junior. Later at Purdue, he would become the first consensus three-time All-American in the history of college basketball.
And then he merely became the greatest coach in the history of team sports.
His first stop was at a high school at Dayton, Ky., not far from Cincinnati. The Dayton Green Devils would go 6-11 that first year -- the one and only losing season Wooden ever experienced, as a player or coach.
After that it was nothing but success at South Bend Central High School, then Indiana State (where he succeeded his old high-school coach, Curtis), and finally UCLA. Los Angeles, of all places, and the 1960s and 70s, of all times, was the setting for Wooden to export his middle-American sensibilities and Hoosier hoops fundamentals to the world."When you think about what was going on in Southern California at that time, it's amazing that he could coach the way he did," Maxwell said. "He held to what he learned here.
"People say he couldn't win today, with today's players. I think you put him on the end of the bench, he'd find a way to win."
In an era that celebrated the free spirit, Wooden steadfastly championed team spirit. He was a square and a stickler at a time when authority was vilified. And yet it worked.
In October 1972, of the two best players he had, hippie-on-training-wheels Bill Walton, showed up for the Bruins team picture with a beard. Walton argued that he had the right to grow a beard and should not be ordered to shave it.
"Bill, I appreciate that," Wooden told him. "And we will miss you."
Walton shaved in time for the picture.
Wooden's word was law, but he still approached his profession as more of an educator than a dictator. He possessed an academic quality almost completely missing in today's coaching ranks.
How many other basketball coaches quoted Shakespeare or wrote poetry? Who else in coaching has come up with anything as enduring and popular as Wooden's Pyramid of Success? What other coach has ever sounded so wise when talking about everything but basketball?
All of that was a product of the upbringing Wooden got in his home state -- first in Hall, Ind., where he was born ("just a wide spot in the road," Maxwell said). Then Centerton, where the family farm house still stands, though the barn does not. Then Martinsville.
Early in his high school days, Wooden met a girl named Nellie Riley at a carnival. He spent the next few years visiting Nell's house at 90 South Wayne Street, but had to be careful doing it -- Glenn Curtis lived nearby, and he forbade his players from having girlfriends.
The girlfriend thing would only happen once for Wooden. Nell became his wife, and even after her death in 1985 he never dated another woman. He was a one-woman man his entire life, exporting Nell Wooden beyond Indiana as well.
One of the few things John Wooden didn't take with him from his hometown was its unfortunate racial history. There was a major Ku Klux Klan rally in the town square during Wooden's youth, and the overwhelmingly white town long carried a reputation as a forbidding place for minorities.
But it was Wooden who broke the color barrier in the NAIA national basketball tournament, playing reserve guard Clarence Walker while the coach at Indiana State in 1947. The previous year, Wooden had declined an NAIA tourney bid because it prohibited African-Americans from playing.
That was consistent with the nobility and wisdom so often ascribed to John R. Wooden. Those are characteristics he learned growing up in a small Indiana town -- characteristics he exported from Martinsville to the world.
Pat Forde is a senior writer for ESPN.com. He can be reached at ESPN4D@aol.com.
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