China’s Media Freedom Under Assault Ahead of 2008 Olympics
Filed Under Human Rights, China | Posted on May 31, 2007
The Chinese government is backtracking on new rules that allow much greater freedom to foreign journalists, and is continuing to deny comparable freedoms to Chinese journalists, Human Rights Watch said today. Moreover, there are indications that a further tightening of restrictions on the domestic media – already subject to systemic censorship and recurrent crackdowns – is looming, and journalists’ sources are being targeted for reprisal by local officials.
Top 10 Myths about Meditation
Filed Under Buddhadharma | Posted on May 30, 2007
From Wildmind Buddhist Meditation (click here for the complete article):
Myth #10. Meditation is relaxation
Myth #9. Meditation is just self-hypnosis
Myth #8. There are technological shortcuts
Myth #7. Transcendental Meditation is the most common kind of meditation
Myth #6. You have to sit in lotus position
Myth #5. In meditation you sit there saying “OM”
Myth #4. Meditation is a […]
The First Sermon of the Buddha
Filed Under Buddhadharma | Posted on May 29, 2007
It’s my intention to write a post or two regarding the Four Noble Truths. On the assumption that I’ll follow through with that intention, the text below is the T. W. Rhys Davis translation of the Dhammakakkappavattana Sutta, the first sermon of the Buddha (and therefore the earliest exposition of the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path.)
18th Anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre June 4, 2007
Filed Under Human Rights, China | Posted on May 29, 2007
Lest we forget …
June 4 marks the 18th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing, China, in which Chinese troops opened fire on a peaceful democracy protest. Along with millions of others around the world, I watched the events unfold through the Spring of 1989. Initial feelings of hope and optimism, […]
Sand Mandala’s Lesson of Impermanence gets a Head Start
Filed Under Buddhadharma | Posted on May 28, 2007
The little boy who trotted into Union Station behind his mother spotted the pretty pile of colored sand on the floor and couldn’t resist. Slipping under a protective rope, he danced all over the sand, ruining the carefully crafted picture.
Never mind that it was the creation of eight Tibetan monks who had spent two […]
Daily Kos on China
Filed Under China, Commentary | Posted on May 27, 2007
I’ve never been a regular reader of The Daily Kos, but I may start. Just on a whim, I googled “China” for the site, the search returned quite a few hits. Here are some recent posts:
More Politicised Intel - this time on China
Today the Pentagon publishes The China Military Power Report […]
Lama Surya Das - blog is back
Filed Under Buddhadharma | Posted on May 27, 2007
I’m glad to see that Lama Surya Das’ blog is becoming more active. Launched back in April, 2004, it remained more or less inactive for its first couple of years; but I see that he’s been posting regularly for the last 6 months or so. I’ve added the blog back to my […]
First English Translation of a Buddhist Sutra (1844)
Filed Under Buddhadharma | Posted on May 26, 2007
“The Preaching of the Buddha,” a chapter from the Saddharmapundarika-sutra (Lotus Sutra) translated from Eugene Burnouf’s French by Unitarian Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, was published anonymously in Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Transcendentalist journal The Dial in 1844, and is generally considered to be the first Buddhist text available in the English language. (This translation has often […]
I Wish Tom Lantos was my Representative
Filed Under Human Rights, China, Commentary | Posted on May 25, 2007
I like Representative Tom Lantos (D-California). Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and member of the Congressional Caucus on Human Rights, Lantos has always been a courageous and outspoken advocate of civil liberties and human rights both in the U.S. and abroad. He’s one of the few U.S. congressmen to […]
Everest Protest Draws Attention to Chinese Oppression
Filed Under China | Posted on May 25, 2007
On April 24, 2007, three Tibetan independence activists, including one Tibetan-American, Tenzin Dorjee, Deputy Director of Students for a Free Tibet, were detained by Chinese authorities after demonstrating at Mount Everest’s main base camp in Tibet, unfurling a banner reading “One World, One Dream, Free Tibet 2008″ in English, and “Free Tibet” written […]
RSS
