chasing wind mills, why not?

The View from This Seat: In Memory of Thomas Merton

2011-12-10T08:34:00.000-06:00

The View from This Seat: In Memory of Thomas Merton

2011-12-02T21:09:00.001-06:00

A Poem written for a rally in Princeton, WI where we had hunters stopping their cars to sign petitions to RECALL WALKER!

Recall Walker, compassion for allbeings, take back our state and rights….but Carol wrote on my Facebook page:

Wake up-Walker was elected by amajority of the people and he's doing what we elected him to do.

A close friend also wrote:

I like Luther Olsen and I love whatScott Walker has done to clean up the financial situation in Wisconsin -- and Isleep very soundly every night. I am also trying to help Walker in his defense.

Yes Carol, ok friend, I do not sleepwell anymore. Many people in this state are not sleeping well, fear of losingtheir homes, their jobs, or out of work, because of Walker and his polices…..

I keep thinking of the sign inMadison in January, held by a young lady,

“It took Hitler 5 months to kill theunions. It took Walker 45 days”

Carol and my good friend, if youlike following the play book of the 30' in Germany and you know what thatbrought.

If you want leadership by donationand money power

If you want to sell our naturalresources to the highest bidder, to hell with saving the earth…

If you want to take away the rightof workers to have a say about their pay, their healthcare and retirement,

If you want to not respect thefirefighters, teachers, police, nurses, social workers and all those who serveus as public workers

If you want to destroy our publicschools, and education for those kids who are challenged, the rural kids andkids in the city, those in poverty, all kids even the privileged you favor,your own….

If you support a special session ofour leaders in Madison to create jobs and they play games the whole week andcare nothing for the working folks of this great state

Then you want Walker and his Thugs,including Luther Olson, Luther I am calling you out brother, you are gutlessand weak to follow this man, you will not win again….

Oh Carol, you asked me to wake up, I am awake in the ancient tradition of the Buddhawith compassion for all beings, justice for all beings, rights for all beings,even you Carol, and my good friend.

We have a choice, Recall Walker andhis thugs, or live on a new plantation named Wisconsin under the Master Walkerand his rich friends and thugs….what do You want?

I want freedom, I want to recallWalker!

The revolution will not be on tv, no reruns, because thisrevolution is LIVE!

By ko shin Bob Hanson

2011-12-01T22:57:00.001-06:00

Big News around here, first blog for a loooooong time, my second book, The Inner Passage, print on demand, Createspace.com and on Amazon now. I wanted to do this for family and friends, it has been a real interesting time. Poems, Photos and poems from a group of my fellow poets and friends. I know you will enjoy. Contact me at koshin@centurytel.net or here at the blog. I promise I will check more than every six months!

RECALL WALKER is the big move now we are all participating in. Over 300,000 signs so far and some time to go. If you are a citizen of WI be sure to join the movement to get rid of this guy and his thugs. Thanks!

We enter what I like to call a Sacred Time, the last month of the year (in the West) and the first of a new year, 2012. So many sacred paths and communities celebrate during this time, along with Christmas. On the 8th we celebrate the enlightenment of the Buddha, an auspicious time for many paths in the Buddhist tradition.

Deep bows of thanks and compassion to all and your families and friends, from Karen and I, and our five adult children and now twelve Grand Kids. Love and Peace....ko shin

The Dalai Lama’s ‘Deception’: Why a Seventeenth-Century Decree Matters to Beijing by Robert Barnett | NYRBlog | The New York Review of Books

2011-04-11T22:56:00.000-05:00

The Dalai Lama’s ‘Deception’: Why a Seventeenth-Century Decree Matters to Beijing by Robert Barnett | NYRBlog | The New York Review of Books

A Brief Guide to Conceptual Poetry- Poets.org - Poetry, Poems, Bios & More

2011-03-14T20:30:00.000-05:00

A Brief Guide to Conceptual Poetry- Poets.org - Poetry, Poems, Bios & More

Ash Wednesday: I'm Nobody! Who Are You?

2011-03-11T22:55:00.000-06:00

Ash Wednesday: I'm Nobody! Who Are You?

I do not place this here for agreement but for a conversation about the foolishness of all this....in a time when we need to be practicing our spiritual ways to serve all beings not just a church or temple or synagogue. I hope you washed the ashes off....

Bangkok Post : Gender and religion: Where nuns fear to tread

2011-03-10T22:27:00.000-06:00

Bangkok Post : Gender and religion: Where nuns fear to tread

Poet's $2,000 Reimbursement a Casualty in Walker's Wisconsin - Bloomberg

2011-03-08T22:34:00.000-06:00

Poet's $2,000 Reimbursement a Casualty in Walker's Wisconsin - Bloomberg

Robert Fisk in Bahrain: 'They didn't run away. They faced the bullets head-on' - Middle East, World - The Independent

2011-02-21T14:28:00.000-06:00

Robert Fisk in Bahrain: 'They didn't run away. They faced the bullets head-on' - Middle East, World - The Independent

The Institute of Cultural Affairs International - Advancing Human Development

2011-02-21T14:26:00.000-06:00

The Institute of Cultural Affairs International - Advancing Human Development

American who sparked diplomatic crisis over Lahore shooting was CIA spy | World news | The Guardian

2011-02-21T14:21:00.000-06:00

American who sparked diplomatic crisis over Lahore shooting was CIA spy | World news | The Guardian

Myths of the Budget Bill (76)

2011-02-21T14:19:00.000-06:00

Myths of the Budget Bill (76)

Comments Where is Poetry Going? Check it out

2011-02-13T22:43:00.001-06:00

Comments

DAVIDSON: The Stuttgart Declaration for a one state solution in Palestine – An analysis 26Jan11

2011-01-28T22:21:00.000-06:00

DAVIDSON: The Stuttgart Declaration for a one state solution in Palestine – An analysis 26Jan11

A monumental start: In Syracuse, dreams of an extended Creekwalk | syracuse.com

2011-01-26T07:23:00.000-06:00

A monumental start: In Syracuse, dreams of an extended Creekwalk | syracuse.com

Memories and Friends LG and Bob on her visit to Japan Years ago

2011-01-19T12:41:00.002-06:00

Family, the Jewel of our lives....

2011-01-18T21:57:00.000-06:00

Foot Doctor?, here they are!

Finn and Elisa

Grandpa's joy!

The Family, just off the large Market Street in Chiang Mae old city

Elisa with Grandpa Bob in the Golden Triangle (Thailand side)

Dinner and show at the Chiang Mae Cultural Center

Ice Cream is global

Bob and Karen at Wat (Temple) Rong Khun, one persons life project with many artistians.

Children from one of nine hill tribes in Siam

Karen and Bob with one of the staff at the resort we stayed at for a week.

Ringing the Dharma Bell

The Buddha, The Dharma, The Sangha

2011-01-18T21:40:00.000-06:00

The Monk

The Bells Call One to Mindfulness

Respect of the Jewel, The Buddha

Compassion for others in the Temple

Is it Tara...the beauty of the Buddha

Lunch Time in the Temple, Chiang Mae

On the Steps of the Temple

2011-01-18T21:29:00.000-06:00

It is getting harder to reach down and slip on these sandals...

Temple after Temple, the sandals come off and on again...

Sacred space every where, humility in ones actions not just thought….

As I leaned over and put my shoes on, my sandals,

The monk watching the temple that morning, had come out and watched me carefully.

When I stood up, he offered me his arm to walk down the many steps.

I was so surprised at this act of kindness

I kindly said its ok, I can make it and he smiled…

What struck me for the rest of my Temple walk through the old city of Chiang Mai.

Was the natural way this happened,

Not a commandment,

Not a rule,

Not for merit,

Or a star in his crown,

But out of compassion, a deep comprehensive kind of love,

Unconditional, unmerited, unmeasured, love for all beings,

Thanks my friend,

Your care and this lesson that will not leave my heart or mind,

No merit or reward, but a human act, a practice, oh that it can be ours…..

Woodland Pattern Celebrates 30 years!

2010-11-30T22:22:00.000-06:00

The pictures from Flickr are of Anne Waldman and John Giorno who read or performed their poetry Friday evening and on Saturday a great workshop with Anne. Go Naropa!

MANAGING THE NEW MYSPACE STREAM FOR DUMMIES - C.C.'s Myspace Blog | CLOSED CAPTIONED FOR THE THINKING IMPAIRED

2010-11-09T18:19:00.000-06:00

MANAGING THE NEW MYSPACE STREAM FOR DUMMIES - C.C.'s Myspace Blog | CLOSED CAPTIONED FOR THE THINKING IMPAIRED

Purple Clouds: poetry

2010-11-05T23:08:00.000-05:00

Purple Clouds: poetry

W.S. Merwin on Becoming the New Poet Laureate | PBS NewsHour | Oct. 27, 2010 | PBS

2010-10-29T11:34:00.000-05:00

W.S. Merwin on Becoming the New Poet Laureate | PBS NewsHour | Oct. 27, 2010 | PBS

louie, louie: sorcerer, soothsayer, alchemist

2010-10-22T21:32:00.000-05:00

louie, louie: sorcerer, soothsayer, alchemist

Poets for Living Waters

2010-10-22T20:44:00.000-05:00

Poets for Living Waters

Missionary to the Forbidden City - NYTimes.com

2010-09-30T12:41:00.000-05:00

Missionary to the Forbidden City - NYTimes.com

CHAPTER XI THE ATTEMPT OF MATTEO RICCI TO LINK

2010-09-30T12:40:00.000-05:00

CHAPTER XI THE ATTEMPT OF MATTEO RICCI TO LINK

Facebook (16) | Taking Refuge: The Decision to Become a Buddhist By Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche

2010-09-30T06:30:00.000-05:00

Facebook (16) | Taking Refuge: The Decision to Become a Buddhist By Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche

Poetry International Web - Teji Grover

2010-08-23T21:30:00.000-05:00

Poetry International Web - Teji Grover

Poetry International Web - Tabish Khair

2010-08-23T21:29:00.000-05:00

Poetry International Web - Tabish Khair

Poetry International Web - Welcome to Indian Poetry — August 2010

2010-08-23T20:48:00.000-05:00

Poetry International Web - Welcome to Indian Poetry — August 2010

Poetry International Web - The Land as “Living Presence”

2010-08-23T20:46:00.000-05:00

Poetry International Web - The Land as “Living Presence”

Poetry International Web - Looking at the Body of a Poem

2010-08-23T20:45:00.000-05:00

Poetry International Web - Looking at the Body of a Poem

Poetry International Web - The Poet as Chronicler: An Overview of Contemporary Poetry in Northeast India

2010-08-23T20:44:00.000-05:00

Poetry International Web - The Poet as Chronicler: An Overview of Contemporary Poetry in Northeast India

Facebook (27) | Messages - URGENT ACTION FAMILIES FACING NEW demolition THREAT

2010-08-19T06:07:00.000-05:00

Facebook (27) | Messages - URGENT ACTION FAMILIES FACING NEW demolition THREAT

YouTube - Leonard Cohen - Feels So Good (Sligo 31/07/10)

2010-08-18T09:50:00.000-05:00

YouTube - Leonard Cohen - Feels So Good (Sligo 31/07/10)

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised : Gil Scott-Heron : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive

2010-08-16T12:19:00.000-05:00

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised : Gil Scott-Heron : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive

YouTube - Gary Snyder: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Riprap

2010-08-01T14:27:00.000-05:00

YouTube - Gary Snyder: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Riprap

Can we be Welcoming and Affirming?

2010-07-30T13:19:00.000-05:00

Friday, July 30, 2010

Can We Be Welcoming and Affirming?

The Kansas City Coalition of Welcoming Ministries is a network of organizations promoting “dialogue within the faith community on the inclusion of all persons regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.” On July 26 I attended the monthly meeting of the KC Coalition for the second time.

There are many denominational groups working to help churches become “welcoming and affirming.” They include Association of Welcoming & Affirming Baptists, GALA (Gay & Lesbian Acceptance, Community of Christ), GLAD (Gay, Lesbian & Affirming Disciples Alliance, Disciples of Christ/Christian Church), Integrity USA (Episcopal Church), More Light Presbyterians, Open and Affirming (United Church of Christ), and Reconciling Ministries Network (United Methodist Church). There are others.

In spite of these several organizations, except for the UCC the vast majority of the churches in other denominations are not welcoming and affirming, and at this point most of them probably have no intention of becoming so. But as knowledge about and understanding of gay/lesbian persons is increasing, more and more Christians are seeing their responsibility to become welcoming and affirming.

On July 25, the church of which I am a member had a welcome luncheon for four Muslim families, a lunch provided by fellow church member Ed Chasteen and his HateBusters organization. June and I were happy to attend the luncheon and to welcome our church’s guests. The purpose of the meeting was dialogue, not conversion, but I have no problem with our church welcoming and accepting people with other than Christian faith commitments.

But it saddens me to think that our church would be reluctant (or would refuse) to welcome gay and lesbian persons in a similar manner, even if (or maybe especially if) they were Christians. Our church’s position, it seems, is pretty much “don’t ask, don’t tell.” There are probably gay and lesbian persons who attend our church services, but they can’t be open about their sexual orientation the way our Muslim guests could be open about their religious identity.

Many gay and lesbian Christians have a difficult time maintaining their faith, for opposition and criticism (condemnation) is rampant, especially in the church and by Christians. For that reason I am a supporter of persons such as Rev. Candace Chellew-Hodge. Candace (b. 1965) grew up as a Southern Baptist PK (preacher’s kid), left the church when she came out as a lesbian at the age of 17, came back to Christian community through a Metropolitan Community Church in Atlanta, graduated from the Candler School of Theology, and is now associate pastor of the Garden of Grace [there’s that word again!] United Church of Christ in Columbia, SC.

Rev. Chellew-Hodge is the author of Bulletproof Faith: A Spiritual Survival Guide for Gay and Lesbian Christians and is also the founder of “Whosoever: An Online Magazine for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Christians.” (If you know of gay or lesbian Christians who are struggling with their faith, these would be helpful materials.)

On her webpage, Candace says she is available for speaking engagements. I hope at some point she will receive an invitation to speak in the Kansas City area. But if she came to visit at my church, I am afraid she would not be publically welcomed or affirmed. And I find that very sad.

http://www.shambhalasun.com/sunspace

2010-07-16T17:55:00.000-05:00

http://www.shambhalasun.com/sunspace

Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics

2010-06-10T23:14:00.000-05:00

http://adharmabumreportingfromnaropa.blogspot.com/ here is the blog for the 12th of June through the 21st of June...have fun, I am!

The Great Scorer by John Wooden : Poetry Magazine [article/magazine]

2010-06-08T15:54:00.000-05:00

The Great Scorer by John Wooden : Poetry Magazine [article/magazine]

Anna's Eyewitness Reports from Palestine: The Aftermath of the Flotilla

2010-06-07T23:02:00.000-05:00

Anna's Eyewitness Reports from Palestine: The Aftermath of the Flotilla

The Gaza flotilla as sacred drama | Ekklesia

2010-06-03T06:05:00.000-05:00

The Gaza flotilla as sacred drama | Ekklesia

Marianne Schnall: Exclusive Interview With Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh

2010-06-02T20:06:00.000-05:00

Marianne Schnall: Exclusive Interview With Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh

The Hindu : News / International : Nobel-winning Elders deplore Gaza flotilla attack

2010-05-31T15:20:00.000-05:00

The Hindu : News / International : Nobel-winning Elders deplore Gaza flotilla attack

Three-minute poetry? It’s all the rage | The Times

2010-05-31T12:03:00.000-05:00

Three-minute poetry? It’s all the rage | The Times

Gaza TV's phlog - ipadio - phonecast live to the World, any phone, anywhere

2010-05-31T00:56:00.000-05:00

Gaza TV's phlog - ipadio - phonecast live to the World, any phone, anywhere

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Guide: Gaza under blockade

2010-05-31T00:31:00.000-05:00

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Guide: Gaza under blockade

Facebook | Sandra Budak

2010-05-31T00:30:00.000-05:00

Facebook | Sandra Budak

Burmese Poet Released from Prison : : Harriet the Blog : The Poetry Foundation

2010-05-31T00:27:00.000-05:00

Burmese Poet Released from Prison : : Harriet the Blog : The Poetry Foundation

Naropa University's SWP Blog

2010-05-26T13:02:00.000-05:00

Naropa University's SWP Blog

Poodwaddle World Clock

2010-04-27T21:44:00.000-05:00

Poodwaddle World Clock

Poem In Your Pocket Day

2010-04-15T22:43:00.000-05:00

Poem In Your Pocket Day

World Religions: Not One, Not Many, an other thought on interfaith practice

2010-04-15T22:26:00.000-05:00

World Religions: Not One, Not Many
Tuesday April 13, 2010

Stephen Prothero has a new book coming out next month called God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World -- And Why Their Differences Matter. In this book he argues against the popular idea that the world's religions are all just different paths up the same mountain, so to speak. "This is a lovely sentiment but it is dangerous, disrespectful, and untrue," he says.

Prothero is a professor of religion at Boston University who has written a number of books, including Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know--And Doesn't (2007), which documents that in spite of our industrial-strength religiosity, Americans don't know nothin' about religion. A shocking number of American Christians cannot name the four books of the Gospels when pressed to do so. And only 10 percent of American teenagers can name all five major world religions; 15 percent cannot name any.

I haven't yet read God Is Not One, but according to a press release the book makes that case that a basic understanding of the world's great religions is essential to understanding global issues. But understanding a religion means to understand it on its own terms, not to view the religion through an idealistic haze that blurs the distinctions.

This strikes a chord with me. During the recent Tiger Woods/Brit Hume flap, many Christians in media and in our own blog comment threads proudly told us that only Christianity offers redemption for our sins, so why wouldn't we want to convert to it? As I wrote at the time,

Christians carry around in their heads a conceptual framework of what religion is supposed to be that simply doesn't apply to Buddhism. (This is one of the reasons so many people argue that Buddhism is not a religion; I say it is, and the framework is flawed.) So to say that Christianity is superior to Buddhism because it offers redemption is a bit like saying birds are superior to horses because they have feathers. It's nonsensical.

I get emails all the time from young people whose teachers have given them lists of questions about Buddhism. But the questions often are unanswerable as asked, because they are actually questions about Christianity-- questions about sins, repentance, redemption and heaven. All I can do is send them a link to the "intro to Buddhism" article and hope they read it with an open mind.

As for the part about all religions are not one -- the "all religions are one" meme has become an orthodoxy in some circles, and to stand up and say "no, they are not" and insist that distinctions be recognized and respected is to risk being called a fundamentalist. But according to Prothero's publisher, the new book explains that each of the world's great religions looks at a different problem and comes up with different solution.

-Islam: the problem is pride / the solution is submission
-Christianity: the problem is sin / the solution is salvation
-Confucianism: the problem is chaos / the solution is social order
-Buddhism: the problem is suffering / the solution is awakening
-Judaism: the problem is exile / the solution is to return to God

This explains why the Christians who wandered over here during the Brit Hume flap could not fathom why we weren't worried about our sins. But it also illustrates, I think, why one really can't blend two or more of these religions together without some distortion.

Although Jesus and the Buddha agreed on many things, ultimately the sin/redemption model and the suffering/awakening model are incompatible, at least from a Buddhist perspective. There's no place in Buddhism for an "other" power that "redeems" us. (Who redeems? Who is redeemed? From what? For what?)

The Official Site of The Chicago Cubs | cubs.com: Homepage

2010-04-14T21:41:00.001-05:00

The Official Site of The Chicago Cubs | cubs.com: Homepage

Houston, my Grandson says, the Cubs are number one! Go Cubs!

The Fourth Ashrama - "Sannyasa" or the Wandering Ascetic Stage, love this stage!

2010-04-09T13:01:00.000-05:00

Subhamoy's Hinduism Blog

By Subhamoy Das, About.com Guide to Hinduism

The Four Stages of Life
Saturday April 3, 2010

Have you tried dividing the years of your life into phases and categories? If you have, you'll be struck by a certain dominant theme that runs through these stages in life. Many a time you may have felt like being at the crossroads, looking for a guide that will tell you what to do next. And you might have wondered, what's the right thing to do at these stages in life, and what's the next step to take. Fortunately, Hinduism has a set of answers to these questions. While Shakespeare divided life into "seven ages", in Hinduism, human life is believed to comprise four stages or "ashramas":

* The First Ashrama - "Brahmacharya" or the Student Stage
* The Second Ashrama - "Grihastha" or the Householder Stage
* The Third Ashrama - "Vanaprastha" or the Hermit Stage
* The Fourth Ashrama - "Sannyasa" or the Wandering Ascetic Stage

This system of ashramas is believed to be prevalent since the 5th century BCE in Hindu society. However, clearly these stages of life have always been viewed more as 'ideals' than as common practice. Which of the four stages of life would you reject completely?

Poetry Giveaway, National Poetry Month 2010

2010-04-08T08:44:00.000-05:00

I have made a request to participate in this wonderful event. I will give away one copy of my book, "Chasing Wind Mills. Why Not." (LuLu.com, 2008) and one book by a Beat poet. I am on the road as Jack K wrote about and Willie sings about, so will have the actual nae of the second book after the 14th of April. Have a wonderful National Poetry Month, if your in East Central Wisconsin, USA, North America on Wednesdays after the 14th for three weeks from 2-4pm the poets in and around the Princeton Library are going ot meet and write poetry. A Reading will be the first Wed in May, 5:30pm pot luck (we eat a lot in Wisconsin) and reading by Bruce Dethlefsen a nationally known but very local poet and the rest of us, what fun! Peace ko shin, Bob Hanson koshin@centurytel.net

trails of smoke

falling into my village
not the trails of angels but of violence
against my family, my neighbors even those I do not get along with
why?
why?
trails of smoke in the sky
run for cover
pray for peace, yes, peace
and maybe quiet…
Poem accepted with slight edit by Word Salad Magazine has been accepted there Feb 8, 2009, by ko shin

British Mandate: A Survey of Palestine, prepared by the British Mandate for UN prior to proposing the 1947 partition plan

2010-04-03T19:54:00.000-05:00

British Mandate: A Survey of Palestine, prepared by the British Mandate for UN prior to proposing the 1947 partition plan

"Who do Buddha pray?"

2010-03-29T23:35:00.002-05:00

Question:
R. F.:
"when buddha prays, does he pray to jesus? or muhammad? or which saint does he ask for more energy from???when he give thanks about his gratitude, who does he giving thanks to?? WHOS GOD? WHERE IS HE GETTING HIS HIGHER POWER FROM?? ANSWER PLEASE ANYONE??"

Answer:
Dear R.,

let me write to you down my personal beliefs. And I am not a buddha, not a guru..
I know that buddhist prayer is a form of meditation; it is a practice of inner reconditioning - have that in mind while reading. And I think that prayer should be part of our spiritual journey, transforming confusion into clarity and suffering into joy.

"Buddhism teaches that suffering and happiness are states of mind and that our experience of life is highly subjective. Trough meditation, one develop awareness, self-observation, the inner witness, and most importantly, patience and compassion towards oneself."

You just have to remember who you are.. You will when you get to that certain point of awareness - though meditation. That should be your path. I can just show you some basics..

For Buddhists, prayer expresses an aspiration to pull something into one's life, like some new energy or purifying influence and share it with all beings. Likewise, prayer inspires our hearts towards wisdom and compassion for others and ourselves. It allows us to turn our hearts and minds to the beneficial, rousing our thoughts and actions towards Awakening. If we believe in something enough, it will take hold of us. In other words, believing in it, we will become what we believe. Our ability to be touched like this is evidence of the working of Great Compassion within us.

What's more, it can a function as a form of self-talking or self-therapy in which one mentally talks through a problem, or talks through it aloud, in the hope that some new insight will come or a better decision can be made. Prayer therefore frequently has the function of being part of a decision-making process.

Remember that prayer replaces the negative with virtue and points to the blessings of Life. It allows us to turn our hearts and minds to the beneficial, inspiring our thoughts and actions. And purpose of praying, meditation is to become Awaken...

Hope I cleared your thoughts... but remember that I am not a buddha..
We could disccus and meditate about it "for ever".. and I believe that should be your own personal meditation.

Check this site - I think it will be useful for you
http://clarkescott.org/the-meaning-and-purpose-behind-buddhist-prayer-and-chanting/

Sincere Blessings for your Path, L.LoVe

Four Changes by Gary Snyder Part of "Turtle Island: Pulitzer Prize for Poetry 1975,A MUST READ FOR OUR FUTURE!

2010-03-21T12:26:00.001-05:00

Four Changes

Women of Tibet Stand for peace and Justice

2010-03-12T16:02:00.001-06:00

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=202872&id=506841006

Visit Bloogy Wonderful

2010-02-25T15:00:00.001-06:00

Foot notes in Gaza

2010-02-14T07:47:00.001-06:00

A great book. Hope you can get past the graphic style...I would suggest this is a must read and buy. ko shin

Google Reader (1000+)

Ko shin's Reading At The Woodland Pattern Poetry Marathon Jan 30, 2010

2010-02-13T09:36:00.002-06:00

Many thanks to the people and organization of Woodland Pattern, a place where all our muses love To come and seem to be awakened….

This piece is my Howl.

My hero Allen Ginsberg Howled decades ago, thanks Allen, he knew we all have our Howls. Often we are afraid to let them out…I hope I have overcome that fear…

The first few lines are from my older brother, month ago today, he said good bye to his wife Norma, they had 53 years together and now he has started sending his stories out each day… this one fits in with howling….

While driving in Pennsylvania , a family caught up to an Amish carriage.

The owner of the carriage obviously had a sense of humor, because attached to the back of the carriage was a hand printed sign. "Energy efficient vehicle: Runs on oats and grass. Caution: Do not step in exhaust."

watch out here comes ko shin's poetry……I always tell my friends to wear boots when I read….

Man, I am really comfortable today

It is quiet here

Can't even hear the heavy doors close people are let out or in

That's right I am really comfortable, here, today

Know where I am dude? Sister?

In a prison, in the place where the Buddha's come and sit Quiet, that's right no bull shit, just Dharma, sister…just the teachings

How can one be comfortable

In a place where you are brought here for unskillful means?

Yea, that's it, its about letting go, sitting quiet, listening with your breath

Are You comfortable where ever you are? I bet!

Think about a cell, the cell we all live in…

What does it mean to let go and be free not from your cell but in it?

Freedom, yes, oh freedom!

-an assignment to sit or walk, do something and write a poem-

Cold metal on the bottom

That's what it was, no toilet seat, just shinny metal

Cold, and strange

But that's how our inmates sit on the throne

More inmates than any other country in the world

Cold metal on the bottom, that's it

It was a strange experience, not because there was no toilet seat,

My poetry teacher gave us an assignment

Go for a walk, sit somewhere for awhile

Then write some things down

I do that all the time, but not on cold metal on the bottom

I was sitting in meditation with the men, in the chapel, in the prison,

Nature called when you are my age you learn to answer in the moment not sometime soon….get it?

The chaplain gave me some choices, I guess because I'm not an inmate, so he thinks…maybe I am an inmate in my own prison…

So I entered the door with a sign on it, inmates only

There it was a metal throne without a seat, I paused only a second, nature was yelling by now And so I sat on the cold metal with no seat

Teacher, you ask how did I feel?

Hm, relived and free…who needs a seat...

Those dam rivers never stop, do they?

I ask more often than I want to, Why am I here?

Why are we here?

Recently, streams, rivers, have been on my mind, they are always moving even under the ice… up our way even trucks fall through the ice into the flow…

No ice fishing on a fast moving stream, no holding on to a special moment for you or me,

just keep going… I keep wanting to go back, do you too?

Maybe it is growing old, I don't know…… re-capture a special time or moment, impossible, all we have is this moment….

Well, welcome, to the strange sense

Of being in another world in the midst of this world…..we are who we are and avatars we choose at the same time,

our spiritual consciousness is like the river,

But, have you noticed, someone always wants to build a dam,

Like religious beavers, blocking the flow, the growth, the deepening….with dogma and bull shit, the truth they

say….to

Slow down the flow,

Everybody likes the flow but wants to block it in some way…. Judge it, change the direction…of our path

My daughter sent a message recently on Yahoo, then I saw her avatar, I said that ain't you Honey, she said yes it is….

I forgot the avatar, the other image of her points to her…it is not just a security thing….

We choose an avatar to point to who we are, what or who is our avatar or avatars..…yes I know it’s a movie in wrap around 3D,

do we need to wear glasses to see reality? To see our avatar's?

I think of the aboriginal sisters and brothers we met in Melbourne, recently, they talked about their "dream walking" is not something you forget, but live in each step, your vision, I want to be a dream walking human being, will you join me on this journey?

We need to dream walk, walk about, remember our ancestors, the land, the earth, all beings…

And then it ends, or does it, maybe this is only the beginning, we will see

The earth shakes, in a moment life changes, it is incomprehensible, the tragic events of this universe, the earth quake, the people of Haiti...

I still smell the smells of New Orleans after Katrina…the water marks, the symbols on the side of the houses, how many animals found, how many people died, how many were rescued,

One always hoped for numbers on the live side, they weren't…..

I saw the same symbol being placed on a building in Haiti, the international symbols of life and death…everywhere

No more, please…I can see the death on the shore line of the Tsunami in South East Asia

The coffee plantations of Sumatra destroyed…

Ha, ha Starbucks, raise your price again, but do not give more to the farmer

I remember the streets of Detroit, eleven tornadoes in a few moments,one evening,

The trees are gone, the rich and poor lost everything, those with could replace, the poor are poorer…

I think of our sisters and brothers in Gaza, Palestine, invited out of their houses by the gunpoint or dragged, and then a Caterpillar and its blade made in the USA wrecks the home, not a house, a home…in the name of peace, we stand my, our avatars cry for Haiti, South East Asia, Detroit, Gaza, Iraq, Afghanistan, Burma, Tamales , Native peoples everywhere….

Yes, we cry for you Haiti, we will never forget the pain, the loss, the fear, the needs…

Stand tall, sisters and brothers, be comforted by the loving spirit of this world and all creatures who care for you

Your history of oppression and fighting for justice, we will continue to walk with you, Now and always,

What is important in this life? This flowing River….

This event reminds us, human life is, relationships are, serving the neighbor is our task…the whole world, peace…

-Ground Zero NYC four months after, late evening-

Some say a hole in the ground

Others a burial place

A tragedy yet a wakeup call

For all human kind

Look what hatred and fear do to others,

What will our response be?

Where are the towers?

Anyone see the towers?

A moment of silence for all souls lost this day

In this hole, only the dust of human life

When will we learn? When will we listen?

When will we hope?

NYC Jan 11, 2002, 4 months later

Reading the Obituaries, have you done that lately?

Your name, is it there?

Hope not, mind isn’t either?

Let me know…call my cell,

It will work in the deep, deep, ground…right?

Death is everybody's business

Right?

Why are we surprised when it visits?

Why We Don't Need Religion to Give Life Mystery | Media and Culture | AlterNet

2010-02-13T08:18:00.001-06:00

Why We Don't Need Religion to Give Life Mystery | Media and Culture | AlterNet

Just a word here...atheism and those who claim to be part of this movement has been getting a lot of attention recently and they should. I am not talking about the proving if there is a god or some divine thrower of the dice, but raising the questions about practice that often as Christians and others we do not even think is necessary. I have found http://commonsenseatheism.com/ a helpful resource. This young man gives one many links to a wide group of spiritual issues. I found one with free books from most spiritual traditions to download if you want.

The HH Dahi Lama has been saying lately that we are dealing with two forms of spirituality in humankind, a faith or belief based and a human based spirituality, where there is no need for church, temple, mosque or zendo. I can give you more info on this, leave a comment. I am a bit surprised how Karen Armstrong puts down those who call themselves part of atheism....in her newest book, but Xians have neve been know for being completely open, opps sorry ! Enjoy

Friends of Amida - Spiritual Networking -

2010-02-05T17:30:00.002-06:00

Visit Friends of Amida

Writer's Relief

2010-02-04T21:28:00.001-06:00

Buddhist Blessings: Haiti: The Spiritual Lessons To Be Learned Today

2010-01-21T18:29:00.002-06:00

Haiti: The Spiritual Lessons To Be Learned
Today at 3:49pm
With the news of the Haitian disaster comes a profound sense of vulnerability. When faced with catastrophes of this scale, we are left feeling exposed, without answers, the explicit images shown in the media reminding us how transitory everything is in life, how the material security we strive so hard to achieve can disappear in an instant. These harsh shocks remind us that we cannot control even the most significant things in our lives, even that which appears to be the most secure can be gone in a flash.

When we seek external security, we are seeking stability within that which always changes; this is why we need so many guarantees, but no guarantee is absolute in this world. Life is a succession of moments, during most of which we are absent, and when we reach the end of the road or are reminded in some way of our own mortality, we often have the feeling of dissatisfaction, of not having fully lived… as if time has run like water through our fingers.

Whether the outside is shaken by an earthquake or an economic crisis, through illness or some other stressful situation, we can confront it in one place only: the here and now.
By being present - present with ourselves, present with one-another, present in our feelings - vulnerable, without denying the dimension of the impact, and flowing with life, without negating our emotions: those long ignored feelings, forgotten deep within, avoided and distorted into something corrupt, a suppressed resentment poisoning our relationships, damaging our health.

Our emotions should flow like water, washing the banks of our human experience as they pass, flowing like life through time, dancing through this illusion that is calling to us, inviting us to become more human and more real in each moment.

Security can only be found if I focus inwards, in the eye of the storm, the core of the hurricane that takes me ever deeper within its quiet; if I go outwards into the chaos, I lose myself within it; if I go deep within, I find myself in the void.

We can see this in action through the responses to the crisis. Just when we believe that humanity has no hope, we see countries sending planes and ships, and presidents and representatives from all corners of the earth coming together as they offer their help. So shine the heroes, the silent hearts that give freely, so that the pain and suffering of those affected can be lessened, offering consolation and the tools to readapt and continue forward, thankful for what life has given, and lovingly letting go of that which life has taken away.

We cannot do anything to stop it, nor does it make sense to suffer now for what the future may bring, but we can move into action and give, we can focus on loving more in every moment those who surround us instead of criticizing, giving thanks for what we have received and letting go of that which does not serve us in cultivating our passion for life.

In this moment, find yourself in the center of the cyclone. Welcome in this new way of living, completely connected with your heart: there where the essence of life itself pulsates, there where your true voice speaks and resounds within you and in everything, becoming one in the union of love.

posted by Isha Judd on Care2

~ ~ ~

Isha Judd will be touring Europe in April 2010, presenting her latest book and movie, Why Walk When You Can Fly? which explain her system for self-love and the expansion of consciousness. Learn more at www.whywalkwhenyoucanfly.com.

No Beginning, no End, by Dalai Lama

2010-01-15T21:53:00.001-06:00

http://buddhismnow.wordpress.com/2010/01/11/no-beginning-dalai-lama/

The World Is Too Much With Us - William Wordsworth

2010-01-14T15:35:00.002-06:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FD8zvdnpvpE&feature=player_embedded

Palestine Think Tank » Human Rights Israel Newswire Palestine » Arab Support for Palestine

2010-01-13T21:01:00.000-06:00

Palestine Think Tank » Human Rights Israel Newswire Palestine » Arab Support for Palestine

Poetry Reading: Ted Kooser

2010-01-12T18:34:00.000-06:00

Poetry Gary Synder Berkerly

2010-01-12T18:18:00.003-06:00

Palestine Lives on...

2010-01-12T18:12:00.004-06:00

The Syllable by Syllable Commentary Explaining the Benefits and Advantages of the Vajra Guru Mantra

2010-01-09T15:19:00.002-06:00

The Syllable by Syllable Commentary Explaining the Benefits and Advantages of the Vajra Guru Mantra
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Saturday, August 22, 2009 at 12:56am
By the great tertön Karma Lingpa (14th century)

The Vajra Guru Mantra is the mantra associated with Guru Rinpoche, also known as Padmasambhava. This is a draft translation of a treasure text which explains the Vajra Guru Mantra. It was originally concealed during the time of Padmasambhava in Tibet and later rediscovered by Karma Lingpa (14th century) who brought it forth from its place of concealment and copied it down on reams of gold. It is simply known as "The Syllable by Syllable Commentary Explaining the Benefits of the Vajra Guru Mantra." It begins with an invocation and then goes into a dialogue between Yeshe Tsogyal, the spiritual consort of Padmasambhava, and Padmasambhava himself.
And so, Yeshe Tsogyal begins:

I, the woman Yeshe Tsogyal, having offered to you the inner and outer mandala on a vast scale, have the following request. Oh great teacher, Pema Jungne, you have been extremely kind to us, the Tibetan people, leaving for us a legacy that will benefit us now and in future lives. Your kindness is so great that we have never experienced anything like this before, nor will we ever experience anything like this in the future. In particular, so that now even though I am a humble person, I have no doubt that I will attain enlightenment.

In the future, sentient beings will have very short attention spans and a great many things will clutter and occupy their minds. Their characters will be rough and difficult to tame. They will develop many wrong views towards the sacred Dharma. In particular, a time will come when people will cast dispersions on the Secret Mantra teaching of the unsurpassable levels of tantra. At that time, all sentient beings will suffer heavily from disease, famine, and war. Because of the spread of these three calamities, in particular, China, Tibet and Mongolia will experience the same kind of turmoil as an ant's nest when it is destroyed, and the time will come for the
people of Tibet to suffer greatly. Though you have spoken at length of many skillful means to salvage what is possible from that situation, sentient beings in the future will not have the time to practice. Even though they may have some slight inclination to practice, they will encounter many great obstacles. Sentient beings will experience a great deal of disharmony. They won't be able to get along or reach any kind of accord, and in the wake of this, their behavior will become very impure. Bad times such as this will be
very difficult to avert. That being the case, what kinds of benefits and advantages would there be for those beings in the future were they to rely solely upon the Vajra Guru Mantra as their practice? I ask you to relate this for the benefit of individuals in the future who are not able to perceive this and therefore have to have it explained to them.

Then the great master, Pema Jungne replied:

Oh faithful lady, what you have said is so very true. In the future, such times will befall sentient beings and both in a temporary and in a long term sense, the benefits of the Vajra Guru mantra can be definitely be felt. Since my spiritual instructions and the methods of practice that I offer are immeasurable, I have hidden a great number of treasure teachings in the water, rocks, the sky and so forth. In these evil times, even individuals with fortunate karma will find it difficult to encounter these teachings. It will be difficult to bring together the necessary circumstances for these teachings to be revealed. This is a sign that the collective merit of beings is on the wane.

However, at such times, if this essence mantra, the Vajra Guru mantra, is repeated as much as possible, a hundred times, a thousand times, ten thousand times, a hundred thousand times, a million, ten million, a hundred million times and so forth, if it is repeated in holy places, in temples, next to great rivers, in areas where gods and demons abound, if it is recited in these places by tantric practitioners with pure samaya, by people with monastic ordination who maintain their vows purely, by men and women who
possess faith in the teachings, if they give rise to bodhicitta on a grand scale and recite this mantra, then the benefits and advantages and energy of such practice are truly inconceivable. This will avert all of the negative forces of disease, famine, unrest, bad harvests and all bad omens and indications in all the countries of the world, such that the rain will fall in a timely manner for the crops so there will always be a plentiful supply of water for agriculture and for human and animal life, and all regions and areas will experience prosperity and auspicious conditions.

In this life, in future lives, and in the intermediate state between death and rebirth, these individuals who practice in this way will meet with me again and again. The very best of these individuals will actually meet me in their waking consciousness. Those of middling degree of attainment will meet with me again and again in their dreams. Gradually perfecting the different paths and levels of their practice, they will attain to the ranks of the masculine and feminine holders of intrinsic awareness in my pure land in the continent of Ngayab. Have no doubt of this.

If this mantra is recited a hundred times a day, merely a hundred times a day without interruption, one will become attractive to others and will effortlessly come by food and wealth and the necessities of life.

If one recites it a thousand or ten thousand times on a daily basis, one is able to literally overwhelm others with one's brilliance, in the sense of becoming very charismatic and influential in exerting a positive influence over others, and one will gain unhindered force of blessings and spiritual power.

If one repeats it a hundred thousand or a million times on a regular basis one will become capable of effecting an immeasurably great benefit for beings, exactly as one would wish to.

If one recites the mantra three or seven million times, one is never separate from the buddhas of the three times and one becomes inseparable from me. All the gods and demons of existence will attend to one and offer their praises.

In the most excellent cases, individuals will attain the rainbow body, and the final level of attainment in this lifetime. On a more middling level, at the moment of death, the mother and child aspects of radiant luminosity will meet. At the very least, individuals will behold my face in the bardo state and all the appearances of the bardo state will be free in their own ground such that these individuals will be reborn on the continent of Ngayab and from that vantage point, be able to accomplish an immeasurable amount of
benefit to beings. Thus the Guru replied to Yeshe Tsogyal.

She responded by saying:

Oh great master, it is extremely kind of you to have spoken of these vast and immeasurable advantages of the spiritual energy of this mantra. For the benefit of sentient beings in the future however, a detailed explanation would be of enormous benefit, and so I would ask you to speak in a brief way about the different syllables of this mantra.

To which the great master replied:

O daughter of good family, the Vajra Guru mantra is not just my single essence mantra, it is the very essence or life force of all the deities of the four classes of tantra, of all the nine yanas, and all of the 84,000 collections of dharma teachings. The essence of all of the buddhas of the three times, all of the gurus, yidams, dakas, and dakinis, dharma protectors, etc., the essence of all of these is contained and is complete within this mantra. How, you may ask, does this work? What is the reason for all these being complete with this mantra? Listen well and hold this in mind. Read it again and again. Write it out for the benefit of sentient beings, and teach
it or demonstrate it to beings in the future.

OM AH HUNG VAJRA GURU PEMA SIDDHI HUNG

OM AH HUNG are the sublime, essence of the principles of enlightened body, speech, and mind
VAJRA is the sublime essence of the indestructible family
GURU is the sublime essence of the jewel family
PEMA is the sublime essence of the lotus family
SIDDHI is the sublime essence of the activity family
HUNG is the sublime essence of the transcendent family

OM AH HUNG VAJRA GURU PEMA SIDDHI HUNG

OM is the perfect splendor and richness of sambhoghakaya
AH is the total unchanging perfection of dharmakaya, the manifest body of absolute reality
HUNG perfects the presence of Guru Padmasambhava as the nirmanakaya, the manifest body of emanation
VAJRA perfects all the heruka deities of the mandalas
GURU refers to the root and transmission gurus and the holders of intrinsic awareness
PEMA perfects the assembly of dakas and dakinis
SIDDHI is the life force of all the wealth deities and the guardians of the treasure teachings
HUNG is the life force of the dharmapalas, the protective deities

OM AH HUNG VAJRA GURU PEMA SIDDHI HUNG

OM AH HUNG are the life force of the three classes of tantra
VAJRA is the life force of the monastic discipline and the sutra class of teachings
GURU is the life force of abhidharma and kriya (action) yoga, the first level of tantra
PEMA is the life force of the charya (conduct) yoga, the second class of tantra, and yoga (joining) tantra, the third class of tantra
SIDDHI is the life force of the mahayoga and anuyoga classes of teachings
HUNG is the life force of the ati yoga, the Natural Great Perfection (Dzogchen)

OM AH HUNG VAJRA GURU PEMA SIDDHI HUNG

OM AH HUNG purify obscurations arising from the three mental poisons: desire/attachment, aversion, and ignorance
VAJRA purifies obscurations which stem from anger
GURU purifies obscurations which stem from pride
PEMA purifies obscurations which stem from desire/attachment
SIDDHI purifies obscurations which stem from envy/jealousy
HUNG in a general way purifies obscurations which stem from all emotional afflictions

OM AH HUNG VAJRA GURU PEMA SIDDHI HUNG

Through OM AH HUNG one attains the three kayas
Through VAJRA one realizes mirror-like pristine awareness
Through GURU one realizes the pristine awareness of equalness
Through PEMA one realizes the pristine awareness of discernment
Through SIDDHI one realizes the all-accomplishing pristine awareness
Through HUNG one realizes the pristine awareness of basic space

OM AH HUNG VAJRA GURU PEMA SIDDHI HUNG

Through OM AH HUNG gods, demons, and humans are subdued
Through VAJRA one gains power over malevolent forces of certain gods and demons
Through GURU one gains control over the malevolent forces of the Lord of Death and the cannibal demons
Through PEMA one gains control over the malevolent influences of the water and wind elements
Through SIDDHI one gains control over the malevolent influences of non-human forces and spirits bringing harm and exerting negative control over one's life
Through HUNG one gains control of the malevolent influences of planetary configurations and earth spirits

OM AH HUNG VAJRA GURU PEMA SIDDHI HUNG

OM AH HUNG accomplishes the six spiritual virtues
VAJRA accomplishes pacifying activity
GURU accomplishes enriching activity
PEMA accomplishes magnetizing activity
SIDDHI accomplishes enlightened activity in general
HUNG accomplishes wrathful enlightened activity

OM AH HUNG VAJRA GURU PEMA SIDDHI HUNG

OM AH HUNG avert all imprecations and curses
VAJRA averts the negative consequences of breaking one's samaya with the deities of pristine awareness
GURU averts the negative influences of the eight classes of gods and demons in samsara
PEMA averts the negative influences of nagas and earth spirits
HUNG averts the negative influences of gods, demons, humans, samsaric gods

OM AH HUNG VAJRA GURU PEMA SIDDHI HUNG

OM AH HUNG defeats the army of the five mental poisons
VAJRA defeats anger
GURU defeats pride
PEMA defeats desire/attachment
SIDDHI defeats envy and jealousy
HUNG defeats the armies of gods, demons and humans

OM AH HUNG VAJRA GURU PEMA SIDDHI HUNG

OM AH HUNG brings about the spiritual accomplishments or siddhis
VAJRA brings about the siddhi of peaceful and wrathful deities
GURU brings about the siddhi of the awareness-holders and the lineage gurus
PEMA brings about the siddhi of the dakas and dakinis and dharma protectors
SIDDHI brings about the mundane and supreme siddhis
HUNG brings about the siddhi of accomplishing whatever one wishes

OM AH HUNG VAJRA GURU PEMA SIDDHI HUNG

OM AH HUNG transfers consciousness to the pure realms of experience
VAJRA transfers consciousness to the eastern pure realm of Manifest Joy
GURU transfers consciousness to the southern pure realm of Glory & Splendor
PEMA transfers consciousness to the western pure realm of Great Bliss
SIDDHI transfers consciousness to the northern pure realm of Excellent Activity
HUNG transfers consciousness to the central pure realm of Unwavering

If a physical form could demonstrate the benefit of even one recitation of OM AH HUNG VAJRA GURU PEMA SIDDHI HUNG, the entire earth would not be sufficient to contain the merit. All sentient beings who see, hear, or remember this mantra will definitely be established in the ranks of the masculine and feminine awareness-holders. If it is the case that these words of truth of
the Vajra Guru mantra do not accomplish for sentient beings what they wish to accomplish just as I have promised, then I Pema Jungne, am truly deceiving sentient beings. But I have not deceived you, so you should practice according to my instructions.

Even if you are not able to recite the mantra for whatever reasons, you should mount it on the top of a victory banner, even when the wind touches it, and that wind touches sentient beings, it will free them without a doubt. Alternately, you may inscribe it in clay or carve it in stone. This will also guard the path upon which these syllables are placed and guard that region from malevolent effects. You may also write this mantra out in gold ink on dark blue paper and wear it as an amulet. When you die, if this amulet is burned with your corpse, rainbows will be seen and your consciousness will be transferred to the realms of Supreme Bliss. The benefits of writing out, reading or reciting this mantra defy any accurate measure and defy any standard measurement that could be applied. Having established this for the benefit of beings in the future, I am hiding this treasure. May it meet with a fortunate child of mine in the future who has good karma.

Samaya. Sealed. Sealed. Sealed.
http://www.rinpoche.com/gurumantra.html

Prophet (SAW)'s Prayers: For Morning & Evening

2010-01-08T17:34:00.002-06:00

May this pracice be a blessings to all People, thanks to Lynn VivaPalestina Wilson, a leader of the march into Gaza this past few days, on Face Book Peace ko shin

Dua to be recited in the morning
أَصْبَـحْـنا وَأَصْبَـحْ المُـلكُ للهِ رَبِّ العـالَمـين ، اللّهُـمَّ إِنِّـي أسْـأَلُـكَ خَـيْرَ هـذا الـيَوْم ، فَـتْحَهُ ، وَنَصْـرَهُ ، وَنـورَهُ وَبَـرَكَتَـهُ ، وَهُـداهُ ، وَأَعـوذُ بِـكَ مِـنْ شَـرِّ ما فـيهِ وَشَـرِّ ما بَعْـدَه

The morning has come to me and the whole universe belongs to Allah, the Lord of the worlds, O Allah, I ask of you the good of the day, it's success and aid and it's nur (celestial light) and barakaat (blessings) and seek hidayah (guidance) and seek refuge from the evil in it (this day) and from the evil of that which is to come later.

(Hisn from Abu Dawood)

Alternatively, recite this dua
اللّهُـمَّ بِكَ أَصْـبَحْنا وَبِكَ أَمْسَـينا ، وَبِكَ نَحْـيا وَبِكَ نَمُـوتُ وَإِلَـيْكَ المَصِيْر

O Allah we enter the day time and the evening and die with your Qudrat (power) and to You do we return.

(Tirmidhi)

When the sun rises recite
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي أَقَالَنَا يَوْمَنَا هَذَا وَلَمْ يُهْلِكْنَا بِذُنُوبِنَا (مُسْلِمْ)

All praise be to Allah who has forgiven us today and not destroyed us due to our sin.

(Muslim)

In the evening recite
أَمْسَيْنَا وَأَمْسَى الْمُلْكُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ خَيْرَ هَذِهِ اللَّيْلَةَ فَتْحَهَا وَنَصْرَهَا وَنُورَهَا وَبَرَكَتَهَا وَهُدَاهَا وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا فِيهَا وَشَرِّ مَا بَعْدَهَا

The evening has come to me and the whole universe belongs to Allah who is The Lord of the worlds. O Allah, I ask of you the good of the night, it's success and aid and its nur (celestial light) and barakaat (blessings) and seek hidayat (guidance) and refuge from the evil of this night and the evil that is to come later.

(Abu Dawood)

Alternatively recite this
اللَّهُمَّ بَكَ أَمْسَيْنَا وَبِكَ أَصْبَحْنَا وَبِكَ نَحْيَا وَبِكَ نَمُوتُ وَإِلَيْكَ النُّشُورُ

O Allah we enter the night and the day and live and die with Your Qudrat (strength) and to You do we return.

(Tirmidhi)

After the expiry of Maghrib time, recite this dua
اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّ هَذَا إِقْبَالُ لَيْلِكَ وَإِدْبَارُ نَهَارِكَ وَأَصْوَاتُ دُعَاتِكَ فَاغْفِرْ لِي

O Allah, this is the time of the coming of the night and the passing of the day and the voices of those calling You to forgive us.

(Miskhaat)

Other supplications to be recited in the morning & evenings
Uthman (R.A.) reported that Prophet Mohammad (S.A.W.) has said that (nothing will harm) the servant who recites these words three times every morning and evening.

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الَّذِي لَا يَضُرُّ مَعَ اسْمِهِ شَيْءٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا فِي السَّمَاءِ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ

We have made (started) the morning (and night) in whose Name nothing in the skies and the earth can harm and He is the All-hearing, the All-knowing.

(Tirmidhi)

It is narrated by Abu Dawood that if one recites this dua in the morning, no unforeseen calamity will come to him.

(Miskhat)

Prophet Mohammad (S.A.W.) said that if a person recites three ayats of Surah Rum (Para 21) and if he misses his normal recitation of the day, he will still be rewarded for it. This applies to the night as well.

فَسُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ حِينَ تُمْسُونَ وَحِينَ تُصْبِحُونَ * وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَعَشِيًّا وَحِينَ تُظْهِرُونَ * يُخْرِجُ الْحَيَّ مِنَ الْمَيِّتِ وَيُخْرِجُ الْمَيِّتَ مِنَ الْحَيِّ وَيُحْيِي الْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا وَكَذَلِكَ تُخْرَجُونَ

"So remember Allah in the evening and the morning. To him is the praise in the Heavens and the Earth and in the last hours and when it is noon. He brings forth the living from the dead and the dead from the living and He revives the earth after it is dead. And even so you shall be brought forth".

Abu Huraira (R.A) narrated that Prophet Mohammad (S.A.W.) said that whosoever reads the beginning of Surah Mo'min (para 24) and Ayatul-Qursi in the morning, then he will be protected from calamaties and ploys till the evening and whosoever recites these in the evenings, will be protected from calamities and ploys till the morning.

حم * تَنزِيلُ الْكِتَابِ مِنَ اللَّهِ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ * غَافِرِ الذَّنبِ وَقَابِلِ التَّوْبِ شَدِيدِ الْعِقَابِ ذِي الطَّوْلِ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ إِلَيْهِ الْمَصِيرُ

"Ha. Meem, The sending down of this book is from Allah who is the All-Mighty, the All-Knowing, The Forgiver of sins and the Acceptor of repentance, Severe in retribution, Bountiful there is no ilah but He, Unto Him is our return".

اللّهُ لاَ إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ لاَ تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلاَ نَوْمٌ لَّهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ مَن ذَا الَّذِي يَشْفَعُ عِندَهُ إِلاَّ بِإِذْنِهِ يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ وَلاَ يُحِيطُونَ بِشَيْءٍ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِ إِلاَّ بِمَا شَاءَ وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَلاَ يَئُودُهُ حِفْظُهُمَا وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْعَظِيمُ

Allah! There is no ilah (deity worthy of worship) but He The Living, The Eternal One. Neither slumber, nor sleep overtakes Him. To Him belonges whatever is in the Heavens and on the earth. Who is he that can intercede with Him but by His permission? He knows what is before and what is behind them. They encompass nothing of His knowledge which He will. His Throne extends over the Heavens and the Earth, and the preservation of both does not weary Him. He is the Exalted The Immense One.

(Qur'an 3:25)

Prophet Mohammad (S.A.W.) stated that a person who has recited (the underlying) in the morning, he has pleased (praised, glorified) Allah for His favours of the morning, and if he has done so in the night, he has thanked Allah for His favours of the night.

(Abu Dawood, Nisai)

اللَّهُمَّ مَا أَصْبَحَ بِي مِنْ نِعْمَةٍ أَوْ بِأَحَدٍ مِنْ خَلْقِكَ فَمِنْكَ وَحْدَكَ لَا شَرِيكَ لَكَ فَلَكَ الْحَمْدُ وَلَكَ الشُّكْرُ

Translation: "O Allah, whatever favours You have bestowed upon me and all other creations is only from you. You are One, You have no partners. Praise and Shukr (thanks) be to You".

If recited in the night, then recite مَا أمَْسيَ in place of مَا أَصْبَحَ بِي

Thuban (R.A.) narrated that Prophet Mohammad (SAW) stated that if a Muslim servant recites (the underlying) three times every morning, then it becomes the responsibility of Allah to satisfy him on the Day of Qiyamah.

رَضِيتُ بِاللَّهِ رَبَّاً وَبِالْإِسْلَامِ دِينَاً وَبِمُحَمَّدٍ نَبِيَّاً

Translation: I am pleased with Allah as my Lord, Islam as my Deen and Muhammad (SAW) as my Nabi.

(Tirmidhi)

Muagal bin Yasaar (R.A.) narrates that Prophet Mohammad (S.A.W.) has stated that a person who recites three times

أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ السَّمِيعِ الْعَلِيمِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ

in the morning the last three ayats of Suratul Hashr then Allah delegates 70,000 angles to send mercy onto him till the evening and if he dies that day, he will die as a martyr and if he recites these in the evening then Allah delegates 70,000 angels to send mercy onto him till the morning and if he dies that night, he dies as martyr.

(Tirmidhi)

هُوَ اللَّهُ الَّذِي لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ عَالِمُ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ هُوَ الرَّحْمَنُ الرَّحِيمُ * هُوَ اللَّهُ الَّذِي لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ الْمَلِكُ الْقُدُّوسُ السَّلامُ الْمُؤْمِنُ الْمُهَيْمِنُ الْعَزِيزُ الْجَبَّارُ الْمُتَكَبِّرُ سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ * هُوَ اللَّهُ الْخَالِقُ الْبَارِئُ الْمُصَوِّرُ لَهُ الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَى يُسَبِّحُ لَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ *

"He is Allah, there is no ilah but He, He is the knower of the unseen and the witness He is the All-Merciful, the All compassionate. He is Allah, there is no ilah but He. He is the king, the Holy, the Giver of Safety. The Taker-in shelter the All-Mighty, the omnipotent, the All-Sublime. Allah is Pure and Pure of what they associate (with Him). He is Allah, the Creator, the One who is Perfect. To Him belong names Most Excellent. All that is in the heavens and the earth, glorify Him and He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise".

Ataa bin Abi Rahaa (R.A.) narrates that Prophet Mohammad (S.A.W.) has stated that if a person recites Surah Yaseen early in the morning then his need for the day will be fullfilled.

(Mishkat)

Benefit: The recitation of Surah Ikhlaas, Surah Falaq and Surah Naas three times each in the mornings and evenings, has been encouraged in the Ahadith.

(Hisn-ulHasin)

Supplications to be recited at night
Abdullah bin Masood (R.A.) states that Prophet Mohammad (S.A.W.) has said that the person who recites Suratul Waqia (para 27) every night, will never be poverty stricken (hungry) (Baihagi in Shabatul Iman)

Uthman (R.A.) states that a person who recites from

إِنَّ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ

in Surah Al-Imran till the end of the Surah on any night or part of the night, will receive the reward of performing his Salaat for the whole night.

(Mishkat)

Jabir (R.A.) states that Prophet Mohammad (S.A.W.) never slept before reciting Surah Alif Laam Meem Sajda (21 para) and Surah Tabarakal Lazi.

(Mishkat)

Abdullah bin Masood (R.A.) narrates that Prophet Mohammad (S.A.W.) has stated that the person who recites the last two ayats of Suratul Baqarah till the end, then these two ayats will be sufficient for him, i.e. Allah will protect him from all evil and ploys.

(Bukhari, Muslim)

When retiring to sleep, make wudhu, dust off the bed three times, lie on the right side, place the right hand under the head or cheeks and recite the following dua three times.

(Mishkat and Hsinul Hasin, Bukhari Muslim)

اللَّهُمَّ قِنِي عَذَابَكَ يَوْمَ تَجْمَعُ عِبَادَكَ

"O Allah, save me from the punishment on the Day when You will gather Your servants".

Alternatively recite this dua
بِاسْمِكَ رَبِّي وَضَعْتُ جَنْبِي وَبِكَ أَرْفَعُهُ إِنْ أَمْسَكْتَ نَفْسِي فَارْحَمْهَا وَإِنْ أَرْسَلْتَهَا فَاحْفَظْهَا بِمَا تَحْفَظُ بِهِ عِبَادَكَ الصَّالِحِينَ

"Oh my Lord, I have taken Your name and placed myself on my side and by Your power will rise up again. If you take my soul whilst I am sleeping (grant me death) then have mercy on my soul and if you leave me (let me live) by your power protect me by that with which you have protected your righteous servants".

(Bukhari, Muslim)

Or recite this dua
اللَّهُمَّ بِاسْمِكَ أَمُوتُ وَأَحْيَا

"O Allah, by Your name I live and die".

(Bukhari, Muslim)

Or recite this dua
اللَّهُمَّ أَسْلَمْتُ نَفْسِي إِلَيْكَ وَوَجَّهْتُ وَجْهِي إِلَيْكَوَفَوَّضْتُ أَمْرِي إِلَيْكَ وَأَلْجَأْتُ ظَهْرِي إِلَيْكَ رَغْبَةً وَرَهْبَةً إِلَيْكَ لَا مَلْجَأَ وَلَا مَنْجَا مِنْكَ إِلَّا إِلَيْكَ آمَنْتُ بِكِتَابِكَ الَّذِي أَنْزَلْتَ وَنَبِيِّكَ الَّذِي أَرْسَلْتَ

"I submit my life to you, I turn towards You and leave my work unto you, I lean on you, desire your boons and fear you as there is no other salvation besides you. I believe in the kitab (Book) you have revealed and in the Rasul(Prophet) you have sent.

Prophet Mohammad (S.A.W.) showed (taught a Sahabi) this dua and said: "If after reading it you die in the night, then it is as if you have died on 'Natural Deen' and if you awake in the morning alive then you will have good fortune".

(Mishkat)

Anas (R.A.) narrates that Prophet Mohammad (S.A.W.) said that if a person retires to bed on the side and recites Surah Fathiha and Surah Ikhlaas (Qul huwa- Allaho Ahad) he is immune from everything besides death.

(Hisnul Hasan from Albazr)

Sahabi (R.A.) requested Prophet Mohammad (S.A.W.) that Prophet Mohammad (S.A.W.) teach him something to recite at the time of retiring to bed. Prophet Mohammad (S.A.W.) said: "Recite Qul Ya Ayuhal Kafiroon, for in it (there is an announcement) to refrain from shirk.

(Mishkat from Tirmidhi)

In some ahadith it is stated that one should sleep after reciting (i.e. not to talk after reciting it).

(Hisnul Hasin from Albazr)

Ayesha (R.A.) narrates that when Prophet Mohammad (S.A.W.) used to go to the room for sleep, he used to recite Suras Ikhlaas, Falaq, Nass and blow onto his hand (palms) in such a manner that the saliva would drop on them and then he would rub them over his body three times starting from the front of the face.

(Bukhari, Muslim)

Beside this he would recite
33 times سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ
33 times الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ
34 times اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ

(Mishkat)

He also used to recite Ayatul Qursi as Allah has stipulated that the reciter will be protected throughout the night by the angels and the Satan will not come near.

(Bukhari)

Also recite this dua three times
أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ الَّذِي لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيَّ الْقَيُّومَ وَأَتُوبِ إِلَيْهِ

Its virtues are that all the reciter's sins will be forgiven even if it be equal to the extent of the foam in the ocean.

(Tirmidhi)

Recite Bismillah while closing doors, covering utensils, and putting off the light (candles etc.)

(Mishkat)

Prophet Mohammad (S.A.W.) said that when a person enters his bed (to sleep), an angel and a Shaitaan surround him. The Shaitaan whispers 'your awakening will end in evil' and the angel says' end in good". One sleeps after engaging in dhikr, the angels will protect him throughout the night. In order to gain the protection of the angels, it is wise to engage in Dhikr and then sleep.

(Hisnul Hasin)

It is not Magic it is the Spirit of the earth and four winds

2010-01-06T07:05:00.003-06:00

Thanks to "Journey Reflection" again and the spirit person there, John Cock, memories of the past and the gift of this moment, Oh, thanks Dr Lao

Guernica / Two Poems

2010-01-05T21:49:00.000-06:00

Guernica / Two Poems

Rabbis to US Ambassador: Time to 'Go Biblical' with Arabs - Jewish World - Israel News - Israel National News

2010-01-04T12:54:00.000-06:00

Rabbis to US Ambassador: Time to 'Go Biblical' with Arabs - Jewish World - Israel News - Israel National News

It was on this day in 1952 that a 23-year-old medical student from Buenos Aires, Ernesto “Che” Guevara, hopped on a motorcycle with his biochemist fri

2010-01-04T12:49:00.001-06:00

It was on this day in 1952 that a 23-year-old medical student from Buenos Aires, Ernesto “Che” Guevara, hopped on a motorcycle with his biochemist friend and began his journey through Latin America. For Che, it was a journey that would last nine months and in which he'd traverse 8,000 miles by motorcycle, hitchhiking, steamship, horseback, river raft, and cargo plane. He'd return home a changed man, dedicated to the causes of alleviating poverty, unifying Latin America, and to armed revolution. This journey became the basis for his New York Times best-selling book The Motorcycle Diaries.
Guevara came from a well-off Argentinean family. He didn't get very good grades in medical school, and he didn't seem that interested in politics. He really just loved to ride his bicycle and to travel. He'd biked around Argentina all by himself a few years before. So when his older friend, 29-year-old biochemist Alberto Granado, mentioned the idea of taking a motorcycle from the south end of Latin America to the north, young Guevara jumped at the chance. He decided skip his upcoming final exams and put medical school on hold for a year.
And 58 years ago today, Guevara and Granado mounted a rickety old motorcycle, which they nicknamed La Poderosa, the Mighty One, and departed Buenos Aires. On their way out of Argentina, they stopped at a resort where Guevara's girlfriend's family was staying for the summer so that he could say good-bye. His girlfriend gave him $15 to buy her a swimsuit from North America, which he swore he starve rather than spend on anything else. Weeks later, he handed the money to a homeless couple.
In Santiago, their sputtering motorcycle broke down for good, and they resorted to hitchhiking for the rest of the trip. From Chile they went to Peru, to a leper colony along the Amazon River where they hung around to treat patients. There he spent many nights awake into the wee hours talking with a Peruvian Marxist; he later cited these conversations as having helped to define his politics.
Guevara and Granado traveled on to Colombia and Venezuela, where Granado stayed to work treating people with leprosy. Guevara boarded a cargo plane to fly back to Argentina by way of Miami. But the plane had engine problems, and Guevara was stuck in Miami for several weeks, and he waited tables and washed dishes to survive.
He made it back to Argentina, sat down and reworked his travel notes years after the journey and wrote contemplative commentary around the descriptions of landscape and people that he'd jotted down while he was out on the road years before; his book The Motorcycle Diaries is actually a memoir. There are a few English translations available, including ones by Ann Wright (1996) and Alexandra Keeble (2003).
Che Guevara wrote in his diary: "I will be on the side of the people ... I will take to the barricades and the trenches, screaming as one possessed, will stain my weapons with blood, and, mad with rage, will cut the throat of any vanquished foe I encounter."
Che Guevara died in 1967 at the age of 39, executed by members of the Bolivian army.
Actually, he was killed by the CIA and their killing continues to this day...when will demand this stops?

New Year! End of a Life! Living in Hope and living for Peace!

2010-01-04T06:35:00.002-06:00

Just returning from the celebration of the Life of Norma Jean Varland Hanson, the wonderful lady who has been my brothers wife for some 56 years with family and friends. Who said death is not a healing event, it sure is. What a meaningful liturgy in the Christian path, and a laughter filled gathering of the families for the rest of the day and into the night. Many thanks to Laurie, Chip, Jean and Eric and of course my dear big brother JD. Be strong bro, you are never alone, some days will be tearful and sad, but everyday is a gift, blessings JD.

Yes, it is a new year, 2010. Turning 70 in these 365 days, you sometimes wonder how many more there will be. But, why worry each moment is a gift is all we have. Here's hoping your year is a rich one, filled with love, peace and justice for all people's.
Peace and love from ko shin, Bob & Karen and our clan.

The Gaza Freedom March has come to an end, but before the protesters dispersed they agreed on the following statement:

2010-01-03T21:18:00.000-06:00

The Gaza Freedom March has come to an end, but before the protesters dispersed they agreed on the following statement:

End Israeli Apartheid
Cairo Declaration
January 1, 2010

We, international delegates meeting in Cairo during the Gaza Freedom March 2009 in collective response to an initiative from the South African delegation, state:

In view of:

* Israel’s ongoing collective punishment of Palestinians through the illegal occupation and siege of Gaza;
* the illegal occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the continued construction of the illegal Apartheid Wall and settlements;
* the new Wall under construction by Egypt and the US which will tighten even further the siege of Gaza;
* the contempt for Palestinian democracy shown by Israel, the US, Canada, the EU and others after the Palestinian elections of 2006;
* the war crimes committed by Israel during the invasion of Gaza one year ago;
* the continuing discrimination and repression faced by Palestinians within Israel;
* and the continuing exile of millions of Palestinian refugees;
* all of which oppressive acts are based ultimately on the Zionist ideology which underpins Israel;
* in the knowledge that our own governments have given Israel direct economic, financial, military and diplomatic support and allowed it to behave with impunity;
* and mindful of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (2007)

We reaffirm our commitment to:

Palestinian Self-Determination
Ending the Occupation
Equal Rights for All within historic Palestine
The full Right of Return for Palestinian refugees

We therefore reaffirm our commitment to the United Palestinian call of July 2005 for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) to compel Israel to comply with international law.

To that end, we call for and wish to help initiate a global mass, democratic anti-apartheid movement to work in full consultation with Palestinian civil society to implement the Palestinian call for BDS.

Mindful of the many strong similarities between apartheid Israel and the former apartheid regime in South Africa, we propose:

1) An international speaking tour in the first 6 months of 2010 by Palestinian and South African trade unionists and civil society activists, to be joined by trade unionists and activists committed to this programme within the countries toured, to take mass education on BDS directly to the trade union membership and wider public internationally;

2) Participation in the Israeli Apartheid Week in March 2010;

3) A systematic unified approach to the boycott of Israeli products, involving consumers, workers and their unions in the retail, warehousing, and transportation sectors;

4) Developing the Academic, Cultural and Sports boycott;

5) Campaigns to encourage divestment of trade union and other pension funds from companies directly implicated in the Occupation and/or the Israeli military industries;

6) Legal actions targeting the external recruitment of soldiers to serve in the Israeli military, and the prosecution of Israeli government war criminals; coordination of Citizen’s Arrest Bureaux to identify, campaign and seek to prosecute Israeli war criminals; support for the Goldstone Report and the implementation of its recommendations;

7) Campaigns against charitable status of the Jewish National Fund (JNF).

We appeal to organisations and individuals committed to this declaration to sign it and work with us to make it a reality.

Please e-mail us at cairodec@gmail.com

Signed by:

(* Affiliation for identification purposes only.)

1. Hedy Epstein, Holocaust Survivor/ Women in Black*, USA
2. Nomthandazo Sikiti, Nehawu, Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), Affiliate International Officer*, South Africa
3. Zico Tamela, Satawu, Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) Affiliate International Officer*, South Africa
4. Hlokoza Motau, Numsa, Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) Affiliate International Officer*, South Africa
5. George Mahlangu, Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) Campaigns Coordinator*, South Africa
6. Crystal Dicks, Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) Education Secretary*, South Africa
7. Savera Kalideen, SA Palestinian Solidarity Committee*, South Africa
8. Suzanne Hotz, SA Palestinian Solidarity Group*, South Africa
9. Shehnaaz Wadee, SA Palestinian Solidarity Alliance*, South Africa
10. Haroon Wadee, SA Palestinian Solidarity Alliance*, South Africa
11. Sayeed Dhansey, South Africa
12. Faiza Desai, SA Palestinian Solidarity Alliance*, South Africa
13. Ali Abunimah, Electronic Intifada*, USA
14. Hilary Minch, Ireland Palestine Solidarity Committee*, Ireland
15. Anthony Loewenstein, Australia
16. Sam Perlo-Freeman, United Kingdom
17. Julie Moentk, Pax Christi*, USA
18. Ulf Fogelström, Sweden
19. Ann Polivka, Chico Peace and Justice Center*, USA
20. Mark Johnson, Fellowship of Reconciliation*, USA
21. Elfi Padovan, Munich Peace Committee*/Die Linke*, Germany
22. Elizabeth Barger, Peace Roots Alliance*/Plenty I*, USA
23. Sarah Roche-Mahdi, CodePink*, USA
24. Svetlana Gesheva-Anar, Bulgaria
25. Cristina Ruiz Cortina, Al Quds-Malaga*, Spain
26. Rachel Wyon, Boston Gaza Freedom March*, USA
27. Mary Hughes-Thompson, Women in Black*, USA
28. David Letwin, International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN)*, USA
29. Jean Athey, Peace Action Montgomery*, USA
30. Gael Murphy, Gaza Freedom March*/CodePink*, USA
31. Thomas McAfee, Journalist/PC*, USA
32. Jean Louis Faure, International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN)*, France
33. Timothy A King, Christians for Peace and Justice in the Middle East*, USA
34. Gail Chalbi, Palestine/Israel Justice Project of the Minnesota United Methodist Church*, USA
35. Ouahib Chalbi, Palestine/Israel Justice Project of the Minnesota United Methodist Church*, USA
36. Greg Dropkin, Liverpool Friends of Palestine*, England
37. Felice Gelman, Wespac Peace and Justice New York*/Gaza Freedom March*, USA
38. Ron Witton, Australian Academic Union*, Australia
39. Hayley Wallace, Palestine Solidarity Committee*, USA
40. Norma Turner, Manchester Palestine Solidarity Campaign*, England
41. Paula Abrams-Hourani, Women in Black (Vienna)*/ Jewish Voice for Just Peace in the Middle East*, Austria
42. Mateo Bernal, Industrial Workers of the World*, USA
43. Mary Mattieu, Collectif Urgence Palestine*, Switzerland
44. Agneta Zuppinger, Collectif Urgence Palestine*, Switzerland
45. Ashley Annis, People for Peace*, Canada
46. Peige Desgarlois, People for Peace*, Canada
47. Hannah Carter, Canadian Friends of Sabeel*, Canada
48. Laura Ashfield, Canadian Friends of Sabeel*, Canada
49. Iman Ghazal, People for Peace*, Canada
50. Filsam Farah, People for Peace*, Canada
51. Awa Allin, People for Peace*, Canada
52. Cleopatra McGovern, USA
53. Miranda Collet, Spain
54. Alison Phillips, Scotland
55. Nicholas Abramson, Middle East Crisis Response Network*/Jews Say No*, USA
56. Tarak Kauff, Middle East Crisis Response Network*/Veterans for Peace*, USA
57. Jesse Meisler-Abramson, USA
58. Hope Mariposa, USA
59. Ivesa Lübben. Bremer Netzwerk fur Gerechten Frieden in Nahost*, Germany
60. Sheila Finan, Mid-Hudson Council MERC*, USA
61. Joanne Lingle, Christians for Peace and Justice in the Middle East (CPJME)*, USA
62. Barbara Lubin, Middle East Children’s Alliance*, USA
63. Josie Shields-Stromsness, Middle East Children’s Alliance*, USA
64. Anna Keuchen, Germany
65. Judith Mahoney Pasternak, WRL* and Indypendent*, USA
66. Ellen Davidson, New York City Indymedia*, WRL*, Indypendent*, USA
67. Ina Kelleher, USA
68. Lee Gargagliano, International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (Chicago)*, USA
69. Brad Taylor, OUT-FM*, USA
70. Helga Mankovitz, SPHR (Queen’s University)*, Canada
71. Mick Napier, Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign*, Scotland
72. Agnes Kueng, Paso Basel*, Switzerland
73. Anne Paxton, Voices of Palestine*, USA
74. Leila El Abtah, The Netherlands
75. Richard, Van der Wouden, The Netherlands
76. Rafiq A. Firis, P.K.R.*/Isra*, The Netherlands
77. Sandra Tamari, USA
78. Alice Azzouzi, Way to Jerusalem*, USA
79. J’Ann Schoonmaker Allen, USA
80. Ruth F. Hooke, Episcopalian Peace Fellowship*, USA
81. Jean E. Lee, Holy Land Awareness Action Task Group of United Church of Canada*, Canada
82. Delphine de Boutray, Association Thèâtre Cine*, France
83. Sylvia Schwarz, USA
84. Alexandra Safi, Germany
85. Abdullah Anar, Green Party – Turkey*, Turkey
86. Ted Auerbach, USA
87. Martha Hennessy, Catholic Worker*, USA
88. Louis Ultale, Interfaile Pace e Bene*, USA
89. Leila Zand, Fellowship of Reconciliation*, USA
90. Emma Grigore, CodePink*, USA
91. Sammer Abdelela, New York Community of Muslim Progressives*, USA
92. Sharat G. Lin, San Jose Peace and Justice Center*, USA
93. Katherine E. Sheetz, Free Gaza*, USA
94. Steve Greaves, Free Gaza*, USA
95. Trevor Baumgartner, Free Gaza*, USA
96. Hanan Tabbara, USA
97. Marina Barakatt, CodePink*, USA
98. Keren Bariyov, USA
99. Ursula Sagmeister, Women in Black – Vienna*, Austria
100. Ann Cunningham, Australia
101. Bill Perry, Delaware Valley Veterans for Peace*, USA
102. Terry Perry, Delaware Valley Veterans for Peace*, USA
103. Athena Viscusi, USA
104. Marco Viscusi, USA
105. Paki Wieland, Northampton Committee*, USA
106. Manijeh Saba, New York / New Jersey, USA
107. Ellen Graves, USA
108. Zoë Lawlor, Ireland – Palestine Solidarity Campaign*, Ireland
109. Miguel García Grassot, Al Quds – Málaga*, Spain
110. Ana Mamora Romero, ASPA-Asociacion Andaluza Solidaridad y Paz*, Spain
111. Ehab Lotayef, CJPP Canada*, Canada
112. David Heap, London Anti-War*, Canada
113. Adie Mormech, Free Gaza* / Action Palestine*, England
114. Aimee Shalan, UK
115. Liliane Cordova, International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN)*, Spain
116. Priscilla Lynch, USA
117. Jenna Bitar, USA
118. Deborah Mardon, USA
119. Becky Thompson, USA
120. Diane Hereford, USA
121. David Heap, People for Peace London*, Canada
122. Donah Abdulla, Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights*, Canada
123. Wendy Goldsmith, People for Peace London*, Canada
124. Abdu Mihirig, Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights-UBC*, Canada
125. Saldibastami, Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights-UBC*, Canada
126. Abdenahmane Bouaffad, CMF*, France
127. Feroze Mithiborwala, Awami Bharat*, India
128. John Dear, Pax Christi*, USA
129. Ziyaad Lunat, Portugal
130. Michael Letwin, New York City Labor Against the War (NYCLAW)
131. Labor For Palestine

Gaza Freedom March instructions from Greta Berlin

2010-01-01T07:22:00.003-06:00

Gaza Freedom March instructions from Greta Berlin
By Guest Post • Dec 31st, 2009 at 9:22 • Category: Israel, Newswire, Palestine, Resistance, Somoud: Arab Voices of Resistance, War

Gaza_Freedom_MarchPlans for Thursday, December 31,
Tomorrow (ed note, today), international groups related to the Gaza Freedom March will join together for a united march to Gaza. We are demanding an end to the Seige of Gaza, freedom of movement for all Palestinians, and end to the Wall. We urge people around the world to join civil society in a boycotts, divestment campaign and a call for sanctions now.

Our protest will begin at 10 AM sharp in the heart of downtown Cairo. We are asking people to be in the area of the Tahir Square and the Egyption Museum. Please be in the area early. It is time to act like a tourist just as the Egyption Government has said we should do - window shop, buy coffee etc.

Please stay in small groups and pay attention. When the March begins, which will be visible by flags and sound, move to it as quickly as possible and add your energy and body to the flow. Once it begins, act like an Egyption and move through the traffic to join in.

Think of this as mosquitos or bees moving like a swarm to build our march. Once we are all together we want to stay tight, but know that is some place we will be flowing through the cars. We are nonviolent peaceful people. We do not want conflict, we want to go to Gaza to bring attention to the siege.

We do not know what the police will do. But we must be prepared for police brutality. We know they are capable of clubbing us, or physically pushing or pulling us around. If this should occur we will sit down.

Since it is likely that we will be stopped or corralled be prepared to spend some time together. Have ample water, food, things to keep warm, and cushion if you need something to sit on comfortably.

If we are stopped and held we will work together to decide our course of action.
There is room for everyone in this action whether you are marching on the street, watching from the sidewalk or providing support through media or electronic alerts about what is happening. You must make up your own mind if it is time to step out, but know that the more of us willing to hold the space the more power we have.

We are asking for an international delegation of women to lead this march. There will be a briefing at the Sun Hotel at 9 AM.

If your group did not do a walk through, please send someone to check in at the Sun Hotel by 8:30 AM sharp.

The most important thing is that we are coming together to support one another and take action on behalf of the people of Gaza and Palestine.

It will be a great day and we look forward to marching together in the streets!

It is rumored that we may be blocked in our hotels. If you find this to be true gather everyone together and go to their blockade and begin your protest march or rally at their blockade.

If we are physically prevented from getting to the area we want to be, send a delegate to the Lotus Hotel at 10:30 to re-adjust the plan. Make sure your group has a site to re-group by 11 AM in order to get the information from the Lotus.

Dana Balicki
National Campaign Manager
CODEPINK Women for Peace
dana@codepinkalert.org
c 202.422.8624 :: w 646.723.1781
PINKTank :: http://codepink4peace.org/blog/
Facebook :: http://apps.facebook.com/causes/203

Reaching the Gates of Hell is not so Easy

2010-01-01T07:18:00.002-06:00

Stuart Littlewood – Reaching the Gates of Hell is not so Easy
By Guest Post • Dec 31st, 2009 at 11:14 • Category: Action Alert, Israel, Newswire, Palestine, Resistance, War

photo_1_b37e092f829273c114beaa6b3ea93ef1(VIA Redress)
Egyptian ruler Mubarak torpedoes international voluntary aid to Gaza

Stuart Littlewood considers the predicament of the Viva Palestina international humanitarian convoy – the culmination of voluntary work by thousands of supporters, fund-raisers and donors in the UK, Europe and internationally – whose journey to besieged Gaza was thwarted by Egypt’s ruler, Husni Mubarak, just four hours before it reached its destination.

The Viva Palestina convoy is being given the run-around by Egypt’s President Husni Mubarak and his “Awkward Squad”.

My heart goes out to the 500 or so dedicated people from 17 different countries who brought their convoy of 200 vehicles almost to the gates of Gaza, only to be stranded at Aqaba just four hours short of their destination.

And not only the 500 driving with the Viva Palestina convoy but the thousands of supporters, fund-raisers and donors back home who have worked for months to provide the medical supplies, the food, the transport and the countless other humanitarian items.

These 500 “salt of the earth” were kicking their heels in Aqaba, and threatening a hunger strike while their precious cargoes spoiled in the heat, because the Egyptian authorities wouldn’t allow them to enter Egypt through the port of Nuweiba. The reason appeared to be that the road across the Sinai from Nuweiba to Rafah ran close to the Israeli border and the 250 trucks and ambulances of the convoy might have caused “a big infiltration problem”.

Why the Egyptian army couldn’t have provided an escort to ensure that no trucks left the column, wasn't explained. The convoy had already taken great trouble and gone many hundreds of extra miles to avoid Israel.

To have come so far and given so much – in time, effort, money and other resources – and to be thwarted at the last minute, was very hard to take.

However, Egypt is perfectly entitled to lay down rules and its Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying: "The Egyptian government welcomes the passage of the convoy into the Gaza Strip on 27 December, on condition that it abides by the mechanisms in place for humanitarian aid convoys to the Palestinian people, including most importantly the entry of convoys through the port of El-Arish."

In February 2006 the British MP George Galloway, who leads today's convoy, was refused entry into Egypt. The last Viva Palestina convoy was pelted with stones and vandalised at El-Arish, which is about 28 miles from the Rafah border crossing into Gaza, after Galloway reportedly called President Mubarak uncomplimentary names and urged the country's armed forces to overthrow him.

We all know what Mubarak is, but how sensible was it for Galloway to broadcast his opinion to the world when he wanted easy passage for his convoy through the guy’s territory?

There’s clearly no love lost here, and I heard the Egyptians had imposed three conditions if the convoy wished to reach Gaza through Egypt:

1. It must hand all its vehicles and aid over to UNWRA.
2. It must drive 500 miles back to Syria, then take ship from Latakia to the port of El-Arish.
3. It must ask Israel’s permission to cross from Egypt to Gaza.

This information came from members of the convoy, not the organizers. Conditions number 1 and 3 are unthinkable, surely. But this evening the organizers announced that the convoy, after mediation by Turkey, would indeed turn around and head back to Syria and embark from Latakia to El-Arish. Nothing has been said about complying with the other two conditions.

The voyage should take them under the noses of the trigger-happy and piratical Israeli gunboats who think nothing of opening fire on Gazan fishermen. Will the Royal Navy be dispatched to provide an armed escort?

The question remains: did the organizers know all this beforehand – especially the El-Arish stipulation – or was it suddenly sprung on them? Was clearance given for the southern route via Aqaba, then rescinded, or was it left to chance?

The convoy’s organizers are not answering basic questions and the full picture has still not emerged.

“This is a very determined convoy and we're not going anywhere except to Gaza," says George Galloway.

God speed you to the Gates of Hell then, George. But next time you should maybe consider going by sea, sailing 200 boats though international waters and demanding that the Western powers guarantee the freedom of the high seas. That way you don’t need to bow to the likes of Mubarak.

And you could become an admiral.
Stuart Littlewood is author of the book Radio Free Palestine, which tells the plight of the Palestinians under occupation. For further information please visit www.radiofreepalestine.co.uk.
http://www.redress.cc/palestine/slittlewood20091229

Palestine Think Tank » Analysis Israel Newswire Palestine Somoud: Arab Voices of Resistance » Stuart Littlewood – Egypt lacks the milk of human kindness

2010-01-01T07:13:00.000-06:00

Palestine Think Tank » Analysis Israel Newswire Palestine Somoud: Arab Voices of Resistance » Stuart Littlewood – Egypt lacks the milk of human kindness

Palestine Think Tank » Artwork Cartoon of the day Palestine » cartoon of the day

2010-01-01T07:08:00.000-06:00

Palestine Think Tank » Artwork Cartoon of the day Palestine » cartoon of the day

Obama bombs Yemen again, as he claims to stand "with those who seek their universal rights."

2009-12-31T07:51:00.002-06:00

WRITTEN BY Mozhgan Savabieasfahani

What a charade!

I learned the word "charade " from my Texan English teacher in Teheran long ago. I later found out she was the wife of a U.S. military advisor for the Shah's puppet regime. I still remember my teacher's meticulous attention to English pronunciation and her glittering diamonds. Many such U.S. military families fled Iran when the 1979 revolution arrived.

Obama, like his predecessors, got on T.V. yesterday to declare his love for freedom and universal human rights. What a charade! Do you, Mr. Obama, expect us to embrace your calls for people's universal rights as you continue to illegally occupy Iraq and Afghanistan, as you continue to bomb Pakistan, as you tighten crippling sanctions on Iran, and as you shamelessly talk of destabilizing politically independent nations? And as you continue your full support for Israel and its criminal acts in Palestine?

Do you expect us to believe you care for people's universal rights as you start another war in Yemen?

So what about Yemen, you ask?

Suddenly Obama has introduced us to his latest "enemy": Yemen.

You would never guess that Yemen was occupied from 1839 to 1967 by Great Britain or that Israel and the U.S. deployed their air forces, and their air bases, to crush Yemen's drive for independence. From the 1960's until today, Yemen has had its sovereignty shattered by U.S. military interventions, both covert and overt. So, Mr. Obama, don't play the innocent as you commit war crimes against Yemen.

One day, Obama, Bush, and a parade of Israeli leaders will go on trial for their destruction of the Middle East. Maybe then, we will have a chance to breath freely, and to enjoy real democracy without U.S. and Israeli bombs falling on our heads.

Mr. Obama, as for your bogus gesture in support of "those who seek their universal rights" in Iran: I will have you know that Iranians are well aware that U.S. policy has consistently been to crush all democratic movements in Iran by outright coup d'état, and by fueling genocidal wars.

It is no secret that in 1953 the CIA overthrew the government of the democratically elected Prime Minister, Dr. Mosaddeq. Mosaddeq had angered the British by nationalizing Iranian Oil. What ensued was 29 years of torture for Iranians at the hands of the Shah, who terrorized the people with an Israeli-trained secret police, the infamous SAVAK. After a brief period of feeling triumphant (as the 1979 revolution seemed to have won), Iran was hit again by the U.S. fueled war with Iraq, which lasted for 8 years, crippling civil society in both Iran and Iraq. The eight-year-war left the two nations battered and shattered.

Iranians suffer, to this day, from 30 years of U.S.-imposed sanctions that have taken a serious toll on education, public health and communications in Iran. Iranian airplanes frequently crash for lack of parts that are denied Iran under U.S. sanctions. Two years ago, I spent 8 hours in a local Iranian airport waiting for a 1 hour flight. Constant threats of bombing by the U.S. and Israel have also been inflicting psychological damage on all, especially on children in Iran. I recall a conversation I had with a close relative last year, who told me how her nine-year-old daughter cannot sleep because she is afraid of U.S. /Israeli nuclear attack.

Mr. Obama, your slogan of a "change you can believe in" is simply an insult to millions of people's intelligence—people who suffer in the hands of your military occupations and bombings across the Middle East.

The opposition of the American public to perpetual wars is apparent. Indeed, Americans put you, Mr. Obama, in the White House to end these wars. Sadly, Obama, like others before him, has betrayed this public. The American public feels helpless and impotent in the political arena that has been created by Democrats and Republicans alike. The American public have been made to associate political discourse with dishonesty and greed. Some argue that they suffer not only from economic depression, but also from a psychological state of feeling weak and powerless in what they think of as a democracy.

But let us remember the potent and effective American Civil Rights Movement that achieved the impossible. Remember The Civil Rights Movement that utilized mass protests to embarrass the U.S. government in front of the whole world. Let us also remember the anti-war movement that helped end the war in Vietnam and saved Asia from being totally torched by the U.S. military.

If only U.S. streets were filled with anti-war protestors again, we would witness a quick change of heart in U.S. Middle East policy and an end to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. If anti-war protesters fill the streets of America, further attacks, on defenseless countries like Yemen, will be no more.

See the power of today's Iranian green generation on the streets of their beloved Iran. See how the brutal security forces surrender to young Iranians who are demonstrating for democratic institutions free of corruption and greed. See the Iranian people's courage and determination to make this a better world for all.

Americans have achieved similar triumphs by public protests. Let us do it again. Mass public protest, against perpetual war, is our only chance to save ourselves.
–
Boycott Israel: hands off Iran

Samah Sabawi – Where Time Stood Still (English and Arabic)

2009-12-31T07:46:00.003-06:00

Samah Sabawi – Where Time Stood Still (English and Arabic)
By Guest Post • Dec 30th, 2009 at 20:42 •

Don’t tell us a year has passed…
We don’t measure our lives by this calendar
Time has stood still for us so long ago
Punctuated only by loss and grief
And the in between moments of quite reprieve
We don’t count on Christmas, nor Eid for cheer
We don’t fool ourselves with “happy new year”
No occasion is ever taken for granted,
When it comes to tomorrow, there are no certainties
Our yesterday is our today
Time is frozen here
And one calendar year
Will never contain our lives,
Our collective misery,
Our yearning for humanity
Don’t tell us a year has passed
Our clock stopped ticking when justice collapsed
Eclipsed by decades of repression
Hush… don’t speak of time
We have endured the absence of time
We don’t measure our lives by days like you
We measure our lives by the number of embraces
Our worth by a lover’s heartbeat
Our existence by our persistence
So, don’t tell us a year has passed….

Samah Sabawi is a writer playwright and poet. She was born in Gaza and is currently residing in Melbourne Australia.

حيثما توقف الزمن عن الحراك…

غزة بعد عام من عملية الرصاص المصهور

نظم: سماخ سبعاوي

لا تقل لي أن عام قد ولى

فنحن لا نقيس حياتنا بالتقاويم ومرور الأيام

فالزمان توقف بالنسبة لنا منذ زمن بعيد

ثقب بالضياع والأسى

وما بينهما فترات من السكوت

قنحن لا نعتمد على عيد الميلاد، ولا المرح

ولا نخدع أنفسنا بالتمنيات ب"عام سعيد"ّ!

فلا مناسبه تأخذ اعتباطاً

وعندما نذهب للغد… فليس هناك من ثوابت

فأمسنا هو يومنا الذي لا زلنا نحياه

فقد تجمد الزمن هنا

وسنة تقويمية واجدة

لن تختوي على كل خياتنا

وعلى مآسينا كاملة

توقنا للانسانية

لا تقل لي أن عام قد ولى

ساعاتنا توقفت عن التكتكة عندما انهار العدل

انخسفت بعد عقود من الاضطهاد

صه… لا تتكلم عن الزمن

فنحن لا نقيس حياتنا مثلك بالأيام

نحن نقيس الزمن بعدد الحضنات

قيمتنا بعدد خفقات قلب الحبيب

وجودنا بقوة اصرارنا وثباتنا

لا تقل لي أن عام قد ولى

Blessed Holiday Time to All

2009-12-25T08:04:00.002-06:00

The snow is falling off our high roof, the temp is mild for winter, and soon it will snow again. It must be winter, and Wisconsin. On this Christmas Morn, we send our love and our hope for you and yours. Every birth, every new creature in this complex and beautiful universe is a Christmas event, an extraordinary event blessed by the four winds and by the ground of all being. May your life and lives during this new year be blessed and fun. Peace and love, ko shin & Karen and all!

Happy Days for TruthDig and ko shin

2009-12-23T23:04:00.000-06:00

Bat Nha Monks and Nuns in Danger

2009-12-18T21:53:00.001-06:00

Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh gave a wonderful talk by Video from France at the Parliament of World Religions. The situation at this temple and for the monks and nuns is critical. Dec 9th they were ordered to de-robe and stop Buddhist practice in danger of being jailed and or killed. Remember them in your prayers and chants.

Bat Nha Monks and Nuns in Danger

by Brother Phap Lai, a monastic disciple of Thich Nhat Hanh

Greetings once more from Plum Village where our 90 day Winter Retreat has just opened with strong energy and Thay in good health and giving us nourishing Dharma talks. Wonderful.

Meanwhile the situation of our brothers and sisters in Phouc Hue temple, Bao Loc city, has become super critical. Violent expulsion of the more than 400 Buddhist monks and nuns is planned and would seem imminent. We deduce this from information received that the government has been coercing hundreds of local people with the promise of money and by making threats to demonstrate their anger towards us on the day of expulsion. We do not know the exact date planned. We assume they will hire mobs to carry out the expulsion.

Below is a link to an investigative report on the situation. Please view the (26min) film "Bat Nha Report"

http://www.vimeo.com/7664798

The text below summarizes the main points of the film:

On September 27, 2009 nearly 400 Buddhist monks and nuns were violently expelled from Bat Nha Monastery in the central highlands of Vietnam.

The Bat Nha monks and nuns, members of the Plum Village Tradition founded by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, are now entering their 8th week of uncertain refuge at Phuoc Hue temple, Bao Loc.

They remain under strict police control and surveillance. Government authorities continue their campaign of defamatory propaganda against the innocent monks and nuns through newspapers, radio and loud-speaker broadcasts.

In recent days, local authorities have stepped up their determined efforts to disband the community. They have set an end-of-November deadline for the monks and nuns to disperse, threatening violence if they fail to do so. Monastics leaving Phuoc Hue to travel to other temples have been followed, harassed and had their papers confiscated. Meanwhile, police have been taking the details of monks aged 18-25 as part of the national military draft process.

The government of Vietnam seems set on persecuting this young community 'to the end', forcing the monks and nuns to discontinue their simple path of peace, non-violence and compassionate service to their country.

The latest information we have is that the government are coercing all local people with money and threats to demonstrate on the day of expulsion and will hire mobs to carry out the expulsion.
Violent expulsion of the more than 400 Buddhist monks and nuns is planned and would seem imminent. Please stay in touch with the situation through www.HelpBatNha.org.

By shining light on the situation as it unfolds the truth will be revealed and tragedy may be averted.

End the Occupation of Afghanistan: Buddhist Peace Fellowship’s Position

2009-12-18T21:51:00.001-06:00

End the Occupation in Afghanistan

End the Occupation of Afghanistan:
Buddhist Peace Fellowship’s Position
by Chris Wilson, Board of Directors

The President’s disappointing decision to send more troops to Afghanistan leaves Buddhists with a choice. Buddhists can bemoan this mistake among themselves, or they can seize this opportunity to awaken the American people to the futility of war, using Afghanistan as a perfect teaching case.

The President’s tentative promise to bring our troops home in two years was probably enough to assuage public misgivings about this war, at least for now. Over those same two years, Buddhists must take a leading role in arguing for an earlier end to the occupation of Afghanistan.

American Buddhists must find a way to talk to non-Buddhists about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq without first having to convince them to become Buddhists. In what follows, we provide talking points against the war in Afghanistan that deserve serious consideration by everyone, Buddhist or not, pacifist or not.

In declaring that war is obsolete, the Dalai Lama gave us a powerful way of arguing against war in general. He was not claiming that ignorance, anger, and greed no longer cause human conflict. Instead, he was making a non-religious, evidence-based claim that war simply isn’t “winnable” any more -- at least not in the previous, popular understanding of “winning”. (From a Buddhist perspective, no one has ever “won” a war.)

It is simply a fact that, despite having the most powerful military force in the world, the United States has not “won” a major war outright since World War II. During the same period, many national liberation struggles were won against colonial powers either nonviolently or against overwhelming military superiority. Segregation in the U.S., South African apartheid, and even the British and Soviet empires, ended without a final military showdown. (Jonathan Schell of The Nation magazine made these points in his important 2003 book, “The Unconquerable World”.)

The reasons for this shift are profound and consistent with Buddhism – people have a limited tolerance for the suffering of war if they see its sights and sounds daily. Given the instant access that global communications now give us to the worst atrocities of war, it is hard to imagine that the U.S. public could have supported the prolonged occupation that U.S. commanders were demanding. Similarly, it is hard to imagine that the larger Muslim world can view the same images without more of them coming to regard the U.S. as the archenemy of Islam.

More specifically, here are some compelling reasons the war in Afghanistan is not “winnable”, even though the strategy advocated by U.S. commanders is explicitly based on winning the “hearts and minds” of the Afghan people. Consider the following:

1. Most Afghans (and most Americans) believe that the Karzai administration is illegitimate, corrupt, and incompetent – hardly the foundation for turning things around.

2. Apart from a few cronies, Karzai is despised by his own Pashtun ethnic group. The Pashtun are the group whose hearts and minds we most need to win, yet they regard Karzai as a pawn of the U.S. This contempt is based on his passive acceptance of the powerful national security roles the U.S. has given to their minority ethnic rivals, the Tajiks and the Uzbeks.

3. It does not help that Karzai was once a paid consultant in favor of building a pipeline for Caspian oil through his country. Many Afghans suspect this is one motive for the occupation, and believe that Karzai was promoted by the U.S. partly for this reason. What matters in war is what people believe, not whether something is conclusively proven. We doubt the U.S. can convince Afghans the pipeline is not something U.S. wants, even if it is not a primary motive.

4. In terms of winning hearts and minds, we may already have lost the war by our reckless and indiscriminate use of air power. We don’t have to blow up many Pashtun wedding parties or other innocent clan gatherings to push the survivors into the enemy camp. The use of drones and remote missiles by the U.S. will not end for a simple reason that everyone in the world understands: it is preferable to the U.S. to make such mistakes than risk American lives on the ground. From a U.S.-centric perspective, this makes perfect sense; from a Muslim perspective this looks like a devaluation of Muslim life by a great power with an acknowledged history of racism.

5. As for winning over hearts and minds through our pledge of democracy for Afghanistan, Americans are particularly prone to self-delusion. The American archetype of democracy involves the replacement of a dictatorial national regime by an elected representative government. As so many have pointed out, you can’t make such a transition if you don’t have a nation in the first place. Afghanistan, though a former kingdom, has never been a real nation. It is more a collection of clan-ruled mountain valleys and plains that have enjoyed local rule under various national regimes. The idea that Afghans want to yield local control to a national government dominated by the U.S. (as it was in the past by Britain and the Soviet Union) is based on the delusion that the Afghans see us as the benevolent and unselfish country we believe ourselves to be.

6. More tellingly from a Buddhist perspective, we should not assume that Afghans are different from ourselves. It is ignorance to believe that Afghans will tolerate the military occupation of their land by foreigners any more than we would.

7. Finally, in terms of winning the hearts and minds of the 1.3 billion Muslims in the world, the longer the U.S. occupies Muslim lands and takes innocent Muslim lives, the greater the chance that the U.S. is creating a hundred-year conflict that will severely compromise its own future. The logic for the occupation of Afghanistan implies that we may also have to occupy Pakistan, Somalia, and Sudan, not to mention Iran.

These are only the inherent contradictions in the “hearts and minds” anti-insurgency strategy promoted by our military commanders. To these must be added the well-known practical considerations created by Afghanistan’s mountainous and land-locked terrain. Resupplying occupation forces is significantly more expensive than in Iraq, with some leaked estimates of at least one million dollars per soldier per year. The same rugged terrain, as we all know, has been the graveyard of occupying forces throughout history.

Perhaps as important as the preceding arguments is the effect that a prolonged occupation will have on the U.S. itself. As with Vietnam, the occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq will have the unintended blowback effect of brutalizing our own society. The alarming suicide and violent crime rates among returning veterans are just one aspect of this brutalization. There can be little doubt that prejudice against Muslims in the armed services played some role in the recent killings at Ft. Hood. In the weeks leading up to the President’s decision, conservative commentators were increasingly arguing that Islam is an inherently violent religion. Such a polarization of attitudes is a clear warning that our own society will become severely divided if the occupations continue.

It is at this point that the person we are trying to convince will ask, “OK, then what do you propose we do about Afghanistan?” Here, we would offer the alternative non-military strategy of creating peace villages. The Peace Villages strategy calls for local autonomy in finding a path to peace.
Conditions in Afghanistan may not yet permit the accompaniment and investment tactics that have made this strategy start to work in Colombia’s civil war. Given the prevailing tradition of local rule in both rural Colombia and Afghanistan, we believe that this nonviolent strategy has a better chance over a ten-year period than military occupation. In any case, it has the virtue of honoring local people and their traditions, rather than imposing an unwanted nationhood at the point of a gun.

You need to listen to this one -Phone call to Aust. Human Rights

2009-12-18T20:39:00.001-06:00

http://palestinian.ning.com/profiles/blogs/phone-call-to-aust-human?xg_source=msg_mes_network

Peace for Palestine, NOW!

Jonathan Benthall reviews Reason Faith and Revolution by Terry Eagleton and selection of other books - TLS

2009-12-13T17:08:00.000-06:00

Jonathan Benthall reviews Reason Faith and Revolution by Terry Eagleton and selection of other books - TLS

The Final Day Wednesday the 9th

2009-12-10T15:01:00.003-06:00

We gathered on the bridge for a message to Denmark! And my last day of early morning meditation with the monks,,..

It is almost over, the Parliament, but not the interfaith, spiritual awakenment path that we all are on.

My day started with chanting of the Tibetan, as they finish another map of the human brain, a Mandela which will be swept up soon an given to the river that flows in the ocean and throughout the world for peace, enlightenment of all beings and justice.

I am waiting for Chief Oren Lyons of the Onondaga Nation near Syracuse. I have met him, but I am sure he will not remember. At the Interreligious Council we worked with his Clan Mothers and others. He has been a star of the Parliament whenever he can attend.

The security is higher this morning with HH Dali Lama in town and coming for our closing Plenary at 2:30pm this afternoon.

Deep sound of the throat, rumble through your body
A strange sound that seems to clear the head and mind
Rivers keep flowing
The sun is out
Where is the path, my path
Right here, in this moment, be quiet and listen, deeply…

It is always hard to see the Parliament end. The closing celebration was wonderful. In particular the presence of the HH Dali Lama was a gift He not only talked but remained with us for over an hour as we marched out of the assembly and on to a bridge or a picture of the Parliament. He again, as I remember he did in Cape Town challenged all of us. He reminded us that where there is conflict teams of interfaith people need to go to help with ending the conflict and serving to bring peace.

A cute aside, when he was given the branch of the tree by the aboriginal elder he was also given a sacred animal skin. He placed it on the chair next to him and kept looking at it. He turned to Joy and Elder and said "what is it? It is moving" Everyone has a good laugh as she placed it on his knee and he moved his hands over the skin. Later when small children came on the stage as a part of the closing, again we saw a side of his very human and humble man. Oh, that other world leaders could let go of their ego's so easily.

I am not ready to fully reflect or debrief yet, too much happens in six days at the Parliament to do that. I will be boring you with asides for years, at least until 2014 when we come to the next one. I will come in a wheel chair if I have too! But just a few words…the people you meet and see, just sitting watching is a great sport at the Parliament, the colors, the hats, even more crazy than mine, just the way spiritually conscious people walk and greet one another is a gift.

The workshops, over 650 of them were excellent. Of course choosing the one you want to attend is always fun, I did not go to half and change here as I did in Cape Town and Barcelona . In fact this is where I was touched and have many things to work through in terms of my own spiritual journey and path. I hope I can share some o the questions with you and a conversation will begin. The one statement that has set my head turning is this, that Our practice has gotten ahead of our theologizing (very Xian word) about interfaith spirituality.

Another Day at the Parliament, Tuesday, Dec 8

2009-12-10T14:59:00.000-06:00

The last full day of this terrific event of the spirit began with rain and is ending with delightful conversations in one of the coffee area's with an elderly woman from Australia and a Sikh from Melbourne.

In the midst of that, Karen and I visited a sustainable community centre connected with Victoria University and another group that works with aboriginal people here. Wonderful time! There are many tears here as well with the first people's and the way they have been treated and are being treated by the government and some of the settlers. Reminded me of home so much. We never quite come to the point of taking responsibility for the injustice we have brought down on others in our history, those who are different.

A Dharma Talk by Vietnamese Buddhist Zen master from his monastery in France for the Parliament was a powerful witness to what he called the five mindfulness trainings.

He called for collective awakenment! The first was reverence for all of life. The second point was living in mindful happiness, or generosity . The third is living in mindful love, safety for all beings. Love that brings joy, compassion, nourishment, and love of self so that we can love others. The Fourth point is,
Loving speech and mindful, compassion listening using the words that inspire, Love joy and, inclusiveness, deep listening, and loving speech.

There is so much that happens at these events it is hard to put it all down. I am sure we will have some great conversations over the next five years as we prepare for Parliament number six, wherever it is. Our day ended with s beautiful concert by the folks from Melbourne and Australia. The host was a woman from the NPR of this culture.

Another Day Monday Dec. 7th

2009-12-10T14:50:00.002-06:00

This Is Professor Tariq Ramadan from Oxford University in UK who spoke at a work shop on Religions Imperative to Present the Other. Oh by the way he has been refused entry into the old US of A a few times. He was going to teach at on of our Universities. What a wonderful scholar we miss...because of our fears.

It is hard to believe we are just past the half way mark of this, the fifth Parliament in world history. People are already beginning to talk about the next one, maybe even in the old USA. I hope not. South America would be a perfect site.

I have missed the first 90 minutes of workshops so I will spend some time with my friends. It is hard to place in words, poetry what this like of event is like. Your emotions go from one end to the other as you share with people their pain of war, violence and oppression and the hope others have in seeing their lives, their community and in a few situations their nation be transformed and come back to life. Maybe that is the lines we place this event in.

I often go to conferences, not so many now and I do not miss it, and one finds some reason to complain. Not at the Parliament, there are so many options you do not need to waste your time complaining about lights, sound or whatever.

Last night during the sacred concert, as the hall emptied, five hours was too long for many and I understand. As the hall emptied and the music became more deeply spiritual and wonderful I want to just stay there. Have you ever had that experience? I bet you have.

I realized this morning as I walked with others in the park and was encouraged to send my out breath to the earth in gratitude, that my vey being is being changed in each moment, but also by the witness of others, of how their lives are being transformed in a very real way. This happens through what I call listen first and wait conversations, music, dance, art, traditions and the spirit. I think we are meant to have this experience every five years to feed our souls, but also help us understand why we are here in the first place.

Sands on the table
Growing into the map of human consciousness
A painting in sand? A work of art?
A spiritual practice reminding all human kind
Of the complexity of the mind, of the journey…
Enlightenment.

Another Day at the Parliament, Sunday Dec 6

2009-12-06T16:22:00.000-06:00

Good morning!

Not sure what this day holds for Karen and I and the thousands who will gather to work on ways to find peace in our world. The next three days we will be sending string messages to Copenhagen Denmark for the world leaders and NGO's to act NOW on Climate Change. We have representatives on the ground there to work for change.

It is maybe Monday where you are but hope your Sabbath time is a blessed one.

Peace and love for now ko shin and Karen

Back with you again. What a day. For me it began with Karen in a workshop on Interfaith seminaries.
There is a movement for sure around the world and now they are starting to structure themselves to better serve all of humanity. It is fun being with a group of people who do not have all the walls and boxes others do, like the Christian Church.

I was then part of the workshop on Christian Buddhist Dialogue. A standing room only crowd, with four speakers, one guy wrote a novel called "Dharma Man" The myth of Jesus in Buddhism. Interesting it reads a little like Choppa's book "Jesus" but the author claims he has no opinion on whether Jesus went to India, which I find interesting. A young Catholic scholar talked about his idea of the death of Buddha and the death of Jesus. Never gave a that a thought before, a little strange, but good talk. A third man spoke about Buddhist theology, a contradiction in terms, not convincing. The last scholar was a Buddhist professor from Australia, excellent.

After wandering around this afternoon, here I am. The Sikh's had booth in the booth area where they take your picture and put some blinking light on a world map. Neat top see where everyone is from. Had a wonderful conversation with a nun from a Taiwanese group who had a stand about the difference between their style of "chan" (Zen) and the style I practice.

Tonight is the sacred concert, it lasted past midnight and was wonderful. Music from many traditions, often by professional artists rom that country or faith. Exciting!

The 3rd day of the Parliament

2009-12-05T14:10:00.000-06:00