If nonviolence, compassion and love are not the answer to the complex question submitted by our fucked up world, what is?

Well, some kind of action is probably required. Nonviolence, compassion, and love are certainly excellent values to stimulate action, but as critical as the situation appears, doing something that makes a difference is imperative. Some Buddhists think that it's enough to sit and meditate practice nonviolence, compassion, and love. While all that may be necessary, I don't think it's sufficient. I'd really like to see a multitude of Buddhists united in action to raise the consciousness of the people on the planet so we can continue to have people on the planet. But I don't know what to do to make that happen.

The SF Zen Center has a pretty activist posture. I mean, considering that there is a core philosophy of non-attachment to achieving set goals. The precept that says Do Not Kill is interpreted in a much broader way as to do no harm, and compassion is seen as doing acts that help to avoid harm and suffering, not just in front of you, but in the future. We know a lot more about the future now than they did back in the Buddha's day. The Headwaters situation was brought up in the dharma talk on a couple of occasions. The former abbot and current head teacher, Reb Andersen, says in his bio that he is particularly concerned with how Buddhism relates with issues like the environment and activism. I don't think I'd be a regular attendee if they acted like meditation alone would cure the world's ills. I wonder what other peoples' experiences are with their brands of Buddhism and their teachers. Is this a particularly San Francisco thing?

I don't think nonviolence, compassion and love are sufficient to saving the planet either. Not in its current critical state. Remember that in Mahayana Buddhism bodhisattvas are supposed to be heroes (or heroines, let us not forget) who come to the rescue. They're supposed to be so intent on the ultimate salvation of the world that there will be times when it will be appropriate for them to break any rule in the Buddhist ethical canon -- including killing for the sake of the greater preservation of life. e/she just has to be absolutely he/she is really and truly cool. And, of course, one doesn't know how to know that until enlightenment has arrived. I just spent a 3-day weekend at the Zen Mountain Monastery in Mt Tremper, New York (the Mountains & Rivers Order, led by Abbot John Daido Loori). A grand and beautiful retreat in a deep valley in the Catskills. I wondered at times about how their diligent and devoted routines, crackling with collective attentivenss, could have any effect on the ongoing downward spiral of consciousness in the cities and the suburbs of the world. Someone told me later that they did volunteer work in the New York State prison system -- working at possibly pulling souls out of hell. That's in addition to keeping the old monastery together, clean and attractive to the 20 or 30 people who show up each weekend to see if a higher consciousness is something real and attinable. And then providing them with indisputable evidence that absolute love and devotion will put meaning and value into being human. That's doing a lot. But a lot more, of course, is required.

I was just listening to Robert Thurman's tape on Basic Buddhism, and was struck by his idea of delusion - thinking that we're not full of bliss all the time is deluded. What a nice way to feel!

What books do folks recommend on Buddhism?

Well, I'd say that the best books on the subject are Eugene Herrigel's Zen And the Art of Archery, and Zen Flesh, Zen Bones, a collection of koans and Zen stories. Other good books (IMHO) are: Shunryu Suzuki's Zen Mind, Beginners Mind, and Myamoto Musashi's Book of Five Rings. at least of those I've read...

I've read Zen Mind, Beginners Mind and this is an excellent book.

The Tibetan version of buddhism is somewhat different in it's trappings from the zen one but very rich also. Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche wrote some of the most accessible material about buddhism that I've encountered. Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism was the first of his books to move me. The Vipassana tradition from Burma is also a wonderful approach. Jack Kornfield's A Path With Heart is a tremendous introduction to Buddhism and spirituality in general.Steven Levine's books are also great (some direct y about buddhism and some more concerned with death and dying kinds of material).

Many, many years ago, when I was but a mere child of 18, I read several books written by a Tibetan monk by the name of Tuesday Lobsang Rampa. Tuesday was his first name because that was the day of the week he was born on, I remember that. Anyway, his first book was called The Third Eye. He wrote of Chinese occupation in Tibet, of the Dali Lama, how to astral project, etc. I was totally influenced by these books. I remember him writing how by the year 1990 or 2000 (can't remember which) the Golden Age w uld be reached...that would be when there would be no more racial disparities because there would be no more different races. Everyone would be of the same race. I really liked that idea but of course, now I realize it won't come to fruition, at least not in the timeline he had submitted. If anyone runs across any books by him at a second hand book store, they ought to check him out. They're very interesting books.

Hmm. Sounds interesting, although there aren't different races anyway. Just put people of different colour in line, beginning from an albino and ending with someone living in Zaire. Then try to divide them in races. It is impossible. Or are there any methods of doing it? I'd sure like to know...

jaxers: What differentiates a Buddhist tenet system from a non-Buddhist tenet system, as our Buddhist ancestor philosophs would have it - are three basic tenets: - That everything - both concrete and abstract - is impermanent (anityam) - That everything - both person, persona, and "thing" - is without a stable, essential, enduring self-existence (anatman), and - That everything in Samsara - the wheel of birth, becoming and death that makes up the theatre for our deluded existences - is unsatisfactory ("dukkha" - which is usually rendered "suffering" - not the best translation, i'm afraid). The corrollary to this would be - That Nirvana is peace. This is the basic platform from which the manifold Buddhsims spring.

Should we talk about the million Tibetans killed so far by the Chinese execution? Would that be an appropriate new topic for this conference. It might be appropos, specially at this moment, when the film "Seven Years in Tibet" has just opened, there's a Richard Gere film opening soon (does anyone know the title) and Kundun, about the early life of the Dalai Lama, opens in late December. The International Campaign for Tibet is distributing action kits at movie theaters; there were vigils nationwide on October 8th. There's going to be a candlelight vigil in the Chinese Embassy on Tuesday, Oct 28 at 6:30 pm and a demonstration at the White Hous Oct 29 from noon to 2. Busloads are coming in for this. I'm trying to find out if there's anything going on in Austin and I just heard about an event of major important next weekend in NYC which I'll be posting about.

The Buddhaist temple in Denver is holding an open informational series on this as well.

Since Tianman Square, the dissidents have all either fled the country to safety, and the remaining ones have been jailed or executed, thus quieting things down. The US govt. is rewarding this "quieting down" with all kinds of trade favors and preferential treatment. But the problem hasn't gone away.

A quote from: "When Things Fall Apart - Heart Advice For Difficult times," by Pema Chodron, the American Tibetan Buddhist. As human beings, not only do we seek resolution but we also feel that we deserve resolution. However, not only do we not deserve resolution, we suffer from resolution. We don't deserve resolution; we deserve something better than that. We deserve our birthright, which is the middle way, an open state of mind that can relax with paradox and ambiguity. To the degree that weUve been avoiding uncertainty, weUre naturally going to have withdrawal symptoms -- withdrawal from always thinking that thereUs a problem and that someone, somewhere, needs to fix it. The middle way is wide open, but it's tough going, because it goes against the grain of an ancient neurotic pattern that we all share. When we feel lonely, when we feel hopeless, what we want to do is move to the right or the left. We don't want to sit and feel what we feel. We don't want to go though the detox. Yet the middle way encourages us to do just that. It encourages us to awaken the bravery that exists in everyone without exception, including you and me. Meditation provides a way for us to train in the middle way -- in staying right on the spot. We are encouraged not to judge whatever arises in our mind; in fact, we are encouraged not to even grasp whatever arises in our mind. What we usually call good or bad we simply acknowledge as thinking, without all the usual drama that goes along with right and wrong. We are instructed to let the thoughts come and go as if touching a bubble with a feather. This straightforward discipline prepares us to stop struggling and discover a fresh, unbiased state of being.

yes, it does.

I've started practicing Nichiren Daishonin's buddhism with SGI, this past year. This group stresses: faith, practice, study and ACTION. You can't just meditate and hope for everything to work out as you'd like it to. You need to meditate or chant as this group does and then based on the inner-wisdom you connect with while chanting/meditating, you take action to improve your life and to make the world/your community a better and more peaceful place. There's a great book about this practice by a leader in the British SGI group. His name's Richard Causton....I can't remember the title of the book off the top of my head though. MMC, check out SGI in your area (should be listed under Soka Gakkai International in your phone directory) if you want to find (per your response above) "a multitude of buddhists united in action working to raise the consciousness of the people" throughout the world.

Do they have a group in the Austin area?

terry, (i think this msg from you is in ref to my comment...so, I'm answering your question!), SGI is all over the world. I have an address listing for the larger cultural centers in the US. Austin isn't listed but Dallas is, as follows: SGI-USA, 2733 Oak Lawn Ave, Dallas, TX, 75219. Phone is: 214-559-4115, Fax is: 214-559-2288. I'd suggest calling and asking for a contact person in your area who could give you some introductory info on the group. Let me know if you have any more questions (and, if you hook up w/the group in Austin)!

Thanks Megan.

The following article comes from a site that has a good range of articles about Buddhism. Follow the link to find out more ... http://www.amtb.org.tw/e-bud/e-bud.htm Hwa Dzan Pure Land Learning Center amtb@amtb.org.tw THE FOUR KINDS OF BUDDHISM TODAY In our world today, there are at least four different types of Buddhism. The first type is the authentic Buddhism, the education of understanding the true face of life and the universe originally intended by Shakyamuni Buddha. Unfortunately, the authentic Buddha's education is rare nowadays, and difficult to encounter. The remaining types of Buddhism are more or less distortions of the original teachings. The second type of Buddhism is the religious Buddhism. Originally, Buddhism was not a religion, but now it has become one. We can no longer deny that there is a 'Buddhist religion' because everywhere we look, Buddhism is displayed as a religion. Unlike the monasteries in the past which held eight-hour classes per day and provided another eight hours for self-cultivation, today's Buddhist 'temples' no longer uphold such a perseverance of the Buddha's Teachings. Today we mainly see people offering to the Buddha statues and praying for blessings and fortune. In this way, Buddhism has been wrongly changed into a religion. The third type of Buddhism is the philosophical study of the Buddha's teachings. Many universities today open courses on the study of Buddhist Sutras, considering the teachings as a philosophy. The content of the Buddha's education is actually a complete university of knowledge and wisdom. Philosophy is only one of its courses. Just as it is wrong to recognize an university as a single course, it is also inappropriate to think of and limit the Buddha's education as only a philosophy. The Buddha's education can help us resolve our problems - from family difficulties to the great issue of life and death. The Buddha's teachings are deep and vast, and teach us the truths of life and the universe. It should not be mistaken as only a philosophy. The fourth type of Buddhism we see in our world today is the deviant and externalist Buddhism. This is an extremely unfortunate affair which only came to be in the past 30-40 years. We must know that the religious Buddhism persuades people to be decent, and the philosophical Buddhism pursues truth, neither cause much harm to the society. If Buddhism is changed into a deviant and externalist path, using the weakness of the human nature to cheat and harm living beings; disturbing the peace and safety of the society, then this conversion of Buddhism has gone too far. The speech and actions of these deviant and externalist paths can be very attractive and enticing. One should be very careful as not to be mislead by these deviant ways, or regretting it would be too late. These four types of Buddhism exist in our society today, we should recognize them as they are and think carefully as to which way is most beneficial to us, and the one we will ultimately follow.

Which type of Buddhism is that practiced by the Dalai Lama.

Verse 1 By thinking of all sentient beings as even better than the wish-granting gem for accomplishing the highest aim may I always consider them precious. These four lines are about cultivating a sense of holding dear all other sentient beings. The main point this verse emphasizes is to develop an attitude that enables you to regard other sentient beings as precious, much in the manner of precious jewels. The question could be raised, "Why do we need to cultivate the thought that other sentient beings are precious and valuable?" In one sense, we can say that other sentient beings are really the principal source of all our experiences of joy, happiness, and prosperity, and not only in terms of our day-to-day dealings with people. We can see that all the desirable experiences that we cherish or aspire to attain are dependent upon cooperation and interaction with other sentient beings. It is an obvious fact. Similarly, from the point of view of a practitioner on the path, many of the high levels of realization that you gain and the progress you make on your spiritual journey are dependent upon cooperation and interaction with other sentient beings. Furthermore, at the resultant state of buddhahood, the truly compassionate activities of a buddha can come about spontaneously without any effort only in relation to sentient beings, because they are the recipients and beneficiaries of those enlightened activities. So one can see that other sentient beings are, in a sense, the true source of our joy, prosperity, and happiness. Basic joys and comforts of life such as food, shelter, clothing, and companionship are all dependent upon other sentient beings, as is fame and renown. Our feelings of comfort and sense of security are dependent upon other people's perceptions of us and their affection for us. It is almost as if human affection is the very basis of our existence. Our life cannot start without affection, and our sustenance, proper growth, and so on all depend on it. In order to achieve a calm mind, the more you have a sense of caring for others, the deeper your satisfaction will be. I think that the very moment you develop a sense of caring, others appear more positive. This is because of your own attitude. On the other hand, if you reject others, they will appear to you in a negative way. Another thing that is quite clear to me is that the moment you think only of yourself, the focus of your whole mind narrows, and because of this narrow focus uncomfortable things can appear huge and bring you fear and discomfort and a sense of feeling overwhelmed by misery. The moment you think of others with a sense of caring, however, your mind widens. Within that wider angle, your own problems appear to be of no significance, and this makes a big difference. If you have a sense of caring for others, you will manifest a kind of inner strength in spite of your own difficult situations and problems. With this strength, your problems will seem less significant and bothersome. By going beyond your own problems and taking care of others, you gain inner strength, self-confidence, courage, and a greater sense of calm. This is a clear example of how one's way of thinking can really make a difference. (to be continued) from http://www.dalailama.com/html/training.html

_______________________ World Tibet Network News ______________________ Published by: The Canada Tibet Committee Editorial Board: Brian Given, Conrad Richter, Nima Dorjee, Tseten Samdup, Thubten (Sam) Samdup WTN Editors: wtn-editors@tibet.ca _______________________________________________________________________ Wednesday, August 10, 2005 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Issue ID: 2005/08/10 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Exiled Tibetans demand freedom from China 2. Dalai Lama to speak at UT 3. London bishop in Tibet row ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Exiled Tibetans demand freedom from China ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Bhopal, August 09, 2005 (ANI) Hundreds of exiled Tibetans in India took to streets today demanding China to quit the Tibet. The protest by the Council for Tibet Freedom marks the anniversary of Quit India movement against the British colonial rulers. The activist say their agitation is symbolic of the historic movement and they hope it culminates in justice for Tibet. " On this day Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi started the uprising in India against the British Government. Today under the banner of Council for Tibet Freedom we have also started this quit Tibet movement. As part of this movement we will take out processions against China all round the year. China has forcefully occupied Tibet and is ill-treating the people of Tibet. Such small and large scale processions are being organised in the whole country from Delhi to the Chinese embassy," said Dr. Mahesh Yadav, President Council for Tibet Freedom. Yadav added, "As per the traditions this protest too is for supporting our holiness the Dalai Lama, who has always followed Mahatma Gandhi's footsteps of non-violence and also to support the innocent people of Tibet. Through our movement we want to divert China's attention that they should quit Tibet and do away with the ill treatment on the people of Tibet. we also want to request all the countries not to keep any sort of business or cultural relations with China because of what China is doing in Tibet." International pressure has increased on China in recent years forcing it to hold a fresh dialogue between envoys of Dalai Lama. Beijing resumed dialogue on the future of the region with representatives of the Tibetan spiritual leader in 2002 after it was suspended in 1993. The talks have been shrouded in secrecy and the July meeting at the Chinese embassy in Berne, Switzerland, was also not announced in advance. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Dalai Lama to speak at UT ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Austin Business Journal Tuesday, August 09, 2005 The University of Texas will bring 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner and exiled Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama to the Austin campus Sept. 20. The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, will speak at the Frank Erwin Center in a lecture sponsored by the university's Texas Union Lectureship. Admission is free with a ticket. "The Texas Union is pleased to bring His Holiness the Dalai Lama to the university for his first visit to Austin," says Andy Smith, director of the Texas Union. "It will be a unique opportunity for our students and the community to hear a public talk by such a noted and respected international figure." Tickets will be handed out on a first-come, first-served basis, starting at 7 a.m. Sept. 6. The general public can obtain tickets at the Erwin Center box office, and people affiliated with the university can get tickets at the Texas Union Student Events Center ticket office. For more information, visit (dalailama.union.utexas.edu). ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. London bishop in Tibet row ----------------------------------------------------------------------- - By Our London Correspondent The Asian Age, India London, Aug. 9, 2005: The Bishop of London is at the centre of an unholy row after he participated in a ceremony with the disputed 17th Karmapa during his visit to London. Right Reverend Richard Chartres welcomed six other faith leaders to the celebration "of friendship and trust" at St. Ethelburga's, a London church transformed into a peace centre since it was bombed by the IRA in 1993. But senior Buddhists denounced the presence of Thaye Dorje, the 22-year-old who claims to be the living Buddha. Bishop Chartres was inundated with angry letters and emails from Buddhists who insist that Thaye Dorje is the "failed candidate" and is not the real incarnation of the Karmapa, the head of the Kagyu Buddhist school. Urgyen Trinley, who is living in exile in India, is recognised by the Dalai Lama and most of the mainstream Tibetan Buddhist community as the genuine Karmapa. The battle of succession, which has been raging for two , began after the death of the 16th Karmapa in 1981 when the traditional written instructions about where the next incarnation would appear could not be found. In 1992, one of the four regents appointed to find a successor claimed to have discovered a letter of prophesy, and Urgyen Trinley was identified in Tibet the same year. With the approval of the Dalai Lama and most of the Karmapa's followers, he was installed near Lhasa in Tibet until he escaped over the mountains and arrived in India in 2001. But the authenticity of the letter, and the role in the succession of the Dalai Lama, has never been accepted by the senior regent, Shamar, and in 1994 he announced that he had found his own young candidate, Thaye Dorje. The supporters of the two lamas have since carried on a war of words on the streets, over the Internet and in the courts. Bishop Chartres' office said that it "was appropriate" to welcome Thaye Dorje to the celebration "of friendship and trust." "We have no wish, however, to fuel the controversy around his lineage," it said. ______________________________________________________________________ Send articles to: wtn-editors@tibet.ca Subscriptions to: listserv@lists.mcgill.ca (SUB WTN-L [yourname]) Cancellations to: listserv@lists.mcgill.ca (SIGNOFF WTN-L) WTN Archived at: http://www.tibet.ca _______________________________________________________________________