Rev. Danny Fisher

The two YouTube clips embedded below show chilling sights. First, a patient in the psychiatric ward of a Brooklyn hospital collapses on the floor and lays dying for half-an-hour while those around her do nothing. Second, people keep walking and drivers go around after an elderly man is hit by a car on the streets of Hartford. These devastating pieces of video footage provide the inspiration for a powerful piece on bystander behavior in today’s Washington Post.

What do you think about this? Please share your thoughts in the comments. I’m very curious to hear what you have to say.

In my recent interview with Ven. Thom Kilts, B.C.C., I made reference to an address he gave at the 2007 Buddhist Spiritual Care Symposium. That talk has been made available online here. I’d really encourage you to give it a listen. I thought it was a wonderful sort of call to action for Buddhist chaplains. (Thanks to Bill Hart for the pointer and for making the interview available in this way.)

Via the U.S. Campaign for Burma: The Democratic Voice of Burma reports that Buddhist monks and nuns in Burma are continuing their boycott of the military regime by refusing donations from government officials and those closely associated with the junta.