2008 July 21 « Rev. Danny Fisher

July 21, 2008

Harvard Buddhist Chaplain to Speak in Wisconsin

If you’re in Wausau, WI, at 7 p.m. on Thursday or Friday night this week, then you should visit the First Universalist Unitarian Church on 504 Grant St. to hear Lama Migmar Tseten, one of Harvard University’s Buddhist chaplains. He plans to discuss his new book Treasures of the Sakya Lineage: Teachings from the Masters, but will also offer a little general Dharma teaching as well. For more information, check out The Wausau Daily Herald.

July 21, 2008

The Guardian: Burmese Opposition Ready to Escalate Pro-Democracy Fight

This courtesy of our friend Erick: The Guardian‘s Clancy Chassay reports from Burma on Buddhist monks’ plans for a new (and possibly violent) uprising against the military regime in September. You can watch Chassay’s remarkable video report here, and read his full article in print here.

In other Burma news, a long-standing political prisoner has died behind bars while the foreign minister ratifies a charter that includes wishy-washy human rights provisions at the annual summit meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). ASEAN, along with the Burmese junta and UN, also offered a report today with the following information:

The cyclone caused damage estimated at $4 billion.

At least 84,537 people were killed, and another 53,836 missing and presumed dead.

The three organizations are looking for at least $1 billion in international aid for just humanitarian aid efforts for the next three years.

July 21, 2008

Buddhist News on the March (7.21.08)

Here are just a few new articles you might want to be aware of:

The New York Times reports on a tense face-off between Thai and Cambodian soldiers at an ancient Hindu temple on the border of the two countries. Although the temple was originally consecrated to honor Shiva, it was later converted to Buddhist use (like Angkor Wat and other temples in Cambodia). It is now caught in the middle of an international ownership dispute between the two Southeast Asian nations.

Meanwhile, in Cambodia proper, Buddhist monks and nuns prepare to vote in their first general election in over a decade. The Agence France-Presse has the story.

The Hartford Courant has more on the dispute over a proposed Buddhist temple in Newton, CT. (For more on this story, take a look at this post and this post.)

The Mercury News reports on Sri Lanka’s Esala Perahera procession–an annual, festive celebration Sri Lankan Buddhism in Kandy.

CBS News profiles San Francisco’s Green Gulch Farm Zen Center.

July 21, 2008

Urgent Actions

Here are three important, urgent actions that take only a few seconds to complete:

MoveOn.org asks you to sign a petition asking Sen. Obama, Sen. McCain, and Congress to endorse Nobel Peace Laureate and Fmr. Vice President Al Gore’s call for our country to commit to producing 100% of our electricity from cheap, clean renewable energy sources, like solar and wind, within the next ten years. (For more on the Fmr. Vice President’s call, see this post.)

CREDO Action asks you to call on the the House Judiciary Committee to cite Karl Rove with contempt for failing to comply with a Congressional subpoena. If at least forty members of the House Judiciary Committee respond, he will be cited and properly censured. (For more on Rove’s offenses, take a look at this video.)

Amnesty International reminds you to exercise one of your universal human rights–the right to vote–by registering here.

Follow “Rev. Danny Fisher”