Rev. Danny Fisher

Over at the Tricycle Editors’ Blog, the great Phil Ryan collects a group of Tibet-related stories you ought to note, including ones about the treatment of arrested British and American activists at the Beijing Olympics, the unblocking of iTunes in China, and the impending mining and smelting of aluminum on the Tibetan plateau.

Sarah L. McClintock, Assistant Professor of Religion at Emory University, recently posted a query on The Buddhist Scholars Information Network (H-Buddhism). She’s considering teaching a freshman course on the topic of Buddhist lives and put out a call for “excellent, highly readable accounts” from the ancient, medieval, and modern periods. I sent her suggestions for good, modern biographies and autobiographies (though I did veer into memoir territory too). It seemed appropriate to share the list here: maybe you’ll find out about a book or two you weren’t aware of. And please: share auto-/biographies of modern Buddhists that you like in the comments.

In the latest issue of Shambhala Mirror, a publication of the Shambhala Meditation Center of Chicago, my dear and wonderful friend Alisa Roadcup interviews Her Eminence Mindrolling Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche. Her Eminence holds the lineages of both the Nyingma and Kagyu traditions, and was recognized at the age of two by His Holiness the Sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, as the re-incarnation of a renowned female master: the Great Dakini of Tsurphu, Khandro Ugyen Tsomo. She is also the author of a tremendously good book entitled This Precious Life: Tibetan Buddhist Teachings on the Path to Enlightenment, which I recommend to you all. She oftens teaches at Naropa, where I saw her on a few occasions while Alisa and I were students there. (I once almost rode my bike into her and a gaggle of monastic attendants, for which I may never forgive myself.) Alisa is one of the biggest-hearted and wisest folks I know–a model practitioner. This is a real meeting of the minds (and hearts), and you shouldn’t miss it. Read the interview here.

This from Amnesty International:

Troy Davis came within 24 hours of execution in July, 2007 before receiving a temporary stay of execution. But the Georgia Supreme Court denied Mr. Davis’ motion for a new trial and now he faces execution on September 23. Troy Davis was sentenced to death for the murder of Police Officer Mark MacPhail in Georgia. The case against him consisted entirely of witness testimony which contained inconsistencies even during the trial. Since then, all but two of the state’s nine non-police witnesses from the trial have recanted or contradicted their testimony. Many of these witnesses have stated in sworn affidavits that they were pressured or coerced by police into testifying or signing statements against Troy Davis.

For more information and/or to send a letter to the Georgia State Board of Pardons & Paroles, follow this link.