Rev. Danny Fisher

Wow. Don’t miss the short documentary embedded below (and narrated by Peter Mattiessen!) about the Eg-Uur Watershed Area–a conservation zone that is the result of a joint venture between the Tributary Fund and the Eg-Uur Buddhist monks of Mongolia. “Buddha and the Big Fish” is about their shared goal to “both rebuild their monastery, which was destroyed over seventy years ago, and to help the community find ways of protecting their waterways and the endangered Taimen–the largest species of salmon in the world.” This is achieved, filmmaker Ian Kellett notes, by “finding a common ground between the teachings of Buddhism and environmentally sound conservation practices.” Take a look…

Photo by Gary Knight / VII for Newsweek.
I’ve previously posted about articles in the New York Times and the Houston Chronicle which discuss the complicated matter of choosing a successor for His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet. Newsweek today weighted in on the matter with a lengthy article about His Holiness the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley. Here’s a snippet:

Some Tibetans now believe that the Karmapa Lama may be able to succeed where the Dalai Lama has failed—if, against all tradition and precedent, he is given an opportunity to lead…Because he comes from a different sect, he can’t become the Dalai Lama, but he could serve as regent until a new reincarnation reaches adulthood. The Karmapa is suited for this, in part, because he embodies the story of his people—a story of oppression, escape and exile that is very similar to that of the Dalai Lama himself, who fled Lhasa disguised as a common soldier in 1959. The Karmapa fled in 1999, at a time when he was under Chinese pressure to denounce the Dalai Lama. Instead, he joined the exile leader—after a daring late-December trek over the Himalaya. Some 150,000 Tibetans out of 6 million have made similar journeys to exile.

[...]

By naming a young and popular regent now, the Dalai Lama could assure a smooth transition to a figure who has become like a son to him, while dashing Chinese hopes of simply outwaiting the Tibetan exiles. He might also help to head off a full-blown power struggle over succession. As it is, any new leader—or joint leadership—will have to balance sectarian rivalries, win over alienated youth in Dharamsala, mollify the demands of sympathizers abroad and possibly deal with rival claimants to the title of the next Dalai Lama (each with his own powerful tutors and advisers).

Read the whole article here.

[UPDATE: Barbara O'Brien over at Barbara's Buddhism Blog points out errors, ommissions, and other gaffes in the piece. I'm working on a larger piece about journalism and Buddhism--stay tuned for that--and so I didn't say anything here about the problems I observed in the piece, but I think Barbara is right on. Check out what she has to say here.]

The Associated Press reports that international pressure is “mounting” for U.N. Secretary-General to visit Burma again. Ban last visited Burma in 2008 after Cyclone Nargis hit the Irrawaddy Delta.

This from the Official Website of the Central Tibetan Administration:

On 29 January the Kashag issued an appeal to Tibetans in Tibet not to engage in protests and to avoid any activity that will bring unnecessary imprisonment, detention and harm. In that appeal, the Kashag has also requested Tibetans in Tibet to avoid any clashes with the Chinese people.

Since then to our deep regret the situation in Tibet has deteriorated by the fact that the PRC authorities have deployed additional troops across the Tibetan plateau. The deployment of additional troops are significant and conspicuous in the Tibetan capital city Lhasa, Labrang Tashikhyil (Ch:Xiahe), Rebgong (Ch:Tongren), Lithang in Kham and in other parts of Tibet.

The PRC authorities’ recent remarks that they “will wage a people’s war” to crush any potential protest is especially inflammatory and is an incitement for ethnic tension.

The authorities’ refusal to permit tourists to visit Tibet is a clear indication that the situation in Tibet is not stable, despite their claims to the contrary.

The Kashag strongly deplore the recent arbitrary arrest, detention and torture taken place in Dege, Zogang, Lithang, Nagchuka and other places for slightest peaceful expression of their aspirations or resentments.

The Kashag supports the right of every Tibetan in Tibet and elsewhere to not to celebrate the Tibetan New Year as a mark of respect for those Tibetans who sacrificed their lives in the 2008 protests to highlight the deplorable human rights situation in Tibet. At the same time, the Kashag would like to appeal to Tibetans in Tibet to do this with peace and dignity that conform to the values embedded in Tibetan culture.

The Kashag especially regrets the re-launching of the strike hard campaign, patriotic re-education and forcing Tibetans to celebrate Tibetan New Year. The Kashag is convinced that this show of military force by the PRC authorities and the accompanying strike hard campaign are acts of provocation. In view of this the Kashag once again ask the PRC authorities to call off the strike hard campaign and to withdraw the undeclared martial law imposed to suppress the Tibetans.

In view of the grave and urgent situation in Tibet the Kashag call upon the parliaments, governments, human rights organisations, Tibet Support Groups and concerned individuals around the world to actively intervene and persuade the PRC authorities to exercise restraint. The PRC authorities must be convinced that repression and military might will not resolve any problems and that tolerance and engagement are the only effective means to bring stability in Tibet.

The Kashag
21 February 2009