Rev. Danny Fisher

Just a Buddhist Minister Trying to Benefit Beings
July 23, 2009

More about Obon

Recently, I blogged about the Obon festival. Over at Angry Asian Buddhist, Arun laments the lack of posts about the event and offers some good links. Take a look.

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July 23, 2009

Incarnation of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche to Tour the U.S. in 2010

This via MahaSangha News:

    Mangala Shri Bhuti and Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche are delighted to announce a celebration of the life and achievements of the late Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, and to introduce his young incarnation, Dilgo Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche, with a series of events in the U.S. in August, 2010. Events will take place in New York, Vermont and Colorado.

For more information, visit http://khyentsevisit2010.org.

July 23, 2009

Burma News (7.22.09)

“Opposition supporters says they are braced for the the court to find Aung San Suu Kyi guilty.” Image via Al Jazeera English.
Here’s the latest on Burma:

  • The Washington Post writes that “Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton made an explicit appeal to Burma on Wednesday to release jailed Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, offering the prospect of direct U.S. investment in the repressive Southeast Asian nation.”
  • The Associated Press reports that, at the same time, the U.S. House of Representatives “voted to renew sanctions meant to penalize the junta.”
  • The Los Angeles Times writes about Secretary Clinton’s concerns about suspected military ties between North Korea and Burma’s ruling junta, “saying they had the potential to destabilize the entire region.”
  • Al Jazeera English reports that Suu Kyi’s lawyer “says he and his team have been denied access to her, two days before her trial on charges of breaking the terms of her house arrest is due to resume.”
  • Lastly, the editors of the Guardian offer a powerful endorsement of the new documentary Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country:

      There is an awful lot of rough camera work in the just-released film Burma VJ. Heads missing, over-eager zooms, jumpy shots; that kind of thing. Hollywood directors sometimes do this to inject urgency into that otherwise-tepid thriller, but here the lack of cinematic polish is neither voluntary nor superfluous. A record of life inside totalitarian Burma, this documentary was filmed undercover by amateur video journalists (or VJs) on Handycams kept out of sight of the military junta. If the batteries gave out, the VJs used camera phones instead. The generals run Burma’s TV and radio, and they control most print media, so the anonymous VJs who are the subject of this film perform a rare and brave service. Called the Democratic Voice of Burma, this non-profit network gathers its footage in secret, before smuggling it out of the country. Burma VJ concentrates on the Saffron Uprising of September 2007, when thousands of Buddhist monks marched against military rule. This gesture of defiance soon swells into a mass protest. “Film them all! So many!” cries one marcher to a VJ, and the camera pans around balconies and rooftops crammed with cheering protesters. It is a moving scene, all the more so because the viewer knows that soon the uprising will be crushed, with thousands killed and arrested. Citizen journalism is much talked about, but this film shows it at its best – as a powerful force, allowing the world access to places and episodes that would otherwise remain hidden.
    • July 23, 2009

    The 2009 Shambhala Green Commitment

    This via MahaSangha News: Shambhala International’s Touching the Earth working group has launched a new initiative called the 2009 Shambhala Green Commitment.

      Earth Day is a time to commit our Shambhala Centers to environmental sustainability. To encourage this aspiration, the Touching the Earth working group invites all Shambhala Centers to participate in the 2009 Shambhala Green Commitment.

      To join in this collective commitment, each center is invited to make five commitments to improve its environmental performance over the next year. These activities can be large or small and can affect any aspect of your center, from energy efficiency to recycling and reuse.

      For instance, you might decide to switch from disposable to reusable eating utensils, purchase locally grown food, plant a vegetable garden, initiate a car-pooling scheme, caulk windows, install low-intensity light bulbs, upgrade to a more energy-efficient heating system or use nontoxic cleaning supplies. If your center has not yet assigned a liaison to the Touching the Earth working group, this could be one of your first commitments.

    This is a commitment I would hope all dharma centers would join in–whether it is officially part of this initiative or not.

    July 23, 2009

    Listen to "The Mind and Heart of the Dalai Lama: A Conversation with Pico Iyer and Paul Ekman" Online

    This via Shambhala Sun Space: In just a few minutes, KQED will be broadcasting the audio from a Shambhala Sun event held in April in San Francisco, “The Mind and Heart of the Dalai Lama: A Conversation with Pico Iyer and Paul Ekman”. You can listen online right here.