Rev. Danny Fisher
Just a Buddhist Minister Trying to Benefit Beings
April 16, 2010
A Gift of Dharma for 4.16.10
Today’s quote is from Khyungpo Naljor, the 11th/12th-century mahasiddha. This is it–his “Dakini Song”, translated by Ken McLeod (and Tweeted about by him earlier in the day):
Crystal dakini guards against interruptions.
Jewel dakini increases wealth.
Lotus dakini gathers energy.
Action dakini gets everything done.When wanting and grasping hold sway
The dakini has you in her power.
Wanting nothing from outside, taking things as they come,
Know the dakini to be your own mind.The essence of mind is knowing.
Know that the crystal is the non-thought of mind itself
And the crystal dakini guards against interruptions.Know that the source of wealth is contentment
And the jewel dakini fulfills all wants and needs.Know that the lotus is the non-thought of freedom from attachment
And the lotus dakini gathers energy.Know that action has no origination or cessation
And the action dakini gets everything done.Those who do not understand these points
Can practice for eons and know nothing.So, the heart of the matter is
To know that the dakini is your own mind.
April 16, 2010
Tibet, China, Politics, and the Earthquake
The Los Angeles Times reports that “China [is] eager to show it’s doing its best to aid Tibet quake victims.”
President Hu Jintao cut short his trip to South America on Thursday and Premier Wen Jiabao flew to a far-flung corner of the Tibetan plateau, pulling out all stops to portray a compassionate Chinese government doing all it can to help the victims of Wednesday’s magnitude 6.9 earthquake.
The latest official figures list 760 people killed, 9,110 injured and more than 100,000 made homeless, the majority of them Tibetan. The earthquake took place in a politically tense region where many Tibetans have long chafed under Chinese rule.
After flying Thursday night to Qinghai province’s Yushu county, close to the epicenter, Wen climbed atop a pile of rubble and pledged to “build a good life for all ethnic people after the earthquake.”
The speech was translated simultaneously into Tibetan and appeared to be warmly received.
Shortly after the quake struck at 7:49 a.m. Wednesday, images from the scene showed Chinese soldiers and paramilitary members working hand in hand with local Tibetans, some of them Buddhist monks, in common cause to rescue quake victims.
“I think the Chinese already are looking at the larger implications of this earthquake. They see it as an opportunity for the Communist Party to win sympathy through its generosity,” Robbie Barnett, a Tibet scholar at New York’s Columbia University, said Thursday.
Early indications were that Chinese and Tibetans were working well together in the relief effort, Barnett said, adding that the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, may also be looking for an opportunity to “find some common ground in the quake.”
Read the rest here.
April 16, 2010
“Kung Fu Empowers Nepal Nuns”
The BBC has the story.
