2010 April 19 « Rev. Danny Fisher

April 19, 2010

A Gift of Dharma for 4.19.10

Today’s quote is from Claude AnShin Thomas, an ordained Zen Buddhist monk; author of At Hell’s Gate: A Soldier’s Journey from War to Peace; and founder of the Zaltho Foundation, a non-profit “whose purpose is to promote peace and nonviolence in and among individuals, families, societies, and countries supporting all efforts to attain this goal through whatever peaceful and nonviolent means available.” This is it:

The moment I see someone or something as separate from myself, this is war. These are the seeds and the roots of war. The moment I see myself as separate from the universe, this is war. There rests our suffering. It is impossible to commit acts of aggression unless I see myself as separate. I am conditioned to see the other as separate. These are the seeds of suffering. When they are dropping bombs I can understand. And it makes me commit myself even more strongly to this practice to wake up. But I ask you to do me a favor: if you wake up before me, please help me on my way.

Robes don’t make a monk. They don’t make me different. They just symbolize my commitment. They help me to remember: What is my purpose here ?

In the official years of the Vietnam War 58,000 American soldiers died in combat, several 100,000 South Vietnamese soldiers died in combat. They say, maybe a million North Vietnamese soldiers and North and South Vietnamese civilians died in combat. War does not begin with a declaration and ends with an armistice. War never ends until we get it here (points to his chest ). The non-soldier is more responsible for the war than the soldier. And that is not to say that I am not responsible. How many people died in Russia during the rule of Stalin? How many people died in Cambodia under the rule of Pol Pot ? How many people died in the fighting of the former Yugoslavia ? How many people died in Northern Ireland ? I am responsible to not let their lives be wasted. They died to let us know that this is not the way. Violence is not a solution.

Where is the war in you ? That’s what we use this practice for: to help us to wake up. To understand that we are not separate. When we look at people: Can we find the place where we touch ?

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April 19, 2010

“Quake Sees Tibetan Buddhist Monks Assert Roles”

Image via Reuters.

Both Reuters and The New York Times report on the relief efforts of Yushu’s Tibetan Buddhist monastics in the wake of the recent, devastating earthquake. Reuters writes:

The Chinese government, which is run by the Communist Party, has responded to Wednesday’s disaster with a heavily-publicized rescue effort. Beijing is eager to show that its growing wealth and strength give it the means to surmount natural disasters that would paralyze other developing nations.

The thousands of soldiers and rescue workers in orange jump suits carrying out the government rescue and relief effort are joined by hundreds, if not thousands, of Tibetan Buddhist monks in crimson cloaks and jackets.

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April 19, 2010

Message from Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche Regarding the Earthquake in Tibet

Image via http://dpr.info/.

This from my Naropa University professor Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche:

I am very saddened by the news of the devastating earthquake that struck Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai Province. Reports indicate that a great number of people have died, been injured, or lost their homes.

Early information also indicates that the monastery and monastic college of one of my beloved teachers, The Very Venerable Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, suffered great destruction, and that many monastic and lay members of the community have been killed or injured. Thrangu Tashi Choling is one of the most important Karma Kagyu monasteries in Eastern Tibet, and the main seat of H.E. Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche and The Very Venerable Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche.

As His Holiness Karmapa has advised, we can help those affected by this tragedy with prayers to ease their pain. I would also like to request my own students and sangha to recite the Heart Sutra and to give as much support as you can.

April 19, 2010

Thrangu Monastery Post-Earthquake: How to Help

Over at Shambhala Sun Space, Michele Martin writes about the earthquake-damaged Thrangu Monastery, offering updates and ways to help. Check it out.

April 19, 2010

“Uncovering the Buddhist Monk at the Center of One of the Most Significant Images of the Modern Age”

Our friend and editor Rod Meade Sperry at Shambhala Sun Space writes about efforts to understand the famous Vietnamese Buddhist monk and self-immolator Thich Quang Duc better.

On June 11, 1963, at a busy intersection in the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon, Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc set himself on fire to protest the government’s discrimination against the nation’s Buddhist majority.

Captured in an Associated Press photograph that was distributed worldwide, this horrific act launched a series of events resulting in the fall of the Ngo Dinh Diem regime. Thich Quang Duc’s self-immolation also came to symbolize America’s unpopular involvement in Vietnam, and Malcolm Browne’s photo became an icon of the era.

Find out more here.

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