Kingdom ready to celebrate; Bangkok will play host to some grand events to mark His Majesty the King's 80th birthday.
454 words
2 December 2007
Bangkok Post
2
English
(c) 2007
DECEMBER 2
4pm: His Majesty the King inspects the Royal Guards in an annual parade at the Royal Plaza.
DECEMBER 3
8am: The prime minister leads groups of civil servants to swear an oath of allegiance at Government House. Across the country provincial governors preside over oath-taking ceremonies for government officials at provincial halls.
4.19-4.49pm: The prime minister, the president of the National Legislative Assembly and the Supreme Court president preside over a ceremony to make lustral water at Wat Phra Chetuphon Wimon Mangkhalaram.
5.30-6.30pm: A religious ceremony is held to mark His Majesty's birthday at the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.
DECEMBER 4
9am-5pm: Members of the public sign a book offering their best wishes to the King in the compound of the Grand Palace.
4pm: Members of the cabinet, high-ranking state officials and groups of individuals are granted an audience with the King at Dusitalai Pavilion in Chitralada Palace.
9pm: A fireworks display at the Royal Turf Club (Nang Lerng Race Course), which will be viewed after the royal audience.
DECEMBER 5
7am: "Do Good Deeds for the Father" event at the statue of the Earth Goddess.
7.30am: A procession of lustral water from Wat Phra Chetuphon Wimon Mangkhalaram to Chakri Maha Prasart Throne Hall.
10.30am: His Majesty meets a congregation of people at Chakri Maha Prasart Throne Hall.
1-5pm: Members of the public sign a book offering their best wishes to the King in the compound of the Grand Palace.
5.45pm: The King attends a state ceremony at Amarin Vinijchai Throne Hall.
5.30pm: A procession of royal offerings takes place at Sanam Luang.
7.19pm: The prime minister presides over a candlelight ceremony at Sanam Luang to mark the King's birthday.
8pm onwards: A fireworks display on the Chao Phraya river, from the Rama IX bridge to the Industrial Ring Road bridge.
DECEMBER 6
9am-5pm: Members of the public sign a book offering their best wishes to the King in the compound of the Grand Palace.
10.30am: His Majesty makes offerings to monks at the Amarin Vinijchai Throne Hall.
8.30pm: A fireworks display at the Royal Bangkok Sports Club (Pathumwan Race Course).
DECEMBER 7
7pm: Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn presides over a grand reception attended by diplomats and dignitaries at Government House.
DECEMBER 8
5.30pm: Foreign diplomats are granted an audience with the King at the Dusitalai Pavilion in Chitralada Palace.
8.30pm: A fireworks display at Suan Benjakitti near the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre.
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Buddhist temples sprouting in US
Buddhist temples rising all over Western Pennsylvania
Arthur L. Clark
846 words
15 November 2007
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
English
Copyright 2007, Tribune-Review Publishing Co., All Rights Reserved.
John Ott faithfully attended St. Ferdinand's Roman Catholic Church until 2002, when he left Warrendale to attend graduate school.
When he came back home, Ott did not return to his parish. He joined the Zen Center of Pittsburgh Deep Spring Temple in Bell Acres, one of a growing number of Buddhist temples in Western Pennsylvania.
"Once I showed up (at the Zen Center), I pretty much didn't leave," said Ott, 38. "I felt like I had come home."
The number of U.S. Buddhists has doubled to more than 2 million since 1990.
"Every country (Buddhism's) gone into, it's ended up being a major religion," said the Rev. Kyoki Roberts, head priest at the Zen Center, which has 33 active members.
At least seven other temples and sitting groups -- representing a variety of traditions -- including a Theravada temple that started up last year, have opened near Pittsburgh.
"I think the community here is quite different than the community in China," said Shaun Yuan, a graduate student studying at Carnegie Mellon University who practices at the Zen Center. "In China, the temples are very big. Here, it's more like a community than a temple."
Local Buddhists say the growth has been gradual.
"It's growing, but I wouldn't say it's exploding," said Doug Gouge, 62, a retired business owner who practices at the Zen Center.
People come to Buddhism in a number of different ways, said Don Orr, president of the Stillpoint Zen Community in Lawrenceville, which has 24 members.
"Some come to it because they feel they need to fill a hole somewhere," Orr said. "Someone dies, someone gets very sick. A relationship just falls apart. They get a dumb slap of life. And they look at themselves and they go, 'You know what, I don't want to keep doing what I'm doing.' So they have a drive to get those answers."
Ott said practicing Buddhism helped him deal with depression. Now he's considering whether to give up teaching violin to become a Soto Zen priest.
"I was a very angry person when I first showed up here," he said. "That has certainly changed quite a bit."
Part of the greatest intrigue for newcomers includes the amount of spiritual responsibility placed on the practitioner, Orr said. Though some might teach, every individual is responsible for his or her own spiritual practice.
Some groups do not even have a formal leader. The Stillpoint Zen Community doesn't have a formal teacher, Orr said.
"We're like the equivalent to Quakers in Christianity," Orr said. "We're a lay group, so there's no authority based on formal hierarchy, which is not to say that Zen Buddhism is full of hierarchy, but we're a group that has steered clear there."
Even at a place such as the Zen Center, which has formal teachers, individual students are responsible for themselves, members said.
"A lot of people are really misguided in that, 'Oh, a teacher is going to make my life work,' " Gouge said. "You really are responsible in a bigger way than you ever thought."
Personal responsibility for one's own happiness is one of the main reasons that people are so attracted to Buddhism, Roberts said.
"Kyoki has a way of putting the practice in terms where it is applicable, where you can apply it to your daily life," Ott said. "She has understanding of practice that comes from a very deep place, in that she's been sitting for many years."
Although Ott stopped attending his Catholic parish, practicing Zen Buddhism does not have to mean giving up one's Christian faith, said Wendy Merrill, a psychologist who practices at Stillpoint.
She pointed to "Zen Catholics" such as the Rev. Robert E. Kennedy, a Jesuit who is an American Catholic priest and an ordained Zen Roshi. Kennedy is nationally known for his books, such as "Zen Gifts to Christians" and "Zen Spirit, Christian Sprit."
"I don't think there's anything inherently contradictory about Christianity and Buddhism," Gouge said. "You certainly could be a Christian and Buddhist. Speaking from the Buddhist side, we've got no problem with it."
Ott became Buddhist, saying he no longer connected with his church.
"Just taking the chance to look at what I was doing with my life, and where things were going, it helped so much," Ott said. "Just having a sense of clarity, a sense of purpose in what I was doing has helped so much."
Ott will stay at the Zen Center, probably for at least a year, and undertake a rigorous practice, including meditation, bowing and introducing new students to the practice.
"When you take up ordaining, then you're saying this practice is very important, and that you want to transmit it to other people," Ott said. "There doesn't seem to be many people stepping up to do that. And if I'm needed to be helpful in that way, I want to be."
Arthur L. Clark
846 words
15 November 2007
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
English
Copyright 2007, Tribune-Review Publishing Co., All Rights Reserved.
John Ott faithfully attended St. Ferdinand's Roman Catholic Church until 2002, when he left Warrendale to attend graduate school.
When he came back home, Ott did not return to his parish. He joined the Zen Center of Pittsburgh Deep Spring Temple in Bell Acres, one of a growing number of Buddhist temples in Western Pennsylvania.
"Once I showed up (at the Zen Center), I pretty much didn't leave," said Ott, 38. "I felt like I had come home."
The number of U.S. Buddhists has doubled to more than 2 million since 1990.
"Every country (Buddhism's) gone into, it's ended up being a major religion," said the Rev. Kyoki Roberts, head priest at the Zen Center, which has 33 active members.
At least seven other temples and sitting groups -- representing a variety of traditions -- including a Theravada temple that started up last year, have opened near Pittsburgh.
"I think the community here is quite different than the community in China," said Shaun Yuan, a graduate student studying at Carnegie Mellon University who practices at the Zen Center. "In China, the temples are very big. Here, it's more like a community than a temple."
Local Buddhists say the growth has been gradual.
"It's growing, but I wouldn't say it's exploding," said Doug Gouge, 62, a retired business owner who practices at the Zen Center.
People come to Buddhism in a number of different ways, said Don Orr, president of the Stillpoint Zen Community in Lawrenceville, which has 24 members.
"Some come to it because they feel they need to fill a hole somewhere," Orr said. "Someone dies, someone gets very sick. A relationship just falls apart. They get a dumb slap of life. And they look at themselves and they go, 'You know what, I don't want to keep doing what I'm doing.' So they have a drive to get those answers."
Ott said practicing Buddhism helped him deal with depression. Now he's considering whether to give up teaching violin to become a Soto Zen priest.
"I was a very angry person when I first showed up here," he said. "That has certainly changed quite a bit."
Part of the greatest intrigue for newcomers includes the amount of spiritual responsibility placed on the practitioner, Orr said. Though some might teach, every individual is responsible for his or her own spiritual practice.
Some groups do not even have a formal leader. The Stillpoint Zen Community doesn't have a formal teacher, Orr said.
"We're like the equivalent to Quakers in Christianity," Orr said. "We're a lay group, so there's no authority based on formal hierarchy, which is not to say that Zen Buddhism is full of hierarchy, but we're a group that has steered clear there."
Even at a place such as the Zen Center, which has formal teachers, individual students are responsible for themselves, members said.
"A lot of people are really misguided in that, 'Oh, a teacher is going to make my life work,' " Gouge said. "You really are responsible in a bigger way than you ever thought."
Personal responsibility for one's own happiness is one of the main reasons that people are so attracted to Buddhism, Roberts said.
"Kyoki has a way of putting the practice in terms where it is applicable, where you can apply it to your daily life," Ott said. "She has understanding of practice that comes from a very deep place, in that she's been sitting for many years."
Although Ott stopped attending his Catholic parish, practicing Zen Buddhism does not have to mean giving up one's Christian faith, said Wendy Merrill, a psychologist who practices at Stillpoint.
She pointed to "Zen Catholics" such as the Rev. Robert E. Kennedy, a Jesuit who is an American Catholic priest and an ordained Zen Roshi. Kennedy is nationally known for his books, such as "Zen Gifts to Christians" and "Zen Spirit, Christian Sprit."
"I don't think there's anything inherently contradictory about Christianity and Buddhism," Gouge said. "You certainly could be a Christian and Buddhist. Speaking from the Buddhist side, we've got no problem with it."
Ott became Buddhist, saying he no longer connected with his church.
"Just taking the chance to look at what I was doing with my life, and where things were going, it helped so much," Ott said. "Just having a sense of clarity, a sense of purpose in what I was doing has helped so much."
Ott will stay at the Zen Center, probably for at least a year, and undertake a rigorous practice, including meditation, bowing and introducing new students to the practice.
"When you take up ordaining, then you're saying this practice is very important, and that you want to transmit it to other people," Ott said. "There doesn't seem to be many people stepping up to do that. And if I'm needed to be helpful in that way, I want to be."
Saturday, November 3, 2007
At home: finding your mind
AT HOME; Finding your mind
1941 words
2 November 2007
Bangkok Post
R11
English
(c) 2007
People search for happiness all their lives and yet it often eludes them. The Lord Buddha laid down a simple path to happiness - the practice of mindfulness - that each of us can easily follow if we put our minds to it. PATCHARAWALAI SANYANUSIN points out some of the first few steps based on her own experiences
'Why was I born? What am I living for? When will my life end?" I believe everybody finds these questions floating in their minds from time to time. The first question is too complicated to discuss and the last is too scary to think about. It might take us a while to find the real purpose of our life, but whatever it is, I'm sure the conclusion will be that it's for one thing only: happiness.
And the next question, why do we want to be happy? That's easy to answer, too. It's because we love ourselves, isn't it? And yet, ironically, while we may love ourselves the most, we're not aware that we're continually neglecting ourselves, too.
All through life we tend to pay more attention to the people and objects around us rather than to ourselves. We are always curious to know about everything but ourselves. And whenever our attention is fixed on others, we forget about ourselves.
"Hardly any of the people in this world are awake," said Phra Pramote Pamotecho, or Luang Phor Pramote, of Suan Santidham in Chon Buri. "We all get lost in the world of delusions all the time."
His remarks caught me by surprise, and at first I told myself I wasn't one of those people. But as I listened further, I couldn't help nodding in agreement.
"Even when we're alone, we are trapped in the world of our own thoughts," the monk continued. "Sometimes we know our thoughts, but often we aren't even aware of what we're thinking about."
Luang Phor Pramote is respected by a large number of dhamma practitioners for his easy-to-understand teaching about the practice of mindfulness. He insists that only mindfulness can pull us out to the real world to discover the truth about ourselves and bring us real happiness. And the more we develop mindfulness, the less suffering we will have.
But what is mindfulness? Most of us think we are mindful people because we know what we're doing, and in the worldly sense, that may be the case. But in terms of Buddhism, this word refers to the right mindfulness, or samma sati, which focusses on the awareness of two things only: the body and the mind.
According to Luang Phor Pramote, being mindful of the body means knowing all the postures and movements the body makes, such as standing, walking, sitting, lying, bending, stretching and the like. Similarly, being aware of the mind means knowing the behaviour, or characteristics of the mind, and any feelings or emotions that arise in the mind in the present moment.
"In short, whenever we are aware of our body and mind at the present moment, it means we have mindfulness," he said.
The monk's words left me totally stunned. I made a quick search back to the past in the hope that there might be times during my three decades of life that I was really mindful, but now I wasn't so sure if there were any.
And I'm certain that I'm not alone; most people in this world are like me. We have lived our lives far from being mindful. We hardly notice our own bodies. Whenever we are walking, our minds are somewhere else. While we're eating, drinking, going to the toilet, taking a bath, our minds are far away from us. Sometimes it seems as if we know the actions our body is performing, but that lasts only a few seconds before our attention moves on to something else.
If we are confident that we know our minds best, we should take a closer look at it. We will probably see that it hardly ever stays with us; most of the time it is wandering. And instead of looking at what our minds are doing, we aimlessly follow our thoughts and get carried away.
You may think you know your own feelings quite well, but are you sure you know them correctly? Remember the last time you were angry with someone? Could you describe your anger? Was it actually the face of the enemy that absorbed all your attention while you were fuming? If so, that means you didn't know your anger at all.
To know it correctly is to see it in your mind, to notice how it feels to get angry. If it's just a mild irritation, you might detect some discomfort in your chest; but if it's rage, you might feel an active volcano inside you.
Here's another example to test how well you know your feelings. I'm sure everyone's had a crush once in a while. But have you ever noticed how it feels to be desperately in love? Of course, you might feel your limbs trembling, your heart racing, your face burning, or you might even feel like swooning when you're near the object of your interest.
But admit it, you didn't really observe those feelings. Either you were struggling to suppress them, or else all your attention was fixed on the object of your love. This is true for everyone.
Even when we're worried, suspicious, fearful, sad, lonely, jealous, bored, lazy, indifferent or happy, we never fully realise those feelings. So what should we do to be really mindful? Concentrate our attention only on our bodies' movements all the time? Stop our minds from wandering away? Or "stare" at our minds in order to detect every feeling that arises?
No, no, no! They're all wrong and impossible to do. Luang Phor Pramote always insists that when practising mindfulness, we have to stick to the number one rule - take the role of "knower" or "watcher" without interfering in any way. That means we don't need to do anything except constantly observe our bodies and minds as they truly are.
The monk also points out two big mistakes that practitioners habitually make. "The first is we tend to forget about ourselves because we become absent-minded and our minds just wander away. The second is that we intentionally concentrate on our body and mind, and this is unnatural."
The first problem is because absent-mindedness is a natural characteristic of the mind. "Our duty is not to prevent it from slipping away. That would be impossible anyway, because the mind is uncontrollable. What we have to do is to detect the activity as often as possible," he explained.
As beginners, we might find it hard to detect this absent-mindedness because all our lives we've been accustomed to losing ourselves in the world of our thoughts. But whenever we can detect them, we will find that our minds stop thinking immediately, and those thoughts in our minds at that moment will disappear. Of course, they'll stop for only a second or two before our untamed mind starts to wander again. But that's no problem; just be aware of it every time it happens.
It's just as easy to solve the second problem. Instead of forcing ourselves to be on high alert to any physical and mental activities in or around us, we should be comfortably aware of them as if we're playing with them.
Luang Phor Pramote also suggests an important method of helping mindfulness to grow in us. "Observe every kind of bodily sensation and mental state as often as possible so that your mind can remember those conditions precisely," he says. In other words, if we can keep detecting these feelings until our minds can remember them, we'll be aware of them automatically when they occur again.
Mindfulness can be practised anywhere and any time, from the moment we wake up in the morning until we go to asleep at night, but it must be practised constantly in everyday life. This might sound impossible to do, and many of us might feel it would be boring and a waste of time. The fact is, though, that mindfulness is the most powerful protection we have to prevent the two enemies that cause all the suffering in life - kiles (defilements) and tanha (craving) - from taking control of us.
Luang Phor Pramote explained that the more we observe the body and mind, the more we will notice their "working process". We will see that our minds have feelings and thoughts all the time, and when we're unaware of them, they will develop into kiles and tanha.
But once we are aware of them, they cannot emerge and take hold of us. Instead, we will feel calm and concentrated and will be able to exercise our reasoning to make careful decisions or to deal with problems with a neutral mind.
This is only one of the initial benefits of mindfulness for those who wish to live happily in this world. It will bring them insight into understanding where their suffering comes from, and show them how to avoid it.
Luang Phor Pramote said that the real objective of mindfulness practice is to make us see the truth that everything that happens in our life is temporal. Happiness and suffering and all kinds of feelings, whether positive or negative, all rise and fall.
"Our bodies and minds don't actually belong to us, or even exist," he said. "We will discover that our body is simply a movable object with substances moving in and out all the time, while our mind can work independently on its own and is not part of the body at all. Both are just things being felt and observed, and are impermanent and uncontrollable.
"At this stage we must observe ourselves constantly until 'our' mind rectifies itself and finally detaches itself from clinging to the body and mind. And this is the end of all suffering."
This might sound a bit too difficult to understand, but I can probably summarise it by saying that the more we watch our bodies and minds, constantly, at each moment, the nearer we shall be to real happiness.
I have no idea how long it will take me to reach that ultimate goal. It may be seven years or seven lifetimes, but this will not discourage me as I'm confident that at least I'm on the right track. Life is uncertain; suffering may knock on the door at any moment. But I strongly believe that whoever practises mindfulness as part of his or her life will be able to survive perfectly in every situation. They will know how to free themselves from the cycle of birth and death, and will know no fear in the last moments of their lives.
Mindfulness practice is about studying the body and mind in the present moment as they truly are, until we have the wisdom to truly understand the real truth about ourselves. It takes patience and perseverance, but it is the most valuable investment in life for everyone, of whatever age, gender, career, nationality or religious belief.
It is guaranteed by the Lord Buddha as the only path to enlightenment. The pity is that so few people in this world can see its value and are willing to follow it - the road less travelled.
1941 words
2 November 2007
Bangkok Post
R11
English
(c) 2007
People search for happiness all their lives and yet it often eludes them. The Lord Buddha laid down a simple path to happiness - the practice of mindfulness - that each of us can easily follow if we put our minds to it. PATCHARAWALAI SANYANUSIN points out some of the first few steps based on her own experiences
'Why was I born? What am I living for? When will my life end?" I believe everybody finds these questions floating in their minds from time to time. The first question is too complicated to discuss and the last is too scary to think about. It might take us a while to find the real purpose of our life, but whatever it is, I'm sure the conclusion will be that it's for one thing only: happiness.
And the next question, why do we want to be happy? That's easy to answer, too. It's because we love ourselves, isn't it? And yet, ironically, while we may love ourselves the most, we're not aware that we're continually neglecting ourselves, too.
All through life we tend to pay more attention to the people and objects around us rather than to ourselves. We are always curious to know about everything but ourselves. And whenever our attention is fixed on others, we forget about ourselves.
"Hardly any of the people in this world are awake," said Phra Pramote Pamotecho, or Luang Phor Pramote, of Suan Santidham in Chon Buri. "We all get lost in the world of delusions all the time."
His remarks caught me by surprise, and at first I told myself I wasn't one of those people. But as I listened further, I couldn't help nodding in agreement.
"Even when we're alone, we are trapped in the world of our own thoughts," the monk continued. "Sometimes we know our thoughts, but often we aren't even aware of what we're thinking about."
Luang Phor Pramote is respected by a large number of dhamma practitioners for his easy-to-understand teaching about the practice of mindfulness. He insists that only mindfulness can pull us out to the real world to discover the truth about ourselves and bring us real happiness. And the more we develop mindfulness, the less suffering we will have.
But what is mindfulness? Most of us think we are mindful people because we know what we're doing, and in the worldly sense, that may be the case. But in terms of Buddhism, this word refers to the right mindfulness, or samma sati, which focusses on the awareness of two things only: the body and the mind.
According to Luang Phor Pramote, being mindful of the body means knowing all the postures and movements the body makes, such as standing, walking, sitting, lying, bending, stretching and the like. Similarly, being aware of the mind means knowing the behaviour, or characteristics of the mind, and any feelings or emotions that arise in the mind in the present moment.
"In short, whenever we are aware of our body and mind at the present moment, it means we have mindfulness," he said.
The monk's words left me totally stunned. I made a quick search back to the past in the hope that there might be times during my three decades of life that I was really mindful, but now I wasn't so sure if there were any.
And I'm certain that I'm not alone; most people in this world are like me. We have lived our lives far from being mindful. We hardly notice our own bodies. Whenever we are walking, our minds are somewhere else. While we're eating, drinking, going to the toilet, taking a bath, our minds are far away from us. Sometimes it seems as if we know the actions our body is performing, but that lasts only a few seconds before our attention moves on to something else.
If we are confident that we know our minds best, we should take a closer look at it. We will probably see that it hardly ever stays with us; most of the time it is wandering. And instead of looking at what our minds are doing, we aimlessly follow our thoughts and get carried away.
You may think you know your own feelings quite well, but are you sure you know them correctly? Remember the last time you were angry with someone? Could you describe your anger? Was it actually the face of the enemy that absorbed all your attention while you were fuming? If so, that means you didn't know your anger at all.
To know it correctly is to see it in your mind, to notice how it feels to get angry. If it's just a mild irritation, you might detect some discomfort in your chest; but if it's rage, you might feel an active volcano inside you.
Here's another example to test how well you know your feelings. I'm sure everyone's had a crush once in a while. But have you ever noticed how it feels to be desperately in love? Of course, you might feel your limbs trembling, your heart racing, your face burning, or you might even feel like swooning when you're near the object of your interest.
But admit it, you didn't really observe those feelings. Either you were struggling to suppress them, or else all your attention was fixed on the object of your love. This is true for everyone.
Even when we're worried, suspicious, fearful, sad, lonely, jealous, bored, lazy, indifferent or happy, we never fully realise those feelings. So what should we do to be really mindful? Concentrate our attention only on our bodies' movements all the time? Stop our minds from wandering away? Or "stare" at our minds in order to detect every feeling that arises?
No, no, no! They're all wrong and impossible to do. Luang Phor Pramote always insists that when practising mindfulness, we have to stick to the number one rule - take the role of "knower" or "watcher" without interfering in any way. That means we don't need to do anything except constantly observe our bodies and minds as they truly are.
The monk also points out two big mistakes that practitioners habitually make. "The first is we tend to forget about ourselves because we become absent-minded and our minds just wander away. The second is that we intentionally concentrate on our body and mind, and this is unnatural."
The first problem is because absent-mindedness is a natural characteristic of the mind. "Our duty is not to prevent it from slipping away. That would be impossible anyway, because the mind is uncontrollable. What we have to do is to detect the activity as often as possible," he explained.
As beginners, we might find it hard to detect this absent-mindedness because all our lives we've been accustomed to losing ourselves in the world of our thoughts. But whenever we can detect them, we will find that our minds stop thinking immediately, and those thoughts in our minds at that moment will disappear. Of course, they'll stop for only a second or two before our untamed mind starts to wander again. But that's no problem; just be aware of it every time it happens.
It's just as easy to solve the second problem. Instead of forcing ourselves to be on high alert to any physical and mental activities in or around us, we should be comfortably aware of them as if we're playing with them.
Luang Phor Pramote also suggests an important method of helping mindfulness to grow in us. "Observe every kind of bodily sensation and mental state as often as possible so that your mind can remember those conditions precisely," he says. In other words, if we can keep detecting these feelings until our minds can remember them, we'll be aware of them automatically when they occur again.
Mindfulness can be practised anywhere and any time, from the moment we wake up in the morning until we go to asleep at night, but it must be practised constantly in everyday life. This might sound impossible to do, and many of us might feel it would be boring and a waste of time. The fact is, though, that mindfulness is the most powerful protection we have to prevent the two enemies that cause all the suffering in life - kiles (defilements) and tanha (craving) - from taking control of us.
Luang Phor Pramote explained that the more we observe the body and mind, the more we will notice their "working process". We will see that our minds have feelings and thoughts all the time, and when we're unaware of them, they will develop into kiles and tanha.
But once we are aware of them, they cannot emerge and take hold of us. Instead, we will feel calm and concentrated and will be able to exercise our reasoning to make careful decisions or to deal with problems with a neutral mind.
This is only one of the initial benefits of mindfulness for those who wish to live happily in this world. It will bring them insight into understanding where their suffering comes from, and show them how to avoid it.
Luang Phor Pramote said that the real objective of mindfulness practice is to make us see the truth that everything that happens in our life is temporal. Happiness and suffering and all kinds of feelings, whether positive or negative, all rise and fall.
"Our bodies and minds don't actually belong to us, or even exist," he said. "We will discover that our body is simply a movable object with substances moving in and out all the time, while our mind can work independently on its own and is not part of the body at all. Both are just things being felt and observed, and are impermanent and uncontrollable.
"At this stage we must observe ourselves constantly until 'our' mind rectifies itself and finally detaches itself from clinging to the body and mind. And this is the end of all suffering."
This might sound a bit too difficult to understand, but I can probably summarise it by saying that the more we watch our bodies and minds, constantly, at each moment, the nearer we shall be to real happiness.
I have no idea how long it will take me to reach that ultimate goal. It may be seven years or seven lifetimes, but this will not discourage me as I'm confident that at least I'm on the right track. Life is uncertain; suffering may knock on the door at any moment. But I strongly believe that whoever practises mindfulness as part of his or her life will be able to survive perfectly in every situation. They will know how to free themselves from the cycle of birth and death, and will know no fear in the last moments of their lives.
Mindfulness practice is about studying the body and mind in the present moment as they truly are, until we have the wisdom to truly understand the real truth about ourselves. It takes patience and perseverance, but it is the most valuable investment in life for everyone, of whatever age, gender, career, nationality or religious belief.
It is guaranteed by the Lord Buddha as the only path to enlightenment. The pity is that so few people in this world can see its value and are willing to follow it - the road less travelled.
Friday, October 19, 2007
The way of tea
The way of tea
By Fanny Dassie, CONTRIBUTOR
738 words
18 October 2007
The Oakland Tribune
English
(c) Copyright 2007 ANG Newspapers. All rights reserved.
SHOZO SATO, dressed in a kimono, kneels in front of a kettle and buries his hand into his thin black and gray suit, pulling out a purple, napkin-size silk cloth. He delicately uses the fukusa to methodically clean a tea scoop and container.
"It's a purification of utensils and minds," says Sato, a teacher of tea gathering ceremonies who demonstrates the "way of tea" at museums and tea houses across the United States and Europe.
The Japanese tea ceremony, as presented at the Asian Art Museum and in homes and tea houses around the Bay Area, is an artistic discipline that expresses cultural aspects such as creating an atmosphere of respect and sincerity between guests and hosts. It's also seen as a way to link meditation and spiritual training with sustenance.
The tea ritual was imported from China to Japan in 1200 AD and introduced through Buddhism before being integrated into Japanese society.
Sato's lessons illustrate that traditional tea preparation and serving must follow specific and stringent rules that are usually unknown to the average tea consumer.
For many tea drinkers, the simple act of pouring water over a tea bag has no artistic or spiritual value.
"I use tea bags when I am thirsty, but when I want a spiritual
awakening, I go through the tea ceremony," Sato says.
In Japan, the tea ceremony is a ritualized event that demands constant attention, patience, precision and a natural calmness and softness in the gestures.
Christi Soei Bartlett, director of the San Francisco Urasenke Foundation, says tea practitioners seek "a sense of community and an understanding of everyday life." The tea ritual, associated with Zen, encourages people to take time to relax and enjoy their tea.
Hosting a traditional tea ceremony is an art. The host has to create an appropriate atmosphere by choosing complementary fresh flowers and paintings, depending on the season and the mood of the moment.
The Asian Art Museum offers public tea ceremonies five times a year.
At a recent ceremony, each guest removes his shoes before trampling the tatami. They then tiptoe toward an alcove, kneel, cross their feet, bow and meditate before heading to an area decorated with flowers and paintings chosen by the host.
The host for the day, Sato, appears through a white sliding door, offering tea sweets. One by one, to create drama, the tea utensils are cleaned with the silk cloth — purple for men and orange or red for women. There's a transparent blue bowl full of cold water that is covered by a leaf, usually from the host's garden, as well as a tea scoop, a transparent white glass bowl and a bamboo whisk.
"We don't talk too much in the tea room," Sato explains. "If we talk, it's only about tea."
The host uses the tea scoop to place a small amount of green powdery tea into the white bowl. Hot water is delicately poured over the powder, which will be mixed with the whisk.
Only after a meticulous inspection is the tea consumed. Sato explains that the taste can be better sustained if the host breathes and makes a sound
while drinking the beverage because the oxygen acts to boost the taste.
At the completion of the ceremony, the scoop and containers are cleaned by the host and examined by the guests. The host then removes, again one by one, all of the utensils.
Yuko Matsumoto, an Oakland resident who participated in the ceremony at the Asian, drinks six or seven cups a day.
She used to participate in such ceremonies while growing up in Japan.
"I associate tea with tranquility," she says.
By Fanny Dassie, CONTRIBUTOR
738 words
18 October 2007
The Oakland Tribune
English
(c) Copyright 2007 ANG Newspapers. All rights reserved.
SHOZO SATO, dressed in a kimono, kneels in front of a kettle and buries his hand into his thin black and gray suit, pulling out a purple, napkin-size silk cloth. He delicately uses the fukusa to methodically clean a tea scoop and container.
"It's a purification of utensils and minds," says Sato, a teacher of tea gathering ceremonies who demonstrates the "way of tea" at museums and tea houses across the United States and Europe.
The Japanese tea ceremony, as presented at the Asian Art Museum and in homes and tea houses around the Bay Area, is an artistic discipline that expresses cultural aspects such as creating an atmosphere of respect and sincerity between guests and hosts. It's also seen as a way to link meditation and spiritual training with sustenance.
The tea ritual was imported from China to Japan in 1200 AD and introduced through Buddhism before being integrated into Japanese society.
Sato's lessons illustrate that traditional tea preparation and serving must follow specific and stringent rules that are usually unknown to the average tea consumer.
For many tea drinkers, the simple act of pouring water over a tea bag has no artistic or spiritual value.
"I use tea bags when I am thirsty, but when I want a spiritual
awakening, I go through the tea ceremony," Sato says.
In Japan, the tea ceremony is a ritualized event that demands constant attention, patience, precision and a natural calmness and softness in the gestures.
Christi Soei Bartlett, director of the San Francisco Urasenke Foundation, says tea practitioners seek "a sense of community and an understanding of everyday life." The tea ritual, associated with Zen, encourages people to take time to relax and enjoy their tea.
Hosting a traditional tea ceremony is an art. The host has to create an appropriate atmosphere by choosing complementary fresh flowers and paintings, depending on the season and the mood of the moment.
The Asian Art Museum offers public tea ceremonies five times a year.
At a recent ceremony, each guest removes his shoes before trampling the tatami. They then tiptoe toward an alcove, kneel, cross their feet, bow and meditate before heading to an area decorated with flowers and paintings chosen by the host.
The host for the day, Sato, appears through a white sliding door, offering tea sweets. One by one, to create drama, the tea utensils are cleaned with the silk cloth — purple for men and orange or red for women. There's a transparent blue bowl full of cold water that is covered by a leaf, usually from the host's garden, as well as a tea scoop, a transparent white glass bowl and a bamboo whisk.
"We don't talk too much in the tea room," Sato explains. "If we talk, it's only about tea."
The host uses the tea scoop to place a small amount of green powdery tea into the white bowl. Hot water is delicately poured over the powder, which will be mixed with the whisk.
Only after a meticulous inspection is the tea consumed. Sato explains that the taste can be better sustained if the host breathes and makes a sound
while drinking the beverage because the oxygen acts to boost the taste.
At the completion of the ceremony, the scoop and containers are cleaned by the host and examined by the guests. The host then removes, again one by one, all of the utensils.
Yuko Matsumoto, an Oakland resident who participated in the ceremony at the Asian, drinks six or seven cups a day.
She used to participate in such ceremonies while growing up in Japan.
"I associate tea with tranquility," she says.
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Buddhist Conference in Malaysia - November 2007
CONFERENCE / BUDDHISM; Malaysia hosts Buddhist event of the year
470 words
5 October 2007
Bangkok Post
R11
English
(c) 2007
Three leading Buddhist organisations, the Buddhist Missionary Society, Buddhist Gem Fellowship and the Young Buddhist Association of Malaysia, will be organising an international Buddhist conference in Malaysia from November 17-18 at the Sunway Convention Centre, Petaling Jaya.
It will be the fifth in this series of conferences which began in 2000, and the second time that Malaysia will be playing host. More than 1,000 people, some from Australia, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand, have so far registered for the conference, which has been billed as the "Buddhist Event of the Year."
The theme of the conference is "Transforming the Mind -- How to Create Happiness in Our Lives." During the event, 10 well-known Buddhist scholars, including monks and nuns from Western countries, will present 16 papers discussing how they, as Buddhists, benefit from the Buddha's teachings that are directed towards training the mind in order to develop happiness in our everyday lives.
The conference has been structured so that not only scholars of Buddhism will benefit from the insights of the speakers as they explore the more profound aspects of Buddhist philosophy. Buddhists of all kinds will find practical advice on what steps they can take in order to be happy and lead peaceful, stress-free lives.
The speakers will include Malaysia's Venerable Mahinda from Malacca and Venerable Aggacitta from Penang. Venerable Ming Yi, known as "Asia's CEO monk" for opening the first Buddhist hospital in Singapore and remaining as its chief executive, will deliver a talk on the second day.
Western speakers at the conference include Venerable Dr Heng Sure and Venerable Robina Courtin from the USA, and Venerable Acharn Brahmavamso from Australia. Heng Sure is a disciple of the late master Hsuan Hua and an accomplished musician. His recordings of American Buddhist folk music will be featured during the conference.
Robina Courtin, a nun from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition who was the subject of the recent documentary, Chasing Buddha, will talk about her experiences teaching meditation to the inmates of US prisons.
From the Zen tradition, Dr Jan Chozen Bays, a paediatrician and Zen master, will speak on her work in helping abused children to find happiness.
The versatile and very popular Theravada monk from Perth, Acharn Brahm, has also confirmed his attendance at the conference.
Lay speakers will include Dr Tan Eng Kong, a well-known Sydney-based psychotherapist, Dr Thupten Jinpa, the official translator of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and Danai Chanchaochai, CEO of Thailand's top media company in Bangkok, who will share his thoughts on meditation for stressed, busy executives in the corporate sector.
For more details of the conference, please visit www.bodhivision.net/gcb2007 , email ybam@streamyx.com or call 603-7804-9154/603-7804-9157.
470 words
5 October 2007
Bangkok Post
R11
English
(c) 2007
Three leading Buddhist organisations, the Buddhist Missionary Society, Buddhist Gem Fellowship and the Young Buddhist Association of Malaysia, will be organising an international Buddhist conference in Malaysia from November 17-18 at the Sunway Convention Centre, Petaling Jaya.
It will be the fifth in this series of conferences which began in 2000, and the second time that Malaysia will be playing host. More than 1,000 people, some from Australia, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand, have so far registered for the conference, which has been billed as the "Buddhist Event of the Year."
The theme of the conference is "Transforming the Mind -- How to Create Happiness in Our Lives." During the event, 10 well-known Buddhist scholars, including monks and nuns from Western countries, will present 16 papers discussing how they, as Buddhists, benefit from the Buddha's teachings that are directed towards training the mind in order to develop happiness in our everyday lives.
The conference has been structured so that not only scholars of Buddhism will benefit from the insights of the speakers as they explore the more profound aspects of Buddhist philosophy. Buddhists of all kinds will find practical advice on what steps they can take in order to be happy and lead peaceful, stress-free lives.
The speakers will include Malaysia's Venerable Mahinda from Malacca and Venerable Aggacitta from Penang. Venerable Ming Yi, known as "Asia's CEO monk" for opening the first Buddhist hospital in Singapore and remaining as its chief executive, will deliver a talk on the second day.
Western speakers at the conference include Venerable Dr Heng Sure and Venerable Robina Courtin from the USA, and Venerable Acharn Brahmavamso from Australia. Heng Sure is a disciple of the late master Hsuan Hua and an accomplished musician. His recordings of American Buddhist folk music will be featured during the conference.
Robina Courtin, a nun from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition who was the subject of the recent documentary, Chasing Buddha, will talk about her experiences teaching meditation to the inmates of US prisons.
From the Zen tradition, Dr Jan Chozen Bays, a paediatrician and Zen master, will speak on her work in helping abused children to find happiness.
The versatile and very popular Theravada monk from Perth, Acharn Brahm, has also confirmed his attendance at the conference.
Lay speakers will include Dr Tan Eng Kong, a well-known Sydney-based psychotherapist, Dr Thupten Jinpa, the official translator of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and Danai Chanchaochai, CEO of Thailand's top media company in Bangkok, who will share his thoughts on meditation for stressed, busy executives in the corporate sector.
For more details of the conference, please visit www.bodhivision.net/gcb2007 , email ybam@streamyx.com or call 603-7804-9154/603-7804-9157.
Conference on Happiness
Wellbeing: The Search for Happiness
2550 words
1 October 2007
The Australian Women's Weekly
English
The Australian Women's Weekly © 2007 ACP Publishing Pty Ltd. All rights reserved. www.ninemsn.com.au/aww
What does it mean to be happy - and where do we find it? The Weekly's David Leser goes in search of glee at an international conference on happiness, to discover there's no single path to a life of contentment.
"Up the escalators for Happiness," said the man with the beatific smile.
"Then turn right." It sounded so simple. An escalator ride and a quick stroll past the gongs and chanting monks, and I'd be there. In Happy Land.
Yet, of course, it was never going to be that painless. One could find the door to a Happiness Conference easily enough; it was quite another matter finding the tools and techniques for a happier life. For Happiness itself.
That, I figured, was going to take a few lifetimes, or at the very least, a two-day conference in Sydney, where I could fast-track myself to a state of unalloyed delight merely by listening to experts expounding on the subject.
What did it mean to be happy and how did one find it? Did we discover it by looking, or by, paradoxically enough, ceasing to look? Did we come into the world with a sunny disposition, a felicitous gene, and if not, could we train ourselves to be happy?
Was it an individual quest or did one's community and government contribute to happiness? And why was it that some people dealt with crisis or misadventure better than others?
These were just some of the questions I'd begun asking myself in the lead-up to the Second International Conference on Happiness and its Causes in Sydney recently. And, yes, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "What a monumental act of self-indulgence is this! Three thousand narcissists gathered for a convention at Darling (where else?) Harbour to explore happiness and its twin sisters, joy and exuberance. What a doddle. What a tilt at New Age windmills. What about writing on real issues, the drought, for example, or the war in Iraq?"
It's true. I could have done either of those things, but I doubt whether they would have added to your happiness quotient or mine, or indeed, to the sum total of human happiness. Quite the contrary. Reading a depressing story would actually have weakened your immune system and prevented you from fighting illness. And I didn't want to do that, certainly not after listening to Howard Cutler, co-author (with the Dalai Lama) of the international bestselling book, The Art of Happiness.
Howard told the conference about a study that had shown how people watching acts of kindness, in this case a film of Mother Teresa performing good deeds, experienced increased levels of disease-fighting antibodies in their saliva compared to those who hadn't watched the film.
He also talked about an experiment in which subjects were chosen one day a week to perform five random acts of kindness - anything from opening a door for a stranger to anonymously putting money in an expired parking metre. "After five weeks, people who were doing this were found to have a marked increase in their personal happiness," he said.
Yet even if that weren't the case, surely an investigation of the individual and collective causes of happiness was a worthwhile pursuit, given the extent to which depression and mental illness afflicted the people of the western world.
Why was it, for example, that a country like Australia could be in the midst of such a prosperity boom, such material comfort, and yet be experiencing a pandemic of sickness and unhappiness - 20 per cent of Australian teenagers suffering from mental health problems; suicide rates quadrupling among 15- to 19-year-olds since the 1970s; homeless youth on the rise ...
Little wonder, then, that several of the people attending the conference were counsellors, therapists, social workers, doctors, mental health experts - people regularly in touch with the misery and heartache of people's lives.
And so the answer to these and many other questions depended, of course, on who you talked to, or, in this case, listened to. No one could be happy all the time, said Professor Graham Burrows, chairman of the Mental Health Foundation of Australia. "And if they (were), they might be bipolar."
"Or at great risk of being up themselves," agreed Professor Gordon Parker, executive director of Black Dog Institute, an educational, research, clinical and community-oriented facility offering specialist expertise in mood disorders, based in New South Wales.
Happiness was a complex, intriguing phenomenon. You could seek it desperately, but never find it, or you could stumble upon it and then come to see later that, yes, this was a moment of serendipity, of sheer bliss, a family meal perhaps, or the touch of a loved one, or a moment of rhapsody in nature.
For Magda Szubanski, a surprise replacement at the conference for the surprise inclusion of Federal Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull, happiness came from the simple things in life, but also, surprisingly enough, from performance. "I feel performing is a very communal act," she said, "and as someone who doesn't have a faith, it sometimes feels that there is only the communal space."
Mind you, after sitting next to the Dalai Lama for a panel discussion chaired by the ABC's Geraldine Doogue, it seemed that Magda Szubanski had, by conference end, become totally open to the idea of altruism and faith.
"I want to try to be nicer," she said when asked by Geraldine Doogue how she might, over the coming years, try to enhance her own happiness. "I know that sounds really sucky, but I want to feel like I err on the side of doing good things rather than selfish things. I might even look at engaging more in Buddhist activities."
"Now that's sucking up," quipped Geraldine, to widespread hilarity from an audience already enchanted by the presence of the Nobel Peace Prize winner sharing the stage with one of Australia's most loved comedians. When asked how he might enhance his own happiness, the Tibetan spiritual and political leader responded with a boyish shrug and a typically enlightened, if not cryptic, response: "I will carry on continuously. That's all."
What else might one expect from a man who has regularly expressed love and forgiveness for the Chinese conquerors of his country. "Genuine compassion can also reach your enemy," he reminded us all. "They have the same rights, the same desire for happiness."
That was a far cry from Clive Hamilton's response. When the executive director of The Australia Institute and author of Affluenza was asked what lever he would pull to secure his own happiness, he replied, "Quite frankly, quite bluntly, there is one event which could make me extremely happy and that would be a crushing defeat for the Howard Government (at the coming election)."
And who said happiness wasn't a political matter?
Three days before going in search of glee, I received an unsolicited email about a 92-year-old man, whose wife of 70 years had recently passed away. Because of her death, the man had been forced to move into a nursing home, where he was bound to see out his days.
On the day of his departure, his care-giver began describing to him the room that he was about to move into. "It's tiny," she said, "and it has these eyelet sheets hanging over the windows ..."
"I love it," he said with relish.
"But Mr Jones," the caregiver said, "you haven't even seen the room. Just wait."
"That doesn't have anything to do with it," the old man replied. "Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged. It's how I arrange my mind and I've already decided to love it."
The subject of the mind and how we might train it was a recurring theme throughout the two-day Happiness conference. When the Venerable Robina Courtin, the Tibetan Buddhist nun and director of Liberation Prison Project, in San Francisco, told the audience it was possible to train the mind to be "happier, braver, wiser, kinder, less fearful and less depressed", she was doing so not just as someone caring for the spiritual needs of thousands of prisoners in America - many of them on death row - but also as someone making a distinction between the mind and the brain.
"Mind is consciousness," she said, "and it encompasses the entire spectrum of our inner experiences: thoughts, feelings, emotions, unconscious, subconscious, intuition, instinct."
Robina cited the case of an innocent woman who had spent 17 years on death row before being released. During that time, she had learnt, despite her circumstances, to be happy. "The only thing she could change was her mind," Robina said. "She said to herself, 'I am not in a cell, I am in a cave. I am not a prisoner, I am a monk'."
Petrea King, founding director of the Quest for Life Centre and a nominee for Australian of the Year since 2003, knows something of this power of the mind, after being diagnosed nearly 25 years ago with myeloid leukaemia. Although she didn't get an opportunity to tell the conference the details of her extraordinary story, it would have been salutary to hear it. (And a note of disclosure here - I was once secretary of Petrea's Quest for Life Foundation.)
After being told she had three months to live, Petrea took herself off to a cave outside Assisi in Italy, where she meditated for 18 hours a day. Her cancer went into remission. Since the late 1980s, Petrea has counselled more than 60,000 Australians diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses, presenting to them myriad benefits of meditation, good nutrition and positive thinking.
"A daily practice of meditation, reflection or contemplation greatly enhances our ability to make appropriate responses rather than helplessly reacting to experiences," she said. "When we know ourselves, we understand how to care for ourselves ... and that's the greatest gift we can give our children, our families, our communities and the planet - the gift of our own physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. Then we bring a calm and serene presence to the chaos, the disaster, the trauma, the tragedy."
This was a different, but not unrelated, slant to the one taken by Amanda Gordon, president of the Australian Psychological Society, who told the conference that the happiest people were those with a life of meaning and sense of purpose. These people were in loving relationships, they acted altruistically and they gave up the more immediate pleasures for something deeper, less transient.
Also, they looked for the best in people, listened well, gave kind feedback. What they didn't do was spend their lives comparing themselves to others or "noticing the bits that were missing".
Ian Gawler, founder of the first lifestyle-based cancer self-help group in Australia, and a long-term cancer survivor himself, didn't disagree, but wondered whether there wasn't sometimes too much emphasis placed on relationships. "Many are looking for happiness outside themselves, whereas the real answer is inside ourselves," he said. "If you're looking to gain a sense of enduring, ongoing happiness from other people, it will always be tenuous."
"I think relationships are everything," countered Julian Short, a psychiatrist and expert on low self-esteem and relationship problems. "I'm not sure how to find happiness inside myself, because I find my happiness from outside, from relationships. Treating another person with kindness and dignity will help you love yourself and help you love another person. You become twice blessed."
Not to be deterred, Ian Gawler replied, "The important principle that comes from spiritual practice is if you have a really strong connection with your inner self, then there is a sense that that is inviolate, that there's a part of you that can't be hurt. Then life generally becomes easier - easier to become more open and more intimate."
They are both right, of course, and, once again, we could have heard much more on this subject, particularly from Ian Gawler, whose recovery from cancer 30 years ago was to become - like Petrea King - the stuff of medical legend and, indeed, a source of inspiration to this writer.
Like Petrea, Ian has helped alleviate the suffering of thousands of people with cancer, AIDS and leukaemia at his Gawler Foundation in Victoria. His view is that - tumultuous though the diagnosis and sickness is - it can also give a person the opportunity to change his or her lifestyle and, most crucially, to confront major unresolved issues in their lives.
"To me, the point is to reach the end of your life with inner peace, and to do that, you need to look back on your life and feel you were satisfied," he once told me. "It is quite possible to do that at an early age and quite possible to not do that at an old age."
For me, that meant - as Amanda Gordon and others stressed - the search for meaning, as opposed to some glib quest for happiness: meaning at work, meaningful relationships, a meaningful contribution to society and to the life of others.
When I returned home, I found my wife in the garden, my daughters at their desks and a book left open in the kitchen that my wife happened to be reading.
The book, The Interpretation of Murder by the American writer, Jed Rubenfeld, began, curiously enough, with these words: "There is no mystery to happiness. Unhappy men (and women) are all alike. Some wound they suffered long ago, some wish denied, some blow to pride, some kindling spark of love put out by scorn - or worse, indifference - cleaves to them, or they to it, and so they live each day within a shroud of yesterdays. The happy man (and woman) does not look back. He doesn't look ahead. He lives in the present."
Yet therein lay the rub, according to the writer. The present could never deliver meaning, because the ways of happiness and meaning were never the same. To find happiness, Rubenfeld said, a man needed to only live in the moment; he needed to only live for the moment.
"But if he wants meaning - the meaning of his dreams, his secrets, his life - a man must reinhabit his past, however dark, and live for the future, however uncertain. Thus nature dangles happiness and meaning before us all, insisting only that we choose between them."
I closed the book and imbibed the safe, salty harbour of this family and home of mine - the soup bubbling on the stove, the music coming from my younger daughter's bedroom. For one brief, exquisite moment, I felt no such choice needed to be made, that in this very moment I was experiencing both happiness and meaning and that the former derived, however mysteriously, from the latter.
But then, just as quickly, the moment passed and I was back on those escalators wondering whether to turn right or left for Happy Land.
For further information, contact www.happinessanditscauses.com.au .
2550 words
1 October 2007
The Australian Women's Weekly
English
The Australian Women's Weekly © 2007 ACP Publishing Pty Ltd. All rights reserved. www.ninemsn.com.au/aww
What does it mean to be happy - and where do we find it? The Weekly's David Leser goes in search of glee at an international conference on happiness, to discover there's no single path to a life of contentment.
"Up the escalators for Happiness," said the man with the beatific smile.
"Then turn right." It sounded so simple. An escalator ride and a quick stroll past the gongs and chanting monks, and I'd be there. In Happy Land.
Yet, of course, it was never going to be that painless. One could find the door to a Happiness Conference easily enough; it was quite another matter finding the tools and techniques for a happier life. For Happiness itself.
That, I figured, was going to take a few lifetimes, or at the very least, a two-day conference in Sydney, where I could fast-track myself to a state of unalloyed delight merely by listening to experts expounding on the subject.
What did it mean to be happy and how did one find it? Did we discover it by looking, or by, paradoxically enough, ceasing to look? Did we come into the world with a sunny disposition, a felicitous gene, and if not, could we train ourselves to be happy?
Was it an individual quest or did one's community and government contribute to happiness? And why was it that some people dealt with crisis or misadventure better than others?
These were just some of the questions I'd begun asking myself in the lead-up to the Second International Conference on Happiness and its Causes in Sydney recently. And, yes, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "What a monumental act of self-indulgence is this! Three thousand narcissists gathered for a convention at Darling (where else?) Harbour to explore happiness and its twin sisters, joy and exuberance. What a doddle. What a tilt at New Age windmills. What about writing on real issues, the drought, for example, or the war in Iraq?"
It's true. I could have done either of those things, but I doubt whether they would have added to your happiness quotient or mine, or indeed, to the sum total of human happiness. Quite the contrary. Reading a depressing story would actually have weakened your immune system and prevented you from fighting illness. And I didn't want to do that, certainly not after listening to Howard Cutler, co-author (with the Dalai Lama) of the international bestselling book, The Art of Happiness.
Howard told the conference about a study that had shown how people watching acts of kindness, in this case a film of Mother Teresa performing good deeds, experienced increased levels of disease-fighting antibodies in their saliva compared to those who hadn't watched the film.
He also talked about an experiment in which subjects were chosen one day a week to perform five random acts of kindness - anything from opening a door for a stranger to anonymously putting money in an expired parking metre. "After five weeks, people who were doing this were found to have a marked increase in their personal happiness," he said.
Yet even if that weren't the case, surely an investigation of the individual and collective causes of happiness was a worthwhile pursuit, given the extent to which depression and mental illness afflicted the people of the western world.
Why was it, for example, that a country like Australia could be in the midst of such a prosperity boom, such material comfort, and yet be experiencing a pandemic of sickness and unhappiness - 20 per cent of Australian teenagers suffering from mental health problems; suicide rates quadrupling among 15- to 19-year-olds since the 1970s; homeless youth on the rise ...
Little wonder, then, that several of the people attending the conference were counsellors, therapists, social workers, doctors, mental health experts - people regularly in touch with the misery and heartache of people's lives.
And so the answer to these and many other questions depended, of course, on who you talked to, or, in this case, listened to. No one could be happy all the time, said Professor Graham Burrows, chairman of the Mental Health Foundation of Australia. "And if they (were), they might be bipolar."
"Or at great risk of being up themselves," agreed Professor Gordon Parker, executive director of Black Dog Institute, an educational, research, clinical and community-oriented facility offering specialist expertise in mood disorders, based in New South Wales.
Happiness was a complex, intriguing phenomenon. You could seek it desperately, but never find it, or you could stumble upon it and then come to see later that, yes, this was a moment of serendipity, of sheer bliss, a family meal perhaps, or the touch of a loved one, or a moment of rhapsody in nature.
For Magda Szubanski, a surprise replacement at the conference for the surprise inclusion of Federal Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull, happiness came from the simple things in life, but also, surprisingly enough, from performance. "I feel performing is a very communal act," she said, "and as someone who doesn't have a faith, it sometimes feels that there is only the communal space."
Mind you, after sitting next to the Dalai Lama for a panel discussion chaired by the ABC's Geraldine Doogue, it seemed that Magda Szubanski had, by conference end, become totally open to the idea of altruism and faith.
"I want to try to be nicer," she said when asked by Geraldine Doogue how she might, over the coming years, try to enhance her own happiness. "I know that sounds really sucky, but I want to feel like I err on the side of doing good things rather than selfish things. I might even look at engaging more in Buddhist activities."
"Now that's sucking up," quipped Geraldine, to widespread hilarity from an audience already enchanted by the presence of the Nobel Peace Prize winner sharing the stage with one of Australia's most loved comedians. When asked how he might enhance his own happiness, the Tibetan spiritual and political leader responded with a boyish shrug and a typically enlightened, if not cryptic, response: "I will carry on continuously. That's all."
What else might one expect from a man who has regularly expressed love and forgiveness for the Chinese conquerors of his country. "Genuine compassion can also reach your enemy," he reminded us all. "They have the same rights, the same desire for happiness."
That was a far cry from Clive Hamilton's response. When the executive director of The Australia Institute and author of Affluenza was asked what lever he would pull to secure his own happiness, he replied, "Quite frankly, quite bluntly, there is one event which could make me extremely happy and that would be a crushing defeat for the Howard Government (at the coming election)."
And who said happiness wasn't a political matter?
Three days before going in search of glee, I received an unsolicited email about a 92-year-old man, whose wife of 70 years had recently passed away. Because of her death, the man had been forced to move into a nursing home, where he was bound to see out his days.
On the day of his departure, his care-giver began describing to him the room that he was about to move into. "It's tiny," she said, "and it has these eyelet sheets hanging over the windows ..."
"I love it," he said with relish.
"But Mr Jones," the caregiver said, "you haven't even seen the room. Just wait."
"That doesn't have anything to do with it," the old man replied. "Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged. It's how I arrange my mind and I've already decided to love it."
The subject of the mind and how we might train it was a recurring theme throughout the two-day Happiness conference. When the Venerable Robina Courtin, the Tibetan Buddhist nun and director of Liberation Prison Project, in San Francisco, told the audience it was possible to train the mind to be "happier, braver, wiser, kinder, less fearful and less depressed", she was doing so not just as someone caring for the spiritual needs of thousands of prisoners in America - many of them on death row - but also as someone making a distinction between the mind and the brain.
"Mind is consciousness," she said, "and it encompasses the entire spectrum of our inner experiences: thoughts, feelings, emotions, unconscious, subconscious, intuition, instinct."
Robina cited the case of an innocent woman who had spent 17 years on death row before being released. During that time, she had learnt, despite her circumstances, to be happy. "The only thing she could change was her mind," Robina said. "She said to herself, 'I am not in a cell, I am in a cave. I am not a prisoner, I am a monk'."
Petrea King, founding director of the Quest for Life Centre and a nominee for Australian of the Year since 2003, knows something of this power of the mind, after being diagnosed nearly 25 years ago with myeloid leukaemia. Although she didn't get an opportunity to tell the conference the details of her extraordinary story, it would have been salutary to hear it. (And a note of disclosure here - I was once secretary of Petrea's Quest for Life Foundation.)
After being told she had three months to live, Petrea took herself off to a cave outside Assisi in Italy, where she meditated for 18 hours a day. Her cancer went into remission. Since the late 1980s, Petrea has counselled more than 60,000 Australians diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses, presenting to them myriad benefits of meditation, good nutrition and positive thinking.
"A daily practice of meditation, reflection or contemplation greatly enhances our ability to make appropriate responses rather than helplessly reacting to experiences," she said. "When we know ourselves, we understand how to care for ourselves ... and that's the greatest gift we can give our children, our families, our communities and the planet - the gift of our own physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. Then we bring a calm and serene presence to the chaos, the disaster, the trauma, the tragedy."
This was a different, but not unrelated, slant to the one taken by Amanda Gordon, president of the Australian Psychological Society, who told the conference that the happiest people were those with a life of meaning and sense of purpose. These people were in loving relationships, they acted altruistically and they gave up the more immediate pleasures for something deeper, less transient.
Also, they looked for the best in people, listened well, gave kind feedback. What they didn't do was spend their lives comparing themselves to others or "noticing the bits that were missing".
Ian Gawler, founder of the first lifestyle-based cancer self-help group in Australia, and a long-term cancer survivor himself, didn't disagree, but wondered whether there wasn't sometimes too much emphasis placed on relationships. "Many are looking for happiness outside themselves, whereas the real answer is inside ourselves," he said. "If you're looking to gain a sense of enduring, ongoing happiness from other people, it will always be tenuous."
"I think relationships are everything," countered Julian Short, a psychiatrist and expert on low self-esteem and relationship problems. "I'm not sure how to find happiness inside myself, because I find my happiness from outside, from relationships. Treating another person with kindness and dignity will help you love yourself and help you love another person. You become twice blessed."
Not to be deterred, Ian Gawler replied, "The important principle that comes from spiritual practice is if you have a really strong connection with your inner self, then there is a sense that that is inviolate, that there's a part of you that can't be hurt. Then life generally becomes easier - easier to become more open and more intimate."
They are both right, of course, and, once again, we could have heard much more on this subject, particularly from Ian Gawler, whose recovery from cancer 30 years ago was to become - like Petrea King - the stuff of medical legend and, indeed, a source of inspiration to this writer.
Like Petrea, Ian has helped alleviate the suffering of thousands of people with cancer, AIDS and leukaemia at his Gawler Foundation in Victoria. His view is that - tumultuous though the diagnosis and sickness is - it can also give a person the opportunity to change his or her lifestyle and, most crucially, to confront major unresolved issues in their lives.
"To me, the point is to reach the end of your life with inner peace, and to do that, you need to look back on your life and feel you were satisfied," he once told me. "It is quite possible to do that at an early age and quite possible to not do that at an old age."
For me, that meant - as Amanda Gordon and others stressed - the search for meaning, as opposed to some glib quest for happiness: meaning at work, meaningful relationships, a meaningful contribution to society and to the life of others.
When I returned home, I found my wife in the garden, my daughters at their desks and a book left open in the kitchen that my wife happened to be reading.
The book, The Interpretation of Murder by the American writer, Jed Rubenfeld, began, curiously enough, with these words: "There is no mystery to happiness. Unhappy men (and women) are all alike. Some wound they suffered long ago, some wish denied, some blow to pride, some kindling spark of love put out by scorn - or worse, indifference - cleaves to them, or they to it, and so they live each day within a shroud of yesterdays. The happy man (and woman) does not look back. He doesn't look ahead. He lives in the present."
Yet therein lay the rub, according to the writer. The present could never deliver meaning, because the ways of happiness and meaning were never the same. To find happiness, Rubenfeld said, a man needed to only live in the moment; he needed to only live for the moment.
"But if he wants meaning - the meaning of his dreams, his secrets, his life - a man must reinhabit his past, however dark, and live for the future, however uncertain. Thus nature dangles happiness and meaning before us all, insisting only that we choose between them."
I closed the book and imbibed the safe, salty harbour of this family and home of mine - the soup bubbling on the stove, the music coming from my younger daughter's bedroom. For one brief, exquisite moment, I felt no such choice needed to be made, that in this very moment I was experiencing both happiness and meaning and that the former derived, however mysteriously, from the latter.
But then, just as quickly, the moment passed and I was back on those escalators wondering whether to turn right or left for Happy Land.
For further information, contact www.happinessanditscauses.com.au .
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Lucky winners: lucky buddha charms
Lucky Buddha aided winners
261 words
21 September 2007
Weekend Courier
1
5
English
Copyright 2007 News Ltd. All Rights Reserved
Newsagent Scott Calvert sold winning ticket. Picture: Jane Vann d252931
A SOUTHERN suburbs family say the secret to their $2.2 million win from Saturday s $20 million Superdraw, was buying their ticket from Seahaven News in Warnbro and rubbing it on their own lucky Lotto Buddha.
The couple who are in their 30 s, have been playing Lotto for about 15 years and always buy from the Seahaven newsagency before rubbing their tickets on the belly of a special Buddha that lives in their lounge, and then put the tickets underneath it for luck.
I know people must think we are crackers about the Buddha, but it s worked! said the man.
My dad and my grandad both missed out on big wins by changing their Lotto routines; their numbers or where they bought their tickets. I wasn t going to let that happen to me.
The man who runs his own business, has been working 12-hour days, seven days a week to build the business.
The win certainly meant that his family would have a secure future, he said.
But we just want to live a normal life and look after our girls.
Not be extravagant.
The latest multi-millionaire Division One winners joined four other Perth winners, including a work syndicate from Mandurah, which also won $2.2 million in the same draw.
The newsagency owners, Scott and June Calvert, said it was the third and biggest division one prize the newsagency had sold in the past 15 years.
------------------------------------
MOTHER SCOOPS £1M BINGO PRIZE AFTER LOSING JOB
352 words
22 September 2007
01:02
Press Association National Newswire
English
(c)2007, The Press Association, All Rights Reserved
By Joe Quinn, Scottish Press Association
A mother-of-two became Britain's first bingo club millionaire today - weeks after losing her job.
Margaret Shearer, 46, scooped the £1 million jackpot at lunchtime at a Mecca club in Glasgow.
She was only playing because she had lost her job at a biscuit factory three weeks ago.
And with her as she played was her mother - whose name is Margaret Money.
The win came just weeks after the gaming laws were relaxed to allow such huge prizes in clubs.
Ms Shearer, from the Ruchazie area of Glasgow, had worked at the McVitie's factory in Glasgow until she was laid off last month.
She said she was stunned at her win today, at the Glasgow Forge branch of Mecca.
'It's not sunk in yet,'' she said.
'I just haven't a clue what I'm going to do with the money.
'It's such a enormous amount that it's difficult to grasp what it really means.''
She said she had experienced hot flushes before she started playing the lunchtime session.
'I just felt something was going to happen.''
A spokesman for Mecca said she had been a member for 30 years and her mother was her regular playing companion.
'She is superstitious, and always carries a miniature Buddha figure in her handbag,'' said the spokesman.
Grant Munro, manager at the club, said: 'Her face was a picture of stunned silence, but the rest of the club went absolutely wild and they were all so pleased for her.
'It was just bedlam but right now she's the calmest person in the club.''
Mecca said the millionaire game was introduced on September 1 with the relaxation of gaming laws.
The spokesman added: 'This is the first time someone has been able to win this huge sum of money at a bingo club.''
The gaming firm had previously estimated that a millionaire would be created every 45 days, but today's win came on the 21st day into the game.
261 words
21 September 2007
Weekend Courier
1
5
English
Copyright 2007 News Ltd. All Rights Reserved
Newsagent Scott Calvert sold winning ticket. Picture: Jane Vann d252931
A SOUTHERN suburbs family say the secret to their $2.2 million win from Saturday s $20 million Superdraw, was buying their ticket from Seahaven News in Warnbro and rubbing it on their own lucky Lotto Buddha.
The couple who are in their 30 s, have been playing Lotto for about 15 years and always buy from the Seahaven newsagency before rubbing their tickets on the belly of a special Buddha that lives in their lounge, and then put the tickets underneath it for luck.
I know people must think we are crackers about the Buddha, but it s worked! said the man.
My dad and my grandad both missed out on big wins by changing their Lotto routines; their numbers or where they bought their tickets. I wasn t going to let that happen to me.
The man who runs his own business, has been working 12-hour days, seven days a week to build the business.
The win certainly meant that his family would have a secure future, he said.
But we just want to live a normal life and look after our girls.
Not be extravagant.
The latest multi-millionaire Division One winners joined four other Perth winners, including a work syndicate from Mandurah, which also won $2.2 million in the same draw.
The newsagency owners, Scott and June Calvert, said it was the third and biggest division one prize the newsagency had sold in the past 15 years.
------------------------------------
MOTHER SCOOPS £1M BINGO PRIZE AFTER LOSING JOB
352 words
22 September 2007
01:02
Press Association National Newswire
English
(c)2007, The Press Association, All Rights Reserved
By Joe Quinn, Scottish Press Association
A mother-of-two became Britain's first bingo club millionaire today - weeks after losing her job.
Margaret Shearer, 46, scooped the £1 million jackpot at lunchtime at a Mecca club in Glasgow.
She was only playing because she had lost her job at a biscuit factory three weeks ago.
And with her as she played was her mother - whose name is Margaret Money.
The win came just weeks after the gaming laws were relaxed to allow such huge prizes in clubs.
Ms Shearer, from the Ruchazie area of Glasgow, had worked at the McVitie's factory in Glasgow until she was laid off last month.
She said she was stunned at her win today, at the Glasgow Forge branch of Mecca.
'It's not sunk in yet,'' she said.
'I just haven't a clue what I'm going to do with the money.
'It's such a enormous amount that it's difficult to grasp what it really means.''
She said she had experienced hot flushes before she started playing the lunchtime session.
'I just felt something was going to happen.''
A spokesman for Mecca said she had been a member for 30 years and her mother was her regular playing companion.
'She is superstitious, and always carries a miniature Buddha figure in her handbag,'' said the spokesman.
Grant Munro, manager at the club, said: 'Her face was a picture of stunned silence, but the rest of the club went absolutely wild and they were all so pleased for her.
'It was just bedlam but right now she's the calmest person in the club.''
Mecca said the millionaire game was introduced on September 1 with the relaxation of gaming laws.
The spokesman added: 'This is the first time someone has been able to win this huge sum of money at a bingo club.''
The gaming firm had previously estimated that a millionaire would be created every 45 days, but today's win came on the 21st day into the game.
Mixing religion, politics - two commentaries
Mixing religion, politics
Michael Vatikiotis , Singapore
841 words
21 September 2007
The Jakarta Post
6
English
(c) 2007 The Jakarta Post
The sight of several hundred of saffron-robed Buddhist monks marching in protest through the streets of the Myanmar capital Yangon, their hands clasped in prayer, is a strong reminder of the significant role that religion plays in the politics of Asia.
It may be too early to tell whether the fledgling alliance of monks, many of them students in saffron robes, will prove strong enough to topple the country's military regime, but many observers recall that the popular revolt that forced Burmese strongman Ne Win to step down in 1988 was also spearheaded by the country's influential Budhhist clergy.
Religion in Asia is a powerful leveler in unequal societies. Few popular movements for freedom and democracy in the region have taken off without strong support, if not inspiration, from religious quarters. The earliest movements for independence in Burma (now Myanmar) as well as Indonesia, drew inspiration from religious organizations. In modern Indonesia, Islamic scholars and thinkers like Abdurrahman Wahid and Nurcholis Madjid spearheaded the fledgling democracy movement of the 1990s, and Wahid eventually became President.
Elsewhere in the region, the link between struggles for freedom and religion is less overt but present nonetheless. In the Philippines, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo rode to power in 2000 on the back of a mass movement that consciously tapped support from the Catholic Church. In Hong Kong, the pro-democracy movement that mobilized hundreds of thousands of people to march down the busy streets of the territory in 2002 and 2003 took inspiration from the Catholic Church, which is strong in the territory.
The religious tinting of popular protests against authoritarian rule has helped keep many of them non-violent and reduced levels of conflict. Political change in Asia has been accompanied by short bursts of violence, but all out civil war is rare.
Yet, to the Western mind, religion and politics should not be mixed. The dominant Catholic Church of Europe keeps a tight rein on its clergy and followers through the Vatican to maintain the strong division between church and state embedded in European political culture. The Western mind is also affected by a long history of conflict with the Muslim world, which makes it hard to imagine the Muslim faith as a liberating force.
Terrorist attacks by Islamic militants over the past decade or longer, have entrenched the view that the militants who carry out these attacks are bent on curbing freedom and undermining democracy. The irony of course is that it is precisely the quest for freedom in Muslim society that breeds Islamic militancy. Al Qaeda itself was a combined product of fierce opposition to a feudal Saudi regime and an active role in liberating Afghanistan from Soviet occupation.
But the reality in Asia is that mainstream religion and liberation politics form a highly combustible compound. Despite the focus on a few irrational extremists in Indonesia and understandable fear of violence, the majority of Muslim activists engage in politics in the name of populism.
Their agenda is usually based on the idealistic premise that an Islamic way of life promotes freedom and justice. In a country where politicians and officials are popularly perceived as selfish and corrupt, this is a powerful message and one that forces secular politicians to temper their behavior and adjust their programs or lose at the ballot box.
There is of course a limit to political movements mobilized by religious faith. East Asia has proved more resistant to theocracy than many parts of Western Asia like Iran and Pakistan. Despite the important role of Islam in Indonesian political life, the constitution guarantees freedom of religious faith and several attempts to nudge the country towards conservative Sharia Law have been voted down.
The Buddhist kingdoms of Thailand and Cambodia maintain a healthy balance between "church" and "state", and even in Myanmar today the Buddhist hierarchy has yet to declare its support for the protests spearheaded by younger monks, many of them students.
The role of religion in Asian politics will only be further marginalized once political pluralism is more firmly established in the region. This is why the agenda for political reform must go way beyond simply ensuring free elections.
For now, democratic politics in many countries of the region represents a marginal adjustment by vested interest groups who continue to trample on the rights of ordinary citizens and hide behind flimsy policies and manipulated mandates.
There is an urgent need in Indonesia's fledgling democracy, for instance to build on the progress of the past decade by encouraging political parties to develop equitable policy platforms and ideologies instead of dressing up old traditions of patronage in democratic garb. The same goes for the Philippines and Thailand, where democracy at street level seems an elusive dream and explains why ordinary people still place an inordinate amount of faith in stone amulets and pray for miracles. Many of them would surely support the marching monks of Myanmar.
The writer is Regional Director of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue based in Singapore.
----------------------------------------------
Another angle:
Singapore paper views significance of monks' protest in Burma
487 words
21 September 2007
16:50
BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific
English
(c) 2007 The British Broadcasting Corporation. All Rights Reserved. No material may be reproduced except with the express permission of The British Broadcasting Corporation.
Text of report by Singapore newspaper The Straits Times website on 21 September
[Editorial headlined: "Monks take the high road"]
Myanmar's military autocrats are a hardy lot. Since they crushed the 1988 revolt and the ensuing rebellion following a civilian election victory which the generals overturned, they have prospered more or less unhindered. Through sanctions, ostracism, the rising tenor of its ASEAN allies' criticism and veiled threats from the United States, the junta has sailed through it all, serene and practically daring its adversaries to do their worst. But just how immune to power challenges the generals are is now being tested as never before. Buddhist monks have been taking to the streets in a campaign of non-violent protest for the past several weeks. A few of them were roughed up by security forces a fortnight ago, never a smart thing to do in a devoutly Buddhist nation. The monks' intervention is undoubtedly the most serious fissure to have opened up in Myanmar society since the days of the student-led rebellion and Aung San Suu Kyi's martyrdom. The Buddhist clergy is Myanmar's most organized institution, after the military apparatus itself. It has the power of moral righteousness on its side; the generals can summon up no more than a mailed fist. An illegitimate gesture, at that. With or without civilians joining in the marches, in what manner the military authorities respond to this mortal threat to their legitimacy could determine whether Myanmar sees light ahead or remains mired in the dark ages.
Yesterday's march by hundreds of monks through central Yangon and around the Shwedagon pagoda has been replicated in cities across the land -in Mandalay, Pakokku and Sittwe -locations where the monkhood is especially prominent by its numbers. The protest marches have been against the hefty increases in fuel prices imposed last month, but the object of the monks' anger is really the unelected government itself. The monks have been involved in political protest before, but the climate of censure against the junta has never been heavier than now. The generals are faced with a dilemma. If they run to type and use force on the monks, they could spark a spontaneous uprising by an oppressed if dispirited population. If they hold back, as the monkhood is such an enduring symbol of rectitude, the momentum will build until the pressure has to find an outlet.
It calls to mind the galvanising role played by protesting monks in Vietnam when the war was at its most brutalizing. A Myanmar of diverse ethnicities holding together is still to be preferred. But if the junta finds itself at the precipice, there can be no sympathy for a cabal that has consistently denied the people the decency that is theirs as of right.
Source: The Straits Times website, Singapore, in English 21 Sep 07
Michael Vatikiotis , Singapore
841 words
21 September 2007
The Jakarta Post
6
English
(c) 2007 The Jakarta Post
The sight of several hundred of saffron-robed Buddhist monks marching in protest through the streets of the Myanmar capital Yangon, their hands clasped in prayer, is a strong reminder of the significant role that religion plays in the politics of Asia.
It may be too early to tell whether the fledgling alliance of monks, many of them students in saffron robes, will prove strong enough to topple the country's military regime, but many observers recall that the popular revolt that forced Burmese strongman Ne Win to step down in 1988 was also spearheaded by the country's influential Budhhist clergy.
Religion in Asia is a powerful leveler in unequal societies. Few popular movements for freedom and democracy in the region have taken off without strong support, if not inspiration, from religious quarters. The earliest movements for independence in Burma (now Myanmar) as well as Indonesia, drew inspiration from religious organizations. In modern Indonesia, Islamic scholars and thinkers like Abdurrahman Wahid and Nurcholis Madjid spearheaded the fledgling democracy movement of the 1990s, and Wahid eventually became President.
Elsewhere in the region, the link between struggles for freedom and religion is less overt but present nonetheless. In the Philippines, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo rode to power in 2000 on the back of a mass movement that consciously tapped support from the Catholic Church. In Hong Kong, the pro-democracy movement that mobilized hundreds of thousands of people to march down the busy streets of the territory in 2002 and 2003 took inspiration from the Catholic Church, which is strong in the territory.
The religious tinting of popular protests against authoritarian rule has helped keep many of them non-violent and reduced levels of conflict. Political change in Asia has been accompanied by short bursts of violence, but all out civil war is rare.
Yet, to the Western mind, religion and politics should not be mixed. The dominant Catholic Church of Europe keeps a tight rein on its clergy and followers through the Vatican to maintain the strong division between church and state embedded in European political culture. The Western mind is also affected by a long history of conflict with the Muslim world, which makes it hard to imagine the Muslim faith as a liberating force.
Terrorist attacks by Islamic militants over the past decade or longer, have entrenched the view that the militants who carry out these attacks are bent on curbing freedom and undermining democracy. The irony of course is that it is precisely the quest for freedom in Muslim society that breeds Islamic militancy. Al Qaeda itself was a combined product of fierce opposition to a feudal Saudi regime and an active role in liberating Afghanistan from Soviet occupation.
But the reality in Asia is that mainstream religion and liberation politics form a highly combustible compound. Despite the focus on a few irrational extremists in Indonesia and understandable fear of violence, the majority of Muslim activists engage in politics in the name of populism.
Their agenda is usually based on the idealistic premise that an Islamic way of life promotes freedom and justice. In a country where politicians and officials are popularly perceived as selfish and corrupt, this is a powerful message and one that forces secular politicians to temper their behavior and adjust their programs or lose at the ballot box.
There is of course a limit to political movements mobilized by religious faith. East Asia has proved more resistant to theocracy than many parts of Western Asia like Iran and Pakistan. Despite the important role of Islam in Indonesian political life, the constitution guarantees freedom of religious faith and several attempts to nudge the country towards conservative Sharia Law have been voted down.
The Buddhist kingdoms of Thailand and Cambodia maintain a healthy balance between "church" and "state", and even in Myanmar today the Buddhist hierarchy has yet to declare its support for the protests spearheaded by younger monks, many of them students.
The role of religion in Asian politics will only be further marginalized once political pluralism is more firmly established in the region. This is why the agenda for political reform must go way beyond simply ensuring free elections.
For now, democratic politics in many countries of the region represents a marginal adjustment by vested interest groups who continue to trample on the rights of ordinary citizens and hide behind flimsy policies and manipulated mandates.
There is an urgent need in Indonesia's fledgling democracy, for instance to build on the progress of the past decade by encouraging political parties to develop equitable policy platforms and ideologies instead of dressing up old traditions of patronage in democratic garb. The same goes for the Philippines and Thailand, where democracy at street level seems an elusive dream and explains why ordinary people still place an inordinate amount of faith in stone amulets and pray for miracles. Many of them would surely support the marching monks of Myanmar.
The writer is Regional Director of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue based in Singapore.
----------------------------------------------
Another angle:
Singapore paper views significance of monks' protest in Burma
487 words
21 September 2007
16:50
BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific
English
(c) 2007 The British Broadcasting Corporation. All Rights Reserved. No material may be reproduced except with the express permission of The British Broadcasting Corporation.
Text of report by Singapore newspaper The Straits Times website on 21 September
[Editorial headlined: "Monks take the high road"]
Myanmar's military autocrats are a hardy lot. Since they crushed the 1988 revolt and the ensuing rebellion following a civilian election victory which the generals overturned, they have prospered more or less unhindered. Through sanctions, ostracism, the rising tenor of its ASEAN allies' criticism and veiled threats from the United States, the junta has sailed through it all, serene and practically daring its adversaries to do their worst. But just how immune to power challenges the generals are is now being tested as never before. Buddhist monks have been taking to the streets in a campaign of non-violent protest for the past several weeks. A few of them were roughed up by security forces a fortnight ago, never a smart thing to do in a devoutly Buddhist nation. The monks' intervention is undoubtedly the most serious fissure to have opened up in Myanmar society since the days of the student-led rebellion and Aung San Suu Kyi's martyrdom. The Buddhist clergy is Myanmar's most organized institution, after the military apparatus itself. It has the power of moral righteousness on its side; the generals can summon up no more than a mailed fist. An illegitimate gesture, at that. With or without civilians joining in the marches, in what manner the military authorities respond to this mortal threat to their legitimacy could determine whether Myanmar sees light ahead or remains mired in the dark ages.
Yesterday's march by hundreds of monks through central Yangon and around the Shwedagon pagoda has been replicated in cities across the land -in Mandalay, Pakokku and Sittwe -locations where the monkhood is especially prominent by its numbers. The protest marches have been against the hefty increases in fuel prices imposed last month, but the object of the monks' anger is really the unelected government itself. The monks have been involved in political protest before, but the climate of censure against the junta has never been heavier than now. The generals are faced with a dilemma. If they run to type and use force on the monks, they could spark a spontaneous uprising by an oppressed if dispirited population. If they hold back, as the monkhood is such an enduring symbol of rectitude, the momentum will build until the pressure has to find an outlet.
It calls to mind the galvanising role played by protesting monks in Vietnam when the war was at its most brutalizing. A Myanmar of diverse ethnicities holding together is still to be preferred. But if the junta finds itself at the precipice, there can be no sympathy for a cabal that has consistently denied the people the decency that is theirs as of right.
Source: The Straits Times website, Singapore, in English 21 Sep 07
Friday, September 21, 2007
World ranking of quality of life vis-a-vis countries to live in
Thu Sep 20, 11:18 AM ET
PARIS (AFP) - Nordic countries take the greatest care of their environment and their people, according to a ranking published on Thursday by the publication Reader's Digest.
Finland comes top of the 141-nation list, followed by Iceland, Norway and Sweden, and then Austria, Switzerland, Ireland and Australia.
At the bottom of the list is Ethiopia, preceded by Niger, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso and Chad.
The United States comes in 23rd, China 84th and India 104th.
The ranking combines environmental factors, such as air and water quality, respect for biodiversity and greenhouse-gas emissions, as well as social factors, such as gross domestic product, access to education, unemployment rate and life expectancy.
The statistical basis is the UN's Human Development Index and the Environmental Sustainability Index drawn up by Yale and Columbia universities and the World Economic Forum.
European countries -- again, led by Scandinavia -- also top the Reader's Digest assessment of 72 cities for their quality of life. The criteria for this include public transport, parks, air quality, rubbish recycling and the price of electricity.
The winner is Stockholm, followed by Oslo, Munich and Paris.
Asia's mega-cities fare the worst. At the bottom is Beijing, preceded by Shanghai, Mumbai, Guangzhou and Bangkok.
PARIS (AFP) - Nordic countries take the greatest care of their environment and their people, according to a ranking published on Thursday by the publication Reader's Digest.
Finland comes top of the 141-nation list, followed by Iceland, Norway and Sweden, and then Austria, Switzerland, Ireland and Australia.
At the bottom of the list is Ethiopia, preceded by Niger, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso and Chad.
The United States comes in 23rd, China 84th and India 104th.
The ranking combines environmental factors, such as air and water quality, respect for biodiversity and greenhouse-gas emissions, as well as social factors, such as gross domestic product, access to education, unemployment rate and life expectancy.
The statistical basis is the UN's Human Development Index and the Environmental Sustainability Index drawn up by Yale and Columbia universities and the World Economic Forum.
European countries -- again, led by Scandinavia -- also top the Reader's Digest assessment of 72 cities for their quality of life. The criteria for this include public transport, parks, air quality, rubbish recycling and the price of electricity.
The winner is Stockholm, followed by Oslo, Munich and Paris.
Asia's mega-cities fare the worst. At the bottom is Beijing, preceded by Shanghai, Mumbai, Guangzhou and Bangkok.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Travelling to Muktinath, the Mecca of Tibetan Buddhists
A burning desire to see the eternal flame of Muktinath
John Flinn
1037 words
16 September 2007
The San Francisco Chronicle
FINAL
G.3
English
© 2007 Hearst Communications Inc., Hearst Newspapers Division. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All Rights Reserved.
We're all pilgrims of a sort, and my own pilgrimage had pretty much been a disaster. I'd journeyed halfway around the world to climb a charismatic, pyramid-shaped Himalayan peak called Chulu, covering the last 100 miles on foot, and I'd failed badly.
Long, blistery days on the trail, suspect food, sweaty days down low, shivering nights up high, altitude sickness, that charming little malady called Delhi Belly, a year of planning, thousands of dollars spent, six weeks of vacation burned, and I'd barely made it halfway up the mountain.
It's not the destination that matters, say the enlightened folks, it's the journey. Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. I really wanted to reach the damn summit.
Now, as I limped on painful knees down from the 17,769-foot-high pass known as the Thorong La, one thing kept me going: the eternal flame of Muktinath.
Ever since I read about it as a schoolboy in one of those books of marvels, long before I'd ever heard of the Himalayas or knew what a Hindu or a Buddhist was, I'd been obsessed by the tale. It is said that the Hindu god Brahma lit the flame, and it has been burning ever since, with no intervention by humans - no oil, no wick, no flicked Bics.
In general, I'll admit, I've never had much of an appetite for mythology.Tales of defeated demons transforming into waterfalls, or demigods pulling islands out of the sea with fishhooks, or ravens playing practical jokes on coyotes make my eyes glaze over.
But the eternal flame of Muktinath is quite another thing: It's been burning in a little Himalayan grotto for more than 2,000 years, and you can see it with your own eyes.
By good fortune, my journey home from the mountain followed the Annapurna Circuit trekking route and took me through the village of Muktinath. (This story took place more than a decade ago, but nothing has changed there.)
Perched at an altitude of 12,300 feet, Muktinath commands one of the most dramatic locations on the planet. It stands above the Kali Gandaki River, which slices all the way through the mightiest mountain range of them all, with the 26,000-foot peaks of Annapurna and Dhaulagiri standing sentinel on either side.It's considered by some geographers to be the deepest gorge in the world.
In the river bed you can find black rocks that when cracked open reveal the spiral fossils of ammonites, deposited here 130 million years ago when the entire region was a sea bed. Hindus believe these fossils are a manifestation of their god Vishnu.
The trail to the village was crowded with pilgrims, both Hindus and Tibetan Buddhists. "Muktinath," wrote Nepalese author Hari Bansh Jha, "is to Hindus and Tibetan Buddhists what Mecca is to Muslims and Jerusalem is to Christians."
To Hindus, it is sacred as a place of salvation; to wash in the waters here guarantees deliverance after death. To Buddhists it is a place where the great sage Guru Rinpoche stopped while on his journey to Tibet, leaving a footprint in the rock. They also consider it one of the world's 24 tantric places and home to the goddesses known as dakinis, or sky dancers. Both religions make much of the fact that all the elements are present in Muktinath - earth, air, holy water and fire.
Trudging up the trail from Jomsom were Buddhist monks in burgundy robes; Hindu holy men with ash-smeared faces who'd walked all the way from New Delhi in sandals; and well-to-do Indian pilgrims slumped over ponies, looking rather queasy with altitude sickness. One trekking company even offers a pilgrimage-hike called "Muktinath and the Himalayan Flame of Faith," which sounds like a Harry Potter spin-off.
It's not just the eternal flame that they come for. There are important temples, both Hindu and Buddhist; 108 spouts with heads like either dragons or bulls, depending on who's describing them, spitting out sacred water; and at an altitude that's far above the normal timberline, a wondrous abundance of trees.
As I neared the village I was overwhelmed by the cloying bouquet of incense. It was literally the first thing I'd smelled after spending the previous week in the scentless world of ice and stone.
Other pilgrims were marveling at the temples, statues and artwork, but they didn't much interest me. I was impatient to see the eternal flame. I found my way to the pagoda-style temple dedicated to Jwala Mayi, the goddess of fire. At the entrance I was greeted by a Tibetan Buddhist nun who served as a caretaker.She was wearing a dark purple robe and a Marlboro Racing Team hat.
She led me into the darkened temple and over to a collection box into which I stuffed a fistful of rupees. At last it was time for the moment I'd been anticipating since childhood - I was finally going to set eyes on the eternal flame of Muktinath.
The nun took my hand and led me back into a little grotto with a curtain at the back. It was cold and dank in there; I'd expected to feel the warmth of the fire.
With considerable flourish she pulled back the curtain and gestured for me to kneel down and peer into a little recess. And there burned the eternal flame of Muktinath - a pitifully tiny nub of blue flame that looked exactly like the pilot light on my stove at home.
"That's it?" I asked.
She nodded yes. Apparently Hindu and Buddhist pilgrims are moved to tears by the site, but I gather a lot of Westerners react as I did.
I left the temple, blinking in the bright sunlight, and realized I had come an awful long way to learn one of the essential lessons of travel: It really is the journey that matters, not the destination.
John Flinn
1037 words
16 September 2007
The San Francisco Chronicle
FINAL
G.3
English
© 2007 Hearst Communications Inc., Hearst Newspapers Division. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All Rights Reserved.
We're all pilgrims of a sort, and my own pilgrimage had pretty much been a disaster. I'd journeyed halfway around the world to climb a charismatic, pyramid-shaped Himalayan peak called Chulu, covering the last 100 miles on foot, and I'd failed badly.
Long, blistery days on the trail, suspect food, sweaty days down low, shivering nights up high, altitude sickness, that charming little malady called Delhi Belly, a year of planning, thousands of dollars spent, six weeks of vacation burned, and I'd barely made it halfway up the mountain.
It's not the destination that matters, say the enlightened folks, it's the journey. Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. I really wanted to reach the damn summit.
Now, as I limped on painful knees down from the 17,769-foot-high pass known as the Thorong La, one thing kept me going: the eternal flame of Muktinath.
Ever since I read about it as a schoolboy in one of those books of marvels, long before I'd ever heard of the Himalayas or knew what a Hindu or a Buddhist was, I'd been obsessed by the tale. It is said that the Hindu god Brahma lit the flame, and it has been burning ever since, with no intervention by humans - no oil, no wick, no flicked Bics.
In general, I'll admit, I've never had much of an appetite for mythology.Tales of defeated demons transforming into waterfalls, or demigods pulling islands out of the sea with fishhooks, or ravens playing practical jokes on coyotes make my eyes glaze over.
But the eternal flame of Muktinath is quite another thing: It's been burning in a little Himalayan grotto for more than 2,000 years, and you can see it with your own eyes.
By good fortune, my journey home from the mountain followed the Annapurna Circuit trekking route and took me through the village of Muktinath. (This story took place more than a decade ago, but nothing has changed there.)
Perched at an altitude of 12,300 feet, Muktinath commands one of the most dramatic locations on the planet. It stands above the Kali Gandaki River, which slices all the way through the mightiest mountain range of them all, with the 26,000-foot peaks of Annapurna and Dhaulagiri standing sentinel on either side.It's considered by some geographers to be the deepest gorge in the world.
In the river bed you can find black rocks that when cracked open reveal the spiral fossils of ammonites, deposited here 130 million years ago when the entire region was a sea bed. Hindus believe these fossils are a manifestation of their god Vishnu.
The trail to the village was crowded with pilgrims, both Hindus and Tibetan Buddhists. "Muktinath," wrote Nepalese author Hari Bansh Jha, "is to Hindus and Tibetan Buddhists what Mecca is to Muslims and Jerusalem is to Christians."
To Hindus, it is sacred as a place of salvation; to wash in the waters here guarantees deliverance after death. To Buddhists it is a place where the great sage Guru Rinpoche stopped while on his journey to Tibet, leaving a footprint in the rock. They also consider it one of the world's 24 tantric places and home to the goddesses known as dakinis, or sky dancers. Both religions make much of the fact that all the elements are present in Muktinath - earth, air, holy water and fire.
Trudging up the trail from Jomsom were Buddhist monks in burgundy robes; Hindu holy men with ash-smeared faces who'd walked all the way from New Delhi in sandals; and well-to-do Indian pilgrims slumped over ponies, looking rather queasy with altitude sickness. One trekking company even offers a pilgrimage-hike called "Muktinath and the Himalayan Flame of Faith," which sounds like a Harry Potter spin-off.
It's not just the eternal flame that they come for. There are important temples, both Hindu and Buddhist; 108 spouts with heads like either dragons or bulls, depending on who's describing them, spitting out sacred water; and at an altitude that's far above the normal timberline, a wondrous abundance of trees.
As I neared the village I was overwhelmed by the cloying bouquet of incense. It was literally the first thing I'd smelled after spending the previous week in the scentless world of ice and stone.
Other pilgrims were marveling at the temples, statues and artwork, but they didn't much interest me. I was impatient to see the eternal flame. I found my way to the pagoda-style temple dedicated to Jwala Mayi, the goddess of fire. At the entrance I was greeted by a Tibetan Buddhist nun who served as a caretaker.She was wearing a dark purple robe and a Marlboro Racing Team hat.
She led me into the darkened temple and over to a collection box into which I stuffed a fistful of rupees. At last it was time for the moment I'd been anticipating since childhood - I was finally going to set eyes on the eternal flame of Muktinath.
The nun took my hand and led me back into a little grotto with a curtain at the back. It was cold and dank in there; I'd expected to feel the warmth of the fire.
With considerable flourish she pulled back the curtain and gestured for me to kneel down and peer into a little recess. And there burned the eternal flame of Muktinath - a pitifully tiny nub of blue flame that looked exactly like the pilot light on my stove at home.
"That's it?" I asked.
She nodded yes. Apparently Hindu and Buddhist pilgrims are moved to tears by the site, but I gather a lot of Westerners react as I did.
I left the temple, blinking in the bright sunlight, and realized I had come an awful long way to learn one of the essential lessons of travel: It really is the journey that matters, not the destination.
Things to do in Lhasa, Tibet
Escape
Holy city up on high
David May
551 words
16 September 2007
Sunday Mail, The
2 - State - Main Country
E21
English
Copyright 2007 News Ltd. All Rights Reserved
Lhasa
PERCHED at 3658m in a mountain-fringed valley on the north bank of the Kyichu River, Lhasa is the capital of China's Tibet Autonomous Region.
This mystical city had for centuries been locked in Central Asia on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau, an isolated, almost inaccessible Buddhist "Shangri-la" and seat of the Dalai Lama where devotees on pilgrimages were about the only visitors.
But Lhasa is remote no more. It's now a modern Chinese city of 474,500 people (87 per cent Tibetan) serviced by multimillion-dollar highways and the world's highest railway.
It's a city of wide boulevards, flashing neon, modern shops, restaurants, bars and discos. But towering over it all is the ancient, brooding Potala Palace, an enormous red and white fortress/palace/monastery from where the Dalai Lamas ruled for centuries before the Chinese invasion of Tibet in the 1950s. The city is World Heritage-listed. The present Dalai Lama lives in exile.
Morning
The most obvious starting point is the 7th century Potala Palace, begun in 608 and sitting atop Red Hill at 3700m above sea level.
It contains treasures of Buddhism's finest arts and crafts, temples, chapels, shrines and the gold-plated tombs of eight Dalai Lamas.
About 2km to the east is the ornate Jokhang Temple, the most revered site in Tibet. Outside, thousands of pilgrims arrive daily to prostrate themselves in obeisance and shuffle clockwise around the compound's spinning prayer wheels.
Lunch
Tibetan traditional foods include tsampa (roasted flour), yoghurt and dairy products, momo (spicy yak meat dumplings), beef, mutton and a salty tea made with yak butter.
Small cafes around Tromzikhang Market sell noodles for about four yuan (A65). There are more than 100 restaurants on Deji Lu, Beijing Lu and Barkhor Street, and Western, Indian, Nepalese and Chinese regional foods are easy to find and inexpensive. What you won't find (yet) are Starbucks and McDonald's.
The pizzas, Indian and Nepalese food at Snowlands Restaurant (4 Mentsikhang) are good value.
Try some Tibetan noodles and sweet tea at Guangming Sweet Tea House on Beijing Dong Lu, a dimly lit, atmospheric traditional teahouse.
Afternoon
Norbulingka was once the Dalai Lamas' Summer Palace, set amid 360,000sq m of parks and gardens, open to the public and listed by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage Site.
In the southeast corner, the Tibet Museum contains prehistoric Tibetan relics, Buddha statues, colourful "thangkas" (religious paintings and embroideries) and folk handicrafts while the Drepung Monastery contains Buddhist statuary, flowery murals and valuable religious relics.
Shop for thangkas, Tibetan costumes, carpets, antiques, jewellery and gold and silverware at the countless shops on Barkhor Square and its extension, Barkhor Street.
Day trips
Spend a day white-water rafting through dramatic scenery on the Brahmaputra River ( www.highasia .com) or take the 7am scenic bus trip from Jokhang Square to Ganden Monastery built in 1417 and an important pilgrimage site with breathtaking views of the Kyichu River Valley.
Nightlife
Not much really. Most of the bars and clubs are on Beijing Lu and Barkhor Street. Karaoke bars seem to be everywhere while Niuwei (Linkou Bei Lu 13) is a popular Tibetan nightclub.
Holy city up on high
David May
551 words
16 September 2007
Sunday Mail, The
2 - State - Main Country
E21
English
Copyright 2007 News Ltd. All Rights Reserved
Lhasa
PERCHED at 3658m in a mountain-fringed valley on the north bank of the Kyichu River, Lhasa is the capital of China's Tibet Autonomous Region.
This mystical city had for centuries been locked in Central Asia on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau, an isolated, almost inaccessible Buddhist "Shangri-la" and seat of the Dalai Lama where devotees on pilgrimages were about the only visitors.
But Lhasa is remote no more. It's now a modern Chinese city of 474,500 people (87 per cent Tibetan) serviced by multimillion-dollar highways and the world's highest railway.
It's a city of wide boulevards, flashing neon, modern shops, restaurants, bars and discos. But towering over it all is the ancient, brooding Potala Palace, an enormous red and white fortress/palace/monastery from where the Dalai Lamas ruled for centuries before the Chinese invasion of Tibet in the 1950s. The city is World Heritage-listed. The present Dalai Lama lives in exile.
Morning
The most obvious starting point is the 7th century Potala Palace, begun in 608 and sitting atop Red Hill at 3700m above sea level.
It contains treasures of Buddhism's finest arts and crafts, temples, chapels, shrines and the gold-plated tombs of eight Dalai Lamas.
About 2km to the east is the ornate Jokhang Temple, the most revered site in Tibet. Outside, thousands of pilgrims arrive daily to prostrate themselves in obeisance and shuffle clockwise around the compound's spinning prayer wheels.
Lunch
Tibetan traditional foods include tsampa (roasted flour), yoghurt and dairy products, momo (spicy yak meat dumplings), beef, mutton and a salty tea made with yak butter.
Small cafes around Tromzikhang Market sell noodles for about four yuan (A65). There are more than 100 restaurants on Deji Lu, Beijing Lu and Barkhor Street, and Western, Indian, Nepalese and Chinese regional foods are easy to find and inexpensive. What you won't find (yet) are Starbucks and McDonald's.
The pizzas, Indian and Nepalese food at Snowlands Restaurant (4 Mentsikhang) are good value.
Try some Tibetan noodles and sweet tea at Guangming Sweet Tea House on Beijing Dong Lu, a dimly lit, atmospheric traditional teahouse.
Afternoon
Norbulingka was once the Dalai Lamas' Summer Palace, set amid 360,000sq m of parks and gardens, open to the public and listed by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage Site.
In the southeast corner, the Tibet Museum contains prehistoric Tibetan relics, Buddha statues, colourful "thangkas" (religious paintings and embroideries) and folk handicrafts while the Drepung Monastery contains Buddhist statuary, flowery murals and valuable religious relics.
Shop for thangkas, Tibetan costumes, carpets, antiques, jewellery and gold and silverware at the countless shops on Barkhor Square and its extension, Barkhor Street.
Day trips
Spend a day white-water rafting through dramatic scenery on the Brahmaputra River ( www.highasia .com) or take the 7am scenic bus trip from Jokhang Square to Ganden Monastery built in 1417 and an important pilgrimage site with breathtaking views of the Kyichu River Valley.
Nightlife
Not much really. Most of the bars and clubs are on Beijing Lu and Barkhor Street. Karaoke bars seem to be everywhere while Niuwei (Linkou Bei Lu 13) is a popular Tibetan nightclub.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Tibetan foremost female lama - a peek into her daily life
News and Features - News Review
A lesson on living the good life
Gabriella Coslovich
1993 words
15 September 2007
The Sydney Morning Herald
First
31
English
© 2007 Copyright John Fairfax Holdings Limited. www.smh.com.au
For Tibetan Buddhism's foremost woman lama, living well requires patience, discipline and time to shop, writes Gabriella Coslovich.
AROUND seven on a chilly early spring Sunday evening, people trickle into the Sakya Buddhist centre in Sydney's west. They leave their shoes on wooden shelves at the side entrance of the double-storey, cream brick, suburban mansion.
The palm trees lining the driveway give the home an air of California dreaming. But apart from the rustling fronds, there is little to distinguish the centre as anything other than a large residential abode, the sort built and beloved by hard-working immigrants who were making it good in the '70s and '80s.
Inside, people in jeans and casuals, Caucasian for the most part, mill about, waiting for the evening's ritual to begin. Jack Heath, the centre's president, and a former speech writer for Paul Keating and Gareth Evans, wanders about in his suit and tie, greeting people. He has the air of a man deep in thought.
The centre's monks are a more jovial lot: the tall and chatty Tenzin Phil, who drives cabs three times a week and is jokingly called "Lurch" for his resemblance to the deep-voiced butler in the '60s sitcom The Addams Family; and Lama Ngawang, whose youthful grin belies his seniority in the Buddhist tradition, and who goes by the nickname Lama Larrikin because of his mischievous bent.
The centre's beige-tiled foyer is filling with people, from seniors to teens. Tonight is special. The centre is being visited by the Tibetan Buddhist tradition's foremost woman lama, the 69-year-old Jetsun Kushola. She has flown from her home in Vancouver, Canada, for an intensive teaching program taking in Sydney, Adelaide, Whyalla, Melbourne and the Blue Mountains over the next two months.
This evening she will conduct the Green Tara Empowerment, which, despite its name, has nothing to do with bolstering the egos of type-A personalities needing an incentive drive. The Green Tara is the deity associated with active compassion - her outstretched leg symbolises that she is ready jump into action. As the hour of eight approaches, the crowd ambles upstairs.
At last, a little stooped lady in traditional robes emerges from a side door. She takes her place on the throne in front of the vast shrine. The empowerment begins. There is much Tibetan chanting, the recitation of mantras in Sanskrit, the throwing of rice, the swinging of incense, the crashing of cymbals, the beating of drums, the ringing of bells, the giving of offerings. To an outsider, the rituals are esoteric, yet strangely evocative, affecting in an osmotic, visceral sense.
After about an hour, the empowerment is over. Jetsun Kushola stands up, says "that's all, finish, goodbye". She waves, smiles and disappears through a side door. Her husband, Luding Sey Kusho, pokes his face around the door and it lights up, as if in awe of the crowd his wife has attracted.
Jetsun Kushola has lived an extraordinary life. Born in Tibet in 1938, into the noble Sakya lineage, one of the four schools of Buddhism, she was destined to become a nun.
According to the traditions and expectations of her lineage, she began studying the Buddha's teachings at age six. At 10, she made her first retreat, meditating and reportedly reciting a million short mantras and 100,000 long mantras. During retreats, she would rise at 3am and finish her practice at 11pm. As a noble Sakya woman, Jetsun was accorded the same teachings as her brother, Sakya Trizin, who is now the throne holder of the lineage and lives in Dehradun, in northern India.
In 1959, Jetsun and her brother fled Tibet as the Chinese Communist regime encroached. They escaped to India, where it became increasingly difficult for Jetsun to continue living as a nun. Her shaved head and robes attracted ire and ridicule. With the approval of the Dalai Lama and her brother, Jetsun gave back her robes and grew her hair. But she continued the inner life of a nun. She learnt English at a missionary school, where she met her future husband. Her aunt and other family members arranged a marriage between Luding Sey Kusho and Jetsun. Initially, Jetsun refused, but the couple eventually married in 1964.
They had five children - four sons and a daughter, who died in infancy. In 1971, they migrated to Canada. Only three of their sons went with them - the couple's four-year-old, Shabdrung Rinpoche, remained in India with his uncles, to become a monk.
In Canada, Jetsun had hoped to live a quiet life, continuing her Buddhist practice while working full-time as a weaver for fashion designer Zonda Nellis and part-time as a house cleaner.
She would rise at 4am, meditate until 7am, have breakfast, leave for work at 8am, return home at 5pm, tend to the family, and go to bed around 9pm or 10pm, or later if something on television caught her fancy.
It sounds like a gruelling routine, but Jetsun, in her calm way, says that it wasn't at all.
"Tiring is only in your mind. If you are thinking tired, you (are) always tired, if you are not thinking about that, it's OK."
After leaving Tibet, Jetsun had no desire to teach, but fate would intervene. During teachings in New York, her brother Sakya Trizin was asked by women why there were not more female teachers in the Buddhist tradition. He said there were, and that an important one lived in Canada.
And so Sakya Trizin told his sister that she should resume teaching and become a role model for women in the West. She could not refuse.
"His Holiness [Sakya Trizin] is my root guru, so I can't say no," she says. "Otherwise, I really, truly in my way didn't want to teach. I wanted to be quiet."
Jetsun's English is stilted, making it difficult to conduct a deep philosophical discussion about Buddhism. Her answers, too, can be frustratingly simple, in a peculiarly Buddhist way. And yet, respect is owed to a woman who is one of the religion's most highly realised female teachers.
"It makes a huge difference to Buddhist women that there is a woman teacher of high standing who is universally acknowledged," says Tibetan historian Di Cousens.
"It shows that there is not a hard and fast gender boundary. There is no reason why women, given the opportunity, cannot become important teachers."
Cousens adds, however, that "Buddhism is widely seen as a very patriarchal religion for good reason.
"The teaching structure is 99.9 per cent male, so it has been a bit of a battle for women to have any position in the hierarchy," she says. "There has only been a handful of famous women teachers and there must be thousands of famous male teachers, and it's not because women lack capability or interest. It's because the resources have never been made available on any sort of parity for nunneries compared to monasteries, or for women in other walks of life."
But feminism and its concerns are not part of Tibetan cultural tradition and Jetsun hasn't much to say on the topic.
She admits she does not really understand the concept of feminism, and cannot say whether it is a good or bad thing. Buddhists believe in karma, she says, and one's karma will influence the course of one's life.
Asked about her childhood and whether she ever resented the onerous demands of her studies, the early rises and late finishes, Jestsun replies, "No, no, never think that."
"Generally, Tibetan children or people don't have that kind of mind. They're always thinking of the parents or the teacher, whatever they teach is the best thing for us."
She sees a lack of discipline in the children of Western families as a major problem. Parents, mothers especially, she says, need to be more mindful of raising well-behaved children, of leading them onto the right path, rather than spoiling them.
"You need a little bit of discipline . . . not forcing children, but letting them understand which way is suitable," she says.
Jetsun has experienced dramatic changes in her life, going from living with servants in a Tibetan palace to a humble existence as a mother and working woman in Canada, and from nun to married woman. What was it like giving up the monastic life to become a wife? "Oh, it's OK," she says, laughing.
"Not too surprising, not too interesting, nothing. Life is life, you know, that's all."
Although not a "love" marriage, the union between Jetsun and Sey Kusho has been a good and fruitful one. On this Jetsun is clear. Without her husband's support, she would have been unable to return to teaching. So what is the secret to a good marriage?
"I think nothing too special, actually. I think you need to be patient. Patience is very important in regular life or religious life," she says. "Western society is a little bit impatient. Also they want everything the way they want it, then people have difficult lives."
In Australia, those identifying themselves as Buddhist in the census more than doubled, rising from 200,000 to 420,000 in the years from 1996 to 2006. Buddhism is the most widely practised non-Christian religion in Australia. Jetsun believes Buddhism's popularity in the West is a sign that people are searching for truth, meaning and a means of quietening their busy minds.
Like her brother, Jetsun believes all world religions can help to achieve peace. But what about fundamentalist Islam and its links to terrorism?
Dialogue is important, Jetsun says, because anger and retaliation surely begets more anger and retaliation.
"One says something, another says something, then there is a fire burning and you throw in more wood and there's more burning," she says.
But extremists don't want to talk. "Yes, I understand," she says. "Then in Buddhism we pray for them to change their minds into good thoughts."
Among the followers of Buddhism are scientific minds, such as 32-year-old paediatrician Lucas Speed, who works at Campbelltown Hospital. Speed turned to Buddhism when he was searching for a way to cope with the suffering and death that he faced in the hospital. He did not want to become emotionally rigid.
"Without the Buddhist teachings I definitely would have dropped out," he says.
Speed attended teachings at Jetsun's dharma centre in Vancouver in 2000, and went on a pilgrimage with her to India in 2002. He vividly recalls one particular evening in India, when having dinner with Jetsun and her husband.
"Some monks recognised her, they were from her tradition, and they basically came up on all fours holding their scarves above their heads because of what she meant to them. And there we were at the table just talking like normal people, so that showed me how much she'd tried to meet us at our level," he says.
"It was the lack of politics and status and institutional egotism, which are the exact problems that I'm encountering with my profession (that I was attracted to). She's the antithesis of that, she's the down-to-earth, everyday householder with a family."
In the 12 days since arriving in Australia, Jetsun has had just two days off, and she wants to go to Leichhardt for a cappuccino and shopping, one of her favourite pastimes. As she leaves the centre, walking stick in hand, people stand and bow, forming a guard of honour.
She disappears around the corner, as one of her minders asks, "Would you like to come back here for dinner, or go out?"
"Go out," comes the forthright reply.
A lesson on living the good life
Gabriella Coslovich
1993 words
15 September 2007
The Sydney Morning Herald
First
31
English
© 2007 Copyright John Fairfax Holdings Limited. www.smh.com.au
For Tibetan Buddhism's foremost woman lama, living well requires patience, discipline and time to shop, writes Gabriella Coslovich.
AROUND seven on a chilly early spring Sunday evening, people trickle into the Sakya Buddhist centre in Sydney's west. They leave their shoes on wooden shelves at the side entrance of the double-storey, cream brick, suburban mansion.
The palm trees lining the driveway give the home an air of California dreaming. But apart from the rustling fronds, there is little to distinguish the centre as anything other than a large residential abode, the sort built and beloved by hard-working immigrants who were making it good in the '70s and '80s.
Inside, people in jeans and casuals, Caucasian for the most part, mill about, waiting for the evening's ritual to begin. Jack Heath, the centre's president, and a former speech writer for Paul Keating and Gareth Evans, wanders about in his suit and tie, greeting people. He has the air of a man deep in thought.
The centre's monks are a more jovial lot: the tall and chatty Tenzin Phil, who drives cabs three times a week and is jokingly called "Lurch" for his resemblance to the deep-voiced butler in the '60s sitcom The Addams Family; and Lama Ngawang, whose youthful grin belies his seniority in the Buddhist tradition, and who goes by the nickname Lama Larrikin because of his mischievous bent.
The centre's beige-tiled foyer is filling with people, from seniors to teens. Tonight is special. The centre is being visited by the Tibetan Buddhist tradition's foremost woman lama, the 69-year-old Jetsun Kushola. She has flown from her home in Vancouver, Canada, for an intensive teaching program taking in Sydney, Adelaide, Whyalla, Melbourne and the Blue Mountains over the next two months.
This evening she will conduct the Green Tara Empowerment, which, despite its name, has nothing to do with bolstering the egos of type-A personalities needing an incentive drive. The Green Tara is the deity associated with active compassion - her outstretched leg symbolises that she is ready jump into action. As the hour of eight approaches, the crowd ambles upstairs.
At last, a little stooped lady in traditional robes emerges from a side door. She takes her place on the throne in front of the vast shrine. The empowerment begins. There is much Tibetan chanting, the recitation of mantras in Sanskrit, the throwing of rice, the swinging of incense, the crashing of cymbals, the beating of drums, the ringing of bells, the giving of offerings. To an outsider, the rituals are esoteric, yet strangely evocative, affecting in an osmotic, visceral sense.
After about an hour, the empowerment is over. Jetsun Kushola stands up, says "that's all, finish, goodbye". She waves, smiles and disappears through a side door. Her husband, Luding Sey Kusho, pokes his face around the door and it lights up, as if in awe of the crowd his wife has attracted.
Jetsun Kushola has lived an extraordinary life. Born in Tibet in 1938, into the noble Sakya lineage, one of the four schools of Buddhism, she was destined to become a nun.
According to the traditions and expectations of her lineage, she began studying the Buddha's teachings at age six. At 10, she made her first retreat, meditating and reportedly reciting a million short mantras and 100,000 long mantras. During retreats, she would rise at 3am and finish her practice at 11pm. As a noble Sakya woman, Jetsun was accorded the same teachings as her brother, Sakya Trizin, who is now the throne holder of the lineage and lives in Dehradun, in northern India.
In 1959, Jetsun and her brother fled Tibet as the Chinese Communist regime encroached. They escaped to India, where it became increasingly difficult for Jetsun to continue living as a nun. Her shaved head and robes attracted ire and ridicule. With the approval of the Dalai Lama and her brother, Jetsun gave back her robes and grew her hair. But she continued the inner life of a nun. She learnt English at a missionary school, where she met her future husband. Her aunt and other family members arranged a marriage between Luding Sey Kusho and Jetsun. Initially, Jetsun refused, but the couple eventually married in 1964.
They had five children - four sons and a daughter, who died in infancy. In 1971, they migrated to Canada. Only three of their sons went with them - the couple's four-year-old, Shabdrung Rinpoche, remained in India with his uncles, to become a monk.
In Canada, Jetsun had hoped to live a quiet life, continuing her Buddhist practice while working full-time as a weaver for fashion designer Zonda Nellis and part-time as a house cleaner.
She would rise at 4am, meditate until 7am, have breakfast, leave for work at 8am, return home at 5pm, tend to the family, and go to bed around 9pm or 10pm, or later if something on television caught her fancy.
It sounds like a gruelling routine, but Jetsun, in her calm way, says that it wasn't at all.
"Tiring is only in your mind. If you are thinking tired, you (are) always tired, if you are not thinking about that, it's OK."
After leaving Tibet, Jetsun had no desire to teach, but fate would intervene. During teachings in New York, her brother Sakya Trizin was asked by women why there were not more female teachers in the Buddhist tradition. He said there were, and that an important one lived in Canada.
And so Sakya Trizin told his sister that she should resume teaching and become a role model for women in the West. She could not refuse.
"His Holiness [Sakya Trizin] is my root guru, so I can't say no," she says. "Otherwise, I really, truly in my way didn't want to teach. I wanted to be quiet."
Jetsun's English is stilted, making it difficult to conduct a deep philosophical discussion about Buddhism. Her answers, too, can be frustratingly simple, in a peculiarly Buddhist way. And yet, respect is owed to a woman who is one of the religion's most highly realised female teachers.
"It makes a huge difference to Buddhist women that there is a woman teacher of high standing who is universally acknowledged," says Tibetan historian Di Cousens.
"It shows that there is not a hard and fast gender boundary. There is no reason why women, given the opportunity, cannot become important teachers."
Cousens adds, however, that "Buddhism is widely seen as a very patriarchal religion for good reason.
"The teaching structure is 99.9 per cent male, so it has been a bit of a battle for women to have any position in the hierarchy," she says. "There has only been a handful of famous women teachers and there must be thousands of famous male teachers, and it's not because women lack capability or interest. It's because the resources have never been made available on any sort of parity for nunneries compared to monasteries, or for women in other walks of life."
But feminism and its concerns are not part of Tibetan cultural tradition and Jetsun hasn't much to say on the topic.
She admits she does not really understand the concept of feminism, and cannot say whether it is a good or bad thing. Buddhists believe in karma, she says, and one's karma will influence the course of one's life.
Asked about her childhood and whether she ever resented the onerous demands of her studies, the early rises and late finishes, Jestsun replies, "No, no, never think that."
"Generally, Tibetan children or people don't have that kind of mind. They're always thinking of the parents or the teacher, whatever they teach is the best thing for us."
She sees a lack of discipline in the children of Western families as a major problem. Parents, mothers especially, she says, need to be more mindful of raising well-behaved children, of leading them onto the right path, rather than spoiling them.
"You need a little bit of discipline . . . not forcing children, but letting them understand which way is suitable," she says.
Jetsun has experienced dramatic changes in her life, going from living with servants in a Tibetan palace to a humble existence as a mother and working woman in Canada, and from nun to married woman. What was it like giving up the monastic life to become a wife? "Oh, it's OK," she says, laughing.
"Not too surprising, not too interesting, nothing. Life is life, you know, that's all."
Although not a "love" marriage, the union between Jetsun and Sey Kusho has been a good and fruitful one. On this Jetsun is clear. Without her husband's support, she would have been unable to return to teaching. So what is the secret to a good marriage?
"I think nothing too special, actually. I think you need to be patient. Patience is very important in regular life or religious life," she says. "Western society is a little bit impatient. Also they want everything the way they want it, then people have difficult lives."
In Australia, those identifying themselves as Buddhist in the census more than doubled, rising from 200,000 to 420,000 in the years from 1996 to 2006. Buddhism is the most widely practised non-Christian religion in Australia. Jetsun believes Buddhism's popularity in the West is a sign that people are searching for truth, meaning and a means of quietening their busy minds.
Like her brother, Jetsun believes all world religions can help to achieve peace. But what about fundamentalist Islam and its links to terrorism?
Dialogue is important, Jetsun says, because anger and retaliation surely begets more anger and retaliation.
"One says something, another says something, then there is a fire burning and you throw in more wood and there's more burning," she says.
But extremists don't want to talk. "Yes, I understand," she says. "Then in Buddhism we pray for them to change their minds into good thoughts."
Among the followers of Buddhism are scientific minds, such as 32-year-old paediatrician Lucas Speed, who works at Campbelltown Hospital. Speed turned to Buddhism when he was searching for a way to cope with the suffering and death that he faced in the hospital. He did not want to become emotionally rigid.
"Without the Buddhist teachings I definitely would have dropped out," he says.
Speed attended teachings at Jetsun's dharma centre in Vancouver in 2000, and went on a pilgrimage with her to India in 2002. He vividly recalls one particular evening in India, when having dinner with Jetsun and her husband.
"Some monks recognised her, they were from her tradition, and they basically came up on all fours holding their scarves above their heads because of what she meant to them. And there we were at the table just talking like normal people, so that showed me how much she'd tried to meet us at our level," he says.
"It was the lack of politics and status and institutional egotism, which are the exact problems that I'm encountering with my profession (that I was attracted to). She's the antithesis of that, she's the down-to-earth, everyday householder with a family."
In the 12 days since arriving in Australia, Jetsun has had just two days off, and she wants to go to Leichhardt for a cappuccino and shopping, one of her favourite pastimes. As she leaves the centre, walking stick in hand, people stand and bow, forming a guard of honour.
She disappears around the corner, as one of her minders asks, "Would you like to come back here for dinner, or go out?"
"Go out," comes the forthright reply.
Chopra on mind body
When East Meets West: A Chat With Chopra On Integration Of Mind, Body
By Susan Campbell, The Hartford Courant, Conn.
McClatchy-Tribune Regional News
623 words
11 September 2007
The Hartford Courant (MCT)
English
Distributed by McClatchy - Tribune Information Services.
Sep. 11--Deepak Chopra is coming to Hartford tonight.
Chopra is an internationally known author and medical doctor whose explorations of the connection between the mind and body in health and medicine have been chronicled in 50 books, including his most recent, a novel, "Buddha: A Story of Enlightenment" (HarperOne, $24.95).
Chopra, co-founder of the Chopra Center for Wellbeing based in Carlsbad, Calif., was born in New Delhi and educated in India and the United States. He became interested in integrating Eastern and Western health practice in the '80s in Boston, where he ran an endocrinology practice. He has since expanded his message to world peace, among other topics.
His presentation at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, scheduled for three hours, does not include a question-and-answer period. We asked him questions in advance:
Q: Are there messages and ideas based in Eastern thought that are difficult to translate into Western thought?
A: I think one of the things that people in the West are very concerned about and don't really get is the idea of the absence of a separate self. They are very insecure that they're not individual souls. I am very careful when I talk about that. Everybody so identifies with their personality, their ego-self. To be told there's no such thing -- that it's a socially induced hallucination -- they think they're going to lose all identity. You expand your identity, and it's very exhilarating. There's a light-heartedness.
Q: Is this realization something that happens, and you can mark it as an event, or does it have to keep happening again and again?
A: It's both. It's like a fruit that takes a long time to ripen, and it falls, certainly.
Q: Did you expect the kind of renown you've achieved?
A: Not really. I was just enjoying my explorations into consciousness, and I thought other people would enjoy what I'm enjoying. I decided to share it, and it seems like it got a great response. I still am surprised.
Q: Do you still practice medicine?
A: I do. At the center I have a group of physicians who work with me and present me patients. We do a joint conference, and now that I have a radio show in New York once a week [Wellness Radio airs Saturdays at 10 a.m. on Sirius], I actually present all the latest advances in medicine, consciousness, the role of the mind and the body, what's the latest information on how genes express themselves, how the environment affects us. I keep up with the literature, and I teach once a year at Harvard Medical School.
Q: Do you think the average general practitioner learns about mind-body connections in medical school?
A: People are not learning much in med school about this. What people don't understand is that every patient comes to their GP or their physician with a story. If you don't listen to their story, you are never going to get to the root of the problem. Nobody listens to the story. What's happening in the story is a metaphor for what's happening in their consciousness.
By Susan Campbell, The Hartford Courant, Conn.
McClatchy-Tribune Regional News
623 words
11 September 2007
The Hartford Courant (MCT)
English
Distributed by McClatchy - Tribune Information Services.
Sep. 11--Deepak Chopra is coming to Hartford tonight.
Chopra is an internationally known author and medical doctor whose explorations of the connection between the mind and body in health and medicine have been chronicled in 50 books, including his most recent, a novel, "Buddha: A Story of Enlightenment" (HarperOne, $24.95).
Chopra, co-founder of the Chopra Center for Wellbeing based in Carlsbad, Calif., was born in New Delhi and educated in India and the United States. He became interested in integrating Eastern and Western health practice in the '80s in Boston, where he ran an endocrinology practice. He has since expanded his message to world peace, among other topics.
His presentation at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, scheduled for three hours, does not include a question-and-answer period. We asked him questions in advance:
Q: Are there messages and ideas based in Eastern thought that are difficult to translate into Western thought?
A: I think one of the things that people in the West are very concerned about and don't really get is the idea of the absence of a separate self. They are very insecure that they're not individual souls. I am very careful when I talk about that. Everybody so identifies with their personality, their ego-self. To be told there's no such thing -- that it's a socially induced hallucination -- they think they're going to lose all identity. You expand your identity, and it's very exhilarating. There's a light-heartedness.
Q: Is this realization something that happens, and you can mark it as an event, or does it have to keep happening again and again?
A: It's both. It's like a fruit that takes a long time to ripen, and it falls, certainly.
Q: Did you expect the kind of renown you've achieved?
A: Not really. I was just enjoying my explorations into consciousness, and I thought other people would enjoy what I'm enjoying. I decided to share it, and it seems like it got a great response. I still am surprised.
Q: Do you still practice medicine?
A: I do. At the center I have a group of physicians who work with me and present me patients. We do a joint conference, and now that I have a radio show in New York once a week [Wellness Radio airs Saturdays at 10 a.m. on Sirius], I actually present all the latest advances in medicine, consciousness, the role of the mind and the body, what's the latest information on how genes express themselves, how the environment affects us. I keep up with the literature, and I teach once a year at Harvard Medical School.
Q: Do you think the average general practitioner learns about mind-body connections in medical school?
A: People are not learning much in med school about this. What people don't understand is that every patient comes to their GP or their physician with a story. If you don't listen to their story, you are never going to get to the root of the problem. Nobody listens to the story. What's happening in the story is a metaphor for what's happening in their consciousness.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Bringing back a piece of Thai history back - robes
OUTLOOK
Robe revived; Will this piece of Thai history find its way back?
1366 words
8 September 2007
Bangkok Post
O1
English
(c) 2007
USNISA SUKHSVASTI
A robe of heavily embroidered gold threads lay in a state of suspended existence in Denmark. But like Sleeping Beauty waking up from a 100 year sleep, it has recently been roused from its bed of silver paper and, wrapped in white linen, hidden away in the hushed security of a bank vault.
And this is no ordinary robe. The heavily embroidered, loose open style with intricate hem and cuffs is typical of those of those worn by members of the royal Siamese court of old, reflected today in the simplified graduation gowns worn at Chulalongkorn University commencement ceremonies. The filigree gold and silver threads that still shimmer despite their antiquity have a story to tell if you look closely enough. The intricate floral and vine patterns are interspersed with marine motifs - anchors, ship's wheels - that provide a clue to its original owner: Vice Admiral Andreas du Plessis de Richelieu.
It was in April of 1875 that Lt Richelieu arrived in Bangkok, bearing a private letter from King Christian IX of Denmark. An officer in the Danish Navy, he had come to offer his services to King Chulalongkorn during the height of European colonial expansion into Southeast Asia, a crucial period in Siamese history.
He was appointed chief of the naval inspection ship, the Regent, which patrolled the Bay of Bengal. In 1877, he had become commander of HMS Siam Mongkut, and by the following year he had been titled Luang Cholayuth Yothin and appointed chief commander of HMS Vesatri.
In this same year, as chief of the Naval Arsenal, he was also put in charge of a new unit, the Marines, which had been created to handle the newly imported Gatling guns.
Within the next decade, Richelieu's status grew, and his title elevated from Luang to Phra and later Phraya.
He played an increasingly significant role in the Royal Thai Navy. Eighteen ninety-three was a year that is etched in every Thai history book. Known as the Gunboat Crisis of Rattanakosin Era 112, the French sent gunboats to block the Chao Phraya River estuary. In his book of 1895 titled The Peoples and Politics of the Far East, British MP and journalist Sir Henry Norman, who had travelled extensively in the region, noted that the Thai navy was at a significant disadvantage due to the lack of experience of its personnel and its smaller fleet. He noted the presence of two or three foreign officers, among whom was Phraya Cholayuth Yothin, or Richelieu. Henry noted that Richelieu had suggested using HMS Maha Chakri to attack the French fleet, since it was the Royal Thai Navy's most modern and fastest vessel, but this particular ship was berthed at the Grand Palace landing for the king's personal use only. It was equipped with state of the art guns which, unfortunately, none of the local officers knew how to use. Had the HMS Maha Chakri been deployed, suggests Norman, things might have been different. As it was, Siam had to cede its Lao territory to the French.
Richelieu was to go on to become the first and only foreign commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Navy, from January 16, 1900 to January 29, 1901.
He also served the king in various other capacities, acting as the king's adjudant general. In 1883 he accompanied two royal princes to Europe for education in Denmark, during which trip he also negotiated the purchase of ships for the navy as well as ammunition. On this same trip he is said to have bought generators and lamps to be installed at the Royal Palace in Bangkok, the first time the palace was fitted with electric lighting. In 1897, during King Chulalongkorn's first visit to Europe, Queen Saovabha was installed as Regent, with Richelieu as one of her advisers.
In 1898, he accompanied Crown Prince Maha Vajiravudh on visits to the Russian tzar and tzarina (the Danish Princess Dagmar), to the king of Sweden and to the king of Denmark while attending the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, in England.
Richelieu was often in the entourage of Prince Damrong Rajanubhab and Prince Devawongse, who held the positions equivalent to the Minister of Interior and Minister of Foreign Affairs, respectively. With these two princes he developed a particularly strong and lifelong friendship. Prince Damrong subsequently visited Richelieu in Denmark several times, the last time in 1930, two years before Richelieu's death.
When Wat Benjamabopit was being built in 1901, he oversaw the shipment of the presiding Buddha image (copied from that in Phitsanulok) to be installed in the chapel. His name appears at the foot of the Buddha image together with that of King Chulalongkorn.
For his services to the king, and after he was elevated to the rank of vice admiral in 1902, he was awarded the Ratanaporn Medal Rama V, or the King Chulalongkorn Royal Cypher Medal (Rama V), prior to his return to Denmark at the end of a long and eventful time in the service of the king of Siam.
With this decoration came the gold robe which was to be worn on all formal ceremonial occasions as a full dress robe. According to the book Phra Phusa Song Nai Rajasamnak Siam (Royal Robes in the Court of Siam), written by historian Paothong Thongchua and published by BankThai, the tradition of the robe can be traced back to the Ayutthaya period as a ceremonial court costume adapted from the Persians and Indians.
The close friendship he retained with the king and members of the royal family can be seen in a description of the touching farewell given to Richelieu when he retired from the royal court in 1902, as recounted by his grandson, Allan Aage Hastrup, 76, who is now in possession of the robe.
"When my grandfather left Siam, the king, queen, Prince Damrong and a lot of other princes and royals followed him to Singapore. At the Governor's Palace dinner, grandfather sat next to the king, and the king said in his speech how much he appreciated him, how sorry he was to see him leave, and how he hoped he would soon come and visit. He also gave him a beautiful silver plate, covered with diamonds showing his coat of arms ... at the same time the king gave him the title of 'Admiral en Suite' and a pension. This was on February 24, on grandfather's 50th birthday!
"The next day, at 9am at the Maha Chakri, everybody was on deck when the king came out from his cabin. The king then asked my grandfather to appoint his successor as commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Navy, and to give the Seal of the Navy to the one he found the most important after the king himself. Grandfather gave it to the only full-blooded brother of the king, Prince Bhanurangsi Savangwongse, who was also the minister of the War Cabinet."
When King Chulalongkorn undertook a second visit to Denmark in 1907, he made a point of visiting his old friend of 28 years, V Adm Andreas du Plessis de Richelieu. Photographs from the period show a mature vice admiral constantly in the presence of the King during his Denmark visit.
Richelieu married his half-cousin, Dagmar Lousie Lerche, in 1892 and had five children, three of whom were known to have been born in Siam in 1892, 1894 and 1897.
The youngest of these three - Agnes Ingeborg du Plessis de Richelieu, known as Abi - inherited the robe from her father, and she in turn passed it down to her only son, Allan Aage Hastrup.
Despite its sentimental value, Hastrup feels that the robe should be returned to its place of origin, Thailand, a sentiment that is echoed by the auction house, Bruun Rasmussen, in Denmark, which is planning to exhibit the robe in Bangkok at the end of the year. It is hoped that a Thai buyer will be found for this magnificent robe, and if possible, it will make its way back into the Royal Thai Court, its place of birth.
Robe revived; Will this piece of Thai history find its way back?
1366 words
8 September 2007
Bangkok Post
O1
English
(c) 2007
USNISA SUKHSVASTI
A robe of heavily embroidered gold threads lay in a state of suspended existence in Denmark. But like Sleeping Beauty waking up from a 100 year sleep, it has recently been roused from its bed of silver paper and, wrapped in white linen, hidden away in the hushed security of a bank vault.
And this is no ordinary robe. The heavily embroidered, loose open style with intricate hem and cuffs is typical of those of those worn by members of the royal Siamese court of old, reflected today in the simplified graduation gowns worn at Chulalongkorn University commencement ceremonies. The filigree gold and silver threads that still shimmer despite their antiquity have a story to tell if you look closely enough. The intricate floral and vine patterns are interspersed with marine motifs - anchors, ship's wheels - that provide a clue to its original owner: Vice Admiral Andreas du Plessis de Richelieu.
It was in April of 1875 that Lt Richelieu arrived in Bangkok, bearing a private letter from King Christian IX of Denmark. An officer in the Danish Navy, he had come to offer his services to King Chulalongkorn during the height of European colonial expansion into Southeast Asia, a crucial period in Siamese history.
He was appointed chief of the naval inspection ship, the Regent, which patrolled the Bay of Bengal. In 1877, he had become commander of HMS Siam Mongkut, and by the following year he had been titled Luang Cholayuth Yothin and appointed chief commander of HMS Vesatri.
In this same year, as chief of the Naval Arsenal, he was also put in charge of a new unit, the Marines, which had been created to handle the newly imported Gatling guns.
Within the next decade, Richelieu's status grew, and his title elevated from Luang to Phra and later Phraya.
He played an increasingly significant role in the Royal Thai Navy. Eighteen ninety-three was a year that is etched in every Thai history book. Known as the Gunboat Crisis of Rattanakosin Era 112, the French sent gunboats to block the Chao Phraya River estuary. In his book of 1895 titled The Peoples and Politics of the Far East, British MP and journalist Sir Henry Norman, who had travelled extensively in the region, noted that the Thai navy was at a significant disadvantage due to the lack of experience of its personnel and its smaller fleet. He noted the presence of two or three foreign officers, among whom was Phraya Cholayuth Yothin, or Richelieu. Henry noted that Richelieu had suggested using HMS Maha Chakri to attack the French fleet, since it was the Royal Thai Navy's most modern and fastest vessel, but this particular ship was berthed at the Grand Palace landing for the king's personal use only. It was equipped with state of the art guns which, unfortunately, none of the local officers knew how to use. Had the HMS Maha Chakri been deployed, suggests Norman, things might have been different. As it was, Siam had to cede its Lao territory to the French.
Richelieu was to go on to become the first and only foreign commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Navy, from January 16, 1900 to January 29, 1901.
He also served the king in various other capacities, acting as the king's adjudant general. In 1883 he accompanied two royal princes to Europe for education in Denmark, during which trip he also negotiated the purchase of ships for the navy as well as ammunition. On this same trip he is said to have bought generators and lamps to be installed at the Royal Palace in Bangkok, the first time the palace was fitted with electric lighting. In 1897, during King Chulalongkorn's first visit to Europe, Queen Saovabha was installed as Regent, with Richelieu as one of her advisers.
In 1898, he accompanied Crown Prince Maha Vajiravudh on visits to the Russian tzar and tzarina (the Danish Princess Dagmar), to the king of Sweden and to the king of Denmark while attending the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, in England.
Richelieu was often in the entourage of Prince Damrong Rajanubhab and Prince Devawongse, who held the positions equivalent to the Minister of Interior and Minister of Foreign Affairs, respectively. With these two princes he developed a particularly strong and lifelong friendship. Prince Damrong subsequently visited Richelieu in Denmark several times, the last time in 1930, two years before Richelieu's death.
When Wat Benjamabopit was being built in 1901, he oversaw the shipment of the presiding Buddha image (copied from that in Phitsanulok) to be installed in the chapel. His name appears at the foot of the Buddha image together with that of King Chulalongkorn.
For his services to the king, and after he was elevated to the rank of vice admiral in 1902, he was awarded the Ratanaporn Medal Rama V, or the King Chulalongkorn Royal Cypher Medal (Rama V), prior to his return to Denmark at the end of a long and eventful time in the service of the king of Siam.
With this decoration came the gold robe which was to be worn on all formal ceremonial occasions as a full dress robe. According to the book Phra Phusa Song Nai Rajasamnak Siam (Royal Robes in the Court of Siam), written by historian Paothong Thongchua and published by BankThai, the tradition of the robe can be traced back to the Ayutthaya period as a ceremonial court costume adapted from the Persians and Indians.
The close friendship he retained with the king and members of the royal family can be seen in a description of the touching farewell given to Richelieu when he retired from the royal court in 1902, as recounted by his grandson, Allan Aage Hastrup, 76, who is now in possession of the robe.
"When my grandfather left Siam, the king, queen, Prince Damrong and a lot of other princes and royals followed him to Singapore. At the Governor's Palace dinner, grandfather sat next to the king, and the king said in his speech how much he appreciated him, how sorry he was to see him leave, and how he hoped he would soon come and visit. He also gave him a beautiful silver plate, covered with diamonds showing his coat of arms ... at the same time the king gave him the title of 'Admiral en Suite' and a pension. This was on February 24, on grandfather's 50th birthday!
"The next day, at 9am at the Maha Chakri, everybody was on deck when the king came out from his cabin. The king then asked my grandfather to appoint his successor as commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Navy, and to give the Seal of the Navy to the one he found the most important after the king himself. Grandfather gave it to the only full-blooded brother of the king, Prince Bhanurangsi Savangwongse, who was also the minister of the War Cabinet."
When King Chulalongkorn undertook a second visit to Denmark in 1907, he made a point of visiting his old friend of 28 years, V Adm Andreas du Plessis de Richelieu. Photographs from the period show a mature vice admiral constantly in the presence of the King during his Denmark visit.
Richelieu married his half-cousin, Dagmar Lousie Lerche, in 1892 and had five children, three of whom were known to have been born in Siam in 1892, 1894 and 1897.
The youngest of these three - Agnes Ingeborg du Plessis de Richelieu, known as Abi - inherited the robe from her father, and she in turn passed it down to her only son, Allan Aage Hastrup.
Despite its sentimental value, Hastrup feels that the robe should be returned to its place of origin, Thailand, a sentiment that is echoed by the auction house, Bruun Rasmussen, in Denmark, which is planning to exhibit the robe in Bangkok at the end of the year. It is hoped that a Thai buyer will be found for this magnificent robe, and if possible, it will make its way back into the Royal Thai Court, its place of birth.
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Milestones in China's history
From the First Emperor to a modern superpower: China's turbulent history;China's colossus
Damian Whitworth
412 words
30 August 2007
The Times
Times2 4
English
(c) 2007 Times Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved
2200BC-1700BC Xia Dynasty.
1500BC-1050BC Shang Dynasty.
1050BC-221BC Zhou Dynasty. The early years are considered a golden age, bringing stability to the region.
551BC Confucius is born. Encourages traditional hierarchies and rituals to avert disorder.
221BC-207BC Qin Dynasty. Qin Shihuangdi unites the war-torn states of China into an empire. Introduces one system for money, writing, weights and measures.
210BC Qin Shihuangdi dies. Buried with the Terracotta Army.
207BC-AD220 Han Dynasty.
AD65 First records of Buddhism, which entered China via the Silk Road (trade route linking Xi'an in central China with the eastern Mediterranean).
221-589 Period of disunity.
589-618 Sui Dynasty.
618-906 Tang Dynasty.
906-960 Five Dynasties.
960-1279 Song Dynasty.
1215 Genghis Khan and the Mongol army invade Northern China, destroying 90 cities, including Beijing.
1227 Khan dies. Mongols rule from the Pacific Ocean to the Caspian Sea.
1279-1368 Yuan Dynasty. Kubilai Khan, Genghis's grandson, becomes emperor.
1368-1644 Ming Dynasty Mass. production of famous blue and white porcelain.
Chinese keep the method of making it secret; Europeans don't learn until 1708.
1644-1911 Qing Dynasty. Expand empire and establish Beijing as capital.
1842 Treaty of Nanking after the first Opium War cedes Hong Kong to the UK.
1908 The last Emperor Puyi inherits the throne at the age of 3.
1911-1949 Puyi forced to abdicate. Revolutionaries declare the Republic of China.
The provisional government is weak and China is essentially ruled by warlords.
1931 Japan invades.
1949 Mao Zedong, chairman of the Communist Party, declares the People's Republic of China. Civil war has been ongoing between the Nationalists and the Communists for some years.
1966-1976 Cultural Revolution. Officially announced as an attempt to rid China of its bourgeois values but seen as Mao's attempt to regain political control within his own party, using the Red Guards (youth militia) and the CR Authority. Throws China into turmoil.
1976 Mao dies. The Gang of Four (Mao supporters, including his wife Jiang Qing) arrested. Deng Xiaoping serves as de facto leader of the People's Republic until 1997.
1997 Hong Kong (right) celebrates becoming a special administrative region of China, following the Joint Declaration of 1984. Granted "high degree of autonomy" and retention of capitalist system for 50 years.
Sources: British Library; Times database
Damian Whitworth
412 words
30 August 2007
The Times
Times2 4
English
(c) 2007 Times Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved
2200BC-1700BC Xia Dynasty.
1500BC-1050BC Shang Dynasty.
1050BC-221BC Zhou Dynasty. The early years are considered a golden age, bringing stability to the region.
551BC Confucius is born. Encourages traditional hierarchies and rituals to avert disorder.
221BC-207BC Qin Dynasty. Qin Shihuangdi unites the war-torn states of China into an empire. Introduces one system for money, writing, weights and measures.
210BC Qin Shihuangdi dies. Buried with the Terracotta Army.
207BC-AD220 Han Dynasty.
AD65 First records of Buddhism, which entered China via the Silk Road (trade route linking Xi'an in central China with the eastern Mediterranean).
221-589 Period of disunity.
589-618 Sui Dynasty.
618-906 Tang Dynasty.
906-960 Five Dynasties.
960-1279 Song Dynasty.
1215 Genghis Khan and the Mongol army invade Northern China, destroying 90 cities, including Beijing.
1227 Khan dies. Mongols rule from the Pacific Ocean to the Caspian Sea.
1279-1368 Yuan Dynasty. Kubilai Khan, Genghis's grandson, becomes emperor.
1368-1644 Ming Dynasty Mass. production of famous blue and white porcelain.
Chinese keep the method of making it secret; Europeans don't learn until 1708.
1644-1911 Qing Dynasty. Expand empire and establish Beijing as capital.
1842 Treaty of Nanking after the first Opium War cedes Hong Kong to the UK.
1908 The last Emperor Puyi inherits the throne at the age of 3.
1911-1949 Puyi forced to abdicate. Revolutionaries declare the Republic of China.
The provisional government is weak and China is essentially ruled by warlords.
1931 Japan invades.
1949 Mao Zedong, chairman of the Communist Party, declares the People's Republic of China. Civil war has been ongoing between the Nationalists and the Communists for some years.
1966-1976 Cultural Revolution. Officially announced as an attempt to rid China of its bourgeois values but seen as Mao's attempt to regain political control within his own party, using the Red Guards (youth militia) and the CR Authority. Throws China into turmoil.
1976 Mao dies. The Gang of Four (Mao supporters, including his wife Jiang Qing) arrested. Deng Xiaoping serves as de facto leader of the People's Republic until 1997.
1997 Hong Kong (right) celebrates becoming a special administrative region of China, following the Joint Declaration of 1984. Granted "high degree of autonomy" and retention of capitalist system for 50 years.
Sources: British Library; Times database
12th century buddhist sculptures found in Indonesian cave
12th century Buddhist sculptures found in Indonesian cave
By ALI KOTARUMALOS
Associated Press Writer
287 words
30 August 2007
14:31
Associated Press Newswires
English
(c) 2007. The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - An Indonesian cave used for meditation by Buddhist monks in the 12th century contains previously undiscovered sculptures depicting the spiritual journey of Buddha, a religious leader said.
The sprawling cave -- a reminder of the rich Buddhist past in the world's most populous Muslim nation -- was discovered more than two decades ago near Jireg village in East Java province.
But it had never been thoroughly explored because of its remote and difficult-to-reach location, said Dhamma Subho Mahathera of Shangha Theravada Indonesia, the country's largest Buddhist organization.
"As far as I know it is the only Buddhist cave in the world for meditation of Buddhist monks," said Mahathera, who visited the site on Aug. 12. "There are reliefs representing four levels of meditations, from Sutatana to Arahata."
The sculptures include depictions of an elephant, cow, monkey, and a lotus -- Buddhism's symbol of peace.
Indonesia also has the Borobudur temple complex in Central Java built more than 1,100 years ago -- three centuries before the arrival of Islam -- as a shrine to Buddha and a place for pilgrimages. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in the 1980s.
Mahathera said Buddhist caves have also been discovered in India and Sri Lanka, but those did not have reliefs depicting the stages of Buddhist meditation.
Siddhartha Gautama was born in southwestern Nepal around 500 B.C. and later became revered as the Buddha.
Buddhism teaches that right thinking and self-control through meditation can enable people to achieve nirvana -- a divine state of peace and release from desire. Buddhism has about 325 million followers, mostly in Asia.
By ALI KOTARUMALOS
Associated Press Writer
287 words
30 August 2007
14:31
Associated Press Newswires
English
(c) 2007. The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - An Indonesian cave used for meditation by Buddhist monks in the 12th century contains previously undiscovered sculptures depicting the spiritual journey of Buddha, a religious leader said.
The sprawling cave -- a reminder of the rich Buddhist past in the world's most populous Muslim nation -- was discovered more than two decades ago near Jireg village in East Java province.
But it had never been thoroughly explored because of its remote and difficult-to-reach location, said Dhamma Subho Mahathera of Shangha Theravada Indonesia, the country's largest Buddhist organization.
"As far as I know it is the only Buddhist cave in the world for meditation of Buddhist monks," said Mahathera, who visited the site on Aug. 12. "There are reliefs representing four levels of meditations, from Sutatana to Arahata."
The sculptures include depictions of an elephant, cow, monkey, and a lotus -- Buddhism's symbol of peace.
Indonesia also has the Borobudur temple complex in Central Java built more than 1,100 years ago -- three centuries before the arrival of Islam -- as a shrine to Buddha and a place for pilgrimages. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in the 1980s.
Mahathera said Buddhist caves have also been discovered in India and Sri Lanka, but those did not have reliefs depicting the stages of Buddhist meditation.
Siddhartha Gautama was born in southwestern Nepal around 500 B.C. and later became revered as the Buddha.
Buddhism teaches that right thinking and self-control through meditation can enable people to achieve nirvana -- a divine state of peace and release from desire. Buddhism has about 325 million followers, mostly in Asia.
A new epic film on Buddha on the way
Benegal to direct epic on Buddha
238 words
27 August 2007
Indo-Asian News Service
English
© Copyright 2007. HT Media Limited. All rights reserved.
Indo-Asian News Service Mumbai, Aug. 27 -- Dadasaheb Phalke Award winning director Shyam Benegal is all set to direct a historic epic on Gautam Buddha.
Atul Tiwari, who scripted films like "Bose, the Forgotten Hero" and "Mission Kashmir", has been roped in to write the script and dialogues.
The film is expected to go on floors around mid-2008 and released a year later. It will be produced by Light of Asia Foundation and Beyond Dreams Entertainment Limited.
"This is a historic moment for South Asian Cinema. We are about to tell the story of a man who was born in the Indian subcontinent and redefined the way the world thinks. The Buddha's philosophy is more contemporary today than ever before," said Yash Patnaik, CEO of Beyond Dreams Entertainment Limited, at a press conference here Monday.
Nimal D'Silva, a well-known Buddhist scholar in South Asia, has been appointed to head the research for the film along with scholars from China, Japan and South Korea.
The film will be shot in Sri Lanka and Patnaik has already done the location study along with Benegal and Tiwari. The producers have acquired over 1,000 acres of land near Colombo where a massive set will be built to recreate the era for the filming of the epic.
238 words
27 August 2007
Indo-Asian News Service
English
© Copyright 2007. HT Media Limited. All rights reserved.
Indo-Asian News Service Mumbai, Aug. 27 -- Dadasaheb Phalke Award winning director Shyam Benegal is all set to direct a historic epic on Gautam Buddha.
Atul Tiwari, who scripted films like "Bose, the Forgotten Hero" and "Mission Kashmir", has been roped in to write the script and dialogues.
The film is expected to go on floors around mid-2008 and released a year later. It will be produced by Light of Asia Foundation and Beyond Dreams Entertainment Limited.
"This is a historic moment for South Asian Cinema. We are about to tell the story of a man who was born in the Indian subcontinent and redefined the way the world thinks. The Buddha's philosophy is more contemporary today than ever before," said Yash Patnaik, CEO of Beyond Dreams Entertainment Limited, at a press conference here Monday.
Nimal D'Silva, a well-known Buddhist scholar in South Asia, has been appointed to head the research for the film along with scholars from China, Japan and South Korea.
The film will be shot in Sri Lanka and Patnaik has already done the location study along with Benegal and Tiwari. The producers have acquired over 1,000 acres of land near Colombo where a massive set will be built to recreate the era for the filming of the epic.
Studies on Contentment and being a happy nation
MEASURING CONTENTMENT / Institutes are establishing methods of judging well-being, and governments are putting greater emphasis on promoting it / How happy are we?
ARTHUR MAX; TOBY STERLING
Associated Press
764 words
26 August 2007
Houston Chronicle
2 STAR ; 0
19
English
© 2007 Houston Chronicle. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All Rights Reserved.
AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS - The tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan long ago dispensed with the notion of Gross National Product as a gauge of well-being. The king decreed that his people would aspire to Gross National Happiness instead.
That kernel of Buddhist wisdom is increasingly finding an echo in international policy and development models, which seek to establish scientific methods for finding out what makes us happy and why.
New research institutes are being created at venerable universities like Oxford and Cambridge to establish methods of judging individual and national well-being. Governments are putting ever greater emphasis on promoting mental well-being - not just treating mental illness.
"In much the same way that research of consumer unions helps you to make the best buy, happiness research can help you make the best choices," said Ruut Veenhoven, who created the World Database of Happiness in 1999.
Self-reports lacking
When he started studying happiness in the 1960s, Veenhoven used data from social researchers who simply asked people how satisfied they were with their lives, on a scale of zero to 10. But as the discipline has matured and gained popularity in the past decade, self-reporting has been found lacking.
By their own estimate, "drug addicts would measure happy all the time," said Sabina Alkire, of the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Institute, which began work May 30.
New studies add more objective questions into a mix of feel-good factors: education, nutrition, freedom from fear and violence, gender equality, and perhaps most importantly, having choices.
"People's ability to be an agent, to act on behalf of what matters to them, is fundamental," said Alkire.
But if people say money can't buy happiness, they're only partially right.
Veenhoven's database, which lists 95 countries, is headed by Denmark with a rating of 8.2, a country with high per capita income. The United States just makes it into the top 15 with a 7.4 index rating.
While choice is abundant in America, nutrition and violence issues helped drag its rating down.
Wealth counts, but most studies of individuals show income disparities count more. Surprisingly, however, citizens are no happier in welfare states, which strive to mitigate the distortions of capitalism than in purer free-market economies.
"In the beginning, I didn't believe my eyes," said Veenhoven of his data. "Icelanders are just as happy as Swedes, yet their country spends half what Sweden does (per capita) on social welfare," he said.
Personal freedom
In emphasizing personal freedom as a root of happiness, Alkire cited her study of women in the southern Indian state of Kerala, which showed that poor women who make their own choices score highly, compared with women with strict fathers or husbands.
Adrian G. White, of the University of Leicester, included twice as many countries as Veenhoven in his Global Projection of Subjective Well-being, which also measures the correlation of happiness and wealth. He, too, led his list with Denmark.
Bhutan, where less than half the people can read or write and 90 percent are subsistence farmers, ranks No. 8 in his list of happy nations.
Its notion of GNH is based on equitable development, environmental conservation, cultural heritage and good governance.
U.S. researchers have found other underlying factors: Married people are more content than singles, but having children does not raise happiness levels; education and IQ seem to have little impact; attractive people are only slightly happier than the unattractive; the elderly - over 65 - are more satisfied with their lives than the young; friendships are crucial.
But the research also shows that many people are simply disposed to being either happy or disgruntled.
...
WHO IS - AND WHO ISN'T
At the top: A Dutch researcher found that people in Denmark were the happiest of 95 nations examined, followed by Switzerland, Austria, Iceland and Finland - all with high per capita incomes.
On the bottom: At the other end were much poorer countries: Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Moldova, Ukraine and Armenia.
ARTHUR MAX; TOBY STERLING
Associated Press
764 words
26 August 2007
Houston Chronicle
2 STAR ; 0
19
English
© 2007 Houston Chronicle. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All Rights Reserved.
AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS - The tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan long ago dispensed with the notion of Gross National Product as a gauge of well-being. The king decreed that his people would aspire to Gross National Happiness instead.
That kernel of Buddhist wisdom is increasingly finding an echo in international policy and development models, which seek to establish scientific methods for finding out what makes us happy and why.
New research institutes are being created at venerable universities like Oxford and Cambridge to establish methods of judging individual and national well-being. Governments are putting ever greater emphasis on promoting mental well-being - not just treating mental illness.
"In much the same way that research of consumer unions helps you to make the best buy, happiness research can help you make the best choices," said Ruut Veenhoven, who created the World Database of Happiness in 1999.
Self-reports lacking
When he started studying happiness in the 1960s, Veenhoven used data from social researchers who simply asked people how satisfied they were with their lives, on a scale of zero to 10. But as the discipline has matured and gained popularity in the past decade, self-reporting has been found lacking.
By their own estimate, "drug addicts would measure happy all the time," said Sabina Alkire, of the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Institute, which began work May 30.
New studies add more objective questions into a mix of feel-good factors: education, nutrition, freedom from fear and violence, gender equality, and perhaps most importantly, having choices.
"People's ability to be an agent, to act on behalf of what matters to them, is fundamental," said Alkire.
But if people say money can't buy happiness, they're only partially right.
Veenhoven's database, which lists 95 countries, is headed by Denmark with a rating of 8.2, a country with high per capita income. The United States just makes it into the top 15 with a 7.4 index rating.
While choice is abundant in America, nutrition and violence issues helped drag its rating down.
Wealth counts, but most studies of individuals show income disparities count more. Surprisingly, however, citizens are no happier in welfare states, which strive to mitigate the distortions of capitalism than in purer free-market economies.
"In the beginning, I didn't believe my eyes," said Veenhoven of his data. "Icelanders are just as happy as Swedes, yet their country spends half what Sweden does (per capita) on social welfare," he said.
Personal freedom
In emphasizing personal freedom as a root of happiness, Alkire cited her study of women in the southern Indian state of Kerala, which showed that poor women who make their own choices score highly, compared with women with strict fathers or husbands.
Adrian G. White, of the University of Leicester, included twice as many countries as Veenhoven in his Global Projection of Subjective Well-being, which also measures the correlation of happiness and wealth. He, too, led his list with Denmark.
Bhutan, where less than half the people can read or write and 90 percent are subsistence farmers, ranks No. 8 in his list of happy nations.
Its notion of GNH is based on equitable development, environmental conservation, cultural heritage and good governance.
U.S. researchers have found other underlying factors: Married people are more content than singles, but having children does not raise happiness levels; education and IQ seem to have little impact; attractive people are only slightly happier than the unattractive; the elderly - over 65 - are more satisfied with their lives than the young; friendships are crucial.
But the research also shows that many people are simply disposed to being either happy or disgruntled.
...
WHO IS - AND WHO ISN'T
At the top: A Dutch researcher found that people in Denmark were the happiest of 95 nations examined, followed by Switzerland, Austria, Iceland and Finland - all with high per capita incomes.
On the bottom: At the other end were much poorer countries: Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Moldova, Ukraine and Armenia.
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