sunny sun-downer, with freshly-shaven head (1st time since grade school), cut in solidarity & in mourning, protests the myanmar military's brutal attacks on the thousands of peaceful Burmese Buddhist demonstrators for democracy, in Hollywood Calif. on Sat. Oct. 6, 2007 (gregorian calendar).This is one of many messages I sent out to my list the first week of October, 2007 (g.c.)
(What the Burmese Buddhist Monks & their supporters
were undoubtedly chanting when being taken away to be tortured &/or murdered...While outward activism for Burma is essential...This can help us the most in dealing with it inwardly...-=0=-)You may have read that the Burmese monastics and lay people have been chanting the Buddha's words on loving kindness or "metta" during many of their marches.
If you do not know it already, here are the words in Pali and in English.The Karaniya Metta Suttathe Buddha's discourse on Loving Kindness1
Karaniyam atthakusalena
Yan tam santam padam abhisamecca
Sakko uju ca suju ca
Suvaco c'assa mudu anatimaniThis is what should be doneBy one who is skilled in goodnessHaving glimpsed the state of perfect peace,Let them be able, honest and upright,Gentle in speech, meek and not proud.2
Santussako ca subharo ca
Appakicco ca sallahukavutti
Santindriyo ca nipako ca
Appagabbho kulesu ananugiddhoContented and easy to support,With few duties, and simple in living.Tranquil their senses, masterful and modest,without greed for supporters3Na ca khuddam samacare kinci
Yena viññu pare upavadeyyum
Sukhino va khemino hontu
Sabbe satta bhavantu sukhitattaAlso, let them not do the slightest thingThat the wise would later reprove.Let them cultivate the thought:May all be well and secure,May all beings be happy4
Ye keci panabhut'atthi
Tasa va thavara va anavasesa
Digha va ye mahanta va
Majjhima rassakanukathulaWhatever living creatures there be,Without exception, weak or strong,Long, huge or middle-sized,Or short, minute or bulky5Dittha va yeva adittha
Ye ca dure vasanti avidure
Bhuta va sambhavesi va
Sabbe satta bhavantu sukhitattaWhether visible or invisible,And those living far or near,The born and those seeking birth,May all beings be happy6
Na paro param nikubbetha
Natimaññetha katthacinam kanci
Byarosana patighasañña
Naññamaññassa dukkham iccheyyaLet none deceive anotherOr despise any being in any state;Let none wish others harmIn resentment or in hate.7
Mata yatha niyam puttam
Ayusa ekaputtam anurakkhe
Evampi sabbabhutesu
Manasam bhavaye aparimanamJust as with her own lifeA mother shields her child,her only child, from hurtLet all-embracing thoughtsFor all beings be yours.8Mettañ ca sabba-lokasmim
Manasam bhavaye aparimanam
Uddham adho ca tiriyanca
Asambadham averam asapattamCultivate a limitless heart of goodwillFor all throughout the cosmos,In all its height, depth and breadth --Love that is untroubledAnd beyond hatred or enmity.9
Titthañ caram nisinno va
Sayano va yavat'assa vigatamiddho
Etam satim adhittheyya
Brahmam etam viharam idhamahuAs you stand, walk, sit or lie,So long as you are awake,Pursue this awareness with your might:It is deemed the Divine Abiding- here andnow.10
Ditthiñca anupagamma silava
Dassanena sampanno
Kamesu vineyya gedham
Na hi jatu gabbhaseyyam punar eti'tiHolding no more to wrong views,A pure-hearted one, having clarityof vision, being freed from all sense desires,Is not born again into this world.--..· ´*¸ ¨¨)) -::-Feel Love´¨¨))((¸¸.·´ .. ·´ -- and when you do...everything around you transforms...-- ((¸¸. ·´Olivia de Haulleville, C.Ht, CATS - Holistic ConsultantCheck out "Pilgrimage to Java" at Amazon.com or:
Chevron's Pipeline Is the Burmese Regime's Lifeline
By Amy Goodman, King Features Syndicate
Posted on October 3, 2007, Printed on October 4, 2007
http://www.alternet.org/story/64310/
The image was stunning: tens of thousands of saffron-robed Buddhist monks marching through the streets of Rangoon [also known as Yangon], protesting the military dictatorship of Burma. The monks marched in front of the home of Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, who was seen weeping and praying quietly as they passed. She hadn't been seen for years. The democratically elected leader of Burma, Suu Kyi has been under house arrest since 2003. She is considered the Nelson Mandela of Burma, the Southeast Asian nation renamed Myanmar by the regime.
After almost two weeks of protest, the monks have disappeared. The monasteries have been emptied. One report says thousands of monks are imprisoned in the north of the country.
No one believes that this is the end of the protests, dubbed "The Saffron Revolution." Nor do they believe the official body count of 10 dead. The trickle of video, photos and oral accounts of the violence that leaked out on Burma's cellular phone and Internet lines has been largely stifled by government censorship. Still, gruesome images of murdered monks and other activists and accounts of executions make it out to the global public. At the time of this writing, several unconfirmed accounts of prisoners being burned alive have been posted to Burma-solidarity Web sites.
The Bush administration is making headlines with its strong language against the Burmese regime. President Bush declared increased sanctions in his U.N. General Assembly speech. First lady Laura Bush has come out with perhaps the strongest statements. Explaining that she has a cousin who is a Burma activist, Laura Bush said, "The deplorable acts of violence being perpetrated against Buddhist monks and peaceful Burmese demonstrators shame the military regime."
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, at the meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, said, "The United States is determined to keep an international focus on the travesty that is taking place." Keeping an international focus is essential, but should not distract from one of the most powerful supporters of the junta, one that is much closer to home. Rice knows it well: Chevron.
Fueling the military junta that has ruled for decades are Burma's natural gas reserves, controlled by the Burmese regime in partnership with the U.S. multinational oil giant Chevron, the French oil company Total and a Thai oil firm. Offshore natural gas facilities deliver their extracted gas to Thailand through Burma's Yadana pipeline. The pipeline was built with slave labor, forced into servitude by the Burmese military.
The original pipeline partner, Unocal, was sued by EarthRights International for the use of slave labor. As soon as the suit was settled out of court, Chevron bought Unocal.
Chevron's role in propping up the brutal regime in Burma is clear. According to Marco Simons, U.S. legal director at EarthRights International: "Sanctions haven't worked because gas is the lifeline of the regime. Before Yadana went online, Burma's regime was facing severe shortages of currency. It's really Yadana and gas projects that kept the military regime afloat to buy arms and ammunition and pay its soldiers."
The U.S. government has had sanctions in place against Burma since 1997. A loophole exists, though, for companies grandfathered in. Unocal's exemption from the Burma sanctions has been passed on to its new owner, Chevron.
Rice served on the Chevron board of directors for a decade. She even had a Chevron oil tanker named after her. While she served on the board, Chevron was sued for involvement in the killing of nonviolent protesters in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Like the Burmese, Nigerians suffer political repression and pollution where oil and gas are extracted and they live in dire poverty. The protests in Burma were actually triggered by a government-imposed increase in fuel prices.
Human-rights groups around the world have called for a global day of action on Saturday, Oct. 6, in solidarity with the people of Burma. Like the brave activists and citizen journalists sending news and photos out of the country, the organizers of the Oct. 6 protest are using the Internet to pull together what will probably be the largest demonstration ever in support of Burma. Among the demands are calls for companies to stop doing business with Burma's brutal regime.
Amy Goodman is the host of the nationally syndicated radio news program, Democracy Now!
© 2007 Independent Media Institute. All rights reserved.
View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/story/64310/
------ End of Forwarded Message
From: Tal Car [mailto:tal4tibet@yahoo.com]
Sent: Friday, October 05, 2007 9:00 AM
To: tal4tibet@yahoo.com
Subject: Support the Monks, Free Burma: Global Day of Action Saturday October 6, Washington DC Noon
Yesterday, a large group of Buddhists drew together for an evening of meditation and prayer in front of the Burmese Embassy at 2300 S Street, NW in Washington, D.C. There was much positive energy and confidence that with increased attention to the suffering of monks and all oppressed people in this country that change can occur.
You likely know of the estimated 4,000 monks that were dragged from their monasteries and sent to internment camps in remote areas of Burma. Many more people than were officially reported died, including monks who were brutally beaten to death. Many are missing, others are fleeing.
More information is found at the following link
http://www.uscampaignforburma.org/
Saturday, at noon, a larger group of people will gather to rally and march to the Chinese and Indian Embassies.
Many of us have campaigned for Tibet and continue to do so. It took many years for us to learn of the millions of Tibetans and Chinese who died due to ruthless, one party rule, to wake up, to act. And of course, we continue to do so, to both wake up and to act.
Burmese have been dying for many years now too, and like many, I only wake up now to what is happening. Let's turn our attention to helping our brothers and sisters inside Burma as well as those inside Tibet, and of course, broadening our vision to a world that may one day live in religious freedom and peace.
"Wear Red to Show You're for the Monks."
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