Category: peace
My name is Oberon
I started Globalove Think Tank
This is my F-150 pick-up truck
You’ll know me when you see me
This is my message to the world
I hope it has some meaning for you
It’s time to change the world
Good luck
Statement of His Holiness the Dalai Lama on the 51st Anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising Day
March 10th 2010
Today marks the 51st anniversary of the Tibetan people’s peaceful uprising in 1959 against Communist China’s repression in Tibet, as well as the second anniversary of the peaceful protests that erupted across Tibet in March 2008. On this occasion, I pay homage to those heroic Tibetan men and women, who sacrificed their lives for the cause of Tibet, and pray for an early end to the sufferings of those still oppressed in Tibet.
Despite the great hardships they have faced for many decades, Tibetans have been able to keep up their courage and determination, preserve their compassionate culture and maintain their unique identity. It is inspiring that today a new generation of Tibetans continues to keep Tibet’s just cause alive. I salute the courage of those Tibetans still enduring fear and oppression.
Whatever circumstances we find ourselves in, it is the responsibility of all Tibetans to maintain equality, harmony and unity among the various nationalities, while continuing to protect our unique identity and culture. Many Tibetans in Tibetan areas are working in various responsible posts in the party, government and military, helping Tibetans in whatever way they can. We recognise the positive contribution that many of them have made up to now, and obviously when Tibet achieves meaningful autonomy in the future, they will have to continue to fulfil such responsibilities.
Let me reiterate that once the issue of Tibet is resolved, I will not take any political position nor will members of the Tibetan Administration in exile hold any positions in the government in Tibet. I have repeatedly made this clear in the past. To understand the situation of the Tibetans in exile and their aspirations, I invite Tibetan officials serving in various Tibetan autonomous areas to visit Tibetan communities living in the free world, either officially or in a private capacity, to observe the situation for themselves.
Wherever Tibetans in exile have settled, we have been able to preserve and promote our distinct cultural and spiritual traditions, while generating awareness of the Tibetan cause. Unlike other refugees, we have been relatively successful because we have also been able to give our children a sound modern education, while bringing them up according to our traditional values. And because the heads of all four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism and the Bon religion are in exile we have been able to re-establish various institutions for religious training and practice. In these institutions over ten thousand monks and nuns are free to pursue their vocations. We have been readily able to provide educational opportunities for those monks, nuns and students who have continued to come from Tibet. At the same time the unprecedented spread of Tibetan Buddhism in both East and West and the prospect of continuing to flourish in the future gives us hope that it may yet survive. This is some solace to us during this most critical period in Tibet’s history.
Today, the Chinese authorities are conducting various political campaigns, including a campaign of patriotic re-education, in many monasteries in Tibet. They are putting the monks and nuns in prison-like conditions, depriving them the opportunity to study and practise in peace. These conditions make the monasteries function more like museums and are intended to deliberately annihilate Buddhism. (read more) (the global community)
I am a Warrior
I fight for Truth
I fight for Love
I am a Warrior for Peace
Sometimes I stumble and fall
but I get back up
I am proud to be an American
Do not mistake my love of peace for weakness
I am a Warrior for Peace
Altruism: unselfish interest in the welfare of others.
“In Tibet we say that many illness can be cured by the one medicine of love and compassion. These qualities are the ultimate source of human happiness, and need for them lies at the very core of our being. Unfortunately, love and compassion have been omitted from too many spheres of social interaction for too long. Usually confined to family and home, their practice in public life is considered impractical, even naive. This is tragic. In my view point, the practice of compassion is not just a symptom of unrealistic idealism but the most effective way to pursue the best interest of others as well as our own. The more we- as a nation, a group or as individuals – depend upon others, the more it is in our own best interests to ensure their well-being.”
“Practicing altruism is the real source of compromise and cooperation; merely recognizing our need for harmony is not enough. A mind committed to compassion is like an overflowing reservoir – a constant source of energy, determination and kindness. This is like a seed; when cultivated, gives rise to many other good qualities, such as forgiveness, tolerance, inner strength and the confidence to overcome fear and insecurity. The compassionate mind is like an elixir; it is capable of transforming bad situation into beneficial ones. Therefore, we should not limit our expressions of love and compassion to our family and friends. Nor is the compassion only the responsibility of clergy, health care and social workers. It is the necessary business of every part of the human community.”
The Dalai Lama
“…I felt the universe suddenly quake, and that a golden spirit sprang up from the ground, veiled my body, and changed my body into a golden one. At the same time my body became light. I was able to understand the whispering of the birds, and was clearly aware of the mind of God, the creator of the universe.”
“At that moment I was enlightened: the source of budo is God’s love – the spirit of loving protection for all beings… Budo is not the felling of an opponent by force; nor is it a tool to lead the world to destruction with arms. True Budo is to accept the spirit of the universe, keep the peace of the world, correctly produce, protect and cultivate all beings in nature.”
“The Way of the Warrior has been misunderstood. It is not a means to kill and destroy others. Those who seek to compete and better one another are making a terrible mistake. To smash, injure, or destroy is the worst thing a human being can do. The real Way of a Warrior is to prevent such slaughter – it is the Art of Peace, the power of love.”……..Morihei Ueshiba.
President Obama met Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalia Lama for more than an hour today in the Map Room of the White House, a move signaling Obama’s solidarity with Tibet’s quest for human rights and his willingness to irritate the communist Chinese government.
Following the meeting, the Dalai Lama told reporters he spoke to Obama about human rights and promoting religious harmony. The Dalai Lama says he has admired America since his childhood as a champion of “democracy, freedom and human value.” He also praised Obama for “always showing his genuine concern” for Tibet.
Obama made no public remarks at the meeting. White House reporters were not permitted to photograph the president and the 74-year-old exiled Buddhist monk. The White House released a photo of the meeting later today.
The Dalai Lama, who, like Obama, has won a Nobel Peace Prize, left China for India in 1959 and has built a global following for Tibetan human rights. He leads a government in exile in Dharamsala, India.
Every U.S. president dating back to George Herbert Walker Bush has met the Dalai Lama.
Almost a year ago, the Dalai Lama accused China of turning Tibet into “Hell on earth.” His holiness advocates autonomy for Tibet. Some younger Tibetans have been prodding the Dalai Lama to press for independence. China, which rules the rugged Tibetan region with stern military might, rejects autonomy and independence.
In a statement released by the White House, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama “stated his strong support for the preservation of Tibetâs unique religious, cultural and linguistic identity and the protection of human rights for Tibetans in the Peopleâs Republic of China.”
Gibbs said Obama also praised the Dalai Lama’s “commitment to nonviolence and his pursuit of dialogue with the Chinese government. ” Obama has prodded both sides in the struggle to re-open dialogue. Talks between envoys for China and Tibet resumed in January, something Gibbs said Obama “was pleased to hear about.”
The Chinese Foreign Ministry has denounced the meeting.
“China resolutely opposes the visit by the Dalai Lama to the United States, and resolutely opposes U.S. leaders having contact with the Dalai Lama,” foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said.
Obama told Chinese leaders last fall he intended to meet with the Dalai Lama. Obama did not see his holiness during an extensive trip to the US in September of 2009, a move interpreted as an attempt to curry favor with Chinese leaders.
Gibbs said today Obama and the Dalai Lama “agreed on the importance of a positive and cooperative relationship between the United States and China.â
Before speaking to reporters briefly outside the White House, the Dalai Lama used his hand to imprint the image of a tiger in a snow bank outside the Briefing Room. The Chinese New Year, the year of the tiger, began Feb. 14. (fox news)
The Whole Earth Catalog was an American counterculture catalog published by Stewart Brand between 1968 and 1972, and occasionally thereafter, until 1998. Although the WECs listed all sorts of products for sale (clothing, books, tools, machines, seeds — anything for a self-sustainable “hippie” lifestyle) the Whole Earth Catalogs themselves did not sell any of the products. Instead the vendors and their prices were listed right alongside with the items. This led to a need for the Catalogs to be frequently updated.
Apple Inc. founder and entrepreneur Steve Jobs has described the Catalog as the conceptual forerunner of the World Wide Web.
The title Whole Earth Catalog came from a previous project of Stewart Brand. In 1966, he initiated a public campaign to have NASA release the then-rumored satellite photo of the sphere of Earth as seen from space, the first image of the “Whole Earth.” He thought the image might be a powerful symbol, evoking a sense of shared destiny and adaptive strategies from people. The Stanford-educated Brand, a biologist with strong artistic and social interests, believed that there was a groundswell of commitment to thoroughly renovating American industrial society along ecologically and socially just lines, whatever they might prove to be. (read more)
Believe nothing,
no matter where you read it,
or who said it,
no matter if I have said it,
unless it agrees with your own reason
and your own common sense.
- Labels: acceptance, awakening, awareness, karma, peace
When the people fear their government, there is tyranny…….when the government fears the people, there is liberty…….Thomas Jefferson.
Oh God, oh God……I get in trouble every time I open my mouth……I just can’t shut up.
Thank you……Father, God, Allah, Yahweh, Elohim, Jehovah, Krishna…….thank you for my life.
Religion should embrace science…….to know God’s Truth is our greatest challenge.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep…….but I have promises to keep…..and miles to go before I sleep…….and miles to go before I sleep……Robert Frost.
There’s a war coming…….though they try to dumb us down, we slowly learn……and in the learning we finally see…….we are slaves……slaves to our fear, our ignorance, our hate……and in learning this……we begin the battle that leads us to true liberty.
In a forest of lies……it’s hard to see the truth.
Smart money says……there’s money to be made in prisons…….just ask investors who have seen their stakes in the private jailer more than triple in value in the past year……the prison business is booming…….yes indeed…….the profiteering prison-industrial complex has many government incentives to maintain a high prison population…….now we can profit from the poor and retarded……and mental patients…….and homeless……………..I know some people need to be incarcerated but………….should this be a business?
Hunger…….makes a thief of any man……..Pearl S. Buck.
Every person deserves respect…….as a person……an image of ourselves…….what we do to another can be done to us…….what example will you also endure?
I’m guilty……guilty as hell…….I’ve done things…….bad things…….I wish I could do it all over again……I’d change a million things……..and nothing.
“The fact is, milk lacks some important nutrients needed for infant development”……this is the copy on the side of an infant formula box……that obfuscates the fact that…….breast milk…….is in fact recommended over any formula…….deception at the expense of a baby.
Every crime………………….is a hate crime.
Now let’s get down to the business of sucking every loose penny out of Mr. and Mrs. Average Knucklehead……..Robots.
I can buy a kidney in India……..for 20,000-30,000 bucks…….the poor sap that parts with it gets a thousand or so…….if they don’t stiff ’em while he’s still under.
Why is it okay for Google and Yahoo and Microsoft……..to enable the Chinese to censor the internet?
Father…………….the sleeper has awakened!…….Muad’Dib.
Since 1950, an estimated 1.2 million Tibetans have been killed by the Chinese……..cultural genocide can be overlooked…….when you offer cheap labor.
If those bible thumpin’ moralists were so intent on preventing abortions……..they’d be on every street corner passing out condoms……..ya think?
CIA,TNT,NBC,DOA,NXS,MIA,KIA,BTW,FBI,NSA,EPA,FDA,SOS.
Read “A Culture of Corruption”……by Bill Moyers.
If those gays want to get married…….I think we should let ’em………they have the right to be as miserable as the rest of us……….hee hee.
You ever seen a UFO?……..I have……..ask Travis Walton about it.
Money, money, money…….got to have it……really need it……O’Jays.
When I was 5 I learned what patience was
When I was 10 I thought I knew what patience was
When I was 20 I thought I knew what patience was
When I was 30 I thought I knew what patience was
When I was 40 I thought I knew what patience was
When I was 50 I thought I knew what patience was
Now I know what patience is
Patience is never-ending
- Labels: compassion, forgiveness, love, now, patience, peace
Letâs do it right this time.
Re-post if you donât believe in an authoritative collective dictating what love and passion between two human beings should mean.
http://www.couragecampaign.org/page/s/TeleviseTheTrial
http://www.couragecampaign.org/page/s/TeleviseTheTrial
http://www.couragecampaign.org/page/s/TeleviseTheTrial
Mordechai Vanunu (Hebrew: ×ר××× ××× ×× ×â) is an Israeli former nuclear technical assistant who revealed details of Israel’s nuclear weapons program to the British press in 1986. He was subsequently lured to Italy by an American woman named Cheryl Bentov and kidnapped by Israeli intelligence operatives. He was transported to Israel and ultimately convicted of treason and espionage.
Vanunu was born in Marrakech, Morocco, on 14 October 1954 to a Jewish family; his father was a rabbi. In 1963, at the age of nine, he emigrated under the Law of Return with his parents and the first 4 of his 11 brothers and sisters to Israel. He studied in an ultra orthodox elementary school, and attended, but did not finish, a Bnei Akiva yeshiva high school.
Vanunu completed his three years of military service as a sapper in the IDF Combat Engineering Corps, with the rank of First Sergeant. After completing his service, Vanunu began working as a technician at the Negev Nuclear Research Center. Concurrently, he became a part-time geography and philosophy student at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
At that time he became critical of many policies of the Israeli government, forming a group called “Campus” with four other Jewish students and five Arab students. Vanunu was also affiliated with a group called “Movement for the Advancement of Peace.” In early 1980s Vanunu converted to Christianity from Judaism. Vanunu graduated from Ben-Gurion University in 1985 with a BA in Philosophy and Geography.
Mordechai Vanunu spent 18 years in prison, including more than 11 years in solitary confinement. Vanunu was released from prison in 2004, subject to a broad array of restrictions on his speech and movement. Since then he has been briefly arrested several times for violations of those restrictions, including giving various interviews to foreign journalists and attempting to leave Israel. He says he has been persecuted by the authorities in Israel because of his conversion to Christianity, saying “I want to tell those who say I am a traitor, I suffered here 18 years because I am a Christian.”
In 2007, Vanunu was sentenced to six months in prison for violating terms of his parole. The sentence was considered unusual even by the prosecution who expected a suspended sentence. In response, Amnesty International issued a press release on 2 July 2007, stating that “The organisation considers Mordechai Vanunu to be a prisoner of conscience and calls for his immediate and unconditional release.” Vanunu has been characterized by some as a whistleblower and by others as a traitor. Daniel Ellsberg has referred to him as “the preeminent hero of the nuclear era”.
On 28 December 2009, Mr. Vanunu was once again arrested “by Jerusalem Police in a hotel in the capital following an alleged meeting with a Norwegian national. He remained in jail on Tuesday, though was set to be transferred to house arrest…”
An eye for an eye
will make us all blind
Mahatma Gandhi
- Labels: earth, forgiveness, joy, love, peace, planet, spirituality
The enemy is fear
the enemy is hate
the enemy is ignorance
the enemy is intolerance
the enemy is violence
the enemy is war
“War is a cowardly escape
from the problems of peace”
…Thomas Mann…
- Labels: common sense, paradigm shift, paradox, peace, war
President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize today to the surprise of many. The award was a first in that Barack Obama is the first American president to win the award in his first year in office. Some noted that it was not so much because of his accomplishments up to date, but that it reflected an important change in the willingness to dialogue, a virtual slap in the face to “W”, his predecessor. Any way you look at it, heartfelt congratulations Mr. President!
- Labels: barack obama, compassion, humility, joy, love, peace
Lysistrata is one of the few surviving plays written by
the master of Old Comedy, Aristophanes. Originally
performed in classical Athens in 411 BC, it is a comic
account of one woman’s extraordinary mission to end
The Peloponnesian War. Lysistrata convinces the women
of Greece to withhold sexual privileges from their
husbands as a means of forcing the men to negotiate
peace, a strategy however that inflames the battle
between the sexes. The play is notable for its exposé
of sexual relations in a male-dominated society and for
its use of both double entendre and explicit obscenities.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
(2 October 1869 â 30 January 1948)
- Labels: audacity, love, mahatma gandhi, peace, truth
I once believed in the death penalty,
then I saw “The Life of David Gale.”
Executions in 2008
People’s Republic of China (1718+)
Iran (346+)
Saudi Arabia (102+)
United States (37)
Pakistan (36+)
In these past ten years or so we in Ireland, North and South, have been enjoying a stable and hopefully lasting peace. The thirty years of conflict, bloodshed and loss of life are more or less over. (It ended in the early to mid-nineties of the last century) Yet, as peace-makers we can never become too complacent, because there is much hatred and bitterness North of our border. Now, I am not saying for a minute that our brothers and sisters in the North of Ireland have a monopoly of these two vices – far from it. I readily admit that there is not a little hatred and bitterness in the hearts of some South of the border. However, statistics show that the North of Ireland is an extremely racist country. A report recently declared that some 20 or so Romanian people of the Roma ethnic minority had to flee back to their homeland because they had literally been burnt out of their homes. I am old enough to remember such happening in the Catholic areas of the North of Ireland in the early to mid 1960s. So, all people of good will, North and South of the border, and, indeed, all people of good will everywhere must be peace-makers with a deep compassion for all our fellow human beings! There is too much conflict in the world today – and there probably always was – but in these more enlightened days let’s be conflict breakers or conflict busters.
Sadly religions of all hues have been more often than not repositories, and indeed often promoters, of hate and bitterness. Anywhere in the world where there is inter-national and indeed intra-national war oftentimes religion or interpretations of that phenomenon lie at its heart. We have to go beyond religion and find a spiritual ground or baseline – the only solid foundation for intra and inter-national peace. With these thoughts in mind I offer here some words from the wonderful Dalai Lama on the matter of the difference between Religion and Spirituality:
I believe there is an important distinction to be made between religion and spirituality. Religion I take to be concerned with belief in the claims to salvation of one faith tradition or another–an aspect of which is acceptance of some form of meta-physical or philosophical reality, including perhaps an idea of heaven or hell. Connected with this are religious teachings or dogma, ritual, prayers and so on. Spirituality I take to be concerned with those qualities of the human spirit–such as love and compassion, patience, tolerance, forgiveness, contentment, a sense of responsibility, a sense of harmony, which bring happiness to both self and others.
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama
From “The Pocket Dalai Lama,” edited by Mary Craig, 2002. Reprinted by arrangement with Shambhala Publications, Boston, www.shambhala.com.
- Labels: belief, compassion, dalai lama, enlightenment, humanity, love, non-violence, peace, religion, spirituality, together, violence, war
Do not dwell in the past
do not dream of the future
concentrate the mind on the present moment
…Buddha…
- Labels: awakening, logic, non-violence, now, peace, perspective
There is no way to happiness…..
……happiness is the Way.
War…..
is a cowardly escape
from the problems of peace
…Thomas Mann…
Can Obama Restore World Peace ?
How Far will USA fail and succeed-How far can Obama or Holbrooke go
Agha H Amin
9 February 2009
While Obama in personal terms did well and became the first mixed origin man to become US president it is unfair to expect many changes that Obama or his team can bring. Holbrooke may be giant of a man but his stature has to be judged in correlation to the various complicated and often overwhelming forces of history.
Three major foreign policy issues confront USA. The Arab-Israel Issue, the Afghanistan issue and the India-Pakistan issue. In the background is the more formidable albeit more intangible issue of Islamic extremism. The first and last issues above listed include state actors and the Afghan issue is a combination of non state and state actors.
It appears that Obama can only have a semblance of success in the Arab-Israel Issue. That is if he can just pursue the brilliant plan put forward by Rabbi Michael Lerner, pushing into the garbage all nonsense that the state department pen pusher clerk type bureaucrats or the crafty think tanks may try to put forward. In Afghanistan no amount of Holbrookes can succeed. Here the issue is a complex one. With more than 11 states having extreme outlooks about whether the Talibans should be or should not be allowed to rule Afghanistan. The issue is highly complex. In Bosnia the issue was far simpler with Russia far away and Europe extremely divided.
Nor were the mild Bosnian Muslims a threat to Europe. In Afghanistan we have Russia, Iran, India, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kirgizistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhastan, China,
whole of NATO as well as USA against Taliban whose only possible allies are Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
Where will poor Holbrooke fit in in this complex game as the magician who had achieved a miracle at Dayton? Afghanistan is and will remain for many decades a catch-22 for the USA. It is not like a Vietnam from which the USA can withdraw. The Vietnamese were a race using an ideology to survive. In Afghanistan its an ideology with multiple races that the USA is fighting. In Vietnam withdrawal was an option. In Afghanistan withdrawal will not lead to a solution but to another more bitter and deadly phase of the war. If the USA withdraws it will lose and if it stays it will continue to suffer with no end in sight for many decades. This is the tragedy of USA’s situation in Afghanistan. Even if thve USA withdraws the Afghan civil war would continue and other state actors would intervene, while the USA would lose all allies that it had created in Afghanistan. So if we have to grade USA in Afghanistan the solution is not in sight. Holbrooke will fail.
Now we come to Kashmir. The Pakistani establishment, and I will not call it a state because Pakistan is controlled by a small clique of about 1000 families and a pathetic equation of highly corrupt politicians and respectably corrupt generals. Now these 1000 families which constitute the Pakistani establishment are trying to sell the idea to the USA that when the Kashmir issue is solved the threat to world peace in the shape of nuclear war can be avoided. As an ex soldier I do not think that Kashmir would solve the issue. Kashmir resolved or not resolved the Indo Pak conflict will continue till one party is defeated or both or one of the two disintegrate. Seen in this context what would poor Holbrooke do. He will in the end emerge as a shattered, immensely weakened and totally confused man. In any case in terms of international law Pakistan and India by agreed terms of Simla Accord of 1973 cannot allow a third party to decide Kashmir Issue. So good luck to Holbrooke, a man of substance, from whom too much should not be expected. What he is expected to do is what no single man can achieve.
The Pakistani state should forget about any hope of getting Kashmir through Holbrooke. If Pakistans politicians and generals can preserve what is left of Pakistan, posterity will remember them as heroes. From the type of strategy or more correctly apology of strategy that the Pakistani state is purusing in Frontier and Balochistan, even preserving what is left of Pakistan would be a great achievement.
Lastly with economic depression engulfing USA and the West little should be hoped from USA or Obama or Holbrooke. All would be at a loss and all should be commended if they can retain what they have rather than doing what no one could do. Little good should be accepted. In this age the guiding precept should be Neither Hope Nor Fear.
- Labels: barack obama, peace, world
Be kind whenever possible.
It is always possible.
…..His Holiness The Dalai Lama…..
- Labels: buddhism, dalai lama, love, peace, perspective
What is
the most
important thing?
The most
important thing…
is the “Family of Man”
how about this as an idea: spreading love & peace through flowers. a specific amount of people receive free flowers daily – (use revenue from a grant/or wildflowers from across the world) their job- to hand the flowers out to 5 other 
individuals, who passes it on to another five & on & on it goes. the flowers can have a note of love/appreciation/etc. written or one of these pictures. do this for a specific time frame. we need to research on how long it actually takes for habits to be made (i think it is 21 days). spread the love & keep spreading it until it lasts. redo this again & again until the oceans are crossed & wars cease to exist & global love persists.
I dream of world in which all are accepted, regardless of how imperfectly they may live their lives… according to our small way of thinking. We each have our own way, our individual Path, for the things we need to experience. Let us remember that, always. When our Hearts are open to accepting others, there will be an even exchange, and two things will happen. The person we have just accepted will receive love in their heart… in turn, this love is radiated back, to reflect in our own hearts. From this, growth happens, for all involved. Love doesn’t just sit, motionless, it’s as constant as the moving waves, upon the ocean. It’s a moving energy. I dream of a world in which love is allowed to expand in all our hearts, like ripples reaching across a pond. Like an echo, resounding over and over again.
- Labels: acceptance, energy, love, peace