Displaced Tamils in Sri Lanka

Here's an article about the recent situation in Sri Lanka.I haven't had time to keep up with then news lately so this is all fresh news to me:

While Sri Lanka continues celebrations of its defeat of the rebel Tamil Tigers, the international community is calling for the country, run by the Sinhalese majority, to be sincere in its pledge for national reconciliation. The primary focus is on the treatment of 300,000 Tamils in displacement camps in the north.  

Read full article.

Against the Stream - Dharma Punx

The Los Angeles Times features an article about Noah Levine, founder of the Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society. 

Levine is the founder of the Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society, which has centers in East Hollywood and Santa Monica and more than 20 affiliated groups nationwide. He and his students practice a unique incarnation of Buddhism infused with punk rock's anti-establishment ethos. They call themselves Dharma Punx. 

Dharma Punx don't wear robes and they don't bow to statues of the Buddha. Anyone can form a group -- as long as he checks with Levine first -- and there isn't the emphasis on hierarchy found in many forms of Buddhism (there are no Zen masters or Tibetan lamas). The idea, Levine said, is to make Buddhist teachings accessible to punks -- and to reconnect Buddhism with what he sees as its radical roots. 

Both punk rock and Buddhism, according to Levine, began as a rebellion against the status quo. "The first noble truth of Buddhism is that there is suffering in life, that there is an unsatisfactory quality to living in a world where everything is constantly changing, and to living in a world where there is so much greed and hatred and delusion," he said. "Punk rock's foundation is dissatisfaction, acknowledging greed, hatred and delusion and rebelling against sexism, racism, political corruption and war."

Read full article. 

"Adopt a Monk"

The Tricycle has posted a notice about a new program called "Adopt a Monk", organized by the Clear View Project. It's goal is to help the Burmese monks and nuns imprisoned from the Saffron Revolution. Here's how it works:

• Contact Clear View Project to choose a monk or nun.
• Send regular letters on his/her behalf to the United Nations, Burmese Generals, & US government.
• Send funds to buy more food & medicine for that monk. (details follow)
• Hold monthly meditations at your center or public vigils in honor of the monk or all imprisoned monastics.
• Send loving kindness to the monks & nuns, their families and the Burmese generals.

For more information, visit the Clear View Project website.

Chinese delegation investigate monk murder case

"A Chinese delegation arrived in Taiwan late on Sunday to help deal with an incident in which two visiting monks from China’s Linggu Temple died at a Hsinchu hotel last week. The delegation was headed by Li Huaining (李淮寧), a Nanjing City Government department chief in charge of ethnic and religious affairs.

Li said after his arrival at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport that his group expected to get first-hand information about the incident.

He was referring to a suspected homicide-suicide case last Wednesday in which Dharma Master Jing Ran (淨然), abbot of Linggu Temple, was believed to have been killed by Dharma Master Chun Ru (純如), supervisor at the same temple, who later committed suicide."

Read full article.

Buddhists gone bad in Bangladesh

Buddhist monks in cooperation with local council officials are holding 13 converted tribal Christians captive to try to convert them to Buddhism by force. They are being held captive in a pagoda in a southeastern mountainous district of Bangladesh.

According to the Compass Direct News article, the Bangladeshi population is 90% Muslim, 9% Hindus, and 0.7% Buddhist, leaving less than 0.3% of the population left to be Christian or other.

Read full article.

Bombings in southern Thailand

Three bombings in southern Thailand has killed one person and wounded at least 71, report police. This was the largest attack in months suspected to be done by a Muslim insurgency since 2004. Generally, the insurgents carry out drive-by shootings and small-scale bombings aimed to frighten Buddhist residents into moving out of the area.

"More than 3,300 people have been killed since January 2004 in the three provinces, which are the only Muslim-dominated areas in the Buddhist-majority country.

Thailand's population is about 90 percent Buddhist, and many of the country's Muslims feel they are treated as second-class citizens."