Language and Culture

Language is fundamental to the survival of any culture. The preservation of a native language with all its essential properties against any foreign influences is crucial to the protection of the national culture. This is a challenging task for responsible people at all levels, from the individual, family, and community levels to the national level.

Leaders of a nation and its policy makers need to be aware of the danger of cultural invasion in all forms, especially through multimedia and social network activities, language learning and teaching, tourism and related businesses. In the context of globalization and uncontrollable information influx, the so-called cultural exchange activities which aim at the young and the credulous could bring about unimaginably devilish consequences to a national culture. They may alienate future generations in a country from their own family, community and homeland, and turn them, especially the uneducated and the credulous, into culturally uprooted slaves serving the 21st-century neo-slavery.

As the first teachers of their children, parents have the greatest influence on their kids' cultural identity . Therefore, parents must be careful when they teach cultural values to their children. If the parents don't realize the danger of native language loss and national identity loss, their children will grow up culturally vulnerable and handicapped. They do not know who they really are. Without guidance, the kids easily get confused when confronting with multicultural values and multiracial opportunities in the context of globalization. There are always subgroups and subcultures with diverse characteristics. Which should the young pick, so that they can be beneficial for their self development, and for the development of their community and the whole society in which they live? Again, they need their parents' guide to avoid pitfalls.

Young people are very curious and enjoy trying new things, which is essentially good for their development. However, the young's freedom and individualism must be tampered with self-discipline, and at least a good common sense. Parents are supposed to help them with cultural guidelines, so that they can discriminate the appropriate from the inappropriate in a specific cultural setting, and never risk losing their own cultural identity.

Knowing who you actually are is not a simple task. In fact, it is very difficult, as difficult for the young as trying to figure out the purpose of their life. It is a matter of personal choice, some would say; but the individual is a member of the family and society, a connected part of his/her community and nation. And their personal choices do affect their family, community and society at large. Even the language they use within their family and in school can influence or spread to those living around them, such as their siblings and friends. Language is highly contagious. It also shapes a person's thoughts, and manipulates his/her actions and behaviors.

Parents of course should encourage their children to learn foreign languages, and to be exposed to diverse cultures. On the other hand, the parents must ensure that their children have a strong sense of their cultural identity, and adhere to the core values of their own culture. Globalization should never deplete respective cultural values of any group in human society.

We should respect the characteristics of each culture and the properties of each native language. No culture or language is supposed to be "superior" to any others. Parents and teachers should be careful with any form of "intermingled" or "hybrid" language. A person can learn many foreign languages, and may be able to know the languages very well and feel comfortable in various cultures. Still, s/he is expected to maintain a solid cultural identity and to master his/her native language, for these serve as the base on which the person constructs other values in life.

Bodhisattva Thích Quảng Đức - Part 6

Bodhisattva Thích Quảng Đức's Imperishable Heart

Bodhisattva Thích Quảng Đức's remains were coffined and displayed for a few days at Xa Loi Temple, then it was transported to An Duong Dia (Phu Lam), a cremation site on the outskirts of Saigon. After many hours (from 8am to 2pm), the coffin with his remains turned into ashes, but one miracle happened: His heart was still red and soft. All the Buddhist dignitaries present at the site decided to re-cremate the heart. However long it had been put in the fire, to everybody's consternation, the heart still remained as solid as a rock. It had become a relic.

Buddhists knelt down. Some wept; some chanted Buddhas' names, for they knew that what the Bodhisattva had said before his demise had come true.

The story about the Bodhisattva Thích Quảng Đức's imperishable heart had been distorted and manipulated by Diem government, and there were many rumors and versions. However, because so many Buddhists, non-Buddhists, and national and international correspondents had witnessed the cremation from the beginning to the end, nobody could deny the truth.

When asked by one international correspondent about the imperishable heart of the Bodhisattva, Thich Duc Nghiep replied:

It was imperishable, because Bodhisattva Thích Quảng Đức had made such a great vow to sacrifice for the Dhamma and national peace that his mind and energy were focused on the heart, and made it imperishable.

After the cremation, according to Thich Duc Nghiep, the heart was secretly well protected in Mr. Chanh Tri Mai Tho Truyen's safe. On August 20, 1963, police came to Xa Loi temple and searched for the heart, but they could not find it. Later, it was transported to Vietnam Quoc Tu (Vietnam National Temple)under the protection of Bhikku Thich Tu Nhon. It was enshrined within a brass stupa of half a meter in height, which nobody could see what was inside. The stupa was sealed with the signature of Most Venerable Thich Tinh Khiet, Vietnam Buddhism Patriarch at that time. Now at the age of 85, Bhikkhu Thich Tu Nhon recalled that the Patriarch had ordered him to leave Sadec to come to Saigon to assume the special task of protecting the sacred heart. At first it was kept in the Abbot's safe in Vietnam Quoc Tu, a huge temple surrounded by trees and trees. Because the Abbot's room was simple, and easily frequented by police or secret agents, Thich Tu Nhon had enshrined the relic in the stupa, and deposited it in a safe in the basement of the France Bank in Saigon. He was the only one who had the key to the safe. The other key was kept in the headquarters of the bank in France. Even the Saigon branch of the France Bank could not open it.

Before 1975, during the Vietnam war, the relic was kept there. After 1975, it was under the protection of the Vietnam government. In 1991, it was transferred to the State Bank in Ho Chi Minh City with the presence of such Buddhists dignitaries as Thich Tu Nhon, Thich Giac Toan, and Thich Thien Hao. The stupa's seal with the signature of the Patriarch remained intact. Nobody could look inside the stupa, but they believed the relic was there.

Thich Tu Nhon said:

I hope that, after the construction of Bodhisattva Thích Quảng Đức's Monument is completed, his heart relic would be enshrined there, so that everybody may be able to pay homage to him again. It was what he left to the Vietnamese people as a reminder that despite all the changes of regimes and all the difficulties, the Dhamma, peace and justice will be protected and restored for the multitude.

On June 2, 2010 at the intersection of Cach Mang Thang Tam Street and Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street (which used to be Phan Dinh Phung Street and Le van Duyet Street in 1963), the Monument of Bodhisattva Thích Quảng Đức was re-established in a solemn inauguration ceremony by the Vietam Buddhist Sangha and the Municipal Cultural Department of Ho Chi Minh City. A brass statue of four meters in height and 4.5 meters in diameter was installed on the shrine, vividly depicting his self-immolation in 1963.

The Meaning of Bodhisattva Thích Quảng Đức's Self-Immolation

The supernatural characteristics of Bodhisattva Thích Quảng Đức's self-immolation, and his wisdom, compassion, and bravery as manifested in his sitting calmly in lotus position in the flames, have become a bright torch that helps to destroy ignorance and illusion from all evil forces. His self sacrifice torch had lit the path for other Vietnamese Buddhists in their struggle for religious freedom and equality. After him, there were many monks, nuns, and lay Buddhists who continued to protest Diem administration, and who had sacrificed their lives either during the struggles, or under torture in prisons, or by self-immolation. They were Bhikkus Nguyen Huong, Thanh Tue, Quang Huong, Thien My, Tieu Dieu, Bhikkuni Dieu Quang, and some lay people such as Quach thi Trang, Nhat Linh, Mai Tuyet Anh, and many others who offered their lives for the protection of the Dhamma and Vietnam Buddhism.

Bodhisattva Thích Quảng Đức's robe could be compared to the cremation scaffolds which finally burned and toppled Diem government on November 1, 1963, putting an end to a dictatorial and nepotistic regime in Vietnam history. His imperishable heart has become the symbol of the Vietnamese Buddhists' struggle for peace, freedom, equality against any oppression, unjustice, and dictatorial regime.
Bodhisattva Thích Quảng Đức's self-immolation also proves that Vietnam Buddhism has a long tradition of engagement in all national activities, and that since the beginning, it has undergone many national vicissitudes. As the Tathagata's sons and daughters, the Buddhists rarely fear any difficulty or adversary in life, and in the struggle for peace and freedom against any oppression.


Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thich_Quang_Duc
Quoc Viet. The Immortal Heart. http://tuoitre.vn. A three-part document. Posted from May 31, 2010 to June 3, 2010.
http://www.go.vn/news/630-5185/anh-truyen/anh-thoi-su-vi-dai-nhat-moi-thoi-dai.htm

Bodhisattva Thích Quảng Đức - Part 5

The fire gradually died out in 15 minutes. Bodhisattva Thich Quang Duc's body fell backward onto the ground, his hands still close together in front of his chest. Years later, as his close disciples recounted, the night before his self-immolation, the Bodhisattva told them that if his vow to offer his body for the Dhamma and national peace was successfully accomplished and praised by Buddhas, the body would fall backward, and the heart would remain as a relic. What he had said did come true.

When the fire was completely out, Thich Duc Nghiep and some other monks used the Buddhist flag to wrap the Bodhisattva's remains. However, because his hands were close together in front of his chest, and because he was in lotus posture, it was difficult to cover the whole body.

Monks and nuns and other Buddhists could not hold back their tears, and their cries seemed to drown out the loud noises from the yelling and cursing police. Thousands of Buddhists followed the car that drove the Bodhisattva's remains to Xa Loi Temple.

Today Tong Ho Cam vividly recalled details of this historical event, "I cried, and I had the impression that all Saigon cried in respect and deep sorrows for his great sacrifice. Not only those who had witnessed the scene followed his remains, but residents along all the streets we passed by came out to bow or pay homage to him, too. Many wept, including non-Buddhists and Catholics.

When the car with the Bodhisattva's remains came to Xa Loi Temple, Mr. Chanh Tri Mai Tho Truyen*, despite his old age and all the vicissitudes in his life, could not control his emotions, lay down on the ground, and followed the remains into the main building.

The funeral of Bodhisattva Thich Quang Duc became an unforgettable day in the middle of June, 1963 in Saigon, and a historical event in Vietnam Buddhism. Monks, nuns, and other Buddhists from other provinces also came to Saigon to pay homage to him. As the number of people who showed up at Xa Loi Temple was increasing, more and more Special Forces, police, and undercover agents appeared at the temple and tried to reduce the significance and the colossal scale of the funeral ceremony, and its social and political impact. Police controlled the surrounding area of the temple, and allowed only a limited number of participants. Some undercover agents disguised themselves as disabled veterans to disturb the funeral ceremony, and harassed participants.

Meanwhile, at the President's Palace, Ngo Dinh Diem felt frightened by the self-immolation. He ordered a special airplane to fly to Hue, and invited Most Venerable Thich Tinh Khiet, Vietnam Buddhist Patriarch, and other Buddhist dignitaries such as Thich Tri Quang, Thich Thien Minh, Thich Mat Nguyen, Thich Huyen Quang to Saigon. A Council of Multiministries was created to negotiate with the Defense Council of Vietnam Buddhist Multisects.

Thich Duc Nghiep was present at the meeting as a secretary, and Thich Thien Minh, as head of the Buddhist delegation. During the break in the hall, Vice Prime Minister Tran Ngoc Tho told Thich Duc Nghiep in private: "You monks made us breathe out smoke."

Still, the negotiation meeting was just one of Diem's tactics to soothe the Buddhists temporarily. His oppression of Buddhists still went on. Tran Le Xuan, Ngo Dinh Nhu's wife, even poured more oil into the fire when she said,"A monk was barbecued," and made up a story that younger monks had injected anesthesia to Most Venerable Thich Quang Duc. She cheekily announced that if monks needed more kerosene to carry out self-immolation, she would be happy to supply it. Such insolent statements from the advisor's first lady worsened the tension between Diem administration and Buddhists.

At a press conference, one international correspondent who was unable to be at the self-immolation asked Thich Duc Nghiep for his opinion about the distorted statement and story from Tran Le Xuan. The monk calmly replied," Regarding the self-immolation, you may need to ask your colleagues, Malcolm Browne of AP, Simon Michaud of AFP, or other correspondents. They may serve as witnesses."
And when those whose named were mentioned stood up and retold what was happening, everybody at the press conference was still in a profound shock.

David Halberstam of New York Times, one of the witnesses, emotionally recalled:

I was to see that sight again, but once was enough. Flames were coming from a human being; his body was slowly withering and shriveling up, his head blackening and charring. In the air was the smell of burning human flesh; human beings burn surprisingly quickly. Behind me I could hear the sobbing of the Vietnamese who were now gathering. I was too shocked to cry, too confused to take notes or ask questions, too bewildered to even think.... As he burned he never moved a muscle, never uttered a sound, his outward composure in sharp contrast to the wailing people around him.

Years later Thich Duc Nghiep said that he himself had alluded to the international correspondents about the big event on the night before the Bodhisattva's self-immolation:

To keep it a secret, and to prevent the government's suppression, I could not mention it straightforwardly, but I said that a special event related to Buddhism in Saigon was to happen the following morning. One correspondent asked me if it was going to be very special, or just another non-violent demonstration, like the previous ones.

Nguyen van Thong, one secret agent watching the whole scene, whose job was to follow Buddhist activities at the time, publicly denounced the rumor that Bodhisattva Thich Quang Duc had been injected with any anesthesia. Half a century later, he emotionally recounted the event as follows:

I saw, and other policemen saw, too, with our own eyes Boddhisattva Thich Quang Duc get out of the car gently and with dignity, bow to the four directions, and sit down in lotus posture, before he ignited the match himself. Such actions from a genuine monk of a very high spiritual level could never have been under the effect of anesthesia. Other monks standing around were either chanting or trying to block the police. No other single hand could interfere with his own self-immolation.

After the Diem administration was toppled, Nguyen van Thong brought the close-up photos he had taken of the scene to the Buddhist Sangha in Saigon to donate them. It was a complete set of the self-immolation scene photos from the first moment when the fire did not start yet until the last moment when the Bodhisattva fell backward. Not until then did everybody realize that, besides Malcolm Browne, another person, a Vietnamese, had captured the whole sacred scene with his camera. And those photos have revealed the whole truth.

The car used to take Boddhisattva Thich Quang Duc to the intersection of Phan Dinh Phung Street and Le van Duyet Street. It now sits at the Thien Mu Pagoda in Hue, Central Vietnam.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thich_Quang_Duc

Quoc Viet. The Immortal Heart. http://tuoitre.vn. A three-part document. Posted from May 31, 2010 to June 3, 2010.

http://www.go.vn/news/630-5185/anh-truyen/anh-thoi-su-vi-dai-nhat-moi-thoi-dai.htm

http://www.daophatngaynay.com/vn/phatgiao-vn/lich-su/7639-Anh-huong-tu-cuoc-tu-thieu-cua-Hoa-thuong-Thich-Quang-Duc-trong-phong-trao-tranh-dau-cua-Phat-giao-Viet-Nam-nam-1963.html

Bodhisattva Thích Quảng Đức - Part 4

Part 4

After reminding reliable monks to protect Bodhisattva Thích Quảng Đức, and saying a few heartfelt words with him at An Quang Temple, Thich Duc Nghiep quickly prepared for the self-immolation which would take place the following morning. As head of the Defense Council of Vietnam Buddhism Multisects, he knew very well that Diem administration was trying to crush Buddhists' struggle and protest. Therefore, any information leak could bring about unimaginable consequences.

That night Thich Duc Nghiep patrolled the streets where participants of the memorial ceremony from Phat Buu Temple would march through, for the self-immolation plan would be mixed with that grand march in disguise to avoid the police's suspicion. That way it could also have the company of more monks, nuns, and other civilians. The intersection of Phan Dinh Phung Stree-Le van Duyet Street (Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street-Cach mang Thang Tam Street nowadays) was finally chosen as the site where the self-immolation would take place. This intersection was selected because it was a busy hub in Saigon, and it was in front of the Cambodia Embassy, and Cambodia was the country which supported Vietnamese Buddhists' struggle against Diem government.

Upon returning to An Quang Temple, Thich Duc Nghiep finalized the details of the plan. The car which would carry the Boddhisattva was the Austin that a lay Buddhist named Tran Quang Thuan left at the Temple. Thich Duc Nghiep ordered the car driver to buy an extra container of kerosene. He also told bhikku Thich Tri Minh to sit next to the driver. When they drove to the intersection, they had to stop, pretending that their car engine broke down. Another bhikku, Thich Chan Ngu would sit in the back, next to the Bodhisattva to protect him. When the car was almost at the intersection, bhikku Thich Chan Ngu would pour kerosene onto the Bodhisattva's body, so the police could not see the preparation. A lighter was also handed to the Bodhisattva in advance, so that he himself would start the fire.

Bodhisattva Thich Quang Duc had written another heartfelt letter to express his thoughts and responsibilities toward his country and Buddhism:

I am Bhikku Thich Quang Duc, Abbot of Quan The Am Temple (Gia Dinh). Realizing that the nation is in such a critical situation, and as the Tathagata's son and disciple, unable to sit indifferently, watching the Dhamma in jeopardy, I vow to offer my illusory body to Buddhas, and wish the merits of my action would benefit the protection of Buddhism. I pray for the support from Buddhas in all universes, and from every Buddhist monk and nun and layperson, so that my following wishes will be successfully fulfilled:
1. Under the influence of the Tathagata's wisdom and compassion, President Diem would at least accept the five-point petition mentioned in the Buddhists' Declaration.
2. The Tathagata, with His immense compassion, would protect Vietnam Buddhism, so that it will last forever.
3.With their boundless spiritual power, all Buddhas would protect Vietnamese monks, nuns and lay people from the evil's torture, arrest, and oppression.
4. Peace and Joy would come back to Vietnam and the Vietnamese people.
Before I close my eyes, and enter the realm of Buddhas, I would like to pray for President Ngo Dinh Diem to use love and compassion to treat his people, and carry out policies of religious freedom and equality for national safety and stability.
I sincerely wish that all monks , nuns and lay Buddhists would unite in mind and in action to protect Buddhism.
Namo Buddhas of Struggles and Victories

An Quang Temple, April 8, 1963 the Lunar Year of the Cat.

Respectfully,

Bhikku Thich Quang Duc

When the car was at the intersection, the driver parked it, got out and opened the hood to fool the police. From the back of the car, the Bodhisattva got out with dignity, bowed to the four directions, then quietly sat down in lotus position, facing the West. He began his meditation by chanting the names of Buddhas softly. However, the lighter did not work, and Thich Duc Nghiep had to hand him a box of matches. Another bhikku standing by also helped to pour more kerosene from the extra container taken from the car trunk onto the Bodhisattva's body. Every move was carried out so quickly that no member of the Special Force could react. As soon as the Bodhisattva's hand dropped the match down, a giant fire engulfed his whole body. He was sitting still; his hands close together in front of his chest; his face serene without any expression of pain.

Monks, nuns, and lay Buddhists in the crowd were quietly chanting Buddhas' names. Some shouted protests against the government. Some, including a few policemen, cried and knelt down, or prostrated themselves on the street to show respect to the Bodhisattva who offered his body to protect the Dhamma.

In his recount, Nguyen van Thong, an undercover agent who was in charge of religious activities at that time, said, "Confidential news was released that there would be a huge demonstration from An Quang Temple to Lam Son Square, and that a monk would perform harakiri (disembowelment suicide). Later I learned that the news was used to distract the police to avoid their attacks."

Nguyen added that he was with other undercover policemen in a car that morning. He took care of taking photos; another was to write reports, still another was to contact the headquarters by phone. They followed the monks and nuns in the march toward Lam Son Square (the Opera House in central Saigon nowadays), not knowing anything about the self-immolation plan. Nguyen was also a correspondent to Anh Xa, so he had another camera with him.
When the Austin stopped at the intersection, and the driver got out and opened the hood, the cover police thought it really broke down. Even when he saw Most Venerable Thich Quang Duc come out of the car and sit on the street, Nguyen could not tell what would happen. Not until the fire broke out and engulfed the monk's body like a huge torch could he realize what was actually happening in stupefied astonishment.

In a reflex, he raised his camera and took a picture of the scene, but his hands were so trembling that the first shot was blurred. He could take a second and last picture with his own camera. Then with his police camera, he tried to catch the scene when the fire almost died out, and the Bodhisattva's body fell onto the ground.

According to Nguyen, at least three people were able to take photos of this emotional scene: Malcolm Browne, correspondent of the Associated Press (AP), one monk, and he himself. However, only the photo taken by Malcolm Browne was well known to the world. Nguyen had to return the police camera to his headquarters, and hid the photos he took with his own camera, because he was at that time working for the South government.
Now at 86, Nguyen recalled:

The fire was so hot, even the container nearby melted, but the Bodhisattva sat still in face of death. It was noticed that near the end, when the fire was almost out, he still faced the West with his head nodding down as if he were bowing to Buddhas. Then he fell backward, not forward. A fire engine and lots of police rushed to the scene, but the monks lay down in order to block their wheels, and to protect the body of the Bodhisattva. Many key figures of the police forces also came, but they just stood there in awe, and could not do anything against the torch of justice.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thich_Quang_Duc

Quoc Viet. The Immortal Heart. http://tuoitre.vn. A three-part document. Posted from May 31, 2010 to June 3, 2010.

http://www.go.vn/news/630-5185/anh-truyen/anh-thoi-su-vi-dai-nhat-moi-thoi-dai.htm

http://www.daophatngaynay.com/vn/phatgiao-vn/lich-su/7639-Anh-huong-tu-cuoc-tu-thieu-cua-Hoa-thuong-Thich-Quang-Duc-trong-phong-trao-tranh-dau-cua-Phat-giao-Viet-Nam-nam-1963.html

Bodhisattva Thích Quảng Đức - Part 3

Part 3

Those who met Most Venerable Thích Quảng Đức recalled that his eyes always radiated with compassion, but sometimes they were tinted with some gentle melancholy. Nobody could tell if he had predicted what would have happened to Vietnam Buddhism in the 1960s, and to himself as a martyr. The truth is that his self-immolation awoke the whole world's conscience, and helped to topple Diem's dictatorial regime.

Besides Most Venerable Hoang Tham, his maternal uncle,Thích Quảng Đức also learned meditation from other most venerables such as Thich Thien Tuong and Thich Phuoc Tuong. After three years living as a hermit on the mountain, he started to disseminate the Dhamma and contribute to the renovations of 31 temples in Central Vietnam. As a young bhikku, he made considerable contributions to local Buddhist activities. He helped to build Thien Loc Temple in Ninh Hoa, and supervised the casting of the temple's two big bells which last until now.

Archived documents revealed that he was very organized, and had well kept notes and documents of all important events such as authority permissions, and fund raising activities to build the temple and to cast the bells. Thanks to these documents, researchers can learn more about his early Buddhist activities. After leaving Khanh Hoa, he went to Cambodia to learn and practice the Dhamma there.

The last temple he helped to reconstruct was Quan The Am (Avalokiteśvara)Temple on Nguyen Hue Street (now renamed after him), Phu Nhuan District, Gia Dinh (a suburban area of Saigon). The local people had dedicated the site as a place for them to show their respect to Avalokiteśvara, a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. In the early 1920s the temple had been called Bach Lo, and was almost abandoned during the wars. In 1959 on his way to practice and disseminate the Dhamma, Bodhisattva Thích Quảng Đức came to this site, and dedicated all his heart and mind to the renovation and reconstruction of what now is Quan The Am Temple.

Tong Ho Cam, a Buddhist engaged in many activities at Xa loi Temple, recalled that he had met Most Venerable Thích Quảng Đức several times. Tong said," Bodhisattva Thích Quảng Đức was a quiet,simple, and very delicate bhikku with profound insights. It seemed he could read your mind just by looking into your eyes. Whenever he met me, he often gently patted on my shoulder, and asked if I was in good health and if everything went well."

According to Thich Duc Nghiep, in the middle of 1963 the conflicts between Buddhists and the Diem administration in South Vietnam became more and more intense. The government used many barbarous measures and tactics, its special police, and even army forces to oppress Buddhist non-violent struggles and protests.
He recalled that after the fast in Xa Loi Temple, Bodhisattva Thích Quảng Đức, then the Abbot of Quan The Am Temple,sent a letter to the Defense Council of Buddhist Multisects asking for permission to carry out his plan of self-immolation for Dhamma
protection. The letter was hand-written on a small piece of paper, so that it would be easily hidden and carried despite the government's strict security and inspection at the time. In the letter the Bodhisattva expressed his wish to sacrifice his body for the Dhamma to be well protected in adversities, and to pray for peace to the multitude, for he knew, with his old age, he could not do much for Vietnam Buddhism in such a time of extreme difficulty.

Thich Duc Nghiep secretly delivered the letter to the Council. Soon after that all Buddhist dignitaries had a meeting about the letter. Although they respected the
Bodhisattva's decision, they would rather have his plan delayed, because the situation did not seem to demand such a grave sacrifice. Years later in his recount, Most Venerable Thich Duc Nghiep said that, in fact, having yet had to decide on such an important sacrifice to which there had never been any antecedent, the dignitaries were themselves in a dilemma. In the mean time the protests were on the rise, and so was the government's oppression.

Right before the day when Phat Buu Temple on Cao Thang Street, Saigon, was supposed to carry the memorial ceremony for the victims in Hue, Thich Duc Nghiep was secretly driven from An Quang to Xa loi to attend an emergency meeting. Most Venerables Thich Tam Chau and Thich Thien Hoa were profoundly concerned about the official news from Hue: the Buddhists there were in distress; many monks were arrested. Food, water, electricity in some monasteries were cut, and the government threatened them that if they did not surrender, they would be expelled from Vietnam for life. In such a critical situation, what would happen if Buddhists continued to carry out the memorial ceremony at Phat Buu Temple, and other fasts and demonstrations? Would such activities be beneficial? Most Venerable Thich Tam Chau remembered Most Venerable Thích Quảng Đức's letter. Thich Duc Nghiep then wondered if Most Venerable Thích Quảng Đức still embraced that wish. In that case, his self-immolation plan could be possibly carried out the following day, at the same time as the memorial ceremony. Thus, Thich Duc Nghiep accepted the critical task to contact Bodhisattva Thích Quảng Đức. He said if everything went smoothly for the plan to proceed, he would not phone to protect last-minute secrets.

That night Thich Duc Nghiep urgently went to An Quang Temple to meet Bodhisattva Thích Quảng Đức, who had just finished his evening chants of the Lotus Sutta. When asked if he still embraced that self-immolation plan he had written in the letter, the Bodhisattva calmly said with his palms together,"Namo Śākyamuni,I always humbly wish to sacrifice my body for the Three Gems [namely, the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha], and for the protection of the Dhamma."

With tears in his eyes, Thich Duc Nghiep ordered other monks to watch for the Bodhisattva's security, then asked him:
"What would you like to say as last reminders to us, Your Holiness?"
The Bodhisattva simply said:
"May I please meet Most Venerable Thich Thien Hoa to thank him?"
"Would you please never mention your plan of self-immolation at the meeting?"
"No. I only want to say goodbye to him before I leave for a long journey," said the Bodhisattva calmly with a bow and hands together.

It was pitch dark outside, as dark as the social political situation in South Vietnam at that time.


Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thich_Quang_Duc
Quoc Viet. The Immortal Heart. http://tuoitre.vn. A three-part document. Posted from May 31, 2010 to June 3, 2010.

Bodhisattva Thích Quảng Đức - Part 2

Part 2

Most Venerable Thich Duc Nghiep was one of the few witnesses during the most difficult period in the history of Vietnam Buddhism. He was also the bhikku who took care of every step in Bodhisattva Thích Quảng Đức's self-immolation. According to Thich Duc Nghiep, Vesak Day of 1963 coincided with the opening ceremony of a big cathedral in Quang Tri. On his way to the ceremony, President Ngo Dinh Diem saw many Buddhist flags displayed along the roads, and grouchily asked Quach Tong Duc, his Chief of Staff, who accompanied him on the trip. Quach said the flag display was to celebrate the Buddha's Birthday. Without discussing the issue with his advisors, Diem immediately ordered Quach to execute a ban of Buddhism flag display in public from all over South Vietnam. The flags could only be displayed within Buddhist temples. Diem's order was the last match that lit the fire from the smothery intense relations between Buddhism and Diem's religion discrimination policies beginning in early 1960s. Buddhists' protests quickly spread from Hue to Saigon, then to other provinces.
On May 8, 1963 the protest in Hue reached its climax when many Buddhists were killed, and some others were wounded in front of Hue Radio Station. Among the crowds were many civilians and children. Thich Duc Nghiep said Lieutenant Colonel Dang Sy was the officer in the Diem's administration who ordered this massacre.

In such extremely difficult time, Most Venerable Thich Tinh Khiet, Head of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha,convened an emergency meeting of Buddhist dignitaries to issue a five-point declaration which asked President Diem to withdraw his recent order about banning Buddhist flags display, to stop religious discrimination, and to demand for freedom of Buddhist practice and dissemination. The declaration also asked the government to stop arresting, harrassing and prosecuting Buddhists, and to punish those were responsible for the massacre in Hue. At the convention a Defense Council of Multi-Buddhist Sects was formed with Venerable Thich Duc Nghiep as its Head. After that a delegation of Buddhist representatives including Most Venerables Thich Thien Hoa, Thich Tam Chau, and Mr. Chanh Tri Mai Tho Truyen were allowed to enter the President's Palace but without any progress. Religious oppression was still going on against Buddhists.

One morning at An Quang Temple Most Venerables Thich Tam Chau, Thich Thien Hoa, Thich Thien Minh, and Thich Duc Nghiep discussed the tension of the situation after lunch. Thich Thien Minh suggested that Buddhists be engaged, and take pro-active actions for defense. Thich Duc Nghiep was appointed as head of both internal affairs and diplomatic (or external) affairs.

There were more and more protest meetings in South Vietnam. On May 21, 1963 Most Venerable Thich Tinh Khiet ordered a memorial ceremony throughout the South of Vietnam to pray for the victims in the Hue massacre. In Saigon the ceremony turned into a huge protest march from An Quang Temple to Xa Loi Temple. The protesters carried banners asking for religious freedom, and the execution of the five-points in the declaration. The night before the ceremony Saigon-Cholon Mayor NguyenPhu Hai, Chief of Staff Quach Tong Duc, and a District Head came to An Quang and ordered to stop the ceremony, but Most Venerable Thich Thien Hoa refused to meet them. Thich Duc Nghiep firmly told the government representatives that Most Venerable Thich Thien Hoa was not in good health, and could not meet them. But only Most Venerable Thich Thien Hoa himself could not make such an important decision. The whole committee of representatives from the Buddhist Sangha had convened and decided on the five-point declaration, which they wanted to submit to the President.

The three government representatives waited from 10pm till 12am in vain, so they grudgingly had to leave the temple. As planned, the memorial ceremony began at 6am, and the huge crowd of Buddhist protesters marched from An Quang to Xa Loi, where it stopped at 10am.
Nguyen van Thong, a member of the government's Special Force, said that among the protesters and participants were ordinary people, and that at the center of Saigon many joined the fast to protest non-violently against the regime. Thich Duc Nghiep had ordered eight buses to carry monks and nuns from Tu Nghiem and An Quang Monasteries to participate in the peaceful protest in the center of the capital of South Vietnam. The participants joined the fast at Xa Loi. Among them was Most Venerable Thich Quang Duc, who had quietly drafted his letter asking for the Sangha's permission to let him sacrifice his body for the protection of the Dhamma.


Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thich_Quang_Duc
Quoc Viet. The Immortal Heart. http://tuoitre.vn. A three-part document. Posted from May 31, 2010 to June 3, 2010.

The Bodhisattva Whose Self-Immolation Helped to Overthrow a Dictator's Regime

Part 1
Most Venerable (Hòa thượng) Thích Quảng Đức (1897 – June 11, 1963) was a Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk who burned himself to death at a busy Saigon intersection, Phan Đình Phùng (now Nguyễn Đình Chiểu) Street and Lê Văn Duyệt (now Cách Mạng Tháng Tám) Street, on June 11, 1963. Thích Quảng Đức was protesting against the persecution of Buddhists by Ngô Đình Diệm administration in South Vietnam. Photos of his self-immolation were circulated widely across the world and brought attention to the policies of the Diệm regime. Malcolm Browne won a Pulitzer Prize for his iconic photo of the monk's death, as did David Halberstam for his written account. After his death, his body was re-cremated, but his heart remained intact. This was interpreted as a symbol of compassion and led Buddhists to revere him as a bodhisattva, heightening the impact of his death on the public psyche.

Thích Quảng Đức's act increased international pressure on Diệm and led him to announce reforms with the intention of mollifying the Buddhists. However, the promised reforms were implemented either slowly or not at all, leading to a deterioration in the dispute. With protests continuing, the Special Forces loyal to Diệm's brother, Ngô Đình Nhu, launched nationwide raids on Buddhist pagodas, seizing the holy heart and causing deaths and widespread damage. Several Buddhist monks followed Thích Quảng Đức's example and burned themselves to death. Eventually, an Army coup toppled and killed Diệm in November, 1963. The self-immolation is widely seen as the turning point of the Vietnamese Buddhist crisis which led to the change in regime.

Bodhisattva Thich Quang Duc was born Lâm Văn Tức in 1897 at Hoi Khanh Village, Van Ninh District, Khanh Hoa Province, Central Vietnam. He was one of the seven children born to Lâm Hữu Ứng and his wife, Nguyễn Thị Nương. At the age of seven, he left worldly life to study Buddhism under Most Venerable (Hòa thượng) Thích Hoằng Thâm, who was his maternal uncle and spiritual master. Most Venerable Thích Hoằng Thâm raised him as a son, and changed his name to Nguyễn Văn Khiết. At the age of 15, he took the samanera (novice) vows, and was ordained as a monk at the age of 20 under the dharma name Thích Quảng Đức. After ordination, he traveled to a mountain near Ninh Hòa, vowing to live the life of a solitary Buddhism-practicing hermit for three years. He returned in later life to open the Thien Loc Pagoda at the site of his mountain retreat.

After his self-imposed recluse period ended, he began to travel around central Vietnam expounding the dharma. After two years, he went into retreat at the Sac Tu Thien An Pagoda near the south central coastal city of Nha Trang. In 1932, he was appointed an inspector for the Buddhist Association in Ninh Hòa before becoming the inspector of monks in his home province of Khánh Hòa. During this period in central Vietnam, he was responsible for the building of 14 temples. In 1934, he moved to southern Vietnam and traveled throughout the provinces spreading Buddhist teachings. During his time in southern Vietnam, he also spent two years in Cambodia studying the Buddhist texts of the Theravada tradition. After his return from Cambodia, he oversaw the construction of a further 17 new temples during his time in the south. The last of the 31 new temples that he was responsible for constructing was the Quán Thế Âm (Avalokiteshvara) Pagoda in Phú Nhuận district of Gia Dinh province, on the outskirts of Saigon. The street on which the temple stands is now named in his honor. After the temple-building phase, Thích Quảng Đức was appointed to serve as the Chairman of the Panel on Ceremonial Rites of the Congregation of Vietnamese Monks, and as abbot of the Phuoc Hoa Pagoda, which was the initial location of the Association for Buddhist Studies of Vietnam (ABSV). When the office of the ABSV was relocated to the Xá Lợi Pagoda, the main pagoda in Saigon, Thích Quảng Đức resigned in order to concentrate on his personal Buddhist practice.
In a country where surveys of the religious composition at the time estimated the Buddhist majority to be between 70 and 90 percent,President Ngô Đình Diệm was a member of the Catholic Vietnamese minority, and pursued policies widely regarded by historians as biased. Buddhist discontent erupted following a ban in early May on flying the Buddhist flag on Vesak, the birthday of Gautama Buddha. Just days before, Roman Catholics had been allowed to fly the Vatican flag at a celebration for Archbishop Ngo Dinh Thuc of Hue, Diệm's brother. A large crowd of Buddhists protested against the ban, defying the government by flying Buddhist flags on Vesak and marching on the government broadcasting station. Government forces fired into the crowd of protesters, killing nine people. Diem's refusal to take responsibility—he blamed the Vietcong for the deaths—led to further Buddhist protests and calls for religious equality. As Diệm remained unwilling to comply with Buddhist demands, the frequency and size of the protests increased.
On 10 June 1963, a spokesperson for the Buddhists privately informed the U.S. correspondents that "something important" would happen the following morning on the road outside the Cambodian embassy in Saigon. Most of the reporters disregarded the message, since the Buddhist crisis had at that point been going on for over a month, and the next day only a few journalists turned up, including David Halberstam of The New York Times and Malcolm Browne, who was the Saigon bureau chief for the Associated Press.

Thích Quảng Đức arrived as part of a procession that had begun at a nearby pagoda. Around 350 monks and nuns marched in two phalanxes, preceded by an Austin Westminster sedan, carrying banners printed in both English and Vietnamese. They denounced the Diệm government and its policy towards Buddhists, demanding that it fulfill its promises of religious equality. Another monk offered to burn himself, but Thích Quảng Đức's seniority prevailed.

Today, the car in which Thích Quảng Đức traveled to his self-immolation is parked at Huế's Thien Mu Pagoda.

The act itself occurred at the intersection of Phan Dinh Phung Street and Le Van Duyet Street. Thích Quảng Đức emerged from the car along with two other monks. One placed a cushion on the road while the second opened the trunk and took out a five-gallon gasoline can. As the marchers formed a circle around him, Thích Quảng Đức calmly seated himself in the traditional Buddhist meditative lotus position on the cushion. His colleague emptied the contents of the gasoline container over Thích Quảng Đức's head. Thích Quảng Đức rotated a string of wooden prayer beads and recited the words Nam Mô A Di Đà Phật ("homage to Amitabha Buddha") before striking a match and dropping it on himself. Flames consumed his robes and flesh, and black oily smoke emanated from his burning body.

The last words of Thích Quảng Đức before his self-immolation were documented in a letter he had left:

Before closing my eyes and moving towards the vision of the Buddha, I respectfully plead to President Ngo Dinh Diem to take a mind of compassion towards the people of the nation and implement religious equality to maintain the strength of the homeland eternally. I call the venerables, reverends, members of the sangha and the lay Buddhists to organise in solidarity to make sacrifices to protect Buddhism.

David Halberstam wrote:

I was to see that sight again, but once was enough. Flames were coming from a human being; his body was slowly withering and shriveling up, his head blackening and charring. In the air was the smell of burning human flesh; human beings burn surprisingly quickly. Behind me I could hear the sobbing of the Vietnamese who were now gathering. I was too shocked to cry, too confused to take notes or ask questions, too bewildered to even think... As he burned he never moved a muscle, never uttered a sound, his outward composure in sharp contrast to the wailing people around him.

Police who tried to reach him could not break through the circle of Buddhist clergy. One of the policemen threw himself to the ground and prostrated himself in front of Thích Quảng Đức in reverence. The spectators were mostly stunned into silence, but some wailed and several began praying. Many of the monks and nuns, as well as some shocked passersby, prostrated themselves before the burning monk. In English and Vietnamese, a monk repeatedly declared into a microphone, "A Buddhist priest burns himself to death. A Buddhist priest becomes a martyr."

After approximately ten minutes, Thích Quảng Đức's body was fully immolated, and it toppled forward onto the street and the fire subsided. A group of monks covered the smoking corpse with yellow robes, picked it up and tried to fit it into a coffin, but the limbs could not be bent and one of the arms protruded from the wooden box as he was carried to the nearby Xa Loi Pagoda in central Saigon. Outside the pagoda, students unfurled bilingual banners which read: "A Buddhist priest burns himself for our five requests." By 13:30, around one thousand monks had congregated inside Xa Loi to hold a meeting while outside a large crowd of pro-Buddhist students had formed a human barrier around it. The meeting soon ended and all but a hundred monks slowly left the compound. Nearly one thousand monks accompanied by laypeople returned to the cremation site. The police lingered nearby. At around 18:00, 30 nuns and six monks were arrested for holding a prayer meeting on the street outside Xa Loi Pagoda. The police then encircled the pagoda, blocking public passage and giving observers the impression that an armed siege was imminent by donning riot gear. That evening, thousands of Saigonese claimed to have seen a vision of the Buddha's face in the sky as the sun had set. They claimed that in the vision the Buddha was weeping.

After the self-immolation, the U.S. put more pressure on Diệm to re-open negotiations on the faltering agreement. Diệm had scheduled an emergency cabinet meeting at 11:30 on 11 June to discuss the Buddhist crisis which he believed to be winding down. Following Thích Quảng Đức's death, Diệm cancelled the meeting and met individually with his ministers. Acting U.S. Ambassador to South Vietnam William Trueheart warned Nguyen Dinh Thuan, Diệm's Secretary of State, of the desperate need for an agreement, saying that the situation was "dangerously near breaking point" and expected that Diệm would meet the Buddhists' five-point manifesto. United States Secretary of State Dean Rusk warned the Saigon embassy that the White House would publicly announce that it would no longer "associate itself" with the regime if this did not occur. The Joint Communique and concessions to the Buddhists were signed on 16 June.

15 June was set as the date for the funeral of Thích Quảng Đức, and on that day 4,000 people gathered outside Xa Loi Pagoda, only for the ceremony to be postponed. On 19 June, his remains were carried out of Xa Loi to a cemetery 16 kilometers (10 miles) south of the city for a re-cremation and funeral ceremony. Following the signing of the Joint Communique, attendance was limited by agreement between Buddhist leaders and police to approximately 400 monks.
The body was re-cremated during the funeral, but the heart of Thích Quảng Đức remained intact and did not burn. It was considered to be holy and placed in a glass chalice at Xa Loi Pagoda. The intact heart relic is regarded as a symbol of compassion and Thích Quảng Đức has subsequently been revered by Vietnamese Buddhists as a bodhisattva (Bồ Tát) and accordingly is often referred to in Vietnamese as Bồ Tát Thích Quảng Đức.

The funeral was not to be the final act involving Thích Quảng Đức's remains. On 21 August, the ARVN Special Forces of Nhu attacked Xa Loi and other Buddhist pagodas across Vietnam. The secret police had intended to confiscate Thích Quảng Đức's ashes, but two monks had escaped with the urn, jumping over the back fence and finding safety at the U.S. Operations Mission next door. Nhu's men did manage to confiscate the charred heart of Thích Quảng Đức.

The location chosen for the self-immolation, in front of the Cambodian embassy, raised questions as to whether it was coincidence or a symbolic choice. Trueheart and embassy official Charles Flowerree felt that the location was selected to show solidarity with the Cambodian government of Prince Norodom Sihanouk. South Vietnam and Cambodia had strained relations: in a speech on 22 May, Sihanouk had accused Diệm of mistreating Vietnamese and ethnic minority Khmer Buddhists. The Times of Vietnam had published an article on 9 June which claimed that Cambodian monks had been encouraging the Buddhist crisis. The Times asserted that it was part of a Cambodian plot to extend its neutralist foreign policy into South Vietnam. Flowerree noted that Diệm was "ready and eager to see a fine Cambodian hand in all the organized Buddhist actions."
Diệm made a radio address at 19:00 on the day of Thích Quảng Đức's death, asserting that he was profoundly troubled by the event. He appealed for "serenity and patriotism" and announced that stalled negotiations would resume with the Buddhists. He claimed that negotiations had been progressing well and in a time of religious tension emphasized the role of the Roman Catholic philosophy of personalism in his rule. He alleged that extremists had twisted the facts and asserted that the Buddhists can "count on the Constitution, in other words, me."

The Army of the Republic of Vietnam responded to the appeal, putting on a show of solidarity behind Diệm to isolate dissident officers. Thirty high-ranking officers headed by General Le Van Ty declared their resolve to carry out all missions entrusted to the army for the defense of the constitution and the Republic. The declaration was a veneer which masked a developing plot to oust Diệm. Some of the signatories were to become personally involved in Diệm's overthrow and death in November. Generals Duong Van Minh and Tran Van Don, the presidential military advisor and the chief of the army who were to lead the coup, were overseas and were spared the charade of signing.

Madame Ngo Dinh Nhu, the wife of Diệm's younger brother and chief adviser Ngo Dinh Nhu, who was regarded as the First Lady of South Vietnam at the time as Diệm was a bachelor, said that she would "clap hands at seeing another monk barbecue show", a comment which further heightened Buddhist discontent. In late June, Diem's government charged that Thích Quảng Đức had been drugged before being forced to commit suicide. The regime also accused Browne of bribing Thích Quảng Đức to burn himself.
Photographs taken by Browne of the self-immolation quickly spread across the wire services and featured on the front pages of newspapers worldwide. The self-immolation was later regarded as a turning point in the Buddhist crisis and the critical point in the collapse of the Diệm regime. Although Diệm's decline and downfall had already begun, the self-immolation is widely seen as the pivotal point in the Buddhist crisis. The historian Seth Jacobs asserted that Thích Quảng Đức had "reduced America's Diệm experiment to ashes as well" and that "no amount of pleading could retrieve Diem's reputation" once Browne's images were ingrained into the psyche of the world public. Ellen Hammer described the event as having "evoked dark images of persecution and horror corresponding to a profoundly Asian reality that passed the understanding of Westerners." John Mecklin, an official from the U.S. embassy, noted that the photograph "had a shock effect of incalculable value to the Buddhist cause, becoming a symbol of the state of things in Vietnam." William Colby, then chief of the Central Intelligence Agency's Far East Division, opined that Diệm "handled the Buddhist crisis fairly badly and allowed it to grow. But I really don't think there was much they could have done about it once that bonze burned himself."

U.S. President John F. Kennedy, whose government was the main sponsor of Diệm's regime, learned of the self-immolation of Thích Quảng Đức when he was handed the morning newspapers while he sat in bed talking to his brother, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, on the phone. Kennedy was reported to have interrupted their conversation about segregation in Alabama by exclaiming "Jesus Christ!" He later remarked that "no news picture in history has generated so much emotion around the world as that one." U.S. Senator Frank Church, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, claimed that "such grisly scenes have not been witnessed since the Christian martyrs marched hand in hand into the Roman arenas."

In Europe, the photos were sold on the streets as postcards during the 1960s, and communist China distributed millions of copies of the photo throughout Asia and Africa as evidence of what it called "US imperialism". One of Browne's photos remains affixed to the sedan in which Thích Quảng Đức drove to his self-immolation and is part of a tourist attraction in Huế commemorating the event.
U.S. President John F. Kennedy said that "no news picture in history has generated so much emotion around the world as that one."

Browne's award-winning photograph of Thích Quảng Đức's death has been reproduced in popular media for decades, and the incident itself has been used as a touchstone reference in many films and television programs.

After Thích Quảng Đức, self-immolations were carried out by five further members of the Vietnamese Buddhist clergy up until late October 1963 as the Buddhist protests in Vietnam escalated. On 1 November, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam overthrew Diệm in a coup. Diệm was assassinated after the coup on 2 November. Monks have continued to burn themselves since, although for reasons unrelated to Diệm, such as honoring the Buddha.

Thích Quảng Đức's actions were fatally copied in the United States in protests against the Vietnam War. Norman Morrison, a 31-year-old Quaker pacifist, poured kerosene over himself and set himself alight below the third-floor window of Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara at the Pentagon on 2 November 1965. Alice Herz, an 82-year-old woman, also burned herself that year in Detroit, Michigan. Roger Allen LaPorte self-immolated outside the United Nations building in New York City on 9 November 1965. Florence Beaumont burned herself to death outside the Federal Building in Los Angeles on 15 October 1967. George Winne, Jr., a student, self-immolated on 10 May 1970 on the campus of the University of California, San Diego and died the following day.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thich_Quang_Duc
Quoc Viet. The Immortal Heart. http://tuoitre.vn. A three-part document. Posted from May 31, 2010 to June 3, 2010.

Compassion and the Cultivation of Compassion

According to the Dalai Lama, we can only solve our problems through truly peaceful means –not just peaceful words, but actions based on peaceful mind and heart. This is the way we will come to live in a better world (p. 4). Politicians, leaders, and policy makers need to cultivate moral behaviors and compassion more than anybody else, for their decisions affect so many people. Ethical behavior is as crucial to a politician as it is to a religious practitioner (p.80).

The sole source of peace within you, in the family, the country, and the world is altruism –love and compassion (p.10), and the ultimate purpose of transformative mental practice is to help others (p.8). Think of others. Don’t be selfish. Engage in activities that help others become happier, replace the causes of their sufferings with the causes of their happiness(pp.10-11). Compassion is a priceless jewel (p.119). If you are able to, help others; if you are not able to help others, at least do not harm them. This is the essential meaning of the practice of transformation of mind and heart. We do not need to build temples; we do not need complicated philosophy. Your own mind, your own heart is the temple, and the philosophy is simple kindness (p.120).

When facing adversaries, remember tough circumstances can be valuable. For in tough time you can gain the most knowledge and experience, build determination and inner strength,learn to appreciate the uselessness of anger, and the invaluable opportunities to practice tolerance and patience; and finally, you can come closer to reality (pp.17-18). Thus, adversity helps build your character (p. 21).
With regard to material things, contentment (happy with what you have, and stop demanding for more)is the key for happiness (p.45).
When enjoy freedom and individualism, remember they require self-discipline (p.53).

How to Identify the Basic Nature of the Mind? This is a technique to identify the basic nature of the mind:
First, stop remembering what happened in the past.
Second, stop thinking about what might happen in the future.
Third, let the mind flow at its own accord without the overlay of thought. Observe it for a while in its natural state (p.74).

Compassion Education
Compassion is a priceless jewel (p.119), and a training that needs to be introduced early in life. All problems can be overcome through education, particularly by introducing compassionate concerns for others at the pre-school level. It may seem impractical and idealistic, but we have no effective alternative except compassion, recognizing human value and the oneness of humanity: this is the only way to achieve lasting happiness (p.84).

Meditation on Enemy
Consider the so-called enemy this way:
1. Because this person’s mind is untamed, s/he is engaged in activities that are harmful to you.
2. If anger –the wish to harm– were part of the basic nature of this person, it could not be altered in any way; but as we have seen, hatred does not reside in the nature of a person.
3. Even if it were the nature of the person to hate, then, just as we cannot get angry at fire because it burns our hand (it is the very nature of fire to burn), so we should not get angry at a person expressing his/her nature.
4. This said, hatred is actually peripheral to a person’s nature. When a cloud covers the sun, we do not get angry with the sun, so we should not get angry with the so-called enemy, but instead hold the person’s afflictive emotion responsible.
5. We ourselves sometimes engaged in bad behaviors, do we not? Still, most of us do not think of ourselves as completely bad. We should look on others the same way.
6. Therefore, the actual troublemaker is not the person, but his/her afflictive emotion (pp. 88-89).

Tibetan Training in Altruism
When you are happy, do not get too excited about it, but dedicate to the welfare of all sentient beings the good karma that yields happiness; and when you suffer, take on yourself all the pain of all sentient beings. …in this way you can maintain inner courage, not allowing either fortune or misfortune to disturb your peace of mind –neither too happy nor too sad, but stable (p. 94).

Practice Is Long Term
Cultivating an attitude of compassion is a slow process. Like a big piece of ice in the water, your mass of problems will gradually melt away. As you transform your mind, you will transform your surroundings (p. 97).

Detachment and Attachment
Detachment involves the absence of narrow-mindedness which focuses on yourself and for just the short term. Attachment shuts things out. It is an obstacle. The narrow-minded world is characterized by the eight worldly concerns: like/dislike, gain/loss; praise/blame, fame/disgrace (p. 101).



Source:
How to Be Compassionate—A Handbook for Creating Inner Peace and a Happier World
His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Translated and Edited by Jeffrey Hopkins, Ph.D.
(New York, NY: ATRIA Books, 2011).

Metta in Buddhism

The Pali word "Metta" means "loving kindness", not the ordinary, sensual, emotional, and sentimental kind of love. Metta has been translated into English as generous love, loving kindness, sending out thoughts of love towards others. However, according to the Buddha's teachings, Metta has a far wider significance, and a much more extensive implication than this. It means a great deal more than loving kindness, harmlessness, or sympathy. Metta is much more than ordinary affection or warm feelings. Literally, the Pali word Metta means "friendliness", but it also means love without a desire to possess but with desire to help, to sacrifice self-interest for the welfare and well being of humanity. Metta is without any selection or exclusion. If you select a few good friends and exclude a bad person, then you have not got a perfect grasp of Metta. Indeed Metta is not only benevolent thought, but also performing charitable deeds, an active ministry for the good of one and all. In the Dighanikaya, almost every virtue such as unselfishness, loving sympathy and loving kindness, is included in this "Metta".

In the "Metta Sutta" the Buddha has chosen the love of a mother for her child as an example. Imagine a mother's love when her child is hungry; she watches carefully to feed her child even before it asks her for food. When the child is in danger, she will risk her own life. So the Buddha taught us to love all beings as a mother loves her only child. If we can do this even to a small extent, the world will become happier and more peaceful place.

We have recited much about Metta, and repeated the formula "Sabbe satta avera hontu, abyapajjha hontu, etc. "( May all sentient beings be free from danger; may they be free from oppression, etc.). But without actual practice of Metta, how can it be effective? The Buddha does not ask us to learn any of his teachings for recitation only. The recitation of the "Metta Sutta" is good, but the Buddha did not mean it to be merely recited. He exhorted us to follow and practice the instructions in it so that we might realize Metta as the best state of heart in the world.
Therefore, strive to know the meaning of the Sutta with a view to practicing it and to make it suffuse your being. That is the most essential fact. Meditation does not mean merely to think about it, but to practice it in your daily life.

Why do we need to practice Metta?
Metta is the highest need of the world today. Indeed, humanity needs it more than ever before. Although in this world there are abundant materials, money and brilliant men, women and scientists, there is still a lack of peace and happiness. What the world needs is Metta.

The discourse of loving kindness serves as a mark of protection and as a subject of meditation. In the first part of the discourse are found virtues that should be practiced by anyone who desires his own welfare, and in the latter part the method of practicing Metta or good will is explained in detail. The Buddha taught us to follow and practice the following principles:

He who is skilled in doing welfare, who wishes to attain the state of calm, (Perfect tranquility) must work to be efficient, upright, perfectly upright, easy to speak to, gentle and humble.
Contended, easily supportable, having few duties, simple in livelihood, controlled in sense prudent, modest and not greedily attached to families, he must not commit even the slightest sin for which other wise men might censure him.
He must contemplate so: May all beings be happy, may all beings be secure, may all beings be happy. He must radiate the measureless thoughts of loving kindness to whatever living beings there may be; feeble or strong, tall, medium or short, small, medium or large, thin, medium or stout, seen or unseen, those dwelling far or near, those who are born and those who are to be born- may all beings, without exception, be happy.
Let none be angry with another, let him not despise anyone in any place. By means of physical and verbal provocation or by frustrated enmity, in anger or ill-will let him not wish another's suffering.
Just as a mother would protect at the risk of her own life the life of her only son, even so let him spread boundless loving kindness to every corner of the world; above, below and across, unhindered without any obstruction, without any hatred, without any enmity.
While standing, walking, sitting or lying down, as long as he awake, without sloth (laziness) he should devote himself to this mindfulness of love. This, they say, is the "Highest Conduct" and this is called the "Noble living" (Holy life).
If the practitioner(meditator), not falling into wrong-view (egoism), be virtuous and endowed with perfect insight, and expel his passion for sensual pleasure, then, of a truth, he will never be conceived in any womb again.

In the Dhammapada the Buddha said, "A beautiful word or thought which is not accompanied by corresponding acts is like a bright flower which bears no fruit. It would not produce any effect." So, it is action, not speculation, it is practice, not theory that matters. According to the Dhammapada, "will" if it is not followed by corresponding action does not count. Therefore, practice of the "Noble Principles of the Metta Sutta" is the essence of Buddhism.

In reality pure love for "self" comes first. It is not a selfish love, but love for "self." Unless we ourselves possess "Metta" within, we can not share, radiate, send "Metta" to others. So meditation on love "Metta" is to be started within ourselves. By helping ourselves, we can help others effectively. The Buddha pointed out, "If a person cannot help himself well, he cannot help others well".

In the Dhammapada it says, "One should first establish oneself in what is proper then only he should advise another; such a wise-man will not be reproached!". If one cannot find happiness in himself, he cannot find happiness anywhere else. It is also said that people who cannot control themselves cannot find happiness.
According to the Buddhist method, training oneself comes first. Individual perfection must be first, so that the organic whole may be perfect. The state of the outer world is a reflection of our inner selves. The world is like a great mirror, and if you look at the mirror with a smiling face, you will see your own beautiful smiling face. If you look at it with a shrinking face, you will see your own ugly face. It means that "Every action must have equal and opposite reaction."
So if you treat the world properly, kindly, the world will treat you kindly. We should not expect other persons to treat us kindly first, we should start by ourselves treating them kindly,
This is the essence of Buddhist "Metta" Loving Kindness.

"May all beings be happy, may all beings be secure, may all beings be happy minded and may their hearts be wholesome."

Source:
U. Nandiya. The Buddhists' Three Jewels. http://www.buddhism.ndirect.co.uk/
http://www.buddhanet.net/budsas/ebud/ebsut029.htm

E-Waste, Trash, and the Consumer Culture

A close look at the way we are living now is already alarming when we think about the world our children and grandchildren are going to inherit from us.

In the USA there are over 76 computers for every hundred people, and the number is growing, making the USA a country which has the potential to generate more e-waste than any others in the world. In 2005, Congress and about two dozen legislatures introduced e-waste bills. In February 2005 the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a Washington, D.C. nonprofit “dedicated to the principles of free enterprise and limited government” released a report on electronics recycling. It claimed that “a single 120 foot-deep, 44 square-mile landfill could accommodate the United States’ garbage for the next 1,000 years,” and that modern landfills can safely handle e-waste.... Still, any comprehensive system for electronics recycling in the United States seems a long way off (Grossman, p.256).

Accumulating hazardous materials generated by and used in high-tech manufacturing and e-waste risks undermining the ecological sustainability --safe drinking water and food, clean air, safe and healthy working conditions, long-term health and biodiversity of fully functioning ecosystems, communities slip into disadvantaged, impoverished, unhealthy, socially unstable conditions (Grossman, p. 263).
In 1981 the California State Health Department found a highly contaminated well in south San Jose, Well 13, that belonged to the Great Oaks Water Company. Lorraine Ross, whose daughter was born with a heart defect, and her neighbors who lived in the neighborhood and had similar problems filed a series of lawsuits for compensation for those whose children had been harmed. They demanded a law to prevent what had been happening from continuing to happen. The discovery of this contamination and community concern about the related health impacts led to the birth of the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition in 1982(Grossman,p.77).

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lists groundwater pollution
by solvents, particularly trichlororethylene (TCE) and trichlororethane (TCA),as toxic to the nervous, respiratory, endocrine, and reproductive systems, as well as to liver and kidney function. TCE and TCA are volatile organic, chlorinated compounds which do not occur naturally in the environment. TCE is also considered as a probable carcinogen. Some studies have indicated there is a link between exposure to TCE-contaminated well water and children born with heart defects. TCE is not very soluble, so it enters and remains in the groundwater for a long time. Because of its volatility, it often passes from ground water to soil then to groundwater again. TCE vapor can even pass from soil to the air, and can travel indoors. When contaminated soil comes into contact with cracks in basement, cellar, and foundations. Toxic pollution comes from high tech electronics and semiconductor manufacturer industry in various communities in Silicon Valley, Arizona, New Mexico, New York, Texas, and elsewhere around the USA and the world. The pollution comes from leaks and spills of volatile organic compounds such as TCE, TCA, copper, Freon, and lead(Grossman, pp. 76-78). No matter what amazing innovations the next decades of high tech bring, one thing is certain: e-waste is not going to disappear, neither is the prodigious use of chemicals in high-tech manufacturing, nor will we see an end to all natural-resource extraction (Grossman, p.253).

The multiplication of world population, and the expansion of the consumer culture have increased trash and solid waste production year after year. From 1970 to 1993 recycling programs increased domestic waste recovery from 7% to 22%, while solid waste production in the USA increased from 3.2 pounds per person per day to 4.4 pounds per person per day. That means the trash that had to be dumped or burned increased from 3 pounds to 3.4 pounds per person per day. Instead of the “paperless office,” we have more computers with more printouts. We keep buying more computers, but not knowing what to do with the old ones (Strasser, p. 290).

The consumer culture continues to thrive on taking in natural resources and excreting refuse, in what industrial ecologists describe as an open system, where waste does not get used. The refuse of the wealthy endangers the living spaces of the poor. And consumer trash is only part of the refuse problem, which in itself probably creates less damage to the global environment than automobile emissions, air-conditioning, and the production of consumer goods(Strasse, p.291).

In December 1998, the enormous Fresh Kills landfill in New York nearly full, NY began making arrangements to ship refuse to New Jersey. The plan met protest from officials there. A month later, a contract to ship it to Virginia provoked a challenge from that state’s governor. New York’s mayor declared that people from other states should accept the trash because NY provided cultural benefits to tourists from all over America. But visitors to NY were not the ones living near the landfills that finally took the city’s trash. Waste Management Inc. of Houston operated a 934-acre landfill in Charles City County, among the poorest in Virginia, nearly two-thirds African American. Like poor people elsewhere, they did it for the money to build schools and cut property taxes (Strasse, pp.291-292).

People of the developed economies show no sign of giving up their status objects and handy products, nor will those from less developed ones give up their desire for the popular consumer goods of the twentieth century. “Today we have a natural right to new objects,” writes Gilles Lipovetski, “we know nothing but the ethic of consumption.”

Recycling and composting programs have gradually been recognized as viable options. Activists have pressured both government agencies and corporations to create recycling programs and to reduce waste at the source in the service of global, regional, and local environments. Green research and development is encouraged. Some people are willing to give up some level of personal convenience in their daily life. A few businesses may start to be willing to risk profits, in order to foster solutions to environmental problems, or to avoid contributing to them. Sorting trash for recycling has become a moral act, a symbol of care for the environment. Americans and Western Europeans have responded to environmental problems by returning to reuse and recycling, sometimes in high-tech versions.
But we need to change our lifestyle with new ideas of morality, and utility. With common sense, universal responsibility, and the value of life and labor we should replace the consumer culture for a better world(Strasse, p. 293).


Sources:
Elizabeth Grossman. High Tech Trash. (Washington, D.C.: IslandPress, 2006).
Susan Strasser. Waste and Want –A Social History of Trash. (New York, NY: Metropolitan Books, 1999).

Mercury

Ancient Romans knew that mercury was poisonous. They got convicted criminals to extract it from cinnabar ore, then they mixed it with gold to gild objects. These miners lasted an average of about three years before they lost their hair, their teeth, and eventually their sanity. (p. 161)

Wildfires and volcanoes produce about a third of the mercury in today’s atmosphere. Coal-fired power plants and incinerators that burn mercury-containing wastes (batteries, thermostats, and computer circuit boards...) generate the rest….The problem with mercury is that once it becomes airborne, it mixes with rain and snow, then settles on lakes and waterways, where bacteria convert it to methylmercury, which works it way up the food chain. Over time, exposure to elemental mercury causes permanent, and sometimes fatal, kidney and neurological damage, hair and teeth loss. (p. 162)

The industrial world bristles with entrepreneurs jostling to get their hands on mercury from household products and industry….Chlorine producers who have given up mercury in favor of new technologies, for example, have vast quantities on hand. But they are spinning liability into a commodity bound for developing nations that haven’t banned its use. …While mercury flows in one direction –from nations that enforce environmental protections to nations that do not– its hazards are multidirectional. The element vaporizes with ease, and so its poison drifts with the breeze. The local hazards of mercury are global. (pp.162-163)

What will the garbage landscape look like in fifty or a hundred years? Already, the stuff we set on the curb is circling back to bite us. We burn our electronic waste, and its chemical fallout show up in the breast milk of Eskimos and in the flesh of animals we eat. We bury our household waste, and poisons rise into our air and leach into our waterways. We can recycle and compose as much as we want, but if the total waste stream continue to grow, we’ll never escape our own mess. For better or for worse, consumers and producers respond to economic arguments: if we don’t wake up and make the connection between our economy and the environment (which provide the resources to make all our stuff), the planet will eventually do it for us. And it won’t be pretty. (pp. 293-294)

Source:
Elizabeth Royte, Garbage Land; On the Secret Trail of Trash. (New York, NY: Little, Brown, and Company, 2005)

Lessons from the Dalai Lama's Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech

There are at least three lessons for us to learn from the Dalai Lama's NPPA Speech. The first is his implied message about humbleness and no-self. The Dalai Lama never talked about himself as the Nobel Prize Laureate. Instead, he mentioned the true recipients whom he as a simple monk represented, or accepted the prize for. Who were they, the NPP winners in 1989? The Tibetans, the oppressed, and those who struggle to protect world peace, harmony and happiness for all sentient beings on earth by non-violent means and measures. The absence of the "I" or the "self" in his speech is noticeable from the beginning to the end.

The second lesson is compassion, a sincere wish for everybody to be happy and to live in harmony with one another and with nature. His compassion extends to even the oppressors and the enemies. It is true compassion, for from it we see the interdependence and unity among all sentient beings. The message is clear: despite apparent differences, everything and everybody is fundamentally the same.

Thirdly, humanity must be aware of what is going on in Tibet, and each of us, in our capacity, must take part in humanity's universal responsibility to protect Tibet's endangered environment and culture. That also implies our responsibility to protect our planet and all beings and cultures that exist on earth.

The Dalai Lama pointed out that in the struggle to build world peace and harmony, and to protect the environment, the only possible path for us to take is that of compassion, non-violence, and unity.

The Dalai Lama --Part 2: The Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech

Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech

Your Majesty, Members of the Nobel Committee, Brothers and Sisters.

I am very happy to be here with you today to receive the Nobel Prize for Peace. I feel honored, humbled and deeply moved that you should give this important prize to a simple monk from Tibet I am no one special. But I believe the prize is a recognition of the true value of altruism, love, compassion and non-violence which I try to practice, in accordance with the teachings of the Buddha and the great sages of India and Tibet.

I accept the prize with profound gratitude on behalf of the oppressed everywhere and for all those who struggle for freedom and work for world peace. I accept it as a tribute to the man who founded the modern tradition of non-violent action for change Mahatma Gandhi whose life taught and inspired me. And, of course, I accept it on behalf of the six million Tibetan people, my brave countrymen and women inside Tibet, who have suffered and continue to suffer so much. They confront a calculated and systematic strategy aimed at the destruction of their national and cultural identities. The prize reaffirms our conviction that with truth, courage and determination as our weapons, Tibet will be liberated.

No matter what part of the world we come from, we are all basically the same human beings. We all seek happiness and try to avoid suffering. We have the same basic human needs and is concerns. All of us human beings want freedom and the right to determine our own destiny as individuals and as peoples. That is human nature. The great changes that are taking place everywhere in the world, from Eastern Europe to Africa are a clear indication of this.

In China the popular movement for democracy was crushed by brutal force in June this year. But I do not believe the demonstrations were in vain, because the spirit of freedom was rekindled among the Chinese people and China cannot escape the impact of this spirit of freedom sweeping many parts of the world. The brave students and their supporters showed the Chinese leadership and the world the human face of that great nation.

Last week a number of Tibetans were once again sentenced to prison terms of upto nineteen years at a mass show trial, possibly intended to frighten the population before today's event. Their only 'crime" was the expression of the widespread desire of Tibetans for the restoration of their beloved country's independence.

The suffering of our people during the past forty years of occupation is well documented. Ours has been a long struggle. We know our cause is just Because violence can only breed more violence and suffering, our struggle must remain non-violent and free of hatred. We are trying to end the suffering of our people, not to inflict suffering upon others.

It is with this in mind that I proposed negotiations between Tibet and China on numerous occasions. In 1987, I made specific proposals in a Five-Point plan for the restoration of peace and human rights in Tibet. This included the conversion of the entire Tibetan plateau into a Zone of Ahimsa, a sanctuary of peace and non-violence where human beings and nature can live in peace and harmony.

last year, I elaborated on that plan in Strasbourg, at the European Parliament I believe the ideas I expressed on those occasions are both realistic. and reasonable although they have been criticised by some of my people as being too conciliatory. Unfortunately, China's leaders have not responded positively to the suggestions we have made, which included important concessions. If this continues we will be compelled to reconsider our position.

Any relationship between Tibet and China will have to be based on the principle of equality, respect, trust and mutual benefit. It will also have to be based on the principle which the wise rulers of Tibet and of China laid down in a treaty as early as 823 AD, carved on the pillar which still stands today in front of the Jokhang, Tibet's holiest shrine, in Lhasa, that "Tibetans will live happily in the great land of Tibet, and the Chinese will live happily in the great land of China".

As a Buddhist monk, my concern extends to all members of the human family and, indeed, to all sentient beings who suffer. I believe all suffering is caused by ignorance. People inflict pain on others in the selfish pursuit of their happiness or satisfaction. Yet true happiness comes from a sense of brotherhood and sisterhood. We need to cultivate a universal responsibility for one another and the planet we share. Although I have found my own Buddhist religion helpful in generating love and com passion, even for those we consider our enemies, I am convinced that everyone can develop a good heart and a sense of universal responsibility with or without religion.

With the ever growing impact of science on our lives, religion and spirituality have a greater role to play reminding us of our humanity. There is no contradiction between the two. Each gives us valuable insights into the other. Both science and the teachings of the Buddha tell us of the fundamental unity of all things. This understanding is crucial if we are to take positive and decisive action on the pressing global concern with the environment.

I believe all religions pursue the same goals, that of cultivating human goodness and bringing happiness to all human beings. Though the means might appear different the ends are the same.

As we enter the final decade of this century I am optimistic that the ancient values that have sustained mankind are today reaffirming themselves to prepare us for a kinder, happier twenty-first century.

I pray for all of us, oppressor and friend, that together we succeed in building a better world through human under-standing and love, and that in doing so we may reduce the pain and suffering of all sentient beings.

Thank you.

University Aula, Oslo, 10 December 1989

Source:
http://www.dalailama.com/messages/acceptance-speeches/nobel-peace-prize

Radioactive Wastes Management, and Health and Environmental Protection

Radioactivity and Radiation
Radioactivity is both natural and man-made. The decay process gives radiation in the form of alpha particles, beta particles, and gamma rays. We all are exposed to natural background radiation from cosmic rays and minerals in the ground. Radon is an important source of exposure.
Radiation can be harmful to the body and to genes. Several methods of protection are available, including time, distance and shielding.

Radioactive Wastes
In nuclear plants the fission process yields energy that is converted to electricity. At the same time it generates wastes in the form of radioactive fission products and activation products. It is difficult and expensive to destroy wastes.
There is a large volume of defense waste, stemming from wars, and weapon production. Its disposal is yet to be completed, and a massive cleanup of facilities will be required. Low-level radioactive waste comes from nuclear reactors, industry, and health-related institutions. The most radioactive of the wastes to be disposed of is spent fuel from nuclear power reactors. It will accumulate at reactors in water pools or dry storage containers until a repository is built.
(p. 176)

Waste Management
Research and development on the waste disposal process will continue. Plans for disposal set by Congress are to be carried out by the Department of Energy for spent fuel, and by the sates for low-level waste. Decisions must be made about what is best to do with plutonium and highly enriched uranium produced by the US and the former USSR during the Cold War.
To protect the public and future generations from harm due to radiation exposure, design goals are to isolate reactor wastes until they are no more dangerous than the ore from which nuclear fuel came, to keep the hazard as low as reasonably achievable, and to limit exposure to a small fraction of that due to normal background.
Waste management involves application of science and engineering, but also requires that the public participate in selecting disposal sites and technology. Adherence to regulations is vital to the success of any waste management project.

Disposal Methods
Several methods for disposing spent fuel have been studied, with the conclusion that geologic disposal in a mined cavity deep in the earth is preferable. Interstate compacts have been formed in the US to handle all aspects of low-level waste disposal. For low-level wastes several alternatives to shallow land burial are available. Examples: intermediate-depth disposal, mine-cavity disposal, earth-mounded concrete bunkers, shaft disposal, above-ground vault, and earth-mounded above ground vault.
(p.177)
A legal structure exists to manage wastes safely, including laws specifying policy, requirements, and schedule; environmental protection standards; and licensing and regulation by federal and state government.

Challenge:
It is a challenge for us to enhance the benefits, and reduce the risks in the applications of the nucleus. This will involve dedicated and sincere efforts by program leaders to provide accurate and complete information, to understand and response to concerns, and to establish meaningful dialog with those who are affected.
(p.178)

Biological Effects of Radiation
We are familiar with some forms of radiation in our daily life and activities: sunburn, visible light(both natural and artificial), microwave ovens, radio, television.... When high-speed particles such as alphas, betas, gammas, or neutrons strike living tissues, they slow down and stop. The energy of the particles is imparted to the biological cells as localized heat. Molecules of the cells are changed, atoms are converted to ions, or the atomic nuclei are displaced from their positions. The disruptive action caused by absorbed energy impairs human body cell functions. If the amount of radiation is very large, radiation sickness, genetic effects, or death may result.

The biological effect of radiation (dose or dosage)depends on the amount of energy absorbed, and on the type of radiation. Neutrons are about ten times as damaging as x-rays, gamma rays, or low-energy beta particles. Alpha particles are about 20 times as damaging. The dosage is expressed in rems. Low radiation levels are expressed in the millirem (mrem) as 1/1000 rem.

The average individual American's annual exposure is estimated to be 360 mrems, according to the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements Report No. 93, 1988. A single radiation dose of around 400 rems is fatal to half of those who receive it, while half will survive with some impairment of function.

There are two general classes of radiation effects: somatic (damage to body tissue), and genetic (hereditary characteristics). The main somatic effect is cancer (leukemia or tumors), and genetic effects involve transmitted abnormalities of early death.
(Chapter 5, pp.20-22)

Source:
Raymond L. Murray. Understanding Radioactive Waste (Columbus, OH: 1994), 4th ed. Edited by Judith A. Powell.


Raymond L. Murray is Professor Emeritus in the Nuclear Engineering Department, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC.
Judith A. Powell
Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories

A Farce in Court*

A blindfolded woman holding a balanced scale
A farce in which nobody wants to participate
A court where self-respected lawyers refuse to stay
A court where the marionett judge
does not know what he is doing or uttering.
Yet the whole world is watching!!!

Tell me your definitions
of "Justice" or "Injustice."
Compare them with your actual “law practice.”
The audience is laughing
at your “law” and “law enforcers.”
Guffaw
Hee-haw

“SILENCE!”
the crazy blindfolded woman
yells angrily.

“IGNORE!”
The blindfolded woman, gagged;
Her hands, handcuffed;
Her scale, snatched.
Human dignity
Human rights
Letters, petitions,
Protesting, begging,
all brushed aside.

“GET IT DONE!”
says the invisible prosecutor.

The handcuffed defenseless defendant**,
his head up, leaving the stage,
escorted by two scarecrows
in uniform, their eyes drooping.
The acting, over.
The curtain, pulled.

The whole world remains mute.
The audience, stunned
by obvious insensibility.
A ghost silence looms.

Only time, and the honest,
and the wise can tell.

TRUTH has its own voice.

The little boy among the crowd
watching the king in “his magnificent gown”
candidly cries out:
“Look! The king is naked!”

And everybody, awakened.

Notes:
* The trial of Mr. Cu Huy Ha Vu in Hanoi, Vietnam, on April 4, 2011.
**A Vietnamese lawyer, dissident, and pro-democracy activist, Mr. Cu Huy Ha Vu.

Alzheimer's-- Part 2

Research: Technology advances have helped researchers with new ways to scan the brain, and detect early signs of Alzheimer's. However, there are many unknown areas in the field which demand more research. In 2002 a promising vaccine caused dangerous inflammation in the brain and spinal column, and had to be abandoned after years of research. In August 2010 a highly anticipated drug worsened cognitive symptoms. Researchers have so far focused on the buildup of a protein called amyloid in the brain of Alzheimer's patients. While amyloid in living patients can be detected with a spinal tap, its presence does not necessarily indicate the disease. It is the accumulation of the protein into plaques, which also include cellular debris like dead and dying neurons, that is linked to the disease's symptoms. Initially researchers hoped to find ways to shrink plaque buildup, and reduce the amyloid burden in the brain. Unfortunately these efforts have been fraught with failure and side effects. The agents that target amyloid plaques affect other process in the body too. The challenge remains to understand the link between the plaques and the actual symptoms. It is also a challenge to find patients whose brains are just beginning to accumulate amyloid, and many of whom show no signs of memory loss or decline in mental function (Park, pp. 53-57).

The targets for research: Inhibiting ApoE (genes like apolipoprotein E) effect on amyloid production, controlling the formation of amyloid fragments, and limiting tau's breakdown of nerve connections. (Park, p. 59)

Last July the NIA and the Alzheimer's Association updated their criteria for Alzheimer's diagnosis by defining three patient groups: 1. those who are symptom-free but at high risk, 2. those with mild cognitive impairment, and 3. those with Alzheimer's dementia. Because Alzheimer's cannot be definitively diagnosed until death, patients are currently given a probable diagnosis based on memory and recall tests, and on reports from family members. Blood and spinal-fluid tests could help with the predictive accuracy, but there is not yet a standard test (Park, p. 58).

What to do to prevent Alzheimer's? Identifying patients earlier in the disease cycle and preventive methods are necessary. Exercise. Remain mentally and socially engaged. Stay cognitively active. A balanced diet and a healthy life style. (Spencer)

Sources:
Alice Park. "Alzheimer's Unlocked".Time (Oct 25, 2010),pp. 53-59.
Paula Spencer. http://www.caring.com/articles/alzheimers-symptom-misplacing-items#ixzz1IfZU2ILr.
http://www.caring.com/articles/education-and-diet-alzheimers-risk#ixzz1IfhdlnDX.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alzheimer%27s
http://www.caring.com/alzheimers#ixzz1IqtT7T2i
http://www.caring.com/articles/late-stage-alzheimers-health-care#ixzz1Iqw4Od00
http://www.caring.com/end-stage-alzheimers#ixzz1IqvRd6Gc
By Maria M. Meyer, Mary S. Mittelman, Cynthia Epstein, and Paula Derr,
http://www.caring.com/articles/severe-alzheimers#ixzz1Iqv0CgUE
http://www.caring.com/articles/moderate-alzheimers#ixzz1IqudDonU
http://www.caring.com/articles/mild-alzheimers#ixzz1Iqu5g8oJ

For more information, please check:
Alzheimer's Disease Centers (ADCs)
Alzheimer's Disease Education and Referral (ADEAR) Center
Alzheimer's Association
UCSF Memory and Aging Center
Richard Taylor. Alzheimer's From the Inside Out
National Institute on Aging. nia.nih.gov/Alzheimer's
Alzheimer's Association. alz.org