Elements of Democracy

Democracy is a dynamic process of strong commitment and hard work from both the ruler and the ruled.  It is not a far-fetched ideology, nor an abstract concept.  It is founded on pragmatism, and its goal is national and global stability and prosperity.

Key elements of democracy are:
1. Liberty/Freedom: freedom of speech; freedom of the press; freedom of association, and assembly (movements, peaceful protests); freedom of beliefs and religious practice; and freedom of (language, cultural and identity) expressions.
2. Equality and the Rule of Law: No citizen is above the law.  Government power is limited.  The court must be independent from the executive branch.  No official may violate legal and constitutional limits.
All citizens are treated equally before the law.  There must be no discrimination based on race, class, gender, religious beliefs, sex orientation, etc.
3. Accountability
Horizontal accountability:There must be independent institutions to monitor, check, and control corruption and abuse of power.  The three branches of the government (legislature, judiciary, and executive) have limited power, and must be scrutinized by the independent institutions (counter-corruption commission, public-complaint commission, parliamentary investigative committees, supreme audit agency...).
Vertical accountability:The people vote/elect officials through regular, meaningful, free and fair elections, and hold the elected officials accountable to the people.  Officials who do not perform well, and who display vulgar and self-seeking behaviors, or who lack interest in public welfare and services must be removed from their positions.
Members in the society must be vigilant, resourceful, and sufficiently mobilized through their NGOs, public interest protection and appeal or advocacy groups.
4.Civilian control of the military and police:
Armed forces, police and intelligence agencies are directed by civilian officials and their appointees.  Their budgets must be approved by civilian executive and legislative authorities.
5. Competitiveness and civic pluralism: There must be at least two parties with significant representation in the parliament.  Barriers to new political parties should be low.  Numerous NGOs, independent institutions, and think tanks represent a broad range of interests and values in society, and help monitor political process.
6. Mass media and the control of sources of information: The public should have access to many sources of information.  Mass media must be sufficiently independent and professional.  They must represent multiple views, and government ownership and regulation of the mass media must be limited .
7. Participation: Citizens take an active role in politics, and in the making of public policies.  Voting rate turn out must be high.  Civil society organizations should have high membership rates, and actively get involved in the making of public policies.
8. Government responsiveness and effectiveness: The State has legitimate authority and administrative capacity.  It has the right to maintain order, enforce laws, extract and distribute resources for the public well being.The government must respond to citizens' questions and demands.Citizens' interests and preferences must be heard by legislative and executive bodies.
9. Civic culture: Competing groups and parties must be tolerant of opposing views, and willing to compromise.  All must respect the Constitution, abide by the law, and know their rights and obligations as citizens.  All must respect authority and the results of elections.  Citizens must be unwilling to coalition with anti-system actors, condemn acts of violations of constitutional norms.

Source:
Larry Diamond (Stanford University)
The Spirit of Democracy: The Struggle to Build Free Societies Throughout the World

Four Categories of People

From observations of daily life, and in terms of consequences of their actions (karma), human beings may be classified into four categories:
1. Those who were born to cause harm and suffering to a number of people,
2. Those who were born to cause harm and suffering to a great number of people,
3. Those who were born to benefit and bring happiness to a number of people, and
4. Those who were born to benefit and bring happiness to a great number of people.

First, there are some whose existence causes sufferings to themselves and others around them (their family and community members, such as parents, siblings, friends, neighbors....).  They bring pain, worries, and unhappiness, both physically and mentally, to those people for a short or long period of time, or throughout their lifespan.  Human beings belonging to this first category, of course, have very bad karma.   So do those who are in contact with them.  Since both sides share the common bad karma; they get together in this life to reap the whirlwind they once caused in some previous life.

Second, there are human beings who, at some point in their life, cause massive destruction and unimaginable calamities to a great number of people in the world.  They may be bomb or weapon makers and producers.  They may also be famous scientists and scholars, high-ranked officers in the army, and policy makers, business or political leaders, who made the wrong choice or devilish decision at the wrong time, or who are overconfident, and so fanatically obsessed with some belief, doctrine or ideology that their decisions cause avoidable and meaningless deaths to millions of people in their countries and in the world.  History has proved that such beings sometimes appear and threaten life and civilization on earth.

Third, there are those who, since their birth, bring peace and happiness to those around them for some time in their life or throughout their whole lifespan.  Their parents and siblings enjoy their presence,  as they always bring joy and happiness to surrounding people, and to their local community.  Such beings have very good karma, and so do those in contact with them.  Their appearance benefits others around them.

Finally, there are some, though  the number of such people is small, human beings whose existence on earth brings joy and happiness to a very large number of beings, and not just for a short period of time, but for thousands of years, not only for one country but for the whole world, benefiting not only the rich and the healthy, but also the poor, the abandoned, and the sick.

Which category do YOU belong to?

Democracy

Democracy in theory is substantially different from democracy in reality.  As long as government leaders and policy makers are not sincerely interested in public service, but simply care about themselves, their families, and their interest groups, and as long as the masses are not educated enough to know their rights and responsibilities as citizens in a democratic civil society, there is no true democracy in any place in the world.  Digital revolutions leading to overthrowing a dictatorial regime have rarely seemed to guarantee that the new regime is any better than the previous one.  Hence, democracy is not a static model of high-quality sociopolitical system.  Rather, it is a process of hard work from both the ruler and the ruled.

Nirvana

Both the Pali word Nibbàna [the verb is ni(r) and nibbati] and the Sanskrit Nirvàna [the verb is nir-va] refer to the state of extinction, or cessation , calmness, disappearance, liberation, peacefulness, and perfect wisdom.   At this level, there is no birth nor death.  Nirvana is the ultimate goal  for Buddhists.  That is why Nirvana is one of the three Dharma signs in Buddhism: Nirvana, Peace, and Tranquility.

Nirvana has four states.  First, Buddha Nature, which is the eternal state of Suchness, pure and bright, and unchanged.  Second, the final state in a Buddhist's life-long practice when all the five skandas and all sufferings and fetters have come to a cessation (as in the case of the Buddha's demise).  Third, the highest spiritual level which a Buddhist may attain.  At this level the practitioner is still alive, but is completely free from any suffering caused by greed, hatred, and ignorance, and by the preconceived existence of a "self," and has attained liberation and perfect wisdom.  And fourth, a state of no boundaries: Nirvana is free from any fetters set by birth-death, by attachment/desire-hatred, by discriminative preconceptions, or by dualistic notions and concepts.  Nirvana has no form, and no language can describe or express it.

Four key characteristics of Nirvana are: Permanence, Supreme Happiness, No Form/Self (hence, it is Reality or Ultimate Truth), and Supreme Peace/Tranquility.