Myanmar talks a farce, analysts say

From AFP - Military-run Myanmar’s latest round of talks with detained democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi were a sham aimed only at easing global pressure on the regime, analysts said yesterday. The 62-year-old Nobel peace prize winner said on Wednesday that she was “not satisfied” with the talks, following her fifth meeting with a junta official since October.

The military appointed Labor Minister Aung Kyi to be a liaison officer to coordinate contacts with Aung San Suu Kyi following the bloody suppression of pro-democracy protests in Yangon in September.

Tibetan monks escape to Dharamshala after serving twelve years sentence

From Andhra News - Two Buddhist monks, after serving twelve years rigorous imprisonment in Tibet for pasting a pro-independence poster, have escaped to Dharamshala in India.

Jampha Yeshi, 38, and his friend Lobsang Palden were accused of ‘counter-revolutionary crimes’ in the Chinese administered Tibetan Autonomous region. They alleged that the Chinese administration tortured them while serving the sentence.

Lighten Up!

Q: What happens when a Buddhist becomes totally absorbed with the computer he is working with?

Suu Kyi ‘not satisfied’ with junta talks

From The Straits Times - MYANMAR’S detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is ‘not satisfied’ with her talks with the nation’s junta, which after three months have yielded few results, her spokesman said on Wednesday.

The Nobel peace prize winner, who has been under house arrest for 12 of the last 18 years, made the statement during a rare meeting with top members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party.

Court Rejects Buddhists’ Temple

From The Hartford Courant - The state Supreme Court Wednesday unanimously rejected the legal arguments and efforts by the Cambodian Buddhist Society of Connecticut to build a temple on 10 acres they own in Newtown.

The case pitted the Newtown Planning and Zoning Commission and neighbors of the site on Boggs Hill Road against the Buddhist society, which claimed the denial of a permit for the temple violated and federal laws that bar political entities from placing a substantial burden on the exercise of religious freedom.

Thai fabric designer unveils mosquito-proof robes for monks

From AFP - A THAI fabric designer has unveiled a new line of saffron-coloured robes infused with bug repellent to keep mosquitoes from biting Buddhist monks, a company announced on Wednesday.

The robes, which have been soaked with a herbal bug repellent, will eventually be sold for export to other Buddhist countries around Asia, said Wisan Wanasaksrisakul, managing director of Thai Covenant Co Ltd, which manufactures the garments.

I have the same dream Ozzy!

As you may or may not know, one of my biggest musical inspirations has always been Ozzy Osbourne. I first heard Ozzy when I was 9 years old, that was ummm…. 23 years ago or something. His metal antics aside, frequently Ozzy has said or done something that is mind blowing. I get that overwhelming feeling each time I hear the song “Dreamer”.

Reminiscent of John Lennon’s “Imagine”, Ozzy wrote and recorded this anthem for a generation that missed out on Lennon. While Ozzy cannot replace John Lennon, he wrote a song just as comparable in my mind. I hope the song inspires you, as it does me, each and every time I hear it.

“Relax, mannnn…”

A pilot is flying three people in a private plane - a Tibetan lama, and Bill Gates (the smartest man in the world), and a hippie. Suddenly the pilot announces to his three passengers: “I have bad news for you. The plane is going to crash. We have to bail out now. Unfortunately, we have only three parachutes. And since I am a terrific pilot, and I don’t see any reason why I should die, I am taking one of them. Good luck!” And with that, he jumped out of the plane. Bill Gates said: “Since I am the smartest man in the world, and very valuable to civilization, I am also going to take a parachute and save myself.” And with that, he leapt out of the plane. The lama said to the hippie: “I have already lived a long and fruitful life and have no need to live longer. Therefore, you may take the remaining parachute.” “Relax, mannnn,” said the hippie, putting the parachute on to the lama’s back. “The smartest man in the world just strapped himself into my backpack.”

Joke from http://www.wonbuddhist.org/newsletter/Vol01_Iss4/30_buddhist_joke.html

The other side

One day a young Buddhist on his journey home, came to the banks of a wide river. Staring hopelessly at the great obstacle in front of him , he pondered for hours on just how to cross such a wide barrier. Just as he was about to give up his pursuit to continue his journey he saw a great teacher on the other side of the river. The young Buddhist yells over to the teacher “Oh wise one, can you tell me how to get to the other side of this river”?

The teacher ponders for a moment looks up and down the river and yells back “My son, you are on the other side”.

Joke from http://www.serve.com/cmtan/buddhism/Lighter/shortstories.html

China Cracks Down on Dissent Ahead of Olympics

From New York Times - When state security agents burst into his apartment on Dec. 27, Hu Jia was chatting on Skype, the Internet-based telephone system. Mr. Hu’s computer was his most potent tool. He disseminated information about human rights cases, peasant protests and other politically touchy topics even though he often lived under de facto house arrest.

Mr. Hu, 34, and his wife, Zeng Jinyan, are human rights advocates who spent much of 2006 restricted to their apartment in a complex with the unlikely name of Bo Bo Freedom City. She blogged about life under detention, while he videotaped a documentary titled “Prisoner in Freedom City.” Their surreal existence seemed to reflect an official uncertainty about how, and whether, to shut them up.

The sound of artifacts disappearing

From The LA Times - How much more of the world’s treasures do museums need?

In old lhasa, holy city of Tibet, stands the sacred Jokhang Temple. Inside Jokhang is a golden statue of Buddha, the most revered statue in Tibet. It was brought as a dowry from China in the 7th century, when a Chinese princess married a Tibetan king. The statue marks not only the wide-scale introduction of Buddhism to Tibet but a crucial union in a long history of alliances and wars between two nations.

Burma Junta Charges Leading Protesters

From Reuters - Burma’s military junta has charged 10 activists detained during last year’s fuel protests, including top dissident Min Ko Naing, and they could face up to seven years in prison, legal sources said on Tuesday.

The 10, most of whom were leaders of a 1988 student-led uprising suppressed bloodily by the army, are accused of violating the former Burma’s Printing and Publishing Act.

Malaysian Buddhists lose conversion case

From The Associated Press - Malaysia—A Malaysian court on Tuesday rejected a petition to have a dead man declared a Buddhist after he was buried as a Muslim in the latest interfaith dispute to rock this multiethnic but largely Muslim nation.
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Relatives of the late Gan Eng Gor had asked the High Court in southern Seremban state to reverse a decision by an Islamic Shariah court that declared him a Muslim. But the High Court rejected the plea, saying it had no jurisdiction in the matter, the family’s lawyer, Tan Foong Luen, told The Associated Press.

Buddhist mud fort unearthed

From The Hindu - Ancient and rare Buddhist mud fort and sculptures, besides Jain sculpture, four-faceted statue, pillar edicts and other relics of Buddhism, Jainism, Satavahana and Kakatiya dynasties were discovered on the Singaraya hillocks of Koheda mandal in Karimnagar district.

M. Radhakrishna of AP Social Welfare Residential Junior College, Koheda and Devarapu Ramesh of Zilla Parishad High School Koheda, who are writing a book on the history of ancient Singaraya Konda and the annual jatara of Koheda mandal, chanced upon the rare relics of pertaining to Buddhism and Satavahana period during their expedition to the hillocks recently.

Prince Charles to Boycott Opening Ceremony of Beijing Olympics

From CNN - Britain’s Prince Charles will not attend the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing — and a group that campaigns against China’s human rights record said Monday that the future monarch’s decision was in solidarity with its aims.

Free Tibet Campaign officials said they had written to the Prince of Wales asking him to stay away from the event, which begins on August 8.

However, it was not clear if the prince had been invited to attend — he is believed to have gone to an Olympics only once before, when his sister Princess Anne competed in Montreal in 1976.