February 2007 Archives

Save Darfur Fundraising Campaign

February 28, 2007

Save Darfur is having a fundraising campaign, with 10 hours to go. So I thought I would help them out by pasting their e-mail appeal here.

New Goal, 10 Hours Left

Help us raise the $88,142 we need to reach our new $300,000 goal by midnight tonight.

Your gift will help us expand our crucial efforts - click here to donate now.

Pan's Labyrinth - Review

February 24, 2007

[Faun from the movie] Pan's Labyrinth is a rich feast for the senses that should not be approached lightly. Be warned — this film is not for the weak of stomach. But unlike the Prestige, the last film I saw in the theater, this one left me melancholy and in awe rather than wanting to scrape out my stomach lining.

I hear that some geeks are upset because the movie is generally considered a fantasy but doesn't really fit that genre neatly. What of it? Director Guillermo del Toro has so seemlessly interwoven the brutal reality of the Spanish civil war with magical escapism that it is impossible to say whether the audience is supposed to take the magic as real or imagination.

Prayer in Buddhism

February 19, 2007

A friend recently passed to me a question about prayer in Buddhism. The question seemed to stem from the following passage in Bahá'u'lláh's Kitáb-i-Íqán:

The traditions established the fact that in all Dispensations the law of prayer hath constituted a fundamental element of the Revelation of all the Prophets of God—a law the form and the manner of which hath been adapted to the varying requirements of every age. (p39)

There is a common perception that prayer does not exist in Buddhism, which is one of the accepted religious "dispensations" in the Baha'i teachings. So could this passage possibly be wrong?

The Dharma of "Abha"

February 11, 2007

I began typing this message while sitting in the business office at the Berkeley (California) Buddhist Monastery. I've been meeting today [Sat Feb 10] with the three trustees elected to represent North America on the United Religions Initiative (URI) Global Council (GC) as well as with other staff and volunteers. One of those trustees is Rev. Dr. Heng Sure, the head of the monastery. Every Saturday night he gives a "Dharma talk"; I missed most of it on the way back from a wonderful Turkish dinner. Perhaps 20-30 people where in attendance in person — Chinese, Vietnamese, and Caucasian Buddhists — as well as dozens more around the world through a webcast.

The Essence of Id

February 8, 2007

I am God, I am nothing,
God is nothing.
So goes my syllogism.

I am God, I am all, 
God is all.
So goes my intuition.

Nothing dreamed, and  so
I lived, born of a time
Destined for dust,
Born of memory,
Ancestor of mountains,
A heartbeat coalescing
In rapture across the land.

Inner Being speaks:
I am all,
You are all, you are god.

The Word breathes:
I am nothingness,
You are nothing, you are of God.

Empires and He Man

February 1, 2007

So many thoughts I'd love to put down here, fun and serious... well, tonight we just have the fun and interesting. In fact, not so much "thoughts" as, well, just links to share. And these are probably far more engaging and worth your time than anything I would write anyway =).

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