Interesting. Dr Gaffar Peang-Meth is indeed a visionary Cambodian, or perhaps a visionary American citizen of Cambodian heritage.
Pheng On Jan 14, 10:20 am, "S. Sophan" <[email protected]> wrote: > *To Light Your Day!* > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Chantha Hem > > Good article – thanks for send it. > > I have one to share with you all…………http://www.thedashmovie.com/walkthetalk > it’s a slide that reminds you of > what the dash means – enjoy! > > Chantha Hem > > [email protected] > > www.cott.com > > ***PRIVILEGE AND CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE*** This communication and any > attachment is confidential, may be legally privileged and should only be > read by the person to whom it is addressed. If you have received this > communication in error, please notify sender by reply and delete the > communication. > > *From:* S. Sophan [mailto:[email protected]] > *Sent:* Friday, January 14, 2011 7:56 AM > *To:* Hoa Son; Pheak Kdey Son; Pheakkdey Son; Chantha Hem; C H > *Subject:* Fwd: CAMBODIA: Buddhist thought for the New Year > > Moring Sexiess; > > This is the best article to read: its* motivational, creative and > thought-provoking*. Leadership in the context of Khmer people. > > BEST > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: *Gaffar Peang-Meth* <[email protected]> > Date: Fri, Jan 14, 2011 at 5:43 AM > Subject: CAMBODIA: Buddhist thought for the New Year > To: > > FOR PUBLICATION > > AHRC-ETC-002-2011 > > January 14, 2011 > > An article by Dr. Gaffar Peang-Meth published by the Asian Human > Rights Commission > > *CAMBODIA: Buddhist thought for the New Year* > > January 14, 2011 > > As we enter the fifteenth day of the New Year 2011, I would like > begin this first article of the year for the Asian Human Rights > Commission, with the words of Lord Gautama Buddha (563 B.C.-483 B.C.): > "Everything changes, nothing remains without change". > > Change is a constant. We can expect change in our lives and in our > environment. Some changes will make us smile while others we wish > never happened. But change there will be. Facing this inevitability, > it behooves us to seek how to influence the change that we would like > to see, because "yes, we can." Doing nothing increases the likelihood > that we will not like the change that affects us. > > *"A New Soul"* > > We, humans, are creatures of habit, of reproductive thinking, of > self-piloted, fossilized responses; and yet some wonder why they don't > get different results. We are reminded, "When you do what you've > always done, you will get what you've always got." > > Yet, as many of us like to think of the New Year as new beginnings, > an opportunity for a fresh new start, so English writer Gilbert K. > Chesterton (1874-1936) wrote, with a new year "we should have a new > soul." > > Is a new soul possible if we continue patterned thoughts while the > world changes? > > *"What we think, we become"* > > Buddha teaches, "We are what we think"; "What we think, we become"; > "The mind is everything." > > If indeed "We are formed and molded by our thoughts," as Buddha says, > then what becomes of individuals who engage endlessly in negative > thoughts of others, gossiping, and throwing venomous words? What kind > of a hostile, angry world are they making? > > Buddha refers to those activities as "evil of the tongue," and > counsels their avoidance. Buddhists know it but there's the usual > disconnect between rhetoric and action. > > Buddha teaches: "If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain > follows him. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness > follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him." Buddha reminds, > what good will all the holy words you read and speak do, "if you do > not act upon them?" > > Contemporary Cambodians' struggle against oppression, in pursuit of > universally recognized individual rights and freedom, may be explained > through Buddha's precept, "We are shaped by our thoughts; we become > what we think." > > Our thoughts and behaviors are conditioned by what we learn and by > what is expected of us in a society that promotes class, status, rank, > role relationships, backed by a culture of asymmetric leader-follower, > superior-inferior, master-servant, patron-client practices. Khmer > teaching, to "korup, kaowd, klach, smoh trawng" -- respect, admire, > fear, be loyal -- has been inculcated in the Cambodian persona for > centuries. > > In a perfect world, society's teaching, our cultural heritage can > actually improve society. But our world is imperfect. It's easy to > see, if we are objective analysts, how the culture and the teaching > have reinforced the status quo of asymmetry in Cambodia and have > promoted the Leviathan's oppression. > > Thus, followers follow their particular leader -- rather than a set > of rules, high principles, and good thinking -- even if the leader > leads them toward the abyss; and those recognized as belonging to > society's lower social, political, economic strata are expected to > respect, admire, fear, and be loyal to those personalities in > positions above them. > > Creativity, criticality, innovation threaten the status quo; > deviators are nonconformists; those who deviate from the "party line" > are challengers, who eventually are denounced as traitors. > > Thus, it is easier and safer to conform. > > *Thoughts that make the world* > > Buddha says, "All that we are, arises with our thoughts. With our > thoughts, we make the world." > > Recall Pol Pot. He believed there was "no gain in keeping, no loss in > eliminating" those with "incorrect thinking" -- "incorrect" because it > did not conform to his. His solution was "tbaung chawb" -- a hoe blade > to strike at the neck of "incorrect" individuals. > > And Buddha teaches, "In a controversy, the instant we feel anger we > have already ceased striving for truth, and we have begun striving for > ourselves." Buddha tells us, "I do not believe in a fate that falls on > men however they act; but I believe in a fate that falls on them > unless they act." > > In other words, one's fate follows one's inaction. > > It's not unusual to hear from time to time some individuals assert, > not unreasonably, that one person cannot bring about change; millions > are needed. I question if such assertion is meant to excuse them for > their inaction. > > A Khmer saying goes: "Samboeurm tae peark, trokieark slab s'dok," or > "Awesome are the words, (but) the hip joints lie dead". > > *"Work of a Single Man" > * > Recall Robert F. Kennedy, mortally shot by Sirhan Sirhan at The > Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles in June 1968. He made famous a > quotation of Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw's: "Some men see > things as they are and say, 'Why'? I dream of things that never were > and say, 'Why not'?" > > Kennedy declared in a speech: "Some believe there is nothing one man > or one woman can do against the enormous array of the world's ills. > Yet many of the world's great movements, of thought and action, have > flowed from the work of a single man. A young monk began the > Protestant reformation, a young general extended an empire from > Macedonia to the borders of the earth, and a young woman reclaimed the > territory of France. It was a young Italian explorer who discovered > the New World, and the thirty-two-year-old Thomas Jefferson who > proclaimed that all men are created equal." > > The young monk was German professor of theology Martin Luther > (1483-1546). At age 34, Luther who led the Protestant Revolt, argued > that people could have a direct relationship with God. He nailed his > famous 95 theses to the door of a Catholic church in Wittenberg; he > translated the Bible from Latin so that non-Latin-speaking people the > world over can read the words of God. The Revolt unleashed the Thirty > Years War between the Protestant and Catholic leagues. > > The young general was Ghengis Khan (1162-1227), who started to unite > nomadic tribes at a young age, and when he was 44, founded the Mongol > Empire, that spread and covered 22 percent of the Earth's total land > area, stretching from Central Asia to Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, > the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East. > > The young woman was Jeanne d'Arc -- Joan of Arc (1412-1431) -- a > French peasant girl who claimed divine guidance for her to liberate > her homeland from English domination late in the Hundred Years War. > While veteran commanders were dismissive of her, she rallied France's > flagging troops against the English and lifted the Orleans siege in > only 9 days in 1429, when she was only 17, and had Charles VII crowned > King of France. She was later captured, put on trial by an > ecclesiastical court, found guilty, and was burned at the stake for > heresy in Rouen, France, in 1431, at age 19. > > And we have read about the young Italian explorer, Christopher > Columbus, who claimed he said he had first gone to sea when he was 10, > who docked in England when he was 25, landed at the Americas when he > was 41. We also studied the influential American forefather Thomas > Jefferson, principal author of the United States Declaration of > Independence, at age 32, and promoter of the ideals of republicanism > in the U.S. > > Of course, it took many people to help Luther in the Protestant > Reformation; many to help Ghengis Khan build and spread the Mongol > Empire; many to fight alongside Joan of Arc. Columbus didn't sail > alone; nor did Jefferson work on the Declaration, alone. > > As Kennedy said, "many of the world's great movements, of thought and > action, have flowed from the work of a single man." > > *New Year, New Thoughts?* > > The often-quoted words of India's pre-eminent Mahatma Gandhi > (1869-1948) say, "You must be the change you wish to see in the > world." > > He also says, "As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in > being able to remake the world . . . as in being able to remake > ourselves." > > For years, I have devoted my columns to discussing how we can "remake > ourselves" before we can remake anything else. This holiday season, as > I wandered through a store, I stumbled on a piece of wood carved with > a Chinese saying: If you want product in a year, grow grain; in 10 > years, grow trees; in 100 years, grow people. > > If Cambodians want to maintain their nation's survival, they should > be busy with growing people – starting with growing themselves. > Learning and unlearning does not yield instant results, and I have no > illusion that I will see this change in my lifetime, but my children's > children will. The time to learn and unlearn should have started years > ago. Still, it's better late than never. This New Year is a good time > start. And we should begin with Confucius' (551 B.C.-479 B.C.) > teaching: "Do not do to others that which we do not want them to do to > us." > > A "yes can do" attitude makes our tasks easier. It uplifts our > spirit, assures that we are less likely to fail. A "no can do" > attitude makes a simple task difficult, like a dark cloud hovering > over us, and assures us we will not succeed. > > There's a true story worth retelling. It's about Andrew Carnegie > (1835-1919), who migrated to America with his parents from Scotland in > 1848 and resettled in Pennsylvania's Allegheny region. At age 13, he > began his life's first job as a bobbin boy, changing spools of thread > 12 hours a day, six days a week, in a local cotton factory. He earned > $1.20 per week. > > Five years later, at 18, young Andrew took a job at the Pennsylvania > Railroad. He learned about the railroad industry and about business in > general. > > When he was in his late 30s, Carnegie founded the Carnegie Steel > Company. The company grew and became the world's largest steel > manufacturer in the 1890s -- when he was 55. Carnegie, the refugee > boy, became a businessman, an industrialist, and later, the world's > richest man, a classic rags to riches story. > > Between the ages 66 and 84, when he died, Carnegie donated most of > his money to build libraries, schools, universities in the United > States, England, and other countries. He famously said something that > inspired me: "You cannot push anyone up a ladder unless he is willing > to climb it himself." > > *You Choose* > > Like the saying, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make > him drink," you can choose to maintain your habitual reproductive > thinking and reproductive behavior with predictable results, or you > can choose productive, critical (which probes to understand, compares > to determine options, and selects which is the best) and creative > (which generates something new from nothing) thinking and behavior, to > reach your vision of the future you want. > > Not unlike people in other cultures who have their own myths, > Cambodians have theirs. Some wish for the mythical Preah Bat > Thoam-moek to emerge to lead them to a better future, and to protect > and provide them with safety. > > Yet, there are many leaders all around us, in families, at work > places, in schools, in non-governmental institutions and groups. As I > have written before, there are Cambodian theorists, catalysts, > improvisers, and stabilizers, of Linda V. Berens's model; Cambodian > peacemakers, organizers, revolutionaries, and steamrollers, of > Katharine Giacalone's model; and you can read "Primal Leadership" > (2002) and identify Cambodian visionaries, coaches, affiliates, > democrats, pacesetters, and commanders, of Daniel Goleman, Richard > Boyatzis and Annie McKee's model; amongst others. > > There doesn't seem to be a shortage of leaders -- we learned we don't > have to have a charismatic leader like Mahatma Gandhi or Martin Luther > King, Jr., to fight oppression. > > But there is this huge lack of willingness to humble ourselves to > reach out to Cambodians for a common goal of liberation, conforming to > the Khmers' "A vieach york mok thveu kang; A trang york mok thveu > kamm; A sam ro-nham york mok thveu oss dot" -- "Curved wood makes > wheel; straight wood makes spoke; twisted-crooked wood makes > firewood." > > And there is a shortage of understanding that productive and creative > thoughts will have a positive impact on our collective future. > > To end this article, a Buddhist proverb is in order: "When the > student is ready, the master appears." > > Happy New Year 2011! > > ..................... > > The views shared in this article do not necessarily reflect those of > the AHRC, and the AHRC takes no responsibility for them. > > About the Author: > > Dr. Gaffar Peang-Meth is retired from the University of Guam, where > he taught political science for 13 years. He currently lives in the > United States. He can be contacted at [email protected]. > <mailto:[email protected]> > pean <mailto:[email protected]> > > # # # > > About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional > non-governmental organisation that monitors human rights in Asia, > documents violations and advocates for justice and institutional > reform to ensure the protection and promotion of these rights. The > Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984. > > -- > > Sophan S. > Khmer-Canadian Buddhist Cultural Centre > 7011 Ogden Road SE. > Calgary, AB, T2C 1B5 > Home: 403-455-8294http://www.cambodianview.com > > "Wherever we go, wherever we remain, the results of our actions follow us." > -- Buddha > > "There's only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, > and that's your own self." ~ Aldous Huxley > > "What they must have are: inner mastery; a central, compelling purpose > rooted in moral values; a capacity to persuade; skills in working within the > system; a fast start; a strong, effective team; and a passion that inspires > others to keep the flame alive." - David Gergen, Eyewitness to Power > > "I start with the promise that the function of leadership is to produce more > leaders, not more followers" - Ralph Nader > > ***PRIVILEGE AND CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE*** This communication and any > attachment is confidential, may be legally privileged and should only be > read by the person to whom it is addressed. If you have received this > communication in error, please notify sender by reply and delete the > communication.- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Cambodia Discussion (CAMDISC) - www.cambodia.org" group. This is an unmoderated forum. Please refrain from using foul language. Thank you for your understanding. Peace among us and in Cambodia. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/camdisc Learn more - http://www.cambodia.org
