Hi Al I've communicated with you several times and I've found that you can actually be a nice and thoughtful person, and I've learnt much from you too. So what happened to you? Why are you so testy? It's especially not too exemplary for a moderator. Or is your testiness meant to encourage participation? Quite successful though, I must admit. :-)
There is a Saddam, Hitler, Stalin or terrorist in each of us. There is also a Mother Theresa in each of us. So we are either be a Mother Theresa in the making or a Saddam in the making, depending on whether or not we develop wisdom and compassion. If we continue to indulge in vengeful attitudes, we can very well become a future Saddam in a future lifetime. If we practise kindness, we can potentially become a future Mother Theresa. Judging by recent posts, it seems that there are more manifestations of Saddam than Mother Theresa. If we continue to be vengeful towards each other, you can forget about helping the Middle East now, because there will be many more future Saddams to reckon with. So it's imperative that we get rid of the Saddam in each of us now. If we can't even do a basic thing such as being kind towards fellow posters in this forum, I seriously wonder how sincere is our intent when we say we want to help the Middle East people. It's just pure hypocrisy. So the most immediate that we can do, without having to even lift a finger, not to mention travelling the distance to Middle East, is to get rid of the Saddam in each of us. If we can't even do this one simple thing, we can forget about all the empty talk of helping the Middle East. Social reform actually starts with self- reform. AL wrote> The DaLai Lama was recently here in Miami amid much > fanfare, selling his DVDs, videos, cassettes, and making various > speeches at various local Arenas and Convocation Halls. None of the > events were free, and there were no "free passes" for students of > any age. Dolly had a lot to say about World Peace, but it is > interesting to notice that his multi-millionaire ass is always far > away from where bullets and bloodshed and poverty exist. I think we should do a cost-benefit analysis before deciding on whether or not the Dalai Lama should be in the Middle East. Do you think having him there would benefit the Arabs much? Do you think the Arabs would listen to him? I seriously doubt so. In fact, for the Dalai Lama to go to Middle East and endanger his own life would be a most irresponsible thing for him to do. Given his influence and stature, and the inspiration that he is to most Buddhists, he should prolong his life to teach as many people as possible, to prevent as many future Saddams and nurture as many Mother Theresas. For the same reason, I do not think that Mother Theresa, if still alive, should be in Middle East. Moreover, if she were to be killed in Middle East, the enmity between Muslims and Christians can only become worse. A local Imam or Mullah would undoubtedly do a better job of preaching peace or pacifism than would the Dalai Lama. And even then, I do not think that they should risk their lives unnecessarily. > Where are the Zen and/or Buddhist Soup Kitchens? Where is the > Buddhist Mother Theresa who is actively in the trenches helping the > poor and the sick? Where is the social work for the benefit of > others? There are actually Buddhist groups out there doing charity work, one good example is Tzu Chi Foundation (http://www.tzuchi.org). Many buddhist groups are also doing prayers and chanting, and sending and dedicating the positive energy towards a more peaceful Middle East. Do you happen to believe in prayers and chanting? wai ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free! http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/S27xlB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Noble Eightfold Path: Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration, Right Livelihood Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZenForum/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
