Buddhism and Social Justice News: 8 – 14 October 2012

Here is a roundup of Buddhism and social justice news from 8 through 14 October 2012:Go to: Tibet • Burma • Engaged Buddhism News • Engaged Buddhism ViewsTibet

• Rare Footage Shows Extreme Measures of Tibetan Protesters - "In the remotest regions of China, inhabited by the country's Tibetan minority, an appalling uprising is under way. In the past year more than 50 monks have died after setting themselves on fire to protest against government repression."
• Tibetan Prime Minster Hopes for Dialogue - "Lobsang Sangay—the prime minister of the Central Tibetan Administration—expressed his hope for a dialogue for peace between Tibet and China in a lecture on Tuesday in the Tsai Auditorium."
• Tibet Calls for Talks Amid Fiery Protests - "Despite continuing self-immolations, the prime minister of Tibet's government-in-exile extended an olive branch to Beijing."
• Chinese Authorities Murder a Tibetan Man for Attempting Self-Immolation - "A Tibetan man has been reportedly murdered by Chinese security officials after they found out that he had attempted to set himself on fire in a protest against China’s continued occupation of Tibet."
• Buddhist Site Closely Watched - "Nepalese authorities have installed security cameras around Kathmandu’s world-famous Boudhanath Stupa, prompting fears among Tibetan refugees that they are being watched for “anti-China” activity, though officials insist the surveillance equipment has been set up only because of safety concerns."
• Tibetan Self-Immolates in Protest Against Chinese Rule - "An ethnic Tibetan man has died after setting himself on fire in a protest against Chinese rule. VOA's Tibetan service is reporting that Tamdrin Dorjee killed himself near the Tsoe monastery in northwest China's Gansu province."
• Five Monks Held in Brutal Chinese Crackdown on Tibetan Monastery - "Local sources were reported to speculate that the monastery was targeted for playing a leading role in preserving and teaching Tibetan language, culture, and Buddhism in the area. The troops were said to have searched the residences of the five monks and taken away some computers and CDs."

Burma

• Thein Sein Tipped For Nobel Peace Prize - "President Thein Sein has been tipped as a frontrunner in this year’s Nobel peace prize award, days after denying army abuses in Burma’s conflict torn Kachin state."
• Aung San Suu Kyi Eyes Burmese Presidency - "Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi declared her willingness on Monday to serve as president, and her party's intention to amend the constitution to allow her to do so."
• Burmese Monks March on Bangladeshi Consulate - "Anger over violence targeting the Buddhist community in Bangladesh is becoming an issue again in neighboring Burma. About 400 maroon-robed monks marched through the streets of Sittwe to protest in front of the Bangladeshi consulate in Burma's Rakhine state. Police officials say another 1,000 people watched."
• Burma to Lose Debt Hurdle - "In a meeting in Japan yesterday, Burma's biggest creditors - the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank - discussed plans with the host nation to waive almost $1 billion in overdue loans."
• Burmese Gov’t Troops Death Rate High: KIA - "A total of 211 government soldiers have been killed and 36 injured over the past two months during heavy fighting in the Hpakant jade mining district of western Kachin State."
• Anti-OIC Protests Spread - "Demonstrations against the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation spread to the country’s second-largest city on Friday, as thousands of Buddhist monks and laypeople in Mandalay marched to protest the group’s plans to open an office in the former capital Rangoon."

Engaged Buddhism News

• 'Most Dangerous Philosopher in the West' to Give 'Buddhism Naturalized' Talk Oct. 16 - Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek, who's been critical of Western Buddhism's tendency to treat the symptoms of late capitalism without treating their causes, is giving a lecture titled "Buddhism naturalized" at the University of Vermont on 16 October.
• Help wish Thich Nhat Hanh “Happy Continuation Day” - "The Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation, which supports Thich Nhat Hanh’s teaching and humanitarian efforts around the world, is seeking new financial supporters."
• The System Stinks: Buddhism From Personal to Political & Planetary - The amazing people at Buddhist Peace Fellowship are putting together "a 12-month dialogue and crowdsourced curriculum — hosted online via Turning Wheel Media, with options to participate by phone and in face-to-face, self-organized local study groups." Please help them do it!

Engaged Buddhism Views

• Book Excerpt: 'Righteous Republic' by Ananya Vajpeyi - In a excerpt from her book Righteous Republic, Ananya Vajpeyi discusses B. R. Ambedkar's conversion to Buddhism in protest of untouchability.
• Forever Young, Forever Invisible, Part I: The Forces of Conversion - "Hundreds of thousands of children have gone missing. They never made it out of the cradle. Or so one might come to think if one browsed the corpus of literature on Buddhism in the United States."
• Forever Young, Forever Invisible, Part II: Night-Light Buddhists - "How might we make the invisible visible? Or to put it a more straightforward way, what is it like to grow up Buddhist in America?"
• Despite Buddhist Beliefs: The World is Becoming More Peaceful - Justin Whitaker squares pre-modern Buddhist cosmology against modern statistics.
• Working with Mindfulness: An Interview with Mirabai Bush - "Mirabai Bush is the co-founder of the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society, an organization devoted to bringing contemplative practice into mainstream institutional life."
• Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi talks about Buddhist Global Relief’s “Walks to Feed the Hungry” - "Not long ago, we brought you news about Buddhist Global Relief‘s 2012 Walk to Feed the Hungry fundraising events. This is the third year for the events, which seek to raise funds for the organization’s programs that provide relief to communities around the world afflicted by chronic hunger and malnutrition."
• Let’s Not Abandon the Poor and Hungry - "For such social transformation to be possible, leaders with courage, vision, and conviction must step forth to fearlessly promote wise and compassionate policies. This above all is the crying need of our time."