Jailed, meth-addicted child baffles NGO and prison officials in Poipet

By Eleanor Ainge Roy and May Titthara, The Phnom Penh Post, June 16, 2009

No one knows how old Heng Pros really is, but he has caused so much trouble on the streets that police have put him in prison, to the dismay of rights workers who say a minor has been locked up.

<< Heng Pros in prison uniform at Banteay Meanchey prison. He is suspected to be under the legal age for incarceration. Photo by Eleanor AinGe Roy

HENG Pros, a prisoner at Banteay Meanchey's new provincial lockup, is 115 centimetres tall, weighs 38 kilograms and is still growing his adult teeth. His blue prison shirt reaches to his knees, enveloping his slight, boyish frame. Telltale webs of pink scars mar his young brown skin, hinting of a rough life on the streets.

On April 25, Heng Pros was arrested by Poipet police and charged with stealing a mobile phone - a charge he denies. Claiming he was 15 years old and citing a long line of misdemeanor offences, police detained him in a 4-metre-by-4-metre cell with seven other prisoners, all aged between 15 and 17 years.

"This child was noisy and always stole property around Poipet," said Prum Piseth, chief of the Penal Police in O'Chrov district, which includes Poipet. "He is the king of the robbers and drug users, and when we arrested him he told us that he was 15."

The law in Cambodia allows minors as young as 15 to be imprisoned. But children under that age must be taken to a social welfare centre for juveniles run by the Ministry of Social Affairs, of which there is one in Poipet.

Heng Pros, whose head barely grazes the belt buckles of most of the prison guards, insists that he is only 12 years old, and the rights group Licadho is backing his story, despite a frustrating lack of evidence. Read more

Evictees cry foul over homes

By Christopher Shay and Khouth Sophak Chakrya, The Phnom Penh Post, June 16, 2009

District officials deceived the HIV community of Borei Keila into thumbprinting an agreement to vacate homes, residents claim

<< Borei Keila resident Horm Oun checks out the homes at Tuol Sambo, to which she could be relocated this week. Photo by Christopher Shay

MEMBERS of the Borei Keila community, where more than 30 families with HIV-positive members are facing eviction, say they were duped by district authorities Friday into agreeing to leave their neighbourhood near Olympic Stadium in exchange for larger homes at a relocation site outside the city.

"The authorities are cheating. When we agreed to thumbprint, the authorities told us they would remove the dividers to make two houses into one house," said resident Sok Sinethe.

But Horm Oun, another Borei Keila resident, said, "Lim Seda [the deputy chief of Prampi Makara district] told us after we gave our thumbprints we cannot make two houses into one".

"I felt hopeless when I heard this," she said.

The chief officer of the district's development programme, Sok Ath, said the Borei Keila residents were mistaken.

"We did not make promises or threaten them for their thumbprints. We only agreed to take their request for larger homes to City Hall for a decision," he said, adding that they would also ask City Hall that instead of buying two tuk-tuks to ferry people into the city for work, that it give each family US$250. Read more

Crisis poses added hurdles to elimination of child labour

By Khouth Sophak Chakrya and Christopher Shay, The Phnom Penh Post, June 12, 2009

<< Two child labourers collect plastic bottles for recycling along Phnom Penh’s Street 63 this week. World Day Against Child Labour, observed today, marks the 10th anniversary of the adoption of an International Labour Organisation (ILO) convention stressing the need to end the worst forms of child labour. Members of the ILO and other groups say the crisis poses additional hurdles to achieving this goal. Photo by: Sovann Philong

OU Kunthear, 19, is one of tens of thousands of garment workers in Cambodia who have lost their jobs as factories across the Kingdom have shut down as a result of the economic crisis.

As a garment worker, Ou Kunthear would regularly send US$30 back to her family in Kampong Speu province. Since losing her factory job, she can no longer send remittances, leaving her parents too poor to pay for food.

In response, her parents have taken her younger siblings - all under the age of 15 - out of school and forced them to work washing clothes and making charcoal.

"I pity my younger siblings, because they should be learning. They should not be working over charcoal stoves or washing stations," she said.

The eighth World Day Against Child Labour, observed today, marks the 10th anniversary of the adoption of an International Labour Organisation convention stressing the need to end the worst forms of child labour.

As the global economic crisis has hit Cambodia, however, pressure has mounted on families to pull their children out of school and push them into the workforce, experts said.

According to a statement released Thursday, ChildFund Australia estimated that 40 percent of all children aged between 7 and 17 years are currently engaged in some form of child labour.

But the ILO has said that efforts from the government and donors could help transform the crisis into a catalyst for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour in Cambodia.

"The economic downturn is one of the most unexpected, hardest challenges impacting child labour. But the downturn - even though it's a threat - can be turned into an opportunity," said Joseph Menacherry, the chief technical adviser at the ILO's International Program on the Elimination of Child Labour.

When the construction sector was growing rapidly, there was a sharp increase in demand for child labour, Menacherry said. As the boom goes bust, there are fewer jobs available to children, he said. Read more

NGOs tighten belts as crisis hits

By Sebastian Strangio and Thet Sambath , The Phnom Penh Post, June 12, 2009

With donor money being reduced or shifted to projects designed to address the global financial crisis, civil society groups say they are adapting to the new economic climate.

<< Children play in the street at Phnom Penh’s Group 78, a community living under the threat of eviction. Cuts to NGO funding could make legal aid less available to evicted families. Photo by: Tracey Shelton

OBSERVERS are predicting leaner times for the country's non-government sector following the announcement by several local organisations that they will trim staff and scale back projects in response to funding shortfalls.

Although donors and NGOs disagree as to whether the main culprit is the global financial crisis, changing donor priorities or a combination of both, some have raised questions about the sustainability of a sector primarily dependent on foreign largesse.

"This is a concern - not just for NGOs, but also for other sectors," said Chhith Sam Ath, executive director of the NGO Forum on Cambodia. Read more

HIV families at Borei Keila to be evicted this week,
City Hall says

By Christopher Shay and Khouth Sophak Chakrya, The Phnom Penh Post, June 10, 2009

After years in limbo hoping they would be allowed to remain in the city centre and near theantiretroviral drugs they need, the HIV-positive community is told to prepare to move

<< One of the remaining residents at Borei Keila looks out of her house on Tuesday. Authorities confirmed Tuesday that they would be evicted this week. Photo by Christopher Shay

AFTER weeks of eviction rumours, the forced relocation of a community of families where at least one member has HIV/AIDS will take place this week, according to the Phnom Penh Deputy Governor Mann Chhoeun.

The HIV-affected families will be moved 20 kilometres away from their current neighbourhood near Olympic Stadium to the outskirts of Phnom Penh, where they will be housed in green, zinc shelters, far from the life-saving medical services they need.

"This week the authorities of Phnom Penh will move 23 HIV families from the Borei Keila community to Tuol Sambo," Mann Chhoeun said.

He added that the Ministry of Tourism has spent 20 million riels (US$4,800) to purchase two tuk-tuks for community members to travel into the city to receive medical treatment.

Right now, the Borei Keila community consists of 32 families affected by HIV.

But Mann Chhoeun said that nine of these families will receive on-site housing after they were able to provide documentation that they had been living at Borei Keila for at least five years.

"They move us to tuol sambo ... they want to keep us separate from other people"

In Borei Keila, however, families said that the government has not provided anybody with official confirmation that they will receive on-site apartments.

Community members also said they believed 11 families, not nine, would be receiving flats.

Residents despair
Seang Vy, a blind HIV-positive mother who has been informed - though not provided with documents - that she will be receive an apartment remains worried.

"I only have a little hope that I will receive a flat in Borei Keila," she said. Read more

ANZ regional economist sees negative growth for this year

By Steve Finch and Nguon Sovan, The Phnom Penh Post, June 10, 2009

Chief economist for Asia Paul Gruenwald predicts agriculture also likely to see GDP contraction in 2009 as farming officials say its too early to forecast yields

<< Agriculture will see a small GDP contraction this year, said ANZ Bank’s chief Asia economist. Photo by Tracey Shelton

ANZ Bank's chief Asia economist said Tuesday that Cambodia could expect a small contraction in GDP growth this year, which would also hit the agricultural sector, which the government has touted as an economic safety net.

Speaking Tuesday at ANZ Royal's head office in Phnom Penh, Paul Gruenwald said it remained difficult to forecast the Kingdom's economic prospects given a lack of reliable data, but he noted that the days of near double-digit GDP growth were over, at least in the short term.

"I think we can see perhaps a small negative number this year," he told the Post, endorsing recent predictions from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that foresaw a 0.5 percent GDP contraction. "But certainly the risks are on the downside until we can have more confidence that the financial crisis is abating."

Gruenwald said he was surprised at the severity of the downturn in the garment sector, which has seen exports drop more than one-third in the first quarter year-on-year on the back of falling international demand, particularly from the United States, Cambodia's main export market.

"Clothing and textiles is usually something that holds up well," he said, adding that garments are necessities and discretionary goods.

Gruenwald said that Cambodia should expect tourism to suffer a prolonged downturn given that travel was a luxury, even if Cambodia is considered a less expensive destination. Read more

Payouts disputed in Rik Reay

By Khouth Sophak Chakrya and Christopher Shay, The Phnom Penh Post, June 9, 2009

enegade game hunters Villagers ask government to resolve disagreement over number of families
to be compensated, with commune chief saying data will be available today

<< A man reads the newspaper in Rik Reay community in Phnom Penh on Monday. Photo by Christopher Shay

MEMBERS of the Rik Reay community of Phnom Penh who are being evicted to make way for a new development accused Bassac Garden City, the local developer, of undercounting the number of households to save on compensation payments.

"The company has created bad statistics about the number of families [in Rik Reay] because it wants to pay less money," said resident Pheng Polin, 28.

On Monday, 16 community members went to the Bassac commune chief's office and demanded that the government release official data about the village to settle the disagreement, according to community representative Pen Thai.

The community and the developer disagree about how many additional families in the community should receive compensation. The community representative said there are 54 families, but the company claims there are only 49, a difference that could cost the community tens of thousands of dollars. Read more

Illegal game hunters skirting the border between law and nature

By May Titthara, The Phnom Penh Post, June 9, 2009

Renegade game hunters in Battambang province say dire local conditions have forced them into the illegal wildlife trade, but most say they would give it up if they could make a safer living

<< The son of an illegal wildlife trader holds a snake in Battambang’s Koas Krala district. Photo by Heng Chhivoan

BATTAMBANG PROVINCE -- IT is well before dawn when the hunters awake and begin the 15-kilometre trip up Battambang province's Arey mountain to inspect their homemade traps.

Walking through flooded plains and muddied ledges, the hunters are all poor villagers, driven into the dangerous world of illegal game hunting by dire farming conditions and a desperate need to feed their families.

"It's a secret business," says Nioy, a 30-year-old villager who is too afraid of being arrested to give his full name.

"I must give the authorities some money to close their eyes," he says, adding that sometimes he hands gifts of wild boar meat to local police to allow him to continue the illicit trade unhindered. Read more

Buddhist Monk Faces Worldly Green-Card Matters

By Miriam Jordan, The Wall Street Journal, June 9, 2009

Mr. Jomthong, Who Says His Job Is to 'Promote Peace and Harmony,' Gets Ensnared in U.S. Immigration Bureaucracy

Pomona, California -- Monk Phra Bunphithak Jomthong entered the U.S. four years ago on a religious visa and has since devoted himself to serving a burgeoning Buddhist community in Southern California. Barefoot and clad in a saffron robe, Mr. Jomthong recently gave what amounts to the most accurate job description he has: "to share Buddhist practices and to promote peace and harmony among people."

But the U.S. government wants to deport the 47-year-old monk, after denying him permanent U.S. residency, or a green card, on the grounds that he was employed without authorization after his temporary religious visa lapsed. Now, Mr. Jomthong, a citizen of Thailand, is fighting in federal district court and immigration court for the right to remain in the country.

<< Monk Phra Bunphithak Jomthong, third from right in this photo taken in Los Angeles last month, entered the U.S. four years ago on a religious visa. Michal Czerwonka for The Wall Street Journal
At issue is the meaning of "employment." Mr. Jomthong's fate may depend on whether his attorney can convince a judge that the monk's unpaid religious services don't constitute employment. "The monk may work at his religious labors but he is not employed by the temple. He took an oath of poverty and doesn't receive wages," says Angelo Paparelli an immigration attorney with Seyfarth Shaw LLP who is representing Mr. Jomthong free of charge. Read more

Baby Chhouk gets a leg up on life

By Tracey Shelton, The Phnom Penh Post, June 8, 2009

A volunteer initiative between a wildlife NGO and a maker of mainly human prosthetics offers Phnom Tamao's baby elephant Chhouk a new foot - and a new chance at life.

<< Nick Marx of Wildlife Alliance (far left, holding elephant trunk) comforts Chhouk, a baby elephant who lost his foot, possibly from a poacher’s trap, while elephant keeper Tan and staff from the Cambodian School of Prosthetics and Orthotics attempt to fit him with a new “shoe” Friday at Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre. Photo by Tracey Shelton

PROSTHETICS students from 10 different nations travelled Friday to Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center by Forestry Administration to see Chhouk, a 4-year-old baby elephant who lost part of a leg, be fitted with a new prosthesis.

During the trip, organised by the Cambodian School of Prosthetics and Orthotics (CSPO), Cathy McConnell, who headed the prosthesis project, said it was only the second case she knew of an elephant receiving a prosthetic limb.

"We weren't sure if it would work with the limited resources we have here," McConnell said. "But the staff were keen to take on the challenge."

At first, a temporary foot using the same materials as human prosthetics with a base made from car tyre was designed for testing, McConnell said. This was fitted to replace the 12 centimetres of Chhouk's missing foot on March 28 with excellent results.

It was assumed Chhouk would need sedating during the X-ray and casting, McConnell said, but a supply of turnips and bananas was enough to keep him happy.

Thou Sambath, a key member of the design team from CSPO, said this original prosthesis needed three repairs in the two months since fitting, so the new design was made more rigid to withstand the wear and tear that comes with being an elephant's prosthetic. Read more

Former nurse, now a Buddhist nun will teach that change is inevitable

By Nancy Haught, The Oregonian, June 08, 2009

<< Ani Gilda Paldron Taylor is an Oregonian, a Tibetan Buddhis nun, a retired nurses and a survivor of breast cancer, and brain injury at at least one recession. Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian

Ani Gilda Paldron Taylor was a nurse in the 1960s, confronting death and dying on a daily basis, when she began to think about suffering. A Christian at the time, she asked her Episcopal priest to explain why suffering seemed to be inevitable.

"It's God's will," the priest said.

"That did nothing but cause frustration," says Taylor, now 74 and a survivor of breast cancer, a brain injury and at least one economic recession.

She's also now a Tibetan Buddhist nun who thinks her own experience with suffering might help others who are struggling in today's economy.

Taylor, a native Oregonian and the leader of Portland Sakya Center, is offering a free series of conversations about fear and suffering. It's time, she says, to set aside the tongue-twisting jargon of Tibetan Buddhism and offer help to people, whether they have spiritual backgrounds or not, who are jobless, living on reduced incomes or facing the loss of their homes.

"If you were working in an emergency room," she says, "and someone came in with a headache and someone else was bleeding out of their belly, who would you attend to first?

"There's a lot of bleeding going on right now. Let's try to control the hemorrhaging."

In an interview, Taylor talked about suffering and the Buddha's insights. Her responses have been edited for clarity and brevity.

Isn't it a leap from the end-of-life suffering you saw as a nurse to the end-of-a-job suffering so many people feel now? Read more

Honouring Kampuchea Krom

By Holly Pham and Vong Sokheng, The Phnom Penh Post, June 5, 2009

Monks, Khmer Krom activists gather to urge the government not to halt future demonstrations

<< AFP

AROUND 600 monks, opposition politicians and rights activists gathered in Phnom Penh on Thursday to mark the loss of Cambodia's southern territories - Kampuchea Krom - to Vietnam.

The rally at Wat Botum park celebrating the 60th anniversary of the handover of Kampuchea Krom also aimed to draw attention to the human rights abuses still reportedly suffered by southern Vietnam's ethnic Khmer residents, known locally as Khmer Krom.

"We are in sorrow. This date represents all our suffering since 1949, when we lost our land to Vietnam. Our rally today sends a message to the young generation of Khmer Krom to remember our sufferings and sacrifices," said Young Sin, chief of the Khmer Krom monks from Phnom Penh's Sammaki Raingsei pagoda.

Historical watershed
The annual gathering marks June 4, 1949, when an ailing French colonial administration transferred Cambodia's old Mekong Delta territories to its colony of Cochinchina, a precursor to today's Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

It is a loss that is still keenly felt by many Cambodians, compounded by reports of human rights violations against Khmer Krom monks.

A Human Rights Watch report released in January decried the "severe and often shrouded methods" used by the Vietnamese government to stifle demands for religious and cultural freedom. Read more

Three Poisons/Three Evil Roots

In Flower Adornment Sutra, it says that

For all bad Karma created in the past,
Based upon beginningless greed, hatred and delusion,
And born of body, mouth and mind,
I now repent and reform.

It is the well known Repentance Verse in Buddhism. In Buddhism, the distinction between what is good and what is bad is simple. It hinges on the intention or motivation from which an action originates. The deed which is associated with greed/attachment, hatred/ill will, delusion/stupidity is evil.

Greed, hatred and delusion are called the Three Poisons or Three Evil Roots, which are the primary source of all evil deed. It is the Three Poisons that create all bad Karma, resulting all kinds of suffering in accordance with the Principle of Cause and Effect. The Three Poisons are also obstacles to the attainment of good Karma. Thus we have to abandon them by all means.

Greed

Greed is the cause of many offences. The five greedy desires are: wealth, sex, fame, eating and sleeping.

Greedy desire is endless and therefore can never be satisfied. The lesser the greedy desire, the happier and more satisfied we are. The best prescription to deal with greed is in giving away.

Anger

Hatred to people is another cause of evil deed. We should not lose temper and get angry when we are unhappy. We should be calm and patient.

Delusion

It means the persistent belief in something false and distorted. We have to observe and think in an objective and rational manner, so as to avoid prejudice and misunderstanding. For instance, if we don't believe in cause and effect, and then commit offence frequently and heavily, we will suffer from the retribution. Learn more Buddhism

Closure looms for dump families

By Mom Khunthear and Christopher Shay, The Phnom Penh Post, June 4, 2009

Hundreds will be left without work next month with the closing of Stung Meanchey dump, an icon of poverty that has become an unlikely safety net for some of the city's poorest inhabitants.

<< A woman combs through garbage at Stung Meanchey Municipal Dump on Monday, searching for recyclable goods that she can resell. Over the years, the dump has received a great deal of international attention, but next month, the government will close the infamous site, taking away the main source of income for hundreds of families. Photo by Christopher Shay

SPRINTING towards an oncoming garbage truck, Phorn Sreymean hoped to beat a dozen other scavengers in fishing out the bottles and cans embedded in the garbage raining down from behind the vehicle.

For her efforts, repeated each time a truck trundle over the mounds of refuse msaking up Stung Meanchey dump, Phorn Sreymean said she might make 5,000 riels (US$1.25) in a day.

The 14-year-old said she began working the dump five years ago, after her parents divorced and she was forced to join her mother to help support the rest of her family.

Stung Meanchey dump has been written about, photographed and filmed, and through these stories, the hundreds of dirt-poor families who work the 40 hectares of steaming trash have become international icons of Third World poverty.

"The fact that so many foreigners want to come here shows that it has become a symbol of poor people in Cambodia," said Cindy Godden, an anthropology PhD candidate at the Australian National University who has been doing her fieldwork at the dump for a year. Read more

Wildlife busts down across region: ASEAN watchdog

By Christopher Shay And Sam Rith, The Phnom Penh Post, June 3, 2009

Experts says animal seizures have decreased in Cambodia since 2005 but that illegal wildlife trade remains active.

<< An illegal hunter of wildlife displays a turtle - which will be cooked and eaten - in Battambang province last week. Photo by Heng Chivoan

IN the first three months of 2009, some 5,410 animal seizures and 38 arrests were made by wildlife law enforcement agencies across Southeast Asia - a sharp decline compared with last year, according to recently released statistics from ASEAN's Wildlife Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN).

With 24,175 animal rescues in the region in the second half of 2008, the number of wildlife enforcement actions in Southeast Asia lags far behind last year's pace.

In Cambodia, the number of seizures has been steadily dropping since 2005 when there were 6,294 seizures, compared with 2,933 in 2008, according to a Forestry Administration document obtained by the Post.

But Nick Marx, a Wildlife Alliance adviser to the Forestry Administration's Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team (WRRT), says there could be multiple reasons for the apparent drop in Cambodia's wildlife trade, saying the WRRT and increased fines could have deterred many people from entering into the wildlife trade, or that traders had gotten one step ahead of enforcement and were not being caught.

Finally, he said, "There could just be less wildlife around."

ASEAN-WEN, which claims to be the largest wildlife law enforcement network in the world, highlighted one major animal trafficking bust in Cambodia when the WRRT rescued 150 live animals from traders in Pursat province on March 30 after a high-speed car chase. Read more

Coaxing a Khmer Temple From the Jungle’s Embrace

By ROBERT TURNBULL, The New York Times, June 2, 2009

To reach the temple of Banteay Chhmar from the Cambodian town of Sisophon in the dry season involves a two-hour drive through parched forests coated with brown dust. The temple is breathtaking. Bas-reliefs depict naval battles between ancient Khmers and their Cham rivals in remarkable detail. Giant sandstone faces loom over thick vegetation strewn with collapsed lintels and broken naga heads.

More Arts NewsVisitors to Angkor Wat will have seen something like this. But the glory of Banteay Chhmar is its raw, unadulterated state. Sitting 100 kilometers, or about 60 miles, northwest of Siem Reap, this is Cambodia’s “forgotten” temple. You will probably find yourself alone, able to rekindle the experience of colonial French explorers as they first stumbled upon Khmer antiquity.

But the same isolation was not lost on those who vandalized Banteay Chhmar in the late 1990s. The Cambodian military not only mined the complex but made off with large sections of bas-relief destined for private homes in Bangkok and beyond. Local guides like Seng Samnang remembers the oxcarts loaded with artifacts being wheeled out of the temple. “There was nothing we could do,” he said. “If we had challenged these men we would have been killed.”

About 115 pieces, a truckload, have been recovered and they are sitting in the National Museum in Phnom Penh. Of the rest — there is allegedly much more — reports of Buddha heads appearing in Thai generals’ gardens have done little to ease longstanding tensions over Thai claims to Cambodia’s patrimony, an issue that resurfaced last year, and remains unresolved, at the northern temple of Preah Vihear. Read more

Ban imposed on commercial fishing to replenish stocks

By Sam Rith, The Phnom Penh Post, June 2, 2009

Officials say they are optimistic that the ban in selected provinces will improve Kingdom’s fish stocks next year

<< Women collect fish in Kampot province earlier this year. Photo by Tracey Shelton

THE Fisheries Administration has announced the end of the fishing season and a four-month ban on commercial fishing to allow fish stocks time to replenish.

"The closure takes place because from [Monday] onwards, about 90 percent of fish start breeding," Nao Thouk, director of the Fisheries Administration, told the Post on Monday.

"We will end large-scale fishing and we will only allow small-scale subsistence fishing so that families are able to eat."

The fishing season ends Monday for provinces located north of Chaktomuk river, including Kampong Chhnang, Pursat, Battambang, Preah Vihear, Kratie and Stung Treng. Provinces located south of Chaktomuk, including Kandal and Takeo, will have to stop commercial fishing from July 1.

Tat El, chief of Koh Dach commune in Kandal province, said in his commune fishing has already been scaled back due to a lack of fish this season.

However, Nao Thouk anticipated an increase in fish yield - possibly up to 400,000 tonnes, from 370,000 last year - when fishing restarted after the ban, saying that he had observed early fish breeding and an apparent increase in the number of baby fish. He attributed the increase to a zealous crackdown on illegal fishing last year, which saw his administration take action against some 1,000 instances of abuse. Read more

Thai military encroaching on hill at Preah Vihear, RCAF warns

By Thet Sambath, The Phnom Penh Post, June 2, 2009

Military commanders say they are monitoring construction of a new road on Thai side of border

<< A Cambodian soldier carries a rocket-propelled grenade at Preah Vihear earlier this year. Photo by Tracey shelton

THE commander of an RCAF brigade at Preah Vihear said Monday that they were closely monitoring a road construction project undertaken by Thailand that they said was approaching Phnom Trop, located two kilometres from the temple.

"The Thais are constructing a road in their territory about one kilometre from Phnom Trop, where our soldiers are standing," said Yim Phim, commander of RCAF Brigade 8.

"They see that we have a road near here, so they are building one on their land. They can build it in their territory but not in the disputed area," he added.

He said he first noticed that the road was approaching Phnom Trop last week.

Also Monday, Sao Socheat, deputy commander of RCAF Military Region 4, said 15 Thai soldiers had established a base last month at Chak Chreng, known as Hill 600, a disputed knoll located near Phnom Trop. Read more

Children's Day at Prey Sar

By May Titthara, The Phnom Penh Post, June 2, 2009

<< A young inmate at Phnom Penh’s Prey Sar prison looks at a prison guard during International Children’s Day celebrations. Photo by Heng Chivoan

THE RIGHTS group Licadho distributed gifts to 408 minor inmates and 17 children incarcerated with their mothers at Phnom Penh's Prey Sar prison Monday to mark International Children's Day.

The inmates were entertained by the popular comedians Tuy and To during an event held Monday morning. Of the 408 incarcerated minors, most of whom are males, 369 were arrested on robbery charges, said prison Chief Chat Sineang.

"It is a shame we have to celebrate International Children's Day in prison, but we must," he said. "These prisoners have done harm to their society, and they must pay for what they have done."

Tham Keng, chief of the Interior Ministry's Prison Correctional Department, said he hoped the presentation of gifts to the inmates would allow them to feel like valued members of society.

"By bringing gifts to the prisoners, Licadho is proving that they do not discrimate against anyone, and that they believe the prisoners can change their bad attitudes," he said. Read more

The True Buddhist

By Venerable Shangpa Rinpoche

When we call ourselves Buddhists, we mean we are the followers of Buddha. The most important aspect of being a Buddhist is that we should follow the path of Buddha and always reflect as Buddhists. Buddha is a Sanskrit word. It refers to one who has awakened from the ignorant mind and who has accomplished knowledge and wisdom. The Tibetan word for this is 'Sangye'.

Every Buddhist has ambitions and goals to attain the state of Buddhahood. The attainment of Buddhahood is the achievement and development of one's potential to liberate all sentient beings from suffering.

Those who have not yet achieved Buddhahood, have conflicting emotions such as desire, hatred, jealousy, ignorance and countless types of defilements. All these defilements come from ignorance; that is, being without wisdom and not knowing the true nature of mind. This ignorance causes all kinds of complications and confusion in the samsara. But ignorance is not permanent. It can be removed by applying wisdom. By turning ignorance to wisdom, one will be able to understand the truth. This will gradually lead one to the state of the enlightenment. Therefore, as a Buddhist, the most important goal is to develop wisdom and understand the basic teachings of Buddha dharma, such as the Four Noble Truths, the Eight Fold Paths; and then the practice of Bodhisattva paths and Vajrayana methods. An understanding of these will help us to develop wisdom.

Besides absorbing the knowledge of dharma,application of the teachings is also important. Whatever knowledge of the dharma we have absorbed into our mind streams, we must apply. For example, we all know that we should be generous. The knowledge of this is insufficient. We must implement that knowledge and practise generosity at all times. Read more

Government inaction worsens climate threat

By Eleanor Ainge Roy, The Phnom Penh Post, June 1, 2009

<< Around 85 percent of Cambodians depend on the land, putting them very much in harm’s way when it comes to climate change. Photo by Tracey Shelton

THE threat of climate change is gradually making its way to the top of policymakers agenda's worldwide, but in Cambodia such action is proving slower to catch on.

But with 85 percent of Cambodia's 14 million people living in rural areas and largely relying on the land for their survival, according to United Nations estimates, the issue could soon be a critical one.

What will these people do if the land begins to revolt?
GERES, an environmental NGO, released a climate change awareness report in March that showed that 85 percent of Cambodian people are already beginning to see the effects of climate change.

The report cited "unprecedented occurrences of pests, unseasonable rains, droughts and floods" in many areas of Cambodia and said these exacerbated the difficulties faced by people reliant on agricultural systems for their livelihood.

"People speak of the increase in temperature, the irregularity of the wet and dry season, and the growing prevalence of floods and droughts," said Nop Polin, national climate change awareness coordinator in GERES's Climate Change Unit.

"However, one of the main challenges in the battle against climate change in Cambodia is that most people don't know why these changes are occurring. They don't understand the term climate change or any of the causes - such as smoke and deforestation. Without understanding the scientific links they don't care about things like cutting down the forest." Read more

Talking about a green future

By Bennett Murray, The Phnom Penh Post, June 1, 2009

Cambodia’s second annual Environment Week features a range of events designed to encourage Cambodians to look after the world around them

<< Environment week aims to encourage local Cambodians to look after the environment, not trash it like this river in Siem Reap. Photo by Tracey Shelton

French NGO GERES, the French embassy and the French development agency AFD are coordinating Cambodia's second Environment Week, which runs today to Sunday.

The week is to feature film screenings at the Institute of Technology, the French Cultural Centre (CCF), Meta House, a display at Wat Phnom and a three-day Eco-Festival at the park east of Wat Botum running from Friday to Tuesday.

"The idea is to have one week in the year where we talk about the environment," explained GERES Deputy Director Charlotte Nivollet. "Whoever has something to say about the environment, whoever has experience on how to address the main environmental issues that the human being is facing nowadays."

In particular, the coordinators hope to raise environmental awareness amongst the Cambodian population and to promote discussion amongst the country's main environmental actors.

The events at Wat Botum park are the centerpiece of Environment Week. Lasting for three days, it will feature a tent complete with the displays of NGOs that deal with the environment.

"They can show the general public what they are doing," explained Nivollet. "People can walk around and have a look and discuss with the organisers." Read more

Dying coconut crops in B'bang have farmers, officials fearing the worst

By Thet Sambath, The Phnom Penh Post, June 1, 2009

Concern spreads over possible coconut beetle infestation, which devastated crops in 2004.

<< Healthy coconuts on sale in Phnom Penh this week. Farmers in Battambang say a disease is afflicting their palm trees and threatening their livelihoods, as officials say they are investigating the possibility of a spreading coconut beetle infestation. Photo by Tracey Shelton

Samlot District, Battambang -- FARMERS across Battambang province say their livelihoods are in peril as thousands of coconut trees and their valuable crop perish and fears spread of a possible infestation of Brontispa longissima - or coconut beetles - which wrought havoc on Cambodia's coconut crops five years ago, provincial officials say.

Khiev Moung has been a coconut farmer for years, but when the leaves of his palms turned red and began to die a few weeks ago, he lost confidence in his trade - the only source of income for his family.

"I don't know why my coconut trees are dying. They are dead, and I have noticed that many coconut trees in other places are also dead, and others look like they're going to die," he said at his farm in Samlot district, Battambang province. Read more

Boy chosen by Dalai Lama turns back on Buddhist order

By guardian.co.uk, May 31, 2009

As a toddler, he was put on a throne and worshipped as by monks who treated him like a god. But the boy chosen by the Dalai Lama as a reincarnation of a spiritual leader has caused consternation – and some embarrassment – for Tibetan Buddhists by turning his back on the order that had such high hopes for him.

Instead of leading a monastic life, Osel Hita Torres now sports baggy trousers and long hair, and is more likely to quote Jimi Hendrix than Buddha.

Yesterday he bemoaned the misery of a youth deprived of television, football and girls. Movies were also forbidden – except for a sanctioned screening of The Golden Child starring Eddie Murphy, about a kidnapped child lama with magical powers. "I never felt like that boy," he said.

He is now studying film in Madrid and has denounced the Buddhist order that elevated him to guru status. "They took me away from my family and stuck me in a medieval situation in which I suffered a great deal," said Torres, 24, describing how he was whisked from obscurity in Granada to a monastery in southern India. "It was like living a lie," he told the Spanish newspaper El Mundo. Despite his rebelliousness, he is still known as Lama Tenzin Osel Rinpoche and revered by the Buddhist community. A prayer for his "long life" still adorns the website of the Foundation to Preserve the Mahayana Tradition, which has 130 centres around the world. The website features a biography of the renegade guru that gushes about his peaceful, meditative countenance as a baby. In Tibetan Buddhism, a lama is one of a lineage of reincarnated spiritual leaders, the most famous of which is the Dalai Lama. Read more

The Monk's Rules

By Bhikkhu Ariyesako

<< Buddhist monks enroute to their respective temples at end of memorial service. Courtesy: The Khmer Kampuchea Krom Community

I. Beginner's Questions

Q. 1: Why does a monk wear the robe? Why do some wear brown robes and others wear yellowish brown?

A: The Lord Buddha gave this reflection about why a monk wears a robe:

Properly considering the robe, I use it: simply to ward off cold, to ward off heat, to ward off the touch of flies, mosquitoes, simply for the purpose of covering the parts of the body which cause shame.

In the Lord Buddha's time, 2,500 years ago, clothing was made without complex machinery. (Although simple 'sewing-frames' are mentioned in the texts, which the monks would have used at robe-making - Kathina - time.) So the pattern of the robe is very simple and designed so that it can be made up out of patches of cloth, for discarded rags were often used after washing and dyeing. This 'yellow robe' is considered the banner of the arahant and emblem of Buddhism. For the ordinary Theravadin bhikkhu it is a privilege to be able to wear this robe, continuing the tradition and practising to be worthy of it.

There are rules as to the robes' size, colour, how they are sewn, type of cloth used, etc., and how bhikkhus can acquire them.

The colour of the robes depends on the dye used. Until very recently, this would have been natural vegetable dye found in the jungle from roots or trees. (In NE Thailand, for example, we used the heartwood of the jack-fruit tree.) Nowadays chemical dyes are more used and sometimes give that more vivid orange colour that one sees in Bangkok. The colour white is used by Buddhist devotees to show their commitment to keeping the Precepts — usually the Eight Precepts — on Observance Days. (White robes are also worn by the anagarika, or postulant before he becomes a monk.)

Q. 2: Why do monks eat from the bowl? Can lay people serve soup to monks in normal bowls? Can they serve fruits or desserts on plates instead of putting them in the monk's bowl?

A: The Lord Buddha gave this reflection about finding and eating food:

Properly considering alms food, I use it: not playfully, nor for intoxication, nor for putting on weight, nor for beautification; but simply for the survival and continuance of this body, for ending its afflictions, for the support of the chaste life, (thinking) I will destroy old feelings (of hunger) and not create new feelings (from overeating). Thus I will maintain myself, be blameless, and live in comfort. Read more

Iodised salt push for public health

By Mom Kunthear, The Phnom Penh Post, May 29, 2009

Cambodia’s health ministry is advertising the benefits of iodised salt in a campaign aimed at overcoming diseases and slow development from a shortage of the essential micronutrient

<< A worker sifts salt at a salt plant on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. Photo by Heng Chivoan

Iodine deficiency disorders can seriously damage your health. In addition to stunting growth and causing deafness, dumbness and goitre, iodine deficiency can significantly lower the average national IQ in areas where it is widespread.

In April, the Ministry of Health revived a campaign raising awareness of the importance of a sufficient iodised salt intake, especially among children and pregnant women.

The campaign includes educational television and radio broadcasts, as well as school visits by specially trained health instructors, according to Dr Ou Kevanna, manager of the National Nutrition Council, which was established in 1998 by the health ministry.

"Many Cambodian people believe that their children are not brave or clever because of race or other problems, but they actually lack iodine in their bodies," he said.

"Children who lack iodine cannot learn or remember as well as those with sufficient levels. They are also more inactive."

Short supply
Iodine is a micronutrient naturally present in the food supplies of many regions. However, in countries like Cambodia, where natural levels of iodine in the soil are low, and it is therefore not absorbed easily by vegetables, iodine added to salt provides the small but essential amount needed by humans. Read more

VINAYA: The Ordination Ceremony of a Monk

By Ajahn Brahmavamso

The ordination ceremony (UPASAMPADA) which makes a Theravada Buddhist monk is one of the 'legal acts of the Sangha' contained in the Buddhist Monastic Rule (VINAYA). The ceremony must be performed according to this Rule or else the ordination in invalid and the candidate not a monk. The strict requirement to follow the Rule has meant that the ceremony has remained unchanged since the time of the Lord Buddha. It is still conducted in Pali, the language of original Buddhism, to give the rite a solemn formality which reflects the importance of the occasion. However, as the ceremony is always public, with relatives and friends and other well-wishers in attendance, the Pali phrases are often translated and the ceremony explained.

According to the Rule, some may not become monks: one who has murdered an Arahant (Enlightened Being), one who has murdered his mother or father, one who has injured the Lord Buddha, one who has raped a Buddhist nun, one who has caused a schism in the Sangha, one who has pretended to be a monk without ordination, one who has left the Sangha and ordained in another religion, one who as a monk committed any of the four 'disrobing offences' (see below), one who is a Eunuch, Hermaphrodite or who is an animal ...

... Once a Naga, a powerful serpent who can take the form of a human being, was mistakenly ordained as a monk. Shortly after, when asleep in his hut, the naga returned to the shape of a huge snake. The monk who shared the hut was somewhat alarmed when he woke up to see a great snake sleeping next to him! The Lord Buddha summoned the naga and told him he may not remain as a monk, at which the utterly disconsolate snake began to weep. The snake was given the Five Precepts as the means to attaining a human existence in his next life when he can then be a monk. Then out of compassion for the sad snake, the Lord Buddha said that from then on all candidates for the monkhood be called 'Naga' as a consolation. They are still called 'Naga' to this day. Read more

Newborn panda is a girl

The Straits Times, May 28, 2009

<< In this photo released by Chiang Mai Zoo, a new born baby panda sits in the hands of a veterinarian as it is cared for at Chiang Mai zoo in Chiang Mai

<< province, northern Thailand Wednesday, May 27, 2009. AP Photo

BANGKOK - A ONE-day-old panda cub born in Thailand after years of artificial insemination and efforts to get its celibate parents to mate is a healthy female with a loud cry, a zoo official said on Thursday.
Giant panda Lin Hui surprised workers at Chiang Mai zoo by giving birth to the as-yet-unnamed 200-gram (eight-ounce) cub on Wednesday and director Thanapath Pongpamorn said mother and baby were doing well.

The expert had advised round-the-clock care for the pair, he said, and visitors had been banned for at least a month in order to avoid excessive noise while the cub is developing.

The zoo will hold a public competition to name her, Mr Thanapath said. Read more

Boeung Kak residents set to go public with grievances

By May Titthara, The Phnom Penh Post, May 28, 2009

Angered that their complaints are being ignored by officials, those losing their homes say they hope to force a response.

<< A Boeung Kak resident protesting the loss of her home earlier this year. Photo by Heng Chivoan

FRUSTRATED by the lack of government response, Boeung Kak Lake residents are set to hold a press conference today explaining to the public why the land deal between the Municipality of Phnom Penh and a local developer should be terminated, they said.

"We have complained to the National Assembly, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Land Management to revoke a lease agreement between Phnom Penh and Shukaku Inc, signed in 2007," said Be Pharom, a Boeung Kak resident.

Noun Thun, another lakeside resident, said that after filing complaints at four ministries, he has heard nothing from the government, but he has received threats.

"Yesterday, I got an anonymous letter. They wrote that if we did not agree to move, they would arrest us and put us in jail from one year to five years, and fine each of us 5 million riels (US$1,250). But I don't care; they just want to threaten us," he said.

In February 2007, the municipality signed a 99-year-lease with local developer Shukaku Inc, whose director is Cambodian People's Party Senator Lau Meng Khin. Read more

Ministers confront Myanmar

By Sebastian Strangio and Vong Sokheng, The Phnom Penh Post, May 28, 2009

ASEAN leaders say treatment of Suu Kyi hurting bloc's image.

<< Protesters call for release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi at the Myanmar embassy Wednesday in Phnom Penh. Photo by Sebastian Strangio

SOUTHEAST Asian ministers Wednesday called out Myanmar over its treatment of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a senior regional minister said at the start of a meeting of ASEAN and EU foreign ministers at Chaktomuk Conference Hall.

The confrontation came as activists made fresh demands for the release of the democracy icon, whose trial for violating the conditions of her house arrest has sparked international outrage.

"The discussion in the room back there was that [the issue of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners]... affects ASEAN's image and ASEAN's collective interests," said Surin Pitsuwan, secretary general of the 10-member group.

"Yesterday, they issued a joint statement referring to the issue - I don't think it will be left at that tomorrow," he added, referring to a statement issued Tuesday in Hanoi by Asian and European Union (EU) ministers.

Meanwhile, students, civil society activists and Myanmar expatriates protested Wednesday morning in front of the Myanmar embassy in Phnom Penh, urging EU and ASEAN ministers to pressure the junta over the Nobel laureate. Read more

Buddha's Nagas

Source: http://www.khandro.net

According to the Vinaya or Buddhist Monastic Rule, an animal cannot become a monk. At one time, a Naga was so desirous of entering the Order that he assumed human form in order to be ordained.

"Shortly after, when asleep in his hut, the naga returned to the shape of a huge snake. The monk who shared the hut was somewhat alarmed when he woke up to see a great snake sleeping next to him! The Lord Buddha summoned the naga and told him he may not remain as a monk, at which the utterly disconsolate snake began to weep. The snake was given the Five Precepts as the means to attaining a human existence in his next life when he can then be a monk. Then out of compassion for the sad snake, the Lord Buddha said that from then on all candidates for the monkhood be called 'Naga' as a consolation. They are still called 'Naga' to this day." Learn more

Roh’s Funeral to Be Imbued With Buddhism

By Kwon Mee-yoo, The Korea Times, May 27, 2009

<< Ven. Ji Kwan, the executive director of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, writes on a banner for the funeral service of the late former President Roh Moo-hyun, at the Jogye Temple, central Seoul, Wednesday. The temple said it will make some 2,000 banners for monks and citizens who want to pay their respects to Roh. /Yonhap

The last words President Roh Moo-hyun left in a note saved on his computer were: ``Life and death are both just one piece of nature. It's all fate.'' He is also thought to have visited a Buddhist temple near his home before he threw himself off a cliff last Saturday.

These last traces of his life indicate that Roh, though christened at a Catholic church, was close to Buddhism. As such, his funeral is to be imbued with some Buddhist rites, with support and condolences from those from within the religion.

He was christened Justus in 1986, but he often stated that he does not have a particular religion. However, he was apparently close to Buddhism given his wish for cremation.

According to aides to Roh, the late Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan asked Roh whether he believed in God or not during the presidential campaign and Roh answered ``I believe vaguely.'' Kim again asked why he did not appear to believe absolutely and Roh answered that he was ``wandering,'' indicating that he was not a believer in any particular religion.

Roh's aides stated that though the late President was knowledgeable in various religions, he did not favor a particular one. Read more

Dalai Lama Offers $100K To FIU Religion Department

The Associated Press, May 27, 2009

<< His Holiness, The Dalai Lama. AP Photo

(AP) The Dalai Lama has offered $100,000 to help an imperiled religion department at a Florida university after receiving an e-mailed plea for a letter of support from a longtime acquaintance on the faculty.

"He responded with this astounding, astounding offer," said Nathan Katz, a professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Florida International University. "I fell off my chair."

The department is one of three at FIU slated to close in response to a $27 million cut in state funding to the public university.

Katz said he e-mailed the Dalai Lama's office last month after finding out the program was in jeopardy and asked for a letter of support.

FIU received a letter from the Dalai Lama's office this week offering $100,000 and his help fundraising to prevent the planned closure of the department.

"In our deeply interconnected world, understanding and appreciation of diversity of religions is critical in fostering a culture of genuine tolerance and peaceful coexistence," read the letter from a secretary to the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan Buddhist leader who has spent 50 years in exile after a failed uprising to oust Chinese rulers. "If the department were to close down, it will not be easy to rebuild."

Katz said he first met the Dalai Lama in 1973 as a student studying the Tibetan language in India, and was later a researcher at his library. The Dalai Lama even wrote the introduction to Katz's first book. Read more

'Buddhism Now Third Religion in Netherlands'

NIS & News Bulletin, May 27, 2009

AMSTERDAM - Buddhism has expanded in the Netherlands into the third religion after Christianity and Islam. The growth is so strong that as well as Islamisation, it is possible to speak of Buddhisation of the Netherlands, argue researchers Marcel Poorthuis and Theo Salemink in De Volkskrant.

The Netherlands now has an estimated 250,000 Buddhists or people who feel strongly attracted by this religion, largely white Dutch. In 1998, there were only 16,000 including just 4,000 Dutch natives and 12,000 Buddhist immigrants from Asia.

While Islamisation is often seen as a threat by politicians like Geert Wilders, and associated with violence and collectivism, Buddhism in the Netherlands is seen as an individualist faith that stands for non-violence and pacifism. But this idea is doubtful, concludes De Volkskrant.

Poorthuis, a lecturer in inter-religious dialogue, considers it "odd" that "nobody is concerned" about the strong growth of Buddhism. "Buddhism apparently has a much better image than Islam."

Poorthuis and Salemink, both University of Tilburg scholars, argue in a just published book, Lotus in the Low Countries, that Buddhism also has other sides. "For example, the Kamikaze pilots in the Second World War had Buddhist teachers. And the Dalai Lama can also not avoid conflict due to Tibet's difficult political situation, even though the Netherlands wants to make him into an unworldly pacifist," says Poorthuis. Read more

EU-ASEAN summit to kick off

By Sebastian Strangio and Vong Sokheng, The Phnom Penh Post, May 27, 2009

Observers call on delegates to address trial of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

<< Homeless people, like those pictured, have been targetted by authorities ahead of today's ASEAN-EU summit. Photo by Sovann Philong

DELEGATIONS from 40 European Union and ASEAN countries are to gather in Phnom Penh today for the 17th EU-ASEAN Ministerial Meeting, an event likely to be overshadowed by the ongoing trial of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar.

According to a statement released Tuesday by the delegation for the European Commission in Cambodia, the meeting will focus on strengthening inter-regional cooperation on security, economic and social issues. It will also include discussions of other issues of "mutual concern" such as the global economic crisis, food and energy security, counterterrorism, transnational crime and the environment.

"The EU and ASEAN are two successful examples of regional integration in the world," Benita Ferrero-Waldner, European commissioner for external relations, was quoted as saying.

"I look forward to an ambitious agenda for joint action being agreed at the Ministerial Meeting."

Looming over the summit, however, is the fate of pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi, whose trial in Myanmar has now entered its second week. She faces up to five years in jail on charges of violating her house arrest after an incident in which an American man swam to her lakeside house in central Yangon. Read more

Evictees to remain in capital

By Christopher Shay and Khouth Sophak Chakrya , The Phnom Penh Post, May 26, 2009

City Hall has agreed to the Group 34 community's request to be moved to Dangkor district, saying it has adopted a new policy to deal with displaced people.

<< Two residents of Group 34 walk in the rain in Phnom Penh on Monday after having heard they will be staying in Phnom Penh. Photo by Christopher Shay

NEARLY all of the 258 families from a Phnom Penh slum displaced by fire earlier this year will be allowed to remain in the capital rather than face relocation to a site some 50 kilometres from their homes, community residents and municipal officials said after a deal was struck with City Hall.

The agreement is being touted by city officials as a "participatory approach" to the development that critics say is encouraging mass evictions.

"The people need to join the government in the city's development. It is a participatory approach," Mann Chhoeun, the deputy governor of Phnom Penh said on Sunday.

"I joined many workshops in the international community where they championed just such a development strategy."

The families, from Group 34 near Sovanna Market, have agreed in principle to the plan, which will see 238 of them move to a site in Phnom Penh's Dangkor district, community representatives said Monday.

But as part of the deal, families will need to pay a small fee of between 10,000 riels (US$2.50) and 20,000 riels to the municipality - a requirement that has some grumbling. Read more

Govt responds angrily to reports of planned Preah Vihear replica

By Cheang Sokha, The Phnom Penh Post, May 26, 2009

Thai media say a copy of the famed temple is on the horizon, while Cambodian officials threaten to complain to UNESCO.

<< Cambodian soldiers at the Preah Vihear temple complex earlier this month. Photo by Tracey Shelton

CAMBODIAN officials have reacted strongly to Thai media reports that the country plans to build a replica of Preah Vihear temple along the border, saying it could violate international law.

Chuch Phoeun, secretary of state at the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, said that Preah Vihear's status as a UNESCO World Heritage site prohibited the construction of any building surrounding the temple site.

"It is impossible to replicate the temple without permission from the country that owns it," said Chuch Phoeun. "This is an intentional attempt by the Thais to stir up Cambodia because they are jealous of [us]." Chuch Phoeun added that if Bangkok violates the law, Cambodia will report it to UNESCO.

Thai media on Monday reported that Thailand planned to build a copy of the disputed 11th-century temple as a tourist attraction, and that local authorities had been ordered to undertake a feasibility study before the project begins.

"It is impossible to replicate the temple without permission from [the govt]"

The rumoured Thai plans are the latest shot fired in a border dispute that has been simmering since UNESCO listed Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site in July last year. Read more

Tourists concerned over Angor Wat lights

By Khouth Sophak Chakrya, The Phnom Penh Post, May 25, 2009

Tourists have voiced concern about an ongoing light installation project at Angkor Wat temple that they argue could alter the ancient complex's appearance and cause considerable structural damage.

The Sou Ching Co, which sponsors "Night Lighting" tours of Angkor Wat, began inserting lights into the walls of the temple late last year as part of an effort to illuminate the entire complex.

The company had previously placed lights on the ground, but these were often trampled by tourists, said owner Var Chhouda, who added that the company had spent US$12 million on lighting since 2006.

Bun Narith, director general of the Apsara Authority, which manages the temple, said those who had complained about the light installation believed that the company had been drilling holes into the walls of the temple and placing lights in them. On the contrary, he said, the holes were already there.

Effort to dispel concerns
Bun Narith said he had been receiving complaints from tourists for months. He said he convened a press conference on Saturday during which 16 journalists were allowed to inspect the lighting project.

He said the Apsara Authority and UNESCO would meet June 2-3 to "evaluate the impact of using light at night at the temple site". Read more

Thai instability blamed for delays in oil talks

By Ros Dina, The Phnom Penh Post, May 25, 2009

Negotiations on overlapping areas in Gulf of Thailand stalled by political unrest, says CNPA, after Chevron's call for resolution.

<< Drill rods for oil exploration to be used by Chevron in the Gulf of Thailand sit on the quayside at Sihanoukville Port in this file photo. Following calls by the US oil giant for a resolution to offshore demarcation disagreements, the government in Phnom Penh said Thai instability was to blame for the impasse. Photo by Kay Kimsong

THE Cambodian oil authority said at the end of last week that Thailand's recent political instability had delayed negotiations between the two countries over the vast disputed offshore area in the Gulf of Thailand that potentially holds marketable oil reserves.

Te Duong Dara, director general of the Cambodian National Petroleum Authority (CNPA), said that Thailand's recent turmoil and change of personnel in government meant that a clear policy on the issue had not been established in Bangkok, adding that Cambodia would have to wait until its neighbour's political situation improved before readdressing demarcation of the disputed 27,000-square-kilometre offshore area.

"Specific work teams are needed for negotiations, but they are not in place yet. For us, there are no changes, but Thailand has political instability. They do not have a work team leader or technology team leader yet, so we have to wait until the political turmoil subsides."

Thai embassy First Secretary Kamrob Palawatwichai declined to comment on Sunday.

An oil industry specialist working for a Thai company who declined to be identified said Sunday that delays in the process were partly due to political instability, meaning that policy and personnel on the issue had yet to be decided in Bangkok, but added there were additional factors.

He said that low oil prices meant that the incentives for new exploration were not currently there, while uncertainty of deposits in the disputed area was likely another factor - if the area was known to hold large deposits, undoubtedly the process of resolving the issue would speed up, he added. Read more

The Buddha is not a God. He is a Great Human Being

Based on "The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived - The Supreme Buddha"
By Ven. Weragoda Sarada Maha Thero

Those who do not know the Buddha properly, consider Him a God. The Buddha never esteemed such unnecessary glory, praise or honour. Nor did He expect such things.

" O Bhikkhus, gains, offerings, glory, praise are all harsh and fierce. They are a danger preventing the achievement of the highest bliss of liberation. "

The Buddha appeared among men solely to make people see their ignorance, lack of awareness, wrong views, fallacies, and wrong actions. Such a great man will never expect limitless deference, praise or honour from the people.

One day, the Buddha walked along the road from the city of Ukkattha to the city of Setavya. A Brahmin named Drona, travelling along the same road after the Buddha, saw His footprints. He looked at them and thought, " These can never be the footprints of a human being. " The Buddha stepped aside from the road and sat under a tree. Brahmin Drona walked up to the Buddha, whose demeanour was exceedingly calm and serene, and questioned Him thus:

Brahmin : " Are you a God? "

The Buddha : " Brahmin, I am not a God. "

Brahmin : " Are you a Gandhabba ( divine musician )? "

The Buddha : " Brahmin, I am not a Gandhabba. "

Brahmin : " Are you a Yakkha? "

The Buddha : " Brahmin, I am not a Yakkha. "

Brahmin : " Are you a human being? "

The Buddha : " Brahmin, I am not a human being, either. "

Brahmin : " When I ask you whether you are a God, you say " No, I am not a God. " When I ask you whether you are a Gandhabba, a Yakkha or a human being, you say " No. " If that were so, who are you? "

The Buddha : " O Brahmin, if I am a god, I must have those sense-desires. But, I have eradicated sense-desires fully. Therefore, I am not a God. If I am a Gandhabba, I must have sense-desires. But I have eradicated those fully. Therefore, I am not a Gandhabba.

O Brahmin, if I am a Yakkha, I must have the sense-desires that a Yakkha should have. But, I eradicated all that fully. Therefore, I am not a Yakkha, either. O Brahmin, if I am an ordinary human being, I must have the sense-desires of ordinary men. But, I have totally eradicated those. Therefore, I am not a human being like other human beings. Learn more Buddhism

UN body readies statement

By Sebastian Strangio and Vong Sokheng, The Phnom Penh Post, May 22, 2009

A forthcoming series of recommendations by a UN rights body is unlikely to flatter the government, but civil society groups hope it does not fall on deaf ears.

<< The forced eviction of Phnom Penh's Dey Krahorm community in January. Evictions and land issues were the keynote of the May 11-12 UN committee review. Photo by Heng Chivoan

THE UN's Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights (UNCESCR) is set to release its concluding observations following its review of Cambodia's rights situation in Geneva last week.

While the recommendations, expected today, are unlikely to be flattering - committee members at the May 11-12 hearing grilled the government for its lack of progress - rights groups hope the government will take them on board.

"I hope that the government will take these concluding comments seriously and make reforms to improve the situation of economic, social and cultural rights in Cambodia," said Kek Galabru, president of local rights group Licadho.

The UNCESCR monitors member states' adherence to the International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), which Cambodia ratified in 1992. But the country's first report to the body, due in 1994, was only received at the end of December.

"The government of Cambodia has ratified this international covenant," Kek Galabru said.

"Ratification means you agree to take this covenant and include everything in national law.... It is time now. It has been 17 years. There is no excuse."

Other observers predicted the UN's recommendations would include a mention of the government's decision to send their ambassador to the UN, Sun Suon, rather than a specialised delegation.

"[T]he person they sent could not answer a single question. I think that is going to get a mention by the observation," said Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights. Read more

Doors close on Suu Kyi trial

By AFP May 22, 2009

Observers barred again after one day of access to courtroom.

<< Protesters from the rights group Amnesty International gather outside the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong on Thursday. The group attempted to deliver a letter, which was not accepted, to ask for justice for the people of Myanmar. Photo by AFP

YANGON - Myanmar again barred diplomats and journalists from the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi Thursday, as international pressure mounted on the military junta to drop the case against the pro-democracy icon.

The regime had unexpectedly opened up the hearing at the notorious Insein prison for just one day on Wednesday, in an apparent concession to global criticism of its treatment of the Nobel Peace Prize winner.

But it clamped down again Thursday, despite a warning from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over the "outrageous" charges against the 63-year-old and a pledge by UN chief Ban Ki-moon to visit the country.

"Only for one day were diplomats and press allowed," a Myanmar official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

About 30 members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party, including the country's former longest-serving political prisoner, Win Tin, kept up a vigil outside the prison as the trial resumed Thursday, witnesses said.

Aung San Suu Kyi faces up to five years in jail if convicted of charges of breaching her house arrest, which stem from an incident earlier this month when an American man, John Yettaw, swam to her lakeside house.

A smiling, healthy-looking Aung San Suu Kyi had thanked diplomats for coming to the trial on Wednesday and said she hoped to meet them again in "better days".

Authorities allowed one diplomat from each of the 30 foreign embassies in Yangon to attend the proceedings on Wednesday along with 10 journalists from local and foreign organisations.

Aung San Suu Kyi later met envoys from Thailand, Singapore and Russia, expressing hope that "it was not too late for something good to come out of this unfortunate incident", a Singapore government statement said.

State television showed footage of her talking animatedly to the diplomats and said Aung San Suu Kyi had told the envoys she was in "good health and convenient accommodation has been provided". Read more

GOODWILL

Source: kammatthana.com

For one whose release of awareness through good will is cultivated... eleven benefits can be
expected. Which eleven?

One sleeps easily,
wakes easily,
dreams no evil dreams.

One is dear to human beings,
dear to non-human beings.
The devas protect one.
Neither fire, poison, nor weapons can touch one.
One's mind gains concentration quickly.
One's complexion is bright.
One dies unconfused and -- if penetrating no higher --
is headed for the Brahma worlds.

These are the eleven benefits that can be expected for one
whose release of awareness through good will is cultivated,
developed, pursued, given a means of transport, given a grounding,
steadied, consolidated, and well-undertaken."

~Angutara Nikaya XI.16

As a mother would risk her life
to protect her child,
her only child,
even so should one cultivate a limitless heart
with regard to all beings.
With good will for the entire cosmos,
cultivate a limitless heart:
Above,
below,
all around,
unobstructed,
without hostility or hate.
Whether standing, walking, sitting, or lying down,
as long as one is alert,
one should be resolved on this mindfulness.
This is called a sublime abiding here & now.
~Sn I.8: Karaniya Metta Sutta Learn more Buddhism

'Ghost' dollars offered for Pol Pot's shoes: report

AFP, May 21, 2009

<< Maoist Khmer Rouge movement leader Pol Pot. AFP

PHNOM PENH (AFP) — A Cambodian photographer's attempt to sell the sandals of late Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot has yielded only one bid -- 790,000 fake dollars offered in protest at the sale, a report said.

Nhem En, who photographed inmates at the regime's main torture centre and also snapped pictures at official regime ceremonies, announced last month he was selling the footwear along with two cameras.

The shoes belonging to Pol Pot, who died in 1998, were made of car tyre, while the two cameras were manufactured in Germany and Japan.

But "bidder" Pok Leak Reasey told English-language Phnom Penh Post newspaper that he was offering 790,000 fake dollar bills traditionally used to make offerings to spirits of the dead.

"And the reason why I have offered the money in ghost notes is because I want to say that all material remaining from the regime is worth nothing," he said, according to the paper.

Ghost money is used during funeral rites in many parts of Asia.

Up to two million people died of starvation, execution, overwork or torture as the Khmer Rouge, which ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, dismantled society in a bid to forge a communist utopia.
Read more

Suu Kyi allowed to speak out

By AFP AND BLOOMBERG, The Phnom Penh Post, May 21, 2009

Democracy icon unexpectedly addresses diplomats at trial

<< Myanmar Buddhist monks pray Wednesday during a demonstration in front of the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok Wednesday. AFP

YANGON - Myanmar opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi was unexpectedly allowed to speak to diplomats at her internationally condemned trial Wednesday and expressed hope for "better days" in the future.

She smiled and looked healthy as she thanked envoys for coming to Insein prison in her first public comments since the ruling junta charged her last week with breaching her house arrest, an AFP reporter inside the court said.

"Thank you very much for coming and for your support," the 63-year-old, wearing pink Burmese traditional dress, said inside the courtroom at the end of the third day of the trial.

"I can't meet you one by one, but I hope to meet you all in better days," she added.

Aung San Suu Kyi then went for a meeting with the ambassadors of Singapore and Russia and a senior diplomat from Thailand at the so-called "guest house" inside the prison compound where she is being held.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner told the envoys that she was "well and being well treated" in prison, the Singaporean government said.

She also said that she "did not wish to use the intrusion into her home as a way to get at the Myanmar authorities" and expressed hope for "national reconciliation if all parties so wished".
Read more

‘Professional squatters' a myth: housing advocates

By Christopher Shay and Neth Pheaktra, The Phnom Penh Post, May 21, 2009

Rights groups say accusations obscuring legitimate legal claims.

<< A family sleeps in a makeshift shelter in Group 78, where residents face a pending eviction order from City Hall. Photo by Tracey Shelton

HOUSING rights advocates have dismissed recent comments made by national and municipal government officials that evictees at the centre of land disputes are often "professional squatters" who move from slum to slum and use NGOs to demand compensation from developers.

Phnom Penh Deputy Governor Mann Chhoeun told the Post earlier this week that many squatters are not legitimate residents of the neighbourhoods they claim to live in.

"There are some professional squatters in Phnom Penh, and these squatters get compensation ... and then return to grab other land in order to seek other compensation," he said Tuesday.

Last month, Foreign Minister Hor Namhong told an audience in Lowell, Massachusetts, that "the squatters always demand money. When they get the money, they go build another hut to live in, then demand money again. They are professional squatters", according to media reports.

But local rights groups say the officials' comments deflect attention from the bigger issue: ensuring fair compensation for those with legal claims. Read more

Staged killings stir victims' emotions on Day of Anger

By Khouth Sophak Chakrya, The Phnom Penh Post, May 21, 2009

Hundreds gather to watch staged dramatisations of Khmer Rouge crimes at Choeung Ek for Day of Anger remembrance ceremony.

<< At Choeung Ek on Wednesday, Chum Choy, 69, recalls witnessing her husband's death at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. Photo by Tracey Shelton

ABOUT 1,000 people gathered at Choeung Ek killing fields Wednesday morning to watch performers stage re-enactments of Khmer Rouge crimes as part of the national Day of Anger commemoration.

Students from the Royal University of Fine Arts acted out torture and killing scenes as part of a traditional annual ceremony to commemorate those who died under the Khmer Rouge regime.

"This is to remind the world to make sure this kind of regime never happens again and that those perpetrators must be brought to justice," Phnom Penh Governor Kep Chuktema said in a speech during the ceremony.

The performance was watched by survivors of the regime as well as about 200 Buddhist monks who attended the service.

Clad in black and wearing kramas, the actors dramatised scenes of torture, starvation, forced labour and killing, stirring emotions in many of the victims.

"No family who survived the Pol Pot era made it through without the loss of a family member," Chim Kim, 71, a villager who had travelled from her home in Dangkor district to attend the ceremony, told the Post.

"When my husband was taken away, they told me that he would just be re-educated," Chim Kim said, referring to the regime's policy of indoctrination.

"But the fact is that they killed him and accused him of being a Lon Nol commander," she said, adding that four of her children were also arrested and detained at a prison camp. Read more

Ten Unwholesome Actions

Dhamma Talk by Ajahn Suchart (Abhijato Bhikkhu)
Translated by Chantaporn Gomutputra, Edited by June Gibb

The Buddha teaches that we all have our kamma, intentional acts that result in a favorable or unfavorable outcome, as our possession. Whatever we do we are the recipients. Through his enlightenment he could see that our joy and sorrow are the consequences of our actions done through our body, speech and thought. If we do good, wholesome and meritorious kamma, happiness and prosperity, would follow. On the other hand if we do bad, unwholesome, and demeritorious kamma, sorrow and deprivation would follow. Knowing we all desire happiness and detest pain he therefore exhorts us to do good and avoid doing evil because good kamma generates joy and peace, while doing evil creates stress and pain for both ourselves and others.

If we cannot do good, at least we should abstain from doing bad kamma. Our mind may not be cool, but at least it’s not on fire. Unwholesome actions can be committed in three ways, through body, speech and mind that would result in sorrow and pain.

The ten unwholesome actions consist of three actions committed through the body - killing, stealing and committing adultery; four actions by way of speech - lying, foul mouthing, inciting hatred, and frivolous talk; and three actions by way of thought are greed, anger and delusion.

We should refrain from these ten unwholesome actions because they would only hurt others and ourselves, like killing for example. To lose our lives is excruciatingly painful because we all value life very dearly, whether we are human or the tiniest animal. All living creatures large or small are the same in this regard. If we don’t want to be killed then we shouldn’t kill others. We should also abstain from stealing because it hurts the people we steal from, and also from committing adultery, which causes us to worry about getting caught and punished. Read more

1st textbook on KRouge

The Straits Times, May 20, 2009

Cambodia unveils first textbook on bloody past

<< Cambodia officially unveiled its first textbook about the murderous Khmer Rouge regime, with officials handing out thousands of copies to students and teachers. --PHOTO: AFP

ANG SNUOL (Cambodia) - CAMBODIA on Wednesday officially unveiled its first textbook about the murderous Khmer Rouge regime, with officials handing out thousands of copies to students and teachers.
More than 1,000 pupils joined their teachers for a ceremony at Hun Sen Ang Snuol High School, a few miles from the UN-backed court set up to try top Khmer Rouge leaders who ruled the country in the late 1970s.

'You will all understand the size of the hurt and cruelty that happened in the regime,' said deputy minister of education Tun Sa Im in a speech. 'Before, some young people and even some foreigners did not believe that the genocidal event happened in Cambodia.'

The hardline regime killed up to 2 million people during its 1975-9 rule, and enslaved the Cambodian population in vast collective farms in an attempt to forge a communist utopia.

Very little has been taught up to now about the Khmer Rouge, largely because the topic is sensitive among political groups and other high-profile people who were once involved with the genocidal movement.

'I know some things about the Khmer Rouge from my parents. They told me the regime was very cruel. But I don't know deeply about the regime,' said 18-year-old student Voeun Makara.
Read more

'Day of Anger' in Cambodia

The Straits Times, May 20, 2009

<< Cambodian students (left) take part in a performance to mark the annual 'Day of Anger' at the Choeung Ek killing fields memorial near Phnom Penh. Thousands of people gathered to commemorate the millions of people who died from starvation, overwork or execution during the 1975-79 rule of the Khmer Rouge. -- PHOTO: AFP

CHOEUNG EK (Cambodia) - CAMBODIANS marked the annual 'Day of Anger' Wednesday to remember victims of the Khmer Rouge terror as the regime's top torturer was tried by a UN-backed genocide tribunal.
About 2,000 Cambodians, including hundreds of Buddhist monks, gathered at Choeung Ek, a former Khmer Rouge 'killing field' dotted with mass graves about nine miles (15km) south of Phnom Penh.

Some 40 students re-enacted the torture and executions inflicted by the ultra-communists under whose mid-1970s rule about 1.7 million people perished.

Performers wore black uniforms, the standard attire of the Maoist-inspired movement. Some acted as executioners, swinging bamboo sticks at the heads of victims whose arms were bound behind their backs.

The performance was staged just yards away from a memorial filled with victims' skulls and mass graves where thousands of the executed were buried.

Relatives of the victims expressed hope that some of the surviving Khmer Rouge leaders would finally be punished by the ongoing tribunal.

Now being tried is Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, who commanded the notorious S-21 prison in Phnom Penh from where as many as 16,000 men, women and children are believed to have been tortured before being sent to Choeung Ek for execution. Read more

Internalize beliefs, don't just talk

Guampdn.com, May 20, 2009

Senior researcher Lao Mong Hay, of the Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission, wrote "Khmer Rouge Trial: Time for soul searching," published several months ago in UPI Online. It's a thought-provoking piece, valuable for people of all faiths.

As the Khmer Rouge trials proceed, Mong Hay suggested "the need for the Cambodian people themselves ... to do some soul searching."

Theravada Buddhism, a state religion under the kingdom, the republic, the Khmer Rouge and today's autocracy, is based on three founding concepts: the "dharma" -- Buddha's teachings on right actions and beliefs; the "karma" -- a person's present and future life as determined by his or her own deeds and misdeeds, the sum total of his acts and omissions in all his incarnations past and present; and the "sangha" -- the ascetic community within which a person can improve karma (and become a superior being).

Buddhists who seek enlightenment practice compassion, which is the root of Buddha's dharma teachings. Compassion, kindness, tolerance and forgiveness are the essence of Buddhism.

Cambodia has more than 4,000 monasteries and more than 50,000 monks. Up to 95 percent of the population are Therevada Buddhist.

Mong Hay asked, if "the overwhelming majority of Cambodian people were Buddhist" before the Khmer Rouge's rise to power, "how could these Buddhists among the Khmer Rouge help kill some 1.7 million of their fellow countrymen" from 1975-1979? Read more

Officials refuse Rik Reay demands

By Khouth Sophak Chakrya And Christopher Shay, The Phnom Penh Post, May 20, 2009

One meeting is cancelled, while a second fails to provide solution to ongoing land dispute.

<< A girl plays in the sand pumped under her family home by Bassac Garden City on Tuesday in the Rik Reay community in Phnom Penh. Photo by Sovann Philong

AFTER one aborted meeting and another unsuccessful one, residents of the Rik Reay community remain no closer to resolving conflicts with local developer Bassac Garden City.

In January, the government told the community's 219 families to vacate the site to make way for a new development and has offered them two compensation options: US$10,000 and a house in Dangkor district, or on-site housing.

About three quarters of the community agreed to the government's terms, but 54 families are still holding out for more money, residents say.

The Tonle Bassac commune chief, Khan Rith, said he invited the 14 families from Rik Reay who are demanding between US$35,000 and US$150,000 for their houses to a meeting on Tuesday morning.

"But they brought their lawyer," Khan Rith said, "It shows they don't have confidence in the authorities."

He added: "They made the meeting room chaotic and noisy, so I cancelled the meeting," he said.
Read more

Former child soldier's demining efforts finally gain recognition

By Tracey Shelton, The Phnom Penh Post, May 20, 2009

<< A member of the CSHD demining team uses a metal detector to scan for land mines, in sharp contrast to the way Akira (inset) used to locate mines with no equipment other than a stick or knife. Photo by Tracey Shelton

Anlong Veng -- As the sun rises between the trees, Akira, president of the Cambodian Self Help Demining (CSHD) team, begins his morning by setting a stick of TNT next to a land mine.

The mine lies within a 4-hectare minefield his team is clearing in Anlong Veng.

Local military, police and authorities are notified of the impending explosion. As the rest of the team stop work to take cover, Akira, wiping sweat from under his thick protective clothing, helmet and face shield, counts down. A boom rings out, the ground shakes and debris flies into the air as the land mine is destroyed.

"Before, it would only take me a minute to defuse and remove a mine," Akira says, referring to his former gung-ho method of clearing mines with nothing but a stick and a knife. "I would collect the detonators in my pocket and make a fire at the end of the day to burn explosives from the mines I collected.... When I cleared the old way, I could wear a sarong and sandals. But now we must follow NGO procedures."

For more than 10 years, Akira was famous throughout Cambodia for his controversial demining methods. Although opposed by government authorities and other demining groups for not following international safety standards, Akira, a former child soldier with the Khmer Rouge, became a local hero, clearing the countryside of more than 50,000 mines, many of which he had once laid.
Read more

Asian leaders condemn Burma trial

BBC News, May 19, 2009

Undercover BBC correspondent: 'If I was to openly talk to anybody about politics, I and they would be arrested within a couple of minutes'

South East Asian leaders have expressed "grave concern" in their first official response to the trial of Burma's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

A statement by Asean - a 10-nation grouping that includes Burma - called for proper medical care for Ms Suu Kyi.

It warned the "honour and credibility" of Burma's government were at stake.

The 63-year-old, whose health is frail, is facing a second day on trial at Rangoon's Insein prison, charged with breaking the terms of her house arrest.

As a member of Asean, Burma "has the responsibility to protect and promote human rights", said the statement issued by Thailand, which currently chairs the bloc.

"With the eyes of the international community on Myanmar (Burma) at present, the honour and the credibility of the government are at stake," it added.

The BBC's Jonathan Head in Bangkok says the statement is unusually strong for Asean, which has a tradition of not criticising the internal affairs of its members.

But he says that as Asean has discovered to its great embarrassment since admitting Burma as a member 12 years ago, its voice carries little weight with the military rulers. Read more

Lake residents protest over money

By Ros Dina, The Phnom Penh Post, May 19, 2009

Boeung Kak evictees ask government to halt filling of lake until compensation is agreed upon.

<< Boeung Kak resident Soy Kolab, 53, talks with reporters Monday outside the Court of Appeal. Photo by Heng Chivoan

MORE than 30 residents from Boeung Kak lake protested Monday, handing official letters of complaint to the National Assembly and the ministries of interior and land management, pleading with them to intervene in the filling of the lake until a fair compensation package could be worked out with those who would lose their homes.

In August, Shukaku Inc, a development company, began pumping sand into the lake, slowly filling the popular tourist site. Since then, hundreds of families have been forced from their homes.

Soy Kolab, a representative of the lake community, said that Cambodia's ministries and lawmakers were their last chance for help, but that Cambodian law was on their side.

"Cambodia has laws to protect its people," she said. "I want them to delay pumping sand into the lake and to negotiate suitable compensation for us. I am not against the government's development plan, but any development in which the poor have to be evicted without proper compensation will only benefit powerful people,"

A lawyer representing the community, Choung Choungy, said only a small number of the 4,252 families living at Boeung Kak have agreed to the municipality's compensation offer of US$8,000 cash, or replacement housing on the outskirts of Phnom Penh with $500 cash. He said the residents did not want to be relocated far from their children's schools and their livelihoods. Read more

Misunderstanding Buddhism

By Barbara O'Brien, About.com

Common Things People Believe About Buddhism That Aren't True

Buddhists want to get enlightened so they can be blissed out all the time. And they believe in reincarnation, and if something bad happens to you it's because of something you did in a past life. And Buddhists have to be vegetarians. Everybody knows that. Unfortunately, much of what "everybody knows" about Buddhism isn't true.

What follows is a kind of Un-FAQ that lists common but mistaken ideas many people in the West have about Buddhism. If you can think of any more, please add them through the "Readers Respond" link at the end of this article, or discuss them in the Buddhism forum.

1. Buddhism Teaches That Nothing Exists
I've read many diatribes against the Buddhist teaching that nothing exists. If nothing exists, the writers ask, who is it that imagines something does exist?

However, Buddhism does not teach that nothing exists. It challenges our understanding of how things exist. It teaches that beings and phenomena have no intrinsic existence. But Buddhism does not teach there is no existence at all.

The "nothing exists" folklore mostly comes from a misunderstanding of the teaching of anatta and its Mahayana extension, shunyata. But these are not doctrines of non-existence. Rather, they teach that we understand existence in a limited, one-sided way.

2. Buddhism Teaches We're All One
Everyone's heard the joke about what the Buddhist monk said to a hot dog vendor -- "Make me one with everything." Doesn't Buddhism teach we are one with everything?

In the Maha-nidana Sutta, the Buddha taught that it was incorrect to say that the self is finite, but it is also incorrect to say that the self is infinite. In this sutra, the Buddha taught us not to hold on to views about whether the self is this or that. We fall into the idea that we individuals are component parts of a One Thing, or that our individual self is false an only an infinite self-that-is-everything is true. Understanding the self requires going beyond concepts and ideas. Read more

Abuse of child 'witches' on rise, aid group says

By Faith Karimi, CNN, May 18, 2009

<< Children branded as witches protest on February 26, 2009, in the southern Nigerian city of Eket.

(CNN) -- Christian Eshiett was a rambunctious pre-teen who spent a lot of time cavorting with his friends in southern Nigeria. He would skip school and run away from home for days, frustrating his grandfather, who oversaw the boy's care.

"I beat him severely with canes until they broke, yet he never shed a tear," said Eshiett Nelson Eshiett, 76. "One day, I took a broom to hit him and he started crying. Then I knew he was possessed by demons. ... Nigerian witches are terrified of brooms."

From that day two years ago, Christian, now 14, was branded a witch. The abuse intensified.

"They would take my clothes off, tie me up and beat me," he told CNN in a telephone interview.

The teen is one of the so-called witch children in Eket, a city in oil-rich Akwa Ibom state of Nigeria.

They are blamed for causing illness, death and destruction, prompting some communities to put them through harrowing punishments to "cleanse" them of their supposed magical powers.

"Children accused of witchcraft are often incarcerated in churches for weeks on end and beaten, starved and tortured in order to extract a confession," said Gary Foxcroft, program director of Stepping Stones Nigeria, a nonprofit that helps alleged witch children in the region.

Many of those targeted have traits that make them stand out, including learning disabilities, stubbornness and ailments such as epilepsy, he added.

The issue of "child witches" is soaring in Nigeria and other parts of the world, Foxcroft said.
Read more

Municipal Court to rule on Group 78 injunction request

By Chrann Chamroeun, The Phnom Penh Post, May 18, 2009

<< A coconut vendor prepares for business in Phnom Penh's Group 78 neighbourhood. Photo by Heng Chivoan

Phnom Penh Municipal Court is expected to rule today on an injunction request filed by residents of Group 78 in response to a City Hall eviction order that gave residents until May 5 to vacate their strip of land along the Tonle Bassac river.

Yin Savath, one of three lawyers representing the community, said that approving the injunction would have little negative impact but could provide extra time to find a satisfactory solution to the dispute.

"I hope the court will decide to issue an order temporarily maintaining the area as it is," he said.

But Yin Savath added that if the court ruled against the community, lawyers would consider taking their appeal to a higher court.

"If the court rejects the people's complaint, we have the legal right to appeal because we have credible evidence."

Group 78 community representative Lim Sambo said he hoped the court would approve the residents' call for an injunction and halt work at the site. Read more

Rice industry group eyes $600,000 dryer

By Chun Sophal, The Phnom Penh Post, May 18, 2009

Cambodian Rice Millers Association says it will import the Kingdom's third drying machine to help boost rice industry.

<< A farmer dries rice on National Highway 2 in Takeo province in this file photo. Photo by Tracey Shelton

The Cambodian Rice Millers Association (CRMA) plans to bring a US$600,000 paddy-drying machine to Takeo province early next year in order to boost rice exports, the president of the association said.

Phou Puy, CRMA president, told the Post Sunday that the drying machine, which is able to dry 300 tonnes of unmilled rice per day, would be imported from Thailand.

"We hope that Cambodia will have greater potential to export quality rice to international markets in 2010 because we are going to have these drying machines," Phou Puy said.

According to Phou Puy, there are currently two paddy-drying machines in Cambodia.

The CRMA owns one in Battambang, which began operations earlier this year and services Pursat, Banteay Meanchey, Siem Reap and Kampong Thom provinces. The other, located in Prey Veng province, does not belong the organisation.

"At present we have a rice-drying machine worth nearly $7 million which is able to dry 30 tonnes of rice per hour in Battambang province," said Phou Puy.

"We will be able to produce 20,000 tonnes of rice to export per month with the operation of these two rice-drying machines," he added.

Phou Puy said that the 318 members of the association would share the cost to import the second machine, and that it would be used to dry paddy in five provinces in the southern part of the Kingdom. Read more

How Sand Dunes Grow Huge

By Harvey Leifert, Natural History Magazine, May 17, 2009

<< Giant dunes in Grand Erg Oriental, Algeria. Credit: Bruno Andreotti

Anyone who has seen giant sand dunes, the tall ones stretching many hundreds, even thousands, of feet across the desert floor, has surely wondered how they get to be so big. Scientists, too, have deliberated the question for years.

The sandy behemoths form in China, the Sahara, Namibia, and Iran, among other desert areas, and they come in ridge, star, or crescent shapes.

Bruno Andreotti and Philippe Claudin of the Laboratory of the Physics and Mechanics of Heterogeneous Media in Paris and colleagues now have some answers. The team studied giant-dune fields on-site, analyzed aerial and satellite photos and meteorological data, and ran aerodynamic models to investigate dune growth.

No matter the shape, giant dunes grow by the amalgamation of smaller dunes, the researchers discovered. Their ultimate size depends upon the average thickness of the lowest layer of the atmosphere, which starts at Earth's surface and within which heat recirculates. The thickness of this convective layer varies from several hundred yards near the ocean to more than a mile above inland deserts, owing to annual variations in ground temperature. Read more

Buddhist temple set on fire in Ontario

UPI.com, May 17, 2009

SCARBOROUGH, Ontario -- A fire at a Buddhist temple in Canada may have been set Saturday morning by someone angry at the defeat of the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, the monks said.

The blaze near an emergency exit to the temple in Scarborough was reported around 4:30 a.m., fire officials said. James Gillespie, a fire investigator, said that two bottles found in the area were being tested to determine whether they held an accelerant.

The monk, Nalaka, told The Toronto Star that he and the other monks at the temple have received threats in recent days as the Sri Lankan Army cornered the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. In Sri Lanka, Tamils are a Hindu minority in a Buddhist-majority country.

"Every single Sinhalese person is Toronto is calling each other right now," a member of the temple told the Star. "It's very alarming." Read more

Himalayan Communities Better Placed To Preserve Buddhism: Dalai Lama

By Phurbu Thinley, Phayul.com, May 16, 2009

<< His Holiness the Dalai Lama leads a prayer during a ceremony to consecrate new Assembly Hall of Jamyang Choling Institute in Gharoh, Dharamsala, India, Saturday, May 16, 2009. Photo by Tenzin Choejor/OHHDL

Dharamsala, HP, India - His Holiness the Dalai Lama on Saturday said Buddhist nuns from Himalayan regions had an important responsibility in preserving Tibetan Buddhist traditions, which he said was facing an uncertain future in its homeland.

The highly evolved Tibetan Buddhist tradition is facing an uncertain future in Tibet and it is time for the Buddhist nuns from Himalayan regions to also play an important role in preserving this rich and unique spiritual tradition, the Dalai Lama said.

“So I always emphasize that people in the Himalayan regions now have a special responsibility to safeguard and preserve the ancient and rich Buddhist tradition that is deeply rooted in the Tibetan and Himalayan culture,” His Holiness added.

The Tibetan spiritual leader was speaking at the Jamyang Choling Institute at Garoh near Dharamsala.

His Holiness was attending a religious ceremonial function to consecrate and inaugurate a new Assembly Hall of the institute for Buddhist nuns, the majority of whom are from Himalayan regions of India, Nepal and Bhutan.

Representatives from the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, including Kalon (Minister) Tsering Phuntsok, of Department of Religion and Culture, Minister for Department of Security Mr. Dhonchung Ngodup and Deputy Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament-in-exile Gyari Dolma, attended the function.
Read more

Student activists try to save wildlife on China's menu

By Jonathan Watts in Taiping, guardian.co.uk, Friday 15 May 2009

As some rare wildlife species approach extinction, conservation groups are working to change China's appetite for exotic animals

Stewed turtle cures cancer, crocodile meat relieves asthma, pangolin scales regulate menstruation and scorpion venom helps stroke victims.

Such is the traditional wisdom in Guangdong province, where animal markets teem with snakes, scorpions, salamander and dozens of different species of birds and turtles, some of which are endangered and all of which are fated to end their lives in restaurants, pharmacies or pet cages.

Eating rare wildlife is normal in southern China, but a growing group of student activists is trying to do something considered far stranger: they are trying to save them.

The nascent NGO conservation movement is stepping in where the authorities have had limited success by monitoring markets and restaurants, reporting sales of endangered species and trying to change the consumer culture. Among the youngest of several small groups is the Asian Turtle Rehabilitation Project, established earlier this year to save the reptiles from the soup pot.

The founding members say they are trying to cross the divide between the culture in which they were raised and the global conservation concerns they have been exposed to via the internet and schooling.

They are surrounded by people who think it's a wasted effort. "They disapprove of this activity. They think turtles are small animals only good for eating, so why bother saving them," says Luo Xinmei, a local student. "Almost no one in Guangzhou realises this is a centre of the illegal wildlife trade." Read more

More illegal workers being repatriated from Thailand

By Cheang Sokha, The Phnom Penh Post, May 15, 2009

As many as 500 Cambodian labourers being returned each day through the Poipet border crossing alone, police say

<< Cambodians walk near the Poipet border crossing in this file photo. Photo by Tracey Shelton

POLICE at the Thai border say they are seeing greater numbers of Cambodian migrant workers being repatriated by Thai police.

Hun Hean, the police chief for Banteay Meanchey province, told the Post that 200 to 500 illegal migrants are being returned through Poipet's border gate by Thailand each day.

That follows the news that Thai police in Sa Keo province bordering Banteay Meanchey arrested more than 130 Cambodian illegal migrant workers on Tuesday.

Hun Hean said that previously his officers used to see between 100 and 200 Cambodian workers returned daily.

"We have seen the number of migrant workers going to Thailand has increased," Hun Hean said. "But these illegal workers are arrested by the Thai police when they cross through these gates looking for work."

Hun Hean said many residents living along the border in provinces such as Battambang, Oddar Meanchey, Pailin and Banteay Meanchey head to Thailand looking for short- and long-term work.

"Most of them go with ring-leaders," he said, adding that some of those arrested are injured by Thai soldiers and their money confiscated.

Last September Prime Minister Hun Sen appealed to illegal Cambodian workers in Thailand to come home, saying they would earn more money and would avoid the risk of being mistreated by Thai employers. Read more

Animals are multi - Lingual

Right to Live By Maneka Gandhi, The Island Online, May 14, 2009

Dogs and cats understand a lot of what is said to them. A recent study reveals that dogs accumulate pretty impressive human vocabularies without any specific instruction whatsoever. German researchers have found a border collie named Rico who understands more than 200 words and learns new ones as quickly as many children. Given a new name to fetch, he was able to go to the toy room and seven times out of 10, bring back the one he had not seen before.

The dog seemingly understood that because he knew the names of all the other toys, the new one must be the one with the unfamiliar name.

Similarly a cat owner recalls how once when her cats were chasing after insects, the insects flew off and they sort of gave up until she asked them where the insects were. They looked at her quizzically and resumed the chase.

What is now emerging is that not only can animals understand language but have the ability to understand many different languages.

When Connie, a British expatriate offered to adopt a retiring police dog, she was warned that the dog was trained entirely in German, She was provided a list of all the German commands and their English translation. The police had her properly say each German command, immediately followed by the English command she would be using. It took maybe a week, definitely less than 2 weeks, before the dog knew every command in English. Read more

The Dark and the Light Side of Thai Art

By Joan Koh, Time, May. 14, 2009

<< Heaven on earth: Created by artist Chalermchai, Wat Rong Khun, or the White Temple, is a celebration of Buddhist thought Chaiwat Subprasom/Reuters

The 500 sculptured concrete arms that rise beneath the bridge, seemingly seeking emancipation from a bottomless pit, create an arresting image of anguish and desperation — just as Thai artist Chalermchai Kositpipat intended. "To reach heaven, you need to pass suffering," the 54-year-old says in his trademark booming voice. Nirvana in this case is Wat Rong Khun, or White Temple, a spectacular, ornately carved building painted white to symbolize purity. Part of a project that Chalermchai started in 1997, the compelling ubosot, or assembly hall, is one of the three main structures at the sprawling White Temple complex (tel: (66) 5367 3579), a 6.4-acre (2.6 hectare) site in his native Chiang Rai in northern Thailand. When devout Buddhist Chalermchai's project is complete — with the help of 67 disciples, he hopes it'll be done by 2070 — he will have created nine equally intricate buildings, including a crematorium, each one teaching grand lessons in morality. "Every human has to see this," he says. "This is my way, and a good way, to give back to the world." Read more

Four injured after water buffalo goes on rampage at Philippines religious festival

By Mail Foreign Service, May 14, 2009

<< The parade descends into chaos as one of the water buffalo suddenly veers out of control. EPA

These pictures show the carnage caused after a water buffalo went wild during a religious festival in the Philippines.

Four people were injured in the town of Pulilan, north of Manila, after farmers lost control of the beast, who was part of a procession of 300.

The victims were treated at a nearby hospital.

The festival features a feast held to honour the patron saint Isidro Labrador, a Spanish farmer known for his goodness towards the poor and animals.

The event saw the buffalo specially trained to kneel before the church as they passed by. The gesture is meant to symbolise gratitude for a good harvest.

It is not known what made the animal suddenly act up, but dozens of festival goers were sent flying after the buffalo ploughed through the crowds. Read more

Burma's Suu Kyi taken to prison

BBC News, May 14, 2009

Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is to face trial for breaching the conditions of her detention under house arrest, her lawyers have said.

<< Ms Suu Kyi is reportedly suffering from low blood pressure and dehydration

Ms Suu Kyi will stand trial on 18 May, lawyer Hla Myo Myint told reporters.

She was taken to a prison from her home in Rangoon, where she has spent most of the past 19 years, to hear the charges.

A US man whose apparently uninvited visit to her home led to the charges, will also be tried on immigration and security offences, the lawyer added.

The American man, John Yettaw, was arrested after swimming across a lake to her house and staying there secretly for two days.

The charges are yet to be confirmed by the government.

But it looks as though this is a pretext to keep her detained until elections due in 2010 which the generals think will give them some legitimacy, says BBC South-East Asia correspondent Jonathan Head.

Another of her lawyers said they would contest the charge.

"The charge is going to be violating the conditions of her house arrest and what her lawyer is going to argue is that of course that's ridiculous because, yes under the terms of her arrest she cannot invite people to visit her but she of course did not invite this person to visit her," Jared Genser told the BBC

Cambodia's obligation to UNESCO, said Suos Yara, an undersecretary of state at the Council of Ministers. Read more

Group wants capital housing

By Christopher Shay and Sam Rith, The Phnom Penh Post, May 14, 2009

Phnom Penh’s Group 34 appeals to authorities trying to evict them that they will accept housing in the capital, not nearly 50 kilometres from the city

<< A girl from the Group 34 community on Wednesday. Destroyed by a fire last month, the community now consists of ramshackle temporary shelters. Photo by Christopher Shay

LIVING in shelters built from donated tarpaulins and the charred remains of their old houses, residents of Group 34 near Sovanna Market in Phnom Penh say they are prepared to leave, just not to a community 49 kilometres away.

During the Khmer New Year, a fire destroyed 150 houses in the community. Then, authorities prohibited community members from rebuilding their homes, only to construct temporary shelters.

While police place the blame solely on one resident for setting the blaze, many villagers suspect he is only a scapegoat.
"People who have power or money hired this man," Touch Sophoan, a community representative, said Wednesday.

Despite suspicions about the arson, many residents are willing to move.

On Monday, the community sent a letter to the Phnom Penh Municipality and the Senate requesting to be relocated to Prey Khla village in Phnom Penh's Dangkor district.

Mann Chhoeun, the deputy governor of Phnom Penh, said Wednesday he had not yet received the letter from the Group 34 community but that a final decision about the Group 34 land had not been made. Read more

Global Witness welcomes sand export ban as first step to reform

By Vong Sokheng and Sebastian Strangio, The Phnom Penh Post, May 14, 2009

<< A dredging vessel extracting sand from the Tonle Bassac in this file photo. Photo by Heng Chivoan

INTERNATIONAL corruption watchdog Global Witness has welcomed the recent decision by Prime Minister Hun Sen to ban sand exports from the country, calling it a "first move" towards the sustainable management of the country's natural resources.

"Sand dredging is just one example of widespread environmental malpractice," said Global Witness campaigner Eleanor Nichol in a statement released Tuesday.

"This must be the beginning, not the end, of action to counter natural resource mismanagement and exploitation in Cambodia."

Global Witness also called for an end to the "untransparent allocation of onshore oil and mining concessions" and a review of the concessions already existing in the Kingdom.

The comments came three months after Global Witness released its "Country for Sale" report, alleging high-level corruption and nepotism in the country's extractive resources sector.

The report also included information about a large-scale sand-mining operation in Koh Kong province, where thousands of tonnes of sand per week were being extracted from the area and shipped to Singapore by the Hong Kong-based Winton Enterprises. Read more

Permaculture hits Siem Reap at orphan-run Harmony Farm

By Jason Leahey, The Phnom Penh Post, May 14, 2009

<< Sian Vannak and Hoeuy Han at Harmony Farm. Photo by Jason Leahey

TWO young Cambodians, Sian Vannak and Hoeuy Han, hope to transform agriculture in Siem Reap through permaculture, a system that emulates relationships found in nature to maximise organic agricultural yield while minimising the use of resources, funds and human labour.

They formed the Cambodian Children Rural Development Organisation in August 2007 to create a self-sustaining homestead for rural orphans.

With money from sponsors, they purchased a 90-metre-by-125-metre plot of land across the road from Beng Mealea temple, and named it Harmony Farm.

They are designing the farm according to the principles of permaculture.
"I grew up in the orphanage," Sian Vannak said. "There are many poor children in the countryside, but the orphanages are in town. I want to teach the children from the countryside to help themselves."

The pair have built a prototype of their future farm in the backyard of the orphanage and school.
In covered trays they experiment with fruit tree saplings to determine which species are hardy enough for the farm's rocky soil. Read more

Money row over border fight

By Cheang Sokha, The Phnom Penh Post, May 14, 2009

Cambodia, Thailand each demand compensation for damages

<< A Cambodian soldier stands at the site of a market that burned during the most recent flare-up of fighting at Preah Vihear. Photo by Tracey Shelton

Government officials warned Wednesday that while Cambodia continues to seek a peaceful resolution to its border dispute with Thailand, its patience will run out, as both sides demand compensation over the latest bout of fighting.

"Our solution is very patient, but this is limited and one day when our patience is over, we will use another mechanism," said Koy Kuong, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

On Monday the ministry sent a diplomatic note to Thailand demanding US$2.1 million in compensation for the destruction of a market near Preah Vihear temple that was destroyed when clashes broke out on April 3.

The government blames Thai rocket fire for the blaze, which destroyed 264 stalls.

Koy Kuong said the ministry has not yet received an official response from Thailand over its demands.

But a spokesman for the Thai Foreign Ministry told media on Tuesday that not only would Thailand refuse to pay, it would seek compensation from Cambodia over the deaths of three Thai soldiers.

"We have always clearly stated that area belongs to Thailand and that Cambodian soldiers illegally trespassed into our territory," Tharit Charungvat told AFP on Tuesday.

"We are working on the amount of compensation that we are seeking from Cambodia too, as our soldiers died," he added. Read more

Oxen pick beans, corn over rice

By Sam Rith, The Phnom Penh Post, May 13, 2009

But Royal astrologer predicts good rice harvest as farmers worry

<< Supreme Court President Dith Munty is carried past the Royal Palace on Tuesday on his way to perform the Royal Ploughing Ceremony, an annual event that is meant to predict the coming year’s harvests, which palace astrologers say will be good for beans and corn this year. Photo by Heng chivoan

FARMERS expressed concern about the rice harvest after the royal oxen refused to eat the grain at the annual Royal Ploughing Ceremony held Tuesday. Instead, the animals preferred beans and corn laid out in identical golden bowls at the ceremony in front of the National Museum.

"Beans and corn will enjoy better yields this year," Royal Astrologer Kang Ken told assembled guests and a crowd of several thousand people.

Speaking to journalists later, he said farmers would benefit from 30 percent higher rice yields, and the rains would fall as usual. Kang Ken said the ploughing ceremony had been held since ancient times to let farmers know that the "planting season is coming".

But farmers said the implication was that this year's rice harvest would decrease.

"I am now very worried about this year's rice crop because the oxen did not eat any rice," said Yim Chhrouk, 66, a farmer from Sangke Chhrum village in Prey Veng province who came to Phnom Penh to watch the ceremony.

Yim Chhrouk said her worries were further increased because it was not possible to grow any crop other than rice near her village, most of whose residents are farmers.

She had learned from previous experience that when the oxen refused rice, her rice harvest would drop between 30 percent and 50 percent on her 2 hectares of land. Read more

Conservation continues at Preah Vihear temple

By Sam Rith, The Phnom Penh Post, May 12, 2009

Part of conservation efforts promised to UNESCO could result in the eviction of 792 families from two villages: government officials

<< A woman and her daughter sit outside Preah Vihear temple earlier this week. Photo by Tracey Shelton

NEITHER the ongoing border dispute with Thailand nor protests from Cambodian villagers will delay Cambodia's effort to preserve the Preah Vihear temple complex, officials say.

"We are working in places that are not related to the disputed areas on the border. We are working in the east and south that are located in Cambodian territory," Chuch Phoeung, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, said Monday.

He said that the Bayon Foundation is repairing roads and steps at the eastern entrance of the temple, while the Preah Vihear Temple Authority is doing the daily maintenance of the temple and steering clear of contested land.

In order to fulfill promises Cambodia made to UNESCO for the granting of Preah Vihear's World Heritage site status, Cambodia has barred construction within 30 metres around the temple complex and designated a "prohibited area" 3 kilometres around the temple.

But Cambodia also agreed to a third zone - a "development area" - that stretches from 3 to 10 kilometres away from the temple.

The zone is to be administered by the Preah Vihear Temple Authority and will house a museum.

Ko Muoy, a village largely destroyed by Thai rocket fire in April, and Prasat village stand in this third zone, and the towns' residents are being evicted by the Cambodian government to make way for an ecotourism area that will fulfill Cambodia's obligation to UNESCO, said Suos Yara, an undersecretary of state at the Council of Ministers. Read more

Dawkins strips away religion's dead wood

By Ed Halliwell, the Guardian, 11 May 2009
Courtesy: The Buddhist Channel

Dawkins is doing religion a favour – by exposing faith and spirituality to criticism, he paves the way for their renewal

London, UK -- I doubt it was his intention, but in 100 years time Richard Dawkins could be hailed as a prime architect of 21st-century religion.

Though strident to the point of comic fundamentalism, the New Atheist diatribe has not only laid bare the irrationalities of believers, but forced those of us who favour scientific-spiritual accommodation to sharpen our arguments. And that can only aid the development of spiritual forms fit for the modern world.

When I first picked up The God Delusion, I was a bit disappointed to find it was rather polite about my own tradition. Right up there in chapter one, Dawkins sensibly suggests that Buddhism might be seen as an ethical or philosophical system rather than a religion, and so not a major focus for his ire. We've got off lightly from other anti-religionists too – Sam Harris even goes on Buddhist meditation retreats.

The International Buddhist Film Festival, which opened in London last week, has at least provoked a bit of poking at our flabby underbelly. On Radio 3, Martin Palmer accused western Buddhists of creating their own version based on "the religion we don't want, which is Judeo-Christian, and the religion we would love to have, which isn't quite religion, which … doesn't have too many rules, and the rules it does have, like the Tibetan ban on homosexuality, are conveniently forgotten." Mark Vernon, relaying Palmer's comments on his blog, agreed, describing western Buddhism as "deeply partial, a pick 'n' mix religion". Their criticisms would appear to be supported by a glance at the IBFF schedule, which includes films – such as Donnie Darko and Hamlet – for which the label Buddhist seems pretty tenuous. Read more

Lycee residents ask for reprieve

By May Titthara and Christopher Shay, The Phnom Penh Post, May 11, 2009

Families living near the French school plead with authorities for a bit more time.

<< Rattana, 17, tears down the remains of a ground-floor home in the community next to the Lycee Rene Descartes. Photo by Heng Chivoan

IN San Lim Soreng's home on the fourth floor of the Lycee Francais Rene Descartes building, residents urged students and members of the French community to ask the French embassy for more time in their homes.

The residents urged the largely French audience to ask the French embassy to extend their eviction deadline, at least until their children's school year is finished at the end of July.

Last week, the remaining three families in the 30-year-old community agreed to government compensation.

Many families, however, have not had time to construct new homes and do not want to pull their students from school before the year is out.

Raimondo Pictet, 17, a student at the Lycee Francais Rene Descartes, said the event was designed for people to "say goodbye to the people who have lived next to us" and as an opportunity for people "to ask questions to the people who live here directly".

"I have signed the agreement for compensation already, but they put the deadline for us to go on Friday. I would like to tell French people about our situation and ask them to ask the French ambassador to intervene and help us delay our deadline until my child's school holiday," In Daravuth said. Read more

Coming Together at Waisak

By Dalih Sembiring, Jakarta Globe, May 10, 2009
Courtesy: The Buddhist Channel

Mangelang, Indonesia -- By 10 o’clock on Saturday morning, the Borobudur subdistrict of Magelang, Central Java, was filled with cars and buses loaded with
visitors coming to commemorate the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha.

Waisak, the Buddhist holiday marking the events, is held on the arrival of May’s first full moon, and the mystical Borobudur Temple attracts celebrants from many different religions. Some believe that touching the enshrined statues of Buddha can bring good luck; followers of Javanese mysticism sometimes meditate there to obtain divine messages or inspiration.

Normally, the area named after the grand, ninth century Mahayana Buddhist candi, or ancient temple, is calm and undisturbed. This weekend, the traffic was hectic on the route connecting Borobudur and Mendut temples, especially near the Karet Monument, where police had blocked the roads to stop motorized vehicles from entering the area.

Some backyards had been turned into temporary parking lots, and Buddhist pilgrims, or those there simply to watch, had to walk, take a horse-drawn cart or rent a motorcycle taxi to get to the smaller, spaceship-like Mendut Temple, where the Waisak processions would commence.

Having walked in the heat for half an hour from where she parked her motorcycle, Maria Goreti from Yogyakarta finally arrived at Mendut at around 11 a.m.

There to see the ceremony, Maria found herself surrounded by an assortment of characters and colors.

Outside Mendut’s fence, in tents or on carts, snacks, sweets, drinks, masks and even live birds were on offer. Buddhists from around Indonesia and the world pushed through the gate, brushing shoulders with tourists and reporters, to reach the temple’s yard to perform ritual meditation in front of different altars. Read more

Vesak and Happiness

The Daily Mirror, May 9, 2009
Courtesy: The Buddhist Channel

Colombo, Sri Lanka -- It is not every hour that one is reminded of the impermanence of life. Sometimes for days people forget that we are here for a short period. They flow with the ups and downs of life as they are to live forever.

People loathe reflecting on the transience of life for the fear that it will make one feel miserably helpless. Buddhists who believe in rebirth try to console themselves thinking that there’s life after death while those from other faiths prefer to reason that death will give them an opportunity to meet the maker. All these groups more often than not engage in various feel-good rituals which give them comfort and a sense of security.

As Buddhists all over the world - including those in Sri Lanka, Nepal, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Indonesia, India, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore - observe the birth, enlightenment and the passing away of Buddha on the full moon day of May in grand style, rituals and celebrations dominate the season.

Happiness and peace of mind derived from religious rituals have never been looked down upon in Buddhism. However it has always emphasized the fact that self-improvement, by way of trying to understand the reality of life, is far better than engaging in rites and customs.

This does not necessarily mean that the religion or philosophy is all about giving up lay life and taking into robes. It’s about controlling one’s mind and treading on the middle path. Read more

Hundreds Buddhists Commemorate Moment of Vesak in Menteng

By Hindra Liu, Kompas, May 9, 2009
Courtesey: The Buddhist Channel

<< SBY Attends Vesak Commemoration at Borobudur Temple

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Hundreds of Buddhists commemorate the birth, enlightment and spiritual liberation of Buddha Gautama, Vesak Day 2553/2009 in Vihara Buddha Metta Arama in Central Jakarta, Saturday.

The commemoration commenced at 9 a.m., yet the devotees started to gather at the temple since 7 a.m.

After the puja, those in attendance then will perform a 10-minute meditation leading up to believed to be the moment of the Buddha's enlightment. The moment of Vesak will fall at 11.01 sharp.

Bhikkhu Padipadaro, when delivered Vesak message, urged the Buddhists to always practice Buddha's teachings in a daily life. "Buddhists shall also take an example of Buddha who always served others," Padipadaro said to the Buddhists. Read more

Thailand celebrates Vesak, seeks responses to political and financial crises

By Weena Kowitwanij, Asia News, May 8, 2009
Courtesy: The Buddhist Channel

Bangkok, Thailand -- Celebration calls for reflection to find ways to solve current problems in light of the Buddha’s principles. In his address during the closing ceremony Prime Minister Abhisit encourages the nation to build peace, promote sustainable development and defend human rights. Buddhist elder calls for transparency and good government for the good of the country.

Vesak, the holiday that celebrates the birth, the enlightenment and death of the Buddha, has become a time to reflect together about the challenges thrown at Thai society by the rest of the world, not least the current financial crisis, challenges that require urgent and effective responses that must come from analysing one’s own values and the “noble truths” promoted by the “enlightened one.”

For this purpose the sixth International Buddhist Conference was held on 4-6 May to coincide with the United Nations Day of Vesak under the auspices of the Thai government in cooperation with Mahajulalongkornrajvitayalai University and the United Nations, which declared Thailand ‘World Centre of Buddhism.’

The event was held in the auditorium of the university, one of the most prestigious centres of Buddhist learning in the country, which is located in the Wang Noi District of Ayutthaya Province, attracting 1,200 monks from 80 countries.

Implementing Buddhist principles at a time of world crisis and find responses to environmental, economic, political and social problems was one of the topics addressed at the conference.

For Thai UN delegate Preeyanuch Jariyavidyanont Buddhists should “use concentration to solve problems caused by human greed.”

“Concentration and the practice of the Four Noble Truths (suffering, cause of suffering, nirvana and the path to end suffering) can enable peace to reach peace,” she said. Read more

Elaborate activities for Wesak celebration

By Lim Chia Ying, The Star, May 8, 2009
Courtesy: The Buddhist Channel

<< HOLY: This float is one of the many to be paraded during the Wesak procession Called ‘Purify the Mind’. Wesak Day is a holy day in the calendar of Buddhists worldwide where devotees observe precepts and teachings of Lord Buddha their teacher, and reiterate their determination to lead noble lives.
READY FOR WESAK: With Lord Buddha’s statue on it, this piece called Compassion Equality will be one of the highlights throughout the Wesak procession.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia -- THOUSANDS of devotees are expected to converge at Buddhist temples throughout the country tomorrow to pay homage to Lord Buddha on his birthday and to celebrate his attainment of enlightenment as well as to commemorate his death.

The temples in the Klang Valley have planned elaborate programmes and activities for the occasion.

Wesak Day — as this day is called — is universally commemorated on the full moon in the lunar month of Viskha, usually during late April or early May.

Wesak Day is a holy day in the calendar of Buddhists worldwide where devotees observe precepts and teachings of Lord Buddha their teacher, and reiterate their determination to lead noble lives.

In Kuala Lumpur, the Buddhist Maha Vihara in Brickfields is having its annual float procession involving about 25 colourful floats sponsored by various organisations.

According to the Buddhist Chief High Priest of Malaysia Venerable K. Sri Dhammaratana, the float procession signifies unity, and he expects about 30,000 people to join in the 12km parade.

“We are taking on a different route this time around and one of the stops is Bukit Bintang,” Dhammaratana said.

A float in the form of a car is being constructed for two monks to sit inside, chant prayers and sprinkle holy water throughout the procession.

Dhammaratana said in view of the economic uncertainty ahead, he had to make do with simpler floats, doing away with the costlier materials and decorations, while reusing some of the past year’s designs and structures for this year. Read more

'Buddha' celebrates birthday at Trinidad's Dattatreya Yoga Centre

BBy Ariti Jankie, Trinidad news, May 8, 2009
Courtesy: The Buddhist Channel

Trinidad and Tobago -- Siddhartha created history centuries ago. His joyous life story has been a best seller and hundreds have followed his teachings over the years.

He is better known as "Buddha" and his followers form the Buddhist religion.

As a young boy, Siddhartha left home at an early age in search of truth. The journey took him through life until finally he sat beneath a Peepal tree in meditation and attained enlightenment.

For the first time in Trinidad, Buddha's birthday would be celebrated on May 10, at the Dattatreya Yoga Centre, Waterloo, Carapichaima from 6 a.m. to 8.30 a.m.

Mahatma (great soul) Buddha Jayanti (birthday celebration) will explore the life and philosophy of Buddha under the guidance of Sri Ganapati Sachchidananda Swamiji of India, spiritual head of the local Dattatreya organisation. Swami Brahmadeoji of Kashi, India and India's High Commissioner, Shri Malay Mishra will be attending and will speak on the life of Buddha.

The fascinating and inspiring story of Mahatma Buddha would be retold. He lived 2,500 years ago in India and brought about a transformation of a new society, new thoughts and a new way of living that demonstrates the sublime heights of which human compassion, thoughts and feelings can rise.

At the heart of his teachings are questions that require inner reflections such as what is suffering, what is the root cause of suffering, how can it be removed and what is the right path to achieve happiness after removal of suffering.

Buddha presented an eight-fold path of righteousness to achieve happiness, peace and bliss namely right opinions, right aspirations, right speech, right action, right means of livelihood, right effort, right awareness and right meditation. He said that those who follow the path will be freed from pain and sorrow. The path, he promised led to knowledge, calmness, serenity and ultimately to realisation or Nirvana. Read more

Buddha Poornima (Wesak) Celebration and Meditation Teaching at Bangalore

The Buddhist Channel, May 8, 2009

Bangalore, India -- DHARMA SUBHASHITA (Thubten Lekshey Ling) Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Meditation and Study Center (dharmasubhashita.org) will be conducting a celebration of Buddha Poornima (Wesak) at Bangalore on 9th of May. Buddha Poornima marks the anniversary of the birth of Siddhartha Gautama, his attainment of Buddhahood and his Mahaparinirvana.

Dharma Subhashita’s program during this occasion will include a ceremonial bathing of the Buddha, symbolizing the cleansing of the cloud-like defilements that obscures the sun-shine of our enlightened true nature. This ceremony originated in India and is popular in many oriental countries that follow Mahayana Buddhism. This is celebrated along with visualization and chanting. Dolpo Tulku Rinpoche from Namdroling Monastery (Golden Temple), Bylakkuppe will lead this ceremony.

As part of the program, Rinpoche will talk on finding happiness in this world of competition. There will also be a meditation teaching by Rinpoche on resting the mind naturally. This is a profound, but simple to do, meditation that comes from the Shamata (calming the mind) preliminaries to Mahasandhi-yoga practice.

The program will be conducted at Ashirvad, St. Marks Road Cross, Opposite SBI, St. Marks Road, Bangalore from 3:30pm to 6:30pm on 9th of May. The program is open to all and free of charges.

Further details of the program are as given below:

Time & Venue
9th May 2009, Saturday
3:30pm to 6:30pm
Xavier Hall, ASHIRVAD,
#30, St. Marks Road Cross,
Opposite SBI, St. Marks Road,
Bangalore

The Program Schedule
3:30pm to 4:45pm: Teaching On “Finding Happiness in a World of Competition”
4:45pm to 5:00pm: Tea-Break
5:00pm to 5:45pm: Ceremony called “Bathing the Buddha”
5:45pm to 6:30pm: Meditation Teaching On “Resting the Mind Naturally”

Detailed Description:

Finding Happiness in a World of Competition
Today, we live in a competitive world. In every walk of life, competition seems to bring with it tremendous emotional stress. How can we find happiness and the peace of mind? What message has the Buddha’s teachings got to offer in facing the world with the peace of mind? Dolpo Tulku Rinpoche will speak on this topic and explain how the Buddhist teachings can be applied to daily living, in a secular context. Read more

Well-armed to protect Buddha

By Michael Dunn, Special to The Japan Times, May 8, 2009

<< Handsome deva: Standing Ashura Figure (734 A.D.) KOFUKUJI TEMPLE

Like a visitor from some remote part of the universe, the deity Ashura of Kofukuji Temple in Nara appears with six spindly arms frozen in motion and three faces on a single head that is crowned with a perfectly groomed hairdo. The body is slender and graceful and little imagination is needed to see the numinous figure spring into action like those brilliant deaf Chinese performers who visited Japan last year and amazed all with their synchronized interpretation of the 1,000-armed Kannon bodhisattva.

What are we to make of this extraordinary being? Most religious images represent something — aspired-to ideals or an aspect of doctrine — and in Buddhism, they often have antecedents in Indian Hinduism, just as some Christian saints reveal thinly-veneered attributes of earlier Greek or Egyptian deities.

The Ashura is one of eight deva, deities protecting the Buddha, that derive from even more ancient beings in Hindu mythology, revered for their warriorlike, violent and passionate nature. They rank among the lowest deities in the Buddhist pantheon. Although equipped with amazing supernatural powers, they are still far from enlightenment and the goal of release from death and rebirth.

Yet the faces on the Kofukuji Ashura are disarming with their boyish look of deliberating concentration, the three each slightly different; all seem to challenge us to appraise our own motives rather than threaten us. The Ashura is a beautiful, unforgettable object, all the more remarkable as it dates from the eighth century, barely a couple of hundred years after Buddhism first arrived from Korea. It is a masterpiece born of profound faith and the piousImperial patronage of its time.

Until June 7, Tokyo will be blessed with an opportunity unprecedented in modern times to see this sublime statue together with other treasures from Kofukuji without the interference of any glass cases or partitions. The installation has been intelligently designed, with the statues illuminated in darkened rooms that invoke an atmosphere of mystery and reverence. In this special exhibition organized to commemorate the 1,300-year anniversary of the temple's establishment, for the first time ever Ashura and accompanying statues of disciples and protectors of the Buddha are being shown outside Kofukuji.

Through its history, the temple has suffered the usual litany of fires and disasters, and it is something of a miracle that these statues have survived. Now the central hall of the temple in Nara will be rebuilt with all the disaster-mitigating technology that architects can provide. Read more

Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path Now on Your iPhone

The Buddhist Channel, May 8, 2009

San Diego, CA (USA) -- Buddha meets Benjamin Franklin in a unique fusion app that incorporates Franklin’s time-honored self-improvement system with Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path – with an iPhone twist.

Equilibrium Enterprises has unveiled its latest iPhone application, Noble Paths, a unique fusion app that incorporates Franklin’s time-honored self-improvement system of daily tracking to enhance awareness and personal growth with the wisdom of Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path.

Noble Paths applies the same practical, methodical approach that Ben used to train his mind to refine his 13 Virtues through the exclusive focus upon one virtue for one week.

With Noble Paths, the very same technique is successfully applied to incorporate each of the Buddhist Noble Eightfold Path tenets into your life, resulting in a gradual path toward self-improvement as you track your progress daily as you live in accordance with each "Right" Path:

• Right View
• Right Intention
• Right Speech
• Right Action
• Right Livelihood
• Right Effort
• Right Mindfulness
• Right Concentration

Shape Your Destiny
One can only truly learn via experience and new opportunities. It is up to us to recognize these lessons and learn for ourselves. Noble Paths the app is a tool that can willfully assist each of us in our quest for such presence. Noble Paths helps us to recognize that it is ultimately each of these moments that shape our destiny. Read more

Residents vow to fight eviction

By May Titthara, The Phnom Penh Post, May 8, 2009

Tomnup Toek commune villagers in Phnom Penh say proposed relocation site in Kandal province has no facilities and is too far away, leaving them no chance to earn a living

<< Raos Chiem, 70, in her temporary shelter on the former site of the Tomnup Toek commune in Phnom Penh. Photo by Heng Chivoan

SEVERAL residents of Tomnup Toek commune in Phnom Penh have threatened violence if authorities try to evict them by force to Kandal province after an early morning fire on April 16 claimed the life of a 4-year-old girl and left 288 families homeless.

Resident representative Sao Rithy Kosal said the commune chief had told them their temporary shelters would be destroyed and they would be removed to Phnom Bat commune unless they left on Thursday.

"We won't allow the authorities to demolish our shelters, and we will fight back with stones," he said. "I want them to relocate us to the city's outskirts like Dangkor district, not far away like Phnom Bat. It is 50 kilometres away. How can we do business there? I would rather die here than move there."

Almost 150 houses were destroyed in the blaze. Police said they suspect it was set by Ros Sophan, 29, who was angry that his family would not give him 1,000 riels (US$0.25). Read more

Few aware of blood disorder

By Tracey Shelton, The Phnom Penh Post, May 8, 2009

To mark World Thalassaemia Day, a blood drive is to be launched to aid patients dependent on transfusions

<< World Thalassaemia Day: Meng Leng, 18 months, who has severe Thalassaemia – an inherited condition that inhibits the body’s ability to produce normal red blood cells – receives blood at the National Paediatric Hospital in Phnom Penh on Wednesday. Today is World Thalassaemia Day, and a new campaign has beenlaunched to find donors willing to contribute blood once or twice a year for a particular Thalassaemia patient. Photo by Tracey Shelton

At the National Paediatric Hospital (NPH) Wednesday, doctors prepared 18-month-old Thalassaemia patient Meng Leng for her monthly blood transfusion.

As they held her down and tried - for the 13th time - to locate a vein in her tiny limbs, she screamed in anticipation of the pain that was sure to follow.

Having been diagnosed two months earlier with severe Thalassaemia - an inherited condition that inhibits the body's ability to produce normal red blood cells - Meng Leng will need transfusions every month for the rest of her life.

A 2003 study completed at the Angkor Hospital for Children (AHC) in Siem Reap, the only completed study of Thalassaemia in Cambodia to date, revealed that 48 percent of subjects were carriers of the hereditary blood disorder.

Particularly prevalent among Mediterranean and Asian nationalities, Thalassaemia can cause severe anaemia, stunted physical growth, weakened bones, expanded bone marrow, inhibited sexual development and premature death, according to the Thalassaemia International Federation.

Children with parents who are both carriers face a 25 percent chance of developing severe Thalassaemia and a 50 percent chance of becoming carriers themselves.

Without treatment, the life expectancy for a patient with Thalassaemia ranges between two and 20 years, depending on the disease's severity, said medical laboratory scientist Robyn Devenish.

"I was shocked to find... that there was almost no awareness."

Devenish began researching the disease in 2003 after noticing that a large percentage of anaemic patients assumed to be iron-deficient presented with Thalassaemia symptoms. The blood samples of 300 patients were sent to Thailand for testing. Read more

Studies say 'hobbit' previously unknown species

By Marlowe Hood, May 7, 2009

<< A photo from the University of Wollongong in Australia shows an artist's impression of a human species … AFP/National Geographic/File

PARIS (AFP) – The tiny ancient humans dubbed hobbits, whose remains were discovered on an Indonesian island in 2003, were a previously unknown species altogether, according to two new studies.

Debate has raged in the scientific community since the fossils were found on the island of Flores, with some experts insisting they were descended from Homo erectus and others saying evolution could not account for their small brains.

About a metre (three feet) tall and weighing 30 kilos (65 pounds), the tiny, tool-making hunters may have roamed the remote island as recently as 8,000 years ago. Their fossils are about 18,000 years old.

Many scientists have said Homo floresiensis, as the creature is now formally known, was a prehistoric human stunted by natural selection over millennia through a process called insular dwarfing.

Others countered that even this evolutionary shrinking, well documented in island-bound animals, could not account for the chimpanzee-sized brain -- just a third the size of that in a modern human being.

The only plausible explanation, they insisted, was that the handful of specimens found had a genetic disorder resulting in an abnormally small skull or that they suffered from "dwarf cretinism" caused by deficient thyroids.

Two new studies in the British journal Nature go a long way toward settling the debate.

A team led by William Jungers of Stony Brook University in New York tackled the problem by analysing the hobbit's foot.

In some ways it is very human. The big toe is aligned with the others and the joints make it possible to extend the toes as the body's full weight falls on the foot -- attributes not found in great apes.

But in other respects it is startlingly primitive: far longer than its modern human equivalent and equipped with a very small big toe, long and curved lateral toes, and a weight-bearing structure closer to a chimpanzee's.

Recent archaeological evidence from Kenya shows that the modern foot evolved more than 1.5 million years ago, most likely in Homo erectus.

So unless the Flores hobbits became more primitive over time -- considered extremely unlikely -- they must have branched off the human line at an even earlier date. Read more

Dalai Lama meets with Buddhist communities of NYC

By Sonam Ongmo, May 7, 2009
Courtesy: Phayul.com

<< His Holiness addressing members of 15 Buddhist Communities in New York, photo by Ang Kami Sherpa, PhotoHera.com

While waiting to meet His Holiness the Dalai Lama in New York on May 5, I was thinking of a story that late Lopon Pemala from Bhutan once told me. As a young boy Lopon Pemala wanted to study Buddhism so he set out for Tibet where, during that time (1930’s), most of the great Buddhist teachers were. He told me how he made the journey with just a gho on his back, a small cloth bag and mere cloth boots on his feet. On the way he endured great hardship with little food and the unbearable cold – turning snot into icicles, freezing fingers and toes. But it was all about the suffering and the thirst for Buddhism. “If we wanted to receive the teachings, we went to great lengths, even if it was crossing mountains,” he said, and he surely had. He became one of Bhutan’s most learned and respected Buddhist scholars. So it was with some guilt then, that unlike the days of Lopon Pemala’s childhood, I was sitting comfortably in a chair at the Waldorf Astoria awaiting the world’s leading Buddhist figure to come to me (or rather the group of 120 members of the Himalayan Buddhist Community that I was a part of). We had congregated there to seek guidance on promoting Buddhist Culture in New York.

Obviously much has changed in the Himalayas since the time of Lopon Pemala’s childhood and I noted with sad irony that people no longer made that journey to Tibet (after China’s occupation). If anything they have all been heading in the opposite direction – out of Tibet.

Holiness the Dalai Lama reaffirmed how the changing times made it “extremely crucial” in this “critical period” to preserve Buddhist Culture and Traditions. “For people from the Himalayas, Buddhism has influenced much of our cultural traditions. It is all we have. It is our identity. I always advise people to keep their own religious traditions,” he said, “When I travel in the west I tell people to keep their Judeo – Christian traditions as part of their identity. [In the Himalayas] Our cultural heritage is influenced by Buddhism so it’s logically fit to preserve that way of life.” Read more

Red Cross Warns of Crisis in Pakistan

By Alan Cowell, The New York Times, May 7, 2009

<< An internally displaced family on a truck in Malakand, near the Swat valley region of Pakistan, on Thursday. Reuters

PARIS — With their possessions piled on pickup trucks or escaping on foot, thousands of people were reported to be fleeing the conflict in Pakistan’s Swat Valley on Thursday as the International Committee of the Red Cross said that up to half a million people may have been uprooted by the fighting.

The international body, based in Geneva, also said the conflict between government forces and Taliban militants had severed its access to places where civilians most needed help and that a humanitarian crisis was worsening.

The Red Cross warning coincided with news reports from the region on Thursday saying the government had intensified strikes with helicopter gunships and warplanes. The reports could not be verified in part because reporters are barred from the area. The authorities said Wednesday that at least 35 militants had been killed.

Under pressure from the United States, Pakistan has said its forces are trying to turn back an encroachment by Taliban militants that has brought the insurgents to within 60 miles of the capital, Islamabad. The fighting was focused on the areas of Dir, Buner and Swat, where a cease-fire between government forces and militants has apparently collapsed.

The government’s reports of action against the Taliban coincided with a visit to Washington by Pakistan’s president, Asif Ali Zardari, who met Wednesday with President Obama. Read more

Sri Lanka's devout defender of Buddhism

Lanka Daily News, May 7, 2009
Courtesy: The Buddhist Channel

<< Sri Gnanavimala Tissa Mahanayaka Thera

Colombo, Sri Lanka -- There passed away 140 years ago to be precise on July 8, 1833, a Buddhist prelate whose services to his religion were inestimable and his contribution to national culture was outstanding. He was Mahaddama Rajadhi Rajaguru Gnanavimala Tissa, the founder of the Amarapura Nikaya.

He was born in the year 1766 in Mahakarawa a hamlet of Velitota (Balapitiya). He was the eldest son of Carlo de Silva Veda Arachchi and Madalena Hamine. He had his early education under his father’s brother, Piriappu Gainnanse of the Ambagahapitiya Temple.

Background

This temple was originally “Walauwa” which was donated by its owner to Appu Ganinnanse, a brother of Piriappu Ganninnanse. During this period Velitota Kosgoda area was studded with Walauwas belonging mostly to Mudaliyars of the Mahabadde which was the chief source of revenue. Some of these Mudaliyars were stationed at distant places like Colombo, Negombo, Dadalle and Matara in connection with their official duties in the Mahabadde service.

The absentee owners sometimes donated their vacant Walauwas to Ganinnanses to be used for religious and educational purposes. In Sri Lanka, particularly in the maritime provinces, Buddhism reached its nadir in the 17th and 18th Centuries, the decline having really commenced in the latter half of the 16th Century. Dharmapala the last Sinhala King who held sway over the coastal belt renounced his ancestral faith and bequeathed his kingdom by his last will to the King of Portugal in the year 1597. It was by deceitful means that the Portuguese obtained this donation. The unfortunate monarch lived in Colombo to protect himself against the onslaughts of his uncle Mayadunna and his son Rajasingha I. Read more

'Freed' animals face death

AsiaOne, May 7, 2009
Courtesy: The Buddhist Channel

Singapore -- Releasing animals into the nature reserves and reservoirs is a well-meaning act, but it may have adverse effects on the ecological balance in our nature reserves and parks, as well as the water quality of our reservoirs.

As Vesak Day approaches, the National Parks Board (NParks) and PUB, the national water agency, has issued a statement reminding the public not to release animals into nature reserves and reservoirs.

Ms Sharon Chan, Assistant Director at NParks, explains, "Most people do not realise that releasing animals means sending them to their deaths. One recent incident I encountered was the release of a few soft-shell terrapins. They were not equipped to survive in the wild, and died on that very day.

Should these animals harbour viruses, they will contaminate the water and affect other native wildlife. We want to appeal to everyone to refrain from releasing your pets or animals into the wild."

Mr Chan Chow Teing, PUB's Senior Deputy Director of Catchment and Waterways, adds, "As the fishes and animals may not be able to survive on their own, releasing them not only affects the ecosystem but also the reservoirs' water quality.

Although treating the water for drinking water supply is not an issue, it is important to keep the waters clean for aesthetic and recreational reasons, so that everyone can continue to enjoy activities at our reservoirs and parks." Read more

Pangolin setting record for survival

By Kyle Sherer, The Phnom Penh Post, May 7, 2009

Ping was starved, stressed and stolen, but may now be the world's oldest pangolin in captivity.

<< Markus Handschuh and Ping at the Angkor Centre for the Conservation of Biodiversity. Photo by Kyle Sherer

When pangolins are confronted with anything more threatening than a weaver ant, their typical reaction is to curl into a fetal position, develop a stomach ulcer and die from stress.

Which is why workers at the Angkor Centre for the Conservation of Biodiversity didn't hold much hope for Ping the pangolin when a thief broke into the centre at night, evaded two German shepherds, shoved the animal into a rice bag and started it on a cross-country moto journey from dealer to dealer.

Ping's final destination was quite possibly going to be a Chinese chop-shop where its scales would be turned into traditional medicine.

The Angkor Centre for the Conservation of Biodiversity is home to Ping, thought to be the world's oldest hand-reared Sunda pangolin.

But it's not easy caring for an animal with a price on its head.

To raise Ping to what his handlers say is the record-shattering age of four years in captivity, workers at the wildlife centre have had to fend off opportunistic poachers and suppress the creature's overwhelming genetic inclination to worry itself to death. Read more

Residents brace for evictions

By Cheang Sokha , The Phnom Penh Post, May 7, 2009

<< Chinese construction workers show a bullet casing from a gun fired into the air during their protest Wednesday at the Chinese embassy. Photo by Tracey Shelton

SECURITY police at the Chinese embassy in Phnom Penh opened fire during a confrontation with more than 100 protesters Wednesday as they sought intervention over a pay dispute.

About 110 Chinese construction workers employed by the Jiangsu Province First Construction Installation Co Ltd gathered at the embassy, claiming the company owners fled the country leaving them without six months' back pay.

A protester representative said the workers were employed by the company to work on Phnom Penh's Tonle Bassac City development for almost eight months but had so far received just two months' pay.

He also said the company had taken their passports, stranding them in Cambodia.

"We want the embassy to contact the company and force them to return our passports and pay us our salary," said another worker.

During the protest, which began midday, the workers carried a banner reading, "We want to return home", demanding a meeting with embassy
officials. Security guards ordered protesters to cross the road to wait and fired three warning shots in the air when protesters tried to push their way inside the embassy gates. Read more

Recalculating Happiness in a Himalayan Kingdom

By Seth Mydans, The New York Times, May 6, 2009

THIMPHU, Bhutan — If the rest of the world cannot get it right in these unhappy times, this tiny Buddhist kingdom high in the Himalayan mountains says it is working on an answer.

“Greed, insatiable human greed,” said Prime Minister Jigme Thinley of Bhutan, describing what he sees as the cause of today’s economic catastrophe in the world beyond the snow-topped mountains. “What we need is change,” he said in the whitewashed fortress where he works. “We need to think gross national happiness.”

The notion of gross national happiness was the inspiration of the former king, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, in the 1970s as an alternative to the gross national product. Now, the Bhutanese are refining the country’s guiding philosophy into what they see as a new political science, and it has ripened into government policy just when the world may need it, said Kinley Dorji, secretary of information and communications.

“You see what a complete dedication to economic development ends up in,” he said, referring to the global economic crisis. “Industrialized societies have decided now that G.N.P. is a broken promise.”

Under a new Constitution adopted last year, government programs — from agriculture to transportation to foreign trade — must be judged not by the economic benefits they may offer but by the happiness they produce.

The goal is not happiness itself, the prime minister explained, a concept that each person must define for himself. Rather, the government aims to create the conditions for what he called, in an updated version of the American Declaration of Independence, “the pursuit of gross national happiness.”
Read more

The Significance of Vesak - Buddha Day

Vesak is the holiest day in Buddhism and a season of special holy significance to all Buddhists around the world. Vesak Full Moon is the holiest of all the full moon days. On this day are celebrated the birth, the Enlightenment, and the death of the Buddha.

The significance of Vesak lies with the Buddha and his universal peace message to mankind.
~Venerable Mahinda

Vesak (from the name of the second month in the Hindu calendar) is celebrated mainly for the three-fold events in the life of the Buddha - Birth, Enlightenment and the Great Passing Away. The event takes place on the full moon of the lunar month Vesakha, which falls between April and May on the Gregorian calendar. Vesak is also known as Visakah Puja or Buddha Purnima in India, Visakha Bucha in Thailand, and Wesak in Sri Lanka.

Primarily a Theravada Buddhist holiday, Vesak Day is celebrated most energetically in Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar (Burma), Vietnam, Laos and by Buddhists in some Western countries. Vesak Day is usually a public holiday in these Southeast Asian countries.

To those who do not follow the Buddhist faith, the Birth and Enlightenment of the Buddha is also of the greatest significance when one considers the unique contribution made by the Buddha over 2500 years ago to the various branches of modern knowledge. It is no wonder then that the brilliant minds and thinkers of the East and West have bowed their heads in reverence and acknowledged Gautama the Buddha as the greatest man ever born, beyond compare, the greatest combination of heart and mind that ever existed.

These sacred events of the Vesak Full Moon season can be classified this way:

The Buddha’s birth as Prince Siddhartha took place on this day at Lumbini in Kapilavatthu (modern Nepal).

Ascetic Siddhartha Gautama attained Supreme Enlightenment on this day at Buddha Gaya under the sacred Bodhi Tree.

The Supreme Buddha’s Great Demise (Parinibbana) happened on Vesak Full Moon day at Kusinara. In terms of the evolution of the Supremely Enlightened One in the course of His migrations in Samsara (Cycle of Rebirths) Vesak Full Moon possesses a tremendous significance.

The Aspirant Buddha, in His existence as Ascetic Sumedha, received his confirmation of the attainment of Buddhahood from Buddha Dipamkara on a Full Moon day.

The Supreme Buddha’s display of His psychic powers through the performance of Yamaka Maha Patihariya (The Miracle of the Twin Wonders) took place on a Vesak Full Moon day. This event is a crucial turning point in His Dispensation as this convinced numerous skeptics “doubters” - about the Supreme Buddha’s Enlightenment.

Vesak offers Buddhists an opportunity to reflect on the life and teachings of the Buddha. It highlights the potential for inner peace and happiness that lies within us all.
Master Maha Thera

The Vesak Day is celebrated in different ways around the world.

On Vesak Day, Buddhists in all countries gather in temples to worship, and to give alms to the monks. Some people spend all day at the temple just listening to the Buddha’s teachings and stories about his life. Monks are also invited into homes to give teachings. Vesak day is a day for Buddhists to reaffirm their commitment to living a moral and compassionate lifestyle.
In Singapore the day usually starts with monks chanting Sutras. This is followed by the ceremonial release of small animals or caged birds. This is considered an act of generosity, symbolic of generating good karma. The act also symbolizes the Buddha’s compassion for all things. Read more

Faithful celebrate the life of Buddha

By Amber Parcher, Gazette.Net, May 6, 2009

<< Monks from the Wat Thai Washington, D.C., temple lead last year's candlelight procession in honor of their religion's founder during the Visakha Puja celebration. Visakha Puja is one of the holiest holidays in Buddhism. Photo courtesy of Wat Thai Washington, D.C.

A Thai Buddhist temple in Layhill will observe one of the holiest Buddhist holidays of the year this weekend with full days of meditation, candlelight processions and, of course, delicious Thai food.

The Visakha Puja holiday commemorates the birth, enlightenment and passing of Siddhattha Gautama, who later became the Buddha. All three events occurred on the same day and will be celebrated Saturday and Sunday at the Wat Thai Washington, D.C., temple in the Layhill area of Silver Spring.

The holiday usually comes in May or June of every year, depending on when the sixth lunar moon of the year arrives, said Thanat Handy, the chairman of the board of directors at Wat Thai D.C.

All day Saturday and Sunday, monks cloaked in solid orange will meditate in silent homage to the Buddha, his teaching and his disciples. His underlying message — and thus that of the ceremony, Handy said — is peace.

"He's the world peacemaker," Handy said. Thousands of temples and monks around the globe will honor him the same way.

Buddhism is one of the oldest religions in the world, founded more than 2,500 years ago, and has several hundred million followers, depending on who's counting, Handy said. Buddhists follow the spiritual teachings of Buddha, who preached knowledge of one's self and place in the world to ultimately escape the human cycle of suffering and rebirth.

Handy said the religion's holiest holiday has become even more important since the United Nations recognized the celebration as an international holiday and world day of peace in 1999.

Buddhists and non-Buddhists are welcome to visit Wat Thai D.C. one or both days and meditate on peace while paying their respects to Buddha at Wat Thai D.C. with a giant Buddha statue, Handy said.

The monks will begin each morning chanting with the sunrise and then launch a day of meditation Saturday until 6 p.m. There will be a food offering for the monks on Sunday and afterward a lunch served to the congregation.

Handy said much of the ceremony will be in Thai, but there will be English translations available.
Read more

Preah Vihear temple on a road less travelled

By Stephen Westwood, The Phnom Penh Post, May 6, 2009

Visiting Prasat Vihear makes for a memorable experience

<< Monks and tourist climb the steps to Preah Vihear temple. AFP

THE Preah Vihear temple (Prasat Preah Vihear) is not overrun with foreign tourists. In fact, we were unfortunate when the pickup we were in got called back from halfway up the mountain to collect two foreigners, the only others I saw there.

Still, they didn't hang about too long, and I had the privilege of exploring the site with my Cambodian friend Pia and her parents, who had so graciously arranged our trip to Preah Vihear province.

A memorable afternoon followed. The teetering mountain temple, with grand staircase approaching from the north, can barely be sighted from the frontier settlement at the southern base of Chuor Phnom Dangkrek (Dangkrek mountains).

As long as you are not an opposition politician, you can get a ride up the escarpment along switchbacks of new concrete and visit both the temple and the troops guarding it.

The soldiers potter about, fetching water from the ancient reservoir, hanging out their washing and waiting.

"As long as you are not an opposition politician, you can get a ride up the escarpment."

Pass lintels magnificently carved with Vedic apparitions and follow a damaged lingam-lined causeway. Then descend a series of stone staircases to the north, watched by antique lions, some of them so weathered they look half-melted.

At the bottom of the steps, there is a small market serving the soldiers and the trickle of mostly domestic visitors.
A few metres beyond, garlands of razor wire choke the tiny crossing into Thailand.

A couple of affable Cambodian army regulars tend to this garden of bright steel, the old foe out of sight for now - although from the temple peak, movement was visible in Thailand on the broad, industrial tourism-sized road leading to the closed border.

Turbulent past
The temple was only reclaimed for Cambodia, or re-annexed by the French colonial administration, in 1907, after some centuries of rule by Thailand (then Siam).

There are things you shouldn't say among these peaks - Pia tells me - at the risk of bringing a deadly curse on yourself.
Indeed, some terrible things have happened in the area. Read more

Residents brace for evictions

By May Titthara , The Phnom Penh Post, May 6, 2009

<< Residents of the Rene Descartes community destroy their businesses in compliance with a City Hall eviction notice. Photo by Heng Chivoan

ONE community facing eviction on Tuesday watched its deadline pass quietly and heard they will have a chance in court to defend their claims to the land, while another had their businesses shut down by authorities, in what residents say is an attempt to force them to accept the government's relocation terms.

Daun Penh district authorities put up additional fences around the community living next to the Lycee Francais Rene Descartes, Cambodia's oldest international school, blocking access to ground-floor businesses.

Residents of Group 78, however, saw their eviction deadline come and go, and even received a court date when they will have a chance to present evidence explaining that they should be allowed to stay.

"Now, we have a court warrant to show our evidence to them on May 18 at 8am. It is a good chance for us," said Lim Sambo, a Group 78 representative.

Yin Savat, a lawyer for the Community for Legal Education Centre, said the court warrant should put off a forced eviction until after the decision.

"According to the law, City Hall cannot implement their eviction letter because we have filed a complaint to the Court already to cancel it," he said.

"I have a court warrant. If tomorrow they come to pull our houses down, it means they did not respect to the law."

Meanwhile, across the city near the Lycee Francais Rene Descartes, 37 families say they are being squeezed out of their homes and have no power to fight back. Read more

The Dalai Lama on the Global Economic Meltdown

By Steve Hamm, Business Week, May 5, 2009
Courtesy: The Buddhist Channel

New York, USA -- I’m a fan of the Dalai Lama thanks to the groundwork of my spiritual adviser, Robert Thurman, a professor of Buddhism at Columbia University. It never occurred to me, though, that I’d have an opportunity to meet the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, much less have a personal audience with him, but that’s what happened this morning.

(The face-to-face session, which lasted 10 minutes, was arranged by Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce.com, who clearly has some mojo in the Tibetan Buddhist community.)This is BusinessWeek, so I asked the Dalai Lama about the global economic meltdown.

If you’ve read his writings or heard him speak, you know he’s got a peaceful certainty about him mixed with a hearty sense of humor. Meeting him in person was for me both a calming and exciting experience, which may sound like a contradiction, but, in this case is not.

The meeting was in his suite at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Now that’s a discontinuity. Here’s this holy man dressed in his monk’s robes in a grand relic of 20th Century capitalism. He has a gentle handshake and friendly, direct gaze. It seemed like he was truly interested in me. He speaks softly, in a natural flowing style—like water bubbling over rocks in a stream. Every now and then, in the middle of speaking, he makes a low moaning sound. It reminded me of the gravel-voice Tibetan Buddhist chanting style—like a little chant trying to get out.

I was nervous, so my note taking was even worse than usual. It's lucky I took a digital recorder. Here's an edited-down version of some of his comments:

--On what caused the collapse:

I’m telling people, including some businessmen who are my friends, what this global economic crisis was caused by too much greed, speculation, and hypocrisy--not being transparent. These are the moral and ethical issues. So be transparent and honest right from the beginning. Read more

A talk with the Dalai Lama

Boston Globe Editorial, May 5, 2009

IN A MEETING at the Charles Hotel in Cambridge last week, the Dalai Lama and more than 100 scholars from China showed how direct discussion can overcome irrational prejudices and official cant. Chinese academics needed a chance to encounter Tibet's spiritual leader without government interference.

The organizer of the event, Lobsang Sangay, a senior fellow at Harvard Law School, set out the simplest of ground rules: civil discourse and no photographs taken until after the discussion. Moderator Tu Weiming, professor of Chinese history and philosophy and Confucian studies at Harvard, urged all sides to allow a genuine exchange of ideas, celebrate their differences, and refrain from trying to convert others.

But the participants hardly needed coaching. The Chinese scholars were respectful and open-minded, often acknowledging false impressions they had originally held about Tibetans, the history of Tibetan-Chinese relations, and the role of the Dalai Lama. For his part, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists seemed to surprise many of the younger Chinese academics as he described the three- and four-hour audiences he had with Chairman Mao Zedong in Beijing more than a half century ago.

Some in the audience were amused when the Dalai Lama said he had once been attracted to the moral principles of socialism, particularly its ideal of equal distribution, and had even asked to join the Chinese Communist Party. There were no challenges and no raised eyebrows, however, when he said that today there is a ruling Communist Party in China without communist ideology.

Free from official mediation, the academics heard the Dalai Lama say that he welcomes the material progress China had brought Tibet - but also that his people were suffering nonetheless because they lacked freedom of expression, religious freedom, and freedom from fear.

Drawing a distinction between autonomy for Tibet and political independence, he explained the request his envoys made to Chinese officials last summer, shortly after the violent clashes on the Tibetan plateau in March 2008. He said they had asked only for forms of autonomy consistent with those promised to national minorities in China's constitution - especially the right to preserve Tibetan language, culture, and religion. Yet Chinese officials falsely accused him of demanding independence for Tibet, calling him a liar and a demon. Read more

City's eviction deadline for Group 78 arrives

By May Titthara and Sebastian Stragio, The Phnom Penh Post, May 5, 2009

But May 5 deadline brings determination to remain at the site.

<< Group 78 resident Hnueng, a coconut seller, and her daughter outside their house on Monday. Residents are facing forced eviction at the hands of the Phnom Penh Municipality, which says they are living on a public road. Photo by Heng Chivoan

AHEAD of their May 5 eviction deadline, residents at the city's besieged Group 78 community say they are worried about an impending forced eviction but remain confident of their legal rights to the strip of land in Tonle Bassac commune.

"I am a little bit worried about the situation in the area after tomorrow's deadline because I heard City Hall will kick me out to the outskirts of the city," said resident Lim Likean, 64.

An eviction letter signed by Phnom Penh Governor Kep Chuktema on April 20 said the 70 families were living on a public road and on land owned by Sour Srun Enterprises, a local developer, giving residents 15 days to accept compensation and vacate their properties.

After this time, it said authorities would take unspecified "administrative measures", and that City Hall would bear no responsibility for any property lost.

Community representative Lim Sambo said he was also worried but was "depending on the law" to solve the dispute peacefully.

"Tomorrow if the authorities come to enforce their eviction letter ... I will not fight back. I will go out from my house with empty hands because I don't want to have an argument," he said.

He added that commune officials had set up a table at the site Monday, encouraging people to sign forms accepting the municipality's compensation package. Read more

Tiger counts to promote survival of M'kiri's big cats

By Michael Fox, The Phnom Penh Post, May 5, 2009

MONDULKIRI PROVINCE -- Conservationists undertaking yearlong count of the province's remaining tigers are cautiously optimistic on future of species.

A tiger confiscated from traders by the Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team in 2001 in its enclosure earlier this year at Phnom Tamao zoo. Photo by Tracey Shelton

TWO censuses begun last month in Mondulkiri will attempt to determine the number and needs of tigers remaining in the province, information that wildlife conservationists say is essential to preserving the existing population and fostering its expansion.

The groups conducting the censuses - the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the global conservation group WWF - are enlisting dogs trained to detect animal droppings, a process that can reveal whether tigers are present, as well as their age, sex and diet.

Like tiger populations worldwide, Cambodia's big cats have been devastated by a variety of factors, notably poaching and habitat destruction, according to wildlife conservationists.

"Essentially, the next five or 10 years are their last chance," said Thomas Gray, monitoring technical adviser for WWF, who emphasised that the current surveying efforts are crucial to ensuring that the Kingdom's tigers survive.

The last photo of a wild tiger in Cambodia dates back to November 2007. Gray said there were probably fewer than 20 tigers left in Mondulkiri.

But he said this population base was large enough to repopulate the province, provided that the tigers had access to sufficient food and shelter, and had opportunities to breed. He said the province could be full of tigers in 40 years. Read more

Photographer finds inspiration in urban poor

By David Gainsboro, The Phnom Penh Post, May 4, 2009

The intense heat radiated from the smouldering garbage below her, and the fetid smell permeated the air all around her. Amidst the refuse, a little girl climbed onto the lap of her mother whenever she stopped working: a strong mother-daughter bond clearly evident.

This is how photographer Tone Ulland spends her days in Phnom Penh: following the urban poor.

In her exhibition "Dignity", on display at Cafe Living Room, Ulland explores the daily lives of marginalised Cambodians in beautifully composed, but often graphic, pictures from her wanderings in the Stung Meanchey dump, and along the streets of the capital.

The photos capture the people who make up Phnom Penh's lower class: from street children to the middle aged and the elderly, to garbage collectors and street cleaners.

Last year, when walking the streets of Phnom Penh, a street cleaner caught her eye.

"Sometimes you just stop and stare deep into the eyes of someone and have so many questions," she said. Read more

Farinella: Hats Off To The Dalai Lama

By Mark Farinella, Sun Chronicle, May 3, 2009

<< The Dalai Lama adjusts his new Patriots' lid. (Staff photo by MARTIN GAVIN)

FOXBOROUGH, MA (USA) - Ponderous thoughts I was pondering while looking down upon the Dalai Lama, of all people, from the press box at Gillette Stadium:

Seriously, this isn't "sports" in the traditional sense. But I just have to say, lapsing into the vernacular for a moment, that it was pretty cool that Gillette Stadium played host to the Dalai Lama on Saturday.

I got a chance to listen to a little bit of the message delivered by this very serene and spiritual individual, the winner of the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize. It was fascinating to hear him speak of the need for a renewal of a sense of community on not just a global scale, but also in individual neighborhoods, as a means of bettering the human condition.

Here's an individual who has, since becoming Tibet's spiritual and political leader-in-exile in 1959, has received over 84 awards, honorary doctorates and prizes in recognition of his message of peace, non-violence, inter-religious understanding, universal responsibility and compassion - yet he still considers himself a humble Buddhist monk. And he was here, talking to New Englanders in an edifice that was built as another sort of temple, one built to honor football. Read more

Dalai Lama inspires reverent silence, cheers at stadium

By Eric Moskowitz, The Boston Globe, May 3, 2009

<< The Dalai Lama's address was about the path to peace and happiness. In the morning, he gave a lesson about the teachings of Buddha and The Four Noble Truths. The Patriots cap was a big hit. The Dalai Lama's address was about the path to peace and happiness. In the morning, he gave a lesson about the teachings of Buddha and The Four Noble Truths. The Patriots cap was a big hit. (John Tlumacki/Globe Staff)

FOXBOROUGH, MA (USA) -- After a drizzly and overcast morning, the sun broke through the clouds over Gillette Stadium yesterday moments before the Dalai Lama stepped onto the turf, as if on cue.

People rose from their seats, greeting the 73-year-old spiritual and political leader with a mix of reverent silence and cheers. "You rock, Lama!" someone shouted, the call rising from a corner of the stands.

Waving cheerfully, the Dalai Lama mounted a stage and settled into an armchair facing a troupe of young dancers. With a flourish, he produced something cherry red - a Patriots hat, projected onto the end-zone video scoreboards - and waved it in the air. Thousands cheered as he tugged the cap onto his famously shaved head.

"Good afternoon, dear brothers and sisters," the Tibetan Buddhist leader said, as adulation gave way to hushed attention. Legs crossed, hands clasped, he spoke of shared dreams and desires. "Emotionally, mentally, physically, we are same . . . Everyone have the same right to achieve happy life." Read more

Tendai Buddhists go marathon lengths for enlightenment

By Brian Ettkin, Times Union, May 3, 2009

<< PAUL "MONSHIN" NAAMON is the abbot of the Tendai Buddhist Institute in East Chatham. (Luanne M. Ferris / Times Union)

Mount Hiei, Japan -- As the men training to become Tendai Buddhist monks strode up Japan's Mount Hiei on a nearly 25-mile trek, a man called Gobo was sweating, but his skin felt cold. The 50-year-old's eyes glazed, his pallor turned ghostly, his breathing became truncated and rapid.

Paul Naamon, a former paramedic, was sure his new friend, Gobo (his Dharma name), was having a heart attack, and so Naamon informed an instructor that Gobo needed to see a doctor.

It's really not possible right here for an ambulance to reach us, the instructor said, noting the narrow path on the mountain they tread on the second day of training.

And so Naamon and the instructor pushed and pulled Gobo farther up the mountain. When they reached an open space where an ambulance could pick up Gobo, Naamon told the instructor: "Gobo's really having a heart attack. He could die. This is serious.

"And he looks at me and he says, 'Monshin (Naamon's Dharma name), you signed a sheet when you came here saying that there's only two ways to leave. You either complete the Gyo (training), or you leave in a box. ' He looked at me and said, 'Gobo could be having a heart attack. I think you're probably correct. I'm not doubting your word that he's having a heart attack. However, here's the choice: He could die doing this, and if he dies, what could be better than to die while doing the kaihogyo on Mount Hiei? Read more

Soul Searching and Seeing the Light

By Bruce Emond, The Jakarta Post, May 3, 2009

Borobudur, Central Java -- I confess that my meditation track record is not good. In fact, it's a feeble and embarrassing one, limited to a single experience during which I glanced over at a friend a few minutes into the class and promptly started giggling.

As our teacher continued with her earnest instructions, I was letting out strangled yips in one of those involuntary laughing fits that becomes painful because no conjuring up of horrific images can do anything to stop it. Needless to say, I did not return for another attempt at channeling my inner yogi.

So I was in two minds about taking up an invitation for the inaugural Amanjiwo meditation retreat, which is being held in conjunction with Waisak, the Buddhist Day of Enlightenment, until May 23. I could set aside only two days for the trip and I was not entirely convinced that a brief immersion in Buddhist ideals of mindfulness and contemplation would be the short, sharp shock necessary to get my temperamental self back on keel.

In the plus column was that there are few more spiritually enriching spots to practice meditation than the area of the plush Central Java resort - its name means "peaceful soul" - cradled amid hills and volcanoes and lying in the shadow of the hallowed Buddhist temple of Borobudur.

Another attraction was the involvement of Craig Warren Smith, who I had met and interviewed in Jakarta. A noted Buddhist life coach who knows the Dalai Lama and Richard Gere, he has practiced Shambhala (Tibetan) Buddhism since the 1970s (he also is a former Harvard professor of science and technology and has been a pioneer in bridging the digital divide for developing nations, especially Indonesia). Read more

Sunday school class explores Buddhism

By Dana Clark Felty, Savannah Now, May 2, 2009
Courtesy: The Buddhist Chanel

<< Religious education director Chris Neal teaches her students about the prayer wheel during a "Buddhism for Kids" Sunday school program at Unitarian Universalist Beloved Community Church on Sunday. Hunter McRae/Savannah Morning News

Savannah, GA (USA) -- Anijah Sampson, 6, learns to meditate during a "Buddhism for Kids" Sunday school program at Unitarian Universalist Beloved Community Church on Sunday. Hunter McRae/Savannah Morning News

SIX-YEAR-OLD CAYDEN SOMERS was rolling on the floor, jumping across the room and bouncing off the walls on Sunday as his Sunday school teacher prepared her lesson in the next room.

The energy soon transferred to 5-year-old Savana Kaufman and 6-year-old Dorothy Neal who jumped from side to side giggling hysterically.

Just as it seemed all hell would break loose, teacher Chris Neal entered the room and placed a small metal cylinder on the floor.

The children dropped to their knees and stared in awe.

The shiny object, Neal explained, is a prayer wheel used in the Buddhist religion. Inside the wheel are paper scrolls on which prayers are written.

"The Buddhists believe that spinning the wheels actually releases the prayers into the world," Neal said. "Now, we're going to release prayers into the world, too."

The lesson is part of Neal's Sunday school series "Buddhism for Kids" at the Unitarian Universalist Beloved Community Church. Read more

Dalai Lama extols virtue of compassion

By Michael Paulson and James F. Smith, Boston Globe, May 1, 2009
Courtesy: The Buddhist Channel

Calls on schools to teach kindness

<< Tibet's exiled spiritual leader Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, helped Harvard University's president, Drew Gilpin Faust, plant a birch tree in Harvard Yard during his visit yesterday. (Mark Wilson/Globe Staff)

CAMBRIDGE, MA (USA) -- Arrayed before him were deans and doctors, professors and pupils, and the full range of scholars who populate the hallowed halls of Harvard.

After the Dalai Lama slipped off his shoes, crammed his crossed legs into a too-narrow chair, and unceremoniously blew his nose, the world's most revered and honored Buddhist monk offered a bit of wisdom for the sages: Being smart doesn't make you happy.

During a day of high-minded events at Harvard and MIT, the 73-year-old spiritual leader repeatedly showed that he was not interested in the pomp of his surroundings.

When the crowd rose, in complete silence, as he entered Memorial Church, he said, abruptly and simply, "Sit down."

At a tree-planting in his honor in Harvard Yard, he made it clear this would not just be for show. He chastised the president of Harvard, Drew Gilpin Faust, for shoveling too little dirt on the birch sapling's roots, and once the dignitaries had done their thing, he grabbed his shovel and smoothed out the ground, and then took a plastic water bottle and liberally sprinkled its contents over the sun-drenched green leaves.

At Harvard, he flipped through a program while a group of Tibetan girls performed a dance for him; at MIT, as the Buddhist chaplain delivered closing remarks, the Dalai Lama busied himself putting on his slippers.

His day had two major events - a talk at Harvard about the importance of educating people to be compassionate, as well as intelligent, and a fund-raising event for a new institute in his name, the Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Transformative Values, at MIT. Read more

Dolphin deaths rise in 2009

By Nguon Sovan, The Phnom Penh Post, May 1, 2009

Conservation officials express concern that overzealous fishermen, hoping to cash in on wet season fish migration, are netting dolphin calves

<<An adult Irrawaddy dophin in Cambodia’s Kratie province in this file photograph. Photo/Tracey Shelton

Illegal gill nets being used by fisherman in Kratie province have led to the deaths of two baby Irrawaddy dolphins this year, causing local experts to fear a
another increase in calf mortality rates.

"Two baby dolphins weighing about 10 kilograms each died from gill net deployments in February and March. Last year only one dolphin died from illegal netting," Touch Seang Tana, chairman of the government's Commission for Conservation and Development of Eco-tourism in the Mekong Dolphin Zone, told the Post.

"We have arrested two fishermen in connection with the deaths and subsequently confiscated their illegal fishing equipment and educated them prior to their release," he said.

Traditionally, there is an increase of gill net deployment in the leadup to the wet season, with fisherman hoping to capitalise on fish moving into the new waterways created by the rains.

"We have launched a new crackdown until the end of next month, arresting fishermen who use illegal techniques such as dynamiting, electric fishing and gill netting - however I still predict that we will lose one or two more dolphins because our patrols are restricted by limited resources," Touch Seang Tana said. Read more

"The whole purpose of religion is to facilitate love and compassion, patience, tolerance, humility, forgiveness." ~His Holiness The Dalai Lama

his holiness samdech MAHA GHOSANANDA

Supreme Patriarch of Cambodian Buddhism (The Gandhi and the Gem of Cambodia) His whole life for the Khmer Nation, Buddhism and Peace (May 23, 1913 - March 12, 2007)

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Buddhist news around the world

Residents call for layman's release

By Chrann Chamroeun, The Phnom Penh Post, June 16, 2009