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Showing posts with label himalayan region. Show all posts
Showing posts with label himalayan region. Show all posts
Hemis National Parkis best for snow leopards, Tibetan argali sheep, ibex... popularize the plight of the snow leopard and show travelerswhat’s at stake, researchers from the US-based Snow Leopard Conservancy have teamed up with tour operators to organize winter treks through the park located in Buddhist Ladakh, a trans-Himalayan region in the northwestern Indianstate of Jammu-Kashmir (travelandleisure.com).
Tracking the Elusive Snow Leopard of Afghanistan
TJ Winick and Mary Compton
Flight to Asia (WeGoTwo/flickr)
HIMALAYAN RANGE- In Afghanistan, one of the most dangerous places in the world, Boone Smith is on a mission.
Not for the military, but for wildlife organizations that want to track down the most elusive big cat on the planet: The snow leopard of Afghanistan.
“This was my Holy Grail for animals I wanted to catch,” he said.
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and USAID challenged Smith, a fourth-generation big-cat trapper from Idaho, to capture and collar a snow leopard in Afghanistan in just 20 days.
“They’re borderline mythical, legendary,” Smith said. More
A snow leopard recently photographed prowling the mountains of Afghanistan has plenty of company, as revealed by the first camera-trap pictures of the big cats in the war-torn country.The pictures, taken by a team led by the Wildlife Conservation Society, show that a surprisingly robust population of possibly a hundred animals is prowling the remote Wakhan Corridor (see map). Previous estimates have suggested that perhaps only 4,500 to 7,500 snow leopards -- considered endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature -- live throughout the mountain ranges of Central Asia.
This is a companion piece to The Tibetan Book of the Dead, a Way of Life. It is a short film that centers around the premature death of a 42-year-old man in the Himalayas. He has returned to his family from a long journey and is suddenly stricken with an unknown illness. The film serves as a practical introduction to the Tibetan Book of the Dead with stunning visuals from Buddhist India high in the Himalayan province of Ladakh. The area, near the Tibetan border, is home to a unique form of Buddhism known variously as Vajrayana, Tantrayana, and Lamaism. It is mixed with an indigenous pre-Buddhist shamanistic tradition known as Bon. It survives in spite of Chinese desecration of Tibet because it was once spread throughout various Himalayan Buddhist kingdoms such as Bhutan, Sikkim, Nepal, Mustang, Ladakh, and Shangri-la.
(SCPR.org, 4th of 5 parts) In recent years, China's communist government has taken a new, proactive approach to religion. In particular, it has bolstered support for Buddhism, which provides needed charity work and financial aid -- and also serves as a counterweight to the explosion of Christianity in China.... This was the first World Buddhist Forum, attended by more than 1,000 monks, and held in China. Never before had the officially atheist country sponsored such a large religious conference. Tensions still remain in Beijing's relationship to Tibetan Buddhism, particularly given believers' loyalty to their exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.
Arun Shrivastava, South Asia Correspondent (Salem-News.com)
(Hscindia) The Mahabodhi International Meditation Centre (MIMC) is a great example of one person's vision: Ven. Sanghasenaestablished the MIMC in 1986 to offer both spiritual instructions as well as desperately needed humanitarian services to impoverished people in the remote Buddhist land of Ladakh, India, which neighbors Nepal in the Himalayas. A dedicated team of social workers, teachers, doctors, monks, nuns, community leaders, and care-providers have created an integrated community at Devachan, Ladakh. More
...The Communists, led by two closet-Christians, Prachanda and Bhattrai, perhaps supported by the Catholic Queen in Delhi, declared that Nepal is a "secular state." The Vatican declared its secular credentials too, long ago, so long as one was Christian and paid rent to the Pope.
The Mafia is slightly different: they guarantee respectable jobs; modern day Marxists and the Vatican do not, not even to their diehard slaves. Nepal’s so called NGO brigade should learn this unpalatable truth.
During the ten year long armed rebellion against the monarchy (1996-2006), the majority of the rural population and many in urban areas supported the Maoists. However, when the Maoists captured nearly 40% of the 602-member Constituent Assembly, they wanted democratic centralism akin to the former Soviet Union.
The other 60% opposed it for all sorts of reasons. The State Restructuring Commission came up with two options. But they seem to be unacceptable to various ethnic groups for various reasons...
The Maoists received foreign support, funds as well as arms such as M56 assault rifles and Heckler and Koch G3. Rebels were caught by the army and released again. The legitimate government’s forces received M249 light machine-guns, widely used by US armed forces. The death toll from the peaceniks’ arms was 4,500 [government side] and 8,200 [rebel side]. This was much less than the relatively young Madeleine Albright’s “price-worth-it” 500,000 Iraqi infants, and later 1.5 million Iraqi dead, and over 100,000 Libyans killed.
Nepalese civil society
Who cares that civil society is out there to defend people’s rights when the price is always worth it? Dead folks do not complain. NGOs, modern-day vultures, complain only when their folks are dead or done in, in every sense -- culturally, socially, economically, politically.
During classical imperialist forays mercenaries went in to kill. But after WW II, empire was built by economic hit men (EHM). Post-1990 has been the golden period of sociocultural hit men (SHM) spearheaded by cash-rich INGOs and floor-sweeper local NGOs and Christian fundamentalists.
These are ably supported by the insidious, drug peddling, racist, “indoctrination centers [of] the Chabad cult that teaches children that the Chabad Rebbe is the Moshiach and that they have to do what the Rebbe tells them to do.” [4] Young Israelis are as much ensnared into cocaine snorting as the young Nepalese. That’s modern-day civil society. Hard drugs, sex, cult following, music, and democratic free-thinking are the opiates of the masses.
Behind this façade lies the globalist-corporatist agenda of enslavement and that is beyond the comprehension of the civil society morons. Nepal’s youth is done in. More
The Buddhas of Bamiyan, Afghanistan -- which the maverick scholar and historian Ranajit Pal, Ph.D. considers to be in vicinity of the original Kapilavastu, where Siddhartha grew up -- is ancient land in Himalayan foothills.
Buddhism is steeped in the geography of ancient Greater India (Maha Bharat), which at the time of the Buddha was a collection of loosely aligned territories. There are relics and markers throughout the region (many now outside the country) including ancient northwest Gandhara, present-day Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Note people on foot. The tallest of the Buddhas of Bamiyan may not be the biggest in Asia.
India, and its Shakyan neighbor in the northwest, was expansive and fluid. People were aligned with extended family clans, and united by commonalities in language and trade. Buddhism and its precursor "wandering ascetic" (shramana) tradition are found even in the preceding Harappan era along with much of the history the Buddha mentioned, which we can assume was from the Indus Valley Civilization and earlier.
Buddhas are spoken of as having arisen in previous aeons, far earlier than modern archeology is willing to concede that modern humans existed. But another maverick historian and archeologist shows evidence of the great antiquity of humanity (and hybrids) on this planet: Michael Cremo, who is informed not only by science but the ancient Vedas as well, as humans have been devolving through the ages.
The area of Bamiyan in Central Asia was Zoroastrian, founded by the asura Zoroaster (Zarathustra), and Buddhist at one time, that is, whatever fragments or memories remained of pre-Shakyamuni buddhas. before Gotama which implies that Buddhism was as old as Zoroastrianism. Dr. Pal contends that "detailed study reveals close links of early Buddhism with Hinduism, Judaism and Zoroastrianism which rose in the Bamiyan-Baluchistan-Gandhara area."
The viewing point over Bamiyan valley from within the head of the tallest Buddha statue
(Holger Kersten is an excellent resource for information on ancient Jewish outposts in India). "The crucial fact that the Silk Road passed through the Buddhist heartland has escaped the notice of all," Dr. Pal explains. This is how Buddhism spread, even as the Buddha Gautama went back and forth from his native Kapilavastu to the ancient central kingdom of India, Magadha, where he otherwise spent much of his time teaching. He early on sent enlightened missionaries in all directions to spread the Dharma. They must have reached at least as far as Kalmykia, in indigenously Buddhist Europe.
Lumbini (Siddhartha's garden birthplace) or Kapilavastu (his hometown) in Nepal is, Dr. Pal contends, an archeological and historical "fraud." Wisdom Quarterly much to the chagrin of the governments of Islamic Afghanistan and Hindu-dominated Nepal and India. (Nepal was once the only Hindu nation in the world; India never was; they both now lean secular with a great financial interest in Buddhist tourism and history). Dr. Pal points out that, "Nothing in the art, archaeology, history or literature of early Nepal has the faintest hint of Buddhism." More photos
Buddha Boy (born April 9, 1990) has given talks over the years -- some to inspire the greatest spiritual ideals, some to bless and comfort and bring prosperity, some to plead for peace and compassion towards one another as well as animals and the forest/environment. These are given in the local language, while chanting is usually done in Sanskrit. Many are videotaped. And a few are formally translated. This is a collection of subtitled videotaped utterances to give a sense of Buddha Boy's (Dharma Sangha) message for the world so far.
Om Namo Guru Buddha Gyani("Salutation to the One who knows Buddha" or "Hail the future buddha-knowledge guru") is also known as Ven. Dharma Sangha, Tapaswi Palden Dorje, Tamang Tulku Rimpoche, who was born Ram Bahadur Bomjon.
He has yet to announce accomplishing his goal and making known that timeless and immediately effective Dharma for the sake of which one sets off on a noble quest. He began meditating 2005 at the age of 15. This pivotal year, "Mayan 2012" (or 0-1) in the popular consciousness, may see the fulfillment of his prediction. But what did he predict?
How it all began DharmaSangha.info edited by Wisdom Quarterly Buddha Boy, now Ven. Dharma Sangha or simply Guru, visited Lumbini, Nepal (the garden believed by many to be where Siddhartha was born). He took Five Precepts (pancha sila) of abstaining from killing animals (and so becoming a vegetarian), stealing, lying, thinking negatively of others, and intoxicants then trained with gurus in Dehra Dun, India.
He returned to Nepal's beautiful lakeside city of Pokhara. And taking ill he implored his family not to sacrifice any animals or take any alcohol otherwise further complications would arise. He got better but was still limping when he disappeared from his home the night of May 16, 2005.
When his mother found out, she alerted the village, and everyone joined in the search. A local boy claimed to have seen him while shaking a mango tree. Guru had come by and picked one up then stepped fully clothed into the river. “I thought you had disappeared,” the boy remarked to Guru. “Have I?” Guru replied. “You’d better go home, and be careful not to touch me.”
The boy ran home to tell his story, but at first nobody believed him. Guru’s relatives went to the ravine. Guru smiled characteristically when they found him. They told him to come home. “I’ll go home at 4:00 pm” Guru said. His family decided it would be wise to keep an eye on him, so some siblings stayed. At 4:00, he picked up a couple of mangoes and began to eat one. He told his little brother to bring him water, rice, his lama robes, a mala (beads), and a picture of the Buddha. His little brother did.
Guru’s sister came to tell him to come home at once. Seeing how emaciated he looked from his previous illness, she cried and begged him. He told her to stop crying, and she went home.
Meditating in the jungle with Buddha Boy, Nepal's tropical Terai
Meditation Begins
Then sitting in a meditative posture he seemed to go into trance. He began to ask himself questions and answer them out loud. The villagers came and told him to stop being silly and come home. They feared he might be ill or crazy. When his older brother touched him, Guru’s body became exceedingly hot and turned red.
“Please leave me alone, or one of us may die” Guru said. “If anyone disturbs me or my things at midnight, I will have to meditate for 20 years. But if all goes well, I will meditate for six years.”
Then Guru, followed by his brother and in the distance villagers, set out to find a good place in the forest for meditation. His parents insisted he take some food and water with him. Finally, he reached his destination at 11:00 am on May 18, 2005. This was the day the villagers of Ratanpuri celebrated Buddha Jayanti (Vesak).
Buddha Boy's first pipal or bodhi tree.
He settled himself under a pipal tree (just like the historical Buddha's sacred fig tree), having offered 10 kinds of fruit to the picture of the Buddha. About 30 villagers saw where Guru was meditating, and they left an offering of over 1,000 rupees as was the custom at Buddha Jayanti.
On that night at 12:00 am, some pranksters came to disturb him and steal the offering. They quarreled over the money, and later accused each other in front of villagers. Having confessed, they asked Guru’s forgiveness.
Guru left his first meditation spot and traveled north on May 24, 2005. At that time he gave six pipal leaves to his second eldest brother telling him to keep them in oil. He said that as long as his family kept the leaves, all would be well. His relatives cried when he left.
Again the villagers were concerned about his whereabouts. But late in the afternoon, a cowherd saw him at his new meditation site. The villagers sent his family to bring him home. But Guru refused and moved to yet another pipal tree to the east.
He told his family that he must continue to meditate at all costs. He drew a boundary around his meditation area. Later villagers and relatives built a fence for him. A growing crowd gathered at the site, so he asked for a hut to be built and sealed with plastic on all sides. He remained in it for 15 days. After that he explained: “I have received some energy so that I may now meditate under a tree outside.”
There was a terrible drought in the village. Guru advised the villagers to petition a naga (dragon, reptilian entity, snake deity). After five days, it started raining.
On his 75th day of meditation, he opened his eyes and asked his elder brother to address him, “Om Namo Buddha Gyani” (“Salutation to the One who knows Buddha”). Then he returned to his meditation. From that day on he was addressed as Om Namo Buddha Gyani.
On August 18, 2005 he called together his friends who were lamas. They asked him how it was that he was surviving without water. Guru replied that two nagas -- "dragons" often associated with water -- protected him from either side. That day Guru also changed his clothes and wore a white cloth called ngag.
[The Nagas are a tribal group who reside in the Indian Himalayan range, as are the Nga, both of whom seem named after the reptilian entities of Indian lore. Such beings, which are not always bad, are highly regarded in Tibet, Bhutan, and China as well.]
On November 6, 2005 a venomous snake (also called a naga) bit him. He sweat more than two liters (apparently still not taking liquids) as he continued to meditate. He thus overcame the venom. Local follower believe he reached enlightenment on this day, for the Bodhisattva (one yet to be enlightened) has the ability to survive otherwise deadly snake venom by staying against a tree, soil, and stone to digest, breakdown, and clear the poison. One is able to remain unaffected by wind and can understand the communication of all creatures (which more than by way of auditory language seems to be telepathic).
On November 8, 2005 Buddha Boy told the people gathered that he did not have the energy of a buddha. And he asked them not to publicize him as an "incarnation of the Buddha."
On November 11, 2005 a bright light appeared shining forth from his head (aura, nimbus, halo). His followers cried with joy and became even more fervent. But he told them, “Leave me in peace, and there will soon be peace in the country.” [That peace seems to have arrived.]
However crowds kept increasing. People chanted because pujas are emotionally devotional events rather than silently meditative ones. They set up a marketplace, according to broadcasters from Radio HBC 94 FM who visited the site on December 10, 2005.
The crowds were kept at a distance of about 50 meters. All witnesses claimed that Guru neither ate, drank or left to relieve himself. He just sat and meditated under the pipal tree. Baffled onlookers were ever increasing. There were stories of miracles: a girl and a young man had gained the power of speech although they could not speak. More
(ITN News) Disturbing video from the Free Tibet group allegedly shows a Tibetan Buddhist monk after he committed self-immolation in Ngaba (Aba). Report by Mark Morris.
Suicide is never advisable. Running from suffering (dukkha) by running toward more suffering is no way to end suffering. Self-martyrdom is no way to garner attention of a cause. The world knows Tibet is suffering. Decades ago when the CIA entered the Himalayas to thwart China, India, and Central Asian states and assert strategic control of the Himalayan region, it brokered a deal with the Dalai Lama and Tibet's church-and-state government. The result has been part of fallout of that devil's bargain.
Chinese police beat burn survivors to death and courts imprison others.
The Dalai Lama, technically speaking, by accepting such aid and advice from US imperial forces (the West's multinational Military-Industrial Complex) became a CIA operative. When did he ever renounce his membership? What did that lesser-of-two-evils choice do for Tibet?
It may have kept Tibet on the map. But the US can neither control China nor defeat it. In its attempt to subvert the world's biggest country, it has made Tibet a pawn.
As Tibet is seen to align with Western military forces and India, who hosts its government-in-exile in Dharamsala to spite China, China applies medieval police state special weapons and tactics (SWAT) on it. Those weapons and tactics are American exports.
Self-immolation only causes China humiliation, and it uses the loss of face to justify becoming more and more draconian
What do the US, MIC, NATO, or any other Western nation do? They secretly fund and train paramilitary forces around the world on how to use these exact same tactics against civilian populations.
In the meantime, Buddhism is misrepresented as applauding this form of suicide and self-directed violence.
(SVS) Stratfor's Rodger Baker, Vice President of Strategic Intelligence, examines the tactic of self-immolation as a way to galvanize protest movements.
Self-immolators are exhibiting nationalist tendencies far more than exemplifying any Buddhist teaching.
A selfless act in line with anatta ("not-self," the impersonal nature of ego, the physical-and-psychological phenomena we feel closest to) or shunyata (the "emptiness" of all conditioned phenomena) would exhibit qualities the Buddha was famous for:
In desperation, to heat up a cold war with the Chinese Empire, guerrilla tactics are no way to win. We burn ourselves, we burn the other, and we both are the worse for it.
Of course, as humans, as Buddhists, as Americans, we side with Tibet. Of course, we side with the 14th Dalai Lama (a benevolent king/pope, who fortunately retired from his role as head of state). But we do not side with the forces of war.
It is not clear that the CIA is any better than the Chinese Communist regime putting into effect its own dreams of empire.
Will the CIA/MIC win and deliver semi-autonomous Tibetan, Uygur, and Taiwanese regions to freedom? Not a chance. It is only exchanging one dictator for another. "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss" (The Who). Look what CAI/MIC plotted using Japan to ransack China's gold during the time of the pre-Communist government.
