Every drone is a war crime (cartoon)

Tom Tomorrow (ThisModernWorld.com)

The MIC's Petraeus-CIA distraction: Sexual indiscretion trumps mass murder any day.

Read More

The Republican fantasy (cartoon)

This Modern World by Tom Tomorrow

When right wing Republican conservatives decided to create their own reality in America

Read More

Wanted: Urban Monks.

"All things appear and disappear because of the concurrence of causes and conditions. Nothing ever exists entirely alone; everything is in relation to everything else."-Buddha

I really like this striking image--the pagoda speaks of the timelessness of the Dharma while the buildings project the essential, utilitarian-nature of day-to-day modern life. Perhaps some might try and crop out the buildings from this picture believing they take away from the pagoda. But nothing in this world exists in a vacuum--everything exists in relation to everything else. If the world were full of nothing but serene, Buddhist, pagodas full of chanting monks, who would provide the upkeep of this world that must get done regardless of the Dharma? We need "urban monks," as well; lay people who bring the serenity of the pagodas to office buildings, prisons, schools, apartments and every nook of this world. We can touch places and lives that a lot the ordained monks can't ever reach.

I use to want to be a "traditional monk" because I believed it would provide a haven from a world that I perceived of as pure disaster. I didn't realize then how foolish and naive I was being. I was only seeing the disastrous suffering in the the world because I was filtering out the positive stuff. Through meditating upon the pitfalls of perceptions, I became aware that I was projecting the disaster that I was ignoring inside my mind, out onto the world. So, of course, all I was seeing was a chaotic world!! It is a delusional trick that we perform, so that we can blame the world for all our troubles, and not accept our responsibility.

It doesn't mean we're bad people for making these mistakes. You don't blame the baby for shitting in it's pants, do you? It's simply being a baby--and so are we. We are simply being a typical but loveable infant who is trying his/her best to grow. It's natural for a baby to make a mess of things--that's how they learn. How are you going to know that some things are less helpful in your life until you make a mistake?

So, it's o.k. to shit your pants from time to time--spiritually speaking, of course. Shit, itself, isn't bad either. To paraphrase my teacher Thich Nhat Hanh, without shit, we wouldn't have roses!! Our mistakes, fertilize the seeds of our good intentions to grow roses of happiness and peace. The key is to not blame yourself for doing something that human's can't help but do--make mistakes. This world itself is imperfect and flawed, so how could we not make mistakes? You are trying, and trying is a pro-active action. A lot of people are too afraid to try, so go easy on yourself.

PHOTO CREDIT: "Hong Kong Pagoda, and buildings" by Stuart Miles for Free Digital Photos.

~may all beings know peace~

Read More

Looking for Books to Help Navigate a Mean World.

I'm sure that I'm not the only one who has noticed in the last decade or so that much of society has become increasingly mean, disrespectful, rude, greedy, selfish and heartless toward their fellow humans--as well as toward animals. Now, I realize that not everyone is this way but at least in my area of the world, social politeness has degraded severely in my lifetime.

As many of you know, I have a debilitating psychiatric condition called, schizoaffective disorder, which is basically bipolar with some schizophrenic symptoms. Along with having a.d.d., it's hard for me to filter out the toughness and harsh social relations that are poisoning our society. Since I have trouble screening the constant bombardment of stimuli in this world, I have little bandwidth, so to speak, to absorb this nasty behavior.

Thus, I get sad, angry and frustrated with the world, rather easily. Whether it's navigating reckless driving, dealing with selfish people at the market, or living amongst others who live a shallow, superficial life; it's hard to learn how to live amongst such heartlessness and ignorance without it depressing you to the point of wanting to give up!!

So, I am looking for some suggestions on some books that I could read about how to deal with mean, nasty, rude, selfish people. I'm not talking about any of the traditional Buddhist texts/books but rather those specifically dealing with how to live in this world without it getting to you, and turning you into a cynical person from a purely psychological, clinical point of view. To narrow it down further, I'm looking for a "self-help" type book on tips for dealing with such cruelty. Of course, meditation helps a lot, (as do Buddhist books) but I need something that's more related to specific tips on living in the modern world of cruelty from a non-religious point of view.

Please, don't criticize me or condemn me for my struggles. I'm a very tender person and gets easily depressed, down on myself and easily over-whelmed with negativity. If you don't know of something that can help, and would rather tell me my problem is not being a "good enough Buddhist," then please have some compassion and keep your thoughts to yourself.

I know this is the anonymous dominated cyber-land, but please treat me with respect and remember that behind my profile is a real person who struggles a lot with psychological issues. I'm a strong person but also quite fragile to stress. This is a very hard issue for me to deal with and talk about. I don't need criticism--I need support, understanding and some tips on a few books that might help me deal with my psychological stresses from having to live with this world. Thank-you for understanding my sensitivity. It's hard enough writing this out and exposing myself, so please, treat me how you'd want to be treated. Thanks, again--James.

~Peace to all beings~

Read More

Let us Love One Another.

(Above: The famous "Tank Man" who stood down the might and power of the Chinese army during the Tienanmen Square protests in 1989).

Today I just want to reach out to whomever is reading and share a moment of humanity together.

I want to share today how much I love them. Regardless of political viewpoint, religion or non-religion. We are all human beings that deserve love, respect and tolerance. I call on all of us to make this year a peaceful one--we must stop insulting one another and actually listen to one another. We CAN work together--it has been done before, so we know it is possible. My heart is brimming over with compassion for this wounded but beautiful world--if my arms were big enough I'd give the whole world a hug. We need to let go of our pride and heal one another because we're all each other has on this far-flung planet.

So, what can we do to heal this world? Well, not much on a global scale--we are pretty helpless as individuals toward changing global problems. However, we can affect great change in our own daily lives. These are the moments in grocery store when we can share a smile. Times when we can offer a hug and a patient ear to a friend who just had a bad day. These are things we can do daily--if not multiple times a day. And they make a difference. You may have no idea what sharing a smile with someone might do for their day. Maybe they're cynical about the world but that smile gave them hope that not everyone in the world is a jerk. Or maybe you shared some words of empathy with a depressed person and forgot the incident a day or two later but chances are those words were like giving water to a person parched with thirst from wandering in the desert. It might even save a life.

I can attest first hand to the power of a strangers smile, words of empathy or concern. I sometimes struggle with suicidal depression from having a psychiatric disorder, as many of you know. I can tell you that there were several times when the seemingly smallest thought of kindness gave me the strength to go on and live another day. We just don't have any idea what impact our words and actions will have on someone. So, don't disregard those few minutes of empathy that you shared on the bus with a person struggling. It might not seem it but one word of compassion can start a chain-reaction of interdependent causes that touch countless lives for the better. And that momentum builds, slower, but exponentially until one day we witness societal changes that would seem otherwise to have come from nowhere. Yet they didn't. They were a constant wearing down of hatred, anger and delusion like a seemingly weak trickle of water cracked a giant boulder into two pieces.

We don't have to be the next Nobel Peace Prize winner, a world leader, the Dalai Lama or a celebrity to bring hope, strength and confidence to millions of people. Recall the skinny, lone man who stood a column of tanks down during the Tienanmen Square demonstrations in China? His "small action" inspired countless people to challenge not just unjust authority and power but to challenge their own unjust oppression--around the world and beyond time because I am still being inspired years later in far away America from this man's action in the past. This could be the courage to leave a violent relationship, face our often crippling fears or inspire us to be better people to ourselves and those we interact with.

So, don't doubt yourself the next time you get the urge to show some kindness toward another. Don't blow it off thinking your few words couldn't help much because perhaps not to you in your present moment because you aren't in a state of torment at that time. However, to the person who those words would be directed toward, it could mean the difference between life and death. That is how we save lives. That is how we change the world for the better; sharing the present moment with another person to connect and share our common bond is about as powerful an action we can perform!!

~Peace to all beings~

Read More