List of World Leaders Who Will Not Attend the Beijing Olympics Grows.

The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, yesterday became the first world leader to decide not to attend the Olympics in Beijing.

As pressure built for concerted western protests to China over the crackdown in Tibet, EU leaders prepared to discuss the crisis for the first time today, amid a rift over whether to boycott the Olympics.

The disclosure that Germany is to stay away from the games' opening ceremonies in August could encourage President Nicolas Sarkozy of France to join in a gesture of defiance and complicate Gordon Brown's determination to attend the Olympics.

Donald Tusk, Poland's prime minister, became the first EU head of government to announce a boycott on Thursday and he was promptly joined by President Václav Klaus of the Czech Republic, who had previously promised to travel to Beijing.

James: I'm pleased that major players on the world stage are voicing their displeasure with China's image before the Olympic games in Beijing. I opposed the decision to award China the Olympics in the first place, however, it is not possible to put that genie back in the bottle. That being said, It is important to remind the world that the Chinese government does not totally live up to the Olympic spirit of peace in how it rules its people nor the repressive governments that it supports (Burma, Sudan and Vietnam to name but a few).

As Buddhists we have a responsibility to be loving and compassionate but sometimes that requires speaking about uncomfortable things, sometimes it means disagreeing with people such as is the case with the Chinese governments' abuses of power.

Guess what two major corporations are sponsoring the Beijing Olympics? Two companies that are about as American as you get--McDonalds and Coca-Cola. Yet the message that they are sending by making money off the brutal Chinese regime is very much against the American ideals of freedom and human rights. It's a perfect example of how greed can lead us to rationalize anything--even our very principles.

I just sent an email to McDonalds and Coca-Cola asking them politely to think about their actions in supporting the dictatorial Chinese government through corporate sponsorship. If you would like to email them as well, just click on their company names listed above and the link will take you right to the email forms.UPDATE: I woke up this morning to sadly see the Olympic torch in a staged event at Tienanmen Square in Beijing China. Of course Tienanmen Square was the sight in 1989 of horrible violence meant to end a peaceful protest where some claims put the number of dead at 2-3,000. In sad irony the translation of the name Tienanmen means, Gate of Heavenly Peace.

So it was disheartening to see the Olympic torch which represents the goodwill amongst all people of the world displayed on that plaza of bloodshed. Goodwill is often defined as the disposition of kindness and compassion. Tienanmen Square does not represent compassion nor kindness to the people killed, beaten and illegally arrested for simply marching for basic freedom.

There are many people in China today who live in constant fear of their dictatorial government and I doubt that they experience much kindness and compassion coming from such a brutal leadership.

And as mentioned above the Chinese government that is running the over-sight of the Olympic games in Beijing supports the brutal Burmese government who beat, killed and illegally arrested hundreds of its own people in last years peaceful demonstrations for freedom.

~Peace to all beings~

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The Praying Dog and How Animals Teach Us.

The Associated Press

NAHA, Japan — At a Zen Buddhist temple in southern Japan, even the dog prays.

Mimicking his master, priest Joei Yoshikuni, a 1 1/2-year-old black-and-white Chihuahua named Conan joins in the daily prayers at Naha's Shuri Kannondo temple, sitting up on his hind legs and putting his front paws together before the altar.

It took him only a few days to learn the motions, and now he is the talk of the town.

"Word has spread, and we are getting a lot more tourists," Yoshikuni said Monday.

Yoshikuni said Conan generally goes through his prayer routine at the temple in the capital of Japan's southern Okinawa prefecture (state) without prompting before his morning and evening meals.

"I think he saw me doing it all the time and got the idea to do it too," Yoshikuni said.

The priest is now trying to teach him how to meditate. Well, sort of.

"Basically, I am just trying to get him to sit still while I meditate," he explained. "It's not like we can make him cross his legs."

James: I adore dogs. They are so innocent, full of unconditional love and joyful to be around. This one seems to be preparing for rebirth as a human and perhaps a monk. :)I'm sure that this little doggie doesn't understand what he is doing but I'm sure that he feels the peaceful energy surrounding him that helps him feel content, peaceful and calm. He has Buddha nature as any other living entity and is our relative in the large and beautiful family of sentient beings.

It seems less skillful to me to regard animals as less than us and therefore somehow not worthy of our protection and kindness. We must look upon animals with compassion and help them live the best life possible to help reduce their suffering as no sentient beings wants to suffer. And even though we see ourselves as their teachers and guides, they too have much to offer and teach us.

They remind us not to take ourselves too seriously, they teach us how to have unconditional love for others, they remind us of the freedom found in the present moment and to not let anger rule our hearts but to forgive and move on. Animals are the ultimate optimists who teach us a positive attitude brings great happiness and that is o.k. to be submissive at times.

I'd love to hear what you learn from animals in the comment section. :)

Special thanks to my reader Perri for sending this story my way.

~Peace to all beings~

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"My Stroke of Insight," by Jill Bolte Taylor.

This is an excellent video speech from a scientist of the brain, Jill Bolte Taylor who describes what it was like to suffer a stroke. Yet she beautifully spoke of the peace that was involved at the same time she was experiencing a health crisis that so many of us fear. It is a brave, courageous story in accepting and being aware of what is going on in our present situation. You might notice some Buddhist themes/ideas within it. I must thank my fellow traveler in samsara who wishes to remain anonymous for sending me this great video. I bow to the Buddha within him and you all. Enjoy!!:

~Peace to all beings~

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Spring is Reborn.

Sometimes the concept of rebirth is hard to envision because it seems like a mystical, supernatural idea that is hard for our limited minds to understand. And to be honest, I don't know for a fact that we will be reborn. I have faith that rebirth is a reality but I don't dwell much on the concept and constantly worry how I will be reborn and what do I need to do to be reborn into a "good situation," whatever that means. I do not think that this kind of attention is helpful to us because it only brings us anxiety because we are attached to something that is impossible to figure out in this moment.

I have personally found it more skillful to focus on the present moment at hand where we have the best chance to liberate ourselves from the suffering that we bring upon ourselves by wasting that moment obsessing about what happens upon the death of the body. Each moment is a chance to be reborn anew giving us another precious moment to live mindfully which enables us to transform habit energy into something more positive and more helpful in our ultimate goal of achieving full liberation from samsara. It is ironic that we refer to it as liberation when it is more like remembering, remembering our essence which is nothing short of Buddhahood.

Being fully present in being aware of our surroundings we see the beauty of rebirth in a direct way all around us. We know and see the change of seasons in many areas of the world and with mindfulness we see that this process is a reflection of the reality of human life. In the spring we are born, we grow up in the summer into adulthood, in the winter we begin to age and in the winter we die but the process continues. On the coldest days of winter it seems that life is gone and so is the beauty of existence but there is joy to be found even in that season of death. The coldness is not unlike the cold feelings that we experience when a loved has died and is a reminder to us to make the most of each moment.

The snow in the world shuts down the known and conditioned brain's "preferred" beauty of blooming trees, plants, flowers and active animal life. To our blinding sensory desires we miss the artistic way that snow sculpts itself into delicate and stunning formations. We miss the creative way that icicles form and accent the sky. We often miss the beautiful contrast of green pine trees dusted with fine layers of white snow.

If winter in your part of the world means rain, we miss the beauty of the cleansing nature of water and how without water the rebirth of life sustaining plants would never be possible. The winter monsoons drive people indoors for days at a time and it is easy to resent the rain because it prevents us from doing the things that we love outside. However, seen in a more mindful way it should be seen as a blessing because it gives us time to be mindful, reflect on our lives and allows us ample time to meditate.

All is being reborn here in my part of the world, flowers are growing, trees and budding and birds are looking to usher in new life. This is another chance to enjoy the beauty of change. So often we only see suffering in change but like with all experiences there is beauty and joy to be found.

So do not worry over enlightenment, Nirvana and the Pure Land for they are all present in the here and now. The total liberation in the scriptural state will happen when we are ready and our karma has ripened. In the mean time, the bliss of Nirvana can be seen in the beauty of delicate flowers re-emerging right before our eyes and even in the dark cold days of winter. All is present to us if we but relax our minds and allow ourselves to just be. We are apart of Buddha's enlightenment and therefore Buddha's to be, what a wonderful thought!! What a wonderful heritage we are apart of!!

There is nothing that is not divine for all is as it can only be. We can not do anything else but go with the flow of the vast river of pure being. Resistance is the path of suffering.

May we all realize joy in the rebirth of each breath. Present moment, wonderful moment, only moment. I leave you with the words of my precious teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh:
~Peace to all beings~

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Five Years of War in Iraq.

It has been five years since the start of the Iraq war and it is a sad anniversary to say the least.

The length of this war shows us that war only causes more violence, hatred and mistrust. There are very few wars that have done much good, the only one that I can think of would be World War II. However, even that war caused much unnecessary suffering and death such as the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki or the bombing of Dresden.

I firmly believe that it would have been enough to tell the Japanese that America had such a bomb of mass destruction to get them to surrender. I think another option would have been to simply set the bomb off way out in the ocean where no one would have been killed but the large explosion could be seen and be convincing enough to bring about a Japanese surrender.

Even in the midst of the war in Iraq there are those who would start another one with Iran. I believe firmly that we can settle disputes with the Persian country if we engage in meaningful and in-depth dialog with them. In not talking with them America is increasing the tension and distrust between the two countries.

The Iranians do not want to suffer just as everyone does not want to suffer. It is vital that the world understands that we are interconnected and that we cannot over-come our suffering and fears by creating suffering and fear for others.

The culture of war may never cease while humans live on this planet but if there must be war may there be as little death, injury and suffering as possible.

May Iraq know lasting peace by this time next year.

~Peace to all beings~

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