LTGEN Ann Dunwoody is promoted to become nation's first female 4-star general! Bravo Zulu!
Friday, November 14, 2008
Congratulations General Ann Dunwoody!
LTGEN Ann Dunwoody is promoted to become nation's first female 4-star general! Bravo Zulu!
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Good Readings...
Here's a great thank you to the troops message posted at the Hardcore Zen blog: http://hardcorezen.blogspot.com/2008/11/like-your-buddhism-thank-veteran.html
Thank you Brad!
Thank you Brad!
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Veterans Day
Do not forget to offer incense for our brothers and sisters in uniform today. Welcome them into your sanghas. Do not disparage them. Assist them in finding peace.
Namo Amida Butsu
Monday, November 10, 2008
Thursday, November 6, 2008
"In His Service and Yours"
When I was on leave last week I attended the American Academy of Religions annual conference in Chicago. This is primarily an academic conference, not a gathering of clergy (although some clergy are also scholars) and I noticed that there were a number of Buddhist monastics in attendance. A friend of mine, Chaplain Danny Fisher, occasionally blogs about what goes on in these conferences, since he is involved in this type of scholarship. I'm mostly an observer (I've never presented a paper): I've been a member of the AAR since my graduate school days - it's interesting to hear all the different lectures, even if some of them tend to be much on the heavy postmodern jargon density side! I recommend anyone who is interested in military chaplaincy and/or getting their graduate degree in Buddhist Studies to keep abreast of the scholarship in the Buddhist Studies field.
While at the AAR, I had the fortunate opportunity to meet Ms. Lee Lawrence, a journalist who is currently co-producing an independent documentary on military chaplains. She and Terry Nickelson also wrote a series of articles on the subject military chaplains for The Chistian Scientist Monitor newspaper. They interviewed a number of Army, Air Force, and Navy Chaplains. I thought these were very well written. The documentary looks to be on the same level, although I have not seen it: it is in post-production I think, or somewhere around there, so it is not out yet, but I'm looking forward to viewing it. The link can be found here: http://www.inhisserviceandyours.com/
Hopefully, these articles and the documentary will help the public in understanding the roles of the military chaplain, which I think is probably one of the least-understood professions in our society. I would probably add that it is possibly one of the most difficult - and least-palatable - for most people, even clergy, for what are obvious reasons. So the fact that it is rarely discussed or brought up, even in study by religion scholars for example, is pretty surprising to me, and what is out there tends to lean towards the polemical. I hope this trend will change.
While at the AAR, I had the fortunate opportunity to meet Ms. Lee Lawrence, a journalist who is currently co-producing an independent documentary on military chaplains. She and Terry Nickelson also wrote a series of articles on the subject military chaplains for The Chistian Scientist Monitor newspaper. They interviewed a number of Army, Air Force, and Navy Chaplains. I thought these were very well written. The documentary looks to be on the same level, although I have not seen it: it is in post-production I think, or somewhere around there, so it is not out yet, but I'm looking forward to viewing it. The link can be found here: http://www.inhisserviceandyours.com/
Hopefully, these articles and the documentary will help the public in understanding the roles of the military chaplain, which I think is probably one of the least-understood professions in our society. I would probably add that it is possibly one of the most difficult - and least-palatable - for most people, even clergy, for what are obvious reasons. So the fact that it is rarely discussed or brought up, even in study by religion scholars for example, is pretty surprising to me, and what is out there tends to lean towards the polemical. I hope this trend will change.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Our New Commander-in-Chief
History has been made tonight. Barack Obama will be our nation's first African-American President and Commander-in-Chief of of its Armed Forces. This is a tremendous moment! He may not have been who some of us voted for, but as members of the military, he is our Number One guy now!
I only hope that, with this victory, that President Obama will listen to the advice of his generals and admirals, and the troops on the ground and sailors at sea. I hope that he will remember the voices of those who voted for him on this day. I hope he will be mindful of the people of Iraq and Afrghanistan. Most of all, I hope that we, as a people, remember that our leaders are but human beings like ourselves, neither "saviors" nor "devils" - though by reading in the media in the past weeks that idea certainly didn't come across very well. It's amazing the pressure that this man will be under.
Sakyamuni Buddha, we should remember, did not live in a democratic society, and so we do not know what he may have thought of the concept of "one man one vote" (or one woman one vote for that matter) and even less what his opinion would be of the current American electoral college. Any speculation about who he would have "voted" for must remain just that -wishful speculation (just as all the nonsense also written about who Jesus would have voted for)! However, it would be good just now to be reminded that the Buddha regarded all as capable of the greatest path a human being could undertake - not running for President(!) but for Awakening, which was not dependent on being born into a good family (caste) but by exemplary living. Anyone could do this. So perhaps, after all, there are similarities between ancient, oligarchic India and present-day America!
We have the karma to be residents of a country in which a person like Barack Obama can become President through open and free elections. This is a blessing to recognize, even if we did not vote for President Obama. This is a winning situation for all! Now, may we be able to continue this reality (no longer just a dream), and go on with our duty to defend this great nation.
Namo Amida Butsu
I only hope that, with this victory, that President Obama will listen to the advice of his generals and admirals, and the troops on the ground and sailors at sea. I hope that he will remember the voices of those who voted for him on this day. I hope he will be mindful of the people of Iraq and Afrghanistan. Most of all, I hope that we, as a people, remember that our leaders are but human beings like ourselves, neither "saviors" nor "devils" - though by reading in the media in the past weeks that idea certainly didn't come across very well. It's amazing the pressure that this man will be under.
Sakyamuni Buddha, we should remember, did not live in a democratic society, and so we do not know what he may have thought of the concept of "one man one vote" (or one woman one vote for that matter) and even less what his opinion would be of the current American electoral college. Any speculation about who he would have "voted" for must remain just that -wishful speculation (just as all the nonsense also written about who Jesus would have voted for)! However, it would be good just now to be reminded that the Buddha regarded all as capable of the greatest path a human being could undertake - not running for President(!) but for Awakening, which was not dependent on being born into a good family (caste) but by exemplary living. Anyone could do this. So perhaps, after all, there are similarities between ancient, oligarchic India and present-day America!
We have the karma to be residents of a country in which a person like Barack Obama can become President through open and free elections. This is a blessing to recognize, even if we did not vote for President Obama. This is a winning situation for all! Now, may we be able to continue this reality (no longer just a dream), and go on with our duty to defend this great nation.
Namo Amida Butsu
Thursday, October 2, 2008
A Port Visit to Phuket
Phuket is one of the southern provinces of Thailand, a predominantly Theravada Buddhist country. US Navy ships occasionally make port visits there, or up north to Bangkok. Recently our deployed ship made a port visit, and so I had the fortunate opportunity to see some of the Buddhist sites on the island. I took a small group of Sailors with me who were also interested in seeing some of the local sites (in between shopping for souvenirs and suits)! There are some particularly interesting places: the largest Buddhist temple in Phuket is Wat Chalong. It is a temple complex of several large buildings, very beautiful and imposing. It was probably first built in the 19th-century, and houses a relic of the Lord Buddha that was brought from Sri Lanka. You can view the reliquary easily. Also prominent in the main hall are statues of Phuket's most famed monks, Luang Pho Chaem (1827-1908), and Luang Pho Chuang (1875-1945). You can purchase amulets with his image on them (although I didn't); many Thais believe such amulets are auspicious for the wearer. Unfortunately there are very few signs in English, though we did see a large number of visitors, both local Thais and foreigners.
Another site we visited was the Phra Puttamingmongkol Akenakkiri Buddha, more commonly known as the "Phuket Big Buddha." It is destined to become one of Phuket's major attractions! It's actually a new structure (many of our Sailors assumed it was ancient) and is not 100% completed yet, but it is easy to visualize how it will look once construction is finished. It's 148 feet high, and we were actually able to see it from our ship as we were anchoring off the coast. It is on the summit of a small mountain; on the road up, there were signs with a quote from Buddha's last sermon: "Whoever sees the Dhamma sees me." The statue is of a seated Sakyamuni Buddha. Scaffolding is still all around the statue, and the outer marble casing still needs to be added before it is complete; visitors can donate 100 baht to write an inscription on a marble tile that may (or may not!) be used on the Buddha. (Nishi Hongwanji-ha did the same fundraising to replace the roof on its Goeido or Founder's Hall in Kyoto). There is a smaller gold statue of the Buddha sitting atop Mucalinda that is already finished. The construction is being funded mostly by donations. There is a warehouse-type building near the construction site where you can donate for the construction, read about its history, and buy amulets and books (there are some in English and other languages). Also you may give offerings and receive a blessing from the one monk on duty. I hope to come back and see the Phuket Big Buddha when it is complete.
Phuket was a great place to visit. It's a very religiously diverse place; we saw several mosques on the way to and from town, and there are a few Christian churches, and Chinese temples. Phuket was devastated by the 2004 tsunami, and although all the debris has since been cleated, you can tell it is still in the process of recovery.
If you are able to visit Thailand, make Phuket's Buddhist sites one of your destinations!
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