Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Conversations

Twice weekly - in addition to my regular daily entry - I will be directing readers to other blog posts in the spirit of generating conversation, and also in the hopes of adding depth and variety to our ongoing dialog about Buddhism, culture, and politics. I hope it proves useful!

Today I'll be focusing on the theme of compassion.
  • Find me a Bluebird: In this blog full of wonderful poems and images, MB discusses her recent encounter with the writer's worst nightmare...a plagiarist! MB's response to the discovery of a cyber-thief in her midst is worthy of a read. She writes, in part:
    I chose not to immediately move to shut this blog down. Instead, I sent a polite but firm “cease and desist letter” that gave this person a little time to remove my poems. Again with my husband’s help, I tried to phrase the letter in ways that they would understand that I saw them as a real person. It wasn’t much, but it was my attempt to avoid creating more negativity than was necessary to protect my work.
  • Intent Blog - Anita Roddick: Founder of The Body Shop, a leader in corporate social responsibility, Roddick writes her first post in Intent Blog about the Angola Three, social activists who have been wasting away in solitary confinement in Louisiana for 35 years. She begins her excellent post this way:
    Today, two of my best friends will spend a day as they do every other – 23-plus hours alone in a 6-by-9 foot cell, with poor ventilation, little human contact beyond the blurred cacophony of the prison tier beyond. The hour or less they will spend on the other side of their cell doors they may spend exercising in a tiny cage by running in tight circles under the razor wire, or showering. All that will make this day different is that it marks the 35th anniversary of their placement in solitary confinement, a fact I still cannot fathom.
  • Postsecret: This site filled with secrets spilled onto postcards, cannot but add to the net amount of compassion in this world.



5 comments:

Mark said...

Peter, the post by Anita Roddick reminds me of what I've been reading about Vipassana meditation. Seeing the way things really are without the personal bias and emotion we bring with us. Viewing the world through a "veil of ignorance," if you will. It seems that meditation, among other virtues, cultivates justice between beings by seeing the way things really are and what is really wrong with the system. No blaming or pointing fingers, just discovering the problem and fixing it.

I thoroughly enjoy the postsecrets, by the way. I think I'll be making a trip to a local bookstore to pick up a copy of one of their books. It's very intriguing to see how we are all connected, even in our deepest secrets.

Anonymous said...

P: Interesting. What is wrong with the system.

Tonight I saw America, Freedom to Fascism, the most important documentary I have ever seen.

Tom, Mark, Fred, Eli, Cardoso, Anonymous, everybody, SEE THIS FILM.

Have you ever seen where it says we have to pay income tax?

Have you ever wondered if a few elite are controlling everything?

Did you know the gold that is supposed to make paper money worth something is missing?

Do you sometimes feel like a slave?

See this film.

Peter Clothier said...

Carly, how? And where? Is it Netflix-able?

Anonymous said...

Peter, thanks. I'm glad you found something of meaning in that post. Not unlike the dream you just posted about ;-), I think the key lies less in how we feel than in what we choose to do about a situation. That's where my real struggle lay, at any rate, because I have this pesky philosophy of wanting to contribute to beauty in the world. Easier said than done, of course.

mb

Anonymous said...

IMPORTANT: America, Freedom to Fascism, available, Netflix

Not really a conspiracy theory film, but chillingly like one.

Contrary to what many people think, the I D card law has been passed under the Patriot Act.
"I D, please". The chip is next, Mr Orwell.

DO NOT VIEW THIS FILM LATE, BEFORE GOING TO BED, BECAUSE YOU WON'T HAVE A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP.