February 2010 Archives

Here is an important article in BBC news about the beautiful city of Jerusalem.

The issue is about the realities of ancient Jewish lore and history sitting archeologically  beneath parts of East Jerusalem:

The City of David excavations, with their underground tunnels and ancient pools, centre around the Palestinian district of Silwan. It is in East Jerusalem, which Israel has occupied since its 1967 war.

"One religion or another may look at an excavation site and say - that land is ours," Mr Mizrahi said.

But he qualified this by saying even if archaeologists were to find a big sign, reading 'Welcome to King David's Palace', that wouldn't give Jewish Israelis the right to claim East Jerusalem today.

The work we do here is not about looking
for a particular heritage of one or other. We find
what there is and display what there is

John Seligman
Israel Antiquities Authority



"Just like if the Vatican found something here,
it wouldn't give the church the right to take
ownership of this land. The bottom line is that
Palestinians are the majority in East Jerusalem,"

Yontan Mirza
Tour Guide

One hopes this is for real.  (It appears in the People's Daily).

Additionally, if it is a genuine invitation, one hopes that the Buddhist community and leaders in question have the fortitude to function as a true voice of conscience in the relationship.  It is a rare religious leader that stays above the heady distractions and ego temptations when sucked into political prominence, and it is the rare political figure that takes interest in religion in ways other than the personal political benefits of the relationship.

China's top political advisor Jia Qinglin on Wednesday called on the country's Buddhists to contribute to ethnic unity, social stability and national unification.
 

Jia Qinglin (front R), chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference(CPPCC), shakes hands with Chuan Yin, the newly elected president of the Buddhist Association of China, in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 3, 2010. Jia met with the delegates of the eighth national conference of the Buddhist Association of China in Beijing on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)
Jia, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, made the call when meeting with newly elected leaders of the Buddhist Association of China. He urged the association to unite and lead Chinese Buddhists to safeguard China's ethnic unity, social stability and national unification, and work hard to contribute to the all-round construction of a well-off society. Efforts should be made to cultivate more Buddhist talents and improve Buddhist education, said Jia, also member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.

Jia Qinglin (front R), chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference(CPPCC), walks with Chuan Yin (front L), the newly elected president of the Buddhist Association of China, in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 3, 2010. Jia met with the delegates of the eighth national conference of the Buddhist Association of China in Beijing on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

Chuan Yin, who had headed the Beijing Buddhist Association, was elected as president of the Buddhist Association of China at the organization's eighth national conference Wednesday, while the 11th Panchen Lama was elected a vice president. Source: Xinhua

Wonderful

http://fwd4.me/EQS


Officials, visitors and journalists take a tour following a ceremony of the completion of the restoration works at the Monastery of St. Antony, Suez city, Egypt, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010. Egypt's antiquities chief on Thursday unveiled the completion of an 8-year, $14.5 million restoration of the world's oldest Christian monastery, touting it as a sign of Christian-Muslim coexistence. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser) (Nasser Nasser, AP / February 4, 2010)


ZAAFARANA, Egypt (AP) -- Egypt's antiquities chief on Thursday unveiled the completion of an 8-year, $14.5 million restoration of the world's oldest Christian monastery, touting it as a sign of Christian-Muslim coexistence.

The announcement at the 1,600-year-old St. Anthony's Monastery came a month after Egypt's worst incident of sectarian violence in over a decade, when a shooting on a church on Orthodox Christmas Eve killed seven people.

The attack raised heavy criticism of the Egyptian government abroad and at home, by critics who say it has not done enough to address tensions between the country's Muslim majority and its Christian population, estimated at 10 percent of the 79 million population.

The government insists the shooting was a purely criminal act with no sectarian motives, and officials persistently deny the existence of significant Muslim-Christian frictions.

Top archaeologist Zahi Hawass took the opportunity to reiterate that stance as he showed journalists the work at St. Anthony's, an ancient compound at the foot of the desert mountains near Egypt's Red Sea coast.

"The announcement we are making today shows to the world how we are keen to restore the monuments of our past, whether Coptic, Jewish or Muslim," he said, referring to the dominant Orthodox Coptic Christian sect in Egypt.

"The incident in Upper Egypt can happen between two brothers," said Hawass when asked if there was any connection between the Jan. 6 shooting and the timing of his announcement at the monastery. "I want everyone to forgot this incident."

Hawass noted that the restoration work at the monastery was carried out by Muslims.

St. Anthony, widely revered as the founder of Christian monasticism, settled in this remote mountainous area at the end of the 3rd century to live in isolation. Upon his death, his followers built the monastery, which was completed around A.D. 350 remains in use to this day.

In the government-sponsored project, workers renovated the fortress-like ancient wall surrounding the monastery and the walls of its two main churches -- the 14th century Church of the Apostles and the 6th century Church of St. Anthony. They also renovated monks' quarters and a 6th century tower into which monks would retreat during attacks by marauding Bedouin tribes throughout the Middle Ages.

http://fwd4.me/EQD


Bodh Gaya, Feb 4 (ANI): Buddhists monks from across the country converged at Bodh Gaya to participate in a religious procession on Wednesday.

Decked up elephants. horses and camels and palanquins accompanied the monks who took out the ashes of Buddha and two of his prominent disciples for public display.

Devout Buddhists and even others considered the viewing of the urn containing the ashes of Lord Buddha as divine blessing.

"We have people from India

, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Sikkim and Nepal with a desire to see the ashes of the Lord Buddha once in their lifetime. They feel happy and content after coming here," said P. Sivli Thero, a senior monk, Mahabodhi Society of India, an apex body of Buddhist shrines.



Lord Buddha attained enlightenment while doing penance under a Bodhi tree (Tree of Enlightenment) near a temple in Bodh Gaya.

Lord Buddha, founder of Buddhism was born a prince at Lumbini in Nepal over 2,600 years ago. (ANI