January 2, 2010 – 3:01 pm
“Flip-flopping” and anniversaries head-up this week’s news stories.
On the one hand, Burma’s ruling military junta has been taking steps that would seem to suggest that they are responding to pressure to respect human rights and democratize the country. On the other hand, they’ve also been doing things that seem to suggest resistance to such [...]
December 19, 2009 – 11:42 am
Climate change—discussions about it, and its devastating effects in parts of the Buddhist world—lead this latest batch of news. Also significant were stories about presidential politics (at home and abroad), and human rights concerns.
As usual, there are some interesting odds and ends too: a museum under heavy security after the theft of [...]
December 17, 2009 – 2:30 pm
As you’ll see from our ongoing coverage of Bat Nha, we think this story is important. So we’ll keep working to keep you up to date. Or to help you get started following Bat Nha if you haven’t yet.
This concise new item on the ongoing conflict for the monastics of Bat Nha, via Radio Free [...]
December 14, 2009 – 11:44 am
Brother Phap Lai of Plum Village (the community of Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh in France) has sent an urgent message concerning the latest episode in the conflict involving monastics from Bat Nha, the embattled Thich Nhat Hanh-affiliated monastery in Vietnam.
His message reveals that the Vietnamese government is continuing its harassment of and attacks on [...]
November 16, 2009 – 9:37 am
Brother Phap Lai, a monastic disciple of Thich Nhat Hanh at Plum Village, writes to let SunSpace readers know of a new short film by Velcrow Ripper, which movingly brings us up to date on the problems of the Vietnamese Buddhist community at Bat Nha. Details from Brother Phap Li and the video itself can [...]
October 25, 2009 – 11:10 am
The question of progress on human rights issues in various parts of Buddhist Asia (continue to) dominate much of the news this week. With important new reports, bodies, and findings making headlines, the stage is clearly set for conflict or change in certain areas. Will the ruling military junta bow to international pressure [...]
October 4, 2009 – 1:03 pm
Today thousands of people from Sanghas and communities around the world will sit together to give support to our brothers and sisters in Vietnam so that they can continue to practice freely together.
You may have become aware of the difficulties our brothers and sisters in Vietnam are now facing.
September 28, 2009 – 4:29 pm
Burma remains the major source of news this week, what with major changes in U.S. policy toward the country, Buddhist temples destroyed in earthquakes, and reports that effectively nothing has changed for the sangha two years after the quashing of the “Saffron Revolution.” Plus: more on Thich Nhat Hanh’s community at Bat Nha Monastery in [...]
September 28, 2009 – 10:25 am
Yesterday, Deer Park Monastery in California dedicated its podcast to an SOS received from the monks and nuns at Bat Nha in Vietnam. (Like Bhat Nha, Deer Park also practices in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh.) A note from Deer Park, and links, after the jump.
September 14, 2009 – 3:26 pm
Forbidden prayer flags, zoning boards on the warpath, Buddhists guest-editing major newspapers! Oh, my! Then there’s the more serious news of the week: continued unrest in Burma, increasing problems for the Chinese government because of the Tibet situation, and more shocking stories from post-war Sri Lanka. This week’s “On the Buddhism Beat” [...]
September 6, 2009 – 3:42 pm
The September 3 eviction deadline given 400 monks at Bat Nha Monastery in Vietnam’s central highlands passed without incident. In response to a government eviction notice issued in early August, Thich Nhat Hanh issued a plea to Buddhists of all traditions to express their support.
In an interview with Agence France Presse, Thich Phap Kham, one [...]
