activisme

Vow of Humankind

Gepubliceerdop dec 14, 2017

Keeping calm and composed,

Let us awaken to our True Self,
become fully compassionate humans,

make full use of our gifts
according to our respective missions in life,

discern the agony both
individual and social
and its source,

recognize the right direction
in which history should proceed,
and join hands
without distinctions of race, nation, or class.

Let us, with compassion,vow
to bring to realization
humankind’s deep desire for
Self-emancipation

and construct a world
in which everyone
can truly and fully live.

Gelofte aan de mensheid

Gepubliceerdop dec 12, 2017

Kalm en evenwichtig:

Laat ons ontwaken tot ons ware Zelf,
mensen worden, vol van mededogen.

Onze gaven ten volle ontplooien,
ieder volgens de eigen roeping in het leven.

Ons bewust worden van de doodsstrijd
persoonlijk en maatschappelijk
en de bron ervan onderkennen.

De juiste richting ontdekken
waarin de geschiedenis zou moeten voortgaan
en elkaar de hand reiken
zonder onderscheid naar man- of vrouw-zijn,
zonder onderscheid naar ras, natie of klasse.

Laat ons met mededogen de gelofte afleggen
het diepe verlangen van de mensheid
naar bevrijding van haar ware Zelf
werkelijkheid te doen worden

en een wereld bouwen
waarin iedereen
waarachtig en in heelheid kan leven.

Hisamatsu Sin’ichi

veerkracht: spiritueel links in de USA

Gepubliceerdop nov 19, 2017

De nieuwe documentaire Veerkracht over spiritueel links in de VS is te zien op npo.nl. Mensenrechten staat onder druk in het huidige politieke klimaat van Amerika. Hoe kan het boeddhisme een bijdrage leveren aan de oplossing van de enorme identiteitscrisis waarin het land verkeert? In de documentaire worden Amerikanen gevolgd die vormgeven aan een groeiende beweging die staat voor het eind van white supremacy, theologisch kolonialisme en seksueel machtsmisbruik. – docu van Babeth M. VanLoo

documentaire kijken

Met o.a. angel Kyodo williams Sensei, oprichter van het Center for Transformative Change in Berkeley, California, en zenleraar bij het Brooklyn Zen Center, over antiracisme en spiritueel activisme; Robert Thurman, schrijver en professor op Columbia University NY, bepleit een sensitivity revolution in plaats van de huidige haat-revolutie; Charlene Carruthers, van Black Youth Project, over de LGBT-beweging en de bevrijding van de (zwarte) vrouw; Xiuhtezcatl Martinez, een 17 jarige native American milieuactivist en hiphop-artiest, over indigenous rights en het recht van de mensheid op schoon water; Lucia Rijker, actrice, coach, over het breken met de verslaving aan televisienieuws; Patrick Ferris, zanger/tekstschrijver van de band The Americans, over het rouwproces na de verkiezing.

zen, kunst en vrede

Gepubliceerdop nov 6, 2017

Zen Brush Mind is een portet van zenmeester, schilder, kalligraaf, schrijver, vertaler en vredesactivist Kazuaki Tanahashi. De film van Babeth M. VanLoo onderzoekt de drijfveren achter zijn internationale activisme en zijn dialoog tussen Oost en West.

film kijken

 

Petitie tegen fusie Bayer en Monsanto

Gepubliceerdop okt 19, 2017

Stop monster-merger BaySanto! (to: Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager, European Commission)  A Bayer-Monsanto merger would be a disaster for our farmers. It will be a catastrophe for our bugs, bees and birds. We urge you to reject the merger and prevent the damage caused by these corporations. We also demand full openness about your decision making processes.

Why is this important? On October 16 we have published scientific research with our partners, showing the proposed merger should be forbidden under EU competition law. The research, done by international competition law experts from the University College London, explains how Bay-Santo would control our entire food system. They want farmers to buy all they need from one company. Starting with GMOs, seeds, and pesticides as their main products, Bay-Santo will also offer fertilizer, digital equipment, and farm machinery.

Bayer is one of the largest producers of agricultural chemicals, fertilizers, and pesticides. And Monsanto is one of the leading producers of genetically modified plants. [1] Together, these companies could have a total lockdown on what farmers put in their fields, the pesticides they use, what we buy in the shops, and ultimately put on our dinner tables. If the merger is to be successful, the two companies must gain approval of competition authorities all over the world, including from the EU. Bayer has managed to “convince” Donald Trump to back the mega-merger [2], and now there is really only one organisation that has enough clout to stop the deal – the European Union.

We know that Margrethe Vestager, Commissioner for competition informally is already negotiating with Bayer behind closed doors. If we don’t act now this mega-merger could be a done-deal. That’s why we have to tell her to reject the deal now. – WeMove.EU

(meer…)

VN Werelddag van verzet tegen extreme armoede

Gepubliceerdop okt 17, 2017

The very poor tell us over and over again that a human being’s greatest misfortune is not to be hungry or unable to read, or even to be without work. The greatest misfortune of all is to know that you count for nothing, to the point where even your suffering is ignored.

Joseph Wresinski

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what kind of mind are we living in?

Gepubliceerdop okt 15, 2017

we live in our mind
we take our mind with us everywhere
even in our sleep we cannot leave it behind

how we live in our mind is up to us

You have this country and you try to make it a pleasant place for you to live in, you grow trees and you keep it clean. And you have your homes, your rooms, which you keep clean, decorate, try to make it a pleasing environment. And we have our bodies, which we keep clean, we eat the right food, excercise and we try to make ourselves look attractive, keep healthy and fit. But the place we really live, is in our mind. And how much time and effort do we give to making our mind a pleasant place in which to dwell? To cleaning it, to opening up the windows to let some fresh air in, to decorate it beautifully, to make it a fit place to stay so that we live in our mind comfortably and we are at home in our mind, so that our mind is a friend to us.

This is very important because if we don’t have a peaceful friendly mind its very hard to be peaceful and friendly to our families, in our workplace, with our neighbours and in the country and from there to the world.

The kind of society we have reflects the mind of the people living in that society. So each one of us is culpable of the society we live in. Who made the rules? Who elected the politicians who made the rules? Who goes along with the rules that have been made? Each of us is responsible. We cannot just put the blame on other people, each one of us has the responsibility to develop our selves, our minds, to open up our heart.

So often people feel quite helpless and hopeless: what can I do, I am just one? But each of us is not sealed in a bubble, each one of us is constantly interacting with other beings; and even on that level how much time do we spend each day trying to make each other happy?  Our colleages, our family, the peolpe we meet? Are we kind? Is our speech kind? Do we make people feel better for having matters or worse?  If a society is full of people who are kind to each other, all other, then that is a very different society from one where people disregard each other, where people speak rudely to each other or despise each other.

Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo

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plastic strategy EU

Gepubliceerdop okt 14, 2017

Hopeful Message from WeMove.EU:

It’s a cold and foggy morning in Brussels. Together with 20 other activists I have been waiting for Frans Timmermans for more than an hour. The first Vice-President of the European Commission will open the EU conference on plastic strategy today. We have 600,000 signatures from all over Europe to hand over – three kilograms of paper. Will our signatures hold any weight for him? Timmermans and his staff are coming around the corner with quick steps – and his reaction leaves us almost speechless.

He is concerned about the waste of our seas: “I am your ally and I will do my best so that we can present an ambitious strategy by the end of this year”. Timmermans, the second-ranking official in the European Commission supports our campaign – this is a real breakthrough!

Are these just empty words? It does not look like it. In his opening speech at the conference, he mentions our petition right at the beginning – to the surprise of the plastics lobby. And shortly after, he posts a video of our delivery on Facebook and Twitter. EU’s First Vice-President takes the fight against plastic waste very seriously – and our Europe-wide campaign is of great help to him.

Handing over the signatures to Vice-President Timmermans with our friends from Campact and Rethink Plastic Alliance
We believe that when politicians announce ambitious plans, they deserve our praise. A wave of support on Facebook and Twitter will encourage Timmermans to follow-through on his ambitious goals and stand up to the plastic industry. He is very active on social networks, so we can be sure he will notice. Use the buttons below to show your support with a comment or “like”:

Click here to react to Timmermans’ Facebook post
Click here to react to Timmermans’ Twitter post

The fight is not over yet, but this is a huge step forward and we can be proud of it. …

With hope,

Doina (Bucharest), Julia (Warsaw), Jörg (Lübeck), Olga (Bologna), Virginia (Madrid), and the rest of us at WeMove.EU

steunbetuiging Tibet

Gepubliceerdop okt 3, 2017

De toekomst van Tibet, het voortbestaan van het Tibetaanse volk en het overleven van zijn cultuur [en de Tibetaanse natuur; noot zentrifuge] worden ernstig bedreigd. Het Chinese beleid zorgt voor een zorgwekkende vernietiging van de Tibetaanse cultuur, taal en religie.

Er is op de site van International Campaign for Tibet de mogelijkheid om een steunbetuiging aan de Dalai Lama te tekenen.

De Dalai Lama ziet instandhouding van de Tibetaanse cultuur als zijn persoonlijke verplichting. Een kostbare cultuur gebaseerd op wijsheid en mededogen, die appelleert aan wat wij missen in de huidige wereld en die wij moeten beschermen. Niet alleen voor het Tibetaanse volk, maar ook voor onszelf en de toekomst.

international campaign for tibet

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Buddhism’s call to action

Gepubliceerdop aug 17, 2017

“Science and technology alone cannot stop continuing warfare, racism, and environmental destruction. The illusion of separation that fuels global consumerism and greed, fear, and ignorance needs to be transformed by the realization of interdependence, by the illumination of wisdom and compassion. Each of us must find our own way to contribute to this with the wisdom of our practice and our own unique capacities. …

Find a way to quiet your mind and open your heart. Meditate, turn off the news, turn on Mozart, walk through the trees or the mountains, and make yourself a zone of peace and compassion. You can get swept up in a frightened, barricaded society—or you can respond calmly, with both prudent action and a fearless steady heart. Thich Nhat Hanh explains, ‘When the crowded refugee boats met with storms or pirates, if every one panicked, all would be lost. But if even one person stayed calm, it was enough. It showed the way for everyone to survive.'”

Jack Kornfield

excerpt, full article on Lion’s Roar