Musings on Buddhism and modern global culture, plus a few miscellaneous topics.
Saturday, 12 July 2014
Jihad Escalation in Thailand: Jihadists target and murder Buddhist nursing students in Thailand
From ATLAS SHRUGS
"The devout Muslims are in a Ramadan frenzy in Thailand and they are targeting the most gentle, the most innocent human beings – Buddhist nursing students.
Our man on the ground in Thailand, Chai, writes:
"So much for the peace of Ramadan in Southern Thailand.
“the two women were randomly selected because they were defenceless and also because they were clearly non-Muslims as they were not wearing scarves.”
Muslims are now targeting Buddhist nursing students from the Yala Hospital. They gunned down two young women nursing students in broad daylight at the local market. Buddhist or not, had they been wearing Muslim scarves on their heads, they would probably still be alive.
I don’t know why this should be a surprise to anyone though as Muslims have been murdering pretty young Buddhist teachers for years in Thailand’s South.
The response from the Thai government so far?
All Buddhist nursing students have been removed from the Yala Hospital and are now working in Bangkok. Only Muslim nursing students will be allowed at Yala Hospital.
And so the Islamization of Thailand’s Southern provinces marches on in exactly the same manner as Islamization works in other countries. Non-Muslims must comply with Muslim rules and dress codes during Ramadan or they will be penalized, beaten or murdered.
In this the powerful video you can hear the local mosque in the background calling people to prayer. (at the very end of the video)
I’m sure Allah is pleased."
- Chai
See more at: http://pamelageller.com/2014/07/jihad-escalation-thailand-jihadists-target-murder-buddhist-nursing-students-thailand.html
Insurgents now taking aim at ‘soft targets’ The Nation July 11, 2014
Yala Hospital tightens its security, staff instructed to only leave premises when absolutely necessary
Despite boosting its security measures, Yala’s Yupparaj Hospital could not escape an insurgent attack when two of its trainee nurses were gunned down in the middle of a crowded market across the street on Wednesday.
Prasit Meksuwan, chief of the Civic Council in Southernmost Provinces, deplored the attack as he cited the analysis by security officials as saying the two gunmen were likely lying in wait for anybody who could be considered a Buddhist to leave the hospital.
Unfortunately, the two young women – Sutheera Phetjan, 29, and Kulradee Phetmak, 21 – ended up being the targets. Their families are now being provided with counselling and other assistance.
Meanwhile, Prasit urged Buddhists to avoid travelling alone or visiting markets, which he said were difficult to secure as there were far too many people and protection was often lighter.
Security sources say that these two women were randomly chosen for the attack because they weren’t wearing headscarves. Also, they were possibly chosen as “soft targets” by a new breed of insurgents, who were possibly seeking to avenge the arrest of an ustad or Islamic teacher on Monday.
Separately, Dr Sawas Aphiwijjaneewong, chief of the public health provincial office, said the hospital has issued new regulations instructing members of staff to only leave the hospital premises if they have to run important errands. They have also been warned to not go out alone or after dark. “However, the shooting happened in broad daylight in a market that was packed with people. This is beyond expectation,” he pointed out.
Director of the Sirindhorn Public Health College in Yala, which had assigned 11 students to undergo apprenticeship at Yupparaj Hospital, said normally food was provided to students and members of staff inside the hospital and that security was tight for all hospital personnel. She added that the two women were randomly selected because they were defenceless and also because they were clearly non-Muslims as they were not wearing scarves.
The remaining nine students have been moved to other hospitals outside the three strife-torn provinces in the South.
Kanthima Aldri-us, a senior nurse who oversaw the 11 trainees, said hospital staff and students were only allowed to go to the convenience store across the road for their own safety, but an ad-hoc market was set up on the day of the tragedy right next to the store.
“It happened within just 10 minutes, after the two victims left the hospital for the market,” she added.
See No future for Buddhism in an Islamized World
Wednesday, 2 July 2014
Former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams reveals how Buddhism helps him pray
By John Bingham in The Telegraph
“...Over the years increasing exposure to and engagement with the Buddhist world in particular has made me aware of practices not unlike the ‘Jesus Prayer’ and introduced me to disciplines that further enforce the stillness and physical focus that the prayer entails,” he explained
“Walking meditation, pacing very slowly and coordinating each step with an out-breath, is something I have found increasingly important as a preparation for a longer time of silence.
“So: the regular ritual to begin the day when I’m in the house is a matter of an early rise and a brief walking meditation or sometimes a few slow prostrations, before squatting for 30 or 40 minutes (a low stool to support the thighs and reduce the weight on the lower legs) with the 'Jesus Prayer': repeating (usually silently) the words as I breathe out, leaving a moment between repetitions to notice the beating of the heart, which will slow down steadily over the period.”
Far from it being like a “magical invocation”, he explained that the routine helps him detach himself from “distracted, wandering images and thoughts”, picturing the human body as like a 'cave' through which breath passes.
“If you want to speak theologically about it, it’s a time when you are aware of your body as simply a place where life happens and where, therefore, God ‘happens’: a life lived in you,” he added.
He went on to explain that those who perform such rituals regularly could reach "advanced states" and become aware of an "unbroken inner light"...full article
Lord Williams shows a much better understanding of Buddhism than Catholic theologians, but then the Anglican Church always was much more latitudinarian and intellectually competent than Catholicism.