Buddhist

How maddening to see yet another case of brutal repression of Buddhists in Asia. And yet how uplifting to see that the people of Tibet bravely continue to speak out for democracy and self-determination! The international activist group AVAAZ has started a petition to Chienese President Hu Jintao, calling for "restraint and respect for human rights" and supporting dialog with the Dalai Lama. Sign it now.

The Buddhist Peace Fellowship has issued a strong statement in solidarity of the people of Tibet. Here's an excerpt...

200 miles down; 10 to go.

I just spoke with Tayza Yeelin, a young Burmese man who is walking more than 200 miles from upstate New York to the U.N. headquarters in Manhattan. Tayza and several other Burmese exiles -- all of whom fled their native land in the 1980s and 1990s due to the repressive military regime -- are part of the International Campaign for Freedom of Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma.

If you haven't yet, please sign this petition from AVAAZ to Stand with the Burmese Protesters. On Thursday, we will participate in the International Bloggers' Day for Burma. And on Saturday, the worldwide vigils will continue. Find one near you at the Budddhist Peace Fellowship web site.

The Buddhist Channel has eyewitness reports of ongoing atrocities as monks are being jailed, tortured, and killed!

The past several days have witnessed an extraordinary series of marches and vigils in Burma (Myanmar), led most recently by Buddhist monks, who are esteemed within the deeply religious country. The monks have organized to protest a series of recent economic changes being implemented by the powerful and authoritarian military government, but their efforts have much broader and provocative political ramifications.