Homosexual Sweeds and the Nobel Peace Prize

Good ol' Hussein has done it again! With the help of his friends, the homosexual Sweeds, the president has managed to win the Nobel Peace Prize -- the top honor of any aspiring communist, former terrorist (Nelson Mandela) or envirojunkie. We here at Future Twits would like to congratulate Obama with a photo tribute to his many great accomplishments towards peace since entering office.

1. Addition of 7 more states to the Union



2. First annual White House "beer summit"



3. Trillion dollar Christmas gift to bankers



4. Stammering his way through speeches



For comparison, here is the last idiot president stammering through speeches



5. Calling Hollywood celebrities that he's never met a "jackass"



And, I'm out of ideas. That was a short entry.

Maybe some filler video of classic pin up girls?

Is the Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh a Radical? Hardly.

As most of you know I have been following the crisis within the community of monastics following the teachings of the Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh in Vietnam. The Western news organization, "The Guardian" quoted some of his followers in that Southeast Asian country. These monastics made the statement that their tradition is radical. "The Guardian" though didn't seem to investigate why or what made them say their tradition was "radical." It then assumed that this must mean that Thich Nhat Hanh is a radical. However, they missed the context by a mile. I'd expect the Vietnamese Communist government to say such but not a Western news outlet who should know better. It's lazy journalism.

Here's the context: The Zen tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh might be radical in Vietnam where the iron-fisted government maintains strict control over the actions of religious organizations. However,it's not radical in free societies like the U.S. and France where Nhat Hanh is most established. So calling their beliefs "radical" must be taken in the context of what radical means in a dictatorial country like Vietnam.

The full quote from the monastics was, "The followers, who describe their monastery as the 'most radical and fastest growing' in Vietnam, say the authorities regard Nhat Hanh as a threat to their tight control over religious observance.

James: They clearly missed that important distinction even though it was lying right in front of them in their own quote!! Perhaps the distinction was implied but that's still misleading and confusing to those who aren't aware of Thich Nhat Hanh or his order. The way it reads makes it appear as if Nhat Hanh is some warrior monk, which couldn't be further from the truth. Thich Nhat Hanh is a peaceful, loving, kind, compassionate, non-violent devotee to the Buddhadharma. That hardly makes him a "radical" in the eyes of most people around the world. I hope, "The Guardian" realizes their mistake and corrects it in the future because the idea of a skinny, 82 year old Zen Buddhist monk being a radical except in the eyes of the paranoid Vietnamese government is laughable. When I think of radical I think of those anarchists who protest G-20 meetings and other international summits/conferences.

Can you picture Thich Nhat Hanh manning the barricades, wearing a gas mask and throwing Molotov Cocktails at police and military personnel? So when a Western news agency labels Thay a "radical" they are making a factual mistake. However, what's worse is that they are creating undo suspicion of a man many consider to be one of the most positive, beneficial and serene beings to walk the Earth today. In fact the world would be an even better place with many more "radicals" like him.

~Peace to all beings~

Further Thoughts on the Bat Nha Monastery Incident.

Questions have been raised as to the veracity of the story put forth by the followers of Thich Nhat Hanh at Bat Nha monastery, Vietnam over the past few days. The practitioners of Nhat Hanh's style of Zen were initially invited and welcomed at the monastery around 2005. Everything seemed to be fine for some time between the two camps represented at the monastery. TNH's followers even used donations from lay followers of Thich Nhat Hanh to reinvest in Bat Nha monastery. Nearly $1 million was spent by TNH's lay followers to increase the land size of the monastery and build new buildings including a meditation hall that can seat 1,800 people. It was frequently filled every weekend with people from all around Vietnam, which is why I still question that the local population turned on the monastics in the past few days. I'm not ruling it out because tensions do build and trust frays in this crazy samsara. However, it is also true and dictatorial regimes often dress hardcore police and military officials in plain clothes.

It is also strange timing that this abbot should want TNH's followers to leave the monastery as the Communist officials claim. This is because it is occurring not long after Nhat Hanh asked the government to relax its grip on religious freedoms in the southeast Asian country. In addition, I find it odd that the abbot who supposedly was the one who wanted this removal of TNH's monks still has yet to speak of the incident. It is not unheard of in Communist totalitarian governments to threaten religious leaders with imprisonment and total destruction of their temples and shrines if they don't co-operate with officials. It just seems to me that if this abbot was so upset by the TNH monastics that he'd have said something by now. It is very possible that he was told to keep his mouth shut or face similar repercussions as the TNH followers are facing.The other point that makes me question the official story of the Communist regime is that they won't even allow the monastics to stay at the Phuoc Hue pagoda in Lam Dong province even though the state sanctioned Buddhist Church of Vietnam have welcomed them to stay. As you can see from above the pagoda isn't much to hundle hundreds of monks and nuns within. It seems the overall goal by the Communist government is to see them leave Vietnam altogether. However, I'm not interested in being a sycophant who defends my tradition regardless of what other evidence is presented so I am keeping the door open for further evidence to come in. That especially includes the story from the abbot, which I hope isn't just propaganda fed through him by the government at the threat of violence to him, his monks and his temple. If he presents a different story though then that from the TNH monastics I will gladly report it hear so that you (and I) can all decide for yourselves. Perhaps I reacted initially out of a gut reaction to stand with my fellow practitioners but I am more interested in the truth than being a brainwashed member of a cult of personality. I am more than willing to criticize these TNH followers should they deserve it. I'm not interested in Buddhism to simply be apart of a group. Questions still remain and I shall keep you posted as new information arises.

~Peace to all beings~