Thursday, July 21, 2005
Spiritual Activism and Senseless Violence: 6 blocks of separation
During lunchtime today, the Spiritual Activism Conference held a rally in Sproull Plaza. Jim Wallis spoke, as well as Rabbi Michael Lerner (pictured here on the steps of Sproull Hall).
The demographics of the conference attendees was very interesting - a friend of mine asked if there was some kind of aging hippy conference today, and I guess that is as accurate a characterization as any other. There seemed to be relatively few college age attendees, and the workshop that I visited had many people of middle age and beyond.
They had a good lineup of speakers and performers. I thought that the folk singer, David Rovics had a very pointed and entertaining song "Who Would Jesus Bomb"
For the afternoon speakers, I was particular impressed with Rick Ufford-Chase's concrete approach to activism.
A few blocks away from the conference was this temporary shrine to Meleia Willis-Starbuck. On a scholarship at Dartmouth, she had come back to Berkeley for the summer to work at a shelter for homeless women and children. In what looks like a case of "friendly fire", one of her best friends accidentally shot and killed her, perhaps thinking he was protecting her from a group of men that had argued with her earlier.
At the conference, speakers spoke to us about nations making war on each other for no good reason, while in our own neighborhoods, friends kill their best friends for no good reason.
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
I saw this today on a car in Oakland and had to laugh!!!
Buddha spent 50 years telling everyone that he was just a man, and a teacher of Dharma, not a God and that once he was gone, he was outta here!
Dead. Finito. Don't pray to me, Argentina! I'm not supposed to be immortal!!
His dying words were to the effect that each person had to work out their salvation on their own.
So of course, you get a bumper sticker conflating Buddha with God and asking for his blessings.
Strange indeed. Strange indeed.
Monday, July 11, 2005
Saturday, July 09, 2005
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
Friday, January 14, 2005
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