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#1185 - Monday, September 2, 2002 - Editor: Jerry

http://www.galleryamericana.com/balyon.htm

MARY BIANCO

A mellifluous summer shower

inspires me

to make a painting of rain.

Using oil colors on canvas

I paint long tear shapes

as I attempt

to represent fluidity.

Applying opalescent colors,

I endeavor to paint

the edge of raindrops

within a polychromatic background.

In so doing I discovered that

it was similar to trying

to capture the edge of a flame

or the edge of infinity.

This is the essence of non-duality.

Love, Mary (all wet)

_____________________________________________________________

KHOROV
from Daily Dharma list

"Last night as I lay sleeping, I dreamt
O, marvelous error -
That there was a beehive here inside my heart
And the golden bees were making white combs
And sweet honey from all my failures" ~~ Machado de Assis

(commentary:) "The golden bees are the force of the soul
as it reworks experience into wisdom. ~~ Ram Dass

From the book, "Still Here,"
published by Riverhead Books

_______________________________________________________________

VIORICA

Hello Everyone,

For anybody interested, NamoRamana list archives opened
to all.

Here is the link :

<="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NamoRamana/">http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NamoRamana/

____________________________________________________

Edgar Hofer http://www.owknet.net

_______________________________________________________

The September issue of the TAT Forum is now available
on-line at http://www.tatfoundation.org/forum.htm

________________________________________________________

His Holiness the Dalai Lama's Message on the
Commemoration of the 1st Anniversary of September 11,
2001

The September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World
Trade Center and the Pentagon were deeply shocking and
very sad. I regard such terrible destructive actions as
acts of hatred, for violence is the result of
destructive emotions. Events of this kind make clear
that if we allow our human intelligence to be guided and
controlled by negative emotions like hatred, the
consequences are disastrous.

How to respond to such an attack is a very difficult
question to answer. Of course, those who are dealing
with the problem may know better, but I feel that
careful consideration is necessary and that it is
appropriate to respond to an act of violence by
employing the principles of non-violence. This is of
great importance. The attacks on the United States were
shocking, but retaliation that involves the use of
further violence may not be the best solution in the
long run.

We must continue to develop a wider perspective, to
think rationally and work to avert future disasters in a
non-violent way. These issues concern the whole of
humanity, not just one country. We should explore the
use of non-violence as a long-term measure to control
terrorism of every kind. We need a well-thought-out,
coordinated long-term strategy. I believe there will
always be conflicts and clash of ideas as long as human
beings exist. This is natural. Therefore, we need an
active method or approach to overcome such
contradictions.

In today's reality the only way of resolving differences
is through dialogue and compromise, through human
understanding and humility. We need to appreciate that
genuine peace comes about through mutual understanding,
respect and trust. Problems within human society should
be solved in a humanitarian way, for which non-violence
provides the proper approach.

Terrorism cannot be overcome by the use of force because
it does not address the complex underlying problems. In
fact the use of force may not only fail to solve the
problems, it may exacerbate them and frequently leaves
destruction and suffering in its wake. Likewise, acts of
terrorism, especially involving violence, only make
matters worse. We must condemn terrorism not only
because it involves violence but also because innocent
people fall victims to senseless acts of terrorism such
as what the world witnessed on September 11th.

Human conflicts do not arise out of the blue. They occur
as a result of causes and conditions, many of which are
within the protagonists' control. This is where
leadership is important. It is the responsibility of
leaders to decide when to act and when to practice
restraint. In the case of a conflict it is important to
take necessary preventative measures before the
situation gets out of hand. Once the causes and
conditions that lead to violent clashes have fully
ripened and erupted, it is very difficult to control
them and restore peace. Violence undoubtedly breeds more
violence. If we instinctively retaliate when violence is
done to us, what can we expect other than that our
opponent to also feel justified retaliating. This is how
violence escalates. Preventative measures and restraint
must be observed at an earlier stage. Clearly leaders
need to be alert, far-sighted and decisive.

In today's world expectations of war have changed. It is
no longer realistic to expect that our enemy will be
completely destroyed, or that victory will be total for
us. Or, for that matter, can an enemy be considered
absolute. We have seen many times that today's enemies
are often tomorrow's allies, a clear indication that
things are relative and very inter-related and
inter-dependent. Our survival, our success, our
progress, are very much related to others' well being.
Therefore, we as well as our enemies are still very much
interdependent. Whether we regard them as economic,
ideological, or political enemies makes no difference to
this. Their destruction has a destructive effect upon
us. Thus, the very concept of war, which is not only a
painful experience, but also contains the seeds of
self-destruction, is no longer relevant.

Similarly, as the global economy evolves, ever nation
becomes to a greater or lesser extent dependent on every
other nation. The modern economy, like the environment,
knows no boundaries. Even those countries openly hostile
to one another must cooperate in their use of the
world's resources. Often, for example, they will be
dependent on the same rivers or other natural resources.
And the more interdependent our economic relationships,
the more interdependent must our political relationships
become.

What we need today is education among individuals and
nations, from small children up to political leaders to
inculcate the idea that violence is counterproductive,
that it is not a realistic way to solve problems, and
that dialogue and understanding are the only realistic
ways to resolve our difficulties.

The anniversary of the tragic events of September 11,
2001 provides us with a very good opportunity. There is
a worldwide will to oppose terrorism. We can use this
consensus to implement long-term preventative measures.
This will ultimately be much more effective than taking
dramatic and violent steps based on anger and other
destructive emotions. The temptation to respond with
violence is understandable but a more cautious approach
will be more fruitful.


The Dalai Lama
Dharamsala, India

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