Meditation Mantra - #still4amo

Posted: 15 Jan 2012 04:00 AM PST

Julius who sends in links quite regularly told me he is going to be on retreat for a month, starting 5.00 pm Sunday. That's today. It's not going to be an up-the-hill and off-grid kind of retreat. More carrying on daily life with work and the rest and at the same time injecting some serious intention to sit regularly, twice a day. When somebody does this I like to support them by adding more purposeful moments of sitting still in my day. Thus my still4amo mantra to remind me to - sit still for a moment! Literally. Want to join us?

I have my alarm set for 16.50 GMT to warn me to pull over if I am driving or simply find a place to sit. A bench in the street if necessary. I will then be sitting-for-a-mo at 5.00 GMT, one minute to be exact, in support of Julius's efforts. Please join us and leave a comment if you plan to be still4amo. If 5.00 pm doesn't work, choose another time. Commitment and intention go a long way, collective commitment and intention goes even further.

Morning frosts

by chilly river

...a bench.

It is thought to be helpful to meditate in the presence of others doing the same thing. If one can't sit with a group then meditating at a time when others are meditating is a good idea. In the monastery here in Britain there is a meditation period at 8.10 pm for 40 mins. I know some people aim to sit formally at that time too.

Watch Moment Meditation for inspiration.

Devotion

Ajahn Brahm talks about devotion in Buddhism

Video Rating: 4 / 5

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Another self-immolation followed by shooting from Chinese forces, according to reports

Posted: 14 Jan 2012 11:00 AM PST

Another Tibetan self-immolated Saturday and is feared dead, say reports coming out of Ngaba, Eastern Tibet. According to Phayul.com, unrest began between townspeople and Chinese officials when "security personnel arrived at the scene of the self-immolation and severely beat the Tibetan layman while putting off the flame."Free Tibet has confirmed that at least one person, a woman, has been shot in the clashes. Unconfirmed reports suggest that several people may have been shot and gassed during the incident.

Update: The New York Times' Edward Wong has now written on the violence. His report begins:

"Chinese security forces on Saturday fired into a crowd of Tibetans in a restive area of Sichuan Province after they tried to take away the body of a Tibetan man who had died after setting himself on fire that morning to protest Chinese policies in the Tibetan areas, according to reports from two Tibet advocacy groups and Tibetan officials in the exile government in India."

According to Wong, an International Campaign for Tibet spokesperson reported two shot, one possible death, and Free Tibet corroborated that one shooting had taken place; further shootings have yet to be confirmed.

Read the rest of Wong's report here.

See all of our past coverage of Tibet's self-immolation crisis by clicking here.

(Photo by SFT HQ via Flickr using a CC-BY license.)

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