Aisha Chowdhry, "Taliban gone, but Bamiyan still fearful," USA TODAY, 10/25/11

After the explosive destruction of the "Buddhas of Bamiyan" by the Taliban in 2001, the topic of this article is focused mainly on the current prospects of this region of Afghanistan. Yet the issues brought up in this article are dynamic. Despite our culture's efforts to compartmentalize the religious and public sectors into separate spheres, Chowdhry provides a powerful example of the role religion can (and does) play in economic realms. In this way, as the people of Bamiyan attempt to recoup from the terroristic effects from years of Taliban rule, they want to focus on building the foundations for a successful tourist based economy. What became even more interesting to me was the insight into the dynamic between the Islam and Buddhism populations. While the U.S. media coverage of the Taliban seems to be constant, the coverage maintains subtle connotations of their ideology, discussing mainly their threat to the U.S. Because of this, I see the general population often narrowing their view of the Taliban's ideology (especially when associations to al Qaeda are added) to be primarily anti-American. Therefore, this article becomes a rare educative media article, as it discusses the Taliban's motives behind destroying the Buddhas of Bamiyan. As Chowdhry states, "Omar [the Taliban's leader] deemed [the Buddhas of Bamiyan] as un-Islamic idols." Finally, this illustrates how powerfully horrible intolerance can be. Our world could clearly use a few more doses of tolerance.

Sherab Chamma Ling, "Buddhist centre offers teaching retreat," Comox Valley Record, 10/11/11

In this Canadian news article, Ling discusses a Buddhist retreat being offered at the end of this month in British Columbia. In comparison to many news articles on 'foreign' religions, there is a major difference in not only Ling's knowledgeable perspective, but also the tone with which he discusses the event. It seems to me that much of the Western thought on Buddhism (and other minority religions) is largely based on ignorant assumptions -a stance that has deep roots in the media's projections of the beliefs and practices of those religions. Therefore, this article provides the Western public with a unique opportunity for education on the topic. Without the undertones of judgement or criticism, Ling provides meaningful and accurate descriptions of meditative practices. By defining the methods of meditation (mantra, visualization and contemplation) he strips the ignorant Westernized projections of meditation and provides a groundwork for the appreciation of the practices. The end of the article, as he takes on a role of an advocator for the retreat (asking for $130 from those interested), gives evidence that Ling is Buddhist himself -or at least somehow involved in the planning of this retreat. The possibility that Ling might be a Buddhist should not take away from the effectiveness of this article. He is able to describe the aims of these meditations in a way that allows people from all backgrounds to connect. Instead of making the goals seem primitive, he makes the process seem appealing to a typical Western world view (while still remaining accurate). Although this article is fairly short, focused on one small event, and targets a comparatively small reader audience, I feel it becomes a very powerful article. If only the majority of Western journalists could emulate Ling's approach, then religion in the media might take on a more educative role. 

"Stanford, Harvard get $5.2 million for Buddhist studies," San Francisco Business Times, 10/3/11

Two American ivy league schools, Stanford and Harvard, just received several million dollar grants from a Chinese based foundation. As this article discusses, this money is to be used specifically for the development of a comprehensive Buddhism curriculum. Although the author's tone (informative in nature) does not provide for much discussion, I think the foundation providing the funding, Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation, is worth reflection. Browsing the website of the foundation, they seem to have several main goals:

1. Developing arts education, creative development, and cross cultural understanding
2. Exploring the arts/buddhism intersections and Buddhist views and practices
3. Creating Buddhist learning networks.

If we evaluate the trends of charity organizations or independent donors, there always seems to be a common ground between the donor and the receiver (religious, political, etc.). Similarly, several million dollars invested into these U.S. scholarly institutions can not be a simple coincidence. On the surface, many Westerners' ignorance makes them seem intolerant of other religions. Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and other 'foreign' religions all carry primitive and negative connotations in the Western world. In today's American culture, the media primarily discusses religion in association with some international conflict. The goal of 'cross cultural understanding' of this organization stands out here -providing the common ground necessary for such an investment. I would think the American media to play a large role in the general ignorance of the population in terms of world religions, so clearly this foundation wouldn't target the media to bring about their influence (there is little common ground there). Alternatively, providing funding to enhance knowledge of Buddhism to a couple of influential and prestigious educational facilities would be far more fitting -and far more effective. I believe this sort of subtle infiltration to enhance the 'world-view' of many Westerners is a very clever tactic and I applaud the aims of the R.H.N Ho Family Foundation.

"2 Tibetan monks burn themselves amid Dalai Lama feud," USA TODAY, 9/26/11

What defines a nation? Surely, an area with a unified political and economic system would be considered a nation. Yet what role do cultural and religious aspects play in determining a nation's identity? How does a nation maintain unity amongst cultural diversity? Tibet emulates the role religious diversity can play within a nation. This article highlights the the problems that can arise when a nation's government neglects to recognize the need for the religious identity of it's citizens. The article discusses the frustrations of many Tibetans as the Chinese authoritarian government dictates who will become their next Dalai Lama. As two monks self-immolate themselves (set themselves on fire) in protest, a Chinese leader points out that past Dalai Lamas have been chosen in a similar manner (never chosen by the Dalai Lama himself). This reflects what seems to be a growing theme in politics, not only in China but across the globe: the desire of citizens to be represented religiously and culturally. The majority of the international conflicts/wars of the post-Cold War era have been fueled by some religious foundation. Whether it be Tibet, Kurdistan, Palestine, or Taiwan, religion surfaces in many of the worlds most heated issues. So how does a nation find peace? Clearly, China is sticking to its guns "as the Chinese government reiterated it will choose the next Dalai Lama" despite protests. In Tibet's pursuit for independence/autonomy, this stance by government officials will only bring further rifts between China and Tibet. Essentially stating "this is how it has been done in the past, so get over it" is no way to bring about national peace. Here we have two burning monks, but I predict (sadly) it will take many more flaming protests until government systems around the world recognize the need to deeply acknowledge religion.