http://us1.irabankratings.com/MoveYourMoney/IRACommunityZip.asp?affiliate=moveyourmoney&zip=47167&submit=Search

http://moveyourmoney.info/

“…..since April, the Big Four banks — JP Morgan/Chase, Citibank, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo — all of which took billions in taxpayer money, have cut lending to businesses by $100 billion.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/move-your-money-a-new-yea_b_406022.html

For more information, please contact:

Miah Michaelsen, Assistant Director of Economic and Sustainable Development for the Arts, City of Bloomington, 349.3534

Danny Lopez, Communications Director, City of Bloomington, 349.CITY, lopezd@bloomington.in.gov

Gandhi, King, Ikeda Exhibit at City Hall

Bloomington, IN – Celebrating the lives of three of the 20th Century’s most influential champions for peace, Gandhi, King, Ikeda: A Legacy of Building Peace will be on exhibit in the atrium at the City Hall Showers building from November 16 – November 20, 2009. The exhibit, created by the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel at Morehouse College to honor the lives of Mohandas K. Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Daisaku Ikeda, has toured throughout the world and is brought to Bloomington by the Indiana University SGI Buddhist Association and the Men of Color Leadership Conference.

Featuring picture panels highlighting the great achievements of these revolutionaries, viewers will witness the many similarities and differences among the figures. Five distinct sections of the exhibit provide a window into the lives of the men, describing their motivations, influences, and ability to inspire others. The exhibit highlights each man’s triumphs over adversity through peaceful resistance and the positive messages and changes their actions produced in global society.

Gandhi, King, Ikeda: A Legacy of Building Peace will be open for viewing from November 16th to November 20th, 2009, from 8:00am to 5:00pm in the atrium of City Hall, which is located in the main entrance of the Showers Building at 401 North Morton Street, Bloomington, Indiana. A closing reception will be held on November 20th from 5:30 to 7:00pm and will feature a proclamation from Mayor Mark Kruzan recognizing the accomplishments of these three visionaries.

The City of Bloomington is committed to providing opportunities for Bloomington and area artists to exhibit artwork in City Hall Atrium. For more information, contact Miah Michaelsen, the Assistant Economic Development Director for the Arts, at michaelm@bloomington.in.gov or (812) 349-3534.

The University of Calgary Gauntlet

Trevor Bacque
Gauntlet News
November 12, 2009

Prof. James Apple says he got his love of literature from his grandfather, who left him 15,000 books. It’s unclear upon entering SS 1306 if you have just walked into a small library, storage room or a professor’s office. Then you spot professor James Apple in the corner, most likely reading classical Tibetan literature at his small desk. It’s not that he enjoys his office’s textual clutter, but the assistant professor of eastern religions owns so many books that storage options are few. “I know in my brain I still have enough memory to know what I have,” Apple said as he searches for an old duotang among the annals of history and ideas. “The problem is, I don’t always know where it is.”

The Indiana native is well travelled, but his zeal for literature, regardless of language (usually), kept him grounded. “My love of books comes from my grandfather,” said Apple of his fellow family author. After stops in Bodh Gaya, India, universities in Alabama, Portland and Edmonton, Apple now finds himself at the U of C for his second year of teaching. Beginning his academic career in Bloomington, Indiana, not far from where he grew up, Apple procured a religious studies B.A. in 1993. He refined his focus and by 2001 had a Buddhist studies PhD from Wisconsin-Madison. Apple then embarked on a long, arduous study under Geshe Sopa, one of only two tenured monks in the United States at the time. The topic of Apple’s 2008 book, Stairway to Nirvana, examines the types of individuals on their way to nirvana or full awakening as Buddhas. Typically, Tibetans study this topic for one year, but nobody at Wisconsin-Madison had an interest. For about 25 years the project sat on the shelf until Sopa convinced Apple to examine it. “I remember telling him, ‘This is the most boring topic I can think of,’ ” said Apple. Despite his apprehension, he studied the topic for a year and now realizes how important the time was. “It provides an account of all the cosmological structures for awakening.” Studying and understanding indigenous structures before applying analysis to them is a paramount operation in Apple’s mind. “A lot of the book is an emic [insider], indigenous perspective of what this system is. It’s quite complex.”

With such a advanced understanding of Buddhist traditions, Apple was able to fully appreciate his surroundings when he travelled to Bodh Gaya while teaching with Antioch University’s study abroad program in 2001. Bodh Gaya is the city where Gautama Buddha’s awakening took place. Apple visited other traditional sites of the spiritual teacher during his seven months overseas. India was an eye-opening event for the young professor. “In India, it’s a different world, almost like a different planet,” he said. “It’s a flux, a kaleidoscope of sound and colour.”

The journey to explore foreign countries and their history doesn’t always have to take place overseas, as Apple can attest to. His newest research undertaking is examining past texts from Drepung the Monastery in Lhasa. In his book Apple produced a list of texts, including ones from 11th to 14th century Tibet that were thought to be historical write-offs. Multiple volumes have recently been discovered from Karma Tenkyong Wangpo’s library. Now with about 30 long, skinny, hand-written Tibetan documents, Apple said he has more than a lifetime of work to begin pouring over. “If there was student interest there would be several PhDs, perhaps,” said Apple. “We’re very fortunate to have access to this type of stuff.”

Generally Tibetans don’t wish to share much historical information and Apple counts himself lucky to have read the documents. The ancient text is written in Tibetan, something Apple has been reading for over a decade, as well as Sanskrit. “It was gradual,” said Apple, who first began his journey into secondary languages with French before moving into eastern tongues. “Teachers in Wisconsin said you have to have Sanskrit.” Apple studied six to seven hours a day memorizing inflections and paradigms. “If you really crack your head open with one it gets easier,” said Apple of learning multiple languages. Studying Latin in high school helped the young collegiate connect words and phrases together. Friends told him one language would suffice, but Sopa explained to Apple that Tibetan and Sanskrit are like the sun and the moon — inseparable.

Apple also attributes his love of language to his grandfather, Floyd, who as a theologian studied Greek, Latin and Hebrew. When Apple’s grandfather died in 2002 he left his grandson over 15,000 books, many of which line the shelves in SS 1306 — a cozy, chaotic room where the quest for knowledge seldom rests. Apple said it is always nice to discover books he forgot he had in his vast library. “Order is in the eye of the beholder,” he said, smiling behind his desk.

International Day of Peace

The International Day of Peace, Peace Day, provides an opportunity for individuals, organizations and nations to create practical acts of peace on a shared date. It was established by a United Nations resolution in 1981 and first celebrated in September 1982. In 2002 the General Assembly officially declared September 21 as the permanent date for the International Day of Peace. http://www.internationaldayofpeace.org/

To inaugurate the day, the “Peace Bell” is run at UN Headquarters. The bell is cast from coins donated by children from all continents. It was given as a gift by the Diet of Japan, and is referred to as “a reminder of the human cost of war.” The inscription on its side reads: “Long live absolute world peace.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Day_of_Peace

Anyone, anywhere can celebrate Peace Day. It can be as simple as lighting a candle at noon, or just sitting in silent prayer. Or, it can involve getting your co-workers, organization, community, or government engaged in a larger event.

International Day of Peace is also a Day of Ceasefire—personal or political. Take this opportunity to make peace in your own relationships as well as to impact the larger conflicts of our time.

My beloved daughter-in-law, Shinobu Arai Apple, was born and raised in Nagoya, Japan. She is a “birthright” member of Sokka Gakkai and both she and my son Jim Apple are active members of SGI.

I would like to share two quotes from Presdient Daisaku Ikeda, a Buddhist philosopher, peacebuilder, educator, author, and poet. He is the third president of the Soka Gakkai lay Buddhist organization and the founding president of the Soka Gakkai International [SGI], a large and diverse lay Buddhist organization, promoting a philosophy of character development and social engagement for peace. http://www.daisakuikeda.org/

The central tenant of Ikeda’s thought, and of Buddhism, is the fundamental sanctity of life, a value which Ikeda sees as the key to lasting peace and human happiness. In his view, global peace relies ultimately on a self-directed transformation within the life of the individual, rather than on societal or structural reform alone.

“World peace is not something that can be realized simply by politicians signing treaties, or by business leaders creating economic cooperation. True and lasting peace will be realized only by forging bonds of trust between people at the deepest level, in the depths of their very lives.”
http://www.daisakuikeda.org/main/peacebuild/peace/peace-01.html

President Ikeda’s oldest brother died in Burma in WWII. In an essay called “A Piece of Mirror,” he wrote of his mother’s crushing grief at the loss of her son.

“War brings only suffering and misery to ordinary people, to families and mothers. It is always nameless and unknown people who suffer and moan amidst the mud and flames. In war, human life is used as a means to an end, an expendable commodity. It is said that it takes 20 years of peace to make a man, but only 20 seconds to destroy him. This is why we must always oppose war—neither engaging in it ourselves nor permitting others to do so. All rivalries and conflicts must be resolved, not through power, but with wisdom, and through dialogue.”
http://www.daisakuikeda.org/main/peacebuild/essays-on-peace/a-piece-of-mirror.html

A Christian version of the idea of a “self-directed transformation in the life of each individual,” comes to us in the Peace Prayer of St. Francis. The first appearance of the Peace Prayer occurred in France in 1912 in a small spiritual magazine called La Clochette (The Little Bell).

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen.

http://www.franciscan-archive.org/franciscana/peace.html

The Dalai Lamas: A Cultural Heritage of Embodied Compassion
a free public lecture by

Dr. James Apple
U n i v e r s i t y  o f  C a l g a r y

The current Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, enjoys respect and fame as a spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. As the title “Dalai Lama” has entered global consciousness, few people know its beginnings, meaning, or the system of reincarnation behind it. This presentation provides an overview of the long and rich history of the fourteen men who have held the title of Dalai Lama. The presentation also examines the cultural heritage of embodied Buddhist compassion that the Dalai Lamas furnish to followers of Tibetan Buddhism.

James B. Apple is an Assistant Professor of Buddhist Studies at the University of Calgary. He received his doctorate in Buddhist Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His publications include Stairway to Nirvāṇa (State University of New York Press, 2008) and “Redescribing Maṇḍalas: A Test Case in Bodh Gayā, India” in Introducing Religion: Essays in Honor of Jonathan Z. Smith (Equinox, 2008).

Presented by: The Numata Chair of Buddhist Studies in the Department of Religious Studies, University of Calgary
For more information, call 403-220-5886
www.ucalgary.ca/numatachair

Is is “Give’em Hell, Harry, ” time. It is time to barnstorm the country, making a public case
that you made a good faith effort to work with Republicans but they were just completely
intransigent. Attack them mercilessly and turn the public against the obstinate, obstructionist,
reactionary GOP. They, the GOP, have made it clear that they will do everything and anything to
stop you and stop health care reform. Stop trying for bipartisianship with this bunch of liars.
Start moving with your supporters. The American people want health care reform and your
Liberal supporters, including me, want single-payer health care reform. The “public option” is
a compromise on single-payer reform. Do not compromise any further. The market place is
full of pirates and market-driven health care will not serve the needs of all people. Stop trying
to “reach across the aisle to Republicans.” They are liars, liars, liars. All they want to do is
stall and throw out obstacles. Now is the time—-health care for all American citizens.

I was glued to the TV for days for the rites for President John Kennedy and for
Senator Robert Kennedy. For the President: Robert, Jackie and Teddy leading
the march of distinguished mourners, the riderless horse with boots reversed,
the beat of the drum as the procession passed along, the silent crowds lining
the streets, John and Caroline standing with their mother, John saluting his
father, the scene at the burial with Jackie lost and confused.

Then Robert and the wild scene in the hotel kitchen where he was gunned down.
The funeral in St. Patrick’s and Teddy’s moving eulogy, the funeral train and the
crowds lining the tracks.

The Kennedys and their ideals and escapades have been a huge part of my life
from age 16. Wild and reckless though they were, I find them and their ideals
more powerful than Regan, McCain, Bush, and the conservatives.

Max drove my mother and me out to almost the end of Cape Cod, on a lovely
sunny day like today, along the route the Kennedy cortege is taking. Then,
we drove back to Boston in storms and tornadoes—we could not see the road
in the pouring rain; the wind almost blew us off the road.

Today I say—- I am glad I was able to follow the Kennedys and their lives. Hooray
for Liberals!! Hooray for humans who reach out to help the weak, the poor, the
uneducated, the young, the powerless!!! One can be conservative without being
mean, petty, hateful, spiteful, or cruel. I reject with my whole heart the mean-spirited
and hateful right-wingers of today. I am proud to be a liberal.

From the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language

Liberal

adj.

1.
1. Not limited to or by established, traditional, orthodox, or authoritarian attitudes, views, or dogmas; free from bigotry.
2. Favoring proposals for reform, open to new ideas for progress, and tolerant of the ideas and behavior of others; broad-minded.
3. Of, relating to, or characteristic of liberalism.
4. Liberal Of, designating, or characteristic of a political party founded on or associated with principles of social and political liberalism, especially in Great Britain, Canada, and the United States.
2.
1. Tending to give freely; generous: a liberal benefactor.
2. Generous in amount; ample: a liberal serving of potatoes.
3. Not strict or literal; loose or approximate: a liberal translation.
4. Of, relating to, or based on the traditional arts and sciences of a college or university curriculum: a liberal education.
5.
1. Archaic. Permissible or appropriate for a person of free birth; befitting a lady or gentleman.
2. Obsolete. Morally unrestrained; licentious.

n.

1. A person with liberal ideas or opinions.
2. Liberal A member of a Liberal political party.

[Middle English, generous, from Old French, from Latin līberālis, from līber, free.]
liberally lib’er·al·ly adv.
liberalness lib’er·al·ness n.

SYNONYMS liberal, bounteous, bountiful, freehanded, generous, handsome, munificent, openhanded. These adjectives mean willing or marked by a willingness to give unstintingly: a liberal backer of the arts; a bounteous feast; bountiful compliments; a freehanded host; a generous donation; a handsome offer; a munificent gift; fond and openhanded grandparents. See also synonyms at broad-minded.
ANTONYM stingy

But the Palestinian children wounded and charred by Israeli bombings are still screaming, their physicians unable to get hold of enough pain killers to still their yelps of pain. Some 5300 Palestinians, most of them children, women and noncombatants, were wounded in Israel’s savage war on the Gaza population.

Please consider donating to UNICEF UK’s Gaza children’s fund (US UNICEF for Palestinian Children here). In fact, I challenge other bloggers to carry the same appeal for UNICEF, among the best aid groups for this purpose, so that we can see if we can create a cyberspace aid convoy for them.

When I encounter very needy people, my heart is full of compassion. But, I am afraid–I am so frightened that I do not know what to do or say. I think I will be too condescending or too bossy—or too friendly or too helpful. I am not sure what to say or do or how to show proper respect. Max knows exactly what to say and to do.  He talks in a friendly and conversational manner, making the person feel reassured and comfortable. And then Max thinks up things to do, to help–useful and practical things. Max experienced hardship and poverty in his youth, growing up on their family farm in Sullivan County, Indiana, late in the Depression.  They weren’t destitute, but his father drank up money that should have been used to help raise his family. Max went to college on a dream and a prayer, working his way though Indiana State. Hard as this early start was, instead of making him bitter, Max’s struggles made him compassionate and caring. He began his career as a teacher and coach, and later was the principal of Salem High School for twenty-seven years. In his long years at SHS, he helped many students; it gave him particular satisfaction to help poor students to attend college on a scholarship or to help them get a job.  Later, when he worked in real estate, he often gave up part of his commission to help needy clients—and he gave mountains of free advice and help to clients and people in need.

Max has a new project. He and his long-time friend and fellow coach Verne Ratliff gardened last summer and are planning another garden this year. They want to sell some vegetables, but they also plan to give vegetables to their friends and to the Washington County Food Bank. Nothing gives Max more pleasure than helping other people; he has a big heart.