We’d ask you why this man is smiling, but you’ve probably already heard the news. It makes us smile, too.A Fresh Air interview with Seth Meyers.
Image via Imgur
You’d think we’d met the white guys on TV quota by now…
(Reblogged from questionall)
Bhikkhuni Dhammananda/Chatsumarn Kabilsingh: Why she kicks ass
- She is a Thai Buddhist nun, who received full bhikkhuni (nun) ordination in Sri Lanka on February 28, 2003, making her the first Thai woman to receive full ordination as a Theravada nun in Dharmaguptaka ordination lineage. She was ordained in Sri Lanka, and is Abbess of Wat Songkhammakalayani, the only temple in Thailand where there are fully ordained nuns.
- The Temple complex which was founded by Venerable Dhammananda’s mother is called Wat Songdhammakalyani, or the “temple where women uphold the Dharma.”
- She received her B.A. in Philosophy from Visva Bharati University, her M.A. in Religion from McMaster University in Canada, and her Ph.D. in Buddhism from Magadh University in India.
- She taught for over thirty years at Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand, in the Department of Philosophy and Religion, and is a well-known author of many books on contemporary issues in Asian Buddhism, including Buddhism and Ecology and Women in Buddhism.
- She has often said that she knew she would become a monastic in the Buddhist tradition at some point in her life; she was just waiting for the right time. That time came in 2000 when she took early retirement from Thammasat University and received the bodhisattva’s precept from Fo Guang Shan in Taiwan.
- In 2001, she took her lower ordination in Sri Lanka from Ven. Bhikkhuni R.Saddha Sumana and Ven. T. Dhammaloka (bhikkhu). In 2003, she was ordained a full bhikkhuni, also in Sri Lanka, the first Thai woman to be ordained in a Theravada monastic lineage. Her bhikkhuni name is Dhammananda. Her ordination lineage is Syamopali from Dambulla chapter.
- Since her ordination, the Ven. Bhikkhuni Dhammananda has written several books, designed to educate the public about various issues related to Thai Buddhism, including the place of women.
- Both as a lay person and as a monastic, she has worked tirelessly to reestablish the Theravāda lineage in Thailand for women, so that women may become fully ordained bhikkhuni (Buddhist nuns, sanskrit: bhikśunī).
- She has encountered resistance from both lay men and monks in Thailand who believe female monastics are illegal and a corruption. Her work has caused some controversy in Thailand, although she receives much support from a growing number of Western Buddhist women.
- In 1984, Dr. Kabilsingh started publishing Yasodhara: The Newsletter on International Buddhist Women’s Activities, available in almost forty countries. She writes/speaks about issues generally thought to constitute “socially engaged Buddhism” such as Buddhism and nature/ecology/environmental issues, Buddhism and poverty, Feminism and Buddhism, prostitution (in Thailand), and Buddhism and education (lay and monastic).
- A few years later in 1991, Dr. Kabilsingh organized the first international conference of Buddhist women held in Bangkok, Thailand.
- While Dr. Kabilsingh has a somewhat global approach as evidenced by founding an international newsletter or hosting an international conference, she has repeatedly stated that most problems in Thailand must be solved by the Thai people without the “help” of outsiders, including Western Buddhists.
Students from Humboldt State University have created a map of racism and homophobia in America after analysing 150,000 tweets containing hate words sent between June 2012-April 2013.
via rossabroad
Well, this is really something. Not too surprising, either. What clever students.
An illustrated map of the United States
This happens in the United States: modern day slaver/guilty judge sentenced to 28 years in prison for “selling” kids to private prisons in 2011
Accused of perpetrating a “profound evil,” former Pennsylvania judge Mark Ciavarella Jr. has been sentenced to 28 years in prison for illegally accepting money from a juvenile-prison developer while he spent years incarcerating thousands of young people.
Prosecutors said Ciavarella sent juveniles to jail as part of a “kids for cash” scheme involving Robert Mericle, builder of the PA and Western PA Child Care juvenile detention centers. The ex-judge was convicted in February of 12 counts that included racketeering, money laundering, mail fraud and tax evasion.
In addition to his prison sentence, Ciavarella was ordered to pay nearly $1.2 million in restitution.
At his sentencing, Ciavarella acknowledged his illegal acceptance of money from Mericle. But he denied ever jailing a juvenile in exchange for money.
Once the case against Ciavarella surfaced, special investigative panels began reviewing cases he handled from 2003 to 2008. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court concluded that he denied about 5,000 juveniles, some as young as ten, their constitutional rights, leading to the vacating of their convictions.
Among the young people exploited by Ciavarella were 15-year-old Hillary Transue, who was sentenced to three months at a juvenile detention center for mocking an assistant principal on a MySpace page; and 13-year-old Shane Bly, who was sent to a boot camp for two weekends after being accused of trespassing in a vacant building.
Another judge, Michael T. Conahan, used his position to shut down the county-run juvenile detention center and redirect juvenile detainees to the private prisons. He pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy.
An art installation of green plants growing on the wall of the building next to the CaixaForum Madrid — a modern art gallery — In Madrid, Spain. The living wall was created by french botanist Patrick Blanc
(Source: malformalady)
Here is a flower for you. Not feeling as miserable about the 954378 research papers I have to respond to tonight.
How is it possible this thing is even real?
