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Decluttering My Desk

Why is it important to get rid of all the clutters laying on the desk? Simple answer would be that it lessens the stress. I personally use my desk to put all the stuff that needs to be done within a day to few weeks. Such tasks include bills, assignments, projects, readings, and some other small things. But rather than having all these to-be-done tasks laying right in front of me while working on a thing, I realized it is better if I take care of one thing at a time with none of these clutters staring at me. It really helps and makes myself feel more reliable and not like a person who likes to procrastinate a lot.

For some reason, I feel like this post fits under Buddhism category.

iPod is Cheap - Now Selling at $49

Save 240 songs on any of the iPod remixed colors. The new iPod shuffle is out selling at $49. It comes with iPod shuffle, earphones, USB dock and a quick start guide.

Here are some of the features:

Clip on the world’s most wearable music player and take up to 240 songs with you anywhere.1 Choose from five colors — including four new hues — to make your musical fashion statement.

With iTunes autofill, iPod shuffle can deliver a new musical experience every time you sync. For more randomness, you can shuffle songs during playback with the slide of a switch.

Charge and sync with the included USB dock. Operate the iPod shuffle controls with one hand. Enjoy up to 12 hours straight of skip-free music playback.

Here are the requirements for your iPod shuffle:

for Mac: # • USB 2.0 port • Mac OS X v10.4.8 or later • iTunes 7.4 or later • Internet connection
for PC: # • USB 2.0 port • Windows Vista or Windows XP Home or Professional (Service Pack 2 or later) • iTunes 7.4 or later • Internet connection

A Letter From Tenzin Tsundue

2008 the year of ACTION for Tibet!

Dear Friends,

The time has come for me to go to Tibet again. Last time when I went to Tibet in 1997 - after my graduation - I was arrested by the Chinese authorities, beaten up, interrogated, starved and finally thrown out of Tibet after keeping me in their jails for three months in Lhasa and Ngari. I walked to Tibet, on my own, alone, across the Himalayan Mountains from the Ladakh.

Eleven years later, I am walking to Tibet again; this time too, without permission. I am returning home; why should I bother about papers from Chinese colonial regime who have not only occupied Tibet, but also is running a military rule there; making our people in Tibet live in tyranny and brutal suppression day after day, everyday for fifty years.

The Year 2008 is a huge opportunity for the Tibet movement to present the injustices the Tibetans have been subjected to, when China is going to attract international media attention. I am taking part in the return march from Dharamsala to Tibet, that is being organized as a part of the “Tibetan People’s Uprising Movement”, a united effort put together by five major Tibetan NGOs: Tibetan Youth Congress, Tibetan Women’s Association, Gu-Chu-Sum Movement of Tibet (an association of former political prisoners), National Democratic Party of Tibet and Students for a Free Tibet, India.

The march will start on 10 March 2008, from Dharamsala, the capital of Tibetan exiles and will pass through Delhi and then head towards Tibet. Walking for six months, we might reach the Tibet border around the time China opens the Beijing 2008 Olympics (August 14-25). Presently it’s too early to approximate at which border point we would be crossing; Tibet and India share a border that runs 4,075 Km along the length of the Himalayas. We might choose any point, or even multiple points. We’ll see the situation.

I know there had been similar attempts in the past, but this is 2008, and I have seen the organizers working extra hard with strategic planning, taking care of every minute detail, and the best thing is that we have all the NGOs working unitedly for the common goal. This unity is our strength! I do not know where we would end up, that’s why I am giving away the little collection of books (my only possession in life) to a library at is being setup in McLeod Ganj, Dharamsala. My friends: Lobsang and Nyingje (who served in the Indian army as part of the Tibetan battalion) are also giving away their personal belongings; committing themselves for the march.

Of course the Indian police will do their duty; the Chinese army at the Tibet border would be overtly enthusiastic. Since we are leading a peaceful march, with absolute commitment to non-violence, I do not think anyone - either from Indian authority or Chinese - would impose themselves on us. Inspired by Gandhi’s Salt March, even if they did try to stop us, we are not stopping. For how many days can they jail us for just walking peacefully? And why should the Indian government stop Tibetan refugees voluntarily returning home on foot?

In the past I have climbed buildings to shout for freedom, thrown myself at the Chinese embassy gate in New Delhi, spent months in jails, got beaten up police, fought court cases, but I never lost the dignity of the struggle: my believe in Non-violence. The March to Tibet will be non-violent; it is a sadhana, a spiritual tribute to the truth and justice that we are fighting for. This is our Long March to freedom.

And on our journey home, we will cook and camp in tents on the roadside, there will be the marchers and the support marchers, the kitchen team, logistics, media and the medical team. There will be dancing and singing, and theatre and film shows on the road as we take this long journey home.

Dear friend,

Here is an opportunity to join a historic non-violent freedom struggle, a people’s effort to win freedom for a country that remains subjugated even in 2008. I request you to join us, support us in whatever ways possible. We need people to know about it, so spread the word. You can walk with us, as we walk for six months, maybe you can join us for a day along the path, even one hour, or for a week, months as a supporter. Schools, colleges and even whole town can walk with us. We need volunteers, media people, writers, photographers, bloggers can help us. We need nurses, cooks, technicians and your prayers.

Ever since the march was announced on 4th January 2008, Tibetans have been talking about it; it’s a major discussion in the refugee camps. Recently the organizers launched the entry form. And I heard people are slowly getting themselves registered. You too can register your volunteer online. For more information please visit: www.TibetanUprising.org For enquiries email the coordinators: Lobsang yeshi or sherab woser

Join us.

Tenzin Tsundue
Dharamsala

Paying Homage to the Buddha and Extracts from the Sutras

Abandon evildoing;
Practice virtue well;
Subdue your mind:
This is the Buddha’s teaching.
Like a star, an optical illusion, or a flame,
A magical illusion, a dewdrop, or a bubble,
Like a dream, a flash of lightning, or a cloud—
So should one consider all compounded things.

While reciting these words, we should reflect on impermanence
and the lack of reality in phenomena and conclude with a prayer of
dedication:

By this merit may we attain omniscience
And overcome our enemy, our harmful deeds,
And may beings, buffeted by the waves of birth, old age,
sickness, and death,
Be liberated from the ocean of existence.

Source: A FLASH OF LIGHTNING IN THE DARK OF NIGHT: A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life

Tenzin Tsundue’s Intention to Walk into Tibet

Tenzin Tsundue is a restless young Tibetan, who after graduating from Madras, South India, braved snowstorms and treacherous mountains, broke all rules and restrictions, crossed the Himalayas on foot and went into forbidden Tibet!

Tenzin Tsundue has made his intentions clear to walk right into Tibet without any documents to bring the Tibetan struggle for independence from Chinese occupation back into international focus.

Tsundue’s march into Tibet is to begin March 10 from this hill station - the headquarters of the Tibetan government-in-exile led by Tibetan spiritual and temporal head the Dalai Lama. The town is nestled at the feet of the towering snow-clad Dhauladhar range of the mighty Himalayas.

Tsundue sports a red bandana on his head at all times and says he will remove it only when Tibet is free from Chinese occupation. He has termed his march to Tibet as being comparable to the famous salt march initiated by Mahatma Gandhi to break British laws in 1930.

The march will move, along with other Tibetan independence struggle volunteers, from here to New Delhi before moving onward to a border point with Tibet-China. The entry of Tsundue into Tibet is planned to coincide with the start of the Beijing Olympics beginning in China in August.

Getting into Tibet illegally is not new for Tsundue. He did it in 1997 and was promptly arrested by Chinese security forces.

“I went to Tibet in 1997 - after my graduation - and was arrested by the Chinese authorities. I was beaten up, interrogated, starved and finally thrown out of Tibet after keeping me in their jails for three months in Lhasa and Ngari,” Tsundue said.

“I walked to Tibet, on my own, alone, across the Himalayan Mountains from Ladakh. Eleven years later, I am walking to Tibet again; this time too, without permission.

“I am returning home; why should I bother about papers from (the) Chinese colonial regime who have not only occupied Tibet, but is also running a military rule there; making our people in Tibet live in tyranny and brutal suppression day after day, everyday for 50,” he said after his latest announcement to go to Tibet.

“I don’t know how long the march will last and from where it will enter Tibet. But we are determined to complete it,” Tsundue told IANS.

Several Tibetan organisations like Tsundue’s Friends of Tibet, Students for Free Tibet, Tibetan Youth Congress, Tibetan Women’s Association and Gu-Chu-Sum Movement (an association of former Tibetan political prisoners living here in exile) are planning various activities this year to draw maximum international media attention in a year when China hosts the biggest sporting event - the Olympics - for the first time.

Apart from his 1997 walk, Tsundue, born to Tibetan refugee parents in India, waved the flag of independent Tibet at Mumbai and Bangalore before the visiting Chinese prime minister and president in January 2002 and April 2005.

His action, for which he hid himself at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore for two days before coming out from a rooftop to fly the Tibetan flag at the venue where the Chinese president was present, embarrassed the Indian and Chinese authorities.

Now his movements within India are closely watched by security agencies. But Tsundue is not worried.

“Of course, the Indian police will do their duty; the Chinese army at the Tibet border would be overtly enthusiastic. Since we are leading a peaceful march, with absolute commitment to non-violence, I do not think anyone - either from Indian authorities or Chinese - would impose themselves on us.

“Inspired by Gandhi’s Salt March, even if they did try to stop us, we are not stopping. For how many days can they jail us for just walking peacefully? And why should the Indian government stop Tibetan refugees voluntarily returning home on foot?” Tsundue said.

FaceBook To Punish Bad Applications and Reward Good Ones

The day MySpace Application Platform was released to developers, Facebook announced that it would start pruning FaceBook apps - the bad ones.
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Facebook apps that get good user responses from Newsfeed messages ( such as clickthroughs and app installs) will be allowed to send more notifications and apps that get fewer user responses to their notices will have the number of notices they can send cut down. ﾠ

Explaning Internet BlackOut In MiddleEast and Asia

Internet blackout is now getting some explanation. If you don’t know what I am talking about, here is the story: severe Internet and phone service outages hit Egypt and India Wednesday after two submarine cable communication lines were severed. Many people thought it was sabotage. But it turns outs, a ship’s anchor was abandoned and it cut down one of the undersea Internet cables causing disruptions across the Middle East and parts of Asia.

The company who owned this Internet cables is FLAG Telecom. Their repair crew discovered the anchor near where the fiber-optic cable was severed Feb. 1 in the Persian Gulf, 35 miles north of Dubai, between the Emirates and Oman.

Before it was discovered, there speculations that the U.S. government was behind the cable cuts to create an information blackout for un announced reason. Others thought the Internet sabotage is from Islamic terrorists.

Read Facebook in in Spanish and German Now

Facebook has released its site in Spanish and German language version. The French language will be the next to follow. Nearly 1,500 Spanish-speaking users on Facebook chose to be part of the effort and translated the site from English to Spanish in less than four weeks.

Current users who want to view Facebook in Spanish can change their language preference from their account settings. Beginning on Monday, Feb. 11, any person who goes Facebook website from a Spanish-speaking country will see the site in Spanish. Facebook currently has more than 2.8 million active users in Latin America and Spain.

According to the Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg, over 60 percent of Facebook users are now outside of the U.S., and many live in countries where English is not the primary language. He says that their goal has always been to allow people to use Facebook in their native language so we built an application to enable users to participate in translating the site into their local languages and dialects.

What is Buddhism All About?

Most of us take and think about Buddhism differently. On this earth realm, I think we can divide the followers of Buddha into three categories:

-There are some people who consider Buddhism is a very easy concept; it is all about worshiping Lord Buddha. But that’s not true. Buddhism is about following the Buddha’s teachings, not worshiping him even though that might earn you a tiny bit of gaywa or the virtues. Buddha will be far more happy if we follow the Four Noble Truths than if we make a pilgrimage trip to Lumibini - the birthplace of Buddha.

-Then there are other people who kind of understand what Buddhism is about, but they still don’t put it into practice. They understand as a Buddhists they should be compassionate towards all sentient beings. But they face the trouble of “reality of life” - you can’t be nice to everybody and that’s the part of life. They assume if they become a nice or nicer person people would run over them and it would be hard for them to live in a society. But if we take a time to think more critically we might be able to realize that life is short after all and it is not worth being mean to each other. People who fall under this category sometimes realize this after they become calm and delve into such incident.

Buddhism Flag-The last category can be formed by almost perfect Buddhists. I personally think such people exists and have a feeling that some people I know should fall under this category. These people may or may not pay a visit to monasteries and sacred sites; they may or may not chant Om Mani Padme Hun - but what they do on a daily basis is that they act Compassionate toward all sentient beings. Their Buddhism wisdom may or may not be a higher level, but they know the core concept of Buddhism - Compassion and Realization of Impermanence.

Buddhism, imo, is all about Compassion and Realization of Impermanence.

Studens For A Free Tibet Wins $25,000 in Facebook Challenge

SFT, Students For a Free Tibet, came 2nd in the Facebook Giving for a Cause challenge, winning $25,000 in prize money. So far, the total amount of money SFT was able to raise through this challenge is $94,624.

Here is the description of SFT in Facebook’s The Giving Challenge:
Positions:

1. Tibetan people’s right to self determination.
2. Ending China’s brutal occupation and oppressive colonization of Tibet and the Tibetan people.
3. Through education, grassroots organizing, and non-violent direct action, we campaign for Tibetans’ fundamental right to political freedom.

Category: International - International Human Rights
Description: Students for a Free Tibet (SFT) works in solidarity with the Tibetan people in their struggle for freedom and independence. We are a chapter-based network of young people and activists around the world. Through education, grassroots organizing, and non-violent direct action, we campaign for Tibetans’ fundamental right to political freedom. Our role is to empower and train youth as leaders in the worldwide movement for social justice.

VISION:
In our work for Tibetan independence we also aim to inspire and enable people, especially youth, to create a just and equitable world, free of oppression, in which there is respect for the earth and all living things.

VALUES:
We believe every individual has the right to be free. Those who enjoy freedom have the power and also the responsibility to make positive change in the world. We seek to create opportunities to inspire, enable and motivate all people to see that change is possible. We value creativity in every pursuit and we believe it is essential to have fun while working towards our vision of a just and equitable world.