Croker Art Museum – Art of Nepal

(CHAKRA) Renowned Crocker Art Museum (CAM) in Sacramento (California, USA) is exhibiting various Hindu & Buddhist deities in its current “Celestial Realms: The Art of Nepal” exhibition, which will continue till February 10.

Its 44 works reportedly include bronze-stone-wood sculptures, paintings, ritual objects, tribal pieces and masks; dating as far back as eighth century; and display among others images of Parvati, Lakshmi, Ganesha, Siddhilakshmi, Buddha, Bhairava; and a four-faced Shivalinga.

Applauding CAM for organizing Hinduism & Buddhism focused exhibition, distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that art had a long and rich tradition in Hinduism and ancient Sanskrit literature talked about religious paintings of deities on wood or cloth. Rajan Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, urged major art museums of the world, including Musee du Louvre and Musee d’Orsay of Paris, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Los Angeles Getty Center, Uffizi Gallery of Florence (Italy), Art Institute of Chicago, Tate Modern of London, Prado Museum of Madrid, National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, etc., to frequently organize Hindu art focused exhibitions, thus sharing the rich Hindu art heritage with the rest of the world.

Founded in 1885 as the first public art museum of Western USA and now a leading art museum of California, the collections of CAM include Californian, European, Asian, African and Oceanic artworks; early master drawings and international ceramics. Steve Mills is President of its Board of Directors, Lial A. Jones is the CEO, while Nancy Tingley is the curator of “Celestial Realms” exhibition.

From left to right are—Jikai’ Phil Bryan, Rajan Zed and ElizaBeth W. Beyer.

(CHAKRA) In view of the reported incidents of racism in Boksburg (Gauteng) school, Hindus-Jews-Buddhists have asked for nationwide investigation into the prevalence of racism in South Africa schools.

Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed; Rabbi ElizaBeth W. Beyer, prominent Jewish leader in western USA; and Reverend Jikai’ Phil Bryan, well known Buddhist leader in Nevada (USA); in a joint statement in Nevada today, said that it was highly disturbing and unacceptable that innocent, primary schoolchildren had to go through such racist nightmare, including verbal abuse and discrimination, just for wearing traditional Hindu red string around their wrists as reported in Boksburg.

According to reports, one grade-three student faced racial and derogatory slurs for the last three years (it started when he was in grade one) from the teacher in front of classmates for wearing the religious string and was asked to remove it. When complained, he was told to hide the red string with a jersey. Several other parents have since come out with similar allegations.

Hinduism was oldest and third largest religion of the world with a rich philosophical thought. Why should we hide our sacred red threads and other symbols as we were proud of our heritage, traditions and religion? Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, stressed.

Rajan Zed, Rabbi Beyer and Rev. Bryan pointed out that South African President Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma and Gauteng Premier Nomvula Paula Mokonyane should come out openly and strongly against this racist episode and make sure that such incidents did not happen in the future.

Zed, ElizaBeth Beyer and Phil Bryan further said that although the suffering which these tender-aged children and their families endured would be difficult to properly redress, the affected families should be paid adequate compensation for the irreparable damage. Action should be taken against the teachers who committed the abuse and their superiors who protected them and let it happen.

Hindus, who have been in South Africa since 1700s, had made great contributions to the success of South Africa. “How long do you think we would stay as ‘coolies’ in the racist mindset”, Rajan Zed asked. Community should be assured that Hindu children did not go through such a racist nightmare in any of South Africa schools in the times to come, Zed stated.

Boksburg, where gold was discovered in 1887, forms part of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality with Mondli Gungubele as the Mayor. Boksburg is home to Boksburg Lake and East Rand Mall and figure skater Konrad Giering was born here.

Hindus form a considerable part of South Africa population; elaborate Diwali festivals are held in Johannesburg and Cape Town every year; and there are Hindu temples and ashrams in Johannesburg, Durban, etc.

Harmony in Action Conference 2012 – Toronto

(Toronto, Ontario) As the world debates the religious protests across the Middle East, Canada is hosting a historic conference on religious harmony under the auspices of the Honorable Paul Hellyer, Deputy PM to Canada’s most iconic leader Pierre Trudeau and featuring Hanne Strong, Organizer of the UN’s Millennium World Peace Summit and wife of Under Secretary General to the UN Maurice Strong as well as Dave Courchene who conducted the Opening ceremonies at the G8 Summit on World Religions in 2010. Indian dharma will be represented by powerhouse orator Zenji Acharya, noted professor T.S. Rukmani, philanthropist Dr. Rajiv Malhotra and Sikh Spokesperson Ramadeep Kaur Grewal.

Hinduism will be represented by Professor T.S. Rukmani – an Oxford University awarded author on Yoga philosophy and protege of the legendary philosopher B.K. Matilal. Her four volumes on Vijanabhikshu’s Yogavarttika and her two volumes on Sankara’s Yogasutrabhasyavivarana have been widely acclaimed as significant contributions to Yoga philosophy. She may be joined by Dr. Rajiv Malhotra – CEO of the Infinity Foundation and Chairman of the Board of Governors of the India Studies Program at the University of Massachusetts and Ramandeep Kaur Grewal to give a voice to the Sikh community.

Buddhism will be represented by Zenji Acharya who is the only Western expert to hail from the oldest and most venerated Buddhist-Brahmin lineage of India that comprised the Buddha’s closest disciples Sariputra and Maudgalyayana and founders of every major Buddhist tradition including Mahayana (Asvaghosha and Nagarjuna Acharya), Theravada (Buddhaghosa), Chinese (Kumarajiva and Paramartha), Tibetan (Atisa and Padmasambhava) and Japanese (Bharadwaja and Bodhi Dharma). The peerless lineage also included Buddhism’s most influential authors (Shantideva and Nagasena), Nalanda’s brightest scholars (Shantarakshita and Aryadeva), Mahakashyapa – the Conveyor of the first Council and Dona Acharya who presided over the distribution of Lord Buddha’s relics. Furthermore, Buddhists believe that this unrivaled lineage will also give birth to Maitreya – the Future Buddha today both India and China are honoring Him by building the world’s 2 tallest statues respectively.

Moreover, Zenji Acharya is the only Western expert to hail from an unbroken line of sages that were appointed by the last Buddhist empire of India; the Palas of Bengal under whom Mahayana Buddhism reached its zenith – to preserve the Dharma for future generations and assist in the promotion of Buddhism down the Silk Road. He has therefore been passed on many insights one cannot find on Wikipedia or in conventional class-rooms and will thus be referencing a landmark book he is working on titled “Everything You Need to Know About Buddhism (But No One Else Is Telling You)”. It will present rare research into Buddhist scripture, history, art and archaeology to challenge and correct even the most basic concepts of Buddhism in the West. While most of the books written today on Buddhism are from a Sri Lankan, Tibetan or Western perspective, Zenji will be representing the original Buddhist traditions of India that were continued by his family even after Buddhism was phased out by foreign invasions and are today well preserved in Japan as well as among the majority inhabitants of China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan among other Asian nations.

During his presentation, Zenji Acharya will also be highlighting the synergy between Buddhism and Hinduism that created the Golden Era of Indian history and he will be drawing parallels between the Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads and Vedanta on the one hand and such influential Buddhist scriptures as the Lotus Sutra, Mahaparinirvana Sutra, Lankavitara Sutra, Vimalkirti Nirdesa Sutra, Mahajima Nikaya and Itivuttaka on the other. Zenji will also be elaborating on Vivekananda’s assertion that it was Lord Buddha who first brought Bhakti Yoga and Karma Yoga to Hinduism as well as Mahatma Gandhi’s proclamation that Buddhism has played such an important part in Indian history, culture, literature and social reform that India’s national emblem on her flag, currency and official letterhead deserves to be the Buddhist Ashoka Chakra.

In addition, Zenji Acharya will be speaking about India’s greatest monks Vivekananda and Bodhi Dharma and is producing the first international films on their lives, lessons and legacies. This is continuing the dharmic tradition of using story-telling and entertainment to communicate Dharma as evidenced by perennial classics from the Buddha Jatakas to the Ramayana. Zenji is planning to film key scenes of these films in Bodh Gaya as well as Nalanda where the governments of Japan, China, Singapore and many Asian nations are working with Indian scholars from Amartya Sen to former President Abdul Kalaam in honoring India’s glorious Buddhist heritage.

The Harmony in Action Conference will take place on the 3rd and 4th of October, 2012 at the prestigious 89 Chestnut Conference Center of the University of Toronto – Canada’s premiere center for learning and one of the world’s leading academic institutions.

The Bodu Bala Sena organisation further said those employed in Muslim-majority countries are prevented from practicing their religious faiths, and if found to do so are punished severely. Recently a Sri Lankan woman was arrested for gazing at a child at a shopping complex, where she was accused of witchcraft, on the grounds that she had a black cord around her wrist.

On prior occasions too many Sri Lankan female domestic workers were forced to embrace Islam, and wear the traditional attire, while so far four Sri Lankan youth have been beheaded in that country. (Source: Ceylon Today)

Saudi Arabia is an Islamic theocratic monarchy where the religion of Islam is the official religion. Non-Islamic proselytism and conversions are illegal and conversion by Muslims to another religion (apostasy) carries the death penalty. Under Saudia Arabia Sharia Islamic law, children of Saudi parents are considered Muslim, regardless of the country or the religious tradition in which they may have been raised.

Buddha Meditation

According to a report in the July Journal of Psychiatric Practice, mindfulness practices including Zen mediation have helped to resolve mental and physical health problems. ”An extensive review of therapies that include meditation as a key component—referred to as mindfulness-based practices—shows convincing evidence that such interventions are effective in the treatment of psychiatric symptoms and pain, when used in combination with more conventional therapies,” according to Dr William R. Marchand of the George E.

Mindfulness based therapies or exercises show clear results of health benefits. Mindfulness is described as “the practice of learning to focus attention on moment-by-moment experience with an attitude of curiousity, openness, and acceptance. In other words a part of practicing mindfulness is simply experiencing the present as it is rather than trying to change anything.

Dr. Marchand focused on three techniques: Zen meditation, a Buddhist spiritual practice that involves the practice of developing mindfulness by meditation. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) a combination of Buddhist mindfulness with meditation related to yoga as well as stress coping stretegies. The third type of technique he reviewed is Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), which combines MBSR with principles of cognitive therapy.

As a result of Dr. Marchand’s study it has been revealed that MBSR is effective in reducing stress and promoting general psychological health in patients with various medical or psychiatric diseases.

These practices in addition help to affect mental and physical health in that they impact brain function in structure, which they believe is the reason for the practices helping decrease stress levels as well.

The use of such mindfulness practices are promising and overtime should be used consistently in clinical settings.

A typical statue of Buddha in China

Ruins of an ancient Buddhist temple have been found in the largest Chinese desert, Taklimakan Desert, dating back to 1,500 years ago. The new finding has brought greater research material to historians who study the spread of Buddhism from India to China.

In the autonomous region of Xinjiang Uygur, now a mainly muslim area, the temples main hall along with a rare structure surrounded by three square-shaped corridors as well as evidence of a huge Buddha statue that existed years ago have been uncovered after 2 months of excavation.

Dr. Wu Xinhua, head of the Xinjiang archaeological team of the Chinese Academy of Social Science and the leading archaeologist of the excavation project said, “The hall is the largest of its kind found in the Taklimakan Desert since the first archaeologist came to work in the area in the 20th century (usa.chinadaily.com).” The ruins were found and are located south of the Taklimakan Desert, in the Tarim Basin, known as the Damago Oasis. The ruins are located in the ancient kingdom of Khotan, which is a Buddhist civilization believed to date back to the third century BC.

One key connection that has been made to India is that temple corridors in India were square-shaped like the ones found in the Buddhist site. They gradually disappeared after the Southern and Northern Dynasties (AD 420-581).

To date, it is considered the best site to determine and research how the religion traveled from India to China.

Based on the size of the pedestal, the missing Buddha statue is said to have been at least 3 meters tall. Altogether, the hall walls, surround an area of 256 square meters.

Mural paintings of Buddha’s feet and some auspicious animals are still visible on the corridor walls. They are painted in a Greco-Buddhist artistic style.

Since 1901, over 10 Buddhist sites have been discovered by archaeologists from China, and excavations throughout China are presently going on to discover more sites which can add to the history of Buddhism in the country.

Vietnam

Hundreds of teachers and educational experts from across Vietnam gathered together at a seminar held in Hanoi to discuss the models and methods of education that Vietnamese Buddhism currently uses.

The seminar focus was, “Education on Vietnamese Buddhism: Orientation and Development. The participants and presenters shared their views on education in general followed by their interpretation of Buddhist education. Discussion topics focused on how Buddhist education impacts society, how it impacts Vietnam’s Buddhist Sangha (VBS), as well as how future generations will be impacted by it.

The principles and philosophies that make up and surround Buddhist education were discussed as they relate and apply to the national education of Vietnam.

Most Venerable Thich Chon Thien, Vice Chairman of the VBS Executive Council and Head of the Central Committee for the Education of monks and nuns said that the main task of the education of nuns and monks is to implement a standard curriculum which is consistent across all existing education establishments. The education of nuns and monks has always been a primary focus for the Sangha.

Improving the efficiency of teaching and learning methods is key to the success of Buddhist-centered education.

The Central Committee for the Education of Monks and Nuns has also supported Buddhist education for tens of thousands of monks and nuns across many educational institutions. They have supported education at four Buddhist academies, 33 Buddhist intermediate schools, nine Buddhist colleges, and up to 100 Buddhist primary schools throughout Vietnam

Hinduism OM Symbol and Buddhism Chakra Symbol

(CHAKRA) Buddhist and Hindu groups have grown steadily in United States of America (USA) since changes in immigration laws in 1965 and 1992, with particularly high concentrations in Texas, California, the New York Metropolitan Area, Illinois and Georgia; according to a Baylor University (Waco, Texas, USA) release quoting its professor who helped compile the recently released U.S. Religion Census.

Professor J. Gordon Melton, who was in charge of assembling the data on both groups, was quoted as saying: “Both Buddhists and Hindus, though still relatively small compared to the large Christian groups, have grown to the point that they are beginning to exert significant influence on the key issues that most affect their lives”.

Both Hindus and Buddhists have temples in most states, and “the groups now regularly voice their opinions on U.S. relations with predominantly Hindu and Buddhist countries,” Melton said in this release. “…Hindus and Buddhists are found in every part of the country, but they are concentrated in the big cities and still have not begun to appear in the smaller cities and rural areas.”

Meanwhile, welcoming the growing influence of Hindu community, Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, urged Hindus to participate in interfaith dialogue, assist the different communities in their neighborhoods, build trust and help create harmony in the society.

Rajan Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, further said that it was important to pass on Hindu spirituality, concepts and traditions to coming generations of Hindus amidst so many distractions in the consumerist society and hoped that the Hindu community in USA would focus in this direction.

Baylor University is a private Christian university and a nationally ranked research institution. Kenneth Winston Starr is the President while Neal T. “Buddy” Jones is Chair of its Board of Regents.

Sikhism, Jainism, Hinduism, & Buddhism delegates offer prayers

USA - Hindu American Seva Charities (HASC) again made history, co-hosting with The White House Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Agencies and the White House Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships an historic conference, Community Building in the 21st Century with Strengthened Dharmic Faith-Based Institutions for the Dharmic (defined as ,Buddhist, Hindu, Jain, Sikh) Religious Leaders. HASC partnered with many Buddhist, Hindu, Jain and Sikh organizations, including the Council of Hindu Temples, Federation of Jain Associations of North America, Soka Gakkai International-USA Buddhist Association and others to create a coalition that can reach deliver collaborative solutions and services to benefit the communities around us while promoting better understanding of our beliefs, cultures and values.

In his opening remarks, Paul Monteiro, Associate Director, White House Office of Public Engagement observed that the Dharmic-American community is interested in all the same issues that everyone is interested in – healthcare, security, education, etc. He encouraged the participants to follow up this conference with action, saying “the real measure of this conference’s success will be in how much more engaged in service the dharmic communities become in the months ahead.”

“In America, our collective faith infrastructures (temples, ashrams, and meditation and yoga studios) are in early stages of development. The Dharmic Americans, mostly post 1964 immigrants, are just becoming part of the mosaic of the pluralistic landscape of America. …As we see it, in America, the seva movement is a tool for social justice, a way to deal with community issues. The eastern Dharmic traditions share many commonalities and have infrastructure gaps. We are trying to understand how can we engage with each other collectively, what are our issues? How can more of us engage with the administration?” said Anju Bhargava of HASC, lead organizer of the event. “We hope this will be the first step in the Dharmic community coming together to explore and identify common ground and building a coalition that will strengthen each other and our nation.”

Asim Mishra, Acting Chief of Staff of Corporation for National Community Service emphasized, “service as a strategy is not service for the sake of service only; it has to be a credible way of solving problems in communities. We need to broaden the reach to address priority issues – economy, education, veterans and disaster relief. Serve America Act makes service a larger part of the national fabric. VISTAs and Americorps, Teach for America are funded through CNCS.”

Senator Harris Wofford, advisor to Martin Luther King and the pioneering force behind the creation of Peace Corps spoke of the profound contribution that Hindu spirituality made to the US Civil Rights movement said, “I am experiencing public happiness at this gathering, to see the pursuit of self-government, ‘Svaraj’ as they would say in India. When I was 12 years old I went to India. In 1938, I saw Gandhi in Mumbai. I started with Kennedy in D.C. and subsequently went to India through the Peace Corps. After college I got a Fullbright scholarship and went with my wife for one year to pursue the ideals of Gandhi—and wrote a book about him [. . . ]I came back and joined the civil rights movement, and brought Gandhi-ism to America [. . .] This room, where the conference is being held, is the Indian Treaty room, where many things have happened – and history can be made here with this Dharmic undertaking. A follower of Gandhi said that the two great idea ideas of the 20th century were from Einstein and Gandhi. Einstein showed how to access tremendous physical energy through splitting the atom; Gandhi taught us how to crack the atom of people power. The diaspora power of India is great.

Ambassador Cahill, former Counsel General in India, stated, “If there is any strong force in the world, it is individuals who are committed, and faith based organizations have particular strength. We as individuals we can do so much, sometimes more than big
organizations.”

During a session with Rev. Suzan Johnson Cook, United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, concerns were raised about the condition of religious minorities (particularly Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist) in Pakistan and Bangladesh, as well as the plight of Buddhists in South-east Asia and Tibet. Dr. Siva Subramanian, HASC Board Member called on the ambassador to bring the US Dharmic community to the table so they can work more closely with her in addressing their concerns

Other topics of focus for the participants were the serious challenges being faced by Burmese and Bhutanese refugees in America; the networking of dharmic community resources for disaster response and in support of anti-terrorism efforts; the support of religious literacy programs in the public schools and providing much needed support for dharma-based members of the US Armed
Forces.

Eskinder Negesh indicated his Office of Refugee Resettlement, has settled 60,000 Burmese and Bhutanese refugees in the past two years. He expressed concern about the high rate of suicide among the Bhutanese refugees and welcomed the Dharmic group to work with him to get to the roots of the issues, just as HASC has assisted with this research on Bhutanese refugees for the past two
years.

Homeland Security representatives emphasized that government depends on the communities for help in response and recovery. Dharmic members serve on the Council and DHS expressed an interest in increasing the two-way information sharing in faith based communities, recognizing the importance of protection of places of worship through information sharing. DHS is working together to keep communities safer. Public engagement can be enhanced with the “See something, Say something campaign,” especially with
the Dharmic community.

Kenneth Bedell, Policy Advisor, shared the announcement of Together for Tomorrow, a program initiated by the Department of Education and White House Faith OFBNP to re-emphasis the idea that education is not just the responsibility of the teachers, schools or parents, but of the whole community, including the students). Communities can come together using their resources in cooperation with schools, teachers, federal government and parents to address issues. Diversity of religion is important in education
as there is the power of diversity. Regarding confusing on the separation of church and state, he clarified that the U.S. constitution does not say that the school has to avoid all talk about religion or sharing of information. The Department of Education cannot dictate curriculum; it encourages the states to develop core curriculum, and the public should provide input. Interfaith groups can make curricula and propose them to the federal government.

Dr. Sushil Jain, CAPT, U.S. Navy-retd and President, Federation of Jain Associations in North America (JAINA) emphasized the importance of “‘serving those who serve of Dharmic faiths. Temples can prepare care packages for soldiers, help the veterans transition to the community and assist fallen citizens (those who have been incarcerated), as they too deserve our support.” He concluded, “This first Dharma Conference at the White house was amazing. It helped JAINA delegates understand the level of attention and priority President Obama has given in reaching out to minority faith group. We, Buddhists, Hindus, Jains and Sikhs
were delighted to hear about various programs and how we can partner with federal agencies in addressing our community needs. We at JAINA are looking forward to our follow-up conference.”

Khyati Jyoshi of Fairley Dickenson University observed that religion is lived through acquisition of knowledge, through ritual and action, seva and transnational ties. But many second generation are disengaged and do not consider themselves religious. Perhaps because they don’t get up at five A.M. to do puja or are not vegetarian. She challenged the immigrant generation adapt and more fully engage the second generation, provide adult religious classes for a generation which is hungry for knowledge and eager to
know about their roots.

“This conference marked an expansion and deepening of the dialogue between the administration and the Buddhist, Hindu and Jain and Sikh communities and a recognition of the growing contribution these faiths are making in American society. And I think it got a number of the faith representatives thinking about how they can expand on those contributions,” said Bill Aiken, Public Affairs Director, Soka Gakkai Buddhist Association.

Joshua Stanton of Inter Religious Dialogue said, “The U.S. is the most religiously diverse country since the fall of the Roman Empire – so how do we lead? India has been the most religiously diverse country for millennia. How can we learn from the Dharmic communities? How do we increase positive relationships and make pluralism a reality.”

Bud Heckman, Religions for Peace USA said, “We have a United Nations, why can’t we have a united front of religions working for peace? Today, 76% of America is Christian – by 2050 more than 50% the American public will be non-Christian. So understanding the Dharmic community is important.”

Mark Farr, National Vision of Public Engagement observed, “in the service movement of the U.S. we see, increasingly the crucial facing is the idea of disconnect – faith from business, from family. Individually we are disconnected from each other. The Dharmic traditions (such as yoga and meditation) can teach gentleness, compassion and wholeness to the Western traditions.”

We hope this will be the first step in the Dharmic community, in coming together to explore and identify common ground, unite for social justice and build a coalition to strengthen each other and our nation.

Organizations present in this conference:

Arya Samaj
Ashtanga Yoga Studio and Hindu
Temple
Bhartiya Hindu Temple
Bridgewater Venkateswara Temple
Buddhist Churches of America
Buddhist Global Relief
Cambodian Buddhist Temple
Charlotte Hindu Temple
Chua giac Hoang (Vietnamese) Temple
DFW Hindu Temple
Fairleigh Dickenson University
Federation of Jain Associations in North
America (JAINA)
George Washington University
George Washington University
Guruvayur Temple
Hindu Center, Charlotte
Hindu Temple of Atlanta
Hindu Temple of Metropolitan
Washington
Hindu temple of St. Louis
Hindu Temple of Virgina
Hindu Temple of Wisconsin
Houston Meenakshi Temple
International Buddhist Center
International Buddhist Committee
International Society of Krishna Consciousness
Kashi Temple
M.A. Math (Amma)
Mahwah Hindu Temple
Malibu Temple
Murugan Temple
Naropa University
Nashville Temple
New England Hindu Temple (Lakshmi
Temple)
Prison Dharma Network
Sanatan Mandir
SGI-USA, Youth Anti-violence program
Sikh Organization
Soka Gakkai International-USA
Council of Hindu Temples of North
America
Sri Siva Vishnu Temple, Lanham
Sri Venkataswara Temple of NC ,TIPS,
NRIVA
SVTP-Pittsburgh
Tricycle – The Buddhist Review
Tzu Chi Foundation #1
Tzu Chi Foundation #2
Univ of the West Buddhist Chaplain Program
UVCEF/CAACC/HCCLTVikramasila Foundation (Tibetan)
Wat Lao Temple
Won Buddhism – USA
Zen Center for Contemplative (Hospice) Care
Inter-religious Dialogue
National Vision of Public Engagement
Religions for Peace USA
Many Federal Agencies

Organizing Committee:
HASC:
Anju Bhargava
Siva Subramanian
Buddhist:
William Aiken
B.N. Hebbar
Hindu
Mythili Bachu
Shashikant Sane
Jain
Sushil Jain
Manoj Dharamsi
Sikh
Paramjit Labana

In Pattani’s Thung Yang Daeng district, two Thai Buddhists were recently killed. Police have revealed that the foremost suspects are two muslim militants from the area.

Suan Chansri and Somnuak Somdang were traveling in a pick up truck through the village of Ban Khao Din when a number of culprits ran out of a forest shooting at them in their pick up truck. The two men died at the scene before being taken to the hospital. The incident occurred around 6 pm in Tambon Pagu.

The men were on their way home in Yala’s Raman district when the incident occurred.

Duty officers at the Thung Yang Daeng Police station said that the attackers has placed bomb like explosives on both sides of the road so that after shooting the victims police would not be able to easily spot them giving them a chance to escape.

Police officers who are experts in explosives were called to the scene to examine and inspect the devices.

Police have revealed that the attacks were very likely to be carried out by separatist Islamic militants.