We would like to appeal to the Sinhala Buddhists first of all to acknowledge the crimes that they committed against their own Tamil sisters and brothers and ask for forgiveness from the Tamils. Rejoicing at the war victories, when thousands have been killed, ‘disappeared', maimed, raped and hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced and detained, is totally against the dhamma.

Wongsanit Ashram has released the 2011 dates of it annual Ecovillage Design Education & Training of Trainers course.

The four week Ecovillage Design Education (EDE) course, held at the Ashram and taught in English, is unique in that it blends the wisdom and indigenous knowledge of traditional communities in Asia with the wisdom of new, emerging paradigms of intentional communities of the West.

Since late last year it seems that I've continuously lost good friends-one after another. It is a sad but inescapable fact for a 77-year-old man like me.  The latest on the list is Professor Yoneo Ishii who passed away on 13^th February 2010 in Japan.

Professor Ishii was my first Japanese friend, and he had been a good friend for almost half a century. He was a vital figure in the Thai Studies and Southeast Asian Studies circles. He had a profound love for and understanding of Thai culture. He had wanted to live in the Thai kingdom and to study the Thai language since he was very young. He sat on an entrance examination and got accepted by the Japanese ministry of foreign affairs. Given his impressive capability and diplomatic skills, he was highly rated by his superiors. They asked him where he would like to be posted abroad. They thought Ishii would choose the US or England. To their surprise, Ishii said he wanted to work in the Thai kingdom.

Once they assumed power many of my close friends would often alter their stance toward me, become indifferent, or even declare that I'm their enemy. Wahid was an important exception. Even when he was president of Indonesia (the first to do so through the democratic process) he remained steadfast in our friendship. He had even invited me to be a guest at the presidential palace.

MARTIN FLANAGAN
December 5, 2009

SULAK Sivaraksa, who is in Melbourne for the Parliament of the World's Religions, says he is known by many labels in his home country of Thailand.

To some he is "the Siamese intellectual". "To the Thai Government," he says with some merriment, "I am the troublemaker."

Aged 77, Mr Sivaraksa faces three charges of defaming the Thai king, which carries a possible sentence of 45 years in prison. "I could spend my 120th birthday in jail," he says, again with some merriment.

Discover yourself .............
Seek through dancing    Discover the relationships between ourselves and others  
Appreciate your feeling and connection with nature

The schedule date:         12-13  March 2010
Place:                              Dancing For Health Association  Summer Mansion 7th floor Soi Rohitsuk,Ratchadaphisek 14  Huay Khwang, Bangkok
Resource Person:             Lucie Nerot
Costs:                               2,200 Baht
Take:                                40 Persons Amounts