American Buddhist Perspectives
Well, the Sartre test is over (I did ok), and I’ve recently received some good calls to action that I thought I would pass on. Sometimes even philosophy-types like me have to get out of our heads and actually do something from time to time.
- Stop Canada’s Seal Hunt! Canada plans to sanction the hunting of baby seals. Clubbing baby seals = bad karma. So go sign the pledge, write a letter, or whatever else you can do to stop it. (US elects a conservative gov’t, we invade Iraq, Canadians elect a conservative government, they club baby seals – what does this mean?)
- Letters to Barry – Send a letter to Barry Simon, a boy from Missoula, MT with a rare form of anemia that attacks bone marrow. He is now in Seattle, WA receiving treatment and opens letters as part of his physical therapy. Opening letters has greatly increased his progress. Send a letter = Good karma 🙂
Barry Simonc/o Pete Gross Apartments525 Minor Ave. N., No. 413
Seattle, WA 98109
- Question your diet! I’ll be going down to see Howard Lyman (his website) tonight – see him yourself. He’s a ‘good ol’ Montana guy, a former football player and cattle rancher who rattled the world a bit by becoming a hardcore vegan and working tirelessly to expose the US food industry (especially meat) for the world of stupidity and hypocrisy that it is. He is most famous for his appearance on Oprah and an ensuing lawsuit from the Texas Cattleman’s Association (the suit was for alleged ‘food disparagement’!)
I saw him a couple years ago and walked away with more disturbing facts than I could deal with in just one night. Happily, even then, I was a vegetarian teetering on veganism. Sometimes hearing what’s in the food you eat is depressing, but Howard keeps it upbeat and suggests that it’s not really so hard to become vegan. We’ll see. (Eat consciously = more good karma.)
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