M.J. Rose

Dalai Lama thanks India for 50 years in exile

NEW DELHI, India (CNN) — Cloaked in a traditional flowing red and saffron Tibetan robe the Dalai Lama took a deep breath as he began to express his gratitude to the country that took him in as a refugee 50 years ago. “I think in this country (there are) many other refugees,” the Dalai Lama reflected, sitting cross legged. “But we are I think (the) most fortunate and successful refugee community because of (the) government of India’s care and support.” His journey to India was a treacherous one. The year was 1959. Tibetans had staged an uprising against Chinese rule and the security forces reacted with force. The Dalai Lama’s followers, who consider him a living God — the latest reincarnation in a long lineage of revered monks — were worried about his fate under the Chinese. He was, after all, just 23 years old. On March 17 that year, the 14th Dalai Lama fled his homeland on horseback.

A half century later, the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people recounted to CNN that day and the subsequent journey to India. “Most fearful sort of moment is… (the) night of 17 March 1959,” he said. The Dalai Lama and some of his followers were about to cross a river on horseback when they suddenly realized they were within sight of a Chinese army camp. “Soldiers, yes, we can see,” the Dalai Lama said, learning forward, his eyes wide and voice strong. “We are very much afraid.”

The fear, amplified by the harsh conditions. The bitter cold and thin air of the Himalayas assaulted their bodies as they slowly made the trek over the mountains…

[for the rest -and some video too- click here]

(Image source: http://klaudiamarrgallery.com/images/links/2288-Avedon_Lama_web.jpg)

The blog Accelerated Decrepitude has some photos from the Baltimore set of the Fox pilot based on M.J.’s novel The Reincarnationist.

“On Wednesday and Thursday my workplace was transformed into the Department of Justice as every film production crew in town was giving the Enoch Pratt Central Library a Hollywood makeover as part of shooting a pilot episode for a Fox TV paranormal series…”

Here are a couple of samples!

Easter is about reincarnation. Renewal of body, mind and spirit.

Here is a lovely and inclusive piece reflecting on this time of year from America: The National Catholic Weekly

Paramahamsa Yogananda I: on Holy Thursday

by Francis X. Clooney, S.J.

Cambridge, MA. In this Holy Week, we are of course invited to quiet ourselves down, pull back a bit, and reflect on the meaning of our lives, in light of the death and resurrection of Jesus. We are fortunate to have an abundance of aids in this reflection, ranging from the Bible and the liturgies of the Triduum to myriad homilies, spiritual writings, works of music and art. What we are not used to doing is listening to how people of other faith traditions think about the death and resurrection of Jesus. Hindus and Buddhists, Jews and Muslims, have been listening for centuries to what we Christians think of them and their faiths; rarely do we take time in a week like this to listen to their insights. Even if they see things differently than we do, and perhaps misunderstand parts of what we believe — as we have always tended, even with best intentions, to misunderstand the traditions of others — learning is still possible.

I would like to take a step in this direction with a small series of reflections for Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter, based on the reflections on the Gospels by Paramahamsa Yogananda (1893-1952). Founder of the Self-Realization Fellowship, and author of the famous Autobiography of a Yogi, lived a good part of his life in the West. During these years he studied the Gospels, and wrote The Second Coming of Christ: The Resurrection of the Christ within You (Los Angeles: Self-Realization Fellowship, 2004), a nearly 1600 page reflection on selected Gospel passages, published posthumously. For the three days, I will simply offer a summation of a few of his insights into the relevant texts…

[the rest, here]