Buddha Birthday
April 8, 2008 7:13 am > MAUI TODAY |
|
Buddha’s Birthday
HAWAIIAN WORD OF THE DAY — Eha‘eha: Suffer PIDGIN WORD OF THE DAY— Susuim pinga: Suck finger HAWAIIAN PROVERB OF THE DAY — “Suffering is an unlucky journey in which the body was wagered.” HAOLE SAYING OF THE DAY — “To live to benefit mankind is the first step.” (Ancient Buddhist saying) WEB SURF SPOT OF THE WEEK — Maui Hero Project WEB VIDEO OF THE WEEK — Iraq War Veterans Speak Out PODCAST OF THE WEEK — Slate.com Podcasts BLOG OF THE WEEK — BoingBong.com TODAY - April 8th, 2008: We got nothing. The history books are very calm about this week on Maui.It is, however, the Buddha’s birthday and a good reason to give a few quotes:”Sit. Rest. Work. Alone with yourself, never weary. On the edge of the forest living joyfuly, without desire.” - The Buddha. As “religions” go, Zen Buddhism is fairly docile, and doesn’t make the serious and sometimes comical mistakes that other religions do (bodily resurrections, long-distance cosmic dictation schemes, etc.). One thing troubling about Buddhism, though, is what was evidently Buddha’s easy way with living off the sweat of other people’s backs, a small heresy to say. The fact is, he sat under that tree a long time - years - and ate other people’s rice. It would have been nice to read where he rose, picked up a hoe, and did some work once in a while. Still, a pretty cool guy.
Perhaps this writer’s favorite Buddist quote comes from, of all people, D. H. Lawrence:”Life and love are life and love, a bunch of violets are a bunch of violets, and to drag in the idea of a point is to ruin everything. Live and let live, love and let love, flower and fade, and follow the natural curve, which flows on, pointless.”*
HISTORICAL EVENTS ON THIS DAY — April 8
- 1730: First Jewish congregation in U.S. consecrates synagogue (NY)
- 1766: The first fire escape is patented, wicker basket on a pulley & chain
- 1802: French Protestant church becomes state supported & controlled
- 1861: The U.S. Mint at Dahlonega, Georgia is seized by Confederate troops
- 1913: With its passage in Connecticut, the 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified, providing for election of Senators by popular vote (originally, under Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution, members of the Senate were chosen by the state legislatures)
- 1946: League of Nations assembles for last time
- 1952: President Truman orders the seizure of the nation’s steel mills to prevent a strike
- 1964: Unmanned Gemini 1 capsule is launched
- 1974: Hammerin’ Hank Aaron hits his 715th career home run in a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, breaking Babe Ruth’s record
- 1986: Clint Eastwood is elected mayor of Carmel, California
- 1992: At a New York news conference, tennis pro Arthur Ashe announces that he has AIDS (He dies less than a year later in February 1993 at age 49)
- 1994: 27-year old Kurt Cobain, singer and guitarist for the grunge band Nirvana, is found dead in Seattle of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound
BIRTHS ON THIS DAY — April 8
563: -BC- Gautama Buddha, (as celebrated in Japan-Kambutsue) (1445 years ago)
Buddha stands alone.
