China

貨惡其棄於地也，不必藏於己；力惡其不出於身也，不必為己。 – ‘Lǐ Yùn’ in The Classic of Rites, attributed to Confucius. Translation by James Legge: ‘(When the Grand course was pursued, they accumulated) articles (of value), disliking that they should be thrown away upon the ground, but not wishing to keep them for their own gratification. (They laboured) with their strength, disliking that it should not be exerted, but not exerting it (only) with a view to their own advantage.’

Whoever destroys anything that could be useful to others breaks the law of bal tashchit, “Do not waste.” – Babylonian Talmud, Kodashim 32a (second or third century), quoted in ‘Teachings on Creation through the Ages’, edited by J. Matthew Sleeth M.D., in The Green Bible (2008) San Francisco: HarperOne. ISBN 978-0-06-162799-6.

Since the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity this year will coincide with the Lunar New Year season, I have this New Year couplet (春貼) to offer:

同舟共濟百又壹冬祈和好
天下為公兩千玖春更合壹

Tóngzhōu gòngjì, bǎiyòuyī dōng qí héhǎo;
tiānxià wéigōng, liǎngqiājiǔ chūn gèng héyī.

All in the same boat and helping each other, we have prayed for reconciliation for 101 winters;
the whole world but a single commonwealth, in spring 2009 we shall become more at one.

It surely does not follow the meter, and especially in bad form as the first four syllables of each singlet are a cliché.

Well, what is the line going across on the top doorframe (橫批)? Of course, it has to be the four Greek syllables οἰ-κου-μέ-νη, written à la sini Arabic or quốc ngữ.

And instead of the pair of mythical door guards, certainly Peter and Paul should have the honour of place, upholding the church.

If you implement this at your church, I would appreciate that you taking a photograph and leaving a message here to let me know. I might make a mock up image when I have time.

Happy new year!

I mentioned in these pages that the “green” Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, His All Holiness Bartholomew I, addressed the European Parliament earlier this year. This was as part of a series during the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue. The other speakers were His Eminence Sheikh Ahmad Badr El Din El Hassoun, Grand Mufti of Syria; Sir Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth; and most recently His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. Thanks to the intervention by the Liberals and the Greens, Dr Asma Jahangir, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, were also invited to speak. (Sophia in ’t Veld: “I would like to know why the Conference of Presidents has chosen to interpret intercultural dialogue exclusively as an interreligious monologue and whether it feels a part-session is an appropriate platform for religious messages.” and Sarah Ludford: “it seems that you [the President(s)] have made the Grand Mufti comparable to the Pope and the UK Chief Rabbi as a European representative of his particular religion.”)

Here are some highlights from each the speakers, with links to their texts for the gentle readers’ perusal over Christmastime: Read the rest of this entry »

Ten New Englanders travelled to Washington, DC for a march yesterday against China’s support for the government of Sudan’s genocidal practices in the Darfur region.

The group included one person who had been to Darfur and four who had been arrested for protesting the violence in Darfur with nonviolent civil disobedience.

The day before this march, Human Rights Watch issued a press release saying, “Darfur: ‘Scorched Earth’ Tactics Warrant UN Sanctions.”

The march began at the Chinese Embassy’s “Economic and Commercial Counselor’s Office,” which seemed to be in some sort of mall/office complex. We handed out a few fliers and had many honks of support from cars driving by.

Read the rest of this entry »

Recall that a year ago, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI wrote to Catholics in the People’s Republic of China, saying, “the date 24 May could in the future become an occasion for the Catholics of the whole world to be united in prayer with the Church which is in China.” Let’s join in such prayer.