You may have seen a post on Gawker today about how the ”UC Davis Pepper Spray Cop Is Now a Meme.” Now, by way of Occupy Lulz on Facebook (and the Facebook friend who brought the below to my attention), comes this, um, arresting contribution to the meme:
The “Pepper Spraying Cop” continues his beat across the internet. You’ll find some of his many tragicomic manifestations at his new, dedicated Tumblr, which includes a few more run-ins with religion, Eastern and Western.
Is the son of Ronald Reagan — the US president who some would say was the very face of modern conservatism — a Buddhist? According to Wikipedia, Ron Reagan told the New York Times that he’s not religious but that “his sympathies are with Buddhism.”
But that was in 2004, and it’s notable that a new Washington Post article about the younger Reagan and his new memoir begins in this way:
“In Seattle, up on the ridge in the little Craftsman-style bungalow, tucked among the Buddha statues on the mantel, there’s an old Meerschaum pipe. The stem snapped in half years ago, and its case is worn, but it still exudes a kind of fusty dignity.
‘That was my dad’s,’ Ron Reagan says.”
One photo included shows what looks to be another Buddhist statue by the fireplace; this one, it appears, is of Jizo Bodhisattva, who according to Japanese tradition is a protector of children and those who reside in the hell realms.
While previously described as an atheist (though one married to a Buddhist), Reagan has also interviewed Dzogchen Poplop Rinpoche and is credited with this quote: “I admire the fact that the central core of Buddhist teaching involves mindfulness and loving kindness and compassion.”
So, he a Buddhist, and would it matter if he was? Sure, maybe not — but Reagan’s been an outspoken figure for as long as he’s embraced his place in the public’s awareness, so it will be interesting to see if he’ll begin to speak more about Buddhism and/or how his understanding of it has informed his political views. At the very least, it was a nice surprise to see Jizo there in the Post…
It’s been a long time coming. Here’s the story.
Not really! But here’s a diversion. Via CNN: “What do you get if you mix one U.S. president, green tea ice cream and a Buddha statue?” Not exactly a barnburner of a story, maybe, but it’s nice to see Kamakura’s Buddha on the news.
At a fundraiser over the weekend, US president Barack Obama suggested to his audience that opponents in the Republican party would do well to sit down and look inward if they really want to make changes: “It’s not like they went out into the desert and they said, ‘Boy, we really screwed up,’ and they went and meditated for a bit and came back with some new ideas.”
Sure, it’s half-joke, half-jab — and more a reference to the Christian tradition of meditation than anything else — but in politics, meditation might be helpful to everyone: Republican, Democrat, third party, no party. (more…)
I tried to stay away from Rand Paul and his apparent former love of smoking out of a bong water pipe. Really I did. But this new anti-Paul ad, which takes that infamous fact out of context and seems to pit the Buddha against Christ, without a single mention of weed, is some pure, uncut bullshit.
…or, an attendee of Oxford…. though she’s said she’s tried her hand at all of these things. Here’s the short, old Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher clip making the rounds today thanks to Bill Maher himself, with her mention of Buddhism.
Not really news, granted, but it’s interesting, isn’t it: lots of people get famous for doing nothing, but O’Donnell seems to be getting famous for refusing to do anything. Masturbation included.
No, this isn’t another Mick Jagger post. As the Edmonton Journal reports:
Scott Robb could have a devil of a time winning a seat in October’s civic election.
The 31-year-old security officer is the founder of the Darkside Collective, which he believes is the first Canadian-based satanic church.
“I have been a practising Satanist since 1996. I briefly joined the Church of Satan in San Francisco in 1997 and quit there in February 2000 and started my own church.”
Robb, one of five Ward 4 council candidates, compared his group’s beliefs to psychological improvement or Buddhism rather than the occult activities of popular culture.
For example?
For example, their black magic involves letting out emotions such as anger through ritual so they won’t be open to emotional outbursts, he explained.
Did you know there are two Buddhism-informed politicians running in major races right now?
And don’t forget to vote.
The tattoo in question, via farm4.static.flickr.com
Sports site TSN reports that:
“English welterweight Dan (The Outlaw) Hardy’s stomach tattoo was airbrushed out of the UFC 111 fight poster because it is ‘anti-Chinese government stuff,’ according to UFC president Dana White.
‘”I’m trying to get into China,” he told fans at a question-and-answer session Tuesday. ‘I don’t need anti-Chinese government stuff on my fighters.’
“Hardy, however, says the tattoo — the fighter’s favourite — is a Tibetan Buddhist prayer written in Sanskrit.
‘”It’s basically just like a prayer for focus,’ Hardy said. ‘It keeps me walking the path that I should be walking without veering off and distracting myself.’
“Apprised of that explanation, White said: ‘That’s not what I heard.’
[...] “‘I heard that it was anti-Chinese government, so I ripped that thing off it. I’m not going to put him on a poster with anti-Chinese government writing on it when we’re trying to get into China. . . . I don’t know what this stuff means, so I’ve got to be safe.’
But, as the MMA site Bloody Elbow (nice name, that) points out:
“The tattoo is the well known Buddhist mantra “Om mani padme hum” which has no political significance in relation to China.”
Well, not quite no political significance. While the tattoo isn’t an overt anti-China statement, China sure is sensitive to hearing about Tibetan Buddhism. Some, like Robert Thurman, would even go so far as to say that the Chinese government is trying ‘re trying to, um, airbrush it away.
