Banner of Peace by Nicholas Roerich and his painting Lhasa
Alles van waarde is weerloos...
Today 10 March 2009, we are engaged in a deadly global struggle with those who would intimidate, torture, and murder people for exercising the most basic freedoms. If we are to win this struggle and spread those freedoms, we must keep our own moral compass pointed in a true direction. - Barack Obama
"Cultuur is de liefde van de Mensheid; zij is de synthese van de realisaties die verheffen en inspireren… Uit cultuur kan de ware kennis bovenkomen die op werkelijke verdraagzaamheid wordt gegrondvest; uit deze werkelijke verdraagzaamheid komt absoluut begrip; uit dit absolute begrip ontstaat de vervoering voor vrede die de wereld verlicht en zuivert" - Nicholas Roerich, rozekruiser, kunstenaar en filosoof.
"There is one thing stronger than all the armies of the world and that is an idea whose time has come." - Victor Hugo
“If the cruelties of slavery could not stop us, the opposition we now face will surely fail. Because the goal of America is freedom, abused and scorned tho' we may be, our destiny is tied up with America's destiny.”- Martin Luther King
The shallow consider liberty a release from all law, from every constraint. The wise see in it, on the contrary, the potent Law of Laws. - Walt Whitman
"Peace can only last where human rights are respected, where the people are fed, and where individuals and nations are free." - 14th Dalai Lama
Human Beings, indeed all sentient beings, have the right to pursue happiness and live in peace and freedom. - Dalai Lama
Brute force, no matter how strongly applied, can never subdue the basic human desire for freedom. - Dalai Lama
"Peace can only last where human rights are respected, where the people are fed, and where individuals and nations are free."
Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves. - Abraham Lincoln
"There is no road to freedom, freedom is the road." - Mahandas Ghandi
Human Beings, indeed all sentient beings, have the right to pursue happiness and live in peace and freedom. - Dalai Lama
Brute force, no matter how strongly applied, can never subdue the basic human desire for freedom. - Dalai Lama
"Peace can only last where human rights are respected, where the people are fed, and where individuals and nations are free."
Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves. - Abraham Lincoln
"There is no road to freedom, freedom is the road." - Mahandas Ghandi
"You can raise pigs to be very strong and very fat. But a pig is still a pig. And a pig has no rights." - Liu Suli, 49-year-old book seller who spent 20 months in prison for his involvement with the Tiananmen protesters.
"Our country is like our national animal, the panda. It is slow to change, but change will come. We're making sure of it — but just quietly." - Anonymous 25-year-old Chinese office worker
"Please use your freedom to promote ours." - Aung San Suu Kyi
Wed Jun 3, 2009 Dalai Lama begins Dutch visit
AMSTERDAM (AFP) – Amid Chinese outrage, Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, arrived in the Netherlands Wednesday for a three-day visit he described as "non-political".
"My visit is non-political. I am here simply to share with the public about two things: human values and religious harmony," he told reporters upon his arrival at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport.
The 73-year-old exiled Buddhist spiritual leader, due to meet Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen on Friday, said he was unfazed by Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende's decision not to receive him.
"No problem, I have no political agenda," he shrugged.
Asked whether he thought Balkenende had been influenced by Chinese pressure, he responded: "Ask him", and burst out laughing.
China on Tuesday warned that countries receiving the Dalai Lama on his European tour will "severely damage" relations with Beijing.
"Any irresponsible moves by any country over this issue will constitute gross intervention in the internal affairs of China and will severely damage relations with those countries," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said in Beijing.
Chinese ambassador Zhang Jun had also written a letter to the Dutch parliament to protest against lawmakers' plans to meet the Dalai Lama. That meeting is going ahead on Friday morning.
The 14th Dalai Lama, winner of the 1989 Nobel peace prize, kicked off a European tour in Denmark last Friday which also includes Iceland, Poland and France.
Beijing accuses him of seeking independence for Tibet from Chinese rule and considers any official meeting with the leader as meddling in China's internal affairs.
The Dalai Lama denies the accusation and says he wants only meaningful autonomy for his homeland.
In the Netherlands, he would meet Verhagen not at the foreign ministry, but as part of an "inter-faith dialogue" in The Hague between the minister and leaders of religious communities.
The Dalai Lama would give a public lecture in Amsterdam on Thursday and open a concert entitled "Night of Tibet" on Friday evening.
He has been living in exile in India since 1959.
This is the Dalai Lama's fifth visit since 1986 to the Netherlands, which he described Wednesday as a "very, very low country" compared to Tibet -- also known as the Roof of the World.
AMSTERDAM (AFP) – Amid Chinese outrage, Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, arrived in the Netherlands Wednesday for a three-day visit he described as "non-political".
"My visit is non-political. I am here simply to share with the public about two things: human values and religious harmony," he told reporters upon his arrival at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport.
The 73-year-old exiled Buddhist spiritual leader, due to meet Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen on Friday, said he was unfazed by Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende's decision not to receive him.
"No problem, I have no political agenda," he shrugged.
Asked whether he thought Balkenende had been influenced by Chinese pressure, he responded: "Ask him", and burst out laughing.
China on Tuesday warned that countries receiving the Dalai Lama on his European tour will "severely damage" relations with Beijing.
"Any irresponsible moves by any country over this issue will constitute gross intervention in the internal affairs of China and will severely damage relations with those countries," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said in Beijing.
Chinese ambassador Zhang Jun had also written a letter to the Dutch parliament to protest against lawmakers' plans to meet the Dalai Lama. That meeting is going ahead on Friday morning.
The 14th Dalai Lama, winner of the 1989 Nobel peace prize, kicked off a European tour in Denmark last Friday which also includes Iceland, Poland and France.
Beijing accuses him of seeking independence for Tibet from Chinese rule and considers any official meeting with the leader as meddling in China's internal affairs.
The Dalai Lama denies the accusation and says he wants only meaningful autonomy for his homeland.
In the Netherlands, he would meet Verhagen not at the foreign ministry, but as part of an "inter-faith dialogue" in The Hague between the minister and leaders of religious communities.
The Dalai Lama would give a public lecture in Amsterdam on Thursday and open a concert entitled "Night of Tibet" on Friday evening.
He has been living in exile in India since 1959.
This is the Dalai Lama's fifth visit since 1986 to the Netherlands, which he described Wednesday as a "very, very low country" compared to Tibet -- also known as the Roof of the World.
Amsterdam June 4th, 2009: the Dalai Lama gives a public lecture and Buddhist teachings in the Europahal of Amsterdam RAI for a crowd of 10.000...
accompanying music: Simeon ten Holt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9L6Sz1H9go&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfI_4hITc5s&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2s8L_8276o&feature=channel_page http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8GDSJ2jlS0&feature=related
accompanying music: Simeon ten Holt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9L6Sz1H9go&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfI_4hITc5s&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2s8L_8276o&feature=channel_page http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8GDSJ2jlS0&feature=related
OM MANI PADME HUM!
