Dalai Lama, homeless like us

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The Dalai Lama spent his second day of a weekend swing throught the Bay Area at a soup kitchen, dishing out food and jokes for the homeless guests.

The Dalai Lama, head of Tibet's government in exile and one of the most significant spiritual leaders in the world, told the homeless in attendance that he was homeless like them.

His visit was arranged by The Forgotten International, a nonprofit that promotes helping the world's poorest people.

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Loaves & Fishes implicates Buddhism and Jack Kornfield in its June Donations Plea.

The Sukhothai Traimit Golden Buddha was found in a clay-and-plaster overlaid buddha statue in 1959, after laying in wait for 500 years. It's huge and heavy: just under 10 feet tall and weighs 5 1/2 tons. At the beginning of their June newsletter , Loaves and Fishes relates a story, taken from the beginning of renowned Buddhist teacher Jack Kornfield's 2008 book The Wise Heart: A Guide to the Universal Teachings of Buddhist Psychology . The first part and first chapter in Kornfield's book is "Part I: Who are you really?" and chapter 1 is called "Nobility: Our Original Goodness," which ought to serve as a clue to what the beginning of the book is about, not that that sentiment isn't strewn through-out the chapter, section and book such that what Kornfield is telling us should be crystal clear. Somehow, the not-ready-for-primetime management at Loaves & Fishes have managed to use Kornfield's wise and kindly words in a way that mangles th...

In an act of Collective Punishment, Loaves & Fishes closes its park in the morning on New Year’s Day

Calvin [a "green hat" in Unfriendly Park] makes the argument for continued incompetent management. Hobbes represents me — only, in real life, I don't have that good a coat . In an act of Collective Punishment, Loaves & Fishes closes its park in the morning on New Year’s Day In one respect — and only one — that I can think of, Loaves & Fishes is NOT hypocritical: The management hates the way America is run and wants to turn it into a backward communist country . Consistent with that, Loaves & Fishes’ management runs its facility like a backward communist country. The People’s Republic of Loaves & Fishes. A seemingly minor thing happened on New Year’s Day. A couple of people smoked a joint in Loaves & Fishes’ Friendship Park and one of the park directors, or both of them, determined, at about 10am, that, in retribution, they would punish all the homeless there by closing the park for the day. This is something the managers of the park do all the ...

Schwarzenegger calls for SSI cutbacks

An article in the Feb. 5 issue of Sacramento Business Journal , " State ponders budget cuts for low-income seniors, disabled ," tells us that California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is proposing cutbacks in Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment (SSI/SSP) that "help low-income seniors and people with disabilities meet basic living expenses." The cutbacks and other reductions that Schwarzenegger seeks in SSI would impact many people in the Sacramento homeless community. Quoting the SBJ article, The governor has proposed cutting the grants to the minimum level required by federal law, starting May 1, and to suspend the June 2010 state cost-of-living adjustment. Together, they would eliminate $1.34 billion in grant payments [statewide]. The Central Valley Business Times breaks down statewide figures to give us this information with respect to Sacramento county: Here, 63,590 people will be impacted by a total amount of $78,728,000. That is an avera...

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