This piece was written a while ago (last month) for Kuensel (not by me but by my husband). I am just posting it here for reference for my readers who may be looking for more information on the Rupee Issue.
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May 14, 2012
Age of Consent Being Rethought in India
Just last month when I was in India, I caught sight of a story on the front page of The Times of India: "Court urges rethink on age of consent". With great curiosity I noted that even though Bhutan has just become a democracy (2008) compared with India (1947) it seems like they are still behind or lagging in that discussion which Bhutan - thanks to media probing it - has already been having for a while.
Just goes to show that what I had been saying all along about this law when it was passed in Bhutan -resulting in the unnecessary imprisonment of so many young people - stands the same everywhere. Implementing such laws with black and white rulings by justice systems is having same impact in India.
This was one piece I wrote (Information Please) about Bhutan's age of consent law when it was first passed making the Age of Consent 18 and below. It seems India is running into the same problems.
Here is another piece (about 2 students that were arrested in Bhutan with regards to Age of Consent).
On 20th November 2010 the National Assembly in Bhutan took a second look at the law and if I am not mistaken the Age of Consent was brought down from 18 to 16. Hopefully this helps reduce the number of unnecessary imprisonments, but more importantly it will be how the justice system executes careful jurisprudence in looking at these cases in Bhutan, and hopefully India will find its answers too.
Just goes to show that what I had been saying all along about this law when it was passed in Bhutan -resulting in the unnecessary imprisonment of so many young people - stands the same everywhere. Implementing such laws with black and white rulings by justice systems is having same impact in India.
This was one piece I wrote (Information Please) about Bhutan's age of consent law when it was first passed making the Age of Consent 18 and below. It seems India is running into the same problems.
Here is another piece (about 2 students that were arrested in Bhutan with regards to Age of Consent).
On 20th November 2010 the National Assembly in Bhutan took a second look at the law and if I am not mistaken the Age of Consent was brought down from 18 to 16. Hopefully this helps reduce the number of unnecessary imprisonments, but more importantly it will be how the justice system executes careful jurisprudence in looking at these cases in Bhutan, and hopefully India will find its answers too.
May 12, 2012
Remembering a Mother
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| Deki |
This mother's day I would like to reflect and tell you the story of my mother to show how women can either make or break a home. Of course the man or father has his role in the family but my personal feeling is that a woman can make all the difference. If a woman is weak, if she is mean and selfish (my mother's stepmother) she can destroy a family. On the other hand, a strong, loving and nurturing woman can perform wonders on both her family and the world.
I will not go into the personal relationship I had with my mother. I admit I will be envious of any daughter that will say they had/have a "great" relationship with their mother, one free of complications. But let me, this Mother's day weekend, reflect on who that person ~ my mother ~ was, and how she shaped me to become who I am today and the values I hold.
My mother had humble roots. She was a village girl who lost her mother in child birth when she was only twelve. Even before her mother passed away, her father was already engaged in an illicit affair and so it was no surprise where his attention went immediately after his wife was gone.
May 3, 2012
After Death ~ Bardho Thoedroel
His Holiness the Dalai Lama has said that in life we prepare for many trips and events, but we fail to prepare for the biggest trip that we will ever take; death. Forget preparing for it, we don't even like to think about it or be reminded of it.
For me, I have had no choice but to have death shoved into my face time and again. I have lost many loved ones and once again just recently experienced it through the loss of another loved one. I must say, however, that apart from the kind gestures and compassion of family and friends what has helped pull me through and understand death, my understanding of it in an esoteric way has come from reading the Bardho Thoedroel - The Tibetan Book of the Dead.
About two decades ago when my father passed away, this book wasn't accessible or maybe wasn't even translated from Tibetan/Choekay to English. When my mother passed away in 2006 I kept the book by my side and read it daily to help me understand the process after her life here; understand the religious ceremonies which would have otherwise been meaningless or just a process to be observed. There are different versions of the book but the two I have read are by Robert Thurman and the other- said to be the first complete translation - is by Gyurme Dorji, a leading scholar of the Nyingma tradition, Graham Coleman, and Thubten Jinpa, translator for HH the Dalai Lama. In case some aren't aware this is an ancient text written centuries ago but was a tantric teaching on death imparted by Guru Padmasambhava in the 7th Century. The text is also called Liberation upon hearing. Apparently there is even a film on it narrated by Leonard Cohen.
I have heard many complaints about how expensive Buddhism has become; that it is a religion the poor cannot afford anymore. These complaints from people especially at the time of death because death is a very huge event for those following this tradition. Come to think of it in the Buddhist tradition there is no observance of any other milestone in our life than death. Buddhism really doesn't ask for any rituals while one is living. Much of the rituals we partake in today emanate from the Bonn tradition. Elaborate births/Birthdays/Wedding celebrations are a recent and new phenomenon - obviously a trend set by people who have a lot of money. But Buddhism asks no celebration of these milestones like other traditions do, and if one chooses to maybe by mere observances through a simple religious ritual. But death; it is a milestone in the process of our lives/reincarnations in samsara hence it is of extreme importance, something not to be ignored, something to be invested in.
For me, I have had no choice but to have death shoved into my face time and again. I have lost many loved ones and once again just recently experienced it through the loss of another loved one. I must say, however, that apart from the kind gestures and compassion of family and friends what has helped pull me through and understand death, my understanding of it in an esoteric way has come from reading the Bardho Thoedroel - The Tibetan Book of the Dead.
About two decades ago when my father passed away, this book wasn't accessible or maybe wasn't even translated from Tibetan/Choekay to English. When my mother passed away in 2006 I kept the book by my side and read it daily to help me understand the process after her life here; understand the religious ceremonies which would have otherwise been meaningless or just a process to be observed. There are different versions of the book but the two I have read are by Robert Thurman and the other- said to be the first complete translation - is by Gyurme Dorji, a leading scholar of the Nyingma tradition, Graham Coleman, and Thubten Jinpa, translator for HH the Dalai Lama. In case some aren't aware this is an ancient text written centuries ago but was a tantric teaching on death imparted by Guru Padmasambhava in the 7th Century. The text is also called Liberation upon hearing. Apparently there is even a film on it narrated by Leonard Cohen.
I have heard many complaints about how expensive Buddhism has become; that it is a religion the poor cannot afford anymore. These complaints from people especially at the time of death because death is a very huge event for those following this tradition. Come to think of it in the Buddhist tradition there is no observance of any other milestone in our life than death. Buddhism really doesn't ask for any rituals while one is living. Much of the rituals we partake in today emanate from the Bonn tradition. Elaborate births/Birthdays/Wedding celebrations are a recent and new phenomenon - obviously a trend set by people who have a lot of money. But Buddhism asks no celebration of these milestones like other traditions do, and if one chooses to maybe by mere observances through a simple religious ritual. But death; it is a milestone in the process of our lives/reincarnations in samsara hence it is of extreme importance, something not to be ignored, something to be invested in.
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