Tasmania – November 2015 – Religions for Peace Australia

Tasmania Logo

The next gathering of Religions for Peace Tasmania Branch will be will be in support of the Australian section of the International People’s Climate March and specifically in support of the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change, a national body with headquarters in Sydney. Some of you may have known about the forerunner of this organisation, called Greenfaith Australia.

Welcome

The gathering for Religions for Peace Tasmania Branch for November will be in support of the Australian section of the International People’s Climate March and specifically in support of the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change, a national body with headquarters in Sydney. Some of you may have known about the forerunner of this organisation, called Greenfaith Australia.

All faith leaders internationally are supporting efforts to limit the effects of climate change. At the recent Parliament of World Religions in Salt Lake City, a Declaration on Climate Change was created which encompassed all faiths. This declaration is available for people of faith to sign at: http://www.parliamentofreligions.org/parliament/salt-lake-2015/declarations

The Tasmanian event will be held on 29 November 15 at 1.00pm on Parliament Lawns, Hobart. The event will be held in all the capital cities in Australia and in some regional areas, too.

However, Hobart is the only venue in Tasmania. The Wilderness Society is organising buses to come from Launceston, but you will need to book your seat. The contact is the Tasmanian Wilderness Society, 174 Charles St Launceston, 6331 7488.

You can find out more about the march at: http://www.arrcc.org.au/historic-climate-talks-in-paris-and-peoples-march

In Hobart, Rev John McRae from the Uniting Church is the faith representative on the Hobart People’s Climate March Organising committee and I’m the contact person for the ARRCC part of the event. You may contact John on 0448 990 671.

You can register to be counted (very important) using the link www.peoplesclimatemarch.org.au/#ARRCC

We are asked to wear traditional dress or purple to represent many cultures, many faiths, one world and our unity in caring for our common home. It is important if this movement is to be successful that it involves as many people from as many different faiths and cultures in our community as possible.

According to the People’s Climate March website: http://www.peoplesclimate.org.au/: In the last weekend of November, will you join us to help create the biggest, most diverse climate march the world has ever seen? On the last weekend in November people all around the world will gather on the eve of United Nations climate talks in Paris.

Together we will show that we are already taking action on climate change and that our Federal decision makers are out of step with us, and the rest of the world. The People’s Climate March is part of a global gathering of everyday people calling on leaders to tackle climate change and make the transition to a brighter and fairer clean energy future.

We will say to world leaders: from here on in, we’re all in – are you?

Other websites you may like to visit are:
http://faithsforearth.org/
http://www.religionsforpeace.org/what-we-do/protect-earth
https://www.facebook.com/Faiths-For-Earth-663230143782306/timeline/
https://religionsforpeaceaustralia.org.au/

Parliament of the World’s Religions 2015

CPWR2015

The recent Parliament of the World’s Religions in Salt Lake City Utah was an outstanding success. If you would like to watch any of the recorded sessions, you can do so at: http://www.parliamentofreligions.org/livestream They are well worth watching!!

Launceston News

From Rev. Shari in Launceston:

We would like to extend our thanks to the Launceston UTAS Muslim Students Association, some of whom joined us last month to share insights into the Islamic faith; it was a beautiful, engaging and informative gathering.

Our meeting this month will be centred on open discussion. You may have a reading or reflection you would like to share with the group, a topic or teaching we could explore together. All such offerings welcomed. Sacred music, meditation, inclusive prayer and reflection will open and close or our time together.

When: Monday November 16th 1.00 pm.
Where: Ida Birchall Room (opposite Birchalls carpark), 36 Patterson St.
Inquiries: 0431909172.

Hobart Buddhist Meditation Centre

Tuesday evening meditation and discussion, November 2015: For the month of November Madhu Lilley will continue to cover topics from the Treasury of Dharma by Geshe Rabten.

Topics to be covered include an introduction to emptiness, equanimity and how these relate to the Mahayana path. We’ll look at recognising the importance of the causes of suffering due to self grasping and committing to free oneself and all beings, particularly the wish for all beings to be free from suffering and it causes. To do this we must first change our own mental outlook. All welcome.

Meditation and Discussion 7.30-9 pm, every Tuesday. Entry by $5 suggested donation.
71-3 Liverpool St [Goulds building, down the laneway to the right of the building, in the door between the bamboo pots and up the stairs to the 2nd floor]
email info@hobartbuddhistmeditationcentre.com
website www.hobartbuddhistmeditationcentre.com

Dances of Universal Peace

Come shower our earth and each other with sacred songs!

When: Saturday November 21, 6pm
Where: Cascade Co-Housing
Bring Vegetarian or seafood to bbq, salads or desserts and a cushion to sit on.
Please park on opposite side of the road to Co-Housing.
Email: maggy@netspace.net.au

Byakko Shinko Kai

Itinerary and Possible Activities – November 2015:

Visit of Taku Uesugi: International Staff at Fuji Sanctuary. All activities will come under the Umbrella of The Fuji Declaration: Igniting the Divine Spark for a Thriving World.

Taku and Jenny will arrive Ros Gregg’s at Binalong Bay, arriving for dinner on Saturday November 21st and leaving after lunch on Monday 23 November. Ros Gregg Contact: 0407 256 822

They will arrive on Monday 23 November (evening) at ‘Windsong’ at LITTLE SWANPORT. Contact Tom & Jane Teniswood for further information on any activities planned: 0418 995 319

There will be activities in Hobart on the Wednesday November 25th: Tom’s mobile is still the contact for this segment.

Chagtong Chentong Tibetan Buddhist Centre
One Day Workshop with Renate Ogilvie

All of us suffer from a degree of procrastination, in small tasks as well as larger issues. This workshop will address the problem of the constant white noise of unfinished business that hampers our enjoyment of life, can turn into a drag on all our activities, and finally stops us from dying with a relaxed and easy mind. The Buddha teaches us how to become a master of our mind, and this workshop will use his remedies to overcome procrastination, and tackle the monsters, large and small on our to-do-list.

BECOMING YOUR OWN THERAPIST Series : November 28 One day Workshop Life’s Unfinished Business

When: Sat, November 28, 10am – 4pm
Where: 166 Warwick St, West Hobart TAS 7000, Australia
Everyone welcome – Suitable for all – Buddhist and Non Buddhist alike
Please register asap via reply email to chagtong@gmail.com
Bookings are essential as spaces are limited.
Registration assists our preparations of seating and refreshments – Thank you in advance.
Please arrive with time to settle your seat – Registration is open 30 mins prior to session start time.
BYO lunch – Morning and afternoon tea included
Course contribution $50 – Payable upon registration on the day ( please note – we do not currently offer credit card or eftpos facility) or via direct bank deposit (2 days prior to course date) CBAChagtong Chentong IncBSB 067105 Acc 10221360 Ref : RO Wshop
Please note : Part day participation is not applicable for these workshops

About the Presenter /Teacher:

Renate Ogilvie currently leads a weekly study group and a monthly workshop schedule at Chag Tong Chen Tong Tibetan Buddhist Meditation Centre in West Hobart and works as an Existential psychotherapist in private practice. Teaching at a variety of Buddhist centres and associated groups around the world for over 20 years, Renate combines modern approaches to psychotherapy with Buddhist philosophy in order to help individuals deal with the varied challenges of everyday life.

For questions on any of the above, please contact Lindy chagtong@gmail.com

Tasmanians for RECOGNITION

In the next two years, a movement of Australians is working for the chance to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in our Constitution, and to remove clauses that still allow race discrimination. These include Section 25, which says the States can ban an entire race of people from voting.

We need to fix the historical exclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from Australia’s Constitution – the nation’s ‘rule book’ and founding document.

We also need to eliminate racial discrimination in the Constitution – such as the section that still says people can be banned from voting based on race.

Australia’s Constitution was written more than a century ago. By then, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had lived in this land for more than 40,000 years, sustaining and evolving the oldest living cultures on the planet. Yet from its inception, Australia’s founding document did not recognise this first chapter of our national story.

When it took effect in 1901, the Constitution mentioned Aboriginal people only to discriminate, and Torres Strait Islanders were not acknowledged at all. Before the 1967 referendum, the first Australians were excluded even from being counted as citizens by section 127 of the Constitution.

In 1967, more than 90 per cent of Australians voted ‘yes’ to fix this.

That referendum in 1967 was a watershed moment for Australia, deleting two racially discriminatory references. Yet it did not complete the constitutional task of securing equality. Two further sections of the Constitution – sections 25 and 51(xxvi) – still permit racial discrimination by governments. As constitutional scholars have noted, Australia is now the only democratic nation in the world with a Constitution that still authorises race discrimination.

The nation’s founding document also still includes no recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the fact that our country’s history spans tens of thousands of years prior to the British colonies being proclaimed.

It implicitly begins Australia’s national story only from British arrival.

As Harold Ludwick, a Bulgun Warra man from Cape York, puts it: “If the Constitution was the birth certificate of Australia, we’re missing half the family”.

We need to fix this, and bring the country together after so many chapters apart. It is the next step in reconciling our past. And it’s the right thing to do.

Australians also know that our country’s unique Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures enrich this nation, and are crucial to our distinctive national identity. The success of constitutional recognition can help to protect against the loss of our unique Indigenous cultures for future generations.

When we write in this missing first chapter of our national story, it will formally become part of the shared story of every Australian. All of us will be connected with the tens of thousands of years of history that is the long story of Australia. Every Australian can rightly be proud that our country is home to the longest unbroken thread of human culture on the planet.

Such a shift will have both symbolic and practical benefit. More than 117 of the nation’s leading health bodies say it would help to improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing, and speed the work to make inroads on disadvantage. It will also unite Australians, giving us greater shared pride and deeper connection with our country’s impressive Indigenous heritage and cultures.

As community leaders, we can play a crucial role in this historic quest.

Sign up at http://www.recognise.org.au and like us on Facebook – RecogniseAUS – to get updates on the campaign and events near you, and to find out more about how to get involved. Please help spread the word amongst the people and networks you know and ask them to sign up too. And, as a great activity, follow our epic relay across Australia at www.recognise.org.au/thejourney

Stay tuned for updates when the Jour
ney to Recognition heads to Tasmania.

BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER

The idea is to bring people together who are near neighbours in communities that are religiously and ethnically diverse, so that they can get to know each other better, build relationships of trust and collaborate together on initiatives that improve the local community they live in.

From

Light of Torah:

Nostra aetate (Latin: In our Time) is the Declaration on the Relation of the Church with Non-Christian Religions of the Second Vatican Council. Passed by a vote of 2,221 to 88 of the assembled bishops, this declaration was promulgated on October 28, 1965, by Pope Paul VI. In Australia, this anniversary was observed with a special celebration at the Great Synagogue, Sydney.

From Zenit:

From Fear to Trust

Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, sent a message to participants in the Religions for Peace European Assembly, currently gathered in Castel Gandolfo to discuss the theme “Welcoming Each Other in Europe: from Fear to Trust.”

The cardinal mentioned the Assembly’s concept paper, which underlines the multiple challenges of today’s Europe: fear of losing one’s identity leading to radicalism and fundamentalism, tendency to withdraw into oneself, xenophobia, rising intolerance towards different religions and minorities, and increasing tides of forced migration due to wars, dictatorial regimes and ecological crisis.

You can read the full text of Cardinal Tauran’s message here

Coda
Tasmanian Rainforests

The area is formally recognised through World Heritage listing as being part of the natural and cultural heritage of the world community. On the basis of all four natural criteria and three cultural criteria, the core area was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1982. At the time of listing, The Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area satisfied more criteria than any other World Heritage property on Earth.