genevieve
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Thursday, February 22, 2007
machines
CAMERA - PANASONIC 100 1
LIGHTING METER - ANALOGUE 1
MIC - INDOOR SHOTGUN 1
MIC SHOCKMOUNT - BOOMPOLE 1
RECORDER - MARANTZ SS 1
yeah, that's the equipment we're getting for sunday. and we've enlisted my good buddy joe mason to rock some sound for us as we will be busy filming, etc. he's bringing a digital light meter too and possibly some extra film. i got the marantz just in case we didn't want the boom man tied to the dvx, but he probably will be. good luck to us.
peace, genevieve
LIGHTING METER - ANALOGUE 1
MIC - INDOOR SHOTGUN 1
MIC SHOCKMOUNT - BOOMPOLE 1
RECORDER - MARANTZ SS 1
yeah, that's the equipment we're getting for sunday. and we've enlisted my good buddy joe mason to rock some sound for us as we will be busy filming, etc. he's bringing a digital light meter too and possibly some extra film. i got the marantz just in case we didn't want the boom man tied to the dvx, but he probably will be. good luck to us.
peace, genevieve
Sunday, February 18, 2007
An interesting Article
Here is an Article that I found very interesting, not only does it talk about Wat Carolina, but it also talks about Buddhists and their beliefs. Another thing that I found interesting was how this article talks about how Buddhism has effected America. I think that is something that we can explore in our documentary. I would like to show how Buddhism has made a positive impact on Americans.
The path of simplicity; Buddhists seek a life unburdened by desires and rooted in present-moment awareness. Their philosophy has a home in a thriving temple in rural Brunswick County
Star-News (Wilmington, NC)
April 30, 2000
Author: BEN STEELMAN, Staff Writer
A few miles south of Bolivia in Brunswick County, down a two-lane road lined by Baptist churches and houses with angel statues in the yard, the Lord Buddha is smiling.
On a swampy, sloping tract of land sits Wat Carolina Buddhajakra Vanaram, a Thai Buddhist monastery in the heart of the Bible Belt.
A little more than 10 years ago, three monks from Thailand, clad in their distinctive saffron-colored robes, moved into a former farmhouse at 1610 Midway Road.
The monks are still there. (The "Wat" in Wat Carolina means "monastery" in the Thai language.) Behind the house, however, stands a virtual replica of Old Siam, a complex of buildings with red tile roofs of Oriental design, rising on pilings from the soggy ground below.
After a decade and $4 million in contributions, the complex is still unfinished. "We do everything as we can afford to do it," said Deborah Welch, a member of the board of the Buddhist Association of North Carolina, which supports the monastery.
A small study center and library is complete. Behind it, the roof has just been installed on a large structure that will provide Spartan quarters for visiting monks, office space and other facilities. Windows and siding have yet to be installed, and the names of donors can still be seen painted on the sides of naked steel beams.
Further on, once this structure is complete, will rise a full-sized permanent temple.
The Wat serves as a center of worship for between 400 and 500 loyal Buddhists. Most are natives of Thailand who travel from as far away as Sumter, S.C., or even New York State to pray, to study and to help feed and support the three or four monks who typically live here.
However, Wat Carolina also serves as a spiritual base for a small but growing number of Westerners as well.
"The Buddhist path has no boundaries, really," said Eric Bruton, a Wilmington folk singer who often volunteers to help at the monastery and sometimes drives the abbot, Tan Phrakru Buddamonpricha, to conferences and blessings. "People stumble upon it in their own way."
Buddhists remain a tiny minority in the American religious scene. Estimates of the number of Buddhists in America range from about 400,000 to perhaps 2 million or more, according to Tom Tweed, a professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. By comparison, most surveys list more than 61 million Roman Catholilcs in the United States and more than 2 million Baptists of all denominations in North Carolina alone.
Nevertheless, Buddhism's impact on American culture has been considerable. Henry David Thoreau alluded to Buddhist teachings in Walden (1854). Poets and novelists of the Beat generation, such as Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder and Jack Kerouac, grooved to the parables of Zen Buddhism, transplanted from Japan in the 1950s, largely through the efforts of writer D.T. Suzuki.
College students of the Age of Aquarius made a best-seller of Siddhartha, the German novelist Herman Hesse's dramatization of the founding of the faith.
Buddhist communities began to grow in Fayetteville and Jacksonville after World War II as Asian brides married U.S. servicemen and brought their faith to America with them. Particularly popular in North Carolina is the Nichiren soshu, a populist Buddhist sect which grew up in Japan.
American-born converts, including such celebrities as Richard Gere and Tina Turner, might account for one-fourth of the nation's Buddhists. Far more significant, according to Dr. Tweed, are tens of thousands of Asian-Americans who are shifting their worship from home altars to new, visible facilities such as Wat Carolina.
The story of the Buddhist faith begins more than 500 years before the birth of Jesus, when (according to scripture) a young prince named Siddhartha Gautama was born in the foothills of modern-day Nepal.
Not long before his 30th birthday, Siddhartha had visions of an old man, a sick man and a corpse, which he understood as a metaphor for the suffering of life.
A fourth vision showed him a wandering holy man. This vision convinced him to leave his kingdom, his wife and his son and live as a homeless monk in the forest.
Six years later, after experimenting with various forms of religious discipline, Siddhartha sat down under a bo tree near the town of Gaya and began to meditate. Here, Buddhists believe, he achieved a state of enlightenment, gaining release from all suffering and achieving Nirvana, a state of pure happiness and peace.
The name "Buddha" - by which he has been known ever since - means "the Enlightened One." Buddhists continue to venerate him and study his teachings but he is not idolized.
Basically, Buddhists see existence as a recurring wheel, which represents different states of being. There is an animal world, which focuses purely on survival and instinct, without higher thought; a human world; a heaven and a hell, plus a "Realm of the Hungry Ghosts," which Ms. Welch likens to an array of addictive behaviors or negative, grasping personality traits.
The difference between the Christian and Buddhist conceptions of heaven, hell and earth is that Buddhists see none of these traits as permanent, Ms. Welch said. Souls are reborn and pass through different stages of the wheel repeatedly. The different parts of the wheel can also be manifest as psychological states through which people can pass, Ms. Welch said.
At the hub of the wheel, in Buddhist depictions, are the rooster, the snake and the pig, signifying Pride, Anger and Ignorance (or Delusion), the three forces that keep souls bound to the recurring cycle.
"Again, again, again, again," Abbot Phrakru said "always suffering." Our desires attach us to worldly things, the Buddha taught. Eliminate those desires, and souls can escape the wheel of life and pass to a higher level.
Beyond this point, Buddhists care little about the nature of God, or gods, or what the Next World is like.
The Buddha once gathered up a handful of crushed leaves and compared it to the forest behind him. The leaves in the hand are what humans can comprehend of the universe; the great expanse of trees is the totality of the universe itself.
"When you get caught up in metaphysics or explaining the universe, you can lose the present moment," Ms. Welch said. And existing in the present - without the distractions of the dead past or the unborn future - is much of what Buddhism is about.
To reach Nirvana and gain detachment, Buddhists try to follow the four Perfections - compassion, loving kindness ("and you have to learn to love yourself before you can love others," Ms. Welch said), sympathetic joy and equanimity, or balance.
"That last one's a toughie, especially for me," Ms. Welch said, grinning.
To reach those ends, Buddhists try to practice the Middle Way, sometimes known as the Noble Eightfold Path: Right Understanding, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Vocation, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration. These eight points resolve into wisdom, morality and meditation, a prayerlike state in which worldly distractions are left behind.
Much of this teaching - which Buddhists find in the Tripitika or "Three Baskets," a compilation of the Buddha's sayings and sermons and other traditions - sounds a lot like the essence of other religions. In fact, many of the Westerners at Wat Carolina do not see Buddhism as exclusive.
"I'm also many other religions as well," said Mr. Bruton, who's studied with Abbot Phrakru almost from the beginning. "There are universal truths here - truths that you can find in Christianity, Judaism and other faiths."
"It's like a tree," Ms. Welch said. "Different religions are the branches, but they have the same trunk."
Meanwhile, Buddhism itself has split into different branches. The monks at Wat Carolina practice one of the oldest versions, Theraveda or "the Teachings of the Elders." Practiced today mainly in Thailand, Burma and Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon), Theraveda focuses heavily on meditation and concentration as means to Nirvana. This leads to an emphasis on monastic life.
Abbot Phrakru and his fellow monks belong to the Dhammayut Nikaya, a religious order which can trace its history back nearly 2,500 years - almost to the time when the first Buddhist missionaries reached Thailand.
The order is a reform movement based on the ideas of the Thai kings Rama IV and Rama V, and it remains close to Thailand's royalty, much as the Church of England and other Anglican churches are connected to the British throne.
Rama IV, Rama V and the present king of Thailand, Bhumibol Adulyadej, were all monks before they ascended the throne. In Buddhism, becoming a monk is not necessarily a lifetime commitment; in Thailand, many young boys enter a monastery for a few months or years as part of their education.
Abbot Phrakru and his fellow monks still live in a manner very close to that of Buddha and his early followers.
They take what amounts to a vow of poverty. The only personal property they are allowed to own consists of four robes, one bowl, one razor to shave their heads, one needle to repair their clothes and one filter for their water.
They generally fast each day after noon and perform their own chores. Abbot Phrakru, whose spiritual rank might be compared to a Christian bishop's or archbishop's, sweeps and vacuums the monastery's living quarters.
Loyal believers supply the monks' meals. "They eat well," Ms. Welch said. "We make sure they eat well." Some believers travel hundreds of miles each week to provide food. By doing so, Theraveda Buddhists believe, the believers earn merit that can help improve their position in the next life and move closer to Nirvana.
Stray cats wander the monastery grounds, drawn by trays of food and water left out for them - an obligation for the monks. Buddhists are solicitous of all forms of life, in part because of their belief in reincarnation. One key purpose of the monks' filters is to prevent them from swallowing bugs or other tiny animals; and, while they are not strict vegetarians, the monks are forbidden to eat the flesh of animals slaughtered especially for them. (Meat from the local grocery, on the other hand, is fair game.)
The majority of the world's estimated 353 million Buddhists are not Theravedan. A later schism brought about the Mahayana or "Great Vehicle," schools of Buddhism which predominate in Japan, Tibet, Nepal and much of East Asia. Mahayanists believe that lay believers, as well as monks, can achieve Nirvana and that some spiritual masters, called bodhisattvas, can delay their enlightenment to stay on Earth and aid others to attain Bodhi, the highest truth.
Relations between the different Buddhist sects are generally cordial, though. Abbot Phrakru recently traveled to Charleston, S.C., to meet with Tibetan monks representing the Dalai Lama.
What matters in Buddhism is not so much dogma as intention, Ms. Welch said. And personal experience is most valuable of all.
"Buddha taught that unless you know something for yourself, it's not going to work for you," she said.
posted by Calli
The path of simplicity; Buddhists seek a life unburdened by desires and rooted in present-moment awareness. Their philosophy has a home in a thriving temple in rural Brunswick County
Star-News (Wilmington, NC)
April 30, 2000
Author: BEN STEELMAN, Staff Writer
A few miles south of Bolivia in Brunswick County, down a two-lane road lined by Baptist churches and houses with angel statues in the yard, the Lord Buddha is smiling.
On a swampy, sloping tract of land sits Wat Carolina Buddhajakra Vanaram, a Thai Buddhist monastery in the heart of the Bible Belt.
A little more than 10 years ago, three monks from Thailand, clad in their distinctive saffron-colored robes, moved into a former farmhouse at 1610 Midway Road.
The monks are still there. (The "Wat" in Wat Carolina means "monastery" in the Thai language.) Behind the house, however, stands a virtual replica of Old Siam, a complex of buildings with red tile roofs of Oriental design, rising on pilings from the soggy ground below.
After a decade and $4 million in contributions, the complex is still unfinished. "We do everything as we can afford to do it," said Deborah Welch, a member of the board of the Buddhist Association of North Carolina, which supports the monastery.
A small study center and library is complete. Behind it, the roof has just been installed on a large structure that will provide Spartan quarters for visiting monks, office space and other facilities. Windows and siding have yet to be installed, and the names of donors can still be seen painted on the sides of naked steel beams.
Further on, once this structure is complete, will rise a full-sized permanent temple.
The Wat serves as a center of worship for between 400 and 500 loyal Buddhists. Most are natives of Thailand who travel from as far away as Sumter, S.C., or even New York State to pray, to study and to help feed and support the three or four monks who typically live here.
However, Wat Carolina also serves as a spiritual base for a small but growing number of Westerners as well.
"The Buddhist path has no boundaries, really," said Eric Bruton, a Wilmington folk singer who often volunteers to help at the monastery and sometimes drives the abbot, Tan Phrakru Buddamonpricha, to conferences and blessings. "People stumble upon it in their own way."
Buddhists remain a tiny minority in the American religious scene. Estimates of the number of Buddhists in America range from about 400,000 to perhaps 2 million or more, according to Tom Tweed, a professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. By comparison, most surveys list more than 61 million Roman Catholilcs in the United States and more than 2 million Baptists of all denominations in North Carolina alone.
Nevertheless, Buddhism's impact on American culture has been considerable. Henry David Thoreau alluded to Buddhist teachings in Walden (1854). Poets and novelists of the Beat generation, such as Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder and Jack Kerouac, grooved to the parables of Zen Buddhism, transplanted from Japan in the 1950s, largely through the efforts of writer D.T. Suzuki.
College students of the Age of Aquarius made a best-seller of Siddhartha, the German novelist Herman Hesse's dramatization of the founding of the faith.
Buddhist communities began to grow in Fayetteville and Jacksonville after World War II as Asian brides married U.S. servicemen and brought their faith to America with them. Particularly popular in North Carolina is the Nichiren soshu, a populist Buddhist sect which grew up in Japan.
American-born converts, including such celebrities as Richard Gere and Tina Turner, might account for one-fourth of the nation's Buddhists. Far more significant, according to Dr. Tweed, are tens of thousands of Asian-Americans who are shifting their worship from home altars to new, visible facilities such as Wat Carolina.
The story of the Buddhist faith begins more than 500 years before the birth of Jesus, when (according to scripture) a young prince named Siddhartha Gautama was born in the foothills of modern-day Nepal.
Not long before his 30th birthday, Siddhartha had visions of an old man, a sick man and a corpse, which he understood as a metaphor for the suffering of life.
A fourth vision showed him a wandering holy man. This vision convinced him to leave his kingdom, his wife and his son and live as a homeless monk in the forest.
Six years later, after experimenting with various forms of religious discipline, Siddhartha sat down under a bo tree near the town of Gaya and began to meditate. Here, Buddhists believe, he achieved a state of enlightenment, gaining release from all suffering and achieving Nirvana, a state of pure happiness and peace.
The name "Buddha" - by which he has been known ever since - means "the Enlightened One." Buddhists continue to venerate him and study his teachings but he is not idolized.
Basically, Buddhists see existence as a recurring wheel, which represents different states of being. There is an animal world, which focuses purely on survival and instinct, without higher thought; a human world; a heaven and a hell, plus a "Realm of the Hungry Ghosts," which Ms. Welch likens to an array of addictive behaviors or negative, grasping personality traits.
The difference between the Christian and Buddhist conceptions of heaven, hell and earth is that Buddhists see none of these traits as permanent, Ms. Welch said. Souls are reborn and pass through different stages of the wheel repeatedly. The different parts of the wheel can also be manifest as psychological states through which people can pass, Ms. Welch said.
At the hub of the wheel, in Buddhist depictions, are the rooster, the snake and the pig, signifying Pride, Anger and Ignorance (or Delusion), the three forces that keep souls bound to the recurring cycle.
"Again, again, again, again," Abbot Phrakru said "always suffering." Our desires attach us to worldly things, the Buddha taught. Eliminate those desires, and souls can escape the wheel of life and pass to a higher level.
Beyond this point, Buddhists care little about the nature of God, or gods, or what the Next World is like.
The Buddha once gathered up a handful of crushed leaves and compared it to the forest behind him. The leaves in the hand are what humans can comprehend of the universe; the great expanse of trees is the totality of the universe itself.
"When you get caught up in metaphysics or explaining the universe, you can lose the present moment," Ms. Welch said. And existing in the present - without the distractions of the dead past or the unborn future - is much of what Buddhism is about.
To reach Nirvana and gain detachment, Buddhists try to follow the four Perfections - compassion, loving kindness ("and you have to learn to love yourself before you can love others," Ms. Welch said), sympathetic joy and equanimity, or balance.
"That last one's a toughie, especially for me," Ms. Welch said, grinning.
To reach those ends, Buddhists try to practice the Middle Way, sometimes known as the Noble Eightfold Path: Right Understanding, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Vocation, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration. These eight points resolve into wisdom, morality and meditation, a prayerlike state in which worldly distractions are left behind.
Much of this teaching - which Buddhists find in the Tripitika or "Three Baskets," a compilation of the Buddha's sayings and sermons and other traditions - sounds a lot like the essence of other religions. In fact, many of the Westerners at Wat Carolina do not see Buddhism as exclusive.
"I'm also many other religions as well," said Mr. Bruton, who's studied with Abbot Phrakru almost from the beginning. "There are universal truths here - truths that you can find in Christianity, Judaism and other faiths."
"It's like a tree," Ms. Welch said. "Different religions are the branches, but they have the same trunk."
Meanwhile, Buddhism itself has split into different branches. The monks at Wat Carolina practice one of the oldest versions, Theraveda or "the Teachings of the Elders." Practiced today mainly in Thailand, Burma and Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon), Theraveda focuses heavily on meditation and concentration as means to Nirvana. This leads to an emphasis on monastic life.
Abbot Phrakru and his fellow monks belong to the Dhammayut Nikaya, a religious order which can trace its history back nearly 2,500 years - almost to the time when the first Buddhist missionaries reached Thailand.
The order is a reform movement based on the ideas of the Thai kings Rama IV and Rama V, and it remains close to Thailand's royalty, much as the Church of England and other Anglican churches are connected to the British throne.
Rama IV, Rama V and the present king of Thailand, Bhumibol Adulyadej, were all monks before they ascended the throne. In Buddhism, becoming a monk is not necessarily a lifetime commitment; in Thailand, many young boys enter a monastery for a few months or years as part of their education.
Abbot Phrakru and his fellow monks still live in a manner very close to that of Buddha and his early followers.
They take what amounts to a vow of poverty. The only personal property they are allowed to own consists of four robes, one bowl, one razor to shave their heads, one needle to repair their clothes and one filter for their water.
They generally fast each day after noon and perform their own chores. Abbot Phrakru, whose spiritual rank might be compared to a Christian bishop's or archbishop's, sweeps and vacuums the monastery's living quarters.
Loyal believers supply the monks' meals. "They eat well," Ms. Welch said. "We make sure they eat well." Some believers travel hundreds of miles each week to provide food. By doing so, Theraveda Buddhists believe, the believers earn merit that can help improve their position in the next life and move closer to Nirvana.
Stray cats wander the monastery grounds, drawn by trays of food and water left out for them - an obligation for the monks. Buddhists are solicitous of all forms of life, in part because of their belief in reincarnation. One key purpose of the monks' filters is to prevent them from swallowing bugs or other tiny animals; and, while they are not strict vegetarians, the monks are forbidden to eat the flesh of animals slaughtered especially for them. (Meat from the local grocery, on the other hand, is fair game.)
The majority of the world's estimated 353 million Buddhists are not Theravedan. A later schism brought about the Mahayana or "Great Vehicle," schools of Buddhism which predominate in Japan, Tibet, Nepal and much of East Asia. Mahayanists believe that lay believers, as well as monks, can achieve Nirvana and that some spiritual masters, called bodhisattvas, can delay their enlightenment to stay on Earth and aid others to attain Bodhi, the highest truth.
Relations between the different Buddhist sects are generally cordial, though. Abbot Phrakru recently traveled to Charleston, S.C., to meet with Tibetan monks representing the Dalai Lama.
What matters in Buddhism is not so much dogma as intention, Ms. Welch said. And personal experience is most valuable of all.
"Buddha taught that unless you know something for yourself, it's not going to work for you," she said.
posted by Calli
Keep the resources coming/Possible documentary angle?
Title: Analysis: North Carolina Christian group protests `new age' classes
Authors: MELISSA BLOCK
Source: All Things Considered (NPR); 10/25/2005
Accession Number: 6XN200510252009
Persistent link to this record: http://0-search.ebscohost.com.uncclc.coast.uncwil.edu:80/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nfh&AN=6XN200510252009&site=ehost-live
Database Newspaper Source
Here is a little segment from the article about Ms. Gunter, a teacher utilizing meditation techniques in her classroom. Jones is the reporter for NPR and Mr. Noble is the Chairman of Called2Action, a conservative Christian organization in Wake County, NC:
Mr. NOBLE: I think the number one thing for her was that it disturbed her children, and they were confused. And they're growing up in a Christian home, so they know, as a Christian, as a young Christian, where their source is for dealing with life and trouble. And this was all counter to that.
JONES: Christian parents, Noble says, would rather teach their children how to deal with stress by praying and reading the Bible at home. His group doesn't want public schools to promote any faith, Christian or otherwise. But while Gunter has written books about spirituality, she says she's not advocating any specific religion.
Ms. GUNTER: My whole thing is to get people to their own truth, so they can get to their own peace.
JONES: This isn't the first time parents have protested presentations like Gunter's. Two years ago a group of Christian parents in Aspen, Colorado, succeeded in eliminating all religious references from a yoga program in public schools. In the 1970s, courts in New Jersey banned transcendental meditation from classrooms. Attorney David Gibbs is representing Called2Action in this case. He has asked the Raleigh school district to come up with a policy to prevent programs like this from happening again.
I find this article interesting because I feel like sometimes the mass population (i'm very broadly generalizing here) of Christians or even just Americans find it easy to respect other beliefs and ways of life....until it becomes threatening. I would say that most Christian Americans consider Ghandi to be a amazing person whose actions greatly benefited the world; however, we don't even begin to follow in his non-violent footsteps in our country. Most people appreciate the Dali Lama and think he too his a respectable human being inspiring positive causes and effects in the world, but he meditates. And we want to ban things such as meditating in schools? Just sitting still for a little while to clear our minds? We think our children should be protected from such activities? What are we really so afraid of? Finding some better truth?
PS....When we went to the monastery, several people, several times, told me to take from my experience whatever I wished and throw the rest away. I didn't need to believe, accept, or follow anything that anyone said and to probe and question anything that I found to be faulty or untrue. Call it reverse psychology, but this is how I personally live my life. I question everything I find to be worth questioning, everything I think is too easy or too blindly accepted. In this sense, Buddhism is unlike Christianity and most other religions. It is a working religion, not a following religion. There is no take it or leave it attitude. I have read many books on Buddhism and yes I am personally interested in it as a religion to a certain extent, but what appeals to me the most is its philosophy of pushing me to personally search through my thoughts, emotions, and actions. This in order to discover and minimize the negative affects I have on myself and others.
This response has led me to a possible structure for our documentary. I think that it's pretty obvious that we are targeting Americans with our documentary, and Americans are predominately Christian. I know that I personally, before I knew anything about Buddhism, just categorized it into another one of those far away ancient cultures with a bunch of gods and weird rituals to follow that has little to nothing to do with me. So I think it would be interesting to set up the documentary with this sort of attitude because when it comes down to it, Buddhism does have the ability to come off as some far away religion with astounding history that is not our history. I knew a pretty good amount about Buddhism before we went to the monastery, and I was still intimidated by it. But then we took off our shoes, walked through this tiny little kitchen and into this small living room type of space in an old beat-up house to find just a man who we call a monk sitting on the floor next to a telephone, talking to several Americans about the most casual things: where we were from, how he remembered talking to Christy on the phone, how the reporter used to come take pictures of them, etc. He laughed a lot and smiled constantly. It just becomes obvious that the gigantic brick wall that we create around a religion like this is just that, what WE have created. Yes, that monk, Tan Ajahn (I'm not sure how to pronounce it but it is a name just like all of ours), does a lot of things that I don't understand, but I understand how he laughs and smiles and thinks and talks to people, etc because I do the same things. I think that demonstrating this in a documentary would be a step in finding common ground. We as human beings physically walk on common ground (the earth). Why can't we mentally do the same?
peace, genevieve
Authors: MELISSA BLOCK
Source: All Things Considered (NPR); 10/25/2005
Accession Number: 6XN200510252009
Persistent link to this record: http://0-search.ebscohost.com.uncclc.coast.uncwil.edu:80/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nfh&AN=6XN200510252009&site=ehost-live
Database Newspaper Source
Here is a little segment from the article about Ms. Gunter, a teacher utilizing meditation techniques in her classroom. Jones is the reporter for NPR and Mr. Noble is the Chairman of Called2Action, a conservative Christian organization in Wake County, NC:
Mr. NOBLE: I think the number one thing for her was that it disturbed her children, and they were confused. And they're growing up in a Christian home, so they know, as a Christian, as a young Christian, where their source is for dealing with life and trouble. And this was all counter to that.
JONES: Christian parents, Noble says, would rather teach their children how to deal with stress by praying and reading the Bible at home. His group doesn't want public schools to promote any faith, Christian or otherwise. But while Gunter has written books about spirituality, she says she's not advocating any specific religion.
Ms. GUNTER: My whole thing is to get people to their own truth, so they can get to their own peace.
JONES: This isn't the first time parents have protested presentations like Gunter's. Two years ago a group of Christian parents in Aspen, Colorado, succeeded in eliminating all religious references from a yoga program in public schools. In the 1970s, courts in New Jersey banned transcendental meditation from classrooms. Attorney David Gibbs is representing Called2Action in this case. He has asked the Raleigh school district to come up with a policy to prevent programs like this from happening again.
I find this article interesting because I feel like sometimes the mass population (i'm very broadly generalizing here) of Christians or even just Americans find it easy to respect other beliefs and ways of life....until it becomes threatening. I would say that most Christian Americans consider Ghandi to be a amazing person whose actions greatly benefited the world; however, we don't even begin to follow in his non-violent footsteps in our country. Most people appreciate the Dali Lama and think he too his a respectable human being inspiring positive causes and effects in the world, but he meditates. And we want to ban things such as meditating in schools? Just sitting still for a little while to clear our minds? We think our children should be protected from such activities? What are we really so afraid of? Finding some better truth?
PS....When we went to the monastery, several people, several times, told me to take from my experience whatever I wished and throw the rest away. I didn't need to believe, accept, or follow anything that anyone said and to probe and question anything that I found to be faulty or untrue. Call it reverse psychology, but this is how I personally live my life. I question everything I find to be worth questioning, everything I think is too easy or too blindly accepted. In this sense, Buddhism is unlike Christianity and most other religions. It is a working religion, not a following religion. There is no take it or leave it attitude. I have read many books on Buddhism and yes I am personally interested in it as a religion to a certain extent, but what appeals to me the most is its philosophy of pushing me to personally search through my thoughts, emotions, and actions. This in order to discover and minimize the negative affects I have on myself and others.
This response has led me to a possible structure for our documentary. I think that it's pretty obvious that we are targeting Americans with our documentary, and Americans are predominately Christian. I know that I personally, before I knew anything about Buddhism, just categorized it into another one of those far away ancient cultures with a bunch of gods and weird rituals to follow that has little to nothing to do with me. So I think it would be interesting to set up the documentary with this sort of attitude because when it comes down to it, Buddhism does have the ability to come off as some far away religion with astounding history that is not our history. I knew a pretty good amount about Buddhism before we went to the monastery, and I was still intimidated by it. But then we took off our shoes, walked through this tiny little kitchen and into this small living room type of space in an old beat-up house to find just a man who we call a monk sitting on the floor next to a telephone, talking to several Americans about the most casual things: where we were from, how he remembered talking to Christy on the phone, how the reporter used to come take pictures of them, etc. He laughed a lot and smiled constantly. It just becomes obvious that the gigantic brick wall that we create around a religion like this is just that, what WE have created. Yes, that monk, Tan Ajahn (I'm not sure how to pronounce it but it is a name just like all of ours), does a lot of things that I don't understand, but I understand how he laughs and smiles and thinks and talks to people, etc because I do the same things. I think that demonstrating this in a documentary would be a step in finding common ground. We as human beings physically walk on common ground (the earth). Why can't we mentally do the same?
peace, genevieve
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Random BLOG
So I just thought I would write a "diary" of our first day at the monestary for anyone interested. When the three of us first arrived, we had little idea of where to go or what to do. When we were finally lead into a small house in front of the temple (and after taking off our shoes, because apparantly it's etiquette to be barefoot while in service) we were guided into a very small room where the abbot was seated indian style on a small platform (as seen in our pictures) After I made an ass of myself by extending my hand to greet the monk, we were told to sit down and quickly learned that not only are women to have no physical contact with the monk at all, but no one should ever stand above him, or be above him. For this reason we all sat around him, slightly lower than he was. I thought the service was exceptionally interesting. As people came in there was a large table cloth type thing in the middle of the floor where each person was placing a dish of food. After the "prayer" or chanting, one by one each person crawled on thier knees, over to the food and offered each dish to the monk. Being authentic Thai dishes there was everything from cinnamon hard boiled eggs, to fruit, to rice (alot of rice) to chicken and to be honest, some things that i had no idea what to make of. After each person handed a dish to the monk (women had to place thier dishes on a cloth infront of him, since he is not allowed to directly give or take anything from a woman's hands) he took a spoon and put a small amount of each dish into a huge bowl similar to the one pictured above. Eventually, he had a little bit of everything in the dish. Im not sure how good all of those things and flavors could taste togeather, but I suppose that doesnt make a difference to him. (We also decided that next time we're going to bring an "offering" to participate) When the monk had accepted all of the offerings, we were told to go outside while he ate. No one is to be with him while he eats, as he only eats once a day before noon. We gathered with the rest of the people and shared what was left of the dishes. It was kind of like a Thai potluck. I tried a little bit of everything and learned that anything red is SPICY!! After lunch we gathered back into the house and meditated. It was really unique and calming. When that was over, we took viles of water outside and poured them on the ground clockwise in 7 circles to spread our "merit" (good luck, karma). After taking a few more pictures and talking to some of the Buddhists we were on our way. It was a really cool experience and though hard to explain, is something I think everyone should try at least once. Regardless of your religion or beliefs, everyone was so kind and welcoming, especially the abbot, who made each of us neaklaces with buddha on them before we left. I'm really looking forward to our next visit. I think we'll bring fruit.
Posted by "CRITTY" (As pronounced by the Abbot, which I thought was kina cool . .)
*Christy
Monday, February 12, 2007
pics
here are just a few pics from our first visit to the monastery. more to come as i edit them:
christy taking a 35mm shot of the monk:
buddhist etiquette:
buddha on the top of the monastery building:
sanskrit sign:
a buddha at the top of a shrine:
christy taking a 35mm shot of the monk:
buddhist etiquette:
buddha on the top of the monastery building:
sanskrit sign:
a buddha at the top of a shrine:
Observational Footage
We had little idea of what to expect besides our preconceived assumptions of the monestary before our visit. I myself had expected a lavish pleace of serenity, lit by candles and filled with monks. I had thought that we might have to be quiet most of the time and wouldn’t be able to take pictures of things considered “sacred” or “holy”. Not only were my assumptions completely wrong, but for the best. When we arrived, we noticed a small gravel parking lot where a few cars were pulling in. We made our way to the temple before us only to find it empty. A woman guided us to the very small house which was situated beside the parking lot. Before entering we took off our shoes. When we finally made it inside, we were pleased to find he abbot, as well as a handful of others who had arrived for the service. Most of them, surprisingly, were Caucasion. For our next project, the observational footage on 16 mm, we are hoping to attend an annual festival and capture as much as we can. We were told by those who attended service that this festival in particular would be one of the best days to come out and not only get footage, but learn more about the religion and its customs. We’ve heard that there could be anywhere from 100-300 people attending this event, so we’re pretty excited to see what and who we’ll be able to capture. The festival is called Magha Pucha. Magha Pucha Day is one of the special buddhist holy days. On this day 1250 Arahant monks came together without prior arrangement to pay homage to the lord Buddha at Veruvana monestary. More importantly, it was the first and only occasion that the Lord Buddha addressed to his disciples the Ovadha-Patimokkha, also known as the Fundamentals of Buddhism. The Wat Carolina Buddhajakra Vanaram has planned to have the ceremony on Sunday, February 25, 2007. Following lunch we will meditate with the monks and end with a candle procession. We are hoping to really capture a piece of history as well as tradition on Sunday. Though this is considered a holy day, we will have to be sure of what we can and cannot film as we do not want to be disrespectful. I feel that this is going to be a great way for people to be a part of the ceremony who wouldn’t normally know anything about it. Simply because of the sheer genuineness and welcoming aura of the Buddhists, I am sure that this footage will be an inspiring and calming experience for all.
*Christy
*Christy
3 New Resources
Calli found several resources on the NewsBank database:
A day in the life of the Buddhist monks at Wat Carolina
Star-News (Wilmington, NC)
September 20, 2006
Author: Crystal S. Tatum
This article is about the Buddhist Monks at Wat Carolina and what a typical day looks like for them.
ONLY IN . . . Buddhist temple emits good vibes
Star-News (Wilmington, NC)
December 31, 2005
Author: Jana Clancey, Assistant City Editor
This article has general information about Wat Carolina, like how it got started and how it is the only Buddhist temple in Southeastern North Carolina.
Cape Fear Region -
Religious Organizations
Star-News (Wilmington, NC)
December 18, 2005
This article talks about the different religious groups, (including Wat Carolina) in the Wilmington area.
peace, genevieve
A day in the life of the Buddhist monks at Wat Carolina
Star-News (Wilmington, NC)
September 20, 2006
Author: Crystal S. Tatum
This article is about the Buddhist Monks at Wat Carolina and what a typical day looks like for them.
ONLY IN . . . Buddhist temple emits good vibes
Star-News (Wilmington, NC)
December 31, 2005
Author: Jana Clancey, Assistant City Editor
This article has general information about Wat Carolina, like how it got started and how it is the only Buddhist temple in Southeastern North Carolina.
Cape Fear Region -
Religious Organizations
Star-News (Wilmington, NC)
December 18, 2005
This article talks about the different religious groups, (including Wat Carolina) in the Wilmington area.
peace, genevieve
Expert Interview Possibilities
For our expert interview, we have several possibilities.
The obvious choice would be the monk himself:
Abbott Phrakru Buddhamonpricha
Phone 910-253-4526
Fax 910-453-6618
email info@wat-carolina.com
Wat Carolina Buddhajakra Vanaram
1610 Midway Road
Bolivia, N.C. 28422, U.S.A
There is also a young man living there with the monk so we could interview him as well although he seemed rather quiet.
There are two men and one woman who gave us their cards and spoke with us at length and seem like very knowledgeable and interesting characters:
Randall Hill is a man who worked for The Sun News and did an in-depth multimedia story on the monastery. The link can be found on our site here or from the monastery's website. He said that he came to the monastery for two years without ever participating. He finished his piece in 2002 and now attends the monastery for personal rather than professional reasons so he would be an excellent person to interview.
Jim Copp is a Vietnam veteran who has been attending the monastery since it began and helped build all of the new structures. He told us of his imprisonment and search for POWs that he continues to this day as well as how buddhism has affected his life.
Ella Hill is an expressive arts therapist and buddhist who as her card says combines "image, dance, story, music, drumming, dreamwork, writing and visual art to meet your needs." She seems like someone who would have a lot to tell us.
peace, genevieve
The obvious choice would be the monk himself:
Abbott Phrakru Buddhamonpricha
Phone 910-253-4526
Fax 910-453-6618
email info@wat-carolina.com
Wat Carolina Buddhajakra Vanaram
1610 Midway Road
Bolivia, N.C. 28422, U.S.A
There is also a young man living there with the monk so we could interview him as well although he seemed rather quiet.
There are two men and one woman who gave us their cards and spoke with us at length and seem like very knowledgeable and interesting characters:
Randall Hill is a man who worked for The Sun News and did an in-depth multimedia story on the monastery. The link can be found on our site here or from the monastery's website. He said that he came to the monastery for two years without ever participating. He finished his piece in 2002 and now attends the monastery for personal rather than professional reasons so he would be an excellent person to interview.
Jim Copp is a Vietnam veteran who has been attending the monastery since it began and helped build all of the new structures. He told us of his imprisonment and search for POWs that he continues to this day as well as how buddhism has affected his life.
Ella Hill is an expressive arts therapist and buddhist who as her card says combines "image, dance, story, music, drumming, dreamwork, writing and visual art to meet your needs." She seems like someone who would have a lot to tell us.
peace, genevieve
Who is our Audience?
We are trying to target an audience of all ages, ethnicities and religions. This film will mostly attract people in the Wilmington, NC area, because most people probably do not know about the monastery and will be interested to learn about it. While this film should intrigue most people in the Wilmington area; we also want to target the rest of the country, because the film is not only about the monastery, but also about a world region in the Bible belt south. We hope to achieve this but getting the film into some film festivals in different places throughout the country. We also hope that that film will not only attract the Buddhist community but also other religious communities. Other religious comminutes may be interested to learn about how non-Christian religions are treated in the south. The film is targeted for all ages. However, the most interested age groups are probably going to be college age to middle age adults. Therefore, we would definitely publicize our film in universities as well as community arts centers. We believe that this film could be of interest to all different types of people and we will try to make it available to as many people as possible.
Posted by Calli
Posted by Calli
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Bolex Assigment description and Shooting Schedule
We have planned to shoot our 16mm footage on Sunday, February 25 because it is the day during which the temple is observing a holy day called Magha Pucha Day. Below is the ceremony’s description and schedule as we will plan our shoot around their activities:
Magha Pucha Day is one of the special Buddhist’s holy days which falls on the full moon day of the third lunar month (February). On this day 1250 Arahant monks came together without prior arrangement to pay homage to the lord Buddha at Veruvana monastery. More importantly, it was the first and only occasion that the Lord Buddha addressed to his disciples the Ovadha-Patimokkha, also known as the Fundamentals of Buddhism. And therefore, this extraordinary event is called the Fourfold Assembly and was marked by four factors:
1. The assembly of 1250 Arahants (Enlightened)
2. The Arahants were ordained by the Lord Buddha himself.
3. The Arahants came on their own accord without prior arrangement.
4. It was the full moon day of the third lunar month.
9:45 am Guests arrive at the temple.
10:15 am Presiding chairman lights the ceremonial candles and incense and Initiates chanting the Commandments. Invocational chanting by the assembled monks.
10:45 am Guests present food offering to the assembled monks. Assembled guests then dine together separately from the monks.
12:30 pm Present “Phapa or Money Tree” as part of the fund raising. The Presiding monk presents the sermon “Makha Puja Khatha” with Translation.
All guests participate in meditation with the monks after presentation of the sermon as the offering to the Lord Buddha. Follows with the candle procession in the building floor with elaborathe candle lantern made for the occasion. The procession moves clockwise three times around the temple. Conclusion of formal ceremonies.
This seems like a very rich ceremony as far as for photographic and filming opportunities. Our shooting schedule will be roughly as follows, although we will alter it willingly if an important piece of observation presents itself:
9:45 am – 10:15 am film no more than about 30 seconds of people arriving at the temple
10:15 am – 12:30 pm film approximately 1 minute of chanting and candle lighting. (we might film the offering of the food, but that would probably be better shot with a digital camera for color purposes.)
12:30 pm – end film everyone meditating, especially the monks
film the candle procession, perhaps from the center as it moves around in circles or following over the shoulder of a monk. At least 1 minute of film, hopefully more.
peace, genevieve
Magha Pucha Day is one of the special Buddhist’s holy days which falls on the full moon day of the third lunar month (February). On this day 1250 Arahant monks came together without prior arrangement to pay homage to the lord Buddha at Veruvana monastery. More importantly, it was the first and only occasion that the Lord Buddha addressed to his disciples the Ovadha-Patimokkha, also known as the Fundamentals of Buddhism. And therefore, this extraordinary event is called the Fourfold Assembly and was marked by four factors:
1. The assembly of 1250 Arahants (Enlightened)
2. The Arahants were ordained by the Lord Buddha himself.
3. The Arahants came on their own accord without prior arrangement.
4. It was the full moon day of the third lunar month.
9:45 am Guests arrive at the temple.
10:15 am Presiding chairman lights the ceremonial candles and incense and Initiates chanting the Commandments. Invocational chanting by the assembled monks.
10:45 am Guests present food offering to the assembled monks. Assembled guests then dine together separately from the monks.
12:30 pm Present “Phapa or Money Tree” as part of the fund raising. The Presiding monk presents the sermon “Makha Puja Khatha” with Translation.
All guests participate in meditation with the monks after presentation of the sermon as the offering to the Lord Buddha. Follows with the candle procession in the building floor with elaborathe candle lantern made for the occasion. The procession moves clockwise three times around the temple. Conclusion of formal ceremonies.
This seems like a very rich ceremony as far as for photographic and filming opportunities. Our shooting schedule will be roughly as follows, although we will alter it willingly if an important piece of observation presents itself:
9:45 am – 10:15 am film no more than about 30 seconds of people arriving at the temple
10:15 am – 12:30 pm film approximately 1 minute of chanting and candle lighting. (we might film the offering of the food, but that would probably be better shot with a digital camera for color purposes.)
12:30 pm – end film everyone meditating, especially the monks
film the candle procession, perhaps from the center as it moves around in circles or following over the shoulder of a monk. At least 1 minute of film, hopefully more.
peace, genevieve
Monday, February 5, 2007
35mm Still Descriptions
so i posted our 35mm still photos from our trip to the monastery on sunday, feb 4. with the exception of one shot (we had some exposure problems), we have 3 different forms of each framing, each using a different f-stop. we've posted all the forms and will then decide which we find to be best exposed. i think that some are obvious and some are not so we will have to make the first of our creative decisions. below are brief explanations of the shots:
Still #1:
this is a sign posted on a tree made out of a slice of tree. there is writing in sanskrit i am guessing, but we don't know what it says...something for us to find out on our next visit. the sign is located right before the long walkway up to the newest building.
Still #2:
we hoped to illustrate the unique architecture of the monastery in this photo. i imagine that there are philosophical reasons for it being constructed like it is, but nonetheless it is beautiful.
Still #3:
this photo is a more direct shot of the largest building. the monks and members of the monastery have been working on building this for something like 18 years. they buy concrete pilings and beams as money is donated. and for example, if someone purchases a building material for the monastery, his or her name is stenciled directly onto it, making a truly communal structure.
Still #4:
this photo was unplanned. we were towards the end of our stay at the monastery and this group of people had stayed behind to speak with the monk. one of the girls had been very vocal with her questions and objections to what the monk had been speaking about earlier. he had answered her patiently and happily and then took them outside to pour their water into the earth. we all took part in this ritual as it was meant to pass on our 'merit' to other living entities. at first i tried to frame out the vehicle because i thought it took away from the beauty of the moment, but now i think it almost portrays this ancient religion's adaptation to modern culture. (though the vehicle was certainly not the monk's)
Still #5:
this is just one of many shrines within the monastery. it is situated next to where the monk held service that day. there are countless buddha statues and figurines stacked to the ceiling.
Still #6:
this photo was taken by suggestion of one of the long time buddhist members. they seemed proud to show us that the monks living at the monastery were internet savvy. he also pointed out that they did not, however, play games, etc. but used their computer for communication purposes only. i think mostly this shot exemplifies a religion open to change.
Still #7:
this could possibly have been our best shot if it had not been for some exposure problems. i think the better of the two pictures still captures a great moment. the monk is not actually meditating here, but he is in meditating position. in fact, he is posing for this picture. when we first arrived at the monastery, we were nervous about taking pictures because we weren't sure if it was polite or even allowed in some circumstances. after talking with several veterans to the monastery, we quickly learned that everyone including the monks welcome photographs being taken and really anything. i didn't take it at all to be a form of vanity, but rather i felt like the monk and everyone wanted us and anyone else to take from this experience whatever we wished. we will certainly take more photos of this sort on future visits.
i also took a bunch of digital stills....i will post them as soon as they are edited and ready to go...
peace. genevieve
Still #1:
this is a sign posted on a tree made out of a slice of tree. there is writing in sanskrit i am guessing, but we don't know what it says...something for us to find out on our next visit. the sign is located right before the long walkway up to the newest building.
Still #2:
we hoped to illustrate the unique architecture of the monastery in this photo. i imagine that there are philosophical reasons for it being constructed like it is, but nonetheless it is beautiful.
Still #3:
this photo is a more direct shot of the largest building. the monks and members of the monastery have been working on building this for something like 18 years. they buy concrete pilings and beams as money is donated. and for example, if someone purchases a building material for the monastery, his or her name is stenciled directly onto it, making a truly communal structure.
Still #4:
this photo was unplanned. we were towards the end of our stay at the monastery and this group of people had stayed behind to speak with the monk. one of the girls had been very vocal with her questions and objections to what the monk had been speaking about earlier. he had answered her patiently and happily and then took them outside to pour their water into the earth. we all took part in this ritual as it was meant to pass on our 'merit' to other living entities. at first i tried to frame out the vehicle because i thought it took away from the beauty of the moment, but now i think it almost portrays this ancient religion's adaptation to modern culture. (though the vehicle was certainly not the monk's)
Still #5:
this is just one of many shrines within the monastery. it is situated next to where the monk held service that day. there are countless buddha statues and figurines stacked to the ceiling.
Still #6:
this photo was taken by suggestion of one of the long time buddhist members. they seemed proud to show us that the monks living at the monastery were internet savvy. he also pointed out that they did not, however, play games, etc. but used their computer for communication purposes only. i think mostly this shot exemplifies a religion open to change.
Still #7:
this could possibly have been our best shot if it had not been for some exposure problems. i think the better of the two pictures still captures a great moment. the monk is not actually meditating here, but he is in meditating position. in fact, he is posing for this picture. when we first arrived at the monastery, we were nervous about taking pictures because we weren't sure if it was polite or even allowed in some circumstances. after talking with several veterans to the monastery, we quickly learned that everyone including the monks welcome photographs being taken and really anything. i didn't take it at all to be a form of vanity, but rather i felt like the monk and everyone wanted us and anyone else to take from this experience whatever we wished. we will certainly take more photos of this sort on future visits.
i also took a bunch of digital stills....i will post them as soon as they are edited and ready to go...
peace. genevieve
Saturday, February 3, 2007
photographic opportunities
i was google-ing wat carolina images, and i stumbled upon some group that took a spring break trip to the monastery. here are their pictures:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://eddie.mcs.muohio.edu/gallery2/d/41880-2/11.jpg&imgrefurl=http://eddie.mcs.muohio.edu/gallery2/v/chuck/2001/March01/&h=150&w=200&sz=7&hl=en&start=32&tbnid=-JTXT_Wq0LQJ5M:&tbnh=78&tbnw=104&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dwat%2Bcarolina%26start%3D20%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den%26sa%3DN
calli, christi, and i have planned our photography trip to the monastery for tomorrow after christi called them....the monastery holds a service at 10:30 am on sundays. i think we're going a little early to meet the monks and look around so i'm really excited. i know that there will be plenty of visual opportunities to photograph and just take in. this will be my first time experiencing a buddhist service so i plan on soaking it up. i will definitely have my digital camera, and i might even take my video camera. the monastery seems like a very inviting place. we'll let you know how it goes....
peace. genevieve
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://eddie.mcs.muohio.edu/gallery2/d/41880-2/11.jpg&imgrefurl=http://eddie.mcs.muohio.edu/gallery2/v/chuck/2001/March01/&h=150&w=200&sz=7&hl=en&start=32&tbnid=-JTXT_Wq0LQJ5M:&tbnh=78&tbnw=104&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dwat%2Bcarolina%26start%3D20%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den%26sa%3DN
calli, christi, and i have planned our photography trip to the monastery for tomorrow after christi called them....the monastery holds a service at 10:30 am on sundays. i think we're going a little early to meet the monks and look around so i'm really excited. i know that there will be plenty of visual opportunities to photograph and just take in. this will be my first time experiencing a buddhist service so i plan on soaking it up. i will definitely have my digital camera, and i might even take my video camera. the monastery seems like a very inviting place. we'll let you know how it goes....
peace. genevieve
google it
i've been doing some surfing on the internets....
this is creative wilmington's little feature on wat carolina, with some cool pictures:
http://www.creativewilmington.com/member_detail.php?id=449
and here are some youtube videos:
buddhist images/iconography set to the tunes of madonna?.....
quotes by albert einstein:
buddhism in the news:
peace. genevieve
this is creative wilmington's little feature on wat carolina, with some cool pictures:
http://www.creativewilmington.com/member_detail.php?id=449
and here are some youtube videos:
buddhist images/iconography set to the tunes of madonna?.....
quotes by albert einstein:
buddhism in the news:
peace. genevieve
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