Saturday, March 24, 2007

Preah Maha Ghosananda, “the Gandhi of Cambodia”, died on March 12th, aged 78

Preah Maha Ghosananda

Mar 22nd 2007
From The Economist print edition

Preah Maha Ghosananda, “the Gandhi of Cambodia”, died on March 12th, aged 78


AFP

ASIA'S great spiritual leaders tend to build shrines round themselves. There they sit, disciples at their feet, handing down instructions for achieving the perfect life. When Preah Maha Ghosananda, in later years, became associated with Buddhist temples in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, his admirers would expect to find him there. He seldom was. He would be far away, walking.

Where he walked was often remote, but it was neither safe nor quiet. He would tread, a little bird-like man with hands folded and head bowed, along narrow paths that threaded through the jungle-forests of central Cambodia. Care was necessary, for the ground had been sown with landmines up to the edge of the trails. Humidity would mist his glasses and slick his bald head with sweat. His orange monk's robes, hitched up to show stout boots and socks, would tangle in the bushes. Behind him, chanting to the beat of a drum, would stream 200-300 laymen, monks and nuns, walking across Cambodia for peace.

Though Ghosananda led these Dhammayietra, or “Pilgrimages of Truth” in the early 1990s, well after the signing of peace accords to end a civil war between the remnants of the murderous Khmers Rouges and the new, Vietnamese-backed Cambodian government, he often found war still raging. Shells screamed over the walkers, and firefights broke out round them. Some were killed. The more timid ran home, but Ghosananda had chosen his routes deliberately to pass through areas of conflict. Sometimes the walkers found themselves caught up in long lines of refugees, footsore like them, trudging alongside ox-carts and bicycles piled high with mattresses and pans and live chickens. “We must find the courage to leave our temples”, Ghosananda insisted, “and enter the suffering-filled temples of human experience.”

Many of the villagers they met had not seen a Buddhist monk for years. In the old Cambodia, before the Khmers Rouges in April 1975 had proclaimed a new Utopian era, “forest-monks” had been a part of rural life, wandering through with staves and bowls, exchanging a handful of rice for a blessing. Now, though the Khmers Rouges had outlawed nostalgia, had razed the monasteries and thrown the mutilated Buddha-statues into the rivers, old habits stirred. As they caught Ghosanada's chant, “Hate can never be appeased by hate; hate can only be appeased by love”, soldiers laid down their arms and knelt by the side of the road. Villagers brought water to be blessed, and plunged glowing incense sticks into it to signal the end of war.

Ghosananda himself had missed the horrors of the Khmer Rouge years. His family, ordinary peasant folk from the Mekong delta, had been wiped out; monks like him, “social parasites” as they were now branded, were defrocked, forced to labour in the fields, or murdered. Out of 60,000 only 3,000 were left alive, and those had fled. But Ghosananda had gone to Thailand to learn meditation in 1965, staying for years in a hermitage in the forest where only the buzz of insects disturbed him. Not until 1978, when he went to minister to Cambodian refugees in the camps on the Thai border, did he learn that Buddhism had been destroyed in Cambodia, although almost all the people had adhered to it. He decided then that his duty was to restore his country's sacred foundation.

Step by step

He did not believe this could be done through grand temples or enclosed institutions. Certainly he could have gone that way. Like many others he had been a dek wat, a “temple kid”, washing the monks' dishes and carrying their alms-bowls. Unlike others, he became a monk and remained one, getting all his education in temples and eventually gaining a doctorate in Pali, the scriptural language of Theravada Buddhism. He was a polymath and an intellectual. Yet he could not stay out of the world. Rather than devoting himself to monastic scholarship, he built hut-temples in the refugee camps and handed out dog-eared photocopies of the Buddha's Metta Sutta, or Words of Love:

With a boundless heart
Should one cherish all living beings:
Radiating love over the entire world
Spreading upwards to the skies,
And downwards to the depths...

On his walks his message remained the same. It needed no complication. The work, he knew, would be slow: “step by step”, as he liked to say. It would continue as long as Cambodians felt divided from each other and brutalised by their past.

After 1980 he was made much of. He represented the Cambodian government-in-exile at the United Nations, and was influential in the peace talks; in 1988, he was made Supreme Patriarch of Cambodia. Several times he was nominated for the Nobel peace prize. He founded more than 50 temples across the world. Some he spoke at; but his first priority lay elsewhere. It was to appear, birdlike, out of the Cambodian forest, to surprise a man digging or a woman washing; to remind them that the power of love was stronger than the forces of history; and then to move on.

For the pure-hearted one
Having clarity of vision,
Being freed from all sense desires,
Is not born again into this world.

Friday, March 23, 2007

Prayers God Answers - The Prayer of Jabez

In the midst of a long list of who begat whom is a short, two verse, story about an honorable man and his prayer. It was a prayer that God answered. This powerful Old Testament prayer can serve as a model for our own prayers.

Bruce Wilkinson's book, The Prayer of Jabez, became a huge success. It became so successful that many people felt that there must be something wrong with it. But this prayer from 1 Chronicles 4:10 is a great prayer for one simple reason: God answered it. And we need to take another look at this simple, but effective, little prayer.

“Oh, that You would bless me indeed," 1 Chronicles 4:10b

Many people feel that it's wrong for us to ask God to bless us, but they miss the point. The point is: God wants to bless us.

Psalm 67:1-2 says, "God be merciful to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us, Selah. That Your way may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations." When God blesses us He reveals to the entire earth just who He is. And God's salvation, His power, love, and mercy, are proclaimed when He blesses His people."...and enlarge my territory," 1 Chronicles 4:10c

Jesus' disciples got into an argument about who was going to be the greatest among them. Jesus knew that they were having this discussion so He confronted them about it. What's interesting is that He did NOT say to them: "You shouldn't want to be great." Instead He gave them specific instructions about HOW to be great.

In Luke 22:24-27 Jesus tells the disciples that the Gentiles believe being great means ruling over people, but that is not how they are to understand greatness. He says, "he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves." To be great, we must become greater servants. Our greatness is not determined by who we look down on or who works for us, but by the kinds of people we serve, the number of people we serve, and the way in which we serve them."

...that Your hand would be with me," 1 Chronicles 4:10d

Most people spend their lives trying to figure out how little they can get by with. They want to get more for doing less.

Jabez knew that by asking God to help him serve more, he was asking God to help him do more than he could possibly accomplish on his own. He purposely asked God to put him in a position where he had to depend on God. As Michelangelo once said, "The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it."

"...and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” 1 Chronicles 4:10e

Jesus taught His disciples to pray, "And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one," in Luke 11:4. Sin and evil are all around us and we need to be aware of our dependence on God to live a life that pleases Him in every area.

But a second aspect of this prayer becomes clear when we read that the name "Jabez" means pain. It was the name that his mother gave him because of the pain he caused her during birth. Jabez had spent his entire life, every time he was introduced to someone or whenever someone called his name, being reminded that he had brought pain into his mother's life.

We all have to pray for God to help us overcome the wrong beliefs that we have about ourselves. Whether it was our parents, teachers, or anyone else who said them, we all have beliefs about ourselves that simply aren't true. They are nothing more than what others have projected onto us because of what they were experiencing or what they believed.

God wants to bless us and help us become greater servants. In order to do that He wants us to depend on Him completely in every area of our lives. And He wants us to believe the truth about who we are. We are His children, He loves us, and He is with us every moment of our lives. He wants to do great things in our lives.

At the end of of this simple prayer in 1 Chronicles 4:10 we read, "So God granted him what he requested." When we pray this prayer that God answers, just like Jabez, our lives will never be the same.


About the Author

Rob Marshall is the author of "Taking On Goliath - How to Unleash the David in All of Us." Learn how you can unleash your faith and overcome any "Goliath" that may stand between you and your dreams. http://www.TakingOnGoliath.com

A Rosary Resource Patterned on the Holy Father's Apostolic Letter

A Rosary Resource Patterned on the Holy Father's Apostolic Letter
Review of Praying the Rosary: With the Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, & Glorious Mysteries by Michael Dubruiel and Amy Welborn
By Lisa M. Hendey

For someone looking to "make a difference" in our world so filled with unrest and need, responding to Pope John Paul II's call to embrace the Rosary is one affirmative step that can be taken immediately. As a resource for making contemplation of the Rosary a part of your life, authors Michael Dubruiel and Amy Welborn have compiled the book Praying the Rosary: With the Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, & Glorious Mysteries (Our Sunday Visitor, June 2003, hardcover, 64 pages).

Though compact in size, this book can and will have a tremendous impact upon your life if you choose to read and implement its suggested format. The book's introduction reiterates the Holy Father’s call to this perfect form of Christian contemplation and points to the Blessed Virgin Mary as a role model for contemplating the true mystery of Jesus Christ, his life, death and resurrection. Bearing both the Nihil Obstat and the Imprimatur, Praying the Rosary incorporates all four sets of mysteries, including the new Luminous mysteries.

Welborn and Dubruiel follow the format suggested by Pope John Paul II in Rosarium Virginis Mariae including the announcement of the mystery, scriptural references, contemplative silence, the formal prayers of the Rosary (including a short prayer phrase following each Hail Mary related to the specific mystery), and a brief concluding prayer for each mystery. Newcomers to Rosary devotion will find the compendium of prayers at the completion of the book a helpful resource.

Complimenting the suggested format, stunning artwork graces the pages for each of the mysteries. Contemplation of these wonderful icons provided courtesy of St. Isaac of Syria Skete allows the user yet another point of interaction with the mysteries of the Rosary.

This books compact size makes it the perfect tool for incorporating the Rosary into your daily devotional routine. The hardcover format is durable and will stand up to daily use. The book will easily slip into a purse, briefcase, day planner or coat pocket. Praying the Rosary has taken up permanent residence in my “home away from home”, my vehicle, where my boys and I daily contemplate the mysteries of the Rosary in our own effort to better know and love Jesus Christ. We pray each day, joining our hearts and minds with countless millions around the globe, for peace in our own little corner of the world and beyond.

For more information on Praying the Rosary: With the Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, & Glorious Mysteries visit http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1592760376/catholicmomcom


About the Author

Lisa M. Hendey is a mother of two sons, webmaster of http://www.catholicmom.com and http://www.christiancoloring.com, and an avid reader of Catholic literature. Visit her at http://www.lisahendey.com

Surrender and Allow for Miracles to Happen

There is a wonderful thing that happens when a person gets to a point in their life where the realization dawns, that all that they have tried only continues to perpetuate the struggle of everyday living. When this point is reached many have gone down to their knees and surrendered, praying to a force greater than them to intervene. Do we really have to reach this point of despair?

The scriptures tell us that in surrendering, we allow for Grace to flow into our lives. The act of surrendering allows for the hand of God to arrange our affairs. Such a simple prescription for all that troubles us. Yet most will wait till they have descended into the pit of despair before coming to the point of surrender.

What does it mean to surrender? How do you surrender?

In surrendering, you are releasing the perceived burdens that you carry to the Divine within. When you surrender you are allowing for the Divine within you to influence your thoughts, your feelings and your impulses. When you surrender you are also trusting in The Divine within you to look after you. As you release your burdens to the Divine within, you will begin to experience the lightness of being and joy will begin to flow again. It is a very simple act and very simple to do, an act that has profound effects on every facet of your life.

How do you surrender? Florence Scovel Shinn in her book, "The Game of Life", recommends the following words, "I cast this burden to the Christ within, and I go free." These words can be adapted to words that resonate for you. I like saying, "I surrender this feeling/thought/belief/conditioning (inserting whatever is being experienced in that moment) to the Divine within me, and I walk free in profound Grace." Let's say you are experiencing the fear of not having enough money, then you could say, "I surrender this fear of lack to the Divine within me and I go free in profound Grace into abundance."

I experience such lightness each time I surrender. The more I surrender the easier it becomes to surrender and the greater the feeling of Grace. I am feeling more at peace, more loving, my faith is stronger and I am inspired. Insights and ideas are flowing into my awareness effortlessly. Each day brings a greater feeling of the Divine within.

This whole process is not one that the rational mind may understand. It is one that you do coming from your heart, with all sincerity. As you begin this process of surrendering you will find all sorts of feelings, thoughts and memories surfacing over the days and weeks. They surface so you may surrender them. As you are consistent with surrendering, you are releasing all the stagnant energy in and around your field of energy. You will then begin to experience a lightness of being and a sense of joy in your whole being.

All this release begins to occur without the rational mind having to process anything. This process occurs because you have willingly surrendered with all sincerity, trusting in the Divine. You may read this article and think that you already know all this. There is a great difference in knowing something intellectually and knowing something through experience. To know the information and the results of surrendering will bring you little gain, will have little effect in bringing back the joy and lightness into your life. When you begin to know this information through the act of surrendering you will give yourself the ultimate gift of Grace flowing into every aspect of your life and you will begin to experience the Divine within you in a whole new way. You will begin to experience the kingdom of heaven within you.


About the Author

Jin Dhaliwal, a unique Energy Healer, has revolutionized Distance Healing by allowing participants to choose the amount they are able to pay as an Energy Exchange for their sessions. Read her Messages For Your Journey at http://www.PeaceBecomesMe.com

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Prayer Journal and Organizer

By Sara Duggan

As a mother of 2 very active boys I am always perfecting my organization routine. A couple of years ago I met a young lady who introduced to me the concept of a prayer journal. At first I totally loved the idea and was fully into using it. Soon it became a hassle and more of a strain on my family than a help.

It has been roughly 5 years since then and I have revisited my journal days. I have perfected a system that works for me and that can be customized for just about anyone. Not only have I created this little notebook for home organization, I have been able to use it as a way to help moms in their quest to help their children.

Each 1st and 3rd Monday's of the month 4 ladies including myself, join me in my little apartment for a short Bible Study and snack. All children are there, playing, reading, interacting, and some are even nursing.
After the study, we have a general informal time of chatting. This is the time where we work on the notebooks that will eventually be our Prayer Journal Organizers.
We share a bit about what has been going on in our lives, what challenges we have faced and get feedback on how we can do things differently.

Usually these sessions last about 10 weeks. I try and hold them with a small group so I can really get to know the moms. I do a Bible study, but I do not require the attendees to be Christian. I do however ask that all participants respect one anothers point of view and no bashing is allowed.
You however, may choose to hold these sessions in your home, at a local moms club or even at a church. It really is up to you. Remember this is not only to help moms in your community but you as well. If you are not comfortable, you will not be effective in leading them in this study/mentor group.

Summary of Meetings:

1. Meet in groups of 5 ladies

2. Start with a small Bible study

3. Chatting tea time (or coffee)

4. Pick one area for this quarter to work on

5. First session put together the Prayer Journal Organizer

Another thing I try to do in these sessions is to teach moms different skills that can be used in the home not only to simplify their life, but to also earn a little extra income on the side.

Homemaking is becoming a lost art in the new age and the simple arts like crochet, sewing, spinning, homemade cooking, etc.. are not being taught to girls anymore. We have moms who have never in their life cooked a meal--not even a pan of water! I met a lady who never use a broom. She literally had to be taught how to use a broom! I know these may seem like trivial things but to some moms they cause such frustration, guilt, and even depression.

If we do not know how to do these things, how are we going to teach our children? Below I have listed some subjects we have covered in the past but you are free to choose what ever your group would like to work on.

Topics examples:

1. Cooking

2. Cleaning (rhythm)

3. Gentle Discipline

4. Boundaries

5. Kids Chores

6. Family Service

7. Bible reading (1 chapter a day)

8. Sewing

9. Crocheting

10. Knitting

11. Beading

12. Baking

13. Educating children

14. Role of Mother

15. Community service

16. Working outside the home

17. Living on a single income

18. Working from home

19. Mothering as a profession and calling

At the end of the session every mom has learned something about themselves and improved on their homemaking and parenting skills. We have all made a Prayer Organizer Journal and personalized it with photographs and artwork of our choosing. It is now Our Notebook. Below you will find a rough idea of what this notebook consists of, you will of course customize it to your own needs.

Supplies:

1. 3-ring binder

2. Tab dividers

3. paper

4. sheet protectors

Notebook:(this is an organizer and PRAYER Journal i.e. when looking at each section, remind yourself to pray for the people you have included in your journal)

1. God

In this section you put your meditations, your verses, your studies, and things you want to work on.
I have included my Bible reading section, verses and poems that really mean a lot to me, and poems that inspire me to LOVE.

2. Husband

In this section you put items that remind you of your love for your husband. Things he likes, things that make him happy, and things you would like to work on with regards to him. (i.e. stop nagging)

3. Children

In this section you put items that remind you of your children. Their first word, their pictures, their drawings, things you want to work on with regards to them. I.e. stop yelling at them, speak in a calm non-threatening tone.

You can either merge your children into one file or seperate them as I did for my 2 boys.

4. Home

This is the part most mothers like about this journal but I need to warn you that this is not the most important part. This is where I went wrong. I stopped concentrating on the above parts and became obsessive of this part to an extreme. Remember***Life is more than a clean house, orderly schedule, and nice fresh baked bread. It is about the above people in our lives. God, Husband, and children, Friends and relations and community.

a. Monthly Schedule

b. Weekly Schedule

c. Daily Schedule

d. Potty Chart

e. Diaper wet/dry chart (newborns)

f. Breastfeeding/bottle chart (newborns)

g. Homework helpers/Homeschool/School schedule

h. Menu planner 1 month

i. Shopping list (master)

j. Recipe collection (month)

k. Phone Log

l. Babysitters Log

m. Shopping/Gift list

n. Storage list

o. Housing Repair projects

p. Budget

q. Misc.

5. VIPS

In this section you put those in your life that mean something to you. Some people you are praying for. Your family and friends, neighbors, or co-workers. What can you do to help them?

6. Community

I like to use this section to do a community project. Ideally this should be done as a family. It is a great lesson to the children and brings the family together in a very special way. You may choose to do a group project with your moms, or individually. Either way you choose, helping the community you live in, connects you to people outside your "fish bowl".

Now, you have a wonderfully full notebook decorated and enhanced with things that will make you smile and hopefully :) make you open it. You have met 4 - 5 moms you have shared deeply with as well as learned some new skills. What do you do now? Keep each other accountable or better yet, pay it forward.

If each one of us mentored another mom after being mentored, we would have many moms who have learned to care for themselves, therefore care for their children, and hopefully build strong and stable families that will flourish.

Good Luck and let me know if you used this or any other type of system. To print out premade organizer sheets you can go to http://www.virtuouswoman.org or http://www.organizedmoms.com
I do have a PrayerOrganizerJournal but it is in the process of being updated and converted to Adobe format.

Sara Duggan is a mom of 2 boys and wife to her sweetheart for 11 years. She enjoys crocheting, web surfing, and writing. Visit her at http://mommie-care.com for more articles and activities.

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Prayer To The President

By Sivaprasad Dantu

Dear Mr. PRESIDENT BUSH,

The ALMIGHTY made you the PRESIDENT of the most powerful nation in today’s world. HE gave you enormous power that not only can make the citizens of US happy but also the citizens of the world over. When we talk of world leaders you lead them. So you are a world leader in true sense. You can do lot more and in a better way only if you listen to others. You must make it a reality –US BELONGS TO WORLD THAN WORLD BELONGS TO US.

Do you know Mr. President, that in the last decade, US spent more than 250 billion US dollars, be it in Afghanistan or Iraq ? America can spend half the amount and win over peace and enemies.
Your words, your actions, your gestures are keenly followed by all the nations. They can create tensions, warlike situations or defuse tensions. They can make nations jump with joy or shiver with fear. Take for example the recent unsustainable surges in OIL price! The oil prices are not surging due to demand supply gap. They are surging due to political tensions world over. For example Iranian nuclear issue is leading to the recent upsurge in oil prices making billions of people world over suffer. You will agree with me if I say that the oil merchants and traders are leveraging the political tensions and driving up the prices. The Americans are suffering, Indians are suffering, Europeans are suffering, and Chinese are suffering. Cant you do some thing good that results in bettering the lot of suffering billions Mr. President? Yes I believe that you alone can do something to defuse the tension that is leading to oil price upsurge. Are you listening Mr. PRESIDENT? A few years back it is the Iraqi issue. Now it is Iran issue. The issues appear to be unending and the sufferings appear to be unending unless you resolve to do something different.

Mr. PRESIDENT, you can become the most powerful and most admired PRESIDENT and the leader world over if you decide to

Do the right things the right way always like a big brother leading the family of nations. Don’t think twice to do good things that soothe. Never do things that hurt.

Nuclear weapons only assure mutual destruction and offer no security to the nations that possess them. Be bold and agree to surrender the entire nuclear arsenal of the US to a world body for destruction. All the other nuclear nations will follow the suit since no nation wants mutually assured destruction. All the nations having nuclear ambitions too will automatically give up their ambitions and it will create a nuclear weapons free world. Now a day no nation is willing to fight even conventional wars. Such a bold and brave and good step coming from you will make you the most admired leader in the world and defuse most of the tensions in the world among the nations. Good actions need no thinking. Just go ahead and do. See the change in the world scene overnight.

Try to earn the trust of nations those distrust you and your policies. Leader should never shy away from talking to the estranged brother and listen to his grievances and causes for distrust. Take the phone on your table and call up the IRANIAN PRESIDENT. Talk to him and listen to him. Assure him that you are ready for negotiations. Try to remove the concerns and irritants. The Iranian President I have no doubt will appreciate your gesture. He too is not interested in tension with all powerful US. Talk first on what you agree. Create trust and confidence. This gesture will go down well with Iran and the entire world. It will create the environment needed for amicable settlement of issues.

Do acts and actions that help the nations. Ultimately such actions will help you too.

Try to make global village concept a reality. Try to convert UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY into a true world parliament and unite the nations of the world.

Poverty, underdevelopment and unemployment are hurting the less privileged and developing nations. Fight these demons with the rich nations and defeat them.

Try to defuse the political tensions that are dividing nations on the principles of equity, justice and fair play.

Organize global efforts for conservation of exhaustible sources of energy and encourage global efforts for promoting research in renewal sources of energy like bio fuels.

Admire the good qualities of even those you distrust.

Mr. President, if you start implementing these measures, the tensions in the world over will disappear. You will emerge as the true global leader, most admired, most loved, most remembered, and most popular and the most important person in every family and every nation.

You can make that difference.

UNITE THE NATIONS OF THE WORLD. DRIVE OUT THE DISTRUST, DESPAIR, DESPONDENCY OVER THE WORLD

May GOD BLESS YOU

own observations

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A House of Prayer for All Peoples?

By David Ben-Ariel

On Simchat Torah (Festival of the Rejoicing of the Law/Last Great Day) I went up to the Temple Mount with my Bible to pray. Although I do not usually wear a kippa (skull cap), I took one with me.

My first challenge was to pass the guards near the Temple Mount entrance; if they saw me with my Bible they would not let me enter. I silently prayed all the way up to the site where God's Temple stood twice, and will be rebuilt for a third and final time, that I would be able to go in. I got past the guards.

You say Jewish guards prevent Christians and Jews from exercising their religious right to pray on the Temple Mount? That's right! Only Muslims have unlimited access to Judaism's most holy site. Only the Koran is permitted within. The Tanach (Jewish Scripture, known to much of the world as the "Old Testament") and Christian Scriptures (the New Testament) are forbidden. Yet Israel claims to respect the religious rights of all people.

Israel has no law against Christians and Jews praying or reading scriptures on the Temple Mount. However, it does have an unwritten agreement with the Wakf (Muslim religious authorities) prohibiting this. No sign is posted, stating: "Warning! Christian and Jewish prayers are forbidden! Bibles not allowed inside by Muslim religious authorities. Proceed with caution!"

I do not accept that Moslems have the authority to forbid me from reading appropriate Psalms or the New Testament account of Jesus celebrating the Water Libation Ceremony (Psalms 120-134, John 7:37). My question was, where should I read those passages? I ended up between the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aksa mosque, just to the right of the place where Moslems wash their hands and feet. I was on the other side of the raised platform there, if you face the Mosque of Omar.

First, I nervously sat and read. Then I put on my black kippa, stood up and started to read for a few minutes until I became distracted by fears of being attacked by the Moslem guards. I sat down, took off my kippa, and continued to read. Then one of the Wakf guards noticed me and asked what I was reading. I replied, "Yes, it's my book." He took it from me and saw that it was a Bible. He demanded to know if I was a Christian or a Jew. When I told him I was a Christian, he asked me why I was wearing a magen David (Star of David).

I did not feel obligated to explain that it was a gift from my mother and youngest sister, and told him, "Give back my Bible." He ordered, "You have to leave now!" Again I said, "Give back my Bible." When he refused, I demanded its return more loudly. He raised his fist as if to hit me and warned me not to raise my voice. This attracted the attention of some passing tourists, who gathered around us. I told them, "This thief has stolen my Bible!"

The Wakf guard told me to leave again and threatened to hit me. He said he would give me back my Bible outside. Since there was no reason for him to confiscate it in the first place, I told him to return it to me then and there and I would go. At this point he radioed an Israeli policeman, who came running. The Israeli handcuffed my right hand, which I raised and showed to the assembled tourists, saying, "This is Israeli democracy!" I asked the Israeli repeatedly, "What law have I broken?" knowing that I had not broken any law, yet was being treated like a common criminal.

I am shocked that Jewish police in the Jewish State help maintain Moslem domination of the Temple Mount by suppressing Christian and Jewish religious rights there. Is it the Temple Mount or the Mosque Mount?

An Israeli policeman led me away. I told the bewildered tourists, "This is what happens to a Christian or Jew who wants to read the Bible where the holy Temple stood. This is what happens to Christians and Jews who want to pray where our prophets and patriarchs prayed, and where Jesus and his disciples taught."

Why the exclusive religious rights for Moslems? And Israel wants to hand over control of Rachel's Tomb, Bethlehem and Joseph's Tomb to Moslem religious authorities?! Are they crazy or what?

In the police station at the Western Wall Plaza, the officers wanted to know who else was with me. They were relieved to find that I was alone. (They should have known I was performing a mitzva [religious commandment]). The police said they arrested me for my own protection. I told them they should have arrested the Wakf guard who threatened me! Why not remove, once and for all, the threat of Moslem violence? Why reward Moslem extremists?

The police laughed in disbelief when I told them I am a Christian and that my Bible includes the New Testament, which they returned to me. A Druze officer said, "But you must respect other religions." He remained silent when I asked, "Where was their respect for mine?" I explained that our Biblical goal is to enable everyone to come and pray on the mountain where God's Temple stood, and in the Temple when it will be rebuilt. It is prophesied to become a "House of Prayer" for all nations.

The police told me I could return to the Temple Mount as a tourist - without my Bible. I said that I do not want to go up there only as a "tourist;" I want to pray there. When they asked me how many times I had been up there, I said "a thousand." They wrote that down in their report. They said I could make a short statement for the record. I said something to this effect: "Is it too much to ask during this 3,000th anniversary of King David's Jerusalem to peacefully read his inspired words on the Temple Mount?"

When I left the police compound, one of the policemen told me I did a good thing. Once outside, I was met by some Jews who saw the incident and congratulated me.

I pray that this unfortunate encounter will raise awareness of Israel's religious discrimination against Christians and Jews. The situation must change. It will when enough people cry "Basta!" (Italian for "enough!").

May the day soon come when Christians, Jews and Moslems can say: "My House shall be called a house of prayer for all Peoples." (Isaiah 56:7). The Bible says

"Moreover, concerning the stranger, who (is) not of Your people Israel, but comes out of a far country for Your Name's sake. For they shall hear of Your great Name, and of your mighty hand, and of Your outstretched arm, and will come and pray toward this house. Hear you in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calls to You for, that all peoples of the earth may know Your Name, to fear you, as (do) Your people Israel, that they may know that Your Name is called upon this house that I have built." (I Kings 8:41-43)

"And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord to serve Him and to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants - everyone who observes the Sabbath - I will bring them to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon My altar, for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples." (Isaiah 56:6-7)

"And it shall come to pass at the end of days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established at the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and peoples shall flow to it. And many nations shall go, and say, 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord...and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths,' for out of Zion shall go forth the Torah, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." (Micah 4:1-2)

(This article was originally published in the Jerusalem-based, Root and Branch Association newsletter, January 1996.)

See Israel's 1967 Protection of Holy Places Law they have failed to enforce and refused to uphold.

David Ben-Ariel is a Christian-Zionist writer in Ohio and author of Beyond Babylon: Europe's Rise and Fall. With a focus on the Middle East and Jerusalem, his analytical articles help others improve their understanding of that troubled region. Visit the Third Temple on the Temple Mount blog.

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