Title: Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism Author: John Powers Date: 1995 Publisher: Snow Lion Publications, Ithaca NY Size: 500 pages ISBN: 1-55939-026-3 (paper) 1-55939-028-X (cloth)Following the Nobel Peace prizes for the Delai Lama and Aung San Suu Kyi, a knowledge of the Tibetan culture is essential for anyone wishing to understand the struggle for human rights in the World's fastest growing economic region. John Powers makes a timely contribution in his presentation of the unique cultural heritage of Tibetan Buddhism.
Title: The Buddha
Buddhist civilisation in India and Ceylon
Author: Trevor Ling
Date: 1973
Publisher: Wildwood House, London
Size: 280 pages
ISBN: 0 85117 266 0
Professor Trevor Ling has written several books on Buddhism for western
readers. Others include 'Buddhism, Imperialism and War', 'Buddha, Marx and
God' and 'A History of Religion East and West'. The following is taken
from Chapter 11 of 'The Buddha', The Fate of Buddhist Civilisation
in India.
Buddhist civilisation was shortlived in India. The reason for this was
that its two principal characteristics were opposed by two perenially
powerful factors in the Indian situation. These two characteristics
were Buddhism's humanistic stance, and its political-ethical implications.
The first of these ran counter to the overwhelmingly theistic trend
of the time, which found expression in a multiplicity of devotional
cults, and succeeded in converting the Buddha-sasana into yet another
of these. The second of Buddhism's major characteristics inevitably
aroused the opposition of the priestly brahman class, who had their
own theory of the state, one which honoured brahmans and made them
indispensable, a role which Buddhist teaching certainly did not ascribe
to them. Brahmanical opposition prevented any serious expansion and
development of the Buddhist state after the death of Ashoka.
Title: OUTRAGE
Burma's Struggle For Democracy.
Author: Bertil Lintner.
Date: 1990
Publisher: White Lotus (London and Bangkok).
Size: c 250 pages
ISBN: 0 9515814 1 4
Ethnic conflicts, mass protest against autocracy, and the
demonetisation of currency sound pretty familiar nowadays. The country
described here is not the Soviet Union, but Burma (Myanmar). In the
words of a russian diplomat, feudalism was masquerading under the
guise of socialism.
In March, 1988 tension between students at the Rangoon Institute of Technology (R.I.T.) and the state security police (Lon Htien) erupted into violence. A protest march against the shooting of a few youngsters turned into a massacre. This enlisted the sympathy of workers and civil servants to the cause of the students, and open demands were made for democracy.
The summer saw mass demonstrations, and the government appeared to be on its last legs. The whole of Rangoon seemed to be in revolt. School children were especially prominent on the marches. Many of the people wanted the 'democratic' powers to intervene to help to stop the killings and a direct appeal was made to foreign embassies.
The tragedy unfolded. While the government made promises of concessions the army sent an armed detachment into the state bank and took away most of the cash. Soldiers were paid six months salary in advance, and agents of the regime were sent into various quarters of the town to carry out random acts of violence.
This paved the way for the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). Military rule was re-imposed in September 1988, and many students fled to the border areas, or Thailand. Elections were held in 1990, but the military proceeded to imprison most of the winning candidates.
The book provides an excellent chronology of events and describes just how much the U.S.A. really supports democracy abroad. Economic and social data are included. Previous aid from the U.S.A. had included $7 million for development aid, $5 million for the 'narcotics programme' and $260,000 for military training.
All in all the book is a high quality piece of research. The writer interviewed many people, and also transcribed and translated material from cassette tapes collected from all over a country which is better known only for its inaccessibilty.
This is a book for all those who are wondering how the Middle East will pay for its last imperialist war. Burma, like Ethiopia has still not recovered from the last (1940-45).
MINING THE BOTTOMLESS PIT
Title: Dr. Riemann's Zeros.
Author: Karl Sabbagh.
Publisher: Atlantic Books. London. 2002.
During the peak of the dot.com business boom the super-computers in the basement of one AT&Ts New Jersey research labs were not working out better algorithms for internet routers. Instead they were programmed for Dr. Andrew Odlyzko's unending search for the Holy Grail of Number Theory. Karl Sabbagh explains this Quixotic quest in his book 'Dr. Riemann's Zeros'.
The book deals with the Riemann Hypothesis [1]. Find out why some mathematiciens would sell their soul to the Devil in order to be able to crack this problem. Others think the problem beyond the resources even of the Devil.
The Rieman Hypothesis deals with solutions to an equation which can be written as an infinite series: Zeta(z)=sum {exp(-z log n) | n= 1 to infinity} [2]. The Riemann hypothesis states that all non trivial solutions lie on the line z=0.5+it where t is real and i*i=-1.
The appearence of a popular book on such an abstruse problem is rather a bold publishing venture. The reader whose maths stopped before quadratic equations will only see the book as a disjoint set of anecdotes about really weird people. Alan Turing, the famous pioneer of computers, and John Nash, who won a Nobel prize in economics, both tried to crack the Riemann Hypothesis.
The writer and publisher deserve praise for their courage in putting plenty of equations into both the text and the appendix which actually gives a sketch of Louis De Branges proof of the Riemann Hypothesis.
The book includes a photograph of the fourteen men in the world who are meant to understand the book in its entirity. If you think you know better you could be in line for a million dollar prize.
[1] Ueber die Anzahl der Primzahlen unter ein gegenbenen Grosse. Bernhard Reimann, 1859 [2] For rough calculations, and ascii animations of convergents of the series see http://d4maths.lowtech.org/dna.exe.
MEDAL FOR MALAYA
Title: Medal for Malaya.
Author: David Tipton.
Publisher: Shoestring Press 2002.
Size: 189 pages
ISBN: 1 899549 75 7
Medal for Malaya is a study of British army life in Malaya during
the 'Emergency' of the 1950s. The author, David Tipton describes the
struggle of a young school leaver to transcend the barriers of race,
religion, sex and class during compulsory military service.
Steve Revill, a grammar school boy, was conscripted into the British army and made his own decision to travel and escape England. On being enlisted he volunteered for service in Korea, and told the army he was a Buddhist. The army registered him as 'Budist'.
The book has several lessons:-
Catterick is hell.
Penicillin works. (Penicillin was a Magic Bullet in the 1950s).
British other ranks cannot marry Asian girls.
Steve Revill sees himself as a poet and author, but the authorities see him as a troublemaker.
Asian women often offer overwhelming hospitality, including meals with friends and relatives, occasional credit, and house keys.
This book offers great insight into the class driven attitudes that kept 'British Imperialism' alive during the cold war. It also shows just how great were the pressures for conformism at that time. The story is a portrait of a young man who did what he could to resist these pressures. Like many interesting military memoirs the book was published long after the events described, because the truth would be embarassing to the authorities who had once already tried to get the writer locked up. The book is highly recommended to current citizens of Malaysia and Singapore who are now growing up in two separate states rather than a single British possession.