Mon Daze

Last Sunday, I continued my teaching series at the Mandal Tov with a reprise, by request, on the subject of impermanence (didn’t know monks took requests, didja? Might even play Misty for you if you ask real perty…). The Buddha, from his enlightened awareness, pointed out a deceptively simple truth that, if we really took it to heart, would change our lives for the better forever. Like, we would never suffer again. That kind of better.

The Buddha saw that all phenomena, without exception, arise from certain causes and conditions. Therefore, everything is subject to change. He also saw that the reverse was true and sometimes put it very succinctly: "When this exists, that comes to be; with the arising of this, that arises. When this does not exist, that does not come to be; with the cessation of this, that ceases." So (and here I’m paraphrasing a little) anyone who clings to such things is an all-day sucker, setting oneself up for discontent, suffering, and all-around crabbiness with monotonous regularity. And this does not just apply to gross objects of the senses. Oh no. It’s way more fundamental than that. Our very idea of self, this “I” upon which we lavish so much love (or, occasionally, despise), that too is a product of certain causes and conditions, and therefore empty of any inherent existence. Clinging to this bad boy is the real demon. It's with the arising of our material form and mental states that the idea of I arises, even though there is not a single particle in our body or mind with inherent existence, where "I" could be identified, if we cared to look. But, feeling sure that this tiny mistake is real and true, we feel pretty sure “other” exists likewise. So much so it's not even a subject to think about; it's just an unconscious assumption. Then we react to our perceptual world from the POV of “I” – will what I’m encountering help me and bring me pleasure? Or does it seem that it will harm me? Well, with these assessments all our stinky emotions arise: craving, hatred, pride, envy, all underpinned by bone ignorance. With these emotions egging us on, we act. And all this theater of the absurd is captured in infinite impressions in our stream of consciousness. While we deepen the flawed habit of ego-clinging, we also plant the seeds for a bewildering array of future lives and experiences that we will misconceive as just “coming out of the blue” or ascribe to some abstract force outside of ourselves.

So it is that when we have a pleasurable or useful experience, we just want it to go on and on and are shocked when – yet again – it doesn’t. And I’m no different.

Six months ago, my buddy Luke launched an NGO called MonInfo. The idea was to provide an “independent, bilingual, non-commercial, high-quality, balanced, fair and accurate source of daily news and information about Mongolia” where no such thing existed here. And to do so with only donor support – no ads. The website immediately became a daily visit for me, since it was chock full of constantly updated, excellent stories from every facet of Mongolian political, economic and social life. I would often IM Luke to gossip a bit about the news of the day he’d just posted. MonInfo has opened many windows into Mongolia for me; for English speakers in this great land, it’s the best there is.

So it was a whopping shock when Luke told me last night that MonInfo was 72 hours away from running out of funds to sustain the organization. In a heartfelt email I just received, Luke explains further:

“So what have we here at MonInfo achieved in the past half-year?

“We have done much. Our journalists - the best in Mongolia – have produced about 400 news stories, each of which appeared on our website in both English and Mongolian and have been read by people daily on six continents.

“The work we have been doing has also gone beyond the provision of a daily news service and into that of overall media development. Our general manager...has led journalist training workshops relating to sexual harassment, human trafficking and lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender issues, has instigated a monthly media development group with key local and international organizations, has trained students at the Press Institute of Mongolia, and has worked with other organizations in media-related project development.

“In our six months of operation, we have received wonderful verbal support from all sectors, but unfortunately that support has not extended to funding. Almost all of the numerous corporations we approached could not accept, or come to terms with, the idea of an independent news service, and could not think beyond the 'What's in it for us?' mindset.

“It is disappointing to think that there are so many corporations who cannot see that having accurate and impartial news is a benefit to the greater business environment in Mongolia - and that is exactly what is in it for them.

“At this time, our hearts are most with our wonderful employees, who have worked tirelessly and with such passion to bring the dream of this NGO to fruition. An organization can only dream of having such committed and visionary staff. The sad reality for our journalists is that they will have to return to badly underpaid jobs in corrupt news organizations, where their work will be censored and they will be
encouraged or coerced to write sensational, misleading and false news stories.

“No matter what, we will always stand by the work we did and the integrity with which we did it.

“We had great plans for the future and there were many organizations that wanted to work with us on development projects. But, alas, without immediate funding we cannot realize those goals. Without immediate funding, we will be evicted from our building and all of us will be unemployed.

We wish this wasn't the case, but it is the harsh reality of NGOs: without support from donor organizations, we cannot survive.”

Mongolia’s democracy is so young; its institutions are mere fragile shoots. In places like the U.S. we learn big harsh lessons about what happens when a dynamic watchdog press falls asleep in the corner: petulant, senseless presidents can lie whole countries into wars that kill thousands. Mongolia’s big struggle is with institutional corruption, which exacts a huge negative toll on its citizens. Who will expose fraud and be a bedrock of justice if not a courageous, independent media?

Who knows who reads DODR? I know there’re a lot of you. Maybe this issue touches you – the training of young Mongolian journalists, who care about their nascent democracy, in the finest traditions of truth-telling? If so, and if your check-writing capability runs into numbers with five digits, I feel strongly that MonInfo is worth the support. To make an inquiry, please email Luke at: bataa32 at gmail.com.

Comments

[Angie]

I am knitting away for Dulaan and today I notice an article in my hometown paper http://mywebtimes.com/ottnews/archives/ottawa/display.php?id=288460&query=mongolia about a missionary trip to I think your area. Oh, how cool it would have been to send some of my stuff with them. Love your blog, most of it is above my head, but I am enjoying knitting for Dulaan and enjoy reading about your adventures.