Life is Uncertain, Death is Certain

When I read this passage in Gems of Buddhist Wisdom, during my morning meditation, events in Sri Lanka were uppermost in my mind. Perhaps because I have no television, the impact of events in South and Southeast Asia have taken a bit longer to sink in. But this evening I scanned graphic images of destruction visited on familiar settings on the World Wide Web.

I have been particularly touched by notes from friends, who know of my interest in and regular visits to Sri Lanka, expressing concern, including concern that I might have taken time over the holidays for one of my regular visits. This blog's readers know, however that I am here overseeing the upgrade of new Blackboard software at American University. As far as I know, none of my closest Sri Lanka friends have died, but I am certain to have lost some from among my wider circle of friends and acquaintances.

Tonight, I corrected another seventy or so pages of the page proofs of my forthcoming book: Paradise Poisoned: Learning About Conflict, Terrorism and Development from Sri Lanka's Civil Wars. One might hope that the devastation the island has endured might bring government supporters and Tamil Tigers together or at least contribute to greater unity among Sri Lanka's contentious Sinhalese political leaders (govenment and opposition), however it is hard for me to be optimistic.