Police snipers are protecting Buddhist artifacts at a Thai museum after a spate of robberies including one where thieves stole nearly 100 statues and works dating back 1,000 years.

Security was stepped up Friday at the Chawsamphraya National Museum, which houses collections from the oldest temples in Ayutthaya, a Siamese kingdom founded in 1350 with many remaining ruins that are now listed as a World Heritage Site.

Ayutthaya police Col. Sombat Chuchaiya said a special five-man force including snipers will remain at least through Dec. 20.

Temples in Ayutthaya, 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Bangkok, and elsewhere in Thailand have reported small-scale robberies in recent weeks. The Khon Kaen National Museum in northeastern Thailand was the latest one hit.

Museum director Ajara Kangsarikij said 91 “national treasures” all more than 1,000 years old were stolen Dec. 5, including bronze Buddha statues and Buddha heads, amulets, sheets of gold from ancient temples and burial sites and other items. Art officials were still working to assess the total value, she said.

“These are all outstanding pieces of art and the museum’s most famous, beautiful pieces,” Ajara said. “We had two security guards at the museum-now we have increased security and will have an extra policeman to help patrol and guard the collection.”

Thai authorities have appealed to the public to report any sign of the missing antiquities or tips to lead police to the thieves.

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Stephen Prothero, a professor of religion at Boston University, makes some observations on religion that relate to the recent post “Pew: More Religious Mixing in America.” The new Pew data provide further evidence for the death of denominationalism in Am… (source: About) – RSS feeds and Feed widget on Feedzilla.com

An image gallery of historic, and beautiful, Buddhist temples of Japan. Temples represented include Sensoji, Kyoto; Zenkoji, Nagano; Kinakuji’s Golden Pavilion, Kyoto; Toji Pagoda, Kyoto; the Zen rock garden of Ryoanji, Kyoto; Enryakuji, Mount Hiei, Kyoto;… (source: About) – News widgets and RSS feeds on Feedzilla.com

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We say, “In calmness there should be activity; ‘ in activity there should be calmness.” Actually, they are the same thing; to say “calmness” or to say “activity” is just to express different interpretations of one fact. There is harmony in our activity, and where there is harmony there is calmness. – D.T. Suzuki…

One cannot always be a hero, but one can always be a human. – Goethe…

Are you still thinking, looking, living, as from an imaginary phenomenal center? As long as you do that you can never recognize your freedom. – Open Secret by Wei Wu Wei…

The practice of meditation is represented by the three monkeys, who cover their eyes, ears and mouths so as to avoid the phenomenal world. The practice of non-meditation is ceasing to be the see-er, hearer or speaker while eyes, ears and mouths are fulfilling their function in daily life. Open Secret by Wei Wu Wei…

From Barbara’s Buddhism Blog on About.com

Via James Shaheen at Tricycle blog –Vern Barnet, a Unitarian Universalist minister, writes a column for the Kansas City Star, and his most recent work fits nicely with my earlier post, “Wherever You Go, There You Are.” In “Focusing on Our Relationships,” the Rev. Barnet pulls together the Buddhist teaching of anatta and neuroscience, and concludes,

The Buddha’s point was not to deny the conventional self, the model, but not to be deceived by it or enslaved to it.

Rather than a narcissistic and futile focus on self-esteem, we can put our attention on relationships. We can be freed of the trouble to prove we are worthy by acquiring wealth, power or prestige. Unfettered by the model’s limits, in whatever circumstance we find ourselves, we can simply do the right thing.

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