A writer with a cause, Tenzin Tsundue, my friend and co-author at “World’s Pandemic Chronicles” is on a 500 kilometers march on foot from Dharamshala to Delhi to raise awareness of the occupation of his country, Tibet. He reminds me of Haruki Murakami who used to run for miles between his writing sessions. However, Tenzin is marching for a cause and you can help him by signing the petition below (Just sign it. Tenzin is NOT looking for donation):

Petition Support Tenzin Tsundue asking PM Modi to repeal ‘One China Policy’ acknowledgement by India & Walk a Mile for #Tibet! (ipetitions.com)

This is my one-woman march in Bucharest, Romania, in solidarity with Tenzin Tsundue. I walked for only six or seven kilometers and wore the Tibetan flag on my mask. Here, in Romania, I couldn’t find a Tibetan flag, which made me think that I should bring a few.

The Tibetan New Year, called (Feast of) Losar, is celebrated this year on February 12, 2021. We then enter the 2148th year of the Tibetan calendar, which is the year under the sign of the Metal Ox.

The holiday begins on the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth Tibetan month (February 10, 2021), Tibetans – after thoroughly cleaning their homes take the “Soup of the 29th day” called Gouthouk.

This soup is made from dumplings of wheat flour, meat and radish. In this soup, some balls will be stuffed with symbols such as: a white pebble, wool or charcoal, etc.

What is the symbolism of these inedible ingredients?

The white pebble reflects a pure thought, therefore positive and to be kept for the new year.

Wool is a slow and soft material, but anything that is sluggish we must avoid for this new year, however, the softness, of course, we must preserve.

Charcoal means our thinking is black, therefore negative, and we have to reject this facet for the new year.

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The Tibetan writer and activist Tenzin Tsundue chose February 12, the Tibetan New Year Losar to start a one-man march, 500 kilometers walk from Dharamshala to Delhi, which will conclude on March 10, the Tibetan National Uprising Day. Tenzin will lead a global campaign, petitioning different head of states to repeal their One-China policy and recognize Tibet, East Turkestan and Southern Mongolia as occupied countries, as well as support Hong Kong struggle for democracy and the independence of Taiwan.

Pankaj Mishra described Tenzin in The New York Times as ‘the new and the most visible face’ of the ‘restless children of the Dalai Lama.’ He has been fighting and protesting against the unjust occupation of Tibet for decades.

We wish him a successful journey and praise him for the effort of never giving up the fight for a free Tibet.

If you want to read his brilliant article he wrote for “World’s Pandemic Chronicles”, here you have the link:

Three of the writers of “World’s Pandemic Chronicles”, Sandra Sanada from Bucharest, Romania, Nana Iavorschi Cnejevici, from Istanbul, Turkey, and Asmaa Arafa, a PhD student and assistant researcher at the National Research Center in Cairo, Egypt, met online to speak about the effects of the pandemic, the giving-receiving concept, the tolerance to change and other interesting topics in this fifty minutes meeting during which they also read a snippet of their articles.

You can order and read the English version of “World’s Pandemic Chronicles” from Amazon or buy it from Cărturești bookstores to read „Cronicile Pandemiei Globale”, the Romanian language version.

Six of the writers of “World’s Pandemic Chronicles”, Sandra Sanada, Tenzin Tsundue, Kunal Rajput, Zaid Khan, Monica Loloiu and Acna Samskiescu, had the honor of conversating with Mr. Rahul Shrivastava, the ambassador of India to Romania, Moldova and Albania, about this raging pandemic and the art of writing. Mr. Shrivastava, a writer himself, with many published books, joined the webinar “How India and Romania coped with the pandemic. An Indian and Romanian perspective.” We thank him for that.
“World’s Pandemic Chronicles”, the book that gathers 33 stories from around the world about the global pandemic, is available on Amazon, in both formats, eBook and paperback. Whichever you’d like to have, please check it on Amazon.

Amazon.com: World’s Pandemic Chronicles: 33 Quarantine Stories from around the Globe eBook: Writers, 33 , Sanada, Sandra, Iavorschi Cnejevici, Nana , Samskiescu, Acna , Loloiu, Monica , Pop, Dragos , Tsundue, Tenzin , Carrier, Bruno , Stanciu, Oana , Djoken, Guy : Kindle Store

The first launch of our book, “World’s Pandemic Chronicles” took place in New Zealand, at the beginning of the world. Writer Lucia Davis, from Auckland, organized the event along with her wonderful husband, William Davis. The writer and coordinator of the project, Sandra Sanada and writer George Smarandache, took part virtually at this event.

A project set up at the beginning of the 2020 lockdown, “World’s Pandemic Chronicles” gathers 33 stories from around the world. In this video, I’m introducing Takahiro Hatake from Tokyo, Japan, who participated in this book with a 14-day diary.

“I am a terrorist”, my favorite poem from “Kora” by Tibetan writer Tenzin Tsundue

Are you looking for happiness? Well, you won’t find it in this world because The World of Humans is one of the six hells described in the “Tibetan Book of the Dead”, nicely named The Six Realms of Existence.

We must have done something bad in our previous lives if we pass through this realm of existence… The good news is that in Buddhism it is believed that we can escape any hell.

The Six Realms of Existence

The six realms are worlds of suffering governed by the Law of Karma and where the cycle of birth, life, and death is fully at work.

Since the consciousness of the dead person now possesses a “radiant body” and is equipped with the power of seeing the future, it can now perceive these realms one by one. The six realms of existence are the Deva realm, the Asura realm (jealous gods), the Human realm, the Animal realm, the Preta realm (hungry ghosts), and the World of Hells.

The Buddhists believe that as long as sentient beings are attached to the world of suffering due to ignorance, hatred, and greed, it is impossible to be free from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. Because of this, Avalokitesvara appears in the six realms, in the form of the Six Buddhas described in the Chonyid Bardo, to teach the path of Wisdom and Enlightenment.

The Deva Realm (the realm of the gods)
The Deva or Gods’ realm is a world of enjoyment and pleasure. One can see delightful temples and mansions built of different kinds of precious metals upon entering this realm. Avalokitesvara appears in the Gods’ realm as the Buddha brGya-byin who carries a melodious lute in his hands. He teaches that it is improper for the beings to be proud of their joyful existence in this place because their stay here is based upon good karmic deeds and must at some point come to an end. However, if one is to be born as a Deva, one is permitted to enter this realm.

The Asura Realm (the realm of the jealous Gods)
The Asura realm is a world of fighting or strife. One can see either a charming forest or circles of fire revolving in opposite directions upon entering this realm. In the Asura realm, there is great envy among the Gods over the fruits of the tree of knowledge. Avalokitesvara appears here as the Buddha Thag-bzang-ris in a knight’s armor while carrying a sword to settle the envy-inspired fighting. The Buddha teaches the titans the perfection of moral education, in order to overcome divisive envy. In the death ritual, one is not advised to enter this realm.

The Human Realm
The Human realm is where you are now, unless if you believe you’re in a different World of Existence. According to tradition, Avalokitesvara took the form of Buddha Sakyamuni by incarnating as Gautama Buddha (the historical Buddha). His symbol is the alms bowl and a beggar’s staff.

In our world, Buddha taught the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eight-fold Path so that we may overcome the three most powerful forces that govern each of our lives: ignorance, greed, and hatred.

The Animal Realm
The Animal realm is a world that lacks reason. For those who are to be born amongst animals, rock caverns, deep holes in the earth mists will be seen. One is not advised to enter this realm. In the world of Animals who live in ignorance and stupidity, Avalokitesvara appears as Buddha Seng-ge rab-brtan who carries the book of wisdom. He teaches the animals to overcome ignorance by striving after the perfection of knowledge.

The Preta Realm (the realm of hungry ghosts)
The Preta realm is a world of avarice and greed inhabited by beings that experience an extreme degree of hunger and thirst. They are called Pretas or hungry ghosts. One who is destined to be born as a Preta will see desolate treeless plains, shallow caverns, jungle glades, and forest wastes. Avalokitesvara appears in the Preta realm as the Buddha Kha-‘bar-ma who teaches the perfection of generosity. The dead person is instructed to exert the greatest amount of energy to avoid entering this realm.

The World of Hells

The World of Hells is the realm of extreme suffering and the place of retribution for the vices of anger and hatred. One who is to fall into the World of Hells may hear wailings of tormented people, black houses, and lands of gloom. It is also here where one suffers the intolerable pains of heat and cold. Avalokitesvara appears in the World of Hells as the Buddha Dharma-Raja (described earlier) and carries water and fire to alleviate the sufferings of the beings tormented by heat and cold. In order that the denizens of hell may overcome the opposites of passionate hatred, the Dharma-Raja teaches them the perfection of equanimity. The dead person is also instructed to exert the greatest amount of energy to avoid entering this realm.

However, you must know that at the moment of our death we experience a state of extreme happiness. In order to be able to take advantages of that unique moment and be capable to avoid the entering in one of the six hells, we have to train our happiness in advance, otherwise, we won’t be able to cope with that state of mind and we’ll run to reincarnate again and again… For whatever reason you want to train your happiness, either to enjoy it while you live or to be well prepared for a favorable incarnation or liberation from the circles of life and death, you’d better start now.

When the global lockdown began, we started a project. Today, we have a book. Writers from different corners of the world joined this idea and together we made our quarantine time useful. You will read 33 impressive quarantine stories written by isolated humans. You will see that our hopes, fears, activities are similar whether you live in the United States, France, UK, India, New Zealand, Egypt, Japan, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Greece, Mexico, United Arab Emirates, or Romania. The English Version of ‘World’s Pandemic Chronicles’ is available on Amazon, in both formats, eBook and Paperback.

We, the team, hope that you will like it.

The Year of 2020. For the first time in history, we live together a Global Pandemic. The outbreak of the Coronavirus locked us all in our houses for months. We chose to write. Nana Iavorsky Cnejevici, Istanbul, Turkey, Olga Bălan, Rome, Italy, Andra Ticărău, Bucharest, Romania, Dragoș Pop, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, Michelle Macias, Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico, Ramona Dumitrean, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, Alina Orășanu, Boston, USA, Santiago Chirino, Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico, Acna Samskiescu, London, UK, Dan Mecu, Brăila, Romania, Mihaela Maier, Scarborough, UK, Kunal Rajput, New Delhi, India, Bianca Opriș, Brussels, Belgium, Mihaela Gaicu, Bucharest, Romania, George Smarandache, Slatina, Romania, Sandie Michaels, Bucharest, Romania, Claudiu Neacșu, Tecuci, Romania, Sabina Hesse, Los Angeles, USA, Michael Angus, New York, USA, Mihaela Stoica, Siena, Italy, Serban Hesse, Nurnberg, Germany, Lucia Lobonț, Bucharest, Romania, Max Petropoulos, Athens, Greece, Livia Negulescu, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, Zaid Khan, Agra India, Lucia Davis, Auckland, New Zealand, Cornel Nemeș, Reno, Nevada, USA, Tenzin Tsundue, Dharamshala, India, Sandra Sanada, Bucharest, Romania, Takahiro Hatake, Tokyo, Japan, Asmaa Arafa, Cairo, Egypt, Mihai Ivanof, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Monica Loloiu, Bucharest, Romania, Bruno Carrier, Paris, France

We are all into this! 33 Isolated Humans from around the Globe, 33 Authentic Quarantine Stories. Don’t miss the “World’s Pandemic Chronicles” The diary of each of us!

The eBook version of the “World’s Pandemic Chronicles” is available in Pre-Sale on Amazon. Buy it now and you’ll receive it on September 10