Issuing Of Temporary Identity Cards To The Displaced Persons For Voting Extended Till 05th Of January

The Issuing of Temporary Identity Cards only for voting in forthcoming presidential elections  to the displaced persons in areas affected from Land Slides and Floods has been extended till this Monday(05) according to the Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya.

This measure has been taken to secure the voting right of the displaced people in several provinces including North Central,Uva and Eastern.

Sri Lanka To Reinstate Dual Citizenship For Their Residents

The granting of dual citizenship which has been suspended temporarily in end of 2011 is to be implemented with effect from today(01) the Information Department has announced. Unlike in previous occasion where a five year permanent residency visa has been granted before granting the dual citizenship the Cabinet has decided to grant dual citizenship straightaway for  every Sri Lankan who are living in abroad and requesting such status the department has said.

Under the new scheme of granting dual citizenship in the country an interviews will be conducted for those requesting the citizenship .Earlier no interviews have been conducted when selecting applicants for dual citizenship.

The government has said that the appeals made by more and more Sri Lankans  lives in abroad make government to reinstate the dual citizenship scheme.

THE THOUGHT OF THE DAY TO YOUR LIFE FROM BUDDHISM (SOURCE-BUDDHANET SITE)

In the beginning, Prince Siddhartha lived in luxury and wealth in his father's palace. After he renounced his privileged life and became a wandering monk, he experienced the hardship and difficulty of a life with nothing. He spent years torturing his mind with hard thoughts and solitude and starved his body, enjoyed no comforts and suffered all the experiences of a life without belongings.

 Not long before he achieved his insights and attained enlightenment, he realized both these extreme ways of life were as fruitless as each other. He realized that the true way to happiness was to avoid these extremes, to follow a moderate a way of life. He called this way of living the Middle Path.

Buddhists describe the three ways of life by comparing them to strings of a lute. The loose string is like a life of careless indulgence and makes a poor note when played. The tight string is like a life of extreme hardship and denial, producing another bad sound when played and, worse, likely to snap at any moment. Only the middle string, which is neither slack nor tense, produces a harmonious note — it has the same qualities as the Middle Path. Those who follow this way, avoid the extremes of indulgence and denial. They do not seek endless pleasures, and they do not torment themselves with pain, lacking and self-torment. The Fourth Noble Truth is that the Middle Path leads to the end of suffering.

The Noble Eightfold Path
The Middle Path is the Buddha's treatment for the problem of suffering in all of our lives. In the time he spent learning about the cause and nature of suffering he learnt also about its cure and set out to teach it. Buddhists describe the teachings as a formula which is described in simple steps and includes both physical and mental treatment for ridding a person of suffering. Like all Buddhist teachings, this formula, which is called the Noble Eightfold Path, can only work if a person chooses to apply it to their lives, and takes full responsibility for following the steps.

The Steps Of The Eightfold Path

1. Right Understanding
To understand the Law of Cause and Effect and the Four Noble Truths.
2. Right Attitude
Not harbouring thoughts of greed and anger.
3. Right Speech
Avoid lying, gossip, harsh speech and tale-telling.
4. Right Action
Not to destroy any life, not to steal or commit adultery.
5. Right Livelihood
Avoiding occupations that bring harm to oneself and others.
6. Right Effort
Earnestly doing one's best in the right direction.
7. Right Mindfulness
Always being aware and attentive.
8. Right Concentration
To making the mind steady and calm in order to realise the true nature of things.

Hospital Services Have Been Paralyzed Island Wide Due To The Strike Of 14 Health Catagories

The Hospital Services and Some Services in Health Sector have been paralyzed today(30) due to the Island Wide strike action launched by Health Professionals belongs to 14 categories.

Services in Government Hospitals like Issuing of Drugs from OPD Dispensaries,Radiography Tests,Laboratory Tests ,Patient Care Services and Physiotherapy Treatment as well as the Health Sector Services have been paralyzed due to this strike and hundreds and thousands of patients islandwide have faced enormous difficulties as a  result hospital sources revealed.

The services of entomology assistant officers as well as of  public health inspectors too have been paralyzed due to the strike according to Joint Front Of Nurses-Professions Supplementary To Medicine And Paramedicals has said.

The striking professions have demanded a Rs.15,000 on call allowance for them which has already  paid to the government doctors with their salaries this month.

The on going strike of health professions is due to be suspended by  tomorrow(31) morning and schedule to  recommence it  from this friday(02) if the authorities  fails to fulfill their demand the joint front has stated.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY FOR YOUR LIFE FROM BUDDHISM(SOURCE-WILDMIND BUDDHIST MEDITATION SITE)

As for the times when you realize that you’ve harmed others, the Buddha recommends that you understand that remorse is not going to undo the harm, so if an apology is appropriate, you apologize. In any case, you resolve not to repeat the harmful action again. Then you spread thoughts of goodwill in all directions.

This accomplishes several things.

·         It reminds you of your own goodness, so that you don’t — in defense of your self-image — revert to the sort of denial that refuses to admit that any harm was done.

·         It strengthens your determination to stick with your resolve not to do harm.

·         And it forces you to examine your actions to see their actual effect: If any of your other habits are harmful, you want to abandon them before they cause further harm.

In other words, you don’t want your goodwill to be just an ungrounded, floating idea. You want to apply it scrupulously to the nitty-gritty of all your interactions with others. That way your goodwill becomes honest. And it actually does have an impact, which is why we develop this attitude to begin with: to make sure that it truly animates our thoughts, words, and deeds in a way that leads to a happiness harmless for all.

      I see apology as being a reorientation of our being toward the good. Our minds and selves are modular: some parts of us see the way to happiness as lying in selfishness and aggression, while other parts of us see the path to happiness as lying in mindfulness and compassion. When the unskillful takes hold of us, it’s crucial to re-establish as quickly as possible that this was a deviation, and to redirect ourselves toward awakening. When we try to justify what we’ve done, by rationalizing or weaseling our way out of admitting fault, we actually strengthen the unskillful within us, and end up perpetuating our own and others’ suffering.

Another way to deal with our unskillful actions is confession. Confession’s what I’m doing here, in part. When we confess we’re being honest about what we’ve done, so that we can own it and move on.

When I first did formal confession, I was terrified that the people I was confessing to (we did it in a group) would stop liking me if they knew what I was “really” like. But in fact, I discovered that they loved me more for having been honest with them. In confessing we’re not looking for forgiveness, just to have what we’ve done out in the open, rather than festering inside us. I don’t need you to forgive me; I just need you there to hear me.

The power of confession, like that of apology, lies in re-establishing our connection with who we truly want to be. It gives the reins of our being back to the wiser, kinder, and more honest parts of ourselves.

Sri Lanka Muslim Congress To Support Common Opposition Presedential Candidate

The government ally Sri Lanka Muslim Congress has announced today(28) that they will support the common opposition presidential candidate Maithripala Sirisena in the forthcoming presidential elections scheduled to be held on 08th of January 2015.

Addressing the decision of the party the leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress and Minister of Justice of the present government Rauf Hakeem has said that  he himself today submitted his resignation from his ministerial portfolio to the president.

Twenty Four Persons Killed And Over One Million Displaced Due To The Adverse Weather Condition-Minister

Around 24 persons  killed, 8 missing and 1,016,395 persons displaced due to the adverse weather condition including floods and land slides that occurred in 18 Districts in the island the Minister of Disaster Management Mahinda Amaraweera has said.

Addressing at press briefing held in Colombo today(28) Minister Amaraweera has said that up to date 4571 houses have been completely destroyed and 14,511 houses have been partially damaged due to the adverse weather prevails in most parts of the island.

The amount of that were killed,missing and damaged houses will be more than this an exact amount can be revealed after the floods prevails in recede the Minister has stressed.