ommon roanTHE MAGAZINE OFALTERNATIVE LIVING

Permaculture ... Paper Back - the way forward... Vin & Vang of Life ... Taming the Wild Plant .In the Garden ... Wwoofing in New Zealand .Crossword ... Trees The Meaning of Easter .

Book Reviews Notes & Letters ...

JAMPA LINGTIBETAN BUDDHIST CENTRE

TEACHING WEEKENDS BYLAMA PANCHEN OTRUL-, RINPOCHE

15th-16th Feb - The Seven limbPrayer and Mandala Offering

Two practises used as a means to purifynegative energy.

28th-29th March - CalmAbiding, Insight Mediation, andMeditation on Emptiness

(Shunyata)Three Methods of meditation which canbe used to look at assumptions and con-

cepts about ourselves and Iife ingeneral.

17th-20th April - Special teach-ings on le Tsong Khapa,an incarnation of the Buddha of

Wisdom. There will be an initiation andteachings on Guru Yoga.

Further Information

Ring 049-23448, Owendoon,Bawnboy, Co. Cavan.

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From the Gaelic word for vision or dream, TheAisling Magazine critically views society and thechurches from a grassroots perspective, and envi-sions a transformed future.

Published by Ais!ing Arann, a group that live in closerelationship to the earth and in solidarity with thoseliving on the margins of society, The AislingMagazine presents articles, stories, poetry, humour,reviews, and artwork that reflects the Celtic spiritualtradition, encourage right relationship with the land,animals and people, and promote the transformationof institutions and individuals.

'An intriguing new magazine' The Galway Advertiser.

'A community effort done well, with plenty ofthought, a lot of dedication and the love of a betterworld' Common Ground.

'The whole phenomenon - the coming together of somany visions to make one vision - interests me verymuch' Nuala O'Faolain

Subscription: £10 for one year(includes postage)The Aisling Magazine.Tnismor, Arainn, Co. naGaillimhe. Fon: 099-61245

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Advertisements for the next issue ofCommon Ground should arrive notlater than March 12 1992

DEADLINES FOR THE NEXT ISSUEOF

Common Groundarticles, letters etc March 5th 1992notices March 5th 1992

All articles, notices, etc. should be sentto:COMMONGROUND,.CHARLlELANGRISHE,AUGHNASURN,CORRIGEENROE,BOYLE,CO.ROSCOMMON.079-66093

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This issue of Common Ground wasproduced and co-ordinated by PatriciaBeggan, Eoin Dinan, Joe Gowran,Dick Hinchy, Charlie Langrish, GilliesMacbain

Design and layout byKEYWORDS, Bridge St,Carrick-on-Shannon, )Co.l.eitrim 078-20771. Front coverdesign by Common Ground

Whileeverycareis takenin theselectionandverificationofmaterialpublishedinCommonGround,wedonotacceptresponsibilityfortheaccuracyofallstatementsmadebycontributors.nordotheviewsexpressednecessarilyrepre-senttheviewsoftheeditors.

Printed by Purcell Print. Boyle.Co.Roscommon.079-62890

Typeset by KEYWORDS,BridgeSt.Carrick-on-Shannon.Co.Leitrim 078-20771

.COMMON GROUND

As we go to print, it was just about thistime last year that the world was plungedright back to the dark agesof war. The Gulfwar, "Operation Desert Storm", was a warwhere might was deemed to be right yetproved to be wrong - epitomised in theviolation of pre-war UN resolutions (stillvalid) and epitomised wrong again whencontrary to all war conventions retreatingtroops were indiscrimately slaughtered,apart from the sad massacre and mutilationof over 100,000 people according toGreenpeace, possibly over 200,000. In the'age of "technical warfare" and man'scomputerised capability of "precisionkilling", what is the difference between 1and 200,000 - the human factor is not adimension and neither was it in the sanitisedtelevision relay and replay of the warunfolding without the blood and guts of itall. There were no winners only losers -The Kurds are still a lost and fearful people,

, many still refugees and Sadam Hussein isstill in situ while the Iraqi people face deathby starvation through a manmade faminewhile sanctions are still in place against Iraq.Apart from the appalling brutality of war

- the loss of life and limb, the homelessness,famine and hatred there was the impact ofmilitarism on the environment - the wholeenvironmental devastation of the Gulf. TheKuwait oil fires, devasting marine and

animal life, left in its wake temperaturedrops of 10-15° Celsius, retarding crops etc.The unspoken tragedy of the Gulf war

was the United Nations, the worldparliament of Nations set up in 1945 tomake our world a better world. However,the United Nations failed in its efforts ofdiplomacy in avoiding the Gulf War andthrough the members of the SecurityCouncil, notably the U.S. it sanctioned thewar and was demeaned by the failure tosteer by its very founding principle -' to savesucceeding generations from the scourge ofwar'.There is hope for tomorrow and the

United Nations with the forthcom ing UnitedNations Conference on Environment andDevelopment known as The Earth 'Summitto be held in Brazil this year. It is thesingularly most important calendar event ofthe year and there will be participation byenvironmentalists and politicians,governmental and non-governmentalorganisations - it will be the largestenvironmental conference ever held in the (world. There will be new ocean andbiological conventions arising from it. TheEarth Summit is a follow-up on theBruntland Report of the UN's WorldCommission on Environment andDevelopmentwhich proposes a 'sustainablesociety' built on 'sustainable development';it calls for changes in politics, economicsand agricultural policy.

ContentslPermaculture - the supreme natural order Marcus McCabe ..p 4A view of the future

Paper Back - the way forward Dick H/nchy p 6Recycling

Yin & Yang of Life Richard O·ReH/y p 7A new food column

Taming the Wild Plant Nige/Wi/son , p 8Howit started

In the Garden with Charlie Langrish p 10Kick-startingthe year

Wwoofing in New Zealand JanWolsfenholme&CharloffeSUllivan p 12Theplace to be?

"-Crossword byLydia p14

Trees Ma/co/m Samue/s & Charles Dowding p 15TWO limber tales

The Meaning of Easter GiHlesMacBa/n p 16Gilliespresentsanother newangle

Book Reviews ChrisAndreffi & TobyHall & Joe Gowran p 19A classic- a dance - a maze

Notes & Letters , , , ,', p 21

Small Ads ..,', , , , , " " p 23