A British geoscientist has volunteered to spend 48 hours in an airtight
chamber relying on the oxygen produced by plants to survive.
LONDON: A British geoscientist has volunteered to spend 48 hours in
an airtight chamber relying entirely on the oxygen produced by plants to
survive.
It resembles an experiment first tried by scientist Joseph Priestly
in the 1770s, when he showed that a mouse could survive in an airtight
chamber full of plants, but not in a sealed box without them.
Iain Stewart, a geoscience professor at the University of Plymouth in
England, will share the 12 metre-square chamber with dozens of
specially chosen plants on September 16 and 17, as well as a hammock, a
laptop and an exercise bike.
“This experiment has never been done before with a human – it seems a
fascinating challenge to see if plants really could keep a person
alive,” Stewart said.
Light ensures steady oxygen
Specialist lights both inside and outside the clear perspex chamber
will operate continuously, keeping the plants lit up and providing the
plants with the energy needed for photosynthesis.
This is essential, as plants become heterotrophic at night, operating
like humans do, using oxygen and producing carbon dioxide. It means
Stewart will have to brave the bright lights to get some shuteye.
The levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide produced will be closely
monitored and Stewart will be attached to medical sensors that will
monitor his vital signs throughout the experiment.
Special plants chosen
The stunt will take place at the Eden Project, an environmental
visitor attraction in Cornwall, southwest England, and will be filmed
for a BBC documentary series.
Over the past few months, between 150 and 200 different plants –
specially selected for speedy production of oxygen – have been grown in
anticipation of the experiment.
Some of the plants include banana plants, sweet corn and a mixture of tropical herbs.
“Compared to something like wheat, these plants would have twice the
uptake of carbon dioxide and twice the production rate of oxygen,” said
Oula Ghannoum, a plant physiologist at the University of Western Sydney.
She said it’s unlikely to pose any serious risks, but that the time
spent in the airtight chamber might have an intoxicating affect. “It
will be interesting from a human physiology perspective,” commented
Ghannoum, “and it also goes back to the discovery of photosynthesis.”
Lungs of the planet
According to the show producers, the goal of the experiment is to show the importance of plants to human survival on Earth.
“We often overlook the role of plants in sustaining life on Earth. We
hope this will bring home to viewers in a compelling and revelatory way
just how crucial they are to our existence,” said TV producer Andrew
Thompson.
This article from: http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/sealed-scientist-relies-plants-breathe/
Friday, August 16, 2013
Threat To Buddhism In Myanmar And The Arming Of Rohingyas – OpEd
When Hannah Beech writes “When Buddhists go bad” not only is it
heralded world over but Time Magazine puts as its July cover Burmese
monk Wirathu and christens the front cover “Face of Buddhist Terror”.
But we can’t call that racism or hate speech. Yet, when Hindus or
Buddhists reacts they are automatically accused of violating freedom of
expression and indulging in hate speech. When the world media is owned
by the West, most of which belong to religious entities, it is not
difficult to ascertain the drift in attack and it is always the West’s
version that the entire world has to accept. All the West has to do is
to wave its wand and it can demonize nations and their people if it
suits them and their agendas. Myanmar is no different.
Myanmar is an Asian Buddhist nation under Western imperial focus. That focus means a string of underground movements aimed at creating situations that would facilitate the need for foreign “interference” or intervention. Templates are all the same “resolutions” become the “solution”.
The Buddhist monk Wirathu has become media’s target because of his nationalism. His speeches are written off as racist deterring people from even bothering to listen to what he says. It is media’s way of denigrating the message before it is read or listened to. But, is monk Wirathu being racist when he says that in the township of Myot Hila, the Buddhist monks have been forbidden to perform Buddhist ritual ceremony on Martyrs Day – the day Gen. Aung San (father of Aung San Su Ki) was assassinated because the Muslims (Burmese call them Kalar) are not allowing them to?
Is monk Wirathu being racist when he says that the transport company called Yar Zar Min in Mon State owned by a Muslim who is the transport association president had abolished Ka Htein – an annual Buddhist charity saying it was “nonsense”? Is it wrong for monk Wirathu to premeditate that the culture of Ka Htein would vanish if the trend of “nonsense” was to continue wherein everyone had to respect and tolerate Muslim cultures and religion but they did not reciprocate the same of others?
Why is it that media has conveniently left out that monk Wirathu started the 969 movement ONLY AFTER the Muslims in Burma started a 786 movement asking Muslims to only patronize Muslim shops. Was the 969 movement not a reaction to the action and why was the action not admonished?
Why do the media hide from the global public that Burma a Buddhist nation is only protecting their race, culture and their religion?
Incidentally, the word “Rakhaine” means “one who maintains his own race” descendents of Attila the Hun and Ghenghis Khan the Mongol!
Why not listen to monk Wirathu and make one’s own judgment http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zO7VKhaB08A
It has been easy to continuously silence Buddhists by making them feel that they should not be aggressive in protecting their religion or culture. Often the argument thrown at Buddhists is that they should be compassionate and calm bordering on pacifism and tolerance. Well this was what the Buddhists monks of Nalanda did and they were all killed and the world’s oldest university was burnt to cinders, the Buddhist monks in Maldives faced a similar fate when they gave their necks to be beheaded in a country that was once Buddhist, in Bangladesh too we see similar situations.
Is the world expecting Buddhists in Myanmar, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the remaining Buddhist nations of the world to silently watch and face what happened to Buddhists and Buddhism in the countries that have totally being annihilated of Buddhism and Buddhists? Monk Wirathu does not believe or accept this logic and other nations are beginning to wake up to realities too and are beginning to strategize their options.
Reference to “Rohingya” by name was only after Burma gained independence from Britain in 1948. Prior to that the name “Rohingya” does not appear in any Burmese history or even census. If it was a separate ethnic group as being claimed the name should feature somewhere. This also explains why people living in Sittwe, Buthidaung and Maungdaw areas of Arakan (Rakhine) have not heard the name Rohingya though it is infamously used internationally. The name itself is derived from the Bengal noun for Arakan which is Roshanga. The “Rohingyas” do not speak any of the dialects spoken in Burma but they do speak Bengali, they dress like Bengali and they look like Bengalis and they prepare food like Bengalis – not Burmese. Is this why Burmese continue to claim that the people who call themselves “Rohingyas” originated from Bangladesh?
The Rohingyas are said to now number 800,000.
The British retreated after Japanese occupation of Burma after arming these Bengali Muslims who used the gifted arms to wipe out entire Arakan villages. Historian Aye Chan gives details of how the Rohingyas destroyed Arakanese villages (20,000 Arakanese including Deputy Commissioner U Oo Kyaw Khaing) instead of the Japanese.
We can but wonder whether the usage of the name was created by Britain because the “Rohingyas” belonged to the Chittagong District of East Bengal (present Bangladesh) and the British promised them a Muslim Nation Area. “Rohingyas” approached Jinnah of Pakistan and requested that he incorporate North Arakan with East Pakistan before India created Bangladesh in 1971. The CIA and MI6 were involved in the exodus of Rohingyas in 1978 and 1991 to Bangladesh to create an international crisis and it is the realization of this promise that the whole fanfare of “Buddhist terrorism” is all about.
If we stick to facts virtually all Muslims of Rakhin area trace their origins to Bengali immigration during British colonial rule and this is sufficiently documented from 1870s to mid 20th century. It was a British colonial policy to engulf nations with illegal immigrants to be used at a later date to ignite friction. The cunning has paid off. Burma gained independence from Britain in 1948.
The myths
(Department of Revenue, Agriculture and Commerce 1875, 42)
It has served a global purpose to promote “Rohingyas” as an “ethnic” group for it becomes sufficient to raise calls for a self-governing Muslim region given that the “Rohingyas” could easily be manipulated as they have been through numerous movements now set up:
1. Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO)
2. Arakan Rohingya Islamic Front (ARIF)
3. Rohingya Patriotic Front (RPF)
4. Rohingya Liberation Organization (RLO)
5. Itihadul Mozahadin of Arakan (IMA)
Arming and Training Rohingyas
If a Muslim Nation Area was what the British promised well on course to that reality is when supposedly victim and innocent Rohingyas are being armed and trained. Rohingyas themselves have admitted to being trained by Muslim insurgents. In 2002 Asia Times reported that Rohingyas were bdeing trained by Jamaat-e-Islami in Bangladesh and Pakistan, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar’s Hizb-e-Islami in Afghanistan, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) in Jammu and Kashmir, and Angkatan Belia Islam sa-Malaysia (ABIM) – the Islamic Youth Organization of Malaysia. Afghan instructors have been seen in some of the RSO camps along the Banglades h-Burma border, while nearly 100 RSO rebels were reported to have undergone training in the Afghan province of Khost with Hizb-e-Islami Mujahideen. According to intelligence sources, Rohingya recruits were paid 30,000 Bangladeshi taka (US$525) on joining and then 10,000 taka per month. The families of recruits killed in action were offered 100,000 taka.
This clearly demonstrates that Rohingyas are very much part of an international terrorist network and excludes any innocence that is being promoted on the grounds that they are being discriminated.
A sovereign state has every right to secure its boundaries from any individual or groups attempting to create dissent and given that the Rohingyas are having a host of militant and terrorist connections and backing it would be good for those pointing fingers to provide reasons for these incursions first. What is clear is that ever since 1940s the Rohingyas have been using arms and ammunition and are not the innocent victims that are being projected globally. If Rohingyas claim that they were not armed by the British then they need to explain where they were if they were not in Rakhin areas when the British retreated because the British armed the Muslims against the Rakhine Buddhists in 1942 this again will raise and confirm that the “Rohingya” name is a being floated to create a story for a bigger agenda.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/DI21Df06.html
If Myanmar does not wish to have the Rohingyas surely the Rohingyas would be ready to go anywhere they would be accepted even when their original birthplac e Bangladesh is also refusing them?
Given that Myanmar post-independence never regards the “Rohingyas” as citizens and if the “Rohingyas” had been facing “discriminations” and “oppressions” in the proportions that the mainstream media highlights why is it that these “atrocities” were never highlighted in the past decades in any of the “magnanimous” reports championed by international charities that are funded by western governments and lobbyists? Discrimination cannot emerge overnight!
Is the world’s powerful nations not using Rohingyas as a tool to interfere in Burma whilst getting their partners in crime the Wahhabis to unleash Muslim mi litants to train and arm the poor Rohingyas to start an armed rebellion that would ensure foreign presence on the ground when a scenario of human catastrophe is created by making people face a “refugee status”?
Would these globalists not end up arming and training segments of the Burmese Buddhists to retaliate because their only aim is to make money selling arms whilst their co-partners come for another kill by choosing to do an Iraq or Afghanistan in order to loot the nations resources and Burma is rich is resources and Burma is also a corridor to China?
How long will it take the masses to realize the truth – Muslims have been divided not be others but by their own people. Muslims are being killed in thousands not by others but by their own people – Is it Islam they practice or some other religion or cult and when Muslims accuse others or racism how would they describe their own people killing each other? Why are they blaming others when it is obvious that the deaths of Muslims by Muslims reveal a totally different story.
Something is not right. Clinton says America created the Al Qaeda but was it not the Al Qaeda that America accused for 9/11 by invading Afghanistan and Iraq, was it not these Al Qaeda linked terrorists with Wahhabi connections and funds that are behind every nation that has experienced a “terrorist” incident to warrant foreign intervention and occupation and when a documentary called “Homegrown Jihad: Terrorist Training Camps Around the U.S.” provides compelling evidence of how “Muslims of America” operates with impunity inside the U.S we need to wonder e xactly who is pulling the strings and what exactly is going on. People need to wake up and think far more than they are doing now because people are being taken for a good jolly ride.
How long are we going to accept the yarns being been thrown as bait to fool us?
If monk Wirathu is a Buddhist Terrorist for defending his nation – so be it. “You can be full of kindness and love, but you cannot sleep next to a mad dog.” – Wirathu
The one advantage that these Buddhist bashing elements both local and international has brought about is a Buddhist Awakening and for that we must thank them.
This article taken from: http://www.eurasiareview.com/12082013-threat-to-buddhism-in-myanmar-and-the-arming-of-rohingyas-oped/#comment-543901
Myanmar is an Asian Buddhist nation under Western imperial focus. That focus means a string of underground movements aimed at creating situations that would facilitate the need for foreign “interference” or intervention. Templates are all the same “resolutions” become the “solution”.
The Buddhist monk Wirathu has become media’s target because of his nationalism. His speeches are written off as racist deterring people from even bothering to listen to what he says. It is media’s way of denigrating the message before it is read or listened to. But, is monk Wirathu being racist when he says that in the township of Myot Hila, the Buddhist monks have been forbidden to perform Buddhist ritual ceremony on Martyrs Day – the day Gen. Aung San (father of Aung San Su Ki) was assassinated because the Muslims (Burmese call them Kalar) are not allowing them to?
Is monk Wirathu being racist when he says that the transport company called Yar Zar Min in Mon State owned by a Muslim who is the transport association president had abolished Ka Htein – an annual Buddhist charity saying it was “nonsense”? Is it wrong for monk Wirathu to premeditate that the culture of Ka Htein would vanish if the trend of “nonsense” was to continue wherein everyone had to respect and tolerate Muslim cultures and religion but they did not reciprocate the same of others?
Why is it that media has conveniently left out that monk Wirathu started the 969 movement ONLY AFTER the Muslims in Burma started a 786 movement asking Muslims to only patronize Muslim shops. Was the 969 movement not a reaction to the action and why was the action not admonished?
Why do the media hide from the global public that Burma a Buddhist nation is only protecting their race, culture and their religion?
Incidentally, the word “Rakhaine” means “one who maintains his own race” descendents of Attila the Hun and Ghenghis Khan the Mongol!
Why not listen to monk Wirathu and make one’s own judgment http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zO7VKhaB08A
It has been easy to continuously silence Buddhists by making them feel that they should not be aggressive in protecting their religion or culture. Often the argument thrown at Buddhists is that they should be compassionate and calm bordering on pacifism and tolerance. Well this was what the Buddhists monks of Nalanda did and they were all killed and the world’s oldest university was burnt to cinders, the Buddhist monks in Maldives faced a similar fate when they gave their necks to be beheaded in a country that was once Buddhist, in Bangladesh too we see similar situations.
Is the world expecting Buddhists in Myanmar, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the remaining Buddhist nations of the world to silently watch and face what happened to Buddhists and Buddhism in the countries that have totally being annihilated of Buddhism and Buddhists? Monk Wirathu does not believe or accept this logic and other nations are beginning to wake up to realities too and are beginning to strategize their options.
Who are the “Rohingyas”
Those being referred to as “Rohingyas” live in Buthidaung and Maungdaw Townships of Rakhin (Arakan State) across Naaf River which borders Bangladesh.Reference to “Rohingya” by name was only after Burma gained independence from Britain in 1948. Prior to that the name “Rohingya” does not appear in any Burmese history or even census. If it was a separate ethnic group as being claimed the name should feature somewhere. This also explains why people living in Sittwe, Buthidaung and Maungdaw areas of Arakan (Rakhine) have not heard the name Rohingya though it is infamously used internationally. The name itself is derived from the Bengal noun for Arakan which is Roshanga. The “Rohingyas” do not speak any of the dialects spoken in Burma but they do speak Bengali, they dress like Bengali and they look like Bengalis and they prepare food like Bengalis – not Burmese. Is this why Burmese continue to claim that the people who call themselves “Rohingyas” originated from Bangladesh?
The Rohingyas are said to now number 800,000.
The British retreated after Japanese occupation of Burma after arming these Bengali Muslims who used the gifted arms to wipe out entire Arakan villages. Historian Aye Chan gives details of how the Rohingyas destroyed Arakanese villages (20,000 Arakanese including Deputy Commissioner U Oo Kyaw Khaing) instead of the Japanese.
We can but wonder whether the usage of the name was created by Britain because the “Rohingyas” belonged to the Chittagong District of East Bengal (present Bangladesh) and the British promised them a Muslim Nation Area. “Rohingyas” approached Jinnah of Pakistan and requested that he incorporate North Arakan with East Pakistan before India created Bangladesh in 1971. The CIA and MI6 were involved in the exodus of Rohingyas in 1978 and 1991 to Bangladesh to create an international crisis and it is the realization of this promise that the whole fanfare of “Buddhist terrorism” is all about.
If we stick to facts virtually all Muslims of Rakhin area trace their origins to Bengali immigration during British colonial rule and this is sufficiently documented from 1870s to mid 20th century. It was a British colonial policy to engulf nations with illegal immigrants to be used at a later date to ignite friction. The cunning has paid off. Burma gained independence from Britain in 1948.
The myths
British Burma Census of 1872 (Akyab Town)
| Group | Male | Female | Total |
| Hindu | 1,884 | 28 | 1,911 |
| Mohomendan | 3,516 | 1502 | 5,018 |
| Buddhist | 5,892 | 5,627 | 11,519 |
| Christian | 216 | 109 | 325 |
| Others | 387 | 70 | 457 |
| Grand Total | 11,895 | 7,335 | 19,230 |
It has served a global purpose to promote “Rohingyas” as an “ethnic” group for it becomes sufficient to raise calls for a self-governing Muslim region given that the “Rohingyas” could easily be manipulated as they have been through numerous movements now set up:
1. Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO)
2. Arakan Rohingya Islamic Front (ARIF)
3. Rohingya Patriotic Front (RPF)
4. Rohingya Liberation Organization (RLO)
5. Itihadul Mozahadin of Arakan (IMA)
Arming and Training Rohingyas
If a Muslim Nation Area was what the British promised well on course to that reality is when supposedly victim and innocent Rohingyas are being armed and trained. Rohingyas themselves have admitted to being trained by Muslim insurgents. In 2002 Asia Times reported that Rohingyas were bdeing trained by Jamaat-e-Islami in Bangladesh and Pakistan, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar’s Hizb-e-Islami in Afghanistan, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) in Jammu and Kashmir, and Angkatan Belia Islam sa-Malaysia (ABIM) – the Islamic Youth Organization of Malaysia. Afghan instructors have been seen in some of the RSO camps along the Banglades h-Burma border, while nearly 100 RSO rebels were reported to have undergone training in the Afghan province of Khost with Hizb-e-Islami Mujahideen. According to intelligence sources, Rohingya recruits were paid 30,000 Bangladeshi taka (US$525) on joining and then 10,000 taka per month. The families of recruits killed in action were offered 100,000 taka.
This clearly demonstrates that Rohingyas are very much part of an international terrorist network and excludes any innocence that is being promoted on the grounds that they are being discriminated.
A sovereign state has every right to secure its boundaries from any individual or groups attempting to create dissent and given that the Rohingyas are having a host of militant and terrorist connections and backing it would be good for those pointing fingers to provide reasons for these incursions first. What is clear is that ever since 1940s the Rohingyas have been using arms and ammunition and are not the innocent victims that are being projected globally. If Rohingyas claim that they were not armed by the British then they need to explain where they were if they were not in Rakhin areas when the British retreated because the British armed the Muslims against the Rakhine Buddhists in 1942 this again will raise and confirm that the “Rohingya” name is a being floated to create a story for a bigger agenda.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/DI21Df06.html
Unanswered questions
The accusations are many just as the lies are many too.- If Mynamr restricts “Rohingyas” from marrying and having children how is that “Rohingyas” population is annually increasing?
- If “Rohingyas” are tortured by the Rakhines how is it that the “Rohingya” population is more than the ethnic Rakhinese?
- If “Rohingyas” are a peaceful people who burnt down Rakhine houses, Buddhist temples and attempts to drive away ethnic Rakhinese from the area – over 30,000 Rakhine nationals are themselves homeless why are their plight never given international attention?
- If Myanmar discriminates on religion and denies freedom of religion how is it that there are hundreds of mosques built by Rohingyas in Rakhine area?
- If Rohingyas are poor and unable to eat how is it that the various Rohingya rebel movements have money to buy arms and ammunition?
- If Rohingyas claim to be indigenous Burmese isn’t it simple to carry a DNA test, as well as to research the language, the clothes used, the culture to determine their links to Bengali culture.
- If there are other Muslims living in other parts of Myanmar and they do not have issues with the Burmese people or its Government is it not strange that it is only the “Rohingyas” that are having trouble!
- If Myanmar is said to be discriminating minorities why is that the 1982 Citizenship Law classified 8 races and 130 ethnic minority groups though it continues to regard “Rohingyas” as stateless because Myanmar views them as Bengali migrants brought to Burma by the British colonials as farmers?
- If Bangladesh Government denies its own people (the “Rohingyas”) what is the logic that the Burmese should accept and grant them citizenship if they are illegally entering Myanmar every year?
If Myanmar does not wish to have the Rohingyas surely the Rohingyas would be ready to go anywhere they would be accepted even when their original birthplac e Bangladesh is also refusing them?
Given that Myanmar post-independence never regards the “Rohingyas” as citizens and if the “Rohingyas” had been facing “discriminations” and “oppressions” in the proportions that the mainstream media highlights why is it that these “atrocities” were never highlighted in the past decades in any of the “magnanimous” reports championed by international charities that are funded by western governments and lobbyists? Discrimination cannot emerge overnight!
Is the world’s powerful nations not using Rohingyas as a tool to interfere in Burma whilst getting their partners in crime the Wahhabis to unleash Muslim mi litants to train and arm the poor Rohingyas to start an armed rebellion that would ensure foreign presence on the ground when a scenario of human catastrophe is created by making people face a “refugee status”?
Would these globalists not end up arming and training segments of the Burmese Buddhists to retaliate because their only aim is to make money selling arms whilst their co-partners come for another kill by choosing to do an Iraq or Afghanistan in order to loot the nations resources and Burma is rich is resources and Burma is also a corridor to China?
How long will it take the masses to realize the truth – Muslims have been divided not be others but by their own people. Muslims are being killed in thousands not by others but by their own people – Is it Islam they practice or some other religion or cult and when Muslims accuse others or racism how would they describe their own people killing each other? Why are they blaming others when it is obvious that the deaths of Muslims by Muslims reveal a totally different story.
Something is not right. Clinton says America created the Al Qaeda but was it not the Al Qaeda that America accused for 9/11 by invading Afghanistan and Iraq, was it not these Al Qaeda linked terrorists with Wahhabi connections and funds that are behind every nation that has experienced a “terrorist” incident to warrant foreign intervention and occupation and when a documentary called “Homegrown Jihad: Terrorist Training Camps Around the U.S.” provides compelling evidence of how “Muslims of America” operates with impunity inside the U.S we need to wonder e xactly who is pulling the strings and what exactly is going on. People need to wake up and think far more than they are doing now because people are being taken for a good jolly ride.
How long are we going to accept the yarns being been thrown as bait to fool us?
If monk Wirathu is a Buddhist Terrorist for defending his nation – so be it. “You can be full of kindness and love, but you cannot sleep next to a mad dog.” – Wirathu
The one advantage that these Buddhist bashing elements both local and international has brought about is a Buddhist Awakening and for that we must thank them.
This article taken from: http://www.eurasiareview.com/12082013-threat-to-buddhism-in-myanmar-and-the-arming-of-rohingyas-oped/#comment-543901
Why Buddhism must be at the forefront of Nalanda University
Petaling Jaya, Malaysia -- The resuscitation of Nalanda University have recently been questioned by Buddhist groups
from South and North East Asia. The biggest lament was that no Buddhist
monks have been elected to its board. Unlike the Nalanda U of old,
where eminent Buddhist scholar monks were the rectors, governors in the
proposed new set up contains an overwhelming majority with 'secular'
credentials.
Fueling the concern coming from the make up of the academic board, it has been revealed that "the new Nalanda International University will focus on the humanities, economics and management, Asian integration, sustainable development and oriental languages" (BBC report, May 28, 2013). The objective of the school was claimed to be "aimed at advancing the concept of an Asian community...and rediscovering old relationships".
Why is it that the regeneration of a once great ancient academia be based on a secular curriculum entirely focused on humanities and economics? Compare this with the curriculum of the original Nalanda U. According to an unattributed article, the curriculum at the time of Mañjuśrīmitra contained:
...virtually the entire range of world knowledge then available. Courses were drawn from every field of learning, Buddhist and Hindu, sacred and secular (Para and Apara Vidyas as they are known in Sanskrit), foreign and native. Study of Sanskrit grammar was compulsory. In addition, there were five more compulsory subjects which included: Shabda Vidya (Science of sounds and words; otherwise called Grammar and Lexicography); Shilpasthana Vidya (Arts and Crafts); Chikitsa Vidya (Science of Medicine); Hetu Vidya (Logic), and Adhyatma Vidya (Philosophy).
n contrast, the revived Nalanda would largely be a post-graduate research university, with the following schools: School of Buddhist studies, philosophy, and comparative religion; School of historical studies; School of International Relations and Peace; School of Business Management and Development; School of Languages and Literature; and, School of Ecology and Environmental Studies
At first glance, it would seem that it's hallowed name has been borrowed to entice funders to rebuild a fabled campus. In fact, it is far easier to criticize the absence of Buddhist personalities on its board and for its lack of Buddhist centered values and philosophy. What is truly tragic, however is the revivalist's lack of vision and courage. They totally missed the core philosophy and ingenuity of the original Nalanda.
A reported US$ 1 billion has been committed by its funders (New York Times, December 9, 2006), a consortium led by Singapore, including China, India, Japan and other nations. US$ 500 million will be used to build the new university and another US$ 500 million to develop necessary infrastructure.
With that kind of money committed, surely the Governors would have set a more lofty course for the new Nalanda?
The 'original' Nalanda
Eight centuries ago, the university located in Patna attracted scholars and students from as far away as Tibet, China, Greece, and Persia. With esoteric Buddhist philosophy and teachings at its core, its rapid development from the 6th century to the 9th was dominated by the liberal cultural traditions inherited from the Gupta age. In its heyday, it accommodated over 10,000 students and 2,000 teachers. Chinese pilgrims estimated the students between 3,000 and 5,000.
Four doxographies (Tibetan: grub-mtha’) - a term used for the works of classical historians, describing the points of view of past philosophers and scientists - were taught here. Alexander Berzin specifies these as Sarvāstivāda Vaibhāṣika, Sarvāstivāda Sautrāntika, Mādhyamaka, the Mahāyāna philosophy of Nāgārjuna and Cittamatra, the Mahāyāna philosophy of Asaṅga and Vasubandhu.
Imagine a period where Europe did not yet have any universities (the first, University of Bologna was established only in 1088 AD), Nalanda with its eight separate compounds and ten temples encompassing an area of 14 hectares was monumentally ahead of its time. It's library, called the Dharmaganja, or Piety Mart, contained three large buildings. One of it, the Ratnasagara, meaning the Ocean of Gems, was a nine stories high tower and housed sacred manuscripts such as the Prajnaparamita Sutra and the Guhyasamāja Tantra (Sanskrit; Tantra of the Secret Community).
It is inside these walls that much of Tibetan Buddhism as we know it, both its Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions, stems from the late 9th-12th century Nalanda teachers and scholars. Other forms of Buddhism, such as Mahāyāna Buddhism followed in Vietnam, China, Korea and Japan, flourished from the scholarly endeavor of this university. Students like the famed pilgrim Xuanzang, studied here and subsequently worked as a teacher at the University and spent about 6 years there. When he returned to China, he carried back with him 657 volumes of sacred Sanskrit texts and spent the last years of his life translating and interpreting them.
Nalanda became the synthesis and fusion center where new ideas of Buddhist psychology and philosophy were debated, coded and classified. The academic efforts of scholarly monks became the seeds which germinated Buddhism into forms palatable to adherence of the religion not from the Indian sub-continent. It is here - through inter-disciplinary study, practice (of meditation) and translation - that Buddhism became a global religion.
Nalanda’s aim was to create the most intellectually and spiritually mature individuals who would become qualified to contribute to every aspect of society for its overall being. To its custodians and teachers, ideal education means a happy and harmonious blend of philosophy and religion. The pervasive notion at Nalanda was that education was not merely the conveyance of information but the transmission of spiritual, moral, intellectual and aesthetic values combined with the opportunity for full physical development.
What Nalanda 'could be'
If Nalanda were to claim back its glory, it needs to be 'monumentally ahead' of its time, just like its predecessor. More importantly, it needs Buddhist teachings and ideals as its core identity to drive its sense of purpose. Why submit a famous academy to mundane courses (where it has to compete with numerous and better endowed institutions) when it has the chance to explore an ancient teaching so radically ahead of its time and create undreamed of synthesis using tools of modern science?
At an age where information science and mind studies are flourishing, Buddhism is at the stage where its ideas, philosophy and tenets can play a major influence in all spheres of scholarly development. Thanks in part to the internet and free flow of thoughts and ideas, this era provides a similar - or even more - liberal cultural traditions inherent in the Gupta era.
How different could the new Nalanda U be? Here are some ideas worth exploring.
Medicine and PharmacologyThe original Nalanda had medicine as one of its compulsory subject. The new Nalanda curriculum should consider accommodating the vast trove of Asian traditional medical systems which encompasses synthesis of indigenous Tibetan, Indian (Ayurveda), Chinese, Persian (Unani), and Greek. It could use the template as derived from the Tibetan medical system, which embraces the traditional Buddhist belief that all illness ultimately results from the three poisons of the mind: ignorance, attachment and aversion. Tibetan medicine follows the Buddha's Four Noble Truths which apply medical diagnostic logic to suffering. By synthesizing traditional medicine with modern medical research, this faculty could become a cutting edge pharmaceutical and medical research institute.
Neuroscience and neural networksThe scientific study of the brain and the nervous system has increased significantly, principally due to advances in molecular biology, electrophysiology, and computational neuroscience. Neuroscience has grown in tandem with Buddhist meditation, and many new research (collaborations between scientists and meditators) have produced new evidence on how our brains work, how thoughts arise, how consciousness works. And in the concept of non-self (anatta), neuroscience is starting to publish theories and evidence that there is no self to be had, no central driver to speak of, no unchanging internal self that made all the decisions. Indeed, when results become more accomplished, the field of neuroscience can be an important allied health discipline, collaborating with other fields such as chemistry, computer science, engineering, linguistics, mathematics, medicine, philosophy, physics, and psychology. Continued in-depth research and studies in Buddhist meditation will see to the flourishing of this field.
Quantum physicsThe Madhyamika philosophers developed a rigorous and razor sharp method of philosophical analysis which, together with meditation investigation, penetrated into the ultimate nature of reality. Emptiness (sunyata), the core view which is propounded by the Madhyamaka, is the insight that there is nothing in the universe which exists as an independent entity in its own right. It follows that nothing exists as a fully independent feature of reality as was always thought by Western science up until the advent of quantum physics. Indeed, an understanding of emptiness can throw new perspectives onto problems of quantum interpretation. Both Buddhism and quantum mechanics illustrate that the universe is not what he or she perceives it to be with their five senses, and that everything is connected in some way. A serious and rigorous analysis of the "physics" paradigm in Buddhist thought has been long in coming. The formulation of discourses between modern quantum mechanics with certain aspects of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist methodology, such as the elementary assertions of "particle physics", will spearhead new form of synthesis. Who knows, apart form finding answers to big questions such as "what is the universe" and "what is self", students may stumble upon practical by-products which may find useful applications, such as instantaneous communication, quantum teleportation, quantum computers, energy harvesters and quantum tunneling.
Informatics and Computer ScienceThe Buddhist tipitaka contains an immensely rich lexicon of mind training, philosophical teachings and psychological discourses. Nevertheless, much of it are inaccessible to common people due to the difficulty in deciphering its meaning. The science of informatics can play a role in developing digital sources and tools using artificial intelligence and smart algorithms, so that meaningful searches can be processed by users according to their level of understanding. To be practical and useful however, such a system needs to adhere to international standards for information exchange and search results must be freely accessible to the public. Apart from that, Nalanda can offer advanced courses in computer modeling, with emphasis on researching nano technology. Tools developed here can be used to aid research in neuroscience and quantum mechanics. The innate classification of Buddhist knowledge fits nicely into the algorithmic nature of computer science, and this combination would make this to be an important department providing anchoring services to all other faculties.
Food and Agriculture SciencePoverty and endangered health due to lack of clean drinking water and sanitation is a major problem in this world. If any courses were to be moved by the teachings of loving-kindness and compassion, this area would be it. Energy and attention should focus on areas of research in organic protein production, cheap processing of nutritional vegetarian meals, genetically modified foods (vegetarian variety) and membrane technology for clean water filtering. Cross experiments in Asian vegetarian cuisines, from Korean to Chinese, Indian, Sinhalese and Thai foods may yield interesting fusion. What's important that such research will have to be made under the guidance of 'ahimsa' (non-violence), and to keep with the first precept of respecting and non-harming of sentient life.
Law and BioethicsAs research goes into ground breaking areas, stake holders and interest groups will be concerned on ethical lines that can potentially be crossed. This is where a faculty for the study of bioethics could be adjunct to other fields of research. Keeping in line with the principles of non-violence (ahimsa), loving-kindness (metta) and compassion (karuna), its formulation could encompass a broader meaning such as solidarity towards the biosphere, thus generating a "global ethics," a discipline representing a link between biology, ecology, medicine and human values in order to attain the survival of both human beings and other animal species.
Nalanda and the new world order
Bold visions and creative pursuits combined with Buddhist philosophy, ideas and meditational practices can remake Nalanda University into a beacon of human invention and high civilization. Like its predecessor, having radical thinkers, innovative teachers deeply schooled in Buddhist thoughts will enable it to take on the mantle of cutting edge research in mind studies. It can be an unparalleled institution in this field.
At this moment, it is reported that the current setup has only attracted a commitment of about US$ 100 million, which is far from its targeted sum of US$ 1 billion. Apart from politicking and a general lack of trust in the board of governors ability to revive the university's famous name, perhaps poor foresightedness and a lack of deep appreciation of Buddhist values are more to be at blame for the lack of support.
The die is not yet cast. But if the governors are open minded enough and seek the participation of great living Buddhist minds such as the Dalai Lama, Goenka, Thich Nhat Hahn, Bhikkhu Bodhi, Ajahn Brahm, Thanissaro Bhikkhu, Jack Kornfield, Joseph Goldstein, Robert Thurman, Ven Cheng Yen, the promise of Nalanda U as a global learning and research center could well be realized.
Let's not have an entity that is survived by its past glory, for its glorious name can become an enlightening guide for humanity in tune with current needs. And for that to happen, Buddhism needs to be at the center of its core, and the driver of its spiritual existence. BC
This article taken from: http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=8%2C11559%2C0%2C0%2C1%2C0#.Ug4w0lP_GAl
Fueling the concern coming from the make up of the academic board, it has been revealed that "the new Nalanda International University will focus on the humanities, economics and management, Asian integration, sustainable development and oriental languages" (BBC report, May 28, 2013). The objective of the school was claimed to be "aimed at advancing the concept of an Asian community...and rediscovering old relationships".
Why is it that the regeneration of a once great ancient academia be based on a secular curriculum entirely focused on humanities and economics? Compare this with the curriculum of the original Nalanda U. According to an unattributed article, the curriculum at the time of Mañjuśrīmitra contained:
...virtually the entire range of world knowledge then available. Courses were drawn from every field of learning, Buddhist and Hindu, sacred and secular (Para and Apara Vidyas as they are known in Sanskrit), foreign and native. Study of Sanskrit grammar was compulsory. In addition, there were five more compulsory subjects which included: Shabda Vidya (Science of sounds and words; otherwise called Grammar and Lexicography); Shilpasthana Vidya (Arts and Crafts); Chikitsa Vidya (Science of Medicine); Hetu Vidya (Logic), and Adhyatma Vidya (Philosophy).
n contrast, the revived Nalanda would largely be a post-graduate research university, with the following schools: School of Buddhist studies, philosophy, and comparative religion; School of historical studies; School of International Relations and Peace; School of Business Management and Development; School of Languages and Literature; and, School of Ecology and Environmental Studies
At first glance, it would seem that it's hallowed name has been borrowed to entice funders to rebuild a fabled campus. In fact, it is far easier to criticize the absence of Buddhist personalities on its board and for its lack of Buddhist centered values and philosophy. What is truly tragic, however is the revivalist's lack of vision and courage. They totally missed the core philosophy and ingenuity of the original Nalanda.
A reported US$ 1 billion has been committed by its funders (New York Times, December 9, 2006), a consortium led by Singapore, including China, India, Japan and other nations. US$ 500 million will be used to build the new university and another US$ 500 million to develop necessary infrastructure.
With that kind of money committed, surely the Governors would have set a more lofty course for the new Nalanda?
The 'original' Nalanda
Eight centuries ago, the university located in Patna attracted scholars and students from as far away as Tibet, China, Greece, and Persia. With esoteric Buddhist philosophy and teachings at its core, its rapid development from the 6th century to the 9th was dominated by the liberal cultural traditions inherited from the Gupta age. In its heyday, it accommodated over 10,000 students and 2,000 teachers. Chinese pilgrims estimated the students between 3,000 and 5,000.
Four doxographies (Tibetan: grub-mtha’) - a term used for the works of classical historians, describing the points of view of past philosophers and scientists - were taught here. Alexander Berzin specifies these as Sarvāstivāda Vaibhāṣika, Sarvāstivāda Sautrāntika, Mādhyamaka, the Mahāyāna philosophy of Nāgārjuna and Cittamatra, the Mahāyāna philosophy of Asaṅga and Vasubandhu.
Imagine a period where Europe did not yet have any universities (the first, University of Bologna was established only in 1088 AD), Nalanda with its eight separate compounds and ten temples encompassing an area of 14 hectares was monumentally ahead of its time. It's library, called the Dharmaganja, or Piety Mart, contained three large buildings. One of it, the Ratnasagara, meaning the Ocean of Gems, was a nine stories high tower and housed sacred manuscripts such as the Prajnaparamita Sutra and the Guhyasamāja Tantra (Sanskrit; Tantra of the Secret Community).
It is inside these walls that much of Tibetan Buddhism as we know it, both its Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions, stems from the late 9th-12th century Nalanda teachers and scholars. Other forms of Buddhism, such as Mahāyāna Buddhism followed in Vietnam, China, Korea and Japan, flourished from the scholarly endeavor of this university. Students like the famed pilgrim Xuanzang, studied here and subsequently worked as a teacher at the University and spent about 6 years there. When he returned to China, he carried back with him 657 volumes of sacred Sanskrit texts and spent the last years of his life translating and interpreting them.
Nalanda became the synthesis and fusion center where new ideas of Buddhist psychology and philosophy were debated, coded and classified. The academic efforts of scholarly monks became the seeds which germinated Buddhism into forms palatable to adherence of the religion not from the Indian sub-continent. It is here - through inter-disciplinary study, practice (of meditation) and translation - that Buddhism became a global religion.
Nalanda’s aim was to create the most intellectually and spiritually mature individuals who would become qualified to contribute to every aspect of society for its overall being. To its custodians and teachers, ideal education means a happy and harmonious blend of philosophy and religion. The pervasive notion at Nalanda was that education was not merely the conveyance of information but the transmission of spiritual, moral, intellectual and aesthetic values combined with the opportunity for full physical development.
What Nalanda 'could be'
If Nalanda were to claim back its glory, it needs to be 'monumentally ahead' of its time, just like its predecessor. More importantly, it needs Buddhist teachings and ideals as its core identity to drive its sense of purpose. Why submit a famous academy to mundane courses (where it has to compete with numerous and better endowed institutions) when it has the chance to explore an ancient teaching so radically ahead of its time and create undreamed of synthesis using tools of modern science?
At an age where information science and mind studies are flourishing, Buddhism is at the stage where its ideas, philosophy and tenets can play a major influence in all spheres of scholarly development. Thanks in part to the internet and free flow of thoughts and ideas, this era provides a similar - or even more - liberal cultural traditions inherent in the Gupta era.
How different could the new Nalanda U be? Here are some ideas worth exploring.
Medicine and PharmacologyThe original Nalanda had medicine as one of its compulsory subject. The new Nalanda curriculum should consider accommodating the vast trove of Asian traditional medical systems which encompasses synthesis of indigenous Tibetan, Indian (Ayurveda), Chinese, Persian (Unani), and Greek. It could use the template as derived from the Tibetan medical system, which embraces the traditional Buddhist belief that all illness ultimately results from the three poisons of the mind: ignorance, attachment and aversion. Tibetan medicine follows the Buddha's Four Noble Truths which apply medical diagnostic logic to suffering. By synthesizing traditional medicine with modern medical research, this faculty could become a cutting edge pharmaceutical and medical research institute.
Neuroscience and neural networksThe scientific study of the brain and the nervous system has increased significantly, principally due to advances in molecular biology, electrophysiology, and computational neuroscience. Neuroscience has grown in tandem with Buddhist meditation, and many new research (collaborations between scientists and meditators) have produced new evidence on how our brains work, how thoughts arise, how consciousness works. And in the concept of non-self (anatta), neuroscience is starting to publish theories and evidence that there is no self to be had, no central driver to speak of, no unchanging internal self that made all the decisions. Indeed, when results become more accomplished, the field of neuroscience can be an important allied health discipline, collaborating with other fields such as chemistry, computer science, engineering, linguistics, mathematics, medicine, philosophy, physics, and psychology. Continued in-depth research and studies in Buddhist meditation will see to the flourishing of this field.
Quantum physicsThe Madhyamika philosophers developed a rigorous and razor sharp method of philosophical analysis which, together with meditation investigation, penetrated into the ultimate nature of reality. Emptiness (sunyata), the core view which is propounded by the Madhyamaka, is the insight that there is nothing in the universe which exists as an independent entity in its own right. It follows that nothing exists as a fully independent feature of reality as was always thought by Western science up until the advent of quantum physics. Indeed, an understanding of emptiness can throw new perspectives onto problems of quantum interpretation. Both Buddhism and quantum mechanics illustrate that the universe is not what he or she perceives it to be with their five senses, and that everything is connected in some way. A serious and rigorous analysis of the "physics" paradigm in Buddhist thought has been long in coming. The formulation of discourses between modern quantum mechanics with certain aspects of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist methodology, such as the elementary assertions of "particle physics", will spearhead new form of synthesis. Who knows, apart form finding answers to big questions such as "what is the universe" and "what is self", students may stumble upon practical by-products which may find useful applications, such as instantaneous communication, quantum teleportation, quantum computers, energy harvesters and quantum tunneling.
Informatics and Computer ScienceThe Buddhist tipitaka contains an immensely rich lexicon of mind training, philosophical teachings and psychological discourses. Nevertheless, much of it are inaccessible to common people due to the difficulty in deciphering its meaning. The science of informatics can play a role in developing digital sources and tools using artificial intelligence and smart algorithms, so that meaningful searches can be processed by users according to their level of understanding. To be practical and useful however, such a system needs to adhere to international standards for information exchange and search results must be freely accessible to the public. Apart from that, Nalanda can offer advanced courses in computer modeling, with emphasis on researching nano technology. Tools developed here can be used to aid research in neuroscience and quantum mechanics. The innate classification of Buddhist knowledge fits nicely into the algorithmic nature of computer science, and this combination would make this to be an important department providing anchoring services to all other faculties.
Food and Agriculture SciencePoverty and endangered health due to lack of clean drinking water and sanitation is a major problem in this world. If any courses were to be moved by the teachings of loving-kindness and compassion, this area would be it. Energy and attention should focus on areas of research in organic protein production, cheap processing of nutritional vegetarian meals, genetically modified foods (vegetarian variety) and membrane technology for clean water filtering. Cross experiments in Asian vegetarian cuisines, from Korean to Chinese, Indian, Sinhalese and Thai foods may yield interesting fusion. What's important that such research will have to be made under the guidance of 'ahimsa' (non-violence), and to keep with the first precept of respecting and non-harming of sentient life.
Law and BioethicsAs research goes into ground breaking areas, stake holders and interest groups will be concerned on ethical lines that can potentially be crossed. This is where a faculty for the study of bioethics could be adjunct to other fields of research. Keeping in line with the principles of non-violence (ahimsa), loving-kindness (metta) and compassion (karuna), its formulation could encompass a broader meaning such as solidarity towards the biosphere, thus generating a "global ethics," a discipline representing a link between biology, ecology, medicine and human values in order to attain the survival of both human beings and other animal species.
Nalanda and the new world order
Bold visions and creative pursuits combined with Buddhist philosophy, ideas and meditational practices can remake Nalanda University into a beacon of human invention and high civilization. Like its predecessor, having radical thinkers, innovative teachers deeply schooled in Buddhist thoughts will enable it to take on the mantle of cutting edge research in mind studies. It can be an unparalleled institution in this field.
At this moment, it is reported that the current setup has only attracted a commitment of about US$ 100 million, which is far from its targeted sum of US$ 1 billion. Apart from politicking and a general lack of trust in the board of governors ability to revive the university's famous name, perhaps poor foresightedness and a lack of deep appreciation of Buddhist values are more to be at blame for the lack of support.
The die is not yet cast. But if the governors are open minded enough and seek the participation of great living Buddhist minds such as the Dalai Lama, Goenka, Thich Nhat Hahn, Bhikkhu Bodhi, Ajahn Brahm, Thanissaro Bhikkhu, Jack Kornfield, Joseph Goldstein, Robert Thurman, Ven Cheng Yen, the promise of Nalanda U as a global learning and research center could well be realized.
Let's not have an entity that is survived by its past glory, for its glorious name can become an enlightening guide for humanity in tune with current needs. And for that to happen, Buddhism needs to be at the center of its core, and the driver of its spiritual existence. BC
This article taken from: http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=8%2C11559%2C0%2C0%2C1%2C0#.Ug4w0lP_GAl
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Lights, True and Engaged Buddhism
Lights in the Darkness
I'm not saying beliefs and doctrines have no value, because they do. Doctrines can be like a flickering candle that keeps you from walking in total darkness. They can be like markers on a path, showing you a way others have walked before.
Buddhists judge the value of a doctrine not by its factual accuracy but by its skillfulness. A skillful doctrine opens the heart to compassion and the mind to wisdom.
Rigidly fixed beliefs are not skillful, however. Rigidly fixed beliefs seal us off from objective reality and from other people who don't share our beliefs. They render the mind hard and closed to whatever revelations or realizations Grace might send our way.
The One True Religion I believe the world's great religions have all accumulated their share of both skillful and unskillful doctrines and practices. I also have observed that a religion that's good for one person can be all wrong for someone else. Ultimately, the One True Religion for you is the one that most completely engages your own heart and mind. It is that engagement that enables transcendence.
I left Christianity because it no longer engaged my heart and mind. Well, the heart maybe, but the mind said "Nope." But just because I walked away from Christianity doesn't mean I think Christianity or any other religion is wrong for everyone else.
Just yesterday I had a lovely conversation with the cantor of a nearby synagogue. As he spoke of being a cantor is was clear that Judaism illuminates his life and is his One True Religion. I'd have been the world's most boorish ass to even think of "converting" him.
Engaged Buddhism
It's been twenty years since I found Thich Nhat Hanh's Fourteen Precepts of Engaged Buddhism . The first one is:
"Do not be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology, even Buddhist ones. Buddhist systems of thought are guiding means; they are not absolute truth."
I knew then that Buddhism was a religion I could enter into with my entire heart and mind without leaving my critical thinking skills at the door. And it's also why I feel no deep compulsion to convert anyone.
If you are looking for a spiritual home, I'm happy to help you learn about Buddhism. But I can't give you reasons to convert. You'll have to find those within yourself.
This source is from: http://buddhism.about.com/od/becomingabuddhist/a/noconversion.htm
I'm not saying beliefs and doctrines have no value, because they do. Doctrines can be like a flickering candle that keeps you from walking in total darkness. They can be like markers on a path, showing you a way others have walked before.
Buddhists judge the value of a doctrine not by its factual accuracy but by its skillfulness. A skillful doctrine opens the heart to compassion and the mind to wisdom.
Rigidly fixed beliefs are not skillful, however. Rigidly fixed beliefs seal us off from objective reality and from other people who don't share our beliefs. They render the mind hard and closed to whatever revelations or realizations Grace might send our way.
The One True Religion I believe the world's great religions have all accumulated their share of both skillful and unskillful doctrines and practices. I also have observed that a religion that's good for one person can be all wrong for someone else. Ultimately, the One True Religion for you is the one that most completely engages your own heart and mind. It is that engagement that enables transcendence.
I left Christianity because it no longer engaged my heart and mind. Well, the heart maybe, but the mind said "Nope." But just because I walked away from Christianity doesn't mean I think Christianity or any other religion is wrong for everyone else.
Just yesterday I had a lovely conversation with the cantor of a nearby synagogue. As he spoke of being a cantor is was clear that Judaism illuminates his life and is his One True Religion. I'd have been the world's most boorish ass to even think of "converting" him.
Engaged Buddhism
It's been twenty years since I found Thich Nhat Hanh's Fourteen Precepts of Engaged Buddhism . The first one is:
"Do not be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology, even Buddhist ones. Buddhist systems of thought are guiding means; they are not absolute truth."
I knew then that Buddhism was a religion I could enter into with my entire heart and mind without leaving my critical thinking skills at the door. And it's also why I feel no deep compulsion to convert anyone.
If you are looking for a spiritual home, I'm happy to help you learn about Buddhism. But I can't give you reasons to convert. You'll have to find those within yourself.
This source is from: http://buddhism.about.com/od/becomingabuddhist/a/noconversion.htm
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Some Key Things About Buddhism
Key facts
- Buddhism is 2,500 years old
- There are currently 376 million followers worldwide
- There are over 150,000 Buddhists in Britain
- Buddhism arose as a result of Siddhartha Gautama's quest for Enlightenment in around the 6th Century BC
- There is no belief in a personal God. It is not centred on the relationship between humanity and God
- Buddhists believe that nothing is fixed or permanent - change is always possible
- The two main Buddhist sects are Theravada Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism, but there are many more
- Buddhists can worship both at home or at a temple
- The path to Enlightenment is through the practice and development of morality, meditation and wisdom.
Atheists are more Intelligent than Religious People
Somewhat i agree with this article so i feel happy to share this in my blog. I may not be fully religious or atheist, but i like new idea and creative thought.
Writing in the Freethinker (July 2008) Chris Barker argues that there is nothing racist about suggesting that atheists are more intelligent than believers.
IT was bound to happen.
When Professor Richard Lynn claimed last month that people with higher
IQs were less likely to believe in God many of those outraged by his
assertion quickly tried to give his words a racist cast.
Professor Lynn, Emeritus Professor of
Psychology at Ulster University, said many more members of the
“intellectual elite” considered themselves atheists than the national
average. A decline in religious observance over the last century was
directly linked to a rise in average intelligence, he claimed.
Professor Lynn, who has provoked
controversy in the past with research linking intelligence to race and
sex, said university academics were less likely to believe in God than
almost anyone else.
A survey of Royal Society fellows found
that only 3.3 per cent believed in God – at a time when 68.5 percent of
the general UK population described themselves as believers. A separate
poll in the 90s found only seven percent of members of the American
National Academy of Sciences believed in God.
Professor Lynn said most primary school
children believed in God, but as they entered adolescence – and their
intelligence increased – many started to have doubts.
He told The Times Higher Education magazine:
Why should fewer academics believe in God than the general population? I believe it is simply a matter of the IQ. Academics have higher IQs than the general population.
Several Gallup poll studies of the general population have shown that those with higher IQs tend not to believe in God.
He said religious belief had declined
across 137 developed nations in the 20th century at the same time as
people became more intelligent.
But Professor Gordon Lynch, director of the
Centre for Religion and Contemporary Society at Birkbeck College,
London, said it failed to take account of a complex range of social,
economic and historical factors.
Linking religious belief and intelligence in this way could reflect a dangerous trend, developing a simplistic characterisation of religion as primitive, which – while we are trying to deal with very complex issues of religious and cultural pluralism – is perhaps not the most helpful response.
Dr Alistair McFadyen, senior lecturer in Christian theology at Leeds University, said the conclusion had
A slight tinge of Western cultural imperialism as well as an anti-religious sentiment.
Dr David Hardman, principal lecturer in learning development at London Metropolitan University, said:
It is very difficult to conduct true experiments that would explicate a causal relationship between IQ and religious belief.
Nonetheless, there is evidence from other domains that higher levels of intelligence are associated with a greater ability – or perhaps willingness – to question and overturn strongly felt institutions.
Writing in the Guardian (June 12), Giles Fraser asserted
Little wonder Dr David King, coordinator of the watchdog group, Human Genetics Alert, has said ‘We find Richard Lynn’s claims that some human beings are inherently superior to others repugnant’.The same thought applies to women with blond hair, to people with darker skin, or to those of us with religious belief.
I don’t much care if people think I’m thick because I believe in God. But what’s really nasty here – and it’s a part of a growing phenomenon – is the way religion is being used as a subtle code for race.
Belief in God is alive and well in Africa and in the Middle East and declining in western Europe. Writing about the intelligence of religious believers has, for some, become a roundabout way of commenting on the intelligence of those with darker skins whilst seeking to avoid the charge of racism. Religion is being used with a nod and a wink, cover for some rather dodgy and dangerous politics.
The debate between believers and nonbelievers … is not made any more civil by the addition of this unpleasant inflection. Which I why believers and unbelievers … ought to unite against this way of thinking about our differences. The only question worth debating is whether the claims of religious belief are true or not – or morally objectionable or not. And Richard Lynn’s research does nothing to help us here.
I do not believe for a moment that it is
racist to point out that, in those countries where religion dominates
the lives of its citizens – countries whose populations are mainly of a
darker hue – social, economic and technological progress is virtually at
a standstill.
This paralysis exists not because these
people are stupid, but because religion has served to crush innovation
and entrench primitive thinking. There can be no doubting that these
people have been stupefied by religion masquerading as knowledge.
The only cure for this boils down to proper
education, free of all religious influence.That the decline of
religious belief across developed nations in the 20th century led to
more intelligent populations is indisputable, and I have no doubt that,
if religion were to give way to better education in Africa and the
Muslim states, the same trend would be observed there.
Now let me draw your attention to in
interesting statistic. Twenty percent of the world’s population – that’s
two out of ten people – are Muslims. That’s a Muslim population of 1.4
billion people. But out of this huge population, only six Muslims have
ever won Nobel Prizes.
They were Anwar El-Sadat (1978, Peace);
Abdus Salam (1979, Physics), who, as a result of internal squabbles
within Islam in Pakistan never got the recognition he deserved in the
Muslim world; Najib Mahfooz (1988, Literature) and Yasser Arafat (1994,
Peace), whose prize led to the resignation of Norwegian, Kaare
Kristiansen, a member of the Nobel Committee. He protesed that the prize
was being awarded to a “terrorist.” The remaining winners were Ahmed
Zewail (1999, Chemistry) and Shirin Ebadi (2003, Peace).
The world’s Jewish population, on the other
hand, totals around 13-million. Yet out of this comparatively tiny
number, 165 Nobel Prizes have so far been awarded to Jews.
To suggest that this is the result of Jews
being more intelligent than Arabs would, of course, be racist. But to
conclude that Jews put a far higher value on a mainly secular education,
rather than on religious indoctrination, is certainly not. Nor is it
racist to point out that Asians in the UK from a Hindu background
perform far better in the academic sphere than those who are Muslims.
Again, an example of education triumphing over religion.
It should also be pointed out that, when
religion is allowed a foothold in areas in which it has no legitimate
place, the results can be extremely damaging, as the United States is
now starting to realise.
Chris Mooney’s concern about this trend prompted him to write The Republicans’ War on Science,
in which he reveals that science and scientists have less influence
with the federal Government than at any time since the Eisenhower
administration.
The book points out that, in the White House and Congress today, findings are reported in a politicised manner; spun or distorted to fit the speaker’s agenda; or, when they’re too inconvenient, ignored entirely.
On a broad array of issues – stem-cell research, climate change, missile defence, abstinence education, product safety, environmental regulation, and many others – the Bush administration’s positions fly in the face of overwhelming scientific consensus. Federal science agencies, once fiercely independent under both Republican and Democratic presidents, are increasingly staffed by political appointees and fringe theorists who know industry lobbyists and evangelical activists far better than they know the science.
This is not unique to the Bush administration, but it is largely a Republican phenomenon, born of a conservative dislike of environmental, health, and safety regulation, and at the extremes, of evolution and legalized abortion.
In his book Mooney ties together the
disparate strands of the attack on science into a compelling and
frightening account of the US Government’s increasing unwillingness to
distinguish between legitimate research and ideologically driven
pseudoscience.
It is the religionists (assisted by muddleheaded, pc-constrained liberals and leftists) who are quickest to equate anti-religious sentiments with racism, because they know that, by playing the race card, they can effectively stifle a debate they would rather not have because it is one they can never win.
It is the religionists (assisted by muddleheaded, pc-constrained liberals and leftists) who are quickest to equate anti-religious sentiments with racism, because they know that, by playing the race card, they can effectively stifle a debate they would rather not have because it is one they can never win.
Bangladesh is on the Way to Prosperous Future
Bangladesh faces tremendous challenges from climate change,
infrastructure, corruption and politics, said former Danish ambassador
Svend Olling.
“However, as I leave Bangladesh, I am more convinced than ever that Bangladesh is headed for a peaceful, democratic and prosperous future. As the past has proven, the challenges are no match for the resilient, ambitious, hardworking people of Bangladesh,” he said in an interview with The Daily Star.
Olling, who has been promoting relations between Denmark and Bangladesh on development, trade, global affairs for the past three years, tipped the shipbuilding industry for greater things.
“The shipbuilding industry has the potential to become a large contributor to the Bangladeshi economy. The global economic crisis has hit the country hard. Despite these challenges, the shipbuilders of Bangladesh have delivered some impressive results.”
More people are progressively becoming aware of the potential of the industry, he said.
“New companies are being established to produce, locally, components for building the ships, something that, until now, had to be imported from abroad.”
Regarding Denmark’s contribution to the industry, Olling said: “Through the years, Danish companies have been involved in many joint ventures aimed at giving Bangladesh access to the centuries of maritime expertise that Denmark has accumulated during our time as a maritime nation.”
Olling cited the case of Western Marine Design Studio, which is now capable of designing their own ships now, instead of relying on the blueprints of other shipyards from different countries.
“Having seen the ferry built by Western Marine that now sails people across Isefjorden as well as the 8 ‘ice’ class vessels they have delivered to Germany, I can say that they have attained a world-class shipbuilding standard.”
Olling, who will join the Trade Council on his return to Denmark, will be informing his countrymen of the “great potential” the sector holds, which will, perhaps, facilitate more joint ventures between the two nations.
Regarding the textile industry, he said: “During the year, the industry has suffered several tragedies that highlight the dark side of this industry, but this is not the whole story.”
The outgoing Danish ambassador said there are many garment factories that “care deeply” for their employees and provide them with a safe and healthy workplace and still manage to remain competitive.
Olling said the information technology sector, more than any other, is “the symbol of Bangladesh’s march towards becoming a middle-income country and the rapid improvement of the skills, education and technology available to the ordinary Bangladeshi”.
“As long as the Bangladeshi economy is growing, there will be an increasing demand for IT-services, which will ensure the growth of this sector,” he said, adding that Denmark has, through its B2B programme, supported more than 20 IT partnerships in Bangladesh.
“I see a bright future for this sector, and also within IT outsourcing.”
On a parting note, Olling said: “We have experienced three wonderful years in this great country. I will be forever grateful for the wonderful hospitality and cooperation extended to my family and me by all Bangladeshis, from the rickshaw puller to those holding the highest offices.”
Looking into above article, i am so happy. I rarely hear good and praisable things about my country and i thought sometimes that Bangladesh has no future at all. But i think i am always wrong. Bangladesh has much brighter future than i thought if wisely govern the country with lesser population, less corruption and religious violence.
“However, as I leave Bangladesh, I am more convinced than ever that Bangladesh is headed for a peaceful, democratic and prosperous future. As the past has proven, the challenges are no match for the resilient, ambitious, hardworking people of Bangladesh,” he said in an interview with The Daily Star.
Olling, who has been promoting relations between Denmark and Bangladesh on development, trade, global affairs for the past three years, tipped the shipbuilding industry for greater things.
“The shipbuilding industry has the potential to become a large contributor to the Bangladeshi economy. The global economic crisis has hit the country hard. Despite these challenges, the shipbuilders of Bangladesh have delivered some impressive results.”
More people are progressively becoming aware of the potential of the industry, he said.
“New companies are being established to produce, locally, components for building the ships, something that, until now, had to be imported from abroad.”
Regarding Denmark’s contribution to the industry, Olling said: “Through the years, Danish companies have been involved in many joint ventures aimed at giving Bangladesh access to the centuries of maritime expertise that Denmark has accumulated during our time as a maritime nation.”
Olling cited the case of Western Marine Design Studio, which is now capable of designing their own ships now, instead of relying on the blueprints of other shipyards from different countries.
“Having seen the ferry built by Western Marine that now sails people across Isefjorden as well as the 8 ‘ice’ class vessels they have delivered to Germany, I can say that they have attained a world-class shipbuilding standard.”
Olling, who will join the Trade Council on his return to Denmark, will be informing his countrymen of the “great potential” the sector holds, which will, perhaps, facilitate more joint ventures between the two nations.
Regarding the textile industry, he said: “During the year, the industry has suffered several tragedies that highlight the dark side of this industry, but this is not the whole story.”
The outgoing Danish ambassador said there are many garment factories that “care deeply” for their employees and provide them with a safe and healthy workplace and still manage to remain competitive.
Olling said the information technology sector, more than any other, is “the symbol of Bangladesh’s march towards becoming a middle-income country and the rapid improvement of the skills, education and technology available to the ordinary Bangladeshi”.
“As long as the Bangladeshi economy is growing, there will be an increasing demand for IT-services, which will ensure the growth of this sector,” he said, adding that Denmark has, through its B2B programme, supported more than 20 IT partnerships in Bangladesh.
“I see a bright future for this sector, and also within IT outsourcing.”
On a parting note, Olling said: “We have experienced three wonderful years in this great country. I will be forever grateful for the wonderful hospitality and cooperation extended to my family and me by all Bangladeshis, from the rickshaw puller to those holding the highest offices.”
Looking into above article, i am so happy. I rarely hear good and praisable things about my country and i thought sometimes that Bangladesh has no future at all. But i think i am always wrong. Bangladesh has much brighter future than i thought if wisely govern the country with lesser population, less corruption and religious violence.
Monday, August 12, 2013
Keep Healthy and Be Happy
Avoid fad diets like the plague; to get all the nutrition the human body
needs, eat carbs, protein, and fat (yes, even fat!) at every meal.
By doing so, you'll have a healthy heart, healthy brain, and a fully
functional immune system. Eating highly varied foods will also help
insure you get all the vitamins, minerals, oils, and enzymes your body
craves.
- To lose weight, you must burn more calories than you consume. That’s all there is to it. With the exception of sweets, eliminating one area of the food pyramid from your diet won’t replace the need to simply consume fewer calories.
- Avoid skipping meals, which is hard on the body. Some people even recommend eating up to 6 mini meals a day instead of 3 large ones, which can sustain energy and steady blood-sugar levels; however, many people end up turning their “mini meals” into junk food sessions and end up consuming not just more calories, but emptier ones. Be honest with yourself before making this choice.
- If you want to work on portion control, eat low energy-density foods (i.e. more substance, fewer calories). Fruits and vegetables, for example, are packed with not only vitamins and minerals, but also water and fiber, making them take longer to digest and keeping you full longer.
- Drink more water. This helps flush metabolic wastes to keep your metabolism in top shape. Water can also help you feel fuller, so drink at least a half-gallon (2 liters) of water every day (or more if you are active or live in a hot climate).
- Sleep well every night. Adults should get 7 to 9 hours daily, whereas school-aged children should get 10 to 11.
One of the absolute most important ways of improving the quality of
your sleep is to do it in complete darkness, as even small amounts of
light interfere with the chemicals that tell your body to rest.
If you can’t eliminate the light in your room, wear an eye mask.
Another one of the best ways to improve your sleep is to exercise.
- Sleeping is also a good way to prevent overeating. A study by The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition demonstrated that men who only slept for 4 hours consumed, on average, 500 more calories than they did after sleeping for 8.
- 3 Stick to an exercise regimen. If you don’t want to pay for a gym membership, try strength-training at home. The muscle you develop will help increase your metabolism: the bodies of muscular people burn more calories even while they’re at rest. To keep your heart in shape, do cardio. One particularly effective way to improve your cardiovascular health is to do interval training, which means alternating between low- and high-intensity activity. This has been shown to be a quick and extremely effective way to improve heart health and endurance. (Anyone over the age of 60 or who has heart disease, high blood pressure, or arthritis should consult a doctor before attempting interval training.)
- 4 Pursue your passions. No, not everyone can make a living playing sold-out concerts, traveling around the world trying new foods, or churning out bestselling fantasy novels, but that doesn’t mean you should give up on your dreams. Set some time aside to practice an instrument, do art, take photos, build models, weld, bake gourmet cakes, or whatever else enriches your free time. If you want to learn something new, take an evening or weekend class. If you can’t think of anything interesting off the top of your head, take the time to find a hobby.
- If you’re convinced that there isn’t enough time in the day to pursue any outside activities, try to cut back on a time-wasting activity like channel-surfing or hitting refresh on Facebook.
- 5 Limit your vices. Quit smoking, beat drug addiction, and, if necessary, stop drinking. Avoid other risky behaviors like speeding, fighting, unsafe sex, and excessive thrill-seeking.
- 6 Improve your psychological health. Prioritize developing meaningful relationships above simply being social. Practice self-disclosure, which means sharing things that are unique to you (your thoughts, fears, favorite movies and music, pet peeves, etc.) with those you trust. This has been shown to be of immense importance to not only forging deeper interpersonal connections, but also feeling validated emotionally.
- Learn how to have a healthy relationship. If you think you’re in a manipulative or controlling relationship, get out of it. It’s better to stand strong on your own than be held back by a so-called companion.
- Learn how to understand your emotions so that you can truly know yourself.
- Learn how to cope with emotional pain and, if necessary, deal with emotional abuse.
- Enrich your sex life. In addition to the psychological benefits of a healthy sex life such as reduced depression, this has been shown to have a wide variety of health advantages including increased immunity, decreased pain, and better fitness. Better still, it’s something you can do with or without a partner. If you do have a partner or partners, be sure to practice safe sex.
- 7 Keep your mind limber. Read more, solve puzzles, play games of strategy, learn to play an instrument, improve your memory and never stop learning, even if you feel like you’re “past your prime.” In addition to the fact that staying mentally active is emotionally rewarding, studies have shown that there is a correlation between mentally-challenging activities and a decreased risk of Alzheimer's.
- 8 Be hygienic. Wash your hands thoroughly after coming into contact with a sick person, using the bathroom, or anything else that could make you sick. (If you’re not sure what “thoroughly” entails, sing Happy Birthday to You in your head as you scrub.) In addition to flossing regularly, brush your teeth and tongue at least twice daily to limit plaque and harmful bacteria.
- 9 Make little lifestyle changes. Don’t tire yourself out by making large gestures toward health without addressing the small stuff. Instead of running yourself ragged at the gym three days a week, park farther away from the store, walk the dog more often, take the stairs instead of the elevator, or weed your garden; instead of attacking your veggies and dip distractedly in front of the computer or TV, set time aside to slowly enjoy each meal and prevent mindless overeating.[4] Get your new habits to stick by tackling them at the grass-roots level.
- 10 Remember to do everything in moderation – including moderation. Turning each aspect of your life into something you need to check off a list can not only make you feel trapped, but also make you more likely fall (or possibly even throw yourself) off the wagon. Allowing yourself the occasional indulgence to blow off steam will make you much more satisfied with your new lifestyle choices.
- 11 Know that friends play an important role. Many studies show that people with a wide range of social contacts get sick less than those who don't. Friends make you laugh, and laughing is also an important part of health.
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Wisdom
Wisdom is the power of seeing things as
they truly are, and how to act rightly when the problems of come before
us. The seeds of wisdom lie latent in us, and when our hearts are warm
with love they grow into their powers.
When a man has stilled the raging
torrents of greed, hatred and ignorance, he becomes conscientious, full
of sympathy, and he is anxious for the welfare of all living beings;
thus he observes steadily the moral precepts. It is when his mind
becomes pure and his heart is soft by being equipped with this morality
and mental development that the sublime seed, wisdom, grows. Knowledge
of the properties of the magnetic needle enables the mariner to see the
right direction in mid-ocean on the darkest night when no stars are
visible.n just the same way, wisdom enables a man to see things as they truly are, and to perceive the right way to real peace and happiness, Nibbana.
Wisdom, or insight (Pan̂n̂a) enables man to overcome all the defilement completely. As a tree which is destroyed by the root will never grow, even so the defilement.
which are annihilated by wisdom, will never rise again.
One knows only what one has experienced,
not just read about or thought about but actually experienced,
otherwise one’s knowledge is only theoretical.
Only by continuous practice can
realization, the understanding of things as they really are, not as we
ordinarily view them, be achieved.
This Article was taken from (“www.wbsysl.org”)
Marma People of Bangladesh
The Marma, also used to be known as Magh or Mog, is an Arakanese tribe inhabiting the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh.
Marma people used to live in many parts of Bangladesh in the past. They even used to live in the during the Mughal Empire who took control of Bangladesh around 15th - 18th century. They were not strong enough to fight back Mughal empire who were also got supported by British and later pushed back into the region of Chittagong. Now most of them live in in the area of three hill districts of Bangladesh, Rangamati, Khagrachari and Bandarban. As of 2001, their population stood at 150,000. They follow Theravada Buddhism. They are ethnically,
culturally, linguistically different from Chakma, Tripura and other
ethnic groups in Bangladesh. Few of Marma people also could be found in India who are known as Mog. They Marma word has derived from the
nation Burma. According to them historically they were the part of Burma
emperor, but after the political border drawn by the British Rulers,
they were in some part of Bangladesh. They are naturally kind, innocent and peace loving people. The culture and tradition are not so much different from Myanmar. 
Who Speaks A Lot Is Not Necessarily Wise
Who Speaks A Lot Is Not Necessarily Wise:
“A person cannot be described as learned simply because he speaks quite a lot. He who is liberated and secure, non-hating and fearless is described as a learned person.”
~ The Buddha. (Dhammapada, Verse 258)
“A person cannot be described as learned simply because he speaks quite a lot. He who is liberated and secure, non-hating and fearless is described as a learned person.”
~ The Buddha. (Dhammapada, Verse 258)
A Heart Touching Story of Friendship
One day, when I was a freshman in high school,
I saw a kid from my class walking home from school. His name was Kyle.
It looked like he was carrying all of his books, and I thought to
myself, “Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must
really be a nerd.”
I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on. As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran right up to him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt. His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him.
Then he looked up, and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes. My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him and as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye. As I handed him his glasses, I said, “Those guys are jerks. They really should get a life.”
He looked at me and said, “Hey thanks!” There was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude. I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before. He said he had gone to private school before now. I would have never hung out with a private school kid before. We talked all the way home, and I carried his books.
He turned out to be a pretty cool kid. I asked him if he wanted to play football on Saturday with me and my friends. He said yes. We hung all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him. Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again. I stopped him and said, “Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!”
He just laughed and handed me half the books. Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends. When we were seniors, began to think about college. Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I was going to Duke.
I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem. He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship. Kyle was valedictorian of our class and I teased him all the time about being a nerd. He had to prepare a speech for graduation. I was so glad it wasn’t me having to get up there and speak.
On Graduation Day, I saw Kyle. He looked great. He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school. He filled out and actually looked good in glasses. He had more dates than me and all the girls loved him. Boy, sometimes I was jealous. Today was one of those days.
I could see that he was nervous about his speech. So, I smacked him on the back and said, “Hey, big guy, you’ll be great!” He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one), and smiled. “Thanks,” he said.
As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began.
“Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach… but mostly your friends. I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them. I am going to tell you a story.”
I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met . He had planned to kill himself over the weekend. He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker, so his Mom wouldn’t have to do it later, and was carrying his stuff home. He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.
“Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable.” I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment. I saw his Mom and Dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile. Not until that moment did I realize its depth.
Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture you can change a person’s life. For better or for worse. God puts us all in each other’s lives to impact one another in some way. Look for God in others.
“Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.”
I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on. As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran right up to him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt. His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him.
Then he looked up, and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes. My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him and as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye. As I handed him his glasses, I said, “Those guys are jerks. They really should get a life.”
He looked at me and said, “Hey thanks!” There was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude. I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before. He said he had gone to private school before now. I would have never hung out with a private school kid before. We talked all the way home, and I carried his books.
He turned out to be a pretty cool kid. I asked him if he wanted to play football on Saturday with me and my friends. He said yes. We hung all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him. Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again. I stopped him and said, “Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!”
He just laughed and handed me half the books. Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends. When we were seniors, began to think about college. Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I was going to Duke.
I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem. He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship. Kyle was valedictorian of our class and I teased him all the time about being a nerd. He had to prepare a speech for graduation. I was so glad it wasn’t me having to get up there and speak.
On Graduation Day, I saw Kyle. He looked great. He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school. He filled out and actually looked good in glasses. He had more dates than me and all the girls loved him. Boy, sometimes I was jealous. Today was one of those days.
I could see that he was nervous about his speech. So, I smacked him on the back and said, “Hey, big guy, you’ll be great!” He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one), and smiled. “Thanks,” he said.
As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began.
“Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach… but mostly your friends. I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them. I am going to tell you a story.”
I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met . He had planned to kill himself over the weekend. He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker, so his Mom wouldn’t have to do it later, and was carrying his stuff home. He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.
“Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable.” I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment. I saw his Mom and Dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile. Not until that moment did I realize its depth.
Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture you can change a person’s life. For better or for worse. God puts us all in each other’s lives to impact one another in some way. Look for God in others.
“Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.”
20 Signs Of True Love
1) Your heart beats faster when you hear their name
2) Your body melts when you are in their arms
3) They are the only one that you want to be with
4) No one else is even worth looking at
5) You would walk 3 miles in the snow just to see them
6) You will do everything in your power to make them happy
7) When someone asks for your number, you say "you can call
my boy/girl friend and get it from them
Cool When every romantic thing makes you think of them
9) When you cry when you won't see each other for a while
10) You go to sleep thinking about them
11) You wake up thinking about them
12) You want to spend every moment with them
13) You don't mind if all they want to do is cuddle
14) Silence doesn't bother you
15) They are not only your lover, but also your best friend
16) You can tell them anything
17) You can go to the movies and actually WATCH the movie
1Cool They are always there for you
19) They are there when times are rough
20) When you say, "I LOVE YOU" and mean it
2) Your body melts when you are in their arms
3) They are the only one that you want to be with
4) No one else is even worth looking at
5) You would walk 3 miles in the snow just to see them
6) You will do everything in your power to make them happy
7) When someone asks for your number, you say "you can call
my boy/girl friend and get it from them
Cool When every romantic thing makes you think of them
9) When you cry when you won't see each other for a while
10) You go to sleep thinking about them
11) You wake up thinking about them
12) You want to spend every moment with them
13) You don't mind if all they want to do is cuddle
14) Silence doesn't bother you
15) They are not only your lover, but also your best friend
16) You can tell them anything
17) You can go to the movies and actually WATCH the movie
1Cool They are always there for you
19) They are there when times are rough
20) When you say, "I LOVE YOU" and mean it
Time Management
I have been a bit lazy although things to do in my hands. I just spent days and when i looked back, i did not know how the time flew away from my hands. Then i try to find something from internet to inspire myself and then i found this and want to share with you.
Time Management
No matter how you slice it, there are only 24 hours in a day. Good time-management requires:
Time Management
No matter how you slice it, there are only 24 hours in a day. Good time-management requires:
- Note taking on more than you can handle.
- Reasonably estimating the time required to perform each of the tasks at hand.
- Actually doing what needs to be done.
- A minute now is as precious as a minute later. You can't put time back on the clock.
- If you're not ahead of schedule, then you're behind schedule. Because, if you try to remain right on schedule, then any mishap or misjudgment will cause you to fall behind---perhaps right at the deadline, when no recovery is possible.
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