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[November 09, 2012]
IntelliResponse Enhances Virtual Agent Mobile Offering
Toronto, Ontario, Nov 09, 2012 (PRWeb.com via COMTEX) -- IntelliResponse Systems, the leading provider of virtual agent technology solutions that drive profitable online conversations, today announced the addition of IntelliVoice to the mobile capabilities of its IntelliResponse Virtual Agent web self-service solution. With IntelliVoice, the company adds advanced voice activated answers functionality to its existing mobile solution and once again extends its leadership position in the delivery of innovative Virtual Agent and online self-service solutions for the enterprise.
With its patented, one right answer approach, the IntelliResponse Virtual Agent flagship solution delivers a single, accurate, and approved answer through the customer's service channel of choice, including mobile devices.
"We have always taken a leadership role in empowering the enterprise adoption of multi-channel self-service," said David Lloyd, CEO of IntelliResponse. "In fact, IntelliVoice was available in our demo environment three years ago, but at the time we did not see market demand for the capability. These latest enhancements are a reflection of the critical role mobile is now playing in the rise of both online self-service and virtual agents." Using IntelliResponse Virtual Agents for Mobile, customers can ask questions on any mobile device in the very same manner that they would on the website. The single, accurate answer is delivered in an easy-to-read mobile-optimized screen. The experience is simple and satisfying for the customer, without excessive scrolling that is cumbersome on smaller screens.
Building on the success of its existing mobile capabilities, these latest voice recognition enhancements provide users with even more interaction methods, while reducing customer effort and increasing the accuracy of their answers.
"From a simple and intuitive interface on their mobile device, users simply ask their question in natural conversational style such as 'how do I increase my Visa credit limit '," explains Paul Smith, Vice President, Products & Services at IntelliResponse. "Using industry standard voice recognition technology, the spoken question is converted to text, matched to the one right answer in the IntelliResponse knowledgebase, and the answer is delivered back to the user in a voice of their choice. The answer is also delivered to the user by text so they have a written record to review." Additionally, if the user wishes to escalate their question to a live agent, this can also be accomplished with a simple voice command such as "please connect me to a live agent".
With the addition of IntelliVoice to IntelliResponse Virtual Agents for Mobile, companies and their customers gain several benefits including: More options to interact with an organization's self-service channels as customers are increasingly using voice as a preferred method.
Reduced customer effort and time to get answers to their questions.
Decrease in personal risk when users are mobile by not requiring a user to type their questions (while driving, biking, or walking).
Increased accuracy of answers since users are able to ask a complete clear question, as opposed to typing partial or inaccurate questions on mobile keyboards.
IntelliResponse Virtual Agent for Mobile includes the same features available in the web deployment, and can currently be deployed as a native iPhone and Android Application.
Product Availability IntelliVoice is in production and generally available to all IntelliResponse customers with an IntelliResponse Virtual Agent mobile deployment.
Watch the Video: IntelliResponse Virtual Agent for Mobile To learn more about IntelliResponse Virtual Agent for Mobile, watch the video.
Follow IntelliResponse on Twitter @IntelliResponse and on Facebook at
About IntelliResponse Systems IntelliResponse is the leading provider of virtual agent technology solutions for the enterprise. We create profitable online conversations for our private and public sector customers around the world.
With our patented Enterprise Virtual Agent (EVA) solutions, corporate websites, mobile applications, social media channels and agent desktops can all be transformed by an engaging virtual concierge, empowering customers to ask questions using natural, conversational language and delivering an effective and engaging online experience.
With more than 360 live customer-facing implementations answering 100 million+ questions annually, IntelliResponse is the gold standard in first line customer experience management.
For more information about IntelliResponse, visit
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
I am FF and my milk just came in yesterday. I'm keeping the girls wrapped tight with ace bandages and a sports bra, but they are killing me (which I expected) ! How long does it normally take to dry up? I hope it's over soon, this is NOT fun lol!!!
Average dry-up time?
Sara �
Mom to Emily Jane(10) and Evan Joseph (15 mos)
Comments (7)
mine only took a couple days... i used ice packs and cabbage and it worked wonders for me!!!!!!!! :) i would say probably by 4 or 5 days it was better..
DD April 2009, Married May 2010 DD June 2013
I only took a couple of days as well..I bought cabbage, but ended up using nothing. It didn't even hurt! I know that's a rare exception lol...
Amber, Selah's mommy since 4/14/09!
Like Mother, Like Daughter
mine are dried up now, and my milk came in on Friday of last week, so one week for me...
?Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity?
~Amber~ banana mommy to my three monkeys DS ~9/28/05~ DD ~1/29/07~ and DD2 ~4/26/09~
I ask not for lighter burdens but for broader shoulders
ouch i just went thru this last month ladies...i feel your pain!! I think mine took a few days also i just kept them tight (like you are doing) and make sure not to stimulate them at all....in the shower make sure you keep your back to the pressure of the water...
good luck, the pain will end soon :-)
My LO is 16 days old and I am still VERY full of milk! I am not huting though, can't even tell...
Learn more
Look how far your child has come.
Review your child's growth milestones.
Read about 7 years 1 month : Week 2.
Your growing child
Your 7-year-old: Gender stereotypes
Your 7-year-old: Mastering math
Your 7-year-old: Encouraging curiosity
Your 7-year-old: Being a good sport
Your 7-year-old: Handling sick days
Learn more
What's next for your growing child?
Get a glimpse of what's to come.
Read about 7 years 3 months.


text:
|Name: _________________________
|Period: ___________________
This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. If God is black, what is Luther's conclusion about white men?
(a) they are inferior to the black nation.
(b) they are devils created by Satan.
(c) they are men without souls.
(d) they are put on earth to test real believers.
2. What does Luther tell Malcolm before he leaves the prison?
(a) when you come out, come straight to me.
(b) I'll get you a better lawyer.
(c) write me a letter sometime.
(d) keep your nose clean.
3. What is disturbing to the policemen at the station the night Hinton was beaten?
(a) the fire in Malcolm's eyes.
(b) the newspaper reporters gathered there.
(c) the noise coming from outside.
(d) the large, silent crowd outside the station.
4. Who lights Malcolm's cigarette when his hand is bandaged?
(a) a prison guard.
(b) Daniel.
(c) Frank.
(d) Luther.
5. Who are Malcolm and the others looking for at the police station?
(a) a black friend who was only an innocent bystander.
(b) Sidney who was taken into custody.
(c) the two black men who were fighting on the street.
(d) Minister Hinton who was beaten by the police.
6. To whom does Luther write about Malcolm?
(a) the preseident.
(b) the governor.
(c) Malcolm's mother.
(d) the leader.
7. When does Lorraine say she became a member of the Movement?
(a) right after Luther came home.
(b) soon after sydney was born.
(c) when Luther went to prison.
(d) when she was sixteen-years-old.
8. What does Luther have to say about what Malcolm does to his hair?
(a) that he won't have money to do it in prison.
(b) that he is ashamed of who he is.
(c) that he looks really nice.
(d) that he's fooling himself.
9. What is the symbolism of the new glasses and a pawnshop watch lying on a towel?
(a) it symbolizes clean thought and clear vision.
(b) it symbolizes time and infinity.
(c) it symbolizes Malcolm's release from prison.
(d) it symbolizes good versus evil.
10. Why does Laura sound grateful for the subway money?
(a) so she doesn't have to turn another trick.
(b) so her old man won't beat her when she gets home.
(c) so she can get home before her old man.
(d) so she doesn't have to beg on the streets.
11. How does Laura say Malcolm could have saved her once?
(a) by marrying her.
(b) by keeping her away from Daniel.
(c) by showing her a better way.
(d) by helping her finish school.
12. What does Luther tell Malcolm about using his fists?
(a) we have to learn how to look innocent.
(b) we have to practice boxing.
(c) we have to fight only white inmates.
(d) we have to learn how to use our heads.
13. What does Sydney say about black women in a Muslim household?
(a) they are subservient.
(b) they rule the roost.
(c) they are like queens.
(d) they are equal to men.
14. What does Laura say she did for Daniel?
(a) turned tricks.
(b) nursed him through sickness.
(c) cooked his meals.
(d) bought drugs for him.
15. At the police station the night Hinton is beaten, what is the symbolism of the Muslim ministers?
(a) they symbolize a new age.
(b) they symbolize the antithesis of the Ku Klux Klan.
(c) they symbolize new power.
(d) they symbolize the ability to hold the mob back.
Short Answer Questions
1. What does Laura say ministers always are when they hear about real life?
2. What is Hinton's condition in the jail?
3. What is the symbolism of the boy entering the large white hotel?
4. What does Luther tell Malcolm about Allah?
5. Who is Sidney?
This section contains 616 words
(approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page)


text:
Today, like a huge number of people, I am reeling from the result of the referendum whereby the UK will leave the EU. This will have huge repercussions far beyond the shores of the island on which I live. Millions of people will be affected, including, of course, some of our Order. some of the effects are to come during the next weeks and months, although we have seen resignations and financial institutions moving their staff, the stock market hit already. There will be much uncertainty in the future, including the possible breaking up of the UK itself.
I have been dismayed, during the last few weeks, over the quality and content of the rhetoric used. Lies, half-truths, blaming, finger pointing, promises without substance, threats.
What did the Buddha say about speech?
Right Speech
samma vaca
The definition
"And what is right speech? Abstaining from lying, from divisive speech, from abusive speech, & from idle chatter: This is called right speech."
Five keys to right speech
"Monks, a statement endowed with five factors is well-spoken, not ill-spoken. It is blameless & unfaulted by knowledgeable people. Which five?
"It is spoken at the right time. It is spoken in truth. It is spoken affectionately. It is spoken beneficially. It is spoken with a mind of good-will."
The danger in lying
"For the person who transgresses in one thing, I tell you, there is one evil deed that is not to be done. Which one thing? This: telling a deliberate lie."
The person who lies,
who transgress in this one thing,
transcending concern for the world beyond:
there's no evil
he might not do.
— Iti 25
Speak only words that do no harm
"One should speak only that word by which one would not torment oneself nor harm others. That word is indeed well spoken.
"One should speak only pleasant words, words which are acceptable (to others). What one speaks without bringing evils to others is pleasant."
— Thag 21
Self-purification through well-chosen speech
"And how is one made pure in four ways by verbal action?
"There is the case where a certain person, abandoning false speech, abstains from false speech. When he has been called to a town meeting, a group meeting, a gathering of his relatives, his guild, or of the royalty, if he is asked as a witness, 'Come & tell, good man, what you know': If he doesn't know, he says, 'I don't know.' If he does know, he says, 'I know.' If he hasn't seen, he says, 'I haven't seen.' If he has seen, he says, 'I have seen.' Thus he doesn't consciously tell a lie for his own sake, for the sake of another, or for the sake of any reward. Abandoning false speech, he abstains from false speech. He speaks the truth, holds to the truth, is firm, reliable, no deceiver of the world."
So much of what we have heard and read about during the campaign has been divisive, abusive, bigoted and against all of the principles the Buddha taught. Was it, as it was portrayed, to educate and benefit the electorate? How much of it was manipulative? How much of it was to divert attention from the real sources of dissatisfaction? How much of it was to serve the aspirations of the politicians in question? I cannot see into their hearts, it's true.
Words have led us into this uncertain situation. And words, slogans, aped by others, have led to the death of a young woman of principle. It was following the shooting and stabbing of Jo Cox, herself a fearless defender of the defenceless, in the face of threats she was receiving, that we saw a different rhetoric.
As Dharmavidya wrote in The Feeling Buddha:
"Buddha saw the potential of communication…..The purpose was to convey the message of peace in the world through peace in the heart."
The reaction, as Jo was celebrated in cities around the world on what would have been her 42nd birthday, showed how people were inspired by her words, her fearless championing of those who needed such support, with positivity and joy and determination. She was someone with a firm and positive purpose in life. And her words lit up and inspired so many.
So, on a day that has come from much darkness, let us not lose sight of the light that words can engender.
Faith evidently plays a significant part in psychotherapy. Whatever school one follows, the 'therapeutic alliance' is important. In some forms of therapy it is virtully the be-al-and-end-all of the work. Such an alliance rests upon the faith that the client has in the therapist and this substantially reflects the faith the the therapist has in the client. In fact, therapy substantially consists in a relationship in which the therapist has faith in the client, often in ways and to a degree that the client himself does not have.
When we say 'has faith in the client' we are referring to the client in his life. A person is always situated. All the ordinary aspects of life are conditional. In practice, therefore, this means that the faith that the therapist has in the client is a faith that the client can cope with the circumstances that are arising for him, no matter how extreme of grievous they may be. This is what is sometimes called 'unconditional positive regard'. In order for this faith to have credibility, the therapist must enter into the life of the client to such an extent that she has an easy familiarity with and feeling for the 'world' of the client. In effect, therefore, the work is quite object related. The therapist 'stands alongside the client' as the client goes forth into his life.
However, from a spiritual point of view it is worth distinguishing between ordinary circumstance and eternal things. When we talk of anshin we are not just talking about ordinary confidence. We are talking about a faith that transcends the ordinary. In reality, only such a faith can really be 'unconditional'. In practice, ordinary human beings such as ourselves are not totally unconditional. However, if we life a spiritual life we do have confidence in something beyond, something that, perhaps, remains mysterious to us, but, nonetheless, we regard as ultimately, not merely circumstantially, reliable. This is what is called taking refuge.
So it is because the therapist takes refuge that she is able to provide unconditional support. This does not mean that she will be perfect in every response or accomplish some amazing ideal. It means, rather, that there is something deep within the meeting that cannot be explained in ordinary ways.
These two levels refer to what in Buddhism is sometimes called 'the two truths' which are 'relative truth' and 'absolute truth'. This is not really a philosophical notion, it is more an experience. The two levels do interact. It is her faith in the transcendent refuge that enables the therapist to let go to a sufficient degree and really enter into the client's 'relative world" and it is because she can and does do so that the client subliminally picks up that there is something more than just ordinary 'relative' confidence operating here. In the best case this results in the client also finding a refuge that transcends ordinary life circumstance. When this happens, therapy and spirituality merge. In lesser cases, the therapist's faith in the holding power of refuge is sufficient to give the client ordinary confidence so that he goes through whatever life trial it is in a way that brings him to growth and constructive change rather than defeat.
In either case, the client emerges with more faith than he had before. He might or might not have words for this, might or might not have a spiritual practice of his own. If he does, then he will have a vocabulary for talking about such things. However, even if he does not, still the increase in faith operating in his life will be an asset that will benefit him in many ways, not just in the matter discussed in therapy, but in all dimensions of life.
Note: I have referred to the therapist as 'she' and the client as 'he' for simplicity and clarity, but the principles apply whatever the gender of each party.
We might ask, how is faith to be protected? Another way to ask the same question is to ask, what does faith want? If we want something to be big and strong, we should feed it the right food. The right food for anshin is what are called the Four Sukhas. The word sukha means bliss. We have already looked at how faith is connected with innocence and simplicity. The Four Sukhas carry this idea further. The word sukha also occurs in the word Sukhavati which is the Indian word for the Pure Land of Buddha - the sukha land.
Four Sukhas
The first sukha is renunciation. This is something that faith wants. Faith is, in many respects, the opposite of compulsiveness. When we do not have faith we cling to things. It might be some addictive behaviour or it might be possessions or status or other things that feed the ego. Either we feed faith or we feed the ego. Dogen, in one of his talks, says that practitioners of the way do not treasure possessions or rank or sensual indulgence, they just treasure time. That is a profound observation. When we are caught in compulsivity, time starts to blur. The spiritual practitioner "does not waste time" as it says in the Most Excellent Mirror Samsdhi. So renunciation is clearing a space where our time can be totally experienced and we do not miss a moment of our life.
The second sukha is seclusion. Faith likes solitude. When there is opportunity the practitioner likes to retreat. This does not mean that he or she does necessarily spend a lot of time alone - she might or might not - but she or he is not clinging to people. The spiritual teacher is able to give disciples a lot of space because he has no particular interest in controlling them. Each has their own life. The teacher helps, but much of that help consists in helping the person to find their own space. So faith frees one from co-dependency. This also means that the person of faith can be decisive. This is another face of innocence. When one's motive in in accordance with Heaven there is nothing to fear.
The third sukha is peace. Faith loves peace. Faith means not being at war, either with oneself or with others. A person of faith does not stir up trouble, does not add energy to conflict. This does not mean, however, that he or she is a wimp. Peace requires active care. As was said in an earlier teaching in this series, we should work at peace with the same commitment and energy as people work at war. My mother would say that the war years were the best years of her life. She meant that it was a time when people naturally and willingly co-operated and supported one another, there was great goodwill and friendliness, and people were united. Of course, it was for a destructive purpose. The ideal is to have those same qualities for a constructive one.
The fourth sukha is bodhi - awakening. Faith loves to be awakened, loves to discover. The idea that faith is a dogmatic attachment to fixed beliefs and a refusal to look at evidence is not at all what is meant by faith in Buddhism. Actually it takes faith to be open enough to look at ideas that challenge one's pre-established position. It takes faith to doubt. Dogmatism and clinging to fixed positions is more a symptom of fear than of real faith. The person of settled faith take things in their stride and discovering that one has been wrong about something is always helpful - how else can one learn, grow and improve? When once we are awakened to faith, we go on being awakened by all the miscellaneous circumstances of life that we then run into. The person of faith has the faith to be willing to take risks with their life. It is for this reason that they do not fear finding things out that shatter their previous world. They have confidence that the newly emerging world will also be fine.
Back to the Forest
The Buddha wanted that we renounce the things that tie us down. However, we no longer live in a society in which one can simply go to the forest and live off the fruit of the land. Society has become immensely more complex and there is no free space left. Therefore, we have to create little pure lands where such a life can be lived.
Eleusis is a forest retreat. When I was young and grown-ups asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up I would tell them that I wanted to be an eccentric and live in a wood. This would make them laugh. However, my dream has come true.
One is only safe in company if one is completely content being alone.
One can only safely say yes, if one would be completely happy to say no.
One can only live fully if one would be quite content to die.
One can only handle being in authority when one knows how to serve.
Completely contentment means to be without hankering. Loneliness, for instance, is a hankering for company whereas a person who is free is happy in solitude. A person who has no hankering for possessions can be trusted with things. A person who has no hankering for position can be trusted with authority. A person who has no hankering for particular states can be at peace in his mind.
I asked the I Ching to tell me the way to end war and achieve peace. The answer came as hexagram 25. There were no moving lines, so this was a quite definite and timeless response from the oracle.
Hexagram 25 is Wu Wang which means Innocence. It consists of the trigrams ch'ien above and chen below. Ch'ien is 'heaven' and 'chen' is action. So innocence is when action is under the direction of heaven. Then one is innocent.
The oracle presents this as a supremely important virtue - supreme success! Great good fortune comes from persevering in it. To act innocently means to have no ulterior mercenary or selfish interest, but simply to do what is right for its own sake. Innocence and the way of heaven - these are things we can have settled faith in. In fact, they are virtually synonymous with such faith. Innocence is the secret of the peaceful heart.
Sometimes, people ask how they can know what is the right thing, but this is slightly to miss the point. It is not that there is just one thing that is the rightest thing of all. There are always many right things. Everything that we do that conduces to the creation of good conditions is a right thing. Such actions are in accord with Wu Wang. They are under the protection of Heaven.
ANSHIN RETREAT 28 June to 2 July
What kind of conditions are good? Ones that make it more possible for people to live innocently. In this world it is impossible to be completely innocent in the sense of never doing harm. The world is not made that way. So the innocence intended here is really purity of heart. Even the person with the purest heart will be implicated in some of the harm that happens in the world. There is no escape from that. However, in the person of pure heart, this circumstance is a foundation for compassion. We are all in this boat together.
Nonetheless, it is possible to advance conditions in the direction of support for innocence. When there is trust and goodwill between people, they naturally revert to a more innocent state. This is not to say that the fundamental nature of people is all good, but rather that it can go either way - many ways - according to conditions. By establishing trustworthy conditions we not only act well, we also help others to do so.
When we establish a spiritual community this is what we are doing. We are trying to make it possible for people to live closer to this ideal of wu wang. If we have a settled faith in doing so, then we shall ourselves be following the Way of Heaven.
Here at La Ville au /roi (Eleusis) we have a bit of a head start in this matter. We are surrounded by natural beauty. Not only that, but we are well of the beaten track. We saw in the last teaching that places of great beauty can sometimes be the scenes of the most terrible conflict. It is best, therefore, not to boast too much about this good fortune. Take delight in being unregarded. All the great sages have pointed out the danger of attracting envy. This is a good example of the matter we are talking about. If one provokes envy in others, that is not setting up conditions for innocence.
So we can rejoice in our good fortune and also in the good fortunes of others, but do so discretely. Anshin is like that. It is not showy. It does not proclaim itself. It just gets on, completes simple duties, and acts naturally.
DT Suzuki tells the story of the conversation between a vinaya master and a zen master. The former asks the latter how he disciplines himself in daily life. The zen master says that when he is hungry he eats and when he is tired he sleeps. The other comments that that is no different from anybody else, but the zen master does not agree. He points out that most people's heads are full of all kinds of turmoil so that they never just eat or just sleep. They do not do so innocently because their heart is not settled. I think that this story gives a good sense of anshin.
Hexagram 25 implies action. Innocence is not just passivity. Faith makes action possible. Most people under-achieve. This is because they dither. They dither because they lack faith and are full of uncertainty, at least, and often also guilt and fear. The innocent person, however, can just get on and do whatever it is that needs doing at the time.
It strikes me as demonstrative that the oracle produced a reply with no moving lines. It is an innocent reply - no doubt, no dithering. It is not going anywhere. Innocence is a peaceful heart, is settled faith, is an end to strife and a foundation of peace, and in delivering it in this way the oracle not only pronounces it, it also demonstrates it. How fortunate we are!
I expect that the following fictitious speculation will prove completely unfounded, but it is interesting to consider how impermanence can play out....
History Regarded from 2050
"Looking back on the early part of the 21st century, one can see that it was 2016 that was the turning point that has brought us to the position that we are in now at mid-century, when, rather as happened in the 20th century, everything that was taken for granted about the political order in the first decade or so of the century had been completely over turned by 1950.
Yes, 2016 was the year that Britain voted to leave the European Union and Donald Trump was elected president in the USA. Prior to these events, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, one of the most experienced statesmen on the planet at that time, had played his cards very close to his chest, but he had been, perhaps, one of the very few who saw the real possibilities in the unfolding drama.
The departure of English speaking influence from the EU left a situation where the complementarity between the technologically sophisticated and industrial Western part of Europe and the resource rich domains of the former Soviet empire became much more obvious. The election of a president intent on cutting back American military involvement was also leading to a fundamental rethink of NATO. An accommodation between Mr Putin and Mrs Merkel soon made it apparent that the balance of forces in the world had decisively shifted.
The American pull back was further accelerated by the emerging, yet predictable, difficulties with Mexico. The insistence by the new American regime that Mexico pay for the wall along the southern border of the USA was not ruinous to the Mexican exchequer, but it was felt as unbearably humiliating and pride can count for a lot more than money. Almost overnight, attitudes across Latin America hardened. For some decades, the Latin countries had been trying to detach themselves from their northern neighbour. Now the matter had a new earnestness. If they could not look to America for aid, then where? Mr Putin's phone lines were open.
These two parallel processes of rapprochement brought Russia into the centre of things as never before. The English (for we cannot really include the Scots in this) had voted for independence out of pride and xenophobia, little imagining that what used to be called the Iron Curtain would soon arrive at the English Channel. America too, had elected the Republican candidate on similar considerations and similarly soon found themselves in a parallel plight. The wall that was supposed to keep the Mexicans out, became the symbol of the new world division in which America now found itself very much on the back foot having lost most of its allies and being too much in debt to sustain dominance purely from its own resources. When, in 2022, the world stopped using dollars as the main support currency for international trade, the American economy suffered a massive cutback that made the financial crises of the beginning of the century seem trivial by comparison. England no longer had worries about an excess of immigrants - the country was now too poor to be a magnet any more.
England - Scotland having severed itself and rejoined the EU - soon found that it had, in effect, become an appendage of a declining USA which was not a happy situation, especially since America was increasingly concerned with its own 'enemy within' in the form of the millions of Latinos who had been needlessly alienated.
In a strange irony of history, the English speaking world now found itself as much surrounded by enemies as the soviets had done in the second half of the 20th century. When so surrounded one can hardly afford such luxuries as 'civil liberties' and soon the Greater European Alliance, that now reached from Vladivostok to Cape Horn, taking in Berlin and Paris on the way, felt itself increasingly to be the defender of all true human values in contrast to the repressive 'patriot' rump of the English speaking lands.
Eventually, the struggle of America to maintain its identity collapsed. The dominant language of the country was rapidly coming to be Spanish. The real political game had, in any case, by now become the tension between the GEA and the powers of East Asia. England was an irrelevance, about as significant as Austria (also once centre of a great empire) had been after 1918.
What a fantasy! Of course, none of this will ever happen. History is not predictable. I am, however, somewhat surprised that the debate over the EU referendum has contained virtually no reference to such geo-political considerations. After all, this is not really about money and immigrants, it is about the 'Great Game' as it used to be called.
There seems to be a naive assumption that all can be relied upon to go on just as before, rather as, in the second half of the 20th century, the 'Cold War' was taken for granted as the inevitable and perennial backdrop to all world events - until, suddenly, it wasn't. The referendum vote is being taken as though it does not really make much difference to the balance of power in the world, but this is surely a great mistake.
Is it inevitable that in a democracy the public cannot be made aware of the really big consequences of the actions they contemplate? Perhaps so. Politics is a game of cat and mouse and to tell the public is to also inform the mouse that one is trying to catch and so make success impossible. Democratic parties, therefore, must, for the most part, keep the public focussed on short term irrelevancies and not let them ever see the bigger picture until it is too late.
In the teaching yesterday we looked at the emoticon image for peace, being a dove with an olive sprig in its beak. In ancient Greek mythology, the dove and the olive branch were attributes of Eirene the goddess of peace. The olive was also associated with Athena who had given the olive tree as a gift to the city of Athens, though in her case the bird holding the branch was an owl. Because of the generosity of this gift, the gods made Athena the patroness of the city and that is how it acquired its name. Just as Athena's gift brought prosperity to Athens, so Eirene gives birth to Plautos the god of prosperity. Peace should allow us to prosper. The olive is a very ancient symbol of peace, probably going back to pre-grecian times.
When I was a child, I lived in Cyprus. Cyprus is one of only two countries in the world to have olive branches on its national flag (the other is Eritrea). The olive also appears on the countries shield seal.
I remember that there were olive trees all over the island. Like many of the most beautiful places in the world, Cyprus has seen many conflicts and the island is currently divided into the half that is part of the European Union and the half that is occupied by Turkey. In history it has been occupied by a great many political powers - Phoenicia, Greece, Rome, Venice, the Byzantines, the Crusaders, and so on. When I was there there was a struggle going on for independence from Britain.
ANSHIN RETREAT 28 June to 2 July
So Cyprus can be a place of beauty and peace and also one of war and conflict. Even more strongly than its connection with Eirene, the island is associated with Aphrodite, goddess of love. This seems apt. Love is also associated with both beauty and peace on the one hand and struggle and conflict on the other.
I think that if we are to be truly "impassioned for peace" as it says in the Buddha's teachings on 'right speech' then we have to also be realistic in our appreciation of the importance of war in human history and psychology. People do not go to war out of insanity nor mindlessly. They do so for reasons that seem powerful at the time and war does achieve some things. If we are to have true, deeply established and lasting peace in our communities, it will not be by simply suppressing conflict and ignoring these realities. It will be because we shall have found other less violent ways to achieve what war accomplishes.
One of the most obvious things that a war does is that in many respects it wipes the slate clean and permits a new start. The longer 'peace' continues, normally, the more rule-bound, timid and stultified society becomes. It is like the clutter that can accumulate in a house. Every so often one needs a spring clean and a ruthless throwing out session.
Another thing that war achieves is that it creates an arena for heroism in which people take great risks and stretch themselves to their limit. Long periods of 'peace' very commonly lead to a society becoming effete and 'safe' in a way that takes away most opportunity for anybody to stretch their spirit to its limit and find out what they are really capable of. History is full of examples of societies that became 'soft' and were then overrun by ruder barbarians from beyond the frontier whose more primitive society had more vigour.
What can we learn from this? That our peacefulness should not be mere quietism, nor should it be a disqualification of risk and adventure; that we need periodic opportunities to go back to basics and restart our lives from principle, rather than from the messy accumulation of comforts and conventions that have grown up over the years.
The Buddha was stridently opposed to 'accumulation' seeing it as a barrier to freedom. The ancient Greeks believed in adventure, struggle and heroism and their societies incorporated conflict and debate.
The spiritual life should be as demanding as warfare. We should be at least as vigorous in our commitment to peace as we are to the cause when war breaks out. Only theu will war become redundant. The trouble is that we tend only to stir ourselves when things have reached a bad state. Were we more alive earlier things would go differently.
Here at La Ville au Roi (Eleusis) we are much concerned with creating peaceful community. This is not just a matter of being peaceful individuals. I like to think that there is here scope for people to be fully alive and vibrant and to interact in ways that deploy their whole being, that we can avoid destructive conflict not by suppressing it, but by cultivating a sense of realism about life and human nature.
I do miss my island home. My memories of being there, for all that I lived through a period of violent insurgency, are sweet ones. The reason for this is that I was surrounded by love. The presence of Aphrodite was real for me then and I was formed by it. The presence of Eirene and Aphrodite and the other goddesses continue to be important realities for me to this day. People may find it difficult to understand the attraction of the pagan gods, but the fact is that they are much closer to us than the totally idealised figures that religion often presents us with.
The memory goes with me and inspires my efforts to make Eleusis a little heaven. I hope you will join me, or make some similar effort in a domain of your own so that when we meet we can share our stories and experiences and make a libation to the gods together.
Anshin is a Japanese word, often translated as 'settled faith' as I explained in Anshin Part One yesterday. It is a particularly important term in Pureland Buddhism. However, the theme is of universal implication and relevance.
Bringing Peace to the Heart
The term 'an' means peace and 'shin' means mind or heart. The Chinese character for shin is, in fact, derived from a drawing of a heart. So if we were to write anshin in modern emoticons, it could be...
This, perhaps, gives us a feel for what anshin means. Something that tenderly brings peace to the heart. In this simple idea lies one of the main themes of spiritual practice that transcends differences of creed or community.
Love is Both Culprit & Cure
This wish for peace of heart finds a rather mundane, utilitarian expression in the current craze for a certain kind of 'mindfulness'. People want 'relief from stress', stress being disturbance of the heart, and in our modern way we look for a technique. However, such heart stress cannot really be cured by a distractive technique, that only gives temporary respite, welcome as such respite may be. It behoves us to look at our lives in a more fundamental way if we wish to eliminate the roots of the problem rather than simply abate the symptoms for a while.
Of course, we all know instinctively - and it is apparent to us as soon as we look at the emoticons - that this all has something to do with love. It is love that can both stress and smooth the heart. In this sense, we are talking about the yoga of the heart chakra. Anshin, therefore, is about soothing the heart and mending broken ones. It is love that can most disrupt our lives and it is also love that brings great bliss. However, there are many varieties of love, many objects of love and many ways in which love can be expressed or hidden.
Symbols of Innocence
The dove symbolises innocence and simplicity so the peace that it brings is unsullied by hidden corruptions. Doves have sybolised peace in cultures as diverse as ancient Egypt and classical China and in the Bible the dove represents the Holy Spirit that descended upon Jesus at his baptism by John in the River Jordan. Also, earlier in the Bible, at the end of the flood, a dove brings an olive branch to Noah signalling the the waters are going down and there is land. The troubles are coming to an end. So this is a rather universal symbol of the restoration of calm.
The Chinese character for 'an', however, is not a picture of a dove, it is a picture of a woman in a house. This was a very practical matter. In ancient China where these symbols originated there was often local warfare and at such times the women and children would take to the hills and hide. When peace came they returned to the villages and homes. So when the women were in their houses, there was peace.
Peace Beneath One's Own Roof
This brings home to us the fact that while the issue of war and peace is of immense importance, the peace that matters most frequently to most people is the one that they try to achieve under their own roof. Peace, therefore, in most cultures, is also closely linked with domesticity. In some religions, however - Buddhism, for example - while this association exists, the greatest peace is said to lie in going forth out of domesticity into the 'homeless life'. We shall see how this works in a future teaching.
Peace of mind, therefore, has a macro and a micro level socially. The little wars that we fight with our nearest and dearest can be just as bitter and taxing as the big wars that go on between nations and ideologies, and there is a good deal of parallelism between the two. Warfare only occurs in a few species such as humans and ants, but domestic squabbling is evident in every sparrow nest in our barn and the bird flying home with some titbit in his/her beak in an effort to restore calm is by no means a species specific gesture.
The Romantic Ideal
In fact, probably most people think that the way to establish peace of heart and mind is to find the right partner and establish the right kind of relationship - whatever that may be. The fact that the key to success in a popular novel is so often that it depicts such a conclusion following after difficulties illustrates the fact that this is a common archetype.It is surely the basis of the 'serial monogamy' that is increasingly the pattern in our contemporary society, as people reiteratively seek happiness by what they believe is the only promise available.
The Complementarity of Inner & Outer
The spiritual paths, however, tend to suggest that the path to bliss is not through finding the right other, but through changing the self in some crucial way so that one can or could be at peace with a diversity of others - ultimately that one can be a bringer of peace to the whole world. Perhaps the ideal relationship is actually one in which those partnered together are held so by common commitment to such a noble ideal.
Nonetheless, even in those paths that take such a view, it is generally through a crucially important relationship that such a personal change takes place. It is in the encounter with a significant other who disturbs our conceit that we can find liberation from it. We thus come full circle. Release from addiction to seeking the right other comes as a result of an encounter with the right other. However, the 'right' other may not be the one we expect. Furthermore, such an encounter disturbs the foundations. Thus we see two different types of crucially important relations - that between similars and that between opposites.
The term anshin implies trust. For us to benefit from either type of relationship, there has to be a lot of trust and that trust, to work, really has to transcend the relationship itself. So here is the contrary cycle: arriving at the right quality in oneself depends upon the right relationship, but forming the right relationship depends upon a right quality already established in ourselves.
So we go round these circles, now this way, now that, seeking peace, fleeing it, receiving it, bringing it, disturbing it, losing it, finding it, bestowing and redeeming it, and if our faith can endure through all of this, well, that is anshin.
Starting on 28th June we have a five day retreat on the topic of Anshin. In preparation, I'd like to say a bit about the topic here.
The term anshin is Japanese. It is commonly translated as 'settled faith'. As such it is one of several forms or aspects of 'faith'. Other aspects are shinjin, bodaishin, and another for which I do not know the Japanese term, but which, in the language of India is called abhilasa. Each of these is worth a teaching in its own right, but we can briefly define them as follows.
Dawning Trust
Shinjin is the dawning of trust, the opening of the heart. It involves a 'turning around' or change of heart, often springing from contrition or inspiration or a juxtaposition of the two.We can think of Shakyamuni seeing the 'Four Sights'. In such an awakening one is seized by new light and/or driven by a sense of having gone astray but seeing new possibility and feeling new verve. in a sense, and sometimes literally, shinjin precedes anshin and can be its foundation. Then we can say that anshin is the maturing of shinjin.
Faith in Action
Abhilasa and bodaishin can be thought of as flowing from anshin and so as being subsequent, at least in a logical sense. Abhilasa is something like 'willingness', the willingness to do whatever is for the general good. Bodaishin is really the mind of enlightenment, or, at least the condition of heart that conduces to it, sometimes called 'the Way-seeking mind', a great compassion toward all sentient beings. So we can understand anshin as nested within these wonderful spiritual qualities. When we call out toward what is sacred to us, that calling is truly spiritual if and when it is touched by such qualities. These are what we worship and aspire toward, hoping that they will be granted to us, will bless us and hold us. This is what we pray for.
Although I have described them somewhat as a sequence in the last paragraph, all these dimensions of 'faith' really function together. They are its modes or moods. Insofar as one's life is grounded in faith, at any one time one or other of these aspects will be showing.
Trust in the Heart
'Faith' in Buddhism is perhaps not identical to faith in other religions, since here there is more emphasis upon a state of 'heart' or 'mind' and less on belief or assertion. Buddhism is not so much adherence to a creed and more a journey of exploration and grace, and faith, here, is the willingness to wholeheartedly entrust oneself to that journey irrespective of where it may take one. The obstacle is attachment. Faith is like letting go of the rail on the side of the swimming pool whereas attachment is like adding more and more rails. Soon the rails, that each seemed so necessary and fine, have become the bars of the cage in which one has ones limited existence. Inside one's cage one may read about the wonderful life of liberation, but it lies beyond one's reach.
Entering Upon the Path
Even if we manage to leave our cage, squeezing out between the bars and slipping away, we may still be bring some attaqchment with us. We may think that we are going to develop these qualities as personal characteristics, we are going to get and possess them, and (secretly hoping) be admired for them. They are going to displace the characteristics that have been given to us by our immemorial karmic history, most of which are nothing like so noble, and we shall then be more perfected beings. Such is the pride we carry into our spiritual life..
However, what we gradually or suddenly learn or realise is that it does not work quite like that. It is not really that any part of what we are is given up, but it all comes to be bathed in a new light. That light may be thought of in many ways - the light of the Buddhas, the Divine Light, the Light of Truth, whatever. This thing we call 'faith' that brings peace to us like a miracle, is not something we manufacture, nor own, but is a kind of grace that alights when we start to take ourselves less seriously.
To Know the Self is to Forget the Self
This diminishing seriousness is a function of familiarity. As we come to know ourselves better, to see ourselves more clearly, we perhaps start to realise that we are not actually as special as we always wanted to think we were. We find in ourselves much the same characteristics - good and bad - in varying degrees as we find in everybody else. Their joys and sorrows, pride and shame, anxiety and relief, peace and panic, are all rather similar to our own, and our own to theirs. As this obvious truth become real to us, much of the mesmerising fascination of our own story fades. It is not that it vanishes, but it becomes less compelling, less central to the meaning of life. A good example of how our attitude to our favourite self stories can change is given by Sujatin in her teaching yesterday.
When we start to recognise our common humanity more authentically, something deep within us relaxes. It is as if a cosmic grandmother had soothingly said to us, "It's alright." That is 'faith'. Realising that we are never going to be self-sufficiently perfect or self-justifying, whether in rightness, saintliness, victimhood, vengeful heroism, or whatever other role we might fall into, we start to rely upon something that is vaster, pervasive, and beyond our grasp. This 'realisation of alrightness' is shinjin. When it is established in an enduring way deep within us, that is anshin. When it expresses itself in action, that is abhilasa. When it transforms our perception of the world, that is bodaishin.
Such anshin faith provides a kind of bedrock in one's life that is independent of condition or circumstance, which is why it is called 'settled'. Although the vicissitudes of conditional existence in a world of impermanence continue, when one's heart has been touched in this way one can face whatever may come and not lose faith.
To Be Continued
Over the next few days I hope to say some more things about this subject from different perspectives.
Continuing on the theme of gratitude and the kindness and care taking we receive from others, I am reflecting further on how much we depend upon these for our very survival, even though so much that is done for our benefit is taken for granted, barely even recognised.
When I was embarking upon the first Amida Ministry training - the format of which has changed considerably now - I looked down the list of what the course would entail. My eye was caught by 'Nei Quan'. Involving looking inward and asking searching questions - the concept terrified me! After all, I'd spent much of my life avoiding doing just that.
Facing the fear
However, this was something I was going to have to do at some point during my training. So, on the basis that teetering on the edge of the high diving board, with the terror increasing, would be more nerve-wracking than holding my nose and taking a running jump, facing the fear and doing it anyway, I signed up for the next 5-day retreat.
Silence apart from answering the teacher's questions, remaining in an allotted space within the shrine room with cushions, paper, crayons and pens, left with my own process. Served with beautifully prepared and arranged meals, watching the teacher carefully arrange the curtains to give us some shade, when I glanced outward, there were moving details that touched the heart deeply.
Looking inward there was, of course, the possibility of skirting round the questions, avoiding anything too painful, and being less than immersed in the enquiry. However I reasoned that this was a unique opportunity which it would be foolish not to take advantage of.
What has this person done for me?
We started by being given the first question, "What has this person done for me?", focusing on a primary care-giver. My mother. Now, sad to say, for most of my life, my mother and I have not had a great relationship. I was born prematurely in dramatic circumstances, nearly arriving on a train, then being kept in hospital in an incubator for a number of weeks, in a city where my parents didn't live. My mother couldn't even stay so I didn't see her during that time. Hence, crucial bonding didn't happen. Also, once I was home, as a premie baby I was fretful and cried and cried at night. Not exactly the blissful vision she had built in her mind of how motherhood would be. My blond and bubbly sisters, when they arrived, were much more the thing. Extrovert and pretty, like her, while I grew up dark haired, quiet, introvert, hiding behind my glasses, afraid of anger, buried in books and, sinfully, like and liking my father.
A different perspective
So there was much gritty material to work with during these 5 days. After time spent in thought, I found myself writing the story of my mother's life, both in linear fashion, through time, but also horizontally, in the context of the time she was living in, from before my birth and throughout my childhood. This gradually opened my eyes as I began to gain much more a sense of who she actually was and what had affected her. A different view from my previous child's perspective. As I immersed myself into the story, I felt as though I was stepping into her shoes. And then I began to appreciate not only all the things she had done for me, through times of real financial worries and post-war hardship - I was born in 1946 - in an environment much tougher than that in which she had been raised, travelling from place to place as my demobbed father followed employment. All those nappies changed and washed by hand, all those meals provided, all those sleepless nights with this grizzling baby, the tedium of endlessly repeated quotidian domestic tasks. Like many wartime marriages, following the glamour of travel and uniforms and the danger of the times, my parents each married to someone with whom they did not really have much in common. The lack of friendship in a place where she was an outsider. Then, after a few years, the relative easing of life as we moved from the tenement flats, which had no bathroom, a shared toilet, flights of concrete stairs, to a bungalow with all mod cons and a small garden where my father grew vegetables, in her home town, near my grandmother, followed by the births of my sisters in a private nursing home, attended by the familiar elderly family doctor. I thought, too, about how much harder it must have been to care for the child she did not feel in tune with. Much harder than the same care for the children who are more similar to herself, who had been born in an easier time.
My pen was flying over the paper and, as the days progressed, I could feel an inner shift. Then there were subsequent questions: "What have you done for this person?" Well, I had to face it, like most children, embarrassingly little. And, "What difficulties and troubles has my existence occasioned for this person?" As you can imagine, over the years, a great deal. All the practical, unremitting and tedious hard work that bringing up any child involves. Plus the emotional burden of the less liked child who could be, let's face it, pretty unlikeable at times.
There was much more to those five days. However, what happened afterwards was that, on the basis of this new and more comprehensive understanding, once I was home again, I was able to talk to my mother honestly, without rancour and with some compassionate understanding, about what I had discovered. And, as a result, she was able to admit what she had felt about me. This was the moment when a great healing began. Which has been a huge gift to us both and has been developed and maintained over the subsequent years. A difficult relationship has become a peaceful one, with much affection. So, yes, although the prospect was daunting, I am immensely grateful for the opportunity of the experience that allowed me to excavate and discover some uncomfortable truths and new perspectives. Thus began the process of turning all that grit into pearls.
What did I learn?
* That a story is just a story, a confection, that we tell ourselves in order to understand, to have some control thereby, sometimes to have a persona to which we are attached, whether that story is positive or damaging or even true. That stories can keep us stuck.
* That other people involved can have a completely different narrative. And a bystander could see things completely differently again.
* That none of these are 'the truth' but just snapshots with a distorted lens.
* That I could be wrong (an ongoing lesson)
* That most stories can be reframed. And, subsequently, of course, my story was reframed by my teacher, who gave me my ordination name.
Namo Amida Bu
I would like today to respond to Sujatin's teaching of yesterday on Gratitude. To respond to one another is itself and expression of gratitude and is very important in Buddhism. The practice of 'mondo' - 'question and answer' or, more literally 'gate' and 'path' - is a very important element in Buddhism. The great majority of recorded instances of enlightenment experience occurred during an instance of mondo. We can say that mondo is repartie with full appreciation of the other.
There is a form of mondo that was much used by Master Dogen in which he would tell a traditional story or relate a teaching, often a koan, and then say, "And this mountain monk says, ...." and go on to give some further twist to the teaching. Often he would then pause and say, "And what do you say?"
So, firstly, much gratitude for your teaching, Sujatin. Now, this old hermit says... we can speak of three kinds of gratitude. The gift of material things such food sunshine, and the human body, is a pleasure and makes life possible. Then the gift of love and friendship touches the heart and makes life worthwhile. Finally, gift of the Dharma is supreme and makes life meaningful. These three types of gift all fill us with gratitude and joy.
Further, the Dharma is in all three gifts, so we can say, the Dharma of the material gift, the Dharma of the heart (or spiritual) gift, and the Dharma of the Dharma gift. These three gifts are the Three Bodies of Buddha.
When we regard the world in this way, the Light penetrates everywhere, everything and every time.
Now, what do you say?
It's quite common, during this 'entitled' era, when it's common practice in our culture to strive for more, to compare oneself with others, to feel generally dissatisfied and lacking. I feel particularly, for teenagers (I have four teenaged granddaughters) who are bombarded by photos of physical perfection (probably Photoshopped), luxurious belongings, wonderful activities where everyone else appears to be having a glamorous and fun-filled life - all high and impossible standards to which they feel under pressure to aspire. Leading to increased happiness? I think not. Fortunately my granddaughters are growing beyond the chimera and have grounding parents who instil and encourage other activities, other more wholesome virtues.
Life, for a teenager, has always been challenging, what with hormones, exam pressure, changing roles and relationships and living conditions beckoning, but 'in my day' it was probably simpler. The just post-war generation, we lived through rationing, ate what we were given, had hand-me-down clothes or made our own and were instilled with more of a sense of being grateful for what we did have - being scolded if we didn't.
But do we always remember to be grateful for what we do have? Probably not. There's so much that we take for granted. And yet, it's now being recognised, gratitude is good for our mental and physical health, as well as being a realistic and wholesome practice to adopt. So what might we be overlooking? Perhaps the simple, everyday, that we, in 2016, hardly even think about.
Take breakfast (if you do). Our ancestors and people in other parts of the world, even our own, would be amazed at the abundance. Go to any supermarket and look at the long aisle of breakfast cereals. Muesli and granola were barely heard of 50 years ago, let alone all the current varieties and other options. Then there are the different sorts of dairy and non-dairy milks, yoghurts, types of fruit from around the world, breads, spreads…… All grown, farmed, produced, packaged, transported, available for our consumption with minimal effort from us. It's said that up to 170 people have been involved in our breakfast. Sure, we earned the money to pay for it and we went to the shop to buy it but our personal input is dwarfed by the input of so many others. And that's before we look at the provenance of the bowl, the cutlery, the table, the building we are in. We are living on a beautiful planet, with mineral resources, fertile soil, sufficient rain and sunshine, and here is that simple bowl of cereal. Seeds - how wonderful are they? So much potential contained in such a tiny space. And look at the diversity - how did that come about? In my bowl are oats and blueberries and strawberries. Sitting at my breakfast table I can see, through the window, flag irises in the pond, yellow and orange poppies, full blown peonies, cornflowers, delicate 'London Pride', rowan and red and green acers, tall trees beyond my fence in the country park - all of which, like the contents of my bowl, started life as tiny seeds. Miraculous!
We live on the basis of 'much suffering, much hard work, much joy' and many, many miracles. Namo Amida Bu, Namo Amida Bu, thank you, thank you.
QUESTION: Is Buddhism a religion or a psychology?
SHORT ANSWER: Both and more, but religion firstly.
LONG ANSWER: Buddhism is first and foremost a religion, and as such it has given rise to culture and civilisation, including systems of education, psychology, community building, politics, arts, literature, poetry, and so on. If Buddhism were not a religion then it is rather unlikely that it would still be in existence today, or that it would have come into existence in the first place. One would not go through what Siddhartha went through simply for the sake of an academic or professional discipline.
Similarly, Dr. Ambedkar was the leader of the untouchables in India. He saw that the caste system was (and is) deeply embedded in Indian society. He tried to get rid of it through politics and failed. In the end he decided that only a change of religion would be sufficiently fundamental to bring caste to an end so he converted to Buddhism. Religion is most fundamental. People dedicate their whole being for religion and that vis what Buddhism takes. You can take it as only a psychology, or only an education, or only a culture, but you will not get the heart of it that way.
Buddhism has come to the West through a variety of channels, but it is often appreciated here for its psychological aspect. Of course, we also appreciate its arts and its influence for peace in the world and other fruits that it has borne. However, none of these would exist if it were not fundamentally a religion because only a religion leads people to dedicate their whole lives in the way that Buddhist monks, nuns and priests do. They are not just doing a job. Thinking of Buddhism as psychology may well help a Western person to understand some important aspects of it. It can be a way in, but that way goes a lot further if one is willing to follow it all the way.
Modernism has given us much, but it also has some pernicious aspects. One of these is its tendency to fragment and then asset strip. It tends to plunder rather than deeply appreciate the culture it encounters and turn their fruits into consumer goods. People who are only casually interested may well appreciate Buddhist art or may well benefit from the latest meditation exercise without having to make any serious commitment of their life, but if nobody makes such commitment then the wonderful fruits of Buddhism will soon not be there for the picking because the root and trunk of the tree will be dead.
In my own life, Buddhism has always been firstly a religion. I became a social worker in order to practise 'right livelihood' because I was Buddhist. I got involved in various forms of social action for similar reasons. That led me into psychotherapy and, naturally, I wanted to apply my Buddhist principles in my work. That led me to write books about Buddhist psychology. Foremost, however, I am Buddhist and that is what I teach and advocate and that is what has provided the inspiration for all my most important work. Namo Buddhaya. Namo Dharmaya. Namo Sanghaya.
:: link to original on La Ville au Roi (Eleusis)


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San Francisco, CAUSA
April 28, 2012
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Help support your Meetup
This meetup is focused on spreading knowledge and best practices for the use of Node.js. Node is exploding with a massive and dedicated developer community, and is moving into enterprise stacks. There is an incredible talent pool out there who can bring their experience back to the community, and our goal is to get them into the group to speak. Topics of discussion include OSS projects, architectures, testing, devops, code management, deployment strategies, the future of Node and emerging trends.
And of course we want to continue making the Node.js community a great atmosphere to be in. If you use Node.js or even have a beginner's interest, come join us and hear about the latest and greatest from Node.
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Virtual Grant Funding Workshop - State, Local, and Public Safety Sponsored by Sprint
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. (PST)
Grant funding for municipal agencies like yours is at an all time high. Whether you're looking to enhance funding from your traditional sources or find alternative ways to support your communications projects, you won't want to miss this event!
Join Grants Office CEO Michael Paddock and special guests from Sprint, as we discuss:
- A background on grants and funding
- An overview of communications-friendly programs
- Strategies and tips for coordinating funding and making your proposal more successful
This free one-hour Webcast will include opportunities for Q&A during the session. Don't miss this timely event!
Space is limited, Reserve your Webinar seat now at: www1.gotomeeting.com/register/941240299.
Join the discussion
Latest Product News
When disaster strikes, the National Disaster Medical System responds
Spotlight: GawkStopper is the solution to rubbernecking LE has been waiting for


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Tatoeba needs help to re-design the website to be mobile-friendly! If you have experience in UI/UX design, please contact Trang at email@example.com.
We are also continuously looking for developers. If you are interested to contribute to a non-profit open source project, please read our guide on how to join the dev team.
Thank you!
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A dachshund is a dog from Germany with a very long body and short legs.
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Born and raised in Hamilton, I have been personally investing in real estate for over twenty years. So it seems a career in Real Estate was inevitable. Having successfully made the transition from bookkeeper to Real Estate Sales Representative, I have the education and the attention to detail required to assist you through any real estate transaction.
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Jennifer Heil
Analyst, Freestyle Moguls | Road To The Olympic Games
Two-time Olympic medallist in freestyle mogul skiing, Jennifer Heil joins CBC's broadcast team for the Road To The Olympic Games as an analyst for coverage of freestyle moguls.
Heil has won Olympic gold and silver medals, is a four-time World Champion and a five-time overall World Cup Champion. Outside of competing on the slopes, Heil is a celebrated ambassador of community service, including the 'Because I am a Girl' initiative, to which she donated $25,000 and accomplished the challenge of raising $1 million to help advocate for and empower young women around the world. Heil also runs her own girls-only mogul ski camp and is the co-founder of B2ten, a group that is reshaping how Canadian Olympic athletes can attain their full potential.
In 2013 Heil graduated from McGill University with a Bachelor of Commerce degree and became a proud new mom to her son, Danik.
Find Jennifer online:


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Every AFUP event is a chance to gather PHP lovers. And every time, alchimy happens : fun, party and meetings in a friendly atmosphere. Come and live these 2 days of PHP with us!
Community drink, pauses during the day, networking areas, Forum PHP 2016 is the best place to put faces on Twitter nicknames.
It's scientifically proven : 100% of the developers are back to work at their top and highly motivated. Enjoy this refreshing time and boost your knowledge!
Join our great team of sponsors. Support the organization, meet our audience during the event. Raise your colors in a beautiful space dedicated to sponsors where the community will visit you during the day.
Propose some demos, chat with developers and discover what really matters to them.
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Browsing named entities in The Daily Dispatch: February 4, 1864., [Electronic resource]. You can also browse the collection for Louisiana (Louisiana, United States) or search for Louisiana (Louisiana, United States) in all documents.
Your search returned 1 result in 1 document section:
From Mississippi. --The Canton (Miss.) Citizen, of the 25th January, says, as we go to press we have received the following intelligence from the front: Great activity is shown by the enemy at Vicksburg. Some movement is contemplated. Sherman's at Vicksburg, on his route to Texas. Several thousand troops from Memphis have arrived to reinforce Vicksburg, which is still under the command of Gen. McPherson. Gen. Ross has returned from his trip up the river, and now occupies a place of importance. Gen. Wirt Adams has just returned from a fatiguing and partially successful trip in Louisiana and South Mississippi.


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Although the Statue of Liberty was intended to be a working lighthouse, her torch wasn't bright enough for the task. more...
June 28 , 1997 : Mike Tyson bit Evander Holyfield's ear and was disqualified from the match and suspended from boxing. more...
Learn something new every day
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Recycled plastic bags are used in grocery stores on a daily basis, and consumers tote them home filled to the brim with produce, canned goods, bread, and other household staples. Most people don't stop to think what happens to the bags once they are taken to a recycling center. The majority of recycled plastic bags are turned into composite lumber. Composite lumber is generally comprised of two equal substances: sawdust and plastic bags.
The lumber made from these two recycled substances is used for a variety of items. Wooden structures like door frames, window frames, and outdoor decks are just a few of the construction projects that use lumber made from recycled plastic bags. Recycled plastic bags are also used to make post-consumer resin. This resin is utilized in the production of new plastic bags, crates, pipes, pallets, and containers.
Recycling stations can be found in most communities in the U.S. Many grocery stores have an area designated for this purpose. No matter where consumers drop off their bags, only clean recycled plastic bags should be taken to the local recycling center. Food, saran wrap, prepackaged food bags, or receipts should never be left inside a bag destined for recycling.
When a recycling center begins the recycling process, it melts down the plastic. Next, the plastic is forced through an extruder, a machine that squeezes the plastic into long noodle-like shapes or small pieces. The extruder die molds the plastic before it is cut with a knife. Finally, the plastic exists in the form of composite lumber or tiny pellets that can be manufactured into other plastic items.
Recycling plastic bags helps the environment in several ways. Since plastic bags are not biodegradable, they remain for a very long time and can release chemicals, contaminating water and soil. Ensuring that all plastic bags are recycled helps to alleviate this problem. Chemicals are used in the production of plastic which pollutes air, water and food. Using fewer plastic bags also means that humans and animals will be less exposed to chemicals.
At times, plastic bags make their way to the ocean and marine animals eat them, thinking they are food. Some marine animals may even become entangled in the plastic bags. In short, taking plastic bags to the recycling center can help save the lives of animals living in or around the ocean.
People who want to protect the environment can make a conscious decision to use fewer plastic bags. For example, plastic bags can be recycled in the home. Some people use them to line trash cans or to carry their lunch to work and school. Pet owners often use them to pick up pet waste as well.
Post 7
Actually plastic bags do not need to be recycled as plastics, they can be burned thus recycling the energy contained within. This would save a lot of labor in sorting the plastic products. That this releases dioxins is a myth.
Post 2
Because it is convenient. There is no real reason to use them. Plastic can be converted into other plastic materials, but once created, it never actually goes away. Virgin (new) plastics continue to be manufactured and we continue to buy them. Very sad. Use glass and paper. It is recyclable.
Post 1
I enjoyed the information about plastic bags. My question is "If plastic bags are so bad for the environment, why do we use plastic garbage bags?"
One of our editors will review your suggestion and make changes if warranted. Note that depending on the number of suggestions we receive, this can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days. Thank you for helping to improve wiseGEEK!


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Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Hood River Valley High School art students won best of show and two first prizes in the 2013 Mid-Columbia High School and Middle School annual art show.
Daisy Martinez won Best of Show for her Sharpie pen drawing, "Giraffe."
Zoe Peterson won first place in photography for her digital image "Forsaken."
Aely Sarai Gama Diaz took first place in portraits for her pencil drawing, "Lee Min Ho."
Turn to page B10 for more awards, and to see Diaz's and Peterson's images.
The students will be honored March 2 in a reception at The Dalles Art Center. Judges reviewed submissions by students from Hood River, The Dalles, Goldendale and other Gorge communities.
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World Bulletin / News Desk
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili vowed to punish those responsible for torturing and raping prisoners, after a video of abuse in a jail sparked angry street protests two weeks before a parliamentary election.
The demonstrations erupted in the capital Tbilisi on Tuesday night after footage of the torture was shown on pro-opposition television channels. Thousands of people joined the protests on Wednesday, blocking two main streets and calling for the resignation of senior ministers.
The government said the video had been staged and recorded by guards who had been bribed by "politically motivated persons".
The prosecutor's office said 10 people had been arrested including the head of the prison in Tbilisi, two deputies and a number of guards. The prisons minister said she was resigning.
"Tonight, I tell all the victims of these inhuman actions and the whole nation that the Georgia we have built and we are all building together shall not and will not tolerate such behaviour - in its prisons or anywhere else," Saakashvili said in a statement issued in the early hours of Wednesday.
"Those who committed these crimes will spend long years in jail, as will those who bribed guards to stage these horrors and film them," he said.
Later Saakashvili said radical reforms should be enacted in the former Soviet republic's penitentiary system and ordered patrol policemen to take on prison duties while reforms were worked out.
"This system, the way it is now, should be entirely abolished," Saakashvili said at the meeting with the prime minister, justice minister and prosecutor-general.
The video shows groups of guards beating, punching and humiliating prisoners, and inmates raped with objects. It was screened by two opposition-leaning television channels, one owned by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, whose Georgian Dream coalition is challenging Saakashvili's ruling United National Movement in an Oct. 1 parliamentary election.
Protesters demanded the resignation of the justice and interior ministers and an independent investigation. Some of them chanted: "Misha, go!", referring to Saakashvili.
Similar protests were held in several major towns in Georgia, a transit route for oil and gas supplies across the volatile Caucasus.
A few political leaders, including Ivanishvili, joined the protests, but called for calm ahead of the election.
"Under no circumstances should you start unorganised street protests and under no circumstances should your actions be governed by anger," Ivanishvili said.
Human rights groups and the U.S. Embassy condemned the prisoner abuse and called on the government to conduct a prompt and independent investigation.
Georgian Dream, which unites several opposition parties, has attracted large numbers to its rallies, but still trails the ruling party in opinion polls.
Ivanishvili, 56, has a fortune estimated by Forbes magazine at $6.4 billion. He and other opponents accuse Saakashvili of curbing freedoms and criticise him for leading Georgia into a disastrous war with Russia in August 2008.
The Sheraton hotel is now open for business in the capital city of Havana
"Now of course I am sad about that, but frankly I'm more concerned about Britain getting its relationship right with Europe."
Refugee crisis has led to formation of right-wing terrorist groups, security service warns
Gibraltar is currently in talks with Scotland to discuss the possibility of remaining part of the EU
- Rifaat al-Assad, Syria's vice president in the 1980s, has also been accused of embezzlement
Emergency session at European Parliament prompts angry exchanges between EU leaders and eurosceptics over the Brexit
Senate set to vote on eform package on Tuesday 6 pm, before National Assembly takes it up next week
UK capital needs greater powers following Brexit decision, Sadiq Khan says
As UK's Conservative Party prepares for post-Brexit leadership race, British leader David Cameron travels to Brussels
Talks on Chapter 33 which deals with financial and budgetary provisions to begin on Thursday, Turkey's EU ambassador confirms
Detractors say new report does not increase Rousseff's chances of returning to office
Health secretary Jeremy Hunt has raised the prospect of a new EU referendum and has announced that he may be a possible candidate to be the next leader of the Conservative Party.
Hamas has thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his support following a reconciliation pact with Israel
Israeli police have temporarily closed Al-Aqsa mosque until Thursday after clashes occurred between IDF soldiers and Muslim worshippers
Kremlin says Turkish leader pledges to repair diplomatic relations after November incident near Turkey-Syria border.
Long-running legal fight se Jacob Zuma ordered to repay money spent on non-security upgrades to private residence


text:
LAKE OSWEGO, Ore. -- Five-star cornerback Adoree' Jackson (Gardena, Calif./Junipero Serra) is one of the most sought-after athletes in the country. The 5-foot-11, 171-pound athlete is attempting to visit five schools this summer, including two right after The Opening concludes on Wednesday.
Mailbag: Questioning Oregon's 'decline'
3dTed Miller
Coaching rankings sure don't place much faith in Clay Helton
5dKevin Gemmell
Better know a nonconference opponent: USC
5dAlex Scarborough
Utah grad-transfer Tu'ikolovatu picks USC
10dTed Miller
That time OJ Simpson crashed a USC practice
11dChantel Jennings
Quarterback the big Pac-12 question entering 2016
12dDavid Lombardi


text:
Four-Legged Robot Seen in Fresh 'Transformers 3' TV Spot
Another TV spot for "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" has just been unleashed. Among other new scenes, this new video offers the first look at a new four-legged robot running amok on the street, crashing an auto.
The third "Transformers" film centers its story on Sam Witwicky. When a mysterious event from Earth's past erupts into the present day, it threatens to bring a war to Earth so big that the Transformers alone will not be able to save the people.
Shia LaBeouf returns to this movie and stars as the male main character, with Rosie Huntington-Whiteley portraying Sam's new love interest Carly. The action science fiction pic is going to open in 2-D and 3-D theaters across the United States later this month, on June 29 to be exact.
- Lil' Kim Cancels Performance at Essence Festival
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- Justin Bieber Falls Again on Stage During His Concert


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23 Quick Tips for Street Photography or Your Next Photo Walk - The guys over at the Cooperative for Photography (COOPH) have some good quick tips from Thomas Leuthard for you. If you are planning on doing some street...
4 hours ago
I now cannot say that I've never been on the US/Canada border! :-) I like this photo as well as the previous one. Thanks for sharing.
Is it a long wait?
MedaM...yes now you've been to Canada and the US border
Usually it is but last Saturday it was less than 5 minutes to go through
Beautiful pictures and good information about crossing the border. We haven't done that yet, but we will be sure to research the rule and be prepared.
US Waivers For Canadians