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LESSON 76 BUDDHA RECITATION 01 11 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY-Anyone Can Attain Eternal Bliss Just Visit:http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org that is part of the MARCH of the CARAVAN from PRABUDDHA BHARATH to PRABUDDHA UNIVERSE for “Sarvjan Hitay and Sarvajan Sukhay” i.e., for the Welfare and Happiness of Entire People & all Sentient and Non-Sentient beings-Thoughts give joy when they speak or act. Joy follows them like a shadow that never leaves them. - Buddha-BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!-WISDOM IS POWER-GOOD GOVERNANCE

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LESSON 76 BUDDHA RECITATION 01 11 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY

Anyone Can Attain Eternal Bliss Just Visit:http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org that is part of the MARCH of the CARAVAN from PRABUDDHA BHARATH to PRABUDDHA UNIVERSE for “Sarvjan Hitay and Sarvajan Sukhay” i.e., for the Welfare and Happiness of Entire People & all Sentient and Non-Sentient beings.

Thoughts give joy when they speak or act. Joy follows them like a shadow that never leaves them. - Buddha

BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!

WISDOM IS POWER

Awakened One Shows the Path to Attain Ultimate Bliss

COMPUTER IS AN ENTERTAINMENT INSTRUMENT!

INTERNET!

ENTERTAINMENT NET!

TO BE MOST APPROPRIATE!

Using such an instrument

The Free ONLINE e-Nālandā Research and Practice University has been re-organized to function through the following Schools of Learning :

Buddha’s Sangha Practiced His Dhamma Free of cost, hence the Free- e-Nālandā Research and Practice University follows suit

As the Original Nālandā University did not offer any Degree, so also the Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University.

The teachings of Buddha are eternal, but even then Buddha did not proclaim them to be infallible. The religion of Buddha has the capacity to change according to times, a quality which no other religion can claim to have…Now what is the basis of Buddhism? If you study carefully, you will see that Buddhism is based on reason. There is an element of flexibility inherent in it, which is not found in any other religion.

§ Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , Indian scholar, philosopher and architect of Constitution of India, in his writing and speeches

I.
KAMMA

AWAKEN-NESS

II.
ARHAT

TWELVEFOLD CONDITIONED ARISING

BODHISATTVA

PARAMITA

SIX PARAMITAS

III.

SIX SPIRITUAL POWERS

SIX PATHS OF REBIRTH

TEN DHARMA REALMS

FIVE SKANDHAS

EIGHTEEN REALMS

FIVE MORAL PRECEPTS

IV.

MEDITATION

MINDFULNESS

FOUR APPLICATIONS OF MINDFULNESS

FOUR FORMLESS REALMS

FIVE TYPES OF BUDDHIST STUDY AND PRACTICE

MAHAYANA AND HINAYANA COMPARED

PURE LAND

BUDDHA RECITATION

EIGHT CONSCIOUSNESSES

ONE HUNDRED DHARMAS

EMPTINESS

VI.

DEMON

LINEAGE

with

Level I: Introduction to Buddhism

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Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in

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and Ecology and Environmental Studies

Welcome to the Free Online e-Nālandā Research and Practice University

Course Programs:

BUDDHA RECITATION

Buddha Recitation Methods

Four Methods of Buddha Recitation

Ten Variants of Oral Recitation

Four Methods of Buddha Recitation

Buddha Recitation does not consist of oral recitation alone, but also includes contemplation and meditation. Therefore, within the Pure Land School, there are, in addition to Oral Recitation, three other methods, namely: Real Mark, Contemplation by Thought and Contemplation of an Image.

1. Real Mark [Self-Nature] Buddha Recitation

This entails penetrating the Mind’s foremost meaning — reciting our own original Buddha Nature. It is to contemplate the Real Mark Dharma Body of the Buddhas, resulting in attainment of True Thusness Samadhi.[41]

This method is really a Zen practice; however, since the realm revealed by the meditational mind is the Pure Land, it also qualifies as a Pure Land practice. This method is not for those of limited or moderate capacities — if the practitioner is not of the highest capacity, he cannot “become enlightened and enter” into it. For this reason, few Pure Land teachers promote it and the proponents of the method are found chiefly within the Zen tradition.

Incidentally, I would venture to say here that while we are still treading the path of Practice, not having reached the stage of Perfect Enlightenment, all Dharma methods are expedients; Buddha Recitation is an expedient and so is Zen. According to the Three Pure Land sutras, Buddha Sakyamuni provided the expedient teaching of the Western Pure Land, and urged sentient beings to recite Amitabha Buddha’s name seeking rebirth there. With this method, they can escape Birth and Death, avail themselves of that wonderful, lofty realm to pursue cultivation, and swiftly attain Buddhahood. Diligent Buddha Recitation also leads to Awakening, as in Zen; however, the principal goal of the Pure Land School is rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, while the degree of Awakening achieved is a secondary consideration.

Thus, the goal of Real Mark Buddha Recitation falls within Pure Land teachings. However, from the standpoint of an expedient leading to rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss, it does not truly qualify as a Pure Land method within the meaning of the Three Pure Land sutras taught by Buddha Sakyamuni. This is, perhaps, the reason why Pure Land Patriarchs merely referred to it to broaden the meaning of Buddha Recitation, but did not expound it widely.

2. Contemplation by Thought Recitation

This entails meditation on the features of Buddha Amitabha and His Land of Ultimate Bliss, in accordance with the Meditation Sutra. (The Sutra teaches a total of sixteen contemplations.) If this practice is perfected, the cultivator will always visualize the Pure Land before him. Whether his eyes are open or closed, his mind and thoughts are always coursing through the Pure Land. At the time of death, he is assured of rebirth there.

The virtues obtained through this method are immense and beyond imagination, but since the object of meditation is too profound and subtle, few practitioners can achieve it. This is because, in general, the method presents five difficulties: i) with dull capacities, one cannot easily succeed; ii) with a crude mind, one cannot easily succeed; iii) without knowing how to use expedients skillfully and flexibly during actual practice, one cannot easily succeed; iv) without the ability to remember images clearly, one cannot easily succeed; v) with low energy, one cannot easily succeed.

Very few can avoid all five pitfalls. Thus, upon reflection, this method also belongs to the category of difficult Dharma doors.

3. Contemplation of an Image Recitation

In this method, the practitioner faces a statue of Amitabha Buddha and impresses all the features of that statue in his memory — contemplating to the point where, even in the absence of a statue, and whether his eyes are open or closed, he clearly sees the image of Amitabha Buddha.

This method is also difficult, because it requires a great deal of energy, a faithful memory and skillful use of expedients. There are cases of individuals who have practiced it in an inflexible way and have developed headaches difficult to cure. Moreover, upon examination, this method of seeking rebirth in the Pure Land is not mentioned in the sutras. It is merely a technique to assist in the practice of Buddha Recitation, so that the practitioner can harness his mind and achieve right thought. Still, if we practice this method in a pure, devoted frame of mind, we can obtain a response, eradicate our bad karma, develop virtue and wisdom, and, through an “illusory” statue of Amitabha Buddha, awaken to His True Marks and achieve rebirth in the Pure Land.

4. Oral Recitation

In this method, the practitioner recites, aloud or silently, either “Nam Mo Amitabha Buddha or “Amitabha Buddha.” The short form (Amitabha Buddha) has the advantage of easily focusing the cultivator’s mind, while the longer version facilitates development of a truly earnest, respectful mind conducive to a response.

This method, taught by Sakyamuni Buddha in the Shorter Amitabha Sutra, is the dominant form of Pure Land practice at the present time.

A brief examination of the four methods of Buddha Recitation shows that the Real Mark [No. 1] and Contemplation of an Image [No. 3] methods are not mentioned in the Three Pure Land sutras. They are referred to only in the Buddha Recitation Samadhi Sutra and a few other sutras or commentaries. Both of these methods are secondary expedients to expand on the true meaning of Buddha Recitation; they are not recognized methods traditionally taught by Pure Land Patriarchs.

The Real Mark method has the unique advantage of teaching the profound and exalted meaning of Buddha Recitation. However, it is too lofty to embrace people of all capacities and “strays” in the direction of Zen. The Contemplation of an Image method is merely a subsidiary technique and is not easy to practice. These two methods, therefore, are not recommended for Pure Land practitioners. Likewise, the Contemplation by Thought method [No. 2], although expounded by Buddha Sakyamuni and leading to immense virtue, is reserved for those of high capacities. In the present Dharma-Ending Age, few can practice it.

In conclusion, only Oral Recitation [No. 4] embraces people of all capacities, leads to swift results and is easy enough for anyone to practice. Oral Recitation, practiced earnestly and correctly, will bring a response; in this very life, we can immediately see the features of Amitabha Buddha and the adornments of the Western Pure Land and awaken to the Original Mind. Even if we cannot attain True Mark in this life, we will certainly attain it after rebirth in the Pure Land. For this reason, the Thirteenth Pure Land Patriarch, Master Yin Kuang, wrote the following words of praise:

Exclusively reciting the Name will bring attainment of True Mark,
Without contemplation we will still see the Land of Ultimate Bliss.

Ancient masters have also commented:

Among Dharma methods, Pure Land is the short cut for attaining the Way.
Within Pure Land, Oral Recitation is the short cut.

Nowadays, this method is the most popular form of Buddha Recitation.

Ten Variants of Oral Recitation

As indicated above, Oral Recitation is the most common Pure Land method at the present time. However, this method has many variants, to accommodate the circumstances and capacities of the individual. A few of these variants are summarized below.

1. Reflecting the Name Recitation

With this technique, the ear catches the sound as the mouth recites, examining each individual word and each individual phrase, to make sure they are clear and distinct, phrase after phrase. There are two ways of hearing, with the ears or with the mind. Although the ears “hear deep inside,” the sounds do not reside anywhere. The practitioner gradually forgets everything inside and out — even body, mind, realm, time and space — with only the Buddha’s name remaining.

This technique of “reflecting the name,” makes it easy for the cultivator to filter out deluded thoughts and swiftly achieve one-pointedness of mind. The Surangama Sutra expresses this very idea when it states, in the words of the Bodhisattva Manjusri:

This common method of concentrating the mind on its sense of hearing, turning it inward … is most feasible and wise. (Wai-tao, tr. “The Surangama Sutra,” in D. Goddard, ea., A Buddhist Bible, p. 260.)

2. Counting Rosary Beads Recitation

In this method, as the mouth recites, the hand fingers the rosary. At first, thoughts are tied to the rosary beads, but later on they gradually move away from the beads, leading to the state of one-pointedness of mind. This technique increases the power of recitation in the same way that a cane enables a mountain climber with weak legs to ascend higher and higher.

With this technique, we should write down the number of recitations per session or per day. This has the advantage of forcing us to keep an exact count, eliminating the affliction of laziness. However, we should take care not to be too ambitious, attempting to achieve too much too soon, or our recitation will not be clear and distinct. The ancients, while reciting the Buddha’s name over and over, did so in a clear, distinct manner thanks to two factors: “correct understanding” and “correct concentration of mind.” Elder Master Ou-I, the Ninth Patriarch of Pure Land once taught:

There is no better or loftier way to reach the state of one-pointedness of mind. At first the practitioner should finger the rosary, keeping an exact count, while reciting the Buddha’s name over and over in a clear, distinct manner, 30,000, 50,000 up to 100,000 times each day, maintaining that number without fail, determined to remain constant throughout his life. Such recitation will, in time, become second nature — not reciting being reciting. At that time, recording or not recording no longer matters. If such recitation, accompanied by earnest Faith and Vows, did not lead to rebirth in the Pure Land, the Buddhas of the Three Periods (past, present and future) would all be guilty of false speech. Once we are reborn in the Pure Land, all Dharma methods will appear before our eyes.[42]

If at the outset we seek too high a goal, are over-confident and eager to show that we are not attached to forms and marks, preferring to study according to the free and perfect method, we reveal a lack of stability and depth in our Faith and Vows as well as perfunctoriness in our Practice. Even if we were to lecture exhaustively on the Twelve Divisions of the Dharma [all the teachings of Buddha Sakyamuni] and become enlightened to the 1,700 Zen koans, these would merely be activities on the fringes of life and death.

This advice is indeed a compass for the Pure Land practitioner.

3. Breath-by-Breath Recitation

This technique consists of reciting silently or softly, with each breath, inhaling or exhaling, accompanied by one recitation of the Buddha’s name. Since life is linked to breath, if we take advantage of breath while practicing Buddha Recitation, we will not be apart from Buddha Amitabha in life and at the time of death, when breath has stopped, we will be immediately reborn in the Pure Land. The practitioner should remember, however that once he has mastered this technique, he should recite aloud as well as silently. In this way, the power of recitation will be strengthened and the will to be reborn in the Pure Land more easily developed. Otherwise, his resolve will not be earnest and he might “stray” into the practice of the “Five Meditations to calm the mind” of the Theravada tradition.

4. Continuously Linked Recitation

With this technique, the practitioner recites softly, each word following the one immediately before, each phrase closely following the previous phrase …

During this practice, through discretion and patience, there are no empty time frames and therefore “sundry thoughts” cannot intrude. The cultivator’s feelings and thoughts are intense, his mind and mouth move boldly forward reciting the Buddha’s name; the power of right thought embraces everything, temporarily subduing ignorance and delusive thought. Thus, the light of transcendental samadhi breaks through and shines forth.

From early times, Pure Land practitioners would avail themselves of this method when their emotions and thoughts wandered or were in a state of confusion.

5. Enlightened, Illuminating Recitation

With this technique, the practitioner on the one hand recites the Buddha’s name and on the other, “returns the light” and illumines his True Nature. He thus enters into the realm of ultimate transcendental emptiness; what remains is only the consciousness that his body-mind and the True Mind of the Buddha have become one — all-illuminating and all-encompassing. At that time, meditation rooms, cushions, gongs and all else have disappeared. Even the illusory, “composite body” is nowhere to be found.

With this practice, even while our present “retribution body” is not yet dead, silent illumination is attained. Uttering the Buddha’s name, the practitioner immediately achieves the state of samadhi. There is no swifter method for common mortals to enter the realm of the saints.

Unfortunately, we cannot understand or practice this method unless we are of the highest capacity. Therefore, its scope is rather modest and limited.

6. Bowing to the Buddha Recitation

This technique consists of making bows as we recite the Buddha’s name. Either we recite once before each bow or we bow as we recite, regardless of the number of recitations. The bowing should be supple yet deliberate, complementing recitation, bowing and reciting perfectly synchronized. If we add a sincere and earnest mind, body, speech and mind are gathered together. Except for the words Amitabha Buddha, there is not the slightest deluded thought.[43]

This method has the ability to destroy the karma of drowsiness. Its benefits are very great, because the practitioner engages in recitation with his body, speech and mind. A lay practitioner of old used to follow this method, and each day and night, he would bow and recite an average of one thousand times.

However, this practice is the particular domain of those with strong mind-power. Lacking this quality, it is difficult to persevere, because with extended bowing, the body easily grows weary, leading to discouragement. Therefore, this method is normally used in conjunction with other methods and is not practiced in exclusivity.

7. Decimal Recording Recitation

This is the inscription technique of Buddha Recitation, taking each ten utterances of the Buddha’s name as a unit. Individuals with short breath spans can divide the ten utterances into two subunits (five utterances each) or three smaller subunits (two three-utterance units and one four-utterance unit). One rosary bead is fingered after each group of ten utterances is completed.

With this practice, the mind must not only recite, it must also remember the number of utterances. In this way, if we are not diligent we must become so; otherwise, it will be impossible to avoid mistakes.

This technique, in general, is an excellent expedient forcing the cultivator to concentrate his mind and is very effective with those subject to many errant thoughts. Elder Master Yin Kuang used to recommend it to Pure Land practitioners.

8. Lotus Blossom Recitation

As he recites, the practitioner contemplates the four colors of the lotus blossom (blue, yellow, red and white), one color after another without interruption. With his first utterance of the Buddha’s name, he visualizes a huge, blue lotus blossom before his eyes, emitting a blue light. With the second utterance, he visualizes a yellow lotus blossom, emitting a yellow light. The third and fourth utterances are accompanied, respectively, by visualization of red and white lotus flowers, each color emitting its own light. He then repeats the visualization in the same sequence. As the flowers appear, he imagines a vague, lingering touch of pure, soft lotus fragrance.

Ancient masters devised this method because many practitioners in the T’ien T’ai School, despite using all available techniques, found it difficult to stem their errant thoughts. This method uses various forms and colors to focus mind and thought. These forms and colors take the marks of lotus blossoms in the Seven-Jewel Pond of the Pure Land (”one utterance of the Buddha’s name, one jeweled lotus blossom”), because the lotus blossoms appearing in the Pure Land are inseparable from the lotus blossoms created by the virtues of the reciting mind. At the time of death, the mind-consciousness of the practitioner relies on these jeweled lotus blossoms to achieve rebirth in the Western Pure Land.

If the Pure Land cultivator should discover that he has an affinity with this technique, he should apply it and quickly enter the Wonderful Lotus Blossom Buddha Recitation Samadhi.

9. Recitation Amidst Light

This method was specially designed for certain practitioners who, as soon as they close their eyes to recite, suddenly see filthy forms and marks (ugly grimacing faces, for example), or dark forms and colors swirling around.

With this technique, the practitioner, while reciting the Buddha’s name, visualizes himself seated in the middle of an immense, brilliant zone of light. Within that zone of light, when his mind has quieted down, the practitioner feels bright and refreshed. At that time, not only have deluded thoughts been annihilated, filthy, evil forms have also disappeared. After that, right thought is reinforced and samadhi is, in time, achieved.

Although this is a special expedient to destroy evil deluded marks, even the practitioner who is not in this predicament can apply this method to clear his mind and enter deeply into the Buddha Recitation Samadhi.

10. “Contemplation of the Buddha” Recitation

The methods of contemplation taught in the Meditation Sutra are very important and lead to immense virtue, but they are not a popular expedient for sentient beings in the Dharma-Ending Age. Nevertheless, since the ancient masters did not wish to see the special benefits of the meditation method go unused, they selected the easiest of the Sixteen Contemplations (Contemplation of Amitabha Buddha) and combined it with Oral Recitation to form the Contemplation of the Buddha-Oral Recitation technique. (Recitation is predominant, with contemplation of the Buddha occupying a subsidiary position.)

Each day, after reciting the Buddha’s name, the practitioner reserves a special period of time for concentrating his mind and contemplating the Embellishments and Light of Amitabha Buddha. This method is derived from Contemplation Number Thirteen in the Meditation Sutra, in which Buddha Amitabha is visualized as some sixteen feet tall and of golden hue, standing at the edge of the Seven-Jewel Pond. If the practitioner cannot yet visualize the Seven-Jewel Pond, he can picture Amitabha Buddha standing before his eyes in a zone of light, in open space, the left hand held at chest level and forming the auspicious mudra, the right arm extending downward in the position of “welcoming and guiding.”

To be successful in this meditation, it is necessary, at the outset, to visualize the body of Amitabha Buddha in general, then concentrate on the urna (white mark between the eyebrows). This mark is empty and transparent, like a white gem with eight facets … The urna is the basic mark among the thirty-two auspicious marks of the Buddhas. When this visualization is successful, thanks to the affinity thus created between Amitabha Buddha and the practitioner, other marks will appear clearly, one after another. However, to ensure success, the practitioner should read through the Meditation Sutra memorizing the thirty-two auspicious marks of Buddha Amitabha before commencing his practice.

With this method, Buddha Recitation should be primary, because if the practitioner does not succeed at visualization, he can still fall back on recitation to ensure rebirth in the Pure Land. In truth, however, recitation aids visualization and visualization complements recitation, so that these two aspects work in parallel, leading the practitioner toward the desired goal.

Although this technique is somewhat more difficult than the others, if it can be accomplished successfully, immeasurable benefits are achieved. It is therefore described here at the very end, to foster diligent practice.

As stated earlier, these ten variants of Oral Recitation are also the ten basic techniques to combat the various mental hindrances faced by Buddha Recitation practitioners. Pure Land books discuss several dozen variants. However, they are merely techniques using, inter alia, a loud voice or a low voice at busy moments or at times of leisure. They cannot as such qualify as methods of recitation. For this reason, the author has singled out these ten basic variants of Oral Recitation to combat the obstructions of drowsiness and mind-scattering. They are the methods best suited to the majority of today’s practitioners. The cultivator can try them out and select the one that fits his particular case.

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GOOD GOVERNANCE

Press Information Bureau

(C.M. Information Campus)

Information & Public Relations Department, U.P.

Hon’ble C.M. reviews beautification and development works of Hazaratganj

Lucknow: 31 October 2010

The Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Ms. Mayawati ji has

directed the officers to make such arrangements in Hazaratganj before

Dhanteras and Deepawali, so that traders and common man could not

face any difficulty. Directing the officers to get road repair works

completed, she said that laying of slabs over drains and trench should

be completed before Dhanteras at all costs. She said that cleanliness

drive should be ensured on priority basis in Hazaratganj. She said that

Hazaratganj has special importance in the historic, cultural and

economic activities of Lucknow and there should not be any

compromise with the quality in construction works.

Hon’ble Chief Minister was reviewing the beautification and

development works, besides the proposed programmes on completion

of 200 years of Hazaratganj in December 2010 at her official residence

here today. She apprised herself with the detailed information

regarding the renovation works being done by Lucknow Development

Authority and Nagar Nigam and gave necessary directives to the

officers in this connection. Hon’ble Chief Minister directed the officers

that remaining construction works should be started immediately after

Deepawali and be completed by November 30 at all costs. Directing

the officers to get construction works of basement and ground floor of

multi-level parking completed by November 15, she said that

remaining construction works should be also completed by December

31 next. She said that after the construction of this multi-level

parking, the roads of Hazaratganj would be available completely and

the traffic would become convenient for the people.

Hon’ble Chief Minister said that necessary provisions for the

physically handicapped people should be ensured in the multi-level

parking and other construction works of Hazaratganj, so that they

could not face any difficulty in their movement.

It may be recalled that the Hon’ble Chief Minister has already

sanctioned the schemes worth Rs. 3500 crore to provide civic

amenities and restore the glory of Lucknow. She has directed the

officers to complete these schemes soon, owing to which Lucknow

would become a frontline city in view of high class facilities in the

country.

On this occasion Chairman, U.P. State Advisory Council Mr.

Satish Chandra Mishra and Senior Officers were present.

********

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LESSON 75 PURE LAND PART V 31 10 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY-There is, Oh Monks, a not-born, a not-become, a not-made, a not-compounded. Monks, if that unborn, not-become, not-made, not-compounded were not, there would be no escape from this here that is born, become, made and compounded. - Buddha-Anyone Can Attain Eternal Bliss Just Visit:http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org that is part of the march past of the CARAVAN from PRABUDDHA BHARATH to PRABUDDHA PRAPANCH for “Sarvjan Hitay and Sarvajan Sukhay” i.e., for the Welfare and Happiness of Entire People & all Sentient and Non-Sentient beings-BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!-WISDOM IS POWER-GOOD GOVERNANCE-Hon’ble Chief Minister reviews law and order situation C.M. directs Principal Secretary (Home), DGP and ADG (law and order) to review law and order situation on 1st November, 2010 with police and administrative officers of all divisions/districts through video-conferencing- Campaigning ends for fourth phase of Bihar polls

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10/30/10

LESSON 74 PURE LAND PART IV 30 10 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY-Anyone Can Attain Eternal Bliss Just Visit:http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org that is part of the march past of the CARAVAN from PRABUDDHA BHARATH to PRABUDDHA PRAPANCH for “Sarvjan Hitay and Sarvajan Sukhay” i.e., for the Welfare and Happiness of Entire People & all Sentient and Non-Sentient beings-Let yourself be open and life will be easier. A spoon of salt in a glass of water makes the water undrinkable. A spoon of salt in a lake is almost unnoticed. - Buddha-BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!-WISDOM IS POWER-GOOD GOVERNANCE-FIRs against 395 adulterators lodged and food articles worth Rs. 2.47 crore seized in a drive launched against adulteration Drive against adulterators to continue

Filed under: General
Posted by: site admin @ 9:49 am

LESSON 74 PURE LAND PART IV 30 10 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY

Anyone Can Attain Eternal Bliss Just Visit:http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org that is part of the march past of the CARAVAN from PRABUDDHA BHARATH to PRABUDDHA PRAPANCH for “Sarvjan Hitay and Sarvajan Sukhay” i.e., for the Welfare and Happiness of Entire People & all Sentient and Non-Sentient beings

Let yourself be open and life will be easier. A spoon of salt in a glass of water makes the water undrinkable. A spoon of salt in a lake is almost unnoticed. - Buddha

BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!

WISDOM IS POWER

Awakened One Shows the Path to Attain Ultimate Bliss

COMPUTER IS AN ENTERTAINMENT INSTRUMENT!

INTERNET!

ENTERTAINMENT NET!

TO BE MOST APPROPRIATE!

Using such an instrument

The Free ONLINE e-Nālandā Research and Practice University has been re-organized to function through the following Schools of Learning :

Buddha’s Sangha Practiced His Dhamma Free of cost, hence the Free- e-Nālandā Research and Practice University follows suit

As the Original Nālandā University did not offer any Degree, so also the Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University.

§ Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , Indian scholar, philosopher and architect of Constitution of India, in his writing and speeches

I.
KAMMA

AWAKEN-NESS

II.
ARHAT

TWELVEFOLD CONDITIONED ARISING

BODHISATTVA

PARAMITA

SIX PARAMITAS

III.

SIX SPIRITUAL POWERS

SIX PATHS OF REBIRTH

TEN DHARMA REALMS

FIVE SKANDHAS

EIGHTEEN REALMS

FIVE MORAL PRECEPTS

IV.

MEDITATION

MINDFULNESS

FOUR APPLICATIONS OF MINDFULNESS

FOUR FORMLESS REALMS

FIVE TYPES OF BUDDHIST STUDY AND PRACTICE

MAHAYANA AND HINAYANA COMPARED

PURE LAND

BUDDHA RECITATION

EIGHT CONSCIOUSNESSES

ONE HUNDRED DHARMAS

EMPTINESS

VI.

DEMON

LINEAGE

with

Level I: Introduction to Buddhism

Level II: Buddhist Studies

TO ATTAIN

Level III: Stream-Enterer

Level IV: Once - Returner

Level V: Non-Returner
Level VI: Arhat

Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in

mathematics,

astronomy,

alchemy,

and

anatomy

Philosophy and Comparative Religions;

Historical Studies;

International Relations and Peace Studies;

Business Management in relation to Public Policy and Development Studies;

Languages and Literature;

and Ecology and Environmental Studies

Welcome to the Free Online e-Nālandā Research and Practice University

Course Programs:

PURE LAND PART IV

Origami (折り紙^?, from ori meaning “folding”, and kami meaning “paper”)
is the traditional Japanese folk art of paper folding, which started in the 17th century AD and was popularized in the mid-1900s. It has since then evolved into a modern art form. The goal of this art is to transform a flat sheet of material into a finished sculpture through folding and sculpting techniques, and as such the use of cuts or glue are not considered to be origami.

The number of basic origami folds is small, but they can be combined in a variety of ways to make intricate designs. The most well known origami model is probably the Japanese paper crane. In general, these designs begin with a square sheet of paper whose sides may be different colors or prints. Traditional Japanese origami, which has been practiced since the Edo era (1603–1867), has often been less strict about these conventions, sometimes cutting the paper or using nonsquare shapes to start with.

Origami cranesthe folding of an Origami crane

History

Swan by Akira Yoshizawa, the father of modern origami.

There is much speculation as to the origin of origami. While Japan seems to have had the most extensive tradition, there is evidence of independent paperfolding traditions in China, Germany, and Spain, among other places. However because paper decomposes rapidly, there is very little direct evidence of its age or origins, aside from references in published material.

The earliest evidence of paperfolding in Europe is a picture of a small paper boat in Tractatus de sphaera mundi from 1490. There is also evidence of a cut and folded paper box from 1440.^[1] It is probable paperfolding in the west originated with the Moors much earlier,^[2] it is not known if it was independently discovered or knowledge of origami came along the silk route.

In Japan, the earliest unambiguous reference to a paper model is in a short poem by Ihara Saikaku in 1680 which describes paper butterflies in a dream.^[3] Origami butterflies were used during the celebration of Shinto weddings to represent the bride and groom, so paperfolding already become a significant aspect of Japanese ceremony by the Heian period (794–1185) of Japanese history, enough that the reference in this poem would be recognized. Samurai warriors would exchange gifts adorned with noshi, a sort of good luck token made of folded strips of paper. In Japan, origami is a sport. every year, an origami tournament called Yaru Sano Origami is held in Kyoto.^{[citation needed]}

In the early 1900s, Akira Yoshizawa, Kosho Uchiyama, and others began creating and recording original origami works. Akira Yoshizawa in particular was responsible for a number of innovations, such as wet-folding and the Yoshizawa-Randlett diagramming system, and his work inspired a renaissance of the art form.^[4] During the 1980s a number of folders started systematically studying the mathematical properties of folded forms, which led to a steady increase in the complexity of origami models, which continued well into the 1990s, after which some designers started returning to simpler forms.^[5]

Techniques and materials

Techniques

Main article: Origami techniques

Many origami books begin with a description of basic origami techniques which are used to construct the models. These include simple diagrams of basic folds like valley and mountain folds, pleats, reverse folds, squash folds, and sinks. There are also standard named bases which are used in a wide variety of models, for instance the bird base is an intermediate stage in the construction of the flapping bird.^[6]

Origami paper

Main article: Origami paper

crane and papers of the same size used to fold it

Almost any laminar material can be used for folding; the only requirement is that it should hold a crease.

Origami paper, often referred to as “kami” (Japanese for paper), is sold in prepackaged squares of various sizes ranging from 2.5 cm to 25 cm or more. It is commonly colored on one side and white on the other; however, dual coloured and patterned versions exist and can be used effectively for color-changed models. Origami paper weighs slightly less than copy paper, making it suitable for a wider range of models.

Normal copy paper with weights of 70–90 g/m² (19-24 lb) can be used for simple folds, such as the crane and waterbomb. Heavier weight papers of 100 g/m² (approx. 25 lb) or more can be wet-folded. This technique allows for a more rounded sculpting of the model, which becomes rigid and sturdy when it is dry.

Foil-backed paper, just as its name implies, is a sheet of thin foil glued to a sheet of thin paper. Related to this is tissue foil, which is made by gluing a thin piece of tissue paper to kitchen aluminium foil. A second piece of tissue can be glued onto the reverse side to produce a tissue/foil/tissue sandwich. Foil-backed paper is available commercially, but not tissue foil; it must be handmade. Both types of foil materials are suitable for complex models.

Washi (和紙^?)

is the traditional origami paper used in Japan. Washi is generally tougher than ordinary paper made from wood pulp, and is used in many traditional arts. Washi is commonly made using fibres from the bark of the gampi tree, the mitsumata shrub (Edgeworthia papyrifera), or the paper mulberry but also can be made using bamboo, hemp, rice, and wheat.

Artisan papers such as unryu, lokta, hanji, gampi, kozo, saa, and abaca have long fibres and are often extremely strong. As these papers are floppy to start with, they are often backcoated or resized withmethylcellulose or wheat paste before folding. Also, these papers are extremely thin and compressible, allowing for thin, narrowed limbs as in the case of insect models.

Paper money from various countries is also popular to create origami with; this is known variously as Dollar Origami, Orikane, and Money Origami.

Towels and toilet paper are often folded by hotel staff to indicate to guests that the bathroom has been recently cleaned.

Tools

It is common to fold using a flat surface but some folders like doing it in the air with no tools especially when displaying the folding. Many folders believe no tool should be used when folding. However a couple of tools can help especially with the more complex models. For instance a bone folder allows sharp creases to be made in the paper easily, paper clips can act as extra pairs of fingers, and tweezers can be used to make small folds. When making complex models from origami crease patterns, it can help to use a ruler and ballpoint embosser to score the creases. Completed models can be sprayed so they keep their shape better, and of course a spray is needed when wet folding.

Types of Origami

Action origami

Main article: Action origami

Origami not only covers still-life, there are also moving objects; Origami can move in clever ways. Action origami includes origami that flies, requires inflation to complete, or, when complete, uses the kinetic energyof a person’s hands, applied at a certain region on the model, to move another flap or limb. Some argue that, strictly speaking, only the latter is really “recognized” as action origami. Action origami, first appearing with the traditional Japanese flapping bird, is quite common. One example is Robert Lang’s instrumentalists; when the figures’ heads are pulled away from their bodies, their hands will move, resembling the playing of music.

A stellated icosahedron made from custom papers

Modular origami

Main article: Modular origami

Modular origami consists of putting a number of identical pieces together to form a complete model. Normally the individual pieces are simple but the final assembly may be tricky. Many of the modular origami models are decorative balls like kusudama, the technique differs though in that kusudama allows the pieces to be put together using thread or glue.

Chinese paper folding includes a style called 3D origami where large numbers of pieces are put together to make elaborate models. Sometimes paper money is used for the modules. This style originated from some Chinese refugees while they were detained in America and is also called Golden Venture folding from the ship they came on.

[edit]Wet-folding

Main article: Wet-folding

Wet-folding is an origami technique for producing models with gentle curves rather than geometric straight folds and flat surfaces. The paper is dampened so it can be moulded easily, the final model keeps its shape when it dries. It can be used for instance to produce very natural looking animal models.

[edit]Pureland origami

Main article: Pureland origami

Pureland origami is origami with the restriction that only one fold may be done at a time, more complex folds like reverse folds are not allowed, and all folds have straightforward locations. It was developed by John Smith in the 1970s to help inexperienced folders or those with limited motor skills. Some designers also like the challenge of creating good models within the very strict constraints.

[edit]Origami Tessellations

This branch of origami is one that has grown in popularity recently, but has an extensive history. Tessellations refer to the tiling of the plane where a collection of 2 dimensional figures fill a plane with no gaps or overlaps. Origami tessellations are tessellations made from a flat material, most often paper, but it can be from anything that holds a crease. The history of costuming includes tessellations done in fabric that are recorded as far back as the Egyptian Tombs.

Fujimoto was an early Japanese origami master who published books that included origami tessellations and in the 1960s there was a great exploration of tessellations by Ron Resch. Chris Palmer is an artist who has extensively explored tessellations and has found ways to create detailed origami tessellations out of silk. Robert Lang and Alex Bateman are two designers who use computer programs to design origami tessellations. The first American book on origami tessellations was just published by Eric Gjerde and the field has been expanding rapidly. There are numerous origami tessellation artists including Chris Palmer (U.S.), Eric Gjerde (U.S.), Polly Verity (Scotland), Joel Cooper (U.S.), Christine Edison (U.S.), Ray Schamp (U.S.), Roberto Gretter (Italy), Goran Konjevod (U.S.),and Christiane Bettens (Switzerland) that are showing works that are both geometric and representational.

Kirigami

Main article: Kirigami

In Kirigami it is allowed to make cuts. In traditional Origami, there was no Kirigami. Kirigami was simply called Origami. Just in the recent century the term Kirigami developed in order to distinguish it from “pure Origami”

Mathematics and technical origami

Spring Into Action, designed by Jeff Beynon, made from a single rectangular piece of paper.^[7]

Hercules Beetle by Robert Lang

Mathematics and practical applications

The practice and study of origami encapsulates several subjects of mathematical interest. For instance, the problem of flat-foldability (whether a crease pattern can be folded into a 2-dimensional model) has been a topic of considerable mathematical study.

The problem of rigid origami (”if we replaced the paper with sheet metal and had hinges in place of the crease lines, could we still fold the model?”) has great practical importance. For example, the Miura map fold is a rigid fold that has been used to deploy large solar panel arrays for space satellites.

There may soon be an origami airplane launched from space. A prototype passed a durability test in a wind tunnel on March 2008, and Japan’s space agency adopted it for feasibility studies.

Technical origami

Technical origami, also known as origami sekkei (折り紙設計^?)
, is a field of origami that has developed almost hand-in-hand with the field of mathematical origami. In the early days of origami, development of new designs was largely a mix of trial-and-error, luck and serendipity. With advances in origami mathematics however, the basic structure of a new origami model can be theoretically plotted out on paper before any actual folding even occurs. This method of origami design was developed by Robert Lang, Meguro Toshiyuki and others, and allows for the creation of extremely complex multi-limbed models such as many-legged centipedes, human figures with a full complement of fingers and toes, and the like.

The main starting point for such technical designs is the crease pattern (often abbreviated as CP), which is essentially the layout of the creases required to form the final model. Although not intended as a substitute for diagrams, folding from crease patterns is starting to gain in popularity, partly because of the challenge of being able to ‘crack’ the pattern, and also partly because the crease pattern is often the only resource available to fold a given model, should the designer choose not to produce diagrams. Still, there are many cases in which designers wish to sequence the steps of their models but lack the means to design clear diagrams. Such origamists occasionally resort to theSequenced Crease Pattern (abbreviated as SCP) which is a set of crease patterns showing the creases up to each respective fold. The SCP eliminates the need for diagramming programs or artistic ability while maintaining the step-by-step process for other folders to see. Another name for the Sequenced Crease Pattern is the Progressive Crease Pattern (PCP).

Paradoxically enough, when origami designers come up with a crease pattern for a new design, the majority of the smaller creases are relatively unimportant and added only towards the completion of the crease pattern. What is more important is the allocation of regions of the paper and how these are mapped to the structure of the object being designed. For a specific class of origami bases known as ‘uniaxial bases’, the pattern of allocations is referred to as the ‘circle-packing’. Using optimization algorithms, a circle-packing figure can be computed for any uniaxial base of arbitrary complexity. Once this figure is computed, the creases which are then used to obtain the base structure can be added. This is not a unique mathematical process, hence it is possible for two designs to have the same circle-packing, and yet different crease pattern structures.

As a circle encloses the minimum amount of area for a given perimeter, circle packing allows for maximum efficiency in terms of paper usage. However, other polygonal shapes can be used to solve the packing problem as well. The use of polygonal shapes other than circles is often motivated by the desire to find easily locatable creases (such as multiples of 22.5 degrees) and hence an easier folding sequence as well. One popular offshoot of the circle packing method is box-pleating, where squares are used instead of circles. As a result, the crease pattern that arises from this method contains only 45 and 90 degree angles, which makes for easier folding.

Gallery

Cuckoo clock by Robert J. LangDollar bill elephantKawasaki roseCannabis leaf

http://www.truehappiness.ws/146.html

Please watch videos on

LIFE OF SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA (GAUTAMA BUDDHA, HISTORICAL BUDDHA or SIDDHARTHA GAUTAMA)

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3637766/10026465

Life of Shakyamuni Buddha (Gotama Buddha), 1 of 8 9.25 mins

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3637786/10024606

Life of Shakyamuni Buddha (Gotama Buddha) 2 4.33 mins

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3637803/10026487

Life of Shakyamuni Buddha 3 5.43mins

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3637837/10024746

Life of Shakyamuni Buddha 4 10.14mins

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3637881/10024782

Life of Shakyamuni Buddha 5 7.12mins

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3637904/10026525

Life of Shakyamuni Buddha 6 4.45mins

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3637912/10026533

Life of Shakyamuni Buddha 7 7.34mins

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3637923/10024830

Life of Shakyamuni Buddha, 8 of 8 10.23mins

LIFE OF SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/4077889/11007558

The Buddha’s Life, 1 of 5 9.42mins

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/4078012/11007872

The Buddha’s Life 2 8.57mins

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/4078082/11007993

The Buddha’s Life 3 9.18mins

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/4078126/11008041

The Buddha’s Life 4 8.50mins

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/4078161/11008189

The Buddha’s Life 5 7.01mins

The Life of Buddha with English Subs (English subtitle):

The Life of Buddha (with English subtitle) 49.54mins

Vesak Day with English Subs:

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3624909/9994083

Vesak Day, 1 of 8 4.58mins

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3624932/9994144

Vesak Day 2 4.58mins

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3624975/9994254

Vesak Day 3 9.31mins

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3625032/9994372

Vesak Day 4 4.11mins

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3625066/9994459

Vesak Day 5 9.54mins

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3625230/9994850

Vesak Day 6 6.03mins

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3625261/9994919

Vesak Day 7 9.23mins

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3625297/9994964

Vesak Day 8 4.51mins

Jataka: Stories in Shakyamuni Buddha’s past lives with English Subs:

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3899354/10617692

Jataka, Shakyamuni Buddha’s past lives stories, episode 1a 9.08mins

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3899398/10617805

Jataka, Shakyamuni Buddha’ past lives stories, episode 1b 5.40mins

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3900212/10619753

Jataka: Shakyamuni Buddha’s past lives stories, episode 2b 3.49mins

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3900237/10619977

Jataka: Shakyamuni Buddha’s past lives stories, episode 3a 9.01mins

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3900261/10620159

Jataka: Shakyamuni Buddha’s past lives stories, episode 3b 4.52mins

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3902801/10625362

Jataka: Shakyamuni Buddha’s past lives stories, episode 4a 9.55mins

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3903005/10625826

Jataka: Shakyamuni Buddha’s past lives stories, episode 4b 3.34mins

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Jataka: Shakyamuni Buddha’s past lives stories, episode 5a 8.52mins

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Jataka: Shakyamuni Buddha’s past lives stories, episode 5b 3.45mins

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3903078/10626015

Jataka: Shakyamuni Buddha’s past lives stories, episode 6a 9.18mins

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3903102/10626076

Jataka: Shakyamuni Buddha’s past lives stories, episode 6b 4.45mins

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3903120/10626129

Jataka: Shakyamuni Buddha’s past lives stories, episode 7a 8.35mins

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3903179/10626195

Jataka: Shakyamuni Buddha’s past lives stories, episode 7b 4.02mins

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3903301/10626491

Jataka: Shakyamuni Buddha’s past lives stories, episode 8a 8.07mins

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3903369/10626573

Jataka: Shakyamuni Buddha’s past lives stories, episode 8b 4.07mins

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3909979/10641069

Jataka: Shakyamuni Buddha’s past lives stories, episode 9a 7.39mins

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3910014/10641152c

Jataka: Shakyamuni Buddha’s past lives stories, episode 9b 5.17mins

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3910038/10641236

Jataka: Shakyamuni Buddha’s past lives stories, episode 10a 9.14mins

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Jataka: Shakyamuni Buddha’s past lives stories, episode 10b 2.12mins

GOOD GOVERNANCE

Press Information Bureau

(C.M. Information Campus)

Information & Public Relations Department, U.P.

FIRs against 395 adulterators lodged and food articles worth Rs. 2.47 crore seized in a drive launched against adulteration Drive against adulterators to continue

Lucknow: 29 October 2010

On the directives of the hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh

Ms. Mayawati ji, a drive against adulteration in food articles and

circulation of spurious drugs had been launched on 1
st June 2010 to

control such activities effectively and also to take legal action against

the guilty. FIRs against 395 persons had been lodged till today and

569 persons had been named in it. Food article worth Rs. 2.47 crore

had been seized and the same worth Rs. 10.40 lakh had been

destroyed/captured.

A Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Department spokesman,

while giving this information here today, said that the hon’ble Chief

Minister Ms. Mayawati ji had given explicit orders that this drive

should continue till this menace is completely eliminated. The

Spokesman said that those indulging in adulteration and circulation

of spurious drugs would not be spared at any cost and nobody would

be allowed to affect people’s health adversely and punitive action

would be taken against the guilty.

The spokesman said that the drive was continuing against the

adulterators all over the State. Besides, participation of common

people was also being sought in it. The spokesman said that in

today’s raid conducted in Aligarh adulterated khoya worth Rs. 67,000

and other adulterated dairy products were seized and destroyed.

Likewise, adulterated khoya costing Rs. 3.64 lakh was recovered

from Gorakhpur, the same worth Rs. 2 lakh was recovered in

Mathura, adulterated milk cake and doda barfi worth Rs. 40,000 was

captured in Sonbhadra, adulterated khoya worth Rs. 45,000 was

recovered in Meerut and the same worth Rs. 3,000 was seized in

Unnao and destroyed.

Likewise, fake paneer worth Rs. 1.2 lakh was seized in

Ghaziabad, adulterated khoya worth Rs. 52,000 was recovered in

Deoria and the same worth Rs. 1,29,400 was recovered in Ambedkar

Nagar and destroyed.

********

comments (0)

10/29/10

LESSON 73 PURE LAND PART III 29 10 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY-Anyone Can Attain Eternal Bliss Just Visit:http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org that is part of the march past of the CARAVAN from PRABUDDHA BHARATH to PRABUDDHA PRAPANCH for “Sarvjan Hitay and Sarvajan Sukhay” i.e., for the Welfare and Happiness of Entire People & all Sentient and Non-Sentient beings-There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth…not going all the way, and not starting. - Buddha-BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!-WISDOM IS POWER

Filed under: General
Posted by: site admin @ 12:20 am

LESSON 73 PURE LAND PART III 29 10 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY

Anyone Can Attain Eternal Bliss Just Visit:http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org that is part of the march past of the CARAVAN from PRABUDDHA BHARATH to PRABUDDHA PRAPANCH for “Sarvjan Hitay and Sarvajan Sukhay” i.e., for the Welfare and Happiness of Entire People & all Sentient and Non-Sentient beings

There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth…not going all the way, and not starting. - Buddha

BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!

WISDOM IS POWER

Awakened One Shows the Path to Attain Ultimate Bliss

COMPUTER IS AN ENTERTAINMENT INSTRUMENT!

INTERNET!

ENTERTAINMENT NET!

TO BE MOST APPROPRIATE!

Using such an instrument

The Free ONLINE e-Nālandā Research and Practice University has been re-organized to function through the following Schools of Learning :

Buddha’s Sangha Practiced His Dhamma Free of cost, hence the Free- e-Nālandā Research and Practice University follows suit

As the Original Nālandā University did not offer any Degree, so also the Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University.

§ Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , Indian scholar, philosopher and architect of Constitution of India, in his writing and speeches

I.
KAMMA

AWAKEN-NESS

II.
ARHAT

TWELVEFOLD CONDITIONED ARISING

BODHISATTVA

PARAMITA

SIX PARAMITAS

III.

SIX SPIRITUAL POWERS

SIX PATHS OF REBIRTH

TEN DHARMA REALMS

FIVE SKANDHAS

EIGHTEEN REALMS

FIVE MORAL PRECEPTS

IV.

MEDITATION

MINDFULNESS

FOUR APPLICATIONS OF MINDFULNESS

FOUR FORMLESS REALMS

FIVE TYPES OF BUDDHIST STUDY AND PRACTICE

MAHAYANA AND HINAYANA COMPARED

PURE LAND

BUDDHA RECITATION

EIGHT CONSCIOUSNESSES

ONE HUNDRED DHARMAS

EMPTINESS

VI.

DEMON

LINEAGE

with

Level I: Introduction to Buddhism

Level II: Buddhist Studies

TO ATTAIN

Level III: Stream-Enterer

Level IV: Once - Returner

Level V: Non-Returner
Level VI: Arhat

Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in

mathematics,

astronomy,

alchemy,

and

anatomy

Philosophy and Comparative Religions;

Historical Studies;

International Relations and Peace Studies;

Business Management in relation to Public Policy and Development Studies;

Languages and Literature;

and Ecology and Environmental Studies

Welcome to the Free Online e-Nālandā Research and Practice University

Course Programs:

PURE LAND PART III

Origins of Pure Land Buddhism

Mount Lushan, in southeast China, is celebrated for the soft mists that blanket its sheer peaks and deep forest valleys. This scenic area is also a world cultural site. Since ancient times many spiritual and educational centers have been located there. Among these is the birthplace of Pure Land Buddhism.

In 402 CE the monk and teacher Hui-yuan (336-416) gathered 123 followers in a monastery he had built on the slopes of Mount Lushan. This group, called the White Lotus Society, vowed before an image of Amitabha Buddhathat they would be reborn in the Western Paradise.
In the centuries to follow, Pure Land Buddhism would spread throughout China.

The Western Paradise

Sukhavati, the Pure Land of the West, is discussed in the Amitabha Sutra, one of the three sutras that are the principal texts of Pure Land. It is the most important of the many blissful paradises into which Pure Land Buddhists hope to be reborn.

Buddhist scholars generally understand a Pure Land as a transcendent state of being. In Asian folklore, on the other hand, a Pure Land is thought of as a real place, not unlike the way many people conceptualize Heaven. The Pure Land is not the final destination, however.

Hui-yuan and other early masters of Pure Land believed that achieving the liberation of Nirvana through a life of monastic austerity was too difficult for most people. They rejected the “self effort” emphasized by earlier schools of Buddhism. Instead, the ideal is rebirth in a Pure Land, where the toils and worries of ordinary life do not interfere with devoted practice of the Buddha’s teachings. By the grace of Amitabha’s compassion, those reborn in a Pure Land find themselves only a short step from Nirvana.

Practices of Pure Land

Pure Land Buddhists accept the basic Buddhist teachings of the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. The primary practice common to all schools of Pure Land is the recitation of the name of Amitabha, who is also called Amida.

In Chinese, this chant is “Na-mu A-mi-to Fo” (Hail, Amida Buddha). The same chant in Japanese, called the Nembutsu, is “Namu Amida Butsu.” Sincere and focused chanting becomes a kind of meditation that helps the Pure Land Buddhist visualize Amitabha Buddha. In the most advanced stage of practice, the follower contemplates Amitabha as not separate from his own being.

Pure Land in Japan

Pure Land was founded in Japan by Honen Shonin (1133-1212), a Tendai monk who had become discouraged by monastic practice. Honen emphasized the recitation of the Nembutsu above all other practices, including visualization, rituals, and even the Precepts. Honen’s school was calledJodo-kyo or Jodo Shu (School of the Pure Land).

Honen was said to have recited the Nembutsu 60,000 times a day. When not chanting, he preached the virtues of the Nembutsu to laypeople and monastics alike, and he attracted a large following.

Honen’s openness to followers from all walks of life caused the displeasure of Japan’s ruling elite, who had Honen exiled to a remote part of Japan. Many of Honen’s followers were exiled or executed. Honen eventually was pardoned and allowed to return to Kyoto just a year before his death.

Jodo Shu and Jodo Shinshu

After Honen’s death, disputes over the proper doctrines and practices of Jodo Shu broke out among his followers, leading to several divergent factions. One faction was the Chinzei, headed by Honen’s disciple Shokobo Bencho (1162-1238), also called Shoko. Shoko also stressed many recitations of the Nembutsu but believed the Nembutsu did not have to be one’s only practice. Shokobo is considered to be the Second Patriarch of Jodo Shu.

Another disciple, Shinran Shonin (1173-1262), was a monk who broke his vows of celibacy to marry. Shinran stressed faith in Amitabha over the number of times the Nembutsu must be recited. He also came to believe that devotion to Amitabha replaced any need for monasticism. He founded Jodo Shinshu (True School of the Pure Land), which abolished monasteries and authorized married priests. Shodo Shinshu is also sometimes called Shin Buddhism.

Today, Pure Land–including Jodo Shinshu, Jodo Shu, and some smaller sects–is the most popular form of Buddhism in Japan.

Namo Shakyamuni Buddha

International Association of Buddhist Universities

Members

1. Member Universities as of May 2007

Cambodia	Preah Sihamoni Raja Buddhist University
Cambodia	Preah Sihanouk Raja Buddhist University
China	The Buddhist Academy of China
Hungary	Budapest Buddhist University (The Dharma Gate Buddhist College)
India	Nalanda University
India	Institute of Buddhist Dialectics Dharamsala
India	Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies (CIHTS) (Deemed University)
India	University of Calcutta
Indonesia	Kertarajasa Buddhist College
Indonesia	Bodhi Dharma Buddhist College
Indonesia	Nalanda Buddhist College
Indonesia	Syailendra Buddhist College
Indonesia	Smaratungga Buddhist College
Indonesia	Jinarakkhita Buddhist College
Japan	Koyasan University
Japan	Minobusan University
Japan	Rissho University
Korea	Joong-Anng Sangha University
Korea	Wonkwang University
Korea	Dongguk University
Korea	Dong Bang Buddhist College
Korea	Daejin University
Korea	Dongguk Chonbop Buddhist College
Laos	Sangha College of Vientiane
Laos	Sangha College of Champassak
Thailand/Malaysia	International Buddhist College (IBC)
Mongolia	Zanabazar Buddhist University
Mongolia	Dashi Choiling College
Myanmar	International Theravada Buddhist Missionary University (ITBMU)
Myanmar	Sitagu International Buddhist Academy (SIBA)
Myanmar	State Pariyatti Sasana University (Yangon)
Myanmar	State Pariyatti Sasana University (Mandalay)
Myanmar	Buddhist University
Singapore	Buddhist and Pali College of Singapore
Sri Lanka	Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka	Buddhasravaka Bhikshu University
Chinese Taipei	Ching Chueh Buddhist Sangha University
Chinese Taipei	Chung-Hwa Institute of Buddhist Studies - Dharma Drum Sangha University
Chinese Taipei	Nan Hua University
Chinese Taipei	Fo Guang University
Chinese Taipei	Hua Fan University
Chinese Taipei	Yuan Guang Buddhist College and Institute of Buddhist Studies
Thailand	Mahachulalongkronrajvidalaya University
Thailand	Mahamakut Buddhist University
USA	Naropa University
USA	University of the West
Vietnam	Vietnam Buddhist University, Van Hanh Monastery
Vietnam	Vietnam Buddhist University in Hanoi, Non Nuoc Temple
Vietnam	Vietnam Buddhist University in Thua Thien-HueHong Duc Temple
Vietnam	Vietnam Buddhist Research Institute
Vietnam	Ho Chi Minh City College for Buddhist Studies
Vietnam	Hanoi College for Buddhist Studies
Vietnam	Hue College for Buddhist Studies
Vietnam	Can Tho College for Buddhist Studies
Vietnam	Lam Dong College for Buddhist Studies
Vietnam	Ba Ria – Vung Tau College for Buddhist Studies
Vietnam	Bac Lieu College for Buddhist Studies
Vietnam	Advanced School for Dharma Dissemination
Vietnam	Khmer Theravada Academy for Buddhist Studies in Can Tho
Vietnam	National Council for Monastic Education

2. Members of Council

Chairman

The Most Venerable Professor Phra Dharmakosajarn
Rector, Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University, Thailand

Vice Chairmen

Venerable Xue Chen
Vice President, Buddhist Association of China & Buddhist Academy of China
Prof. Dr. Chisho M. Namai
Former President & Director of the Research Institute of Esoteric Buddhist Culture, Koyasan University, Japan
Prof. Dr. Le Mahn That
Acting Rector, Vietnam Buddhist University , Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Executive Secretary

Venerable Dr. Khammai Dhammasami
Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies, University of Oxford, UK and
Professor, International Theravada Buddhist Missionary University (ITBMU), Yangon, Myanmar

Assistant Executive Secretaries

Venerable Dr. Kim Misan
Joong-Ang Sangha University, Korea
Dr. Tamas Agocs
Foreign Relations Manager & Director of Research Institute of East and West,
Budapest Buddhist University, Hungary
Venerable Associate Prof. Dr. Phramaha Somjin Samapanyo
Pro-Rector for Academic Affairs,
Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University, Thailand

Members

Venerable Bhikkhuni Dr. Yifa, PhD (Yale),
Chair, Department of Religious Studies, University of the West, L.A, USA
Email: yifa@hsilai.org

The Most Venerable Dr. Ashin Nyanissara, PhD., D.Litt.,
Chancellor, Sitagu International Buddhist Academy, Myanmar
Email: tln3star@myanmar.com.mm

The Most Venerable Ching Hsing, PhD,
Ching Cheuh Buddhist Sangha University, Chinese-Taipei
Email: wusungshyi@hotmail.com

Venerable Prof. Geshe Gnawang Samten,
Director/Rector, Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarnath, India
Email: gh_samten@yahoo.co.in

Venerable Prof. Tepsattha Sovanratana, MA (Kelaniya),
Vice Rector, Preah Sihanouk Raja Buddhist University, Cambodia
Email: sovanratana@yahoo.com

Prof. Sumanapala Galmangoda, PhD (Kelaniya),
Director, Postgraduate Institute of Pali and Buddhist Studies & Senior Professor, Department of Pail and Buddhist Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka
Email: galman@sltnet.lk

Dr. Eko Legowo, PhD (Hawaii),
Principal, Kertarajasa Buddhist College, Batu, Jawa, Indonesia
Email: ssc-ina1@telkom.net

Dr. Rabindra Panth, PhD (Delhi),
Director/Rector, Nalanda University (Nalanda Mahavihar), India
Email: nnmdirector@sify.com

Prof. Philip Stanley, PhD (Chicago),
Chair, Department of Religious Studies, Naropa University, Colorado, USA
Email: philstanley@comcast.net

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10/28/10

LESSON 72 PURE LAND PART II 28 10 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY-Anyone Can Attain Ultimate Bliss Just Visit:http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org-Born out of concern for all beings. - Buddha-BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!-WISDOM IS POWER-GOOD GOVERNANCE-Hon’ble Chief Minister Ji orders suspension of seven officers of Chandauli and Sonbhadra districts for showing laxity in various development works-Carry out all-round development of naxal affected areas on war footing-.Third phase of Bihar elections - Factfile

Filed under: General
Posted by: site admin @ 12:52 am

LESSON 72 PURE LAND PART II 28 10 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY

Anyone Can Attain Ultimate Bliss Just Visit:http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org

Born out of concern for all beings. - Buddha

BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!

WISDOM IS POWER

Awakened One Shows the Path to Attain Ultimate Bliss

COMPUTER IS AN ENTERTAINMENT INSTRUMENT!

INTERNET!

ENTERTAINMENT NET!

TO BE MOST APPROPRIATE!

Using such an instrument

The Free ONLINE e-Nālandā Research and Practice University has been re-organized to function through the following Schools of Learning :

Buddha’s Sangha Practiced His Dhamma Free of cost, hence the Free- e-Nālandā Research and Practice University follows suit

As the Original Nālandā University did not offer any Degree, so also the Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University.

§ Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , Indian scholar, philosopher and architect of Constitution of India, in his writing and speeches

I.
KAMMA

AWAKEN-NESS

II.
ARHAT

TWELVEFOLD CONDITIONED ARISING

BODHISATTVA

PARAMITA

SIX PARAMITAS

III.

SIX SPIRITUAL POWERS

SIX PATHS OF REBIRTH

TEN DHARMA REALMS

FIVE SKANDHAS

EIGHTEEN REALMS

FIVE MORAL PRECEPTS

IV.

MEDITATION

MINDFULNESS

FOUR APPLICATIONS OF MINDFULNESS

FOUR FORMLESS REALMS

FIVE TYPES OF BUDDHIST STUDY AND PRACTICE

MAHAYANA AND HINAYANA COMPARED

PURE LAND

BUDDHA RECITATION

EIGHT CONSCIOUSNESSES

ONE HUNDRED DHARMAS

EMPTINESS

VI.

DEMON

LINEAGE

with

Level I: Introduction to Buddhism

Level II: Buddhist Studies

TO ATTAIN

Level III: Stream-Enterer

Level IV: Once - Returner

Level V: Non-Returner
Level VI: Arhat

Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in

mathematics,

astronomy,

alchemy,

and

anatomy

Philosophy and Comparative Religions;

Historical Studies;

International Relations and Peace Studies;

Business Management in relation to Public Policy and Development Studies;

Languages and Literature;

and Ecology and Environmental Studies

Welcome to the Free Online e-Nālandā Research and Practice University

Course Programs:

PURE LAND PART II

japanese garden and meditation centre

the beautiful Pureland Japanese Garden and Meditation Centre - a special venue for self-discovery, team development, meditation and wellness - or simply to visit the garden

The Pureland Japanese Garden and Meditation Centre is a remarkable place. It is a uniquely beautiful garden, and also the home of Buddha Maitreya (pronounced ‘My-treeya’), a spiritual teacher and creator of this wonderful space.

There is now a Pureland Japanese Garden website, which contains some of the information explained here, and additional details besides.

The Pureland Japanese Garden, and the teachings and sessions provided by Buddha Maitreya, present a wonderful opportunity to bring spirituality and enlightenment into organisational learning and development. Spirituality and business - or love and business - might not seem an obvious ‘fit’ according to traditional thinking, however, we live in enlightened times. More and more people are seeking a new meaning from life and work. So there are increasingly significant connections between the ideas of spiritual peace, and what people want from their work and life beyond work. Pureland, based in the English East Midlands close to Newark Nottinghamshire, and Buddha Maitreya, offer a wonderful way to make these connections real.

The Pureland garden reflects Maitreya’s approach to meditation and philosophy, in which he teaches self-awareness, peace, and harmony with nature.

Buddha Maitreya acquired the land in 1973. It was then one and a half acres of flat wasteland - the site of an old farm house.

Maitreya has since transformed the space into an extraordinary venue, for people who seek peace and well-being, to discover more about themselves, or for others who simply enjoy visiting beautiful gardens.

The pictures convey a little of the Pureland experience. Visit the garden, or arrange a session for yourself or your team, with Buddha Maitreya, and discover for yourself the wonder of this special place, and this special teacher.

For those too distant to reach the Pureland venue, you might instead consider asking Buddha Maitreya to visit you, to teach relaxation and meditation, and/or maybe to give his talk and slide show about this beautiful Japanese garden and how it was created.

pureland japanese garden views

Traditional Japanese garden elements combine to create a special peaceful space.

Beautiful ponds, bridges, reeds, lillies and carp, and the sound of gently flowing waterfalls

Bridges and walkways.

Steps and grassy mounds.

The variety of textures, shapes and patterns takes your breath away.

pureland activities information

Pureland is a maze of seemingly endless features, exquisitely crafted, and immaculately maintained. The story of the garden’s construction, from disused farmland into a stunning garden, over many years, and virtually single-handedly by Buddha Maitreya is remarkable in itself.

Maitreya’s slideshow of the garden through the seasons is an absolute wonder to behold.

Buddha Maitreya is a wonderful teacher and host. In his company you feel uplifted and centred. People who possess such wisdom and calm, plus the ability to transfer a genuine sense of peace and serenity to others, are extremely rare.

He offers meditation classes, tea ceremonies, and friendly, very reasonably-priced hospitality.

Activities at Pureland include:

individual relaxation and meditation tuition

individual consultation

regular monthly meetings at which Maitreya teaches his simple ‘pure meditation’ approach to inner peace

group relaxation and meditation sessions

Japanese garden viewings - from the last weekend in March to the last weekend in October

lantern lit evening garden viewings - Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays during August and September, 7pm - 10pm

Japanese tea ceremonies - for up to five people

group visits to the garden - available day or evening by appointment

Activities other than garden viewings generally include food and/or afternoon tea, which is available separately if required, and highly recommended when viewing the garden. (You don’t have to have an interest in religion and peace and love to view the garden - many people come to Pureland simply to see the Japanese garden.)

Please bear in mind that Pureland is not a large commercial concern. Do not expect the venue to be like a modern conference facility. The meditation centre is basically Maitreya’s house and the tea-room for visitors. The meditation centre - house and team-room - accommodates up to fifteen visitors. Of course there is a lot more room outside.

Pureland’s appeal lies in its simple beauty, the richness and tranquility of the garden, and the wisdom and teaching of Buddha Maitreya.

Pureland Japanese Garden and Meditation Centre is based in North Clifton, Nottinghamshire, England, just off the A1133 road, half way between Newark and Gainsborough and about 12 miles from each. Pureland is signposted from the main road.

There is ample car parking space.

To make a booking for a lecture, relaxation, meditation or a group visit contact Buddha Maitreya.

Buddha Maitreya is also available to visit you to give talks on higher self-awareness, meditation and meditation guidance.

Maitreya offers a wonderful slideshow presentation (35mm slide projector required) and talks about the creation of the Pureland Japanese garden.

Buddha Maitreya also offers talks and classes in Haiku poetry.

To enquire about visiting Pureland, or Buddha Maitreya’s availability for external talks, meditation and relaxation sessions, slide-show, etc, telephone: 01777 228567, or from outside the UK +44 (0) 1777 228567.

Pureland Japanese Garden and Meditation Centre
North Clifton
Near Newark
Nottinghamshire
NG23 7AT

buddha maitreya

Maitreya was born and raised in Handa, near Nagoya, in Japan. From an early age he sought to find truth, and attained enlightenment through meditation, which he then followed through teaching and sharing with others. He completed a Masters degree in Buddhist Theology, and for a while afterwards lived the life of a Zen Buddhist monk. His experiences as a Zen Buddhist monk led him to feel that monastic existence was too harsh and inflexible for modern teaching and application of meditation and Buddhist ideas. Maitreya left Japan and travelled to Thailand, India and Nepal, where he taught meditation for several years. On the invitation of a friend Maitreya visited England, where he began teaching and lecturing at various English universities, including Cambridge, Reading and Lancaster. While visiting Nottingham Maitreya learned of the old pig-farm property for sale in North Clifton, which he decided would be a good base from which to teach meditation, and in 1973 Pureland meditation centre was born.

Maitreya began the serious work of creating the Pureland Japanese garden in 1980. He had no previous gardening or agricultural experience. The flat featureless land was re-shaped into small hills around a newly dug central pond. Large boulders were brought in from a Derbyshire quarry, which helped form the winding paths and walkways. Elements were positioned harmoniously, and to reflect Maitreya’s philosophical ideals. Maitreya completed most of the work by hand over many years.

At the core of Maitreya’s philosophy are the following principles:

Self-awareness.

Harmony with nature.

Peace - the most important thing in our life.

Meditation provides you with peace, and also lets you be in touch with your inner self.

The purpose of life for human beings is not just to pursue one’s ‘wordly’ life, but more importantly to realise one’s True Self.

Life is for us to evolve from ‘ego’ existence become to Self Awakened.

Learning meditation enables us to become Self Awakened.

Maitreya teaches his own form of ‘Pure Meditation’ .

His teaching is accessible to all.

Maitreya’s teachings are simple and aim to provide a direct path to fulfil the purpose of life, namely ‘Self Realisation’, and for all people to contribute to the ‘Higher Evolution’ of mankind.

“Not only the cherry blossom
That has cracked into a smile
But also my face.”

(Maitreya, 25 April 2006)

Buddha Maitreya’s teachings, and the inspiration and peace offered at Pureland, provide a wonderful perspective for living a good, positive and fulfilled life.

With acknowledgements Buddha Maitreya.

The Japanese characters and written or spoken words are are called ‘kanji’. The word kanji is from kan (the name given to a great part of China thousands of years ago, from where the language and characters were adopted by Japan) and ji, meaning language or words.

Kanji is written from right to left and from top to bottom. The three columns on the right are the cherry blossom haiku verse; the next column of two characters represents Maitreya’s original Japanese name, Koji, which interestingly means ’supervisor of cultivation’; and the final column far left is the date, which traditionally includes the emperor’s name, hence so many characters.

GOOD GOVERNANCE

Press Information Bureau

(C.M. Information Campus)

Information & Public Relations Department, U.P.

Hon’ble Chief Minister Ji orders suspension of seven officers of Chandauli and Sonbhadra districts for showing laxity in various development works

Carry out all-round development of naxal affected areas on war footing

Lucknow: 27 October 2010

The Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Ms. Mayawati ji ordered

immediate suspension of seven officers of various departments for

showing laxity in implementation of various schemes/ programmes

related with the forest, public works, rural development, education, social

welfare, medical and energy departments being carried out for the

development of SC/ST and other poor sections living in Chandauli and

Sonbhadra districts of the State. She directed the officers to ensure rapid

development of these districts so that tribal and forest dwellers got its

benefits and they were not allured towards naxalism.

On the directives of the Hon’ble Chief Minister Ji, the Principal

Secretary Public Works Mr. Ravindra Singh, Principal Secretary Forest Mr.

Chanchal Kumar Tiwari, Principal Secretary Social Welfare Mr. Balvindra

Kumar and Secretary Rural Development Mr. Manoj Kumar Singh

undertook extensive tour of the Chandauli and Sonbhadra on October 23

and 24 last and conducted spot verification of various schemes and

development works being carried out in these districts. Thereafter, they

submitted their inspection report to the C.M.

Hon’ble Ms. Mayawati Ji reviewed this report at a high-level meeting

held at her official residence and attended by Cabinet Secretary Mr.

Shashank Shekhar Singh, Additional Cabinet Secretary Mr. Net Ram,

Principal Secretary Public Works Mr. Ravindra Singh, Principal Secretary

Home Kunwar Fateh Bahadur, D.G.P. Mr. Karmveer Singh and other

senior officers. After reviewing the report, she took some important

decisions and gave directives to the officers of the related departments.

The Hon’ble Chief Minister Ji ordered immediate suspension of

divisional forest officer (DFO) and ranger of Obra for showing

carelessness in distribution of

Patta of forest land and for tampering/over

writing the documents without getting permission from the competent

authorities. She also directed the officers to conduct departmental inquiry

against them. She ordered immediate suspension of the superintending

engineer of P.W.D. Mirzapur for showing laxity in his works. She further

ordered suspension of the BDOs of Sonbhadra district Mr. Rajesh Yadav

and Mr. Sanjai Pandey, as a lot of complaints of serious financial

irregularities had been lodged against them. She also ordered that

departmental action should be taken against them. She ordered action

under Prevention of Corruption Act against Gram Panchayat Adhikari Mr.

Rajesh Dubey. Besides, the C.M.O. Chanduali, on the directives of the

C.M., has been suspended with immediate effect and departmental action

has also been initiated against him.

The Hon’ble Chief Minister Ji directed the officers to ensure that the

Naib Tehsildar conducted measuring of land under the supervision of the

new committee formed for the purpose of Pattas under the Chairmanship

of the Dy. Collector. Besides, she also directed that the GPRS technology

should also be used to provide a computerised print of the patta along

with the map.

The Hon’ble Chief Minister ji directed the officers that about 7000

petty cases pending in these districts should be withdrawn after getting

them examined/approved from the competent level. She said that if the

same could not the withdrawn then they should be disposed of through

Lok Adalats. She ordered that the half of the royalty of the Tendu Patta

should be distributed among the Tendu Patta labourers. Likewise, she

directed that the registration and account opening action for the JFMC

(Joint Forest Management Committees) should be completed by 15

November 2010. She directed the officers that quick decision should be

taken for transfer of land for community works within the two days of

receiving the proposal from district level.

The Hon’ble C.M. Ji directed the officers of the P.W.D. to ensure

that overloading of trucks was controlled through its contractors and the

Transport and Home Departments should take action against other

departments, so that road damage through overloading could be checked.

She ordered third party monitoring of the construction of the link roads

being constructed by the P.W.D. in the Sonbhadra district at a cost of Rs.

500 crore, so that their quality could be ensured. She said that the

P.W.D. had been carrying out various development works of about Rs.

500 crore in Sonbhadra district. Therefore, it was necessary to create the

post of superintending engineer there.

The Hon’ble Chief Minister Ji said that one third of the mineral areas

of the naxal affected districts should be allotted to self help groups

through a notification issued on 29 Jan 2010. In such groups, one third

members of SC/ST and castes like Mallah, Dheemar etc. traditionally

involved in these works should be included. She said that effective

implementation of it should be ensured. She directed the officers to

appoint 10 each land conservation inspectors and junior engineers of the

land conservation and irrigation department respectively in the

development blocks of both the districts on deputation, so that the quality

of the works being carried out in Sonbhadra and Chanduali districts under

MNREGA could be ensured. She said that if a cluster of five houses was

situated in a separate area then a handpump should be installed there.

The Hon’ble C.M. Ji directed that the land and water conservation

works should be carried out in an organised manner and all the deprived

families should be provided 100 day’s employment under MNREGA by

March 2011. Besides, she ordered that the lands should be made fertile of

at least 10 Patta holders of every gram panchayat (which included forest

patta holders) whose land was infertile and the Rural Development

Department should develop irrigation facility by March 2011.

The Hon’ble Chief Minister Ji directed the officers to appoint

teachers in all the colleges of Sonbhadra, where teachers were not posted

within a month and asked them to appoint 6000 teacher by June 2011.

She directed that the appointment/posting against all the vacancies of

Shiksha Mitra in Sonbhadra, Chandauli and Mirzapur districts should be

made immediately. Besides, she directed the Education Department to

ensure cent per cent presence of teachers in the colleges and action

should be taken against those absent. She directed the Social Welfare

Department to request the GOI to relax the condition of the 75 years

proof for providing land patta of Forest Department to the people of the

SC. She directed that two boys/girls ashram system schools/eklavya

schools should be established in Chandauli and four such schools should

be set up in Sonbhadra district. Besides, she also sanctioned 6000

proposals of widow pension for Sonbhadra district and 3000 old age

pension proposals for Chandauli district.

The Hon’ble C.M. Ji ordered immediate suspension of C.M.O.

Chandauli for mismanagement of Naugarh CHC and also ordered officers

to take departmental action against him. She directed Principal Secretary

Medical & Health and Family Welfare to visit both the districts and

streamline the arrangements at the hospitals himself. She directed

intensive monitoring of the distribution of medicines being distributed by

mobile medical unit and also the treatment being undertaken by it.

Reviewing the works of the Energy Department, she directed that the

remaining electrification works of the 46 Ambedkar Villages selected for

the year 2009-10 should be completed by 31 December 2010. She said

that the decision taken regarding 104 Ambedkar Villages, in which works

had to be carried out through NEDA, should be reviewed.

The Hon’ble Chief Minister Ji said that the State Government did not

view naxalism as a law and order problem but it viewed the same as

social problem. Keeping this in view, all the villages of the naxal affected

areas had been declared as Ambedkar villages and serious efforts were

being made for their all-round development. She said that the State

Government had issued authority letters of about 10,000 pattas under

the ST and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest

Rights) Act.

********

Third phase of Bihar elections - Factfile

The third of the six phases of the month-long elections to the Bihar state assembly is to be held Thursday. The following is a factfile for the third phase:

Number of assembly constituencies going to polls - 48

Total voters - 10,376,022 (5,604,851 men and 4,771,171 women)

Total number of candidates - 785

Total number of woman candidates - 65

Assembly constituency with maximum candidates - Mahua (31 candidates)

Assembly constituency with minimum candidates - Raxual (7 candidates)

Party-wise list of candidates - Bahujan Samaj Party (48), Bharatiya Janata Party (24), Communist Party India (10), Communist Party of India-Marxist (5), Congress (48), Nationalist Congress Party (38), Janata Dal-United (24), Rashtriya Janata Dal (35) and other parties (186).

Independent candidates - 354

Electronic voting machines to be used - 28,616

Largest assembly constituency area-wise - Valmiki Nagar

Largest assembly constituency voter-wise - Raghopur

Smallest assembly constituency voter-wise - Kesaria

comments (0)

10/27/10

LESSON 71 PURE LAND 27 10 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY-Anyone Can Attain Ultimate Bliss Just Visit:http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org-All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, We make our world. - Buddha-BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!-WISDOM IS POWER-GOOD GOVERNANCE-UP has not reported a single case of polio in the last six months-Sugar output in UP seen up 27%-Bahujan Samaj Party’s Satish Mishra wanted the prime minister to reserve 50 percent of all seats in legislatures for women in line with their population ratio is the correct position

Filed under: General
Posted by: site admin @ 3:58 am

LESSON 71 PURE LAND 27 10 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY

Anyone Can Attain Ultimate Bliss Just Visit:http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org

All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, We make our world. - Buddha

BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!

WISDOM IS POWER

Awakened One Shows the Path to Attain Ultimate Bliss

COMPUTER IS AN ENTERTAINMENT INSTRUMENT!

INTERNET!

ENTERTAINMENT NET!

TO BE MOST APPROPRIATE!

Using such an instrument

The Free ONLINE e-Nālandā Research and Practice University has been re-organized to function through the following Schools of Learning :

Buddha’s Sangha Practiced His Dhamma Free of cost, hence the Free- e-Nālandā Research and Practice University follows suit

As the Original Nālandā University did not offer any Degree, so also the Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University.

§ Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , Indian scholar, philosopher and architect of Constitution of India, in his writing and speeches

I.
KAMMA

AWAKEN-NESS

II.
ARHAT

TWELVEFOLD CONDITIONED ARISING

BODHISATTVA

PARAMITA

SIX PARAMITAS

III.

SIX SPIRITUAL POWERS

SIX PATHS OF REBIRTH

TEN DHARMA REALMS

FIVE SKANDHAS

EIGHTEEN REALMS

FIVE MORAL PRECEPTS

IV.

MEDITATION

MINDFULNESS

FOUR APPLICATIONS OF MINDFULNESS

FOUR FORMLESS REALMS

FIVE TYPES OF BUDDHIST STUDY AND PRACTICE

MAHAYANA AND HINAYANA COMPARED

PURE LAND

BUDDHA RECITATION

EIGHT CONSCIOUSNESSES

ONE HUNDRED DHARMAS

EMPTINESS

VI.

DEMON

LINEAGE

with

Level I: Introduction to Buddhism

Level II: Buddhist Studies

TO ATTAIN

Level III: Stream-Enterer

Level IV: Once - Returner

Level V: Non-Returner
Level VI: Arhat

Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in

mathematics,

astronomy,

alchemy,

and

anatomy

Philosophy and Comparative Religions;

Historical Studies;

International Relations and Peace Studies;

Business Management in relation to Public Policy and Development Studies;

Languages and Literature;

and Ecology and Environmental Studies

Welcome to the Free Online e-Nālandā Research and Practice University

Course Programs:

PURE LAND

THE RESEARCH OF PURE LAND

This is the most important doctrine in Buddhism, we wish all the practitioners could concentrate on this page and get the most benefit you can get. Good Luck.

ACCOMPLISHED practitioners in history admonished us that a practitioner when study the Buddhist doctrines at the same time should match real practice, then we will not go to the wrong way which is to hold the subjective views of ego. This will produce all kinds of differently wrong idea and mislead those who are interested in Buddhist doctrines and practices.

THE Buddhist cosmology is the description of truth which is from the experientially entering of limitless practitioners. And most of Mahayana doctrines remind us that If we do not have the real practice, we will not have the mercy and wisdom of Bodhisattva, then we will not understand the width and depth of the Buddhist cosmology.

WHEN we study The Canon deeply, we will discover that Pure Land is as a matter of fact the greatest institution of learning cosmic reality. Pure Land is the achievements of entering experientially of all Buddhas. What a word means in its broadest, Pure Land as a matter of fact is the method of becoming Buddha (as a Bodhisattva does on reaching supreme perfect bodhi).

THERE ARE NUMBERLESS WORLDS IN COSMOS
The Four Agamas Sutra say that there are numberless worlds which have all kinds of beings live there in the cosmos.
No matter from the point of view of numberless planets in so many outer spaces which is approved by modern scientific research, or from the point of view of numberless chiliocosm which is put down in writing in The Four Agamas Sutra and the Mahayana Sutras, they all approve that the world (Earth) we live, is just one of the groups of star light which has life forms in this limitlessly great cosmos.

THERE are numberless different kinds of life forms live in limitless world in the cosmos, most of scientists believe in that, but just cannot approve it, because we have not reach that territory yet. In some Buddhist Sutras already describe very clearly about this.

THE EARTH –The world we live
The earth has three evil paths, and the Pure Land has no evil path. Why? It is because of the projections of sentient beings in the earth. If we want the Earth to be like the Pure Land, first thing we have to do is to get rid of these evil paths. To change the mind of sentient beings and the projections of deeds of community (collective accumulation of past activities of all sentient beings), then the quality of the Earth can be changed. But it is impossible to change the Earth, according to the reality of present environment, we can see the future of the Earth.

THE WARFARE in this world
Any weapon built in this high technical era will easily destroy this world in just few minutes. And many more countries now own more powerful nuclear weapons than before, any war happens between any countries will easily lead this world to the vanished level. From this standpoint of view of war, killing, and reprisal breeds reprisal, we really cannot get rid of these evil paths.

ECOCIDE OF THE EARTH
Such as the more and more desert crisis in Africa, the violation of forest of the torrid zone in South America, the death of West Germany’s forest because of the sour rain, the death of the forest in Alps area, and the crisis of the corals of oceanic oasis in Japan and the whole world, these are only part of the problems. Almost all forests in this world are damaged by the sour rain daily. All deserts in this world are expanding day by day. And many other ecocide are beyond we can image.

AND because of the activities of human daily life, such as the discards from industries, automobiles, … these things cause the increase of carbon dioxide and bring about the hothouse effect, then damage and pollute our surroundings, this is also why the average air temperature of our planet is higher and higher than before.

THE POLLUTED HUMAN MIND
“Birds of the same feather flock together” is the unofficial principle or rule of living for sentient beings.
All sentient beings in this world no matter what happen to them always follow the principle of “Birds of the same feather flock together”. The

karma of beings is just like magnet. All beings will follow the circle of karma which is made by being itself, rebirth and redeath, will live in this kind of retribution forever.

WHEN our mind is in darkness, it will correspond with the karma of darkness naturally, when our mind is in brightness, it will correspond with the karma of brightness. This principle of existence is always existent naturally, with or without Buddha, with or without Dharma.

IN general, there are six directions of reincarnation in different dimensions around the Earth, hells, hungry ghosts, animals, malevolent nature spirits, human existence, and deva existence.

THE world we live, is from the collective and corresponding karma of numberless beings who are greedy and desirous deeply. That’s why we call this world “the world of impurity or degeneration”. Same reason the other directions of reincarnations in different dimensions are created naturally according to the degree of karma.

TODAY, there are many Buddhist and other religious organizations, many organizations of charity, and many merciful people try to spread the idea of modernizing religions through modern media. They are working hard and trying to change the bad moral atmosphere through religious spreading. Every body has a common understanding, that the time is changed, the trend is changed, the human mind is changed, the information science is changed, and the thought is changed, and the way of spreading abroad teaching should be changed in order to match the demand of modern world and human mind.

ALL things are changed, but do not forget that the response of karma cannot be changed, the moral laws of retribution cannot be changed, the truth of becoming Buddha cannot be vanished, the foundation of deliverance of transmigration cannot be vanished, the “in turn” of cultivating the Dharma cannot be vanished. Therefore we should learn, understand, and practice the Dharma in order to change societies, countries, and the world.

ALTHOUGH relying on the strength of small amount of people cannot change the collective karma or deeds of the community, but remember as long as we are in this world, we must do our level best to do good things for other people, cultivate Dharma, and preach Dharma, in order to build the differentiated karma within collective karma, then we will get more chance to surpass and liberate ourselves.

THE WORLD OF UTMOST JOY – Pure Land
Why there is no three evil paths in Pure Land (The World of Utmost Joy)?
The Earth has three evil paths, because every being in the Earth has the karma of “greedy for darkness” and we create automatically the karma net for the Earth.

THE World of Utmost Joy has no three evil paths, the same reason because all the beings in Pure Land, under the support of power of Amitabha Buddha, do good things for others and cultivate the Dharma, then Utmost Joy World is created for their collective karma.

MIND LEADS US TO THE TRANSMIGRATION
Buddhist doctrine tell us, our mind has all kinds of dirty thought and that’s the reason why we are always in the circle of transmigration, because these thoughts lead us to do things which correspond with the circle of transmigration. Therefore we have to observe our mind, self-reflect our mind, are there any greedy thought, hate thought, ……. in our mind?

NUMBERLESS BEINGS AND NUMBERLESS KARMA
The truth of karma and retribution (the chain of cause and effect) always are existent in appearance of all kinds of things in the cosmos naturally with or without Buddhas. The transmigration of six directions is created by the response to collective karma of all beings. And any direction of these six directions is created by the response to individual karma of all beings of certain direction.

FURTHERFORE, the world of hells, hungry ghosts, animals, malevolent nature spirits, human existence, and deva existence, all have the same situation, every world is created by the response to collective karma of the being in that world. And every directional world has its own all different kinds of worlds of individual karma and collective karma. These worlds are in all kinds of different sizes, from big to small, from small to tiny …….. And the collective and individual karma of numberless beings are intertwined mutually, intermingled mutually, interwork mutually, reduplicated mutually, intermixed mutually, hard to understand, incomprehensible, mysterious, incredible, ……..

NUMERLESS beings of good and bad karma, are back and forth, in and out in the transmigration of this world and the worlds of ten directions space. And all these cannot be seen and understood by ordinary eyes and wisdom of human being in this planet. Also numberless beings of pure karma, are back and forth, in and out in pure land world of ten directions space. And all these also cannot be seen and understood by ordinary eyes and wisdom of human being in this planet.

IN doctrine of the Four Agamas Sutra, we should understand one thing, the regions (class) of being are numberless, the karma of being are numberless, the worlds which human collective karma correspond with are numberless, the individual karma worlds which human individual karma correspond with are numberless, the impure worlds which human alike bad karma correspond with are numberless, and the pure worlds which human alike good karma correspond with are numberless.

WORLD OF UTMOST JOY – Pure Land
The World of Utmost Joy was built by the cause of Amitabha’s original vow of redeeming beings from the misery of all worlds, even if the beings have all kinds of karma in their past life, when they are in the World of Utmost Joy, all their mind-nature, the force of habit, the remaining influence of illusion, ……., will be purified by the guides of Amitabha, all bodhisattvas, and the surrounding of hearing and learning the Dhamas naturally.

The beings in Pure Land, cultivate themselves with pure mind, therefore the major condition for beings who want to go to or stay in Pure Land is to purify their mind, when mind is purified then all the causes of becoming three evil paths will be destroyed totally.

When we chant NOMO AMITABHA, will destroy all the causes which correspond with three evil paths, then we will build the good individual karma of collective karma, this will lead us to the place which correspond with pure karma of beings.

BEINGS IN THE WORLD OF UTMOST JOY
In our world there are all kinds of human races in different color because of the weather and surroundings. Also there are confused wrangling and distance separating one from another because of the difference in color. All races think that they are the best of all.

IN the Pure Land, there is no such problem of color of race, because all the beings are the same in color, and that is the color in gold. Why gold? There are two meanings for the gold. First, that is the correspondence with retribution of the beings who cultivate the blessed virtues or all good deeds for many lives, here the gold means bright and pure, noble and kindly, exemplary conduct and nobility of character, ……. , second, when the deva existence are in deep meditation, their body will produce automatically hollow light with color in bright gold.

COLOR IN GOLD
Scientists have already proved that the electromagnetism of human being’s body can emit light, even leaves of tree and beings low in grade also have some kind of invisible light, with very special photographic skill.

WHY can human being emit light? We all knew that human body has static electricity, our fingers can produce or emit light because of the theory of static electricity. As a matter of fact, every part of our body has this kind of magnetic field’s light, these lights sometimes are strong, sometimes are weak according to the power of our body and mind.

THERE are seven kinds of lights or flames in human body: the light overhead, the lights on shoulders, the light on chest, the light on navel, the lights on knees, the lights on feet, and the lights on hands. We all have lights on our body, and the light overhead usually is the color in purple. These lights of human body are already proved by scientists with very special photographic skill.

THE science also prove, when practitioners are in deep meditation, their mind are calm, their brain wave are concentrating, then the super microwave will be produced, and emitted constantly. These super microwave are much tinier than light wave and sound wave, when they are emitted just like the laser beam, not just powerful but also make lots of essential functions.

THE Buddhist practitioners, when they are in the deep cultivation of wisdom, their body and mind cannot be tangled, bothered, and mutable then the color of their brain wave will be changed from the purple of ordinary people to the brilliant gold. The color in gold does not mean wealth but the highest pure and brilliance.

AS we mentioned in the beginning of this page, when we believe in Amitabha, and chant Amitabha, then we can concentrate our mind, we will receive the super energy of Amitabha, when we reach this step, our mind will be delivered from imprisonment.

MOST of the time the beings in deva’s worlds are in deep meditation, all emit their light of mind and materialize their gold, pure, and brilliant appearance, and the degree of appearance are different according to their degree of meditation and degree of virtue and wisdom. And because of gold, pure, and brilliant appearance of all beings, make Pure Land world a pure and brilliant world.

THE seven chief sutras (textbooks) of Pure Land School all describe that the land of Pure Land is made of gold, the trees and ponds are made of jewel and all over the places. When Buddhist sutras describe the environment of deva’s worlds always use the same words such as gold and jewel.

WE should understand the gold and jewel are just some kind of parable, to hint that beings in Pure Land emit their gold, pure, and brilliant light of mind, then brighten the world they live like a world of gold.

THE CULTIVATION OF BEINGS OF PURE LAND
When human in this world cultivate themselves in blessedness and goodness without the mind of “Worry”, “Desire”, “Arrogance”, and “Five skandhas” then it is to cultivate blessedness and goodness in the way of spiritual world. When we cultivate ourselves with broadening the capacity of our mind and emptying our mind, then our mind will surpass the limitation of time and space of this world and become more closed to the condition of nirvana.

THE Wisdom Sutras introduce the doctrine [When we practice the almsgiving, we have to remember that we should not have the following notions “the one who gives”, “the one whom is given”, and “the physical and mental effect due to the giving”]. This is the “real almsgiving”, and also is the level almost impossible to reach, unless we enter experientially the emptiness, but this is the elevation of spirit of Arahat who have already destroyed or removed the “attach to self” or “persisting in self”.

MOST of the Buddhist misunderstand the “real almsgiving”, their idea is when practicing almsgiving if they don’t think that “I am the one who gives”, “Somebody who is given”, and “Persisting in the materials of almsgiving”, then they will destroy the mind of “attach self”, “Worry”, “Desire”, “Arrogance”, and “Five Skandhas”. But this is terribly wrong.

“Real almsgiving” is just a example for cultivating ourselves with the mind of spiritual world. But what is the spiritual world? According to Nagarjuna Bodhisattva’s words: “The practitioners who search for the world and the spiritual world, and cannot find, because of that, then should understand that the world and the spiritual world which exist only in name. To say [the spiritual world] in order to destroy [the world], the appearance of [the world] is the appearance of [the spiritual world] and nothing else. The practitioners cannot find [the world] and do not attach [the spiritual world], when cannot find [the world] also do not attach [the spiritual world] then the mind of [Desire] and [Arrogance] are destroyed right away, no more remonstrate with the beings of [the world]”.

THE beings in Pure Land cultivate themselves in blessedness and goodness with the mind of spiritual world. Therefore their appearance of retribution are corresponding with the appearance of retribution that is cultivating with the mind of spiritual world.

IS THERE ANY WAY TO MAKE THIS WORLD PURE LAND?
If we want to make this world a kind of pure land, we have to cultivate ourselves in blessedness and goodness with the mind of spiritual world. When every body change their thought of envy, hatred, glower, harm ……. to the thought of gentleness, blessed virtues, not bothering by material concerns, brilliance, tranquil concentration, glory ……. Then our physical appearance will be greatly changed because of the changing of that huge collective karma. Also the dependent environment (surroundings) will be changed totally because of the greatly changing of collective karma of human being.

TO make the dream of pure land of this world come true, we have to remember that pure land is the projection of cause of cultivating blessedness and goodness with “the mind of spiritual world” of huge amount of beings. And also this is the only way to get rid of the evil paths (same reason the evil paths is also the projection of our mind) and upgrade the beings in this world.

THE ILLUSION THAT BODY OR SELF IS REAL
VIEWING THE EGO AS REAL
Every being in Utmost World of Joy (Pure Land) does not have the thought of greed, the greed of keeping the body forever.
The Miscellaneous Treatises of The Four Agamas Sutra says:{Beings in all the worlds of impurity, the scope of their hearing, thinking, seeing, talking … and so on are always within “I’, “Mine”, “Being”, “Other people’s worldly business”, “People’s life span”, “Good and bad, misfortune and fortune” … and so on.} All the phenomena, we are talking about here, are a “viewing the ego as real” (persisting the notions of self). If we can leave these scope of “viewing the ego as real”, then we are going to be in a elevation of spirit of “spiritual world”.

AND the beings in the Pure Land never talk about the things like “I, Mine, You, Him, Business, feeling ……. and so on.” therefore they will not have the thought of persisting in self or ego.

WHAT is the “the illusion that body or self is real”?
If we look around all the beings in the six directions of reincarnation, the most important thing to them is nothing more than the body or the life they have. We know nothing about the future life, therefore only thing we could is to hold and keep everything we have at present time. But from the Buddhist doctrine point of view, the body we have in this life is the karma from former lives, and they will end in any minute when the karma from former lives is vanished temporarily. And the phenomena of persisting in present life is called “the illusion that body or sell is real”. This also include “I” and “Mine”.

SHAKYAMUNI Buddha told us: “All beings in Pure Land are direct birth by transformation through the lotus. They all cultivate themselves in leading to Buddha-hood with all their heart and mind. The only thing in their pure mind is Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.”

TO CULTIVATE THE SAMADHI
To cultivate the samadhi is the most important thing for almost all the Buddhist practitioners if they want to reach the Buddha-hood, especially for the Pure Land practitioners.

FROM now on we are going to introduce the EASIEST and BEST way to practicing meditation for the people with DISTRACTED mind all the time.

WHEN we try to calm down our mind (try to make thoughts less), but most of the time it gets worse (more thoughts come out), sometimes even is impossible to do a little meditative thing. From the Buddhist point of view, all these are because of the karma from our past lives. The degree of karma (more or less) influences the degree of thoughts in our mind (more or less).

THE reason we want to learn more about the Buddhism is that we want to learn Buddha’s wisdom that extends beyond the limitations of time and sense. And we want to cultivate the meditation in order to stop the thoughts in our mind, also we want to practice the Buddhist teachings in our daily life in order to reach the elevation of spirit of Buddha some day.

THE RELIABLE STEPS FOR REACH THE MIND OF SAMADHI
To cultivate calm mind in CHANTING AMITABHA
If we want to reach the samadhi, we have to calm down the distracted mind first, plus transforming character by Buddhist doctrine daily, and cultivate ourselves in any correct Buddhist way according to our different causes, then gradually we will reach the samadhi.

FOR the Pure Land’s practitioners, seek forgiveness and repentance for past evil karma by chanting Amitabha and worshipping the Buddhas, by slow accumulation, the distracted mind will be getting better and better, then we will understand and perceive the reality of ordinary things around us. And this is the first step we have to reach. When we reach this step, anything happen to us, we will meekly accept the humiliations and deal with them unperturbedly.

TO cultivate samadhi is a very hard job, once the Shakyamuni Buddha taught us quite a few ways of practicing samadhi, but today is in the period of decay and termination, not too many people can accept those perfect teaching of samadhi that were for the bodhisattvas who are in the degree of “complete and immediate”. And we have to practice million lives to reach this kind of degree.

PRAJNA WISDOM FOR SAMADHI
We need Prajna wisdom to guide us to cultivate samadhi. But the people in the period of decay and termination are impossible to perceive and obtain the prajna wisdom. In The Wisdom Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha told his oldest student: [Do you know what kind of natural capacity of being can receive the deep prajna doctrine of unsurpassed samadhi? There are two kinds of being can receive the meaning of emptiness of prajna. The first one is the Avaivartika bodhisattvas who already enter the bhutatathata, obtain the overcoming of illusion, and cultivate in prajna paramita, and the second one is the one who practice the six paramita for a long time, and always learn the meaning of emptiness of Mahayana from the experienced teachers, therefore they got help of “inside blessed virtues” and “outside co-operating cause”]

THE first kind, like the experienced people say: “The Avaivartika bodhisattva we will not find a single one in this world.” And the second kind of practitioners who have been practicing very hard the six prajna paramita for million lives, therefore accumulating profound virtues and wisdom, it is very hard to find one in today’s modern world.

THE BEGINNERS MISDERSTANDING THE PRAJNA WISDOM
Shakyamuni Buddha told us, for the beginners who don’t know how to control the distracted mind and understand the steps of cultivating the “eightfold noble path”, shouldn’t teach them the deep meaning of prajna wisdom.

THE beginners who start out for Bodhi, their good roots and blessed virtues of former existences are very meager, therefore when they receive the “Fundamentally void or emptiness”, most of the time they cannot swallow it and cause wrong views. What kind of wrong views are they? When the beginners who start out for Bodhi, first time learn the theory of “all things are empty”, then they will attach the “emptiness” (persisting in emptiness) automatically, and even think like this “If all things in the world are empty eventually, why should I do good things for other, and cultivate so hard in blessed virtues?”

CHANTING AMITABHA
Buddha Shakyamuni understood that not too many people in this world have practiced the six prajna paramita for million lives and accumulated profound virtues and wisdom enough to reach the samadhi immediately. Therefore for the beings who have heavy karma in this world, introduced a easiest and best way of reaching the samadhi. And this is to chant the “NAMO AMITABHA”, this is the most correct contemplation, just hold to the name of Amitabha with all you heart, then we will reach the samadhi, eventually we will enter experientially the nirvana that is “neither dying nor being reborn” or “neither to be born nor ended”.

EVEN easy like this, for some people are still hard too, when they are chanting Amitabha they notice that in this chanting Amitabha moment they don’t know why so much thoughts come to their mind and cannot control these thoughts (one thought vanishing and another thought arising and never stop).

THERE is another way to chant Amitabha. The way of “hearing, thinking, and cultivating” is to concentrate on chanting Amitabha through hearing, thinking, and cultivating. And this is the way that Shakyamuni Buddha perceived experientially during the moment when HE was reaching the Buddha-hood.

HEARING THINKING CULTIVATING AND THE SAMADHI
The beginners think that the “hearing, thinking, and cultivating” must be a special way of practicing Buddhist doctrine, and neglect the deep relation between IT and our daily life. The Shakyamuni Buddha wanted us to observe and perceive all kind of appearance of beings in our daily life, to think, examine, and understand the true meaning of life through joys and sorrows, separations and reunions in the drama of life.

THE Madhyamika sastra told us: [The Buddhas in the past, present, and future preach the Buddhist doctrine through two categories, the first one is the fact in our daily life (ordinary categories), the second one is the absolute truth (categories of reality). If we want to study, understand, and cultivate the Buddhist doctrine deeply, we have to understand the mutual relation between the fact and the truth. Otherwise when we talk about truth, we will neglect the fact, when we talk about fact, we will neglect the truth. We never understand and perceive the true meaning of Buddhist doctrine. We have to rely on the fact in order to reach the truth, we have to rely on the truth in order to reach the nirvana.]

WHEN we read the history of Shakyamuni Buddha, we will get the idea like this, the utmost truth of Shakyamuni Buddha’s entry experiential was found or revealed through the research of all kinds of worldly things in our daily life. Therefore we should understand that we will not find out, understand, and perceive the absolute truth (categories of reality) without the fact in our daily life (ordinary categories). And if we don’t understand and perceive the absolute truth, it will be impossible for us to reach the nirvana.

THE idea we should get from the Madhyamika sastra is that the Buddhist doctrine will not abandon the law of this world, because if there is no law of this world, the Buddhist doctrine will have no dependence.

THEREFORE if we want to destroy our polluted and illusional mind totally, we have to perceive the fact of our life through the long time thoughtful research of our life, and this research will be completed through the observation and contemplation of the reality of cause of birth, age, sickness, death, pain, and emptiness.

THE EIGHTFOLD NOBLE PATH
Right View, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right conduct, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Remembrance, and Right Meditation are the Eightfold Noble Path. In this paragraph we will talk about the relation between the Eightfold Noble Path and the Samadha of chanting Amitabha.

THE right view is the foundation for cultivating Buddhist doctrine in any correct way. Buddha Shakyamuni told us: “When cultivating Buddhist doctrine, always use the right view as guide or basis, otherwise the other seven noble paths will have no eyes to guide them, then we will go to the wrong way.”

THE definition for the right view is that all things arising are depending on conditions. The way to practice the right view is to observe and contemplate our surroundings, sufferings, and pains, try to find out the reality of those pains, then we will cultivate ourselves in the correct way more effectively. This is especially for the Zen practitioners. And this is the procedure for reaching the Buddha-hood according to Shakyamuni Buddha’s experience.

RIGHT VIEWS FOR PURE LAND PRACTITIONERS
Buddha Shakyamuni told us in The Sukhavativyuha Sutra a special way of surpassing this Saha world that is to beseech for rebirth in Utmost Joy World.

THE first step for beseeching for rebirth in Pure Land is to understand different kinds of impermanent appearance in the world correctly and totally, this is called the right view of the world. The next step is to think, observe, and experience the suffered, painful, and impermanent world through Buddhist wisdom any time any place in our daily life. Also quiet our thought and mind on the truth of impermanent life all the time.

SHAKYAMUNI Buddha told us: [If Buddhist practitioners only concentrate on wisdom obtained from hearing and do not go further for more and deeper “research and practice” for utmost Buddhist doctrine, then they will not reach the final destination of complete enlightenment.] The main reason for us to beseech for rebirth in Pure Land is to listen to Amitabha Buddha’s preaching directly and release from the bonds of births-and-deaths eventually.

WE should understand wisely the phenomena that we experience in this world are all changed quickly even in the shortest measure of time, changed any minute any second, and nothing can stop them. All these phenomena of production and annihilation (birth and death) of things in any second any minute are doubly small and deep, cannot be compared and seen the difference or noticed by the ordinary people like us whose mind are always polluted by all kinds of garbage thoughts. Unless we can get rid of those different thoughts through contemplation all the time, then we can perceive experientially the phenomena of production and annihilation of things.

TO UNDERSTAND REALITY OF IMPERMANENCE IS THE FIRST STEP
During Shakyamuni Buddha’s cultivating time, he perceived the reality of impermanence of the worldly things first, then made up his mind to find a way of deliverance from suffering. Buddha perceived that all the material or non-material things in this world are arising depending on all kinds of complicate causes, when causes are get together, then things are arising, when causes are dispelled, then things are vanishing. When we observe our surroundings carefully we will find out that the surroundings are constantly changed because of the relating and tangling of all kinds of causes.

THE enlightened one of universes – Buddha told us according to his wisdom of cultivating experientially, we should know there is no ego at all, not only in the moment our visible body is vanishing, even in the moment that we are living in this world, there is no true ego ever existent. All this we see, hear, touch, and think of are the illusions of unreal ego or the illusory existence of causes gathering.

RIGHT VIEW AND RIGHT THOUGHT
Once Shakyamuni Buddha told his followers: [When you have the right view of this world and perceive that things in this world are impermanent, therefore are suffering, empty, and no ego, and the appearance of the things you see, hear, touch, smell, taste, and think of are all unreal. Then furthermore try to contemplate, think, and enter experientially the impermanent body and mind.] And the fact is just like the Buddha said, all the existences in our life are “arising depending on conditions and their original nature are empty” and “not real but a illusion”.

HOW to REACH this level?
Shakyamuni Buddha told his followers: [All the dharma I told you, you have to remember, and always try to recall every word I told you. Beside that you should find a quiet place, contemplate why are the body and mind painful, dream, not real, and empty? Is this physical body real I? Am I the physical body? Is there mind and cognition without physical body? Is there physical body without mind and cognition? Am I dwelling in this physical body? Or is the physical body dwelling in my mind? Does this physical body belong to me “I”? If the physical body belongs to me, but why I cannot control it at will always? Another words, supposed “I” belong to this physical body, then the mind and cognition should be vanished as the physical body is vanished. But although being’s physical body is vanished, the “cause and effect” of karma is still existent. So many practitioners when they are in deep meditation, they approve experientially the truth of six directions of reincarnation (transmigration). They tell people the fact of human’s death, when being’s eighth consciousness leave the unreal physical body, it will follow the causes of being’s good and bad karma to search for another occasion and begin another life. In this case, do I belong to this physical body? Or don’t I belong to this physical body? If I don’t belong to the physical body of present life, how come my body won’t move without the command of my consciousness? The reality approve that the “I” and the present body cannot be separated, it is because of the existence of arising depending on causes or conditions, there is no mind and cognition can be existent without physical body, also there is no physical body can be existent without mind and cognition. ……. When you are in meditation, try to purify your mind and contemplate always the doubly hard “the concatenation of cause and effect in the whole range of existence” that is no “I” and “MINE” (the self and its possessions). Then you will give up passions, feelings, and desires, destroy worries, you will cultivate the pure living and deliverance. In your daily life, when seeing things you won’t have second thought, when hearing things you won’t be influenced by difference, when smelling things you won’t be greedy for better, when eating things you won’t be greedy for more, when in different surroundings you won’t have mind for them, for all the things no matter good or bad around you, you understand totally, you won’t be removed by any things happened, you will be less in talking, your mind will be free from temptation and distress ……. finally you will enter experientially that five skandhas is “nature void”
(immateriality of the nature of all things), and the “nature void” is five skandhas, eventually you perceive that you have already entered experientially the nirvana, the retributive body of skandhas of present life is complete, and the your pure living also has been built, you know that you won’t have any other retribution in the future. This kind of nirvana that you perceive and approve experientially is not from outside, but inside yourself, also you don’t need anybody to approve for you, you will approve for yourself.]

THE Pure Land’s practitioners should have the same right thought like this, we will introduce more about the right thought of practicing Pure Land. If we could understand, cultivate, and perceive no “I” and “Mine” (No self and its possessions), then we will not attach too many things in present life, and benefit our goal of beseeching for rebirth in Utmost Joy World.

DECISION OF LEAVING THE PAIN OF TRANSMIGRATION
The decision of leaving the pain of transmigration is the premise of beseeching for rebirth in Pure Land, if we still are greedy for all kinds of love, feeling, and desire in this world, then rebirth in Pure Land become impossible.

ONLY observing this unreal world of “as an illusion and as if transforming” in our daily life, contemplating this unreal mind of impermanence and changing, from here we will build very strong mood of abandoning the transmigration, then we will have the real mind of abandoning the transmigration and the real mind of beseeching for rebirth in Pure Land. This is the right view of Pure Land practitioners.

UNDERSTAND REALITY OF UNREAL LIFE
To understand the reality of the life is like a dream, smoke, a bubble, lightning, shadow, and as an illusion is one of the right thoughts.
Buddha Shakyamuni told his followers, according to the experience of his cultivating in the past, [I was always in deep meditation in a quiet place, my mind was arising this kind of thought “How hard for us to become human being from six directions of transmigration, but we have to go through a series of mishaps of constant changing of birth, age, sickness, and death. The happiness of our life is too short, too impermanent, and too painful. However, the human being never try to find out the reason of causing the birth, age, sickness, and death. Why am I here? Why should I accept numberless pain and stress? What causes make the beginning of rebirth? And what causes support the “carry on” of life?” When thinking of these questions, I was sitting straight with a proper mind and regulated will, cultivating very hard day and night, meditating and thinking over and over unintermittedly. One day I suddenly realized like coming out of a dream, as a matter of fact this world is the unreal dream of projection of our unreal mind and cognition. The human beings all are in the unreal dream of “birth and death” of ignorance ever since from the time without beginning. “I was in the dream ever since I was born, I was in the dream ever since I had consciousness.”]

SHAKYAMUNI Buddha told us: [If you want to leave the lifetime dream that is the circle of impermanence, do not try to get the answer from the surroundings are in front of you. Because all the things reveal in front of you are all the projections of your dream.]

TWELVE LINKS IN THE CHAIN OF EXISTENCE
The twelve nidanas is the right thought of leaving the dream of life.
The Buddha told us: [To surpass the dream of life is not a difficult thing, the first thing you have to do is not to have a polluted mind of desiring for all things in surroundings.] [ When we perceive that life is a huge dream, and do not attach the appearances of dream, in addition to that, cultivate yourself with right meditation for a period of time, then you will come out of the huge dream of life.]

THE Buddha told us: [Human beings don’t understand all surroundings in our present life are the huge dream that is produced by worries of greed, hatred, and ignorance. And because our body, mouth, and mind produce all kinds of good and bad karmas, therefore human beings follow these numberless karmas, which are stored in our eighth consciousness or database consciousness, and stay in the six directions of transmigration forever.

THE twelve links in the chain of existence also called twelve links of dependent origination are circulated forever, therefore all beings cannot break this circle of rebirth and redeath, and jump out of the dream of birth and death.

HOW TO COME OUT OF THE DREAM
The causes for creating dream of birth and death are the result of greed, hatred, and ignorance of all human beings. If we could get rid of all the desires of greed, hatred, and ignorance in our mind, then we will not create the new karma of good and bad, for which we will have more and new retributions.

LET’S review the twelve links in the chain of existence. Ignorance, activity or conception, consciousness, name and form, the six sense organs, contact or touch, feeling or sensation, craving or desire, clinging or grasping, becoming or existing, birth, aging and death are the chain of existence.

IGNORANCE is the condition for activity or conception.
Activity or conception is the condition for consciousness.
Consciousness is the condition for name and form.
Name and form is the condition for the six sense organs.
The six sense organs are the conditions for contact or touch.
Contact or touch is the condition for feeling or sensation.
Feeling or sensation is the condition for craving or desire.
Craving or desire is the condition for clinging or grasping.
Clinging or grasping is the condition for becoming or existing.
Becoming or existing is the condition for birth.
Birth is the condition for aging and death.
Aging and death is the condition for ignorance.

THE idea for coming out of the dream of birth and death is: To get rid of totally the worries of greed, hatred, and ignorance that are existent ever since time without beginning, then we will not make new karma, if there is no new karma, we will not follow the activity-consciousness to have another life, if there is no another life, we will have no contact or touch, if there is no contact or touch, we will have no feeling or sensation, if there is no feeling or sensation, we will have no craving or desire, if there is no craving or desire, we will have no clinging or grasping, if there is no clinging or grasping, we will have no becoming or existing, if there is no becoming or existing, we will have no birth, if there is no birth, we will have no aging and death.

STARTING OUT FOR BESEECHING FOR REBIRTH IN WESTERN PURE LAND
The Pure Land practitioners also should be cultivating in destroying the worries of greed, hatred, and ignorance with the way of twelve links in the chain of existence. The practitioners should concentrate on chanting AMITABHA with all their heart, vow for beseeching for rebirth in Western Pure Land with all their heart also, then every thought in our mind is “chanting Amitabha”, when we are doing this, all the causes for retribution will be removed, we will not be distracted by material world, then, the mind of desire, erroneous thinking, and worries will be destroyed totally.

WITH all the though of chanting Amitabha, our unreal mind of greed, hatred, and ignorance will turn into pure thought of Buddha. And the dream of trouble of the world will be vanished gradually because of the less and less desire. Then the practitioners will be reaching the “Right concentration of chanting Amitabha”.

RIGHT SPEECH RIGHT CONDUCT RIGHT LIVELIHOOD
Wherever and whenever the Buddhist practitioners should always observe their work of mouth, watch the evil karma produced by the mouth, especially from lying, double-tongue, ill words, and exaggeration. In addition do not do any talking against the truth. The practitioners should always observe their work of body, watch the evil karma produced by the body, especially from fighting, killing and all the karma operating in the body. In addition do not do any activity that will hinder the deliverance of birth and death. The practitioners live in this world with right livelihood or right life in order to seek after the truth, the correct doctrine, and the deliverance, therefore remember strongly these words “abstaining from any of the forbidden modes of living.”

SHAKYAMUNI Buddha told us: [……. In order to reach the goal of deliverance, you should feel terrible anywhere anytime for anything may cause you a tiny dirty thought that will lead you to make bad karga. You have to guard yourself against this kind of thought carefully, so call a little spark can cause a conflagration, this tiny dirty thought in your mind, will become the karma seed and let you receive the retribution of transmigration in the future, with changing and cumulation of surroundings, experiences, thinking, and causes …….]

SHAKYAMUNI Buddha told us: [……. No matter you are working in the city, eating, rescuing from life of pains and misery for others, and especially when you are planting all virtuous roots for being with carrying a almsbowl and begging for food, you have to think this way: Today I beg for food lowly in order to cut off my mind of greed for food and destroy my mind of arrogance. Going to houses one by one, no matter rich or poor, and begging for food with pure mind. If I am eating, at the same time seeing beautiful things or people, and making the greedy, desiring, and polluted thoughts arising, then I will make the cause of “planting all virtuous roots for being” less and also I will violate the rule of deliverance of birth and death, this will hinder me for reaching the deliverance. In order to enter experientially the nirvana that is free from temptation and distress, also in order to plant all virtuous roots for being, therefore no matter I am begging food in the street or eating in place of assemblage, I should contemplate my thoughts and mind with wisdom and all my heart. When I see or hear beautiful things, if any impurely greedy, desired, and polluted thoughts are arising ……. then I should right away contemplate that the original force of the form and sound are the impermanent and unreal appearance which are arising depending on causes temporarily, and do not have their entity existent. All things are arising depending on causes, all things also are vanishing depending on cause. Only the nirvana of calmness and extinction, is our hometown which is real, eternal, and no birth and death. With seeking after the truth, urge yourself in cultivating the correct Buddhist way, for a while, when you are begging for food, if you see things you will not go with them (your mind will not be moved), if you hear sounds you will not go with them (your mind will not be moved) very naturally. Any moment any place you can control your own mind and thoughts completely and without any delusion ……. ]

RIGHT SPEECH RIGHT CONDUCT RIGHT LIVELIHOOD
RIGHT EFFORT OF PURE LAND PRACTITIONERS
The Pure Land practitioners should watch the mouth any moment, because we use our mouth to practice and cultivate the Pure Land doctrine with chanting Amitabha, therefore our mouth must be very clean all the time.

SONG dynasty of China, Pure Land transcripts of Long Shu sayings: “For the people no matter we know or we don’t know, we should have this kind of good thought in our mind always that we should try to find the best chance whenever wherever use the easiest and clearest words to introduce the wonderful and auspicious West Land to them in order to lead them to the Pure Land. Even birds that fly and beasts that run, insects, worms, crawlers … and so on, anything visible as long as we see them, we should always chant NA MO AMITABHA few times for them, and start out a vow: [With the reward of virtue of chanting Amitabha, wish you could be reincarnated as being in good path, to turn and rely on the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha (Triratna), cultivate yourself in Pure Land doctrine, beseech for rebirth in Western Pure Land (Utmost Joy World), when I become Buddha, I will save and release you from the ocean of misery first, we will ascend the yonder shore together.]

RIGHT CONDUCT OF PURE LAND PRACTITIONERS
Ming dynasty of China, West Pure Land transcripts of Yuan Hung Dao: [For those who want to achieve the Buddhahood in chanting Buddha category, should cultivate themselves in pure commandment. The pure commandment is the door for all pure categories, the foundation of cultivating all good dharmas, and also the door for entering all Buddha’s pure land. Here we will give ten pure commandments for cultivating purpose for those who have already started out their vow for rebirth in Pure Land:

FIRST, Greed Commandment: the pure land practitioners should practice wealth almsgiving (offerings or gifts of material goods) and dharma almsgiving (the almsgiving of the Buddha-truth including preaching and explanation), even sacrifice themselves for saving other beings, in order to destroy the mind of greed, and corresponding with all pure and bright categories earlier.

SECOND, Prohibiting Defamation Commandment: for the beginner of cultivating pure land doctrine should keep the first five of Ten Commandments (against killing, stealing, adultery, lying, and intoxication liquors) very strictly. In order to deliver all beings and ask them to keep the pure commandment for rebirth in Pure Land, the practitioners should make themselves serve as example to others, give heed to their behavior and demeanor, otherwise might cause satirizing of beginners and forfeit the cause of beings who want to beseech rebirth in Pure Land. The practitioners should chant NOMO AMITABHA with all their heart in order to destroy all the worries of greed and hatred whenever walking, standing, sitting, and lying in every state, then the practitioners will satisfy their wish of superior order of birth in the Pure Land.

THIRD, Hatred Commandment: when the practitioners of Pure Land are not in agreement with what they want for all kinds of things in daily life, they should handle with the way of meekly accepting humiliations, readjust and submit our thought of impulse with the word “Tolerance”.

Fourth, Loose Commandment: ……. If you let the five desires (arising from the objects of the five senses, things seen, heard, smelt, tasted, and touched. Or the five desires of wealth, sex, food-and-drink, fame, and sleep) run wild, and any behavior against the pure commandment, these will become the bad karma, also the cause of blocking you for beseeching for rebirth in Pure Land.

Fifth, Dispersal Commandment: the practitioners of Pure Land should always control the dispersal mind, cut off the bad cause, purify the six sense-organs, and chant NAMO AMITABHA with all your mind and all your life …….

Sixth, Ignorance Commandment: the practitioners of Pure Land should always destroy the illusion, delusion, and doubt in the mind with the wisdom of entering experientially truth …….

Seventh, Arrogance Commandment: the practitioners of Pure Land shouldn’t have the thought of arrogance in the mind because of the higher practical ability, forensic skill, wisdom, and exposition …….

Eighth, Coverture Commandment: if the practitioners of Pure Land have any behavior of harming the pure land cultivation, should always confess the crime or problem in front of the Buddha or Bodhisattva and do not offend again …….

Ninth, Non-benefit Commandment: the practitioners of Pure Land should leave argument, seeking profit, frivolities ……and so on, because this kind of vulgar business will delude the mind and block the idea of rebirth in Pure Land.

Tenth, No attachment Commandment: the purpose for the practitioners of Pure Land is to seek for deliverance and get the wisdom of Prajna, then try their best to deliver all beings in all directions of the universes. So attaching the fame, wealth, becoming beings in heaven, and becoming human being again is not the purpose of the practitioners of Pure Land.

THE LIVELIHOOD OF PURE LAND PRACTITIONERS
Song dynasty of China, Pure Land transcripts of Long Shu sayings: [For the Pure Land practitioners who have family and business or career, should cultivate doctrine with this kind of attitude:

FOR those who are in student post, should study hard for knowledge, obey parents, and be kind to brothers.

FOR those who hold an official post, should practice kindness to the people and associate with the virtuous and benefit public utility in order to cultivate goodness in the field of blessedness. And devote their merits to West Pure Land …….

FOR those who hold a wealth post, should help with food, necessities or money to the poor, famine victims according to situation …….

FOR those who are slow-witted or in straitened circumstances, do not blame God and others, should seek for repentance and forgiveness in front of Buddha or budhisattvas, and always chant NAMO AMITABHA in order to get rid of the hindrance of past karma, and increase blessed virtues, all good deeds, or the nutriment of blessedness …….

FOR those who are in business of agriculture, trade, and industry ……. should always remember do not have the illegal behavior or improper demand. And always chanting NAMO AMITABHA, having the mind of seeking for repentance and forgiveness, starting vows for seeking after the good …….. and also starting a vow in front of Buddha “Wish when my life ends, I could be in West Pure Land, behold the Buddha when the lotus blossom, and enter experientially the law of no-birth, then I will deliver first the beings who were killed by me in past life, second I will deliver the beings who were my relatives, friends, and enemies in former existences, and also all the beings who are either affinitive or non-affinitive with me.” …….

FOR those who are in business of fishing, hunting, butchering, cooking, and running restaurant, should always examine oneself strongly that “all the animals no matter in the sea, sky, and ground, are all like the human being, are life form with consciousness. If I kill them I will make numberless karma of enmity.” Changing job is the best way, otherwise should cut down the amount of killing, do not kill them for bodily desires, remember the animals in the sea such as spiral shellfishes, eels, and turtles are hard to kill, they will die with crying pitifully for quite a long time ……. (If we have to kill animals for making living or job, during the time we doing that, we should always chant NAMO AMITABHA for the animals we kill, and wish them could be in good paths in their next life.)

FOR those who are in business of prostitute or relating work, should always realize and examine themselves that the job or work of immoral conduct, obscene talk, porno, violating female, violating plays ……. are the main cause of blocking rebirth in Pure Land …….]

RIGHT EFFORT RIGHT REMEMBRANCE AND RIGHT MEDITATION
Right effort for the Chan or Zen practitioners
Shakyamuni Buddha once told his followers: {When the Vipasyin Buddha was still on his way to buddhahood, in one of his past life, he was sitting on mats of grass, with cross-legged and soles upward under the Bodhidruma (the wisdom-tree), contemplate the twelve nidanas (twelve links in the chain of existence) day and night, neither sleep nor rest …….}. There was another time, the Boddha told his followers: {If you want to deliver yourselves from birth and death, you should be zealous courageously day and night in contemplating meditation thoughts of truth (Chan) opportunely, also should calm your mind within …….}

WHAT is Chan or Zen? The meaning of Chan, in fine, “is wisdom of becoming enlightened”. The contemplating opportunely means contemplating the truth of calm thought with the opportune wisdom. And all the truth that are from contemplating, observing, and choice with the mind of consciousnesss, we could call them “opportune wisdom”.

HOW TO CULTIVATE THE RIGHT EFFORT
Like Shakyamuni Buddha used to praise Nanda bhiksu: {that good sons (one of the Buddha’s terms of address to his disciples like we say “gentle” today), the Nanda bhiksu, after he comprehends experientially the twelve nidanas (links are “the concatenation of cause and effect in the whole range of existence”), he closes his senses as doors (through which illusion enters), enjoys the drink and food the right way (drink and food these two things on which sentient beings depend, desire for them is one of the three passions, offerings of them are one of the five forms of offerings), cultivates himself in right Buddhist way with right effort, accomplish the correct knowledge (samyagjnana), purifies himself completely, and builds up the pure living (the discipline of celibacy which ensure rebirth in the Brahmaloka, or in the realms beyond form) with all his life.}

RIGHT REMEMBRANCE FOR CHAN PRACTITIONERS
The remembrance is generated in mind, when the mind does not leave the right path, and only remember the “with form” (from the point of view of phenomena) and “without form” (from the point of view of void), therefore is called the right remembrance. When we have the right remembrance, then will correspond with the Bodhi, the mind will make no mistakes.

RIGHT MEDITATION FOR CHAN PRACTITIONERS
When we have the right view and understand the reality of twelve links of dependent origination, then we will start by ourselves automatically, guard our senses as doors (through which illusion enters), tranquilize our thoughts and mind, control our food and drink, comprehend spiritual reality with right effort all day and night. [Contemplating the five skandhas(the five fundamental conditions of passions and delusions), no “I” and no “Mine” (no subject and object)(I and Its possessions), all these are the projections of our dreams. Understanding the differences of appearance of five skandhas, and contemplating the unreal appearances of five skandhas with right remembrance, purifying the hindrances of five skandhas, cultivating the pure living with all our heart. Getting rid of the lust for sleep when in cultivating. Do not doubt the law of correct Buddhist doctrine. Trying to leave all the delusive bondage of desire to its environment in order to get the correct remembrance and knowledge, then we will enter the right meditation.

ENTER EXPERIENTIALLY THE TRUTH OF WITHOUT FORM AND WITH FORM THROUGH PRACTICE
For the Chan practitioners, if there is no Prajna wisdom (right view and understanding) as guide, no matter how much improvement we have gotten in cultivating meditation, this is just the illusion of consciousness, eventually we will go to the wrong way. Also if there is no practice or cultivation in performing the proper duties, the meaning of teachings, and meditation, no matter how much result we have gotten in research, hearing the doctrine, and recognizing, eventually we will be in the level of “take a wait-and-see attitude”, “I know”, “I understand”, and “but I can’t do it” forever.

UNDERSTANDING OUR NATURAL CAPACITY
We are the ordinary people, the only difference between us and the others, who don’t know or never heard of Buddhist doctrine, is that we accumulate a little bit karma of blessedness in our past numberless lives, and these karma of blessedness lead us to the Buddhist world.

BUT if we want to deliver ourselves from the ocean of birth and death (rebirth and redeath) in this life, is almost a hundred percent impossible. Because we need several lives even several hundred lives to complete the procedures we mentioned above. And remember nobody knows what will be the next life, not always human being, maybe some kind of animal, ghost, or even in hell, supposed we go to heaven, eventually we still have to reenter this circle of the transmigration.

PRACTICE IN PROPER ORDER
For the Chan practitioners, right view, right understanding, right thoughts, destroying desires, and cultivating the pure living is the foundation of the deliverance. Same reason for the Pure Land practitioners, right view, right understand, right thoughts, destroying desires, cultivating the pure living, and chanting Amitabha with pure thought is the foundation of beseeching rebirth in West Pure Land.

WHEN we read the Buddhist scriptures, we should understand that for a budhisattva practitioner, Right View, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right conduct, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Remembrance, Right Meditation, Destroying desires, Destroying worries, Cultivating pure living, and Purifying the senses in the daily life are just a basic practice, a very basic practice. When we have this kind of practice for certain time, then when we are in the environment of quality of sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and thought, our mind won’t be tangled, illusive, and polluted.

WHEN we understand the Buddhism, the law preached by the Buddha, or the principles underlying these teachings, and purify our mind for quite a long time, we will discover the side of “nothing exciting” and “direct honest” of the Buddhism, we will also discover the limitless treasure of the true, the good, and the beautiful in human being’s mind nature. Then we will start out our first step of cultivating Buddhist doctrine that is lower our desire and cut off our worries, and try to understand and perceive “the time of depending arising also is the time of cultivating” in our daily life and the environment of depending arising.

THE GOAL OF PURE LAND PRACTITIONERS
The Pure Land practitioners although are doing their level best for delivering from the circle of transmigration and becoming Buddha, but the first step or first goal for the Pure Land practitioners is to beseech rebirth in Pure Land.

WHEN the Pure Land practitioners start out a decision of leaving this Saha (refer to http://maxpages.com/drfu1) world of impermanence, then all their thinking, thoughts, and actions are for the purpose of perceiving the Pure Land truth, the deeds which lead to birth in the pure land, and devoting their merits to the Pure Land. In this present life, repeating (chanting) the name of Amitabha,, exhorting others to chanting Amitabha, and proclaiming the Pure Land truth widely, eventually they will rebirth in the West Pure Land because of the great vows of Amitabha’s great mercy.

PURE LAND PRACTITIONERS’S RIGHT VIEW RIGHT THOUGHT

BASIC SUPPLIES FOR BESEECHING FOR REBIRTH IN PURE LAND
We should have some ideas about the supplies for beseeching for rebirth in Pure Land according to the “Amitabha Sutra”, such as:

THE practitioners must believe in the utmost joy world just like Shakaymuni Buddha said: {Passing from here through hundreds of thousands of millions of Buddha-lands to the West, there is a land called Ultimate Bliss.}

THE practitioners must start out vows “I beseech for rebirth in the West Pure Land”, must hold and chant the holy name of Amitabha with one heart unconfused in daily life.

WHEN the practitioners approach the end of life, their heart must be without inversion. In the moment, before the practitioners will appear Amitabha and all the Assembly of Holy Ones, the practitioners must beseech for rebirth in West Pure Land, then almost at the same time the practitioners will be reborn in West Pure Land.

FOR the Pure Land practitioners, these ideas “hold and chant the holy name of amitabha with one heart unconfused in daily life” and “approach the end of life, their must be without inversion” are the pivot of the door of opening West Pure Land (REMEMBER THIS IS DOUBLY IMPORTANT). “One heart unconfused” is the result of abstract meditation with chanting Amitabha Buddha, also is the result of supplies of right thought, also is the result of keeping Amitbha Buddha in mind, and the result of chanting Amitabha Buddha to the level of pure thought continuously (only the thought of Amitabha and nothing else), that is the level Surangama Sutra always emphasizes.

BEFORE talking about the right view and right thought for the Pure Land practitioners, let’s have some idea of Pure Land arising of phenomenon.

THERE MUST BE ANOTHER HIGHER LIFE FORM EXIST IN COSMOS
In the Amitabha Sutra mentioned: {hundreds of thousands of millions of Buddha-lands}, from the scientific knowledge of outer space point of view, we may say that the “hundreds of thousands of millions of Buddha-lands” is those numberless world in cosmos far far away from the Earth, or the numberless galaxies of material cosmos, or the non-material cosmos of numberless dimensions that we know or we don’t know yet.

THE scientific knowledge of outer space approved that there are numberless Milky Way systems (the Galaxy) and solar systems in limitless cosmos. And the surroundings or the environments of these solar systems have the possible conditions of creating all kinds of life form including the life form of higher wisdom like human being in the Earth.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SAHA AND PURE LAND WORLD IN RETRIBUTION
Saha world is a impure world of projection of beings’s all kinds of good and bad karma in the Earth. And the West Pure Land is the pure world of projection of Amitabha Buddha’s vow and the pure karma of numberless Pure Land practitioners.

THERE are numberless pure world and impure world in cosmos. So call “birds of a feather flock together” or “things of a kind come together”, brightness always corresponds with brightness, and the darkness always corresponds with darkness. The beings in Saha world, are always greedy, hated, and ignorant, therefore create all kinds of collective good and bad karma, forever are in the circle of transmigration. The beings in West Pure Land always are in the deep meditation, no greed, hatred, and ignorance, therefore create only pure collective karma, and only one final destination for all the beings of West Pure Land is to get nirvana.

IF we could understand the point of “things of a kind come together”, we should try our level best to get the collective pure karma and cause of Pure Land, then we will have chance to correspond with the retribution of “Pure and Glory” of the Pure Land.

PURE LAND PRACTITIONERS BESEECH FOR REBIRTH IN PURE LAND WITH PURE KARMA
The West Pure Land is a pure Buddhist land of happiness of “calmness, extinction, deliverance”, corresponds with the nirvana of right view of Eightfold Noble Path, therefore the Pure Land practitioners should have the right view of “calmness, extinction, and deliverance”. Whenever and wherever chanting Amitabha, should be with the mind of beseeching for calmness, extinction, and deliverance. Just like the Sukhavativyuha Sutra says:{the beings come from ten directions all have pure mind free from doubt or defilement}. And finally devoting all the merits to the West Pure Land, then can be corresponding with the pure retribution of calmness, extinction, and deliverance of Utmost Joy World (West Pure Land).

THE RULE OF CAUSE AND EFFECT (RETRIBUTION)
All the dimensions, appearances, phenomena, beings, species ……. and so on, are always affected and decided by the law of “cause and effect” (every cause has its effect, as every effect arises from a cause), the impure world we live in now is the projection “cause and effect” of our collective good and bad karma ever since the time beginningless. And the Utmost Joy World (West Pure Land) is the projection of Amitabha Buddha’s great mercy vow and Amitabha Buddha’s limitless time’s cultivation.

WHEN we make causes of greed, hatred, and ignorance, then we will have effect of living in this impure world for more lives. And if we make causes of pure karma which correspond with the great mercy vow of Amitabha Buddha, and start out a vow of beseeching for rebirth in West Pure Land, then Amitabha Buddha will lead us to the West Pure Land without any doubt.

THE REAL BODHI PRACTITIONER
From the Hua-Yen Sutra standpoint of view, we will have an idea about the process of cultivation for all the great bodhisattva. All bodhisattvas, during the deep meditation, discover the real natural capacity of human beings with their eyes of wisdom, then expound the doctrine fittingly and properly. All great bodhisattvas, during the deep meditation, receive limitless treasure of wisdom. All highest bodhisattvas, during the deep meditation, complete the ideal of adorning and glorying the pure land, and rescue all being widely, then will be on their way to the Buddha-hood without any hindrance.

THE limitless wisdom of brightness of all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are come out gradually during the right meditation of cultivating Chan (Zen). Later on we will talk about the great vow of limitless brightness of Amitabha.

THE GREAT VOW OF LIMITLESS BRIGHTNESS OF AMITABHA BUDDHA:
THE FINAL GOAL OF BUDDHIST PRACTITIONERS
When Amitabha Buddha was in the causal ground (the state of practising the Buddha-religion which leads to the resulting Buddhahood) said: {When I become Buddha, if my light of wisdom is limited in such a way that it is bound by time and space, and cannot illuminate limitless Buddha’s worlds, then may I not attain enlightenment.}

FROM the point of view of cultivating Buddhist doctrine of Hua Yen Sutra, the twelfth vow of Amitabha Buddha, that is the vow of limitless brightness, is the utmost and most wholly complete vow of Amitabha Buddha’s forty-eight great mercy vows. And also is the final goal for the Mahayana Bodhisattva practitioners. Any Mahayana Buddhist practitioners, no matter which doctrine they chose for starting out, but the final goal for their cultivation is to beseech for the completely revealing and realizing of brightness of supreme Buddha-nature.

CHANTING AMITABHA WILL CORRESPOND WITH THE GREAT VOW OF BRIGHTNESS
When Amitabha Buddha wholly complete the forty-eight mercy vows of becoming Buddha, also is the time of Amitabha Buddha’s Pure Land of benefiting numberless beings, become real. When Amitabha Buddha shows the light of wisdom limitless and entered everywhere without hindrance, also is the time of all beings receiving the Buddha Light in universes. And when Amitabha Buddha becoming Buddha, also is the time that the name of Amitabha has the infinite power of welcoming and leading all beings to the West Pure Land.

WHEN the being of ten directions in universes, hear the name of Amitabha and under the control of the power of Amitabha’s great mercy vows, automatically build up the most believing mind (which receives without doubting) to the Amitabha Buddha’s great mercy vows. Then holding and chanting the name of Amitabha Buddha that has limitlessly meritorious virtue and power, and because of that, all beings will receive the Buddha aid. When chanting the name of Amitabha Buddha, the beings will reveal the wisdom from previous existences, then will start out a decision of leaving this Saha world (the ocean of birth and death), and start out the trust and vow for beseeching for rebirth in the West Pure Land (enjoying the happiness of deliverance). When chanting the name of Amitabha Buddha always with all our heart, then we will turn our mind towards the Buddha aid of the great mercy vows.

WHEN we are holding and chanting the name of Amitabha Buddha, we must have this kind of believing thought in our mind, “When we are chanting the name of Amitabha Buddha with the thought in our mind that is to leave the suffering ocean of Saha World, and chanting the name of Amitabha Buddha with the every thought of [to the death]”. Then we will get into the welcome vow of great brightness and mercy of Amitabha Buddha, then we will build the function of devoting our merits to others deeply, then we will accomplish the samadhi in which the individual whole-heartedly thinks of the appearance of the Buddha, or repeats the Buddha’s name. then we will be on our way to the West Pure Land with every thought.

POWER OF MERITORIOUS VIRTUE OF THE NAME OF AMITABHA BUDDHA
The reason for the holy name of Amitabha Buddha is so powerful beyond thoughts and words is that the word of “Amitabha” comes from Amitabha Buddha spent numberless kalpa (a fabulous period of time) on cultivating and apprehending the truth of limitless great mercy vows and actions.

THE HUA-YEN SUTRA
The clearest explanation for the cultivating process of Buddha’s great mercy vows and actions should be in Hua-Yen Sutra. In Hua-Yen Sutra, we will learn the way of cultivating of completing Buddha-hood and the mercy vows of delivering beings. What kind of vow we start out, what kind of doctrine we cultivate, and what kind of cause we make, then it will have the certain kind of effect which corresponds with the cause we make. This is the law of “cause and effect”, (every cause has its effect, as every effect arises from a cause), and no beings or things can escape from the law.

CHAN (ZEN) OF MAHAYANA AND HINAYANA
We will get the idea from the Hua-Yen Sutra about this question. The Hinayana practitioners after starting out for enlightenment, cultivating the deliverance with leaving desire and destroying worries directly. And the Mahayana practitioners after starting out for bodhi, use the great mercy vows and actions as guide to deliver other beings and wish all the being will get to the Buddha-hood at the same time.

THE FORTY-EIGHT VOWS
When Amitabha was in the ascetic life of cultivating Buddhist doctrine in a previous existence, made his great mercy forty-eight vows and actions in front of the Lokesvararaja Buddha. At the same time making the forty-eight vows and actions as a frame of reaching supreme perfect bodhi (becoming Buddha), a frame of complete way of cultivating Buddhist doctrine. The vows which relate to the cultivation of Pure Land doctrine:
IN forty-eight vows, talking about the questions of cultivation and retribution of devas in Pure Land are number one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, fifteen, sixteen, twenty-one, thirty-eight, and thirty-nine.
IN forty-eight vows, talking about the questions of cultivation and retribution of Hinayana disciples in Pure Land is number fourteen.
IN forty-eight vows, talking about the questions of cultivation and retribution of bodhisattvas in Pure Land are number twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty nine, forty, and forty-six.
IN forty-eight vows, talking about the questions of cultivation and retribution of beings in the worlds of ten directions who beseech for rebirth in Pure Land are number eighteen, nineteen, and twenty.
IN forty-eight vows, talking about the questions of vows for beseeching for rebirth in Pure Land of bodhisattvas in the worlds of ten directions is number twenty-two.
IN forty-eight vows, talking about the questions of all Buddhas praising the name of Buddha and the benefits of beings in the worlds of ten directions hearing the name of Buddha are number seventeen, thirty-four, thirty-five, and forty-eight.
IN forty-eight vows, talking about the questions of cultivation and benefit of bodhisattvas in the worlds of ten directions hearing the name of Buddha are thirty-six, forty-one, forty-two, forty-four, forty-five, forty-seven, and forty-eight.
IN forty-eight vows, talking about the questions of cultivation and benefit of bodhisattvas in the other world smelling doctrine is number thirty-two.
IN forty-eight vows, talking about the questions of mutual containing and depending of the beings and surroundings in the West Pure Land are number twenty-seven, twenty-eight, thirty-one, thirty-two, and forty.
IN forty-eight vows, talking about the questions of Amitabha’s light, wisdom, and age, and the beings who receiving the Buddha’s light are number twelve, thirty, and thirty-three.

THE HUA-YEN SUTRA
The Hua-Yen Sutra is one of the utmost and most thorough Mahayana sutras that leads us to putting in practice of great mercy of Buddhas and bodhisattvas. The content and principle of Hua-Yen Sutra is abstruse, mysterious, profound and limitless, and very hard to be understood and accepted by the beginners. If we don’t have the background or foundation of Mahayana and Hinayana doctrines, and the three systems of Buddhist doctrine, we still cannot comprehend the whole picture even we read it very carefully.
Besides that, the numberless experiential level of limitlessly deep meditation of the process which is for completing the Buddha-hood and the level of cultivation of bodhisattvas cannot be reckoned and conjectured by the ordinary people like us who do not have any real cultivation and entering experientially, do not have any mercy bodhi mind.

IF we are lucky enough, can get a little bit non-worldly wisdom, understand, perceive, and practice a little bit of Pure Land’s doctrine as the Hua-Yen Sutra indicated, from the law of “cause and effect” standpoint of view, this all because of cultivating the Buddhist doctrine in our previous existences.

MAHAYANA PURE LAND DOCTRINE
When we try to understand the Amitabha Pure Land from Hua-Yen Sutra standpoint of view, we should apprehend this way, that there are numberless pure lands in cosmos, and every pure land has its different dimension of cause. For example, the Amitabha Pure Land is formed (built) by the power of vows of Amitabha Buddha and the collective pure karma of Pure Land practitioners. The West Pure Land (Utmost Joy World) is just a representation of pure land among numberless pure land in cosmos.

WE might say that Amitabha Pure Land doctrine is a very special, easy, and safe path that can access to all pure lands in cosmos. And this is a very special question in depth and width, if we want to discover how deep, profound, and abstruse about the Amitabha Pure Land doctrine, we have to read almost all the doctrines of Mahayana and Hinayana first, and understand or perceive the experiential meditation of great mercy vows of Buddha and bodhisattvas. Because the Mahayana Pure Land doctrine is the most important and final cultivating result for the process of cultivating Buddha-hood of all the bodhisattva practitioners.

IF we want to know more about the Mahayana Buddhist doctrine, Mahayana Pure Lande doctrine, levels of cultivating Buddha-hood of Mahayana bodhisattvas, and process of building pure lands, the Hua-Yen Sutra is a very important reference.

LIGHT-EMITTING (SENDING OUT AN ILLUMINATING RAY)
Like the Hua-Yen Sutra says: [In numberless experiential wisdom level of Buddha, there is wisdom of light-energy, that is built up by the cause of pure karma of pure land practitioners in previous existences who have very deep affinity with Buddha. When the cause of pure karma of pure land practitioners is reaching the mature level, Buddha will give the pure land practitioners this kind of power of light-emitting and lead them to the pure world during the time that pure land practitioners are approaching the end.

LECTURE FOR THE DYING BEINGS
When beings are dying, if we can lecture them with Pure Land doctrine as an expedient method, exhort them to start chanting Amitabha, make them love, respect, and believe in Amitabha, let them chanting Amitabha with the other practitioners, then their mind will follow the peaceful holy name of Amitabha and be on their way the Amitabha Pure Land, or make good cause of cultivating Pure Land doctrine in their future lives.

BUDDHA’S CONFERMENT
According to Hua-Yen Sutra, only the beings who follow Buddha in cultivating doctrine in previous existences and have the sharpest endowment with very good deeds or roots, when their cultivation are reaching the mature level, then they will correspond with the bright and pure power of meditation and wisdom of Buddha.

MAGNETIC FIELD AND BUDDHA’S LIGHT
Buddha and bodhisattvas turn their original ordinary bodies, who have all kinds of dark, selfish, greedy, hateful, and complicated magnetic waves surrounding their bodies, into high-minded, pure, and simple magnetic waves, and this kind of waves have higher spiritual frequency, surpassing the beings of three realms (Trailokya) in another inconceivable dimension. And this pure purple Buddha’s light will produce limitless function of guided launching, it will reach limitless outer space through different levels or dimensions, and will correspond with the magnetic waves that are the projections of minds of the beings whose affinities is reaching the mature level with Buddha or bodhisattvas.

BUDDHA’S ACTION AND VOW
The actions of all Buddhas, in fine, are charity or almsgiving (including the bestowing of the truth on others), moral or conduct or taking precepts, patience (especially bearing insult and distress without resentment), vigor or devotion or fortitude, contemplation or meditation, and supreme wisdom (the power to discern reality or truth). – the six paramitas. And the vows of all Buddhas are the mercy vow of becoming Buddha that is above to seek bodhi, below to save all (transform all beings).

TO HEAR TO THINK AND TO CULTIVATE
The ordinary beings like us, although we have learned the Mahayana and Hinayana doctrines and wish to get deliverance some day. But as long as we have not reached or entered experientially the Buddhism, any Buddhism we know, understand, and perceive is not the real Buddhism that is to perceive with wisdom of non-discriminating, but just is regular understand from the meaning of hearing Buddhist scriptures. And this kind of understanding always carry our subjective prejudice, this is not the real Buddhism but Buddhism-alike.

FOR today’s Buddhist or Buddhism researcher, no matter how much they know about Buddhism, is still in the level of “just hear but not to think”, in the level of “worldly philosophical research”, because they do not have the foundation of power of meditation.

FROM the cultivating Mahayana Pure Land doctrine standpoint of view, the Amitabha Buddha’s forty-eight vows is to lead us to the field of cultivating Buddhism, to show us the fruits of bodhisattvas’s cultivating action in six paramitas, to enlighten us to learn the mercy vow of limitless bodhi of bodhisattvas, and to devote our bodhi mind of great action and vow to Pure Land, then we will get the supplies of pure karma of the highest stages in the Pure Land.

TODAY’S Pure Land practitioners do not understand enough the attainment of Amitabha’s brightness and the cause of formation of Amitabha Pure Land, do not study the forty-eight great mercy vows of Amitabha enough, therefore when they are chanting the name of Amitabha always without the mind or thought of great mercy vow.

IF we are chanting the name of Amitabha Buddha, at the same time cannot give up our impermanent appearance, cannot chant with the mind or thought of great mercy vow, cannot turn around our power of karma and the force of habit (the uprising or recurrence of thoughts and passions, the remaining influence of illusion), cannot sever the gravitation of the earth (the omnipresent cause of karma), cannot make our mind towards the West Pure Land, then will be doubly hard to correspond with the retribution of West Pure Land (beseeching for rebirth in the Utmost Joy World).

PURE LAND IN SAHA WORLD
The Mahaparinirvana Sutra says: {This world has been experiencing many times of dimensions of the circle of four kalpas (The Viyarta kalpa, consisting of twenty small kalpas during which worlds and the beings on them are formed. The Vivarta-siddha kalpa, kalpa of abiding, or existence, sun and moon rise, sexes are differentiated, heroes arise, four castes are formed, social life evolves. The Samvarta kalpa, that of destruction, consisting of sixty-four small kalpas when fire, water, and wind destroy everything except the fourth Dhyana. And The Samvarta-siddha kalpa, that of annihilation.). Numberless kalpas ago, there was a pure land in this world because of the projection of the causes of good karmas of beings and the cause of responsive incarnation in accordance with the nature or needs of different beings for one of the Buddhas. That pure land was just like the Western Utmost Joy World, limitless, glorious, and pure (but difference in nature). And there were so many bodhisattva practitioners came to this world to respond the collective karma, above to seek bodhi, below to transform all beings. Therefore, made the world plentiful, sumptuous, and fruitful results in every field. The Buddha has numberless age because of the responses to pure karma of beings there, after numberless kalpas, when the pure cause of responsive incarnation in accordance with the nature of beings are reaching the end, then the Buddha entering into nirvana, but the Buddhist doctrines still were stayed in this world for quite a long time.}

EVER since time beginningless every Buddha forms numberless good and bad causes before and after cultivating of Buddha-hood. Also ever since time beginningless numberless beings who have cause with Buddha, in this vast wheel of transmigration, making all kinds of good and bad karma never stop, follow the karmas, discover the final destination of karmas, and get rebirth for the karmas in these vast ten directions of pure and pollute worlds.

THE Buddhas always are responding to the teaching and converting of all kinds of beings who have cause with Buddhas, then are back and forth in these ten direction worlds. Therefore, the Saha world is just one of the places that Shakyamuni Buddha responding to those who have the cause with Shakyamuni Buddha, showing Buddha’s teaching and converting, and completing the cause. Also there are numberless great beings who have the cause with Shakyamuni Buddha, live in pure lands that are from the projection of collective karmas of pure mind beings, are expecting another level of teaching and converting from Shakyamuni Buddha.

PURE LAND OF SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA
The Mahaparinirvana Sutra says: {All bodhisattva practitioners, cultivating the glorious and pure actions of ten kinds of benefiting self and others, therefore when becoming Buddha, will accomplish the retribution of glorious and pure, and will never become Buddha in any impure world that is not responding with the pure karma and action. Gentlemen! When you see Buddhas in impure worlds and think that many Buddhas become Buddha in impure worlds, this is wrong. You should have this kind of understanding that all these mountains, rocks, thorns, ……. evils, illiberality, and despicable things in the surroundings of the Saha World are the collective projections of being’s minds that are illiberal and despicable.
All Buddhas have gotten limitless pure mind already, how can they get the retribution of impure karma like the ordinary beings? All the beings when listening to Buddha’s preaching in any assembly for worship or preaching, should have this kind of awareness that although all beings cannot see my land of reward of becoming Buddha because of the obstacle by bad karmas, but I the Shakaymuni Buddha now really come to this impure world, teach and save all beings because of responding to the collective karma of the beings in this world.
But if you think this way that the Sun and Moon only appear in this world, and cannot be seen in other worlds, this is terribly wrong. When looking at it this way, just like bodhisattva before the first stage bodhisattva, who doesn’t enter experientially the pure mind, during the preaching, mentions that the Shakaymuni Buddha’s world is impure, and the other Buddha’s worlds are pure. Gentlemen! Let me tell you now, my glorious and pure appearance of retribution of becoming Buddha appear in another kind of pure world that is the projections of all pure beings.
Passing from Saha World through as thirty-two the sands of Ganges, numberless and limitless Buddha-lands to the West, there is a land called the “Unexcelled Land”. Why is that world called “Unexcelled Land”? It because that all beings in that world are under the teaching and converting of Shakyamuni Buddha, and the slow influence and transforming of great virtue of bodhisattvas, turn towards the deliverance with all their heart, and during the process of cultivation, all have gotten a pure mind free from doubt or defilement and entered experientially the truth of equal attitude (mind) towards all beings. And because of responding to the “equal mind” of beings, it makes all glorious things in that world are equal and no difference, that is why called “Unexcelled Land”. The Unexcelled Land is glorious and pure just like the West Utmost Joy World and the East Full Moon World. My glorious and pure “reward body” appears in Unexcelled Land, teaches and convert the beings who are profound in virtue and wisdom, with mind of Mahayana. The reason I appear in the Saha World, is because the transformative cause of different level of the beings in this world is reaching the mature time with me, therefore I appear in this planet, preach the doctrine for and benefit all beings. I am not the only Buddha who appears in Saha World preaches the doctrine for beings in Saha World, there were many Buddhas when cultivating the way of bodhisattva in the past, if they had the co-operating cause with Saha World, they would show up here, the only difference is that the cause between the Buddhas and the beings sometimes is deep, sometimes is shallow.
When reaching a certain level of saving the beings (give release from the wheel of transmigration) and completing the past cause between a honoured Buddha and the beings in certain world, naturally when the collective karma of all beings are reaching the mature time for this reason, the honoured Buddha will appear in certain world, becoming Buddha, and will give release from the wheel of transmigration for all beings wildly.
Maitreya bodhisattva was starting a vow of appearing in Saha World and saving the beings who have deep cause or affinity with him, when the Saha World becoming pure land because of the responding to the good karma of all beings in that world. Therefore when Maitreya bodhisattva becoming Buddha, Maitreya bodhisattva will respond to the great mercy vow of himself, appears in this Saha World, accomplish the way of Buddha, benefit, guide, and release the beings.}

PURE MIND AND PURE LAND
The Vimalakirti-nirdesa Sutra says: {Buddha says:[If bodhisattva would like to get pure land, should purify their mind, when their mind are purified, then the land of Buddha is pure.] Sariputra has heard the words and asks Buddha for more for all others:[If the mind of bodhisattva is pure then the land of Buddha is pure, when our world’s most venerable was in bodhisattva position, the mind was so pure, but how come the land of Buddha, the Saha World, is so impure?] Buddha knows the doubt of everybody, asks a question in reply:[What do you think? Could it be true that the Sun and Moon are impure, then the blinds cannot see them?] Sariputra replies:[No, World’s Most Venerable, is the blinds themselves cannot see them (the Sun and Moon), not the Sun and Moon’s fault.] Buddha says:[Sariputra, same reason we could understand that impurely collective karma of beings respond the impure land, that’s why beings cannot see the glorious and pure reward land of Buddha that is from completing the virtue and wisdom. Sariputra, if beings can accomplish the numberless pure karma, when the pure karma reaching the mature moment, then will respond with the cause of great mercy vow of Buddha, see the glorious and pure world of Buddha naturally.] In this moment a Brahma explains for everybody:[Sariputra, the impure Saha world is the projection of impure karma of beings, the appearance appears according to the mind, the changing of appearance follows the changing of mind, if the original nature of mind of beings is changed, then should perceive that impure land responds to impure mind, not impure land itself makes the land impure. How? Take me as an example, I have been cultivating the pure living for many kalpas, therefore I don’t have to leave the Saha World, but in this present moment I see the glorious and pure land of Shakyamuni Buddha is just like the Palace of Isvaradeva (a title of Siva, king of the devas),] Sariputra asks a question in reply:[But we all see very clearly this world is filled up with knolls, holes, thorns, sands, stones, mountains ……. All kinds of impure appearance, how can you say do not leave the reality of Saha World and still can see the pure land of the Buddha just like the Palace of Isvaradeva?] the Brahma replies:[Because the mind of beings are filled up with haughtiness impudicity, greed, fame, wealth ……. and so on that respond with the retribution of impure karma of Kamadhatu (the realms of desire for food, sleep, and sex, consisting of souls in purgatory, hungry spirits, animals, asuras, men, and the six heavens of desire), responding to the collective karma of beings, of course you can only see the holes, thorns ……. all the impure appearance. If beings do not follow the Buddha’s preaching “Purify the mind with the emptiness of Prajna wisdom”, the wisdom of non-worldly cannot be built, then cannot turn the impure karma into pure karma in present life, cannot perceive and see the truth of mind making the appearance of pure and impure world. Sariputra a bodhisattva practitioners, during the process of cultivating the way of bodhisattva, treating, saving, and transforming all beings with the mind of equal attitude. And cultivating the enlightened mind and wisdom of emptiness with the deeply pure nature of mind, then will respond to the power of Buddha, can see the glorious and pure Buddha land of Shakyamuni Buddha without leaving the Saha World.]
At this moment, in order to remove everybody’s doubts, Buddha press the ground with his feet and fingers, suddenly the impure worlds turn into glorious and pure world with numberless jewels. It is just like named “numberless virtue precious glorious pure land” taught and converted by a honoured glorious Buddha. At the present time, everybody in the assembly, are receiving the Buddha aid, seeing themselves sitting on a lotus decorated with jewels, and feeling so exclaimed in surprise. In order to remove the doubt, Buddha tells Sariputra:[The disciples of Buddha should have this kind of contemplation, “the original appearance of things are not impure, the pure and impure mind makes the appearance pure and impure.” Beings would like to see the pure world, should rely on the power of Buddha (Buddha aid) and the own power, good roots, and the maturation of cause, then can see the pure land of Buddha.] Sariputra reply with respect:[Everybody’s cause of pure karma is mature now, receiving Buddha aid, seeing the land of reward of World Honor One becoming Buddha, that is glorious and pure, the reality of the pure land manifests before everybody, the doubts are already removed.]
Finally Buddha tells Sariputra:[The mind of beings in Saha World are impure, I appear in this impure world to teach and convert the beings because of responding to the collective karma of the beings who have the cause or affinity with me. In the future if the beings accomplish wisdom-eye, respond to the pure karma, then in the cause of responding with the pure power of Buddha, will see my pure land of becoming Buddha that is glorious and pure.] This is just like the devas in heaven, during the meal time, all the foods and tools for meals are the same, but the virtues of devas are different, either deep or shallow, therefore they will see “the meal are different”. [If the level of purity of being’s mind can respond with the cause of pure land, when the cause and action of pure karma are mature, will see the pure world of teaching and converting of Buddha, understand and perceive the truth of pure or impure world being from the mind.] ……. After benefiting the beings because of the appearance of the pure world, Buddha takes back the supernatural power, instantly the pure land is disappeared, all beings again live in Saha World that is filled up with greed, desire, sin, and evil.}

HOW TO MAKE “PURE LAND FROM PURE MIND” COME TRUE?
Vimalakirti-nirdesa Sutra says: {Bodhisattva purify their mind and benefit beings with causes and actions of numberless pure karma of straightforward or blunt, a mind profoundly engrossed, the mind of bodhi, almsgiving, keeping the rules or commandments, patience, fortitude or unfailing progress, meditation, prajna wisdom, four boundless mind, four all-embracing virtues, expedient methods, the thirty-seven conditions leading to bodhi, devoting one’s merits to the salvation of others, ten good characteristics or virtues ……. and so on. When bodhisattvas wholly complete the achievement of bodhi, these beings, who have been receiving the teaching and converting in the past directly from the certain bodhisattva and doing numberless pure karman of straightforward, a mind profoundly engrossed, the mind of bodhi, almsgiving, keeping the rules, patience, fortitude, meditation, prajna wisdom ……. and so on with the bodhisattva, have special, deep, and good roots, also have very strong cause or affinity with the bodhisattva, will go to the pure land, that is the projection of the great perfect mirror wisdom of becoming Buddha of the bodhisattva, continue to receive the teaching and converting from the Buddha.}

WHOLE COMPLETE THE PURE MIND
Vimalakirti-nirdesa Sutra says: {Bodhisattva because of the straightforward, then will start out actions, because of the starting out actions, then will receive a mind profoundly engrossed, because of the mind profoundly engrossed, then will control thoughts, because of controlling thoughts, then will act as says (deeds suit words), because of acting as says, then can devote the merits to the others, because of devoting the merits to the others, then will have expedient methods, because of expedient methods, then will bring beings to perfection, because of bringing beings to perfection, then the Buddha land is pure, because the Buddha land is pure, then preaching doctrine is pure, because preaching doctrine is pure, then the wisdom is pure, because the wisdom is pure, then the mind is pure, because the mind is pure, then all the virtues are pure.}

DURING numberless kalpas time, any bodhisattva practitioners have to go through all the cultivating process of causes and actions of numberless pure karmas, then can reach the ideal of the “Whole Complete Pure Mind”.

WHEN bodhisattva practitioners reach the elevation of spirit of “Whole Complete Pure Mind”, then we can talk about “Pure Land is from Pure Mind”. When we are still in the ordinary people position, in the impure land, having and receiving all kinds of retribution of good and bad karmas, cannot respond with any Buddha’s pure land. We have to turn the impure karmas into pure karmas, turn the unreal mind into pure wisdom, when our blessed virtues or all good deeds and good roots are mature, then we will respond with the pure land of Buddhas who have deep cause or affinity with us.

THE common run of men do not understand the projective level of the “Pure Land is from Pure Mind”, misleading people with reaching the Pure Land naturally by just doing meditation or chanting name of Buddha, and this is terribly wrong. Like we mentioned that we are in the position of greed, hatred, and ignorance ever since from the beginningless time, we even never think of pure land. Buddha wants us to understand that cultivating the way of pure land should start out with “purify our mind” by saying “the pure land is from pure mind”.

WHEN our mind are purified enough, can reach the level of responding with the vows of welcome of Buddha, then we will get the retribution of pure karma, when we are nearing the end of life, will see the pure land is in front of us, rebirth in the pure land naturally.

THERE ARE FOUR KINDS OF BUDDHIST PRACTITIONERS
FIRST kind is the beings who have good roots, believe in Buddhism because of being influenced by other Buddhists, when they have heard of the doctrines of Buddha, right away gotten very strong faith, nobody can remove this kind of faith. But they always stop in the level of “Believing in other’s word but without their own ideas”, the intellection of others also is theirs, they don’t have the ability to discern the content and depth of doctrines. Buddhist scripture call them “Beings of believing action”.

SECOND kind is the beings who have good roots, when they have heard of the doctrines of Buddha, they can organize the doctrines and find out the best practicing way for their natural capacity. Because they know how to observe and discern the law of phenomena and non-phenomena, and the level of real and unreal business. Therefore they will not be effected by the words of others. Buddhist scripture call them “Beings of believing doctrines”.

THIRD kind is the beings who have good roots, and the good roots in the past are much better than the ordinary beings, when they find out the best practicing way from the vast doctrines, then they try to put down everything gradually, and get the deliverance of birth and death with all their heart. When they are in the process of cultivation in meditation, already entered experientially the four dhyanas on the form-realms and the eight concentrations. Buddhist scripture call them “Beings of entering experientially”.

FOURTH kind is the beings who have good roods, during the process, they can control their mind, body, and mouth, further more when they are in deep contemplation, don’t persist in “I am the one who keeps the commandments, and the others are not”. When they are in the meditation of cultivating “no ego”, they find out the reality of no original nature of their body. When the practitioners see the reality of emptiness through their eyes of purified mind, they perceive the “things arising depending on conditions and the original nature is empty”, eventually they see the source of transmigration of their impermanent bodies. Buddhist scripture call them “Beings of seeing the truth”

THESE four kinds of Buddhist practitioners tell us the process of a Buddhist practitioner who wants to enter experientially the truth of “the nature of emptiness”, should be through the faith, the teacher, the hearing of doctrines, the contemplating doctrines, the understanding and perceiving doctrines, and cultivating doctrines.

THE MEANING OF THREE REALMS
Buddhist scriptures describe three kinds of living dimensions of spiritual status that human being can reach through all kinds of meditation work.
The first kind is the living space of wealth desire, sex desire, fame desire, food desire, and sleep desire, we call it the realm of desire. The second kind is some kind of human beings who have more spiritual nature, dislike and leave the surroundings of hatred and desire, and enter the status of spiritual adjustment. During the cultivating process of meditation, the desire and hatred getting lighter gradually, but the mind and body are still bounded by material world, we call it the realm of form. The third kind is some kind of human being, when cultivating deeply in meditation, the mind and cognition surpass the bound of material world and appearance, and enter the spiritual status of deep meditation, we call it the realm of formless.

BUDDHA MADE STRICT RULES FOR SURPASSING THE REALM OF DESIRE
The numberless beings in different levels of cosmos, all live in the worlds or realms that respond with their different karmas. We are the one who lives in this Desire Realm according to our karmas of desire, hatred, and greed. If we want to surpass the boundary of the Desire Realm, we muse destroy the worries that respond with the Desire Realm. The practitioners of the first stage of the arhat start out their cultivation in surpassing the Desire Realm, cutting off all desires that respond with the Desire Realm, is just like the Diamond Sutra’s words {cannot be bothered by the form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and thinking}. And surpassing the Desire Realm is just a first step of reaching the goal of deliverance of birth and death. But to the numberless beings in the Desire Realm, the desire, hatred, greed, and worries are doubly hard to destroy. In order to help all the students and followers to reach the goal of deliverance in the present world, Shakyamuni Buddha made the strict rules for deed, word, and thought that are very hard to control and will make all beings sink into the karma net of Desire Realm.

WHAT IS THE STARTING OUT FOR BODHI FOR NEW PRACTITIONERS
When a practitioner can first try to control the body and mouth for making bad karmas, and practice the “the study of wisdom for deliverance” as the foundation of cultivation according to the teaching of The Agamas Sutra, then the practitioner will start out the mind of leaving the Saha World and going for the deliverance with keeping rules and cultivating meditation.

MIDDLE GRADE IN THE PURE LAND
The Contemplation Sutra says: {When beings can receive and retain the Panca veramani (the first five of the ten commandments, against killing, stealing, adultery, lying, and intoxicating liquors), keep the first eight of the ten commandments (not to kill, not to take things not given, no ignoble conduct, not to speak falsely, not to drink wine, not to indulge in cosmetics, personal adornments dancing, or music, not to sleep on fancy bed, but on a mat on the ground, and not to eat out of regulation hours), cultivate and practice all the rules, do not make any Pancanantarya (the five rebellious acts or deadly sins, parricide, matricide, killing an arhat, shedding the blood of a Buddha, destroying the harmony of the sangha, or fraternity), and do not have the common defilement of all beings by the false view that the ego has real existence, devote this merit to and beseech for rebirth in, the Western Utmost Joy World with this good root, then when the beings are reaching the end of this life, Amitabha Buddha and all bhiksu and their retinues will come to the place with light-emitting, preaching the suffering, the emptiness, the impermanent, and the no ego, also praising to leave home and become a monk or nun therefore leaving all the sufferings. The being
when are seeing the whole process, feeling so great with the bottom of their heart, and seeing themselves are sitting on lotus throne, kneeling and worshipping with two palms together to pay their respects Buddha, in a very short instant, the beings are going to be born in the Pure Land of Amitabha, the lotus flowers blossom right away. When the lotus flowers are blossoming, the beings are hearing the sounds from all devas of Pure Land that is to praise the four dogmas or noble truths (the primary and fundamental doctrines of Shakyamuni Buddha), the beings at the same time have gotten the Arhat position, the three insights (insight into the mortal conditions of self and others in previous lives, supernatural insight into future mortal conditions, and insight into present mortal sufferings so as to overcome all passions or temptations), the six supernatural or universal powers, and the liberation or deliverance in eight forms. This is to be called the upper position of middle grade.}

STARTING OUT THE MIND OF LEAVING SUFFERING
The pure land is non-worldly dharma (the way of leaving the world). The great practitioners of pure land in ancient and modern time instruct us again and again that if we want to beseech for rebirth in Utmost Joy World, we must start out the mind of leaving suffering first, no option at all, we must start out deeply the mind of strong vow and belief of leaving the suffering ocean of birth and death, for beseeching for rebirth in the Pure Land.

THE WAY OF CULTIVATING THE MIND OF LEAVING SUFFERING
According to the doctrines, we will start out the mind of leaving suffering through the process of keeping commandments, contemplation, and meditation.
The best way of cultivating contemplation is to learn “the meditation on the uncleanness of the human body of self and others”, this will incite the mind of wearying of the world and abandoning it, and the mind of impermanence.

WHEN the mind become much quieter and more concentrated, then we will feel more that the worldly things are impermanent, all things are suffering, and all things shouldn’t be greedy for and attached, only in this moment we will chant the name of Amitabha, keep the commandments, and beseech for rebirth in the Pure Land with the strong mind of leaving suffering, impermanent, and no ego.

LOW GRADE IN THE PURE LAND
The Highest Class of Low Grade in the Pure Land
According to Amitayus Sutra, when the beings of the highest class of low grade are leaded by the light of metamorphosed Buddha to the Lotus Lake of seven treasures in the Pure Land, forty-nine Pure Land days later, the lotus of the beings will be blossomed. The beings in these lotus will not see Amitabha Buddha, but Avalokitesvara (Guan Yin) Bodhisattva, and Mahasthama (Da Sh Tz or Great Power Arrived) Bodhisattva, with great light in front of the beings, and preaching the profound Buddhist doctrine for the beings.

AND because these beings had already started out the mind of faith and resolve in their past life, therefore their wisdom of bodhi automatically have been revealed, in order to understand and believe the profound Buddhist doctrines and perceive the supreme principle of becoming Buddha. They will learn and practice very hard the action and vow of becoming Buddha that is to benefit self and other beings for around ten kalpas. Then they will go to numberless Buddha worlds with their vast and deep power of works of supererogation, in order to learn the essentials of the Truth of becoming Buddha of all the Buddhas in ten directions in cosmoses, and perceive experientially the profound meaning of action and proof of the door to the knowledge of universal phenomena. This is to enter experientially the first of the ten bodhisattva stages to perfect enlightenment and nirvana, that is from the mutual entering and containing of action and vow of mercy and wisdom.

THE Middle Class of Low Grade in the Pure Land
The beings of the middle class of low grade when reaching the end of present life, seeing the spiritual flowers showing in front of them, right away leaded by the appearance of the light of Buddha and Bodhisattvas on those flowers, to the Lotus Lake of seven treasures in the Pure Land. Six Pure Land kalpas later , the lotus of the beings will be blossomed. Also the beings will not see Amitabha Buddha but Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, and Mahasthama Bodhisattva. The two great Bodhisattva preaching the profound Buddhist doctrine for the beings. The beings when listening the Buddhist doctrines feel so deeply touched and start out the wisdom that were built in the past lives, then at the same time start out the supreme mind of becoming Buddha faithfully.

THE Low Class of Low Grade in the Pure Land
The beings of low class of low grade when reaching the end of present life, seeing a special lotus flower with gold light like the Sun showing in front of them, almost at the same time them are already in the Lotus Lake of seven treasure in the Pure Land. Twelve Pure Land kalpas later, the lotus of the beings will be blossomed. Also the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva and Mahasthama Boddhisattva will be in front of them, preaching the prodound Buddhist doctrine for the beings, and showing the way of seeking forgiveness, patience, indulgence, and forbearance through the absolute fundamental reality. When the beings understand, practice, and perceive the theory and way of seeking forgiveness, patience and forbearance through the absolute fundamental reality, then under the situation of purifying all heavy karmas, the beings will start out the mind of bodhi, that is to beseech the Buddha-hood and save all beings.

THE LENGTH OF DAYS OF BEINGS IN PURE LAND
One of the main goals for Buddhist practitioners is to free from the constraint of the length of days. And it is almost impossible for the practitioners to reach this kind of goal unless beseeching rebirth in Pure Land.

WHY can the beings in Pure Land free from the constraint of the length of days? From the standing point of cultivating, there are two reasons:
The power of meditative enlightenment on reality.
Let’s read one of the paragraphs in HEART SUTRA:
When Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva is practicing the profound Prajna-paramita(Truth wisdom), He contemplates, sees, and illuminates to the emptiness of the five skandhas(the five fundamental conditions of passions and delusions, the first one is form, matter, or the physical form related to the five organs of sense, the second one is reception, sensation, feeling, the functioning of the mind or senses in connection with affairs and things, the third one is conception, or discerning, the functioning of mind in distinguishing, the fourth one is the functioning of mind in its processes regarding like and dislike, good and evil, etc., and the fifth one is mental faculty in regard to perception and cognition, discriminative of affairs and things), and thus attains deliverance from all suffering.

THE most important word in this paragraph is “Illuminates”(pas’yati). When Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva is in profound meditation of Prajna-paramita, he illuminates with presenting facts, that all things including material and non-material are empty. A wise practitioner contemplates the five fundamental conditions of passions and delusions, sees experientially that all of them have no original nature, and reaches the level of deliverance of mind.

THE contents of Heart Sutra is a disclosure of the result of entering experientially the truth of universes that is through the prajna of literal, contemplation, and reality, for the process of cultivation of the sharp practitioners.

WHAT is PRAJNA? The Prajna is wisdom of experientially entering the truth. This kind of wisdom is totally differently from the worldly knowledge. If we want to reach the level of Prajna, we have to hear or study the Buddhist doctrines, try to understand the words of these doctrines through research, thinking, and examining, in this step we will find out the most suitable practice way to our natural capacity. Next step will be to contemplate and illuminate our mind and behavior any moment any place depending on doctrines of sutras or sastras, then we will enter the right track which responds with the wisdom of Buddha.

THE result of contemplation and illumination, and the result of controlling the thought and mind for a practitioner should be in direct proportion. When practicing the Buddhist doctrines, how much you can give up for thoughts of greed, hatred, ignorance, love ……., then how much you will get the response to the pure thought of non-greed, non-hatred, non-ignorance, and non-love. So call “The enlightened heart”, or “To behold the Buddha-nature within oneself”, or “Enter experientially the emptiness” are not so easy to reach by the ordinary people like us with some kind of meditation day and night or study all kinds of Buddhist doctrines.

ACCORDING to Buddhist doctrines, in the time of the last of the three periods of Buddhist Doctrines, the ordinary individuals like us have much more “The barrier of temptation, passion, or defilement” (which obstructs the attainment of the Nirvana-mind) and much more “The barrier of the known” (arising from regarding the seeming as real), therefore it is doubly hard to get rid of the heavy barrier of sin (which hinders the obtaining of good karma, and the obedient hearing of the truth) with ordinarily calm mind for just short period of time.

THERE are quite a few people, during the cultivating meditation reach some kind of joy of the mystic trance, therefore misunderstand that “This is the enlightenment”, or teach the beginners so call the best and fast way of reaching enlightenment of “When meditating, entering experientially the emptiness” and “When meditating, getting experientially the bodhi”, this will mislead the beginners that they are the sharp natural capacity and can enter experientially the emptiness and become Buddha without going through the removing all worries, and the cultivating of discipline, meditation, and wisdom (discipline wards off bodily evil, meditation calms mental disturbance, wisdom gets rid of delusion and proves truth).

BUDDHA Shyakiamuni once said in Agama Sutra: {Buddha attains enlightenment not because of meditation, or less food, or less sleep, but because of supreme discipline, supreme wisdom, supreme intellection, and supreme intelligent contemplation.} A practitioner when giving up one percent of thought of greed at the same time gaining one percent of thought of purification, when giving up two percent of thought of hatred at the same time gaining two percent of thought of purification ……., according to the principle of efficient causality, every cause has its effect, as every effect arises from a cause.

REMEMBER that cause and effect in the moral realm have their corresponding relations. The levels of cultivating and contemplating should be in direct proportion with the levels of removing delusion and all kinds of thought in our daily life.

If we can reduce our thought and calm our mind only in meditative moment, and can not control our thought of greed, hatred, ignorance, jealousy, arrogance, fame, wealth, power ……. in our daily life, then no matter how much time we spend on meditation or how much effort we can provide, but still cannot reach the better level of cultivation and contemplation.

Same reason, If we can reduce our thought and calm our mind only in the moment of chanting Buddha’s name (Namo Amitabha), and cannot control ourselves and cannot remove all kinds of moral infection in our mind, then we will have no way to reach the level of Samadhi.

WHEN we get the POWER of MEDITATIVE ENLIGHTENMENT on REALITY, we will free from the constraint of the length of days.
When we cultivate the Rddhipada we will free from the constraint of the length of days. According the Agama Sutra: {When cultivating the Rddhipada will prolong life}, what is Rddhipada? The Rddhipada will make the body independent of ordinary or natural law. There are four steps in Rddhipada, the four steps are said to be the four kinds of dhyan, but there are several definitions, the first one is desire (intensive longing, or concentration), the second one is energy (or intensified effort), the third one is memory (or intense holding on to the position reached), and the fourth one is meditation (or survey, the state of dhyana).

THE Rddhipada, we call it Deva-Foot Ubiquity, when we cultivate the Rddhipada daily through the Desire (not the worldly desire), Energy, Memory (mind), and Meditation, eventually we will reach the elevation of spirit of free from everything including body and mind.

CULTIVATE OURSELVES IN SAMADHI
The Desire, Energy, Memory (mind), and Meditation are the only way for practitioners to start their cultivating (composing the mind, or intent contemplation, or perfect absorption of thought into the one object of meditation) in Samadhi.

HOW TO PRACTICE IN OUR DAILY LIFE
It is doubly hard for Buddhist practitioners to cultivate the Desire for doctrines, Energy for cultivation, Mind for holding on to it, and Meditation for illumination. Here we have some suggestions for the beginners, first we should cultivate the power in thought and selection of correct principles, and the power in controlling self, whenever and wherever starting out a bad desire, should always think this first “I have already start out vows in front of Buddha that I will turn to and rely on the Triratna, joyfully trust in the Buddha, study Buddhist doctrine, and become Buddha”, supervise and direct ourselves with the four steps of cultivation, and treat our mind as the mind of Buddha (a heart of mercy).

A sharp practitioner, who understands the impermanence of birth and death, tries to complete the nutriment of blessedness and wisdom (or virtue and wisdom), should always think of the way of deliverance, at the same time should always notice, cultivate, and control the arising of evil desire. When evil thought arising, purify it with the cultivation that is to contemplate the source of beginning, purify it with the desire of thinking doctrines, desire of unadulterated progress, desire of right believing, desire of at ease, desire of right views, and desire of cultivating doctrines. As time goes on, the elevation of spirit of continuing pure thought and removing evil desire, then will be corresponding with Samadhi, eventually the form of transmigration will be transformed.

THE POWER OF MIND AND THE PROLONGATION OF LIFE
When the wave of mind or the power of thought can adjust or change the magnetic field of electric current, then the electrical activity of elements in the body will be controlled by the power of will, meaning when the electromagnetic field in the body is changed by the power of mind, when the mind can transform things or forms, then the aging of body of another step or level will be changed or created.

THE ACHIEVEMENT OF VOWS OF MERIT
The Vijnaptimatrasiddhi-sastra says: {The birth and death of all the beings with consciousness have two kinds: first kind is the condition and station resulting from good or bad karma in the three realms (desire, form, and formlessness) and in the six paths, second kind is the condition and station resulting from good karma in the realms beyond transmigration, including arhats and higher saints. Like the life of human being, from one life transmigrate to another life, this is the first kind of birth and death. This kind of phenomena of one life to anther is the responding of causes of good and bad karmas which are created in the past and present lives, make these periodical reward or punishment bodies that are controlled by the karmas made in the past lives, and this kind of lives have time limit, cannot change the aging. And the saints like arhats they have already removed the illusory or misleading views and thoughts, surpassed the ordinary people of the three realms and belong to the phenomena of birth and death of spirit, this is called mortal changes (a body that is being transformed from mortality).}

THE Vijnaptimatrasiddhi-sastra explains more about Mortal Changes: {The inconceivable Mortal Changes is built by all passionless purity, good karma, and the barrier of the knows (arising from regarding the seeming as real) as a cause, then responding to another extraordinary kind of heterogeneous effect produced by heterogeneous cause. This kind of extraordinary transformation body or incarnation body that is from the power of great merit and vow, do not have time limit.}

{IF the practitioner during the cultivation of present life, reveals the passionless wisdom, vows and perform the merit, and starts out to cultivate the way of discipline of the bodhisattva. When reaching the end of present life, starting out to cultivate the way of the bodhisattva during the transmigration with the extraordinary power of passionless wisdom and merit, never receding (never retreating but going straight to nirvana) till becoming Buddha, then the body of the end of present life will be received by the Moral Changes.}

THE POINTS FOR CULTIVATING THE VOWS OF GREAT MERIT
Vijnaptimatrasiddhi-sastra says: {If the Atma-grah has been turned, when facing the attendant circumstances, always causing like or dislike, then the mind of great merit will be hindered. And if entering experientially the truth of NO EGO of no self, the Atma-grah will be either removed or turned, then the mind of great merit of “All living things are equal” will be built, then delivering all beings will be started out.}

FROM this standpoint of view, we should understand that if a practitioner, who has the mind of great merit, during the cultivation of meditation, can enter experientially the truth of NO EGO of “Whatever is phenomenal is impermanent”(non-permanence), “Nothing has an ego”(non-personality), “All feeling is suffering”, and “Complete extinction of individual existence”(nirvana), then during the process of cultivating the great way of bodhisattva in the future, will start out the mind of great merit of “all living things are equal” and save all the living beings.

THE FOUNDATION OF CULTIVATING BUDDHIST DOCTRINES
Bodhipaksika dharma is the foundation of cultivating Buddhist doctrines, including five spiritual faculties(panca indriyani), the five powers of panca indriyani(panca balani), seven degrees of enlightenment or intelligence(sapta bodhyanga), the eight-fold noble path(asta-marga), four states of memory or subjects of reflection(smrtyupasthana), four proper lines of exertion(samyakprahana), and four steps towards supernatural power(rddhipada), these called thirty-seven conditions leading to bodhi or Buddha-hood.

WE all know the “Thirty-seven conditions leading to bodhi”, but most of the Buddhist treat it like some kind of reference, do not look into it closely, think it deeply, and practice it formally. The difference between the saints and the ordinary people is here “knowledge and action” (knowledge is easy, but action is difficult).

THE Sastra on the Prajna-paramita sutra says: {The ocean of Buddhist doctrines, only entering with believing, only delivering with wisdom.} meaning having the “The wisdom obtained from hearing” (hearing the word and becoming wise in it) of Buddhist doctrines is not enough. We have to remove our own thought of greed, desire, and evil with the Buddhist doctrines, then we will build “The knowledge of reality” for ourselves, with the knowledge of reality we can lead being to bodhi, this is called “Only delivering with wisdom”.

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UP has not reported a single case of polio in the last six months

Uttar Pradesh (UP), that register the highest amount of polio cases also saw a decline in polio cases. UP has not reported a single case of polio in the last six months. The results come after the state has made efforts in organising immunisation campaigns in high-risk areas to ensure that most children are administered the vaccine.

Sugar output in UP seen up 27%

Uttar Pradesh is expected to produce 6.8 million tonne sugar this year, marginally higher than an estimate of 6.4 million tonne provided by a senior state government official late last month.

“There was no damage due to late rains. In fact, rains have helped and if sunshine continues, both yield and recovery will be better, giving us hope of 6.8 million tonne,” Shyam Lal Gupta, secretary general of the Uttar Pradesh Sugar Mills, said.

Output of 16.3 million tonne from Uttar Pradesh and other states will help India churn out 24 million to 25 million tonne in new season that began in October, against 18.8 million tonne a year ago, leaving a larger surplus for exports. Analysts say higher exports from India, the world’s top consumer and the biggest producer behind Brazil, will put downward pressure on benchmark prices in New York, which touched a 29-year high in February due to large imports by the country in the past two years.

Bahujan Samaj Party’s Satish Mishra wanted the prime minister to reserve 50 percent of all seats in legislatures for women in line with their population ratio is the correct position

Bahujan Samaj Party’s Satish Mishra said his party would not be able to support the proposed legislation in the current form. He wanted the prime minister to reserve 50 percent of all seats in legislatures for women in line with their population ratio is the correct position. After all once Kanshiram Ji said ” If BJP was the ‘A’ team then the Congress is the ‘B’ team.” Now added to this is Prakash Karat’s party is the ‘C’ team and the AIDMK is the ‘D’ team< ?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” />

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LESSON 70 MAHAYANA AND HINAYANA COMPARED 26 10 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY

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Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared. - Buddha

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SIX PARAMITAS

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MAHAYANA AND HINAYANA COMPARED

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MAHAYANA AND HINAYANA COMPARED

http://www.berzinarchives.com/web/en/archives/study/comparison_buddhist_traditions/theravada_hinayana_mahayana/intro_comparison_hinayana_mahayana.html

Introductory Comparison of Hinayanaand Mahayana

Alexander Berzin
Berlin, Germany, January 2002

[edited transcript]

The Terms Hinayana and Mahayana

The terms Hinayana (Lesser Vehicle or Modest Vehicle) andMahayana (Greater Vehicle or Vast Vehicle) originated in The Prajnaparamita Sutras (The Sutras on Far-Reaching Discriminating Awareness, The Perfection of Wisdom Sutras). They are a rather derogatory pair of words, aggrandizingMahayana and putting down Hinayana. Alternative terms for them, however, have many other shortcomings, and so therefore I shall use these more standard terms for them here.

[See: The Terms Hinayana and Mahayana.]

Hinayana encompasses eighteen schools. The most important for our purposes are Sarvastivada and Theravada. Theravada is the one extant today in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. Sarvastivada was widespread in Northern India when the Tibetans started to travel there and Buddhism began to be transplanted to Tibet.

There were two main divisions of Sarvastivada based on philosophical differences: Vaibhashika and Sautrantika. Hinayanatenet systems studied at the Indian monastic universities such as Nalanda, and later by the Tibetan Mahayanists, are from these two schools. The lineage of monastic vows followed in Tibet is from another Sarvastivada subdivision, Mulasarvastivada.

[See: A Brief History of Buddhism in India before the Thirteenth-Century Invasions.]

Buddhas and Arhats

There is quite a significant difference between the Hinayana andMahayana presentations of arhats and Buddhas. Both agree that arhats, or liberated beings, are more limited than Buddhas, or enlightened beings, are. Mahayana formulates this difference in terms of two sets of obscurations: the emotional ones, which prevent liberation, and the cognitive ones, which prevent omniscience. Arhats are free of only the former, whereas Buddhas are free of both. This division is not found in Hinayana. It is purely a Mahayana formulation.

To gain liberation or enlightenment, both Hinayana andMahayana assert that one needs nonconceptual cognition of the lack of an impossible “soul.” Such a lack is often called “ selflessness,” anatma in Sanskrit, the main Indian scriptural language of Sarvastivada and Mahayana; anatta in Pali, the scriptural language of Theravada. The Hinayana schools assert this lack of an impossible “soul” with respect only to persons, not all phenomena. Persons lack a “soul,” an atman, that is unaffected by anything, partless, and separable from a body and a mind, and which can be cognized on its own. Such a “soul” is impossible. With just the understanding that there is no such thing as this type of “soul” with respect to persons, one can become either an arhat or a Buddha. The difference depends on how much positive force or so-called “ merit” one builds up. Because of their development of the enlightening aim ofbodhichitta, Buddhas have built up far more positive force than arhats have.

Mahayana asserts that Buddhas understand the lack of an impossible “soul” with respect to all phenomena as well as with respect to persons. They call this lack “voidness.” The various Indian schools of Mahayana differ regarding whether or not arhats also understand the voidness of phenomena. Within Mahayana, Prasangika Madhyamaka asserts that they do. However, the four Tibetan traditions explain this point differently regarding the Prasangika assertion. Some say that the voidness of phenomena understood by arhats is different from that understood by Buddhas; some assert the two voidnesses are the same. Some say that the scope of phenomena to which the voidness of phenomena applies is more limited for arhats than it is for Buddhas; some assert it is the same. There is no need to go into all the details here.

[See: Comparison of the Hinayana and Mahayana Assertions of the Understandings of Voidness by Arhats and Buddhas.]

Further Points Concerning Buddhas and Arhats

The assertions of Hinayana and Mahayana concerning arhats and Buddhas differ in many other ways. Theravada, for instance, asserts that one of the differences between a shravaka or “listener” striving toward the liberation of an arhat and abodhisattva striving toward the enlightenment of a Buddha is that shravakas study with Buddhist teachers, while bodhisattvas do not. The historical Buddha, Shakyamuni, for instance, did not study with another Buddha. He studied only with non-Buddhist teachers, whose methods he ultimately rejected. In the fact that Buddha’s understanding and attainment did not arise from reliance on a Buddhist teacher, Theravada asserts that a Buddha’s wisdom surpasses that of an arhat.

In addition, bodhisattvas work to become universal Buddhist teachers; shravakas do not, although as arhats they certainly teach disciples. Before passing away, Buddha himself deputed his arhat disciple Shariputra to continue “turning the wheel ofDharma.” According to Theravada, however, Buddhas excel arhats in being more skillful in methods for leading others to liberation and in the breadth of their conduct of teaching. This is the meaning of a Buddha’s being omniscient. However, according to this presentation, a Buddha would not know everyone’s address and would have to ask such information from others.

According to the Vaibhashika school of Hinayana, Buddhas are actually omniscient in knowing such information, but they only know one thing at a time. According to Mahayana, omniscience means knowing everything simultaneously. This follows from itsview that everything is interconnected and interdependent; we cannot speak of just one piece of information, totally unrelated to the rest.

Hinayana says that the historical Buddha achieved enlightenment in his lifetime and, like an arhat, when he died, his mental continuum came to an end. Therefore, according to Hinayana, Buddhas teach only for the rest of the lifetime in which they achieve enlightenment. They do not emanate to countless world systems and go on teaching forever, as Mahayana asserts. Only Mahayana asserts that the historical Buddha became enlightened in a previous lifetime many eons ago, by studying with Buddhist teachers. He was just demonstrated enlightenment under the bodhi tree as one of the twelve enlightening deeds of a Buddha. The precursor of this description of a Buddha is found in the Mahasanghika School of Hinayana, another of the eighteen Hinayana schools, but is not found in either Sarvastivada or Theravada.

[See: The Twelve Enlightening Deeds of a Buddha.]

Concerning Buddhas, another major difference is that onlyMahayana asserts the three corpuses or bodies of a Buddha – Nirmanakaya, Sambhogakaya, and Dharmakaya. Hinayana does not assert them. Thus, the concept of a Buddha is significantly different in Hinayana and Mahayana.

[See: Identifying the Objects of Safe Direction (Refuge).]

The Pathway Minds Leading to Liberation and Enlightenment

Hinayana and Mahayana both assert that the stages of progress to the purified state, or “bodhi,” of either an arhat or a Buddha entail developing five levels of pathway mind – the so-called “five paths.” These are a building-up pathway mind or path of accumulation, an applying pathway mind or path of preparation, a seeing pathway mind or path of seeing, an accustoming pathway mind or path of meditation, and a path needing no further training or path of no more learning. Shravakas and bodhisattvas who attain a seeing pathway of mind both becomearyas, highly realized beings. Both have nonconceptual cognition of the sixteen aspects of the four noble truths.

[See: The Five Pathway Minds: Basic Presentation. See also: The Sixteen Aspects and the Sixteen Distorted Ways of Embracing the Four Noble Truths.]

Both Hinayana and Mahayana agree that a seeing pathway mind rids both arya shravakas and arya bodhisattvas of doctrinally based disturbing emotions, while an accustoming pathway mind rids them of automatically arising disturbing emotions. The former are based on learning the set of assertions of one of the non-Buddhist Indian schools, while the latter arise automatically in everyone, including animals. The list of disturbing emotions that shravaka and bodhisattva aryas rid themselves of is part of a larger list of mental factors. Each of the Hinayana schools has its own list of mental factors, while Mahayana asserts yet another list. Many of the mental factors are defined differently in each list.

Both Hinayana and Mahayana agree that the course of progressing through the five pathway minds entails practicing the thirty-seven factors leading to a purified state. A “purified state” or “ bodhi” refers to either arhatship or Buddhahood. These thirty-seven factors include the four close placements of mindfulness, the eight branches of an arya pathway mind (the eightfold noble path), and so on. They are very important. Inanuttarayoga tantra, the thrity-seven are represented by Yamantaka’s thirty-four arms plus his body, speech and mind, as well as by the dakinis in the body mandala of Vajrayogini. The thirty-seven are a standard set of practices. The specifics of each practice, however, are often different in Hinayana and Mahayana.

[See: The Theravada Practice of the Four Close Placements of Mindfulness. See also: The Four Close Placements of Mindfulness According to Mahayana.]

Both Hinayana and Mahayana assert that the scheme of stream-enterer, once-returner, non-returner and arhat refers to stages of an arya shravaka’s path, but not to the path of an arya bodhisattva. Thus, stream-enterers have nonconceptual cognition of the sixteen aspects of the four noble truths, which include nonconceptual cognition of the lack of an impossible “soul” of persons. We should not think that stream-enterer is a beginner level. So if someone claims to have achieved the state of a stream-enterer, be suspicious.

Hinayana does not provide an extensive explanation of the bodhisattva pathway minds. Mahayana, however, explains that an arya bodhisattva’s path to enlightenment entails progressing through the development of ten levels of bhumi-mind. These levels of mind do not pertain to the path of shravakas.

Both Hinayana and Mahayana agree that traversing the bodhisattva path to enlightenment takes more time than traversing the shravaka one to arhatship. Only Mahayana, however, speaks of building up the two enlightenment-building networks – the two collections – for three zillion eons. “ Zillion,” usually translated as “countless,” means a finite number, though we would be unable to count it. Shravakas, on the other hand, can attain arhatship in as short as three lifetimes. In the first lifetime, one becomes a stream-enterer, in the next lifetime a once-returner, and in the third lifetime, one becomes a non-returner, achieves liberation, and becomes an arhat. This is quite tempting for many people.

The assertion that arhats are selfish is like bodhisattva propaganda. It is basically meant to point out an extreme to avoid. The sutras record that Buddha asked his sixty arhat disciples to teach. If they were truly selfish, they would not have agreed to do so. Arhats, however, can only help others to a more limited extent than Buddhas can. Both, however, can only help those with the karma to be helped by them.

Bodhisattvas

It is important to realize that the Hinayana schools do assert that before becoming a Buddha, one follows the bodhisattva path. Both Hinayana and Mahayana have versions of the Jataka tales describing the previous lives of Buddha Shakyamuni as a bodhisattva. Starting with King Siri Sanghabodhi in the third century CE, many Sri Lankan kings even called themselves bodhisattvas. Of course, this is a little tricky to untangle because there was some Mahayana present in Sri Lanka at the time. Whether this idea of bodhisattva kings preexisted a Mahayana influence is hard to say, but it did happen. Even more surprisingly, in the fifth century CE, the elders at the Sri Lankan capital Anuradhapura declared Buddhaghosa, a great Theravada Abhidharma master, to be an incarnation of the bodhisattva Maitreya.

Mahayana asserts that there are a thousand Buddhas in this “fortunate eon” who will start universal religions, and there have been and will be many more Buddhas in other world ages. Mahayana also asserts that everyone can become a Buddha, because everyone has the Buddha-nature factors that enable this attainment. Hinayana does not discuss Buddha-nature. Nevertheless, Theravada does mention hundreds of Buddhas of the past. One Theravada sutta even lists twenty-seven by name. All of them were bodhisattvas before becoming Buddhas. Theravada asserts that there will be innumerable Buddhas in the future as well, including Maitreya as the next one, and that anyone can become a Buddha if they practice the ten far-reaching attitudes.

The Ten Far-Reaching Attitudes

Mahayana says that the ten far-reaching attitudes are practiced only by bodhisattvas and not by shravakas. This is because Mahayana defines a far-reaching attitude or “perfection” as one that is held by the force of a bodhichitta aim.

According to Theravada, however, so long as the ten attitudes are held by the force of renunciation, the determination to be free, bodhichitta is not necessary for their practice to be far-reaching and act as a cause for liberation. Thus, Theravada asserts that both bodhisattvas and shravakas practice ten far-reaching attitudes. Aside from the different motivating aims behind them, the other main difference between a bodhisattva’s and a shravaka’s practice of the ten is the degree of their intensity. Thus, each of the ten far-reaching attitudes has three stages or degrees: ordinary, medium, and highest. For example, the highest practice of generosity would be giving one’s body to feed a hungry tigress, as Buddha did in a previous life as a bodhisattva.

The list of the ten far-reaching attitudes also differs slightly in Theravada and Mahayana. The Mahayana list is:

· generosity

· ethical self-discipline

· patience

· joyful perseverance

· mental stability

· discriminating awareness

· skill in means

· aspirational prayer

· strengthening

· deep awareness

The Theravada list omits mental stability, skill in means, aspirational prayer, strengthening, and deep awareness. It adds in their place

· renunciation

· being true to one’s word

· resolution

· love

· equanimity

[See: The Ten Far-Reaching Attitudes in Theravada, Mahayana, andBon.]

The Four Immeasurable Attitudes

Both Hinayana and Mahayana teach the practice of the four immeasurable attitudes of love, compassion, joy, and equanimity. Both define love as the wish for others to have happiness and the causes of happiness, and compassion as the wish for them to be free of suffering and the causes of suffering. Hinayana, however, does not develop these immeasurable attitudes through a line of reasoning, such as that all beings have been our mother and so on. Rather, it starts by directing love at those whom we already love and then extending it, in stages, toward a widening range of others.

The definitions of immeasurable joy and equanimity are different in Hinayana and Mahayana. In Hinayana, immeasurable joy refers to rejoicing in the happiness of others, without anyjealousy, and wishing it to increase. In Mahayana, immeasurable joy is the wish that others have the joy of unending enlightenment.

Equanimity is the state of mind that is free from attachment, repulsion, and indifference. In Theravada, it is equanimity toward the outcome of our love, compassion, and rejoicing. The outcome of our attempts to help others really depends on their karma and their efforts; although, as with Mahayana, Theravada accepts the possibility of a transfer of positive force, “merit,” to others. We wish them to be happy and to be free from suffering, but have equanimity about what actually happens. This is because we know that they will have to do the work themselves. In Mahayana, immeasurable equanimity means wishing all others to be free of attachment, repulsion and indifference, because these disturbing emotions and attitudes bring them suffering.

Although reaching the liberated state of an arhat requires developing love and compassion, it does not entail developing anexceptional resolve or a bodhichitta aim. The exceptional resolve is the state of mind to take responsibility to help lead everyone to liberation and enlightenment. The bodhichitta aim is the state of mind to attain enlightenment oneself, in order to fulfill the goal of that exceptional resolve. Since Hinayana contains little elaboration on the bodhisattva path, it does not explain these two attitudes. Mahayana outlines in great detail the meditation practices for developing them.

[See: The Four Immeasurable Attitudes in Hinayana, Mahayana, and Bon.]

The Two Truths

Although Hinayana does not assert the lack of an impossible “soul” of phenomena, or voidness, it is not the case that Hinayana does not discuss the nature of all phenomena in general. Hinayana does this with its presentation of the two truths concerning all phenomena. The precursor to gaining an understanding of the voidness of phenomena is an understanding the two truths. In Mahayana, the two truths are two facts concerning the same phenomenon. In Hinayana, the two truths are two sets of phenomena. There are superficial or conventionaltrue phenomena and deepest or ultimate true phenomena.

Within Sarvastivada, Vaibhashika asserts that the superficial true phenomena are physical objects and states of mind, ways of being aware. The deepest true phenomena are all the atoms making up physical objects and all the tiniest moments of cognition. It is important to realize that what we see are the superficially true phenomena, but that, on the deepest level, things are made of atoms. We can see how this leads to an understanding of the superficial level as being like an illusion.

According to Sautrantika, superficial true phenomena aremetaphysical entities, our projections onto objects; whereas the deepest true phenomena are the actual objective things themselves. Here, one begins to understand that one’s projections are like an illusion. If we get rid of the projections, we just see objectively what is there. Our projections are like an illusion.

[See: The Two Truths in Vaibhashika and Sautrantika.]

According to Theravada, superficial true phenomena are imputed phenomena. This refers to persons as well as physical objects, whether within the body or external. The deepest true phenomena are what they are imputed on. The body and physical objects are imputed on the elements and the sense fields that we perceive. What is an orange? Is it the sight, the smell, the taste, the physical sensation? An orange it what is imputed on all that. Likewise, a person is what can be imputed on the aggregatefactors of body and mind. The six types of primary consciousnessand the mental factors are the deepest true phenomena, because a person is labeled or imputed on them.

Although none of the Hinayana schools talk about the voidness of all phenomena, they do say that it is important to understand deepest true phenomena nonconceptually in order to gain liberation. The flavor is thus very much the same as theMahayana discussion.

Theravada also has a very different explanation of karma, which is not found in the Sarvastivada schools or in Mahayana, but we will not go into that now.

With this introduction, we can begin to appreciate how theHinayana schools of Theravada and Sarvastivada really are in the full flavor of the Buddhist teachings. This can help us to avoid making the mistake of forsaking the Dharma by saying that any of Buddha’s teachings are not Buddhist teachings. When we understand different schools properly from their own point of view, we develop a great deal of respect for all of the teachings of the Buddha. This is very important.

GOOD GOVERNANCE

Press Information Bureau< ?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” />

(C.M. Information Campus)

Information & Public Relations Department, U.P.

Hon’ble Chief Minister writes letter to External Affairs Minister about Haj pilgrims’ problems

Lucknow: 24 October 2010

The Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Ms. Mayawati ji has

drawn the attention of External Affairs Minister Shri S.M. Krishna over

the negligent behaviour towards Haj pilgrims of Uttar Pradesh by Haj

Committee of India. She has written a letter in this connection to the

minister today. She said that Haj Committee of India, without any

reason had cancelled the selection of Haj pilgrims on internet who

were selected through lottery and deposited the entire amount, form

and international passport and received the visas from Saudi Embassy.

She has turned this decision as unilateral and discretionary.

Hon’ble Chief Minister said that the selected Haj pilgrims and

their family members including the entire muslim community have

resentment over this decision of Haj Committee of India. She has

apprised the External Affairs Minister that earlier, Haj Committee of

India, at its own level had fixed the dates from 18 October to 06

November, 2010 for flight, but suddenly without informing the State

Government these dates were preponed and fixed from 09 October to

28 October, 2010.

Ms. Mayawati ji as also said though the State Government had

told about the Navratri, Dussehra, Durga Puja etc. including the

panchayat elections were falling between the dates of 09 October and

17 October, 2010, Haj Committee of India did not send Haj pilgrims on

earlier fixed dates. Haj pilgrims and U.P. State Haj Committee faced

difficulties owing to this sudden change. Despite of it, State

Government keeping in view the interests of Haj pilgrims had made

arrangement, owing to which Haj Committee of India had sent the

pilgrims on revised dates.

Hon’ble Chief Minister said that about 30 per cent pilgrims go to

Haj from Uttar Pradesh out of the total pilgrims in the country. The

U.P. Cabinet Minister and Chairman, U.P. State Haj Committee Mr.

Naseemuddin Siddiqui had sent several letters for discriminatory and

negligent approach being adopted by the Central Government and Haj

Committee of India towards the Haj pilgrims of the State, but instead

of any improvement Haj Committee of India was bent upon the

harassment of Haj pilgrims.

Ms. Mayawati ji, in her letter has requested to the External

Affairs Minister to direct the Chairperson of Haj Committee of India

Mrs. Mohsina Kidwai to restore all cancellation and fix the flight

schedule for Haj pilgrims in such a way, so that all selected pilgrims of

the State could be sent to Haj timely.

Hon’ble Chief Minister reviews cleanliness and pure drinking water supply situation of all Nagar Nigams and Urban bodies of State

Lucknow: 24 October 2010

The Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Ms. Mayawati

ji has directed the officers to make improvement in cleanliness

and supply of pure drinking water in all urban areas of the

State. She said that Nagar Nigam and Urban bodies of district

headquarters should prepare an action plan and implement

this plan in effective manner by launching special drive. She

said that proper supervision of sanitary workers should be

done to improve cleanliness in every ward. If, Nagar

Nigam/Urban bodies had shortage of sanitary workers, then

institutions willing for cleanliness should be engaged on the

basis of work contract fixing the quality norms during the

period of drive. She said that all senior/junior officers and

employees of Nagar Nigam/Urban bodies related to cleanliness

should be made responsible towards their work. She said that

sanitation system of the city should be done in such a manner,

so that people could feel the real change.

Before going to address election meetings in Bihar, the

Hon’ble Chief Minister held a high-level meeting to review the

action being taken by Nagar Nigams/Urban bodies especially

in Lucknow city regarding dengue and other fever oriented

diseases. The Cabinet Secretary Mr. Shashank Shekhar Singh,

Additional Cabinet Secretary Mr. Net Ram, Principal Secretary

to C.M. Mr. Durga Shankar Mishra, Commissioner Lucknow Mr.

Prashant Trivedi, DM Lucknow Mr. Anil Sagar and Municipal

Commissioner Mr. Shailesh Kumar Singh were present in the

meeting.

Hon’ble Chief Minister directed the Lucknow DM to recruit

100 officers for supervision of cleanliness works in the city.

She said that these officers would make surprise inspection

regarding cleanliness of wards of their recruitment place

between 7:00 AM and 1:00 PM. If the sanitation was not found

according to norms during inspection, then stringent action

should be taken against the concerning officers/employees.

She said that dumping ground on Mohaan road and waste land

of agriculture department at Mohaan road for the construction of Solid Waste Management Plant should be made immediately

available to Jal Nigam. Construction work of Solid Waste

Management Plant should be immediately started after

availability of the land, she added.

Hon’ble Chief Minister emphasised on disposal of waste,

drainage of stagnated water, cleanliness of drains and sewer

lines, spreading of pesticide and anti-larva and fogging. She

directed the commissioner and municipal commissioner to take

stringent action against the careless persons in this regard.

Hon’ble Chief Minister said that surprise checking of

drinking water supply should also be made in urban areas for

which besides Nagar Nigam, District Magistrate should

constitute a team of officers and they should check the quality

of drinking water by taking samples. If quality was not found

upto the mark, then necessary action should be taken in this

connection.

Hon’ble Chief Minister directed the officers that special

drive should be launched for next two months in the entire

State under the supervision of District Magistrates. Special cell

should be constituted by the District Magistrate to supervise

cleanliness and pure drinking water supply and if any

slackness was found by the concerning officers during surprise

inspection, then stringent action should be taken. The

Municipal Commissioner, Chief Medical Officer, Executive

Officers of Urban bodies, Officers of Jal Nigam and Jal

Sansthan would co-operate the District Magistrate in this

work. District Magistrate would review on daily basis during

the period of drive, so that cleanliness and drinking water

supply could be improved.

Hon’ble Chief Minister also directed the commissioners to

make surprise checking by constituting divisional teams and if

any slackness was found in this regard, then action should be

taken after fixing the responsibility. Officers should also be

sent from the State headquarters to cities for surprise

checking. She said that fortnightly progress report regarding

cleanliness and pure drinking water supply would be sent by

the District Magistrates to Urban Development Department.

Principal Secretary to C.M. Mr. Durga Shankar Mishra would

review the progress of this drive on first and third Monday of

every month.

[sakya] Fwd: [IHRO] Re: [humanrightsactivist] BJP- DRS Buy EVMs to Win Local Elections

From:

chunnu prasad

Add to Contacts

To:

humanhorizons@yahoogroups.co.uk; sakyagroup@yahoogroups.com

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: प्रिय रंजन Priya Ranjan <pranjan@gmail.com>
Date: 2010/10/25
Subject: [IHRO] Re: [humanrightsactivist] BJP- Dirty Rotten Scoundrels Buy EVMs to Win Local Elections
To: humanrightsactivist@yahoogroups.com
Cc: dsgill4@gmail.com, IHRO@yahoogroups.com, awakening_india@yahoogroups.com, indiathinkersnet@yahoogroups.com, PWAP@yahoogroups.com, Branded_Indian@yahoogroups.com, Humane-Rights-Agenda@yahoogroups.com, issuesonline_worldwide@yahoogroups.com

One DRS knows the other

On Mon, Oct 25, 2010 at 10:53 AM, Ravinder Singh <progressindia008@yahoo.com> wrote:

BJP- DRS Buy EVMs to Win Local Elections

I always maintain BJP RSS are DRS with no character and ethics. They will tell you 70% of budget and bank credits will go to farmers and villages but actually reduce it 8%.

BJP had hired experts to ‘Temper’ with EVMs for three years.

When EC introduced secure EVMs that has sealed processor and memory module these were tried in few bye elections over years, code of EVM use was evolved to ensure EVMs are distributed randomly and list of the candidates too was not predetermined.

BJP may be number 1 in one constituency, no 2 in other etc to make sure no one could fix these machines in advance.

DRS bought and introduced the machines without prior testing and trials.

Ravinder Singh

October25, 2010

Congress Alleges Tampering of EVMs

Ahmedabad Oct 21, 2010

Gujarat Congress has written a letter to the State Election Commission alleging that the ruling party has tried to manipulate the results of civic elections held today by tampering electronic voting machines (EVMs).

“The ruling party (BJP) has tried to manipulate result of the elections by tampering EVMs by usage of laptops,” Congress general secretary Girish Parmar said in the letter to Chief Election Commissioner K C Kapoor.

“Some technocrats along with laptops have been sent by the BJP party to polling booths to tamper with the EVMs by use of blue tooth technology,” Parmar said in the letter.

Parmar requested that laptops or computers should be banned in the 100 meter area of polling booths. “Even after polling is completed, no computers or laptops should be permitted within or outside the premises where EVMs are stored”, Parmar further said.

“We expect nonprejudicial role of SEC in larger interest of upholding democratic value,” Parmar further said in the letter.

The election commission was of the view that the EVMs cannot be tampered with by using blue tooth technology but agreed that it will look in the complaint of the opposition party.

“We will look into the complaint of the Congress party,” SEC secretary P S Shah said

Gujarat procured EVMs on its own: EC

Express news service Posted online: Mon Oct 25 2010, 02:02 hrs

New Delhi : Adding fuel to the controversy over the Congress’s allegation that the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) used in the Gujarat local bodies polls were tampered with, the Election Commission has said that the machines were not provided by the Centre but procured by the state election commission.

“Let me make it clear that the EVMs used in the recent Gujarat local bodies elections were not provided by the Election Commission. The state had procured these on its own,” a senior Election Commission of India officer said on Sunday.

The Congress, which had months ago scoffed at L K Advani’s apprehensions about EVMs saying it hoped the BJP leader’s fears “do not betray a lack of grace over the loss of elections”, had complained to the Gujarat State Election Commission that the BJP was “tampering” with EVMs to “manipulate” the results of panchayat polls.

The BJP swept the local bodies elections, which were held earlier this month.

Priya Ranjan, Practicing Ph.D. in Internet Technologies

Official Internet Wanderer

comments (0)

10/25/10

LESSON 69 FIVE TYPES OF BUDDHIST STUDY AND PRACTICE 25 10 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY-Anyone Can Attain Ultimate Bliss Just Visit:http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org-”The discipline which I have imparted to you will lead you when I am gone. Practice to attain the goal of emptiness.” - The Buddha’s last words. -BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!-WISDOM IS POWER-BSP Overseas (London) UK pays tribute to Manyavar Kanshiram Sahab on 24th Ocetober 2010-Converging Technologies for Improving Human Performance NANOTECHNOLOGY, BIOTECHNOLOGY, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND COGNITIVE SCIENCE-Impact of Nanotechnology on Biomedical Sciences: Review of Current Concepts on Convergence of Nanotechnology With Biology

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LESSON 69 FIVE TYPES OF BUDDHIST STUDY AND PRACTICE 25 10 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY

Anyone Can Attain Ultimate Bliss Just Visit:http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org

“The discipline which I have imparted to you will lead you when I am gone. Practice to attain the goal of emptiness.” - The Buddha’s last words.

BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!

WISDOM IS POWER

Awakened One Shows the Path to Attain Ultimate Bliss

COMPUTER IS AN ENTERTAINMENT INSTRUMENT!

INTERNET!

ENTERTAINMENT NET!

TO BE MOST APPROPRIATE!

Using such an instrument

The Free ONLINE e-Nālandā Research and Practice University has been re-organized to function through the following Schools of Learning :

Buddha’s Sangha Practiced His Dhamma Free of cost, hence the Free- e-Nālandā Research and Practice University follows suit

As the Original Nālandā University did not offer any Degree, so also the Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University.

§ Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , Indian scholar, philosopher and architect of Constitution of India, in his writing and speeches

I.
KAMMA

AWAKEN-NESS

II.
ARHAT

TWELVEFOLD CONDITIONED ARISING

BODHISATTVA

PARAMITA

SIX PARAMITAS

III.

SIX SPIRITUAL POWERS

SIX PATHS OF REBIRTH

TEN DHARMA REALMS

FIVE SKANDHAS

EIGHTEEN REALMS

FIVE MORAL PRECEPTS

IV.

MEDITATION

MINDFULNESS

FOUR APPLICATIONS OF MINDFULNESS

FOUR FORMLESS REALMS

FIVE TYPES OF BUDDHIST STUDY AND PRACTICE

MAHAYANA AND HINAYANA COMPARED

PURE LAND

BUDDHA RECITATION

EIGHT CONSCIOUSNESSES

ONE HUNDRED DHARMAS

EMPTINESS

VI.

DEMON

LINEAGE

with

Level I: Introduction to Buddhism

Level II: Buddhist Studies

TO ATTAIN

Level III: Stream-Enterer

Level IV: Once - Returner

Level V: Non-Returner
Level VI: Arhat

Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in

mathematics,

astronomy,

alchemy,

and

anatomy

Philosophy and Comparative Religions;

Historical Studies;

International Relations and Peace Studies;

Business Management in relation to Public Policy and Development Studies;

Languages and Literature;

and Ecology and Environmental Studies

Welcome to the Free Online e-Nālandā Research and Practice University

Course Programs:

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Amitabha Land 彌陀天堂

Buddhism Music Videos, Amitabha Buddha

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Buddha nature in Japanese calligraphy
Buddha nature
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http://online.sfsu.edu/~rone/Buddhism/BuddhistDict/BDF.html

FIVE TYPES OF BUDDHIST STUDY AND PRACTICE

Five Types of Buddhist Study and Practice

1) Study and Practice of the Teachings, 2) Study and Practice of the Moral Regulations (Vinaya), 3) Study and Practice of the Mysteries (Tantra) , 4) Study and Practice of Meditation (Chan), 5) Study and Practice for Rebirth in the Pure Land.

“The Buddha’s teachings are taught in Five Schools: the Teachings School, the Vinaya School, the Esoteric School, the Chan School, and the Pure Land School. There are many who like to say that these are five sects, or types of Buddhism, which leads to all kinds of doctrinal squabbling. It is not accurate; the schools might better be called five basic approaches to cultivation. Each of these Dharma-doors has special appeal to certain types of people, but only one can be said to be equally easy for all to cultivate, and that is the Pure Land Door.” (WM 17-18)

I. Teachings.

The Teachings includes the Buddhist doctrinal schools, such as the eighteen Hinayana schools, the Madhyamaka and Yogacara schools of the Mahayana, and sutra-based Mahayana schools such as Tyan-tai and Hwa-yan.

“The Teachings School emphasizes using skillful expedients, and therefore capitalizes on beautiful expression and elegant phraseology. Adherents to this school are well-versed in terminology and characteristics. They determine the different periods of the teachings and divide them into categories. Thus, the sea of meanings billows, and the Dharma’s principles run deep. They serve to focus the audience’s rambling thoughts, and to gather in stray mental activities that leak out through seeing and listening. When this occurs, it’s as if one has entered the hall of samadhi, and ascended the heavens of the six desires. Layer upon layer one bores in; step by step one ascends. Even if one wanted to stop, it would be nearly impossible, and it’s hard to fathom the very source.

“Regarding the teachings of the Teachings School–such as the Four Teachings of Tyan Tai, the Five Esoteric Meanings of Syan Shou (i.e., Hwa Yan), the Dharma-mark propagated by Consciousness Only–each has its strengths. Although each of these schools may not be extremely biased; nevertheless, on occasion they extol themselves at others’ expense.

“Whenever clear-eyed Good and Wise Advisors see such incidents, they feel greatly pained at heart. Since the foundation of the Teachings has not flourished, and true talent is scarce, these good advisors are willing to act personally as models, practice ascetic discipline, and cultivate the door of the Six Paramitas. In the face of a hundred oppositions they do not bend, and they are glad to undergo ten thousand vicissitudes, to the point that even if their bodies had to be smashed to pieces and their bones pulverized, they would not begrudge such a sacrifice. Supported by magnanimous vows, they are courageous and vigorous. Renouncing themselves for others, they take across everyone with whom they have causal connections. Observing the opportunities, they entice with the teachings and dispense medicine according to the illness. Not avoiding weariness or toil, they would offer up their heads, eyes, brains and marrow, give away their bodies and minds, all with the sole intention of causing living beings to turn away from confusion and return to enlightenment, to cast out the deviant and come back to what is proper. They want living beings to quickly attain Bodhi and perfect the sagely fruition. Therefore, they employ both provisional and actual means, and bestow both sudden and gradual teachings. With kindness they draw in those with whom they have no affinities; with compassion they embrace all things and become one with them. Revealing a vast and long tongue, they take great pains to exhort with earnest words, sparing no efforts. They teach and admonish without tiring, while always conducting themselves in accord with strict discipline. In such ways they act as the ‘dragons and elephants’ at the Dharma’s entrance, also as teachers of gods and people. Throughout long kalpas they practice the Bodhisattva Way and never rest.” (WM 74-75)

“The cultivation of the Teaching School, while serving as an excellent cure for the disease of stupidity, does demand certain qualifications. It cannot, for example, be cultivated by the illiterate, by those who do not know the languages in which the teachings are written, or by the very stupid. And so, although the teachings are universal and there is not a single being who cannot benefit from them, in their literary form there is a definite group of people to whom they are best suited.” (WM 18)

II. Moral Regulations

“The Vinaya School stresses the study of precepts, the rules and regulations. In the four comportments of walking, standing, sitting, and lying down, one has to be stern and dignified, and the three karmas of body, mouth and mind have to be pure. Upasakas and upasikas (laymen and laywomen), the two lay assemblies, may maintain the five precepts and the eight precepts, as well as the Ten Major and Forty-Eight Minor Bodhisattva Precepts. Shramanas and Shramanerikas take the Ten Novice Precepts. Bhikshus have 250 precepts, and bhikshunis have 348 precepts. One should maintain each and every one of those precepts without every violating them and believe in them, accept them, and offer up one’s conduct. One should be mindful of the agony of revolving in birth and death. If we lose this human body, it will be hard to recover it in ten thousand aeons. Therefore, at all times, we should strictly cultivate the Vinaya and never be lax.” (WM 75-76)

“The Vinaya, or ‘Rules and Regulations’ School, requires not only that one be literate, but also that one be living a monastic life. There is no way for the worldly man to perfect cultivation of the Vinaya. Pure maintenance of this Dharma-door serves as a supremely efficacious cure for greed, desire, and arrogance. Much of it, however, can be practiced by men and women in the world, and it can be an immense help in cultivation. All real practicers of Buddhadharma, Sangha-members or lay people, formally maintain precepts, ranging from the five for lay people to the more than three hundred for bhikshunis. There are few more awesome people in the world than the masters of Vinaya, perfect in the three thousand rules of deportment.” (WM 18)

III. Mysteries (Tantra)

“The School of the Mysteries specializes in the holding of mantras and maintains that one can realize Buddhahood in this very life. And yet, if practitioners are the slightest bit reckless, they can easily fall into the Dharma Realm of the asuras. That is because the majority of those in these practices have not subdued the hatred in their minds, and their tendency to seek revenge is extremely strong. They lack thoughts of kindness and compassion, and rarely practice the art of patience. Many of them are prone to be arrogant, and their pride and conceit are deeply rooted. In holding secret mantras they dare to slight others, and wielding their vajras they are not afraid of bullying people. However, if one can be rid of the bad habits described above, then one’s practice of samadhi can become successful, and one can go on to achieve the fruition that is Bodhi. In that case, this Dharma-door is also a skillful expedient for cultivators of the Way.” (WM 76)

“The School of the Mysteries requires among other things both a good memory to hold its many mantras and dharanis, plus a good deal of money to carry out its elaborate and splendid rituals. A fully adorned temple and bodhimanda are required as well as a profusion of images and various Dharma instruments. Also essential are numbers of Dharma Masters well-trained and conversant with the esoteric lore of this school. They are hard to find. Without them and without special instruction, it is not possible to be successful with the teachings of the School of the Mysteries.” (WM 19)

I have preached the truth without making any distinction exoteric and esoteric doctrine; for in respect of the truths, Ananda, the Tathagata has no such thing as the closed fist of a teacher who keeps some things back. (Dialogues of the Buddha II 107)

IV. Meditation (Chan)

“The Chan (Zen) or Dhyana-meditation School stresses the practice of meditation, and its cultivation requires a special set of circumstances. First, it is essential to have an advisor, one of great wisdom and skill, who can teach the student by all manner of expedient means. Without such a teacher, there is no way for ordinary people to have any success in Chan meditation. They may achieve some measure of attainment, but due to lack of wise counsel, they will be turned by their experience; thinking that they are like the great Chan Masters of old, they will go around committing all sorts of stupid and even dangerous or immoral acts. Such so-called ‘enlightened masters’ and ‘patriarchs’ are too often well-meaning practicers of Chan who have either not met or not submitted to the teaching of a Good and Wise Advisor. Too many of them have entered into the various demonic states that the Buddha discussed in theShurangama Sutra. Anyone who professes to be a follower of the Buddha should act in accordance with his teachings and find a capable advisor, one whose experience and lineage are unquestioned.

“In addition to the above qualifications, Chan cultivation requires a certain temperament which is rarely found. While some immediately get a response in Chan cultivation, there are many for whom it represents unbearable difficulty. If this is the only means of cultivation presented to them, many people will flee from the Buddhadharma as a small child screams upon seeing a tame but incredibly fierce-looking tiger on a leash. ” (WM 18-19)

http://www.azonano.com/details.asp?ArticleID=1242

Impact of Nanotechnology on Biomedical Sciences: Review of Current Concepts on Convergence of Nanotechnology With Biology

Herbert Ernest and Rahul Shetty

Topics Covered

Nanobiotechnology in High-Throughput Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Analysis

Nanoparticles as Biomarkers

Nanotechnology in Measurements of Dissolved Oxygen

Application of Nanotechnology to P450 Enzymes

Application of Nanotechnology to Tissue Engineering

Abstract

Two of 21st century’s most promising technologies are biotechnology and nanotechnology.

This science of nanoscale structures deals with the creation, investigation and utilisation of systems that are 1000 times smaller than the components currently used in the field of microelectronics. Biotechnology deals with metabolic process with microoraganisms. Convergence of these two technologies results in growth of nanobiotechnology. This interdisciplinary combination can create many innovative tools.

The biomedical applications of nanotechnology are the direct products of such convergences.

However, the challenges facing scientists and engineers working in the field of nanotechnology are quite enormous and extraordinarily complex in nature.

Utility of nanotechnology to biomedical sciences imply creation of materials and devices designed to interact with the body at sub-cellular scales with a high degree of specificity. This could be potentially translated into targeted cellular and tissue-specific clinical applications aimed at maximal therapeutic effects with very limited adverse-effects.

Nanotechnology in biomedical sciences presents many revolutionary opportunities in the fight against all kinds of cancer, cardiac and neurodegenerative disorders, infection and other diseases.

This article presents an overview of some of the applications of nanotechnology in biomedical sciences.

Background

Nanotechnology is a new area of science that involves working with materials and devices that are at the nanoscale level. A nanometre is billionth of a meter. That is, about 1/80,000 of the diameter of a human hair, or ten times the diameter of a hydrogen atom. It manipulates the chemical and physical properties of a substance on molecular level. Nanotechnology alters the way we think, it blurs the boundaries between physics, chemistry and biology, the elimination of these boundaries will pose many challenges and new directions for the organisation of education and research.

Richard Feynman’s speech called ‘There is plenty of room at the bottom’ in 1959 emphasised this concept - If our small minds, for some convenience, divide this universe into parts, physics, biology, geology, astronomy, psychology and so on – Remember that nature does not know it [1].

Nanobiotechnology is the unification of biotechnology and nanotechnology. This hybrid discipline can also mean making atomic-scale machines by imitating or incorporating biological systems at the molecular level, or building tiny tools to study or change natural structure properties atom by atom. Nanobiotechnology can have a combination of the classical micro-technology with a molecular biological approach. Biotechnology uses the knowledge and techniques of biology to manipulate molecular, genetic, and cellular processes to develop products and services, and is used in diverse fields from medicine to agriculture. Convergence, is an activity or trend that occurs based on common materials and capabilities-in this case the discipline that enables convergence is nanotechnology. The potential opportunities offered by this interface is truly outstanding; the overlap of biotech, nanotech and information technology is bringing to fruition many important applications in life sciences.

This technology is expected to create innovations and play a vital role in various biomedical applications (fig. 1), not only in drug delivery and gene therapy, but also in molecular imaging, biomarkers and biosensors. Target-specific drug therapy and methods for early diagnosis of pathologies are the priority research areas where nanotechnology would play a prominent role [2].

AZoNano - Online Journal of Nanotechnology - Schematic illustration of nanotechnology revolutionising biomedical sciences.

Figure1. Schematic illustration of nanotechnology revolutionising biomedical sciences.

The National Institutes of Health Bioengineering Consortium (BECON) held a symposium in 2000 entitled “Nanoscience and < ?xml:namespace prefix = st1 />Technology: Shaping Biomedical Research″[3]. Eight areas of nanoscience and nanotechnology were addressed at the conference and believed to be the most pertinent to research in biomedicine. These areas included synthesis and use of nanostructures, applications of nanotechnology to therapy, biomimetic and biologic nanostructures, electronic-biology interface, devices for early detection of disease, tools for the study of single molecules, nanotechnology and tissue engineering.

The aim of BECON was to enhance communication between biomedical scientists and engineers who bring different aspects of their skills and knowledge to bear on these problems and to make the biomedical community more aware of the emerging developments in the field of nanotechnology. The deliberations of the conference are now widely reinforced by day-to-day experience, increasing ability to manipulate individual molecules at a nanoscale and to combine biomolecules with other nanoscale structures. This ability provides the opportunity for untold new therapeutic and diagnostic applications by enabling the building of novel structures from the bottom up [4].

In the foreseeable future, the most important clinical application of nanotechnology will probably be in pharmaceutical development. These applications take advantage of the unique properties of nanoparticles as drugs or constituents of drugs or are designed for new strategies to controlled release, drug targeting, and salvage of drugs with low bioavailability [5-7].

Nanoscale polymer capsules can be designed to break down and release drugs at controlled rates, to allow differential release in certain environments, such as an acid medium, and to promote uptake in tumours versus normal tissues [8]. A lot of research is now focused on creating novel polymers and exploring specific drug-polymer combinations. Nanocapsules can be synthesized directly from monomers or by means of nanodeposition of preformed polymers [9]. Nanocapsules have also been formulated from albumin and liposomes. Implantable drug delivery systems that are being developed will make use of nanopores to control drug release.

One of the key issues in bio-availability is cell transfection in DNA gene therapy. Current methods have significant limitations, including the risk of inadvertent transmission of disease by viral vectors. This has led researchers to explore polymer-DNA complexes and liposome-DNA complexes for gene delivery [10]. It has also been shown that compacted DNA in the form of nanoparticles can be used to transfect postmitotic cells [11].

Despite the risk and limitations, viral vectors are an efficient biomimetic approach to drug targeting and delivery. The tat peptide from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other viral proteins are being attached to DNA, proteins, and other materials for uptake into cells. These nano-assemblies mimic the action of the fusion proteins that make viral transfection efficient [12, 13]. Nanotechnology has also enabled the development of biochips and has a role in green manufacturing (e. g biocompatibility and biocomplexity areas). Other applications include the design of sensors for astronauts, soldiers, biofluids (for handling DNA and other molecules), in vitro fertilization of live stock, nanofiltration, bioprocessing ‘by design’ and traceability of genetically modified food (Table 1).

Table 1. List of Nanotechnology applications to Biomedical sciences

Nano-Applications	References
Bio-detection of pathogens	15
Detection of proteins	16
Probing of DNA structure	17
Tissue engineering	18, 19
Heat destruction of tumour (hyperthermia)	20
Phagokinetic studies	21
MRI Contrast enhancement	22
Separation and purification of biomolecules and cells	23
Fluorescent biological markers	24, 25
Drug and gene delivery	26, 27
Artificial cells and their assemblies	28
Design of proteins for efficient electron transport or with mechanical features	29
Using dip pen technology	30, 31
Formation and growth of nanostructures in living biosystems (e.g by alfalfa plants)	32
Biosensors	33
Nanobiomotors	34-36
Biomineralization	37
Nanorobotics	14, 38
Nanocomputers	39
Nanorods for vaccination applications	40

Exploratory areas for nanotechnology will include research into the condition and/or repair of the brain and other areas for regaining cognition. It might also find application in designing pharmaceuticals as a function of patient genotypes and in applying chemicals to stimulate production as a function of plant genotypes. The synthesis of more effective and biodegradable chemicals for agriculture and the production of implantable detectors could be aided by nanotechnology with minimal quantities of blood. Employing this technology it should also be possible to develop methods that use saliva instead of blood for the detection of illnesses or that can perform complete blood testing within a short period of time. Broader issues include economic molecular medicine, sustainable agriculture, conservation of biocomplexity, and enabling emerging technologies.

Richard E. Smalley, winner of the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry announced in his congressional testimony to the U.S. government about the increasing awareness in the scientific and technical community of our entry into a new golden age. Burgeoning interest in the medical applications of nanotechnology has led to the emergence of a new discipline known as nanomedicine [14]. On a wider scope, nanomedicine is the process of diagnosing, treating, preventing disease and traumatic injury, of relieving pain, and of preserving and enhancing human health, using molecular tools and molecular knowledge of the human body. The purpose of this review is to throw more light on the recent advances and impact of nanotechnology on biomedical sciences.

Recent Developments

Medical diagnosis with appropriate and effective delivery of pharmaceuticals are the medical areas where nanosize particles have found practical applications. However, there are many other interesting proposals for the use of nanomechanical tools in the fields of medical research and clinical practice. Such nanotools are awaiting construction, and presently are more like a fantasy. Nevertheless, they might be quite useful, and become a reality in the near future [41].

Nanodevices in medical sciences could function to replace defective or improperly functioning cells, such as the respirocyte proposed by Freitas [42]. This man-made red blood cell is theoretically capable of providing oxygen more effectively than an erythrocyte. It could replace defective natural red cells in blood circulation. Primary applications of respirocytes may involve transfusable blood substitution, partial treatment of anaemia, prenatal/neonatal problems, and lung disorders.

It has been reported that nanomachines could administer drugs within a patient’s body. Such nanoconstructions could deliver drugs to peculiar sites making treatment more accurate and precise [43]. Similar machines with specific ‘weapons’ could be used to remove obstacles in the circulatory system or in the identification and killing of tumour cells.

The other vital application of nanotechnology in relation to medical research and diagnostics are nanorobots. Nanorobots, operating in the human body, could monitor levels of different compounds and record the information in the internal memory. They could be rapidly used in the examination of a given tissue, surveying its biochemical, biomechanical, and histometrical features in greater detail. Just as biotechnology extends the range and efficacy of treatment options available from nanomaterials, the advent of molecular nanotechnology will again expand enormously the effectiveness, comfort and speed of future medical treatments while at the same time significantly reducing their risk, cost, and invasiveness.

Biotechnology permits tailor-made production and biopharmaceuticals and biotechnological drugs, many of which require special formulation technologies to overcome drug-associated problems. Such major challenges to solve include the following: poor solubility, limited chemical stability in vitro and in vivo after administration (i.e. short half-life), poor bioavailability and potentially strong side-effects requiring drug enrichment at the site of action (targeting) [44]. Nanoparticulate carriers have been developed as one solution to overcome such delivery problems, i.e. drug nanocrystals, solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN), nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) and lipid-drug conjugate (LDC) nanoparticles [44]. The carriers as reported by Muller and colleagues are suitable to solve delivery problems with biotech drugs of different solubility. Targeting with these carriers can be realised by a very simple approach, the differential protein adsorption (PathFinder® technology). This technology proved to be efficient enough to accumulate sufficiently high amounts of drugs in the brain to reach therapeutic levels and also fulfill the major requirement to be pursued by a pharmaceutical company.

Quantum Dot with nanodots of a specific colour are believed to be flexible and could offer a cheap and easy way to screen a blood sample for the presence of a number of different viruses at the same time. It could also give physicians a fast diagnosis tool to detect, say, the presence of a particular set of proteins that strongly indicates the onset of myocardial infarction. On the research front, the ability to simultaneously tag multiple biomolecules both on and inside cells could allow scientists to watch the complex cellular changes and events associated with disease, providing valuable clues for the development of future pharmaceuticals and therapeutics (Quantum Dot Corporation) [45].

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) plans to foster the application of nanotechnology to HLBS (Heart, Lung, Blood and Sleep) research and disorders. A request for information (RFI) was developed, with advice from scientists and physicians with interests in nanotechnology, to canvas the broader scientific community on approaches to developing and applying nanotechnology to HLBS disorders. A working Group comprising scientists, engineers, and physicians with expertise across nanotechnology, nanoscience, and HLBS medicine met on February 28^th, 2003, using the RFI responses as the starting point for discussions. The Working Group was entrusted with assessing the field of nanotechnology and suggesting ways for research. The Working Group cautioned against overly rigid or restrictive definition of nanotechnology, emphasizing the continuum of scale from the nanoscale to the microscale. The Group also identified areas of opportunity and challenges to further development associated with the application of nanoscience and nanotechnology to improved diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of HLBS disorders. It as well developed prioritized recommendations to facilitate the application of nanotechnology to biological questions and improved patient care [46].

The RESIST Group at the Welsh School of Pharmacy at Cardiff University and others have looked at how molecularly imprinted polymers could be medically useful in clinical applications such as controlled drug release, drug monitoring devices, and biological and antibody receptor mimics. Histamine and ephedrine molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) were studied as potential biological receptor mimics whilst a propanolol MIP was investigated for its use as a rate attenuating selective excipient in a transdermal controlled device [47].

The first artificial voltage-gated molecular nanosieve was fabricated by Charles R. Martin and colleagues [48] at Colorado State University in 1995. Martin’s membrane contains an array of cylindrical gold nanotubules with inside diameters as small as 1.6nm. When the tubules are positively charged, positive ions are excluded and only negative ions are transported through the membrane. When the membrane receives a negative voltage, only positive ions can pass. Similar nanodevices may combine voltage gating with pore size, shape, and charge constraints to achieve precise control of ion transport with significant molecular specificity. An exquisitely sensitive ion channel switch biosensor was built by an Australian research group [49].

The year 2003 could be termed a very special year for biomedical research because we celebrated the completion of the sequencing of the entire human genome which coincided with the 50^th anniversary of the discovery of the DNA double helix structure by Watson and Crick. In biomedical imaging, we also witnessed the awarding of the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology to two pioneers in Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Professor Paul Lauterbur and Sir Peter Mansfield. These landmark events helped to highlight the impact of the rapid development in many diverse disciplines to biomedical research. The leverage and tremendous advances in electronics and information technology has been brought about by biomedical imaging research [50]. The opportunities and challenges in future biomedical research lie in the incorporation of knowledge gained from molecular biology with chemistry, physics, engineering, information technology, and nanotechnology to understand the ambiguity and complexity of life and come up with new diagnostic and therapeutic methods.

Calcium phosphate nanoparticles present a unique class of non-viral vectors, which can serve as efficient and alternative DNA carriers for targeted delivery of genes. The design and synthesis of ultra-low size, highly monodispersed DNA doped calcium phosphate nanoparticles of size around 80nm in diameter has been reported [51]. The DNA encapsulated inside the nanoparticle is protected from the external DNase environment and could be used safely to transfer the encapsulated DNA under in vitro and in vivo conditions.

The application of a combination of nanomedicine with biophotonics for optically tracking the cellular pathways of gene delivery and the resulting transfection by using nanoparticles as a non-viral vector has been demonstrated recently [52]. Gene delivery is an area of considerable current interest; genetic materials (DNA, RNA, and oligonucleotides) have been used as molecular medicine and are delivered to specific cell types to either inhibit some undesirable gene expression or express therapeutic proteins.

Nano-DNA Technology

The discovery of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) [53, 54] paved the way to a new era of biological research. The impact can be felt not only in the field of molecular biology, but also in other allied fields of science. Novel classes of semi-synthetic DNA-protein conjugates, self-assembled oligomeric networks consisting of streptavidin and double-stranded DNA, which can be converted into well-defined supramolecular nanocircles have been developed [55, 56].

The DNA-streptavidin conjugates are applicable as modular building blocks for the production of new immunological reagents for the ultrasensitive trace analysis of proteins and other antigens by means of immuno-PCR methodology [57-59]. Immuno-PCR is a combination of the specificity of an antibody-based immuno-assay with the exponential power of the amplification of PCR, hence resulting in a 1000-fold degree of sensitivity as compared with standard ELISA (Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) methods.

Self-assembled DNA-streptavidin conjugates have also been applied in the field of nanotechnology. For example, the conjugates are used as model systems for ion-switchable nanoparticle networks, as nanometre-scale ‘soft material’ calibration standards for scanning probe microscopy [60, 61], or as programmed building blocks for the rational construction of complex biomolecular architecture, which may be used as templates for the growth of nanometre-scale inorganic devices [62, 63]. Covalent conjugates of single-stranded DNA and streptavidin are used as biomolecular adapters for the immobilization of biotinylated macromolecules at solid substrates through nucleic acid hybridization. This ‘DNA-directed immobilization’ allows for reversible and site-selective functionalization of solid substrates with metal and semiconductor nanoparticles or, vice versa, for the DNA directed functionalization of gold nanoparticles with proteins, such as immunoglobulins and enzymes. The fabrication of functional biometallic nanostructures from gold nanoparticles and antibodies are applied as diagnostic tools in bioanalytics [64].

Nanobiotechnology in High-Throughput Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Analysis

Following the publication of a map of variation in the human genome sequence containing over two million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (The International SNP Map Working Group, 2001), the next challenge is the development of the technologies to use this information in a cost-effective manner. Genotyping methods have to be improved in order to increase throughput by at least two orders of magnitude to enable pharmaceutical, biotechnological and academic research to uncover associations between genetic variants and diseases, with consequent potential for the development of novel diagnostics and therapies. New approaches to DNA extraction and amplification have curtailed the times required for these processes to seconds. Microfluidic devices enable polymorphism detection through very rapid fragment separation using capillary electrophoresis and high-performance liquid chromatography, together with mixing and transport of reagents and biomolecules in integrated systems [65]. The basic objectives in the development of a DNA extraction and purification system that will be compatible with high-throughput SNP genotyping requirements are:

· Release of the DNA from the cells into solution without either enzymatic (i.e. endonucleases) or mechanical (shearing) breakdown of the DNA;

· Removal of cellular debris (e.g. proteins) that may hamper DNA amplification or hybridization assays;

· High-throughput and economical DNA sample preparation with simplified protocols that reduce the number of procedures involved;

· Avoidance of hazardous chemical requirements as much as possible to minimize handling and disposal costs;

· Consistency of both quality and quantity of DNA yield among samples so that quantification is unnecessary, and subsequent amplification and/or hybridization can be to a high degree of reproducibility;

· A highly efficient process, to ensure enough supply for the enormous number of assays anticipated; and

· An interface that will enable direct loading of conventionally sampled biopsies on to the system [65].

The potential for nanotechnology to contribute to rapid high-throughput SNP analysis is most evident with smart biochip platforms. The development of an electronically addressable microarray platform as described by Heller L. et al 2000 [66] has given rise to Nanogen Inc. (San Diego, California, USA). The challenge of providing one or more technology platforms capable of SNP screening throughput of the order of 10⁷ genotypes per day will need to be achieved, to allow significant associations between genes and diseases to be established. Additionally, the technology platform(s) will also need to deliver economies of scale, such that the cost per genotype will be less than 0.01$ for the magnitude of screening necessary to be feasible. From the rapidly developing field of nanotechnology, novel tools and processes have been introduced with the potential to provide the capabilities required [67-69].

Differences of SNPs occurring in close proximity to each other on the genome is normally correlated due to linkage during the process of replication, and the extent of this correlation is termed linkage disequilibrium. Where a significant association occurs between the genetic variation observed at specific SNPs and the presence of a disease, susceptible genes can be identified. The statistical estimations needed to eliminate false-positive results were reviewed by McCarthy and Hilfiker (2000) [70]. They suggest a linear increase in sample size is necessary for every order of magnitude increase in the number of markers tested. Hence, positive identification of a susceptible gene from a screening programme including 1 Million SNPs would require a minimum sample size of 1000 (i.e. a minimum of 10⁹ SNPs have to be screened).

Nanoparticles as Biomarkers

Nanoparticles can be used for both quantitative and qualitative in vitro detection of tumour cells. They enhance the detection process by concentrating and protecting a marker from degradation, in order to render the analysis more sensitive. For instance, streptavidin-coated fluorescent polystyrene nanospheres Fluospheres® (green fluorescence) and TransFluospheres® (red fluorescence) were applied in single colour flow cytometry to detect the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) on A431 cells (human epidermoid carcinoma cells) [71]. The results have shown that the fluorescent nanospheres provided a sensitivity of 25 times more than that of the conjugate streptavidin-fluorescein.

New tools can now be developed, designed at the intersection of proteomics and nanotechnology, whereby nanoharvesting agents can be instilled into the circulation (e.g. derivatized gold particles) or into the blood collection devices to act as ″molecular mops″ that soak up and amplify the bound and complexed biomarkers that exist [72-74]. These nanoparticles, with their bound diagnostic cargo, can be directly queried via mass spectrometry to reveal the low molecular weight and enriched biomarker signatures. Ultimately, utility of any approach for detecting disease is assessed on its clinical impact to patient outcome and disease-free survival [75]. What is urgently required in the study of diseases in general, is the development of biomarkers that can detect curable diseases earlier, and not detecting advanced disease better.

Contrast agents have been loaded onto nanoparticles for tumour diagnosis purposes. The physico-chemical features (particle size, surface charge, surface coating, stability) of the nanoparticles allow the redirection and the concentration of the marker at the specific site of interest. Labelled colloidal particles could be used as radiodiagnostic agents. On the other hand, some non-labelled colloidal systems are already in use and some are still being tested as contrast agents in related diagnosis procedures such as computed tomography and NMR imaging.

To date, a study of radionucleide use in diagnostic imaging with nanoparticles for cancer detection is yet to be published. However, as conventional colloidal particles can be cells of organs like the liver, the spleen, the lungs and the bone marrow and as long-circulating nanoparticles can have a compartmental localization in the blood circulation or the lymphatic system- all these organs being potential sites for tumour development, these colloidal systems could potentially improve tumour diagnosis.

In the future, nanoparticles that are engineered with specific binding affinities can be resuspended into the collected body fluids, or perhaps even injected directly into the circulation. The nanoparticles, together with the bound molecules, could be directly captured on engineered filters and directly questioned by ultra high-resolution mass spectrometry (e. g. Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance).

Nanotechnology in Measurements of Dissolved Oxygen

Oxygen is one of the major metabolites in aerobic systems, and the measurement of dissolved oxygen is of vital importance in medical, industrial, and environmental applications. Recent interest in the methods for measuring dissolved oxygen concentration has been focused mainly on optical sensors, due to their advantages over conventional amperometric electrodes in that they are faster, do not consume oxygen, and are not easily poisoned [76, 77].

Optical PEBBLE (probes encapsulated by biologically localized embedding) nanosensors have been developed for dissolved oxygen using organically modified silicate (ormosil) nanoparticles as a matrix. The ormosil nanoparticles are prepared through a sol-gel-based process, which includes the formation of core particles with phenyltrimethoxysilane as a precursor followed by the formation of a coating layer with methyltrimethoxysilane as a precursor [78]. The highly permeable structure and the hydrophobic nature of the ormosil nanoparticles, as well as their small size, result in an excellent overall quenching response to dissolved oxygen and a linear response over the whole range, from 0 -100% oxygen-saturated water. This PEBBLE sensor has a higher sensitivity and a broader linearity as well as longer excitation and emission wavelengths, resulting in reduced background noise for cellular measurement. The PEBBLE sensors are excellent in terms of their reversibility and stability to leaching and long-term storage. A real-time monitoring of changes in the dissolved oxygen due to cell respiration in a closed chamber was made by gene gun delivered PEBBLE. This sensor is now being applied for simultaneous intracellular measurements of oxygen and glucose [78].

Application of Nanotechnology to P450 Enzymes

Cytochromes P450 are highly relevant to the bio-analytical area [79]. They form a large family of enzymes present in all tissues essential to the metabolism of most drugs in use today, playing a vital role in the drug development and discovery process. They act as catalysts for the insertion of one of the two atoms of an oxygen molecule into a variety of substrates (R) with quite broad regioselectivity, leading to concomitant reduction of the other oxygen atom to water as shown in the equation below [29].

Several methods have been reported in the literature for the screening of substrate turnover by P450s in a high throughput format [80-83]. However, they all fall short of being limited to testing the activity of P450 enzymes through the detection of the conversion of a specific marker substrate, but Tsotsou et al 2002 [84] have been able to develop a method called the alkali method, which can detect the turnover of any NAD(P)H or NAD(P)⁺ dependent enzyme. The progress on these research fronts and their combinations provide a powerful platform for future applications of these enzymes, with particular reference to protein array technology.

Application of Nanotechnology to Tissue Engineering

Tissue engineering is based on the creation of new tissues in vitro followed by surgical placement in the body or the stimulation of normal repair in situ using bioartificial constructs or implants of living cells introduced in or near the area of damage. Though it is mainly concerned with using human material, either from the patient themselves (autologous) or from other human sources (allogeneic), material from other mammalian sources have also been applied in humans (xenogeneic).

The involvement of microelectronics or nanotechnology in creating a truly bioartificial tissue or organ that can take the place of one that is terminally diseased, such as an eye, ear, heart, or joint has been envisaged. Implantable prosthetic devices and nanoscaffolds for use in the growing of artificial organs are goals of nanotechnology researchers. Nanoengineering of hydroxyapatite for bone replacement is reasonably advanced [85, 86].

In the future, we could imagine a world where medical nanodevices are routinely implanted or even injected into the bloodstream to monitor wellness and to automatically participate in the repair of systems that deviate from established norms. These nanobots could be personalized by tailoring them to patient genotype and phenotype to optimize intervention at the earliest stage in the course of disease expression [4].

Growth of New Organs

Nanoscale building of cells can be accomplished by their programmed replication. The signals are transmitted back and forth with the instruction for the desired size and shape form the construction site. When complete instructions are finished, the organs can be grown according to the prerequisite specifications.

These organs could have the necessary DNA encoded to be compatible with the required human body immunological status. This can enhance integration of artificial structures with living tissues, presenting a more appropriate interface to biological systems. With the advantage in absence of immune reaction unlike today’s donor organ transplantation. In the years to come this can accomplish a Quantum leap in the management of organ failure disorders.

AZoNano - Online Journal of Nanotechnology - Graphical representation of the nanoscale construction and growth of new organs.

Figure 2. Graphical representation of the nanoscale construction and growth of new organs.

Molecular Imaging

New imaging approaches using genetically encoded fluorescent and bioluminescent reporters (i.e., illuminated or glowing identification tags) are offering revealing insights to the living body as never observed before. Information provided by these reporters can be used to enhance our understanding of human biology and the development of therapeutic approaches for many diseases, including cancer, infection, neurodegenerative and cardiovascular disease.

In addition to progresses so far made with molecular agents, industry leaders are also showcasing rapidly evolving imaging technologies that allow scientists to view organisms at the molecular level (Table 2).

Table 2. Latest products in Molecular Imaging and associated producing Companies

Product Name	Company(ies)
SPECT/CT hybrid imaging systems	Philips Medical Systems/Siemens Medical Solutions
GFAP-luc (glial fibrillary acid protein)	Xenon
Ultrasound bubbles	Schering AG
NeuroSpec™ (radiodiagnostic agent)	Tyco Healthcare/Mallinckrodt Inc.
eXplore Locus Ultra (Volumetric CT system)	GE Medical system
Definity® or Sonolysis™ (nanosurgery)	ImaRx

· SPECT/CT hybrid systems capture both functional information on molecular and cellular processes (growth and activity) and anatomical detail (size and shape) of a targeted molecular structure more quickly, efficiently and clearly than standard imaging devices. The images obtained from these systems can assist with the rapid identification of tumours, analysis of appropriate treatment, delivery of targeted therapy to precisely destroy target cells, and follow up to assess treatment effectiveness.

· Xenon presented its newer light producing transgenic animal models (GFAP-luc) during the Society for Molecular Imaging’s 3rd Annual Meeting. This model may prove to be an important model for tracking damage and repair in chronic neurological conditions such as post-ischemic stroke or Parkinson’s disease.

· An ultrasound contrast agent is made of tiny “microbubbles″ that scatter light and allow the clinician to see which part of the heart muscle is poorly functioning. The sensitivity and flexibility of ultrasound makes it the most sensitive method of imaging microbubbles because it deliberately disrupts the pattern and produces a very strong and highly characteristic transient effect. For example,

· Definity® otherwise known as Sonolysis™ are gas-filled microbubbles for novel therapeutic applications. For dissolving vascular thrombosis, microbubbles are administered intravenously to a patient or injected locally into a specific vascular structure such as a vascular graft. Ultrasound is applied externally (or can be applied internally via catheter) over the area of the blood clot to provide localized, targeted action. As the microbubbles perfuse the clot, they act as micromechanical devices where ultrasound pulses the bubbles and blows up the bubbles in the ultrasound field, leading to blood clot dissolution. Sonolysis nanosurgery is locally targeted nanoinvasive therapy for treatment of vascular thrombosis. Compared with alternative therapies for treating thrombosis, sonolysis affords the potential merits of being less invasive than mechanical thrombectomy and faster than conventional drug therapy with less risk of bleeding.

· NeutroSpec™ is a radiodiagnostic agent which labels white blood cells and myeloid precursors without the need for removal and re-injection of blood into patients. This new product is for patients with equivocal signs of appendicitis who are five-years-old and up. NeutroSpec also facilitates the visualization of images generated via gamma camera allowing physicians to quickly and easily locate the sites of infection thereby eliminating time delays and/or risks normally affiliated with alternative white blood cell labelling processes.

· eXplore Locus Ultra is a first-class volumetric CT system capable of quantitating physiological measurements and elaborate anatomy of tissues, tumours and organ perfusion. The Locus Ultra also performs image acquisition at the rate of a sub-second, enabling dynamic imaging.

Summary

The multidisciplinary field of nanotechnology’s application for discovering new molecules and manipulating those available naturally could be dazzling in its potential to improve health care. The spin-offs of nanobiotechnology could be utilised across all the countries of the world.

In the future, we could imagine a world where medical nanodevices are routinely implanted or even injected into the bloodstream to monitor health and to automatically participate in the repair of systems that deviate from the normal pattern. The continued advancement in the field of biomedical nanotechnology is the establishment and collaboration of research groups in complementary fields. Such collaborations have to be maintained not only on specialty field level, but internationally as well. The successful development and implementation of international collaborations fosters a global perspective on research and brings together the benefits to mankind in general. However, nanotechnology in medicine faces enormous technical hurdles in that long delays and numerous failures are inevitable. Likewise, it should not be taken for granted the dangers and negative consequences of nanobiotechnology when applied in warfare, in the hands of terrorists and disasters associated with its application in energy generation when and wherever it strikes or the risks associated with nanoparticles in blood circulation. It should be appreciated that nanotechnology is not in itself a single emerging scientific discipline but rather a meeting point of traditional sciences like chemistry, physics, biology and materials science to bring together the required collective knowledge and expertise required for the development of these novel technologies.

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to express their gratitude to Prof. Guy M. Tremblay and Dr. Jakob Bonlokke for their critical review of the manuscript and helpful suggestions and also Ms Cecile Bilodeau, audio-visual department for designing Figure 1.

References

Contact Details

Ernest Herbert

Department of Medicine
Center for Research

Hospital Laval

2725 Chemin Sainte Foy

Quebec City

Quebec G1V 4G5

Canada

E-mail: mailto:Ernest.Herbert@crhl.ulaval.ca?subject=Online%20Journal%20of%20Nanotechnology%20Paper%20Enquiry%20(AZoNano)

Tel. +1 (418) 656-8711, ext 2653

Fax. +1 (418) 656-4509

Rahul Shetty (Corresponding Author)

Department of Cardiac Surgery

Hospital Laval

2725 Chemin Sainte Foy

Quebec City

Quebec G1V 4G5

Canada

E-mail: mailto:Rahul.Shetty@crhl.ulaval.ca?subject=Online%20Journal%20of%20Nanotechnology%20Paper%20Enquiry%20(AZoNano)

Tel. +1 (418) 656-8711, ext 2653

Fax. +1 (418) 656-4509

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10/24/10

LESSON 68 FOUR FORMLESS REALMS 24 10 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY-Anyone Can Attain Ultimate Bliss Just Visit:http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org-”Of what I know, I have told you only a little. Why have I not told you the rest? Because it would not help lead you to Nibbana.” - The Buddha -BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!-WISDOM IS POWER-GOOD GOVERNANCE-State employees to get 30 days bonus-Commissioner, DM and Municipal Commissioner of Lucknow inspect cleanliness of City on directives of Hon’ble C.M.

Filed under: General
Posted by: site admin @ 7:01 am

LESSON 68 FOUR FORMLESS REALMS 24 10 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY

Anyone Can Attain Ultimate Bliss Just Visit:http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org

“Of what I know, I have told you only a little. Why have I not told you the rest? Because it would not help lead you to Nibbana.” - The Buddha

BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!

WISDOM IS POWER

Awakened One Shows the Path to Attain Ultimate Bliss

COMPUTER IS AN ENTERTAINMENT INSTRUMENT!

INTERNET!

ENTERTAINMENT NET!

TO BE MOST APPROPRIATE!

Using such an instrument

The Free ONLINE e-Nālandā Research and Practice University has been re-organized to function through the following Schools of Learning :

Buddha’s Sangha Practiced His Dhamma Free of cost, hence the Free- e-Nālandā Research and Practice University follows suit

As the Original Nālandā University did not offer any Degree, so also the Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University.

§ Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , Indian scholar, philosopher and architect of Constitution of India, in his writing and speeches

I.
KAMMA

AWAKEN-NESS

II.
ARHAT

TWELVEFOLD CONDITIONED ARISING

BODHISATTVA

PARAMITA

SIX PARAMITAS

III.

SIX SPIRITUAL POWERS

SIX PATHS OF REBIRTH

TEN DHARMA REALMS

FIVE SKANDHAS

EIGHTEEN REALMS

FIVE MORAL PRECEPTS

IV.

MEDITATION

MINDFULNESS

FOUR APPLICATIONS OF MINDFULNESS

FOUR FORMLESS REALMS

FIVE TYPES OF BUDDHIST STUDY AND PRACTICE

MAHAYANA AND HINAYANA COMPARED

PURE LAND

BUDDHA RECITATION

EIGHT CONSCIOUSNESSES

ONE HUNDRED DHARMAS

EMPTINESS

VI.

DEMON

LINEAGE

with

Level I: Introduction to Buddhism

Level II: Buddhist Studies

TO ATTAIN

Level III: Stream-Enterer

Level IV: Once - Returner

Level V: Non-Returner
Level VI: Arhat

Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in

mathematics,

astronomy,

alchemy,

and

anatomy

Philosophy and Comparative Religions;

Historical Studies;

International Relations and Peace Studies;

Business Management in relation to Public Policy and Development Studies;

Languages and Literature;

and Ecology and Environmental Studies

Welcome to the Free Online e-Nālandā Research and Practice University

Course Programs:

FOUR FORMLESS REALMS

Four Formless Realms

1) Realm of Infinite Space, 2) Realm of Infinite Consciousness, 3) Realm of Nothing Whatsoever, 4) Realm of Neither Cognition Nor Non-Cognition.

The Four Formless Realms are states which are experienced temporarily in meditation. They lie beyond the Four Dhyanas (see entry), and are so subtle, they are difficult to talk about using ordinary language and even difficult to conceptualize.

They also correspond to the Four Formless Heavens, the homes of the formless gods (see gods). In other words the states can be experienced for a relatively short time by humans who have reached them in the course of their meditation, or they can be experienced as states of rebirth for those reborn as gods in the formless heavens.

Although the experiences of these realms are of rare and subtle states of bliss, none is considered enlightenment.

I. Infinite Space

Those who dwell in the thought of renunciation and who succeed in renunciation and rejection realize that their bodies are an obstacle. If they thereby obliterate the obstacle and enter empty space, they are among those in the realm of (infinite) space. (SS VII 230-231)

“These gods accomplish renunciation of bliss and rejection of suffering. They know that physical bodies are an obstruction. . . . They don’t want to be hindered by anything, and so they contemplate their bodies as being just like empty space. . . .” (SS VII 231)

. . . having surpassed all notion of materiality, neglecting all cognition of resistance, one penetrates the realm of endless space. (Dhyana-sutra, quoted in DJDL (LaMotte, tr.) II 1032)

II. Infinite Consciousness

For those who have eradicated all obstacles, there is neither obstruction nor extinction. Then there remains only the alaya consciousness (i.e., eighth consciousness) and half of the subtle functions of the manas (i.e., seventh consciousness). these beings are among those in the realm of infinite consciousness.” (SS VII 231)

“The manas is functioning at only half its capacity, and so the defilement that remains is extremely subtle.” (SS VII 232)

At this stage one abandons empty space as an object and also abandons the feelings, cognitions, formations, and consciousness that are associated with it. The only attachment that remains is to a consciousness that is immense and infinite.

III. Nothing Whatsoever

Those who have already done away with empty space and form eradicate the conscious mind as well. In the extensive tranquility of the ten directions there is nowhere to go at all. These beings are among those in the realm of nothing whatsoever. (SS VII 232)

“All the worlds of the ten directions throughout the entire Dharma Realm have disappeared. A stillness pervades. There is nowhere to go. Nor is there anywhere to come to. . . . Although there is nothing whatsoever; nonetheless, the nature of these beings still remains. Their nature is the same as empty space.” (SS VII 233)

One contemplates nothing whatever in order to break one’s attachment to and to abandon the state of infinite consciousness.

IV. Neither Cognition Nor Non-Cognition

When the nature of consciousness does not move, within cessation they exhaustively investigate. Within the endless they discern the end of the nature. It is as if it were there and yet not there, as if it were ended and yet not ended. They are among those in the realm of neither cognition nor non-cognition. (SS VII 233-234)

This is the highest state or heaven within the conditioned world. At this stage, although there is still very subtle cognition, it does not function.

“Consciousness is practically non-existent, and so it is said that there is no thought. However, a very fine trace of thought still exists and so it is called neither cognition nor non-cognition.” (SPV 60)

Because this cognition is subtle and difficult to be aware of, it is called non-cognition. But because it is cognition, it is called not non-cognition. (cf. DJDL (LaMotte, tr.) II 1034)

1) Chinese Mandarin: sz kung chu , sz wu sz/shai jye , sz wu sz/shai ding (chu) ; 2) Sanskrit: arupya-samapatti, arupya-dhatu; 3) Pali: aruppa-samapatti/dhatu; 4) Alternate Translations: stations of emptiness, formless samadhis, samapattis, formless absorptions.

GOOD GOVERNANCE

Press Information Bureau

(C.M. Information Campus)

Information & Public Relations Department, U.P.

State employees to get 30 days bonus

Lucknow: 23 October 2010

The Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Ms.

Mayawati ji has announced to provide 30 days adhoc bonus

to the State employees and causal/daily wages employees

for the year of 2009-10. In this connection, necessary GO

has been issued by the finance department.

According to GO, all non-gazetted State employees,

work charge employees in Government Departments and

employees of Government aided educational and technical

educational institutions, local bodies and zila panchayats

having the maximum grade pay of Rs. 4800 (employees in

earlier non-revised pay scales getting less than maximum

Rs. 13500 of the pay scale) would be given 30 days adhoc

bonus for the year of 2009-10 under certain conditions.

According to GO, 50 per cent of sanctioned amount of

bonus will be deposited in GPF and the remaining 50 per

cent to be paid in cash to employees of all categories getting

the bonus facility.

********

Commissioner, DM and Municipal Commissioner of Lucknow inspect cleanliness of City on directives of Hon’ble C.M.

Lucknow: 23 October 2010

Following the directives of t

he Hon’ble Chief Minister of

Uttar Pradesh Ms. Mayawati ji, Commissioner Lucknow Mr.

Prashant Trivedi, District Magistrate Mr. Anil Sagar and

Municipal Commissioner Mr. S. K. Singh made an intensive

inspection of cleanliness and hygiene of Lucknow city and

they directed to the concerning officers to improve

sanitation system immediately. After the inspection, the

Commissioner convened a meeting of officers and chalked

out strategy, so that dengue and such other diseases could

be controlled effectively.

The Commissioner assigned responsibility to senior

officers municipal ward-wise to make improvement in

cleanliness and intensive spreading of pesticides with a view

to preventing the reproduction of mosquitoes. He directed

them to follow these orders under their personal

supervision into their allotted wards. Besides, stern

directives had been given to the officers to improve the

situation of waste disposal and drainage of stagnated water.

During the inspection, Commissioner took stock of

situation regarding medical reports of blood samples for

malaria test. He was told that from 17 October 2010 till

today 1206 blood samples were taken for malaria test, out

of which 747 blood reports received, in which no patient of

malaria or dengue was found. Blood samples of 138

patients were taken to test other diseases and from these

blood reports no patient was found suffering from any

serious infectious disease.

The Commissioner also apprised himself about the

ambulance facility made available on the directives of the

Hon’ble Chief Minister and he was told that 03 ambulances

are available for the patients in Balrampur Hospital round

the clock. On demand, these ambulances are sent to carry

patients immediately.

********

comments (0)

10/23/10

Dr Ambedkar’s Buddha painting with open eye at Chicholi-LESSON 67 FOUR JHANAS PART VII 23 10 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY-Anyone Can Attain Ultimate Bliss Just Visit:http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org-”If there is no other world and there is no fruit and ripening of actions well done or ill done, then here and now in this life I shall be free from hostility, affliction, and anxiety, and I shall live happily.- The Buddha-BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!-WISDOM IS POWER-Second phase of Bihar elections-list of candidates - Bahujan Samaj Party (45)

Filed under: General
Posted by: site admin @ 5:37 am

LESSON 67 FOUR JHANAS PART VII 23 10 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY

Anyone Can Attain Ultimate Bliss Just Visit:http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org

“If there is no other world and there is no fruit and ripening of actions well done or ill done, then here and now in this life I shall be free from hostility, affliction, and anxiety, and I shall live happily.- The Buddha

BUDDHA (EDUCATE)!                     DHAMMA (MEDITATE)!                   SANGHA (ORGANISE)!

WISDOM       IS    POWER

Awakened One Shows the Path to Attain Ultimate Bliss

COMPUTER IS AN ENTERTAINMENT INSTRUMENT!

INTERNET!

IS

ENTERTAINMENT NET!

TO BE MOST APPROPRIATE!

Using such an instrument

The Free ONLINE e-Nālandā Research and Practice University has been re-organized to function through the following Schools of Learning :

Buddha’s Sangha Practiced His Dhamma Free of cost, hence the Free- e-Nālandā Research and Practice University follows suit

As the Original Nālandā University did not offer any Degree, so also the Free  e-Nālandā Research and Practice University.

The teachings of Buddha are eternal, but even then Buddha did not proclaim them to be infallible. The religion of Buddha has the capacity to change according to times, a quality which no other religion can claim to have…Now what is the basis of Buddhism? If you study carefully, you will see that Buddhism is based on reason. There is an element of flexibility inherent in it, which is not found in any other religion.

§ Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , Indian scholar, philosopher and architect of Constitution of India, in his writing and speeches

I.
KAMMA

REBIRTH

AWAKEN-NESS

BUDDHA

THUS COME ONE

DHAMMA

II.
ARHAT

FOUR HOLY TRUTHS

EIGHTFOLD PATH

TWELVEFOLD CONDITIONED ARISING

BODHISATTVA

PARAMITA

SIX PARAMITAS

III.

SIX SPIRITUAL POWERS

SIX PATHS OF REBIRTH

TEN DHARMA REALMS

FIVE SKANDHAS

EIGHTEEN REALMS

FIVE MORAL PRECEPTS

IV.

MEDITATION

MINDFULNESS

FOUR APPLICATIONS OF MINDFULNESS

LOTUS POSTURE

SAMADHI

CHAN SCHOOL

FOUR JHANAS

FOUR FORMLESS REALMS

V.

FIVE TYPES OF BUDDHIST STUDY AND PRACTICE

MAHAYANA AND HINAYANA COMPARED

PURE LAND

BUDDHA RECITATION

EIGHT CONSCIOUSNESSES

ONE HUNDRED DHARMAS

EMPTINESS

VI.

DEMON

LINEAGE

with

Level I: Introduction to Buddhism

Level II: Buddhist Studies

TO ATTAIN

Level III: Stream-Enterer

Level IV: Once - Returner

Level V: Non-Returner
Level VI: Arhat

Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in

mathematics,

astronomy,

alchemy,

and

anatomy

Philosophy and Comparative Religions;

Historical Studies;

International Relations and Peace Studies;

Business Management in relation to Public Policy and Development Studies;

Languages and Literature;

and Ecology and Environmental Studies

Welcome to the Free Online e-Nālandā Research and Practice University

          Course Programs:

FOUR JHANAS PART VII

http://www.viet.net/~anson/ebud/jhanas/jhanas01.htm

Buddhasasana Home Page
English Section

The Jhanas in Theravada Buddhist Meditation
by Bhikkhu Henepola Gunaratana

Chapter 1

Introduction

The Doctrinal Context of Jhana

The Buddha says that just as in the great ocean there is but one taste, the taste of salt, so in his doctrine and discipline there is but one taste, the taste of freedom. The taste of freedom that pervades the Buddha’s teaching is the taste of spiritual freedom, which from the Buddhist perspective means freedom from suffering. In the process leading to deliverance from suffering, meditation is the means of generating the inner awakening required for liberation. The methods of meditation taught in the Theravada Buddhist tradition are based on the Buddha’s own experience, forged by him in the course of his own quest for enlightenment. They are designed to re-create in the disciple who practices them the same essential enlightenment that the Buddha himself attained when he sat beneath the Bodhi tree, the awakening to the Four Noble Truths.

The various subjects and methods of meditation expounded in the Theravada Buddhist scriptures — the Pali Canon and its commentaries — divide into two inter-related systems. One is called the development of serenity (samathabhavana), the other the development of insight (vipassanabhavana). The former also goes under the name of development of concentration (samadhibhavana), the latter the development of wisdom (pannabhavana). The practice of serenity meditation aims at developing a calm, concentrated, unified mind as a means of experiencing inner peace and as a basis for wisdom. The practice of insight meditation aims at gaining a direct understanding of the real nature of phenomena. Of the two, the development of insight is regarded by Buddhism as the essential key to liberation, the direct antidote to the ignorance underlying bondage and suffering. Whereas serenity meditation is recognized as common to both Buddhist and non-Buddhist contemplative disciplines, insight meditation is held to be the unique discovery of the Buddha and an unparalleled feature of his path. However, because the growth of insight presupposes a certain degree of concentration, and serenity meditation helps to achieve this, the development of serenity also claims an incontestable place in the Buddhist meditative process. Together the two types of meditation work to make the mind a fit instrument for enlightenment. With his mind unified by means of the development of serenity, made sharp and bright by the development of insight, the meditator can proceed unobstructed to reach the end of suffering, Nibbana.

Pivotal to both systems of meditation, though belonging inherently to the side of serenity, is a set of meditative attainments called the jhanas. Though translators have offered various renderings of this word, ranging from the feeble “musing” to the misleading “trance” and the ambiguous “meditation,” we prefer to leave the word untranslated and to let its meaning emerge from its contextual usages. From these it is clear that the jhanas are states of deep mental unification which result from the centering of the mind upon a single object with such power of attention that a total immersion in the object takes place. The early suttas speak of four jhanas, named simply after their numerical position in the series: the first jhana, the second jhana, the third jhana and the forth jhana. In the suttas the four repeatedly appear each described by a standard formula which we will examine later in detail.

The importance of the jhanas in the Buddhist path can readily be gauged from the frequency with which they are mentioned throughout the suttas. The jhanas figure prominently both in the Buddha’s own experience and in his exhortation to disciples. In his childhood, while attending an annual ploughing festival, the future Buddha spontaneously entered the first jhana. It was the memory of this childhood incident, many years later after his futile pursuit of austerities, that revealed to him the way to enlightenment during his period of deepest despondency (M.i, 246-47). After taking his seat beneath the Bodhi tree, the Buddha enter the four jhanas immediately before direction his mind to the threefold knowledge that issued in his enlightenment (M.i.247-49). Throughout his active career the four jhanas remained “his heavenly dwelling” (D.iii,220) to which he resorted in order to live happily here and now. His understanding of the corruption, purification and emergence in the jhanas and other meditative attainments is one of the Tathagata’s ten powers which enable him to turn the matchless wheel of the Dhamma (M.i,70). Just before his passing away the Buddha entered the jhanas in direct and reverse order, and the passing away itself took place directly from the fourth jhana (D.ii,156).

The Buddha is constantly seen in the suttas encouraging his disciples to develop jhana. The four jhanas are invariably included in the complete course of training laid down for disciples. [1] They figure in the training as the discipline of higher consciousness (adhicittasikkha), right concentration (sammasamadhi) of the Noble Eightfold Path, and the faculty and power of concentration (samadhindriya, samadhibala). Though a vehicle of dry insight can be found, indications are that this path is not an easy one, lacking the aid of the powerful serenity available to the practitioner of jhana. The way of the jhana attainer seems by comparison smoother and more pleasurable (A.ii,150-52). The Buddha even refers to the four jhanas figuratively as a kind of Nibbana: he calls them immediately visible Nibbana, factorial Nibbana, Nibbana here and now (A.iv,453-54).

To attain the jhanas, the meditator must begin by eliminating the unwholesome mental states obstructing inner collectedness, generally grouped together as the five hindrances (pancanivarana): sensual desire, ill will, sloth and torpor, restlessness and worry and doubt.[2] The mind’s absorption on its object is brought about by five opposing mental states — applied thought, sustained thought, rapture, happiness and one pointedness [3] — called the jhana factors (jhanangani) because they lift the mind to the level of the first jhana and remain there as its defining components.

After reaching the first jhana the ardent meditator can go on to reach the higher jhanas, which is done by eliminating the coarser factors in each jhana. Beyond the four jhanas lies another fourfold set of higher meditative states which deepen still further the element of serenity. These attainments (aruppa), are the base of boundless space, the base of boundless consciousness, the base of nothingness, and the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception.[4] In the Pali commentaries these come to be called the four immaterial jhanas (arupajhana), the four preceding states being renamed for the sake of clarity, the four fine-material jhanas (rupajhana). Often the two sets are joined together under the collective title of the eight jhanas or the eight attainments (atthasamapattiyo).

The four jhanas and the four immaterial attainments appear initially as mundane states of deep serenity pertaining to the preliminary stage of the Buddhist path, and on this level they help provide the base of concentration needed for wisdom to arise. But the four jhanas again reappear in a later stage in the development of the path, in direct association with liberating wisdom, and they are then designated the supramundane (lokuttara) jhanas. These supramundane jhanas are the levels of concentration pertaining to the four degrees of enlightenment experience called the supramundane paths (magga) and the stages of liberation resulting form them, the four fruits (phala).

Finally, even after full liberation is achieved, the mundane jhanas can still remain as attainments available to the fully liberated person, part of his untrammeled contemplative experience.

Etymology of Jhana

The great Buddhist commentator Buddhaghosa traces the Pali word “jhana” (Skt. dhyana) to two verbal forms. One, the etymologically correct derivation, is the verb jhayati, meaning to think or meditate; the other is a more playful derivation, intended to illuminate its function rather than its verbal source, from the verb jhapeti meaning to burn up. He explains: “It burns up opposing states, thus it is jhana” (Vin.A. i, 116), the purport being that jhana “burns up” or destroys the mental defilements preventing the developing the development of serenity and insight.

In the same passage Buddhaghosa says that jhana has the characteristic mark of contemplation (upanijjhana). Contemplation, he states, is twofold: the contemplation of the object and the contemplation of the characteristics of phenomena. The former is exercised by the eight attainments of serenity together with their access, since these contemplate the object used as the basis for developing concentration; for this reason these attainments are given the name “jhana” in the mainstream of Pali meditative exposition. However, Buddhaghosa also allows that the term “jhana” can be extended loosely to insight (vipassana), the paths and the fruits on the ground that these perform the work of contemplating the characteristics of things the three marks of impermanence, suffering and non-self in the case of insight, Nibbana in the case of the paths and fruits.

In brief the twofold meaning of jhana as “contemplation” and “burning up” can be brought into connection with the meditative process as follows. By fixing his mind on the object the meditator reduces and eliminates the lower mental qualities such as the five hindrances and promotes the growth of the higher qualities such as the jhana factors, which lead the mind to complete absorption in the object. Then by contemplating the characteristics of phenomena with insight, the meditator eventually reaches the supramundane jhana of the four paths, and with this jhana he burns up the defilements and attains the liberating experience of the fruits.

Jhana and Samadhi

In the vocabulary of Buddhist meditation the word “jhana” is closely connected with another word, “samadhi” generally rendered by “concentration.” Samadhi derives from the prefixed verbal root sam-a-dha, meaning to collect or to bring together, thus suggesting the concentration or unification of the mind. The word “samadhi” is almost interchangeable with the word “samatha,” serenity, though the latter comes from a different root, sam, meaning to become calm.

In the suttas samadhi is defined as mental one-pointedness, (cittass’ekaggata M.i,301) and this definition is followed through rigorously in the Abhidhamma. The Abhidhamma treats one-pointedness as a distinct mental factor present in every state of consciousness, exercising the function of unifying the mind on its object. From this strict psychological standpoint samadhi can be present in unwholesome states of consciousness as well as in wholesome an neutral states. In its unwholesome forms it is called “wrong concentration” (micchasamadhi), In its wholesome forms “right concentration” (sammasamadhi).

In expositions on the practice of meditation, however, samadhi is limited to one-pointedness of mind (Vism.84-85; PP.84-85), and even here we can understand from the context that the word means only the wholesome one-pointedness involved in the deliberate transmutation of the mind to a heightened level of calm. Thus Buddhaghosa explains samadhi etymologically as “the centering of consciousness and consciousness concomitants evenly and rightly on a single object … the state in virtue of which consciousness and its concomitants remain evenly and rightly on a single object, undistracted and unscattered” (Vism.84-85; PP.85).

However, despite the commentator’s bid for consistency, the word samadhi is used in the Pali literature on meditation with varying degrees of specificity of meaning. In the narrowest sense, as defined by Buddhaghosa, it denotes the particular mental factor responsible for the concentrating of the mind, namely, one-pointedness. In a wider sense it can signify the states of unified consciousness that result from the strengthening of concentration, i.e. the meditative attainments of serenity and the stages leading up to them. And in a still wider sense the word samadhi can be applied to the method of practice used to produce and cultivate these refined states of concentration, here being equivalent to the development of serenity. It is in the second sense that samadhi and jhana come closest in meaning. The Buddha explains right concentration as the four jhanas (D.ii,313), and in doing so allows concentration to encompass the meditative attainments signified by the jhanas. However, even though jhana and samadhi can overlap in denotation, certain differences in their suggested and contextual meanings prevent unqualified identification of the two terms. First behind the Buddha’s use of the jhana formula to explain right concentration lies a more technical understanding of the terms. According to this understanding samadhi can be narrowed down in range to signify only one mental factor, the most prominent in the jhana, namely, one-pointedness, while the word “jhana” itself must be seen as encompassing the state of consciousness in its entirety, or at least the whole group of mental factors individuating that meditative state as a jhana.

In the second place, when samadhi is considered in its broader meaning it involves a wider range of reference than jhana. The Pali exegetical tradition recognizes three levels of samadhi: preliminary concentration (parikammasamadhi), which is produced as a result of the meditator’s initial efforts to focus his mind on his meditation subject; access concentration (upacarasamadhi), marked by the suppression of the five hindrances, the manifestation of the jhana factors, and the appearance of a luminous mental replica of the meditation object called the counterpart sign (patibhaganimitta); and absorption concentration (appanasamadhi), the complete immersion of the mind in its object effected by the full maturation of the jhana factors.[5] Absorption concentration comprises the eight attainments, the four immaterial attainments, and to this extent jhana and samadhi coincide. However, samadhi still has a broader scope than jhana, since it includes not only the jhanas themselves but also the two preparatory degrees of concentration leading up to them. Further, samadhi also covers a still different type of concentration called momentary concentration (khanikasamadhi), the mobile mental stabilization produced in the course of insight contemplation of the passing flow of phenomena.

Notes:
[1] See for example, the Samannaphala Sutta (D. 2), the Culahatthipadopama Sutta (M. 27),etc.
[2] Kamacchanda, byapada, thinamiddha, uddhaccakukkucca, vicikiccha.
[3] Vitakka, vicara, piti, sukha, ekaggata.
[4] Akasanancayatana, vinnanancayatana, akincannayatana, nevasannanasannayatana.
[5] See Narada, A Manual of Abhidhamma. 4th ed. (Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1980), pp.389, 395-96

Babasaheb Dr Ambedkar, Father of Indian Constitution said………..

* Become as fierce as a tiger, nobody then shall bother you……..* Fraternity
is the only real safeguard against the denial of liberty or equality………..*
If you want the administrative class to be responsible, then the legislative
should be well represnted…………..* Positively my social Philosophy may be
said to be enshrined in three words: Liberty, Equality, Fraternity……*
Democracy primarily has two enemies, one is dictotorship and the other is the
culture harboring inequalities…….* Those who want the Co-operation of
depressed class, should first give them justice…………….* My mesage is
struggle, and more struggle, sacrifice and more sacrifice. It is struggle and
struggle alone without counting the sacrifices or sufferings that will bring
their emancipation. Nothing else will…….. * Buddha was born as a son of man
and was content to remain a common man and preached his gospel as a common man.
He never claimed any
supernatural origin or supernatural power nor did he perform miracles to prove
his supernatural powers……………

* Dr. Milind Jiwane

Second phase of Bihar elections -Factfile

list of candidates - Bahujan Samaj Party (45)

The second of the six phases of the month-long elections to the Bihar state assembly is to be held Sunday.

Number of assembly constituencies - 45

Total voters - 9,844,981 (5,28,0234 men and 4,56,4747 women)

Total number of candidates - 623

Total number of woman candidates - 46

Assembly constituency with maximum candidates - Kanti (24 candidates)

Assembly constituency with minimum candidates - Rosera (Scheduled Caste - six candidates)

Party-wise list of candidates - Bahujan Samaj Party (45), Bharatiya Janata Party (17), Communist Party India (8), Congress (45), Nationalist Congress Party (31), Janata Dal-United (28), Rashtriya Janata Dal (34) and other parties (168).

Independent candidates - 228

Electronic voting machines to be used - 25,025

Largest assembly constituency area-wise - Warisnagar

Largest assembly constituency voter-wise - Kalyanpur

Smallest assembly constituency voter-wise - Madhuban

Nanobiotechnology

Nanobiotechnology is the branch of nanotechnology with biological and biochemical applications or uses. Nanobiotechnology often studies existing elements of nature in order to fabricate new devices.^[1]

The term bionanotechnology is often used interchangeably with nanobiotechnology, though a distinction is sometimes drawn between the two. If the two are distinguished, nanobiotechnology usually refers to the use of nanotechnology to further the goals of biotechnology, while bionanotechnology might refer to any overlap between biology and nanotechnology, including the use of biomolecules as part of or as an inspiration for nanotechnological devices.^[2]

Nanobiotechnology is that branch of one, which deals with the study and application of biological and biochemical activities from elements of nature to fabricate new devices like biosensors.

Nanobiotechnology is often used to describe the overlapping multidisciplinary activities associated with biosensors - particularly where photonics, chemistry, biology, biophysics nanomedicine and engineeringconverge. Measurement in biology using for example, waveguide techniques such as dual polarisation interferometry are another example.

Examples

One example of current nanobiotechnological research involves nanospheres coated with fluorescent polymers. Researchers are seeking to design polymers whose fluorescence is quenched when they encounter specific molecules. Different polymers would detect different metabolites. The polymer-coated spheres could become part of new biological assays, and the technology might someday lead to particles that could be introduced into the human body to track down metabolites associated with tumors and other health problems. Nanobiotechnology is relatively new to medical, consumer, and corporate bodies.

Antibody-Nanoparticle Computational Modeling

The conjugation of antibodies and nanoparticles with high affinity & specificity through receptor-ligand recognition modes is of paramount importance in the development of vehicles which can be used for diagnosis, treatment of cancer and various other diseases, application of immunodiagnostic nano-biosensors etc. The bio-nanocomplex formed by an artificial nanomaterial (nanoliposomes and nanoparticles) and a biological entity such as an antibody is brought about by the formation of covalent bonds based on their specific chemical and structural properties such as water solubility, biocompatibility, and biodegradability.^[3] There is a requirement of a comprehensive understanding of the relationship of the thermodynamic & kinetic aspects of antibody-membrane association, translational, rotational mobilities of membrane bound antibodies, interactions with the diverse cell surface, circulating molecules and various artificial nanomolecules as well as the conformation. These details are of great importance in the development, application of various nanoscale immunodiagnostic devices. The association of antibodies with cell surfaces is a key molecular event in antibody-mediated immune mechanisms such as phagocytosis, antibody mediated immune dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity.^[4]

Recently it has been noted that there exists certain natural proteins, antibodies, that can recognize specific nanoparticles . For example, a specific antibody from the mouse immune system can specifically recognize derivatized C₆₀ fullerenes with a binding affinity of about 25 nM.^[3] From the studies carried out by Noon et al., it is hypothesized that the fullerene-binding site is formed at the interface of the light and heavy chains lined with a cluster of shape-complementary hydrophobic amino acid residues. As the covalent modifications of the functionalized fullerenes, occupy only a small fraction of the particle surface area, the largely unoccupied surface would be free to interact with the antibody. Therefore, in order to gain in-depth understanding of the detailed interactions of the nps and the antibody, molecular dynamics simulation is carried out using molecular dynamics simulation; the purpose of our theoretical modeling studies is to be able to identify the energetically favorable binding modes.^[5]

For the modeling study, the initial coordinates of the antibody can be made available from the Protein Data Bank (PDB).^[3]^[6]

The basic assumptions, as a first approximation, during the modeling study would be that the hydrophilic derivatizations do not play a critical role in the predominantly hydrophobic nanomaterial-antibody interactions and that the electronic structure remains undisturbed during the conjugation. The nanoparticle is docked into a suggested binding site from the previously done literature studies.^[3] Polar-hydrogen potential function (PARAM19) and a modified TIP3P water solvent model for the protein is used.[1].

The simulation involves approximately 300 steps of minimization, using the Steepest Descent and the Newton Raphson method. To reduce the necessary simulation time, a highly efficient method for simulating the localized interactions in the active site of a protein, the stochastic boundary molecular dynamics (SBMD) is used. The reference point for partitioning the system in SBMD was chosen to be near the center of the nanomaterials, which is assumed to be a uniform sphere. The complex nano-bio system can be assumed to be separated into spherical reservoir and reaction zones; the latter is further sub-divided into a reaction region and a buffer region. The atoms in the reaction region are propagated by molecular dynamics, whereas those in the buffer region involve Langevin dynamics are retained using harmonic restoring forces.

animated gif NanoBiotechnology

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10/22/10

LESSON 66 FOUR JHANAS PART VI 22 10 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY-Anyone Can Attain Ultimate Bliss Just Visit:http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org-”You should do the work yourself, for Buddhas only teach the way.”- The Buddha -BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!-WISDOM IS POWER-Science and Technology-vegetarianism-Hon’ble Chief Minister pays tributes to martyr police personnel on Police Commemoration Day-Hon’ble C. M. greets people on Valmiki Jayanti

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LESSON 66 FOUR JHANAS PART VI 22 10 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY

Anyone Can Attain Ultimate Bliss Just Visit:http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org

“You should do the work yourself, for Buddhas only teach the way.”- The Buddha

BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!

WISDOM IS POWER

Awakened One Shows the Path to Attain Ultimate Bliss

COMPUTER IS AN ENTERTAINMENT INSTRUMENT!

INTERNET!

ENTERTAINMENT NET!

TO BE MOST APPROPRIATE!

Using such an instrument

The Free ONLINE e-Nālandā Research and Practice University has been re-organized to function through the following Schools of Learning :

Buddha’s Sangha Practiced His Dhamma Free of cost, hence the Free- e-Nālandā Research and Practice University follows suit

As the Original Nālandā University did not offer any Degree, so also the Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University.

§ Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , Indian scholar, philosopher and architect of Constitution of India, in his writing and speeches

I.
KAMMA

AWAKEN-NESS

II.
ARHAT

TWELVEFOLD CONDITIONED ARISING

BODHISATTVA

PARAMITA

SIX PARAMITAS

III.

SIX SPIRITUAL POWERS

SIX PATHS OF REBIRTH

TEN DHARMA REALMS

FIVE SKANDHAS

EIGHTEEN REALMS

FIVE MORAL PRECEPTS

IV.

MEDITATION

MINDFULNESS

FOUR APPLICATIONS OF MINDFULNESS

FOUR FORMLESS REALMS

FIVE TYPES OF BUDDHIST STUDY AND PRACTICE

MAHAYANA AND HINAYANA COMPARED

PURE LAND

BUDDHA RECITATION

EIGHT CONSCIOUSNESSES

ONE HUNDRED DHARMAS

EMPTINESS

VI.

DEMON

LINEAGE

with

Level I: Introduction to Buddhism

Level II: Buddhist Studies

TO ATTAIN

Level III: Stream-Enterer

Level IV: Once - Returner

Level V: Non-Returner
Level VI: Arhat

Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in

mathematics,

astronomy,

alchemy,

and

anatomy

Philosophy and Comparative Religions;

Historical Studies;

International Relations and Peace Studies;

Business Management in relation to Public Policy and Development Studies;

Languages and Literature;

and Ecology and Environmental Studies

Welcome to the Free Online e-Nālandā Research and Practice University

Course Programs:

FOUR JHANAS PART VI

Buddhist Teachings with the Four Jhanas

he Four Jhanas or “Stages”

Buddhist Teachings ☥

From the Muluposatha Sutta

The first chapter below consists of Buddhist wisdom that relates to “The Fruits of the Contemplative Life” of ancient Buddhism. It is followed by sayings and extracts from The Roots of the Uposatha (Anguttara Nikaya 3.70) and some passages from Muluposatha Sutta. All three all are ancient texts of Buddhism.

Most of these extracts and sayings are attributed to Buddha (563?–483? BC). After his yogic enlightenment he devoted 45 years to sharing his teachings. Some cornerstones can be rendered as “Suffering can be ended,” and “Right livelihood favours contemplation” [well implied]. Today some 350 million people profess a Buddhist faith. There are many variants.

Extracts and Sayings of The Fruits of the Contemplative Life

Four “Steps” (Jhanas) on the Way Lightly Rephrased

1. Quite withdrawn a contemplative enters and remains in the first jhana, which is rapture and pleasure accompanied by directed thought and evaluation. The contemplative permeates this very body with rapture and pleasure [Mod Buddha]

2. With the stilling of directed thought and evaluation, the contemplative enters and remains in the second jhana, which is rapture and pleasure born of composure, unification of awareness, and internal assurance. There is nothing of the contemplative’s entire body that is not pervaded by rapture and pleasure born of composure. [Mod Buddha]

3. With the fading of rapture, the contemplative remains in equanimity, mindful and alert, and physically sensitive of pleasure. He enters and remains in the third jhana, which is equanimous and mindful: he has a pleasurable abiding. [Mod Buddha]

4. With the abandoning of pleasure and stress the able practitioner enters and remains in the fourth jhana, which is purity of equanimity and mindfulness, neither-pleasure nor stress. He sits with a pure, bright awareness. Permeating the body with a pure, bright awareness is a fruit of the contemplative life. [Mod Buddha]

Buddhist Teachings

Most of these sayings and statements tie in with statements of Buddha as recorded in the classic Digha Nikaya. There is a link to it at the bottom of the page. - TK

A concentrated mind becomes mindful and more unperturbed

FROM DEVELOPING a concentrated, pure mind one may wield manifold supranormal powers: Having been one he becomes many; having been many he becomes one. He appears. He vanishes. He goes unimpeded through walls, ramparts, and mountains as if through space. He dives in and out of the earth as if it were water. He walks on water without sinking as if it were dry land. Sitting cross-legged he flies through the air like a winged bird. [With Buddha]

Some priests and contemplatives maintain themselves by wrong livelihood, including lowly arts. [Buddha]

By directing and inclining his steadied, well concentrated mind to knowledge of the awareness of other beings, he knows the awareness of other beings, other individuals, having encompassed it with his own awareness. He discerns a mind with aversion as a mind with aversion, and a mind without aversion as a mind without aversion. He discerns a restricted mind as a restricted mind, an enlarged mind as an enlarged mind. And he discerns an excelled mind [one that is not at the most excellent level] as an excelled mind. He discerns a concentrated mind as a concentrated mind. [Buddha]

It is well to abstain from damaging seed and plant life. [With Buddha]

A good man dwells without covetousness. [Buddha] ◊

The good one abstains from running messages and errands for people. [With Buddha]

The noble one prefer a secluded dwelling, sits down, crosses his legs, holds his body erect, and brings mindfulness to the fore. [With Buddha]

With his mind thus concentrated, purified, steady, and unperturbed, he directs and inclines it to knowledge of passing away and re-appearance of things. [With Buddha]

A great man abstains from abusive speech. He speaks words that are soothing to the ear, that are affectionate, that go to the heart. [With Buddha]

Backing up an inward-turning, undisturbed, concentrated mind matters - it tends to clarify itself from inside

THROUGH pleasure the mind should become concentrated. [With Buddha] (3)

Abandoning restlessness and anxiety, we should dwell undisturbed, with our minds inwardly stilled. [Buddha]

A fine person abstains from watching vanity shows and from heedless and idle games. [With Buddha] ◊

It is very good to abstain from the taking of life for the welfare of all living beings. [Mod Buddha]

If there were a pool of water in a mountain glen – clear, limpid, and unsullied – where a man with good eyesight standing on the bank could see shells, gravel, and pebbles, and also shoals of fish swimming about and resting, and it would occur to him, “This pool of water is clear, limpid, and unsullied.” With his mind thus concentrated and well purified, one directs and inclines the well steadied mind to the knowledge of the ending of the mental fermentations and the way leading to the cessation of fermentations.’ [Buddha]

Focusing one’s mind well brings about many pleasures, increase of alertness is one of many

A GOOD man lives not by stealth but by means of a self that has become pure. [With Buddha] (5)

By means of the heavenly eye, purified and surpassing the human eyes – he sees beings and he discerns how they are inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate in accordance with their karma.

Endowed with this noble restraint over the sense faculties, the sturdy monk is inwardly sensitive to the pleasure of being blameless. [Mod Buddha]

Incline the concentrated mind well - and to knowledge. [Mod Buddha]

A fit man finds little interesting in philosophical discussions. [Mod Buddha]

For a monk, wrong livelihood includes such as consecrating sites for construction. [Cf. Buddha]

The fit one dwells with an awareness devoid of sloth and drowsiness, mindful, alert, percipient of light. [With Buddha]

Abandoning ill will and anger, the good man dwells with an awareness devoid of ill will, sympathetic with the welfare of all living beings. [With Buddha]

With his mind thus concentrated, he directs and inclines it to knowledge of the recollection of previous homes (meaning: past lives). He recollects manifold past lives, and in their modes and details. [Buddha]

The good man, abandoning divisive speech he loves concord, delights in concord, enjoys concord. [With Buddha]

Good health, not being in prison, freedom, a place of security, these make some people glad, nay, enraptured, nay, tranquil - and hence sensitive to pleasure. [With Buddha]

It is well to abstain from forms of scheming and persuading. They include improper ways of trying to gain material support from donors. [With Buddha]

Having crossed over uncertainty, he suffers no perplexity with regard to skilful mental qualities. [Buddha]

The fine man acts with alertness: Going forward and returning, he acts with alertness. When looking toward and looking away. When bending and extending his limbs. When carrying his outer cloak, his upper robe, and his bowl. When eating, drinking, chewing, and tasting. When urinating and defecating. When walking, standing, sitting, falling asleep, waking up, talking, and remaining silent, he acts with alertness. [With Buddha]

The good man speaks in season, speaks what is factual, what is in accordance with the goal. [With Buddha]

The fair man speaks words worth treasuring. They are reasonable and may be circumscribed. [With Buddha]

The fine man cleanses his mind. [With Buddha]

The good man abstains from false speech. He speaks the truth, holds to the truth, is firm, reliable, no deceiver. [With Buddha]

The great man cleanses his mind of covetousness. [With Buddha]

The great one abstains from idle chatter. [With Buddha]

Priests and contemplatives are to abstain from such lowly arts as forecasting defeats while living off food given in faith. [With Buddha]

The strong monk is inwardly sensitive to the pleasure of being blameless. [With Buddha]

With his mind well concentrated and inclined to the divine ear —the contemplating one knows, “That is the sound of kettledrums, that is the sound of small drums, that is the sound of conchs, that is the sound of cymbals, and that is the sound of tom-toms.” [Buddha]

A good man abstains from the use of false scales, deception, and fraud. [With Buddha]

The nobly content monk takes only his barest necessities along. [Buddha]

The proper monk is mindful and alert. [Cf. Buddha] (7)

The pure man, while living off food given in faith, abstains from collecting debts, making investments and loans, and bringing forth flames from the mouth. [Cf. Buddha]

He hears – by means of the inner ear – both kinds of sounds: divine and human, whether near or far. [With Buddha]

There seems to be little gain in talking about lowly topics and thoughtless debates. [Cf. Buddha]

Gist

A well concentrated mind enters one’s heart.

A fit way of living backs up the gentle heart (life-core) within.

Focusing adequately favours recall and recollections after time, and helps the mind’s auto-cleaning work from within as well.

Concentrate on, to gain a favourable living attuned to your deep heart.

From the Muluposatha Sutta

Abstain from false speech [Buddha].

Buddha is an expert with regard to the world [Mod Buddha].

By recollecting the Tathagata [Buddha], the mind should be calmed, and joy arise, and defilements of the mind abandoned [With Buddha].

It is owing to Brahma that one’s mind is calmed [Buddha].

It should do well to abandon imposing seats and beds [Cf. Buddha].

Kingship over human beings is a meagre thing when compared with heavenly bliss [Buddha].

One should indeed abstain from fermented and distilled liquors that cause heedlessness [Buddha].

One should not tell a lie [Buddha].

One should refrain from the sexual act that is the villager’s way [Buddha].

The defiled mind can also be cleansed by recollecting solid virtues and living with them [With Buddha].

The defiled mind ought to be cleansed through the proper technique [With Buddha].

The Sangha [Community] of the Buddha’s disciples consists of those who have practiced well, straight-forwardly, methodically, and masterfully. Such disciples should be worthy of gifts, worthy of hospitality, worthy of offerings, worthy of respect, and merit [Mod Buddha].

Those who speak the truth and hold to the truth are reliable, and no deceivers [With Buddha].

Literature

▾Link 1

▾Link 2

   USER’S GUIDE to abbreviations, the site’s bibliography, letter codes, dictionaries, site design and navigation, tips for searching the site and page referrals. [LINK]
   © 2004–2010, Collation byTormod Kinnes. [E-MAIL] — Disclaimer: LINK]

Science and Technology

“Molecular medicine can now be defined as distinctive discipline, concerned with understanding the pathogenesis of diseases at molecular level. Based on this knowledge, specific molecular tools for diagnosis, treatment and prevention are designed,” said a statement from the organisers.

vegetarianism

THE MESSAGE:The meet’s aim is to incorporate ahimsa in the diet.

Bangalore: The International Vegetarian Union (IVU) hosted conference in the city at the end of this month. The event — IVU India, South West Asia Vegetarian Congress — was held at Hotel E-Inn from October 30 to 31. Addressing presspersons here on Friday, Shankar Narayan, president, Indian Vegan Society, said there was lectures and workshops by speakers from India, Brazil, U.S.A., U.K., Iran, U.A.E., Malaysia, Singapore and New Zealand.

The keynote address was delivered by renowned physician B.M. Hegde and U.K. veg historian John Davis. The theme of the conference is ‘Practising Ahimsa: The Core of our Values’, and the aim is to incorporate ahimsa in our diet and bring together like-minded people. Also part of the conference is sampling vegan food.

GOOD GOVERNANCE

Press Information Bureau

(C.M. Information Campus)

Information & Public Relations Department, U.P.

Hon’ble Chief Minister pays tributes to martyr police personnel on Police Commemoration Day

Lucknow: 21 October 2010

On the occasion of Police Commemoration Day, the

Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Ms. Mayawati ji paid her

tributes here today at police lines to police personnel who laid

down their lives while discharging their duties. She assured the

family members of martyr policemen that her government is

committed to take necessary steps for their welfare and facilities

and it would continue to do so in future as well.

Hon’ble Chief Minister said that her government had taken

several decisions for the welfare of martyr policemen’s family

members. She said that her government had taken the decision

to provide extra-ordinary pension facility to the dependent family

of police personnel appointed after April 1, 2005 under and

interim arrangement, if they became martyr during discharging

the duties. These families were not getting the benefit of extraordinary

pension after the implementation of contributory

pension scheme from April 1, 2005.

Hon’ble Chief Minister said that the State Government had

appointed the dependents of martyr policemen on the posts of

305 Sub-Inspector, 516 Constables and 267 fourth class

employees. She said that her government had provided the

financial assistance of Rs. 43 lakh to the dependents of 14

martyr police personnel during last one year. Financial

assistance had been made available though different funds and

insurance schemes and 7124 pension cases had been disposed

off on priority basis, she said adding that sanction had been

made to provide an additional pay equal to one month pay in

every financial year to fourth class employees, if they can not

avail public holidays.

Hon’ble Chief Minister said that her government had made

available more than Rs. 1.50 crore under welfare fund for the

members of police force. More than Rs. 6.84 crore had been

given to 825 police personnel as medical reimbursement. An

amount of more than Rs. 2 crore had been allocated to districts

and units as facility fund to provide financial assistance to

policemen. She said that her government had given priority to

establish ‘’rule of law by law.'’ An amount of Rs. 7444 crore had

been made available in the budget of 2010-11 for police almost

double of Rs. 3525 crore in the year of 2007-08.

Hon’ble Chief Minister said that her government had paid

full attention for availability of resources. The State Government

had released more than Rs. 255 crore as financial sanctions for

purchasing modern equipments, weapons, communication and

anti-riot equipments, security and training equipments and

vehicles. She said that with a view to providing residential

facilities to police personnel, 687 residential buildings had been

constructed, besides the construction of administrative buildings

of 21 police stations and 11 women police stations.

Hon’ble Chief Minister said that her government has also

sanctioned the establishment of women police stations in

districts, construction of modern control room and constitution of

new Bomb Disposal Squad. Besides, “U.P. Police special zone

security force” had also been constituted. She said that her

government has created 2,04,000 new posts to strengthen police

force. “Uttar Pradesh Police Recruitment and Promotion Board”

had completed the process regarding the selection of 35,000

constables. This selection process was completed with full

transparency and impartiality, which had been appreciated

throughout the country, she added.

Hon’ble Chief Minister said that 57 notorious criminals

were killed last year during encounter, out of which 3 criminals

were carrying the award of Rs.1 lakh on their head and 54

criminals carrying the award of Rs. 10,000 or above on their

head. An amount of more than Rs. 195 crore illegal properties

were attached by the State police taking an effecting action

against notorious mafias. She said that crimes against SC/ST

persons this year had decreased upto 25 per cent. Similarly,

rape cases decreased 15 per cent and murder for dowry had also

gone down.

Hon’ble Chief Minister said that her government had

honoured 49 police personnel with

“Utkrisht Sewa Samman

Chinnh”

and 207 police personnel with “Sarahniya Sewa

Samman Chinnh”.

Out of turn promotion had been given to 09

sub-inspectors and 04 head constables and 19 constables who

had been promoted as inspectors, sub-inspectors and head

constables respectively.

Hon’ble Chief Minister said that clear-cut directives had

been issued to police force that stringent action should be taken

against the criminals responsible for disturbing the peace and

law and order, however powerful they may be. She said that

effective action had been taken to maintain law and order in

Indo-Nepal bordering districts and prevention of illegal

infiltration of criminals and anti-national elements.

Hon’ble Chief Minister said that no communal riot took

place in the State owing to effective policing. Fool-proof security

and law and order arrangements were ensured keeping in view

the decision of High Court on Ayodhya issue on September 30,

2010. During the recently held Commonwealth Games-2010,

road cycling event was organised in district Gautam Buddha

Nagar for which security and law and order arrangements were

made according to international parameters.

Hon’ble Chief Minister said that owing to arrangements

made by the State Government communal harmony was fully

maintained and no untoward incident took place in any district of

the State. The Central Government had not given full assistance,

she said adding that only 52 companies were provided by the

Central Government, instead of needed 642 companies of central

forces.

Hon’ble Chief Minister said that our brave martyr had

brought laurels to UP Government and Police Department

through there supreme sacrifice. She called upon all the police

officers and jawans to work with new enthusiasm to achieve the

target of

‘Sarvajan Hitai, Sarvajan Sukhai’ to set up example for

others. On this occasion, she honoured the widows of police

personnel who laid down there lives discharging there duties.

Paying his tributes to martyrs, DGP Mr. Karamveer Singh

said that 781 police personnel laid down their lives on the alter

of duty, out of which 99 policemen belonged to Uttar Pradesh

between the period of 1

st September 2009 and 31st August 2010.

During this period, among the martyrs of U.P. police were-12

sub-inspectors, 01 SI(M)/Steno, 01 group leader, 01 ASI(M), 06

head constables, 01 fire service driver, 06 constables(driver) and

71 constables.

On this occasion, the Cabinet Secretary Mr. Shashank

Shekhar Singh, Chief Secretary Mr. Atul Kumar Gupta, Additional

Cabinet Secretary Mr. Net Ram, Principal Secretary Home Mr.

Kunwar Fateh Bahadur were present including several senior

police and administrative officers.

********

Hon’ble C. M. greets people on Valmiki Jayanti

Lucknow: 21 October 2010

The Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Ms.

Mayawati ji has greeted the people of the State on the

occasion of Valmiki Jayanti.

In a greeting message, the Hon’ble Chief Minister

said that Maharishi Valmiki is also known as Adi Kavi or

first poet. He was the author of epic Ramayana in

Sanskrit and gave the message of leading an ideal life

to entire humanity through the character of Marayada

Purushottam Sri Ram. She has appealed to the people

to take inspiration from the life of Maharishi Valmiki.

********

comments (0)

10/20/10

We wish the Elephant of BSP!to win large number of seats to acquire the MASTER KEY! and make Chief Minister Bahen Ms Mayawati Ji !as the Prime Minister PraBuddha Bharath Matha Maha Mayawati Ji!-First phase of Bihar elections (Factfile)-LESSON 65 FOUR JHANAS PART V 21 10 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY-Anyone Can Attain Ultimate Bliss Just Visit:http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org-”It is ignorance that smothers, and it is carelessness that makes it invisible. The hunger of craving pollutes the world, and the pain of suffering causes the greatest fear.”- The Buddha Quotes-BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!-WISDOM IS POWER-Travelogue to the four jhanas by Ajahn Brahmavamso-Asoka Vijayadashami & Dhamm Chakra Pravartan-Do not allow osteoporosis to break you: doctors-kyphon balloon kyphoplasty-CONVERGENCE of Information Technology, Integrated Praduct Development, Biotechnology and Nanotechnology-GOOD GOVERNANCE-Hon’ble Chief Minister Ji directs officers to take necessary steps immediately to check spread of dengue and other fever related diseases Ensure fogging and spray of pesticides in affected areas-Saryu Canal Project started in 1978 got delayed due to careless approach of earlier Governments

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Posted by: site admin @ 11:48 pm

We wish the Elephant of BSP!
to win large number of seats to acquire the MASTER KEY!
and make Chief Minister Bahen Ms Mayawati Ji !
as the Prime Minister PraBuddha Bharath Matha Maha Mayawati Ji!

First phase of Bihar elections (Factfile)

New Delhi, Oct 20 – The first of the six phases of the month-long elections to the Bihar state assembly is to be held Thursday.

Here is a factfile of the first phase:

Number of assembly constituencies – 47

Total voters – 10.7 million (5,678,567 men and 5,022,230 women)

Total number of candidates – 631

Total number of woman candidates – 52

Assembly constituency with maximum candidates – Kadwa (22 candidates)

Assembly constituency with minimum candidates – Singheshwar (Scheduled Caste constituency – seven candidates)

Party-wise list of candidates – Bahujan Samaj Party (45), Bharatiya Janata Party (21), Communist Party India (11), Communist Party of India-Marxist (7), Congress (47), Nationalist Congress Party (33), Janata Dal-United (26), Rashtriya Janata Dal (31) and other parties 156

Independent candidates – 238

Electronic voting machines to be used – 25,728

Largest assembly constituency area-wise – Saharsa

Largest assembly constituency voter-wise – Saharsa

IANS

LESSON 65 FOUR JHANAS PART V 21 10 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY

Anyone Can Attain Ultimate Bliss Just Visit:http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org

“It is ignorance that smothers, and it is carelessness that makes it invisible. The hunger of craving pollutes the world, and the pain of suffering causes the greatest fear.”- The Buddha Quotes

BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!

WISDOM IS POWER

Awakened One Shows the Path to Attain Ultimate Bliss

COMPUTER IS AN ENTERTAINMENT INSTRUMENT!

INTERNET!

ENTERTAINMENT NET!

TO BE MOST APPROPRIATE!

Using such an instrument

The Free ONLINE e-Nālandā Research and Practice University has been re-organized to function through the following Schools of Learning :

Buddha’s Sangha Practiced His Dhamma Free of cost, hence the Free- e-Nālandā Research and Practice University follows suit

As the Original Nālandā University did not offer any Degree, so also the Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University.

§ Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , Indian scholar, philosopher and architect of Constitution of India, in his writing and speeches

I.
KAMMA

AWAKEN-NESS

II.
ARHAT

TWELVEFOLD CONDITIONED ARISING

BODHISATTVA

PARAMITA

SIX PARAMITAS

III.

SIX SPIRITUAL POWERS

SIX PATHS OF REBIRTH

TEN DHARMA REALMS

FIVE SKANDHAS

EIGHTEEN REALMS

FIVE MORAL PRECEPTS

IV.

MEDITATION

MINDFULNESS

FOUR APPLICATIONS OF MINDFULNESS

FOUR FORMLESS REALMS

FIVE TYPES OF BUDDHIST STUDY AND PRACTICE

MAHAYANA AND HINAYANA COMPARED

PURE LAND

BUDDHA RECITATION

EIGHT CONSCIOUSNESSES

ONE HUNDRED DHARMAS

EMPTINESS

VI.

DEMON

LINEAGE

with

Level I: Introduction to Buddhism

Level II: Buddhist Studies

TO ATTAIN

Level III: Stream-Enterer

Level IV: Once - Returner

Level V: Non-Returner
Level VI: Arhat

Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in

mathematics,

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and

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International Relations and Peace Studies;

Business Management in relation to Public Policy and Development Studies;

Languages and Literature;

and Ecology and Environmental Studies

Welcome to the Free Online e-Nālandā Research and Practice University

Course Programs:

FOUR JHANAS PART V

http://www.dharmaweb.org/index.php/Travelogue_to_the_four_jhanas_by_Ajahn_Brahmavamso

Travelogue to the four jhanas by Ajahn Brahmavamso

Travelogue to the four jhanas
By Ajahn Brahmavamso

This morning the talk is going to be on Right Concentration, Right Samadhi, on the four jhanas which I promised to talk about earlier this week and about exactly what they are, how to get into them, so one can recognise them after they’ve arisen and also to understand their place in the scheme of things. If one ever looks at the Buddha’s teachings - the Suttas - one finds that the word ‘jhana’ is mentioned very, very often. There is a common theme, which occurs in almost every teaching of the Buddha and is part of the eightfold path - Samma Samadhi - Right Concentration, which is always defined as ‘cultivating the four jhanas.’ In this meditation retreat, if we are really talking about meditation and we want to cultivate meditation, there is no reason why we shouldn’t aim to cultivate the jhana states, because they give a depth to one’s meditation which one can experience as something quite special and one could also experience the power of these states as well as the bliss of these states. It is that quality of bliss and that quality of power which you will later be able to use to really develop the powerful insights into the nature of your mind and the nature of all phenomena. I shall begin by talking about the Buddha’s own story which is related in the Suttas. He attained jhana almost by chance as a young boy sitting under a rose-apple tree, just watching while his father was doing some ceremony. It was a very pleasurable experience and what the Buddha, or the Buddha-to-be, remembered was just the pleasure of that experience and a little bit about its power. But like many people, like may meditators, many practitioners, he formed the wrong view that anything so pleasurable can have nothing at all to do with ending suffering and enlightenment, that something so pleasurable must be a cause for more attachment in this world. It was because of thoughts like these that for six years the Buddha just wandered around the forests of India doing all sorts of ascetic practices. In other words almost looking for suffering, as if through suffering you could find an end of suffering. It was only after six years of futility that the Buddha decided, having had a meal, and this is how it is actually said in the Suttas, that he recalled this pleasurable experience of the first jhana as a young boy, maybe he said “this might be the path to enlightenment.” and the insight knowledge arose in him, “This is the path to enlightenment, to Bodhi.” Because of that insight, the Buddha, as everyone knows, sat under the Bodhi tree, developed the jhanas and based on the power of that jhana, the clarity of that jhana, developed all of these wisdoms, first of all recollecting past lives, recollecting the action of kamma, the depth of kamma, how it sends beings to various parts of rebirth, and then lastly the Four Noble Truths.

It was only because of the power of that sort of mind that he could penetrate to such a degree of subtlety and uncover things which had been clouded completely from him. Since then he always tried to teach and encourage the practice of jhana as an essential ingredient of the Eightfold Path, an essential part of becoming enlightened. If one wishes to use Buddhism not as only a half-hearted path but to take it to its fullness, and aim for enlightenment, then sooner or later one will have to come across these jhanas, cultivate them, get to know them and use their power and do exactly the same as the Buddha did and become fully enlightened.

Many of the other talks which monks give tell you about the problem of suffering in existence, they tell you about the difficulties of life and the problems of rebirth and more death, but I think its also our responsibility, if we are going to tell you the problem, then we must tell you the solution as well and tell you the solution in all its detail, not holding anything back. Part of that solution, an essential part of that solution is developing these things which we call jhana.

Now what these jhanas actually are - I’ll just talk about the four jhanas this morning and I’m going to carry on from what I might call the launching pad of that second stage of meditation which I’ve been talking about a lot while I’ve been teaching meditation during this retreat. The second stage of meditation in my scheme of things is where you have full continuous awareness of the breath. So the mind is not distracted at all, every moment it has the breath in mind and that state has been stabilised with continual attention until the breath is continually in mind, no distraction for many minutes on end. That’s the second stage in this meditation. It coincides with the third stage in the Buddha’s Anapanasati Sutta, where the meditator experiences whole body of breath, where the body here is just a word for the accumulation of all the parts of an inbreath, all the parts of an outbreath and the sequential awareness of these physical feelings. The next stage, the third stage in my scheme, the fourth stage in the Buddha’s Anapanasati Sutta, is where, having attained that second stage and not letting it go, not letting go of the awareness of the breath one moment, one calms that object down, calms the object of the breath down.

There are several ways of doing that. Perhaps the most effective is just developing an attitude of letting go, because the object of the breath will calm down naturally if you leave it alone. However, sometimes some meditators have difficulty letting go to that degree and so another method which can be very effective is just suggesting calm, calm, calm. Or suggesting letting go. There is a great difference between the attitude of letting go and suggesting letting go. With suggesting letting go, you are still actually controlling things, you are getting involved in it but at least you are getting involved by sending it in the right direction, sending it towards the place where the attitude of letting go is occurring, without the need to put it into words or to give it as orders or commands. You are programming the mind in the right direction. But I use both, either just letting go as an attitude of mind or subconscious suggesting, just calm, calm, calm, and to feel the object of your attention, being here the feeling of the breath, get more and more refined, more subtle. The difficulty or the problem here will be that you have to always maintain your attention clearly on the breath. In other words, not letting go of the second stage when you develop the third stage. Keep full awareness of the breath, but just make that breath softer and softer and softer, more and more subtle, more and more refined, but never letting go of it. As the breath gets more and more refined, the only way of not letting go of it is by treating it very, very gently. You’re going towards an effortless awareness on the breath, an effortless attention where the breath is just there.

A bit of a problem here with many meditators is that they are not quite sure of the correct way of knowing the breath in this state. There is a type of knowing which is just knowing, being mindful of, without naming, without thinking, without analysing, a sub-verbal type of knowing. You have to be confident that you are actually watching the breath. Sometimes you may not have the width of mind to know exactly what type of breath you are watching, but you know you are watching the breath. The point is, it’s a type of knowing which is getting much more refined. Our usual knowing is very wide and full of many details. Here, the details are narrowing down until a point comes where sometimes we have so few details that we don’t know if we truly know, a different type of knowing, a much more refined knowing. So the wisdom has to be very strong here and confidence has to be strong, to understand that one still knows the breath. The breath hasn’t disappeared at all and you do not need, as it were, to widen the width of knowing through effort of will, this will just disturb the mind. Just allow everything to calm down. The object will calm down and so will the knowing start to calm down. It’s at this stage where you start to get a samadhi nimitta arising. I call this part of the third stage.

If you calm the physical feeling of breath down, the mental feeling of breath starts to arise — the samadhi nimitta – usually a light which appears in the mind. However, it can sometimes just appear to be a physical feeling. It can be a deep peacefulness; it can even be like a blackness. The actual description of it is very wide simply because the description is that which everyone adds on to a core experience, which is a mental experience. When it starts to arise you just haven’t got the words to describe it. So what we add to it is usually how we understand it to ourselves. Darkness, peacefulness, profound stillness, emptiness, a beautiful light or whatever. Don’t particularly worry about what type of nimitta it actually is.

If you want to know the way to develop that nimitta, then this fourth stage of developing the four jhanas is to pay attention to that aspect of the nimitta which is beautiful, which is attractive, which is joyful, the pleasant part of it. And again, it is at this stage where you have to be comfortable with pleasure and not be afraid of it, not fear that it is going to lead to some sort of attachment, because the pleasure of these stages can be very intense at times, literally overpowering: overpowering your sense of self, overpowering your control, overpowering your sensitivity to your physical body. So you have to look for that pleasure and happiness which is in the nimitta, and this becomes the fourth stage because once the mind has noticed the pleasure and happiness in the nimitta, that will act like what I call the magnet or the glue. It is that which will draw one’s attention onto it, and it’s not the will or the choice or the decision which takes the attention and puts it onto the samadhi nimitta. In fact once the choice, the intention, the orders inside yourself arise, they’ll actually push you away. You have to let the whole process work because the samadhi nimitta at this stage is very pleasurable; it literally pulls the mind into it. Many meditators when the possibly experience their first taste of a jhana, experience the mind falling into a beautiful hole. And that’s exactly what’s happening. It’s the joy, the bliss, the beauty of that nimitta which is before the mind that actually pulls the mind into it. So you don’t need to do the pushing, you don’t need to do the work. At this stage it becomes a natural process of the mind. Your job is just to get to that second stage, calm that breath down, allow the samadhi nimitta to arise. Once the samadhi nimitta arises strongly, then the jhana happens in and of itself.

Again, because the quality of knowing is very strong but very narrow in these states, while you are in these states, there is no way that you can truly assess where you are and what’s happening to you. The ability to know through thinking, through analysing, is taken away from you in these states. You usually have to wait until you emerge from these states, until your ordinary thinking returns again, so you can really look back upon and analyse what has happened. Any of these jhana states are powerful experiences and as a powerful experience, they leave a deep imprint on your mind.

Unfortunately there is not a word in our English language which corresponds to a positive trauma. The word ‘trauma’ is like a very strong negative, painful experience which leaves its imprint in you. This is similar in its strength and result to a trauma and you remember it very clearly because it has a severe impact on your memory. However, these are just purely pleasant experiences, like pleasant traumas, and as such you recall them very easily. So after you’ve emerged from a jhana, it’s usually no problem at all just to look back with the question, “what was that?” and to be able to see very clearly the type of experience, the object, which you were aware of for all this time and then you can analyse it. It’s at this point that you can find out exactly where you were and what was happening, but in the jhana you can’t do this.

After the jhana, one can know it by what the Buddha called ‘the jhana factors‘. These are the major signposts which tell you what particular states you’ve been in. It’s good to know those signposts but remember, these are just signposts to these states, these are the main features of these states and in the first jhana there are many subsidiary features. In fact the first jhana is quite wide. However, if it’s a first jhana experience it has to have the five main features, the five main jhana factors. The second jhana is much narrower, much easier to find out whether this is where you’ve been. It’s the same with the third and the fourth jhana, they get narrower still. The width of description for this experience, which you may offer, narrows down as you attain more profound depths of letting go.

But with the first jhana, the Buddha gave it five factors. The main factors are the two which is piti-sukka. This is bliss. Sometimes, if you look in books about the meaning of these terms, they will try and split them into separate factors. They are separate things, but in the first couple of jhanas piti and sukka are so closely intertwined that you will not be able to distinguish one from the other and it’s more helpful not to try, but to look at these two factors as just ‘bliss’. That’s the most accurate description which most people can recognise: “This is bliss.” The Buddha called it vivekaja piti-sukka, that particular type of bliss which is born from detachment, born from aloofness, born from seclusion. Viveka is the word for ’seclusion’, ‘aloofness’, ’separateness’ and it means ’separated from the world of the five senses’. That’s what you’ve separated yourself from and this is the bliss of that separation, which is the cause of that happiness and bliss. And that bliss has a particular type of taste which other blisses do not share, it is the bliss of seclusion. That is why it is also sometimes called the bliss of renunciation. You’ve renounced those things; therefore you are secluded from them.

There are two other factors which confuse people again and again. They are the two terms ‘vitakka’ and ‘vicira’ — which Bikkhu Bodhi in his Majima Nikaya translates as ‘initial’ and ’sustained’ application of thought or ‘initial’ and ‘applied’ thought. However, it should be known and recognised, that thinking, as you normally perceive it, is not present in these jhanas at all. That which we call thought has completely subsided. What these two terms refer to is a last vestige of the movement of the mind which, if it was continued, would give rise to thinking. It is almost what you might call sub-verbal thought. It is a movement of the mind towards a meditation object. That’s called vitakka. However it has to appear on a sub-verbal level, just a movement, just an intention, without the mind breaking into words and labels.

The mind moves onto the object, and remember the ‘object’ here, the thing you are aware of, is the piti-sukha. That is why it is the main factor of this jhana, because you are aware of bliss. That’s the object of your meditation, not the breath, not the body, not any words but you are aware of bliss. And you will also be aware, and this is one of the characteristics of the first jhana, that the mind will still be wobbling a little bit. The bliss which is the object of your awareness will appear, as it were, to fade or to recede, and as it fades, as it recedes, as it weakens, the mind will go towards it again. Attracted as it were, by its power, by its bliss, the mind goes towards it; that is called ‘vitakka’, the movement of the mind onto its object. When it reaches the object it will hold onto it, this is called ‘vicira’, which will be an effort of mind, but a very subtle effort of mind. This is an effort of mind; this is not an effort of will. It is not an effort coming from you, it’s the mind doing it by itself. All along you are a passive observer to all of this. And as it holds onto it, eventually, as it were, it will lose its grip and will recede away from the object of bliss again. In this way, the object of bliss will appear to be wobbly, not truly firm. As such, the mind will seem to have a little bit of width to it, but not be truly solid. However, that width is very small and you never move far away from that bliss because as soon as you move a little away from it, it retracts and pulls the mind straight back again.

Because it’s only got a little bit of width this is called one-pointedness of mind: all of the energy, the focus, of the mind being in one point, both in space and one point in time. This experience does not change over many, many, many minutes in a full first jhana. This experience is maintained, it’s just the mind going towards this bliss and this bliss lasting there for a long time. Now again, this is only how you’ll see it when you emerge from the jhana. You will not be able to analyse this experience into five factors during that time because the mind will not have that width, that ability to think, the ability to analyse, while you are in the state. While in the state all you’ll be aware of is just the bliss. You are literally blissed out, not really quite knowing why or what’s happening, but having some sort of feeling or confidence that this is worthwhile, this is beautiful, this is profound, this is worth doing, so that you can stay in those states.

It’s usual that a person’s first experience of jhana will be the first jhana. After a while, the strength of the samadhi, what you actually brought into that state with you, will begin to decline and the mind will move away from the bliss, and the vitakka will not be strong enough to take it back into it again, and you emerge from the jhana. The jhana will break up and you will be able to think and analyse again. Thoughts will come up into your mind and this will probably be one of the first things which arises after the jhana breaks, as it were. The mind will still have a lot of happiness and bliss to it but will not be as one-pointed. The body will usually not be recognised at the beginning and only later will the mind care to look and see what the body has been doing all this time.

The mind will be very powerful at this stage. You’ve just emerged from a jhana, you’ll still have a lot of happiness and bliss and in the words of the Buddha the mind will be ‘malleable’, it will be ‘workable’. It will be like a piece of clay which is not too wet and not too dry, which you can turn into any shape you want with ease because of the power which you invested in the mind, and that becomes the experience of the first jhana. Once you’ve experienced that once then it’s good to find out what caused that jhana to arise. What did you do? Or more appropriately, what did you let go of, to give rise to that jhana? Rather than what you did, what you let go of becomes a much more powerful indicator of the ways into these states. You usually find out that you developed that second stage when you started to let go of this ‘controller’, let go of the wandering mind, let go of the fear of these states and especially when you let go of the controller and just allowed the mind to show its face when you’re not there, giving all the orders. Once you start to get to know this and get to know the ways into these jhanas, then you should try and develop them, to repeat them again and again because not only are you developing insight, you are developing the skill, the skill of letting go of things which are the causes of deep attachment.

As you develop these jhanas more and more, they are very enjoyable things to develop. Sometimes people feel that a holy life, a spiritual practice should be harsh and severe. If you want to make it harsh and severe that’s up to you, but if you want to go on a happy path, a path of bliss which is also going to lead to enlightenment at the same time, this is it. Even though these are very strong pleasures, mental pleasures, the Buddha said they are not to be feared. He said this in many places in the Suttas and there was one place, in the Digha Nikaya, where he told the monks: if a person develops these jhanas, makes much of them, is almost attached to them, attached to their development then there are four consequences of that attachment to that development. The word I am translating here as attachment is anuyoga. Our word ‘yoke’ comes from this word ‘yoga‘ which means ‘tying onto’. Anu means ‘along with’ or ‘tied along with’ so it literally means ‘practising frequently’, doing it again and again and again, what some people would interpret as ‘being attached to.’

So there are four results from practising jhanas in this way, not five results, not three results, but four results. And those four results of practising jhana again and again and again are stream entry, once returner, non-returner and Arahat. The Buddha was unequivocal about this. It does not lead to more attachment to the world, it actually leads to the enlightenment experiences, to separation from the world. The way to develop them is that as you develop the first jhana more and more, you can aim towards the higher jhanas. The only way you can aim towards the higher jhanas is to do it before you enter this whole area of the mind we call the jhana realm. Because once you are in any jhana, you are stuck there and you cannot give any orders or any commands, you cannot drive your vehicle once you are in any of these absorptions. The aiming, the driving, the putting in of instructions has to be done beforehand.

It is very difficult to find similes for this. A very weak simile, but one I’ve used before is like someone charging into a house with four rooms and the fourth room is way down the back, the third room is just a little bit before that, the second room a bit before that and the first one is just inside the door. The floors are made out of this very, very slippery ice so you cannot make any momentum once you have got in the first door. All your momentum has to be built up from outside, so you charge the first door and if you are going very fast, you may be able to slip right through the first room and into the second room. If you are going really fast you may even get into the third room and if you are going very, very fast as you charge the front door, you may slip all the way into the fourth room. But once you are in any of these rooms you cannot add to your momentum. So the only way you can gain these deeper jhanas is, before you enter any of these states, making sure that your effort to let go, your resolve to abandon, that your desire to settle all disturbances is so strong that you settle the disturbance of this doing mind and next you settle the vitakka-vicira, this movement of the mind, and you settle many other things as well. The mind settles down, one thing after the other, as it goes into the deeper jhanas.

The second jhana is the first true state of samadhi because here you’ve settled down that which was a disturbance of the first jhana, which was a wobbling of the mind, the vittaka-vicara has been abandoned. So now the mind has the object of bliss firmly unified with it, and this state is one of rock-like samadhi, where there is this one object in the mind, of bliss, and there is no room in the mind at all. It is completely one-pointed, stuck solid as a rock and blissed out, so the object is not moving at all, not changing an iota, it is there one moment after another moment after another moment. Because of the solidity and stability of that state, the second jhana will last much, much longer than the first jhana; the deeper the jhanas, the longer they will last and you are usually talking in terms of hours for the second jhana, simply because it is a very solid state. Whereas the first jhana can be just for a matter of minutes, a good second jhana should be quite long — and it is very solid. Once you are in it there is no way you can get out until the energy of that jhana just uses itself up. That’s the only way, because you cannot form the resolution, “now’s the time to come out.” If someone calls you, you just will not hear them, if someone taps you on the shoulder, you will not recognise that, because you are completely separated from the external world. You are literally right in the centre of your mind and you cannot be contacted. Again, that second jhana, once it starts to break up, will break up into what is tantamount to first jhana then it will break out into the verbalisation of thought. You come down again.

For those who want to explore these states a lot, one important thing one can do, rather than to leave it to the momentum of your energy to quieten down your energy of samadhi, is to make resolutions before you enter these states. You just need to say to yourself, “I’ll just enter the jhana for half an hour or for one hour.” Because the mind is very refined in these states it will have power, your suggestion will be like programming a computer and once the hour is up, the mind will just come out of the jhanas. I can’t say exactly how it works, but it does. In the same way you can go to sleep and say, “I’ll wake up at three o’clock” and you do wake up at three o’clock or five minutes either side, without the use of an alarm clock. The mind, if you programme it with mindfulness, responds. And so that is a very useful way and a very good instruction; to use those resolutions so that you do not spend over long in those states when you have maybe an appointment or some things you have to do. Make a resolution first of all. However, when you are in that state, you cannot make a resolution, you cannot think, you cannot analyse. All you know is that you are blissed out, you are not quite sure what is happening and only afterwards you have the opportunity to emerge and then to analyse and to see what has gone on and why.

If one wishes to go deeper into the jhanas, then at this point one has to understand that that bliss, which is in the second jhana born of samadhi, born of full unification of mind, a bliss with a different taste, has an aspect to it which is still troublesome to the mind and that is this aspect of piti. This is almost like a mental excitement and that can be overcome if one aims to quieten that bliss down.

Ajahn Brahmavamso
Perth, Western Australia, 1998 (Edited from a talk given by Ajahn Brahmavamso during the 9-day retreat in North Perth, Western Australia, December 1997)

Asoka Vijayadashami & Dhamm Chakra Pravartan< ?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” />

Celebration at < ?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Doha, Qatar

Date : 15^th October, 2010

Indian Buddhist friends celebrated Asoka Vijayadashami & Dhammchakra Pravartak Din at Srilankan Embassy Qatar

. This celebration is very unique as there were presences of more than hundred children with white uniform for the dhamma class. This environment reminds us feeling of Dikhaboomi Nagpur participation & celebration at our home town india.

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We revised the Trisharn; Panch-sheels followed with dhamma talk at beautiful Vihar of embassy premises at morning 9:45hrs.

We were amazingly viewing the activities of Dhamma Classes. This class is conducted every alternate Friday to rejuvenate Pali language in which abundantly Buddhist literature written & available. It also helps to sustain cultural activities for coming generation. Such type of dhamma class is really useful for student & younger to understand what is Buddhism & associate culture.

His Excellency Srilankan Ambassador Mr. Vijaya Padukkage welcomed us with pleasant smile and spared an hour to discuss the intention of over visit. He explained; Buddhism is nothing but Science. He noted that we were the first Indian Buddhist who met.

He added the importance of Dhamma class, Tourism at Srilanka in view with Buddhist pilgrimage. He also visited to North India region from Lumbini – Nepal, Sarnath, Kushinara, Varanasi, Gaya etc. Srilankan respects India as Buddhist origin & King Asoka work. He granted permission to visit vihar in week days & also off days with 2 days prior oral notification.

This visit & celebration was possible with the consistent effort of Mr. Uttam Vaidya & his srilankan friend Mr. JAGGTHA.

Srilankan Kids at dhamma class.

Ambassador narrating the srilankan caves painting like Ajanta, India paintings Cave

Later we discussed the Dhamma Dana importance & to help project for underprivileged at maharastra area. We decided to contribute the Dana monthly basis 25 Qatari Riyal at least, can be paid yearly basis also. We also decided to meet last Friday of every month for the feasibility of projects; dhamma talk and other activities. We enjoyed the lunch at Hotel Alishan.

Mr. Rajendra, Mrs. Nirupama Panchabhai and children Arin & Arya presence enhanced, motivated and reminded us to celebrate such occasion with family. Mr. Roshan Jambulkar, Mr. Prashant Bele, Mr. Vipin Nimbalkar, Mr. Nilesh Sahare, Mr. Sheshrao Ranveer, Mr. Dipesh Sonare & Naresh Lanjewar were present;

Reported by

Naresh Lanjewar

Do not allow osteoporosis to break you: doctors

If you are of a certain vintage and rather unmindful of your diet and lifestyle, there could be trouble ahead, particularly concerning your bones. You will do well to be careful the next time you come across road humps or potholes as bumpy rides can injure or even fracture your spine. With 83 per cent of all spinal fractures in the country caused by osteoporosis, spine surgeons say vehicles negotiating road humps could harm the spine of those suffering from osteoporosis.

With October 20 being observed as World Osteoporosis Day, spine surgeons are propagating the prevention mantra. Lifestyle changes including quitting smoking, curtailing excessive alcohol intake, exercising regularly and consuming a calcium-rich balanced diet along with adequate intake of Vitamin D are the essential aspects in preventing osteoporosis.

What is osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis is a condition that causes thinning and weakening of bones, resulting in their breaking easily. It is a progressive disease although people do not develop it all of a sudden. Fracture of arms, legs, wrist and spine in a patient will heal normally, but they are susceptible to suffer fractures more often.

Spine surgeons Rajagopalan of St. John’s Hospital and Mahesh Bijjawara of Bhagwan Mahaveer Jain Hospital, who are also members of the Association of Spine Surgeons of India, who spoke to presspersons on Tuesday, say warning signs include persistent back pain, spine deformities, recurrent fractures and chronic medical problems, including a decrease in height. In most cases, fracture is the first indication of the problem. The most common diagnostic test for osteoporosis is a bone mineral densitometry, a non-invasive scan that measures bone density in the hip, wrist, heel or hand, they say.

Osteoporosis is becoming a major distressing disease, acquiring a household status. The doctors say developing the condition means loss of vital minerals in the bone — mainly calcium — and causing bones to become extremely brittle.

Incidence

In India, one in three women above the age of 50 is combating osteoporosis, along with one in five men. Although early detection and timely treatment can substantially decrease the risk, it is difficult to rebuild a bone that has been weakened by the condition. But with advances in medicine and availability of several modes of treatment including kyphon balloon kyphoplasty, osteoporosis patients can cope better with the condition.

http://www.kyphon.com/us/patient.aspx?contentid=17

Balloon Kyphoplasty

If you have been diagnosed with a spinal fracture caused by osteoporosis, cancer or benign tumors, balloon kyphoplasty is a treatment option you may want to consider. Balloon kyphoplasty is a minimally invasive procedure that can significantly reduce back pain and repair the broken bone of a spinal fracture.

The procedure is called balloon kyphoplasty because orthopaedic balloons are used to lift the fractured bone and return it to the correct position.

Before the procedure, you will have a medical exam and undergo diagnostic studies such as X-rays, to determine the precise location of the fracture. Balloon kyphoplasty can be done under local or general anesthesia—your physician will decide which option is appropriate for you.

Balloon kyphoplasty takes about one hour per fracture treated. It can be done on an inpatient or outpatient basis, depending on medical necessity. After the procedure, you will likely be transferred to the Recovery Room for about an hour for observation.

How Balloon Kyphoplasty Works

While in the hospital, you may be encouraged to walk and move about. Patients usually report immediate relief from pain [17,19,29] and are able to walk and move about during their hospital stay.

Your doctor will probably schedule a follow-up visit and explain limitations, if any, on your activity. Most patients report being satisfied with the procedure and are gradually able to resume activity once discharged from the hospital. [17,19]

As with any surgical procedure, there are potential risks and serious adverse events can occur. Be sure to discuss these with your doctor.

Also, please note that not all patients are candidates for balloon kyphoplasty.

CONVERGENCE of Information Technology, Integrated Praduct Development, Biotechnology and Nanotechnology

What is Biotechnology?

Pamela Peters, from Biotechnology: A Guide To Genetic Engineering. Wm. C. Brown Publishers, Inc., 1993.

Biotechnology in one form or another has flourished since prehistoric times. When the first human beings realized that they could plant their own crops and breed their own animals, they learned to use biotechnology. The discovery that fruit juices fermented into wine, or that milk could be converted into cheese or yogurt, or that beer could be made by fermenting solutions of malt and hops began the study of biotechnology. When the first bakers found that they could make a soft, spongy bread rather than a firm, thin cracker, they were acting as fledgling biotechnologists. The first animal breeders, realizing that different physical traits could be either magnified or lost by mating appropriate pairs of animals, engaged in the manipulations of biotechnology.

What then is biotechnology? The term brings to mind many different things. Some think of developing new types of animals. Others dream of almost unlimited sources of human therapeutic drugs. Still others envision the possibility of growing crops that are more nutritious and naturally pest-resistant to feed a rapidly growing world population. This question elicits almost as many first-thought responses as there are people to whom the question can be posed.

In its purest form, the term “biotechnology” refers to the use of living organisms or their products to modify human health and the human environment. Prehistoric biotechnologists did this as they used yeast cells to raise bread dough and to ferment alcoholic beverages, and bacterial cells to make cheeses and yogurts and as they bred their strong, productive animals to make even stronger and more productive offspring.

Throughout human history, we have learned a great deal about the different organisms that our ancestors used so effectively. The marked increase in our understanding of these organisms and their cell products gains us the ability to control the many functions of various cells and organisms. Using the techniques of gene splicing and recombinant DNA technology, we can now actually combine the genetic elements of two or more living cells. Functioning lengths of DNA can be taken from one organism and placed into the cells of another organism. As a result, for example, we can cause bacterial cells to produce human molecules. Cows can produce more milk for the same amount of feed. And we can synthesize therapeutic molecules that have never before existed.

GOOD GOVERNANCE

Press Information Bureau

(C.M. Information Campus)

Information & Public Relations Department, U.P.

Hon’ble Chief Minister Ji directs officers to take necessary steps immediately to check spread of dengue and other fever related diseases

Ensure fogging and spray of pesticides in affected areas

Lucknow : 20 October 2010

The Hon’ble Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Ms. Mayawati Ji directed the

officers to take necessary steps immediately to check spread of dengue and

other fever related diseases. She directed the officers to ensure that all the

necessary medicines were available in the Government hospitals and hold camps

in the areas affected badly by dengue. She said that any laxity in the treatment

of the patients would not be tolerated and the guilty would be punished after

fixing their responsibilities.

Hon’ble Chief Minister Ji, after returning from her Bihar visit, reviewed the

steps being taken by the Health Department to check the spread of the dengue

and other fever related diseases at a high level meeting held at her official

residence here today. She directed the officers to ensure that the serious

patients were admitted to the hospitals and the beds were also available. The

dengue patients should be treated properly, she warned.

Hon’ble Chief Minister Ji has directed all the CMO’s and the CMO (Family

Welfare) to ensure that medicines were available in their respective hospitals in

adequate quantity. The State Government had already provided funds for the

purpose, she pointed out. Still, if more funds were required then the demand

should be forwarded to the government so that the same could be allocated.

Directing the officers to quickly control the spread of dengue and other infectious

diseases, she said that fogging and spray of pesticides should be ensured in the

affected areas.

Hon’ble Chief Minister Ji directed that the doctors should ensure their

availability in hospitals round the clock and arrangement of ambulances should

be ensured so that dengue and other patients could be quickly taken to the

hospitals. She asked them to ensure effective arrangement of the testing of the

patients and availability of blood for patients should also be ensured on priority

basis. She asked the officers to ensure that the control rooms set up by Health

Department at State HQ and district HQs remained functional round the clock.

During the review meeting, the senior officers of the Health Department

apprised the CM that the death of some people in the Khadra area of Lucknow 2-

3 days back had been taken very seriously. The Principal Secretary Medical

Health and Family Welfare and DG Medical Health and Family Welfare twice

visited the affected area today and took stock of the situation.

It was informed at the meeting that ten mobile teams had been set up at

three important hospitals viz. Balrampur Hospital, Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee

Hospital and Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital to deal with the dengue. The

mobile teams would look after the patients at the camps and provide them

treatment and medicine and serious patients would be taken to the hospitals

through ambulances and treated. Round the clock medical treatment and testing

facilities has been provided in the Khadra area. The medical camp and the

availability of ambulance would continue till the situation becomes normal.

—————

Saryu Canal Project started in 1978 got delayed due to careless approach of earlier Governments

Lucknow: 20 October 2010

A Spokesman of the State Government has said that Saryu

Canal Project started in 1978 got delayed owing to careless

approach. Terming the delay in earlier years as unfortunate, he

said that Bahraich, Shrawasti, Balrampur, Gonda, Basti, Sant

Kabir Nagar, Siddharth Nagar and Gorakhpur etc. districts got

affected owing to non completion of the project. The present

Government had taken the action of providing maximum amount

of money every year for the progress of Saryu Canal Project and

keeping in view the importance of the project continuous request

had been made to the Government of India to include this

project into ‘’National Project'’ with a view to completing it

timely. Further action would be taken after getting the money

from the Union Government, he added.

The spokesman said that Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttar

Pradesh is reviewing the project from time to time, in which it

was found that this project got delayed owing to careless

attitude of earlier Governments and the districts which had to be

benefited were devoid of it. He said that an amount of Rs. 78.68

cr. was sanctioned in 1978 for this project. By creating 14.04

lakh hectare irrigation capacity in Ghaghara-Rapti-Doaab, an

amount of Rs. 299.20 cr. was sanctioned on March 24, 1982 on

the name of Saryu Canal Project. The cost of this project was

revised as Rs. 1256.00 cr. in 1992-93. Again, the revised cost

was estimated Rs. 2765.16 cr. in 1998-99.

Giving this information, the Spokesman said that Central

Water Commission had sanctioned the cost of the project as Rs.

7270.32 cr. in the meeting of TAC on March 11, 2010 including

the works of first, second and third phase of Saryu Canal Project.

The Spokesman said that during review it was found that

budgetary provision was not made according to the demand till

1995-96. Railways and National Highway Authority also

constructed bridges with delay. He said that after 1995-96,

money was not made available by Nabard/AIBP.

********

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LESSON 64 FOUR JHANAS PART IV 20 10 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY-Anyone Can Attain Ultimate Bliss Just Visit:http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org-”One who previously made bad kamma, but who reforms and creates good kamma, brightens the world like the moon appearing from behind a cloud.”- The Buddha-BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!-WISDOM IS POWER-Special focus on animation industry-Information Technology

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LESSON 64 FOUR JHANAS PART IV 20 10 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY

Anyone Can Attain Ultimate Bliss Just Visit:http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org

“One who previously made bad kamma, but who reforms and creates good kamma, brightens the world like the moon appearing from behind a cloud.”- The Buddha

BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!

WISDOM IS POWER

Awakened One Shows the Path to Attain Ultimate Bliss

COMPUTER IS AN ENTERTAINMENT INSTRUMENT!

INTERNET!

ENTERTAINMENT NET!

TO BE MOST APPROPRIATE!

Using such an instrument

The Free ONLINE e-Nālandā Research and Practice University has been re-organized to function through the following Schools of Learning :

Buddha’s Sangha Practiced His Dhamma Free of cost, hence the Free- e-Nālandā Research and Practice University follows suit

As the Original Nālandā University did not offer any Degree, so also the Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University.

§ Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , Indian scholar, philosopher and architect of Constitution of India, in his writing and speeches

I.
KAMMA

AWAKEN-NESS

II.
ARHAT

TWELVEFOLD CONDITIONED ARISING

III.

IV.

FOUR APPLICATIONS OF MINDFULNESS

FIVE TYPES OF BUDDHIST STUDY AND PRACTICE

MAHAYANA AND HINAYANA COMPARED

PURE LAND

BUDDHA RECITATION

EIGHT CONSCIOUSNESSES

VI.

with

Level I: Introduction to Buddhism

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Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in

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and

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and Ecology and Environmental Studies

Welcome to the Free Online e-Nālandā Research and Practice University

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FOUR JHANAS PART IV

http://noaimiloa.livejournal.com/49509.html

THE FOUR JHANAS - The Buddha
THE FOUR JHANAS

From A Buddhist Dictionary: Manual of Buddhist Terms and Doctrines:

jhana: ‘absorption’ (meditation) refers chiefly to the four meditative absorptions of the fine-material sphere (rupa-jjhana or rupavacara-jjhana; see: avacara). They are achieved through the attainment of full (or attainment-, or ecstatic) concentration (appana, see: samadhi) during which there is a complete, though temporary suspension of the fivefold sense-activity and of the 5 hindrances (see: nivarana). The state of consciousness, however is one of full alertness and lucidity. This high degree of concentration is generally developed by the practice of one of the 40 subjects of tranquility meditation (samatha-kammatthana; see: bhavana). Often called the 4 immaterial spheres (arupayatanaare called absorptions of the immaterial sphere (arupa-jjhana or arupavacara-jjhana).

Samadhanga Sutta

The Four Jhanas

There is the case where a monk — quite withdrawn from sensuality, withdrawn from unskillful qualities — enters and remains in the first jhana:

rapture and pleasure born from withdrawal, accompanied by directed thought and evaluation. He permeates and pervades, suffuses and fills this very body with the rapture and pleasure born from withdrawal. There is nothing of his entire body unpervaded by rapture and pleasure born from withdrawal.

Furthermore, with the stilling of directed thought and evaluation, he enters and remains in the second jhana:

rapture and pleasure born of composure, unification of awareness free from directed thought and evaluation — internal assurance. He permeates and pervades, suffuses and fills this very body with the rapture and pleasure born of composure. There is nothing of his entire body unpervaded by rapture and pleasure born of composure.

And furthermore, with the fading of rapture, he remains in equanimity, mindful and alert, and physically sensitive to pleasure. He enters and remains in the third jhana, of which the Noble Ones declare, ‘Equanimous and mindful, he has a pleasurable abiding.’:

He permeates and pervades, suffuses and fills this very body with the pleasure divested of rapture, so that there is nothing of his entire body unpervaded with pleasure divested of rapture.

And furthermore, with the abandoning of pleasure and stress — as with the earlier disappearance of elation and distress — he enters and remains in the fourth jhana:

purity of equanimity and mindfulness, neither-pleasure-nor-pain. He sits, permeating the body with a pure, bright awareness, so that there is nothing of his entire body unpervaded by pure, bright awareness. (Anguttara Nikaya 5: 28. From: accesstoinsight.org: Samadhanga Sutta.)

Special focus on animation industry

CONVERGENCE of

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT)

INTEGRATED PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT (IPD)

BIOTECHNOLOGY (BT)

NANOTECHNOLOGY (NT)

Focus on small and medium enterprises in the IT sector. “The future growth of IT business in India will be driven by small and medium enterprises, particularly in tier-II and tier-III cities

Focus on several areas of innovation, including the Animation

Innovation Animations

To look at the “innovation” animated cartoon page from the CartoonStock Animation directory, the web’s biggest searchable archive of cartoon animations for licensing.

visit:http://www.cartoonstock.com/animation/directory/i/innovation_animations.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Age_of_American_animation

Golden Age of American animation

The Golden Age of U.S. animation is a period in the United States animation history that began with the advent of sound cartoons in 1928, with a peak between the second half of the 1930s and the first half of the 1940s, and continued into the early 1960s when theatrical animated shorts slowly began losing to the new medium of television animation. Many memorable characters emerged from this period including Bugs Bunny, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Goofy, Popeye, Betty Boop, Woody Woodpecker, Mighty Mouse, Mr. Magoo, Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner , Tom and Jerry, and an incredibly popular adaptation of Superman. Feature length animation also began during this period, most notably with Walt Disney’s first films: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo and Bambi.

http://www.google.co.in/#q=Innovation+in+animation&hl=en&sa=G&prmd=v&source=univ&tbs=vid:1&tbo=u&ei=C9q-TKj3CpCrcaH6xM8N&oi=video_result_group&ct=title&resnum=8&ved=0CD0QqwQwBw&fp=e1a3d43ccb78281d

VFX

Can low budget features deliver great VFX?

Our Cross Channel Film Lab is currently researching the potential of visual effects in low to mid budget feature films (we’re looking at budgets of up to €10 milion). How can the latest technological developments be opened up to film-makers at every level - great VFX no longer solely the preserve of Avatar or even District 9?

The infamous VFX short “Panic Attack” by Uruguayan Fede Alvarez that led to a Hollywood deal, Neill Blomkamp’s pre-District 9 short - these successes demonstrate the potential of low budget ‘bedroom VFX’ (as in VFX made in someone’s bedroom, not VFX set in the bedroom, and probably not literally made in the bedroom, though you never know…) and of individuals using existing software to produce unexpectedly stunning visuals.

Other curious innovations at the very low budget end include international creatives collaborating on projects like Iron Sky at Wreckamovie, offering up an intriguing crowd-sourced VFX paradigm. While Blender continues to be a fascinating model for free ‘3D content creation’ technology that develops with its users.

Will the next tier of low budget VFX be led by innovations in technology - or by innovations in the use of existing technology? Do the most exciting opportunities lie in creating new tools or in bringing the most creative people together to do clever things with standard software? What other opportunities for innovation exist where the development doesn’t cost a fortune?

THE VFX LAB

Our emerging proposal is the creation of a UK/French VFX lab that can match VFX experts and trainees with advanced film projects (and of course their creative teams) to stretch the possibilities of their visions and budgets - ultimately developing short taster tapes for each project as a route to finance. We want to explore whether such a model could inspire lower budget film-makers to realise greater ambitions, and more sensational visual effects…

Our research process is just beginning, and it’s very much a new world to me - so of course, it’s very exciting - and a bit scary. We’re starting to talk to a range of inspiring people about if and how a VFX lab could work. Should it also support professional development and graduate training for creatives and VFX specialists? Does it meet a current need - or are we barking up the wrong computer-generated tree?

WHAT DOES THE INDUSTRY THINK SO FAR?

So far the response has been very positive - there seems to be an appetite amongst VFX professionals for a space where visual effects could be pushed to their limits, where creatives could learn more about the possibilities and costs of VFX, and industry entrants get practical experience of workflows, pipelines and real life projects.

Talking to those on the development side, there also seems to be a growing desire from emerging writers and directors to make films with a distinctive visual sensibility - using visual effects or ‘stereo 3D’ technology at a lower budget level in order to make something really striking, with potential to attract a broad audience.

The UK Film Council mention an increase in material coming in from creative teams with a more ‘comic book’ sensibility or stronger visual aspirations. Gareth Edwards’ up and coming sci-fi film “Monsters” is currently highlighted as a more recent example of great bedroom VFX. While in the world of 3D, “Street Dance 3D” was made for just £5 million (but has already apparently taken £12 million at the UK box office alone) and offers proof that populist 3D films can be made at a lower budget.

The short format also seems to serve a viable purpose when playing with VFX or 3D material - both as an R&D opportunity and a financing tool. The shorts mentioned above have reached a broad audience and led to greater opportunities for new writer/directors. While established producers are also exploring the role of shorts to ease entry into these brave new worlds. Producer Julie Baines recently developed a powerful trailer (not a scene from the proposed film, but a self contained story) for a 3D movie with which to explore the film-makers’ vision, learn about the technology and raise finance for the future film.

I’ve also heard positive examples of VFX companies getting involved in TV projects at a very early stage of development - helping producers to budget effectively, and run their shoot so that they can get the best possible results from a lower VFX budget. Here again, it seems to be more about a creative use of what exists than the development of a completely new process - but we’re keen to explore this further.

THE POLITICAL CONTEXT

It’s also interesting political timing for innovations in VFX. The government has recently announced an independent review into the UK’s VFX and gaming industries - to be delivered by Nesta and Skillset; and the VFX industry is currently on a Home Office Skills Shortage list.

The UK Companies I’ve spoken to so far are busy, particularly with US projects. Recently, visual effects in Inception, Pirates of the Caribbean, and of course Harry Potter’s wizardry have been generated by UK companies. ‘Mid size’ companies likeRushes have doubled in size in the past two years. Yet the VFX industry is still talking about how hard it can be to find graduates with the right skills. There’s clearly a need for some further innovation, and training.

It is of course a very challenging time in the UK for accessing funding for projects that attempt to innovate in film-making. The future for the UK Film Council and regional development agencies looks bleak, and we don’t yet know how the regional screen agencies will fare. Budgets are being cut across the board.

On the positive, this sets a strong context for innovations at the lower budget level. But even if our VFX lab develops into a project with clear value, and we can prove a strong economic benefit for the UK film industry, one of our biggest challenges yet may lie in finding secure sources of funding.

WHAT NEXT?

Our research is ongoing - so everything I’ve mulled over here may change. But at the moment, it’s really exciting to see that a lab with the best talent from the UK and France could serve a clear purpose and generate real progress. And perhaps more importantly, it’s exciting to see genuine potential for low-mid budget film-makers to use VFX in ever more compelling ways.

(And I haven’t even started to talk about the potential benefits of getting VFX practitioners and screenwriters to inspire each other at an early stage - that’s for another post…)

If you have any thoughts about how VFX can best be developed for lower budget films, do please get in touch. We’d love to hear from you.

http://www.davidtan.org/amazing-visual-effects-100-years-of-innovation/

This video shows how visual effects in movies has evolved since 1900.

Innovation in Gaming

Innovation: Why labs love gaming hardware

Innovation is our regular column that highlights emerging technological ideas and where they may lead

Blasting zombies may seem to have little to do with serious research, but video game hardware is helping scientists in a variety of ways including helping them to unravel the mysteries of the brain.

Specialist programmers have long been repurposing the graphics processing units (GPUs) that power action-packed scenes in games for non-graphics tasks. Now recent advances have opened up GPU-based supercomputing to non-specialists.

GPUs have greater raw computational power than conventional CPUs, but have a more limited repertoire of tasks. Combining hundreds of individual processors, they excel at applying simple repetitive calculations to large bodies of data.

Nicolas Pinto of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is using them in his efforts to crack the brain’s formula for recognising objects in images. “The interesting thing about a GPU is that they are made to produce a visual world,” he says. “What we want to do is reverse that process.

Hidden rules

“When an object moves across your retina, it will obey certain rules, the physical rules of the world,” Pinto says. “We are trying to learn these rules from scratch.”

Last year, for less than $3000, he built a 16-GPU “monster” desktop supercomputer to generate and test over 7000 possible variations of an object-recognition algorithm on video clips.

To test each model, Pinto’s makeshift supercomputer performed statistical analysis in both space and time on thousands of frames of video to find objects moving through the scene. Selecting for the models best able to decipher the action, he was able to match or better more traditional approaches.

He says this kind of work would previously have only been possible with a fully fledged supercomputer.

“If we weren’t newcomers in this field and could apply for multi-million dollar grants, then yes, we could probably get one of these massive computers from IBM,” he says. “But if money is an issue, or you are a newcomer, that is too expensive. It’s very cheap to buy a GPU and explore.”

Easy power

The latest graphics cards, from manufacturers ATI and Nvidia have 512 individual processors. By dividing the work among these processors, they can reach speeds of half a trillion calculations per second.

Previously it took specialist programming skills to set GPUs to work on serious, non-graphics science, but the process was difficult and time-consuming.

“The path from describing the problem to getting results was pretty treacherous,” says Nvidia general manager Andy Keane.

“Things were in computer graphics shader languages and texture coordinates – none of the stuff we were used to in scientific computing,” says Chris Johnson, director of the Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. “It was extraordinarily difficult to map your problem to a GPU.”

Johnson says this changed around 2007 with the advent of new programming languages that make it easier for programmers without specialist graphics experience to program GPUs. Since then, researchers in both academia and industry have used them to, for example, analyse astronomical signals,simulate molecular interactions and rapidly check files for malware.

Exaflops beckons

While GPUs make desktop supercomputing accessible to a wide range of researchers, flagship computing centres such as Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee have also taken notice. Oak Ridge announced last October that its next supercomputer, predicted to be the world’s fastest, would be built from GPUs.

“As we look at how to get the next 1000 times faster, to an exaflops, or 10¹⁸calculations per second, we see a lot of big challenges,” says Buddy Bland, a project director at Oak Ridge.

He says that the lab already uses clusters of GPUs for some number-crunching computing tasks such as climate modelling and simulations of supernovas. He says that increased precision and speed, along with reduced power consumption, make the cards an attractive option for the next generation of supercomputers. “We think this is one path to getting the higher-performance computing that we need.”

Read previous Innovation columns
: The Wi-Fi database that shamed Google, One web language to rule them all, Robots look to the cloud for enlightenment, iPad is child’s play but not quite magical, Only mind games will make us save power, Gaze trackers eye computer gamers, Market research wants to open your skull, Sending botnets the way of smallpox,Bloom didn’t start a fuel-cell revolution.

Comics (AVGC) sectorhttp://www.cgtantra.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=399&Itemid=41]

http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/bt/goggles/giguo/1758-duke-nukem-pc

Duke Nukem PC

Innovation in

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT)

Innovators Will Thrive

Future Computer Technology Trends and Innovations: You may have heard that the original author of Executive Boardroom has taken a new job at Sun. After 22 years as the CEO, our founderScott McNealy is stepping up as Chairman of the Board. For this, my inaugural edition of the Executive Boardroom newsletter, I’d like to recognize that while the tone of these letters may be subtly different, Sun’s viewpoint remains the same. In this innovation presentation see howindustry leaders in information technology view future technology trends and computer technology innovation.

Innovation in INTEGRATED PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT (IPD)

MANAGEMENT OF INNOVATION & PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT MBA TRACK

It is the most important business topic of all: identifying and fulfilling the unmet opportunity. Few business schools teach about it. Fewer still give you the experience of doing it.

The Management of Innovation and Product Development track teaches a rigorous and analytical process that structures the work involved in innovation, a process that allows innovation to be ongoing and replicable. Students gain not only knowledge and skills relevant to innovation but also gain experience in an innovation project. The initial phase of the innovation process is to identify problems to solve, which is to elicit what the target market wants even when they don’t yet know it. Middle phases focus on translating research findings into product specifications. The latter phase focuses on conceptualization and refinement of the solutions, both of the product prototype and of the solution business plan. Students learn and experience the process in the corporate-sponsored capstone course, where faculty from Carnegie Mellon’s top ranked schools of business, engineering, and fine arts provide coursework and team guidance.

By design, the track is multidisciplinary, using not only skills from various disciplines but also collaborative platforms to rapidly interconnect marketplace research, design insight, technology solutions, and business models. Companies are simultaneously becoming both analytical and innovative, making the experience and skills from the Management of Innovation and Product Development track relevant and valued in today’s marketplace.

WHO SHOULD APPLY

Graduates of this track are adept at knowing not just how to solve problems but how to define them. They know how to collect and integrate varied perspectives into a valued product (software, service, system, or brand). They know how to communicate their concept in a proposal to senior management and to manage the project through to commercialization. Previous graduates have taken positions at small and large companies that are open to change, including Apple, eBay, PowerCast, RedZone Robotics, Plextronics, and IDEO. Students enrolling in the track should have a rigorous focus on understanding and documenting marketplace needs as well as company technologies, capabilities, and skills. They should be willing to shoulder risk to achieve what they find will be profitable for company and customers alike. Students should want to work in environments where they provide their own structure to their work, maybe even writing their own job description. In sum, applicants should not only exhibit intellectual achievement but also motivation, responsibility, perception, and an open mind.

REQUIRED TRACK COURSES

Track course teach requisite skills for innovation as well as give students the experience of working with topics and people in other relevant disciplines. The track includes the following required courses.

New Product Management
Marketing Research
Interpersonal Negotiation
Groups and Team in Organizations
Industrial Design Fundamentals
Design for Manufacturing (or) Engineering Design (or) Quantitative Methods for Product Design and Development

Students with an engineering degree may be exempted from the engineering requirement. Likewise, students with a degree in industrial design may be exempted from the industrial design requirement. In addition to the required courses, students must complete an additional 1-2 electives selected by the student and approved by the track faculty coordinator. Example electives include:

Design History
Pricing
Marketing Communications and Buyer Behavior
Business to Business Marketing
Brand Strategy
Entrepreneurial Thought & Action
Organizational Power and Influence
Managing Intellectual Capital & Knowledge Intensive Business
Product Planning

The program culminates in a capstone project course that is sponsored by an industry partner. Past sponsors include Ford, New Balance, Respironics, BodyMedia, Dormont Manufacturing, and International Truck. Sponsoring companies have applied for more than 15 patents on student projects in the course.

FACULTY COORDINATOR

For further information about the Management of Innovation and Product Development track, please contact the faculty coordinator:

Peter Boatwright
Associate Professor of Marketing
Tepper School of Business
pbhb@andrew.cmu.edu

Innovation in BIOTECHNOLOGY (BT)

Monopoly Power, Price Discrimination, and Access to Biotechnology Innovations

Albert K.A. Acquaye

Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California, Davis

Greg Traxler

Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, Auburn University

Price discrimination and monopoly power in the provision of an intellectual property (IP) protected innovation are analyzed. A general analytical model parameterized with data from the US introduction of Bt cotton is used to examine welfare transfers from the imposition of price discrimination. When two markets are being served under a one-price policy, total welfare increases from price discrimination because monopolist gains exceed farmer losses. If only one market is being served under a one-price policy, farmers in the new market and the innovator gain, while farmer welfare in the existing market is unchanged.

Key words: agricultural biotechnology, intellectual property protection, monopoly, price discrimination, welfare distribution.

The private sector has dominated the development and delivery of transgenic, or GMO, crop varieties in all countries except China. The commercialization of GMOs has been highly concentrated. Just four crops (cotton, soybeans, maize, and canola) account for virtually all of the GMO area; 97% of world area occurs in five large countries, and 96% of world investment occurs in industrialized countries (James, 2002). Because GMOs originate in the private sector, they are subject to intellectual property (IP) protection. This confers limited monopoly power to innovators and affects research and development (R&D) investment incentives, pricing strategies, and the availability of technology. When the monopolist/innovator is able to prevent buyers from reselling their product, they may be able to price discriminate to accentuate the effects of monopoly power.

In this paper we examine the welfare effects of monopoly and price discrimination in the marketing of biotechnology discoveries. Two main issues are examined. The first issue is the general case of the distribution of benefits when the attempt to price discriminate is added to the effect of intellectual property rights (IPR)-induced monopoly power. Secondly, the effect of price discrimination on the availability of technology in small markets is examined. We demonstrate that even though price discrimination is often considered to be an unwanted market distortion, it may increase total welfare by increasing total output and by making goods available in markets where they would not appear otherwise. The policy implication is that in some cases, allowing price discrimination may be a desirable policy for encouraging private-sector investment in small markets. Several empirical studies have shown that farmers can receive significant benefits from private-sector provision of improved inputs, even in the presence of monopoly power (e.g., Falck-Zepeda, Traxler, & Nelson, 2000; Jefferson-Moore & Traxler, in press; Oehmke & Wolf, 2004; Qaim & Traxler, 2005), but the effect of price discrimination has not been examined within this context.

At present, the majority of biotechnology investments occur in developed countries (Table 1), and about 70% of that investment is from private sources. Few developing countries currently have access to biotechnology products, and virtually all biotechnology products used in developing countries today are spillovers from developed countries.

Table 1. Table 1. Estimates of global R&D expenditures on crop biotechnology, 2001.

Funding source		Expenditures ($ million)
Industrial countries (96%)	Private (70%)	3,100
	Public (30%)	1,120
	Total	4,220
Developing countries (4%)	China	115
	India	25
	Brazil	15
	Others	25
	Total	180
World total		4,400
Note. Data from James (2002).

Monopoly Pricing and Price Discrimination

A monopoly does not always lead to inefficient production due to price-setting behavior. Marginal cost pricing under perfect competition does not guarantee efficiency, because revenues from marginal cost pricing may not always cover total costs and may reduce future investment (Varian, 1996). Robinson (1933) pointed out that the comparison between monopoly and competitive output levels under similar cost structures may be flawed, because a monopolist can only exist in an imperfect market. In addition, the monopolist may have a different cost structure, including a downward-sloping marginal cost curve, from that of the (long run) total cost structure of the perfectly competitive market (Robinson, 1933). Moschini and Lapan (1999) also showed that if the efficiency of the improved seed compared to the conventional variety is high enough, then the monopolist price measured in efficiency units may be lower than the price of conventional seed when measured in efficiency units.

Under certain conditions, it is possible for a monopolist to price discriminate. For the monopolist to take advantage of the different valuation of the output by consumers, arbitrage opportunities must be absent, and the market must be segmented.

The output level and welfare impact of adding price discrimination to monopoly power has received a significant amount of attention dating back to Pigou (1920) and Robinson (1933) with substantial recent contributions from Varian (1985,1996), Schmalensee (1981), and others. Few general conclusions can be drawn from the literature, but the change in output and welfare induced through price discrimination can be analytically determined for any given case. Robinson showed that differences in “concavities” of the marginal revenue curves of the separate markets is necessary for price discrimination to lead to an increase in total output. She went on to say that whenever total output produced under discrimination is higher than under simple monopoly, society is better off, and in situations where total output under discrimination and simple monopoly are the same, society may be better off depending on the tradeoff between welfare of the “weak” (more elastic) markets compared to the “strong” (less elastic) markets. A number of studies, including Schmalensee (1981), Varian (1985), Shih, Mai, and Liu (1988), and Layson (1988) have attempted to refine these claims.

A review of these studies indicates that whether discrimination leads to an increase or decrease in social welfare is an empirical question. Knowledge of the shape of the demand and marginal revenue curves and the magnitude of the demand elasticities (and to some extent, the shape of the marginal cost curve) help to determine the sign and magnitude of the change in welfare. However, it is unequivocal that with price discrimination, total output and welfare will increase if small (niche) markets that would otherwise be priced out of the market for the technology enter the market at the lower discriminated price (Varian, 1996).

Three types of price discrimination are discussed in the literature. We assume third-degree price discrimination in the market for cotton seed.¹ Here, buyers may be grouped into a number of separate segments. Each segment pays a different price for the same output. The more elastic group pays a lower price than the less elastic markets. With regard to the welfare implications of third-degree price discrimination, the seller captures more of the benefits and possibly less deadweight loss than a nondiscriminating monopolist. In addition, there is a redistribution of benefits among buyers—from the less elastic to the more elastic markets.

Price Discrimination in the Seed Market

The sunk or fixed costs of developing an innovation such as herbicide tolerance are often large. However, once developed, the marginal cost of producing additional improved seed is very small. The laws and enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR) have provided innovating firms with some monopoly power in the market for seeds (Falck-Zepeda et al., 2000), allowing the innovating firms to set a price higher than marginal cost. This provides a powerful incentive for private-sector innovation, for without monopoly power innovators may not be able to cover their total costs, thus restricting the range of technologies available to farmers. In the section that follows we present a model that compares the welfare consequences of price discrimination versus a one-price policy for an IP protected innovation suitable for two separated markets. The implication is that if the ability to price discriminate is restricted through natural arbitrage or commercial policy, total welfare may be less.

Bt cotton presents a case of potential price discrimination. Monsanto has been essentially a monopoly supplier of Bt cotton because it owns the patents to the key genetic events—even though a number of seed companies sell a number of different varieties of Bt cotton, they all rely on the same genetic event. (In 2003, Dow and Syngenta each successfully petitioned for deregulation of a genetically modified Bt cotton variety, which may erode Monsanto’s monopoly position.) The potential for a monopolist to price discriminate in Bt cotton exists for two reasons. First, upland cotton varieties tend to react to small agro-climatic variations, restricting possibilities for spatial arbitrage. This allows a certain amount of price discrimination by geographic area. Second, Monsanto (or other companies) could require the farmer to sign a technology contract with a “no resale” clause in it, effectively segmenting the market.

The Model

Assume that the price-discriminating monopolist faces two or more demand schedules that describe the monopolist’s markets: Q₁ = Q₁(P) and Q₂ = Q₂(P). With price (P), total demand faced by the monopolist is then

Q_T = Q₁(P) + Q₂(P).

(1)

The nondiscriminating monopolist maximizes profit such that

MR_T = P(1 + 1/η_T) = c′(Q_T) = MC(Q_T),

(2)

where MR_T is the marginal revenue of total demand, MC(Q_T) is the marginal cost of production, and η_T = ∂Q_TP / ∂PQ_T is the elasticity of total demand. The profit-maximizing total quantity produced by the nondiscriminating monopolist is

Q_T(P) = Q_T( η_Tc′(Q_T) / η_T+1 ) = Q₁( η_Tc′(Q_T) / η_T+1 ) + Q₂( η_Tc′(Q_T) / η_T+1 ).

(3)

The price-discriminating monopolist maximizes profits when MR₁ = MR₂ = MR_T= MC(Q_T) = c′(Q_T), so for market i,

MR_i = P_i(1 + 1/η_i) = c′(Q_T) = MC(Q_T),

(4)

where η_i = ∂Q_iP_i / ∂P_iQ_i is the elasticity of market i demand. Thus, the profit-maximizing total quantity produced by the discriminating monopolist is

Q_DT(P) = Q₁( η₁c′(Q_T) / η₁+1 ) + Q₂( η₂c′(Q_T) / η₂+1 ).

(5)

As shown by Robinson (1933), Schmalensee (1981), and Varian (1985), there is an increase in welfare from a simple monopoly to a price-discriminating monopoly only if total quantity produced increases. Welfare change is the sum of monopoly profit and consumer surplus changes.² Consumer surplus changes are the change in the area beneath the respective demand curves as a result of the price changes, and monopoly profit is the product of the difference between the technology fee and average cost (or marginal cost, because we model constant marginal cost) and the quantity of seed demanded by the market.

Welfare Calculations

To calculate the distribution of benefits from price discrimination we follow the general procedures outlined in Alston, Norton, and Pardey (1996). Farmer benefits from discrimination are the change in consumer surplus—the area beneath the respective input demand curves and above the market price. Benefits to the innovator are taken to be the change in monopoly profit—the area above the marginal cost curve and the below the price in each market.

If the output market is competitive, the change in consumer surplus measured in the input market is equal to the change in total surplus in the output market (Jacobsen 1979; Schmalensee, 1976). For this study, we assume that farmers sell their output in a competitive market, so total welfare change from the introduction of the improved technology is the sum of the change in monopoly profit in the intermediate (seed) market and the change in consumer surplus in the input market (Moschini & Lapan, 1997). Also, Just and Hueth (1979) showed that when demand curves are estimated econometrically without including prices in other linked markets, the demand obtained is equivalent to a general equilibrium demand curve, and thus the welfare areas calculated in the seed market comprise the total welfare change within the system.

Data

We use data from Hubbell, Marra, and Carlson (2000) empirically to examine the case of potential price discrimination in Bt cotton. Hubbell et al. (2000) presented, using data for 1996, the Bt cotton demand of cotton growers in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina divided into two regions (Upper South and Lower South) with different levels of insect resistance to pesticides and therefore with two derived demand curves. The objective of their study was to simulate the costs of reducing conventional insecticide applications through subsidization of Bt cotton. The total Bt cotton seed demand for the region comprises the Upper South (North Carolina and South Carolina) with no resistance experience (US/NR) and the Lower South (Alabama and Georgia) with some resistance experience (LS/R). Demand for Bt cotton is less elastic when insects are resistant to chemical pesticides. Data for Hubbell et al. (2000) were obtained from a survey of cotton growers conducted in 1997. From Hubbell et al. (2000), Bt cotton demand was:

BTACRES = Pr(z(p))(BTPROP(v(p))(TOTCOT),

(6)

where BTACRES is the number of acres planted to Bt cotton, Pr(z(p)) is the probability that a farmer adopts the Bt cotton technology at price p, BTPROP is the proportion of cotton land planted to Bt cotton once the decision is made to adopt, and TOTCOT is the total cotton area in the region. Further, the probability of adoption is calculated as Pr(z(p)) = 1 - Φ(z(p)), where Φ(z) is the standard normal cumulative density, and z(p) = x′β + α(Δy - p) was estimated to obtain estimates of β and α, the coefficients of the variables of farm and farmer attributes (x) and price, respectively. Farm and farmer attributes included in thex vector were total acres planted to cotton, share of income from cotton, percentage damaged bolls in 1995, operator’s age, number of years of growing cotton, and dummy variables for insect resistance to conventional insecticides experienced in 1995, farm location, and college education by the operator.

The proportion of cotton land planted to Bt cotton was estimated asBTPROP(v(p)) = w′γ_w + γ_pp + γ_λλ, where w is the vector of farm and farmer attributes and λ(z(p)) is the Mills ratio included as a variable, because BTPROP is only observed for those farmers who either adopted in 1996 or indicated their willingness to adopt at the hypothetical technology fee. Farm and farmer attributes included in the BTPROP equation were share of income from cotton, percentage damaged bolls in 1995, number of years growing cotton, and dummy variables for insect resistance to conventional insecticides experienced in 1995, farm location, and college education by the operator.

Results and Discussion

Using the demand curves for US/NR and LS/R from Hubbell et al. (2000), we determined the profit-maximizing discrimination prices and quantities for each region when the innovator (monopolist) is able to discriminate. The marginal cost of the innovator was estimated from the technology fee and the total demand elasticity (using Equation 2). The elasticity of total demand at a given price was estimated as

η_T = (Q_US/NRη_US/NR + Q_LS/Rη_LS/R) / Q_T.

(7)

Given the demand function in Equation 6, elasticity of demand in market i = US/NR, LS/R is

η_i = p × [(∂Pr(z_i) / ∂p) × BTPROP(v_i) + (∂BTPROP(v_i) / ∂p) × Pr(z_i)] × (TOTCOT_i / BTACRES_i).

(8)

At the observed market price in 1996 of $32/acre, the elasticity of total demand was estimated as -2.1, which results in an implied marginal cost of $16.88/acre.

We assume constant marginal cost and the same cost structure whether or not discrimination occurs.³ By equating the individual marginal revenues to estimated marginal cost of total production, we obtained the profit-maximizing prices that the price-discriminating innovator can charge in each market. Figure 1 presents an initial situation under monopoly pricing (selling quantities a and bin the two markets), where total marginal revenue equals marginal cost, and shows the potential change from uniform pricing to price discrimination. Because US/NR is the more elastic market, the innovator charges a lower price (at point c) and sells more (from point b to point f) to farmers in that region and charges a higher price (at point d) and sells less (from point a to point g) to farmers in the less elastic market. With a marginal cost of about $16.88/acre, the innovator can charge about $25.92/acre in US/NR and about $33.09/acre in LS/R.

Figure 1. Effects of price discrimination of Bt cotton seed in Southern United States.

Note. Data from Hubbell et al. (2000) and authors’ computations.

At the discriminatory prices, the number of acres cultivated to Bt cotton would increase from about 60 to 142 thousand acres in US/NR and decrease from about 747 to 701 thousand acres in LS/R. The total number of Bt cotton acres will increase by about 35 thousand acres. Table 2 shows the change in quantities, prices, and welfare in both markets after price discrimination. Under price discrimination, total welfare, computed as the sum of consumer surplus and monopoly profit, increases.⁴ Welfare to farmers in US/NR increases by about 32%, while welfare to farmers in LS/R decreases by about 3% of the value of Bt cotton seed initially sold in each market. The monopolist’s profits increase by 2%.

Because both markets were being served under uniform pricing, welfare of farmers in one of the markets (in this example, LS/R) necessarily decreases under differential pricing.

Table 2. Change in prices, quantities, and welfare under price discrimination.

Region	Price ($/acre)		Quantity (acre)		Welfare change ($)	Welfare change as a share of initial cost of seed (%)
Region	Initial	Discriminating	Initial	Discriminating	Welfare change ($)	Welfare change as a share of initial cost of seed (%)
Upper South	32	25.92	60,496	142,279	616,198	32
Lower South	32	33.09	747,499	700,551	-792,233	-3
Innovator	32		807,995	842,830	428,626	2
Total welfare change					252,590^a
Note. Data from authors’ computations using Hubbell et al. (2000). ^a Differences due to rounding error.

Conclusion

In this paper, we analyzed the welfare effect of adding price discrimination to monopoly power in the provision of IP-protected innovations. The theoretical literature has produced few general results regarding the welfare implications of price discrimination, suggesting that empirical studies are needed. We presented a general analytical model which was parameterized using data from the introduction of Bt cotton in the southern United States. Results suggest that where both markets are being served under a one-price policy, there is a welfare loss to farmers in the less elastic market and gains to the innovator and farmers in the more elastic market.

In the Bt cotton case, the fact that the innovator (Monsanto) was not price discriminating at the time the data for this study were collected may have been due to the difficulty in preventing arbitrage between markets. Spatial arbitrage is more difficult when the second market is in a developing country (niche) market because of the geographical separation of the two markets. In this situation, a policy of differential input pricing will benefit the innovator by helping defray the investment incurred by the innovators and may represent a path for assisting developing countries to gain access to new technologies generated by R&D efforts.

A more interesting case is that of a small market not being served under uniform pricing (for instance, the case of most developing countries) but that may obtain access to the technology under price discrimination. The ability to use price discrimination to market biotechnology innovations in separated markets may be more important for developing countries to access these innovations, even though this is a controversial subject. However, this is a potentially important strategy for providing access to needed technology that may benefit both the biotechnology industry and the small market countries. Without access to cost-reducing technologies, developing countries that compete with developed-country producers will see welfare reduced because of the output price-reducing impact of technological change. Putting in place conditions under which firms are able to price discriminate across international markets holds the potential to enhance developing-country access to private-sector technology.

Endnotes

¹ We model third-degree price discrimination, which may occur when markets are characterized by different demand schedules and when few arbitrage opportunities exist. To some extent, this form of price discrimination is curently employed by innovators who charge lower prices in some (small and more elastic) foreign markets than in (large and less elastic) domestic markets. First- and second-degree price discrimination, characterized by charging a different price for each unit and by charging different prices depending on the quantity purchased, are not likely to occur in the cotton seed market.

² Benefits to cotton producers are referred to as consumer surplus, because we are dealing with the market for seed.

³ This is assumed to simplify the analysis, but even if this were not true, the relevant marginal cost for determining the discriminating prices and quantities for the two regions is the marginal cost of total production. Thus, assuming constant marginal cost is not a limiting assumption. However, if the cost structure of the innovator changes if they are allowed or able to discriminate, then the shape/slope of the marginal cost would be significant.

⁴ The demand functions are not linear, so the estimates of consumer surplus obtained are only approximations—but good approximations, because the price changes are not too large.

References

Alston, J.M., Norton, G.W., & Pardey, P.G. (1996). Science under scarcity: Principles and practices for agricultural research evaluation and priority setting. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

Falck-Zepeda, J.B., Traxler G., & Nelson R.G. (2000). Surplus distribution from the introduction of a biotechnology innovation. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 82(2), 360-369.

Jacobsen, S.E. (1979). On the equivalence of input and output market marshallian surplus measures. American Economic Review, 69(3), 423-428.

James, C. (2002). Global review of commercialized transgenic crops: 2001 feature: Bt cotton (ISAAA briefs 26). Ithaca, NY: International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications. Available on the World Wide Web:http://www.isaaa.org/kc/Publications/pdfs/isaaabriefs/Briefs%2026a.pdf.

Jefferson-Moore, K.Y., & Traxler, G. (in press). Second-generation GMOs: Where to from here? AgBioForum. Available on the World Wide Web:http://www.agbioforum.org/.

Just, R.E., & Hueth, D.L. (1979). Welfare measures in a multimarket framework.American Economic Review, 69(5), 947-954.

Hubbell, B.J., Marra, M.C., & Carlson, G.A. (2000). Estimating the demand for a new technology: Bt cotton and insecticide policies. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 82(1), 118-132.

Layson, S. (1988). Third-degree price discrimination, welfare and profits: A geometrical analysis. American Economic Review, 78(5), 1131-1132.

Moschini, G., & Lapan, H. (1997). Intellectual property rights and the welfare effects of agricultural R&D. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 79(4), 1229-1242.

Oehmke, J.F., & Wolf, C.A. (2004). Why is Monsanto leaving money on the table? Monopoly pricing and technology valuation distributions with heterogeneous adopters. Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, 36(3), 705-718.

Pigou, A.C. (1920). The economics of welfare (1st ed.). London: Macmillan.

Qaim, M., & Traxler, G. (2005). Roundup ready soybeans in Argentina: Farm level, environmental, and welfare effects. Agricultural Economics, 32(1), 73-86.

Robinson, J. (1933). The economics of imperfect competition (1st ed.). London: Macmillan.

Schmalensee, R. (1976). Another look at the social valuation of input price changes. American Economic Review, 66(1), 239-243.

Schmalensee, R. (1981). Output and welfare implications of monopolistic third-degree price discrimination. American Economic Review, 71(1), 242-247.

Shih, J., Mai C., & Liu J. (1988). A general analysis of the output effect under third-degree price discrimination. Economic Journal, 98(389), 149-158.

Varian, H.R. (1985). Price discrimination and social welfare. American Economic Review, 75(4), 870-875.

Varian, H.R. (1996). Differential pricing and efficiency. First Monday, 1(2). Available on the World Wide Web:http://www.firstmonday.dk/issues/issue2/different/index.html.

Authors’ Notes

Albert K.A. Acquaye is a project economist in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California, Davis. Greg Traxler is a professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, Auburn University. The authors wish to thank Michele Marra for kindly agreeing to share data for use in this study and James Oehmke and Carl Pray for their useful comments and suggestions. Financial support was received from the USDA/IFAFS.

Innovation in NANOTECHNOLOGY (NT)

Strategies for sustainable design of nanotechnology products

Innovations in Nanotechnology (NT) inspire designers and entrepreneurs to deploy nanomaterials for the creation of products that offer superior functions. There are high expectations on NT to enable substantial benefits for sustainable production and consumption. For instance, there are opportunities for improvements of energy and resource efficiency in various industrial and consumer sectors. Moreover, reduction in the use of hazardous chemical substances in products seems possible if nanomaterials replace for them. On the other hand, the use of nanoparticles in consumer products has given raise to concerns over their safety to human health and the environment. Thus far, the scientific knowledge on risks of NT is insufficient but there are early warnings that free nanoparticles can have adverse side effects.

How can prudent designers and enterprises utilize NT for the creation of innovative products that are economically and ecologically sustainable? How to take advantage of NT while avoiding unsustainable side effects?

The workshop provides a forum for knowledge cooperation and networking among researchers, designers and entrepreneurs that are interested in NT. It allows for exchange of ideas on sustainable NT and experiences (lessons learned) with mitigating risks. The aim of the workshop is encouraging a goal-oriented discussion on risk preventative innovation strategies in NT. The session starts with a short introduction in the opportunities and risks of NT as a basis for further discourse. Then, the participants engage in parallel round table discussions. They will be prompted with pre-defined questions and asked to elaborate propositions how to use NT in service of sustainable innovation.

The intended outcome of the workshop is an agenda to move nanotechnology into the real world in a sustainable way for the benefit of society, the economy and the environment.

The Scanning Probe Microscope SOLVER NEXT

The Scanning Probe Microscope SOLVER NEXT – the Product of NT-MDT Co. – got the Grand Prix of the Federal Russian Competition “Russian Innovations”

On May 27th 2010 the Federal Russian Competition “Russian Innovations” summed up and hanged over awards. The Scanning Probe Microscope SOLVER NEXT by the global nanotech producer NT-MDT Co. got the Grand Prix of the competition. The main goal of the competition is to announce and promote new innovative products, systems and tools in Russia and worldwide.

The Competition “Russian Innovations” is 9 years old. It is held by authoritative Russian media holding “Expert”. The partners of the event are the main nanoorganizations in the country “RUSNANO” and “RUSATOM”. The competition is an essential part of Russian innovation and nanotechnology development program. It plays a very important role in launching and promoting new high-tech developments in Russia and worldwide. Getting publicity to nanodevelopers and producers, the event increases investing rate in nanosector. Moreover, the competition helps to expertise new tools and ideas and to select only perspective ones. So, it raises the confidence rate to nanosector in Russia.

The Scanning Probe Microscope SOLVER NEXT has managed to receive Grand Prix of the “Russian Innovations-2010″. Its producer NT-MDT Co. names it “the state-of-the-art company’s development”. This tool offers both atomic force (AFM) and scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) under one hood. This enables researchers to gain the fastest time to results, excellent performance, increased accuracy, high reliability and unprecedented ease-of-use with no loss in resolution. The flexible, sleek and functional system incorporates smart software, automated head exchange, and motorized sample positioning under video monitored control. This allows for high quality images without the need for specially trained operators.
The system has closed-loop sensors to compensate for inherent piezoelectric imperfections such as scan nonlinearity, creep and hysteresis. With two additional removable heads for operating in liquid environments and nanoindentation one has the freedom to work with a variety of samples, measuring modes and conditions. TheSOLVER NEXT has an advanced controller with a vast library of scripts and both Mac® and Windows® compatibilities. The result is an image-friendly operating system well-suited to large file, 3-dimensional mathematics and manipulation.

So, the tool is designed to meet a researcher’s current and future needs. This innovative device at the forefront of scientific research opens up new paths of study in different fields of nanotechnology, providing all user levels with a full range of conventional SPM measuring techniques (such as topography, phase imaging, nanolithography and more). SOLVER NEXT provides a robust, diverse, and economic solution for universities, industrial, routine biological and pharmaceutical labs. It makes AFM and STM accessible to a broader audience, even offering a special iPhone™ applet for simple image analysis and image sharing.
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Information Technology

Information technology (IT) is “the study, design, development, application, implementation, support or management of computer-basedinformation systems, particularly software applications and computer hardware”, according to the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA).IT deals with the use of electronic computers and computer software to securely convert, store, protect, process,transmit, input, output, and retrieve information.

General information

As it pertains to technology, IT spans a wide variety of areas that include but are not limited to things such as Processes, Computer Software, Computer Hardware, Programming Languages, and Data Constructs. In short, anything that renders data, information or perceived knowledge in any visual format whatsoever, via any multimedia distribution mechanism, is considered part of the domain space known as Information Technology (IT).

As it pertains to organizations within enterprises, IT represents an operational group that helps solve such problems as those related to data, information and knowledge capture, persistence, processing, brokering, discovery and rendering. Such organizations can be as small as one or two people that can be shared between multiple small business and as large as multi-billion dollar structures that are common in all Fortune 500 enterprises.

Today, the term information has ballooned to encompass many aspects of computing and technology, and the term has become very recognizable. IT professionals perform a variety of functions (IT Disciplines/Competencies) that range from installing applications to designing complex computer networks and information databases. A few of the duties that IT professionals perform may include data management, networking, engineering computer hardware, database and software design, as well as management and administration of entire systems. Information technology is starting to spread farther than the conventional personal computer and network technology, and more into integrations of other technologies such as the use of cell phones, televisions, automobiles, and more, which is increasing the demand for such jobs.

In the recent past, ABET and the ACM have collaborated to form accreditation and curriculum standards for degrees in Information Technology as a distinct field of study separate from both Computer Science andInformation Systems. SIGITE is the ACM working group for defining these standards. The Worldwide IT services revenue totaled $763 billion in 2009.It is important to consider the overall value chain in technology development projects, as the challenge for the value creation is increasing with the growing competitiveness between organizations. The concept of value creation through technology is heavily dependent upon the alignment of technology and business strategies. While the value creation for an organization is a network of relationships between internal and external environments, technology plays a role in improving the overall value chain of an organization. However, this increase requires business and technology management to work as a creative, synergistic, and collaborative team instead of a purely mechanistic span of control. Technology can help an organization improve its competitive advantage within the industry in which it resides and generate superior performance at a greater value.

Sector structure/Market size

The Indian information technology (IT) industry has played a key role in putting India on the global map. Thanks to the success of the IT industry, India is now a power to reckon with. According to the annual report 2009-10, prepared by the Department of Information Technology (DIT), the IT-BPO industry is expected to garner a revenue aggregate of US$ 73.1 billion in 2009-10 as compared to US$ 69.4 billion in 2008-09, growing at a rate of over 5 per cent. The report predicts that the Indian IT-BPO revenues may reach US$ 225 billion in 2020.

According to DIT, the Indian software and services exports is expected to reach US$ 49.7 billion in 2009-10 as compared to US$ 47.1 billion in 2008-09, registering an increase of 5.5 per cent in dollar terms. Further, the IT services exports is estimated to grow from US$ 25.8 billion in 2008-09 to US$ 27.3 billion in 2009-10, showing a growth of 5.8 per cent.

Moreover, according to a study by Springboard Research published in February 2010, the Indian information technology (IT) market is expected to grow at around 15.5 per cent in 2010, on the back of growing investor confidence and favourable initiatives taken by the government.

The data centre services market in the country is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.7 per cent between 2009 and 2011, to touch close to US$ 2.2 billion by the end of 2011, according to research firm IDC India’s report published in March 2010. The IDC India report stated that the overall India data centre services market in 2009 was estimated at US$ 1.39 billion.

As per a report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and market research firm IMRB, the total number of Internet users in India reached 71 million in 2009. The number of active users increased to 52 million in September 2009 from 42 million in September 2008, registering a growth of 19 per cent year-on-year, stated the report.

According to IDC India, during January-March 2010, total PC sales in India reached 2,240,000 units registering a year-on-year increase of 33 per cent over the same period in 2009. Desktop PC sales witnessed a year-on-year increase of 18 per cent during January-March 2010, over the corresponding period last year to reach 1,436,000 units. The sales of Notebook computers also increased by 72 per cent year-on-year, clocking 803,000 shipments.

Outsourcing

India is a preferred destination for companies looking to offshore their IT and back-office functions. It also retains its low-cost advantage and is a financially attractive location when viewed in combination with the business environment it offers and the availability of skilled people.

Some big deals in the outsourcing space include:

Wipro Ltd, an IT services company, has entered into a strategic collaboration with Hitachi Data Systems, to offer co-branded products and services on Hitachi Technology in India.
Software company, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has won a multi-year outsourcing contract from Norway-based telecom company, Telenor Norway to provide application maintenance and development services.
HCL Technologies has entered into a five-year IT infrastructure outsourcing deal with Singapore Exchange (SGX) for US$ 110 million. The company has also won a US$ 500 million strategic IT outsourcing contract from US-based drug manufacturer, Merck Sharp and Dohme (MSD).
Computer services firm, Mahindra Satyam has signed a four-year offshore contract with Denmark-based IT company, KMD for US$ 48 million.
Software exporter Patni Computer Systems won a five-year IT and back-office contract potentially worth around US$ 200 million from US-based health insurance provider Universal American.
Domestic Markets

The market for enterprise networking equipment in India is estimated to grow from US$ 1 billion in 2008 to US$ 1.7 billion by 2012, recording a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15 per cent during this period, according to a study by Springboard Research titled ‘Epicenter of Growth–Indian Enterprise Networking Equipment Market Report’ released in December 2009.

Investments
- Between April 2000 and March 2010, the computer software and hardware sector received cumulative foreign direct investment (FDI) of US$ 9,872.49 million, according to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion.
- The total investments of EMC Corporation, a leading global player of information infrastructure solutions in India, will touch US$ 2 billion (over US$ 2.01 billion) by 2014.
- Syntel, an IT company, plans to invest around US$ 50 million in its global development centre in Chennai.
- Russian IT security software provider, Kaspersky Lab, will be investing US$ 2 million in its India operations at Hyderabad during the next financial year.
Government Initiatives
- The government has constituted the Technical Advisory Group for Unique Projects (TAGUP) under the chairmanship of Nandan Nilekani. The Group would develop IT infrastructure in five key areas, which includes the New Pension System (NPS) and the Goods and Services Tax (GST)
- The government set up the National Taskforce on Information Technology and Software Development with the objective of framing a long term National IT Policy for the country
- Enactment of the Information Technology Act, which provides a legal framework to facilitate electronic commerce and electronic transactions
- Setting up of Software Technology Parks of India (STPIs) in 1991 for the promotion of software exports from the country, there are currently 51 STPI centres where apart from exemption from customs duty available for capital goods there are also exemptions from service tax, excise duty, and rebate for payment of Central Sales Tax. But the most important incentive available is 100 per cent exemption from Income Tax of export profits, which has been extended till 31st March 2011
- Government is also setting up Information Technology Investment Regions (ITIRs). These regions would be endowed with excellent infrastructure and would reap the benefits of co-siting, networking and greater efficiency through use of common infrastructure and support services
Moreover, according to NASSCOM government, IT spend was US$ 3.2 billion in 2009 and is expected to reach US$ 5.4 billion by 2011. Further, according to NASSCOM, there is US$ 9 billion business opportunity in e-governance in India.

Road Ahead

The Indian information technology sector continues to be one of the sunshine sectors of the Indian economy showing rapid growth and promise.

According to a report prepared by McKinsey for NASSCOM called ‘Perspective 2020: Transform Business, Transform India’ released in May 2009, the exports component of the Indian industry is expected to reach US$ 175 billion in revenue by 2020. The domestic component will contribute US$ 50 billion in revenue by 2020. Together, the export and domestic markets are likely to bring in US$ 225 billion in revenue, as new opportunities emerge in areas such as public sector and healthcare and as geographies including Brazil, Russia, China and Japan opt for greater outsourcing.

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10/19/10

LESSON 63 FOUR JHANAS PART III 19 10 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY-Anyone Can Attain Ultimate Bliss Just Visit:http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org-”We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.”- The Buddha-BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!-WISDOM IS POWER-GOOD GOVERNANCE-Hon’ble C.M. ji requests P.M. to provide Rs. 2351 cr. Central aid for flood affected areas Hon’ble C.M. ji requests Centre to approve pending projects at the earliest Centre should approve Rs. 5962 cr. under PMGSY and Rs. 9700 cr. under RGGVY for rural electrification— Hon’ble Chief Minister Ji Centre should immediately release pending amount for OBC scholarships Special Area Incentive Package should be sanctioned for Bundelkhand and Poorvanchal C.M. requests Centre to approve TIA project immediately-C.M. greets people on Dussehra Vijaydashmi symbolises win of truth over falsehood — Hon’ble C.M.-Gold, silver and bonze medal winners of U. P. in Commonwealth Games to be honoured with Manyawar Sri Kanshiram ji International Sports Award by Hon’ble Chief Minister

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LESSON 63 FOUR JHANAS PART III 19 10 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY

Anyone Can Attain Ultimate Bliss Just Visit:http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org

“We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.”- The Buddha

BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!

WISDOM IS POWER

Awakened One Shows the Path to Attain Ultimate Bliss

COMPUTER IS AN ENTERTAINMENT INSTRUMENT!

INTERNET!

ENTERTAINMENT NET!

TO BE MOST APPROPRIATE!

Using such an instrument

The Free ONLINE e-Nālandā Research and Practice University has been re-organized to function through the following Schools of Learning :

Buddha’s Sangha Practiced His Dhamma Free of cost, hence the Free- e-Nālandā Research and Practice University follows suit

As the Original Nālandā University did not offer any Degree, so also the Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University.

§ Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , Indian scholar, philosopher and architect of Constitution of India, in his writing and speeches

I.
KAMMA

AWAKEN-NESS

II.
ARHAT

TWELVEFOLD CONDITIONED ARISING

BODHISATTVA

PARAMITA

SIX PARAMITAS

III.

SIX SPIRITUAL POWERS

SIX PATHS OF REBIRTH

TEN DHARMA REALMS

FIVE SKANDHAS

EIGHTEEN REALMS

FIVE MORAL PRECEPTS

IV.

MEDITATION

MINDFULNESS

FOUR APPLICATIONS OF MINDFULNESS

FOUR FORMLESS REALMS

FIVE TYPES OF BUDDHIST STUDY AND PRACTICE

MAHAYANA AND HINAYANA COMPARED

PURE LAND

BUDDHA RECITATION

EIGHT CONSCIOUSNESSES

ONE HUNDRED DHARMAS

EMPTINESS

VI.

DEMON

LINEAGE

with

Level I: Introduction to Buddhism

Level II: Buddhist Studies

TO ATTAIN

Level III: Stream-Enterer

Level IV: Once - Returner

Level V: Non-Returner
Level VI: Arhat

Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in

mathematics,

astronomy,

alchemy,

and

anatomy

Philosophy and Comparative Religions;

Historical Studies;

International Relations and Peace Studies;

Business Management in relation to Public Policy and Development Studies;

Languages and Literature;

and Ecology and Environmental Studies

Welcome to the Free Online e-Nālandā Research and Practice University

Course Programs:

FOUR JHANAS PART III

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sacca/sacca4/samma-samadhi/jhana.html

Jhana

jhana

Jhana is a meditative state of profound stillness and concentration in which the mind becomes fully immersed and absorbed in the chosen object of attention. It is the cornerstone in the development of Right Concentration.

The definition (with similes)

[FIRST JHANA]

“There is the case where a monk — quite withdrawn from sensuality, withdrawn from unskillful qualities — enters and remains in the first jhana: rapture and pleasure born from withdrawal, accompanied by directed thought and evaluation. He permeates and pervades, suffuses and fills this very body with the rapture and pleasure born from withdrawal. There is nothing of his entire body unpervaded by rapture and pleasure born from withdrawal.

“Just as if a skilled bathman or bathman’s apprentice would pour bath powder into a brass basin and knead it together, sprinkling it again and again with water, so that his ball of bath powder — saturated, moisture-laden, permeated within and without — would nevertheless not drip; even so, the monk permeates, suffuses and fills this very body with the rapture and pleasure born of withdrawal. There is nothing of his entire body unpervaded by rapture and pleasure born from withdrawal…

[SECOND JHANA]

“Furthermore, with the stilling of directed thoughts & evaluations, he enters and remains in the second jhana: rapture and pleasure born of composure, unification of awareness free from directed thought and evaluation — internal assurance. He permeates and pervades, suffuses and fills this very body with the rapture and pleasure born of composure. There is nothing of his entire body unpervaded by rapture and pleasure born of composure.

“Just like a lake with spring-water welling up from within, having no inflow from east, west, north, or south, and with the skies periodically supplying abundant showers, so that the cool fount of water welling up from within the lake would permeate and pervade, suffuse and fill it with cool waters, there being no part of the lake unpervaded by the cool waters; even so, the monk permeates and pervades, suffuses and fills this very body with the rapture and pleasure born of composure. There is nothing of his entire body unpervaded by rapture and pleasure born of composure…

[THIRD JHANA]

“And furthermore, with the fading of rapture, he remains equanimous, mindful, & alert, and senses pleasure with the body. He enters & remains in the third jhana, of which the Noble Ones declare, ‘Equanimous & mindful, he has a pleasant abiding.’ He permeates and pervades, suffuses and fills this very body with the pleasure divested of rapture, so that there is nothing of his entire body unpervaded with pleasure divested of rapture.

“Just as in a blue-, white-, or red-lotus pond, there may be some of the blue, white, or red lotuses which, born and growing in the water, stay immersed in the water and flourish without standing up out of the water, so that they are permeated and pervaded, suffused and filled with cool water from their roots to their tips, and nothing of those blue, white, or red lotuses would be unpervaded with cool water; even so, the monk permeates and pervades, suffuses and fills this very body with the pleasure divested of rapture. There is nothing of his entire body unpervaded with pleasure divested of rapture…

[FOURTH JHANA]

“And furthermore, with the abandoning of pleasure and stress — as with the earlier disappearance of elation and distress — he enters and remains in the fourth jhana: purity of equanimity and mindfulness, neither-pleasure-nor-pain. He sits, permeating the body with a pure, bright awareness, so that there is nothing of his entire body unpervaded by pure, bright awareness.

“Just as if a man were sitting wrapped from head to foot with a white cloth so that there would be no part of his body to which the white cloth did not extend; even so, the monk sits, permeating his body with a pure, bright awareness. There is nothing of his entire body unpervaded by pure, bright awareness.”

— AN 5.28

Mastery of jhana is a mark of wisdom

“I declare a person endowed with four qualities to be one of great discernment, a great man. Which four?

“There is the case, brahman, where he practices for the welfare & happiness of many people and has established many people in the noble method, i.e., the rightness of what is admirable, the rightness of what is skillful.

“He thinks any thought he wants to think, and doesn’t think any thought he doesn’t want to think. He wills any resolve he wants to will, and doesn’t will any resolve he doesn’t want to will. He has attained mastery of the mind with regard to the pathways of thought.

“He attains — whenever he wants, without strain, without difficulty — the four jhanas that are heightened mental states, pleasant abidings in the here-&-now.

“With the ending of mental fermentations — he remains in the fermentation-free awareness-release & discernment-release, having directly known & realized them for himself right in the here-&-now.

“…I declare a person endowed with these four qualities to be one of great discernment, a great man.”

— AN 4.35

Jhana and insight, hand-in-hand

There’s no jhana

for one with no discernment,

no discernment

for one with no jhana.

But one with both jhana

& discernment:

he’s on the verge

of Unbinding.

— Dhp 372

See also:

· Right Concentration

· The Fourth Noble Truth

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/gunaratana/wheel351.html

The Jhanas in Theravada Buddhist Meditation

Henepola Gunaratana

· Abbreviations

· 1. Introduction

o The Doctrinal Context of Jhana

o Etymology of Jhana

o Jhana and Samadhi

· 2. The Preparation for Jhana

o The Moral Foundation for Jhana

o The Good Friend and the Subject of Meditation

o Choosing a Suitable Dwelling

· 3. The First Jhana and its Factors

o The Abandoning of the Hindrances

o The Factors of the First Jhana

o Perfecting the First Jhana

· 4. The Higher Jhanas

o The Higher Fine-material Jhanas

o The Immaterial Jhanas

o The Jhanas and Rebirth

· 5. Jhanas and the Supramundane

o The Way of Wisdom

o The Two Vehicles

o Supramundane Jhana

o The Jhanic Level of the Path and Fruit

· 6. Jhana and the Noble Disciples

o Seven Types of Disciples

o Jhana and the Arahant

· About the Author

· Notes

Abbreviations

PTS = Pali Text Society edition
BBS = Burmese Buddhasasana Samiti edition

A. …. Anguttara Nikaya (PTS)
D. …. Digha Nikaya (PTS)
Dhs. …. Dhammasangani (BBS)
Dhs.A. …. Dhammasangani Atthakatha = Atthasalini (BBS)
M. …. Majjhima Nikaya (PTS)
M.A. …. Majjhima Nikaya Atthakatha (BBS)
Miln. …. Milindapanha (PTS)
PP. …. Path of Purification (translation of Visuddhimagga, by Bhikkhu Ñanamoli; Kandy: BPS, 1975)
S. …. Samyutta Nikaya (PTS)
SA. …. Samyutta Nikaya Atthakatha (BBS)
ST. …. Samyutta Nikaya Tika (BBS)
Vbh. …. Vibhanga (PTS)
Vin.A. …. Vinaya Atthakatha (BBS)
Vism. …. Visuddhimagga (PTS)
Vism.T. …. Visuddhimagga Tika (BBS)

1. Introduction

The Doctrinal Context of Jhana

The Buddha says that just as in the great ocean there is but one taste, the taste of salt, so in his doctrine and discipline there is but one taste, the taste of freedom. The taste of freedom that pervades the Buddha’s teaching is the taste of spiritual freedom, which from the Buddhist perspective means freedom from suffering. In the process leading to deliverance from suffering, meditation is the means of generating the inner awakening required for liberation. The methods of meditation taught in the Theravada Buddhist tradition are based on the Buddha’s own experience, forged by him in the course of his own quest for awakening. They are designed to re-create in the disciple who practices them the same essential awakening that the Buddha himself attained when he sat beneath the Bodhi tree, the awakening to the Four Noble Truths.

The various subjects and methods of meditation expounded in the Theravada Buddhist scriptures — the Pali canon and its commentaries — divide into two inter-related systems. One is called the development of serenity (samathabhavana), the other the development of insight (vipassanabhavana). The former also goes under the name of development of concentration (samadhibhavana), the latter the development of wisdom (paññabhavana).The practice of serenity meditation aims at developing a calm, concentrated, unified mind as a means of experiencing inner peace and as a basis for wisdom. The practice of insight meditation aims at gaining a direct understanding of the real nature of phenomena. Of the two, the development of insight is regarded by Buddhism as the essential key to liberation, the direct antidote to the ignorance underlying bondage and suffering. Whereas serenity meditation is recognized as common to both Buddhist and non-Buddhist contemplative disciplines, insight meditation is held to be the unique discovery of the Buddha and an unparalleled feature of his path. However, because the growth of insight presupposes a certain degree of concentration, and serenity meditation helps to achieve this, the development of serenity also claims an incontestable place in the Buddhist meditative process. Together the two types of meditation work to make the mind a fit instrument for awakening. With his mind unified by means of the development of serenity, made sharp and bright by the development of insight, the meditator can proceed unobstructed to reach the end of suffering, Nibbana.

Pivotal to both systems of meditation, though belonging inherently to the side of serenity, is a set of meditative attainments called the jhanas. Though translators have offered various renderings of this word, ranging from the feeble “musing” to the misleading “trance” and the ambiguous “meditation,” we prefer to leave the word untranslated and to let its meaning emerge from its contextual usages. From these it is clear that the jhanas are states of deep mental unification which result from the centering of the mind upon a single object with such power of attention that a total immersion in the object takes place. The early suttas speak of four jhanas, named simply after their numerical position in the series: the first jhana, the second jhana, the third jhana and the forth jhana. In the suttas the four repeatedly appear each described by a standard formula which we will examine later in detail.

The importance of the jhanas in the Buddhist path can readily be gauged from the frequency with which they are mentioned throughout the suttas. The jhanas figure prominently both in the Buddha’s own experience and in his exhortation to disciples. In his childhood, while attending an annual plowing festival, the future Buddha spontaneously entered the first jhana. It was the memory of this childhood incident, many years later after his futile pursuit of austerities, that revealed to him the way to enlightenment during his period of deepest despondency (M.i, 246-47). After taking his seat beneath the Bodhi tree, the Buddha entered the four jhanas immediately before direction his mind to the threefold knowledge that issued in his enlightenment (M.i.247-49). Throughout his active career the four jhanas remained “his heavenly dwelling” (D.iii,220) to which he resorted in order to live happily here and now. His understanding of the corruption, purification and emergence in the jhanas and other meditative attainments is one of the Tathagata’s ten powers which enable him to turn the matchless wheel of the Dhamma (M.i,70). Just before his passing away the Buddha entered the jhanas in direct and reverse order, and the passing away itself took place directly from the fourth jhana (D.ii,156).

The Buddha is constantly seen in the suttas encouraging his disciples to develop jhana. The four jhanas are invariably included in the complete course of training laid down for disciples.[1] They figure in the training as the discipline of higher consciousness(adhicittasikkha), right concentration (sammasamadhi) of the Noble Eightfold Path, and the faculty and power of concentration (samadhindriya, samadhibala). Though a vehicle of dry insight can be found, indications are that this path is not an easy one, lacking the aid of the powerful serenity available to the practitioner of jhana. The way of the jhana attainer seems by comparison smoother and more pleasurable (A.ii,150-52). The Buddha even refers to the four jhanas figuratively as a kind of Nibbana: he calls them immediately visible Nibbana, factorial Nibbana, Nibbana here and now (A.iv,453-54).

To attain the jhanas, the meditator must begin by eliminating the unwholesome mental states obstructing inner collectedness, generally grouped together as the five hindrances(pañcanivarana): sensual desire, ill will, sloth and torpor, restlessness and worry and doubt.[2] The mind’s absorption on its object is brought about by five opposing mental states — applied thought, sustained thought, rapture, happiness and one pointedness [3] — called the jhana factors (jhanangani) because they lift the mind to the level of the first jhana and remain there as its defining components.

After reaching the first jhana the ardent meditator can go on to reach the higher jhanas, which is done by eliminating the coarser factors in each jhana. Beyond the four jhanas lies another fourfold set of higher meditative states which deepen still further the element of serenity. These attainments (aruppa), are the base of boundless space, the base of boundless consciousness, the base of nothingness, and the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception.[4] In the Pali commentaries these come to be called the four immaterial jhanas (arupajhana), the four preceding states being renamed for the sake of clarity, thefour fine-material jhanas (rupajhana). Often the two sets are joined together under the collective title of the eight jhanas or the eight attainments (atthasamapattiyo).

The four jhanas and the four immaterial attainments appear initially as mundane states of deep serenity pertaining to the preliminary stage of the Buddhist path, and on this level they help provide the base of concentration needed for wisdom to arise. But the four jhanas again reappear in a later stage in the development of the path, in direct association with liberating wisdom, and they are then designated the supramundane (lokuttara) jhanas. These supramundane jhanas are the levels of concentration pertaining to the four degrees of enlightenment experience called the supramundane paths (magga) and the stages of liberation resulting from them, the four fruits (phala).

Finally, even after full liberation is achieved, the mundane jhanas can still remain as attainments available to the fully liberated person, part of his untrammeled contemplative experience.

Etymology of Jhana

The great Buddhist commentator Buddhaghosa traces the Pali word “jhana” to two verbal forms. One, the etymologically correct derivation, is the verb jhayati, meaning to think or meditate; the other is a more playful derivation, intended to illuminate its function rather than its verbal source, from the verb jhapeti meaning to burn up. He explains: “It burns up opposing states, thus it is jhana” (Vin.A. i, 116), the purport being that jhana “burns up” or destroys the mental defilements preventing the developing the development of serenity and insight.

In the same passage Buddhaghosa says that jhana has the characteristic mark of contemplation (upanijjhana). Contemplation, he states, is twofold: the contemplation of the object and the contemplation of the characteristics of phenomena. The former is exercised by the eight attainments of serenity together with their access, since these contemplate the object used as the basis for developing concentration; for this reason these attainments are given the name “jhana” in the mainstream of Pali meditative exposition. However, Buddhaghosa also allows that the term “jhana” can be extended loosely to insight(vipassana), the paths and the fruits on the ground that these perform the work of contemplating the characteristics of things the three marks of impermanence, suffering and non-self in the case of insight, Nibbana in the case of the paths and fruits.

Jhana and Samadhi

In the vocabulary of Buddhist meditation the word “jhana” is closely connected with another word, “samadhi” generally rendered by “concentration.” Samadhi derives from the prefixed verbal root sam-a-dha, meaning to collect or to bring together, thus suggesting the concentration or unification of the mind. The word “samadhi” is almost interchangeable with the word “samatha,” serenity, though the latter comes from a different root, sam, meaning to become calm.

In the suttas samadhi is defined as mental one-pointedness, (cittass’ekaggata M.i,301) and this definition is followed through rigorously in the Abhidhamma. The Abhidhamma treats one-pointedness as a distinct mental factor present in every state of consciousness, exercising the function of unifying the mind on its object. From this strict psychological standpoint samadhi can be present in unwholesome states of consciousness as well as in wholesome an neutral states. In its unwholesome forms it is called “wrong concentration”(micchasamadhi), In its wholesome forms “right concentration” (sammasamadhi).

In expositions on the practice of meditation, however, samadhi is limited to one-pointedness of mind (Vism.84-85; PP.84-85), and even here we can understand from the context that the word means only the wholesome one-pointedness involved in the deliberate transmutation of the mind to a heightened level of calm. Thus Buddhaghosa explainssamadhi etymologically as “the centering of consciousness and consciousness concomitants evenly and rightly on a single object… the state in virtue of which consciousness and its concomitants remain evenly and rightly on a single object, undistracted and unscattered” (Vism.84-85; PP.85).

However, despite the commentator’s bid for consistency, the word samadhi is used in the Pali literature on meditation with varying degrees of specificity of meaning. In the narrowest sense, as defined by Buddhaghosa, it denotes the particular mental factor responsible for the concentrating of the mind, namely, one-pointedness. In a wider sense it can signify the states of unified consciousness that result from the strengthening of concentration, i.e., the meditative attainments of serenity and the stages leading up to them. And in a still wider sense the word samadhi can be applied to the method of practice used to produce and cultivate these refined states of concentration, here being equivalent to the development of serenity.

It is in the second sense that samadhi and jhana come closest in meaning. The Buddha explains right concentration as the four jhanas (D.ii,313), and in doing so allows concentration to encompass the meditative attainments signified by the jhanas. However, even though jhana and samadhi can overlap in denotation, certain differences in their suggested and contextual meanings prevent unqualified identification of the two terms. First behind the Buddha’s use of the jhana formula to explain right concentration lies a more technical understanding of the terms. According to this understanding samadhi can be narrowed down in range to signify only one mental factor, the most prominent in the jhana, namely, one-pointedness, while the word “jhana” itself must be seen as encompassing the state of consciousness in its entirety, or at least the whole group of mental factors individuating that meditative state as a jhana.

In the second place, when samadhi is considered in its broader meaning it involves a wider range of reference than jhana. The Pali exegetical tradition recognizes three levels ofsamadhi: preliminary concentration (parikammasamadhi), which is produced as a result of the meditator’s initial efforts to focus his mind on his meditation subject; access concentration (upacarasamadhi), marked by the suppression of the five hindrances, the manifestation of the jhana factors, and the appearance of a luminous mental replica of the meditation object called the counterpart sign (patibhaganimitta); and absorption concentration (appanasamadhi), the complete immersion of the mind in its object effected by the full maturation of the jhana factors.[5] Absorption concentration comprises the eight attainments, the four immaterial attainments, and to this extent jhana and samadhi coincide. However, samadhi still has a broader scope than jhana, since it includes not only the jhanas themselves but also the two preparatory degrees of concentration leading up to them. Further, samadhi also covers a still different type of concentration called momentary concentration (khanikasamadhi), the mobile mental stabilization produced in the course of insight contemplation of the passing flow of phenomena.

2. The Preparation for Jhana

The jhanas do not arise out of a void but in dependence on the right conditions. They come to growth only when provided with the nutriments conductive to their development. Therefore, prior to beginning meditation, the aspirant to the jhanas must prepare a groundwork for his practice by fulfilling certain preliminary requirements. He first must endeavor to purify his moral virtue, sever the outer impediments to practice, and place himself under a qualified teacher who will assign him a suitable meditation subject and explain to him the methods of developing it. After learning these the disciple must then seek out a congenial dwelling and diligently strive for success. In this chapter we will examine in order each of the preparatory steps that have to be fulfilled before commencing to develop jhana.

The Moral Foundation for Jhana

A disciple aspiring to the jhanas first has to lay a solid foundation of moral discipline. Moral purity is indispensable to meditative progress for several deeply psychological reasons. It is needed first, in order to safeguard against the danger of remorse, the nagging sense of guilt that arises when the basic principles of morality are ignored or deliberately violated. Scrupulous conformity to virtuous rules of conduct protects the meditator from this danger disruptive to inner calm, and brings joy and happiness when the meditator reflects upon the purity of his conduct (see A.v,1-7).

A second reason a moral foundation is needed for meditation follows from an understanding of the purpose of concentration. Concentration, in the Buddhist discipline, aims at providing a base for wisdom by cleansing the mind of the dispersive influence of the defilements. But in order for the concentration exercises to effectively combat the defilements, the coarser expressions of the latter through bodily and verbal action first have to be checked. Moral transgressions being invariably motivated by defilements — by greed, hatred and delusion — when a person acts in violation of the precepts of morality he excites and reinforces the very same mental factors his practice of meditation is intended to eliminate. This involves him in a crossfire of incompatible aims which renders his attempts at mental purification ineffective. The only way he can avoid frustration in his endeavor to purify the mind of its subtler defilements is to prevent the unwholesome inner impulses from breathing out in the coarser form of unwholesome bodily and verbal deeds. Only when he establishes control over the outer expression of the defilements can he turn to deal with them inwardly as mental obsessions that appear in the process of meditation.

The practice of moral discipline consists negatively in abstinence from immoral actions of body and speech and positively in the observance of ethical principles promoting peace within oneself and harmony in one’s relations with others. The basic code of moral discipline taught by the Buddha for the guidance of his lay followers is the five precepts: abstinence from taking life, from stealing, from sexual misconduct, from false speech, and from intoxicating drugs and drinks. These principles are bindings as minimal ethical obligations for all practitioners of the Buddhist path, and within their bounds considerable progress in meditation can be made. However, those aspiring to reach the higher levels of jhanas and to pursue the path further to the stages of liberation, are encouraged to take up the more complete moral discipline pertaining to the life of renunciation. Early Buddhism is unambiguous in its emphasis on the limitations of household life for following the path in its fullness and perfection. Time and again the texts say that the household life is confining, a “path for the dust of passion,” while the life of homelessness is like open space. Thus a disciple who is fully intent upon making rapid progress towards Nibbana will when outer conditions allow for it, “shave off his hair and beard, put on the yellow robe, and go forth from the home life into homelessness” (M.i,179).

The moral training for the bhikkhus or monks has been arranged into a system called the fourfold purification of morality (catuparisuddhisila).[6] The first component of this scheme, its backbone, consists in the morality of restraint according to the Patimokkha, the code of 227 training precepts promulgated by the Buddha to regulate the conduct of the Sangha or monastic order. Each of these rules is in some way intended to facilitate control over the defilements and to induce a mode of living marked by harmlessness, contentment and simplicity. The second aspect of the monk’s moral discipline is restraint of the senses, by which the monk maintains close watchfulness over his mind as he engages in sense contacts so that he does not give rise to desire for pleasurable objects and aversion towards repulsive ones. Third, the monk is to live by a purified livelihood, obtaining his basic requisites such as robes, food, lodgings and medicines in ways consistent with his vocation. The fourth factor of the moral training is proper use of the requisites, which means that the monk should reflect upon the purposes for which he makes use of his requisites and should employ them only for maintaining his health and comfort, not for luxury and enjoyment.

After establishing a foundation of purified morality, the aspirant to meditation is advised to cut off any outer impediments (palibodha) that may hinder his efforts to lead a contemplative life. These impediments are numbered as ten: a dwelling, which becomes an impediment for those who allow their minds to become preoccupied with its upkeep or with its appurtenances; a family of relatives or supporters with whom the aspirant may become emotionally involved in ways that hinder his progress; gains, which may bind the monk by obligation to those who offer them; a class of students who must be instructed; building work, which demands time and attention; travel; kin, meaning parents, teachers, pupils or close friends; illness; the study of scriptures; and supernormal powers, which are an impediment to insight (Vism.90-97; PP.91-98).

The Good Friend and the Subject of Meditation

The path of practice leading to the jhanas is an arduous course involving precise techniques and skillfulness is needed in dealing with the pitfalls that lie along the way. The knowledge of how to attain the jhanas has been transmitted through a lineage of teachers going back to the time of the Buddha himself. A prospective meditator is advised to avail himself of the living heritage of accumulated knowledge and experience by placing himself under the care of a qualified teacher, described as a “good friend” (kalyanamitta), one who gives guidance and wise advice rooted in his own practice and experience. On the basis of either of the power of penetrating others minds, or by personal observation, or by questioning, the teacher will size up the temperament of his new pupil and then select a meditation subject for him appropriate to his temperament.

The various meditation subjects that the Buddha prescribed for the development of serenity have been collected in the commentaries into a set called the forty kammatthana. This word means literally a place of work, and is applied to the subject of meditation as the place where the meditator undertakes the work of meditation. The forty meditation subjects are distributed into seven categories, enumerated in the Visuddhimagga as follows: ten kasinas, ten kinds of foulness, ten recollections, four divine abidings, four immaterial states, one perception, and one defining.[7]

A kasina is a device representing a particular quality used as a support for concentration. The ten kasinas are those of earth, water, fire and air; four color kasinas — blue, yellow, red and white; the light kasina and the limited space kasina. The kasina can be either a naturally occurring form of the element or color chosen, or an artificially produced device such as a disk that the meditator can use at his convenience in his meditation quarters.

The ten kinds of foulness are ten stages in the decomposition of a corpse: the bloated, the livid, the festering, the cut-up, the gnawed, the scattered, the hacked and scattered, the bleeding, the worm-infested and a skeleton. The primary purpose of these meditations is to reduce sensual lust by gaining a clear perception of the repulsiveness of the body.

The ten recollections are the recollections of the Buddha, the Dhamma, the Sangha, morality, generosity and the deities, mindfulness of death, mindfulness of the body, mindfulness of breathing, and the recollection of peace. The first three are devotional contemplations on the sublime qualities of the “Three Jewels,” the primary objects of Buddhist virtues and on the deities inhabiting the heavenly worlds, intended principally for those still intent on a higher rebirth. Mindfulness of death is reflection on the inevitability of death, a constant spur to spiritual exertion. Mindfulness of the body involves the mental dissection of the body into thirty-two parts, undertaken with a view to perceiving its unattractiveness. Mindfulness of breathing is awareness of the in-and-out movement of the breath, perhaps the most fundamental of all Buddhist meditation subjects. And the recollection of peace is reflection on the qualities of Nibbana.

The four divine abidings (brahmavihara) are the development of boundless loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity. These meditations are also called the “immeasurables” (appamañña) because they are to be developed towards all sentient beings without qualification or exclusiveness.

The four immaterial states are the base of boundless space, the base of boundless consciousness, the base of nothingness, and the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception. These are the objects leading to the corresponding meditative attainments, the immaterial jhanas.

The one perception is the perception of the repulsiveness of food. The one defining is the defining of the four elements, that is, the analysis of the physical body into the elemental modes of solidity, fluidity, heat and oscillation.

The forty meditation subjects are treated in the commentarial texts from two important angles — one their ability to induce different levels of concentration, the other their suitability for differing temperaments. Not all meditation subjects are equally effective in inducing the deeper levels of concentration. They are first distinguished on the basis of their capacity for inducing only access concentration or for inducing full absorption; those capable of inducing absorption are then distinguished further according to their ability to induce the different levels of jhana.

Of the forty subjects, ten are capable of leading only to access concentration: eight recollections — i.e., all except mindfulness of the body and mindfulness of breathing — plus the perception of repulsiveness in nutriment and the defining of the four elements. These, because they are occupied with a diversity of qualities and involve and active application of discursive thought, cannot lead beyond access. The other thirty subjects can all lead to absorption.

The ten kasinas and mindfulness of breathing, owing to their simplicity and freedom from thought construction, can lead to all four jhanas. The ten kinds of foulness and mindfulness of the body lead only to the first jhana, being limited because the mind can only hold onto them with the aid of applied thought (vitakka) which is absent in the second and higher jhanas. The first three divine abidings can induce the lower three jhanas but not the fourth, since they arise in association with pleasant feeling, while the divine abiding of equanimity occurs only at the level of the fourth jhana, where neutral feeling gains ascendency. The four immaterial states conduce to the respective immaterial jhanas corresponding to their names.

The forty subjects are also differentiated according to their appropriateness for different character types. Six main character types are recognized — the greedy, the hating, the deluded, the faithful, the intelligent and the speculative — this oversimplified typology being taken only as a pragmatic guideline which in practice admits various shades and combinations. The ten kind of foulness and mindfulness of the body, clearly intended to attenuate sensual desire, are suitable for those of greedy temperament. Eight subjects — the four divine abidings and four color kasinas — are appropriate for the hating temperament. Mindfulness of breathing is suitable for those of the deluded and the speculative temperament. The first six recollections are appropriate for the faithful temperament. Four subjects — mindfulness of death, the recollection of peace, the defining of the four elements, and the perception of the repulsiveness in nutriment — are especially effective for those of intelligent temperament. The remaining six kasinas and the immaterial states are suitable for all kinds of temperaments. But the kasinas should be limited in size for one of speculative temperament and large in size for one of deluded temperament.

Immediately after giving this breakdown Buddhaghosa adds a proviso to prevent misunderstanding. He states that this division by way of temperament is made on the basis of direct opposition and complete suitability, but actually there is no wholesome form of meditation that does not suppress the defilements and strengthen the virtuous mental factors. Thus an individual meditator may be advised to meditate on foulness to abandon lust, on loving-kindness to abandon hatred, on breathing to cut off discursive thought, and on impermanence to eliminate the conceit “I am” (A.iv,358).

Choosing a Suitable Dwelling

The teacher assigns a meditation subject to his pupil appropriate to his character and explains the methods of developing it. He can teach it gradually to a pupil who is going to remain in close proximity to him, or in detail to one who will go to practice it elsewhere. If the disciple is not going to stay with his teacher he must be careful to select a suitable place for meditation. The texts mention eighteen kinds of monasteries unfavorable to the development of jhana: a large monastery, a new one, a dilapidated one, one near a road, one with a pond, leaves, flowers or fruits, one sought after by many people, one in cities, among timber of fields, where people quarrel, in a port, in border lands, on a frontier, a haunted place, and one without access to a spiritual teacher (Vism. 118-121; PP122-125).

The factors which make a dwelling favorable to meditation are mentioned by the Buddha himself. If should not be too far from or too near a village that can be relied on as an alms resort, and should have a clear path: it should be quiet and secluded; it should be free from rough weather and from harmful insects and animals; one should be able to obtain one’s physical requisites while dwelling there; and the dwelling should provide ready access to learned elders and spiritual friends who can be consulted when problems arise in meditation (A.v,15). The types of dwelling places commended by the Buddha most frequently in the suttas as conductive to the jhanas are a secluded dwelling in the forest, at the foot of a tree, on a mountain, in a cleft, in a cave, in a cemetery, on a wooded flatland, in the open air, or on a heap of straw (M.i,181). Having found a suitable dwelling and settled there, the disciple should maintain scrupulous observance of the rules of discipline, He should be content with his simple requisites, exercise control over his sense faculties, be mindful and discerning in all activities, and practice meditation diligently as he was instructed. It is at this point that he meets the first great challenge of his contemplative life, the battle with the five hindrances.

3. The First Jhana and its Factors

The attainment of any jhana comes about through a twofold process of development. On one side the states obstructive to it, called its factors of abandonment, have to be eliminated, on the other the states composing it, called its factors of possession, have to be acquired. In the case of the first jhana the factors of abandonment are the five hindrances and the factors of possession the five basic jhana factors. Both are alluded to in the standard formula for the first jhana, the opening phrase referring to the abandonment of the hindrances and the subsequent portion enumerating the jhana factors:

Quite secluded from sense pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states of mind, he enters and dwells in the first jhana, which is accompanied by applied thought and sustained thought with rapture and happiness born of seclusion. (M.i,1818; Vbh.245)

In this chapter we will first discuss the five hindrances and their abandonment, then we will investigate the jhana factors both individually and by way of their combined contribution to the attainment of the first jhana. We will close the chapter with some remarks on the ways of perfecting the first jhana, a necessary preparation for the further development of concentration.

The Abandoning of the Hindrances

The five hindrances (pañcanivarana) are sensual desire, ill will, sloth and torpor, restlessness and worry, and doubt. This group, the principal classification the Buddha uses for the obstacles to meditation, receives its name because its five members hinder and envelop the mind, preventing meditative development in the two spheres of serenity and insight. Hence the Buddha calls them “obstructions, hindrances, corruptions of the mind which weaken wisdom”(S.v,94).

The hindrance of sensual desire (kamachanda) is explained as desire for the “five strands of sense pleasure,” that is, for pleasant forms, sounds, smells, tastes and tangibles. It ranges from subtle liking to powerful lust. The hindrance of ill will (byapada) signifies aversion directed towards disagreeable persons or things. It can vary in range from mild annoyance to overpowering hatred. Thus the first two hindrances correspond to the first two root defilements, greed and hate. The third root defilement, delusion, is not enumerated separately among the hindrances but can be found underlying the remaining three.

Sloth and torpor is a compound hindrance made up of two components: sloth (thina), which is dullness, inertia or mental stiffness; and torpor (middha), which is indolence or drowsiness. Restlessness and worry is another double hindrance, restlessness (uddhacca)being explained as excitement, agitation or disquietude, worry (kukkucca) as the sense of guilt aroused by moral transgressions. Finally, the hindrance of doubt (vicikiccha) is explained as uncertainty with regard to the Buddha, the Dhamma, the Sangha and the training.

The Buddha offers two sets of similes to illustrate the detrimental effect of the hindrances. The first compares the five hindrances to five types of calamity: sensual desire is like a debt, ill will like a disease, sloth and torpor like imprisonment, restless and worry like slavery, and doubt like being lost on a desert road. Release from the hindrances is to be seen as freedom from debt, good health, release from prison, emancipation from slavery, and arriving at a place of safety (D.i,71-73). The second set of similes compares the hindrances to five kinds of impurities affecting a bowl of water, preventing a keen-sighted man from seeing his own reflection as it really is. Sensual desire is like a bowl of water mixed with brightly colored paints, ill will like a bowl of boiling water, sloth and torpor like water covered by mossy plants, restlessness and worry like water blown into ripples by the wind, and doubt like muddy water. Just as the keen-eyed man would not be able to see his reflection in these five kinds of water, so one whose mind is obsessed by the five hindrances does not know and see as it is his own good, the good of others or the good of both (S.v,121-24). Although there are numerous defilements opposed to the first jhana the five hindrances alone are called its factors of abandoning. One reason according to the Visuddhimagga, is that the hindrances are specifically obstructive to jhana, each hindrance impeding in its own way the mind’s capacity for concentration.

The mind affected through lust by greed for varied objective fields does not become concentrated on an object consisting in unity, or being overwhelmed by lust, it does not enter on the way to abandoning the sense-desire element. When pestered by ill will towards an object, it does not occur uninterruptedly. When overcome by stiffness and torpor, it is unwieldy. When seized by agitation and worry, it is unquiet and buzzes about. When stricken by uncertainty, it fails to mount the way to accomplish the attainment of jhana. So it is these only that are called factors of abandonment because they are specifically obstructive to jhana.(Vism.146: PP.152)

A second reason for confining the first jhana’s factors of abandoning to the five hindrances is to permit a direct alignment to be made between the hindrances and the jhanic factors. Buddhaghosa states that the abandonment of the five hindrances alone is mentioned in connection with jhana because the hindrances are the direct enemies of the five jhana factors, which the latter must eliminate and abolish. To support his point the commentator cites a passage demonstrating a one-to-one correspondence between the jhana factors and the hindrances: one-pointedness is opposed to sensual desire, rapture to ill will, applied thought to sloth and torpor, happiness to restlessness and worry, and sustained thought to doubt (Vism. 141; PP.147).[8] Thus each jhana factor is seen as having the specific task of eliminating a particular obstruction to the jhana and to correlate these obstructions with the five jhana factors they are collected into a scheme of five hindrances.

The standard passage describing the attainment of the first jhana says that the jhana is entered upon by one who is “secluded from sense pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states of mind.” The Visuddhimagga explains that there are three kinds of seclusion relevant to the present context — namely, bodily seclusion (kayaviveka), mental seclusion(cittaviveka), and seclusion by suppression (vikkhambhanaviveka) (Vism. 140; PP.145). These three terms allude to two distinct sets of exegetical categories. The first two belong to a threefold arrangement made up of bodily seclusion, mental seclusion, and “seclusion from the substance” (upadhiviveka). The first means physical withdrawal from active social engagement into a condition of solitude for the purpose of devoting time and energy to spiritual development. The second, which generally presupposes the first, means the seclusion of the mind from its entanglement in defilements; it is in effect equivalent to concentration of at least the access level. The third, “seclusion from the substance,” is Nibbana, liberation from the elements of phenomenal existence. The achievement of the first jhana does not depend on the third, which is its outcome rather than prerequisite, but it does require physical solitude and the separation of the mind from defilements, hence bodily and mental seclusion. The third type of seclusion pertinent to the context, seclusion by suppression, belongs to a different scheme generally discussed under the heading of “abandonment” (pahana) rather than “seclusion.” The type of abandonment required for the attainment of jhana is abandonment by suppression, which means the removal of the hindrances by force of concentration similar to the pressing down of weeds in a pond by means of a porous pot.[9]

The work of overcoming the five hindrances is accomplished through the gradual training(anupubbasikkha) which the Buddha has laid down so often in the suttas, such as the Samaññaphala Sutta and the Culahatthipadopama Sutta. The gradual training is a step-by-step process designed to lead the practitioner gradually to liberation. The training begins with moral discipline, the undertaking and observance of specific rules of conduct which enable the disciple to control the coarser modes of bodily and verbal misconduct through which the hindrances find an outlet. With moral discipline as a basis, the disciple practices the restraint of the senses. He does not seize upon the general appearances of the beguiling features of things, but guards and masters his sense faculties so that sensual attractive and repugnant objects no longer become grounds for desire and aversion. Then, endowed with the self-restraint, he develops mindfulness and discernment (sati-sampajañña) in all his activities and postures, examining everything he does with clear awareness as to its purpose and suitability. He also cultivates contentment with a minimum of robes, food, shelter and other requisites.

Once he has fulfilled these preliminaries the disciple is prepared to go into solitude to develop the jhanas, and it is here that he directly confronts the five hindrances. The elimination of the hindrances requires that the meditator honestly appraises his own mind. When sensuality, ill will and the other hindrances are present, he must recognize that they are present and he must investigate the conditions that lead to their arising: the latter he must scrupulously avoid. The meditator must also understand the appropriate antidotes for each of the five hindrances. The Buddha says that all the hindrances arise through unwise consideration (ayoniso manasikara) and that they can be eliminated by wise consideration(yoniso manasikara). Each hindrance, however, has its own specific antidote. Thus wise consideration of the repulsive feature of things is the antidote to sensual desire; wise consideration of loving-kindness counteracts ill will; wise consideration of the elements of effort, exertion and striving opposes sloth and torpor; wise consideration of tranquillity of mind removes restlessness and worry; and wise consideration of the real qualities of things eliminates doubt (S.v,105-106).

Having given up covetousness [i.e., sensual desire] with regard to the world, he dwells with a heart free of covetousness; he cleanses his mind from covetousness. Having given up the blemish of ill will, he dwells without ill will; friendly and compassionate towards all living beings, he cleanses his mind from the blemishes of ill will. Having given up sloth and torpor, he dwells free from sloth and torpor, in the perception of light; mindful and clearly comprehending, he cleanses his mind from sloth and torpor. Having given up restlessness and worry, he dwells without restlessness; his mind being calmed within, he cleanses it from restlessness and worry. Having given up doubt, he dwells as one who has passed beyond doubt; being free from uncertainty about wholesome things, he cleanses his mind from doubt…

And when he sees himself free of these five hindrances, joy arises; in him who is joyful, rapture arises; in him whose mind is enraptured, the body is stilled; the body being stilled, he feels happiness; and a happy mind finds concentration. Then, quite secluded from sense pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states of mind, he enters and dwells in the first jhana, which is accompanied by applied thought and sustained thought, with rapture and happiness born of seclusion. (D.i,73-74)[10]

The Factors of the First Jhana

The first jhana possesses five component factors: applied thought, sustained thought, rapture, happiness and one-pointedness of mind. Four of these are explicitly mentioned in the formula for the jhana; the fifth, one-pointedness, is mentioned elsewhere in the suttas but is already suggested by the notion of jhana itself. These five states receive their name, first because they lead the mind from the level of ordinary consciousness to the jhanic level, and second because they constitute the first jhana and give it its distinct definition.

The jhana factors are first aroused by the meditator’s initial efforts to concentrate upon one of the prescribed objects for developing jhana. As he fixes his mind on the preliminary object, such as a kasina disk, a point is eventually reached where he can perceive the object as clearly with his eyes closed as with them open. This visualized object is called the learning sign (uggahanimitta). As he concentrates on the learning sign, his efforts call into play the embryonic jhana factors, which grow in force, duration and prominence as a result of the meditative exertion. These factors, being incompatible with the hindrances, attenuate them, exclude them, and hold them at bay. With continued practice the learning sign gives rise to a purified luminous replica of itself called the counterpart sign (patibhaganimitta), the manifestation of which marks the complete suppression of the hindrances and the attainment of access concentration (upacarasamadhi). All three events — the suppression of the hindrances, the arising of the counterpart sign, and the attainment of access concentration — take place at precisely the same moment, without interval (Vism. 126; PP.131). And though previously the process of mental cultivation may have required the elimination of different hindrances at different times, when access is achieved they all subside together:

Simultaneously with his acquiring the counterpart sign his lust is abandoned by suppression owing to his giving no attention externally to sense desires (as object). And owing to his abandoning of approval, ill will is abandoned too, as pus is with the abandoning of blood. Likewise stiffness and torpor is abandoned through exertion of energy, agitation and worry is abandoned through devotion to peaceful things that cause no remorse; and uncertainty about the Master who teaches the way, about the way, and about the fruit of the way, about the way, and about the fruit of the way, is abandoned through the actual experience of the distinction attained. So the five hindrances are abandoned. (Vism. 189; PP.196)

Though the mental factors determinative of the first jhana are present in access concentration, they do not as yet possess sufficient strength to constitute the jhana, but are strong enough only to exclude the hindrances. With continued practice, however, the nascent jhana factors grow in strength until they are capable of issuing in jhana. Because of the instrumental role these factors play both in the attainment and constitution of the first jhana they are deserving of closer individual scrutiny.

APPLIED THOUGHT (VITAKKA)

The word vitakka frequently appears in the texts in conjunction with the word vicara. The pair signify two interconnected but distinct aspects of the thought process, and to bring out the difference between them (as well as their common character), we translate the one as applied thought and the other as sustained thought.

In both the suttas and the Abhidhamma applied thought is defined as the application of the mind to its object (cetaso abhiniropana), a function which the Atthasalini illustrates thus: “Just as someone ascends the king’s palace in dependence on a relative of friend dear to the king, so the mind ascends the object in dependence on applied thought” (Dhs.A.157). This function of applying the mind to the object is common to the wide variety of modes in which the mental factor of applied thought occurs, ranging from sense discrimination to imagination, reasoning and deliberation and to the practice of concentration culminating in the first jhana. Applied thought can be unwholesome as in thoughts of sensual pleasure, ill will and cruelty, or wholesome as in thoughts of renunciation, benevolence and compassion (M.i,116).

In jhana applied through is invariably wholesome and its function of directing the mind upon its object stands forth with special clarity. To convey this the Visuddhimagga explains that in jhana the function of applied thought is “to strike at and thresh — for the meditator is said, in virtue of it, to have the object struck at by applied thought, threshed by applied thought” (Vism.142;PP148). The Milindapanha makes the same point by defining applied thought as absorption (appana): “Just as a carpenter drives a well-fashioned piece of wood into a joint, so applied thought has the characteristic of absorption” (Miln.62).

The object of jhana into which vitakka drives the mind and its concomitant states is the counterpart sign, which emerges from the learning sign as the hindrances are suppressed and the mind enters access concentration. The Visuddhimagga explains the difference between the two signs thus:

In the learning sign any fault in the kasina is apparent. But the counterpart sign appears as if breaking out from the learning sign, and a hundred times, a thousand times more purified, like a looking-glass disk drawn from its case, like a mother-of-pearl dish well washed, like the moon’s disk coming out from behind a cloud, like cranes against a thunder cloud. But it has neither color nor shape; for if it had, it would be cognizable by the eye, gross, susceptible of comprehension (by insight) and stamped with the three characteristics. But it is not like that. For it is born only of perception in one who has obtained concentration, being a mere mode of appearance (Vism. 125-26; PP.130)

The counterpart sign is the object of both access concentration and jhana, which differ neither in their object nor in the removal of the hindrances but in the strength of their respective jhana factors. In the former the factors are still weak, not yet fully developed, while in the jhana they are strong enough to make the mind fully absorbed in the object. In this process applied thought is the factor primarily responsible for directing the mind towards the counterpart sign and thrusting it in with the force of full absorption.

SUSTAINED THOUGHT (VICARA)

Vicara seems to represent a more developed phase of the thought process than vitakka.The commentaries explain that it has the characteristic of “continued pressure” on the object (Vim. 142; PP.148). Applied thought is described as the first impact of the mind on the object, the gross inceptive phase of thought; sustained thought is described as the act of anchoring the mind on the object, the subtle phase of continued mental pressure. Buddhaghosa illustrates the difference between the two with a series of similes. Applied thought is like striking a bell, sustained thought like the ringing; applied thought is like a bee’s flying towards a flower, sustained thought like its buzzing around the flower; applied thought is like a compass pin that stays fixed to the center of a circle, sustained thought like the pin that revolves around (Vism. 142-43; PP.148-49).

These similes make it clear that applied thought and sustained thought functionally associated, perform different tasks. Applied thought brings the mind to the object, sustained thought fixes and anchors it there. Applied thought focuses the mind on the object, sustained thought examines and inspects what is focused on. Applied thought brings a deepening of concentration by again and again leading the mind back to the same object, sustained thought sustains the concentration achieved by keeping the mind anchored on that object.

RAPTURE (PITI)

The third factor present in the first jhana is piti, usually translated as joy or rapture.[11] In the suttas piti is sometimes said to arise from another quality called pamojja, translated as joy or gladness, which springs up with the abandonment of the five hindrances. When the disciple sees the five hindrances abandoned in himself “gladness arises within him; thus gladdened, rapture arises in him; and when he is rapturous his body becomes tranquil” (D.i,73). Tranquillity in turn leads to happiness, on the basis of which the mind becomes concentrated. Thus rapture precedes the actual arising of the first jhana, but persists through the remaining stages up to the third jhana.

The Vibhanga defines piti as “gladness, joy, joyfulness, mirth, merriment, exultation, exhilaration, and satisfaction of mind” (Vbh. 257). The commentaries ascribe to it the characteristic of endearing, the function of refreshing the body and mind or pervading with rapture, and the manifestation as elation (Vism.143; PP.149). Shwe Zan Aung explains that“piti abstracted means interest of varying degrees of intensity, in an object felt as desirable or as calculated to bring happiness.”[12]

When defined in terms of agency, piti is that which creates interest in the object; when defined in terms of its nature it is the interest in the object. Because it creates a positive interest in the object, the jhana factor of rapture is able to counter and suppress the hindrance of ill will, a state of aversion implying a negative evaluation of the object.

Rapture is graded into five categories: minor rapture, momentary rapture, showering rapture, uplifting rapture and pervading rapture.[13] Minor rapture is generally the first to appear in the progressive development of meditation; it is capable of causing the hairs of the body to rise. Momentary rapture, which is like lightning, comes next but cannot be sustained for long. Showering rapture runs through the body in waves, producing a thrill but without leaving a lasting impact. Uplifting rapture, which can cause levitation, is more sustained but still tends to disturb concentration, The form of rapture most conductive to the attainment of jhana is all-pervading rapture, which is said to suffuse the whole body so that it becomes like a full bladder or like a mountain cavern inundated with a mighty flood of water. TheVisuddhimagga states that what is intended by the jhana factor of rapture is this all-pervading rapture “which is the root of absorption and comes by growth into association with absorption” (Vism.144; PP.151)

HAPPINESS (SUKHA)

As a factor of the first jhana, sukha signifies pleasant feeling. The word is explicitly defined in the sense by the Vibhanga in its analysis of the first jhana: “Therein, what is happiness? Mental pleasure and happiness born of mind-contact, the felt pleasure and happiness born of mind-contact, pleasurable and happy feeling born of mind contact — this is called ‘happiness’ ” (Vbh.257). The Visuddhimagga explains that happiness in the first jhana has the characteristic of gratifying, the function of intensifying associated states, and as manifestation, the rendering of aid to its associated states (Vism. 145; PP.151).

Rapture and happiness link together in a very close relationship, but though the two are difficult to distinguish, they are not identical. Happiness is a feeling (vedana); rapture a mental formation (sankhara). Happiness always accompanies rapture, so that when rapture is present happiness must always be present; but rapture does not always accompany happiness, for in the third jhana, as we will see, there is happiness but no rapture. TheAtthasalini, which explains rapture as “delight in the attaining of the desired object” and happiness as “the enjoyment of the taste of what is required,” illustrates the difference by means of a simile:

Rapture is like a weary traveler in the desert in summer, who hears of, or sees water of a shady wood. Ease [happiness] is like his enjoying the water of entering the forest shade. For a man who, traveling along the path through a great desert and overcome by the heat, is thirsty and desirous of drink, if he saw a man on the way, would ask ‘Where is water?’ The other would say, ‘Beyond the wood is a dense forest with a natural lake. Go there, and you will get some.’ He, hearing these words, would be glad and delighted and as he went would see lotus leaves, etc., fallen on the ground and become more glad and delighted. Going onwards, he would see men with wet clothes and hair, hear the sounds of wild fowl and pea-fowl, etc., see the dense forest of green like a net of jewels growing by the edge of the natural lake, he would see the water lily, the lotus, the white lily, etc., growing in the lake, he would see the clear transparent water, he would be all the more glad and delighted, would descend into the natural lake, bathe and drink at pleasure and, his oppression being allayed, he would eat the fibers and stalks of the lilies, adorn himself with the blue lotus, carry on his shoulders the roots of the mandalaka, ascend from the lake, put on his clothes, dry the bathing cloth in the sun, and in the cool shade where the breeze blew ever so gently lay himself down and saw: ‘O bliss! O bliss!’ Thus should this illustration be applied. The time of gladness and delight from when he heard of the natural lake and the dense forest till he saw the water is like rapture having the manner of gladness and delight at the object in view. The time when, after his bath and dried he laid himself down in the cool shade, saying, ‘O bliss! O bliss!’ etc., is the sense of ease [happiness] grown strong, established in that mode of enjoying the taste of the object.[14]

Since rapture and happiness co-exist in the first jhana, this simile should not be taken to imply that they are mutually exclusive. Its purport is to suggest that rapture gains prominence before happiness, for which it helps provide a causal foundation.

In the description of the first jhana, rapture and happiness are said to be “born of seclusion” and to suffuse the whole body of the meditator in such a way that there is no part of his body which remains unaffected by them:

Monks, secluded from sense pleasure… a monk enters and dwells in the first jhana. He steeps, drenches, fills and suffuses his body with the rapture and happiness born of seclusion, so that there is no part of his entire body that is not suffused with this rapture and happiness. Just as a skilled bath-attendant or his apprentice might strew bathing powder in a copper basin, sprinkle it again and again with water, and knead it together so that the mass of bathing soap would be pervaded, suffused, and saturated with moisture inside and out yet would not ooze moisture, so a monk steeps, drenches, fills and suffuses his body with the rapture and happiness born of seclusion, so that, there is no part of his entire body that is not suffused with this rapture and happiness born of seclusion. (D.i,74)

ONE-POINTEDNESS (EKAGGATA)

Unlike the previous four jhana factors, one-pointedness is not specifically mentioned in the standard formula for the first jhana, but it is included among the jhana factors by the Mahavedalla Sutta (M.i,294) as well as in the Abhidhamma and the commentaries. One-pointedness is a universal mental concomitant, the factor by virtue of which the mind is centered upon its object. It brings the mind to a single point, the point occupied by the object.

One-pointedness is used in the text as a synonym for concentration (samadhi) which has the characteristic of non-distraction, the function of eliminating distractions, non-wavering as its manifestation, and happiness as its proximate cause (Vism.85; PP.85). As a jhana factor one-pointedness is always directed to a wholesome object and wards off unwholesome influences, in particular the hindrance of sensual desire. As the hindrances are absent in jhana one-pointedness acquires special strength, based on the previous sustained effort of concentration.

Besides the five jhana factors, the first jhana contains a great number of other mental factors functioning in unison as coordinate members of a single state of consciousness. Already the Anupada Sutta lists such additional components of the first jhana as contact, feeling, perception, volition, consciousness, desire, decision, energy, mindfulness, equanimity and attention (M.iii,25). In the Abhidhamma literature this is extended still further up to thirty-three indispensable components. Nevertheless, only five states are called the factors of the first jhana, for only these have the functions of inhibiting the five hindrances and fixing the mind in absorption. For the jhana to arise all these five factors must be present simultaneously, exercising their special operations:

But applied thought directs the mind onto the object; sustained thought keeps it anchored there. Happiness [rapture] produced by the success of the effort refreshes the mind whose effort has succeeded through not being distracted by those hindrances; and bliss [happiness] intensifies it for the same reason. Then unification aided by this directing onto, this anchoring, this refreshing and this intensifying, evenly and rightly centers the mind with its remaining associated states on the object consisting in unity. Consequently possession of five factors should be understood as the arising of these five, namely, applied thought, sustained thought, happiness [rapture], bliss [happiness], and unification of mind. For it is when these are arisen that jhana is said to be arisen, which is why they are called the five factors of possession. (Vism.146;PP.152)

Each jhana factor serves as support for the one which succeeds it. Applied thought must direct the mind to its object in order for sustained thought to anchor it there. Only when the mind is anchored can the interest develop which will culminate in rapture. As rapture develops it brings happiness to maturity, and this spiritual happiness, by providing an alternative to the fickle pleasures of the senses, aids the growth of one-pointedness. In this way, as Nagasena explains, all the other wholesome states lead to concentration, which stands at their head like the apex on the roof of a house (Miln. 38-39).

Perfecting the First Jhana

The difference between access and absorption concentration, as we have said, does not lie in the absence of the hindrances, which is common to both, but in the relative strength of the jhana factors. In access the factors are weak so that concentration is fragile, comparable to a child who walks a few steps and then falls down. But in absorption the jhana factors are strong and well developed so that the mind can remain continuously in concentration just as a healthy man can remain standing on his feet for a whole day and night (Vism.126; PP.131).

Because full absorption offers the benefit of strengthened concentration, a meditator who gains access is encouraged to strive for the attainment of jhana. To develop his practice several important measures are recommended.[15] The meditator should live in a suitable dwelling, rely upon a suitable alms resort, avoid profitless talk, associate only with spiritually-minded companions, make use only of suitable food, live in a congenial climate, and maintain his practice in a suitable posture. He should also cultivate the ten kinds of skill in absorption. He should clean his lodging and his physical body so that they conduce to clear meditation, balance his spiritual faculties by seeing that faith is balanced with wisdom and energy with concentration, and he must be skillful in producing and developing the sign of concentration (1-3). He should exert the mind when it is slack, restrain it when it is agitated, encourage it when it is restless or dejected, and look at the mind with equanimity when all is proceeding well (4-7). The meditator should avoid distracting persons, should approach people experienced in concentration, and should be firm in his resolution to attain jhana (8-10).

After attaining the first jhana a few times the meditator is not advised to set out immediately striving for the second jhana. This would be a foolish and profitless spiritual ambition. Before he is prepared to make the second jhana the goal of his endeavor he must first bring the first jhana to perfection. If he is too eager to reach the second jhana before he has perfected the first, he is likely to fail to gain the second and find himself unable to regain the first. The Buddha compares such a meditator to a foolish cow who, while still unfamiliar with her own pasture, sets out for new pastures and gets lost in the mountains: she fails to find food or drink and is unable to find her way home (A.iv, 418-19).

The perfecting of the first jhana involves two steps: the extension of the sign and the achievement of the five masteries. The extension of the sign means extending the size of the counterpart sign, the object of the jhana. Beginning with a small area, the size of one or two fingers, the meditator gradually learns to broaden the sign until the mental image can be made to cover the world-sphere or even beyond (Vism. 152-53; PP.158-59).

Following this the meditator should try to acquire five kinds of mastery over the jhana: mastery in adverting, in attaining, in resolving, in emerging and in reviewing.[16] Mastery in adverting is the ability to advert to the jhana factors one by one after emerging from the jhana, wherever he wants, whenever he wants, and for as long as he wants. Mastery in attaining is the ability to enter upon jhana quickly, mastery in resolving the ability to remain in the jhana for exactly the pre-determined length of time, mastery in emerging the ability to emerge from jhana quickly without difficulty, and mastery in reviewing the ability to review the jhana and its factors with retrospective knowledge immediately after adverting to them. When the meditator has achieved this fivefold mastery, then he is ready to strive for the second jhana.

4. The Higher Jhanas

In this chapter we will survey the higher states of jhana. First we will discuss the remaining three jhanas of the fine-material sphere, using the descriptive formulas of the suttas as our starting point and the later literature as our source for the methods of practice that lead to these attainments. Following this we will consider the four meditative states that pertain to the immaterial sphere, which come to be called the immaterial jhanas. Our examination will bring out the dynamic character of the process by which the jhanas are successively achieved. The attainment of the higher jhanas of the fine-material sphere, we will see, involves the successive elimination of the grosser factors and the bringing to prominence of the subtler ones, the attainment of the formless jhanas the replacement of grosser objects with successively more refined objects. From our study it will become clear that the jhanas link together in a graded sequence of development in which the lower serves as basis for the higher and the higher intensifies and purifies states already present in the lower. We will end the chapter with a brief look at the connection between the jhanas and the Buddhist teaching of rebirth.

The Higher Fine-material Jhanas

The formula for the attainment of the second jhana runs as follows:

With the subsiding of applied thought and sustained thought he enters and dwells in the second jhana, which has internal confidence and unification of mind, is without applied thought and sustained thought, and is filled with rapture and happiness born of concentration (M.i,181; Vbh. 245)

The second jhana, like the first, is attained by eliminating the factors to be abandoned and by developing the factors of possession. In this case however, the factors to be abandoned are the two initial factors of the first jhana itself, applied thought and sustained thought; the factors of possession are the three remaining jhana factors, rapture, happiness and one-pointedness. Hence the formula begins “with the subsiding of applied thought and sustained thought,” and then mentions the jhana’s positive endowments.

After achieving the five kinds of mastery over the first jhana, a meditator who wishes to reach the second jhana should enter the first jhana and contemplate its defects. These are twofold: one, which might be called the defect of proximate corruption, is the nearness of the five hindrances, against which the first jhana provides only a relatively mild safeguard; the other defect, inherent to the first jhana, is its inclusion of applied and sustained thought, which now appear as gross, even as impediments needing to be eliminated to attain the more peaceful and subtle second jhana.

By reflecting upon the second jhana as more tranquil and sublime than the first, the meditator ends his attachment to the first jhana and engages in renewed striving with the aim of reaching the higher stage. He directs his mind to his meditation subject — which must be one capable of inducing the higher jhanas such as a kasina or the breath — and resolves to overcome applied and sustained thought. When his practice comes to maturity the two kinds of thought subside and the second jhana arises. In the second jhana only three of the original five jhana factors remain — rapture, happiness, and one-pointedness. Moreover, with the elimination of the two grosser factors these have acquired a subtler and more peaceful tone.[17]

Besides the main jhana factors, the canonical formula includes several other states in its description of the second jhana. “Internal confidence” (ajjhattamsampasadanam), conveys the twofold meaning of faith and tranquillity. In the first jhana the meditator’s faith lacked full clarity and serenity due to “the disturbance created by applied and sustained thought, like water ruffled by ripples and wavelets” (Vism. 157; PP.163). But when applied and sustained thought subside, the mind becomes very peaceful and the meditator’s faith acquires fuller confidence.

The formula also mentions unification of mind (cetaso ekodibhavam), which is identified with one-pointedness or concentration. Though present in the first jhana, concentration only gains special mention in connection with the second jhana since it is here that it acquires eminence. In the first jhana concentration was still imperfect, being subject to the disturbing influence of applied and sustained thought. For the same reason this jhana, along with its constituent rapture and happiness, is said to be born of concentration (samadhijam): “It is only this concentration that is quite worthy to be called ‘concentration’ because of its complete confidence and extreme immobility due to absence of disturbance by applied and sustained thought” (Vism.158; PP.164).

To attain the third jhana the meditator must use the same method he used to ascend from the first jhana to the second. He must master the second jhana in the five ways, enter and emerge from it, and reflect upon its defects. In this case the defect of proximate corruption is the nearness of applied and sustained thought, which threaten to disrupt the serenity of the second jhana; its inherent defect is the presence of rapture, which now appears as a gross factor that should be discarded. Aware of the imperfections in the second jhana, the meditator cultivates indifference towards it and aspires instead for the peace and sublimity of the third jhana, towards the attainment of which he now directs his efforts. When his practice matures he enters the third jhana, which has the two jhana factors that remain when the rapture disappears, happiness and one-pointedness, and which the suttas describe as follows:

With the fading away of rapture, he dwells in equanimity, mindful and discerning; and he experiences in his own person that happiness of which the noble ones say: ‘Happily lives he who is equanimous and mindful’ — thus he enters and dwells in the third jhana. (M.i,182; Vbh.245)

The formula indicates that the third jhana contains, besides its two defining factors, three additional components not included among the jhana factors: equanimity, mindfulness and discernment. Equanimity is mentioned twice. The Pali word for equanimity, upekkha, occurs in the texts with a wide range of meanings, the most important being neutral feeling — that is, feeling which is neither painful nor pleasant — and the mental quality of inner balance or equipoise called “specific neutrality” (tatramajjhattata — see Vism.161; PP.167). The equanimity referred to in the formula is a mode of specific neutrality which belongs to the aggregate of mental formations (sankharakkhandha) and thus should not be confused with equanimity as neutral feeling. Though the two are often associated, each can exist independently of the other, and in the third jhana equanimity as specific neutrality co-exists with happiness or pleasant feeling.

The meditator in third jhana is also said to be mindful and discerning, which points to another pair of frequently conjoined mental functions. Mindfulness (sati), in this context, means the remembrance of the meditation object, the constant bearing of the object in mind without allowing it to float away. Discernment (sampajañña) is an aspect of wisdom or understanding which scrutinizes the object and grasps its nature free from delusion. Though these two factors were already present even in the first two jhanas, they are first mentioned only in connection with the third since it is here that their efficacy becomes manifest. The two are needed particularly to avoid a return to rapture. Just as a suckling calf, removed from its mother and left unguarded, again approaches the mother, so the happiness of jhana tends to veer towards rapture, its natural partner, if unguarded by mindfulness and discernment (Dhs. A.219). To prevent this and the consequent loss of the third jhana is the task of mindfulness and discernment.

The attainment of the fourth jhana commences with the aforesaid procedure. In this case the meditator sees that the third jhana is threatened by the proximity of rapture, which is ever ready to swell up again due to its natural affinity with happiness; he also sees that it is inherently defective due to the presence of happiness, a gross factor which provides fuel for clinging. He then contemplates the state where equanimous feeling and one-pointedness subsist together — the fourth jhana — as far more peaceful and secure than anything he has so far experienced, and therefore as far more desirable. Taking as his object the same counterpart sign he took for the earlier jhana, he strengthens his efforts in concentration for the purpose of abandoning the gross factor of happiness and entering the higher jhana. When his practice matures the mind enters absorption into the fourth jhana:

With the abandoning of pleasure and pain, and with the previous disappearance of joy and grief, he enters and dwells in the fourth jhana, which has neither-pain-nor-pleasure and has purity of mindfulness due to equanimity. (M.i,182; Vbh.245)

The first part of this formula specifies the conditions for the attainment of this jhana — also called the neither-painful-nor-pleasant liberation of mind (M.i, 296) — to be the abandoning of four kinds of feeling incompatible with it, the first two signifying bodily feelings, the latter two the corresponding mental feelings. The formula also introduces several new terms and phrases which have not been encountered previously. First, it mentions a new feeling, neither-pain-nor-pleasure (adukkhamasukha), which remains after the other four feelings have subsided. This kind of feeling also called equanimous or neutral feeling, replaces happiness as the concomitant feeling of the jhana and also figures as one of the jhana factors. Thus this attainment has two jhana factors: neutral feeling and one-pointedness of mind. Previously the ascent from one jhana to the next was marked by the progressive elimination of the coarser jhana factors, but none were added to replace those which were excluded. But now, in the move from the third to the fourth jhana, a substitution occurs, neutral feeling moving in to take the place of happiness.

In addition we also find a new phrase composed of familiar terms, “purity of mindfulness due to equanimity” (upekkhasatiparisuddhi). The Vibhanga explains: “This mindfulness is cleared, purified, clarified by equanimity” (Vbh. 261), and Buddhaghosa adds: “for the mindfulness in this jhana is quite purified, and its purification is effected by equanimity, not by anything else” (Vism.167; PP.174). The equanimity which purifies the mindfulness is not neutral feeling, as might be supposed, but specific neutrality, the sublime impartiality free from attachment and aversion, which also pertains to this jhana. Though both specific neutrality and mindfulness were present in the lower three jhanas, none among these is said to have “purity of mindfulness due to equanimity.” The reason is that in the lower jhanas the equanimity present was not purified itself, being overshadowed by opposing states and lacking association with equanimous feeling. It is like a crescent moon which exists by day but cannot be seen because of the sunlight and the bright sky. But in the fourth jhana, where equanimity gains the support of equanimous feeling, it shines forth like the crescent moon at night and purifies mindfulness and the other associated states (Vism. 169; PP.175).

The Immaterial Jhanas

Beyond the four jhanas lie four higher attainments in the scale of concentration, referred to in the suttas as the “peaceful immaterial liberations transcending material form” (santa vimokkha atikammarupe aruppa, M.i,33). In the commentaries they are also called the immaterial jhanas, and while this expression is not found in the suttas it seems appropriate in so far as these states correspond to jhanic levels of consciousness and continue the same process of mental unification initiated by the original four jhanas, now sometimes called the fine-material jhanas. The immaterial jhanas are designated, not by numerical names like their predecessors, but by the names of their objective spheres: the base of boundless space, the base of boundless consciousness, the base of nothingness, and the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception.[18] They receive the designation “immaterial” or ” formless”(arupa) because they are achieved by surmounting all perceptions of material form, including the subtle form of the counterpart sign which served as the object of the previous jhanas, and because they are the subjective correlates of the immaterial planes of existence.

Like the fine-material jhanas follow a fixed sequence and must be attained in the order in which they are presented. That is, the meditator who wishes to achieve the immaterial jhanas must begin with the base of boundless space and then proceed step by step up to the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception. However, an important difference separates the modes of progress in the two cases. In the case of the fine-material jhanas, the ascent from one jhana to another involves a surmounting of jhana factors. To rise from the first jhana to the second the meditator must eliminate applied thought and sustained thought, to rise from the second to the third he must overcome rapture, and to rise from the third to the fourth he must replace pleasant with neutral feeling. Thus progress involves a reduction and refinement of the jhana factors, from the initial five to the culmination in one-pointedness and neutral feeling.

Once the fourth jhana is reached the jhana factors remain constant, and in higher ascent to the immaterial attainments there is no further elimination of jhana factors. For this reason the formless jhanas, when classified from the perspective of their factorial constitution as is done in the Abhidhamma, are considered modes of the fourth jhana. They are all two-factored jhanas, constituted by one-pointedness and equanimous feeling.

Rather than being determined by a surmounting of factors, the order of the immaterial jhanas is determined by a surmounting of objects. Whereas for the lower jhanas the object can remain constant but the factors must be changed, for the immaterial jhanas the factors remain constant while the objects change. The base of boundless space eliminates the kasina object of the fourth jhana, the base of boundless consciousness surmounts the object of the base of boundless space, the base of nothingness surmounts the object of base of boundless consciousness, and the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception surmounts the objects the object of the base of nothingness.

Because the objects become progressively more subtle at each level, the jhana factors of equanimous feeling and one-pointedness, while remaining constant in nature throughout, become correspondingly more refined in quality. Buddhaghosa illustrates this with a simile of four pieces of cloth of the same measurements, spun by the same person, yet made of thick, thin, thinner and very thin thread respectively (Vism. 339; PP.369). Also, whereas the four lower jhanas can each take a variety of objects — the ten kasinas, the in-and-out breath, etc. — and do not stand in any integral relation to these objects, the four immaterial jhanas each take a single object inseparably related to the attainment itself. The first is attained solely with the base of boundless space as object, the second with the base of boundless consciousness, and so forth.

The motivation which initially leads a meditator to seek the immaterial attainments is a clear recognition of the dangers inherent in material existence: it is in virtue of matter that injuries and death by weapons and knives occur that one is afflicted with diseases, subject of hunger and thirst, while none of this takes place on the immaterial planes of existence (M.i,410). Wishing to escape these dangers by taking rebirth in the immaterial planes, the meditator must first attain the four fine-material jhanas and master the fourth jhana with any kasina as object except the omitted space kasina. By this much the meditator has risen above gross matter, but he still has not transcended the subtle material form comprised by the luminous counterpart sign which is the object of his jhana. To reach the formless attainments the meditator, after emerging from the fourth jhana, must consider that even that jhana, as refined as it is, still has an object consisting in material form and thus is distantly connected with gross matter; moreover, it is close to happiness, a factor of the third jhana, and is far coarser than the immaterial states. The meditator sees the base of boundless space, the first immaterial jhana, as more peaceful and sublime than the fourth fine-material jhana and as more safely removed from materiality.

Following these preparatory reflections, the meditator enters the fourth jhana based on a kasina object and extends the counterpart sign of the kasina “to the limit of the world-sphere, or as far as he likes.” Then, after emerging from the fourth jhana, he must remove the kasina by attending exclusively to the space it has been made to cover without attending to the kasina itself. Taking as his object the space left after the removal of the kasina, the meditator adverts to it as “boundless space” or simply as “space, space,” striking at it with applied and sustained thought. As he cultivates this practice over and over, eventually the consciousness pertaining to the base of boundless space arises with boundless space as its object (Vism. 327-28; PP.355-56).

A meditator who has gained mastery over the base of boundless space, wishing to attain as well the second immaterial jhana, must reflect upon the two defects of the first attainment which are its proximity to the fine-material jhanas and its grossness compared to the base of boundless consciousness. Having in this way developed indifferent to the lower attainment, he must next enter and emerge from the base of boundless space and then fix his attention upon the consciousness that occurred there pervading the boundless space. Since the space taken as the object by the first formless jhana was boundless, the consciousness of that space also involves an aspect of boundlessness, and it is to this boundless consciousness that the aspirant for the next attainment adverts. He is not to attend to it merely as boundless, but as “boundless consciousness” or simply as “consciousness.” He continues to cultivate this sign again and again until the consciousness belonging to the base of boundless consciousness arises in absorption taking as its object the boundless consciousness pertaining to the first immaterial state (Vism. 331-32; PP.360-61).

To attain the next formless state, the base of nothingness, the meditator who has mastered the base of boundless consciousness must contemplate its defects in the same twofold manner and advert to the superior peacefulness of the base of nothingness. Without giving any more attention to the base of boundless consciousness, he should “give attention to the present non-existence, voidness, secluded aspect of that same past consciousness belonging to the base consisting of boundless space” (Vism. 333; PP.362). In other words, the meditator is to focus upon the present absence or non-existence of the consciousness belonging to the base of boundless space, adverting to it over and over thus: “There is not, there is not” or “void, void”. When his efforts fructify there arises in absorption a consciousness belonging to the base of nothingness, with the non-existence of the consciousness of boundless space as its object. Whereas the second immaterial state relates to the consciousness of boundless space positively, by focusing upon the content of that consciousness and appropriating its boundlessness, the third immaterial state relates to it negatively, by excluding that consciousness from awareness and making the absence or present non-existence of that consciousness its object.

The fourth and final immaterial jhana, the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception, is reached through the same preliminary procedure. The meditator can also reflect upon the unsatisfactoriness of perception, thinking: “Perception is a disease, perception is a boil, perception is a dart… this is peaceful, this is sublime, that is to say, neither-perception-nor-non-perception” (M.ii,231). In this way he ends his attachment to the base of nothingness and strengthens his resolve to attain the next higher stage. He then adverts to the four mental aggregates that constitute the attainment of the base of nothingness — its feeling, perception, mental formations and consciousness — contemplating them as “peaceful, peaceful,” reviewing that base and striking at it with applied and sustained thought. As he does so the hindrances are suppressed, the mind passes through access and enters the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception.

This jhana receives its name because, on the one hand, it lacks gross perception with its function of clearly discerning objects, and thus cannot be said to have perception; on the other, it retains a very subtle perception, and thus cannot be said to be without perception. Because all the mental functions are here reduced to the finest and most subtle level, this jhana is also named the attainment with residual formations. At this level the mind has reached the highest possible development in the direction of pure serenity. It has attained the most intense degree of concentration, becoming so refined that consciousness can no longer be described in terms of existence or non-existence. Yet even this attainment, from the Buddhist point of view, is still a mundane state which must finally give way to insight that alone leads to true liberation.

The Jhanas and Rebirth

Buddhism teaches that all sentient beings in whom ignorance and craving still linger are subject to rebirth following death. Their mode of rebirth is determined by their kamma, their volitional action, wholesome kamma issuing in a good rebirth and unwholesome kamma in a bad rebirth. As a kind of wholesome kamma the attainment of jhana can play a key role in the rebirth process, being considered a weighty good kamma which takes precedence over other lesser kammas in determining the future rebirth of the person who attains it.

Buddhist cosmology groups the numerous planes of existence into which rebirth takes place into three broad spheres each of which comprises a number of subsidiary planes. The sense-sphere (kamadhatu) is the field of rebirth for evil deeds and for meritorious deeds falling short of the jhanas; the fine-material sphere (rupadhatu), the field of rebirth for the fine-material jhanas; and the immaterial sphere (arupadhatu), the field of rebirth for the immaterial jhanas.

An unwholesome kamma, should it become determinative of rebirth, will lead to a new existence in one of the four planes of misery belonging to the sense-sphere: the hells, the animal kingdom, the sphere of afflicted spirits, or the host of titans. A wholesome kamma of a subjhanic type produces rebirth in one of the seven happy planes in the sense-sphere, the human world or the six heavenly worlds.

Above the sense-sphere realms are the fine-material realms, into which rebirth is gained only through the attainment of the fine-material jhanas. The sixteen realms in this sphere are hierarchically ordered in correlation with the four jhanas. Those who have practiced the first jhana to a minor degree are reborn in the Realm of the Retinue of Brahma, to a moderate degree in the Realm of the Ministers of Brahma, and to a superior degree in the Realm of the Great Brahma.[19] Similarly, practicing the second jhana to a minor degree brings rebirth in the Realm of Minor Luster, to a moderate degree in the Realm of Infinite Luster, and to a superior degree the Realm of Radiant Luster.[20] Again, practicing the third jhana to a minor degree brings rebirth in the Realm of Minor Aura, to a moderate degree in the Realm of Infinite Aura, and to a superior degree in the Realm of Steady Aura.[21]

Corresponding to the fourth jhana there are seven realms: the Realm of Great Reward, the Realm of Non-percipient Beings, and the five Pure Abodes.[22] With this jhana the rebirth pattern deviates from the former one. It seems that all beings who practice the fourth jhana of the mundane level without reaching any supramundane attainment are reborn in the realm of Great Reward. There is no differentiation by way of inferior, moderate or superior grades of development. The Realm of Non-percipient Beings is reached by those who, after attaining the fourth jhana, then use the power of their meditation to take rebirth with only material bodies; they do not acquire consciousness again until they pass away from this realm. The five Pure Abodes are open only to non-returners (anagamis), noble disciples at the penultimate stage of liberation who have eradicated the fetters binding them to the sense-sphere and thence automatically take rebirth in higher realms, where they attain arahatship and reach final deliverance.

Beyond the fine-material sphere lie the immaterial realms, which are four in number — the base of boundless space, the base of boundless consciousness, the base of nothingness, and the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception. As should be evident, these are realms of rebirth for those who, without having broken the fetters that bind them to samsara, achieve and master one or another of the four immaterial jhanas. Those meditators who have mastery over a formless attainment at the time of death take rebirth in the appropriate plane, where they abide until the kammic force of the jhana is exhausted. Then they pass away, to take rebirth in some other realm as determined by their accumulated kamma.[23]

5. Jhanas and the Supramundane

The Way of Wisdom

The goal of the Buddhist path, complete and permanent liberation from suffering, is to be achieved by practicing the full threefold discipline of morality (sila), concentration (samadhi), and wisdom (pañña). The mundane jhanas, comprising the four fine-material jhanas and the four immaterial jhanas, pertain to the stage of concentration, which they fulfill to an eminent degree. However, taken by themselves, these states do not ensure complete deliverance, for they are incapable of cutting off the roots of suffering. The Buddha teaches that the cause of suffering, the driving power behind the cycle of rebirths, is the defilements with their three unwholesome roots — greed, hatred and delusion. Concentration of the absorption level, no matter to what heights it is pursued, only suppresses the defilements, but cannot destroy their latent seeds. Thence bare mundane jhana, even when sustained, cannot by itself terminate the cycle of rebirths. To the contrary, it may even perpetuate the round. For if any fine-material or immaterial jhana is held to with clinging, it will bring about a rebirth in that particular plane of existence corresponding to its own kammic potency, which can then be followed by rebirth in some lower realm.

What is required to achieve complete deliverance from the cycle of rebirths is the eradication of the defilements. Since the most basic defilement is ignorance (avijja), the key to liberation lies in developing its direct opposite, namely wisdom (pañña).

Since wisdom presupposes a certain proficiency in concentration it is inevitable that jhana comes to claim a place in its development. This place, however, is not fixed and invariable, but as we will see allows for differences depending on the individual meditator’s disposition.

Fundamental to the discussion in this chapter is a distinction between two terms crucial to Theravada philosophical exposition, “mundane” (lokiya) and “supramundane” (lokuttara). The term “mundane” applies to all phenomena comprised in the world (loka) — to subtle states of consciousness as well as matter, to virtue as well as evil, to meditative attainments as well as sensual engrossments. The term “supramundane,” in contrast, applies exclusively to that which transcends the world, that is the nine supramundane states: Nibbana, the four noble paths (magga) leading to Nibbana, and their corresponding fruits (phala) which experience the bliss of Nibbana.

Wisdom has the specific characteristic of penetrating the true nature of phenomena. It penetrates the particular and general features of things through direct cognition rather than discursive thought. Its function is “to abolish the darkness of delusion which conceals the individual essences of states” and its manifestation is “non-delusion.” Since the Buddha says that one whose mind is concentrated knows and sees things as they are, the proximate cause of wisdom is concentration (Vism. 438; PP.481).

The wisdom instrumental in attaining liberation is divided into two principal types: insight knowledge (vipassanañana) and the knowledge pertaining to the supramundane paths(maggañana). The first is the direct penetration of the three characteristics of conditioned phenomena — impermanence, suffering and non-self.[24] It takes as its objective sphere the five aggregates (pañcakkhandha) — material form, feeling perception, mental formations and consciousness. Because insight knowledge takes the world of conditioned formations as its object, it is regarded as a mundane form of wisdom. Insight knowledge does not itself directly eradicate the defilements, but serves to prepare the way for the second type of wisdom, the wisdom of the supramundane paths, which emerges when insight has been brought to its climax. The wisdom of the path, occurring in four distinct stages (to be discussed below ), simultaneously realizes Nibbana, fathoms the Four Noble Truths, and cuts off the defilements. This wisdom is called “supramundane” because it rises up from the world of the five aggregates to realize the state transcendent to the world, Nibbana.

The Buddhist disciple, striving for deliverance, begins the development of wisdom by first securely establishing its roots — purified moral discipline and concentration. He then learns and masters the basic material upon which wisdom is to work — the aggregates, elements, sense bases, dependent arising, the Four Noble Truths, etc. He commences the actual practice of wisdom by cultivating insight into the impermanence, suffering and non-self aspect of the five aggregates. When this insight reaches its apex it issues in supramundane wisdom, the right view factor of the Noble Eightfold Path, which turns from conditioned formations to the unconditioned Nibbana and thereby eradicates the defilements.

The Two Vehicles

The Theravada tradition recognizes two alternative approaches to the development of wisdom, between which practitioners are free to choose according to their aptitude and propensity. These two approaches are the vehicle of serenity (samathayana) and the vehicle of insight (vipassanayana). The meditators who follow them are called, respectively, thesamathayanika, “one who makes serenity his vehicle,” and the vipassanayanika, “one who makes insight his vehicle.” Since both vehicles, despite their names, are approaches to developing insight, to prevent misunderstanding the latter type of meditator is sometimes called a suddhavipassanayanika, “one who makes bare insight his vehicle,” or asukkhavipassaka, “a dry-insight worker.” Though all three terms appear initially in the commentaries rather than in the suttas, the recognition of the two vehicles seems implicit in a number of canonical passages.

The samathayanika is a meditator who first attains access concentration or one of the eight mundane jhanas, then emerges and uses his attainment as a basis for cultivating insight until he arrives at the supramundane path. In contrast, the vipassanayanika does not attain mundane jhana prior to practicing insight contemplation, or if he does, does not use it as an instrument for cultivating insight. Instead, without entering and emerging from jhana, he proceeds directly to insight contemplation on mental and material phenomena and by means of this bare insight he reaches the noble path. For both kinds of meditator the experience of the path in any of its four stages always occurs at a level of jhanic intensity and thus necessarily includes supramundane jhana under the heading of right concentration (samma samadhi), the eighth factor of the Noble Eightfold Path.

The classical source for the distinction between the two vehicles of serenity and insight is theVisuddhimagga where it is explained that when a meditator begins the development of wisdom “if firstly, his vehicle is serenity, [he] should emerge from any fine-material or immaterial jhana except the base consisting of neither-perception-nor-non-perception, and he should discern, according to characteristic, function, etc. the jhana factors consisting of applied thought, etc. and the states associated with them” (Vism. 557; PP679-80). Other commentarial passages allow access concentration to suffice for the vehicle of serenity, but the last immaterial jhana is excluded because its factors are too subtle to be discerned. The meditator whose vehicle is pure insight, on the other hand, is advised to start directly by discerning material and mental phenomena, beginning with the four elements, without utilizing a jhana for this purpose (Vism. 558; PP.680). Thus the samathayanika first attains access concentration or mundane jhana and then develops insight knowledge, by means of which he reaches the supramundane path containing wisdom under the heading of right view, and supramundane jhana under the heading of right concentration. Thevipassanayanika, in contrast, skips over mundane jhana and goes directly into insight contemplation. When he reaches the end of the progression of insight knowledge he arrives at the supramundane path which, as in the previous case, brings together wisdom with supramundane jhana. This jhana counts as his accomplishment of serenity.

For a meditator following the vehicle of serenity the attainment of jhana fulfills two functions: first, it produces a basis of mental purity and inner collectedness needed for undertaking the work of insight contemplation; and second, it serves as an object to be examined with insight in order to discern the three characteristics of impermanence, suffering and non-self. Jhana accomplishes the first function by providing a powerful instrument for overcoming the five hindrances. As we have seen, for wisdom to arise the mind must first be concentrated well, and to be concentrated well it must be freed from the hindrances, a task accomplished pre-eminently by the attainment of jhana. Though access concentration will keep the hindrances at bay, jhana will ensure that they are removed to a much safer distance.

In their capacity for producing concentration the jhanas are called the basis (pada) for insight, and that particular jhana a meditator enters and emerges from before commencing his practice of insight is designated his padakajjhana, the basic or foundational jhana. Insight cannot be practiced while absorbed in jhana, since insight meditation requires investigation and observation, which are impossible when the mind is immersed in one-pointed absorption. But after emerging from the jhana the mind is cleared of the hindrances, and the stillness and clarity that then result conduce to precise, penetrating insight.

The jhanas also enter into the samathayanika’s practice in second capacity, that is, as objects for scrutinization by insight. The practice of insight consists essentially in the examination of mental and physical phenomena to discover their marks of impermanence, suffering and non-self. The jhanas a meditator attains provide him with a readily available and strikingly clear object in which to seek out the three characteristics. After emerging from a jhana the meditator will proceed to examine the jhanic consciousness and to discern the way it exemplifies the three universal marks. This process is called sammasanañana,“comprehension knowledge,” and the jhana subject to such treatment is termedsammasitajjhana, “the comprehended jhana” (Vism. 607-11; PP.706-10). Though the basic jhana and the comprehended jhana will often be the same, the two do not necessarily coincide. A meditator cannot practice comprehension on a jhana higher than he is capable of attaining, but one who uses a higher jhana as his padakajjhana can still practice insight comprehension on a lower jhana which he has previously attained and mastered. The admitted difference between the padakajjhana and the sammasitajjhana leads to discrepant theories about the supramundane concentration of the noble path, as we will see.

Whereas the sequence of training undertaken by the samathayanika meditator is unproblematic, the vipassanayanika’s approach presents the difficulty of accounting for the concentration he uses to provide a basis for insight. Concentration is needed in order to see and know things as they are, but without access concentration or jhana, what concentration can he use? The solution to this problem is found in a type of concentration distinct from the access and absorption concentrations pertaining to the vehicle of serenity, called “momentary concentration” (khanika samadhi). Despite its name, momentary concentration does not signify a single moment of concentration amidst a current of distracted thoughts, but a dynamic concentration which flows from object to object in the ever-changing flux of phenomena, retaining a constant degree of intensity and collectedness sufficient to purify the mind of the hindrances. Momentary concentration arises in the samathayanikasimultaneously with his post-jhanic attainment of insight, but for the vipassanayanika it develops naturally and spontaneously in the course of his insight practice without his having to fix the mind upon a single exclusive object. Thus the follower of the vehicle of insight does not omit concentration altogether from his training, but develops it in a different manner from the practitioner of serenity. Without gaining jhana he goes directly into contemplation on the five aggregates and by observing them constantly from moment to moment acquires momentary concentration as an accompaniment of his investigations. This momentary concentration fulfills the same function as the basic jhana of the serenity vehicle, providing the foundation of mental clarity needed for insight to emerge.

Supramundane Jhana

The climax in the development of insight is the attainment of the supramundane paths and fruits. Each path is a momentary peak experience directly apprehending Nibbana and permanently cutting off certain defilements. These defilements are generally grouped into a set of ten “fetters” (samyojana) which keep beings chained to the round of rebirths. The first path, called the path of stream-entry (sotapatti) because it marks the entry into the stream of the Dhamma, eradicates the first three fetters — The false view of self, doubt, and clinging to rites and rituals. The disciple who has reached stream-entry has limited his future births to a maximum of seven in the happy realms of the human and heavenly worlds, after which he will attain final deliverance. But an ardent disciple may progress to still higher stages in the same life in which he reaches stream-entry, by making an aspiration for the next higher path and again undertaking the development of insight with the aim of reaching that path.

The next supramundane path is that of the once-returner (sakadagami). This path does not eradicate any fetters completely, but it greatly attenuates sensual desire and ill will. The once-returner is so called because he is bound to make an end of suffering after returning to this world only one more time. The third path, that of the non-returner (anagami) utterly destroys the sensual desire and ill will weakened by the preceding path. The non-returner is assured that he will never again take rebirth in the sense-sphere; if he does not penetrate higher he will be reborn spontaneously in the Pure Abodes and there reach final Nibbana. The highest path, the path of arahatship, eradicate the remaining five fetters — desire for existence in the fine-material and immaterial spheres, conceit, restlessness and ignorance. The arahant has completed the development of the entire path taught by the Buddha; he has reached the end of rebirths and can sound his “lion’s roar”: “Destroyed is birth, the holy life has been lived, what was to be done has been done, there is nothing further beyond this.”

Each path is followed immediately by the supramundane experience of fruition, which results from the path, comes in the same four graded stages, and shares the path’s world-transcending character. But whereas the path performs the active function of cutting off defilements, fruition simply enjoys the bliss and peace that result when the path has completed its task. Also, where the path is limited to a single moment of consciousness, the fruition that follows immediately on the path endures for two or three moments. And while each of the four paths occurs only once and can never be repeated, fruition remains accessible to the noble disciple at the appropriate level. He can resort to it as a special meditative state called fruition attainment (phalasamapatti) for the purpose of experiencing nibbanic bliss here and now (Vism. 699-702; PP.819-24).

The supramundane paths and fruits always arise as states of jhanic consciousness. They occur as states of jhana because they contain within themselves the jhana factors elevated to an intensity corresponding to that of the jhana factors in the mundane jhanas. Since they possess the jhana factors these states are able to fix upon their object with the force of full absorption. Thence, taking the absorptive force of the jhana factors as the criterion, the paths and fruits may be reckoned as belonging to either the first, second, third or fourth jhana of the fourfold scheme, or to the first, second, third, fourth or fifth jhana of the fivefold scheme.

The basis for the recognition of a supramundane type of jhana goes back to the suttas, especially to the section of “The Great Discourse on the Foundations of Mindfulness” where the Buddha defines right concentration of the Noble Eightfold Path by the standard formula for the four jhanas (D.ii,313). However, it is in the Abhidhamma that the connection between the jhanas, paths and fruits comes to be worked out with great intricacy of detail. TheDhammasangani, in its section on states of consciousness, expounds each of the path and fruition states of consciousness as occasions, first, of one or another of the four jhanas in the fourfold scheme, and then again as occasions of one or another of the five jhanas in the fivefold scheme (Dhs.74-86). Standard Abhidhammic exposition, as formalized in the synoptical manuals of Abhidhamma, employs the fivefold scheme and brings each of the paths and fruits into connection with each of the five jhanas. In this way the eight types of supramundane consciousness — the path and fruition consciousness of stream-entry, the once-returner, the non-returner and arahatship — proliferate to forty types of supramundane consciousness, since any path or fruit can occur at the level of any of the five jhanas. It should be noted, however, that there are no paths and fruits conjoined with the immaterial attainments, the reason being that supramundane jhana is presented solely from the standpoint of its factorial constitution, which for the immaterial attainment and the fifth jhana is identical — equanimity and one-pointedness.

The fullest treatment of the supramundane jhanas in the authoritative Pali literature can be found in the Dhammasangani read in conjunction with its commentary, the Atthasalini. TheDhammasangani opens its analysis of the first wholesome supramundane consciousness with the words:

On the occasion when one develops supramundane jhana which is emancipating, leading to the demolition (of existence), for the abandonment of views, for reaching the first plane, secluded from sense pleasures… one enters and dwells in the first jhana. (Dhs. 72)

The Atthasalini explains the word lokuttara, which we have been translating “supramundane,” as meaning “it crosses over the world, it transcends the world, it stands having surmounted and overcome the world.” It glosses the phrase “one develops jhana” thus: “One develops, produces, cultivates absorption jhana lasting for a single thought-moment.” This gloss shows us two things about the consciousness of the path: that it occurs as a jhana at the level of full absorption and that this absorption of the path lasts for only a single thought-moment. The word “emancipating” (niyyanika) is explained to mean that this jhana “goes out” from the world, from the round of existence, the phrase “leading to demolition” (apacayagami) that it demolishes and dismantles the process of rebirth (Dhs.A.259).

This last phrase points to a striking difference between mundane and supramundane jhana. The Dhammasangani’s exposition of the former begins: “On the occasion when one develops the path for rebirth in the fine-material sphere… one enters and dwells in the first jhana” [my italics]. Thus, with this statement, mundane jhana is shown to sustain the round of rebirths; it is a wholesome kamma leading to renewed existence. But the supramundane jhana of the path does not promote the continuation of the round. To the contrary, it brings about the round’s dismantling and demolition, as the Atthasalini shows with an illustrative simile:

The wholesome states of the three planes are said to lead to accumulation because they build up and increase death and rebirth in the round. But not this. Just as when one man has built up a wall eighteen feet high another might take a club and go along demolishing it, so this goes along demolishing and dismantling the deaths and rebirths built up by the wholesome kammas of the three planes by bringing about a deficiency in their conditions. Thus it leads to demolition.[25]

Supramundane jhana is said to be cultivated “for the abandoning of views.” This phrase points to the function of the first path, which is to eradicate the fetters. The supramundane jhana of the first path cuts off the fetter of personality view and all speculative views derived from it. The Atthasalini points out that here we should understand that it abandons not only wrong views but other unwholesome states as well, namely, doubt, clinging to rites and rituals, and greed, hatred and delusion strong enough to lead to the plane of misery. The commentary explicates “for reaching the first plane” as meaning for attaining the fruit of stream-entry.

Besides these, several other differences between mundane and supramundane jhana may be briefly noted. First, with regard to their object, the mundane jhanas have as object a conceptual entity such as the counterpart sign of the kasinas or, in the case of the divine abodes, sentient beings. In contrast, for the supramundane jhana of the paths and fruits the object is exclusively Nibbana. With regard to their predominant tone, in mundane jhana the element of serenity prevails, while the supramundane jhana of the paths and fruits brings serenity and insight into balance. Wisdom is present as right view and serenity as right concentration, both function together in perfect harmony, neither one exceeding the other.

This difference in prevailing tone leads into a difference in function or activity between the two kinds of jhana. Both the mundane and supramundane are jhanas in the sense of closely attending (upanijjhana), but in the case of mundane jhana this close attention issues merely in absorption into the object, an absorption that can only suppress the defilement temporarily. In the supramundane jhana, particularly of the four paths, the coupling of close attention with wisdom brings the exercise of four functions at a single moment. These four functions each apply to one of the Four Noble Truths. The path penetrates the First Noble Truth by fully understanding suffering; it penetrates the Second Noble Truth by abandoning craving, the origin of suffering; it penetrates the Third Noble Truth by realizing Nibbana, the cessation of suffering; and it penetrates the fourth Noble Truth by developing the Noble Eightfold Path that leads to the end of suffering. Buddhaghosa illustrates this with the simile of a lamp, which also performs four tasks simultaneously: it burns the wick, dispels darkness, makes light appear, and consumes oil (Vism.690; PP.808).

The Jhanic Level of the Path and Fruit

When the paths and fruits are assigned to the level of the four or five jhanas, the question arises as to what factor determines their particular level of jhanic intensity. In other words, why do the path and fruit arise for one meditator at the level of the first jhana, for another at the level of the second jhana, and so forth? The commentaries present three theories concerning the determination of the jhanic level of the path, apparently deriving from the lineages of ancient teachers (Vism. 666-67; PP.778-80. Dhs.A.271-74). The first holds that it is the basic jhana, i.e., the jhana used as a basis for the insight leading to emergence in immediate proximity to the path, that governs the difference in the jhanic level of the path. A second theory says that the difference is governed by the aggregates made the objects of insight on the occasion of insight leading to emergence. A third theory holds that it is the personal inclination of the meditator that governs the difference.

According to the first theory the path arisen in a dry-insight meditator who lacks jhana, and the path arisen in one who possesses a jhana attainment but does not use it as a basis for insight, and the path arisen by comprehending formations after emerging from the first jhana, are all paths of the first jhana only. When the path is produced after emerging from the second, third, fourth and fifth jhanas (of the fivefold system) and using these as the basis for insight, then the path pertains to the level of the jhana used as a basis — the second, third, fourth of fifth. For a meditator using an immaterial jhana as basis the path will be a fifth jhana path. Thus in this first theory, when formations are comprehended by insight after emerging from a basic jhana, then it is the jhana attainment emerged from at the point nearest to the path, i.e., just before insight leading to emergence is reached, that makes the path similar in nature to itself.

According to the second theory the path that arises is similar in nature to the states which are being comprehended with insight at the time insight leading to emergence occurs. Thus if the meditator, after emerging from a meditative attainment, is comprehending with insight sense-sphere phenomena or the constituents of the first jhana, then the path produced will occur at the level of the first jhana. On this theory, then, it is the comprehended jhana(sammasitajjhana) that determines the jhanic quality of the path. The one qualification that must be added is that a meditator cannot contemplate with insight a jhana higher than he is capable of attaining.

According to the third theory, the path occurs at the level of whichever jhana the meditator wishes — either at the level of the jhana he has used as the basis for insight or at the level of the jhana he has made the object of insight comprehension. In other words, the jhanic quality of the path accords with his personal inclination. However, mere wish alone is not sufficient. For the path to occur at the jhanic level wished for, the mundane jhana must have been either made the basis for insight or used as the object of insight comprehension.

The difference between the three theories can be understood through a simple example.[26]If a meditator reaches the supramundane path by contemplating with insight the first jhana after emerging from the fifth jhana, then according to the first theory his path will belong to the fifth jhana, while according to the second theory it will belong to the first jhana. Thus these two theories are incompatible when a difference obtains between basic jhana and comprehended jhana. But according to the third theory, the path becomes of whichever jhana the meditator wishes, either the first or the fifth. Thus this doctrine does not necessarily clash with the other two.

Buddhaghosa himself does not make a decision among these three theories. He only points out that in all three doctrines, beneath their disagreements, there is the recognition that the insight immediately preceding the supramundane path determines the jhanic character of the path. For this insight is the proximate and the principal cause for the arising of the path, so whether it be the insight leading to emergence near the basic jhana or that occurring through the contemplated jhana or that fixed by the meditator’s wish, it is in all cases this final phase of insight that gives definition to the supramundane path. Since the fruition that occurs immediately after the path has an identical constitution to the path, its own supramundane jhana is determined by the path. Thus a first jhana path produces a first jhana fruit, and so forth for the remaining jhanas.

6. Jhana and the Noble Disciples

All noble persons, as we saw, acquire supramundane jhana along with their attainment of the noble paths and fruits. The noble ones at each of the four stages of liberation, moreover, have access to the supramundane jhana of their respective fruition attainments, from the fruition attainment of stream-entry up to the fruition attainments of arahatship. It remains problematic, however to what extent they also enjoy the possession of mundane jhana. To determine an answer to this question we will consult an early typology of seven types of noble disciples, which provides a more psychologically oriented way of classifying the eight noble individuals. A look at the explanation of these seven types will enable us to see the range of jhanic attainment reached by the noble disciples. On this basis we will proceed to assess the place of mundane jhana in the early Buddhist picture of the arahant, the perfected individual.

Seven Types of Disciples

The sevenfold typology is originally found in the Kitagiri Sutta of the Majjhima Nikaya (M.i,477-79) and is reformulated in the Puggalapaññatti of the Abhidhamma Pitaka. This typology classifies the noble persons on the paths and fruits into seven types: the faith-devotee (saddhanusari), the one liberated by faith (saddhavimutta), the body-witness(kayasakkhi), the one liberated in both ways (ubhatobhagavimutta), the truth-devotee(dhammanusari), the one attained to understanding (ditthipatta), and the one liberated by wisdom (paññavimutta). The seven types may be divided into three general groups, each defined by the predominance of a particular spiritual faculty, The first two types are governed by a predominance of faith, the middle two by a predominance of concentration, and the last three by a predominance of wisdom. To this division, however, certain qualifications will have to made as we go along.

[1] The faith-devotee is explained the sutta thus:

Herein, monks, some person has not reached with his own (mental) body those peaceful immaterial deliverances transcending material form: nor after seeing with wisdom, have his cankers been destroyed.[27] But he has a certain degree of faith in the Tathagata, a certain degree of devotion to him, and he has these qualities — the faculties of faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration and wisdom. This person, monks, is called a faith-devotee. (M.i,479)

The Puggalapaññatti (p 182) defines the faith-devotee from a different angle as a disciple practicing for the fruit of stream-entry in whom the faculty of faith is predominant and who develops the noble path led by faith. It adds that when he is established in the fruit he becomes one liberated by faith. Although the sutta excluded the “peaceful immaterial attainments,” i.e., the four immaterial jhana, from the faith-devotee’s equipment, this implies nothing with regard to his achievement of the four lower mundane jhanas. It would seem that the faith-devotee can have previously attained any of the four fine-material jhanas before reaching the path, and can also be a dry-insight worker bereft of mundane jhana.

[2] The one liberated by faith is strictly and literally defined as a noble disciple at the six intermediate levels, from the fruit of stream-entry through to the path of arahatship, who lacks the immaterial jhanas and has a predominance of the faith faculty.

The Buddha explains the one liberated by faith as follows:

Herein, monks, some person has not reached with his own (mental) body those peaceful immaterial deliverances transcending material form; but having seen with wisdom, some of his cankers have been destroyed, and his faith in the Tathagata is settled, deeply rooted, well established. This person, monks, is called one liberated by faith. (M.i,478)

As in the case of the faith-devotee, the one liberated by faith, while lacking the immaterial jhanas, may still be an obtainer of the four mundane jhanas as well as a dry insight worker.

The Puggalapaññatti states (pp.184-85) that the person liberated by faith is one who understands the Four Noble Truths, has seen and verified by means of wisdom the teachings proclaimed by the Tathagata, and having seen with wisdom has eliminated some of his cankers. However, he has not done so as easily as the ditthipatta, the person attained to understanding, whose progress is easier due to his superior wisdom. The fact that the one liberated by faith has destroyed only some of this cankers implies that he has advanced beyond the first path but not yet reached the final fruit, the fruit of arahatship.[28]

[3] The body-witness is a noble disciple at the six intermediate levels, from the fruit of stream-entry to the path of arahatship, who has a predominance of the faculty of concentration and can obtain the immaterial jhanas. The sutta explanation reads:

And what person, monks is a body-witness? Herein, monks, some person has reached with his own (mental) body those peaceful immaterial deliverances transcending material form, and having seen with wisdom, some of his cankers having been destroyed. This person, monks, is called a body-witness. (M.i,478)

The Puggalapaññatti (p. 184) offers a slight variation in this phrasing, substituting “the eight deliverances” (atthavimokkha) for the sutta’s “peaceful immaterial deliverances” (santa vimokkha aruppa). These eight deliverances consist of three meditative attainments pertaining to the fine-material sphere (inclusive of all four lower jhanas), the four immaterial jhanas, and the cessation of perception and feeling (saññavedayitanirodha) — the last a special attainment accessible only to those non-returners and arahats who have also mastered the eight jhanas.[29] The statement of the Puggalapaññatti does not mean either that the achievement of all eight deliverances is necessary to become a body-witness or that the achievement of the three lower deliverances is sufficient. What is both requisite and sufficient to qualify as a body-witness is the partial destruction of defilements coupled with the attainment of at least the lowest immaterial jhana. Thus the body witness becomes fivefold by way of those who obtain any of the four immaterial jhanas and the one who also obtains the cessation of perception and feeling.

[4] One who is liberated in both ways is an arahant who has completely destroyed the defilements and possesses the immaterial attainments. The commentaries explain the name “liberated in both ways” as meaning “through the immaterial attainment he is liberated from the material body and through the path (of arahatship) he is liberated from the mental body” (MA.ii,131). The sutta defines this type of disciple thus:

And what person, monks, is liberated in both ways? Herein, monks, someone has reached with his own (mental) body those peaceful immaterial deliverances transcending material form, and having seen with wisdom, his cankers are destroyed. This person, monks, is called liberated in both ways. (M.i,477)

The Puggalapaññatti (p.184) gives basically the same formula but replaces “immaterial deliverances” with “the eight deliverances.” The same principle of interpretation that applied to the body-witness applies here: the attainment of any immaterial jhana, even the lowest, is sufficient to qualify a person as both-ways liberated. As the commentary to theVisuddhimagga says: “One who has attained arahatship after gaining even one [immaterial jhana] is liberated both ways” (Vism.T.ii,466). This type becomes fivefold by way of those who attain arahatship after emerging from one or another of the four immaterial jhanas and the one who attains arahatship after emerging from the attainment of cessation (MA:iii,131).

[5] The truth-devotee is a disciple on the first path in whom the faculty of wisdom is predominant. The Buddha explains the truth-devotee as follows:

Herein, monks, some person has not reached with his own (mental) body those peaceful immaterial deliverances transcending material form; nor, after seeing with wisdom, have his cankers been destroyed. But the teachings proclaimed by the Tathagata are accepted by him through mere reflection, and he has these qualities — the faculties of faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration and wisdom. This person, monks, is called a truth-devotee. (M.i,479)

The Puggalapaññatti (p.185) defines the truth-devotee as one practicing for realization of the fruit of stream-entry in whom the faculty of wisdom is predominant, and who develops the path led by wisdom. It adds that when a truth-devotee is established in the fruit of stream-entry he becomes one attained to understanding, the sixth type. The sutta and Abhidhamma again differ as to emphasis, the one stressing lack of the immaterial jhanas, the other the ariyan stature. Presumably, he may have any of the four fine-material jhanas or be a bare-insight practitioner without any mundane jhana.

[6] The one attained to understanding is a noble disciple at the six intermediate levels who lacks the immaterial jhanas and has a predominance of the wisdom faculty. The Buddha explains:

And what person, monks, is the one attained to understanding? Herein, monks someone has not reached with his own mental body those peaceful immaterial deliverances transcending material form, but having seen with wisdom some of his cankers are destroyed, and the teachings proclaimed by the Tathagata have been seen and verified by him with wisdom. This person, monks, is called the one attained to understanding. (M.i,478)

The Puggalapaññatti (p.185) defines the one attained to understanding as a person who understands the Four Noble Truths, has seen and verified by means of wisdom the teachings proclaimed by the Tathagata, and having seen with wisdom has eliminated some of his cankers. He is thus the “wisdom counterpart” of the one liberated by faith, but progresses more easily than the latter by virtue of his sharper wisdom. Like his counterpart, he may possess any of the four mundane jhanas or may be a dry-insight worker.

[7] The one liberated by wisdom is an arahant who does not obtain the immaterial attainments. In the words of the sutta:

And what person, monks, is the one liberated by wisdom? Herein, monks, someone has not reached with his own (mental) body those peaceful material deliverances transcending material form, but having seen with wisdom his cankers are destroyed. This person, monks, is called one liberated by wisdom. (M.i,477-78)

The Puggalapaññatti’s definition (p.185) merely replaces “immaterial deliverance” with “the eight deliverances.” Though such arahats do not reach the immaterial jhanas it is quite possible for them to attain the lower jhanas. The sutta commentary in fact states that the one liberated by wisdom is fivefold by way of the dry-insight worker and the four who attain arahatship after emerging from the four jhanas.

It should be noted that the one liberated by wisdom is contrasted not with the one liberated by faith, but with the one liberated in both ways. The issue that divides the two types of arahant is the lack or possession of the four immaterial jhanas and the attainment of cessation. The person liberated by faith is found at the six intermediate levels of sanctity, not at the level of arahatship. When he obtains arahatship, lacking the immaterial jhanas, he becomes one liberated by wisdom even though faith rather that wisdom is his predominant faculty. Similarly, a meditator with predominance of concentration who possesses the immaterial attainments will still be liberated in both ways even if wisdom rather than concentration claims first place among his spiritual endowments, as was the case with the venerable Sariputta.

Jhana and the Arahant

From the standpoint of their spiritual stature the seven types of noble persons can be divided into three categories. The first, which includes the faith-devotee and the truth-devotee, consists of those on the path of stream-entry, the first of the eight noble individuals. The second category, comprising the one liberated by faith, the body-witness and the one attained to understanding, consists of those on the six intermediate levels, from the stream-enterer to one on the path of arahatship. The third category, comprising the one liberated in both ways and the one liberated by wisdom, consists only of arahats.[30]

The ubhatobhagavimutta, “one liberated in both ways,” and the paññavimutta “one liberated by wisdom,” thus form the terms of a twofold typology of arahats distinguished on the basis of their accomplishment in jhana. The ubhatobhagavimutta arahant experiences in his own person the “peaceful deliverances” of the immaterial sphere, the paññavimutta arahant lacks this full experience of the immaterial jhanas. Each of these two types, according to the commentaries, again becomes fivefold — the ubhatobhagavimutta by way of those who possess the ascending four immaterial jhanas and the attainment of cessation, thepaññavimutta by way of those who reach arahatship after emerging from one of the four fine-material jhanas and the dry-insight meditator whose insight lacks the support of mundane jhana.

The possibility of attaining the supramundane path without possession of a mundane jhana has been questioned by some Theravada scholars, but the Visuddhimagga clearly admits this possibility when it distinguishes between the path arisen in a dry-insight meditator and the path arisen in one who possesses a jhana but does not use it as a basis for insight (Vism.666-67; PP.779). Textual evidence that there can be arahats lacking mundane jhana is provided by the Susima Sutta (S.ii, 199-23) together with is commentaries. When the monks in the sutta are asked how they can be arahats without possessing supernormal powers of the immaterial attainments, they reply: “We are liberated by wisdom”(paññavimutta kho mayam). The commentary glosses this reply thus: “We are contemplatives, dry-insight meditators, liberated by wisdom alone” (Mayam nijjhanaka sukkhavipassaka paññamatten’eva vimutta ti, SA.ii,117). The commentary also states that the Buddha gave his long disquisition on insight in the sutta “to show the arising of knowledge even without concentration” (vina pi samadhimevam nanuppattidassanattham,SA.ii,117). The subcommentary establishes the point by explaining “even without concentration” to mean “even without concentration previously accomplished reaching the mark of serenity” (samathalakkhanappattam purimasiddhamvina pi samadhin ti), adding that this is said in reference to one who makes insight his vehicle (ST.ii,125).

In contrast to the paññavimutta arahats, those arahats who are ubhatobhagavimutta enjoy a twofold liberation. Through their mastery over the formless attainments they are liberated from the material body (rupakaya), capable of dwelling in this very life in the meditations corresponding to the immaterial planes of existence; through their attainment of arahatship they are liberated from the mental body (namakaya), presently free from all defilements and sure of final emancipation from future becoming. Paññavimutta arahats only possess the second of these two liberations.

The double liberation of the ubhatobhagavimutta arahant should not be confused with another double liberation frequently mentioned in the suttas in connection with arahatship. This second pair of liberations, called cetovimutti paññavimutti, “liberation of mind, liberation by wisdom,” is shared by all arahats. It appears in the stock passage descriptive of arahatship: “With the destruction of the cankers he here and now enters and dwells in the cankerless liberation of mind, liberation by wisdom, having realized it for himself with direct knowledge.” That this twofold liberation belongs to paññavimutta arahats as well as those who are ubhatobhagavimutta is made clear by the Putta Sutta, where the stock passage is used for two types of arahats called the “white lotus recluse” and the “red lotus recluse”:

How, monks, is a person a white lotus recluse (samanapundarika)? Here, monks, with the destruction of the cankers a monk here and now enters and dwells in the cankerless liberation of mind, liberation by wisdom, having realized it for himself with direct knowledge. Yet he does not dwell experiencing the eight deliverances with his body. Thus, monks, a person is a white lotus recluse.

And how, monks, is a person a red lotus recluse (samanapaduma)? Here, monks, with the destruction of the cankers a monk here and now enters and dwells in the cankerless liberation of mind, liberation by wisdom, having realized it for himself with direct knowledge. And he dwells experiencing the eight deliverances with his body. Thus, monks, a person is a red lotus recluse. (A.ii,87)

Since the description of these two types coincides with that of paññavimutta andubhatobhagavimutta the two pairs may be identified, the white lotus recluse with thepaññavimutta, the red lotus recluse with the ubhatobhagavimutta. Yet the paññavimuttaarahant, while lacking the experience of the eight deliverances, still has both liberation of mind and liberation by wisdom.

When liberation of mind and liberation by wisdom are joined together and described as “cankerless” (anasava), they can be taken to indicate two aspects of the arahant’s deliverance. Liberation of mind signifies the release of his mind from craving and its associated defilements, liberation by wisdom the release from ignorance: “With the fading away of lust there is liberation of mind, with the fading away of ignorance there is liberation by wisdom” (A.i,61). “As he sees and understands thus his mind is liberated from the canker of sensual desire, from the canker of existence, from the canker of ignorance” (M.i,183-84) — here release from the first two cankers can be understood as liberation of mind, release from the canker of ignorance as liberation by wisdom. In the commentaries “liberation of mind” is identified with the concentration factor in the fruition attainment of arahatship, “liberation by wisdom” with the wisdom factor.

Since every arahant reaches arahatship through the Noble Eightfold Path, he must have attained supramundane jhana in the form of right concentration, the eighth factor of the path, defined as the four jhanas. This jhana remains with him as the concentration of the fruition attainment of arahatship, which occurs at the level of supramundane jhana corresponding to that of his path. Thus he always stands in possession of at least the supramundane jhana of fruition, called the “cankerless liberation of mind.” However, this consideration does not reflect back on his mundane attainments, requiring that every arahant possess mundane jhana.

Although early Buddhism acknowledges the possibility of a dry-visioned arahatship, the attitude prevails that jhanas are still desirable attributes in an arahant. They are of value not only prior to final attainment, as a foundation for insight, but retain their value even afterwards. The value of jhana in the stage of arahatship, when all spiritual training has been completed, is twofold. One concerns the arahant’s inner experience, the other his outer significance as a representative of the Buddha’s dispensation.

On the side of inner experience the jhanas are valued as providing the arahant with a “blissful dwelling here and now” (ditthadhammasukhavihara). The suttas often show arahats attaining to jhana and the Buddha himself declares the four jhanas to be figuratively a kind of Nibbana in this present life (A.iv.453-54). With respect to levels and factors there is no difference between the mundane jhanas of an arahant and those of a non-arahant. The difference concerns their function. For non-arahats the mundane jhanas constitute wholesome kamma; they are deeds with a potential to produce results, to precipitate rebirth in a corresponding realm of existence. But in the case of an arahant mundane jhana no longer generates kamma. Since he has eradicated ignorance and craving, the roots of kamma, his actions leave no residue; they have no capacity to generate results. For him the jhanic consciousness is a mere functional consciousness which comes and goes and once gone disappears without a trace.

The value of the jhanas, however, extends beyond the confines of the arahant’s personal experience to testify to the spiritual efficacy of the Buddha’s dispensation. The jhanas are regarded as ornamentations of the arahant, testimonies to the accomplishment of the spiritually perfect person and the effectiveness of the teaching he follows. A worthy monk is able to “gain at will without trouble or difficulty, the four jhanas pertaining to the higher consciousness, blissful dwellings here and now.” This ability to gain the jhanas at will is a “quality that makes a monk an elder.” When accompanied by several other spiritual accomplishments it is an essential quality of “a recluse who graces recluses” and of a monk who can move unobstructed in the four directions. Having ready access to the four jhanas makes an elder dear and agreeable, respected and esteemed by his fellow monks. Facility in gaining the jhanas is one of the eight qualities of a completely inspiring monk(samantapasadika bhikkhu) perfect in all respects; it is also one of the eleven foundations of faith (saddha pada). It is significant that in all these lists of qualities the last item is always the attainment of arahatship, “the cankerless liberation of mind, liberation by wisdom,” showing that all desirable qualities in a bhikkhu culminate in arahatship.[31]

The higher the degree of his mastery over the meditative attainments, the higher the esteem in which an arahant monk is held and the more praiseworthy his achievement is considered. Thus the Buddha says of the ubhatobhagavimutta arahant: “There is no liberation in both ways higher and more excellent than this liberation in both ways”(D.ii,71).

The highest respect goes to those monks who possess not only liberation in both ways but the six abhiññas or “super-knowledges”: the exercise of psychic powers, the divine ear, the ability to read the minds of others, the recollection of past lives, knowledge of the death and rebirth of beings, and knowledge of final liberation. The Buddha declares that a monk endowed with the six abhiññas, is worthy of gifts and hospitality, worthy of offerings and reverential salutations, a supreme field of merit for the world (A.iii,280-81). In the period after the Buddha’s demise, what qualified a monk to give guidance to others was endowment with ten qualities: moral virtue, learning, contentment, mastery over the four jhanas, the five mundane abhiññas and attainment of the cankerless liberation of mind, liberation by wisdom (M.iii,11-12). Perhaps it was because he was extolled by the Buddha for his facility in the meditative attainments and the abhiññas that the venerable Mahakassapa assumed the presidency of the first great Buddhist council held in Rajagaha after the Buddha’s passing away.

The graduation in the veneration given to arahats on the basis of their mundane spiritual achievements implies something about the value system of early Buddhism that is not often recognized. It suggests that while final liberation may be the ultimate and most important value, it is not the sole value even in the spiritual domain. Alongside it, as embellishments rather than alternatives, stand mastery over the range of the mind and mastery over the sphere of the knowable. The first is accomplished by the attainment of the eight mundane jhanas, the second by the attainment of the abhiññas. Together, final liberation adorned with this twofold mastery is esteemed as the highest and most desirable way of actualizing the ultimate goal.

About the Author

Mahathera Henepola Gunaratana was ordained as a Buddhist monk in Kandy, Sri Lanka, in 1947 and received his education at Vidyalankara College and Buddhist Missionary College, Colombo. He worked for five years as a Buddhist missionary among the Harijans (Untouchables) in India and for ten years with the Buddhist Missionary Society in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In 1968 he came to the United States to serve as general secretary of the Buddhist Vihara Society at the Washington Buddhist Vihara. In 1980 he was appointed president of the Society. He has received a Ph.D. from The American University and since 1973 has been Buddhist Chaplain at The American University. He is now director of the Bhavana Meditation Center in West Virginia in the Shenandoah Valley, about 100 miles from Washington, D.C.

GOOD GOVERNANCE

All policies of the Government of Uttar Pradesh are based on the principle of

“Sarvjan Hitay and Sarvajan Sukhay”

Press Information Bureau

(C.M. Information Campus)

Information & Public Relations Department, U.P.

Hon
’ble C.M. ji requests P.M. to provide Rs. 2351 cr. Central aid for flood affected areas

Hon’ble C.M. ji requests Centre to approve pending projects at the earliest

Centre should approve Rs. 5962 cr. under PMGSY and Rs. 9700 cr. under RGGVY for rural electrification
— Hon’ble Chief Minister Ji

Centre should immediately release pending amount for OBC scholarships Special Area Incentive Package should be sanctioned for Bundelkhand and Poorvanchal C.M. requests Centre to approve TIA project immediately

Lucknow: 18 October 2010

The Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Ms. Mayawati ji met the

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in New Delhi today and requested him

to immediately provide Central aid of Rs. 2351 cr. for the flood affected

areas of the State. She pointed out that these areas had suffered heavy

losses due to unprecedented floods. Drawing Prime Minister
’s attention

towards the various projects related to roads, power, irrigation,

scholarship, airport and coal allocation etc. pending with the Centre, she

requested him that these projects should be approved at the earliest. She

said that owing to the projects pending with the Centre, State’s

development was being hampered.

Apprising the P.M. of the wide destruction caused by the floods, the

C.M. requested him to provide a Central aid of Rs. 2351 cr. for the flood

affected areas immediately and said that the State Government, keeping in

mind the precarious flood condition in western U.P., had declared 12

districts of the same as disaster affected area. She said that about 5959

villages of the 33 districts of the State had been affected by the floods and

more than 08 lakh hectares of cultivable land had been affected. Above

425 people had died of floods and a large number of cattle had also

perished. She said that the infrastructure facilities like roads, bridges,

embankments, wire lines/poles and a large number of houses had been

damaged

Hon
’ble Chief Minister ji said that she had written letters to the Prime

Minister on September 22 and September 29, 2010 respectively to provide

Central aid for the flood affected areas of the State. She regretted that the

Central Government had provided immediate aid to the flood affected State

of Uttarakhand, while the State Government had not been provided any

assistance by the Centre so far. She pointed out that through her letter

dated September 29 she had requested the Centre to send its team to the

State to assess the losses caused by the floods, but it had not taken any

initiative in this regard so far.

The Hon’ble Chief Minister ji, during her meeting with the P.M., also

discussed the State Government’s proposals related with the Pradhan

Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) and Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Vidyutikaran

Yojana (RGGVY). She said that projects worth Rs. 5962 cr. for linking

villages having a population between 500 to 1000 under PMGSY and Rs.

9700 cr. projects under RGGVY for the electrification of 1.37 lakh majras

had been pending with the Centre, but the State Government had not been

provided any aid so far.

Hon’ble Chief Minister ji said that the Central Government had

adopted a discriminatory attitude towards the State on the issues related

with the rural development. She said that the work to link villages having a

population above 1000 had been completed under PMGSY and now

proposal had been sent to the Centre to link villages having a population

less than 1000. But, the Centre did not accept State’s proposal because in

several States villages having population above 1000 could not be linked so

far. She pointed out that U.P. was being punished for its excellent work.

Hon’ble Chief Minister ji said that the work of the electrification of

main villages and one majra had been included under the RGGVY. All the

majras had to be electrified under this scheme, she pointed out. The State

Government demanded Central aid for the electrification of majras, but the

Centre said that at first all the States would complete the electrification of

all the un-electrified villages. Thereafter, project to electrify all the majras

would be sanctioned. But, the Centre sanctioned electrification of the

majras in those States where the main villages had been already

electrified. In the case of Uttar Pradesh, the scheme for the electrification

of majras was not sanctioned. She said that she had written letters to the

Prime Minister in this regard earlier, but she regretted that the Centre had

not provided aid for these schemes so far. She said that the Government of

India’s aim of electrifying all the households of the country by year 2012

looked unachievable until and unless all the villages/majras of Uttar

Pradesh were not electrified.

Referring to the Central Road Fund, the Hon’ble Chief Minister ji said

that the standing committee had sanctioned projects worth Rs. 602 cr. out

of which Rs. 434 cr. projects had been sanctioned by the Centre and a

meagre amount of Rs. 1.80 cr. had been released against it. She requested

the P.M. to release the sanctions immediately for this scheme.

She requested that the Central Government should release

scholarship amount sanctioned for the OBC students immediately. She said

that for the OBC students studying in pre-10
th and post-10th classes, the

Central Government provided 50 per cent and 100 per cent aid. So far, the

Central Government had not released amount of Rs. 249.48 cr. under the

pre-10
th scholarship head and an amount of Rs. 304.76 cr. under the post-

10
th head. She said that these amounts should be released at the earliest.

She requested the P.M. to immediately release Central share of Rs.

855.98 cr. as applicable under the rules for the implementation of UGC pay

scales for the teachers teaching in universities and affiliated degree

colleges. She said that the UGC scales, as per the recommendations of the

sixth pay commission, for the teachers teaching in universities and

affiliated degree colleges, had been implemented from 01 January 2006

and the Government of India had to provide 80 per cent share in it.

Requesting the Prime Minister to sanction the project for the

construction of roads linking the SSB police chowkis situated on the Indo-

Nepal Border with the main roads of the bordering districts, she said that

State Government
’s proposal worth Rs. 1621 cr. projects had been pending

with the Centre. She requested that the same should be sanctioned at the

earliest. She said that most of the bordering States were under the thick

forest cover. Therefore, it was necessary to create a road network in these

areas to ensure smooth transportation.

During the meeting, Hon
’ble Chief Minister ji apprised the Prime

Minister of the Rs. 8844 cr. U.P. State Road Project-III and said that the

same was financed by the World Bank and it was pending with the Ministry

of Road Transport, Government of India. The Ministry of Road Transport

should have presented this project through Ministry of Finance to World

Bank in June 2010, but it was kept pending unnecessarily. She said that

this project had to be completed in 80 months. Therefore, if its approval

was delayed, then its timely completion would also be affected and the

people of the State would suffer.

Drawing Prime Minister
’s attention towards the Saryu Project

prepared for eastern U.P.; Hon
’ble Chief Minister ji requested that this

project should be immediately declared a national project under the AIBP.

Demanding that the Rs. 7250 cr. proposal sent by the State Government

for Saryu Canal Project should be approved immediately, she said that no

project under AIBP had been declared national project in U.P. She said that

the eastern U.P. was a backward area and this project would create an

additional irrigation capacity of 14.04 lakh hectares.

Hon’ble Chief Minister Ji said that the State Government had been

ensuring appropriate management of financial resources, yet the Central

Government was not cooperating with the State. She said that the State

Government had been continuously saving revenue for the last five fiscals.

She said that during the previous financial year which ended on 31 March

2010, the State Government achieved revenue saving of Rs. 7047 cr. She

said that the States budgetary losses stood at 3.8 per cent of the GSDP at

the end of the last fiscal. She requested the Prime Minister that considering

the better financial record of the State Government; the Centre should

amply support the State.

Emphasising the need to ensure uniform development of all the areas

of the State, the Hon
’ble Chief Minister ji requested the Prime Minister that

special economy assistance was required for the development of backward

areas like Poorvanchal and Bundelkhand. She said that a Rs. 80,000 cr.

package had been sent to the Government of India earlier for the all round

development of the State. She said that this proposal included the

development of infrastructure in Bundelkhand and Poorvanchal areas and

also other important needs. She said that on the basis of the

recommendations of Dr. Samra Committee, the Central Government

sanctioned special package of Rs. 3506 cr. for Bundelkhand region, but

major part of this package was included in the current Central schemes.

She pointed out that even after the announcement of this special package

only Rs. 550 cr. annually and in all Rs. 1200 cr. would be available for the

development of Bundelkhand region, which was insufficient. She requested

the Prime Minister to provide special area incentive package for

Bundelkhand and Poorvanchal regions as was provided to Uttarakhand and

other States.

Hon
’ble Chief Minister ji, during the meeting, requested the P.M. to

immediately sanction the Taj International Airport at Jewar. She reminded

that during 26-05-2007 meeting, the Prime Minister had assured her that

the Central Government would approve TIA within 3 months, if the State

Government was ready to accept the contractual obligations between the

Central Government and the developer of the Indira Gandhi International

Airport (IGIA). The State Government on 29-05-2007 had approved this

proposal as per the condition of the Central Government. She regretted

that the Central Government had not sanctioned this important project so

far.

Hon
’ble Chief Minister ji said that the Central Government earlier

demanded Techno Economic Feasibility Report (TEFR) involving the Delhi

International Airport Limited (DIAL). Though, this request of the Central

Government was not correct, because the same was a party in the DIAL

case, but the Central Government was emphasising that it would conduct

another traffic study even though the State Government had given

supplementary TEFR. She said that the TIA project was feasible under the

Green Field Airport Policy-2008 of the Central Government. She said that

owing to ever increasing air traffic at the IGIA, another airport for New

Delhi was very much necessary. She said that second airports within a

radius of 150 km. have been sanctioned at Navi Mumbai, Mopa and

Kannur. Therefore, the Centre should not delay the approval of TIA project.

Hon
’ble Chief Minister ji apprised of the Prime Minister that there was

short supply of power in comparison to demand, because no additional

power generation capacity had been created during the past 15 years.

Elaborating upon the measures being taken by the State Government to

make the State self-sufficient in the field of power generation, she said that

the State Government had decided to create an additional power

generation capacity of 25000 MW in next 07 years. She said that owing to

the geographical constraints, the State was dependent on the coal

produced in the country. Therefore, the State Government had requested

the Ministry of Coal to allocate coal linkages for setting up of the Thermal

Power Plants and also to allot 6 coal blocks earlier, so that enough coal was

available for the proposed power projects. She requested the P.M. to

approve these proposals at the earliest.

After the meeting, Hon
’ble Chief Minister ji express the hope that the

P.M. would seriously consider the requests of the State Government and

direct the concerning ministries to take constructive decision in the favour

of people of the Uttar Pradesh.

********

C.M. greets people on Dussehra Vijaydashmi symbolises win of truth over falsehood
— Hon’ble C.M.

Lucknow: 16 October 2010

The Uttar Pradesh Hon’ble Chief Minister Ms. Mayawati ji

has extended her heartiest greetings to the people of the State

on the occasion of Vijaydashmi (Dussehra).

In a greetings message issued here today, Hon’ble Ms.

Mayawati ji said that festivals had a great importance in Indian

culture. The festival of Dussehra symbolises the win of truth

over falsehood and it inspired all of us to stick to our ideals, she

said adding that the festival of Dussehra strengthened the

feeling of cultural unity all over the country.

The Chief Minister has appealed to the people to celebrate

Dussehra with full fervour, gaiety and joy in an atmosphere of

peace and harmony.

********

Gold, silver and bonze medal winners of U. P. in Commonwealth Games to be honoured with Manyawar Sri Kanshiram ji International Sports Award by Hon’ble Chief Minister

Lucknow : October 15, 2010

The Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Ms. Mayawati

ji has taken the decision to honour all players who brought

laurels to the State in Commonwealth Games with Manyawar

Sri Kanshiram ji International Sports Award. She has again

congratulated all the players of Uttar Pradesh for their

remarkable achievements by winning the medals in the 19
th

Commonwealth Games.

The Hon’ble Chief Minister said that these players would

be honoured in a function to be organised in Lucknow. Hon’ble

Chief Minister would provide Rs. 15 lakh to the player of U.P.

who got gold medal in solo competition, Rs. 10 lakh for winning

silver medal and Rs. 08 lakh for bronze medal. Similarly, the

players who won gold medal in team competitions would get

Rs. 10 lakh each, Rs. 08 lakh each to the players for silver

medal and Rs. 06 lakh each to the players for winning bronze

medal. She said that the State Government is committed to

promote the players. Necessary resources and ultra-modern

facilities are being provided for different sports competitions,

she added.

The players of U.P. who got medals in Commonwealth

Games are-Mr. Omkar (Azamgarh), Km. Anuraj Singh (Aligarh)

and Imran Hassan Khan (Bareilly) gold medals in shooting, Km.

Alka Tomar (Meerut) and Mr. Narsingh Yadav (Varanasi) gold

medals in wrestling, Mr. Ritul Chatterjee (Varanasi) silver

medal in archery, Ms. Sonia Chanu working in U.P. Police

(Home State Manipur) silver medal in weight lifting, Mr. Anuj

Chaudhary (Muzaffarnagar) silver medal in wrestling, Mr.

Tushar Khandkar (Jhansi) and Mr. Danish Murtuza (Allahabad)

silver medal in Hockey and Mr. Ashish (Allahabad) silver and

bronze medals in gymnastics.

********

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10/18/10

LESSON 62 FOUR JHANAS PART II 18 10 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY-Anyone Can Attain Ultimate Bliss Just Visit:http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org-”As a single drop of water fills a bucket so do small deeds of evil; as a single drop of water fills a bucket so do small deeds of good.”- The Buddha -BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!-WISDOM IS POWER-GOOD GOVERNANCE-UP CM to meet PM tomorrow, seek spl package for flood relief-The Pioneer launches Hindi edition in Uttar Pradesh

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LESSON 62 FOUR JHANAS PART II 18 10 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY

Anyone Can Attain Ultimate Bliss Just Visit:http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org

“As a single drop of water fills a bucket so do small deeds of evil; as a single drop of water fills a bucket so do small deeds of good.”- The Buddha

BUDDHA (EDUCATE)!                     DHAMMA (MEDITATE)!                   SANGHA (ORGANISE)!

WISDOM       IS    POWER

Awakened One Shows the Path to Attain Ultimate Bliss

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The Free ONLINE e-Nālandā Research and Practice University has been re-organized to function through the following Schools of Learning :

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The teachings of Buddha are eternal, but even then Buddha did not proclaim them to be infallible. The religion of Buddha has the capacity to change according to times, a quality which no other religion can claim to have…Now what is the basis of Buddhism? If you study carefully, you will see that Buddhism is based on reason. There is an element of flexibility inherent in it, which is not found in any other religion.

§ Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , Indian scholar, philosopher and architect of Constitution of India, in his writing and speeches

I.
KAMMA

REBIRTH

AWAKEN-NESS

BUDDHA

THUS COME ONE

DHAMMA

II.
ARHAT

FOUR HOLY TRUTHS

EIGHTFOLD PATH

TWELVEFOLD CONDITIONED ARISING

BODHISATTVA

PARAMITA

SIX PARAMITAS

III.

SIX SPIRITUAL POWERS

SIX PATHS OF REBIRTH

TEN DHARMA REALMS

FIVE SKANDHAS

EIGHTEEN REALMS

FIVE MORAL PRECEPTS

IV.

MEDITATION

MINDFULNESS

FOUR APPLICATIONS OF MINDFULNESS

LOTUS POSTURE

SAMADHI

CHAN SCHOOL

FOUR JHANAS

FOUR FORMLESS REALMS

V.

FIVE TYPES OF BUDDHIST STUDY AND PRACTICE

MAHAYANA AND HINAYANA COMPARED

PURE LAND

BUDDHA RECITATION

EIGHT CONSCIOUSNESSES

ONE HUNDRED DHARMAS

EMPTINESS

VI.

DEMON

LINEAGE

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FOUR JHANAS PART II

http://www.angelfire.com/electronic/awakening101/janas.html]

THE JHANAS IN THERAVADAN BUDDHIST MEDITATION

PRESENTED BY
the Wanderling

AND THE GRACEFUL SERVICES OF:
LEIGH BRASINGTON

All of us are familiar with The Eightfold Path – the Buddha’s prescription for attaining Enlightenment. We have some idea what is meant by right speech, right action, right livelihood and so forth. And we know that these are very important. However, the one step in the path that is often short-changed is the eighth step: “Right Concentration.” This paper will seek to explain what right concentration is, how to practice it, and the role it plays in the road to Enlightenment.

Right Concentration, (Samma Samadhi) is explicitly defined in the Mahasatipatthana Sutta (Digha Nikaya #22) and in other suttas (for example, Saccavibhanga Sutta - Majjhima Nikaya #141) as Jhanic meditation:

And what is Right Concentration? Here a monk — secluded from sense desires, secluded from unwholesome states of mind — enters and remains in the First Jhana which is filled with rapture and joy born of seclusion accompanied by initial and sustained attention. With the stilling of initial and sustained attention, by gaining inner tranquillity and oneness of mind, he enters and remains in the Second Jhana which is without initial and sustained attention; born of concentration, and is filled with rapture and joy. With the fading away of rapture, remaining imperturbable, mindful, and clearly aware, he enters and remains in the Third Jhana, and of him the Noble Ones declare, “Equanimous and mindful, he has a pleasurable abiding.” With the the abandoning of pleasure and pain — as with the earlier disappearance of elation and distress — he enters and remains in the Fourth Jhana: which is beyond pleasure and pain; and purified by equanimity and mindfulness. This is called Right Concentration.

Thus the Jhanas are at the very heart of the Buddha’s teaching as presented in this important sutta.

Before he became the Buddha, at the beginning of his spiritual quest, Siddhartha Gautama studied with two teachers. The first teacher taught him the first Seven Jhanas; the other teacher taught him the Eighth Jhana. Both teachers told him they had taught him all there was to learn. But Siddhartha still didn’t know why there was suffering, so he left each of these teachers and wound up doing six years of austerity practises. These too did not provide the answer to his question and he abandoned these for what has come to be known as the Middle Way. The suttas indicate that on the night of his Enlightenment, he sat down under the Bodhi Tree and began his meditation by practising the Jhanas (for example, see the Mahasaccaka Sutta - Majjhima Nikaya #36). When his mind was “concentrated, purified, bright, unblemished, rid of imperfection, malleable, wieldy, steady and attained to imperturbability” he direct it to the “true knowledges” that gave rise to his incredible breakthrough in consciousness known in the sutras as Anuttara Samyak Sambodhi. So we see that the Jhanas are not only at the heart of his teaching, but also were at the heart of his own practise.

WHAT THEY ARE

The Pali word Jhana is best translated as “meditative absorption state.” It is the same as the Sanskrit Dhyana, which derives from Dhayati, meaning to think or meditate. You know what an “absorption state” is — it’s when you get so involved in a TV show or video game or mystery novel that you are surprised when the phone rings and brings you back to reality. The Jhanas are eight altered states of consciousness which can arise during periods of strong concentration. The Jhanas are naturally occurring states of mind, but learning how to enter them at will and how to stay in them takes practice.

HOW TO ENTER THE JHANAS

There is very little actual instruction on how to “do” Jhana practice in the sutras. One probable reason for this is that the Jhanas were a well-known practice among serious spiritual seekers 2500 years ago. Just like today, when giving someone directions to your house, you don’t include information on how to start the car, shift gears, etc., so it wasn’t considered necessary to explain how to do the Jhanas. Another probable reason is that the Jhanas are best learned in a one-on-one setting with a teacher — they do not lend themselves to what we call today “book learning.” Let us examine each Jhana and how one goes about “doing” them.

One thing that IS mentioned in contributing toward a positive overall outcome in the pursuit of Jhanas is not so much how it is done, but WHERE it is done, i.e., the right place, dwelling, or monastery.

Henepola Gunaratana, citing various Sutras writes:

The types of dwelling places commended by the Buddha most frequently in the suttas as conductive to the jhanas are a secluded dwelling in the forest, at the foot of a tree, on a mountain, in a cleft, in a cave, in a cemetery, on a wooded flatland, in the open air, or on a heap of straw (M.i,181). Having found a suitable dwelling and settled there, the disciple should maintain scrupulous observance of the rules of discipline, He should be content with his simple requisites, exercise control over his sense faculties, be mindful and discerning in all activities, and practice meditation diligently as he was instructed. It is at this point that he meets the first great challenge of his contemplative life, the battle with The Five Hindrances.

Seeking the Jhana states in a more formal setting, the texts mention The Eighteen Faults of a Monastery, that is, unfavorable to the development of Jhana. They are, briefly, a large monastery, a new one, a dilapidated one, one near a road, one with a pond, leaves, flowers or fruits, one sought after by many people, one in cities, among timber of fields, where people quarrel, in a port, in border lands, on a frontier, a haunted place, and one without access to a spiritual teacher.

Access Concentration
(click)

You must have a certain amount of concentration for the first Jhana to arise. This is called Access Concentration. Access concentration has Sila (morality) as a prerequisite. The description of the First Jhana starts “Secluded from sense desires, secluded from unwholesome states of mind…”. If you are not leading a morally upright life, you cannot expect to sit down on a little pillow and find yourself “secluded from sense desires, secluded from unwholesome states of mind.” If there is not sufficient Sila, there is too much to desire, too much to hate or fear, too much to worry about, etc. We can also deduce that access concentration requires that you be in a physical posture that is both comfortable and alert; otherwise, you will be in a painful posture which will lead to aversion or you will be too sleepy to meditate.

Access Concentration can be induced in a number of different ways. There are forty different methods of meditation mentioned in the sutras and thirty of these are suitable for gaining entry to the First Jhana (as examples see Laya and Khanika Samadhi below). The First Jhana has five factors and the first two are Vittaka and Vichara. These two words often get translated as something like “thinking and pondering.” They do have these meanings in some contexts, but not in the context of the Jhanas. Here they are best translated as “initial and sustained attention to the meditation subject.” You put your attention on the meditation subject and you leave it there until access concentration is established. For example, if you have chosen Anapanasati (mindfulness of breathing) as the meditation method, you put your attention on the breath and you keep your attention on the breath until access concentration is established. How do you know access concentration has been established? It varies for each method. For mindfulness of breathing, the breath becomes very fine, almost undetectable when you have established access concentration.

Laya
(click)

Just prior to the threshold of Tranquility, and sometimes in an overlap of early stages and sometimes indistinguishable is a preliminary or early stage called Laya. Laya is a mental state of quietude easily slipped into that occurs usually in the course of spiritual practice. The experience is temporary as the arrest of thoughts return the moment the pressure is released. The stillness comes and goes. The experience is pleasant and can be sought about by `deep concentration’ and/or breath regulation. It happens, therefore, with one’s own volition. It can be repeated by the practitioner and it can also equally be dropped if it is considerd unnecessary or obstructive to further progress. ‘Entering into Laya’ can be a clear sign of one’s progress — the danger lies in mistaking it for the final goal of spiritual practice and being thus deceived. See also Gedo.

Khanika Samadhi
(click)

Another approach, albeit at the other end of the meditation ladder than Laya, thus considered somewhat more difficult for the novitiate, is momentary concentration, or Khanika Samadhi (sequential momentary deep concentration). It occurs only at the moment of noting and, in the case of Vipassana, not on a fixed object as Samatha-Jhana meditation but on changing objects or phenomena that occur in the mind and body. But, when the practioner of Vipassana Meditation develops strength and skill in noting, his Khanika concentration occurs uninterruptedly in a series without a break. This concentration, when it occurs from moment to moment without a break, becomes so powerful that it can overcome The Five Hindrances, thus bringing about purification of mind (citta visuddhi) which can enable a meditator to attain all the insight knowledges up to the level of Arahat.

JHANA OR DHYANA WITH FORM (rupa jhana):
Absorption in supporting content (similar to Patanjali’s samprajnata samadhi):

APAYA ABODES: The Nine Abodes of Living Beings:

The realms of the heavenly beings, the human realm, and the realms of destitution (apaya) are classed as the sensual realm, the abode of living beings who indulge in sensuality. Taken together, they count as one. The Realms of Form, the abodes of living beings who have attained rupa jhana count as four.The Realms of Formlessness, the abodes of living beings who have attained arupa jhana, are also four. So altogether there are nine abodes for living beings. Arahats – who are wise to the Nine Abodes — leave them and don’t have to live in any of them.

First Jhana

Once Access Concentration has been established and the first and second factors, vitakka and vicara are in place, you now induce the third factor of the First Jhana. This third factor is called Piti and is variously translated as delight, euphoria, rapture and ecstasy. By shifting your attention from the meditation subject to a pleasant sensation, particularly a pleasant physical sensation, and doing nothing more than not becoming distracted from the pleasant sensation, you will “automatically” enter the First Jhana. The experience is that the pleasant sensation grows in intensity until it explodes into an unmistakable state of ecstasy. This is Piti, which is primarily a physical experience. Physical pleasure this intense is accompanied by emotional pleasure, and this emotional pleasure is Sukkha (joy) which is the fourth factor of the First Jhana. The fifth and last factor of the first Jhana is Ekaggata (one-pointedness of mind). Like Sukha, this factor arises without you doing anything, and as long as you remain totally focused on the physical and emotional pleasure, you will remain in the first Jhana.

Entry into the first Jhana from a physiological perspective proceeds something like this:

1. You quiet your mind with the initial and sustained attention to the meditation subject (vitakka and vicara).

2. By shifting your attention to a pleasant sensation (piti), you set up a positive reinforcement feedback loop within your quiet mind. For example, one of the most useful pleasant sensations to focus on is a smile. The act of smiling generates endorphins, which make you feel good, which makes you smile more, which generates more endorphins, etc.

3. The final and most difficult part of entering the First Jhana is to not do anything but observe the pleasure (sukkha). Any attempt to increase the pleasure, even any thoughts of wanting to increase the pleasure, interrupt the feedback loop and drop you into a less quiet state of mind. But by doing nothing but focusing intently on the pleasure, you are propelled into an unmistakably altered state of consciousness (ekaggata).

Second Jhana

The second Jhana has three factors which are the same as the last three factors of the First Jhana. The initial and sustained attention to the meditation subject are no longer part of the process. You shift from the first to the Second Jhana by shifting your attention from the physical pleasure to the emotional pleasure — from the Piti to the Sukkha. This has the effect of pushing the physical pleasure into the background and also of greatly calming the mind. The First Jhana is a very intense, agitated state, the Second Jhana is much more soothing. The last factor of the Second Jhana is once again one-pointedness of mind, as it is for all the Jhanas.

Third Jhana

The Third Jhana has two factors. You shift from the second to the third by letting go of the physical pleasure and changing the emotional pleasure from joy to contentment, almost like turning down the volume control on your emotional pleasure. The Second Jhana has an upwelling quality to it as the joy seems to flow through you; the Third Jhana is much more of a motionless, quiet contentment. The one-pointedness of mind remains as the other factor.

Fourth Jhana

The transition to the Fourth Jhana from the third takes a bit more effort and bit more letting go than any of the previous transitions. The contentment of the Third Jhana is still a positive state of mind. This contentment is refined into a very equanimous, quiet, stillness. There is no positive or negative feeling in either mind or body. There is just an all pervading, deep peacefulness, with of course, one-pointedness.

The first four Jhanas are called the Fine Material Jhanas. Intense pleasure, joy, contentment and stillness are all states we are familiar with in our normal, everyday lives. But the quality and intensity of these factors as experienced in the Jhanas is more sublime than we normally experience, thus they are called the Fine Material Jhanas. The next four Jhanas are called the Immaterial Jhanas because they are not like anything we normally experience. Each of these Jhanas has two factors — the first factor serves as the name of the Jhana, the second factor is one-pointedness.

JHANA OR DHYANA WITHOUT FORM (arupa jhana):
Absorption without form, leading to increasing rarefaction or incorporeality
(similar to Patanjali’s asamprajnata samadhi):

Fifth Jhana

The Fifth Jhana is called “The Sphere of Infinite Space.” Please remember that these are just names for experiences the likes of which we are not familiar with. It just feels like infinite space — it doesn’t necessarily mean we are able to experience all the space in the universe. According to the sutras, you enter the Fifth Jhana by “not giving attention to diversity”. This isn’t much detail, but then there is very little “how to” detail about any of the Jhanas. Many people enter the Fifth Jhana by shifting their attention from the primary factor of the previous Jhana to the boundaries of their being. They then start to mentally push these boundaries outward. If you can continue to focus on imagining your boundaries growing ever larger so that you fill the room, the building, the neighborhood, the city, etc., you will eventually experience a sudden shift and find your self in a huge expanse of empty space. The first time entry into “The Base of Infinite Space” is often quite dramatic. You seem to be observing an incredibly large, empty expanse of space. It can feel like walking up to the edge of the Grand Canyon and looking over, but there is no other side and no bottom.

Sixth Jhana

The Sixth Jhana is called “The Sphere of Infinite Consciousness.” It has been mistaken for achieving oneness with all consciousness. It can be entered from the Fifth Jhana by realizing that in order to “gaze” at an infinite spaceousness, you must have an infinite consciousness, and then shifting your attention to that consciousness. This is a fairly subtle shift, but like the transition from each of the Jhanas to the next higher Jhana, there is an increase in concentration.

Seventh Jhana

The Seventh Jhana is called “The Sphere of No-thingness.” It can be entered from the Sixth Jhana by shifting your attention from the infinite consciousness to the content of that consciousness. It is not surprising that the content of infinite consciousness is empty since that infinite consciousness was entered from infinite space which has no perception of diversity. The Seventh Jhana has sometimes been mistaken, not by perceivers but by pundits or outside observers, as being or having the “same meaning” of emptiness as Sunyata. See Ken-Chu-Shi.

Eighth Jhana

The Eighth Jhana is called “The Sphere of Neither Perception nor Non-perception”. It is quite difficult to discuss because there is very little to discuss. Perception is a translation of the word Sanna which refers to the categorizing, naming function of the mind. Hence in this state there is very little recognition of what’s happening, yet one is also not totally unaware of what’s happening. It is a very peaceful, restful state and has the ability to recharge a tired mind. It is entered from the Seventh Jhana by letting go of all the outward, infinite expanse and coming to rest in what seems to be a very natural calm quiet place. The mind seems to know a lot more about how to find this space than can be verbalized. See also: Saijojo

SEE:
KAIVALYA

SAHAJA SAMADHI: OTHER VIEWS

Please compare the last five Jhanas above with the list of Five Degrees of Realization attributed to Tung-shan in the Five Degrees of Tozan as well as the five “types” of Zen in The Five Varieties of Zen.

Again, all of these Jhanas are naturally occurring states of mind. It is simply necessary to set up the proper conditions for the Jhana to arise, then do nothing and the mind will find its own way into the heart of the Jhana. Each of these Jhanas requires more concentration to enter than its predecessor. Each of these Jhanas results in a more concentrated mind than its predecessor. This concentration is the main reason for the importance of the Jhanas. With a superbly concentrated mind, you can see much more deeply into the nature of things as they are. Because the ego has to become very quiet to “do” the Jhanas, after “doing” them, you see things from a much less egocentric perspective. This is why Jhana practice is sometimes referred to as “sharpening Manjushri’s sword”; once the sword is sharp, once the mind is concentrated, it is much easier to cut through the bonds of ignorance (Manjushri is the Tibetan Bodhisattva of Wisdom. He is usually pictured with a sword in his right hand which is used to cut thru the bonds of ignorance).

From the above discussion, we can more fully understand the Buddha’s teaching of Sila, Prajna Samadhi, — morality, wisdom, concentration. You clean up your act so that when you sit down to meditate, you can fully concentrate. You use the Jhanas to concentrate your mind as strongly as you are able. You then begin wielding Manjushri’s sword by doing an insight practice that enables you to gain wisdom by seeing things as they really are rather than by seeing things from your usual egocentric perspective.

CONTROVERSIES SURROUNDING THE PRACTICE OF THE JHANAS

Since the time of the Buddha, attitudes towards the Jhanas have varied greatly. There is strong evidence in the Suttas that quite early on there were at least two schools of thought. One approach emphasized insight practice almost exclusively, feeling that since insight gives rise to the wisdom necessary for enlightenment, this was what was more important. An excellent example of a sutra reflecting this approach is the Sammaditthi Sutra (Majjhima Nikaya #9). Here Sariputta gives a beautiful discourse on Right View. He discussed 16 important topics and ends each topic by saying “When a noble disciple has thus understood [the topic], he uproots the underlying tendency to greed, hatred, the ‘I am’ conceit and ignorance, and arousing true knowledge he here and now makes an end of suffering.” Here enlightenment is achieved solely through insights; the Jhanas are not even mentioned.

Another school of thought gave considerable importance to the Jhanas. Those using this approach practiced the Jhanas so deeply that they developed what is called in Sanskrit Siddhi, that is, supernatural powers. These Siddhis, such as the divine ear (telepathy), being in two places at once, (bi-location), remembering past lives, etc., may be seen as phenomena in which the person is tapping into the “collective unconscious.” This approach to Enlightenment can be found in the Kevatta Sutra. The Buddha first teaches morality and then the Jhanas. From the concentration resulting from the Jhanas, “one applies and directs the mind” to the attainment of these Siddhis. Enlightenment is attained in exactly the same way as the divine ear; there is no discussion of insights other than “knowing and seeing”. This “formula” appears in each of these eleven suttas in almost exactly the same way — something to be expected in an oral tradition — but which means that we cannot be sure of what was originally in the sutra before the formula was inserted. Insight is barely mentioned in this method. Here Enlightenment is achieved through developing paranormal powers. We can assume that Enlightenment arises in one who has developed sufficent intimate contact with the collective unconscious that one can no longer concieve of himself as a separate entity.

The Culasaropama Sutra (Majjhima Nikaya #30) in addition to being an excellent teaching on the dangers of spiritual materialism, also refers to the Jhanas. However, it shows signs that suggest the text has been altered. Its beautiful mathematical harmony of the sutra suddenly breaks down in section 12 with a discussion of the Jhanas. The Jhanas are a concentration practice and concentration has already been stated in section 10 to be a lesser state than knowledge and vision. But when the Jhanas are introduced in section 12, they are said to be “higher and more sublime than knowledge and vision.” The inclusion of the Jhanas here actually makes the sutta self-contradictory. It also contradicts other pro-Jhana sutras. The formulation of the eight Jhanas is the standard “short” one, (similiar to what is found in the Mahasatipatthana Sutta) but with the addition of a last sentence in each of the paragraphs: “This [too] is a state higher and more sublime than knowledge and vision.” This sentence directly contradicts the last sentence of section 84 of the Samannaphala Sutta (Digha Nikaya #2). In the previous paragraph of the Samannaphala Sutta, the recluse directs the concentrated, pure, bright mind resulting from the fourth Jhana towards knowledge and vision. The understanding gained “is a visible fruit of recluseship more excellent and sublime than the previous ones”. Many other suttas show signs of this type of tampering and we are left today with the task of puzzling out the original teaching.

CONCLUSION

The effects of this multi-millennium old debate still affect us today, not only in not knowing what the original suttas looked like, but also in understanding the role of the Jhanas.

The Jhanas are sometimes considered a dangerous practice because they are not an Insight Practice. The primary factor of the first Jhana is Piti and Piti is mentioned as a corruption of insight in the commentaries (see, for example, the Visuddhimagga). This has been taken to mean that Piti is bad, when all that is meant is that Piti should not be mistaken for a non-mundane state. Theravadan Buddhism in the West has primarily come down from theMahasi Sayadaw tradition in Burma and this tradition is a “dry insight” (non-Jhanic) tradition. Thus the Jhanas are seldom mentioned, let alone taught, in Western Theravadan Buddhist teaching.

The Jhanas are also difficult to teach. Not everyone has a temperament suited to concentration practice. Even for those who find concentration easy, the Jhanas require a long silent retreat setting for learning. Far from being “secluded from unwholesome states of mind,” people who wish to learn the Jhanas are immediately thrust INTO the state of desiring something. Finally, as mentioned above, the Jhanas do not lend themselves to “book learning”; you really need one-on-one, immediate feedback from a teacher in order to aim your mind in the correct direction. The Jhanas are natural states on mind, but the lives we lead here at the close of the 20th century are so filled that it is difficult to find the quiet, natural mind. See Doing Hard Time In A Zen Monastery.

The Jhanas are states of concentration. How to do them was common knowledge at the time of the Buddha. He practiced them, and it is clear from the suttas that they comprise right concentration. We are left with the task of fitting the Jhanas into our present spiritual practises. Perhaps between the extremes of ignoring them completely and practising them to excess, lies the middle way of using them as a tool to sharpen the mind for Insight Practise. Remember, as stated previously and presented above:

Before he became the Buddha, at the beginning of his spiritual quest, Siddhattha Gotma studied with two teachers. The first teacher, Alara Kalama, taught him the First Seven Jhanas; the other teacher, Uddaka Ramaputta, taught him the Eighth Jhana. Both teachers told him they had taught him all there was to learn. But Siddhattha still didn’t know why there was suffering, so he left each of these teachers and wound up doing six years of austerity practises. These too did not provide the answer to his question and he abandoned these for what has come to be known as the Middle Way. The sutras indicate that on the night of his Enlightenment, he sat down under the Bohdi Tree and began his meditation by practising the Jhanas (for example, see the Mahasaccaka Sutta - Majjhima Nikaya #36). When his mind was “concentrated, purified, bright, unblemished, rid of imperfection, malleable, wieldy, steady and attained to imperturbability” he direct it to the “true knowledges” that gave rise to his incredible breakthrough in consciousness known in the sutras as Anuttara Samyak Sambodhi, beyond the beyond of the Eighth Jhana.

So we see that the Jhanas are not only at the heart of his teaching, but also were at the heart of his own practise.

EVEN SO, ALL EIGHT JHANAS WERE STILL NOT ENOUGH. THE BUDDHA’S “BREAKTHROUGH” TRANSPIRED ONLY AFTER HE HAD “SURPASSED” THE EIGHTH AND FINAL JHANA!! HIS AWAKENING DID NOT OCCUR “IN” THE EIGHTH JHANA BUT “BEYOND” IT. IT IS IN THAT REALM OF “BEYOND” BEYOND THE BEYOND WHEREIN THE JEWEL OF THE ANCIENTS CAN BE REALIZED BY ALL.

the Wanderling

SEE
BUDDHIST MEDITATION: Stages of Mindfulness and Absorption
PATH OF MINDFULNESS LEADING TO INSIGHT

JHANA FACTORS: Traditional Factors of the Eight Jhana States

Fundamentally, our experience as experienced is not different from the Zen master’s. Where
we differ is that we place a fog, a particular kind of conceptual overlay onto that experience
and then make an emotional investment in that overlay, taking it to be “real” in and of itself.

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AWAKENED TEACHERS FORUM

ZEN ENLIGHTENMENT IN A NUTSHELL

GASSHO
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This work may be freely distributed, as a gift of Dharma.

Department of Life Sciences< ?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” />

Welcome to Life Sciences

Embracing the full breadth of modern life sciences activity, the department comprises one of the largest groups in Europe and is composed of three academic divisions:Molecular Biosciences; Cell & Molecular Biology; and Biology.

Professor Ian Owens, HoD

The Department teaches three major degrees in Biology, Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences and a wide range of Masters-level courses.

Congratulations

To Professor So Iwata who has been awarded The Gregori Aminoff prize in crystallography 2010 from the Royal Swedish Academy of Science (see http://www.kva.se/en/), for his seminal crystallographic studies of membrane proteins.

To Professor Martin Buck who has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society for his pioneering contributions to our understanding of molecular mechanisms of transcription initiation in bacteria (May 09).

To Professor Anne Dell who has been awarded a CBE (2009)

Diamond Podcast featuring Professor Stephen Curry (2009)

New Laser Laboratory Opens (2010)

PhD assessment regulations for students commencing their studies in the Department of Life Sciences from October 2010

Events

The main Imperial College Postgraduate Open Day will take place on the South Kensington campus on Wednesday 8th December 2010 at 12.30pm - 4pm (last entry 3.30pm). Each Department will have a stall where staff will be able to advise on the research and taught masters opportunities available in their department. There will also be stands giving advice on the application process, accommodation, fees and funding and we will be running tours of the campus throughout the afternoon.

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GOOD GOVERNANCE

Uttar Pradesh

UP CM to meet PM tomorrow, seek spl package for flood relief

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday to seek a special package for flood hit districts of the state. This will be her first meeting with the Prime Minister since August 2009, when she had met him to demand a special package to ensure uninterrupted power supply to the state.

After that, she did not even attended the meeting of the National Development Council some months back as well as the crucial meeting to discuss internal security.

The UP Chief Minister had recently written three letters to the Prime Minister demanding special package for flooded areas of the state.

The Pioneer launches Hindi edition in Uttar Pradesh

PTI | 03:10 PM,Oct 17,2010

Lucknow, Oct 17 (PTI) One of the oldest English newspaper in the country The Pioneer has launched its Hindi edition in Uttar Pradesh. “The newspaper will follow high standards of journalism and will follow its editorial policy of bringing unbiased and qualitative news to the readers,” said MP and Editor-in-Chief of The Pioneer Chandan Mitra while launching the inaugural issue of Hindi edition at a function held here last evening. He said that the paper was not being launched to make profits, but for the service of Hindi journalism. “In the days to come, we plan to take it beyond Uttar Pradesh to other Hindi-speaking states where we have our English edition in place as well,” he added. Resident Editor Vijay Prakash Singh said the edition will not be a mere translation of the English newspaper and have an independent identity. The 146-year-old newspaper that was started in Allahabad in 1864, has seven editions - five of which were launched after Mitra took over its reins of the newspaper in 1998. The paper’s Delhi edition was brought out in 1991.

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LESSON 61 FOUR JHANAS PART I 17 10 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY-Anyone Can Attain Ultimate Bliss Just Visit:http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org-”Establish your mind as necessary for knowledge and remembrance. Establish a mind free of grasping to anything.”- The Buddha-BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!-WISDOM IS POWER-Department of Biotechnology

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LESSON 61 FOUR JHANAS PART I 17 10 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY

Anyone Can Attain Ultimate Bliss Just Visit:http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org

“Establish your mind as necessary for knowledge and remembrance. Establish a mind free of grasping to anything.”- The Buddha

BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!

WISDOM IS POWER

Awakened One Shows the Path to Attain Ultimate Bliss

COMPUTER IS AN ENTERTAINMENT INSTRUMENT!

INTERNET!

ENTERTAINMENT NET!

TO BE MOST APPROPRIATE!

Using such an instrument

The Free ONLINE e-Nālandā Research and Practice University has been re-organized to function through the following Schools of Learning :

Buddha’s Sangha Practiced His Dhamma Free of cost, hence the Free- e-Nālandā Research and Practice University follows suit

As the Original Nālandā University did not offer any Degree, so also the Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University.

§ Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , Indian scholar, philosopher and architect of Constitution of India, in his writing and speeches

I.
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TWELVEFOLD CONDITIONED ARISING

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IV.

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MAHAYANA AND HINAYANA COMPARED

PURE LAND

BUDDHA RECITATION

EIGHT CONSCIOUSNESSES

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with

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Level VI: Arhat

Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in

mathematics,

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FOUR JHANAS

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jh%C4%81na

Jhāna (Pāli: झान; Sanskrit: ध्यान dhyāna) is a meditative state of profound stillness and concentration. It is discussed in the Pāli canon (and the parallel agamas) and post-canonical Theravāda Buddhist literature.

In the early texts, it is taught as a state of collected, full-body awareness in which mind becomes very powerful and still but not frozen, and is thus able to observe and gain insight into the changing flow of experience.^[1]^[2] Later Theravada literature, in particular the Visuddhimagga, describes it as an abiding in which the mind becomes fully immersed and absorbed in the chosen object of attention,^[3] characterized by non-dual consciousness.^[4]

The Buddha himself entered jhāna, as described in the early texts, during his own quest for enlightenment, and is constantly seen in the suttas encouraging his disciples to develop jhāna as a way of achieving awakening and liberation.^[5]^[6]^[7]

One key innovative teaching of the Buddha was that meditative absorption must be combined with liberating cognition.^[8]

Just before his passing away, The Buddha entered the jhānas in direct and reverse order, and the passing away itself took place after rising from the fourth jhāna.^[9]

The Buddha’s most well-known instructions on attaining jhana are via mindfulness of breathing, found in the Ānāpānasati Sutta and elsewhere.

Stages of jhāna

The Rupa Jhānas

There are four stages of deep collectedness which are called the Rupa Jhāna (Fine-material Jhāna):

1. First Jhāna - In the first jhana there are - “directed thought, evaluation, rapture, pleasure, unification of mind, contact, feeling, perception, intention, consciousness, desire, decision, persistence,mindfulness, equanimity & attention”

2. Second Jhāna - In the second jhana there are - “internal assurance, rapture, pleasure, unification of mind, contact, feeling, perception, intention, consciousness, desire, decision, persistence, mindfulness, equanimity, & attention.”

3. Third Jhāna - In the third jhana, there are - “equanimity-pleasure, unification of mind, contact, feeling, perception, intention, consciousness, desire, decision, persistence, mindfulness, equanimity & attention”

4. Fourth Jhāna - In the fourth jhana there are - “a feeling of equanimity, neither pleasure nor pain; an unconcern due to serenity of awareness; unification of mind, contact, feeling, perception, intention, consciousness, desire, decision, persistence, mindfulness, equanimity & attention”.^[10]

[edit]The Arupa Jhānas

Beyond the four jhānas lie four attainments, referred to in the early texts as aruppas. These are also referred to in commentarial literature as immaterial/the formless jhānas (arūpajhānas), also translated as The Formless Dimensions:

1. Dimension of Infinite Space - In the dimension of infinite space there are - “the perception of the dimension of the infinitude of space, unification of mind, contact, feeling, perception, intention, consciousness, desire, decision, persistence, mindfulness, equanimity, & attention”

2. Dimension of Infinite Consciousness - In the Dimension of infinite consciousness there are - “the perception of the dimension of the infinitude of consciousness, unification of mind, contact, feeling, perception, intention, consciousness, desire, decision, persistence, mindfulness, equanimity, & attention”

3. Dimension of Nothingness - In the dimension of nothingness, there are - “the perception of the dimension of nothingness, singleness of mind, contact, feeling, perception, intention, consciousness, desire, decision, persistence, mindfulness, equanimity, & attention”

4. Dimension of Neither Perception nor Non-Perception - About the role of this jhana it is said: “He emerged mindfully from that attainment. On emerging mindfully from that attainment, he regarded the past qualities that had ceased & changed: ‘So this is how these qualities, not having been, come into play. Having been, they vanish.’ He remained unattracted & unrepelled with regard to those qualities, independent, detached, released, dissociated, with an awareness rid of barriers. He discerned that ‘There is no further escape,’ and pursuing it there really wasn’t for him.” ^[11]

In the suttas, these are never referred to as jhānas. According to the early scriptures, the Buddha learned the last two formless attainments from two teachers, Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta respectively, prior to his enlightenment.^[12] It is most likely that they belonged to the Brahmanical tradition.^[13]

[edit]Cessation of feelings and perceptions

The Buddha himself discovered an attainment beyond the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception, the “cessation of feelings and perceptions”. This is sometimes called the “ninth jhāna” in commentarial and scholarly literature.^[14]^[15]

About this, it is said: “Seeing with discernment, his fermentations were totally ended. He emerged mindfully from that attainment. On emerging mindfully from that attainment, he regarded the past qualities that had ceased & changed: ‘So this is how these qualities, not having been, come into play. Having been, they vanish.’ He remained unattracted & unrepelled with regard to those qualities, independent, detached, released, dissociated, with an awareness rid of barriers. He discerned that ‘There is no further escape,’ and pursuing it there really wasn’t for him.”^[16]

Someone attaining this state is an anagami or an arahant.^[17] In the above extract, the Buddha narrates that Sariputta became an arahant upon reaching it.^[18]

[edit]Historical development

[edit]Element and formless meditation

Early Brahminic passages on meditation suggest that the most basic presupposition of early Brahmanical yoga is that the creation of the world must be reversed, through a series of meditative states, by the yogin who seeks the realization of the self.^[19] These states were given doctrinal background in early Brahminic cosmologies, which classified the world into successively coarser strata. One such stratification is found atTU II.1 and Mbh XII.195, and proceeds as follows: self, space, wind, fire, water, earth. Mbh XII.224 gives alternatively: Brahman, mind, space, wind, fire, water, earth.^[20] In Brahmanical thought, the meditative states of consciousness were thought to be identical to the subtle strata of the cosmos.^[21] There is no similar theoretical background to element meditation in the early Buddhist texts, where the elements appear simply as suitable objects of meditation.^[22] It is likely that the Brahmanic practices of element meditation were borrowed and adapted by early Buddhists, with the original Brahmanic ideology of the practices being discarded in the process.^[23] The uses of the elements in early Buddhist literature have in general very little connection to Brahmanical thought; in most places they occur in teachings where they form the objects of a detailed contemplation of the human person. The aim of these contemplations is to induce the correct understanding that the various perceived aspects of the human person do not comprise a self.^[24]

Moreover, the self is conceptualized in terms similar to both “nothingness” and “neither perception nor non-perception” at different places in early Upanishadic literature.^[25] The latter corresponds to Yajnavalkya’s definition of the self in his famous dialogue with Maitreyi in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad and the definition given in the post-Buddhist Mandukya Upanishad. This is mentioned as a claim of non-Buddhist ascetics and Brahmins in the Pañcattaya Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya 102.2).^[26]^[27] In the same dialogue in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Yajnavalkya draws the conclusions that the self that is neither perceptive nor non-perceptive is a state of consciousness without object. The early Buddhist evidence suggests much the same thing for the state of “neither perception nor non-perception”.^[28] It is a state without an object of awareness, that is not devoid of awareness.^[29] The state following it in the Buddhist scheme, the “cessation of perception and sensation”, is devoid not only of objectivity, but of subjectivity as well: seeNibbana#Transcendent knowing.^[30]

This and other evidence suggest that Uddaka Ramaputta belonged to the pre-Buddhist tradition portrayed by the Buddhist and Brahmanic sources, in which the philosophical formulations of the early Upanishads were accepted and the meditative state of “neither perception nor non-perception” was equated with the self.^[31] Furthermore, there is early Upanishadic evidence suggesting that the goal of Alara Kalama was a Brahminical concept. Evidence in the Chandogya Upanishad and the Taittiriya Upanishad suggests that a different early Brahminic philosophical tradition held the view that the unmanifest state of Brahman was a form of non-existence.^[32] Thus it seems likely that both element and formless meditation was learned by the Buddha from his two teachers and adapted by him to his own system.^[33]

[edit]The Buddha and jhāna

The Buddha did not reject the formless attainments in and of themselves, but instead the doctrines of his teachers as a whole, as they did not lead to nibbana. He then underwent harsh ascetic practices with which he eventually also became disillusioned. He subsequently remembered entering jhāna as a child, and realized that “that indeed is the path to enlightenment.” According to Ajahn Sujato, the key difference between the experience the Buddha had as a child and the experience he had as an adult was that, as a child, his mind was uncluttered by the views that would later obscure his path to enlightenment. Sujato interprets the statement to mean that while the states of samādhi were not the goal, they were indeed the path.^[34]

Three discourses in the Bhojjhanga-Samyutta present the claims of non-Buddhist wanderers that they too develop Buddhist-style meditation, including samādhi. They ask the Buddha what the difference is between their teachings and his. He does not respond by teaching right view, but by telling them that they do not fully understand samādhi practice. Ajahn Sujato interprets this statement as explaining a statement of the Buddha’s elsewhere that he “awakened to jhāna“; it is not a claim that he was the first to practice samādhi, but that he was the first to fully comprehend both the benefits and limitations of samādhi experiences.^[35]

While the Buddha was not the first to attain meditative absorption, the stratification of particular samādhi experiences into the four jhānas seems to be a Buddhist innovation. It was then borrowed and presented in an incomplete form in the Mokṣadharma, a part of the Mahābhārata.^[36] It appears that in early Brahminic yoga, the formless spheres were attained following element meditation.^[37] This is also taught as an option in the early Buddhist texts.^[38] The primary method taught to achieve the formless attainment in early Buddhist scriptures, on the other hand, is to proceed to the sphere of infinite space following the fourth jhāna.^[39]

[edit]Preliminary stage

The Buddha explains right concentration (samma samādhi), part of the noble eightfold path, as the four first jhānas. According to the Pāli canon commentary, there is a certain stage of meditation that the meditator should reach before entering into jhāna. This stage is access/neighbourhood concentration (upacāra-samādhi). The overcoming of the five hindrances — sensual desire, ill will, sloth and torpor, restlessness and worry and doubt — marked the entries into access concentration. This concentration is an unstable state where the mind becomes well concentrated on an object but it is still not yet a state of “full concentration” (jhāna). The difference is, in full concentration certain factors become strengthened to such a degree that they bring about a qualitative shift in the level of consciousness and the mind no longer functions on the ordinary sensory level. Access concentration is not mentioned in the discourses of the Buddha. However there are several suttas where a person gains insight into the Dhamma on hearing a teaching from the Buddha. Often their minds are described as being free from hindrances when this occurs and some have identified this as being a type of access concentration.^[40] The equivalent of upacāra-samādhi used inTibetan commentaries is nyer-bsdogs.^[41]

At the state of access concentration, some meditators may experience vivid mental imagery (Pāli: nimitta), which is similar to a vivid dream — as vividly as if seen by the eye, but in this case the meditator is fully aware and conscious that they are seeing mental images. This is discussed in the early texts, and expanded upon in Theravāda commentaries.^[42]

Different meditators will experience different mental images; some meditators may not experience any mental images at all. The same meditator doing multiple meditation sessions may experience different mental images for each session. The mental image may be pleasant, frightening, disgusting, shocking or neutral.

As the concentration becomes stronger, the feelings of breathing and of having a physical body will completely disappear, leaving only pure awareness. At this stage inexperienced meditators may become afraid, thinking that they are going to die if they continue the concentration because the feeling of breathing and the feeling of having a physical body has completely disappeared. They should not be so afraid and should continue their concentration in order to reach “full concentration” (jhāna).^[43]

[edit]Mastering jhāna

A meditator should first master the lower jhānas, before they can go into the higher jhānas. There are five aspects of jhāna mastery:

1. Mastery in adverting: the ability to advert^[^{clarification needed}^] to the jhāna factors one by one after emerging from the jhāna, wherever he wants, whenever he wants, and for as long as he wants.

2. Mastery in attaining: the ability to enter upon jhāna quickly.

3. Mastery in resolving: the ability to remain in the jhāna for exactly the pre-determined length of time.

4. Mastery in emerging: the ability to emerge from jhāna quickly without difficulty.

5. Mastery in reviewing: the ability to review the jhāna and its factors with retrospective knowledge immediately after adverting to them.

The early suttas state that “the most exquisite of recluses” is able to attain any of the jhānas and abide in them without difficulty. This particular arahant is “liberated in both ways:” he is fluent in attaining the jhānasand is also aware of their ultimate unsatisfactoriness. If he were not, he would fall into the same problem as the teachers from whom the Buddha learned the spheres of nothingness and neither perception nor non-perception, in seeing these meditative attainments as something final. Their problem lay in seeing permanence where there is impermanence.^[44]

[edit]Usage of jhāna

The meditator uses the jhāna state to strengthen and sharpen the mind, in order to investigate the true nature of phenomena (dhamma) and to gain higher knowledge. The longer the meditator stays in the state ofjhāna the sharper and more powerful the mind becomes. The jhāna will sometimes cause the five hindrances to be suppressed for days.^[45]

According to the later Theravāda commentorial tradition as outlined by Buddhagoṣa in his Visuddhimagga, after coming out of the state of jhāna the meditator will be in the state of post-jhāna access concentration. This will have the qualities of being certain, long-lasting and stable. It is where the work of investigation and analysis of the true nature of phenomena begins and is also where deep insight into the characteristics of impermanence, suffering and not-self arises. The meditator can experience these truths, which lie at the heart of the Buddha’s teachings, through direct experience.

In contrast, according to the sutta descriptions of jhāna practice, the meditator does not emerge from jhāna to practice vipassana but rather the work of insight is done whilst in jhāna itself. In particular the meditator is instructed to “enter and remain in the fourth jhāna” before commencing the work of insight in order to uproot the mental defilements.^[46]^[47]

With the abandoning of pleasure and pain — as with the earlier disappearance of elation and distress — he enters and remains in the fourth jhāna: purity of equanimity and mindfulness, neither-pleasure nor pain…With his mind thus concentrated, purified, and bright, unblemished, free from defects, pliant, malleable, steady, and attained to imperturbability, the monk directs and inclines it to the knowledge of the ending of the mental fermentations. He discerns, as it has come to be, that ‘This is suffering… This is the origination of suffering… This is the cessation of suffering… This is the way leading to the cessation of suffering… These are mental fermentations… This is the origination of fermentations… This is the cessation of fermentations… This is the way leading to the cessation of fermentations.’

— Samaññaphala Sutta

As the five hindrances may be suppressed for days after entering jhāna, the meditator will feel perfectly clear, mindful, full of compassion, peaceful and light after the meditation session. This may cause some meditators to mistakenly assume that they have gained enlightenment.^[45]

The jhāna state cannot by itself lead to enlightenment as it only suppresses the defilements. Meditators must use the jhāna state as an instrument for developing wisdom by cultivating insight and use it to penetrate the true nature of phenomena through direct cognition, which will lead to cutting off the defilements and nibbana.

[edit]In other schools

Schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism have different approaches to concentration.^[48]

The most distinctive feature of modern Ch’an and Zen meditative techniques is the emphatic rejection of the meditative absorption states of early Buddhism, in favor of total mindfulness of one’s surroundings.^[49] Hui Neng says in his Platform Sutra: “To concentrate the mind and to contemplate it until it is still is a disease and not Zen.” He goes on to say that the meditator who enters a state in which thoughts are suppressed must allow them to arise naturally once again.^[50] The early Buddhist texts describe right concentration, that is, jhāna, as an abiding in which the mind is unified, but not static; it is not the suppression of all thought.^[51] Early Chinese Buddhism did recognize the importance of samādhi. Modern Zen, however, does not teach methods for the purpose of developing concentration.^[52]

Tibetan Buddhism also lacks emphasis on achieving levels of concentration higher than access concentration. According to B. Alan Wallace, one possible explanation for this situation is that virtually all Tibetan Buddhist meditators seek to become enlightened through the use of tantric practices. These require the presence of sense desire and passion in one’s consciousness, but jhāna effectively inhibits these phenomena.^[53] While few Tibetan Buddhists, either inside or outside Tibet, devote themselves to the practice of concentration, Tibetan Buddhist literature does provide extensive instructions on it, and great Tibetan meditators of earlier times stressed its importance.^[54]

[edit]See also

§ Dhyana

§ Samadhi (Buddhism)

§ Rupajhana

§ Arupajhana

§ Kammatthana

§ Anapanasati

[edit]References

1. ^ Richard Shankman, The Experience of Samadhi - an in depth Exploration of Buddhist Meditation, Shambala publications 2008

2. ^ “Should we come out of Jhana to practice vipassana?”. Venerable Henepola Gunaratana.

3. ^ “Jhana”. Access to Insight. Retrieved 2007-12-03.

4. ^ Ajahn Brahm, Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond. Wisdom Publications 2006, page 156.

5. ^ “A Sketch of the Buddha’s Life”. Access to Insight. Retrieved 2007-12-03.

6. ^ Henepola Gunaratana. “The Jhanas”. Buddhist Publication Society. Retrieved 2007-12-03.

7. ^ In the Pali Canon, the instruction on jhana is contained in suttas MN119, AN 1.16, MN118, MN4, MN19, MN36, MN43,MN45, MN64, MN65, MN66, MN76, MN77, MN78, MN79, MN85, MN105, MN107, MN108, MN119, MN125, MN138, MN152, AN2.2, AN3.6, AN3.7, AN3.8, DN1, DN2, MN94, MN100, MN101, MN111, MN112, MN122, MN139 & MN141. This list is not exhaustive.

8. ^ Alexander Wynne, The Origin of Buddhist Meditation. Routledge, 2007, page 73.

9. ^ Sister Vajira & Francis Story. “Maha-parinibbana Sutta”. Buddhist Publication Society. Retrieved 2007-12-03.

10. ^ as stated by Buddha Gotama in the Anuppada Sutta, MN#111

11. ^ as stated by Buddha Gotama in the Anuppada Sutta, MN#111

12. ^ Steven Sutcliffe, Religion: Empirical Studies. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2004, page 135.

13. ^ John J. Holder, Early Buddhist Discourses. Hackett Publishing Company, 2006, page xi.

14. ^ Steven Sutcliffe, Religion: Empirical Studies. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2004, page 135.

15. ^ Chandima Wijebandara, Early Buddhism, Its Religious and Intellectual Milieu. Postgraduate Institute of Pali and Buddhist Studies, University of Kelaniya, 1993, page 22.

16. ^ as stated by Buddha Gotama in the Anuppada Sutta, MN#111

17. ^ Peter Harvey, An Introduction to Buddhism. Cambridge University Press, 1990, page 252.

18. ^ Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s commentary on the Anuppada Sutta, MN#111

19. ^ Alexander Wynne, The Origin of Buddhist Meditation. Routledge 2007, pages 41, 56.

20. ^ Alexander Wynne, The Origin of Buddhist Meditation. Routledge 2007, page 49.

21. ^ Alexander Wynne, The Origin of Buddhist Meditation. Routledge 2007, page 42.

22. ^ Alexander Wynne, The Origin of Buddhist Meditation. Routledge 2007, page 39.

23. ^ Alexander Wynne, The Origin of Buddhist Meditation. Routledge 2007, page 41.

24. ^ Alexander Wynne, The Origin of Buddhist Meditation. Routledge 2007, page 35.

25. ^ Alexander Wynne, The Origin of Buddhist Meditation. Routledge 2007, page 42.

26. ^ M II.228.16 ff according to the PTS numbering.

27. ^ Alexander Wynne, The Origin of Buddhist Meditation. Routledge 2007, page 43.

28. ^ Alexander Wynne, The Origin of Buddhist Meditation. Routledge 2007, page 43.

29. ^ Alexander Wynne, The Origin of Buddhist Meditation. Routledge 2007, page 44.

30. ^ Alexander Wynne, The Origin of Buddhist Meditation. Routledge 2007, page 99.

31. ^ Alexander Wynne, The Origin of Buddhist Meditation. Routledge 2007, page 44, see also 45-49.

32. ^ Alexander Wynne, The Origin of Buddhist Meditation. Routledge 2007, pages 44-45, see also Noa Ronkin, Early Buddhist Metaphysics. Routledge 2005, page 196.

33. ^ Alexander Wynne, The Origin of Buddhist Meditation. Routledge 2007, page 50.

34. ^ Ajahn Sujato, A History of Mindfulness. Santipada Publications, page 97. Digital version available online: [1].

35. ^ Ajahn Sujato, A History of Mindfulness. Santipada Publications, page 98. Digital version available online: [2].

36. ^ Alexander Wynne, The Origin of Buddhist Meditation. Routledge 2007, page 29.

37. ^ Alexander Wynne, The Origin of Buddhist Meditation. Routledge 2007, page 56.

38. ^ Alexander Wynne, The Origin of Buddhist Meditation. Routledge 2007, pages 29-31.

39. ^ Henepola Gunaratana, The Jhanas in Theravada Buddhist Meditation. [3].

40. ^ Peter Harvey, Consciousness Mysticism in the Discourses of the Buddha. In Karel Werner, ed., The Yogi and the Mystic. Curzon Press 1989, page 95. He finds access concentration described at Digha Nikaya I, 110, among other places. “The situation at D I, 110, then, can be seen as one where the hearer of a discourse enters a state which, while not an actual jhana, could be bordering on it. As it is free from hindrances, it could be seen as ‘access’ concentration with a degree of wisdom.” See also Peter Harvey, The Selfless Mind, page 170.

41. ^ B. Alan Wallace, The bridge of quiescence: experiencing Tibetan Buddhist meditation. Carus Publishing Company, 1998, page 92. Wallace translates both as “the first proximate meditative stabilization”.

42. ^ Tse-fu Kuan, Mindfulness in Early Buddhism: New Approaches Through Psychology and Textual Analysis of Pali, Chinese and Sanskrit Sources. Routledge, 2008, pages 65-67.

43. ^ Venerable Sujivo, Access and Fixed Concentration. Vipassana Tribune, Vol 4 No 2, July 1996, Buddhist Wisdom Centre, Malaysia. Available here.

44. ^ Nathan Katz, Buddhist Images of Human Perfection: The Arahant of the Sutta Piṭaka Compared with the Bodhisattva and the Mahāsiddha. Motilal Banarsidass, 1990, page 78.

45. ^ ^a ^b Ajahn Brahmavamso. “Deep Insight”. BuddhaSasana. Retrieved 2009-03-23.

46. ^ “Samaññaphala Sutta”.

47. ^ Richard Shankman, The Experience of Samadhi - an in depth Exploration of Buddhist Meditation, Shambala publications 2008

48. ^ Regarding the roles of calm and insight in both Tibetan and Eastern Mahāyāna Buddhism see Peter Harvey, An Introduction to Buddhism. Cambridge University Press, 1990, page 257, available online: [4]. The following pages contain concise descriptions of Zen and Dzogchen/Mahāmūdra meditation.

49. ^ Peter N. Gregory, Traditions of Meditation in Chinese Buddhism. University of Hawaii Press, 1986, page 27.

50. ^ Roderick S. Bucknell and Martin Stuart-Fox, The Twilight Language: Explorations in Buddhist Meditation and Symbolism. Routledge, 1995, pages 49-50.

51. ^ Richard Shankman, The Experience of Samadhi - an in depth Exploration of Buddhist Meditation, Shambala publications 2008

52. ^ B. Alan Wallace, The Attention Revolution: Unlocking the Power of the Focused Mind. Wisdom Publications, 2006, page xii.

53. ^ B. Alan Wallace, The bridge of quiescence: experiencing Tibetan Buddhist meditation. Carus Publishing Company, 1998, pages 215-216.

54. ^ B. Alan Wallace, The Attention Revolution: Unlocking the Power of the Focused Mind. Wisdom Publications, 2006, page xii.

[edit]External links

§ Henepola Gunaratana, The Jhana In Theravada Buddhist Meditation

§ Ajahn Brahmavamso, Travelogue to the four Jhanas

§ Bhikkhu Isidatta, Reflecting on the four Jhanas

§ Leigh Brasington, Interpretations of the Jhanas

§ Most Ven. Vimalaramsi Mahāthera, MN 111 One by One as They Occurred - Anupada Sutta. Dhamma-Talks on the Anupada-Sutta. This provides a highly detailed account of the progression through the jhānas,

§ Ajahn Brahmavamso, The Jhanas

§ Bhikkhu Isidatta, Surfing on the Wave of Bliss

Department of Biotechnology

Department of Biotechnology

Call for Proposals

The call for proposals are classified based on broad subject wise for convenience.

————————————————————————————————————-

Call for Proposals under Small Business Innovation Research Initiative (SBIRI) Scheme (14th Batch), Last Date for Submission : 15th October, 2010

Call for concept notes in nanobiotechnology , Last Date for Submission : 25th October, 2010

Call for Proposals Funding for Indo-Finnish collaboration in diagnostics, Last Date for research project proposals / industry project proposals: 10th September / 29th October, 2010
Guidelines for writing a project plan

Call for proposals under Indo-Australia Biotech fund (5th Round), Last Date for Submission : 15th November, 2010
Application Form
Guidelines for Round Five (2010-2011)

—————————————————————————————–

Animal / Agriculture / Plant / Marine Biotechnology / Bioresource Programme

Bioengineering

Bioinformatics

Centres of Excellence

Environmental Biotechnology

Food and Nutrition Biotechnology

General

Human Resource Development

Industrial Biotechnology

International Collaboration

Medical Biotechnology

Nanoscience & Nanotechnology

National Bioresource Development Board

Small Business Innovation Research Initiative (SBIRI)

Societal Programmes

The Department of Biotechnology at IIT Madras was founded in 2004 with a vision to make an impact through research, technology based training and innovation and service to society. The department is housed in the ‘Bhupat & Jyoti Mehta School of BioSciences Building’. Currently the department has 23 faculty members, about 200 undergraduate students, more than 110 graduate students and associated staff.

The focus of the department includes basic research in modern biotechnology and molecular basis of life processes; enhancing knowledge base and human resource development; and biotechnology for societal development.

Advantage Bengal

The setting up of a separate Department of Biotechnology in 2006 gave a new impetus to the development of the field of traditional as well as modern biotechnology in West Bengal. In just a couple of years of its existence, the Department has promoted and accelerated the pace of development of biotechnology in the State. Through several R&D projects, demonstrations and creation of infrastructural facilities a palpable impact on the awareness about this field has been seen. The Department has made significant achievements in the growth and application of biotechnology in the broad areas of agriculture, health care, animal sciences, environment, and industry.

The ASSOCHAM (Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India) has already identified West Bengal as the main business growth centre with biotechnology as one of the potential area of investment. Considering the lucrative return on the investment as well as the high potential for societal development, Government of West Bengal aims at furthering biotech activities in the fields of healthcare, agriculture, medicine and genomics, diagnostics and environmental protection.

The Department has been interacting with several leading research institutes of repute. The proven technologies at the laboratory level are being scaled up and demonstrated in field. It has been trying to involve general Administration, NGOs and Panchayat agencies, especially in the districts to create awareness about the benefits of the use of biotechnology in various fields so as to achieve the overall societal development and enhance the quality of life. It has also been awarding grants to various researchers and to propagate small as well as large-scale researches, to various institutions of repute.

In order to promote biotechnology in West Bengal covering all aspects of research, general awareness among the populace, to generate employment, to keep ecological balance and to foster other allied activities, to handle commercial aspect of this sector, and to co-ordinate activities among various agencies working in the sphere of biotechnology, the West Bengal Biotech Development Corporation Ltd has been created and registered under the Companies Act, 1956. This Corporation will now look after the common “seed activity facility” of biotechnology to be extended to the prospective biotech companies looking forward to invest in biotech-based industry in West Bengal.

Biotechnology Information System Network

Biotechnology Information System Network Map

Department of Biotechnology

‘

Research Mandate:

Micro-propagation of various horticultural and forestry plant species.
Cell mutagenesis and cell selection for developing biotic and abiotic stress resistant plants.
Genetic transformation with marker genes and genes of interest.
Retrieval of virus free plant material from infected mother plants.
Development of viricides of biological origin (bio-viricides).
Molecular-characterization of horticulture / forestry germplasm using molecular markers.
Isolation and characterization of protease inhibitors for insect pest / pathogen control.
Application of bioinformatics in research.
Feeding inhibition of one week old larvae fed on purified trypsin inhibitor from Phaseolus vulgaris

Salient Research Achievements:

MICROPROPAGATION

Protocols for micro-propagation of fruit plants, such as Apple cultivars (Golden Delicious,

Tydeman’s Early Worcester, Red spur), Clonal Apple root stocks (MM 106, M 7, MM 111, M26, Merton 793) Peach, Cherry, Kiwifruit (Alison and Hayward with male plants), Strawberry (Chandler and Fern), ‘Colt’ Cherry rootstock, pecan and Walnut ; ornamental plants such as Chrysanthemums, Gerbera, Carnations, Gladiolii and Asiatic hybrids of Lily; forest trees such as Robinia pseudoacacia, Morus alba, Alnus nepalensis, Grevia optiva, Dendrocalanus hamiltoni, D.strictus, Acacia catechu and Pinus roxburghii ; and medicinal plants such as Valeriania jatamansi, Gentiana kuroo, Inula racemosa and Bunium persicum have been standardized.

Cryopreservation following vitrification and encapsulation has been achieved in Nardostachys grandiflora and Inula racemosa.

Protocol for plant regeneration through somatic embryogenesis has been achieved in Bunium persicum (Kala jeera).

MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION

Molecular characterization studies were carried out using isozymes and RAPD markers to assess the genetic diversity and differentiate between the different genotypes, cultivars and rootstocks of the various plant species viz., Cauliflower(Brassica oleracea L. var. botrytis) Apple rootstocks, Peach cultivars, Walnut cultivars, Kiwi fruit cultivars, Pinus gerardiana, Acacia catechu, Strawberry, Populus ciliata , Populus deltoides, Valeriana jatamansi , Root stocks of cherry, Dendrocalamus hamiltonii , Hippophae rhamnoides, Hippophae salicifolia, Asparagus adscendens, Teriminila chebula, Indigofera pulchella, Woodfordia fructicosa and Hypericum perforaptum; Chrysanthemum cultivars and selection, Vitis cultivars wild and introduced, Rubus sp., wild pomgranate, peach, and apricot cultivars.
Molecular characterization of Tomato leaf curl virus infecting tomato in H.P. was done by isolating and sequencing the DNA of the virus including sub genomic DNA B. The sequences have been submitted to the gene bank.
Genetic fidelity of tissue culture raised plants of Bunium persicum , Gentiana kurro , Inula racemosa, and Nardostachys grandiflora has been established using molecular markers, and through karyotypic analysis only in case of Gentiana kurroo and Bunium persicum.
UPGMA Dendrogram

IDENTIFICATION OF NOVEL GENES FOR INSECT PEST/PATHOGEN CONTROL FROM HIMALAYAN LEGUMES

Trypsin inhibitor with insecticidal activity towards gut proteases has been purified and characterized from Poinciana pulcherrima, Albizzia lebeck, Phaseolus vulgars, Adjuki bean.
a - Amylase inhibitor has been purified and characterized with insecticidal activity and salivary amylase inhibitory activity from HimalayanPhaseolus vulgaris.
MOLECULAR TAGGING OF GENES

Molecular tagging of stalk rot resistance gene in cauliflower has successfully been carried out using RAPD markers.
Molecular tagging of stalk rot and black rot in cauliflower has successfully been carried out using RAPD markers / SSR markers.

VIRUS ELIMINATION

Virus free plants of Apple, Strawberry, Marigold, Gladiolus, Carnation and Chrysanthemum have been produced by meristem tip culture.

In-vitro processes for elimination of apple mosaic virus, chrysanthemum virus B, carnation mottle virus, carnation latent virus and Bean common mosaic virus have been developed using extracts of biological origin

PLANT REGENERATION

Plant regeneration has been achieved in Apple clonal rootstocks, Punica granatum , Strawberry cv. Chandler, Tomato cv. Solan Vajr, Cauliflower cv. Pusa Snowball K1, Morus alba, Robinia pseudoacacia, Gerbera, Lilium, Chrysanthemum, Populus ciliata (male plant), Populus deltoides Clone G 48, Cabbage cv. Pride of India, Brinjal cv. Pusa purple long, Cucumber cv. K-75 and Bell pepper.

SOMACLONAL VARIATIONS

Developed Fusarium wilt resistant plants of Carnation, lilium and Robinia pseudoacacia , Rhizoctonia root rot resistant plants of strawberry and cauliflower, Alternaria alternata resistant plants of tomato cultivar Solan Vajr, Alternaria dianthi resistant plants of Carnation cv Tempo and flower colour variants of chrysanthemum through somaclonal variations. Water stress tolerant plants of tomato were also developed through cell selection.

Fusarium wilt tolerance cell line of peas, Septoria obesa tolerant cell lines of Chrysanthemum and salt stress tolerant cell line in tomato through cell selection were developed.

In vitro Cell lines/ shoots of Apple rootstocks MM106 & M7 have been selected which are tolerant to fungal culture filtrate of collar rot (Phytophthora cactorum) and white root rot (Dematophora necatrix). White root rot resistant plants of M7 raised through in vitro shoot selection have been maintained in glasshouse.

GENETIC TRANSFORMATION

A protocol for gene transfer (Agrobacterium – mediated ) has been standardized with npt-II and gus genes in cauliflower, cabbage, strawberry, tomato, cucumber, Populus ciliata, P. deltoides, R. pseudoacacia, Morus alba, apple rootstock M7 and Punica granatumand work is in progress on bell pepper, brinjal and broccoli.

Genetic transformation protocol has been standardized with insect resistance genes (Cry IAb) in cauliflower, cabbage, carnation, Punica granatum, chitinase gene in apple rootstock MM106 and antisense CAD (Cinamyl alcohol dehydrogenase) gene in Populous ciliata (male plant) using Agrobacterium mediated gene transfer technique. The work is in progress for insect resistance gene (Cry IAa) transfer in tomato.

BIOINFORMATICS

The Distributed Information Sub Centre (Sub-DIC), at YSPUHF, funded by DBT, New Delhi became operational during June, 1999 and has filled the void for exchange of available information with and between intended users

The Centre facilitates the research work of the department by providing bioinformatics softwares (PRISM, EXOME HORIZON, GENOCLUSTER, HYPERCHEM, GENEIOUS etc) and databases (Biotechnology Abstracts) in addition to the online bioinformatics tools and databases, email and online literature search facility. The following specific achievements in the area of bioinformatics have been made (i) The three genes of “Tomato leaf curl virus Himachal strain” ToLCHimV and a Bean yellow mosaic virus isolate Solan coat protein (CP) gene were sequenced, and submitted to the NCBI and phylogeny of the genes was traced using bioinformatics tools. (ii) Sequencing of coat protein gene of Bean yellow mosaic virus (BYMV) from gladiolus (Gladiolus sp.) was done.(iii) Phylogenetic analysis of Lily symptompless virus, cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) apple mosaic virus, apple chlorotic leaf spot virus has been done. (iv) Motif searches were performed in carlaviruses coding for coat protein gene sequences and cucumoviral coat protein of cucumoviruses. (v) Primer designing against Lily symptompless carlavirus (LSV) infecting Lilium spp. and apple chlorotic leaf spot virus infecting apples using bioinformatics tools has been completed.(vi) Studies on Molecular characterization of a potyvirus infecting radish (Raphanus sativus L.) in Himachal Pradesh have also been completed.

Research work being offered to Post graduate students in biotechnology using bioinformatics tools and applications like primer designing, phylogenetic/evolutionary studies, ligand receptor interactions and molecular characterization of viruses using CLUSTAL X (1.8), CLUSTAL W, GeneDoc, EXOME, EXOME BLAST, EXOME HORIZON, AutoDock or DOCK or LUDI and other public domain softwares.

Research problems using various bioinformatics tools are also being offered to long term trainee MSc students from other universities.

Two research patents have been filed/filing in process through the IPM Cell established in the Sub DIC. Four patents on plant biotechnology work and another one (PCT) with help of the Centre have been granted.

Trainings on basics as well as on advanced topics in computer application/bioinformatics/IPR are also being offered to scientists, technical/ministerial staff and research scholars/students of the University and outside the University. Centre has organized 33 short term trainings/ workshops/ seminars till date and 829 persons have been trained/participated in them. 6 MSc Biotechnology students from Lovely Professional University have completed their 4-6 months duration research project in bioinformatics during Jan- June 09, while 7 other students (UG and PG both) undergone 1-2 months training in Bioinformatics Centre during 2009.

The Centre provides complete technical support to the university in organizing International and National symposiums besides other facilities.

The Bioinformatics Centre has developed information systems viz, (i) Package of Practices of Fruit Crops in Himachal Pradesh ,(ii) Alternative Methods of Plant Disease Control (iii) Package of Practices of Vegetable Crops in Himachal Pradesh (Hindi version).

The Centre has developed a database on ‘Plant Species Germplasm’ available in the university. Further, the database on various crops i..e. HimCrop is under preparation.
The Centre has developed 5 video CDs on Temperate Horticulture in collaboration with the Directorate of Extension Education of the University.
The Bioinformatics Centre has also developed training manual on ‘Computer Basics’ for internal circulation.
The Centre has completed two adhoc research projects.
Website of the university was developed in Jan., 2000 and maintained till March 2004.
PATENTS (GRANTED/FILED BY USING BIOINFORMATICS SUPPORT)

Department of Biotechnology

Bhardwaj, S.V., Mangal, Manisha and Handa, Anil. 2005. A process for in vitro use of Asparagus species extracts for carnation latent virus elimination. Indian Patent No. 192157.

Bhardwaj, S.V., Shalini, Anil Handa and Manisha Mangal 2006. A process for in-vitro elimination of plant virus by preparing and using an extract of Azadirachta indica plant. Indian Patent No. 193932.

Bhardwaj, S.V., S. J. Roy, M. Mangal and Anil Handa 2006. A process for preparation of a bio- reagent for use for elimination of plant virus.India patent No. 199706.

Bhardwaj, SV Mangal and Handa Anil, 2003. An extract of Asparagus adscendens and Asparagus officinalis, useful for the elimination of carnation latent virus from infected plants by supplemented the tissue culture medium. India patent application No. 1371/DEL/2003 dated 07/11/03: granted (Details from Patent Office awaited).

Kumar S, S. Kumar and S. V. Bhardwaj 2007. Developing Cell lines of chrysanthemum (Dendranthema grandiflorum Tzelev)cv. Snow Ball resistant to Septoria obesa Syd. Indian Patent application No.1334/DEL/2007 dated 21.05.2007

Thakur A. K, R. K. Shandil and D. K Srivastava. 2007. Development of reproducible protocol for direct organogenesis in transgenic male plant Himalayan poplar. Indian patent application No. 1591/del/2007 dated 27.07.2007

Department of Entomology and Apiculture

Amit Nath, S.K. Patyal and J.K. Dubey. 2002. A process for estimation of volatile substances. Indian Patent No. WO20031N0000169.

Research Projects (on going):

Title of the Project	Funding Agency	Amount (in Lakh)	Name of PI/ Coordinator	Duration
Establishment of SUB-DIC under BTIS programme	DBT New Delhi	109.2 till date	SV Bhardwaj	1999-long term
Agrobacterium - mediated genetic transformation in apple rootstocks	DBT,New Delhi	28.48	M. Modgil	2007-2010
In vitro mass propagation of wild and cultivated pomegranate (Punica granatum L.)	ICAR, New Delhi	10.90	K. Kanwar	2008-2011
Development and strengthening of infrastructure facilities for production and distribution of quality seeds	Department of Agriculture, GOI	29.00	S K Sharma	2008- long term
Studies on a Amylase inhibitor in some grain legumes under main project Identification of novel genes for the control of insect pest from Himalayan legumes.	ASPEE	0.20	A K Nath	2008-2009

Research Projects (completed):

Title of the Project	Funding Agency	Amount (in Lakh)	Name of PI.	Duration
Standardization of techniques for tissue culture of Dendrocalamus hamiltonii and D.strictus	World Bank	4.67	DR Sharma	1989-1992
Generation of know how for tissue culture of Alnus nepalensis and Quercus leucotrichophora	DBT, New Delhi	3.34	DR Sharma	1989-1993
Fuel fodder biomass and green cover, creation of virus tested apple bud wood bank at the University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan.	DBT, New Delhi	31.43	DR Sharma	1989-1994
National Agricultural Research Project on Horticultural Crops	ICAR, New Delhi	61.00	DR Sharma	1992-1997
Metabolism of phosphophenol pyruvate in developing nodules of Acacia catechu	DST New Delhi	1.56	AK Nath	1994-1996
Scaling up of in vitro production of cherry rootstock, `colt’ and its distribution to farmers of hill state of India

NHB Gurgaon 7.85 DR Sharma/

SV Bhardwaj

1995-1997 Identification and micropropagation of superior clones of Dendrocalamus hamiltonii andPhyllostachys pubescence. ICFRE Dehradun 3.25 DR Sharma 1996-1999

Centrally sponsored scheme for the Development of Horticulture in HP. Establishment of Tissue Culture Lab for the propagation of planting material

HP Govt.

21.00

DR Sharma

1996-2008

Regeneration and genetic transformation studies in Lycopersicon esenlentium L. ASPEE 0.24 DK Srivastva 1997-1999 On Farm Research of in vitro raised plants of Agroforestry trees ICAR, New Delhi 5.61 K Kanwar 1997-2000 Indexing of Ornamental Plants for Presence of Viruses HP Govt. 5.61 SV Bhardwaj 1997-2000 Micropropagation and in vitro conservation of Juglans regia DBT New Delhi 7.10 S Kumar 1998-2001 Strengthening of Tree Biology Research DBT New Delhi 45.86 DR Sharma/ Kamlesh Kanwar 1998-2001 Micropropagation and multi locational trials of clonal rootstocks of apple DBT, New Delhi 13.68 M Modgil 1999-2002 Control of the plant viruses through bio-inhibitors in vitro and field conditions. DRDO 27.42 SV Bhardwaj 2000-2003 Plant regeneration and Agrobacterium mediated gene transfer studies in strawberry Frageria xananassa Duch. ASPEE 0.24 DK Srivastava 2001-2003

Biotechnological intervention for the propagation and improvement of Apple rootstocks

DBT New Delhi

8.95

M Modgil

2003-2008

Micropropagation and in vitro conservation of two endangered medicinal plants viz. Nardostachys grandiflora and Inula racemosa.

NMPB New Delhi

9.00

R Kaur

2004-2007

Studies on Trypsin inhibitors in Adzuki Beans (Phaseolus angularis L.) ASPEE 0.15 A K Nath 2005-2007 Status of Wild edible Temperate fruits of Himachal Pradesh IIHS, HPU Shimla 0.35 A Sharma 2006-2007 In vitro propagation of clonal rootstocks of Peach, Plum, Apricot ICAR, New Delhi 13.48 R. Kaur 2006-2009 Genetic transformation and regeneration in Punica granatum UGC, Delhi 3.5 K Kanwar 2006-2008 Identification of genes for insect pest control from Himalayan Fauna ASPEE 0.15 A K Nath 2007- 2008 Studies on a Amylase inhibitor in bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) cultivars ASPEE 0.25 A K Nath 2008-2009

< ?xml:namespace prefix = o /> M.Sc. and Ph.D. Thesis Abstracts

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10/15/10

LESSON 59 SAMADHI 15 10 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY-Anyone Can Attain Ultimate Bliss Just Visit:http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org-”Live contemplating the body. Contemplate internally and externally. Contemplate the origination of things in the body. Contemplate the dissolution of things in the body.”- The Buddha-BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!-WISDOM IS POWER-life sciences

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Posted by: site admin @ 8:14 am

LESSON 59 SAMADHI 15 10 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY

Anyone Can Attain Ultimate Bliss Just Visit:http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org

“Live contemplating the body. Contemplate internally and externally. Contemplate the origination of things in the body. Contemplate the dissolution of things in the body.”- The Buddha

BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!

WISDOM IS POWER

Awakened One Shows the Path to Attain Ultimate Bliss

COMPUTER IS AN ENTERTAINMENT INSTRUMENT!

INTERNET!

ENTERTAINMENT NET!

TO BE MOST APPROPRIATE!

Using such an instrument

The Free ONLINE e-Nālandā Research and Practice University has been re-organized to function through the following Schools of Learning :

Buddha’s Sangha Practiced His Dhamma Free of cost, hence the Free- e-Nālandā Research and Practice University follows suit

As the Original Nālandā University did not offer any Degree, so also the Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University.

§ Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , Indian scholar, philosopher and architect of Constitution of India, in his writing and speeches

I.
KAMMA

AWAKEN-NESS

II.
ARHAT

TWELVEFOLD CONDITIONED ARISING

BODHISATTVA

PARAMITA

SIX PARAMITAS

III.

SIX SPIRITUAL POWERS

SIX PATHS OF REBIRTH

TEN DHARMA REALMS

FIVE SKANDHAS

EIGHTEEN REALMS

FIVE MORAL PRECEPTS

IV.

MEDITATION

MINDFULNESS

FOUR APPLICATIONS OF MINDFULNESS

FOUR FORMLESS REALMS

FIVE TYPES OF BUDDHIST STUDY AND PRACTICE

MAHAYANA AND HINAYANA COMPARED

PURE LAND

BUDDHA RECITATION

EIGHT CONSCIOUSNESSES

ONE HUNDRED DHARMAS

EMPTINESS

VI.

DEMON

LINEAGE

with

Level I: Introduction to Buddhism

Level II: Buddhist Studies

TO ATTAIN

Level III: Stream-Enterer

Level IV: Once - Returner

Level V: Non-Returner
Level VI: Arhat

Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in

mathematics,

astronomy,

alchemy,

and

anatomy

Philosophy and Comparative Religions;

Historical Studies;

International Relations and Peace Studies;

Business Management in relation to Public Policy and Development Studies;

Languages and Literature;

and Ecology and Environmental Studies

Welcome to the Free Online e-Nālandā Research and Practice University

Course Programs:

SAMADHI

THE PRACTICE OF CONCENTRATION (Samadhi)

In the third watch of Shakyamuni’s night of Awaken-ness, the Four Noble Truths were revealed to him, the fourth being that there is a definable path, or method, by which Awaken-ness is obtained. If one were to persist in doing 8 things in a correct, and not in a wrong manner, then the result would be Nibbana.

The 8 items also had an order to them, and the 8th was samadhi or concentration, that is focusing the mind on a single point. The first 7 were the necessary supports for the 8th, as he explained in a discourse later in his life. In his own quest, in the 6 years from the time he left home until he attained enlightenment, his single point of focus was the concept of Nirvana. While leading a family life and pondering over the lot of humanity, it was the witnessing the serenity of a monk questing for Nibbana which triggered his decision to leave home at age 29.

Initially he knew Nibbana by definition as the complete extinction of the senses, implying a resulting state of absolute inner happiness, yet neither he nor anyone else knew Nibbana by experience. He wandered and begged, he meditated in solitude; he joined the communities of several venerable teachers, and he mastered a whole range of ascetic practices, one by one. But upon reaching mastery of a particular meditation or teaching or ascetic practice, he questioned whether or not this was Nibbana or would lead to Nibbana, and as the answer was negative, he quickly abandoned the practice and moved on to another.

Although for 6 years Shakyamuni single-pointedly sought the state of Nibbana and refused to rest in anything else, he later incorporated many elements learned during this time into his body of teachings, such elements as:

leaving home
wandering
keeping rules of discipline
practicing the 4 absorptions
entering the meditative state of emptiness
infinite space
infinite consciousness
neither perception nor non-perception
living in community
and undertaking (mostly at the option of the monk)12 possible ascetic practices.

But it was the concept of Nibbana that served as Shakyamuni’s point of concentration until it was finally realized. Then after dwelling in Nibbana for a couple of days, a profound change took place in which he decided to temporarily relinquish this state in order to benefit others with his knowledge and wisdom. From that time on, for the next 40 years, he taught people the 4 Noble Truths and the 8 Fold Noble Path in their innumerable facets, often creatively meeting people on their own ground as the starting point, then leading them to realize their errors, inspiring them and revealing the genius of the Buddha. The Buddha, knowing the state of Nibbana, can return there at will, and does so frequently during deep meditation, but at other times interacts with the world, retaining mindfulness and proscribed conduct so as to maximize the benefit to the people, and not get caught, or contribute to the world’s net of sufferings.

By the time of the Buddha’s passing away, approximately 200 people, mostly monks, but also nuns, lay men and lay women were recorded as having reached Nibbana. Among them were 16 great disciples pointed to as exemplifying 16 different areas of expertise, showing that right from the beginning there was wide diversity in the Sangha. In the subsequent generations among the diverse lineages, there were those who, in their own deep meditations, understood that the path of Buddhahood was a step beyond Nirvana. Those who sought to know Buddhahood and emulate the Buddha’s path were called Bodhisattva’s, as opposed to those meditators who only sought Nibbana for themselves.

It is the Buddhist path of the Bodhisattva which carries the Dharma down to us 2500 years later, emphasizing entry into samadhi, starting with the samadhis of Samatha, bringing tranquility, then moving into Vipassana, translated as “discerning the real”, and concentrating on the Buddha. This concentration on the Buddha (Buddha - anusmirti)is the common thread at the heart of the great Mahayana Sutras: the Lotus Sutra, the Avatamsaka Sutra, and the Pure Land Sutras.

Hisao Inagaki, in the lengthy commentary to his translation of the Pure Land Sutras (1995) writes,

” This samadhi was shared by disciples of superior spirituality who in turn transmitted it to later generations. Thus for a few centuries [after Shakyamuni] the essentials of the Pure Land teachings were transmitted through samadhi, until it was codified and translated into the languages of different periods and places. . .. Although there is no way of knowing how those samadhi’s centering on [the Buddha, in this case] Amitabha were transmitted in India, there is little doubt that this is more fundamental and older than the transmissions of written scriptures. It should also be noted that such transmission is the sure and quick way of conveying the teaching.”

The scriptures then refer back to this samadhi by emphasizing the practice of Nembutsu (remembering the Buddha)through mantra recitation. The great masters of this tradition made it their habit to recite the mantra many thousands of times a day. For example, Honen practiced 60,000 mantra recitations daily.

In the Lotus Sutra, the original core, according to scholars, was chapters 2 - 9, with other chapters added at different times later. And here, in chapter 2, the primary of entering into contemplation of the Buddha is strongly stated:

“Sariputra! What is the one great purpose for which the Buddhas . . . appear in the worlds? The Buddhas . . . appear in the worlds in order to cause all living beings to open the gate to the insight of the Buddha, and to cause them to purify themselves. They appear in the worlds in order to show the insight of the Buddha to all living beings . . . to cause all living beings to obtain the insight of the Buddha . . . to enter the Way to insight of thew Buddha . . .”

And in the Gandavyuha, the final book of the Avatamsaka Sutra, there are maybe several thousand samadhis specifically mentioned in the text, but in the fundamental one, Shakyamuni “wanting to establish those Bodhisattvas in this lion-emergence concentration of Buddhas,” and to show them “all ways into the reality realm,” reveals the Buddha Vairocana, and there upon, the Bodhisattvas “entered the oceans of mystical projections of Buddhahood of the Blessed Vairocana.”

Furthermore, when the central figure in the sutra, the pilgrim Sudhana, visits the first of 53 spiritual benefactors, Meghashri tells him, “I have attained mindfulness of the Buddhas, . . . I see the Buddhas in all the lands of the 10 directions.” From this fountainhead of concentration on the Buddha, all the myriad of other samadhis flow, all the various expedient means of benefiting sentient beings.

For the person in whom, in the midst of modern civilization, the aspiration for enlightenment has arisen, that is the aspiration to renunciation, the aspiration to love, and the aspiration to harmlessness, there is a procedure to be followed in order to learn the samadhi on the Buddha. Even as Sudhana did, one will place himself in charge of spiritual benefactors. After giving refuge in the Triple Treasure and giving precepts, they will put you through some purification exercises, set you on a course of learning the Dhamma, teach meditation and other practices, and establish you in the community of meditative life.

Beyond this is the actual method involving the three simultaneous factors of body, speech and mind. The type of speech known as mantra and dharani is the key to attaining the necessary samadhi. The “mind-to-mind transmission” of Zen is also samadhi on the Buddha. However, by relying on body and mind, but not on speech, the realization is made much more difficult. Mantra is so vital in itself that a whole separate branch of Mahayana developed around it, calling itself Vajrayana, Mantrayana, Mikkyo, etc. And concurrently, as is natural, a whole set of problems unique to the Mantrayana arose. The major one, probably, is that by conceiving of itself as a “higher path,” it sometimes belittled the non-Mantrayana teachings, thereby opening up the possibility of ignoring its own fountainhead, that is the Buddhahood of Shakyamuni, his instructions recorded in the Agama Sutras, and even the Bodhicitta path, which was born from practicing the dhamma according to Shakyamuni.

Then being aware of the pitfalls of the Vajrayana, one relies on one’s lineage of teachers, works diligently with mantra, and at some point, becomes able to enter the vast and beautiful world of the Buddhas, from where one sees the samsaric world with love and compassion for all creatures, great and small, arguing with no one, merely stating the truth intent upon the infinite gift of Shakyamuni.

Life Sciences

Life science is the study of living things. The life sciences that comprise all fields of science that involve the scientific study of living organisms, like plants, animals, and human beings. However, the study ofbehaviour of organisms, such as practised in ethology and psychology, is only included in as much as it involves a clearly biological aspect. While biology and medicine remain centerpieces of the life sciences,technological advances in molecular biology and biotechnology have led to a burgeoning of specializations and new, often interdisciplinary, fields.

The following is an incomplete lists of life science fields, as well as topics of study in the life sciences, in which several entries coincide with, are included in, or overlap with other entries:

Agrotechnology

Bio-engineering

Biochemistry

Biocomputing

Biocontrol

Biodynamics

Bioinformatics

Biology

Biomaterials

Biomechanics

Biomedical sciences

Biomolecular engineering

Biomonitoring

Biophysics

Biopolymers

Biotechnology

Botany

Cell biology

Cognitive neuroscience

Computational neuroscience

Developmental biology

Ecology

Environmental science

Evolutionary biology

Evolutionary genetics

Food science

Genetics

Genomics

Health sciences

Immunogenetics

Immunology

Immunotherapy

Medical devices

Medical imaging

Medicine

Microbiology

Molecular biology

Nanotechnology

Neuroinformatics

Neuroscience

Oncology

Optometry

Personalized medicine

Pharmacogenomics

Pharmacology

Physiology

Plant sciences

Proteomics

Structural biology

Systems biology

Tissue engineering

Zoology

See also

List of biology disciplines

List of health sciences topics

Welcome to CLS Program

Computational Life Sciences is currently one of the most important and exciting areas in all of science and technology, which is positioned at the intersection of modern biology, quantitative modeling and high performance computing. Computational Life Sciences is helping to provide a fundamental understanding of complex biological systems and offers the potential to significantly impact a wide variety of technologies, including drug discovery, novel therapies for human, animal and plant diseases, metabolic engineering and efficient production of traditional and high-value foodstuffs.

Computational Life Sciences can be divided into three major categories:

Bioinformatics:	The research, development or application of computational tools and approaches for expanding the use of biological, medical, behavioral or health data, including those to acquire, store, organize, archive, analyze, or visualize such data.
Computational Biology:	The development and application of data-analytical and theoretical methods, mathematical modeling and computational simulation techniques to the study of biological, behavioral, and social systems.
Systems Biology:	The development of quantitative, mechanistic based models of the whole cell, collections of cells or large pieces of the cellular machinery, where the objective is an integrated picture that compliments the reductionist viewpoint of molecular biology.

In 2001 Purdue University established an interdisciplinary graduate specialization program in Computational Life Sciences (CLS) at the MS level. Starting in 2006 fall CLS specialization will be available at MS & Ph.D levels for students in departments that participate in the CLS program. The program provides students with the opportunity to study a specific science or engineering discipline along with gaining skills in CLS. The aim of the program is to produce students who have learned about computational tools and techniques in the life sciences. These skills, in turn, will help prepare them for discovery and implementation of algorithms that facilitate the understanding of biological processes.

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10/14/10

WISHING ALL HAPPY DHAMMADIKSHA DAY.- THE DAY BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR LIBERATED US FROM THE CLUTCHES OF HINDU FOLD.LESSON 58 LOTUS POSTURE 14 10 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY-Anyone Can Attain Ultimate Bliss Just Visit:http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org-”Live contemplating the body. Live contemplating feelings. In this way you will be aware of and control wrong desires.”- The Buddha-BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!-WISDOM IS POWER-WISDOM IS POWER-What Is Bioengineering?-EC refuses to freeze BSP symbol

Filed under: General
Posted by: site admin @ 7:55 am

Dear All,
JaiBheem !!!

On the eve of 54th Dhamma Chakra Pravartan Day, wishing all of you a very happy and wonderful year ahead to work for the Mission. Hope everyone remembers, HISTORICAL Sunday October 14, 1956 the day on which we all got new path and Identity in the name of Buddhism to walk with dignity leaving “untouchable” and “Hindu” identities in dustbin.

“That religion which forbids humanitarian behaviour between men is not religion but a penalty” - Boddhisatva Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar.

Lets work hard to drive Babasaheb’s mission and bring social revolution to remove INJUSTICE, TYRANNY, POMPOUSNESS and HUMBUG.

“Noble is your aim and sublime and glorious is your mission. Blessed are those who are awakened to their duty to those among whom they are born. Glory to those who devote their time, talents and their all to the amelioration of slavery. Glory to those who would reap their struggle for the liberation of the enslaved in spite of heavy odds, carping humiliation, storms and dangers till the downtrodden secure their Human Rights.” - Boddhisatva Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar.

In Mission
–A Samta Sainik

Thank you, Mr Takshak Nag. We heartly reciprocate.

Lakshman

Oct 14, ‘10

Dear All,

Namobuddhye and Jaibheem,

WISHING ALL HAPPY DHAMMADIKSHA DAY.

THE DAY BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR LIBERATED US FROM THE CLUTCHES OF HINDU FOLD.

With Metta

Shekhar Bagul

Manchester UK

Conversion back to Buddhism

As a profound life long student of anthropology Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar made a remarkable discovery that the Mahar people are originally ancient Buddhist people of India. They have been forced outside a village to live like an outcast as they refused to leave Buddhist practices and eventually they were made into untouchables. He wrote a scholarly book on this topic- Who were Sudras? How they became Untouchables.

Diksha Bhumi, Nagpur ; Stupa at the site where Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, with his followers embraced Buddhism

Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar studied Buddhism all his life, and around 1950s, Ambedkar turned his attention fully to

Buddhism and travelled to Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) to attend a convention of Buddhist scholars and monks. While dedicating a new Buddhist vihara near Pune, Ambedkar announced that he was writing a book on Buddhism, and that as soon as it was finished, he planned to make a formal conversion back to Buddhism.^[11] Ambedkar twice visited Burma in 1954; the second time in order to attend the third conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhists in Rangoon. In 1955, he founded the Bharatiya Bauddha Mahasabha, or the Buddhist Society of India. He completed his final work, The Buddha and His Dhamma, in 1956. It was published posthumously.

After meetings with the Sri Lankan Buddhist monk Hammalawa Saddhatissa,^[12] Ambedkar organised a formal public ceremony for himself and his supporters in Nagpur on October 14, 1956. Accepting the Three Refuges and Five Precepts from a Buddhist monk in the traditional manner, Ambedkar completed his own conversion. He then proceeded to convert an estimated 500,000 of his supporters who were gathered around him.^[11] Taking the 22 Vows. He then traveled to Kathmandu in Nepal to attend the Fourth World Buddhist Conference. His work on The Buddha or Karl Marx and “Revolution and counter-revolution in ancient India” (which was necessary for understanding his book “The Buddha and his dhamma”)remained incomplete.

Bust of Dr. Ambedkar at Ambedkar Museum in Pune

LESSON 58 LOTUS POSTURE 14 10 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY

Anyone Can Attain Ultimate Bliss Just Visit:http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org

“Live contemplating the body. Live contemplating feelings. In this way you will be aware of and control wrong desires.”- The Buddha

BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!

WISDOM IS POWER

Awakened One Shows the Path to Attain Ultimate Bliss

COMPUTER IS AN ENTERTAINMENT INSTRUMENT!

INTERNET!

ENTERTAINMENT NET!

TO BE MOST APPROPRIATE!

Using such an instrument

The Free ONLINE e-Nālandā Research and Practice University has been re-organized to function through the following Schools of Learning :

Buddha’s Sangha Practiced His Dhamma Free of cost, hence the Free- e-Nālandā Research and Practice University follows suit

As the Original Nālandā University did not offer any Degree, so also the Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University.

§ Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , Indian scholar, philosopher and architect of Constitution of India, in his writing and speeches

I.
KAMMA

AWAKEN-NESS

II.
ARHAT

TWELVEFOLD CONDITIONED ARISING

BODHISATTVA

PARAMITA

SIX PARAMITAS

III.

SIX SPIRITUAL POWERS

SIX PATHS OF REBIRTH

TEN DHARMA REALMS

FIVE SKANDHAS

EIGHTEEN REALMS

FIVE MORAL PRECEPTS

IV.

MEDITATION

MINDFULNESS

FOUR APPLICATIONS OF MINDFULNESS

FOUR FORMLESS REALMS

FIVE TYPES OF BUDDHIST STUDY AND PRACTICE

MAHAYANA AND HINAYANA COMPARED

PURE LAND

BUDDHA RECITATION

EIGHT CONSCIOUSNESSES

ONE HUNDRED DHARMAS

EMPTINESS

VI.

DEMON

LINEAGE

with

Level I: Introduction to Buddhism

Level II: Buddhist Studies

TO ATTAIN

Level III: Stream-Enterer

Level IV: Once - Returner

Level V: Non-Returner
Level VI: Arhat

Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in

mathematics,

astronomy,

alchemy,

and

anatomy

Philosophy and Comparative Religions;

Historical Studies;

International Relations and Peace Studies;

Business Management in relation to Public Policy and Development Studies;

Languages and Literature;

and Ecology and Environmental Studies

Welcome to the Free Online e-Nālandā Research and Practice University

Course Programs:

http://www.holisticonline.com/yoga/hol_yoga_pos_lotus.htm

LOTUS POSTURE

Lotus Pose (Padmasana)

This is probably the most well known pose routinely used by Budha and is a very popular meditation pose. This is not always easy for Westerners to master. It may take time for the ligaments to become extended so that the Lotus Pose is comfortable. If one cannot master the Lotus Pose, any of the other seated poses will do quite well for the purpose of meditation. Start slowly and acquire proficiency over a period of time. This is one of the basic yoga postures.

yp_pad2.gif (7854 bytes)

Technique:

Keep the right foot on the left thigh
Start bouncing the right knee. If the bouncing knee easily touches the floor, then bend the left knee, take hold of the left foot with both hands, gently glide it over the crossed right leg and place it on the right thigh.
This will give symmetrical placement of the legs and you are in lotus position.
The hands should be kept on the knees with palms open, and the thumb and second finger of each hand should touch forming a letter O.

Benefits:

This is an extremely good pose for meditation and concentration.
It has a calming effect on the mind and the nerves.
This pose keeps the spine erect.
Helps develop a good posture
Helps keep the joints in flexible condition.

What Is Bioengineering?

Biological engineering

Modeling of the Spread of Disease Using Cellular Automata and Nearest Neighbor Interactions

Biological engineering, biotechnological engineering or bioengineering (including biological systems engineering) is the application of engineeringprinciples to address challenges in the life sciences which includes fields of biology, ecology, and medicine. Biological engineering is a science based discipline founded upon the biological sciences in the same way that chemical engineering, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering are based upon chemistry, electricity and magnetism, and statics, respectively. ^[1]

Biological Engineering can be differentiated from its roots of pure biology or classical engineering in the following way. Biological studies often follow a reductionist approach in viewing a system on its smallest possible scale which naturally leads toward tools such as functional genomics. Engineering approaches, using classical design perspectives, are constructionist, building new devices, approaches, and technologies from component concepts. Biological engineering utilizes both of these methods in concert relying on reductionist approaches to define the fundamental units which are then commingled to generate something new. ^[2] Although engineered biological systems have been used to manipulate information, construct materials, process chemicals, produce energy, provide food, and help maintain or enhance human health and our environment, our ability to quickly and reliably engineer biological systems that behave as expected remains less well developed than our mastery over mechanical and electrical systems. ^[3]

The differentiation between Biological Engineering and overlap with Biomedical Engineering can be unclear, as many universities now use the terms “bioengineering” and “biomedical engineering” interchangeably ^[4]. Some contend that Biological Engineering (like biotechnology) has a broader base which spans molecular methods (tends to emphasize the using of biological substances - applying engineering principles to molecular biology, biochemistry, microbiology, pharmacology, proteinchemistry, cytology, immunology, neurobiology and neuroscience, cellular and tissue based methods (including devices and sensors), whole organisms (plants, animals), and up increasing length scales to ecosystems. Neither biological engineering nor biomedical engineering is wholly contained within the other, as there are non-biological products for medical needs and biological products for non-medical needs.

ABET ^[5], the U.S. based accreditation board for engineering B.S. programs, makes a distinction between Biomedical Engineering and Biological Engineering; however, the differences are quite small. Biomedical engineers must have life science courses that include human physiology and have experience in performing measurements on living systems while biological engineers must have life science courses (which may or may not include physiology) and experience in making measurements not specifically on living systems. Foundational engineering courses are often the same and include thermodynamics, fluid and mechanical dynamics, kinetics, electronics, and materials properties. ^[6] ^[7]

The word bioengineering was coined by British scientist and broadcaster Heinz Wolff in 1954. ^[8] The term bioengineering is also used to describe the use of vegetation in civil engineering construction. The term bioengineering may also be applied to environmental modifications such as surface soil protection, slope stabilisation, watercourse and shoreline protection, windbreaks, vegetation barriers including noise barriers and visual screens, and the ecological enhancement of an area. The first biological engineering program was created at Mississippi State University in 1967, making it the first Biological Engineering curriculum in the United States.^[9] More recent programs have been launched at MIT ^[10] and Utah State University ^[11].

Biological Engineers or bioengineers are engineers who use the principles of biology and the tools of engineering to create usable, tangible products. Biological Engineering employs knowledge and expertise from a number of pure and applied sciences, such as mass and heat transfer, kinetics, biocatalysts, biomechanics, bioinformatics, separation and purification processes, bioreactor design, surface science, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, and polymer science. It is used in the design of medical devices, diagnostic equipment, biocompatible materials, renewable bioenergy, ecological engineering, and other areas that improve the living standards of societies.

In general, biological engineers attempt to either mimic biological systems in order to create products or modify and control biological systems so that they can replace, augment, or sustain chemical and mechanical processes. Bioengineers can apply their expertise to other applications of engineering and biotechnology, including genetic modification of plants and microorganisms, bioprocess engineering, and biocatalysis.

Because other engineering disciplines also address living organisms (e.g., prosthetics in mechanical engineering), the term biological engineering can be applied more broadly to include agricultural engineering andbiotechnology. In fact, many old agricultural engineering departments in universities over the world have rebranded themselves as agricultural and biological engineering or agricultural and biosystems engineering. Biological engineering is also called bioengineering by some colleges and Biomedical engineering is called Bioengineering by others, and is a rapidly developing field with fluid categorization. The Main Fields of Bioengineering may be categorised as:

PLEASE VISIT:

http://bioengineering.stanford.edu/

http://www.bioengineering.ch/php/home/index_1-en__1.html

http://www.be.caltech.edu/]

http://www.btc.iitb.ac.in/

http://www.careercornerstone.org/bioeng/bioeng.htm

http://bioe.rice.edu/

http://web.mit.edu/be/index.shtml

EC refuses to freeze BSP symbol

Grounds pleaded in petition do not fall within ambit of disqualifications laid down in the law’

We cannot add or lay down any new grounds for disqualification: Election

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission (EC) has held not maintainable a complaint filed by an advocate alleging misuse of public funds by the Uttar Pradesh government for installation of statues of elephants and Chief Minister Mayawati to promote the symbol of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

The State government contended that the Commission had no jurisdiction to seek information about the statues and the expenditure when no election process was notified.

It argued that there was no provision under the Representation of the People Act and the Rules to call for such information.

Difference in posture

The BSP contended that the elephant statues showed the trunk raised in a welcome posture, whereas in the party symbol, the trunk was lowered.

The EC — comprising Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi and Commissioners V.S. Sampath and H.S. Brahma — in its order on October 11 said: “The grounds pleaded in the petition of Mr. Ravi Kant seeking disqualification of Ms. Mayawati do not fall within the ambit of any of the disqualifications laid down in the law.

“The Commission cannot add or lay down any new grounds for disqualification. Therefore the prayer for her disqualification is rejected.”

Difference in posture

The BSP contended that the elephant statues showed the trunk raised in a welcome posture

The
March Of The
BSP Elephants

WELCOME ELEPHANT SYMBOL

whereas in the party symbol, the trunk was lowered.

BSP

BSP election symbol

comments (0)

10/13/10

14 October-LESSON 57 FOUR APPLICATIONS OF MINDFULNESS 13 10 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY-Anyone Can Attain Ultimate Bliss Just Visit:http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org-”There is a way to be purified, to overcome sorrows and grief, to release suffering, to secure the right path to realize nibbana. This is to be mindful.”- The Buddha-BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!-WISDOM IS POWER

Filed under: General
Posted by: site admin @ 7:05 am

14 October

Dear All,

This day of fourteen October,
Is the day for Indian Buddhists to remember.

Taking Buddha as spiritual Teacher,
Noble Dhamma as spiritual Mother;
Noble Sangha as spiritual Elder;
The natives went again to Triple refuge forever.
All this was due to efforts of Babasaheb Ambedker,
Who unfortunately passed away on sixth December.

This movement created scientific temper,
And rescued people from caste viper.
Present generation should work like sniper,
Eliminating from within the immoral character;
Giving reins to moral leader.

Never should you ever surrender,
Nor just be watching like a bystander;
But strive hard and be a defender.
Lead a life like that of a brave commander,
Express your gratitude on this day to Bodhisattva Ambedker.

WISH YOU ALL A HAPPY DHAMMA DEEKSHA DAY.

with metta,

Bhanteji

vinaya rakkhita vinayarakkhita@yahoo.co.in

57 FOUR APPLICATIONS OF MINDFULNESS 13 10 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY

Anyone Can Attain Ultimate Bliss Just Visit:http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org

“There is a way to be purified, to overcome sorrows and grief, to release suffering, to secure the right path to realize nibbana. This is to be mindful.”- The Buddha

BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!

WISDOM IS POWER

Awakened One Shows the Path to Attain Ultimate Bliss

COMPUTER IS AN ENTERTAINMENT INSTRUMENT!

INTERNET!

ENTERTAINMENT NET!

TO BE MOST APPROPRIATE!

Using such an instrument

The Free ONLINE e-Nālandā Research and Practice University has been re-organized to function through the following Schools of Learning :

Buddha’s Sangha Practiced His Dhamma Free of cost, hence the Free- e-Nālandā Research and Practice University follows suit

As the Original Nālandā University did not offer any Degree, so also the Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University.

§ Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , Indian scholar, philosopher and architect of Constitution of India, in his writing and speeches

I.
KAMMA

AWAKEN-NESS

II.
ARHAT

TWELVEFOLD CONDITIONED ARISING

III.

IV.

FOUR APPLICATIONS OF MINDFULNESS

FIVE TYPES OF BUDDHIST STUDY AND PRACTICE

MAHAYANA AND HINAYANA COMPARED

PURE LAND

BUDDHA RECITATION

EIGHT CONSCIOUSNESSES

VI.

with

Level I: Introduction to Buddhism

Level II: Buddhist Studies

TO ATTAIN

Level III: Stream-Enterer

Level IV: Once - Returner

Level V: Non-Returner
Level VI: Arhat

Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in

mathematics,

astronomy,

alchemy,

and

anatomy

Philosophy and Comparative Religions;

Historical Studies;

International Relations and Peace Studies;

Business Management in relation to Public Policy and Development Studies;

Languages and Literature;

and Ecology and Environmental Studies

Welcome to the Free Online e-Nālandā Research and Practice University

Course Programs:

FOUR APPLICATIONS OF MINDFULNESS

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/nyanasatta/wheel019.html

The Foundations of Mindfulness

Satipatthana Sutta

translated by

Nyanasatta Thera

· Introduction

· The Foundations of Mindfulness (Satipatthana Sutta)

· Notes

· Further Sources of Information

Introduction

The philosophy of Buddhism is contained in the Four Noble Truths.[1]

The truth of suffering reveals that all forms of becoming, all the various elements of existence comprised in the “five aggregates” or groups of existence — also called the “five categories which are the objects of clinging” (pañc’upadana-kkhandha) — are inseparable from suffering as long as they remain objects of grasping or clinging. All corporeality, all feelings and sensations, all perceptions, all mental formations and consciousness, being impermanent, are a source of suffering, are conditioned phenomena and hence not-self(anicca, dukkha, anatta). Ceaseless origination and dissolution best characterize the process of existence called life, for all elements of this flux of becoming continually arise from conditions created by us and then pass away, giving rise to new elements of being according to one’s actions or kamma.

All suffering originates from craving, and our very existence is conditioned by craving, which is threefold: the craving for sense pleasures (kama-tanha), craving for continued and renewed existence (bhava-tanha), and craving for annihilation after death (vibhava-tanha).This is the truth of the origin of suffering.

The attainment of perfect happiness, the breaking of the chain of rebirths and suffering through the realization of Nibbana, is possible only through the utter extirpation of that threefold craving. This is the truth of suffering’s cessation.

The methods of training for the liberation from all suffering are applied by following the Noble Eightfold Path of Right Understanding, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Living, Right Exertion, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration of Mind. The Noble Eightfold Path consists of three types of training summed up in: virtuous conduct (sila),concentration (samadhi) and wisdom (pañña). This is the truth of the way that leads to the cessation of suffering.

The prevalence of suffering and absence of freedom and happiness is due to man’s subjection to the three roots of all unskill and evil, and all unwholesome actions(akusalakamma), viz. lust, hatred and delusion (lobha, dosa, moha).

Virtuous conduct casts out lust. The calm of true concentration and mental culture conquers hatred. Wisdom or right understanding, also called direct knowledge resulting from meditation, dispels all delusion. All these three types of training are possible only through the cultivation of constant mindfulness (sati), which forms the seventh link of the Noble Eightfold Path. Mindfulness is called a controlling faculty (indriya) and a spiritual power (bala), and is also the first of the seven factors of enlightenment (satta bojjhanga).[2] Right Mindfulness(samma-sati) has to be present in every skillful or karmically wholesome thought moment(kusalacitta). It is the basis of all earnest endeavor (appamada) for liberation, and maintains in us the sense of urgency to strive for enlightenment or Nibbana.

The Discourse on the Foundations of Mindfulness, the Satipatthana Sutta, is the tenth discourse of the Middle Length Collection (Majjhima Nikaya) of the Discourses of the Enlightened One. It is this version which is translated in the present publication. There is another version of it, in the Collection of Long Discourses (Digha Nikaya No.22), which differs only by a detailed explanation of the Four Noble Truths.

The great importance of the Discourse on Mindfulness has never been lost to the Buddhists of the Theravada tradition. In Sri Lanka, even when the knowledge and practice of the Dhamma was at its lowest ebb through centuries of foreign domination, the Sinhala Buddhists never forgot the Satipatthana Sutta. Memorizing the Sutta has been an unfailing practice among the Buddhists, and even today in Sri Lanka there are large numbers who can recite the Sutta from memory. It is a common sight to see on full-moon days devotees who are observing the Eight Precepts, engaged in community recital of the Sutta. Buddhists are intent on hearing this Discourse even in the last moments of their lives; and at the bedside of a dying Buddhist either monks or laymen recite this venerated text.

In the private shrine room of a Buddhist home, the book of the Satipatthana Sutta is displayed prominently as an object of reverence. Monastery libraries of palm-leaf manuscripts have the Sutta bound in highly ornamented covers.

One such book with this Discourse written in Sinhala script on palm-leaf, has found its way from Sri Lanka as far as the State University Library of Bucharest in Rumania. This was disclosed while collecting material for the Encyclopaedia of Buddhism, when an Esperantist correspondent gave us a list of a hundred books on Buddhism found in the Rumanian University Libraries.

Mindfulness of Breathing (Anapana-sati)

The subjects dealt with in the Satipatthana Sutta are corporeality, feeling, mind and mind objects, being the universe of right Buddhist contemplation for deliverance. A very prominent place in the Discourse is occupied by the discussion on mindfulness of breathing (anapana-sati). To make the present publication of greater practical value to the reader, an introductory exposition of the methods of practicing that particular meditation will now be given.

Mindfulness of breathing takes the highest place among the various subjects of Buddhist meditation. It has been recommended and praised by the Enlightened One thus: “This concentration through mindfulness of breathing, when developed and practiced much, is both peaceful and sublime, it is an unadulterated blissful abiding, and it banishes at once and stills evil unprofitable thoughts as soon as they arise.” Though of such a high order, the initial stages of this meditation are well within the reach of a beginner though he be only a lay student of the Buddha-Dhamma. Both in the Discourse here translated, and in the 118th Discourse of the same Collection (the Majjhima Nikaya), which specifically deals with that meditation, the initial instructions for the practice are clearly laid down:

Herein, monks, a monk, having gone to the forest or the root of a tree or to an empty place, sits down with his legs crossed, keeps his body erect and his mindfulness alert. Ever mindful he breathes in, mindful he breathes out. Breathing in a long breath, he knows, “I am breathing in a long breath”; breathing out a long breath, he knows, “I am breathing out a long breath.” Breathing in a short breath, he knows, “I am breathing in a short breath”; breathing out a short breath, he knows, “I am breathing out a short breath.” “Experiencing the whole (breath) body, I shall breathe in,” thus he trains himself. “Experiencing the whole (breath-) body, I shall breathe out,” thus he trains himself. “Calming the activity of the (breath-) body, I shall breathe in,” thus he trains himself. “Calming the activity of the (breath-) body, I shall breathe out,” thus he trains himself.

These are instructions given by the Enlightened One to the monks who, after their alms round, had the whole remaining day free for meditation. But what about the lay Buddhist who has a limited time to devote to this practice? Among the places described as fit for the practice of meditation, one is available to all: suññagara, lit. “empty house,” may mean any room in the house that has no occupant at that moment, and one may in the course of the twenty-four hours of the day find a room in one’s house that is empty and undisturbed. Those who work all day and feel too tired in the evening for meditation may devote the early hours of the morning to the practice of mindfulness of breathing.

The other problem is the right posture for meditation. The full “lotus posture” of the yogi, the padmasana, as we see it in the Buddha statues, proves nowadays rather difficult to many, even to easterners. A youthful meditator, however, or even a middle-aged one, can well train himself in that posture in stages. He may, for instance, start with sitting on a low, broad chair or bed, bending only one leg and resting the other on the floor; and so, in gradual approximation, he may finally master that posture. There are also other easier postures of sitting with legs bent, for instance the half-lotus posture. It will be worth one’s effort to train oneself in such postures; but if one finds them difficult and uncomfortable at the outset it will not be advisable to delay or disturb one’s start with meditation proper on that account. One may allow a special time for sitting-practice, using it as best as one can for contemplation and reflection; but for the time being, the practice of meditation aiming at higher degrees of concentration may better be done in a posture that is comfortable. One may sit on a straight backed chair of a height that allows the legs to rest comfortably on the floor without strain. As soon however, as a cross-legged posture has become more comfortable, one should assume it for the practice of mindfulness of breathing, since it will allow one to sit in meditation for a longer time than is possible on a chair.

The meditator’s body and mind should be alert but not tense. A place with a dimmed light will be profitable since it will help to exclude diverting attention to visible objects.

The right place, time and posture are very important and often essential for a successful meditative effort.

Though we have been breathing throughout our life, we have done so devoid of mindfulness, and hence, when we try to follow each breath attentively, we find that the Buddhist teachers of old were right when they compared the natural state of an uncontrolled mind to an untamed calf. Our minds have long been dissipated among visible data and other objects of the senses and of thought, and hence do not yield easily to attempts at mind-control.

Suppose a cowherd wanted to tame a wild calf: he would take it away from the cow and tie it up apart with a rope to a stout post. Then the calf might dash to and fro, but being unable to get away and tired after its effort, it would eventually lie down by the post. So too, when the meditator wants to tame his own mind that has long been reared on the enjoyment of sense objects, he should take it away from places where these sense objects abound, and tie the mind to the post of in-breaths and out-breaths with the rope of mindfulness. And though his mind may then dash to and fro when deprived of its liberty to roam among the sense objects, it will ultimately settle down when mindfulness is persistent and strong.

When practicing mindfulness of breathing, attention should be focused at the tip of the nose or at the point of the upper lip immediately below where the current of air can be felt. The meditator’s attention should not leave this “focusing point” from where the in-coming and out-going breaths can be easily felt and observed. The meditator may become aware of the breath’s route through the body but he should not pay attention to it. At the beginning of the practice, the meditator should concentrate only on the in-breaths and out-breaths, and should not fall into any reflections about them. It is only at a later stage that he should apply himself to the arousing of knowledge and other states connected with the concentration.

In this brief introduction, only the first steps of the beginner can be discussed. For more information the student may refer to the English translation of the Visuddhimagga (The Path of Purification, chap. VIII) by Bhikkhu Ñanamoli, or to Mindfulness of Breathing by Bhikkhu Ñanamoli, and to The Heart of Buddhist Meditation by Nyanaponika Thera.[3]

The lay Buddhist who undertakes this practice will first take the Three Refuges and the Five Precepts; he will review the reflections on the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha, transmit thoughts of loving-kindness (metta) in all directions, recollect that this meditation will help him to reach the goal of deliverance through direct knowledge and mental calm; and only then should he start with the mindfulness of breathing proper, first by way of counting.[4]

Counting

The Buddhist teachers of old recommend that a beginner should start the practice by counting the breaths mentally. In doing so he should not stop short of five or go beyond ten or make any break in the series. By stopping short of five breaths his mind has not enough room for contemplation, and by going beyond ten his mind takes the number rather than the breaths for its objects, and any break in the series would upset the meditation.

When counting, the meditator should first count when the in-breath or the out-breath is completed, not when it begins. So taking the in-breath first, he counts mentally ‘one’ when that in-breath is complete, then he counts ‘two’ when the out-breath is complete, ‘three’ after the next in-breath, and so on up to ten, and then again from one to ten, and so he should continue.

After some practice in counting at the completion of a breath, breathing may becoming faster. The breaths, however, should not be made longer or shorter intentionally. The meditator has to be just mindful of their occurrence as they come and go. Now he may try counting ‘one’ when he begins to breathe in or breathe out, counting up to five or ten, and then again from one to five or ten. If one takes both the in-breath and out-breath as ‘one,’ it is better to count only up to five.

Counting should be employed until one can dispense with it in following the sequence of breaths successively. Counting is merely a device to assist in excluding stray thoughts. It is, as it were, a guideline or railing for supporting mindfulness until it can do without such help. There may be those who will feel the counting more as a complication than a help, and they may well omit it, attending directly to the flow of the respiration by way of “connecting the successive breaths.”

Connecting

After the counting has been discarded, the meditator should now continue his practice by way of connecting (anubandhana); that is, by following mindfully the in and out breaths without recourse to counting, and yet without a break in attentiveness. Here too, the breaths should not be followed beyond the nostrils where the respiratory air enters and leaves. The meditator must strive to be aware of the whole breath, in its entire duration and without missing one single phase, but his attention must not leave the place of contact, the nostrils, or that point of the upper lip where the current of air touches.

While following the in-breaths and out-breaths thus, they become fainter and fainter, and at times it is not easy to remain aware of that subtle sensation of touch caused by the respiration. Keener mindfulness is required to keep track of the breaths then. But if the meditator perseveres, one day he will feel a different sensation, a feeling of ease and happiness, and occasionally there appears before his mental eye something like a luminous star or a similar sign, which indicates that one approaches the stage of access concentration. Steadying the newly acquired sign, one may cultivate full mental absorption (jhana) or at least the preliminary concentration as a basis for practicing insight.

The practice of mindfulness of breathing is meant for both mental calm and insight (samathaand vipassana). Direct knowledge being the object of Buddhist meditation, the concentration gained by the meditative practice should be used for the clear understanding of reality as manifest in oneself and in the entire range of one’s experience.

Though penetrative insight leading to Nibbana is the ultimate object, progress in mindfulness and concentration will also bring many benefits in our daily lives. If we have become habituated to follow our breaths for a longer period of time and can exclude all (or almost all) intruding irrelevant thoughts, mindfulness, self-control and efficiency are sure to increase in all our activities. Just as our breathing, so also other processes of body and mind, will become clearer to us, and we shall come to know more of ourselves.

It has been said by the Buddha: “Mindfulness of breathing, developed and repeatedly practiced, is of great fruit, of great advantage, for it fulfills the four foundations of mindfulness; the four foundations of mindfulness, developed and repeatedly practiced, fulfill the seven enlightenment factors; the seven enlightenment factors, developed and repeatedly practiced, fulfill clear-vision and deliverance.” Clear vision and deliverance, or direct knowledge and the bliss of liberation, are the highest fruit of the application of mindfulness.

Notes to the Introduction

An exhaustive exposition of the Four Noble Truths is found in The Word of The Buddha by Nyanatiloka Mahathera. See also Three Cardinal Discourses of the Buddha, transl. by Ñanamoli Thera (BPS Wheel No. 17) and The Four Noble Truthsby Francis Story (BPS Wheel No. 34/35).

See Piyadassi Thera, The Seven Factors of Enlightenment (BPS Wheel No. 1).

All published by the Buddhist Publication Society.

On the Refuges and Precepts, see The Mirror of the Dhamma (BPS Wheel No. 54).

The Foundations of Mindfulness

Satipatthana Sutta

Thus have I heard. At one time the Blessed One was living among the Kurus, at Kammasadamma, a market town of the Kuru people. There the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhu thus: “Monks,” and they replied to him, “Venerable Sir.” The Blessed One spoke as follows:

This is the only way, monks, for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow and lamentation, for the destruction of suffering and grief, for reaching the right path, for the attainment of Nibbana, namely, the four foundations of mindfulness. What are the four?

Herein (in this teaching) a monk lives contemplating the body in the body,[1] ardent, clearly comprehending and mindful, having overcome, in this world, covetousness and grief; he lives contemplating feelings in feelings, ardent, clearly comprehending and mindful, having overcome, in this world, covetousness and grief; he lives contemplating consciousness in consciousness,[2] ardent, clearly comprehending and mindful, having overcome, in this world, covetousness and grief; he lives contemplating mental objects in mental objects, ardent, clearly comprehending and mindful, having overcome, in this world, covetousness and grief.

I. THE CONTEMPLATION OF THE BODY

1. Mindfulness of Breathing

And how does a monk live contemplating the body in the body?

Herein, monks, a monk, having gone to the forest, to the foot of a tree or to an empty place, sits down with his legs crossed, keeps his body erect and his mindfulness alert.[3]

Ever mindful he breathes in, mindful he breathes out. Breathing in a long breath, he knows, “I am breathing in a long breath”; breathing out a long breath, he knows, “I am breathing out a long breath”; breathing in a short breath, he knows, “I am breathing in a short breath”; breathing out a short breath, he knows, “I am breathing out a short breath.”

“Experiencing the whole (breath-) body, I shall breathe in,” thus he trains himself. “Experiencing the whole (breath-) body, I shall breathe out,” thus he trains himself. “Calming the activity of the (breath-) body, I shall breathe in,” thus he trains himself. “Calming the activity of the (breath-) body, I shall breathe out,” thus he trains himself.

Just as a skillful turner or turner’s apprentice, making a long turn, knows, “I am making a long turn,” or making a short turn, knows, “I am making a short turn,” just so the monk, breathing in a long breath, knows, “I am breathing in a long breath”; breathing out a long breath, he knows, “I am breathing out a long breath”; breathing in a short breath, he knows, “I am breathing in a short breath”; breathing out a short breath, he knows, “I am breathing out a short breath.” “Experiencing the whole (breath-) body, I shall breathe in,” thus he trains himself. “Experiencing the whole (breath-) body, I shall breathe out,” thus he trains himself. “Calming the activity of the (breath-) body, I shall breathe in,” thus he trains himself. “Calming the activity of the (breath-) body, I shall breathe out,” thus he trains himself.

Thus he lives contemplating the body in the body internally, or he lives contemplating the body in the body externally, or he lives contemplating the body in the body internally and externally.[4] He lives contemplating origination factors [5] in the body, or he lives contemplating dissolution factors [6] in the body, or he lives contemplating origination-and-dissolution factors [7] in the body. Or his mindfulness is established with the thought: “The body exists,”[8] to the extent necessary just for knowledge and mindfulness, and he lives detached,[9] and clings to nothing in the world. Thus also, monks, a monk lives contemplating the body in the body.

2. The Postures of the Body

And further, monks, a monk knows, when he is going, “I am going”; he knows, when he is standing, “I am standing”; he knows, when he is sitting, “I am sitting”; he knows, when he is lying down, “I am lying down”; or just as his body is disposed so he knows it.

Thus he lives contemplating the body in the body internally, or he lives contemplating the body in the body externally, or he lives contemplating the body in the body internally and externally. He lives contemplating origination factors in the body, or he lives contemplating dissolution factors in the body, or he lives contemplating origination-and-dissolution factors in the body.[10] Or his mindfulness is established with the thought: “The body exists,” to the extent necessary just for knowledge and mindfulness, and he lives detached, and clings to nothing in the world. Thus also, monks, a monk lives contemplating the body in the body.

3. Mindfulness with Clear Comprehension

And further, monks, a monk, in going forward and back, applies clear comprehension; in looking straight on and looking away, he applies clear comprehension; in bending and in stretching, he applies clear comprehension; in wearing robes and carrying the bowl, he applies clear comprehension; in eating, drinking, chewing and savoring, he applies clear comprehension; in walking, in standing, in sitting, in falling asleep, in waking, in speaking and in keeping silence, he applies clear comprehension.

Thus he lives contemplating the body in the body…

4. The Reflection on the Repulsiveness of the Body

And further, monks, a monk reflects on this very body enveloped by the skin and full of manifold impurity, from the soles up, and from the top of the head-hairs down, thinking thus: “There are in this body hair of the head, hair of the body, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinews, bones, marrow, kidney, heart, liver, midriff, spleen, lungs, intestines, mesentery, gorge, feces, bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, fat, tears, grease, saliva, nasal mucus, synovial fluid, urine.”

Just as if there were a double-mouthed provision bag full of various kinds of grain such as hill paddy, paddy, green gram, cow-peas, sesamum, and husked rice, and a man with sound eyes, having opened that bag, were to take stock of the contents thus: “This is hill paddy, this is paddy, this is green gram, this is cow-pea, this is sesamum, this is husked rice.” Just so, monks, a monk reflects on this very body enveloped by the skin and full of manifold impurity, from the soles up, and from the top of the head-hairs down, thinking thus: “There are in this body hair of the head, hair of the body, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinews, bones, marrow, kidney, heart, liver, midriff, spleen, lungs, intestines, mesentery, gorge, feces, bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, fat, tears, grease, saliva, nasal mucus, synovial fluid, urine.”

Thus he lives contemplating the body in the body…

5. The Reflection on the Material Elements

And further, monks, a monk reflects on this very body, however it be placed or disposed, by way of the material elements: “There are in this body the element of earth, the element of water, the element of fire, the element of wind.”[11]

Just as if, monks, a clever cow-butcher or his apprentice, having slaughtered a cow and divided it into portions, should be sitting at the junction of four high roads, in the same way, a monk reflects on this very body, as it is placed or disposed, by way of the material elements: “There are in this body the elements of earth, water, fire, and wind.”

Thus he lives contemplating the body in the body…

6. The Nine Cemetery Contemplations

(1) And further, monks, as if a monk sees a body dead one, two, or three days; swollen, blue and festering, thrown in the charnel ground, he then applies this perception to his own body thus: “Verily, also my own body is of the same nature; such it will become and will not escape it.”

Thus he lives contemplating the body in the body internally, or he lives contemplating the body in the body externally, or he lives contemplating the body in the body internally and externally. He lives contemplating origination-factors in the body, or he lives contemplating dissolution factors in the body, or he lives contemplating origination-and-dissolution-factors in the body. Or his mindfulness is established with the thought: “The body exists,” to the extent necessary just for knowledge and mindfulness, and he lives detached, and clings to nothing in the world. Thus also, monks, a monk lives contemplating the body in the body.

(2) And further, monks, as if a monk sees a body thrown in the charnel ground, being eaten by crows, hawks, vultures, dogs, jackals or by different kinds of worms, he then applies this perception to his own body thus: “Verily, also my own body is of the same nature; such it will become and will not escape it.”

Thus he lives contemplating the body in the body…

(3) And further, monks, as if a monk sees a body thrown in the charnel ground and reduced to a skeleton with some flesh and blood attached to it, held together by the tendons…

(4) And further, monks, as if a monk sees a body thrown in the charnel ground and reduced to a skeleton blood-besmeared and without flesh, held together by the tendons…

(5) And further, monks, as if a monk sees a body thrown in the charnel ground and reduced to a skeleton without flesh and blood, held together by the tendons…

(6) And further, monks, as if a monk sees a body thrown in the charnel ground and reduced to disconnected bones, scattered in all directions_here a bone of the hand, there a bone of the foot, a shin bone, a thigh bone, the pelvis, spine and skull…

(7) And further, monks, as if a monk sees a body thrown in the charnel ground, reduced to bleached bones of conchlike color…

(8) And further, monks, as if a monk sees a body thrown in the charnel ground reduced to bones, more than a year-old, lying in a heap…

(9) And further, monks, as if a monk sees a body thrown in the charnel ground, reduced to bones gone rotten and become dust, he then applies this perception to his own body thus: “Verily, also my own body is of the same nature; such it will become and will not escape it.”

Thus he lives contemplating the body in the body internally, or he lives contemplating the body in the body externally, or he lives contemplating the body in the body internally and externally. He lives contemplating origination factors in the body, or he lives contemplating dissolution factors in the body, or he lives contemplating origination-and-dissolution factors in the body. Or his mindfulness is established with the thought: “The body exists,” to the extent necessary just for knowledge and mindfulness, and he lives detached, and clings to nothing in the world. Thus also, monks, a monk lives contemplating the body in the body.

II. THE CONTEMPLATION OF FEELING

And how, monks, does a monk live contemplating feelings in feelings?

Herein, monks, a monk when experiencing a pleasant feeling knows, “I experience a pleasant feeling”; when experiencing a painful feeling, he knows, “I experience a painful feeling”; when experiencing a neither-pleasant-nor-painful feeling,” he knows, “I experience a neither-pleasant-nor-painful feeling.” When experiencing a pleasant worldly feeling, he knows, “I experience a pleasant worldly feeling”; when experiencing a pleasant spiritual feeling, he knows, “I experience a pleasant spiritual feeling”; when experiencing a painful worldly feeling, he knows, “I experience a painful worldly feeling”; when experiencing a painful spiritual feeling, he knows, “I experience a painful spiritual feeling”; when experiencing a neither-pleasant-nor-painful worldly feeling, he knows, “I experience a neither-pleasant-nor-painful worldly feeling”; when experiencing a neither-pleasant-nor-painful spiritual feeling, he knows, “I experience a neither-pleasant-nor-painful spiritual feeling.”

Thus he lives contemplating feelings in feelings internally, or he lives contemplating feelings in feelings externally, or he lives contemplating feelings in feelings internally and externally. He lives contemplating origination factors in feelings, or he lives contemplating dissolution factors in feelings, or he lives contemplating origination-and-dissolution factors in feelings.[12] Or his mindfulness is established with the thought, “Feeling exists,” to the extent necessary just for knowledge and mindfulness, and he lives detached, and clings to nothing in the world. Thus, monks, a monk lives contemplating feelings in feelings.

III. THE CONTEMPLATION OF CONSCIOUSNESS

And how, monks, does a monk live contemplating consciousness in consciousness?

Herein, monks, a monk knows the consciousness with lust, as with lust; the consciousness without lust, as without lust; the consciousness with hate, as with hate; the consciousness without hate, as without hate; the consciousness with ignorance, as with ignorance; the consciousness without ignorance, as without ignorance; the shrunken state of consciousness, as the shrunken state;[13] the distracted state of consciousness, as the distracted state;[14] the developed state of consciousness as the developed state;[15] the undeveloped state of consciousness as the undeveloped state;[16] the state of consciousness with some other mental state superior to it, as the state with something mentally higher;[17] the state of consciousness with no other mental state superior to it, as the state with nothing mentally higher;[18] the concentrated state of consciousness, as the concentrated state; the unconcentrated state of consciousness, as the unconcentrated state; the freed state of consciousness, as the freed state;[19] and the unfreed state of consciousness as the unfreed state.

Thus he lives contemplating consciousness in consciousness internally, or he lives contemplating consciousness in consciousness externally, or he lives contemplating consciousness in consciousness internally and externally. He lives contemplating origination factors in consciousness, or he lives contemplating dissolution-factors in consciousness, or he lives contemplating origination-and-dissolution factors in consciousness.[20] Or his mindfulness is established with the thought, “Consciousness exists,” to the extent necessary just for knowledge and mindfulness, and he lives detached, and clings to nothing in the world. Thus, monks, a monk lives contemplating consciousness in consciousness.

IV. THE CONTEMPLATION OF MENTAL OBJECTS

1. The Five Hindrances

And how, monks, does a monk live contemplating mental objects in mental objects?

Herein, monks, a monk lives contemplating mental objects in the mental objects of the five hindrances.

How, monks, does a monk live contemplating mental objects in the mental objects of the five hindrances?

Herein, monks, when sense-desire is present, a monk knows, “There is sense-desire in me,” or when sense-desire is not present, he knows, “There is no sense-desire in me.” He knows how the arising of the non-arisen sense-desire comes to be; he knows how the abandoning of the arisen sense-desire comes to be; and he knows how the non-arising in the future of the abandoned sense-desire comes to be.

When anger is present, he knows, “There is anger in me,” or when anger is not present, he knows, “There is no anger in me.” He knows how the arising of the non-arisen anger comes to be; he knows how the abandoning of the arisen anger comes to be; and he knows how the non-arising in the future of the abandoned anger comes to be.

When sloth and torpor are present, he knows, “There are sloth and torpor in me,” or when sloth and torpor are not present, he knows, “There are no sloth and torpor in me.” He knows how the arising of the non-arisen sloth and torpor comes to be; he knows how the abandoning of the arisen sloth and torpor comes to be; and he knows how the non-arising in the future of the abandoned sloth and torpor comes to be.

When agitation and remorse are present, he knows, “There are agitation and remorse in me,” or when agitation and remorse are not present, he knows, “There are no agitation and remorse in me.” He knows how the arising of the non-arisen agitation and remorse comes to be; he knows how the abandoning of the arisen agitation and remorse comes to be; and he knows how the non-arising in the future of the abandoned agitation and remorse comes to be.

When doubt is present, he knows, “There is doubt in me,” or when doubt is not present, he knows, “There is no doubt in me.” He knows how the arising of the non-arisen doubt comes to be; he knows how the abandoning of the arisen doubt comes to be; and he knows how the non-arising in the future of the abandoned doubt comes to be.

Thus he lives contemplating mental objects in mental objects internally, or he lives contemplating mental objects in mental objects externally, or he lives contemplating mental objects in mental objects internally and externally. He lives contemplating origination factors in mental objects, or he lives contemplating dissolution factors in mental objects, or he lives contemplating origination-and-dissolution factors in mental objects.[21] Or his mindfulness is established with the thought, “Mental objects exist,” to the extent necessary just for knowledge and mindfulness, and he lives detached, and clings to nothing in the world. Thus also, monks, a monk lives contemplating mental objects in the mental objects of the five hindrances.

2. The Five Aggregates of Clinging

And further, monks, a monk lives contemplating mental objects in the mental objects of the five aggregates of clinging.[22]

How, monks, does a monk live contemplating mental objects in the mental objects of the five aggregates of clinging?

Herein, monks, a monk thinks, “Thus is material form; thus is the arising of material form; and thus is the disappearance of material form. Thus is feeling; thus is the arising of feeling; and thus is the disappearance of feeling. Thus is perception; thus is the arising of perception; and thus is the disappearance of perception. Thus areformations; thus is the arising of formations; and thus is the disappearance of formations. Thus is consciousness; thus is the arising of consciousness; and thus is the disappearance of consciousness.”

Thus he lives contemplating mental objects in mental objects internally, or he lives contemplating mental objects in mental objects externally, or he lives contemplating mental objects in mental objects internally and externally. He lives contemplating origination factors in mental objects, or he lives contemplating dissolution factors in mental objects, or he lives contemplating origination-and-dissolution factors in mental objects.[23] Or his mindfulness is established with the thought, “Mental objects exist,” to the extent necessary just for knowledge and mindfulness, and he lives detached, and clings to nothing in the world. Thus also, monks, a monk lives contemplating mental objects in the mental objects of the five aggregates of clinging.

3. The Six Internal and External Sense Bases

And further, monks, a monk lives contemplating mental objects in the mental objects of the six internal and the six external sense-bases.

How, monks, does a monk live contemplating mental objects in the mental objects of the six internal and the six external sense-bases?

Herein, monks, a monk knows the eye and visual forms and the fetter that arises dependent on both (the eye and forms);[24] he knows how the arising of the non-arisen fetter comes to be; he knows how the abandoning of the arisen fetter comes to be; and he knows how the non-arising in the future of the abandoned fetter comes to be.

He knows the ear and sounds… the nose and smells… the tongue and flavors… thebody and tactual objects… the mind and mental objects, and the fetter that arises dependent on both; he knows how the arising of the non-arisen fetter comes to be; he knows how the abandoning of the arisen fetter comes to be; and he knows how the non-arising in the future of the abandoned fetter comes to be.

Thus he lives contemplating mental objects in mental objects internally, or he lives contemplating mental objects in mental objects externally, or he lives contemplating mental objects in mental objects internally and externally. He lives contemplating origination factors in mental objects, or he lives contemplating dissolution factors in mental objects, or he lives contemplating origination-and-dissolution factors in mental objects.[25] Or his mindfulness is established with the thought, “Mental objects exist,” to the extent necessary just for knowledge and mindfulness, and he lives detached, and clings to nothing in the world. Thus, monks, a monk lives contemplating mental objects in the mental objects of the six internal and the six external sense-bases.

4. The Seven Factors of Enlightenment

And further, monks, a monk lives contemplating mental objects in the mental objects of the seven factors of enlightenment.

How, monks, does a monk live contemplating mental objects in the mental objects of the seven factors of enlightenment?

Herein, monks, when the enlightenment-factor of mindfulness is present, the monk knows, “The enlightenment-factor of mindfulness is in me,” or when the enlightenment-factor of mindfulness is absent, he knows, “The enlightenment-factor of mindfulness is not in me”; and he knows how the arising of the non-arisen enlightenment-factor of mindfulness comes to be; and how perfection in the development of the arisen enlightenment-factor of mindfulness comes to be.

When the enlightenment-factor of the investigation of mental objects is present, the monk knows, “The enlightenment-factor of the investigation of mental objects is in me”; when the enlightenment-factor of the investigation of mental objects is absent, he knows, “The enlightenment-factor of the investigation of mental objects is not in me”; and he knows how the arising of the non-arisen enlightenment-factor of the investigation of mental objects comes to be, and how perfection in the development of the arisen enlightenment-factor of the investigation of mental objects comes to be.

When the enlightenment-factor of energy is present, he knows, “The enlightenment-factor of energy is in me”; when the enlightenment-factor of energy is absent, he knows, “The enlightenment-factor of energy is not in me”; and he knows how the arising of the non-arisen enlightenment-factor of energy comes to be, and how perfection in the development of the arisen enlightenment-factor of energy comes to be.

When the enlightenment-factor of joy is present, he knows, “The enlightenment-factor of joy is in me”; when the enlightenment-factor of joy is absent, he knows, “The enlightenment-factor of joy is not in me”; and he knows how the arising of the non-arisen enlightenment-factor of joy comes to be, and how perfection in the development of the arisen enlightenment-factor of joy comes to be.

When the enlightenment-factor of tranquillity is present, he knows, “The enlightenment-factor of tranquillity is in me”; when the enlightenment-factor of tranquillity is absent, he knows, “The enlightenment-factor of tranquillity is not in me”; and he knows how the arising of the non-arisen enlightenment-factor of tranquillity comes to be, and how perfection in the development of the arisen enlightenment-factor of tranquillity comes to be.

When the enlightenment-factor of concentration is present, he knows, “The enlightenment-factor of concentration is in me”; when the enlightenment-factor of concentration is absent, he knows, “The enlightenment-factor of concentration is not in me”; and he knows how the arising of the non-arisen enlightenment-factor of concentration comes to be, and how perfection in the development of the arisen enlightenment-factor of concentration comes to be.

When the enlightenment-factor of equanimity is present, he knows, “The enlightenment-factor of equanimity is in me”; when the enlightenment-factor of equanimity is absent, he knows, “The enlightenment-factor of equanimity is not in me”; and he knows how the arising of the non-arisen enlightenment-factor of equanimity comes to be, and how perfection in the development of the arisen enlightenment-factor of equanimity comes to be.

Thus he lives contemplating mental objects in mental objects internally, or he lives contemplating mental objects in mental objects externally, or he lives contemplating mental objects in mental objects internally and externally. He lives contemplating origination-factors in mental objects, or he lives contemplating dissolution-factors in mental objects, or he lives contemplating origination-and-dissolution-factors in mental objects.[26] Or his mindfulness is established with the thought, “Mental objects exist,” to the extent necessary just for knowledge and mindfulness, and he lives detached, and clings to nothing in the world. Thus, monks, a monk lives contemplating mental objects in the mental objects of the seven factors of enlightenment.

5. The Four Noble Truths

And further, monks, a monk lives contemplating mental objects in the mental objects of the four noble truths.

How, monks, does a monk live contemplating mental objects in the mental objects of the four noble truths?

Herein, monks, a monk knows, “This is suffering,” according to reality; he knows,“This is the origin of suffering,” according to reality; he knows, “This is the cessation of suffering,” according to reality; he knows “This is the road leading to the cessation of suffering,” according to reality.

Thus he lives contemplating mental objects in mental objects internally, or he lives contemplating mental objects in mental objects externally, or he lives contemplating mental objects in mental objects internally and externally. He lives contemplating origination-factors in mental objects, or he lives contemplating dissolution-factors in mental objects, or he lives contemplating origination-and-dissolution-factors in mental objects.[27] Or his mindfulness is established with the thought, “Mental objects exist,” to the extent necessary just for knowledge and mindfulness, and he lives detached, and clings to nothing in the world. Thus, monks, a monk lives contemplating mental objects in the mental objects of the four noble truths.

Verily, monks, whosoever practices these four foundations of mindfulness in this manner for seven years, then one of these two fruits may be expected by him: highest knowledge (arahantship) here and now, or if some remainder of clinging is yet present, the state of non-returning.[28]

O monks, let alone seven years. Should any person practice these four foundations of mindfulness in this manner for six years… five years… four years… three years… two years… one year, then one of these two fruits may be expected by him: highest knowledge here and now, or if some remainder of clinging is yet present, the state of non-returning.

O monks, let alone a year. Should any person practice these four foundations of mindfulness in this manner for seven months… six months… five months… four months… three months… two months… a month… half a month, then one of these two fruits may be expected by him: highest knowledge here and now, or if some remainder of clinging is yet present, the state of non-returning.

O monks, let alone half a month. Should any person practice these four foundations of mindfulness in this manner for a week, then one of these two fruits may be expected by him: highest knowledge here and now, or if some remainder of clinging is yet present, the state of non-returning.

Because of this it was said: “This is the only way, monks, for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow and lamentation, for the destruction of suffering and grief, for reaching the right path, for the attainment of Nibbana, namely the four foundations of mindfulness.”

Thus spoke the Blessed One. Satisfied, the monks approved of his words.

Notes

The repetition of the phrases ‘contemplating the body in the body,’ ‘feelings in feelings,’ etc. is meant to impress upon the meditator the importance of remaining aware whether, in the sustained attention directed upon a single chosen object, one is still keeping to it, and has not strayed into the field of another contemplation. For instance, when contemplating any bodily process, a meditator may unwittingly be side-tracked into a consideration of his feelings connected with that bodily process. He should then be clearly aware that he has left his original subject, and is engaged in the contemplation of feeling.

Mind (Pali citta, also consciousness or viññana) in this connection means the states of mind or units in the stream of mind of momentary duration. Mental objects, dhamma, are the mental contents or factors of consciousness making up the single states of mind.

Literally, “setting up mindfulness in front.”

‘Internally’: contemplating his own breathing; ‘externally’: contemplating another’s breathing; ‘internally and externally’: contemplating one’s own and another’s breathing, alternately, with uninterrupted attention. In the beginning one pays attention to one’s own breathing only, and it is only in advanced stages that for the sake of practicing insight, one by inference at times pays attention also to another person’s process of breathing.

The origination factors (samudaya-dhamma), that is, the conditions of the origination of the breath-body; these are: the body in its entirety, nasal aperture and mind.

The conditions of the dissolution of the breath-body are: the destruction of the body and of the nasal aperture, and the ceasing of mental activity.

The contemplation of both, alternately.

That is, only impersonal bodily processes exist, without a self, soul, spirit or abiding essence or substance. The corresponding phrase in the following contemplations should be understood accordingly.

Detached from craving and wrong view.

10.

All contemplations of the body, excepting the preceding one, have as factors of origination: ignorance, craving, kamma, food, and the general characteristic of originating; the factors of dissolution are: disappearance of ignorance, craving, kamma, food, and the general characteristic of dissolving.

11.

The so-called ‘elements’ are the primary qualities of matter, explained by Buddhist tradition as solidity (earth), adhesion (water), caloricity (fire) and motion (wind or air).

12.

The factors of origination are here: ignorance, craving, kamma, and sense-impression, and the general characteristic of originating; the factors of dissolution are: the disappearance of the four, and the general characteristic of dissolving.

13.

This refers to a rigid and indolent state of mind.

14.

This refers to a restless mind.

15.

The consciousness of the meditative absorptions of the fine-corporeal and uncorporeal sphere (rupa-arupa-jhana).

16.

The ordinary consciousness of the sensuous state of existence (kamavacara).

17.

The consciousness of the sensuous state of existence, having other mental states superior to it.

18.

The consciousness of the fine-corporeal and the uncorporeal spheres, having no mundane mental state superior to it.

19.

Temporarily freed from the defilements either through the methodical practice of insight (vipassana) freeing from single evil states by force of their opposites, or through the meditative absorptions (jhana).

20.

The factors of origination consist here of ignorance, craving, kamma, body-and-mind (nama-rupa), and the general characteristic of originating; the factors of dissolution are: the disappearance of ignorance, etc., and the general characteristic of dissolving.

21.

The factors of origination are here the conditions which produce the hindrances, such as wrong reflection, etc., the factors of dissolution are the conditions which remove the hindrances, e.g., right reflection.

22.

These five groups or aggregates constitute the so-called personality. By making them objects of clinging, existence, in the form of repeated births and deaths, is perpetuated.

23.

The origination-and-dissolution factors of the five aggregates: for material form, the same as for the postures (Note 10); for feeling, the same as for the contemplation of feeling (Note 12); for perception and formations, the same as for feeling (Note 12); for consciousness, the same as for the contemplation of consciousness (Note 20).

24.

The usual enumeration of the ten principal fetters (samyojana), as given in the Discourse Collection (Sutta Pitaka), is as follows: (1) self-illusion, (2) skepticism, (3) attachment to rules and rituals, (4) sensual lust, (5) ill-will, (6) craving for fine-corporeal existence, (7) craving for incorporeal existence, (8) conceit, (9) restlessness, (10) ignorance.

25.

Origination factors of the ten physical sense-bases are ignorance, craving, kamma, food, and the general characteristic of originating; dissolution factors: the general characteristic of dissolving and the disappearance of ignorance, etc. The origination-and-dissolution factors of the mind-base are the same as those of feeling (Note 12).

26.

Just the conditions conducive to the origination and dissolution of the factors of enlightenment comprise the origination-and-dissolution factors here.

27.

The origination-and-dissolution factors of the truths should be understood as the arising and passing of suffering, craving, and the path; the truth of cessation is not to be included in this contemplation since it has neither origination nor dissolution.

28.

That is, the non-returning to the world of sensuality. This is the last stage before the attainment of the final goal of arahantship.

Further Sources of Information

The Way of Mindfulness. Soma Thera. Third Edition, Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy.

The Heart of Buddhist Meditation. Nyanaponika Thera. Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy.

Visuddhimagga. The Path of Purification. Trans. by Bhikkhu Ñanamoli. Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy.

Mindfulness of Breathing: Anapanasati. Bhikkhu Ñanamoli. Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy.

Setting-up of Mindfulness (Maha-satipatthana Sutta), Dialogues of the Buddha, trans. by Prof. T.W. Rhys Davids; third edition; P.T.S., 1951, Vol. II, pp.322-346.

Discourse on the Applications of Mindfulness (Satipatthana Sutta), The Middle Length Sayings. No.10; trans. by I.B. Horner, P.T.S., Vol, I. pp.70-82.

The Book of Kindred Sayings, V., Samyutta Nikaya III, pp.119-168, P.T.S. 1956.

http://online.sfsu.edu/~rone/Buddhism/BuddhistDict/BDF.html< ?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” />

Four Applications of Mindfulness

1) contemplation of the body as impure, 2) contemplation of feeling as suffering, 3) contemplation of thoughts as impermanent, 4) contemplation of dharmas as devoid of self.

The Four Applications of Mindfulness are part of the Thirty-Seven Wings of Enlightenment (i.e., Seven Wings of Bodhi, Eightfold Path, Five Faculties, Five Powers, Four Bases of Psychic Power, Four Applications of Mindfulness, Four Types of Upright Diligence) that comprise the traditional description of Path, the last of the Four Holy Truths (see entry).

“The Four Applications of Mindfulness, (also called the Four Dwellings in Mindfulness) were given by the Buddha as a dwelling place for the Bhikshus after his departure into nirvana.” (DFS IV 760)

Contemplation of the Body as Impure

“Our bodies are unclean things. . . . Perspiration flows from the entire body, and once you perspire, you smell. Tears and matter flow from the eyes. Wax oozes from the ears, and mucus flows from the nose. Saliva and phlegm flow from the mouth. These seven orifices are always leaking unclean substances. Then, add the eliminatory orifices and you have nine which continually ooze with impurities. Everyone is familiar with them. In our flesh and blood there are many kinds of impure bacteria as well. Someone may not believe this at all, but in the future advances in science will without a doubt prove that the flesh and blood are unclean. It’s all very complex, especially when people eat a lot of strange things which get into their systems and do strange things. The matter in the digestive system is also unclean. Therefore, why should you be so caught up in working for your body? First of all, contemplate the body as impure.

Contemplation of Feeling as Suffering

“Secondly, contemplate feelings as suffering. Pleasurable sensations are enjoyable at first, but one soon grows tired of them, and they become disagreeable. It’s a very obvious principle that there is nothing much to pleasure in itself.

Contemplation of Thoughts as Impermanent

“Thirdly, contemplate thoughts as impermanent. Thought after thought changes and moves on. Thoughts are like waves on the sea. When one thought passes, another takes its place. Coming into being and ceasing to be, coming into being and ceasing to be, thoughts do not stop. . . . Past, present, and future–none of the three phases of thought can be got at. Therefore, contemplate thought as impermanent.

“We are never aware of where our thoughts have gone off to. Mencius said, ‘If people’s chickens and dogs run off, they go after them. But if their thoughts run off, they don’t know to go after them. . . .’ When you have polluted thinking that is just your mind running off. . . .”

Contemplation of Dharmas as Devoid of Self

“Not only is there no self, there are no dharmas either! Make empty both people and dharmas. Empty emptiness as well.” (DFS IV 608-610)

1) Ch. sz nyan chu , 2) Skt. smrty-upasthana/catvari smrtyupasthanani, 3) Pali satipatthana, anussati, 4) Alternate Translations: Dwellings in Mindfulness, Applications of Mentality/ Awareness.

See also: Four Holy Truths–Path, mindfulness.

BTTS References: HS 88, VBS No. 11; DFS IV 608, 760ff; DFS V 940-943; FAS-PII(1) 59-65; AS 56-59.

http://buddha-inside.blogspot.com/2009/04/four-applications-of-mindfulness.html

AWAKENING THE BUDDHA IN US

“Sariputra, if there are people who have already made the vow, who now make the vow, or who are about to make the vow, ‘I desire to be born in Amitabha’s country,’ these people, whether born in the past, now being born, or to be born in the future, all will irreversibly attain to anuttarasamyaksambodhi. Therefore, Sariputra, all good men and good women, if they are among those who have faith, should make the vow, ‘I will be born in that country.’”

~ Amitabha Sutra

When I obtain the Buddhahood, any being of the boundless and inconceivable Buddha-worlds of the ten quarters whose body if be touched by the rays of my splendour should not make his body and mind gentle and peaceful, in such a state that he is far more sublime than the gods and men, then may I not attain the enlightenment.

~ Amitabha Buddha’s Thirty-Third Vow

The Four Applications Of Mindfulness

Extracted from ‘The Buddha Speaks of Amitabha Sutra with commentaries of the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua’ page 58 & 63

(Page 58)
Then Ananda said, “We have always lived with you, Buddha, but when you enter Nirvana, where are we going to live?”

Shakyamuni Buddha said, “When I go to Nirvana, all Bhikshus, Bhikshunis, Upasakas, and Upasikas should dwell in the Four Applications of Mindfulness: Mindfulness with regard to the body, feelings, thoughts, and dharmas.

1) Contemplate the body as impure. If you know that the body is impure, you won’t love it, and without love there will be no attachment. Being without attachment is freedom. So first of all,regard the body as impure.
2) Contemplate feelings as suffering. Feelings are all a kind of suffering, whether they are pleasant or unpleasant, for pleasant feelings are the cause of unpleasant feelings.
3) Contemplate thought as impermanent. Thoughts shift and flow and are not permanent.
4) Contemplate dharmas as devoid of self.”

(Page 63)
The Four Applications Of Mindfulness

1) Contemplation of the body as impure. Everyone sees his body as extremely precious. Because you think it is real, you are selfish and profit-seeking. Without a body, there would be no selfishness.

We think our bodies are real and actual. Being selfish, we create offenses and commit evil deeds. We cannot let go of the affairs of the world and calculate on behalf of our bodies all day long, looking for good food, beautiful clothes, and a nice place to live— a little happiness for the body. On the day we die, we are still unclear. “My body is dying,” we moan. “How can it do this to me?” At that time we know that our bodies are unreal, but it’s too late, too late for our regrets.

Ultimately, is the body real? Stupid people think so, but wise people see it merely as a combination of the four elements: earth, air, fire, and water. It is not ultimate.

“Then,” you ask, “what is ultimate?”

Our own self-nature is
bright and all-illumining;
Our own-self-nature is
perfect and unimpeded.
It is nowhere and nowhere is it not;
to the end of empty space,
it exhausts the Dharma Realm.

Our bodies are temporary dwellings where our self-nature comes to live for a time. But the person dwelling in the hotel is not the hotel, and in the same way, his body is not him. The traveler who thinks that he is the hotel is mistaken. If you know that the body is just like a hotel, you should seek that which dwells within it, for once you have found it, you will recognize your true self.

From the time of birth, the body is impure—a combination of its father’s semen and its mother’s blood. The child grows up with greed, hate, stupidity, pride, and doubt. He commits offenses, creating the karma of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying and taking intoxicants and drugs. Offense-karma is created because of the body. But is the body such a precious thing after all? No.

A precious jewel is pure and undefiled, without stain or the slightest trace of filth. Our bodies, on the other hand, have nine apertures which constantly secrete impure substances: tears from the eyes, wax from the ears, mucus from the nose…

There are religions whose members eat mucus. They say that they are “smelting the cinnabar.” They also eat tears and ear wax thinking that these filthy substances are precious jewels. Isn’t that pitiful?

Two ears, two eyes, and two nostrils make six holes. The mouth is full of phlegm and saliva. That’s seven holes. Add the anus and urinary tract and you have nine. Would you call this pure? Everyone knows that excrement and urine are unclean and, if you don’t believe it, just try seasoning some fine food with a tiny pinch of excrement. No one will eat it. People will want to vomit instead because it is unclean. Would you call this body, dribbling filth from nine holes, a jewel? If it’s a jewel, why do such vile things flow from it?

If you don’t bathe for a week, you itch and squirm and a thick crust forms on your body. Where did it come from? Soon you stink with an odor even a dog finds repulsive. What is the advantage of having a body? Contemplate the body as impure. If you see how filthy it is, do you still love it? Are you still attached? What’s the use of loving such a dirty thing?

“Then can I stab myself? Can I kill myself?” you ask.

No. That’s not necessary. You must borrow this false body and use it to cultivate the Truth. The self-nature dwells within the body. You entered the body of five skandhas and the yin and yang merged in a combination of purity and filth which is your body. If you cultivate, you can go up, and attain purity. If you do not cultivate you will go down, create offense karma, unite with the filth, and turn into a ghost.

Go up. Become a Buddha. Whether or not you cultivate is up to you, however. Nobody can force you to cultivate.

The Venerable Ananda thought that because he was the Buddha’s cousin, he didn’t need to cultivate. He thought that the Buddha would just give him samadhi. But the Buddha couldn’t do that, and so it was not until after the Buddha’s Nirvana, when Ananda was about to edit the Sutras, that he finally certified to the fourth Stage of Arhatship and realized that he could not neglect cultivation.

Be mindful that the body is impure, don’t be so fond of it, and don’t take it as a treasure.

You say, “I can’t stand criticism. I can’t stand it.”

Who are you?

“If they hit me, I can’t bear it. It hurts!”

Really? If you put your attachments down and see through them, there is neither pain nor not pain. Who is in pain? What, exactly, hurts? If someone hits you, pretend that you bumped into a wall. If someone scolds you, pretend that they are singing a song or speaking Japanese. How can they scold you if you don’t understand them?

“Are they speaking Spanish or Portugese? French? German? I’ve never studied languages so I don’t understand…” They can scold you, but it’s nothing. In general, once you see through, break, and put down the attachment to your body, you win your independence.

Contemplate your body as impure. Don’t regard it with so much importance. It’s not important.

Contemplate feelings, thoughts, and dharmas as impure also.

2) Contemplate feelings as suffering. Feelings may be pleasant, unpleasant or neutral; from the point of view of the three sufferings, unpleasant feelings are the suffering within suffering, pleasant feelings are caught up in the suffering of decay, and neutral feelings are the suffering of process. Wake up! Everything you enjoy is a form of suffering. If you know that pleasure is suffering, you will not be attached to it. I often say:

Enduring suffering puts an end to suffering;
Enjoying blessings destroys blessings.

If you endure your suffering, it will pass. If you enjoy your blessings, they, too, will pass. Contemplate feelings as suffering.

The body, thought, and dharmas are also suffering. Although there are Four Applications of Mindfulness, you can divide them up; each of the four characteristic qualities, impurity, suffering, impermanence, and the absence of self, can be applied to the body, to feelings, to thoughts, and to dharmas, making sixteen applications in all.

3) Contemplate thoughts as impermanent. The Vajra Sutra says, “Past thought cannot be obtained, present thought cannot be obtained, and future thought cannot be obtained.” All your thoughts are unobtainable. They flow without stopping and so they are impermanent. The body, feelings and dharmas are also impermanent.

4) Contemplate dharmas as without self. Basically, since there are no dharmas, from whence cometh the self? The self is a combination of four elements and the five skandhas—a creation of form dharmas. Outside of the four elements and the five skandhas there is no self. So contemplate dharmas as being without a self.

The Four Applications of Mindfulness are very wonderful. If you investigate them thoroughly, understand and dwell on them, you will be unattached and will attain true freedom. If you’re attached, you can’t be free. Why? Because you’re attached! So dwell in the Four Applications of Mindfulness. Dwell and yet do not dwell.

http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Four_applications_of_mindfulness

Four applications of mindfulness< ?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” />

Four applications of mindfulness (Wyl. dran pa nye bar bzhag pa bzhi) sometimes translated as the four foundations of mindfulness refers to the close application of mindfulness to:

1. the body

2. feelings

3. the mind

4. phenomena

Commentary

The Buddha’s most detailed teaching on mindfulness is to be found in the Satipatthana Sutta [Pali]. ‘Sati’ means ‘mindfulness’ and ‘patthana’ means application or ‘foundation’. There are four of these ‘Applications or Foundations of Mindfulness.’

Training in the four applications or foundations of mindfulness enjoys a special place in the Theravadin tradition. But, the Four Foundations of Mindfulness also form part of the thirty-seven factors of enlightenment on the Mahayana path.

If one practises these four applications of mindfulness according to the basic vehicle, “one meditates on:

§ the impurity of the body,

§ on the feelings of suffering,

§ on the impermanence of consciousness, and

§ on the fact that mental objects are ‘ownerless’ (there is no self to which they belong).

If one practices according to the mahayana, during the meditation session one meditates on the same things as being spacelike, beyond all conceptual constructs. In the post-meditation period one considers them as illusory and dreamlike.

Between the basic yana and the Mahayana approach to this meditation, we may observe a threefold distinction:

§ 1. In the basic yana, the focus is on our own body, feelings, and so forth, while in the mahayana, the focus is also on the bodies, feelings, and so forth, of others.

§ 2. Again, in the basic yana, the focus is on the impurity aspect and so on, while in the mahayana the meditator concentrates on emptiness.

§ 3. Finally, with regard to the purpose of this meditation, in the basic yana the practice is performed with a view to liberation from the impure body and so on, while in the mahayana this meditation is performed in order to attain complete enlightenment.

Khenpo Namdrol says:

“When the shravakas practise the application of mindfulness of the body, they meditate on their body in the form of a skeleton, and concentrate on its impermanence, impurity and suffering nature. By contrast, the bodhisattvas meditate on their own bodies and the bodies of others, focussing on their insubstantiality, their emptiness and their selflessness.”

This meditation is termed literally ‘close mindfulness’ because the practitioner discerns the general and particular characteristics of the body and so forth with uninterrupted attention.

What Is Bioengineering?

Biological engineering (a. k. a. biosystems engineering, bioengineering) is any type of engineering–for example, mechanical engineering–applied to living things.

Examples: Aquaculture, Biosensors, Bio-based materials, Biomaterials, Industrial fermentation, Industrial enzymatic reactions, Production and purification of biopharmaceuticals, Advanced life support system, Artificial biospheres eg. Biosphere 2, Animal locomotion.

Bioengineers are concerned with the application of engineering sciences, methods, and techniques to problems in medicine and biology. Bioengineering encompasses two closely related fields of interest: the application of engineering sciences to understand how animals and plants function; and the application of engineering technologies to design and develop new devices, including diagnostic or therapeutic instrumentation, or the formulation of synthetic biomaterials, the design of artificial tissues and organs, and the development of new drug delivery systems.

Bioengineering is the application of the principles of engineering and natural sciences to tissues, cells and molecules. Closely related to this is biotechnology, which deals with the implementation of biological knowledge in industrial processes. Applications from both fields are widely used in medical and natural sciences and also in engineering.

What is bioengineering?

There are as many definitions of Bioengineering as there are groups working in the field. In the area of health, the US National Institute of Health formed a Bioengineering Definition Committee that released the following preamble and definition on July 24, 1997:

Preamble

Bioengineering is rooted in physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology, and the life sciences. It is the application of a systematic, quantitative, and integrative way of thinking about and approaching the solutions of problems important to biology, medical research, clinical proactive, and population studies. The NIH Bioengineering Consortium agreed on the following definition for bioengineering research on biology, medicine, behavior, or health recognizing that no definition could completely eliminate overlap with other research disciplines or preclude variations in interpretation by different individuals and organizations.

Definition

Bioengineering integrates physical, chemical, or mathematical sciences and engineering principles for the study of biology, medicine, behavior, or health. It advances fundamental concepts, creates knowledge for the molecular to the organ systems levels, and develops innovative biologics, materials, processes, implants, devices, and informatics approaches for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, for patient rehabilitation, and for improving health.

If we ignore the obvious health focus in the NIH definition, it is clear that bioengineering is concerned with applying an engineering approach (systematic, quantitative, and integrative) and an engineering focus (the solutions of problems) to biological problems.

BIOENGINEERING is the application of engineering design and technology to living systems. Any living system. While for the majority, the obvious, and perhaps justifiably, the most important, living system is the one walking upright and registered with a doctor, many bioengineers work in breweries, drug companies, farming and the environment. With plants, insects and fungi.

The discipline is thus not confined to the design and production of Medical Devices, but encompasses any situation where technology must interface with a living system.

Bioengineers have to be mentally flexible, willing to adopt and adapt techniques from other industries, and to work with people from a wide range of disciplines.

As an example of the art, consider a Kidney Machine and the sub-systems which go to make up this example of vital life support equipment:

Water treatment and purification. Heating and temperature control for pasteurisation and patient comfort. Measurement systems for flow and pressure, electrolytes. Alarm systems for all vital parameters. Data collection and processing. Ergonomics Electrical Safety

Clinical Measurement represents a large sector within the field. Modern sensor technology permits the measurement of parameters for aiding diagnosis and monitoring therapy to an extent impossible to imagine even ten years ago. Biomechanical engineers are designing tools enabling surgeons to perform sophisticated “keyhole” surgery, while device technology and computer complexity is advancing fast enough to bring the clinician’s wildest aspirations within reach.

Bioengineering is what you do with biotechnology. Biotechnology is what you get from studying and learning how to manipulate biology. It has been known for more than a hundred years that life is basically a machine which takes in fuel and performs work. This machine is remarkable in that it arose through variation and selection from a very primitive self replicating molecule. The closest analogue of this molecule present in our contemporary biology is the ribosome. It has been found that this ribosome consists, in part, of a strand of RNA. Inside the nucleus of a human cell there are twenty two pairs of chromosomes and either another pair or two different. These, as you are probably tired of hearing, are mostly DNA. In our cells is also an organelle which is called a mitochondria. This organelle was, once, a separate life-form. It evolved separately from the type of cells that make up most of our body and its internal structure is significantly different from the cell it is now a part of. These mitochondria have their own DNA but have come to live within our cells as symbiotes. These scientific findings will underlie the rest of this essay.

What is the significance of DNA? It’s just a molecule, right? Yes it is. That is exactly what it is. It has no magical properties whatsoever. Science fiction notions of being able to mutate an adult human by changing their DNA to that of another species, perhaps, would not have any morphological change on the person because there is not, yet at least, a gene that can reshape bone. Most random gene changes result in some kind of disease such as cancer. This should seem weird to you. I am talking about changing a DNA molecule but I’m not suggesting that it becomes anything other than a DNA molecule. I mean changing your garden variety molecule by changing even a single bond usually makes something totally different. What is DNA that it is different? For one thing DNA is actually a family of molecules composed of adenine, thymine, cystine, and guinine. RNA uses a molecule called uracil in place of thymine. A strand of DNA is a linked chain of any number of any combination of those four “base pairs”. When we talk about modifying DNA we are talking about rearranging sequences of base pairs.

The DNA molecule serves a function no different from the hard drive on your computer. It stores information. The three billion year history of the DNA molecule is a testament to its effectiveness as a storage medium. RNA is more like your computer’s working memory. It is natural to consider the act of designing a DNA strand in the same way we would consider the act of writing a program for a computer. A bioengineer, or as it was put in Blade Runner, a genetic designer, is a DNA programmer. I am trying to express these ideas in these terms because a certain mysticism has arisen around DNA that needs to be dispelled before we can consider the questions of what we might be able, or want, to do with our newfound ability to manipulate it.

There are a great many who are so shocked by these ideas that they immediately rush to outlaw research as soon as they are informed of its possibility. These feelings of fear and anxiety extend to many areas of reproductive medicine and general angst about self-modification. All these things boil down to one simple fact. People are afraid to acknowledge what they are. If they ever dared, they may have tried to feel their bodies as being made of cells and molecules and existing in a void of randomly moving gasses and a hard empty floor. They might be able to open their eyes wide enough to see the functioning of their minds and understand that it is merely a computation running on some very impressive but ultimately kludged together hardware. I do this from time to time to keep my bearings. It is not a pleasant experience. Throughout history this truth has been an inevitability. No matter how keen your vision is there was nothing you could do about it. Being, quite literally, helpless people constructed fictions about souls, gods, and the tooth fairy and just about any other entity or idea that people tend to bring into these debates. These are beloved lies.

Until now, they’ve been the lies that have allowed us to live. With bioengineering we will have the power to change that. We will soon have complete power. You no longer have to be afraid of the beat of your heart knowing that each one has a number and the number is counting downward. You no longer have to feel alone in your own skull. You can have a neural interface. You will no longer need to fear crippling injury, it can be repaired. You will be able to live for years in zero gravity in perfect health. You will be able to tolerate significant doses of radiation. You will be able to metabolize poisonous chemicals. You will never suffer a serious illness. These are the possibilities. All we, as a people, need to do is face our fears with the sword called Biotechnology. Lies need no longer be our only shield.

In the past all changes to your body were either impossible or irreversible. To live a long and healthy life one had no choice but to take the best care possible of their bodies so that it would remain healthy for as long as possible. For this reason the body became an object of worship. Something that deserves special consideration above all others. While the health and safety of our embodiment will always be a concern it is no longer necessary to treat it as holy and untouchable. It is foreseeable that people might be struck by some fancy or other that they want to follow for a few years. These people will no longer be forced to consider their long term health because it will be taken care of by advanced medical nanotechnology which will be able to implement or reverse just about any change.

Considering that there is nothing in the universe that has any opinion one way or another what we do to ourselves we might just as well do whatever we want. All of you have are your desires and your tools. It would be a tragedy in more ways than one if the conservative elements in our psyches strangle this one eighty year opportunity we are given to do what ever we want with our body. There is no such thing as a crime against one’s self and nothing should be considered as such. We live in a free universe if not in a free country. So to these conservative voices I ask “why not?”

A Living Future With Room For Everyone

On the other extreme there is a faction in the singularitan community which thinks that people who wish to use biotechnology are, to pick a word, backwards. They think that the singularity means that their nanoscale robots are inherently better than the biological cells which have served us from, practically, the beginning of time merely because they happen to process information in a slightly different way which would allow them to be faster and more vicious in the war of evolution. Although their machines are made out of the same atoms that compose the bulk of our own bodies, they have told me that their “machine phase life” will quickly supersede biological life. They wish to plunge the universe into a new epoch of life which they will direct from their own computer simulations as uploads. To these people my question is WHY?

Creating a “doom goo” is behavior fit for a script kiddie, the lowest grade of computer abusers. It would be no different from the Mac users getting their final revenge on all the PC users. Civilized people who choose to use ultra-technologies should have the, well, civility to respect the people who want to take a little more time to figure out what they want to be or to be something completely different. It is wrong, in every way, to unleash such destruction on people who only wish to remain human regardless how superior the replacements are. The only reason we develop technology at all is to make our own, human, lives better. Lets take these nanotechnologies and let them become our symbiotes just as the mitochondria are. Lets build a massively powerful computer not to run simulations of our brains but rather simulations of our proteins. Let us apply bioengineering to our own cells to make the very stuff of our body better than it has ever been before.

The ultimate use of nanotechnology is in our own cells. We, ourselves, in our present incarnation can take advantage of everything I am talking about here (except, perhaps, certain mental upgrades). We will start with the cell and reengineer it from the first atom. We will use nanites, DNA, hydrocarbons, or whatever else to make a stable, resilient, and vital whole. Our new biologies will be limited only by our imaginations and the laws of physics. These bold dreams excite only ridicule in the most radical computronium-heads. The universe is billions of light-years across and they don’t see any room in it for us. In my article on the singularity I mentioned the use of legal and military controls to preserve personal liberties. This is one of the most important areas that this force should be applied. The singularity is a neutral thing. It can be spectacularly good if it can be kept under human[oid] control. It has an equal potential to be unimaginably bad for everything we, today, call living things.

As radical and audacious as my ideas about cyborgs and bioengineering may seem they are, in the grand scheme of things, quite conservative and an appropriate mean between the two extremes. Lets bring on the future but lets do it with our eyes open and our own interests in heart and mind.

Science, Technology, and the Art of Design

Body blueprints are passed around all the time by their own natural functions. Only in the last fifty years we have been able to appreciate sexual reproduction as an information exchange. In the muck at the bottom of ponds you can find that the bacteria that live there have established a commune of sorts in which DNA is passed back and shared among them. Things won’t be so easy-going with the blueprints of the new cellular structure I mentioned above because of the intense effort required to produce them. I think that because of this and the importance of a fair and equal access that the core sciences and technologies behind cyborg biologies, and everything else for that matter, should forever be kept in the public domain.

The people who think it would be only fair that the people who put the direct effort into the direct design work should receive a patent for a few years in order to recoup their costs. Lets think about this. How did these people get the scientific knowledge about DNA and the proteins? Where did they get their computers? Who provided the computing services? How did they figure out how to program the AI that helped them organize the gigabytes of data that is required to build a cyborg and its accompanying technologies? The answer to all of these is millions of people. More than a million biologists and chemists made significant contributions to the project. Every single person who has purchased a computer has helped fund further research and industrial development that made the project possible. Hundreds of thousands of people contribute their spare computer cycles to on-line projects such as folding@home which studies the very proteins that are the subject of this essay. Their AI wasn’t the result of some eureka moment but the culmination of five thousand years of mathematical research. They also owe debts to the neurologists and psychologists who have spent the last two hundred years mapping the brain.

To take all this effort from practically the entire human race and then try to sell it back to us at a price is outrageous. As I mentioned above, DNA and any nanotech design is merely data which, in fact, can be stored on a hard disk. This means that you can download it to your hard disk from the internet. As the science of cellular biology is completed the finished proteins and core science should be made available on the internet to anyone who wants it. This might not seem very useful to you as an individual. I will return to that shortly.

This isn’t to say that all data should be made available. There is a difference between the right to know everything about a brick and the right to know how to build a luxury home. Unlike the basic science and technology which is our birthright the actual integrated designs of original bodies are a form of art. The service of designing a body is one that should be paid for. Designers work alone from the common knowledge and create something new that is from themselves and hence worth being sold. More generally it is best that designs be kept private so that there will, necessarily, be many more of them and greater variation. It is not at all my goal for anyone else to even be the same species as me except, perhaps, my offspring. Others might say that it is always best to be an upload running on computronium. Some say that doing anything at all to one’s self is wrong. Aside from my own personal desires, my goal is to defend everyone’s right to be what they want to be. I want the singularity to be an enabler of deep personal desires rather than the realization of some grand master plan. The latter would be an absolute horror.

One of the concerns that might be raised regarding the notion of keeping designs proprietary is how all these, potentially radically, different breeds of people will interact in society. A major concern will be whether these new species will be able to form families and have children like humans do. This is not a terrible concern as there will be the possibility of creating offspring from scratch. This may not be the most reliable means as one would prefer not to abandon the old way as a fallback. With intelligent machines it should be possible to take even the most different designs and to generate some integration of the two. This function can be integrated into the body of a cyborg female or hermaphrodite. With these two functions of differentiation through separate design and intelligently controlled recombination the mechanism of evolution will continue into the future but not in its old merciless clothes.

Hyper-Evolution

The process of evolution is about to be changed radically. In the past evolution proceeded on the basis of genes that are passed from parent to offspring and changes that arise from semi random mutations. In the future traits will be passed in the form of binary strings and edited by the intelligent design of conscious minds. Ever since we gained the ability to talk our minds have had the ability to create, transmit, and process things that are sometimes called memes. A meme shares many of the same properties as genes. The period of time between the creation of language some 40,000 years ago and these decades in which we live today when the genome was cracked and will soon be the subject of arbitrary manipulation can be understood as a process by which memes have arisen from genes and now are in a position to replace them. This replaces the evolution of genes with what I call the hyper-evolution of memes.

I mean hyper-evolution to mean nothing more or less than evolution by conscious design. In terms of biology alone the coming years promise to be very chaotic. The new reflexive relationship of an individual to his own genetic makeup will result in a dynamic feedback loop which will significantly alter the historic patterns and equilibrium. It is reasonable to assume that after a few decades or centuries the process will result in some new stable equilibrium. It is very difficult to speculate on the dynamics of such a process as there is little historic data to fall back upon. The closest analogue might be the evolution of the automobile or of computer software especially open source software.

Hyper-evolution is very good news for individuals because it disconnects the process of evolution from the lives and deaths of individual bodies. As Dawkins said, a chicken is an egg’s way of creating another egg. With nano-enhanced cells we can disconnect our lives from the process which selects our traits. The classical idea of eugenics can be completely discarded. It is no longer necessary to make sure that people have the right genes at birth because they can be changed later in life. The easiest way to make such a change would be to add the nano symbiote to the zygote (a fertilized egg). These nanites could be activated at any time in the individual’s life to whatever effect desired. Retrofitting an adult individual with these will be immensely more difficult but not altogether inconceivable.

Above all, evolution is renown for its cruelty. It “de-selects” traits by killing individuals. Proposals for directed evolution from Plato forward have been little better. Because hyper-evolution has the potential to select and propagate traits without the necessity of creating and destroying individuals. This means that the way we contemplate the population dynamics of a hyper-evolutionary system vary differently from the traditional. Instead of considering the population of chickens in the universe we consider the populations of memes in the hosts that are capable of sustaining them. The fitness of a given meme is therefore dictated by the probability of it being chosen by a given host and by how well it serves that host in order that it may be propagated. In this way the memes that we can transmit through computer networks have the relationship to us as DNA does to a cellular membrane which houses it.

To us, it means that the race of competition between individuals will be over as the war of replicating memes has moved to a new level. We have the prospect of an eternity of peace, health, opportunity, and unlimited choice. A threat to this is the observation that evolutionary forces might interact with government structures as a means to self-propagation. The value of personal freedom must be maintained above all others.

You can be bio-engineered to be, practically, immortal. Age will mean nothing to you and accidental death won’t be nearly as great a risk as it is today as your body will be more resistant and resilient to all but the most grave injuries. The dynamics of evolution have made genetics extremely good at constructing bodies. Unfortunately there was no selective pressure pushing for better mechanisms of maintenance and repair. In the future not only the more ambitious among us but also the very memes that will specify the fabric of our bodies will select for the most stable possible host. You may not choose to take advantage of this for yourself but some will.

There is nothing magical about the elixir of life that’s coming to a health food store near you. It will merely be a type of nanotech which will be designed to repair and, occasionally, tweak the designs of your cells. In this manner your body can be perpetuated indefinitely. There are no catches, no hidden costs, you won’t even have to sell your soul. You will, if you choose to, simply continue to live as long as you like. You will not be constrained to a decrepit old body either. Your nanites can restore you to any appearance or level of health you desire. A few years after this is brought to market the cost will come down so low that your next body could be cheaper than the car you might have bought last month.

Some people object to immortality based on the idea that they should make room for the next generation. That’s not a problem because soon we will be able to emigrate to other planets. You could become a homesteader on Mars. The question of whether some people should seek immortality is not an issue because it would be highly unethical to kill someone who wants to live. The problem arises in the cultural conflicts between the community of immortalists and the traditionalists. The key is tolerance on both sides.

Each person must make their own choice about whether to try for immortality. There shouldn’t even be a universal code of all bodies must be immortal unless otherwise specified. As long as the choice remains open there is no problem. We can think of lives like rockets. Every once and a while we design one, haul it out to the pad and hit the big red button. In many cases these rockets have exploded into flames, never getting off the launch pad. Others launch, make it all the way to the edge of space, and do whatever small mission is theirs and come down without ever reaching orbit or orbiting for only a few years before coming down. Sometimes they go up there, serve out their useful life and then continue to operate for many decades, sometimes exceeding their intended lifespans by a large multiple. In 1974 the Amateur Satellite service (AmSat) launched the seventh in their Oscar series. It continued to work over the next seven years until the battery shorted out. Sometime in the two decades that followed the short was cleared by the constant flow of electricity. Today it only needs the sun. Its beacon is still loud and its transponders open and clear after having gone around the planet some 127,000 times.

Likewise some of us will live to see the year 3,000 and some won’t. There is no imperative to change the natures of the people who simply don’t want to live so long just as there is no need to set some expiration date for those who do. Nobody has yet lived past 135 or so. Reports of longer lifespans are dubious. We can’t say we know for sure what it really means to live so many years. We can say with confidence that we can make a humanoid body that doesn’t grow old. We cannot say what will happen to the mind over a long period of time. Studies have shown that the brain looses a significant amount of plasticity during adolescence and the slowness of the elderly to adopt new ideas is almost a cliché. If you think about it too hard you start questioning the meaning of life and all the other fundamental questions of existence. In the future these questions will no longer be abstract philosophy but matters of practical importance.

Let’s say that you have decided to choose immortality and you are now 120 years old. The world is changing and it is becoming clear, even to you, that you will need to adapt to keep up. In theory it will be possible to use neural stem cells to restore the plasticity of youth. When you do this you discover that while this does, indeed, restore your ability to learn new skills and ways of thinking it overwrites parts of your mind so that your memories of the past tend to be less clear and your personality starts to shift towards the modern norm. You feel that you have become a new person through biotechnical intervention. While your body and mind remain continuous your inner self has been changed in such a way that it seems, to everybody, that the old you is dead.

Another approach to solving this problem would be to gradually replace your brain, as it deteriorates, with a physical implementation of the best AI around. This new brain works very differently from your original. You chose it because it also performs about a million times better in every way and offers a number of interesting extended capabilities that lie outside of the scope of this essay. While such a brain would be able to function at its peak indefinitely into the future there is a serious question of whether your mind can do like a hermit crab and move into the new host. It can be foreseen that in the protracted future people who choose not to upgrade their original brains significantly will be at a serious disadvantage. Only when we understand the mind well enough to construct artificial intelligences will we be able to begin to answer these questions.

An Invitation To Dream and Live

The bulk of this essay has been about the basic concepts and issues surrounding bioengineering. I could just tie it up with a nice conclusion. If I did that I would give up the chance to share some of the hope I have for this coming age. Bioengineering didn’t just arise out of many diverse human activities it can also serve people in ways hardly even imagined now. There is no reason to be ashamed of wanting to change, even if it is into something very different. It is a wonderful thing to have desires, even crazy ones. Bioengineering will enable us to go places that our current bodies can’t even survive such as the oceans or worlds that receive too much radiation for our current forms. Even if your interests are much more personal bioengineering is still the right tool.

It is time to begin dreaming like children again because it is our dreams that are the fuel of all adventures. The times ahead will be both strange and wonderful. With hard work and constant vigilance far more dreams than nightmares will come true. The singularity itself is a nexus of dreams and terrors. To make it happen for us we must invest our dreams in it with the knowledge that our hard work will bring them true. We can make it wonderful for us and everyone.

If, perchance you are not yet inspired by my presentation or simply don’t want to change your body in any significant way I have perfect sympathy for you and will respect you always. If you think that there is something inherently wrong with what I am talking about here and think that these developments must be halted I ask you to reconsider. Without considering any modification to yourself, think of all the costs of maintaining your current body. Consider the prescriptions, the doctor’s appointments, and the costs of a visit to a hospital should you run into some misfortune. Now think about the most advanced hospital in the world staffed with the best doctors in the world. Think of a hospital which can provide you with every treatment or medicine you could ever need or want. Now imagine that it only cost you five dollars per visit. This is not a joke, this is possible.

Consider the technologies of AI, Nanotechnology, and Biotechnology. Now imagine all these wonders integrated into a single pod which you could purchase for as little as $2,000. Medicine can be automated, completely. You can purchace one of thes for yourself or your family and only need to pay for the raw molecules required to construct the supplies it needs. This pod will contain within it a mind a hundreds times smarter than the most brilliant physician that ever lived and completely devoted to your service. Its internal systems will be able to integrate new procedures and inventions simply by downloading the blueprints from the internet and performing an auto-upgrade. You will be free of the medical establishment entirely. Such pods should only be regulated to the minimal extent required to ensure the accountability of their designers for any malfunction.

What is Bioengineering?

Bioengineering combines the analytical and experimental methods of the engineering profession with the biological and medical sciences to achieve a more detailed understanding of biological phenomena and to develop new techniques and devices.

Environ Sci Technol, 2002 Jun 15, 36(12), 2572 - 80
Charge effects in the fractionation of natural organics using ultrafiltration; Schafer AI et al.; Comparison of two commonly used techniques for molecular weight determination of natural organics, ultrafiltration (UF) fractionation and high-performance size exclusion chromatography (SEC), shows that neither technique gives absolute measures of molecular weight . Investigations of International Humic Substances Society standard humic and fulvic acids as well as natural organic matter concentrated from surface freshwaters show that charge effects and solution conditions are important in both SEC and UF fractionation with various components of the natural organics being affected differently . Membranes with a smaller molecular weight cutoff (MWCO) produce permeates with a lower UV/DOC ratio, suggesting that the more aromatic components of natural organics are removed by the lower molecular weight cutoff membranes . Variation in ionic strength has little effect on the rejection of humic acid fractions but does significantly influence the rejection of low molecular weight acids . pH and organic concentration do not affect DOC rejection significantly over the pH range of 4.5-10 and the DOC concentration range of 15-60 mgL(-1) . These results indicate that UF should not be applied for quantitative “size” analysis unless performed under well-defined conditions . If performed under conditions appropriate to water treatment, UF fractionation can give information of direct applicability to treatment such as the MWCO required to achieve significant organics removal.

Nephrol News Issues, 2001 Jan, 15(2), 27, 30, 33 - 6
Treating and monitoring water for dialysis in Europe; Lindley EJ et al.; The quality of water used for dialysis is not subject to any mandatory regulations in most European countries . A survey of haemodialysis facilities in 14 countries carried out by the European Dialysis and Transplant Nurses Association/European Renal Care Association (EDTNA/ERCA) showed that the majority of centres aimed to meet the requirements of the European Pharmacopoeia, but only 50% carried out tests to check compliance . The wide variation in policies for maintaining and monitoring the equipment and the distribution system indicates that guidelines for water treatment are urgently needed in Europe.

Clin Microbiol Rev, 2002 Jul, 15(3), 506 - 26
Legionella and Legionnaires’ disease: 25 years of investigation; Fields BS et al.; There is still a low level of clinical awareness regarding Legionnaires’ disease 25 years after it was first detected . The causative agents, legionellae, are freshwater bacteria with a fascinating ecology . These bacteria are intracellular pathogens of freshwater protozoa and utilize a similar mechanism to infect human phagocytic cells . There have been major advances in delineating the pathogenesis of legionellae through the identification of genes which allow the organism to bypass the endocytic pathways of both protozoan and human cells . Other bacteria that may share this novel infectious process are Coxiella burnetti and Brucella spp . More than 40 species and numerous serogroups of legionellae have been identified . Most diagnostic tests are directed at the species that causes most of the reported human cases of legionellosis, L . pneumophila serogroup 1 . For this reason, information on the incidence of human respiratory disease attributable to other species and serogroups of legionellae is lacking . Improvements in diagnostic tests such as the urine antigen assay have inadvertently caused a decrease in the use of culture to detect infection, resulting in incomplete surveillance for legionellosis . Large, focal outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease continue to occur worldwide, and there is a critical need for surveillance for travel-related legionellosis in the United States . There is optimism that newly developed guidelines and water treatment practices can greatly reduce the incidence of this preventable illness.

Water Res, 2002 Apr, 36(8), 1939 - 46
The leaching of inorganic species from activated carbons produced from waste tyre rubber; San Miguel G et al.; Waste tyre rubber can be used as a precursor for the production of high quality activated carbons . However, there is concern that inorganic impurities present in the rubber feed may restrict their use in liquid phase applications with high purity requirements . This paper presents an investigation of the presence and the leaching of inorganic species from activated carbons derived from waste tyre rubber . For the purpose of this work, a number of carbons were produced, characterised for their BET surface area and analysed for their inorganic composition . Subsequently, a number of tests were performed to evaluate the leaching of different inorganic species into solution at various pH values and carbon doses . Results showed that rubber-derived carbons contained elevated concentrations of sulphur and zinc, as well as traces of other metals such as lead, cadmium, chromium and molybdenum . Inorganic levels were significantly affected by production conditions, particularly degree of carbon activation and the nature of the gasification agent . However, leaching tests showed that the availability of these species in neutral pH conditions was very limited . Results demonstrated that, when using carbons doses comparable to those employed in water treatment works, only sulphur levels exceeded, in some occasions, health based quality standards proposed for drinking water.

Appl Environ Microbiol, 2002 Jul, 68(7), 3293 - 9
Potential repair of Escherichia coli DNA following exposure to UV radiation from both medium- and low-pressure UV sources used in drinking water treatment; Zimmer JL et al.; The increased use of UV radiation as a drinking water treatment technology has instigated studies of the repair potential of microorganisms following treatment . This study challenged the repair potential of an optimally grown nonpathogenic laboratory strain of Escherichia coli after UV radiation from low- and medium-pressure lamps . Samples were irradiated with doses of 5, 8, and 10 mJ/cm(2) from a low-pressure lamp and 3, 5, 8, and 10 mJ/cm(2) from a medium-pressure UV lamp housed in a bench-scale collimated beam apparatus . Following irradiation, samples were incubated at 37 degrees C under photoreactivating light or in the dark . Sample aliquots were analyzed for up to 4 h following incubation using a standard plate count . Results of this study showed that E . coli underwent photorepair following exposure to the low-pressure UV source, but no repair was detectable following exposure to the medium-pressure UV source at the initial doses examined . Minimal repair was eventually observed upon medium-pressure UV lamp exposure when doses were lowered to 3 mJ/cm(2) . This study clearly indicates differences in repair potential under laboratory conditions between irradiation from low-pressure and medium-pressure UV sources of the type used in water treatment.

Environ Technol, 2002 Apr, 23(4), 453 - 65
Purification of pulp and paper mill effluent using Eichornia crassipes; Yedla S et al.; Konark Pulp and Paper Industries Private Limited is a medium size industry producing 1600 m3 of wastewater a day . The existing water treatment system of the industry was found to be ineffective both in performance and economy . In the present study, a new system of treatment has been developed using water hyacinth Eichornia crassipes, coagulation by lime and alum, followed by rapid sand filtration . The performance efficiency of each unit viz . Eichornia treatment; coagulation with lime, with alum, and with lime:alum combinations, and filtration was studied . Water quality parameters considered were Biological Oxygen Demand, Chemical Oxygen Demand, Dissolve Oxygen, Total Dissolved Solids, turbidity, percentage transmission, and water colour . Based on the individual performance of each unit, a continuous system has been designed and was tested . The new system of treatment could treat the wastewater to the discharge standards and also was found economically feasible . Testing culture of fish (tilapia) proved that the treated water could be safely discharged into natural waters . All fish tested, survived and remained healthy throughout the period of testing . Culture of fish further improved the water quality.

Water Sci Technol, 2002, 45(9), 205 - 11
Real-time water quality monitoring and regression analysis to estimate nutrient and bacteria concentrations in Kansas streams; Christensen VG et al.; An innovative approach currently is underway in Kansas to estimate and monitor constituent concentrations in streams . Continuous in-stream water-quality monitors are installed at selected U.S . Geological Survey stream-gaging stations to provide real-time measurement of specific conductance, pH, water temperature, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, and total chlorophyll . In addition, periodic water samples are collected manually and analyzed for nutrients, bacteria, and other constituents of concern . Regression equations then are developed from measurements made by the water-quality monitors and analytical results of manually collected samples . These regression equations are used to estimate nutrient, bacteria, and other constituent concentrations . Concentrations then are available to calculate loads and yields to further assess water quality in watersheds . The continuous and real-time nature of the data may be important when considering recreational use of a water body; developing and monitoring total maximum daily loads; adjusting water-treatment strategies; and determining high constituent concentrations in time to prevent adverse effects on fish or other aquatic life.

Chemosphere, 2002 May, 47(7), 711 - 6
Comparison of modified montmorillonite adsorbents . Part I: Preparation, characterization and phenol adsorption; Jiang JQ et al.; This study concerns with the development of modified montmorillonites as adsorbents for water treatment . Polymeric aluminium and iron intercalated forms of montmorillonites have been prepared in the absence and presence of an alkylammonium cationic surfactant (Hexdecyl-trimethyl-ammonium bromide, HDTMA) . Montmorillonites intercalated with polymeric Al, Fe, Fe/Al (2:1 Fe to Al ratio in solution), possess large N2 Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface areas . XRD data also shows trace amounts of illite and plagioclase within the clay materials . Montmorillonites intercalated with HDTMA, polymeric Fe/HDTMA, polymeric Al/HDTMA and polymeric Fe/Al/HDTMA (1:1 metal to surfactant molar ratio in solution) undergo some losses of N2 BET surface areas . Preliminary adsorption studies on phenol have shown that polymeric Al/HDTMA- and HDTMA-only-modified montmorillonites possess a good affinity for phenol, whereas the polymeric Al/Fe modified- and starting montmorillonites have little affinity for phenol adsorption.

Chemosphere, 2002 May, 47(7), 667 - 86
Trichloroacetic acid in the environment; McCulloch A; Suppositions that the trichloroacetic acid (TCA, CCl3C(O)OH) found in nature was a consequence solely of the use of chlorinated hydrocarbon solvents prompted this critical review of the literature on its environmental fluxes and occurrences . TCA is widely distributed in forest soils (where it was rarely used as an herbicide) and measurements suggest a soil flux of 160 000 tonnes yr(-1) in European forests alone . TCA is also produced during oxidative water treatment and the global flux could amount to 55 000 tonnes yr(-1) (from pulp and paper manufacture, potable water and cooling water treatments) . By contrast, the yields of TCA from chlorinated hydrocarbon solvents are small: from tetrachloroethene 13 600 tonnes yr(-1) and from 1,1,1-trichloroethane 4300 tonnes yr(-1) on a global basis, at the atmospheric burdens and removal rates typical of the late 1990s . TCA is ubiquitous in rainwater and snow . Its concentrations are highly variable and the variations cannot be connected with location or date . However, there is no significant difference between the concentrations found in Chile and in eastern Canada (by the same analysts), or between Malawi and western Canada, or between Antarctica and Switzerland, nor any significant difference globally between the concentrations in cloud, rain and snow (although local enhancement in fog water has been shown) . TCA is present in old ice and firn . At the deepest levels, the firn was deposited early in the 19th century, well before the possibility of contamination by industrial production of reactive chlorine, implying a non-industrial background . This proposition is supported by plume measurements from pulp mills in Finland . TCA is ubiquitous in soils; concentrations are very variable but there are some indications that soils under coniferous trees contain higher amounts . The concentrations of TCA found in plant tissue are region-specific and may also be plant-specific, to the extent that conifers seem to contain more than other species . TCA is removed from the environment naturally . There is abundant evidence that soil microorganisms dehalogenate TCA and it is lost from within spruce needles with a half-life of 10 days . There is also recent evidence of an abiotic aqueous decarboxylation mechanism with a half-life of 22 days . The supposedly widespread effects of TCA in conifer needles are not shown in controlled experiments . At concentrations in the needles of Scots pine similar to those observed in needles in forest trees, changes consequent on TCA treatment of field laboratory specimens were almost all insignificant.

FEMS Microbiol Rev, 2002 Jun, 26(2), 113 - 23
Risk and control of waterborne cryptosporidiosis; Rose JB et al.; Cryptosporidium remains at the forefront of studies on waterborne disease transmission and abatement . The impact of environmental land use patterns which contribute animal and human waste, climatic precipitation leading to a strong association with outbreaks, and community infrastructure and water treatment are now recognized as contributing factors in the potential for waterborne spread of the protozoan . Advances in detection methodologies, including the ability to genotype various strains of this organism, have shown that human wastes are often the source of the contamination and cell culture techniques have allowed insight into the viability of the oocyst populations . Currently water treatment has focused on UV and ozone disinfection as most promising for the inactivation of this protozoan pathogen.

Sci Total Environ, 2002 Apr 22, 289(1-3), 225 - 35
Correlation of musty odor and 2-MIB in two drinking water treatment plants in South Taiwan; Lin TF et al.; Possible odor groups and intensity, and seasonal effects were elucidated in two representative water treatment plants (WTPs), Feng-Shen and Gun-Shi, in southern Taiwan . The flavor profile analysis (FPA) was employed to determine the odor groups for the source water, while a chemical analysis, solid-phase microextraction (SPME) coupled with a gas chromatograph and mass spectrometric detector (GC/MSD), was used to concentrate and subsequently analyze the corresponding water samples . FPA results show that fishy and musty odors were the two major odor groups in the source water . Results of chemical analysis showed that 2-methyl-isoborneol (2-MIB) was present in the source water . The correlation between 2-MIB concentration and the FPA intensity of musty odor was compared with the dose-response curve generated in the laboratory by the FPA panelists . The experimental data from the two water treatment plants follow the calibration curve closely, indicating that the musty odor of the two source waters were most likely contributed from 2-MIB . In addition, there is good correlation between logarithmic 2-MIB concentration and water temperature, substantiating the importance of seasonal effect . Although approximately 40-50% of 2-MIB removal was found in the treatment trains for the two WTPs, only an approximately 0.3 FPA intensity scale of reduction was expected.

Huan Jing Ke Xue, 2002 Mar, 23(2), 45 - 9
{Membrane filtration characteristics and its influencing factors in coagulation-microfiltration combination process for water purification}; Mo L et al.; A coagulation-microfiltration combination process was used to treat micro-polluted raw water in the intermittent operation mode . The effect of the operational parameters such as filtration time and aeration intensity, on the membrane filtration characteristics was investigated . An indicator J/p, defined as flux per unit pressure, was employed . At all the experimental conditions, J/p always fell down fast at first owing to membrane fouling, and then decreased slowly . But the initial decreasing rate and relative stable value of J/p in the latter period depended on the different operational parameters . J/p was greatly influenced by the filtration time, then the ratio of the filtration time to the ceasing time . Under the condition the filtration time was shortened by 1/2, the flux will increase by two times; when the ratio of filtration time/ceasing time was shortened, the flux was increased by only 50% . Higher J/p value could be achieved at the filtration time of 15 min and the ratio of filtration time/ceasing time of 3.8 . Increased aeration intensity could enhance J/p to some extent . In the experiments, when the aeration intensity was increased from 2 to 4 m3/h, the membrane permeability was increased by about 15%; and the membrane permeability would not increased if the aeration intensity was continuously increased to 6 m3/h . Primary inorganic elements on the membrane surface at the present experimental condition were found to be Si and Ca from the element analysis.

J Environ Sci Health A Tox Hazard Subst Environ Eng, 2002, 37(4), 737 - 43
Reducing environmental emissions in tanneries; van Groenestijn JW et al.; Tanning, in particular chrome leather production, is still characterised by an inefficient use of raw material and the production of highly polluted wastewater and solid wastes . A part of the emissions can be prevented by introducing clean tanning technologies, the remaining emissions can be treated . Clean production technologies and waste (water) treatment technologies should have a designed complimentarity . Anaerobic wastewater treatment with recovery of sulfides, sulfur and energy (biogas) is a cornerstone in such integral clean chrome leather technology.

J Environ Sci Health A Tox Hazard Subst Environ Eng, 2002, 37(4), 707 - 13
Ozonation of the purified hydrolyzed azo dye Reactive Red 120 (CI); Zhang F et al.; The combination of chemical and biological water treatment processes is a promising technique to reduce recalcitrant wastewater loads . The key to the efficiency of such a system is a better understanding of the mechanisms involved during the degradation processes . Ozonation has been applied to many fields in water and wastewater treatment . Especially for effluents of textile finishing industry ozonation can achieve high color removal, enhance biodegradability, destroy phenols and reduce the COD . However, little is known about the reaction intermediates and products formed during ozonation . This work focuses on the oxidative degradation of purified (>90%), hydrolyzed Reactive Red 120 (Color Index), a widely used azo dye in the textile finishing processes with two monochlorotriazine anchor groups . Ozonation of the dye in ultra pure water was performed in a laboratory scale cylindrical batch reactor . Decolorization, determined by measuring the light absorbance at the maximum wavelength in the visible range (535 nm), was almost complete after 150 min with an ozone concentration of 12.8 mg/l . The TOC/TOC0 ratio was about 74% and the COD was diminished to 46% of the initial value . The BOD5/COD ratio increased from 0.01 to 0.14 . To obtain detailed information on the reaction processes during ozonation and the resulting oxidation products organic and inorganic anions were analyzed . Oxidation and cleavage of the azo group yielded nitrate . Cleavage of the sulfonic acid groups of aromatic rings caused an increase in the amount of sulfate . Formic acid and oxalic acid were identified as main oxidation products by high performance ion chromatography (HPIC) . The concentrations of these major products were monitored at defined time intervals during ozonation.

Water Res, 2002 Apr, 36(7), 1887 - 95
Grey-box modelling of aeration tank settling; Bechman H et al.; A model of the concentrations of suspended solids (SS) in the aeration tanks and in the effluent from these during Aeration tank settling (ATS) operation is established . The model is based on simple SS mass balances, a model of the sludge settling and a simple model of how the SS concentration in the effluent from the aeration tanks depends on the actual concentrations in the tanks and the sludge blanket depth . The model is formulated in continuous time by means of stochastic differential equations with discrete-time observations . The parameters of the model are estimated using a maximum likelihood method from data from an alternating BioDenipho waste water treatment plant (WWTP) . The model is an important tool for analyzing ATS operation and for selecting the appropriate control actions during ATS, as the model can be used to predict the SS amounts in the aeration tanks as well as in the effluent from the aeration tanks.

Water Res, 2002 Apr, 36(7), 1715 - 24
Effect of water purification on its radioactive content; Jimenez A et al.; We have analyzed the dissolved activity of various radionuclides of natural origin (226Ra and (234,235,235)U) and artificial origins (90Sr and (239+240)Pu), together with other non-radioactive physico-chemical parameters (pH, conductivity, dry residue, {Ca2+}, {Mg2+}, {K+} and {Fe(2+,3+)}, in both pre-potable and potable water from 17 treatment plants in Extremadura (Spain) . We have established a series of criteria and complementary techniques to the traditional methods of purification, aimed at the quantitative elimination of the presence in solution of the mentioned radionuclides . We highlight: (a) the increment of the mineral content of the water in its treatment succeeds in eliminating 226Ra, until reaching values close to 70%; (b) the increment of the mineralization of the water by addition of chemical reagents, conducted within the pH values 7.1 and 7.8, succeeds in eliminating up to 90% of the total uranium in dissolution; (c) the elimination of 90Sr during the purification is poor, in general, reaching average levels of only 15% when the purification process is practiced within concrete ranges for potable water (pH > 7, conductivity > 150 microS/cm, dry residue > 150 mg/l, {Ca2+} > 10 mg/l and {Mg2+} > 1.2 mg/l), and finally, (d) the decrease of the solubility of the iron, as low as it can get during the purification process, together with an increase of the conductivity associated, in principle, to parallel increments of other variables not analyzed in this work, such as SO4(2-), CO3(2-), etc., the activity of dissolved (239+240)Pu decreases to 90% . The application of the traditional processes of water purification outside the ranges and criteria formulated can increase the presence in dissolution up to 400%, for some radionuclides, largely the consequence of its redissolution from the non-soluble fraction of the water.

J Photochem Photobiol B, 2002 Jun, 67(2), 71 - 108
Reaction pathways and mechanisms of photodegradation of pesticides; Burrows HD et al.; The photodegradation of pesticides is reviewed, with particular reference to the studies that describe the mechanisms of the processes involved, the nature of reactive intermediates and final products . Potential use of photochemical processes in advanced oxidation methods for water treatment is also discussed . Processes considered include direct photolysis leading to homolysis or heterolysis of the pesticide, photosensitized photodegradation by singlet oxygen and a variety of metal complexes, photolysis in heterogeneous media and degradation by reaction with intermediates generated by photolytic or radiolytic means.

Environ Sci Technol, 2002 May 1, 36(9), 2054 - 9
Simultaneous determination of fuel oxygenates and BTEX using direct aqueous injection gas chromatography mass spectrometry (DAI-GC/MS); Zwank L et al.; A direct aqueous injection-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (DAI-GC/MS) method for trace analysis of gasoline components in water is presented . The method allows for the simultaneous quantification of the following solutes: methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), its major degradation products (tert-butyl formate, tert-butyl alcohol (TBA), methyl acetate, and acetone), and possible substitutes of MTBE as an octane enhancer in gasoline (tert-amyl methyl ether, ethyl tert-butyl ether) as well as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, p-xylene, m-xylene, and o-xylene (BTEX) . No enrichment or pretreatment steps are required, and sample volumes of only 50 microL are needed for analysis . The detection limits in two different matrixes (spiked lake water and contaminated groundwater) are < or = 2 microg/L for most analytes and < 0.2 microg/L for MTBE, benzene, and toluene . The accuracy of the DAI-GC/MS method was excellent as determined from comparison with headspace-GC/MS and purge-and-trap-GC/MS . The DAI-GC/MS method has been applied to various environmental studies, which demonstrated its versatility . The applications comprised both laboratory (MTBE degradation in water treatment, quantification of polar gasoline components) and field (MTBE degradation ata gasoline spill site) investigations.

Emerg Infect Dis, 2002 Jun, 8(6), 619 - 24
Cryptosporidium oocysts in a water supply associated with a cryptosporidiosis outbreak; Howe AD et al.; An outbreak of cryptosporidiosis occurred in and around Clitheroe, Lancashire, in northwest England, during March 2000 . Fifty-eight cases of diarrhea with Cryptosporidium identified in stool specimens were reported . Cryptosporidium oocysts were identified in samples from the water treatment works as well as domestic taps . Descriptive epidemiology suggested that drinking unboiled tap water in a single water zone was the common factor linking cases . Environmental investigation suggested that contamination with animal feces was the likely source of the outbreak . This outbreak was unusual in that hydrodynamic modeling was used to give a good estimate of the peak oocyst count at the time of the contamination incident . The oocysts’ persistence in the water distribution system after switching to another water source was also unusual . This persistence may have been due to oocysts being entrapped within biofilm . Despite the continued presence of oocysts, epidemiologic evidence suggested that no one became ill after the water source was changed.

J Air Waste Manag Assoc, 2002 May, 52(5), 563 - 72
Evaluation of the RAMS continuous monitor for determination of PM2.5 mass including semi-volatile material in Philadelphia, PA; Pang Y et al.; The real-time ambient mass sampler (RAMS) is a continuous monitor based on particle concentrator, denuder, drier, and tapered element oscillating microbalance (TEOM) monitor technology . It is designed to measure PM2.5 mass, including the semi-volatile species NH4NO3 and semi-volatile organic material, but not to measure PM2.5 water content . The performance of the RAMS in an urban environment with high humidity was evaluated during the July 1999 NARSTO-Northeast Oxidant and Particles Study (NEOPS) intensive study at the Baxter water treatment plant in Philadelphia, PA . The results obtained with the RAMS were compared to mass measurements made with a TEOM monitor and to constructed mass obtained with a Particle Concentrator-Brigham Young University Organic Sampling System (PC-BOSS) sampler designed to determine the chemical composition of fine particles, including the semi-volatile species . An average of 28% of the fine particulate material present during the study was semi-volatile organic material lost from a filter during particle collection, and 1% was NH4NO3 that was also lost from the particles during sampling . The remaining mass was dominantly nonvolatile (NH4)2SO4 (31%) and organic material (37%), with minor amounts of soot, crustal material, and nonvolatile NH4NO3 . Comparison of the RAMS and PC-BOSS results indicated that the RAMS correctly monitored for fine particulate mass, including the semivolatile material . In contrast, the heated filter of the TEOM monitor did not measure the semi-volatile material . The comparison of the RAMS and PC-BOSS data had a precision of +/-4.1 microg/m3 (+/-9.6%) . The precision of the RAMS data was limited by the uncertainty in the blank correction for the reversible adsorption of water by the charcoal-impregnated cellulose sorbent filter of the RAMS monitor . The precision of the measurement of fine particulate components by the PC-BOSS was +/-6-8%.

Risk Anal, 2002 Apr, 22(2), 235 - 43
Physical injury risks associated with drinking water arsenic treatment; Frost FJ et al.; We estimated the number of transportation deaths that would be associated with water treatment in Albuquerque to meet the EPA’s recently proposed revisions of the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for arsenic . Vehicle mileage was estimated for ion exchange, activated alumina, and iron coagulation/microfiltration water treatment processes to meet an MCL of 0.020 mg/L, 0.010 mg/L, 0.005 mg/L, and 0.003 mg/L . Local crash, injury, and death rates per million vehicle miles were used to estimate the number of injuries and deaths . Depending on the water treatment options chosen, we estimate that meeting an arsenic MCL of 0.005 mg/L will result in 143 to 237 crashes, 58 to 98 injuries, and 0.6 to 2.6 deaths in Albuquerque over a 70-year period, resulting in 26 to 113 years of life lost . The anticipated health benefits for Albuquerque residents from a 0.005 mg/L arsenic MCL, estimated using either a multistage Weibull or Poisson model, ranged from 3 to 80 arsenic-related bladder and lung cancer deaths prevented over a 70-year period, adding between 43 and 1,123 years of life . Whether a revised arsenic MCL increases or reduces overall loss of life in Albuquerque depends on the accuracy of EPA’s cancer risk assessment . If the multistage Weibull model accurately estimates the benefits, the years of life added is comparable or lower than the anticipated years lost due to transportation associated with the delivery of chemicals, disposal of treatment waste, and operation of the water treatment system . Coagulation/microfiltration treatment will result in substantially fewer transportation deaths than either ion exchange or activated alumina.

Waste Manag, 2002, 22(2), 209 - 13
The Bacillus subtilis rec-assay: a powerful tool for the detection of genotoxic substances in the water environment . Prospect for assessing potential impact of pollutants from stabilized wastes; Takigami H et al.; The Bacillus subtilis rec-assay has been specially developed to detect genotoxicity in environmental water samples . The rationale of the B . subtilis rec-assay is based on the relative difference of survival of a DNA repair-recombination proficient strain and its deficient strain, which is interpreted as genotoxicity . This assay method can be very powerful in that it has higher sensitivity for the detection of mutagens in highly polluted waters than other bacterial mutation assays . Hydrophobic fractions from various environmental waters were fractionated by using XAD-2 resins and assayed, targeting the detection of organic genotoxic substances . Genotoxic response was detected in most of them, which revealed that many unknown micropollutants with genotoxicity occur in public water bodies . Positive response was also detected from a treated municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill leachate . Genotoxicity remaining in the treated effluent suggests that genotoxic micropollutants may pass through conventional water treatment processes such as activated sludge treatment process . Without proper control of waste quality and landfill facilities, waste landfill could be a heavy pollution source.

Environ Technol, 2002 Mar, 23(3), 345 - 51
The use of waterworks sludge for the treatment of dye wastes; Basibuyuk M et al.; Water treatment works using coagulation/flocculation in the process stream will generate a waste sludge . The works in Adana, Turkey uses ferric chloride . The potential for using this sludge for the treatment of reactive, direct, disperse, acidic, and basic dyestuffs by coagulation and sorption has been investigated . The sludge acted as a coagulant and removed colour with excellent removal efficiencies being obtained for basic, disperse and direct dyes . The optimum conditions were a pH value of 5 and a sludge dose of 2000 mg l(-1) . Mediocre results were obtained for acidic and reactive dyes . The efficiency of the sludge was also compared with alum and ferric chloride for the same group of dyes . The sludge was also used as a coagulant to treat the wastewater from a textile factory . At doses of 2000-4000 mg l(-1), the sludge was as effective as ferric chloride and alum at removing COD . Sorption tests showed that the disperse and reactive dyes did not bind to the sludge . Langmuir and Freundlich constants were determined for the other three types of dye . Rate constants for the adsorption were determined using the Lagergren equation.

Water Res, 2002 Mar, 36(6), 1640 - 8
The effect of drinking water treatment on the spatial heterogeneity of micro-organisms: implications for assessment of treatment efficiency and health risk; Gale P et al.; The effect of drinking water treatment (ferric coagulation, floc blanket clarification, rapid sand filtration) on the spatial heterogeneity of five species of micro-organism was studied at pilot scale . It was found that the spatial heterogeneity of vegetative bacteria (namely total coliform and heterotrophic (22 degrees C; 3 d) bacteria) was little affected by treatment . Indeed, counts of total coliform bacteria within 500 l volumes of treated water were Poisson distributed (i.e . showed minimum variation) . In contrast, treatment appeared to increase the spatial heterogeneity (or clustering) of both aerobic spores indigenous to the raw water and Bacillus subtilis var niger spores added to the raw water . Furthermore, B . subtilis var niger spores added to the raw water were detected in the treated water 25 h after termination of spiking to the raw water . The effect on C . parvum oocysts added to the raw water could not be determined because few oocysts broke through treatment into the treated water . Indeed oocyst removals of 5-6 logs were apparent . “Species-specific” differences in the removal ratios were also demonstrated . It is concluded that audits for treatment processes based on single 100 ml “spot” samples for spores will tend to over-estimate the net spore removal and hence underestimate the public health risk . Spatial heterogeneity of counts in treated water contributes to explaining why no “ideal” surrogate has been identified for treatment plant performance.

Water Res, 2002 Mar, 36(6), 1629 - 39
Disinfection of Bacillus subtilis spores with chlorine dioxide: a bench-scale and pilot-scale study; Radziminski C et al.; Chlorine dioxide (ClO2) inactivation of Bacillus subtilis ATCC 19659 spores was examined at pilot-scale during periods representative of winter and summer temperature extremes at the Britannia Water Treatment Plant in Ottawa, Canada . In addition, bench-scale experiments using the same source water (Ottawa River, Ontario, Canada), as well as buffered and unbuffered laboratory waters were conducted using B . subtilis spores . Bench-scale inactivation of B . subtilis spores by ClO2 was similar to reported values for Cryptosporidium parvum (both organisms being more resistant to ClO2 than Giardia lamblia), suggesting the possibility that these spores may be used as potential indicators for protozoan parasites . Additionally, spore inactivation was observed to be influenced by pH in laboratory (distilled deionised water) water but not in Ottawa River water . At pilot-scale, spore inactivation was influenced by water temperature: a ClO2 dose of 2.5 mg/L resulted in a spore inactivation of approximately 2.0 log10 and 0.5 log10 at water temperatures of 23.2d egrees C and 5.2 degrees C, respectively . Chlorite concentrations remained below both the US EPA maximum contaminant level of 1.0 mg/L and the maximum contaminant level goal of 0.8 mg/L for up to 2.0log10 B . subtilis inactivation.

Water Sci Technol, 2002, 45(4-5), 167 - 74
Sensor system using polarization analysis method to monitor oil-on-water in water purification plants and rivers; Sanuki Y et al.; Some 80% of accidental pollution in river water is caused by oil spills . Oil spills can cause serious damage such as suspension of water intake at water purification plants and major harm to ecosystems in the lower reaches of rivers . This is because oil-on-water tends to spread easily, quickly exacerbating the damage . To address this problem, an automated, continuous sensor system with high sensitivity can be used for early detection of spill accidents . We have developed a sensor system for detecting oil-on-water based on a polarization analysis method . Its advantages include: a) no direct contact with sample water; b) minimal maintenance; c) largely unaffected by foreign matter and waves on the water surface; and d) much higher sensitivity than simple visual observation . This paper describes the measurement principle and configuration of the sensor system, and discusses the results of sensitivity tests and tests on the influence of water turbidity, foreign matter and waves . We will also consider some of the limitations of the new system.

What do Bioengineers do?

Bioengineers deal with a wide variety of problems. Students with bioengineering degrees may work as biomedical engineers with medical practicioners to develop new medical techniques, medical devices, and instrumentation for manufacturing companies. Clinical engineers work in hospitals and clinics to maintain and improve the vast amount of technological support required in modern medicine. With advanced degrees in the various fields of bioengineering, some graduates perform basic research related to biology and medicine in the research laboratories of educational and governmental institutions or in the medical industries.

Bioengineering is the application of engineering techniques and understanding to medical or biological systems. Traditionally medical research has been performed by medical doctors. It was found, however, that sometimes Doctors ended up re-inventing or re-discovering things that had already been understood or discovered in the physical sciences because the Doctors were unaware of what had been studied in those sciences. Similarly when engineers turned their attention to medical problems they often found that the problems that were interesting from a physical science perspective were unimportant from a medical perspective.

Recently, therefore, there has been a huge increase in collaboration between Medical Doctors and Engineers. Examples of problems that have benefited from this type of collaboration are the development of artificial organs, laser and radiation treatments for cancer, and improved imaging technology such as the MRI.

Collaboration has also begun to occur more often between engineers and people in other biological sciences such as marine biology. In these areas, once again, engineering techniques are being applied to biological systems to provide increased insight and better models of the biological world. At UMass Dartmouth one such collaboration is the modeling of plankton transport in turbulent ocean flow.

Mechanical engineering plays a large role in bioengineering because biological systems quite often involve fluid flow, such as blood flow, ocean currents and wind, as well as heat effects, transport of chemicals and mechanical stresses. These days almost every mechanical engineering department has at least some faculty working in the area of bioengineering.

Aquaculture (sometimes misspelled “aquiculture”) is the cultivation of aquatic organisms, such as fish, shellfish, algae and other aquatic plants. Mariculture is specifically marine aquaculture, and thus is a subset of aquaculture. Some examples of aquaculture include raising catfish and tilapia in freshwater ponds, growing cultured pearls, and farming salmon in net-pens set out in a bay.

Aquaculture has been one of the fastest growing segments of global food production in recent decades, and has been hailed as an answer to declining wild fish stocks caused largely by overfishing.

Tuna farming in Australia, as well as of other species, has had immense success.

In some limited or specialized locations, United States, Hawaii aquaculture embraces a wide range of experimentation NELHA with applications for various combinations of DOW Deep Ocean Water, SOW Surface Ocean Water & renewable energy sources Gateway with commercially available electricity and fresh water.

Challenges In countries like the U.K., Canada, Norway, and Chile, salmon and trout farming are one of the fastest-growing forms of agriculture. Salmon farming, like other food producing operations such as beef, wheat or tomatoes can impact the environment. In particular organic wastes from fish cages can have a significant effect on water quality and the population structure of organisms, increasing the occurance of toxic algal blooms, as has been the case in Scotland, but even a month of fallow time can return the area to pristine condition.

Like other agriculture production, it must stand up to a rigourous evaluation of any environmental impact. Salmon aquaculture has come under increasing scrutiny from environmental nongovernmental organizations (ENGO’s). In Canada, salmon farming sites occupy a small portion of the coastal zone areas where they are located. The total area occupied by Canadian salmon farms in British Columbia and the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick is about 8,900 acreas which is less than 0.01% of the coastal area where these sites are located.

Bioengineering involves the study of the human body from the engineering perspective. It is an emerging field which combines several disciples including mechanical, chemical, and electrical engineering with human and animal physiology to develop engineering solutions to the body. In college, students will take engineering courses along with biology and anatomy courses to learn about the human body. Bioengineering may be offered with a pre-med program. If you are interested in both engineering and medicine, this field should be considered. Examples of bioengineering applications in medicine include the pacemaker for heart patients, articifial limbs and joints. Bioengineering concentrates on combining biological science and engineering to study, define and utilize the interaction of these disciplines to solve engineering problems. It focuses on the utilization of plants and animals for the benefit of humans and to maintain a healthy environment. a, f. Students in the area need a strong background in biology, particularly at the cellular and organism level, chemistry, fluids, processing, thermodynamics, and physiology. Bioengineering is the use of engineering principles of analysis and design to solve problems in medicine and biology.

Wild Pacific and Atlantic salmon stocks have seen significant declines over the last several decades, before salmon farming operations started. These declines were caused by a combination of factors including climate change, overfishing and freshwater habitat destruction. Canadian salmon farmers have significantly reduced the escape of their salmon. The evidence shows that the escape of farmed salmon on Canada’s west coast poses low risk to Pacific salmon, however concerns have been raised on the East coast that wild Atlantic salmon may interbreed with salmon that escape from farms.

Many farmed fish species are carnivorous, meaning that other wild fish species must be harvested to maintain the fish farm, but these are species which are not used for human consumption. A large portion of the fish meal used in fish feeds comes from the trimmings and discards of commercial species. More and more feeds are made using poultry and vegetable oils as substitutes for fish oil.

Other problems with aquaculture include the potential for increasing the spread of unwanted invasive species, as farmed species are often not native to the area in which they are farmed. When these species escape, they can compete with native species and damage ecosystems. Another problem is the spread of introduced parasites, pests, and diseases.

Mariculture is the cultivation of marine organisms for food, either in their “natural environment” or in seawater in ponds or raceways. An example of the latter is the farming of marine fish, prawns, or oysters in salt water ponds. By definition, mariculture is a specialized branch of aquaculture.

The Japanese have developed a clever process for free ranching marine fishes. The principle is based on behavioral conditioning and the migratory nature of certain species of marine fishes. The fishermen first raise fish hatchlings in a closely knitted net in a harbor. They sound a underwater honk before each feeding. When the young fishes are old enough, the fishes are freed from the net. The fishes grow up in the open sea. During spawning season, these fishes return to their birthplace. The fishermen harvest the fishes by sounding the honk and then raise the net.

Mariculture is not limited to food production only, products such as cultured pearls are considered mariculture as well.

Off the coast of California, the top few feet of natural kelp beds are harvested by boats with mowers. Kelp provides alginin, an edible material used in ice cream and cosmetics.

A biosensor is a device for the detection of an analyte that combines a biological component with a physicochemical detector component.

It consists of 3 parts:

the sensitive biological element (biological material (eg. tissue, microorganisms, organelles, cell receptors, enzymes, antibodies, nucleic acids etc), a biologically derived material or biomimic) The sensitive elements can be created by biological engineering. the transducer in between (associates both components) the detector element (works in a physicochemical way; optical, electrochemical, thermometric, piezoelectric or magnetic.) Arrays of many different detector molecules have been applied in so called electronic nose devices, where the pattern of responce from the detectors is used to fingerprint a substance.

A canary in a cage, as used by miners to warn of gas could be considered a biosensor. Many of todays biosensor applications are similar, in that they use organisms which respond to toxins at a much lower level than us to warn us of their presence. Such devices can be used both in environmental monitoring and in water treatment facilities.

A bio-based material is simply an engineering material made from substances derived from living tissues. These materials are sometimes referred to as biomaterials, but this word also has another meaning.

Strictly the definition could include many common materials such as wood and leather, but it typically refers to modern materials that have undergone more extensive processing.

Milk is an excellent food source for humans and bacteria alike. It is full of vitamins, fats, minerals, nutrients and carbohydrates. It is rich in the protein casein which gives milk its characteristic white color. The most abundant carbohydrate is the disaccharide lactose, “milk sugar.” At room temperature, milk undergoes natural souring caused by lactic acid produced from fermentation of lactose by fermentative lactic acid bacteria. This accumulation of acid (H+ ions) decreases the pH of the milk and cause the casein to coagulate and curdle into curds and whey. Curds are large, white clumps of casein and other proteins. Whey is the yellow liquid that is left behind after the casein has formed curds. Thus, bacteria obtain nutrients from the milk, inadvertently curdle it and humans use it as the first step in making many dairy products. The microbes important for dairy product manufacturing can be divided into two groups, primary and secondary microflora. Products undergoing fermentation by only primary microflora are called unripened and those processed by both primary and secondary microflora are called ripened. Primary microflora are fermentative lactic acid bacteria which cause the milk to curdle. e, j, c. During dairy product production, milk is first pasteurized to kill bacteria that cause unwanted spoilage of the milk and of the downstream milk products. Primary microflora consists of certain kinds of Lactococcus, Lactobacillus and Streptococcus that are intentionally added to pasteurized milk and grown at 30°C or 37°C (temperature depends on the bacteria added). Secondary microflora include several different types of bacteria (Leuconstoc, Lactobacillus, and Propionibacterium), yeasts and molds; they are only used for some types of surface ripened and mold ripened cheeses. The various combinations of microflora determine what milk product you will end up with.

Examples include:

polylactic acid - a polymer produced by fermentation bioplastics - including a soy oil based plastic now being used to make body panels for John Deere tractors corn starch based packing pellets Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bio-based_material”

In surgery, a biomaterial is a synthetic material used to replace part of a living system or to function in intimate contact with living tissue. Compare this definition to that of bio-based material.

The Clemson University Advisory Board for Biomaterials defined a biomaterial as “a systemically and pharmacologically inert substance designed for implantation within or in corporation with living systems”.

In 1986, the Consensus Conference of the European Society for Biomaterials defined a biomaterial as “a nonviable material used in a medical device, intended to interact with biological systems”.

Another definition of biomaterial is “any substance (other than drugs) or combination of substances synthetic or natural in origin, which can be used for any period of time, as a whole or as a part of a system which treats, augments, or replaces any tissue, organ, or function of the body”.

A biomaterial is different from a biological material such as bone that is produced by a biological system. Artificial hips, vascular stents, artificial pacemakers, and catheters are all made from different biomaterials.

Biomimetic materials are not made by living things but have similar compositions and properties to living things. The calcium hydroxyapatite coating found on many artificial hips is a sort of fake bone that allows for easier attachment of the implant to the living bone.

Surface functionalization may provide a way to transform a bio-inert material into a biomimetic or even bio-active material by coupling of protein layers to the surface. Different approaches to functionalization of biomaterials exist. Plasma processing has been successful applied on chemically inert materials like polymers or silicon to graft various functional groups to the surface.

Biopharmaceuticals are medical drugs (see pharmacology) produced by biotechnology. The first such substance approved for therapeutic use was recombinant insulin in 1982.

The life support system is a group of devices that allow a human being to survive in an environment hostile to human life, eg. outer space or underwater.

The life support system may supply:

Air Water Food It must also maintain the correct body temperature, an acceptable pressure on the body and deal with the body’s waste products. Shielding against harmful external influences auch as radiation and micro-meteorites may also be necessary.

In biology and physics, animal locomotion is the study of how animals move, and is part of biophysics.

Much of the study is an application of Newton’s third law of motion: if at rest, to move forwards an animal must push something backwards. Terrestrial animals must push the solid ground, swimming and flying animals must push against a fluid (either air or water). The topic splits into five disjoint categories:

animal locomotion on land (walking and running) animal locomotion in air (flying) animal locomotion in water (swimming including fish and ducks) animal locomotion on the surface layer (small animals relying on surface tension such as the water strider) animal locomotion by water-walkers (the basilisk lizard). The distinction between the second and third topics is that in the second, the animal does not need to expend energy to defeat gravity; in or on the water, buoyancy counteracts the animal’s weight.

A biosphere is that part of a planet’s terrestrial system— including air, land and water— in which life develops, and which life processes in turn transform. It is the collective creation of a variety of organisms and species which form the diversity of the ecosystem. From the broadest geophysiological point of view, the biosphere is the global ecological system integrating all living beings and their relationships, with their interaction with the elements of the lithosphere (rocks), the hydrosphere (water), and the atmosphere (air). Individual life sciences and earth sciences may use biosphere in more limited senses (see below).

Different unripened milk products are created by using various starting products and bacteria. For buttermilk production, Lactobacillus bulgaris (named for its country of discovery, Bulgaria) is added to skim milk to curdle it. Leuconostoc is then added to thicken it. Sour cream is made the same way except cream is used instead of skim milk. During yogurt production, dry milk protein is added to milk to concentrate the milk before addition of actively growing Streptococci and Lactobacilli. Butter is produced by curdling and slight souring from Streptococci growing in sweet cream. Leuconostoc is then added so it can synthesize diacetyl, a compound that gives butter its characteristic aroma and taste. The milk is then churned to aggregate the fat globules into solid butter. Thus milk type and bacteria will determine the dairy product produced. j, k, b, f, g. Cheese is an important product of fermentative lactic acid bacteria. Particularly in the past, cheese was valued for its long shelf life. Due to its reduced water content, and acidic pH, bacterial growth is severely inhibited. This causes cheese to spoil much more slowly than other milk products. Consequently, the art of cheese production has spread throughout Europe, each country manufacturing many different types of cheeses. Cheese production has three steps: curd formation, curd treatment and curd ripening.

The term was coined by the geologist Eduard Suess in 1875. The concept of biosphere is thus from geological origin and is an indication of the impact of Darwin on Earth sciences. The ecological concept of the biosphere comes from the 1920s (see Vladimir I. Vernadsky), preceding the 1935 introduction of the term ecosystem by Arthur Transley. The biosphere is an important concept in astronomy, geophysics, meteorology, biogeography, evolution, geology, geochemistry, and generally speaking all life and earth sciences.

Biosphere is often used with more restricted meanings. For example, geochemists also give define the biosphere as being the total sum of living organisms (usually named biomass or biota by biologists and ecologists). In this sense, the biosphere is one of the four components of the geochemical model, the others being the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere).

Some consider that the semantic and conceptual confusion surrounding the term biosphere is reflected in the current debates related to biodiversity, or sustainable development. The meaning used by geochemists is one of the consequences of the specialization of modern science.

Many appear to prefer the word ecosphere, coined in the 1960s-’70s. Others, however, claim this word is sullied by association with the idea of ecological crisis.

Vernadsky defined ecology (originally intended as the “economy of nature”) as the science of the biosphere.

The Second International Conference on Closed Life Systems defined biospherics as the science and technology of analogs and models of Earth’s biosphere, ie. artificial Earth-like biospheres. Some also include the creation of artificial non-Earth biospheres–for example, human-centered biospheres or a native Martian biosphere—in the field of biospherics.

Biosphere 1, Biosphere 2, Biosphere 3 When the word Biosphere is followed by a number, it is usually referring to a specific biosystem.

Biosphere 1 - The planet Earth. Biosphere 2 - A laboratory in Arizona which contains 3.15 acres (13,000 m²) of closed ecosystem. Biosphere 3 - Experiment conducted by Russians in 1967-8. [1] (http://www.permanent.com/s-bios3.htm)[2] (http://www.biospherics.org/russia.html)[3] (http://www.biospheres.com/hisbios3fax.html) See also: biome, cryosphere, Biosphere Reserve, noosphere, geosphere, eco-evolution, homeostasis, life support system

Earth’s Biosphere Earth is the only place where life is proven to exist. The planet’s lifeforms are sometimes said to form a “biosphere”. This biosphere is generally believed to have evolved ~3.5B years ago. The biosphere is divided into a number of biomes, inhabited by broadly similar flora and fauna.

On land, biomes are separated primarily by latitude. Terrestrial biomes lying within the Arctic and Antarctic Circles are relatively barren of plant and animal life, while most of the more populus biomes lie near the Equator.

Terrestrial organisms in temperate and arctic biomes have relatively small amounts of total biomass, smaller energy budgets, and display prominent adaptations to cold, including world-spanning migrations, social adaptations, homeothermy, estivation and multiple layers of insulation.

Some theorists therefore believe that the Earth is poorly suited to life. However, every part of the planet supports life, from the polar ice caps to the Equator. Recent advances in microbiology have proven that microscopic life lives inside rocks under the Earth’s surface, and that the total mass of microbial life in so-called “uninhabitable zones” may, in terms of sheer biomass, outweigh all animal and plant life combined on the surface of the Earth.

Oceans mediate the cold and distribute nutrients. The Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba, for example, is generally considered to be the most successful animal of the planet, with a biomass probably over 500 million tonnes (c.f. human biomass of about 250 million tonnes).

Biosphere 2 is a manmade closed ecological system in Oracle, Arizona built by Edward P. Bass, Space Biosphere Ventures and others. It was used to test if and how people could live and study in a closed biosphere, while carrying out scientific experiments. It explored the possible use of closed biospheres in space colonization, and also allowed the study and manipulation of a biosphere without harming Earth’s. The name comes from the idea that it is modelled on “Biosphere 1″ - Earth.

project conducted two sealed missions; the first from 1991 September 26 to 1993 September 26, and the second for six months in 1994. During the first mission, oxygen and carbon dioxide fell. Oxygen and other supplies were provided, and the project lost some credibility.

Columbia University In 1995 the Biosphere 2 owners transferred management to Columbia University. Since 1996, over 1200 graduate students have spent a year in the Biosphere 2 Center (as of 2003). The site has its own hotel and conference center. Columbia has since divested itself of all Biosphere-related responsibilities.

Science and engineering The scientific method is difficult to apply due to the complexity of the biosphere and the absence of a control. Like Project Apollo, Biosphere 2 is an achievement of engineering rather than science. The above-ground physical structure of Biosphere 2 was made of steel tubing and high-performance glass and steel frames. The frame and glazing materials were designed and made to specification by a firm run by a one-time student of Buckminster Fuller, Peter Pearce (Peter Pearce & Associates).

Difficulty of creating successful artificial biospheres

An interesting consequence of the experiment is that it showed the difficulty of copying the functions of the natural capital of the evolved Earth biosphere with infrastructural capital constructed by humans with present technology. Despite expenditure of over $150 million, this attempt at a new biosphere did not sustain eight humans, for a limited time, while the original sustains billions of humans, and shows little sign of failing any time soon.

Value of Earth’s biosphere Some economists have used the price of the Biosphere 2 project as an input to value of life calculations, and attempts to calculate the total value of all natural capital on Earth (see also: value of Earth). According to them: given that it does at least as good a job at sustaining humans as Biosphere 2, it should be worth at least as much per resident. This leads to a rather large, but finite, price of Earth itself.

Development of Green Chemicals from Biobased Materials. Key issues have been addressed relative to fermentation and the elimination of salt by-products. Improved esterification (secondary purification) and products and processes are being developed. Collaborations with industry include a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with an electrodialysis developer (in process), a license for polymer use, and a Work-for-Others contract with a major agriprocessor. The program collaborates with and funds other ES sections and Argonne’s Environmental Research Division, and coordinates with four other national laboratories.

Development of Remediation Technology. Physical, chemical, biological, and geological approaches are used to solve a number of in-situ, ex-situ, and pollution prevention problems. Among the many and diverse technologies being applied are sonication, electrokinetics, membrane separations (e.g., electrodialysis, reverse osmosis, pervaporation), chelation/immobilization, magnetic separation, phytoremediation, bioremediation, microbiology, thermal desorption, and foam applications.

Bioengineering is a method of restoring damaged terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. It emphasizes the use of live plants as the basic building blocks that begin the restoration process, and then, continue, on their own, the healing process that leads to a stable, climax plant and animal community. In its most refined form, bioengineering uses the physical properties of plants, such as their sheer resistance, tensile strength, and flexibility, to construct stabilizing structures such as live slope fascines and hedge brush layers, to stabilize earth slumps and landslides; live woven willow fences and willow brush mattresses and hydraulic fascines to protect and revegetate damaged stream banks; live siltation baffles, to rebuild washed out stream banks and flood terraces.

Bioengineering developed historically as did the practices of medicine, engineering, and architecture, beginning as a number of discrete techniques developed to solve specific problems. Knowledge of these techniques was part of the body of folk wisdom accumulated in prehistoric times and passed orally from generation to generation. In the last two centuries, this knowledge was compiled and codified, and finally in fairly recent times, it has been taught formally and practiced as a profession.

The system of technologies which we today call bioengineering can be traced to the ancient peoples of Europe and Asia. Some of the early western visitors to China told of river banks and dikes stabilized with large baskets woven of willow hemp or bamboo, and filled with rocks. There are fifteenth century scrolls showing villagers planting willow sprigs in stream banks.

In Europe during the nineteen twenties and thirties German, Austrian and Italian engineers and foresters began studying the methods that villages, both in Europe and Asia had evolved to repair their own damaged landscapes, and they added a scientific component, doing extensive testing of the many properties of plants, their rooting capabilities, their soil tolerance, temperature range, altitude range, salinity tolerance, drought tolerance, rooting methods, seeding methods. They learned the tensile strength of willow roots to be twenty five hundred pounds per square inch and that of fir roots to be eighty five hundred pounds.

Stem cells have generated more excitement, scrutiny and controversy than any other area of recent scientific study. The first stem cells, which were discovered half a century ago, were isolated from blood. Now, scientists around the globe are researching various types of stem cells for their potential to regenerate lost tissue and revolutionize medicine. Embryonic stem (ES) cells are derived from the embryo when it exists as a blastocyst. They have the ability to develop into all the different cell types found in the body. Actually, when a sperm fertilizes an egg, the resulting single cell begins to divide and multiply at a rate much faster than that observed in somatic cells. Scientists refer to these cells as totipotent stem cells (Figure 1). These primordial embryonic cells have the potential to grow into a complete mammal. Within days of fertilization, these new and dividing cells form a hollow sphere, called a blastocyst. Stem cells arising in the inner mass of the blastocyst are called the ES cells. The ES cells are considered pluripotent - they can divide indefinitely and blossom into all the various tissue types of the human body, but they have the lost the totipotent ability to grow into a separate being. k, l, d, g, k. After roughly 14 days, ES cells divide to give rise to what will eventually develop into the spine. At this stage, the stem cells within the embryo are considered multipotent. These stem cells can grow into some tissues, but not all tissues. Those destined to become bone or blood, for example, may not be able to form stomach or skin.

They refined these ancient, labor intensive techniques, and applied them to modern ecological problems, discovering that this style of repair work becomes indistinguishable from the surrounding natural landscape in just a few short years.

What is Soil Bioengineering

Soil Bioengineering is an established method of stabilizing or protecting eroded soils. It is unique in that plants and plant parts (roots, stems) are used as the main structural components to reinforce the soil and to provide protection. Soil bioengineered structures rely on living or dead plant materials and can act as drains and prevent earth movement. The techniques outlined in this manual use woody plants that root from dormant cuttings. There are effective methods of using wetland or herbacious plants, coir logs, and pre-grown plant mats in soil bioengineering for lake shores and river banks. These methods are not listed in this manual because they can be more complex and costly, making them unsuitable for the active volunteer.

History of Soil Bioengineering

Soil bioengineering has been widely practiced in Europe, in various forms, since the 1500’s. Today there is a professional association dedicated to the promotion and advancement of soil bioengineering, called the Gesellschaft fur Ingenenieurbiologie. In North America, soil bioengineering was also in widespread use from the late 1920’s to the 1940’s. But with the availability of cheap energy and the high cost of labour in the 1950’s, steel and concrete structures became preferred over soil bioengineered structures.

Fortunately for rivers and streams in North America, soil bioengineering has been regaining popularity since the early 1980’s, and is now once again in widespread and successful use. Many large scale projects have been completed, such as the Rehabilitation of the Markham Branch of Highland Creek, and the Mad River Cribwall in Glen Huron.

Benefits of Soil Bioengineering.

There are many benefits associated with using soil bioengineered structures. The roots, stems and associated foliage from the cuttings used to build the structures form a protective vegetative cover that reinforces the soil and protects it from erosion. Because these structures are created with living vegetation, they grow stronger and more effective with age. This is in direct contrast to inert structures (gabions, concrete and sheet piling) which weaken and crumble with age. The root systems of the living structures penetrate the soil, providing substantial strength and resistance to movement. The roots of Heartleaf and Slender willow, as well as Carolina poplar, have grown deeply into a very compact soil. These growing plants will provide protection and stability long after the stakes, twine, and original cuttings in the fascine have decomposed.

Perhaps the greatest benefit of living structures lies in the many functions that they perform. Not only do they provide stability, but they provide food and cover for wildlife, oxygen and moisture through transpiration, and they are a part of the ecosystem. Living structures are also attractive and can be very cost effective. It is the habitat benefits of soil bioengineering that make the method interesting to those working to create habitat be it aquatic or terrestrial. Most of the techniques in this manual are built by hand, which makes them compatible with environmentally sensitive sites or sites with limited access.

Soil bioengineered structures also lend themselves to the volunteer group. They are relatively easy to build and with a bit of scrounging, the materials can be acquired for little cost.

Limitations of Soil Bioengineering

While soil bioengineering has many advantages, it does have limits. The use of soil bioengineered structures would be ineffective on a site that is densely shaded since the live materials used need sunlight in order to grow. Sites with toxic soils (or no soils !!) and extreme water velocities/level fluctuations should be avoided. The requirement of dormant materials also limits the use of soil bioengineering to seasons when access to certain sites may be limited. The most important thing to remember if you wish to use soil bioengineering is that you are building a LIVING structure, one that needs to grow.

The methods in this section of the Techniques chapter will provide most of the information you need to build the structures described. Those wishing to use soil bioengineering are also urged to refer to the authors listed in the bibliography.

Materials

Selection of species

Willows (shrubs and trees), dogwoods, and poplars are the main species that are readily available in Ontario. The species listed in Table X are described as either native, or non-native. Where possible, projects should avoid the use of non-native species since they can outcompete and displace native plants.

It is recommended that tree form willows be avoided when working on small streams. As the trees mature, the root systems will eventually fill in the floodplain, congesting the channel. This is particularly evident with Salix fragilis, and S. fragilis/alba. Shrub willows and dogwoods can provide the stability/habitat sought, while still allowing the stream to use its floodplain.

Poplars should not be used in stream projects where beaver dams are perceived as a problem. Beavers will cut and utilize a wide range of trees and shrubs, but they prefer poplars. Poplars are shade intolerant (will not grow in the shade), so they should be used in the open. They are a good species to use if quick growth is required. Beavers have also been known to browse on the live cuttings used in the construction of the various techniques. This browsing can be serious if it occurs immediately after installation, before the structure has a chance to grow. We recommend inspecting the structures periodically and repairing any damage. If the browsing continues to be a problem, removal of the beavers may be required. Once the structure is growing, the browsing rarely destroys the structure.

All of the species listed under Recommended Species section, possess a certain degree of environmental flexibility in terms of their ability to grow in a range of soil types and moisture regimes. To maximize your chances of success, you should try to select species whose growing conditions roughly match the environmental conditions of the project site. We also recommend mixing several species of cuttings in each structure. Each method lists some suggested species. Care should also be taken to select species with root systems that match the nature of the soil movement at the project site. Sites with deep earth movements may require plants with deep and widespread root systems.

By definition, stem cells have two important characteristics that distinguish them from other types of cells. First, they are unspecialized cells that renew themselves for long periods of time through cell division of at least one daughter cell. Secondly, under certain physiological or experimental conditions, they can be induced to differentiate. This means that they can divide into cells with special functions, such as the beating cells of the heart muscle or the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas. Discovery of ES Cells The work that laid the foundation for ES cell discovery was the study of teratocarcinomas, complex tumors containing a mix of specialized cell types as well as a population of unspecialized cells. These unspecialized cells are called embryonal carcinoma (EC) cells. The latter were shown to be pluripotent and could give rise to various cell types both in vitro and in vivo. It was therefore natural to consider using these cells for therapeutic purposes. b, g, k, c, j. However, EC cells never seemed ideal for this purpose because they had an abnormal number of chromosomes and originated from tumors. Careful study of the induction of teratocarcinomas in experimental animals, as well as an understanding of the biology of EC cells and early embryos, led scientists to the discovery of ES cells in the early 1980s. The demonstration that ES cells contained the normal number of chromosomes and were truly pluripotential has influenced many scientific disciplines.

Willows, dogwoods, and poplars are pioneering species. This means that they are often the first species to grow in an area that has been cleared or disturbed. This trait gives these woody plants the ability to grow quickly, vigorously and in abundance. Photo #4 shows a 2.5 year old Heartleaf willow live stake. This live stake, planted in a streambank, has grown substantially in a relatively short period of time. This abundant fast growth is a result of full sun exposure and proper soil conditions. In shaded conditions, most plant material will grow poorly and be relatively short lived. Over time, the species originally planted may give way to other types of trees and shrubs. .

Locating material donor sites

All of the species listed in this chapter can, with a bit of effort, be found in areas were they can be collected free of charge. Many of the materials listed in Table X cannot be purchased or are prohibitively expensive if available. The locating of donor sites is best done in advance of project construction. Most species are easiest to identify in the spring and summer, when catkins and leaves are present. Potential sites can be found by driving around, paying attention to roadside ditches, abandoned fields, hydro corridors (or other utility right of ways), drainage ditches, or riverbanks. For those that have access, airphotos can also be used to locate donor sites. In most cases donor sites will be privately owned so you will need to secure permission to harvest. Township or county road superintendents are constantly battling willows in their attempts to maintain drainage in roadside ditches. This is also true of Drainage Superintendents, who often welcome having “nuisance” willows removed from municipal drains.

In some cases there will be materials growing onsite. Ideally, donor sites should be close to the project site, as distant sites require more effort logistically to use.

When to Harvest

All live materials should be harvested when they are dormant. While many species of willow will root from a cutting that is not dormant, the chances of success are slim, and only if specific site conditions are met. Dormant materials have the highest probability of growing with the broadest range of site conditions. One of the best indicators of dormancy is when the leaves have turned color, and fall from the twig. The time in which this happens can vary, but as a general rule one should not harvest materials until:

October 20 - Southern Ontario October 15 - Central Ontario October 10 - Northern Ontario

Materials can be cut and used through the winter till spring, until the buds have begun to flush (break open, usually in early April). Materials should NOT be used once the buds have broken.

Extending the Working Season

Using dormant materials in the time that they are readily available restricts projects to a window of opportunity from Mid October to Mid April. One method of extending this season is to place dormant materials in cold storage. Willow and dogwood cuttings have been stored successfully for as long as 10 weeks after harvesting. Cuttings should be stored at temperatures between 3 - 5oC, with moderate to high humidity. Some molding of the cut ends will occur, but the stems should be fine as long as they don’t dry out. Commercial storage may be expensive, but options include ice rinks, vegetable barns (cabbage storage etc.) or refrigerated truck units.

How to Harvest

Materials can be cut with pruning shears, clearing saws, hand saws, or chain saws. Since many of the structures require substantial amounts of cuttings, a mechanical saw is the most efficient. For cuttings with diameters from 10 mm to 70 mm, a clearing saw is recommended. Since the cuts will be close to the ground, a clearing saw is far easier on the operator than a chainsaw. Chainsaws work best on materials over 70mm. Both chainsaws and clearing saws are potentially dangerous tools, those using them are urged to wear the appropriate safety equipment. When tying together materials for transport - construct the bundles so that all of the growing tips are aligned in the same direction. This makes it much easier to use the materials onsite. Bundles should be constructed such that they are easy to transport and should be tied so that they do not fall apart when handled. Leave all of the side branches intact. The use of a set of sawhorses makes it easier to tie the bundle. For this manual, a bundle is typically 40 cm in diameter.

When cutting the material be sure to make the cuts 15 - 30 cm above ground. This will ensure successful coppice growth from the stem. Caution - for safety reasons leaving high stumps should be avoided in areas frequented by people. This coppice growth can be cut 2 - 3 years later and is often easier to handle than the original stems, grows faster as a cutting, and the number of stems sometimes increases tenfold over a given area. A note of caution - for safety reasons, leaving high stumps should be avoided in areas frequented by people. To help you in the construction of future projects, keep track of areas that have been mowed for clearing, or harvested by previous soil bioengineering projects. They can be re-cut in the future, usually providing better quality material than during the first harvest.

Bioengineering is concerned with interdisciplinary involvement on the part of scientists and engineers, drawn from the physical, engineering, and life sciences to:

(a) study and quantify the mechanisms and phenomena connected with life sciences and medical sciences; and

(b) develop diagnostic and treatment procedures, surgical guidelines, and prosthetic and rehabilitative devices. Conversely, there are possibilities for bioengineers to identify solutions to engineering problems utilizing understanding gained from the study of living systems.

Bioengineering calls for individuals, competent in specific engineering and science disciplines, to communicate and collaborate effectively with individuals or groups in medical and life sciences. The results of a reasonable period of biomedical engineering endeavour will often see the emergence of a new technique or device to facilitate medical diagnosis or treatment.

Bio-engineering Techniques for Slope Stabilization and Control of Sediment Generation

Kay & Associates, International Training Consultants

1. Overview

Bio-engineering is the successful use of vegetation in concert with engineering structures to increase slope stability against shallow mass wasting.

Plant material increases soil strength through the transfer of root tensile strength to soil shear strength, buttressing and arching. Bio-engineering systems provide additional support beyond that which can be provided by single plants. As the plants mature they increase in strength and provide increased resistance to natural forces.

The following bio-engineering solutions uses native plant species to;

Enhance slope stability Control sediment generation. Maintain Plant and Wildlife Biodiversity. Stabilization of the surface layers of the slopes from wind, gravitational, and hydraulic forces is achieved with the benefit of energy dissipation of water and detritus moving down-slope. Infiltration of water increases the amount of water for plant establishment while vigorous plant growth dissipates excess slope water to the atmosphere. Entrapment of sediment is accomplished through filtering action of established vegetation and a developing duff layer.

Natural vegetation establishment is enhanced by providing suitable microsites for plants by;

Stabilization of surface soils. Increase in water infiltration. Formation of terraces with lower slope angles. Seeds from natural dispersal tend to remain in place and seedlings have a chance to develop in the stabilized surface areas. The temporary vegetation from the Bio-engineering treatments acts as pioneering species, allowing time for natural succession to form a more permanent vegetation cover.

2. Willow Whips and other plants that sprout from cuttings.

a) Harvesting

Willow whips are expected to be cut (make clean cuts with unsplit ends) locally by local labour in the dormant season. (from when the leaves start to turn yellow in the autumn until growth starts in the spring) These willow whips will be approximately 2 meters long and selectively harvested from convenient sites without damage or harm to the natural environment. The whips will be placed in bundles and wrapped in medium weight polyethelyne (leave ends open) and tied with cord. (the poly is to protect the stems during handling and to retain moisture, do not leave out in the sun. Place in the shade) These willow whips will be kept in cold storage until time for use. It may be advantageous to take the time at the harvesting stage to prepare the required lineal meters of wattle bundles. (see: contour-wattling for instructions in making the wattle bundles)

b) Handling

It is important to remember that in each cutting that you are handling a live plant. Handle gently, and don’t damage or bruise the stems.

In the harvesting and planting phases, do not let the cuttings dry out. Do not leave them out in the sun or spread out on a windy slope. (keep covered or in the shade)

Keep all planting stock moist, cool and covered when in storage, transport and on the jobsite when planting.

b) Pre-planting preparation

Soaking of the cuttings prior to planting has shown to be beneficial to survival rates. A period of 24 hrs to 72 hrs (one to three days) is recommended.

3. Planting of Cuttings

Different methods for planting of the willow whips may be utilized.

a) Live Staking (Upright Planting)

The Live Staking (upright planting) method is commonly employed on slopes requiring remediation work for slope stability and in conjunction with the methods described below.

Cutting

The willow whips are usually cut into 500mm lengths for planting vertically in the ground.

Spacing

Planting spacing on most slopes will be from 200mm to One meter apart. The worker will be instructed by the Bio-engineering supervisor in what to look for in ideal planting sites to get the best plant survival and growth.

Planting

The willow whip (if strong enough and the soil is loose) may be pushed or driven into the ground. Otherwise a suitably deep hole may be made in the ground using a metal bar or other suitable method (see tools). Approx. 2/3rd’s of the whip should be below ground and there should be two buds visible on the exposed 1/3rd above the ground. The cutting should make contact with the bottom of the hole (no air space). Compact the dirt around the stem.

Biological role and properties of stem cells Stem cells differ from other kinds of cells in the body. All stem cells, regardless of their source, have three general properties: they are capable of dividing and renewing themselves for long periods; they are unspecialized; they can choose to become one of the many different types of cells present in the body based on signals from their environments. Finding the answers to two fundamental questions about stem cells that relate to their long-term self-renewal is crucial to our ability to successfully grow these cells in laboratory and in turn use them for various tissue engineering and cellular therapies. The first question deals with why embryonic stem cells can proliferate for extended periods of time in the laboratory without adopting a specialized fate, while most adult stem cells cannot. The second issue addresses which factors in living organisms normally regulate stem cell self-renewal and differentiation. Discovering the answers to these questions may make it possible to understand how cell proliferation is regulated during normal embryonic development or during the abnormal cell division that ultimately leads to cancer. Biotechnologists uses techniques derived from a variety of disciplines. e, j, k, a, e Their main objectives are the innovation, development and optimal operation of processes in which biochemical catalysis plays a fundamental role. Biotechnology relies on each contributing discipline to better understand the technical language, potential and limitations of other areas.

(b) Contour-wattling

Contour-wattling for slope stabilization and also to provide sediment control in fine textured and sandy soils adjacent to watercourses

Contour-wattling is the placing of bundles of twigs in a prepared trench and burying them across the slope at regular contour intervals resulting a lightly terraced slope. All work starts at the base of the slope.

Wattles construction

Wattles are constructed by the laying of willow whips in alternate directions to form a bundle 200 to 300mm in diameter.

The bundles are compressed tightly and firmly tied with binder twine every 300 to 400mm. (do not allow bundles to dry out)

Trenching

An excavated trench (approx. ½ the depth of the bundle is excavated along the contour of the slope. Note: trenches must kept horizontal to prevent the mis-directing of surface water. (use an inclinometer) Trenching should not precede the placing of the wattles by more than 1hr to minimize the drying out of the soil.

Placing, Staking and Covering of the Wattles

The bundles of wattles are laid in the trench allowing the fringe ends to overlap.

Stakes (minimum 600mm length) are driven through the bundles (beside the tie string) approximately every 500mm. The purpose to the stakes is to retain the bundle in place (particularly from frost heaving) until the roots can take over.

The bundles are partially backfilled using native upslope material. The soil should be worked around and into the bundle itself. Workers should walk on the backfilled material and also on the bundles as much as possible to help work the soil into the bundles and to provide compaction of the backfill material. The excavated material from the next trench provides this backfill material. The backfilled portion must be outsloped as not to retain or pond water. A side portion of the bundle forming the terrace “wall” will always be left exposed for propagation. The finished slope will have a series of out-sloped terraces with the wattle bundles just poking out at the face of each terrace.

Alternate Wattling Method

In moist soils, the driving in of long (minimum 1meter) stakes (Steel or Wood) along the desired terrace line (150-200mm apart, depending on the size of the longitudinal whips used) with 150-200mm left exposed. Then long whips of Willow are placed against this “fence” and then backfilled with native material, creating a bench face with the exposed wattling. This procedure is continued up the slope.

c) Brush Layering (Horizontal Planting), Full Continuos Bench

Brush Layering (horizontal planting), Full bench is also used to reduce the amount of slope angle and provide continuos reinforced bench support.

Useful for slopes that are over-steepened that will benefit from reduced slope angle.

It is also beneficial if there is an opportunity for mechanical assistance of slope preparation. You may wish to consider the use of a small mini-excavator or a “spider” excavator. These smaller, lighter machines can be flown in by Helicopter to sites not accessible by road. The “Spider” excavator, waking on it’s four feet, also has the ability to traverse slopes of up to 100% to gain site access with surprisingly negligible ground disturbance.

Bench Construction.

A flat bench will be excavated with mechanical equipment or by hand work using mattock and shovel, at the base of the slope. This bench will be the full length of the slope and usually 1 to 2 meters in depth. The willow whips will be placed side by side (about 100mm apart) on this bench with the tops facing outward and with a 150mm overhang.

Slope material (native material, dirt, stones etc) will be excavated down from the slope on to the top of the previously prepared bench with its side by side placed willow whips. The depth (ranging from 200mm to 2meter) of this covering material (and the next bench) will vary with the slope angle and slope materials.

Length of Whips.

Whips will be 1 to 2 meters long and laid horizontally on the constructed bench and backfilled (covered over to a depth of 200mm to 2meters) in the terracing process. (There must be a minimum of 150mm of the willow whip freely protruding to establish new growth)

Size and spacing of Benches.

These benches, running the full length of the slope, consisting of one single layer of Willow whips are constructed to the top of the slope. The bench height will vary due to site conditions but is usually in a range of 200mm to 2 meters.

d) Brush Layering (Horizontal Planting), Random Bench

The Brush Layering (horizontal planting), Random Bench method is selectively employed in dry raveling sites to establish “islands” of vegetation and to ensure the planted stems maintain moisture in the dry period of the year and to provide protection from raveling material until the plant is established.

For slopes subject to raveling, a random spacing of short benches may be employed. The object is to create “islands” of Vegetation on the slope.

Length of Whips.

Whips will be 1 to 2 meters long and laid horizontally on a constructed bench and backfilled (covered over) in the terracing process. On some slopes, due to the nature of the ground material it will not be possible to use the full length of the willow whips.

Size and Spacing of Benches.

These benches, 1 to 2 meters in width, consisting of one single layer of Willow whips will be interspaced, in a staggered fashion, on the slope approximately every 3 to 4 meters in suitable random locations.

Bench Construction.

A flat bench will be excavated by hand with a mattock at the desired location on the slope. (The “Spider” excavator may be a useful tool on some slopes) This bench will be approximately 1 to 2 meters in width and 1 to 2 meters in depth. The willow whips will be placed side by side (about 100mm apart) on this bench with the tops facing outward.

Historically, biotechnology was an art rather than a science, exemplified in the manufacture of products like wine, beer and cheese. Manufacturing techniques were usually discovered by chance but then thoroughly and reproducibly worked out. However the molecular mechanisms were not understood. With major advances in biochemistry and microbiology, these processes have become better understood and improved. Modern biotechnological processes now include a wide range of new products including antibiotics, vaccines and antibodies and a variety of therapeutic proteins. Biotechnology has been further diversified by many new molecular innovations, allowing unprecedented changes to be made to living systems. Transgenic plants and animals are igniting a new era in agriculture and human gene therapy promises to eradicate many diseases which are currently incapacitating and untreatable. Environmentally, biotechnology is allowing major improvements in water and land management as well as bringing solutions to pollution generated by various industries. A key factor distinguishing a traditional biologist from a biotechnologist is the scale of operation. The biologist usually works in the range of nanograms to milligrams. Biotechnologists, depending on the project, may aim to generate quantities of desired product in kilograms or higher. As such, biotechnology aims to amplify biological processes. The developments in biotechnology are currently proceeding at a speed similar to that of microelectronics in the 1970s. Although the analogy is tempting, it is probably not realistic to expect that biotechnology will develop commercially at the same spectacular rate experienced by microelectronics. k, d, f, i, c. Nonetheless, biotechnology will still have a considerable impact across all industrial uses of the life sciences, in spite of the fact that some traditional means of production are still economically more favourable than the newer biotechnological methods. Chemical means of production that utilize petrochemical based feedstocks are still more economically sound compared to biotechnology driven routes for most industrial chemicals. Biotechnology will undoubtedly have great benefits in the long run in all sectors.

Native slope material (dirt, raveled stones etc) will be excavated down from the slope on top of the previously prepared bench and the side by side placed willow whips. The depth (approximately 200 to 500+mm) of this covering material will vary with the slope angle and slope materials. There must be a minimum of 150mm of the willow whip freely protruding to establish new growth.

(If fairly large boulders are readily available and can be moved by hand they can be placed on the bench created to assist in providing physical protection)

( 4 ) Live Pole Drains

Water piping or seeping out of a bank creates problems that can lead to slope instability. The use of a “Live Pole Drain” system can control and direct this potentially problem water.

Construction Starting at the water source location, excavate a small (2-300mm) trench to the desired discharge location. Take a pre-prepared bundle of Willow whips (3-400mm in Diameter) and place this bundle in the trench and then place others continuously end to end to the drain point. Backfill the trench, leaving just the top surface of the bundle of whips exposed. Ensure the discharge location is well armoured to receive the anticipated water flow.

This drainage system will convey a considerable amount of water with the added benefit of being a “living drain” with live willows growing out of it and dispersing water to the atmosphere. These drains can be used in many different ways. Eg. In a “Y” formation.

( 5 ) Sediment Control Tools

a) Wattlling for sediment control – If regular silt fence is left in place after a project work period it will require regular monitoring and eventual removal of the slit fence and also the removal of the collected silt.

As a practical alternative to regular silt fencing a unique sediment control barrier, is to construct a high wattle fence lined with silt fence or filter cloth. The area for trapped sediment would be planted with site-suitable species as Willows, Cottonwood, Cedar, and other wet-site shrubs and plants. It may be desirable to plant the sediment catchment area after the initial flush of sediment. It is recommended that the area be hand grass seeded (and fertilized) each growing season.

This sediment control device is now a permanent living structure that will trap sediment and not require the removal of that sediment.

b) Brush layering for sediment control – A sediment entrapment area can be created by slightly modifying the previously mentioned brush layering technique.

By constructing a shallow depression behind the brush layer, a sediment catchment area can be created. This area should also be planted etc. as in the above “Wattling for sediment control”

c) Monitoring – Regularly scheduled (and after peak storm events) monitoring a necessity just as it would be required for any control structure or moderate to high risk site.

( 6 ) Conifers and Hardwoods

Where they are native and suit the site, species such as Conifers and/or Hardwoods that can be planted as rooted stock may be a desirable addition to a bio-engineering stabilization project.

Larger species have the great ability to use water to dry the slope and their root systems will enhance the slope integrity and assist to achieve long term stability.

Consideration should be given to slope steepness and wind conditions and the mature size and height of the larger species.

Species selected should be native to the area, suited to the site conditions and suited to the site altitude.

( 7 ) Other Slope Stabilization Species

There may be other suitable shrub and tree species that are available near the remediation site that propagate from cuttings or that can be grown from seed and planted as rotted stock. Each region of the globe has it’s own native species that can be used as remediation tools. Observing similar sites nearby to the treatment area will give an indication of all the species of Trees, Shrubs, Plants and Grasses that you should be considering for your remediation work.

For example, in the American Pacific Northwest, Willow and Black Cottonwood will grow profusely from cuttings. In the same area, species that have performed well that are available in rooted stock are: Red Ozier Dogwood, Alder, Sumac among others.

Plants (ferns, wildflowers, vines, vetch and others) are also a viable tools for soil stabilization and sediment control. They can be transplanted directly from adjacent sites (may available from specialist nurseries) or be seeded.

It is essential to use care in non-native species selection. The introduction of a species that may be considered a nuisance(such as damaging to other native species), noxious(poisonous) or a weed must be avoided.

( 8 ) Grass seed and fertilizer.

Dry seeding Dry grass seed and fertilizer should be applied, using a broadcast spreader, the same day that the ground is disturbed, while the ground is friable (loose and open) to be most effective. This method can be used effectively even on quite steep slopes. However, after the ground has been armoured and compacted by sun and rain the seed and fertilizer has a tendency to roll down the slope and for the wind to blow the seed away.

The use of dry seeding in friable ground can be very cost effective and with good results. By the seed being retained (trapped) in the ground the seeding can be effectively done even when dry conditions can be expected after seeding as the seed remains in place until moisture conditions are right for seed propagation.

Hydro-seeding Hydro-seeding - Is the application of seed using a water slurry(containing the seed and fertilizer) combined with a mulch agent(to retain moisture and also physical protection from rain damage) and a tackifier(to make the mixture stick). There are many combinations of mix and a variety of specific materials and agents to use in site-specific locations.

Bonded fibre matrix – Is a product (containing seed, fertilizer, mulch and a specialized bonding agent) that is applied (using hydro-seeding equipment) as a solid blanket over the soil. This can give immediate weather protection from soil erosion for up to two years when it is expected that emergent vegetation will have matured.

Many new biotechnology companies have spun off from universities (for a few examples of companies in Vancouver see here). These companies are often technologically driven and multidisciplinary in nature. Product development can involve molecular biologists, clinical researchers, bioprocess engineers and sales staff. The business climate of biotechnology companies is often characterized by rapid change and considerable risk as one biotechnology innovation may quickly supercede another. Another peculiar feature of new biotechnology companies is that their business growth is often highly dependent on venture capital, as they require exceptionally high level of funding before profit sales return. Biotechnology & Chemical Engineering Many biotechnological processes may be considered as having a three-component central core, in which one part is concerned with obtaining the best biological catalyst for a specific function or process, the second part creates (by means of technical operation) the best possible environment for the catalyst to perform, and the third part (downstream processing) is concerned with the separation and purification of an essential product or products from a fermentation process. Biotechnology and the Environment Biotechnology has been successfully employed to reduce or eliminate various forms of air and water pollutants.

Methods developed by environmental biotechnologists might use the microorganisms to either break down or sequester pollutants. The concept of using microorganisms to treat pollution problems is not a new idea; microbes were first used as early as 1930s to treat industrial wastewaters. More recently they helped in the cleanup of oil spilled from the Exxon Valdez tanker off the coast of Alaska in 1989 as well as decontaminated water aquifers contaminated with various industrial chemicals such as phenol, trichloroethylene (TCE) and compounds present in various petroleum fractions. Opportunities for using microorganisms for bioremediation of soils contaminated with various industrial pollutants arose when scientists discovered that there is practically nothing that is not viewed as food by one microbe or another. Just as some insects can feed on leaves that are toxic to others, so some microbes can thrive on molecules that would poison most organisms. h, i, l, i, f. Microbes exist in nature that feed on toxic materials such as methylene chloride, detergents, phenol, sulfur and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Microbes metabolize the toxic compounds to produce harmless end products such as carbon dioxide, water and salt. The chemical conversions usually involve breaking large molecules into several smaller molecules, much as we break down the complex carbohydrates in our food to simple sugars such as glucose. In some cases, the by-products of a bacterial banquet are not simply harmless but actually useful. Methane, for example, can be derived from a form of bacteria that degrades sulfite liquor, a waste product of paper manufacturing. Methane can then be used in a wide range of industrial applications such as electricity production.

It is recommended that you consult an expert in hydro-seeding to get;

site specific products, value of product, controlled application, a successful “take” (growing grass) Timing of the application will need to be considered (Eg. weather seasons)

Seed mixture and fertilizer Always, a custom grass seed mixture, specific for the site and the season of application is strongly recommended, along with a recommended fertilizer mix, specific to the site soils. (you may need soil tests) There will also need to be specified application rates for both the seed and fertilizer. (The grass seed supplier may be able to assist and may have local knowledge of the area)

Native species The addition of native species to the seed mix is gaining strong acceptance. There is an increasing availability of native species from the seed suppliers. Also shrub and tree seed may be considered to add to the mixture. Eg. In the American Pacific Northwest, Alder should be considered if the work commences after natural Alder seeding for the year has taken place.

Ensuring seeding project quality In any seed application it is essential to ensure that specified application rates are being actually applied and specified products are being used.

The only sure way to confirm is to place random test cards(150mm square and for dry seeding, coated with a sticky substance) on the site prior to seeding and then sent to a laboratory for a painstaking seed count.

For realistic on-site supervision you may;

Monitor the quantities (and types) of materials brought on site and calculate the ratio of the application area to product and compare to specifications. Closely inspect the ground for consistent application rates. Conduct your own seed estimation using the seeds of visible size and the fertilizer pellets in random locations as a guide. (a rough rule of thumb for dry seeding (average) applications is two large seeds and two fertilizer pellets(on the average) in a square inch. Ensure that the seed has been transported and stored correctly and the seed is not water damaged or contaminated by another spilled product. Eg. Petroleum products or other harmful agents. Caution: The specifications for the area to be treated if taken directly from a map or aerial photo will not equal the actual ground distances on a slope and will lead to a shortage of materials for the actual ground area required to be treated.

( 9 ) Project Timing

Harvesting of cuttings (Willow Whips) will ideally take place in the dormant season. (no leaves on the stem) However successes have been obtained with cuttings taken at all times of the year.

Soaking of the cuttings a minimum of 24 hrs prior to planting has shown to have effectively increased survival rate.

Bio-engineering field work will take place after any work of buttressing for slope stability in the immediate area is completed. (The machine construction of reinforcing walls at the base of the slopes. Eg. Such as the placing of large boulders to a wall height of 2meters or engineered structures)

Ideally, the bio-engineering field work should commence in the spring. Consideration will want to be given to such limiting factors as;

The ground is clear of snow and thawed. Heavy and/or extended period of rains are over. Waiting until extreme dry conditions are past. That the work be completed before the next expected extreme weather event. (extreme wet, dry, hot or cold) Planting (live staking and grass hydro-seeding) should be limited to seasons in which adequate moisture is expected to be available for propagation.

( 10 ) Existing Vegetation

The existing natural vegetation should not to be destroyed or damaged in the processes of completing the prescription. Where there is existing vegetation, it is expected that (where practical) it will be incorporated into the remedial work plan.

( 11 ) Naturally re-vegetating species

It is expected that wind born and animal transported seeds from adjacent vegetation (including fruit bearing shrubs) will establish themselves in the stabilized soil with the assistance of the emerging vegetation.

( 12 ) Maintenance

Scheduled on-going Inspection and Monitoring is required to;

Re-install areas that have failed to grow. Repair failed areas. Correct nutrient deficiencies (fertilize). ( 13 ) Biodiversity

A well rounded prescription addresses the key elements to maintain plant bio-diversity and wildlife concerns.

Integrated Laboratory of Bioengineering

PRESENTATION

The Integrated Laboratory of Bioengineering (L.I.B.) was inaugurated in July 1989 and started to work effectively in January 1990. Since then, the human team responsable for research has been incorporated and it has been given the essential infrastructure to undertake its working activities, the own ones or the ones subjected to agreements and collaboration contracts with external public and private organizations.

The L.I.B. is organized in two areas: Bioelectronic Area, directed by Doctor Mr. J.M. Ferrero Corral, Professor of Electronic Technology of the U.P.V., who also directs it as a whole, and Biochemistry Area, directed by Mr. Angel Montoya Baides, Doctor in Biochemistry and Professor in the U.P.V.. The activities developed are:

Biomedical Instrumentation Line. The staff of the Bioelectronic Area, who also belongs to the Electronic Engineering Department, is in charge of it. This Line was started more than twelve years ago by Doctor Ferrero in the DIE and was later incorporated to the L.I.B. Its wide experience is guaranteed by the successful execution of I+D numerous projects, financed by private companies and public institutions.

Line of Modeling of Bioelectrical Systems. The Bioelectronic Area is in charge of it. It started its activities at the beginning of 1993 and is nowadays focused in the development of heart cellular or complete models. They collaborate with the Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD, U.S.A.) for the study of the influence of various parameters upon propagation of the action potentials in the myocardium.

Line of Research Biosensors, in which Bioelectronic and Biochemistry investigators participate. This Line, which has performings already working at an industrial level and various projects in a developing phase, gives sence to the Integrated Laboratory as a multiple discipline team. The integration of the Bioelectronic and Biochemistry Areas in a unique laboratory with the aim of developing Biosensors, is at an international level almost the only example at this field, and guarantees the fast exchange of information and technology between both Areas, essential in the development of Biosensors.

Production of Monoclonel Antibodies, for the specific necessities of the L.I.B. in the Biosensors Line, and also to give service to external institutions. This activity is developed by the Biochemistry Area staff, and it has already originated numerous collaborations with other research teams at a national and international level.

The Colorado Alliance for Bioengineering (CAB) is a consortium of local universities committed to producing a high quality workforce and enhancing bioengineering research and development in the state of Colorado. Biomedical engineering is the scientific discipline that applies engineering sciences solutions to life science questions. The promise of biomedical engineering research and its practical applications are to improve and extend the lives of persons throughout the world. CAB has its origins in meeting the need to encourage additional research and education in bioengineering combined with facilitating the complex task of developing devices, information programs and systems usable by health related organizations. CAB goals are:

For Research – Establish world-class stature and global leadership For Industry – Facilitate and provide innovations for the bioengineering and life sciences industries For Education – Facilitate and support the establishment of multi-institutional inter-disciplinary bioengineering education programs, lectures and seminars.

what is bioengineering? Bioengineering integrates physical, chemical, or mathematical sciences and engineering principles for the study of biology, medicine, behavior, or health. It advances fundamental concepts, creates knowledge for the molecular to the organ systems levels, and develops innovative biologics, materials, processes, implants, devices, and informatics approaches for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, for patient rehabilitation, and for improving health.

Food spoilage has been an important problem throughout human history. Finding ways to overcome this problem was crucial as communities became larger and individuals no longer grew their own food. Some kind of system was needed to maintain the nutrient content of various food stuffs for long periods of time and prevent them from rotting and becoming inedible. Early solutions to food spoilage Food spoilage is caused by the growth of microorganisms, primarily bacteria and fungi, that convert nutrients into energy which they use for their own growth. Depletion of the nutrient content of food as well as the secretion of byproducts from this biochemical process are two things which contribute to the spoilage of food rendering it inedible. Since ancient times, humans have used many methods to extend the shelf life of food although not always understanding how these processes worked. Salting and drying are two very simple techniques that prevent rotting; both make the food an inhospitable environment for microorganisms. Canning is another technique first developed in the late 18th century by Nicholas Appert, a French confectioner, who, after 15 years of research, realized that if food is sufficiently heated and then sealed in an air tight container it will not spoil. Here the heating of food, kills all residual microorganisms present in the food and immediate sealing prevents the reentry of other contaminanting organisms. Napoleon immediately put this discovery to work in his armed forces and awarded Appert a prize of 12,000 francs for his discovery. Later, an Englishman, Peter Durand, took the process one step further and developed a method of sealing food into unbreakable tin containers. This was perfected by Bryan Dorkin and John Hall, who set up the first commercial canning factory in England in 1813. In 1859, Louis Pasteur definitively showed that microorganisms were responsible for food spoilage for the first time. This discovery led to the coining of the term “pasteurization” to describe the process where liquids with the potential to spoil (milk in particular) are heated for preservation.

Fermentation In some cases, the growth of microorganisms in food can be put to good use for the production and preservation of various types of food. Fermentation is arguably the earliest example of biotechnology and refers to the metabolic process by which microbes produce energy in the absence of oxygen and other terminal electron acceptors in the electron transport chain such as fumarate or nitrate. In ancient times, it was considered as a way to both preserve food and to retain nutritional value. It was probably accidentally discovered in ancient Egypt when dough, made from ground up wheat and rye, was left for a period of time before cooking. In contrast to dough that was immediately cooked, it was observed that the aged dough expanded in size and when cooked produced tastier, lighter bread. The process was not completely reproducible: sometimes the uncooked dough yielded good bread and other times it did not. However if small amounts of good dough was added to the next batch, the bread was again tasty. The Romans went onto improve and perfect this process and popularized this sort of bread throughout the European continent. The discovery of fermentation in Egypt also led to the first production of wine and alcohol. All these discoveries were largely phenomenological and it would be another 3000 years before the exact cause of fermentation was uncovered. It was Louis Pasteur, again, in 1857 who was able to demonstrate that alcohol can be produced by yeast when grown in particular conditions. This discovery revolutionized the modern food industry: for the first time the agent of fermentation was identified and could be used commercially.

Biotechnol Prog, 2003 Jul-Aug, 19(4), 1183 - 9
Experimental and theoretical analysis of tubular membrane aeration for Mammalian cell bioreactors; Qi HN et al.; A combination of experimental and theoretical approaches was used to characterize the dynamics of oxygen transfer in a membrane-aerated bioreactor . Pressure profiles along the length of the membrane at varying entrance and exit pressures were determined by actual experimental measurements, unlike most previous studies that have relied solely on theoretical descriptions of the pressure profile in the tubing . The mass transfer coefficient, k(L)a, was also determined under these conditions and was found to be essentially independent of tubing exit pressure . Measurement of the tubing pressure profile coupled with estimation of k(L)a allowed for computation of the oxygen transfer rate (OTR) along the length of the tubing . A mathematical model that incorporated friction pressure loss and losses due to tubing bending was developed to describe the pressure and hence OTR characteristics of membrane-aerated systems . The applicability of the model was verified by testing it on experimentally measured pressure data, and in all cases the model accurately described experimental data . When tubing properties are known, the mathematical model presented in this study allows for a priori estimation of OTR profiles along the length of the tubing . This information is vital for optimal design and scale-up of membrane-aerated bioreactors for mammalian cell culture.

J Pediatr Surg, 2003 Aug, 38(8), 1188 - 93
Fetal tissue engineering: chest wall reconstruction; Fuchs JR et al.; BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: This study was aimed at applying fetal tissue engineering to chest wall reconstruction . METHODS: Fetal lambs underwent harvest of elastic and hyaline cartilage specimens . Once expanded in vitro, fetal chondrocytes were seeded onto synthetic scaffolds, which then were placed in a bioreactor . After birth, fetal cartilage constructs (n = 10) were implanted in autologous fashion into the ribs of all lambs (n = 6) along with identical, but acellular scaffolds, as controls (n = 6) . Engineered and acellular specimens were harvested for analysis at 4 to 12 weeks postimplantation . Standard histology and matrix-specific staining were performed both before implantation and after harvest on all constructs . RESULTS: Regardless of the source of chondrocytes, all fetal constructs resembled hyaline cartilage, both grossly and histologically, in vitro . In vivo, engineered implants retained hyaline characteristics for up to 10 weeks after implantation but remodeled into fibrocartilage by 12 weeks postoperatively . Mononuclear inflammatory infiltrates surrounding residual PGA/PLLA polymer fibers were noted in all specimens but most prominently in the acellular controls . CONCLUSIONS: Engineered fetal cartilage can provide structural replacement for at least up to 10 weeks after autologous, postnatal implantation in the chest wall . Fetal tissue engineering may prove useful for the treatment of severe congenital chest wall defects at birth.

J Biotechnol, 2003 Aug 15, 103(3), 237 - 48
Integration of distributed multi-analyzer monitoring and control in bioprocessing based on a real-time expert system; Cimander C et al.; A computer system solution for integration of a distributed bioreactor monitoring and control instrumentation on the laboratory scale is described . Bioreactors equipped with on-line analyzers for mass spectrometry, near-infrared spectroscopy, electrochemical probes and multi-array gas sensors and their respective software were networked through a real-time expert systems platform . The system allowed data transmission of more than 1800 different signals from the instrumentation, including signals from gas sensors, electrodes, spectrometer detectors, balances, flowmeters, etc., and were used for processing and carrying out a number of computational tasks such as partial least-square regression, principal component analysis, artificial neural network modelling, heuristic decision-making and adaptive control . The system was demonstrated on different cultivations/fermentations which illustrated sensor fusion control, multivariate statistical process monitoring, adaptive glucose control and adaptive multivariate control . The performance of these examples showed high operational stability and reliable function and meet typical requirements for production safety and quality.

Biochem Biophys Res Commun, 2003 Aug 15, 308(1), 94 - 100
Large-scale purification of an antibody directed against hepatitis B surface antigen from transgenic tobacco plants; Valdes R et al.; The application of bioengineering to plants for production of biological products for human and animal use has expanded in recent years . The reasons for this expansion are several and include advances in the technology for novel production systems and the need for very large quantities of therapeutic proteins . The process of growing pharmaceutical proteins in plants, extracting, and purifying is a hard task considering the lack of available information concerning these topics . In this work, a recombinant murine monoclonal antibody specific for the hepatitis B surface antigen, expressed in stably transformed transgenic Nicotiana tabacum plants, was purified by means of a recombinant protein A Streamline chromatography as the main purification step . The antibody expression level varied with the age of the plants and the number of harvests from 40 to 15microg/ml and the maximum process yield was about 25mg of plantibody/kg of biomass . Protein A Streamline chromatography was successfully used in the purification process yielding a recovery of about 60% and a plantibody SDS-PAGE purity of over 90% but unexpectedly, previous clarification steps could not be totally avoided . The amino acid sequence recognized by this affinity purified plantibody was similar to its murine counterpart verifying the potentiality of plants to replace animals or bioreactors for large-scale production of this monoclonal antibody.

Biochem Biophys Res Commun, 2003 Aug 15, 308(1), 58 - 63
Development of transgenic fish for ornamental and bioreactor by strong expression of fluorescent proteins in the skeletal muscle; Gong Z et al.; In the present study, new applications of the transgenic technology in developing novel varieties of ornamental fish and bioreactor fish were explored in a model fish, the zebrafish (Danio rerio) . Three “living color” fluorescent proteins, green fluorescent protein (GFP), yellow fluorescent protein (YFP), and red fluorescent protein (RFP or dsRed), were expressed under a strong muscle-specific mylz2 promoter in stable lines of transgenic zebrafish . These transgenic zebrafish display vivid fluorescent colors (green, red, yellow, or orange) visible to unaided eyes under both daylight and ultraviolet light in the dark . The level of foreign protein expression is estimated between 3% and 17% of total muscle proteins, equivalent to 4.8-27.2mg/g wet muscle tissue . Thus, the fish muscle may be explored as another useful bioreactor system for production of recombinant proteins . In spite of the high level of foreign protein expression, the expression of endogenous mylz2 mRNAs was not negatively affected . Furthermore, compared to the wild-type fish, these fluorescent transgenic fish have no advantage in survival and reproduction.

Biotechnol Lett, 2003 Jun, 25(12), 987 - 92
Stereoselective reduction of 2-substituted cyclohexanones by Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Zarevucka M et al.; A comparative study of two modifications of enzymic reduction of ethyl N-{2-{4-{(2-oxo-cyclohexyl)methyl}phenoxy}ethyl}carbamate (1), an insect juvenile hormone bioanalog, was performed using Saccharomyces cerevisiae in two bioreactors of different size, 250-ml shake-flask and 1-l fermenter . The two major products of this reduction were obtained in 45-49% (w/w) yields but with > 99% enantiomeric purity . Their absolute configurations were assigned as ethyl (1S,2S)-N-{2-{4-{(2-hydroxycyclohexyl)methyl}phenoxy}ethyl}carbamate (2a) and ethyl (1R,2S)-N-{2-{4-{(2-hydroxycyclohexyl)methyl}phenoxy}ethyl}carbamate (3a).

Biotechnol Lett, 2003 Jun, 25(12), 927 - 33
Biodegradation of nonylphenol in a continuous packed-bed bioreactor; Soares A et al.; A packed bed bioreactor, with 170 ml glass bead carriers and 130 ml medium, was tested for the removal of the endocrine disrupter, nonylphenol, with a Sphingomonas sp . The bioreactor was first continuously fed with medium saturated with nonylphenol in an attempt to simulate groundwater pollution . At best, nonylphenol was degraded by 99.5% at a feeding rate of 69 ml h(-1) and a removal rate of 4.3 mg nonylphenol day(-1), resulting in a 7.5-fold decrease in effluent toxicity according to the Microtox . The bioreactor was then fed with soil leachates at 69 ml h(-1) from artificially contaminated soil (1 g nonylphenol kg(-1) soil) and a real contaminated soil (0.19 g nonylphenol kg(-1) soil) . Nonylphenol was always completely removed from the leachates of the two soils . It was removed by 99% from the artificial soil but only 62% from real contaminated soil after 18 and 20 d of treatment, respectively, showing limitation due to nonylphenol adsorption.

Biotechnol Lett, 2003 Jun, 25(11), 853 - 7
Estimation of Chinese hamster ovary cell density in packed-bed bioreactor by lactate production rate; Sun XM et al.; A method is described for estimating recombinant Chinese hamster ovary (rCHO) cell density in a packed-bed bioreactor by lactate production rate . The lactate production rate, which depended on both the cell numbers and cell growth rate, was modeled by segregating the cell population into two parts: one growing at a maximum specific growth rate and another non-growing . The individual cell in each part had the same lactate production rate . The established rate equation of lactate production matched the experimental data reasonably well and could be used to estimate the cell growth in the batch culture with microcarriers . Furthermore, in the perfusion culture of rCHO cells in a packed-bed bioreactor, the final cell density, 1.3 x 10(10) cells l(-1), estimated by lactate production rate, was comparable to the direct sample counting of 1.2 x 10(10) cells l(-1), showing that lactate production rate method would be useful in tracing the cell growth in packed-bed bioreactors.

Biodegradation, 2003 Jun, 14(3), 229 - 40
Use of sulfate reducing cell suspension bioreactors for the treatment of SO2 rich flue gases; Lens PN et al.; This paper describes a novel bioscrubber concept for biological flue gas desulfurization, based on the recycling of a cell suspension of sulfite/sulfate reducing bacteria between a scrubber and a sulfite/sulfate reducing hydrogen fed bioreactor . Hydrogen metabolism in sulfite/sulfate reducing cell suspensions was investigated using batch activity tests and by operating a completely stirred tank reactor (CSTR) . The maximum specific hydrogenotrophic sulfite/sulfate reduction rate increased with 10% and 300%, respectively, by crushing granular inoculum sludge and by cultivation of this sludge as cell suspension in a CSTR . Operation of a sulfite fed CSTR (hydraulic retention time 4 days; pH 7.0; sulfite loading rate 0.5-1.5 g SO3(2-) l(-1) d(-1)) with hydrogen as electron donor showed that high (up to 1.6 g l(-1)) H2S concentrations can be obtained within 10 days of operation . H2S inhibition, however, limited the sulfite reducing capacity of the CSTR . Methane production by the cell suspension disappeared within 20 days reactor operation . The outcompetition of methanogens in excess of H2 can be attributed to CO2 limitation and/or to sulfite or sulfide toxicity . The use of cell suspensions opens perspectives for monolith or packed bed reactor configurations, which have a much lower pressure drop compared to air lift reactors, to supply H2 to sulfite/sulfate reducing bioreactors.

Biotechnol Bioeng, 2003 Sep 20, 83(6), 735 - 42
A novel method of simulating oxygen mass transfer in two-phase partitioning bioreactors; Nielsen DR et al.; An empirical correlation, based on conventional forms, has been developed to represent the oxygen mass transfer coefficient as a function of operating conditions and organic fraction in two-phase, aqueous-organic dispersions . Such dispersions are characteristic of two-phase partitioning bioreactors, which have found increasing application for the biodegradation of toxic substrates . In this work, a critical distinction is made between the oxygen mass transfer coefficient, k(L)a, and the oxygen mass transfer rate . With an increasing organic fraction, the mass transfer coefficient decreases, whereas the oxygen transfer rate is predicted to increase to an optimal value . Use of the correlation assumes that the two-phase dispersion behaves as a single homogeneous phase with physical properties equivalent to the weighted volume-averaged values of the phases . The addition of a second, immiscible liquid phase with a high solubility of oxygen to an aqueous medium increases the oxygen solubility of the system . It is the increase in oxygen solubility that provides the potential for oxygen mass transfer rate enhancement . For the case studied in which n-hexadecane is selected as the second liquid phase, additions of up to 33% organic volume lead to significant increases in oxygen mass transfer rate, with an optimal increase of 58.5% predicted using a 27% organic phase volume . For this system, the predicted oxygen mass transfer enhancements due to organic-phase addition are found to be insensitive to the other operating variables, suggesting that organic-phase addition is always a viable option for oxygen mass transfer rate enhancement .

Biotechnol Bioeng, 2003 Sep 20, 83(6), 681 - 6
Scalable inoculation strategies for microcarrier-based animal cell bioprocesses; Durrschmid M et al.; Scalability is a major demand for high-yield, stable bioprocess systems in animal cell culture-based biopharmaceutical production . Increased yields can be achieved through high-density cell culture, such as in the combination of microcarrier and fluidized bed bioreactor technology . To minimize inocula volume in industrial applications of fluidized bed fermentation systems, it is crucial to increase the bed volume in the reactor during the fermentation process . We tested scale-up strategy for the production of recombinant human arylsulfatase B (ASB) enzyme used in enzyme replacement therapy in patients afflicted with mucopolysaccharidosis type VI (MPS VI) . This enzyme was derived from Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells cultivated as adherent cell culture on Cytoline macroporous microcarriers (Amersham Biosciences, Uppsala, Sweden) using a Cytopilot Mini fluidized bed bioreactor (FBR; Amersham Biosciences, Vogelbusch, Austria) . Both 1:2 expansion (herein referred to as the addition of fresh, not-yet-colonized microcarriers) and 1:6 expansion of the carrier bed were performed successfully; the cells restarted to proliferate for colonizing these newly added carriers; and the stability of the culture was not negatively affected .

Biotechnol Bioeng, 2003 Sep 20, 83(6), 653 - 67
Scale-up of Artemisia annua L . hairy root cultures produces complex patterns of terpenoid gene expression; Souret FF et al.; Hairy roots grow quickly, reach high densities, and can produce significant amounts of secondary metabolites, yet their scale-up to bioreactors remains challenging . Artemisia annua produces a rich array of terpenoids, including the sesquiterpene, artemisinin, and transformed roots of this species provide a good model for studying terpenoid production . These cultures were examined in shake flasks and compared with cultures grown in two types of bioreactors, a mist reactor and a bubble column reactor, which provide very different environments for the growing roots . Mist reactors have been shown previously to result in cultures that produce significantly more artemisinin per gram fresh weight of culture, while bubble column reactors have produced greater biomass . We have compared expression levels of four key terpenoid biosynthetic genes: 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMGR), 1-deoxy-D-xylulose-5-phosphate synthase (DXS), 1-deoxy-D-xylulose-5-phosphate reductoisomerase (DXR), and farnesyl diphosphate synthase (FPS) in the three culture conditions . In shake flasks we found that although all four genes showed temporal regulation, only FPS expression correlated with artemisinin production . Light also affected the transcription of all four genes . Although expression in reactors was equivalent to or greater than that of roots grown in shake flasks, no correlation was found between expression level within six different zones of each reactor and their respective oxygen levels, light, and root-packing density . Surprisingly, transcriptional regulation of HMGR, DXS, DXR, and FPS was greatly affected by the position of the roots in each reactor . Thus, relying on a single reactor sample to characterize the gene activity in a whole reactor can be misleading, especially if the goal is to examine the difference between reactor types or operating parameters, steps essential in scaling up cultures for production .

Biotechnol Lett, 2003 Feb, 25(3), 245 - 9
Biooxidation of ferrous iron by immobilized Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans in poly(vinyl alcohol) cryogel carriers; Long ZE et al.; PVA-cryogels entrapping about 10(9) cells of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans per ml of gel were prepared by freezing-thawing procedure, and the biooxidation of Fe2+ by immobilized cells was investigated in a 0.365 l packed-bed bioreactor . Fe2+ oxidation fits a plug-flow reaction model well . A maximum oxidation rate of 3.1 g Fe2+ l(-1) h(-1) was achieved at the dilution rate of 0.4 h(-1) or higher, while no obvious precipitate was determined at this time . In addition, cell-immobilized PVA-cryogels packed in bioreactor maintained their oxidative ability for more than two months under non-sterile conditions.

Biotechnol Lett, 2003 Mar, 25(5), 417 - 20
A solid-state bioreactor coupled with forced aeration and pressure oscillation; Zhang X et al.; A novel design of a solid-state bioreactor, operated with periodic pressure oscillation coupled with forced aeration through the medium, gave efficient control of temperature . The evaluation of the bioreactor assembly with respect to temperature and cellulase production by Penicillium decumbens JUA 10 showed that, at 4 atm and the bed depth of 6 cm, the maximal temperature variation in the reactor was +1.5 degrees C at a set value of 30 degrees C compared with +6.8 degrees C in a static tray system . The highest cellulase and beta-glucosidase activities were 15 IU g(-1) and 51 IU g(-1) substrate dry matter at 96 h, respectively, while only 10 IU g(-1) and 24 IU g(-1) were obtained in the static tray culture system.

Biotechnol Lett, 2003 Jan, 25(1), 61 - 5
Biomass segregation in sage cell suspension culture; Bolta Z et al.; The biomass of sage (Salvia officinalis L.) cell suspension culture was composed of single cells and cell aggregates . The development of aggregated cell culture from a single-cell suspension was monitored by particle size distribution for four particle size classes . Particle size distribution was compared between the biomass grown in bioreactor and shake flasks . The size of the particles had a strong influence on content of secondary metabolite, ursolic acid (UA) . The single cell biomass fraction accumulated up to 7.7 mg UA g(-1) DW which was up to 50 times higher compared to aggregated biomass fractions.

Biotechnol Lett, 2003 Jan, 25(1), 39 - 45
Selective enrichment of Geobacter sulfurreducens from anaerobic granular sludge with quinones as terminal electron acceptors; Cervantes FJ et al.; A quinone-respiring, enrichment culture derived from methanogenic granular sludge was phylogenetically characterized by using a combined cloning-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) method, which revealed that the consortium developed was dominated by a single microorganism: 97% related, in a sequence of 1520 base pairs, to Geobacter sulfurreducens . The enrichment culture could grow with acetate, formate or H2 when humic acids, the humic model compound, anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate (AQDS), or chelated Fe(III) was provided as a terminal electron acceptor . The occurrence of a humic acid- or quinone-respiring microorganism in the microbial community of a wastewater treatment system suggests that this type of microorganisms may play a potential role in anaerobic bioreactors treating humus-containing wastewaters.

Biotechnol Lett, 2003 Jan, 25(2), 179 - 82
Suspension culture of hematopoietic stem cells in stirred bioreactors; Kwon J et al.; Hematopoietic stem cells have applications in bone marrow transplantations for the treatment of hematopoietic disorders . When murine hematopoietic stem cells were cultured in 50 ml stirred bioreactors for 14 d, stem-cell-antigen-1 positive cells (hematopoietic primitive progenitor cells) and long-term culture-initiating cells (hematopoietic stem cells) grew by 5-fold and 4-fold, respectively . These results show the possibility of growing hematopoietic stem cells using a stirred bioreactor.

Biotechnol Lett, 2003 Jan, 25(2), 133 - 8
H2 production with anaerobic sludge using activated-carbon supported packed-bed bioreactors; Lee KS et al.; Packed-bed bioreactors containing activated carbon as support carrier were used to produce H2 anaerobically from a sucrose-limiting medium while acclimated sewage sludge was used as the H2 producer . The effects of bed porosity (epsilon(b)) and substrate loading rate on H2 fermentation were examined using packed beds with epsilon(b) of 70-90% being operated at hydraulic retention times (HRT) of 0.5-4 h . Higher epsilon(b) and lower HRT favored H2 production . With 20 g COD l(-1) of sucrose in the feed, the optimal H2 production rate (7.4 l h(-1) l(-1)) was obtained when the bed with epsilon(b) = 90% was operated at HRT = 0.5 h . Flocculation of cells enhanced the retention of sludge for stable operations of the bioreactor at low HRTs . The gas products resulting from fermentative H2 production consisted of 30-40% H2 and 60-70% CO2 . Butyric acid was the primary soluble product, followed by propionic acid and valeric acid.

Biotechnol Lett, 2003 May, 25(10), 821 - 5
Induced reactive oxygen species improve enzyme production from Aspergillus niger cultivation; Sahoo S et al.; Intracellular reactive oxygen species (iROS) induction by HOCl was used as a novel strategy to improve enzyme productivities in Aspergillus niger growing in a bioreactor . With induced iROS, the specific intracellular activities of alpha-amylase, protease, catalase, and glucose oxidase were increased by about 170%, 250%, 320%, and 260%, respectively . The optimum specific iROS level for achieving maximum cell concentration and enzyme production was about 15 mmol g cell-1 . The type of iROS inducing the enzyme production was identified to be a derivative of the superoxide radical.

Expert Opin Biol Ther, 2003 Aug, 3(5), 705 - 13
Adipose tissue-derived therapeutics; Gimble JM; Human adipose tissue provides a uniquely abundant and accessible source of adult stem cells for applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine . The adult stem cells are isolated by collagenase digestion, differential centrifugation and subsequent adherence to a plasticware surface . Based on their immunophenotype, the cells are relatively homogeneous, with shared expression of integrin beta(1), the hyaluronate receptor, and the tetraspan protein CD9, among other markers . In response to chemical, hormonal or structural stimuli, the adipose-derived adult stem (ADAS) cells can differentiate along multiple lineage pathways, including adipocytes, chondrocytes, myocytes, neurons and osteoblasts . The cells can be transduced with viral vectors and have potential utility as gene delivery vehicles . Further studies will facilitate the clinical and commercial development of ADAS cells . First, it will be necessary to develop closed system bioreactors for the large-scale manufacture of ADAS cells . Second, methods that improve the vascularisation of in vivo implants will allow transplantation of larger engineered tissues . Finally, experiments must investigate the feasibility of transplanting allogeneic, as compared to autologous, ADAS cells for therapeutic applications . Based on the promising findings from adipose-derived and other adult stem cells to date, it is likely that future studies will address these challenges.

Heart Fail Rev, 2003 Jul, 8(3), 271 - 6
Cardiac tissue engineering, ex-vivo: design principles in biomaterials and bioreactors; Shachar M et al.; Cardiac tissue engineering has emerged as a promising approach to replace or support an infarcted cardiac tissue and thus may hold a great potential to treat and save the lives of patients with heart diseases . By its broad definition, tissue engineering involves the construction of tissue equivalents from donor cells seeded within 3-D biomaterials, then culturing and implanting the cell-seeded scaffolds to induce and direct the growth of new, healthy tissue . In this review, we present an up-to-date summary of the research in cardiac tissue engineering, with an emphasis on the design principles and selection criteria that have been used in two key technologies employed in tissue engineering, (1) biomaterials technology, for the creation of 3-D porous scaffolds which are used to support and guide the tissue formation from dissociated cells, and (2) bioreactor cultivation of the 3-D cell constructs during ex-vivo tissue engineering, which aims to duplicate the normal stresses and flows experienced by the tissues.

Rev Environ Contam Toxicol, 2003, 178, 93 - 164
Chromium-microorganism interactions in soils: remediation implications; Kamaludeen SP et al.; Discharge of Cr waste from many industrial applications such as leather tanning, textile production, electroplating, metallurgy, and petroleum refinery has led to large-scale contamination of land and water . Generally, Cr exists in two stable states: Cr(III) and Cr(VI) . Cr(III) is not very soluble and is immobilized by precipitation as hydroxides . Cr(VI) is toxic, soluble, and easily transported to water resources . Cr(VI) undergoes rapid reduction to Cr(III), in the presence of organic sources or other reducing compounds as electron donors, to become precipitated as hydroxides . Cr(VI)-reducing microorganisms are ubiquitous in soil and water . A wide range of microorganisms, including bacteria, yeasts; and algae, with exceptional ability to reduce Cr(VI) to Cr(III) anaerobically and/or aerobically, have been isolated from Cr-contaminated and noncontaminated soils and water . Bioremediation approaches using the Cr(VI)-reducing ability of introduced (in bioreactors) or indigenous (augmented by supplements with organic amendments) microorganisms has been more successful for remediation of Cr-contaminated water than soils . Apart from enzymatic reduction, nonenzymatic reduction of Cr(VI) can also be common and widespread in the environment . For instance, biotic-abiotic coupling reactions involving the microbially formed products, H2S (the end product of sulfate reduction), Fe(II) {formed by Fe(III) reduction}, and sulfite (formed during oxidation of elemental sulfur), can mediate the dissimilatory reduction of Cr(VI) . Despite the dominant occurrence of enzymatic and nonenzymatic reduction of Cr(VI), natural attenuation of Cr(VI) is not taking place at a long-term contaminated site in South Australia, even 225 years after the last disposal of tannery waste . Evidence suggests that excess moisture conditions leading to saturation or flooded conditions promote the complete removal of Cr(VI) in soil samples from this contaminated site; but Cr(VI) reappears, probably because of oxidation of the Cr(III) by Mn oxides, with a subsequent shift to drying conditions in the soil . In such environments with low natural attenuation capacity resulting from reversible oxidation of Cr(III), bioeremediation of Cr(VI) can be a challenging task.

Int J Artif Organs, 2003 Jun, 26(6), 507 - 13
Study of severe hepatitis treated with a hybrid artificial liver support system; Qian Y et al.; Artificial liver support system (ALSS) has been used to treat hepatic failure and has significantly decreased the mortality . TECA hybrid artificial liver support system (TECA-HALSS), which combines the hollow fiber bioreactor with a plasma exchange circuit, was used to assess the efficacy, safety and feasibility in treating severe hepatitis patients . The hybrid artificial liver support system (HALSS) consists of a bioreactor containing more than 5 x10(9) porcine hepatocytes and plasma exchange device . Fifteen patients with severe hepatitis were treated with this hybrid system . All patients experienced a reduction in symptoms such as fatigue, abdominal distention or ascites . After each treatment serum total bilirubin decreased markedly while prothrombin activity increased . There were ten patients whose progress of hepatocyte necrosis was stopped after HALSS treatment, and finally they recovered completely . One patient received liver transplantation after HALSS therapy and survived . No serious adverse events were noted in the fifteen patients.

Water Sci Technol, 2003, 47(10), 175 - 81
Automated sequencing batch bioreactor under extreme peaks of 4-chlorophenol; Bultron G et al.; The operation of a sequencing batch bioreactor is evaluated when high concentration peaks of a toxic compound (4-chlorophenol, 4CP) are introduced into the reactor . A control strategy based on the dissolved oxygen concentration, measured on line, is utilized . To detect the end of the reaction period, the automated system search for the moment when the dissolved oxygen has passed by a minimum, as a consequence of the metabolic activity of the microorganisms and right after to a maximum due to the saturation of the water (similar to the self-cycling fermentation, SCF, strategy) . The dissolved oxygen signal was sent to a personal computer via data acquisition and control using MATLAB and the SIMULINK package . The system operating under the automated strategy presented a stable operation when the acclimated microorganisms (to an initial concentration of 350 mg 4CP/L), were exposed to a punctual concentration peaks of 600 mg 4CP/L . The 4CP concentrations peaks superior or equals to 1,050 mg/L only disturbed the system from a short to a medium term (one month) . The 1,400 mg/L peak caused a shutdown in the metabolic activity of the microorganisms that led to the reactor failure . The biomass acclimated with the SCF strategy can partially support the variations of the toxic influent since, at the moment in which the influent become inhibitory, there is a failure of the system.

J Appl Microbiol, 2003, 95(2), 331 - 7
Xylitol production from high xylose concentration: evaluation of the fermentation in bioreactor under different stirring rates; Mussatto SI et al.; AIMS: To investigate the production of xylitol by the yeast Candida guilliermondii FTI 20037, in a bioreactor, from rice straw hemicellulosic hydrolysate with a high xylose concentration . METHODS AND RESULTS: Batch fermentation was carried out with rice straw hemicellulosic hydrolysate containing about 85 g xylose l(-1), in a stirred-tank bioreactor at 30 degrees C, under aeration of 1.3 vvm (volume of air per volume of medium per min) and different stirring rates (200, 300 and 500 rev min(-1)) . The bioconversion of xylose into xylitol by the yeast depended on the stirring rate, the maximum xylitol yield (YP/S = 0.84 g g(-1)) being achieved at 300 rev min-1, with no need to pretreat the hydrolysate for purification . CONCLUSIONS: To determine the most adequate oxygen transfer rate is fundamental to improving the xylose-to-xylitol bioconversion by C . guilliermondii . SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: For the microbial production of xylitol to be economically viable, the initial concentration of xylose in the lignocellulosic hydrolysate should be as high as possible, as with high substrate concentrations it is possible to increase the final product concentration . Nevertheless, there are few reports on the use of high xylose concentrations . Considering a process in bioreactor, from rice straw hemicellulosic hydrolysate, this is an innovator work.

Lett Appl Microbiol, 2003, 37(2), 149 - 53
Microalgal-luffa sponge immobilized disc: a new efficient biosorbent for the removal of Ni(II) from aqueous solution; Akhtar N et al.; AIMS: The aim was to develop a new, efficient and cost-effective biosorbent for the removal of heavy metals from aqueous solution . METHODS AND RESULTS: A new biosorbent was developed by immobilizing a unicellular green microalga Chlorella sorokiniana within luffa sponge discs and used for the removal of metal ions from aqueous solution . Microalgal-luffa sponge immobilized discs (MLIDs) removed Ni(II) very rapidly, with 97% of equilibrium loading being reached in 5 min . MLIDs were tested for their potential to remove Ni(II) from aqueous solution in fixed-bed column bioreactor . The regenerated MLIDs retained 92.9% of the initial binding capacity for Ni(II) up to five cycles of reuse . CONCLUSIONS: In this study for the first time, C . sorokiniana biomass immobilized within luffa sponge disc was successfully used as a metal biosorbent for the removal of Ni(II) . It appears that MLIDs can be used as an effective biosorbent for efficient removal of Ni(II) or other metals from aqueous solution . SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: MLIDs biosorption system was shown to have good biosorption properties with respect to Ni(II) . Efficient metal removal ability of MLIDs, low cost and simplicity of the technique used for the preparation of MILDs could provide an attractive strategy for developing high-affinity biosorption system for heavy metal removal.

Industrial processes using fermentation Fermentation by bacteria, yeast and mold is key to the production of fermented foods. Fermenting yeast produces the alcohol in beer and wine. In fact, the smell of fresh baked bread and rising dough can be attributed to alcohol produced from yeast. Fermentation is used to make many ethnic foods such as sauerkraut and miso. Soy sauce is produced by fermenting Aspergillus ortzae, a fungus, growing on soy beans. Erwinia dissolvens, another type of bacteria, is essential for coffee bean production; it is used to soften and remove the outer husk of beans. Finally, fermentation of milk produces most dairy products. Without microbes, we would not be able to eat many types of different food that we enjoy today. Table 1 shows example of several foods that are produced through fermentation with specific organisms.

In the majority of processes so far developed, the most effective, stable and convenient form for the catalyst has been the whole organism. It is for this reason that so much of biotechnology revolves around microbial processes. However, this does not exclude the use of higher organisms, in particular plant and animal cell culture that have played a vital role in the development of therapeutic and diagnostic biological products and will continue to play an increasingly important role in biotechnology.

The second part of the core of biotechnology deals with all aspects of the containment system or bioreactor within which the catalysts must function. Here the combined knowledge of the scientist and the bioprocess engineer interact, providing the design and instrumentation for the maintenance and control of physiochemical environment such as temperature, aeration, pH, etc., thus allowing the optimum expression of the biological properties of the catalyst.

The third aspect of the biotechnology, namely downstream processing, can be a technically difficult and expensive procedure. Downstream processing is primarily concerned with the initial separation of the bioreactor medium into a liquid phase and a solid phase, and subsequent separation, concentration and purification of the product. Chemical engineering principles play a vital role here as well in terms of designing and operation of the separation systems. Downstream processing costs can be as high as 60 - 70% of the selling price of the product as exemplified by the plant Eli Lilly built to produce human insulin. Over 90% of the 200 staff are involved in the recovery processes. Downstream processing represents a major part of the overall cost of most processes but is also the least glamorous aspect of biotechnology. Improvements in downstream processing will benefit the overall efficiency and cost of processes and will make the biotechnology competitive to the conventional chemical processes.

Taking a gene from one organism and inserting it into another is essentially a process of cutting the gene which codes for the trait of interest from the foreign organism and pasting this gene into the genome of the organism that you want to alter.

Let us use the insertion of B. thuringiensis genes into corn as an example. In order to cut out the gene of interest in the bacteria, its total DNA is isolated. Special enzymes, called restriction endonucleases, act as scissors to cut out the desired gene. These enzymes are sensitive to the DNA sequence and will only cut DNA at specific spots. There are many different enzymes that cut in different places, so the enzyme used depends on the sequence of DNA surrounding the desired gene.

Once the gene is cut out, scientists must make an “expression cassette.” This consists of additional DNA surrounding the gene so that the corn cell knows where the gene of interest begins and ends. The part that tells the corn cell where the gene begins is called the promoter and the end, the terminator. Once the expression cassette has been made, it is inserted into a plasmid. The plasmid is a parasitic circle of DNA present in bacteria. By putting the cassette into a plasmid, millions of copies of it can be made. These copies are then introduced into the host cell and get inserted into the genome. Cells which have successfully incorporated the foreign gene into their genome are then expanded in cell culture and used to generate new plants.

The ethics of GM Foods GM foods have been the subject of much controversy. Advocates feel that GM foods will help provide food to the world’s continually expanding population. Since the number of people on earth keeps increasing (over 6 billion, and expected to double within 50 years), and the amount of land suitable for farming remains constant, more food must be grown in the same amount of space. Genetic engineering can make plants that will give farmers better yields through several different methods.

Crops can be harmed or destroyed by many different factors. Insects, weeds, disease, cold temperatures and drought can all adversely affect plants resulting in lower yields for the farmer. Genetic engineering techniques can be used to introduce genes, creating plants that are resistant or tolerant to these factors. Bt corn is an example of the introduction of a pest resistance gene. Monsanto has created strains of soybeans, corn, canola and cotton that are resistant to the weed-killer Roundup®. The weed-killer can be sprayed over the entire crop, killing all plants except the transgenic crop intended to be grown. Scientists have also taken a gene from a cold-water fish and introduced it into potatoes to protect the seedlings against sudden frost. These methods all create plants that are more likely to survive and be healthy, thereby increasing the production of farmer’s fields.

Genetic modification can also be used to change the properties of the crop, adding nutrients, making them taste better, or reducing the growing time. A good example of adding nutrients to food is the development of “golden” rice. Many countries in the world rely on rice as their primary food source. Unfortunately, rice is missing many essential vitamins and minerals, so people whose diet is based on rice are often malnourished. One of the most severe consequences of this is blindness caused by vitamin A deficiency. Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Institute for Plant Sciences genetically engineered rice, making it high in vitamin A. The group hoped to distribute the rice for free to any third world country requesting it.

Bioengineering integrates physical, chemical, biochemical and mathematical competencies and expertise with engineering approaches for applications in the field of biology, medicine, health and food industry.

Wiki: Mindfulness (psychology) (1/3

Modern clinical psychology and psychiatry since the 1970s have developed a number of therapeutic applications based on the concept of mindfulness(Pali sati or Sanskrit smriti) in Buddhist meditation.

Contents:
1. Definitions
2. History
3. Scientific research
4. Therapeutic applications of mindfulness
5. Mindfulness meditation in organizations
6. Learning mindfulness
7. See also
8. References
9. Bibliography
10. External links

1. Definitions

Bishop et al. (2004:232) regard psychological “mindfulness”, broadly conceptualized, as “a kind of nonelaborative, nonjudgmental, present-centered awareness in which each thought, feeling, or sensation that arises in the attentional field is acknowledged and accepted as it is”. They propose a two-component operational definition of “mindfulness”.

The first component involves the self-regulation of attention so that it is maintained on immediate experience, thereby allowing for increased recognition of mental events in the present moment. The second component involves adopting a particular orientation toward one’s experiences in the present moment, an orientation that is characterized by curiosity, openness, and acceptance. (2004:232)

The former mindfulness component of self-regulated attention involves conscious awareness of one’s current thoughts, feelings, and surroundings, which can result in metacognitive skills for controlling concentration. The latter mindfulness component of orientation to experience involves accepting one’s mindstream, maintaining open and curious attitudes, and thinking in alternative categories (developing upon Ellen Langer’s research on decision-making).

2. History

Although Buddhist meditation techniques originated as spiritual practices, they have a long history of secular applications. For instance, the Tang Dynasty Chan (Japanese Zen) and Huayan scholar-monk Zongmi (780-841) listed “Five Types of Meditation”, the first of which is for fanfu (Japanesebompu) 凡夫 “ordinary people”. Philip Kapleau explains:

Bompu Zen, being free from any philosophic or religious content, is for anybody and everybody. It is a Zen practiced purely in the belief that it can improve both physical and mental health. Since it can almost certainly have no ill effects, anyone can undertake it, whatever religious beliefs they happen to hold or if they hold none at all. Bompu Zen is bound to eliminate sickness of a psychosomatic nature and to improve the health generally. (1989:49)

Clinical research shows Buddhist mindfulness techniques can help alleviate anxiety^{[citation needed]}, stress^{[citation needed]}, and depression^{[citation needed]}

Teachers such as Thich Nhat Hanh ^[1] brought mindfulness to the attention of Westerners. Mindfulness and other Buddhist meditation techniques receive support in the West from figures such as the scientist Jon Kabat-Zinn, the teacher Jack Kornfield, the teacher Joseph Goldstein, the psychologist Tara Brach, the writer Alan Clements, and the teacher Sharon Salzberg, who have been widely^[who?] attributed with playing a significant role in integrating the healing aspects of Buddhist meditation practices with the concept of psychological awareness and healing. Psychotherapists have adapted and developed mindfulness techniques into several^[which?] promising^{[citation needed]}cognitive behavioral therapies..

3. Scientific research

Scientific research into mindfulness generally falls under the umbrella of positive psychology. Researchers in the field study the “conditions and processes that contribute to the flourishing or optimal functioning of people, groups, and institutions”. The study of mindfulness operates on the idea that by intentionally recognizing the potential of each small moment in a day, one can pursue a richer life experience that includes more novelty and less stress. Mindfulness is often used^{[by whom?]} synonymously with the traditional Buddhist processes of cultivating awareness as described above, but more recently^[when?] has been studied as a psychological tool capable of stress reduction and the elevation of several positive emotions or traits. In this relatively new field of western psychological mindfulness, researchers attempt to define and measure the results of mindfulness primarily through controlled, randomized studies of mindfulness intervention on various dependent variables. The participants in mindfulness interventions measure many of the outcomes of such interventions subjectively. For this reason, several mindfulness inventories or scales (a set of questions posed to a subject whose answers output the subject’s aggregate answers in the form of a rating or category) have arisen. The most prominent include:

the Attention Awareness Scale

the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory

the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills

the Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale. ^[2]

Through the use of these scales - which can illuminate self-reported changes in levels of mindfulness, the measurement of other correlated inventories in fields such as subjective well-being, and the measurement of other correlated variables such as health and performance - researchers have produced studies that investigate the nature and effects of mindfulness. The research on the outcomes of mindfulness falls into two main categories: stress reduction and positive-state elevation.

3. 1. Stress reduction

Human response to stressors in the environment produces emotional and physiological changes in individual human bodies in order to cope with that stress. ^[3] This process most likely evolved to help us attend to immediate concerns in our environment to better our chances of survival, but in modern society, much of the stress felt is not beneficial in this way. Stress has been shown to have several negative effects^{[citation needed]} on health, happiness, and overall wellbeing. (See stress (biology). One field of psychological inquiry into mindfulness is “mindfulness-based stress-reduction” or MBSR. Several studies have produced relevant findings:

Jain and Shapiro (2007) ^[4] conducted a study to show that mindfulness meditation may be specific in its ability to “reduce distractive and ruminative thoughts and behaviors”, which may provide a “unique mechanism by which mindfulness meditation reduces distress”.

Arch (2006) ^[5] found emotional regulation following focused breathing. A breathing group provided moderately positive responses to emotionally neutral visual slides, while “unfocused attention and worry” groups responded significantly more negatively to neutral slides.

Brown (2003) ^[6] found declines in mood disturbance and stress following mindfulness interventions.

Jha (2010) ^[7] found that a sufficient meditation training practice may protect against functional impairments associated with high-stress contexts.

Garland (2009) ^[8] found declines in stress after mindfulness interventions, which are potentially due to the positive re-appraisals of what were at first appraised as stressors.

3. 2. Elevation of positive emotions and outcomes

While much research centered on mindfulness seeks to reduce stress, another large body of research has examined mindfulness as a tool to elevate and sustain “positive” emotional states as well and their related outcomes:

Fredrickson (2008) ^[9] studied the building of personal resources through increased daily experiences of positive emotions due to meditation. She found that meditation practice showed increases over time in purpose in live, social support, and decreased illness symptoms.

Davidson (2003) ^[10] found that mindfulness meditation increased brain and immune function in positive ways, but highlighted the need for additional research.

Brown (2009) ^[11] investigated subjective well-being and financial desire. He found that a large discrepancy between financial desires and financial reality correlated with low subjective well-being, but that the accumulation of wealth did not tend to close the gap. Mindfulness however was associated with a lower financial-desire discrepancy and thus a higher subjective well-being, so mindfulness may promote the perception of “having enough”.

Shao (2009) ^[12] used a randomized controlled study to illuminate the correlation between MBA candidates subjected to a mindfulness intervention and increased academic performance. He found mindfulness was positively related to performance for women.

Another study ^[13] showed both an increase in positive effects and a decrease in negative effects due to meditation. After a six-week training program in mindfulness meditation, participants showed “significant increases in left-sided anterior activation, a pattern previously associated with positive affect, in the meditators compared with the nonmeditators,” as well as a rise in antibody titer in response to an influenza vaccine. Both of these measures indicate that mindfulness meditation develops parts of the brain associated with a decrease in anxiety and “negative” affect as well as an increase in positive affect, and immune function. The participants who had meditated were also not meditating at the time that the tests were performed. ^[14]

3. 3. Future directions

The research leaves many questions still unanswered. First, much of the terminology used in such research has no cohesive definition. For example, there is a lack of differentiation between “attention” and “awareness” and an interchangeable use of the two in modern descriptions. Buddhist contemplative psychology however, differentiates more clearly, as “attention” in that context signifies an ever-changing factor of consciousness, while “awareness” refers to a stable and specific state of consciousness. ^[15] Western psychology needs to move towards more precise definitions, although it does not need to necessarily adopt the same definitions as Buddhism. Secondly, research will need to determine the operational concepts that get to the previously discussed conclusions from mindfulness, as currently most of the data is only correlational.

4. Therapeutic applications of mindfulness

Since 2006 research supports promising mindfulness-based therapies for a number of medical and psychiatric conditions, notably chronic pain(McCracken et al. 2007), stress (Grossman et al. 2004), anxiety and depression (Hofmann et al. 2010), substance abuse (Melemis 2008:141-157), and recurrent suicidal behavior (Williams et al. 2006). Bell (2009) gives a brief overview of mindful approaches to therapy, particularly family therapy, starting with a discussion of mysticism and emphasizing the value of a mindful therapist.

4. 1. Morita therapy

Main article: Morita therapy

The Japanese psychiatrist Shoma Morita, who trained in Zen meditation, developed Morita therapy upon principles of mindfulness and non-attachment.

4. 2. Gestalt therapy

Main article: Gestalt therapy

Since the beginnings of Gestalt therapy in the early 1940s, mindfulness, referred to as “awareness“, has been an essential part^{[citation needed]} of its theory and practice.

4. 3. Adaptation Practice

The British psychiatrist, Clive Sherlock , who trained in the traditional Rinzai School of Zen, developed Adaptation Practice (AP) in 1978 based on the profound mindfulness/awareness training of Zen daily-life practice and meditation. Adaptation Practice is used^{[by whom?]} for long-term relief of depression, anxiety, anger, stress and other emotional problems. ^[16] ^[17]

4. 4. Mindfulness-based stress reduction

Main article: Mindfulness-based stress reduction

Jon Kabat-Zinn developed the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) over a ten-year period at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He (1990:11) defines the essence of MBSR: “This “work” involves above all the regular, disciplined practice of moment-to-moment awareness or mindfulness, the complete “owning” of each moment of your experience, good, bad, or ugly.” Kabat-Zinn explains the non-Buddhist universality of MBSR:

Although at this time mindfulness meditation is most commonly taught and practiced within the context of Buddhism, its essence is universal. … Yet it is no accident that mindfulness comes out of Buddhism, which has as its overriding concerns the relief of suffering and the dispelling of illusions. (2005:12-13)

MBSR has clinically proven beneficial for people with depression and anxiety disorders.^{[citation needed]} This mindfulness-based psychotherapy is practiced as a form of complementary medicine in over 200^{[citation needed]} hospitals, and is currently the focus of numerous research studies funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

Mindfulness Practices: Medical Applications

Piero Dolara
Professor of Toxicology, Department of Pharmacology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy. E-mail: piero.dolara@unifi.it

Abstract
Mindfulness Practices are techniques originating from Oriental religions, introduced to the West for nearly a century, but only recently accepted by enlightened personalities in the medical profession. Experimental research on the effects of Mindfulness Practices has produced particularly interesting results in the field of neuroscience, where neuroimaging has documented profound variations in the cerebral functions during meditation. This is likely the basis of many of its medical effects. Mindfulness practices are very effective in the control of pain, since they interfere with the neuronal transmission of painful stimuli and reduce unpleasant emotional components associated with pain in the central nervous system.

Mindfulness practices, led by an experienced teacher, begin with breathing exercises (Anapanasati), followed by a “Body Scan”, in which the subjects are guided to observe and later may draw on paper the images of the principal vital energy centres. Problematic areas are usually identified by strong colours and strange shapes. During sessions of “Transformative Mindfulness”, a full acceptance of the problematic areas is induced associated with a strong desire of self healing, leading to a reduction of symptoms and, at times, to a partial or total cure of the disease. The application of Mindfulness Practices is manifold: cardiovascular diseases, metabolic syndromes, hypertension, psoriasis, psychiatric diseases, migraine headaches, epilepsy, depression, bipolar disorders and drug addiction. In many clinical situations the effects of Mindfulness Practices are interesting, but anecdotal, and require further confirmation. As a whole they offer new therapeutic approach which deserves to be studied with modern methods in controlled, double blind, randomized clinical trials.

Introduction

Mindfulness Practices are techniques which focus on mind control that originate from old Oriental philosophies and religions. Although they have been introduced to the West for nearly a century, their therapeutic applications have become of scientific interest only in the last few years.

Without even considering the numerous popular press reports on this topic, by now there are about 1,500 articles published in international scientific journals regarding the therapeutic effects of meditation. In this field a branch of the U.S. National Institute of Health (the National Centre for Complementary and Alternative Medicine,
http://nccam.nih.gov/) supports specific research and programs for the education of medical and paramedical personnel. In Canada, Australia and the United States several health institutes use meditation in their alternative therapy programs. Jon Kabat-Zinn is the director of one of the most famous active centres in this field: the Stress Reduction Unit of the Clinical Center, University of Massachusetts, Boston, U.S.A (http://umassmed.edu/behavmed/faculty/kabat-zinn.cfm). Kabat-Zinn was the first to form a group of healthcare personnel that uses “Mindfulness practices” for therapy of mental disorders, neurological and cardiovascular diseases and chronic pain control in a large University hospital. The promising results are published in many scientific journals.1

Shinzen Young works in California and is also well known for using meditation techniques against chronic pain. Shinzen Young (http://www.shinzen.org/) has written fewer scientific articles in medical journals, but many books and articles in the popular press on this subject, and has made a collection of wonderful CDs on long distant teaching of meditation techniques.

Meditation techniques are not only used in famous clinical centres but also in numerous medical contexts, as shown by the results published in scientific journals (750 articles in Medline in just the last seven yearshttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/)

Brief Historical Background

One of the main origins of the teachings and beliefs described by the words “Mindfulness Practices” is linked with one of the most tragic events of the last sixty years: the Chinese invasion of Tibet that led to the diaspora of hundreds of thousands of people and to an attempted cultural genocide by the Chinese government.

The origin of Tibetan Buddhism traces back centuries after the death of its founder (Siddhartha, 5th century B.C.),when religious men and philosophers migrated from India to Tibet and other east-Asian countries. In Tibet, a number of practices and doctrines were developed in complete isolation and in harsh environmental conditions. Before the recent Chinese invasion the Buddhist Tibetan beliefs were handed down both in orally and in written religious treatises that were kept in monastic libraries. Every year, for more than ten centuries, all the most influential monks were invited to write essays, the best of which were transcribed and conserved, while the worst were “tied to the tail of a dog”, a habit that should be applied to scientific publications also today. The dialectical process, which was widely cultivated in the Tibetan monasteries and the philosophical texts, were articulated and as complex as holy texts of the Christian or Jewish religion. These were studied and discussed with an undogmatic approach which reminds us of the Socratic method and the debates of the early Christian Church Fathers.

The Chinese invasion interrupted this original cultural process by killing, imprisoning and banning the monks, by burning their libraries and by persecuting their culture and ancient teachings. A few monks were able to escape to India with the, at the time, young Dalai Lama.

The most important philosophical treatises of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition have been translated into English during the diaspora of the last 50 years, and this ancient culture has been diffused around the world by the surviving master teachers, called Lamas, in seminars and retreats.

The Dalai Lama is the most famous representative of this older generation of religious thinkers, a generation that unfortunately is now aging and dying. As happens to all diaspora refugees, the Tibetans had to adapt to new environments and interact with different cultures and values, both in their community in exile in India and in the rest of the world.

What happened in Tibet may remind us of the dispersal of the Hebrews and Christians from Palestine after the destruction of Jerusalem and the Reign of Judah, in the 1st century A.D. When Christ’s followers, whether Hebrew or not, had to take refuge in Roman cities, they adapted the teachings of early Christianity to the Roman Empire’s culture and tradition, and started using the languages that were most common at the time in the Mediterranean lands. This explains why the Gospels were not written in Aramaic but first in Greek and then in Latin.

The originality of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy and mental awareness techniques is partly due to the fact that the Tibetan intellectuals were geographically and culturally isolated for more than ten centuries. On the other hand, this particular Buddhist culture has successfully spread throughout the world after the recent Chinese invasion because the most important classic works and teachings by the Lamas have been translated, or written, in English. The Tibetan Buddhist philosophical view shares some beliefs with other important religions (the immortality of the soul, the transmigration of all living beings etc.) but it also embraces principles that can have universal applications in different cultures.

The core of these applications, rooted in ancient Indian philosophies, is the practice of mind control (commonly known as “meditation technique”) and the control of mental interactions using codified exercises. These applications have now been used in medicine and psychology. They are similar in a way to the ascetic practices of Christian Saints, which have been slowly abandoned throughout the centuries in western cultures. During early Christianity ascetic practices were seen as the way of obtaining holiness and eternal salvation. In Tibetan Buddhist culture, individual salvation is achieved by following a “path” which purifies and frees the mind from pain and negative passions (envy, malice, greed).

In the “path to liberation” great attention is dedicated to mind control techniques. These techniques are achieved by codified practices, taught by Lamas and then by laymen wherever there are cultural and religious activities belonging to this tradition. The Dalai Lama in recent time has also encouraged research on the neurological effects of meditation and their potential applications in medical contexts. This is why he was invited to The Neuroscience Meeting in 2005 as the “Keynote Lecturer”. (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5008565) In an interview that took place after this meeting, he said “If science demonstrates that a Buddhist teaching is wrong, then we will change that teaching”. This is certainly an exceptional (and encouraging) stand considering it was taken by the leader of one of the world’s most important and ancient religions.

Some therapeutic results of Mindfulness

Medical research on Mindfulness techniques has achieved especially interesting results in the field of neuroscience, where neuroimaging methods have documented variations in the cerebral functions in people that practice meditation.2,3 In practical medicine, meditation is mostly applied to pain control and support therapies for patients with cardiovascular diseases. Concerning the analgesic effect of meditation, a study has recently proved through imaging techniques on healthy volunteers that there is a 40-50% reduction in the thalamus and the prefrontal cortex of the response evoked by peripheral activation of pain pathways using meditation techniques.4

Still the application of techniques of “Mindfulness” to pain treatment is based not only on neurophysiologic effects that have not been documented until recent years but also on mental modulation of the pain syndrome. In this case, the peripheral component (the activation of that part of the nervous system which processes pain information, known as the “nociceptive system”) is always associated with activation of numerous cerebral areas that “enrich” the pain sensation with important emotive components. Pain is essential to maintain the integrity of the organism and the stimulation of the nociceptive fibers (the fibers that carry pain signals from the periphery to the brain) activates a series of emotions and behavioural reactions with the aim of averting the harmful stimulus. So pain is an authoritative, if unpleasant, adviser and not a displeasing and useless nuisance.
Some of the typical unpleasant emotions that follow physical suffering (anxiety, anguish, denial, depression) have multiple effects on the nociceptive system. Transformative mindfulness can control the psychological components of pain, whereas only the nociceptive system is the target of analgesic drugs.

It is useful to remember that morphine and its synthetic derivates are powerful analgesics because they not only affect the transmission of the nervous impulse but they also interact with the emotional component of pain (they do not erase the pain sensations but they make them bearable, as the old pharmacology textbooks say).

Transformative mindfulness techniques interfere with the transmission of the nociceptive impulse4 like morphine and control the emotional component associated with the pain sensation.5 A possible explanation for this double effect can be found in some observations of the 90s (which require further confirmation) where meditation techniques have proven to increase the level of circulating endorphins and corticotrophin releasing factor.6,7

Whichever way these mechanisms work, the clinical experience of the medical centres that use mindfulness methods show that these techniques help many patients to control pain.
The application of meditation techniques in the cardiovascular sector is widespread in the USA and Canada and clinically controlled research is beginning to appear in the international literature. One of these articles, recently published, demonstrates that patients with coronary diseases8 and metabolic syndrome 9, thanks to the use of meditation techniques, obtain a considerable reduction in arterial pressure 10, resistance to insulin11 and variations of cardiac rhythm.12 Interesting results were obtained in dermatological diseases with psychosomatic causes such as psoriasis.13
In the sector of cardiovascular pathologies, documented data of the beneficial effects of meditation is relatively copious, but not of high scientific quality (130 articles published in Medline up to now), and recently this was the subject of an authoritative article in an American Medical Journal.14 This publication underlined the need for further clinically controlled studies.

As stated before, in addition to pain control and cardiovascular diseases, meditation techniques have been applied to many other different fields (psychiatric diseases, migraine headaches, epilepsy, depression, metabolic syndrome, hypertension, bipolar disorders and drug addiction). In many cases reported data on meditation effects are interesting but anecdotal and require further confirmation by clinically controlled trials.

The demonstration of the multiple alleged medical effects of meditation understandably perplexes some western physicians, who are used to not trusting therapies that “resolve” too many problems. However, the human nervous system, with 100 billions of cells and 10,000 billions of synapses, is a complex machine of which we still have imperfect knowledge. Meditation techniques control the functioning of this machine on many levels and this necessarily involves various biological effects and influences many pathological processes, especially if associated with a stress component.

The best scientific attitude to maintain about meditation techniques, or other “unconventional” medical practices, is, on the opinion of the writer of this article, to accept the data when scientifically documented with solid methodological approaches and when obtained in clinically controlled studies that include placebo treatments (double-blind, placebo-controlled trials).

A practical course in “Trans-formative Practice” in Florence, Italy

“Transformative Mindfulness” methods are still imperfectly known in Europe in general and in Italy in particular.

This explains why in 2007 we have organized in the Department of Pharmacology of the University of Florence, a series of seminars on pain and emotion control. Some other Italian Universities had similar seminars with the participation of John Kabat Zinn.
The seminars in Florence were held by an experienced teacher now practicing in Canada and in other countries around the world (Dekyi-Lee Oldershaw (http://dlo-consulting.wordpress.com;http://word.press.com/contact). She has trained professionals in “Transformative Mindfulness” in different countries and has organized, a rehabilitation program for patients with cardiovascular diseases in Australia. At the Toronto McMaster University Medical Center (one of the most important Canadian research hospitals), she has consulted their Palliative Care Consultation Team and these methods have also been used to compliment treatment of multiple sclerosis.

It might seem strange that a Pharmacology Department in a public University would host activities like “Transformative Mindfulness”, because the main task of pharmacologists is to discover new drugs and explain how they work. But pharmacology is an open-minded science that accepts input from many disciplines, and many pharmacologists are not afraid of trying alternative approaches to drug therapy, although they are confident of the status of therapists with chemical substances, which, after all, have been the mainstay of medical treatment in the last 2,500 years. Besides, pain is one of the main research objects of neuropharmacology. Consequently, Transformative Mindfulness techniques can become an additional contribution, that can complement drug-oriented pain treatments by enhancing the effect of chemical analgesics and giving physicians further therapeutic possibilities when drugs do not work or do not work anymore (and this is often the case in chronic pain).

Principal forms of transformative mindfulness

There are a number of Transformative Mindfulness techniques. They are not completely standardized, and while they are relatively simple, they are not banal. These techniques can be taught by experts to specialized healthcare personnel.

The Boston Centre of Kabat-Zinn accepts patients in mindfulness meditation programs only if they are willing to undergo at least one hour a day of practice for a minimum of six months. In fact some of these practices do not have any effect if not done on a regular, daily basis. They may encounter difficulties, barriers and cultural prejudices, since the common values of our society encourage behaviour that is the opposite of what meditation techniques offer: extroversion vs. introversion, agitation vs. mental tranquillitty, distraction vs. concentration, aggression vs. love, ego-centricity vs. empathy.

On the other hand, the presence of a disease often rings a bell that changes our way of dealing with life’s difficulties. The American and Canadian experiences have proven that Mindfulness also works when practiced by people in stressful occupations such as corporate chiefs, lawyers, etc. Presumably these techniques could also be efficacious in European countries, provided that individuals are highly enough motivated to want to learn them.

The first aims common to most Mindfulness methods are the attainment of a state of inner peace, the control over any distractions of the mind and the capacity to focus and refine one’s attention. This is obtained through variations of the “Anapanasati” techniques, a Sanskrit term where “anapa” means breathing in and out and “sati” means awareness. The position assumed during these practices has to be comfortable, with the vertebrae of the back vertical and aligned in order to achieve a relaxed posture (this position in western individuals is more successfully obtained when sitting in a chair with a straight back). After having assumed this posture an instructor teaches the pupils how to control the flow of their minds, while focusing their attention on breathing and forcing away the constant whirl of thoughts that pursue us in every moment of life. The Anapanasati instructions are apparently simple, but learning them thoroughly requires many years of practice, since their level of difficulty progresses in terms of complexity and mental control.

For medical applications it is sufficient to know about the first levels that can be learned in a few sessions (such as techniques which control breathing) and focusing one’s attention on simple body images.

Breathing is a simple rhythmic activity. Intense attention focused on this rhythmic process induces a synchronization of cerebral activity that controls the intellect and emotions. Anapanasati is therefore an activity very similar to music, rhythmic exercise, ritual prayers, but more powerful since it is conscious and directed. With experience it becomes a mental attitude which the user can call upon when needed to induce sleep in any environment, to calm one’s emotions during situations of conflict and stress, to control one’s cardiovascular system (cardiac rate and blood pressure) and to reduce and control pain.

Specific to Transformative Mindfulness methods, the initial focusing meditation phase of breathing is followed by the awareness practice known as “Body Scan”. The instructor leads the class through the observation of the principal vital organs and energy centres: the feet, the base (legs, hip-joints and rectal area), the sacral or pelvic area (genitals, bladder, lower intestine), the solar plexus (stomach, intestine, kidneys), the heart (heart, lungs and circulatory organs), the throat (throat, thyroid, trachea, mouth, teeth), the head (eyes, ears, pineal gland, brain), and, finally, the “crown” or area directly above our head (central nervous system, our connection to more inspired energy, our “soul”, our body energy, a bit like the halo of the Saints in medieval paintings).
Each participant is then invited to draw or document information or images related to each of these areas on a piece of paper using pencils and colours and to identify his own “problematic” areas. While healthy patients/participants have no or few problematic areas, those with disease usually mark these areas with strong patches of darker colour and shapes signifying challenges.

The Body Scan technique helps identify and characterize these problematic areas (dimension, colour, weight, pulsation) next to the perfectly healthy ones.

If the Body Scan is repeated every few days, it can help the patient to visualize the changes that happen in the different vital organs and areas of their body and act on them on a second level, the level of Transformative Mindfulness or mental transformation. In this second phase the visualization of the different areas, and especially the problematic ones, is followed by a series of mental procedures: the full acceptance, without judgment or critical observations, of the problematic area and the request for help (the demand to augment the spontaneous processes of recovery through the help of the other functional healthy centres, or for religious believers, by supplicating the intervention of a superior entity). Finally, the patient must release preconceived expectations of particular results, observe and allow resultant mental and physical changes. Reinforcement of his/her belief in the success of the process of recovery grows as positive results are observed either mentally, physically or both.

This procedure can have better therapeutic results if the patient is directed by an accepting, compassionate leader, mentor or practitioner for whom they have respect, who possibly has a deep understanding of meditation techniques. Anecdotal results suggest that the application of these techniques, first introduced in a group and then continued privately, can solve many pathological syndromes.

Through the use of various mindfulness methods, good results have been achieved on fibromyalgia15, irritable colon16, migraine17, depression18 and bipolar syndromes19. Unfortunately, as stated before, controlled clinical studies on adequate numbers of patients are still few.

In patients with chronic pain, the “Body Scan” practices help to convince him/her that, as long as there is life, every pathological problem acts only on some vital organs and not all of them. Regardless of the disease, the localized problem can become compatible with an acceptable quality of life. In fact, except in rare cases, Body Scan practices can produce a total body image where the healthy vital organs prevail over the problematic ones.
Specific practices exist for pain, based on the experiences of the Lamas, who usually have a great tolerance to physical suffering and discomfort.

The first of these practices is the acceptance and interpretation of pain as a signal separated from its emotional contents.

The second one is a critical analysis of peripheral pain sensation (location, density, colour, temperature, time fluctuation).

The third one is the mental dissociation of pain from its associated emotive components (impatience, fear, anger, sadness).

These practices, begun with the help of a teacher and then repeated privately, in the majority of patients start a process of mental control of primary pain sensations and permit the reduction or elimination of most adverse emotional reactions.

These procedures must be supervised by an expert, but they can also be followed through recorded vocal instructions and can be associated (but not necessarily) with the use of classical pain-killers with activity on the peripheral or central nociceptive functions.

Future prospects

“Transformative Mindfulness” techniques are offering new therapeutic approaches to medicine that deserve to be studied with modern methods of clinical and instrumental diagnosis in controlled clinical trials; after this verification they will be probably accepted in most areas of medicine as an useful supplement to classic pharmacological therapy.

On this ground it would be very useful if official western medicine would immediately draw physicians’ and patients’ attention to these techniques with special courses and, if possible, with clinically controlled research.

For this purpose many clinical centres and Universities are organising Mindfulness courses in Europe, Asia and America and some scientists are directing controlled clinical studies.
As scientists, doctors, health practitioners and patients, we should use any occasion to express our gratitude to the Lamas who have invented, improved and diffused their techniques of meditation and mind control all over the world.

Florence, Italy
October 21rst, 2008

(English translation by Mary Forrest, Teodora Dolara and Tommaso Poggi)

References
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GREAT NEWS! Dekyi-Lee Oldershaw’s proposal for her second book, Transform Problems into Life Force - four simple Keys to Self-Healing was selected in the first round of voting in a contest, Next Top Spiritual Author. Thank you to everyone who voted! She was one of the top 10% of 3,000 authors reviewed.

BREAKING NEWS for January 2011
REPORT: As a result of the first successful training of doctors and health professionals in Transformative Mindfulness methods at the University of Florence, Italy, which was hosted by the Pharmaceutical Department and Centre for Pain Management, Dekyi-Lee will be teaching Transformative Mindfulness methods as part of a Master’s Degree in Meditation and Mindfulness: Neuroscience and Clinical Application in the Helping Professions. The program has been approved at the University of Florence’s Department of Neurological and Psychiatric Sciences in Italy and is the first in the world to include these intervention methods. For more information, please email Dr. Piero Dolara, piero.dolara@unifi.it.

Watch Live Happy: Learning by Example

online articles and video interviews based on 16 Guidelines for Life - inspiring people in North America and UK. Add stories of your heroes. Order 16 Guidelines for Life book.

Medical and mental health professionals complete training in Transformative Mindfulness Methods at University of Florence, Department of Pharmacology, Italy.

Transformative Mindfulness can help you to change using the power of your mind - change your health and well-being with gentle transformation that leads to new insight and freedom from suffering that you experience from illness, mental health challenges, loss, life changes. We are an education community that offers simple, compassionate yet profound visualizations and meditations which begin with mindfulness then take you a step further with transformative steps.

These are self-help methods that get right to the heart of problems, transforming their fundamental inner causes. They have helped thousands around the world, of all ages, over the past 20 years and have their roots in ancient wisdom over 2,500 years old. With these methods, people of many philosophies, different religions or spiritual understanding have accessed solutions through the wisdom reflected in their own beliefs and understanding of neuroscience.

Our goal is to help you and others around the world to support each other, as you heal your life, then begin to share these light and easy methods with others. You can do this by experimenting with our free exercises. Print them from this website without limitation. Or help yourself by listening to our CDs, joining courses and training as facilitators. In time, we will provide on-line education, training and support so that compassion and understanding spreads universally.

Lamp On The Path’s program of Transformative Mindfulness,is based in Canada and developed byDekyi-Lee Oldershaw. It has been showcased internationally by the Foundation for Developing Compassion and Wisdom, an international education foundation whose patron is His Holiness The Dalai Lama. Visit Essential Education. Our most recent focus has been to train youth to help youth (to donate to our youth bursaries,visit the Shop), medical, health and social work professionals. Training and workshops have been hosted in Italy, Denmark, Scotland, Australia, France, Malaysia and Canada.

We are one of the only sources of Facilitator Training in the Five Tibetan Yogas, as taught by ZaChoeje Rinpoche. With a foundation in Tibetan Buddhism, this is a profound set of flowing exercises that increase your energy and joy in your pursuit of happiness. Facilitators are now trained in Canada, USA and UK.

Program are offered by Deky-Lee Oldershaw and certified facilitators in many locations internationally.
Our main location is The Centre For Compassion and Wisdom 3445 Lakeshore Road, Burlington, Ontario

Lynx Fine-Resolution Realtime synthetic-aperture radar (SAR)
on a General Atomics I-GNAT

20/20 Vision Even On a Cloudy Day
Scandia Technology v.1, n.4 Winter99-00

Lynx, a new fine-resolution, realtime synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) system, has been unveiled by Sandia National Laboratories and General Atomics of San Diego.

Designed to be mounted on both manned aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), the 115-pound SAR is a sophisticated all-weather sensor capable of providing photographic-like images through clouds, rain or fog and in daytime or nighttime conditions, all in real-time. The SAR produces images of extremely fine resolution, far surpassing current industry standards for synthetic-aperture radar resolution. Depending on weather conditions and imaging resolution, the sensor can operate at a range of up to 85 kilometers.

Sandia researcher Bill Hensley checks the
Lynx synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) installed on a
General Atomics I-GNAT unmanned aerial vehicle.

“The Lynx represents a breakthrough on many fronts,” said Bill Hensley, Sandia project leader. “Because the image resolution is so fine and the instrument itself is so lightweight, it represents a technology breakthrough. The real-time, interactive nature of the radar and the innovative operator interface make it a breakthrough for meeting the ease-of-use needs of frontline military users. And because Sandia developed the technology and successfully transferred it to General Atomics, the Lynx radar also is a technology-transfer success story.”

Mike Reed, Lynx program manager at General Atomics, said that Sandia and General Atomics joined forces in 1996 when the San Diego-based company (whose Aeronautical Systems, Inc. affiliate builds a line of unmanned aerial vehicles) wanted to develop an advanced, lightweight SAR system. General Atomics provided the funds to Sandia, which already had a sophisticated SAR, to implement an enhanced design as a commercial product and deliver two prototype units together with licenses and manufacturing information to produce the unit.

The Lynx radar image shows
the Rio Grande Valley

General Atomics and Sandia spent the next three years working together to refine and enhance the SAR into a lightweight, user-friendly system with extended range and much higher resolution. General Atomics has commenced production of subsequent units for commercial sales.

The new SAR will enhance the surveillance capability of the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems UAVs and other reconnaissance aircraft, which previously were equipped only with cameras, infrared sensors, and oldergeneration SAR equipment. “Cameras provided good data, but they don’t work at night or in rainy, foggy, and cloudy situations,” Hensley said. “Fineresolution- image SAR radar is perfect for these circumstances because it can ‘see’ in the dark and peer through clouds and fog.”

Flying at an altitude of 25,000 feet, the Lynx SAR can produce one-footresolution imagery at standoff distances of up to 55 kilometers. At a resolution of four inches, the radar can make images of scenes 25 kilometers away (about 16 miles) even through clouds and light rain.

The radar operates in Ku band with a center frequency of about 16.7 GHz, although the precise value can be tuned to prevent interference with other emitters.

Lynx introduces several new characteristics and functions. In addition to being very lightweight, the radar can detect very small changes in a scene by using a technique called coherent change detection. It also will be able to detect moving targets.

Sandia and General Atomics worked to make Lynx as much like an optical system to use as possible. The radar forms an image covering an area larger than that displayed, storing it in cache memory. This allows the operator to pan around within the total scene to concentrate on a particular area of interest. The radar’s fine resolution allows it to detect small surface penetrations — even footprints in a soft terrain.

Lynx has been flown successfully for more than 140 hours on a Department of Energy plane and on the General Atomics I-GNAT. In all testing, the SAR worked with the precision expected. Sandia and General Atomics continue to explore ways to improve the Lynx. Future upgrades could include an inverse SAR mode for imaging of seaborne targets, interferometric SAR (requiring the use of two antennas) for threedimensional imaging, the ability to cue other sensors, and radio-frequency tagging — both for combat identification and for precision-strike applications. Additional “cognitive” enhancements are planned to make interpretation of the radar image more user friendly.

General Atomics, founded in 1955, is involved in high-technology nuclear energy, commercial, and defense-related research and development. Affiliated manufacturing and commercial service companies include General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., which builds the family of Predator, GNAT, Prowler, and Altus UAVs.

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10/12/10

Supreme Court rules in favour of BSP in election symbol case. ELEPHANT symbol to remain with BSP. Congress’s manuvadi conspiracy fails. Jai Bheem-GopinathBSP Karnataka-PraBuddha Bharath’s First Satellite Buddhist TV Channel ‘LORD BUDDHA TV’ in all languages starting on 14 Oct 2010 from DIKSHABUMI, Nagpur. For more Info contact 9930360568.If BSP is empowered with the MASTERKEY all the TV Channels will turn out to be ‘LORD BUDDHA TV’ and the Media will support the same for PEACE,WELFARE and HAPPINESS of all Sentient and Non-Sentient Beings.-LESSON 56 MINDFULNESS 12 10 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY-Anyone Can Attain Ultimate Bliss Just Visit:http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org-”There is a way to be purified, to overcome sorrows and grief, to release suffering, to secure the right path to realize nibbana. This is to be mindful.”- The Buddha-BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!-WISDOM IS POWER-Buddhism won “The Best Religion In The World” award

Filed under: General
Posted by: site admin @ 12:25 am

Supreme Court rules in favour of BSP in election symbol case. ELEPHANT symbol to remain with BSP. Congress’s manuvadi conspiracy fails. Jai Bheem-GopinathBSP Karnataka

PraBuddha Bharath’s First Satellite Buddhist TV Channel ‘LORD BUDDHA TV’ in all languages starting on 14 Oct 2010 from DIKSHABUMI, Nagpur. For more Info contact 9930360568.

If BSP is empowered with the MASTERKEY all the TV Channels will turn out to be ‘LORD BUDDHA TV’ and the Media will support the same for (SARVAJAN HITAY, SARVAJAN SUKHAY) HAPPINESS PEACE,WELFARE and of all Sentient and Non-Sentient Beings.

LESSON 56 MINDFULNESS 12 10 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY

Anyone Can Attain Ultimate Bliss Just Visit:http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org

“There is a way to be purified, to overcome sorrows and grief, to release suffering, to secure the right path to realize nibbana. This is to be mindful.”- The Buddha

BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!

WISDOM IS POWER

Awakened One Shows the Path to Attain Ultimate Bliss

COMPUTER IS AN ENTERTAINMENT INSTRUMENT!

INTERNET!

ENTERTAINMENT NET!

TO BE MOST APPROPRIATE!

Using such an instrument

The Free ONLINE e-Nālandā Research and Practice University has been re-organized to function through the following Schools of Learning :

Buddha’s Sangha Practiced His Dhamma Free of cost, hence the Free- e-Nālandā Research and Practice University follows suit

As the Original Nālandā University did not offer any Degree, so also the Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University.

§ Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , Indian scholar, philosopher and architect of Constitution of India, in his writing and speeches

I.
KAMMA

AWAKEN-NESS

II.
ARHAT

TWELVEFOLD CONDITIONED ARISING

III.

IV.

FOUR APPLICATIONS OF MINDFULNESS

FIVE TYPES OF BUDDHIST STUDY AND PRACTICE

MAHAYANA AND HINAYANA COMPARED

PURE LAND

BUDDHA RECITATION

EIGHT CONSCIOUSNESSES

VI.

with

Level I: Introduction to Buddhism

Level II: Buddhist Studies

TO ATTAIN

Level III: Stream-Enterer

Level IV: Once - Returner

Level V: Non-Returner
Level VI: Arhat

Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in

mathematics,

astronomy,

alchemy,

and

anatomy

Philosophy and Comparative Religions;

Historical Studies;

International Relations and Peace Studies;

Business Management in relation to Public Policy and Development Studies;

Languages and Literature;

and Ecology and Environmental Studies

Welcome to the Free Online e-Nālandā Research and Practice University

Course Programs:

MINDFULNESS

“When I was a young man, near the beginning of my life, I looked around with true mindfulness and saw that all things are subject to decay. Thus all things are subject to death, sorrow and suffering. I became aware that I too was of the same nature, the nature of beginning and end. What if I searched for that which underlies all creation, that which is nibbana, the perfect freedom from unconditioned existence?”

“After much seeking for truth and knowledge the profoundness of reality came to me with a clarity never before known. I knew that most people never see this reality because they attach to the material aspect of the world. Illusions of self and other fill their vision. I also realized there are those with little dust limiting their vision.”

- The Buddha

A Brahman saw the Buddha meditating by the River. He engaged the Buddha in conversation.

“What caste are you? Asked the Brahman.

“Caste is irrelevant.” Said the Buddha.

“How so,” said the Brahman, “surely you would agree that Brahman and royalty are of considerable worth whereas peasants and commoners are not?”

“Caste and riches matter not,” replied the Buddha, “it is one’s conduct that matters.”

“How so,” said the Brahman.

“In that fire comes from any type of wood so can a wise person come from any caste. It is through the knowing of truth that one becomes noble not through caste. The noble one is the one that doesn’t cling to unworthy attachments. The noble one realizes the true way that things are, he no longer thinks of himself as a self and thus has gained clarity.”

“You are truly wise,” said the Brahman.

“How does one practice mindfulness? Sit in meditation. Be aware of only your breath.”

http://mingkok.buddhistdoor.com/en/news/d/943

Buddhism won “The Best Religion In The World” award

Tribune de Geneve

source: http://www.bodhitv.nl/menu/show-news/2009-07-22/boeddhisme-wint-prijs-voor-beste-religie-ter-wereld/

The Geneva-based International Coalition for the Advancement of Religious and Spirituality (ICARUS) has bestowed The Best Religion In the World award this year on the Buddhist Community.

Deer Park

This special award was voted on by an international round table of more than 200 religious leaders from every part of the spiritual spectrum. It was fascinating to note that many religious leaders voted for Buddhism rather than their own religion although Buddhists actually make up a tiny minority of ICARUS membership. Here are the comments by four voting members:

Jonna Hult, Director of Research for ICARUS said It wasn’t a surprise to me that Buddhism won Best Religion in the World, because we could find literally not one single instance of a war fought in the name of Buddhism, in contrast to every other religion that seems to keep a gun in the closet just in case God makes a mistake. We were hard pressed to even find a Buddhist that had ever been in an army. These people practice what they preach to an extent we simply could not document with any other spiritual tradition.

Bodhgaya

A Catholic Priest, Father Ted O’Shaughnessy said fromBelfast , As much as I love the Catholic Church, it has always bothered me to no end that we preach love in our scripture yet then claim to know God’s will when it comes to killing other humans. For that reason, I did have to cast my vote for the Buddhists.

Bodhgaya

A Muslim Cleric Tal Bin Wassad agreed from Pakistanvia his translator. While I am a devout Muslim, I can see how much anger and bloodshed is channeled into religious expression rather than dealt with on a personal level. The Buddhists have that figured out. Bin Wassad, the ICARUS voting member for Pakistan ’s Muslim community continued, In fact, some of my best friends are Buddhist.

Kushinagar

And Rabbi Shmuel Wasserstein said from Jerusalem, Of course, I love Judaism, and I think it’s the greatest religion in the world. But to be honest, I’ve been practicing Vipassana meditation every day before minyan (daily Jewish prayer) since 1993. So I get it.

Kushinagar

However, there was one snag - ICARUS couldn’t find anyone to give the award to. All the Buddhists they called kept saying they didn’t want the award.

When asked why the Burmese Buddhist community refused the award, Buddhist monk Bhante Ghurata Hanta said from Burma , We are grateful for the acknowledgement, but we give this award to all humanity, for Buddha nature lies within each of us. Groehlichen went on to say We’re going to keep calling around until we find a Buddhist who will accept it. We’ll let you know when we do.

Sanchi Stupa

Please visit the following YouTube videos:< ?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” />

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yPlbla51r0 for

THE AWAKENING: A dedication to the Lord Sakyamuni Buddha

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMI8r8bL9b0&feature=fvw for

Mythology - Lord Buddha

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omuieQSlQUg&feature=related for

Buddham Saranam Gachami - Angulimal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isW5OyuoMUc for

Mythological Animation Film - Buddha (Hindi)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJye4_Smbbk for

Pa Auk Sayadaw’s Paritta Sutta 01

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0J9Sod9TmPY&feature=related for

Pa Auk Sayadaw’s Paritta Sutta 02

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlYK_uzKNxQ&feature=related for

Pa Auk Sayadaw’s Paritta Sutta 03

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g55u8Nncf3s&feature=related for

Pa Auk Sayadaw’s Paritta Sutta 04

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0bdnAabqWQ&feature=related for

Pa Auk Sayadaw’s Paritta Sutta 05

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gnScY6lyRU&feature=related for

Pa Auk Sayadaw’s Paritta Sutta 06

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tns2ytqcKmg&feature=related for

Pa Auk Sayadaw’s Paritta Sutta 07

CONVERGENCE OF INFORMATION TECHONOLOGY (IT),INTEGRATED PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT (IPD),BIO-TECHNOLOGY (BT), NANO TECHNOLOGY(NT) for PEACE, WELFARE and HAPPINESS OF ALL SENTIENT and NON-SENTIENT BEINGS]

Pharmacy

is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs. The word derives from the Greek: φάρμακον (pharmakon), meaning “drug” or “medicine”^[1] (the earliest form of the word is the Mycenaean Greek pa-ma-ko, attested in Linear B syllabic script^[2]).

The scope of pharmacy practice includes more traditional roles such as compounding and dispensing medications, and it also includes more modern services related tohealth care, including clinical services, reviewing medications for safety and efficacy, and providing drug information. Pharmacists, therefore, are the experts on drug therapy and are the primary health professionals who optimize medication use to provide patients with positive health outcomes.

An establishment in which pharmacy (in the first sense) is practiced is called a pharmacy, chemist’s or (in the United States) drug store. US drug stores commonly sell not only medicines, but also miscellaneous items such as candy (sweets), cosmetics, and magazines, as well as light refreshments or groceries.

The word pharmacy is derived from its root word pharma which was a term used since the 15th–17th centuries. In addition to pharma responsibilities, the pharma offered general medical advice and a range of services that are now performed solely by other specialist practitioners, such as surgery and midwifery. The pharma (as it was referred to) often operated through a retail shop which, in addition to ingredients for medicines, sold tobacco and patent medicines. The pharmas also used many other herbs not listed.

In its investigation of herbal and chemical ingredients, the work of the pharma may be regarded as a precursor of the modern sciences of chemistry and pharmacology, prior to the formulation of the scientific method.

The mortar and pestle, one of the internationally recognized symbols to represent the pharmacy profession

Typical American drug store with a soda fountain, about 1905

Drug store restoration ca. 1920 atCollingsworth County Museum and Art Center across from the courthouse in Wellington, Texas

Disciplines

The field of Pharmacy can generally be divided into three primary disciplines:

Pharmaceutics

Medicinal chemistry and Pharmacognosy

Pharmacy practice

The boundaries between these disciplines and with other sciences, such as biochemistry, are not always clear-cut; and often, collaborative teams from various disciplines research together.

Pharmacology is sometimes considered a fourth discipline of pharmacy. Although pharmacology is essential to the study of pharmacy, it is not specific to pharmacy. Therefore it is usually considered to be a field of the broader sciences.

Pharmacoinformatics

New disciple for systematic drug discovery and development with efficient and safety. Other specializations in pharmacy practice recognized by the Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties include: cardiovascular, infectious disease, oncology, pharmacotherapy, nuclear, nutrition, and psychiatry.^[3] The Commission for Certification in Geriatric Pharmacy certifies pharmacists in geriatric pharmacy practice. The American Board of Applied Toxicology certifies pharmacists and other medical professionals in applied toxicology.

Pharmacy, tacuinum sanitatis casanatensis (XIV century)

Pharmacists

Main article: Pharmacist

Pharmacists are highly-trained and skilled healthcare professionals who perform various roles to ensure optimal health outcomes for their patients. Many pharmacists are also small-business owners, owning the pharmacy in which they practice.

Pharmacists are represented internationally by the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP). They are represented at the national level by professional organisations such as the Dutch Pharmacists Association (VNA) Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB), the Pharmacy Guild of Australia (PGA), the Pakistan Pharmacists Society (PPS) and the American Pharmacists Association (APhA).See also: List of pharmacy associations.

In some cases, the representative body is also the registering body, which is responsible for the ethics of the profession. Since the Shipman Inquiry, there has been a move in the UK to separate the two roles.

History

Paleopharmacological studies attest to the use of medicinal plants in pre-history.^[4]

The earliest known compilation of medicinal substances was ARIANA the Sushruta Samhita, an Indian Ayurvedic treatise attributed to Sushruta in the 6th century BC. However, the earliest text as preserved dates to the 3rd or 4th century AD.

Many Sumerian (late 6th millennium BC - early 2nd millennium BC) cuneiform clay tablets record prescriptions for medicine.^[5]

Ancient Egyptian pharmacological knowledge was recorded in various papyri such as the Ebers Papyrus of 1550 BC, and the Edwin Smith Papyrus of the 16th century BC.

The earliest known Chinese manual on materia medica is the Shennong Bencao Jing (The Divine Farmer’s Herb-Root Classic), dating back to the 1st century AD. It was compiled during the Han dynasty and was attributed to the mythical Shennong. Earlier literature included lists of prescriptions for specific ailments, exemplified by a manuscript “Recipes for 52 Ailments”, found in the Mawangdui tomb, sealed in 168 BC. Further details on Chinese pharmacy can be found in the Pharmacy in China article.

Dioscorides, De Materia Medica, Byzantium, 15th century

In Ancient Greece, before, during and after the time of Hippocrates there was a group of experts in medicinal plants. Probably the most important representative of theserhizotomoi was Diocles of Carystus.^[6] The Greek physician Pedanius Dioscorides is famous for writing a five volume book in his native Greek Περί ύλης ιατρικής in the 1st century AD. The Latin translation De Materia Medica (Concerning medical substances) was used a basis for many medieval texts, and was built upon by many middle eastern scientists during the Islamic Golden Age. The title coined the term materia medica.

In Japan, at the end of the Asuka period (538-710) and the early Nara period (710-794), the men who fulfilled roles similar to those of modern pharmacists were highly respected. The place of pharmacists in society was expressly defined in the Taihō Code (701) and re-stated in the Yōrō Code (718). Ranked positions in the pre-HeianImperial court were established; and this organizational structure remained largely intact until the Meiji Restoration (1868). In this highly stable hierarchy, the pharmacists—and even pharmacist assistants—were assigned status superior to all others in health-related fields such as physicians and acupuncturists. In the Imperial household, the pharmacist was even ranked above the two personal physicians of the Emperor.^[7]

There is a stone sign for a pharmacy with a tripod, a mortar, and a pestle opposite one for a doctor in the Arcadian Way in Ephesus near Kusadasi in Turkey.http://www.pbase.com/tsechien/ephesus_ has photos. The current Ephesus dates back to 400BC and was the site of the Temple of Artemis one of the seven wonders of the world, the home of Mark Anthony and Cleopatra, Mary Magdalen and where St Paul read his letter to the Ephesians.

In Baghdad the first pharmacies, or drug stores, were established in 754,^[8] under the Abbasid Caliphate during the Islamic Golden Age. By the 9th century, these pharmacies were state-regulated.^[9]^{[unreliable source?]}

The advances made in the Middle East in botany and chemistry led medicine in medieval Islam substantially to develop pharmacology. Muhammad ibn Zakarīya Rāzi (Rhazes) (865-915), for instance, acted to promote the medical uses of chemical compounds. Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi (Abulcasis) (936-1013) pioneered the preparation of medicines by sublimation and distillation. His Liber servitoris is of particular interest, as it provides the reader with recipes and explains how to prepare the `simples’ from which were compounded the complex drugs then generally used. Sabur Ibn Sahl (d 869), was, however, the first physician to initiate pharmacopoedia, describing a large variety of drugs and remedies for ailments. Al-Biruni (973-1050) wrote one of the most valuable Islamic works on pharmacology entitled Kitab al-Saydalah (The Book of Drugs), where he gave detailed knowledge of the properties of drugs and outlined the role of pharmacy and the functions and duties of the pharmacist. Ibn Sina (Avicenna), too, described no less than 700 preparations, their properties, mode of action and their indications. He devoted in fact a whole volume to simple drugs in The Canon of Medicine. Of great impact were also the works by al-Maridini of Baghdad andCairo, and Ibn al-Wafid (1008–1074), both of which were printed in Latin more than fifty times, appearing as De Medicinis universalibus et particularibus by `Mesue‘ the younger, and the Medicamentis simplicibus by `Abenguefit‘. Peter of Abano (1250–1316) translated and added a supplement to the work of al-Maridini under the title De Veneris. Al-Muwaffaq’s contributions in the field are also pioneering. Living in the 10th century, he wrote The foundations of the true properties of Remedies, amongst others describing arsenious oxide, and being acquainted with silicic acid. He made clear distinction between sodium carbonate andpotassium carbonate, and drew attention to the poisonous nature of copper compounds, especially copper vitriol, and also lead compounds. He also describes the distillation of sea-water for drinking.^[10]^{[verification needed]}

In Europe pharmacy-like shops began to appear during the 12th century. In 1240 emperor Frederic II issued a decree by which the physician’s and the apothecary’s professions were separated.^[11] The first pharmacy in Europe (still working) was opened in 1241 in Trier, Germany.^{[citation needed]}

In Europe there are old pharmacies still operating in Dubrovnik, Croatia located inside the Franciscan monastery, opened in 1317 ; and one in the Town Hall Square of Tallinn, Estonia dating from at least 1422. The oldest is claimed to be set up in 1221 in the Church of Santa Maria Novella in Florence, Italy, which now houses a perfume museum. The medieval Esteve Pharmacy, located in Llívia, a Catalan enclave close toPuigcerdà, is also now a museum dating back to the 15th century, keeping albarellos from the 16th and 17th centuries, old prescription books and antique drugs.

Types of pharmacy practice areas

Pharmacists practice in a variety of areas including retail, hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, drug industry, and regulatory agencies. Pharmacists can specialize in various areas of practice including but not limited to: hematology/oncology, infectious diseases, ambulatory care, nutrition support, drug information, critical care, pediatrics, etc.

[edit]Community pharmacy

19th century Italian pharmacy

Modern pharmacy in Norway

A pharmacy (commonly the chemist in Australia, New Zealand and the UK; or drugstore in North America; retail pharmacy in industry terminology; or Apothecary, historically) is the place where most pharmacists practice the profession of pharmacy. It is the community pharmacy where the dichotomy of the profession exists—health professionals who are also retailers.

Community pharmacies usually consist of a retail storefront with a dispensary where medications are stored and dispensed. The dispensary is subject to pharmacy legislation; with requirements for storage conditions, compulsory texts, equipment, etc., specified in legislation. Where it was once the case that pharmacists stayed within the dispensary compounding/dispensing medications; there has been an increasing trend towards the use of trained pharmacy technicians while the pharmacist spends more time communicating with patients.

All pharmacies are required to have a pharmacist on-duty at all times when open. In many jurisdictions, it is also a requirement that the owner of a pharmacy must be a registered pharmacist (R.Ph.). This latter requirement has been revoked in many jurisdictions, such that many retailers (including supermarkets and mass merchandisers) now include a pharmacy as a department of their store.

Likewise, many pharmacies are now rather grocery store-like in their design. In addition to medicines and prescriptions, many now sell a diverse arrangement of additional items such as cosmetics, shampoo, office supplies, confections, snack foods, durable medical equipment, greeting cards, and provide photo processing services.

Hospital pharmacy

Main article: Hospital pharmacy

Pharmacies within hospitals differ considerably from community pharmacies. Some pharmacists in hospital pharmacies may have more complex clinical medication management issues whereas pharmacists in community pharmacies often have more complex business and customer relations issues.

Because of the complexity of medications including specific indications, effectiveness of treatment regimens, safety of medications (i.e., drug interactions) and patient compliance issues (in the hospital and at home) many pharmacists practicing in hospitals gain more education and training after pharmacy school through a pharmacy practice residency and sometimes followed by another residency in a specific area. Those pharmacists are often referred to as clinical pharmacists and they often specialize in various disciplines of pharmacy. For example, there are pharmacists who specialize in hematology/oncology, HIV/AIDS, infectious disease, critical care, emergency medicine, toxicology, nuclear pharmacy, pain management, psychiatry, anti-coagulation clinics, herbal medicine, neurology/epilepsy management, pediatrics, neonatal pharmacists and more.

Hospital pharmacies can usually be found within the premises of the hospital. Hospital pharmacies usually stock a larger range of medications, including more specialized medications, than would be feasible in the community setting. Most hospital medications are unit-dose, or a single dose of medicine. Hospital pharmacists and trained pharmacy technicians compound sterile products for patients including total parenteral nutrition (TPN), and other medications given intravenously. This is a complex process that requires adequate training of personnel, quality assurance of products, and adequate facilities. Several hospital pharmacies have decided to outsource high risk preparations and some other compounding functions to companies who specialize in compounding. The high cost of medications and drug-related technology, combined with the potential impact of medications and pharmacy services on patient-care outcomes and patient safety, make it imperative that hospital pharmacies perform at the highest level possible.

Clinical pharmacy

Main article: Clinical pharmacy

Dr Sajad Issop of Airedale General Hospital explains: Clinical pharmacists provide direct patient care services that optimizes the use of medication and promotes health, wellness, and disease prevention.^[12]Clinical pharmacists care for patients in all health care settings but the clinical pharmacy movement initially began inside hospitals and clinics. Clinical pharmacists often collaborate with physicians and other healthcare professionals to improve pharmaceutical care. Clinical pharmacists are now an integral part of the interdisciplinary approach to patient care. They work collaboratively with physicians, nurses and other healthcare personnel in various medical and surgical areas. They often participate in patient care rounds and drug product selection. In most hospitals in the United States, potentially dangerous drugs that require close monitoring are dosed and managed by clinical pharmacists.

Compounding pharmacy

Main article: Compounding

Compounding is the practice of preparing drugs in new forms. For example, if a drug manufacturer only provides a drug as a tablet, a compounding pharmacist might make a medicated lollipop that contains the drug. Patients who have difficulty swallowing the tablet may prefer to suck the medicated lollipop instead.

Another form of compounding is by mixing different strengths,(g,mg,mcg)of capsules or tablets to yield the desire therapy indicated by the doctor. This form of compounding is found at community or hospital pharmacies or in-home administration therapy.

Compounding pharmacies specialize in compounding, although many also dispense the same non-compounded drugs that patients can obtain from community pharmacies.

Consultant pharmacy

Main article: Consultant pharmacist

Consultant pharmacy practice focuses more on medication regimen review (i.e. “cognitive services”) than on actual dispensing of drugs. Consultant pharmacists most typically work in nursing homes, but are increasingly branching into other institutions and non-institutional settings.^[13] Traditionally consultant pharmacists were usually independent business owners, though in the United States many now work for several large pharmacy management companies (primarily Omnicare, Kindred Healthcare and PharMerica). This trend may be gradually reversing as consultant pharmacists begin to work directly with patients, primarily because many elderly people are now taking numerous medications but continue to live outside of institutional settings. Some community pharmacies employ consultant pharmacists and/or provide consulting services.

The main principle of consultant pharmacy is pharmaceutical care developed by Hepler and Strand in 1990.^[14]^[15]

[edit]Internet pharmacy

Main article: Online pharmacy

Since about the year 2000, a growing number of internet pharmacies have been established worldwide. Many of these pharmacies are similar to community pharmacies, and in fact, many of them are actually operated by brick-and-mortar community pharmacies that serve consumers online and those that walk in their door. The primary difference is the method by which the medications are requested and received. Some customers consider this to be more convenient and private method rather than traveling to a community drugstore where another customer might overhear about the drugs that they take. Internet pharmacies (also known as Online Pharmacies) are also recommended to some patients by their physicians if they are homebound.

While most internet pharmacies sell prescription drugs and require a valid prescription, some internet pharmacies sell prescription drugs without requiring a prescription. Many customers order drugs from such pharmacies to avoid the “inconvenience” of visiting a doctor or to obtain medications which their doctors were unwilling to prescribe. However, this practice has been criticized as potentially dangerous, especially by those who feel that only doctors can reliably assess contraindications, risk/benefit ratios, and an individual’s overall suitability for use of a medication. There also have been reports of such pharmacies dispensing substandard products.^{[citation needed]}

Of particular concern with internet pharmacies is the ease with which people, youth in particular, can obtain controlled substances (e.g., Vicodin, generically known as hydrocodone) via the internet without a prescription issued by a doctor/practitioner who has an established doctor-patient relationship. There are many instances where a practitioner issues a prescription, brokered by an internet server, for a controlled substance to a “patient” s/he has never met. In the United States, in order for a prescription for a controlled substance to be valid, it must be issued for a legitimate medical purpose by a licensed practitioner acting in the course of legitimate doctor-patient relationship. The filling pharmacy has a corresponding responsibility to ensure that the prescription is valid. Often, individual state laws outline what defines a valid patient-doctor relationship.

Canada is home to dozens of licensed internet pharmacies, many of which sell their lower-cost prescription drugs to U.S. consumers, who pay one of the world’s highest drug prices.^{[citation needed]} In recent years, many consumers in the US and in other countries with high drug costs, have turned to licensed internet pharmacies in India, Israel and the UK, which often have even lower prices than in Canada.

In the United States, there has been a push to legalize importation of medications from Canada and other countries, in order to reduce consumer costs. While in most cases importation of prescription medications violates Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations and federal laws, enforcement is generally targeted at international drug suppliers, rather than consumers. There is no known case of any U.S. citizens buying Canadian drugs for personal use with a prescription, who has ever been charged by authorities.

Recently-developed online services like Australia’s Medicine Name Finder and the Walgreens’ Drug Info Search provide information about pharmaceutical products but do not offer prescriptions or drug dispensations. These services often promote generic drug alternatives by offering comparative information on price and effectiveness.

Veterinary pharmacy

Veterinary pharmacies, sometimes called animal pharmacies, may fall in the category of hospital pharmacy, retail pharmacy or mail-order pharmacy. Veterinary pharmacies stock different varieties and different strengths of medications to fulfill the pharmaceutical needs of animals. Because the needs of animals, as well as the regulations on veterinary medicine, are often very different from those related to people, veterinary pharmacy is often kept separate from regular pharmacies.

Nuclear pharmacy

Main article: Nuclear pharmacy

Nuclear pharmacy focuses on preparing radioactive materials for diagnostic tests and for treating certain diseases. Nuclear pharmacists undergo additional training specific to handling radioactive materials, and unlike in community and hospital pharmacies, nuclear pharmacists typically do not interact directly with patients.

Military pharmacy

Main article: Military pharmacy

Military pharmacy is an entirely different working environment due to the fact that technicians perform most duties that in a civilian sector would be illegal. State laws of Technician patient counseling and medication checking by a pharmacist do not apply.

Pharmacy informatics

Main article: Pharmacy informatics

Pharmacy informatics is the combination of pharmacy practice science and applied information science. Pharmacy informaticists work in many practice areas of pharmacy, however, they may also work in information technology departments or for healthcare information technology vendor companies. As a practice area and specialist domain, pharmacy informatics is growing quickly to meet the needs of major national and international patient information projects and health system interoperability goals. Pharmacists are well trained to participate in medication management system development, deployment and optimization.

Issues in pharmacy

Separation of prescribing from dispensing

In most jurisdictions (such as the United States), pharmacists are regulated separately from physicians. These jurisdictions also usually specify that only pharmacists may supply scheduled pharmaceuticals to the public, and that pharmacists cannot form business partnerships with physicians or give them “kickback” payments. However, the American Medical Association (AMA) Code of Ethics provides that physicians may dispense drugs within their office practices as long as there is no patient exploitation and patients have the right to a written prescription that can be filled elsewhere. 7 to 10 percent of American physicians practices reportedly dispense drugs on their own.^[16]

In some rural areas in the United Kingdom, there are dispensing doctors ^[17] who are allowed to both prescribe and dispense prescription-only medicines to their patients from within their practices. The law requires that the GP practice be located in a designated rural area and that there is also a specified, minimum distance (currently 1.6 kilometres) between a patient’s home and the nearest retail pharmacy.

In other jurisdictions (particularly in Asian countries such as China, Malaysia, and Singapore), doctors are allowed to dispense drugs themselves and the practice of pharmacy is sometimes integrated with that of the physician, particularly in traditional Chinese medicine.

In Canada it is common for a medical clinic and a pharmacy to be located together and for the ownership in both enterprises to be common, but licensed separately.

The reason for the majority rule is the high risk of a conflict of interest and/or the avoidance of absolute powers. Otherwise, the physician has a financial self-interest in “diagnosing” as many conditions as possible, and in exaggerating their seriousness, because he or she can then sell more medications to the patient. Such self-interest directly conflicts with the patient’s interest in obtaining cost-effective medication and avoiding the unnecessary use of medication that may have side-effects. This system reflects much similarity to the checks and balances system of the U.S. and many other governments.

A campaign for separation has begun in many countries and has already been successful (like in Korea). As many of the remaining nations move towards separation, resistance and lobbying from dispensing doctors who have pecuniary interests may prove a major stumbling block (e.g. in Malaysia).

The future of pharmacy

In the coming decades, pharmacists are expected to become more integral within the health care system. Rather than simply dispensing medication, pharmacists will be paid for their patient care skills.^[18]

Medication Therapy Management (MTM) includes the clinical services that pharmacists can provide for their patients. Such services include the thorough analysis of all medication (prescription, non-prescription, and herbals) currently being taken by an individual. The result is a reconciliation of medication and patient education resulting in increased patient health outcomes and decreased costs to the health care system.^[19]

This shift has already commenced in some countries; for instance, pharmacists in Australia receive remuneration from the Australian Government for conducting comprehensive Home Medicines Reviews. In Canada, pharmacists in certain provinces have limited prescribing rights (as in Alberta and British Columbia) or are remunerated by their provincial government for expanded services such as medications reviews (Medschecks in Ontario). In the United Kingdom, pharmacists who undertake additional training are obtaining prescribing rights. They are also being paid for by the government for medicine use reviews. In the United States, pharmaceutical care or clinical pharmacy has had an evolving influence on the practice of pharmacy.^[12] Moreover, the Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm. D.) degree is now required before entering practice and some pharmacists now complete one or two years of residency or fellowship training following graduation. In addition, consultant pharmacists, who traditionally operated primarily in nursing homes are now expanding into direct consultation with patients, under the banner of “senior care pharmacy.”^[20]

American Society for Pharmacy Law

Apothecary

Bachelor of Pharmacy, Master of Pharmacy, Doctor of Pharmacy

Classification of Pharmaco-Therapeutic Referrals

Clinical pharmacy

Consultant pharmacist

Evidence-based pharmacy in developing countries

Hospital pharmacy

International Pharmaceutical Federation

International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation

List of pharmacies

List of pharmacy associations

List of pharmacy organizations in the United Kingdom

List of pharmacy schools

Nuclear pharmacy

Online pharmacy

Pharmaceutical company

Pharmacogenetics

Pharmacogenomics

Pharmacognosy

Pharmacology

Pharmaconomist

Pharmacy residency

Pharmacy informatics

Professional Further Education in Clinical Pharmacy and Public Health

Raeapteek (one of the oldest continuously run pharmacies in Europe dating from the 15th century)

Pharmacy and Pharmacology portal

[edit]Symbols

The two symbols most commonly associated with pharmacy are the mortar and pestle and the ℞ (recipere) character, which is often written as “rx” in typed text. Theshow globe was also used in English speaking countries until the early 20th century. Pharmacy organizations often use other symbols, such as the Bowl of Hygieia which is often used in the Netherlands, conical measures, and caduceuses in their logos. Other symbols are common in different countries: the green Greek cross in France, Argentina, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Italy and Spain, the increasingly-rare Gaperin the Netherlands, and a red stylized letter A in Germany and Austria (from Apotheke, the German word for pharmacy, from the same Greek root as the English word ‘apothecary’).

Bowl of Hygeia	The green Cross used in Greece, Spain, Argentina, France, Poland, the United Kingdom and other countries	Mortar and pestle	Recipe symbol
The red stylized “A” (Apotheke) used in Germany	Caduceus (used erroneously)	Rod of Asclepius	Hanging Show Globe