Come to Cloud Mountain: Retreat

Rasmussen and Snyder will be teaching two retreats in 2009, both at Cloud Mountain Retreat Center in western Washington, between Portland and Seattle.

They will lead a 3-day retreat from July 31 – August 3, and a 2-week retreat from December 27 – January 10 (2010). Many have expressed interest in attending retreats with these accomplished meditators. It is now possible to look over the details at the Cloud Mountain site to possibly participate. Information may also be found at JhanasAdvice.com (go to calendar, scroll down, and click on the retreat date).

There are also a few spaces left for the November 8 one-day intensive, "From First Sit to First Jhana--Navigating the Process of Purification of Mind through the Use of Wise Effort" ($35, pre-registration is required).

• http://www.jhanasadvice.com/

Hot Zone Documentary: Online

The Hot Zone Team

PLAY VIDEO

"A World of Conflict," the documentary, is being shown here in its entirety.

In this final chapter of "A World of Conflict," Kevin Sites returns to the U.S. only to confirm what he suspected -- that in the year that he was gone little had changed. Most Americans are still not engaged in learning about the rest of the world. But Sites realizes that for some, the Hot Zone project did succeed in putting a human face on global conflict and perhaps helped them to begin their own journey to greater understanding.

"A World of Conflict" is the documentary about the "Kevin Sites in the Hot Zone" project, in which veteran war correspondent Kevin Sites reported from every major global conflict in one year, in an effort to understand the costs of a world perpetually at war.

One chapter of the documentary is being highlighted each week in chronological order, allowing everyone to see the film in its entirety — exclusively online.

The documentary contains searing, never-before-seen images of combat and its lingering impact on civil society, beginning with the anarchy of Somalia in September 2005 and culminating with the explosive war between Israel and Hezbollah in summer 2006.

The documentary is included with Sites' new book, In the Hot Zone: One Man. One Year. Twenty Wars. (The Harper Perennial paperback original is available now at Amazon.com and at book stores). More>>

• Conflict in Buddhist and formerly Buddhist lands
  Afghanistan
  Cambodia
  Iran
  Iraq
  Kashmir
  Burma (Myanmar)
  Nepal
  Sri Lanka
  Syria
  Vietnam
• Hot Zone Watch List
  Korean Peninsula
  Peru
  The Philippines
  Thailand
  Uzbekistan

Reckless consumption threatens planet (WWF)

Laura MacInnis

Sheep eat the stubble of a failed wheat crop at sunset on a farm near the town of West Wyalong, Australia, October 17, 2007.(Mick Tsikas/Reuters)

GENEVA (Reuters) – The Earth's natural resources are being depleted so quickly that "two planets" would be required to sustain current lifestyles within a generation, the conservation group WWF said on Wednesday.

The Swiss-based WWF, also known as the World Wildlife Fund, said in its latest Living Planet Report that more than three quarters of the world's population lives in countries whose consumption levels are outstripping environmental renewal.

Its Living Planet Report concluded that reckless consumption of "natural capital" was endangering the world's future prosperity, with clear economic impacts including high costs for food, water, and energy.

"If our demands on the planet continue to increase at the same rate, by the mid-2030s we would need the equivalent of two planets to maintain our lifestyles," said WWF International Director-General James Leape.

Jonathan Loh of the Zoological Society of London said the dramatic ecological losses from pollution, deforestation, over-fishing, and land conversion were having serious impacts.

"We are acting ecologically in the same way as financial institutions have been behaving economically -- seeking immediate gratification without due regard for the consequences," Loh said in a statement accompanying the report.

"The consequences of a global ecological crisis are even graver than the current economic meltdown," he said.

The report said the world's global environmental "footprint" or depletion rate now exceeds the planet's capacity to regenerate by 30 percent. On a per-country basis, the United States and China have the largest footprints, the WWF said.

The United States and Australia rank among the five countries with the largest footprints per person, along with the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Denmark.

The lowest five are Bangladesh, Congo, Haiti, Afghanistan, and Malawi, WWF said. Regionally, only non-EU Europe, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean remain within their "biocapacity."

Emissions from fossil fuels -- which would be targeted under a successor to the Kyoto climate change accord -- were among the top culprits cited by WWF for the big demands on the planet.

The WWF's Leape said world leaders needed to put ecological concerns at the top of their agenda and ensure the environment is factored into all decisions about consumption, development, trade, agriculture and fisheries management.

"If humanity has the will, it has the ways to live within the means of the planet, but we must recognize that the ecological credit crunch will require even bolder action than that now being mustered for the financial crisis," Leape said.

(Editing by Jon Boyle)

Red drives men wild

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – If a woman wants to drive the men wild, she might want to dress in red. Men rated a woman shown in photographs as more sexually attractive if she was wearing red clothing or if she was shown in an image framed by a red border rather than some other color, U.S. researchers said Tuesday.

The study led by psychology professor Andrew Elliot of the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York, seemed to confirm red as the color of romance -- as so many Valentine's Day card makers and lipstick sellers have believed for years. Although this "red alert" may be a product of human society associating red with love for eons, it also may arise from more primitive biological roots, Elliot said.

Noting the genetic similarity of humans to higher primates, he said scientists have shown that certain male primates are especially attracted to females of their species displaying red. For example, female baboons and chimpanzees show red coloring when nearing ovulation, sending a sexual signal that the males apparently find irresistible. "It could be this very deep, biologically based automatic tendency to respond to red as an attraction cue given our evolutionary heritage," Elliot, whose findings appear in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, said in a telephone interview. More>>

China to hold talks with Dalai Lama envoys

BEIJING – Chinese state media says Beijing is set to hold new talks with representatives of the Dalai Lama "in the near future."

The one-sentence dispatch by the Xinhua News Agency released Wednesday did not give any other details. The Chinese Foreign Ministry says it does not have any comment.

The report comes a day after Tibetan officials in India said the Dalai Lama had called a special meeting of Tibetan exiles next month about the foundering discussions with China.

The Tibetan spiritual leader said over the weekend that he has given up on efforts to persuade Beijing to allow greater autonomy for Tibet under Chinese rule. He says he will now ask the Tibetan people to decide how to move forward.

• Read extended story

More on China

• China tells Dalai Lama to "treasure" imminent talks

More on Tibet

• China plans talks with Tibet envoys in "near future" Reuters
• Dalai says will talk to China if Beijing "honestly" wants dialogue AFP

What are Devas? A Comprehensive Listing

What are Devas?

WQ & Soul-guidance.com

The word deva comes from the Sanskrit language, meaning "a being of brilliant light," and is used to indicate a [subtle, fine-material] being. The word deva is used as a general name for both nature spirits [bhumi devas] and angelic beings [akasha devas]. Although they all seem non physical, only some devas are also immaterial [arupa devas]. They are able to manifest physically in grosser form and can thus sometimes be seen by ordinary people. Some seem to be partially human with crossover traits.

How did devas come into being? It is said that in the beginning (Aganna Sutra), when earth solidified and the physical life forms were formed, the devas devolved due to unskillful conduct. Their karma over a long period of time led to the forming of denser physical bodies.

The consciousness of the devas is directed to expansion in contrast to our consciousness which is focused and limited by the form of the human body. Devas are always conscious of their cosmic environment and want to become ever more conscious of that which they encompass. Devic beings want to be, while physical beings want to do. Devic beings concentrate on creating, while physical beings want to develop.

Devas have an instinctive knowledge and do not have to acquire knowledge like humans do. They have an instinctive knowledge of cosmic patterns, relationships, and harmonies.

They do not have dense form as humans understand "form" in this physical world. In their astral realms -- from earth up to the highest celestial planes -- they are like fluid and open vortices of cosmic consciousness. When people are able to perceive them, they will often take a form extracted from the human mind. Thus, humans will see them in a more or less humanoid form, but in essence they are only vortices of energies.

They have memory and learn from experience. They are conscious of the archetypes of the field in which they work. They react to and improve their work according to the physical influences on the life forms with which they work. They are only interested in their own field of work. For example, the deva of the oak trees is only interested in the growth of oak trees, a landscape deva is only interested in the life forms of that landscape, a healing deva only works with healing energies. It is therefore useless to ask an oak tree deva how to heal a human body. Devas are only knowledgeable in their own particular field.

Working with devas is mutually beneficial. Devas acquire experience of focused consciousness and action, while humans may learn to surrender to the silence of the devic consciousness and its sensitivity to cosmic influences. Devas are always willing to help people.

Many people have tried to classify and name the numerous nature spirits. But one has to understand that there are many, many forms of nature spirits, and one form blends over into another. Moreover, their names are not consistent among the authors who classify them. It scarcely matters since the most important thing is that one has an idea what devas are and what they do. Below is one list.

• Buddhist Listing of Devas (the 31 Planes of Existence and the many devas who inhabit most of these planes)

If one is really interested in working with nature spirits, one book that is recommended is by Marko Poganick... More>>

Devas in Thai art

Modern art devas

The following is an attempt at a Comprehensive Listing (with some corresponding Buddhist terms from the 31 Planes of Existence). For explanations see here.

• Gnomes (Earth element)
• Kobolds
• Giants
• Mountain devas (Bhummattha devas)
• Dryads (tree or Rukkhattha devas)
• Nymphs (Water element)
• Undines
• Nixies
• Naiads
• Elves or Sylphs (Air element)
• Fairies (Kumbandhas)
• Storm devas


• Salamanders (Fire element)
• Fauns
• Pan


• Werewolves
• Dragons (nagas)
• House spirit (pretas)
• Birth spirits
• Guardian spirits
• Djinn (Genies)
• Sound and Dance spirits
• Group elementals
• The Tuatha De Danann, or Sidhe (an Irish race of beings)


• UFOs (Akasattha or Space devas)
• Deva of the Stone
• Evil Devas
• ANGEL DEVAS:

-----------------------

1. Seraphim (Haioth ha Qodesh)
2. Cherubim (Ophanim or Galgalim)
3. Thrones (Arailim)
4. Dominions (Hhashmalim)
5. Powers (Seraphin)
6. Virtues (Malakim)
7. Principalities (Tarshishim)
8. Archangels (Beni Elohim, "sons of God")
9. Angels (Keroubim)

Jhana Talks (DharmaSeed.org)

DharmaSeed.org

Rasmussen & Snyder

.

I. What is the jhana practice? #1 (66:24)

• Download Stream Order

This talk was given by both Tina Rasmussen and Stephen Snyder: how the jhanas fit into Buddhist practice; overview of the entire samatha practice; the three types of concentration; and differences from other practices. 2008-07-02 Insight Meditation Society - Forest Refuge (added 2008-07-08). From: 2008-07-01 July 2008 at IMS - Forest Refuge (12).

II. First sit to first Jhana. Talk #2 (50:25)

• Download Stream Order

This talk was given by both Tina Rasmussen and Stephen Snyder includes: landmarks leading up to first jhana; how to apply skillful effort; overview of the jhana factors; and actions that support practice. 2008-07-03 Insight Meditation Society - Forest Refuge (added 2008-07-08). From: 2008-07-01 July 2008 at IMS - Forest Refuge (12).

III. Am I going to get jhana? Talk #3 (71:28)

• Download Stream Order

This talk given by Tina Rasmussen and Stephen Snyder includes: purification of mind as its own reward; what is purification of mind?; working with hindrances; the purification of striving; holding the possibility of attainment with maturity. 2008-07-04 Insight Meditation Society - Forest Refuge (added 2008-07-08). From: 2008-07-01 July 2008 at IMS - Forest Refuge (12).

IV. The Four Elements Practice; the Buddha as Our Role Model (61:07)

• Download Stream Order

This talk given by Tina Rasmussen and Stephen Snyder includes: overview of the Four Elements meditation practice; the history of the practice over the eons; the Buddha as our role model; inspiration for the practice. 2008-07-05 Insight Meditation Society - Forest Refuge (added 2008-07-08). From: 2008-07-01 July 2008 at IMS - Forest Refuge (12).

Dow Down Again (-200 pts)

• VIDEO: Wall Street ends another volatile day with big last-minute loss (Reuters)

Mantra cartoon

"Seeker of enlightenment, it may be wise to reconsider your mantra."

Meditating Effortlessly

Frances Goldenpeople

(buddhist-images.co.uk)

Thinking stirs the mind so a meditator watches. There is no personally relating to any thought. Instead thoughts are simply allowed to drift by like leaves riding a stream.

These days I am finding my thoughts are less forceful and captivating than they used to be. I think the change is happening because, while I am aware of the thoughts, I am a disinterested observer. I simply let them come and go.

Starting a long sit with a good hot shower helps me because my muscles tend to loosen. I can feel my body become less tense. A good period of stretching can work wonders as well. What I then find helpful to super-relax is silently repeating the Karaniya Metta Sutra over and over to myself.

I once recorded myself and was amazed how much I calmed down over a one hour period. My voice went from tired, irritated, distracted, and low energy to firm, calm, gentle, and very present. The pace of my speech slowed to about half its initial pace. I did not make any intention to change my body or voice in this fashion. I simply repeated the sutra over and over and allowed the change to unfold. I was not even aware of what was happening until I played the tape back. I did so at a later date and was surprised to witness firsthand the calming impact of this gentle sutra.

We can not make progress on the Path until we let loose, clear out our expectations, and allow things to simply unfold. When I take my "hands off the controls" and am patient, things start to cook. It is truly like getting on a roller coaster at the station. All of a sudden, all on its own, the ride starts moving. Slowly at first and with time the pace increases.

Neither happy about this, nor sad about this, one just sits back and rides.

If one is calming down and finds oneself interfering and making effort, become stone still the moment this pattern is recognized. In a kind and firm voice, repeat three times: "This effort is not helpful. Please stop." Then gently come back to the breath. This is done as often as needed to enable the relaxing process to continue.

Karaniya Metta Sutra

WQ rendering (alternative translations)

What should be done by one skillful in good

So as to gain the State of Peace is this:

Let one be able, and upright, and straight,

Easy to speak to, gentle, and humble,

Contented too, supported easily,

With few tasks, and living very lightly;

One's faculties prudent, serene, and modest,

Unswayed by the fawning of families;

Let one never do the slightest thing

That the wise might hold blameworthy.

[Instead cultivating the thought:]

"Safe and well, may all beings be happy!

Whatever breathing beings there be,

Without exception, whether frail or firm,

Be they long, huge, or midsized,

Or short, tiny, or bulky

Whether seen or unseen,

Dwelling far or near,

Born or yet seeking birth,

May all beings be happy!

Let no one work another's undoing

Or even slight one in speech at all:

Never wishing another harm

Out of hate or resentful thought."

Just as a mother might with her own life

Protect her son, her only child,

So let one then for every living being

Maintain kind all-embracing thoughts;

With love for all the world

Maintain unbounded thoughts in being

Above, below, around, and in between,

Untroubled, without foe or enmity.

As one stands, walks, or sits,

Or while lying down awake,

Let one resolve mindfully:

This is Divine Abiding here, they say.

No more consorting with views,

But with virtue and vision of the ultimate,

Having overcome all sensual desire,

One returns no more to this world to be born.

Dawn of Religion Pt. I

Hammurabi [Manu] receiving the "Code of Laws" from the Sun God [Surya/Sol].

"Dawn of Religions in the Paradise on Earth"
Dr. Ranajit Pal (ranajitpal.com)

Of Paradise or EDEN: this had been
Perhaps thy Capital Seat, from whence had spread
All generations, and had hither come
From all the ends of th' Earth, to celebrate
And reverence thee their great Progenitor...
-- Milton's "Paradise Lost"

The discovery of agriculture freed primitive men and women from the woes of food-gathering and [there] grew the first cities. The emergence of copper and bronze gave birth to industry and then came the epoch-making invention of writing[Note 1], which totally transformed society and ushered in what we fondly term civilization[2].

Another great leap forward was the advent of the wheel, which brought nations closer together and broadened the political and cultural horizons of people. Finally, the smelting of iron marked another phase in the story of humankind that has had fateful consequences.

In this "new" world arose the modern idea of God together with a sharpened notion of human selfhood. This phase is discernible in all the ancient religious texts of the world, the RgVeda[3], the Avesta[4], as well as the Old Testament[5] and has been roughly dated to the mid-eighteenth century BC[6] when the patriarch Abraham left Ur and migrated to Palestine.

The Old Testament has often stood on [a] thin line between history and myth. That many of the outstanding archaeological discoveries in Assyria and Sumer were in part inspired by references in this ancient text is a glowing tribute to its authenticity. It has also stimulated groundbreaking works of world literature like Milton's "Paradise Lost."

Incidentally, before he became a celebrated poet, Milton (1608–1674) was an ardent political activist who not only took part in the making of history but also had a considerable familiarity with the historical literature of his day[7]; yet today not all pre-historians or archaeologists would agree with his claim that [all] mankind spread from Eden[8], which was in the East as stated in the Book of Genesis. However, his concomitant assertion that even after the fall, Eden remained a principal religious center where people from the ends of the earth came "to celebrate and reverence thee" deserves to be examined with greater care. This statement cannot be dismissed as mere reverent circumlocution as it has echoes in many other independent sources.

Archaeological and historical considerations indicate that the ancient Paradise was in Seistan, which may be seen as the original home of all the ancient religions[9] of the world. More>>

--

NOTES

1. The earliest evidence of writing comes from the fourth millennium BC Sumerian tablets which were not religious invocations but temple book-keeping records. From the later documents we get a fairly vivid picture of the ancient cults - of the myths and songs for propitiation of the Gods, for warding off the evil spirits, for celebration of harvests and weddings, and lamentations of death and defeat. The dying and subsequent reincarnation of the shepherd-God Dumuzi played a very important role in the lives of common people of Uruk and other Sumerian cities. His wife Innana was also a very powerful figure who had astral associations and was the Goddess of procreation and war.

2. What are the driving forces behind this process of civilisation, it is hard to say. A related question is why did the Stone Age people abandon the way of life that had served them well for millennia? Is it that blind monster of history or fate, the ever-increasing thirst for material goods, a mystical awareness of the supernatural and the cosmos, or a combination of all of these factors? Today there is an ever-growing realization that with the progress of civilisation our environment is continually being threatened by man-made perils. The nostalgia for the lost habitat, therefore, has now become almost an instinctive response.

3. The date of the RgVeda has been variously given as 1200BC to 1500BC by the German scholar Max Muller, 2000-1400BC by the American Sanskritist Whitney and 2400-1400BC by Haug. The date given by Max Muller is now generally thought to be rather late. The contention that Vedic society was pastoral having no knowledge of agriculture is baseless.

4. The root of the name Avesta is said to be "vid," that is, "to see," which is also the root of the name RgVeda. The extant Avesta is said to be only a part of a much larger body of scripture that existed before. It is apparently Zoroaster's transformation of the ancient tradition. There are very large overlaps between the Avesta and the [Vedas?] which is likely to have been similar to the RgVeda. Alexander the Great is said to have destroyed the sacred books of the Zoroastrians. Despite several attempts the date of Zarathustra cannot be ascertained with any certainty. This is probably due to the fact that the name signifies the holder of an office. There were many Zarathustras. Herzfeld wrote that Gomata's adversary was Zarathustra.

5. History as narrated in the Old Testament is not written from a secular viewpoint. As in the [Buddhist] Jataka [Birth-] stories, the events are seen as revealing the presence and power of God. Nevertheless, owing to the absence of a fictive Jonesian superstructure, it is more useful as a [series of] stories of real tribes in real geographical settings.

6. Don Cupitt, After God, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1997, p.28.

7. David Lowenstein, Milton and the Drama of History: Historical Vision, Iconoclasm, and the Literary Imagination, Cambridge University Press, 2004.

8. Mankind had spread from the Eden.

9. From the earliest times in history, religion must have played an important part in the lives of men and women and in this sense the idea of a precise dawn of religions is not a clear-cut one. Even in the Stone Age (500,000 BC to 10,000 BC) when there were no trappings of civilization, men and women believed in a hidden magical world inhabited by the spirits of their ancestors, animals, birds, and trees. Some of the these animistic beliefs and practices made their way into later religions. The transformation to agrarian society can perhaps be dated to about the 6th millennium BC, and the beginnings of the Bronze age to about... The discovery of iron has left imprints in the religious practices of all civilized nations, and it is possible to visualize a beginning of this phase.

• Contact the scholar: Dr. Ranajit Pal

Dawn of Religion: Buddhism in Indo-Arya

Buddhism is far older and more wisdespread than previously imagined. Here in an unrelated photo monks visit a relic of a Tang Dynasty pagoda at Huayuan, NW China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, 9/9/06.

Max Müller and The Ur-Heimat of Religions
Ranajit Pal

More than one hundred years have passed since the great German scholar Max Müller (1823-1900) first initiated the study of the history of religions on a cross-cultural basis, not limited only to biblical religion. Max Müller's approach was characterized by a deep commitment to the methods of empirical science and his compilation of the critical edition of the RgVeda marks a new age in Indology.

(berzinarchives.com)

The approach of the Dutch scholars C. P. Tiele and P. D. Chantepie de la Saussaye was similar, and it soon became apparent that despite widely different external manifestations, there are extraordinary parallels between the basic thoughts in the great ancient religions. From his profound comparative study of Eastern and Western mysticism, Rudolf Otto drew attention to close similarities between the writings of the medieval Hindu philosopher Shankara and the medieval German mystic Meister Eckehart.

The renowned art critic and theologian Ananda Coomaraswamy pointed to close similarities between the work of Christian writers such as St. Thomas, Ruysbroek, and Boehme, and passages in Vedic literature -- similarities which are so striking that many sentences from the Christian writers can be taken as almost literal translations of Sanskrit sentences.

The famous scholar of Buddhism, T. W. Rhys Davids, drew attention to close parallels between Buddhist and Christian doctrines. Coomaraswamy saw this as an expression of basic unity of the great religions. And Max Müller wrote that this cannot be attributed to chance alone.

In his view the real reason was more profound but still mundane -- there must have been an early historical contact between ancient peoples in an Ur-Heimat [German, "original homeland"]. Max Müller's enthusiasm was not shared by the next generation of scholars like Otto and the Dutch phenomenologist Gerardus van der Leeuw, who decried the reliance on high scientific ideals[10]. However, a careful study seems to vindicate Max Müller.

Recent archaeological discoveries in southeastern Iran, Baluchistan, and Afghanistan point to the existence of a terrestrial "Heaven" in Seistan, which was the cradle of nearly all the great religions: Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Buddhism, and perhaps also Christianity.

Gotama's Birthplace Kapilavastu was in Seistan
The biggest hurdle in the reconstruction of the [proper] history of religions is the location of Gotama Buddha's birthplace, Kapilavastu, in modern Nepal, far from Seistan.

That this is a fraud by a crafty forger, Dr. Anton Fuhrer, has been shown by T. A. Phelps[11]. About the endless disputes centering the identification of Kapilavastu, Vincent Smith remarked, "The mystery of Kapilavastu will continue for many years to be the sport of unverified conjecture." No primary relic of Gotama has been unearthed from eastern India except his ashes, which were probably brought from the northwest.

As the work of Sir Aurel Stein and others has shown, Buddhist manuscripts are all from Central Asia and Ceylon. Not a single manuscript has been found in modern India. Again Indian-Buddhist finds are all post-Asokan with no trace of Gotama or Chandragupta. Even Gotama's mortal remains are mostly from the Northwest.

Northwest Roots

To solve the problem one has to turn to the northwest -- to Kuh-i-Khwaja in Seistan, near the Afghan border, where Stein discovered a Buddhist shrine. Even during Alexander's day this area was densely populated and was the granary of Iran.

While all the ancient sites of Iran are in the west, Kuh-i-Khwaja is the only site of the East. Since the Bible alludes to an "ancient east," this must have been a center of great importance. Gotama was a contemporary and namesake of Gomata. And stalwarts like Olmstead, Toynbee, and Dandamayev realized that Darius had lied in the Behistun inscription: Gomata was not an impostor. His immense popularity is attested to by Herodotus' report that the whole of Asia rose in revolt in his support.

He was a great benefactor who abolished taxes and freed slaves; his Palace was at Sikayauvati, which links him to Sakya, Gotama's title; he proscribed Zarathustra just as Gotama had banished Devadatta. And Al-beruni stated that the Zoroastrians drove the Buddhists eastward.

In the highly authentic Ajanta caves, the child Siddhartha is shown dressed as a foreigner. Thus, Bagapa, Viceroy of Babylon during Darius' reign, was surely Gotama, whose title was "Bhagava" [Sanskrit honorific, Bhagwan]. Bagapa must have been the chief priest of E-Sagila.

Before his death Gotama lamented his happy days at the Isigili mount, which is the E-Sagila. There is a reference in the Persepolis Fortification tablets (PF 756) to Gaumata in a religious context which indicates that Bardiya was killed, not Gaumata. After Darius-I's death, Gotama was probably banished by his son Xerexes, who crushed the Daevas [Devas] or Buddhists.

Gotama's mortal remains were also found mostly from the Northwest, which must have been his arena.

Alexander in an Abode of Prophets
The large number of "Alexandrias" founded by Alexander in Asia and Africa were his greatest gift to humanity, wrote Bertrand Russell. Of these one in southeastern Iran has a very curious sounding name -- Alexandria Prophthasia.

The eminent Hellenic and Oriental scholar Sir William Tarn located Alexandria Prophthasia (the city was renamed, not founded by Alexander) at Kuh-i-Khwaja in Seistan. Since "Prophtes" in Greek means "Prophet," it must have been named after a Prophet. Who was this Seer of Kuh-i-Khwaja?

Only Jones' folly obscured that this sage was Gomata the Maga, who was Gotama [the Buddha] himself. The name "Prophthasia" may also be a memory of other Prophets including Abraham and Nebuchadrezzar. Alexander was greatly inspired by NebuChandressar and the same may be true of Gotama.

It turns out that both the names Babil and the Bible echo the name of a very ancient city in Seistan -- Kapilavastu or Babil. Babylon later continued the holy tradition of Babil. To understand the Asokan Edict at Ruminidei one has to note that Ashoka followed Alexander who had exempted the Ariaspians of Kapilavastu from taxes. The Ariaspians are the Hariasvas of the [Hindu religious texts the] Puranas. The Mahabharata [literally, "Greater India," another set of texts] refers to king Hariasva, who was a strict vegetarian.

NOTES

10. The classicist Gilbert Murray has termed it as "the failure of nerve" in the academic study of religion.
11. See http://www.lumkap.org.uk. Not a single archaeological find corroborates Jones' so-called discovery of Palibothra at Patna, yet Indologists trudge on wearily.
Pal, R., "Gotama Buddha in West Asia," Annals of Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, vol.77, p.67-120

Indo-European Homeland: "Ur Heimat"

Scheme of Indo-European migrations from circa 4000 to 1000 BCE according to the Kurgan hypothesis. The purple area corresponds to the assumed Urheimat (Samara culture, Sredny Stog culture). The red area corresponds to the area that may have been settled by Indo-European-speaking peoples up to circa 2500 BCE; the orange area to 1000 BCE.

Urheimat (German: ur- original, ancient; Heimat home, homeland) is a linguistic term denoting the original homeland of the speakers of a proto-language.

Since many peoples tend to wander and spread, there is no single Urheimat. The Indo-European Urheimat, for example, is different from the Germanic or Romance [Roman] Urheimats. If the proto-language was spoken in historical times, the location of the Urheimat is typically undisputed.

The Roman Empire is clearly the Urheimat of the Romance languages. If the proto-language is unattested, however, its existence, and by consequence the existence and exact location of its Urheimat, may always be of a hypothetical nature.

Indo-European homeland
After this manner, scholars have tried to identify the homeland of the Proto-Indo-European language, to which the term Urheimat is most frequently applied. Possibly relevant geographical indicators are common words for "beech" and "salmon" (while there is no common word for "lion," e.g.—the fact so many European words for "lion" are similar-looking cognates is due to more recent borrowings). Many hypotheses for an Urheimat have been proposed, and Mallory (1989:143) said: “One does not ask ‘where is the Indo-European homeland?’ but rather ‘where do they put it now?’ ”

Mallory (1997:106) states that current discussion of the Indo-European homeland problem is largely confined to four basic models, with variations; these are, in chronological order: More>>

• Main article: Proto-Indo-European Urheimat hypotheses

Buddhist iconography outside India: Uppalavanna inspired coin with lotus born female

• Ranajit Pal: A New Non-Jonesian History of the World

Patali near Jiroft was Pataliputra, capital of Chandragupta/Orontobates (ranajitpal.com)

Indo-Aryan Roots of Buddhism

Map of the Sintashta-Petrovka culture (red), its expansion into the Andronovo culture during the 2nd millennium BC, showing the overlap with the BMAC in the south. The location of the earliest chariots is shown in purple.

Origin
The Indo-Iranians are commonly identified with the Andronovo culture, Vedic civilization, Iranian Culture, and their homeland with an area of the Eurasian steppe that borders the Ural River on the west, the Tian Shan on the east (where the Indo-Iranians took over the area occupied by the earlier Afanasevo culture), and Transoxiana and the Hindu Kush on the south.

Historical linguists broadly estimate that a continuum of Indo-Iranian languages probably began to diverge by 2000 BC, if not earlier[1]:38–39 preceding both the Vedic and Iranian cultures.

The earliest recorded forms of these languages, Vedic Sanskrit and Gathic Avestan, are remarkably similar, descended from the common Proto-Indo-Iranian language. The origin and earliest relationship between the Nuristani languages and that of the Iranian and Indic groups is irrecoverably obscure.

Expansion

Archaeological cultures associated with Indo-Iranian migrations (after EIEC). The Andronovo, BMAC and Yaz cultures have often been associated with Indo-Iranian migrations. The GGC, Cemetery H, Copper Hoard and PGW cultures are candidates for cultures associated with Indo-Aryan movements.

Two-wave models of Indo-Iranian expansion have been proposed by Burrow (1973) and Parpola (1999).

First wave
Main article: Indo-Aryan migration

The Indo-Iranians and their expansion are strongly associated with the chariot. It is assumed that this expansion went into the Caucasus, the Iranian plateau, and South Asia. They also expanded into Mesopotamia and Syria and introduced the horse and chariot culture to this part of the world. Sumerian texts from EDIIIb Ngirsu (2500-2350 BC) already mention the "chariot" (gigir) and Ur III texts (2150-2000 BC) mention the horse (anshe-zi-zi).

They left linguistic remains in a Hittite horse-training manual written by one "Kikkuli the Mitannian". Other evidence is found in references to the names of Mitanni rulers and the gods they swore by in treaties; these remains are found in the archives of the Mitanni's neighbors. The time period for this is about 1500 BC.[2]:257

The standard model for the entry of the Indo-European languages into South Asia is that this first wave went over the Hindu Kush, either into the headwaters of the Indus and later the Ganges. The earliest stratum of Vedic Sanskrit, preserved only in the Rigveda, is assigned to roughly 1500 BC.[3][2]:258 From the Indus, the Indo-Aryan languages spread from c. 1500 BC to c. 500 BC, over the northern and central parts of the subcontinent, sparing the extreme south.

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The Indo-Aryans in these areas established several powerful kingdoms and principalities in the region, from eastern Afghanistan to the doorstep of Bengal. The most powerful of these kingdoms were the post-Rigvedic Kuru (in Kurukshetra and the Delhi area) and their allies the Pañcālas further east, as well as Gandhara and later on, about the time of the Buddha, the kingdom of Kosala and the quickly expanding realm of Magadha. The latter lasted until the 4th century BC, when it was conquered by Chandragupta Maurya and formed the center of the Mauryan empire.

In eastern Afghanistan and southwestern Pakistan, whatever Indo-Aryan languages were spoken there were eventually pushed out by the Iranian languages, such as that of the Avesta-like Kamboja. Most Indo-Aryan languages, however, were and still are prominent in the rest of the Indian subcontinent. Today, Indo-Aryan languages are spoken in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. More>>

• Ranajit Pal's reenvisioning of history and depths of the Aryan roots

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Chakras: Meditations to Awaken Kundalini

WQ with Nico Petromac Chakra Dhyana: concentration on the energy centers of the subtle body (2:32)

The chakras (literally, "wheels") are the nexus points of nerve fibers in the body. There importance is astral, as part of the subtle or spiritual body not normally seen by the eyes. They are visible to the Divine Eye (Dibba Cakkhu). They are each associated with a particular vibration -- manifesting as a color (light vibration) and a "seed sound" (bija mantra, or sound vibration). Click on each wheel to hear the latter vibrations. In descending order the seven cerebrospinal points and their corresponding features are:

• Sahasrara (crown)
• Ajna (brow)
• Vishuddha (throat)
• Anahata (heart)
• Manipura (navel)
• Svadhisthana (genital)
• Muladhara (perineal)

Opening the Third Eye

Opening the "Divine" or Third Eye Center, the Agni chakra (Karma Channel)

Kalama Sutra in Brief (14 Lines)

(CLICK TO READ)

Kalama Sutra: no "blind faith" necessary

Advice to the Kalamas
WQ edit (AN III.65)

[The Kalamas of Kesaputta go to see the Buddha]

1. Thus have I heard. Once the Blessed One, while wandering in the country of the Kosalas with a large community of recluses, entered a town of the Kalama people called Kesaputta. The Kalamas there said to one another: "Reverend Gotama, the recluse, the son of the Sakyans, has entered Kesaputta. A good report of the Reverend Gotama has been spread in this way: Indeed, the Blessed One is thus consummate, fully enlightened, endowed with knowledge and [right] practice, sublime, knower of the worlds, peerless, guide of trainable men, teacher of divine and human beings, which he by himself has through direct knowledge understood clearly. He set forth the Dharma, good in the beginning, good in the middle, good in the end, possessed of meaning and the letter, and complete in everything. And he proclaims the holy life that is perfectly pure. Seeing such consummate ones is good indeed."

2. Then the Kalamas went to the Blessed One. On arriving there some paid homage to him and sat down on one side; some exchanged greetings with him and, after the ending of cordial and memorable talk, sat down on one side; some saluted him raising their joined palms and sat down on one side; some announced their name and family name and sat down on one side; some without speaking sat down on one side.

[The Kalamas of Kesaputta ask for guidance from the Buddha]
3. The Kalamas of Kesaputta sitting on one side said to the Blessed One: "There are some recluses and brahmins, venerable sir, who visit Kesaputta. They expound and explain only their own doctrines; the doctrines of others they despise, revile, and pull to pieces. Some other recluses and brahmins too, venerable sir, come to Kesaputta. They also expound and explain only their own doctrines; the doctrines of others they despise, revile, and pull to pieces.

Venerable sir, there is doubt, there is uncertainty in us concerning them. Which of these venerable recluses and brahmins spoke the truth and which falsehood?"

[The criterion for rejection]
4. "It is proper for you, Kalamas, to doubt, to be uncertain; uncertainty has arisen in you about what is doubtful. Come, Kalamas. Do not go upon what has been acquired by repeated hearing; nor upon tradition; nor upon rumor; nor upon what is in a scripture; nor upon surmise; nor upon an axiom; nor upon specious reasoning; nor upon a bias towards a notion that has been pondered over; nor upon another's seeming ability; nor upon the consideration, 'The recluse is our teacher.' Kalamas, when you yourselves know: 'These things are bad; these things are blameworthy; these things are censured by the wise; undertaken and observed, these things lead to harm and ill,' abandon them.

[Greed, hate, and delusion]
5. "What do you think, Kalamas? Does greed appear in a person for benefit or harm?" -- "For harm, venerable sir." -- "Kalamas, being given to greed, and being overwhelmed and vanquished mentally by greed, a person takes life, steals, commits sexual misconduct, and tells lies; one also prompts another to do so. Will that be long for that person's harm and ill?" -- "Yes, venerable sir."

6. "What do you think, Kalamas? Does hate appear in a person for benefit or harm?" -- "For harm, venerable sir." -- "Kalamas, being given to hate, and being overwhelmed and vanquished mentally by hate, a perosn takes life, steals, commits adultery, and tells lies; one also prompts another to do so. Will that be long for harm and ill?" -- "Yes, venerable sir."

7. "What do you think, Kalamas? Does delusion appear in a person for benefit or harm?" -- "For harm, venerable sir." -- "Kalamas, being given to delusion, and being overwhelmed and vanquished mentally by delusion, a person takes life, steals, commits adultery, and tells lies; one also prompts another to do so. Will that be long for harm and ill?" -- "Yes, venerable sir."

8. "What do you think, Kalamas? Are these things good or bad?" -- "Bad, venerable sir" -- "Blameworthy or blameless?" -- "Blameworthy, venerable sir." -- "Censured or praised by the wise?" -- "Censured, venerable sir." -- "Undertaken and observed, do these things lead to harm and ill, or not? Or how does it strike you?" -- "Undertaken and observed, these things lead to harm and ill. Thus it strikes us here."

9. "Therefore, Kalamas, was it said thus, 'Come Kalamas. Do not go upon what has been acquired by repeated hearing; nor upon tradition; nor upon rumor; nor upon what is in a scripture; nor upon surmise; nor upon an axiom; nor upon specious reasoning; nor upon a bias towards a notion that has been pondered over; nor upon another's seeming ability; nor upon the consideration, "The recluse is our teacher."

But, Kalamas, when you yourselves know: "These things are bad; these things are blameworthy; these things are censured by the wise; undertaken and observed, these things lead to harm and ill," abandon them.'

[The criterion for acceptance]
10. "Come, Kalamas. Do not go upon what has been acquired by repeated hearing; nor upon tradition; nor upon rumor; nor upon what is in a scripture; nor upon surmise; nor upon an axiom; nor upon specious reasoning; nor upon a bias towards a notion that has been pondered over; nor upon another's seeming ability; nor upon the consideration, 'The recluse is our teacher.' But, Kalamas, when you yourselves know: 'These things are good; these things are not blameworthy; these things are praised by the wise; undertaken and observed, these things lead to benefit and happiness,' enter on and abide in them.

[Absence of greed, hate, and delusion]
11. "What do you think, Kalamas? Does the absence of greed appear in a person for benefit or harm?" -- "For benefit, venerable sir." -- "Kalamas, not being given over to greed, and not being overwhelmed and not vanquished mentally by greed, a person does not take life, does not steal, does not commit sexual misconduct, and does not tell lies; neither does one prompt another to do so. Will that be for one's longterm benefit and happiness?" -- "Yes, venerable sir."

12. "What do you think, Kalamas? Does the absence of hate...

13. "What do you think, Kalamas? Does the absence of delusion...

14. "What do you think, Kalamas? Are these things good or bad?" -- "Good, venerable sir." -- "Blameworthy or blameless?" -- "Blameless, venerable sir." -- "Censured or praised by the wise?" -- "Praised, venerable sir." -- "Undertaken and observed, do these things lead to benefit and happiness, or not? Or how does it strike you?" -- "Undertaken and observed, these things lead to benefit and happiness. Thus it strikes us here."

15. "Therefore, Kalamas, was it said thus, 'Come Kalamas. Do not go upon what has been acquired by repeated hearing; nor upon tradition; nor upon rumor; nor upon what is in a scripture; nor upon surmise; nor upon an axiom; nor upon specious reasoning; nor upon a bias towards a notion that has been pondered over; nor upon another's seeming ability; nor upon the consideration, "The recluse is our teacher." But, Kalamas, when you yourselves know: "These things are good; these things are blameless; these things are praised by the wise; undertaken and observed, these things lead to benefit and happiness," enter on and abide in them.'

[The Four Exalted Dwellings]
16. "The disciple of the Noble Ones, Kalamas, who in this way is devoid of coveting, devoid of ill will, undeluded, clearly comprehending and mindful, dwells, having pervaded with the thought of amity one quarter; likewise the second; likewise the third; likewise the fourth; so above, below, and across; one dwells, having pervaded because of the existence in it of all living beings, everywhere, the entire world, with the great, exalted, boundless thought of amity that is free of hate or malice.

"One lives, having pervaded, with the thought of compassion, one quarter; likewise the second; likewise the third; likewise the fourth; so above, below, and across; one dwells, having pervaded because of the existence in it of all living beings, everywhere, the entire world, with the great, exalted, boundless thought of compassion that is free of hate or malice.

"One lives, having pervaded, with the thought of gladness, one quarter; likewise the second; likewise the third; likewise the fourth; so above, below, and across; one dwells, having pervaded because of the existence in it of all living beings, everywhere, the entire world, with the great, exalted, boundless thought of gladness that is free of hate or malice.

"One lives, having pervaded, with the thought of equanimity, one quarter; likewise the second; likewise the third; likewise the fourth; so above, below, and across; one dwells, having pervaded because of the existence in it of all living beings, everywhere, the entire world, with the great, exalted, boundless thought of equanimity that is free of hate or malice.

[The Four Solaces]
17. "The disciple of the Noble Ones, Kalamas, who has such a hate-free mind, such a malice-free mind, such an undefiled mind, and such a purified mind, is one by whom Four Solaces are found here and now.

"'Suppose there is a hereafter and there is a fruit, result, of deeds done well or ill. Then it is possible that at the dissolution of the body after death, I shall arise in the heavenly world, which is possessed of the state of bliss.' This is the first solace found by one.

"'Suppose there is no hereafter and there is no fruit, no result, of deeds done well or ill. Yet in this world, here and now, free from hatred, free from malice, safe and sound, and happy, I keep myself.' This is the second solace found by one.

"'Suppose evil [results] befall an evil-doer. I, however, think of doing evil to no one. Then, how can ill [results] affect me who does no evil deed?' This is the third solace found by one.

"'Suppose evil [results] do not befall an evil-doer. Then I see myself purified in any case.' This is the fourth solace found by one.

"The disciple of the Noble Ones, Kalamas, who has such a hate-free mind, such a malice-free mind, such an undefiled mind, and such a purified mind, is one by whom, here and now, these Four Solaces are found."

"So it is, Blessed One. So it is, Sublime one. The disciple of the Noble Ones, venerable sir, who has such a hate-free mind, such a malice-free mind, such an undefiled mind, and such a purified mind, is one by whom, here and now, Four Solaces are found.

"Marvelous, venerable sir! Marvelous, venerable sir! It is as if, venerable sir, a person were to turn upwards what is upside down, or to uncover what is concealed, or to point the way to one who is lost, or to carry a lamp into a dark place thinking, 'Those who have eyes will see visible objects.' Just so has the Dharma been set forth in many ways by the Blessed One. Venerable sir, we go to the Blessed One for guidance, to the Dharma for guidance, and to the Community of recluses for guidance. Venerable sir, may the Blessed One regard us as lay followers who have gone for guidance from today on."

• See also "A Look at the Kalama Sutta" (Bhikkhu Bodhi)

From Soma Thera's Kalama Sutta: The Buddha's Charter of Free Inquiry (Wheel #8), translated by Soma Thera, (Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1981). Copyright ©1981 Buddhist Publication Society. Used with permission.