This book argues for the central role played by absorption in the functioning of the human mind. The importance of absorption makes itself felt in different ways; the two studies combined in this book concentrate on two of them. The first study, 'The Symbolic Mind', argues that, largely as a result of language acquisition, humans have two levels of cognition, which in normal circumstances are simultaneously active. Absorption is a (or the) means to circumvent some, perhaps all, of the associations that characterize one of these two levels of cognition, resulting in what is sometimes referred to as mysitcal experience, but which is not confined to mysticism and plays a role in various "religious" phenomena, and elsewhere. In the second st...
Publisher description: As David White explains in the Introduction to Tantra in Practice, Tantra is an Asian body of beliefs and practices that seeks to channel the divine energy that grounds the universe, in creative and liberating ways. The subsequent chapters reflect the wide geographical and temporal scope of Tantra by examining thirty-six texts from China, India, Japan, Nepal, and Tibet, ranging from the seventh century to the present day, and representing the full range of Tantric experience--Buddhist, Hindu, Jain, and even Islamic. Each text has been chosen and translated, often for the first time, by an international expert in the field who also provides detailed background material. Students of Asian religions and general reader...
The human voice is one of the principal conveyers of social and affective communication. Yet relatively little is known about the neural circuitry that supports the recognition of different vocally expressed emotions. We conducted an FMRI study to examine the brain responses to vocal expressions of anger and happiness, and to test whether specific brain regions showed preferential engagement in the processing of one emotion over the other. We also tested the extent to which simultaneously presented facial expressions of the same or different emotions would enhance brain responses, and to what degree such responses depend on attention towards the vocal expression. Forty healthy individuals were scanned while listening to vocal expressions...
This is a review by Prayag Raj Sharma of Suraj Subba, Botes: The Ferrymen of Tanahun.
This is a review by Prayag Raj Sharma of David N. Gellner, Monk, Householder, and Tantric Priest: Newar Buddhism and its Rituals.
This is a review by Madhav P. Pokharel of Jayaraj Acharya, A Descriptive Grammar of Nepali and an Analyzed Corpus.
A Ladakhi-English and English-Ladakhi dictionary. (Michael Walter and Manfred Taube 2006-05-15, revised by Bill McGrath 2008-01-03)
A Tibetan-German list of 60 drugs. Ein Beitrag zur Kenntnis der Arzneykunde Asiens. (Michael Walter and Manfred Taube 2006-05-15, revised by Bill McGrath 2008-01-03)
A Tibetan-Chinese dictionary. (Bill McGrath 2008-01-03)
A Chinese-Tibetan dictionary organized alphabetically by Pinyin. A stroke number index, as well as numerous reference charts, and a history of the dictionary project are included in the back. (Nathan Hill 2007-12-13, revised by Bill McGrath 2008-02-05)
This dictionary gives Sanskrit in Tibetan transliteration with the Tibetan and Chinese equivalents. (David Germano 2007-12-13, revised by Bill McGrath 2008-02-05)
Text in Tibetan, introduction in English. The Tibet Tripitaka: Taipei edition is a first time collection of all major works translated into Tibetan from Sanskrit, Chinese, and other Asian languages.
This issue of the the Bulletin of Tibetology was published in October of 1991. The issue features two articles by Erberto Lo Bue on traditional metal casting in Tibet and the Himalayas. (Ben Deitle 2006-01-16)
This chapter from the book MindScience : An East-West Dialogue is a record of a presentation given by Harvard doctor Herbert Benson during a conference between the Dalai Lama and psychologists, psychiatrists, neuroscientists, and psychobiologists at Harvard Medical School on March 24, 1991. The purpose of the conference, in part, was to share with the Dalai Lama and the medical community some of the scientific studies performed by Herbert Benson with Tibetan monks practicing "Tummo" (gtum mo) or the meditative generation of inner heat.
Herbert Benson gives an account of his experiences and the scientific findings from studying the physiological effects of meditation, starting in 1967 with practitioners of transcendental meditation and then eventually working with Tibetan monks with an expertise in the practice of "inner heat" (gtum mo). He specifically discusses how these types of meditative practices can significantly increase or decrease metabolism. Dr. Benson describes the nature of the studies performed with Tibetan monks, including the specific physiological changes he measured such as skin temperature and oxygen consumption. He also gives a general overview of the medical understanding of temperature regulation, looking specifically at the how warm-blooded animals regulate temperature through (1) heat production and (2) heat conservation.
Heat production can result through muscle activity and through chemical changes, such as chemical changes effected by the hormones epinephrine and thyroxin. Heat conservation is achieved in a variety of ways such as reducing the amount of skin exposure to the cold, piloerection (raising of hair, humans replace this by wearing clothing), and reducing blood flow to the extremities (where it will cool more rapidly). When put in a cold environment, the body naturally reduces blood flow to the extremities. However, practitioners of inner heat do the opposite: they increase the surface temperature of the skin. They also increase their metabolism.
Dr. Benson also discusses how his studies on meditators, in general, relate to what he calls the "relaxation response." This system is the opposite of the "stress response" which is involved with physiological reactions of "fight-or-flight." Research on the relaxation response has opened the door for its use in clinical settings for treatment of hypertension, cardiac arrhythmias, chronic pain, insomnia, the side of effects of cancer and AIDS therapies, anxiety disorders, depression, menstrual tension and infertility, and is also being applied as a preparation for surgery.
Finally, Dr. Benson answers questions from the audience on how his work relates to hypnosis, the treatment of cancer, the effect of meditation on blood carbon dioxide levels and blood pH, as well as other issues involved in the study of meditation. (Zach Rowinski 2005-01-04)
This controlled study looked at the effects of a Buddhist meditation practice (called "Dhammakaya meditation") on measures of cortisol, serum protein levels, blood pressure, pulse rate, lung volume and reaction time. 52 males, age 20-25, acted as the experimental group and 30 males of the same age range who did not practice the meditation acted as the control group. The results showed a significant decreas of cortisol levels, an increase in serum protein, a reduction of systolic, diastolic, and pulse rate, as well as a decrease in controlled lung volume and reaction time for individuals in the experimental groups. The experimenters conclude that Dhammakaya meditation can produce physiological changes and reduce reaction time. (Zach Rowinski 2005-03-05)
The article is a comparative study of South Asian caste and Mediterranean citizenship in the development of the classes and the state. The article discusses the development of states within lineage. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-15)
The article discusses Nepal and South Asian regional security. Nepal's important place in South Asian regional security stems from her geostrategic position. The author argues that the price paid by a small country for good neighborliness and regional peace often consists of formulating its security perceptions along the lines of its powerful neighbor. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-15)
The article is a preliminary study of the private sector of Nepal's manufacturing industry. The study is based on the data extracted from the 'license' and 'registration' records held at the department of industry in November 1985. The general aim of this study is to outline in fairly board terms some of the major components of the private sector as it was constituted in 1985. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-15)
The article discusses the nation, nationalism, and some issues of national consensus after the establishment of democracy through mass revolution in Nepal. The main issue of national consensus is the new constitution of Nepal which aims to institutionalize democracy by recognizing the sovereign rights of people and establish a multi-party system and constitutional monarchy. As a national democratic constitution, it will have to adapt to the ever-changing conditions of Nepali society. By securing social peace and progress, safeguarding individual rights, and promoting national well-being, the constitution will hopefully help further enhance and consolidate Nepali nationalism. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-15)
The article discusses marriage and the constitution of hierarchy and gender in Bahun-Chetri households. In this article the author examines the idea that marriage transforms equality into inequality, but does so with respect to Bahun-Chetri society in Nepal, a society that is fundamentally hierarchical. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-15)
This article concentrates on voluntary international migration in Nepal, although in many cases the difference between voluntary and involuntary movements may be unclear. The current population situation in Nepal results in part from both emigration and immigration. This article analyses the framework of migration. Mainly three forms of emigration are evident in Nepal: movement related to military recruitment as Gorkha recruitment, movement to earn livelihood from rural to urban centers of India, and marriage migration. Immigration comprises both regular and periodic flows. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-15)
The article presents a description, classification, and phonemic analysis of the vowels and diphthongs of a dialect of Maithili. It also includes brief discussions on the vowel clusters in Maithili. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-16)
The article investigates the process of cliticization in Maithili, specifically the question of clitic versus affix. This article, taking a cue from Zwicky and Pullum (1983), demonstrates that 'e' and 'o' alone should be described as clitics, and that he, ho and hi, hu should be treated as inflectional affixes. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-16)
The article discusses graphic and classifier verb bases in the Newar language. The classifier and graphic morphemes in Newar are found in various syntactic situations throughout the language. The role of these morphemes in the formation of verbs is the subject of this article. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-16)
The article aims to provide a kind of socio-cultural mapping of the Nepalese industrial class. It is based on a study of the owners of Nepal's top 140 'medium' and 'large' mechanized manufacturing enterprises in operation during 1989. The article discusses socio-cultural aspects of private industrial capital in Nepal. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-16)
The article describes compound verbs (CV) in Nepali. The author argues that an early trace of compound verbs is attested in Nepali in 14th century inscriptions. The article discusses the characteristics of CV. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-16)
The article discusses policies on foreign exchange and balance of payments and assesses their effective uses in the Nepalese context. The article raises the question of international monetary reform during the decades following 1944, when a mutual understanding was reached internationally for an orderly arrangement of exchange relationships. The article aims to assess various policy approaches that have been initiated to overcome constraints of international reserve assets found in Nepal and elsewhere. The central focus of the article is the policy problems facing Nepal, arising from the imbalances in Nepal's international account, the Nepalese style of tackling these problems, and some specific but pertinent generalizations with their policy implications. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-16)
The article is an attempt to document the various plant-food preservation techniques currently practiced in central Nepal. It is an ethnobotanical study of central Nepal. It includes 1 map of Nepal. The article describes the methods of plant-food preservation and plant-parts utilized. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-16)
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