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 issue of the the Bulletin of Tibetology was published in November of 1990. The issue features two book reviews and articles by David L. Snellgrove, Nirmal C. Sinha, Anukul Chandra Banerjee, Marianne Winder, Sanjit Kumar Sadhukhan, and Jampal K. Rechung. (Ben Deitle 2006-01-16)
The article discusses the over exploitation of natural resources in Gorkha. Two articles on this issue, in volume 16 in the CNAS journal, are discussed. This article discusses the exploitation of resources while addressing the social and economic causes. The author feels that the majority of Gorkha's inhabitants are economically dependent upon agriculture but the number of full-time farmers is quite small. The traditional practices for using natural resources now seem to have been discontinued, disturbing the relationship between man and his environment in Gorkha. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-13)
This is a review by Dilli R. Dahal of Dor Bahadur Bista, Fatalism and Development.
The article discusses ritual and politics in Nepal to examine the efficacy of ritual in protecting the king. Nepali is a country with a ritual tradition that is accumulative to such an extent that it indeed seems as if each and every trend that once entered the valley of Kathmandu has been preserved and readily absorbed into the already existing body of observances without a commensurate loss. The article discusses Sanskritization and tantrism and argues that ritual in Nepal has not only been fostered with devotion, it has also been persistently subject to political manipulation. The article discusses the political situation of the Rana regime coming to power. The author concludes the king's divinity does no more protect him than it did Lord Vishnu himself in a selected brahmana passage. Also, it is concluded that it does not protect the king from his own people. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-14)
The article discusses the importance of Swayambhu chaitya and gomba (monastery) in the role of strengthening the religious and cultural relations between the two countries of Nepal and Bhutan. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-14)
The article discusses the economic relations between Nepal and Bhutan. The two developing countries share the same type of geo-political situation in many ways. Official foreign relations were established in 1983 CE, but official economic relations between these two countries has not been established. The article traces the exchange of human resource between the two countries in the past. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-14)
The article discusses the mass movement in Nepal in 1950 CE, and the democratic reforms that followed. It explores the background of world politics at the time, commenting that it was "the time of great upheavals" in the history of democracy and human rights. The article describes the Nepali nation and people's need for democracy. It disusses the role of people, parties, leaders like G M Singh and others, as well as international support for the democratic government. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-14)
To obtain human genetic information with the intention of treating and curing severe genetic disease would be considered to be a positive personal decision of a moral agent in various religious contexts. According to some religious teachings human suffering should not be regarded merely as a negative element of life; however, the scientific achievement of obtaining genetic information should surely increase the possibility of hope for the eventual cure of genetically determined diseases. The elimination of human suffering and tragedy in severe genetically determined illness, on the criterion of the benefit of the patient, is permitted by various contemporary religious teachings, according to an analysis of publications by the World Council of Churches and the Vatican and sources from Jewish, Islamic and Buddhist teachings.
The classical legend of ca. 500 BC about Buddha who in his former life as King Sivi wished to give a part of his body to the first one who asked for it, lies at the root of the success story of the indefatigable Dr Silva of Colombo, who succeeded through the oldest known story about donation of organs to make Sri Lanka the 'world champion' in eye donation. The legend is quoted in this article, followed by a short introduction of Dr Hudson Silva and his remarkable activities.
The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of change. More precisely, considering insights from Buddhism, existential philosophy, and modern developmental thought, this paper will discuss two aspects of change: (a) change as a fundamental, inevitable aspect of life, and (b) change as a process of risking to choose. The discussion includes an analysis of the correspondence of the concept with four nursing frameworks, and some implications for nursing theory, research, and practice.
The purpose of this paper is to clarify some existing misunderstandings in the area of psychotherapy, existential approach and the Eastern Tao (Zen Buddhism, Confucianism, Lao-tzu, Chuang-tzu) by showing the common elements between Eastern Tao and psychoanalysis, and existential thought. The author compared the goal of Tao practice, namely, Zen Buddhism, Confucianism etc. with that of Western psychoanalysis, humanistic psychology and transpersonal psychotherapy. He concludes that these goals are the same and that the names are different. He also compared the procedures and processes of psychoanalysis and Zen practice. Sudden enlightenment and gradual training in Zen practice were compared with insight and 'working through' in psychoanalysis. Zen emphasis on relationship, ego strength and interpretation was linked with similar topics in psychoanalysis. The results of Zen practice and the central features of every psychoanalytic treatment were examined and found the same, that is, the resolution of, or transcending of, love (dependence) and hate (hostility). The description of a mature analyst and that of a Boddhisattva were compared and found the same. A trace of neurotic motivation remains but they are not influenced by it in helping others. The problem of theory and reality was discussed and strong emphasis on reality was described; in other words, the goal is directed at reality and theory is only a means pointing at reality. If you see the reality, you should forget the theory.
The author emphasizes the therapist's well-integrated and matured personality as the crucial element for being a good psychotherapist; therefore, it is essential for a psychotherapist to make ceaseless efforts regarding his own personality growth with his ongoing therapeutic experiences. Nevertheless, nowadays students are apt to satisfy themselves with or cling to the theories and techniques of psychotherapy, neglecting their own personality growth. The author attributes such a tendency, on the one hand, to the contemporary thought of 'technology first and convenience first', on the other, to the current system of medical education which is extremely faithful to scientism. He warns that concepts or theories sometimes serve as a barrier in one's mind and falsify the reality. He reiterates the importance of the therapist's own maturity and expansion of awareness. In this context, the author recommends Zen meditation or Theravada meditation as one of the advanced courses of training for psychotherapists. He elucidates a way of promoting one's awareness in Zen meditation and what the ultimate state of "no-self" of Zen should be, based on his own experience of Zen practices.
The article discusses a Nepalese women's development project. The article discusses the specific features of the organization in detail, that is, it attempts to indicate how the scheme works on the ground. The article provides an outline of certain features of the personnel a gives a profile of the overall composition in terms of age, sex, caste, and education. The article also tries to draw out the sociological implications of the arrangement, identifying how the patterning relates to outside social relations, whether disjoined or repeating these. It also explains how this particular kind of organization has certain repercussions for the people concerned. The focus of the study is a Nepalese development scheme expressly devoted to women which has been in existence for over twelve years. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-13)
The article describes the musical instruments of Nepal. In Nepal, there is a unique tradition that "baja" (musical instrument) refers to a collection of instruments with one instrument as a lead instrument. In English, the term band is used for 'Vadhya samuha' or 'baja'. It contains a list of bajas which are popular in different places like Lalitpur and Kathmandu. It includes 25 leaves of plates. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-13)
This article on the lexical and syntactic causatives in Newari is an attempt to examine how morphological processes affect the complex patterns of causative formations in the language. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-14)
This article presents the methodology used in determining the influence of caste hierarchy among the Satar of southern Nepal, both in defining themselves within the larger Satar group and between the Satar and other caste groups. It examines the implications of such influence on the Satar social system. It also includes a diagrammatic illustration of the world view of the Satar and their caste group. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-14)
(b) measures affecting only foreign investment, and (c) measures affecting both (a) and (b). (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-14)
Creator's Description: After reviewing scholarly debates regarding the usefulness of distinguishing, descriptively or analytically, the differences between "tribes" and "castes"/ "peasants," the paper proposes a contrast between these two categories in terms of their relationship to land. Thus, whereas most "caste-peasants" in east Nepal enjoyed land under raikar tenure – a form of freehold – which could be bought and sold, the "tribal" Limbus traditionally possessed theirs under what was termed kipat – which was inalienable and acquired only through kinship rights. Kipat was thus more than an economic asset; it was the basis of their identity as a people. In this sense they shared a conception of land as held by countless indigenous or "tribal" people in south Asia and elsewhere. (Lionel Caplan 2010-02-01)
(b) measures affecting only foreign investment, and (c) measures affecting both (a) and (b). (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-14)
The article speculates on a Nepalese ethno-history based on discussions of Gurungs, Gorkhalis, and Gurkhas. It traces the origin of Gurungs, a people who have for centuries inhabited the southern slopes of the Himalaya in central Nepal. The article writes the Nepalese Hindu caste of chetri, or warrior, has also been recruited for Gurkha regiments and share in their reputation. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-02-13)
In this article Benard explores the life of Machik Lapdrön. (BJN)
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