This volume of papers covers recent developments in the eastern Tibetan area of Amdo (a mdo), including social and religious culture, art, economics, and education. The collection is the fifth volume of the proceedings of the ninth seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies held in Leiden in 2000. (Ben Deitle 2006-05-15)
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Contemplative practices support transformative learning processes but can be difficult to identify in a higher education environment. Advocates of contemplative approaches to education see this void as a concern. When topics like these are ignored, especially when desired by students, staff, and faculty, the holistic, transformative, and deep learning needs of students are unfulfilled. Attention needs to be brought to the connections between contemplative practices and the pursuit of transformative education. In this qualitative study, 17 higher education professionals were asked how they integrate contemplative practices into their work and personal lives. In analyzing the data, three themes emerged, namely, awareness, integration, and interconnectedness. These themes, with accompanying stories, highlight the value and benefits of incorporating contemplative practices into a higher education setting. Using an inductive approach, suggestions for implementing practices were identified and are offered here.
When I first encountered pranayama, I thought it was a complete waste of time. I had been taking classes for a couple of years and had just found the
States in the Northern Rocky Mountains of the United States manage the gray wolf (Canis lupus) at low population levels through trophy hunting and lethal control. Although protected in Yellowstone National Park (YNP), wolves are subject to removal when they cross park boundaries. Thus, wolf management in the states adjacent to YNP is pitted against a large group of stakeholders interested in park wolves and their well-being. Federal and state decision makers should adopt “compassionate conservation” for Yellowstone wolves as a matter of equitable public policy and to improve biological and societal outcomes. Humane considerations should be paramount, given the high value and level of public interest in park wolves. This paper addresses the need to make animal welfare an essential aspect of wolf management in the YNP area.
Chülen (bcud len), the practice of "taking the essence", is an important practice within the Tibetan medical tradition. Through nourishing the body with the so-called depleted "essence", not only can one extend their lifespan but the practitioner can also restore their physical vitality. In recent years, this practice seems to be shifting away from the traditional religious mode of chülen involving tantric practices and rituals. Among the Tibetan medical literature, chülen is much emphasized in its religious aspects in the two important 17th century Tibetan medical commentaries on the Four Tantras (Rgyud bzhi) by the regent of the Fifth Dalai Lama, Desi Sangye Gyatso (Sde srid sangs rgyas rgya mtsho, 1653–1705): the Blue Beryl (Vaiḍūrya sngon po) and the Extended Commentary on the Instructional Tantra of the Four Tantras (Man ngag lhan thabs). Both texts are considered to be the most significant commentaries to the Four Tantras and have exerted a momentous impact on the interpretation of the Four Tantras even up to recent times. In their chapters on chülen, an assortment of chülen practices can be found. While there are some methods solely involving the extraction of essence in the material sense, there are also some in the spiritual-alchemical sense which are not observed in the Four Tantras. In this paper, I focus on the elaboration of the Four Tantras by Sangye Gyatso via his portrayal of ritualistic chülen in his two commentaries, where the tantric mode of promoting longevity and rekindling vitality is made efficacious by the operative socio-religious factors of his era, and which still exert their effect on our perception of chülen today.
This article presents research from a qualitative study of the way that reflective writing is solicited, taught, composed, and assessed within a state-mandated portfolio curriculum. The research situates reflective texts generated by participating students within the larger goals and bureaucratic processes of the school system. The study finds that reflective letters are a genre within the state curriculum that regulates the substance and tone of students reflections. At the classroom level, the genre provides a mode that students adopt with the assurance that their reflections will meet state evaluators expectations. At the bureaucratic level, the genre helps to continually validate the states portfolio curriculum through its strong encouragement of stylized narratives of progress. The study demonstrates the importance of understanding how large-scale assessments shape pedagogy and students writing.
<p>An introduction by Toni Huber to Tendzin Chökyi Lodrö's <em>Guidebook to Laphyi (La phyi gnas yig)</em> and Huber's critical edition of the text. (Steven Weinberger 2006-12-19)</p>
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the current leading causes of disability worldwide. Adolescence is a vulnerable period for the onset of depression, with MDD affecting 8-20% of all youth. Traditional treatment methods have not been sufficiently effective to slow the increasing prevalence of adolescent depression. We therefore propose a new model for the treatment of adolescent depression - Training for Awareness, Resilience, and Action (TARA) - that is based on current understanding of developmental and depression neurobiology. The TARA model is aligned with the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) of the National Institute of Mental Health. In this article, we first address the relevance of RDoC to adolescent depression. Second, we identify the major RDoC domains of function involved in adolescent depression and organize them in a way that gives priority to domains thought to be driving the psychopathology. Third, we select therapeutic training strategies for TARA based on current scientific evidence of efficacy for the prioritized domains of function in a manner that maximizes time, resources, and feasibility. The TARA model takes into consideration the developmental limitation in top-down cognitive control in adolescence and promotes bottom-up strategies such as vagal afference to decrease limbic hyperactivation and its secondary effects. The program has been informed by mindfulness-based therapy and yoga, as well as modern psychotherapeutic techniques. The treatment program is semi-manualized, progressive, and applied in a module-based approach designed for a group setting that is to be conducted one session per week for 12 weeks. We hope that this work may form the basis for a novel and more effective treatment strategy for adolescent depression, as well as broaden the discussion on how to address this challenge.
Tony’s guest this week:William MacAskill, author of “Doing Good Better” and associate professor of philosophy at Lincoln College, Oxford.
BACKGROUND: Women who develop secondary arm lymphoedema subsequent to treatment associated with breast cancer require life-long management for a range of symptoms including arm swelling, heaviness, tightness in the arm and sometimes the chest, upper body impairment and changes to a range of parameters relating to quality of life. While exercise under controlled conditions has had positive outcomes, the impact of yoga has not been investigated. The aim of this study is to determine the effectiveness of yoga in the physical and psycho-social domains, in the hope that women can be offered another safe, holistic modality to help control many, if not all, of the effects of secondary arm lymphoedema.METHODS AND DESIGN: A randomised controlled pilot trial will be conducted in Hobart and Launceston with a total of 40 women receiving either yoga intervention or current best practice care. Intervention will consist of eight weeks of a weekly teacher-led yoga class with a home-based daily yoga practice delivered by DVD. Primary outcome measures will be the effects of yoga on lymphoedema and its associated symptoms and quality of life. Secondary outcome measures will be range of motion of the arm and thoracic spine, shoulder strength, and weekly and daily physical activity. Primary and secondary outcomes will be measured at baseline, weeks four, eight and a four week follow up at week twelve. Range of motion of the spine, in a self-nominated group, will be measured at baseline, weeks eight and twelve. A further outcome will be the women's perceptions of the yoga collected by interview at week eight.
DISCUSSION: The results of this trial will provide information on the safety and effectiveness of yoga for women with secondary arm lymphoedema from breast cancer treatment. It will also inform methodology for future, larger trials.
TRIAL REGISTRATION: ACTRN12611000202965.
<p>A review article by Toni Huber of Rebecca Redwood French's <em>The Golden Yoke: The Legal Cosmology of Buddhist Tibet</em></p>
Breast cancer-related lymphoedema (BCRL) is a chronic condition that requires lifelong management to prevent the condition worsening and to reduce the threat of infection. Women are affected in all domains of their life. As a holistic practice, yoga may be of benefit by reducing both the physical and psychosocial effects of lymphoedema. Women with BCRL are attending yoga classes in increasing numbers, so it is essential that yoga be based on principles that ensure lymphoedema is controlled and not exacerbated. Two Randomised Controlled Trials with a yoga intervention have had positive results after an 8-week intervention (n=28) and 6-months after a 4-week intervention (n=18). The first study had several significant results and women reported increased biopsychosocial improvements. Both studies showed trends to improved lymphoedema status. The yoga interventions compromised breathing, physical postures, meditation and relaxation practices based on Satyananda Yoga®, with modifications to promote lymphatic drainage and following principles of best current care for those with BCRL. Individual needs were considered. The yoga protocol that was used in the 8-week trial is presented. Our aim is to provide principles for yoga teachers/therapists working with this clientele that can be adapted to other yoga styles. Further, these principles may provide a basis for the development of yoga programs for people with secondary lymphoedema in other areas of their body as the population requiring cancer treatment continues to increase. Whilst the style of yoga presented here has had positive outcomes, further application and research is needed to fully demonstrate its effectiveness.
Breast cancer-related lymphoedema (BCRL) is a chronic condition that requires lifelong management to prevent the condition worsening and to reduce the threat of infection. Women are affected in all domains of their life. As a holistic practice, yoga may be of benefit by reducing both the physical and psychosocial effects of lymphoedema. Women with BCRL are attending yoga classes in increasing numbers, so it is essential that yoga be based on principles that ensure lymphoedema is controlled and not exacerbated. Two Randomised Controlled Trials with a yoga intervention have had positive results after an 8-week intervention (n=28) and 6-months after a 4-week intervention (n=18). The first study had several significant results and women reported increased biopsychosocial improvements. Both studies showed trends to improved lymphoedema status. The yoga interventions compromised breathing, physical postures, meditation and relaxation practices based on Satyananda Yoga®, with modifications to promote lymphatic drainage and following principles of best current care for those with BCRL. Individual needs were considered. The yoga protocol that was used in the 8-week trial is presented. Our aim is to provide principles for yoga teachers/therapists working with this clientele that can be adapted to other yoga styles. Further, these principles may provide a basis for the development of yoga programs for people with secondary lymphoedema in other areas of their body as the population requiring cancer treatment continues to increase. Whilst the style of yoga presented here has had positive outcomes, further application and research is needed to fully demonstrate its effectiveness.
<p>These are the minutes from the business meeting held on June 29, 2000, at the 9th seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies in Leiden, the Netherlands. (Ben Deitle 2006-03-09)</p>
This paper sets out to show how some theoretical concepts derived from Lacanian psychoanalysis might be put to work in the business of reflective practitioner research in education. It seeks to offer a more sophisticated, reflexively produced account of researcher identity built out of the narrative generated within a research enquiry. It illustrates, with reference to examples of writing from a specific research project, carried out within the context of a higher degree, how one teacher-researcher has used the concepts in forging a more productive understanding of her own evolving identity as a researcher through a process predicated on developing her own professional functioning. Shifting perspectives are provided on what the researcher wants from the enquiry as the researcher herself unfolds and analyses the successive phases of her narrative.
<p>Aims to be a comprehensive resource on classical literary Tibetan and terminology used in Buddhist literature. Its definitions are admirably well organized and consistent in quality, since Mr. Duff has been the single author of the dictionary from its inception to present. In addition, definitions are often given at length, with a useful concern to detail the straightforward and interpretative etymologies of words as well. The digital format renders opens up utilities not found in print dictionaries, and the constant updates means the dictionary grows and expands over time. (David Germano 2007-12-13, revised by Bill McGrath 2008-02-06)</p>
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