From jkirk at spro.net Sat Jan 1 16:56:09 2011 From: jkirk at spro.net (JKirkpatrick) Date: Sat, 1 Jan 2011 16:56:09 -0700 Subject: [Buddha-l] Reducing a personal library - East Asian subjects Message-ID: <8D273EBEB48A4D429511C9FD80E1F0D2@OPTIPLEX> Of course, this list-- consisting as it does mostly of illiterates and anti-thinking types-- no doubt few would care to look at this Prof's book list. Still, some might be interested......... JK -------------------------------- Reducing a personal academic East Asian library--an opportunity ***************************************************************** ***** From: mcknight at email.arizona.edu I managed to outwit the university space police for a number of years. Recently they caught up with me. I have now vacated my university office, and thus am faced with a need to reduce further the size of my library. I have given the students and faculty of my department as well as other friends in the business a chance to pick over the books, and have given some to the University of Arizona and more to the University of Hawaii, but I still have perhaps two hundred or so volumes in English, Chinese, and a few in Japanese that I would like to get into the hands of people who would value and use them. So, as part of the downsizing my library I have created a list of books in English, Chinese and Japanese that I will send as an email attachment to any individual who contacts me privately at: mcknight at email.arizona.edu Brian E. McKnight Professor Emeritus University of Arizona mcknight at email.arizona.edu ----------------------------------------------------------------- From bshmr at aol.com Mon Jan 3 11:45:15 2011 From: bshmr at aol.com (Richard Basham) Date: Mon, 03 Jan 2011 12:45:15 -0600 Subject: [Buddha-l] Oops--Article is from NY Times Message-ID: <1294080315.14261.3.camel@aims110> Via The Buddhist Channel, the revelations about an abbot's lechery is unfortunate, and a damned sight more visible now. Perhaps 'sunshine' will become the rule, as Halifax and others (including myself) imagine as a more wholesome way. Richard Basham * An Open Letter from Founder of Upaya Zen Center by Joan Halifax, Roshi, The Buddhist Channel, Jan 2, 2010 Dear Daibosatzu Board and Practitioners, I am Founding Abbot of Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a woman, a Zen practitioner since 1965, and someone who was sexually assaulted by one of her Buddhist teachers years ago. I have been following the discussion on the AZTA listserv for many months about the Eido Shimano "case". ... http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=70,9796,0,0,1,0 * Why Buddhism?: Violations of Trust in the Sexual Sphere by Roshi Joan Halifax, Founding Abbot Upaya Zen Center, The Buddhist Channel, Jan 3, 2011 Santa Fe, New Mexico (USA) -- We all know that rape as a weapon of war has been used against women and nations for thousands of years. Rape, forceable seduction, seduction through trickery, power and domination, seduction through loneliness or delusion have also been part of most, if not all, religions. Yes, if you want to demoralize a nation, rape its women, its daughters, its sisters, its wives........ And if you want to deepen the shadow of any religion, turn wisdom and compassion into hypocrisy, and stand by, conflict averse, as its male clergy disrespects women, has sex with female congregants, dominates women, abuses women, degrades or rapes them. ... http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=70,9803,0,0,1,0 * Mr Shimano, please stand down Editorial, The Buddhist Channel, Jan 3, 2011 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia -- The Vinaya of the Theravada Buddhist tradition have a term to describe four repugnant acts. Called the Parajikas (defeats), these rules entail expulsion from the Sangha for life. If a monk breaks any one of the rules he is automatically 'defeated' in the holy life and falls from monkhood immediately. ... http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=70,9797,0,0,1,0 * Sex and the Sangha: Letters and Leadership by NellaLou (Blog), Dec 30, 2010 New York, USA -- Eido Shimano wrote a letter to the New York Times reporter who did the story about him in that newspaper, Sex Scandal Has U.S. Buddhists Looking Within. It is pretty much an accusation of making up the whole situation he?s engendered. Blaming others is one of the hallmarks of those in denial. Everyone?s fault but his own. ... http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=70,9795,0,0,1,0 From jkirk at spro.net Mon Jan 3 19:15:05 2011 From: jkirk at spro.net (JKirkpatrick) Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2011 19:15:05 -0700 Subject: [Buddha-l] Oops--Article is from NY Times In-Reply-To: <1294080315.14261.3.camel@aims110> References: <1294080315.14261.3.camel@aims110> Message-ID: <41FBF6D53E164EFEA32C954CFF723364@OPTIPLEX> "Mr Shimano, please stand down Editorial, The Buddhist Channel, Jan 3, 2011 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia -- The Vinaya of the Theravada Buddhist tradition have a term to describe four repugnant acts. Called the Parajikas (defeats), these rules entail expulsion from the Sangha for life. If a monk breaks any one of the rules he is automatically 'defeated' in the holy life and falls from monkhood immediately................." Problem here is that the Malay author doesn't seem to know that Japanese Buddhist priests are not only *not* obliged to follow any of the vinayas, but that Japanese Zen literature in translation indicates that monks and priests often took off for the prostitution quarters of their cities, that they had sex relations with boy acolytes, on and on. So Shimano comes from a Japanese tradition of free sex for Buddhist priests, it would seem. His organisation should have known this, and maybe they did. Aitken Roshi knew it, yet he didn't make any moves until, so to speak, after his demise. I'm with Halifax on the problems of denial and of looking aside, instead of dealing with injury and manipulation, explotative domination, and misuses of power in sanghas, by Shimano and others who behaved the same. One good reason why I never joined any of them. Joanna K. -----Original Message----- From: buddha-l-bounces at mailman.swcp.com [mailto:buddha-l-bounces at mailman.swcp.com] On Behalf Of Richard Basham Sent: Monday, January 03, 2011 11:45 AM To: buddha-l at mailman.swcp.com Subject: Re: [Buddha-l] Oops--Article is from NY Times Via The Buddhist Channel, the revelations about an abbot's lechery is unfortunate, and a damned sight more visible now. Perhaps 'sunshine' will become the rule, as Halifax and others (including myself) imagine as a more wholesome way. Richard Basham * An Open Letter from Founder of Upaya Zen Center by Joan Halifax, Roshi, The Buddhist Channel, Jan 2, 2010 Dear Daibosatzu Board and Practitioners, I am Founding Abbot of Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a woman, a Zen practitioner since 1965, and someone who was sexually assaulted by one of her Buddhist teachers years ago. I have been following the discussion on the AZTA listserv for many months about the Eido Shimano "case". ... http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=70,9796,0,0,1,0 * Why Buddhism?: Violations of Trust in the Sexual Sphere by Roshi Joan Halifax, Founding Abbot Upaya Zen Center, The Buddhist Channel, Jan 3, 2011 Santa Fe, New Mexico (USA) -- We all know that rape as a weapon of war has been used against women and nations for thousands of years. Rape, forceable seduction, seduction through trickery, power and domination, seduction through loneliness or delusion have also been part of most, if not all, religions. Yes, if you want to demoralize a nation, rape its women, its daughters, its sisters, its wives........ And if you want to deepen the shadow of any religion, turn wisdom and compassion into hypocrisy, and stand by, conflict averse, as its male clergy disrespects women, has sex with female congregants, dominates women, abuses women, degrades or rapes them. ... http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=70,9803,0,0,1,0 * Mr Shimano, please stand down Editorial, The Buddhist Channel, Jan 3, 2011 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia -- The Vinaya of the Theravada Buddhist tradition have a term to describe four repugnant acts. Called the Parajikas (defeats), these rules entail expulsion from the Sangha for life. If a monk breaks any one of the rules he is automatically 'defeated' in the holy life and falls from monkhood immediately. ... http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=70,9797,0,0,1,0 * Sex and the Sangha: Letters and Leadership by NellaLou (Blog), Dec 30, 2010 New York, USA -- Eido Shimano wrote a letter to the New York Times reporter who did the story about him in that newspaper, Sex Scandal Has U.S. Buddhists Looking Within. It is pretty much an accusation of making up the whole situation he's engendered. Blaming others is one of the hallmarks of those in denial. Everyone's fault but his own. ... http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=70,9795,0,0,1,0 _______________________________________________ buddha-l mailing list buddha-l at mailman.swcp.com http://mailman.swcp.com/mailman/listinfo/buddha-l From jkirk at spro.net Fri Jan 7 10:26:48 2011 From: jkirk at spro.net (JKirkpatrick) Date: Fri, 7 Jan 2011 10:26:48 -0700 Subject: [Buddha-l] X-posted: CFP Chung-Hwa Buddhist Studides-call for manuscripts, Grant, Scholarship application Message-ID: Any students into E. Asian Buddhism on this list? Some golden opportunities here. Joanna ======================== H-ASIA January 7, 2010 Grant and Call for Manuscripts and Scholarship Applications(Chung-Hwa Buddhist Studies) ***************************************************************** ****** From: H-Net Announcements Grant and Call for Manuscripts and Scholarship Applications(Chung-Hwa Buddhist Studies) Location: Taiwan Grant Date: 2011-07-30 Date Submitted: 2011-01-04 Announcement ID: 181826 Call for Manuscripts and Scholarship Applications: Chung-Hwa Buddhist Studies The Chung-Hwa Institute of Buddhist Studies, an accredited research institute dedicated to academic research and publication of Chinese Buddhism, is launching a grant project for graduate students. In line with the institute motto declared by founder Master Sheng Yen, Our roots are Chinese; our branches are global, the Chung-Hwa Institute of Buddhist Studies and the Sheng Yen Education Foundation cooperate to offer graduate students scholarship opportunities and publication in the journal, Chung-Hwa Buddhist Studies. I.Topics of contribution Academic articles related to Chinese Buddhism of any period within a wide variety of fields, e.g., literature, history, philosophy, art, psychology, education, etc., are welcomed by the journal. II. Prospective contributors Domestic and international students enrolled in graduate programs are welcome to submit their academic works. Prospective students with a Master's degree who are considering further study are invited as well. III. Deadline An issue deadline is set for July 30th annually. Manuscripts received by the deadline will be peer reviewed. Manuscripts received after July 30th will be considered for the next year. The journal is published on December annually. IV. Amount of scholarship Accepted articles from students in M.A. programs or contributors with a Master's degree will be awarded a scholarship of NT$10,000 (approximately 300 USD.) Accepted articles from Ph.D. students will receive a scholarship of NT$20,000 (approximately 600 USD.) *This scholarship will be offered continuously until further notice. Twenty percent tax will be deducted. V. Scholarship ceremony A scholarship ceremony will be held on the 9th of the first month of Chinese lunar calendar in commemoration of Master Sheng Yen. *Overseas scholarship recipients who cannot attend this ceremony are requested to write a letter of acceptance. Scholarship will be remitted after the ceremony. VI.Submission checklist 1.A Contributor's Information Sheet. (This form is available on-line at http://www.chibs.edu.tw) 2.A validated statement of enrollment in graduate program, or a copy of the Master's degree diploma certificate. 3.A recommendation letter from student's academic advisor. 4.Two copies of the manuscript in hard copy, together with electronic versions of the article (with DOC and PDF files) along with font files for special characters (if any). VII. Submission guidelines 1.Manuscripts are expected in Chinese, English, or Japanese, and contain 10,000 to 20,000 words. A complete manuscript should include the following components: the title, an abstract within 600 words, and five keywords in both English and Chinese (or Japanese), along with table of contents and references. Please see manuscript formatting for the suggested format of manuscripts (available at http://www.chibs.edu.tw) 2.All submissions will be reviewed anonymously by two outside reviewers. Acceptance of submitted manuscripts will be based solely upon the opinions of the reviewers. Authors unwilling to meet reviewers' suggestion for revision will be withdrawn automatically. 3.Chung-Hwa Buddhist Studies reserves the right to revise articles. The author is responsible for proofreading before publication. 4.Authors submitting a manuscript to the Chung-Hwa Buddhist Studies should not simultaneously submit the manuscript to another journal. Copyright of all accepted works will transfer to the Chung-Hwa Buddhist Studies. CHIBS and Chung-Hwa Institute of Buddhist Studies may include articles in on-line databases or CD/DVD titles for academic distribution. The authors will be awarded two copies of the published Chung-Hwa Buddhist Studies and ten excerpted copies. Written permission must be obtained to reprint or reproduce articles. VIII. Contact information Phone: (+886-2) 24987171 ext. 2339 Fax: (+886-2) 24981176 E-mail: grant at chibs.edu.tw Website: http://www.chibs.edu.tw Mailing address:Dharma Drum Mountain The Chung-Hwa Institute of Buddhist Studies 14-5 Sanjie Village, Jinshan 20842 Taipei County, Taiwan, ROC Phone: (+886-2) 24987171 ext. 2339 Fax: (+886-2) 24981176 Email: grant at chibs.edu.tw Visit the website at http://www.chibs.edu.tw H-Net reproduces announcements that have been submitted to us as a free service to the academic community. If you are interested in an announcement listed here, please contact the organizers or patrons directly. Though we strive to provide accurate information, H-Net cannot accept responsibility for the text of announcements appearing in this service. Send comments & questions to H-Net Webstaff at URL H-Net Humanities & Social Sciences Online Hosted by Matrix at Michigan State University Copyright (c) 1995-2011 ***************************************************************** ******* To post to H-ASIA simply send your message to: For holidays or short absences send post to: with message: SET H-ASIA NOMAIL Upon return, send post with message SET H-ASIA MAIL H-ASIA WEB HOMEPAGE URL: http://h-net.msu.edu/~asia/ From jehms at xs4all.nl Sun Jan 9 03:21:23 2011 From: jehms at xs4all.nl (Erik Hoogcarspel) Date: Sun, 09 Jan 2011 11:21:23 +0100 Subject: [Buddha-l] Fwd: [*****] AsiaPacific Films.com - An Asia Pacific Online Film Library Message-ID: <4D298C23.3080503@xs4all.nl> You can search by theme and country. Some nice films about Religion and Ethics. erik -------- Originele bericht -------- Onderwerp: [*****] AsiaPacific Films.com - An Asia Pacific Online Film Library Datum: Sun, 9 Jan 2011 09:46:14 +1100 Van: Reviews of Internet resources for Asian Studies Aan: asia-www-monitor at anu.edu.au The Asian Studies WWW Monitor: Jan 2011, Vol. 18, No. 1 (320) -------------------------------------------------------------- 10 Jan 2011 AsiaPacific Films.com - An Asia Pacific Online Film Library iFilm Connections Asia& Pacific, Honolulu, HI, USA. Supplied note: "Dear Matthew [...] By now you must have received many warm and appreciative comments from readers across the globe about your contribution to our collective knowledge about Asian resources to be found on the Internet. In honor of your services, I'd like to offer your readers free access to over 500 culturally and historically important films made by Asians and Pacific Islanders. Usually people subscribe for $8.99 a month. However your readers can stream them for free for two months on "www.AsiaPacificFilms.com" by using this following login and password: LOGIN:cioleks-gift at asiapacificfilms.com PASSWORD: thankyou You and your users can cancel subscription at anytime. I hope you will check AsiaPacificFilms.com out by streaming some films for your own enjoyment [... for instance, you might] enjoy A SONG of TIBET, directed by the master Chinese filmmaker, Xie Fei. Here are some other film suggestions:http://www.idaconcpts.com/email/AsiaPacificFilms-January.html This link is to an advance copy of a newsletter we are sending out this Friday [i.e. 8 Jan 2001 - ed.] to subscribers. [...] Jeannette Paulson Hereniko, President, AsiaPacficiFilms.com Self-description: "What are we? AsiaPacificFilms.com streams culturally and historically significant films from Asia and the Pacific that entertain, educate and inspire viewers to think beyond boundaries. With the latest streaming technology, subscribers have unlimited access to our films in DVD quality. Who are we? We are an experienced team of Asia and Pacific film programmers working in concert with notable scholars, critics, and curators who carefully select our films. Our curators and AsiaPacificFilms.com's president Jeannette Hereniko are members of the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC), a well-respected international organization. Every year NETPAC awards prizes at major international film festivals." Site contents: * Search; * Login; * Explore Film Catalog (Browse By #Theme [All Themes, Aging& Mortality, Animals, Art& Music, Communication& Media, Ecology& the Environment, Ethnicity& Cultural Identity, Family& Relationships, Gender& Sexuality, Globalization& Modernization, Health& Disease, History, Human Rights, Law, Politics& Government, Mental Health& Psychology, Philosophy& Ethics, Religion, Social& Economic Issues, War& Military, Youth& Coming of Age] , # Genre [All Genres, Action, Animation, Comedy, Documentary, Drama, Drama, Experimental, Experimental, Fantasy, Horror, Mokumentary, Romance, Sci-Fi, Short, Thriller, Suspense, Youth, Children], # Filmmaker [there were 402 films listed in Jan 2001], # Country [All countries, Australia, China, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, South Korea/Japan, South Korea/Kazakhstan, South Korea/ Singapore, South Korea/Thailand, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga, United States, Vietnam]); * About Us; * Featured Film Festival; * Sign Up Benefits; * Contact Us; * Copyright Information; * Privacy Policy; * Legal Statement. [A very fine and rich site indeed - ed.] URLhttp://www.AsiaPacificFilms.com Internet Archive (web.archive.org) [the site was not archived at the time of this abstract] Link reported by: Jeannette Hereniko (jhereniko--at-- asiapacificfilms.com) * Resource type [news - documents - study - corporate info. - online guide]: Documents / Online Guide * Publisher [academic - business - government - library/museum - NGO - other]: Business * Scholarly usefulness [essential - v.useful - useful - interesting - marginal]: [Essential, regardless of presence/absence of this most generous gift to t.m. ciolek and other readers of the MONITOR] -------------------------------------------------------------- Src: The Asian Studies WWW Monitor ISSN 1329-9778 URLhttp://coombs.anu.edu.au/asia-www-monitor.html URLhttp://mailman.anu.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/asia-www-monitor The e-journal [est. 21 Apr 1994] provides free abstracts and reviews of new/updated online resources of interest to Asian Studies. The email edition of this Journal has now over 9,240 subscribers. The AS WWW Monitor does not necessarily endorse contents, or policies of the Internet resources it deals with. - regards - Dr T. Matthew Ciolek tmciolek--at--coombs.anu.edu.au Head, Internet Publications Bureau, RSPAS, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia ph +61 (02) 6125 3124 fax: +61 (02) 62571893 also, Asia Pacific Research Online atwww.ciolek.com [You may freely forward this information, but on condition that you send the text as an integral whole along with complete information about its author, date, and source.] _______________________________________________ asia-www-monitor at anu.edu.au http://mailman.anu.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/asia-www-monitor From jkirk at spro.net Sun Jan 9 11:54:17 2011 From: jkirk at spro.net (JKirkpatrick) Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2011 11:54:17 -0700 Subject: [Buddha-l] review of The Making of Buddhist Modernism. Message-ID: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=24528 David L. McMahan. The Making of Buddhist Modernism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. 299 pp. $29.95 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-19-518327-6. From bshmr at aol.com Sun Jan 9 22:12:01 2011 From: bshmr at aol.com (Richard Basham) Date: Sun, 09 Jan 2011 23:12:01 -0600 Subject: [Buddha-l] Oops--Article is from NY Times Message-ID: <1294636321.10621.3.camel@aims110> These may be a 'biased' sample -- that is unrepresentative of the community -- however some respected teachers are speaking out. Richard Basham Again via The Buddhist Channel: ?Water drunk by the snake becomes venom, water drunk by the cow becomes milk? by Myoan Grace Schireson, The Buddhist Channel, Jan 9, 2011 Grace Schireson's letter to Board of Directors of Zen Studies Society on Mr Shimano's misconduct Dear Soun Joe Dowling, I am writing as a Dharma cousin to encourage you and your sangha to terminate Rev. Eido Shimano?s teaching responsibilities and connection with the ZSS as recommended by the FaithTrust Institute October report . As a Zen person, I have given you the pith of my message first; the explanation of how I presume to involve myself follows. ... http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=70,9815,0,0,1,0 ** plus http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=70,9813,0,0,1,0 editorial notice: http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=70,9814,0,0,1,0 which links to http://monkeymindonline.blogspot.com/2010/12/letters-from-zen-teachers-to-zen.html From jkirk at spro.net Mon Jan 10 16:43:47 2011 From: jkirk at spro.net (JKirkpatrick) Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2011 16:43:47 -0700 Subject: [Buddha-l] Oops--Article is from NY Times In-Reply-To: <1294636321.10621.3.camel@aims110> References: <1294636321.10621.3.camel@aims110> Message-ID: <680D0B9A23FD45989B1D3A270683772F@OPTIPLEX> Jundo's note was even more instructive than the clinical psychologist abbess's note. The ZSS folks should just up sticks and leave. JK ================= These may be a 'biased' sample -- that is unrepresentative of the community -- however some respected teachers are speaking out. Richard Basham Again via The Buddhist Channel: "Water drunk by the snake becomes venom, water drunk by the cow becomes milk" by Myoan Grace Schireson, The Buddhist Channel, Jan 9, 2011 Grace Schireson's letter to Board of Directors of Zen Studies Society on Mr Shimano's misconduct Dear Soun Joe Dowling, I am writing as a Dharma cousin to encourage you and your sangha to terminate Rev. Eido Shimano's teaching responsibilities and connection with the ZSS as recommended by the FaithTrust Institute October report . As a Zen person, I have given you the pith of my message first; the explanation of how I presume to involve myself follows. ... http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=70,9815,0,0,1,0 ** plus http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=70,9813,0,0,1,0 editorial notice: http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=70,9814,0,0,1,0 which links to http://monkeymindonline.blogspot.com/2010/12/letters-from-zen-tea chers-to-zen.html _______________________________________________ buddha-l mailing list buddha-l at mailman.swcp.com http://mailman.swcp.com/mailman/listinfo/buddha-l From rhayes at unm.edu Mon Jan 10 20:39:36 2011 From: rhayes at unm.edu (Richard Hayes) Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2011 20:39:36 -0700 Subject: [Buddha-l] review of The Making of Buddhist Modernism. Message-ID: <23E5CF3C-8304-4E38-B96D-6ED2E1B9CBBF@unm.edu> As one who grows more impatient every day with all those who reject modernity, I look forward to reading McMahon's book. The review that Joanna sent makes it look appealing. Brother Nunchuku of Mild Reason (My latest in a long list of Unitarian-Universalist jihadi names from http://www.whump.com/dropbox/other/ujname.html) P.S. Another ferociously busy semester looms ahead. All work and no play is helping Brother Nunchuku remain a dull boy. From twin_oceans at yahoo.com Wed Jan 12 22:10:05 2011 From: twin_oceans at yahoo.com (Katherine Masis) Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 21:10:05 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Buddha-l] Still Points, Turning Worlds (BBC Radio) Message-ID: <55824.86725.qm@web112610.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> This link was sent to me a couple of days ago.? We still have 2 more days to listen to this program: ? http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00sj5z5 ? Katherine Masis From jkirk at spro.net Thu Jan 13 22:45:03 2011 From: jkirk at spro.net (JKirkpatrick) Date: Thu, 13 Jan 2011 22:45:03 -0700 Subject: [Buddha-l] ARAS--The Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism Message-ID: <7C3E643E7B264C51B3A879BDE7471580@OPTIPLEX> Now and then some list members refer to Carl Jung and his theories of psychology, archtypes, and so forth. Here is a fantastic archive of images and symbols sponsored by the Jungians: http://aras.org/ --- http://aras.org/aboutaras.aspx Enjoy. Joanna From bshmr at aol.com Fri Jan 14 12:23:32 2011 From: bshmr at aol.com (Richard Basham) Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2011 13:23:32 -0600 Subject: [Buddha-l] Exclusive Religionists Message-ID: <1295033012.13061.15.camel@aims110> NotDan and Dan, After the manufactured controversy of a Muslim cultural center in NYC, the conflicts over evangelic missionaries, damned bloody atheists, ... , here's more (competition?). I did 'google' "buddhism in iran" but found nothing similar recently . Richard Basham Warning Issued Against New Buddhist Center in Israel by Elad Benari, IsraelNationalNews.com, Jan 13, 2010 Tel Aviv, Israel -- The anti-missionary organization Yad L'Achim has issued a warning against a new Buddhist center which is set to open in Israel?s Arava region. ... http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=70,9831,0,0,1,0 From jkirk at spro.net Mon Jan 17 17:18:33 2011 From: jkirk at spro.net (JKirkpatrick) Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2011 17:18:33 -0700 Subject: [Buddha-l] FW: [n/a] Mapping Buddhist Monasteries 200-1200 CE Project Message-ID: Dear List, This is one super contribution to visualising the ancient Buddhist monastic communities in Asia. Please view. Best wishes, Joanna Kirkpatrick _________________________ The Asian Studies WWW Monitor: Jan 2011, Vol. 18, No. 1 (320) -------------------------------------------------------------- 18 Jan 2011 Mapping Buddhist Monasteries 200-1200 CE Project monastic-asia.wikidot.com, Ann Arbor: Center for South Asian Studies, University of Michigan, USA; Canberra: www.ciolek.com - Asia Pacific Research Online, Australia; & Newton, MA: Lasell College, USA. Self-description: "GORDON, Stewart, T. Matthew Ciolek & Lizabeth H. Piel, Work in progress, 2009-present, Mapping Buddhist Monasteries 200-1200 CE Project. [...] The Project aims to: * catalogue, * crosscheck, verify and interrelate the collected data, * georeference and, finally, * map online (using KML markup & Google Maps technology) details of communication, contacts and affinities between as many as possible of the Buddhist monasteries and convents known to have operated in South Asia, SE Asia, Central Asia, and East Asia from approx. 200 CE till approx. 1200 CE. [...] From its North Indian origins Buddhism expanded across much of Asia, including Southern India, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Central Asia and Tibet, Southeast Asia, China, Korea and Japan. In contrast to studies of 'Chinese' Buddhism or 'Vietnamese' Buddhism, this project focuses on the early medieaval monastic institutions across the entire Buddhist world. During the first 18 months of work conducted via the Internet from three different time-zones in the USA and Australia, we have constructed a freely accessible online database of easily correctable information on over 500 Asian monastic institutions. The data include their: (1) exact geographical coordinates; (2) official and variant names; (3) probable doctrinal affiliations; (4) architectural form; (5) probable organizational characteristics; (6) probable chronology and dating. Each monastery is linked directly to its position in GoogleEarth, allowing an overall or close up view of the site. Many sites have embedded photos of architectural features. In September 2010 we have now begun the second phase of the project: recording evidence of bilateral connections between monasteries, such as the longstanding links between Sri Lankan monasteries and Nalanda. What, however, were the overall Asian patterns? How did long-distance flows of students, teachers, relics, books, sculpture, paintings and donations influence intellectual, religious, artistic, even economic and political developments? What were the main types and styles of inter-monastic Buddhist communications [= exchanges of information, in oral and written formats], contacts [= flows of personnel] and affinities [= political, doctrinal, intellectual and artistic links and parallels]? Did they significantly vary with changes to their geographical, cultural, political, or temporal contexts? In other words, the project systematically documents, maps and explores the intimate contours of a closely interlinked and mutually influential Buddhist world. We invite interested scholars to critique our efforts so-far, to contribute new data or refinements, and to join our online team." Site contents: * Bibliography page [in mid-Jan 2011 it listed over 180 printed and/or electronic publications]; * Chronologies page (Arabian Peninsula, Burma, Byzantium, Cambodia, Central Asia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Persia, Afghanistan and Transoxiana, Vietnam [Annam, Nam Viet, Dai Viet], Vietnam [Champa]); * Map scales [from 1:22M to 1: 15K] & amp; measurements page; * Methodology page [under construction]; * Sanskrit fonts (cut & paste); * Monasteries A to Z [In mid-Jan 2011 the site recorded details of over 510 individual monasteries and monastic clusters. Data format: # Raw data, # Final data (and their sources): A. Lat/Long coordinates' accuracy [to the nearest 200m, 2km, 20km], B. General location of the monastery in question, C. Google Map link, 1. Monastery's name, 2. Monastery's modern country & province, 3. Monastery's alternative/historical names, 4. Monastery's lat/long coordinates [in decimal degrees], 5. Other known nearby Buddhist monasteries, 6. Modern name of the known nearest city, town, or village, 7. The settlement's alternative/historical names, 8. The settlement's coordinates [in decimal degrees], 9. Monastery's major Buddhist tradition, 10. Monastery's Buddhist sub-tradition, 11. Date-early, 12. Date-intermediate, 13. Date-late, 14. Details of contacts with other monasteries, 15. Type of evidence regarding the monastery, 16. Additional notes [missing data (incl. details of the size of the monastic population)], 17. Corrections & addenda to this page were kindly provided by ..., #Page tags.]; * Electronic Atlas [http://www.ciolek.com/GEO-MONASTIC/geo-monasteries-home.html, using GoogleEarth and the KML files] (Map A. Monasteries North-West (= areas between Lat 39.0 - 60.0 N and Long 55.0 - 99.9 E), Map B. Monasteries North-East (= areas between Lat 39.0 - 60.0 N and Long 100.0 - 150.0 E, incl. today's Korea & Japan), Map C. Monasteries Central-West (= areas between Lat 26.0 - 38.99 N and Long 55.0 - 99.9 E), Map D. Monasteries Central-East (= areas between Lat 26.0 - 38.99 N and Long 100.0 - 150.0 E), Map E. Monasteries South-West (= areas between 10.0 S - 25.99 N and Long 55.0 - 99.9 E), Map F. Monasteries South-East (= areas between 10.0 S - 25.99 N and Long 100.0 - 150.0 E)); * Unidentified Places [a list of highly problematic sites]; * How to edit pages?; * Recent changes; * Raw & temporary data; * Access pages by tags: (200m, 20km, 2km, a, afghanistan, apparatus, b, bangladesh, c, cave, central-asia, chan/zen, charted, china, cluster, d, e, east-asia, f, fahien, g, h, hoko, hosso, hua-yen, huichao, i, india, indonesia, j, japan, k, kashmir, kegon, korea, kyrgyzstan, l, lokottaravada, m, mahasanghika, mahayana, mahayana?, mapped, monastery, monastery?, mt., muro-ha, myanmar, myogen, n, nanzan, nepal, nunnery, o, p, pagoda, pakistan, q, r, redirect, ritsu, s, sammitiya, sanron, sarvastivada, shingon, shokannon, shotoku, south-asia, south-east-asia, spot, sri-lanka, stupa, sungyun, swat-valley, t, tajikistan, tantra, template, tendai, thailand, theravada, theravada?, tibet, tradition?, turkmenistan, u, uncharted, university, unmapped, uzbekistan, v, vajrayana, vajrayana?, vietnam, vinaya, w, western-china, x, xuanzang, y, yijing, z); * Recent posts & comments [under construction]; * 20 most recently created pages [incl.: # Sensoji monastery, (in) Tokyo, Tokyo Prefecture, JP; # Kitain monastery, (in) Kawagoe, Saitama Prefecture, JP; # Hwangnyongsa monastery, (in) Kyongju, Gyeongsanguk-do, KR; # Kizil monastery, (near) Kizil, Xinjiang, CN; # Qumtura monastery, (towards) Kuqa, Xinjiang, CN; # Singim monastery, (near) Singim, Xinjiang, CN; # Yulin monastery?, (near) Guazhou, Gansu, CN]; * Central Asia (Central Asia - all, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Western China); * East Asia (East Asia - all, China, Japan, Korea); * South Asia (South Asia - all, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan [under construction], India, Kashmir, Nepal, Pakistan, Sikkim [under construction], Sri Lanka, Swat, Tibet); * South-East Asia (SEAsia - all, Cambodia [under construction], Indonesia, Laos [under construction], Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam); * Aspects of data (Monastic clusters, Cave sites, Pagoda sites, Stupa sites, University sites); * Abstract; * Citation format; * Contact; * Search this site. URL http://monastic-asia.wikidot.com/ Internet Archive (web.archive.org) [the site is not archived by web.archive.org] Link reported by: T. Matthew Ciolek (tmciolek--at--coombs.anu.edu.au) * Resource type [news - documents - study - corporate info. - online guide]: Study * Publisher [academic - business - govt. - library/museum - NGO - other]: Academic * Scholarly usefulness [essential - v.useful - useful - interesting - marginal]: rating not available -------------------------------------------------------------- Src: The Asian Studies WWW Monitor ISSN 1329-9778 URL http://coombs.anu.edu.au/asia-www-monitor.html URL http://mailman.anu.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/asia-www-monitor The e-journal [est. 21 Apr 1994] provides free abstracts and reviews of new/updated online resources of interest to Asian Studies. The email edition of this Journal has now over 9,250 subscribers. The AS WWW Monitor does not necessarily endorse contents, or policies of the Internet resources it deals with. - regards - Dr T. Matthew Ciolek tmciolek--at--coombs.anu.edu.au Head, Internet Publications Bureau, RSPAS, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia ph +61 (02) 6125 3124 fax: +61 (02) 62571893 also, Asia Pacific Research Online at www.ciolek.com [You may freely forward this information, but on condition that you send the text as an integral whole along with complete information about its author, date, and source.] _______________________________________________ asia-www-monitor at anu.edu.au http://mailman.anu.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/asia-www-monitor From vasubandhu at earthlink.net Tue Jan 25 06:02:47 2011 From: vasubandhu at earthlink.net (Dan Lusthaus) Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2011 08:02:47 -0500 Subject: [Buddha-l] Meditation changes the brain structure References: Message-ID: <020501cbbc90$2ec695b0$6402a8c0@Dan> Latest research on meditation and the brain http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2011/01/eight-weeks-to-a-better-brain/ Dan From wongwf at comp.nus.edu.sg Tue Jan 25 06:18:25 2011 From: wongwf at comp.nus.edu.sg (Weng-Fai Wong) Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2011 21:18:25 +0800 Subject: [Buddha-l] Meditation changes the brain structure In-Reply-To: <020501cbbc90$2ec695b0$6402a8c0@Dan> References: <020501cbbc90$2ec695b0$6402a8c0@Dan> Message-ID: On a related note, are there any study on closed-eye hallucination, phosphenes and nimitta? W.F. Wong On Jan 25, 2011, at 9:02 PM, "Dan Lusthaus" wrote: > Latest research on meditation and the brain > > http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2011/01/eight-weeks-to-a-better-brain/ > > Dan > > _______________________________________________ > buddha-l mailing list > buddha-l at mailman.swcp.com > http://mailman.swcp.com/mailman/listinfo/buddha-l From lidewij at gmail.com Tue Jan 25 06:19:26 2011 From: lidewij at gmail.com (Lidewij Niezink) Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2011 14:19:26 +0100 Subject: [Buddha-l] Meditation changes the brain structure In-Reply-To: <020501cbbc90$2ec695b0$6402a8c0@Dan> References: <020501cbbc90$2ec695b0$6402a8c0@Dan> Message-ID: People are very excited about it. Anyone interested in the full article with no acces, feel free to drop me a line. Cheers, Lidewij On 25 January 2011 14:02, Dan Lusthaus wrote: > Latest research on meditation and the brain > > > http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2011/01/eight-weeks-to-a-better-brain/ > > Dan > > _______________________________________________ > buddha-l mailing list > buddha-l at mailman.swcp.com > http://mailman.swcp.com/mailman/listinfo/buddha-l > -- Dr. Lidewij Niezink http://www.linkedin.com/in/lniezink Charter for Compassion on linkedin: http://tinyurl.com/24xxacb Empathy on linkedin: http://tinyurl.com/2a8qbsz Albert Einstein on Compassion "A human being is a part of the whole, called by us "Universe", a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest ? a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security." Letter of 1950, as quoted in The New York Times (29 March 1972) and The New York Post (28 November 1972) From c_castell at yahoo.com Tue Jan 25 08:32:14 2011 From: c_castell at yahoo.com (Catalina) Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2011 07:32:14 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Buddha-l] Meditation changes the brain structure In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <852256.45468.qm@web111304.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> I would love to read it! Thank you! Cheers, Catalina sietededosdefrente at yahoo.com --- On Tue, 1/25/11, Lidewij Niezink wrote: From: Lidewij Niezink Subject: Re: [Buddha-l] Meditation changes the brain structure To: "Buddhist discussion forum" Date: Tuesday, January 25, 2011, 5:19 AM People are very excited about it. Anyone interested in the full article with no acces, feel free to drop me a line. Cheers, Lidewij From jkirk at spro.net Tue Jan 25 10:19:11 2011 From: jkirk at spro.net (JKirkpatrick) Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2011 10:19:11 -0700 Subject: [Buddha-l] Meditation changes the brain structure In-Reply-To: References: <020501cbbc90$2ec695b0$6402a8c0@Dan> Message-ID: <58B842E4673646FCA11EB136DA75553F@OPTIPLEX> Yes, please--I'd love to have a copy too, for my biologist step-daughter/prof who thinks meditation results are not scientifically demonstrated. Thanks, Joanna K. -----Original Message----- From: buddha-l-bounces at mailman.swcp.com [mailto:buddha-l-bounces at mailman.swcp.com] On Behalf Of Lidewij Niezink Sent: Tuesday, January 25, 2011 6:19 AM To: Buddhist discussion forum Subject: Re: [Buddha-l] Meditation changes the brain structure People are very excited about it. Anyone interested in the full article with no acces, feel free to drop me a line. Cheers, Lidewij On 25 January 2011 14:02, Dan Lusthaus wrote: > Latest research on meditation and the brain > > > http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2011/01/eight-weeks-to-a-be tter- > brain/ > > Dan > > _______________________________________________ > buddha-l mailing list > buddha-l at mailman.swcp.com > http://mailman.swcp.com/mailman/listinfo/buddha-l > -- Dr. Lidewij Niezink http://www.linkedin.com/in/lniezink Charter for Compassion on linkedin: http://tinyurl.com/24xxacb Empathy on linkedin: http://tinyurl.com/2a8qbsz Albert Einstein on Compassion "A human being is a part of the whole, called by us "Universe", a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest - a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security." Letter of 1950, as quoted in The New York Times (29 March 1972) and The New York Post (28 November 1972) _______________________________________________ buddha-l mailing list buddha-l at mailman.swcp.com http://mailman.swcp.com/mailman/listinfo/buddha-l From vasubandhu at earthlink.net Tue Jan 25 10:31:13 2011 From: vasubandhu at earthlink.net (Dan Lusthaus) Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2011 12:31:13 -0500 Subject: [Buddha-l] Meditation changes the brain structure References: <020501cbbc90$2ec695b0$6402a8c0@Dan> Message-ID: <023001cbbcb5$ab02eff0$6402a8c0@Dan> >People are very excited about it. >Lidewij Don't get too excited. Seems other things, like playing chess, cause beneficial brain changes. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/25/science/25chess.html?ref=global-home As these sorts of studies continue I predict they will find comparable brain changes in musicians, billiards players, etc. Let's wait and see before breaking out the bubbly... Dan From sjziobro at cs.com Tue Jan 25 10:34:31 2011 From: sjziobro at cs.com (sjziobro at cs.com) Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2011 12:34:31 -0500 Subject: [Buddha-l] Meditation changes the brain structure In-Reply-To: References: <020501cbbc90$2ec695b0$6402a8c0@Dan> Message-ID: <8CD8ACD4215F15C-13E4-1B73@webmail-d071.sysops.aol.com> Is it not the case that our brain changes in accord with sensory input and/or intentional focus, anyway? What really is new about this matter? Stan Ziobro -----Original Message----- From: Lidewij Niezink To: Buddhist discussion forum Sent: Tue, Jan 25, 2011 8:19 am Subject: Re: [Buddha-l] Meditation changes the brain structure People are very excited about it. Anyone interested in the full article with o acces, feel free to drop me a line. Cheers, idewij On 25 January 2011 14:02, Dan Lusthaus wrote: > Latest research on meditation and the brain http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2011/01/eight-weeks-to-a-better-brain/ Dan _______________________________________________ buddha-l mailing list buddha-l at mailman.swcp.com http://mailman.swcp.com/mailman/listinfo/buddha-l -- r. Lidewij Niezink ttp://www.linkedin.com/in/lniezink harter for Compassion on linkedin: ttp://tinyurl.com/24xxacb mpathy on linkedin: ttp://tinyurl.com/2a8qbsz Albert Einstein on Compassion A human being is a part of the whole, called by us "Universe", a part imited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings s something separated from the rest ? a kind of optical delusion of his onsciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to ur personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our ask must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of ompassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its eauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such chievement is in itself a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner ecurity." Letter of 1950, as quoted in The New York Times (29 March 1972) and The New ork Post (28 November 1972) ______________________________________________ uddha-l mailing list uddha-l at mailman.swcp.com ttp://mailman.swcp.com/mailman/listinfo/buddha-l From jkirk at spro.net Tue Jan 25 10:37:42 2011 From: jkirk at spro.net (JKirkpatrick) Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2011 10:37:42 -0700 Subject: [Buddha-l] Meditation changes the brain structure In-Reply-To: <023001cbbcb5$ab02eff0$6402a8c0@Dan> References: <020501cbbc90$2ec695b0$6402a8c0@Dan> <023001cbbcb5$ab02eff0$6402a8c0@Dan> Message-ID: <16A2FD3210084014B29BC9DB03297C6C@OPTIPLEX> >People are very excited about it. >Lidewij Don't get too excited. Seems other things, like playing chess, cause beneficial brain changes. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/25/science/25chess.html?ref=global -home As these sorts of studies continue I predict they will find comparable brain changes in musicians, billiards players, etc. Let's wait and see before breaking out the bubbly... Dan --------------------- Also, I wonder about studies based on only 8 weeks. Joanna From c_castell at yahoo.com Tue Jan 25 11:45:56 2011 From: c_castell at yahoo.com (Catalina) Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2011 10:45:56 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Buddha-l] Meditation changes the brain structure In-Reply-To: <8CD8ACD4215F15C-13E4-1B73@webmail-d071.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <906605.65063.qm@web111304.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> ?Stan ZiobroIs said: " it not the case that our brain changes in accord with sensory input and/or intentional focus, anyway?? What really is new about this matter? " I guess any of that is new. Our brain changes all the times as you say and in many ways (neural connections, number of cells, etc) What is interesting to me is to read it in a scientific paper (not that I always believe in what scientists say...I'm one...) so we can have this point of view. Cheers, Catalina From jehms at xs4all.nl Tue Jan 25 11:47:07 2011 From: jehms at xs4all.nl (Erik Hoogcarspel) Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2011 19:47:07 +0100 Subject: [Buddha-l] Meditation changes the brain structure In-Reply-To: <16A2FD3210084014B29BC9DB03297C6C@OPTIPLEX> References: <020501cbbc90$2ec695b0$6402a8c0@Dan> <023001cbbcb5$ab02eff0$6402a8c0@Dan> <16A2FD3210084014B29BC9DB03297C6C@OPTIPLEX> Message-ID: <4D3F1AAB.5070903@xs4all.nl> If you keep in mind that the brain is very adaptive, the effect may not last very long. Other activities also change the brain. See http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2009/10/12/2711305.htm I wonder what the effects of Taiji might be. erik Op 25-01-11 18:37, JKirkpatrick schreef: > Don't get too excited. Seems other things, like playing chess, > cause beneficial brain changes. > > http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/25/science/25chess.html?ref=global > -home > > As these sorts of studies continue I predict they will find > comparable brain changes in musicians, billiards players, etc. > Let's wait and see before breaking out the bubbly... > > Dan > --------------------- > > Also, I wonder about studies based on only 8 weeks. > Joanna > > _______________________________________________ > buddha-l mailing list > buddha-l at mailman.swcp.com > http://mailman.swcp.com/mailman/listinfo/buddha-l From tridral at gmail.com Tue Jan 25 15:46:20 2011 From: tridral at gmail.com ('o-Dzin Tridral) Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2011 22:46:20 +0000 Subject: [Buddha-l] Ngakpa Update Message-ID: Dear all, I would like to introduce the site Ngakpa Update (http://ngakpa-update.org/) and ask for comments and contributions from anyone who studies this area of Buddhism. From sjziobro at cs.com Tue Jan 25 16:25:57 2011 From: sjziobro at cs.com (sjziobro at cs.com) Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2011 18:25:57 -0500 Subject: [Buddha-l] Meditation changes the brain structure In-Reply-To: <906605.65063.qm@web111304.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <8CD8AFE577B3D9B-E40-41633@Webmail-m108.sysops.aol.com> Is this the first instance that an academic or medical professional has spoken to changes in the brain due to meditation or prayer? Stan -----Original Message----- From: Catalina To: Buddhist discussion forum Sent: Tue, Jan 25, 2011 1:45 pm Subject: Re: [Buddha-l] Meditation changes the brain structure Stan ZiobroIs said: " it not the case that our brain changes in accord with sensory input and/or intentional focus, anyway? What really is new about this matter? " I guess any of that is new. Our brain changes all the times as you say and in many ways (neural connections, number of cells, etc) What is interesting to me is to read it in a scientific paper (not that I always believe in what scientists say...I'm one...) so we can have this point of view. Cheers, Catalina _______________________________________________ buddha-l mailing list buddha-l at mailman.swcp.com http://mailman.swcp.com/mailman/listinfo/buddha-l From c_castell at yahoo.com Wed Jan 26 00:26:26 2011 From: c_castell at yahoo.com (Catalina) Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2011 23:26:26 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Buddha-l] Meditation changes the brain structure In-Reply-To: <8CD8AFE577B3D9B-E40-41633@Webmail-m108.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <309600.22889.qm@web111314.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> no, but is one. Academics have written and continue to write papers about the same topics all the time. Buddhist academics as well, no? Why not read them? it doesn't mean to agree with everything :) Cheers Catalina --- On Tue, 1/25/11, sjziobro at cs.com wrote: From: sjziobro at cs.com Subject: Re: [Buddha-l] Meditation changes the brain structure To: buddha-l at mailman.swcp.com Date: Tuesday, January 25, 2011, 3:25 PM Is this the first instance that an academic or medical professional has spoken to changes in the brain due to meditation or prayer? Stan -----Original Message----- From: Catalina To: Buddhist discussion forum Sent: Tue, Jan 25, 2011 1:45 pm Subject: Re: [Buddha-l] Meditation changes the brain structure Stan ZiobroIs said: " it not the case that our brain changes in accord with sensory input and/or intentional focus, anyway?? What really is new about this matter? " I guess any of that is new. Our brain changes all the times as you say and in many ways (neural connections, number of cells, etc) What is interesting to me is to read it in a scientific paper (not that I always believe in what scientists say...I'm one...) so we can have this point of view. Cheers, Catalina ? ? ? _______________________________________________ buddha-l mailing list buddha-l at mailman.swcp.com http://mailman.swcp.com/mailman/listinfo/buddha-l _______________________________________________ buddha-l mailing list buddha-l at mailman.swcp.com http://mailman.swcp.com/mailman/listinfo/buddha-l From twin_oceans at yahoo.com Thu Jan 27 09:27:15 2011 From: twin_oceans at yahoo.com (Katherine Masis) Date: Thu, 27 Jan 2011 08:27:15 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Buddha-l] Meditation changes the brain structure Message-ID: <375630.74037.qm@web112612.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Other researchers in this area: ? Alan B. Wallace at the Mind and Life Institue, Santa Barbara, California Richard Davidson at University of Wisconsin Andrew Newberg at University of Pennsylvania Catherine Kerr at Harvard University ? Katherine Masis San Jose, Costa Rica From Nik.Macleod at proquest.co.uk Thu Jan 27 10:44:21 2011 From: Nik.Macleod at proquest.co.uk (Macleod, Nik) Date: Thu, 27 Jan 2011 17:44:21 +0000 Subject: [Buddha-l] Meditation changes the brain structure In-Reply-To: <375630.74037.qm@web112612.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> References: <375630.74037.qm@web112612.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Seems that sustained application to all manner of things can bring about long term changes in brain structure - witness the changes effected in London cabbies by acquisition of 'the knowledge': http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/677048.stm http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/News/2004/Features/WTX032958.htm Nik Macleod Cambridge UK From jkirk at spro.net Thu Jan 27 12:38:12 2011 From: jkirk at spro.net (JKirkpatrick) Date: Thu, 27 Jan 2011 12:38:12 -0700 Subject: [Buddha-l] Meditation changes the brain structure In-Reply-To: References: <375630.74037.qm@web112612.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <94ABEA2A431D43878807221E667A6559@OPTIPLEX> Behalf Of Macleod, Nik Sent: Thursday, January 27, 2011 10:44 AM Seems that sustained application to all manner of things can bring about long term changes in brain structure - witness the changes effected in London cabbies by acquisition of 'the knowledge': http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/677048.stm http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/News/2004/Features/WTX032958.htm Nik Macleod Cambridge UK ________________ Yes--in fact, repetitive anything actions probably change parts of the brain--as in the brain altering that happens after repetitive drug or alcohol use: brain-supported addiction. Beneficial repetitive actions need a lot more study-- we're just at the beginning. Joanna From sfeite at roadrunner.com Thu Jan 27 13:13:45 2011 From: sfeite at roadrunner.com (S. A. Feite) Date: Thu, 27 Jan 2011 15:13:45 -0500 Subject: [Buddha-l] Meditation changes the brain structure In-Reply-To: References: <375630.74037.qm@web112612.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: On Jan 27, 2011, at 12:44 PM, Macleod, Nik wrote: > Seems that sustained application to all manner of things > can bring about long term changes in brain structure - > witness the changes effected in London cabbies by > acquisition of 'the knowledge': As neuroscientists say "neurons that fire together, wire together." Interestingly also, Buddhist meditation helps the amygdala get *smaller*. "Amygdalas are responsible for fear and other "primitive" emotions." Large amydalas are also connected to primitive political idealogies like conservatism. "Political opinions are considered choices, and in Western democracies the right to choose one's opinions -- freedom of conscience -- is considered sacrosanct. But recent studies suggest that our brains and genes may be a major determining factor in the views we hold. A study at University College London in the UK has found that conservatives' brains have larger amygdalas than the brains of liberals. Amygdalas are responsible for fear and other "primitive" emotions. At the same time, conservatives' brains were also found to have a smaller anterior cingulate -- the part of the brain responsible for courage and optimism. If the study is confirmed, it could give us the first medical explanation for why conservatives tend to be more receptive to threats of terrorism, for example, than liberals. And it may help to explain why conservatives like to plan based on the worst-case scenario, while liberals tend towards rosier outlooks. "It is very significant because it does suggest there is something about political attitudes that are either encoded in our brain structure through our experience or that our brain structure in some way determines or results in our political attitudes," Geraint Rees, the neurologist who carried out the study, told the media. Rees, who heads up UCL's Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, was originally asked half-jokingly to study the differences between liberal and conservative brains for an episode of BBC 4's Today show that was hosted by actor Colin Firth. But, after studying 90 UCL students and two British parliamentarians, the neurologist was shocked to discover a clear correlation between the size of certain brain parts and political views. He cautions that, because the study was carried out only on adults, there is no way to tell what came first -- the brain differences or the political opinions. But evidence is beginning to accumulate that figuring out a person's political proclivities may soon be as simple as a brain scan -- or a DNA test. In a study published in October, researchers at Harvard and UC-San Diego found that a variant of the DRD4 gene predisposes people to being liberal, but only if they had active social lives as adolescents. The "liberal gene" has also been linked to a desire to try new things, and other "personality traits related to political liberalism." For his part, actor Colin Firth, who hosted the BBC show that revealed the results of the brain scans, has said he wants to see brain scans on politicians to find out if they are telling the truth about what they believe. Questioning the "liberal" credentials of the head of Britain's Liberal Democratic party, Nick Clegg, Firth said: "I think we should have him scanned."" http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/8228192/Political- views-hard-wired-into-your-brain.html From horowitz at chass.utoronto.ca Thu Jan 27 13:46:48 2011 From: horowitz at chass.utoronto.ca (Gad Horowitz) Date: Thu, 27 Jan 2011 15:46:48 -0500 Subject: [Buddha-l] Meditation changes the brain structure References: <375630.74037.qm@web112612.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <6C0650AAF2764958A9E72A516B321745@utor34931c0aec> Do the terms "liberal" and "conservative" have the SAME referents all over the world? Are these "scientists" assuming that Have they studied Sudanese brains, Ecuadorian brains, etc.? ----- Original Message ----- From: "S. A. Feite" To: "Buddhist discussion forum" Sent: Thursday, January 27, 2011 3:13 PM Subject: Re: [Buddha-l] Meditation changes the brain structure > > On Jan 27, 2011, at 12:44 PM, Macleod, Nik wrote: > >> Seems that sustained application to all manner of things >> can bring about long term changes in brain structure - >> witness the changes effected in London cabbies by >> acquisition of 'the knowledge': > > > As neuroscientists say "neurons that fire together, wire together." > > Interestingly also, Buddhist meditation helps the amygdala get > *smaller*. "Amygdalas are responsible for fear and other "primitive" > emotions." Large amydalas are also connected to primitive political > idealogies like conservatism. > > "Political opinions are considered choices, and in Western > democracies the right to choose one's opinions -- freedom of > conscience -- is considered sacrosanct. > > But recent studies suggest that our brains and genes may be a major > determining factor in the views we hold. > > A study at University College London in the UK has found that > conservatives' brains have larger amygdalas than the brains of > liberals. Amygdalas are responsible for fear and other "primitive" > emotions. At the same time, conservatives' brains were also found to > have a smaller anterior cingulate -- the part of the brain > responsible for courage and optimism. > > If the study is confirmed, it could give us the first medical > explanation for why conservatives tend to be more receptive to > threats of terrorism, for example, than liberals. And it may help to > explain why conservatives like to plan based on the worst-case > scenario, while liberals tend towards rosier outlooks. > > "It is very significant because it does suggest there is something > about political attitudes that are either encoded in our brain > structure through our experience or that our brain structure in some > way determines or results in our political attitudes," Geraint Rees, > the neurologist who carried out the study, told the media. > > Rees, who heads up UCL's Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, was > originally asked half-jokingly to study the differences between > liberal and conservative brains for an episode of BBC 4's Today show > that was hosted by actor Colin Firth. But, after studying 90 UCL > students and two British parliamentarians, the neurologist was > shocked to discover a clear correlation between the size of certain > brain parts and political views. > > He cautions that, because the study was carried out only on adults, > there is no way to tell what came first -- the brain differences or > the political opinions. > > But evidence is beginning to accumulate that figuring out a person's > political proclivities may soon be as simple as a brain scan -- or a > DNA test. > > In a study published in October, researchers at Harvard and UC-San > Diego found that a variant of the DRD4 gene predisposes people to > being liberal, but only if they had active social lives as > adolescents. The "liberal gene" has also been linked to a desire to > try new things, and other "personality traits related to political > liberalism." > > For his part, actor Colin Firth, who hosted the BBC show that > revealed the results of the brain scans, has said he wants to see > brain scans on politicians to find out if they are telling the truth > about what they believe. > > Questioning the "liberal" credentials of the head of Britain's > Liberal Democratic party, Nick Clegg, Firth said: "I think we should > have him scanned."" > > > > http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/8228192/Political- > views-hard-wired-into-your-brain.html > _______________________________________________ > buddha-l mailing list > buddha-l at mailman.swcp.com > http://mailman.swcp.com/mailman/listinfo/buddha-l > From jehms at xs4all.nl Thu Jan 27 14:46:36 2011 From: jehms at xs4all.nl (Erik Hoogcarspel) Date: Thu, 27 Jan 2011 22:46:36 +0100 Subject: [Buddha-l] Meditation changes the brain structure In-Reply-To: <6C0650AAF2764958A9E72A516B321745@utor34931c0aec> References: <375630.74037.qm@web112612.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> <6C0650AAF2764958A9E72A516B321745@utor34931c0aec> Message-ID: <4D41E7BC.5020101@xs4all.nl> Op 27-01-11 21:46, Gad Horowitz schreef: > Do the terms "liberal" and "conservative" have the SAME referents all over > the world? > Are these "scientists" assuming that Have they studied Sudanese brains, > Ecuadorian brains, etc.? > > No, in some countries liberal is called progressive and conservative is called liberal, but forget the words. It is about the difference mental attitude, which is fairly universal. erik From sfeite at roadrunner.com Thu Jan 27 14:50:07 2011 From: sfeite at roadrunner.com (S.A. Feite) Date: Thu, 27 Jan 2011 16:50:07 -0500 Subject: [Buddha-l] Meditation changes the brain structure In-Reply-To: <6C0650AAF2764958A9E72A516B321745@utor34931c0aec> References: <375630.74037.qm@web112612.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> <6C0650AAF2764958A9E72A516B321745@utor34931c0aec> Message-ID: On Jan 27, 2011, at 3:46 PM, Gad Horowitz wrote: > Do the terms "liberal" and "conservative" have the SAME referents all over > the world? > Are these "scientists" assuming that Have they studied Sudanese brains, > Ecuadorian brains, etc. I believe it was just Brits. Steve From sfeite at roadrunner.com Thu Jan 27 15:21:33 2011 From: sfeite at roadrunner.com (S.A. Feite) Date: Thu, 27 Jan 2011 17:21:33 -0500 Subject: [Buddha-l] The Amygdala and Fear Message-ID: <79AB5C28-1BE1-4197-9A5A-8BF80AD1BB24@roadrunner.com> Some interesting background material on the amygdala from an academic Neurologist, meditation researcher and an advanced dharma practitioner. From: _Zen and the Brain_ James Austin, MD Chapter 41 _The Amygdala and Fear_ Rage, rage against the dying of the light . . . Dylan Thomas (1914?1953)1 No man is free if he fears death. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929?1968)2 In the two previous chapters, we began to make loose and qualified associations, relating certain deep anterior midline regions to some of our positive, energized, pleasurable states. Now, the amygdala introduces us to our brain?s negative valences. These are the sources of our burning, raging fear of death. The amygdala, too, gets its name from its shape: like an almond. Each amygdala is an extended ovoid mass of gray matter buried near the inside tip of the temporal lobe. Collectively, its several nuclei are now called the amygdaloid complex. An accurate term, in view of its other complexities. A brief survey of its anatomy helps us understand what the amygdala does. Vital subcortical input comes over to it from the mediodorsal nucleus of the thalamus and speeds up from the ventromedial hypothalamus. Impulses descend to it from the cortex of the anterior cingulate gyrus, the prefrontal, orbitofrontal, and the temporal regions. The amygdala then gives rise to two major outflow paths. Its upper path leads back to the ventromedial hypothalamus. The lower pathway curves down to inform the brain stem and the base of the brain. As hominids evolved, they left us many legacies. One was an amygdala whose basal and lateral nuclei had become very large, but whose corticomedial and central nuclei had become relatively small.3 Many kinds of peptide nerve endings funnel into these smaller nuclei, but the opioid peptide terminals are dispersed more evenly.4 Sensate messages filter down to the amygdala from the association cortex only after they have been highly processed. And as these cortical messages descend, they pass at each step through a series of synapses increasingly invested with acetylcholine terminals and opioid receptors.5 So the closer our layers of sensory associations draw to the limbic system, the more they can be influenced by cholinergic and opioid receptors. The amygdala itself contains sophisticated wiring patterns. These add critical physiological implications to all the other cited architectural features at the interface between the temporal lobe and the limbic system. For example, the circuitries of its large basolateral nuclei already resemble those of a cerebral cortex in miniature. This suggests that the amygdala could be competent to insert emotional resonances, either positive or negative, which further color the meaning of our higher-order associations. Consider further the interesting findings in certain cats who happen to have been born defensive and easily frightened. What makes them different when they encounter threatening stimuli? These timid cats generate the most activity in the 41. The Amygdala and Fear 175 pathway connecting the amygdala to the hypothalamus.6 Moreover, the normal basolateral amygdala has options for relaying another set of messages to both the dorsal and ventral striatum. Over these other output pathways the amygdala can instantly insert its bias into our affective behavior.7?9 The amygdaloid complex is relatively small. Are we so sure it contributes to behavior? Could it really be helping us smile or frown? Such questions prompt us to reflect on Herbert?s caveat: ?We must overhaul our methods of studying behavior if we are to make functional sense of the new knowledge about the structure and organization of the limbic system.?10 True, earlier electrical stimulations of the amygdala in animals did cause different kinds of behaviors. They included fearful, ragelike, and defensive reactions, autonomic and endocrine responses, plus simpler arousal responses. But the stimuli were gross, and so once again one must discount the results of most of the earlier stimulation research. Moreover, when lesions were made they were too large. They also cut fibers passing through the amygdala on their way elsewhere. In contrast, the newer generations of smaller lesions yield results much more interpretable. They are made by injecting local excitotoxins. These chemical lesions selectively destroy intrinsic nerve cells, but they spare the extrinsic axons on their way to and from other regions.11 Excitotoxic lesions have interesting implications (see chapter 152). Meanwhile, we still need to overhaul the ways we study behavior. First, how shall we define it? Always in terms of action? Sometimes inaction is an impressive form of behavior. To explore such possibilities, let us begin by observing a dominant rat who regards his home cage as his castle. He possesses it and marks it. He defends his cage as though it were a part of himself. On the biological high ground of his very own turf, he is action personified. This owner rat is a ?winner.? He always defeats a normal intruder rat. Let us then turn our sympathies to the intruder rat, as one does to an underdog. How does this second rat behave, after being defeated, when we return him to his own home cage next door? There he stays quiet, ?frozen? in his corner. This vanquished intruder is ?once bitten, twice shy.? Never will he venture over even to sniff at, let alone to challenge, the victor who goes on patrolling the boundary of his own nearby castle-cage.12 Now, suppose we bring in a third rat. He too, will be cast in the role of the intruder. But one small aspect of his behavior has been modified. A very discrete lesion has already been made in this third rat?s corticomedial amygdala. At first, he seems normal. Indeed, he still fights just as hard, because this tiny lesion won?t change his gross combative behavior either before, or during, his inevitable defeat. But observe how he behaves after being defeated. Now one sees that this latest, lesioned intruder differs strikingly from the normal intruder. He moves freely about his own cage. He even thrusts his muzzle out though the wire of his cage, sniffing incautiously toward the victorious rat. Had this third rat really been in, and lost, the battle? You?d never guess it. He seems oblivious of the proprieties, of his expected social boundaries. He hasn?t learned his lesson. No naivete of this degree will help any creature adapt to surroundings that are always hostile and competitive. But taking this experiment as a clue, we might simplify one aspect of the normal functions of the medial amygdala as follows: 176 III. Neurologizing it contributes to survival skills, to behaviors that in the inner city one might call ?street-smarts.? Taken together, the smaller corticomedial and central amygdala also participate in those systems mediating basic drives. What enables them to do so? Note again those outflow paths projecting messages into the hypothalamus, striatum, and the brain stem.13,14 Earlier generations relied on the active practice known as ?spare the rod and spoil the child.? Did the amygdala enter into this adage? Probably. For the amygdala does seem to be a major factor in aversive learning experiences. These are the kinds of learning which depend on negative, highly arousing, stressful, or otherwise unpleasant circumstances. Did the amygdala even take on the contrasting role, the one implicit in the old ?carrot-and-stick? approach? Probably, even if it is a lesser one. For it also fosters positive learning experiences. These are the kinds that occur when appetitive, food-and-drink reinforcements are added. These are the ?carrots? that enhance learning.15 When researchers use the ?stick? approach, they can aversively condition rats to fear a pure tone. They begin by delivering this tone along with a mild foot shock. Soon, just the tone alone causes the rats to ?freeze,? and it increases their heart rate and blood pressure. Suppose, however, that lesions had been made earlier in the lateral amygdaloid nucleus. They prevent these fearful autonomic and behavioral responses. So this lateral nucleus is an essential earlier interface in conditioning. When sound stimuli arrive at the lateral nucleus, it then relays its signals on to the central nucleus. The central nucleus then becomes the next link in the chain of ?emotionalizing? circuitry that underlies aversive conditioning.16 Finally, when the central nucleus exports such messages, it will be preparing the animal to respond to the impending stressful event.14 Suppose you place lesions at a much higher level, far up in the conditioned rats? auditory cortex. Do lesions this high stop the sound from entering, and stop the tone from causing fearful behavior?17 No. Already the brain will have shunted in, lower down, those pivotal sensory signals crucial for comfort or survival. Indeed, it will have mobilized them into its behavior long before.18 Everyone knows by now that mere high-minded thoughts won?t banish deep fear and rage. Up to now, we have been observing how learning takes place in adult rats. These adults have learned to fear through the process of conditioning. But the amygdala had been primed long before. It was already genetically programmed to help generate primal fear. A normal rat innately fears a cat. Seeing a cat, it freezes. However, rats lose this instinctive fearful behavior after they have had lesions of the amygdala. They will even climb up on the back of a sleeping cat after you have rendered the cat harmless with a hypnotic drug.19 Can one create a functional block in the amygdala, banish fear without actually destroying nerve cells? Yes, researchers can inject two kinds of drugs directly into the amygdala to reduce a rat?s anxiety behaviors. This approach takes advantage of an important fact: the normal amygdala is loaded with receptors sensitive to opioid drugs and to other antianxiety drugs. When we humans tune down and resolve many of our own anxious fears, it seems likely that we will be using these same two kinds of receptors.19 41. The Amygdala and Fear 177 Rats are paranoid about new tastes and smells. Rats not suspicious about what they might eat dropped out of the gene pool long ago. Today?s survivors have hardwired such phobias into their brains. The basolateral amygdala normally contributes to this innate tendency to fear any new taste. It also helps the rat further condition its already keen aversion to certain odors. But after having small lesions made in their amygdala, the rats no longer recoil from a novel food in a novel environment.11 In primates, too, novel stimuli prompt many nerve cells in the amygdala to fire vigorously.20 Then what about the ?carrot? approach? Now, the amygdala responds ?positively.? Its small central nucleus seems to lend ?seasoning? to some of these positive resonances, flavoring the brain?s appetitive memories for food.13 On the other hand, studies in cats show that the central nucleus can also enter into the visceral counterparts of fear. For cats can be conditioned to become fearful by using a variety of techniques that follow the ?stick? approach. Their blood pressures rise, and they breathe faster. However, these elevated blood pressures fall and breathing rates slow after their central nucleus has been inactivated.21,22 In fact, an effective way to suppress a fearful cat?s brief ?hair-on-end? reaction is to inject an enkephalin opioid into the amygdala?s upper output pathway.23,24 When an awake animal breathes in, many of its amygdala nerve cells discharge. In contrast, while exhaling, only half that number fire. Fewer still fire when the animal enters quiet sleep or REM sleep.25 Such findings reemphasize an important point cited back in chapter 22. Not only does meditation affect breathing; breathing can go on to influence meditative experience. More specifically, expiration quiets down the firing of the central amygdala. Different Kinds of Aggressive and Fearful Behaviors A poet, sensitive to the ultimate roots of rage, is only one illustration of the broad scope of aggression. Aggression takes many other forms, and the early years of meditative training can modify only some of these. As noted earlier, cats can be prompted into a very aggressive attack when electrical stimuli are directed into the hypothalamus.26 Suppose, however, the researcher first destroys the amygdala on both sides. Now, despite the stimuli to the hypothalamus, it becomes more difficult to drive these various kinds of attack behaviors. Yet, even though these lesioned animals do become calmer, they have arrived at only a temporary serenity. How can one bring back their attack behavior? By stimulating them with a dopamine agonist.27 Such relapses imply that aggressive behavior is not going to stop if one merely reduces the relevant functions of the amygdala per se. At a minimum, one also needs to reduce certain dopamine and hypothalamic mechanisms as well. Most of the evidence presented so far has come from research models in lower animals. What about the heart-pounding rush of fear in primates more like ourselves? When Brown and Schafer studied primates, over a century ago, they discovered a surprising fact. They could tame wild monkeys if they removed the temporal lobes on both sides.28 Today we know that one critical feature responsible for this ?gentling? process is the loss of the amygdala. Indeed, monkeys do become ?strikingly fearless? after both their right and left amygdalae have been 178 III. Neurologizing removed. So naive, in fact, that they will approach and handle a snake! No normal monkey comes near a snake.29 These monkeys? fearless, incautious behavior resembles that of the lesioned rats and cats. Even so, the lesioned monkeys still show a few lingering traces of fear behavior. Suppose you place them in different, fear-provoking situations. Then, a few of their facial expressions and postures still reveal fearful or submissive behaviors. Where might these come from? Some of the responsible visual messages normally enter from the nearby inferotemporal cortex.30 Elsewhere, on the output side, such lingering fearful behaviors might also reflect the way that dopamine systems keep exerting their same persistent influence, noted above, when DA activates the nearby motor circuits of the striatum. Clinical studies of humans confirm that the amygdala is a major primary nodal point when we consciously experience fear. When it is stimulated selectively, the subjects experience mental tension and behave in a tense manner.31 In one such patient, stimulation immediately induced fear. Fear later came back when the afterdischarges spread back into the amygdala on return from the hippocampus. 32 Moreover, one other patient had recurrent episodes of spontaneous fear lasting minutes to hours. These fears were prompted by an epileptic focus that was discharging into the right anterior temporal region. The fearful episodes ceased when the amygdala was removed along with adjacent parts of the medial temporal lobe.33 As is also true of lower animals, the evidence that would link the human amygdala with aggression is less consistent. ?There can be both aggressive behavior without limbic lesions and limbic lesions without aggressive behavior.?33 Neurosurgical lesions aimed at the human amygdala sometimes relieve excessively aggressive behavior, but sometimes they do not.34 Recent studies suggest that human subjects employ several different anatomical pathways as they proceed to channel various kinds of emotions out into the autonomic nervous system.35,36 Future research may tease out many subtly different shadings of diverse human social interactions that can be influenced by the subdivisions of our amygdala.37 Consider, as but one of these possibilities, the effect that small lesions have on male rats. Corticomedial lesions reduce their heterosexual behavior, but do not change they way they act aggressively toward other males. In contrast, lesions of the basolateral amygdala reduce aggressive interactions among male rats, but do not affect their sexual behavior toward females.38 To summarize: Our amygdala enters early into a vital ?loop? of incoming signals. It comes instantly to conclusions about their survival or reinforcement value. It then relays its biased affective valences on to other circuits. They, in turn, will orchestrate the appropriate behavioral responses both instinctual and learned, somatic and visceral. In addition, the amygdala is a nodal point for many circuits linked to our primary experience of fear. From jkirk at spro.net Thu Jan 27 19:21:59 2011 From: jkirk at spro.net (JKirkpatrick) Date: Thu, 27 Jan 2011 19:21:59 -0700 Subject: [Buddha-l] Meditation changes the brain structure References: <375630.74037.qm@web112612.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: And then there are the addictions--to alcohol or opiates--these also change the brain. JK ==================== Behalf Of Macleod, Nik Sent: Thursday, January 27, 2011 10:44 AM Seems that sustained application to all manner of things can bring about long term changes in brain structure - witness the changes effected in London cabbies by acquisition of 'the knowledge': http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/677048.stm http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/News/2004/Features/WTX032958.htm Nik Macleod Cambridge UK ________________ Yes--in fact, repetitive anything actions probably change parts of the brain--as in the brain altering that happens after repetitive drug or alcohol use: brain-supported addiction. Beneficial repetitive actions need a lot more study-- we're just at the beginning. Joanna From sjziobro at cs.com Thu Jan 27 19:33:33 2011 From: sjziobro at cs.com (sjziobro at cs.com) Date: Thu, 27 Jan 2011 21:33:33 -0500 Subject: [Buddha-l] Meditation changes the brain structure In-Reply-To: References: <375630.74037.qm@web112612.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <8CD8CAAE4BB0EC6-C78-10AEE@webmail-d037.sysops.aol.com> Whatever it is that elicits changes in the brain we at least have a greater physiological basis for understanding what Aristotle called habits and why they seem to function something like a second nature. This in turn illustrates the force and scope of intentionality, at least, and greater still, an effect of the will, wouldn't you think? Stan Ziobro -----Original Message----- From: JKirkpatrick To: 'Buddhist discussion forum' Sent: Thu, Jan 27, 2011 9:21 pm Subject: Re: [Buddha-l] Meditation changes the brain structure And then there are the addictions--to alcohol or opiates--these also change the brain. JK ==================== Behalf Of Macleod, Nik Sent: Thursday, January 27, 2011 10:44 AM Seems that sustained application to all manner of things can bring about long term changes in brain structure - witness the changes effected in London cabbies by acquisition of 'the knowledge': http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/677048.stm http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/News/2004/Features/WTX032958.htm Nik Macleod Cambridge UK ________________ Yes--in fact, repetitive anything actions probably change parts of the brain--as in the brain altering that happens after repetitive drug or alcohol use: brain-supported addiction. Beneficial repetitive actions need a lot more study-- we're just at the beginning. Joanna _______________________________________________ buddha-l mailing list buddha-l at mailman.swcp.com http://mailman.swcp.com/mailman/listinfo/buddha-l From franz at mind2mind.net Thu Jan 27 20:12:46 2011 From: franz at mind2mind.net (Franz Metcalf) Date: Thu, 27 Jan 2011 19:12:46 -0800 Subject: [Buddha-l] Meditation changes the brain structure In-Reply-To: References: <375630.74037.qm@web112612.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <2BB193B0-7B7C-4FDE-ADC9-D8C9E49A1B42@mind2mind.net> Esteemed Gang, Steve wrote (or, I believe, quoted): > A study at University College London in the UK has found that > conservatives' brains have larger amygdalas than the brains of > liberals. Amygdalas are responsible for fear and other "primitive" > emotions. At the same time, conservatives' brains were also found to > have a smaller anterior cingulate -- the part of the brain > responsible for courage and optimism. Oh, sometimes I LOVE science! And if this is not enough to bring Richard Hayes out of hiding, nothing is. Still, even if he doesn't comment, I am sure you have lightened his heart, Steve. Thanks for this post and all your others, which are consistently both provocative and wise. Franz (who's now even more strongly rooting for Colin Firth in the Best Actor Oscar race) From twin_oceans at yahoo.com Thu Jan 27 20:37:40 2011 From: twin_oceans at yahoo.com (Katherine Masis) Date: Thu, 27 Jan 2011 19:37:40 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Buddha-l] The Curse of the Self Message-ID: <832002.54811.qm@web112617.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Has anyone on this list read *The Curse of the Self* by Mark R. Leary? ? http://www.amazon.com/Curse-Self-Self-Awareness-Egotism-Quality/dp/0195325443/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277179695&sr=1-1 ? Katherine Masis From jkirk at spro.net Thu Jan 27 22:10:41 2011 From: jkirk at spro.net (JKirkpatrick) Date: Thu, 27 Jan 2011 22:10:41 -0700 Subject: [Buddha-l] Meditation changes the brain structure In-Reply-To: References: <375630.74037.qm@web112612.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: SA Feite wrote: [.....] In a study published in October, researchers at Harvard and UC-San Diego found that a variant of the DRD4 gene predisposes people to being liberal, but only if they had active social lives as adolescents. The "liberal gene" has also been linked to a desire to try new things, and other "personality traits related to political liberalism." http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/8228192/Political - views-hard-wired-into-your-brain.html _____________________ Ok liberals--but what I want to know is, did they include commies in their sample? or even Marxists? JK From jehms at xs4all.nl Fri Jan 28 01:41:48 2011 From: jehms at xs4all.nl (Erik Hoogcarspel) Date: Fri, 28 Jan 2011 09:41:48 +0100 Subject: [Buddha-l] Meditation changes the brain structure In-Reply-To: References: <375630.74037.qm@web112612.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <4D42814C.7000302@xs4all.nl> Now you mention it, the brain has become a bloody nuisance. Why don't we get rid of it and become true devoties to Jesus, Mohammed or Krishna? Karma is nonsense, the brain causes all the mess. erik Op 28-01-11 03:21, JKirkpatrick schreef: > And then there are the addictions--to alcohol or opiates--these > also change the brain. > > JK > ==================== > > > > > Behalf Of Macleod, Nik > Sent: Thursday, January 27, 2011 10:44 AM > > > Seems that sustained application to all manner of things can > bring about long term changes in brain structure - witness the > changes effected in London cabbies by acquisition of 'the > knowledge': > > http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/677048.stm > http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/News/2004/Features/WTX032958.htm > > Nik Macleod > Cambridge UK > ________________ > > Yes--in fact, repetitive anything actions probably change parts > of the brain--as in the brain altering that happens after > repetitive drug or alcohol use: brain-supported addiction. > > Beneficial repetitive actions need a lot more study-- we're just > at the beginning. > > Joanna > > > _______________________________________________ > buddha-l mailing list > buddha-l at mailman.swcp.com > http://mailman.swcp.com/mailman/listinfo/buddha-l From sfeite at roadrunner.com Fri Jan 28 06:12:17 2011 From: sfeite at roadrunner.com (S. A. Feite) Date: Fri, 28 Jan 2011 08:12:17 -0500 Subject: [Buddha-l] Meditation changes the brain structure In-Reply-To: References: <375630.74037.qm@web112612.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: On Jan 28, 2011, at 12:10 AM, JKirkpatrick wrote: > Ok liberals--but what I want to know is, did they include commies > in their sample? > or even Marxists? I doubt it. Although Glenn Beck and the Oxy Moron often consider Liberals, Marxists and Communists to be one and the same. Steve From jehms at xs4all.nl Fri Jan 28 06:37:41 2011 From: jehms at xs4all.nl (Erik Hoogcarspel) Date: Fri, 28 Jan 2011 14:37:41 +0100 Subject: [Buddha-l] Meditation changes the brain structure In-Reply-To: References: <375630.74037.qm@web112612.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <4D42C6A5.9080601@xs4all.nl> It may come as a shock to some conservative members of this list, but 'commies' and Marxists are not a separate species but members of the human race who have a certain opinion about economics, often after intensive reflection and reading. There is no dieet or medical treatment that makes a person a communist, some knowledge of economic history will do in most cases. Even worse, there are conservative communists and liberal ones. Buddhist relevance: the Buddha himself was a kind of communist, because the sangha is an economic community. erik Op 28-1-2011 14:12, S. A. Feite schreef: > On Jan 28, 2011, at 12:10 AM, JKirkpatrick wrote: > >> Ok liberals--but what I want to know is, did they include commies >> in their sample? >> or even Marxists? > > I doubt it. > > Although Glenn Beck and the Oxy Moron often consider Liberals, > Marxists and Communists to be one and the same. > > Steve > _______________________________________________ > buddha-l mailing list > buddha-l at mailman.swcp.com > http://mailman.swcp.com/mailman/listinfo/buddha-l From jkirk at spro.net Fri Jan 28 10:52:42 2011 From: jkirk at spro.net (JKirkpatrick) Date: Fri, 28 Jan 2011 10:52:42 -0700 Subject: [Buddha-l] Meditation changes the brain structure In-Reply-To: References: <375630.74037.qm@web112612.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: > Ok liberals--but what I want to know is, did they include commies in > their sample? > or even Marxists? I doubt it. Although Glenn Beck and the Oxy Moron often consider Liberals, Marxists and Communists to be one and the same. Steve ---------------------- Too trooooooooo. Joanna From jkirk at spro.net Fri Jan 28 10:53:55 2011 From: jkirk at spro.net (JKirkpatrick) Date: Fri, 28 Jan 2011 10:53:55 -0700 Subject: [Buddha-l] Meditation changes the brain structure In-Reply-To: <4D42C6A5.9080601@xs4all.nl> References: <375630.74037.qm@web112612.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> <4D42C6A5.9080601@xs4all.nl> Message-ID: <7F19C9F41075452C8180230105CA9A87@OPTIPLEX> You fail to have observed that I asked the question in humor, not otherwise, especially as I am a Marxist myself. JK -----Original Message----- From: buddha-l-bounces at mailman.swcp.com [mailto:buddha-l-bounces at mailman.swcp.com] On Behalf Of Erik Hoogcarspel Sent: Friday, January 28, 2011 6:38 AM To: Buddhist discussion forum Subject: Re: [Buddha-l] Meditation changes the brain structure It may come as a shock to some conservative members of this list, but 'commies' and Marxists are not a separate species but members of the human race who have a certain opinion about economics, often after intensive reflection and reading. There is no dieet or medical treatment that makes a person a communist, some knowledge of economic history will do in most cases. Even worse, there are conservative communists and liberal ones. Buddhist relevance: the Buddha himself was a kind of communist, because the sangha is an economic community. erik Op 28-1-2011 14:12, S. A. Feite schreef: > On Jan 28, 2011, at 12:10 AM, JKirkpatrick wrote: > >> Ok liberals--but what I want to know is, did they include commies in >> their sample? >> or even Marxists? > > I doubt it. > > Although Glenn Beck and the Oxy Moron often consider Liberals, > Marxists and Communists to be one and the same. > > Steve > _______________________________________________ > buddha-l mailing list > buddha-l at mailman.swcp.com > http://mailman.swcp.com/mailman/listinfo/buddha-l _______________________________________________ buddha-l mailing list buddha-l at mailman.swcp.com http://mailman.swcp.com/mailman/listinfo/buddha-l From tridral at gmail.com Sun Jan 30 14:32:55 2011 From: tridral at gmail.com ('o-Dzin Tridral) Date: Sun, 30 Jan 2011 21:32:55 +0000 Subject: [Buddha-l] Ngakpa Update In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear all, I would like to introduce the site Ngakpa Update (http://ngakpa-update.org/) and ask for comments and contributions from anyone who studies this area of Buddhism.