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His other notable works include Sankrant, Dehant Se Hatkar, Teesra Andhera and Sufinama. "His poetry was cerebral and reflective. And death was a recurrent theme in his poems," says poet and friend Kedarnath Singh.

Kailash Vajpeyi was one of the prominent poets in a group that shaped what became known as San saatth ke baad ki kavita (Post-1960 poetry) in Hindi literature. Raghuvir Sahay, Kunwar Narayan, Sarveshar Dayal Saxena, Srikant Verma and Kedarnath Singh were other well-known poets in the group. Later he was also influenced by the Akavita or anti-poetry movement.

His later poetry is more metaphysical. "Kailash-ji was influenced by Zen Buddhism, Vedanta and Sufism. He taught for several years in Mexico. The philosophical outlook of the Mayans and the Aztecs is reflected through metaphors, masks and symbols which found echoes in his poems. He dealt with philosophy in a meaningful way through his poetry," says poet-journalist Manglesh Dabral.

Dabral also recalls his "attractive personality, energy, openness to new thoughts" and warmth. "He was a teetotaller who always offered a drink or two to his friends," he says.

On receiving the Sahitya Akademi award for Hawa Mein Hastakshar in 2009, Kailash Vajpeyi had said in an interview, "Previously the poet used to think that he could change the world but now he has reached the conclusion that poetry makes nothing happen. It is a signature in the wind."

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Kailash Vajpeyi, Renowned Hindi poet, passes away

Spelling smarts appear to run in the Lin family.

Forestview Middle School seventh-grader Ammy Lin said past experience helping her older brother Jimmy study for the spelling bee was one of the things that led to her success Wednesday. The seventh grader took home the first place trophy at the 2015 Lakes Bee, besting 31 other spellers in a swift 12 rounds at Tornstrom Auditorium in Brainerd.

The daughter of Yi and Xi Lin of Baxter, Ammy is now headed to Washington, D.C. for the 2015 Scripps National Spelling Bee, May 24-29.

The field narrowed quickly as students from schools in Crow Wing, Morrison, Wadena, Todd and Cass counties competed for top honors. After the second round, only half of the field of 32 spellers remained as words like "spitz," "muumuu," "hassock" and "falsetto" tripped up the talented tweens.

Ammy successfully spelled "grabble," to search with the hand, and "confidence" in the first and second rounds. Oliver Knudson of St. Francis of the Lakes Catholic School in Brainerd, an eighth grader who claimed second place honors, made it through with "crimson," a deep purplish-red color, and "honcho," a person in charge. Third-place speller Hannah Paulbeck, a seventh grader from Aitkin, safely navigated "macaroni" and "belladonna," a poisonous plant with red flowers.

In the third round, four more spellers took their bows after misspelling "refugee," "gordita," "odori" and "wanderlust." By Round 8, just five spellers remained: Ammy, Oliver, Hannah, sixth-grader Aidan Hagen of Mary of Lourdes Catholic Middle School in Little Falls and Andrew Hoplin, sixth grade, Pine River-Backus school. Ammy mastered "sequin," Oliver "muslin," Hannah "ridiculous" and Andrew "thesaurus." A stumble on "chary," or cautious about something, sealed Aidan's spelling fate.

The word "satori," or sudden enlightenment representing the spiritual goal of Zen Buddhism, took out Andrew, while Hannah correctly spelled "vulcanize," Oliver "omnipotent" and Ammy "Boswell." The Round 10 word "homburg," or a man's felt hat with a stiff brim, eliminated Hannah, leaving the last two spellers to battle for glory.

Victory came soon thereafter for Ammy. She correctly spelled "relevant" while "hygiene" threw Oliver for a loop. To win, Ammy need only spell one more word correctly, and she did, nailing "benevolent," or well meaning and kind-hearted.

The whole contest lasted little more than 1.5 hours and 12 rounds, while some local bees in the recent past have continued for more than 70 rounds.

Ammy's parents said they're excited she's on her way to the national competition. Ammy said she plans to spend more time studying for her trip to the nation's capital, and it's likely her brother will be helping her prepare.

Read the rest here:

'Benevolent' earns Ammy Lin a trip to D.C. Bee

Spelling smarts appear to run in the Lin family.

Forestview Middle School seventh-grader Ammy Lin said past experience helping her older brother Jimmy study for the spelling bee was one of the things that led to her success Wednesday. The seventh grader took home the first place trophy at the 2015 Lakes Bee, besting 31 other spellers in a swift 12 rounds at Tornstrom Auditorium in Brainerd.

The daughter of Yi and Xi Lin of Baxter, Ammy is now headed to Washington, D.C. for the 2015 Scripps National Spelling Bee, May 24-29.

The field narrowed quickly as students from schools in Crow Wing, Morrison, Wadena, Todd and Cass counties competed for top honors. After the second round, only half of the field of 32 spellers remained as words like "spitz," "muumuu," "hassock" and "falsetto" tripped up the talented tweens.

Ammy successfully spelled "grabble," to search with the hand, and "confidence" in the first and second rounds. Oliver Knudson of St. Francis of the Lakes Catholic School in Brainerd, an eighth grader who claimed second place honors, made it through with "crimson," a deep purplish-red color, and "honcho," a person in charge. Third-place speller Hannah Paulbeck, a seventh grader from Aitkin, safely navigated "macaroni" and "belladonna," a poisonous plant with red flowers.

In the third round, four more spellers took their bows after misspelling "refugee," "gordita," "odori" and "wanderlust." By Round 8, just five spellers remained: Ammy, Oliver, Hannah, sixth-grader Aidan Hagen of Mary of Lourdes Catholic Middle School in Little Falls and Andrew Hoplin, sixth grade, Pine River-Backus school. Ammy mastered "sequin," Oliver "muslin," Hannah "ridiculous" and Andrew "thesaurus." A stumble on "chary," or cautious about something, sealed Aidan's spelling fate.

The word "satori," or sudden enlightenment representing the spiritual goal of Zen Buddhism, took out Andrew, while Hannah correctly spelled "vulcanize," Oliver "omnipotent" and Ammy "Boswell." The Round 10 word "homburg," or a man's felt hat with a stiff brim, eliminated Hannah, leaving the last two spellers to battle for glory.

Victory came soon thereafter for Ammy. She correctly spelled "relevant" while "hygiene" threw Oliver for a loop. To win, Ammy need only spell one more word correctly, and she did, nailing "benevolent," or well meaning and kind-hearted.

The whole contest lasted little more than 1.5 hours and 12 rounds, while some local bees in the recent past have continued for more than 70 rounds.

Ammy's parents said they're excited she's on her way to the national competition. Ammy said she plans to spend more time studying for her trip to the nation's capital, and it's likely her brother will be helping her prepare.

See original here:
'Benevolent' earns Ammy Lin a trip to D.C. Bee

Zen Contents

ZEN TEXTS 112 Meditations Heart Sutra On Believing in Mind Song of Enlightenment Song of Zazen Vimilakirti Ox-Herding Pictures Zen Daily Service Sutras Manual of Zen Buddhism Awakening of Faith 50 Verses on Consciousness

MODERN TEISHOS Teisho Collections

DOGEN ZENJI Actualizing One Bright Pearl

LINKS Zen Links The Buddhist Way Christopher McLean Psychotherapy

Once mortals see their nature, all attachments end. Awareness isn't hidden. But you can only find it right now. It's only now. If you really want to find the Way, don't hold on to anything.

Zen Buddhism has gained a lot of popularity in the West partly because of this emphasis on the here and now. It is very simple and straightforward.

"This mind is the Buddha. I don't talk about precepts, devotions or ascetic practices such as immersing yourself in water and fire, treading a wheel of knives, eating one meal a day, or never lying down. These are fanatical, provisional teachings. Once you recognise your moving, miraculously aware nature, yours is the mind of all buddhas. Buddhas of the past and future only talk about transmitting the mind. They teach nothing else. If someone understands this teaching, even if [she's] illiterate [she's] a buddha. If you don't see our own miraculously aware nature, you'll never find a buddha even if you break your body into atoms." Bodhidharma (5th cent.)

Zen teachings are said to be 'non-dual', emphasising that our usual way of being is like living in a trance of dualism. The philosophy of emptiness - no subject, no object - has become the hallmark of Zen teachings. (It should be said, however, that in calling into question the traditional, egological subject-object split, Zen is no different to other forms of Buddhism).

In Zen there is an emphasis on the interdependence of body and mind. 13th cent. Japanese Zen master, Dogen Kigen:

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Zen Buddhism

Jobs presents the Mac Air at one his keynote presentations. Photograph: David Paul Morris/Getty Images

Having tackled the Scientologists in his most recent film Going Clear, documentary maker Alex Gibney takes on a cult that is even more ardent, and with considerably more members that of Apple. His unsparing portrait of Steve Jobs will prove extremely displeasing to devotees, but its a riveting and important corrective to the myths Jobs helped to propagate, and which in the four years since his death have proved as seductive as his machines and a lot more durable.

Gibneys film comes ahead of the forthcoming Jobs biopic, directed by Danny Boyle and written by Aaron Sorkin. That film is said to comprise of three acts, each set just before one of Jobss presentations, but Gibney sets about zeroing in on certain aspect of Jobss life to paint a compelling portrait of a modern-day Citizen Kane. Jobs, a die-hard Bob Dylan fan whom Gibney paints as a product of 60s counterculture, was set alight by early blue box hacking technology, which allowed users to make long distance phone calls without paying for them, a way Jobs could delightedly stick it to the Man.

Yet this man, whose belief in his own righteousness was unshakeable, also terminated Apples philanthropic programmes, presided over huge corporate tax evasion, paid Chinese workers making iPhones a pittance, and only stumped up maintenance for his first daughter after dragging his ex-girlfriend through the courts, claiming that she was promiscuous and he was infertile, until a DNA test proved otherwise. Finally, he agreed to pay $500 a month he was worth $200m at the time.

The film also spends some time on the 2010 incident when a drunk engineer lost a next-generation iPhone 4 prototype in a San Francisco bar, and the man who found it sold it to Gizmodo, who splashed its secrets around the world. Jobs, just one year from death from pancreatic cancer, enacted a revenge that included the police battering down of the door of the journalists house. Gibney presents footage of an ailing Jobs justifying such Mafia-style vengeance on the grounds that not to do so would be a betrayal of Apples values.

But what were these values? Gibney traces Jobss love of the hippy set text Be Here Now and his journeys to India, before Jobs concluded that he was most fulfilled in the Japanese walled gardens of Zen Buddhism. Jobs took on Zens minimal design, and applied it to Apple with world-eating success, but the spiritual dimension was beyond him. Aged 18, Jobs had knocked on the door of Buddhist monk Kobun Chino Otogawa and said that he believed he was enlightened, but didnt know what to do with it. The monk, who died in 2002, asked for proof, and Jobs returned with a chip from a PC, a first computer he would name Lisa, after the daughter he had fought so hard not to acknowledge. Hes brilliant, but hes too smart, was the monks conclusion.

The film points out that Jobss genius was in personalising computers Lisa being the first but it also reveals that this impulse came from a pretty messed-up place. As well as being deeply ambivalent about being a father, Jobs also felt at once rejected and anointed by the fact that he was adopted. Jobs has somehow transmitted that mess to us too. Our iPhones connect us to faraway friends and family, yet we spend increasing amounts of time alone with them, seduced by machines that can never really fulfil us.

Gibneys film concludes that Jobs had the monomaniacal focus of a monk but none of the empathy of one, and it makes a powerful case. Jobss was an astonishing life of such significance that it will probably be studied for centuries, and Gibney does not downplay his genius. Yet the kernel of the film is probably the ex-girlfriend who says that Job blew it. How so? Jobs achieved things that the vast majority of us would never dream of. Yet Gibneys film forensically anatomises the contradictions, the ruthlessness, and the pointlessly crappy behaviour that reveal Apples ideals to be a sham, even while the products themselves continue to prove almost irresistible.

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Steve Jobs: Man in the Machine first look review Apple founder's sour side