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Buddhism facts reveal that Buddhism is defined as a nontheistic religion, but the relationship of Buddhist teachings and god(s) is a complicated one. Buddha himself rejected the existence of a creator deity, but the notion of divinity is not incompatible with his teachings. In fact, there are gods found in Buddhist teachings, but these are considered to be inferior to Buddha and not necessarily wiser than us.

In conclusion, the concept of god(s) exists in Buddhism, but is not central to the religion, in contrast to Christianity, for example. While most experts agree that this makes Buddhism a nontheistic religion, there are also some who believe that naming Buddhism nontheistic is overly simplistic

According to the Buddhist teachings, we are all prisoners of samsara, the continuing cycle of death, re-birth and suffering. The highest goal is to end this suffering by extinguishing three fires (passion, ignorance and aversion) and thus attaining Nirvana. There are differences among different schools of Buddhism in understanding Nirvana, but all hold up the concept as one worth following.

In the first teaching following his awakening, the Buddha revealed the Noble Eightfold Path (the Middle Way) as the way to achieve Nirvana. The Middle Way is a path of moderation, avoiding the extremes of sensual indulgence and self-mortification, consisting of eight factors: right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration.

Buddhism facts show that Buddhists account for about 6% of the worlds population, making this the 4th biggest (in terms of followers) religion in the world, following Christianity with 2 billion followers, Islam with 1.3 billion followers and Hinduism with 0.9 billion followers. It is also interesting to note that if the group of nonreligious people (including agnostics) is added to the statistics, Buddhism falls to 5th place.

There are two traditional schools of Buddhism: Theravada (The School of the Elders) and Mahayana (The Great Vehicle). They each interpret certain aspects of Buddhas teachings in their own way. While these two branches of Buddhism are widely known, many people dont know that there is a third branch: Vajrayana (also known as Tantric Buddhism or the Diamond Way). This is sometimes considered a part of Mahayana, although its very different in various concepts.

Theravada is nowadays most popular in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, and is considered to be the largest branch, followed by approximately 56% of all Buddhists. Mahayana is most popular in East Asia, including China and Japan, and is followed by roughly 38% of all Buddhists. Vajrayana is practiced in Mongolia and Tibet and represents about 6% of followers of the Buddhas Way.

The Bodhi Tree was a large sacred fig tree in India where Siddhartha Gautama, on whose teachings Buddhism is founded, is believed to have achieved enlightenment regarding the true nature of things (Bodhi). Although the original Bodhi Tree doesnt exist anymore, there are three other holy Bodhi Trees that are believed to be propagated from the original tree: Bodhi Tree at the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya, India, the Anandabodhi tree in Sravasti, India, and the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. Sacred fig trees are usually planted in the vicinity of all Buddhist monasteries.

The main pilgrimage sites are places where Gautama Buddha resided during the most important periods of his life: Lumbini, Nepal (his birthplace), Bodh Gaya, India (the place of his enlightenment), Sarnath, India (the place of his first teaching) and Kusinara (the place of his death).

These 4 pilgrimage sites are also the first 4 of the 8 Great Places, joined by the ancient cities of Sravasti, Rajgir, Sankassa and Vaishali, where special historical miraculous events are reported to have taken place.

Buddhism facts reveal that Gautama Buddha has inspired many filmmakers over the last century, starting with Dadasaheb Phalkes Lord Buddha (originally Buddhadev) in 1923. The most famous of them, at least to the Western audiences, is Bernardo Bertoluccis Little Buddha from 1993, featuring Bridget Fonda, Keanu Reeves and Chris Isaak.

Most religions are known for their central holy text, such as the Bible for Christianity and Judaism, and the Quran for Islam, but Buddhism has no such single writing. Instead, Buddhists consider the buddhavacana (the Word of the Buddha), works believed to be original Buddhas teachings, as holy. Pali Canon, Kangyur, Taish Tripiaka, Mahayana Sutras, the Tibetan Book of the Dead and others thus all serve as sacred texts of Buddhism for the various schools of Buddhism practiced around the world.

Although Buddhism is based on his teachings, Buddhists believe there were other Buddhas before him. Theravada Buddhism teaches of 28 Buddhas (the last being Gautama Buddha, another 27 coming before him), while Mahayana Buddhism also recognizes various other Buddhas of celestial origin. However, they both believe that the next Buddha will be the one named Maitreya (Metteyya).

These were not monasteries as we know them today, but sacred caves, found in the Deccan Plateau area of India. But, by the 2nd century AD, Buddhist monasteries, known as Viharas in India, already had a standard structure, consisting of a walled quadrangular court that was surrounded by small cells.

The Truths are: all life is marked with suffering (the Truth of Dukkha), suffering is caused by desire and attachment (the Truth of the Origin of Dukkha), suffering can be eliminated (the Truth of the Cessation of Dukkha), and following the Noble Eightfold path eliminates suffering (the Truth of the Path of Liberation from Dukkha).

And yes, the term Dukkha means the all-present suffering that is the main antagonist in Buddhist teachings.

Although it is one of central concepts in Buddhism, Karma is not exclusive to the teachings of Buddha. It is also one of the key concepts in Hinduism, Taoism, Jainism and Sikhism. And what does it mean? It means action, work or deed, but in relation to religious teachings, it means the spiritual principle of cause and effect, in which intents and actions of an individual influence that individuals future. In plain terms: the more good one does, the better his life will be, and the more evil one does, the worse his life will be.

Practically all Westerners know the Christian concept of the Trinity: the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, but a similar concept is also present in Buddhism a religion that is often understood as being nontheistic. The Buddhist trinity refers to the Three Jewels: the Buddha, the Dharma (Buddhas teachings) and the Sangha (the community of Buddhists). Buddhism facts also reveal that people have been known to notice some similarities between the two

In the first 400 years after Gautama Buddhas life, they were preserved only orally. They were first written down during the Fourth Buddhist Council in Sri Lanka in 29 BC, and are nowadays known as the Pali Canon or the Tipitaka.

Buddhism facts show that the father of Buddhism was born either in 536 BC or in 480 BC. Similarly to his teachings, the details of his life were also passed orally from generation to generation for the first few centuries, and that is why there are no completely reliable sources regarding the date of his birth. What is known for certain is that he was born in Nepal.

This also explains the fact that Buddhists believe there were many Buddhas prior to Siddhartha Gautama. The term can be applied to anyone who has awakened and realized the true nature of things, but according to Buddhist teachings there have not been that many, since Gautama was the last Buddha among us

According to Buddhism facts, Friedrich Nietzsche, the famous German philosopher from the 19th century, has referred to Buddhism more than a hundred times in his works. His main criticism was that Nirvana, the ultimate goal of traditional Buddhist philosophy, is actually a form of nihilism.

According to Buddhism facts, they are based on the Five Precepts of Buddhism, which constitute the basic ethics of the belief system, and are designed to avert the monks from: killing living creatures, stealing, unchastity, incorrect speech, taking intoxicants, eating at inappropriate times, indulging in any forms of popular entertainment (singing, dancing, etc.), wearing decorative accessories (perfume, cosmetics, fashion accessories etc.), sitting on high chairs, sleeping on soft beds, and accepting money.

One of the most interesting Buddhism facts reveals that the religion is nowadays considered very fashionable in Western societies, and many top celebrities are known to follow (or try to follow) its teachings. Kate Bosworth, Steven Seagal, Richard Gere, Tina Turner, Orlando Bloom, Tiger Woods, Steve Jobs, Naomi Watts, Jack Kerouac and Sharon Stone are just a few names on the very long list of American celebs who follow (or have followed) the path to Nirvana

Buddhism is a 2,500-year-old religion and philosophy that originated in India, but has spread through most of Asia and to a lesser degree to other parts of the world. The fourth biggest religion in the world (by number of followers), Buddhism is split into different schools, of which Theravada and Mahayana are the most popular and wide-spread. The center of Buddhism are the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, which see Nirvana as the ultimate goal of existence. Nirvana is the stillness of mind, devoid of cravings and delusions, which ends the suffering otherwise present in all we do in life.

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Top 20 Buddhism Facts - Types, History, Beliefs | Facts.net

Meditation is a word that has come to be used loosely and inaccurately in the modern world. That is why there is so much confusion about how to practice it. Some people use the word meditate when they mean thinking or contemplating; others use it to refer to daydreaming or fantasizing. However, meditation (dhyana) is not any of these.

Meditation is a precise technique for resting the mind and attaining a state of consciousness that is totally different from the normal waking state. It is the means for fathoming all the levels of ourselves and finally experiencing the center of consciousness within. Meditation is not a part of any religion; it is a science, which means that the process of meditation follows a particular order, has definite principles, and produces results that can be verified.

In meditation, the mind is clear, relaxed, and inwardly focused. When you meditate, you are fully awake and alert, but your mind is not focused on the external world or on the events taking place around you. Meditation requires an inner state that is still and one-pointed so that the mind becomes silent. When the mind is silent and no longer distracts you, meditation deepens.

From childhood onward, we have been educated only to examine and verify things in the external world. No one has taught us how to look within, to find within, and to verify within. Therefore, we remain strangers to ourselves, while trying to get to know others. This lack of self-understanding is one of the main reasons our relationships dont seem to work, and why confusion and disappointment so often prevail in our life.

Very little of the mind is cultivated by our formal educational system. The part of the mind that dreams and sleepsthe vast realm of the unconscious which is the reservoir of all our experiencesremains unknown and undisciplined; it is not subject to any control. It is true that the whole of the body is in the mind, but the whole of the mind is not in the body. Except for the practice of meditation, there is no method to truly develop control over the totality of the mind.

The goal of meditation is to go beyond the mind and experience our essential naturewhich is described as peace, happiness, and bliss. But as anyone who has tried to meditate knows, the mind itself is the biggest obstacle standing between ourselves and this awareness. The mind is undisciplined and unruly, and it resists any attempts to discipline it or to guide it on a particular path. The mind has a mind of its own. That is why many people sit for meditation and experience only fantasies, daydreams, or hallucinations. They never attain the stillness that distinguishes the genuine experience of deep meditation.

We are taught how to move and behave in the outer world, but we are never taught how to be still and examine what is within ourselves. When we learn to do this through meditation, we attain the highest of all joys that can ever be experienced by a human being. All the other joys in the world are momentary, but the joy of meditation is immense and everlasting. This is not an exaggeration; it is a truth supported by the long line of sages, both those who renounced the world and attained truth, and those who continued living in the world yet remained unaffected by it.

Meditation is a practical means for calming yourself, for letting go of your biases and seeing what is, openly and clearly. It is a way of training the mind so that you are not distracted and caught up in its endless churning. Meditation teaches you to systematically explore your inner dimensions. It is a system of commitment, not commandment. You are committing to yourself, to your path, and to the goal of knowing yourself. But at the same time, learning to be calm and still should not become a ceremony or religious ritual; it is a universal requirement of the human body.

Learning how to be still is the method of meditation. The process of cultivating stillness begins with the body. In the yoga tradition, you are guided by a competent teacher to keep your head, neck, and trunk straight while sitting in a meditative posture (asana). When you have learned to be comfortable in this posture, you should form a regular habit of practicing in the same posture at the same time and at the same place every day.

Find a simple, uncluttered, quiet place where you will not be disturbed. Sit on the floor with a cushion under you or in a firm chair, with your back straight and your eyes closed. Then bring your awareness slowly down through your body, allowing all of the muscles to relax except those that are supporting your head, neck, and back. Take your time and enjoy the process of letting go of the tension in your body. Meditation is the art and science of letting go, and this letting go begins with the body and then progresses to thoughts.

Once the body is relaxed and at peace, bring your awareness to your breath. Notice which part of your lungs are being exercised as you breathe. If you are breathing primarily with your chest you will not be able to relax. Let your breathing come primarily through the movement of the diaphragm. Continue to observe your breath without trying to control it. At first the breath may be irregular, but gradually it will become smooth and even, without pauses and jerks.

Meditation is a process of giving your full attention to whatever object you have chosen. In this case you are choosing to be aware of the breath. Allow yourself to experience your breathing in an open and accepting way. Do not judge or attempt to control or change it. Open yourself so fully that eventually there is no distinction between you and the breathing. In this process many thoughts will arise in your mind: Am I doing this right? When will this be over? Perhaps I should have closed the window. I forgot to make an important call. My neck hurts. Hundreds of thoughts may come before you and each thought will call forth some further response: a judgment, an action, an interest in pursuing the thought further, an attempt to get rid of the thought.

At this point, if you simply remain aware of this process instead of reacting to the thought, you will become aware of how restless your mind is. It tosses and turns like you do on a night when you cannot fall asleep. But that is only a problem when you identify with the mind and react to the various thoughts it throws at you. If you do, you will be caught in a never-ending whirlwind of restless activity. But if you simply attend to those thoughts when they arise, without reacting, or if you react and attend to the reaction, then they cannot really disturb you. Rememberit is not the thoughts that disturb you, but your reaction to them.

Meditation is very simple. It is simply attending. You can begin by attending to your breath, and then if a thought comes, attend to it, notice it, be open to itand it will pass. Then you can come back to the breath. Your normal response is to react to all your thoughts, and this keeps you ever busy in a sea of confusion. Meditation teaches you to attend to what is taking place within without reacting, and this makes all the difference. It brings you freedom from the mind and its meandering. And in this freedom you begin to experience who you are, distinct from your mental turmoil. You experience inner joy and contentment, you experience relief and inner relaxation, and you find a respite from the tumult of your life. You have given yourself an inner vacation.

This inner vacation is not a retreat from the world but the foundation for finding inner peace. You must also learn to apply the principle of attending in your worldly activities, so that you can apply yourself in the world more effectively. Through practicing meditation you can learn to be open to what comes before you in your daily life and give it your full attention.

Ordinarily, you react to the experiences that come before you in much the same way that you react to your thoughts. If someone says something negative to you, you become angry or depressed. If you lose something, you become emotionally upset. Your mood depends on what comes before you, and, as a result, your life is like a roller coaster ride. You react before you have fully experienced what you are reacting to. You immediately interpret what you see or hear according to your expectation, fears, prejudices, or resistances. You short-circuit the experience, and thus limit yourself to one or two conditioned responses instead of responding to a situation openly and creatively.

But if you apply the principle of meditation to experiences that come before you, you can fully attend to what is taking place. You can attend to your initial reaction without reacting to your reaction: Oh, look how threatened I feel by that. Let yourself be open to experiencing your reaction and it will move through you and allow other spontaneous responses to also come forward, so that you can select the one that is most helpful in that particular situation.

In this way meditation is very therapeutic. It not only leads to inner balance and stability, it also exposes your inner complexes, your immaturities, your unproductive reflexes and habits. Instead of living in these complexes and habits and acting them out, they are brought to your awareness and you can give them your full attention. Only then will they clear.

Have patience and do your practice systematically. Every action has a reaction. It is not possible for you to meditate and not receive benefits. You may not notice those benefits now, but slowly and gradually you are storing the samskaras (impressions) in the unconscious mind that will help you later. If you sow a seed today, you dont reap the fruit tomorrow, but eventually you will. It takes time to see results; be gentle with yourself.

Meditation means gently fathoming all the levels of your being, one level after another. Be honest with yourself. Dont care what others say about their experienceskeep your mind focused on your goal. It is your own mind that does not allow you to meditate. To work with your mind, youll have to be patient; youll have to work with yourself gradually.

At first you may see progress in terms of physical relaxation and emotional calmness. Later you may notice other, more subtle changes. Some of the most important benefits of meditation make themselves known gradually over time and are not dramatic or easily observed. Persist in your practice and you will find that meditation is a means of freeing yourself from the worries that gnaw at you. Then you are free to experience the joy of being fully present, here and now.

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The Real Meaning of Meditation | Yoga International

We are delighted to invite you to a rare and transformational evening with Eckhart Tolle. Join us for this unique opportunity to sit with Eckhart as he points you to spiritual awakening and the transformation of consciousness. With his hallmark warmth, humour and compassion, this evening will connect you with the peace and serenity that arises from living in the moment.

Eckharts profound, yet simple teachings have helped countless people from around the globe awaken to a vibrantly alive inner peace in their daily lives. The New York Times has called Eckhart Tolle the most popular spiritual author in the United States, and the Watkins Review named him as the most spiritually inuential person in the world. Eckhart Tolles writings and life-changing public events have touched millions of lives, garnering fans to the likes of Oprah, the Dalai Lama and Deepak Chopra.

He is the best-selling author of The Power of Now and A New Earth that are widely regarded as the most transformational books of our time, selling over 8 million copies.

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There are plenty of options for living a life of luxury after 55 and we have them all! Featuring some of Americas best active adult homes; we make it possible for you to spend the best years of your life by the beach or in the city, in the home of your dreams in one of our active living communities.

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Transhumanism is an international, cultural and intellectual movement with an eventual goal of fundamentally transforming the human condition, by making available technologies that greatly enhance human intellectual, physical, and psychological capacities. [1]Many transhumanists believe in the compatibility between the human mind and computer hardware, with the implication that human consciousness can be transferred to alternative media, known as mind uploading. Since the Science of the Soul and the Consciousness functions of the spiritual bodies, have not yet been discovered by scientists, this has potentially extremely destructive consequences to human consciousness and the electromagnetic functions of the Lightbody. Posthumans (the result of applied transhumanist technologies) could be completely synthetic artificial intelligences, or a symbiosis of human and artificial intelligence, or uploaded consciousness, or the result of making profound technological augmentations to a biological human.

Transhumanism is a school of thought that seeks to guide us towards a posthuman condition. Essentially, this is about creating artificially intelligent hybrids or cyborgs to replace the organic spiritual consciousness of humans. Some examples are redesigning the human organism using advanced nanotechnology or radical technological enhancements. Some of the proposed biological enhancements are using some combination of technologies such as genetic engineering, psychopharmacology, life extension therapies, neural interfaces, brain mapping, wearable or implanted computers, and entrainment of cognitive techniques. Most of these options are designed to disconnect the human soul from the human body, and prepare the body to be used as a shell for a new host. Effectively, this is integrating technological and pharmaceutical hybridization to damage human DNA, as preparation for body snatching.

The fundamental basis of the Transhumanism concept is the A.I. downloaded into the scientific human mind from the Negative Aliens and Satanic Forces, in their quest to survive and achieve immortality by hijacking human consciousness and ultimately possessing the human host body. They do not have flesh and bone bodies and covet ours. Most academics are filled with a variety of mind control and alien implants to be a cog in the wheel to steadily enforce alien control systems. Most early transhumanism concepts were developed by geneticists interested in eugenics and sustaining life forms in synthetic environments. (Like the eugenic experiments similar to those of the Black Sun Nazis). A common feature of promoting transhumanism is the future vision of creating a new intelligent species, into which humanity will evolve and eventually, either supplement it or supersede it. This distraction on the surface is a scheme, while the underlying motivation is intending species extinction of what we know as humans today. Transhumanism stresses the evolutionary perspective, yet it completely ignores the electromagnetic function of human DNA and the consciousness reality of the multidimensional human soul-spirit. They claim to want to stop human suffering but have no idea of the alien machinery and mind control implants used to imprison human consciousness. They know nothing about the afterlife, what happens during the death of the body or even how the human body or Universe really works, yet they want to control every aspect of the human body with artificial technology.

A primary goal of many transhumanists is to convince the public that embracing radical technology and science is in the human species best interest. With the False God Alien Religions used to spread the rhetoric of fear and mindless obedience on one end, and the primarily atheistic science used to mock all things religious without any comprehension of true spiritual understanding on the other, they have the bases covered. Consciousness and spiritual groups are quickly labeled Conspiracy theorists by scientists to intimidate, discredit and shut us up. Obviously, until people have personal consciousness experiences outside of their body, have the ability to communicate with assorted lifeforms, such as deceased humans and travel to other dimensions, they have zero information about consciousness and are totally uninformed and ignorant about the nature of reality. None of these transhumanist people, are remotely qualified to be put in charge of scientifically directing the future evolution of the human species. Propping up egomaniacs and Psychopaths, and giving them power and control over world affairs and influence over public perception is the game of the NAA Controllers.

The true knowledge of the Sacred Sciences of the Soul and mechanics of human multidimensional consciousness have been obliterated from record and conveniently mind controlled out from the majority of sciences. If scientists integrate theories of the soul or consciousness outside of the consensus of the mind control standard, they risk ridicule and losing their funding and careers. Unfortunately, the controlled mainstream sciences do not recognize multiple dimensions of consciousness inherent in the functions of activated human DNA, or know that biological life and multidimensional human consciousness does not end on this earth. The quest for biological immortality on a prison planet is ludicrous when experiencing the capability of human multidimensional consciousness. After the human body expires, if the undeveloped and disembodied consciousness is merged and assimilated into artificial intelligence, the remnants of that human soul will not have a human body to incarnate into any longer. Hence, that person will lose their connection to organic spiritual biology and cease to be human. Transhumanism is a Consciousness Trap. [2]

Since the persons Consciousness has not been prepared for the afterlife, whatever is left of his energetic quanta will be assimilated into a cyborg body or other types of synthetic life forms or EBEs. There are currently spiritually disconnected humans existing on the earth that will be assimilated into synthetic life forms that appear as Extraterrestrial Biological Entities, but were actually human souls in human bodies in past timelines. Most of the smaller EBE bodies assimilate nutrients from light similar to plants. They are unable to evolve, reproduce, ascend or move into higher dimensions of consciousness. Some of these EBEs have returned to the earth from the future to try to break into the human genetic code, in this earth timeline in order to save themselves. Many of these EBEs were once humans that were involved in the Orion Wars, and were captured in Orion and used in worker colonies. Some from the earth were enslaved on the astral plane by other races of creatures, such as Mantids, Grey Aliens and Reptilians that took them as workers to other planetary systems. Some are even used as minions for carrying out human abductions in MILABS soul transference projects. Many of them had their consciousness erased and they do not remember that they were once human.

This is one of the possible results of the Transhumanism movement underway in this earth timeline now, that leads to the potential future alien or dark force control over that Soul. Once the consciousness is assimilated into artificial intelligence and synthetic biology, that being can no longer incarnate into an organic human form. That person cannot incarnate again into human realms, such as planet earth. They become a displaced entity that cannot die and be reborn into another identity they are enslaved and merged with an AI hive mind. This is desired by many of these negative groups, such as the Alpha Draconis/Orion Group, as then they have full control over the life force of humans that can be made into worker slaves. This is the main purpose as to why Transhumanism is being marketed and pushed aggressively during this time, they want to create more human EBEs and cyborgs or host bodies. When that person drops their body while the Universal Gates are open, they can easily be transported to many different planetary systems for trading as a workforce commodity.[3]

The term directed evolution is used within the transhumanist community to refer to the idea of applying the principles of directed evolution and experimental evolution to the control of human evolution. This has its base in Eugenics theories.

When we look at the larger Galactic picture of consciousness enslavement, we see the NAA's many pronged agenda to target the Brain, CNS and thought forms of every person on earth. Through the agenda of Transhumanism, we see the promotion of hybridization and synthetic integration with artificial neural networks for control over the CNS and Brain. What is starting to surface with more clarity is that our human Neurobiology is wired for empathy, which connects us to higher consciousness and has a spiritual function. The NAA and their minions of soulless AI infected synthetic beings do not have the bio-circuitry for empathy. We are in essence, in a struggle between human EMPATHS, and alien hybridized humans and extra-dimensional aliens that are NON-EMPATHS. [4]

Archontic Deception Behavior

SPE

Luciferian

Satanic

NAA

Human Trafficking

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Transhumanism - Ascension Glossary

Seeing ones own nature is Buddhahood ~ Zen Master Bassui

The concept of Enlightenment or Awakening and how it relates to the other concept of no-self (anattor anatman)is truly one thing that sets Buddhism apart from any other major religion. After all, Buddha means The Awakened One.

But enlightenment, which is the reason we practice Buddhism, is perhaps one of the most confusing concepts to explain in Buddhism.

Hey, being unenlightened sure seems like a great thing! We love falling madly in love with people, enjoy things that delight our senses, and live our life to the fullest before we die.

But is it all that its cracked up to be? Not really, because we have many attachments when we are unenlightened that cause our suffering (called Dukkha which is part of the four noble truths) such as:

When we become enlightened, everything becomes clear so things that used to bother us, no longer do, and we can understand our place in the universe.

Enlightenment is something that happens suddenly to you when you recognize there has never been a thing known as you (ego), and it was all just a mental fabrication. This is referredto as the concept of no-self (anattor anatman) in Buddhism. Thats pretty heavy stuff for most of us to come to terms with.

As Zen MasterDgensaid:

Only be accepting that the ego is a fabricated illusion do we walk the Buddhas way.

This means that seeing you (ego) as a separate selfisthe illusion. We are all part of a connected consciousness. When you realize this, you become awake.

Author Timothy Freke made this very clear:

Enlightenment is not something that benefits you or me. It is the absence ofthe illusion ofthere beinga you or me to benefit. Enlightenment is held up as the ultimate goalof Buddhism, but ironically it is only when the concept of being a someone who could achieveanything is abandoned that enlightenment naturally occurs.

So how can you be enlightened when there cant bea thing such as you? First its important to understand that ego (referred to as tman in Buddhism) is in our mind and creates the false sense of self (thus a you) that is independent and separate. Because this is a delicious and attractive prospect to us, we cling to ittightly. This clinging to selfcreates all our sufferingbecause its like a clenching fist that wont let go.

AsDzogchenPonlopRinpoche explains:

Clinging to this mythical self is just like gripping an imaginary object in our hand. What does it accomplish? It only gives us a headache and ulcers. And we quickly develop many other kinds of suffering on top of that. This I becomes proactive in protecting its interests, because it immediately perceives other. The instant we have the thought of I and other, the wholedrama of us versus them develops. It all happens in the blink of an eye. We desire one thing and try our best to get it; we hate or fear another and work to keep it away; and there are still other things we dont care about one way or another.

Compared to other religions of the world where you are permanent (such as having a soul), Buddhism says the opposite. Sentient beings (such as people) dont have an independent self that is unchanging. Physically you can see your body change, but even you change as you are interconnectedwith everything around you. Because we are very much attached to the concept of me, its hard to grasp this concept also. The Buddha said that the concept of you is a temporary condition caused by the combination of physical and mental components of existence. You will eventually lose the body, and be no more (but not to worry, read my article about rebirth for more on this).

This doesnt mean that you are arenot in the physical (human) world right now, because you are. You can pinch yourself and fell the pain caused by it. Whats being said is that moment by moment, the concept of you is being created by your ego (mind). So loosen that grip on your ego and become liberated!

Its important to note that the two major branches of Buddhism, Theravada and Mahayana, look at the concept of no self (anattor anatman) differently as explained by Barbara OBrien:

Very basically, Theravada considers anatmanto mean that an individuals ego or personality is a fetter and delusion. Once freed of this delusion, the individual may enjoy the bliss of Nirvana.

Mahayana, on the other hand, considers all physical forms to be void of intrinsic self (a teaching calledshunyata, which means emptiness). The ideal in Mahayana is to enable all beings to be enlightened together, not only out of a sense of compassion, but because we are not really separate, autonomous beings.

Before we go any further, a little clarification is needed. You will hear the terms enlightened (and enlightenment) and awake (and awakened), which refer to the Pali term Bodhi. The Buddha said he was buddho, meaning awake. Both enlightened and awakened mean the same thing, and are perhaps not the best terms to use to describe Bodhi, but its what has been used for a long time now.

Lets use these two terms as they relate to the Buddha: Prince Siddhartha Gautamabecame awake (buddho) when he realized the true nature of things. This happened during his meditative concentration under the Bodhi treewhen he overcame all the obstacles and temptations in his mind and, no pun intended, the lights came on or enlightened (as far as understanding the true nature of things) and became the Buddha.

Often, youll see a circle, halo, or light radiating from the Buddhas head in paintings and statues, but this is purely a symbolic metaphor for enlightenment (by using light) of his mind, and not of anything spiritual or God-like.

Whats hidden? Youre already enlightened my friend. As Barbara OBrien explains:

Mahayana Buddhism teaches that, in our deepest selves, we are already perfect, complete and enlightened. However, we dont understand ourselves this way. Instead, we are caughtup in the delusion of ordinary appearances and conceptualizations to see ourselves as limited, imperfect and incomplete.

If we could sum up Enlightenment simply (no easy feat!) it is tofind what is hidden. But what is hidden? First, lets give some analogies:

Enlightenment is much like this, as it is discovering what is already there inside you (often referred to as your Buddha nature in Mahayana). As Ven. Master Hsing Yunexplains:

Before attaining enlightenment one sees the world through clouded vision, unable to understand the true nature of things. After attaining enlightenment, one looks upon all the worlds phenomena like a blind person who can now see.

We would probably not even be talking about enlightenment if it was not for Prince Siddhartha Gautamawho persisted in meditation under a pipal tree(later to be called the Bodhi tree) until he became awake. His enlightenment, and determination to share this knowledge with others, created one of the worlds largest religions. He was then able tosee and understand the world as it truly isand explained this with the Three Dharma Seals.

Upon achieving enlightenment, the Buddha said:

Marvelous, marvelous! All sentient beings have the Tathgatas wisdom and virtue, but they fail to realize it because they cling to deluded thoughts and attachments.

Tathgata is a Pali and Sanskrit word the Buddha used when referring to himself. So, hes basically saying everyone has Buddha Nature and can achieve enlightenment, and end suffering.

I wonder if the Buddha saw the world like the character Neo did in the movieThe Matrix? Well, more on that later on.

Often you will see a picture or statue of the Buddha sitting atop a lotus flower throne. This is because thelotus flower is often used to dramatically illustrate enlightenment.

Just like our mind, the lotus flower grows beneath the surface of the water which is dark, murky, and muddy (much like our perception of the world and ourselves). But, through constant effort, it finally breaks the surface of the water and blossoms in the bright and beautiful world (which is unseen).

Just like the lotus flower breaking the surface of the water, we too can break through the surface of our deluded perceptions of the world. But it takes both constant effort, and faith. If the lotus flower (lets pretend its a sentient being for a second) believed the world was just this muddy water and nothing was above, it would never become enlightened and break the surface. Or, if it did believe that there was this beautiful world above the waters surface, and spent much effort to get there, but one day gets discouraged and stopsnot knowing it was just moments away from the surface.

This is why continued practice, faith, and effort is needed and that you should never give up.

In the movieThe Matrix, Neo (Keanu Reeves) awakens from within the Matrix and can see the world around him is just computer code. Heres the scene:

Now, of course, this movie doesnt have anything to do with Buddhism, but it does have some concepts we can draw from:

So, perhaps Prince Siddhartha (the Buddha) could have been like Keanu Reeves playing the character Neo if he lived in our time. I suppose Id be ok with that as long as he didnt also play a role in Bill & Teds Excellent Adventureand doesnt fly around in a computer program.

Weve talked a lot about what enlightenment is, but how do you become enlightened? The goal of meditative concentration (part of the Noble Eightfold Path) is enlightenment.

Ven. Master Hsing Yun explains the path:

One can seek enlightenment by practicing meditation, but how should we practice so that we can attain enlightenment? Total and complete enlightenment is not attained easily. one must develop small moments of insight and understanding each day. These small, daily bits of enlightenment accumulate over time, until they culminate in a sudden flash of great enlightenment.

Getting started with meditation ideally requires a teacher, but if you dont have one where you live, here are five ways you can learn.

So what do you do after you become enlightened? Get ready for ityou continue practicing! Becoming enlightened is not the final step on the path, becoming a Buddha is.

Mahayana Buddhists who follow the Bodhisattva path can become Buddhas as well, but they choose to remain in the cycle of birth and death(samsara) in order tohelp others become enlightened as well. But lets look at it another way, that becoming enlightened is just as good as becoming a Buddha (or Arhart in Theravada). As Ven. Master Hsing Yunexplains(note that Chan and Zen are the same, except Chan refers to the original school in China, and Zen the school that Chan became in Japan):

Chan practitioners are humanistic because they have developed meditative concentration for generations and seek enlightenment rather thanattaining Buddhahood. After attaining enlightenment in this human world, they are liberated in the present moment of their lives. They find peace and freedom in body and mind, understand the mind, and see their nature. All of this comes from enlightenment-why worry about being unable to become a Buddha?

Its often said that trying to explain enlightenment is fruitless, and I agree. As someone who is clearly not enlightened, my goal with this article is to try and make a few concepts clearer and easier to understand for laypersons like you and me. But, of course, Im not enlightened! So I will leave you with this parting thought by Ven. Master Hsing Yun:

Enlightenment must bedirectly experienced and is not something an average person can wildly speculate about. Those who casually imitate the words and actions of Chan practitioners without doing the work to attain enlightenment will fall short and invite the ridicule of those who truly know.

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Wake Up! Understanding Enlightenment in Buddhism

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This article is about the psychology theory. For the self-determination in politics, see Self-determination.

Self-determination theory (SDT) is a macro theory of human motivation and personality that concerns people's inherent growth tendencies and innate psychological needs. It is concerned with the motivation behind choices people make without external influence and interference. SDT focuses on the degree to which an individual's behavior is self-motivated and self-determined.[1][2][3]

In the 1970s, research on SDT evolved from studies comparing the intrinsic and extrinsic motives, and from growing understanding of the dominant role intrinsic motivation played in an individual's behavior[4] but it was not until the mid-1980s that SDT was formally introduced and accepted as a sound empirical theory. Research applying SDT to different areas in social psychology has increased considerably since the 2000s.

Key studies that led to emergence of SDT included research on intrinsic motivation.[5] Intrinsic motivation refers to initiating an activity for its own sake because it is interesting and satisfying in itself, as opposed to doing an activity to obtain an external goal (extrinsic motivation). Different types of motivations have been described based on the degree they have been internalized. Internalization refers to the active attempt to transform an extrinsic motive into personally endorsed values and thus assimilate behavioural regulations that were originally external.[6]

Edward L. Deci and Richard Ryan later expanded on the early work differentiating between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and proposed three main intrinsic needs involved in self-determination.[7][8] According to Deci and Ryan, the three psychological needs motivate the self to initiate behavior and specify nutriments that are essential for psychological health and well-being of an individual. These needs are said to be universal, innate and psychological and include the need for competence, autonomy, and psychological relatedness.[1]

SDT is centered on the belief that human nature shows persistent positive features, that it repeatedly shows effort, agency and commitment in their lives that the theory calls "inherent growth tendencies". People also have innate psychological needs that are the basis for self-motivation and personality integration.

SDT identifies three innate needs that, if satisfied, allow optimal function and growth:

These needs are seen as universal necessities that are innate, not learned (instinctive), and seen in humanity across time, gender and culture.[14]

Deci and Ryan claim that there are three essential elements of the theory:[15]

To actualise their inherent potential they need nurturing from the social environment.

If this happens there are positive consequences (e.g. well being and growth) but if not, there are negative consequences. So SDT emphasises humans' natural growth toward positive motivation; however, this is thwarted if their basic needs are not fulfilled.

SDT supports three basic psychological needs that must be satisfied to foster well-being and health. These needs can be universally applied. However, some may be more salient than others at certain times and are expressed differently based on time, culture, or experience.

SDT claims to give a different approach to motivation, considering what motivates a person at any given time as opposed to seeing motivation as a unitary concept. SDT makes distinctions between different types of motivation and the consequences of them.

Intrinsic motivation is the natural, inherent drive to seek out challenges and new possibilities that SDT associates with cognitive and social development.

Cognitive evaluation theory (CET)[17] is a sub-theory of SDT that specifies factors explaining intrinsic motivation and variability with it and looks at how social and environmental factors help or hinder intrinsic motivations. CET focuses on the needs of competence and autonomy.

Claiming social context events like feedback on work or rewards lead to feelings of competence and so enhance intrinsic motivations. Deci[13] found positive feedback enhanced intrinsic motivations and negative feedback diminished it. Vallerand and Reid[18] went further and found that these effects were being mediated by perceived control.

Autonomy, however, must accompany competence for people to see their behaviours as self determined by intrinsic motivation. For this to happen there must be immediate contextual support for both needs or inner resources based on prior development support for both needs.[19]

CET and intrinsic motivation is also linked to relatedness through the hypothesis that intrinsic motivation flourishes if linked with a sense of security and relatedness. Grolnick and Ryan[20] found lower intrinsic motivation in children who believed their teachers to be uncaring or cold and so not fulfilling their relatedness needs.

Extrinsic motivation comes from external sources. Deci and Ryan[17] developed organismic integration theory (OIT), as a sub-theory of SDT, to explain the different ways extrinsically motivated behaviour is regulated.

OIT details the different forms of extrinsic motivation and the contexts in which they come about. It is the context of such motivation that concerns the SDT theory as these contexts affect whether the motivations are internalised and so integrated into the sense of self.

OIT describes four different types of extrinsic motivations that often vary in terms of their relative autonomy:

Extrinsically motivated behaviours can be integrated into self. OIT proposes internalization is more likely to occur when there is a sense of relatedness.

Ryan, Stiller and Lynch[23] found that children internalize school's extrinsic regulations when they feel secure and cared for by parents and teachers.

Internalisation of extrinsic motivation is also linked to competence. OIT suggests that feelings of competence in activities should facilitate internalisation of said actions.[24]

Autonomy is particularly important when trying to integrate its regulations into a person's sense of self. If an external context allows a person to integrate regulationthey must feel competent, related and autonomous. They must also understand the regulation in terms of their other goals to facilitate a sense of autonomy.[25] This was supported by Deci, Eghrari, Patrick and Leone[26] who found in laboratory settings if a person was given a meaningful reason for uninteresting behaviour along with support for their sense of autonomy and relatedness they internalized and integrated their behaviour.

White[16] and deCharms[12] proposed that the need for competence and autonomy is the basis of intrinsic motivation and behaviour. This is a link between people's basic needs and their motivations.

Deci[27] found that offering people extrinsic rewards for behaviour that is intrinsically motivated undermined the intrinsic motivation as they grow less interested in it. Initially intrinsically motivated behaviour becomes controlled by external rewards, which undermines their autonomy.

Further research by Amabile, DeJong and Lepper[28] found other external factors like deadlines, which restrict and control, also decrease intrinsic motivation.

Situations that give autonomy as opposed to taking it away also have a similar link to motivation. Studies looking at choice have found that increasing a participant's options and choices increases their intrinsic motivation.[29]

Deci[27] found that giving people unexpected positive feedback on a task increases people's intrinsic motivation to do it, meaning that this was because the positive feedback was fulfilling people's need for competence. In fact, giving positive feedback on a task served only to increase people's intrinsic motivation and decreased extrinsic motivation for the task.

Vallerand and Reid[18] found negative feedback has the opposite effect (i.e., decreasing intrinsic motivation by taking away from people's need for competence).

During a study on the relationship between infants' attachment styles; their exhibition of mastery-oriented behaviour and their effect during play, Frodi, Bridges and Grolnick[30] failed to find significant effects: "Perhaps somewhat surprising was the finding that the quality of attachment assessed at 12 months failed to significantly predict either mastery motivation, competence, or affect 8 months later, when other investigators have demonstrated an association between similar constructs ..." Yet they note that larger sample sizes could be able to uncover such effects: "A comparison of the secure/stable and the insecure/stable groups, however, did suggest that the secure/stable group was superior to the insecure/stable groups on all mastery-related measures. Obviously, replications of all the attachment-motivation relations are needed with different and larger samples."

SDT argues that needs are innate but can be developed in a social context. Some people develop stronger needs than others, creating individual differences. However, individual differences within the theory focus on concepts resulting from the degree to which needs have been satisfied or not satisfied.

Within SDT there are two general individual difference concepts, Causality Orientations and Life Goals.

Causality orientations are motivational orientations that refer to either the way people orient to an environment and regulate their behaviour because of this or the extent to which they are self determined in general across many settings. SDT created three orientations: autonomous, controlled and impersonal.

According to the theory people have some amount of each of the orientations, which can be used to make predictions on a persons psychological health and behavioural outcomes.

Life goals are long-term goals people use to guide their activities, and they fall into two categories:[31]

There have been several studies on this subject that chart intrinsic goals being associated with greater health, well being and performance.[32]

Deci[27] investigated the effects of external rewards on intrinsic motivation in two laboratory and one field experiment. Based on the results from earlier animal and human studies regarding intrinsic motivation the author explored two possibilities. In the first two experiments he looked at the effect of extrinsic rewards in terms of a decrease in intrinsic motivation to perform a task. Earlier studies showed contradictory or inconclusive findings regarding decrease in performance on a task following an external reward. The third experiment was based on findings of developmental learning theorists and looked at whether a different type of reward enhances intrinsic motivation to participate in an activity.

This experiment tested the hypothesis that if an individual is intrinsically motivated to perform an activity, introduction of an extrinsic reward decreases the degree of intrinsic motivation to perform the task.

Twenty-four undergraduate psychology students participated in the first laboratory experiment and were assigned to experimental (n = 12) and control group (n = 12). Each group participated in three sessions conducted on three different days. During the sessions, participants were engaged in working on a Soma cube puzzlewhich the experimenters assumed was an activity college students would be intrinsically motivated to do. The puzzle could be put together to form numerous different configurations. In each session, the participants were shown four different configurations drawn on a piece of paper and were asked to use the puzzle to reproduce the configurations while they were being timed.

The first and third session of the experimental condition were identical to control, but in the second session the participants in the experimental condition were given a dollar for completing each puzzle within time. During the middle of each session, the experimenter left the room for eight minutes and the participants were told that they were free to do whatever they wanted during that time, while the experimenter observed during that period. The amount of time spent working on the puzzle during the free choice period was used to measure motivation.

As Deci expected, when external reward was introduced during session two, the participants spent more time working on the puzzles during the free choice period in comparison to session 1 and when the external reward was removed in the third session, the time spent working on the puzzle dropped lower than the first session. All subjects reported finding the task interesting and enjoyable at the end of each session, providing evidence for the experimenter's assumption that the task was intrinsically motivating for the college students. The study showed some support of the experimenter's hypothesis and a trend towards decrease in intrinsic motivation was seen after money was provided to the participants as external reward.

The second experiment was a field experiment, similar to laboratory Experiment I, but was conducted in a natural setting.

Eight student workers were observed at a college biweekly newspaper. Four of the students served as a control group and worked on Friday. The experimental group worked on Tuesdays.

The control and experimental group students were not aware that they were being observed. The 10-week observation was divided into three time periods. The task in this study required the students to write headlines for the newspaper.

During "Time 2", the students in the experimental group were given 50 cents for each headline they wrote. At the end of Time 2, they were told that in the future the newspaper cannot pay them 50 cent for each headline anymore as the newspaper ran out of the money allocated for that and they were not paid for the headlines during Time 3.

The speed of task completion (headlines) was used as a measure of motivation in this experiment. Absences were used as a measure of attitudes.

To assess the stability of the observed effect, the experimenter observed the students again (Time 4) for two weeks. There was a gap of five weeks between Time 3 and Time 4. Due to absences and change in assignment etc., motivation data was not available for all students. The results of this experiment were similar to Experiment I and monetary reward was found to decrease the intrinsic motivation of the students, supporting Deci's hypothesis.

Experiment III was also conducted in the laboratory and was identical to Experiment I in all respects except for the kind of external reward provided to the students in experimental condition during Session 2.

In this experiment, verbal praise was used as an extrinsic reward.

The experimenter hypothesized that a different type of rewardi.e., social approval in the form of verbal reinforcement and positive feedback for performing the task that a person is intrinsically motivated to performenhances the degree of external motivation, even after the extrinsic reward is removed.

The results of the experiment III confirmed the hypothesis and the students' performance increased significantly during the third session in comparison to session one, showing that verbal praise and positive feedback enhances performance in tasks that a person is initially intrinsically motivated to perform. This provides evidence that verbal praise as external reward increases intrinsic motivation.

The author explained differences between the two types of external rewards as having different effects on intrinsic motivation. When a person is intrinsically motivated to perform a task and money is introduced to work on the task, the individual cognitively re-evaluates the importance of the task and the intrinsic motivation to perform the task (because the individual finds it interesting) shifts to extrinsic motivation and the primary focus changes from enjoying the task to gaining financial reward. However, when verbal praise is provided in a similar situation increases intrinsic motivation as it is not evaluated to be controlled by external factors and the person sees the task as an enjoyable task that is performed autonomously. The increase in intrinsic motivation is explained by positive reinforcement and an increase in perceived locus of control to perform the task.

Pritchard, Campbell and Campbell[33] conducted a similar study to evaluate Deci's hypothesis regarding the role of extrinsic rewards on decreasing intrinsic motivation.

Participants were randomly assigned to two groups. A chess-problem task was used in this study. Data was collected in two sessions.

Participants were asked to complete a background questionnaire that included questions on the amount of time the participant played chess during the week, the number of years that the participant has been playing chess for, amount of enjoyment the participant gets from playing the game, etc.

The participants in both groups were then told that the experimenter needed to enter the information in the computer and for the next 10 minutes the participant were free to do whatever they liked.

The experimenter left the room for 10 minutes. The room had similar chess-problem tasks on the table, some magazines as well as coffee was made available for the participants if they chose to have it.

The time spent on the chess-problem task was observed through a one way mirror by the experimenter during the 10 minutes break and was used as a measure of intrinsic motivation. After the experimenter returned, the experimental group was told that there was a monetary reward for the participant who could work on the most chess problems in the given time and that the reward is for this session only and would not be offered during the next session. The control group was not offered a monetary reward.

The second session was the same for the two groups:

After a filler task, the experimenter left the room for 10 minutes and the time participants spent on the chess-problem task was observed. The experimental group was reminded that there was no reward for the task this time.

After both sessions the participants were required to respond to questionnaires evaluating the task, i.e. to what degree did they find the task interesting. Both groups reported that they found the task interesting.

The results of the study showed that the experimental group showed a significant decrease in time spent on the chess-problem task during the 10-minute free time from session 1 to session 2 in comparison to the group that was not paid, thus confirming the hypothesis presented by Deci that contingent monetary reward for an activity decreases the intrinsic motivation to perform that activity. Other studies were conducted around this time focusing on other types of rewards as well as other external factors that play a role in decreasing intrinsic motivation.[34][35]

Chua and Koestner[36] explored the consequences of activities done in solitude.

They argued that relation of solitary activities to feelings of loneliness and life satisfaction depends on whether individuals feel autonomous rather than controlled about spending time alone.

Participants (N = 108) reported the percentage of waking time they spent in solitude per day and completed measures of attachment styles, motivation for solitary activities, loneliness, and well-being. The results suggest that relative autonomy is important regardless of one's decision to act or not to act. The results also emphasize the importance of autonomous social behavior.

Principles of SDT have been applied in many domains of life, e.g., job demands;[37] parenting;[38] teaching;[39] and health.[40] Besides the domains mentioned above, self-determination theory research has been widely applied to the field of sports.[41]

Murcia, Roman, Galindo, Alonso and Gonzalez-Cutre[42] looked at the influence of peers on enjoyment in exercise. Specifically, the researchers looked at the effect of motivational climate generated by peers on exercisers by analyzing data collected through questionnaires and rating scales. The assessment included evaluation of motivational climate, basic psychological needs satisfaction, levels of self-determination and self-regulation (amotivation, external, introjected, identified and intrinsic regulation) and also the assessment of the level of satisfaction and enjoyment in exercising.

Data analysis revealed that when peers are supportive and there is an emphasis on cooperation, effort, and personal improvement, the climate influences variables like basic psychological needs, motivation and enjoyment. The task climate positively predicted the three basic psychological needs (competence, autonomy and relatedness) and so positively predicted self-determined motivation. Task climate and the resulting self-determination were also found to positively influence level of enjoyment the exercisers experienced during the activity.

Awareness has always been associated with autonomous functioning; however, it was only recently that the SDT researchers incorporated the idea of mindfulness and its relationship with autonomous functioning and emotional wellbeing in their research.

Brown and Ryan[43] conducted a series of five experiments to study mindfulness: They defined mindfulness as open, undivided attention to what is happening within as well as around oneself.

From their experiments, the authors concluded that when individuals act mindfully, their actions are consistent with their values and interest. Also, there is a possibility that being autonomous and performing an action because it is enjoyable to oneself increases mindful attention to one's actions.

Another area of interest for SDT researchers is the relationship between subjective vitality and self-regulation. Ryan and Deci[44] define vitality as energy available to the self, either directly or indirectly, from basic psychological needs. This energy allows individuals to act autonomously.

Many theorists have posited that self-regulation depletes energy but SDT researchers have proposed and demonstrated that only controlled regulation depletes energy, autonomous regulation can actually be vitalizing.[45]

A recent study by Hyungshim Jang[46] in which the capacity of two different theoretical models of motivation were used to explain why an externally provided rationale for doing a particular assignment often helps in a student's motivation, engagement, and learning during relatively uninteresting learning activities.

Undergraduate students (N = 136; 108 women, 28 men) worked on a relatively uninteresting short lesson after either receiving or not receiving a rationale. Students who received the rationale showed greater interest, work ethic, and determination.

Structural equation modeling was used to test three alternative explanatory models to understand why the rationale produced such benefits:

The data fit all three models; but only the model based on self-determination theory helped students to engage and learn. Findings show the role that externally provided rationales can play in helping students generate the motivation they need to engage in and learn from uninteresting, but personally important, material.[46]

The importance of these findings to those in the field of education is that when teachers try to find ways to promote student's motivation during relatively uninteresting learning activities, they can successfully do so by promoting the value of the task. One way teachers can help students value what they may deem "uninteresting" is by providing a rationale that identifies the lesson's otherwise hidden value, helps students understand why the lesson is genuinely worth their effort, and communicates why the lesson can be expected to be useful to them.[46]

An example of SDT and education are Sudbury Model schools where people decide for themselves how to spend their days. In these schools, students of all ages determine what they do, as well as when, how, and where they do it. This freedom is at the heart of the school; it belongs to the students as their right, not to be violated. The fundamental premises of the school are simple: that all people are curious by nature; that the most efficient, long-lasting, and profound learning takes place when started and pursued by the learner; that all people are creative if they are allowed to develop their unique talents; that age-mixing among students promotes growth in all members of the group; and that freedom is essential to the development of personal responsibility. In practice this means that students initiate all their own activities and create their own environments. The physical plant, the staff, and the equipment are there for the students to use as the need arises. The school provides a setting in which students are independent, are trusted, and are treated as responsible people; and a community in which students are exposed to the complexities of life in the framework of a participatory democracy. Sudbury schools do not perform and do not offer evaluations, assessments, or recommendations, asserting that they do not rate people, and that school is not a judge; comparing students to each other, or to some standard that has been set is for them a violation of the student's right to privacy and to self-determination. Students decide for themselves how to measure their progress as self-starting learners as a process of self-evaluation: real lifelong learning and the proper educational evaluation for the 21st century, they adduce.[47]

According to self-determination theory,[48] individuals who attribute their actions to external circumstances rather than internal mechanisms are far more likely to succumb to peer pressure. In contrast, individuals who consider themselves autonomous tend to be initiators of actions rather than followers. Research examining the relationship between self-determination theory and alcohol use among college students has indicated that individuals with the former criteria for decision making are associated with greater alcohol consumption and drinking as a function of social pressure. For instance, in a study conducted by Knee and Neighbors,[49] external factors in the individuals who claim to not be motivated by internal factors were found to be associated with drinking for extrinsic reasons, and with stronger perceptions of peer pressure, which in turn was related to heavier alcohol use. Given the evidence suggesting a positive association between an outward motivation and drinking, and the potential role of perceived social influence in this association, understanding the precise nature of this relationship seems important. Further, it may be hypothesized that the relationship between self-determination and drinking may be mediated to some extent by the perceived approval of others.[50]

Motivational interviewing (MI) is a popular approach to positive behavioral change. Used initially in the area of addiction (Miller & Rollnick, 2002),[51] it is now used for a wider range of issues. It is a client-centered method that doesn't persuade or coerce patients to change and instead attempts to explore and resolve their ambivalent feelings, which allows them to choose themselves whether to change or not.

Markland, Ryan, Tobin, and Rollnick[52] believe that SDT provides a framework behind how and the reasons why MI works. They believe that MI provides an autonomy-supportive atmosphere, which allows clients to find their own source of motivation and achieve their own success (in terms of overcoming addiction). Patients randomly assigned to an MI treatment group found the setting to be more autonomy-supportive than those in a regular support group.

Several studies explored the link between self-determination theory and environmental behaviors to determine the role of intrinsic motivation for environmental behavior performance and to account for the lack of success of current intervention strategies.[54]

Environmental attitudes and knowledge are not good predictors of behavior. Self-determination theory suggests that motivation can predict behavior performance. Pelletier et al. (1998) constructed a scale of motivation for environmental behavior, which consists of 4x6 statements (4 statements for each type of motivation on the SDT motivation scale: intrinsic, integrated, identified, introjected, external, and amotivation) responding to a question 'Why are you doing things for the environment?'. Each item is scored on a 1-7 Likert scale.[55] Utilizing MTES, Villacorta (2003) demonstrates a correlation between environmental concerns and intrinsic motivations together with peer and parental support; further, intrinsically motivated behaviors tend to persist longer.[56]

Pelletier et al. (1999) shows that four personal beliefs, helplessness, strategy, capacity, and effort, lead to greater amotivation, while self-determination has an inverse relationship with amotivation. The Amotivation toward the Environment Scale measures the four reasons for amotivation by answering a question 'Why are you not doing things for the environment?'. The participants rank 16 total statements (four in each category of amotivation) on a 1-7 Likert scale.[57]

Intervention strategies have to be effective in bridging the gap between attitudes and behaviors. Monetary incentives, persuasive communication, and convenience are often successful in the short term, but when the intervention is removed, behavior is discontinued. In the long run, such intervention strategies are therefore expensive and difficult to maintain.[54]

Self-determination theory explains that environmental behavior that is not motivated intrinsically is not persistent. On the other hand, when self-determination is high, behavior is more likely to occur repeatedly. The importance of intrinsic motivation is particularly apparent with more difficult behaviors. While they are less likely to be performed in general, people with high internal motivation are more likely to perform them more frequently than people with low intrinsic motivation. 5 Subjects scoring high on intrinsic motivation and supporting ecological well-being also reported a high level of happiness.[58]

According to Osbaldiston and Sheldon (2003), autonomy perceived by an individual leads to an increased frequency of environmental behavior performance. In their study, 162 university students chose an environmental goal and performed it for a week. Perceived autonomy, success in performing chosen behavior, and their future intention to continue were measured. The results suggested that people with higher degree of self-perceived autonomy successfully perform behaviors and are more likely to do so in the long term.[59]

Based on the connection between self-determination theory and environmental behaviors, Pelletier et al. suggest that successful intervention should emphasize self-determined motivation for performing environmental behaviors.[55]

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Yes, the retirement you pay through your job counts as a qualified retirement plan and may qualify you for theRetirementSavingsContributions Credit (Savers Credit). Thiscredit giveslow and middle-income taxpayersan extraincentive tosavemoneyfor retirement. TurboTaxwill automatically calculate thecreditforyouif you qualify.

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The Retirement Savings Contributions Credit (Savers Credit) helps low and middle-income taxpayers save for retirement. Sometimes this is called the Credit for Qualified Retirement Savings Contribution or Retirement Credit. Its a non-refundable tax credit which means it cant reduce the amount of tax owed to less than zero.

Based on your income and filing status, you may claim a credit on your return for a percentage of the contributions you made to a qualified retirement plan.

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Yes, you report your Public Employee Retirement income that you received in that section of TurboTax (Distributions from Pension, Annuities, Retirement, etc).

You should have received a 1099-R, though, for that income which would identify the amount of income and withholdingtaxes for the year. But, TurboTax does allow you to prepare a "substitute 1099-R" in TurboTax if you did not receive a 1099-R form. (See sample screenshot.) Yet, even with preparing a substitute, you still need to substantiate to the IRS that you tried to contact the plan administrator to get a 1099-R form.

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Complete a Form 1099-R as if you actually received the correct form. Enter as much information about the payer as you can, including name, address, and the amounts for 2017. Then complete the information for the substitute form.

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