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Netflix documentary focuses on The Rajneesh in Oregon

Posted: March 4, 2018 at 5:43 pm


One of the most bizarre chapters in Oregon history came with the arrival of a religious cult called the Rajneesh. (KOIN) One of the most bizarre chapters in Oregon history came with the arrival of a religious cult called the Rajneesh. (KOIN)

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- One of the most bizarre chapters in Oregon history came with the arrival of a religious cult called the Rajneesh.

Now that story is a new Netflix documentary, "Wild Wild Country." The series premiere is set for March 16.

Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh preached a message of free love, meditation and living in the moment. He was known for his daily drive-bys in a fleet of Rolls Royces.

In 1981, Bhagwan's followers, known as Rajneeshees or Sannyasins, built a communal city from the ground up on the 64,000 acre Big Muddy Ranch in Wasco County. At it's height, Rajneeshpuram had nearly 7,000 people from all over the world.

The Rajneesh were led by the combative Ma Anand Sheela, Bhagwan's personal assistant who threatened anyone she perceived as enemies of the Rajneesh.

In 1984, the Rajneesh poisoned salad bars in The Dalles with salmonella to incapacitate voters so Rajneesh candidates would win elections in Wasco County.

An estimated 751 people became sick and 45 were hospitalized in what's still known as America's largest bio-terrorism attack.

Bhagwan was deported and died in 1990 at age 58.

Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh in a file photo from the 1980s (KOIN)

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Netflix documentary focuses on The Rajneesh in Oregon

Written by grays |

March 4th, 2018 at 5:43 pm

What is Transhumanism? – GenSix Productions

Posted: March 3, 2018 at 3:48 pm


The title of this years True Legends Conference is Transhumanism and the Hybrid Age. For the followers of Steve Quayle, Timothy Alberino and Tom Horn, these might be familiar terms, but the importance of the topic deserves a clear understanding by all. So what exactly is transhumanism? And for that matter, what is a hybrid?

Transhumanism is defined as the belief or theory that the human race can evolve beyond its current physical and mental limitations, especially by means of science and technology. Of course, this sounds admirable. Who among us does not want to move toward the goal of eliminating human pain with ever increasing intelligence? But transhumanism is much more than that. With the unending surge in biological know-how, we now have the ability to redefine what it means to be human. Through tools like artificial intelligence, robotics and especially genetics, science is playing a very high-stakes game in the homo sapien sandbox. The end result of this game will have massive implications for future generations.

A quick internet search of the term transhumanism reveals a host of good intentions. Phrases such as broadening human potential, overcoming aging and cognitive shortcomings, and eliminating suffering decorate articles highlighting the possibilities at our fingertips. Breakthroughs like thought-controlled robotic limbsor even regrowing natural limbsseem to make the decision to proceed a no-brainer. If we can do it, we must, as long as were careful, they say. An obligatory word of warning is usually inserted somewhere among the celebratory jargon about how we must never misuse these technologiesas if mankind would ever do such a thing? The question is; Are those who rule over us responsible enough to wield such power?

The power of our technology is being concentrated into the hands of the technocratic elite, and there is more at stake than the Terminator scenarios portrayed in Hollywood. There are deeper spiritual consequences underlying the transhumanist agenda, consequences that can have eternal ramifications. And this is why Steve Quayle and Timothy Alberino have decided to address the topic of Transhumanism and the Hybrid Age in this years True Legends Conference.

This raises another question: What exactly is a hybrid? The official definition reads as follows: a thing made by combining two different elements; a mixture. In our current context, would having a robotic arm make you a hybrid? Would this be a bad thing? I would not want to tell people needing a limb that they cannot have it for either their own good or the good of mankind. Nor deny the blind sight, or the diseased a cure via some amazing biotechnological breakthrough. Thats what makes this such a sticky issue. The cryptic phraseology in Genesis concerning Noah being perfect in his generations also gives me great pause. How is it that all flesh became corrupt in the pre-flood world? Was the rest of the worlds population a hybrid mix of some kind, an unholy amalgamation of beast, man and tech?

We are fast approaching an irreversible tipping point that will radically change society as we know it, and fundamentally redefine what it means to be a human being.

Darrin GeisingerTrue Legends 2018 Conference Coordinator

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What is Transhumanism? - GenSix Productions

Written by grays |

March 3rd, 2018 at 3:48 pm

Posted in Transhumanism

Personal Development – Businessballs

Posted: at 3:43 pm


Integrated personal development [edit]integrated personal development - a modern alternative to traditional training for individuals and organizational development

Modern personal development is more than skills training. It offers useful alternative methods compared to coaching and mentoring too. Effective modern personal development now involves various integrated techniques, theories and behavioural concepts, that extend options around traditional ideas. This article provides examples of modern methods of developing people - enabling real personal growth and change - for individuals and organizations.

Optimising individual performance through progressive personal development significantly improves business performance too.

This example of an integrated approach to personal development is based on the work of UK-based psychotherapist Pam Weight, whose contribution of this free article is gratefully acknowledged.

Pam Weight's modern approach to personal and professional development is born out of the study of these contemporary models, which are explained in more detail later in this article:

The personal development process enables individuals to achieve critical personal changes, specifically to:

(In this context, 'congruency' means behaving and feeling naturally and comfortably - ie, true to oneself.)

The integrated personal development approach is highly beneficial for most people.

It is however particularly effective for people who have experienced little or no benefit from conventional training, especially where progress is blocked by issues raised in the training process.

Integrated personal development is also particularly helpful where one-to-one coaching or mentoring has had limited benefit, or has prompted surprising reactions.

Equally, those who want to develop themselves in some way, but cannot identify a particular direction, will also benefit from this sort of modern integrated personal development.

Modern personal development differs from conventional training methods, most importantly:

These fundamentals are rarely found in traditional skills training or coaching. The principles underpin the process of effective personal development.

Modern personal development tends to achieve results because:

These factors are not commonly present in traditional skills training or one-to-one coaching, and as such provide a useful alternative if traditional methods have not been effective.

Many situations benefit from the improvements arising from effective personal development, for example:

Traditional training can of course produce good results in these areas, however, some people require more focus onpersonal issues, which can be difficult for some types of traditional training to address.

Human development includes the 'nature and nurture' elements that determine who we are and how we behave. Human development is a lifelong process beginning with 'nature'. Our 'nature' elements are everything we bring into this world: from our genetic make-up, our conception, up until our birth. After we are born, the 'nurture' process begins; namely every influence we encounter that affects us: our environmental influences and behavioural conditioning by others. We are each also subject to a slow continuous forming process; a sequence of stages through which we each pass in the same order, over a number of years.

Throughout these stages other developments occur: brain development; motor development; cognitive development; social development and development of self concept and basic trust. In addition, and importantly, our emotional development.

The influence of these human development factors on people, and their response to change, is considerable.

Humanistic theories focus on our inner capacity for growth and self-fulfillment; with the emphasis on human potential. The early theorists referred to humans as being 'set up' or 'pre-programmed' for growth and fulfillment, unless thwarted by an environment that restricts growth.

From a humanistic perspective, a positive self-concept is the key to personal happiness and success in life. Moreover,acceptanceandempathyhelp us to nurture positive feelings about ourselves, and that consequently we develop the capacity to extend and apply positive feelings to others. Overall, a humanistic perspective purports that people are basically good, and capable of self improvement.

(See alsoMcGregor's XY Theory, which includes aspects of humanistic thinking, and usefully positions them in the context of corporate organizations, management, motivational development, etc.)

Neuro-Linguistic Programming is a model of human experience and communication. It has also been referred to as a study of subjective experience and human excellence. Importance is placed on rapport: mutual trust and responsiveness. Rapport can be applied to your relationship with yourself and your relationship with others.

NLP states that the greater the mental, physical and emotional rapport with yourself, the greater your health, well-being and inner peace. As a result, the greater your ability to relate to and influence others. Other pivotal aspects are:

See also the detailed free introductory guide toNeuro-Linguistic Programming.

Energy Psychology is the collective term for a range of approaches focusing on the interconnectedness of mind and body. A principle of Energy Psychology is that psychological and physical problems can be treated through the body's meridian system and other bodily systems. Some of the approaches have their roots in traditional Chinese medicine energy healing, such as acupuncture.

From an Energy Psychology perspective; if the energy or meridian system balance is upset and left unchecked, there will be a physical manifestation. If there is a disturbance in the system, there will be impairment in thinking, and physical health. Clear the disturbance, and the body can do what it is meant to do - repair and/or heal itself, creating harmony and balance.

By carefully integrating and applying the behavioural models explained above, Pam Weight has developed a truly progressive and effective system of personal development. The approach is in tune with the needs of people living and working in the modern age, and provides a useful alternative to traditional training, coaching and mentoring practices.

Effective personal development must value the person's individual journey; acknowledge the person's learning from experiences; offer the opportunity for the person to update their system; and free the individual to consider their current capabilities and how and where to apply them. Truly effective personal development must be tailored for the individual, and be flexible and realistic, producing real and sustainable results, the basis of which must always be improved balance, less stress and more control.

Pam Weight is a psychotherapist with special interest in health and wellness, based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire.

The contribution of this article by Pam Weight is gratefully acknowledged.

Pam Weight's website, including contact information and services details, is at:www.pamweight.com

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Personal Development - Businessballs

Written by simmons |

March 3rd, 2018 at 3:43 pm

Sri Aurobindo – Wikipedia

Posted: March 2, 2018 at 4:45 pm


Sri AurobindoReligionHinduismFounderofSri Aurobindo AshramAurovillePhilosophyIntegral Yoga, Involution (Sri Aurobindo), Evolution, Integral psychology, Intermediate zone, SupermindPersonalNationalityIndianBornAurobindo Ghose(1872-08-15)15 August 1872Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India(now Kolkata, West Bengal, India)Died5 December 1950(1950-12-05) (aged78)Pondicherry, French India(now in Puducherry)Disciple(s)Champaklal, N. K. Gupta, Amal Kiran, Nirodbaran, Pavitra, M. P. Pandit, A. B. Purani, D. K. Roy, Satprem, Indra SenLiterary worksThe Life Divine, The Synthesis of Yoga, SavitriInfluencedMirra AlfassaSignature

Quotation

Sri Aurobindo (Bengali:[Sri robindo]) (born Aurobindo Ghose; 15 August 1872 5 December 1950) was an Indian philosopher, yogi, guru, poet, and nationalist. He joined the Indian movement for independence from British rule, for a while was one of its influential leaders and then became a spiritual reformer, introducing his visions on human progress and spiritual evolution.

Aurobindo studied for the Indian Civil Service at King's College, Cambridge, England. After returning to India he took up various civil service works under the maharaja of the princely state of Baroda and began increasingly involved in nationalist politics and the nascent revolutionary movement in Bengal. He was arrested in the aftermath of a number of bomb outrages linked to his organisation, but in a highly public trial where he faced charges of treason, Aurobindo could only be convicted and imprisoned for writing articles against British rule in India. He was released when no evidence could be provided, following the murder of a prosecution-witness during the trial. During his stay in the jail he had mystical and spiritual experiences, after which he moved to Pondicherry, leaving politics for spiritual work.

During his stay in Pondicherry, Sri Aurobindo developed a method of spiritual practice he called Integral Yoga. The central theme of his vision was the evolution of human life into a life divine. He believed in a spiritual realisation that not only liberated man but transformed his nature, enabling a divine life on earth. In 1926, with the help of his spiritual collaborator, Mirra Alfassa (referred to as "The Mother"), he founded the Sri Aurobindo Ashram.

His main literary works are The Life Divine, which deals with theoretical aspects of Integral Yoga; Synthesis of Yoga, which deals with practical guidance to Integral Yoga; and Savitri: A Legend and a Symbol, an epic poem. His works also include philosophy, poetry, translations and commentaries on the Vedas, Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1943 and for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1950.[3]

Aurobindo Ghose was born in Calcutta (now Kolkata), Bengal Presidency, India on 15 August 1872 . His father, Krishna Dhun Ghose, was then Assistant Surgeon of Rangpur in Bengal, and a former member of the Brahmo Samaj religious reform movement who had become enamoured with the then-new idea of evolution while pursuing medical studies in Britain.[a] His mother was Swarnalata Devi, whose father was Shri Rajnarayan Bose, a leading figure in the Samaj. She had been sent to the more salubrious surroundings of Calcutta for Aurobindo's birth. Aurobindo had two elder siblings, Benoybhusan and Manmohan, a younger sister, Sarojini, and a younger brother, Barindrakumar (also referred to as Barin).

Young Aurobindo was brought up speaking English but used Hindustani to communicate with servants. Although his family were Bengali, his father believed British culture to be superior. He and his two elder siblings were sent to the English-speaking Loreto House boarding school in Darjeeling, in part to improve their language skills and in part to distance them from their mother, who had developed a mental illness soon after the birth of her first child. Darjeeling was a centre of British life in India and the school was run by Irish nuns, through which the boys would have been exposed to Christian religious teachings and symbolism.

Krishna Dhun Ghose wanted his sons to enter the Indian Civil Service (ICS), an elite organisation comprising around 1000 people. To achieve this it was necessary that they study in England and so it was there that the entire family moved in 1879.[b] The three brothers were placed in the care of the Reverend W. H. Drewett in Manchester. Drewett was a minister of the Congregational Church whom Krishna Dhun Ghose knew through his British friends at Rangapur.[c]

The boys were taught Latin by Drewett and his wife. This was a prerequisite for admission to good English schools and, after two years, in 1881, the elder two siblings were enrolled at Manchester Grammar School. Aurobindo was considered too young for enrolment and he continued his studies with the Drewetts, learning history, Latin, French, geography and arithmetic. Although the Drewetts were told not to teach religion, the boys inevitably were exposed to Christian teachings and events, which generally bored Aurobindo and sometimes repulsed him. There was little contact with his father, who wrote only a few letters to his sons while they were in England, but what communication there was indicated that he was becoming less endeared to the British in India than he had been, on one occasion describing the British Raj as a "heartless government".

Drewett emigrated to Australia in 1884, causing the boys to be uprooted as they went to live with Drewett's mother in London. In September of that year, Aurobindo and Manmohan joined St Paul's School there.[d] He learned Greek and spent the last three years reading literature and English poetry. He also acquired some familiarity with the German and Italian languages and, exposed to the evangelical strictures of Drewett's mother, a distaste for religion. He considered himself at one point to be an atheist but later determined that he was agnostic. A blue plaque unveiled in 2007 commemorates Aurobindo's residence at 49 St Stephen's Avenue in Shepherd's Bush, London, from 1884 to 1887. The three brothers began living in spartan circumstances at the Liberal Club in South Kensington during 1887, their father having experienced some financial difficulties. The Club's secretary was James Cotton, brother of their father's friend in the Bengal ICS, Henry Cotton.

By 1889, Manmohan had determined to pursue a literary career and Benoybhusan had proved himself unequal to the standards necessary for ICS entrance. This meant that only Aurobindo might fulfil his father's aspirations but to do so when his father lacked money required that he studied hard for a scholarship. To become an ICS official, students were required to pass the competitive examination, as well as to study at an English university for two years under probation. Aurobindo secured a scholarship at King's College, Cambridge, under recommendation of Oscar Browning. He passed the written ICS examination after a few months, being ranked 11th out of 250 competitors. He spent the next two years at King's College. Aurobindo had no interest in the ICS and came late to the horse-riding practical exam purposefully to get himself disqualified for the service.

At this time, the Maharaja of Baroda, Sayajirao Gaekwad III, was travelling in England. Cotton secured for him a place in Baroda State Service and arranged for him to meet the prince. He left England for India, arriving there in February 1893. In India, Krishna Dhun Ghose, who was waiting to receive his son, was misinformed by his agents from Bombay (now Mumbai) that the ship on which Aurobindo had been travelling had sunk off the coast of Portugal. His father died upon hearing this news.

In Baroda, Aurobindo joined the state service in 1893, working first in the Survey and Settlements department, later moving to the Department of Revenue and then to the Secretariat, and much miscellaneous work like teaching grammar and assisting in writing speeches for the Maharaja of Gaekwad until 1897. In 1897 during his work in Baroda he started working as a part-time French teacher at Baroda College (now Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda). He was later promoted to the post of vice-principal. At Baroda, Aurobindo self-studied Sanskrit and Bengali.

During his stay at Baroda he contributed to many articles to Indu Prakash and spoke as a chairman of the Baroda college board. He started taking an active interest in the politics of India's independence struggle against British rule, working behind the scenes as his position in the Baroda state administration barred him from overt political activity. He linked up with resistance groups in Bengal and Madhya Pradesh, while traveling to these states. He established contact with Lokmanya Tilak and Sister Nivedita. He arranged the military training of Jatindra Nath Banerjee (Niralamba Swami) in the Baroda army and then dispatched him to organise the resistance groups in Bengal.

Aurobindo often travelled between Baroda and Bengal, at first in a bid to re-establish links with his parent's families and other Bengali relatives, including his sister Sarojini and brother Barin, and later increasingly to establish resistance groups across the Presidency. He formally moved to Calcutta in 1906 after the announcement of the Partition of Bengal. Age 28, he had married 14-year-old Mrinalini, daughter of Bhupal Chandra Bose, a senior official in government service, when he visited Calcutta in 1901. Mrinalini died in December 1918 during the influenza pandemic.

Aurobindo was influenced by studies on rebellion and revolutions against England in medieval France and the revolts in America and Italy. In his public activities he favoured non-co-operation and passive resistance; in private he took up secret revolutionary activity as a preparation for open revolt, in case that the passive revolt failed.

In Bengal, with Barin's help, he established contacts with revolutionaries, inspiring radicals such as Bagha Jatin or Jatin Banerjee and Surendranath Tagore. He helped establish a series of youth clubs, including the Anushilan Samiti of Calcutta in 1902.

Aurobindo attended the 1906 Congress meeting headed by Dadabhai Naoroji and participated as a councillor in forming the fourfold objectives of "Swaraj, Swadesh, Boycott and national education". In 1907 at the Surat session of Congress where moderates and extremists had a major showdown, he led with extremists along with Bal Gangadhar Tilak. The Congress split after this session. In 19071908 Aurobindo travelled extensively to Pune, Bombay and Baroda to firm up support for the nationalist cause, giving speeches and meeting with groups. He was arrested again in May 1908 in connection with the Alipore Bomb Case. He was acquitted in the ensuing trial, following the murder of chief prosecution witness Naren Gosain within jail premises which subsequently led to the case against him collapsing. Aurobindo was subsequently released after a year of isolated incarceration.

Once out of the prison he started two new publications, Karmayogin in English and Dharma in Bengali. He also delivered the Uttarpara Speech hinting at the transformation of his focus to spiritual matters. The British persecution continued because of his writings in his new journals and in April 1910 Aurobindo moved to Pondicherry, where Britain's secret police monitored his activities.

In July 1905 then Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon, partitioned Bengal. This sparked an outburst of public anger against the British, leading to civil unrest and a nationalist campaign by groups of revolutionaries, who included Aurobindo. In 1908, Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki attempted to kill Magistrate Kingsford, a judge known for handing down particularly severe sentences against nationalists. However, the bomb thrown at his horse carriage missed its target and instead landed in another carriage and killed two British women, the wife and daughter of barrister Pringle Kennedy. Aurobindo was also arrested on charges of planning and overseeing the attack and imprisoned in solitary confinement in Alipore Jail. The trial of the Alipore Bomb Case lasted for a year, but eventually he was acquitted on May 6, 1909. His defence counsel was Chittaranjan Das.

During this period in the Jail, his view of life was radically changed due to spiritual experiences and realizations. Consequently, his aim went far beyond the service and liberation of the country.

Aurobindo said he was "visited" by Vivekananda in the Alipore Jail: "It is a fact that I was hearing constantly the voice of Vivekananda speaking to me for a fortnight in the jail in my solitary meditation and felt his presence."

In his autobiographical notes, Aurobindo said he felt a vast sense of calmness when he first came back to India. He could not explain this and continued to have various such experiences from time to time. He knew nothing of yoga at that time and started his practise of it without a teacher, except for some rules that he learned from Ganganath, a friend who was a disciple of Brahmananda. In 1907, Barin introduced Aurobindo to Vishnu Bhaskar Lele, a Maharashtrian yogi. Aurobindo was influenced by the guidance he got from the yogi, who had instructed Aurobindo to depend on an inner guide and any kind of external guru or guidance would not be required.

In 1910 Aurobindo withdrew himself from all political activities and went into hiding at Chandannagar in the house of Motilal Roy, while the British were trying to prosecute him for sedition on the basis of a signed article titled 'To My Countrymen', published in Karmayogin. As Aurobindo disappeared from view, the warrant was held back and the prosecution postponed. Aurobindo manoeuvred the police into open action and a warrant was issued on 4 April 1910, but the warrant could not be executed because on that date he had reached Pondicherry, then a French colony. The warrant against Aurobindo was withdrawn.

In Pondicherry, Sri Aurobindo dedicated himself to his spiritual and philosophical pursuits. In 1914, after four years of secluded yoga, he started a monthly philosophical magazine called Arya. This ceased publication in 1921. Many years later, he revised some of these works before they were published in book form. Some of the book series derived out of this publication were The Life Divine, The Synthesis of Yoga, Essays on The Gita, The Secret of The Veda, Hymns to the Mystic Fire, The Upanishads, The Renaissance in India, War and Self-determination, The Human Cycle, The Ideal of Human Unity and The Future Poetry were published in this magazine.

At the beginning of his stay at Pondicherry, there were few followers, but with time their numbers grew, resulting in the formation of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in 1926.[41] From 1926 he started to sign himself as Sri Aurobindo, Sri (meaning holy in Sanskrit) being commonly used as an honorific.

For some time afterwards, his main literary output was his voluminous correspondence with his disciples. His letters, most of which were written in the 1930s, numbered in the several thousands. Many were brief comments made in the margins of his disciple's notebooks in answer to their questions and reports of their spiritual practiceothers extended to several pages of carefully composed explanations of practical aspects of his teachings. These were later collected and published in book form in three volumes of Letters on Yoga. In the late 1930s, he resumed work on a poem he had started earlierhe continued to expand and revise this poem for the rest of his life. It became perhaps his greatest literary achievement, Savitri, an epic spiritual poem in blank verse of approximately 24,000 lines.

Sri Aurobindo left His body on 5 December 1950. Around 60,000 people attended to see his body resting peacefully. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, and President Rajendra Prasad praised him for his contribution to Yogic philosophy and the independence struggle. National and international newspapers commemorated his death.[41]

Sri Aurobindo's close spiritual collaborator, Mirra Alfassa (b. Alfassa), came to be known as The Mother.[46] She was a French national, born in Paris on 21 February 1878. In her 20s she studied occultism with Max Theon. Along with her husband, Paul Richard, she went to Pondicherry on 29 March 1914, and finally settled there in 1920. Sri Aurobindo considered her his spiritual equal and collaborator. After 24 November 1926, when Sri Aurobindo retired into seclusion, he left it to her to plan, build and run the ashram, the community of disciples which had gathered around them. Some time later, when families with children joined the ashram, she established and supervised the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education with its experiments in the field of education. When he died in 1950, She continued their spiritual work, directed the ashram, and guided their disciples.

Sri Aurobindo's concept of the Integral Yoga system is described in his books, The Synthesis of Yoga and The Life Divine. The Life Divine is a compilation of essays published serially in Arya.

Sri Aurobindo argues that divine Brahman manifests as empirical reality through ll, or divine play. Instead of positing that the world we experience is an illusion (my), Aurobindo argues that world can evolve and become a new world with new species, far above the human species just as human species have evolved after the animal species.

Sri Aurobindo believed that Darwinism merely describes a phenomenon of the evolution of matter into life, but does not explain the reason behind it, while he finds life to be already present in matter, because all of existence is a manifestation of Brahman. He argues that nature (which he interpreted as divine) has evolved life out of matter and then mind out of life. All of existence, he argues, is attempting to manifest to the level of the supermind that evolution had a purpose. He stated that he found the task of understanding the nature of reality arduous and difficult to justify by immediate tangible results.

Sri Aurobindo was an Indian nationalist but is best known for his philosophy on human evolution and Integral Yoga.

His influence has been wide-ranging. In India, S. K. Maitra, Anilbaran Roy and D. P. Chattopadhyaya commented on Sri Aurobindo's work. Writers on esotericism and traditional wisdom, such as Mircea Eliade, Paul Brunton, and Rene Guenon, all saw him as an authentic representative of the Indian spiritual tradition.

Haridas Chaudhuri and Frederic Spiegelberg[56] were among those who were inspired by Aurobindo, who worked on the newly formed American Academy of Asian Studies in San Francisco. Soon after, Chaudhuri and his wife Bina established the Cultural Integration Fellowship, from which later emerged the California Institute of Integral Studies.[57]

Karlheinz Stockhausen was heavily inspired by Satprem's writings about Sri Aurobindo during a week in May 1968, a time at which the composer was undergoing a personal crisis and had found Sri Aurobindo's philosophies were relevant to his feelings. After this experience, Stockhausen's music took a completely different turn, focusing on mysticism, that was to continue until the end of his career.

William Irwin Thompson travelled to Auroville in 1972, where he met "The Mother". Thompson has called Sri Aurobindo's teaching on spirituality a "radical anarchism" and a "post-religious approach" and regards their work as having "...reached back into the Goddess culture of prehistory, and, in Marshall McLuhan's terms, 'culturally retrieved' the archetypes of the shaman and la sage femme..." Thompson also writes that he experienced Shakti, or psychic power coming from The Mother on the night of her death in 1973.[59]

Sri Aurobindo's ideas about the further evolution of human capabilities influenced the thinking of Michael Murphy and indirectly, the human potential movement, through Murphy's writings.

The American philosopher Ken Wilber has called Sri Aurobindo "India's greatest modern philosopher sage"[61] and has integrated some of his ideas into his philosophical vision. Wilber's interpretation of Aurobindo has been criticised by Rod Hemsell.[62] New Age writer Andrew Harvey also looks to Sri Aurobindo as a major inspiration.[63]

The following authors, disciples and organisations trace their intellectual heritage back to, or have in some measure been influenced by, Sri Aurobindo and The Mother.

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

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Written by grays |

March 2nd, 2018 at 4:45 pm

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Motivational Speakers | Sales Training | Motivational …

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Get to Know Andrew

Andrew Horton is one of the most sought after Motivational Speakers and Motivational Sales Speakers in South Africa. He is a successful entrepreneur, Master Sales Trainer, Global Traveller and Author. Andrew has chosen to focus his energy on inspiring sales and business professionals, supporting them to realize their full potential and become peak performers.

Andrew is easy to listen to, and in addition, very inspiring. He speaks on personal mastery, self-reliance and how small positive behavioural shifts will result in dramatic improvements in performance and results. Andrew conveys his energizing message using personal stories and his engaging sense of humour. This helps him connect with and capture the attention of every person in his audience.

He specialises in helping teams become re-energised, motivated and driven to succeed. Despite the constant change they may experience. To this end he has designed a motivational processes, which will help your team to uncover their inner giant and help them to perform at their best.

He delivers an energising, informative and entertaining inspirational and motivational presentation. Which, will re-ignite the fire of inspiration within your team and help them to discover their lost passion once again.

He works with teams, who lack motivation. Who want to be re-energized and inspired once again, so that they can consistently tackle all their daily tasks with passion and purpose.

What separates Andrew from any other motivational speakers and motivational sales speakers is that in addition to his practical and proven motivational programs, inspirational tools and re-energizing techniques he also offers innovative, proven motivational support tools which enhance the motivational process. This through repetition, reminders and the formation of a motivational success habit set.

As a result his clients see their team members positively shift their behaviour where they apply the tools and motivational skills they learn. This means that they get to see huge improvements in their level of motivation, optimized results and a team who optimise the use of their available time. Therefore, organisations actually get to see a meaningful return on their training investment.

At Encore Group, as a result, all our industry leading Motivational Sales Speakers and Motivational Sales Trainers believe that they can Make Your Tomorrow better.We achieve this by supporting both you and your team with life changing Motivational, energising and life changing presentations. As a result this will guide both you and your team to reawaken your drive and passion for success once again.

If you want to furthermore reach the next level of accomplishment as a sales professional. You will need to find innovative and effective ways to re-energise. As well as motivate yourself and your team. Our main objective? When we facilitate Motivationalsales workshops, we help all attendees discover the underlying reasons for their lack of motivation. And, then help them to re-ignite the fire of inspiration in their own bellies.

Our three-month motivational program consists of six powerful and meaty modules. Each designed to give you a highly potent dose of motivation. Therefore with small powerful sessions to help you improve your level of motivation and re-energise your team. This motivational program is spread over three months. Why? Because this is to allow your sales team to completely engage with and embrace the motivational tools and principles.

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Motivational Speakers | Sales Training | Motivational ...

Written by simmons |

March 2nd, 2018 at 4:44 pm

Posted in Sales Training

Frequently Asked Questions About Personal Performance

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How is my performance calculated?VALIC calculates personal performance based on the investment performance of the funds, but also factors in the amount and timing of cash flows (including contributions, exchanges and withdrawals) in and out of your account. For additional information concerning the calculation of personal performance, call the Client Care Center at 1-800-448-2542.

Your VALIC Financial Advisor, Inc. (VFA) accounts and VALIC Polaris and Power Index accounts are NOT systematically included in these calculations.

Why is my personal performance different than the performance of the funds that Im invested in?Your personal performance calculation takes into account the amount and timing of your cash flows in your account.

How often is my personal performance calculated?VALIC calculates personal performance on a quarterly basis and updates this site by the 15th business day of the new quarter.

My performance looks good. How do I continue to have my funds perform at the same level or higher? Past performance does not guarantee future results. If you have questions concerning your personal performance, fund performance or asset allocation, you should contact your financial advisor at 1-800-448-2542.

If I open an account midway through the quarter, how is my personal performance calculated?Your personal performance is calculated from the date of your initial investment through the end of the current quarter. Initial investments are new contributions and/or the ending value of exchanges (including all flow and investment value change) into the account from another product.

Is my personal performance number net or gross of fees?The personal performance number is calculated based on your account balances and cash flows. Fees have been factored in to the unit value and/or account balance calculations; therefore, the personal performance number is net of fees.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Personal Performance

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March 2nd, 2018 at 4:43 pm

Gurdjieff & Fritz Peters, Part I The Gurdjieff Journal

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Much has been written of Gurdjieffs relationship with his chief pupils, but his relationship with Fritz Peters is rarely, if ever, mentioned. And yet, it is unique. Only 11 years old when he first met Gurdjieff in 1924, just a month before Gurdjieffs car crash, Fritz Peters was quickly drawn into the life of the Prieur. In the months following the accident, the young boy acted as Gurdjieffs chair-carrier, following him everywhere, watching out for his safety. Later, Freets, as Gurdjieff called him, was enlisted as Gurdjieffs personal servant, delivering messages, doing errands, cleaning his room. And soon, every Tuesday morning the young Fritzwho, when Gurdjieff first asked what he wanted most to know, had answered: I want to know everythingwas receiving private lessons from Gurdjieff.

At such a young and impressionable age to be taken under the wing of a master like Gurdjieff is a blessing as great as it is unique. But it can be a kind of curse, as well, if not taken rightly. One learns only by consciously living ones errors and Peters later life shows how harrowing a journey that can be. Leaving the Prieur in October 1929, Fritz Peters, then 15 years old, was immediately thrown into a turbulent adult world where he found himself totally alone, blamed and victimized, fighting for his very survival. Developed and shaped by his Prieur training, Fritz Peters walked his lifes path, always the outsider, the rebel, the malcontent. He would become a member of the Chicago and New York groups, but, though the teaching and Gurdjieff were in his blood, he never found his place in the Work. His days with Gurdjieff at the Prieur were over. Neither the Chicago nor New York groups were serious enough for him. Too much reverence for Gurdjieff. Too many members he saw as phony. His experience at the Prieur was undeniably special, but as Gurdjieff warnedEvery stick has two ends. But Peters never saw the other end of the Prieur stick. Though keenly observant and detesting any sign of falseness, he didnt see that he had allowed his early experience to make him too special, too separate. He became, as it was expressed one day in 1945 at 6 rue des Colonels Renarda colossal egotist.

Gurdjieffs Successor That 32-year-old Fritz Peters, standing amidst a group of wartime French pupils in Gurdjieffs apartment that autumn day, could for even a moment have believed it when 73-year-old Gurdjieff pointed to him as his successor.Well, to the assembled pupils, who regularly had to pass Nazi checkpoints to get to meetings at Gurdjieffs apartment, it was yet another vivid proof of Peters overweening self-love.

That Gurdjieffs act had evoked, as well, a trace of will-to-power and envy in those who had not grown up at the Prieur, or enjoyed as intimate a relationship with Gurdjieff, was perhaps neither recognized nor appreciated. And certainly the later life of Fritz Peters, filled as it was with seizures of anger, jealousy, rejection, vengeance, nervous breakdowns1 and alcoholism, would do nothing to mitigate the sweeping indictment of him on that day in postwar Paris. It would forever brand Peters as a nullity, a fool, no one to take seriously. The one group of people, then, that might have understood Fritz Peters all but disowned him. Though he was to later write Boyhood with Gurdjieff and Gurdjieff Remembered, two books that are without rival in portraying the heart and soul of Gurdjieff in the last period of his life, Fritz Peters remains maligned and marginalized, his relationship with Gurdjieff never seriously considered.

Meeting such a monumental father-figure so early in life took nearly a lifetime for Peters to digest. For years Peters struggled with Gurdjieffs identity and his own relationship to Gurdjieff and to the teaching. In his last book, Balanced Man, Peters recounts how as late as 1960, 46 years after he first met Gurdjieff, I was still laboring under the impression that I was specialthe real son of a Messiah. In an emotional sense, I was Gurdjieffs son. I loved him more than anyone I had ever known. But times changeI no longer feel like anyones son. As Gurdjieff foresaw, Peters would not lead a happy life. He had a broken marriage, alcoholism, homosexuality, and relationships that inevitably turned contentious.

Troublemaker. Thats how Fritz Peters was commonly seen. And not simply a troublemaker but a born troublemaker, according to Gurdjieff. Like Rachmilevitch, a lawyer and member of the St. Petersburg group and later a Prieur resident, Peters had the inborn knack of setting peoples teeth on edge, bringing up the animal in them. Although Gurdjieff said that we should thank anyone who gives us the opportunity to see ourselvesto see a little I or two in us, yesbut to see the animal-I? Who wants that? Ouspensky didnt want it. Nor Orage. Certainly not Bennett.

The similarity between the young boy and Rachmilevitch was seen at once by Gurdjieff. You remember, how I tell you that you make trouble? Gurdjieff said. This true, but you only child. Rachmilevitch grown man and not mischievous, like you, but have such personality that he constantly cause friction whatever he do, wherever he live. He not make serious trouble, but he make friction on surface of life, all the time. He cannot help thishe too old to change now. I know no one person like him, no person who just by existence, without conscious effort, produce friction in all people around him. Like the caring father that Peters never hadhis father having deserted the family when he was only 18 months of ageGurdjieff was using the figure of Rachmilevitch to show Peters what he would become if he continued to act as he did. All children are naturally mischievous at times, but if Fritz allowed this characteristic, this I, to grow and become fixed in personality, if he did not work to control it, in adulthood it would control him.

Conscious Troublemaking To be a troublemaker is, in itself, nothing bad, Gurdjieff told him. Troublemakers, in fact, play an important role in life. What you not understand, Gurdjieff said, is that not everyone can be troublemaker, like you. This important in lifeis ingredient, like yeast for making bread. Without trouble, conflict, life become dead. People live in status quo, live only by habit, automatically, and without conscience.

Gurdjieff confided that he, too, was a troublemaker. The difference between them was that he played the role consciously, molding it to circumstances; creating conditions and friction in the service of awakening people to what keeps them asleep. This stepping on toes is a Divine principle2 when consciously directed, when not born of the mechanical reaction to make others suffer; make them pay for trespasses, injustices, psychic wounds. To be able to call up a role in oneself and play it, that is one thing; to be controlled by it, quite another.

Of trespasses, injustices and psychic wounds, Fritz Peters life would be filled to the brim. After his father divorced his mother, Lois, she married an Englishman, a Chicago lawyer, who was far from fatherly. His early life was marred by physical calamitiesdisasters he called them and rightly so. His older brother Tom, for example, stuck a crochet hook in his right eye, which permanently blinded Fritz in that eye. His grandmother put him in the bathtub and then went to answer the telephone. He turned on the hot water and could not turn it off. As his grandmother was deaf,3 it wasnt until his screams were heard by a neighbor that he, now partly parboiled, was rescued.

When he was nine years old, Fritzs mother was hospitalized with a nervous breakdown that lasted about a year. It was then that his mothers sister Margaret Anderson and her companion Jane Heap took on the responsibility of caring for Fritz4 and his older brother, Tom. That was in 1923. In June 1924 Fritz and his brother were brought by Anderson and Heap to the Prieur. Upon meeting Gurdjieff the 11-year-old was asked, among other things, what he wanted to know.

I want to know everything, Fritz replied.

You cannot know everything, Gurdjieff told him. Everything about what?

Everything about man. In English I think it is called psychology or maybe philosophy.

Gurdjieff sighed and after a short silence answered: You can stay. But your answer makes life difficult for me. I am the only one who teaches what you ask. You make more work for me.

This exchange, like so many others, gives an indication of Peters quality of mind and mental maturity.

A Piece of Unwanted Luggage

In October of that year Fritz and his brother left the Prieur to return to New York. There, the boys mother, their real father and Jane Heap became involved in an emotional struggle for their allegiance. Fritz and his brother were shunted back and forth so much that Fritz began to feel even more alone than I had beforelike a piece of unwanted luggage for which storage space was needed.

It seems Jane won and, as Margaret had stayed on in Europe with her new friend, the actress and singer Georgette Leblanc, the primary care for the boys devolved to her. Of his relationship with Jane, Fritz said that it was highly volatile and explosive. There was, at times, a great deal of emotion, of love, between us, but the very emotionality of the relationship frightened me. More and more I tended to shut out everything that was outside of myself. People, for me, were something I had to exist with, had to bear. As much as possible, I lived alone, day-dreaming in my own world, longing for a time when I could escape from the complex, and often totally incomprehensible, world around me. I wanted to grow up and be aloneaway from all of them. With characteristic insight and frankness, he says of these early years: Obstinate and independent because of my feeling of aloneness, I was usually in trouble, frequently punished. He said that Jane once went so far as to hit him with a board with nails in it because he refused to do as he was told. Even so, Jane eventually came to the idea that she and Margaret5 should adopt the boys. And so they did. I am not at all sure that I understand why Margaret and Jane took on this responsibility. It was a strange form of planned parenthood for two women neither of whom, it seemed to me, would have wished for children of their own, and a mixed blessing from any point of view.6

Fritz and his brother returned to the Prieur in the spring of 1925. When Gurdjieff saw him he put his hand on the boys head, and Fritz looked up at his fierce mustaches, the broad, open smile underneath the shining, bald head. Like some large, warm animal, he pulled me to his side, squeezing me affectionately with his arm and hand, and saying Soyou come back? In the middle of that summer, reminding Fritz of his desire to know everything, Gurdjieff began giving him private lessons. Every Tuesday morning at 10 oclock sharp Peters was to go the second floor of the chteau, the Ritz, as it was called, and report to Gurdjieffs room.

The lessons and all of his ensuing experiences at the Prieur with its adult population are well-documented in Peters book Boyhood With Gurdjieff. The unusual maturity, clarity, and will of Peters is demonstrated many times in the book, but one incident in particular is striking. Gurdjieff was having the lawns of the Prieur resown and had all the pupils out on the lawns. But Gurdjieff had them working so close together that planting new seed was a useless activity since it was immediately trampled underfoot. Days passed. No one said a thing. Finally Rachmilevitch, thick with rage, confronted Gurdjieff. He told him the work was insane and stalked off. It was the first time Gurdjieff had ever been publicly defied.

Rachmilevitch & the Apple Tree An hour passed and Rachmilevitch did not return. Peters was sent to find him and bring him back. Peters protested, saying he didnt know where he had gone. Trust your instincts, Gurdjieff told him. It was then that Peters demonstrated, though he didnt know it, a lesson Gurdjieff had been teaching him. Not knowing where Rachmilevitch had gone, he put himself in the Russians place, experiencing empathy with him. A hunch came as to where he might be and Peters set off towards the woods beyond the main, formal gardens. He said, It seemed to me that he could only have gone to one of the distant vegetable gardensa walk of at least a mile, and I headed for the furthest one, at the very end of the property. There, he found the 60-year-old sitting up in an apple tree.

He wouldnt go back to the chteau, Rachmilevitch insisted. What to do? How could Fritz Peters argue with a man who was not only five times his age, but a lawyer7 as well? So he did the only thing possible and he did it with all his will. Said Peters: I did not know of any argumentsI could not think of any good reasonswith which to persuade him to come back, so I said that I would wait there as long as he did; that I could not return without him. Finally, after a long silence, Rachmilevitch dropped out of the apple tree and returned to the chteau with him. (To be continued)

Notes

First printed in The Gurdjieff Journal.

William Patrick Patterson is the author of seven books on The Fourth Way, the latest of which is Spiritual Survival in a Radically Changing World-Time.

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Gurdjieff & Fritz Peters, Part I The Gurdjieff Journal

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March 2nd, 2018 at 4:42 pm

Posted in Gurdjieff

BALLPARK E$TIMATE – Choose to Save

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What is the Ballpark E$timate?

The Ballpark E$timate is an easy-to-use, interactive tool that helps you quickly identify approximately how much you need to save to fund a comfortable retirement. The Ballpark E$timate takes complicated issues like projected Social Security benefits and earnings assumptions on savings, and turns them into language and mathematics that are easy to understand.

The Ballpark E$timate is available through the app store for your iPhone.

The Ballpark E$timate is available through the app store for your Android phone.

Employees covered by the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), CSRS-Offset, or the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) who plan to retire under the voluntary age and service rules should use the Federal Government Employees Ballpark Estimator. EBRI has created a specialized version of the calculator for you.

Use Federal Government Employees Ballpark Estimator

Although the information you provide on the Ballpark E$timate worksheet may be temporarily stored on your computer, it cannot be stored or viewed by the American Savings Education Council (ASEC) or any vendor who may provide internet services to ASEC.

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BALLPARK E$TIMATE - Choose to Save

Written by grays |

March 2nd, 2018 at 4:42 pm

Posted in Retirement

Karma in Buddhism – Wikipedia

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For the use of this term in other Indian religions, see Karma.

Karma (Sanskrit, also karman, Pli: kamma) is a Sanskrit term that literally means "action" or "doing". In the Buddhist tradition, karma refers to action driven by intention (cetan) which leads to future consequences. Those intentions are considered to be the determining factor in the kind of rebirth in samsara, the cycle of rebirth.

Karma (Sanskrit, also karman, Pli: kamma, Tib. las) is a Sanskrit term that literally means "action" or "doing". The word karma derives from the verbal root k, which means "do, make, perform, accomplish."

Karmaphala (Tib. rgyu 'bras[note 1]) is the "fruit", "effect" or "result" of karma. A similar term is karmavipaka, the "maturation" or "cooking" of karma:

The remote effects of karmic choices are referred to as the 'maturation' (vipka) or 'fruit' (phala) of the karmic act."

The metaphor is derived from agriculture:

One sows a seed, there is a time lag during which some mysterious invisible process takes place, and then the plant pops up and can be harvested.

Karma and karmaphala are fundamental concepts in Buddhism. The concepts of karma and karmaphala explain how our intentional actions keep us tied to rebirth in samsara, whereas the Buddhist path, as exemplified in the Noble Eightfold Path, shows us the way out of samsara.

Rebirth,[note 2], is a common belief in all Buddhist traditions. It says that birth and death in the six realms occur in successive cycles driven by ignorance (avidy), desire (trsn), and hatred (dvesa). The cycle of rebirth is called samsar. It is a beginningless and ever-ongoing process. Liberation from samsar can be attained by following the Buddhist Path. This path leads to vidy, and the stilling of trsn and dvesa. Hereby the ongoing process of rebirth is stopped.

The cycle of rebirth is determined by karma, literally "action".[note 3] In the Buddhist tradition, karma refers to actions driven by intention (cetan),[quote 1] a deed done deliberately through body, speech or mind, which leads to future consequences. The Nibbedhika Sutta, Anguttara Nikaya 6.63:

Intention (cetana) I tell you, is kamma. Intending, one does kamma by way of body, speech, & intellect.[web 1][note 4]

According to Peter Harvey,

It is the psychological impulse behind an action that is 'karma', that which sets going a chain of causes culminating in karmic fruit. Actions, then, must be intentional if they are to generate karmic fruits.

And according to Gombrich,

The Buddha defined karma as intention; whether the intention manifested itself in physical, vocal or mental form, it was the intention alone which had a moral character: good, bad or neutral [...] The focus of interest shifted from physical action, involving people and objects in the real world, to psychological process.

According to Gombrich, this was a great innovation, which overturns brahmanical, caste-bound ethics. It's a rejection of caste-bound differences, giving the same possibility to reach liberation to all people, not just Brahmanins:

Not by birth is one a brahmin or an outcaste, but by deeds (kamma).[note 5]

How this emphasis on intention was to be interpreted became a matter of debate in and between the various Buddhist schools.[note 6]

Karma leads to future consequences, karma-phala, "fruit of action". Any given action may cause all sorts of results, but the karmic results are only those results which are a consequence of both the moral quality of the action, and of the intention behind the action.[note 7] According to Reichenbach,

[T]he consequences envisioned by the law of karma encompass more (as well as less) than the observed natural or physical results which follow upon the performance of an action.

The "law of karma" applies

...specifically to the moral sphere [It is] not concerned with the general relation between actions and their consequences, but rather with the moral quality of actions and their consequences, such as the pain and pleasure and good or bad experiences for the doer of the act.

Good moral actions lead to wholesome rebirths, and bad moral actions lead to unwholesome rebirths.[quote 3][quote 4] The main factor is how they contribute to the well-being of others in a positive or negative sense. Especially dna, giving to the buddhist order, became an increasingly important source of positive karma.

How these intentional actions lead to rebirth, and how the idea of rebirth is to be reconciled with the doctrines of impermanence and no-self,[quote 5] is a matter of philosophical inquiry in the Buddhist traditions, for which several solutions have been proposed. In early Buddhism no explicit theory of rebirth and karma is worked out, and "the karma doctrine may have been incidental to early Buddhist soteriology." In early Buddhism, rebirth is ascribed to craving or ignorance.

In later Buddhism, the basic ideas is that intentional actions, driven by kleshas ("disturbing emotions"),[web 3] cetan ("volition"), or tah ("thirst", "craving") create impressions,[web 4][note 8] tendencies[web 4] or "seeds" in the mind. These impressions, or "seeds", will ripen into a future result or fruition.[quote 6][note 9] If we can overcome our kleshas, then we break the chain of causal effects that leads to rebirth in the six realms.[web 3] The twelve links of dependent origination provides a theoretical framework, explaining how the disturbing emotions lead to rebirth in samsara.[note 10]

The Buddha's teaching of karma is not strictly deterministic, but incorporated circumstantial factors, unlike that of the Jains.[quote 7] It is not a rigid and mechanical process, but a flexible, fluid and dynamic process, and not all present conditions can be ascribed to karma.[note 11][quote 8] There is no set linear relationship between a particular action and its results. The karmic effect of a deed is not determined solely by the deed itself, but also by the nature of the person who commits the deed, and by the circumstances in which it is committed.

Karma is also not the same as "fate" or "predestination".[web 6] Karmic results are not a "judgement" imposed by a God or other all-powerful being, but rather the results of a natural process.[quote 9] Certain experiences in life are the results of previous actions, but our responses to those experiences are not predetermined, although they bear their own fruit in the future.[quote 10] Unjust behaviour may lead to unfavorable circumstances which make it easier to commit more unjust behavior, but nevertheless the freedom not to commit unjust behavior remains.

The real importance of the doctrine of karma and its fruits lies in the recognition of the urgency to put a stop to the whole process. The Acintita Sutta warns that "the results of kamma" is one of the four incomprehensible subjects,[web 7] subjects that are beyond all conceptualization and cannot be understood with logical thought or reason.[note 12]

According to Gombrich, this sutra may have been a warning against the tendency, "probably from the Buddha's day until now", to understand the doctrine of karma "backwards", to explain unfavorable conditions in this life when no other explanations are available. Gaining a better rebirth may have been, and still is, the central goal for many people. The adoption, by laity, of Buddhist beliefs and practices is seen as a good thing, which brings merit and good rebirth, but does not result in Nirvana, and liberation from samsara, the ultimate goal of the Buddha.

According to the Buddhist tradition, the Buddha gained full and complete insight into the workings of karma at the time of his enlightenment.[note 13] According to Bronkhorst, these knowledges are later additions to the story, just like the notion of "liberating insight" itself.[note 14]

In AN 5.292, the Buddha asserted that it is not possible to avoid experiencing the result of a karmic deed once it's been committed.

In the Anguttara Nikaya, it is stated that karmic results are experienced either in this life (P. diadhammika) or in a future lives (P. samparyika). The former may involve a readily observable connection between action and karmic consequence, such as when a thief is captured and tortured by the authorities, but the connection need not necessarily be that obvious and in fact usually is not observable.

The Sammyutta Nikaya makes a basic distinction between past karma (P. purnakamma) which has already been incurred, and karma being created in the present (P. navakamma).[80] Therefore, in the present one both creates new karma (P. navakamma) and encounters the result of past karma (P. kammavipka). Karma in the early canon is also threefold: Mental action (S. manakarman), bodily action (S. kyakarman) and vocal action (S. vkkarman).

Various Buddhist philosophical schools developed within Buddhism, giving various interpretations regarding more refined points of karma. A major problem is the relation between the doctrine of no-self, and the "storage" of the traces of one's deeds, for which various solutions have been offered.

The concept of karma originated in the Vedic religion, where it was related to the performance of rituals or the investment in good deeds to ensure the entrance to heaven after death, while other persons go to the underworld.

The concept of karma may have been of minor importance in early Buddhism. Schmithausen has questioned whether karma already played a role in the theory of rebirth of earliest Buddhism, noting that "the karma doctrine may have been incidental to early Buddhist soteriology." Langer notes that originally karma may have been only one of several concepts connected with rebirth.[note 15] Tillman Vetter notes that in early Buddhism rebirth is ascribed to craving or ignorance. Buswell too notes that "Early Buddhism does not identify bodily and mental motion, but desire (or thirst, trsna), as the cause of karmic consequences." Matthews notes that "there is no single major systematic exposition" on the subject of karma and "an account has to be put together from the dozens of places where karma is mentioned in the texts," which may mean that the doctrine was incidental to the main perspective of early Buddhist soteriology.

According to Vetter, "the Buddha at first sought, and realized, "the deathless" (amata/amrta[note 16]), which is concerned with the here and now.[note 17] Only after this realization did he become acquainted with the doctrine of rebirth." Bronkhorst disagrees, and concludes that the Buddha "introduced a concept of karma that differed considerably from the commonly held views of his time." According to Bronkhorst, not physical and mental activities as such were seen as responsible for rebirth, but intentions and desire.

The doctrine of karma may have been especially important for common people, for whom it was more important to cope with life's immediate demands, such as the problems of pain, injustice, and death. The doctrine of karma met these exigencies, and in time it became an important soteriological aim in its own right.

The Vaibhika-Sarvstivda was widely influential in India and beyond. Their understanding of karma in the Sarvstivda became normative for Buddhism in India and other countries. According to Dennis Hirota,

Sarvastivadins argued that there exists a dharma of "possession" (prapti), which functions with all karmic acts, so that each act or thought, though immediately passing away, creates the "possession" of that act in the continuum of instants we experience as a person. This possession itself is momentary, but continually reproduces a similar possession in the succeeding instant, even though the original act lies in the past. Through such continual regeneration, the act is "possessed" until the actualization of the result.

The Abhidharmahdaya by Dharmar was the first systematic exposition of Vaibhika-Sarvstivda doctrine, and the third chapter, the Karma-varga, deals with the concept of karma systematically.

Another important exposition, the Mahvibha, gives three definitions of karma:

The 4th century philosopher Vasubandhu compiled the Abhidharma-koa, an extensive compendium which elaborated the positions of the Vaibhika-Sarvstivdin school on a wide range of issues raised by the early sutras. Chapter four the Koa is devoted to a study of karma, and chapters two and five contain formulation as to the mechanism of fruition and retribution. This became the main source of understanding of the perspective of early Buddhism for later Mahyna philosophers.

The Drntika-Sautrntika school pioneered the idea of karmic seeds (S. bija) and "the special modification of the psycho-physical series" (S. satatipamaviea) to explain the workings of karma. According to Dennis Hirota,

[T]he Sautrantikas [...] insisted that each act exists only in the present instant and perishes immediately. To explain causation, they taught that with each karmic act a "perfuming" occurs which, though not a dharma or existent factor itself, leaves a residual impression in the succeeding series of mental instants, causing it to undergo a process of subtle evolution eventually leading to the acts result. Good and bad deeds performed are thus said to leave "seeds" or traces of disposition that will come to fruition.

In the Theravda Abhidhamma and commentarial traditions, karma is taken up at length. The Abhidhamma Sangaha of Anuruddhcariya offers a treatment of the topic, with an exhaustive treatment in book five (5.3.7).

The Kathvatthu, which discusses a number of controverted points related either directly or indirectly to the notion of kamma." This involved debate with the Pudgalavdin school, which postulated the provisional existence of the person (S. pudgala, P. puggala) to account for the ripening of karmic effects over time. The Kathvatthu also records debate by the Theravdins with the Andhakas (who may have been Mahsghikas) regarding whether or not old age and death are the result (vipka) of karma. The Theravda maintained that they are notnot, apparently because there is no causal relation between the two, but because they wished to reserve the term vipka strictly for mental results--"subjective phenomena arising through the effects of kamma."

In the canonical Theravda view of kamma, "the belief that deeds done or ideas seized at the moment of death are particularly significant."

The Milindapaha, a paracanonical Theravda text, offers some interpretations of karma theory at variance with the orthodox position. In particular, Ngasena allows for the possibility of the transfer of merit to humans and one of the four classes of petas, perhaps in deference to folk belief. Ngasena makes it clear that demerit cannot be transferred. One scholar asserts that the sharing of merit "can be linked to the Vedic rddha, for it was Buddhist practice not to upset existing traditions when well-established custom was not antithetic to Buddhist teaching."

The Petavatthu, which is fully canonical, endorses the transfer of merit even more widely, including the possibility of sharing merit with all petas.

In the Yogcra philosophical tradition, one of the two principal Mahyna schools, the principle of karma was extended considerably. In the Yogcra formulation, all experience without exception is said to result from the ripening of karma.[web 9] Karmic seeds (S. bija) are said to be stored in the "storehouse consciousness" (S. layavijna) until such time as they ripen into experience. The term vsna ("perfuming") is also used, and Yogcrins debated whether vsna and bija were essentially the same, the seeds were the effect of the perfuming, or whether the perfuming simply affected the seeds. The seemingly external world is merely a "by-product" (adhipati-phala) of karma. The conditioning of the mind resulting from karma is called saskra.[web 10]

The Treatise on Action (Karmasiddhiprakaraa), also by Vasubandhu, treats the subject of karma in detail from the Yogcra perspective. According to scholar Dan Lusthaus,

Vasubandhu's Viatik (Twenty Verses) repeatedly emphasizes in a variety of ways that karma is intersubjective and that the course of each and every stream of consciousness (vijna-santna, i.e., the changing individual) is profoundly influenced by its relations with other consciousness streams.

According to Bronkhorst, whereas in earlier systems it "was not clear how a series of completely mental events (the deed and its traces) could give rise to non-mental, material effects," with the (purported) idealism of the Yogcra system this is not an issue.

In Mahyna traditions, karma is not the sole basis of rebirth. The rebirths of bodhisattvas after the seventh stage (S. bhmi) are said to be consciously directed for the benefit of others still trapped in sasra. Thus, theirs are not uncontrolled rebirths.

Ngrjuna articulated the difficulty in forming a karma theory in his most prominent work, the Mlamadhyamakakrik (Fundamental Verses on the Middle Way):

If (the act) lasted till the time of ripening, (the act) would be eternal. If (the act) were terminated, how could the terminated produce a fruit?[subnote 3]

The Mlamadhyamakavtty-Akutobhay, also generally attributed to Ngrjuna, concludes that it is impossible both for the act to persist somehow and also for it to perish immediately and still have efficacy at a later time.[note 18]

In Tibetan Buddhism, the teachings on karma belong to the preliminary teachings, that turn the mind towards the Buddhist dharma.

In the Vajrayana tradition, negative past karma may be "purified" through such practices as meditation on Vajrasattva because they both are the mind's psychological phenomenon. The performer of the action, after having purified the karma, does not experience the negative results he or she otherwise would have. Engaging in the ten negative actions out of selfishness and delusions hurts all involved. Otherwise, loving others, receives love; whereas; people with closed hearts may be prevented from happiness. One good thing about karma is that it can be purified through confession, if the thoughts become positive. Within Guru Yoga seven branch offerings practice, confession is the antidote to aversion.

Dgen Kigen argued in his Shobogenzo that karmic latencies are emphatically not empty, going so far as to claim that belief in the emptiness of karma should be characterized as "non-Buddhist," although he also states that the "law of karman has no concrete existence."

Zen's most famous koan about karma is called Baizhang's Wild Fox (). The story of the koan is about an ancient Zen teacher whose answer to a question presents a wrong view about karma by saying that the person who has a foundation in cultivating the great practice "does not fall into cause and effect." Because of his unskillful answer the teacher reaps the result of living 500 lives as a wild fox. He is then able to appear as a human and ask the same question to Zen teacher Baizhang, who answers, "He is not in the dark about cause and effect." Hearing this answer the old teacher is freed from the life of a wild fox. The Zen perspective avoids the duality of asserting that an enlightened person is either subject to or free from the law of karma and that the key is not being ignorant about karma.

The Japanese Tendai/Pure Land teacher Genshin taught a series of ten reflections for a dying person that emphasized reflecting on the Amida Buddha as a means to purify vast amounts of karma.[relevant? discuss]

Buddhist modernists often prefer to equate karma with social conditioning, in contradistinction with, as one scholar puts it, "early texts [which] give us little reason to interpret 'conditioning' as the infusion into the psyche of external social norms, or of awakening as simply transcending all psychological conditioning and social roles. Karmic conditioning drifts semantically toward 'cultural conditioning' under the influence of western discourses that elevate the individual over the social, cultural, and institutional. The traditional import of the karmic conditioning process, however, is primarily ethical and soteriologicalactions condition circumstances in this and future lives."

Essentially, this understanding limits the scope of the traditional understanding of karmic effects so that it encompasses only saskrashabits, dispositions and tendenciesand not external effects, while at the same time expanding the scope to include social conditioning that does not particularly involve volitional action.

Some western commentators and Buddhists have taken exception to aspects of karma theory, and have proposed revisions of various kinds. These proposals fall under the rubric of Buddhist modernism.

The "primary critique" of the Buddhist doctrine of karma is that some feel "karma may be socially and politically disempowering in its cultural effect, that without intending to do this, karma may in fact support social passivity or acquiescence in the face of oppression of various kinds." Dale S. Wright, a scholar specializing in Zen Buddhism, has proposed that the doctrine be reformulated for modern people, "separated from elements of supernatural thinking," so that karma is asserted to condition only personal qualities and dispositions rather than rebirth and external occurrences.

Loy argues that the idea of accumulating merit too easily becomes "spirtitual materialism," a view echoed by other Buddhist modernists,[note 19] and further that karma has been used to rationalize racism, caste, economic oppression, birth handicaps and everything else.

Loy goes on to argue that the view that suffering such as that undergone by Holocaust victims could be attributed in part to the karmic ripenings of those victims is "fundamentalism, which blames the victims and rationalizes their horrific fate," and that this is "something no longer to be tolerated quietly. It is time for modern Buddhists and modern Buddhism to outgrow it" by revising or discarding the teachings on karma.

Other scholars have argued, however, that the teachings on karma do not encourage judgment and blame, given that the victims were not the same people who committed the acts, but rather were just part of the same mindstream-continuum with the past actors, and that the teachings on karma instead provide "a thoroughly satisfying explanation for suffering and loss" in which believers take comfort.

Subnotes

Read more:
Karma in Buddhism - Wikipedia

Written by simmons |

March 2nd, 2018 at 4:42 pm

Posted in Buddhist Concepts

200-hour Yoga Teacher Training & YA Certification in Costa …

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March 2nd, 2018 at 4:42 pm


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