Robots posing as people online are "a menace," Tim Wu wrote recently in The New York Times.

Bots swarm the Internet pretending to be human, slinging election propaganda and controlling hot Broadway tickets.

Robots, some in embodied human form, may take over a startling percentage of U.S. jobs in the next couple of decades. In his book out last month, Will Robots Take Your Job? Nigel M. de S. Cameron notes that the U.S.'s 3.5 million workers in the trucking industry are at risk because of the coming rise of autonomous vehicles, but robots are moving also to "occupy the space of emotional intelligence." Robot health-care companions and virtual psychiatrists may be in the offing.

There's a lot of anxiety out there about the expanding role of robots in our society.

Robots do, of course, offer huge benefits to us. To take just a few examples, robots defuse bombs, explore Mars, and already aid in health care in multiple ways. Four years ago when I needed surgery for aggressive uterine cancer, it was an oncologist-robot team that skillfully performed the procedure.

But the worries remain. And last week, news broke of a robot called "Frigid Farrah" that's meant as a sex companion for a person, but with a twist. According to The Independent, the robot was originally advertised in this way: If you touch Frigid Farrah "in a private area, more than likely, she will not be to [sic] appreciative of your advance."

Some commentators, including Laura Bates writing in The New York Times, suggests this kind of interaction amounts to rape. The manufacturer, Roxxxy True Companion, issued a statement that, unsurprisingly, takes a different view.

Should the specter of human-robot sexual encounters only increase our robot anxiety, then? On Monday, I chatted by email about robot sex with Girl on the Net, a writer in the UK who has thought extensively about issues like this. She told me that she finds the discussion around Frigid Farrah fascinating:

"not necessarily because of the robots themselves, but because of the way it exposed some gaps in how people understand consent. In the UK at least there were quite a few commentators talking about sex robots as if they were already conscious, autonomous beings. We had a few headlines that said people could be 'raping' sex robots, implying that consent is inherently tied to behavior, rather than tied to understanding and desire.

In my opinion, laying aside the implications of someone who wants a sex robot to be reluctant, one could no more rape a sex robot than they could rape a Fleshlight [sex toy] or a toaster, because robots don't yet have consciousness. Consent is not just about saying 'yes' or 'no' it's about making conscious and active choices, in conjunction with another conscious person."

I agree with Girl on the Net: Today's robots are not conscious and thus "rape" is not the correct descriptor.

I want to be very clear about what I am saying here: The robots' lack of consciousness is fundamentally different from the state of a person who has lost consciousness or for some reason suffers from diminished mental acuity. For a person who has passed out, who is in a coma, or who is mentally compromised for any reason and is violently sexually assaulted, "rape" is absolutely the correct term.

That is what I find disturbing about Frigid Farrah: Rape is an act of violence. The notion of a passive or reluctant partner used as a perfectly normalized selling point in the sex industry hits me as wrong. All wrong.

At the same time, I knew from my tech reading that there's much more to robot sex than this one story. I asked Girl on the Net to describe some of the positive aspects. (Our conversation is edited for length.)

"Firstly, there are people who may struggle to have relationships with humans, but who would benefit from the comfort and companionship that could be provided by robotics. There is a growing body of research into the ways in which robotics can improve health outcomes for elderly, disabled or vulnerable people but at the moment most of the research shies away from looking into robotics to help with sexual needs as well as emotional and non-sexual physical needs.

If we are going to spend lots of money creating robotic assistants and companions for people who need them, we shouldn't just ignore this one important need because we're too nervous to talk about sexual things!

And I think I'd kick myself if I didn't also mention that I think sex robots could make quite a few people happy. Sexual pleasure is a really important source of happiness for many people."

Girl on the Net also made another insightful point to me: Right now, most sex robots are created with straight men in mind. That's obviously a narrow approach and we can, she said, think more expansively than that.

And do these robots even need to be humanoid in form? Girl on the Net continued:

"I went to the International Congress on Love and Sex with Robots last year and one of the key themes was how robots could be designed for pleasure but without necessarily looking like a human. For example, haptic fabrics and strap-on items could be used to wrap around the human body and provide pleasure, or smaller robots could be built that have learning capabilities but without humanoid looks.

Think [of] a robot that one might 'wear' like underwear, or one that could be worn over the hand as a kind of sexy exoskeleton. Robots definitely don't have to look human in order to be sexual!"

In his robot book, Cameron cautions that because change in technology occurs at an exponential rate now, it is "extraordinarily difficult to predict what comes next." That's a worrisome thing in some robot-related ways, as for trying to predict and plan for job losses.

But that lack of predictability is not all bad, I think. The next generations of robots may be quite different in appearance from what we envision now and they may contribute quite creatively and ethically to our pleasure.

Barbara J. King is an anthropology professor emerita at the College of William and Mary. She often writes about the cognition, emotion and welfare of animals, and about biological anthropology, human evolution and gender issues. Barbara's new book is Personalities on the Plate: The Lives and Minds of Animals We Eat. You can keep up with what she is thinking on Twitter: @bjkingape

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What's New In The World Of Robot Sex? - NPR

Go Wash Your Bowls: A Meditation on Generosity in Buddhism

James Ishmael Ford

A student of the way came to Master Zhaozhou and said, I have just entered your monastery. Please give me instruction. Zhaozhou asked, Have you eaten your rice gruel? The students said, yes. Zhaozhou responded, Wash your bowl. With this the student had an insight.

Gateless Gate (Wumenguan) Case Seven

Ive always loved this case in the Wumenguan, that grand twelfth century collection of koans, those mysterious questions used on the Zen way. Not least because it features the great master Zhaozhou Congshen (Joshu in Japanese) so much. Born at the end of the eighth century and living through most of the ninth, Zhaozhou is one of the signal figures in the formation of Zen Buddhism. He appears five times in this particular anthology, starting with the very first case.

Ive sat deeply with this koan. Ive investigated it as a student, and for the past decade and a half Ive accompanied a goodly number of Zen students in their own investigation. Ive found this case near endlessly rich. It certainly can open our hearts in a wide number of directions.

And, like any real koan, it can mislead the unwary. For instance Ive worked with several students who believe Zhaozhou is rebuking the student. One thought the master was annoyed at how his precious time was being wasted by the importuning of a novice. And this is a brush off. Another took a slight variation on that and believed it was a sharp rebuff of someone hoping for a conceptual response to Zens fundamental questions of life and death. Better, but still pretty far from the heart of the matter.

Rather, Ive found Wash your bowls an invitation into the very heart of generosity. The technical term in Buddhism for generosity is dana. That word dana is shared constellated with similar meanings in the other Indian religions, Hinduism, Jainism and Sikhism. And each of these traditions shades the point of generosity slightly differently.

For Buddhists dana is principally a spiritual practice. And as a practice it ranks with our moral precepts and our meditative disciplines. As Buddhism, and particularly of concern for me, Zen Buddhism matures into its Western expressions we seem to have come to these practices one at a time.

First, we were attracted to the power of Zens meditative disciplines. At the heart of all Buddhist meditation and particularly Zen its call to silence and to a bare presence has been powerful and compelling. For some it was Zens unique contribution to Buddhist meditation, koans, that captured imaginations, and called us into the contemplative life. Then, for many reasons, some the tragedies of abuse, for others, just the complexities of our lived lives, where meditation alone seemed not enough; the moral precepts have become, if a little late, a serious part of the package of Buddhism here in the West.

And, now, perhaps, we are ready to see how dana, how generosity is also a core practice and, I suggest, as with meditation and precepts, a powerful and compelling pointing toward something. Now, when I googled the term dana together with Zen, the first page of listings and well into the second was largely a recounting of giving opportunities provided by various Zen centers. And, certainly it is that. Nor, should that practicality ever be ignored. But, there is more to it. Quite a bit.

For some dana is a practice that purifies ones karma leading to a propitious rebirth. For others it is a central part of a practice that cultivates wisdom. At the Brooklyn Zen Centers website I found a critical pointer for dana as spiritual practice. To practice dana is to challenge the egos frame that in order to give, we must get. Dana is instead a trusting step, a confidence in the universe that allows us to open to life. So we turn our intention toward this practice through which we deeply realize our interconnection to all that is.

Here we are invited into something, and specifically the something we also find in the Wash Your Bowls koan. What we are invited into on the Zen way is to open our eyes to the connections. We are invited into discovering how we and all things exist in a mysterious dance of becoming and falling away. We and all things are constantly creating each other.

The power of our bare presence is to allow us to begin to see this. And, the rest of it, is a call to respond. This is not a dance where there is an option to sit it out. This is the dance of life and death itself, the invitation is into more grace. Grace, which is possibly another word for generosity.

So, old Zhaozhou is approached by a student of the way. The question is sincere. And it is met with all the gravity the situation calls for. Have you eaten? So much in that. So much. And when the answer is a blessed yes, then the next step. Just wash your bowls.

In another Zen text we hear the line like a box and its lid. Here the teacher and the student meet. Here the bowl is used and it is washed.

Here the heart of the worlds generosity is revealed.

As is ours.

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Go Wash Your Bowls: A Meditation on Generosity in Buddhism - Patheos (blog)

Zen, Chinese Chan, Korean Sn, also spelled Seon, Vietnamese Thien, important school of East Asian Buddhism that constitutes the mainstream monastic form of Mahayana Buddhism in China, Korea, and Vietnam and accounts for approximately 20 percent of the Buddhist temples in Japan. The word derives from the Sanskrit dhyana, meaning meditation. Central to Zen teaching is the belief that awakening can be achieved by anyone but requires instruction in the proper forms of spiritual cultivation by a master. In modern times, Zen has been identified especially with the secular arts of medieval Japan (such as the tea ceremony, ink painting, and gardening) and with any spontaneous expression of artistic or spiritual vitality regardless of context. In popular usage, the modern non-Buddhist connotations of the word Zen have become so prominent that in many cases the term is used as a label for phenomena that lack any relationship to Zen or are even antithetical to its teachings and practices.

Compiled by the Chinese Buddhist monk Daoyun in 1004, Records of the Transmission of the Lamp (Chingde chongdeng lu) offers an authoritative introduction to the origins and nature of Zen Buddhism. The work describes the Zen school as consisting of the authentic Buddhism practiced by monks and nuns who belong to a large religious family with five main branches, each branch of which demonstrates its legitimacy by performing Confucian-style ancestor rites for its spiritual ancestors or patriarchs. The genealogical tree of this spiritual lineage begins with the seven buddhas, consisting of six mythological Buddhas of previous eons as well as Siddhartha Gautama, or Shakyamuni, the historical Buddha of the current age. The spiritual awakening and wisdom realized by these buddhas then was transmitted from master to disciple across 28 generations of semi-historical or mythological Buddhist teachers in India, concluding with Bodhidharma, the monk who supposedly introduced true Buddhism to China in the 5th century. This true Buddhism held that its practitioners could achieve a sudden awakening to spiritual truth, which they could not accomplish by a mere reading of Buddhist scriptures. As Bodhidharma asserted in a verse attributed to him,

A special transmission outside the scriptures, not relying on words or letters; pointing directly to the human mind, seeing true nature is becoming a Buddha.

From the time of Bodhidharma to the present, each generation of the Zen lineage claimed to have attained the same spiritual awakening as its predecessors, thereby preserving the Buddhas lamp of wisdom. This genealogical ethos confers religious authority on present-day Zen teachers as the legitimate heirs and living representatives of all previous Buddhas and patriarchs. It also provides the context of belief for various Zen rituals, such as funeral services performed by Zen priests and ancestral memorial rites for the families of laypeople who patronize the temples.

The Zen ethos that people in each new generation can and must attain spiritual awakening does not imply any rejection of the usual forms of Buddhist spiritual cultivation, such as the study of scriptures, the performance of good deeds, and the practice of rites and ceremonies, image worship, and ritualized forms of meditation. Zen teachers typically assert rather that all of these practices must be performed correctly as authentic expressions of awakening, as exemplified by previous generations of Zen teachers. For this reason, the Records of the Transmission of the Lamp attributes the development of the standard format and liturgy of the Chinese Buddhist monastic institution to early Zen patriarchs, even though there is no historical evidence to support this claim. Beginning at the time of the Song dynasty (9601279), Chinese monks composed strict regulations to govern behaviour at all publicly recognized Buddhist monasteries. Known as rules of purity (Chinese: qinggui; Japanese: shingi), these rules were frequently seen as unique expressions of Chinese Zen. In fact, however, the monks largely codified traditional Buddhist priestly norms of behaviour, and, at least in China, the rules were applied to residents of all authorized monasteries, whether affiliated with the Zen school or not.

Zen monks and nuns typically study Buddhist scriptures, Chinese classics, poetics, and Zen literature. Special emphasis traditionally has been placed on the study of public cases (Chinese: gongan; Japanese: kan), or accounts of episodes in which Zen patriarchs reportedly attained awakening or expressed their awakening in novel and iconoclastic ways, using enigmatic language or gestures. Included in the Records of the Transmission of the Lamp and in other hagiographic compendia, the public cases are likened to legal precedents that are designed to guide the followers of Zen.

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Although Zen Buddhism in China is traditionally dated to the 5th century, it actually first came to prominence in the early 8th century, when Wuhou (625705), who seized power from the ruling Tang dynasty (618907) to become empress of the short-lived Zhou dynasty (690705), patronized Zen teachers as her court priests. After Empress Wuhou died and the Tang dynasty was restored to power, rival sects of Zen appeared whose members claimed to be more legitimate and more orthodox than the Zen teachers who had been associated with the discredited empress. These sectarian rivalries continued until the Song dynasty, when a more inclusive form of Zen became associated with almost all of the official state-sponsored Buddhist monasteries. As the official form of Chinese Buddhism, the Song dynasty version of Zen subsequently spread to Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.

During the reign of the Song, Zen mythology, Zen literature, and Zen forms of Buddhist spiritual cultivation underwent important growth. Since that time, Zen teachings have skillfully combined the seemingly opposing elements of mythology and history, iconoclasm and pious worship, freedom and strict monastic discipline, and sudden awakening (Sanskrit: bodhi; Chinese: wu; Japanese: satori) and long master-disciple apprenticeships.

During the Song dynasty the study of public cases became very sophisticated, as Zen monks arranged them into various categories, wrote verse commentaries on them, and advocated new techniques for meditating on their key words. Commentaries such as The Blue Cliff Record (c. 1125; Chinese: Biyan lu; Japanese Heikigan roku) and The Gateless Barrier (1229; Chinese: Wumen guan; Japanese: Mumon kan) remain basic textbooks for Zen students to the present day. The public-case literature validates the sense of liberation and freedom felt by those experiencing spiritual awakening while, at the same time, placing the expression of those impulses under the supervision of well-disciplined senior monks. For this reason, Zen texts frequently assert that genuine awakening cannot be acquired through individual study alone but must be realized through the guidance of an authentic Zen teacher.

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During Japans medieval period (roughly the 12th through 15th centuries), Zen monks played a major role in introducing the arts and literature of Song-dynasty China to Japanese leaders. The Five Mountain (Japanese: Gozan) Zen temples, which were sponsored by the Japanese imperial family and military rulers, housed many monks who had visited China and had mastered the latest trends of Chinese learning. Monks from these temples were selected to lead trade missions to China, to administer governmental estates, and to teach neo-Confucianism, a form of Confucianism developed under the Song dynasty that combined cultivation of the self with concerns for social ethics and metaphysics. In this way, wealthy Zen monasteries, especially those located in the Japanese capital city of Kyto, became centres for the importation and dissemination of Chinese techniques of printing, painting, calligraphy, poetics, ceramics, and garden designthe so-called Zen arts, or (in China) Song-dynasty arts.

Apart from the elite Five Mountain institutions, Japanese Zen monks and nuns founded many monasteries and temples in the rural countryside. Unlike their urban counterparts, monks and nuns in rural Zen monasteries devoted more energy to religious matters than to Chinese arts and learning. Their daily lives focused on worship ceremonies, ritual periods of sitting Zen (Japanese: zazen) meditation, the study of public cases, and the performance of religious services for lower-status merchants, warriors, and peasants. Rural Zen monks helped to popularize many Buddhist rituals now common in Japan, such as prayer rites for worldly benefits, conferment of precept lineages on lay people, funerals, ancestral memorials, and exorcisms. After the political upheavals of the 15th and 16th centuries, when much of the city of Kyto was destroyed in a widespread civil war, monks from rural Zen lineages came to dominate all Zen institutions in Japan, including the urban ones that formerly enjoyed Five Mountain status.

After the Tokugawa rulers of the Edo period (16031867) restored peace, Zen monasteries and all other religious institutions in Japan cooperated in the governments efforts to regulate society. In this new political environment, Zen monks and other religious leaders taught a form of conventional morality (Japanese: tszoku dtoku) that owed more to Confucian than to Buddhist traditions; indeed, Buddhist teachings were used to justify the strict social hierarchy enforced by the government. Many Confucian teachers in turn adapted Zen Buddhist meditation techniques to quiet sitting (Japanese: seiza), a Confucian contemplative practice. As a result of these developments, the social and religious distinctions between Zen practice and Confucianism became blurred.

When the Ming dynasty (13681661) in China began to collapse, many Chinese Zen monks sought refuge in Japan. Their arrival caused Japanese Zen monks to question whether their Japanese teachers or the new Chinese arrivals had more faithfully maintained the traditions of the ancient buddhas and patriarchs. The resultant search for authentic Zen roots prompted the development of sectarianism, not just between Japanese and Chinese Zen leaders but also within the existing Japanese Zen community. Eventually sectarian rivalry led to the emergence of three separate Japanese Zen lineages: baku (Chinese: Huanbo), Rinzai (Chinese: Linji), and St (Chinese: Caodong). Ignoring their similarities, each lineage exaggerated its distinctive features. Thus, both Rinzai and St emphasized their adherence to certain Song-dynasty practices, in contrast to the baku monasteries, which favoured Ming traditions, especially in such areas as ritual language, musical instruments, clothing, and temple architecture. People affiliated with St, by far the largest of the Japanese Zen lineages, stressed the accomplishments of their patriarch Dgen (120053), whose chief work, Shbgenz (123153; Treasury of the True Dharma Eye), is widely regarded as one of the great classics of Japanese Buddhism.

During the first half of the 20th century, D.T. Suzuki (18701966), a Japanese Buddhist scholar and thinker, wrote numerous essays and books in English to introduce Zen ideals to Western audiences. Suzuki was born just after Japan began to adopt Western technology in an effort to catch up with Europe and America. He was strongly influenced by 19th-century Japanese Buddhist reformers who sought to cast off what they saw as the feudal social structures of the Tokugawa period and who advocated a more modern vision of Buddhism that could compete successfully with Christianity. Suzuki spent 11 years in the United States (18971908) as an assistant to Paul Carus (18521919), a German who had earned a doctorate in theology and philosophy before emigrating to America. Carus published a magazine to promote what he called the Science of Religion, a new religion compatible with science. During this period, Suzuki was also influenced by contemporary intellectual currents, such as the ideas of the German Protestant theologian Friedrich Schleiermacher (17681834), who had identified irrational intuition and feeling as the essence of religion, and of the American philosopher William James (18421910), who posited the possibility of nondualistic knowledge via pure experience as overcoming the dualism inherent in empiricism.

Suzuki interpreted the episodes of spiritual awakening depicted in Zen public cases as proof of humankinds ability to suddenly break through the boundaries of common, everyday, logical thought to achieve a nondualistic, pure experience in which distinctions such as self/other and right/wrong disappear. He characterized this experience as an expression of the irrational intuition that underlies all religions and all acts of artistic creation, regardless of culture or historical period, and that achieved its highest expression in the secular arts of Japan. Suzuki, therefore, interpreted Zen not as a form of Buddhism but as a Japanese cultural value with universal relevance. His use of Western theological and philosophical concepts to explain the Zen experience in modern ways influenced Nishida Kitar (18701945) and other members of the Kyoto school of Japanese philosophy. In the early 20th century, many Japanese intellectuals described Zen as the underlying essence of Japanese culture or as the unique form of Japanese spirituality. As Japanese society became increasingly militaristic during the 1930s and 40s, descriptions of Zen became more warlike, frequently invoking loyalty to the state, fearlessness, and mental tranquillity in the face of death. In 1938, for example, Suzuki described Zen as a religion of will power and identified Zen training with Bushido (the code of conduct of the Japanese warrior class) and Japanese swordsmanship.

When Suzukis books were reprinted after World War II, they found a ready audience in the United States and Britain among ex-servicemen who had acquired an interest in Japanese culture and among youths dissatisfied with postwar society. In particular, members of the new American literary and artistic movement known as the Beats looked to Zen for inspiration. In popular culture the word Zen became an adjective used to describe any spontaneous or free-form activity. Since the heyday of the Beat movement in the 1950s, however, academic studies of Zen have grown in complexity and sophistication, examining the role of Zen practices and Zen institutions in the religious lives of Buddhists in East Asia. In 1953 the Chinese Nationalist historian and diplomat Hu Shih (18911962) published an important essay on the history of Zen in China, in which he challenged Suzukis characterization of Zen as irrational and beyond logical understanding. Hu argued that Zen must be understood as a human institution and that scholarly descriptions of it must be based on verifiable historical evidence, not on psychological interpretations of the religious stories found in Zens public cases.

Since 1953 a new generation of scholars has completely rewritten the history of Zen. They have made major strides both in documenting the historical development of the Zen school in East Asia and in understanding the religious and cultural contexts within which Zen literature, such as public cases, functioned as guides to spiritual truth. During the 1980s and 90s, some Zen scholars and Zen priests in Japan advocated what they called Critical Buddhism in an effort to denounce any connection between Zen and illogical thought and any association between Zen institutions and social problems such as religious discrimination, cultural chauvinism, and militarism. Regardless of the ultimate fate of Critical Buddhism, it is clear that efforts to create a new Zen compatible with the demands of modern society will continue.

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Zen | Buddhism | Britannica.com

A week-long international martial arts competition got under way at the world-famous Shaolin Temple in central China on Saturday, mainland media reported.

The evolution of kung fu: from hired killers to soldiers, the mafia, and finally an esteemed sport

The event is the first ever grand gathering to be held at the 1,500-year-old temple in Dengfeng, Henan province, which many regard as the birthplace of kung fu, news portal Thepaper.cn reported on Saturday.

A total of 116 martial artists from across China and around the world will take part in a series of contests across four disciplines, the report said.

Rare Bruce Lee letter to go under the hammer in Los Angeles for at least US$30,000

These will include demonstrations of the two finger skill, in which practitioners demonstrate their inner strength by doing handstands and press-ups using just two fingers of each hand.

Others participants will pit their abilities against one another in stone lock lifting and knife throwing, while the only woman taking part in the event a martial artist from Japan, who was not named is expected to demonstrate her iron palm skill by breaking bricks and wooden boards with her bare hands, the report said.

Opinion: Why a kick in the teeth is good for Chinese kung fu

According to Shi Yongxin, the temples head abbot, the event is not all about martial arts, however.

We want to tap into our traditional culture with this gathering, he was quoted as saying.

Martial arts is not only about sport, it is more about culture and the spirit, he said.

A series of talks on Zen Buddhism, as well as Go competitions will be held alongside the martial arts demonstrations, the report said.

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China's Shaolin Temple welcomes 116 kung fu masters for grand gathering - South China Morning Post

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Edward Parks, as Steve Jobs, and Wei Wu, as Kbun Chino Otogawa, in The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs. Courtesy Ken Howard/The Santa Fe Opera

If opera is going to grow as an art form in the 21st century, its going to need more than directors imposing quirky concepts onto familiar repertoire or composers retracing well-worn tracks of post-Romanticism. Its going to need the kind of musical and dramatic persuasiveness that enthralled the Santa Fe Operas audience on Saturday night at the world premiere of The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, a bracing opera by composer Mason Bates and librettist Mark Campbell.

This is an American tale told with American bravado. Steve Jobs was both adored and vilified as a person and as a corporate genius, but as the visionary behind the Apple computer empire he was ultimately responsible for the iGadgets (phone, pad, pod, ) that have become defining artifacts of modern life. The operas scenario extracts seminal chapters from his life story, casting him as both hero and villain, a man at war with himself. He develops his passion for engineering as a child, achieves technological breakthroughs in his familys garage and gleans ideas from his educational experiences. He has a relationship (and a daughter) with a woman he treats terribly, and he searches for inner peace through Zen Buddhism. He establishes and oversees his mega-successful corporation, he marries a supportive woman who helps tame some of his demons, he gets sick, he dies. Librettist Campbell shuffles these episodes and arrives at a nonlinear narrative that, on the face of it, seems somewhat random; and yet it unrolls with a strong sense of theatrical momentum and is not at all confusing.

What:The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs

When:8:30 p.m. July 26; and 8 p.m. Aug. 4, 10, 15, 22 and 25

More information:Call 505-986-5900 or visit http://www.santafeopera.org

Simple, clear-cut, uncluttered and clean sings Jobs at one point, clarifying his design goals to an engineer. Director Kevin Newbury seems to have taken that as his own watchword, masterminding a production in which one scene flows to the next seamlessly, each employing visual details that support the thrust of the action rather than distract from it. Sets, lighting and projections (devised respectively by Victoria Vita Tzykun, Japhy Weideman and 59 Productions) work as a piece. Horizontal bars of multicolored fluorescence contain the space from above, sometimes echoed by thin pillars of light ranged near the sides of the stage. Brightly lit wall-height blocks skim fluidly across the stage as if in balletic choreography. Furnishings are limited to what is essential to the story: workbenches, office desks and chairs, nothing extraneous. The production capitalizes on the projection capacities made available through the theaters recent overhaul. The imagery of Jobs life is projected, often in energetic juxtaposition (circuit boards, press clippings, Zen calligraphy), and a scene where he does LSD with his girlfriend in an apple (!) orchard gets woozy indeed. This is in no way a costume drama, although Paul Careys realistic wardrobe designs help clarify the intermixed chronology and they even make clothing styles of the 1970s and 80s seem relatively unobjectionable, which is quite an achievement. Groups of employees or board members are moved about as precisely as the elements of the set.

Garrett Sorenson, as Woz, and Edward Parks, as Steve Jobs, in The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs. Courtesy Ken Howard/The Santa Fe Opera

Just before an early expanse in which we first see Jobs with his Zen master, Campbells libretto proposes a stage direction: If the back wall of the Santa Fe Opera House can open up for the next scene, that would be lovely. It could and it was, with the last sliver of the sun gleaming on the horizon of the Jemez Mountains. Quite a sun, sings Jobs mentor. Always loveliest when its leaving. And yet, having tapped the houses ace in the hole, Newbury does not overplay the hand. The point is made, the audience inhales the exquisite moment, and the stage soon reconfigures so the plot can move on.

Bates music tends to be powerfully optimistic, trading to some degree in sustained transcendence. The scores vivaciousness comes more from high-energy rhythms, often repeated in a post-minimalist way (John Adams may come to mind), and from a vivid sonic palette. A good deal of advance chatter focused on Bates use of electronic sounds, which he presided over from his computer setup in the orchestra pit. But its not like olden days when superimposing electronic sounds over an orchestra had an oil-and-water quality. Bates has spoken of how he considers modern electronica to be a further family of symphonic music-making strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, electronica and this score exemplifies his contention, with the electronic sounds weaving in and out of the integrated texture with a sense of inevitability. These are hardly unfamiliar sounds, to be sure. We hear them all the time in movie soundtracks, but Bates shows real expertise in using them to enlarge orchestral texture.

He had some challenges to meet. He has been almost exclusively an instrumental composer, building up a solid output of symphonic and chamber works but a vocal catalog that is limited to six choral pieces and two song cycles. An opera obviously requires skill in vocal writing, and Bates showed that he has the requisite chops to write effectively for lyric theatre. Indeed, this is not much of a stop-and-sing numbers opera. Although it includes some certifiable arias and ensembles, these seem crafted more to support the dramatic narrative than as opportunities for vocal display which is not meant as criticism. One also wondered how effectively Bates would navigate the sheer scale of operatic structure, since none of his concert pieces has extended beyond a half-hour and most run 15 minutes or less. But the question of whether he could maintain musical interest through a 95-minute operatic score (without intermission) seemed to some extent moot. The piece consists of a prologue and epilogue with 18 discrete episodes in between, so that averages out to four and three-quarter minutes per scene. Some are longer and some shorter, but with his succession of modestly scaled segments, Bates landed on an effective plan that was entirely achievable for a composer writing his first opera one that moreover helps define the works kinetic verve.

Edward Parks, as Steve Jobs, and Sasha Cooke, as Laurene Powell Jobs, in The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs. Courtesy Ken Howard/The Santa Fe Opera

Michael Christie conducted with precision and pizzazz, and a couple of orchestral interludes truly got the adrenaline pumping. One of them, at about the operas one-hour mark, accompanies projected images charting the meteoric rise of the company and its growing complication as a corporate organism. I wouldnt be surprised if it were extracted to stand as a frenetic orchestral showpiece in its own right.

The cast was uniformly commendable for their acting as well as their singing. In the title role, baritone Edward Parks is on stage practically the whole time. He appears in roles like Figaro in The Barber of Seville and Valentin in Faust, so he is obviously able to sing in an expansive operatic baritone style. But he didnt really do that here. He presented the part more intimately, as a lieder-singer might, with naturalness of style and exemplary diction. Subtle amplification underscored his performance, and indeed those of all the singers a logical use of electronic technology in a score such as this.

Mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke was a pleasure to hear as Jobs wife, Laurene. Her rich, warmly covered tone was put to finest use in her climactic aria Humans are messy, awkward and cluttered, an anthem to empathy, one that may become embraced as a standalone piece. A similarly touching performance came from Wei Wu, as Jobs Buddhist mentor Kbun Chino Otogawa. This beautifully written role encompasses both wisdom and wry humor, and Wei Wus bass not particularly large but of velvety texture infused it with a feeling of profound comfort, a welcome anchor in the emotional turbulence that sometimes surrounded it. Garrett Sorenson conveyed substantial character development as Jobs fellow inventor and business partner Steve Wozniak; he began as a comical dork and ended up as a serious corporate grown-up, his bright tenor letting loose fully in the tenseness, and then fury, of his aria Goliath, in which he resigns from the company he has built with Jobs. Smaller roles were admirably conveyed by baritone Kelly Markgraf (as Jobs father), mezzo-soprano Mariya Kaganskaya (as a calligraphy teacher), soprano Jessica E. Jones (as Chrisann Brennan, Jobs girlfriend), and Jonah Sorenson (a nonsinging part upheld admirably by a young actor portraying the 10-year-old Jobs).

Edward Parks, as Steve Jobs, and Jessica Jones, as Chrisann Brennan, in The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs. Courtesy Ken Howard/The Santa Fe Opera

Bates and Campbell are not the only people charting a path for operas future, but one is more likely to find seriously creative new work in warehouses and experimental theatres than on a major opera stage. Santa Fe Opera and its general director, Charles MacKay, deserve congratulations for making such a piece available at this level. The day of the premiere, the company added an additional performance (on Aug. 22) to the six it had originally scheduled. That should help accommodate audience demand as word circulates about this charismatic piece. It will surely appeal to millennials, thanks to its dynamism in harnessing the technology of today to tell the story of technologys yesterday. But more traditional opera-lovers are bound to embrace it, too. Like all the finest operas, it is animated by a stimulating plot, it is brimful with compelling music, and not less important it has an ample heart.

Correction: A previous version of this review misidentified the actor playing young Steve Jobs. It was Jonah Sorenson in the role, not Asher Corbin.

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'The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs': Zen and the art of opera - Santa Fe New Mexican

The Triangle Offense, an existential basketball strategy so complex that it was quite simple, and so simple that it was maddeningly complex, died of complications related to confusion on Wednesday. It was years old.

The Triangle, also known as the Triple-Post Offense, the Sideline Triangle Offense, and the Trade-Me-Coach Offense, reportedly collapsed under the weight of its own pretension in the front office of the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. But no one with the requisite training in astrophysics and Zen Buddhism could be located in time to provide resuscitation.

Its demise coincided with the decision by Knicks management to dismiss Phil Jackson, the teams president for the past three years and the Triangles closest living relative. Jackson was so attuned to its almost mystical intricacies that he became the Triangle whisperer although critics say that his channeling of the offense could not be understood at any volume of voice.

The Triangle Offense was born on the hardwood courts of the University of Southern California in the 1940s, the offspring of the universitys innovative basketball coach, Justin McCarthy Sam Barry. It was then raised and refined by one of Barrys many acolytes, Morice Fredrick Tex Winter, who attempted to capture its many mysteries in a book called The Triple-Post Offense, published in 1962.

Since the publication of Winters book, others have attempted to explain, clearly and concisely, what the Triangle entails. But many have gone mad in this pursuit; trying to do so is the basketball equivalent to gazing at the face of Medusa.

In 2014, Scott Cacciola of The New York Times provided a short primer, saying that the Triangle was predicated on reading and exposing soft spots in the defense. He continued:

The triangle and there is an actual triangle formed by the post, wing and corner players on the strong side of the court revolves around seven guiding principles that include maintaining proper spacing (about 15 to 20 feet between players), penetration by passing and the interchangeability of positions. Every player ought to be able to score, and from different angles.

In 2015, writer Nicholas Dawidoff in these pages immersed himself in the sacred text that was Winters book. Part of his search for enlightenment included asking the basketball analyst Jay Williams who played in the Triangle Offense while with the Chicago Bulls one season to explain.

You hand me a piece of paper and say, Jay, define the Triangle for me, its kind of like a kid with Magic Markers drawing a cartoon. Its all over the page. So many series of actions, I get lost trying to explain it. Now, give me four guys who know how to run it on the court, I can get out there and do it.

Still, even the harshest critics had to acknowledge that Jackson had carried out the Triangle Offense to astounding effect during his long basketball career. As the coach for the Chicago Bulls and then for the Los Angeles Lakers, his insistence on running the Triangle paid off with a combined 11 NBA titles.

(It is reported that Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, of the Bulls, and Kobe Bryant and Shaquille ONeal, of the Lakers, also played roles in those championships.)

When Jackson joined the Knicks front office in 2014, he celebrated the Triangle Offense new to the city as the key to basketball success. Hopes were high, given that the once-proud Knicks had for years been adhering to a style of offense technically known as lousy.

But the Triangle Offense struggled to find acceptance in its adopted city, where even the most astute basketball fans did not appreciate the suggestion that watching a Knicks game meant keeping a protractor close at hand. Nor did it help that the Knicks star Carmelo Anthony was reluctant, if thats the word, to embrace the Triangle.

By November 2016, Anthony didnt even want to hear the phrase. Were just playing basketball, he said after yet another Knicks loss. Were making adjustments offensively regardless of what were running. At this point Im getting tired of hearing about the Triangle. Just getting tired of hearing about it.

The Knicks ultimately proved resistant, even allergic, to the mysterious charms of the Triangle Offense. During the three-year tenure of the Triangle whisperer, the team posted three losing seasons and never reached the playoffs. In order to survive, it seemed, the offense required elements that were in short supply in the Garden: discipline, patience, and flowing movement.

In addition to Jackson, survivors include a player in the post, one in the corner, one on the wing, and two on the weak side. Funeral services, which are private, will include a shaman, several popcorn-scented candles, and the ritual burning of a Chuck Taylor All Star high-top.

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The triangle - Manhattan Mercury (subscription)

Arasiyalil ithellam sadharanam appa (This is all commonplace in politics), says Gil Alon with a dramatic flourish, when his actor requests him to deliver his favourite Tamil punchline. With his smooth pate and a playful twinkle in his eyes, he could be easily mistaken for a suave villain in a Tamil noir film. At Koothu-P-Pattarai, the Israeli theatre artiste is enjoying a cup of coffee after the rehearsals of his latest production, Life of An Actor. Tamil konjam theriyum. I love languages. As an actor, I feel connected this way. When you go to another country, at least make the effort to understand the language. For me it is not an effort, it is joy.

Inspired by India

He travels across the globe hosting workshops. The association with India was so strong that he has kept coming back since 2000. It was love at first sight, says Alon about his first visit. I came here to study Zen Buddhism, as part of my course in Israel. My master had asked me to visit five Asian countries, and in India, he wanted me to experience the Osho ashram and study yoga in Rishikesh. The first thing he did in Mumbai was hold workshops for actors. When I arrived, it was the morning of Deepavali. I had to pass through slums on my journey from Mumbai airport to where I stayed. This dismal sight was accompanied with the sounds of fire crackers and festive celebrations. There is no logic to it. That was the moment, I fell in love. He has toured quite a bit with his workshops; some of the places being Dharamshala, Pune, New Delhi and Chennai.

Alon also globe-trots to create plays with local actors of that region. And, he ensures he stays at least for three months in that particular country. I need that time so that I can work without stress. I believe in a long-drawn process which is relaxed. I do not want to put pressure on anyone. That stifles creativity.

His first work in Chennai was Prahlada Charitram, a contemporary take on the mythological tale, scripted by Na Muthuswamy, the founder of Koothu-P-Pattarai. So, rock guitar music found its way into the play. The playwright also gave it a modern twist, by adding his share of sarcasm, criticism and revelations of untold truths. It was a strong play in many ways, observes Alon.

The audience is integral to his plays. In another KPP production, Six Characters In Search of An Author, the spectators had to shift across three venues. Life of An Actor, his latest production with Muthuswamys troupe, is a devised work on the life and hardships of actors. The cast perform before an audience, as if they are a jury for an audition. For me, audience should not come to watch, but to work. They must be involved in what is happening.

All in the mind

It could be the Zen master in him talking. Because, he chats about everything with a certain mindfulness be it his young days in the TV industry, the vibrant theatre scene in Israel or his happy experiences mentoring actors such Vijay Sethupathi, Somasundaram and Anand Sami.

Alon was 30 when he stumbled upon Zen philosophy. My TV show had made me famous; I was also doing a radio show, performing musicals and had my own rock band. But, something was sad and frustrating, and I decided to seek something parallely. When I encountered Zen, it felt like home coming, he smiles.

Staying in the here and the now; thats what is common to theatre and this school of thought, he feels. The fast-paced life kills creativity, says Alon. Creative thoughts can flourish when you are in a safe condition; when you know you will not be criticised or judged. My workshops also address this. I tell my participants not to be the best or number one, but be themselves.

(Life of An Actor will be staged at Koothu-P-Pattarai Trust, Virugambakkam, from July 31 to August 6 at 7 pm. For reservation, 044 65373633. It will also be staged at Roja Muthiah Research Library ,CPT Campus, Taramani, from August 7 to 12, at 6.30 pm. No reservations required)

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Zen and the art of acting - The Hindu

An aerobics competitor will be the only Bay of Plenty dancer to represent New Zealand in the 28th International Aerobics Championship in Arizona.

Catrin Pearce, 17, will be competing in her first international competition alongside 10 other New Zealanders from July 29 to August 2.

She will be competing in an individual women's performance in age group two, which is between the ages of 15 to 17 years old.

She says she is surprised and grateful that she was selected out of all the other dancers who trialed, and wants to make New Zealand proud.

She's worked really hard and has been a real role model for the sport in the area, says coach Rachel Harvey.

She is probably quite nervous, but she is a pretty good competitor, so I know she'll be fine.

Rachel, who is the coach for Bay Aerobics, says ever since she has been couching, she has never known of a Bay of Plenty gymnast to get into the New Zealand team.

I'm extremely proud and it's an amazing achievement for her.

Catrin applied for the role last year and had to meet a certain score to get selected to go to international competitions.

She found out earlier this year that she had met the qualifying score.

Rachel says it was a bit of a rush when they found out because she was originally going to compete in an Australia competition to get more experience in international championships.

Since it was her first trialing in an international competition, we thought we'd go for Australia, but then she ended up getting the qualifying score for the competition in America.

Catrin says her parents are very proud of her and she has been working extra hard during training sessions in Tauranga and Auckland to perfect her routine.

Catrin has been doing aerobics for five years, and since 2013 has won several national aerobics competitions in individual and trio performances.

Before doing aerobics, she originally competed in gymnastics, but stopped because of an injury on the bars.

I broke my arm and had to stop for a bit, and I got into aerobics to strengthen my muscles, says Catrin.

If Catrin wins her division in the first round she will be asked to perform her routine again to determine the international winner.

The International Aerobics Championship has been running since 1983 and has individual, mixed pairs, trio and teams in junior, varsity and senior divisions.

The championship will see 21 countries compete against each other for the top spot in their divisions.

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Bay aerobics gymnast goes to Arizona - SunLive

AA ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS Alcoholics Anonymous can help if you think you might have a drinking problem. Call 888-607-2000 to talk to a member of A.A or aa-montana.org to find meeting times and locations. Some meetings are open to the public; some are closed for alcoholics only.

THE BADMINTON CLUB OF BOZEMAN meets from 9 to 11 a.m. every Monday and Thursday at the Hope Lutheran Church gymnasium, 2152 W. Graf for co-ed, casual, drop-in badminton. All equipment is provided; there is a $5 play fee. Contact Tom Carne at 624-6746 for more information.

BELGRADE SENIOR CENTER activities this week: Monday: movement in motion, 9 a.m. Tuesday: yoga, 9 a.m.; full body trim & tone, 10 a.m.; canasta, 12:30 p.m. Wednesday: food pantry bread; movement in motion, 9 a.m.; bingo, 12:45 p.m. Thursday: pinochle, 9 a.m.; blood pressure check, noon. Friday: yoga, 8 a.m.; movement in motion, 9 a.m.; 388-4711.

BIG SKY TOASTMASTERS meets every Tuesday at 6:45 a.m., Hope Lutheran Church, Bozeman. For more information visit bigsky.toastmastersclubs.org, or call (406) 579-0082.

BOZEMAN HOME-STYLE BRIDGE results for Tuesday, July 25. Three tables in play. Gene and Edie Renner won with 75 victory points. Bill and Sarah Bayless were second with 70 victory points.

BOZEMAN LIONS CLUB meets Tuesdays at 5:30 p.m. at Johnny Carinos. Guest are welcome, 406-579-2899 http;//e-clubhouse.org/sites/bozemanmt.

BOZEMAN MASTERS SWIMMING CLUB is a fitness swimming group for adults. For details; Bozemanmasters.org or Janelle at 808-554-6815 for practice times.

BOZEMAN NOON ROTARY meets at 11:45 on Tuesday at the Holiday Inn on Baxter. This weeks program will be presented by Joshua Meyer, MSU Education USA Academy Program Director and foreign student delegation. Fellow Rotarians and guests are welcome. Lunch is $10.

THE BOZEMAN ROTARACT CLUB meets on the 4th Wednesday of every month at 5:30 p.m. Locations and programs change monthly depending on the speaker or social event. Meeting locations and upcoming service opportunities are listed at http://www.bozemanrotaract.org.

BOZEMAN SENIOR CENTER activities this week: Secondhand Rose store open to the public daily, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday: foot clinic; strength training, 8:30 a.m.; gentle aerobics, 9 a.m.; woodcarving, 9:30 a.m.; core, 10 a.m.; aerobics plus, 10:30 a.m.; mind/balance Tai Chi, 11:30 a.m.; duplicate bridge, pinochle, balance, 1 p.m.; yoga, 1:35 p.m. Tuesday: foot clinic; hiking program, 8:30 a.m.; creative writing, 10 a.m.; line dancing, 10:30 a.m.; Yang Tai Chi, 11:30 a.m.; strength training, 12:30 p.m.; bingo, cribbage, 1 p.m.; sign language/singing souls, 1:30 p.m.; guitar lessons, 2:30 p.m. Wednesday: strength training, 8:30 a.m.; gentle aerobics, 9 a.m.; watercolor painting, 9:30 a.m.; core, ukulele club, 10 a.m.; aerobics plus, 10:30 a.m.; National Coloring Book Day, 11:30 a.m.; bridge, 12:45 p.m.; pinochle, balance, 1 p.m.; gentle yoga, 1:30 p.m. Thursday; walking program, 9 a.m.; scrabble, 9:30 a.m.; canasta, 10 a.m.; Yang Tai Chi, 11:30 a.m.; strength training, 12:30 p.m.; bingo, pinochle, 1 p.m. Friday: strength training, 8:30 a.m.; gentle aerobics, 9 a.m.; core, 10 a.m.; aerobics plus, 10:30 a.m.; mind and balance Tai Chi, 11:30 a.m.; bridge, 12:45 p.m.; Skin Care seminar with Dr. Tkach, Euchre, 1 p.m. Meals and Meals-on-Wheels, call for arrangements. (586-2421).

THE BOZEMAN TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY SUPPORT GROUP meets the 3rd Friday of the month, Bozeman Senior Center, 1:30 p.m.; Kathryn 388-2007 or Mary 539-7751.

BWAGs are on our summer schedule with all groups meeting at 8:30 a.m. Groups usually meet at the Museum of the Rockies by the horse, special outings may be at other times and/or places. Monday hiking, contact Jeanette-chall59715@hotmail.com; Tuesday hiking, contact Patti at 219-2315. Newcomers are always welcome. Visit our website http://www.bwags.org for more information.

CONNECTIONS free and anonymous HIV/Hep C testing and counseling. Rapid test results in 20 minutes. 6300 Jackrabbit #3, Belgrade, open M-F 9 a.m.-5 p.m., or call to meet privately; 813-8209 or 451-9995.

FOUR CORNERZ TOASTMASTERS CLUB meets Tuesdays, 12:05 p.m. at Zoot Enterprises Inc, 555 Zoot Enterprises Lane, Bozeman, MT 59718. At the meeting on Tuesday, July 25: Presiding Officer, Deborah Shields; Toastmaster, Steve Black; General Evaluator, Michelle Douma; Table Topics Master, N/A; Best Speaker, Susan Fisher; Best Evaluator, Joel Maroney; Best Table Topics Speaker, Charles Siebenga and Chrystina Katz. For information regarding our meetings, email club officers at 590590@toastmastersclub.org. http://fourcornerz.toastmastersclubs.org/

GALLATIN COUNTY COUNCIL ON AGING meets the 2nd Tuesday of the month, 1 p.m.-2:30 p.m., Frontier Home Health (conference room), 3810 Valley Commons Dr. #1. For more information call Joanne 223-0097.

THE GALLATIN VALLEY NEWCOMERS CLUB (GVNC) is a social and fund-raising organization that welcomes everyone whether they are new to the area or not. The August Luncheon is on Tuesday (not the usual first Thursday), Aug. 8 at 11 a.m. on the patio at Riverside Country Club in Bozeman and will be a social event, no program. Wear your hats! Reservations must be made by Friday, Aug. 4 on the GVNC website at http://www.gvncmt.org or by calling Debbie at 321-277-2178.

GALLATIN VALLEY TOASTMASTERS meets from 12:10-1:10 p.m. each Thursday at Owenhouse Ace Hardware, downstairs conference room, 8695 Huffine Lane, Bozeman. On July 20, 2017, Orlinda Worthington was Toastmaster and Steven Harris-Wheel was General Evaluator. Dillon Ecord won for Best Speaker and Trent Jackson won for Best Evaluator. Jamie Balke won for Best Table Topics speaker. Guests are always welcome. Follow us on Facebook.com/toastmasters4880 or contact us at http://www.4880.toastmastersclubs.org or (406) 570-5510.

LIBERTY TOASTMASTERS, 212 Discovery Dr. Suite 1, Bozeman, 6-7:30 p.m., free.Liberty Toastmasters, the only evening Toastmasters International club in Gallatin County, invites you to join us to sharpen your speaking and leadership skills. We meet the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays from 67:30 p.m. Join us for fun, fellowship and free speech.

MOMS CLUB OF BOZEMAN/BELGRADE: Weekly play groups include Fireflies at 10 a.m. on Mondays, Tater Tots at 10 a.m. on Tuesdays, Junior Jumpers at 9 a.m. on Wednesdays, Wobblers at 10 a.m. on Thursdays; Babies Playgroup at 9:30 a.m. and Little Explorers at 11 a.m. on Fridays. Visit http://www.bozemanmomsclub.com or call 219-1299 for more information or to sign up.

PATHWAY TO FREEDOM ALCOHOLIC ANONYMOUS meets on Monday (11th Step), Tuesday (12+12 book study) and Thursday (open meeting), 5:30 p.m., Church of Christ, 909 Nevada St., Belgrade, 406-600-0417. Open to the public.

RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association Resolve Bozeman, a volunteer peer-led support group, meets the first Monday of every month, in downtown Bozeman, from 6-7 p.m. For more information and location, email resolvebozeman@hotmail.com or call 406.209.2570.

SINGING SOULS SENIOR CHORUS meets every Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. at Bozeman Senior Center. A group of seniors that enjoy the friendship and community that comes from singing together; accompanied on guitar by Kate Bryan. Words provided. No memorization. Welcome new Members $5/week (if Able).

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Clubs, Sunday, July 30, 2017 - The Bozeman Daily Chronicle

A personal tour guide takes members of the 692nd Intelligence Surveillance Recognizance Group through the Iolani Palace during a tour for the Spiritual Enlightenment Series event.

Tech. Sgt. Heather Redman

15th Wing Public Affairs

How many opportunities have you had to learn about various faith practices, as well as their historical and cultural impacts within your community?

This was a question that Chaplain (Capt.) Ryan Ayers, 692nd Intelligence Surveillance Recognizance Group (ISRG), had as he moved into a venture to provide Airmen with knowledge on the spiritual impacts on cultures throughout history.

Wanting to incorporate cultural impacts into his ministry, Ayers put together a plan to facilitate groups of Airman on educational off-sites.

The Spiritual Enlightenment Series not only helps our Airmen learn about various faith groups, they also help facilitate an understanding of how religion influences cultural and policy throughout the world, Ayers said.

During the event, Ayers serves as the subject matter expert on spiritual education while supplemented by a historical site advisor or tour guide. Providing multiple subject matter experts allows Airman to receive the maximum benefit from the sites.

America is one of the few countries that is not heavily governed by spiritual leaders or advisors, Ayers said.

Bishop Fukuhara speaks to the Airmen of the 692nd Intelligence Surveillance Recognizance Group about the Buddhist faith and his personal experiences and spiritual journey in Phoenix Hall of the Byodo-in Temple. Courtesy photos by Staff Sgt. Bradley Whitehouse

This provides our Airmen to understand why faith plays an important role in decision making around the world, and how we can use spirituality to understand some of the political decisions world leaders make.

The Spiritual Enlightenment Series has proven to be very popular, with people of all faiths utilizing this opportunity to learn and understand others and their cultural beliefs.

These trips are awesome, I learn so much about different faiths and it helps me do my job better, one participant said.

Utilizing his expertise in world religion, Ayers reaches out beyond the tenants of his own faith to offer these events from multiple perspectives.

In February 2017, 30 Airman had the opportunity to visit the Valley of the Temples, on Oahu and gain knowledge of Buddhism.

In May, 30 Airman visited the Iolani Palace and learned of Christianitys impact in Hawaii and around the world. This was followed by a full tour of the palace where Airman received an up-close and personal experience of the rise and fall of the Hawaiian monarchy from a palace guide.

The next chapter of the Spiritual Enlightenment Series is scheduled for September and will include a visit to Polynesian Temple Ruins on the North Shore of Oahu. Airmen will receive an in-depth look at the effects polytheism has on culture while receiving a tour of the temple ruins.

Events like this will continue to become the norm for the 692 ISRG as part of the Faith Works program the U.S. Air Force Chaplain Corps rolled out in 2017. Events like this and other Chaplain lead programs will be able to build upon the ISRG Airmans knowledge and social engagements for the future.

Originally posted here:
692 ISRG participates in off-site spiritual enlightenment series - Hookelenews