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Vegan /Erik's blog - Vegan.com - Making Vegan Easy

Interbeing: If you are a poet, you will see clearly that there is a cloud floating in this sheet of paper. Without a cloud, there will be no rain; without rain, the trees cannot grow; and without trees, we cannot make paper. The cloud is essential for the paper to exist. If the cloud is not here, the sheet of paper cannot be here either. So we can say that the cloud and the paper inter-are. Interbeing is a word that is not in the dictionary yet, but if we combine the prefix inter- with the verb to be, we have a new verb, inter-be. Without a cloud and the sheet of paper inter-are.

If we look into this sheet of paper even more deeply, we can see the sunshine in it. If the sunshine is not there, the forest cannot grow. In fact, nothing can grow. Even we cannot grow without sunshine. And so, we know that the sunshine is also in this sheet of paper. The paper and the sunshine inter-are. And if we continue to look, we can see the logger who cut the tree and brought it to the mill to be transformed into paper. And we see the wheat. We know the logger cannot exist without his daily bread, and therefore the wheat that became his bread is also in this sheet of paper. And the loggers father and mother are in it too. When we look in this way, we see that without all of these things, this sheet of paper cannot exist.

Looking even more deeply, we can see we are in it too. This is not difficult to see, because when we look at a sheet of paper, the sheet of paper is part of our perception. Your mind is in here and mine is also. So we can say that everything is in here with this sheet of paper. You cannot point out one thing that is not here-time, space, the earth, the rain, the minerals in the soil, the sunshine, the cloud, the river, the heat. Everything co-exists with this sheet of paper. That is why I think the word inter-be should be in the dictionary. To be is to inter-be. You cannot just be by yourself alone. You have to inter-be with every other thing. This sheet of paper is, because everything else is.

Suppose we try to return one of the elements to its source. Suppose we return the sunshine to the sun. Do you think that this sheet of paper will be possible? No, without sunshine nothing can be. And if we return the logger to his mother, then we have no sheet of paper either. The fact is that this sheet of paper is made up only of non-paper elements. And if we return these non-paper elements to their sources, then there can be no paper at all. Without non-paper elements, like mind, logger, sunshine and so on, there will be no paper. As thin as this sheet of paper is, it contains everything in the universe in it. Thch Nht Hnh

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Quotes About Zen Buddhism (31 quotes) - Goodreads

Zen (), Japanese for "meditation," is a form of Mahyna Buddhism that stresses the practice of meditation as the key to enlightenment. It is characterized by mental discipline, calmness, austerities and effort. It can also be associated with koans, the Japanese tea ceremony and Zen gardens, depending on the sect involved.

According to tradition, Zen originated in India as a non-verbal doctrine communicated directly by the Buddha to his followers. It was later taken to China by the monk Bodhidharma, where it was subsequently transmitted to other parts of Asia including Japan, China (Ch'an in Chinese), Vietnam (Thien) and Korea (Seon).

Though the Zen tradition has spawned numerous lineages, they all share two elements: a metaphysical system postulating that reality is essentially void and empty (sunyata) and the aforementioned stress on the practice of meditation.

Today, Zen is becoming increasingly popular in the West, where it is the most widely practiced sect of Buddhism among non-Asians. The popularity of Zen outside of Asia can perhaps be explained by the universality of its tenet that humbly emptying oneself leads one to go beyond oneself to be aware that all are interconnected, by its rejection of intellectualism that is refreshing in Western culture which makes high demands on the intellect at every moment, and by its simple and natural aesthetic.

According to legend, the beginnings of Zen can be traced back to the life of Siddhartha Gautama, the historical Buddha. One day, the Buddha was asked to summarize his highest teachings in a simple and precise way. The Buddha replied to this request oddly by saying nothing and staying quiet. Simultaneously, he raised a flower in his hand and smiled at his disciples. It is said that one of his disciples, Mahakashapa, understood the Buddha's silence as a non-verbal (or mind-to-mind) transmission of advanced teachings only available to a select few. The sermon, often known as the "Flower Sermon," was the initial impetus and inspiration for the subsequent growth of Zen.

The establishment of the Chan school of Buddhism is traditionally attributed to Bodhidharma, who, according to legend, arrived in China sometime between 460 and 527 B.C.E.[1] Bodhidharma is recorded as having come to China to teach a "special transmission outside scriptures" which "did not rely upon words," which was then transmitted through a series of Chinese patriarchs, the most famous of whom was the Sixth Patriarch, Huineng. The sixth patriarch's importance is attested to in his (likely hagiographical) biography, which states that his virtue and wisdom were so great that Hongren (the fifth patriarch) chose him (a layman) over many senior monks as the next leader of the movement. This appointment led to seething jealousy and bitter recriminations among Hongren's students, which presaged a division between Huineng's followers and those of Hongren's senior pupil (Shenxiu). This rift persisted until the middle of the eighth century, with monks of Huineng's intellectual lineage, who called themselves the Southern school, opposing those followed Hongren's student Shenxiu (). The Southern school eventually became predominant, which led to the eventual disintegration of competing lineages.

It should be noted that, despite the attribution of the tradition to an Indian monk, most scholars acknowledge that Chan was, in fact, an indigenous Chinese development that fused Daoist sensibilities with Buddhist metaphysics. As Wright argues:

the distrust of words, the rich store of concrete metaphor and analogy, the love of paradox, the bibliophobia, the belief in the direct, person-to-person, and often world-less communication of insight, the feeling that life led in close communion with nature is conducive to enlightenmentall these are colored with Taoism. (Wright, 78; see also Ch'en, 213)

Further, since the tradition only entered the realm of fully documented history with the debates between the Southern school and the followers of Shenxiu, many Western scholars suggest that the early Zen patriarchs are better understood as legendary figures.

Regardless of these historical-critical issues, the centuries following the ascendance of the Southern school was marked by the Chan Schools growth into one of the largest sects of Chinese Buddhism. The teachers claiming Huineng's posterity began to branch off into numerous different schools, each with their own special emphases, but who all kept the same basic focus on meditational practice, individual instruction and personal experience. During the late Tang and the Song periods, the tradition truly flowered, as a wide number of eminent monks developed specialized teachings and methods, which, in turn, crystallized into the five houses () of mature Chinese Zen: Caodong (), Linji (), Guiyang (), Fayan (), and Yunmen (). In addition to these doctrinal and pedagogical developments, the Tang period also saw a fruitful interaction between Chan (with its minimalistic and naturalistic tendencies) and Chinese art, calligraphy and poetry.

Over the course of Song Dynasty (960-1279), the Guiyang, Fayan, and Yunmen schools were gradually absorbed into the Linji. During the same period, Zen teaching began to incorporate an innovative and unique technique for reaching enlightenment: gong-an (Japanese: koan) practice (described below).[2] While koan practice was a prevalent form of instruction in the Linji school, it was also employed on a more limited basis by the Caodong school. The singular teachings of these Song-era masters came to be documented in various texts, including the Blue Cliff Record (1125) and The Gateless Gate (1228). Many of these texts are still studied today.

Chan continued to be an influential religious force in China, although some energy was lost to the syncretistic Neo-Confucian revival of Confucianism, which began in the Song period (960-1279). While traditionally distinct, Ch'an was taught alongside Pure Land Buddhism in many Chinese Buddhist monasteries. In time, much of this distinction was lost, and many masters taught both Chan and Pure Land. In the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Chan Buddhism enjoyed something of a revival under luminaries such as Hanshan Deqing (), who wrote and taught extensively on both Chan and Pure Land Buddhism; Miyun Yuanwu (), who came to be seen posthumously as the first patriarch of the Obaku Zen school; as well as Yunqi Zhuhong () and Ouyi Zhixu ().

After further centuries of decline, Chan was revived again in the early twentieth century by Hsu Yun, who stands out as the defining figure of twentieth-century Chinese Buddhism. Many well known Ch'an teachers today trace their lineage back to Hsu Yun, including Sheng-yen and Hsuan Hua, who have propagated Ch'an in the West where it has grown steadily through the twentieth and twenty-first century.

Chan was severely repressed in China with the appearance of the People's Republic, but has recently been reasserting itself on the mainland, and has a significant following in Taiwan and Hong Kong and among Chinese living abroad.[3]

Zen became an international phenomenon early in its history. After being brought to China, the Ch'an doctrines spread to Vietnam, whose traditions posit that in 580, an Indian monk named Vinitaruci (Vietnamese: T-ni-a-lu-chi) arrived in their country after completing his studies with Sengcan, the third patriarch of Chinese Zen. The school founded by Vinitaruci and his lone Vietnamese disciple is the oldest known branch of Vietnamese Zen (Thien (thin) Buddhism).

By the tenth century (and after a period of obscurity), the Vinitaruci School became one of the most influential Buddhist groups in Vietnam, particularly so under the patriarch Vn-Hnh (died 1018). Other early Vietnamese Zen schools included the Vo Ngon Thong (V Ngn Thng), which was associated with the teaching of Mazu (a famed Chinese master), and the Thao Duong (Tho ng), which incorporated nianfo chanting techniques; both were founded by itinerant Chinese monks. These three schools of early Thien Buddhism were profoundly disrupted by the Mongol invasions of the thirteenth century, and the tradition remained nearly dormant until the founding of a new school by one of Vietnam's religious kings. This was the Truc Lam (Trc Lm) school, which evinced a deep influence from Confucian and Daoist philosophy. Nevertheless, Truc Lam's prestige waned over the following centuries as Confucianism became dominant in the royal court. In the seventeenth century, a group of Chinese monks led by Nguyen Thieu (Nguyn Thiu) established a vigorous new school, the Lam Te (Lm T), which is the Vietnamese pronunciation of Linji. A more domesticated offshoot of Lam Te, the Lieu Quan (Liu Qun) school, was founded in the eighteenth century and has since been the predominant branch of Vietnamese Zen.

Chinas Chan Buddhism began to appear in Korea in the ninth century, with the first Korean practitioners traveling to China to study under the venerable Mazu (709-788). These pioneers had started a trend: over the next century, numerous Korean pupils studied under Mazu's successors, and some of them returned to Korea and established the Nine Mountain Schools. This was the beginning of Korean Zen (Seon). Among the most notable Seon masters were Jinul (1158-1210), who established a reform movement and introduced koan practice to Korea, and Taego Bou (1301-1382), who studied the Linji tradition in China and returned to unite the Nine Mountain Schools. In modern Korea, the largest Buddhist denomination is the Jogye Order, a Zen sect named after Huineng (the famed sixth Zen patriarch).

Although the Japanese had known of China's Chan Buddhism for centuries, it was not introduced as a separate school until the twelfth century, when Myan Eisai traveled to China and returned to establish a Linji lineage, which is known in Japan as Rinzai. Decades later, Nanpo Jomyo () also studied Linji teachings in China before founding the Japanese Otokan lineage, the most influential branch of Rinzai. In 1215, Dogen, a younger contemporary of Eisai's, journeyed to China himself, where he became a disciple of the Caodong master Tiantong Rujing. After his return, Dogen established the Soto school, the Japanese branch of Caodong. Over time, Rinzai came to be divided into several sub-schools, including Myoshin-ji, Nanzen-ji, Tenry-ji, Daitoku-ji, and Tofuku-ji.

These sects represented the entirety of Zen in Japan until Ingen, a Chinese monk, founded the Obaku School in the seventeenth century. Ingen had been a member of the Linji School, the Chinese equivalent of Rinzai, which had developed separately from the Japanese branch for hundreds of years. Thus, when Ingen journeyed to Japan following the fall of the Ming Dynasty, his teachings were seen as representing a distinct and separate school. The Obaku School was named for Mount Obaku (Chinese: Huangboshan), which had been Ingen's home in China.

The three schools introduced above (Soto (), Rinzai (), and Obaku ()) have all survived to the present day and are still active in the Japanese religious community. Of them, Soto is the largest and Obaku the smallest.

Zen, in contrast to many other religions, as a means to deepen the practice could be seen as fiercely anti-philosophical, anti-prescriptive and anti-theoretical. Nonetheless, Zen is deeply rooted in both the teachings of the Buddha Siddhrtha Gautama and Mahyna Buddhist thought and philosophy.

One of the core Soto Zen practices is zazen, or seated meditation, and it recalls both the posture in which the Buddha is said to have achieved enlightenment under the Bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya, and the elements of mindfulness and concentration which are part of the Eightfold Path as taught by the Buddha. All of the Buddha's fundamental teachingsamong them the Eightfold Path, the Four Noble Truths, the idea of dependent origination, the "emptiness" (sunyata) of all phenomena, the five precepts, the five aggregates, and the three marks of existencealso make up important elements of the perspective that Zen takes for its practice.

Additionally, as a development of Mahyna Buddhism, Zen draws many of its basic driving concepts, particularly the bodhisattva ideal, from that school. Uniquely Mahyna figures such as Gun Yn, Majur, Samantabhadra, and Amitbha are venerated alongside the historical Buddha. Despite Zen's emphasis on transmission outside scriptures, it has drawn heavily on the Mahyna stras, particularly the Heart of Perfect Wisdom Stra, the Diamond Sutra, the Lankavatara Stra, and the "Samantamukha Parivarta" section of the Lotus Stra.

Zen has also itself paradoxically produced a rich corpus of written literature which has become a part of its practice and teaching. Among the earliest and most widely studied of the specifically Zen texts, dating back to at least the ninth century C.E., is the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch, sometimes attributed to Huineng. Others include the various collections of kans and the Shbgenz of Dgen Zenji.

Zen training emphasizes daily life practice, along with intensive periods of meditation. Practicing with others is an integral part of Zen practice. In explaining Zen Buddhism, Japanese Zen teachers have made the point that Zen is a "way of life" and not solely a state of consciousness. D. T. Suzuki wrote that aspects of this life are: a life of humility; a life of labor; a life of service; a life of prayer and gratitude; and a life of meditation.[4] The Chinese Ch'an master Baizhang Huaihai (720-814 C.E.) left behind a famous saying which had been the guiding principle of his life, "A day without work is a day without food."[5]

D. T. Suzuki asserted that satori (awakening) has always been the goal of every school of Buddhism, but that which distinguished the Zen tradition as it developed in China, Korea, and Japan was a way of life radically different from that of Indian Buddhists. In India, the tradition of the mendicant (bhikkhu) prevailed, but in China social circumstances led to the development of a temple and training-center system in which the abbot and the monks all performed mundane tasks. These included food gardening or farming, carpentry, architecture, housekeeping, administration, and the practice of folk medicine. Consequently, the enlightenment sought in Zen had to stand up well to the demands and potential frustrations of everyday life.

Because the Zen tradition emphasizes direct communication over scriptural study, direct person-to-person pedagogical interaction has always been of ultimate importance. Those who conduct this instruction are, generally speaking, people ordained in any tradition of Zen and authorized to perform rituals, teach the Dharma, and guide students in meditation.[6]

An important (and related) concept for all Zen sects in East Asia is the notion of Dharma transmission, the claim of a line of authority that goes back to the Buddha via the teachings of each successive master to each successive student. This concept relates to Bodhidharma's original depiction of Zen:

As a result of this, claims of Dharma transmission have been one of the normative aspects of all Zen sects. John McRaes study Seeing Through Zen (2004) explores these lineage claims as a distinctive and central aspect of Zen Buddhism, and notes that they require a culturally-conservative, interpersonally-pedagogical teaching schema to be coherent. Intriguingly, this transmission history is seen as so important that it is common for daily chanting in Zen temples and monasteries to include the lineage of the school, in whole or in part, including a recitation of the names of all Dharma ancestors and teachers that have transmitted their particular Zen teaching.

In Japan during the Tokugawa period (1600-1868), some came to question the lineage system and its legitimacy. The Zen master Dokuan Genko (1630-1698), for example, openly questioned the necessity of written acknowledgment from a teacher, which he dismissed as "paper Zen." The only genuine transmission, he insisted, was the individual's independent experience of Zen enlightenment, an intuitive experience that needs no external confirmation. Occasional teachers in Japan during this period did not adhere to the lineage system; these were termed mushi dokugo (, "independently enlightened without a teacher") or jigo jisho (, "self-enlightened and self-certified"). They were generally dismissed by established schools and, perhaps by necessity, left no independent transmission. Nevertheless, modern Zen Buddhists have continued to entertain questions about the dynamics of the lineage system, inspired in part by academic research into the history of Zen.

The core of Zen practice, sitting meditation, is called zazen (). During zazen, practitioners usually assume a sitting position such as the lotus, half-lotus, Burmese, or seiza postures. Awareness is directed towards one's posture and breathing. Some small sectarian variations exist in certain practical matters: for example, in Rinzai Zen, practitioners typically sit facing the center of the room, while Soto practitioners traditionally sit facing a wall. Further, Soto Zen practice centers around shikantaza meditation ("just-sitting"), which is meditation with no objects, anchors, or content.[8] Conversely, Rinzai Zen emphasizes attention to the breath and koan practice.

The amount of time each practitioner spends in zazen varies. The generally acknowledged key, however, is daily regularity, as Zen teaches that the ego will naturally resist (especially during the initial stages of practice). Practicing Zen monks may perform four to six periods of zazen during a normal day, with each period lasting 30 to 40 minutes. Normally, a monastery will hold a monthly retreat period (sesshin), lasting between one and seven days. During this time, zazen is practiced more intensively: monks may spend four to eight hours in meditation each day, sometimes supplemented by further rounds of zazen late at night. Even householders are urged to spend at least five minutes per day in conscious and uninterrupted meditation.

For some Zen Buddhists, meditation practice centers around the use of koans: paradoxical sayings thought to provide keys to breaking down egoistic, dualistic thought. These koans (literally "public cases") may take the form of riddles or stories, which are generally related to Zen or other Buddhist history, with the most typical examples involving early Chinese Zen masters. Koan practice is particularly emphasized by the Chinese Linji and Japanese Rinzai schools, but it also occurs in other forms of Zen.

A koan is thought to embody a realized principle or law of reality, though they often appear to be paradoxical or linguistically meaningless sayings or questions. The 'answer' to the koan involves a transformation of perspective or consciousness, which may be either radical or subtle. In this way, they are tools that allow students to approach enlightenment by essentially 'short-circuiting' their learned, logical worldviews, forcing them to change their perspectives to accommodate these "paradoxical" utterances.

In addition to the private, meditational component of koan practice, it also involves active instruction, where the Zen student presents their solution to a given koan to the teacher in a private interview. There is a sharp distinction between right and wrong ways of answering a koanalthough there may be many "right answers," practitioners are expected to demonstrate their understanding of the koan and of Zen through their answers. The teacher analyzes the pupil's response, and, if satisfactory, present them with a new problem, meant to further deepen their insights. In assigning these koans, Zen teachers advise that they are to be taken quite seriously and are to be approached as a matter of life and death.

While there is no single correct answer for any given koan, there are compilations of accepted answers to koans that serve as references for teachers. These collections are of great value to modern scholarship on the subject.

The fortunes of the Zen tradition in twentieth-century Japan have experienced some tumultuous vicissitudes. On one hand, the tradition has gained in intellectual rigor and international esteem (through the efforts of D. T. Suzuki and the Kyoto School). On the other, it has been critiqued for its involvement in "empty ritualism" and expansionistic Japanese militarism. It is essential to acknowledge both streams to get a clear picture of its modern fate.

One of the major influences behind the large-scale Western fascination with Zen (described below) was the availability of erudite and accessible scholarship relating to the tradition, in the form of translations, introductory books and scholarly essays. A large proportion of this scholarship can be credited to one man: D. T. Suzuki. A convert to Buddhism early in life, Suzuki's piercing intellect (and facility with languages) made him a logical candidate to translate various Zen Buddhist texts into English (and other European tongues), often making them available to a Western audience for the first time.

Later in life, D. T. Suzuki became a professor of Buddhist studies, producing accessible introductions to the tradition that were well received (both critically and popularly) in Japan and the West. A related group, known for their intellectual approach to Zen, is the Kyoto school: a loosely organized conclave of philosophers headquartered at Kyoto University. While the philosophers of the "school" shared certain commonalities (namely, an inherited Buddhist metaphysic centering on the concept of Nothingness (sunyata) and a respect for German philosophy), they were not bound by a ruling ideology or paradigm. Instead, they felt free to provide new interpretations of Japanese philosophy and Buddhism derived from these shared resources. Their various theories and perspectives continue to inform East/West philosophical and religious dialogue to this day, especially in academe.

Though Zen continues to thrive in contemporary Japan, it has not been without its critics. Some contemporary Japanese Zen teachers, such as Daiun Harada and Shunryu Suzuki, have attacked Japanese Zen as being a formalized system of empty rituals in which very few Zen practitioners ever actually attain realization (satori). They assert that almost all Japanese temples have become family businesses handed down from father to son, and that the Zen priest's function has largely been reduced to officiating at funerals.

Further, the Japanese Zen establishmentincluding the Soto sect, the major branches of Rinzai, and several renowned teachershas been criticized for its involvement in Japanese militarism and nationalism during the years surrounding the Second World War, a phenomenon notably described in Zen at War (1998) by Brian Victoria, an American-born Soto priest.

Intriguingly, these critiques have made Japanese Zen more open and inclusive than ever before, allowing non-sectarian Buddhists, non-Buddhists and even Christians to involve themselves in Zen praxis. This spirit of inclusiveness and inter-religious dialogue was likely one of the motivating factors behind the large-scale importation of Zen into North America.

The visit of Soyen Shaku, a Japanese Zen monk, to Chicago during the World Parliament of Religions in 1893 raised the profile of Zen in the Western world. However, it was not until the late 1950s and the early 1960s that a significant number of Westerners (other than the descendants of Asian immigrants) began seriously pursuing Zen teachings.

The American occupation of Japan following the Second World War led to greater exposure of U.S. servicemen and women to Japanese culture and the ideas of Zen. These military personnel returned to America with a new awareness and respect for Zen, which some incorporated in their daily lives. Thus, Zen ideas began to percolate into U.S. consciousness and popular culture.

Zen started to show up in the poetry and writing of the "Beat Zen" movment. In particular, The Dharma Bums, a novel written by Jack Kerouac and published in 1959, detailed the fascination of bohemian American youths with Buddhism and Zen.

In addition to these authors, some Roman Catholic scholars began to take and interest in Zen in the spirit of interreligious dialogue. In particular, Thomas Merton (1915-1968), a Trappist monk and priest [9] was a central figure in the development of dialogue between Christian and Buddhist monastics. This spirit is exemplified in his dialogue with D. T. Suzuki, which explores the many congruencies between Christian mysticism and Zen.[10]

Growing Western interest in Zen was not limited to America. The European expressionist and Dada movements in art discovered that they had much in common with the study of Zen. This connection is demonstrated by the early French surrealist Ren Daumal, who translated D. T. Suzuki as well as Sanskrit Buddhist texts.

The British-American philosopher Alan Watts took a close interest in Zen Buddhism, writing and lecturing extensively on it during the 1950s. He understood it as a vehicle for a mystical transformation of consciousness, and also as a historical example of a non-Western, non-Christian way of life that had fostered both the practical and fine arts.

Over the last 50 years, mainstream forms of Zen, led by teachers who trained in East Asia and by their successors, have begun to take root in the West. In North America, the most prevalent are Zen lineages derived from the Japanese Soto School. Among these are the lineage of the San Francisco Zen Center, established by Shunryu Suzuki; the White Plum Asanga, founded by Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi; Big Mind, founded by Dennis Genpo Merzel; the Ordinary Mind school, founded by Joko Beck, one of Maezumi's heirs; the International Zen Association, founded by Taisen Deshimaru (a student of Kodo Sawaki); and the Katagiri lineage, founded by Dainin Katagiri, which has a significant presence in the Midwestern United States. Note that both Taizan Maezumi and Dainin Katagiri served as priests at Zenshuji Soto Mission in the 1960s.

There are also a number of Rinzai Zen centers in the West, such as the Rinzaiji lineage of Kyozan Joshu Sasaki and the Dai Bosatsu lineage established by Eido Shimano.

Another group that has significantly influenced the development of Zen Buddhism in the West is Sanbo Kyodan, a Japan-based reformist Zen group founded in 1954 by Yasutani Hakuun. Their approach is primarily based on the Soto tradition, but also incorporates Rinzai-style koan practice. One of the reasons for this sect's influence is that it was explored in Philip Kapleau's popular book The Three Pillars of Zen (1965), which was one of the first sources to introduce Western audiences to the actual practice of Zen (rather than its philosophy).

It should be noted that not all the successful Zen teachers in the West have emerged from Japanese traditions. There have also been teachers of Chan, Seon, and Thien Buddhism.

For example, a famous Chinese Buddhist priest was Hsuan Hua, who taught Westerners about Chinese Pure Land, Tiantai, Vinaya, and Vinayana Buddhism in San Francisco during the early 1960s. He went on to found the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, a monastery and retreat center located on a 237-acre (959,000 square meters) property near Ukiah, California.

Another Chinese Zen teacher with a Western following is Sheng-yen, a master trained in both the Caodong and Linji schools (equivalent to the Japanese Soto and Rinzai, respectively). He first visited the United States in 1978 under the sponsorship of the Buddhist Association of the United States, and, in 1980, founded the Chan Mediation Society in Queens, New York.

The most prominent Korean Zen teacher in the West was Seung Sahn. Seung Sahn founded the Providence Zen Center in Providence, Rhode Island, which was to become the headquarters of the Kwan Um School of Zen, a large international network of affiliated Zen centers.

Two notable Vietnamese Zen teachers have been influential in Western countries: Thich Thien-An and Thich Nhat Hanh. Thich Thien-An came to America in 1966 as a visiting professor at the University of California-Los Angeles and taught traditional Thien meditation. Thich Nhat Hanh was a monk in Vietnam during the Vietnam War, during which time he was a peace activist. In response to these activities, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1967 by Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1966 he left Vietnam in exile and now resides at Plum Village, a monastery in France. He has written more than one hundred books about Buddhism, making him one of the most prominent Buddhist authors among the general readership in the West. In his books and talks, Thich Nhat Hanh emphasizes mindfulness (sati) as the most important practice in daily life.

Although Zen has particularistic elements in its affirmation of Buddhist orthodoxy,[11] nevertheless the fact that it has been welcomed to the Western world is an indication of its universal appeal. Zen meditation has practical value, promoting centeredness and poise in one's daily activities. By emptying oneself in meditation, one can be free from selfish attachment and clinging, and able to face people and events with calmness and wisdom.

The Zen state of emptiness is not alien to Christianity in the West, which has long taught the importance of humility in front of divine grace. The New Testament teaches the way of kenosis (self-emptying) as was shown by Christ (Philippians 2:7). Unlike Zen in the East, however, the West has long been inclined to affirm the priority of the independent identity of each being, thus also making a sharp distinction between God and the world.

The Western emphasis on the self is now seen by many as destructive. Particularly with the rise of ecological thinking, it is becoming evident that human self-aggrandizement, expressed through excessive consumption, is damaging the environment. The ecological standpoint, which views the whole earth as a living organism (Gaia), a community of relationships that flourishes through mutual interaction. This new awareness is largely in agreement with the spirit of Zen. Zen practice, which cultivates a strong sense of interconnectedness of reality and the "emptiness" (sunyata) of self, can thus be of great benefit in aligning humanity with needs of the planet.

Among scientists who study quantum physics, with its theories of the duality of particle and wave and its Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle declaring the indeterminacy of existence, Richard Feynman has remarked that the mind of Zen provides a good doorway into the comprehension of these theories.

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Zen - New World Encyclopedia

(The SZBA board, except for Koun Franz, pictured in inset, who met via Zoom. From left to right, James Ford, Mary Mocine, Daishin McCabe, Taihau Priest, Ryushin Hart, Alan Senauke, Domyo Burke, and Tenku Ruff)

Throughout the year the Board for the Soto Zen Buddhist Association gathers by video conference. Once a year there is a face to face meeting. On alternative years it takes place in conjunction with the bi-annual meeting of the Association at one of the large Soto Zen communities in North America.

The SZBA was created in response to a suggestion from seniors in the Japanese Sotoshu who would rather deal with a daughter institution than with various individuals presenting themselves. So, far that hasnt happened. At this point I would say weve on the cusp moving from a collegial association to a professional association, and with at least some of us looking forward to a denomination. While far from a done deal what is happening is very exciting. And Im honored to have been asked to serve at this crucial period in the development of the organization.

This is one of those non larger gathering years, so we met at the Zen Center of Los Angeles. Today we finish up as much work as we can before the meeting ends at noon. Me, Ill then be taking off directly for a retreat with local Unitarian Universalist clergy.

Too many meetings I attend have the quality of that old saying That was two hours that could have been handled by an email. But thanks to our board president Taihaku Priest I cant say that for our meetings. Clear agenda. And we drive through. Best we can, of course, reality does have that habit of presenting itself. But, this meeting I believe weve broken through a major impasse in our developing standards for membership. Something critical for the largest gathering of Soto lineage ordained Zen priests in our corner of the world. Of course the hundred and fifty or so members will have their say about this. But, I am hopeful.

Taihaku cycles off the board this year, and in a couple of hours we will be saying our thanks to her and welcoming Alan Senauke who moves from member to board president.

I look forward to the next steps as we do our best to serve the healing of the ancient wound through the blessings of Buddhism, of Zen and particularly of Soto Zen Buddhism here on Turtle Island, and environs

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Healing the Ancient Wound: The Soto Zen Buddhist Association ...

Zen Buddhism is becoming very popular in the US due to it very direct, upfront and empirical approach to understanding Buddhism and how it can benefit us. Zen attracts many different people, from all walks of life, because of its non-dogmatic, yet simple way it teaches the dharma through meditation and discussion. Fairfax lacks and formal Zen Center or Zendo, and I see that there is more than enough interest to found a small, friendly and informal Zen meditation and discussion group. The group will focus on the basic teachings of a few styles of Zen Buddhism, and discuss in an open and laid back setting Zen meditation and dharma discussions. We will explore some of the traditional practices such as the tea ceremony, Zazen(seated meditation) and koans. This group is perfect for beginners to Buddhism who wish to learn more, or even those who are just curious what Zen Buddhism is. Also, experienced Zen practitioners, who would like to practice in a group setting and who may want to share their wealth of experience and knowledge are greatly welcome.

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Janie - Fairfax Zen Buddhist Meetup Group (Fairfax, VA) - Meetup

Of all the eastern religions, Zen Buddhism has built itself a solid foundation in the west. If you are interested in learning more about Zen, Meditation, and the practice of Mindfulness, LearnOutLoud.com has collected as many Audio Books as possible to help you on your way. Additionally, we feature several Zen Teachers like D.T. Suzuki, Alan Watts, and Thich Nhat Hanh.

So how do we define Zen in a few sentences? Put briefly, Zen strives to overcome the logical mind in order to link the body, mind, and soul with its source. To rid students of any attachment to dogma, they are told to forget the Buddha exists, disregard terms like Enlightenment, and tear up Zen scripture. In comparison with other religions, Zen offers no sacred book or scripture that is comparable to the Bible, Torah, or Qur'an. Without attachment to one book, one person or one particular rule, the mind is thus free to be filled with the nothing that contains all truth.

Outside of a holy text to use as a guideline, Zen's primary spiritual vehicle is the strict practice of daily meditation. Similar to prayer, meditation is a practice Zen places utmost importance on, especially when compared to other schools of Buddhism. Meditation tunes the mind to the wavelength of creation and by doing so tries to become one with it. The ideal state of enlightenment is nothing if not the shedding of all earthly concerns; you must not be scared of losing your possessions, your loved ones, or even your life.

So why then has the west embraced Zen thought to the extent that it now can be called a viable religious alternative? The answer depends on your point of view, but it may be that Zen is of one the best antidotes to the chatter and noise of the modern world. In any event, there can be no mistaking that Zen has found it's place in the pantheon of major religions and is now a way of life for millions of people regardless of ethnic or religious background.

We Suggest: If you need a place to start with audio books on Zen, It would be good to begin with some primer courses to get you better acquainted with the religion's precepts and how it differs from other strains of Buddhism. D.T. Suzuki's work has stood the test of time as the most accessible way to first get a handle on Zen. The audio book version of "What is Zen" is simple enough for anyone to understand, but poetic enough for even the most practiced Zen student. Here Suzuki talks about how Zen came about, how it is related to Japanese culture in particular and how you can benefit from its practice in your own life.

In a similar vein, we next suggest "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind" by Shunryu Suzuki, a classic in Zen Literature. This audio book offers more details on the ancient beliefs involved with Buddhism and while it is very concise, it never gives up the subtlety that gives Zen its power either. You, the listener will begin to see how you too can practice Zen daily, regardless of your walk of life.

Next we would suggest an audio book chock-full of Zen quotes, wisdom, and stories: "One Bird, One Stone" by Sean Murphy. This is an American audio book collection of stories and insights drawn from the archives of Zen centers in the United States. Here you will find out how Zen has flourished in the United States over the last century and showcases how Americans have interpreted Zen in the west.

Finally while we're talking about western views of Zen, there's "The Dharma Bums" by Jack Kerouac. Kerouac's autobiographical road trip has been hailed by many as one of their first exposures to Zen in the states. This is only a small selection of the Zen audio books that we have for your perusal at LearnOutLoud.com. There are many different ways to view this particular religion and every view is valuable in our understanding of something that by design is not very concrete. We hope that you use these audio resources as a way searching and in the end finding what you seek spiritually.

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Zen Buddhism - LearnOutLoud.com

Goal Setting and Prioritising Your Life

With Kris Robertson

Goal setting and prioritising your life is the perfect place to start your journey of personal development. Goals can only be reached through clarity, the vehicle of a plan, the ability to keep your mind focussed and action.

With Pam Lidford

Negative thinking and the negative thoughts that present themselves into external situations in your life will limit your personal potential. Subconscious negative mind chatter will keep you from achieving your goals and doing things differently to achieve more.

With Bev James

My question to you is - so many of us are offered the opportunity to upgrade our apps, our computer programs, our phones, our TV viewing packages - but if you were to upgrade yourself, what skills, abilities or behaviours would you like to upgrade?

With Ann Skidmore

Consider the image and impact you want to have in your personal and professional lives. What is your brand and identity?

With Dawn Breslin

By creating a strong vision for what you would love to have, be or do in life you are broadening your idea of what is possible for you. A vision board outwardly creates a compelling image of your inner desires and keeps your goals constant in your mind.

With Sarah Urquhart

Understanding more about yourself and others is the key to mastering communication. NLP is easy to implement in everyday life and will help you understand exactly how powerful your thoughts affect your feelings and behaviours.

With John Perry

Resilience is such a key life skill to have. It is your ability to adapt to any situation and recover quickly from stress or adversity. This module will show you how to build your resilience so you can combat challenges with ease and break through any stress barriers you may be experiencing.

With Kris Robertson

Goal setting is the one activity that sets apart those who just get by in life and those who are successful. Weve already touched on the importance of goal setting in previous modules; this module will take your goal setting to the next level. By working through this module you will continue to pave the process and actions required to create your future success.

With Susan Grandfield

Mindfulness is a form of self-awareness training that can easily be used to help bring positive changes to your life. Recognised by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence in the UK, Mindfulness will help you become more focused, engaged and attentive. It will also bring a greater sense of clarity and calm to your everyday life.

With Ben Hunt-Davis

Everyone experiences up and downs in their life, and sometimes we have little or no control of when these happen. Ben teaches us about how to bounce back when things don't go your way!

With Ann Carver

Ann is a wealth coach who will empower you to recognise and address any emotional and impulse spending habits you may have to enable you to live a more fulfilling life. Even if you are a shrewd spender, you will still be able to apply Anns techniques so you can have more money, more contentment and more freedom and confidence to reach any of your goals that are impacted by money.

With Pam Lidford

Having self-confidence and being confident is a fundamental skill for your personal success. Confidence has the ability to make a huge difference, it can create trust, it helps you communicate more effectively and most of all, it allows you to achieve your goals.

With Bev James

Procrastination is the grave in which opportunity is buried so if you are serious about achievement and your personal success then you need to learn how to blitz your procrastination habits.

With Kris Robertson

Over the course of this module you will learn not only what motivation is but also how motivation works, how it changes and what you can start to do to best ensure that YOU are motivated and stay motivated throughout your personal goal achievement.

With Bev James

During this module Bev James will share with you some tools and techniques that can help you to build positive relationships. Unless you live alone on a Desert Island, life is all about relationships. It's about having the ability to build rapport with someone quickly and easily to feel comfortable in group situations.

With Evie Serventi

Defined in physics as the capacity to work, energy comes from four components of the human being: the body (physical), emotions (emotional), the mind (mental) and the spirit (spiritual). Understanding and maintaining healthy energy levels is critical to being able to fully engage with yourself and those around you.

With Sonia Beldom

Creating Personal Impact is all about how to captivate your audience using the most powerful presentation equipment in the world; you, your body, your face, your voice and your personality.

With Bev James

Your life is the sum total of the decisions you have made so far. Each of us will make hundreds of decisions and choices everyday and cumulatively they will have a powerful impact on our success and the direction that life takes.

With Joe Wicks - The Body Coach

If you have a busy schedule and struggle to find time to exercise its time to take control.

With Fiona Campbell

Discover how to strengthen and boost your immune system simply by eating the right food. Learn techniques to further support your immune system and leave you fighting fit.

With Sarah Urquhart

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Home / The Personal Success Academy

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. ~Eleanor Roosevelt

For years I lived an uneventful existence. I wasnt happy. I wasnt unhappy either. I was just sort of stuck.

I had a good career, earned lots of money, and I had great friends and a loving family. You would think that this doesnt sound too bad, but I felt unfulfilled and unmotivated. I repeatedly lived each day like the one before.

I looked around me and saw that everybody within my own circle of friends, relatives, and immediate family were no different. They too seemed stuck. They seemed unmotivatedlike they were living their lives on automatic pilot.

I began to question why this was. Why do so many people just accept this pattern as normal, as if this is the way it is supposed to be?

I read hundreds of books on philosophy, psychology, and spirituality. I continued with this for a couple of years until I gradually I began to see things with greater clarity. I began to wake up. Then one day, out of the blue it just hit me, like a ton of bricks.

The key to unlocking my prison door was not contained in any books I read (although they did help me somewhat). It was in my ability to accept what is in this moment. So I now I make that choice.

Here are 8 tips to help you make that choice:

Most of the time we have no idea what we are supposed to be doing, or who we are supposed to be imitating. I say imitating because this is what we do: We conform to the external environment.

We play roles and cover up our true selves by identifying with things that end up defining who we think we are. Im a doctor, a salesperson, a secretary, a lawyer; Im sad, happy, lonely, or miserable. Im angry, jealous, afraid, and I cant help itits who I am.

The truth is, though, we are none of those things. They are symptoms of the sleepwalking disease. You are more important than any label. We are not our professions. We are not our feelings. We are not our circumstances. We are not even our mind.

What we are is far greater, far superior, far more important, and far more mysterious than our conceptual mind tries to define. This is why we are far more powerful than we think we are.

Let go and embrace the moment, whether it contains an obstacle or an opportunity. Stop fussing over trivial matters and start focusing on whats really important to you.

Dont go through life expecting things to change. Life becomes hard and unfair when we decide to complain about things rather than trying to change them ourselves. Wake up to the truth that life is not a practice-run.

Be bold and courageous, and make decisions that benefit your growth. Put yourself on your imaginary death-bed and realize that time stands still for no one. Start as soon as possible to make any necessary changes you may need to.

Take the first step before more time gradually passes by while you stand still stagnating. Your choice. Your life. Your responsibility. Your power.

We create our outside reality by the thoughts and beliefs we maintain about life in general. What we believe in our inner world, we see in our outer worldnot the other way around.

We all have problems, and were often tested by circumstances outside of our control. Even though you may not be in control of whats going on outside of you, you most definitely can control your reaction to those situations.

We have the power because our inner world (cause) affects the influence we allow the outer world (effect) to have on us. So next time you hear somebody mention that you have great personal power, know they are 100% correct. You have more control than you think.

We place far too much emphasis on other peoples opinions about us, often to the exclusion of our own. This takes away from our own personal power. No matter what anybody says about you, it doesnt hold any significance to who you truly are unless you identify or agree with them.

Stop identifying with other peoples opinions and become aware of how you see yourself. Nobody knows you better than you do. Never accept another persons reality as your own. Always believe that you can achieve anything you put your mind to. And, most importantly, never let another persons opinion of you affect what you believe about yourself.

If you have to compare yourself to someone else, let it be a person who is less fortunate, and let it be a lesson to learn just how abundant your life truly is. Its just a matter of perspective.

You may find that you are not entirely grateful for what you possess. You may believe that you need more than you have right now to be happy. If this is the case, then you are absolutely rightyou will need more, and you will continue to need more.

This cycle will perpetuate as long as your mind believes it to be true. If you focus on what you have, and not on what you lack, you will always have enough, because you will always be enough.

You have arrived. Everything you need is right here. Cut out the distractions, open your eyes, and see that you already have everything in your possession to be happy, loved, and fulfilled.

Its not out there. It never was out there. Its in the same place it was since the day you were born. Its just been covered up by all the external things you have identified with over the years.

Be yourself. Love yourself completely and accept everything that you are. You are beautiful. Believe it, and most importantly, remind yourself often.

If someone cuts us off in traffic or skips the queue at our local cinema, we may feel our blood pressure begin to rise and feel the need to react in a negative manner. We get uptight with other peoples actions, and in the end we punish ourselves for their bad behavior.

We end up losing control over our own actions because of the way other people act. But we are responsible for our own action, regardless of how rude other people may act. If its hard to stay cool, remember: you are the one who loses in the end, if you lose the lesson.

We know life is about the journey and not the arrival. We dont need to arrive if we accept that we are already here.

Be content with where you are today and dont make the mistake of putting off being happy because you are waiting for the right moment to shine. Sometimes it takes a conscious effort to enjoy the journey.

Not everyone woke up this morning and not everyone will go to bed tonight. Life has no guarantees. Every minute you are living is a blessing that has to be experienced in the moment. Its not always easy, but its always an optiona choice. Your choice.

Photo by h.koppdelaney

Declan lives in Dublin, Ireland. He is a plasterer, printer, and inventor but most importantly, a thinker. His passion is to constantly work on himself through meditations, mental exercises, visualizations, and affirmations.

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8 Tips to Help Create a Positive Mental Attitude

In psychology, motivation refers to the initiation, direction, intensity, and persistence of behavior. Motivation is a temporal and dynamic state that should not be confused with personality or emotion. It involves having the desire and willingness to do something. A motivated person can be reaching for a long-term goal such as becoming a professional writer or a more short-term goal like learning how to spell a particular word. Personality invariably refers to more or less permanent characteristics of an individual's state of being (such as shy, extrovert, conscientious). As opposed to motivation, emotion refers to temporal states that do not immediately link to behavior (such as anger, grief, or happiness).

Motivation can be categorized according to whether it is a basic, instinctive drive, unlearned and common to all people and also animals, or a learned motivation that can be unique. The former type of motivation involves satisfying the needs of the physical body, and include hunger, thirst, shelter or safety, sexual activity, and so forth. The latter type includes achievement of goals, whether they be in terms of gaining knowledge, power, self-development, or a loving relationship. This latter type can be seen as satisfying the desires of the mind and spirit. Motivation is complex since human nature is complex. Yet, to understand what motivates people to act in certain ways enables people to live and work peaceably with one another.

Motivation can be anything that arouses an organism toward action for a desired goal. Motivation can be the reason for the action or that which gives direction to an action.[1]

The word motivation most likely comes from the word "motive," which stems from either the French motiver or the German motivieren. The word first appeared in English in 1904.[2]

Motivation is considered an essential element not only in learning, but also in the performance of learned responses. In other words, even when an organism (including a human being) has learned the appropriate response to a particular situation they will not necessarily produce this behavior. The incentive to produce the behavior is motivation.

Sources of motivation can be broken into two main categories: intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic sources include physical, mental, and spiritual. Extrinsic sources include operant and social conditioning. Some examples of needs within these categories are listed below:

Theories of motivation are based on different criteria, and emphasize various needs as key drivers in our actions. Like needs, these theories are both internal and external.

Behaviorists believe that everything performed by organisms, including thinking, feeling, and acting, are behaviors. For Behaviorists there is no philosophical difference in describing externally visible things such as actions and internal things such as thoughts. Though there are nuanced theories of behaviorism, they generally state that behaviors can be traced to factors within a person's life such as their past and present environments, the actions of others, and their present feelings. These forces act on one another and result in an action, effectively making them the motivation for action.

Cognitive theories center on the effects of the different ways people process information with motivation. Some key theories are listed below.

The cognitive dissonance theory, first proposed by Leon Festinger, states that people need to maintain consistency among their beliefs, attitudes, and behavior. Contradicting cognitions serve as a driving force that compels the mind to acquire or invent new beliefs, or to modify existing beliefs, in order to reduce the amount of dissonance (conflict) between cognitions and bring them back into a consistent relationship.

This theory posits that people explain success or failure with attributions. These attributions can be grouped as within or outside of a person's control and then internal or external. People will say that an event that occurs that is both external and out of their control is unstoppable, but will pride themselves on events that occur because of an internal characteristic that is within their control.

Expectancy theory attempts to mathematize motivation. In this theory, expectancy (perceived probability of success), instrumentality (connection of success and reward), and value (value of obtaining goal) must all exist in order for a person to take action, according to the formula:

Sigmund Freud and his followers describe the unconscious mind as controlled by a person's instinctual desires and needs. These instincts, however, come into conflict with the social demands of the conscious mind. Freud later divided the mind into three sections: the conscious mind, or ego, and two parts of the unconscious mind: the id, or instincts, and superego, the result of social conditioning.

Many of Freud's students broke with his theories, emphasizing instead the importance of the social and spiritual on motivation.

Drive Reduction Theory grows out of the concept that we have certain biological needs, such as hunger. As time passes the strength of the drive increases as it is not satisfied. Then as we satisfy that drive by fulfilling its desire, such as eating, the drive's strength is reduced. It is based on the theories of Freud and the idea of feedback control systems, such as a thermostat.

There are several problems, however, that leave the validity of the Drive Reduction Theory open for debate. The first problem is that it does not explain how Secondary Reinforcers reduce drive. For example, money does not satisfy any biological or psychological need but reduces drive on a regular basis through a pay check second-order conditioning. Secondly, if the drive reduction theory held true we would not be able to explain how a hungry human being can prepare a meal without eating the food before they finished cooking it.

However, when comparing this to a real life situation such as preparing food, one does become hungrier as the food is being made (drive increases), and after the food has been consumed the drive decreases. The reason that generally the food is not eaten before preparation is complete is the human element of restraint. Knowing that the food will be nicer (or simply edible as opposed to inedible when raw) after it is cooked enables the preparer to delay drive reduction.

Abraham Maslow's "hierarchy of human needs" theory is the most widely discussed theory of motivation. The theory can be summarized thus:

The hierarchy arranges needs from basic physiological (lowest, earliest), through safety, social, and self esteem to the most complex (highest, latest) need for self actualization.

Created by Clayton Alderfer, Maslow's hierarchy of needs was expanded, leading to his ERG theory (existence, relatedness and growth). Physiological and safety, the lower order needs, are placed in the existence category, Love and self esteem needs in the relatedness category. The growth category contained the self actualization and self esteem needs.

Self-determination theory, developed by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan, focuses on the importance of intrinsic motivation in driving human behavior. Like Maslow's hierarchical theory and others that built on it, SDT posits a natural tendency toward growth and development. Unlike these other theories, however, SDT does not include any sort of "autopilot" for achievement, but instead requires active encouragement from the environment. The primary factors that encourage motivation and development are autonomy, competence feedback, and relatedness.[4]

Social learning theories state that watching the actions of other can prove the most influential on the actions we take.

Social cognition theories elaborate on the three way relationship between personal qualities, behavior, and society. Theorists in this school write that all three can affect the other for good or bad.

Spiritual theories attempt to find meaning in our lives and to develop the underlying spiritual goals towards which we act.

Goal-setting theory is based on the notion that individuals sometimes have a drive to reach a clearly defined end state. Often, this end state is a reward in itself. A goal's efficiency is affected by three features: proximity, difficulty and specificity. An ideal goal should present a situation where the time between the initiation of behavior and the end state is close in time. This explains why some children are more motivated to learn how to ride a bike than mastering algebra. A goal should be moderate, not too hard or too easy to complete. In both cases, most people are not optimally motivated, as many want a challenge (which assumes some kind of insecurity of success). At the same time people want to feel that there is a substantial probability that they will succeed. Specificity concerns the description of the goal. The goal should be objectively defined and intelligible for the individual. A classic example of a poorly specified goal is to get the highest possible grade. Most children have no idea how much effort they need to reach that goal.

The control of motivation is only understood to a limited extent. There are many different approaches of motivation training, but many of these are considered pseudoscientific by critics. To understand how to control motivation it is first necessary to understand why many people lack motivation.

Modern imaging has provided solid empirical support for the psychological theory that emotional programming is largely defined in childhood. Harold Chugani, Medical Director of the PET Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Michigan and professor of pediatrics, neurology and radiology at Wayne State University School of Medicine, has found that children's brains are much more capable of consuming new information (linked to emotions) than those of adults. Brain activity in cortical regions is about twice as high in children as in adults from the third to the ninth year of life. After that period, it declines constantly to the low levels of adulthood. Brain volume, on the other hand, is already at about 95 percent of adult levels in the ninth year of life.

Besides the very direct approaches to motivation, beginning in early life, there are solutions which are more abstract but perhaps nevertheless more practical for self-motivation. Virtually every motivation guidebook includes at least one chapter about the proper organization of one's tasks and goals. It is usually suggested that it is critical to maintain a list of tasks, with a distinction between those which are completed and those which are not, thereby moving some of the required motivation for their completion from the tasks themselves into a "meta-task," namely the processing of the tasks in the task list, which can become a routine. The viewing of the list of completed tasks may also be considered motivating, as it can create a satisfying sense of accomplishment.

Most electronic to-do lists have this basic functionality, although the distinction between completed and non-completed tasks is not always clear (completed tasks are sometimes simply deleted, instead of kept in a separate list).

Other forms of information organization may also be motivational, such as the use of mind maps to organize one's ideas, and thereby "train" the neural network that is the human brain to focus on the given task. Simpler forms of idea notation such as simple bullet-point style lists may also be sufficient, or even more useful to less visually oriented persons.

Neurobiological evidence supports the idea that addictive drugs such as cocaine, nicotine, alcohol, and heroin act on brain systems underlying motivation for natural rewards, such as the mesolimbic dopamine system. Normally, these brain systems serve to guide us toward fitness-enhancing rewards (food, water, sex, etc.), but they can be co-opted by repeated use of drugs of abuse, causing addicts to excessively pursue drug rewards. Therefore, drugs can hijack brain systems underlying other motivations, causing the almost singular pursuit of drugs characteristic of addiction.[5]

Motivation is of particular interest to Educational psychologists because of the crucial role it plays in student learning. However, the specific kind of motivation that is studied in the specialized setting of education differs qualitatively from the more general forms of motivation studied by psychologists in other fields.

Motivation in education can have several effects on how students learn and their behavior towards subject matter.[6] It can:

Because students are not always internally motivated, they sometimes need situated motivation, which is found in environmental conditions that the teacher creates.

The idea that money is a powerful motivator can be illustrated with numerous examples of theft or white-collar crime. However, Maslow and Herzberg both believed that money is not a very powerful motivator. At higher levels of the hierarchy, praise, respect, recognition, empowerment and a sense of belonging are far more powerful motivators than money, as both Abraham Maslow's theory of motivation and Douglas McGregor argue. McGregor says of motivation:

Elton Mayo described workplace motivation in his Hawthorne studies, which revealed what has become known as the Hawthorne effect. His studies showed that workers are motivated to work harder when they perceive they are being studied. Mayo was originally intending to study the effects of lighting on employee productivity, but eventually isolated all variables and determined that by having workers believe they were being watched by their managers or others, they would in fact work harder.

All links retrieved November 24, 2014.

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

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Motivation - New World Encyclopedia

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