In the northern constellation Cygnus (The Swan) a planet the size of Jupiter orbits around three stars 149 light-years (1200 trillion kilometres) from Earth.
From the Caltech news release comes a challenge to the theories about planetary formations in complex solar systems.
Maciej Konacki reported this discovery in the May 2005 issue of Nature.
"If the parent star is orbited by a close stellar companion, then its gravitational pull can significantly truncate a protoplanetary disk around the main star. In the case of HD 188753, the two stellar companions would truncate the disk around the main star to a radius of only 1.3 astronomical units, leaving no space for a planet to form." - http://pr.caltech.edu/media/Press_Releases/PR12716.html
In the case of this triple star system, a red giant and an orange star orbit around a yellow star, according to SpaceFlight News http://www.spaceflightnews.com/forum/lofiversion/index.php/t1161.html.
"The new planet belongs to a common class of extrasolar planets called "hot Jupiters," which are gas giants that zip closely around their parent stars. In this case, the planet whips every 3.3 days around a star that is circled every 25.7 years by a pirouetting pair of stars locked in a 156-day orbit." - NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory website http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/
Regarding star system HD 188753, perhaps only large planetary masses can survive the combined tidal and solar forces of three stars in close orbit around each other.
My guess is that the planet, which is slightly larger than Jupiter, was too small to become a star.
Thus, in the formation of star systems, the larger masses become stars.
Any masses smaller than a certain size become planets. Judging from this example, the size limit may be slightly more than the size of Jupiter.
The size (diameter, surface area, volume and mass) of Jupiter is as follows:
Diameter: 108 × 1.43 m
Surface area: 1017 × 0.641 m2
Volume: 1025 × 1.52 m3
Density: 103 × 1.3 kg/m3 (1.3 g/cm3)
Mass: 1027 × 1.9 kg
Note: 10E8 = 100,000,000
cm = centimetre
m = metres
kg = kilograms
http://www.vendian.org/envelope/dir1/earth_jupiter_sun.html
20050718
Caffeine Effects: Kicking the Caffeine Habit
9 Health Problems Worsened by Caffeine
# Cardiovascular Problems
# Stress
# Blood Sugar Swings
# Gastrointestinal Problems
# Nutritional Deficiencies
# Male Health Problems
# Female Health Problems
# Adrenal Exhaustion
# Aging
Nutritional supplements for optimum adrenal health: the B vitamins especially pantothenic acid (B-5).
For a greater energy boost during your recovery, try a nutritional supplement that has Co-Q10, alpha ketoglutaric acid, chromium, and potassium and magnesium aspartate. It gives you a real energy boost, increasing metabolic efficiency without stimulating the nervous system.
# Cardiovascular Problems
# Stress
# Blood Sugar Swings
# Gastrointestinal Problems
# Nutritional Deficiencies
# Male Health Problems
# Female Health Problems
# Adrenal Exhaustion
# Aging
Nutritional supplements for optimum adrenal health: the B vitamins especially pantothenic acid (B-5).
For a greater energy boost during your recovery, try a nutritional supplement that has Co-Q10, alpha ketoglutaric acid, chromium, and potassium and magnesium aspartate. It gives you a real energy boost, increasing metabolic efficiency without stimulating the nervous system.
20050717
Universal Responsibility
Adopting an attitude of universal responsibility is essentially a personal matter. The real test of compassion is not what we say in abstract discussions but how we conduct ourselves in daily life.
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama, "Imagine All the People"
Just talking about harmlessness isn't enough.
When spiritual practice (meditation) does not lead to reciprical compassion from others, a person's conduct should still be to practise harmlessness.
To feel guilty for past wrongs is not enough - one must strive to learn from one's mistakes.
Even in the Dhammapada it is written to not cling to regrets and worries.
Dhammapada 67-68:
It's not good,
the doing of the deed
that, once it's done,
you regret,
whose result you reap crying,
your face in tears.
It's good,
the doing of the deed
that, once it's done,
you don't regret,
whose result you reap gratified,
happy at heart.
As well, the cure for regrets about wrongs done is simply letting go:
348:
Gone to the beyond of becoming,
you let go of in front,
let go of behind,
let go of between.
With a heart everywhere let-go,
you don't come again to birth
& aging.
Thus what the Dalai Lama says about the real test of compassion is ... how we conduct ourselves in daily life.
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama, "Imagine All the People"
Just talking about harmlessness isn't enough.
When spiritual practice (meditation) does not lead to reciprical compassion from others, a person's conduct should still be to practise harmlessness.
To feel guilty for past wrongs is not enough - one must strive to learn from one's mistakes.
Even in the Dhammapada it is written to not cling to regrets and worries.
Dhammapada 67-68:
It's not good,
the doing of the deed
that, once it's done,
you regret,
whose result you reap crying,
your face in tears.
It's good,
the doing of the deed
that, once it's done,
you don't regret,
whose result you reap gratified,
happy at heart.
As well, the cure for regrets about wrongs done is simply letting go:
348:
Gone to the beyond of becoming,
you let go of in front,
let go of behind,
let go of between.
With a heart everywhere let-go,
you don't come again to birth
& aging.
Thus what the Dalai Lama says about the real test of compassion is ... how we conduct ourselves in daily life.
Right Thought
And what, monks, is Right Thought? The thought of renunciation, the thought of non-ill-will, the thought of harmlessness. This, monks, is called Right Thought.
-Digha Nikaya
Harmlessness takes a lot of practice.
Yet the person who acts harmless to both self and others is a rare person.
Honestly I am not he.
Still do I try to be harmless.
-Digha Nikaya
Harmlessness takes a lot of practice.
Yet the person who acts harmless to both self and others is a rare person.
Honestly I am not he.
Still do I try to be harmless.
20050713
Police officer shoots car thief
Scenario:
Kenichi Tashiro, 30, suspected car thief with knife
Unidentified police officer, 23, armed with firearm
Kazuyoshi Suzuki, 22, pedestrian
Synopsis:
"Suzuki is left with a broken leg after a police officer fired his gun at a car thief and the bullet pierced the suspect's shoulder and hit the young man."
The long story:
At 12:50 a.m. on Wednesday, Kenichi Tashiro steals a recreational vehicle from the convenience store parking lot in Chuo-ku, Sapporo.
Within minutes of the theft the owner calls the police to report it stolen.
Within moments, officers track down the vehicle. Attempting to avoid capture Tashiro jumps out of the vehicle and starts running. The 23-year-old officer leaves his police car and chases the suspect, ordering him to drop a knife he is holding.
When the police officer catches up with the suspect, they struggle with each other. Tashiro stabs the officer in the stomach. The police officer is only lightly injured.
Then Tashiro tries to flee the scene. In response, the officer fires two shots from his gun at him.
The second shot passes through the suspect's left shoulder and hits Suzuki, who is walking in the area at the time.
Seriously injured in the incident, Kenichi Tashiro is arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
Kenichi Tashiro, 30, suspected car thief with knife
Unidentified police officer, 23, armed with firearm
Kazuyoshi Suzuki, 22, pedestrian
Synopsis:
"Suzuki is left with a broken leg after a police officer fired his gun at a car thief and the bullet pierced the suspect's shoulder and hit the young man."
The long story:
At 12:50 a.m. on Wednesday, Kenichi Tashiro steals a recreational vehicle from the convenience store parking lot in Chuo-ku, Sapporo.
Within minutes of the theft the owner calls the police to report it stolen.
Within moments, officers track down the vehicle. Attempting to avoid capture Tashiro jumps out of the vehicle and starts running. The 23-year-old officer leaves his police car and chases the suspect, ordering him to drop a knife he is holding.
When the police officer catches up with the suspect, they struggle with each other. Tashiro stabs the officer in the stomach. The police officer is only lightly injured.
Then Tashiro tries to flee the scene. In response, the officer fires two shots from his gun at him.
The second shot passes through the suspect's left shoulder and hits Suzuki, who is walking in the area at the time.
Seriously injured in the incident, Kenichi Tashiro is arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
20050710
The precious air of liberty
Brute force, no matter how strongly applied, can never subdue the basic human desire for freedom and dignity. It is not enough, as communist systems have assumed, merely to provide people with food, shelter and clothing. Human nature needs to breathe the precious air of liberty. -His Holiness the Dalai Lama
20050708
Meditation on Unconditional Love as Mother Love
A mother, even at the risk of her own life, protects her child, her only child.
In the same way should you cultivate love without measure toward all beings.
You should cultivate toward the whole world -- above, below, around -- a heart of love unstinted, unmixed with any sense of differing or opposing interests.
You should maintain this mindfulness all the time you are awake.
Such a state of heart is the best in the world.
-Majjhima Nikaya
In the same way should you cultivate love without measure toward all beings.
You should cultivate toward the whole world -- above, below, around -- a heart of love unstinted, unmixed with any sense of differing or opposing interests.
You should maintain this mindfulness all the time you are awake.
Such a state of heart is the best in the world.
-Majjhima Nikaya
20050704
Homage to Earth (poem)
O Mother Goddess! You are the earth,
and I am of the heaven,
my essence the stuff of stars.
Humbled by my fellow man,
humility leaves me;
Mother embraces me --
we dance in joy to celebrate
Her majesty on the good earth.
and I am of the heaven,
my essence the stuff of stars.
Humbled by my fellow man,
humility leaves me;
Mother embraces me --
we dance in joy to celebrate
Her majesty on the good earth.
The Story of The Bear(story)
As her shining yellow face shone, morning had broken free of the darkness of night. I looked from the castle window on her, blinded. Overhead the cuckoo announced its presence from a treetop somewhere.
Asahi - the morning face of our Emperor's heavenly ancestor. Or, so the priests claim.
In my old age I am not so cowed to believe them, having tasted of Kannon and the Middle Way.
Yet the power of the Godly Path is held by shaman queen and priests alike. It was like many moons ago when this land of the sun goddess was named Wa with Himiko as queen. In those days she was rarely seen, as the priests managed the intricacies of the Godly Path.
Long ago were those ancient days, when I was but a babe. My parents were of Ainumushiri royal stock, cousins to the Wolf King. They named me The Bear, in honor of their totem.
We lived on the sacred island of the Inland Sea. This is the seat of power of the Emishi, the southern branch of Ainumushiri. Our northern cousins were more nomadic, with a vast territory extending to the land of snow and ice. As well, they had an extensive trade route into the Middle Kingdom, all the way to the mythic ancestral home in the Altai.
Yet, in the eyes of the Yamato invaders, we are a primitive people. They had defeated us to form their kingdom, keeping fallen warriors as the Emperor's imperial guard, watched over by their Shinto masters.
These fine men of the Godly Path celebrate ritual purity for the sake of the five sacred grains. They were willing to spill innocent blood in internecine warfare between clans to perpetuate the Sun Goddess.
Today, I am the descendant of the gods, of heaven and earth. It is karma that brought my earthly parents together to beget me. Now I serve my Yamato allies.
Our Emishi brethren are hostages at the palace, in spite of guards being of the same blood. This keeps their clans under control. In time we will conquer this land and make peace with our Yamato allies.
As heirs of the Wa dynasty, the victory of Yamato is assured.
Asahi - the morning face of our Emperor's heavenly ancestor. Or, so the priests claim.
In my old age I am not so cowed to believe them, having tasted of Kannon and the Middle Way.
Yet the power of the Godly Path is held by shaman queen and priests alike. It was like many moons ago when this land of the sun goddess was named Wa with Himiko as queen. In those days she was rarely seen, as the priests managed the intricacies of the Godly Path.
Long ago were those ancient days, when I was but a babe. My parents were of Ainumushiri royal stock, cousins to the Wolf King. They named me The Bear, in honor of their totem.
We lived on the sacred island of the Inland Sea. This is the seat of power of the Emishi, the southern branch of Ainumushiri. Our northern cousins were more nomadic, with a vast territory extending to the land of snow and ice. As well, they had an extensive trade route into the Middle Kingdom, all the way to the mythic ancestral home in the Altai.
Yet, in the eyes of the Yamato invaders, we are a primitive people. They had defeated us to form their kingdom, keeping fallen warriors as the Emperor's imperial guard, watched over by their Shinto masters.
These fine men of the Godly Path celebrate ritual purity for the sake of the five sacred grains. They were willing to spill innocent blood in internecine warfare between clans to perpetuate the Sun Goddess.
Today, I am the descendant of the gods, of heaven and earth. It is karma that brought my earthly parents together to beget me. Now I serve my Yamato allies.
Our Emishi brethren are hostages at the palace, in spite of guards being of the same blood. This keeps their clans under control. In time we will conquer this land and make peace with our Yamato allies.
As heirs of the Wa dynasty, the victory of Yamato is assured.
Kami and Karma
Kami is the spiritual energy of ancestors that transmigrates from original ancestors and/or clan ancestors through successive generation.
This is what is meant by 'karma only transmigrates', the major tenet of Buddhism. It thus has nothing to do with the West concept of soul and the misconception of soul transmigration.
For the soul is a pagan concept stolen from neo-Platonian philosophy based on mere animism i.e. the body is host to anima/animus which is spiritual.
This is what is meant by 'karma only transmigrates', the major tenet of Buddhism. It thus has nothing to do with the West concept of soul and the misconception of soul transmigration.
For the soul is a pagan concept stolen from neo-Platonian philosophy based on mere animism i.e. the body is host to anima/animus which is spiritual.
A Deistic Critique of Eschatology
Eschatology is useful for the study of how human cultures have envisioned life after death.
When it involves judgment, eschatology violates the principle that only God may judge us.
Thus, depictions of heaven and hell are sacrilege used to control, influence and motivate people who may be led to believe their lives are more worth living when they follow the doctrines of cultures whose religions make strong use of such motifs.
If a person's life is worth more because the fear of hell and the desire for heaven after death motivates her to choose God, then such a person's motivation is based on spiritual ignorance about the purpose of heaven and hell.
However, if the fear of hell and desire for heaven leads her to become one with God, and let Him into her heart, so that she realizes how worthy to God she is from her birth until this moment in time, then her motivation is based on spiritual awareness.
The purpose of heaven and hell is to instruct us about how cultural beliefs about life after death reflect our fears about what we have done in life, and whether that would affect our spiritual life after death.
This forms much of what eschatology is.
How close a person has gotten to God that he knows Him to be in his heart, from birth to death, helps by using eschatology in a manner that respects God's role in life after death.
For eschatology only depicts the spiritual life after death, not the corporeal life before death.
If God created me from birth, and my soul, then the cruelties depicted in the various hells are sacrilege because I cannot see why God would require what he has made to be harmed repeatedly as punishment for not believing in Him.
Why should God harm a piece of Himself?
Likewise, if God should give me a new body and put me in a place where I live forever when originally I was a part of Him, I do not see why I must remain separate from Him when He is always as close to me as my heart.
Would it not just be easier for me to let my soul become one with God through meditation and be done with it?
Thus heaven and hell are merely states of mind created by careful examination of eschatological works of various religions.
They distract us from the spiritual truth that each of us is created by God, that the soul is "God in the heart", and that we return to God at death.
Think of God as the ocean. Each soul, a drop of water. Many drops become a trickle, a stream, a river. And to the ocean all rivers flow. Likewise, all life flows on that endless cycle of birth, living and death.
Are not then heaven and hell metaphors to describe that journey?
Perhaps each drop of water returning to the ocean is heaven. The mind boggles at the possibilities of ascribing different points of life's journey as hell.
In any case, eschatology only works in religions with a strong sense of good versus evil.
Yet it fails to work when the spiritual truth about man's existence and the soul as the creation of God is revealed.
When it involves judgment, eschatology violates the principle that only God may judge us.
Thus, depictions of heaven and hell are sacrilege used to control, influence and motivate people who may be led to believe their lives are more worth living when they follow the doctrines of cultures whose religions make strong use of such motifs.
If a person's life is worth more because the fear of hell and the desire for heaven after death motivates her to choose God, then such a person's motivation is based on spiritual ignorance about the purpose of heaven and hell.
However, if the fear of hell and desire for heaven leads her to become one with God, and let Him into her heart, so that she realizes how worthy to God she is from her birth until this moment in time, then her motivation is based on spiritual awareness.
The purpose of heaven and hell is to instruct us about how cultural beliefs about life after death reflect our fears about what we have done in life, and whether that would affect our spiritual life after death.
This forms much of what eschatology is.
How close a person has gotten to God that he knows Him to be in his heart, from birth to death, helps by using eschatology in a manner that respects God's role in life after death.
For eschatology only depicts the spiritual life after death, not the corporeal life before death.
If God created me from birth, and my soul, then the cruelties depicted in the various hells are sacrilege because I cannot see why God would require what he has made to be harmed repeatedly as punishment for not believing in Him.
Why should God harm a piece of Himself?
Likewise, if God should give me a new body and put me in a place where I live forever when originally I was a part of Him, I do not see why I must remain separate from Him when He is always as close to me as my heart.
Would it not just be easier for me to let my soul become one with God through meditation and be done with it?
Thus heaven and hell are merely states of mind created by careful examination of eschatological works of various religions.
They distract us from the spiritual truth that each of us is created by God, that the soul is "God in the heart", and that we return to God at death.
Think of God as the ocean. Each soul, a drop of water. Many drops become a trickle, a stream, a river. And to the ocean all rivers flow. Likewise, all life flows on that endless cycle of birth, living and death.
Are not then heaven and hell metaphors to describe that journey?
Perhaps each drop of water returning to the ocean is heaven. The mind boggles at the possibilities of ascribing different points of life's journey as hell.
In any case, eschatology only works in religions with a strong sense of good versus evil.
Yet it fails to work when the spiritual truth about man's existence and the soul as the creation of God is revealed.
Daemons and Guardian Angels: A meditation
In this blog entry, I will be writing about abstract concepts regarding the true self of higher consciousness. For the purpose of this meditation, Daemon refers to the symbol of the Higher Consciousness. In it, I warn against egocentricity, which is the dark side of the Ego known as "madness of man-as-god" and "delusion of (being) deity." Finally, I conclude by offering the solution of Plato's advice.
In classical mythology, the Daemon is a person's true self as opposed to the mortal lower self, the Ego. Seen from the point of view of the lower self, the Daemon is the Guardian Angel, the deva of Indic mythos.
In fact, Daemons are the very essence of the Guardian Angel of whom Sylvia Browne speaks.
The true self is also known as a person's Higher Consciousness or as the soul.
Thus devil and daemon are the dark and light sides of the Ego and the true self, respectively.
The soul itself is purified by coming to know God, and in each successive life, purges itself of the Original Sin that begat each body into which it resides.
This Sin is the delusion of deity, to which the Genesis alludes. Thus the allegory of eating of the tree of knowledge of life and death is related to the ego and its descent into the madness of man-as-god, in rebellion to a deity who is apart from all creation.
How do we cut through the delusion of deity?
By following Plato's advice: know thyself.
To help me to know myself, I wrote the following poem:
Knowing thyself, transcend the ego.
Transcending the ego, know God.
Knowing God, become at one with Him.
Originally posted: July 4, 2005 at 1745H
Updated: February 10, 2013 at 1334H
Daemons in classic mythology: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daemon_%28classical_mythology%29
In classical mythology, the Daemon is a person's true self as opposed to the mortal lower self, the Ego. Seen from the point of view of the lower self, the Daemon is the Guardian Angel, the deva of Indic mythos.
In fact, Daemons are the very essence of the Guardian Angel of whom Sylvia Browne speaks.
The true self is also known as a person's Higher Consciousness or as the soul.
Thus devil and daemon are the dark and light sides of the Ego and the true self, respectively.
The soul itself is purified by coming to know God, and in each successive life, purges itself of the Original Sin that begat each body into which it resides.
This Sin is the delusion of deity, to which the Genesis alludes. Thus the allegory of eating of the tree of knowledge of life and death is related to the ego and its descent into the madness of man-as-god, in rebellion to a deity who is apart from all creation.
How do we cut through the delusion of deity?
By following Plato's advice: know thyself.
To help me to know myself, I wrote the following poem:
Knowing thyself, transcend the ego.
Transcending the ego, know God.
Knowing God, become at one with Him.
Originally posted: July 4, 2005 at 1745H
Updated: February 10, 2013 at 1334H
Daemons in classic mythology: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daemon_%28classical_mythology%29
Animal Nature, Human Values
Logic, reasoning, emotions, feelings... These qualities are universal in all living beings, depending on their level of development.
That we are able to reflect on our current feelings and compare them with past feelings identified as emotions shows what we have in common with the animal world.
Just as we ascribe feelings and emotions onto other people, so too do we ascribe these same feelings and emotions onto animals.
This is called anthropomorphization.
Anthropomorphization empowers, and is empowered by, the human cultural lens through which we view our emotions and feelings and reflect on them.
Yet survival is very real to animals, based on their level of development. An amoeba seeks nutrition to help it grow and multiply. A spider seeks prey so that it may survive to mate. Mice gather seeds and fruit for the same reason as other animals: to survive long enough to propagate. At the root of each living being is the drive for survival until propagation.
Yet the more advanced animals do have feelings of fear, anger and joy relative to their ability to express them.
The social structure of mammals and their relationship to other mammals including man prove that they are capable of feeling emotions but express each of them in physical ways.
A Canadian goose will slowly starve itself on the loss of its mate. We may be safe to say it died of a broken heart. A few of us will laugh nervously, and wonder aloud about the sentimentality of it all.
Indeed, I find it myopic to believe that only humans feel, and suffer. It would lead me to the conclusion that other animals and mammals cannot feel. Such a conclusion conflicts with my belief that the universe is a living organism.
Therefore, our anthropomorphization of animals helps us to interact with animals in a manner that is of mutual benefit to us all.
That we are able to reflect on our current feelings and compare them with past feelings identified as emotions shows what we have in common with the animal world.
Just as we ascribe feelings and emotions onto other people, so too do we ascribe these same feelings and emotions onto animals.
This is called anthropomorphization.
Anthropomorphization empowers, and is empowered by, the human cultural lens through which we view our emotions and feelings and reflect on them.
Yet survival is very real to animals, based on their level of development. An amoeba seeks nutrition to help it grow and multiply. A spider seeks prey so that it may survive to mate. Mice gather seeds and fruit for the same reason as other animals: to survive long enough to propagate. At the root of each living being is the drive for survival until propagation.
Yet the more advanced animals do have feelings of fear, anger and joy relative to their ability to express them.
The social structure of mammals and their relationship to other mammals including man prove that they are capable of feeling emotions but express each of them in physical ways.
A Canadian goose will slowly starve itself on the loss of its mate. We may be safe to say it died of a broken heart. A few of us will laugh nervously, and wonder aloud about the sentimentality of it all.
Indeed, I find it myopic to believe that only humans feel, and suffer. It would lead me to the conclusion that other animals and mammals cannot feel. Such a conclusion conflicts with my belief that the universe is a living organism.
Therefore, our anthropomorphization of animals helps us to interact with animals in a manner that is of mutual benefit to us all.
Deep Hearing Practice
Listening with the heart takes a lifetime to learn, and the dedication to actively practice deep hearing with heartfelt honesty tempered with tact.
It requires going beyond merely listening with the ears.
For the deep listener listens with the heart.
It requires going beyond merely listening with the ears.
For the deep listener listens with the heart.
Hyperbole in Vasistha's Yoga
One may revolve on the wheel of birth and death for a thousand lifetimes: this will not cease till one has fully mastered the mind and till that mind has come to a state of supreme peace and equanimity. - The Story of Prahlada, Vasistha's Yoga, V:43
This quote is from the last two paragraphs of Verse 43 of Chapter 5 in Vasistha's Yoga, which is the metaphorical Story of Prahlada.
The literal meaning of the above sentence implies the concept of reincarnation. Yet it is hyperbole because it does not mean that a person is fated to "revolve on the wheel of birth and death (Samsara) for a thousand lifetimes".
Rather, it implies that a person may feel like as though she is repeating the same pattern of behavior, and that "this will not cease" until she "has fully mastered the mind" through "contemplating the changeless consciousness which is infinite", ibid.
This mastery of the mind where "the mind has come to a state of supreme peace and equanimity" is achieved by abandoning one's illusions about objective phenomena as clearly stated in the rest of the quote:
...Abandon all illusory appearances of objective phenomena, whether they appear within you or outside you. Contemplate the sole reality of consciousness for the cessation of repeated birth, Taste the pure consciousness (which is, in truth, the essence of all that exists) by resolutely renouncing objectivity of consciousness, (all the concepts and percepts) and contemplating the changeless consciousness which is infinite. You will surely cross this river of world-appearance and rebirth. - ibid.
Hence, the purpose of hyperbole here is to inspire and thus motivate the disciple to apply the physical exercises in yoga to achieve "a state of supreme peace and equanimity".
This quote is from the last two paragraphs of Verse 43 of Chapter 5 in Vasistha's Yoga, which is the metaphorical Story of Prahlada.
The literal meaning of the above sentence implies the concept of reincarnation. Yet it is hyperbole because it does not mean that a person is fated to "revolve on the wheel of birth and death (Samsara) for a thousand lifetimes".
Rather, it implies that a person may feel like as though she is repeating the same pattern of behavior, and that "this will not cease" until she "has fully mastered the mind" through "contemplating the changeless consciousness which is infinite", ibid.
This mastery of the mind where "the mind has come to a state of supreme peace and equanimity" is achieved by abandoning one's illusions about objective phenomena as clearly stated in the rest of the quote:
...Abandon all illusory appearances of objective phenomena, whether they appear within you or outside you. Contemplate the sole reality of consciousness for the cessation of repeated birth, Taste the pure consciousness (which is, in truth, the essence of all that exists) by resolutely renouncing objectivity of consciousness, (all the concepts and percepts) and contemplating the changeless consciousness which is infinite. You will surely cross this river of world-appearance and rebirth. - ibid.
Hence, the purpose of hyperbole here is to inspire and thus motivate the disciple to apply the physical exercises in yoga to achieve "a state of supreme peace and equanimity".
20050702
Japanese-American and Japanese-Canadian Internment
In order to save money, Mackenzie King's administration in Ottawa got the Japanese to pay for their new homes.
Japanese-Canadians paid for their cabins in the camps in BC. I would like to emphasize this point because it differs from the Japanese American experience where the American government paid for their internment.
"The Japanese had to pay for their stay at these horrid camps. While under the Geneva Convention prisoners of war (POW) didn't have to pay for their camps. In comparison to what the American Government paid for their internment camps, Canada paid a quarter of what than the USA did." — http://www.yesnet.yk.ca/schools/projects/canadianhistory/camps/internment1.html
On my mother's side of the family, most of the family was interned in New Denver, except for her married eldest sister and brother.
My father's family was originally interned in Lillooet, BC. After the war, they sold their cabin, which they paid for, and moved to Vernon. No one would sell them land except for a World War 1 veteran on the BX road leading to Silver Star.
As for myself, I try to look at the past objectively.
Considering the freedoms we've won over the past 60 years, the Japanese-Canadians should never forget the injustice of internment.
Japanese-Canadians paid for their cabins in the camps in BC. I would like to emphasize this point because it differs from the Japanese American experience where the American government paid for their internment.
"The Japanese had to pay for their stay at these horrid camps. While under the Geneva Convention prisoners of war (POW) didn't have to pay for their camps. In comparison to what the American Government paid for their internment camps, Canada paid a quarter of what than the USA did." — http://www.yesnet.yk.ca/schools/projects/canadianhistory/camps/internment1.html
On my mother's side of the family, most of the family was interned in New Denver, except for her married eldest sister and brother.
My father's family was originally interned in Lillooet, BC. After the war, they sold their cabin, which they paid for, and moved to Vernon. No one would sell them land except for a World War 1 veteran on the BX road leading to Silver Star.
As for myself, I try to look at the past objectively.
Considering the freedoms we've won over the past 60 years, the Japanese-Canadians should never forget the injustice of internment.
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