Mozart to calm rowdy pupils

School heads are to play Mozart to youngsters before lessons to make them less rowdy in the classroom.

The music will be piped over loudspeakers before classes when primary schools return from the summer holiday in the eastern Croatian town of

Osijek.

Mozart's music, including his famous Eine Kleine Nacht Musik, was picked after teachers in the town read that scientific studies had shown his music was beneficial for kids.

Studies carried out at the University of Berlin found students who listened to the composer for ten minutes before an exam did much better than those who had listened to other composers or no music at all.

And babies in some hospitals in eastern Europe are played Mozart five times a day on the maternity ward after medical staff found it was the perfect way to keep newborn babies healthy and relaxed after the trauma of being born.

"We believe that classical music will prevent violent behaviour and make kids more relaxed," said an education authority spokesman.

A novice monk was arrested in Germany after he tried to give away money as part of his religious training.

Shoppers raised the alarm when 37-year-old Daniel Weiss stood in a shopping centre giving away 50 Euro notes and blessing people in Goettingen.

Police let him off after they had checked to see if the notes were forgeries.

We don't know what religion this monk was from. Does any 'religious training' really involve giving away money in this manner? Still, it is amusing that authorities assume he is doing something criminal...

Sat, 10/20/2007 4:03 PM | Opinion
Paramita Atmodiwirjo and Yandi Andri Yatmo, Jakarta

Children are city dwellers, just like adults. They have the right to live a meaningful life within urban environments.

The Child Friendly Cities (Kota Layak Anak) project that has been initiated in several Indonesian cities is an effort by the government to begin to acknowledge the rights of children in cities. Following a pilot project in five cities in 2006, the State Ministry for the Women's Empowerment is expanding the program to another 10 cities.

A range of different initiatives may be developed to promote children's rights in cities and give them the opportunity to live in a safe and healthy environment. One may imagine a child-friendly city, where many services and facilities for all children are available, including attention and protection for marginalized and at-risk groups of children.

A child-friendly city is a place where all children have easy access to housing, health and education. It is also the place where children can happily enjoy green and unpolluted playgrounds and a safe walk to and from school.

However, the concept of Child Friendly Cities requires much more than just the physical development of the urban environment. An important aspect in this concept is the need to promote children as active agents in their environment. This implies the active involvement of children in deciding about what happen to places where they live. This is also clearly stated in the definition of child-friendly cities, which should fulfill the rights of children to "influence decisions about their city" and "express their opinion on the city they want".

Giving opportunities to children to have a say about their life is quite a challenge in our culture. We have been culturally educated for so long that "children are to be seen and not heard". Thus most decisions in our society are made by the adults. Within families, schools and communities, we are used to the situation where children are only passive participants, merely following the programs or activities planned by adults.

The spirit of child-friendly cities in giving children a say also suggests how our society should change its attitudes toward children. We should begin to realize that our children possess potentials that should not be ignored. And they have the ability to express their ideas and opinions on matters that we normally consider as adult business.

A number of projects in many countries have proven the successful involvement of children in making decisions about various aspects of urban life. In London, for example, a commission worked on a project involving young Londoners in the strategy development process of the Great London Authority. A forum called Munchner Kinder and Jugendforum was established in Munich to allow children and teenagers to have a say in the planning process of their city.

There are even more attempts to involve children at more micro levels. For example, children might be asked to give opinions about public transportation, to design their own school or to participate in the revitalization of a neighborhood park.

The involvement of children in making decisions about their cities brings together a range of educational values. It helps empower the children to become active citizens. It also enhances their sense of belonging to their environment. If our cities currently have so many problems, we must try our best to educate the next generation who will eventually lead our cities.

For some time, we have organized a series of workshops for primary schoolchildren. We asked the children to imagine the future of the city where they now live, and together we built a 3D model based on their ideas.

We found that this exercise is a powerful vehicle to involve children in the planning process and to give them some freedom to express their opinion. It is a way to develop their imagination and creativity about their environment, while at the same time teaching responsibility, awareness and sensitivity to what happens in their surroundings. It also provides opportunities for the children to learn about collaboration, and the importance of working together to make our environment better.

The involvement of children in the process of planning, developing and managing our cities should be at the heart of all efforts to realize child-friendly cities. The provision of physical facilities and services may have more direct effects in fulfilling the children's short-term basic needs, but promoting their active involvement will be a more valuable investment for the future of our cities.

So, have we already asked the children what they want? Perhaps it is a question that we all need to address before embarking into any development programs for our urban children.

The writers, lecturers of architecture at the University of Indonesia, develop environmental education programs for primary schoolchildren with the Education Care Unit. They can be contacted at mitayandi@gmail.com

Opinion and Editorial
Yandi Andri Yatmo and Paramita Atmodiwirjo

Environmental education is a key issue in responding to climate change. There have been countless efforts to spread the awareness of climate change into society. Information is everywhere about global warming and its impacts on our life. However, we cannot simply expect that after knowing the facts on global warming, everybody would voluntarily join environment-friendly attitudes in their everyday life. The question is: Do people really know what they need to know to respond to current environmental issues?

There are two types of knowledge relating to climate change and its relationship to our life. The first type is the knowledge delivered through massive spread of information on the facts of climate change. This is the knowledge we most often find in the media everyday. It tells people on the factual status of our earth, the increasing temperature, the melting of snow and the rising of sea levels, as well as the worrying situation of our forest, water, and wildlife. These are all the facts that are primarily empirical, based on quantitative findings to illustrate the current situation of our environment.

On the other hand, there is another type of knowledge informed to our society as a plea to lead more environment-friendly way of life. Such information usually appears as a series of suggestion to reduce
electricity use, to cycle or walk to work, to reduce the use of plastic, to plant trees, to avoid littering and to manage garbage. Some suggestions are even very extreme, persuading people to turn off the lights in the evening or to completely avoid plastic stuffs and wooden furniture.

These two types of knowledge represent two different aspects of information related to environment. The first type primarily intends to inform the facts, while the second encourage people to act. The first may inform the facts that happen somewhere else -- in the arctic, in another country, in the middle of the jungle. The second type suggests some practical things for everyday life. Both types of information have been used for the sake of educating people.

Nevertheless, an important thing to consider in environmental education is how these two types of knowledge are related to one another. It is very important to ensure that people really understand to what extent their acts of planting trees could be related to reducing carbon emission.

This becomes particularly important when environmental education is implemented in basic education levels. It is mandatory that the knowledge on the environment is delivered correctly to our future generation.

So far there are two choices. We may tell them numerical facts of global warming and its impact which currently occur somewhere else, or we may teach them some practical things that they could apply immediately in their own home, school or neighborhood.

Some of the information, especially those related to practical things, is not necessarily new, since they can be found in most primary and secondary school textbooks. Most pupils have known the popular jargon that taught them not to litter (Buanglah sampah pada tempatnya). Textbooks mention a lot about recycling, the difference between organic and inorganic garbage, and the importance of using electricity wisely. Even primary school first-graders have learned about the criteria of a good home environment, which should have enough trees, ventilation, window, rubbish dump and water drainage.

Unfortunately, most often these aspects of environment are taught partially. There were no attempts to encourage the children to think about the connections among different environmental aspects.

Recently we had an opportunity to deliver an environmental education program to primary school children. During one of the sessions we encouraged the children to examine what happened with the rubbish in their school. After they identified the types of garbage produced in their school everyday, we asked them to explain what to do with the garbage. An answer easily came out: "Recycle them". However, they had no idea when we inquired further what they meant with recycle and how they actually could do it. It illustrates clearly that these children were aware of the term "recycle" without really knowing what it was.

Similarly, most of them did not have the competence in explaining the relationship between "littering" and "flood", although they knew by heart the phrase "littering causes flood". The lack of understanding in such simple concept really worried us.

Eventually there would be similar lack of understanding when dealing with more complicated issues, in relating global warming facts with our everyday actions. Children may enjoy joining the acts of planting
trees, but if no further inquiry is taken, they would not understand the important roles of trees to our environment.

We believe that understanding environmental issues and responding to them requires certain level of abilities to think critically. Such critical thinking is necessary to understand the ideas of connections among environmental issues.

After all, environment is about connecting -- cause and effects, intervention and impacts, relationship among species, places and matters. There is no point instructing our children to do certain acts, if we do not encourage them to explore the connections. We make a real big mistake if we introduce environmental knowledge to our children simply by pouring out facts, jargons and instructions.

In fact, promoting critical thinking on environmental issues should become the heart of environmental education.

The writers are lecturers of architecture at the University of Indonesia. They actively develop environmental education programs for primary school children with Education Care Unit. They can be contacted at mitayandi@gmail.com.

A spokesman for Tayside Police said: 'Trainee police dog Rebel has proved extremely popular with children and adults since being introduced to the public, aged six weeks old, as Tayside Police's newest canine recruit.

The story comes from Britain where the following photo caused "outrage"

A painter and decorator has been fined for smoking in his own van - because it's classed as his work place.

Gordon Williams, 58, who had finished work for the day and was on his way to the shops, was fined £30.

He told The Sun: "I was told that because my van is my place of work I had broken the smoking laws.

Gordon, who smokes ten a day, is planning to appeal even though wife Sue, 56, has already paid the fine.

Ceredigion Council refused to comment specifically on the case but said: "The ban affects public premises including workplaces and work vehicles."

All the more reason to look for peace within, and let go of the vicissitudes of Samsara.

Leona Helmsley, the self-styled hotel queen whose prison term for income tax evasion and fraud was greeted with uncommon approval by a public who regarded her as a 1980s symbol of arrogance and greed, died yesterday at her home in Greenwich, Conn. She was 87.

Earlier this year chain smoking Hotel Magnate Leona Helmsley, nicknamed 'Queen of Mean' for her treatment of customers and staff, passed away age 87, and cut a number of her grandchildren from her will. They claimed it was for no known reason, but earlier reports claim it is because they refused to name their children Harry after their grandfather. The heirs were disgruntled.

in real life she was known for being a tyrannical boss whose petulance seemed ill-suited to the hospitality industry. The slightest mistake was usually grounds for firing.

She did however, leave 12 million dollars to her pet dog Trouble , which by all accounts was a spiteful little critter.

Her choice to leave $12m to her white Maltese, Trouble, was branded 3rd in Fortune's "101 Dumbest Moments in Business" of 2007

The lesson points to the way a person lives their life - if you have developed a practise of Dana, giving, then you would have no shortage of people and charities to give to. If you live in a dry and mean manner, then perhaps your only real friend in the world is a nasty little dog. The story goes that it once bit a customer and Helmsley snapped "I guess Trouble doesn't like you!". She is also famed for her comment We don't pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes. Tax evasion earned her nearly 2 years in prison. After the spell in prison she was known to have donated some millions to various charities, but started losing control of her empire, which included the Empire State Building,  since state laws did not allow convicted felons alcohol liscenses.

A later story, also blogged on here, told of the lasting trouble that dogged the surviving pet. Disgrunteld heirs had issued death and kidnap threats trying to secure their share of the 12 million dollars. Thus the dog had to use its fortune to hire a 24 hour security team to protect it.

In the latest developments the heirs have managed to overturn the will and get their slice. The dog has been left high and dry with a mere two million dollars , which was deemed sufficient for its care for the next 10 years, including $100,000 per year for full time security. One can hardly blame the heirs who'd been cut off from the 2 billion plus fortune, while a nasty Maltese Terrier got millions. But the whole episode lacks dhamma on any part - Helmsley who valued a pet dog above her fanily or other worthwhile cause, the anger and threats, the court case which has to prove the hotel magnate of unsound mind ...

Seems only the nasty dog is enjoying some good karma.

NYT full story

Original story

Death threats

Will overturned

Collective Karma

Is there such a thing as ‘collective karma'? Can a nation be subject to a ‘karma' for its actions? For example, the war in Iraq. Is their defeat at the arms of the Anglo-Saxons part of their karma, and will Britains and Americans reap consequences of the war?

Within the Buddhist Scriptures there is little evidence for collective karma, though the commentaries abound with karma stories. One such is the defeat of the Sakyan kingdom at the end of the Buddha's life, and the subsequent destruction of the conquering army through natural disaster. Though the Buddha reportedly knew that the war would occur due to past karmas, he still tried to intervene peacefully. The conquering army also paid for its part in the bloodshed, by being swept away by flood. (Dhammapada Aṭṭhakathā 1.46, Viṭaṭūbhavatthu). Despite the Commentarial stories, stories that are not part of the direct teachings of the Buddha, there is little in the Sutta/Vinaya to suggest that there is such a form of collective karma.

Sharon Stone's real comments

In fact Sharon stone in no way suggested that the Chinese ‘deserved' the natural disasters that have wrought so much damage in China recently. Her comments are on record via youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYoZEn9vlzE&feature=related - there is an introduction in Chinese, but then a minute or so in you can see the video of her comments for yourself. Unplanned and off-the-cuff  remarks are rarely well worded and I am sure she would re-phrase if she could. Still, she plainly mentions that what is inspiring is that despite the terrible treatment the Tibetans have received at the hands of the Chinese, their reaction to the disaster was to try and help. She claims such a compassionate reaction moved her to tears.

Sometimes you have to learn to put your head down and be of service, even if with people who aren't nice to you. And that's a big lesson for me

She had begun referring to the Tibetan situation saying

no one should be unkind to anyone else

and that she was unhappy with the Chinese treatment of the Dalai Lama. She says she wondered

is that karma? When you are not nice and bad things happen to you?

Underlying Tendency

The upa-kilesa are a Buddhist teaching that says even if you are not affected by greed, hatred or any other negative emotion in the present moment, you still have the underlying tendencies towards those emotions within you. It is clear when you hear of things like road rage, or see your own frustrations boil over and get pointed at your wife/husband or family. Such states of mind can remain there bubbling away even when you are not directly aware of them.

In this case it is the tendency to indignation. That, and the joy of shooting down a ‘celebrity' which is a particular favourite passtime of the gutter press. Thus the report, deliberately putting the comments out of context said:

US actress Sharon Stone has sparked a storm of criticism in China after suggesting the earthquake that killed at least 67,000 was bad "karma" after Beijing's policy in Tibet, state media said Wednesday.

Of course, she said nothing of the kind, as you can see for yourself on the video. Why is it that the press and public are so complicit in doling out blame? And most especially dishing it out to public figures? Jealousy or envy?  How does the fragile ego delight so readily in boosting itself through putting others down?

I want her to say sorry. It's not for me. It's for the dead people

Responded one Chinese man, also on youtube.

 All in all, though she could have used better phraseology, and although she is most certainly sorry for the whole affair,  Sharon Stone can stand by her statement, and her sentiment that the Tibetans are inspiring people indeed to respond with kindness to a governing invader who has mistreated them so badly over the last 50 years.

What makes a belief system a religion, and what makes it a sect? Sometimes the distinction is clear, and sometimes it is a grey area - even Buddhism has its groups with sect like tendencies. Most people cannot say what exactly makes a cult, but feel it is just something they know when they see it. Evaluating a group can be tricky, but there are some signs too look for that are distinctive traits of cults.

The Fundalmentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has been in the news a lot recently after it was revealed to practice polygamy and pressure (if not actually force) teenage female members into marriage. They claim religious freedom, but the values of the free and democratic world disagree. The latest rulings say the removal of 400 children from the Yearning for Zion Ranch was unlawful, and they should be returned. The case will probably drag on for a long time, challenging as it does our concepts of freedom of choice.
In another ‘cult' case in London, a teenager was freed from charges stemming from his taking part in a protest where he held up a sign saying

Scientology is not a religion, it is a dangerous cult

The court found the placard to be neither ‘abusive or insulting'. Similar protesters in Edinburgh, Scotland were told by both court officials and the Police that they had ‘no issue' with the word ‘cult' used in peaceful protests.

Marks of a Cult

Many groups dwell in grey areas of cultish behaviour, including some Buddhist groups, due to restrictive policies and teachings. It is up to each individual to maintain their critical faculties and decide where the boundaries lie. Typically Buddhism maintains an approach of open investigation. Dhamma is to be investigated individually by the wise, and should not be pursued as a dogma.
The Marks of Cults below is only a rough guide, that highlights some of the characteristic signs of a cult, and each involves a judgment call:

• Money
  All groups have expenses and programs to maintain, but cults (and semi-cults) make a determined effort to separate people from their money. In many cases they require members to actively engage in full time fund raising for the group. The raising and spending of money should be transparent, and be of benefit to the group as a whole, and not particular individuals.
• Isolation
  It is a mark of calculated control when people are encouraged or required to sever communication with their families. Often a family will disagree with their children's choices, but that should remain a personal relationship problem and never a characteristic of the religious group. Scientology is frequently accused in this regard. In other cases Cult members are encouraged to only associate with other members both in work and socially, keeping away from the ‘real' world. Some Buddhist groups also discourage any contact with other mainstream forms of Buddhism.
• Sex
  While free sex groups are not necessarily cults, any reputable religious group will discourage promiscuity and never condone systematized policies of sexual favours. This is one aspect that occurs frequently, such as with the quasi-sect started by Charles Manson, or with the Latter Day Saints group above.
• Personality Driven
  Meaning that there is a strong charismatic leader around whom the cult has developed. Not all charismatic religious leaders are cultists, but all cults do have strong charismatic leaders. In a few cases a charismatic Doctrine/dogma can replace the leader, especially in the instance of a cult based around a deceased guru.
• Dogma
  Exclusive Dogma: "Only we know the truth". "Everyone else is wrong" Often followed by "criticizing us is going against God" [or other authority]. Similarly anyone who leaves the cult has gone against God, or fallen into Evil ect... Individual thought and opinion is discouraged in favour of the group's party line.

While it is right to think of the victims of the disasters, and to try and help in what ways are possible, it is also a good opportunity to reflect on your own position. You have life, health, safety, food ... It is inevitable that just about everyone takes the precious situation of safety they enjoy for granted. Putting off meditation to another day, putting on a movie as a cheap but ultimately worthless escape ... Here is one analogy the Buddha gave:

The Four Snakes

Imagine four snakes, of fierce heat and fearful venom. Then a man comes by who is fond of his life, not seeking death, fond of happiness and loathing pain and is charged to look after them .... Now good fellow, whenever one of these four snakes gets angry, then you will come by your death or mortal pain.

The snakes represent the Four Great Elements, Earth (solidity) Fire (heat) Water(fluidity) and air (movement). The combination of the four elements was a common way to consider the human body in India, and illness was the failure or disruption of one of these elements. When one of the snakes is roused and becomes angry - killing the one looking after them - this represents one of the elements getting so badly out of kilter that you die.

We are only happy when dreaming of future happiness - Pascal

The purpose of the analogy is to warn that your human body is going to let you down, and ultimately kill you. Time is precious, and any number of disasters lurk ready to ambush your best laid plans. As a reflection this is true enough, but the vivid imagery of the snakes is designed to help turn it from a sombre reflection into a pressing urgency to work for your merit and liberation. Monks have a chant in this regard -

The days and the nights are endlessly passing. How well am I spending my time?

On a more worldly level, there are a number of places where contributions can be made to the relief efforts. One of our regulars Jessica wrote last week :

We have been able to channel money inside now directly to local partners in both yangon and ayerwaddy areas, more is needed for them to buy goods coming down from mandalay and china. if anybody is looking for ways to support, they are welcome to donate via the bank account details, or drop in to the SNF office at 666 Charoen Nakhon Rd, Klongsan.

Burma's cyclone
Humanitarian Aid Needed
 
Spirit in Education Movement (SEM) and the International Network of Engaged Buddhists (INEB) under Sathirakoses-Nagapradeepa Foundation (SNF), would like to request funds to support relief work in Yangon and the Ayerwaddy delta region, through the local network of partner social activists inside the country.
 
If any of you wish to contribute support for the cyclone victims, please donate to:
 
Sathirakoses-Nagapradeepa Foundation (SNF)
Registration with the Thai's Ministry of Education, 1969
 
Bank Details:
Account Name :       Sathirakoses-Nagapradeepa Foundation (SNF)
A/C Number:            024-2-59705-9
Bank Name :            Siam Commercial Bank
Branch :                  Charoen Nakorn
Bank Address :         Siam Commercial Bank, Charoen Nakorn Road, Klongsan, Bangkok 10600
SWIFT CODE:           SICO TH BK
 

Also the Dasa 2nd hand Book Cafe on Sukhumvit near to the Emporium has been running a reputable collection for relief aid. Some of us will be meeting there on Sunday June 1st 11:15 before going to the WBU Talk.

Fotografiile cu studenţi culegând gogoşari, un mozaic de chipuri necunoscute, nenumăratele variaţiuni ale uneia şi aceleiaşi scene de gen, “studenţi în practică”, nu-mi spuneau absolut nimic. Dar eram în stare să privesc de sute de ori transformarea miraculoasă a hârtiei albe pe fundul cuvei cu revelator: apariţia primelor forme, la început timide, apoi din ce în ce mai pronunţate, accentuarea diferenţiată a griurilor mai întâi uniforme şi naşterea în clar-obscur a câte unui portret, apariţia lentă a conturului unui peisaj, ghicirea primelor gesturi, a primelor mişcări, prima citire a sensului unei imagini – aşteptam toate astea cu aceeaşi nerăbdare copilărească şi le priveam cu aceeaşi fascinaţie ca în prima zi când fusesem primit în “laboratorul” ad-hoc din baie.

Fotografia a fost singura artă în care mi-am încercat norocul. La 12 ani am deschis într-o fostă bucătărie de vară un laborator foto alb-negru la ţară. Clienţii mei erau babele care-şi făceau legitimaţie de veteran de război, accidentele de circulaţie (foarte rare, de altfel, n-am prins decât vreo două), pentru că postul de poliţie nu avea fotograf, şi prietenii de joacă şi de excursii pe deal. Singurele care plăteau erau babele, dar cu ce câştigam de pe urma lor şi cu ce mai primeam de la ai mei, am reuşit să ţin laboratorul pe linia de plutire timp de două veri.

Deşi am o fobie de întuneric de care n-am scăpat nici la vârsta adultă, în laboratorul foto nu-mi era niciodată frică. Când apăsam butonul aparatului de mărit, rama mea rusească cu celulă fotoelectrică stingea lumina roşie şi rămâneam în beznă cvasi-completă. Eram singur cu personajele de pe negativ, pe care aparatul le proiecta în faţa mea într-un dreptunghi de 13x9 cm. Fixam cu privirea dreptunghiul şi, vă jur, vreme de câteva secunde mi se părea că feţele cenuşii cu păr alb, copacii alburii şi casele negre profilate pe cerul închis la culoare căpătau relief. Nu întodeauna am rezistat tentaţiei şi am încercat de mai multe ori să trec cu degetul prin mica fereastră care dădea spre negativul acelei lumi, aşa cum o vizasem eu prin obiectivul Zenitului. Dar degetul ricoşa în hârtie şi abia senzaţia tactilă a rasterului alb pe epiderma mea mă trezea din fantezie. Revelatorul scotea apoi la iveală trecerea degetului meu prin lumea reală, în care albul redevenea alb, iar culorile redeveneau griuri şi negru. Fotografiile arătau ca şi cum cineva le-ar fi răzuit cu gumă de şters chinezească, fără să reuşească să le şteargă cu adevărat, ci doar să le estompeze contrastele.

Cu ajutorul aparatului de fotografiat am descoperit în pre-adolescenţă puterea magică pe care imaginea o are asupra oamenilor. M-am refugiat în spatele obiectivului pentru că eram la fel de înfricoşat ca şi ceilalţi de întâlnirea cu mine însumi. În laboratorul foto i-am privit prima dată pe oameni în ochi, i-am dezbrăcat de hainele lor sociale şi i-am fixat în sarea de argint asemenea gâzelor într-un insectar. În clipa furată de peliculă, când gesturile îngheaţă şi vorbele tac, i-am descoperit pe mulţi dintre ei altfel decât îi ştiam: prin ferestrele sufletului, rămase pentru o fracţiune de secundă întredeschise, am simţit uneori frica leului şi alteori am văzut cum bate inima omului de tinichea. Am înţeles atunci de ce portretul cuiva care poartă ochelari de soare e la fel de neconcludent ca o expunere contre-jour.

Citeam multe cărţi despre fotografie în vremea aceea şi am absolvit şi cursurile unei şcoli populare de artă foto-cinematografică. Pe măsură ce dobândeam mai multe cunoştinţe şi îmi formam, întrucâtva, şi gustul, mi-am dat seama că fotografia e mai mult decât un meşteşug şi că cere un sacrificiu de timp şi de exerciţiu, pe care nu mă simţeam în stare să i le dedic. În cele din urmă am renunţat, după o ultimă recidivă la 18 ani, şi de atunci sunt circumspect în a folosi altceva decât aparatul de fotografiat al telefonului mobil şi chiar şi pe acesta destul de rar.

Cred că am capitulat definitiv când am văzut o serie de portrete făcute unor scriitori şi artişti de Cartier Bresson: nimic din limbajul de specialitate pe care, la vremea aceea, îl stăpâneam, nu puteau explica atmosfera de “particularitate”, de adecvare la subiect, pe care o respirau acele imagini. Fereastra lui Bresson mi s-a părut atunci magică şi inaccesibilă, aşa cum mi se păruse în copilărie procesul de revelare a imaginii pe hârtia fotografică.

Liberalizarea acestei arte, odată cu apariţia fotografiei digitale, m-a îndepărtat şi mai mult de ea. Cred şi astăzi că cel mai sofisticat aparat pe care un fotograf îl are la dispoziţie este ochiul său şi mă descumpăneşte invazia de fotografie rece, lipsită de viaţă, dar impecabilă din punct de vedere tehnic, care populează revistele, ziarele şi site-urile din România. Cu timpul am făcut şi ultimul pas, mi-am învins temerile şi am trecut de cealaltă parte a obiectivului, aşa că relaţia mea cu fotografii a devenit mult mai puţin echivocă. Puţină lume ştie că într-o vreme mă pasiona acest domeniu şi prefer să fac figură de amator dezinteresat decât să mai îndrăznesc să judec o imagine care, pentru cei mai mulţi, nu trebuie să fie altceva decât un stop-cadru al realităţii.

Când mi se face dor de fotografie, deschid un album sau merg la o expoziţie. Uneori frunzăresc site-uri de autor pe Internet, deşi singurătatea pixelilor mă deprimă. Ultima dată când am folosit un aparat profesionist a fost în cadrul unui experiment regizat de Alexandru Paul: el a aranjat cadrul, iar subiecţii, între care m-am numărat şi eu, şi-au dat jos hainele, s-au privit în oglinda aşezată deasupra obiectivului şi au apăsat declanşatorul. Când am plecat din studioul lui Alex, n-am simţit nevoia să-mi scot vechiul aparat de la naftalină. Dimpotrivă, mi-am dat seama că, dacă tot stau în faţa obiectivului, prefer să ştiu că pe vizor se uită un ochi mai bine format decât al meu şi că măcar declanşatorul se află pe mâinile cuiva în care pot să am încredere.

Din fericire, această istorie despre abandon are un happy-end. Când am văzut, peste câteva luni, fotografia în expoziţie, m-am putut privi pentru prima dată în ochi aşa cum nu cred s-o mai fi făcut vreodată. Şi, spre deosebire de vremea când mă refugiam în negativul unei lumi micşorate la 9x13cm, de data asta mi-a plăcut ce-am văzut.

:: Revista Photo, aprilie 2008
:: Foto: Cornel Radu

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Humans alone practice religion because they're the only creatures to have evolved imagination

Says Maurice Bloch, in an article in the abc news.

He is not the first to boil religion and human existence down and flip it off with some vacuous oversimplification. The argument goes that through imagination we can relate to beings who are not directly present - be it a tribal or national leader, a rain deity or God himself. Therefore ??? Yes; all religion is imagination of a  ‘Bearded man in the clouds'. Communist China would probably agree.

The basis of Buddhism is that Enlightenment can be experienced by anyone. It is not a ‘revealed' religion where the truth has been published by God in a handy volume and your only duty is to believe it. Oh, and try to be a good person while you are at it. In fact Buddhism, like science,  starts from the opposite premise, that there is something that you don't know, but should investigate. Bloch's approach, carpet bombing all religion as Darwinian "key adaptation techniques" is a meritless tactic that is especially popular in this 'New Atheist' age of Richard Dawkins and cohorts.

All the claims of the Buddha are presented as verifiable. They cannot be ‘proven' perhaps, but they can be experienced directly through the training of the mind. This is what people are doing when they are meditating. We begin with the premise that there might be something special that we do not know, a higher truth of some kind that can be experienced if the mind is directed in the right way. On the way to this discovery, one learns much about the workings of the mind as it is investigated directly. Then, even if you are not a fully enlightened being, there is direct benefit and an understanding that goes beyond intellectualisation, and certainly beyond mere belief in 'imaginary social structures'.

Journeying in this way, the signs and pointers, the things you discover on the way marry up to what has been described by those who have gone before us. And so you gain a confidence in the Path.

The analogy is of a map - if you find the roads and landmarks on the map marry up to the experience around you, then you gain confidence in the map, and trust that it will continue to be correct all the way to your destination. The Buddha said this is like discovering an ancient path in the forest that leads to a city. You can follow the path, and tell others about it so they can go too if they choose. No one can walk the path for you however - you have to make the journey yourself.

Chris Frith of University College London, a co-organiser of a "Sapient Mind" meeting in Cambridge last September, thinks ... that "theory of mind" - the ability to recognise that other people or creatures exist, and think for themselves - might be as important as evolution of imagination. Abc news quotes:

"As soon as you have theory of mind, you have the possibility of deceiving others, or being deceived," he says. This, in turn, generates a sense of fairness and unfairness, which could lead to moral codes and the possibility of an unseen "enforcer" - God - who can see and punish all wrong-doers.

"Once you have these additions of the imagination, maybe theories of God are inevitable," he says.

In contrast to the meditators journey into the mind, the above ‘map' seems rather specious. Speculation on top of speculation, multiplied by a ‘long enough' time period might result in ...

So here is the proposition. There is something called Enlightenment. There is a way of being, and a way of training the mind. It is of immense benefit to the meditator at the beginning, the middle and the end of the way. It is something verifiable in direct experience, with the only caveat that you must train the mind in meditation first.

This way you can govern your perceptions, see the way you create suffering by grasping, and take back some control putting wisdom ahead of the unruly mind. Secondly you can deliberately focus attention on certain perceptions that foster wisdom and good qualities. Such perceptions include impermanence, dukkha, the fragility of your own life, old age/illness/death etc. One insight that comes from this is just how much Dukkha you creat for yourself.

'We are not disturbed by events, but by the view we take of them'.

Stoic philosopher Epictetus

A recent story shows a not uncommon ability of a hypnotist to focus his attention where he wishes to, and keep the mind from creating suffering, even when surgeons are chiselling away at his thumb bones.

A hypnotist has undergone surgery on his right hand without anaesthetic.

Alex Lenkei, 61, from Worthing, West Sussex, sedated himself by hypnosis before the 83-minute operation.

He told the BBC he was fully aware of everything going on around him but free from pain.

The operation at Worthing Hospital involved removing some bone in the base of the thumb and fusing some joints in an attempt to improve his arthritis.

Mr Lenkei said: "It took between 30 seconds to a minute for me to place myself under hypnosis, and from that point I felt a very deep relaxation.

"I was aware of everything around me, from people talking and at one stage a hammer and chisel was used as well as a surgical saw, but I felt no pain."

Throughout the operation, an anaesthetist was on standby to administer an anaesthetic if necessary.

Consultant orthopaedic surgeon David Llewellyn-Clark said he'd been confident Mr Lenkei was a skilled hypnotist and was "delighted all went well".

Is this meditation?

Lenkei is focussing his attention expertly. He is not letting his mind create suffering around the situation. And, he claims that he is fully aware of everything going on around him.

While the article focuses on the ‘party trick' which makes for good news, it does demonstrate just how far the mind can be trained by a gifted meditator.

Priest blesses strip clubA Russian priest was left cursing after he was tricked into giving a sacred blessing to a strip bar.

Father Nickolai blessed the Studio 74 strip club in the city of Chelyabinsk after he was told it was a ballet school.

The Orthodox priest claims he had no idea it was a strip club and that he had been tricked by the owners - who told him it was a hall for training ballet dancers.

Studio 74 spokeswoman Anna Usmanova said: "Ever since we had this sacred act performed on our premises customers say they have experienced an entirely new atmosphere here and more people are coming in. The blessing seems to be working."

 There is no apparent reason for priests and monks not to do such ceremonies. Bar girls and club owners - all can be good people, and should be able to maintain their connection to their respective traditions.