Mindfulness & Meditation - Deeper Levels Of Happiness
Kadam Ben Seel, resident teacher at Ashoka Kadampa Meditation Centre, Plymouth UK, explains how our every day happiness is transient but through meditation and mindfulness we can find true, deep happiness and peace of mind.
Teaching excerpt, taken from the public talk, Health and Happiness Through Meditation and Mindfulness in Plymouth University, UK in 2015.
Buddha Vihar Gulbarga
Buddha Vihara ( Budh Vihar), located six kilometers away from Gulbarga, adjacent to the Gulbarga University campus has transformed Gulbarga to a major Buddhist pilgrim center when it was dedicated to the nation by the former President of India, Smt. Pratibha Patil and the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet in January 2009. The Buddha Vihar complex blends the best of architectural features of eminent Buddhist centers of Sanchi, Sarnath, Ajanta and Nagpur and has been constructed conforming to traditional Buddhist architecture by the Siddartha Vihar Trust at the cost of more than Rs 8 crores. It is one of the biggest Buddhist centers in the country and is worth a visit not only to obtain peace and inner happiness but also to check out the remarkable architecture, the beautiful, sprawling complex as well as the innumerable attractions here. This one-of-a-kind spiritual center is also a great tourist attraction, a center of creativity and research. The Buddha Vihar serves as a great tribute to Buddha, Basava and Ambedkar who are revered social reformers.The construction of Budh Vihar commenced in 2002. Originally conceived as a small center, the trust changed the blueprint to transform it into a huge complex spread across 18 acres. Artisans, craftsmen and carpenters from Bangalore (Bengaluru), Gulbarga, Mysore, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan have worked for years to make this dream project a reality. This gigantic monument has been described as a link between tradition and modernity. One of the Buddhist centers of pilgrimage and learning, Sannathi in Gulbarga is of great historical significance. King Ashoka sent his son Mahindra and daughter Sanghamitra as his emissaries to spread Buddhism in this region. There is a village named after Kanakamuni, one of the Panchdhyani Buddhas near Sannathi. The Archaeological Society of India has excavated the ruins of a Buddhist stupa in a nearby village. Archaeologists also found seven Buddha statues dating back to the 3rd century BC in Sannathi in addition to statues of eight kings of the Satavahana dynasty who embraced Buddhism.The Buddha Vihar reminds one of the remarkable Taj Mahal in some respects though it is vastly different in construction and appearance. The Vihar’s dome is an RCC structure with Italian white marble chips unlike the Taj which is made wholly of white marble. It has been built using nearly 1,500 tonnes of cement, 250 tonnes of steel, 5 lakh bricks and 200 cubic meters of sand. The center has a main building which has a meditation centre at the cellar and a Lord Buddha Chaitya (temple in Pali) on the ground floor. The dome is 70 feet high and has a diameter of 59 feet. There are four Ashoka pillars in the corner of the main building, each 48-ft tall.The complex consists of a museum, where another idol of Lord Buddha is installed. The ground floor of the main complex has an expansive Dhyana Mandir or meditation hall. Here there is a 6.5 ft tall black granite Buddha statue made in Bidadi by the eminent sculptor Ashok Gudigar of Ramanagaram District. The chanting of the mantra ‘Buddham Sharanam Gacchami’, meaning ‘I take refuge in the supreme knowledge’, reverberates in the huge hall. With an area of 15,625 sq ft the prayer hall in Buddha Vihara has 170 pillars and 284 blocks. Each block has a carving representative of the architecture of the Buddha temples of Ajanta, Ellora, Nagpur, Bodh Gaya, Saranath, Rajgir, Lumbini, Kusinara, Thailand, Singapur, Sri Lanka, Tibet, Japan and Rome. The marbled floor of the hall has a seating capacity of 1500. There are 28 huge ventilators named after Buddhas of various eras.The chief attraction in Buddha Vihara is the gold coated panchaloha ( five metals) statue of the seated Buddha which is 8.5 ft high. This is believed to be the tallest Buddha statue in the south. The statue was imported from Thailand and consecrated in 2008. The complex also has statues of Buddha’s disciples Ananda and Kashyapara. The hall here has a seating capacity of 500. The walls depict cement carvings of Jataka Tales,
Jainism | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
00:02:19 1 Main principles
00:02:28 1.1 Non-violence (iahimsa/i)
00:05:23 1.2 Many-sided reality (ianekāntavāda/i)
00:09:35 1.3 Non-attachment (iaparigraha/i)
00:11:32 1.4 Jain ethics and five vows
00:13:45 2 Practices
00:13:54 2.1 Asceticism
00:15:35 2.2 Food and fasting
00:17:46 2.3 Meditation
00:19:44 2.4 Rituals and worship
00:23:50 2.5 Festivals
00:27:16 2.6 Monasticism
00:30:19 2.7 Supplementary vows and iSallekhana/i
00:31:03 3 Traditions and sects
00:31:13 3.1 Digambaras and Śvētāmbaras
00:35:02 3.2 Other sub-traditions
00:36:11 3.3 Gender and spiritual liberation
00:37:03 4 Beliefs and philosophy
00:37:13 4.1 iDravya/i (Substance)
00:38:27 4.1.1 iJīva/i (Soul), iAjīva/i (Non-Soul)
00:41:18 4.2 iTattva/i (Reality)
00:42:42 4.3 Soul and Karma
00:46:12 4.4 Saṃsāra
00:48:21 4.5 Cosmology
00:52:35 4.6 God
00:54:06 4.7 Epistemology
00:55:10 4.8 Salvation, liberation
00:56:11 5 Scriptures and texts
01:00:27 5.1 Influence on Indian literature
01:02:53 6 Comparison with Buddhism and Hinduism
01:06:56 7 Art and architecture
01:09:29 7.1 Temples
01:13:24 7.2 Pilgrimages
01:14:47 7.3 Statues and sculptures
01:16:50 7.4 Symbols
01:17:05 7.4.1 Swastika
01:18:01 7.4.2 Symbol of iAhiṃsā/i
01:18:26 7.4.3 iOm/i
01:19:07 7.4.4 Jain emblem
01:20:13 7.4.5 Jain flag
01:21:16 7.4.6 iAshtamangala/i
01:21:52 8 History
01:22:01 8.1 Origins
01:23:56 8.2 Political history
01:27:01 8.3 Interaction with other religions
01:31:00 8.4 Colonial era
01:32:55 9 Jains in the modern era
01:37:10 10 See also
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I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Jainism (), traditionally known as Jain Dharma, is an ancient Indian religion. Followers of Jainism are called Jains, a word derived from the Sanskrit word jina (victor) and connoting the path of victory in crossing over life's stream of rebirths through an ethical and spiritual life. Jains trace their history through a succession of twenty-four victorious saviours and teachers known as tirthankaras, with the first being Rishabhanatha, who according to Jain tradition lived millions of years ago, and twenty-fourth being the Mahāvīra around 500 BCE. Jains believe that Jainism is an eternal dharma with the tirthankaras guiding every cycle of the Jain cosmology.
The main religious premises of Jainism are ahiṃsā (non-violence), anekāntavāda (many-sidedness), aparigraha (non-attachment) and asceticism. Devout Jains take five main vows: ahiṃsā (non-violence), satya (truth), asteya (not stealing), brahmacharya (celibacy or chastity), and aparigraha (non-attachment). These principles have impacted Jain culture in many ways, such as leading to a predominantly vegetarian lifestyle that avoids harm to animals and their life cycles. Parasparopagraho Jīvānām (the function of souls is to help one another) is the motto of Jainism. Ṇamōkāra mantra is the most common and basic prayer in Jainism.Jainism has two major ancient sub-traditions, Digambaras and Śvētāmbaras; and several smaller sub-traditions that emerged in the 2nd millennium CE. The Digambaras and Śvētāmbaras have different views on ascetic practices, gender and which Jain texts can be considered canonical. Jain mendicants are found in all Jain sub-traditions, with laypersons (śrāvakas) supporting the mendicants' spiritual pursuits with resources.
Jainism has between four and five million followers, with most Jains residing in India. Outside India, some of the largest Jain communities are present in Canada, Europe, Kenya, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Suriname, Fiji, and the United States. Major Jain festivals include Paryushana and Daslakshana, Mahavir Jayanti, and Diwali.
Freedom of religion | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Freedom of religion
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written
language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through
audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio
while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using
a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:
In case you don't find one that you were looking for, put a comment.
This video uses Google TTS en-US-Standard-D voice.
SUMMARY
=======
Freedom of religion is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedom to change one's religion or beliefs.Freedom of religion is considered by many people and most of the nations to be a fundamental human right. In a country with a state religion, freedom of religion is generally considered to mean that the government permits religious practices of other sects besides the state religion, and does not persecute believers in other faiths.
Freedom of belief is different. It allows the right to believe what a person, group or religion wishes, but it does not necessarily allow the right to practice the religion or belief openly and outwardly in a public manner.
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