Hi Merle, Never met Jobs. My opinion of him and Apple is they started out great with their Macs (I have a PowerMac with 30" screen) but all this Ipadpod stuff is fluff -pop but not serious stuff.... And now I even have problems with my PowerMac...
Edgar On May 3, 2012, at 5:30 PM, Merle Lester wrote: > > buddhism and zen reached these australian shores in mid 1960's. > > it was rare to meet anyone who knew anything about buddhism and certainly not > zen.. > > now we have the buddhist temples..etc. and yoga teachers are > everywhere..it's all mainstream. > > tai chi is on the rise as well > > saw a doco on steve jobs last night...he was apparently into zen meditation.. > > so what's your take on steve jobs edgar?.. > > did you meet him when you were the hippy in california woodstock days, edgar? > > would you agree he has coupled science/ technology/ business and married it > to humanity through the creative process? > > cheers > > merle > > > > > >> Interesting but take with a grain of salt.... Edgar >> >> >> >> Stanford scholar tracks meditation's migration from ancient monasteries to >> modern yoga >> >> May 2nd, 2012 in Psychology & Psychiatry >> >> For many Americans, "yoga" conjures up mental images of athletic-minded >> people engaging in a simultaneous "warrior pose" while being told to focus >> on their breathing. >> What many yoga enthusiasts may not realize is that this athletic practice >> represents only one of the various ways in which aspects of Buddhism have >> infiltrated the secular American culture. >> From its start, Buddhism has emphasized the achievement of a state of >> liberation and enlightenment, which can be achieved through a variety of >> methods, including meditation. Historically, this mentally challenging >> practice has been limited to monasteries and not even utilized by the >> typical Buddhist. Over time, however, the less technical forms of meditation >> have become popular in the United States – a glimpse of which can be seen in >> the athletic practice of yoga and its focus on counting one's measured >> breaths. >> Religious Studies Professor Carl Bielefeldt has dedicated his academic >> career to the study of 13th century Japanese Zen, a tradition of Buddhism >> that emphasizes the practice of meditation. As Bielefeldt describes it, the >> deep visualization of more technical meditation could not realistically play >> a role in modern American life. "I am not going to get up in the morning and >> enter into a deep state of trance and visualize something because then I >> will be late for work, so instead I will get up in the morning and watch my >> breath in and out." >> Tracing the route to modern Buddhist meditation >> As the editor of a project to translate the scriptures of the largest school >> of Zen in Japan, the Soto Zen School, Bielefeldt is shedding light on the >> works of the 13th century Zen master Dōgen. >> Bielefeldt said he is providing annotation and translation of the master's >> often-obscure essays in hopes that the English translation will help his >> work to be more accessible to the international community. >> Buddhist meditation has taken a long journey to reach U.S. shores. While it >> technically began in China in the seventh century, it was not popular in >> countries such as Japan and Korea until approximately 1200. >> When Japan opened itself to the West in the 19th century, Buddhism changed >> forever. As Western ideas of religion and the academic field of religious >> studies began to flood into the country, many citizens began to view their >> spiritual practice of Buddhism as a form of religion for the first time. >> Not only did Western influence come into the country, but Japanese >> traditions of Zen flowed out as well. "Zen became popular in the West, but >> then there was a certain kind of feedback system where people in Japan >> became more interested in Zen, saying 'Oh, other people outside of Japan >> find this interesting, maybe there is something more to it,' " Bielefeldt >> said. >> Despite this feedback system, the movement of meditation from the >> monasteries to ordinary communities in Japan and other Asian nations did not >> rival the movement in the United States. As Buddhism moved to the western >> hemisphere, meditation began to spread into the broader cultures, even >> outside of the religious realm. Today, Bielefeldt notes, meditation is used >> in health care as a way of coping with pain and in the sports industry as a >> way to focus the mind. >> "We [Americans] don't really have much example, certainly to this degree, of >> a religion escaping from its religious tradition and background and >> community into the broader culture," said Bielefeldt. "We are looking at a >> religion that is going to have broader diffuse influence on American culture >> than any other major religion." >> Bringing meditation theory into the classroom >> Recently, Bielefeldt brought his broader interest in meditation into the >> classroom. His winter-quarter class on Buddhist Yoga was created to give >> students a basic understanding of meditation's role within Buddhism and >> societies across the globe. >> Bielefeldt connected with students through an emphasis on meditation's >> journey from Japanese monasteries to San Francisco apartments. >> "Meditation appeals to what is more interesting, typically, about Buddhism," >> said Bielefeldt. "It is a religion in which we can do something, do a >> practice, a kind of utilitarian or therapeutic practice." >> The class focused on meditation as a form of Buddhist soteriology or, in >> other words, as a theory of salvation or "what people in the religion want >> or expect to get, hope to get, and how they get it." >> In class, Bielefeldt focused on the meditation path taken by some Buddhists >> to achieve this salvation. Buddhism, unlike other religions, is not a way of >> life, but rather a means to get from one state to another. "Buddhism is >> often said to be a raft that takes you from one shore to the other shore," >> said Bielefeldt. "Then you don't carry the raft with you afterwards." >> Buddhists generally strive to achieve the three elements of the spiritual >> discipline before they can reach their desired end state of awakening: >> ethics, mental (including meditation) and wisdom. "Meditation is a kind of >> door between the elements," said Bielefeldt. "In one sense it's a kind of >> behavior, so it has to do with ethic. In another sense it involves certain >> states of understanding, so it is connected with wisdom." >> While some Buddhists approach meditation through the traditional practice of >> visualization, "It is really complex and requires a lot of work," said >> Bielefeldt. "It is not a thing that you can just sit down and do on a >> Saturday." >> The technicality of this meditation has, for the most part, been limited to >> Buddhists in monasteries rather than ordinary practicing Buddhists. It is >> only since the 20th century that there have been concerted efforts to bring >> meditation practices out of the monasteries. >> Through this movement, the more popular forms of meditation have been the >> less technical ones, the "mindfulness practices." These mindfulness >> practices, however, have taken a much stronger hold in ordinary communities >> in the United States than in many Asian countries. >> Provided by Stanford University >> "Stanford scholar tracks meditation's migration from ancient monasteries to >> modern yoga." May 2nd, 2012. >> http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-stanford-scholar-tracks-meditation-migration.html >> > > > > > >
