This blog post is the part of a series of storytelling pieces, "Beyond My Personal Battle". The interview-based series is dedicated to sharing an inside view of individual lives working to grow and thrive beyond the diverse challenges of illness or disability. All interviews are conducted by Mary Brimmer.
What is your name and where are you from? What's your diagnosis and how did you come to it?
My name is Evan Smith and I was born and raised in Saratoga, New York. I'm thirty years-old and for the past three years I have had horrible chronic pain in my lower back which has moved to other parts of my body. The source of it is one herniated disc and two bulging discs pushing on my spinal cord, coupled with severe lordosis. All from thirteen years of hockey, six years lacrosse, six years landscaping, four years framing, weight lifting with horrible posture, and the joy of hard labor in general.
I felt that there was something else wrong internally but couldn't figure it out. The symptoms were just like Lyme Disease, so I decided to get tested for it and the doctors said no. About two years later, I went to get tested for Lyme again at the Stram Center in Vermont and found out not only that I've had it since I was nineteen, but that I was reinfected a couple years prior. It made sense because during most of my twenties I was so sick and I'd had a bullseye the size of a dinner plate.
The pain seems to have a mind of its own and it can really affect my life at all times. I have two disks in my lower back that are pushing on my spinal cord and one of them has exploded so it's in horrible inflammation all the time. It's just considered chronic pain, but the Lyme Disease was diagnosed very quickly back in the spring and I was able to get rid of it in a few months by doing energy healing.
Can you tell us about the low of your chronic pain and Lymes, to put your story into context?
In the real heart of the pain, I was brought into a state of severe anxiety and I was stuck in a [fight-or-flight] state. The anxiety was about as bad as you can think. I lost thirty pounds in a month and I couldn't eat or sleep. Anything you can imagine being enjoyable wasn't there for me. The only thing that felt good was taking a shower, but afterwards, my pain and anxiety would be worse. At that point, I felt I had nothing to look forward to. I didn't have a purpose and I didn't see the beauty in anything. All I saw was pain and that pain became suicidal thoughts.
How has energy healing helped you move beyond your pain?
I started the energy healing a little over a year ago. It deals with your emotions and past life regression, digging in to find the root of all the issues that we have. The energy healing helps release pain of the past that's in the soul and pain that's been acquired through this life. It has entirely changed my life. I'm a completely different person. I had a lot of anger growing up, throughout most of my life, and the anger is almost gone. The purpose is to revive the soul and to bring love into our lives... when we do that, whatever condition that we have can become tremendously better or can even be cured altogether.
How did you come to find energy healing? Was that something suggested to you by a doctor, a friend or a family member?
A couple years ago I started to really try and tackle the chronic pain with practitioners. I've done acupuncture, physical therapy, massages, sensory deprivation tanks and more. I've never done any type of medication though – I have not done pharmaceuticals. I also haven't seen a therapist. My path was to use the advice of all the practitioners to guide me. I mentioned to one of the practitioners that I was feeling like something was inside of me that was probably causing my anxiety and back pain. He recommended an energy healer who uses past life regression and it took me a little while to see them, but when I did go, it was an immediate change in my life. My partner, Sarah, started to go too and it completely changed her life as well. I would actually recommend it to every human being on earth. It helps you to dig into your soul, to find purpose and love and replace the fear, hatred, and negative emotions that we carry day to day.
How would you explain your relationship with your condition and how it has changed over time?
At first, three years ago, there was a lot of anger. Anger towards myself, at the chronic pain, and just the feeling of being a victim. Over time, it's become a blessing because, without the pain, I would not have done the healing that I've done to discover myself. Now, as a health coach, it's led me to help people. The pain allowed me to slow down and really start listening. Regardless of what anyone may think of it being bad or good, it's all happened for a reason. Something that was horrible has now become something that I know I can not only help subside, but that I can also help cure with love and optimism.
How do you feel your condition has influenced others?
It's definitely changed the people around me. It was hard at first because a lot of people, especially those closest to me, didn't really understand and would try to relate it to some of their own experiences. That was hard for the soul at first, but over time they've seen my growth and the growth of my partner. They've seen how my chronic pain has changed and what I've done with it. It has slowly changed the people around me to be more appreciative for what they have.
At first, I would put myself in situations for others where I would be in excruciating pain. I really couldn't be there and that definitely affects others – when you're down and out. Now, I realize that I need to take care of myself first if I'm going to take care of others. In taking care of myself and putting myself in situations that I love instead of situations that would have brought me tremendous pain the past, [life] is so much better.
Is there anything you wish others knew about you and your battle?
The most important thing would be that anyone can change. The anger and the pain that I had in the past...and the fear... is curable, and mine's gone for the most part. I'm still working on it, it'll be a long process.
Do you think it's something that you'll always be working on or do you think you'll reach a point where you don't really feel the pain anymore?
In terms of the soulful journey, it's definitely perpetual. It will be, until the day I die, but I believe that there's a point where the pain might not be there or it might not register enough to affect my life at all. That's really the main goal for me – to get it to a point where it no longer affects my life. There's nothing I can do about it so I'll just continue to use my mind, and that includes meditation and breath-work, to tell my brain that it's okay.
Can you describe one of the most pivotal moments of your journey?
The thing that really turned things around was when Sarah made me cry. Just by crying, I released a lot of anxiety. It was the vulnerability and the humility that I needed to turn around. If she hadn't made me cry, I don't know what would have happened. It did get to the point of very intense suicidal thoughts, and now I've come to a place where I can't even imagine that because my purpose and my journey here is so important. There's just no way. I really hit rock bottom. I saw the Grim Reaper, but now when I wake up, the world is just beautiful. It's a blank canvas and I can wake up and see that anything is possible. Sometimes I'll wake up with pain and it's okay. I know that I can remember how good I can feel and how quickly I can feel that good and that's what keeps me going.
What advice would you give to someone who is in a similar position as you, who is battling the same thing or something like it?
First, that we are our own worst critics… so be kind to yourself. Second is that one the most helpful things for me was to find a purpose. I can't really tell anyone how to find their purpose, but it's really important and with it will come a decrease in fear and hatred. Things like spite and resentment will go away. The soulful journey might come before the purpose or the purpose might bring on the soulful journey, but whatever you're going through, it is necessary and it is beautiful.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: As we have said before, our Ben Wedeman is standing by live in Jerusalem. He is going to tell us about the latest on the explosion in a supermarket there -- good morning, Ben. What can you tell us?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Carol. At least 17 people have been injured in an explosion in a Jerusalem supermarket. It went off in the Kiryat Yovel neighborhood of southern Jerusalem.
According to the Israeli police, it was a female suicide bomber who let off the explosion. They say there are still explosives on the scene, so they are approaching it with extreme caution.
Now, according to some reports, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade has claimed responsibility for this explosion. That is a group that has been affiliated with Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement. That is about all the information we have from there at the moment.
There are also reports of one body on the scene that could be the body of the female suicide bomber -- Carol.
COSTELLO: We are getting reports there could be another person dead as well. Are you hearing anything about that, Ben?
WEDEMAN: No. And really, having covered too many of these suicide bombings here in Israel, I can tell you in the first hour or two, it is really very difficult to get solid information. It's a real scene of pandemonium at these events, and it's very difficult to ascertain hard information. And certainly when you hear the initial numbers of 17 wounded, it's not clear how many of those are critically wounded, moderately wounded, people in shock. So very difficult, as I say, to provide clear and precise information so shortly after this sort of a bombing -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Ben, is it safe to say that Anthony Zinni's cease-fire plan is dead?
WEDEMAN: Well, his plan is not dead. It certainly isn't in very good condition; this after the Israeli entry into Ramallah this morning. Now, the Israeli forces are surrounding the Palestinian leader's headquarters in Ramallah, after last night's attack in the northern West Bank that left four Israelis dead, after this morning, another attack in the Gaza Strip on an Israeli settlement that left two Israelis dead. Really Mr. Zinni has got a difficult task ahead of him. U.S. officials say he is going to stay in the region to try to work out a cease-fire, but certainly at this point, things really do appear to be spinning out of control, and there is only so much Mr. Zinni can do to stop the violence -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Well, the Palestinians have called this war. Is it war? Can we say it is now? Because it certainly seems like it is.
WEDEMAN: Well, it's hard to say what is. For the last 18 months, we have seen rising violence in this area. We have seen Palestinians attacking Israelis, Israelis attacking Palestinians, mounting death toll day by day. It's not war yet in the sense that the Israelis are holding back much of their military power. They have deployed around the West Bank. There is armor, many soldiers. They have called up 20,000 combat reservists, but they still have a lot of hardware they are keeping in reserve.
They say they do not want to destroy the Palestinian Authority. They do not intend to arrest, harm or injure the Palestinian leader, so we are not quite at war yet, but certainly the situation does not look encouraging one little bit -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Well, Ariel Sharon says he wants to isolate Arafat, but we can't really determine exactly what that means.
WEDEMAN: Yes. He really shied away from giving a precise definition of what isolation is. Now, there has been a good deal of discussion within the Israeli cabinet as to what to do with the Palestinian leader. There are those on the left with Labor, who do not want to see the Palestinian leader unseated or exiled or in any way undercut in the sense that who would come and take his place afterwards. It could be somebody who could provide -- who could pose even more of a threat to the Israelis. On the other hand, on the right, there are those who would like to see the Palestinian leader eliminated in some sense or exiled.
So there really isn't a clear idea of what Mr. Sharon means by isolation, but certainly putting the heat under Arafat, there is no question about that -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right. Ben Wedeman reporting live from Jerusalem, and you were looking at pictures from an explosion at the supermarket, where a female suicide bomber set off a bomb injuring dozens and killing at least one person, and we believe that was the suicide bomber, although AP is reporting another person has died.


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Do soutěže mužské dvouhry na tenisovém turnaji Geneva Open 2015 nastoupilo dvacet osm hráčů. Jednalo se o první obnovený ročník turnaje na okruhu ATP Tour od roku 1991.

Vítězem dvouhry se stal nenasazený Brazilec Thomaz Bellucci, jenž ve finále zdolal portugalskou turnajovou šestku Joãa Sousu po dvousetovém průběhu 7–6 a 6–4. V probíhající sezóně si tak připsal premiérové turnajové vítězství, které představovalo čtvrtý singlový titul na okruhu ATP Tour a první po téměř třech letech.

Nasazení hráčů
Čtyři nejvýše nasazení hráči měli volný los do druhého kola.

Pavouk

Finálová fáze

Horní polovina

Dolní polovina

Odkazy

Reference

Externí odkazy

Geneva Open
Tenis ve Švýcarsku v roce 2015
ATP World Tour 2015

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Током растућих немира у Украјини након украјинске револуције 2014. године, у граду Маријупољу у Доњецкој области избили су сукоби између украјинских владиних снага, локалне полиције и сепаратистичких милитаната повезаних са Доњецком Народном Републиком. Владине снаге су се повукле из Маријупоља 9. маја 2014. године након што су тешке борбе довеле до пожара који је уништио седиште градске полиције. Ове снаге су одржавале контролне пунктове ван града. Интервенција челичане Метинвеста 15. маја 2014. довела је до уклањања барикада из центра града и обнављања патрола локалне полиције. Сепаратисти су наставили да имају штаб у другом делу града све док њихови положаји нису заузети у владиној офанзиви 13. јуна 2014.

Види још
 Проруски немири у Украјини 2014.
 Руско-украјински рат
 Рат у Донбасу
 Украјина
 Маријупољ
 Донбас
 Доњецка Народна Република
 Новорусија

Референце

Спољашње везе

Рат у Донбасу
2014.
Маријупољ
Доњецка Народна Република


text:
U.S. seeks missile-defense shields for Asia, Mideast
By Jim Wolf
WASHINGTON | Tue Mar 27, 2012 9:17am EDT
(Reuters) – The United States is seeking to build regional shields against ballistic missiles in both Asia and the Middle East akin to a controversial defense system in Europe, a senior Pentagon official disclosed on Monday.
The effort may complicate U.S. ties with Russia and China, both of which fear such defenses could harm their security even though the United States says they are designed only to protect against states like Iran and North Korea.
The U.S. push for new anti-missile bulwarks includes two sets of trilateral dialogues – one with Japan and Australia and the other with Japan and South Korea, said Madelyn Creedon, an assistant secretary of defense for global strategic affairs.
Such shields could help counter perceived threats to their neighbors from Iran and North Korea and help defend the United States from any future long-range missiles that the two countries might develop, she told a conference co-hosted by the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency.
The model would be the so-called "phased adaptive approach" for missile defense in Europe, Creedon said. This includes putting interceptor missiles in Poland and Romania, a radar in Turkey and the home-porting of missile defense-capable Aegis destroyers in Spain.
Moscow fears that such a shield, given planned upgrades, could grow strong enough by 2020 to undermine Moscow's own nuclear deterrent force. It has threatened to deploy missiles to overcome the shield and potentially target missile defense installations such as those planned in NATO members Poland and Romania.
China likely would be even more opposed to an antimissile shield in its backyard, said Riki Ellison, a prominent missile-defense advocate noted for his close ties to current and former U.S. senior military officials involved in the effort.
Beijing "would take much more offense to an Asian phased adaptive approach than Russia is doing with the European one," he said, calling regional shields a good idea in theory but problematic in reality.
GULF STATES
In the Middle East, Creedon said Washington will work to promote "interoperability and information-sharing" among the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council – Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman – as they acquire greater missile-defense capabilities.
The biggest U.S. missile defense contractors include Boeing Co, Lockheed Martin Corp, Raytheon Co and Northrop Grumman Corp.
The Obama administration at the same time stepped back from an announcement this month that it was weighing the possibility of giving Russia certain classified missile-defense data as the price for winning its acquiescence to the European shield.
"We are not proposing to provide them with classified information," Ellen Tauscher, the administration's special envoy for strategic stability and missile defense, told the conference. Instead, she said, the Obama administration had offered Moscow a chance to monitor a flight test in international waters of a U.S. Standard Missile-3 interceptor.
This, she said, would let Russian officials see for themselves the accuracy of "what we are saying about our system." The United States argues that the U.S. system poses no threat to Russia's nuclear deterrent.
As recently as March 6, the administration had said it was continuing negotiations begun under former President George W. Bush on a pact with Moscow that could include sharing limited classified data, but said it was making no headway toward a deal with Russia.
Obama's administration was not the first "to believe that cooperation could be well-served by some limited sharing of classified information of a certain kind if the proper rules were in place to do that," Bradley Roberts, a deputy assistant secretary of defense, had told the House of Representatives' Armed Services subcommittee on strategic forces at the time.
The idea of such data-sharing drew sharp criticism from Republicans in the U.S. Congress including a move to legislate a prohibition.
The rollback on any such deal involving classified data exchange came after President Barack Obama was caught on camera on Monday assuring outgoing Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that he would have "more flexibility" to deal with contentious issues like missile defense after the November 6 U.S. presidential election.
Obama, during talks in Seoul, urged Moscow to give him "space" until after the vote, and Medvedev said he would relay the message to Russian President-elect Vladimir Putin.
(with additional reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa; Editing by Eric Beech)
Obama seeks to defuse controversy on missile comments (mb50.wordpress.com)
President Obama Asks Medvedev for 'Space' on Missile Defense – 'After My Election I Have More Flexibility' (mb50.wordpress.com)
Posted in AMERICAS, Asia, Bahrain, Middle East, North America, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, United States
Comments Off on U.S. seeks missile-defense shields for Asia, Mideast
Tags: Asia, Barack Obama, Defense, Dmitry Medvedev, interceptor missiles, Middle East, Mideast, missile, missile defense agency, Moscow, Obama, phased adaptive approach, Russia, Seoul, shields, United States, Vladimir Putin

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Chansonette-Quadrille, op. 259, är en kadrilj av Johann Strauss den yngre. Den spelades första gången den 5 oktober 1861 i Pavlovsk i Ryssland.

Historia
Flera av verken som Johann Strauss och hand bröder komponerade till sina ryska konsertsäsonger publicerades både där och i Wien, men ofta under olika titlar. Ett exempel är Rigolboche-Quadrille, vilken Johann Strauss ryske förläggare A. Büttner saluförde såsom baserad på "lättsamma sånger från Paris" så kallade chansonetter. Anledningen till att Strauss använde sig av franske material för sin nya kadrilj visar på den succé som en grupp av sångerskor från Paris åtnjöt vid tiden i Sankt Petersburg. Strauss komposition drog inte bara nytta av flickornas repertoar utan tog även titeln från den mest populära sångerskans scennamn, den blonda 'Rigolboche' (vars riktiga namn var Marguerite Badel (1842-1920)). Den ryska publiken hörde Strauss Rigolboche-Quadrille (ursprungligen kallad Französische-Quadrille) för första gången vid en välgörenhetskonsert den 5 oktober 1861. I Wien spelades kadriljen först den 11 november 1861 vid en konsert i Volksgarten då under den nya titeln Chansonette-Quadrille.

På grund av missförstånd mellan Strauss ryske förläggare A. Büttner och hans österrikiske förläggare Carl Haslinger finns det två verk med opusnumret 259. Chansonette-Quadrille och Sehnsucht, Romanze.

Om kadriljen
Speltiden är ca 5 minuter och 29 sekunder plus minus några sekunder beroende på dirigentens musikaliska tolkning.

Weblänkar
 Chansonette-Quadrille i Naxos-utgåvan.

Referenser

Noter

Kadriljer av Johann Strauss den yngre


text:
Q: message property in fetch API's catch function Please allow me to ask a possibly easy question. Can someone tell me where the message property of argument err in catch function at the end of fetch API came from? For example in the code snippet below
fetch('exmaple.json')
  .then(response => response.json())
  .then(json => randomlyMadeFunction())
  .catch(err => console.log('Fetch problem: ' + err.message));

I know fetch returns a Promise, and at the end catch function takes rejected reason as parameter, in this case err. I search many articles on MDN js reference, but I couldn't figure out where the property message of err came from. Any explanation or hint would be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

A: If an error occurs during fetch, either a AbortError or a TypeError will be passed to the catch callback, see fetch Exceptions:

*

*AbortError The request was aborted due to a call to the AbortController method abort() method.

*TypeError The specified URL string includes user credentials. This information should instead be provided using an Authorization
header.

TypeErrors are Errors and therefore have a message property, see Error.prototype.message.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


The early downtown consisted of the train station, a grocery store, a newspaper office, "The Herman Independent," a hardware store, a lumberyard, a hotel, and a bank.
The first school was District 22, located on the Charles Burdic farm southeast of Herman. Burdic rented the building for a few dollars a month. Desks were handmade of green cottonwood, the seats of cottonwood logs with the sawed side up and rough bark underneath. With the fast-burning cottonwood fuel in the box stove — no happy medium for warmth could be met. If you stood too close, it singed your clothing, and if you moved too far away, you froze. The first teacher was a German schoolmaster whose English was so poor that the students could hardly understand him.
The village quickly took shape so that by the summer of 1899, a full array of businesses lined the main street. Then, with little or no warning of the impending danger, a "cyclone" swept down upon the town on June 13th and nearly blew it away. The downtown was completely demolished, 13 people lost their lives.
Although only a few homes and businesses were left standing the people stayed, and immediately started to pick up the pieces and build anew. Herman lived on. New business houses flourished and Herman soon boasted "the largest department store for a town of its size" in Nebraska. A conservative bank emerged, along with one of the largest retail implement businesses in the state. New and bigger clothing, millinery, and grocery stores also appeared. In addition to a pool hall, restaurant, meat market, and drug store, there was also a doctor, a dentist, a veterinarian, and the Grange Hall.
The telephone company of Herman was organized in 1901 by businessmen and farmers in the area. It consisted of two lines to which all phones were connected. This simple system has grown to a company with nearly 2,000 miles of line and subscribers from a large portion of the county.
A Methodist Church was organized in 1876. Its building, dedicated in 1880, was one of the few structures left standing after the tornado. Zion Baptist's Church, organized in 1879, was totally destroyed by the storm. A new building was dedicated in 1901. In 1947 the Baptist, Methodist, and Lutheran churches from Hill Creek combined, forming the Herman Federated Church. One Christian program is now offered under the leadership of one pastor.
After spending two years in the old log schoolhouse, a 12 by 24-foot school was built just south of town. The town's third school was built on the town site and when it was out-grown in 1912, a brick building was put up for a cost of $35,000. Later, a wing was added to the west side.
In 1959-60 more space was again needed. Built a few steps away from the old building, it had a combination gym and auditorium, a domestic science room, science labs, a shop, bringing together in one location many activities that had formerly been located in separate spaces. That building cost $125,000.
In 1969, after increasing problems in meeting state curriculum standards and finding qualified teachers, it was decided to merge the Herman junior and senior high school with the Tekamah school system. K-6 students still attend classes in Herman.
Herman's peak population of 427 residents was reached in 1940. Currently home to 340, Herman has a lovely city park and an active volunteer fire department.
Centennial activities, held August 19-21, 1971, marked the 100th year with a busy three-day birthday party.
ADDITIONAL MATERIAL: Washington County History, published by Taylor Publishing Co, 1980.


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Home Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. Politics
Here are the biggest moments from the chaotic first Trump-Biden debate
Lauren Frias, Jake Lahut, and Sonam Sheth
The Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden, with President Donald Trump during Tuesday night's debate at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.
Olivier Douliery/Pool via Reuters
The first presidential debate between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden was characterized by yelling, interrupting, falsehoods, and conspiracy theories — most of it from Trump.
The president said the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group, should "stand by" amid nationwide protests against racism.
The president repeated misinformation about Biden's son Hunter and his foreign business dealings.
The interruptions were so over-the-top that the debate moderator Chris Wallace pleaded with Trump several times to stop. Biden took a more blunt approach, telling Trump to "shut up."
Scroll down for more highlights from the first 2020 presidential debate.
Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden went head-to-head in a chaotic first debate Tuesday night.
The night was dominated by yelling, interruptions, and wild conspiracy theories, mostly coming from Trump. In all, as Business Insider's John Haltiwanger wrote, the debate was a "political horror show."
Here are the highlights from the hour-and-a-half debate:
Trump went after Biden over his intelligence and where he went to college
In one of Trump's harshest attacks of the evening, the president berated Biden over his academic credentials — despite his own niece accusing him of cheating on his SATs to get into the University of Pennsylvania — calling Biden the "lowest or almost the lowest in your class."
Trump also falsely accused Biden of claiming to have attended Delaware State University, a historically Black institution.
Trump told the far-right extremist Proud Boys group to 'stand by,' and its members noticed
"Proud Boys, stand back and stand by," Trump said of the neofascist group after Wallace and Biden pressed him to explicitly condemn white-supremacist groups and right-wing militias.
—Axios (@axios) September 30, 2020
Members of the Proud Boys were quick to jump on Trump's remarks, with some interpreting it as a call to violence.
—Taylor Hatmaker (@tayhatmaker) September 30, 2020
Biden told Trump to 'shut up'
Biden got fed up after Trump cut him off repeatedly in the first 20 minutes of the debate.
"Would you shut up, man?" Biden told Trump.
—ABC News (@ABC) September 30, 2020
Biden later called Trump a "clown" and expressed his disbelief at Trump's consistent efforts to interrupt him.
Trump gave a bizarre answer on climate change by talking about 'forest management'
Asked whether he believed the science behind humans contributing to climate change with greenhouse-gas emissions, Trump went on a tangent focusing mainly on wildfires. He also claimed his administration planted 1 billion trees.
—CNBC (@CNBC) September 30, 2020
Chris Wallace pleaded with Trump to stop interrupting
Things got so bad with the cross-talk and Trump cutting Biden off that Wallace stopped proceedings to make a plea to the president to play by the rules.
Trump called on his supporters to 'go into the polls and watch very carefully, because that's what has to happen'
"Will you urge your supporters to stay calm during this extended period not to engage in civil unrest, and will you pledge tonight that you will not declare victory until the election has been independently certified?" Wallace asked the candidates.
"I am urging my supporters to go into the polls and watch very carefully, because that's what has to happen," Trump said. "I am urging them to do it. As you know today, there was a big problem: In Philadelphia they went in to watch ... they were thrown out. They weren't allowed to watch. There are bad things happening in Philadelphia, bad things."
Multiple fact-checkers and election experts said the president's encouragement amounted to attempted voter suppression through intimidation.
His claims about Philadelphia were also untrue, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer: "There were several reasons — none is corruption — why elections staff did not allow members of the public to arbitrarily enter their offices. The Trump campaign has no poll watchers approved to work in Philadelphia at the moment. There are no actual polling places open in the city right now. And elections officials are following coronavirus safety regulations, such as those limiting the number of people indoors."
Honorable mention: CNN anchor's no-holds-barred assessment of the debate
"I'm just going to say it like it is: that was a s---show," CNN's Dana Bash said. "And we're on cable, we can say that. Apologies for maybe being a little bit crude."
—#Song4Mom on iTunes (@iamTyphus) September 30, 2020
NOW WATCH: 'Mr. Vice President, I'm speaking': Highlights from Kamala Harris and Mike Pence's vice presidential debate
Trump Biden Election 2020


Pinterest has become more of an obsession for many people than Facebook. It is where people go to find organizational inspiration, food to drool over, and new crafting obsessions. There is really no limit to what you can find, or pin, on Pinterest. People have even started to use it for self-promotion, and businesses are actively trying to figure out how to capitalize on the phenomenon. Fortunately, there are some very good reasons they won't be able to turn Pinterest into an advertising wasteland.
The thing that really sets Pinterest apart from all of the other social bookmarking sites is the use of pictures. Finding a picture that is going to grab the interest of a lot of people is much more difficult than spinning a title that search engines will like or that will make people curious enough to click. It takes time and effort to find an image that can be used and will instantly make people want to know more. People who are trying to drive up their search engine rank often do so with poorly thought out and written content. The keywords are there but the heart is missing. Those individuals, groups, and companies are not as likely to put the effort into finding the "perfect image" for a piece of poorly written trash. This is great news for people on Pinterest, because if the image isn't there, it's never going to get pinned. Additionally, image spamming Pinterest isn't as profitable for SEO purposes as other backlink schemes are since Pinterest decided to nofollow the URLs.
The best way to snag followers is by pinning items that they find interesting or useful. If someone sees a pin and likes it they may visit the board it was originally pinned to. If it was a one-off, they will move away to more active boards. If it is a board full of other awesome and useful ideas, they will start to follow the board – maybe even all the boards by that user – and suddenly it's a traffic extravaganza for that pin, board, and user. People are not going to follow the boards of random social media "gurus" who post only those things that are self-serving. Without followers, users are back to hoping for high levels of repins to reach new people… and you're less likely to get repinned if no one is following you.
Can companies and individuals use Pinterest to promote themselves? Absolutely. Can they do it by posting poorly conceived or executed content? Not so much. Creating content that will be popular on Pinterest requires at least a modicum of effort, and the result is usually something that is funny, interesting, inspiring, or useful. Pinterest is going to help recreate Web content and social media promotion by encouraging and rewarding good content, not good spamming techniques.
Pinterest will never be more than a novelty until they can keep their servers reliably maintained. Pins frequently disappear, post multiple times with a single click; shared boards drop users, boards being followed vanish and reappear, pins and pin counts change with no interaction, etc. While the concept of Pinterest is sound, the technical mishandling of their databases means that no respectable business can rely on Pinterest as a useful visual tool. It's a social network; nothing more.


From the perspective of I Nyoman Pasek, a 43-year-old foodseller from Sidemen, Karangasem.
Do you believe in the Big Bang theory that the 13.7-billion-year-old universe and all that's in it was created by a massive explosion of enormously dense matter at what may have been the beginning of time?
No, I don't. Everything was created by God.
God is in my heart and my mind.
The mystery is the future.
There is a theory that there may be parallel universes with exact copies of us, doppelgangers, doing exactly the same thing as us right now. What do you think about that?
Our energy will disappear when we die.
People who are greedy or do wrong are judged by God.


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600. It is obligatory to offer Namaz-e-Mayyit for every Muslim, as well as for a Muslim child if it has completed 6 years of its age.
601. If a child had not completed 6 years of its age, but it was a discerning child who knew what Namaz was, then as an obligatory precaution, Namaz-e-Mayyit for it should be offered. If it did not know of Namaz, then the prayers may be offered with the Niyyat of 'Raja'. However, to offer Namaz-e-Mayyit for a still born child is not Mustahab.
602. Namaz-e-Mayyit should be offered after the dead body has been given Ghusl, Hunnut and Kafan and if it is offered before or during the performance of these acts, it does not suffice, even if it is due to forgetfulness or on account of not knowing the rule.
603. It is not necessary for a person who offers Namaz-e-Mayyit to be in Wudhu or Ghusl or tayammum nor is it necessary that his body and dress be Pak. Rather there is no harm even if his dress is a usurped one. However, it is better that while offering this Namaz one should observe all the formal rules which are normally observed in other prayers.
604. One who offers Namaz-e-Mayyit should face the Qibla, and it is also obligatory that at the time of Namaz-e-Mayyit, the dead body remains before him on its back, in a manner that its head is on his right and its feet on his left side.
605. As a recommended precaution, the place where a man stands to offer Namaz-e-Mayyit should not be a usurped one, and it should not be higher or lower than the place where the dead body is kept. However, its being a little higher or lower is immaterial.
606. The person offering Namaz-e-Mayyit should not be distant from the dead body. However, if he is praying in a congregation, then there is no harm in his being distant from the dead body in the rows which are connected to each other.
607. In Namaz-e-Mayyit, one who offers prayers should stand in such a way that the dead body is in front of him, except if the Namaz is prayed in Jama'at and the lines extend beyond on both sides, then praying away from the dead body will not be objectionable.
608. As a precaution, there should be no curtain or wall or any other obstruction between the dead body and the person offering Namaz-e-Mayyit. However, there is no harm if the dead body is in a coffin or in any other similar thing.
609. The private parts of the dead body should be concealed when Namaz-e-Mayyit is being offered. And if it was not possible to give Kafan, even then at least its private parts should be covered with a board or brick or any similar thing.
610. A person should be standing while offering Namaz-e-Mayyit and should offer it with the Niyyat of Qurbat, specifying the dead person for whom he is praying. For example, he should make his intention thus: "I am offering Namaz for this dead person in compliance with the pleasure of Allah".
611. If there is no one who is capable of praying Namaz-e-Mayyit while standing, then it can be offered while sitting.
612. If the deceased had made a will that a particular person should lead the prayers for him the recommended precaution is that such a person should take permission from the guardian of the dead person.
613. It is Makrooh to repeat Namaz-e-Mayyit a number of times, unless the dead person was an Aalim and pious one, in which case it is not Makrooh.
614. If a dead body is buried without Namaz-e-Mayyit, either intentionally or forgetfully, on account of an excuse, or if it transpires after its burial that the prayers offered for it was void, it will not be permissible to dig up the grave for praying Namaz-e-Mayyit. There is no objection to praying, with the Niyyat of Raja', by the graveside, if one feels that the decay has not yet taken place.


text:
EARLY IMAGES: PSTS
By the end of the III. BC Indo-Persian motifs Ashoka time to interact with others, and over the next century, they took shape in the well-developed pictorial system, now in the Indian style. Most of the early images were associated with a stupa, one of the three main types of Buddhist architecture. Unlike the other two - accommodation (vihara) and the prayer hall (Chaitya) - in which it was possible to go inside, stupa was solid monolithic construction. In addition, its architecture is not repeated wooden prototypes, and came from Hindu burial mounds, as evidenced by its exceptional role as a symbol of parinirvana Buddha, or his ultimate liberation from the world.
In the early stupas there are some specific details. The main part - anda - a simple hemispherical dome, put on a low platform. At the top - a column of round discs (chhatraveli), wind and umbrellas have been hidden from praying during bypass a fence or a terrace (harmika) of square pillars - a miniature copy of a large fence surrounding the entire stupa. Concealment of the central pillars of the ancient Indian custom is due, enclose the sacred objects, such as the sacred tree or a temple. Umbrellas at the top of the main pillars, leaving the core of the stupa (continued worship of the column of King Ashoka), are essential parts of the Buddhist cosmology, in which the column stands for "mountain of peace" or axis mundis - the axis of the universe, and discs - the number of celestial spheres. Umbrellas can also act as a sign of special reverence in which the objects give as gifts, and individual characters, in addition, three umbrella symbolize the three jewels: the Buddha, the Law and the monastic community, or sangha. The symbolism extends to the center of the building, to the burial place of the sacred relics - the internal elements of the stupa are often organized in the image geometry and magical schemes, such as a wheel, and then together with the relics of the body shut down from the top stupa.
Stone wall that surrounds the stupa at Sanchi in Madhya Pradesh goes back to the wooden fence with a gate, located on the right corner - they can be seen as an ancient symbol, as a "swastika," but most likely they came from the gates of the village enclosure A livestock. Four pairs of gates, the Torah indicates the four cardinal directions and their coats with deep carving beams and columns represent the major part of learning; they came their stories fascinate and pictures, as if the pilgrims had already started to commit ritual worship. In Buddhism, ritual worship is in a circular circuit, clockwise around the stupa. Some of the stupas, such as Amaraviti in the south-east, entirely covered with marble slabs, covered with exquisite carvings. Free-standing pillars, close to the famous Ashoka pillars, also included in the sculptural composition, but often were erected outside the stupa fence in other parts of the architectural ensemble.
The most famous of the surviving stupas in the early period Bharhute, this is one of the greatest monuments related to the year 100 BC, since the excavations made in the XIX century. Still represents a mountain of rubble. And although it is difficult to recover anything, except a few pieces carved fences, and one (of four) door, to get an idea about the stupa and its place in the ensemble of possible thanks to careful restoration of the monument a little later in Sanchi.
The significance of these early stupas - the wealth represented by these images: genre scenes, figures and independent jatakas serve visual encyclopedia of the early period of art. Recent studies have shown that the reliefs in Bharhute performed subtly and skillfully in a variety of techniques and with numerous variations in the manner of narration, which refutes the naive notions of style and undeveloped.
A variety of artistic development can be seen in the reliefs depicting the history of the founding of the monastery in the forest Dzhetavanarama everyday followers of the teachings. This story was particularly important because it represents a pious act - a religious donation - one of the ways for the laity to accumulate religious merit. In the upper right corner of the composition over a two-wheeled cart, two pieces of land covered with gold, thus showing that the land sold to the former owners to the highest bidder. In this scheme, a number of selective and fine-scale, widely used throughout Asia, important characters are made larger than others, and one or two buildings is sufficient to present the whole complex, and selected elements prevail over the detailed study of pictorial space. Objects and characters in the lower part of the composition, that is closer to the viewer, cut more deeply than the second plan, to create the illusion of distance. Even with the time costs about here, for example, according to the inscription is one of the buildings pictured were actually built, but later.
In contrast to the ruins at Sanchi in Bharhute preserved enough to allow the archaeologist John Marshall (Marshall) and the researcher Alfred Foucher Buddhism (Foucher) to recover most of the ensemble. The size and carved gates contributed glory of this monument, but that can get the most complete picture of the style that has spread all over India, and the arts rannebuddiyskoy stupa. Literary sources mention the original mortar, set at the behest of King Ashoka, which included the completion of the column with a lion, like the famous Sarnathskoy capitals, although the earliest extant dates back to Bharhuta. The ensemble of Sanchi, situated on a hill, a distance resembles the dome of the stupa, located at the crossroads of trade routes of North India - that was one reason for long-term prosperity of the place, which provided protection and in the I millennium AD. Oe.
Located on the territory of Sanchi whole complex of buildings and at least three mortars. The largest among them - Stupa I, or a large stupa was rebuilt several times, and the remains of the I century dates back to around BC. Oe.
Unlike Bharhuta relief carving at Sanchi is limited to columns and beams the four gates (Torah), although the relief deeper and more refined style, partly because of their more recent origin. Each gate is divided into three parts. In the upper section, consisting of three architrave, unfolding narrative that ends in volutes, - presenting, thus, stone pages of illustrated manuscripts, once transported from village to village by itinerant storytellers. Despite the closely spaced plots, deep carving done so skillfully that history can still be considered below - from the ground. Space is filled with human figures, animal figures (real and fantastic, some - still in the Persian style) and Buddhist symbols - such as mortar, and lotus tree. Capitals, which are connected to beams and columns at the bottom of the square, surrounded by lions, elephants and dwarfs - they violate the flatness of the fence and create a dynamic transition from vertical to horizontal beams columns. Another visual communication with the beams is transmitted with brackets in the form of female figures (22) - one of the best examples of the image Yakshin in Indian art. In general, the shape and decorative elaboration of figures drawn from dance movements and positions, which has always been a major source of inspiration for Indian artists. The square bottom of the gate is a column, covered with richly carved - scenes from the Jataka, the figures of soldiers and elements of a modern secular architecture. Although the most common motive - it's stupa fence, the same as a real stone wall surrounding the entire stupa, and the spire and umbrellas on the top of the dome. This "fence" limits the architrave, runs along the capitals, but also separates the stage from each other.
Among the most prominent images in Bharhute and Sanchi - standing male and female figures. Some of them are depicted in a pose of worship - with her hands pressed to his chest, while others carry different items, and frankly sensuous female figures grasping the trunk and branches of a tree. Whatever is shown, Yakshina, defenders, warriors or Nagaraja (king of snakes) - female figures represent fertility, and yakshas - a widespread realization of the ideal man for the whole of India - the power and wealth. These images are entirely associated with the prosperity of an agrarian culture. Although yakshas usually appear as ancillary figures, they served as a model for such deities as protectors of the world, or guards, and Bodhisattvas, together with the fact that they have become one of the most important sources for the earliest images of the Buddha. A vivid illustration of this scheme - with the accompanying figures yaksh pillars at Sanchi stupa Large with their massive forms, with well developed details of the allusions to the abundance of nature - an image that often appears after the I century.
Another style of Buddhist art, which had a significant impact on the development of South-East Asia, was born on the East Coast, along the river Krishna. From the time of Ashoka, the region was a haven for well-known monastic center and the great teachers of Buddhism. In addition, it was a vibrant area of economic activity, which contributed to the spread of the Buddhist religion, especially along the sea route to the east. Although none of the earliest monuments are not completely preserved, according to the reliefs on the marble slabs in Amaravati and Nagardzhunakonda, it was the grand stupa size, the richness of the decoration superior to the northern sites. Reconstruction of the stupa in Amaravati, based on these reliefs, reflects not only the complex composition of carved doors and foundation, but also on the availability of reliefs on the body of the stupa, which creates the most complex decoration of stupas all known to us.
In the early reliefs of Amaravati stupa in repeated many of the themes familiar from Bharhutu and Sanchi, - an empty throne, the Bodhi tree and the crowd of worshipers - and still no images of Buddha. But in style they are noticeably different. Compared with the northern of figures is more subtle and sensuous, richly decorated with more. Empty space is unacceptable, so the entire plane is covered with moving figures, the only respite in this crowded scenes created by the transverse beams, which are arbitrarily separate one group from another - just as at Sanchi. However, when compared with these reliefs northern scenes seem almost frozen: the figures are uniformly distributed and often arranged in a row, while in Amaravati figures bend and move, are grouped in a limited space and sometimes go beyond the boundaries of a scene that brings these songs soon with wall paintings in Ajanta, than with a sculpture in Bharhute or at Sanchi. Even the later reliefs II and III centuries, which already have images of Buddha, do not differ much in style. Marble reliefs of Amaravati remained an exceptional example of a regional style, one of the brightest in the early art of India, who had a direct impact on the art of Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia.
Architecture and the first cave temples
Most of our knowledge about the early architecture was obtained indirectly - through the buildings pictured on the reliefs, such as in Bharhute and Sanchi. But the most impressive examples of architecture rannebuddiyskoy, however, remained among the cave temples of western India, mostly in areas south and east of Bombay. This technique has received the priority development areas, where the towering mountain plateau abruptly cut off, creating a stepped wall of solid rock the length of several hundred kilometers along the west side of the continent. Trade routes connecting cities in India, contributed to the emergence of many of sanctuaries, as the clergy supported the travelers and caravans, which also resulted in a device similar to the cave temples along the trade routes of Central Asia. Typically, these shrines were built fairly close to the caravan routes to attract donations, and yet far enough away from urban centers to create the conditions for the life of monks.
Despite the devotion of traditional wooden structures in the early Buddhist buildings, these huge hollowed-out caves were largely the product of sculptors and engineers than architects. The earliest, around 100 BC. Oe. in Kondivte and Bhaja, were already much bigger than their predecessors - the cave of Ashoka in the province of Bihar. On imitation of wooden structures indicate not only the facades of the caves with carved columns and beams - in this relationship with the wooden architecture has been extended: from imitation to be included in the composition of wood inserts. The wood beams are still visible - after two thousand years we can see fragments, barely inserted between the ribs carved stone arch to create a kind of visual deception as an imitation of wooden structure. In accordance with their monastic origins, the caves in the rocks also correlated with the main types of Buddhist buildings. The largest number of caves - in the part, which housed the monks - a square room to the general meeting (vihara), onto which the individual cells, larger Chaitya - a place for collective prayer. Interior Chaiten, such as in Carly, consists of a curved wall, a sort of apse, simulating the barrel vault ceiling, and flanking rows of columns. And while other structures were added to store additional images or special needs, to support the daily life of the community, these two types of buildings were basic to the Buddhist community. The third most important structure - the stupa - was moved inside the chapel, Chaiten, narrow space is left to perform the ritual round. Stupas in the early caves, such as in Ajanta, very close stupas at Sanchi and Bharhute: simple, solid form without any additional images. But by the time of the Gupta dynasty (from IV to VII century), the attraction to more abstract images of the Buddha has affected the composition of mortar: the lower part of it was given to the celestial Buddha, and thus formally separated the ideas of the stupa of the Buddha and merged. The architecture of Gandhara rare cave temples, and it differs from the style of other buildings of the Kushan Empire.
Buddhist Art
About Buddhist art JN Roerich wrote enthusiastically: "Contemplating the serene simplicity of the Buddha from Gandhara, exquisite frescoes of Ajanta figure, powerful and sometimes combative spirit of the Central Asian pictorial composition and religious fervor veyskogo art in caves and Yungana Lunmenya - we feel before the high altar of beauty, built the combined efforts of many eastern and Western artists. "
Buddhism, being focused on the monastic life caused a powerful surge of Indian art. Cave monasteries of India, richly decorated with stone carvings and murals for more than two millennia delight all connoisseurs. Until we almost did not get the other monuments of early Buddhist art, architecture, and besides the fact that it involves, that is, sculptures and frescoes.
The main forms of Buddhist art were not original and transformed all-India. But otherwise it could not be, because then the symbolism of Buddhist structures was not clear to the people, to whom, in fact, was largely drawn Buddhist art (recall the role of art in society nonliterate!). In some cases, Buddhism borrowed the images of Hindu deities or principles of composition-narratives (the frescoes of Ajanta), and others - used the stories going back to pre-Aryan population of India and clear of the lower varna (caste) in the third - creating their own art forms, transforming existing ones. If we consider the Indian Buddhist art in general, the difference between him and the art of Hinduism is much smaller than that between philosophy and other religions.
There are three main types of rannebuddiyskih facilities. This is a memorial monument to the stupa, vihara monastery and temple Chaitya.
The ancient monastery that has been preserved to our days, has been found in Bengal, Bihar, in the town of Bhasha (the name of the Indian state of Bihar, as well as Central Asian city of Bukhara derived from the Sanskrit "Vihara", ie the monastery). It belongs to the fifth century BC, it inhabited a five hundred monks.
The first of the great bursts of Buddhist art was the king Asoka (III century BC), which is rightly called the emperor, his government covered almost the entire breadth of modern India to the south of Madras, Deccan, part of Afghanistan. When Ashoka was conducted rapid construction of stone, so to this day kept some stupas, built by him and later inlaid, as well as the famous pillars-stambha with their exceptional beauty capitals.
According to legend, Ashoka commanded to erect 84 000 stupas. If it were re-divided the relics of the Buddha, before the mortars were kept in eight. In one of the stupas time of Ashoka archaeologists have discovered an urn with the inscription: "The Treasury remains the sublime Buddha is the construction of a pious brothers Shakiev with their sisters, wives and children." This urn is different noble simplicity and perfect proportions.
Buddhism more easily assimilated indigenous beliefs (including at home), the closer they were to popular belief. This explains so prevalent in Buddhist art images yakshas - a sort of Indian gnomes, mountain gods, producers and custodians of the treasure. Yakshi is traditionally represented by low, stocky, with a pendulous abdomen. This iconographic type in the next century will be extremely popular in Buddhist art, as evidenced by the work performed is not in India and in China, Tibet, Mongolia ...
Together with yakshami portrayed women and pyshnobedrye Yakshin associated with the forces of fertility. Yakshi Yakshin and were not simply assimilated into Buddhist art, they took their place in the mythology of Buddhism: in one of the legends of King Ashoka, it yakshas help him find the treasure you need to build many stupas.
The most expressive works of art Ashoka - a column-stambha erected in areas associated with the activities of the Buddha. The columns were independent monument erected on the path of pilgrims. Beside these columns stop wandering monks, so that archaeologists find traces of small settlements.
Perfection finish these columns raises serious questions art: sculptures of Ashoka's skill is not related to previous artistic tradition and has no successors. In the figures of lions perceive the influence of Iran, but on the whole question of the sculptor of King Ashoka can not be resolved.
The most famous is the pillar of Sarnath stambha (Isipatana in the ancient texts, Uttar Pradesh), erected in the years 250-232 BC on the spot where, according to legend, the Buddha created a community of monks. This column is crowned lion's capitol, which has become a century later, the emblem of independent India.
Form an inverted lotus cap on it - a cylindrical abacus with symbols on the abacus are four lions back to back. At the lions rose a Wheel of Law (unfortunately, in the fall of the column it was broken, its fragments are stored in the Museum of Sarnath). The symbolism of this composition is as follows.
Leo means the Buddha, his fearlessness in the way of gaining Enlightenment and the transmission of the teachings. Thus, four lions, who are looking at the four corners of the world, becoming a symbol of the spread of teachings throughout the world. Ashoka lions are full of dignity and nobility, they cease to be the image of a predator, rising to a generalized image of spiritual power.
Animals represented on the abacus, were symbols of the cardinal points of India: The Lion - the north, the horse - the south and the bull - and an elephant west - east. Mythological significance of these animals is that the horse is connected with the sun god Surya (god rides a chariot or horse disguise itself is what is sung in many of the most ancient hymns of the sacred books of India - Rigveda), the bull is the god of pre-Aryan land (and then his features become by Shiva), the elephant stable association with Indra, Thunderer. Thus, the four beasts are on the abacus of ancient pre-Aryan symbol of the unity of beliefs, the Vedic and Hindu mythology and Buddhism - the idea is hardly ancient sculptors have invested in their creation, but it suddenly appears in the memorial of Indian culture.
Between each pair of animals is an image of Wheel of the Law. Wheel with a thousand spokes means a thousand Buddhas, which should come within our kalpa (world time). The wheel with eight spokes (the most common variant) - dissemination exercises on eight corners of the earth, that is, the whole world. Wheels on the abacus with 24 spokes, perhaps it should symbolize the Buddha (in rannebuddiyskom art anthropomorphic images of the Enlightened One was not, it replaced the figure of the Wheel of Law, the throne, the stupa, the Bodhi tree).
The lower part forms an inverted lotus capitals. This flower is extremely important in Buddhism, becoming a symbol of high spirituality, and later - the insight is not achieved by logical effort and enlightenment.
The most monumental monument rannebuddiyskogo art was the stupa. Stupa (Tibetan "chorten," Mong. "Suburgan") - is a memorial building that symbolizes the enlightened consciousness of a Buddha. In the early centuries of Buddhism, when there was a ban on images of the Buddha in human form, on the reliefs of the Enlightened meant a stupa.
In its origin dates back to ancient stupa burial facilities, to the earthen hill, fenced. Therefore, the stupa, no matter what size they are, will never have the internal space. According to legend, the first eight stupas were erected after the death of the Buddha's disciples and the teachers in them was buried divided into eight parts ashes of the Enlightened. And now the stupa erected on the site of cremation high lamas, or spiritual teachers.
The structure of the stupa represents the symbolic structure of the universe: the early Buddhist stupas square base means the land, the dome-hemisphere - the heavens and the nirvana of the Buddha, the spire - is the embodiment of the image of the world axis, that is the supreme law, which rests on the existence, as well as a link between earthly world and the extraordinary. Umbrellas on the steeple symbolizes the highest spiritual realms. Indian mortar fitted with a gallery in which the pious pilgrims bypass the mortar, making a ritual so pradakshiny (worship of the shrine).
Here, we describe and later stupas, erected in the north Indian subcontinent, and later - in Tibet and Central Asia. These mortars are generally very small in size (half to two human growth). They consist of five elements: a square base of the cone of the spire, the image of the moon and sun, as well as the tongue of flame. As in India, means the land base, tapering reliquary - the water, the spire of the ten or thirteen steps of enlightenment - the air, sun and moon on top of it - space, flame above them - shunyu-Void.
Bypassing the stupa at all times considered one of the most pious, who regularly perform all Buddhists. The most famous stupas and to this day, many pilgrims come to believe that their spiritual merit increase as a result of this pilgrimage.
During the reign of King Ashoka stupa began to build in stone, several ancient stupas were lined with brick and faced with massive slabs of red sandstone.
From an artistic point of view of an ancient stupa was a deeply thought-out ensemble. Itself stupa was totally devoid of any decoration, but its gates and fences were covered with elaborately carved, which tells about the life of Buddha, visible transmitting many philosophical ideas of Buddhism. A variety of stories cutting the fence as if it was a simple pilgrim, for a meeting with the sacred, that is, with the relics that are stored inside the stupa.
Of the early stupas most famous for its reliefs of the stupa Bharhuta (stupa itself was built Ashoka, it was not preserved, carved railings and gates were built in the years 180-150 BC, now they are kept in the Indian Museum in Calcutta).
The fence of the Stupa is famous for its stone illustrations Jataka. The pious care with which the artists belonged to Bharhuta to translating the previous lives of Buddha, made them sign under the name of reliefs depicted stories, giving a modern interpretation of the scientist a unique opportunity for early Buddhist images.
On the fence posts we see many stupas image Yakshin-vrikshak (from the Sanskrit "vrksa" tree). These charming, graceful girl standing under a tree, holding on to a branch bowed low and sometimes clasping the trunk of his foot. This image of an ancient Buddhist and a half to two millennia, this kind of image can be seen on the pre-Aryan civilization in the seals of the Indus Valley. This is an image of the Mother Goddess, Mistress of life and death. Because this image is pre-Aryan, he remained at the members of the lower, non-Aryan castes, which were accessed by Buddhism. Interestingly, this iconographic image came into Buddhist mythology in connection with the birth of the Buddha - giving birth to a wonderful son, Queen Maya is hearth with wood and keeps for its branch.
Reliefs on the fence and gate large stupa at Sanchi, we see various scenes of Enlightened Youth, early Buddhist artists with exceptional zeal, reproduced them in plastic forms. Masters, decorated stupas Bharhuta and Sanchi, rejected the image of Buddha in human form. In these reliefs Enlightened always represented symbols and anthropomorphic ever. Thus, the Great Exodus always denoted a horse without a rider coming out of the gate. Great Sermon symbolized the Wheel of the Law, and parinirvana - stupa.
Gates (Torah) Great Stupa at Sanchi should be allocated separately. In their construction took several decades (Gates put in the I century BC), work on them a few groups of artists. Four gates oriented to the light, their pillars and cross beams are completely covered with relief sculpture and is also present. The richness and subtlety syuzhetiki finishing Great Stupa of reliefs can speak of them as encyclopedia of Indian life abroad eras. Animals, plants, fantastic beings, demigods and people from the king to the sender - they all form a complex and dynamic picture, which tells about the life of Buddha and the fate of his teachings. Touching scene in which his admiration for the teachings reflect animals: elephants bring flowers mortar, forest animals bow to the Bodhi tree. On the other beams, we see a very well-designed stories Jataka, as, for example, shows the north gate of the Jataka Vishvantare Tsarevich, who was so generous that no one could deny the request, so he had to lose their kingdom and their children, however, the gods , astonished his detachment to everything than it has, then returned it all lost. Episodes of this jatakas one after the other located on the outer and inner side of the beam.
Although in early Buddhist art is not an anthropomorphic image of the Buddha, there is a legend, attributable to the late period of the miraculous origin of the image of Sakyamuni. The king of Magadha Bimbisara, receiving rich gifts from Rudrayany king Roruki, decided to send the last image of the Enlightened One. Artists, who was made an order, find that they are unable to capture the divine face and body of the Buddha. Seeing their difficulty, Bright told that was brought linen, and on its surface reflected his shadow, which was then circled and painted by artists. We almost can not help recalling a similar story of the miraculous origin of the image of Christ.
The reason for the refusal of the anthropomorphic image of the Enlightened One is that the masters had to find a means of artistic expression of high spirit of the Buddha. Enlightened can not be portrayed as ordinary people, and has not yet been worked out properly Buddhist iconography, had to resort to symbolism.
Buddhist monasteries were a cave, with more or less architectural ornaments. Curiously, obtesyvaya rock Indian master gave her the usual form of his wooden buildings (as well as a stone wall mortar simulates wood or cane). Masters, placing an entry in a cave monastery, carefully grind out the ends of the beams do not exist and skate over the "wooden" arch entrance. Similarly, in the interior of the temple played curved roof beams of wooden houses. Cave temples, created in the first century AD, the imagination: from the wild rock suddenly appear complicated finishing tiered facade, with windows through which light penetrates the temple, with carvings and ornamental friezes.
Cave religious buildings - the temples and monasteries. Architecture of the monastery (vihara) is not very interesting - a few rooms of rectangular shape with a flat roof. But the temple (Chaitya) impressive organization of space and complexity of decoration. Cave temples, despite his height, were built without the use of forests, since the work went down, sculptors and architects descended from the top of the cave inside the rock. Temple in terms of extended a short distance from the wall are two rows of columns, so that it begins to resemble a three-nave European cathedral. At the far end of the hall stands a stupa, usually carved from solid stone wall behind her smoothly rounded. Here the ritual round the stupa - pradakshina. As already mentioned, the thread ceiling mimics the curved wooden roof beams, with their ends hanging in the air without touching the strings. The facade of the church or imitates the wooden carvings, or even a tree lined. Chatya illuminated by a large semicircular "solar window" on the facade. In the temple are three entrances: the central - for special occasions and the two sides - the monks and pilgrims. In front of them arranged in pools, where the ritual of ablution. On the facades Chaiten attention is drawn to images of couples - likely contributors. They are powerful figures, athletic men and curvy women are directly related to all-India sculptural tradition, going from pre-Aryan antiquity.
In the first century AD, the Buddhist art of India is changing radically: there is an anthropomorphic Buddha image, which becomes the main subject of the image. At this time there are three art centers: Gandhara, Mathura and Amaravati.
The Art of Gandhara, its origin must conquests of Alexander of Macedon (327 BC), through which Hellenistic culture stretched far to the east and created a wonderful fusion of Greek and Indian art, where the forms were borrowed, and the content - a Buddhist. Masters of Gandhara Sculpture mastered the technique of the human body and spiritualized person; treatment of wrinkles robes, hair curls, and other minor details - the Greek.
At this time there are major changes both in Buddhism and in the worldview of non-Buddhist India.
The rise and death of Buddhist Universities
Monastic universities of India - Nalanda, Vikramashila, Odantapuri - were not only the largest centers of Buddhist philosophy and meditation practice, but in the whole culture of his time. And while the bulk conductivity in these monasteries, universities, work has been associated with Buddhism, this did not prevent scientists and monks translated secular texts as well as monuments of Hindu religion: so, there are Tibetan and Mongolian text of great Indian poem "Ramayana", as well as the most mystically meaningful song "Mahabharata" - "Bhagavatgity." On the propagation of Indian culture in much of Asia YN Roerich wrote: "In large parts of Indian culture has had a huge impact on local cultures and, in fact, these regions have become part of the cultural heritage of India ... For about twelve hundred years the influence of Indian art and philosophy to dominate Central Asia. Now we know that this influence was mainly Buddhist. Because of its universal orientation, Buddhism was able to overcome national boundaries. According to Buddhist channels in Central Asia became known Indian secular sciences: astronomy, medicine, drama and poetry and grammar, they were perceived by people living on the steppes of southern Russia to the Pacific Ocean ... The spread of Sanskrit in the alien environment it was in itself an amazing event in cultural history of the region. This showed that the language carries a high culture and civilization, could, despite its grammatical complexity, become a lingua franca (language of culture) for a large region, inhabited by different peoples. "
Truly, the heart of this vast body was "Maha Vihara," Buddhist universities, where students flocked from all over Asia. About their role in the dissemination of Buddhism itself is the fact that four and a half thousand texts included in the Tibetan canon, about four thousand - is Sanskrit and in particular, translations of Pandits of Nalanda, Vikramashily and Odantapuri. These universities have worked themselves interpreters, Indians and Tibetans in origin. After the death of universities under the onslaught of "la-lo," a Sanskrit canon of Muslims had been lost and it is currently being reconstructed by the Tibetan and Chinese translations.
In VI-VII centuries, when India began to flourish Tantric, Buddhist centers and universities began to practice (and theory) of tantra. A few centuries when Tibet became a Buddhist country, the monasteries were literally filled with Tibetans. This is how the process YN Roerich: "In Nepal, the Tibetans used to do a lengthy stop to them it was easier to adapt to more hot and humid climate, before descending into the valleys of India. Lives of Tibetan teachers such stories abound. Here in Nepal, the Tibetans have studied Sanskrit grammar basics, and this enabled them to continue their education in the great centers of Buddhist study - Nalanda, Vikramashile (based Dharmapala, 770-815) and Odantapuri (Gopala-based). Less than two centuries of Indian and Nepalese Buddhist scholars and their Tibetan colleagues allowed a truly exceptional and unique challenge - the creation of a literary language, capable of transmitting deep and abstruse ideas Sanskrit originals. This transformation was achieved at the cost of enormous intellectual effort ... "
In each of these monasteries was the so-called "Tibet House", that is, faculty have worked together with the Indians and Tibetans, as being engaged in the translation from Sanskrit and Indian acquaintance with Tibetan culture. Indo-Tibetan contacts were not only extensive, they were never one-sided, it was a deep interest in the counter.
The most significant was the Maha Vihara, Nalanda (founded in 425 year), the academic center of Mahayana Buddhism. With him were somehow related, Nagarjuna, Asanga, Shantarakshita, Kamalashila, Padmasambhava and Atisha, just arrived here in the year 640 Thonmi Sambhota, founder of the Tibetan alphabet. After a half century after the great Hindu monastery was destroyed by Muslims in Tibet, the monastery was built with the same name, and just became a center of education and practice of monks from various countries. At Nalanda, the emphasis was on studying these areas of Mahayana Madhyamika and Yogacara as - based on them has grown and developed the esoteric Vajrayana Buddhism. Incidentally, the very emergence of these major philosophical doctrines associated with Nalanda - so prominent philosopher Asanga yogAcAra school where he taught for twelve years.
Inextricable link with Nalanda Madhyamika and Vajrayana is reflected in the legend that when the fire died in the library complex Nalanda - Dharmagandzha, the two books miraculously shed water, and they survived. These were the basic texts of Buddhism in both directions - "Prajnaparamita" and "Guhyasamaja."
Communication Vihara Maha-Vikramashily with Tibetan Buddhism was even greater. The heyday of the monastery comes at the end of the tenth century, when the commission of special-Deuteronomy Pandits (top professors) took the decision on admission to the studies of students coming from different countries. Keeper of the Eastern Gate (responsible for the admission of students from the east) was a disciple of the great Ratnakarashanti Dzhetari, author of a hundred treatises on Tantra, whose influence on Tibetan Buddhism is very noticeable, in particular as regards the doctrine of Mahamudra. Ratnakarashanti himself was the author of thirty works in Sanskrit, the most famous of which is the practice of threatening yidam Vajrabhairava, all these works were translated into Tibetan and widely studied in the Land of Snows. Custodian of the South Gate was Vagishvarakirti, supporter and practitioner of Tara Chakrasamvara, his treatise on how to overcome death is preserved thanks to the Tibetan translation. Western Gate "guarded" Maha Pandita ("great scholar") Prazhdnakaramati, partisan practices of Manjushri, the author of the famous text "Abhisamaya-lankara" and Bodhicharya-avatar ". Greatest with all the maha-pandita Naropa was the Guardian of the Northern Gateway, the name of the Tibetan Kagyu school is one of the first places. Among the pundits had a lot of adepts of tantra, they were translated into Tibetan Sanskrit treatises (which are now known to us only because of the Tibetan version), and by the end of life left in Tibet. The first rector was the founder of the school Vikramashily mantra vadzhrachara Buddhadzhchyanapada, the fourth Rector - famous Dipankara Shridzhyana (Atisha), whose influence on Tibetan Buddhism can not be overstated. Moreover, because of Atisha served as a starting point for work Tsonkhapy and created last school gelukpa now spread from northern India to Mongolia and Buryatia in the east and the Russian Plain in the west, we must admit that the writings were the basis of Atisha Buddhist order, which is now stretched across much of Eurasia. By Atisha in Tibet mission, we'll be back. After Atisha's rector, the rector was Vikramashily Shribhadra Shakya, author of works on the Kalachakra, who did much to spread the cult of Tara in Tibet.
Vihara Maha-Odantapuri located near Nalanda and was primarily tantristskim centers. In particular, the practice there was a meditation on the cemetery, which was a master of Tantrikas Narada. Following the model was built Odantapuri first Tibetan monastery - Samye.
Some scientists believe that in all these universities Tantric practice, it is meditation, which allows to reach high levels rapidly consciousness prevailed over the purely Buddhist disciplines. In other words, these monasteries were more tantric rather than Buddhist. An indirect confirmation of this can serve as a one-time warnings Tsonkhapy, which is the fourth volume of his major work "Lamrim Chenpo" warns that without proper Buddhist meditative practice aspirations will not allow the release from samsara, and gives examples of Indian Tantrikas.
At the end of XII - early XIII century, northern India collapsed Muslim hordes. In Tibetan texts referred to as "la-lo." On the enormity of the devastation produced then demonstrates, in particular, namtar (life) Dharmasvamina Chag-Lotsawa, Tibetan, who with great difficulty reached Nalanda in the midst of war. This text was translated from Tibetan JN Roerich and below we suggest the reader read it in decline. Since this text provides excellent examples of how life was held Buddhist pilgrim, what hardships he faced on a daily basis, we will not be limited only fragments related Dharmasvamina stay in India, and will review, at least reducing, the whole monument of Tibetan literature beginning XIV century.


5-201. Limitations in general. Civil actions can only be commenced within the periods prescribed in this chapter after the cause of action shall have accrued, except when, in special cases, a different limitation is prescribed by statute.


I lose it on a Sunday night, out of nowhere, like an airplane crash.
It's been one of those long winter days when my three kids are either fighting or whining or breaking some part of the house, and I just end up losing my mind on a dime just after 6 PM, just after I'm done cleaning up the dinner mess.
It doesn't matter who pushed me too far. I can't even remember to be honest. One second I'm dragging my dishrag across the kitchen island and the next second my older two, Violet, 7, and Henry, 4, are pulling each other's hair and screaming and bawling.
Even as I feel my mental trigger being pulled, I know I'm going to regret it. I know I'm going to end up yelling and screaming and hurling threats around the house. I know I'm going to need to release the steam inside of me. It's times like this when I wish I had someone else around to help me.
I want someone to tap me on the shoulder and tag team these crazy bastards for me. "Go grab a beer and watch some TV and chill," they'd say. That never happens though. I'm divorced. Single. Three kids half the week. It is what it is. I'm a grown man.
It's nothing new, this letting go of my loose grip on control. Kids try your patience. They wreck your mojo. It isn't intentional, but it happens all the same.
Still, this is the second or third time today. And I don't know what that says about me, about my ability to maintain order in the nuthouse. Even as I can literally feel the rush of mad blood bursting through my veins and slamming hard into the back of my face, I know that I'm going to feel like such a colossal a-hole in about 20 minutes.
I want someone to tell me it's okay and that I'm not out of line.
I want someone to tell me I'm doing the best I can and that I'm not alone.
I want someone to tell me I'm doing the best I can and that I'm not alone. But there's no one ever around like that. When I end up getting madder or more upset than I can hold in anymore, there's never anyone.
Then I feel so lame for feeling sorry for myself. And guilty for blowing my top.
Certain nights they take more than I can give and it's all too much. I want to run out into the bitter cold night and not stop until I hit the woods at the edge of town. And not even then.
I'm their daddy; I have to stay; there's no one else to help me. I'm divorced and alone and they're mine tonight, same as last night, same as tomorrow night.
So they break out in battle two rooms away and I'm exhausted and hangry and up to my face in dishes and I do the only thing that comes to me in my deciding moment.
I lose my damn mind. I roar. I'm Patton on a tank. And everything I've been working for these past two years, all my big daddy hopes and dreams, they just pipe bomb in my face.
I want to run out into the bitter cold night and not stop until I hit the woods at the edge of town. And not even then. But I can't.
What's the line between success and failure as a parent?
That's the root of all my discontent, and I guess I just need to acknowledge that before it destroys me. Kids are kids because they're young and goofy and greener than hell. They know the definitions of good and evil perhaps, but they don't know how to be either one all of the time. Nor should they either, I figure.
But that's where the natural world fades away, and I come in.
Once, maybe twice a week, occasionally more. I get outnumbered. I get hemmed in by the crazy. By late in the day, when I'm alone with three little kids, watching over the three humans I love more than anyone else in the world (obviously), there are so many days when no matter what I do/no matter how hard I try to keep everything fluid and smooth, it doesn't matter.
Something finally snaps, someone throws one too many tantrums or ignores my commands one too many times and BAM. The wheels come off my whole domestic rig. Then it's all swift and hard as I slam into moments of losing control. Not in a physical way or anything like that. It's grayer. It's murkier. I basically take all this parenting zen I've been stacking up all day long and sabotage the whole thing in a fleeting moment of mind loss.
But no. I find myself upset and tired and yelling my face off just to try and make natural things stop.
It's enough to make a good man cry.