Category: wikipedia

Kleshas

Kleshas (Sanskrit: kleśa; Pali: kilesa; Standard Tibetan: nyon mongs,) in Buddhism, are mental states that cloud the mind and manifest in unwholesome actions. Kleshas include states of mind such as anxiety, fear, anger, jealousy, desire, depression, etc. Contemporary translators use a variety of English words to translate the term kleshas, such as: afflictions, defilements, destructive emotions, disturbing emotions, negative emotions, mind poisons, etc.

In the contemporary Mahayana and Theravada Buddhist traditions, the three kleshas of ignorance, attachment, and aversion are identified as the root or source of all other kleshas. These are referred to as the three poisons in the Mahayana tradition, or as the three unwholesome roots in the Theravada tradition.

While the early Buddhist texts of the Pali canon do not specifically enumerate the three root kleshas, over time the three poisons(and the kleshas generally) came to be seen as the very roots of samsaric existence.

Eating a hamburger is equivalent to driving 350 miles


The environmental impact of meat production varies because of the wide variety of agricultural practices employed around the world. All agriculture practices have been found to have a variety of effects on the environment. Some of the environmental effects that have been associated with meat production are pollution through fossil fuel usage, and water and land consumption. Meat is obtained through a variety of methods, including organic farming, free range farming, intensive livestock production, subsistence agriculture, hunting and fishing. As part of the conclusion to one of the largest international assessments of animal agriculture ever undertaken, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations said:

The livestock sector is a major stressor on many ecosystems and on the planet as a whole. Globally it is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gasses and one of the leading causal factors in the loss of biodiversity, while in developed and emerging countries it is perhaps the leading source of water pollution.

—Food and Agriculture Organization, Livestock’s Long Shadow

Study shows red meat dwarfs others for environmental impact, using 28 times more land and 11 times water for pork or chicken.

Beef’s environmental impact dwarfs that of other meat including chicken and pork, new research reveals, with one expert saying that eating less red meat would be a better way for people to cut carbon emissions than giving up their cars.

The heavy impact on the environment of meat production was known but the research shows a new scale and scope of damage, particularly for beef. The popular red meat requires 28 times more land to produce than pork or chicken, 11 times more water and results in five times more climate-warming emissions. When compared to staples like potatoes, wheat, and rice, the impact of beef per calorie is even more extreme, requiring 160 times more land and producing 11 times more greenhouse gases.

Agriculture is a significant driver of global warming and causes 15% of all emissions, half of which are from livestock. Furthermore, the huge amounts of grain and water needed to raise cattle is a concern to experts worried about feeding an extra 2 billion people by 2050. But previous calls for people to eat less meat in order to help the environment, or preserve grain stocks, have been highly controversial.

Salvia hispanica

TUESDAY, Oct. 21, 2014 (HealthDay News) — Despite potential health benefits, chia seeds may pose a risk if they are not consumed properly, according to new research.

The tiny, oval seeds — a rich source of fiber, protein and heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids — should not be eaten in their dry, raw form, experts cautioned. This is particularly true for people with a history of swallowing problems or a constricted esophagus, the researchers said.

“Chia seeds have the ability to absorb up to 27 times their weight in water,” said study author Dr. Rebecca Rawl, from Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, N.C.

“For this reason, patients with a history of [swallowing problems] or known esophageal strictures should be cautioned that chia seeds should only be consumed when they have had the ability to fully expand in liquid prior to ingestion,” Rawl said.

Salvia hispanica, commonly known as chia, is a species of flowering plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae, native to central and southern Mexico and Guatemala.[2] The 16th-century Codex Mendoza provides evidence that it was cultivated by the Aztec in pre-Columbian times; economic historians have suggested it was as important as maize as a food crop.[3] It is still used in Paraguay, Bolivia, Argentina, Mexico and Guatemala, sometimes with the seeds ground or with whole seeds used for nutritious drinks and as a food source.

The word “chia” is derived from the Nahuatl word chian, meaning oily.[1] The present Mexican state of Chiapas received its name from the Nahuatl “chia water” or “chia river”.

It is one of two plants known as chia, the other being Salvia columbariae, which is more commonly known as the golden chia.

Chia is an annual herb growing up to 1.75 m (5.7 ft) tall, with opposite leaves that are 4–8 cm (1.6–3.1 in) long and 3–5 cm (1.2–2.0 in) wide. Its flowers are purple or white and are produced in numerous clusters in a spike at the end of each stem.[6] Chia is hardy from USDA Zones 9-12. Many plants cultivated as S. hispanica are actually S. lavandulifolia.

Chia is grown commercially for its seed, a food that is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, since the seeds yield 25–30% extractable oil, including α-linolenic acid (ALA). Of total fat, the composition of the oil can be 55% ω-3, 18% ω-6, 6% ω-9, and 10% saturated fat.[8]

Chia seeds are typically small ovals with a diameter of about 1 mm (0.039 in). They are mottle-colored with brown, gray, black and white. The seeds are hydrophilic, absorbing up to 12 times their weight in liquid when soaked. While soaking, the seeds develop a mucilaginous gel-like coating that gives chia-based beverages a distinctive texture.

Chia seed is traditionally consumed in Mexico, and the southwestern United States, but is not widely known in Europe. Chia (or chian or chien) has mostly been identified as Salvia hispanica L. Today, chia is grown commercially in its native Mexico, and in Bolivia, Argentina,Ecuador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Australia. In 2008, Australia was the world’s largest producer of chia.[9] A similar species, Salvia columbariae or golden chia, is used in the same way but is not grown commercially for food. Salvia hispanica seed is marketed most often under its common name “chia”, but also under several trademarks.

According to the USDA, a one ounce (28 gram) serving of chia seeds contains 9 grams of fat, 5 milligrams of sodium, 11 grams of dietary fiber, 4 grams of protein, 18% of the recommended daily intake of calcium, 27% phosphorus and 30% manganese.[8] These nutrient values are similar to other edible seeds, such as flax or sesame.[10][11]

In 2009, the European Union approved chia seeds as a novel food, allowing up to 5% of a bread product’s total matter.[12]

Chia seeds may be added to other foods as a topping or put into smoothies, breakfast cereals, energy bars, yogurt, made into a gelatin-like substance, or consumed raw.

One pilot study found that 10 weeks ingestion of 25 grams per day of milled chia seeds, compared to intact seeds, produced higher blood levels of alpha-linolenic acid andeicosapentaenoic acid, an omega-3 long-chain fatty acid considered good for the heart, while having no effect on inflammation or disease risk factors.

 

Meditation and its effect on brain activity

The neuroscience of mindfulness meditation

Nature Reviews Neuroscience
16,
213–225
doi:10.1038/nrn3916
Published online

Abstract

Research over the past two decades broadly supports the claim that mindfulness meditation — practiced widely for the reduction of stress and promotion of health — exerts beneficial effects on physical and mental health, and cognitive performance. Recent neuroimaging studies have begun to uncover the brain areas and networks that mediate these positive effects. However, the underlying neural mechanisms remain unclear, and it is apparent that more methodologically rigorous studies are required if we are to gain a full understanding of the neuronal and molecular bases of the changes in the brain that accompany mindfulness meditation.


Continue reading “Meditation and its effect on brain activity”

Presence

Self-realization is an expression used in psychology, spirituality, and Eastern religions. It is defined as the “fulfillment by oneself of the possibilities of one’s character or personality.”[1]

In one overview, Mortimer Adler defines self-realization as freedom from external coercion, including cultural expectations, political and economic freedom, and the freedom from worldly attachments and desires etc. Paramahansa Yogananda defined Self-realization as “the knowing — in body, mind, and soul — that we are one with the omnipresence of God; that we do not have to pray that it come to us, that we are not merely near it at all times, but that God’s omnipresence is our omnipresence; that we are just as much a part of Him now as we ever will be. All we have to do is improve our knowing.”[2]

Published on Nov 20, 2015
This video is brought to you by www.shaktileadershipbook.com.
We cultivate Presence to get in touch with our wholeness and to realize that all we need is within us at any given moment and always has been. With that realization comes a feeling of serenity and a sense of confidence. You know that Shakti is always accessible within you; you don’t need to find it from somewhere outside of yourself.
How can we cultivate a state of Presence? By using the Presence practice described in video. With enough practice, we can cultivate a state of full presence as our default state, ready to take on anything life brings to us.
This brief practice is adapted from the one synthesized by Vijay Bhat and Hank Fieger, conscious leadership coaches who teach Executive Presence. It is a quick way for busy, stressed, and rushed people to move into a state of Presence.

道

Tao or Dao (/taʊ/, /daʊ/; Chinese: 道; pinyin: About this sound Dào (help·info)) is a Chinese concept signifying ‘way’, ‘path’, ‘route’, or sometimes more loosely, ‘doctrine’ or ‘principle’. Within the context of traditional Chinese philosophy and religion, The Tao is the intuitive knowing of “life” that of which cannot be grasped full-heartedly as just a concept but known nonetheless through actual living experience of one’s everyday being.

Cosmologically, Tao signifies the primordial essence or fundamental nature of the Universe. In the oldest surviving text of Taoism, theTao Te Ching, Laozi explains that Tao is not a ‘name’ for a ‘thing’ but the underlying natural order of the Universe whose ultimate essence is difficult to circumscribe due to it being non conceptual yet evident in one’s being of aliveness. The Tao is “eternally nameless” (Dao De Jing-32. Laozi) and to be distinguished from the countless ‘named’ things which are considered to be its manifestations, the reality of life before its descriptions of it.

The concept of Tao differs from conventional (western) ontology: it is an active and holistic conception of Nature, rather than a static, atomistic one. It is worth comparing to the original Logos of Heraclitus, c. 500 BC. The teachings began from Laozi that gave rise to a religion (Wade–Giles, Tao Chiao; Pinyin, Daojiao) and philosophy (Wade–Giles, Tao chia; Pinyin, Daojia) referred to in English with the single term Taoism.

The word “Dao” (道) has a variety of meanings in both ancient and modern Chinese language. Aside from its purely prosaic use to mean road, channel, path, doctrine, or similar,[1] the word has acquired a variety of differing and often confusing metaphorical, philosophical and religious uses. In most belief systems, Dao is used symbolically in its sense of ‘way’ as the ‘right’ or ‘proper’ way of existence, or in the context of ongoing practices of attainment or of the full coming into being, or the state of enlightenment or spiritual perfection that is the outcome of such practices.[2]

Some scholars make sharp distinctions between moral or ethical usage of the word Dao that is prominent in Confucianism and religious Daoism and the more metaphysical usage of the term used in philosophical Daoism and most forms of Mahayana Buddhism;[3] others maintain that these are not separate usages or meanings, seeing them as mutually inclusive and compatible approaches to defining the concept.[4] The original use of the term was as a form of praxis rather than theory – a term used as a convention to refer to something that otherwise cannot be discussed in words – and early writings such as the Dao De Jing and the I Ching make pains to distinguish between conceptions of Dao (sometimes referred to as “named Dao”) and the Dao itself (the “unnamed Dao”), which cannot be expressed or understood in language. Liu Da asserts that Dao is properly understood as an experiential and evolving concept, and that there are not only cultural and religious differences in the interpretation of Dao, but personal differences that reflect the character of individual practitioners.[6]

Dao can be roughly thought of as the flow of the Universe, or as some essence or pattern behind the natural world that keeps the Universe balanced and ordered.[7] It is related to the idea of qi, the essential energy of action and existence. Dao is a non-dual concept – it is the greater whole from which all the individual elements of the Universe derive. Keller considers it similar to the negative theology of Western scholars,[8] but Dao is rarely an object of direct worship, being treated more like the Hindu concepts of karma or dharma than as a divine object.[9] Dao is more commonly expressed in the relationship between wu (void or emptiness, in the sense ofwuji) and yinyang (the natural dynamic balance between opposites), leading to its central principle of wu wei (non-action, or action without force).

Ch’an (Zen) Buddhists regard the Dao as synonymous with both the Buddhist Path (marga) and the results of it; the Eightfold Path and Buddhist enlightenment (satori).

Noted Christian author C.S. Lewis used the word Tao to describe “the doctrine of objective value, the belief that certain attitudes are really true, and others really false, the kind of thing the Universe is and the kind of things we are.”[26] He asserted that every religion and philosophy contains foundations of universal ethics as an attempt to line up with the Tao—the way mankind was designed to be. In Lewis’ thinking, God created the Tao and fully displayed it through the person of Jesus Christ. Christianity, then, would be the path that lines human beings up with the Tao most effectively.

Also the Greek word used in N.T. for the Way is ὁδός (hodos). Here the Way refers to the path of righteousness and salvation as revealed through Christ.

In Chinese translations of the New Testament, λόγος (logos) is translated with the Chinese word dao (道) (e.g. John 1:1), indicating that the translators considered the concept of Tao to be somewhat equivalent to logos in Greek philosophy.

Dao is written with the Chinese character 道 in both Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese. It typifies the most common Chinese character classification of “radical-phonetic” or “phono-semantic” graphs, which compound a “radical” or “signific” (roughly providingsemantic information) with a “phonetic” (suggesting ancient pronunciation).

Dao 道 graphically combines the chuo 辶 (or 辵) “go” radical and shou 首 “head” phonetic. Furthermore, dao 道 is the phonetic element indao 導 “guide; lead” (with the cun 寸 “thumb; hand” radical) and dao 檤 “a tree name” (with the mu 木 “tree; wood” radical).

The traditional interpretation of the 道 character, dating back to the (121 CE) Shuowen Jiezi dictionary, was a rare huiyi 會意 “compound ideogram” or “ideogrammic compound“. The combination of chuo 辶 “go” and shou 首 “head” (numbers 162 and 185 in the Kangxi radicals) signified a “head going” or “to lead the way”.

Dao is graphically distinguished between its earliest nominal meaning of dao 道 “way; road; path;” and the later verbal sense of “say”. It should also be contrasted with dao 導 “lead the way; guide; conduct; direct; “. The Simplified character 导 for dao 導 has si 巳 “6th of the 12 Earthly Branches” in place of dao 道.

The earliest written forms of dao are bronzeware script and seal script characters from Zhou Dynasty (1045–256 BCE) bronzes and writings. These ancient dao characters more clearly depict the shou 首 “head” element as hair above a face. Some variants interchange the chuo 辵 “go; advance” radical with the xing 行 “go; road” radical, with the original bronze “crossroads” depiction written in the seal character with two 彳 and 亍 “footprints”.

Yu the Great (Chinese: 大禹; pinyin: Dà Yǔ, c. 2200 – 2100 BC)[1] was a legendary ruler in ancient China famed for his introduction of flood control, inaugurating dynastic rule in China by founding the Xia Dynasty, and for his upright moral character.[2][3]

The dates proposed for Yu’s reign precede the oldest known written records in China, the oracle bones of the late Shang dynasty, by nearly a millennium.[4] No inscriptions on artifacts from the supposed era of Yu, nor the later oracle bones, make any mention of Yu; he does not appear in inscription until vessels dating to the Western Zhou period (c. 1045–771 BC). The lack of anything remotely close to contemporary documentary evidence has led to some controversy over the historicity of Yu. Proponents of the historicity of Yu theorise that stories about his life and reign were transmitted orally in various areas of China until they were recorded in the Zhou dynasty,[5] while opponents believe the figure existed in legend in a different form – as a god or mythical animal – in the Xia dynasty, and morphed into a human figure by the start of the Zhou dynasty. Many of the stories about Yu were collected in Sima Qian‘s famous Records of the Grand Historian. Yu and other “sage-kings” of Ancient China were lauded for their virtues and morals byConfucius and other Chinese teachers.[6]

Yu is one of the few Chinese rulers posthumously honored with the epithet “the Great“.

prion

A prion (Listeni/ˈpriːɒn/[1]) is an infectious agent thought to be the cause of the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). It is composed entirely of protein material, called PrP (short for prion protein), that can fold in multiple, structurally distinct ways, at least one of which is transmissible to other prion proteins, leading to disease that is similar to viral infection. The word prion, coined in 1982 by Stanley B. Prusiner, is a compound word derived from protein and infection, hence prion, and is short for “proteinaceous infectious particle”,[2] in reference to its ability to self-propagate and transmit its conformation to other proteins.[3] Prions were initially identified as the causative agent in animal TSEs such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)—known popularly as “mad cow disease”—and scrapie in sheep. Human prion diseases include Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) and its variant (vCJD), Gerstmann–Sträussler–Scheinker syndrome, Fatal Familial Insomnia, and kuru.[4] A 2015 study concluded that multiple system atrophy (MSA), a rare human neurodegenerative disease, is caused by a misfolded version of a protein called alpha-synuclein, and is therefore also classifiable as a prion disease.[5] Several yeast proteins have been identified as having prionogenic properties as well.[6][7]

A protein as a standalone infectious agent stands in contrast to all other known infectious agents such as viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites, all of which contain nucleic acids (DNA, RNA, or both). For this reason, a minority of researchers still consider the prion/TSE hypothesis unproven.[8] All known prion diseases in mammals affect the structure of the brain or other neural tissue; all are currently untreatable and universally fatal.[9]

Prions may propagate by transmitting their misfolded protein state: When a prion enters a healthy organism, it induces existing, properly folded proteins to convert into the misfolded prion form. In this way, the prion acts as a template to guide the misfolding of more proteins into prion form. In yeast, this refolding is assisted by chaperone proteins such as Hsp104p. These refolded prions can then go on to convert more proteins themselves, leading to a chain reaction resulting in large amounts of the prion form.[7] All known prions induce the formation of an amyloid fold, in which the protein polymerises into an aggregate consisting of tightly packed beta sheets. Amyloid aggregates are fibrils, growing at their ends, and replicate when breakage causes two growing ends to become four growing ends. The incubation period of prion diseases is determined by the exponential growth rate associated with prion replication, which is a balance between the linear growth and the breakage of aggregates.[10] The propagation of the prion depends on the presence of normally folded protein in which the prion can induce misfolding; animals that do not express the normal form of the prion protein can neither develop nor transmit the disease.

Prion aggregates are extremely stable and accumulate in infected tissue, causing tissue damage and cell death.[11] This structural stability means that prions are resistant todenaturation by chemical and physical agents, making disposal and containment of these particles difficult. Prion structure varies slightly between species, but nonetheless prion replication is subject to occasional epimutation and natural selection just like other forms of replication.[12]

εὐδαιμονία

Eudaimonia (Greek: εὐδαιμονία [eu̯dai̯moníaː]), sometimes anglicized as eudaemonia or eudemonia /juːdᵻˈmoʊniə/, is a Greek word commonly translated as happiness orwelfare; however, “human flourishing” has been proposed as a more accurate translation.[1] Etymologically, it consists of the words “eu” (“good”) and “daimōn” (“spirit”). It is a central concept in Aristotelian ethics and political philosophy, along with the terms “aretē“, most often translated as “virtue” or “excellence”, and “phronesis“, often translated as “practical or ethical wisdom”.[2] In Aristotle’s works, eudaimonia was (based on older Greek tradition) used as the term for the highest human good, and so it is the aim of practical philosophy, including ethics and political philosophy, to consider (and also experience) what it really is, and how it can be achieved.

Discussion of the links between virtue of character (ethikē aretē) and happiness (eudaimonia) is one of the central concerns of ancient ethics, and a subject of much disagreement. As a result there are many varieties of eudaimonism. Two of the most influential forms are those of Aristotle[3] and the Stoics. Aristotle takes virtue and its exercise to be the most important constituent in eudaimonia but acknowledges also the importance of external goods such as health, wealth, and beauty. By contrast, the Stoics make virtue necessary and sufficient for eudaimonia and thus deny the necessity of external goods.

Psychological resilience

Psychological resilience is defined as an individual’s ability to properly adapt to stress and adversity. Stress and adversity can come in the shape of family or relationship problems, health problems, or workplace and financial worries, among others.[1] Resilience is not a rare ability; in reality, it is found in the average individual and it can be learned and developed by virtually anyone. Resilience should be considered a process, rather than a trait to be had.[2]

A common misapprehension is that resilient people are free from negative emotions or thoughts, remaining optimistic in most or all situations. To the contrary, resilient individuals have, through time, developed coping techniques that allow them to effectively and relatively easily navigate around or through crises.[3][4][5][6] In other words, people who demonstrate resilience are people with optimistic attitude and positive emotionality and are, by practice, able to effectively balance negative emotions with positive ones.

Grit refers to the perseverance and passion for long-term goals.[31] This is characterized as working persistently towards challenges, maintained effort and interest over years despite negative feedback, adversity, plateaus in progress, or failure.[31] High grit people view accomplishments as a marathon rather than an immediate goal. High grit individuals normally earn higher GPAs in school, and make fewer career changes than less gritty individuals.[31]

Grit affects the effort a person contributes by acting on the importance pathway. When people value a goal as more valuable, meaningful, or relevant to their self-concept they are willing to expend more effort on it when necessary. The influence of individual differences in grit results in different levels of effort-related cardiac activity when gritty and less gritty individuals performed the same task. Grit is associated with differences in potential motivation, one pathway in motivational intensity theory. Grit may also influence an individual’s perception of task difficulty.[32]

Grit was highly correlated with the Big Five conscientiousness trait.[31] Although grit and conscientiousness highly overlap in their achievement aspects, they differ in their emphasis. Grit emphasizes long-term stamina, whereas conscientiousness focuses on short-term intensity.[31]

Grit varies with level of education and age. More educated adults tend to be higher in grit than less educated individuals of the same age.[31] Post college graduates report higher grit levels than most other education level groups.[31] Grit increases with age when education level is controlled for.[31]

In life achievements, grit may be as important as talent. College students at an elite university who scored high in grit also earned higher GPAs than their classmates, despite having lower SAT scores.[31] In a study at the West Point military academy it was found that grit was a more reliable predictor of first summer retention than self-control or a summary measure of cadet quality.[31] Gritty competitors at the Scripps National Spelling Bee outranked other competitors who scored lower in grit, at least partially due to accumulated practice.[31]

Grit may also serve as a protective factor against suicide. A study at Stanford University found that grit was predictive of psychological health and well-being in medical residents.[33] Gritty individuals possess self-control and regular commitment to goals that allows them to resist impulses, such as to engage in self-harm. Individuals high in grit also focus on future goals, which may stop them from attempting suicide. It is believed that because grit encourages individuals to create and sustain life goals, these goals provide meaning and purpose in life. Grit alone does not seem to be sufficient, however. Only individuals with high gratitude and grit have decreased suicidal ideation over long periods of time. Gratitude and grit work together to enhance meaning in life, offering protection against death and suicidal thoughts or plans.

The American Psychological Association suggests “10 Ways to Build Resilience”, which are:

  1. to maintain good relationships with close family members, friends and others;
  2. to avoid seeing crises or stressful events as unbearable problems;
  3. to accept circumstances that cannot be changed;
  4. to develop realistic goals and move towards them;
  5. to take decisive actions in adverse situations;
  6. to look for opportunities of self-discovery after a struggle with loss;
  7. to develop self-confidence;
  8. to keep a long-term perspective and consider the stressful event in a broader context;
  9. to maintain a hopeful outlook, expecting good things and visualizing what is wished;
  10. to take care of one’s mind and body, exercising regularly, paying attention to one’s own needs and feelings.

The Besht model of natural resilience building in an ideal family with positive access and support from family and friends, through parenting illustrates 4 key markers. They are:

  1. Realistic Upbringing.
  2. Effective Risk Communications.
  3. Positivity and Restructuring of demanding situations.
  4. Building Self Efficacy and Hardiness.

Brad Evans and Julian Reid criticize resilience discourse and its rising popularity in their book, Resilient Life.[88] The authors assert that policies of resilience can put the onus of disaster response on individuals rather than publicly coordinated efforts. Tied to the emergence of neoliberalism, climate change theory, third-world development, and other discourses, Evans and Reid argue that promoting resilience draws attention away from governmental responsibility and towards localized, laissez-faire responses.

Another criticism regarding resilience is its definition. Like other psychological phenomena, by defining specific psychological and affective states in certain ways, controversy over meaning will always ensue. How the term resilience is defined affects research focuses; different or insufficient definitions of resilience will lead to inconsistent research about the same concepts. Research on resilience has become more heterogeneous in its outcomes and measures, convincing some researchers to abandon the term altogether due to it being attributed to all outcomes of research where results were more positive than expected.[89]

There is also controversy about the indicators of good psychological and social development when resilience is studied across different cultures and contexts.[90][91][92] The American Psychological Association’s Task Force on Resilience and Strength in Black Children and Adolescents,[93] for example, notes that there may be special skills that these young people and families have that help them cope, including the ability to resist racial prejudice. Researchers of indigenous health have shown the impact of culture, history, community values, and geographical settings on resilience in indigenous communities.[94] People who cope may also show “hidden resilience”[95] when they don’t conform with society’s expectations for how someone is supposed to behave (in some contexts, aggression may be required to cope, or less emotional engagement may be protective in situations of abuse).[96] Recently there has also been evidence that resilience can indicate a capacity to resist a sharp decline in other harm even though a person temporarily appears to get worse.[97][98]

The definition also becomes an issue with time. As research increases over time, this gives more information to be referenced and cited. Over time the definitions of resilience and what it encompasses will regress towards a lexical mean that may or may not be inclusive of everything composing resilience.[89] Without objective means of defining resilience in a singular, all-encompassing term, using resilience as a theoretical psychological concept or therapeutic instrument will not be universally consistent or correct.

法輪功真相

Li Hongzhi introduced the Teachings of Falun Gong to the public in Changchun, China in 1992. The teachings cover a wide range of topics ranging from spiritual, scientific andmoral to metaphysical. Since its inception, Falun Gong has been one of the fastest growing qigong (Pinyin: qìgōng) schools in Chinese history.[citation needed]

The teachings of Falun Gong are based on the principles of zhēn 眞, shàn 善 and rěn 忍 (which translate approximately as truthfulness, benevolence, and forbearance)[1]articulated in the two main books Falun Gong[2] and Zhuan Falun.[3] Falun Gong is an introductory book that discusses qigong, introduces the aforementioned principles, and provides illustrations and explanations of exercises for meditation. Zhuan Falun is considered the central and most comprehensive exposition on the teachings of Falun Gong.

According to the book Falun Gong, “Fǎlún” (Buddha Fǎ) is a great, high-level cultivation way of the Buddha School (different from Buddhism), in which assimilation to the supreme nature of the universe, Zhen-Shan-Ren, is the foundation of cultivation practice.”[4] In this concept, “cultivation” refers to upgrading one’s xīnxìng (mind-nature) through abandoning negative attachments and assimilating oneself to “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance”. “Practice” refers to the five meditative exercises that are said to purify and transform one’s body. Cultivation is considered essential, and the exercises are said to supplement the process of improving oneself.[5][6]

Some aspects of Falun Gong’s teachings are considered implausible and peculiar by observers, and Falun Gong’s conservative and moralistic views on subjects such as sexuality have attracted controversy.

Falun Gong or Falun Dafa (literally, “Dharma Wheel Practice” or “Law Wheel Practice”) is a Chinese spiritual practice that combines meditation and qigong exercises with a moral philosophy centered on the tenets of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance(Chinese: 真、善、忍). The practice emphasizes morality and the cultivation of virtue, and identifies as a qigong practice of the Buddhist school, though its teachings also incorporate elements drawn from Taoist traditions. Through moral rectitude and the practice of meditation, practitioners of Falun Gong aspire to better health and, ultimately, spiritual enlightenment.

Falun Gong was first taught publicly in Northeast China in 1992 by Li Hongzhi. It emerged toward the end of China’s “qigongboom”—a period which saw the proliferation of similar practices of meditation, slow-moving exercises and regulated breathing. It differs from other qigong schools in its absence of fees or formal membership, lack of daily rituals of worship, its greater emphasis on morality, and the theological nature of its teachings. Western academics have described Falun Gong as a qigong discipline, a “spiritual movement”, a “cultivation system” in the tradition of Chinese antiquity, or as a form of Chinese religion.

Although the practice initially enjoyed considerable support from Chinese officialdom, by the mid- to late-1990s, the Communist Partyand public security organizations increasingly viewed Falun Gong as a potential threat due to its size, independence from the state, and spiritual teachings. By 1999, government estimates placed the number of Falun Gong practitioners at 70 million.[1] Tensions culminated in April 1999, when over 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners gathered peacefully near the central government compound in Beijing to request legal recognition and freedom from state interference. This demonstration is widely seen as catalyzing the persecution that followed.

On 20 July 1999, the Communist Party leadership initiated a nationwide crackdown and multifaceted propaganda campaign intended to eradicate the practice. It blocked Internet access to websites that mention Falun Gong, and in October 1999 it declared Falun Gong a “heretical organization” that threatened social stability. Human rights groups report that Falun Gong practitioners in China are subject to a wide range of human rights abuses: hundreds of thousands are estimated to have been imprisoned extrajudicially, and practitioners in detention are subject to forced labor, psychiatric abuse, torture, and other coercive methods of thought reform at the hands of Chinese authorities.[2] As of 2009 at least 2,000 Falun Gong practitioners had died as a result of abuse in custody.[3]Some observers put the number much higher, and report that tens of thousands may have been killed to supply China’s organ transplant industry.[4][5] In the years since the persecution began, Falun Gong practitioners have become active in advocating for greater human rights in China.

Falun Gong founder Li Hongzhi has lived in the United States since 1996, and Falun Gong has a sizable global constituency. Inside China, some sources estimate that tens of millions continue to practice Falun Gong in spite of the persecution.[6][7] Hundreds of thousands are estimated to practice Falun Gong outside China in over 70 countries worldwide.[8][9]

Uploaded on May 22, 2011
1999年4月25日發生了震動世界的法輪功萬人北京上訪事件，事件真相被中共封鎖至­今已有15年，”4.25法輪功萬人上訪真相”仍作為被禁的關鍵­詞，被中共嚴密封鎖和抹黑。
那一天，一萬多名法輪大法修煉者從四面八方來到北京國務院信訪辦公室所在地和平請願。­從清晨到夜晚，歷時十多個小時，無暴力、無口號、無擾民、無垃圾、善意平靜，創造了在­中共幾十年極權統治下不曾有過的官民成功對話、圓滿解決問題的獨有範例，也為

Falun Dafa 60min exercise in video (1-4) from Punu Se on Vimeo.