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Recently a group of artist from the DMV area got together for a shoot with model Connie Shih,the photography wasdone by international photographer Svenler.Here is a little about each of the participants in this amazing photoshot , the images that you see here are from the actual production from the shoot . a gallery link will be posted soon and we would like for you to look for some of the images to be published in Europe and the U.S.
A bit abpout the Team:
About Imaginis Photography
My name is Sven Bannuscher and I am the owner and main photographer of Imaginis Photography. I have many years of experience as a photographer and have worked as a professional photographer in Europe (France, Germany, Monaco) as well as in the United States and Canada.
My photos have been published in the Washington Post, Washington Diplomat, Austria Info, and several other national and international publications.
I started my career as a landscape and architecture photographer in Europe before moving to Bethesda, MD. This type of photography requires a high attention to detail which I still utilize today when photographing any type of assignment. No matter if it is a portrait, a wedding, a commercial advertising campaign, editorial fashion, or any other type of photography.
When photographing events such as a Wedding, I combine artistic portrait photography skills with a modern photojournalistic approach. Blending these two concepts together ensures that you will receive timeless photographs.
Business Philosophy
It has been my philosophy to combine the classic perfection of the old masters with an innovative and modern style of photography.
We offer you a package that is tailored to your needs. We make the whole process from beginning to end affordable, fun, and hassle-free. We ensure that you feel comfortable at all times and do not have to jump through any loopholes or run into any walls. You are unique and you deserve a photographer who appreciates and captures your uniqueness.
Mission Statement
To consistently create artistically notable and technically superior photographs of outstanding quality.
Shana Kroiz Jewelry:
Native Baltimorean Shana Kroiz is acknowledged as one of the country's leading experimental enamelists and jewelry educators. Throughout her career, Shana has been involved in teaching and promoting the growth of jewelry as a recognizable art form.
Shana is currently the Special Events and Workshop Coordinator of the Maryland Institute College of Art Jewelry Center, which she founded in 1992, and where she works as an instructor and studio artist. Previously, Shana was the Director of the 92nd Street Y’s Jewelry Center in NYC.
Where to see Shana's work
See Shana's work in publications
"My one-of-a-kind wearable jewelry celebrates ancient forms and the sensuous nature of the human consciousness. These pieces are universal in their appeal and personal in their effect. When worn, the jewelry interacts as sculpture making the body a pedestal."
"Rich colors are created by the primitive use of a brush stroke and layering of experimental enameling or the brilliant colors of patina on silver which reflects the history of the art."
With artistic integrity and fine craftsmanship, Kroiz captures the seduction of color and form while exploring and honoring the human spirit.
MFA,1993; Towson State University
BFA with Honors, major: Metals, minor: Clay; 1990; Parsons School of Design
One-year Intensive Metals Study, SUNY at New Paltz; 1987-1988 (with Robert Ebendorf and Jamie Bennett)
Christopher Schafer's Summary
Christopher Schafer wants you to look your best for every one of life's great occasions. He takes pride in his work and feels that every garment that he creates is a direct representation of himself. Christopher makes sure that all the details are correct and that you get the best fit possible. He will take the time with you to design the best clothing that you have ever owned. This old world work ethic is not going unnoticed, he was voted Baltimore’s Best Tailor by City Paper in 2009, Baltimore Magazine in 2010, and Fashion Awards MD in 2012.
Christopher learned that art of measuring & design to create custom clothing while living in London, a city that had a profound effect on his life. He learned from some of the best clothiers in the world and immersed himself in the English culture. Christopher would frequently visit Seville Row and Jermyn Street to gain ideas and inspiration. The end result was a new style which blends European style and fit with comfort to create clean understated lines. This formula produces fashionable, fitted and comfortable clothing that you will love to wear.
Specialties
Measuring and design of suits, shirts, formal & casual wear.
Christopher Schafer's Experience
Proprietor
Christopher Schafer Clothier (Sole Proprietorship)
Sole Proprietorship; 1-10 employees; Apparel & Fashion industry
November 2010– Present (1 year 11 months) Baltimore, Maryland Area
Measuring and design of suits, shirts, formal & casual wear.
Partner
Signature Attire
June 2011– Present (1 year 4 months) Baltimore, Maryland Area
Our ties are designed and made in America of the highest quality. Whether you seek a bespoke necktie that is subtle and elegant or bold and dramatic, each of our truly well-made ties is custom designed to set you apart from the crowd.
We know, firsthand, that if a custom necktie is eye-catching on TV, it will add distinction to your everyday life too.
President
Baltimore Fashion Alliance
September 2010– Present (2 years 1 month)Baltimore, Maryland Area
The BFA’s mission is to provide professionals in the fashion industry with superior education, networking, and resources while giving back to the community through charitable programs and contributions.
Carlous Palmer Designer /Stylist
I am an American Fashion Artist/ Stylist, with over20 years’ experience in the industry with a body of work that covers Television, Film, Stage and Fashion, I am interested in working with any one that has the drive and desire for creativity and beauty. MY GOAL IS PERFECTION. I am quick with ideas and always open to new ones THAT ARE WORKABLE
and willing to travel for fair compensation, I have worked from New York to Palm Beach in the area of retail, public relations and for one of the largest Christmas display in the country meaning that my resources are plentiful for getting things done. I am also dedicated to helping the new comer to the industry ...after all we are responsible for sharing what we know to help others to keep our art alive... feel free to contact me at carlouspalmer@yahoo.com
This year you will be seeing designs created exclusively for CHASE BREXTON HEALTH SERVICES to bring more awareness to the need to attract more people to the HIV/ AIDS crisis ... the numbers are getting higher , and I am honored to say that IKEA TEXTILES and GUSS WOOLENS have sponsored this collection and over the next few months you will be seeing designs created from IKEA TEXTILES with some designs supplemented with fabric from GUSS WOOLENS . You will be able to purchase these garments by visiting www.carlouspalmerdesign.etsy.com we are also asking that you join IKEA and GUSS WOOLENS TWITTER and FACEBOOK pages to be updated about what is going on new in fine Textiles.... look for more images in an upcoming article in IN - FOCUS MAGAZINE... I would also like to thank WOODIE and TONY LESENE for recognizing my abilities when I lived in Palm Beach and introducing me to FLORIDA'S FASHION PUBLIC; for that I am grateful. I hope that I can continue to do good work and help people in my small way become inspired... I hope that my work will continue with the love and support that I have been getting over the years and I am looking forward to creating inspirational designs I hope that other designers will take part in this movement and help some of the other agencies in the fight WE ARE MORE POWERFUL TOGETHER THAN WE ARE APART.
I also need to thank GOD, My Family, My City TEMPLE Church Family, The Baltimore School for Arts, Fashion Institute of Technology, Baltimore City Community College for their part in my success .
Make Up By Dawn Newsome
Dawn is a master makeup artist that has been designing faces for over 16 years. She got her start in beauty at the age of 13 at a local modeling school in Harrisburg, PA. While modeling, Dawn quickly realized her passion for makeup and decided to turn her passion into a career. Dawn's experience began in the cosmetic departments on lines such as Fashion Fair, Flore Roberts, Ultama II & Derma Blend. During this time, she learned that the art of makeup starts with the foundation. Dawn quickly mastered the ability to go beyond the basic foundation palette to blend the perfect foundation. This blending technique is the powerful tool Dawn possesses to consistently create the perfect look.
Dawn's desire for growth led her to Prescriptive, Lancôme and Mac, where her creativity was embraced and confidence was instilled. Dawn became a National Makeup Artist in her next move to Estée Lauder. This experience opened a world of opportunity as she traveled around the country doing makeup events and touching over 200,000 faces in 5 years! Estée Lauder gave her the opportunity to study under the Late *Paul Starr* for 2 years, as well as take part in developing foundation pigments for women of color. With this experience Dawn continued to refine her skills as she moved forward and opened new pathways to create beauty. Now Dawn is using her expertise in all kinds of media such as videos, TV shows, photo shoots, fashion productions, weddings & beauty transformations!
CREDITS:Discovery Channel's *Home Made Simple* 2009, HGTV's *Real Estate Intervention 2009, H-Town music video *Knockin your Heels Off* 2009 , H-Town feat. Pretty Rickey 2010, Red Cafe music video * Who You Hatin on Lately* Baltimore Ray music video *Back at Da crib* 2011 Dominion Energy Share commercial *Comfortable Sleeping*, Discovery Credit Card, Raytheon Feat. John Harris, Pepsi
Dawn has recently found a home with Bridal Artistry Team , this has been great union for both of us!
About Imaginis Photography
My name is Sven Bannuscher and I am the owner and main photographer of Imaginis Photography. I have many years of experience as a photographer and have worked as a professional photographer in Europe (France, Germany, Monaco) as well as in the United States and Canada.
My photos have been published in the Washington Post, Washington Diplomat, Austria Info, and several other national and international publications.
I started my career as a landscape and architecture photographer in Europe before moving to Bethesda, MD. This type of photography requires a high attention to detail which I still utilize today when photographing any type of assignment. No matter if it is a portrait, a wedding, a commercial advertising campaign, editorial fashion, or any other type of photography.
When photographing events such as a Wedding, I combine artistic portrait photography skills with a modern photojournalistic approach. Blending these two concepts together ensures that you will receive timeless photographs.
Business Philosophy
It has been my philosophy to combine the classic perfection of the old masters with an innovative and modern style of photography.
We offer you a package that is tailored to your needs. We make the whole process from beginning to end affordable, fun, and hassle-free. We ensure that you feel comfortable at all times and do not have to jump through any loopholes or run into any walls. You are unique and you deserve a photographer who appreciates and captures your uniqueness.
Mission Statement
To consistently create artistically notable and technically superior photographs of outstanding quality.
Shana Kroiz Jewelry:
Native Baltimorean Shana Kroiz is acknowledged as one of the country's leading experimental enamelists and jewelry educators. Throughout her career, Shana has been involved in teaching and promoting the growth of jewelry as a recognizable art form.
Shana is currently the Special Events and Workshop Coordinator of the Maryland Institute College of Art Jewelry Center, which she founded in 1992, and where she works as an instructor and studio artist. Previously, Shana was the Director of the 92nd Street Y’s Jewelry Center in NYC.
Where to see Shana's work
See Shana's work in publications
"My one-of-a-kind wearable jewelry celebrates ancient forms and the sensuous nature of the human consciousness. These pieces are universal in their appeal and personal in their effect. When worn, the jewelry interacts as sculpture making the body a pedestal."
"Rich colors are created by the primitive use of a brush stroke and layering of experimental enameling or the brilliant colors of patina on silver which reflects the history of the art."
With artistic integrity and fine craftsmanship, Kroiz captures the seduction of color and form while exploring and honoring the human spirit.
MFA,1993; Towson State University
BFA with Honors, major: Metals, minor: Clay; 1990; Parsons School of Design
One-year Intensive Metals Study, SUNY at New Paltz; 1987-1988 (with Robert Ebendorf and Jamie Bennett)
Christopher Schafer's Summary
Christopher Schafer wants you to look your best for every one of life's great occasions. He takes pride in his work and feels that every garment that he creates is a direct representation of himself. Christopher makes sure that all the details are correct and that you get the best fit possible. He will take the time with you to design the best clothing that you have ever owned. This old world work ethic is not going unnoticed, he was voted Baltimore’s Best Tailor by City Paper in 2009, Baltimore Magazine in 2010, and Fashion Awards MD in 2012.
Christopher learned that art of measuring & design to create custom clothing while living in London, a city that had a profound effect on his life. He learned from some of the best clothiers in the world and immersed himself in the English culture. Christopher would frequently visit Seville Row and Jermyn Street to gain ideas and inspiration. The end result was a new style which blends European style and fit with comfort to create clean understated lines. This formula produces fashionable, fitted and comfortable clothing that you will love to wear.
Specialties
Measuring and design of suits, shirts, formal & casual wear.
Christopher Schafer's Experience
Proprietor
Christopher Schafer Clothier (Sole Proprietorship)
Sole Proprietorship; 1-10 employees; Apparel & Fashion industry
November 2010– Present (1 year 11 months) Baltimore, Maryland Area
Measuring and design of suits, shirts, formal & casual wear.
Partner
Signature Attire
June 2011– Present (1 year 4 months) Baltimore, Maryland Area
Our ties are designed and made in America of the highest quality. Whether you seek a bespoke necktie that is subtle and elegant or bold and dramatic, each of our truly well-made ties is custom designed to set you apart from the crowd.
We know, firsthand, that if a custom necktie is eye-catching on TV, it will add distinction to your everyday life too.
President
Baltimore Fashion Alliance
September 2010– Present (2 years 1 month)Baltimore, Maryland Area
The BFA’s mission is to provide professionals in the fashion industry with superior education, networking, and resources while giving back to the community through charitable programs and contributions.
Carlous Palmer Designer /Stylist
I am an American Fashion Artist/ Stylist, with over20 years’ experience in the industry with a body of work that covers Television, Film, Stage and Fashion, I am interested in working with any one that has the drive and desire for creativity and beauty. MY GOAL IS PERFECTION. I am quick with ideas and always open to new ones THAT ARE WORKABLE
and willing to travel for fair compensation, I have worked from New York to Palm Beach in the area of retail, public relations and for one of the largest Christmas display in the country meaning that my resources are plentiful for getting things done. I am also dedicated to helping the new comer to the industry ...after all we are responsible for sharing what we know to help others to keep our art alive... feel free to contact me at carlouspalmer@yahoo.com
This year you will be seeing designs created exclusively for CHASE BREXTON HEALTH SERVICES to bring more awareness to the need to attract more people to the HIV/ AIDS crisis ... the numbers are getting higher , and I am honored to say that IKEA TEXTILES and GUSS WOOLENS have sponsored this collection and over the next few months you will be seeing designs created from IKEA TEXTILES with some designs supplemented with fabric from GUSS WOOLENS . You will be able to purchase these garments by visiting www.carlouspalmerdesign.etsy.com we are also asking that you join IKEA and GUSS WOOLENS TWITTER and FACEBOOK pages to be updated about what is going on new in fine Textiles.... look for more images in an upcoming article in IN - FOCUS MAGAZINE... I would also like to thank WOODIE and TONY LESENE for recognizing my abilities when I lived in Palm Beach and introducing me to FLORIDA'S FASHION PUBLIC; for that I am grateful. I hope that I can continue to do good work and help people in my small way become inspired... I hope that my work will continue with the love and support that I have been getting over the years and I am looking forward to creating inspirational designs I hope that other designers will take part in this movement and help some of the other agencies in the fight WE ARE MORE POWERFUL TOGETHER THAN WE ARE APART.
I also need to thank GOD, My Family, My City TEMPLE Church Family, The Baltimore School for Arts, Fashion Institute of Technology, Baltimore City Community College for their part in my success .
Make Up By Dawn Newsome
Dawn is a master makeup artist that has been designing faces for over 16 years. She got her start in beauty at the age of 13 at a local modeling school in Harrisburg, PA. While modeling, Dawn quickly realized her passion for makeup and decided to turn her passion into a career. Dawn's experience began in the cosmetic departments on lines such as Fashion Fair, Flore Roberts, Ultama II & Derma Blend. During this time, she learned that the art of makeup starts with the foundation. Dawn quickly mastered the ability to go beyond the basic foundation palette to blend the perfect foundation. This blending technique is the powerful tool Dawn possesses to consistently create the perfect look.
Dawn's desire for growth led her to Prescriptive, Lancôme and Mac, where her creativity was embraced and confidence was instilled. Dawn became a National Makeup Artist in her next move to Estée Lauder. This experience opened a world of opportunity as she traveled around the country doing makeup events and touching over 200,000 faces in 5 years! Estée Lauder gave her the opportunity to study under the Late *Paul Starr* for 2 years, as well as take part in developing foundation pigments for women of color. With this experience Dawn continued to refine her skills as she moved forward and opened new pathways to create beauty. Now Dawn is using her expertise in all kinds of media such as videos, TV shows, photo shoots, fashion productions, weddings & beauty transformations!
CREDITS:Discovery Channel's *Home Made Simple* 2009, HGTV's *Real Estate Intervention 2009, H-Town music video *Knockin your Heels Off* 2009 , H-Town feat. Pretty Rickey 2010, Red Cafe music video * Who You Hatin on Lately* Baltimore Ray music video *Back at Da crib* 2011 Dominion Energy Share commercial *Comfortable Sleeping*, Discovery Credit Card, Raytheon Feat. John Harris, Pepsi
Dawn has recently found a home with Bridal Artistry Team , this has been great union for both of us!
Gautama Buddha, also known as Siddhārtha Gautama, Shakyamuni, or simply the Buddha, was a sage on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. He is believed to have lived and taught mostly in northeastern India sometime between the sixth and fourth centuries BCE.
The word Buddha means "awakened one" or "the enlightened one". "Buddha" is also used as a title for the first awakened being in a Yuga era. In most Buddhist traditions, Siddhartha Gautama is regarded as the Supreme Buddha (Pali sammāsambuddha, Sanskrit samyaksaṃbuddha) of the present age. Gautama taught a Middle Way between sensual indulgence and the severe asceticism found in the śramaṇa movement common in his region. He later taught throughout regions of eastern India such as Magadha and Kosala.
Gautama is the primary figure in Buddhism and accounts of his life, discourses, and monastic rules are believed by Buddhists to have been summarized after his death and memorized by his followers. Various collections of teachings attributed to him were passed down by oral tradition and first committed to writing about 400 years later.
CONTENTS
HISTORICAL SIDDHARTA GAUTAMA
Scholars are hesitant to make unqualified claims about the historical facts of the Buddha's life. Most accept that he lived, taught and founded a monastic order during the Mahajanapada era during the reign of Bimbisara, the ruler of the Magadha empire, and died during the early years of the reign of Ajasattu, who was the successor of Bimbisara, thus making him a younger contemporary of Mahavira, the Jain tirthankara. Apart from the Vedic Brahmins, the Buddha's lifetime coincided with the flourishing of other influential śramaṇa schools of thoughts like Ājīvika, Cārvāka, Jainism, and Ajñana. It was also the age of influential thinkers like Mahavira, Pūraṇa Kassapa , Makkhali Gosāla, Ajita Kesakambalī, Pakudha Kaccāyana, and Sañjaya Belaṭṭhaputta, whose viewpoints the Buddha most certainly must have been acquainted with and influenced by. Indeed, Sariputta and Moggallāna, two of the foremost disciples of the Buddha, were formerly the foremost disciples of Sañjaya Belaṭṭhaputta, the skeptic. There is also evidence to suggest that the two masters, Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta, were indeed historical figures and they most probably taught Buddha two different forms of meditative techniques. While the general sequence of "birth, maturity, renunciation, search, awakening and liberation, teaching, death" is widely accepted, there is less consensus on the veracity of many details contained in traditional biographies.
The times of Gautama's birth and death are uncertain. Most historians in the early 20th century dated his lifetime as circa 563 BCE to 483 BCE. More recently his death is dated later, between 411 and 400 BCE, while at a symposium on this question held in 1988, the majority of those who presented definite opinions gave dates within 20 years either side of 400 BCE for the Buddha's death. These alternative chronologies, however, have not yet been accepted by all historians.
The evidence of the early texts suggests that Siddhārtha Gautama was born into the Shakya clan, a community that was on the periphery, both geographically and culturally, of the northeastern Indian subcontinent in the 5th century BCE. It was either a small republic, in which case his father was an elected chieftain, or an oligarchy, in which case his father was an oligarch. According to the Buddhist tradition, Gautama was born in Lumbini, nowadays in modern-day Nepal, and raised in the Shakya capital of Kapilavastu, which may have been in either present day Tilaurakot, Nepal or Piprahwa, India. He obtained his enlightenment in Bodh Gaya, gave his first sermon in Sarnath, and died in Kushinagar.
No written records about Gautama have been found from his lifetime or some centuries thereafter. One Edict of Asoka, who reigned from circa 269 BCE to 232 BCE, commemorates the Emperor's pilgrimage to the Buddha's birthplace in Lumbini. Another one of his edicts mentions several Dhamma texts, establishing the existence of a written Buddhist tradition at least by the time of the Maurya era and which may be the precursors of the Pāli Canon. The oldest surviving Buddhist manuscripts are the Gandhāran Buddhist texts, reported to have been found in or around Haḍḍa near Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan and now preserved in the British Library. They are written in the Gāndhārī language using the Kharosthi script on twenty-seven birch bark manuscripts and date from the first century BCE to the third century CE.
TRADITIONAL BIOGRAPHIES
BIOGRAPHICAL SOURCES
The sources for the life of Siddhārtha Gautama are a variety of different, and sometimes conflicting, traditional biographies. These include the Buddhacarita, Lalitavistara Sūtra, Mahāvastu, and the Nidānakathā. Of these, the Buddhacarita is the earliest full biography, an epic poem written by the poet Aśvaghoṣa, and dating around the beginning of the 2nd century CE. The Lalitavistara Sūtra is the next oldest biography, a Mahāyāna/Sarvāstivāda biography dating to the 3rd century CE. The Mahāvastu from the Mahāsāṃghika Lokottaravāda tradition is another major biography, composed incrementally until perhaps the 4th century CE. The Dharmaguptaka biography of the Buddha is the most exhaustive, and is entitled the Abhiniṣkramaṇa Sūtra, and various Chinese translations of this date between the 3rd and 6th century CE. The Nidānakathā is from the Theravada tradition in Sri Lanka and was composed in the 5th century by Buddhaghoṣa.
From canonical sources, the Jataka tales, the Mahapadana Sutta (DN 14), and the Achariyabhuta Sutta (MN 123) which include selective accounts that may be older, but are not full biographies. The Jātakas retell previous lives of Gautama as a bodhisattva, and the first collection of these can be dated among the earliest Buddhist texts. The Mahāpadāna Sutta and Achariyabhuta Sutta both recount miraculous events surrounding Gautama's birth, such as the bodhisattva's descent from the Tuṣita Heaven into his mother's womb.
NATURE OF TRADITIONAL DEPICTIONS
In the earliest Buddhists texts, the nikāyas and āgamas, the Buddha is not depicted as possessing omniscience (sabbaññu) nor is he depicted as being an eternal transcendent (lokottara) being. According to Bhikkhu Analayo, ideas of the Buddha's omniscience (along with an increasing tendency to deify him and his biography) are found only later, in the Mahayana sutras and later Pali commentaries or texts such as the Mahāvastu. In the Sandaka Sutta, the Buddha's disciple Ananda outlines an argument against the claims of teachers who say they are all knowing while in the Tevijjavacchagotta Sutta the Buddha himself states that he has never made a claim to being omniscient, instead he claimed to have the "higher knowledges" (abhijñā). The earliest biographical material from the Pali Nikayas focuses on the Buddha's life as a śramaṇa, his search for enlightenment under various teachers such as Alara Kalama and his forty five year career as a teacher.
Traditional biographies of Gautama generally include numerous miracles, omens, and supernatural events. The character of the Buddha in these traditional biographies is often that of a fully transcendent (Skt. lokottara) and perfected being who is unencumbered by the mundane world. In the Mahāvastu, over the course of many lives, Gautama is said to have developed supra-mundane abilities including: a painless birth conceived without intercourse; no need for sleep, food, medicine, or bathing, although engaging in such "in conformity with the world"; omniscience, and the ability to "suppress karma". Nevertheless, some of the more ordinary details of his life have been gathered from these traditional sources. In modern times there has been an attempt to form a secular understanding of Siddhārtha Gautama's life by omitting the traditional supernatural elements of his early biographies.
Andrew Skilton writes that the Buddha was never historically regarded by Buddhist traditions as being merely human:
It is important to stress that, despite modern Theravada teachings to the contrary (often a sop to skeptical Western pupils), he was never seen as being merely human. For instance, he is often described as having the thirty-two major and eighty minor marks or signs of a mahāpuruṣa, "superman"; the Buddha himself denied that he was either a man or a god; and in the Mahāparinibbāna Sutta he states that he could live for an aeon were he asked to do so.The ancient Indians were generally unconcerned with chronologies, being more focused on philosophy. Buddhist texts reflect this tendency, providing a clearer picture of what Gautama may have taught than of the dates of the events in his life. These texts contain descriptions of the culture and daily life of ancient India which can be corroborated from the Jain scriptures, and make the Buddha's time the earliest period in Indian history for which significant accounts exist. British author Karen Armstrong writes that although there is very little information that can be considered historically sound, we can be reasonably confident that Siddhārtha Gautama did exist as a historical figure. Michael Carrithers goes a bit further by stating that the most general outline of "birth, maturity, renunciation, search, awakening and liberation, teaching, death" must be true.
BIOGRAPHY
CONCEPTION AND BIRTH
The Buddhist tradition regards Lumbini, in present-day Nepal to be the birthplace of the Buddha. He grew up in Kapilavastu. The exact site of ancient Kapilavastu is unknown. It may have been either Piprahwa, Uttar Pradesh, present-day India, or Tilaurakot, present-day Nepal. Both places belonged to the Sakya territory, and are located only 15 miles apart from each other.
Gautama was born as a Kshatriya, the son of Śuddhodana, "an elected chief of the Shakya clan", whose capital was Kapilavastu, and who were later annexed by the growing Kingdom of Kosala during the Buddha's lifetime. Gautama was the family name. His mother, Maya (Māyādevī), Suddhodana's wife, was a Koliyan princess. Legend has it that, on the night Siddhartha was conceived, Queen Maya dreamt that a white elephant with six white tusks entered her right side, and ten months later Siddhartha was born. As was the Shakya tradition, when his mother Queen Maya became pregnant, she left Kapilvastu for her father's kingdom to give birth. However, her son is said to have been born on the way, at Lumbini, in a garden beneath a sal tree.
The day of the Buddha's birth is widely celebrated in Theravada countries as Vesak. Buddha's Birthday is called Buddha Purnima in Nepal and India as he is believed to have been born on a full moon day. Various sources hold that the Buddha's mother died at his birth, a few days or seven days later. The infant was given the name Siddhartha (Pāli: Siddhattha), meaning "he who achieves his aim". During the birth celebrations, the hermit seer Asita journeyed from his mountain abode and announced that the child would either become a great king (chakravartin) or a great sadhu. By traditional account, this occurred after Siddhartha placed his feet in Asita's hair and Asita examined the birthmarks. Suddhodana held a naming ceremony on the fifth day, and invited eight Brahmin scholars to read the future. All gave a dual prediction that the baby would either become a great king or a great holy man. Kondañña, the youngest, and later to be the first arhat other than the Buddha, was reputed to be the only one who unequivocally predicted that Siddhartha would become a Buddha.
While later tradition and legend characterized Śuddhodana as a hereditary monarch, the descendant of the Suryavansha (Solar dynasty) of Ikṣvāku (Pāli: Okkāka), many scholars think that Śuddhodana was the elected chief of a tribal confederacy.
Early texts suggest that Gautama was not familiar with the dominant religious teachings of his time until he left on his religious quest, which is said to have been motivated by existential concern for the human condition. The state of the Shakya clan was not a monarchy, and seems to have been structured either as an oligarchy, or as a form of republic. The more egalitarian gana-sangha form of government, as a political alternative to the strongly hierarchical kingdoms, may have influenced the development of the śramanic Jain and Buddhist sanghas, where monarchies tended toward Vedic Brahmanism.
EARLY LIFE AND MARRIAGE
Siddhartha was brought up by his mother's younger sister, Maha Pajapati. By tradition, he is said to have been destined by birth to the life of a prince, and had three palaces (for seasonal occupation) built for him. Although more recent scholarship doubts this status, his father, said to be King Śuddhodana, wishing for his son to be a great king, is said to have shielded him from religious teachings and from knowledge of human suffering.
When he reached the age of 16, his father reputedly arranged his marriage to a cousin of the same age named Yaśodharā (Pāli: Yasodharā). According to the traditional account, she gave birth to a son, named Rāhula. Siddhartha is said to have spent 29 years as a prince in Kapilavastu. Although his father ensured that Siddhartha was provided with everything he could want or need, Buddhist scriptures say that the future Buddha felt that material wealth was not life's ultimate goal.
RENUNCIATION AND ASCETIC LIFE
At the age of 29, the popular biography continues, Siddhartha left his palace to meet his subjects. Despite his father's efforts to hide from him the sick, aged and suffering, Siddhartha was said to have seen an old man. When his charioteer Channa explained to him that all people grew old, the prince went on further trips beyond the palace. On these he encountered a diseased man, a decaying corpse, and an ascetic. These depressed him, and he initially strove to overcome aging, sickness, and death by living the life of an ascetic.
Accompanied by Channa and riding his horse Kanthaka, Gautama quit his palace for the life of a mendicant. It's said that, "the horse's hooves were muffled by the gods" to prevent guards from knowing of his departure.
Gautama initially went to Rajagaha and began his ascetic life by begging for alms in the street. After King Bimbisara's men recognised Siddhartha and the king learned of his quest, Bimbisara offered Siddhartha the throne. Siddhartha rejected the offer, but promised to visit his kingdom of Magadha first, upon attaining enlightenment.
He left Rajagaha and practised under two hermit teachers of yogic meditation. After mastering the teachings of Alara Kalama (Skr. Ārāḍa Kālāma), he was asked by Kalama to succeed him. However, Gautama felt unsatisfied by the practice, and moved on to become a student of yoga with Udaka Ramaputta (Skr. Udraka Rāmaputra). With him he achieved high levels of meditative consciousness, and was again asked to succeed his teacher. But, once more, he was not satisfied, and again moved on.
Siddhartha and a group of five companions led by Kaundinya are then said to have set out to take their austerities even further. They tried to find enlightenment through deprivation of worldly goods, including food, practising self-mortification. After nearly starving himself to death by restricting his food intake to around a leaf or nut per day, he collapsed in a river while bathing and almost drowned. Siddhartha was rescued by a village girl named Sujata and she gave him some payasam (a pudding made from milk and jaggery) after which Siddhartha got back some energy. Siddhartha began to reconsider his path. Then, he remembered a moment in childhood in which he had been watching his father start the season's ploughing. He attained a concentrated and focused state that was blissful and refreshing, the jhāna.
AWAKENING
According to the early Buddhist texts, after realizing that meditative dhyana was the right path to awakening, but that extreme asceticism didn't work, Gautama discovered what Buddhists call the Middle Way - a path of moderation away from the extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification, or the Noble Eightfold Path, as was identified and described by the Buddha in his first discourse, the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta. In a famous incident, after becoming starved and weakened, he is said to have accepted milk and rice pudding from a village girl named Sujata. Such was his emaciated appearance that she wrongly believed him to be a spirit that had granted her a wish.
Following this incident, Gautama was famously seated under a pipal tree - now known as the Bodhi tree - in Bodh Gaya, India, when he vowed never to arise until he had found the truth. Kaundinya and four other companions, believing that he had abandoned his search and become undisciplined, left. After a reputed 49 days of meditation, at the age of 35, he is said to have attained Enlightenment. According to some traditions, this occurred in approximately the fifth lunar month, while, according to others, it was in the twelfth month. From that time, Gautama was known to his followers as the Buddha or "Awakened One" ("Buddha" is also sometimes translated as "The Enlightened One").
According to Buddhism, at the time of his awakening he realized complete insight into the cause of suffering, and the steps necessary to eliminate it. These discoveries became known as the "Four Noble Truths", which are at the heart of Buddhist teaching. Through mastery of these truths, a state of supreme liberation, or Nirvana, is believed to be possible for any being. The Buddha described Nirvāna as the perfect peace of a mind that's free from ignorance, greed, hatred and other afflictive states, or "defilements" (kilesas). Nirvana is also regarded as the "end of the world", in that no personal identity or boundaries of the mind remain. In such a state, a being is said to possess the Ten Characteristics, belonging to every Buddha.
According to a story in the Āyācana Sutta (Samyutta Nikaya VI.1) - a scripture found in the Pāli and other canons - immediately after his awakening, the Buddha debated whether or not he should teach the Dharma to others. He was concerned that humans were so overpowered by ignorance, greed and hatred that they could never recognise the path, which is subtle, deep and hard to grasp. However, in the story, Brahmā Sahampati convinced him, arguing that at least some will understand it. The Buddha relented, and agreed to teach.
FORMATION OF THE SANGHA
After his awakening, the Buddha met Taphussa and Bhallika — two merchant brothers from the city of Balkh in what is currently Afghanistan - who became his first lay disciples. It is said that each was given hairs from his head, which are now claimed to be enshrined as relics in the Shwe Dagon Temple in Rangoon, Burma. The Buddha intended to visit Asita, and his former teachers, Alara Kalama and Udaka Ramaputta, to explain his findings, but they had already died.
He then travelled to the Deer Park near Varanasi (Benares) in northern India, where he set in motion what Buddhists call the Wheel of Dharma by delivering his first sermon to the five companions with whom he had sought enlightenment. Together with him, they formed the first saṅgha: the company of Buddhist monks.
All five become arahants, and within the first two months, with the conversion of Yasa and fifty four of his friends, the number of such arahants is said to have grown to 60. The conversion of three brothers named Kassapa followed, with their reputed 200, 300 and 500 disciples, respectively. This swelled the sangha to more than 1,000.
TRAVELS AND TEACHING
For the remaining 45 years of his life, the Buddha is said to have traveled in the Gangetic Plain, in what is now Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and southern Nepal, teaching a diverse range of people: from nobles to servants, murderers such as Angulimala, and cannibals such as Alavaka. Although the Buddha's language remains unknown, it's likely that he taught in one or more of a variety of closely related Middle Indo-Aryan dialects, of which Pali may be a standardization.
The sangha traveled through the subcontinent, expounding the dharma. This continued throughout the year, except during the four months of the Vāsanā rainy season when ascetics of all religions rarely traveled. One reason was that it was more difficult to do so without causing harm to animal life. At this time of year, the sangha would retreat to monasteries, public parks or forests, where people would come to them.
The first vassana was spent at Varanasi when the sangha was formed. After this, the Buddha kept a promise to travel to Rajagaha, capital of Magadha, to visit King Bimbisara. During this visit, Sariputta and Maudgalyayana were converted by Assaji, one of the first five disciples, after which they were to become the Buddha's two foremost followers. The Buddha spent the next three seasons at Veluvana Bamboo Grove monastery in Rajagaha, capital of Magadha.
Upon hearing of his son's awakening, Suddhodana sent, over a period, ten delegations to ask him to return to Kapilavastu. On the first nine occasions, the delegates failed to deliver the message, and instead joined the sangha to become arahants. The tenth delegation, led by Kaludayi, a childhood friend of Gautama's (who also became an arahant), however, delivered the message.
Now two years after his awakening, the Buddha agreed to return, and made a two-month journey by foot to Kapilavastu, teaching the dharma as he went. At his return, the royal palace prepared a midday meal, but the sangha was making an alms round in Kapilavastu. Hearing this, Suddhodana approached his son, the Buddha, saying:
"Ours is the warrior lineage of Mahamassata, and not a single warrior has gone seeking alms."
The Buddha is said to have replied:
"That is not the custom of your royal lineage. But it is the custom of my Buddha lineage. Several thousands of Buddhas have gone by seeking alms."
Buddhist texts say that Suddhodana invited the sangha into the palace for the meal, followed by a dharma talk. After this he is said to have become a sotapanna. During the visit, many members of the royal family joined the sangha. The Buddha's cousins Ananda and Anuruddha became two of his five chief disciples. At the age of seven, his son Rahula also joined, and became one of his ten chief disciples. His half-brother Nanda also joined and became an arahant.
Of the Buddha's disciples, Sariputta, Maudgalyayana, Mahakasyapa, Ananda and Anuruddha are believed to have been the five closest to him. His ten foremost disciples were reputedly completed by the quintet of Upali, Subhoti, Rahula, Mahakaccana and Punna.
In the fifth vassana, the Buddha was staying at Mahavana near Vesali when he heard news of the impending death of his father. He is said to have gone to Suddhodana and taught the dharma, after which his father became an arahant.The king's death and cremation was to inspire the creation of an order of nuns. Buddhist texts record that the Buddha was reluctant to ordain women. His foster mother Maha Pajapati, for example, approached him, asking to join the sangha, but he refused. Maha Pajapati, however, was so intent on the path of awakening that she led a group of royal Sakyan and Koliyan ladies, which followed the sangha on a long journey to Rajagaha. In time, after Ananda championed their cause, the Buddha is said to have reconsidered and, five years after the formation of the sangha, agreed to the ordination of women as nuns. He reasoned that males and females had an equal capacity for awakening. But he gave women additional rules (Vinaya) to follow.
MAHAPARINIRVANA
According to the Mahaparinibbana Sutta of the Pali canon, at the age of 80, the Buddha announced that he would soon reach Parinirvana, or the final deathless state, and abandon his earthly body. After this, the Buddha ate his last meal, which he had received as an offering from a blacksmith named Cunda. Falling violently ill, Buddha instructed his attendant Ānanda to convince Cunda that the meal eaten at his place had nothing to do with his passing and that his meal would be a source of the greatest merit as it provided the last meal for a Buddha. Mettanando and Von Hinüber argue that the Buddha died of mesenteric infarction, a symptom of old age, rather than food poisoning. The precise contents of the Buddha's final meal are not clear, due to variant scriptural traditions and ambiguity over the translation of certain significant terms; the Theravada tradition generally believes that the Buddha was offered some kind of pork, while the Mahayana tradition believes that the Buddha consumed some sort of truffle or other mushroom. These may reflect the different traditional views on Buddhist vegetarianism and the precepts for monks and nuns.
Waley suggests that Theravadin's would take suukaramaddava (the contents of the Buddha's last meal), which can translate as pig-soft, to mean soft flesh of a pig. However, he also states that pig-soft could mean "pig's soft-food", that is, after Neumann, a soft food favoured by pigs, assumed to be a truffle. He argues (also after Neumann) that as Pali Buddhism was developed in an area remote to the Buddha's death, the existence of other plants with suukara- (pig) as part of their names and that "(p)lant names tend to be local and dialectical" could easily indicate that suukaramaddava was a type of plant whose local name was unknown to those in the Pali regions. Specifically, local writers knew more about their flora than Theravadin commentator Buddhaghosa who lived hundreds of years and kilometres remote in time and space from the events described. Unaware of an alternate meaning and with no Theravadin prohibition against eating animal flesh, Theravadins would not have questioned the Buddha eating meat and interpreted the term accordingly.
Ananda protested the Buddha's decision to enter Parinirvana in the abandoned jungles of Kuśināra (present-day Kushinagar, India) of the Malla kingdom. The Buddha, however, is said to have reminded Ananda how Kushinara was a land once ruled by a righteous wheel-turning king that resounded with joy:
44. Kusavati, Ananda, resounded unceasingly day and night with ten sounds - the trumpeting of elephants, the neighing of horses, the rattling of chariots, the beating of drums and tabours, music and song, cheers, the clapping of hands, and cries of "Eat, drink, and be merry!"
The Buddha then asked all the attendant Bhikkhus to clarify any doubts or questions they had. They had none. According to Buddhist scriptures, he then finally entered Parinirvana. The Buddha's final words are reported to have been: "All composite things (Saṅkhāra) are perishable. Strive for your own liberation with diligence" (Pali: 'vayadhammā saṅkhārā appamādena sampādethā'). His body was cremated and the relics were placed in monuments or stupas, some of which are believed to have survived until the present. For example, The Temple of the Tooth or "Dalada Maligawa" in Sri Lanka is the place where what some believe to be the relic of the right tooth of Buddha is kept at present.
According to the Pāli historical chronicles of Sri Lanka, the Dīpavaṃsa and Mahāvaṃsa, the coronation of Emperor Aśoka (Pāli: Asoka) is 218 years after the death of the Buddha. According to two textual records in Chinese (十八部論 and 部執異論), the coronation of Emperor Aśoka is 116 years after the death of the Buddha. Therefore, the time of Buddha's passing is either 486 BCE according to Theravāda record or 383 BCE according to Mahayana record. However, the actual date traditionally accepted as the date of the Buddha's death in Theravāda countries is 544 or 545 BCE, because the reign of Emperor Aśoka was traditionally reckoned to be about 60 years earlier than current estimates. In Burmese Buddhist tradition, the date of the Buddha's death is 13 May 544 BCE. whereas in Thai tradition it is 11 March 545 BCE.
At his death, the Buddha is famously believed to have told his disciples to follow no leader. Mahakasyapa was chosen by the sangha to be the chairman of the First Buddhist Council, with the two chief disciples Maudgalyayana and Sariputta having died before the Buddha.
While in the Buddha's days he was addressed by the very respected titles Buddha, Shākyamuni, Shākyasimha, Bhante and Bho, he was known after his parinirvana as Arihant, Bhagavā/Bhagavat/Bhagwān, Mahāvira, Jina/Jinendra, Sāstr, Sugata, and most popularly in scriptures as Tathāgata.
BUDDHA AND VEDAS
Buddha's teachings deny the authority of the Vedas and consequently [at least atheistic] Buddhism is generally viewed as a nāstika school (heterodox, literally "It is not so") from the perspective of orthodox Hinduism.
RELICS
After his death, Buddha's cremation relics were divided amongst 8 royal families and his disciples; centuries later they would be enshrined by King Ashoka into 84,000 stupas. Many supernatural legends surround the history of alleged relics as they accompanied the spread of Buddhism and gave legitimacy to rulers.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
An extensive and colorful physical description of the Buddha has been laid down in scriptures. A kshatriya by birth, he had military training in his upbringing, and by Shakyan tradition was required to pass tests to demonstrate his worthiness as a warrior in order to marry. He had a strong enough body to be noticed by one of the kings and was asked to join his army as a general. He is also believed by Buddhists to have "the 32 Signs of the Great Man".
The Brahmin Sonadanda described him as "handsome, good-looking, and pleasing to the eye, with a most beautiful complexion. He has a godlike form and countenance, he is by no means unattractive." (D, I:115)
"It is wonderful, truly marvellous, how serene is the good Gotama's appearance, how clear and radiant his complexion, just as the golden jujube in autumn is clear and radiant, just as a palm-tree fruit just loosened from the stalk is clear and radiant, just as an adornment of red gold wrought in a crucible by a skilled goldsmith, deftly beaten and laid on a yellow-cloth shines, blazes and glitters, even so, the good Gotama's senses are calmed, his complexion is clear and radiant." (A, I:181)
A disciple named Vakkali, who later became an arahant, was so obsessed by the Buddha's physical presence that the Buddha is said to have felt impelled to tell him to desist, and to have reminded him that he should know the Buddha through the Dhamma and not through physical appearances.
Although there are no extant representations of the Buddha in human form until around the 1st century CE (see Buddhist art), descriptions of the physical characteristics of fully enlightened buddhas are attributed to the Buddha in the Digha Nikaya's Lakkhaṇa Sutta (D, I:142). In addition, the Buddha's physical appearance is described by Yasodhara to their son Rahula upon the Buddha's first post-Enlightenment return to his former princely palace in the non-canonical Pali devotional hymn, Narasīha Gāthā ("The Lion of Men").
Among the 32 main characteristics it is mentioned that Buddha has blue eyes.
NINE VIRTUES
Recollection of nine virtues attributed to the Buddha is a common Buddhist meditation and devotional practice called Buddhānusmṛti. The nine virtues are also among the 40 Buddhist meditation subjects. The nine virtues of the Buddha appear throughout the Tipitaka, and include:
- Buddho – Awakened
- Sammasambuddho – Perfectly self-awakened
- Vijja-carana-sampano – Endowed with higher knowledge and ideal conduct.
- Sugato – Well-gone or Well-spoken.
- Lokavidu – Wise in the knowledge of the many worlds.
- Anuttaro Purisa-damma-sarathi – Unexcelled trainer of untrained people.
- Satthadeva-Manussanam – Teacher of gods and humans.
- Bhagavathi – The Blessed one
- Araham – Worthy of homage. An Arahant is "one with taints destroyed, who has lived the holy life, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, reached the true goal, destroyed the fetters of being, and is completely liberated through final knowledge."
TEACHINGS
TRACING THE OLDEST TEACHINGS
Information of the oldest teachings may be obtained by analysis of the oldest texts. One method to obtain information on the oldest core of Buddhism is to compare the oldest extant versions of the Theravadin Pali Canon and other texts. The reliability of these sources, and the possibility to draw out a core of oldest teachings, is a matter of dispute. According to Vetter, inconsistencies remain, and other methods must be applied to resolve those inconsistencies.
According to Schmithausen, three positions held by scholars of Buddhism can be distinguished:
"Stress on the fundamental homogeneity and substantial authenticity of at least a considerable part of the Nikayic materials;"
"Scepticism with regard to the possibility of retrieving the doctrine of earliest Buddhism;"
"Cautious optimism in this respect."
DHYANA AND INSIGHT
A core problem in the study of early Buddhism is the relation between dhyana and insight. Schmithausen, in his often-cited article On some Aspects of Descriptions or Theories of 'Liberating Insight' and 'Enlightenment' in Early Buddhism notes that the mention of the four noble truths as constituting "liberating insight", which is attained after mastering the Rupa Jhanas, is a later addition to texts such as Majjhima Nikaya 36
CORE TEACHINGS
According to Tilmann Vetter, the core of earliest Buddhism is the practice of dhyāna. Bronkhorst agrees that dhyana was a Buddhist invention, whereas Norman notes that "the Buddha's way to release [...] was by means of meditative practices." Discriminating insight into transiency as a separate path to liberation was a later development.
According to the Mahāsaccakasutta, from the fourth jhana the Buddha gained bodhi. Yet, it is not clear what he was awakened to. "Liberating insight" is a later addition to this text, and reflects a later development and understanding in early Buddhism. The mentioning of the four truths as constituting "liberating insight" introduces a logical problem, since the four truths depict a linear path of practice, the knowledge of which is in itself not depicted as being liberating:
[T]hey do not teach that one is released by knowing the four noble truths, but by practicing the fourth noble truth, the eightfold path, which culminates in right samadhi.
Although "Nibbāna" (Sanskrit: Nirvāna) is the common term for the desired goal of this practice, many other terms can be found throughout the Nikayas, which are not specified.
According to Vetter, the description of the Buddhist path may initially have been as simple as the term "the middle way". In time, this short description was elaborated, resulting in the description of the eightfold path.
According to both Bronkhorst and Anderson, the four truths became a substitution for prajna, or "liberating insight", in the suttas in those texts where "liberating insight" was preceded by the four jhanas. According to Bronkhorst, the four truths may not have been formulated in earliest Buddhism, and did not serve in earliest Buddhism as a description of "liberating insight". Gotama's teachings may have been personal, "adjusted to the need of each person."
The three marks of existence may reflect Upanishadic or other influences. K.R. Norman supposes that these terms were already in use at the Buddha's time, and were familiar to his listeners.
The Brahma-vihara was in origin probably a brahmanic term; but its usage may have been common to the Sramana traditions.
LATER DEVELOPMENTS
In time, "liberating insight" became an essential feature of the Buddhist tradition. The following teachings, which are commonly seen as essential to Buddhism, are later formulations which form part of the explanatory framework of this "liberating insight":
- The Four Noble Truths: that suffering is an ingrained part of existence; that the origin of suffering is craving for sensuality, acquisition of identity, and fear of annihilation; that suffering can be ended; and that following the Noble Eightfold Path is the means to accomplish this;
- The Noble Eightfold Path: right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration;
- Dependent origination: the mind creates suffering as a natural product of a complex process.
OTHER RELIGIONS
Some Hindus regard Gautama as the 9th avatar of Vishnu. The Buddha is also regarded as a prophet by the Ahmadiyya Muslims and a Manifestation of God in the Bahá'í Faith. Some early Chinese Taoist-Buddhists thought the Buddha to be a reincarnation of Lao Tzu.
The Christian Saint Josaphat is based on the Buddha. The name comes from the Sanskrit Bodhisattva via Arabic Būdhasaf and Georgian Iodasaph. The only story in which St. Josaphat appears, Barlaam and Josaphat, is based on the life of the Buddha. Josaphat was included in earlier editions of the Roman Martyrology (feast day 27 November) — though not in the Roman Missal — and in the Eastern Orthodox Church liturgical calendar (26 August).
Disciples of the Cao Đài religion worship the Buddha as a major religious teacher. His image can be found in both their Holy See and on the home altar. He is revealed during communication with Divine Beings as son of their Supreme Being (God the Father) together with other major religious teachers and founders like Jesus, Laozi, and Confucius.
In the ancient Gnostic sect of Manichaeism the Buddha is listed among the prophets who preached the word of God before Mani.
WIKIPEDIA
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Earth Hour at the 3 Finger Club LOHHAS Lifestyle Lounge
Lights were out between 8:30 and 9:30 while we told stories and discussed our Lifestyle Of Health, Happiness And Sustainability (LOHHAS) using the 3 Finger "Peace Plus One" Sustainability Salute to remind us about Peace, Harmony and Balance between Society, Environment and Economy
People were the best jugglers of "Society, Environment, Economy" balls won "EARTH HOUR 60" T-Shirts WOW \!/O\!/
Photo Courtesy of the McMaster Institute for Sustainable Development in Commerce
all participants in the Earth Hour Discussion got a copy of "Letter to Maddie" featured below:
We Screwed Up
A Letter of Apology to My Granddaughter
By Chip Ward
[Note: I became politically active and committed on the day 20 years ago when I realized I could stand on the front porch of my house and point to three homes where children were in wheelchairs, to a home where a child had just died of leukemia, to another where a child was born missing a kidney, and yet another where a child suffered from spina bifida. All my parental alarms went off at once and I asked the obvious question: What’s going on here? Did I inadvertently move my three children into harm’s way when we settled in this high desert valley in Utah? A quest to find answers in Utah’s nuclear history and then seek solutions followed. Politics for me was never motivated by ideology. It was always about parenting.
Today my three kids are, thankfully, healthy adults. But now that grandchildren are being added to our family, my blood runs cold whenever I project out 50 years and imagine what their world will be like at middle age -- assuming they get that far and that there is still a recognizable “world” to be part of. I wrote the following letter to my granddaughter, Madeline, who is almost four years old. Although she cannot read it today, I hope she will read it in a future that proves so much better than the one that is probable, and so terribly unfair. I’m sharing this letter with other parents and grandparents in the hope that it may move them to embrace their roles as citizens and commit to the hard work of making the planet viable, the economy equitable, and our culture democratic for the many Madelines to come.]
March 20, 2012
Dear Maddie,
I address this letter to you, but please share it with Jack, Tasiah, and other grandchildren who are yet unborn. Also, with your children and theirs. My unconditional love for my children and grandchildren convinces me that, if I could live long enough to embrace my great-grandchildren, I would love them as deeply as I love you.
On behalf of my generation of grandparents to all of you, I want to apologize.
I am sorry we used up all the oil. It took a million years for those layers of carbon goo to form under the Earth’s crust and we used up most of it in a geological instant. No doubt there will be some left and perhaps you can get around the fact that what remains is already distant, dirty, and dangerous, but the low-hanging fruit will be long-gone by the time you are my age. We took it all.
There’s no excuse, really. We are gas-hogs, plain and simple. We got hooked on faster-bigger-more and charged right over the carrying capacity of the planet. Oil made it possible.
Machines are our slaves and coal, oil, and gas are their food. They helped us grow so much of our own food that we could overpopulate the Earth. We could ship stuff and travel all over the globe, and still have enough fuel left to drive home alone in trucks in time to watch Monday Night Football.
Rocket fuel, fertilizer, baby bottles, lawn chairs: we made everything and anything out of oil and could never get enough of it. We could have conserved more for you to use in your lifetime. Instead, we demonstrated the self-restraint of crack addicts. It’s been great having all that oil to play with and we built our entire world around that. Living without it will be tough. Sorry.
I hope we develop clean, renewable energy sources soon, or that you and your generation figure out how to do that quickly. In the meantime, sorry about the climate. We just didn’t realize our addiction to carbon would come with monster storms, epic droughts, Biblical floods, wildfire infernos, rising seas, migration, starvation, pestilence, civil war, failed states, police states, and resource wars.
I’m sure Henry Ford didn’t see that coming when he figured out how to mass-produce automobiles and sell them to Everyman. I know my parents didn’t see the downside of using so much gas and coal. The all-electric house and a car in the driveway was their American Dream. For my generation, owning a car became a birthright. Today, it would be hard for most of us to live without a car. I have no idea what you’ll do to get around or how you will heat your home. Oops!
We also pigged out on most of the fertile soil, the forests and their timber, and the oceans that teemed with fish before we scraped the seabed raw, dumped our poisonous wastes in the water, and turned it acid and barren. Hey, that ocean was an awesome place and it’s too bad you can’t know it like we did. There were bright coral reefs, vibrant runs of red salmon, ribbons of birds embroidering the shores, graceful shells, the solace and majesty of the wild sea…
…But then I never saw the vast herds of bison that roamed the American heartland, so I know it is hard to miss something you only saw in pictures. We took lots of photos.
We thought we were pretty smart because we walked a man on the moon. Our technology is indeed amazing. I was raised without computers, smart phones, and the World Wide Web, so I appreciate how our engineering prowess has enhanced our lives, but I also know it has a downside.
When I was a kid we worried that the Cold War would go nuclear. And it wasn’t until a river caught fire near Cleveland that we realized fouling your own nest isn’t so smart after all. Well, you know about the rest -- the coal-fired power plants, acid rain, the hole in the ozone...
www.tomdispatch.com/images/managed/fear2.gifThere were plenty of signs we took a wrong turn but we kept on going. Dumb, stubborn, blind: Who knows why we couldn’t stop? Greed maybe -- powerful corporations we couldn’t overcome. It won’t matter much to you who is to blame. You’ll be too busy coping in the diminished world we bequeath you.
One set of problems we pass on to you is not altogether our fault. It was handed down to us by our parents’ generation so hammered by cataclysmic world wars and economic hardship that they armed themselves to the teeth and saw enemies everywhere. Their paranoia was understandable, but they passed their fears on to us and we should have seen through them. I have lived through four major American wars in my 62 years, and by now defense and homeland security are powerful industries with a stranglehold on Congress and the economy. We knew that was a lousy deal, but trauma and terror darkened our imaginations and distorted our priorities. And, like you, we needed jobs.
Sorry we spent your inheritance on all that cheap bling and, especially, all those weapons of mass destruction. That was crazy and wasteful. I can’t explain it. I guess we’ve been confused for a long time now.
Oh, and sorry about the confusion. We called it advertising and it seemed like it would be easy enough to control. When I was a kid, commercials merely interrupted entertainment. Don’t know when the lines all blurred and the buy, buy, buy message became so ubiquitous and all-consuming. It just got outta hand and we couldn’t stop it, even when we realized we hated it and that it was taking us over. We turned away from one another, tuned in, and got lost.
I’m betting you can still download this note, copy it, share it, bust it up and remake it, and that you do so while plugged into some sort of electrical device you can’t live without -- so maybe you don’t think that an apology for technology is needed and, if that’s the case, an apology is especially relevant. The tools we gave you are fine, but the apps are mostly bogus. We made an industry of silly distraction. When our spirits hungered, we fed them clay that filled but did not nourish them. If you still don’t know the difference, blame us because we started it.
And sorry about the chemicals. I mean the ones you were born with in your blood and bones that stay there -- even though we don’t know what they’ll do to you). Who thought that the fire retardant that kept smokers from igniting their pillows and children’s clothes from bursting into flames would end up in umbilical cords and infants?
It just seemed like better living through chemistry at the time. Same with all the other chemicals you carry. We learned to accept cancer and I guess you will, too. I’m sure there will be better treatments for that in your lifetime than we have today. If you can afford them, that is. Turning healthcare over to predatory corporations was another bad move.
All in all, our chemical obsession was pretty reckless and we got into that same old pattern: just couldn’t give up all the neat stuff. Oh, we tried. We took the lead out of gasoline and banned DDT, but mostly we did too little, too late. I hope you’ve done better. Maybe it will help your generation to run out of oil, since so many of the toxic chemicals came from that. Anyway, we didn’t see it coming and we could have, should have. Our bad.
There are so many other things I wish I could change for you. We leave behind a noisy world. Silence is rare today, and unless some future catastrophe has left your numbers greatly diminished, your machines stilled, and your streets ghostly empty, it is likely that the last remnants of tranquility will be gone by the time you are my age.
And how about all those species, the abundant and wondrous creatures that are fading away forever as I write these words? I never saw a polar bear and I guess you can live without that, too, but when I think of the peep and chirp of frogs at night, the hum of bees busy on a flower bed, the trill of birds at dawn, and so many other splendorous pleasures that you may no longer have, I ache with regret. We should have done more to keep the planet whole and well, but we couldn’t get clear of the old ways of seeing, the ingrained habits, the way we hobble one another’s choices so that the best intentions never get realized.
Mostly I’m sorry about taking all the good water. When I was a child I could kneel down and drink from a brook or spring wherever we camped and played. We could still hike up to glaciers and ski down snow-capped mountains.
Clean, crisp, cold, fresh water is life’s most precious taste. A life-giving gift, all water is holy. I repeat: holy. We treated it, instead, as if it were merely useful. We wasted and tainted it and, again in a geological moment, sucked up aquifers that had taken 10,000 years to gather below ground. In my lifetime, glaciers are melting away, wells are running dry, dust storms are blowing, and rivers like the mighty Colorado are running dry before they reach the sea. I hate to think of what will be left for you. Sorry. So very, very sorry.
I’m sure there’s a boatload of other trouble we’re leaving you that I haven’t covered here. My purpose is not to offer a complete catalog of our follies and atrocities, but to do what we taught your parents to do when they were as little as you are today.
When you make a mistake, we told them, admit it, and then do better. If you do something wrong, own up and say you are sorry. After that, you can work on making amends.
I am trying to see a way out of the hardship and turmoil we are making for you. As I work to stop the madness, I will be mindful of how much harder your struggles will be as you deal with the challenges we leave you to face.
The best I can do to help you through the overheated future we are making is to love you now. I cannot change the past and my struggle to make a healthier future for you is uncertain, but today I can teach you, encourage you, and help you be as strong and smart and confident as you can be, so that whatever the future holds, whatever crises you face, you are as ready as possible. We will learn to laugh together, too, because love and laughter can pull you through the toughest times.
I know a better world is possible. We create that better world by reaching out to one another, listening, learning, and speaking from our hearts, face to face, neighbor to neighbor, one community after another, openly, inclusively, bravely. Democracy is not a gift to be practiced only when permitted. We empower ourselves. Our salvation is found in each other, together.
Across America this morning and all around the world, our better angels call to us, imploring us to rise up and be as resilient as our beloved, beautiful children and grandchildren, whose future we make today. We can do better. I promise.
Your grandfather,
Chip Ward
she'll fall quietly if she can
{forty four}
the bottom image is from Newcastle, the top is from this past summer in South Carolina. I don't even know what this is. Experimentation, I guess.
+day 7
make up: Viktor Mirchevski
photo: Miladin Papovik
styling: PURE by Andrijana L.V.
model: Ana Kostadinovska @
Models In
Show me the way,
not to fortune and fame,
Not how to win laure's
or praise for my name-
But Show Me The Way
to spread "The Great Story"
That "Thine is the Kingdom and Power and Glory."
By Helen Steiner Rice
Strobist: AlienBee 800 with diffused HOBD-W camera left. Gold reflector camera right. Triggered by Cybersync.
This is me from 2005.
I really love this picture and the meaning.
I was inspired to put an old photo of me by Simona ;)
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12. Jubiläum Wat Dhammavihara Hannover im Juni 2015.
ทำบุญที่วัดธรรมวิหารฮันโนเฟอร์ เยอร์มัน . Make Tambun at the Thai Monastery Hannover in june 2014
วัดไทยในยุโรป
more please go to : www.worldplaces.de
Graduation preparations at the University of Alabama included photographers adjusting the settings on their cameras. I, too, was practicing. Tuscaloosa, Alabama - Spring 2017
Ever wonder how to make a great ceviche? Learn how to make a great tasting ceviche from Chef Instructor & Culinary Olympian, Chef Daryl Shular of The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Atlanta.
Make: Leyland Panther PSUR1A/1R
Body: MCW B47D
Year : 1968
BET365 Stadium
Stoke-on-Trent
Staffordshire
22-05-2016
Agora alguns agradecimentos: agradeço a Reh pela paciência toda e por realizar esse meu sonho de ter boys com barbinha!! EHHH adoro!! Serio, ela teve aquela paciência mesmo eu sendo tão indeciso e sempre falava comigo na hora que tava fazendo eles, e no fim saiu esses dois delicinhos, ela fez o make do Abdal e do Killian! Se alguém perguntar se tem alguém que faz make divos de BJD já digo é a Renata Rashimoto, serio saiu muito FODA, nunca vi um make brasileiro tão lindo na vida, eles são delicados e machos e lindos e delicios e muito putões!! Eles tem os fios da barbinha bemmmm fininhos, que macumba foi essa?? Não sei, mas eles estão fabulosos! Brigado miga!!! Brigado por ajudar a realizar esse sonho!! *-*
Não tenho palavras para elogiar como esse trabalho ficou fantástico!
Definitivamente um make bem feito supera qualquer impressão sobre o molde, sempre achei o Martin meio sem graça, não fez meu tipo de doll principalmente pelo make realista, dai vem a reh e faz essa sobra de arte, caraca!! Que boy é esse??? Amei! A barba toda linda essas sobrancelhas e essa sombra meio verdinha que ficou um amor, combinou pacas com esses olhos xD
E essa cicatriz dupla, gente ficou linda um amor, e as tattoos na cabeça, caraca!! Ficou foda, preciso MESMO dar um taxam na wig dele para mostra melhor esse trabalho incrível! Depois revelo o que ela significa! xD Serio to sem palavras para agradecer como eles ficaram LINDOS!!
Gente o Killian caiu de paraquedas literalmente eu nem sabia que ia receber ele! Foi aquele planejamento às pressas mas acho que no fim ele me surpreendeu, ficou com uma cara de puto fofo, gente vocês sabem como amo puto fofo, eles vem c esse olhar de cachorro mas não valem nada!*-* e esse queixo partido no meio só para me seduzir com essa barba clarinha, aff que ele está DEMAIS!! REH vc precisa de um puto tb jovem porque seus make ficaram fodas! D:
Reh sempre presente nos planos de BJD e sempre me ajudando, ela que me ajudou com a Donatella e agora com esses boys!*-* E se prepare futuramente vou querer mais boys delicias *-*
Outro agradecimento a Dimme!!! As perucas UHUUU couberam ficou lindo, fiquei com medo porque a Donatella tem a cabeça pequena e fica com as perucas folgadas e achei as furs grandes, mas ficou PERFEITO!!! Lindas e certinhas, vou dar aquela customizada quando der um tempinho!*-* Deixar meus boys bem delicinhos!*-* o Abdal vai dar um trabalhinho tenho que mostra a lateral da cabeça dele...
Make: PENTAX
Model: PENTAX K-5
FocalLength: 50.0 mm
F-Number: F 2.5
Exposure Time: 1/160 secs
ISO Speed: 400