From beginningless time we have been building, reinforcing and storing these habits in the alaya consciousness. They can be broken through, however, by getting used to positive habits in the practice of meditation. This will allow us to experience the nature of our mind, our Buddhanature, which has always been pure.

This work on Vietnamese Buddhism from its beginnings through the 20th century provides much evidence requiring Western Buddhologists to radically revise their heretofore accepted time-table for the arrival and development of Buddhism in Vietnam. It provides previously unknown data, detailed in nomenclature, time, and place, scrupulously gathered from archeological finds and ancient archival records by Vietnamese research-teams. Providing much historical analysis and cultural interpretation along the way, this work carries its project forward through the various royal dynasties and the French colonial period.

The fundamental ability of a common person cannot see into his/her previous or future lives. Only the upper-level meditation practitioners, who are able to go deep into their own inner mind, who have attained many meditative stages, or who have acquired the divine celestial eye (s. Divyacaksus) and the divine transcendental knowledge (s. Purvanivasanusmrti), can see into their numerous previous and future lives.

Newman Robert Glass describes his ambitious and intriguingfirst book, Working Emptiness: Toward a Third Reading ofEmptiness in Buddhism and Postmodern Thought, as an exercisein "postmodern theology" whose ultimate purpose is to helpdevelop a "Buddhist constructive philosophy" out of a newreading of Buddhist discourse about emptiness (suunyataa)(pp. 4-5). In the service of this new reading, Class deploysa staggering array of thinkers, texts, and topics, bothWestern and Asian.

The practice of mindfulness/awareness meditation is common to all Buddhist traditions. Beyond that, it is common to, inherent in, all human beings.

After admission the students had to follow monastic rules along with their syllabus and they were classified according to merit. The period of Education was 12 years. The teachers were the guardian of the students. They were responsible for physical, mental, spiritual and moral development of the students. Since Educational Institution (Monasteries) was residential therefore the relationship between the teachers and the students were very very cordial.

All Buddhists are expected to observe the five precepts. Out of these, when we observe the first precept, we promise not to take the life of any living being and not to harm any such being. It is quite clear that we cannot consume fleshwithout someone else killing the animals for us. If we do not consume meat or meat products, there will be no killing of animals. The first precept is an injunction against destroying life and hurting others.

WHEN I READ Dr. Ames's able and stimulating article,"Zen and Pragmatism,"(1) I regretted that I had not made my points clear enough in my Zen articles, but at the same time I was thankful for having incited him to prepare such an illuminating paper. I realize that I make many inconsistent statements in my presentation of Zen, which unfortunately cause my readers some trouble in understanding Zen, In the following I will try to give--in brief-as much light as I can on my views so far made public. The one most-needed point in coming. around to the Zen way of viewing reality is that, negatively stated, Zen is where we cannot go any further in our ordinary way of reasoning, and that, positively, Zen is "pure subjectivity." "Pure subjectivity" requites a great deal of explanation, but I must be brief here.

In the fall of 1996 issue of the Buddhist magazine Tricycle, various teachers of Buddhist meditation practice commented on the value of psychedelic experiences, with opinions of them ranging from helpful to harmful. Here, the author hopes to explain these conflicting viewpoints by describing important aspects of employing psychedelics that must be taken into account for effective results. These embrace proper methodology, which includes set and setting, dose levels, appropriate substances, appropriate intervals, and proper integration of each experience.

Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh (known as Thay in his circles) made a rare visit to the Googleplex to lead a half-day Health@Google workshop in the fundamentals of mindfulness. The exercises and rituals of mindfulness lay the path to optimal health and happiness.Thay may be the second most famous Buddhist monk in the world, right after the Dalai Lama. He is certainly one of the best known and most respected Zen Masters in the world. Thay is a best-selling author, poet, and peace activist who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Martin Luther King Jr. He is a key pioneer in actively applying insights from meditation to solving real-world social, political and environmental problems. Thay most recently published Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life, with Harvard School of Public Health nutritionist Dr. Lilian Cheung. At 85, he's touring North America before retiring to his monastery in France.Life at Google is fast, furious and fun, yet it can take a toll on ourselves and our loved ones. Through Thay's specially crafted workshop, you'll learn how to reduce stress, eat for health, sleep better, find emotional stability, improve concentration and sustain optimal performance.--Chade-Meng Tan