Critical analysis of Pramana (Buddhist logic) subject.

With reference to significance of number nine in the musical compositions of Carnatic music of India; a study.

Schools—their curriculum and pedagogy—assume the middle-class child as the norm, effectively rendering other childhoods and life-worlds as being deficient. Shifting away from this assumption, and acknowledging diversity, is usually understood as requiring an ‘attitudinal’ shift on the part of teachers. Teachers are usually held ‘guilty’ of having negative attitudes towards children of the poor. Explanations for the pedagogy generally then refer to these attitudes, and ‘corrective action’ then attends to an attitudinal change. The idea of ‘multiple childhoods’ is gaining influence (...) in the teacher education curricula as providing an alternative normative framework that can enable teachers to work with, and retain, diversity. Some recent research into the manifestation of ‘difference’ in the primary school classroom indicates that differences are experienced by teachers as learning difficulty issues that need a curricular and pedagogic response. The child’s home culture, home support for schooling and home socialization seem to enter into the pedagogy in more ways than can be addressed by changing the ‘teachers’ attitudes’. ‘Educability’ is a central concept for teachers who engage with and try to address the learning requirements of children, particularly those from underprivileged backgrounds. Four studies on teachers’ experiences of ‘difference’ are drawn upon to engage with and to evolve an understanding of the specific implications of for pedagogy and educational aims. (shrink)

Tries To Analyse 9 Symbols As Represented In The Art Forms, Religion And Philosophies Of India-These Symbols Are; Rudraksha, Cakra, Prabha-Mandlas, Mudra, Salagrama, Svastika, Sikhara, Circumambulation And Philosopher`S Stone. In Short This Book Tries To Discover India Through Symbols.

As the Rig Vedas and Buddhist sutras foretell, as well as the Hopi and Mayan calendars, we are in the midst of complete transformation-ecologically, economically, politically, culturally. This graceful introduction offers creative safe passage through the sometimes overwhelming transition, drawing on ancient and contemporary spiritual practices particularly useful for these times. The endings we experience are always the beginning of something else. Hence author Ji Hyang Padma organizes teachings around the four seasons. In living connected to natural rhythms-the stillness (...) of winter, the renewal of spring, the ripening of summer, the harvest of autumn-we touch a wholeness that is the source of healing and happiness. Practical exercises at the end of each chapter promote this state of being and bring the mind home to its innate clarity. Ideally suited to anyone experiencing personal change-through career, relationships, or world events-the book provides a way into Zen for beginners as well as a refresher for the more advanced. (shrink)

Commentary on Śrībhāṣya, fundamental work of the Viśiṣṭādvaita school in Hindu philosophy by Rāmānuja, 1017-1137.

A mobile-based messaging app (MMA) was implemented as a teachers’ community of practice in the Indian context through a large-scale educational initiative. The development process adopted a Design-based Research approach to test underlying theories in real-world settings. The researchers theorised the pedagogical affordances of the MMA Telegram using Davis and Chouinard's theoretical framework of affordances, defined as a relational process among users, designers, the environment, and the artefact. This paper discusses the iterative design process in detail. The findings showed that (...) the MMA encourages accessibility and for teachers to showcase their practice in the online community of practice and refuses (does not allow) the development of the online community of practice as an epistemic community. (shrink)

On Cārvāka, an exponent of the materialistic school in Indian philosophy.

On the fundamentals of Buddhist doctrines; including explation of the karmic law of cause and effect with stories.

Contributed seminar papers on Śrībhāṣya of Rāmānuja, 1017-1137.

This paper employs institutional theory as a theoretical lens and examines the role of status and peer influence on diversity following a change in European labour law in 1995. This change in European labour law, well-known as the Bosman ruling, significantly increased labour mobility in European soccer. The ruling lifted restrictions on the number of foreign players that soccer teams could recruit and eliminated compulsory transfer fees for players whose contracts had ended. We demonstrate that the Bosman ruling, while increasing (...) the number of foreign players on a team, did not uniformly affect all teams. Our investigation indicates that the increase in racio-ethnic diversity in teams depended on the status of teams and on peer influence (the behaviour of similar teams). This setting, though specific to European labour law in the context of soccer, allows an examination of the complex interplay between racio-ethnic diversity, status, and peer influence in a period of institutional change. (shrink)

Life and philosophy of Ramchandra Dattatraya Ranade, Indian philosopher.

Critical thinking is a 21st century skill that allows students to think reflectively and reason in making decisions. Students' critical thinking influences success in solving numeracy problems. This study aims to explain the ability to think critically in solving numeracy problems with high self-efficacy. The study employed a qualitative approach and phenomenological method. Data collection involved the use of the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT), self-efficacy questionnaires, and numeracy assessments in mathematics, specifically on topics related to cubes and rectangular prisms. (...) Data analysis comprised data condensation, data presentation, and conclusion drawing. Based on GEFT and self-efficacy questionnaire results, one class V-B student with a field-dependent cognitive style and high self-efficacy was selected for further critical thinking skills assessment. Based on the results the student with a field-dependent cognitive style and high self-efficacy demonstrated notable strengths. In the process of basic clarification, the student met the indicators for analyzing arguments and formulating statements, effectively presenting their arguments. When providing reasons for decisions, the student showed the ability to consider the credibility of sources by selecting appropriate problem-solving strategies. However, she occasionally made calculation errors due to inaccuracy. In the process of concluding, the student met the indicators for making and evaluating decisions, successfully composing conclusion sentences that aligned with the problems and final answers. Students with field dependent cognitive style and high self efficacy are able to fulfill all indicators of critical thinking by using their ability to solve critical thinking problems. He excelled in verbal ability at the time of the interview by explaining the argument of the problem and the answer, but his weakness is less thorough in working so that the results obtained are less precise. (shrink)

Sustaining soil fertility is essential to the prosperity of many households in the mid-hills of Nepal, but there are concerns that the breakdown of the traditional linkages between forest, livestock, and cropping systems is adversely affecting fertility. This study used triangulated data from surveys of households, discussion groups, and key informants in 16 wards in eastern and western Nepal to determine the existing practices for soil fertility management, the extent of such practices, and the perception of the direction of changes (...) in soil fertility. The two principal practices for maintaining soil fertility were the application of farmyard manure (FYM) and of chemical fertilizer (mainly urea and diammonium phosphate). Green manuring, in-situ manuring, slicing terrace risers, and burning plant residues are rarely practiced. FYM usage was variable with more generally applied to khet land (average 6053 kg fresh weight manure ha−1) than to bari land (average 4185 kg fresh weight manure ha−1) with manure from goats and poultry preferred above that from cows and buffaloes. Almost all households (98%) apply urea to khet land and 87% to bari land, with 45% applying diammonium phosphate to both types of land. Application rates and timings of applications varied considerably both within and between wards suggesting poor knowledge transfer between the research and farming communities. The benefits of chemical fertilizers in terms of ease of application and transportation in comparison with FYM, were perceived to outweigh the widely reported detrimental hardening of soil associated with their continued usage. Among key informants, FYM applied in conjunction with chemical fertilizer was the most popular amendment, with FYM alone preferred more than chemical fertilizer alone – probably because of the latter’s long-term detrimental effects. Key informant and householder surveys differed in their perception of fertility changes in the last decade probably because of differences in age and site-specific knowledge. All key informants felt that fertility had declined but among households, only about 40% perceived a decline with the remainder about evenly divided between no change and an increase. Householders with small landholdings (< 0.5 ha) were more likely to perceive increasing soil fertility while those with larger landholdings (> 2 ha) were more likely to perceive declining fertility. Perceived changes in soil fertility were not related to food self-sufficiency. The reasons for the slow spread of new technologies within wards and the poor understanding of optimal use of chemical fertilizers in conjunction with improved quality FYM may repay further investigation in terms of sustaining soil fertility in this region. (shrink)

This work aims to make a historical recovery of the emergence of CEBB and his experiences as a vehicle for dissemination of Tibetan Buddhism in Brazil, as well as the very trajectory of Lama Padma Samten, its founder, and current religious leadership of this tradition. We intend to demonstrate that the CEBB experience set in a form of social and engaged Buddhism where prospects facing on education, social welfare and the preservation and respect for human rights are elements that (...) approach the Brazilian reality. The lived experience of CEBB also binds to work at great social risk communities, but always connected with Brazilian identities of Buddhism that mirror the altruistic action, based on generosity and contemplation. Linked to CEBB it is also, in large part, the history and development of Buddhism in Brazil that link growth statistics and expansion as a result of social work engaged and universal responsibility with human beings. (shrink)

Ruby in the Dust: Poetry and History in Padmāvat by the South Asian Sufi Poet Muḥammad Jāyasī. By Thomas de Bruijn. Leiden: Leiden University Press, 2012. Pp. 371. [American ed., 2013. Dist. by University of Chicago Press.].

This article aims to introduce some features of the literary output of Gling-ras-pa Padma rdo-rje, who was the teacher of the ‘Brug-pa bKa’-brgyud-pa school’s founder, gTsan-pa rGya-ras Ye-shes rdo-rje in Tibet. The work that I draw upon here is titled A Torch of Crucial Points. A Condensation and Presentation of all Dharmas that are to be Practiced, a presentation of the entire outline of Buddhist practice that resembles the doctrinal stages literary genre. Based on an edition and translation of (...) the fifth chapter of the 17 that comprise the work, here I focus on several concepts, such as the three natures and the allground consciousness, that pertain to the system of Yogācāra and the terminology related to it. These are shown as they appear in the framework of the work, which is heavily influenced by the tradition of Mahāmudrā and the background of its author’s life as a wandering yogin in the lineage of Mi-la ras-pa. (shrink)

The concept of reflexive awareness (Sanskrit svasaṃvedana or svasaṃvitti, Tibetan rang rig) is considered an important epistemological notion in the Dignāga tradition of Buddhist pramāṇa theory. The traditionally accepted view is that Dignāga advocates Yogācāra’s notion of reflexive awareness in the Pramāṇasamuccaya and Candrakīrti rejects it altogether. By contrast, the present paper revisits Dignāga and Candrakīrti in the context of svasaṃvedana and argues that Dignāga endorses the antarjñeyavādic notion of svasaṃvedana and Candrakīrti does not negate it at the conventional level. (...) Candrakīrti attacks Dignāga by attributing him as an exponent of Sautrāntrika-Yogācāra notion of reflexive awareness, but his critique does not fundamentally affect Dignāga’s notion of reflexive awareness propounded in the Pramāṇasamuccaya. The submission of the paper is that the fundamental epistemic agenda of reflexive awareness in Dignāga and Candrakīrti is identical, though they diverge methodologically, and it is shown by reexamining Padma dkar po’s interpretation. (shrink)

This paper deals with the problem of the Pramāṇavārttika’s tenet affiliation and the related question of its final philosophical view within the framework of Buddhist philosophical schools. There are contrasting views and positions on this issue in Tibetan interpretations of the text. Some claim that the Pramāṇavārttika is a text advocating the other-emptiness doctrine, while other scholars argue that it is a Sautrāntika–Vijñānavāda or Vijñānavāda treatise. By contrast, Padma dkar po holds view that it is a Svātantrika-Madhyamaka text, while (...) believing that it explicates the epistemological theories of Sautrāntika and Vijñānavāda. The present paper shows why Padma dkar po does not agree with other Tibetan interpretations on this issue, and why he deals with this problem by attributing a Svātantrika-Madhyamaka affiliation to the Pramāṇavārttika. This paper is divided into three sections. The first section discusses the reason why the Pramāṇavārttika is not a text written from the perspective of the doctrine of other-emptiness. The second section deals with the question of whether it is a Sautrāntika–Vijñānavāda work or a Vijñānavāda text. It will be shown that for Padma dkar po it is none of them. The third and the last section show the reasons why Padma dkar po interprets the Pramāṇavārttika as a text written from the Svātantrika-Madhyamaka perspective. (shrink)

As the average life expectancy is lengthened, life from middle years and then old age to death is being prolonged. And the period of pain of being old, sick and dying becomes longer. That is why awareness on death and afterlife needs to be changed and prepared. Under the premise that death is not the end and afterlife exists after death, this paper studied especially in view of Buddhism. Also, how to relieve pain and fear of afterlife and judgment process (...) for a dead person after death through death and Buddhism ritual and reach great freedom was presented through 『The Tibetan Book of the Dead』 written by a Tibetan monk Padma Sambhava 1200 years ago. It is hoped that this can be helpful in guiding the way to afterlife though insignificant while being a means to alleviate pain and fear at the last moment of dying and in the process through which a dead person go to find a new existence form after death. (shrink)