Stagecoach Mary

It's just my observation, but I think Christians could learn a great deal from Buddhists about evangelism. They don't do it. They live it. It's not about getting people to "join" them. It's about living it. It's not about the Wat or The Temple. It's about your home and your family. Every home and business - shops, restaurants, dental or medical clinics - have a small "Spirit House" just outside or near the entrance. Sometimes it has a statue of Buddha in it. Often times it does not. Freshly strung flowers are hung from it and, at the start of each new day, a bowl of rice, something to drink (I've noticed the Buddha apparently likes strawberry or cherry Fanta), and some incense is lit and put out in front of the Spirit House. I watch someone - sometimes male, sometimes female - from the family come out, place the "offering tray" in front of the Spirit House, bow reverently and, for just a few moments, pray. They pray, I've learned, mostly for the two pathways to Nirvana or Enlightenment - prajna (wisdom) and karuna (compassion). Wisdom comes from the awareness and understanding - and, ultimately, acceptance - that everything is dynamic. The world and all creatures are both in flux and interrelated. Compassion comes from Synyata or emptiness, understanding that the self is "no self" without others. One can not have wisdom without compassion. Neither can there be compassion without wisdom. The two are deeply, profoundly, interrelated. Well, one can have one without the other but one would be out of balance. Achieve a balance of them both, and you have a greater opportunity to achieve Enlightenment or Nirvana. Notice, please, that you don't have to go to confession a prescribed number of times, or attend church on High Holy Days and receive communion as a requirement for membership in a Temple. No sign-ins on a registry of attendance, status of membership, either As Mary Oliver writes, "You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert repenting."And, God knows, you are not expected to tithe or pledge to your Wat. You are, however, expected to be generous and to bring food and water and clothing to the monks who are, essentially, teachers and spiritual guides. Oh, and flowers, candles and incense to Buddha which you purchase from the monks at a teeny-tiny profit to the Wat. Maybe that's because there's no guilt-tripping. No talk about "sin" or an external force of evil known as "the Devil" or how "Buddha saves" you from your sin if you only "repent and turn to the Lord". No "original sin" you were born with, only "cravings" which are a normal part of life which one learns to empty oneself of if one wants to end suffering in one's life and the world. No promises of tomorrow or what happens after you die, only instruction on how to live a moral life. At home. Where you are. With your family and friends and those who come into your life or home or school or business. I suspect the Temple gets more this way than most churches reap from well-designed well executed Evangelism or Stewardship Program. That's because Buddhism is not a religion. It's a way of life. One, I'm discovering, is highly compatible with the way of Jesus. It really is the way Jesus lived his life, isn't it? Near as I can tell, he didn't have a Temple of his own. He didn't have an office or keep office hours. He went to were people were, teaching, healing and, on at least a few occasions, preaching. I see the Buddhist monks doing the same thing. And, I see an entire nation of Buddhists who are working out and living their faith publicly. Which all causes me to wonder. What if Christianity took a page from Buddhism? What if, rather than the church and her clergy being the center and mediators of our expressions of faith, the self and the family home became the primary focus of our religious lives? What if, from the time a child drew her or his first breath, s/he breathed in prayer? What if the first sound to greet you as you ushered forth from the womb to enter the world was the chanting of prayers of joy and thanksgiving? What if, no matter who you are or what you are or how much education or money or social status you have, people bowed to you when they met you? What if every day of your life, you saw your parents making offerings and praying at the Spirit House, and they taught you how to do that, too? What if the point of your whole life was to learn wisdom and show compassion? And, what if, wherever you went - home or away - people greeted you with a sign of reverent prayer? What would happen to Christianity if we practiced our faith less in church and more in our lives and homes and families? Isn't that a better form of evangelism? Call me a heretic if you wish, but ultimately, isn't that the best form of evangelism: to help yourself and others become a better member of the human race and a member of the family of God through the attainment of wisdom and compassion than to become a member of a Church? Unless, of course, the church took more seriously the task of helping people attain wisdom and compassion and lead moral lives. Then, I think, absolutely everyone would want to belong. I know I would. Wouldn't you?

In spite of the YEARS Uma Thurman has spent trying to sabotage my love for her with disappointing rom com after disappointing rom com, I ...

There are many differences between Eastern and Western cultures and individuals which are reflected in people’s attitudes and behavior.

image credit A hookah, or water pipe, is typically made of glass. Water is used to cool tobacco smoke before inhalation. The hookah originated in India and Iran in the sixteenth century, where it was seen as a good way to

Richard Miles' catalog, "Elizabeth Keith: The Printed Works," Pacific Asia Museum (1991), was produced in conjunction with a similarly-titled exhibition held at the Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena, California that ran from October 1991 through February 1992. At the time, it was a seminal catalog, illustrating 108 of Keith's woodblock prints and etchings. Since Keith's death in 1956, only the University of Oregon Museum of Art had issued a catalog of similar scope in connection with a 1974 Keith exhibition, and it was sparsely illustrated and limited to works in that museum's collection. Miles' catalog, however, was prepared when the World Wide Web was in its infancy and before museums and art dealers started to make digital images of Keith's prints readily available. Despite what I'm sure were Miles' best efforts (I understand that it was put together hastily to meet the Pacific Asia Museum's exhibition opening date), the catalog is riddled with errors. Woodblock prints are labeled as etchings or vice-versa, dimensions are reversed, erroneous titles or dates are ascribed to certain print designs, etc. Miles' source of information about the number of sheets printed is unclear and in many cases questionable in light of copies which have since come to light. Although print variants of many Keith designs exist, none are illustrated and only one is specifically mentioned by Miles. Most unfortunate of all is the fact that the catalog omits over 20 of Keith's prints. The correction of all such errors and omissions is beyond the scope of this post, but I thought it would nonetheless be useful for collectors to list in one place all of the omitted Keith print designs. Elizabeth Keith (left) with Kate (Mrs. Charles W.) Bartlett (c. 1915) by Tokyo photographer Y. Shimiozu Personal Collection (ex. David Dolan/Bartlett Family Collection) Miles organized his catalog according to the country depicted in Keith's prints and then by date, so I'll try follow the same approach. Titles are largely descriptively attributed, although a few are titled on the front or on the back of the print in Keith's handwriting. Unfortunately, the publication dates for most designs are approximate at best if not dated by Keith herself or listed in Watanabe Shozaburô's notebook. Some can be inferentially inferred from the dates of related prints and others reflect dates that have been assigned to the prints by dealers or museums (and should be taken with a grain of salt). The dimensions given are HxW, but most have not been personally verified. Unless otherwise stated, the work illustrated is a woodblock print. 40A - Bell Tower, Soochow, China [1935] 34.3x 21.9 cm (13-1/2 x 8-5/8 in) Personal Collection Note: This print appears to be a companion print for Miles #37, Twin Pavilions, Soochow, China. 54A - Embroidering, Korea (1921) 12-3/4" x 9-3/4" Courtesy of Castle Fine Arts Note: Unique trial proof, lacking background detail and employing a variant color scheme. 71A - East Gate. Seoul (Moonlight) (1920) 29.9 x 42.5 cm (11-3/4 x 16-3/4 in) 71B - White Buddha, Korea [1925] 39.9 x 28.4 cm (14-7/8 x 9-3/4 in) (Personal Collection) 71C - Flying Kites (c. 1930) 14.5 x 10.0 cm (5-11/16 x 3-7/8 in) Courtesy of Artelino.com Note: This design was also used on Korean Christmas Seals for 1936-1937. 71D1 - Spinning Tops (c. 1930s) Courtesy of thebestheartsarecrunchy.blogspot.com Note: This design was also used on Korean Christmas Seals for 1937-1938. 71D3 - Spinning Tops (c. 1930s) by Kim Ki-Chang 14.5 x 10.0 cm (5-11/16 x 3-7/8 in) Courtesy of Artelino.com 71E - Korean Mother and Child (1934) 45 x 38 cm (17-3/4 x 15 in) (lithographic poster) Note: This design was also used on Korean Christmas Seals for 1934-1935. 71F - The Country Scholar (c. 1938) 38.1 x 29.5 cm (15 x 11-5/8 in) (etching) 71G - Tong See, The Buddhist Priestess (unknown date and size) (etching) Note: The preparatory drawing for this etching is illustrated in Old Korea. 91A - [Chinese or Singapore Woman and Children (c. 1924-1925)] 37.8 x 28.2 cm (14-7/8 x 11-1/8 in) Personal Collection 92A - Philippine Lady (1924) 37.7 x 25.6 cm (14-7/8 x 10-1/16 in) Courtesy of Hanga Gallery 92B - Moro Market Day, Baguio (1924) 25.4 x 37.8 cm (10 x 14-7/8 in) 92C - Santa Cruz Church, Manila (c. 1924-1925) 40.2 x 27.9 cm (15-13/16 x 11 in) Courtesy of the Annex Galleries Note: A color variant is known to exist. 92D - The Cock Fight, Manila (c. 1924-1925) 44.0 x 31.3 cm (17-5/16 x 12-3/8 in) Courtesy of the Annex Galleries Note: A color variant is known to exist. 92E - Street Scene, Singapore (1925) 32.7 x 28.7 cm (12-7/8 x 11-5/16 in) 92F - Philippine Woman (c. 1930) 14.9 x 11.4 cm (5-7/8 x 4-1/2 in) Courtesy of The Art of Japan Note: The red circular seal in this copy is said to denominate a print self-carved and printed by Keith. 108A - Fishing Village (c. 1924) 25 x 32 cm (9-7/8 x 12-9/16 in) Courtesy of Saru Gallery (etching) 108B - Fruit Shop at Night, Kyoto (pre-1930) 38.0 x 25.5 cm (14-15/16 x 10-1/16 in) Note: A color variant is known to exist. 108C - Amherst in Doshisha (c. 1932) 11.8 x 11.6 cm (4-5/8 x 4-9/16 in) Courtesy of Hanga Gallery 108D - Shigeyama in Green Dress (1936) 44.1 x 32.4 cm (17-3/8 x 12-3/4 in) 108E - Man with Paint Bucket (unknown date and size) Courtesy of Hanga Gallery Note: The red circular seal in this copy is said to denominate a print self-carved and printed by Keith. The preparatory drawing for this print is shown at page 76 of the Miles catalog. 108F - Doshisha Girl (unknown date) 22.2 x 10.8 cm (8-3/4 x 4-1/4 in) Courtesy of The Art of Japan Note: A color variant is known to exist. Elizabeth Keith (left) with Kate Bartlett and Charles W. Bartlett in Hawaii (c. 1930s) Personal Collection (ex. David Dolan/Bartlett Family Collection) If you are aware of additional Keith woodblock prints or etchings not found in the Miles catalog, please let me know. 9/18/16 Postscript: Since this post went on-line, I have made the acquaintance of Professor Young-dahl Song and his wife Kim. Professor Song published a Korean text version of Keith's book Eastern Windows in Korea in 2012. In addition to an original essay on Keith's life and work with particular emphasis on her relationship with Korea, this book is notable for a catalog at the end which lists all of Keith paintings and prints (with English captions) known as to Professor Song as of the publication date, almost all of which are accompanied by small color images. It includes everything in the Miles catalog as well as many of the prints listed above, but arranged chronologically, rather than by geographic subject matter. It is something that serious Keith collectors should seek for their reference libraries. Also, the original version of this post included a print by M. Kennedy that had been misattributed by myself and others to Elizabeth Keith. A separate post about this Kennedy print can be found here. If a comment box does not appear below, click on this link instead: http://easternimp.blogspot.com/2015/08/elizabeth-keith-uncatalogued-prints.html

Dr. Shefali Tsabary (IG: @doctorshefali) is a world-renowned clinical psychologist, bestselling author, and public speaker. She's an expert in her field where she blends Eastern philosophy and Western psychology. Dr. Shefali's books focus on parenting, families, & children and they will change your world. She teaches workshops and courses both online and in-person around the globe. (Subscribe in Apple Podcasts) (Subscribe in Google Podcasts) In this episode, we discuss: Why Dr. Shefali had to grieve her fantasy of the perfect childbirth A true wisdom approach to life What is conscious parenting? Parent vs. child expectations How to handle a temper

The animal rights group suggests "Plan V" and shows its sexism again

Odalisque, Detail. German School. Early 19th Century

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A collection of facts, information, and curiosities.

The Uighurs are a very welcoming Muslim Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia. About 7,2 millions of them live in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region at the western extremity of China. Though the Uyghur identity remains fragmented, Uyghur activists like Rebiya Kadeer mainly try to garner international support for the "rights and interests of the Uyghurs", including the right to demonstrate, although the Chinese government has accused her of orchestrating the deadly July 2009 Urumqi riots. Six Uyghur men were sentenced to death after the riots. Uyghurs are classified as a National Minority rather than an indigenous group and thus have no special rights to the land under the law. As a result of Han immigration and government policies, Uyghurs' freedoms of religion and of movement are curtailed. Tensions between Uyghurs and Han have resulted in several instances of violence and ethnic clashes. © Eric Lafforgue www.ericlafforgue.com