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Silk Road transmission of Buddhism

Buddhism entered Han China via the Silk Road, beginning in the 1st or 2nd century CE. The first documented translation efforts by Buddhist monks in China were in the 2nd century CE via the Kushan Empire into the Chinese territory bordering the Tarim Basin under Kanishka. These contacts transmitted strands of Sarvastivadan and Tamrashatiya Buddhism throughout the Eastern world.

Theravada Buddhism developed from the Pāli Canon in Sri Lanka Tamrashatiya school and spread throughout Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, Sarvastivada Buddhism was transmitted from North India through Central Asia to China. Direct contact between Central Asian and Chinese Buddhism continued throughout the 3rd to 7th centuries, much into the Tang period. From the 4th century onward, Chinese pilgrims like Faxian (395–414) and later Xuanzang (629–644) started to travel to northern India in order to get improved access to original scriptures. Between the 3rd and 7th centuries, parts of the land route connecting northern India with China was ruled by the Xiongnu, Han dynasty, Kushan Empire, the Hephthalite Empire, the Göktürks, and the Tang dynasty. The Indian form of Buddhist tantra (Vajrayana) reached China in the 7th century. Tibetan Buddhism was likewise established as a branch of Vajrayana, in the 8th century.

But from about this time, the Silk road trade of Buddhism began to decline with the Muslim conquest of Transoxiana (e.g. Battle of Talas), resulting in the Uyghur Khaganate by the 740s. Indian Buddhism declined due to the resurgence of Hinduism and the Muslim conquest of India. Tang-era Chinese Buddhism was briefly repressed in the 9th century (but made a comeback in later dynasties). The Western Liao was a Buddhist Sinitic dynasty based in Central Asia, before Mongol invasion of Central Asia. The Mongol Empire resulted in the further Islamization of Central Asia. They embraced Tibetan Buddhism starting with the Yuan dynasty (Buddhism in Mongolia). The other khanates, the Ilkhanate, Chagatai Khanate, and Golden Horde eventually converted to Islam (Religion in the Mongol Empire).

Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Taiwanese and Southeast Asian traditions of Buddhism continued. As of 2019, China by far had the largest population of Buddhists in the world at nearly 250 million; Thailand comes second at around 70 million (see Buddhism by country).

Northern transmission
The Buddhism transmitted to China is based on the Sarvastivada school, with translations from Sanskrit to the Chinese languages and Tibetic languages. These later formed the basis of Mahayana Buddhism. Japan and Korea then borrowed from China. Few remnants of the original Sanskrit remained. These constituted the 'Northern transmission'.

First contacts
Buddhism entered China via the Silk Road. Buddhist monks travelled with merchant caravans on the Silk Road to preach their new religion. The lucrative Chinese silk trade along this trade route began during the Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE), with voyages by people like Zhang Qian establishing ties between China and the west.

Alexander the Great established Hellenistic kingdoms (323 BC – 63 BC) and trade networks extending from the Mediterranean to Central Asia (furthest eastern point being Alexandria Eschate). The Greco-Bactrian Kingdoms (250 BC-125 BC) in Afghanistan and the later Indo-Greek Kingdoms (180 BC-10 CE) formed one of the first Silk Road stops after China for nearly 300 years. One of the descendant Greek kingdoms, the Dayuan (Ta-yuan; ; "Great Ionians"), were defeated by the Chinese in the Han-Dayuan war. The Han victory in the Han–Xiongnu War further secured the route from northern nomads of the Eurasian Steppe.

The transmission of Buddhism to China via the Silk Road started in the 1st century CE with a semi-legendary account of an embassy sent to the West by the Chinese Emperor Ming (58–75 CE):

"It may be assumed that travelers or pilgrims brought Buddhism along the Silk Roads, but whether this first occurred from the earliest period when those roads were open, ca. 100 BC, must remain open to question. The earliest direct references to Buddhism concern the 1st century AD, but they include hagiographical elements and are not necessarily reliable or accurate."

Extensive contacts however started in the 2nd century CE, probably as a consequence of the expansion of the Greco-Buddhist Kushan Empire into the Chinese territory of the Tarim Basin, with the missionary efforts of a great number of Central Asian Buddhist monks to Chinese lands. The first missionaries and translators of Buddhists scriptures into Chinese were either Parthian, Kushan, Sogdian or Kuchean.

Missionaries

In the middle of the 2nd century, the Kushan Empire under king Kaniṣka from its capital at Purushapura (modern Peshawar), India expanded into Central Asia. As a consequence, cultural exchanges greatly increased with the regions of Kashgar, Khotan and Yarkand (all in the Tarim Basin, modern Xinjiang). Central Asian Buddhist missionaries became active shortly after in the Chinese capital cities of Loyang and sometimes Nanjing, where they particularly distinguished themselves by their translation work. They promoted both Nikāya and Mahāyāna scriptures. Thirty-seven of these early translators of Buddhist texts are known.

 * An Shigao, a Parthian prince who made the first known translations of Nikāya Buddhist texts into Chinese (148–170)
 * Lokakṣema, a Kushan and the first to translate Mahāyāna scriptures into Chinese (167–186)
 * An Xuan, a Parthian merchant who became a monk in China in 181
 * Zhi Yao (c. 185), a Kushan monk in the second generation of translators after Lokakṣema.
 * Zhi Qian (220–252), a Kushan monk whose grandfather had settled in China during 168–190
 * Kang Senghui (247–280), born in Jiaozhi (or Chiao-chih) close to modern Hanoi in what was then the extreme south of the Chinese empire, and a son of a Sogdian merchant
 * Dharmarakṣa (265–313), a Kushan whose family had lived for generations at Dunhuang
 * Kumārajīva (c. 401), a Kuchean monk and one of the most important translators
 * Fotudeng (4th century), a Central Asian monk who became a counselor to the Chinese court
 * Bodhidharma (440–528), the founder of the Chan (Zen) school of Buddhism. The debunked 17th century apocryphal story found in a manual called Yijin Jing claimed that he originated of the physical training of the Shaolin monks that led to the creation of Shaolin kung fu. This erroneous account only became popularized in the 20th century. According to the earliest reference to him, by Yang Xuanzhi, he was a monk of Central Asian origin whom Yang Xuanshi met around 520 at Loyang. Throughout Buddhist art, Bodhidharma is depicted as a rather ill-tempered, profusely bearded and wide-eyed barbarian. He is referred to as "The Blue-Eyed Barbarian" (碧眼胡:Bìyǎn hú) in Chinese Chan texts.
 * Five monks from Gandhāra who traveled in 485 CE to the country of Fusang ("the country of the extreme east" beyond the sea, probably Japan), where they introduced Buddhism.
 * Jñānagupta (561–592), a monk and translator from Gandhāra
 * Prajñā (c. 810), a monk and translator from Kabul who educated the Japanese Kūkai in Sanskrit texts

Additionally, Indian monks from central regions of India were also involved in the translation and spread of Buddhists texts into central and east Asia. Among these Indian translators and monks include:

 * Dharmakṣema – 4th and 5th-century Buddhist monk from Magadha responsible for the translation of many Sanskrit texts in Chinese including the Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra.
 * Dhyānabhadra – 14th-century monk from Nalanda monastery who travelled to China and Korea during the period of the Yuan dynasty. Founded the Hoemsa temple in Korea.
 * Guṇabhadra – 5th-century Mahayana Buddhist translator from Central India who was active in China
 * Paramartha – 6th-century Indian monk and translator from Ujjain and patronised by Emperor Wu of Liang

Early translations into Chinese
The first documented translation of Buddhist scriptures into Chinese occurs in 148 CE with the arrival of the Parthian prince-turned-monk, An Shigao (Ch. 安世高). He worked to establish Buddhist temples in Luoyang and organized the translation of Buddhist scriptures into Chinese, testifying to the beginning of a wave of Central Asian Buddhist proselytism that was to last several centuries. An Shigao translated Buddhist texts on basic doctrines, meditation and abhidharma. An Xuan (Ch. 安玄), a Parthian layman who worked alongside An Shigao, also translated an early Mahāyāna Buddhist text on the bodhisattva path.

Mahāyāna Buddhism was first widely propagated in China by the Kushan monk Lokakṣema (Ch. 支婁迦讖, active ca. 164–186 CE), who came from the ancient Buddhist kingdom of Gandhāra. Lokakṣema translated important Mahāyāna sūtras such as the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, as well as rare, early Mahāyāna sūtras on topics such as samādhi and meditation on the buddha Akṣobhya. These translations from Lokakṣema continue to give insight into the early period of Mahāyāna Buddhism.

By the 8th century CE, the School of Esoteric Buddhism became prominent in China due to the careers of two South Asian monks, Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra. Vajrabodhi or Vajrabuddhi was the son of a South Indian aristocrat and is credited for bringing the theological developments from Bengal to East China. Buddhist scholar Lü Xiang, and lay disciple of Vajrabodhi writes about Vajrabodhi's accomplishments, including translating Buddhist texts such as ‘The Ritual for Practicing the Samadhi of Vairocana in the Yoga of the Adamantine Pinnacle Sutra’ etc.

Though Vajrabodhi is credited for bringing Esoteric Buddhism into China, it was his successor, Amoghavajra, who saw the firm establishment of Esoteric Buddhism as a school of thought in China. Amoghavajra was the son of a South Asian father and Sodigan mother and brought his learnings from Sri Lanka to practice in China. He too translated several texts but is mostly known for this prominent position in the Royal Tang Court. Ge performed several Esoteric rituals for the royals and also established a separate doctrine of Buddhism for the deity Manjusri.

Chinese pilgrims to India
From the 4th century onward, Chinese pilgrims also started to travel on the Silk Road to India, the origin of Buddhism, by themselves in order to get improved access to the original scriptures. According to Chinese sources, the first Chinese to be ordained was Zhu Zixing, after he went to Central Asia in 260 to seek out Buddhism.

It is only from the 4th century CE that Chinese Buddhist monks started to travel to India to discover Buddhism first-hand. Faxian's pilgrimage to India (395–414) is said to have been the first significant one. He left along the Silk Road, stayed six years in India, and then returned by the sea route. Xuanzang (629–644) and Hyecho traveled from Korea to India.

The most famous of the Chinese pilgrims is Xuanzang (629–644), whose large and precise translation work defines a "new translation period", in contrast with older Central Asian works. He also left a detailed account of his travels in Central Asia and India. The legendary accounts of the holy priest Xuanzang were described in the famous novel Journey to the West, which envisaged trials of the journey with demons but with the help of various disciples.

Role of merchants
During the fifth and sixth centuries C.E., merchants played a large role in the spread of religion, in particular Buddhism. Merchants found the moral and ethical teachings of Buddhism to be an appealing alternative to previous religions. As a result, merchants supported Buddhist monasteries along the Silk Roads. In return, the Buddhists gave the merchants somewhere to sojourn. Merchants then spread Buddhism to foreign encounters as they travelled. Merchants also helped to establish diaspora within the communities they encountered and over time, their cultures were based on Buddhism. Because of this, these communities became centers of literacy and culture with well-organized marketplaces, lodging, and storage. The Silk Road transmission of Buddhism essentially ended around the 7th century with the invasion of Islam in Central Asia.

By the 8th century, Buddhism began to be spread across Asia, largely by the influence of healers and wonder-workers. These groups of people practised a form of Buddhism that was to be called "Vajrayana". This cult was influenced by the practice of Tantra in parts of India and would later go on to influence the East Asian society into adopting forms of Buddhism stemming from this core school of belief. This time, the transmission was happening via the sea routes.

Decline of Buddhism in Central Asia and Xinjiang
Buddhism in Central Asia began to decline in the 7th century in the course of the Muslim conquest of Transoxiana. After the Battle of Talas of 751, Central Asian Buddhism went into serious decline and eventually resulted in the extinction of the local Tocharian Buddhist culture in the Tarim Basin during the 8th century.

The increasing Muslim dominance of these Silk Roads made it more difficult for Buddhist monks and pilgrims to travel between India and China. The Silk Road transmission between Eastern Buddhism and Indian Buddhism eventually came to an end in the 8th century.

From the 9th century onward, therefore, the various schools of Buddhism which survived began to evolve independently of one another. Chinese Buddhism developed into an independent religion with distinct spiritual elements. Indigenous Buddhist traditions like Pure Land Buddhism and Zen emerged in China. China became the center of East Asian Buddhism, following the Chinese Buddhist canon, as Buddhism spread to Japan and Korea from China. In the eastern Tarim Basin, Central Asian Buddhism survived into the later medieval period as the religion of the Uyghur Qocho Kingdom (see also Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves), and Buddhism became one of the religions in the Mongol Empire and the Chagatai Khanate, and via the Oirats eventually the religion of the Kalmyks, who settled at the Caspian in the 17th century. Otherwise, Central Asian Buddhism survived mostly in Tibet and in Mongolia.

Artistic influences

Central Asian missionary efforts along the Silk Road were accompanied by a flux of artistic influences, visible in the development of Serindian art from the 2nd to the 11th century CE in the Tarim Basin, modern Xinjiang. Serindian art often derives from the art of the Gandhāra district of what is now Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Highly sinicized forms of syncretism can also be found on the eastern portions of the Tarim Basin, such as in Dunhuang. Silk Road artistic influences can be found as far as Japan to this day, in architectural motifs or representations of Japanese gods.

Southern transmission (from Sri Lanka)
The Buddhism transmitted to Southeast Asia is based on the Tamrashatiya school based in Sri Lanka, with translations from Pali into languages like Thai, Burmese, etc. via the Pāli Canon. These later formed the basis of Theravada Buddhism. It is known as the Southern Transmission.

Chinese historiography of Buddhism
The Book of the Later Han (5th century), compiled by Fan Ye (398–446 CE), documented early Chinese Buddhism. This history records that around 65 CE, Buddhism was practiced in the courts of both Emperor Ming of Han (r. 58–75 CE) at Luoyang (modern Henan); and his half-brother King Ying (r. 41–70 CE) of Chu at Pengcheng (modern Jiangsu). The Book of Han has led to discussions on whether Buddhism first arrived to China via maritime or overland transmission; as well as the origins of Buddhism in India or China.

Despite secular Chinese histories like the Book of Han dating the introduction of Buddhism in the 1st century, some Buddhist texts and traditions claim earlier dates in the Qin dynasty (221–206 BCE) or Former Han dynasty (208 BCE-9 CE).

Qin dynasty (221–206 BCE)
One story, first appearing in the (597 CE) Lidai sanbao ji 歷代三寶紀, concerns a group of Buddhist priests who arrived in 217 BCE at the capital of Qin Shi Huang in Xianyang (near Xi'an). The monks, led by the shramana Shilifang 室李防, presented sutras to the First Emperor, who had them put in jail:

"But at night the prison was broken open by a Golden Man, sixteen feet high, who released them. Moved by this miracle, the emperor bowed his head to the ground and excused himself."

The (668 CE) Fayuan Zhulin Buddhist encyclopedia elaborates this legend with Mauryan emperor Ashoka the Great sending Shilifang to China. Like Liang Qichao, some western historians believe Emperor Ashoka sent Buddhist missionaries to China, citing the (ca. 265) 13th Rock Edict that records missions to Greece, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. Others disagree, "As far as we can gather from the inscriptions [Ashoka] was ignorant of the very existence of China."

The Book of Han
The Book of the Later Han biography of Liu Ying, the King of Chu, gives the oldest reference to Buddhism in Chinese historical literature. It says Ying was both deeply interested in Huang-Lao 黄老 (from Yellow Emperor and Laozi) Daoism and "observed fasting and performed sacrifices to the Buddha." Huang-Lao or Huanglaozi 黄老子 is the deification of Laozi, and was associated with fangshi (方士) "technician; magician; alchemist" methods and xian (仙) "transcendent; immortal" techniques. "'To Liu Ying and the Chinese devotees at his court the 'Buddhist' ceremonies of fasting and sacrifices were probably no more than a variation of existing Daoist practices; this peculiar mixture of Buddhist and Daoist elements remains characteristic of Han Buddhism as a whole.'"In 65 CE, Emperor Ming decreed that anyone suspected of capital crimes would be given an opportunity for redemption, and King Ying sent thirty rolls of silk. The biography quotes Ming's edict praising his younger brother:

"The king of Chu recites the subtle words of Huanglao, and respectfully performs the gentle sacrifices to the Buddha. After three months of purification and fasting, he has made a solemn covenant (or: a vow 誓) with the spirits. What dislike or suspicion (from Our part) could there be, that he must repent (of his sins)? Let (the silk which he sent for) redemption be sent back, in order thereby to contribute to the lavish entertainment of the upāsakas (yipusai 伊蒲塞) and śramaṇa (sangmen 桑門)."

In 70 CE, King Ying was implicated in rebellion and sentenced to death, but Ming instead exiled him and his courtiers south to Danyang (Anhui), where Ying committed suicide in 71 CE. The Buddhist community at Pencheng survived, and around 193 CE, the warlord Zhai Rong built a huge Buddhist temple, "which could contain more than three thousand people, who all studied and read Buddhist scriptures."

Second, Fan Ye's Book of Later Han quotes a "current" (5th-century) tradition that Emperor Ming prophetically dreamed about a "golden man" Buddha. While "The Kingdom of Tianzhu" section (above) recorded his famous dream, the "Annals of Emperor Ming" history did not. Apocryphal texts give divergent accounts about the imperial envoys sent to India, their return with two Buddhist monks, Sanskrit sutras (including Sutra of Forty-two Chapters) carried by white horses, and establishing the White Horse Temple.

Maritime or overland transmission
Since the Book of Later Han present two accounts of how Buddhism entered Han China, generations of scholars have debated whether monks first arrived via the maritime or overland routes of the Silk Road.

The maritime route hypothesis, favored by Liang Qichao and Paul Pelliot, proposed that Buddhism was originally introduced in southern China, the Yangtze River and Huai River region, where King Ying of Chu was worshipping Laozi and Buddha c. 65 CE. The overland route hypothesis, favored by Tang Yongtong, proposed that Buddhism disseminated eastward through Yuezhi and was originally practiced in western China, at the Han capital Luoyang where Emperor Ming established the White Horse Temple c. 68 CE.

The historian Rong Xinjiang reexamined the overland and maritime hypotheses through a multi-disciplinary review of recent discoveries and research, including the Gandhāran Buddhist Texts, and concluded:

"The view that Buddhism was transmitted to China by the sea route comparatively lacks convincing and supporting materials, and some arguments are not sufficiently rigorous [...] the most plausible theory is that Buddhism started from the Greater Yuezhi of northwest India and took the land roads to reach Han China. After entering into China, Buddhism blended with early Daoism and Chinese traditional esoteric arts and its iconography received blind worship."

Origins of Buddhism
Fan Ye's Commentary noted that neither of the Former Han histories–the (109–91 BCE) Records or the Grand Historian (which records Zhang Qian visiting Central Asia) and (111 CE) Book of Han (compiled by Ban Yong)–described Buddhism originating in India:

"Zhang Qian noted only that: 'this country is hot and humid. The people ride elephants into battle.' Although Ban Yong explained that they revere the Buddha, and neither kill nor fight, he has recording nothing about the excellent texts, virtuous Law, and meritorious teachings and guidance. As for myself, here is what I have heard: This kingdom is even more flourishing than China. The seasons are in harmony. Saintly beings descend and congregate there. Great Worthies arise there. Strange and extraordinary marvels occur such that human reason is suspended. By examining and exposing the emotions, one can reach beyond the highest heavens."

In the Book of Later Han, "The Kingdom of Tianzhu" (天竺, Northwest India) section of "The Chronicle of the Western Regions" summarizes the origins of Buddhism in China. After noting Tianzhu envoys coming by sea through Rinan (日南, Central Vietnam) and presenting tribute to Emperor He of Han (r. 89–105 CE) and Emperor Huan of Han (r. 147–167 CE), it summarizes the first "hard evidence" about Prince Ying and the "official" story about Emperor Ming:

"There is a current tradition that Emperor Ming dreamed that he saw a tall golden man the top of whose head was glowing. He questioned his group of advisors and one of them said: 'In the West there is a god called Buddha. His body is sixteen chi high (3.7 metres or 12 feet), and is the colour of true gold.' The Emperor, to discover the true doctrine, sent an envoy to Tianzhu (Northwestern India) to inquire about the Buddha's doctrine, after which paintings and statues [of the Buddha] appeared in the Middle Kingdom."

"Then Ying, the king of Chu [a dependent kingdom which he ruled 41–71 CE], began to believe in this Practice, following which quite a few people in the Middle Kingdom began following this Path. Later on, Emperor Huan [147–167 CE] devoted himself to sacred things and often made sacrifices to the Buddha and Laozi. People gradually began to accept [Buddhism] and, later, they became numerous."

Contacts with Yuezhi
There is a Chinese tradition that in 2 BCE, a Yuezhi envoy to the court of Emperor Ai of Han transmitted one or more Buddhist sutras to a Chinese scholar. The earliest version derives from the lost (mid-3rd century) Weilüe, quoted in Pei Songzhi's commentary to the (429 CE) Records of Three Kingdoms: "the student at the imperial academy Jing Lu 景盧 received from Yicun 伊存, the envoy of the king of the Great Yuezhi oral instruction in (a) Buddhist sutra(s)."

Since Han histories do not mention Emperor Ai having contacts with the Yuezhi, scholars disagree whether this tradition "deserves serious consideration", or can be "reliable material for historical research".

The dream of Emperor Ming
Many sources recount the "pious legend" of Emperor Ming dreaming about Buddha, sending envoys to Yuezhi (on a date variously given as 60, 61, 64 or 68 CE), and their return (3 or 11 years later) with sacred texts and the first Buddhist missionaries, Kāśyapa Mātanga (Shemoteng 攝摩騰 or Jiashemoteng 迦葉摩騰) and Dharmaratna (Zhu Falan 竺法蘭). They translated the "Sutra in Forty-two Sections" into Chinese, traditionally dated 67 CE but probably later than 100. The emperor built the White Horse Temple (Baimasi 白馬寺) in their honor, the first Buddhist temple in China, and Chinese Buddhism began. All accounts of Emperor Ming's dream and Yuezhi embassy derive from the anonymous (middle 3rd-century) introduction to the Sutra of Forty-two Chapters. For example, the (late 3rd to early 5th-century) Mouzi Lihuolun says,

"In olden days emperor Ming saw in a dream a god whose body had the brilliance of the sun and who flew before his palace; and he rejoiced exceedingly at this. The next day he asked his officials: 'What god is this?' the scholar Fu Yi said: 'Your subject has heard it said that in India there is somebody who has attained the Tao and who is called Buddha; he flies in the air, his body had the brilliance of the sun; this must be that god."

Academics disagree over the historicity of Emperor Ming's dream but Tang Yongtong sees a possible nucleus of fact behind the tradition.

Emperor Wu and the Golden Man
The Book of Han records that in 121 BCE, Emperor Wu of Han sent general Huo Qubing to attack the Xiongnu. Huo defeated the people of prince Xiutu 休屠 (in modern-day Gansu) and "captured a golden (or gilded) man used by the King of Hsiu-t'u to worship Heaven." Xiutu's son was taken prisoner, but eventually became a favorite retainer of Emperor Wu and was granted the name Jin Midi, with his surname Jin 金 "gold" supposedly referring to the "golden man." The golden statue was later moved to the Yunyang 雲陽 Temple, near the royal summer palace Ganquan 甘泉 (modern Xianyang, Shaanxi). The golden man has been demonstrated to be a three meters high colossal golden statue of Zeus holding a goddess by Lucas Christopoulos.

The (c. 6th century) A New Account of the Tales of the World claims this golden man was more than ten feet high, and Emperor Wu of Han (r. 141–87 BCE) sacrificed to it in the Ganquan 甘泉 palace, which "is how Buddhism gradually spread into (China)."

Transmission to Korea
Centuries after Buddhism originated in India, the Mahayana Buddhism arrived in China through the Silk Route in 1st century CE via Tibet, then to Korean peninsula in 3rd century during the Three Kingdoms period from where it transmitted to Japan. The Samguk yusa and Samguk sagi record the following 3 monks who were among the first to bring Buddhist teaching, or Dharma, to Korea in the 4th century during the Three Kingdoms period: Malananta – an Indian Buddhist monk who came from either Serindian area of southern China's Eastern Jin dynasty or Gandhara region of northern Indian subcontinent and brought Buddhism to the King Chimnyu of Baekje in the southern Korean peninsula in 384 CE, Sundo – a monk from northern Chinese state Former Qin brought Buddhism to Goguryeo in northern Korea in 372 CE, and Ado – a monk who brought Buddhism to Silla in central Korea. In Korea, it was adopted as the state religion of 3 constituent polities of the Three Kingdoms period, first by the Goguryeo (Gaya) in 372 CE, by the Silla in 528 CE, and by the Baekje in 552 CE. As Buddhism was not seen to conflict with the local rites of nature worship, it was allowed by adherents of Shamanism to be blended into their religion. Thus, the mountains that were believed by shamanists to be the residence of spirits in pre-Buddhist times later became the sites of Buddhist temples.

Though it initially enjoyed wide acceptance, even being supported as the state ideology during the Goryeo (918–1392 CE) period, Buddhism in Korea suffered extreme repression during the Joseon (1392–1897 CE) era, which lasted over five hundred years. During this period, Neo-Confucianism overcame the prior dominance of Buddhism. Only after Buddhist monks helped repel the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–98) did the persecution of Buddhists stop. Buddhism in Korea remained subdued until the end of the Joseon period, when its position was strengthened somewhat by the colonial period, which lasted from 1910 to 1945. However, these Buddhist monks did not only put an end to Japanese rule in 1945, but they also asserted their specific and separate religious identity by reforming their traditions and practices. They laid the foundation for many Buddhist societies, and the younger generation of monks came up with the ideology of Mingung Pulgyo, or "Buddhism for the people." The importance of this ideology is that it was coined by the monks who focused on common men's daily issues. After World War II, the Seon school of Korean Buddhism once again gained acceptance.

A 2005 government survey indicated that about a quarter of South Koreans identified as Buddhist. However, the actual number of Buddhists in South Korea is ambiguous as there is no exact or exclusive criterion by which Buddhists can be identified, unlike the Christian population. With Buddhism's incorporation into traditional Korean culture, it is now considered a philosophy and cultural background rather than a formal religion. As a result, many people outside of the practicing population are deeply influenced by these traditions. Thus, when counting secular believers or those influenced by the faith while not following other religions, the number of Buddhists in South Korea is considered to be much larger. Similarly, in officially atheist North Korea, while Buddhists officially account for 4.5% of the population, a much larger number (over 70%) of the population are influenced by Buddhist philosophies and customs.

title: Silk Road transmission of Buddhism


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Eduard Lasker

Eduard Lasker (born Jizchak Lasker) (14 October 1829 – 5 January 1884) was a German politician and jurist. Inspired by the French Revolution, he became a spokesman for liberalism and the leader of the left wing of the National Liberal party, which represented middle-class professionals and intellectuals. He promoted the unification of Germany during the 1860s and played a major role in codification of the German legal code. Lasker at first compromised with Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, who later strenuously opposed Lasker regarding freedom of the press. In 1881, Lasker left the National Liberal party and helped form the new German Free Thought Party.

Biography
He was born at Jarotschin, a village in Posen, the son of a Jewish tradesman. He attended the gymnasium, and afterwards the University of Breslau. In 1848, after the outbreak of the revolution, he went to Vienna and entered the student's legion which played a prominent role in the disturbances; he fought against the imperial troops during the siege of the city in October. He then continued his legal studies at Breslau and Berlin, and after a visit of three years to England, then the model state for German liberals, entered the Prussian judicial service.

National Liberal Party
In 1870 he left the government service, and in 1873 was appointed to an administrative post in the service of the city of Berlin. He had been brought to the notice of the political world by some articles he wrote from 1861 to 1864, which were afterwards published under the title Zur Verfassungsgeschichte Preussens (Leipzig, 1874), and in 1865 he was elected member to the Prussian House of Representatives. He joined the radical German Progress Party, and in 1867 was also elected to the German parliament, but he helped to form the National Liberal Party, and in consequence lost his seat in Berlin, which remained faithful to the radicals; after this he represented Magdeburg and Frankfurt in the Prussian, and Meiningen in the German parliament. He threw himself with great energy into his parliamentary duties, and quickly became one of its most popular and most influential members. An optimist and idealist, he joined to a fervent belief in liberty an equal enthusiasm for German unity and the idea of the German state. His motion that Baden should be included in the North German Confederation in January 1870 caused much embarrassment to Otto von Bismarck, but was not without effect in hastening the crisis of 1870.

Judicial reform
His great work, however, was the share he took in the judicial reform during the ten years 1867 to 1877. The codification of the law during this period is attributable more to him than to any other single individual. While he again and again was able to compel the government to withdraw or amend proposals that seemed dangerous to liberty, he opposed those liberals who, unable to obtain all the concessions they called for, refused to vote for the new laws as a whole.

Breaking with his party
A speech made by Lasker on 7 February 1873, in which he attacked the management of the Pomeranian railway, caused a great sensation, and his exposure of the financial mismanagement brought about the fall of Hermann Wagener, one of Bismarck's most trusted assistants. By this action he caused, however, some embarrassment to his party. This is generally regarded as the beginning of the reaction against economic liberalism by which he and his party were to be deprived of their influence. He refused to follow Bismarck in his financial and economic policy after 1878; always unsympathetic to the chancellor, he was now selected for his most bitter attacks.

Last years
Between the radicals and socialists on the one side and the government on the other, like many of his friends, he was unable to maintain himself. In 1879 he lost his seat in the Prussian parliament; he joined the Secession, but was ill at ease in his new position. Broken in health and spirits by the incessant labors of the time when he did half the work of the Reichstag, he went in 1883 for a tour in America, and died suddenly in New York City in January 1884. Carl Schurz spoke at his New York funeral.

Lasker's death was the occasion of a curious episode, which caused much discussion at the time. The United States House of Representatives adopted a motion of regret, and added to it these words: "That his loss is not alone to be mourned by the people of his native land, where his firm and constant exposition of, and devotion to, free and liberal ideas have materially advanced the social, political and economic conditions of these people, but by the lovers of liberty throughout the world."

This motion was sent through the American minister at Berlin to the German foreign office, with a request that it might be communicated to the president of the Reichstag. It was to ask Bismarck officially to communicate a resolution in which a foreign parliament expressed an opinion in German affairs exactly opposed to that which the emperor at his advice had always followed. Bismarck therefore refused to communicate the resolution, and returned it through the German minister at Washington. Further, Bismarck forbade civil servants and public officers to attend Lasker's funeral.

Work

 * Zur Geschichte der parlamentarischen Entwickelung Preussens (Leipzig, 1873)
 * Die Zukunft des Deutschen Reichs (Leipzig, 1877)
 * Wege und Ziele der Kulturentwicklung (Leipzig, 1881)
 * Fünfzehn Jahre parlamentarischer Geschichte 1866-1880 appeared edited by W. Cahn (Berlin, 1902). See also

In German

 * Rosemarie Schuder: Der "Fremdling aus dem Osten". Eduard Lasker - Jude, Liberaler, Gegenspieler Bismarcks. Berlin: Verlag für Berlin-Brandenburg 2008, 269 S., ISBN 978-3-86650-780-7
 * Dieter Langewiesche: Liberalismus in Deutschland. Suhrkamp, Frankfurt 1988, ISBN 3-518-11286-4
 * Heinrich August Winkler: Preussischer Liberalismus und deutscher Nationalstaat. Studien zur Geschichte der Deutschen Fortschrittspartei 1861-1866. Mohr (Siebeck), Tübingen 1964

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Eduard Lasker


text:
Dover, Kansas

Dover is an unincorporated community in Shawnee County, Kansas, United States. It is located southwest of Topeka.

History
Settlers came in the year 1856. The Sage and Bassett families in Dover came from Somersetshire, Bristol.

Dover was made a voting precinct of Auburn Township, October 1, 1860, and in the fall of 1867, was erected into a township. E.M. Hewins was the first trustee; Jacob Haskell and George Harden, justices. The first postmaster was Alfred Sage, appointed in 1862, and the family name, Sage, is still widespread in the area today.

The town of Dover was named after Dover, New Hampshire.

During its peak years, Dover had a match factory, a wagon making business, two grist mills, two blacksmiths, an inn and stage coach station, livery stable, general store, three cheese factories. When looking at output figures, two of the largest cheese factories in the U.S. were in Dover. The stone house cheese factory, built between 1856 and 1865 still stands today. The stone 1878 Sage Inn & Stage Coach Station, and the general gtore built in 1900 also survive.

Southwest Trail and the Sage Inn
The Southwest Trail was used as a connection from the Oregon Trail on its route through Topeka to the Santa Fe Trail in Council Grove. Today K-4, Kansas’ first paved highway, roughly follows the path of the trail. Along Mission Creek there were only two places where a wagon could ford the creek, one of which was at Dover. An inn was built at this location, which conveniently was also the natural half-way point of the trails two-day journey by horseback. The inn was an ideal stopping point to rest or trade out horses, get a bite to eat, and spend the night. Mark and John Sage, are believed to have crafted a stone building for their brother Alfred. Mark, especially, became a well-known stonemason in the area and built many of the stone farm houses, barns and bridges in Shawnee and Wabaunsee Counties in Kansas. The two brothers are also credited for their masonry work on the original Kansas Capitol (east wing) in Topeka from 1866 to 1869. The Sage Inn was built in two stages: The northern half of the current structure dates from 1865 and the southern half was built in 1878, after the Southwestern Stage Company was purchased by Root Brothers of Wichita Transfer Company. Around 1900, the railroad was built to Harveyville instead Dover. This was the clear end of the stagecoach era and the inn and station declined rapidly.

Filling station
A small Phillips 66 station was built In the late 1920s on the northwest corner of the K-4 intersection. It later became a Sinclair station. It is now no longer in operation as a filling station, but was once used as the base of the local volunteer fire department. The building was refurbished in the 1990s and today is used as an antiques and gift shop.

General store

This building was also built by Alfred Sage, and was christened Somerset Hall after his native home, Somersetshire, England. Most usually referred to it as Sage Hall though. The main floor was a general store and the second floor functioned as a community meeting hall.

In 1902, the I.O.O.F. (Oddfellows Lodge) began using the upstairs hall for their meetings, and three years later in 1905, the Oddfellows purchased the building from the Sage family upon Alfred's death. Members have met there monthly for one hundred years.

The first floor has in recent times doubled as a café, and has been operated by a series of owners who do not want to lose the heart of their Dover community.

In the Fall of 2008, Good Morning America ran a competition to determine the "Country's Best Pie." On November 16 it was announced one of the four finalist was Norma Grubb's "Coconut Cream Pie" from the Sommerset Hall Café. On Sunday, November 23 Norma's pie was declared the winner of the competition, determined by a national online vote.

Historic people of Dover
James Bassett arrived in the area in 1857 from Onondaga County, New York. A native of England, he was born in Glastonbury, January 25, 1836. He was one of the organizers of the Dover State Bank, and was also among those who established the Dover Cemetery. Around the community he was lovingly referred to as "Uncle Jim."

Harvey J. Loomis was born in Wadsworth, Ohio and came to Kansas in 1857. After the civil war he was made postmaster and established his office in the basement of his home. Later he was elected the first county assessor of Wabaunsee County. After serving for many years as township trustee, member of the school board and justice of the peace, was finally sent as representative of Wabaunsee County to the Kansas Legislature. He was a charter member of the Congregational Church at Dover. In 1872 he became a partner of George W. Daily, in a general store business.

Norma Grubb, age 88, was crowned "Pie Queen" by ABC's "Good Morning America" for her Coconut Cream Pie on November 23, 2008. At the time, she claimed to have baked 8,963 pies.

Dover Federated Church
The Methodist, Baptist, and Congregational churches combined in 1921 to form the Federated Church of Dover, Kansas. The Church was called "federated" after the act of uniting on common agreement. The churches came together on a covenant of eight doctrines of basic, essential Christian faith. A quote in the Topeka Daily Capital attributed to Mr. Tabor described the union in this way, "In essentials, unity; in opinions, liberty; in all things, love."

Education
The community is served by Mission Valley USD 330 public school district. Mission Valley High School was built approximately 9 miles southwest of Dover on the geographic center of the three communities. Mission Valley East Grade School (Grades K-8) were also consolidated in 2003 when a new K-8 school was built onto Mission Valley High School.

Dover High School closed in 1970 when the school district consolidated with the towns of Harveyville and Eskridge in nearby Wabaunsee County. The Dover High School mascot was Tigers.

title: Dover, Kansas


text: User:Senda

title: User:Senda


text:
List of fantasy worlds

This is a list of fictional fantasy worlds and lands. The best-known lands or worlds, not necessarily the most encompassing, are listed. For example, Middle-earth is only a region of Arda in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe, but it is far better known.

Media key:
 * Listed in the table in chronological order.
 * A: anime and manga
 * C: comics and graphic novels
 * F: films
 * G: tabletop games
 * N: novels and short stories
 * O: other
 * P: plays
 * R: radio
 * T: television
 * V: video games

title: List of fantasy worlds


text:
Hubble Origins Probe

The Hubble Origins Probe (HOP) was a proposal for an orbital telescope made in 2005 in response to the first cancellation of the fourth Hubble Space Telescope (HST) servicing mission. It would have used an Atlas V rocket or similar launch vehicle to launch a much lighter, unaberrated mirror and optical telescope assembly, using the instruments that had already been built for SM4, along with a new wide-field imager. It would have cost between $700 million and $1 billion.

Funding for the mission was never allocated; in February 2005, Sean O'Keefe, the NASA administrator who had cancelled SM4, resigned. Michael D. Griffin, NASA administrator after O'Keefe, reinstated the servicing missions, making HOP redundant.

title: Hubble Origins Probe


text:
User:Frontera

Don Quisqueya

title: User:Frontera


text: User talk:216.76.227.43

title: User talk:216.76.227.43


text:
Frank Caliendo

Frank Caliendo Jr. (born January 19, 1974) is an American comedian, actor, and impressionist best known for his impersonations on the Fox Network television series MADtv as well as being the in-house prognosticator for Fox NFL Sunday. In 2007 and 2008, he performed impersonations on his own show, Frank TV, which aired on TBS.

He is known for his impressions and for his frequent appearances on The Bob & Tom Show. He has released six solo CDs. From 2009 to 2011 he had a show at the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.

Early life and education
Caliendo was born in Chicago and grew up in Waukesha, Wisconsin, where he attended Waukesha South High School. He is of Italian descent. Before he graduated from University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, Caliendo began performing stand-up comedy at local night clubs and comedy clubs, he eventually became a master of ceremonies at a local comedy club. Within a few years, he was active on the college circuit. Between 2000 and 2001, Caliendo made his television debut on Hype, a sketch comedy series and later joined the comedy series MADtv.

Career
Caliendo has performed stand-up on Premium Blend, Late Show with David Letterman, Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn, The View, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, and Late Night with Conan O'Brien. He was featured in Comedy Central's animated series Shorties Watchin' Shorties in 2004.

Caliendo has done a John Madden impression on Fox NFL Sunday, The Best Damn Sports Show Period and Mohr Sports. Caliendo has also appeared on Comedy Central's Comedy Central Presents, as well as the radio shows The Free Beer and Hot Wings Show, Randy Baumann and the DVE Morning Show, The Dan Le Batard Show, The Dan Patrick Show, The Junkies, Bob & Sheri, The Bob & Tom Show, Mike and Mike in the Morning, Opie and Anthony, The Detroit Cast, The Don and Mike Show, Rise Guys, Bubba the Love Sponge, The John Boy and Billy Big Show, The Howard Stern Show, Mike and the Mad Dog, Elliot in the Morning, The Sports Inferno, The Rick and Bubba Show, The Roe Conn Show, Pardon My Take, The 105.7 WAPL Rick and Len Show, Preston and Steve, Bob and Brian, The Glenn Beck Program, Holmberg's Morning Sickness on 98 KUPD in Phoenix, and Lamont & Tonelli on 107.7 The Bone in San Francisco.

From 2001 to 2004, he also made appearances on the KQ Morning Show 's annual "Live from Las Vegas" simulcast, appearing on the panel throughout the show and reprising a few bits from his stand-up act. He has appeared on Garage Logic with Joe Soucheray; co-host Matt "Rookie" Michalski's has done various impersonations.

Fox NFL Sunday
On November 5, 2000, Caliendo appeared on Fox NFL Sunday; he returned again the same season on January 7 during the playoffs. In 2001 and 2002, Caliendo returned as a semi-regular guest. In 2003, Caliendo joined Fox NFL Sunday as a regular cast member, giving his predictions for the day's NFL games.

On August 2, 2012, Caliendo announced he would not be on Fox NFL Sunday for the 2012 season; he was replaced by Rob Riggle.

MADtv
Caliendo officially joined the cast of MADtv in 2001 as a repertory performer, for the seventh season. In 2002, Caliendo replaced Will Sasso on the show as the impersonator of George W. Bush. Caliendo also was the announcer for the best of scenes on the MADtv season 1 DVD. Caliendo left MADtv before the 2006–2007 season.

Frank TV
Caliendo starred on Frank TV, his own sketch show on the TBS that began airing in November 2007. Caliendo was its host and performed in sketches impersonating various celebrities.

In early 2008, TBS announced that they ordered eight more episodes, which ran later that year. The show ended after the fifteenth episode, which aired on December 23, 2008.

Other appearances
Caliendo's impression of President George W. Bush earned him an invitation to perform during the 2006 annual Radio-Television Correspondents Dinner. Caliendo appeared in the 2007 film The Comebacks as "Chip Imitation" who impersonates John Madden and Al Michaels in the championship game.

During The Comedy Festival Caliendo hosted a special called The Comedy Festival Presents: Funniest Movies of the Year 2008; from Caesars Palace, he introduced the top ten list for funniest films of 2008 based on an Internet poll.

As of 2019, Caliendo is a recurring guest on the Barstool Sports podcast, Pardon My Take.

Personal life
Caliendo lives in Tempe, Arizona with his wife Michelle and their family.

Discography

 * Make the Voices Stop (2002)
 * Frank on the Radio (2003)
 * Frank on the Radio 2, Volume 1 (2007)
 * Frank on the Radio 2, Volume 2 (2007)
 * All Over the Place (2008)
 * National Lampoon Live: Unleashed (2009)

title: Frank Caliendo


text:
Category:New Orleans Hornets players

This is a list of basketball players who have played in the NBA for the former New Orleans(/Oklahoma City) Hornets franchise.

title: Category:New Orleans Hornets players


text:
Vandavasi

Vandavasi (formerly anglicised as Wandiwash ) is a major town and a municipality in the Tiruvannamalai district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The town is well known in the Carnatic history for the Battle of Wandiwash. Vandavasi town is also the largest manufacturer of kora artefacts including mats, shawls and vessels. As of 2011, the town had a population 74,320.

Wandiwash was the site of a decisive battle in the 18th century Carnatic Wars between France and the British Empire for control over south Asia. The Battle of Wandiwash was a watershed moment in Indian history as it cemented British supremacy in India. On 22 January 1760, a British force led by Eyre Coote defeated a French force led by General Thomas Lally.

Geography and climate
Vandavasi is located on the state highway SH5 that connects Tindivanam and Arcot. It lies 110 km southwest of state capital Chennai, 40 km south of the temple city of Kanchipuram, 80 km northeast of Thiruvannamalai, 42 km southeast of Arani & 80 km from Vellore. It is situated at an average elevation of 74 metres (242 feet) above sea level.Vandavasi's climatic condition is similar to that of Chennai, lying on the thermal equator and close to the coast, while most of the year the climate is hot and humid.

Demographics
As of the 2011 census, Vandavasi had a population of 74,320 with a sex-ratio of 1,012 females for every 1,000 males, far above the national average of 929 females per 1,000 males. A total of 3,337 were under the age of six, constituting 1,740 males and 1,597 females. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 13.54% and 1.31% of the population respectively. The average literacy rate was 77.3%, compared to the national average of 72.99%. The town had a total of 7326 households. There were a total of 10,553 workers, comprising 152 cultivators, 302 main agricultural labourers, 309 in household industries, 9,093 other workers, 697 marginal workers, 8 marginal cultivators, 27 marginal agricultural labourers, 52 marginal workers in household industries and 610 other marginal workers. As per the religious census of 2011, Vandavasi's population was 60.86% Hindu, 34.73% Muslim, 3.03% Christian, 1.28% Jain, 0.02% Sikh, and 0% Buddhist, with 0.08% following other religions and 0% following no religion or not indicating any religious preference.

Places of interest
Vandavasi Fort is an important landmark in Vandavasi, which witnessed the decisive Battle of Wandiwash. The Nayak of Vandavasi, a vassal of the Vijaynagar Empire, was instrumental in helping the British secure a land grant for Chandragiri Fort on which to build the city of Madras (modern day Chennai).

Arahanthgiri Jain Math is a Jain matha that was established at the ancient Jain site of Tiruvannamalai in August 1998. The complex includes 3 Jain caves, 4 Jain temples and a 16-meter high sculpture of Neminatha thought to be from the 12th century, that is the tallest Jain image in Tamil Nadu. Sri Thavalagiriswarar Temple is a notable temple located atop the Vengundram hill.

Politics
Vandavasi was a Lok Sabha constituency till a delimitation in 2009. It is now part of Vandavasi state assembly constituency and Arani Lok Sabha constituency.

title: Vandavasi


text:
Election monitoring

Election monitoring involves the observation of an election by one or more independent parties, typically from another country or from a non-governmental organization (NGO). The monitoring parties aim primarily to assess the conduct of an election process on the basis of national legislation and of international election standards. There are national and international election observers. Monitors do not directly prevent electoral fraud, but rather record and report instances of suspicious practices. Election observation increasingly looks at the entire electoral process over a long period of time, rather than at election-day proceedings only. The legitimacy of an election can be affected by the criticism of monitors, unless they are themselves seen as biased. A notable individual is often appointed honorary leader of a monitoring organization in an effort to enhance legitimacy of the monitoring process.

History
The first monitored election was that of an 1857 plebiscite in Moldavia and Wallachia (current Romania) that was monitored by most of the major European powers. Election monitoring was uncommon until after World War II. During the 1960s, less than 10% of elections were monitored. Election observation activities have expanded significantly following the end of the Cold War, along with the development of international standards on the conduct of democratic elections and the process of monitoring elections by both international and domestic observing organizations. By the 2000s, about 80% of all elections were observed.

Organizations
International organizations such as the Organization of American States, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the European Union, the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Council of Europe, and the African Union regularly deploy monitoring teams. The United Nations no longer provides monitoring services; instead, it focuses on electoral assistance. Individual governments also participate in monitoring efforts, generally under the umbrella of an international organization. These national efforts are normally managed by the local electoral commission. A wide array of NGOs also participate in monitoring efforts. The Carter Center, for example, played a key role—with the United Nations Electoral Assistance Division and the National Democratic Institute—in building consensus on a common set of international principles for election observation.

International observation is complemented in many countries by domestic observer groups.

International election monitoring
Standard international election observation missions, as deployed by, for the example, the European Commission or the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), monitor the entire electoral process. Election experts and long-term observers begin their work weeks before the actual election day, looking at candidate registration, the legal framework, the media situation, the work of the election administration, and the campaign environment. On election day, short-term observers monitor the opening of polling stations, the vote cast, and the counting and tabulation of results. After election day, observers remain in the country for another few weeks to monitor how possible election-related shortcomings and complaints are dealt with by the election administration and the judiciary. The findings of the observers are made public in reports issued after election day.

Long-term observers
Most observation missions send a small number of long-term monitors (known as LTOs) for a period of six to eight weeks. A larger number of short-term observers (known as STOs) then join the mission for the final week of the campaign. STOs provide mostly quantitative observation of polling station and count procedures, with LTOs supplying qualitative analysis and contextual information about the wider political situation.

In some cases, the objectivity of some international observers is questioned.

Domestic election monitoring
In addition to international organizations monitoring elections, citizen organizations—or coalitions of organizations—also monitor elections in their own country.

The most common type of domestic election monitoring comes by way of party poll-watchers, who are partisan individuals that are looking out for the interests of their party. Election day activities of partisan observation groups often included scrutinizing the accreditation, voting, counting, and tabulations processes at polling units throughout election day.

There are, however, also numerous domestic nonpartisan observer groups in many countries.

Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in Pakistan is a coalition of 42 national civil society organizations working together to promote fair elections in Pakistan.

Each jurisdiction may have different rules about who may observe. Rules vary by state in the United States.

Local and regional election monitoring
Most international observer organizations have a mandate to observe parliamentary elections and some organizations, such as the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), also monitor local elections and referendums. However, the Congress of the Council of Europe, in cooperation with the Venice Commission, is specifically mandated to monitor local and regional elections and is unique in this regard. Since 1990, over 50 election processes have been observed by the Congress.

The Congress Strategy on election observation is based on three lines of action:
 * Election monitoring by the Congress should contribute to setting up institutional frameworks which comply with the principles underlying local democracy as laid down in the European Charter of Local Self-Government. In light of this, the Congress puts the accent on post-election dialogue as part of the Congress' work on monitoring of local and regional democracy. The aim is to improve the follow-up given to the recommendations adopted by the Congress following election observation missions and to facilitate their implementation.
 * Election monitoring by the Congress should contribute to promoting awareness about the significance of democracy at the local and regional level.
 * Making full use of the unique role of the Congress in the field of election observation, efforts are also made to increase the operational capability of election observation missions.

title: Election monitoring


text:
Talk:Christian views on slavery

Slavery a Moral Defect
Being aware an act is wrong (according the law) and doing it anyway is widely used definition of moral defect.

If (according past laws of the United States) it was wrong to help a runaway slave, and I yet did I could be held as "morally defective" under the law.

Christianity slavery
Jxjx 138.185.76.149 (talk) 03:00, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

Christianity slavery
How was that 138.185.76.149 (talk) 03:01, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

Christian views on slavery are varied regionally, historically and spiritually.
Won’t it be more accurate to say that slavery was permitted and accepted by the the church and christianity or at least mainstream christianity until the 18-19th century instead of saying “varied historically” ?

And what does “varied spiritually” even mean ? Ikhnatoun (talk) 11:58, 24 December 2022 (UTC) <--- blocked sock of User:Amr.elmowaled

Why no section on Europe?
Why are there no section on slavery in Europe? I've noticed these wikipedia articles are becoming more and more negative on christianity and european peoples as times goes by. Perhaps because muslims, asians in general and others who hate us are more active on wikipedia.

It is ridiculus to read this article on slavery in islam and then read this one. The islamic one is very positive. Even if the prophet Muhammad himself owned slaves, enslaved people, had sex slaves and did alot of nasty stuff. 88.94.247.152 (talk) 11:52, 24 December 2023 (UTC)

Vandalism
Changing verbatim quotes is vandalism. tgeorgescu (talk) 14:09, 23 April 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Christian views on slavery


text: User talk:129.138.30.152

title: User talk:129.138.30.152


text:
BNT (disambiguation)

The Bulgarian National Television is the public broadcaster of Bulgaria.

BNT may also refer to:

Language

 * Bantu languages, spoken in Sub-Saharan Africa (ISO 639-5 code: bnt)
 * Bridge and tunnel, a pejorative term for commuters into Manhattan, New York

Businesses and organizations

 * BioNTech, a German biotechnology company
 * Brand New Theatre, an American student theater company in Los Angeles

Other uses

 * Bicentennial National Trail, foot/horseback trail along Australia's eastern side
 * Brunei Darussalam Time, time in Brunei

title: BNT (disambiguation)


text:
Category:Biology images

__NoGallery__

title: Category:Biology images


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Bak

Bak or BAK may refer to:

Computer

 * Bak file
 * Betrayal at Krondor, a DOS-based role-playing video game
 * Bill and keep reciprocal payment in telecommunications systems

Acronyms

 * Bcl-2 homologous antagonist killer, a protein involved in pro-apoptotic action
 * Biking Across Kansas
 * Basic Aeronautical Knowledge

Places

 * Bäk, a municipality in the district of Lauenburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
 * Bąk (disambiguation), several places in Poland
 * Bak District, Afghanistan
 * Bak, Hungary
 * Bäk, Khost Province, Afghanistan
 * Bak, South Khorasan, Iran

People

 * Aad Bak (1926–2009), Dutch football player
 * Alexander Bak (born 1991), Danish basketball player
 * Arkadiusz Bąk (born 1974), Polish football player
 * Bąk (surname), Polish surname
 * Jacek Bąk (born 1973), Polish football player
 * Justyna Bąk (born 1974), Polish long-distance runner
 * Mateusz Bąk (born 1983), Polish football player
 * Nisan Bak or Nissan Beck (1815–1889), Hasidic leader, moderniser and printer in Jerusalem; son of Israel Bak
 * Per Bak (1948–2002), Danish physicist
 * Robert C. Bak, Hungarian psychoanalyst
 * Samuel Bak (born 1933), Israeli artist
 * Stéphane Bak (born 1996), French actor and radio host of Congolese descent
 * Bek (sculptor) or Bak, ancient Egyptian sculptor
 * Park (Korean surname) or Bak, common Korean family name
 * Lauren Haney's Lieutenant Bak series set in Ancient Egypt
 * Thomas Bak, German artist & art director

Transport

 * Bakau LRT station (LRT station abbreviation: BAK) in Sengkang, Singapore
 * Battersea Park railway station (3-Alpha station code: BAK) in London, UK
 * Columbus Municipal Airport (Indiana) (FAA airport code: BAK), US airport
 * Heydar Aliyev Airport (previous IATA airport code: BAK, has been changed to: GYD), in Baku, Azerbaijan

Others

 * BAK (Austria), federal anti corruption agency
 * BAK (magazine), online arts & design magazine
 * Backup
 * Bashkir language (ISO 639 identifier: bak)
 * Bak (instrument), Korean wooden clapper
 * × Bakerara (abbreviation Bak), a genus of orchids
 * BaK, World War I anti-balloon gun, from the German Ballonabwehrkanone
 * Benzalkonium chloride drug preservative

title: Bak


text:
Baq

Baq or BAQ may refer to:

Places

 * Baq, Semnan, northern Iran
 * Baq, South Khorasan, eastern Iran
 * Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport, Colombia (IATA: )

Other uses

 * Body Attitudes Questionnaire, in psychology
 * Basic Allowance for Quarters, in the U.S. military
 * Basque language (ISO 639: ), spoken in Spain and France

title: Baq


text:
Eus (disambiguation)

Eus may refer to:
 * Eus, a commune in France
 * .eus, the Internet top-level domain for the Basque language
 * eus, the ISO code for the Basque language (euskara)

EuS is the chemical formula of Europium(II) sulfide

EUS may refer to:
 * Edinburgh University Settlement, a defunct British charity
 * Endoscopic ultrasound
 * Engineering Undergraduate Society of the University of British Columbia
 * Epizootic ulcerative syndrome
 * Estonian Students' Society (Eesti Üliõpilaste Selts)
 * Euston railway station, London
 * Exploration Upper Stage, a proposed 2nd stage for US's Space Launch System block 1B rocket

title: Eus (disambiguation)


text:
Valsad

Valsad (Pronunciation: [ʋalsɑɖ]), historically known as Bulsar, is a city and a municipality in Valsad district of the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the district headquarters of Valsad district. Valsad is located south of Navsari and shares border with Maharashtra and the union territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu in the south.

Etymology
The name "Valsad" derives from vad-saal, a Gujarati language compound meaning "covered (saal) by banyan trees (vad)" or "where Vad(Banyan trees) and Saal(Saal tree) are" (the area was naturally rich in banyan trees). During British Era, it was historically known as "Bulsar".

Geography
Valsad is located at 20.63°N, 72.93°W. It has an average elevation of 13 metres (42 feet). The old city is about 4 km inland from the Arabian Sea.

Climate
Valsad has a tropical savanna climate (Aw) with little to no rainfall from October to May and very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall from June to September when it is under the direct influence of the Arabian Sea branch of the South-west monsoon.

Demographics
As of the 2011 India census, Valsad (metropolitan area) has a population of 170,060. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Valsad has an average literacy rate of 91.66%, higher than the national average of 74.04%: male literacy is 94.62%, and female literacy is 88.58%.

The major language spoken is Gujarati. Other languages spoken are Hindi, Marathi and English.

The major religion followed in Valsad is Hinduism. Other religions followed are Islam, Christianity, Jainism, Zoroastrianism and Buddhism.

Transport
Valsad lies on NH 48 and is connected to many cities in Gujarat and neighbouring states by the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation bus service.

Valsad railway station is managed by the Mumbai WR railway division of the Western Railway and it is a Sub-Division under Western Railway. It lies on the New Delhi–Mumbai main line. The present railway station building was established in 1925. Adjacent to the railway station is the Valsad Electric Loco Shed which houses over 100 electric locomotives.

Valsad is close to Surat International Airport, which is 99 km north of the city and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai which is 188.3 km south of the city.

Economy
Valsad is an industrial base for sectors such as chemicals, textiles, and paper & pulp industries. Since the 1980s, textile and chemicals have been the major sectors of investments and employment in the district. Valsad is emerging as a horticulture hub of the state, witnessing significant production in food grains and crops.

Valsad has 7 industrial estates located in Dungra, Pardi, Dharampur, Bhilad, Valsad, Umbergaon, Sarigam, Vapi (the chemical hub of Gujarat) and 1 Industrial park in Kalgam. With over 300 medium and large scale industries, Vapi is a major industrial center in Valsad. One of Asia's largest Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) is present in Vapi, owned by Vapi Waste & Effluent Management Company and promoted by Vapi Industrial Association.

Colleges

 * GMERS Medical College, est 2014
 * Government Engineering College (affiliated to Gujarat Technological University), est 2004
 * Government Polytechnic (affiliated to Gujarat Technological University), est 1965
 * Smt. J.P. Shroff Arts College
 * Shah N.H. Commerce College
 * Dhiru-Sarla Institute of Management and Commerce
 * B.K.M. Science College
 * Dolat-Usha Institute of Applied Sciences
 * Shree N. K. M. Nursing Instuite
 * Shah K.M. Law College

Schools

 * Affiliated with ICSE
 * Atul Vidyalaya School

 * Affiliated with the CBSE
 * Saraswati International School
 * Shree Vallabh Ashram's MGM Amin & V N Savani International School
 * Shree Vallabh Sanskar Dham's Smt. Shobhaben Pratapbhai Patel Day Boarding School
 * Shree Vallabh Ashram's MCM Kothari Girl's Residential School
 * Western Railway English Medium Secondary School

 * Affiliated with the GSHSEB
 * D.M.D.G. Municipal High School
 * Jamnabai Sarvajanik Kanya Vidyalaya
 * Maniba Sarvajanik Vidyalaya
 * Shah Khimchand Mulji Sarvajanik High School
 * St. Joseph's English Teaching High School
 * Mother Mary Public High school.
 * Bai Ava Bai High School
 * BAPS Swaminarayan Vidhyamandir
 * G.V.D. Sarvajanik High School
 * Sett Rustomjee Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy or Sett R.J.J High School
 * R.M. & V.M. Desai Vidyalaya
 * Swaminarayan High School
 * Gayatri High School
 * Kusum Vidyalaya
 * C.B High school
 * Shree I P Gandhi sarvajanik madhyamik Shala Jujva

Tourist Attraction
Tithal Beach is located near Tithal town. The sand of the beach is black. Tithal Beach Festival and the International Kite Festival are also organised on the shore of the beach.

Shree Shirdi Saibaba Sansthapan is located on the shore of the beach in Tithal town of Valsad district. The temple was established in 1982.

Shri Swaminarayan Mandir is located on the shore of the beach in Tithal town of Valsad district. This is a temple of Lord Swami Narayan.

Shantidham Aradhana Kendra in Tithal is a meditation centre.

Tadkeshwar Mahadev Temple is a Shiva temple located in Abrama and is believed to be more than 800 years old.

Morarji Desai Museum dedicated to the 5th Prime Minister of India, Morarji Desai is in Valsad. The museum was inaugurated by the former Chief Minister of Gujarat, Anandiben Patel.

Callian(Kalyan) Baug is an urban park in Valsad. In 1929, Mr. Motilal Callianji presented a donation for park to Valsad Municipality in memory of his father. In 1931, Callian Baug was opened by J.H.Garrett.

Parnera Hill, also called Parnera Dungar, is one of the tourist attractions within the city that offers great view of the city. It's located 6.5 kilometers away from the city center.

Notable people

 * Bhulabhai Desai - freedom fighter and acclaimed lawyer.
 * Bindu Desai - Hindi film actress.
 * Dadabhoy Havewala - first-class cricketer, who played for Bombay cricket team and Parsees cricket team.
 * Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara) - singer and songwriter for the British rock band Queen, whose family originated from Valsad.
 * Hemin Desai - Indian-born cricketer, who has represented Oman at the List A cricket.
 * Makarand Dave - Gujarati poet.
 * Manilal Desai - Gujarati poet.
 * Morarji Desai - former Prime Minister of India.
 * Nagindas Parekh - literary critic, editor and translator.
 * Nanubhai Vakil - a Hindi and Gujarati film director.
 * Narayan Desai - Gujarati author.
 * Nirupa Roy - Hindi film actress.
 * Pooja Jhaveri - Telugu, Tamil and Kannada film actress.
 * Pramodkumar Patel - literary critic.
 * Pratap Save - a social activist.
 * Ravindra Parekh - a writer, novelist, poet, critic and translator.
 * Rex Sellers - a former Indian-Australian cricketer.
 * Sam Manekshaw - First Field Marshal of India and former chief of army staff, India. His family hailed from Valsad, later moved to Bombay and then Amritsar.
 * Sam Balsara - Indian advertising executive.
 * Sangeita Chauhan - Indian film and television actress.
 * Sheela Sharma - Hindi and Gujarati film actress.
 * Ushnas - Gujarati poet.
 * Kanubhai Desai, MLA - Pardi Constituency and Cabinet Minister at Government of Gujarat

title: Valsad


text:
Category:Carnatic music instruments

The following is a list of instruments used in Carnatic music.

title: Category:Carnatic music instruments


text:
Talk:Kestrel (disambiguation)

 * 1) Why is this a disamb page, and not a kestrel article, like Falcon, owl, etc?
 * 2) Do all the characterists listed apply to all the group, or are they just extrapolated from Common Kestrel or American Kestrel. Please give a source, or I'm likely to cut out the charteristics or list for Vfd. jimfbleak 06:27, 6 Feb 2005 (UTC)

title: Talk:Kestrel (disambiguation)


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Daimonion

 This page is an archive of the discussion about the proposed deletion of the article below. This page is no longer live. Further comments should be made on the article's talk page rather than here so that this page is preserved as an historic record. The result of the debate was delete. Joyous 03:05, Feb 13, 2005 (UTC)

Daimonion
Nonsense. Evil Monkey∴Hello 06:34, Feb 6, 2005 (UTC)

 * INTRONDUCTORY NAME-CALLING:

 * To Evil Monkey and others: I think you are wrong, I read the deletion policy. Yes, it partially describes a hyphotetical Intelligence Increase (the I in SMILE - Space Migration, Inteligence Increase, Life Extension - see transhumanism, Timothy Learly) technique,

BUT!

 * DISCUSSION:

 * 1) It describes a real phenomenum, published and discussed by some psychologists (society of the mind), neuroscientists and philosophers of nature. Daimonions ( ~ constrained personalities (the noun phrase being an symbolic expression on a non-basic level of abstraction of a symbolic derivative of a symbol - in terms of applied memetics I agreed not tu push into WikiPedia), suggests, which is congruent with the narration of the book and my logical and symbolic dervation analysis of the plot device - your "I" is a persona tied - personality - as there are some things you'll not do, you have constraints, by catching the primodial chaos of continuum of possibilities in the web of of constraints one can define, declare and execute - willlt - the HyperLogos, one's own, unique (singleton) personality (the Self, uberdaimonion controlling all the others, though it's not absolute monarchy and needs love, attention to details, at least basic cooperation, negotiation, empathy, sympathy, ability to fold space using orange space gas (joke!), lack of cohabitation phobia, discreetion, heigtened-acute awareness of Self ("ISelf" - both noun, verb and pronoun - the essence of a me creating process resulting in a me addressed as indirect reference by me as "I", there...I really try not to confuse, you must read carefully, NOT skipping "nil" words, every word is important) - and lots more, but nobody said that becoming Ariste is easy. It's not, both in book and in the Real World). Daimonion is a constrained personality packed in a shell, frozen, marked with a name by which is later summoned and burned into something, but it does not have to be some nanocomputer embedded in the brain, which technique will reach mass market only in 72 years. There are DOCUMENTED examples of people, who DO NOT SUFFER because of mulltiple personality disorder - contrary-wise! - they are ENCHANCED and happier that before. It' real, real, real!!!
 * 2) The article is not finished. I plan to add at least twice as much and streamline (cleanup) the rest according to your definition of style. Sephira: You seem to avoid putting too many links on a page, perhaps for pragmatic reasons, perhaps for private estetic reasons - in which case I would argue if such law is appropriate in so colourful community.
 * 3) One can argue about empyrical evidence, but it's little unfair, becase we lack the machinery to read people thoghts and provide a transcript, like telephone wiretap order result. Certainly you agree, that multiple personality disorder and schizophrenia, manic depression exist and are worthy of describing in the WikiPedia? Ask yourself in presence of evidence, why not?
 * 4) It's not original research, 90% of the idea is copied directly from the book, I only streamlined it and fixed in places where it didn't click.
 * 5) I am planning to add quotes from the book to give some reference and flavour (it show very interesting technique of presenting narration, in scenes when Ariste is talking or working with the daimonions and many things happen at the same time). The daimonion concept is a central plot device and is so brilliant In My Very Humble Opinion, that it deserves to be mentioned separate from the book. Hence, it deserves a separate article.
 * 6) Did Agquarx 12:15, 11 Feb 2005 (UTC) manage to push the pendulum in You a little toward more balance in balance of power and healty dose of imbalance or maybe you have some contra-arguments? Please be civil and sensible. Please think before you act. Please don't throw out the baby with the bathwater. I propose to discuss more instead of (useless and stupid) hastily and hostile voting before discussing - you are supposed to serve the community, NOT the other way, a a final arbiter and antivandal defence field, am I right? You act too fast - I forgive you, because it's probably because of too much work fighting spamming morons and bots, but don't be fooled that it's OK, it probably did damage in the past and migt do a lot more damage in the future. -Agquarx 12:15, 11 Feb 2005 (UTC)

 * ASSOCIATED ORATORY ARGUMENT:

 * Think About The Day After Tomorrow. Cherish The Now, But Be Prepared To Face Consequences In Evernow. Are You Ready For What To Comes? Control Your Fate. Never Believe In What You Read, Including This Sentence (one can construct logically true sentence which neverless is evil and must not be executed,  never believe in words alone as the truth, examine the fruits - this is the way to separate the good and the evil). Every Generalization Is False, Including This One. Remember To Forget Often. Agree To Disagree. If You Don't See YourSelf In The Mirror, Turn On The Light. Life Is Random, Not Chaos. Stabilization Is A Path Down, On That Path Lies Danger Of Everhungry Abyss of Void. Violence Is Not The Answer, It Is The Question. Sell Your Self, You'll Gain Neutral Point Of View. Laugh At Yourself, Oftener Then At Others, When In Doubt, Be Silent. Evidence Might Be Self-Evident, Know Thy Source, Know Thy Body, Know Thy Self. -Agquarx 12:15, 11 Feb 2005 (UTC), self-quoting closure of virulent memes and coroutines, a little tongue-in-cheek, but trying heavily to understand your motives, feel with-you, touch your minds in a communion (communication entry needs a small amendment...) and avoid the obvious, not succumb to the primal anger of a parent defending a child.

 * ASSOCIATED CALL TO THE VOICE OF REASON:

 * BASIC HYPOTESIS: We are Fighting for the better future rather as an sephira of Athena/Minerva, NOT Ares/Zeus. FOLLOWS: Being a Real Man DOES NOT IMPLY forbidden from thinking like a woman. IMPLICATION: Athena (she) will propose a treaty terminating war even before it begins using the intristic human ability to reason and empathy, which only need to be perfected by training, she can drain out the will to fight from opposing sides to win without a single battle - the mu strategy of warfare, which is HARD in { this } universe, because you flow against the gradient of entropy, thus you need to possess Wisdom BILATERAL RELATION (if assuming super! abstraction) or NEGATED IMPLICATION @ Ares (he) will attack at random closest locus of decreased entropy and kill'em'all and then take pictures of bloody corpses of children after raping everthing at reach including trees and vegetables - this is the penultimate strategy of warfare and is EASY in { this } universe, because you flow with the gradient of entropy, thus even Reason is not required, though MIGHT help, depends. HYPOTHESIS FROM IMPLICATION: Gods and Goddesses are useful as device for effective reasoning, for they embody an essence of an idea, each and every one from any mythology you choose to study (or believe in, then it's { this } plus a person and the willt).

 * ASSOCIATED CALL TO THE VOICE OF LOVE:

 * For people who are not scared of somewhat abstracted mysticism combined with reason, logic and scientific method: The Tree of War brings death, famine, pestilence, pain, mourning, destruction, tears, lost hope and the end of the world. The Tree of Knowledge brings neverending stream of tasty, nutrituous, healthy, useful fruit. The Tree of Life guides us toward the better option, to avoid the end of the world. One only has to listen, examine own motives often, discuss own deepest assumptions, possitive disintegrate to nuorish Mind and make it closer to perfect, possitive dissociate to nuorish Self, to bring own contribution into this melting pot of minds dancing, trembling, to the pulsing rhytm of a common idea-machine, pumping out the darkness of the Night of fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD) ( the sequence prepending { this } bracket expression (ASSUMPTION: while reading, rules of English are added with replacement into reasoning process - from left to right, from top to bottom) should be accompanied by a song called "All Souls Night" created by entity named "Loreena McKenniit", I'm deadly serious { here }, feel free to test it by empyrical experiment - there is free audio media and lyrics on the home page, easy to find by googling (estimated lost time: 3 minutes)). It does not matter if you are artifical or spontaneously generated or a member of a phyla or phyle - differences should be encouraged to assert surtival, similarities should be praised to assert civilization and community.
 * grok?

-Agquarx 12:15, 11 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * SIDE NOTE TO INVOKE MUTUAL TOLLERANCE:

 * Sometimes I might sound vague or null. Sometimes I use a wrong word. Sometimes I make speling mistakes in sense of wrong chain of letters and in sense of executing the craft of spellweaving (which might be poetically described as an act and action and acting of surfing on a standing wave of language). Please assume good intentions, to avoid (annullify the void) logical fallacy of reverse assumption which almost always leads to invalid conclusions (in this sentence I mixed three different levels of symbolic abstraction, sorry if it is nonsense to you, I try not to confuse). English is not my mothers' tongue. The answer to question "Why don't you edit the native language version of WikiPedia then?" is "Because I don't feel native. I chose to use English, because it is the most liquid language of a few from the set of languages that I know and am able to express myself in rightly ("rightly" means EXISTS: formally correct according to syntax rules of language as much as I am able to AND logically coherent AND true at higher level of abstraction as much as I am able to AND beautiful AND good as in higher good as much as I am able to AND in me-independent-transmission-protocol hollistic unilateral closed relation system of corresponence of truth' symbol and it's detivatives, ONTO as many levels of abstraction and expression of symbols and symbolic derivatives as I am able to AND in as little body of signals as I am able to AND in as little of relations of relative dependency AT other terms for the target to grok as I able to)).
 * Howgh. Agquarx 12:15, 11 Feb 2005 (UTC)

 * NOBODY EXPECTS LOGIC INQUISITION:

 * P.S. The notion of "foobar can be included" CAUSAL DEPENDENCY: "it will be widely known" COMBINED IMPLICATION: "what is not widely known, should not be incuded because it is not widely known so it should not be included" IMPLICATES "foobar is not widely known" and is a beautiful example of wrong (destructive) argument, imperfect reasoning, circular logic, power of self-assertions to create empty truth, logical fallacy and nonsense. Agquarx 12:15, 11 Feb 2005 (UTC)

 * It makes sense as the description of some thing in a science fiction book. Not useful outside the context of the book though, so I'd split Aristoi (novel) out of Aristoi and merge it into that. Daimonion would disambig between that and Socrates. Kappa 08:25, 6 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete. Trilobite (Talk) 16:56, 6 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * DON'T DELETE How can you sincirely write such causes? Do you have at least a bit of imagination? Didn't I provide multiple reasons for realizing the concept in the Real World? You seem to be on a sacred task to hunt down all of my articles and delete them, while showing nil coprehension of the topic and providing bogus explanations. Daimonions not useful? Have you got any real arguments against this concept or simply like to make other people miserable? Agquarx 17:10, 6 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Oh, of course. I knew that this had the tang of familiarity about it.  From the people that brought you Ego surfing (already itself up for deletion at Votes for deletion/Ego surfing), Datastream (roll the history back to the original), Datapackets (already itself up for deletion at  Votes for deletion/Datapackets) random wikification of ordinary words in various articles, flamebait additions to Poland, the psychedelia that is Template:Love (up for deletion at WP:TFD), and the new "Memetics:" namespace.  That vandalism watch is now called for.  Delete. Uncle G 19:08, 2005 Feb 6 (UTC)
 * Delete. but cleanup, as a description of a fictional entity, and separate into different articles if different topics are present. - Omegatron 18:47, Feb 6, 2005 (UTC)
 * I'd want independent verification of the existence of the fictional entity, or even the book, myself. Uncle G 19:08, 2005 Feb 6 (UTC)
 * The book exists, but you're right that this is derived from a plot device. - Omegatron 20:10, Feb 6, 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete. The article says that this is a term derived from a plot device used in a novel.  (Note the passive mode, it doesn't say by whom it was derived.) Even if it then proceeded to elaborate on that plot device in the context of the novel, the article should be deleted, since we don't need separate articles for things invented by novelists for their creations, unless they become more generally notable (e.g. grok).    But that isn't what this article does: instead it launches off onto a personal essay/original research/speculation which verges on nonsense.  That is even worse, and is eminently deletable.   --BM 19:19, 6 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete this and any other fabrications by this user. humblefool® 20:14, 6 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete. Wile E. Heresiarch 04:49, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete. What a load of (well see the state of a road after a large mounted procession has passed). 81.152.25.75 23:04, 11 Feb 2005 (UTC)

This page is now preserved as an archive of the debate and, like some other VfD subpages, is no longer 'live'. Subsequent comments on the issue, the deletion, or the decision-making process should be placed on the relevant 'live' pages. Please do not edit this page.


text:
BRE

BRE, Bre, or BrE may refer to:

Computing

 * Barren Realms Elite, a multi-player bulletin board system strategy game
 * Basic regular expression, expressions used for computerized text matching
 * Business rules engine, a software system to manage and execute business rules

Science

 * B recognition element, a DNA sequence
 * benign Rolandic epilepsy, a syndrome
 * BRE (gene), human gene
 * Bloom–Richardson–Elston grading system for breast cancer

Organisations

 * Building Research Establishment, institution in United Kingdom

Language

 * BrE, common abbreviation for British English
 * bre (interjection)
 * Breton language (SIL language code)

Transport

 * Bremen Airport, Germany (IATA code)
 * Brentwood railway station (National Rail station code BRE)

Other uses

 * Bachelor of Religious Education
 * Berkeley Review of Education, an academic journal
 * Brè, a village in Switzerland
 * Brecknockshire, historic county in Wales, Chapman code
 * Bre people, an ethnic group in Burma
 * Bustle Rack Extension, a storage bin mounted on the rear of the M1 Abrams tank's bustle rack
 * Brock Racing Enterprises → Pete Brock

title: BRE


text:
Bur (disambiguation)

A bur or burr is a type of seed or fruit with short, stiff bristles or hooks.

Bur, Burs, BUR, etc. may also refer to:

Places

 * Baverd, also known as Būr, a village in Hormozgan Province, Iran
 * Bur, Denmark, a railway town in West Jutland, Denmark
 * Bur, Iran, a village in Hamadan Province
 * Bur, Yemen, a village in the Hadhramaut Governorate
 * Bur (river), Yakutia, Russia
 * Burkina Faso, "BUR" is the International Olympic Committee country code for the country in Africa

Transportation

 * Hollywood Burbank Airport, in Burbank, California, with IATA airport code BUR

Other

 * MGK Bur, a Russian grenade launcher
 * Burmese language (ISO 639-2 code)
 * Burs (Dacia), a Germanic tribe
 * BUR, an abbreviation of a type of roof covering system on flat roofs called a built up roof
 * BUR, an abbreviation of Biblioteca Universale Rizzoli, an imprint of Rizzoli Libri
 * Bur or Burr (cutter), a small cutter used in rotary tools for metalworking
 * Burl in US English, the equivalent of burr or bur in UK English, an irregular growth in trees

title: Bur (disambiguation)


text:
Chyhyryn

Chyhyryn (Чигирин, ; Czehryń, ) is a city in Cherkasy Raion, Cherkasy Oblast, central Ukraine. It is located on Tiasmyn river not far where it enters Dnieper.

From 1648 to 1669, the city served as the residence of the hetman of the Zaporizhian Host. After a forced relocation of the Ruthenian Orthodox metropolitan see from Kyiv in 1658, it became a full-fledged capital of the Cossack Hetmanate. Among Metropolitans who served out of Chyhyryn were family of Tukalsky: Dionysius Balaban-Tukalskyi and Joseph Tukalskyi-Nelyubovych. Chyhyryn also became a traditional place for the appointment to the office of the hetman of the Zaporizhian Host.

Since the 17th century, the significance of the settlement was diminished to a semi-rural populated place. It hosts the administration of Chyhyryn urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Population:

Names
Chyhyryn (Чигирин; Turkish: Çigirin or Çehrin; Чигирин; Czehryń). On older maps it is often shown in Polish/Turkish-like transcription Czehrin (see Ch (digraph)).

History
The area (1320–1569) had been part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It was ceded to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (in the Kijów Voivodeship of the Crown of Poland) before the Union of Lublin. It was granted Magdeburg Rights in 1592 by Sigismund III Vasa.

Chyhyryn is first mentioned as a fortified Cossack winter station. In 1638, Bohdan Khmelnytsky became its starosta (regional leader), and in 1648 it became the newly elected Hetman's residence and the capital of the Cossack state, the Zaporozhian Host. During the Russo-Turkish War (1676–1681) it was the center of two bloody campaigns (1675–76 and 1677–78). In 1678 the castle of Chyhyryn was blown up by the retreating Russian garrison that was stationed there, while the Turkish forces sacked the rest of the city. After this, it gradually lost its significance. The city fell under Ottoman occupation but was later recovered by the Cossacks while the Ottomans were busy in the Battle of Vienna. It remained the center of the Chyhyryn regiment until 1712. In 1790 the 8th Polish National Cavalry Brigade was stationed in Czehryń and in 1792 the 4th Polish Vanguard Regiment was stationed there. It was annexed by the Russian Empire in the Second Partition of Poland (1793), and became part of the Kyiv region.

In 1917 a congress of Free Cossacks took place in Chyhyryn. At that congress by tradition Pavlo Skoropadsky was elected as the Hetman of the Cossacks (later in 1918 in Kyiv, he was elected the Hetman of Ukraine as well).

During World War II, Chyhyryn was occupied by the German Army from August 7, 1941 to December 12, 1943.

In 1989 the population of the city was 12,853.

Until 18 July 2020, Chyhyryn served as an administrative center of Chyhyryn Raion. The raion was abolished in July 2020 as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the number of raions of Cherkasy Oblast to four. The area of Chyhyryn Raion was merged into Cherkasy Raion.

Language
Distribution of the population by native language according to the 2001 census:

Location
The city is on the banks of Tiasmyn River and lies at an altitude of 124 metres above mean sea level. Minor industries, such as food and furniture factories, are the basis of the town economy in the 21st century.

Landmarks
The Trinity Monastery, built near Chyhyryn in 1627, was later destroyed by the Soviet authorities. Other historical landmarks, such as the town hall and Khmelnytsky's palace, did not survive either. After Ukraine regained independence, Hetman's residence was restored and became a museum.

Notable people

 * Georgy Danilov, linguist
 * Bohdan Khmelnytsky, hetman
 * Kateryna Yushchenko, scientist

Twin towns — Sister cities
Chyhyryn is twinned with:

title: Chyhyryn


text:
BEL

BEL can be an abbreviation for:

 * The ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 country code for Belgium
 * BEL or bell character in the C0 control code set
 * Belarusian language, in the ISO 639-2 and SIL country code lists
 * Bell railway station, Melbourne
 * Bharat Electronics Limited, an Indian state-owned aerospace and defence electronics company
 * Bellingham (Amtrak station), Washington, United States; Amtrak station code BEL
 * Behind Enemy Lines (disambiguation)
 * Val de Cães International Airport 3-letter IATA airport code in Belém, Brazil
 * The ICAO code for Brussels Airlines, a Belgian airline.

title: BEL


text:
Athanasios Kafkalides

Dr. Athanassios Kafkalides was a Greek neuropsychiatrist. He was born in 1919 and he died in 1989 while in Athens. He graduated in medicine from the University of Athens and took post-graduate courses in neurology, experimental neurophysiology, neurosurgery and psychiatry at the Prince of Wales General Hospital, the Institute of Neurology in London, the Serafimer Lazarettet and the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, and the Eginition Hospital in Athens. From 1960 to 1987 he devoted a great deal of time to clinical research into the field of psychedelic psychotherapy, using drugs such as LSD, psilocybin and ketamine. At the IV World Congress of Psychiatry in Madrid, in 1966, he delivered a paper on the subject of intrauterine life, pioneering the field of pre- and perinatal psychology. He delivered further papers on intrauterine experiences and their repercussions at the VI International Congress of Psychotherapy (Wiesbaden, 1967), the Panhellenic Congress of Psychiatry in Salonica (1972), Athens (in 1975), and at the Congress of Preventive Psychiatry (Athens, 1979).

He was invited to Cyprus by the Pancypriot Society of Mental Health to give a series of lectures on experiences during intrauterine life and their effects on everyday life [1980]. In 1983-1984 he was invited to Australia, where he gave a series of lectures on his clinical research with ketamine. He has published several papers on LSD and its psychotherapeutic application in Annales Medico-psychologiques de Paris (1963), in Exerpta Medica (1968), and in Proceedings of the IV World Congress of Psychiatry, Madrid (1966).

His two major works, The Knowledge of the Womb,  and The Power of the Womb, were first published in Greece in 1980 and 1987.

His work on prenatal and perinatal psychology resonates with the work of his contemporaries like Stanislav Grof, who arrived at similar conclusions regarding how early fetal and neonatal experiences affect the human psyche and how psychedelic psychotherapy can help access those states.

Selected bibliography

 * Kafkalides A. (1963). Application thérapeutique de la diéthylamide de l'acide d-lysergique (Delyside ou LSD-25) sur les psychonévroses, Annales médico-psychologiques, Paris, t. 2, 121e année, no 2, pp. 191– 200.
 * Kafkalides A.(1966). A Case of homosexuality treated with LSD-25. Proceedings of the IV World Congress of Psychiatry, Madrid.
 * Kafkalides A.(1966). Intra-uterine security: The cause of the Oedipus and Electra Complexes in two cases treated with LSD25. paper presented at the International Congress of Psychotherapy, Wiesbaden.- see The International Journal of Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Medicine, V. 8, No 4, p. 427-431, December 1996.
 * Kafkalides A. (1975). Causes of Sexual Conflicts - Effects on Behavior, communiqué at the VII Panhellenic Congress of Psychiatry, Athens.
 * Kafkalides A. (1980). Η Γνώση της Μήτρας. Η Αυτοψυχογνωσία με Ψυχοδηλωτικά φάρμακα. Ολκός.
 * Kafkalides A. (1983). The rejecting womb, Lecture given at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, December 1983.
 * Kafkalides A. (1987). Η Δύναμη της Μήτρας και η «Υποκειμενική Αλήθεια». Ελεύθερος Τύπος.
 * Kafkalides A. (1989). Αυτοψυχογνωσία. Εκδόσεις Οδυσσέας.
 * Kafkalides A. (1998). The Power of the Womb and the “Subjective Truth”, Triklino House.
 * Kafkalides A. (2005). The Knowledge of the Womb, Autopsychognosia with Psychedelic Drugs, Authorhouse, USA. ISBN 978-1418484415

title: Athanasios Kafkalides


text:
User talk:Viper Viper

Dynasty Warriors
I see you are a fan of Dynasty Warriors, so I made a wiki on it. I would like to invite you to be a member on my wiki,just go to Wikicities,then type in Dynasty Warriors, and finnally type your username in the New Member list. We dont have much yet but soon we will with your help. Whopper 02:00, 17 January 2006 (UTC)

...Nice
Nice name, dude. A bit odd, neh? Too bad Flameviper12 was already taken, eh?

Flip Merav 21 00:07, 3 June 2006 (UTC)

title: User talk:Viper Viper