Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Butön & The Second Propagation of Buddhism in Tibet (11th c. AD)

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Second Propagation…..(Tibetan, phyi-dar). "The second period of the organized dissemination of Buddhist teachings and texts in Tibet during the 11th century…... The Nyingma tradition maintains the teaching cycles and texts that were introduced during the earlier dissemination, or ngadar (snga dar) at the height of Tibet’s imperial power. This is in contrast to the various so-called new, or sarma (gsar ma) schools (Kadam, Kagyu, Gelug, etc) that adhere to texts and teachings that were introduced during the later phase of dissemination, or chidar (phyi dar), from the late tenth century onward."… http://www.treasuryoflives.org/foundations/view/7

"Butön’s foray into editorship, for which he may be best known in modern times. Butön made enormous effort to determine precisely what should and should not be included in the Tibetan canon, excluding (controversially) everything without a persuasive Indian pedigree"….https://tibetan-biographies.wikischolars.columbia.edu/A+brief+biography+of+Buton+Rinchen+Drub

Buton Rinchen Drub (Tibetan: བུ་སྟོན་རིན་ཆེན་གྲུབ་, Wylie: Bu-ston Rin-chen Grub), (1290-1364), 11th Abbot of Shalu Monastery, was a fourteenth-century Sakya master and Tibetan Buddhist leader…..Buton was born in 1290, "to a family associated with a monastery named Sheme Gomne (shad smad sgom gnas) in the Tropu (khro phu) area of Tsang ... [his] father was a prominent Nyingma Lama named Drakton Gyeltsen Pelzang (brag ston rgyal btshan dpal bzang, d.u.). His mother, also a Nyingma master, was called Sonam Bum (bsod nams 'bum, d.u.)."…..Buton catalogued all of the Buddhist scriptures at Shalu, some 4,569 religious and philosophical works and formatted them in a logical, coherent order. He wrote the famous book, the History of Buddhism in India and Tibet at Shalu which many Tibetan scholars utilize in their study today…..After his death he strongly influenced the development of esoteric studies and psychic training in Tibet for centuries. The purpose of his works were not to cultivate paranormal magical abilities but to attain philosophical enlightenment, a belief that all earthly phenonoma are a state of the mind. He remains to this day one of the most important Tibetan historians and Buddhist writers in the history of Buddhism and Tibet…..http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buton_Rinchen_Drub

"Buton famously excluded from his Kangyur the Nyingma tantras, which he considered to be inauthentic, which is to say, not the words of the Buddha. This claim was based on the inconsistently invoked Tibetan standard by which a purportedly translated scripture was deemed authentic only when an Indic original was attested. Both Tibetan and western scholars have suggested that Buton, working in an era of institutional prejudice against the Nyingma tradition, used the standard selectively. For example, despite its continued importance in his own Sakya tradition and the existence of Sanskrit material attesting to its Indic origin, he excluded the Vajrakīla, a tantric system that dated back to Imperial times which was regarded by some partisans as belonging to a corrupted Nyingma tradition. In the Blue Annals Go Lotsāwa Zhonnu Pel ('gos lo tsA ba gzhon nu dpal, 1392-1481) criticized Buton for excluding the Guhyamūla Tantra from the Kangyur, despite the fact that he did include in the Tengyur Vajrahāsa's Guhyasamājaṭīka, which quotes extensively from that tantra."….http://www.treasuryoflives.org/biographies/view/Buton-Rinchen-Drub/2845

Butön Rinchen Drup (Wyl. bu ston rin chen grub) (1290-1364) — a great scholar of the Sarma tradition who compiled the Tibetan Buddhist canon (Kangyur). His lineage is called Shalupa after the name of the place where he mostly resided, Shalu Monastery, near Shigatsé in Central Tibet. His personal writings include a celebrated history of Buddhism (Wyl. bu ston chos byung)…..Bu sTon, History of Buddhism in India and Tibet, translated by E. Obermiller, Sri Satguru, 1932

Sarma (Wyl. gsar ma) — the New Schools of Tibetan Buddhism which followed the later translations made from the time of the great translator Rinchen Zangpo (958-1055) onwards, i.e. Kagyü, Sakya and Gelug.

"Kālachakra practice today in the Tibetan Buddhist schools[e…..Buton Rinchen had considerable influence on the later development of the Gelug and Sakya traditions of Kālachakra, and Dolpopa on the development of the Jonang tradition on which the Kagyu, Nyingma, and the Tsarpa branch of the Sakya draw. The Nyingma and Kagyu rely heavily on the extensive, Jonang-influenced Kālachakra commentaries of Ju Mipham and Jamgon Kongtrul the Great, both of whom took a strong interest in the tradition. The Tsarpa branch of the Sakya maintain the practice lineage for the six branch yoga of Kālachakra in the Jonang tradition…..There were many other influences and much cross-fertilization between the different traditions, and indeed His Holiness the Dalai Lama has asserted that it is acceptable for those initiated in one Kālachakra tradition to practice in others…..http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalachakra

"Another understated aspect of Butön’s career, though perhaps only from a much later perspective, is attitude toward the controversial other-emptiness view associated with the tathatgatagarbha and Kalachakra literatures. Butön was a well known critic of this view, which became a major point of contention in the decades following…..https://tibetan-biographies.wikischolars.columbia.edu/A+brief+biography+of+Buton+Rinchen+Drub

"Mahasamghika Origins: The Beginnings of Buddhist Sectarianism"; Charles Prebish and Janice J. Nattier. History of Religions, 16, 3 (February, 1977), 237-272.

Language…."The Tibetan historian Buton Rinchen Drub wrote that the Mahāsāṃghikas used Prākrit, the Sarvāstivādins used Sanskrit, the Sthaviravāda used Paiśācī, and the Saṃmatīya used Apabhraṃśa……Yao, Zhihua. The Buddhist Theory of Self-Cognition. 2012. p. 9

Zhalu Monastery……Situated between Zhikatsé (gzhis ka rtse) to the northwest and Gyantsé (rgyal rtse) to the southeast, Zhalu Monastery (zhwa lu dgon) has played an important role in the cultural life of Tsang (gtsang) since at least the fourteenth century. Renowned for both its artistic and literary achievements, it was home to Nepalese artisans painting murals, teams of scribes creating fine volumes of Buddhist canonical literature, and a lively community of scholars, monks, and yogic practitioners from throughout Tibet…..http://places.thlib.org/features/22253/descriptions/1302

"…..we spent a day at Zhalu Monastery, the home of the fourteenth century Kalachakra master Buton Rinchen Drup. In addition to the extraordinary mandala wall murals that we viewed in depth, we were privileged to gaze in awe at Buton's personal meditation statue of the Kalachakra while considering its symbolism……http://www.jonangfoundation.org/blog/kalachakra-tibet-pilgrimage

Shalu Monastery (Tibetan: ཞྭ་ལུ།, Wylie: Zhwa-lu, ZYPY: Xalu; simplified Chinese: 夏鲁寺; traditional Chinese: 夏魯寺; pinyin: Xiàlǔ Sì) is small monastery 22 km south of Xigazê in Tibet. Founded in 1040 by Chetsun Sherab Jungnay, for centuries it was renowned as a centre of scholarly learning and psychic training and its mural paintings were considered to be the most ancient and beautiful in Tibet. Shalu was the first of the major monasteries to be built by noble families of the Tsangpa during Tibet's great revival of Buddhism, and was an important center of the Sakya tradition......In 1329 a devastating earthquake demolished the temple of Shalu but was later rebuilt in 1333 by local lords under the command of the Mongol Emperor of China. The new architectural framework of the monastery was dominated by Mongolian styles with massive inward-sloping walls around a main courtyard and strong woodwork and glazed roof tiles from Qinghai. At the time of the new establishment in the 1330s, Shalu Temple was under the command of the 11th Abbot Buton Rinchen Drub, who lived 1290–1364. Buton was not merely a capable administrator but he is still remembered to this very day as a prodigious scholar and writer and is Tibet's most celebrated historian. Buton catalogued all of the Buddhist scriptures at Shalu, some 4,569 religious and philosophical works and formatted them in a logical, coherent order. He also wrote there the famous History of Buddhism in India and Tibet which many Tibetan scholars use in their study today."

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Email....okarresearch@gmail.com

John Hopkins.....Northern New Mexico….November 2013

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Monday, November 25, 2013

Ancient Central Asian Kingdoms: Bakhdhi, Markanda, Mouru (600 BC)

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"Bakhdhi is the fourth nation in the Avestan Vendidad's list of nations - Airyana Vaeja (homeland of the Aryans) being the first. Bakhdhi is the ancient Avestan name while Balkh is the modern name for both the region and its old capital city….During the middle period of Aryan history - as the Aryans moved west from Airyana Vaeja towards present day Iran - Bakhdhi (Balkh as its is known today) became the principle kingdom of the Aryan confederation of kingdoms called Airan, and the eponymous city of Balkh was its capital. As the seat of Aryan rule moved westward to what is the Iranian province of Khorasan today, Balkh became part of greater Khorasan and remained an important regional capital as well as a cultural and trading centre. ….http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/balkh/

"The Kingdom of Bactria was renowned through the known world for it beauty, abundant crops, and a large variety of fruits. There are several almond and apricot orchards. While certain parts of Balkh are still relatively fertile, war and poor leadership has reduced the once famed land to a dusty shadow of its former self."….http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/balkh/

Iran Vej (Middle Persian for Airyana Vaeja)

"Bakhdhi would come to be known as Bakhtrish during Achaemenian times (675 - 330 BC), Bactra city and greater Bactria from the Greek version of its name during Alexander's and the Seleucid occupation (330 - c. 246 BC), and briefly Takharistan or Toharistan after the overthrow of the Seleucids. In 246 BCE, allied with Parthava (Parthia), Bakhdhi (Balkh) was one of the first Aryan nations to revolt against Seleucid rule. The "great and noble city" as Marco Polo called it, was destroyed by first by the Arabs and eventually by Mongols in 1220CE. Today, the site of the kingdom and its ancient city is called Balkh, and the once mighty kingdom has been reduced to the fairly small province in Afghanistan. Balkh's provincial capital is now Mazar-e Sharif, a city some twenty kilometres east of Balkh city. Our discussion on Bakhdhi includes the Greater Bakhdhi lands."…http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/balkh/

Kayanian Dynasty…"Balkh's King Vishtasp (in later language, Gushtasp), a king of the Kayanian dynasty, was a contemporary of Zarathushtra. Vishtasp accepted Zarathushtra's teachings and became the patron king and defender of Zarathushtra's Mazdayasni faith. ..The founder and first king of the Kayanian dynasty was Kai Kobad (also spelt Kay Qobad or simply Kaikobad) known to the Zoroastrian scriptures, the Avesta, by his older name Kavi Kavata. On the north Tajikistan bank of the Amu Darya River, close to the archaeological site of Takht-e Sangin, is a site called Takht-e Kobad meaning the throne of Kobad. About 40 km to the north along the banks of a tributary of the Amu Darya lies another site called Kai Kobad Shah meaning King Kai Kobad. We are not aware of any other region that ties itself so directly with the Kayanians. ….."….http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/balkh/

Bukkara….Bukhara (Uzbek: Buxoro; Persian: بخارا‎; Russian: Бухара Bukhara; Turkish: Buhara), from Sanskrit vihara or Soghdian βuxārak ("lucky place"), is the capital of the Bukhara Province (viloyat) of Uzbekistan…..Located on the Silk Road, the city has long been a center of trade, scholarship, culture, and religion. ….Bukhara has been one of the main centres of World Civilization from its early days in 6th century BCE. From the 6th century CE, Turkic speakers gradually moved in. Its architecture and archaeological sites form one of the pillars of Central Asian history and art. The region of Bukhara was a part of the Persian Empire for a long time. The origin of many of its current inhabitants goes back to the period of Aryan immigration into the region….http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bukhara

Markanda……Samarkand (Uzbek: Samarqand Самарқанд; Persian: سمرقند‎; Russian: Самарканд from Sogdian: "Stone Fort" or "Rock Town"; Mongolian: Самарканд from "Nut Rock" or "Hard Rock"), alternately Samarqand or Samarcand is the second-largest city in Uzbekistan and the capital of Samarqand Province. The city is most noted for its central position on the Silk Road between China and the West….Sanskrit texts, the original name of Samarkand was "Markanda", named after the Vedic saint of the same name - Markanda. The Greeks later referred to the city as Maracanda, which is a corruption of its former Sanskrit name…Along with Bukhara, Samarkand is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world, prospering from its location on the trade route between China and the Mediterranean (Silk Road). At times Samarkand has been one of the greatest cities of Central Asia......http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samarkand

Mouru……. The kingdom of Mouru (Merv) lay to Bakhdhi's northwest and west….(Turkmen: Merw, Persian: مرو‎ Marw), formerly Achaemenid Satrapy of Margiana, and later Alexandria and Antiochia in Margiana (Greek: Αντιόχεια της Μαργιανής), was a major oasis-city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, located near today's Mary in Turkmenistan. Several cities have existed on this site, which is significant for the interchange of culture and politics at a site of major strategic value. It is claimed that Merv was briefly the largest city in the world in the 12th century…Merv's origins are prehistoric: archaeological surveys have revealed many traces of village life as far back as the 3rd millennium BC and that the city was culturally part of the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex. Under the name of Mouru, Merv is mentioned with Balkh in the geography of the Zend-Avesta (Sīstān/Arachosia, Herat, Merv and Bactria)…… Under the Achaemenid dynasty Merv is mentioned as being a place of some importance: under the name of Margu it occurs as part of one of the satrapies in the Behistun inscriptions (ca. 515 BC) of the Persian monarch Darius Hystaspis. The first city of Merv was founded in the 6th century BC as part of the expansion into the region by the Achaemenid Empire…. of Cyrus the Great (559–530 BC), but the Achaemenid levels are deeply covered by later strata at the site...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merv

Haroyu…..the kingdom of Haroyu (Harirud) lay across the south-western border of Bakhdhi…..http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/balkh/

"History very literally flows through and around Bakhdhi. The central portion of a river famous in legend and history, the Amu Darya River - the section that is downstream from the Sherabad River - formed the border between Bakhdhi and Sughdha (the second ) in the northwest of Bakhdhi. The upper part of the Amu Darya River - upstream from the Sherabad River - ran through the heart of eastern Bakhdhi until it entered the Badakhshan / Pamir region. Across the Amu Darya, the kingdom of Sugd lay to the north, while the Badakhshan region and Pamir mountains lay to the east and northeast. The kingdom of Mouru (Merv) lay to Bakhdhi's northwest and west, and the kingdom of Haroyu (Harirud) lay across its south-western border. ….The southern and south-eastern borders of Bakhdhi was formed by the Hindu Kush (meaning Hindu killer) mountains. The name Hindu Kush leads us a believe that the fifteenth Avestan nation, Hapta Hindu, the seven Indus lands, lay across the Hindu Kush, the mountains forming the border between the two nations, and further that the relations between the two neighbours on either side of the Hindu Kush were not always peaceful."…..http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/balkh/

Click on the map to enlarge

Aryan Trading Roads (later called Silk Roads) c. 4,000 - 2,000 BC......http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/aryans/trade.htm

"Aryan Trade Roads ……The Aryans started trading between themselves in the expanded lands formed by their migrations very early in their history, and there is evidence of their trade during the Neolithic (new) Stone Ages, that is, towards the end of the Stone Age some 7,000 years ago… lapis lazuli played a very special and significant role, since the Pamir-Badakshan region was home to the only lapis mine known in those early days...….As with all the other Avestan Vendidad nations, Balkh lay on the Aryan Trade Roads (also called the Silk Roads) and was a significant centre of trade as well as caravan a stop over point. Balkh lay at the junction of the east-west route (between China and Asia Minor) and the north-south route between Merv, the northern lands beyond and India in the south. The route through Balkh was the preferred route for traders between the west and India as it was shorter and provided the easiest route through the Hindu Kush. "…..http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/balkh/

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Email....okarresearch@gmail.com

John Hopkins.....Northern New Mexico….November 2013

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Sunday, November 24, 2013

Legendary, Mythical, Mystical, Historical and Magical Reality

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"The Ancient Egyptians viewed reality as multi-layered in which deities who merge for various reasons, while retaining divergent attributes and myths, were not seen as contradictory but complementary."….Oxford Guide to Egyptian Mythology, Donald B. Redford (Editor), p. 106,

Myth ….A traditional story, esp. one concerning the early history of a people or explaining some natural or social phenomenon, and typically involving supernatural beings or events….."the heroes of Greek myth"

Legend….A traditional story sometimes popularly regarded as historical but unauthenticated……"the legend of King Arthur"….A legend (Latin, legenda, "things to be read") is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude (the appearance of being true or real.)….. In its earliest English-language usage, the word indicated a narrative of an event.

"Historical reality" refers to the real facts and events of the past as they occurred historically, whether they were external or internal to the subject confronted by them. In general, historical reality stands opposed to wishful fantasies"….International Dictionary of Psychoanalysis, by the Gale Group, Inc.

Folk Tale…..The Brothers Grimm defined legend as folktale historically grounded…..Folklore (or lore) consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales, stories, tall tales, and customs included in the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group.

Fable…..a story, typically a supernatural one incorporating elements of myth and legend….Fable is a literary genre. A fable is a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, mythical creatures, plants, inanimate objects or forces of nature which are anthropomorphized (given human qualities such as verbal communication), and that illustrates or leads to an interpretation of a moral lesson

Fairy Tale…..A children's story about magical and imaginary beings and lands….A fairy tale (pronounced /ˈfeəriˌteɪl/) is a type of short story that typically features European folkloric fantasy characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants, mermaids, or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. Fairy tales may be distinguished from other folk narratives such as legends (which generally involve belief in the veracity of the events described)[1] and explicitly moral tales, including beast fables.

Mysticism….a religion based on mystical communion with an ultimate reality….. (from the Greek μυστικός – mystikos- 'seeing with the eyes closed, an initiate of the Eleusinian Mysteries; μυστήρια – mysteria meaning "initiation") is the pursuit of achieving communion, identity with, or conscious awareness of ultimate reality, the Other, divinity, spiritual truth, or God through direct experience, intuition, or insight….Practices associated with mysticism include meditation and contemplative prayer. Mysticism can be distinguished from ordinary religious belief by its emphasis on the direct personal experience of unique states of consciousness,.

"Herodotus (/hɨˈrɒdətəs/; Ancient Greek: Ἡρόδοτος Hēródotos) was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria (modern day Bodrum, Turkey) and lived in the fifth century BC (c. 484–425 BC). He has been called "The Father of History" (firstly conferred by Cicero), and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent, and arrange them in a well-constructed and vivid narrative. The Histories—his masterpiece and the only work he is known to have produced—is a record of his "inquiry" (or ἱστορία historía, a word that passed into Latin and acquired its modern meaning of "history"), being an investigation of the origins of the Greco-Persian Wars and including a wealth of geographical and ethnographical information."…..New Oxford American Dictionary, "Herodotos", Oxford University Press

"Epic or Saga?…..The word saga is the Norse word for a song or recitation detailing the acts of founding members of a lineage or society, including the circumstances of those events. A saga often includes accounts of intrigue, betrayal, and bloody battle……An epic is similar, but the word has an ancient Greek origin. The current connotation is that the action has a divine or higher context, although it may be no less bloody. We have included these definitions here because more than one web author considers the term "epic" to be disparaging when used with regard to The Mahabharata, The Ramayana and other such long poems."…..http://www.khandro.net/langnlit_Gesar.htm

"The Epic of the Poet Ferdowsi Tusi……The Shahnameh, Book of Kings, is an epic composed by the Iranian poet Hakim Abul-Qasim Mansur (later known as Ferdowsi Tusi), and completed around 1010 CE. ….[Ferdowsi means 'from paradise', and is derived from the name Ferdous (cf. Avestan pairi-daeza, later para-diz then par-des or par-dos, arabized to fer-dos). Tusi means 'from Tus'. In the poet's case, the name Ferdowsi Tusi became a name and a title: The Tusi Poet from Paradise.] …..The epic chronicles the legends and histories of Iranian (Aryan) kings from primordial times to the Arab conquest of Iran in the 7th century CE, in three successive stages: the mythical, the heroic or legendary, and the historic."…..http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/shahnameh/index.htm

"Sanskrit literature (such as the epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana, the Puranas, and the Vedas)…..In the period of Classical Sanskrit, much material is preserved in the Sanskrit epics. Besides mythology proper, the voluminous epics also provide a wide range of information about ancient Indian society, philosophy, culture, religion, and ways of life. The two great Hindu Epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata tell the story of two specific incarnations of Vishnu (Rama and Krishna). These two works are known as Itihasa. The epics Mahabharata and Ramayana serve as both religious scriptures and a rich source of philosophy and morality."….http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_mythology

Legend of Avalon or Ynys Afallon in Welsh (probably from the Welsh word afal, meaning apple) is a legendary island featured in the Arthurian legend. It first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 1136 pseudohistorical account Historia Regum Britanniae ("The History of the Kings of Britain") as the place where King Arthur's sword Excalibur was forged and later where Arthur was taken to recover from his wounds after the Battle of Camlann. Avalon was associated from an early date with mystical practices and people such as Morgan le Fay.

Homer's Iliad…."The Iliad (sometimes referred to as the Song of Ilion or Song of Ilium) is an ancient Greek epic poem in dactylic hexameter, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy (Ilium) by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles….The Iliad is paired with something of a sequel, the Odyssey, also attributed to Homer. Along with the Odyssey, the Iliad is among the oldest extant works of Western literature, and its written version is usually dated to around the eighth century BC.."…..http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iliad

Legendary Warrior King, Gesar of Ling…."Gesar of Ling is considered the world's last living epic. In primarily oral traditions, specific people (such as the bards of the ancient Celts) are charged with the duty of remembering and narrating the legend….there is no single version of King Gesar's deeds. The Gesar repertoire, known throughout the vast Himalayan region, contains material that could fill 37 volumes. And, like the Homeric epics, it existed in the oral tradition for generations before it was ever written down."….http://www.khandro.net/langnlit_Gesar.htm

"One Thousand and One Nights (Arabic: كتاب ألف ليلة وليلة‎ Kitāb alf laylah wa-laylah) is a collection of West and South Asian stories and folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age……The work was collected over many centuries by various authors, translators, and scholars across West, Central, South Asia and North Africa. The tales themselves trace their roots back to ancient and medieval Arabic, Persian, Indian, Egyptian and Mesopotamian folklore and literature. In particular, many tales were originally folk stories from the Caliphate era, while others, especially the frame story, are most probably drawn from the Pahlavi Persian work Hazār Afsān (Persian: هزار افسان‎, lit. A Thousand Tales) which in turn relied partly on Indian elements.[…..What is common throughout all the editions of the Nights is the initial frame story of the ruler Shahryār (from Persian: شهريار‎, meaning "king" or "sovereign") and his wife Scheherazade (from Persian: شهرزاد‎, possibly meaning "of noble lineage"…..Ulrich Marzolph, Richard van Leeuwen, Hassan Wassouf,The Arabian Nights Encyclopedia (2004)

"Pilgrim to the West in the Tang Dynasty: a book Xuanzang and Bian Ji compiled. It recorded geography, people, customs, history, religions, languages and cultures of about 140 countries, which provided precious data for studying history and geography. It is another big travelogue after Records of the Buddhist Kingdoms written by Fa Xian, a respectable monk in Jin Dynasty (265-420). In Pilgrim to the West in the Tang Dynasty, besides the descriptions of many Buddhist sites such as Bamiyan's Buddha and Nalanda Temple, dozens of Buddhist legends were also recorded. Due to its comprehensive and vivid content, it was translated into English, Germany, French and Japanese and widely spread. It is the precious document for the research of China and the world cultural exchange, Buddhism history and national history. In archaeological excavation, experts referred to the clues provided in the book and successfully discovered the sites of many famous temples such as Nalanda Temple, Rajagaha and Sarnath Temple, which fully shows that a great deal of information was accurately placed on record."

Shambhala…."In Tibetan Buddhist and Indian Hindu/Buddhist traditions, Shambhala (also spelled Shambala or Shamballa; Tibetan: བདེ་འབྱུང་; Wylie: bde 'byung, pron. de-jung; Chinese: 香巴拉; pinyin: xiāngbālā) is a mythical kingdom hidden somewhere in Inner Asia. It is mentioned in various ancient texts, including the Kalachakra Tantra and the ancient texts of the Zhang Zhung culture which predated Tibetan Buddhism in western Tibet. The Bön scriptures speak of a closely related land called Olmolungring…..Hindu texts such as Vishnu Purana mention Shambhala as the birth place of Kalki, the final incarnation of Vishnu who will usher in a new Golden Age (Satya Yuga)…..Whatever its historical basis, Shambhala gradually came to be seen as a Buddhist Pure Land, a fabulous kingdom whose reality is visionary or spiritual as much as physical or geographic. It was in this form that the Shambhala myth reached the West, where it influenced non-Buddhist as well as Buddhist spiritual seekers — and, to some extent, popular culture in general."…..http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shambhala

"Magical Realism is a genre where magic elements are a natural part in an otherwise mundane, realistic environment..... "what happens when a highly detailed, realistic setting is invaded by something too strange to believe".....The existence of magical elements in the real world provides the basis for magical realism. Writers don't invent new worlds but reveal the magical in this world, as was done by Gabriel García Márquez who wrote the seminal work of the style, One Hundred Years of Solitude. In the binary world of magical realism, the supernatural realm blends with the natural, familiar world."

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Email....okarresearch@gmail.com

John Hopkins.....Northern New Mexico….November 2013

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Saturday, November 23, 2013

Obi-Rakhmat Grotto (57,000 BC)

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"Northwestern Central Asia has recently been the focus of archaeological research due to the fact that this territory represents a “transitional bridge” connecting the most ancient human populations of East Asia with western Eurasia during the Paleolithic. Information accumulated during the past 10 to 15 years provides new insight into the Stone Age history of human culture in Northwestern Central Asia, particularly the history of the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition. Initial Upper Paleolithic (IUP) industries in this region were based on several variants in the technological evolution of stone reduction strategy. Industries of this kind have been reported from many regions: Central and Southeastern Europe (Bo- hunice and Stranska Skala); Southwest Asia (Boker- Tachtit); western Central Asia (Obi-Rakhmat and Khudji); and the Gorny (Mountainous) Altai (Kara-Bom and Ust-Karakol-1) (Svoboda and Bar-Yosef 2003; Brantingham et al. 2004). "……http://ejournal.anu.edu.au/index.php/bippa/article/viewFile/4/3

Map of the Republic of Uzbekistan indicating the location of Obi-Rakhmat Cave and the topography of the site....Click on the map to enlarge.

"The Obi-Rakhmat Grotto (N 41° 34’ 08,8"; E 70° 08’ 00,3"; 1,250 m above sea level (asl) is located 100 km northeast of Tashkent in the Republic of Uzbekistan (Fig- ure 1). It lies in the western Tian Shan, a region character- ized by diverse ecological conditions. The Central Asian desert borders it to the south, the Kazakhstan steppe and desert territories stretch to the north, and the eastern Tian Shan massif is situated to the east. The topography of the region consists of mid-elevation mountain ranges contain- ing few high peaks. The site is located at the southwestern end of the Koksui mountain range in the western Tian Shan, near the junction of the Chatkal and Pskem Rivers, in the valley of the Paltau River, a tributary of the Chat- kal. In the lower reaches of the Paltau, a shallow ravine stretching from north to south for about 500 m approaches the river. The ravine originates at a massive cliff of Pa- leozoic limestone containing the Obi-Rakhmat Grotto."…..http://ejournal.anu.edu.au/index.php/bippa/article/viewFile/4/3

"…..the Tian Shan, even during glacial periods, the land was not completely covered by ice. Glaciers descended from the mountains and filled some depressions and valleys, while other valleys preserved their forest and meadow vegetation communities……the western Tian Shan during the Late Pleistocene. Even so, the fluvial valleys and the north- facing slopes of mountain ranges, where environmental conditions were comparatively humid, were occupied by maple, birch, walnut, hornbeam, pistachio, and other broad and small-leaved species. Coniferous trees, includ- ing pine, spruce, and fir, grew higher up in the mountains. The northern and southern faces of mountains of medium high elevation were occupied by open woodland and meadow-steppe grass niches. ….The analysis of the Obi-Rakhmat archaeological materials provides us with data suggesting a process of gradual transition from the Middle to Upper Paleolithic occurring in western Central Asia. The chronometric dates available for the site indicate that the developmental processes de- scribed above occurred prior to 50,000 years ago….. the Obi-Rakhmat culture represents an early stage of a transitional industry. The initial stages of its formation occurred as early as about 50,000 years ago, and the formation of its Upper Paleolithic tool kit was completed by 44,000-42,000 years ago. The immediate predecessor of this culture has not yet been identified……"….THE LITHIC INDUSTRY OF OBI-RAKHMAT GROTTO, UZBEKISTAN……http://ejournal.anu.edu.au/index.php/bippa/article/viewFile/4/3

"Anghilak cave, Uzbekistan: ….Neandertal occupation at the periphery…In 1938, Okladnikov excavated the cave site of Teshik-Tash in the Baisun region of Uzbekistan and found a complete cranium of a Neandertal child (Okladnikov 1939). This discovery anchored the eastern boundary of the Neandertal range in Uzbekistan and linked the manufacture of Mousterian assemblages from the region to this hominid group….Researchers have noted the general similarities between Central Asian Mousterian assemblages and those from the Zagros-Taurus, Trans-Caspian, and Altai regions, supporting the association between these assemblages and the Neandertals (Vishnyatsky and Liubin 1995)……http://antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/glantz/glantz.html

Click on the map to enlarge.

Political map of Central Asia with an insert of a digital elevation map capturing the Uzbek regions of Samarkand, Kashkadariya and Surkhandariya. Previously known Middle and Upper Paleolithic sites are indicated in white and black and Anghilak cave, a new Middle Paleolithic site, is shown in red….Balkh is in the center of the map. (Map P. Hughes)….http://antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/glantz/glantz.html

"In 1997 a human mandibular second deciduous incisor was discovered during excavations at the central Asian Middle Paleolithic site of Khudji, Tajikistan. The specimen was associated with a late Middle Paleolithic assemblage in a minimally disturbed cultural layer. The specimen is average in size for Late Pleistocene archaic human di(2)s and differs from many late archaic human di(2)s in having minimal marginal ridges and tapering markedly distally. In these features it resembles a minority of specimens from the later Pleistocene."……http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10715197

"The Pleistocene is the geological epoch which lasted from about 2,588,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the world's recent period of repeated glaciations…..The end of the Pleistocene corresponds with the end of the last glacial period….The Younger Dryas stadial, also referred to as the Big Freeze,was a geologically brief (1,300 ± 70 years) period of cold climatic conditions and drought which occurred between approximately 12,800 and 11,500 years ago….The Younger Dryas stadial is thought to have been caused by the collapse of the North American ice sheets, although rival theories have been proposed. "……http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleistocene

"Future excavations at Anghilak cave will address a number of unresolved questions concerning the Middle Paleolithic and the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition in this important intersection of the Old World. New discoveries in the Kashkadariya region of Uzbekistan offer a unique stage on which to test existing assumptions about the geographic limits of Neandertal occupation, the nature of the interaction between modern humans and Neandertals and finally, the presumed association between specific lithic traditions and hominid groups."……http://antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/glantz/glantz.html

"Obi-Rakhmat Grotto sits just west of the Kyrgyzstan border. It is a very rich in archaeology… Obi-Rakhmat has been studied for over 45 years, where Anghilak Cave is a more recent discovery. There aren’t as many Levallois debitage in Anghilak as Obi-Rakhmat. According to the authors, the archaeology of Anghilak appears to be analogous to those of Kunji Cave, Iran (a Paleolithic site with small retouched tools). Preliminary radiocarbon dates from Anghilak suggest it is somewhere between 43,900-38,100 years old. Only one human remain was recovered from Anghilak, a metatarsal…..lots of elongated Levallois blade blanks have been recovered. There is also a large zooarchaeological record, which shows taphonomic modification by humans, i.e. cut-marks, burning, etc……Obi-Rakhmat deposits have been dated with AMS radiocarbon dating of charcoal, U-series dating of travertines, and electron spin resonance (ESR) on ungulate teeth. The radiocarbon dates exceeded the limits of the method, the U-series suggests the deposits are anywhere from 70,000–100,000 years old. ESR from the top strata date to 57,000–73,000 years old, while the bottom strata is dated to be 87,000 years old. The human remains from Obi-Rakhmat are represented by 6 isolated permanent maxillary teeth and over 120 crania fragments."…..http://anthropology.net/tag/anghilak/

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Email....okarresearch@gmail.com

John Hopkins.....Northern New Mexico….November 2013

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Friday, November 22, 2013

Maha Ati & Atiyoga Dzogchen

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Dzogchen Explorations

Okar Research

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"Maha Ati is a term coined by Chögyam Trungpa, a master of the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages of Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism. He generally preferred to introduce Sanskrit rather than Tibetan terms to his students, and felt "Maha Ati" was the closest equivalent for "Dzogchen," although he acknowledged it was an unorthodox choice. The coinage does not follow the sandhi rules which would be rendered as mahāti."….http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maha_Ati

"Maha Ati: Natural Liberation Through Primordial Awareness is a general introductory overview of the path popularly known as Tibetan Buddhist Dzogchen. It is based in the Longchen Nyingthik tradition, Rigdzin Jigme Lingpa’s (1730-1798) revision of Kunkhyen Longchen Rabjam’s (1308-1363) original transmission of Maha Ati. Longchen Nyingthik is rooted in the Nyingmapa or “Ancient School” synonymous with the “Early Dissemination of the [Buddhist] Doctrine” as it found its way to Tibet from India prior to the end of the tenth century CE. The essay also attempts, by way of comparison, to place this tradition side by side with indigenous Bonpo Dzogchen, the doctrines of the Kagyupa, and the “New Translation” schools of Tibetan Buddhism. In these practices the ground from which imagination resolves itself in apparent phenomena is revealed…..http://www.buddhistgeeks.com/2010/05/maha-ati-natural-liberation-through-primordial-awareness/

"From a series of posts on the 'Dzogchen Community of Chogyal Namkhai Norbu' thread in the 'Dzogchen' forum:..the order of the colors of the 5 elements depends on the practice.... there are two systems......The Thun system: space, air, water, fire, earth. (e yam bam ram lam) [blue, green, white, red, yellow]......The Longsal system (which is the classical order of Indian cosmology): space, air, fire, water, earth (e yam ram bam lam). [blue, green, red, white, yellow]......Also these very same seed syllables in the latter system are also found in precisely the same order in Hindu element purification practice.".....http://www.dharmawheel.net....Thigle

"According to Tibetan Buddhism and Bön, Dzogchen (Rdzogs chen or Atiyoga) is the natural, primordial state or natural condition, and a body of teachings and meditation practices aimed at realizing that condition. Dzogchen, or "Great Perfection", is a central teaching of the Nyingma school also practiced by adherents of other Tibetan Buddhist sects. According to Dzogchen literature, Dzogchen is the highest and most definitive path to enlightenment."…. Keown, Damien. (2003). A Dictionary of Buddhism, p. 82. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-860560-9.

"The first Nirmanakaya—incarnate master—of Maha Ati was Vajrayanaguru Garab Dorje (dGa’rab rDo rje), whose name means “Vajra of Supreme Happiness” and of whom it was said, “At the very instant of having mind nature pointed out, [he] became a fully enlightened Buddha without having undergone any training whatsoever.” …..Garab Dorje transmitted Maha Ati to various Indian masters including Manjusrimitra, who obtained instant realization simply by observing a gesture of “direct introduction” from his master."…..http://www.buddhistgeeks.com/2010/05/maha-ati-natural-liberation-through-primordial-awareness/

"Manjusrimitra passed the Maha Ati teaching “beyond the karmic law of cause and effect” to Shri Singha, who transmitted it to Padmasambhava, Vimalamitra, Vairochana the translator, and Jnanasutra. Three “classes” or divisions of Maha Ati Yoga are attributed to three of these masters, the first two: sem-dhe, the Mind class, and long-dhe, the Space class, were introduced by Vairochana, while man-ngag-dhe, the Instruction, or “Secret Instruction” class, was transmitted by Vimalamitra and Padmasambhava. Two important practices complete the “Secret Instruction” class phase of Maha Ati, beyond the quality of “clarity” found in the initial Mind Class, and the “empty” quality of the secondary Space Class. These practices are known as trekcho, “cutting through” to primal purity, akin to the solve phase of the famous alchemical dictum solve et coagula (dissolve and coagulate -and you will achieve mastery), and thogal, “direct leap” into spontaneous presence…"..http://www.buddhistgeeks.com/2010/05/maha-ati-natural-liberation-through-primordial-awareness/

"Atiyoga (Skt.; Tib. ཤིན་ཏུ་རྣལ་འབྱོར་, Wyl. shin tu rnal 'byor) — the highest yana within the classification of nine yanas of the Nyingma school. Atiyoga is synonymous with Dzogchen."….http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Atiyoga

"Ati-yoga, the self-liberated state, is based on the direct experiential knowledge of the primordial state, the joining (or realization of the inseparability) of what is known as the Path (or: Child) and Mother Luminosity. The other three primary Tibetan Buddhist religious schools, the Kagyudpa (bKa’ rgyud pa), the Sakyapa (Sa skya pa) and the Gelugpa (dGe lugs pa) list the following as higher tantras, or Anuttara Tantras: 1. Pitri-yoga: Father Tantras. 2. Matri-yoga: Mother Tantras. 3. Advitya-yoga: Non-Dual Tantras. {{8}} Although scholars clinging to this school of thought or that disagree on this point, Advitya-yoga is essentially indistinguishable from Advaita Vedanta’s ultimate non-dual realization."…..http://www.buddhistgeeks.com/2010/05/maha-ati-natural-liberation-through-primordial-awareness/

"Advaita developed in a multi-faceted religious and philosophical landscape. The tradition developed in interaction with the other traditions of India, Buddhism, Vaishnavism and Shaivism, as well as the other schools of Vedanta….During the Vedic period (1500–600 BCE) the Rishis formulated their religio-philosophical and poetical visions, which are further explored in the Upanishads, the jnāna-kānda of the Vedas."….http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advaita_Vedanta

"In Ramana Maharshi’s contemporary elucidation of ancient Vedic non-dualism through self-enquiry, sadhanas can support ultimate realization. They are “pointing to” instructions and practices that literally ground the resulting experiences and prepare one for the relinquishment of conceptualization….There is an interesting connection between Ramana’s “Who am I?” and Dzogchen master Namkhai Norbu’s frontispiece to his book The Supreme Source: “This ‘I’ is your true state: the primordial Buddha, the supreme source of manifestation.”……http://www.buddhistgeeks.com/2010/05/maha-ati-natural-liberation-through-primordial-awareness/

"The Blue Pancake….There is a dimension of surprise that we never thought of, we never expected. We never expected the sky to drop on our head……A teaching on maha ati by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche….Maha ati teachings talk of enormous space. In this case, it is not space as opposed to a boundary, but a sense of total openness…..Ati yoga teaching or discipline is sometimes defined as that which transcends coming, that which transcends going, and that which transcends dwelling. ….From the perspective of ati, the rest of the yanas are trying to comfort us: "If you feel separate, don't worry. There is non-duality as your saving grace. Try to rest your mind in it. Everything is going to be okay. Don't cry." In contrast, the approach of ati is a blunt and vast attitude of total flop, as if the sky had turned into a gigantic pancake and suddenly descended onto our head, which ironically creates enormous space. That is the ati approach, that larger way of thinking, that larger view…..http://www.shambhala.org/teachers/vctr/bluepancake.html

"Buddhism has a number of schools, primarily divided into the hinayana, mahayana and vajrayana traditions, and squabbling goes on among all of them. They all speak the language of totality, and every one of them claims to have the answer…. The hinayanists may say that they have the answer because they know reality. The mahayanists may say that the bodhisattva is the best person that we could ever find in the world. Tantric practitioners may say that the most fantastic person is the powerful and crazy yogi who is unconquerable and who has achieved siddhis and magical powers of all kinds. Let them believe what they want. It's okay. But what do those things mean to us personally, as students who want to practice and who want to experience the teachings?"….. The Blue Pancake….A teaching on maha ati by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche...http://www.shambhala.org/teachers/vctr/bluepancake.html

"Our ordinary approach to reality and truth is so poverty stricken that we don't realize that the truth is not one truth, but all truth. It could be everywhere, like raindrops, as opposed to water coming out of a faucet that only one person can drink from at a time. Our limited approach is a problem. It may be our cultural training to believe that only one person can get the truth: "You can receive this, but nobody else can." But from the point of view of ati, there is "all" dharma rather than "the" dharma. The notion of "one and only" does not apply anymore. If the gigantic pancake falls on our head, it falls on everybody's head……In some sense it is both a big joke and a big message. You cannot even run to your next-door neighbor saying, "I had a little pancake fall on my head. What can I do? I want to wash my hair." You have nowhere to go. It is a cosmic pancake that falls everywhere on the face of the earth. You cannot escape-that is the basic point. From that point of view, both the problem and the promise are cosmic……If you are trying to catch what I am saying, quite possibly you cannot capture the idea. In fact, it is quite possible that you do not understand a word of it. You cannot imagine it in even the slightest, faintest way. But it is possible that there are situations that exist beyond your logic, beyond your system of thinking. That is not an impossibility. In fact it is highly possible."….. The Blue Pancake….A teaching on maha ati by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche...http://www.shambhala.org/teachers/vctr/bluepancake.html

"The three inner tantras are mahayoga, anuyoga, and atiyoga or dzogchen.."....http://www.deinayurveda.net/wordpress/2010/03/anuyoga-tibetan-studies-conference/

(1999). The Essential Chogyam Trungpa. Boston, Massachusetts: Shambhala Publications, Inc. p. 196. ISBN 1-57062-466-6.

Chogyam Trungpa - The Way of Maha Ati.....http://www.scribd.com/doc/24041101/Chogyam-Trungpa-The-Way-of-Maha-Ati

Maha Ati: Natural Liberation Through Primordial Awareness by John Eberly

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Email....okarresearch@gmail.com

John Hopkins.....Northern New Mexico….November 2013

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Neanderthals in Central Asia (30,000 BC)

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"The Neanderthals or Neandertals are an extinct species of the genus Homo, possibly a subspecies of Homo sapiens. They are closely related to modern humans, differing in DNA by only 0.3%, just twice the variability across contemporary humans. Remains left by Neanderthals include bones and stone tools, which are found from western Europe to central Asia. The species is named after Neandertal ("Neander's Valley"), the location in Germany where it was first discovered…..The first humans with proto-Neanderthal traits are believed to have existed in Europe as early as 600,000–350,000 years ago…..The exact date of their extinction is disputed. Fossils found in the Vindija Cave in Croatia have been dated to between 33,000 and 32,000 years old, and Neanderthal artifacts from Gorham's Cave in Gibraltar are believed to be less than 30,000 years old, but a recent study has redated fossils at two Spanish sites as 45,000 years old, 10,000 years older than previously thought, and may cast doubt on recent datings of other sites. Cro-Magnon (early-modern-human) skeletal remains showing some "Neanderthal traits" have been found in Lagar Velho (Portugal) and dated to 24,500 years ago, suggesting that there may have been an extensive admixture of the Cro-Magnon and Neanderthal populations in that region."….http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neanderthal

" There is no evidence to date that Neanderthals knew how to construct boats or rafts, and the paucity of human fossils in North Africa west of the Nile Valley should be noted…..It appears incorrect, based on present research and known fossil finds, to refer to any fossils outside Europe or Western and Central Asia as true Neanderthals. They had a known range that possibly extended as far east as the Altai Mountains, but not farther to the east or south, and apparently not into Africa. At any rate, in North-East Africa the land immediately south of the Neanderthal range was possessed by modern humans Homo sapiens idaltu or Homo sapiens, since at least 160,000 years before the present."…..http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neanderthal

"Anghilak cave, Uzbekistan: ….Neandertal occupation at the periphery…In 1938, Okladnikov excavated the cave site of Teshik-Tash in the Baisun region of Uzbekistan and found a complete cranium of a Neandertal child (Okladnikov 1939). This discovery anchored the eastern boundary of the Neandertal range in Uzbekistan and linked the manufacture of Mousterian assemblages from the region to this hominid group….Researchers have noted the general similarities between Central Asian Mousterian assemblages and those from the Zagros-Taurus, Trans-Caspian, and Altai regions, supporting the association between these assemblages and the Neandertals (Vishnyatsky and Liubin 1995)……http://antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/glantz/glantz.html

Political map of Central Asia with an insert of a digital elevation map capturing the Uzbek regions of Samarkand, Kashkadariya and Surkhandariya. Previously known Middle and Upper Paleolithic sites are indicated in white and black and Anghilak cave, a new Middle Paleolithic site, is shown in red….Balkh is in the center of the map. (Map P. Hughes)….http://antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/glantz/glantz.html

"Denisova Cave (Денисова пещера, also Ayu-Tash) is a cave in the Bashelaksky Range of the Altai mountains, Siberia, Russia. The cave is of great paleoarchaeological and paleontological interest. Bone fragments of the Denisova hominin, sometimes called the "X woman" (referring to the maternal descent of mitochondrial DNA) originate from the cave, including artifacts dated to ~40,000 BP. The cave is located in a region thought to be inhabited concurrently in the past by Neanderthals and modern humans…..the indigenous Altay people call it Ayu-Tash (Bear Rock). In the 1970s, Soviet scientists discovered paleoarcheological remains in the cave that led to further explorations. So far, 22 strata have been identified, with archeological artifacts that cover the time from Dionisij back to about 125,000-180,000 years ago……Among the archeological artifacts are Mousterian- and Levallois-style tools attributed to Neanderthals. Beside tools, researchers found decorative objects of bone, mammoth tusk, animal teeth, ostrich egg shell, fragments of a stone bracelet made of drilled, worked and polished dark green chloritolite, and pendants. The average annual temperature of the cave remains at 0°C (32°F), which has contributed to the preservation of archaic DNA among the remains discovered."….http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denisova_Cave

“The fact that Neanderthals in Europe were nearly extinct, but then recovered, and that all this took place long before they came into contact with modern humans came as a complete surprise to us. This indicates that the Neanderthals may have been more sensitive to the dramatic climate changes that took place in the last Ice Age than was previously thought”, says Love Dalén, associate professor at the Swedish Museum of Natural History in Stockholm."…..http://frontiersofzoology.blogspot.com/2012/03/neanderthal-family-tree-reflects.html

"There are several points that come to mind, from the specific to the general. First, from what I gather Neandertals were actually less expansive in pushing the northern limits of the hominin range than the modern humans who succeeded them. From this many suppose that despite the biological cold-adapted nature of the Neandertal physique they lacked the cultural plasticity to push the range envelope (e.g., modern humans pushed into Siberia, allowing them to traverse Beringia). One might infer from this that Neandertals were more, not less, sensitive to climate changes than later human populations. Second, there is the fact that as the northern hominin lineage one would expect that Neandertals would be subject to more population size variations than their cousins to the south during the Pleistocene due to cyclical climate change. This is not just an issue just for Neandertals, but for slow breeding or moving organisms generally. The modern human bottleneck is in some ways more surprising, because modern humans derive from a warmer climate. Finally, there is the “big picture” issue that though we throw these northern adapted hominins into the pot as “Neandertals,” one shouldn’t be surprised if they exhibit structure and variation. Non-African humans have diversified over less than 100,000 years, at a minimum the lineages which we label Neandertals were resident from Western Europe to Central Asia for ~200,000 years. Wouldn’t one expect a lot of natural history over this time?"…..http://frontiersofzoology.blogspot.com/2012/03/neanderthal-family-tree-reflects.html

"Future excavations at Anghilak cave will address a number of unresolved questions concerning the Middle Paleolithic and the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition in this important intersection of the Old World. New discoveries in the Kashkadariya region of Uzbekistan offer a unique stage on which to test existing assumptions about the geographic limits of Neandertal occupation, the nature of the interaction between modern humans and Neandertals and finally, the presumed association between specific lithic traditions and hominid groups."……http://antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/glantz/glantz.html

"Obi-Rakhmat Grotto sits just west of the Kyrgyzstan border. It is a very rich in archaeology… Obi-Rakhmat has been studied for over 45 years, where Anghilak Cave is a more recent discovery. There aren’t as many Levallois debitage in Anghilak as Obi-Rakhmat. According to the authors, the archaeology of Anghilak appears to be analogous to those of Kunji Cave, Iran (a Paleolithic site with small retouched tools). Preliminary radiocarbon dates from Anghilak suggest it is somewhere between 43,900-38,100 years old. Only one human remain was recovered from Anghilak, a metatarsal…..lots of elongated Levallois blade blanks have been recovered. There is also a large zooarchaeological record, which shows taphonomic modification by humans, i.e. cut-marks, burning, etc……Obi-Rakhmat deposits have been dated with AMS radiocarbon dating of charcoal, U-series dating of travertines, and electron spin resonance (ESR) on ungulate teeth. The radiocarbon dates exceeded the limits of the method, the U-series suggests the deposits are anywhere from 70,000–100,000 years old. ESR from the top strata date to 57,000–73,000 years old, while the bottom strata is dated to be 87,000 years old. The human remains from Obi-Rakhmat are represented by 6 isolated permanent maxillary teeth and over 120 crania fragments."…..http://anthropology.net/tag/anghilak/

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Email....okarresearch@gmail.com

John Hopkins.....Northern New Mexico….November 2013

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Thursday, November 21, 2013

Africa to Central Asia Migration (50,000 BC)

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"In paleoanthropology, the recent African origin of modern humans, frequently dubbed the "Out of Africa" theory, is the most widely accepted model describing the geographic origin and early migration of anatomically modern humans…..the 'Recent African Origin' (RAO) model concept was speculative until the 1980s, when it was corroborated by a study of present-day mitochondrial DNA, combined with evidence based on physical anthropology of archaic specimens."….McBride B, Haviland WE, Prins HEL, Walrath D (2009). The Essence of Anthropology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing. p. 90. ISBN 978-0-495-59981-4.

"Coastal migration theory in Asia and Oceania….The coastal route is primarily used to describe the initial peopling of the Arabian peninsula, India, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, Australia, coastal China and Japan,and is linked with the presence and dispersal of mtDNA haplogroup M and haplogroup N, as well as the specific distribution patterns of Y-DNA haplogroup C and haplogroup D, in these regions.The theory proposes that humans, likely similar to the Negritos or Proto-Australoids of modern times, arrived in the Arabian peninsula from Africa, then on the southern coastal regions of the Indian mainland, followed by spread to the Andaman Islands and modern-day Indonesia, and thence branching southwards to Australia and northwards towards Japan. National Geographic's Genographic Project uses the term 'Coastal Clan' to describe the initial human groups of Y-DNA haplogroup C who expanded eastwards out from Africa along the coastal route around 50 thousand years ago...."…."The Genographic Project: Genetic Markers, Haplogroup D (M174)", National Geographic, 2008, "... Haplogroup D may have accompanied another group, the Coastal Clan (haplogroup C) on the first major wave of migration out of Africa around 50,000 years ago. Taking advantage of the plentiful seaside resources, these intrepid explorers followed the coastline of Africa through the southern Arabian Peninsula, India, Sri Lanka, and Southeast Asia. Alternatively, they may have made the trek at a later time, following in the footsteps of the Coastal Clan ..."

"The first migration from Africa was around the southern shores of the Arabian Peninsula and down the coast of India to the Kerala area on the western tip of South India, about 70,000 to 50,000 years ago. The oldest genetic person outside of Africa has been found in Kerala (Woods, Wells). In neighboring Tamil Nadu, geneticists testing DNA of local peoples, genes have been found from 50-60,000 years ago. In Kerala there are ancient Brahman chants (mantras) that appear to be unrelated to any known language (Woods). These chants have been passed down for centuries – precisely sounded and taught from one generation to another. They have patterns but no known meaning. The sounds and rhythms have been related to birds, perhaps from a time when our speech patterns evolved from animal sounds."…http://www.drsheedy.com/early-humans/up-to-12-000-years-ago.php

"By studying the DNA of an ancient people in Malaysia, a team of geneticists says it has illuminated many aspects of how modern humans migrated from Africa….The Orang Asli people, north of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, were studied by geneticists who traced their mitochondrial DNA from Africa….The geneticists say there was only one migration of modern humans out of Africa; that it took a southern route to India, Southeast Asia and Australia; and that it consisted of a single band of hunter-gatherers, probably just a few hundred people strong…Dr. Macaulay's team calculates that the emigration from Africa occurred 65,000 years ago, pushed along the coasts of India and Southeast Asia and reached Australia by 50,000 years ago, the date of the earliest known archaeological site there….."….http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/13/science/13migrate.html?_r=0

"Genetic studies and fossil evidence show that archaic Homo sapiens evolved to anatomically modern humans solely in Africa, between 200,000 and 150,000 years ago, that members of one branch of Homo sapiens left Africa by between 125,000 and 60,000 years ago, and that over time these humans replaced earlier human populations such as Neanderthals and Homo erectus. The date of the earliest successful "out of Africa" migration (earliest migrants with living descendants) has generally been placed at 60,000 years ago as suggested by genetics….A growing number of researchers also suspect that "long-neglected North Africa" was the original home of the modern humans who first trekked out of the continent…..studies in 2013 showed close genetic relationship between Australian, New Guinean, and the Mamanwa people, with divergence times for these groups estimated at 36,000 y ago. Further, substantial gene flow was detected between the Indian populations and aboriginal Australians, indicating an early "southern route" migration out of Africa, and arrival of other populations in the region by subsequent dispersal……Other scientists have proposed a Multiple Dispersal Model, in which there were two migrations out of Africa, one across the Red Sea travelling along the coastal regions to India (the Coastal Route), which would be represented by Haplogroup M. Another group of migrants with Haplogroup N followed the Nile from East Africa, heading northwards and crossing into Asia through the Sinai."….http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recent_African_origin_of_modern_humans#cite_ref-HavilandPrins2009_1-0

"….The group that crossed the Red Sea travelled along the coastal route around the coast of Arabia and Persia until reaching India, which appears to be the first major settling point. Haplogroup M is found in high frequencies along the southern coastal regions of Pakistan and India and it has the greatest diversity in India, indicating that it is here where the mutation may have occurred.[67] Sixty percent of the Indian population belong to Haplogroup M….."….Metspalu M, Kivisild T, Metspalu E, Parik J, Hudjashov G, Kaldma K, Serk P, Karmin M, Behar DM, Gilbert MT, Endicott P, Mastana S, Papiha SS, Skorecki K, Torroni A, Villems R (August 2004). "Most of the extant mtDNA boundaries in south and southwest Asia were likely shaped during the initial settlement of Eurasia by anatomically modern humans". BMC Genet. 5: 26. doi:10.1186/1471-2156-5-26. PMC 516768. PMID 15339343.

Click on the map to enlarge

Genographic Test Reveals Darwin’s Ancestry......by Ford Cochran on February 4, 2010......http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2010/02/04/genographic_test_reveals_darwi/

"…From Arabia to India the proportion of haplogroup M increases eastwards: in eastern India, M outnumbers N by a ratio of 3:1. However, crossing over into East Asia, Haplogroup N reappears as the dominant lineage. M is predominant in South East Asia but amongst Indigenous Australians N reemerges as the more common lineage. This discontinuous distribution of Haplogroup N from Europe to Australia can be explained by founder effects and population bottlenecks."…Ingman M, Gyllensten U (July 2003). "Mitochondrial genome variation and evolutionary history of Australian and New Guinean aborigines".

"…. there is general but not complete agreement that modern humans emigrated from Africa in recent times, there is still a difference between geneticists and archaeologists about its a timing. Archaeologists tend to view the genetic data as providing invaluable information about the interrelationship between groups, but they place less confidence in the dates derived from genetic family trees…..There is no evidence of modern humans outside Africa earlier than 50,000 years ago, said Dr. Richard Klein, an archaeologist at Stanford. Also, if something happened 65,000 years ago to allow people to leave Africa, as Dr. Macaulay's team suggests, there should surely be some record of that in the archaeological record in Africa, Dr. Klein said. Yet signs of modern human behavior do not appear in Africa until 50,000 years ago, the transition between the Middle and Later Stone Ages, he said."….http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/13/science/13migrate.html?_r=0

"…Anatomically-modern humans evolved from archaic Homo sapiens in the Middle Paleolithic, about 200,000 years ago. The emergence of anatomically-modern human marks the dawn of the subspecies Homo sapiens sapiens, i.e. the subspecies of Homo sapiens that includes all modern humans. The oldest fossil remains of anatomically-modern humans are the Omo remains, which date to 195,000 (±5,000) years ago and include two partial skulls as well as arm, leg, foot and pelvis bones….Cro-Magnon (i/kroʊˈmænjən/ or US pronunciation: /kroʊˈmæɡnən/; French: [kʁomaɲɔ̃]) is a name that has been used to describe the first early modern humans (early Homo sapiens sapiens) of the European Upper Paleolithic.[1] Current scientific literature prefers the term European Early Modern Humans (EEMH), to the term 'Cro-Magnon' which has no formal taxonomic status, as it refers neither to a species or subspecies nor to an archaeological phase or culture. The earliest known remains of Cro-Magnon-like humans are radiocarbon dated to 43,000 years before present."….http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomically_modern_humans

"…Anatomically modern humans first emerged in East Africa, some 100,000 to 200,000 years ago. An exodus from Africa over the Arabian Peninsula around 60,000 years ago brought modern humans to Eurasia, with one group rapidly settling coastal areas around the Indian Ocean and one group migrating north to steppes of Central Asia."…. Major upper paleolithic sites in Europe. "Atlas of human journey: 45 - 40,000". The genographic project. National Geographic Society. 1996-2010.

"….Neanderthals in India…The Levalloisian assemblages discovered in Sindh, which display very characteristic features, among which are faceted and "chapeau de gendarme" butts, can be attributed to Middle Paleolithic human activity in the area, most probably related with the south-easternmost spread of Homo neanderthalensis. This species might haver reached the Indian Subcontinent either from the Anatolia-Caucasus-Mesopotamia corridor or across the southern regions of the Arabian Peninsula"….They conjecture that the Indus delta was a geographic barrier……These "Levalloisian" assemablages are a lithic technology (stone chipping) which is characteristic of Neanderthal stone working or Mousterian tool culture which dates to the Fourth or Würm Glacial Period some 40,000 years ago. Mousterian tools spanned the period between 300,000 and 30,000 BP, and disappeared with the demise of the Neanderthal."…. Paolo biagi and Elisabetta Starnini, (2011). Neanderthals at the South-Easternmost edge: The spread of Levalloisisan Mousterian in the Indian Subcontinent.

…..Excerpt from the "Rajatarangini of Kalhana….
"...we shall know how over two thousand years before the Christian era (2000 BC)…… bands of pastoral and agricultural tribes left their homes in Iran or Bactria and settled on the fertile banks of the five rivers of the Punjab. We shall know how they clustered together in small villages under their petty kings or chiefs ; tended their cattle on the banks of rivers ; cleared forests to introduce a rude sort of sericulture ; and lived at first a semi-nomad and rude life. We shall know how they fought with the black dwellers of the country and defended and extended their settlements by their strong right arm ; how they worshipped the sun, the sky, the fire, find whatever else was sterling and beautiful in nature ; and how the patriarchs of tribes, As the fathers of families were the natural priests, and invoked blessings on the tribe or family, and prayed to the gods for the preservation of cattle……"
Full text of "Rajatarangini of Kalhana - English - Jogesh Chunder Dutt Volumes 1 & 2"…….http://archive.org/stream/RajataranginiOfKalhana-English-JogeshChunderDuttVolumes12/Rajatarangini-JogeshChunderDuttVol2_djvu.txt….

"Mount Meru & African Murungu - The East Africans worship a god called Murungu who is the exact counterpart of the Dravidian god Murugan. Both have phallic aspects….The Gĩkũyũ were – and still are – monotheists believing in a unique and omnipotent god whom they refer to as Ngai. Both the Gĩkũyũ, Embu and Kamba use this name. This god was also known as Murungu by the Meru and Embu tribes, or Mulungu (a variant of a word meaning God which is found as far south as the Zambezi of Zambia). The title Mwathani or Mwathi (the greatest ruler) which comes from the word gwatha meaning to rule or reign with authority was-and- is also used….The Meru people, or Ameru, are a Bantu ethnic group that inhabit the Meru region of Kenya on the fertile lands of north and eastern slopes of Mount Kenya, in the former Eastern Province of Kenya. The name "Meru" refers to both the people and the region which for many years was the only administrative unit….The Embu people live to the south-east of Mount Kenya,[10] and believe that the mountain is God's home (Meru word for God is Ngai or Mwene Njeru). The mountain is sacred, and they build their houses with the doors facing towards it.[17] The Embu people are closely related to the Ameru and Mbeere people. The Mbeere and Akamba are the settlers of the southeast side of the Mountain….."…..http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kikuyu_people.

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Email....okarresearch@gmail.com

John Hopkins.....Northern New Mexico….November 2013

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