title: Juan Manuel Márquez

text: In 1999, Márquez faced Freddie Norwood for the WBA Featherweight title instead. Márquez was knocked down in the second round. In the 8th round, Norwood's glove touched the canvas after an exchange. However, it was not ruled a knock down by the referee who was standing opposite to the action. In the 9th round, Márquez scored a knockdown after a two punch combination. Márquez lost via controversial unanimous decision. HBO Punchstat had Norwood landing 73 out of 290 punches thrown to Márquez's 89 of 444.


title: Juan Manuel Márquez

text: On November 20, 1999, Márquez faced Remigio Molina and defeated him in eight rounds. In 2000, he defeated former champion Daniel Jimenez and five fights later, he defeated future champion Robbie Peden in ten rounds and captured the NABF & USBA Featherweight titles.


title: Juan Manuel Márquez

text: Márquez received his second bout for a world title on February 1, 2003, when he defeated former four-time Featherweight Champion Manuel Medina and captured the vacant IBF Featherweight title. In the 2nd round, Márquez connected with a three-punch combination that floored Medina. The fight was stopped in the 7th round after Márquez knocked Medina down for a second time.


title: Juan Manuel Márquez

text: He then defeated Derrick Gainer later in the year in a unification bout to win the WBA Featherweight title and become the WBA (Super) Champion.


title: Juan Manuel Márquez

text: In May 2004, Márquez fought Lineal & "The Ring" Featherweight Champion Manny Pacquiao in a bout where Márquez was knocked down three times in the 1st round. Márquez outboxed Pacquiao for the remainder of the bout which was ended in a controversial, split-decision draw. The final scores were 115–110 for Márquez, 115–110 for Pacquiao and 113–113. Judge Burt A. Clements (who scored the bout 113–113) later admitted to making an error on the scorecards, because he had scored the first round as 10–7 in favor of Pacquiao instead of the standard 10–6 for a three-knockdown round.


title: Juan Manuel Márquez

text: On September 18, 2004, Márquez made his first appearance on pay-per-view, being on the undercard of Bernard Hopkins vs. Oscar De La Hoya, defeating and retaining his unified titles against future champion Orlando Salido. On May 7, 2005, he made his fourth title defense and first appearance on Showtime Championship Boxing, facing Victor Polo while walking away with a unanimous decision victory. In August 2005, Márquez was stripped of his WBA and IBF unified Featherweight titles for his inability to defend them against various boxers after potential bouts failed to draw a bid.


title: Juan Manuel Márquez

text: In 2006, Márquez attempted to regain a title, coming up short in a unanimous decision loss to undefeated Indonesian boxer Chris John in Indonesia for the WBA Featherweight Championship title. The loss led to the Ring Magazine's removal of Márquez from its pound for pound.


title: Juan Manuel Márquez

text: In late 2006, Márquez captured the Interim WBO Featherweight title by defeating Thai boxer Terdsak Jandaeng. He defended it against Filipino boxer Jimrex Jaca with a nine-round knockout in Hidalgo, Texas. Márquez was promoted to world champion status in December 2006 when previous champion Scott Harrison vacated the title. Márquez vacated the Featherweight title the following year to challenge WBC Super Featherweight Champion Marco Antonio Barrera.


title: Juan Manuel Márquez

text: On March 17, 2007, Márquez became the WBC Super Featherweight Champion by defeating Barrera in Las Vegas via unanimous decision, by the official scores of 116–111, 116–111 and 118–109. Márquez's first defense of his title was to be held on September 15, 2007, against Argentinian boxer Jorge Rodrigo Barrios. However, Barrios withdrew from the bout due to injury, prompting American boxer Rocky Juárez to challenge Márquez for the title on November 3, 2007, in a losing effort.


title: Juan Manuel Márquez

text: On November 29, 2007, Márquez announced that he would defend his title in a rematch with Pacquiao. On March 15, 2008, Márquez lost his Super Featherweight title to Pacquiao via split decision. Márquez suffered a knockdown in the third round that proved to be the difference, as the remaining rounds were scored dead even. Compubox scoring had Márquez landing 42 of 201 (21%) jabs to Pacquiao's 43 of 314 (14%) and landing 130 of 310 (42%) power punches to Pacquiao's 114 of 305 (37%). Richard Schaefer, Golden Boy Promotions CEO, offered a $6 million guarantee to Pacquiao for a rematch. Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum, said, "I'm not saying they'll never fight again, but you have to let it bake for a while." Pacquiao said: "I don't think so, this business is over" as he planned to move up to the lightweight division.


title: Juan Manuel Márquez

text: Márquez moved up to the lightweight division in order to fight "The Ring" Lightweight Champion Joel Casamayor on the weekend leading up to Mexican Independence Day at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada. On September 13, 2008, he defeated Casamayor in the 11th round after two knockdowns and captured his sixth world title in three different weight classes. In the first four rounds of the bout, Márquez continually walked into counter punches from Casamayor. It took Márquez until the fifth round to be able to find the range with his right hand. By the fifth round, a cut over Casamayor's right eye was opened from a clash of heads. Rounds five, six, seven and eight were rounds where Márquez landed straight punches from the outside, but he was also struck by Casamayor whenever he lunged forward. Two minutes into the eleventh round, Casamayor was knocked down by a right punch as he pulled away from an intense exchange. Casamayor was able to get on his feet, but it was clear he was still shaken from the knockdown. As soon as the action was allowed to resume, Márquez went in for the kill as he let his punches go in furious combination. Casamayor punched back, but he was knocked down again with about 7 seconds left in the round. Referee Tony Weeks stepped in the bout and stopped the fight as he deemed Casamayor unable to continue. The official judges had the fight scored 95–95, 95–95 and 97–93 for Márquez before the 11th-round knockout. After the win, "The Ring" ranked Márquez second on its pound for pound list and rated him the number one boxer in the lightweight division.


title: Juan Manuel Márquez

text: On February 28, 2009, Márquez defeated former WBA, WBO & IBF Lightweight Champion Juan Díaz by knockout. Díaz controlled the fight early in the bout as the two boxers exchanged punches. Díaz opened a cut above Márquez's right eye in the fifth round and looked to control the bout, but Márquez responded by opening a gash above Díaz's right eye and stunning him with a left hook before the end of the eighth round. Márquez landed two hard rights to Díaz's face in a three-punch combination that knocked Díaz down with 35 seconds remaining in the ninth round. Díaz rose, but seconds later, Márquez followed with a right uppercut to the chin that knocked Díaz down for a second time. Referee Rafael Ramos waved an end to the fight after two minutes and 40 seconds of the ninth round. With the victory, Márquez defended his "The Ring" Lightweight title and claimed the vacant WBO and vacant WBA (Super) Lightweight titles. This bout was named "Fight of the Year" for 2009 by "The Ring" magazine and ESPN.com. After the fight, Márquez expressed an interest in fighting Floyd Mayweather Jr.


title: Juan Manuel Márquez

text: Márquez moved up to the welterweight division and fought undefeated pound for pound champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. The fight was scheduled to take place at 144-pound catch weight on July 18, 2009, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena; but was postponed due to a rib injury sustained by Mayweather. The bout was rescheduled and held on September 19, 2009. During the official weigh in, Márquez weighed in at 142 lbs and Mayweather weighed in at 146 lbs, thereby incurring a financial penalty as he was 2 pounds over the catchweight. It was later discovered that both parties had agreed just before the weigh-in to allow Mayweather fight over the catchweight with Mayweather paying additional $600,000 due to arriving two pounds over the 144 lbs weight limit. Mayweather controlled the action in the fight. Márquez struggled to conquer Mayweather's defense and could not get out of the way of his counter punches. Márquez landed only 19% of his punches according to Compubox punch stats. Mayweather knocked Márquez down in the 2nd round. Mayweather won the fight by unanimous decision.


title: Juan Manuel Márquez

text: This was the fifth non-heavyweight fight in boxing history to sell more than one million pay-per-views, with the official HBO numbers totaling about $52 million. It was also the first fight to sell more than one million PPVs without featuring Oscar De La Hoya. Two months later, Manny Pacquiao vs. Miguel Cotto would sell 1.25 million PPVs.


title: Juan Manuel Márquez

text: When asked upon his return to the lightweight division, Márquez said: "I came back to lightweight because at welterweight I lost a lot of speed."


title: Juan Manuel Márquez

text: Márquez then began negotiations for a rematch with Juan Díaz. Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer said the fight for Márquez's title was being planned for July 10 as the main event of an HBO PPV card. He said it would "probably" take place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. After his comeback in 2010, fellow Mexican boxer Erik Morales said he would like to fight Márquez. Morales returned two divisions higher in 2010, as a welterweight. However, Márquez has also stated that he would be interested in a fight with Ricky Hatton.


title: Juan Manuel Márquez

text: The Márquez-Díaz rematch took place on July 31, 2010, at the Mandalay Bay. Márquez's titles were also at stake. Prior to the bout, the WBO ordered the Márquez-Díaz winner to fight mandatory challenger Michael Katsidis. Márquez won the fight via unanimous decision by the official scores of 117–111, 116–112 and 118–110. After the Díaz rematch, Márquez stated that he was interested in pursuing a third fight with Manny Pacquiao. There was also a possibility of him moving up to light welterweight to face any of the titleholders at the time: Timothy Bradley, Devon Alexander or Amir Khan, all of whom were fighting on HBO.


title: Juan Manuel Márquez

text: A few weeks after the Juan Díaz fight, Golden Boy Promotions officially announced that Márquez would defend his lightweight titles against mandatory challenger, WBO Interim Champion Michael Katsidis, on November 27, 2010, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and that the bout would be televised live on HBO Championship Boxing. During the official weigh in for their 135 lb bout, Márquez came in at 134 pounds, while Katsidis came in on the limit of 135 pounds. Despite being knocked down in the third round, Márquez came back and defeated Katsidis by a ninth-round TKO to retain the lightweight belts. At the time of the stoppage, the Mexican boxer was ahead on all the scorecards by 77–74, 78–74 and 76–75. During the post fight interview, he once again expressed his interest in a third fight with Manny Pacquiao.


title: Juan Manuel Márquez

text: Márquez is the oldest world champion in the history of the lightweight division. On January 4, the WBA no longer recognized Márquez as their Super Champion due to going 18 months without fighting a mandatory challenger as required by the organization's rules. Fernando Beltrán of Zanfer Promotions stated that the WBA's decision had no validity and that he would immediately send them a letter, since the deadline of May 2012 for the mandatory defense had not expired, and Márquez paid sanctioning fees to the WBA even for the last few non-lightweight fights. On January 26, Márquez was stripped of his WBO title, as he was considered to be moving up to the welterweight division. The WBO promoted Interim titleholder Ricky Burns to full champion status. "The Ring" magazine stripped of him of their championship on April 17.


title: Juan Manuel Márquez

text: Márquez moved up to light welterweight division to fight Likar Ramos on July 16, 2011, at Mexico. It was considered a tune-up fight before his third battle with Manny Pacquiao. The fight only lasted one round with Márquez winning by technical knockout. Many experts queried whether Ramos was hired to 'take a dive' (have the contest fixed or lose it on purpose) in order for Márquez to look good.


title: Juan Manuel Márquez

text: Márquez attracted controversy by hiring strength and conditioning coach Angel "Memo Heredia" Hernandez, who had supplied performance-enhancing drugs to sprinters Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery in 2000.


title: Juan Manuel Márquez

text: On November 12, Márquez lost to Pacquiao via controversial majority decision. The decision was voted the "Robbery of the Year," in 2011 by The Ring Magazine readers.


title: Juan Manuel Márquez

text: On April 14, 2012, Márquez defeated Ukrainian contender Serhiy Fedchenko via unanimous decision to capture the interim WBO light welterweight title by a clear margin with scores of 119-109, 118-110, 118-110. The WBO later updated him to full status WBO Champion.


title: Juan Manuel Márquez

text: Márquez fought Manny Pacquiao on December 8, 2012. The fight was for the WBO's "Champion of the Decade" belt. Márquez knocked down Pacquiao in the 3rd round with a looping right hook. In round 5, Pacquiao returned the favor, knocking down Márquez. Pacquiao went on the offensive in the 6th round. While behind the scorecards and with just 1 second left in the 6th round, Márquez countered Pacquiao's jab with an overhand right, sending Pacquiao face first to the canvas, resulting in a knockout. Pacquiao, who had not been knocked out in over 13 years since his loss to Medgeon Singsurat in 1999, remained unconscious for several minutes. This was named "The Ring" magazine's "Fight of the Year" and "Knockout of the Year" and "International Fight of the Year" by the British website BoxRec. Márquez was also named "International Fighter of the Year" by the same publication.


title: Juan Manuel Márquez

text: Márquez fought Timothy Bradley in a bout billed as 'The Conquerors' for his WBO welterweight title at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 12, 2013. Márquez was looking to win a title in a fifth weight class. The fight went the distance as Márquez lost by split decision (115-113, 113-115, 112-116). CompuBox stats showed Bradley landed 168 punches of 562 thrown while Márquez landed 153 punches of 455 thrown. However, Márquez connected on 115 power punches to Bradley's 86. In the post fight interviews, Bradley said "I gave him a boxing lesson. He couldn't touch me. I had complete control." Márquez replied, "I clearly won. I have been robbed six times in my career. You don't have to knock down the other guy to win the fight." The fight drew 375,000 ppv buys on HBO PPV and 13,111 in attendance drawing a live gate of $2,998,950.


title: Juan Manuel Márquez

text: On May 17, 2014, at The Forum, in Inglewood, California, Márquez was back in action in a welterweight bout against former WBO Junior Welterweight Champion Mike Alvarado (34-2, 23 KOs) for the WBO International welterweight title. The fight was also a WBO welterweight title eliminator, with the winner to earn a mandatory shot against Manny Pacquiao for the title he regained April 12 against Timothy Bradley in their rematch. Despite the fight being a welterweight eliminator, it was agreed to be fought with a 143-pound maximum. Alvarado weighed in at 143.2 lbs. In a one sided bout, Márquez defeated Alvarado by unanimous decision with the judges scores of 119-108, 117-109, 117-109. Alvarado was down in round eight and Márquez was knocked down in round nine.


title: Juan Manuel Márquez

text: There were negotiations from January 2016 for a fight between Márquez and former four-weight division champion Miguel Cotto. The main issue between both camps being the weight with Márquez looking to fight at no more than 147lbs and Cotto looking to fight at 155lb catchweight. Miguel Cotto Promotions told ESPN.com that negotiations had broken down on August 2 as both camps could not settle on what weight the fight would be. After nearly three years out, Márquez announced he would be entering camp in January 2017. Márquez revealed he would have a named opponent and date for his next fight by the end of April 2017. Márquez had been training at the Omanza gym. According to trainer Ignacio Beristáin, Márquez was looking to return in Toluca, Mexico on June 24, 2017. It was then pushed back to August 19. Due to venues not being available for that date, Zanfer Promotions said a date in September or October would be more suitable with the venue being in Monterrey.


title: Juan Manuel Márquez

text: On August 4, 2017, Márquez announced his retirement from professional boxing after a 21-year career. Márquez spoke to ESPN Deportes TV show Golpe a Golpe, "Today is a special and sad day for me because I'm announcing my retirement. The injuries pushed me to make this decision. It hurts, but I believe the right moment to put an end to my career has arrived. I would have loved to do a final fight to say goodbye inside the ring, but I have to listen to my body, and it was telling me that the right moment to stop boxing is now." He ended his career with a record of 56 wins, 7 losses and 1 draw, with 40 knockouts. Márquez admitted the decision was hard to make, but initially made the decision 10 days prior to announcing it.


title: Juan Manuel Márquez

text: Márquez was born in Mexico City. He grew up in a rough and poor area of Iztacalco, many of his friends succumbing to gang violence and dying young while he went on to box. Márquez has said that he has always been a good student and that he likes numbers. He studied and became an accountant, and worked for several government agencies. He gave up on his accounting work and focused entirely on his boxing career.


title: Juan Manuel Márquez

text: He started practicing boxing at the age of eight inspired by his father's training. He stated that he likes to "eat well" and does not follow any kind of diet. His brother, Rafael Márquez, is a former world champion in the bantamweight and super bantamweight divisions. They both trained under Ignacio Beristáin and assistant Gilbert Márquez. At one time, the two were listed in Ring Magazine's top ten pound-for-pound list. They are one of four sets of Mexican brothers to hold world titles.


title: Generator Rex

text: Generator Rex is an American animated science fiction television series created by Man of Action for Cartoon Network, with John Fang of Cartoon Network Studios serving as supervising director. It was inspired by the comic "M. Rex", published by Image Comics in 1999. The series premiered in the United States on April 23, 2010 on Cartoon Network, and concluded on January 3, 2013. A crossover special with "", titled "", aired on November 25, 2011, while a second 44-minute four-part special, "Ben Gen 10", aired on April 11, 2021, featuring new versions of the "Generator Rex" characters in the "Ben 10" reboot universe.


title: Generator Rex

text: Five years ago, a massive explosion released high concentrations of underdeveloped, incomplete nanites into the atmosphere, infecting almost every living thing on Earth. These nanites may randomly activate inside their hosts, mutating the subject into a monster known as an E.V.O. (short for "Exponentially Variegated Organism"). Though some E.V.O.s retain human-level sanity, intelligence, and memory and are in full control of their special E.V.O. abilities, most transform into monster-like creatures and go violently berserk, causing widespread chaos and destruction. An international military-style organization known as Providence exists to combat the E.V.O. threat.


title: Generator Rex

text: Rex is a sixteen-year-old amnesiac teenager who is a permanent E.V.O. Unlike most E.V.O.s, he lacks any physical deformation but has forgotten his past. He is also able to control his active nanites, allowing him to manifest from his body a wide variety of various bio-mechanical abilities and powers. Rex has the unique ability to deactivate nanites inside other E.V.O.s, effectively curing them of their monstrous mutations and returning them to normal. Working for Providence under Agent Six, and White Knight, Rex uses his unique abilities to stop and cure rampant E.V.O.s. His archenemy, Van Kleiss, is a British E.V.O. scientist who despises Providence and is connected to the original nanite explosion (which is noted as simply "The Nanite Event" throughout the series). His ultimate goal is to be all powerful, using E.V.O.s to get him there, he promises to tell Rex about his childhood past if he will join him.


title: Generator Rex

text: Rex is eventually thrown into the future, in which everything has changed since his "six-month disappearance" and that Providence has been taken over by a woman called Black Knight, who attempts to manipulate Rex into utilizing him and his ever-developing and evolving abilities for her side in "saving" humanity by restarting the Nanite Project with those who had funded it six years ago in order to become all-powerful by ensuring the creation of five certain meta/master-control nanities that contain "the God Code", only four of which were scattered all across the planet, with the fifth and most powerful one having been kept hidden undetected within Rex himself.


title: Generator Rex

text: "Generator Rex" currently does not air on Cartoon Network. Episodes 56 through 60 were released on iTunes for purchase before they aired. The show "ended" with its third season, but had left out many important things unresolved "before" the two-part season three finale "Endgame"; namely Rex and Circe's romantic relationship that finally blossomed at the end of Episode 51 "Assault on Abysus" and with Rex rescuing her from Providence ("Mind Games") some time before the two-part finale.


title: Generator Rex

text: On July 11, 2011, the schedule for the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con revealed that during Cartoon Network's panel, a crossover special between the "" and "Generator Rex" series titled "Ben 10/Generator Rex: Heroes United" would be discussed. During the conference, show creators "Man of Action" revealed that the crossover would be a special, extended episode of "Generator Rex," which aired on November 25, 2011 on Cartoon Network. The double-length special revolved around Ben and Rex fighting a villain, originally created by Rex's older brother Caesar, the Alpha Nanite. Rex makes a cameo appearance in the "OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes" episode, "Crossover Nexus" along with many other Cartoon Network shows. On February 17, 2021, it was announced "Generator Rex" would have a 44-minute crossover special with "Ben 10" (2016–21), which aired on April 11, 2021.


title: Generator Rex

text: Warner Home Video released Volume 1 DVD, a two-disc set that contains the first nine episodes of the series on October 19, 2010.


title: Generator Rex

text: A video game, entitled "Generator Rex: Agent of Providence", has been developed for Wii, PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS and Xbox 360. The game was released on November 1, 2011 in the United States, published by Activision. The plot involves Van Kleiss attempting to find blueprints to build an Omega-One Nanite. The entire voice cast reprises their roles from the series. "Agent of Providence" was given an E10+ rating by ESRB. The game was also scored by the series' composer, Kevin Manthei.


title: Generator Rex

text: Mattel has produced a toy line based on the series. For the main figures each is approximately 4 inches tall and packaged with an "ordinary day" E.V.O. There were also deluxe figures, EVO attack packs, as well as other waves and lines that were never released including a line from MEGA Bloks was announced (in 2010) featuring construction sets.


title: Generator Rex

text: Cartoon Network has featured "Generator Rex and Ben 10 " in their and DC Comicss "Cartoon Network: Action Pack" comic books. Two 3D picture books (featuring cardboard 3D glasses) "EVOs and Heroes," a whole analysis on characters and their abilities and "The Swarm," an adaption of the episode of the same name, where Rex must fight insect E.V.O.s that feed on metal, have also been released. For beginning readers, the story "Leader of the Pack" is also based on an episode and features Rex and Bobo being captured and locked in an underground prison cell.


title: Generator Rex

text: In February 2013, IDW Publishing announced a partnership with Cartoon Network to produce comic books and issues based on its properties. "Generator Rex" along with "Ben 10" was one of the titles announced to be published.


title: Sanrio

text: Besides selling character goods, Sanrio takes part in film production and publishing. They own the rights to the "Mr. Men" characters and Japanese licensing rights to the "Peanuts" characters. Their animatronics branch, called Kokoro Company, Ltd. ("kokoro" being Japanese for 'heart') is best known for the Actroid android. The company also runs a franchise of KFC in Saitama Prefecture.


title: Sanrio

text: Shintaro Tsuji founded Sanrio on August 10, 1960, then known as the Yamanashi Silk Company using in capital. In 1962, Tsuji expanded his enterprise from silk to rubber sandals with flowers painted on them. Tsuji noticed his success gained by merely adding a cute design to the sandals. He began using existing cartoon characters for his merchandise. In the late 1960s the company began producing goods with the dog character Snoopy, from the American comic strip "Peanuts", after acquiring the Japanese licensing rights.


title: Sanrio

text: In 1973 the company was officially established under the name Sanrio. In the book or "These are Sanrio's Secrets" Tsuji, Sanrio's founder, said that , part of the company's former name, has an alternative on'yomi reading of "Sanri". The remaining "o" was added from the sound people make when they are excited. The company's European website gives another origin of the name, saying the name comes from the Spanish words "san" ('holy') and "río" ('river').


title: Sanrio

text: Tsuji hired his own designers to create characters for Sanrio, to not have to pay outside royalty fees. The first original Sanrio character, Coro Chan, was introduced in 1973. Hello Kitty was added to the lineup of early Sanrio characters in 1974 and the first related merchandise was released the following year. The popular feline whose mouth is usually invisible has had both peaks and drops in sales over the years, but always has been the highest contributor to Sanrio's sales. Sanrio constantly adds new characters to its lineup. Specific characters are rotated in and out of active production. For a short time, Osamu Tezuka's baby unicorn character Unico, who starred in two feature-length anime movies in the early 1980s, was also part of the Sanrio's lineup; however the rights to Unico shifted to Osamu Tezuka's own company after Tezuka's death in 1989.


title: Sanrio

text: In late 2003, Sanrio won the "Top Brand with a Conscience" award from the Medinge Group of Sweden for its communication principles. The company has partnered with UNICEF since 1984. In 2006, Sanrio launched Sanrio Digital together with Typhoon Games to expand to the Internet, online games, and mobile services. 2010 was Sanrio's 50th anniversary. In conjunction with this, Build-A-Bear Workshop released limited edition stuffed toys of several Sanrio characters, including Hello Kitty, Chococat, My Melody and Keroppi.


title: Sanrio

text: Hello Kitty is alleged to be drawn in a similar style to the rabbit Miffy. On August 26, 2010, Mercis BV, representing Miffy's creator Dick Bruna brought suit against Sanrio. They claimed that one of Hello Kitty's companion characters, a rabbit named Cathy, infringes on the copyright and trademark of Miffy. On November 2, 2010, a Dutch court ruled against Sanrio and ordered the company to stop marketing Cathy products in Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. Following the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Sanrio and Mercis reached an out-of-court settlement on June 7, 2011, for Sanrio to halt production worldwide of merchandise that feature Cathy. They also jointly announced a €150,000 donation to earthquake victims.


title: Sanrio

text: In December 2011, Sanrio Global acquired the rights to the "Mr. Men" characters, which includes the subsidiary Mr Men Films Ltd, taking over Chorion's THOIP company.


title: Sanrio

text: In 2019 the European Commission fined Sanrio 6.2 million euros (approx. 6.9 million US dollars) for blocking cross-border sales of its licensed products.


title: Sanrio

text: In June 2020, it was announced that the company's founder and President, Shintaro Tsuji would step down from the role and hand control of the company to his grandson, Tomokuni Tsuji. Shintaro Tsuji ran the company for 60 years.


title: Sanrio

text: Sanrio Inc. is Sanrio's American subsidiary. Sanrio Inc. has offices in South San Francisco, California, and Torrance, California. Sanrio's first Western Hemisphere store opened in San Jose's Eastridge Mall. In 2008, Sanrio opened its high-end boutique called "Sanrio Luxe" in New York City's Times Square. In the Western Hemisphere, Sanrio character-branded products are sold in upwards of 13,000 locations including department, specialty, national chain stores and over 85 Sanrio boutiques. In April 2010, the first and only Sanrio-licensed eatery (Sanrio Cafe) in the U.S. opened at Pearlridge's Downtown phase in Aiea, Hawaii.


title: Sanrio

text: In 2004, Sanrio Co. Ltd., expanded its license to one of its major licensee and plush suppliers Nakajima USA to include the owning and operating of all Sanrio branded stores in the US, overseeing the relationships between individual licensed stores and supplying all categories of products for the retail stores in the US and wholesale accounts.


title: Sanrio

text: Sanrio hosts two theme parks in Japan, Sanrio Puroland in Tama, Tokyo, and Harmonyland in Hiji, Ōita, Kyūshū.


title: Sanrio

text: Sanrio has created a large number of characters, the best known of which is Hello Kitty. Other well known characters include My Melody, Keroppi, Bad Badtz-Maru, Cinnamoroll, Jewelpet, Gudetama, and Aggressive Retsuko.


title: Sanrio

text: From 1977 to 1985, Sanrio produced movies through their Sanrio Films label. After "A Journey Through Fairyland," Sanrio switched gears and started doing short films, OAVs, and TV shows based on their characters. In 2006, Sanrio announced they are again going to do feature-length films.


title: Sanrio

text: Sanrio began its involvement in production of TV and direct-to-video animation during the late 1980s and early 1990s, starting with the US-made "Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater" in 1987. The character My Melody got her first starring role in an animated series in the anime television series, "Onegai My Melody", which first aired on TV Osaka on April 3, 2005, and was produced by Studio Comet. The Sugarbunnies franchise was later adapted into a 7-minute short series in 2007, and was popular enough to gain two sequels.


title: Sanrio

text: Jewelpet was also adapted into an anime metaseries in 2009, which was also produced by Studio Comet, spanning 6 official seasons and one theatrical movie, making it the longest running anime adaptation of a Sanrio franchise in history.


title: Sanrio

text: "Show by Rock!!", a game by Sanrio and Geechs got an anime adaptation produced by Bones in 2015 - and was licensed in the United States by Funimation. "Aggretsuko" also get three animated adaptations by Fanworks, one aired on TBS and the later two were released officially on Netflix.


title: Sanrio

text: Sanrio Digital produces and publishes digital content based on globally famous Sanrio intellectual property assets like Hello Kitty, My Melody, Badtz Maru and many others. Among the games are: "The Adventures of Hello Kitty & Friends", "Hello Kitty: Roller Rescue", "Hello Kitty: Birthday Adventures", and "Hello Kitty Seasons".


title: Sanrio

text: Sanrio publishes many books featuring its own characters. It also publishes art books (for instance, those by Keibun Ōta). Sanrio publishes books in many languages, including Japanese and English. Sanrio published video games in the early 1990s under the name "Character Soft".


title: Nimrod (album)

text: Nimrod (stylized as nimrod.) is the fifth studio album by American rock band Green Day, released on October 14, 1997, by Reprise Records. The band began work on the album in the wake of the cancellation of a European tour after the release of their previous album, "Insomniac". Recorded at Conway Recording Studios in Los Angeles, the album was written with the intent of creating a set of standalone songs as opposed to a cohesive album. Retrospectively, "Nimrod" is noted for its musical diversity and experimentation, containing elements of folk, hardcore, surf rock, and ska. Lyrical themes discussed include maturity, personal reflection, and fatherhood.


title: Nimrod (album)

text: The album peaked at number ten on the "Billboard" U.S. charts and was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The record was also certified triple platinum in Australia and double platinum in Canada. Upon release, "Nimrod" received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised Armstrong's songwriting. The album yielded the acoustic single "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)", which appeared in numerous popular culture events, including the second to last episode of the sitcom "Seinfeld". To promote the album, Green Day embarked on an extensive touring schedule. The album was also reissued on vinyl on June 16, 2009, as well as for anniversary and deluxe edition releases in 2012 and 2017. The songs "Nice Guys Finish Last", "Hitchin' a Ride", and "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" are featured in the video game "".


title: Nimrod (album)

text: In 1995, Green Day released "Insomniac", which did not perform as well commercially as the band's breakthrough major-label debut "Dookie". Speaking of "Insomniac", lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong noted, "It did a lot better than I thought it was going to do...From the sound of it, we knew it wasn't going to sell as much as "Dookie"." The group embarked on an extensive world tour to promote "Insomniac" in early 1996, which saw the band performing in sports arenas that contrasted with the small clubs the group was accustomed to playing. The members became increasingly uncomfortable with the level of stardom they had attained; Armstrong recalled, "We were becoming the things we hated, playing those big arenas. It was beginning to be not fun anymore."


title: Nimrod (album)

text: Green Day also became homesick because touring forced the members to leave behind their families. The band eventually decided to cancel the late 1996 European leg of the "Insomniac" tour to take time off to spend at home. During this time, the band continued to write, and eventually completed over three dozen new songs by the beginning of 1997. Although the group's last effort with producer Rob Cavallo was considered a disappointment, the band did not contemplate choosing anyone else to work with on "Nimrod", because the members viewed Cavallo as a "mentor".


title: Nimrod (album)

text: The album was recorded at Conway Studios in Los Angeles, and the band stayed at the Sunset Marquis Hotel during the sessions. "Nimrod" took four months to record; Armstrong partially attributed the lengthy recording time to spending "a little too much time" playing pool and foosball during the sessions. The recording schedule, which lasted from noon to two in the morning every day, became frustrating for the group members, who began drinking heavily. Bassist Mike Dirnt recalled, "One night one of us was walking down the halls knocking on people's doors while naked." Another incident involved drummer Tre Cool throwing his hotel room television set out of his window. Armstrong noted, "There was a lot of glass. You have to live that arrogant lifestyle every now and then." To keep the band focused, Cavallo enlisted his father and manager Pat Magnarella to supervise the group.


title: Nimrod (album)

text: While working on "Nimrod", Green Day explained to Cavallo their desire to create a more experimental album because the band had grown tired of its traditional three chord song structure. Armstrong drew inspiration from The Clash's landmark record "London Calling", and referred to "Nimrod" as "the record I've wanted to make since the band started." The album was intended to break the constraints of typical punk rock music. To preserve the quality of his songwriting, Armstrong began writing each song on acoustic guitar, to which the rest of the band would later add heavier instrumentation and faster tempos. Green Day recorded around 30 songs for "Nimrod" and picked 18 of them for the record. Dirnt explained that the recording was much more loosely structured than previous albums, and that creating songs was the focus as opposed to making a cohesive record. He observed, "We've always screwed around with different types of music during our jams, but we'd say, 'OK let's stop and get back to the album.' This time we just let them come up."


title: Nimrod (album)

text: Reprise Records president Howie Klein spent a lot of time in the studio with the band during recording, and recalled that, "What I realized immediately is that they had seemed to mature in their musical direction. It wasn't just more of the same. There was so much growth in the band." The musical maturation displayed on "Nimrod" was partially inspired by Bikini Kill's "Reject All American" (1996), which encouraged Armstrong to balance "rough punk rock songs" and "delicate pretty songs". Armstrong wrote "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" in 1993 and showed the song to his bandmates during the "Dookie" recording sessions. During the sessions, the song was determined to be too different from the rest of the songs on "Dookie", and producer Rob Cavallo was unsure of how to structure the recording. When the time came to record "Nimrod", Armstrong decided to use the song, and Cavallo suggested they add strings to the track. He sent the band to play foosball in another room while he recorded the strings, which took "like fifteen, twenty minutes, maybe a half an hour at the most." Cavallo reflected on his decision to add the strings "I knew we had done the right thing. I knew it was a hit the second I heard it."


title: Nimrod (album)

text: In addition to the strings on "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)", the music of "Nimrod" contains a variety of other instruments that were not featured on previous Green Day albums. "Walking Alone" features Armstrong playing the harmonica, despite the fact that he did not "know how to play it at all". "Hitchin' a Ride" opens with a Middle Eastern-inspired violin performed by Petra Haden of That Dog. The band invited Gabrial McNair and Stephen Bradley of No Doubt's horn section to play on the ska-influenced "King for a Day".


title: Nimrod (album)

text: "Nimrod" is more musically varied than previous Green Day albums. Armstrong noted that with the album, Green Day went down "different avenues," adding: "Each song has its own character and identity so we wanted to be able to bring that out as much as possible." "Nice Guys Finish Last" has been considered a song that "eases the transition" from "Insomniac" to "Nimrod". Sandy Masuo of the "Los Angeles Times" likened "Worry Rock" to the music of Elvis Costello. "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" has been referred to as a "pop-punk campfire singalong ballad". After opening with Haden's violin solo, "Hitchin' a Ride" evolves into a bass-driven rock song with a "Stray Cats vibe". Cool referred to "Take Back" (considered upfront hardcore punk, both musically and vocally) and "Platypus (I Hate You)" as "some of the most punk songs we've ever done". "Last Ride In" is a surf rock-influenced instrumental, and "King for a Day" is a ska punk song featuring a horn section. Armstrong compared the song to the Oi! genre, and noted "It would be funny for a bunch of macho fraternity guys to be singing along and, little do they know, the song's about being in drag." The "chiming" guitar riffs of "Redundant" have been compared to those of The Byrds. Overall, "Nimrod" is considered a punk rock, pop-punk, and alternative rock album.


title: Nimrod (album)

text: Lyrically, "Nimrod" touches upon more reflective themes not present on earlier Green Day albums. Much of the album illustrates Armstrong's sentiments on growing up and his role as a husband and father. "The Grouch" centers on Armstrong's fears of "wasting away, getting fat, becoming impotent, and losing his ideals." On "Walking Alone", he reflects on old friends from his childhood, and notes that he is "too drunk to figure out they're fading away." Armstrong discusses the struggle to stay sober on "Hitchin' a Ride". "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" was inspired by Armstrong's failed relationship with a woman that ended when she joined the Peace Corps in 1993. The same woman is also the subject of "She" from "Dookie", "Whatsername" from "American Idiot" (2004) and "Amanda" from "¡Tré!".


title: Nimrod (album)

text: However, other songs contain subject matter and themes more typical of Green Day's previous work. Armstrong wrote "Nice Guys Finish Last" about the band's interactions with the band's lawyers and managers and how "everybody thinks they know what's best for you." "Jinx" contains self-deprecating lyrics characteristic of many of the band's songs, while "Prosthetic Head" has been referred to as a "typical ticked-off kiss-off". "King for a Day" tells the story of a cross-dresser. "Uptight" contains repeated mentions of suicide; Armstrong explained, "I think the word 'suicide' just sounded really good. And the line, 'I'm a son of a gun'. It made sense, but I can't really explain why it made sense. It just sort of does."


title: Nimrod (album)

text: The album's title, "Nimrod", is the name of a character from the Bible that was an hunter. In American English, it became a term for a stupid or dimwitted person as the usage is often said to have been popularized by the Looney Tunes cartoon character Bugs Bunny sarcastically referring to the hunter Elmer Fudd as "nimrod" After three art directors were rejected by the band and pressing was behind schedule, Green Day asked the help of Chris Bilheimer, a friend of Armstrong who had done covers for another group signed by Warner Bros. Records, R.E.M. Having just the album title to work on, Bilheimer had some ideas, with the one that went through being inspired by a photograph Bilheimer saw, where a politician's poster had his face removed. He felt the image was "striking" and seemed to fit the band by featuring "a typical middle-age male, corporate politician American kind of guy, and someone had completely taken his identity away through vandalism." Following that line of thought, Bilheimer took an encyclopedia picture of men in suits and ties and put colored circles reading "nimrod." on their faces, "using that to take away the people's identity". The back cover had the same being done to a yearbook Bilheimer found in a Los Angeles bookstore, "from the era of the "Leave It to Beaver" 1950's idyllic America", with the label "break[ing] down that image of people’s perceptions of a happy polite idyllic society." The booklet features the lyrics presented as if they were a secret document that had been redacted with black ink, "so they seemed like they were part of something else".


title: Nimrod (album)

text: Two versions of the cover were made: one version with the circles yellow and one with the circles orange (used for the Australian edition).


title: Nimrod (album)

text: The portraits covered on the album cover are Frederick Banting and Charles Best, two American-Canadian medical scientists most well known for co-discovering insulin.


title: Nimrod (album)

text: The "Nimrod" promotional tour began that fall and opened with a performance and in-store record signing on November 11 1997, at a Tower Records in Manhattan. The band was upset upon reading reviews that suggested the band had lost its punk edge, and despite the several security staff present both inside and outside of the building, started a riot during its scheduled eight-song set at the store. Armstrong then wrote the words "fuck" and "nimrod" in black spray paint on the storefront windows, and proceeded to moon the audience of approximately 1,400 people. After the riot settled down, Cool threw his bass drum into the crowd while Armstrong attempted the same with a monitor, which was wrestled away from him by a store manager. No charges were filed and no injuries were reported, but the store was closed for the day to repair damages caused.


title: Nimrod (album)

text: On the tour in promotion of the album, Green Day aimed for simplicity and decided not to bring new instrumentalists to play for the new songs. Armstrong commented, "Right now we're refraining from pulling out a lot of that 'Nimrod' stuff. We want to make things small. We don't want to bring a horn section or a violin player out with us. A lot of people want to hear the old stuff, and that stuff is still just as significant to us." The band also decided to play small theaters instead of stadiums and festivals, as Armstrong explained that they felt better to "go to a place like The Fillmore and The Warfield and know it's actually going to sell out" instead of playing to half-empty large venues. The "Nimrod" tour marked the first time the band performed its now-routine ritual of inviting audience members onstage to play instruments. During the tour, Armstrong felt that he became a better performer, noting, "I think some people walk away from a Green Day concert with the emotions you would get from some kind of theater performance where the crowd feels involved — where it's not just about the singer. It's not just about the band."


title: Nimrod (album)

text: While performing at the 1998 KROQ Weenie Roast in Irvine, California, Third Eye Blind bassist Arion Salazar ran onstage and "bear-hugged" Dirnt, who was caught off-guard. The incident escalated into an on-stage scuffle before Salazar was taken away by security. After the performance, Dirnt confronted Salazar backstage, and as the two were arguing, a beer bottle struck Dirnt in the head, causing a small fracture in his skull. Eyewitnesses later attributed the bottle throwing to a fan of Third Eye Blind. Salazar and the band's management soon released a statement: "I am sorry that my attempt at doing something I thought would be funny escalated into Mike getting hurt. That was never my intention. I simply had too much to drink and made a very bad decision. If I had been in Mike's place, I am sure I would have acted similarly. My heart goes out to him and I hope he recovers quickly."


title: Nimrod (album)

text: "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" appeared in numerous events of popular culture, including a scene involving the death of a cancer patient on the medical drama "ER" and the series finale of the sitcom "Seinfeld" in 1998.


title: Nimrod (album)

text: The album received generally positive reviews from critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic gave "Nimrod" three and a half stars out of five, calling it an "invigorating, if occasionally frustrating listen", and although he praised Armstrong's "gift for hooky, instantly memorable melodies", he noted that "the 18 tracks whip by at such a breakneck speed that it leaves you somewhat dazed." Greg Kot from "Rolling Stone" enjoyed the album's melodic nature as well as the "measure of sincerity" present in Armstrong's vocals. Kot appreciated the return of the band's "juvenile sense of humor" that he felt was lacking on "Insomniac", and praised the musical diversity on the record, remarking, "This music is a long way from Green Day's apprenticeship at the Gilman Street punk clubs, in Berkeley, Calif. But now that the band has seen the world, it's only fitting that Green Day should finally make an album that sounds as if it has."


title: Nimrod (album)

text: A group of editors writing for "People" also praised the record's "fresh and original" melodies and "quick-tempoed cool", adding, "Kudos to Green Day, young punk's reigning purists, for sticking with what they know best." The "Los Angeles Times"s Sandy Masuo enjoyed the "mature songwriting that really makes this album tick", noting that "Naturally, a couple of thrash 'n' bash hard-core paeans are included, but they're surrounded by songs that are surprisingly varied in character and grounded in a pop aesthetic that evokes a gaggle of great tunesmiths." Stephen Thompson of "The A.V. Club" wrote, "If Green Day still has a loyal following, its fans are bound to find something to like on Nimrod; for all the attempts at diversity, the record is packed with mile-wide hooks and sing-along anthems."


title: Nimrod (album)

text: "Nimrod" debuted at number ten on the "Billboard" 200, selling 81,000 copies in its first week of release, and remained on the chart for 70 weeks. On March 16, 2000, "Nimrod" was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of over two million copies. In Canada, the album peaked at number four, remaining on the chart for four weeks. On July 6, 1998, the record was certified double platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association for shipments of over 200,000 copies. In Australia, the album debuted at number twelve and later peaked at number three on the country's chart. The record was later certified triple platinum in Australia.


title: Nimrod (album)

text: On October 13, 2022, the band announced they would be releasing an expanded version of "Nimrod" for its 25th anniversary, and released a demo of the song "You Irritate Me", which was cut from the original release. The expanded version includes over 30 bonus tracks on 2 discs, including other demos and live versions of some of their singles, and also includes remastered versions of the original album's songs. With the full tracklisting for both bonus discs being revealed the same day.


title: Smruthi Venkat

text: Smruthi Venkat is an Indian actress who appears predominantly in Tamil language films. She made her acting debut with 2019 commercially success film "Thadam".


title: Smruthi Venkat

text: Smruthi Venkat appeared in "Thadam", alongside Arun Vijay. The movie opened to some good reviews both commercially and critically. "The News Minute"s critic wrote, "Smruthi have limited screen space but manage to leave an impression with their competent performances. After Thadam, she acted in another Tamil film with Sathyaraj titled "Theerpugal Virkapadum", which had a delayed release in 2021. After that, Smruthi was signed for a major role in "Mookuthi Amman". After the success of Mookuthi Amman, Smruthi went on to play a role in Dhanush's 43rd film, Maaran directed by Karthick Naren. Apart from films, Smruthi has done some commercial advertisements such as Levista (coffee), Kalyan Jewellers,Tanishq and She also acted in Rap Rakesh Sethulingam Music Video titled "12 AM" Song on Woman Empowerment, Which was Released by Actor Vijay Sethupathi.


title: Christopher Isherwood

text: Christopher William Bradshaw Isherwood (26 August 1904 – 4 January 1986) was an Anglo-American novelist, playwright, screenwriter, autobiographer, and diarist. His best-known works include "Goodbye to Berlin" (1939), a semi-autobiographical novel which inspired the musical "Cabaret"; "A Single Man" (1964), adapted as a film by Tom Ford in 2009; and "Christopher and His Kind" (1976), a memoir which "carried him into the heart of the Gay Liberation movement".


title: Christopher Isherwood

text: Isherwood was born in 1904 on his family's estate in Cheshire near Stockport in the north-west of England. He was the elder son of Francis Edward Bradshaw Isherwood (1869–1915), known as Frank, a professional soldier in the York and Lancaster Regiment, and Kathleen Bradshaw Isherwood, nee Machell Smith (1868–1960), the only daughter of a successful wine merchant. He was the grandson of John Henry Isherwood, squire of Marple Hall and Wyberslegh Hall, Cheshire, and he included among his ancestors the Puritan judge John Bradshaw, who signed the death warrant of King Charles I and served for two years as Lord President of the Council, effectively President of the English Republic. Isherwood's father Frank was educated at the University of Cambridge and Sandhurst Military Academy, fought in the Boer War, and was killed in the First World War. Isherwood's mother, Kathleen, was, through her own mother, a member of the wealthy Greene brewing family of Greene King, and Isherwood was a cousin of the novelist Graham Greene, who was also related to the brewing family. Frank and Kathleen christened their first son Christopher William Bradshaw Isherwood, which Isherwood simplified on becoming a United States citizen in 1946.


title: Christopher Isherwood

text: At Repton, his boarding school in Derbyshire, Isherwood met his lifelong friend Edward Upward, with whom he invented an imaginary English village called Mortmere, as related in his fictional autobiography, "Lions and Shadows" (1938). He went up to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, as a history scholar, wrote jokes and limericks on his second year Tripos and was asked to leave without a degree in 1925.


title: Christopher Isherwood

text: At Christmas 1925, he was reintroduced to a prep school friend, W. H. Auden. Through Auden, Isherwood met the younger poet, Stephen Spender, who printed Auden's first collection, "Poems" (1928). Upward, Isherwood, Auden, and Spender were identified as the most exciting new literary group in England in the 1930s. Auden dubbed Isherwood the novelist in what came to be known as the Auden Group or Auden Generation. With Cecil Day-Lewis and Louis MacNeice, Auden and Spender later attracted the name the MacSpaunday Poets, with which Isherwood is also associated.


title: Christopher Isherwood

text: After leaving Cambridge, Isherwood worked as a private tutor and later as secretary to a string quartet led by the violinist André Mangeot while he completed his first novel. This was "All the Conspirators", published in 1928, about the struggle for self-determination between children and their parents. In October 1928, Isherwood enrolled as a medical student at King's College London, but he left after six months.


title: Christopher Isherwood

text: In March 1929, Isherwood joined Auden in Berlin, where Auden was spending a post-graduate year. The ten-day visit changed Isherwood's life. He began an affair with a German boy met at a cellar bar called The Cosy Corner, and he was "brought face to face with his tribe" at Magnus Hirschfeld's Institute for Sexual Science. He visited Berlin again in July, and moved there in November.


title: Christopher Isherwood

text: In Berlin, Isherwood completed his second novel, "The Memorial" (1932), about the impact of the First World War on his family and his generation. He also continued his habit of keeping a diary. In his diary, he gathered raw material for "Mr. Norris Changes Trains" (1935), inspired by his real-life friendship with Gerald Hamilton, and for "Goodbye to Berlin" (1939), his portrait of the city in which Adolf Hitler was rising to power—enabled by poverty, unemployment, increasing attacks on Jews and Communists, and ignored by the defiant hedonism of night life in the cafés, bars, and brothels. "Goodbye to Berlin" included stories published in the leftist magazine, "New Writing", and it included Isherwood's 1937 novella "Sally Bowles", in which he created his most famous character, based on a young Englishwoman, Jean Ross, with whom he briefly shared a flat.


title: Christopher Isherwood

text: In America, the Berlin novels were published together as "The Berlin Stories" in 1945. In 1951, "Goodbye to Berlin" was adapted for the New York stage by John van Druten using the title "I Am a Camera", taken from Isherwood's opening paragraphs. The play inspired the hit Broadway musical "Cabaret" (1966), later adapted to film as "Cabaret" in 1972.


title: Christopher Isherwood

text: In 1932, Isherwood started a relationship with a young German, Heinz Neddermeyer. They fled Nazi Germany together in May 1933, traveling initially to Greece. Neddermeyer was refused entry to England in January 1934, launching an odyssey in search of a country where they could settle together. They lived in the Canary Islands, Copenhagen, Brussels, Amsterdam, and Sintra, Portugal, while trying to obtain a new nationality and passport for Neddermeyer. In May 1937, Neddermeyer was arrested by the Gestapo for draft evasion and reciprocal onanism.


title: Christopher Isherwood

text: During this period, Isherwood returned often to London where he took his first movie-writing job, working with Viennese director Berthold Viertel on the film "Little Friend" (1934). He collaborated with Auden on three plays – "The Dog Beneath the Skin" (1935), "The Ascent of F6" (1936), and "On the Frontier" (1938) – all produced by Robert Medley and Rupert Doone's Group Theatre. He also worked on "Lions and Shadows" (1938), a fictionalized autobiography of his education — both in and out of school — in the 1920s.


title: Christopher Isherwood

text: In January 1938, Isherwood and Auden traveled to China to write "Journey to a War" (1939) about the Sino-Japanese conflict. They returned to England the following summer via the United States and decided to emigrate there in January 1939.


title: Christopher Isherwood

text: While living in Hollywood, California, Isherwood befriended Truman Capote, an up-and-coming young writer who would be influenced by Isherwood's "Berlin Stories", most specifically in the traces of the story "Sally Bowles" that surface in Capote's famed novella "Breakfast at Tiffany's".


title: Christopher Isherwood

text: Isherwood also befriended Dodie Smith, a British novelist and playwright who had also moved to California, and who became one of the few people to whom Isherwood showed his work in progress.


title: Christopher Isherwood

text: Isherwood considered becoming an American citizen in 1945 but balked at taking an oath that included the statement that he would defend the country. The next year he applied for citizenship and answered questions honestly, saying he would accept non-combatant duties like loading ships with food. The fact that he had volunteered for service with the Medical Corps also helped. At the naturalisation ceremony, he found he was required to swear to defend the nation and decided to take the oath since he had already stated his objections and reservations. He became an American citizen on 8 November 1946.


title: Christopher Isherwood

text: He began living with the photographer William "Bill" Caskey. In 1947, the two traveled to South America. Isherwood wrote the prose and Caskey took the photographs for a 1949 book about their journey entitled "The Condor and the Cows".


title: Christopher Isherwood

text: On Valentine's Day 1953, at the age of 48, he met the teenager Don Bachardy among a group of friends on the beach at Santa Monica. Reports of Bachardy's age at the time vary, but Bachardy later said, "At the time I was probably 16." In fact, he was 18. Despite the age difference, this meeting began a partnership that, though interrupted by affairs and separations, continued until the end of Isherwood's life.


title: Christopher Isherwood

text: During the early months of their affair, Isherwood finished—and Bachardy typed—the novel on which he had worked for some years, "The World in the Evening" (1954). Isherwood also taught a course on modern English literature at Los Angeles State College (now California State University, Los Angeles) for several years during the 1950s and early 1960s.


title: Christopher Isherwood

text: The 30-year age difference between Isherwood and Bachardy raised eyebrows at the time, with Bachardy, in his own words, "regarded as a sort of child prostitute", but the two became a well-known and well-established couple in Southern Californian society with many Hollywood friends.


title: Christopher Isherwood

text: "Down There on a Visit", a novel published in 1962, comprised four related stories that overlap the period covered in his Berlin stories. In the opinion of many reviewers, Isherwood's finest achievement was his 1964 novel "A Single Man", that depicted a day in the life of George, a middle-aged, gay Englishman who is a professor at a Los Angeles university. The novel was adapted into a film of the same name in 2009. During 1964 Isherwood collaborated with American writer Terry Southern on the screenplay for the Tony Richardson film adaptation of "The Loved One", Evelyn Waugh's caustic satire on the American funeral industry.


title: Christopher Isherwood

text: Isherwood and Bachardy lived together in Santa Monica for the rest of Isherwood's life. Isherwood was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1981, and died of the disease on 4 January 1986 at his Santa Monica home, aged 81. His body was donated to medical science at UCLA, and his ashes were later scattered at sea. Bachardy became a successful artist with an independent reputation, and his portraits of the dying Isherwood became well known after Isherwood's death.


title: Christopher Isherwood

text: Gerald Heard had introduced British writer Aldous Huxley to Vedanta (Hindu-centered philosophy) and meditation. After migrating to America in 1937, Heard and Huxley became Vedantists attending functions at the Vedanta Society of Southern California, under the guidance of founder Swami Prabhavananda, a monk of the Ramakrishna Order of India. Both were initiated by the Swami. Heard and Huxley introduced Isherwood to the Swami's Vedanta Society. Over time, Isherwood developed a close friendship with Huxley, with whom he sometimes collaborated. Isherwood became a dedicated Vedantist himself and was initiated by Prabhavananda, his guru.


title: Christopher Isherwood

text: The process of conversion to Vedanta was so intense that Isherwood was unable to write another novel between the years 1939–1945, while he immersed himself in study of the Vedanta Scriptures, even becoming a monk for a time at the Society. For the next 35 years Isherwood collaborated with the Swami on translations of various Vedanta scriptures, including the "Bhagavad Gita", writing articles for the Society's journal, and occasionally lecturing at the Hollywood and Santa Barbara temples. For many years he would come to the Hollywood temple on Wednesday nights to read the "Gospel of Ramakrishna" for a half an hour, then the Swami would take questions from the devotees.


title: Christopher Isherwood

text: From 1950 to 1978, Isherwood gave 53 lectures at the Hollywood and Santa Barbara Vedanta Temples. He mentions in his diaries and the book, "My Guru and His Disciple", that he feels unqualified to preach, so most of his lectures were readings of papers written by others, primarily Swami Vivekananda. There were a few original lectures including, "Who Is Ramakrishna", "The Writer and Vedanta", and a lecture on Girish Chandra Ghosh, a householder disciple of Ramakrishna.


title: Christopher Isherwood

text: Isherwood was also very involved in the production of the bi-monthly journal of the Vedanta Society of Southern California, "Vedanta and the West". From 1943 to 1945 he was Managing Editor, from 1951 to 1962 he was an Editorial Advisor together with Aldous Huxley, Gerald Heard, and additionally with John van Druten from 1951 to 1958. From 1949 to 1969 he wrote 40 articles for the journal.


title: Christopher Isherwood

text: "Vedanta and the West" (originally titled "Voice of India" from 1938–1940) was the official publication of the Vedanta Society of Southern California. It offered essays by many of the leading intellectuals of the time and had contributions from Aldous Huxley, Gerald Heard, Alan Watts, J. Krishnamurti, W. Somerset Maugham, and many others.


title: Christopher Isherwood

text: In 1945 sixty-eight articles from "Vedanta and the West" were collected in book form as "Vedanta for the Western World". Isherwood edited the selection and provided an introduction and three articles ("Hypothesis and Belief", "Vivekananda and Sarah Bernhardt", "The Gita and War"). Other contributors included Aldous Huxley, Gerald Heard, Swami Prabhavananda, Swami Vivekananda, and John Van Druten.


title: Ko Samui

text: Ko Samui (or Koh Samui, also often locally shortened to Samui; , ) is an island off the east coast of Thailand. Geographically in the Chumphon Archipelago, it is part of Surat Thani Province, though as of 2012, Ko Samui was granted municipal status and thus is now locally self-governing. Ko Samui, with an area of , is Thailand's second largest island after Phuket. In 2018, it was visited by 2.7 million tourists.


title: Ko Samui

text: The island was probably first inhabited about 15 centuries ago, settled by fishermen from the Malay Peninsula and southern China. It appears on Chinese maps dating back to 1687, under the name "Pulo Cornam".


title: Ko Samui

text: The origin of the name "samui" is unknown. It may come from the Sanskrit-Tamil word สมวย, meaning 'sea weather'. Or it may derive from the name of a tree known locally in southern Thailand as ต้นหมุย (full name ต้นสมุย). A third possibility is that it originated from early Hainanese traders to Samui. In Hainanese Chinese, เซ่าบ่วย means 'first island', 'barrier', or 'gate', or literally 'beautiful beach'. As it was their first port of call in Thailand, it became its name and evolved over time to สมุย. Some people believe that the word "samui" derives from the Malay word "saboey", or 'safe haven'. There is no firm corroboration of any of these theories. "Ko" is the Thai word for "island".


title: Ko Samui

text: Until the late-20th century, Ko Samui was an isolated self-sufficient community, having little connection with the mainland of Thailand. The island was without roads until the early 1970s, and the journey from one side of the island to the other could involve a whole-day trek through the mountainous central jungles.


title: Ko Samui

text: Ko Samui's economy now is based primarily on a successful tourist industry, as well as exports of coconut and rubber.


title: Ko Samui

text: Economic growth has brought not only prosperity, but also major changes to the island's environment and culture.


title: Ko Samui

text: The first local government on Samui island was established in 1956 with the sanitary district Ko Samui, which however only covered the area around the settlement. In 1963 it was enlarged to cover the entirety of Samui and Pha-Nga islands, which at that time were still in the same district. In 1973, the area of the Ko Pha-Ngan District became a separate sanitary district. Since 1981, the sanitary district covers the area of the whole district.


title: Ko Samui

text: The conversion of the municipality into a special administrative area with greater powers of self-governance similar to Pattaya has been discussed since 2008, but as of 2018 no action has been taken.


title: Ko Samui

text: Ko Samui is in the Gulf of Thailand, about northeast of Surat Thani town (9°N, 100°E). It is the most significant island in the Chumphon Archipelago. The island measures some at its widest point. To the north are the populated resort islands of Ko Pha-ngan, Ko Tao, and Ko Nang Yuan. Close to Bangrak in northeast Samui is the small uninhabited island of Ko Som, and to the northeast of Chaweng is the tiny Ko Matlang. To the south are Ko Taen and Ko Matsum, each of which have small tourist facilities. To the far west are 44 other islands which together compose Mu Ko Ang Thong National Park which is accessible by a day-trip boat tour from Ko Samui.


title: Ko Samui

text: The central part of Ko Samui is mostly tropical jungle, including its largest mountain, Khao Pom, peaking at . The various lowland and coastal areas are connected by Route 4169, which is a -long road, encircling the island. Many other concrete roads branch off from Route 4169 to service other areas.


title: Ko Samui

text: On the west coast of the island is the original capital, Nathon, which still houses many government offices, as well as two of the island's five major piers. Nathon is the major port for fisheries and for vehicular and goods transportation from the mainland. As the site of the main port and the closest city to the mainland has made Nathon the commercial centre for Samui locals. More recently, the transition from dependence on the local coconut industry along with the continued growth and development of the tourist industry, as well as the northeastern location of the airport, has led to the increase of commercial activity in Chaweng and Bophut.


title: Ko Samui

text: Ko Samui has a tropical monsoon climate according to the Köppen climate classification, bordering on a tropical rainforest climate. The island has a dry season month, with the average monthly precipitation in February falling below , the threshold for a tropical dry season month. The temperature is well above the threshold of year round, indeed closer to an average temperature of . The climate is warm and humid for most of the year. In comparison to Phuket and most of the rest of southern Thailand, Samui's weather is relatively drier (Samui receives about rain per year, and Phuket gets ). Phuket's wet season is spread over six to eight months. Ko Samui has only two months with more than of rain). The heaviest precipitation typically falls in the months of October and November. For the rest of the year, given the tropical climate, rain showers are brief; 20–60 minutes duration is typical.


title: Ko Samui

text: Ko Samui is an amphoe (district) of Surat Thani Province, divided into seven sub-districts ("tambons") and 39 administrative villages ("mubans"). The entire island is one city municipality ("thesaban nakhon"). The district covers the island, as well as the Ang Thong archipelago and some other small islands nearby.


title: Ko Samui

text: Originally, the district included all of the islands of Surat Thani Province. The islands Ko Pha-ngan and Ko Tao were split off as the minor district ("king amphoe") Ko Pha-ngan effective 1 October 1970. In 1980, administrative village number seven of Ang Thong Sub-district covering the islands Ko Chueak, Ko Nok Phao, and Ko Rikan was reassigned to Don Sak District, where it now forms village number 11.


title: Ko Samui

text: Samui Airport is a private airport built and owned by Bangkok Airways, which is still the main operator and was the only airline with services to Ko Samui from mainland Thailand since the airport's construction in 1989. Due to its use of locally produced palm leaves and a natural, open-air cooling system, the terminal complex received an Environment Impact Assessment Award under the guidance of Prasert Prasarttong-Osoth. Ko Samui airport is built in an open style, drawing connections between it and traditional Thai architecture. In 2009, the airport handled 1.3 million passengers and 17,707 aircraft operations. The airport is now additionally served by Thai Airways to Bangkok and Firefly Airlines to Kuala Lumpur and Penang.


title: Ko Samui

text: Flights from Samui to Phuket and other Thai destinations are available, and in 2012, the Thai government announced the possibility of a second Ko Samui airport due to complaints of high airport fees.


title: Ko Samui

text: Several ferries connect the island with the mainland, including two car/passenger ferries, and connect Don Sak to piers in the west of the island, in Lipa Noi and in Nathon. Public buses to all parts of the mainland operate from a new bus station north of Nathon. Privately operated songthaews circle the ring road like a bus service with fixed fees mostly only in the daytime, and private taxis which charged a fixed, flat fee depending on the destination.


title: Ko Samui

text: The expansion of tourism in Ko Samui has resulted in growth of building resorts, bungalows, and luxury private villas on the island. The island's total of 17,479 hotel rooms in 2013 was increased by an additional 459 new rooms in 2015. A gradual shift in demand is seeing more Asian visitors and families, but the top three source markets have been Germany, the UK, and Thailand, which contribute a combined 27 percent share. Bangkok Airways continues to modernise its fleet with new Airbuses, phasing out older ATR 72 propeller planes, which will provide 189,000 additional airline seats for Samui travelers. The airport has already increased the number of daily flights from 36 to 50.


title: Ko Samui

text: The island received more than 2.5 million foreign visitors in 2017, up from 2.34 million in 2016. According to a luxury hotelier, tourists traveling to Ko Samui spend an average of 7,700 to 8,200 baht per head per day.


title: Ko Samui

text: , legislators in the Thai parliament have put forward a proposal to build an bridge linking mainland Nakhon Si Thammarat Province with Ko Samui. The MPs claim that the project would spur economic growth in south Thailand. They propose that—if built—it be named "Chan-o-cha" in honour of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.


title: Ko Samui

text: Ko Samui hosts some 2,700,000 visitors per year. To manage this, every resort, hotel, villa, restaurant, and facility is required to maintain their own septic tank systems so there is no need for widespread wastewater treatment. Rainwater collection from roadway run-off along Samui's main ring road has been vastly improved during the main Ring Road revitalization and improvement project begun in 2017 and nearly completed as of 2020. The project has widened the main ring roads all the way around the entire island, upgrading with new steel-reinforced concrete along with asphalt blacktop, new sidewalks, additional street-lights, and run-off water collection. Ko Samui has three main run-off water treatment plants, in Chaweng, Lamai, and Maenam, to handle the rainwater collection from the roads; since all sewage is handled by each property's own required septic systems.


title: Ko Samui

text: Other islands such as Koh Tao and Koh Phangan (famous for its full moon parties) have much more serious problems due to lack of good infrastructure and enforcement. Plans to build more water treatment plants on those other island has been stymied by lack of funding, making Koh Samui's better infrastructure much more appealing.


title: Ko Samui

text: Samui has four private hospitals: Samui International Hospital; Thai International; Bandon Hospital; and Bangkok Hospital Samui. The government hospital is in Nathon.


title: Heart Sutra

text: The Heart Sūtra ( ' or , Tibetan: བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས་མ་ཤེས་རབ་ཀྱི་ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པའི་སྙིང་པོ) is a popular sutra in Mahāyāna Buddhism. In Sanskrit, the title translates as "The Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom".


title: Heart Sutra

text: The Sutra famously states, "Form is emptiness ("śūnyatā"), emptiness is form." It is a condensed exposé on the Buddhist Mahayana teaching of the Two Truths doctrine, which says that ultimately all phenomena are "Śūnyatā".


title: Heart Sutra

text: It has been called "the most frequently used and recited text in the entire Mahayana Buddhist tradition." The text has been translated into English dozens of times from Chinese, Sanskrit and Tibetan as well as other source languages.


title: Heart Sutra

text: In the sutra, Avalokiteśvara addresses Śariputra, explaining the fundamental emptiness (śūnyatā) of all phenomena, known through and as the five aggregates of human existence (skandhas): form (rūpa), feeling (vedanā), volitions (saṅkhāra), perceptions (saṃjñā), and consciousness (vijñāna). Avalokiteśvara famously states, "Form is Emptiness (śūnyatā). Emptiness is Form", and declares the other skandhas to be equally empty—that is, dependently originated.


title: Heart Sutra

text: Avalokiteśvara then goes through some of the most fundamental Buddhist teachings such as the Four Noble Truths, and explains that in emptiness none of these notions apply. This is interpreted according to the two truths doctrine as saying that teachings, while accurate descriptions of conventional truth, are mere statements about reality—they are not reality itself—and that they are therefore not applicable to the ultimate truth that is by definition beyond mental understanding. Thus the bodhisattva, as the archetypal Mahayana Buddhist, relies on the perfection of wisdom, defined in the "Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra" to be the wisdom that perceives reality directly without conceptual attachment, thereby achieving nirvana.


title: Heart Sutra

text: The sutra concludes with the mantra "", meaning "gone, gone, everyone gone to the other shore, awakening, svaha."


title: Heart Sutra

text: The Heart Sutra is "the single most commonly recited, copied and studied scripture in East Asian Buddhism." It is recited by adherents of Mahayana schools of Buddhism regardless of sectarian affiliation.


title: Heart Sutra

text: While the origin of the sutra is disputed by some modern scholars, it was widely known throughout South Asia (including Afghanistan) from at least the Pala Empire period (c. 750–1200 CE) and in parts of India until at least the middle of the 14th century. The stature of the Heart Sutra throughout early medieval India can be seen from its title 'Holy Mother of all Buddhas Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom' dating from at least the 8th century CE (see Philological explanation of the text).


title: Heart Sutra

text: The long version of the Heart Sutra is extensively studied by the various Tibetan Buddhist schools, where the Heart Sutra is chanted, but also treated as a tantric text, with a tantric ceremony associated with it. It is also viewed as one of the daughter sutras of the Prajnaparamita genre in the Vajrayana tradition as passed down from Tibet.


title: Heart Sutra

text: The text has been translated into many languages, and dozens of English translations and commentaries have been published, along with an unknown number of informal versions on the internet.


title: Heart Sutra

text: The short version as translated by Xuanzang is the most popular version of adherents practicing East Asian schools of Buddhism. Xuanzang's canonical text (T. 251) has a total of 260 Chinese characters. Some Japanese and Korean versions have an additional 2 characters. The short version has also been translated into Tibetan but it is not part of the current Tibetan Buddhist Canon.


title: Heart Sutra

text: The long version differs from the short version by including both an introductory and concluding section, features that most Buddhist sutras have. The introduction introduces the sutra to the listener with the traditional Buddhist opening phrase "Thus have I heard". It then describes the venue in which the Buddha (or sometimes bodhisattvas, etc.) promulgate the teaching and the audience to whom the teaching is given. The concluding section ends the sutra with thanks and praises to the Buddha.


title: Heart Sutra

text: Both versions are chanted on a daily basis by adherents of practically all schools of East Asian Buddhism and by some adherents of Tibetan and Newar Buddhism.


title: Heart Sutra

text: The earliest extant dated text of the "Heart Sutra" is a stone stele dated to 661 CE located at Yunju Temple and is part of the Fangshan Stone Sutra. It is also the earliest copy of Xuanzang's 649 CE translation of the Heart Sutra (Taisho 221); made three years before Xuanzang passed away.


title: Heart Sutra

text: A palm-leaf manuscript found at the Hōryū-ji Temple is the earliest undated extant Sanskrit manuscript of the Heart Sutra. It is dated to c. 7th–8th century CE by the Tokyo National Museum where it is currently kept.


title: Heart Sutra

text: Jan Nattier (1992) argues, based on her cross-philological study of Chinese and Sanskrit texts of the Heart Sutra, that the Heart Sutra was initially composed in China.


title: Heart Sutra

text: Fukui Fumimasa, Harada Waso, Ishii Kōsei and Siu Sai yau based on their cross-philological study of Chinese and Sanskrit texts of the Heart Sutra and other medieval period Sanskrit Mahayana sutras theorize that the Heart Sutra could not have been composed in China but was composed in India.


title: Heart Sutra

text: Kuiji and Woncheuk were the two main disciples of Xuanzang. Their 7th century commentaries are the earliest extant commentaries on the Heart Sutra; both commentaries, according to Hyun Choo, Harada Waso, , Dan Lusthaus, etc., contradict Nattier's Chinese origin theory.


title: Heart Sutra

text: The titles of the earliest extant manuscripts of the Heart Sutra all includes the words "hṛdaya" or "heart" and "prajñāpāramitā" or "perfection of wisdom". Beginning from the 8th century and continuing at least until the 13th century, the titles of the Indic manuscripts of the Heart Sutra contained the words "bhagavatī" or "mother of all buddhas" and "prajñāpāramitā".


title: Heart Sutra

text: In the western world, this sutra is known as the Heart Sutra (a translation derived from its most common name in East Asian countries). But it is also sometimes called the Heart of Wisdom Sutra. In Tibet, Mongolia and other regions influenced by Vajrayana, it is known as The [Holy] Mother of all Buddhas Heart (Essence) of the Perfection of Wisdom.


title: Heart Sutra

text: In the Tibetan text the title is given first in Sanskrit and then in Tibetan: (""), English translation of Tibetan title: Mother of All Buddhas Heart (Essence) of the Perfection of Wisdom.


title: Heart Sutra

text: In other languages, the commonly used title is an abbreviation of Prajñāpāramitāhṛdayasūtraṃ : i.e. The Prajñāhṛdaya Sūtra) (The Heart of Wisdom Sutra). They are as follows: e.g. Korean: "Banya Shimgyeong" (); Japanese: ; Vietnamese: (chữ Nho: ).


title: Heart Sutra

text: Various commentators divide this text into different numbers of sections. In the long version, there exists the traditional opening "Thus have I heard" and Buddha along with a community of bodhisattvas and monks gathered with Avalokiteśvara and Sariputra at Gridhakuta (a mountain peak located at Rajgir, the traditional site where the majority of the Perfection of Wisdom teachings were given), when through the power of Buddha, Sariputra asks Avalokiteśvara for advice on the practice of the Perfection of Wisdom. The sutra then describes the experience of liberation of the "bodhisattva" of compassion, Avalokiteśvara, as a result of vipassanā gained while engaged in deep meditation to awaken the faculty of prajña (wisdom). The insight refers to apprehension of the fundamental emptiness (śūnyatā) of all phenomena, known through and as the five aggregates of human existence (skandhas): form (rūpa), feeling (vedanā), volitions (saṅkhāra), perceptions (saṃjñā), and consciousness (vijñāna).


title: Heart Sutra

text: The specific sequence of concepts listed in lines 12–20 ("...in emptiness there is no form, no sensation, ... no attainment and no non-attainment") is the same sequence used in the Sarvastivadin "Samyukta Agama"; this sequence differs in comparable texts of other sects. On this basis, Red Pine has argued that the "Heart Sūtra" is specifically a response to Sarvastivada teachings that, in the sense "phenomena" or its constituents, are real. Lines 12–13 enumerate the five skandhas. Lines 14–15 list the twelve ayatanas or abodes. Line 16 makes a reference to the 18 "dhatus" or elements of consciousness, using a conventional shorthand of naming only the first (eye) and last (conceptual consciousness) of the elements. Lines 17–18 assert the emptiness of the Twelve Nidānas, the traditional twelve links of dependent origination, using the same shorthand as with the eighteen dhatus. Line 19 refers to the Four Noble Truths.


title: Heart Sutra

text: Avalokiteśvara addresses Śariputra, who was the promulgator of abhidharma according to the scriptures and texts of the Sarvastivada and other early Buddhist schools, having been singled out by the Buddha to receive those teachings. Avalokiteśvara famously states, "Form is empty (śūnyatā). Emptiness is form", and declares the other skandhas to be equally empty of the most fundamental Buddhist teachings such as the Four Noble Truths and explains that in emptiness none of these notions apply. This is interpreted according to the two truths doctrine as saying that teachings, while accurate descriptions of conventional truth, are mere statements about reality—they are not reality itself—and that they are therefore not applicable to the ultimate truth that is by definition beyond mental understanding. Thus the bodhisattva, as the archetypal Mahayana Buddhist, relies on the perfection of wisdom, defined in the "Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra" to be the wisdom that perceives reality directly without conceptual attachment thereby achieving nirvana.


title: Heart Sutra

text: All Buddhas of the three ages (past, present and future) rely on the Perfection of Wisdom to reach unexcelled complete Enlightenment. The Perfection of Wisdom is the all powerful Mantra, the great enlightening mantra, the unexcelled mantra, the unequalled mantra, able to dispel all suffering. This is true and not false. The Perfection of Wisdom is then condensed in the mantra with which the sutra concludes: "Gate Gate Pāragate Pārasamgate Bodhi Svāhā" (literally "Gone gone, gone beyond, gone utterly beyond, Enlightenment hail!"). In the long version, Buddha praises Avalokiteśvara for giving the exposition of the Perfection of Wisdom and all gathered rejoice in its teaching. Many schools traditionally have also praised the sutra by uttering three times the equivalent of "Mahāprajñāpāramitā" after the end of the recitation of the short version.


title: Heart Sutra

text: The "Heart Sūtra" mantra in Sanskrit IAST is "", Devanagari: गते गते पारगते पारसंगते बोधि स्वाहा, IPA: , meaning "gone, gone, everyone gone to the other shore, awakening, svaha."


title: Heart Sutra

text: Two commentaries of the Heart Sutra were composed by pupils of Xuanzang, Woncheuk and Kuiji, in the 7th century. These appear to be the earliest extant commentaries on the text. Both have been translated into English. Both Kuījī and Woncheuk's commentaries approach the Heart Sutra from both a Yogācāra and Madhyamaka viewpoint; however, Kuījī's commentary presents detailed line by line Madhyamaka viewpoints as well and is therefore the earliest surviving Madhyamaka commentary on the Heart Sutra. Of special note, although Woncheuk did his work in China, he was born in Silla, one of the kingdoms located at the time in Korea.


title: Heart Sutra

text: Notable Japanese commentaries include those by Kūkai (9th Century, Japan), who treats the text as a tantra, and Hakuin, who gives a Zen commentary.


title: Heart Sutra

text: There is also a Vietnamese commentarial tradition for the Heart Sutra. The earliest recorded commentary is the early 14th century Thiền commentary entitled 'Commentary on the Prajñāhṛdaya Sutra' by Pháp Loa.


title: Heart Sutra

text: All of the East Asian commentaries are commentaries of Xuanzang's translation of the short version of the Heart Sutra. Kukai's commentary is purportedly of Kumārajīva's translation of the short version of the Heart Sutra;but upon closer examination seems to quote only from Xuanzang's translation.


title: Heart Sutra

text: Eight Indian commentaries survive in Tibetan translation and have been the subject of two books by Donald Lopez. These typically treat the text either from a Madhyamaka point of view, or as a tantra (esp. Śrīsiṃha). Śrī Mahājana's commentary has a definite "Yogachara bent". All of these commentaries are on the long version of the Heart Sutra. The Eight Indian Commentaries from the Kangyur are (cf first eight on chart):


title: Heart Sutra

text: There is one surviving Chinese translation of an Indian commentary in the Chinese Buddhist Canon. Āryadeva's commentary is on the short version of the Heart Sutra.


title: Heart Sutra

text: Besides the Tibetan translation of Indian commentaries on the Heart Sutra, Tibetan monk-scholars also made their own commentaries. One example is Tāranātha's A Textual Commentary on the Heart Sutra.


title: Heart Sutra

text: In modern times, the text has become increasingly popular amongst exegetes as a growing number of translations and commentaries attest. The Heart Sutra was already popular in Chan and Zen Buddhism, but has become a staple for Tibetan Lamas as well.


title: Heart Sutra

text: The first English translation was presented to the Royal Asiatic Society in 1863 by Samuel Beal, and published in their journal in 1865. Beal used a Chinese text corresponding to T251 and a 9th Century Chan commentary by Dàdiān Bǎotōng () [c. 815 CE]. In 1881, Max Müller published a Sanskrit text based on the Hōryū-ji manuscript along an English translation.


title: Heart Sutra

text: There are more than 40 published English translations of the Heart Sutra from Sanskrit, Chinese, and Tibetan, beginning with Beal (1865). Almost every year new translations and commentaries are published. The following is a representative sample.


title: Heart Sutra

text: In the centuries following the historical Xuanzang, an extended tradition of literature fictionalizing the life of Xuanzang and glorifying his special relationship with the "Heart Sūtra" arose, of particular note being the "Journey to the West" (16th century/Ming dynasty). In chapter nineteen of "Journey to the West", the fictitious Xuanzang learns by heart the "Heart Sūtra" after hearing it recited one time by the Crow's Nest Zen Master, who flies down from his tree perch with a scroll containing it, and offers to impart it. A full text of the "Heart Sūtra" is quoted in this fictional account.


title: Heart Sutra

text: In the 2003 Korean film "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring", the apprentice is ordered by his Master to carve the Chinese characters of the sutra into the wooden monastery deck to quiet his heart.


title: Heart Sutra

text: The Sanskrit mantra of the "Heart Sūtra" was used as the lyrics for the opening theme song of the 2011 Chinese television series "Journey to the West".


title: Heart Sutra

text: The 2013 Buddhist film "Avalokitesvara," tells the origins of Mount Putuo, the famous pilgrimage site for Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva in China. The film was filmed onsite on Mount Putuo and featured several segments where monks chant the Heart Sutra in Chinese and Sanskrit. Egaku, the protagonist of the film, also chants the Heart Sutra in Japanese.


title: Heart Sutra

text: In the 2015 Japanese film , Koen, a twenty-four year old bookstore clerk becomes a Shingon monk at the Eifuku-ji after the death of his grandfather. The Eifuku-ji is the fifty-seventh temple in the eighty-eight temple Shikoku Pilgrimage Circuit. He is at first unsure of himself. However, during his first service as he chants the Heart Sutra, he comes to an important realization.


title: Heart Sutra

text: Bear McCreary recorded four Japanese-American monks chanting in Japanese, the entire Heart Sutra in his sound studio. He picked a few discontinuous segments and digitally enhanced them for their hypnotic sound effect. The result became the main theme of King Ghidorah in the 2019 film "."


title: Heart Sutra

text: Schopenhauer, in the final words of his main work, compared his doctrine to the Śūnyatā of the "Heart Sūtra". In Volume 1, § 71 of "The World as Will and Representation", Schopenhauer wrote: "...to those in whom the will [to continue living] has turned and has denied itself, this very real world of ours, with all its suns and Milky Ways, is — nothing." To this, he appended the following note: "This is also the Prajna–Paramita of the Buddhists, the 'beyond all knowledge,' in other words, the point where subject and object no longer exist."


title: Pax Americana

text: Pax Americana (Latin for "American Peace", modeled after "Pax Romana" and "Pax Britannica"; also called the Long Peace) is a term applied to the concept of relative peace in the Western Hemisphere and later in the world after the end of World War II in 1945, when the United States became the world's dominant economic and military power.


title: Pax Americana

text: In this sense, "Pax Americana" has come to describe the military and economic position of the United States relative to other nations. The Marshall Plan, which spent $13 billion after World War II to rebuild the economies of Western Europe, has been described as "the launching of the Pax Americana".


title: Pax Americana

text: The first articulation of a "Pax Americana" occurred after the end of the American Civil War (in which the United States both quashed its greatest disunity and demonstrated the ability to field millions of well-equipped soldiers utilizing modern tactics) with reference to the peaceful nature of the North American geographical region, and was abeyant at the commencement of the First World War. Its emergence was concurrent with the development of the idea of American exceptionalism. This view holds that the U.S. occupies a special niche among developed nations in terms of its national credo, historical evolution, political and religious institutions, and unique origins. The concept originates from Alexis de Tocqueville, who asserted that the then-50-year-old United States held a special place among nations because it was a country of immigrants and the first modern democracy. From the establishment of the United States after the American Revolution until the Spanish–American War, the foreign policy of the United States had a regional, instead of global, focus. The Pax Americana, which the Union enforced upon the states of central North America, was a factor in the United States' national prosperity. The larger states were surrounded by smaller states, but these had no anxieties: no standing armies to require taxes and hinder labor; no wars or rumors of wars that would interrupt trade; there is not only peace, but security, for the Pax Americana of the Union covered all the states within the federal constitutional republic. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first time the phrase appeared in print was in the August 1894 issue of "Forum": "The true cause for exultation is the universal outburst of patriotism in support of the prompt and courageous action of President Cleveland in maintaining the supremacy of law throughout the length and breadth of the land, in establishing the "pax Americana"."


title: Pax Americana

text: With the rise of the New Imperialism in the Western hemisphere at the end of the 19th century, debates arose between imperialist and isolationist factions in the U.S. Here, "Pax Americana" was used to connote the peace across the United States and, more widely, as a Pan-American peace under the aegis of the Monroe Doctrine. Those who favored traditional policies of avoiding foreign entanglements included labor leader Samuel Gompers and steel tycoon Andrew Carnegie. American politicians such as Henry Cabot Lodge, William McKinley, and Theodore Roosevelt advocated an aggressive foreign policy, but the administration of President Grover Cleveland was unwilling to pursue such actions. On January 16, 1893, U.S. diplomatic and military personnel conspired with a small group of individuals to overthrow the constitutional government of the Kingdom of Hawaii and establish a Provisional Government and then a republic. On February 15, they presented a treaty for annexation of the Hawaiian Islands to the U.S. Senate, but opposition to annexation stalled its passage. The United States finally opted to annex Hawaii by way of the Newlands Resolution in July 1898.


title: Pax Americana

text: After its victory in the Spanish–American War of 1898 and the subsequent acquisition of Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam, the United States had gained a colonial empire. By ejecting Spain from the Americas, the United States shifted its position to an uncontested regional power, and extended its influence into Southeast Asia and Oceania. Although U.S. capital investments within the Philippines and Puerto Rico were relatively small, these colonies were strategic outposts for expanding trade with Latin America and Asia, particularly China. In the Caribbean area, the United States established a sphere of influence in line with the Monroe Doctrine, not explicitly defined as such, but recognized in effect by other governments and accepted by at least some of the republics in that area. The events around the start of the 20th century demonstrated that the United States undertook an obligation, usual in such cases, of imposing a "Pax Americana". As in similar instances elsewhere, this Pax Americana was not quite clearly marked in its geographical limit, nor was it guided by any theoretical consistency, but rather by the merits of the case and the test of immediate expediency in each instance. Thus, whereas the United States enforced a peace in much of the lands southward from the Nation and undertook measures to maintain internal tranquility in such areas, the United States on the other hand withdrew from interposition in Mexico.


title: Pax Americana

text: European powers largely regarded these matters as the concern of the United States. Indeed, the nascent Pax Americana was, in essence, abetted by the policy of the United Kingdom, and the preponderance of global sea power which the British Empire enjoyed by virtue of the strength of the Royal Navy. Preserving the freedom of the seas and ensuring naval dominance had been the policy of the British since victory in the Napoleonic Wars. As it was not in the interests of the United Kingdom to permit any European power to interfere in Americas, the Monroe Doctrine was indirectly aided by the Royal Navy. British commercial interests in South America, which comprised a valuable component of the informal empire that accompanied Britain's overseas possessions, and the economic importance of the United States as a trading partner, ensured that intervention by Britain's rival European powers could not engage with the Americas.