In Buddhism, enlightenment (called "bodhi" in Indian Buddhism, or "satori" in Zen Buddhism) is when a Buddhist finds the truth about life and stops being reborn because they have reached Nirvana. Once you get to Nirvana you are not born again into samsara (which is suffering). Buddhists believe a person can become enlightened by following the Middle Way; the Middle Way is not too extreme in either way of living, neither an extremely luxurious life of ease and enjoyment nor an extremely harsh life on living on the minimum of the most basic necessities. One develops Sila (morality), Samadhi (concentration), and Prajna (insight or wisdom). This is thought to take a very long time, according to many buddhist monks and nuns.
After establishing a strong foundation of Sila (morality), Buddhists become enlightened by using meditation. While they practice Vipassana meditation, they relax their mind with clear understanding of the law of impermanence, which clears their minds of all attachments; craving, aversion, and delusion are destroyed.
Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha) is described as the first known (historical) person to have reached enlightenment and was the founder of Buddhism. (Buddhists know him as the Shakyamuni Buddha, and believe there were Buddhas before him and will be after him.) The story of his life is told as an example of what he learned.
Siddhartha was a rich aristocrat and the son of a ruler of a republic. His father went to a fortune teller who predicted that Siddhartha would either become a king or a religious leader. If Siddhartha saw any suffering then he would become a great religious leader. His father wanted him to become a king, so he gave Siddhartha many things and did not let him see any suffering. Siddhartha married a woman and had a son. He named his son Rahula. Some say Siddhartha left the palace to pursue a spiritual path on the day his son was born.
Siddhartha went to the Shramana teachers to ask for help. Siddhartha traveled for four days. On the first day, he saw an old man. On the second day, he saw a sick woman. On the third day, he saw a funeral. It was his first time seeing death. On the fourth day he saw a sadhu (holy man). This man was very poor. Siddhartha thought that the man was happy even though he was poor. Siddhartha also knew that he was not happy even though he was rich. He decided to leave the palace and never go back.
Siddhartha walked through the forest. In the forest, he found a group of ascetics. He watched them and thought this was the way to be enlightened. For six years he lived with the ascetics. For some time, he ate one grain of rice and drank from the river every day. One day a boat was on the river with a musician and his students on it. Siddhartha heard the musician say, "If the string is too tight, it will snap. If it is too loose, it will not play." After hearing that, Siddhartha knew that he wanted to find a middle way, something more effective than asceticism. He took a bowl of rice with milk from a village woman. He then had the strength, to meditate until Enlightenment.
Siddhartha sat at the bottom of the Bodhi tree. He made a promise to keep meditating until he was enlightened. For forty days Devaputra Mara, the leader of demons, tried to stop Siddhartha. He made Siddhartha think of scary things. He made demons try to hurt Siddhartha with spears, arrows, fire, and rocks. Siddhartha did not fear them and kept his mind relaxed and the hurtful things became like flowers and many coloured lights. From Sila (morality), Samadhi (concentration), and Prajna (insight; wisdom), he became enlightened. After he was enlightened, he taught people about what he had learned for 45 years. He died when he was 80 years old.
Mail
Mail is part of the postal system. The postal system is a system where written documents and small to medium packages are sent (delivered) to places around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.
A postal service can be private or public. Governments often make rules about private postal delivery systems. Since the early 19th century, most national postal systems have been controlled entirely by governments. The governments make people pay a fee to send something. This fee is usually in the form of stamps. Some governments only let private postal services deliver parcel (non-mail) packages.
Postal systems often do things other than sending letters. In some countries, the postal system is also in charge of telephone and telegraph systems. The postal systems in other countries can help people apply for government papers such as passports and driver's licenses. Many places the post offices also work like banks. This is so that people can take out money or pay bills at a nearby post office, instead of travelling to a big bank in the nearest town.
People drop letters in a post box to be collected and delivered by the post office.
The Righteous Brothers
The Righteous Brothers were an American pop group consisting of two men named Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield. They formed in California in 1962. Some of their hits include "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" and "Unchained Melody". Phil Spector produced those songs.
Gene Pitney
Gene Francis Alan Pitney (17 February 1940 – 5 April 2006) was an American rock singer and songwriter. He was born in Hartford, Connecticut. Some of his most well-known songs are "Town Without Pity", "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" and "Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa". He died of a heart attack in Cardiff in 2006 while on tour in the UK.
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is an agency of the United States Government. It investigates crime across the country. It is dedicated to national security and law enforcement. The Bureau of Investigation was founded in 1908. It was renamed the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI for short, in 1935. J. Edgar Hoover was the Director of the Bureau from its start, and continued as Director of the FBI until his death in 1972. Although the FBI works worldwide, their headquarters are in Washington DC. They have 56 main offices in cities throughout the United States.
The FBI's mission is to protect the USA and maintain justice. They do this in many ways:
The FBI is organized into branches and the Office of the Director. This office contains most administrative offices. An executive assistant director manages each branch. Each branch is then divided into offices and divisions. Each division is headed by an assistant director. The various divisions are further divided into sub-branches. Each sub-branch is led by deputy assistant directors. Within these sub-branches there are various sections headed by section chiefs. Section chiefs are ranked analogous to special agents in charge.
Four of the branches report to the deputy director while two report to the associate director. The functions branches of the FBI are:
The FBI Crisis Negotiation Unit (FCNU) is a 24/7 operational response to crisis and to negotiate person(s) who are threatening to commit suicide or other harmful situations after a crime has been committed. The FBI's lead negotiator contacts the person(s) involved, with a hard-wire phone line to communicate with the person(s) to try convincing them to give themselves up to local police who are on stand-by.
1596
1596 was a year in the 16th century. It was a leap year.
Nothofagus
Nothofagus is a kind of plant, also called southern beech. It is a tree which can reach 35 m tall. "Nothofagus" is found in South America, New Zealand, Australia and New Guinea.
There are 34 species, considering pollen morphology four sections are recognized, i.e. Brassospora, Fuscospora, Lophozonia, and Nothofagus.
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek was an Indo-European language spoken in Ancient Greece from about 1500 BC to about 300 BC. Ancient Greek and Latin are very important languages. Although they are no longer spoken, they influenced almost all modern European languages.