Theravada, Sanskrit: स्थविरवाद sthaviravāda, ; literally, "the Teaching of the Elders" or "the Ancient Teaching," is the oldest surviving Buddhist school. It was founded in India. It is relatively conservative, and generally closer to early Buddhism than the other existing Buddhist traditions. For many centuries, it has been the predominant religion of Sri Lanka (now about 70% of the population) and most of continental Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand). Theravada is also practiced by minorities in parts of southwest China (mainly by the Shan and Tai ethnic groups), Vietnam (by the Khmer Krom), Bangladesh (by the ethnic groups of Baruas, Chakma, Magh, and Tanchangya), Malaysia and Indonesia, while recently gaining popularity in Singapore and the Western world. Today, Theravada Buddhists, otherwise known as Theravadins, number over 100 million worldwide, during the past few decades Theravada Buddhism has begun to take root in the West and in the Buddhist revival in India.
Howard McCrary is an African-American musician, entertainer, and actor. He was nominated for Grammy award in 1986 for a gospel record. Credited for vocal performances and arrangements on the music albums of Chaka Khan, Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson, Earth, Wind & Fire and many others. He also appears in the first Gospel Album The Chimes (released on July, 2009) of The Chung Brothers (Henry & Roger Chung) in Hong Kong, acting as arranger, pianist and singer in the song Soul Seranade, Part II.
He guest-starred in the television series Amen, and Martin.
McCrary is the father of actors Darius McCrary and Donovan McCrary.
Venerable Ajahn Chah Subhaddo (Chao Khun Bodhinyana Thera) (Thai: ชา สุภัทโท, alternatively spelled Achaan Chah, occasionally with honorific titles Luang Por and Phra; 17 June 1918 – 16 January 1992) was an influential teacher of the Buddhadhamma and a founder of two major monasteries in the Thai Forest Tradition.
Respected and loved in his own country as a man of great wisdom, he was also instrumental in establishing Theravada Buddhism in the West. Beginning in 1979 with the founding of Cittaviveka (commonly known as Chithurst Buddhist Monastery) in the United Kingdom, the Thai Forest Tradition of Ajahn Chah has spread throughout Europe, the United States and the British Commonwealth. The dhamma talks of Ajahn Chah have been recorded, transcribed and translated into several languages.
More than one million people, including the Thai royal family, attended Ajahn Chah's funeral in 1992. He left behind a legacy of dhamma talks, students, and monasteries.
Ajahn Chah was born on 17 June 1918 near Ubon Ratchathani in the Isan region of northeast Thailand. His family were subsistence farmers. As is traditional, Ajahn Chah entered the monastery as a novice at the age of nine, where, during a three-year stay, he learned to read and write. He left the monastery to help his family on the farm, but later returned to monastic life on 16 April 1939, seeking ordination as a Theravadan monk (or bhikku). According to the book Food for the Heart: The Collected Writings of Ajahn Chah, he chose to leave the settled monastic life in 1946 and became a wandering ascetic after the death of his father. He walked across Thailand, taking teachings at various monasteries. Among his teachers at this time was Ajahn Mun, a renowned meditation master in the Forest Tradition. Ajahn Chah lived in caves and forests while learning from the meditation monks of the Forest Tradition. A website devoted to Ajahn Chah describes this period of his life:
The circle you are in
Has lost it's form
On tainted wings you fly
Above the thorns
Dark angels in the wind
Cut you down
And watch as you fall
To the ground
(Chorus)
You take me down
As you tumble down
Into the rift
You tumble down
Into the rift
You tumble down
Over and over
The dream split open wide
You lost your way
You wander back through time
To another place
Where wishes placed on coins
Can still come true
And winter bows to spring and age to youth
(Chorus)
Men is not alone in this world and
Mankind's not completely absurd
Breaking men ground to build and to grow
Advancing their lives for better or worse
In a world growing fast, we're losing touch
Cultivating hate and forging rules
Closing our eyes, we search the sky
Expectations are from religion
What went wrong?
I don't believe you
It's been around for thousands of years at least
There's nothing new with another catastrophe
A sense to move on is filling the air
Or are we all just [Incomprehensible]
What went wrong?
I don't believe you
What went wrong?
I don't believe you
Men is not alone in this world and
Mankind's not completely absurd
Breaking men ground to build and to grow
Kashmir, Colombia, Rio, New York
Old wars revived to revenge a lost
Taking what's left and burning it down
Creating opposition
What went wrong?
I don't believe you
What went wrong?
I don't believe you
It's not religion
No complication
Just [Incomprehensible]
You're the kind of woman, I've been dreaming of.
But I never thought I could ever say it good enough to win your love
You probably think I'm foolish you probably tell me so
I open up my heart then you're probably going to tell me no, but here I go
I want to give you all I've got inside, I want to love you for the rest of my life
There I've done it.
There I've said it.
There you have it.
I don't regret it.
I give you my love, in a minute, if you want it, come and get it.
There I've done it.
There I've said it.
There you have it.
This is confidential, I never told a soul.
Every time I see you, feel my heart begin to loose control.
And all I know; is I'm feeling something I've never felt.
I want to be with you and nobody else.
There I've done it.
There I've said it.
There you have it.
I don't regret it.
I give you my love, in a minute, if you want it, come and get it.
There I've done it.
There I've said it.
There you have it.
There I've done it.
There I've said it.
There you have it.
I don't regret it.
I give you my love, in a minute, if you want it, come and get it.
There I've done it.
There I've said it.
There you have it.
Oh yah yah yah
There I've done it.
There I've said it.
Ooh baby, yeah
You can fadeaway, yeah, my love, I will always
Remember your faces, thru fadeaway, sing in
Bless all of your eyes, I realize you're my reason
And I'll cherish the days when our souls will be together
She's my sunshine, she's my moonshine
She's my hot, hot, [Incomprehensible]
She's my lady from Euphrates, devil mother
Sure 'nuff, sure 'nuff, sure 'nuff, give it to me, babe
I'm just another one, yeah, just another statistic
You're needle-sickness, illed weakness
Yes, you're killed, yes, you're killed
Yes, you're killed, my boy
She's my sunshine, she's my moonshine
She's my hot, hot, [Incomprehensible]
She's my lady, she's from Euphrates, little woman
She's sure 'nuff, sure 'nuff, give it to me
Sunshine, moonshine
She's my hot, hot, [Incomprehensible]
She's my lady, she's from Euphrates, little mama
She's sure 'nuff, sure 'nuff, give it to me
Give it to me, give it to me, give it to me
Sunshine, moonshine
Sunshine, moonshine
Sunshine, moonshine
The circle you are in
Has lost it¹s form
On tainted wings you fly
Above the thorns
Dark angels in the wind
Cut you down
And watch as you fall
To the ground
You take me down
As you tumble down
Into the rift
You tumble down
Into the rift
You tumble down
Over and over
The dream split open wide
You lost your way
You wander back through time
To another place
Where wishes placed on coins
Can still come true
And winter bows to spring and age to youth
You take me down
As you tumble down
Into the rift
You tumble down
Into the rift
You tumble down