A Bhikkhu (Pāli) or Vhikṣu (Sanskrit) is an ordained male Buddhist monastic. A female monastic is called a Bhikkhuni (Skt: Bhikṣuṇī) Nepali: भिक्षुणी). The life of Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis is governed by a set of rules called the patimokkha within the vinaya's framework of monastic discipline. Their lifestyle is shaped to support their spiritual practice, to live a simple and meditative life, and attain Nirvana. In the Vinaya monastic discipline, a man under the age of 20 cannot ordain as a bhikkhu but can ordain as a samanera (เณร); the female counterpart is samaneri.

Bhikkhu may be literally translated as "beggar" or more broadly as "one who lives by alms". It is philologically analysed in the Pāli commentary of Buddhaghosa as "the person who sees danger (in samsara or cycle of rebirth)" (Pāli: Bhayaṃ ikkhatīti: bhikkhu). He therefore seeks ordination to release from it. The Dhammapada states:

He is not thereby a Bhikkhu
merely because he seeks alms from others;
by following the whole code (of morality)
one certainly becomes a Bhikkhu and not (merely) by seeking alms. Herein he who has transcended both good and evil,
whose conduct is sublime,
who lives with understanding in this world,
he, indeed, is called a Bhikkhu.

Martin Heidegger (September 26, 1889 – May 26, 1976); German pronunciation: [ˈmaɐ̯tiːn ˈhaɪdɛɡɐ]) was a German philosopher known for his existential and phenomenological explorations of the "question of Being."

Heidegger argues that philosophy is preoccupied with what exists and has forgotten the question of the "ground" of being. We find ourselves "always already" fallen into a world that already existed; but he insists that we have forgotten the basic question of what being itself is. This question defines our central nature. He argues that we are practical agents, caring and concerned about our projects in the world, and allowing it to reveal, or "unconceal" itself to us. He also says that our manipulation of reality is often harmful and hides our true being as essentially limited participants, not masters, of the world which we discover.

Heidegger wrote about these issues in his best-known book, Being and Time (1927), which is considered to be one of the most important philosophical works of the 20th century. Heidegger's influence is far reaching, from philosophy to deconstructionism and literary theory, theology, architecture, and artificial intelligence.

Mason Jennings (born March 19, 1975 in Honolulu, Hawaii) is an American pop-folk singer-songwriter. He is well known for his simple yet catchy melodies, intimate lyrics, literary and historical themes, and distinctive voice. His music has appeared in the surf film Shelter and he has toured extensively.

Born in Hawaii, Jennings moved with his family to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at an early age. Jennings learned to play guitar at the age of 13, when he began writing songs. Jennings later dropped out of school and moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota to pursue his musical career.

Jennings produced his self-titled debut album in 1997 on an analog four-track in the living room of a rented home, playing all instruments himself. In October 1998, joined by drummer Chris Stock (a.k.a. Chris Stocksmith) and bassist Robert Skoro, he began a weekly gig at Minneapolis' 400 Bar as the Mason Jennings Band. The two week gig ended up lasting four months. In April, 1999, six months after forming, The Mason Jennings Band and Mason were voted by the 1999 "Picked to Click Poll" conducted by Minneapolis newspaper, City Pages. Mason began touring nationally and expanded the depth of his sound by inviting saxophonist Chris Thomson to play with them occasionally and replacing Stock with Brazilian jazz drummer Edgar Olivera.