Building a Tradition: The Lives of Mar-pa the Translator

Mar-pa Chos-kyi-blo-gros (1000?–1081?) is the founding figure of the Bka'-brgyud school of Tibetan Buddhism, which still occupies today an important place in the Tibetan religious landscape. He was a translator of many tantric instructions and is a pivotal figure in the later transference of Buddhism to Tibet. Being one of the most well-known Tibetans, both in Tibet and abroad, his statue is present in almost every Bka'-brgyud temple, and his life story is frequently given as an edifying example. Yet, a close scrutiny of the literary sources available to approach his life reveals how little we know about him for certain. This monograph examines the corpus of Mar-pa's biographies in order to map out the genesis of this literary tradition, in which more than thirty independent texts are now identified. The first part is an introduction to Mar-pa's life and to the genre of hagiography. In the second and main part, all biographies available are placed in a chronological and logical order, organized according to the metaphor of a house. This architectural image illustrates the way the biographies have been approached, from the earliest to the latest, in order to place the reader at the place of the writer: what could he know when he wrote, and what did he build on? Each significant biography is thus presented individually and in relation with the other works in order to understand what place it occupies in this biographical tradition. The third part is a selection of a few cornerstones in Mar-pa's biographies: Mar-pa's songs; verbs indicative of indirect speech that mark the author's presence in the biography; Mar-pa's status as a reincarnation; the practice of entering another's body (grong 'jug); and Mar-pa's relationships with Nāropā and with Gnyos Lo-tsā-ba. In the appendices, the reader will find translations of two of the earliest biographies of Mar-pa, redacted by Ngam-rdzong ston-pa (12th c.) and Rngog Mdo-sde (1078–1154). These two translations provide fascinating alternatives to the well-known biography of Mar-pa composed by Gtsang-smyon He-ru-ka in the early 16th century and mark the beginnings of Mar-pa's biographical tradition. Thus the book presents a welcome addition to the growing literature on the early Bka'-brgyud-pas and is the first to deal in detail with this major religious figure of the second spread of Buddhism in Tibet

Port-Saint-Père – Les Groleries

En 1979, lors de la construction de la déviation D 751, dans la zone des Groleries au sud de Port-Saint Père, le Dr Tessier a remarqué la présence d’un niveau d’occupation gallo-romaine, en bordure de route. Dans le cadre d’une révision de son Plan d’occupation des sols, la municipalité de Port-Saint Père a envisagé d’urbaniser une partie du site des Groleries Une série de sondages a donc été entreprise, afin de mieux cerner la localisation et la nature du niveau repéré. Ces derniers n’ont fa..

Besné – Église Saint-Friard

À la suite de l’aménagement du centre-bourg de Besné (aux abords immédiats de l’église Saint-Friard), et de la découverte, dans le cadre d’un premier diagnostic, de structures archéologiques, dont la datation s’échelonne de l’âge du Fer jusqu’au haut Moyen Âge (aile nord de l’église), une deuxième série de sondages a été effectuée au sud de la nef. Ont été découverts les éléments suivants : des sépultures (inhumations) datant du xviie s., appartenant au cimetière qui ceinturait l’église jusqu..

Clisson – Le Château

Le château de Clisson est situé dans la ville même, sur un affleurement rocheux dominant à l’ouest la Sèvre. Construit (d’après les archives) en 1217 par Guillaume de Clisson sur des « ruines de murs, douves et fossés », il se présente d’abord sous la forme d’une enceinte grossièrement polygonale, flanquée de deux tours au sud et à l’ouest. L’entrée au nord est protégée par une barbacane d’architecture complexe. Aux xive et xve s., du fait des progrès considérables de l’artillerie, on décide ..

Nantes – La Fontaine Caron

Un projet d’aménagement de lotissement au lieu-dit « La Fontaine Caron », a nécessité une opération de diagnostic archéologique, étant donné la proximité du site de la Brechetière fouillé fin 1991. L’opération s’est révélée totalement négative et toute contrainte archéologique a donc pu être levée

Sihlé Nicolas, Rituels bouddhiques de pouvoir et de violence : la figure du tantriste tibétain

Dans cet ouvrage, Nicolas Sihlé reprend, tout en les remaniant en profondeur, les travaux résultant de sa thèse de doctorat intitulée : « Les tantristes tibétains (ngakpa), religieux dans le monde, religieux du rituel terrible : étude de Ch’ongkor, communauté villageoise de tantristes du Baragaon (nord du Népal) ». Entre la soutenance de la thèse (2001), et la publication de ce présent livre (2013), un cycle de douze années s’est écoulé, et c’est en réalité à une renaissance que l’on assiste,..

Comparison of pQCT parameters between ulna and radius in retired elite gymnasts : the skeletal benefits associated with long-term gymnastics are bone- and site-specific

Objectives: To compare the skeletal benefits associated with gymnastics between ulna and radius. Methods: 19 retired artistic gymnasts, aged 18-36 years, were compared to 24 sedentary women. Bone mineral content (BMC), total and cortical bone area (ToA, CoA), trabecular and cortical volumetric density (TrD, CoD) and cortical thickness (CoTh) were measured by pQCT at the 4% and 66% forearm. Results: At the 4% site, BMC and ToA were more than twice greater at the radius than ulna whereas at the 66% site, BMC, ToA, CoA, CoTh and SSIpol were 20 to 51% greater at the ulna than radius in both groups (p&lt;0.0001). At the 4% site, the skeletal benefits in BMC of the retired gymnasts over the non-gymnasts were 1.9 times greater at the radius than ulna (p&lt;0.001), with enlarged bone size at the distal radius only. In contrast, the skeletal benefits at the 66% site were twice greater at the ulna than radius for BMC and CoA (p&lt;0.01).Conclusion: Whereas the skeletal benefits associated with long-term gymnastics were greater at the radius than ulna in the distal forearm, the reverse was found in the proximal forearm, suggesting both bones should be analysed when investigating forearm strength.<br /

Vitamin D Levels in Relation to Low Back Pain During Adolescence

This study aimed to investigate the association between 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) level and low back pain (LBP) among adolescents while adjusting for potential confounders pertinent to this age group including the weight of school bags, BMI and physical activity. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 760 randomly selected adolescents in middle schools. Data on LBP and the risk factors for LBP were collected from parents by a self-administered questionnaire and from adolescents by face-to-face interview. Blood samples were tested in an accredited laboratory; and 25(OH)D was measured using liquid chromatography-tandem MS. The lifetime prevalence and the 6-month prevalence of LBP were 32.28 (95 % CI 28.97, 35.73) % and 21.26 (95 % CI 18.40, 24.33) %, respectively. There was no difference in the geometric mean of 25(OH)D between those with and without LBP in the past 6 months (28.50 nmol/l and 30.82 nmol/l, respectively; P = 0.122). There was no association between 25(OH)D and LBP in the univariable or multivariable analysis whether 25(OH)D fitted as a continuous or as a categorical variable. We found no association between vitamin D level and LBP in adolescents in an area with high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency. Although it is important to have sufficient vitamin D levels during adolescence for several other health benefits, we concluded that vitamin D is not a major determinant for LBP among adolescents in our setting

Preparing Teacher Candidates to Meet the Needs of English Language Learners: The TELLs Certificate

A report on the development and implementation of the Teaching English Language Learners (TELLs) certificate program at Miami University, in Oxford Ohio