8-Fold Path

A result of Buddha Sakyamuni's first turning of the wheel of Dharma at Sarnath were the four noble truths.  Many have expoused, interpreted, explained, described, meditated upon and put into action these truths.

1. Suffering exits
2. Suffering is caused by desire and attachment
3. Release from suffering is possible
4. The 8-fold path is the way to work to be released from suffering

The 8-Fold Path is the main focus of the Hinayana or Theravada tradition of Buddhism, but the foundation for all other schools and practices.  Here is are two schematics from different schools (not sure which ones yet) that describe and try to quantify the 8-fold path -

This first one I like because its visual shows interaction between the steps on the path that seems to help the viewer understand the progress they might want to take.  I don't yet understand the sanskrit translations of the words, and why it is the format it is in. 

This second one from a transcendental awareness (what?) news journal gives a practical explanation of the path breaking down what I know to be the different categories of practice within each step of the path (from various Tibetan Buddhist sources).

The Path breaks down into three sections (as depicted above in the spiral) as practices of body, speech, and mind.  These aims are to then cleanse, over many many lifetimes, the negative karmic habitual tendencies each human being carries from lifetime to lifetime.

PhD You Say???

What would these possible topics of study for a phd look like:

ecology and conflict

international diplomacy and systems thinking

political science and community building

an ecological approach to conflict transformation

I'm thinking that if I do, indeed want to pursue a phd somewhere I need to understand first what my motivation for doing so is.  Do I want to be AD of SIT Nepal?  Do I want to teach in the US? Do I want to work as a practitioner in some field of study here in the Himalayan region?  and of course, where can my skill set be of most benefit and relevance to others?

Most importantly - what would a phd give me that I don't have right now?  credibility?  The insistance that I am 'not just a kid' trying to fumble her way through the professional world.  Would some time spent studying and focusing on one topic really do that for me?  or am I approaching this issue from the wrong angle?

What kind of life experience do I need between now and potentially starting a phd in, say, Fall 2011 or Fall 2012?  More work with an NGO?  Management?  Field work?

Climate Change on Mt. Everest

Nepal Government meets near Everest Base Camp in order to bring attention to issues of climate change and its affect on the Himalayan Region.  AP article Here.

An effective form of political activism on the part of government officials prior to Copenhaggen?
OR
A waste of precious resources to fly the entire cabinet up to 18,000 ft for a meeting?

The Story of Stuff

This video is one of the most important teaching tools I've found for taking a systems approach to talking about responsible consumption. Have a look.
"You cannot run a linear system on a finite planet indefinitely."

Also some good resources to put global consumption into perspective:

That book about comparing the world's stuff
Cradle to Cradle - William McDonough