Vasala Sutta:

What makes one an outcast?

In ancient India, even during the time of the Gautama Buddha, the caste system prevailed in a big way. The four main castes were Kshatriya, Brahmana, Suddra and Vaisrave. The blue-blooded, especially the Kshatriyas (Royalty) and the Brahmanas thought they were superior to others. Therefore, they dominated society and treated all others as outcasts.

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Vignettes

The difficult art of knowing thyself

According to an old Japanese tale, a Samurai once challenged a Zen master to explain the concept of heaven and hell. However, the Zen master told him scornfully that he was a fool who was trying to waste the master’s time. The Samurai’s ego was hurt. He lost his temper and pulled out his sword from its scabbard. Then he threatened to kill the Zen master.

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Thorns on the Side

Exploring the final frontier

For something that is completely and literally out of this world, space has become a hot news topic on media worldwide. This resurgence of interest in the final frontier is mainly due to NASA’s spectacular success with its Mars Curiosity Rover mission.

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