Reburying the treasure—maintaining the continuity: Two texts by Śākya Mchog Ldan on the Buddha-essence

The rich and interconnected universe of ?ākya Mchog Ldan’s views, including those on the buddha-essence, cannot be limited to or summarized in a few neat categories. Nevertheless, the following two interrelated ideas are crucial for understanding ?ākya Mchog Ldan’s interpretation of the buddha-essence: 1) only Mahāyāna āryas (’phags pa) have the buddha-essence characterized by the purity from adventitious stains (glo bur rnam dag); 2) the buddha-essence is inseparable from the positive qualities (yon tan, gu?a) of a buddha; In his writings, ?ākya Mchog Ldan argues against identifying the buddha-essence as a mere natural purity (rang bzhin rnam dag), i.e., the state of natural freedom from obscurations as it is taught in the Middle or Second Wheel of Doctrine (chos ’khor, dharmacakra) and its commentaries. The buddha-essence has to be posited as inseparability from positive qualities of a buddha. ?ākya Mchog Ldan approaches the buddha-essence inseparable from positive qualities of a buddha in two ways. In some texts, such as the Essence of Sūtras and Tantras, he argues that it has to be identified only as purity from adventitious stains, i.e., the removal of all or some negative qualities that prevent one from directly seeing the buddha-essence. In other texts, such as The Sun Unseen Before, he interprets it as the purity from adventitious stains and the natural purity as it is taught in some sūtras of the Third Wheel of Doctrine and their commentaries. That type of natural purity is understood as the state of natural freedom from all obscurations inseparable from positive qualities of a buddha. Thereby, in this second type of texts, ?ākya Mchog Ldan arrives at positing two types of the buddha-essence: relative (kun rdzob, sa?v?ti) and ultimate (don dam, paramārtha). Despite different interpretations of the natural purity, the identification of the buddha-essence as the purity from adventitious stains is present in both. In his interpretation of the buddha-essence, ?ākya Mchog Ldan utilizes the categories of the three levels found in the Sublime Continuum: the impure (ma dag, a?uddha), impure-pure (ma dag dag pa, a?uddha?uddha, i.e. partially pure) and very pure (shin tu rnam dag, suvi?uddha) levels that correspond respectively to the categories of sentient beings, bodhisattvas (understood as ārya bodhisattvas in this context), and tathāgatas. ?ākya Mchog Ldan argues that one becomes a possessor of the buddha-essence free from adventitious stains only on the impure-pure level. In other words, when bodhisattvas enter the Mahāyāna Path of Seeing (mthong lam, dar?anamārga) simultaneously with the attainment of the first boddhisattva ground (byang chub sems pa’i sa, bodhisattavabhūmi)of Utmost Joy (rab tu dga’ ba, pramuditā), they become āryas, i.e. ‘exalted’ or ‘superior’, bodhisattvas, directly realize the ultimate truth (don dam bden pa, paramārthasatya), and thereby for the first time generate an antidote to obscurations of knowables (shes bya’i sgrib pa, jñeyāvara?a). They start gradually removing them, and thereby actually see at least a partial purification of stains ‘covering’ the buddha-essence, and its inseparability from at least some positive qualities. Such is not possible for anyone below that level, even for the non-Mahāyāna arhats (i.e., ?rāvakas and pratyekabuddhas). Thus, only Mahāyāna āryas have the buddha-essence characterized by the purity from adventitious stains; ārya bodhisattvas have only a part of it, while buddhas have it completely.     

Kommanditgesellschaft – Mietzinsanhebung, Anzeige

Bei einer KG ist idR eine entscheidende ?nderung der rechtlichen und wirtschaftlichen Einflussm?glichkeiten anzunehmen, wenn der pers?nlich haftende Gesellschafter ausgetauscht wird oder sich die Beteiligungsverh?ltnisse bei den kraft Gesetzes gesch?ftsführungsbefugten Komplement?ren entscheidend verschieben. Die Anzeige nach § 12a Abs 3 MRG ist an keine Form gebunden. Sie soll dem Vermieter die zuverl?ssige Beurteilung erm?glichen, ob eine entscheidende ?nderung der rechtlichen und wirtschaftlichen Einflussm?glichkeiten stattfand. Die ?u?erung "das Gesch?ft habe die Jugend übernommen" erfüllt diese Anforderung nicht. Im Fall einer Pauschalmietzinsvereinbarung setzt eine Mietzinsanhebung nach § 12a MRG keinen Aufspaltungsantrag nach § 15 Abs 4 MRG voraus.     

Erbunwürdigkeit als Folge versuchter passiver Sterbehilfe

Erbunwürdigkeit gem § 540 Fall 1 ABGB tritt nicht ein, wenn sich die Straftat nur "gegen den Erblasser", nicht aber auch "gegen dessen Willen" gerichtet hat. Ein T?ter, der eine gesetzlich verbotene Form von Sterbehilfe leistet, ist demzufolge nicht erbunwürdig, wenn die Straftat (bspw T?tung auf Verlangen, § 77 StGB) auf Ersuchen des Erblassers begangen worden ist. Die Straflosigkeit der passiven Sterbehilfe ergibt sich aus § 110 StGB. Unterl?sst der Arzt die medizinisch indizierte Heilbehandlung auf Wunsch des einwilligungsf?higen Patienten, ist bereits der Tatbestand eines vors?tzlichen T?tungsdelikts nicht erfüllt. Die Heilbehandlung darf in solchen F?llen auch dann nicht vorgenommen oder fortgeführt werden, wenn sie vital indiziert ist. Ist der Patient, etwa wegen fortgeschrittener Altersdemenz, nicht mehr einwilligungsf?hig, ist zu prüfen, ob er eine solche Willenserkl?rung zu Zeiten, in denen er einwilligungsf?hig war, abgegeben hat (Patientenverfügung, Vorsorgevollmacht). Liegt eine ausdrückliche Erkl?rung des im Zeitpunkt der Entscheidungsnotwendigkeit einwilligungsunf?higen und schwerkranken Patienten, der sich am Ende seines Lebens befindet, nicht vor, ist für die Behandlung dieses Patienten dessen mutma?licher Wille ma?gebend. Für die Einsch?tzung des mutma?lichen Willens sind prim?r mündliche oder schriftliche ?u?erungen des Patienten entscheidend; auf Wertvorstellungen der Gesellschaft oder anderer Personen kann und darf es nicht ankommen.     

Case of Fatal Starvation: Can Stable Isotope Analysis Serve to Support Morphological Diagnosis and Approximate the Length of Starvation?

The diagnosis of death as a result of starvation is established on anthropological measurements, visual appearance of the deceased on external and internal examination, microscopic analysis, laboratory testing, and exclusion of other causes of death. Herein, we present our findings on a case of 95‐year‐old man who died of starvation. After the diagnosis of starvation was established by traditional forensic medicine methods, we have conducted retrospective segmental analysis of stable carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) isotope ratios in hair sample. This method reveals periods of starvation through decrease in δ¹³C and increase in δ¹⁵N along the strand of hair. Our analysis revealed the decrease of 0.6 ‰ in δ¹³C during the last 10–12 weeks prior to death, similar as reported in other investigations. Also, a decrease of 0.7 ‰ in δ¹⁵N during the last 8–10 weeks prior to death was determined that was different than observed in previous studies.     

Tightened Immigration Policies and the Self‐Employment Dynamics of Mexican Immigrants

As the U.S. government has intensified its crackdown on illegal immigration in recent years, an important question to ask is how undocumented immigrants react to the stricter enforcement of immigration laws. This paper seeks to answer whether they increasingly choose self‐employment in an effort to avoid apprehension and subsequent deportation. To guard against endogeneity bias that might stem from increased enforcement in reaction to illegal immigration, the empirical analysis makes use of the September 11 terror attacks (9/11), which inadvertently triggered stricter immigration enforcement nationwide, as a natural experiment. Using a difference‐in‐differences approach and data from the Current Population Survey between 1996 and 2006, this paper examines the changes in the self‐employment choices of male and non‐citizen Mexican immigrants (a proxy for undocumented immigrants) compared to less‐educated Whites (the control group). The findings indicate that male and non‐citizen Mexican immigrants are substantially more likely (40 percent) to enter into self‐employment than less‐educated Whites after 9/11. The analysis further suggests that this finding is not driven by the 2001 recession that coincided with the terror attacks. The increased entries are mainly observed in the group that is most likely to be in the United States illegally and in those who face strong economic incentives. In addition, increased entries are not driven by increased unemployment among Mexican immigrants after the 9/11 event, but, rather, they reflect a change in the behavior of the unemployed Mexican immigrants, perhaps due to changes in perceived risks of detection and deportation.     

Deaths Related to Tractor Accidents in Eskişehir,Turkey: A 25‐Year Analysis

This study aimed to analyze deaths related to tractor accidents in Eski?ehir Province and characteristics of these cases to provide data and suggestions along with the literature. The cases involved individuals died due to tractor‐related accidents were retrospectively examined between 1992 and 2016 (25‐year period). Demographic data related to the cases and crime scenes, characteristics of events, and autopsy findings were evaluated. In the 25‐year period, 61 individuals (88.5% males, average age: 48.7 years) died due to tractor accidents in Eski?ehir Province, and approximately 45.9% of these accidents most commonly involved tractor rollover. Deaths due to tractor accidents will be decreased by raising awareness among tractor drivers, preventing young individuals from driving tractors, not allowing individuals to drive without license, making mechanical and physical features of tractors suitable for agricultural activity to be performed, ensuring their safety for travel and use, and avoiding carrying passengers on tractors.