The temples of Khajuraho

The temples of Khajuraho are more than just erotic sculptures, though, which are apparently only one -tenth of all the carvings on the walls of the shrines. Built between the 10th-12th centuries by the Chandela Rajputs, the temples of Khajuraho were hidden in dense forests and were discovered much later, only in the 19th century. Located on the banks of a tributary of the Ken river, these medieval monuments are today one of the World Heritage Sites. The Western Group of temples is the largest here and then you have the Eastern and the Southern Group and a few Jaina monuments as well. And these temples he says go beyond religion and eroticism. The Khajuraho sculptures may be synonymous with erotic art, but there are several different kinds of carvings here.

The story goes that the moon seduced a beautiful woman called Hemavathy when was bathing in the dark under moonlight. However, he apparently told her that their son would one day establish a kingdom. Hemavathy ran into the forests and raised her son Chandravarman who eventually grew up to establish the Chandela dynasty and one theory says he was influenced by his mother’s story and built the temples of Khajuraho with sculptures depicting human passions and probably, the futility of the same.

However, there are many theories regarding the erotic sculptures of Khajuraho. The Chausath Yogini temple built in 900 AD . Built In an open sanctuary all the sixty seven cells are empty. None of the 64 Yogini along with Goddess Durga are around , but It can feel a mystical aura around the temple. People believe that the essence of Khajuraho lies in Tantric cult and the erotic sculptures are manifestations of the same. Whatever the reason may be, Khajuraho ‘s temples go beyond the kamasutra.

The Kandariya Mahadev temple towers above the rest in the Western Group with almost 900 sculptures jostling for space on its walls. It represents Kailash as the temple resembles a mountain range. The main tower is like a mountain, reaching out to 30 meters tall and there are several miniature towers popping out like smaller hillocks. Besides erotic sculptures you can see several different carvings here as well. Dedicated to Shiva, the temple is believed to have built by King Vidhyadhara after a successful war campaign. The Vaikunta image of Vishnu seems to have three different faces – those of a lion, boar and a man. The carvings here depict social and cultural lives of the Chandelas.Facing this temple is a Lakshmi temple, that once housed a Garuda and next to it is an intricately carved monolith of Varaha, the incarnation of Vishnu built of sandstone. Along the same platform of the Kandariya Mahadev temple is a Mahadev temple, another shrine dedicated to Jagadhambi, a Chitragupt temple for Surya, the sun god, a shrine for Parvati and the massive Vishwanath temple.

The Eastern and Southern groups, where the deity was believed to have been discovered during an excavation. The Brahma temple, a small shrine by a lake. Although a lingam is housed here, it was initially meant to be built for Vishnu.Every temple has an interesting name. A Vishnu temple is called Javari as millet or Javar was cultivated close by. Another temple called Ghantai refers to the bells depicted on the pillars. Jaina temples dedicated to the Teerthankaras – Adinatha, Parshwanatha and Shantinatha. The Dulhadeo temple, where Shiva is a bridegroom is a temple dedicated to weddings, fertility rites and cults.

According to my point of view no one will ever know what was in the sculptor’s mind as he carved these erotic sculptures of Khajuraho. Perhaps the charm of the destination lies in this mysticism.

Wonder of Northern China

Harbin is a sub-provincial city and the provincial capital of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, as well as the second largest city by urban population and largest city by metropolitan population (urban and rural together) in Northeast China. Harbin has direct jurisdiction over nine metropolitan districts, two county-level cities and seven counties, and is the eighth most populous Chinese city according to the 2010 census, the built-up area (which consists of all districts except Shuangcheng and Acheng) had 5,282,093 inhabitants, while the total metropolitan population was up to 10,635,971. Harbin serves as a key political, economic, scientific, cultural and communications hub in Northeast China, as well as an important industrial base of the nation.

Harbin, whose name was originally a Manchu word meaning "a place for drying fishing nets",grew from a small rural settlement on the Songhua River to become one of the largest cities in Northeast China. Founded in 1898 with the coming of the Chinese Eastern Railway, the city first prospered as a region inhabited by an overwhelming majority of immigrants from the Russian Empire.

With its often harsh winters, Harbin is heralded as the Ice City for its well known winter tourism and recreations. Harbin is notable for its beautiful ice sculpture festival in the winter. Besides being well known for its historical Russian legacy, the city serves as an important gateway in Sino-Russian trade today. In the 1920s, the city was considered China's fashion capital since new designs from Paris and Moscow reached here first before arriving in Shanghai. The city was voted "China Top Tourist City" by the China National Tourism Administration in many years.

BUDDHIST COUNSELING AND WESTERN COUNSELING

The word counseling is derived from the Latin word “consilium” and means consultation and advice. Especially it gives advice for social and personal problems. As well as counselling gives professional help and advice to someone to resolve personal, Social and psychological problems. Counseling is a sub-branch of philosophy and today this term widely used in society. Through the various experiments, observations, teachings and interpretations it developed step by step since a long period of time.

History of counseling

Counseling has a long history since the origin of the human generation. In the initial step, people habituated to solve their day to day problems by advising and taking salutation to solve the problems using each other’s experience and knowledge. But this process didn’t have any acceptable plan or structure. But we can find some traces regarding the counseling through their instructions. Some of the examples in Buddhist suttas and some religions institution and religious text can take as evidence for regarding the origin of the counseling.

Sometimes since in the past, people tried to get mental relaxation than getting medicines for their sickness. They tried to cure many illnesses through some of the rites and rituals and engaging in religious activities. People try to console their mind from various kinds of activities. In this case, those practices were a counseling therapy to overcome their sickness and maintain the mental relaxation of their mind.

And also, through the teachings of Buddha, he emphasized some practices and methods to overcome once mental downfalls such as discussions, meditation. Some of the practice which Buddha prescribed through such practices had various purposes.

• Overcome calamities

• Achieving wealth

• Removed all sadness, worries

• Remove the obstacles and fears

• Overcome the sickness

As the way the history of counseling has a long history and goes back to the past. Through that long history today counseling became as well organized, valuable and important field in the. So the modern counseling has a short history but it is a well rooted strong process. It becomes popular day by day regarding the mental remedies. When we examine about the modern history of counseling it goes back to 1879.The term counseling belongs to the psychology and it is a sub-branch of the philosophy. This psychology field had developed gradually since 1879. The first psychological laboratory established in the SA in 1981. During this time period, people began to talk about this subject, scholars began to discuss, write books in the field of counseling and psychotherapy. After the Second World War, counseling became a separate subject.

When we consider the counseling, we can say that it is one of the most attentive subjects in the present days. Mostly this field deals with various aspects of human. Mental, educational, vocational and family problems are some of the main aspects among them. So counseling day by day rapidly developed and it becomes the major worldwide treatment for common mental disorders of people.

As this way to redress the mental downfall of the mind, counseling is able to give a pleasing full change. There are two types of counseling therapies. It is western counseling and Buddhist counseling. Even though both categorizations belonged to the psychology; they have some differences. As well as, some close parallels can be seen among them.

Both Buddhist and western counseling involve to solving the problems in the mind. Buddhist counseling associates the Buddhist teachings and western counseling associates some special theories and process. Both these counseling methods are commonly engaged in several special tasks.

1. Make Understand the truth

2. Help to select the solutions and alternatives.

3. Help to select the most suitable alternative and implementation of it.

4. Involve to avoid the misunderstanding.

5. Involve to change the behavior

6. Make understanding about the once faultiness of attitude.

7. Establish accurate attitudes.

8. Make development of the mental and spiritual attitudes.

9. Develop the trustworthy attitudes.

10. Solve problems

In this way counseling engages in making wellbeing of once physical, mental, social and spiritual aspect. And it helps to have a happy and harmonious life. And all their aspects are interrelated with each other.

When we talk about Buddhist counseling, it is unique, genuine and mental treatment. Using the unique and accurate teaching of the Buddha, all the misinterpretations and misunderstanding theories of other religions are broken down. Buddha showed the middle and accurate path of the reality.

In this case, Buddhist counseling is different from the purposes, theories. Because of it follows a special and peculiar path. There is no any tradition which compared to the Buddhist counseling. Its nature can describe in the following way.

“Svākkhathobhagavatādhammosandittikoakālikoehipassikoopanaikopacchatthanveditabboviññuhīti”.

1. It is taught by the Buddha in good order

2. It can understand individually by own wisdom

3. It is timeless or internal

4. One can examine

5. One can rely it properly in mind

6. The wise can understand it as it is.

Buddha was a good counselor among both humans and gods. There was not any person parallels with him. Sometimes Buddha called as “ bhaisājayara” .Its mean is the perfect wisdom and ability of the Buddha to cure the physical and internal illnesses. Girimānandasutta also provide examples for this point. There is some word, included in the pālicanon which relevant to the counseling.

1. Upadisati - counsel

2. Ovadati - advise

3. Deseti - declare

4. Ovadati – teach

5. Adisti – point out

6. Acikkati –proclaim

7. Paññapeti – reveals

8. Pattapeti – set truth

9. Vivarana – explain

10. Vibbajjana – analysis

All the above words convey the meaning of counseling. According to Buddhist counseling it has two objectives.

1. Long term objective

2. Short term objectives

Long term objectives is a cessation of suffering by attaining nibbāna. Buddha discorded the path lead to permanent satisfaction and the way to remove the suffering. Through the four noble truth, the Buddha explains about the suffering and the cessation of suffering. And it was the most blissful achieving in Buddhism.

Short term objective is solving problems related to group or individuals using Buddhist techniques and create a person with a complete personality. In satipattānasutta, the purpose of cultivating bases of mindfulness is explained.

1. Purification of beings

2. Overcoming of sorrow, lamentation

3. Destruction of physical and mental suffering.

4. Reaching the right realization

5. Attain to the nibbāna.

And also Buddhist counseling gives the opportunity of the autonomy of judgment. Free judgment is very important to a person for his self- esteem and human dignity.

Buddhism talks about both mundane and super mundane lives. The success mundane life focused the success of super mundane life. Therefore Buddhism not only talk about the impermanence, suffering as various scholars interpreted, but also it talks about the success of family life, marriage life, how to make a good economic condition and how to make social relationships. There is no such teaching or philosophy which goes beyond Buddhism.

In Buddhism, counseling concerns special attention to the family. As an important unit, there should be a good place for everyone in the family. In this event, there are some duties and responsibilities of a family mentioned in the sigalovadasutta of the dighanikaya which need to fulfill each other. All these duties and responsibilities of children and parents help to make a strong bond between them. If not family life will be a mess and it will not be a successful one. This unsuccessful of the mundane life impedes the success of super mundane life. Hence, always Buddhist teachings talk about the impermanence of the well being of the mundane life.

Social relationship, also very much important to the wellbeing of life. thesigalovādasutta mentioned the social interrelationship and each other duties and responsibilities by dividing into six questers. Through those divisions Buddhist counseling promoted the less problematic condition. And it cultivates peace, harmony, unity, brotherhood, friendship, humanity, corporation, and cessation of all the anger, fear, jealousy, cruel things ,greediness.

“Ārogyaparamalāba,santuttiparamaṃdanaṃ” According to Dhammapada it says that health is once best profit and happiness. So it implies that how much a person has health and mental happiness to have a console mind.

In the Kevattasutta Buddha admired the miracle of advice (anusāsanapratihāriya). This further advice is a noble, pleasant fruit a monk must obtained. Therefore the Buddhist counseling advice to others using the teaching of the Buddha. Because all those teachings promote the success of the humans.

And also another important aspect in Buddhist consoling is counselor. Indeed, a counselor is a person who solves his or her own problems first. As well as he should understand the problems of others and must have the ability to give solutions to them. In the Buddhist counseling, required qualities of a counselor as follows

Viyatto, vinito, visarado,patipala, akutilo, saccavādino, dīre, dahammānudahammapatipdāno, saddammachāri, dhmmadassi, supatipanno, ujupatipanno, ñāyapatipanno, ñāyassaadhigato, dhammavedi

According to the Buddhist counselling, the counselor must be an accurate person or he should be a role model for his clients. Hence Buddhist counselor must cultivate numerous good qualities.

“Idhabikkavebikkusotācahoti,sāvetācha, ullahetacha, dharethaca ,no cakalahakāro”

(A.N Attakanipāta,Mahavagga,puteyyasutta)

According to the stanzas several qualities of a counselor are as follows,

1. Ability of speaking

2. Ability of listening

3. Ability of well understanding

4. Ability of memorizing

5. Ability of feeling

6. Counselor must be a virtues , ethical person

7. Counselor must be a calm person

All the qualities of a counselor are able to make good results of his counseling or advice. A counselor must have a skill to convert his client towards the success. It is the success counseling according to the Buddhism.

When we consider about western counseling, there are various definitions for it. In the USA “the word counseling” used to give advises, counseling, mental treatments or philosophy and psychoanalysis. And also various scholars provides various interpretations regarding the counseling.

The modern western counseling was originated in 1808. Since that time until now it is developing gradually in various ways while full filling needs of present days. And today it becomes wide and famous among everyone. In 1905 “frank parson” started vocational guidance of psychology as counseling. With a lot of involvement, this field developed and nourished through social science and psychological experiments. And also the first and second world wars affected the development and evaluation of the counseling. The revival of the counseling in America led Sigmund Freud, J.B.Wotson, John Brew, Criskehas, Kenethhoit, William James and also later on Car Rogers gave a new face to the modern days western counseling. Abraham Maslows’shireachcy of needs also affected for such theories.

In the western counseling counselor helps to the clients to overcome the problems by solving certain problems, help to develop the personality and impede the problematic conditions. For these activities, counselor uses various methods, techniques and theories. Western counseling field does not concern about the qualities of a counselor like in Buddhism. In western counseling it just gives counseling or help to solve problems using the emotions and understanding of the client. A counselor does not go to play a role model. He just gives counseling using the theories in western psychology to get the relaxation of the mind. Both western and Buddhist counseling engages in overcoming the difficulties of people’s mind by giving counseling to solve their problems to achieve the calmness of the mind.

Counseling is very popular as well as the significant field in the modern days. Along with the competitive commercial society, it also uses very much among people. Even though it differs from culture to culture, Buddhist or western counseling, it tries to give a consolation to the human mind to overcome their psychological downfall ness using various techniques and teachings.