Throughout much of Buddhist history, and particularly in Theravada Buddhist contexts, mindfulness and its associated meditation methods have been the purview of mendicants (monks and nuns), who used mindfulness meditation to achieve trance states (jhana) leading to nirvana.
—
Charles Preston,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
30 Apr. 2026
But those states also have Republican governors, who would have raised holy hell if their constituents had been menaced by these roving mobs of mendicants.
For the same reasons little dogs appeared so frequently at the feet of dead women (and clerics) in tomb sculpture, plenty of Renaissance portraits feature them as a symbol of fidelity.
—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Oct. 2026
Oddly enough, Iran and Afghanistan, both ruled by clerics, are the only countries in the world that still regularly stage public executions.
But DeFalco is drawn to the sidewalk dwellers, street preachers and parking-lot boozers who also lurk down there and help (or hinder) Ten, usually at a loud volume.
—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Oct. 2026
People of faith often embraced his work, and preachers sometimes cited it in sermons.
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