Letters to the Editor
ignatiusx
Published Letters: 2
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Anasazi didn't vanish!
[Read the article: Destination: Arizona]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I love the Literary Guide to the World feature but I cannot let a small comment stand without correction. Stephen Amidon repeats a tired but popular misconception that after abandoning their famous cliff dwellings, the Anasazi simply disappeared without a trace. Though I haven't read David Robert's book (though now I plan to) it seems unlikely that he would perpetuate that myth, especially since he used Hopi guides.
All one need do to discover the fate of the Anasazi is to learn the preferred term for them—The Ancestral Puebloans. Granted, even that name is not without controversy (the Navajo Nation Preservation Department opposes it), but it certainly tells the story succinctly. The majority of material evidence and oral history suggest that for a variety of reasons, the cliff dwellers left the Colorado Plateau in the 12th and 13th centuries and headed South to merge with Pueblo peoples.
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Also check out Doing Time Doing Vipassana
[Read the article: Meditation for murderers]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I first heard of SN Goenka more than 10 years ago when I worked at the Roxie Cinema and we had an extended run of the documentary Doing Time, Doing Vipassana. This film is a great look at the use of the technique in Tehar Prison, one of India's largest and nastiest. The film is extraordinary, and several of us at the theater went and did the 10 day retreat. I consider it one of the most profound experiences of my life.
Doing Time was also used for advocate purposes and as a result the San Francisco County jails started a pilot program of bringing Vipassana to the inmates. I believe Seattle also experimented with the technique.
I am glad this work in US prisons and jails continues and I will definitely see this film when it comes to the Bay Area.
And for anyone interested in this topic, I highly recommend Doing Time, Doing Vipassana. There is also a good primer on Goenka's teaching called "The Art of Living" by William Hart.