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The Pearl – Nizwa: Vanitas 1
The Pearl-Nizwa: 6021 -البساط السحري
Qala’id-al-Jawahir (“Necklaces of Gems”)
A work accompanied by part of a chapter of the book ”Enclosure Fathom”.
Serina took her lightly by the hand. Irena’s bed was in the middle of the floor. It was a masonry bed. The base consisted of cement, with gypsum finished, flower engravings in the panels. Pillars on each corner, stood majestically. A beautiful pure white net, circled in, daintily from the iron casting, whitewashed ceiling. It bloomed, to form a roof over the gabled door and pointed windows. It had the finest white sieve thread in front and its curtains had crystal and clay balls tying them back.
She sank exhausted onto the tip of the bed. “Serina, just give me a minute, will you, please?” By the time Serina stepped back, Irina was in dream land, and she remained there for a long time.
Serina gently pulled off her soft cloth shoes, pulling her back, and covering her gently – motherly, with a soft blanket. She woke up just after midnight, woken by a light noise. It took her a while to break through the net curtain. Happiness spread across the faces of the 13 daughters, aunts, sisters and grandmothers. She could not help but smile to herself. They look curiously at every gesture she made. They got up one by one, to come and greet and said say goodbye by hand. The heat overwhelmed her, as well as the brackish taste in her mouth, and the neglect of not brushing her teeth, without sleep.
“You wash, we bring food.”
Serina took over everything soon enough.
Irena entered the marble bathroom, and locked the door. Her eye immediately fell on the long back brush. In the past, the helpful women always wanted to help, washing her back, feet and hair. For them, it was normal. She sank into the lukewarm aqua water. She smelled roses. She bathed as fast as possible. The light gown hung over her long nightgown. She wore light sandals. She took the note from Salina: ‘your flight and engagement canceled. Tomorrow you will go directly to the social function from here. Kindly prepare for us, personal
meeting at 9am. Plane it leaves at 3pm, Inshallah. Have a good sleep, under protection of Allah the Merciful, I greet you kindly as; His dutiful servant….. *They were on their way to the inauguration of the new library in Egypt.*
Copyrighted Extract – 2021 – Sharmaine T. Pretorius
Legendary – Magic – Carpets:
A magic carpet, also called a flying carpet, is a legendary carpet and common trope in fantasy fiction. It is typically used as a form of transportation and can quickly or instantaneously carry its users to their destination.
One of the stories in the One Thousand and One Nights relates how Prince Husain, the eldest son of Sultan of the Indies, travels to Bisnagar (Vijayanagara) in India and buys a magic carpet. This carpet is described as follows: “Whoever sitteth on this carpet and willeth in thought to be taken up and set down upon other site will, in the twinkling of an eye, be borne thither, be that place nearhand or distant many a day’s journey and difficult to reach.” The literary traditions of several other cultures also feature magical carpets, in most cases literally flying rather than instantly transporting their passengers from place to place.
Solomon (/ˈsɒləmən/; Hebrew: שְׁלֹמֹה, Shlomoh), also called Jedidiah (Hebrew יְדִידְיָהּ Yedidyah), was, according to the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament, Quran, and Hadiths, a fabulously wealthy and wise king of the United Kingdom of Israel who succeeded his father, King David. The conventional dates of Solomon’s reign are about 970 to 931 BCE, normally given in alignment with the dates of David’s reign. He is described as king of the United Monarchy, which broke apart into the northern Kingdom of Israel and the southern Kingdom of Judah shortly after his death. Following the split, his patrilineal descendants ruled over Judah alone.
According to the Talmud, Solomon is one of the 48 prophets. In the Quran, he is considered a major prophet, and Muslims generally refer to him by the Arabic variant Sulayman/Soleiman, son of Dawud/Daud (سُليمان بن داود).
The Hebrew Bible identifies him as the builder of the First Temple in Jerusalem, beginning in the fourth year of his reign, using the vast wealth he and his father had accumulated. He dedicated the temple to Yahweh, the God of Israel. He is portrayed as great in wisdom, wealth and power beyond either of the previous kings of the country, but also as a king who sinned. His sins included idolatry, marrying foreign women and, ultimately, turning away from Yahweh, and that led to the kingdom’s being torn in two during the reign of his son Rehoboam.
Solomon is the subject of many other later references and legends, most notably in the 1st century apocryphal work known as the Testament of Solomon. In the New Testament, he is portrayed as a teacher of wisdom excelled by Jesus, and as arrayed in glory, but excelled by “the lilies of the field”. In later years, in mostly non-biblical circles, Solomon also came to be known as a magician and an exorcist, with numerous amulets and medallion seals dating from the Hellenistic period invoking his name.
King Solomon‘s carpet was reportedly made of green silk with a golden weft, sixty miles (97 km) long and sixty miles
(97 km) wide: “when Solomon sat upon the carpet he was caught up by the wind, and sailed through the air so quickly
that he breakfasted at Damascus and supped in Media.” The wind followed Solomon’s commands, and ensured the
carpet would go to the proper destination; when Solomon was proud, for his greatness and many accomplishments,
the carpet gave a shake and 40,000 fell to their deaths. The carpet was shielded from the sun by a canopy of birds. In
Shaikh Muhammad ibn Yahya al-Tadifi al-Hanbali’s book of wonders, Qala’id-al-Jawahir (“Necklaces of Gems”),
Shaikh Abdul-Qadir Gilani walks on the water of the River Tigris, then an enormous prayer rug (sajjada) appears in
the sky above, “as if it were the flying carpet of Solomon [bisat Sulaiman]”.
In Russian folk tales, Baba Yaga can supply Ivan the Fool with a flying carpet or some other magical gifts (e.g. a ball that rolls in front of the hero showing him the way, or a towel that can turn into a bridge). Such gifts help the hero to find his way “beyond thrice-nine lands, in the thrice-ten kingdom”. Russian painter Viktor Vasnetsov
illustrated the tales featuring a flying carpet on two occasions.
In Mark Twain’s “Captain Stormfield’s Visit to Heaven”, magic wishing carpets are used to instantaneously travel throughout Heaven.
Poul Anderson’s Operation Chaos features a world making extensive use of magic in daily life, and among other things having flying carpets as a common, non-polluting means of transportation – in fierce competition with the also available flying brooms. Travelers need not sit on the bare carpet itself, as the carpet serves as the platform for a comfortable cabin.
Magic carpets have also been featured in modern literature, movies, and video games, and not always in a classic context.
Operation Magic Carpet (Yemen)
Operation Magic Carpet is a widely known nickname for Operation On Wings of Eagles (Hebrew: כנפי נשרים, Kanfei Nesharim), an operation between June 1949 and September 1950 that brought 49,000 Yemenite Jews to the new state of Israel. During its course, the overwhelming majority of Yemenite Jews – some 47,000 from Yemen, 1,500 from Aden, as well as 500 from Djibouti and Eritrea and some 2,000 Jews from Saudi Arabia– were airlifted to Israel. British and American transport planes made some 380 flights from Aden. At some point, the operation was also called Operation Messiah’s Coming.
References:
Art reposts:
By Ziff-Davis Publishing / Ed Valigursky – http://www.philsp.com/mags/fantastic.html, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=44418375
By Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov – belygorod.ru, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1374733
Operation Magic Carpet (Yemen) – Wikipedia
The Pearl-Nizwa: 6022 A – Al-Salhafath Fatat – السلحفاة فتاة
The Pearl-Nizwa: 6022 B – Al-Salhafath Fatat –
السلحفاة فتاة
Tortoise Girl: Blue Balloon Dogs Never Sleep.
The Pearl-Nizwa: 6023 A Penumbra and Umbra – قلم رصاص أزرق (qalam rasas azraq)
-The Blue Pencil –
The Pearl-Nizwa: 6023 B Penumbra and Umbra – قلم رصاص أزرق (qalam rasas azraq).
-The Blue Pencil –
Blueprints and Watchers –
The Pearl-Nizwa: 6023 C Penumbra and Umbra – قلم رصاص أزرق (qalam rasas azraq).
-The Blue Pencil –
The Scribes Blue Pencil
The Pearl-Nizwa: 6024 -ثعبان وسلالم (thabane waslalm)
NOT Moksha PATAM Boustrophedon
– Snakes and Ladders –
The Pearl-Nizwa: 6025
Ursa Major – الدب (al-dab)
– Saptarishi – Seven Stars
The Pearl-Nizwa: 6026 -الكتاب – (Al Kattab)
– The Book –
The Pearl-Nizwa: 6027 – ليس فقط قطعة قماش نزهة
(les fakt kataa gumash nozha)
Not JUST A Picnic Cloth
The Pearl-Nizwa: 6028 –
The Jebel Akhdar War – حرب الجبل الأخضر –
(Ḥarb al-Jebel el-ʾAkhḍar)
-Five Battles –
The Battle of Kadesh
The Battle of Gaugamela
The Battle of Nineveh
The Battle of Yarmouk
The Battle of Nahavand
The Pearl-Nizwa: 6029 – جبل غولاغا – Dromedaire
Mount Dromedary
Mount Gulaga
– Customized Applications for Mobile Networks Enhanced Logic (CAMEL) –
From Old French dromedaire, from Late Latin dromedarius (“kind of camel”), from Classical Latin dromas, dromadis, from Ancient Greek δρομὰς κάμηλος (dromàs kámēlos, “running camel”), from δρόμος (drómos, “race course”).
Aboriginal significance
Gulaga is the place of ancestral origin within the mythology of the Yuin people, the Indigenous Australians of the area. Gulaga itself symbolises the mother and provides a basis for Aboriginal spiritual identity; the mountain as well as the surrounding area holds particular significance for Aboriginal women. For the Yuin people it is seen as a place of cultural origin. The mountain is regarded as a symbolic mother-figure providing the basis for the people’s spiritual identity.
In May 2006 the Gulaga National Park, incorporating the former Wallaga Lake National Park, was handed back to its traditional Aboriginal owners, the Yuin people, in a historic agreement signed by the NSW Environment Minister and the Yuin people.
The first Europeans to sight the mountain were the crew of Captain Cook’s ship, HMS Endeavour on 21 April 1770. Endeavour passed the mountain at a distance of 15 miles (24 km) offshore. Cook named it “Mount Dromedary”, as its figure reminded him of the hump of a camel.
In the mid-1800s, Mount Gulaga, then called Mount Dromedary, became a prominent site of gold mining. Rev. W.B. Clarke first found traces of Alluvium gold in Dignams Creek in 1852. Gold mining then became a common activity in the area. A significant amount of gold was found in deposits along streams coming from Mount Gulaga’s slopes. Between 1878 and 1920 approximately 603 kilograms (1,329 lb) of gold was found in its slopes. Near the crest of Mount Gulaga, reefs were discovered in 1877 that allowed for gold mineralization. These Pyrite-rich veins which range in size from 15 to 45 centimetres (5.9 to 17.7 in) were mined by the Mount Dromedary Gold Mining Company.
The Dromedaris, The Rejiger and De Goede Hoop
On 24 December 1651, accompanied by his wife and son, Jan van Riebeeck set off from Texel in The Netherlands for the Cape of Good Hope. Van Riebeeck had signed a contract with the Dutch East India Company (VOC) to oversee the setting up of a refreshment station to supply Dutch ships on their way to the East. Sailing on the Dromedaris with two other ships, the Rejiger and De Goede Hoop, Van Riebeeck was accompanied by 82 men and 8 women.
When Van Riebeeck left The Netherlands in 1651, the Council of Policy, a bureaucratic governing structure for the refreshment station, had already been established. On board the Dromedaris Van Riebeeck conducted meetings with his officials – minutes of the meetings of the Council of Policy, dated from December 1651, have been carefully archived.
Land was sighted on 5 April 1652 and the ships docked the next day. Within a week of the arrival of the three ships, work had begun on the Fort of Good Hope. The aim was to establish a refreshment station to supply the crew of the Company’s passing trading ships with fresh water, vegetables and fruit, meat and medical assistance. However, the first winter experienced by Van Riebeeck and his crew was extremely harsh, as they lived in wooden huts and their gardens were washed away by the heavy rains. As a result their food dwindled and at the end of the winter approximately 19 men had died.
The arrival of Van Riebeeck marked the beginning of permanent European settlement in the region. Along with the Council of Policy, Van Riebeeck came equipped with a document called the ‘Remonstrantie’, drawn up in the Netherlands in 1649, which was a recommendation on the suitability of the Cape for this VOC project.
References:
Art Repost: By AYArktos – Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=801990
ARTIST NOTES: NON – VANITAS
This picture is an oldie, but goodie. At first, no one can tell what is wrong with the picture. That is because an active mind can’t always pick the subliminal image on the cigarette pack, but the subconscious mind can. If you look closely, you will see a small boy holding his penis and peeing. The subliminal picture resembles the famous Manneken Pis statue in Brussels, Belgium. Some people on the internet argue that the outline depicts a nude adult man with a hard-on. No one has an idea of why a cigarette company needs do that.
The Pearl-Nizwa: 6030 A –
SACRICIFICIUM أكتوبر الحصان
(aktober al-hassan)
طمع شهواني
(tamaa shahvani)
SACRICIFICIUM – October Horse
Lusty Greed
The Pearl-Nizwa: 6030 B –
SACRICIFICIUM أكتوبر الحصان
(aktober al-hassan)
طمع شهواني
(tamaa shahvani)
CANCELLED SACRICIFICIUM – October Horse
Delete Lusty Greed
By Kings Order
ARTIST NOTES
Festivals in ancient Rome were a very important part of Roman religious life during both the Republican and Imperial eras, and one of the primary features of the Roman calendar. Feriae (“holidays” in the sense of “holy days”; singular also feriae or dies ferialis) were either public (publicae) or private (privatae). State holidays were celebrated by the Roman people and received public funding. Games (ludi), such as the Ludi Apollinares, were not technically feriae, but the days on which they were celebrated were dies festi, holidays in the modern sense of days off work. Although feriae were paid for by the state, ludi were often funded by wealthy individuals. Feriae privatae were holidays celebrated in honor of private individuals or by families.This article deals only with public holidays, including rites celebrated by the state priests of Rome at temples, as well as celebrations by neighborhoods, families, and friends held simultaneously throughout Rome.
Feriae publicae were of three kinds:
Stativae were annual holidays that held a fixed or stable date on the calendar.
Conceptivae were annual holidays that were moveable feasts (like Easter on the Christian calendar, or Thanksgiving in North America); the date was announced by the magistrates or priests who were responsible for them.
Imperativae were holidays held “on demand” (from the verb impero, imperare, “to order, command”) when special celebrations or expiations were called for.
One of the most important sources for Roman holidays is Ovid’s Fasti, an incomplete poem that describes and provides origins for festivals from January to June at the time of Augustus.
October
1 (Kalends): ceremonies for Fides and the Tigillum Sororium
3–12: Ludi Augustales, established 14 AD after the death of Augustus, based on the Augustalia
4: Ieiunium Cereris, a day of fasting in honour of Ceres, instituted in 191 BC as a quinquennial observance, made annual by Augustus
5: second of the three days when the mundus was opened
6: dies ater (“black day”) to mark the anniversary of the battle of Arausio (105 BC)
7 (Nones): rites for Jupiter Fulgur (Jupiter of daytime lightning) and Juno Curitis
9: rites at shrines for the Genius Publicus, Fausta Felicitas, and Venus Victrix on the Capitolium
10: ceremonies to mark a rededication of the Temple of Juno Moneta
11: Meditrinalia
12: Augustalia, celebrated from 14 AD in honour of the divinized Augustus, established in 19 BC with a new altar and sacrifice to Fortuna Redux
13: Fontinalia in honour of Fons
14: ceremonies to mark a restoration of the Temple of the Penates Dei on the Velian Hill
15 (Ides): October Horse sacrifice to Mars in the Campus Martius; also Feriae of Jupiter
19: Armilustrium, a dies religiosus in honour of Mars
26 to November 1: Ludi Victoriae Sullanae, “Victory Games of Sulla”, established as an annual event in 81 BC
The Ashvamedha (Sanskrit: अश्वमेध aśvamedha) is a horse sacrifice ritual followed by the Śrauta tradition of Vedic religion. It was used by ancient Indian kings to prove their imperial sovereignty: a horse accompanied by the king’s warriors would be released to wander for a period of one year. In the territory traversed by the horse, any rival could dispute the king’s authority by challenging the warriors accompanying it. After one year, if no enemy had managed to kill or capture the horse, the animal would be guided back to the king’s capital. It would be then sacrificed, and the king would be declared as an undisputed sovereign.
The best-known text describing the sacrifice is the Ashvamedhika Parva (Sanskrit: अश्वमेध पर्व), or the “Book of Horse Sacrifice,” the fourteenth of eighteen books of the Indian epic poem Mahabharata. Krishna and Vyasa advise King Yudhishthira to perform the sacrifice, which is described at great length.
In the early days
MARCH: March was the start of the year for the Romans. The beginning of spring was the time when everyone could go out and start fighting each other, so the month was named after Mars – the Roman god of war.
APRIL: The name for this month may come from a Roman word for “second” – aprilis – as it was the second month of the Roman year.
MAY: Spring is in full bloom for the Romans in May, and this month is named after Maia – a goddess of growing plants.
JUNE: This month is named after Juno, the queen of the Roman gods.
Here’s a statue of Juno, the Roman queen of the gods. June is named after her. Shutterstock
JULY: This month used to be called Quintilis – the Roman word for “fifth” as it was the fifth month of the Roman year. It was later changed to July by the ruler of Roman world, Julius Caesar, after his family name (Julius).Here’s the Roman leader Julius Caesar, who decided to name a month after his family name (Julius). He called it July. Shutterstock
AUGUST: This month was first called Sextillia – the Roman word for “sixth”, as it was the sixth month of the Roman year. It was later changed to August by the Emperor Augustus, and he named it after himself.
SEPTEMBER: The name for this month comes from the Roman word for “seventh” – septimus – as it was the seventh month of the Roman year.
OCTOBER: The name for this month comes from the Roman word for “eighth” – octavus – as it was the eighth month of the Roman year.
NOVEMBER: The name for this month comes from the Roman word for “ninth” – nonus – as it was the ninth month of the Roman year.
DECEMBER: The name for this month comes from the Roman word for “tenth” – decimus – as it was the tenth month of the Roman year.
Then a few extra months were added…
JANUARY: This was one of the extra months that the Romans added to the year. This month was named after Janus – the god of beginnings and endings. He is often depicted as having two faces.Janus, the god of beginning and endings, is often shown as having two faces. By Loudon dodd – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, CC BY
FEBRUARY: This is another extra month that the Romans added to the calendar. They put it right after January. Its name comes from a festival that was held at this time called Februa. The festival aimed to cleanse the city of evil spirits and welcome health and fertility.
Because the Romans put two new months into the year, the names of the months do not make sense anymore. If our year started in March as it did for the Romans, December would still be the tenth month.
But 450 years ago, people who used this calendar started thinking that January was the first month of the year. So now December in the twelfth month for the Western calendar.
References:
Curious Kids: how did the months get their names? (theconversation.com)
The Pearl-Nizwa: 6031 – MANAH – منح)
الوعد غير القابل للكسر عبر الزمن
The Unbreakable – Unshakeble – Promise – Across – Time:
(alwaed ghyr alqabil lilkasr eabr alzaman)
108.23.5
ARTIST NOTES:
Manah (Arabic: منح) is a town in the region of Ad Dakhiliyah, in northeastern Oman.
The wilayat of Manah is thought to be the first resting place of Malik bin Fahim al Azdi before the Arabs entered Oman when the Marib Dam in what is today Yemen broke. A falaj in Manah still bears his name. In the old town, there are many caves which were said to be hiding places during the war for women and children. There is also a subterranean vault located in one of the ancient houses in Al Fiqin.
Legend surrounds the Az al Qadim mosque located within the town: it is said that a 100 kg rock was moved by a visitor to the mosque, which he took with him on his travels south. The next day, upon waking, the man noticed the rock had disappeared, only to be found back in the mosque. The rock still lies in the mosque and has the imprint of a man’s foot on it. Sultan Qaboos’ royal camp for inspection of the region of Ad Dakhliyah lies at Seih al Barakat in Manah, as does the Hisn Al Shomoukh palace.
Place for learning Arabic
Manah is the place where Sultan Qaboos College for Teaching Arabic Language to Non-Native Speakers is located. The college strives to become a regional and international leader in ASL teaching, through its high quality programs that depends on the latest technologies in teaching foreign languages and contribution in building communication and cultural bridges with other non-Arabic speaking nations.
The mission of Sultan Qaboos College for Teaching Arabic Language to Non-Native Speakers is to contribute to the production of graduates with high linguistic and cultural competency in Modern Standard Arabic. The college strives to enable the students to communicate and interact effectively in any Arab society and to allow them to continue further studies in educational institutions where Arabic is the medium of instruction.
108 (number)
| Cardinal | one hundred eight |
|---|---|
| Ordinal | 108th (one hundred eighth) |
| Factorization | 22 × 33 |
| Divisors | 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 12, 18, 27, 36, 54, 108 |
| Greek numeral | ΡΗ´ |
| Roman numeral | CVIII |
| Binary | 11011002 |
| Ternary | 110003 |
| Octal | 1548 |
| Duodecimal | 9012 |
| Hexadecimal | 6C16 |
- nine dozen
Religion and the arts
PI: “The famous number has many practical uses, mathematicians say, but is it really worth the time and effort to work out its trillions of digits?”
Well it can afford – not to be jealous – of Euler’s identity, which has been described as “the single most beautiful equation in history” (and has also featured in a Simpsons episode).
” Pi is crucial to something in mathematics called Fourier transforms. “When you’re playing an MP3 file or watching Blu-ray media, it’s using Fourier transforms all the time to compress the data.”
” Fourier analysis is also used in medical imaging technology, and to break down the components of sunlight into spectral lines.”
“But, there’s a big difference between calculating pi to 10 decimal places and approximating it to 62.8tn digits.”
“For.. any real-life physical application we wouldn’t need to ever calculate more than 15 decimal places… “
” .. even an approximation of pi to 39 digits is sufficient for most cosmological calculations – accurate enough to calculate the circumference of the observable universe to within the diameter of a single hydrogen atom.”
” From ancient Babylonian times, humans have been trying to approximate the constant that begins 3.14159, with varying degrees of success.”
So recently Swiss researchers calculated pi to a new record accuracy of 62.8tn digits.
It took them 
108 days to get to 62.8tn digits.
There you have it 108 is the answer to which virtual art race question?
62/8 = 7.75 is not a clue just a red herring.
But 108 is knot.
The number 108 is considered sacred by the Dharmic Religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.
Hinduism
In Hindu tradition, the Mukhya Shivaganas (attendants of Shiva) are 108 in number and hence Shaiva religions, particularly Lingayats, use malas of 108 beads for prayer and meditation.
Similarly, in Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Lord Krishna in Brindavan had 108 followers known as gopis. Recital of their names, often accompanied by the counting of a 108-beaded mala, is often done during religious ceremonies.
The Sri Vaishnavite Tradition has 108 Divya Desams (temples of Vishnu) that are revered by the 12 Alvars in the Divya Prabandha, a collection of 4,000 Tamil verses. There are also 18 pithas (sacred places).
Jainism
In Jainism, the total number of ways of Karma influx (Aasrav). 4 Kashays (anger, pride, conceit, greed) x 3 karanas (mind, speech, bodily action) x 3 stages of planning (planning, procurement, commencement) x 3 ways of execution (own action, getting it done, supporting or approval of action).
Buddhism
In Buddhism, according to Bhante Gunaratana this number is reached by multiplying the senses smell, touch, taste, hearing, sight, and consciousness by whether they are painful, pleasant or neutral, and then again by whether these are internally generated or externally occurring, and yet again by past, present and future, finally we get 108 feelings. 6 × 3 × 2 × 3 = 108.
Tibetan Buddhist malas or rosaries (Tib. ཕྲེང་བ Wyl. phreng ba, “Trengwa”) are usually 108 beads; sometimes 111 including the guru bead(s), reflecting the words of the Buddha called in Tibetan the Kangyur (Wylie: Bka’-‘gyur) in 108 volumes. Zen priests wear juzu (a ring of prayer beads) around their wrists, which consists of 108 beads.
_of_Tulasi_wood_with_108_beads_-_20040101-02.jpg)
Japa mala, or japa beads, made from tulasi wood, consisting of 108 beads plus the head bead.
The Lankavatara Sutra has a section where the Bodhisattva Mahamati asks Buddha 108 questions and another section where Buddha lists 108 statements of negation in the form of “A statement concerning X is not a statement concerning X.” In a footnote, D.T. Suzuki explains that the Sanskrit word translated as “statement” is pada which can also mean “foot-step” or “a position.” This confusion over the word “pada” explains why some have mistakenly held that the reference to 108 statements in the Lankavatara refer to the 108 steps that many temples have.
In Japan, at the end of the year, a bell is chimed 108 times in Buddhist temples to finish the old year and welcome the new one. Each ring represents one of 108 earthly temptations (Bonnō) a person must overcome to achieve nirvana.
Other references
In the neo-Gnostic teachings of Samael Aun Weor, an individual has 108 chances (lifetimes) to eliminate his egos and transcend the material world before “devolving” and having the egos forcefully removed in the infradimensions.
Martial arts
Many East Asian martial arts trace their roots back to Buddhism, specifically, to the Buddhist Shaolin Temple. Because of their ties to Buddhism, 108 has become an important symbolic number in a number of martial arts styles.
According to Marma Adi and Ayurveda, there are 108 pressure points in the body, where consciousness and flesh intersect to give life to the living being.
The Chinese school of martial arts agrees with the South Indian school of martial arts on the principle of 108 pressure points.
108 number figures prominently in the symbolism associated with karate, particularly the Gōjū-ryū discipline. The ultimate Gōjū-ryū kata, Suparinpei, literally translates to 108. Suparinpei is the Chinese pronunciation of the number 108, while gojūshi of Gojūshiho is the Japanese pronunciation of the number 54. The other Gōjū-ryū kata, Sanseru (meaning “36”) and Seipai (“18”) are factors of the number 108.
The 108 moves of the Yang Taijiquan long form and 108 moves in the Wing Chun wooden dummy form, taught by Ip Man, are noted in this regard.
The Eagle Claw Kung Fu style has a form known as the 108 Locking Hand Techniques. This form is considered the essence of the style, consisting of an encyclopedia of Chin Na techniques, and is said to be passed down from the founder General Yue Fei.
Paek Pal Ki Hyung, the 7th form taught in the art of Kuk Sool Won, translates literally to “108 technique” form. It is also frequently referred to as the “eliminate 108 torments” form. Each motion corresponds with one of the 108 Buddhist torments or defilements.
In the Cambodian martial art of Bokator, there are 108 kbach in gates 1 through 8 of the hand-to-hand combat techniques.
There are 108 defense combinations that are considered canon in Shaolin Kempo Karate.
In literature
In Homer’s Odyssey, the number of suitors coveting Penelope, wife of Odysseus.
There are 108 outlaws in the Chinese classic Water Margin/Outlaws of the Marsh by Shi Nai’an.
There are 108 love sonnets in Astrophil and Stella, the first English sonnet sequence by Sir Philip Sidney.
There are 108 lines in Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven”.
There are 108 murders detailed in “The Part About The Crimes” in Roberto Bolaño’s novel 2666.
In science
108 is the atomic number of hassium.
108 degrees Fahrenheit is the internal temperature at which the human body’s vital organs begin to fail from overheating.
The distance of Earth from the Sun is about 108 times the diameter of the Sun (actually closer to 107.51, as per definition of the AU). Actual ratio varies between 105.7 (Perihelion) and 109.3 (Aphelion).
The distance between the Earth and the Moon is also about 108 times the diameter of the Moon.
In technology
The number of Mbit/s of a non-standard extension of IEEE 802.11g wireless network using channel bonding.
In card games
There are 108 cards in a deck of UNO cards.
The traditional card game Canasta is played with 108 cards.
In other fields
In India, 108 (1-0-8) is the toll-free emergency telephone number.
In the TV show Lost, the numbers from the fictional Valenzetti equation (4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42) had to be entered every 108 (the sum of the six numbers) minutes on a computer to prevent an unknown catastrophic event from occurring.
Psalm 108
This article is about Psalm 108 in Hebrew (Masoretic) numbering. For Psalm 108 in Greek (Septuagint or Vulgate)
numbering, see Psalm 107/9.
Psalm 108 is the 108th psalm in the Book of Psalms. The first verse attributes it to King David, the author of many Psalms. It is a hymn, beginning in English in the King James Version: “O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory”. In the slightly different numbering system in the Greek Septuagint version of the bible, and in the Latin Vulgate, this psalm is Psalm 107. In Latin, it is known as “Paratum cor meum Deus“.
The psalm is a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies. It has been paraphrased in hymns, and has been set to music often.
Structure and themes
Psalm 108 contains numerous verses which appear in other psalms. Verses 1–5 are similar to Psalm 57:7–11, with slight variation, while verses 7–13 are similar to Psalm 60:5–12. William Barrick considers this psalm to be the “borrower”. John Paul II said that the fusion of Psalms 57 and 60 with Psalm 108 shows that “Israel, already in the Old Testament, was re-using and bringing up-to-date the Word of God revealed”.
Charles Spurgeon called Psalm 108 “The Warrior’s Morning Song, with which he adores his God and strengthens his heart before entering upon the conflicts of the day”. Matthew Henry calls it “An assurance of God’s answer and salvation”.
The Midrash teaches that verse 3 refers to David’s practice of arising each night before dawn and praising God with psaltery and harp, thus “awakening the dawn”.
King James Version
O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory.
Awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.
I will praise thee, O LORD, among the people: and I will sing praises unto thee among the nations.
For thy mercy is great above the heavens: and thy truth reacheth unto the clouds.
Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: and thy glory above all the earth;
That thy beloved may be delivered: save with thy right hand, and answer me.
God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth.
Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the strength of mine head; Judah is my lawgiver;
Moab is my washpot; over Edom will I cast out my shoe; over Philistia will I triumph.
Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom?
Wilt not thou, O God, who hast cast us off? and wilt not thou, O God, go forth with our hosts?
Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man.
Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.
23.5
Today, the Earth’s axis is tilted 23.5 degrees from the plane of its orbit around the sun. But this tilt changes. During a cycle that averages about 40,000 years, the tilt of the axis varies between 22.1 and 24.5 degrees. Because this tilt changes, the seasons as we know them can become exaggerated.
References:
The Pearl-Nizwa: 6031a – MANAH – منح)
Elephants of TEARS and Umbrellas
The Pearl-Nizwa: 6031b – MANAH – منح)
Rainbows and Promises
The Pearl-Nizwa: 6031c – MANAH – منح)
Intervals – Then Even Cats Prayed –
The Pearl-Nizwa: 6032 –
عقدة مضمنة
(euqdat mudmana)
Embedded Knot – Knot – UNKNOT
ARTIST NOTES
In topology, knot theory is the study of mathematical knots. While inspired by knots which appear in daily life, such as those in shoelaces and rope, a mathematical knot differs in that the ends are joined together so that it cannot be undone, the simplest knot being a ring (or “unknot”). In mathematical language, a knot is an embedding of a circle in 3-dimensional Euclidean space (in topology, a circle isn’t bound to the classical geometric concept, but to all of its homeomorphisms). Two mathematical knots are equivalent if one can be transformed into the other via a deformation of …. upon itself (known as an ambient isotopy); these transformations correspond to manipulations of a knotted string that do not involve cutting the string or passing the string through itself.
Knots can be described in various ways. Given a method of description, however, there may be more than one description that represents the same knot. For example, a common method of describing a knot is a planar diagram called a knot diagram. Any given knot can be drawn in many different ways using a knot diagram. Therefore, a fundamental problem in knot theory is determining when two descriptions represent the same knot.
A complete algorithmic solution to this problem exists, which has unknown complexity. In practice, knots are often distinguished by using a knot invariant, a “quantity” which is the same when computed from different descriptions of a knot. Important invariants include knot polynomials, knot groups, and hyperbolic invariants.
The original motivation for the founders of knot theory was to create a table of knots and links, which are knots of several components entangled with each other. More than six billion knots and links have been tabulated since the beginnings of knot theory in the 19th century.
To gain further insight, mathematicians have generalized the knot concept in several ways. Knots can be considered in other three-dimensional spaces and objects other than circles can be used; see knot (mathematics). Higher-dimensional knots are n-dimensional spheres in m-dimensional Euclidean space.
References:
The Pearl-Nizwa: 6033- عقارب الساعة
(eaqarib alssaea)
Hands of Time – NOT just Lace – Meru
The Pearl-Nizwa: 6033a- عقارب الساعة
(eaqarib alssaea)
Hands of Time – NOT just Lace – Meru
The Wave
The Pearl-Nizwa: 6034 –نقطة الصفر
(nuqtat alsifr)
Zeropoint Flower of Holoflux Puzzle
The Pearl-Nizwa: 6034a –نقطة الصفر
(nuqtat alsifr)
Holoflux Integral Interpretations Of Consciousness?? Omega Point
The Pearl-Nizwa: 6035 –
الطريق إلى Nüwa Nizwa Nügua
(altariq ‘iilaa Nuwa Nizwa Nugua)
Road to Nüwa Nizwa Nügua
The Pearl-Nizwa: 6036 – Pearl Of Nizwa
Digital Rendition of
6026 -الكتاب – (Al Kattab)
– The Book –
The Pearl-Nizwa: 6036a – Pearl Of Nizwa
Glass Rendition of
6026 -الكتاب – (Al Kattab)
– The Book –
The Pearl-Nizwa: 6037 – The Jewelry Box – w. i. p
The Pearl-Nizwa
This exhibition features beautiful work, including glasswork by the artist. It has been postponed to make way for the final lap of the ‘Enclosure Fathom – Part 2’ exhibition that has also been postponed due to travel restrictions during COVID 19.
Exhibition Portfolio Expanding:
- The Pearl – Nizwa: Vanitas 1
- The Pearl-Nizwa: 6021 -البساط السحري / Qala’id-al-Jawahir (“Necklaces of Gems”)
- The Pearl-Nizwa: 6022 – Al-Salhafath Fatat – السلحفاة فتاة
- The Pearl-Nizwa: 6022a – Al-Salhafath Fatat – السلحفاة فتاة – Terminals, Superbusses and Boundaries: 2nd of March/ February 24 th/ 55th Day.
- The Pearl-Nizwa: 6023 Penumbra and Umbra – قلم رصاص أزرق (qalam rasas azraq). -The Blue Pencil –
- The Pearl-Nizwa: 6024 -ثعبان وسلالم (thabane waslalm) NOT Moksha PATAM Boustrophedon – Snakes and Ladders –
- The Pearl-Nizwa: 6025/ Ursa Major – الدب (al-dab) – Saptarishi – Seven Stars
- The Pearl-Nizwa: 6026 -الكتاب – (Al Kattab) – The Book –
- The Pearl-Nizwa: 6027 – ليس فقط قطعة قماش نزهة (les fakt kataa gumash nozha) Not JUST A Picnic Cloth
- The Pearl-Nizwa: 6028 – The Jebel Akhdar War – حرب الجبل الأخضر – (Ḥarb al-Jebel el-ʾAkhḍar) -Five Battles – The Battle of Kadesh/ The Battle of Gaugamela/ The Battle of Nineveh/ The Battle of Yarmouk/ The Battle of Naha
- The Pearl-Nizwa: 6029 – جبل غولاغا – Dromedaire/ Mount Dromedary/ Mount Gulaga – Customized Applications for Mobile Networks Enhanced Logic (CAMEL) –
- The Pearl-Nizwa: 6030 –SACRICIFICIUM أكتوبر الحصان (aktober al-hassan) طمع شهواني (tamaa shahvani) SACRICIFICIUM – October Horse/ Lusty Greed
- The Pearl-Nizwa: 6031 – MANAH – منح)/ الوعد غير القابل للكسر عبر الزمن /The Unbreakable – Unshakeble – Promise – Across – Time: (alwaed ghyr alqabil lilkasr eabr alzaman) 108.23.5
- The Pearl-Nizwa: 6031a – MANAH – منح)/ Elephants of TEARS and Umbrellas
- The Pearl-Nizwa: 6031b – MANAH – منح)/ Rainbows and Promises
- The Pearl-Nizwa: 6031c – MANAH – منح)/ Intervals – Then Even Cats Prayed –
- The Pearl-Nizwa: 6032 – عقدة مضمنة/ (euqdat mudmana)/ Embedded Knot – Knot – UNKNOT
- The Pearl-Nizwa: 6033 – عقارب الساعة/ (eaqarib alssaea)/ Hands of Time – NOT just Lace – Meru
- Pearl-Nizwa: 6033a – عقارب الساعة/ (eaqarib alssaea)/ Hands of Time – NOT just Lace – Meru/ The Wave
- The Pearl-Nizwa: 6034 – نقطة الصفر/ (nuqtat alsifr)/ Zeropoint Flower of Holoflux Puzzle
- The Pearl-Nizwa: 6034a –نقطة الصفر/ (nuqtat alsifr)/ Holoflux Integral Interpretations Of Consciousness?? Omega Point.
- The Pearl-Nizwa: 6035 – الطريق إلى Nüwa Nizwa Nügua/ (altariq ‘iilaa Nuwa Nizwa Nugua)/ Road to Nüwa Nizwa Nügua.
- The Pearl-Nizwa: 6036 – Digital Rendition of 6026 -الكتاب – (Al Kattab) – The Book –
- The Pearl-Nizwa: 6036a – Glass Rendition of 6026 -الكتاب – (Al Kattab) – The Book –
- The Pearl-Nizwa: 6037 – The Jewelry Box