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To hazard a definition, we’re partial to Ellen Dissanayake’s characterization of art as anything “made special,” that is, not for some functional or practical purpose but for human attention and enjoyment.8 A clay pot, for example, is highly functional, and therefore not “art.” But to the extent that it’s been painted, etched, distinctively shaped, or otherwise embellished with non-functional elements, we will consider it “art.”
The Elephant in the Brain
Kevin Simler and Robin Hanson
The first word of this Pali compound, ānāpāna, means “in-breath and out-breath,” while the word sati means “mindfulness.” The practice is therefore “mindfulness of breathing.” c When practicing ānāpānasati, you put your attention on the physical sensations associated with breathing. It is extremely important to not control the breath in any way—just pay attention to the naturally occurring breathing. If you control the breath, it does make it easier to not become distracted. But it makes it too easy, and you won’t generate sufficient concentration to enter the jhānas.
Right Concentration
Leigh Brasington
Hold fast to the great thought and all the world will come to you, harmless, peaceable, serene. Walking around, we stop for music, for food. But if you taste the Way it’s flat, insipid. It looks like nothing much, it sounds like nothing much. And yet you can’t get enough of it.
Lao Tzu
Ursula K. Le Guin
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