I am looking forward to catching the PBS special on April 7th - Prince Siddhartha of India. The documentary will look at the life of Prince Siddhartha, or more commonly known as the Buddha.

The bodhi tre and leaf is an important symbol in Buddhism.  As Buddha achieved enlightenment while sitting under a bodhi tree.  I took this photo many summers ago at a Buddhist temple in northern California.

The reclining statue of the Buddha in Uttar Pradesh. - Photo from PBS, The Story of India. There are also statues like this found in many Buddhist temples in Laos and Thailand.

Here is a little synopsis of Buddha’s life from the University of Minnesota, Mankato:

“The historical Buddha was born Prince Siddhatha Gotama in Kapilavatthu, near the present-day border of India and Nepal, on the May Full Moon day in 623 B.C. His parents, King Suddhodana and Queen Maya, had waited for a child for a long time. Everyone in the kingdom rejoiced at his birth.

At this time India already had a rich spiritual heritage. It had been prophesized there would soon be an ascetic who would realize the ultimate truth and become the greatest teacher. According the Hindu tradition, five days after his birth seven Brahmin priests came to the temple to name the baby using astrology and forecast his future by reading his body signs. Each of the Brahmins said this baby would become a universal monarch or leave his princely life to become a world spiritual leader. The youngest priest, Kondanna, was so confident that this was the future Buddha that he left the priesthood to wait in the forest for his future teacher.”

And here is the preview. Check your local listing here mark your calendar!

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I have always been fond of alpacas ever since I first saw those funny expressions.  Alpaca fibers are considered to be one of the softest and warmest natural fibers available.

Alpacas are like a smaller version of a llama and related to the camel. Alpacas and llamas roam together and can interbred, but they eventually separate into their own groups.

Vicunas are the alpacas native to the Andes mountain. They are highly protected and can not be exported anywhere. They also have the finest fur of them all.

I first learned about Vicunas while watching Nature on PBS, the program was titled “Andes: The Dragon’s Back.” A great program to watch if you get the chance. There are so many other interesting wildlife that live in this part of South America.

Introduction from PBS Nature:

Only a mountain range of extremes could harbor such a rich and diverse variety of life forms. Here you will find some of the highest, saltiest, wettest and driest terrains on the planet. Penguins, opossums, hummingbirds, llamas, pumas, foxes, condors, spectacle bears and many more have all managed to carve out an existence somewhere in one of the many worlds that we call the Andes.

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I grew up watching many educational programs on PBS and am very thankful for them. Even now, I will try to catch the good programs on PBS when I get the chance. The latest show I saw was Nova’s, “Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives“. Somehow that show has been on my mind even long after it’s over.

The show was not just about science.  It’s the story of Mark Everett and his journey to learn more about his father.  Mark (also known as E) is part of the indie rock band - the Eels.  Mark never got to know too much about his father.  He was only 18 when he lost him.

Mark’s father, Hugh Everett III, considered to be a brilliant scientist who came up with the radical “many worlds theory” of quantum mechanics.

My father never, ever said anything to me about his theories. I was in the same house with him for at least 18 years but he was a total stranger to me. He was in his own parallel universe. He was a physical presence, like the furniture, sitting there jotting down crazy notations at the dining room table night after night. I think he was deeply disappointed that he knew he was a genius but the rest of the world didn’t know it. - Mark Everett.

Other family tragedies soon followed Mark later in his life.  Including the loss of his only sibling (a sister) and then of his mother.  Despite the family tragedy, I think he turned to his music and found the silver lining of it all.

You can also sense that he has a good heart and a healthy sense of humor.  The show is more then just about science, it’s about family, understanding, and finally acceptance.

Well, you have to have a sense of humor.  It came from my family.  That was how we communicated. Nobody never said “I love you” or anything like that.  It was more jokey sarcastic family, that was how we communicated.

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