[AnattaBlog] Three Recommended Readings for the Prospective Rebel Buddhist (Part 2)

If you followed our advice last time around you’ve got a new found understanding of Buddhist basics. So now what? Like a fine restaurant, AnattaPunk is offering you a wide selection of gourmet dishes for your second course. In other words, I can’t make up my mind. I’ve got three titles in my hat but I’ll leave it up to you to decide which one sounds most likely to stimulate your own interests. Secular Buddhism is about taking responsibility for your own life and making the most of it, so take your pick: The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh, Sit Down and Shut Up by Brad Warner, or The Heart of the Revolution by Noah Levine.

Thich Nhat Hanh

The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation. There are a variety of styles and traditions when it comes to meditation. I think basic mindfulness is the easiest to understand in concept and to start practicing. Mindfulness has made its way into the science of psychology as well as pop culture, including January 2014’s Time Magazine cover. Or [this]. It’s practical in the sense that you can learn to practice while doing things you normally do anyway. For example, Hanh discusses mindfulness practices while eating or doing the dishes. One note of caution–AnattaPunk always recommends a skeptical approach when considering new information, and that is especially true with this book. Hanh makes some pretty wild assertions, some downright irresponsible. I’m pretty sure that at one point he says certain breathing practices can cure cancer (?!). But if your B.S. meter is working properly this book is still a quick easy intro to a potentially life-altering practice. Plus you can read this book for free [here]. You don’t need to believe any woo to benefit from mindfulness. When you come across anything that offends your logic and common sense in Hanh’s commentary, just remember what Stephen Batchelor said (more where this came from in Part 3):

“[Mindfulness] is not concerned with anything transcendent or divine. It serves as an antidote to theism, a cure for sentimental piety, a scalpel for excising the tumor of metaphysical belief.”

Brad Warner

Sit Down and Shut Up: Punk Rock Commentaries on Buddha, God, Truth, Sex, Death, and Dogen’s Treasury of  the Right Dharma Eye. Brad Warner comes from a Japanese Zen background, not terribly unlike Hanh’s Vietnamese Zen. That doesn’t mean they always agree. Warner is a punk musician turned monster-movie-maker turned Zen priest. This book is both a memoir of these experiences and commentary on the teachings of the 13th century Zen master Dogen. This book will give you insight into Zen-style meditation; i.e. zazen. Zazen is probably what you think of when you hear the word meditation, when you see an image of someone sitting quietly with their legs all pretzeled underneath them. Warner discusses how to do this and why. The “why” is very nuanced and presents a fascinating intellectual puzzle to tinker on. Sit Down and Shut Up was Warner’s second book and my personal favorite, but Hardcore Zen, Zen Wrapped in Karma Dipped in Chocolate, and Sex, Sin, and Zen are also worthwhile reads. Warner would probably not describe himself as a secular Buddhist (or maybe he would based on the title of 2013’s There is No God and He is Always With You. I’m looking forward to reading this one) but his approach is very no-nonsense. In his books and blog posts he often debunks supernatural claims, and his discussions of a very practical, non-supernatural approach to enlightenment should be considered mandatory reading.

Noah Levine

The Heart of the Revolution: The Buddha’s Radical Teachings on Forgiveness, Compassion, and Kindness. Did all these guys get together and mandate that all the books on Buddhism in the last few years have to have long subtitles? No matter. Noah Levine is a fascinating dude. One of his previous books, Dharma Punx, is a very frank account of his life as a drugged-up self-destructing nihilistic gutter punk and how meditation practices saved his life. The Heart of the Revolution, however, is more of an instruction manual for meditation techniques on–you guessed it–forgiveness, compassion, and kindness. As a person who readily admits that he’s lied, stolen, committed violence on himself and others, and generally fucked up in every possible way, Levine reminds us all that finding forgiveness and compassion for others is often easier than finding it for ourselves. It’s difficult to write about loving oneself without reeking of cheesy self-help cliche. Levine succeeds for the most part. His other books including Against the Stream are also recommended.

EXTRA CREDIT: Check out The Dhamma Brothers, a documentary film on the effects of Vipassana practice on a group of convicted criminals in an Alabama prison. Vipassana is sort of an intensive mindfulness practice. You may be surprised at what happens to these prisoners, and even more surprised at the prison system’s reaction to the Vipassana program. No spoilers here!

Ok, fellow students. This concludes today’s discussion. Reading one of these in addition to your assignment from Part 1 should be good enough to advance to Part 3. You’ll benefit more from reading all three, but hey, I promised I’d only make you read 3 total. While the above books seem different in their approach or focus, at some point in your studies I think these ideas will all start pointing in the same direction. If they don’t, then take what’s useful for you and move on. More advanced students can feel free to share your own secular Buddhist punk rock reading lists (or playlists) on our Facebook page. Thanks for reading!

[AnattaBlog] Three Recommended Readings for the Prospective Rebel Buddhist (Part 1)

I’m a big fan of irony. So I think it’s great that after my last post about reading less and practicing more the #1 question I get asked is “What books do you recommend?” While reading can only get you so far, there are some fantastic books out there to get you caught up on the last 2500 years of Buddhist thought and how it is (or isn’t) relevant to 21st century life in the western hemisphere. So if you’re a new student of the dhamma, or maybe just AnattaCurious,  here is a list to jump start your radical rejection of suffering and reckless compassion for your fellow Earthlings.

Buddha, A Beginner’s Guide written and illustrated by Stephen T. Asma

1. Buddha, a Beginner’s Guide by Stephen T. Asma

Originally published in the mid-90’s as “Buddha for Beginners,” there is no introduction to Buddhism that is as accessible and informative as this gem. Asma’s prose is extremely readable and accompanied on every page by clever illustrations that make this feel more like a comic book than a textbook. But the comic book vibe doesn’t keep this from being an in-depth discussion of the most important aspects of Buddhism. Asma brilliantly dispels common western stereotypes and mischaracterizations of Buddhism. He clears away mythology and mysticism to bring philosophical arguments to the forefront. There’s a ton of ground covered in this one. He touches on everything from the story of Siddhartha Gautama’s “enlightenment” to the Four Noble Truths to the dissemination and evolution of the teachings in the various strands of Buddhism in the world today. And he manages to do this in a very small package (150 pages or so, including full page illustraions) that can easily be read in a single afternoon. If you only read one book on Buddhism in your whole life it should be this one. And if you end up continuing further in your Buddhist studies, this is a great one to loan out to your curious friends and family who want to know what the fuck you’re up to with all that meditating and treating people kindly and shit. Check out the preview on Google Books [here].

BONUS ADVANCED READING: Asma has other books that are definitely worth reading, including Why I Am a Buddhist: No Nonsense Buddhism with Red Meat and Whiskey, and The Gods Drink Whiskey: Stumbling Toward Enlightenment in the Land of the Tattered Buddha. The latter is a memoir of Asma’s experiences teaching Buddhism to students in Cambodia. The former is more personalized and in-depth discussion of his own Buddhist practice as a parent and professional in contemporary western society. DISCLAIMER: While AnattaPunk does not endorse Asma’s appetite for red meat, we can certainly appreciate his insistence on including whiskey in the title of so many books.

EXTRA CREDIT: For a more thorough, scholarly historical background, check out Karen Armstrong’s Buddha (free to read [here]). Armstrong does a good job of depicting Siddartha as a relatable human being rather than the superhero he’s often portrayed to be. On the other hand, if you’re less interested in the academic historical/philosophical approach and want to jump right into what Buddhist practice has to offer you, check out Rebel Buddha: On the Road to Freedom by Dzogchen Ponlop. This one will give you more immediate insight into why your life sucks so bad and what you can start doing to improve it. Rebel Buddha is written for the contemporary western newcomer to Buddhist practices and won’t bog you down with jargon or confusing metaphysical queries. And like Asma’s writings, it won’t tell you to trade everything you own and shave your head and move to a monastery.

NEXT UP: So you think you got the jist? Now that you’ve got some background info you think you’re ready to dip your toes into actually practicing some of this shiz? Ok, slow your roll tough guy. Coming up in Part 2 of 3, AnattaPunk tells you what to read to take the next step in your journey toward a more enlightened, compassionate, and peaceful state of mind.

Thanks for reading. If you’ve got more recommendations for introductory reading material feel free to share on our Facebook page or leave a comment below! Cheers!

Confessions of a Terrible Buddhist: If You Want to Learn About Zen Don’t Read This Blog, a.k.a The Zennest Shit Ever

One of the best things about living in Portland is day trips to Powell’s City of Books. For the uninitiated, calling Powell’s a pretty-big-book-store is like calling “Confession of  Buddhist Atheist” a pretty good book; in other words, an utterly fail-tastic understatement. This biblio-behemoth spans an entire city block. It’s a veritable literary labyrinth, and practically impossible for a neophyte to navigate without a map and compass. But here’s a tip: If you walk in the front entrance, past the registers, down the hall, up a flight of stairs, and then take a hard left followed by a soft right, you might bump into me. This is the Buddhism aisle.

It seems fitting that this was where I learned an important lesson about Zen. It may be less than fitting, however, that the lesson didn’t come from one of the thousands of tomes of collected Buddhist knowledge throughout the centuries. Nah. My teacher in this instance was just some horned-rim-glassed hipster trying to impress his date.

The two of them casually pretended to look at books while I casually pretended not to be interested in their flirting.

“What do you think about Buddhism?” the girl asked. I nearly snapped my own neck jerking my head to hear the boy’s response. Portland is full of pretentious hipsters who have expert opinions on everything. This kid was about to spew some sophomoric bullshit to save face, rather than admit that he didn’t know the first thing about dharma, karma, anatman, and all the other fancy Sanskrit words I’ve memorized. I couldn’t wait to pounce on him, me a fierce Zen tiger, as he hung dangling from a proverbial vine. I purred. I growled. I listened.

The kid flashed a goofy smile. “I don’t really care for it,” he said.

Hm. Yes. If you can’t say you did it first, deny that it has any value. Go on, tell us more.

“One time I read this book on Zen. Well, I started to read it,” he said. Ah-ha! So he began his studies but just couldn’t wrap his tiny brain around such deep concepts. I patted myself on the back with my mighty tiger claws. He continued.

“One of the first sentences in the book said something like `If you want to learn about Zen then don’t read books about it.’”

Yes, yes… That checks out. I’ve read that. Now go ahead and spout your nonsense interpretation of this complex idea.

Chuck says “Fifty shades of what? Put down that sparkly vampire shit and read these AnattaPunk approved books if you want to live.”
• Confession of a Buddhist Atheist. Stephen Batchelor.
• Buddha For Beginners. Steven T. Asma.
• Sit Down and Shut Up. Brad Warner.
• Dharma Punx. Noah Levine.
• Rebel Buddha. Dzogchen Ponlop.

“The first chapter said if you want to learn about Zen don’t read about it. So I didn’t. I took the book back to the library the next day.”

My indignation burst through the roof. How dare this young dumb idiot deny the majesty of Buddhist ideas and just smugly return a book without even reading it? You think you know better than 2,000 years of evolving Buddhist wisdom, kid? Good luck with that. Why don’t you and your girl pants go pay $17 for a venti goat-milk-caramel-macchiato with nutritional yeast sprinkles and soy curls, and get the fuck out of my aisle.

The couple giggled and went on their way, leaving me behind to fume. I couldn’t even enjoy reading at this point. I went outside and stomped down the sidewalk. And then suddenly I realized…

…I wasn’t a tiger. I was a quivering mouse making a tiger shadow puppet and fooling no one.

Anger. Indignation. Pride. These are the things you learn to avoid on day one of Buddhist kindergarten. Fail. Epic fail.

I packed my mousey tiger tail between my legs and crept back home. I thought back on this guy at the bookstore over the next few days. His sentiment echoed back and forth in my skull until I was ready to bash it against the wall. “If you want to learn about Zen, don’t read about Zen. So I didn’t.” Why had this triggered so many harsh feelings in me? Why was I still torturing myself over it? Why am I currently writing about it?

If he was factually wrong in his interpretation or expressed lack of value in Buddhist teachings then it wouldn’t make sense for me to be offended. If I had overheard a child telling another child that two plus two equals five I wouldn’t have reacted with so much venom. I would have laughed it off. I wouldn’t have been upset and I certainly wouldn’t have praised myself for knowing that two plus two is really four.

Fast forward a bit, and here’s me realizing that the dude wasn’t wrong at all. In fact, his statement, his instant returning of the book, was, in that moment, the Zennest shit I could have heard, and a lesson I badly needed. I mentally promoted him from hipster to zenster, the new honorific title I made up.

“If you want to learn about Zen, don’t read about Zen.”

I know I’d read that sentiment before, and more than once at that. I’d always taken it to mean that Zen was supposed to be something ineffable, something that transcended our languages’ ability to pin down its essence no matter how much we talk about it. I thought it was a cute paradoxical hook for Buddhist writers.

No, stupid. That’s what I get for thinking too hard. One of my first Eastern philosophy professors once told me about the time that he had been laughed out of a Zen monastery after telling the boss that he was a philosopher. Now I get it.

“If you want to learn about Zen, don’t read about Zen.” If you want to learn about baseball, don’t read about it. If you want to learn about the view from Mount Hood, don’t read about it. If you want to learn about writing a poem or riding a horse or tasting a pickle don’t fucking read about it. Don’t think about it, don’t tell your Aunt Sally about it, don’t deliberate plans for it. Go do it. The simplicity was a kick in the teeth. The kick delivered via being punked by some hipster made it a Chuck Norris roundhouse.

So I read too much and practice too little. That, I confess, makes me a terrible Buddhist. But I’m working on it. Now put down the blog, Poindexter, and go do something.

AnattaPunk hipster pins, coming soon to a store near you! Which store? It’s pretty obscure. You probably haven’t heard of it.

[AnattaBlog] Zombies. Buddhism. Zombuddhism.

Death (and Undeath)

Despite modern doctors’ best efforts it seems this condition is here to stay. We’re all infected. It’s a 100% fatal condition. Yet dying remains a taboo subject. Sure, we jibber-jab about heaven and hell and other faith-based scenarios. But we generally don’t like talking, or even thinking, about death here and now in the world we inhabit. The result of this denial is increased suffering when confronted with this reality.

No Delusions

Mindfulness? No thanks, our bellies are already full of minds.

Our cultural treatment of corpses smacks of unapologetic denial. We dress them in fancy clothes, do their makeup, and use toxic chemicals to preserve a life-like appearance. We adorn them in flowers and spend excessive amounts on coffins with extra features, as if they are some kind of luxury vehicle. Here’s the thing. Looking alive doesn’t make them less dead. And they’re not driving funeral Cadillacs to heaven. They’re going in the ground. The components that make up the body are breaking down and being recycled back into the universe. The sooner we can accept this fact, the sooner we can stop torturing ourselves with delusions of immortality. Nothing is permanent, and few things are as temporary and fragile as we are.

The Zombie Within

Buddhist monks have been meditating on corpses for centuries. They’d sit and watch the dead bloat and putrefy in the sun. Were they morbid weirdos or what? I don’t know. [Side note: TSOL fans might laugh at the amount of writing spent discouraging monks from looking at corpses of the opposite sex.] Maybe. But that’s beside the point. Watching those bodies rot, stink, and decompose must have changed the way those monks thought about their own bodies. Maybe the experience was jarring enough to instill an emotional separation between their sense of body and their composite sense of self.  If you understand that YOU are not your body, then you’re on your way to understanding anatta.

Anatta Creepin’… Corpse Peepin’

Rejected TSOL lyrics: “I’m better able to understand the nature of existence if she smells of formaldehyde!”

Like a lot of other things that were appropriate for early Buddhist monastics, corpse-sitting just doesn’t have a place in contemporary western culture. Or does it? Submitted for your approval: Exhibit A, 1968’s “Night of the Living Dead” (On Youtube or Hulu). Corpses abound. Death ensues. Many people hate zombie movies because they put you in touch with the 500 lb. gorilla in the room named “No-Matter-How-Pretty-You-Look-Now-You’re-Going-to-End-Up-as-a-Slimy-Bloated-Bag-of-Worm-Food.” Odd name for a gorilla, right? Facing our fears is always an uncomfortable prospect, but growth and comfort rarely come as a pair. NotLD is relatively light on gore and shock value (it was extremely low-budget, even by 1968 standards) but heavy on mood. And that’s what you want – to immerse yourself in the heaviness of impending doom.

Embrace Death. Appreciate Life.

That thing you call “myself” is just a grab bag of spare parts loaned out by the universe. And the universe reserves the right to recall that loan at any moment.  An increasing understanding of these facts make THIS moment – right now – reveal that much more specialness. And hey, if the abstract idea of impending death doesn’t help you stay mindful, few activities ground you in the present moment like being chased by the undead.

Happy Halloween

[AnattaRage] Introducing AnattaPunk Rage Comics

[AnattaBlog] We Can Haz teh Ghey Boodizum?

Das fairy Lolcat and his Boodizt boyfriend.

An announcement earlier this month proclaimed that Taiwan will soon hold its first Buddhist wedding ceremony for a gay couple, prompting the world to end, people to start marrying animals, gays to start giving away free toasters for new Taiwanese recruits, well, nothing at all. But surely the concept of gay marriage must be controversial in the Buddhist world. Why else would his be news?

The Dalai Lama, (mistakenly) considered by many Westerners to be a pope-like figurehead of all things Buddhist, opened a can of worms in 2004 when he said that gay sex is sexual misconduct. The concept of avoiding sexual misconduct comes from precept #3 traditionally observed by Buddhists. When Buddha gave the third precept was he condemning homosexuality?

“Is it weird that I violate precept number three with these three fingers?”

To make sense out this Westerners first need to rid themselves of the knee-jerk attempt to compare the 10 Buddhists precepts to the 10 commandments of Abrahamic religion. The 10 precepts (which differ to a certain extent based on sect, translation, etc., here reported as listed in Wikipedia) are:

1. Refrain from killing living things.
2. Refrain from stealing.
3. Refrain from unchastity (sensuality, sexuality, lust).
4. Refrain from lying.
5. Refrain from taking intoxicants.
6. Refrain from taking food at inappropriate times (after noon).
7. Refrain from singing, dancing, playing music or attending entertainment programs (performances).
8. Refrain from wearing perfume, cosmetics and garland (decorative accessories).
9. Refrain from sitting on high chairs and sleeping on luxurious, soft beds.
10. Refrain from accepting money.

The first five precepts are for all Buddhists. The second five are additions for bhikkhu, i.e. monks. Unlike Moses’ 10 commandments, Buddha’s 10 precepts don’t define sins or acts punishable by God. God’s will is not the driving factor that mandates these precepts. In fact, the precepts are more like helpful advice than mandates (except, maybe for some hardline traditional bhikku). They are not rules imposed externally to protect the universe from the devotee. They are guidelines for the devotee to internalize as a way to minimize or eliminate his/her own suffering.

The third precept is a reminder that physical pleasure (whether gay, straight, fetish, bdsm, skin flute playing, rusty trombones, hot carls, Turkish pancakes, cosplay, furries, Dutch rudders, et al.) can give rise to cravings and attachments. Cravings and attachments are precisely what Buddhists seek to minimize in their lives. There is no moral judgment attached to these precepts. They’re more like a warning label on a happy meal toy –  “This is meant to be played with, but know in advance that there are potential safety hazards when it is used improperly.”

See what I did there?

The only other applicable guideline concerning sexuality is compassion. Any act which is hurtful or harmful to another is to be avoided. Irrelevantly, there are people out there like this poor guy who will misconstrue statistics (in the article he suggests, for example, that a higher rate of suicide in the gay community is evidence) to argue that homosexuality is harmful. There are groups who refuse to draw a distinction between being gay and being a pedophile. Many have suggested that AIDS in God’s punishment for “the queers.”

Let’s be clear. Being a pedophile = Not cool. Being a rapist = Not cool. Spreading AIDS = Not cool. Suicide = Not cool. But only the truly bigoted believe that any of these things is the result, exclusive domain, or logical conclusion of homosexuality. Period.

Given this context it seems incredibly irresponsible to suggest that homosexuality has a lower place on the (non-existing-)totem-pole-of-Buddhist-sexual-orientation than heterosexuality. The Dali Lama has taken a well-deserved licking over his anti-gay statements and has clarified that the teachings he references may have only been appropriate in a certain historical context. He also says that consensual homosexual relationships between adults are fine, and that he fully supports the human rights of everyone regardless of orientation. But the damage has already been done. Hopefully “His Holiness” will be more careful when he opens his fat dumb mouth in the future. In a society where horrible anti-gay violence like this is happening, and this, and this, and a thousand others, not to mention buckets of denied rights for gays that act as a de facto cultural endorsement of second-class citizenry, any comment that suggests gays are lesser members of society is not in-line with the heart of Buddhist teachings.

The bottom line is that there is no conflict between Buddhism and gays. Anything other than kindness and compassion for everyone, including gays, straights, choking chickens, and Kirk Cameron, is not the Buddhist way.

[AnattaBlog] Newddhism?

A recent New York Times article [here] discusses the state of Western Buddhism. Some highlights: A claim that Buddhism is the fourth largest religion in the United States and that more Americans convert to Buddhism than to Mormonism.

I haven’t been able to find data on the web to corroborate this claim, but:

• [This article] claims Buddhism in the U.S. grew 170% from 1990-2000 and is still growing at the same rate. [This related article] says Buddhism, alarmingly, has the second-lowest retention rate of American religions.

• [This Wikipedia entry] says Buddhism is recognized as the fastest growing western religion (and other interesting tidbits, like Buddhism being the fastest growing religion in British prisons).

• Mormonism is the fastest growing U.S. religion according to this [Huffington Post article] from last May. Mormonism, of course, has come under tremendous scrutiny due to a certain high-profile political candidate being a member of this uniquely American (arguably) Christian sect.

These statistics don’t really mean much. Categorization of Buddhism as a “religion” is controversial to begin with. Buddhist principles just don’t seem to be comparable to faiths for many of us. Then there are the “night-stand Buddhists,” “Jewddhists,” etc., who claim allegiance to another religion while benefiting from part-time study of the dhamma. Altogether it’s a nightmare for any statistician who wants an accurate report of the number of Buddhists in the U.S.

The original article points out that Western Buddhism is often not cased in the cultural leanings of the Eastern cultures from whence it came, which presents an interesting conundrum for the American Buddhist community. Are we going to follow traditional Buddhist paths, dressing in silly costumes and chanting incomprehensible eastern language mantras? Or are we, like every other culture Buddhism has encountered, going to incorporate the dhamma in a way that makes the most practical sense for our day-to-day lives?

I’m obviously not neutral here. Purists (fair to call them fundamentalists?) will argue that Buddhism has been passed down successfully through traditional paths for centuries, and that these time-honored traditions are therefore the best methods for us to adopt. But the fact remains that you can’t take the Japan out of Zen. You can’t take the Tibet out of the Dalai Lama. These methods came from a specific time and place where the dhamma was put into terms that were understandable to the people who lived there. Tibet should have its own style of Buddhism, even if it’s full of Tibetan culture magic and mysticism which objectively contradicts the original Buddha’s teachings in many ways, but nonetheless works as an effective metaphor for Tibetans to understand the dhamma in their own terms. We should also read and interpret the dhamma for ourselves. If we reject the uniforms and rituals of our Eastern Buddhist ancestors does that make us not-Buddhist? Rather, does it make us Newddhists (kudos to the original article for this hilarious moniker)?

In the end, different kinds of Buddhism work for different people. On an individual level it doesn’t matter which kind of Buddhism you subscribe to. All those extra bells and whistles of various cultural interpretations have kept the teachings from dying and disappearing over the centuries. Those cultural artifacts make the teachings seem exotic and exciting to a lot of westerners, but in order for Buddhist ideas to become mainstream (and therefore take up a permanent position in western culture) we will have to cut out the hocus-pocus and find ways for post-modern westerners to see the dhamma at work in the 21st century.

Just Anatta Punk

anatta (Pali; Sanskrit, anatman):

“Nonself, non-essentiality; one of the three marks of everything existing. The [anatta] doctrine is one of the central teachings of Buddhism; it says that no self exists in the sense of a permanent, eternal, integral, and independent substance within an individual existent. Thus the ego in Buddhism is no more than a transitory and changeable – and therefore a suffering-prone – empirical personality put together from the five aggregates.”

-The Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen

[Samyutta Nikaya] At one time in Savatthi, the venerable Radha seated himself and asked of the Blessed Lord Buddha: “Anatta, anatta I hear said, Venerable. What, pray tell, does Anatta mean?” “Just this, Radha, form is not the self (anatta), sensations are not the self (anatta), perceptions are not the self (anatta), assemblages are not the self (anatta), consciousness is not the self (anatta). Seeing thusly, this is the end of birth, the Brahman life has been fulfilled, what must be done has been done.”