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Nichiren (日蓮) (February 16, 1222 - October 13, 1282), born Zennichimaro, later Zesho-bo Rencho and sometimes called Nichiren Shonin or Nichiren Daishonin, was a Buddhist monk in 13th century Japan, and founder of Nichiren Buddhism, a Buddhist movement which continues today.

Nichiren believed that the teachings contained in the Lotus Sutra were given by the Buddha Shakyamuni.

One central theme in the Lotus Sutra, which was emphasized by Nichiren and is emphasized in Nichiren Buddhism today, is that enlightenment may be attained in a single lifetime.

Some may be trained to help, but really it's in these beloved companions' nature to save us in ways big and small.

The selfless action of two dogs in Winona, Minn., gripped the nation recently.

Dogs see the best in us

Myths and legends from all over the world portray bats as blood-sucking demons. Vampire bats really do exist, but only three species in Central and South America.

Vampire bats feed on the blood of large birds, cattle, horses, and pigs. However, they donÕt suck the blood of their "victims".

Using their sharp teeth, the bats make tiny cuts in the skin of a sleeping animal. The bats' saliva contains a chemical that keeps the blood from clotting. The bats then lap up the blood that oozes from the wound. Another chemical in their saliva numbs the animal's skin and keeps them from waking up.

Dogs are well known for their friendliness and affection toward their owners.

companionship

Pet ownership can help to reduce blood pressure

Most important: Avoid nasty bites.

McNeil Island.

Harbor seals are reclusive. Their favorite South Sound hangout is a sandy, protected spit on Gertrude

1889 - At the University of Minnosota Johnny Campbell was the first cheerleader. He yelled through a megaphone "Rah, Rah, Rah! Ski - U - Mah! Hoo - Ray! Varsity Minn - e-so - tah!

valuable part of the community

highly intelligent animals, capable of learning

companion animal

Japan is a country marked by contrast between old and new. The country values its complex and ancient cultural tradition.

The islands of Japan form an arc that stretches about 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) from northeast to southwest.

Much of Japan's original vegetation has been replaced by farming or by plant species brought in from other countries.

With 20-25,000 polar bears living in the wild, the species is not currently endangered, but its future is far from certain.

1978 and 2000, they are 95 million strong, compared to 78 million Baby Boomers.

Generation We - the Millennials - has arrived. They have emerged as a powerful political and social force. Their huge numbers and progressive attitudes are already changing America. And the world.

Elite athletes are susceptible to using drugs. They use them for performance enhancing abilities. Steroids can make muscles bigger, while amphetamines help reduce or numb pain, allowing persons to play injured. Recently, major league baseball has come under fire for drug abuse. Though not as prominent, high school and college athletes have also been known to use drugs to enhance their performance.

The stakes in Athens are fierce. The difference between an Olympic gold or silver medal could be a one hundredth of a second on the track or in the pool; an inch on the pole vault or shot put.

The athletes who make the Olympic cut are blessed with the right combination of physical and psychological traits, including an intense competitive drive and an unrelenting determination to be the best. This is the stuff of champions.

Steroids are not just for elite athletes--they can be used by anyone who wants to change his or her body image. The Centers for Disease Control's Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance report shows more than a million youth taking steroids, and the numbers have been rising every year.

Scientists made an alarming discovery in the 1980s: The average surface temperature on Earth is slowly increasing. This trend is known as global warming. It is believed to be caused by an increase in the amounts of certain gases in the atmosphere. Greenhouse Effect To understand global warming, it helps to first understand something called the greenhouse effect. A greenhouse is a glass house in which plants grow. The glass lets light in and at the same time keeps heat from getting out. This trapped heat keeps the plants warm even when it is cold outside. Likewise, Earth's atmosphere traps energy from the sun. Carbon dioxide and other gases—called greenhouse gases—in the air do this trapping. Without these gases too much heat would go back into space, and living things could not survive. However, as more greenhouse gases get into the air, they also trap more heat. This leads to global warming.

Basketball may be the most demanding of all sports. Basketball is a game of quickness: fast starts, sharp cuts and turns, acceleration and deceleration, and jumping. The heart of the game is running. Some coaches estimated that a starting high school player will run a total of 3 to 5 miles in a 32-minute game.

During the off-season prepare yourself by putting into practice good training principles. This will help you to maintain your fitness at a high level. Therefore, you can better bring out the best in your athletic potential.

Off-season training for competitive basketball requires self- discipline, dedication, and sacrifice. Also, you must have a good working knowledge of athletic training principles.

More has been published about the extinction of dinosaurs at the K-T boundary than any other group of organisms. Excluding a few controversial claims, it is agreed that all non-avian dinosaurs went extinct at the K-T boundary. The dinosaur fossil record has been interpreted to show both a decline in diversity and no decline in diversity during the last few million years of the Cretaceous, and it may be that the quality of the dinosaur fossil record is simply not good enough to permit researchers to distinguish between the choices.[54] Since there is no evidence that late Maastrichtian nonavian dinosaurs could burrow, swim or dive, they were unable to shelter themselves from the worst parts of any environmental stress that occurred at the K-T boundary. It is possible that small dinosaurs (other than birds) did survive, but they would have been deprived of food as both herbivorous dinosaurs would have found plant material scarce, and carnivores would have quickly found prey to be in short supply.[35] The growing consensus about the endothermy of dinosaurs (see dinosaur physiology) helps to understand their full extinction in contrast with their close relatives, the crocodilians. Cold-blooded crocodiles have very limited needs of food (they can survive several months without eating) while warm-blooded animals of similar size need much more food in order to sustain their faster metabolism. Thus, under the circumstancies of food chain disruption above mentioned, non-avian dinosaurs died [55] while some crocodiles survived. In this context, the survival of other endothermic animals, such as some birds and mammals, could be due, among other