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The idea of perfecting a talent or completing a list of something which lies in a bin of unfinished business has haunted many civilisations as their choice of a leitmotif to help persons place themselves within a tradition.

How do we know when unfinished business is complete?

Sometimes, the completing of some skill means persons can adopt or acquire new names or new titles.

As Jennifer Mossman, editor of the Second edition of Pseudonyms and Nicknames Dictionary noted in 1982:

"Whether the aim is to protect their privacy, promote a more glamorous image, or conceal a shameful past - inventing another name is often the ideal solution".

Thus, it is not uncommon to discover authors using pseudonyms or pen names, entertainers with stage names, and criminals taking aliases.

Unlike other types of assumed names, nicknames are usually bestowed by others, and may or may not be complimentary. The popularity enjoyed by a monarch can often be determined merely by examining the types of nicknames that he or she acquired. Alexander "the Great", Richard "the Lion Hearted", and Ivan "the Terrible" are a few examples that come to mind.

The first edition of Pseudonyms and Nicknames Dictionary (1980) provided a collection of 17,000 original names and 22,000 assumed names, and was limited to those persons who lived in the 20th century. Two inter-edition supplements nearly doubled the original collection and included names that had received recent attention through the news media.

With the publication of this second edition, coverage has been expanded to include historical as well as contemporary personalities - a total of 90,000 entries.

Listings can now be found for Napoleon Bonaparte, George Washington, Dante, Thomas Aquinas, Plato, William Shakespeare, Johann Sebastian Bach, Julius Caesar, Charlemagne, Confucius, Leonardo da Vinci, Jesus Christ, Michelangelo, Mohammed, and Sir Isaac Newton, as well as Ronald Reagan, Pope John Paul II, "Babe" Ruth, Ernest Hemingway, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, and Al Capone.

Of all the nearly 40,000 original names and over 50,000 assumed names to be found in this edition, authors, entertainers, and athletes continue to account for a large percentage of the total collection.

So, we find the British comedian, Alec Hurley (1900 - 1964) was called "The Coster King"; Ruby Hurley (1910? - 1980) the American civil rights activist and attorney was called "The Queen of Civil Rights".

We find Elvis Aaron Presley was called "The King" but so was the actor Clark Gable; the American rodeo performer, Bill Linderman 1920-1965; the American auto racer, Richard Petty; and the American baseball player, Eddie Solomon Junior.

At a more parochial level, older persons in the State of Victoria called the radio and TV personality, Graham Kennedy, "The King".

The remaining entries cover personalities in a wide variety of fields - politicians, criminals, military leaders, monarchs, popes, clergymen, aristocrats, and business executives, among others.

Margaret Hilda Thatcher a United Kingdom Politician and Prime Minister has a number of names including, Attila the Hen, The Iron Maiden and TINA (meaning There Is No Alternative); Al Capone (1899 - 1947) was known as Big Al, The Millionaire Gorilla and Scarface; and Henry Kissinger, American scholar and diplomat, was called The Flying Peacemaker, The Iron Stomach and Super Kraut, to name a few.

As we have mentioned in early programs, there is a tradition in Chinese brush painting that various painting names are given, one for each level of maturity in quality.

This fact requires a high level of scholarship to know what we would call the same person as author.

In Buddha Dhamma, it is well known that the elements of what we call the "self" (the "I", the "my", the "me" or "ego" notions) is unstable and subject to change.

When certain levels of self awareness are reached, the self-centred notion of "What's in it for me?" which is the greed of a person's behaviour changes to something more friendly towards others and the search for quality in many things becomes the driving force of the meaning of the unfinished business of the person.

This unfinished business is a large field having 84,000 discoveries needed or solutions to be found.

A person who can understand these points is ready to awaken and can complete the unfinished business once and for all because of the wisdom involved.

Hence, there are lengthy texts written in Buddha Dhamma which untangle these unfinished business areas and these are called the prajna (meaning wisdom) paramita (perfection) texts which in English means the perfection of wisdom teachings.

Several years ago, a few privileged students were taught by our Teacher at our Centre in a series that lasted three years and three moons. These teachings supply the data needed if you are to put quality in your life this life.

We will be referring to compassionate news in this study area later in this program.

For the moment, we will confine our field of inquiry and discovery of the nature of "self" as shown by Ch'an or Zen quality of viewpoint sometimes called "Pointing at the moon" called "The Way of The Brush " which we have discussed in earlier programs.

This afternoon, commencing at about 1 pm, our Teacher will be giving the last lesson in a series in the Way of the Brush for this year.

Two vacancies exist in today's small class at 33 Brooking Street. Upwey 3158 given by John D. Hughes.

Cost is $60 for three hours.

We supply the painting materials.

Please ring 9754 3334 if you intend to enrol this afternoon for classes.

A new generation of scholars, including Marilyn and Shen Fu were developed at the Art Museum of Princeton University under Professor Wen Fong in the 1960's.

There was a cross-fertilising of the historic connoisseurship of China with the art-historical studies of the West.

May you sow the seeds to find the path to scholarship this life.

From 1967 to 1970, the Chinese paintings at the Princeton University were acquired under the guidance of Professor Fong.

As Arthur M. Sackler M.D. wrote in 1973: "Pleasures shared are pleasures doubled: thus almost our entire collection of Chines painting was now "in residence", so to speak, with the scholars and visitors in Princeton, while friends of all cultures share other works at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and at Columbia University".

Consider the tang of the following example of this new maturity in Western writing by Marilyn and Shen Fu where as it were, East meets West:

"The search for quality may be described as a process of psychic preparation - of having the thing constantly on one's mind, one's entire being in a state of acute sensitivity." This state is the basis for the intuitive enlightenment reached when one confronts a work and truly "understands the music".

It matters little whether the enlightenment is gradual or sudden. What we are speaking of here is again an organic process.

Without work and study, sudden understanding would not be possible. Exposure to many different kinds of paintings of varying degrees of excellence, by both great masters and hacks, is essential, as is a tenacious visual memory and an eye for resemblances and discrete differences.

Hence, the value of studying copies and all manner of forgeries: having seen what is truly bad, one will know what is good. One should be equipped with both a large structural scale for measuring period styles and a fine ruler of expressive nuances, as well as a comprehensive stock of formal allusions on which to draw.

With these tools we will be better able to distinguish a virtuoso performance of a given master from a hasty, mediocre work from that same hand.

One's confidence in his own physical responses to the energy levels mentioned above enriches this kind of scale and, we hope, teaches us to evaluate different hands with greater certainty ".

These are the truly great human qualities of mind and experience possible with the correct training.

We give that type of training in Australia with the Ch'an Academy.

Our private Calligraphy collection is of World standard. Through lack of wall space at our Centre, most of our art collection is stored and not easily available and only available to selected scholars for research and viewing.

We are running projects to collect money to fund the building of a larger display room at our Centre so more of it can be on display.

Our latest fund raiser is the production of a limited edition quality religious calender having the moon dates and having prints of Master John D. Hughes paintings in the Ch'an style.

The paintings reproduced cover scenes over the four seasons in Victoria and Tasmania. They are 100% Australian produced and will be ready for Christmas.

We have many pre-orders in place.

While we cannot give you the final Recommended Retail Price as yet because costing is still being done for high grade quality printing, we will accept your name if can place you pre-orders.

No money is needed yet but your advance order should be placed now by phoning 9754 3334.

May you be well and happy.

We will be able to announce Ch'an Classes dates for next year on future radio programs.

Next year, our Teacher John D. Hughes has been requested by present members to begin a teaching one day a week a series lasting three years and three months on the Prajnaparamita (Perfect Wisdom).

We think this new series may start next January.

If you wish to learn, you must become a Member of our organisation you can receive these teachings.

We are an organisation that cannot help immature persons.

May you be well and happy.

We need evidence of some maturity and goodwill if we are to train you in high level skills.

To help you understand what we are looking for we say we exist for five types of persons we know can respond towards our aims and we seek to become Members.

The five types are:

1. The Sangha;
2. Persons wishing to develop faith and confidence in this human life.
3. Devotees;
4. Persons faithful by nature;
5. Those of faithful temperament.

Because of past causes in former lives, some young persons can learn from us.

We do not have an age limit on membership as such because we are a non ageist organisation.

However, we would ask you if you are a minor under 18 years to request for written parental consent if you apply to be taught, or if your parents are not living perhaps you have a legal guardian who would consent.

We have the means to train and guide about 10 new Members in our computer systems and LAN over the next two months.

One of our fund raisers will be a flower stall on Christmas day. It is virtuous to give gifts to your family at any time and particularly your mother.

If you can help on that day to attend on our stall or with our other activities please contact us on 9745 3334.

One of our major tasks our Members attend to at present is to reduce the fuel on our garden property to lower the fire risk this summer.

May you be well and happy.

This script was written and edited by John D. Hughes and Leanne Eames.

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