Can Buddhism be called a stronghold of free thinking? What relevance might Buddhism have for social developments in the twenty-first century, and where will it position itself in these processes? Free thinking has been emphasized and celebrated as an outstanding accomplishment of the human mind. This anthology might inspire the reader to look at some questions of global concern from a new angle and provide a stimulus for developing a freethinking attitude. It is the outcome of international and even transcontinental cooperation involving expert authors from Asia, Australia, Europe and the U.S.A. Contributions have been made by Bhikkhu Anâlayo, Karl-Heinz Brodbeck, Ashby Butnor, Silja Graupe, Guang Xing, Barbara Kameniar, Sallie B. King, and Charles S. Prebish.

The following article is targeted at both trainers and managers in educational organisations. It aims to provide support to those who would like to implement e-learning and new teaching methods in their organisations and who have a) already experienced resistance to such a change management process, or b)expect potential resistance. The article intends to help this target group by providing an understanding of the role of new media in the process of changing a “learning culture” in an educational organisation. Furthermore it introduces an approach to change management in educational settings which attempts to change resistance from a hindering to a productive element of change processes.

CHANCE is a project funded by the EU-programme GRUNDTVIG/ “Lifelong Learning Programme” conducted from December 2007 to November 2009. Partners from the participating countries presented their individual project results at the 2nd international meeting on June 12th 2009, in Fulda, Germany. CHANCE describes new pathways to enhance and support people in the long term to be well-informed and to take responsibility for their own health. The focus of the project was based on the following questions: - What resources are offered by the community to live healthy or healthier and what are the barriers that need to be resolved? - Are there cultural differences in health behaviours and in the perception of health information? - What health information is perceived in general and by whom? - What information and health interventions are required? CHANCE shows how people in different European cities and communities live, perceive information with regard to health and process it. The inhabitants of the communities were motivated to participate actively in the improvement of local interventions with regard to consumer education in health. The community approach aims to reach socially, culturally or economically disadvantaged groups such as elderly people, migrants and single parents.