Despite his long association with and close proximity to the Buddha, Ananda was only a stream-winner prior to the Buddha ’ s death.

Despite its many faults, the wheellock was a significant improvement over the matchlock in terms of both convenience and safety, since it eliminated the need to keep a smoldering match in proximity to loose gunpowder.

Despite their proximity to Qatar ( Suwād al Janūbīyah is only 1. 4 km from the Qatari mainland at the peninsula of Ras Abruq, while Rubud Al Gharbiyah, the island closest to the main island of Bahrain, lies at a distance of 19. 7 km to it ), the islands belong to Bahrain but were the subject of a dispute between Bahrain and Qatar.

Despite its proximity to Albany the county has remained relatively rural.

Despite its proximity to Texas ( which has no state personal income tax ), Miller County residents are not exempt from Arkansas's state personal income tax unless they reside within the city limits of Texarkana.

Despite its close proximity to Toledo, Bedford Township is part of the Monroe Metropolitan Area and part of the larger Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint CSA.

Despite its small size, Lordstown continues to grow slowly ; people seeking housing in the area are drawn to its rural appearance, abundance of buildable land, and proximity to downtown Warren.

Despite its proximity to the Irish Sea, the temperature regime is similar to areas further inland, owing to the shelter provided by the Pennines to the northeast and the Welsh Mountains to the southwest.

Despite the fact that Warren Hastings overlooked the island before settling upon Penang in 1786, the Riau Archipelago was an attractive choice just to the south of the Malay Peninsula, for its proximity to Malacca.

Despite such great differences, many religious structures are located in close proximity with one another.

Despite the close proximity, many inhabitants of the Black Country resist hints at any relationship to people living in Birmingham, which may be called " Brum-a-jum " ( Birmingham's colloquial name is Brummagem, a corruption of its older name of Bromwichamand hence West Bromwich ) or Birminam ( missing the g and h out and saying it the way it's spelt ).

Despite the proximity of the blast to his face, he retained his sight.

Despite its proximity to both Brooklands and Wisley airfields ( both active until the early 1970s ), Cobham saw relatively few aircraft crashes.

Despite its proximity to Liège, the territory of Herstal did not become part of the Bishopric of Liège until 1740, date at which the prince-bishop Georges-Louis de Berghes bought it from Frederick II of Prussia.

Despite its proximity to the University of Warwick on Coventry's southern outskirts, it has only a small student population of mostly postgraduate students, although many staff at the university choose to live in Kenilworth.

Despite its proximity to lead mines and salt springs, the majority of its population came as farmers during the 1750s and 1760s, and they primarily grew wheat, corn and tobacco.

Despite its proximity to Earth it is a dim magnitude 15 and can only be seen through large telescopes.

Despite its proximity to the Earth, this star is too dim to be seen with the naked eye.

Despite its close proximity to Camberley, Sandhurst is also home to a large and well-known out-of-town mercantile development.

Despite this history of participation, relations between African Americans and Jews have sometimes been strained by their close proximity and class differences, especially in New York and other urban areas.

Despite its close proximity, it was not directly involved in the pottery industry, and it strongly opposed attempts to add it in 1930 with a postcard poll showing residents opposing it by a majority of 97. 4 %.

Despite its proximity, there was no infrastructure for basic services including schooling for children.

Despite their proximity, the two villages have historically been divided, Skelmorlie in Ayrshire and Wemyss Bay in Renfrewshire.

Despite the close proximity of the Head Office, Bank Road closed in 2007 as part of a restructuring exercise.

Despite the large number of species in order Asterales, they do not compare in economic benefit for mankind to the Poales or to the Fabaceae.

Despite marked progress, Armenia still suffers from a large trade imballance and is still largely dependent upon foreign aid and remittances from Armenian nationals working abroad, and members of the diaspora donating aid through non-governmental organizations ( NGOs ) such as churchES.

Despite the much-vaunted capabilities, the Phoenix was rarely used in combat, with only two confirmed launches and no confirmed targets destroyed in US Navy service, though a large number of kills were claimed by Iranian F-14s during the Iran – Iraq War.

Despite the councils of Étampes, Wurzburg, Clermont, and Rheims all supporting Innocent, there were still large portions of the Christian world supporting Anacletus.

Despite the large amount of information available, the most important aspects of perception remain mysterious.

Despite success in reuniting large sections of the wider Christadelphian community and periodic efforts at reuniting smaller offshoots, there are still a number of groups who remain separate from other bodies of Christadelphians.

Despite a large number of Homo fossils finds, chimpanzee fossils ( genus Pan ) were not described until 2005.

Despite the popularity of these events, the Dachshund Club of America opposes " wiener racing ", as many greyhound tracks use the events to draw large crowds to their facilities.

Despite this, there is a substantial number of chamber works that incorporate the double bass in both small and large ensembles.

Despite this particular mission, in winning the Albigensians over by persuasion Dominic met limited success, " for though in his ten years of preaching a large number of converts were made, it has to be said that the results were not such as had been hoped for.

Despite this reverse, under Ezana and Kaleb the kingdom was at its height, benefiting from a large trade, which extended as far as India and Ceylon, and were in constant communication with the Byzantine Empire.

Despite its arid climate, the island is also home to a surprisingly large insect fauna.

Despite anti-government demonstrations after the untimely death of an opposition leader, the first multiparty National Assembly elections in almost 30 years took place in September – October 1990, with the PDG garnering a large majority.

Despite further anti-government demonstrations after the untimely death of an opposition leader, the first multi-party National Assembly elections in almost 30 years took place in September-October 1990, with the PDG garnering a large majority.

Despite the prominence of large elliptical and spiral galaxies, most galaxies in the universe appear to be dwarf galaxies.

Despite an abundance of rivers, large bodies of water are rare.

Despite its small size, Hong Kong has a relatively large number of mineral occurrences.

Despite the arrival of serious competitors — namely, the Ford Falcon, Chrysler Valiant, and Japanese cars — in the 1960s, Holden's locally produced large six-and eight-cylinder cars remained Australia's top-selling vehicles.

Despite the attacks, the Harmonists developed Economy into a prosperous factory town, engaged in farming on a large scale, and maintained a brewery, distillery, and wine-making operation.

Despite the losses, the Manufactory served as a playground of innovation, both in turning a large amount of cotton, but also developing the water-powered milling structure used in Slater's Mill.

Despite his reputation as a serious composer of large, complex musical structures, some of Brahms's most widely known and most commercially successful compositions during his life were small-scale works of popular intent aimed at the thriving contemporary market for domestic music-making ; indeed, during the 20th century, the influential American critic B. H. Haggin, rejecting more mainstream views, argued in his various guides to recorded music that Brahms was at his best in such works and much less successful in larger forms.

Despite a large accident at the 2000 Revival, the first racing accident to put him in hospital overnight, he continued to drive until at least 2004.

Despite the large number of philosophical schools and subtle nuances between many, all philosophies are said to fall into one of two primary categories, which are defined in contrast to each other: Idealism, and materialism.

Despite discharging considerable volumes of water at times, particularly before the advent of large scale river regulation, the Mouth has always been comparatively small and shallow.

Despite extensive research into the interaction of modafinil with a large number of neurotransmitter systems, a precise mechanism or set of mechanisms of action remains unclear.