But people don't burn themselves to death "simply because the Lotus Sutra says to do it, " emphasized UC Berkeley's Sharf.

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Mr. Sharf said he was pleased when the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum borrowed his ruby flower Van Cleef brooch called the "Command Special" to exhibit.

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In Buddhism, the subject of self-immolation is controversial, said Robert Sharf, the chair of the Center for Buddhist Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.

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Boston collector Fred Sharf collects 1950s "high style" pieces designed by Van Cleef, but he's lately started buying "retro" pieces that were made with "ordinary stones" like citrine during the Depression and World War II.

WSJ: Collectors Focus on Jewels as Investments

Samantha Sharf contributed to this story.

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An astute comment on the Third Circuit standard was supplied recently by James Sharf, an industrial psychologist who has served at the federal Office of Personnel Management and recently worked for the Transportation Security Agency designing a test battery used to hire airport security screeners.

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