"Another Migrant Caravan" (cartoon)

Xochitl, Dhr. Seven, Seth Auberon, Wisdom Quarterly; Marty Two Bulls (facebook/m2bulls.com)

"Oh great...another migrant caravan!" (Marty Two Bulls, facebook.com/m2bulls.com)

"Turn in your arms. The government will take care of you." And we all see how that went.

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If gov't says you don't need a gun...

Happy Thanksgiving to all of the Central Americans coming up through the southern border of the U.S. What right do they have to come here? International law and binding agreements provide them the RIGHT to seek asylum. Because they would qualify and thus become the responsibility of the USA, the current government has to do all it can to act like many nationalist and racist countries in Europe we criticize. It has to head them off or brutally separate them from their children or detain them and their children until they can be dissuaded or tricked into going back and facing death by corrupt police under governments the USA corrupted, ruined, and aided and abetted for the enrichment of US corporations and US interests. So it is no surprise they are coming, and it is no surprise good people are helping them come. Change US policies abroad to stop meddling and interfering in other American countries as the CIA has for so long done.

Slow genocide: Native Americans massacred at Wounded Knee, 1891 (Library of Congress)

Balding Pres. Donny Trump: win or lose, he claims to be winning (Marty Two Bulls)

Free Vegan Thanksgiving Potluck (L.A.)

Ananda M. (Dharma Meditation Initiative), Dhr. Seven, Jen B., Crystal Quintero (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly; Tom and Dave (Roaming Vegans on meetup.com); UPDATES: facebook.com

Los Angeles "celebrity vegan" Alicia Silverstone with her vegan son (self.com)

Fun group activity: the "Human Tunnel of Love" (Wisdom Quarterly/Roaming Vegans)

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Go vegan for Planet Earth and animals!

Hundreds attend every year, rain or shine. Non-vegans are welcome and encouraged to attend. This is Los Angeles's LONGEST RUNNING SINGLE-DAY VEGAN TRADITION.

This giant vegan potluck has been an annual tradition for 25 years with hundreds attending each year.

Come share delicious pure vegan food (free of all animal products). Connect with beautiful people. Enjoy a social outdoor environment with music, live performances, and an open mic. Bring drums, musical instruments, frisbees, balls, hoops, whatever. Children welcome as well as well-behaved dogs on leashes.

FREE PUBLIC EVENT

Crowd last year at Rancho Park enjoying Thanksgiving foods, desserts (Roaming Vegans)

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Free the White House turkeys! (Getty)

Although there is no fee to attend, to participate everyone brings a purely VEGAN dish, bought or prepared at home. Park rules: No alcohol.

• For EACH person attending, bring a vegan (no animal/insect products of any kind -- no honey, dairy butter, white sugar which has bone ash, etc.) ready-to-serve dish to share with at least 8-10 people. For example, if there are two people in your party, bring 16-20 servings to share with others.

WHAT'S "VEGAN"?

"Vegan" is the kind diet to save our planet.

Vegan means no meat, fish, eggs, dairy, or honey -- no animal products or ingredients of any kind.

Organic, gluten-free, chemical-free, GMO-free foods are encouraged. Cooked and raw vegan foods are welcome.

There is a special space designated for 100% raw food. Raw means free of all pasteurized foods, commercially canned, and most jarred foods).

Please bring a written INGREDIENT LIST alongside each dish to help those with allergies and food sensitivities.

Earth does not belong to us. We belong to it.

To PREVENT PAPER & PLASTIC WASTE, please bring your own reusable plates, bowls, cups, eating and serving utensils.

WHEN
We start gathering at 11:00 AM on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2018. We hold a beautiful opening circle at 12:00 noon. Then we begin to feast!

LOCATION

Enter Cheviot Hills Park (a.k.a. Rancho Park) north entrance on Motor Avenue (the first entrance south of Pico Blvd.) When you enter the park, drive past parking area on the left. Instead, follow the road to the next parking area a few hundred feet further. Walk to the picnic tables across the grass next to the baseball field.

"VEG" signs are posted to point the way. (Avoid the other picnic area at the far end close to the parking lot).

• MAP: goo.gl/maps/UnMWc

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

• Plan your trip: socaltransport.org/
• The closest holiday bus stop is at Pico Blvd./Motor Ave. on the Santa Monica Big Blue Bus, Route 7. Santa Monica Big Blue Bus: bigbluebus.com
• Los Angeles Metro: metro.net
• Culver City Bus: culvercity.org/enjoy/culver-city-bus

EVENT PLANNING AND COORDINATION

• All are welcome and encouraged to help coordinate the Vegan Picnic on Thanksgiving Day in Rancho Park. To participate in planning, send an email to: veganla2013@gmail.com.
• Vegan things to do in LA, Nov. 16-18 (VegOutLA.com)
• Vegan Thanksgiving celebrations (facebook.com/events)

Dharma Meditation Initiative - Nature Center - PasaDharma - UCLA (MARC)

Some thoughts on Buddhism and activism

Amy Reed (Voices from the Sangha), Refuge Recovery Asheville, North Carolina; Seth Auberon, Pfc. Sandoval, Sayalay Aloka (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

F da po-po? Love thy enemy?

I am by no means an expert on Buddhism, but one thing I have come to understand is that the Buddha was a revolutionary, both spiritually and politically.

At a time when it was unthinkable, he welcomed the untouchable caste into his sangha. He ordained women as monastics (but -- we are told -- only after they shaved their heads and marched a 100 miles on bloody bare feet in protest, because those original nuns/bhikkhunis were badass).

It is right to question authority (Kalama Sutra)

His teachings were about questioning dogma and the [Brahmin's] establishment, yet his sangha did not isolate and tune out, did not close itself off from the suffering of the world. They were in the streets; they were teaching the way of compassion to all who would listen; they were advising kings. They were involved.

Compassion is not only something I do when I’m meditating. I can cultivate wise intentions and wholesome thoughts while I sit. I can send metta or loving kindness to abstract strangers around the world, but that is only part of my practice.

There is also right action (karma). There is the action of compassion. What does it mean to act wisely in this world that is experiencing so much suffering? How do I show up for others and for myself?

AMY REED is a writer, mother, and current treasurer for the very spirited Refuge Community in Asheville, NC. She got sober nine years ago in Oakland, California, where 12-steps and a little dabbling in Buddhism was just what she needed. After moving to the South in 2014, her recovery and spiritual paths have found a new home in Refuge Recovery.

Pāli grammar at the Pariyatti bookstore

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The diamond seat (or Vajrashila) at the Mahabodhi Temple complex in Bodhgaya, Bihar, India. The seat, believed to be placed by Emperor Ashoka, marks the place under the Bodhi tree where the Buddha reached enlightenment. Bodhgaya is part of the itinerary of the Along The Path pilgrimage.

STAFF PICK with 20% Discount

Kaccāyana Pāli Grammar I & II

Pursuing it’s mission to bring people into contact with the teachings of the Buddha, Pariyatti provides resources in a variety of media formats in the Theravāda tradition and on Vipassana Meditation as taught by S.N. Goenka. Pariyatti also supports Pāli language students in different ways. Besides facilitating several residential workshops each year (at our main workshop venue in California as well as at other locations around the world) and hosting an online Learning Center on our website, we offer an array of Pāli study books and dual language titles/dictionaries.

For the next two weeks we are offering a 20% discount on Kaccayana Pāli Grammar I & II, two study books that will set you up to grasp this classical and liturgical language profoundly. Volume I contains the complete ancient grammatical text of the Pāli language that has been used as a handbook for Pāli studies for centuries. It is in a format accessible to contemporary readers, using Roman and Devanagari scripts for the main text. Volume II contains the eight chapters found in the original Pāli text complemented by an introduction, footnotes and appendices, as well as explanation of brief grammatical rules, Pāli prefixes and the system of how verbs are formed.  These Pariyatti Press titles are quality prints, with ergonomic page size and easy-to-read font, and a sturdy spine.

Read More and Order

Residential Pāli workshops

Since our Pāli workshop program started in 2012, we have served a total of 300 students in 20 workshops held in the USA, Mexico, Chile, Israel and Spain. Pariyatti’s Pāli workshops are open for old students of S.N. Goenka, who practice Vipassana meditation regularly.    The daily schedule of activities is similar to that of a 10-day Vipassana course with the three daily group sittings and morning chantings included. However, there will be both study and meditation periods throughout the day. The expenses are met by donations from past students and the Pāli Workshop Fund. Goenkaji emphasized that Pāli workshops are very beneficial as they help meditators develop inspiration and understanding of the theoretical aspect of Dhamma (Dharma), which corresponds with the feedback we have received from participants over the years.

Upcoming Pāli workshop dates

By Klaus Nothnagel (California, USA) Introductory: March 14 to 27, 2019 * By Adriana Patiño (Malaysia) Introductory:  March 23 to 31, 2019 * By Sean Salkin (California, USA) Introductory:  September 21 to Oct 1, 2019 Intermediate:  October 1 to 5, 2019

Learn More and Apply

Bilingual Pilgrimage India & Nepal

Bilinguale Pilgerreise Indien & Nepal

We have added new dates to our pilgrimage schedule. A bilingual Along the Path pilgrimage (in English and German) will take place in India & Nepal from October 31 to November 21, 2019. Applications will open on December 1, 2018. Wir haben neue Termine in unserem Pilgerreisenkalender. Vom 31. Oktober bis zum 21. November 2019 findet erstmals eine zweisprachige Pilgerreise "Den Pfad entlang" nach Indien & Nepal statt (auf Englisch und Deutsch). Anmeldungen sind möglich ab dem 1. Dezember 2018.   Included in the itinerary are the birthplace of the bodhisatta (Lumbinī), the place where the Buddha attained Enlightenment (Bodhgayā), the place where he first taught the way to Enlightenment (Sarnath), and the place where he attained parinibbāna (Kushinagar). Auf der Reiseroute liegen die Geburtsstätte des Bodhisatta (Lumbinī), der Ort, an dem der Buddha Erleuchtung erlangte (Bodhgayā), wo er zum ersten Mal den Weg zur Erleuchtung gelehrt hatte (Sarnath), und der Ort, an dem er in's Parinibbāna (Kushinagar) eingegangen war.

The Maha Devi Temple, Lumbini, Nepal marks the place where the Bodhisatta was born.

"The highlights, for me, were the group sittings at the various sites and the several one-day courses at Indian Vipassana centers. These helped us bond as meditators, and anchored the pilgrimage in its proper mission." "Die Höhepunkte für mich waren die Gruppensitzungen an den verschiedenen Orten und die zahlreichen Ein-Tages-Kurse in indischen Vipassana-Zentren. Diese halfen uns dabei, uns als Meditierende zu binden und stärkten die Pilgerfahrt in ihren wesentlichen Aspekten."​

Other pilgrimage dates

The Golden Path – Burma 金色之旅 –缅甸朝圣 (English/Chinese Bilingual - 中英文双语) February 9 to February 26, 2019 (applications open) 2019年2月9 - 26日 (applications open) Along the Path - (North India & Nepal) February 28 to March 21, 2019 (applications open)

Learn more / Apply for one of these inspirational journeys

More than a Bookstore

The summer of 2018 has proved to be anicca in Onalaska, Washington. The veggie patches have been cleared and the fog has rolled in to show us that autumn has truly arrived.   It’s the perfect weather to nestle on one of our comfortable couches and dive into the many Dhamma books we have on offer. Don’t forget to pay us a visit when driving home from a course at Dhamma Kuñja, or traveling between Seattle and Portland, Oregon!

Store hours: 8:00 am to 4:00 pm Monday - Friday 7:30 to 11.30 am on days (usually Sundays) courses end at Dhamma Kuñja. Every Tuesday Pariyatti hosts a group sitting from 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm, followed by a potluck dinner. Old students more than welcome! 867 Larmon Rd. Onalaska, WA 98570, USA

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Donations:  Either one-time or monthly pledge

Pariyatti is a charitable, non-profit, educational support system for the Dhamma community. Pariyatti exists because of funds donated by supporters.

FACT: Did you know Pariyatti offers an audio/video library with more than 100 audio and video podcasts of S.N. Goenka's meditation Now Tour, Q&A sessions, talks by Paul Fleischman, documentaries and more?

Please donate now Donate your Time Learn more about Pariyatti's mission Post a book review

Daily Words

Dhamma Verses Jīvana meṅ āte raheṅ, patajhaḍa aura basanta. Cita vicalita hove nahīṅ, maṅgala jage ananta.  Listen In life there keep coming autumns and springs. If the mind does not waver, you enjoy infinite happiness.  –S.N. Goenka

Pāli nibbhaya —  free from fear or danger, fearless, unafraid. Free guide to Pāli pronunciation & grammar. To listen to the pronunciation in audio, download the PDF to your computer by loading it in your web browser and clicking the download arrow right at the top. Open it in Adobe Acrobat Reader (with Flash Player).