Saturday, July 31, 2021

I think I'll be a PORN STAR...or not (video)

WARNING: Graphic discussion of sexual intercourse, pornography, questionable conduct!

Male porn star on secrets of adult industry
(LADbible TV, July 18, 2021) Minutes With | @LADbible TV.

Porn by countries viewing it
This video is a sit down interview with Danny D, an actor, producer, and director in the porn industry. Danny takes viewers through the secrets of the porn industry, the most common misconceptions people have, and why he absolutely loves his job.

FTW: Family Guy roasts every place (cartoon)

WARNING: Adult themes, references, with implicit bias, racism, sexism, and xenophobia!

(Peter Griffin, 9/28/20) Let's start this roast by mocking the 13 Colonies, USA/North America, Arizona, Armenia Australia, Boston, Brazil, Canada, Central America, China, Denmark, England, Ethiopia, Fiji, Germany, Haiti, Hawaii, India, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Mexico, the Midwest, Mozambique, Nebraska, Nepal, New Orleans, New York, Nigeria, Normandy, North Dakota, North Korea, Persia, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Scotland, Siberia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Texas, Thailand, Tokyo, Tucson, Vietnam, Warsaw, and Washington DC.

Slipknot's video tribute to Joey Jordison (RIP)


(Slipknot, July 30, 2021) Joey Jordison (1975-2021) was a great drummer. Slipknot's hearts go out to Joey Jordison’s family and loved ones at this time of tremendous loss. Joey Jordison’s art, talent, and spirit could not be contained or be held back. His impact on Slipknot, on the lives of those in the band and fans, and on the music he loved, is incalculable. Without him there would be no Slipknot. The band mourns his loss with the entire Slipknot family of fans. Love to you, Joey. (Cover photo by Paul Harries).

Friday, July 30, 2021

Plant‑based delicious "chick'n" (LikeMeat)

Choice of tasty products (likemeat.com)
At LikeMeat ("Eat what you like. Like what you eat" at LikeMeat.com) they're crazy about making drool-worthy food that satisfies the meatiest cravings. Join the tasty plant-based revolution today. LikeMeat products are conveniently available online and in the refrigerated section of local supermarkets. Check the Find Us page to find stores that carry these tasty vegan products. More

What's AOC up to? Hiding from activists

Max Blumenthal, Nick Brana, Jimmy Dore; Pfc. Sandoval, Seth Auberon (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Race, land owning, housing (Last Week Tonight)


Housing discrimination: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
(Last Week Tonight, HBO, July 25, 2021) John Oliver breaks down the long history of housing discrimination in the US, the damage it’s done and, crucially, what we can do about balancing things out today.

Connect online on YouTube for more almost news as it almost happens, on Facebook like your mom would, on Twitter for news about jokes and jokes about news, or visit the official site for all that other stuff at once.

AOC, Bernie, Biden's behavior: Jimmy Dore

Mike MacRae, Jimmy Dore (TJDS); Pfc. Sandoval, Seth Auberon (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Biden's Ministry of Truth: WH censors social media


Thursday, July 29, 2021

Porsche joins Billionaire Space Race (video)

Sissi Cao (Observer, 7/28/21); Autocar; Pat Macpherson, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Porsche 918 Spyder versus McLaren P1 versus Ducati 1199 Superleggera motorcycle drag race
(Autocar) Oct 10, 2014) The Porsche 918 Spyder and McLaren P1 are two of the hottest hypercars on offer at the moment (2014), but how well will they fare in a straightaway against the fastest Ducati on sale? Let's put them up against a 1199 Superleggera to find out.

Autocar, the world's leading motoring magazine and website, delivers industry-leading news, the most in-depth car reviews and opinion from its team of experts. Presenters include some of the world's top motoring journalists who have unrivalled access to the world's fastest, rarest, most exotic, and most exciting cars on some of the world's best roads and race tracks.  for the latest news, reviews and analysis New videos are uploaded to Autocar's YouTube channel each week. Don't miss a single one. Subscribe to channel at smarturl.it/autocar.

One of Europe’s richest families (Porsche) is joining the billionaire space race
The elites' sportscar and the folks' wagon
The "billionaire space race" dominated by the Bezos-Musk-Branson trio now has a new participant: Europe’s Porsche family.

Porsche SE, the holding company that controls Volkswagen, on Wednesday (July 28) announced an investment in German rocket maker Isar Aerospace, a startup vying to challenge
  • SpaceX and
  • Blue Origin and
  • Virgin Galactic’s Virgin Orbit
The original "space" vehicle for cadets (VW)
in the booming business of low-cost satellite launch service [and overpriced space tourist service].

Porsche SE is joined by the venture capital company HV Capital and Swiss bank Lombard Odier to invest $75 million a funding round that values Isar at $550 million.

In exchange, Porsche SE would receive a “a low single-digit percentage stake” in the company.
Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos' magic space wand
Although a half-a-billion-dollar valuation pales in comparison with the scale of Musk's SpaceX and  Bezos' Blue Origin — SpaceX was most recently valued at $76 billion, and Blue Origin receives $1 billion in fresh capital every year from Bezos — it’s a sizable amount for a company barely three years old with zero track record.

New line of toys (Washingtonian)
Since its inception in 2018, Isar has raised a total of $180 million in venture capital funding from  European investors including Airbus’s VC arm and Bülent Altan, a former satellite mission executive at SpaceX.

Isar plans to launch its first test flight next year with a launch vehicle called “Spectrum.” In May, the company was awarded a contract by Germany’s space agency to launch two government satellites into low Earth orbit.

Blue Origin launch: New Shepard tourist rocket
The Porsche funding “will allow Isar Aerospace to further invest in its launch, testing, and manufacturing infrastructure for its largely automated rocket production and commercial operations,” the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

Unlike SpaceX and the smaller Rocket Lab that specialize in reusable boosters, Isar’s core strategy to reduce launch cost is to automate the rocket production process.

Russell Brand questions our tax money being given to multi-billionaires

“We are convinced that cost-effective and flexible access to space will be a key enabler for innovations in traditional industries as well as for new and disruptive technologies and business models,” Deputy Chairman of Porsche SE Lutz Meschke said in a statement.

My capsule for sand, surf, and space (VW)
Porsche SE is controlled by the related Porsche and Piëch families. Porsche’s Founder Ferdinand Porsche is the designer of the original VW Beetle (VW bug).

His grandson, Ferdinand Piëch, became the chairman of Volkswagen in 1993. More

    What's wrong with a Billionaire Space Race?

    Jimmy Dore (jimmydorecomedy.com); Russell Brand, July 14, 2021; Eds., Wisdom Quarterly

    Why the mainstream media is banging the drum for a Billionaire Space Club
    (Russell Brand) Dick Branson’s space quest was to boldly go where no billionaire has gone before. But who's he taking for a ride? (#RichardBranson #JeffBezos #ElonMusk #space). Jimmy Dore (jimmydorecomedy.com) and voice actor Mike MacRae ("Al Pacino") weigh in on the billionaire barons in space.

    Map of my trip to "space." Darn, I could've taken a balloon for less money and more view time!
    Does "space" really begin 62 miles (100 km, 33K ft) above sea level of the von Karman line?

    Ten contemplations for meditation (sutra)

    Ven. Piyadassi Thera (trans.), Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Ellie Askew, Wisdom Quarterly

    It is an interesting feature of the Seven Factors of Enlightenment that if one who has practiced them successfully and one later becomes ill, recollecting them by having someone else recite them will immediately lift one from that illness. This does not seem to be limited to those factors. In this sutra Ven. Ananda is advised to help a meditator who is sick recollect them by reciting these ten contemplations, and this cures his affliction. It's mind over matter because it seems all illness is at least in part psychosomatic.

    From the Girimananda Sutra
    One is simply aware of these ten reflections.
    Girimananda Sutra: "Discourse to Girimananda Thera" (AN 10.60, PTS: A v 108)
    Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was living near Savatthi at Jetavana at the monastery of Anathapindika.

    Now at that time, the monk Girimananda was afflicted with a disease, was suffering from it and gravely ill. Ven. Ananda approached the Buddha, saluted him, sat respectfully to one side, and said:

    "Venerable sir (Bhante), Ven. Girimananda is afflicted with a disease, is suffering and gravely ill. It were well, Bhante, if the Blessed One would visit him out of compassion."

    [The Buddha said:] "Ananda, should you visit the monk Girimananda and recite to him the Ten Contemplations then that monk Girimananda, having heard them, will be immediately cured of his disease.

    "What are the ten?
    1. Contemplation of impermanence
    2. Contemplation of impersonality (anatta, no-self)
    3. Contemplation of foulness (asubha)
    4. Contemplation of disadvantage (danger)
    5. Contemplation of abandonment
    6. Contemplation of detachment
    7. Contemplation of cessation
    8. Contemplation of distaste for the whole world
    9. Contemplation of impermanence of all component things
    10. Mindfulness of in-breathing and out-breathing.
    i. "What, Ananda, is contemplation of impermanence? Herein [within this Doctrine and Discipline], Ananda, a meditator having gone to the forest or to the foot of a tree or to an empty house (any withdrawn place) contemplates:

    "'Matter (visible objects) is impermanent; feeling (sensation) is impermanent; perception is impermanent; mental formations are impermanent; consciousness is impermanent. One dwells contemplating impermanence in these Five Aggregates clung to as self.' This, Ananda, is called contemplation of impermanence.

    ii. "What, Ananda, is contemplation of impersonality (anatta)? Herein, Ananda, a meditator having gone to the forest or to the foot of a tree or to a withdrawn place contemplates:

    "'The eye is not self; visible objects are not self; the ear is not self; sounds are not self; the nose is not self; smells are not self; the tongue is not self; tastes are not self; the body is not self; bodily contacts (tangible objects) are not self; the mind is not self; mental objects are not self.' One dwells contemplating not self in these internal and external bases. This, Ananda, is called contemplation of impersonality.

    iii. "What, Ananda, is contemplation of foulness (asubha)? Herein, Ananda, a meditator contemplates this body up from the soles of the feet, down from the top of the hair, enclosed in skin, as being full of many impurities. In this body there are head-hairs, body-hairs, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinews, bones, marrow, kidneys, heart, liver, pleura, spleen, lungs, intestines, intestinal tract, stomach, feces, bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, fat, tears, grease, saliva, nose mucous, synovium (joint oil), and urine. One dwells contemplating foulness in this body. This, Ananda, is called contemplation of foulness.

    iv. "What, Ananda, is contemplation of disadvantage (danger)? Herein, Ananda, a meditator having gone to the forest, or to the foot of a tree, or to a withdrawn place, contemplates: 'Many are the sufferings, many are the disadvantages (dangers) of this body because diverse diseases afflict this body, such as: 
    • Eye-disease
    • ear-disease
    • nose-disease
    • tongue-disease
    • body-disease
    • headache
    • mumps
    • mouth-disease
    • toothache
    • cough
    • asthma
    • catarrh
    • heartburn
    • fever
    • stomach ailments
    • fainting
    • dysentery
    • swelling
    • gripe
    • leprosy
    • boils
    • scrofula
    • consumption
    • epilepsy
    • ringworm
    • itch
    • eruption
    • tetter
    • pustule
    • plethora
    • diabetes
    • piles
    • cancer
    • fistula;
    • diseases originating from bile
    • from phlegm
    • from wind
    • from imbalance of the humors
    • from changes of weather
    • from adverse condition (faulty deportment)
    • from devices (practiced by others)
    • from karma-vipaka (results of karma);
    • from cold
    • heat
    • hunger
    • thirst
    • excrement
    • and urine.'
    "One dwells contemplating disadvantage (danger) in this body. This Ananda, is called contemplation of disadvantage.

    v. "What, Ananda, is contemplation of abandonment? Herein, Ananda, a meditator does not tolerate a thought of sensual desire that has arisen but instead immediately dispels it, makes an end of it, and annihilates it.

    "One does not tolerate a thought of ill-will that has arisen but instead immediately abandons, dispels it, makes an end of it, and annihilates it.

    "One does not tolerate a thought of cruelty that has arisen but instead abandons it, dispels it, makes an end of it, and annihilates it. One does not tolerate unskillful, unprofitable states that arise from time to time but instead immediately abandons them, dispels them, makes an end of them, and annihilates them. This, Ananda, is called contemplation of abandonment.

    vi. "What, Ananda, is contemplation of detachment? Herein, Ananda, a meditator having gone to the forest, or to the foot of a tree, or to a withdrawn place, contemplates:

    "'This is peaceful, this is sublime, namely, the stilling of all conditioned things, the giving up of all factors contributing to becoming, the extinction of craving, detachment, nirvana.' This, Ananda, is called contemplation of detachment.

    vii. "What, Ananda, is contemplation of cessation? Herein, Ananda, a meditator having gone to the forest, or to the foot of a tree, or to a withdrawn place, contemplates: 'This is peaceful, this is sublime, namely, the stilling of all component things, the extinction of craving, cessation, nirvana.' This, Ananda, is called contemplation of cessation.

    viii. "What, Ananda, is contemplation of distaste for the whole world? Herein, Ananda, [a meditator] by abandoning any concern or clinging to this world, by abandoning mental biases, wrong views, and latent tendencies concerning [incessant craving for] this world, by no longer grasping them, but by letting go of them (giving them up), becomes free and detached. This, Ananda, is called contemplation of distaste for the whole world.

    ix. "What, Ananda, is contemplation of impermanence of all component things? Herein, Ananda, a meditator is wearied, humiliated, and disgusted with all conditioned things. This, Ananda, is called contemplation of impermanence of all component things.

    x. "What, Ananda, is mindfulness of in-breathing and out-breathing? Herein [within the Buddha's Doctrine and Discipline], Ananda, a meditator having gone to the forest, or to the foot of a tree, or to a private place, sits down, having folded legs crosswise, keeping the body erect, and mindfulness activated, mindful one breathes in, mindful one breathes out.

    "When one is breathing in a long breath, one knows: 'I am breathing in a long breath,' when one is breathing out a long breath, one knows: 'I am breathing out a long breath.'

    "When one is breathing in a short breath, one knows: 'I am breathing in a short breath,' when one is breathing out a short breath, one knows: 'I am breathing out a short breath.'

    "'Conscious of the entire process,* I shall breathe in.' Thus one trains oneself. 'Conscious of the entire process, I shall breathe out.' Thus one trains oneself.
    • *Sabba-kaya: literally, "the whole [breath] body." According to The Path of Purification (Visuddhimagga), kaya here does not mean the physical "body" but the whole mass of in-breathing and out-breathing.
    "'Calming the entire process, I shall breathe in.' Thus one trains oneself. 'Calming the entire process I shall breathe out.' Thus one trains oneself.

    "'Experiencing rapture, I shall breathe in.' Thus one trains oneself. 'Experiencing rapture, I shall breathe out.' Thus one trains oneself.

    "'Experiencing bliss, I shall breathe in.' Thus one trains oneself; 'experiencing bliss, I shall breathe out.' Thus one trains oneself.

    "'Experiencing the mental formations [feeling and perception], I shall breathe in.' Thus one trains oneself. 'Experiencing the mental formations, I shall breathe out.' Thus one trains oneself.

    "'Calming the mental formations, I shall breathe in.' Thus one trains oneself; 'calming the mental formations, I shall breathe out.' Thus one trains oneself.

    "'Experiencing the mind [according to the four meditative absorptions, the jhanas], I shall breathe in,' Thus one trains oneself; 'experiencing the mind, I shall breathe out.' Thus one trains oneself.

    "'Exceedingly gladdening the mind [by tranquility/samatha as well as insight/vipassana], I shall breathe in.' Thus one trains oneself; 'exceedingly gladdening the mind, I shall breathe out.' Thus one trains oneself.

    "'Concentrating the mind [on the breath], I shall breathe in.' Thus one trains oneself; concentrating the mind I shall breathe out.' Thus one trains oneself.

    Ven. Ananda with ola palm leaf texts
    "'Liberating the mind [from the hindrances/nivaranas], I shall breathe in.' Thus one trains oneself, 'liberating the mind I shall breathe out.' Thus one trains oneself; 'contemplating impermanence [in body, feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousnesses], I shall breathe in.' Thus one trains oneself; 'contemplating impermanence, I shall breathe out.' Thus one trains oneself; 'contemplating detachment, I shall breathe in.' Thus one trains oneself; 'contemplating detachment, I shall breathe out.' Thus one trains oneself; 'contemplating cessation, I shall breathe in.' Thus one trains oneself. 'Contemplating cessation, I shall breathe out.' Thus one trains oneself; 'contemplating abandonment, I shall breathe in.' Thus one trains oneself; 'contemplating abandonment, I shall breathe out.' Thus one trains oneself.

    "This, Ananda, is called mindfulness of in-breathing and out-breathing. If, Ananda, you visit the monk Girimananda and recite to him these ten contemplations, then that monk, Girimananda, having heard them, will be immediately cured of his affliction."

    Wednesday, July 28, 2021

    Government censoring "thought crimes" (video)

    Mike MacRae, Jimmy Dore (jimmydorecomedy.com); Eds., Wisdom Quarterly Wikipedia edit

    Mark Zuckerberg is my mom's God.
    "Thoughtcrime" is a Newspeak word in George Orwell's dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.

    It describes politically unacceptable thoughts, such as doubts that contradict an authoritarian figure like "Big Brother" (the Surveillance State).

    If one so much as thinks of rebelling, one is already a criminal. In the official language, the word "crimethink" describes the intellectual actions of a person who so much as entertains politically unacceptable thoughts.

    The dictatorship/government of the ruling party controls the speech, actions, and  even the thoughts of its citizens.

    In American English usage today, the word describes beliefs that are contrary to accepted norms dictated by the "thought police." This also applies to theological concepts (like freethinking or atheism) which as in politics, are not allowed. More

    Slipknot to tour: Joey Jordison is dead (video)

    RawMusicTVMetal Injection; Loudwire; Eds., Wisdom Quarterly Wikipedia edit

    Mara (Death) is waiting. What shall we do?
    First Paul Gray, now this. Karma sucks. It catches up. And when bad karma ripens, no one likes it. Why? No one likes it because it's called "bad" (akusala) because of the kind of karmic-results (vipaka and phala) it yields. Unlike God, the Buddha doesn't like and dislike how people behave and so calls somethings "good" and others "bad." The Buddha saw that some actions (deeds, intentions, karma) led to unpleasant consequences and others to pleasant ones. That was the decider. What leads to suffering and greater suffering is labelled "bad," unwholesome, or unskillful. What leads to the end of suffering is good, wholesome, skillful, profitable, fit to done, and not a cause for remorse in the future. We reap (yield) what we sow (plant). A short life is not a good sign. Were inimical forces (hungry ghosts, demons, jealous lovers, angry adversaries...) involved in his premature death?


    Joey Jordison, 2008 (wiki)
    Nathan Jonas "Joey" Jordison
    (April 26, 1975–July 26, 2021) was best known as the nu-, speed-, death-. thrash-, alt-metal band Slipknot's co-founder and drummer. He was an American musician and songwriter and guitarist for the horror-punk band Murderdolls.

    Jordison grew up in Des Moines, Iowa, with his parents and two sisters. He was given his first drum kit at the age of 8. He performed with many bands early in his career.

    Joey Jordison on guitar with the Murderdolls
    Then in the summer of 1995, he joined the group The Pale Ones, which would later change their name to Slipknot.

    Jordison played in Slipknot from their formation until his departure from the band in December of 2013, when it seems he was fired. But accounts differ. Of Slipknot's nine-member lineup, which lasted from 1999–2010, Jordison was the third to join. He performed on four studio albums and produced the live album 9.0: Live.


    He was also the drummer and founder of Scar the Martyr, which formed in 2013 and disbanded in 2016. Outside his major projects, Jordison performed with other metal groups such as Rob Zombie, Metallica, Korn, Ministry, Otep, and Satyricon.

    Jordison was also known for his session work, which includes performances on many albums for many artists. He used several drum brands including Pearl and ddrum.

    Before his death, he was playing for the band Sinsaenum. More

    Tuesday, July 27, 2021

    Buddhism Finally Explained! (video)


    Buddhism is kinda out there, Man
    (exurb1a, June 3, 2021) If interested in Buddhism, this is some stuff I certainly got a kick out of over the years. So a massive portion of this video came from a lecture series by Malcolm David EckelListen to it (audible.com) and, no, no one's sponsoring me for this. It's just ace.

    Also my favorite version of The Dhammapada, the sayings of the Buddha, is on YouTu.be. A great written intro to Zen Buddhism is Zen Mind Beginner's Mind (goodreads.com) by Shunryu Suzuki.

    Another brilliant intro to Zen is by Alan WattsAct Normal (a great documentary on Vimeo about a Western Buddhist monk).

    Super duper new book: Geometry for Ocelots (might need to change your region) ► Other books ► T-shirts, mugs, and sadness ► My horrendous music ► For sending personalized insults ► Facebook.com/exurb1a. Help me to do this full-time if deranged enough ► patreon.com/exurb1.

    COMMENTS (10,606 and counting)
    • (Lij 175) This sounds like an overly complicated way to say, “Reject humanity; return to monkey.” 
    • (Dillon Schickel) Turtle man defended the blobfish. My life is complete. Enlightenment achieved.
    • (GimR's Lab) To everyone having issues with "conquering yourself," I just want to encourage you. I was deeply depressed during my 20s and experienced a lot of loss. I thought would never be able to be who I wanted to be and never get out of the hole I was in. But I did, and you can, too. Things aren't perfect, but I'm very happy where I'm at compared to where I was before. This doesn't work for everyone, but my first step was just straight up accepting who I was in that moment. I had trouble getting one task done a day and often laid in bed for 2 hours after waking up. I was a shell. It's a little paradoxical, but when I accepted my current self and stopped guilting myself over it is when I was finally able to muster the energy to start changing. That energy was previously wasted on self hatred and comparing myself to others. Anyways, have a good one, hope this helps at least one person who's reading.
    • (AMANTA KOFA) Islam: "Praise god and its followers." Christianity: "Praise Jesus and he'll save you." Buddhism: "Reject existence, return to nothing."
    • (Ahshhdhd ____) (edited) This channel is basically what happens when the dorky guy who was obsessed with spacey shit as a kid finds out about LSD.
    • (Doodle Turnip) Guys, he's gotten past his optimistic nihilism faze [phase] and found non-Western perspectives. Soon he'll be experiencing ego death and talking about connecting to higher realms. The beautiful cycle continues.
    • (MyNamesChai) "I'm not a Buddhist; I'm barely a person." Thanks for bring me back to smiling after that trip, brother. Keep making things. You're a gem. All love
    • (yaat yaboi) (edited) “I’m an alcoholic not an educator.” “I hope you’re listening because there will be a test at the end.” 😂
    • (David J Ward) "Our outer identities are shifting all the time, of course" inserts still of Boris Johnson in amongst the gargoyles).
    • (Bipin Lekhak) So they made a religion out of a middle-aged Nepali man having existential crisis. I can relate.
    • (BasedSensei) “How can we overcome suffering?” *Shows pic of a mosquito biting someone*
    • (BestAtNothing) (edited) It's definitely fun to ponder on these deep existential dilemmas, but I really would just rather be a tree or a rock.
    • (Loaf Breed) The bong rip after introducing Matreiya absolutely fucking slayed me.
    • (Zak W) "I'm barely a person." I fucking knew this guy was a machine.
    • (Avatar Lhamo) "I'm not a Buddhist; I'm barely a person." Well, you know who'd say that? A Buddhist
    • (MuchWeeb) Came in learning about Buddhism, left crying in the shower.
    • (The Dank Meme Spike) You Never disappoint. That was an absolutely amazing video. 👏
    • (Chowder Pickles) "You long for coffee to be miserable faster." Entire description of the human condition.
    • (Vunga) This sounds like an overly complicated way to say "Avatar: The Last Airbender."
    • (PwnWin Win) I feel like this kinda missed the point of Buddhism towards the end of the video. Buddhism would tell you that if you truly want nothing, Bladerunner is fine, and unlikely to exist when everyone wants nothing. It focuses on your view on life and what you can do to be happy in a crappy existence.
    • (Cam Mackenzie) "I'm not a Buddhist...I'm barely a person." Amen philosophy turtle, amen.

    Women compete during husband shortage


    Women in this town compete to find a husband because of a man shortage
    (#Mind Warehouse, 4/12/20) There are more than 200 countries in the world, each of them unique in its own way. They have different languages, mentalities, cultures, and cuisines.

    Look alive, Ladies! The man is here.
    However, let’s not forget that within each state there are also thousands of different settlements, which can differ from each other drastically. Sometimes residents of different settlements of the same country need subtitles to understand each other’s speech on TV.

    The differences in pronunciation might be considerable. However, some settlements are unique in every sense of the word. Today let's talk about the cities and villages that have become famous throughout the world thanks to their unusual inhabitants and traditions.
    • For copyright matters please contact: copymanager.mn@gmail.com TechZone

    Nihilistic Buddhism: just negate everything?

    Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly Wikipedia edit Nihilism in Buddhism

    The Nihilist by Paul Merwfart (wiki)
    The concept of nihilism was discussed by the Buddha (563-483 BCE), as recorded in the Theravada and Mahayana Threefold Texts (Tri-Piṭaka) [35].

    The collection, originally written in the Buddha's language Pali, refers to  the teaching of nihilism as natthikavāda and the nihilist view as a "wrong view" (micchādiṭṭhi) [36].

    Various Buddhist sutras describe views held by different groups or schools of wandering ascetics in the Buddha's time, some of which were deemed by him to be morally nihilistic.

    The philosophers holding to a "Doctrine of Nihilism" in the Apannaka Sutra are described by the Buddha as "moral nihilists" [37], holding the following wrong views:
    • Giving (generosity, letting go) produces no results;
    • Good and bad actions (karma) produce no fruit;
    • After death, beings are not reborn again into this or any other world;
    • There is no one in the world who, by direct knowledge, can confirm that beings are reborn in this or some other world after death.
    The Buddha further states that those who hold these pernicious wrong views will fail to see the virtue in skillful (good, wholesome, beneficial) karma -- mental, verbal, bodily conduct -- and the corresponding dangers in misconduct. They will, therefore, tend towards misconduct [37].

    Nirvana, nihilism, nothingness?
    The culmination of the path that the Buddha taught was nirvana, "a place of no-thingness…non-possession and…non-attachment…[which is] the total end of death and decay" [38].

    Ajahn Amaro, an ordained Western (British-American) Buddhist monk of more than 40 years, observes that in English nothingness (shunyata) can sound like nihilism.

    However, the word can be emphasized in a different way to become no-thingness (sunnata) indicating that nirvana is not something to find, but rather the reality of not clinging to whatever is experienced [38].

    The snake simile
    What harm can a snake do, Adam? - Well, Eve...
    In the "Snake Simile Discourse" (Alagaddupama Sutra), the Buddha describes how some individuals fear this Teaching (the Buddha Dharma) because of the mistaken belief that a "self" will be destroyed if this Teaching were followed.

    The Buddha describes this as an anxiety caused by the wrong view (false belief) in an unchanging, essential, everlasting self (as Cartesians and Brahmins/Hindus, Christians, Muslims, Jews, Jains, and other religions take for granted as being unquestionably true).

    ALL "things" [that depend on constituents for their existence] are subject to change, so ignorantly taking any impermanent phenomenon to be a "self"  leads to suffering. [Not only are all phenomena impermanent, they are also impersonal and unsatisfactory. These are the Three Marks or Characteristics of all phenomena.]

    What about the Higher Self? It's still self.
    Nonetheless, the Buddha's critics called him a "nihilist" who taught the annihilation and extermination of a real and existing self, soul, ego, personality, essence, or being. [Or they condescended as if the Buddha were too dumb to know there is self-evidently a self, as Rene Descartes logically concluded while blundering and assuming the "I."]
    • Descartes, of course, if famous for deducing, "I think; therefore, I am" when, in strict adherence to the facts at had, all that could logically be concluded was that, "Thinking is happening; therefore, thinking is [happening]." We insert the thinker. It's embedded in our language and thinking -- the assumption that every verb must have an antecedent noun, that if something is being done, someone must be doing it. It's not actually true, and the mindboggling realization of this by direct experience leads to the first stage of enlightenment called stream-entry. This is the unique truth of Buddhism, that all things are impersonal (anatta). Things exist as heaps, amalgamations, illusions dependent on everchanging conditions. No-thing persists except as a stream of those conditions, which are not the "thing" itself. Thich Nhat Hanh puts it poetically in stating that all "flower" things are made of nonflower things. A "flower" seems to exist, but its whole existence depends on nonflower elements like mud, minerals, rain, and so on. A "flower," therefore, is an illusion (a dreamy appearance, a functional coming-together of constituents, elements, factors, limbs, parts, supporting conditions) dependently arisen on the coming together of nonflower things or ingredients. That doesn't much matter, according to the Buddha. What does matter is that the exact same thing can be said of us (I, me, you, they, we). All beings are "things" made nonbeing things -- called the Five Aggregates (form, feelings, perceptions, formations, consciousness) clung to as "self." Conventionally, of course we exist, and we are not "things." But ultimately speaking, in the highest sense, there is no self. All phenomena -- all forms, feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousnesses, yes, plural -- are impersonal. They are hurtling toward destruction (impermanent). And they are unsatisfactory (disappointing, never able to satisfy, never able to fulfill or quell craving that springs up again and again wherever there is the coming together of ignorance and pleasant things (Wisdom Quarterly).
    The Buddha's response
    to being accused of being a nihilist was that he only teaches the end of suffering. When an individual lets go (is free of) craving and the conceit/pride (mana) of "I am," the heart/mind is liberated.

    One no longer comes into any state of "being" [becoming, reappearance] and is no longer reborn again [39] and is freed of all suffering once and for all.

    The "Fire Discourse to Vacchagotta" (Aggi-Vacchagotta Sutra) records a conversation between the Buddha and an individual named Vaccha that further elaborates on this:

    In the sutra Vaccha asks the Buddha to confirm one of the following, with respect to the existence of a Buddha (or fully enlightened being) after death [40]:
    1. After death a fully enlightened one reappears somewhere else?
    2. After death a fully enlightened one does not reappear anywhere else?
    3. After death a fully enlightened one both does and does not reappear?
    4. After death a fully enlightened one neither does nor does not reappear?
    To all four questions the Buddha answers that the terms "reappears somewhere else," "does not reappear," "both does and does not reappear," and "neither does nor does not reappear" do not apply.

    When Vaccha expresses puzzlement (because of the absolute certainty of the logical assumption that it has to be one of these four propositions), the Buddha asks Vaccha a counter question to the effect of:

    Where does fire go when it goes out?
    If a fire were to go out right here and someone were to ask you whether the fire went
    1. north
    2. south
    3. east
    4. west
    when it left here, how would you reply?

    Vaccha replies that the question is nonsensical because none of the four propositions apply, for an extinguished fire can only be classified as  having gone "out" [40].

    American monk Ven. Ṭhānissaro, a prolific but very misleading translator of Pali language Buddhist texts, elaborates on the classification problem with respect to the Buddha (or any fully enlightened, fully liberated being) and nirvana by stating that any "person who has attained the goal [nirvana] is thus indescribable because [s/he has] abandoned all things by which [he/she] could be described" [41].

    The sutras themselves describe the liberated heart/mind as "untraceable" or as "consciousness without feature," making a big distinction between the mind of a liberated being who is alive and the mind of one who is no longer alive [39, 42], calling the first "with remainder" and the second "without remainder."

    The first is still reaping the results of former karma; the latter is free of all that, as karmic-those seeds are now on sterile ground where they can never come to fruition and bear their results. One is completely free of all further becoming, of all suffering of any kind. There is no further illusion of "self" and that has been directly verified and realized. The Truth has set the person free; it was all like a dream.

    Despite the Buddha's explanations to the contrary, Buddhist practitioners may still, at times, approach Buddhism in a nihilistic manner.

    The case of Mr. Jackman
    Jackman (Ven. Sumedho) with Ajahn Chah
    Ajahn Amaro illustrates this by telling the story of another Western Buddhist monk, Ajahn Sumedho (Robert Karr Jackman), who in his early years took a nihilistic approach to nirvana.

    One distinct feature of nirvana in Buddhism is that an individual attaining it is now free of all rebirth.

    Ajahn Sumedho, during a conversation with his world-famous teacher Ajahn Chah (shown here), comments that he is "determined above all things to fully realize nirvana in this lifetime…deeply weary of the human condition and…[is] determined not to be born again."

    To this Ajahn Chah replies: "What about the rest of us, Sumedho? Don't you care about those who'll be left behind?"

    Ajahn Amaro comments that Ajahn Chah could detect that his student had a nihilistic aversion to life rather than true detachment [43] [based on wisdom and an accurate understanding of reality].