Update Pertahanan, June 22, 2025:After countless attacks on Palestinians, Yemenis, Lebanese, Jordanians, Egyptians, and now Iranians, Israel is being hit in retaliation for the 20th time in a row.
Iran dares to retaliate, launching missiles toward Israel, which is working to intercept: IDF
(ABC News) June, Friday the 13th, 2025: Iran has retaliated with missiles toward Israel, which [American defense ("Iron Dome") systems are operating to intercept and make themselves impervious whenever Israel attacks neighbors in Iran, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, and anyone else who dares to retaliate for Zionist war crimes committed by the rogue state of Israel backed by US arms, money, and CIA assets], the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Friday. "The public is ordered instructed to enter a protected space and remain there until further notice. Leaving the protected space is only permitted following an explicit directive. Continue to follow the orders instructions of the Home Front Command," the IDF said in a [sanitized] statement.
The Buddha versus Mara: The Buddhist "Satan" and his three tempting daughters
You can have whatever you desire
(Buddha's Wisdom)
April 26, 2025:
🔍 BUDDHISM'S "DEVIL" AND HIS THREE SEDUCTIVE DAUGHTERS. Did you know Buddhism has its own version of the Devil, a Satan figure?
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Buddhism's version of the Devil
02:01 Meet Mara, Buddhism's ultimate villain
06:44 The first daughter Tanhā (Craving)
11:08 The second daughter Arati (Boredom/Discontent)
15:30 The third daughter Rāga (Passion/Lust)
20:02 How the Buddha defeated Mara and his daughters
24:40 The daughters among us - modern applications
Mara, the Buddhist devil or chief demon, commands three daughters, who each specialize in a different type of temptation. Their tactics haven't changed in 2,600 years. They're still working on us today -- even through our smartphones.
Christian Sabrina Carpenter is sexy wholesome?
DISCOVER:
The shocking parallels between Mara and Satan in religious mythology
How the Buddha's legendary showdown with Mara's daughters reveals timeless psychological insights
Why Mara's three daughters represent the most dangerous mind-traps humans fall into
The surprising connection between ancient Buddhist warnings and modern digital addiction
How the "I see you, Mara" technique can free us from these temptations today
Ready to break free from the cycles keeping us stuck?
SOURCES:
The Dhammapada, Sutta Nipata, Majjhima Nikaya, Anguttara Nikaya, Ādittapariyāya Sutta ("The Fire Sermon"), Satipatthana Sutta ("Discourse on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness")
SAINT PATRICK'S DHARMA: Welcome to Zen Buddhism Ireland (ZBI) with Myozan Kodo (妙山興道). Years ago, on March 17th, he delivered a little talk on Irish history concerning a possibly ahistorical figure named "St. Paddy" to mark St. Patrick's Day. Rev. Myozan Kodo lives his Zen Buddhist spiritual tradition on the Emerald Isle at zenbuddhism.ie, which is open to all.
The Irish are nothing if not amazing storytellers. Our own resident poet, Seven O'Dhr, frequently performs his epic "Finnegan's Awake" to stunned crowds who cannot comprehend how there can be so many rhyming syllables delivered in a Gaelic cadence in what is ostensibly an all-English poem. The piece is, of course, a tip o' the hat to James Joyce and his magnum opus Finnegans Wake, but both works are rooted in an old Dublin ditty everyone who's ever entered a pub has heard, "Finnegan's Wake." What now if the classic song were Buddhified? If the story of Saint Paddy can be, as certainly it was all dreamed up by the Church over the years to sanitize the genocide of the indigenous pagan "snakes" being chased off the snakeless island.
What the cartoonist (Dan Piraro) doesn't realize is that the Buddha did set down such a rule.
Great teachers of world's religions (Where's Mo?)
Christianity (particularly imperialist universalist Catholicism and hegemonical American Protestant Evangelism) is closer to Hinduism than Buddhism is, for all of their apparent similarities. The historical Buddha did not teach what Jesus or Krishna (avatars of a God like Vishnu), Brahma or Shiva taught.
All of these, we are told promoted devotional practices as the best that could be done by most humans during the Dark Age or Kali Yuga. Hinduism, to be more popular and tolerant, accepts other religions enough to swallow them and call them part of its own Eternal Teaching or Sanatan Dharma.
Hindu holy man, sadhu,sannyasin, ganja smoker
If Brahmin priests could not rid themselves of pesky wandering ascetic or shramanic traditions like Buddhism and Jainism, it simply dealt with them by incorporating them into its own structure and pantheon just as it did the ancient Vedas ("Knowledge Books") of proto-India and the Indus Valley Civilization, extending Hinduism (which was systematized and established by Adi Shankara a few centuries ago by coordinating and getting major points of agreement for many and diverse "religions" around the Indus River, thus resulting in the name of one conglomerate religion of Indus-ism where previously people did not live with the modern idea of being in a "religion" or doing anything more than practicing spiritual things as part and parcel of daily life).
The British imposed the idea that one must name "spiritual" practices and/or superstitions and beliefs a "religion" and that those practicing in accordance or adhering to such beliefs must be "members" of that religion. The ancients in India, proto-India, Egypt, and elsewhere simply did not have this belief but simply went along when told by the dominant and oppressive colonizing culture. One has to imagine that pre-Christian pagans in Europe did not think they had a "religion" but were just living their cultural life and holding popular beliefs about how the world (with its spirits and mysteries) works.
Amitabha Cosmic Buddha
While Early Buddhism, just like Jainism, rejected the Vedas and gods as ultimate sources of wisdom or liberation, later (Mahayana) Buddhism was co-opted by the Brahmin priests and turned into a kind of Hinduism by other names. While there are certainly many devotional practices in modern Theravada Buddhism, a back-to-basics movement to preserve the historical Buddha's Teachings, many Mahayana traditions and practices went overboard to devote themselves to anyone but the historical Buddha.
Kwan Yin (female Avalokiteshvara)
That Buddha is respected but then quickly disregarded, forgotten, or shunned for "better" Mahayana Buddhist figures like the Cosmic Buddhas Amitabha (and His promise of praying to Him to be reborn in His heavenly Western Paradise, the Pure Land, where one can make efforts to reach enlightenment and liberation without bothering to do anything toward that here other than praying and devoting oneself to Him here and now) and Vairocana, or the ever-popular Virgin Mary figure Kwan Yin (Guanyin, Kwannon, Chenrézik, or Avalokiteshvara, the Goddess of Compassion, who like many other Mahayana figures is actually a bodhisattva, a person striving for Buddhahood, not a buddha at all) and Kṣitigarbha, who saves beings from the hells, which they fall into on account of their own deeds and views.
Pals Jesus, Budai, and Krishna with a cow
This devotional bent of Mahayana Buddhism has gotten so severe that who "the Buddha" is is often blurred, with most of the world mistaking him for the Mahayana figure Budai/Putai/Hotei the "Fat Happy Bodhisattva," the obese guy revered in Chinese restaurants around the world. Moreover, a distinction at one point had to be made between what Western elucidator of Buddhism Alan Watts points out in the Japanese Buddhist terms jiriki versus tariki-- enlightenment by one's own efforts or by outside help.
Jiriki (自力, "one's own strength" [1]) is the Japanese Buddhist term for "self-power," the ability to achieve enlightenment and liberation (in other words, to reach bodhi and nirvana) through one's own efforts, whereas tariki (他力, "other power," "outside help") is the belief that it cannot be done on one's own. These two terms in Japanese Buddhist schools classify how one becomes spiritually awakened [2]. The first is commonly practiced in Zen Buddhism, whereas the much more popular Pure Land Buddhism refers to the power of Amitābha Buddha to "save" beings who merely have faith, believe, and worship an outside force like the mythological Amitabha [3].
Does Christianity teach Christians and Catholics that they can save themselves, awaken themselves, enlighten themselves, or even get into heaven (which is viewed as final salvation) by their own efforts? Certainly not. Most modern Christian schools teach that it is ONLY by "grace" (God's underserved gift or His whimsical feeling like it) and never by "works" (one's own efforts) that anyone can be saved.
All three religions (Buddhism, Christianity, and Hinduism) believe in karma (the power of deeds to bring about a result, but Christians insist everything is either God's will or not and nothing we can do can change that, other than perhaps groveling, begging, bargaining, self-abnegation, and absolute devotion and throwing ourselves on His mercy can save us.
For Christians killing isn't so bad compared to not loving the God enough because that God can erase that karmic debt and sin, wipe it away in an instant of devotion, obedience, adherence, and voluntary slavery, whereas not killing in the first, who cares? That's not a big deal to most Christians or apologists. Of course, Hinduism now talks about karma a lot, but it is said that the Buddha was the first sage to go around telling ordinary people about the importance of their deeds.
Up until then it was more or less a secret among Brahmin priests and preservers of the Vedas, who were not keen on telling anyone other than Brahmins. The Buddha, who was regarded as a Karmavadin (Teacher of the efficacy of actions) not as a Buddhist (which came later with the Western idea that things have to be a "religion"), went around telling everyone, emphasizing karma to everyone as a principle, a fixed law, an orderliness to the universe we live in, be it a simulation or a real place.
One has to eventually put forward the endeavor and effort to awaken oneself; it simply cannot be "given" or gained by devotion. It does not belong to anyone to give, not even "God," who Himself, Herself, Itself is not enlightened nor liberated but rapt in this samsara.
So while it is beautiful that we can all be Hindus now, all go back to a time when there was just one universal religion everyone had to follow, a worldwide belief system with an all-attractive cult figure like Krishna, Christ, Thor, Zeus, Sophia, Aphrodite, Brahma, Mithras, Ahura Mazda, Allah (or His Prophet), the Great Spaghetti Monster, Odin, or countless other astrotheological figures, Buddhism does not need the Buddha to be an "incarnation of Vishnu."
The great thing is, of course, that "Hinduism" is not really a religion even now when it is treated like one because it has always meant a collection of disparate views, practices, belief, and preferred central gods (one choice in picking any incarnation of an essential Brahman, or "reality behind all illusion") presenting itself as an avatar or aspect of the One True God(hood). The yogis have their way, as do the Shaivites and Vaishnavites, agnostics, atheists, Kali worshippers, devotees of the Goddess Saraswati, Ma Durga, Radha (Krishna's partner), Krishna, or 100,000 others.
In fact, it is insulting as it shows a severe lack of understanding by Brahmins and Hindus that such things could even happen. A buddha is an arhat (fully enlightened being), who therefore by that supreme enlightenment is never again reborn, does not incarnate, does not reappear or rearise. Of course, there will be other buddhas, like Mahayana Buddhism's second favorite buddha of all time, the Buddha-to-come, the Future Buddha, Maitreya.
But that being will not be the last one (Siddhartha Gautama Buddha) coming again. It will be a new one, just as there have been ones in the ancient past and in the distant future. It is never the same being returning to teach beings how to make an end of all suffering and all rebirth after realizing the too-subtle unique teachings of Dependent Origination and anatta (the impersonal nature of all existence) or egolessness.
The Lord's Prayer (Medieval English)
Text by Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells, Pat Macpherson, Wisdom Quarterly
Crystal Quintero, Pfc. Sandoval, CC Liu (eds.), Wiki edit
Operativos para proteger a las familias por festejos del "Día de Reyes" en CDMX
(adn40Mx) Jan 5, 2024: José Guadalupe Ruiz Méndez, Dir Operativo de la Zona Norte SSC CDMX realiza una llamada telefónica con de adn conmigo para platicar con Daniel Jacobo y Valentina Rodríguez sobre los operativos que se realizaran por día de reyes en CDMX.#adn40#SiempreConmigo
Lin-Manuel Miranda explains the magic of Three Kings Day
(Washington Post) Dec. 15, 2017: Even while growing up in New York, composer, playwright, and actor (Frozen), Lin-Manuel Miranda experienced a quintessentially Puerto Rican holiday, Three Kings Day (Dia de los Reyes o Magos). Here's what makes it special. #linmanuelmiranda#washingtonpost#threekingsday
US manger Nativity scene with true statement
Did Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhist monks from Ladakh or Lhasa go in search of a tulku (incarnation of significant figures like the Dalai Lamas and Panchen Lamas)? In this case, it would have been baby Jesus of Palestine (Issa, Isa, Yshua, Christ), following a UFO or miraculous star or sign in the sky (astrological/zodiacal)? When a significant lama (monk) or rinpoche ("precious one" or "jewel") is to be reborn, he gives indications of where. And a search party is sent out to track him down, bring him back, verify it's him, and remind him of his mission to spread the Dharma (Timeless Truth) to save humanity. Tibetans think it is Avalokiteśvara(sex-changed and popularized as ChineseKwan Yin, called Chenrezig in Tibet, the Goddess of Compassion) being reborn over and over again. This is the basis of the American movie Little Buddha.
Theophany (Ancient Greek ἡ θεοφάνεια, Romanized theophaneia, lit. "appearance of a deity" [1]) is an encounter with a deity (deva, god, goddess), in which it manifests in an observable and tangible form [2, 3, 4].
Where the deity does not take tangible form (an outward manifestation), the broader term used for inward manifestation is divine revelation or divine inspiration [5] as when devas ("shining ones") or gandharvas(heavenly messengers in Buddhism) visit earth.
Not kings, not just three, but tales were added.
Where the god or goddess indwells in a human person, the terms used are divine incarnation, a Hindu avatar or, poetically, the personification of that deity [6].
Theophanies, tangible appearances of a deity, are distinguished from epiphanies, which are powerful internal changes in outlook caused by a theophany or other divine revelation [7].
Traditionally the term "theophany" was used to refer to appearances of the gods in ancient Greek and in Near Eastern religions.
While Homer's Iliad is the earliest source for descriptions of theophanies in classical antiquity (which occur throughout Greek mythology), the earliest description appears in the much older Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh [8].
While the Baháʼí Faith of India does not refer to any particular events of Theophany, it holds that "God" is manifest in the prophets .
The "Manifestation of God" is a concept that refers to what are commonly called "prophets," including, among others,
The Manifestations of God are a series of personages [Maitreyas, Messiahs] who reflect the attributes of the divine into the human world for the progress and advancement of human morals and civilization [45].
The Manifestations of God are the only channel for humanity to know about God, and they act as perfect Mirrors reflecting the attributes of God into the physical world, says Bahai [46]....
Hamza ibn Ali ibn Ahmad is considered the founder of the Druze and the primary author of the Druze manuscripts [52]. He proclaimed that God had become human and taken the form of man, al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah [53, 54, 51, 55, 56].
Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah is an important figure in the Druze faith whose eponymous founder ad-Darazi proclaimed him as the incarnation of God in 1018 [53, 54].
Divine appearances to animals
Human religious lore includes ancient literary recordings of deities appearing to animals, usually with the animals able to relate the experience to humans using human speech:
In numerous creation stories, a deity or deities speak with many kinds of animals, often prior to the formation of dry land on earth [57].
Human Hanuman and the great Monkey King
In the Hindu text the Ramayana, the monkey-headed human leader Hanumanis informed by deities, and usually consciously addressed by them [58].
Ever wonder what the Jewish-Christian expression "God is not mocked" means? If there's no God, at least no God of the sort described by Jews and Christians as omnipotent and omniscient (something dismissed as untrue by the Buddha in a very theistic world of subtle complexity expressed in the voluminous Vedas or "Knowledge Books" of ancient Proto-India known as the Indus Valley Civilization), how do results reach a living being?
Israel's crimes are CIA and US crimes
There are Brahmas (Gods), and even Brahman (godhead or the ultimate reality), but not a "God" that is in control of everything, knowing everything, and the source of everything onto whom we place responsibility for the world being unfair or for all good things happening. So it seems this "god" who is not mocked refers to a lawfulness of the universe, an impersonal truth about things: karma. Karma very simply means the regularity of the universe to yield results corresponding to the quality of the intentions behind our actions and the actions themselves.
What, the bad I did comes back to me?! KARMA is a bitch or a blessing: As we do, so we get.
Judaism does not emphasize karma (the idea of reaping what we sow, getting a kind of fruit depending on the sort of seeds we plant by our deeds of body, speech, and mind), preferring to think that God can be argued and reasoned with before He doles out consequences. The emphasis is on something many Old Timey religions (i.e., the three Abrahamic faiths) make much of instead: beshert (a Talmudic date with destiny) or kismet ("fate" or "predestination")
Fatalism is wrong view in Buddhism; the vast majority of things (futures) is not fixed; five things (results) are fixed, and those are known as anatarika-kamma (or karma with fixed results; see the Buddhist views on sin); most things don't have to happen because the results of karma can be modified, which is not to say one will know enough to change them
If with a mind beset by greed, hatred/fear, or delusion we act, it will not produce a good (welcome, pleasing, wished for) result. It may seem to, but that is only because the act (the karmic imprint) has not yet yielded its exponential results. Likewise, if we act with an underlying motivation of nongreed, nonhatred/nonfear, or nondelusion, the result cannot fail to be good (welcome, pleasing, wished for). These are very broad categories.
What is wished for when we steal? Greed (craving, desire, hoarding, grasping, lust, avarice, liking) is motivating us. Then we have the thing wished for, the thing stolen. Are we satisfied, are we pleased, are we now ahead on the great scoreboard of life? We would seem to be, but no we are not. And the act (deed, karma) has NOT yet produced its results (whether mental resultants/vipaka or fruit/phala). So it SEEMS to have worked:
.
The Truth is true whether or not we believe it.
We got what we wanted; crime pays; greed is good (inasmuch as it brings us what we want). What are religions talking about? Virtue yields pain and deprivation, whereas immorality and evil produce welcome results, no? No. The karma (the sin, if you will) has not yet come to fruition, but it will. And when it does, the results shall be unwelcome, displeasing, the very opposite of what we wanted. For example, if we wanted more, we shall have less. If we wanted peace of mind, we'll have worry and fear and anxiety. If we wanted to be rich, we'll be poor.
Beware of promoting Israel by biblical genocide.
So how will a spell of soldiering turn out? The Buddha explained very clearly: It will not end in Valhalla (the Hall of Heroes struck down in battle), not in heaven with 80 virgins (nymphs) at our disposal, patriotic glory. It will end in fear, alcoholism, PTSD, rebirth in hell, shortened lifespan, derangement, guilt, violence, insanity, and much deprivation. This is what governments are doing to subjects/citizens tricked into giving themselves over to the military.
Look at this poor guy, a regular Zionist Jew doing his militant/terroristic duty to the state -- mandatory military service, given the intoxicating power to abuse and kill his neighbors in fear and loathing. What will be the result. We can begin to see what it will be. Listen to him, how glorious his patriotism and bravery, his manliness and machismo, his popularity with the girls inducted into the same army as lures for men to follow.
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