Proof: Language came before civilization

(Michael Button) Someone was writing long before civilization

Buddhism in Indian context: Alan Watts

Alan Watts: Buddhism, explained

Cosmology: 31 rebirth planes

(The Spiritual Press) Here is a lecture by Alan Watts which goes into depth about Buddhism in its various forms, as well as touching on

• karma,
• rebirth (commonly spoken of as reincarnation as if it were the same thing when it is not due to the impersonal nature of what is really happening as one reappears after passing away in whatever world or plane one has previously arisen in),
• and other belief systems, particularly Vedic Brahmanism now commonly referred to as Hinduism, to contrast and compare in context.

Samsara in pictures: 6 general worlds

The "Buddhism" being described is actually just Mahayana Buddhism, rightly stating that it is actually a form of Hinduism (stripped for export), which is not what the historical Buddha (Shakaymuni, Siddhartha Gautama) actually taught but what the Brahmin priestly caste made of it after he attained to final nirvana. Theravada Buddhism and the many defunct Early Buddhist schools are not explained, as they represent only ten percent of Buddhists today, with 90% following the later developments that simply go back to the dominant Brahminical view that preceded the Buddha's great enlightenment (mahabodhi). While Theravada Buddhists consider themselves the original Teaching or Early Buddhism, it is not because they are a surviving "Hinayana" ("Lesser Vehicle") school but because it is a back-to-basics movement with respect to the historical figure's actual teachings, not later developments watered down as Hinduism or Vedic Brahmanism as modern Hindus and ancient Brahmins might prefer.

• Alan Wats via The Spiritual Press (video), March 16, 2022; Eds., Wisdom Quarterly (text)

Alan Watts: The God, the Universe, and us

Alan Watts: The Ceramic Myth of Creation and the Fully Automatic Model

(Weapon L) Alan Watts explains the difference between the ceramic (theistic) and fully automatic (atheistic) views of the world and gives an alternative to both.

Hinduism: God is ONE, polytheism as monotheism

• This morning's Sunday Service with Alan Watts (Something's Happening on KPFK), July 21, 2024, 8:00 am, was particularly good about God, science, why we exist, and many other tangential matters. LISTEN: Alan Watts - KPFK 90.7 FM
• Pacifica Archives, LA (KPFK 90.7 FM)

The Limits of Language (Alan Watts)

Alan Watts via Healthy Minds, March 4, '21; Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

What are the hidden assumptions behind our language and figuring, reading and 'rithmetic? The false dichotomy of mind and matter, brain and body, leads us to mistakes in our paradigm, our philosophical view of life and its meaning.

Alan Watts: Language and its Limits

(Healthy Minds) "The Limits of Language" full lecture, Parts I and II, by Alan Watts, the  renowned Western mystic and teacher of Eastern philosophy and esoterica.

I get In My Own Way along The Way or Tao

Watts has helped guide countless lives to peace and success. He's an inspirational, motivational speaker, delivering ancient Buddhist and other Eastern wisdom and esoteric knowledge in ways understandable to our Western assumptions, questioning them and turning them around.

How can we turn around and see our own head that's thinking about seeing? See? It runs away. We never get at it. We can hardly bite our own teeth or touch the tip of this finger with the tip of this finger. This is the principle.

The Indian founder of Hinduism, Shankara, explained this beautifully in his commentary on the Kena Upanishad, where he says, “That which is the knower – the ground of all knowledge – is never itself an object of knowledge, just as fire does not burn itself.”

• Alan Watts appears on Buddhist Radio Los Angeles twice a week, Sunday mornings at 8:00 am and Thursday nights at midnight (Something's Happening on KPFK or in the Online Archives for 90 days after being played on air (90.7 FM, LA)

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Visiting Czech Buddhist abbey Karuna Sevena

M.S. (Karuna Sevena, Oct. 31, 2018); Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Visiting a European Buddhist abbey

Summer, art nouveau (Alfons Mucha)

I walked into the monastic dwelling or ārāma called Karuṇā Sevena in the Czech Republic for the first time in my life a few months ago.

I was injured, chronically tired, sleep deprived, and overwhelmed with obligations and aspirations. I am a mom, a wife, and an entrepreneur.

I'd been involved in many projects which I enjoyed but was overwhelmed with choices and stretched thin on time.

Voluntary work projects were hitting walls. I was disappointed, burnt out, and confused. In other words, I’d say I was an average ambitious person for my age and situation trying to help others in an average developed country. A few days later I left the ārāma.

Map of the Czech Republic, Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia united under Prague (wiki)

The former Czechoslovakia is now the Bohemian Czech Republic next to Germany.

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The first thing I wanted to do was go back to the temple. For it was a place of acceptance,

• where I could be what I am,
• where there seemed to be no expectations,
• where I could give freely and receive freely,
• where I felt genuine cared for and genuinely cared for others,
• where I wasn’t afraid of any hidden agendas.
• where others happily accepted my little contributions.

Northern Czech Republic (Marek Stransky)

I would wake up as if I were in my mom’s arms, happy and safe. My children were welcome, and their noises were welcome, too. There was no need to worry.

When I walked out, I noticed how much my outlook had changed. I was suddenly OK with the chaos of the choices at my disposal. I was OK with my obligations. I was OK with my aspirations.

Historic Prague, UNESCO World Heritage Site

I wasn’t afraid of people’s agendas. I got some sleep. I took care of my injury. I rested. I became more present.

I was more lovingly kind toward my kids. I was more lovingly kind toward my husband. I was there for them. And they noticed it, too. It was subtle, yet it profoundly changed my world.

Czech Venus of Dolni (29-25K BCE)

I am grateful to Bhikkhunī Visuddhi [Buddhist nun "Purification"], who despite her illness was still available for visits. I am grateful for her listening, her advice, and her warm and welcoming presence.

I know I’m just one of many for whom her listening and advice (spiritual guidance) has this kind of influence.

I’ve witnessed others, such as a lady who left her job to help support immigrants stuck in Greece, on the verge of burn out.

Autumn (Alfons Mucha)

In just one meeting with Ven. Visuddhi, she seems to have gotten calmer, more energized, and inspired. It was as if she herself found a new direction. All she needed was Ven. Visuddhi’s presence, patience, and occasional advice.

Ven. Visuddhi lives in the abbey Karuṇā Sevena, which needs repairs so others can continue to receive the benefits of her free and patient giving of herself.

If you are interested in supporting her, follow this website. - M.S.

Humans co-existed with dinosaurs? (video)

Morgan Sky (video); Pfc. Sandoval, Pat Macpherson, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Coexisting With Dinosaurs

As the adage goes, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Ancient artifacts from Acámbaro, Guanajuato, Mexico, Peru, and the Buddhist temple complex (wat) in the jungle of Angkor, Cambodia, prove humans a few thousand years ago saw, interacted with, and depicted in art what we would term today many species of supposedly "long extinct" species of dinosaurs and reptilian (reptoid/humanoid) creatures.

How in the world is this possible? Any "science" teacher in the U.S. will tell us these ideas are nonsense, anti-evolution, anti-Darwinian, pro-intelligent design, and support for creationism. We say, let's deal with the data. Ancient artifacts are data. Ancient Buddhist carvings are data.

Science does not proceed by apologetics (excuse making in defense of a polemical argument). Perhaps what we've been taught is untrue in addition to being bad science.

Buddha Statue found in Afghanistan

"Buddha statue find at Afghan site"

(BBC News, 9/8/08)

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Taliban dynamited Bamiyan Buddha statues in 2001 (AFP).

A giant statue of a Buddha has been discovered in central Afghanistan, near to the ruins of the world-famous Bamiyan Buddhas.

Archaeologists say the 62 ft. statue is in a sleeping position and dates back to the 3rd Cen-tury. Other relics such as coins and ceramics were also found. In 2001, the Taliban blew up two giant standing Buddhas carved into the mountainside at Bamiyan -- once a thriving center of Buddhism.

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[Afghanistan was in a sense part of ancient "India," a region known as Gandhara. Examples of Buddhist statuary from this period, which exhibit Greco-Roman features and togas, can be found at: Norton Simon. Buddhism extended far to the west to at least Greece and north to Russia].

The statues, the tallest such standing Buddhas in the world at the time, were considered by the Taliban to be un-Islamic representations of the human form. Archaeologists are working on restoring the larger of the two Buddhas [that were blown up] in a project that is expected to take a decade.

• VIDEO: BBC in Bamiyan
• STORY: Afghanistan today

A local official in Bamiyan said the newly found statue had been badly damaged, but some parts of it, such as the neck and right hand, were in a good condition. He said measures were being taken to protect it, and it was hoped the statue would go on public display next year.

The latest find gives hope to archaeologists searching for a 900 ft. long statue recorded by a Chinese pilgrim centuries ago. Iconic Buddhist art works, now thought to be the oldest oil paintings in the world, have also been found in the caves at Bamiyan.

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Gandhara-style Buddha detail (Norton Simon)