There comes a time when we must honor, rejoice, and celebrate the people who came before us, who were stewards of the land and its animals. That day is now called Indigenous Peoples' Day (second Monday each October) in the U.S., or at least parts of it.
Many still cling to the biased past that held up genocidal crypto-Sephardic Jew (Spanish Converso), who was not an Italian. Not Italian? What was he then? He is buried in Spain; his grave was dug up, and his corpse was tested, showing that he was Spanish. As the discoverer of "America," though he only made it as far as the Caribbean and turned around, people are led to believe he was killing people up and down Mexico like a post-Columbian Conquistador.
"Indigenous Peoples’ Day" is celebrated on the second Monday of October, on Oct. 14th this year, to honor the cultures and histories of the many Native American peoples. The day is centered around reflecting on their tribal roots and the tragic stories that hurt but strengthened communities.
Those were the gold-seeking European missions that followed Columbus' report to Spain. He was An Inglorious Columbus:
Edward Payson Vining in 1885 documented that Buddhist Afghan and Chinese missionaries discovered the West Coast (Fusang) before Columbus. Leif Erikson was a European Viking who preceded Cristobal Columbus.
The Chinese call this fUSAng.
There is a well-founded legend of an Irish monk who made the voyage, taught the Indian tribes about governing in counties, and returned to Ireland. Fifty thousand years ago, Australian aboriginals seem to have left archeological evidence of their arrival. The truth is, ancient humans navigated the seas and knew of other cultures.
The crazy belief that everyone was separate and just doing the same sort of thing, like building pyramids for kicks, is preposterous. Cocaine did not get up the nose of an Egyptian mummy by dreaming of pyramids in the Americas. The Grand Canyon did not get ancient visitors who built an underground city and many monuments of an Egyptian, Buddhist, and Hindu sort just by happenstance. When we celebrate "Indigenous" people, we are celebrating all of the First Nations, the tribal groups up and down the Americas.
Lies My Teacher Told Me (J.W. Loewen)
There were 100 million people in what is now the USA, with plenty in neighboring Canada and Mexico, to say nothing of tribes all the way down to Argentina where humanity sort of just stops for the thing that is "Antarctica," not likely a continent but something much stranger.
Los Angeles celebrates twice: Oct. 12 and 19th
Celebrate L.A.’s Indigenous communities in two special events on October 12 and 19, 2024, at the Jerry Moss Plaza at The Music Center.
FREE: The Music Center’s programming arm, TMC Arts, in partnership with The Chapter House, will create a space on two Saturdays in October for cultural affirmation and joy among the county’s Indigenous communities to foster greater awareness, respect, and understanding of the ongoing cultural contributions of Indigenous people among Los Angeles County residents. These events are by and for Indigenous Peoples, and all are welcome to join.
Celebrating Indigenous Peoples' Day 2024, The Getty Center on Saturday Oct. 12th, in honor of Indigenous Peoples' Day, hosted its third annual family event to learn about Southern California's vibrant Native American cultures. The theme this year celebrated flora, with activities sharing traditional and contemporary Indigenous perspective and narratives. More: getty.edu
Is karma predestined (fate) or is it the result of freewill? ‒ Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
(Perfect Teacher) 上師言教 Jan. 1, 2024: Buddha's Vision | New Zealand | Nov. 15, 2023: Question: Is karma predestined or is it the result of freewill?
(with Chinese subtitles)
#illusion#thoughts#presentmoment
What is Tantric Buddhism? Is it compatible with Western culture today? ‒ Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
(Perfect Teacher) 上師言教 Feb. 10, 2024: #tantric #deconstruct #westernculture Buddha's Vision | New Zealand | Nov. 15, 2023: Question: What is Tantric Buddhism? Is it compatible with Western culture today? (with Chinese subtitles) #Westernculture #tantric #deconstruct
Hawaii used to be nice until the US decided to hit it with a Directed Energy Weapon: Maui fire
This is a private Scottish island in Hawaii
Happy Hawaii Day, the day the queen was overthrown and the islands were forced into subjugation and statehood, as rumor has it, by a giant fruit corporation that was intent on capitalizing on cheap production costs while enticing the US military with an offensive outpost to attack Japan and threaten Indochina (Vietnam), Laos, Cambodia, China, Korea, Russia, and the rest of the world. If the US could take the Philippines as a colony, they saw no reason why they couldn't or shouldn't abduct a thousand spare islands, atolls, and outcroppings (most of them now reserved for military purposes) we call the state of "Hawaii."
(Captivating History) Feb. 13, 2023: Just how did the ancient Hawaiians sail thousands of miles of open ocean without modern methods, without getting lost, and somehow discovering new islands? How did such a rich culture even come to exist on perhaps the most isolated archipelago in the world?
["Hawaii" is actually a set of over 1,000 islands though we only hear about five.]
Is the nickname of a “beach island paradise” an accurate description of the various kinds of beautiful, intriguing, and sometimes even dangerous topographies and natural phenomena that make up Hawaiʻi?
Join the Captivating History Book Club: bit.ly/3TMmpU2
Get a FREE mythology bundle eBook covering Greek, Norse, and Egyptian mythology here: captivatinghistory.com/ebook
Is this the most beautiful homeless gal in Los Angeles? She's here to clean up this town.
We're Young Hollywood here to inherit
Los Angeles is a strange place, probably because Hollywood (a tiny component of LA) is a stranger place. Everything we do is so, like, you know? It's like, right, isn't it? In olden times it was called Valley Talk or, because of 1984, ValSpeak.
We have homeless. We have the most homeless, with great weather and friendly sanctuary city treatment of bums. Can we call them bums? Probably not. Some are not bums. They are the currently unhoused. More Americans go through it than anyone imagines. Rent and housing prices make sure of that. And the drugs. And alcohol.
We have so many homeless, that we can have a beauty pageant. Hot gals of the Sunset Strip, or beach, or asphalt jungle. Look at this karmic result.
Then again, art imitates life. Or is it the other way around? Hollywood imitates Los Angeles, and the U.S. (and the rest of the world because of our hegemony) imitates Hollywood.
Chogyam: Spiritual guru or sexed up charlatan?
Even our spiritual yearnings -- and there are a lot of them -- are soon reduced to "spiritual consumerism," a term coined by Tibetan Buddhist sex cult leader (who seems to have been hinted at in My Dinner with Andre) Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche.
And that's to say nothing of his even more explicitly sexually abusive ex-leader of the Shambhala Cult, his disgraced sexy son Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche (who's still making money and trying to sneak back into power).
Mixed karma, beauty without riches?
We're poor but happy, right A?
How can karma (stored up past deeds) make one beautiful without riches? That's very easy to answer.
If we only had one kind of action (deed) in our pasts, we would only have one kind of result in accordance with that seed. But as we have a countless variety of seeds, we have diverse results.
We may see many things go together and then wonder about it when they don't. But we neither know someone's past, nor the person's present state of mind, nor what is to come. How could someone be born super fortunate then mentally or physically incapacitated? It happens and seems tragic and unfair.
SUTRA: The Karma of Creeps
Bhikkhu Bodhi (trans.), "Creeping," The Book of the Tens (AN 10.216) edited by Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Wisdom Quarterly
Humans rise or fall by their deeds (karma)
“Meditators, I will teach an exposition of the Dhamma on creeping. Listen, attend closely, and I will speak.”
“Yes, venerable sir,” those meditators replied. Then the Blessed One said this:
“And what, meditators, is that exposition of the Dhamma on creeping? Meditators, beings are the owners of their karma (kamma), the heirs of their karma; they have karma as their origin, karma as their relative, karma as their resort; whatever karma they do, skillful or unskillful, they are its heirs.
(1) “Here, someone destroys life; that person is murderous, bloody-handed, given to blows and violence, merciless toward living beings. That person creeps along by body, speech, and mind.
“That person's bodily karma, verbal karma, mental karma are crooked. That person's destination is crooked; that person's rebirth is crooked.
“But for one with a crooked destination and rebirth, I say, there is one of two destinations -- either the exclusively painful hells or a species of creeping animal.
What's a creeping animal? The cat-snake
“And what are the species of creeping animals? The snake, the scorpion, the centipede, the mongoose, the cat, the mouse, and the owl, or any other animals that creep away when they see people.
“Thus, a being is reborn from a being; one is reborn through one’s deeds (karma). When one has been reborn, contacts affect one.
“It is in this way, I say, that beings are the heirs of their karma.
(2) “Someone takes what is not given…
(3) “Someone engages in sexual misconduct…
(4) “Someone speaks falsehood…
(5) “Someone speaks divisively…
(6) “Someone speaks harshly…
(7) “Somone indulges in idle chatter…
(8) “Someone is full of longing…
(9) “Someone has a mind of ill will and intentions of hate…
(10) “Someone holds wrong view and has an incorrect perspective such as:
‘There is nothing given [there is no result of sacrificing for others]…’
‘There are in the world no ascetics nor Brahmins of right conduct and right practice who, having realized this world and the other world for themselves by direct knowledge, make them known to others.’
Behave like a proper affluent royal, Princess!
“One creeps along by body, speech, and mind. One's bodily karma is crooked… One's destination is crooked; one's rebirth is crooked….
“Thus, a being is reborn from a being; one is reborn through one’s deeds. When one has been reborn, contacts affect one.
“It is in this way, I say, that beings are the heirs of their karma.
“Meditators, beings are the owners of their karma, the heirs of their karma; they have karma as their origin, karma as their relative, karma as their resort; whatever karma they do, skillful or unskillful, they are its heirs.
(1) “Here, having abandoned the destruction of life, someone abstains from the destruction of life; with the rod and weapon laid aside, conscientious and kindly, one dwells compassionate toward all living beings.
“One does not creep along by body, speech, and mind. One's bodily karma is straight; one's verbal karma is straight; one's mental karma is straight.
How do I get this creep off of me?
“One's destination is straight; one's rebirth is straight. But for one with a straight destination and rebirth, I say, there is one of two destinations -- either the exclusively pleasant heavens or eminent [prominent, influential, affluent] families, such as those of affluent nobles [warrior caste khattiyas, rulers, influencers, royals], affluent Brahmins, or affluent householders, families that are rich, with great wealth and property, abundant gold and silver, abundant treasures and belongings, abundant wealth and grain.
“Thus, a being is reborn from a being; one is reborn through one’s deeds. When one has been reborn, contacts affect one. It is in this way, I say, that beings are the heirs of their karma.
(2) “Having abandoned the taking of what is not given, someone abstains from taking what is not given…
(3) “One abstains from sexual misconduct…
(4) “One abstains from false speech [bearing false witness]…
(5) “One abstains from divisive speech…
(6) “One abstains from harsh speech…
(7) One abstains from idle chatter…
(8) “One is without longing…
(9) “One is of good will…
(10) “One holds right view and has a correct perspective thus:
‘There is what is given [there is a significance and result of giving, particularly to parents, nobles, teachers, etc.]…’
‘There are in the world wandering ascetics and Brahmins of right conduct and right practice who, having realized this world and the other world for themselves by direct knowledge, make them known to others.’
“That person does not creep along by body, speech, and mind. One's bodily karma is straight… One's destination is straight; one's rebirth is straight….
“Thus, a being is reborn from a being; one is reborn through one’s deeds. When one has been reborn, contacts affect one.
“It is in this way, I say, that beings are the heirs of their karma.
“Meditators, beings are the owners of their karma, the heirs of their karma; they have karma as their origin, karma as their relative, karma as their resort; whatever karma they do, skillful or unskillful, they are its heirs.
“This, meditators, is that exposition of the Dhamma on creeping.”
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.
Scientists reveal that Jupiter is not what we're being told
(Destiny) June 17, 2023: In the vast reaches of our solar system, Jupiter reigns supreme as a gigantic mystery, captivating scientists and astronomers for centuries.
Just when we think we understand the gas giant, this celestial behemoth shatters our assumptions. With its blend of unpredictable and often hostile behavior, mesmerizing storms with winds of up to 400 MPH (640 kilometers per hour) and the enshrouded mysteries of concealed metallic oceans within its core, Jupiter still leaves scientists puzzled.
Join this extraordinary journey to delve into the depths of this enigmatic world, uncovering its secrets.
Darkroom (Vox, July 30, 2021); Xochitl, Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
Why the US Army tried to exterminate the bison
(Vox) They killed them then took credit for “saving” them. In 1894, a notorious white poacher named Ed Howell was caught in Yellowstone National Park slaughtering bison, which were on the brink of extinction.
Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz & Dina Gilio-Whitaker
US Army soldiers patrolling the park brought him into custody, and the story led to the first US federal law protecting wildlife. The soldiers were thought of as heroes for stopping the killer. But it was the US Army that had been responsible for driving bison to near extinction in the first place.
In the mid-1800s, a cultural fiction, an unfounded belief, known as “Manifest Destiny” dictated that white settlers were the rightful owners of the entire North American continent – even though Native Americans had inhabited the land for thousands of years.
In order to clear land for white settlers, the US Army engaged in violent scorched-earth tactics against the Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains. One big part of that campaign was to eliminate their crucial food source: the bison.
Not a Nation of Immigrants (R. Dunbar-Ortiz)
By the end of the 1800s, a combination of commercial and recreational hunting, plus the actions of the US Army, had depleted the bison population to under a thousand, down from tens of millions at the beginning of the century.
Around the same time, the US government set aside some of the land once inhabited by the Plains Indians as a national park, and in 1872 Yellowstone was established.
A key mission of Yellowstone was to conserve the land and the animals that roamed there, including the bison.
Today, the soldiers who once patrolled the park are celebrated for having “saved” the bison in Yellowstone, obscuring their own violent contribution to the animal’s near extinction.
ABOUT: Darkroom is a history and photography series that anchors each episode around a single image. Analyzing what the photo shows (or doesn't show) provides context that helps unravel a wider story. Watch previous episodes: youtube.com/playlist...
Sources and further reading:
"The extermination of the American bison," 1887 Smithsonian survey by William T. Hornaday:
repository.si.edu/handle...
"Poaching Pictures," by Alan Braddock: jstor.org/stable...
"The frontier army and the destruction of the buffalo," by David T. Smits: studylib.net/doc...
Vox.com is a news website that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Check out vox.com.
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WARNING: Shocking research results by white male may offend Freemasons, Jews, the popes, Roman Catholics, occultists, et al!
Why is US capital Washington named the "District of Columbia"?
Very few people in the United States know why our federal government is named the "District of Columbia." A "district," like district attorney, is a subset of a greater whole. So what greater whole is the District of Columbia a part of that has the president, the Congress, and Supreme Court under its jurisdiction? And why the name "Columbia," an ancient Greek goddess, instead of another C, such as "Columbus"? The answers are very disturbing to all who assume we are free sovereign beings in a free country. We are anything but. Music by Drew Cummings.
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Celebrate L.A.’s Indigenous communities in two special events on October 12 and 19, 2024, at the Jerry Moss Plaza at The Music Center.
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Very few people in the United States know why our federal government is named the "District of Columbia." A "district," like district attorney, is a subset of a greater whole. So what greater whole is the District of Columbia a part of that has the president, the Congress, and Supreme Court under its jurisdiction? And why the name "Columbia," an ancient Greek goddess, instead of another C, such as "Columbus"? The answers are very disturbing to all who assume we are free sovereign beings in a free country. We are anything but. Music by Drew Cummings.
