The Buddha's father King Suddhodana

(Buddha’s Stories) The story of King Suddhodana, the Buddha’s father

Men are dumb, Dad - I know. I❤️U.

It's easy to love mom, but what about dad? What has the Men's Movement done for males in this patriarchy? (There are feminist men?) In the U.S., whether or not to celebrate "Father's Day" nationwide is a matter of debate. In 1908, Grace Golden Clayton proposed a day to honor men who had died in a U.S. mining accident. It was rejected then.

But in 1909, Sonora Louise Smart Dodd, who along with her five brothers had been raised by a single father, attended "Mother's Day" in a church.

Men's empowerment hike on Father's Day

She then convinced the Spokane Ministerial Association to celebrate Father's Day nationwide [7]. In addition to Father's Day, International Men's Day is celebrated in many countries on Nov. 19th in honor of men and boys [8]: Father's Day

In the Pāli canon, there are only two discourses (sutras) that explicitly reference Suddhodana, the Mahāpadāna Sutta (DN 14) and in the verse prologue of the Nālaka Sutta (Sn 3.11). In each of these discourses, Suddhodana is represented simply as the Buddha's father and as a Sakyan ruler.

Father for a Buddha

Good father had a bad Buddha who abandoned his newborn son?

(Buddha's Wisdom) The Buddha's son: the forgotten story of Rahula: Why did the Buddha abandon his newborn son, leaving him on welfare in flat in the winter with no schooling or support?

Afghan chieftain Indo-Scythia, Gandhara

Who is Prince Siddhattha's father, the Gandharan (Afghan territorial chieftain?*) King Suddhodana? In Theravada Buddhism (a major branch) — Suddhodana is recorded in the ancient Pali canon.

He was a Saka, Sakka, Shakya, Scythian, Sakiyan raja ("king," "leader," "head," "royal") in Kapilavatthu, the father of Prince Siddhattha Gotama, who became the historical Buddha.

He was the son of Sihahanu and Kaccana. His brothers were Dhotodana, Sakkodana, Sukkodana, and Amitodana, and his sisters were Amita and Pamita.

Maya was his chief consort. After her death, her sister Pajapati was elevated to that position (Mhv.ii.15f.; Dpv.iii.45; J.i.15, etc.)

Asita's visit to Suddhodana

When soothsayers predicted that his son Siddhattha had two destinies awaiting him, either that of a universal monarch (cakkavatti, chakravartin) if he stayed in the world or a universal teacher (Buddhahood) if he renounced it, he exerted his utmost effort to provide the prince with all kinds of sensual luxuries and hedonistic pleasures to hold him to the household life.

It is said (e.g., J.i.54) that when Asita, who was his father's [Brahmin] chaplain and teacher, visited King Suddhodana to see the newborn prince, he paid homage to the infant by allowing his feet to rest on his head. Suddhodana was filled with wonder and also worshipped the child.

I wish for you to be a noble warrior, my son.

Seven years later, at the annual Ploughing Festival ceremony, Suddhodana saw that the shadow of the jambu tree under which the child had been placed in the shade when he spontaneously went into meditative absorption (jhana, samadhi) did not move even as the sun traveled overhead. Then the child, seated cross-legged without moving, levitated in the air. So he again worshipped him (J.i.57f).

Life in the luxurious house of Saka

Twenty-nine years later, when in spite of all his father's efforts, Prince Siddhattha renounced and left behind the household life and took to practicing austerities in the East, Suddhodana sent a messenger/private investigator to find his son and see what he was up to.

The investigator returned with news that his son had died, owing to the severity of his penances (tapas). But Suddhodana refused to believe it, saying that his son would never die without achieving his spiritual goal (J.i.67).

When this was afterwards related to the Buddha, he taught the Maha Dhammapala Jataka, showing that in the past, too, Suddhodana had refused to believe that his son could have died even when he was shown the heap of his bones.

I failed as a father. My son left.

Seven years after that, when news reached Suddhodana that his son had reached enlightenment, he sent a messenger to Veluvana in Rajagaha ("Bamboo Grove" in Rajgir, where King Bimbisara reigned) with many others to invite the Buddha to return home and visit the seasonal capital of Kapilavatthu.

But when the messenger and his companions heard the Buddha teach, they renounced worldly life, entered the Monastic Order, and forgot their mission. This happened nine more times with different messengers.

On the tenth occasion, King Suddhodana sent Kaludayi (Sanskrit Kālodāyin) who had advance permission to join the Sangha on the express condition that he give the king's invitation to the Buddha.

Kaludayi kept his promise, the Buddha consented, and seven years after having left home to embark on a massive spiritual quest, he returned home to visit Kapilavatthu, staying in Nigrodharama. There, in reference to a rain shower that fell, he taught the Vessantara Jataka.

• The Buddha returns home, visits Kapilavatthu (Wisdom Library)

Life of the Buddha (Archaeological Museum of India, Sarnath, Gallery 1)

.

The next day, when King Suddhodana remonstrated his royal (noble, warrior) son, the Buddha, because he was seen "begging" (going on almsround) on the streets of Kapilavatthu, the Buddha told him that surviving on offerings was the custom of all buddhas. Hearing this, King Suddhodana became a stream enterer (sotapanna, the first stage of enlightenment).

Son, at 16, you shall marry the beautiful Bimba.

He then offered to feed his new teacher the Buddha, inviting him to visit the palace, where he entertained him. At the end of the meal offering, the Buddha further taught the king, who became a once returner (sakadagami, J.i.90; cf. DhA.iii.164f).

• This was when the Buddha was reunited with Princess Bimba (Yasodhara) and his 7-year-old son Rahula, both of whom were "saved" in that they were inspired to renounce their worldly lives in the palace and take up the path-of-practice the Buddha taught as wandering ascetics. In no long time, they both became enlightened. Many Saka/Shakya/Scythian relatives were inspired to follow suit, join the Sangha (spiritual community), and make an end of all suffering.

The king then became a nonreturner (anagami, the third of four stages of awakening) after hearing the Maha Dhammapala Jataka (DhA.i.99; J.iv.55).

Suddhodana was the Bodhisatta or Buddha-to-be’s father in numerous previous births, but he is mentioned as such by name in only a few birth (jātaka) tales, namely:

1. Kaṭṭhahāri Jātaka
2. Alīnacitta Jātaka
3. Susīma Jātaka
4. Bandhanāgāra Jātaka
5. Kosambiya Jātaka
6. Mahādhammapāla Jātaka
7. Dasaratha Jātaka
8. Hatthipāla Jātaka
9. Umaṅga Jātaka
10. Vessantara Jātaka.

• *Where is the real Kapilavatthu (Sanskrit Kapilavastu)? There were three seasonal capitals (with three palaces, one for each season) of the Sakas, Shakyas, Indo-Scythians of Gandhara, which we speculate were Kabul, Bamiyan, and Mes Aynak. Was Suddhodana really a "king" as we understand the term? A janapada is the "foothold of a family clan," in the case the Sakas. More likely he was a tribal leader as of the Pashtun's loya jirga. While the Pashtuns may be new to the area of Bamiyan, the tradition of leadership "councils" seems to be longstanding.
• SuttaVinaya.com: Appreciation of Parents' Love
• Nakula's dad the householder Nakula's mom the householder
• Buddhism for All - (Discussion & Learning) | Blessing #11 from the Mangala Sutta
• G. P. Malalasekera, Buddhist Dictionary of Pali Proper Names, via WisdomLib.org, edited, clarified, and expanded by Amber Larson and Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Maybe Hitler was right. Whites-Only TN?

Republican-approved MAGA?

(NewsChannel 5) He thinks German Fuhrer Adolf Hitler was right. Now he wants a "whites-only community" (conceived of as a private "club" with a whites-only policy and perhaps a blood draw to test for "impurities" such as 1/16th Jewish or Black or colored "cooties") in the Deep South of Tennessee.

Frank Sinatra addresses some American Neo-Nazis. - How to talk to nice ICE officers.

Inside Afghanistan in 2025 (video)

Inside Afghanistan in 2025 (the world's most dangerous country)

(Matt and Julia) Summer, 2025: AFGHANISTAN, Central Asia. Afghanistan, a country we have all heard of for all the wrong reasons.

For the first time in over 40 years, formerly Buddhist Afghanistan is at peace (particularly in holy Bamiyan). However, under Taliban rule, it remains highly controversial, with human rights, especially of women, being eroded every day.

We decided to solo travel to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan in 2025 to try understand what life is really like inside a country we all hear so much about on the news but often understand so little of. #Afghanistan

(Matt and Julia) An American and other Westerners in Central Asia

Afghanistan is a nation with a rich culture, history, and heritage. It is a proud country that has defeated every empire that passed through its land, from the Brits (English) to the Soviets (Russians), to the Yanks (Americans) [and soon the Chinese]. But what is life really like right now?

Join us as we travel solo overland from Pakistan, towards Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, and try to understand more about this flawed and often misunderstood sovereign state. Welcome to Afghanistan and daily life under Taliban control.

Crossing Badlands of rural Afghanistan (hostile) - Westerner drops into Kabul with camera

► We use Holafly E-sim's when travelling. Get a unique discount with the code MATTANDJULIA - holafly.sjv.io/yqRMAy ► Learn Russian with us: mattandjulia.co.uk/shop ► Our Travel Guides: mattandjulia.co.uk/shop ► Join us on a Group Tour: humankindexpeditions.com ► Support channel: mattandjulia ► Follow on Instagram: matt.and.julia.

Contact: ► For sponsorship opportunities: sponsorships@mattandjulia.co.uk ► For any other business enquires: business@mattandjulia.co.uk #kabul #travelvlog #travel #middleeast #life. How this content was made: Auto-dubbed audio tracks for some languages were automatically generated. Learn more.

• Matt and Julia, June 20, 2025; Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven, Pfc. Sandoval (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

20 Indigenous/Native American sayings

You can lead a horse to water, but keep it clean.

Is timeless wisdom (prajna) limited to the historical Buddha? There are, in fact, many sources of profound insight and knowledge, much of it coming from this occupied land of the settler colonial project we call the USA. The Indigenous inhabitants kept harmony and balance for more than 10,000 years, and we would do well to learn their lessons of sustainability and preservation. Many Buddhist sayings are collected in the Dhammapada.

India should reclaim Buddhism to build power

The Dhammapada is the best known and most widely esteemed text in the Pali language collection, the sacred scriptures of Theravada Buddhism. The work is included in the Minor Collection of the Sutra Basket, but its popularity has raised it far above the place it occupies in the texts to the ranks of a world religious classic. Composed in the ancient Pali language spoken by the Buddha, this slim anthology of verses constitutes a perfect compendium of the Buddha's teaching, comprising between its covers all the essential principles elaborated at length in the 40-odd volumes of the Pali canon. According to the Theravada Buddhist tradition, each verse in the Dhammapada was originally spoken by the Buddha in response to a particular event or episode. Accounts of these, along with an explanation of the verses, are preserved in the classic commentary to the work, compiled by the great Buddhaghosa in the fifth century C.E. on the basis or material going back to much more ancient times. The contents of the verses, however, transcend the limited and particular circumstances of their origin, reaching out through the ages to various types of people in all the diverse situations of life

• The Dhammapada: The Buddha's Path of Wisdom

1. "We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children."

This saying or proverb emphasizes the importance of stewardship for [seven] future generations. It calls us to consider the legacy we leave behind [when we leave off using this planet and its resources].

Living with this mindset encourages sustainable practices and a deep respect for nature. Reflecting on this, one might find inspiration to make conscious choices that protect the environment. It’s a reminder that our actions today will shape the world of tomorrow, urging us to be mindful custodians of our planet.

Family says Indigenous woman was beaten to death on Navajo Nation

(Indigenous police have no right to arrest non-Navajos who commit crimes)

2. “All things are connected. Whatever befalls the Earth, befalls the children of the Earth.”

This proverb or traditional saying highlights the interconnectedness of all life on Earth. It teaches that every action has a ripple effect, influencing the broader ecosystem.

Understanding this connection fosters empathy and mindfulness, urging us to live in harmony with nature. It reminds us that our well-being is tied to the health of the planet.

Embracing this wisdom can guide us to make decisions that support ecological balance, promoting a sustainable future for ourselves and [seven] future generations.

3. “Walk lightly in the spring, and you will not disturb the summer.” More

• VIDEO: Unearthed Wonders: Exploring the Lost Cities of Ancient History in US, Cambodia, and elsewhere

• Ella Brown; Montezuma Local News (video); Xochitl, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Mountain discovery on Silk Road (video)

Uncovering a lost mountain metropolis

(nature video) Oct. 23, 2024: An isolated plateau in the highlands of southeastern Uzbekistan in Central Asia looks like an expanse of rolling hills. But look closer and a shard of pottery or the stony remnant of an ancient wall might hint at an archeological secret hidden for hundreds of years. Now a team of archeologists have used drone-mounted LiDAR to virtually peel back the layers of sediment and vegetation. Revealing two ancient cities, much larger than previously imagined, built 2,000 meters above sea level. The finding of these urban centers, called Tashbulak and Tugunbulak, at such high altitudes, may mean that highland areas may have played a more important role in medieval trade than previously thought.

• Read the paper: nature.com/articles/s4158...
• Buddhism in Uzbekistan, Central Asia
• Buddhism in Central Asia

This is a big deal with amazing art found (© Marc Dozier/Getty Images/Popular Mechanics).

Asia (the East) connected with the Roman Empire (the West) for centuries through the Silk Road

A mountaintop discovery is changing everything we knew about the Silk Road

• A new LiDAR survey of previously discovered Silk Road sites reveals a more sprawling urban history than first imagined.
• An aerial survey of the Tashbulak and Tugunbulak sites in Uzbekistan, Central Adia, uncovered more than 300 medieval archeological features, suggesting a robust urban community.
• The Silk Road or Route — which existed from 114 B.C. to 1450 A.D. — was a vital and expansive trade route that connected the Eastern and Western worlds.

A new survey of two archeological sites along the Silk Road has unveiled a stunning new discovery that rewrites our understanding of the famed Eurasian (Europe-Asia) trade route that spanned continents and centuries.

Monk meditates on Silk Road (en.unesco.org)

As reported in Newsweek, a new aerial survey of Tashbulak and Tugunbulak — two archeological sites roughly three miles apart in the Uzbekistan mountains — utilized LiDAR (a remote sensing technology that uses laser pulses to penetrate obstacles and create 3D images of a landscape) to reveal more than 300 medieval archeological features.

• [Buddhism in Central Asia was prevalent along the Silk Road. Its history there is closely related to the Silk Road transmission of Buddhism during the first millennium of the common era. It has been argued that the spread of Indian culture and religions, especially Buddhism, as far as Sogdia, corresponded to the rule of the Kidarites over the regions from Sogdia to Gandhara [4]. Islam invaded and displaced Buddhism. Uzbekistan [5] and Kazakhstan [6] have the most Buddhists, largely practiced by their Koryo-saram minority, although the former has the lowest percentage of Buddhists. Due to historical Tibetan, Mongol, and Manchurian influence, Kyrgyzstan [7] has the highest percentage of Buddhists in Central Asia. More]

Empires of the Silk Road (C. I. Beckwith)

The two sites, which were discovered in 2011 and 2015, are located 6,562 to 7,218 feet above sea level. At that elevation, the land was unlikely to have supported large-scale urban development at the time, given the difficulties posed to construction and agriculture.

But this new survey — the results of which were published in Nature — indicates that that’s exactly what occurred at Tashbulak and Tugunbulak.

“The LiDAR results indicate that the scale of urbanization in this area was much more expansive than previously known,” Brown University researcher Zachary Silvia told Newsweek.

Silvia, while not involved directly in the study, has published a News & Views article for Nature about the results and singled out the significance of this revelation

 “This is the first — and probably only — ancient or medieval city located at this elevation in Central Asia, which forces us to reconsider what we know about urbanization in the area.”

Among the structures discovered by the study’s LiDAR flights were “watchtowers connected with walls along a ridgeline, evidence of terracing, and a central fortress surrounded by walls made of stone and mud brick.”

The Silk Road (Valerie Hansen)

But while this survey revealed what structures were once present at Tashbulak and Tugunbulak, there are still more questions to be answered.

“Typically, remote sensing techniques are one tool within the broader tool kit of the archaeologist,” Silvia noted to Newsweek. “The next step for the team would be to confirm their findings through geophysics — techniques that ‘see’ below the surface — and targeted excavations that can confirm whether or not this is indeed such an extensive settlement. I am optimistic that this is precisely what the team will find in the coming years.” Source

• Valeriana everything we know about Mexico's lost city
• VIDEO: 100-million-year-old discovery: Scientists uncover ancient seafloor hidden deep beneath earth (MSN) A groundbreaking discovery has revealed remnants of an ancient seafloor beneath the Pacific Ocean, potentially rewriting Earth's geological history! Scientists believe this is just the beginning of uncovering hidden structures in Earth's depths, offering new insights into our planet’s complex past. What other secrets lie beneath? Location: London WooGlobe Ref: WGA177390.
• VIDEO: Top 10 mysterious moving statues that scientists can't explain
• Are the ancient precision-cut granite Barabar caves in India older than we think?
• Scientists may have finally found the origin of one of history's most important inventions
• Scientists decipher 3,000-year-old map to find location of Noah's Ark
• Michael Natale, Popular Mechanics via MSN, Oct. 29, 2024; Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

What Trump knew about his lost election

What did Trump know about 2020 election results? (Democracy on Trial: Pt. 3)

(FRONTLINE Short Docs) What did former President Trump know about the 2020 election results and when did he know it? That was a central question for the Jan. 6 Select Committee.

Donald Trump lost and knew he lost (rense.com)

Watch Part 3 of “Democracy on Trial.” In it, published here as a series of short docs, FRONTLINE investigates the roots of the federal criminal case against ex-Pres. Donald Trump, stemming from his 2020 election loss.

The investigation traces the road to this unprecedented moment and examines the implications of the historic criminal case unfolding in the midst of a presidential election year.

Drawing on court documents and revelatory interviews with elected officials, former government lawyers, House Select Committee witnesses, and former committee staffers, authors, and journalists, “Democracy on Trial” reports that the work of the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6th Capitol attack provided the groundwork for special counsel Jack Smith’s indictment of Trump and may offer insights into how the trial unfolds.

A "confidence man is a "con man."

“Democracy on Trial” chronicles how the committee built its case against Trump and tried to prove his intent, how it chose to present its case to the American public, and criticisms of its work.

The documentary also examines how Trump has challenged the case. Trump has pleaded not guilty and made the legal argument, now being reviewed by an appellate court, that he has “absolute immunity” from prosecution for his actions while in office.

“Democracy on Trial” is a FRONTLINE production with the Kirk Documentary Group. The director is Michael Kirk. The producers are Michael Kirk, Mike Wiser, and Vanessa Fica. The writers are Michael Kirk and Mike Wiser. The reporters are Vanessa Fica and Brooke Nelson Alexander. The editor-in-chief and executive producer of FRONTLINE is Raney Aronson-Rath. #Documentary #DonaldTrump #January6 Subscribe on YouTube: bit.ly/1BycsJW ​Instagram: frontlinepbs​ Twitter: frontlinepbs​ Facebook: frontline.

Explore additional reporting related to “Democracy on Trial" on the website: pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/doc...

(New-York Historical Society) Confidence Man with Maggie Haberman

The American Story with David M. Rubenstein, recorded May 13, 2023. Confidence Man with Maggie Haberman: How does a man like Donald Trump — simultaneously hailed as an all-American hero and condemned as a harbinger of the end of American democracy — become not only a cultural phenomenon, but the president of the United States? Maggie Haberman, the New York Times reporter who won a Pulitzer Prize for her coverage of the 45th president, offers insight into his background, his motivations, and the true nature of his personality, not to mention the means by which he gained a seat in the Oval Office. Maggie Haberman, a senior political correspondent for the New York Times and a political analyst for CNN, is the author of Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America.

Why do so many Jews support con man Trump?

Moderator David M. Rubenstein is co-founder and co-chairman of the Carlyle Group [where G. H. Bush parked and built his fortune], is the author of How to Invest: Masters on the Craft and the host of History with David Rubenstein on PBS. For more about the New-York Historical Society, visit the website: nyhistory.org/ #history #newyorkhistoricalsociety

FRONTLINE is produced at GBH in Boston and is broadcast nationwide on PBS. Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Additional support for FRONTLINE is provided by the Abrams Foundation, Park Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Heising-Simons Foundation, and the FRONTLINE Journalism Fund, with major support from Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation, and additional support from Koo and Patricia Yuen. Additional support for this program is provided by the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation. #January6 #DonaldTrump #Documentary

• PBS, FRONTLINE Short Docs, Feb. 16, 2024; Seth Auberon, Pfc. Sandoval, Sheldon S. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Cashing in on genocide: House sales in Gaza

Official website: The Jimmy Dore Show; Pfc. Sandoval, Sheldon S. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Ultra-Orthodox Jews are not the problem, racist Zionist Ashkenazi Jews from abroad are

☃️🎅War (on Christmas) takes🎁🎄 on X: "This real estate company (HareyZahav) bills itself on its website as 'one of the leading companies in the real estate market in Judea and Samaria' (what Settlers refer to the Israeli occupied West Bank and yes, this is actually on their Hebrew-language Instagram right now." / X (twitter.com)

Where there's a Zionist, there's a profit motive

Israeli company Harey Zahav advertises Gaza "beachfront property" in a rare opportunity to buy land in the future state of "Israel," an opportunity made possible by Israel carpet bombing the Gaza Strip and killing more than 20,000 Palestinians and sending the rest into Egypt's Sinai Desert. It's a second Nakba, "Catastrophe," tantamount to an admission that Israel's prime motive for attacking, invading, and dispossessing Palestinians of Palestine was profit, a profit motive, because "war is a racket," as U.S. Col. Smedley Butler taught us.

• 'Cashing in on Genocide': Israeli firm pitches beachfront real estate in leveled Gaza (antiwar.com)
• No, an Israeli real estate company is not selling beachfront homes in Gaza [They're just testing the waters for future sales] (haaretz.com)
• Israeli minister hints at retaliatory actions taken in Iraq, Yemen, Iran to expand Israel's genocide of Gaza into a regional war in the Middle East
• Real estate company (HareyZahav) works on illegally occupied Israeli property in West Bank (Palestine) in Hebrew language
• Jewish Voice for Peace (jvp.org)

Owen Jones examines Netanyahu's evil plans for Gaza and the West Bank,

Palestine, which is to empty it by making life impossible until they leave.