Protesters attack Mona Lisa with soup

The NY Post, 1/28/24; DW; Seth Auberon, Crystal Q., Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

What are you smirking at, B*tch? - Nothing, you see? Now my wry smile has gone away.

• What were they thinking?! Climate activists throw soup at the [bulletproof glass shied in front of the] 'Mona Lisa' (Smithsonian via MSN)

Protesters hurl soup at Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa in Paris museum

(New York Post) A pair of female climate change activists hurled bright orange pumpkin soup at the Mona Lisa on Sunday at the Louvre (pronounced \lew'vrhh/) Museum in Paris as onlookers gasped, shocking new video shows.

Due to the Mandella Effect, she's different now.

“What is more important,” the crazed activists shouted in French, “art or the right to have a healthy and sustainable food system?”

The two caring females (young and old, of two very different generations) are members of the activist group called Riposte Alimetaire, or “Food Response,” which issued a statement saying the stunt was meant to highlight the need to protect the environment.

• Activists splatter 'Mona Lisa' with soup in Louvre (MSN)

Activists throw soup at Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa in Paris | DW News

(DW News) Jan. 28, 2024: Leonardo Da Vinci's world-famous painting "The Mona Lisa" has been attacked. Two climate change protesters threw soup at the priceless artwork, which is protected by thick bulletproof glass in Paris' Louvre Museum. The attackers then called for the reforms to the French agricultural system. #Paris #MonaLisa #Louvre

We want the original back!

“Two activists from the environmental movement ‘Riposte Alimentaire’ sprayed pumpkin soup on the armored glass protecting the Mona Lisa, this Sunday, January 28, 2024, around 10:00 am,” the museum said in a statement, according to CNN.

“The Louvre’s security staff immediately intervened.” [The world famous painting was not hurt in the slightest nor, apparently, was it meant to be. It's safe and well protected.]

• Read more at: nypost.com/2024/01/28/news/pr...  #monalisa #louvre #paris

Vegan Fried Chicken (The Buddhist Chef)

(The Buddhist Chef) Sept. 17, 2020. This is THE BEST vegan fried chicken recipe, extra crispy on the outside, juicy and mushroom-meaty on the inside. It's simple and delicious and harmless to the animal world.

Vegan fried chick'n

• 275 g tree oyster mushrooms
• olive, coconut, or other vegetable oil for frying
• WET batter: 1 cup of gluten-free flour (115 g)
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 cup of almond milk (250 ml)
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• DRY batter: 1 cup of gluten-free flour (115 g)
• 1 tsp of paprika
• 1/4 tsp ground sage
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• Pepper to taste

In a deep fryer or in a pot on the stovetop, preheat the oil to 350˚F. First, make the wet batter by adding gluten-free flour, seasonings, and water to a bowl, and mix well until completely combined.

Next, in a separate bowl, make the dry batter by adding more gluten-free flour and seasonings to a bowl, and mix well until seasonings are fully incorporated into the flour.

Dip mushrooms in wet batter then coat them in dry batter. Immediately add them to a hot oiled pan or deep fryer, making sure not to over crowd them. Fry for 3 minutes.

Thousand Islands Sauce

• 1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup chili sauce or ketchup
• 2 tbsp sweet relish
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• Salt and pepper to taste
• In a bowl, mix all ingredients

Tofu works, too

Subscribe to The Buddhist Chef: thebuddhistchef.com/newsletter... ◆ Cookbook: thebuddhistchef.com/cookbook... ◆ Free Vegan Recipes: thebuddhistchef.com. ◆ Connect with The Buddhist Chef: thebuddhistchef.com ◆ youtube.com/channel... ◆ facebook.com/thebuddhistchef... ◆ instagram.com/the_buddhis... ◆ twitter.com/thebuddhistchef ◆ Favorite Recipes: ◆ Black Bean Vegan Burger ◆ Roasted Autumn Vegetable Soup ◆ Vegan Cheese ◆ Tofu bacon BLT Sandwich

• Happy World Vegetarian Day
• World Vegan Day (November 1)
• World Vegetarian Day (navs-online.org)

Metta Sutra: "Discourse on Loving Kindness"

Ven. Dhammarakkhita (trans., p. 61); Ellie, Dhr. Seven, Crystal Q. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Love? How does one express "friendliness" (metta, maitri)? By acts of kindness.

 

Rahula, the Buddha, and Ananda (Thai art)

The following is an edited, interpretive translation of the famous Discourse on Loving Kindness" by the Western Theravada monk Ven. Dhammarakkhita from his book Metta Bhavana: Loving-Kindness Meditation.

Owing to the glorious power of this Metta Sutra, spirits dare not appear in frightful forms. Anyone who [practices and] chants this discourse, day and night, sleeps peacefully, has no bad dreams, and enjoys many benefits. Come on, let’s recite this Metta Sutra!

SUTRA: The Discourse

One who is skillful in good practices and

wishes to attain to that state of peace [nirvana]

should follow this: One should be able and

upright, perfectly straight, dutiful,

gentle in speech, and humble,

contented, easy to look after,

with few [distracting] duties,

simple in livelihood, controlled in senses,

discreet, modest, and not greedily

attached to people.

One should do nothing that the wise

may blame one for. Just think:

May all beings be happy and secure!

May their hearts be wholesome.

Whatever beings there are,

weak or strong, without exception,

long, stout, or medium, short or tall,

large or small, seen or unseen,

near or far, born or unborn,

may all beings be happy!

Let no one deceive another,

nor despise anyone at all.

With anger or ill will, let one

not wish harm to any other,

just as a mother would protect

her only child,

even at the risk of her own life,

let us develop boundless

loving-kindness towards all beings.

Let’s send unlimited loving-kindness

towards the whole world,

above, below, and all around,

freely and without hatred or enmity.

Whether sitting standing,

walking or lying down,

as long as we are awake,

we should develop this mindfulness,

for this, they say, is the highest conduct.

Not following wrong views

but purely and wisely being unattached to

many pleasures, one gains freedom

from endless rebirth. More

Great read on Buddhist and Jain culture

Craig Newmark, Wisdom Quarterly; Jay Deva (UCLA)

Mahavira (Great Hero), known in Buddhism as the Nigantha Nattaputta, founded Jainism.

  

Fordfinders (wiki)

Interested in compassionate nonviolence? Might two of ancient India's greatest teachers (the Buddha and Mahavira) have something to offer? In search of a good read?
 

· Chapter 1: Meditation - Concepts and Knowledge
· Chapter 2: Meditation - Technique and Instruction
· Chapter 3: Oneness
· Chapter 4: Karma
· Chapter 5: Karmic Conduct
· Chapter 6: Culture and Practices

Many lives (Jain Universe)

The closely-related wandering ascetic (shramanic) traditions of Buddhism and Jainism are among humanity's oldest and richest sources of philosophical, spiritual, moral, and humanitarian knowledge.

Long before the advent of formal "religion," creeds, oaths, and sectarianism, informal manifestations flourished in the form of culture. Evolved and refined over many centuries, these humanistic spiritual vehicles preserved the world's oldest and most extensive understandings of meditation, karmic wisdom, and nonviolence (ahimsa).

Through the fusion of multi-disciplinary scholarship, Dev's in-depth collection presents the genuine lineage of rare knowledge at the heart of these cultures in a single, artistic, and well-organized volume.

The text contains artwork and poetry presented in an easy style, including I Am All Beings, The Knowledge of Oneness, a short poetic series featuring various painting styles and intricate illustrations.

Most importantly, Meditation, Karma, and Nonviolence: The Authentic Teachings and Practices of Buddhist and Jain Culture illuminates the vital essence of Jain and Buddhist culture. The volume proceeds in concise, bulleted paragraphs, each transmitting a kernel of ancient wisdom cherished for countless centuries by those who have endeavored to look deep within themselves for guidance and awakening, carefully practicing non-harming toward all forms of life, inspiring humans toward personal liberation and an enlightened worldwide society of nonviolence and cooperation.

Occupy: How to beat Police (video)

Lyssa Clayton, Eva Schonveld (Giraffe Talk); M.B. Rosenberg; Wisdom Quarterly

SYSTEM OF A DOWN shows the problem. Occupy Wall Street is the backdrop. Police State resistance is what we want to overcome. NVC is how.

How to be heard in the peaceful Occupy Movement
How can I communicate with [brutal police and occupiers who act like violent] children?

One of the biggest issues for me is how I communicate or fail to communicate.

With the best of intentions I have found myself saying things in ways which make things worse.

I sometimes find it nearly impossible not to slip down the slope of judging, blaming, criticizing [and subduing them with batons, mace, projectiles weapons, flash grenades, and automatic gunfire].

(JFBerkeley) Animated introduction to meeting everyone's need

• Free Training: OLA, Sat. (11/12), 12-4 pm, People's Univ.
  

How many of us end up saying things in a tone that has unpleasant "you’re bad" connotations?

• “You always ____”
  
• “Why can’t you just do/not do x, y, z?”

How many of us find we have forced [others] to do something we wanted but felt very unhappy about how we achieved it?

For many of us, much of how we relate to our children [and others] is [how we were related to as children and by others]. At its root it is based on coercion: the “you will get/not get something if you don’t cooperate.”

The sub-text in a lot of our everyday wrangles with [others] is, “I’m bigger and stronger than you, so you are going to have to do what I say” (because "might makes right").

[This is exactly what police and the Police State behind them believe! There is an easier way to win, just as martial arts are not based on strength and force but rather receiving, redirecting, and flowing.]

We teach our children [and police] values more deeply through how we interact with them than what we preach at them.

[Hey, fat f@#%n p!gs, F### Y*U, f@$ci$t$!!!]

Communicating like protesters instead of police
Rosenberg explains Nonviolent Communication.

So are there ways to change how we communicate at a deep level [to make it effective in actually getting what we want rather than provoking a negative reaction]?

Is there a tool, a technique? Is there help, support, a way to begin?

Faced daily with feelings of exasperation and powerlessness in my [tent], I was intrigued and excited to hear about the idea of Nonviolent or Compassionate Communication.

The word "violent" in this context refers to the way we can hurt or damage people through the use of words which do not respect another as worthy of our compassion and understanding, rather than necessarily [physically harming them].

Nonviolent Communication (NVC)
The process of NVC was developed by Dr. Rosenberg in response to growing up in Detroit in a culture colored with violence and riots. He found himself exploring two major questions.

1. What happens to disconnect us from our compassionate nature, leading us to behave in a violent and exploitative way?
2. What allows some people to remain connected to their compassionate nature under even the most trying circumstances?

How to get respect or what you want with Lisa

Slaughter-Free Milk

If you must drink milk (or consume dairy products like cheese, whey, lactose sugar, ice cream, or other things that do more to leach calcium from bones -- due to their acidifying of body chemistry and the ammonia produced from the break down of protein -- than they provide in any assimilable form), use slaughter-free. It's the least we could do to give thanks for what is taken from moo cows.

PRODUCTION:

The Lotus Trust has finally found a suitable farm to produce slaughter-free milk after two years of searching. Working in partnership with OMSCo (Organic Milk Suppliers Cooperative), an organic dairy in SE England has agreed to pilot the production of Ahimsa [nonviolent, harm-free] milk with a select herd of cows.

Commonwork is an environmental charity, study center and an organic dairy near Sevenoaks in Kent [England]. It has a well established educational program that explores local and global sustainability. The thrust of its work is towards a just and sustainable world.

Due to parallels in its vision with The Lotus Trust for a fairer world, one where there is collaboration and connection with nature, it has agreed to run this first pilot.

Ahimsa milk will be produced to the following minimal standards:

• No cows, calves, or bulls will be slaughtered
• Cows can graze freely on open pasture
• Cows will be protected for life

Commonwork Organic Dairy is fully responsible for all milking cows. The Lotus Trust has set up a new not-for-profit organization -- the Ahimsa Dairy Foundation (ADF), which will be responsible for ongoing care of all non-milking cows, specifically calves, bulls, and retired milking cows.

Meat and milk as commodities -- cash cow

Cows at Commonwork are looked after to Soil Association organic standards, which means:

• they are not injected with hormones or steroids;
• they are on a diet of non-GM forage (mainly plant leaves, stems, legumes, and grass) primarily grown on the farm;
  
• they graze in open fields during spring, summer, and autumn.
  

Winter housing is spacious and they have areas where they can walk around with access to food 24 hours a day. The health and welfare of the cows is foremost, they are treated with homeopathy and alternative treatments when possible. Antibiotics are used only when no other approaches work. More

• Genetically-altered cows produce human milk
• Cow escapes slaughterhouse, new adventure
  
• Cow Dharma
• Save the Cows

Living beings treated like unfeeling factories

Faith in Action: UFO and spiritual headlines

"Live and Let Live" - 2011 Jainism convention in Houston

Prayers for Compassion

Urgyen Samten Ling Gonpa -- the Tibetan Buddhist Temple at 740 S. 300 West, Salt Lake City -- will continue its annual Prayers for Compassion through Sunday at 2:00 p.m., according to the Salt Lake City Tribune. Participants can engage in continuous recitation of prayers and mantras. Individuals can join in anytime during the day or night.

Feast day

Holy Apostles Orthodox Church, 280 W. Center St., Orem, will celebrate its parish feast day with a potluck after the 10 a.m. liturgy serviceSaturday. The next reader service will be Sunday at 10 a.m.

Dalai Lama’s birthday

The Utah Tibetan Association will mark the Dalai Lama’s 76th birthday on Sunday from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Indian Walk-in Center, 120 W. 1300 South, Salt Lake City.

Rumi Poetry

The Rumi Poetry Club will present "The Empty Flute," a series of talks on [Sufi] Rumi’s poetic vision and life philosophy, Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Anderson-Foothill Library, 1135 S. 2100 East, Salt Lake City.

• Faith in Action: Buddhist, Hindu prayers, Bible school, more
• Fresno, California Buddhist Festival will honor ancestors

Solution to the people in Nepal camps

KuenselOnline.com, July 2, 2011

A group of nine countries, led by the US have offered a solution to tragedy: resettlement in third countries for ethnically-Nepalese Bhutanese held in refugee camps in Nepal. The countries are the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, the UK, and Sweden. A total of 45,686 [Bhutanese] people have been resettled in the US and other countries until the end of May this year. “The Bhutanese people and the government are extremely grateful to the host countries for having offered a choice to the unfortunate inhabitants of the camps,” said Lyonchhoen Jigmi Y Thinley...

• Refugees warn of Bhutan's new tide of ethnic expulsions
• Nepal NGOs anticipate wider role after refugee involvement
• Buddhist monks to sing for Chinese Communist Party’s 90th
• L.A. locals discuss abductions by aliens at MUFON meetings
• FOX questions "Motherships over London" videos
• Huge triangle UFO seen over Kentucky (photos)
• CIA killed JFK over UFO inquiry - John Alexander
• Abusive relationships don't go away on their own
• Weirdest theories about the Loch Ness Monster
• GhostTheory.com debunks New Orleans Bigfoot
• New bird species confirmed in eastern Nepal
• The Real Mahatma Gandhi:
  Questioning the moral heroism of India’s most revered figure
  
  (Christopher Hitchens) JOSEPH LELYVELD SUBTLY tips his hand in his title. The word Mahatma is not Mohandas' first name, but an honorific Sanskrit title meaning “Great Soul.” It achieved currency in the West by association with Madame Blavatsky’s somewhat risible “Theosophy” movement, forerunner of many American and European tendencies to be found in writers, as discrepant as Annie Besant and T. S. Eliot, who nurture themselves on the supposedly holy character of the subcontinent.

A Life of Nonviolence

A life of Ahimsa
Gauri Gupta (AsiaOne)
Among the Indian merchants who trickled into the trading port of Singapore back in colonial times were Jains. After WW II they were joined by their families. Since then the community has sunk roots in Singapore, with almost 350 families residing here now. Jains, members of a religious sect that originated in India at the time of the Buddha, follow the philosophy of ahimsa, nonviolence or nonharming, which also guides its very rich followers against materialism while promoting meditation, introspection, and self-realization. More>>

• Latest News on India (merinews.com)
• Women empowerment in PWD
• Karmic loyalty in the hospitality industry

Hinduism view of afterlife

A self or soul exists in any being encompassed by various charms and fantasies. The crux of this aspect is that unless or until a soul attains moksha, the soul is entrapped by the endless cycle of life and death. Moksha is the freedom from the cycle of rebirth, unless or until moksha is attained a soul will have to come back to earth again and again. Thus for any soul, freedom will be an illusion and a goal that needs to be achieved.

Jain principles relevant to problems of modern world
PTI (Mar. 7, 2010)
New Delhi - Congress president Sonia Gandhi today stressed the relevance of Jain principles to tackle the problem of violence and terrorism afflicting the modern world. Gandhi also underlined the importance of politics that believes in non-violence, environment-centric development, and taking all sections together.

Bringing out the essence of Jainism in Fonts
MUMBAI, India - Artist Jain Kamal has been expressing himself through the power of fonts and typography. Yes, the same fonts we use routinely in applications like MS Word....

Is India's women's bill a good thing?
Pankag Jaiswal (Hindustan Times)

He [Mulayam] said that his party [the BJP] was not against [affirmative action for] women in politics and dared the Congress and BJP to have 20 percent reservation on election tickets within the party instead. The bill envisages 33 percent reservation for women in the Parliament and State Assemblies. "The 33 percent reservation bill must be dropped and instead it should be made mandatory for the parties to reserve 20 percent of election tickets for women...."

• Doctor climbing Mt. Everest for charity: A junior doctor from Lancaster, England is preparing to climb the world's highest mountain for charity. Ex-army officer Beth Hall-Thompson, 33, a doctor at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary, will be part of a team attempting to climb Everest's notoriously difficult North Ridge in 2012.
• Guru and actress vanish after scandalous sex tape
• Sex Swami Nityananda at the Kumbha Mela

Ahimsa (Jain sutras by Nithyananda)

(LifeBlissFoundation) From the works of the realized master Paramahamsa Nithyananda, this talk describes how ahimsa (nonviolence) is the supreme religion. Establishing oneself in nonviolence is a foundation to establish oneself in truth. Using powerful examples, Nithyananda explores the Jain sutras in a lecture delivered in Los Angeles.

• Irish bishop covered up Dublin priests' sex abuse
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Meditation: Kind to the Monkey Mind

Dharma talk by Ajahn Brahm (BSWA, Australia) on Buddhist meditation to deal with the "Monkey Mind" -- a common experience for those who attempt to sit in peace and serenity. The mind that attempts to de-stress, paradoxically, jumps from one thought and idea to another without rest like a monkey in a tree.

The Monkey Mind can be overcome through the patient practice of meditation, the cultivation of patience, the practice of practicing being kind to the body, being kind to the mind. This is the practice of ahimsa (non-violence, non-injury, harmlessness, kindness),which is not limited to others but practiced foremost with oneself. As one is kind to oneself, one becomes effortlessly kind to others. One advances in meditation.

These are selections from a talk given on a 2007 Easter retreat focusing on joy and happiness as being the path of meditation and spiritual growth. For as it is said by successful meditators: "There is NO way to happiness, happiness is the WAY."

Temple of Mice

Sharon Guynup and Nicolas Ruggia (Nat'l Geographic Channel)

RATS RULE AT INDIAN TEMPLE -- The floors are a living tangle of undulating fur. Small, brown blurs scurry across marble floors. Thousands of rats dine with people and scamper over their feet.

Temple featured in Tori Amos's iconoclastic song "God"

It may sound like a nightmare from the New York City subway to some, but in India's small northwestern city of Deshnoke, this is a place of worship: Rajastan's famous Karni Mata Temple.

This ornate, isolated Hindu temple was constructed by Maharaja Ganga Singh in the early 1900s as a tribute to the rat goddess, Karni Mata. Intricate marble panels line the entrance and the floors, and silver and gold decorations are found throughout.

But by far the most intriguing aspect of the interior is the 20,000-odd rats that call this temple home. These holy animals are called kabbas, and many people travel great distances to pay their respects.

The legend goes that Karni Mata, a mystic matriarch from the 14th century, was an incarnation of Durga, the goddess of power and victory. At some point during her life, the child of one of her clansmen died. She attempted to bring the child back to life, only to be told by Yama, the god of death, that he had already been reincarnated.

Karni Mata cut a deal with Yama: From that point forward, all of her tribespeople would be reborn as rats until they could be born back into the clan.

In Hinduism, death marks the end of one chapter and the beginning of a new one on the path to a soul's eventual oneness with the universe. This cycle of transmigration is known as Samsara and is precisely why Karni Mata's rats are treated like royalty.

Gautam Ghosh, professor of anthropology and Asian studies at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, noted how rare this rat-worshipping temple is. "In India, as in the West, rats aren't treated with particular veneration."

In Hinduism, many deities take animals forms. "The main theological point is that there's no dividing line between what forms gods or goddesses can use," said Rachel Fell McDermott, professor of Asian and Middle Eastern cultures at Barnard College in New York City. "There's nothing to say they can't take form as a fish, a bird, or even a rat." More>>

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