The THREE SCHOOLS of BUDDHISM explained: Theravāda, Mahāyāna, Vajrayāna
(Buddha's Wisdom) May 25, 2025: 🔍 THE 3 PATHS TO ENLIGHTENMENT: WHICH ONE SPEAKS TO YOU?
How did one teacher's simple message create three different paths to enlightenment? Three monks sit in meditation...but they’re not seeking the same thing.
One follows the Buddha’s exact words (Theravada). Another vows to save every living being (Mahayana). The third uses esoteric [Vedic, Brahminical, Hindu, tantric] practices hidden for centuries.
How did Buddhism split into three radically different paths — and what does it mean for our spiritual journey today?
03:16 - Chapter 1: Theravada - The Way of the Elders
07:25 - Chapter 2: Mahayana - The Great Vehicle
11:33 - Chapter 3: Vajrayana - The Diamond Vehicle
15:44 - Chapter 4: When Buddhism meets itself
18:53 - The One Mind: Which path did the Buddha intend?
DISCOVER
Why Buddhism split into three schools after the Buddha's passing into final nirvana
The dangerous mission that saved Theravada Buddhism from extinction
How Avalokiteshvara's broken heart created the Mahayana revolution
The secret tantric techniques that promise enlightenment in a single lifetime
Why mixing Buddhist traditions might be exactly what the modern world needs [at least that's what we as Americans seem to think]
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SOURCES
The Pali canon (Theravada texts)
Lotus Sutra (Mahayana literature)
Tibetan Book of the Dead (Vajrayana teachings)
Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction by Damien Keown
The Heart of Buddhist Meditation by Ven. Nyanaponika Thera
What? Middle Eastern North Africans? No, we were always white. We're from Heaven.
The Bible's been changed WAY more than most people realize!
(Holy Koolaid) Since the many books of the Bible were first written, just how much has the Bible been changed? After the New Testament was compiled, how much was it edited, tweaked, and altered to fit the agendas of scribes, copyists, and early Church fathers?
Are there other versions of the Bible? Did significant copying mistakes and translations errors (to say nothing of the purposeful changes and "corrections" to improve on God's word] find their way into our modern copies of the Bible?
If the Bible is the word of God and was divinely inspired, shouldn't it also have been divinely preserved? But has it been?
Everything's going as planned, Joe. - Thanks, Bibi. Need more weapons? - Yeah, sure!
.
Israel’s latest offensives unleash ‘hell’ in Gaza, aid groups say
That's the way! Hit 'em again, IDF heroes!
Food had finally started to reach the famine-stricken (purposely starved) northern Gaza Strip in the State of Palestine earlier this month, pushing down prices in the Jabalya refugee camp, where doctors like Dr. Yehia Abed were trying to save a legion of malnourished children, women, and elderly patients. Then came “another attack,” he said.
Netanyahu's at it again! - We have to protest more
Israeli military operations this month against Palestinians [and anyone it can later claim to have thought was] Hamas in Gaza — from the last, desperate refuge for Palestinians in the southern city of Rafah to the devastated refugee camps of the north — have displaced nearly a million people, according to the United Nations, and further sealed off the territory to outside aid.
Kareem Fahim, Louisa Loveluck, Loveday Morris, Mohamad El Chamaa, The Washington Post via MSN.com, May 22, 2024; Pfc. Sandoval, Shauna Schwartz, Sheldon S., Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
BREAKING NEWS: All hell breaks loose when Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene directly insults Black Jasmine Crockett
(Forbes Breaking News) May 16, 2024: At tonight's House Oversight Committee hearing, [white] Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's (R-GA) insult of [Black] Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) plunged the hearing into chaos, particularly when Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) jumped in and took sides against Greene. Then Crockett got in the best line of the night, openly mocking Greene in the form of a hypothetical question about badly bleached blond hair and a butch body. Ehem, Marjorie? Sadly, the old white men in charge did not understand the question.
MAGA Reps. Gaetz and Boebert get heckled at the Trump circus trial
Girls used to be so classy. Now it's all petty ego.
On Thursday, May 16, 2024, evening, a House Oversight Committee hearing intended to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt quickly devolved into a heated and disorderly exchange between Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Marjorie Taylor Greene.
The session was initially convened to address Garland's refusal to comply with a subpoena for an audio recording of Pres/ Biden's interview with a special counsel. However, tensions flared when Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene made a derogatory comment about Rep. Jasmine Crockett's appearance, prompting an intense response from [AOC] Rep. Ocasio-Cortez [who got all Puerto Rican or Cuban and New Yorker with a kind of, Oh no you diddent, aw hell no you diddent kind of vibe, made worse by the addition of "baby girl."
During the hearing, Greene interrupted Crockett with a personal attack, stating, "I think your fake eyelashes are messing up what you’re reading."
This remark led to audible groans in the chamber and a plea for order from Committee Chairman James Comer.
Ocasio-Cortez immediately called for Greene's words to be "taken down," a procedural move allowing the speaker to withdraw or amend the words if deemed inappropriate.
I'm from New York. I eat Greenes for lunch.
Greene's retort, "Are your feelings hurt?" was met with Ocasio-Cortez's sharp response, "Oh girl, baby girl! Don’t even play!"
Ocasio-Cortez insisted that Greene's comments were unacceptable and demanded a sincere apology to Rep. Crockett, rejecting any insincere or smarmy apologies.
Despite the heated back-and-forth, Greene eventually agreed to strike her words but refused to apologize, further insulting Ocasio-Cortez's intelligence.
You want some, B*tch? - Are you talkin to me?
The situation escalated when Rep. Jamie Raskin asked Greene again if she would apologize, to which she defiantly replied, "You will never get an apology out of me."
The contentious exchange highlighted deep divisions and personal animosities among committee members, drawing significant attention and criticism.
Rep. Crockett later expressed her frustration on social media, emphasizing the inappropriate and chaotic behavior displayed by some members of Congress.
There is a Gateway to Hell, a major tourist draw in Turkmenistan (Darvaza gas crater),
The dictator upstairs is limiting tourists to the entrance, I hear. Here he is. Let's ask him.
World-famous Afghan Buddhas of Bamiyan
Buddhism in Central Asia may sound strange, but Buddhism really began in Central Asia (a place some might call the Stans), where the Buddha was born and raised: Scythia, Saka, Gandhara. While legend has him in Nepal, Dr. Ranajit Pal and archeology corrects that notion.
Ancient Gandhara is some modern Stans
The largest Buddhist monuments and monasteries in the world are in modern Afghanistan, and they did not arrive there via the Silk Road transmission but had already been there even as Bihar was populated with so many Vihar's that it got its name as an Indian state. They were celebrating their native son, who returned seven years after he set off on his quest. There was no "India" at that time, only Magadha and other independent kingdoms that were united two centuries later by Buddhist Emperor Ashoka. In these strange and little-known countries there are Buddhist artifacts that make little sense until one places "Scythiamuni" Buddha in his proper context, in a land from in and around Indo-Saka-stan.
Traveling to the strangest country on Earth
(Yes Theory) Where in the world is Turkmenistan, and is there really a door to hell there? Thanks to Young Pioneer Tours for taking us on this incredible trip. Links to their details here:
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Chris EEEE Barnes is the Dave Mustaine of Cannibal Corpse: his parting was for the best. Just look
Cannibal Corpse "Stripped, Raped and Strangled" and "Hammer Smashed Face" (5/27/23) Hell in the Harbor
(LORDOFTHE80S) May 29, 2023: BALTIMORE SOUNDSTAGE. Live from Hell in the Harbor (Baltimore, Maryland, East Coast, USA). The West Coast may be all about Hollywood pop music, rural country music, and urban rap and hip hop.
He sold his soul for rock 'n roll w/ Black Sabbath
But back East, metal lives. Aggro Chris Barnes replacement George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher antagonizes the crowd, stirring them up for a particularly vicious mosh pit and slamfest. Careful, kids, you might spill your drinks.
It isn't just Coachella and Stagecoach that California is famous for. There are also big mega shows and a kind of hard rock almost metal show on the same Polo Grounds in Indio.
Slipknot took the mantle from Ozzy.
Knotfest and OzzFest used to come through Southern California every year out in a dusty field surrounded by hills next to the 15 Freeway. Is metal making enough money for the Devil to still be interested?
If rock 'n roll is the great Satan, or at least the sort of music the Dark Lord prefers, why would so much more progress be made using Taylor Swift, Beyonce, weird Billie Eilish, sexy Dua Lipa, and all the flash-in-the-pan pop singers, particularly those from Korea (K-Pop) and manufactured in Hollywood public relations offices?
Ozzy loves California so much, he lives here and has for years. He's close to Hollywood.
Metal gal crowd surfs over the mosh pit as the band pounds out "Hammer Smashed Face"
Cannibal Corpse; Seth Auberon, Pfc. Sandoval, Crystal. CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly
In previous years, Pope and future San Francis[co] was happy to rub women's feet during Holy Week.
This year, he's not feeling so well. In fact, he's going to sit this Easter out if that's alright with the Catholic world. He's busy attending to his body.
God has not given him the health to head the world's oldest corporation in charge of making God's will known to sinners or how to pay indulgences or say Hail Marys to make up for their wicked and evil sinfulness.
Didn't know you had a fetish, Father. - It's Pontiff
One would think Satan would lay off the pontiff during this most glorious part of the liturgical calendar, but there's no rest for the wicked, proving that Pope Francis deserves the sainthood headed his way as his golden parachute when he steps down from the Vatican, Inc. (Unlimited).
1. The Papacy: The belief in the Pope as the successor of Saint Peter, the Bishop of Rome, and the leader of the global Catholic Church. is rooted in tradition and interpretations of passages like Matthew 16:18–19, but no explicit office of the Pope is detailed in the Bible.
I'm cold, alone, and the ASPCA is going to kill me and call it a "euthanizing" favor. Save me.
Compton pit bull breeder mauled to death by his own dogs
(KTLA 5) LOS ANGELES, California - Feb. 16, 2024: A chaotic and gruesome scene unfolded in Compton (a ghetto in Los Angeles made famous by Snoop Dog, et. al.) Friday morning after a man who was breeding pit bulls (a similar breed) was mauled to death in his own backyard.
Get in my bag, Taylor, yer preggers!
According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD), officials responded to the home on Thorson Ave., just south of Rosecrans Ave., around 7:00 am after a concerned friend visited the property and discovered the man’s mauled body.
"He was feeding the dogs at which point maybe there was an altercation between some of the dogs and [they] ultimately [turned on and] attacked and mauled the victim,” said Michael Gomez with LASD’s Homicide Bureau.
KTLA's Chris Wolfe reports on Feb. 16, 2024.
She's as blind as her beloved canine companion. Is it by chance or a life lesson?
.
It is popularly believed that karma (intentional action, deed, conduct) means "what comes around goes around." And by this logic, the dog breeder here must have made these impressionable pit bulls vicious, the better to sell them as tough guardians for self-protection.
One sees citizens of South-Central Los Angeles and other parts of the city, such as the Venice Beach Boardwalk, walking vicious looking pit bulls on heavy chains. It's a trope. It's the obverse of West Side females carrying chihuahuas or Shitsus in their purses.
I'll be waiting in the realm of ghosts, Master.
If he did raise them to be vicious killers and they viciously killed him, isn't that karma? It may be karma except for the fact that karma does not work itself out that quickly. Lennon's "Instant Karma" is rare.
What does seem to happen is that we repeat our habitual karma over many lives, and when those deeds catch up with us, ripen and comet to fruition in this life, it may be for something like the thing we're doing now. So people deduce that, "Aha! It must have been that thing he was doing now."
But, in fact, it could, it is much likelier to be something that being did long ago bearing its results. Be nice to animals. Don't eat them. But if you do, will it be a surprise that in the future they will eat you? Not pets, pets rarely eat us, but domesticated livestock when we are reborn on the animal plane, in ghost or hellish realms, or by some good fortune (based on some previous skillful deed) on the human plane again, or wild animals.
IDK Y. I'm driven to eat you alive until you die.
Animals are not here by accident. Animals are not ours to abuse or even to use. They have consciousness, thoughts, feelings, karmic lives, personalities, and futures. The entire section of the Dharma known as the "Rebirth Tales" or Jatakas illustrates how they think and feel, how karma (sowing deeds) bears fruit, how the working out of deeds and results is unimaginably complex but knowable in general terms. Killing humans is worse, particularly moral humans, but killing or inducing (paying butchers) others to kill is also very bad karma.
SUTRA: Let go, Doggy
The Buddha was a Karmavadin: he taught the importance of deeds (karma) and their results.
There's an amazing Buddhist story, a Jataka Tale, in which a stingy man passes away without having told his wife or eldest son where he buried his treasure. He's still clinging to it in his heart, for all the good money does him as a dog.
The son searches in vain for it because the family needs it to live when he's gone. It comes to pass that he meets the Bodhisattva (the Buddha-to-be), who asks him what the problem is.
The son explains and is advised to feed the dog well and watch where he chooses to go to nap then dig in that spot. He does and finds the stash, becoming a believer in the process:
There is rebirth, there are wise people who know this world and other worlds by their own knowledge-and-vision, there are results of karma (vipaka and phala), there is a life (an afterlife) to come, humans can be reborn as animals based on their actions in this life, and there is something higher to live for than ordinary concerns like making and clinging to worldly riches.
Israel used its air force to bomb the rave (IDF militants and veterans partying with a very few civilian refuseniks) near Gaza by the kibbutzim spying on Palestinians and hosting their own security police forces to make sure no Palestinians entered Israel. Israel did it, killing their own soldiers and civilians in addition to anyone the Al Qassam Brigades' fighter attacked. Now Israel is BURYING the physical evidence of the burned-out cars and charred Israeli Jewish corpses they first tallied as 200 bodies, later found to be Palestinians Israel had fried from above. Israel attacked itself on October 7 along with Hamas fighter attacking, partly by overreacting with cowardly air force bombers rather than police and IDF troopers coming to fight rag tag Hamas volunteers.
(LastWeekTonight) Nov. 20, 2023: John Oliver discusses Dollar stores and why Irish Spring is not his bar soap of choice.
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COMMENTS
(@highstimulation2497)
This isn't surprising. Owning a company, paying almost nothing to the people who actually do the work, and making billions while they suffer seems to be the entire goal of our whole country.
(@benfiorwolf4446)
That that lady knew exactly how to pronounce ‘filet mignon’ & ‘escargot’ then pointed out people like her have to eat ‘Raymun noodles’ is absolutely my favorite thing for today. 😂
(@unstablefusion3)
I worked at Walmart for a while, and a few of my coworkers described working at Dollar General as a torture chamber. They say that WHILE working at Walmart.
(@zeobide274)
The man in the suit snapping his fingers and telling the volunteer to hurry up is the most realistic thing about corporations I've ever seen. 😂😂😂😂
(@sibzmauler5429)
I worked at a Dollar Tree back in college so that I had money for food (God forbid I needed the job for more), and I was robbed with a knife to my back a week before graduation. The most I got was a phone call from my district manager asking if I was ok, and I still had to finish my shift that night. I have so much sympathy for the people that need those jobs. I normally was one of two or three people that covered an entire store for a shift. It was hell.
Who can possibly guess why many observers who do know about these LNG deposits are suggesting that Israel’s interest in driving millions of Palestinians out of Gaza (dispossession, depopulation, dislocation, genocide if necessary) may have more to do with money than Zionism, religion, fear, or terrorism?
Jimmy Dore and Americans’ Comedian Kurt Metzger discuss why no one else in the media is discussing this highly germane aspect to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
U.S. General Smedley Butler: War is a Racket (Forgotten History) Nov. 21, 2022: Born on July 30, 1881, U.S. Major General Smedley D. Butler was the eldest son of a Quaker family from West Chester, Pennsylvania. Only two Marines ever received the Medal of Honor twice, Daniel Daly and Smedley Butler, both in separate conflicts. Besides being twice decorated with the Medal of Honor, how did he display even greater courage and preserve the U.S. Constitution, preventing a coup that wanted to instal a U.S. military dictatorship? Find out in this episode. Hosted by Colin D. Heaton. The Forgotten History Channel is a 10th Legion Pictures Production. #forgottenhistorychannel
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