Showing posts with label mandarin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mandarin. Show all posts

Saturday, January 24, 2026

A Man's World? Polyandry in Shangri-La


One queen with many kings?
Tibet Travel (Tibet Vista) [Guide Jamyang was traveling on the Lost Horizon and] found the lost Shangri-La (Tibetan Shambhala, Western Paradise Lost), and their secret to happiness seems to be polyandry (multiple husbands for each woman).

POLYANDRY (Ancient Greek πολύ, polú, "many" + ἀνήρ, anḗr, "man") is a form of polygamy in which a female takes two or more husbands at the same time.

Polyandry is contrasted with polygyny, involving one male and two or more females. If a marriage involves a plural number of "husbands and wives" participants of each gender, then it can be called polygamy [1], group or conjoint marriage [2].
  • Anything he can do, I...
    Let's not forget the beautiful practice of polyamory for those who can overcome the venoms of envy and jealousy.
In its broadest use, polyandry refers to sexual relations with multiple males within or without marriage.

Of the 1,231 societies listed in the 1980 Ethnographic Atlas,
  • 186 were found to be monogamous,
  • 453 had occasional polygyny,
  • 588 had more frequent polygyny, and
  • 4 had polyandry [3].
Polyandry is more frequent (less rare) than this figure suggests because it considered only those examples found in the Himalayan Buddhist mountain region (8 societies).

Feminine female power!
More recent studies have found at least 4 other societies practicing polyandry [4]. Fraternal polyandry is practiced among Tibetans in Nepal and parts of China, in which two or more brothers are married to the same female (wife), with that wife having equal sexual access to them [5, 6].

It is associated with partible paternity, the cultural belief that a child can have more than one [legal] father [4].

Several ethnic groups practicing polyandry in India identify their customs with their descent from the female Draupadi, a central character of the Mahabharata (revered in Hinduism) who was married to five brothers, although local practices may not be fraternal themselves.

One husband, one wife? - How bad is a good marriage? Be honest, completely honest

Adam's Eve was his "rescuer."
WHY? Polyandry is believed to be more likely in societies with scarce environmental resources. It is believed to limit human population growth and enhance child survival [6, 7]. It is a rare form of marriage that exists among elite and peasant families [8].

For example, polyandry in the predominantly Buddhist Himalayan mountains is related to the scarcity of land. The marriage of all brothers in a family to the same wife allows family land to remain in the same family's hads undivided.

If every brother married separately and had children, family land would be split into unsustainably small plots.

In contrast, very poor persons who do not own land are less likely to practice polyandry in Buddhist India's Ladakh and Zanskar [6].

In Europe, the splitting up of land was prevented through the social practice of impartible inheritance. With most siblings disinherited, many of them became celibate monks and priests [9]. Buddhism seems to have had a better solution, though the vast majority of male and female Tibetan Buddhists at one time or other became Vajrayana monastics at least for some part of their lives. More

Saturday, September 6, 2025

LA Chinatown Hungry Ghost Festival


Burning "hell money"!?!

A burnt offering to benefit the deceased
"Hell money" (Chinese 冥鈔, Pinyin míngchāo) is a modernized form of joss paper printed to resemble legal tender bank notes. The notes are not an official form of recognized currency or legal tender [except among greedy ghosts] as their sole intended purpose is to be offered as burnt offerings to the deceased as a solution to resolve their assumed monetary problems in the afterlife. This ritual has been practiced by modern Chinese and across East Asia since the late 19th century, and some Wicca-based pagan traditions in recent years have adopted this practice [1]. Early 20th century examples bore resemblance to minor commercial currency of the type issued by businesses across China until the mid-1940s [2]. The identification of this type of joss paper as "hell bank notes" or "hell money" is largely a Western construct, since these items are simply regarded as yet another form of joss paper (冥幣, 陰司紙, 紙錢, or 金紙) in East Asian cultures and have no special name or status. More: Hell money

FREE: The Los Angeles Hungry Ghost Festival: Sunday, Sept. 7, 4:00 pm

They're hungry. Will there be food?
This is the second annual festival. Through performance, ritual altars, and community celebration, we honor our departed ancestors and appease hungry ghosts. Building on last year’s success, this year’s festival features lion dance and Zodiac play by The East Wind Foundation for Youth, live music by Micah Huang and Annie Zhou, dance performances by The Sunset Light Dance Team, and martial arts demonstrations by Misako. Activities for youth include cultural crafts tables, face paint station, bouncy house, and a scavenger hunt. The festival is FREE and open to the public. More
The REAL Hungry Ghost Festival is on September 5 or 6, 2025. Here's why
Gods of Death across mythology and folklore | Watch
Are hungry ghosts evil demons? No, those are hellions. Ghosts are the departed.

The dearly departed are still here.
(The Blue Cats by Goody Feed) Many people often confuse the Hungry Ghost Festival with the start of the seventh month in the lunisolar calendar, but they’re not the same.

The seventh month, beginning on August 23, 2025, is known as Ghost Month. During this period, it is believed that the Gates of Hell and Heaven open, allowing restless spirits to enter the human world.

However, not all of these spirits are “hungry ghosts” (petas or pretas). The term usually refers to those who passed away tragically or without proper funerary rituals, while many others are thought to simply visit their loved ones.

Hungry Ghost Festival: A Guide to exploring cultural riches

Addiction is entrance to Realm of Hungry Ghosts
Tradition holds that offerings are made to appease these spirits, but most people only make offerings on the first day of Ghost Month and then forget.
As the days pass, the neglected spirits are said to grow hungrier and angrier. By the 15th day, their hunger supposedly reaches its peak, which is why this day is considered the Hungry Ghost Festival.

This explains why offerings on the 15th day are so important. The Hungry Ghost Festival, then, is not the entire month but just that one crucial day.

For 2025, this falls on September 6, the 15th day of Ghost Month. Some groups, particularly Chinese Cantonese-speaking communities, choose to make offerings on the 14th instead.

Are WE in the Hungry Ghost Realm?
Due to karma, we are all reborn

This is partly because the number four sounds like “death” in Cantonese and Mandarin, making the 14th symbolically significant. Another explanation comes from old timekeeping systems where the hours from 11:00 pm to 1:00 am spanned two days, meaning some regarded the 14th as the proper day.

Business enquiries: business.thebluecats.com.sg. The Blue Cats' Instagram: singaporethebluecats

How can I transfer merit to benefit the dead?
The possibility of merit transfer became widely known by the story Mulian Rescues His Mother
.
There are many Buddhist hells.
Transferring a gift of merit (Sanskrit pariṇāmanā, Pali pattidāna or pattānumodanā) is a standard part of Theravada Buddhist spiritual discipline.

The Buddhist practitioner's merit, resulting from wholesome deeds, is transferred to deceased relatives (the grateful dead), to deities (devas), or to ALL sentient beings.

Such a "transfer" is done ritually and mentally, and it is believed that the recipient (the ghost, the deceased person) can often receive this merit, if that recipient rejoices in the meritorious acts of the person doing the transferring.

In Buddhism, merit transfer (sending beneficial karma) is seen as a much better alternative to mourning.

Pouring overflowing water in ceremony
Scholars have discussed how the doctrine of transfer of merit can be reconciled with the individual nature of karma in Buddhism.

[How can it work? Everyone's karma is one's own. The giver generates skillful karma by giving with the intention to give, which gives the recipient the chance to share in that good karma by rejoicing (pattanumo) over such kindness, compassion, and giving (dana).] More: Transfer of merit

Monday, September 1, 2025

Tibetan girl came from Shangri-La


There are at least two "Shangri-Las," the mythical and one called Shangri-La, Yunnan, China along the Yangtze River, where marriages arranged by caring families are the norm. Where's Dong Dong?

Lost Horizon (James Hilton)
Shangri-La is a fictional place in Tibet's Kunlun Mountains [1], or mythological Kunlun, described in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon by the British author James Hilton.

Hilton portrays Shangri-La as a mystical, harmonious valley, gently guided from a Buddhist lamasery, enclosed in the western end of the Kunlun Mountain [1].

In the novel, the people who live in Shangri-La are almost immortal, living hundreds of years beyond the normal lifespan and only very slowly ageing in appearance [possibly in our Hollow Earth, called Agartha, or on another dimension within this world].

Shangri-La has become synonymous with any earthly paradise, particularly a mythical Himalayan Buddhist utopia -- an enduringly happy land, isolated from the world.


Ancient Tibetan Buddhist scriptures mention Nghe-Beyul Khembalung [2], one of seven utopian beyuls which Tibetan Buddhists believe were established in the 9th century AD by Padmasambhava as hidden, sacred places of refuge for Buddhists during times of strife [3]. More

  • Fundiscovery,  3 years later: He returns to find the Tibetan shepherdess who now owns a hotel she founded; CC Liu, Dhr. Seven, Crystal Q. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Monday, November 20, 2023

Stand up Jenny Tian: Picture This: Boobs

Chinese Australian Jenny Tian, 11/17/23; CC Liu, Crystal Quintero (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
WARNING: Adult themes, dating, being single, love, sex, virginity, parents, cussing, profanity, race!

Being Asian Show Jenny Tian: Picture This - full comedy special
(Jenny Tian) Premiered Nov. 17, 2023: It's my very first comedy special! Picture This is filled with jokes, drawings, and three very funny and completely true tales of betrayal.
  • 00:00 - 01:09 Intro
  • 01:10 - 03:10 Drawings - Tits
  • 03:11-04:24 Getting Drunk
  • 04:25-08:28 Being Asian
  • 08:29-16:46 The Betrayal of Culture
  • 16:47-17:29 Drawings - Guessing Commonalities
  • 17:30-25:34 Dating
  • 25:35-32:19 The Betrayal of Love
  • 32:20-34:22 Drawings - The Most Beautiful View
  • 34:23-35:30 BJJ
  • 35:31-37:18 Being a Naughty Girl
  • 37:19-39:05 Worst Video Interview
  • 39:06-41:16 Marriage
  • 41:16-51:20 The Betrayal of Friendship
  • 51:21-52:09 CEOs
  • 52:10-52:49 Credits
Enjoy it. :) And if you do, share it with your mates. The special is free, so if you want to support me, I've got merch available: sound-merch.com.au/collection...

Follow me on my socials: Instagram: _jennytian, Facebook: jennytiancomedy,  TikTok: nomnomjenny, YouTube: @nomnomjenny #comedyspecial #standupcomedy #standupcomedian #asian #femalecomedian