Songs of Ancient Los Angeles: Tongva

Welcome (Meyiha)

The Native Americans are still here in LA

From the unceded lands of Tovaangar (aka Los Angeles or el Pueblo de Los Ángeles, lit. the "City of Angels," once the Spain-dominated Mexican El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles del Río de Porciúncula or "The Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels of the River Porciúncula"), we welcome those who respect and nurture this land.

An Indigenous Peoples' History of the U.S.

Of course, we can only speak for this First Nation territory, which has the largest concentration of Indigenous peoples in the nation, the others having been largely displaced or forcibly removed from their traditional lands, which they peacefully stewarded for millennia. The original indigenous tribe that nurtured this land for 10,000 years or more are (not were) the Kizh, Tongva, or Gabrieleno American Indians.

The first name is of the customary housing structure, the next is an exonym suggested by a UCLA researcher, and the third was imposed by the invading imperial Spanish forces overtaking Mexico, of which Los Angeles was a part for centuries. It comes from the San Gabriel Mission in the LA suburb of the San Gabriel Valley under the San Gabriel Mountains of the Angeles National Forest.

(Studio Seven Media, LLC) Aug. 14, 2026: Andrew Guiding Young Cloud Morales · Gabrieleno Tongva Ensemble · Connor Chee Tongva Songs We Are Here Ekwa Chem ℗ 2026 Studio Seven Media, LLC Released on: 2026-08-14. Flute: Andrew Guiding Young Cloud Morales Ensemble: Gabrieleno Tongva Ensemble Piano: Connor Chee Producer: Edward Dale Chung Producer: Nicole Zuratis Producer: Kitt Wakeley Producer: Greg Scelsa Unknown: Campbell Young Mixing Engineer: Tony Correlli Mastering Engineer: Kevin Lively Music Publisher: Copyright Control Composer Lyricist: Andrew Guiding Young Cloud Morales.

Adventures in Church

San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians | Gabrieleno

It's a good idea to pick and choose one's religion. In doing so, a common mistake is to throw out previous customs. When the Indigenous people were "Christianized" by the imperial holy Roman Catholic Church in its Vatican stronghold (formerly devoted completely to Mithra worship before converting to Jesus and Mary adoration), it was inconceivable to leave behind millennia of traditions and practices in tune with nature.

Buddhism is an excellent fit, but it was here long before Catholicism, Christianity, or any Western tradition. See American research by Americans about America published by Edward P. Vining (1847-1920) and Rick Fields (1942-1999) An Inglorious Columbus: or, Evidence that Hwui Shn and a Party of Buddhist Monks from Afghanistan Discovered America in the Fifth Century, A.D and How the Swans Came to the Lake: A Narrative History of Buddhism in America.

A JuBu friend invited us to a Quaker Friends Meeting for a Sunday morning "meditation." There was silence, which the Society of Friends called worship. We loved it. Returning from summer vacation two weeks ago, we dropped in an hour early and were pleasantly surprised to find Tongva representative Mona Morales Recalde making a presentation with her father Chief Anthony Morales in the audience.

Tongva leader Mona Morales Recalde

It struck us as odd that here we were in a peace-loving Christian congregation, and she's a happy Presbyterian being helped in her work by her church. Progress is being made because part of the SG Mission, once home to the Native American Joan of Arc Toypurina, has been returned, repatriated, restored to Tongva hands.

• VIDEO: On August 2, 2025, the Presbytery of San Gabriel and the Gabrieleno-Tongva Band of Mission Indians gathered to celebrate a groundbreaking act of reparative justice. The presbytery officially returned land to the San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians, led by the Gabrieleno Tongva Tribal Council under Chief Anthony Morales. | Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) | Facebook

Locatora Radio w/ Mala + Diosa (IG)

Having been born into Catholicism and not liking the patriarchy at all (even though there are many beautiful aspects to the peoples' Catholicism worth preserving, not the least of which being the honoring of beloved Mother Mary, Mary Magdalene, and a pre-Church version of Gnostic Jesus, cloistered monkhood, maybe even the Holy Ghost, but the genocidal Father and hypocritical priesthood not so much), it was easy to make the decision to leave it behind.

• Southern California tribe gets land back from church in ‘healing, reparative’ act | San Gabriel Valley Tribune
• Blog – News from Native California

Meet Mona Recalde – News from Native Cali

The Church doesn't let someone get away that easy, so it was easier to leave for agnosticism, atheism, anti-Catholicism. It came to make the most sense to regard all "religion" as Christianity, and all of it was bad and worth rejecting. Some teachings may well be good, of course; the rejection is of the imperial, genocidal, hypocritical, homosexual child molesting institution. Christians are held through fear and childhood indoctrination. If a person is unable to awaken and reject it, that will be that person's downfall.

Imagine the good fortune of finding Eastern philosophy and the diamond in the coal that is Buddhism in particular! Of course, Buddhism in Asia has become an ossified tradition as well, but less so than Western traditions. In any case, Buddhism is relatively new to us in the West so we get to pick and choose what to embrace, what to reject, and what to attempt to change.

Chief Anthony Morales, Gabrieleno/Tongva San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians

(Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture) Aug. 5, 2024: Tribal Chairman Anthony Morales discusses the Gabrieleño/Tongva San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians' connection to the land that is now called Los Angeles County and the importance of land acknowledgments. For more info on the LA County Land Acknowledgment, please visit: lacounty.gov...

The progressive Anglicans with Sarah Mullally

Our parents might not always be happy with our decisions, but we sure are. And when one learns the deeper meaning of the Dharma, suddenly one sees Christianity, at least in its original pre-institutional form, has much good.

Now Tongva Natives, Buddhists, Presbyterians, [anti-genocidal] Jews, and Quakers can all hold hands in LA and think, "Hey, at least we can all get along in a place called Pasadena."

(Reuters) Meanwhile in genocidal Israel, attempted retaliation? Flydubai

(Double Down News) RAF Fairford video Trump wants banned

• A Tongva tribal leader will speak on the land her ancestors called home | Pasadena Now
• Presbytery of San Gabriel returns ancestral land to Gabrieleno Tongva Tribal Council | Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
• San Gabriel Band of Mission Indian tribe wins land back for the first time | Los Angeles Times
• Prehistoric discovery in Oregon cave older than Egypt's Great Pyramid rewrites human history
• Dhr. Seven, Xochitl, Crystal Q., Pfc. Sandoval, Wisdom Quarterly

Wolves are a keystone species to save

Justine Block | Facebook: Wolves need to be relisted on the endangered species list.

It's counterintuitive, but it'll work.

If I had to give one good reason to relist wolves on the endangered species list, it would be because they are a keystone species. Full stop. Their reintroduction will save the forest. The Native Americans knew it, and we forgot it and nearly lost all the wooded land. Now it's time to bring them back by protecting them as a vital part of nature. Join me in the campaign to save all animals but particularly the species central to the health of our woodlands.

Forget wolves. We're charismatic megafauna apex predators

• Wolves are a critical Keystone Species in a healthy ecosystem | Wolf Conservation Center

Wolves: A Critical Keystone Species

Nature knows best. Bring back the animals.

An ecosystem is a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment. It includes all of the living things interacting with each other and non-living environments (weather, earth, sun, soil, climate, atmosphere) in a given area. In an ecosystem, all species rely on each other, and each organism has its’ own niche or role to play. A keystone species is a plant or animal that plays a disproportionately large role in the ecosystem – impacting both the prevalence and population levels of other species within their community. More

How wolves, apex predators, change and can save rivers

The only good wolf is a wolf that doesn't mess with my livestock

• Wolves, A Keystone Species - Living with Wolves
• The Importance of Wolves | California Wolf Center
• The surprising role of gray wolves in ecosystem dynamics | ASU News
• Wolves: A Violent Past and a Promising Future for a Vital Keystone Species
• Celebrating National Wolf Awareness Week: Honoring these essential keystone species | Born Free USA

Int'l Day of Forests (March 21)

The call of the wild, the lure of the quiet, what causes city people to venture into the woods?

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Forests welcome the spring

It must be the first full day of spring because we are honoring the proudest members of Nature, the trees. Since the original towering tree, which mycologist Paul Stamets is sure was a giant mushroom on a primordial earth, trees have been the charismatic megaflora of the world.

Their diversity is stunning, and their size varies from the time they used silica instead of carbon (and left mountain size stumps all over the world) until today when the oldest and largest are on the Island of California, one a bristlecone pine named Methuselah out near US 395 by Bishop on the way to Death Valley, the other a redwood in Northern California they are trying to fence off from tourists. The exact location of each is kept secret but is said to be possible to find with a search.

• A Journey Through the World's Oldest Forests (Hunter Robinson) Forests have stood the test of time, witnessing millennia of change, (d)evolution, and human history. Some of the world's oldest forests date back millions -- even hundreds of millions -- of years, preserving an incredible glimpse into Earth's prehistoric past. These ancient woodlands are home to towering trees, rare wildlife, and ecosystems that have remained virtually unchanged for centuries. From the towering redwoods of California to the misty, primeval jungles of Malaysia, here's a journey through the world's oldest forests, where nature tells the story of time itself.

Why do Buddhists care so much about trees?

Thai Theravada Forest Tradition

Buddhism is a "forest tradition." It started there with the future Buddha, the Bodhisatta (Prince Siddhattha Gotama or Siddhartha Gautama, soon to become the Buddha or "Awakened One"), under a big sal tree. That is where he was reborn in the womb of Maya, who was on her way to see her parents for the delivery. But it came in a garden grove under a sturdy sal (sala) tree. (Why a sal tree? The lore of the Salabhanjika that might explain that).

Born in a garden grove of trees in Lumbini

That newly reborn child, coming down from the Tusita world to pursue enlightenment, made good on his mission decades later by leaving his palace and life of privilege, taking up yoga and meditation with Yogi Āḷāra Kālāma and Yogi Uddaka Rāmaputta until he set off on his own.

He was followed by a group of Five Ascetics (Kondañña, Assaji, Bhaddiya, Vappa, and Mahānāma), until he left them for a big banyan tree so that he could make his own way alone, which didn't work out but which saved his life thanks to the intercession of a milkmaid named Sujata, who offered the wandering ascetic Siddhartha solid food, mistaking him for the spirit of the tree he was at that time sitting under in the forest.

The Wandering Ascetic Siddhartha, the Buddha

Regaining his strength under Sujata and her servant's care, he abandoned severe asceticism as useless for achieving actual enlightenment and liberation. (They may help in other traditions, but that is because those traditions do not have as stringent a definition as to what constitutes real awakening and freedom). He set off in search of another tree, the now famous Bodhi Tree (Ficus religiosa), the oldest documented tree in the world. Under it Siddhartha strived to enter the meditative absorptions, bring them to perfection of samadhi and then practiced for insight (what Buddhism in the Commentaries came to call vipassana). The combination of calm and insight was the Middle Path of mental purification the Bodhisattva ("Being bent on enlightenment") had been searching for on his quest for enlightenment that had taken nearly seven years.

• Ending six years of severe asceticism, his body emaciated appearance led Sujata to believe he was the tree-spirit (bhumi-deva, dryad) who had granted her wish. She thanked him with enough nourishment to cultivate the Middle Way, develop meditative absorption (jhana), and attain enlightenment or bodhi, thereafter becoming known as the "Enlightened One" or the Buddha.

When 45 years of teaching the Middle Way and bringing the Dhamma (knowledge of the path to enlightenment) back into the world, the Buddha relinquished the will to live on. He decided to hike to Kushinagar, where he found twin sal trees to recline into nirvana, closing out an 80-year-long life after countless rebirths as the Bodhisatta.

• List of places where Gautama Buddha stayed (in the forest): Bamboo Grove, Jeta's Grove, Vulture Peak (surrounded by the Rajgir forest), and so on

Passing into final nirvana between sal trees

For 45 years the Buddha remained a wandering ascetic (shramana), abiding in forest groves rather than accepting other more luxurious lodgings offered to him. When he trained nuns, monks, novices, and lay people, he often recommended they find a quiet place where they would not be disturbed by noise and other people. Here they could cultivate the Middle Path, avoiding extremes. Here they could realize the ultimate truth. Here they could see and experience for themselves that what the Buddha taught did not depend on the Buddha to be considered "Truth." It could be objectively verified. Here, where? The forest, woods, or a pleasant garden under a portable mosquito net.

• Dhr. Seven, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Pat Macpherson, Wisdom Quarterly

LA hike: last moonlight walk of year

At the top of the walk there's a big waterfall.

Join us on Friday the 13th for the final moonlight walk (easy hike) of the year. Mindfulness means paying attention to the present moment rather than projecting an interpretation or reacting to it (with liking, disliking, or confusion). This walk in nature is a beautiful opportunity to practice while the weather cools and the company is lovely.

Stay on the trail, with others, and docent guide

WHAT HAPPENED? The crowd gathered, about 35 in all, and we plunged into the woods. The moon was out and visible as was the smoke from the fires to the east. We split into groups to see the native plants and walk mindfully, aware of all our senses to identify edible and medicinal plants, to consider survival tactics of keeping warm, hydrated, safe, and fed. The Eaton Canyon area is one of the most visited among locals but is less known around town. It's no Griffith Park, Runyon Canyon, or East Fork in Azusa. We explored Native American plant knowledge and lore, the Buddhist principles of mindfulness (sati) and calm, deep listening and remaining joyful in overwhelming times. There was a great deal of conversation, friend making, nature appreciation, and snacks at the end. Although this was the last "moonlight walk" until May of next year, there are ongoing monthly "plant walk" every third Sunday of the month from 10:00-11:30 am. Just bring sturdy shoes, hat, camera, and a water bottle. Walk begins inside the EC Nature Center. (And while this location will be closed during Tuesday (9/17/24) night's full moon, there are nearby trails that will be wide open for the experience, such as Cobb Estate up to White City.

• Mount Lowe (up Lake Ave) via Cobb Estate (AllTrails.com)
• Moonlight Hikes with Meetup groups to go in good company 
• What is the moon phase today? Lunar phases 2024 (space.com)

Event details

Once a month on Friday closest to the full moon, come to Pasadena for Moonlight Walk: Meet at 7:00 pm at the Eaton Wash Nature Center (ECNC) for a guided docent-led walk in groups of up to 15 each with as many groups as are needed, docents permitting.

(Five to seven groups is usual for this popular adventure ($2.00 supports ECNC).

• WHAT: Guided Moonlight Walk
• WHEN: Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, 7:00 pm
• WHERE: ECNC, 1750 N. Altadena Dr.
• Pasadena, LA County, California 91107
• PHONE: (626) 398-5420
• EMAIL: ecncag@gmail.com

FREE to RSVP:

• Disclosure Project (LA)
• PasaDharma (Foothills)
• Nature Center (Valley)

Other outdoor meetings

Friday nights closest to the full moon at 7:00 pm

CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY: San Gabriel Mountains Chapter Meetings are held the fourth Thursday of the month (except for Nov. and Dec.) at 7:30 pm in the Eaton Canyon Nature Center Auditorium. Website: cnps-sgm.org

PASADENA GROUP SIERRA CLUB: Monthly program meetings are held on most first Wednesdays of each month at 7:30 pm in the Eaton Canyon Nature Center auditorium. Website: sierraclub.org/angeles/pasadena

• DETAILS: ECNCA.org - Eaton Canyon Nature Center Associates | A Zoological, botanical, and geological nature preserve
• Calendar | ECNCA - Saturday Festival of Nature, tabling, talks, and more: Eaton Canyon Nature Center Associates
• Brenda, Robert, Dan (ECNCA.org); Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Dhr. Seven, Xochitl (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Cali burns: Mt. Baldy Zen Center at risk

Leonard Cohen was a Zen monk on Mt. Baldy

While the Line Fire continues to burn over 28,000 acres on Monday night in the San Bernardino Mountains, the Bridge Fire has scorched more than 34,000 acres in the Angeles National Forest.

• The Mount Baldy Zen Center (mbzc.org)
• What's the Mount Baldy Zen Center?
• Wellness Retreat | THE LIFTS @ MT BALDY (mtbaldyresort.com)

Tadasana Yoga Retreat on Mt. Baldy

The Bridge Fire was first reported at 2:00 pm Sunday at East Fork Road near Glendora Mountain Road [in the San Gabriel Mountains].

Within a few hours, the brush fire erupted to about 800 acres, Angeles National Forest officials reported.

By Tuesday evening, CAL FIRE reported the flames had blackened more than 34,240 acres. On Sunday night, mandatory evacuation orders were issued north of [the City of] Azusa in the East Fork communities of Camp Williams Resort and the River Community. More: Bridge Fire California, Mt. Baldy, Angeles National Forest (vvdailypress.com)

• Fire explodes: 47,904 acres burn on Mount Baldy, Wrightwood, evacuation orders issued
• Latest news: Police issue evacuation order for Mt. Baldy (aka Mt. San Antonio)
• Ski Area Management (SAM): Wildfires threaten Mountain High, Mt. Baldy, and others across the West
• Line Fire in San Bernardino County: Sheriff provides new details on arrest of white arson suspect (ABC7 Los Angeles)
• SoCal fires grow, Cali Gov. Newsom declares emergency, structures destroyed: Airport Fire in OC, Line Fire near Highland, Bridge Fire in Azusa
• Airport Fire in Orange County's Trabuco Canyon area spreads to more than 23,000 acres, homes destroyed near Lake Elsinore
• KTLA 5, Los Angeles, 9/12/24; Victor Ville Daily Press, 9/11/24; Eds., Wisdom Quarterly

Trees: one country gaining forests (video)

Where's the best place to mediate? The forest. But be protected: practice metta first.

Why does this forest look like a fingerprint?

(Vox) Team Vox set out to solve why a forest in the middle of Uruguay, South America, looks like a fingerprint and other odd patterns — and wound up finding something much bigger.

• The most famous Buddhist tree in the world
• The oldest trees in the world live in California
• The largest single stem tree: General Sherman

They're just trees. What's the big deal?

Deep in the geographic center of Uruguay, there’s a peculiar group of trees just a few kilometers down the road from the small town of San Gregorio de Polanco.

From the ground, it's not particularly notable. But from above, from a bird or drone's eye view (and particularly on Google Earth), the view is mind-boggling:

Hundreds of trees are arranged in perfect concentric arcs, all spiraling toward the center. Together, they look remarkably like a human fingerprint.

When the team first saw this forest in a Reddit post, it was fascinated.

• Why had the trees been arranged in this shape?
• Who planted them there?
• And why — when one zooms out on satellite view — was the entire country of Uruguay covered in similar-looking forests?

To answer that question, the team went straight to the source: interviewing locals, experts, and people whose lives have been shaped by a transformed landscape and economy.

Further reading

• Read the text of the original “forestry law”: impo.com.uy/bases/leyes/1...
• Read some of Alexandra’s work on afforestation and wildlife: sciencedirect.com/science...
• Eilís O’Neill has a great feature in the Nation on Uruguay’s forestry industry: thenation.com/article/arc...
• More stories about residents affected by the railway construction: yle.fi/a/3-11756418
• Subscribe to channel: goo.gl/0bsAjO

ABOUT: Vox.com is a news website that helps cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Check out http://www.vox.com. Watch full video catalog: http://goo.gl/IZONyE. Follow Vox on Facebook: http://goo.gl/U2g06o or Twitter: http://goo.gl/XFrZ5H.

• Vox.com, May 9, 2024; Xochitl, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

International Day of Forests: Hooray for Trees

International Day of Forests images (bing.com)

International Day of Forests, March 21, 2024 (bing.com)

If we could thank Sujata, we would. We can't. But we can thank the trees and the descendant of one in particular. It lives in Sri Lanka, and we have seen it. It's descendent is back in India.

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Awakening under a tree

Buddhism began in the forest -- the woods, the jungle, the wild wilderness -- when the ascetic Siddhartha had had it with the company of yogis and set off to practice more extreme austerities alone in breathtaking groves.

Five fellow wandering ascetics followed him. He increased his penance, punished the body (for what turned out to be the mind's doings) and fell flat on his face while going to pee. It was no way to live. He ate less and less, shriveled up, and stopped taking air. Not breathing, air (and life-giving prana) entered through his ears. He fainted and fell to the forest floor exhausted.

• International Day of Forests 2024: New solutions for a better world (msn.com)

How did you do it? We thought you gave up!

Invisible woodland fairies (bhumi-devas), seeing him, said to each other that they would feed him their food through his pores. He overheard them and refused, thinking it would be a form of lying if others thought he was fasting but was secretly being fed manna (or whatever energy sources it is those devas ate). He abandoned his companions and tucked deeper into the woods to find a tree.

What is at the heart of a tree? Heartwood

Under a magnificent big sal tree, he determined to make a breakthrough. But it didn't work. Instead, a woman named Sujata came and offered him food. He accepted it from her hand, her maidservant looking on. They thought he was a dryad, the spirit of that tree manifesting in human form to receive their offering of gratitude. Sujata had wished on the tree to become pregnant, and it had worked. She and her servant had prepared the special offering as a thank you.

Massive Japanese Buddha built in Bodh Gaya

Bringing him home in a barrel, according to some versions of the story, they nursed him back to health to help him regain his strength. His fellow ascetics turned their back on him for these "sins" -- talking to females, receiving things from their hands, breaking his fast, reverting to a life of luxury and ease. Siddhartha was washed up among the forest tradition of spiritual seekers.

Restored to health, he returned to the woods and found another tree, a nearly 35-year-old pipal tree (Ficus religiosa), enormous with beautiful flowers soon to bear tiny figs.

Trees are easy to love and respond well = vibes.

It was spring, the month of May, his birthday approaching. We know this because that tree was born on the same day he was (Vesak, the full moon day in the month of Vesakha or May) and came to be the most revered tree in the world, the original Bodhi tree. It is the oldest documented tree in the world, even if California has noble bristlecone pines that are much older, according to scientific tests (the counting of rings) rather than human records.

This place is in what is now called Bodh Gaya in Bihar, India, at that time just a breathtaking grove near a river in the Kingdom of Magadha. The area came to be called the state of Bihar because there sprouted up so many viharas, Buddhist monastic complexes, for the many male and female wandering ascetics who came to join his sangha and find the same enlightenment. The specific location is now called "Enlightenment Grove" (Bodhi Gaya), a Buddhist pilgrimage destination of great importance, site of the Maha Bodhi Vihar or "Temple of the Great Awakening."

This is a descendent of the original Bodhi tree the Buddha sat under when he gained enlightened and first touched nirvana. The original parent tree was felled maliciously by marauding Muslims angry that people were venerating a tree.

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The Maha Bodhi Temple built next to the tree

He ordained followers of the Path, turning them from the home-bound life into wandering ascetics of the left-home life. They did not live anywhere but wandered through forests for meditation and towns for alms, walking far from their former homes to shake any sense of parochialism, leaving their family ties and petty involvements to dedicate themselves to realizing the ultimate truths. Buddhism began as a forest tradition in the refuge of the woods.

It didn't end there with so many events happening in this forest or that after long foot journeys through the woods. When, 45 years later, it was time to call it a life and be done with rebirth, the Buddha and his attendant monk, Ananda, set off for the woods, into the middle of nowhere (near modern-day Gorakhpur, India, near the border with Nepal). When Ananda understood that the end was near, he asked the Buddha to get out of there and go to a big kingdom instead of the boondocks of Kushinagar.

The Buddha responded that what was now a wilderness was in ancient times a great city and state. Moreover, it was at the crossroads, a no man's land, of various kingdoms. In this way, no one could claim his body. Instead, it was partitioned, and stupas (burial mounds) were built to house the relics (shariras) by various kings and even some devas from space.

When it came time for the Buddha to lay down the burden, he walked a long way into the wood (now Kushinagar) and looking for a suitable place, he saw twin sal trees and reclined between them to enter final nirvana. His last act was entering the absorptions (as if he were visiting those worlds corresponding to those meditative states to take his leave of them just as he was doing for the human plane).

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  The Awakened One, the Buddha Gautama

  DETAILS, DETAILS: Nirvana is achieved only while alive. Glimpsing it is called stream entry, the first stage of enlightenment. There are further stages, traditionally four but actually there are more. Stream enterers at most must endure up to seven more rebirths. But there are different kinds of stream enterers, as defined in the Path of Freedom (Vimutti Magga). That number of rebirths gradually declines with progress until it is one more rebirth. That is the second traditional stage, the once returner, which refers to more rebirth on the human plane. But one might, by not laying down the burden and achieving full enlightenment in that life, would be reborn again but now in the rarefied Pure Abodes and attain final liberation there. The next stage is the non-returner, who will never be reborn anywhere but the Pure Abodes and attain final liberation there. The final stage is full enlightenment, the arhat (arahant), achieved while living, even in this very life. At that point one is done with all rebirth and suffering. Although, due to the limits of language, this is called "full" enlightenment, it is not actually the highest form of enlightenment. There are two superior forms, which are extremely rare. In essence, all enlightenment entails full enlightenment, it's just a matter of when: within seven rebirths, within two rebirths, within one rebirth, here and now with no further rebirth at all. The two superior forms are supreme enlightenment (samma-sam-bodhi) with the power to teach and supreme enlightenment without that ability (pacceka-buddhahood). What does a Buddha know that an arhat does not? Everything essential for final liberation is present in all three kinds of "full" enlightenment. So one way we like to think of it is that there are three kinds of buddhas: Supreme Buddhas, Silent Buddhas, and Personal Buddhas, that is, Self-Awakened Teachers, Self-Awakened Non-Teachers, and Enlightened Disciples. We can become any one of these; however, Silent Buddhas are extremely rare and Supreme Buddhas are so extraordinarily rare that they arise occur in a world-system (cakkavala) a few or fewer times in an aeon (kalpa). If we had forever, and in a sense we do, we might choose to be just like the Buddha and know all that he knew. We do not have forever, in another (in an ultimate) sense, because we do not even have two consecutive moments to string together, such is the radical impermanence (anicca) of the universe. There is tremendous suffering (dukkha) in choosing the path of supreme awakening with or without the ability to teach the path for others to awaken -- which entails establishing the Dharma in the world again and establishing a fourfold noble sangha, of male and female monastics and lay disciples who have awakened to at least the first stage. That is what "noble" (aryan) means -- having experienced a "change of lineage" (gotrabhu), becoming one of the "noble ones." Many think this refers only to buddhas or only to arhats. It, in fact, includes all of those who by way of insight have awakened to the Truth and glimpsed nirvana. For having glimpsed it, one might re-experience that ultimate bliss of the deathless in life many times over, spontaneously, confirming that the path-and-fruits (magga-phala) have been realized. This is not something one would wait for death to know, because death always entails rebirth until one makes an end of all further rebirth and suffering by the path culminating in arhatship or "full" enlightenment.
• Scientists find structure older than humanity
• Ancient humans made expeditions to this 750,000-year-old workshop
• TEXT: Dhr. Seven; Pat Macpherson and Amber Larson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly