The king comes to see the Buddha

Seated Buddha of the Future depicted as Central Asian king: Bodhisattva Maitreya (wiki)

.

SUTRA: Kosala (2)

The forest-dwelling Buddha

On one occasion the Blessed One was staying in Sāvatthī at Jeta’s Grove, in The multi-millionaire’s Park. On that occasion King Pasenadi of Kosala [the capital of which is Savatthi] was returning from the war front, victorious in battle, his purpose achieved. The king set out for the park.

He traveled by carriage as far as the ground allowed then dismounted and entered the park by foot. On that occasion a number of monks were engaged in walking meditation in the open air.

King Pasenadi approached them and asked: “Venerable sirs, where is the Blessed One, the Arahant, the Supremely Enlightened One dwelling? For I wish to see him.”

“Great king, that is his dwelling, the one with the closed door. Approach it quietly. Without hurrying, enter the porch, clear your throat, and tap lightly on the bolt. The Blessed One will open the door for you.”

King Pasenadi did so, and the Blessed One opened the door. Then he entered, bowed at the Blessed One’s feet, and covered them with kisses and caresses, pronouncing his name:

The happy king meets the Buddha.

“I am King Pasenadi of Kosala, venerable sir, I am King Pasenadi of Kosala!”

“Great king, what reason do you have for showing such honor to this body, displaying such an offering of love and kindness?”

“Venerable, it is out of gratitude and thankfulness that I show supreme honor toward the Blessed One and display such an offering of love and kindness to him.

(1) “For, venerable, the Blessed One is practicing for the benefit of many, for the happiness of many; he has established many in the ennobling (enlightening) method, that is, in the way of the good Dhamma (Doctrine), in the way of the wholesome Dhamma. This is one reason I show supreme honor toward the Blessed One and display such an offering of love and kindness to him.

Buddha as Central Asian king

(2) “Venerable, the Blessed One is virtuous, of mature conduct (behavior), of noble (enlightened and royal) conduct, of wholesome conduct, possessing wholesome conduct. This is another reason….

(3) “Venerable, for a long time the Blessed One has been a forest-dweller who resorts to remote lodgings in forests and jungle groves. Since that is so, this is another reason….

(4) “Venerable, the Blessed One is content with any kind of robe, alms food, lodging, and medicines and provisions for the sick. This is another reason….

(5) “Venerable, the Blessed One is [enlightened and therefore] worthy of gifts, worthy of hospitality, worthy of offerings, worthy of reverential salutation, an unsurpassed field of merit for the world. This is another reason….

(6) “Venerable, the Blessed One gets to hear at will, without trouble or difficulty, talk concerned with the austere life that leads to the elimination of defilements, that is conducive to opening up the heart, that is, talk on fewness of desires, on contentment, on solitude (withdrawal), on not getting bound up with others, on arousing energy, on virtuous conduct, on concentration (stillness), on wisdom, on liberation, on direct knowledge and vision of liberation. This is another reason….

(7) “Venerable, the Blessed One gains at will, without trouble or difficulty, the four meditative absorptions (jhānas) that constitute the 'higher mind' and are pleasant abodes in this very life. This is another reason….

Death behind rebirth, even in heaven

(8) “Venerable, the Blessed One recollects manifold rebirths (past lives, abodes), that is, one birth, two births, three births, four births, five births, ten births, 20 births, 30 births, 40 births, 50 births, 100 births, 1,000 births, 100,000 births, many aeons of world-dissolution, many aeons of world-evolution, many aeons of world-dissolution and world-evolution thus: ‘There I was so named, of such a clan, with such an appearance, such was my food, such my experience of pleasure and pain, such my lifespan; passing away from there, I was reborn (reappeared) elsewhere, and there too I was so named, of such a clan, with such an appearance, such was my food, such my experience of pleasure and pain, such my lifespan; passing away from there, I was reborn here.’ Thus he recollects his manifold rebirths with their aspects and details. Since that is so, this is another reason….

When the 31 Planes of Existence are condensed into just six categories, we get this depiction

.

Countless worlds in 31 general categories

(9) “Venerable, with the divine eye, which is purified and surpasses the human, the Blessed One sees beings passing away and being reborn, inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate, and he understands how beings fare in accordance with their karma (deeds) thus: ‘These beings who engaged in misconduct by body, speech, and mind, who reviled the noble ones, held wrong views, and undertook karma based on wrong views, with the breakup of the body, after death, have been reborn in the plane of misery, in a bad destination, in the lower world, in hells, whereas these beings who engaged in skillful conduct by body, speech, and mind, who did not revile the noble ones, who held right views, and undertook karma based on right views, with the breakup of the body, after death, have been reborn in a fortunate destination, even in a heavenly world.’ Thus with the divine eye, which is purified and surpasses the human, he sees beings passing away and being reborn, inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate, and he understands how beings fare in accordance with their karma. Since that is so, this is another reason….

(10) “Venerable, with the destruction of the taints, the Blessed One has realized for himself with direct knowledge, in this very life, the taintless liberation of mind, liberation by wisdom, and having entered upon it, he dwells in it. Since that is so, this is another reason I show supreme honor toward the Blessed One and display such an offering of love and kindness to him.

“Now, venerable, we must be on our way. We are busy and have much to do.”

“As you see fit, great king, and at your own convenience.”

Then King Pasenadi of Kosala rose from his seat, paid homage to the Blessed One, circumambulated him, keeping his right side toward him in a mark of respect, and departed.

• Source: suttacentral.net
• Bhikkhu Bodhi (trans), Dutiyakosala Sutta (AN 10.30); Dhr. Seven (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

Burning Airlines Give You So Much More: Boeing

Brian Eno, "Burning Airlines Give You So Much More" (2004 digital remaster); Seth Auberon, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly; The Jimmy Dore Show; NBC News; KGW 8; CNN

LYRICS: When I got back home/ I found a message on the door/ Sweet Regina's gone to China cross-legged on the floor/ Of a burning [Boeing] jet that's smoothly flying/ Burning airlines give you so much more// How does she intend to live when she's in far Cathay?/ I somehow can't imagine her just planting rice all day/ Maybe she will do a bit of spying/ With micro-cameras hidden in her hair// I guess Regina's on the plane, a Newsweek on her knees/ While miles below her the curlews call from strangely stunted trees/ The painted sage sits just as though he's flying/ Regina's jet disturbs his wispy beard// When you reach Kyoto send a postcard if you can/ And please convey my fond regards to Chih-Hao's girl Yu-Lan/ I heard a rumour they were getting married/ But someone left the papers in Japan// Left them in Japan, left them in Japan/ Left them in Japan, left them in Japan/ Left them in Japan, left them in Japan/ Left them in Japan

Boeing cargo plane forced to make emergency landing after fire and "engine malfunction"

(NBC News) Jan. 19, 2024: An Atlas Air cargo flight caught on fire mid-air not long after takeoff and was forced to return to the Miami airport. All five people on board were uninjured. NBC News' Stephanie Gosk reports the FAA and NTSB are investigating. #EmergencyLanding #Boeing #Fire

Boeing's quality management failure explained 737-Max-9 door Jan. 24, 2024

(blancolirio) Jan. 24, 2024: LINKS: leehamnews.com/2024/01/15/unp... NYT: nytimes.com/interactive/2... ST: seattletimes.com/business...

I live better in Thailand than I did in US (CNBC)

Make It (CNBC via MSN.com); Pat Macpherson, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

VIDEO: I live better in Thailand than I did in the U.S. – Here's how much it costs (CNBC)

How police get away with their crimes

The Guardian, 6/12/20; former prosecutor David Henderson (newsweek.com, OPINION, 6/12/20); NBC News NY; Huff Post; South Park; Ashley Wells, Pat Macpherson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Qualified immunity is helping police get away with murder — and so are prosecutors

Prosecutor David Henderson

I vividly remember the first time I saw a white woman "Maya," whose name is changed here to protect her privacy, with her two black eyes at the hands of the San Antonio Police Department.

One eye was so beaten, it could no longer open. Responding to a 911 call from a bar that had overserved her, three male police officers allege that Maya had become unruly.

During the arrest, they cuffed her hands, shackled her legs, then delivered multiple bone-breaking blows to her head while straddling her chest.

[Sexual? Vengeful? Sadistic?] The police officers claimed their violence was necessary "for everyone's safety." In 2007, there were no police body cameras to capture the beating. It was her word against theirs.

Here's how police "handle" and lie about an 11-year-old girl at school.
You're free to resign, avoid prosecution, and get hired by other agency.

We have to respect Cartman's authority, or else.

The details are horrifying, and the only reason why we even know them is because Maya is white. Had she been black, like me, things likely would have been even worse.

At the time, I was a young prosecutor at the Bexar County District Attorney's Office in Texas. Police brutality was a regular occurrence. Sadly, years later, it is no better.

Given the normalized culture of violence and the frequency of violent acts on civilians in the police force, Maya's case didn't shock me. Ultimately, no officer was charged. I was left thinking: If the police will do this to a white woman, what will they do to someone who looks like me?

The cases of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and many other others we do not know provide a heart-wrenching answer to that question. And in the case of Mr. Floyd, we can watch the answer in a viral video.

I left my job as a prosecutor to become a civil rights lawyer, so I see even more clearly how and why police have exploited legal doctrine and the system to shield themselves from any accountability for criminal acts (felonies) of brutalizing their own neighbors and communities.

"Qualified immunity"

Cops and courts do what?

Police hide behind a nebulous doctrine that protects them from prosecution -- so long as their acts of violence do not violate "clearly established law." What's that?

Qualified immunity -- which is a judicial doctrine not a law, given that it was invented by the Supreme Court -- holds that victims cannot sue police for excessive force if victims can't find a nearly identical case to theirs that previously resulted in prosecution.

[Nearly no cases previously resulted in prosecution, so fewer and fewer will in the future. Is that what the Supreme Court was hoping for?]

Unsure of what that actually means? This ambiguity is the point.

Nationwide protests have for decades (or centuries) demanded justice so that something be done about systemic and, to a lesser degree, interpersonal racism.

(HuffPost) How many times will felons in uniform act with impunity?

Social activists and political leaders are finally drawing attention to this harmful and opaque doctrine that continues to rob victims and their families of justice.

More than 400 civil rights organizations recently urged congressional leaders to end [the fiction of] "qualified immunity" protections, given that it "has been interpreted by courts so broadly that it allows officers to engage in unconstitutional acts with impunity."

It's just for show! We love how policing's done.

One week later, congressional Democrats introduced a bill that would eliminate the doctrine.

This is a significant step forward, but it's only one piece of a complex, multifaceted puzzle that enables and defends police brutality. A comprehensive review and reform of all law enforcement practices, policies and patterns is imperative to reducing -- and eventually eliminating -- police violence.

[They still have a lot more abusing and killing before we get there.]

The universal police attitude is "Comply now, complain later." If an arrested person does not obey any officer's command, regardless of whether the command is illegal or unjustified, police often feel entitled to respond violently and severely, in disproportion to the matter.

Police may say they're sensitive, but isn't it still all about macho culture?

[Perhaps this is why disrespect from blacks and browns and females is dealt with so harshly, as implicit bias, racism, sexism, and machismo come into play.]

The darker a person's skin, the more violently police typically respond. And to compound the problem, officers then get leeway to [falsely] charge arrestees they assault with "resisting arrest."

I witnessed how prosecutors, who routinely work with the police and often have personal relationships with them, are incentivized to aggressively pursue cases where police officers are the accusers and complainants.

Floyd was just the fuse. Police abuse is the TNT

Successful criminal prosecutions nullify civil lawsuits against police, which is what happened in Maya's case. More

ABOUT: David Henderson is a civil rights attorney and former prosecutor who currently lives in Dallas, Texas (Twitter handle @OakCliffLawyer). The views expressed in this article are those of the author and Wisdom Quarterly but not necessarily the original publisher, Newsweek. We stand behind him.

RIP: Zen and Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

PRI's The World (pri.org); Dhr. Seven, Seth Auberon, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Robert M. Pirsig, author of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, dies (AFP)

.

Jonathan Davis of Korn famously noted that there are "dead bodies everywhere, dead bodies everywhere." And Chris Barnes of Cannibal Corpse infamously delighted that "They're all dead, they're all dead, they're all dead." Death is all around. We ignore it. Then someone writes a book, and suddenly it's in our face. The lesson? It's better to travel than arrive. Zen says, Be where you are, or as Ram Dass phrased it, "Be here now."
 

HEADLINE: Robert Pirsig, author of the iconic Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, dies
AFP via PRI.org

“The real cycle you're working on is a cycle called yourself," Robert Pirsig wrote in his 1974 novel.

Robert Pirsig, author of the iconic book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, has died at the age of 88, U.S. media is reporting today.

Despite its title, the book published in 1974 to rave reviews and explosive popularity is more a reflection on metaphysics and existential philosophy than a book on how to fix a motorbike.

 

It has sold around five million copies around the world. Pirsig died at his home in Maine on Monday, news reports said.

(BBC) Interview with and about Pirsig on Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

 

Over 5 million copies sold, paperback

The book is a first person narrative [a kind of meditation or contemplation rather than the deeper Buddhist sense of absorption (jhana) and insight-practice (vipassana)] that draws on a 17-day motorcycle trip that Pirsig took across the US in 1968 with his 11-year-old son Chris.
 

In the book Pirsig speaks under the name Phaedrus, one of the characters in Plato's Dialogues. He reflects among other things on what should be essential to people as they go about living their lives.

Pirsig's son died in 1979 after being stabbed outside a Zen center that he frequented in San Francisco.

 

Pirsig, a biochemist by training, published in 1991 another novel that was less successful: Lila: An Inquiry Into Morals. Source

Zen Buddhist Pirsig interviewed on NPR, 1974

"What is the road less traveled?" asked American poet Robert Frost. Pirsig answered.

(NPR) Pirsig interview, July 12, 1974 -- the year the book came out. Written by former English teacher while working writing boring computer manuals. It took four years to write, and it was rejected by more than 100 publishers.

• Baseball player Aaron Hernandez's gay 22-year-old prison lover Kyle Kennedy was the last to see him before "suicide"
• Spice Girl's 7-year long lesbian secret: Mel B and German Nanny Lorraine let husband Belafonte watch and film sometimes
• "Abused wife" Mel B skips ex-husband's visitation hearing, happily goes to beauty salon instead
• Tenn. teen's mom abused her before teacher ran off with her
• Patagonia brand was built on a strategy (The New Yorker)

World Health/Happiness Statistics Released

Elaine Ganley (AP, 5-4-09, HuffingtonPost.com)

French dining and sleeping most (destination360.com)

 

PARIS — The French are living up to their image as lovers of food and can add a new love to the mix, sleep, according to a survey released Monday. In fact, the French excel at the two leisure activities, spending more time at table and in bed than many other nations.

The Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development looked at the use of leisure time among 18 of its 30 member countries.

Norwegians spend the most time at leisure, just over a quarter of their day, while at the low end, Mexicans spend just 16 percent of their time having fun.

The French still win in the sleeping and eating categories, spending on average nearly 9 hours a day in bed. For the French, leisure continues in the waking hours, with more than 2 hours a day spent eating and drinking — nearly twice as much time at the table as Americans, Canadians or Mexicans.

Americans also like their sleep, spending some 8.5 hours a day doing just that.

Despite the moderate amount of time Americans spend eating each day — about an hour and a quarter — U.S. obesity rates are the highest in the 30-member OECD with 34 percent of the American population with a Body Mass Index, or BMI, over the critical 30 mark. The lowest obesity rates are found in Korea, followed by Japan, with less than 4 percent of the population with a BMI over 30.

The Koreans followed by the Japanese clock in at the low end of the sleep spectrum, getting 7.8 hours a day with the Japanese not far behind.

The profiles on the use of leisure time were constructed by the OECD using 2006 data from the 18 member countries for which up to date surveys on use of time were available.

Television ranks high among leisure activities in Japan — where it takes up 55 percent of free time, compared to a low of 25 percent for New Zealanders.

The Turks are the most sociable population. They spend more than 35 percent of their time entertaining, compared to an OECD average of 11 percent. Source