What NORMAL, usual Russian neighborhood looks like
Buddhism in Russia (Snelling)
(Arisha in Russia) Buddhism is the third-largest religion in Russia, behind Christianity and Islam. As of 2025, it was practiced by approximately 1.4 million Buddhists, representing about 1.0% of the country’s total population [1].
In America we misuse the term "White Russian" as if that were the exception, when it is the largest of Russia's 93 ethnicities. Russia is massive and includes many indigenous peoples from Northern Europe to the Arctic Circle.
We have so many Russian ethnicities! (Eli)
Buddhism is considered one of Russia's traditional religions -- with the only indigenously Buddhist region in the world in Kalmykia -- and is legally a part of Russian historical heritage [2]. Russian dictator Vlad Lenin, a disaffected Christian who became a nominal/official communist-atheist, had at least one indigenously Buddhist relative.
I'm very Asian and 100% Russian
Historically, Buddhism was incorporated into Siberia in the early 17th century [3]. Besides the historical monastic traditions of the Buryats, the Kalmyks (Kalmykia being the only majority Buddhist republic in Europe), the Tuvans, and a part of the Evenki people (in Buryatia) [4], Buddhism is now spreading all over Russia, with many young ethnic Russian converts [5, 6].
Ancient Tartaria/Tartary was probably in Russia.
The main form of Buddhism in Russia is Vajrayana, particularly the Gelukpa school of Tibetan Buddhism, to which the Dalai Lama belongs, informally a tradition known as the "Yellow Hats" [6, 7] with other minority Tibetan and non-Tibetan Buddhist schools, such as the Mongolian.
Although Tibetan Buddhism is most often associated with Tibet, it spread into Mongolia. Via Mongolia, Buddhism spread into Siberia before spreading to the rest of Russia.
In the early 20th century, the famous Datsan Gunzechoinei in Saint Petersburg (formerly Leningrad) was the northernmost Buddhist temple in Russia. More
(American Vintage Tales) Nobody realized what the "Chocolate Factory" was hiding, not even sassy, greedy, entitled Veruca Salt. It becomes clear that this whole franchise is not about the kids. Like Gilligan's Island, it's really a morality play about human archetypes and personifications of the Seven Deadly Sins under a sweet and sinister examiner. That's why it resonates so well.
The fifth of the Five Precepts the Buddha advised humans to adopt is to abstain from intoxicants that occasion heedlessness such as alcohol, drugs, and such substances [12, 13].
The Five Precepts (guidelines for morality, virtue, human ethics, harmlessness, ahimsa) are called pañca-sīla, binding on all Buddhist laypeople. They are to abstain and refrain from:
killing any living being
stealing (taking what is not given)
sexual misconduct
false speech (which means speaking falsehoods or lying and malicious speech, harsh speech, and frivolous speech or "animal talk"* mislabeled as gossip)
the use of intoxicants (such as beer and spirits or surāmeraya).
Early Buddhist texts nearly always condemn alcohol as do Chinese Buddhist later post-canonical texts (of the Mahayana tradition).
Smoking is sometimes also included here.
In modern times, traditional Buddhist countries have seen revival movements to promote the Five Precepts, the least good karma if we hope to ever be reborn on the human plane again and avoid the subhuman planes.
In the West, the precepts play a major role in Buddhist organizations. They have also been integrated into mindfulness training programs -- though many modern "mindfulness" specialists, having changed the definition of "mindfulness" (which the Buddha called sati) to something that better suits them -- do not support this because of the precepts' spiritual religious import.
Lastly, many conflict prevention programs make use of the precepts. More
What do we do when drinking other than "animal talk"?
Back off, Bich! - Don't call me 'bich,' Birdbrain!
*What is "animal talk"? It is lowly speech, literally "beastly talk," the name the sutras (ancient texts) give for the following: "Talk about:
We look forward to National Chocolate with Almonds Day when it pops up on our calendar every July 8 (NATIONAL CHOCOLATE WITH ALMONDS DAY, July 8, 2025) and we celebrate one of the world’s most popular confections.
We at NT confess, this national day is not just another day we circle on our calendar. We also add this one to our to-do list for today so we don’t miss out. We know we really don’t need a special day on the calendar to indulge in one of our favorite guilty pleasures.
Mexico invented chocolate (Aztec Codex)
But doesn’t having a day on the calendar to celebrate such a heavenly confection help negate the guilty part of a guilty pleasure? We think so.
Today, we are indulging unashamedly because chocolate [Theobroma cacao fruit seeds or nibs] and almonds are incredibly satisfying. This makes us wonder if the reason we crave chocolate with almonds and find the combination so satisfying is because our bodies know what is good for us [like the "gods" or theo knew, presumably because they were advanced alien life forms looking for high antioxidant foods].
[Dark] Chocolate and almonds both are separately documented to have heart health benefits. More
Fat Thursday (French Jeudi Gras, not to be confused with next week's Maundy Thursday, ahead of Mardi Gras) on the Catholic Calendar takes place on the Thursday ahead of Ash(Tilaka) Wednesday (the official start of Lent) in February, right before the 40-day period of Lent. That’s February 27 this year.
And yes, it’s exactly what readers may be thinking — a time to indulge. Clear the kitchen and pantry in preparation for FASTING. That’s what Lent is all about, abnegation, austerity, asceticism as watered down as can be and still called a sacrifice and abstention.
I'm going to kill this Lamb (of God) and eat him
Mardi Gras ("Fat Tuesday") is coming, the time of year all Catholics become ducks and stuff themselves(Foie Gras)until, loving the Lamb of God, they demand Veal(made of baby Cow) and then go back to eating baby Lambs, chopped
As the lean season of Lent draws near, food becomes central to many peoples’ thoughts. There’s nothing like a fast (intentional cleansing starvation) to get us thinking about food, particularly those forbidden treats loaded with calorific ickiness.
If donuts were the first thing that came to mind, then that mind is on the right track because this holiday, originating in Catholic Poland, is about stuffing our faces with Polish donuts, known as pączki, and a few other exotically named sweet treats. Pancakes come to mind.
Every Fatso knows calories don't count today.
History of Fat Thursday
Though the exact origin of how this holiday came to be founded is unknown [though the eating up of all the forbidden foodstuffs of the next forty days seems like a pretty convincing explanation], the Polish tradition of consuming donuts is very much known. It dates as far back as the 1500s.
On the religious side of things, Fat Thursday is the last hurrah before the fasting period of Lent, wherein devout Catholics give up many indulgences in the 40 days leading up to Easter, the pagan Day of Rebirth (Resurrection and fertility), when the world springs back to green life after winter.
Roman Catholicism is as far from Christ's message as Protestantism
Traditionally, Catholics abstain from meat and alcohol during this period, as the idea is to give up things one is addicted to, loves, abuses, can’t give up even though one knows one should, in order to focus on the meaning of Easter.
Fat Thursday is known as Tłusty Czwartek in Poland. For those who doubt, the "fat" part of the name refers to the fried sugar crust of different types of pączki (pronounced \poonch-key\ or \pots-ski\) consumed by Poles all over the European country.
The Pope is dying, and all we're worried about is will he get his Angel Wings? We'll get ours.
The most traditional form of pączki is a fluffy donut filled with rosehip jam and dusted with powdered white sugar that looks like cocaine and the contents of a bloody nose on toast.
However, there are many variations now when it comes to fillings. Essentially, this day serves a dual purpose, as it allows Poles to indulge guilt-free in their favorite confectionery, while also carrying a religious meaning.
Rio Carnaval: Fat Tuesday in Brazil: Carnival in Rio (Portuguese Carnaval do Rio de Janeiro) is a festival held every year before Lent that is considered the biggest (and probably the sexiest and most decadent) celebration of Carnival in the world, with two million people per day on the streets, first celebrated in 1723 (wiki).
Some even refer to the day as International Polish Donut Day, and the average Pole will eat two or three today, which translates to about 1,050 empty calories (if anyone is counting, though we’re not)!
If the thought of consuming donuts scares an eater (because of the gluten, fried oil, toxic white sugar, strange fillings, rancidity and carcinogenic acrylamides from heat exposure), the recommendation is to eat just one gluten-free one with a better sweetener (agave, coconut blossom powder, erythritol, monk fruit, birch xylitol, or herbal stevia, because not eating a donut on this day means bad luck for the rest of the year, according to fat Polish tradition.
Another traditional Polish dessert that is extremely popular on this day is faworki, in some places, also known as Angel Wings. Faworki are thin gluten dough ribbons, fried until crispy and sprinkled with powdered white sugar. More
National Day Today, 2/27/25; Recovering Catholic Madison, Ashley Wells, Crystal Quintero (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
In this audio, he shares his groundbreaking research into the treatment of "Long COVID," as well as how we can identify and eliminate toxins (krait snake venom proteins, heavy metals, nanobot technology) in the human body to heal properly.
Reflecting on the devastating impact of the pandemic (plandemic), Dr. Ardis notes that there are "7,000,000 people dead...and 1.6 to 1.9 million of that total came in the United States," which has less than 3 percent of the world's population.
His personal connection to the crisis began when he lost his father-in-law due to what he said was "a very ill-advised hospital protocol" involving the antiviral drug Remdesivir (which he dubbed "Run, death is near"), which he claims has a higher death rate than no treatment at all.
Dr. Ardis criticizes the commonplace narrative that COVID originated from a bat, suggesting instead that "labs like Wuhan are [purposely developing and] designing more deadly [gain of function] pathogens."
He also calls attention to the ongoing symptoms stemming from Long COVID, stating, "Millions around the world currently are battling ... trying to recover their own health."
He cites a January 2023 study where Long COVID patients wearing a 7-milligram nicotine patch for only six days experienced a complete disappearance of their symptoms, which include the loss of taste and smell, brain fog, and insomnia.
Natural plant nicotine (not cancerous, chemically-treated corporate cigarettes or other smoked or chewed tobacco products) is a healing herb.
Ozempic and Wegovy are Hila monster venom (a segment of protein in a sea of chemicals that will spur on "turbo cancer")
There is NO mRNA in the miracle Covid-19 vaccines from Pfizer and other Big Pharma firms, according to their own science, as they try to prove they are not responsible for people contracting the pandemic. So it was all a bunch of lies, and the goal of the "plandemic" was to get shots in arms at all costs, as people gave in to the terror
Further, the study found no dependency or adverse effects from the patches, he reports. Dr. Ardis also notes that smokers are less affected by COVID due to nicotine's binding to viral proteins, similar to venom proteins and peptides from snakes like the king cobra.
Dr. Ardis further contends that government censorship and misinformation have obscured the effectiveness of real nicotine, as well as the drug ivermectin (which binds to nicotine receptors).
He also highlights the importance of dietary supplements, particularly Zinc and Vitamin C, in bolstering immunity. During the pandemic, "Zinc was the Number One thing everybody should have been taking to prevent worse health outcomes," he says.
(Lion's Roar) It was this Burmese Buddhist monk’s first visit to America, and it was my first real visit with a monk. He was staying at a house in the Chicago suburbs, teaching anapanasati meditation — “watching the breath” — to anyone interested enough to stop by.
I was eager to learn how to meditate (without bursting out laughing, like the first time I tried it), so he invited me to come and hang out for a few days.
The Dharma of Star Wars
Those five days in late October were a cultural exchange. The monk taught me how to watch my breath: in-out, in-out, breathing in, breathing out. And if I remember correctly, I got him to watch Star Wars.
On the morning of October 31st, somewhat disconnected from the world, I suddenly remembered it was Halloween. I explained that children might be coming by that night trick-or-treating and that we should be ready. He’d never heard of Halloween and asked me to tell him about it. So I did.
I gave him the lowdown on the holiday: ghosts, goblins, costumes, skeletons…
“Skeletons!” he exclaimed suddenly. “That is wonderful, wonderful! In Burma we do skeleton meditation[charnel groundcontemplations on repulsiveness]. Very good, very good. We must get a skeleton! Continue.”
Then I explained trick-or-treating.
“Oh, that is wonderful. So much opportunity for giving. We must have lots of candy for the children and tell them all to come here. Wonderful, wonderful!”
"Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose" is wise advice either way.
.
Why are you always so cheerful, R2D2?
So we hopped in the car, and I drove him to a big discount store. Or at least tried to — it was raining hard, and my windshield wipers were stuck, so I couldn’t see anything. We got lost, ending up on a highway I never meant to take.
“No matter,” he said, reassuring me with a serene smile. “This is wonderful. Now I am seeing more of this city. Very good.”
When we finally found the store, I took him to the Halloween aisle, where he carefully scrutinized the skeletons to find one that would serve our purpose best. And what would that purpose be, exactly? I wasn’t sure whether we were going to hang the skeleton on the outside of the front door or sit facing it with legs crossed, contemplating our mortality.
In the end he settled on the biggest one he could find, a four-foot hanging skeleton made of black-and-white cardboard bones strung together that glowed in the dark. I grabbed as many bags of candy as I could afford with the cash I had on hand (my favorite brands, of course).
There were already a few people in costume out and about, buying last-minute supplies. My monk friend was wearing the same [Buddhist saffron, purplish, ochre, pumpkin-colored] rusty-brown robe he wore every day, wrapped around him like a pleated toga and rubber flip-flops totally unsuited to the fall weather.
In the checkout line, we received lots of puzzled looks and raised eyebrows as people tried to figure out what exactly this guy was supposed to be dressed up as.
When we got back to the house, my monk friend started shoving the one-pound bags of bite-size candy bars, unopened, up against the windows.
“This is so the children will know we have candy for them,” he said, beaming with pride.
“They will see the candy and they will come here.”
I explained that having the lights on would probably be a good enough sign and that hanging the skeleton on the door would also be, um, a dead giveaway. I suggested we put the candy on a tray, but he insisted we leave at least one bag where the kids would be most likely to see it [and know where to put the rock to grab it]. He put the rest into a big salad bowl.
Finally, shortly after dark, the first kids arrived.
“TRICK OR TREAT!” the little voices shouted as the monk opened the door, then their eyes went wide. “What are you supposed to be?” they asked, looking up, amazed and befuddled by his costume.
“I am Buddhist monk!” he said, grinning. That didn’t quite register with the kids, who quickly shifted their attention to the candy on offer.
“Take more, take more!” he insisted. “We must giveif we want to receive.”
After closing the door, he turned to me with a radiant smile.
“All my life I have begging bowl. But this is not begging bowl. Today I have giving bowl! Wonderful, wonderful. I like Halloween!”
The next day, my monk friend sat and stared serenely at the glow-in-the-dark skeleton, contemplating [the repulsive aspects of this body and] his own mortality, while I munched on leftover bite-size candy bars, contemplating my unusual Buddhist Halloween.
AUTHOR: Peter Aronson is a freelance journalist and former NPR contributor currently living in Dharamsala, India. In addition to his writing, he is attending courses in Buddhism at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives.
Peter Aronson (lionsroar.com); edited and expanded by Team Halloween and Sayalay Scary, Wisdom Quarterly
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