Wednesday, November 20, 2024

Limits of humor: The Far Side (sutra)

"And just to make it interesting... [I'll throw in a few Jerks]" (The Far Side/Gary Larson)
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What must God have been thinking?
At a time like this, we need comedy more than ever, don't we? But what are the limits of humor?

It returns us to a sense of sanity like a pleasant reset button. Satire can restore us to sanity.

But one may have to be crazy to begin with. Maybe John Q. Public doesn't need comic strips or distasteful locker room gags, pranks, and jokes. The more highbrow New Yorker material is good, but can anything match Gary Larson's The Far Side?

Maybe all the joking around we do is harmful to monastics who read or watch humorous videos. Monastics keep a strict discipline and many rules, whereas lay Buddhists strive to adhere to five (daily), eight (weekly lunar observance), or ten (intensive retreat) precepts. We should be more sensitive to the limits of humor to help us cope, seeing as how in the following sutra they could lead a wobbly monastic to give it a rest and take a break when it would be far better to continue until insight and enlightenment.

SUTRA: "Crickets"
Charles Patton — 支離彌梨 (trans.), Crickets Sutra (AN III_utf8), suttacentral.net; Amber Larson and Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
Thus have I heard. At one time, the Buddha traveled to the city of Rājagṛha (Rajgir, India) and stayed at Kalandaka Park in Veḷuvana Grove.

A group of monastics had gathered in the meeting hall after their midday meal. They wanted to settle an argument about the Doctrine and Discipline (Dhamma-Vinaya) taught by the Buddha.

At the time, the monk Citra Hastisāriputra was present in the assembly.
  • Citra called Hatthirohaputta (Citta Hatthi-sāriputta) was an elder (thera), the son of an elephant trainer, who having entered the Monastic Order, studied with the Buddha and gained special proficiency in distinguishing subtle differences in the meanings of words. Six times he left the Order and six times returned. His last quarrel was with Ven. Mahā Kotthita Thera, who objected to his constant interruptions of the elder's discussions regarding the Abhidhamma. (This incident is recorded at A.iii.392ff).
When that Citra discussed the Doctrine and Discipline taught by the Buddha, he argued with others around him, but what he had to say did not help the monastics teaching Dharma to consummate it. Nor did he ask questions of senior monastics respectfully and with etiquette.

Ven. Mahākauṣṭhila, who was also present in that assembly, then addressed Citra:

“Good sir, know that when a group of monastics is discussing the Doctrine and Discipline taught by the Buddha, you ought not interrupt to argue with what they say. When they are finished with what they are saying, then afterward you may speak. Ask questions of the senior and elders respectfully in accord with good etiquette. Refrain from asking questions of them that are disrespectful or not in accord with good etiquette.”

Citra’s friends were also present in the assembly at the time. They then said to Ven. Mahākauṣṭhila, “Ven. Mahākauṣṭhila, do not rebuke the monk Citra Hastisāriputra because he is virtuous and well-versed. He might appear indolent, but do not be arrogant. Ven.  Mahākauṣṭhila, Citra can assist the monastics when the time is right.”

Ven. Mahākauṣṭhila then said to Citra’s friends, “Good sirs, those who do not know the minds of others cannot speak falsely when they praise or dispraise them because perhaps there is a person who is conscientious, modest, affectionate, and respectful when he is in the presence of the Buddha (Bhagavān "Blessed One") or senior and elder practitioners of this spiritual life. He is then well-guarded and well-protected. Suppose later he is not in the presence of the Buddha or the senior and elder practitioners of the spiritual life with whom he is conscientious, modest, affectionate, and respectful.

“He often meets with white-robed laypeople who joke with each other, are arrogant, and clamor in various ways. After often meeting with white-robed laypeople who joke with each other, are arrogant, and clamor in various ways, his mind readily becomes desirous.

“After his mind becomes desirous, his body and mind become obsessed. After his body and mind become obsessed, he discards the precepts and takes a break from the Path.

“Good sirs, he is like a cow that wanders into someone’s field, and the person guarding that field stops it. Maybe he ties it up, or perhaps he corrals it in a pen. Good sirs, if someone says that this cow will no longer wander into another’s field, would that person be right to say that?”

They answered, “No because if that cow is tethered with a rope, it might break loose or become untied. If it is confined by a corral, it might break through or jump over it. It will go into another’s field just as before.”

“Good sirs, perhaps there is a person who is conscientious, modest, affectionate, and respectful when he is in the presence of the Buddha or senior and elder practitioners of the spiritual life. One is then well-guarded and well-protected. Suppose later that person is not in the presence of the Buddha or practitioners of the spiritual life with whom he is conscientious, modest, affectionate, and respectful.

“He often meets with white-robed laypeople who joke with each other, are arrogant, and clamor in various ways. After he has often met with white-robed laypeople who joke with each other, are arrogant, and clamor in various ways, his mind readily becomes desirous. After his mind becomes desirous, his body and mind become obsessed. After his body and mind become obsessed, he discards the precepts and takes a break from the path. Good sirs, this is one kind of person.

“Furthermore, good sirs, perhaps there is a person who attains the first meditative absorption (jhana, dhyāna, zen, chan, seon). After that person attains the first absorption, that person abides calmly and no longer seeks to obtain desires as yet unobtained, to seize desires as yet unseized, or to consummate desires as yet unconsummated.

“After that, he often meets with white-robed laypeople who joke with each other, are arrogant, and clamor in various ways. After he has often met with white-robed laypeople who joke with each other, are arrogant, and clamor in various ways, his mind readily becomes desirous. After his mind becomes desirous, his body and mind become obsessed. After his body and mind become obsessed, he discards the precepts and takes a break from the path.

“Good sirs, it is like when there is a rainstorm. The lakes and ponds between villages fill up with water. Where once sand, stones, weeds, trees, crustaceans, fish, turtles, frogs, and other water creatures were seen when people came and went or stood nearby, none are seen after they fill up with water.

“Good sirs, if someone were to say that the sand, stones, weeds, trees, crustaceans, fish, turtles, frogs, and other water creatures in those lakes and ponds will never be seen again when people come and go or walk and stand nearby, would he be right to say that?”

They answered, “No because the water in those lakes and ponds will recede later because elephants, horses, camels, cattle, donkeys, pigs, deer, or water buffalo will drink it, or people will take it, or the wind and sun will dry it up [by evaporation]. Where before sand, stones, weeds, trees, crustaceans, fish, turtles, frogs, and other water creatures were seen when people came and went or walked and stood nearby, they will be seen again after the water recedes.”

“So it is, good sirs. Perhaps there is a person who attains the first absorption. After he attains the first absorption, he abides calmly and no longer seeks to obtain desires as yet unobtained, to seize desires as yet unseized, or to consummate desires as yet unconsummated.

“After that, he often meets with white-robed laypeople who joke with each other, are arrogant, and clamor in various ways. After they have often met with white-robed laypeople who joke with each other, are arrogant, and clamor in various ways, his mind readily becomes desirous.

“After his mind becomes desirous, his body and mind become obsessed. After his body and mind become obsessed, he discards the precepts and takes a break from the path. Good sirs, this is called another person.

“Furthermore, good sirs, perhaps there’s a person who attains the second absorption. After he attains the second absorption, he abides calmly and no longer seeks to obtain desires as yet unobtained, to seize desires as yet unseized, or to consummate desires as yet unconsummated. After that, he often meets with white-robed laypeople who joke with each other, are arrogant, and clamor in various ways.

“After he has often met with white-robed laypeople who joke with each other, are arrogant, and clamor in various ways, his mind readily becomes desirous. After his mind becomes desirous, his body and mind become obsessed. After his body and mind become obsessed, he discards the precepts and takes a break from the path.

“Good sirs, it is like when there is a rainstorm and the dirt at the crossroads turns to mud. Good sirs, if someone were to say that the mud at the crossroads will never dry up and turn back to dirt, would he be right to say that?”

They answered, “No because the crossroads will be walked upon by elephants, horses, camels, cattle, donkeys, pigs, deer, water buffalo, and people. The wind will blow on it, and the sun will bake it. After the mud at the crossroads has dried up, it will turn back into dirt.”

“So it is, good sirs. Perhaps there is a person who attains the second absorption. After he attains the second absorption, he abides calmly and no longer seeks to obtain desires as yet unobtained, to seize desires as yet unseized, or to consummate desires as yet unconsummated. After that, he often meets with white-robed laypeople who joke with each other, are arrogant, and clamor in various ways. ...

“Good sirs, it is like an undisturbed place where the chirping of crickets is heard. That undisturbed place might be a king’s or a royal minister’s overnight lodging. The sound of elephants, horses, carts, footsteps, conches, drums, slim-waisted drums, dancing girl drums, music, singing, lutes, and feasting causes the chirping crickets to no longer be heard.

"Good sirs, suppose someone were to say that the chirping crickets will never be heard again at that undisturbed place. Would they be right to say that?”

Citra’s friends answered, “No because after a night has passed and the sun rises, that king or royal minister will return home. The sounds of elephants, horses, carts, footsteps, conches, drums, slim-waisted drums, dancing girl drums, music, singing, lutes, and feasting that caused the chirping crickets to no longer be heard will be gone after that. Then the crickets will be heard as they were before.”

“So it is, good sirs. Perhaps there is a person who obtains the samādhi without conceptual thought. After he attains the samādhi without conceptual thought, he abides calmly and no longer seeks to obtain desires as yet unobtained, to seize desires as yet unseized, or to consummate desires as yet unconsummated. After that, he often meets with white-robed laypeople who joke with each other, are arrogant, and clamor in various ways.

"After he has often met with white-robed laypeople who joke with each other, are arrogant, and clamor in various ways, his mind readily becomes desirous. After his mind becomes desirous, his body and mind become obsessed. After his body and mind become obsessed, he discards the precepts and takes a break from the path. This is called another person.”

Soon after that, the monk Citra Hastisāriputra abandoned the precepts and took a break from the path.

After he abandoned the precepts and took a break from the path, those friends of that monk Citra went to Ven. Mahākauṣṭhila.

When they arrived, they said to him, “Ven. Mahākauṣṭhila, you knew the mind of the monk Citra Hastisāriputra and made us aware of these other matters because he has now abandoned the precepts and taken a break from the path.”

Ven. Mahākauṣṭhila told his friends, “Good sirs, these matters should indeed be so because it was because he did not truly know and did not truly see.”

Ven. Mahākauṣṭhila spoke thus. Those monastics who heard what Ven. Mahākauṣṭhila taught rejoiced and approved of it.

Tuesday, November 19, 2024

News of the Day w/JK (comedy)


Matt Gaetz accused of paying child for sex, Trump’s sentencing gets pushed, and Mike MyPillow Lindell gets the shaft

Need a lawyer? - I won this, and you lost!
(Jimmy Kimmel Live) Nov. 19, 2024: The Manhattan district attorney has agreed to postpone Trump’s sentencing for his 34 felony convictions, he has started receiving intelligence briefings again, at least two women have testified before the House Ethics Committee claiming that Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz paid them for sex according to their lawyer, he reportedly paid them using Venmo, the House Ethics Committee is scheduled to meet tomorrow to determine whether to release details of their investigation, outspoken critic of Gaetz Senator Markwayne Mullin has changed his tune, Marjorie Taylor Greene defends her friend, Trump makes more nutty cabinet picks like Dr. Oz, Linda McMahon, and Sean Duffy from the Real World and Road Rules, Donald was in Texas for a SpaceX launch with his BFF Elon Musk, Don Jr is covering all the important stuff on his new podcast, and we check in on MyPillow Mike Lindell (James Adomian) to see if he will make the cut for Trump’s Cabinet. #Kimmel

Incredible moments caught on camera


Incredible moments caught on camera
(UNSORTED) Aug. 31, 2024: Summer is a time for compilations, particularly of footage that is hard to classify and sort. This, then, is the unsorted, images too incredible to believe were actually caught on camera.

Native American Month continues

What does "Native" look like in the US of A?

Native American Heritage Month | Indigenous L.A.: Cultural Revitalization
[Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHM)] Nov. 18, 2020: The Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County are proud to join the nationwide celebration of Native American Indian Heritage Month in November. During this month, and throughout the year, we share stories from past and present and recognize the thriving Native community of Los Angeles County. Join the conversation on social media by sharing your own stories about Native American history and culture by using #NHMLA and #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth.

Los Angeles celebrates Indigenous’ Peoples Day before Columbus Day | VOA News
(Voice of America) VOA is funded in whole or in part by the American government. Oct. 14, 2024: Since 2019 the state of California officially celebrates Indigenous Peoples’ Day instead of the federally recognized Columbus Day, which falls on every second Monday in October. VOA’s Genia Dulot visited the celebration at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, that drew around 2,000 people.

ABOUT: Voice of America (VOA) is the largest U.S. international broadcaster [and a propaganda arm particularly during in times of war, which is all the time for the past 200 years of our history], providing news and information [and a goodly amount of disinformation when a desired outcome is aimed at] in more than 40 languages to an estimated weekly audience of 236.8 million people. VOA produces content for digital, television, and radio platforms. It is easily accessed via mobile phones and on social media. It is also distributed by satellite, cable, FM and MW, and is carried on a network of approximately 3,000 affiliate stations. Since its creation in 1942, Voice of America has been committed to [psyops and misleading the American taxpayer and foreign enemies by] providing comprehensive coverage [and spin] of the news and telling audiences the truth [as the CIA, Pentagon, and White House wish the public to see and interpret it]. Through World War II, the Cold War, the fight against global terrorism, and the struggle for freedom around the globe today, VOA exemplifies the principles of a free press.

Monday, November 18, 2024

Hinduism: Is universe a simulation?


Big Fight, Trump's cabinet, comedy (JKS)


Jon Stewart urges Dems to fight like Republicans and exploit loopholes | The Daily Show
(The Daily Show) Nov. 18, 2024: Jon Stewart covers the latest post-election news from Trump and Biden world, then unpacks Republicans' strategy of aggressively exploiting loopholes, in contrast to the timid Democrats' style of following rules and norms. #DailyShow #Trump #JonStewart

Sunday, November 17, 2024

Science no longer believes in death

Nurse dies and sees how we go on living
(The Other Side NDE) ⭐ Nurse Penny Wittbrodt encountered death, or what we think of as "death" judging from this side. From the other side, the afterlife, it looks very different. The mystics were right. Seers through the ages have really been seeing something we will all eventually see when it is too late to make use of the knowledge. If only we had come to believe and understand while living, the next phase (lives after lives without end) could have been comforting rather than our worst nightmare of annihilation and obliteration, which many scientific types look forward to because it would mean nothing was ever going to come of ill-done and well-done deeds in this and countless previous lives. When Wittbrodt had a near-death experience (NDE), it taught her about life. That was the most amazing thing. We do not die in any final sense. We may lose loved one, this body, this situation, and all that we hold dear, but there is continuation, reappearance elsewhere (blissful or dreadful or not completely unlike here). She saw her death from her own and then a disembodied perspective, which gave purpose to all the moments she had had here on Earth, the good, the bad, the ugly, and precious few lofty moments. The story of crossing over is mind-bending, glimpsing our potential to reappear in a heaven (one of many) or in any of 31 Planes of Existence in countless worlds. Stories come in from around the globe 🌍 ➡️ tinyurl.com/helptheothersidende 🙏 See more of Penny Wittbrodt and her NDE here ▶️ witthealthcoaching.com. #nde #neardeathexperiences

The "soul" (self) is not immortal. It dies from moment to moment in life whether we notice or not. The process continues after "death." So we are neither immortal nor do we end by death.
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Science finally uncovers what really happens
What happens after we die? While many scientists believe that death is the end, quantum physics suggests that it might not be as simple as we think.

In fact, it could be an illusion.
This new scientific idea challenges everything we know about life and "death." By looking at concepts like the interconnectedness of all things and the nature of consciousness, here’s to a whole new perspective on life after death.

Biocentrism challenges our understanding of death and life
I tried to do my part for predictive programming, showing that there was no Death (T-Swift)
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Everything doesn't go black?
Dr. Robert Lanza, a leading expert in biotechnology, plays a major role in this idea.

He’s the chief scientific officer at the Astellas Institute for Regenerative Medicine, where he studies stem cells and how they can be used to treat diseases.

Before this, Dr. Lanza focused on researching embryonic stem cells and cloning, working with both animals and humans. [Illegal human cloning?] He is also an adjunct professor at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in North Carolina.

I'll reappear in another place in another body?
According to biocentrism, death might not be what we think it is. Instead of seeing death as the end of life, this theory suggests it could be an illusion, something created by the way we perceive the world.

Beyond Biocentrism: Rethinking Time, Space, Conscious
-ness, and the Illusion of Death
(Dr. Robert Lanza)

The idea is that time and space, as we understand them, are not fixed. Our awareness of these concepts might shape what we experience as life and death.
Can we change the subject? This is upsetting.
The theory doesn’t deny that our physical bodies die, but it suggests that our experience of death might not be the final event we think it is.

By studying stem cells and regenerative medicine, Dr. Lanza is working to explore how life can be extended or even renewed [as happens anyway according to the science-friendly Eastern traditions, in a recycling modality known as samsara].

Why lately has science been promoting suicide euthanasia, abortion, infertility, LGBTQIA+?

His research into cloning and stem cells shows that the boundaries of life might not be as clear-cut as we once believed.

If we can manipulate biological processes, it suggests that life—at least the biological part of it—could be much more flexible than we realize. More: 

I'd better sit while in the human world


Even Araka knew that much.
"Meditators, once upon a time there was a teacher named Araka [the Bodhisatta himself], a leader free of passion for sensual pleasures.

"He had hundreds, many hundreds, of students, and he taught them the dhamma (truth) in this way: 'Next to nothing, Brahmins, is the life of human beings -- limited, a trifling, of much stress and suffering.

"'One ought to touch this [truth] like a sage, do what is skillful, follow the pure life. For one who is born there is no freedom from death.

"'Just as a dewdrop on the tip of a blade of grass quickly vanishes with the rising of the sun and does not remain, in the same way, Brahmins, the life of human beings is like a dewdrop -- limited, a trifling, of much stress and suffering.

"'One ought to touch this [truth] like a sage, do what is skillful, follow the pure life. For one who is born there is no freedom from death.

"'Just as when the rain-gods (akasha-devas) send rain in fat drops that plop, leaving a bubble on the water that quickly vanishes and does not remain, in the same way, Brahmins, the life of human beings is like a water bubble -- limited, a trifling, of much stress and suffering.

"'One ought to touch this [truth] like a sage, do what is skillful, follow the pure life. For one who is born there is no freedom from death.

"'Just like a line drawn on water with a stick quickly vanishes and does not remain, in the same way, Brahmins, the life of human beings is like a line drawn on water with a stick -- limited, a trifling, of much stress and suffering.

"'One ought to touch this [truth] like a sage, do what is skillful, follow the pure life. For one who is born there is no freedom from death.

"'Just as a river flowing down from the mountains, going far, swiftly carrying everything with it so that there is not a moment, not a second, not an instant when it stands still, but instead it goes, flows, and rushes, in the same way, Brahmins, the life of human beings is like a river flowing down from the mountains -- limited, a trifling, of much stress and suffering.

"'One ought to touch this [truth] like a sage, do what is skillful, follow the pure life. For one who is born there is no freedom from death.

"'Just as a strongman forming a wad of spit on the tip of his tongue would spit it out with very little effort, in the same way, Brahmins, the life of human beings is like a wad of spit — limited, a trifling, of much stress and suffering.

"'One ought to touch this [truth] like a sage, do what is skillful, follow the pure life. For one who is born there is no freedom from death.

"'Just as a sliver of meat dropped onto an iron skillet that has been heated all day quickly vanishes and does not remain, in the same way, Brahmins, the life of human beings is like a sliver of meat -- limited, a trifling, of much stress and suffering.

"'One ought to touch this [truth] like a sage, do what is skillful, follow the pure life. For one who is born there is no freedom from death.

"'Just as a cow on its way to slaughter is led to the abattoir, with every step of its foot closer to slaughter, closer to death, in the same way, Brahmins, the life of human beings is like a cow being led to slaughter — limited, a trifling, of much stress and suffering.

"'One should touch this [truth] like a sage, do what is skillful, follow the pure life. For one who is born there is no freedom from death.'

Reflection
"Now at that time, meditators, the human lifespan was 60,000 years, with girls marriageable at 500 [figuratively, a big number, not actually 500]. And at that time there were [only] six afflictions in this world:
  1. cold,
  2. heat,
  3. hunger,
  4. thirst,
  5. defecation,
  6. urination.
"Yet, even though people were so long-lived, long-lasting, with so few afflictions, that teacher Araka taught the dhamma to his disciples in this way:

"'Next to nothing, Brahmins, is the life of human beings -- limited, a trifling, of much stress and suffering. One ought to touch this [truth] like a sage, do what is skillful, follow the pure life. For one who is born there is no freedom from death.'

"At present, meditators, one speaking rightly could say, 'Next to nothing is the life of human beings -- limited, a trifling, of much stress and suffering. One should touch this [truth] like a sage, do what is skillful, follow the pure life. For one who is born there is no freedom from death.'

"At present, meditators, one who lives a long time is 100 years old or a little older. Living 100 years, one lives for 300 seasons: 100 seasons of cold, 100 seasons of heat, 100 seasons of rain.

"Living for 300 seasons, one lives for 1,200 months: 400 months of cold, 400 months of heat, 400 months of rain.

"Living for 1,200 months, one lives for 2,400 fortnights [two-week periods]: 800 fortnights of cold, 800 fortnights of heat, 800 fortnights of rain.

"Living for 2,400 fortnights, one lives for 36,000 days: 12,000 days of cold, 12,000 days of heat, 12,000 days of rain.

"Living for 36,000 days, one eats 72,000 meals [or many more]: 24,000 meals in the cold, 24,000 meals in the heat, 24,000 meals in the rain -- counting the taking of mother's milk and any obstacles to eating.

"These are the obstacles to eating: when one does not eat while angered, when one does not eat while suffering or stressed, when one does not eat while sick, when one does not eat on the observance [1] day, when one does not eat while poor.

"Therefore, meditators, I have counted the life of a person living for 100 years: I have counted the lifespan, counted the seasons, counted the years [2], counted the months, counted the fortnights, counted the nights, counted the days, counted the meals, counted the obstacles to eating.

"Whatever a teacher should do -- seeking the welfare of students, out of sympathy for them -- that have I done for you.

"There are the roots of trees; there are places to withdraw [to practice]. Practice the absorptions (jhanas), meditators. Be vigilant (not negligent). Be happy, not full of regret. This is the message."

NOTES
  1. 1. The weekly lunar observance of the Eight Precepts, Uposatha, Fasting Day, when one fasts after noon to intensively listen, read, study, and practice the Dhamma for a whole day and into the night.
  2. The actual counting does not mention years between seasons and months; the number of years is implied in the lifespan.

What is the purpose of Buddhism?



Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Buddha was staying in Sāvatthī, at Jeta’s Grove, in the Millionaire’s Park. Then Venerable Ānanda approached, bowed, sat respectfully to one side, and said:

(1) “Venerable sir, what is the purpose and benefit of wholesome virtuous behavior [skillful karma as taught in Buddhism]?”

(2) “Ānanda, the purpose and benefit of wholesome virtuous behavior is non-regret.”

(3) “And what is the purpose and benefit of non-regret?”

“The purpose and benefit of non-regret is joy.”

(4) “And what is the purpose and benefit of joy?”

“The purpose and benefit of joy is rapture.”

(5) “And what is the purpose and benefit of rapture?”

“The purpose and benefit of rapture is tranquility.”

(6) “And what is the purpose and benefit of tranquility?”

“The purpose and benefit of tranquility is pleasure.”

(7) “And what, Bhante, is the purpose and benefit of pleasure?”

“The purpose and benefit of pleasure is stillness (right samadhi).”

(8) “And what is the purpose and benefit of stillness?”

“The purpose and benefit of stillness is the knowing and seeing things as they really are.”

(9) “And what is the purpose and benefit of the knowing and seeing things as they really are?”

“The purpose and benefit of the knowing and seeing things as they really are is disenchantment and dispassion.”

(10) “And what is the purpose and benefit of disenchantment and dispassion?”

“The purpose and benefit of disenchantment and dispassion is knowledge and vision of liberation.

Ajahn Brahm: That's why I'm so happy
“Therefore, Ānanda,
  • (1)–
  • (2) the purpose and benefit of wholesome virtuous behavior is non-regret;
  • (3) the purpose and benefit of non-regret is joy;
  • (4) the purpose and benefit of joy is rapture;
  • (5) the purpose and benefit of rapture is tranquility;
  • (6) the purpose and benefit of tranquility is pleasure;
  • (7) the purpose and benefit of pleasure is stillness;
  • (8) the purpose and benefit of stillness is knowing and seeing things as they really are;
  • (9) the purpose and benefit of knowing and seeing things as they really are is disenchantment and dispassion; and
  • (10) the purpose and benefit of disenchantment and dispassion is knowledge and vision of liberation.
“Thus, Ānanda, wholesome virtuous behavior progressively leads to the foremost [freedom, complete liberation from all suffering, nirvana].”

Could you shorten this sutra?
Ven. Nyanatiloka has a brief rendering in Path to Deliverance, pp. 65-66

[Ananda:] "O Venerable One, one is the reward and blessing of wholesome karma?"

[The Buddha:] "Freedom from remorse, Ananda."

"And of freedom from remorse?"

"Joy, Ananda"

"And of joy?"

"Rapture, Ananda"

"And of rapture?"

"Tranquility, Ananda."

"And of tranquility?"

"Happiness, Ananda."

"And of happiness?"

"Samadhi, Ananda."

"And of samadhi?"

"Vision and knowledge according to reality."

"And of vision and knowledge according to reality?"

"Letting go and turning away, Ananda."

"And of letting go and turning away?"

"Vision and knowledge with regard to Deliverance, Ananda."

Life isn't just suffering (Ven. Thanissaro)


American Tibetan Buddhist nun Pema Chodron
Tan Geoff tells this story about the first noble truth: "He showed me the brightness of the world."

That's how my teacher, Ajahn Fuang, once characterized his gratitude to his teacher, Ajahn Lee [Dhammadaro, student of Ajahn Mun]. His words took me by surprise.

I had only recently come to study with him, still fresh from a school where I had learned that serious Buddhists took a negative, pessimistic view of the world.

Yet, here was a monk who had given his life over to the practice of the Buddha's Teachings speaking of the world's brightness.

Of course, by "brightness" he wasn't referring to the joys of the food, arts, travel, sports, family life, or any of the other sections of the Sunday paper.

The happiest couple in the world...and the most miserable. I want a divorce! - Oh yeah? 💩
.
He was talking about a better and deeper happiness that comes from within us. As I came to know him, I gained a sense of how deeply happy he was.

He may have been skeptical about human pretenses, but I'd never describe him as pessimistic or negative. "Realistic" would be closer to the truth.

Yet, for a long time I couldn't shake the sense of paradox I felt. How could the pessimism of translated Buddhist texts find embodiment in such a solidly happy person?

Only when I began to look directly at the early sutras did I realize that what I thought was paradox was actually irony.

Ironically, Buddhism, which gives such a positive view of a human being's potential for finding true happiness, could be branded in the West as "negative and pessimistic."

Ouch.  Ouch. Ouch.
There's a rumor that, "'Life is suffering' is Buddhism's first principle," the first noble truth, according to the Buddha. It's a rumor with good credentials. It is spread by well-intentioned and well-respected academics and Dharma teachers alike. But it is a rumor, nonetheless.

The truth about the Four Noble Truths is far more interesting.

The Buddha taught four ennobling (enlightening) truths — not one — about life:
  1. There is suffering (disappointment, pain, stress)
  2. There is a cause of suffering
  3. There is an end of suffering
  4. There is a path of practice that puts an end to suffering.
These truths, taken as a whole, are very optimistic. They're practical. It's a problem-solving approach — the way a doctor approaches an illness (pain), a mechanic a faltering engine. Identify the problem and look for its cause. Then put an end to the problem by eliminating its cause.

What's special about the Buddha's approach is that the problem he approaches is the whole of human (and deva) suffering. The solution he offers is something humans (and devas) can do for themselves.

Just as a physician with a surefire cure for measles is no longer afraid of measles, the Buddha isn't afraid of any aspect of suffering. Having experienced pleasure and happiness free of all conditions, he's intrepid.

He's not afraid to point out suffering and disappointment inherent in places where most of us would rather not see them — the conditioned pleasures we cling to.

He teaches beings not to deny suffering and disappointment, not to run away, but to stand still and face them, to examine them carefully. That way — by understanding them — we can discern a cause and put an end to it, a total end. How confident can one get? More
  • Ajahn Geoff (aka Geoffrey DeGraff, Thanissaro Bhikkhu), "Life Isn't Just Suffering," accesstoinsight.org; edited by Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly

Surf's down! Cali's super low tide, tsunami?


Saturday, November 16, 2024

Saturday Night Live w/ Charli XCX


We interrupt regularly scheduled programming for this earth-shattering Congressional hearing: UFO Hearing LIVE: Pentagon's UFO report finds 21 cases that can’t be explained (US News | N18G)

(CNBC-TV18) Started streaming on Nov. 15, 2024: UNITED STATES LIVE: US Congress Holds Second Hearing on UFOs in Exposing Truth with ‘Expert Witnesses’ | NASA LIVE.

The Pentagon’s latest report on UFOs has revealed hundreds of new reports of unidentified and unexplained aerial phenomena (UAPs) but no definitive indications suggesting an extraterrestrial origin.
  • [This is probably technology that is light years ahead of anything known that we probably built and forgot about, like our anti-gravitic program to use free energy and no solid fuels to move craft at near light speed but forgot to tell Popular Mechanics about it.]
The review includes hundreds of cases of misidentified balloons, birds, and satellites [not to much voluminous tons of swamp gas from the Deep South and their gumbo and chili cookoffs] as well as some that defy easy explanation, such as a near-miss between a commercial airliner and a mysterious object off the coast of New York.

While it isn’t likely to settle any debates over the existence of alien life, the report reflects heightened public interest in the topic and the government’s efforts to provide some answers. Its publication comes a day after House lawmakers called for greater government transparency during a hearing on unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAPs — the government’s term for UFOs.

Journalist Michael Shellenberger tells members of the House of Representatives the orb was "joined by another orb that briefly comes into the frame from the left before rapidly moving again out of the frame."

A video showing a "white orb" UFO coming out of the ocean off Kuwait has been found on the US Department of Defense's own network, a congressional hearing has heard. Shellenberger, the founder of the public news service, said the 13-minute-long high-definition, color video was of the "orb" 20 miles off the Kuwait coast and was filmed from a helicopter.

Giving evidence to House representatives on unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs), the now-preferred term for UFOs, journalist Shellenberger said he had been told of the footage by a source in recent weeks.

U.S. House Oversight Committee holds a hearing on reports of “unidentified anomalous phenomena” (UFOs), with former Department of Defense, NASA and others.

The United States Congress will hold a hearing on Wednesday to discuss the topic of UFOs that some lawmakers are hopeful will lead to new information on a subject that is the focus of many conspiracy theorists but has also recently attracted serious attention from government officials.

The House Oversight Committee’s hearing will be titled Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth. The title refers to UAPs, the new preferred acronym for UFOs, which has become an increasingly popular term among believers – and US officials – to describe mysterious airborne objects.

The hearing will be the second congressional hearing the US Congress has put together in order to “further pull back the curtain on secret UAP research programs conducted by the US government, and undisclosed findings they have yielded,” according to a House statement.

Wednesday’s hearing comes more than a year after the Pentagon was accused of running a secret UFO retrieval program by whistleblower David Grusch, though no evidence has ever emerged to back up these claims. The hearing will be led by Republican representatives Nancy Mace and Glenn Grothman.

The representatives argue in the House’s statement that Americans are frustrated with the lack of transparency by the US government on the topic of UAPs.



Can singer and internet-famous Charli XCX handle humor?