The Dharma, sutras, and commentarial interpretations of interest to American Buddhists of all traditions with news that not only informs but transforms. Emphasis on meditation, enlightenment, karma, social evolution, and nonharming.
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The full moon day in May is called VESAK and signifies the day Siddhartha Gautama was born, became the Buddha (the "Enlightened One"), and made an end of all further rebirth (by attaining final nirvana). This thrice blessed day all took place on the full moon of the ancient month of Vesakha, roughly equivalent to the Gregorian calendar's May. (It varies every year). This year it falls on the 12th; therefore, most Buddhist temples in America will celebrate it on Sunday, May 11th, to fall closest to it. But in reality it will be celebrated all month long in various Theravada Buddhist temples, monasteries, and nunneries. One of the largest and most well-conceived celebrations happens in the suburbs of Los Angeles in the small town of Azusa (which boasts that it has everything from A to Z in the USA, but the word Azusa is really an ancient place name for a Native American Tongva village, just like Pasadegna, Topangna, and elsewhere all across LA County and beyond).
Come celebrate the Buddha's birth, great awakening, and passing into final-nirvana
TheinclusiveinternationalBuddhist flag
Sunday, May 11
Vesak (Visakha) Day: Come celebrate (open to all) through the lighting of lanterns, meditation, and a candlelight procession. many Buddhist disciples will be dressed all in white and keeping the Eight precepts for the 24-hour period in observance of the most special uposatha (lunar observance) of the year.
Join us at the Dhammakaya International Meditation Center for a joyous celebration of Vesak Day! This in-person event is a wonderful opportunity to honor the life and teachings of the historical Buddha.
On this special celebration of the Buddha, Dhammakaya welcomes more than 150 Buddhist monastics from over 11 Buddhist countries and traditions to join together as a united Sangha (spiritual community), including monastics from
Burma (Myanmar)
China
Tibet
Cambodia
Vietnam
Laos
South Korea
Sri Lanka
Bangladesh
Japan
Thailand
(Dhammakaya is a Theravada Thai vihara).
Buddhist monks practicing for calm and insight
We will join in group meditation, sangha-dana (offering of necessities to the monastics), light lanterns to illuminate the meditation lawn, and participate in a candlelight walking meditation.
Vesak Day is a time for all to unite and reflect on the profound impact the Buddha has had on the world. Come and be a part of this meaningful celebration!
(MrBeast)
May 10, 2025: Filmed in Mexico in collaboration with the Mexican Tourism Board visitmexico.com. Thanks to the INAH (the National Institute of Anthropology and History) Zona Arqueológica de Calakmul, Balancanche, y Chichén Itzá, MEXICO. "Reproducción autorizada por el Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia." ["Reproduction authorized by the National Institute of Anthropology and History."]
I [MrBeast] can’t believe I got to do this. HUGE thanks to @jacklinks for making this happen. Without them we can’t give away this money. Jack Link’s DUOS: bit.ly/4ipfWae. Find new Feastables Peanut Butter Cups in every Target, Walmart, and 7-Eleven across America 👉🏻fstbls.com/5mj6dv. [Is that what they call ultra-processed food?]
Special thanks to the Governor of Campeche Layda Sansores and the National Secretary of Tourism Josefina Rodriguez. Merch: mrbeast.store.
Check out Viewstats: viewstats.com. Subscribe or Mr. Beast takes your dog. For any questions or inquiries regarding this video, please reach out to chucky@mrbeastbusiness.com.
Music provided by extrememusic.com.
MrBeast, May 10, 2025; Pfc. Sandoval, Sheldon S. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
(Answers in Genesis) May 9, 2025: Where are the ancient ruins of North America (USA)? In Europe, they’re everywhere — castles, cathedrals, medieval cities. But in the USA, the historical attractions are all post-European arrivals. (They are all over Mexico, so let's call that part of pre-Hispanic North America "Mesoamerica" to make it seem far away and foreign).
In this video, Dr. Nathaniel Jeanson uncovers some surprising new discoveries about the ancient civilizations here in what is now the USA.
Dr. Jeanson’s book, They Had Names, is available at GetAnswers.org/new-discoveries-ancient-america
Today, Cahokia (earthworks, pyramids, mounds), Illinois, is considered the largest and most complex archeological site north of the great pre-Columbus cities in neighboring Mexico, just across the Gulf of America Mexico in places like the Yucatan Peninsula.
They Had Names: Tracing the History of the North American Indigenous People
Long before the Occupiers "Pilgrims" stormed landed at Cape Cod, what was happening in North America? Who was here? What civilizations rose and fell?
For years, the answers to these questions have been shrouded in mystery. At the time of European contact, a diverse world of Native America (indigenous, First Nations, "Indian") peoples thrived across this continent.
Who took the peaks off these pyramids?
What was their backstory? Who were the ancestors of the Sioux? Where did the Navajo come from? What about the Apache, the Comanche, the Cherokee?
They Had Names is the result of a multi-year deep dive into genetics, indigenous histories, archeology, and linguistics — an ambitious quest to uncover answers to these questions. More
ABOUT: Answers in Genesis is an apologetics (religion-defending) ministry dedicated to getting Christians to be defensive about their beliefs, faith, religion, and proclaim the good news of [Nordic] Jesus Christ effectively.
On its YouTube channel, find answers to pressing questions about key issues like creation, evolution, science, the age of the earth, and social issues. AIG desires to train believers to believe and develop a worldview based on the Bible and expose the bankruptcy of evolutionary ideas and their implications.
Hear from top teachers like Dr. Nathaniel Jeanson, Ken Ham, Bryan Osborne, Dr. Georgia Purdom, Dr. Tim Chaffey, Dr. Gabriela Haynes, Dr. Terry Mortenson, and more.
Help AIG continue to push the gospel to the world: https://AnswersinGenesis.org/give. Transcript
Dr. Nathaniel Jeanson, Answers in Genesis, May 9, 2025; Xochitl, Sheldon S., Pfc. Sandoval (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
Imagined debate between ordinary person and one who sees what the Buddha meant by "no-self"
Imagine a Mini Me driving this body to act.
Okay, if the Buddha himself said "there is no self," he himself must be cr*zy! How could there be no self? Anyone (any self) who thinks there's no self ought to have his (or her) head examined. The SOUL (Pali atta, Sanskritatman, Spanish alma) is right here, in the chest, standing next to the heart with his arms crossed, a little homunculus who sometimes takes the backstairs of the spinal column into the cranium and looks out through the eyes of the head while manipulating levers and switches, which is how we live.
Driver's seat, where he steers the body
Who's inside of that guy?
Beg your pardon?
Who is driving the homunculus?
Well, um, there's an even smaller "mini me" homunculus driving that one.
And that one?
And that one what?
Who or what is driving that one?
And so on, ad infinitum! There's always a smaller one until we get down to the level of the cell, which has a mitochondria seat where the mini-mini-mini me homunculus sits to drive the cell.
And what's smaller than a cell?
An atom, of course.
Each with its own homunculus, I suppose.
Now you're catching on!
I'll knock the homunculus out of you, mofo
Well, it sure feels that way, that a homunculus is driving the human body, but have you ever known a guy to get punched in the head so hard, like a Pantera album cover (Vulgar Display of Power), that his homunculus gets knocked out of his seat and flies out of his ear and now doesn't have a big homme (Hummer) to drive?
Well, no, of course not. He would die.
And his body would disappear?
No, of course, not. Why would it disappear?
Because we don't find homunculi during autopsies.
Well, that's because they disappear, yes, disappear right out of existence once the car is undrivable, dead as it were, stuck with the levers and switches not working...
In a coma or vegatative state?
Vegatative state, yes, no longer functional and then, vamoose, homunculus goes to Heaven or the great beyond where all the homunculi gather and have parties by drinking and singing and dancing in circles until they're reborn into another body.
No hell?
Well, of course there's a hell, but, I mean, the homunculus has had to have gotten up to some pretty high hijinks to go there. Class dismissed!
Just one more question: You KNOW this to be true?
Just one more answer: I FEEL this to be true...
But that...
No more questions! Class dismissed! Get out, get out!
The Buddha never said, "There is no self"?
O, poor little homunculus self
It seems to us the Buddha did say such a thing, not to everyone. Nearly no one can understand this liberating truth. Even fewer can accept it. The entire practice is to bring about insight (clear seeing) so that we can see what is and is not true in order that the Truth set us free.
Liberation from all suffering takes insight, and long before insight arises, one needs calm, stillness, silence, serenity, samadhi (superconsciousness deriving from mental purification by "concentration" in the form of meditative absorptions called jhanas (dhyanas, zens, chans) -- overcoming the Five Hindrances and attaining equipoise, composure, equanimity, balance, brightened faculties now that everything has become coherent and gone online without hindrance and obstruction, a temporary state that serves as the foundation for the arising of insight (vipassana).
Insight cuts off the mental defilements at their roots and results in awakening, the experience of enlightenment (bodhi), which results in ultimate liberation known as a glimpse of nirvana (complete peace or ultimate bliss, the highest happiness), a thing so different it cannot rightly be called a "thing" at all because it is unlike all we have ever known in this world of things called samsara (the Cycle, the Wheel of Life and Death) or this simulation we have been endlessly cycling through due to karma (deeds) and delusion, i.e., ignorance of Dependent Origination).
Does the Buddha say there's a self? Yes but only because he is speaking conventionally. How does he define this "self"? He does so by the Five Aggregates clung to as "self." This is when he is speaking in conventional terms. However, when he is speaking in ULTIMATE terms (in terms of what is ultimately true), he points at what insight will reveal to anyone who develops it: There is, ultimately speaking, no self.
(The question "Is there a self?" is wrong because it is full of assumptions. We assume we have a self -- that is to say and speaking more correctly, the impersonal aggregates cling to the misunderstanding that a self is present -- even from the standpoint of asking the question. Form forms (the body bodies), feelings feel, perception perceives, mental formations will and intend, consciousness is conscious so that it seems as if Self is the Asker, the Thinker, the Doer, the Worrier, the Watcher (the Atman or Immortal Soul), the One who practices and will or will not be enlightened/awakened).
There is an "Immortal Soul" in a way. That is to say, there is something mistaken for a soul, ego, essence, heart, personality, individuality, a "self," who persists through time unchanged as its perfect self, the Doer, the Knower, the Experiencer, but it is not what it seems. This is what the Buddha is pointing out. We are certainly more than we know, but all those things we cling to will ultimate frustrate, disappoint, and prove mistaken. Even if we (or these aggregates) cling to the exalted notion, "I am the ALL," "I am Brahman," or "I am that I am," Tattva, Tat Tvam Asi, all of these exalted Vedic, Brahmanical, Hindu, and later Judeo-Christian ideas,
There is a better way to ask and find an answer: "What is there?" There is Dependent Origination (the 12-link chain of causality, its elements each giving rise to the other in a causal chain), which is how all "things" come to be, how "self," that is, the illusion/delusion of self, arises and originates and seems to exist.
Some wrongly say, "There is no separate self." This is true, but some are wrong because they misunderstand "separate," imagining as Hinduism does, that there is unity (of Atman and Brahman), Union with Brahma or Brahman, a raindrop returning to the sea, plunging into its home again after a roundabout journey, now merged and losing itself into the ALL, the Whole, the Ultimate Reality)
The Five Aggregates clung to as self
IN BRIEF: All of reality, in this dimension and universe or any other, is marked by three universal characteristics: All "things" are (1) impermanent, (2) unsatisfactory, and (3) impersonal. These are the Three Marks of Existence. Nirvana is the only non-thing (non-composite), for it is not dependently originated, whereas everything else is. Therefore, the Path to Freedom the Buddha taught leads to nirvana, complete freedom.
Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One (the Buddha) was living at Benares (Varanasi), in the Deer Park at Isipatana (the Resort of Seers). There he addressed the wandering ascetics known as the group of five:
"Meditators, form [this body] is not-self. Were form self, then this form would not lead to affliction, and one could will: 'Let my form be thus, and let my form be not thus' [Let my form (body) be this way and not that way]. Since form is not-self, it leads to affliction (pain, distress, disappointment), and no one can will: 'Let my form be thus, and let my form be not thus.'
[The body (form), though treated as one thing as if it were singular, is actually four things -- the Four Great Elements or four characteristics of materiality. They are condensed for simplicity into one because they are regarded as less worthy of note than the mind, which is treated in detail as the remaining four aggregates. "Mind" is not one thing but about 50 distinct processes -- feeling, perceiving, determining, and consciousness, all of which are mental formations; the remainder of the 50 are packed into the category of "mental formations" (sankhāra), of which the most important in the category is determination (cetana = intention, volition, impulse, will, motive). The Buddha considered these five the most important to single out for the sake of liberation by wisdom, that is, to gain insight (vipassana = clear seeing) that all we are, all "self" is, are heaps of these impersonal processes, not an actual "self" (soul, atta, atman, essence) that goes on unchanged and immutable through time and experience as philosophers and other religions hold the view. All that we are, all that we cling to as ourselves, is radically impermanent, ultimately disappointing (never able to fulfill us), and most unbelievably impersonal or not-self.]
"Meditators, feeling is not-self...
"Meditators, perception is not-self...
"Meditators, mental formations (determinations) are not-self...
"Meditators, consciousness is not-self. Were consciousness self, then this consciousness would not lead to affliction, and one could will: 'Let my consciousness be thus, and let my consciousness be not thus.' Since consciousness is not-self, it leads to affliction, and no one can will: 'Let my consciousness be thus, and let my consciousness be not thus.'
"Meditators, how do you conceive of it: Is form permanent or impermanent?"
"Impermanent, venerable sir."
"Is what is impermanent painful or pleasant?"
"It is painful, venerable sir."
"Is what is impermanent and painful (since it is subject to change) fit to be regarded this way: 'This is mine, this is me, this is my self'"?
"No, venerable sir."
Did the Buddha teach that there's no self?
"Is feeling permanent or impermanent?...
"Is perception permanent or impermanent?...
"Are mental formations (determinations) permanent or impermanent?...
"Is consciousness permanent or impermanent?"
"It is impermanent, venerable sir."
"Is what is impermanent pleasant or painful?"
"It is painful, venerable sir."
"Is what is impermanent and painful (since it is subject to change) fit to be regarded this way: 'This is mine, this is I, this is my self'"? — "No, venerable sir."
"So, bhikkhus any kind of form whatever, whether past, future or presently arisen, whether gross or subtle, whether in oneself or external, whether inferior or superior, whether far or near, must with right understanding how it is, be regarded this way: 'This is not mine, this is not I, this is not myself.'
"Any kind of feeling whatever...
"Any kind of perception whatever...
"Any kind of determination whatever...
The Middle Path leads to complete freedom
"Any kind of consciousness whatever, whether past, future or presently arisen, whether gross or subtle, whether in oneself or external, whether inferior or superior, whether far or near must, with right understanding how it is, be regarded this way: 'This is not mine, this is not I, this is not my self.'
"Meditators, when a noble [enlightened] follower who has heard (the Truth) sees thus, that person finds estrangement in form, finds estrangement in feeling, finds estrangement in perception, finds estrangement in determinations, finds estrangement in consciousness.
"When one finds estrangement, passion fades away. With the fading of passion, one is liberated. When liberated, knowledge arises that one is liberated. One [intuits] understands: 'Rebirth is exhausted, the supreme life has been lived out, what can be done is done, of this there is no more beyond [to come].'"
That is what the Blessed One said. The meditators were glad, and they approved of his words.
During this utterance, the hearts of the meditators of the group of five were liberated from the taints by letting go and renouncing clinging. Source
Buddha Face - Etsy; Bhikkhu Jayasara, Student of the Path, Dhamma Short (anatta); Dr. Doug Smith (Doug's Dharma); Ven. Ñanamoli (trans), Anatta-Lakkhana Sutta (SN 22.59); Dhr. Seven and Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Wisdom Quarterly
The seasons are changing because there comes a time when weekends start to jam up with events. This weekend is Wango Tango (LA's top of the pops festival featuring Doja Cat, Katseye, Meghan Trainor, DJ David Guetta, and others). The Altadena Future Fair is also in town at the Pasadena Convention Center alongside the Just Like Heaven Fest a few doors down Brookside at the Rose Bowl.
Just like Dharma Buddhist Meditation took over the BeachLife Fest for a mass meditation, we're on the lawn at Just Like Heaven doing some hometown healing along the foothills. There's no sense in trying to meditate to vapid pop rock and schlock. That would be like trying to achieve clarity at AC/DC's show at the Bowl.
Why attend a fest? It's not as if the Arctic Monkeys are going to show up
The Altadena Future Fair is a free community rebuild and healing event happening May 10-11, 2025, at the Pasadena Convention Center. This fair aims to unite residents, innovators, and local leaders to collaboratively envision and rebuild the community’s future.
Saturday, Sunday May 10-11, 2025, 9:00 am-5:00 pm
Pasadena Convention Center, 300 E. Green St., Pasadena (where Thich Nhat Hanh used to come every year to give a rousing dose of Zen, singing, and mostly silent notmuchtosayism, which people loved).
Speakers, workshops, trade show, locals' market, community healing, kids' room, music and entertainment (Saturday 5:00-9:00 pm), and a community vigil on Sunday at 4:00 pm
The mission is to ensure that every neighbor affected by the Eaton Fire has access to resources, knowledge, and community support — so no one rebuilds alone. It seeks to bring together displaced neighbors, builders, innovators, and local leaders to facilitate a collective recovery process. More
LA's the place to be for flash. At least for one summer. Just to see it isn't at all what it seems. The dazzling lights are a distraction. It's a trash pile. But who could ever believe that with all the TV shows and tells us unless we get close enough to actually smell the dumpster fire? So, y'know, why not come on down to Tinsel Town? Go west, My Children. Rent a convertible. Form a band. Get discovered. Be an influencer. But remember, whether it's sex-, music-, movie-, or miscellany, they are all industries. Expect to be exploited. Oh and, most importantly, bring money. Disneyland ain't cheap. And while here, why not catch Wango Tango 2025? KATSEYE is not K-Pop from South Korea but from Los Angeles, because we make boy bands and girl bands best. We invented the pre-fab concept of making TV-ready Monkees for fame and fortune.
Wango Tango 2025
KISS FM (iHeartRadio's 102.7 KIIS FM) "Wango Tango" 2025, hosted by possibly gay LA DJ Ryan Seacrest, features Doja Cat, Gwen Stefani, Meghan Trainor, EDM DJ David Guetta, sexy all-girl band (to beat back K-Pop's dominance) KATSEYE, NMIXX, xikers, A20, MAY, Hearts2Hearts all LIVE at:
Small print for lawyers and law students: Wango Tango 2025 line up is subject to change. Show times are subject to change. Entry door times may be adjusted. Please come ready for any weather. It's always sunny in LA, but this is technically the OC. Wango Tango 2025 will take place rain or shine, so no refunds. But for refund information, please check...more info and maybe you can claw it back.
Prehistoric underground mega-complex discovered in Egypt
(Universe Inside You) Ancient Egypt is an African cradle of civilization, but it is not the only one. There are megalithic structures all over the world that scientists cannot explain by conventional means and have yet to fathom. Most of these are unknown to laypeople, who have barely heard of Gobekli Tepe. How many know there are older sites already found and confirmed in ancient Anatolia (modern Turkey)? Prehistoric megastructures eBook: universeinsideyou.systeme.io...
This almost 500-page eBook includes images and contains over 30 of the most remarkable pre-historic megastructures on the planet.
These megastructures defy explanation and suggest the use of advanced [extraterrestrial] technology.
Join UIY in fueling its mission to create insightful videos backed by thorough research by supporting on Patreon (universeinsideyou) or PayPal (paypal.com/donate...).
Support can help UIY dive even more deeply into topics that matter, enabling it to produce engaging content that informs and inspires. By contributing, one is backing a project and empowering a wealth of knowledge to be shared. Stand with UIY as it strives to bring meaningful videos to life. Every contribution counts.
Pope Leo XIV is an Augustinian cardinal who spent a great deal of time in the Americas, particularly in Peru, as a dual-citizen.
It's an unbelievable development in world history as the temporal leader (tough guy Trump) and the spiritual leader are from the same country, a rich nation that now rules the rest of the world outright instead of just militarily, financially, and hegemonically (in terms of disproportionate influence).
What is it about Chicago to produce the CIA-groomed dictator of Israel (Bibi Netanyahu), CIA-groomed Barry Soetoro Obama, Trump's favorite historical figure (Al "Scarface" Capone), AND now this holy man, the world's first American pope? To be sure, there are other popes (head patriarchs of various Christian churches) in the world. The only explanation given so far? "He's the least American American," which is a nice epigram. If the US is a War Machine, Pope Leo is a man of peace.
However, this is the continuation of the Holy Roman Empire that rules the world through devotion of more than a billion adherents (1.4 billion total and 1 in 5 Americans) and untold riches stored away in public and secret investment bank accounts all over the world and booty stored in the Vatican (City) in the Holy See.
The grandeur of the Holy Roman Empire headquarters, the palace at Saint Peter's Square
The "Holy See" is its own independent country/city-state in the middle of Rome, where Mithras was for so long worshipped until being swapped out for Jewish Jesus Christ and, more importantly, his mother, Goddess Virgin Mary (Jewish Miriam).
Peter the Roman?
You forced me out too soon!
If this is "Peter the Roman," that must mean the USA is the new ROME, the new world-dominating imperial power. Prevost is Italian (ROMAN) and French, on his father's side, with a mother who's French, African, and Spanish, a dual citizen born in the U.S. but also possessing Peruvian citizenship. Peru is as happy as the U.S. about his selection.
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