Dhp. 1. Mind precedes all mental states. [Mind is the forerunner of all conditions.] Mind is their chief; they are all mind-made (wrought). If with an impure mind a person speaks or acts, suffering follows one like the wheel that follows the foot of the ox.
2. Mind precedes all mental states. Mind is their chief; they are all mind-made. If with a pure mind a person speaks or acts, happiness follows one like one's never-departing shadow.
3. "That person abused me, struck me, overpowered me, robbed me!" Those who harbor such thoughts will not still their hatred.... More
Q: Wisdom Quarterly, what religion was Alan Watts?
A: While he speaks like a Hindu professing Advaita Vedanta at every turn, and often explains Zen and Mahayana concepts quite nicely, with a grasp of Theravada, by his own admission he seemed to love Taoism best of all, although born Christian and ordained as an Episcopalian priest rather than a Buddhist monk as was his early ambition in the Buddhist Society of London with Christmas Humphreys and other prominent Western Buddhists. He was an early voice in the West for explaining and interpreting Eastern philosophy for Western ears, particularly those of Beats and Hippies, remarkably ahead of his time, openminded, and quite a New Ager. We love him because he has been with us all of our adult lives through Berkeley's KPFA FM, KQED (TV), and he continues to inspire through KPFK FM in Los Angeles (Sunday mornings at 8:00 am and Thursdays at midnight) and the invaluable preservation work of Roy of Hollywood Tuckman.
For those brave enough to let it all hang out, get ready for the clothing-optional World Naked Bike Ride 2026 Los Angeles (WNBRLA).
The head-turning bike fest—a global grassroots movement that began in 2004—is taking over L.A. with its bare-as-you-dare dress code to fight “indecent exposure to cars.”
For those able to look past the nudity, nakedness, and eye-popping dangly bits, this 19th annual bike ride’s primary (stated) goal is to advocate for sustainable energy and environmentally responsible living to combat our current car-driven society. That and to bring joy back to transportation via cycling. (Think CicLAvia but with more butts).
I should have the right to go topless. What is this, Russia? I'll show that President Putin!
But make no mistake: The nudity is a major part of the ride and is in itself a celebration of body positivity, strength, respect and acceptance for every human being becoming better than ever looks wise.
When is the WNBR 2026 in LA?
The ride takes place Saturday, June 27, 2026. There will be two rides, in fact, the first at 10:00 am and the second at 2:00 pm.
Where does the ride take place?
For the safety of its riders, WNBR doesn’t share the exact details of its routes until the week before the event on Instagram and Facebook.
But here’s what we can say: The staging area for both rides will be in the parking lot of the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) in Little Tokyo (140 Judge John Aiso St.), where there will also be body painters, food trucks and vendors.
In keeping with the event’s anti-car sentiment, organizers usually suggest leaving all cars behind—so wearing clothes to start and taking public transit is highly encouraged. But there will be parking for riders at the nearby Mangrove Parking Lot (414 E Temple St.) for $10, starting at 8:00 am.
Look for the “WNBR–LA General Parking” sign. Whether driving or cycling over, organizers ask that cyclist NOT undress until at the staging area.
I'm naked wearing body paint. I can shower off later. Hah, look at all these starved gawkers!
You sinful sinners, cover up! This is a beach!
The first ride starts at 10:00 am and is approximately 9 miles long—the longer of the two but is an easier route.
The second ride is at 2:00 pm and is about 7 miles long. This is the harder of the two rides, as the route goes over hills. Both go past DTLA landmarks and include photo ops and water stops.
Do I need to pre-register? All participants can register in person on the day of the event and get a debriefing on this year’s rules. Or pre-register by emailing wnbr.losangeles@gmail.com or via PayPal or Patreon).
Padded bike shorts, who needs'em? buns of steel
How much is it? As for the cost, the bike ride is technically FREE, but WNBRLA does welcome donations to help cover the cost of traffic escorts, porta potties, wristbands, loaner bikes, and more. (For those who donate at least $5, pick up a free backpack!)
Even if pre-registering, participants will need to check in on the day of the event to pick up a wristband.
I prefer skimpy. It's more tantalizing and alluring
How nude is “nude”? Do I have to strip to ride?
We’re talking bare butts on bicycle seats and delicate bits flopping in the breeze, but the dress code is officially “bare as you dare.” Nudity isn’t technically required. So feel free to partake as fully clothed or as fully nude as you feel comfortable going. It's individual.
WNBRLA does encourage helmets and full-body SPF sunblock, as well as body paint and other creative expression—but strictly prohibits provocative fetish gear and genital jewelry and accessories. Also: no erections.
So how is this legal?
Public nudity IS legal—sort of. Baring a nude body in a lewd manner that clearly has sexual or offensive intentions is illegal, however. Hence WNBRLA’s rules.
What if I don’t have a bike?
In the past, WNBRLA has suggested DTLA Bikes or Just Ride L.A. for bike rentals. Or check out Time Out’s list of the best bike shops in L.A. to purchase one.
Participants can also skate, scooter, or ride a unicycle or tricycle—any human-powered vehicle—but keep in mind that the route will go both uphill and downhill. More
Last month's blue moon was really June's? The Gregorian calendar really fails us, making the lunar calendar of 13 months (moonths, since every year has 13 full moons, one each moonth) or even the Chinese lunisolar calendar look very appealing by comparison.
How long is a moonth? It is four weeks. How long is a week? It is seven days. How long is a day? About 24 hours or so. And the surprise is that, agreeing on all of these numbers as most Westerners will, what number __ x 28 (four weeks or a month) will give us 365 days?
Mmm, is it 12? - No, it is not. - Oh, is it 11 then? - No, and you're only getting colder. - You don't mean it's 13, do you, because that's bad luck! We can't have 13 anywhere or bad luck will happen, and I'm already afraid that you brought it up! It's 12, right? It has to be 12 because 12 months equal one year!
The number is 13 because 13 x 28 = 364 + plus 1 turnaround (New Year's) day to reset for the next year. This is astronomy in action, only we've been lied to for so long and taught to fear the evil, wrong, bad "thirteen" with superstitions and stupidity for so long that we do not even question it.
It's like a Roman religion, and we all just do what we're told. But 13 is a holy number with many excellent attributes, not the least of which is that's how many natural full moons and months we have each year. The ancient Vedas and Sumerian texts were onto something, so why did moderns try to take that away from us, detach us from our celestial clock, our connection to the seasons, solstices, sabbaths (a word that literally means "Saturdays," which we have been conned into thinking is synonymous with solar worship on Sundays), and a more reliable calendar?
There is a way to construct it so that holidays do not jump around in a haphazard way necessitating a priestly caste to interpret the signs for us every time we want to commemorate something. The indigenous people knew it, as did the aboriginal, and the wise women (cursed as "witches"), the pagans, and the heathens, the Gnostics and the Buddhists. The Buddha set aside one day a week to observe the uposatha or "fasting" day (because one only eats between dawn and noon and not after) of observing the Eight Precepts.
Of the four weeks in a month, the full moon observance is the most obvious so it seems the most special, as in if you're only going to follow one a month, this would be the one. Anyone can look up and see that it is time to reflect on the Dhamma, invest in our meditation practice or sadhana, and hear the Teachings of the Awakened One.
Humans oftentimes violate the "law of the jungle," the territorial claims of carnivores and cornered or injured beasts who survive on instinct. For all the good and peaceful interactions we have most of the time, there are a few that show that some element of danger is ever present.
In the Rebirth Stories (Jataka Tales) of the Buddha, animals can talk. They communicate with one another, of course, but they are also able to cross the veil between their domain and ours. Cross species communication is real. Just ask an animal communicator:
It's interesting that when the wandering ascetic Siddhartha became "the Enlightened One," the Buddha, he found the Creator and said so. The words are famous in Buddhist history for what they say about our present situation even though we have not yet realized it. But we will at our awakening, when and if we become enlightened. It's not guaranteed that we will. In fact, if we do nothing, it's guaranteed that we won't. The Buddha's final words were, "All things are hurtling towards destruction; work out your salvation (enlightenment) with diligence." So what did he say?
"Through the round of many rebirths I roamed without reward, without rest, seeking the house-builder. Painful is rebirth again and again. House-builder, you are seen! You will not build a house again. All your rafters broken, the ridge pole destroyed, gone to the unformed, the mind has come to the end of craving."
If there's no Creator, why does the Universe exist? A Buddhist answer
(Buddhism Podcast) June 4, 2025: Buddhism Explained. The universe exists not by a creator, but through endless cycles of conditions. The Buddha (in Buddhist cosmology) presents Dependent Origination, where everything that arises does so from interconnected causes, challenging traditional and scientific quests for a first spark [or prime mover].
Understand why the Buddha redirected focus from cosmic origins to the immediate path of ending suffering right here right now.
This profound wisdom finds surprising parallels in modern scientific thought, revealing a cosmos shaped by karma and interdependence. Learn how to transform external questions into inner clarity and liberation, finding peace in understanding reality as it truly unfolds.
00:00 - The human longing: Who made this?
06:12 - No creator: the universe of conditions
13:29 - The six realms [31 Planes of Existence] — where consciousness can reappear
17:43 - Waking from the cosmic dream [Maya]
21:20 - The real answer: From external questions to inner freedom
Ironic sarcasm (with a point)
Black Joshua, how shall we live? - It's all yours.
Aha, Buddhism must be wrong because obviously Creation must have a Creator. It's built right into the word. All of this was created by someone somewhere somehow at sometime. That much we know. The rest is a mystery. The Black God came down to Earth after it evaporated from being the "face of the deep," a great big sea or primordial soup, and he made a matching pair called Steve and Eve, or was that Adam and Lilith? And He, it was a he, right? We can all at least agree He was a white man, very Germanic, kind of Ashkenazi Scandinavian, but the Pair in the Garden got tanned from not wearing clothes or using the sunblock the Lord provideth... Preposterous, but so many of us buy into our society's creation myths without thinking.
Who created us? - We looked...
The Native American stories are best, very direct and campfiery. The Indigenous people were living by the beach in Tovaangar (future Los Angeles) and the Creator made a Rainbow Bridge for people to go to Catalina Island, saying, 'Don't look down as you cross over the ocean.' But some did, and as a result they fell off the bridge and became our brothers and sisters the dolphins."
Now that's a creation tale we can embrace, living on the beach, traversing rainbows, swimming with the dolphins.
down and fell. It had to be the Great D!
As Westerners invading the area, we laugh, but we can't imagine anyone laughing out our nonsense: "Once upon a time, before time, there was this nothingness but this Guy lived alone, very lonely, nothing to do all day but putter about, so he created us, put us in a Garden, male first to set the social order, populated the place with plants and animals, everyone living in peace, no one eating anyone else, everyone purely vegan and peaceful.
Should I have mentioned my Snake?
Except for this one snake jerk, a real troublemaker, doubting the Lord, and contaminating the mind of the Jenny-come-lately female pulled out of the male's rib. The Great Creator God wanted to keep us pig ignorant, and this dang Serpent (Reptilian) had to go and lead the Pair to the fruiting body of some kind of psychedelic mushroom growing off the lignans of a tree the Lord God forbade us from ever eating from. It's not like He set us up for failure or anything. We are full of sin and sinners, most of us unrepentant, so we deserve all we get. (Ya think maybe Natives roll their eyes at hearing such campfire tales from Bible thumpers?)
Both sound good. Don't know which to believe
Get real and stop joking around
Isn't the Buddha just another philosopher? NO!
Is irony any way to teach? Probably not given that we live in a Post-Ironic Age and everyone suffering from irony deficiency.
The Buddha often spoke of an imagined "Creator," Brahma ("Supremo") or Maha Brahma ("Great Supremo"). There are gods. Gods have powers and can create things. Now imagine a God creates something, as the creative gods can do on higher planes. That would not mean that they really bring us into being or end us, save us from bad karmic ("sin") results, or get us into heavens, of which there are many, none of which are actually permanent. No God creates new beings, new souls, new selves and individuals. But, then, what is creating ALL of this?
In a sense, each of us is the creator of our experience. This is deep and hard to understand by our usual way of thinking -- all of the misguided assumptions we've inherited. The Buddha was well aware of these philosophical problems and questions. Some are good. Most such questions do not lead to freedom, liberation, the end of suffering, enlightenment, or nirvana.
Indeed, there was once a dissatisfied Buddhist monk (Malunkyaputta) who, failing to meditate, got to thinking: Who am I, why am I here, is life infinite or not, what happens after death, and many such perplexing questions. He realized he had never asked the Buddha and gotten clarity on these philosophical conundrums, yet he was a monk.
So he went over to the Buddha and said, "If you cannot answer these questions to my satisfaction, I will stop being a monk and leave the sangha." Rather than answering him, the Buddha asked if they had ever entered into an agreement that if he became a monk, the Buddha would answer all of these perplexing questions.
The monk agreed that he did not. The Buddha further pointed out that what he said was for fast progress toward enlightenment and freedom. And these questions, whatever the answer, were not conducive to that.
It was far better to follow the Path than to remain stuck pondering all of these types of questions (which probably included the Four Imponderables). Become enlightened and see for yourself is the spirit of the matter. The monk was flummoxed by this logic.
#BuddhistCosmology #Buddhism #NoCreator. Channel's purpose and commitment: This channel is committed to sharing the beauty and wisdom of Buddhist teachings with the purpose of education and inspiration. All content is created with deep respect for the [historical] Buddha’s teachings, aiming to promote understanding, mindfulness, and compassion in everyday life. The goal is to present the values and practices of Buddhism in a way that is accessible and beneficial to everyone, regardless of their background or [religious, agnostic, or atheistic] beliefs. It does not seek to influence or alter anyone’s faith but simply to offer insights into the timeless wisdom of Buddhism as a source of guidance and positivity. This channel is a space for learning, reflection, and connection, guided by the principles of respect, kindness, and truth. Feedback or concerns are welcomed as is open and respectful dialogue. Thanks for supporting the mission to share the meaningful messages of Buddhism with the world.
Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy,American Dad); Buddhist Podcast (video), 6/4/,25; Bible stories with Mrs. Betty Bowers, America's Best Christian; text by Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells, Amber Larson, Xochitl (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
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