'The Ignorance Sutra' (Avijja Sutta)

The Dharma in the Pali language

Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was staying in Jeta's Grove, near Savatthi, at the millionaire's monastery. There he addressed the meditators, "Meditators!"

"Yes, venerable sir," the practitioners replied. Then the Blessed One said:

"Meditators, ignorance is the leader in the attainment of all unskillful things, followed by a lack of conscience and a lack of concern.

1. "Wrong view arises in an ignorant person who is immersed in ignorance.
2. In one of wrong view, wrong intention [motivation, aspiration, volition, resolve] arises.
3. In one of wrong intention, wrong speech arises.
4. In one of wrong speech, wrong action arises.
5. In one of wrong action, wrong livelihood arises.
6. In one of wrong livelihood, wrong effort arises.
7. In one of wrong effort, wrong mindfulness arises.
8. In one of wrong mindfulness, wrong stillness (samadhi, concentration) arises.

"Clear knowing [vipassana, insight, wisdom] is the leader in the attainment of skillful things, followed by conscience and concern. [This is the Ennobling Eightfold Path now being described:]

1. "Right view arises in a wise person, immersed in clear knowing.
2. In one of right view, right intention arises.
3. In one of right intention, right speech arises.
4. In one of right speech, right action arises.
5. In one of right action, right livelihood arises.
6. In one of right livelihood, right effort arises.
7. In one of right effort, right mindfulness arises.
8. In one of right mindfulness, right stillness arises."

What is avijjā?

What did the Buddha teach about avijja?

avijjā: "ignorance," nescience, unknowing. It is synonymous with delusion (moha, one of the root causes of all harm. See mūla). Ignorance is the primary root of all unskillfulness and suffering in the world, veiling our mental eyes and preventing us from seeing the true nature of things.

Ignorance is the delusion tricking living beings by making life appear permanent (rather than constantly passing away), able to fulfill (happy, pleasing, satisfactory), personal (substantial, self, with essence), and beautiful (not repulsive), hindering and preventing us from seeing that everything in reality is impermanent, disappointing (liable to pain and suffering), void of any "I," "me," or "mine" and basically impure. (See "perversions" of view, vipallāsa).

Ignorance is defined as "not knowing [penetrating, having gnosis of] the Four Truths, namely, disappointment, its origin, its cessation, and the way to its cessation" (S. XII, 4).

As ignorance is the foundation of all rebirth-affirming karma, of all harm and disappointment, therefore it stands first in the formula of Dependent Origination (paticca-samuppāda).

For that reason, The Path of Purification (Vis.M., XVII, 36f) says ignorance should NOT be regarded as "the causeless root-cause of the world... Ignorance is NOT causeless. For a cause of it is stated thus: 'With the arising of cankers (āsava), there is the arising of ignorance' (MN 9).

"But there is a figurative way in which ignorance can be treated as a root-cause; namely, when it is made to serve as a starting point in an exposition of the Round of Rebirth...

"As it is said: 'No first beginning of ignorance can be perceived, meditators, before which ignorance was not and after which it came to be. But it can be perceived that ignorance has its specific condition (idappaccaya)'" (A.X.61). The same statement is made (A.X.62) about the incessant craving for becoming (bhava-tanhā).

Ignorance and this kind of craving are called "the outstanding causes of karma that lead to unhappy and happy destinies" (Vis.M. XVII, 38).

Because ignorance still exists -- though in a very refined and residual way -- until the attainment of full enlightenment (arahantship), it is counted as the last of the Ten Fetters (samyojana) that bind beings to the cycle of rebirth.

As the first two roots (mūla) of all that is unskillful, greed and hate, are themselves rooted in ignorance. Consequently, ALL unwholesome states of heart/mind are inseparably bound up with ignorance.

The Roots of Good and Evil (Ven. Nyanaponika)

Ignorance (delusion) is the most obstinate of the Three Poisons or Roots of Evil. Ignorance is one of the cankers (āsava) and proclivities (anusaya).

Ignorance is often called a "hindrance" or nīvarana (e.g., in S.XV.3; A.X.61) but is not listed together with the usual Five Hindrances [since it itself is the root cause of the other five].

The Gradual Path of Purification (Real Buddha Quotes)

DEFINITIONS: Pali Text Society (PTS) Pali English Dictionary: avijjā (fem.) "ignorance"; the main root of evil [unskillful conduct] and of continual rebirth. (See Dependent Origination, paṭicca-samuppāda, cp. SN.ii.6, SN.ii.9, SN.ii.12; Snp.p.141, and many other passages). See on term; Cpd. 83 n. 3, 187 sq, 262 sq. and for further detail; vijjā ("knowing").

Avijjā is termed an anusaya (DN.iii.254, DN.iii.282; SN.iv.205, SN.iv.208 sq., SN.iv.212); it is one of the āsavā (Vin.iii.4; DN.i.84; DN.iii.216; Iti.49; Ds.1100, Ds.1109), of the oghā (DN.iii.230, DN.iii.276; Ds.390, Ds.1061, Ds.1162), of the nīvaraṇāni (SN.ii.23; AN.i.223; Iti.8; Ds.1162, Ds.1486), of the saṁyojanāni (DN.iii.254; Ds.1131, Ds.1460). See for various characterizations the following passages: Vin.i.1; Vin.iii.3; DN.iii.212 DN.iii.230, DN.iii.234, DN.iii.274; MN.i.54, MN.i.67, MN.i.144; SN.ii.4, SN.ii.26, SN.ii.263; SN.iii.47 SN.iii.162; SN.iv.256; SN.v.52; AN.i.8, AN.i.285; AN.ii.132, AN.ii.158, AN.ii.247; AN.iii.84 sq. AN.iii.414; AN.iv.228; Iti.34 (yā kāc’ imā duggatiyo asmiṁ loke paramhi ca avijjāmūlakā sabbā icchā-lobha-sammussayā), Iti.57, Iti.81; Snp Verse 199, Snp Verse 277, Snp Verse 729 (jāti-maraṇa-saṁsāraṁ ye vajanti punappunaṁ… avijjāy’eva sā gati), Snp verse 730, Snp Verse 1026, Snp Verse 1033 (avijjāya nivuto loko); Dhp.243; Cnd.99; Pp.21; Ds.390 Ds.1061, Ds.1162; Dhp-a.iii.350; Dhp-a.iv.161 (˚paligha). Sanskrit avidyā; from a ["not"] + vid ["knowing"]♦️Digital Pāḷi Dictionary: avijjā (fem.) "ignorance; illusion; not knowing; not understanding" [na + √vid + yā].

• "Discourse on Ignorance," Avijja Sutta (SN 45.1 PTS: S v 1 CDB ii 1523) translated by Dhr. Seven based on Ven. Thanissaro Bhikkhu translation (accesstoinsight.org); Ven. Nyanaponika (Buddhist Dictionary: Manual of Doctrines and Terms); Wisdom Quarterly

The weight of 'what if' -- worry less

(Buddhism Prevails) How to worry less in hard times | Buddhist teachings in English

Eckhart Tolle on 'emptiness' (shunyata)

Eckhart Tolle on Jesus: What "love" really is - Eckhart Tolle on the Buddha’s Teachings

The essence of "emptiness"

Ven. Nyanatiloka (Anton Walther Florus Gueth); Dhr. Seven (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

What is the Zen enso symbol?

Suññatā (noun), suñña (adjective): "empty" ("emptiness"), "void" ("voidness").

As a Buddhist doctrinal term this word refers, in the long-preserved Theravāda tradition of the Pali language canon, exclusively to the "not-self" (anattā) doctrine of the historical Buddha -- the impersonal nature of all things, the unsubstantial nature of all phenomena:

"Empty is the world...because it is devoid of a self and anything belonging to a self" (suññam attena vā attaniyena vā, S. XXXV, 85).

This is also stated in the same text, more pertinently to the human condition, of the Five Aggregates clung to as "self" (khandha, Sanskrit skandha). See also MN 43 and MN 106.

In the ancient commentary (Cula Niddessa) quoted in The Path of Purification (Vis.M. XXI, 55), it is said:

"Eye...mind, visual objects...mind-objects, visual consciousness...mind-consciousness, corporeality... consciousness, and so on are devoid of self and anything belonging to a self, devoid of permanence and of anything lasting, eternal, or immutable... They are coreless: without a core [essence] of permanence, or core of satisfaction [fulfillment, non-disappointment], or core of self." (In other words, there are Three Universal Characteristics of All Existence).

In MN 121, the voiding of the mind of the cankers [freeing the heart of the taints] in the attainment of full enlightenment (arahantship), is regarded as the "fully purified and incomparably highest (concept of) emptiness."

See Sn.v.1119; MN 121; MN122 (Buddhist Publication Society, Wheel 87); Pts.M. II: Suñña-kathā; Vis.M. XXI, 53ff. Source

Ultimately, this is liberation

Sanskrit moksha is vimokkha ("liberation") in Pali (I. the 3; II. the 8. I.) The three "liberations" are:

1. the "conditionless" (or "signless") liberation (animitta-vimokkha)
2. the "desireless" (or "cravingless") liberation (apanihita-vimokkha)
3. the "emptiness" (or "void") liberation (suññatā-vimokkha).

They are also called "the triple gateway to liberation" or vimokkha-mukha (The Path of Purification, Vis.M. XXI, 66ff) because they are three different approaches to the paths of awakening.

See "purification" (visuddhi VI, 8. Cf. Vis XXI, 6ff, 121ff; Pts.M. II. Vimokkha-Kathā). More

Emptiness as spaciousness

Śūnyatā (shoon-yə-TAH, Sanskrit शून्यता, Pali suññatā, lit. "emptiness," "voidness" [1, 2, 3], "vacuity"[4, 5], "no-thing-ness" or "spaciousness") is an Indian philosophical concept in Dharmic traditions like Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism, and other Indian philosophical traditions.

The concept has multiple meanings depending on its doctrinal context: an ontological feature of reality, a meditative state, or a phenomenological analysis of experience.

In Theravāda Buddhism, suññatā refers to the impersonal characteristic of all states of existence, not-self (Pāli anattā, Sanskrit anātman) [Note 1] -- the true nature of the Five Aggregates clung to as "self" and the six sense spheres.

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Forgive Them, for They Are Unconscious

Pali suññatā may also be used to refer to an experience or meditative state.

• Possibly the meditative state (absorption, jhana) referred to here is the "sphere of nothingness"? For it is said: Through the total overcoming of the [previous meditative absorption called the] "sphere of boundless consciousness," with the idea "Nothing is there," a meditator can reach the "sphere of nothingness" (ākiñcaññāyatana) and abide therein. Through the total overcoming of the "sphere of nothingness," one can reach the "sphere [meditative absorption] of neither-perception-nor-non-perception" (nevasaññā-n'asaññāyatana) and abide therein. This "sphere or base of nothingness" is the seventh of the four immaterial absorptions (jhanas of the immaterial sphere). It still belongs, properly speaking, to the fourth fine-material absorption because it possesses the same two constituents. This fourth fine-material absorption is the base or starting point (pādaka-jhāna) for the attaining of the higher (special, psychic) spiritual powers (abhiññā). Source
• These meditative attainments are heavy karma and can lead to rebirth in exalted celestial, heavenly, superhuman states that last a very long time.
• However one may use the term, these two "nothings" are not the same. They are very different. I spent years believing that this base or sphere of "nothingness" was just the understanding that all things are impersonal and not-self, seeing through the illusion of "thingness." Then I was corrected by a powerful meditator able to enter this and all the other absorptions at will. Asking, "Isn't that knowing of nothingness just knowing that everything is anatta?"
• "No," I was told, "that sphere is a real place." "What's it like?" "It's like a construction zone with nothing built there, desolate, empty, unformed yet." I was blown away, asking the obvious question: "Well, that can't be 'nothing' because you're describing something, right?" I was surprised by the answer: "It may be something, but when you're there, it's eerie. There's nothing there." This meant not nothing-nothing, not literally, but in a sense of speaking, as when one leaves the city and goes out to the desolate desert.
• What can we say about it when we get back to the cluttered city? We can say, "there was nothing there." One day there may be, but now it's just nothing built up, formed, fabricated, constructed. There's sand but not bricks, sky and air but not smog and obstructions, no objects in the sky or on the ground, and so on. It's figurative.
• This bore a striking similarity to a non-Buddhist description a guest once gave on Coast to Coast AM, which oddly echoes a very Buddhist story. Where is the end of the universe? This guest, wishing to see that place, willed it, and ended up in just that sort of unbuilt up construction zone like place, a real "place" (sphere) but a desolation, not so much a nothing-nothing but rather a no-thing yet. It was not yet a thing, like an empty expanse where a mall to be built, empty real estate.

In Mahāyāna Buddhism, Sanskrit śūnyatā refers to the tenet that "all things are empty [devoid] of intrinsic existence [essence] and [self-] nature (svabhava)" [7, 8], but may also refer to the Buddha-nature teachings and primordial or empty awareness, as in Dzogchen, Shentong, or Chan (Chinese chan'na, Pali jhan', Sanskrit dhyan', Japanese zen). More

The Heart Sutra (if Eckhart translated it)

"Channeled: and imagined from Eckhart Tolle by Dhr. Seven for Wisdom Quarterly, Nov. 2026

Nothing is more powerful than right now.

Ehem. The Perfection of Wisdom is lovely and holy. An awakening person, a being moving toward enlightenment [a bodhisattva], starts moving in the deep course of a Wisdom that has gone beyond. Here and now one looks down from on high, one beholds but five groups [clung to as self], and one sees that in and of themselves they are spacious [shunyata, empty].

Here, O Wise One, this bodily form is spacious, and the very spaciousness is form. Spaciousness does not differ from form, form does not differ from spaciousness. Whatever is spaciousness, that is form [the first group clung to as self]. The same is true of feelings, perceptions, [mental] fabrications, and consciousness.

Here, O Wise One, all phenomena are marked with spaciousness. They are not made nor unmade, not good nor bad, not missing something nor complete.

Therefore, O Wise One, in spaciousness there is no form nor feeling, nor perception, nor fabrication, nor consciousness. There is no [ayatana of] eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind; no [visible] forms, sounds, fragrances, tastes, tangibles, nor objects of mind; no sight-organ element, and so forth, until we come to: no mind-consciousness element.

There is no ignorance, no eradication of ignorance, and so forth, until we come to: There is no decay and death, no eradication of decay and death. There is no suffering, no origination, no stopping, no path. There is no cognition, no attainment, and no non-attainment.

Therefore, O Wise One, it is because of this spacious non-attainmentness that a being bent on awakening, through having relied on the Perfection of Wisdom, dwells without thought-coverings.

In the absence of thought-coverings one no longer trembles. One has overcome everything that can upset, and in the end one realizes nirvana.

All fully awakened ones of the past, present, and future fully awake to the ultimate, to right and perfect awakening because they have relied on this Perfection of Wisdom.

Therefore, one should know this Perfection of Wisdom as a great mantra, a mantra of great knowledge, the ultimate mantra, the unequalled mantra, the allayer of all suffering for, in truth, what could go wrong? [For nothing could touch that part of us.]

By the Perfection of Wisdom has this mantra come to us. It runs something like this as the Buddhists would say: gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha. ("Gone, gone, gone beyond, gone altogether beyond, O what an awakening, so it is!)

This completes the Heart of Perfect Wisdom. More

What is Diwali? India's Festival of Lights

(KTLA 5) Celebrating Diwali Festival of Lights at BAPS Los Angeles

• BAPS.org/LosAngeles
• Diwali and Annakut Celebrations 2026 | BAPS The Americas
• (CBS LA) Diwali celebrations begin in Chino Hills, LA County
• VIDEO: How old is the civilization of India (Maha Bharata), and was it ever just one?

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The deeper meaning of Diwali

(Nanak Naam) The real meaning of Diwali | Ramayana | Festival of Lights

(CBS LA) A preview of Southern California's Diwali festival

What is Diwali or the Festival of Lights?

New Year thanks to the Great God (Brahma)

Dipa-vali (Dīpāvalī) [a], commonly known as Diwali [4], is the Hindu Festival of Lights, with variations celebrated in other Dharmic religions such as Newar Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism [b].

Diwali is associated with the spiritual victory or triumph of Dharma over Adharma, light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance [5, 6, 7, 8].

Diwali is celebrated during the Hindu lunisolar months of Ashvin (according to the amanta tradition) and Kārtika – between around mid-October and mid-November [14], while the Western world is caught up in acknowledging the darkness of Halloween, Day of the Dead, Samhain, and the like.

(AGT) Insane Indian contestants who left everyone speechless

The Buddha meets with Sakka and Brahma

Diwali celebrations generally last five or six days [15, 16]. It is connected to various religious events, deities, and personalities, such as being the day Rama returned to his kingdom in Ayodhya with his wife Sita and his brother Lakshmana after defeating the demon king Ravana [17].

Diwali is also widely associated with the Goddess of Prosperity Lakshmi and the Remover of Obstacles and a god of wisdom Ganesha [18].

Other regional Indian traditions connect the holiday to Vishnu, Krishna, Durga, Shiva, Kali, Hanuman, Kubera, Yama, Yami, Dhanvantari, or Vishvakarman.

Primarily a Hindu festival today, variations of Diwali are also celebrated by adherents of other non-Hindu traditions [15].

The Great (Maha) Brahma, creator deity

Newar Buddhists, unlike other Buddhists, celebrate Diwali by worshipping Lakshmi, while the Hindus of Eastern India and Bangladesh generally, celebrate Diwali by worshipping the goddess Kali [22, 2, 23].

Jains observe their own Diwali, which marks the final liberation of their founder Mahavira [19, 20], who is known in Buddhism as the Nigantha Nattaputta or the Brahmin Vardhammana.

Sikhs celebrate Bandi Chhor Divas to mark the release of Guru Hargobind from a Mughal prison [21]. More

Diwali Celebrations in New York City

Diwali 2026 celebration at Times Square in New York City | unforgettable Indian celebration in the heart of NYC

• (AGT/Talent Replay) Kali comes to life through Indian girl, 13, from Jammu Kashmir
• Diwali Festival: Deepawali (diwalifestival.org)

The ignorance we can't see

What is avijja? The IGNORANCE even smart people can’t see

(Buddha's Wisdom) Nov. 4, 2026: 🕯️ WHAT THE BUDDHA MEANT BY "NOT KNOWING": In Buddhism, avijjā, which is usually translated as "ignorance," means "not knowing suffering, its origin, its cessation, or the path to its cessation."

• [EDITORIAL NOTE: One of the best translations of Buddhist "wisdom" (panna, prajna) or "knowing" (vijja, Sanskrit vidya) or directly knowing-and-seeing (ñāṇadassanena) is really knowing these four liberating things: that all phenomena are disappointing, unsatisfactory, unable to ever fulfill us, that phenomena or things are this way by their very nature (marked by three characteristics), that there is freedom or an escape from this here and now, and that there is a path-of-practice to this freedom here and now. The problem is our English misunderstanding of "knowing." People early on memorize the "Four Noble Truths" and utterly fail to see what "knowing" means. It is not a magic formula, a belief to defend or argue with, a statement of faith, or something that if repeated enough will suddenly make sense. "Knowing" refers to penetrating, personally experiencing, grasping thoroughly in a Gnostic sense, awakening to these truths. The "noble" part does not mean there's something noble or commendable about them, but rather "noble" means "enlightening" (Aryan), what liberated people share in common.]

Literally, it means "not-knowing," and it has little to do with stupidity or lacking facts.

This video looks at how the Buddha defined avijjā through the Four Enlightening Truths and why someone can understand a teaching for years and still repeat the very thing it warns against.

For example, Mahānāma, a lay follower, told the Buddha he understood the Teachings (Dhamma) and still found greed and anger getting into his mind/heart. (Mahānāma Sutta 1)

 ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS

• 00:00 We know better
• 02:41 A question in the Banyan Park
• 05:48 Knowing is a task
• 09:50 Even the Buddha
• 13:05 The pause before the sentence

The Buddha's answer, his first sermon inside the Deer Park near Varanasi (Benares, proto-India), and a candid passage about his own life before awakening all point to the same idea: knowing a truth is a task, not just a thought.

DISCOVER

• Why "ignorance" sends most of us in the wrong direction and what avijjā actually names
• Why intelligence and familiarity with Buddhist Teachings can leave ignorance unresolved
• What the Buddha told Mahānāma about the anger that keeps coming back
• The three levels of knowing each of the Four Ennobling Truths from the First Sermon
• What the Buddha revealed about his own experience of temptation under the bodhi tree before awakening
• How the carpenter’s peg simile connects with the goodwill the Buddha taught his son, Ven. Rāhula
• A practical application of mindfulness and right speech for moments when anger is still present.

📚 SOURCES AND FURTHER READING (affiliate links)

Primary texts (the Buddhist suttas this video draws on):

• Cūḷadukkhakkhandha Sutta, "The Lesser Mass of Suffering" (MN 14): Mahānāma's question in the Banyan Park
• Paṭiccasamuppāda-vibhaṅga Sutta, "Analysis of Dependent Origination" (SN 12.2): ignorance as not knowing the Four Noble Truths
• Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, "Setting the Wheel of Dhamma in Motion" (SN 56.11): the "First Sermon" and Koṇḍañña Anamatagga Saṃyutta (SN 15): beings "hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving"
• Vitakkasaṇṭhāna Sutta, "The Relaxation of Thoughts" (MN 20): the carpenter's peg
• Mahārāhulovāda Sutta, "The Greater Exhortation to Rāhula" (MN 62): developing goodwill
• Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta, "The Four Foundations of Mindfulness" (MN 10): knowing ill will when it is present

TRANSLATIONS:

• Ven. Thanissaro Bhikkhu [inferior] translations of the suttas above (dhammatalks.org)
• Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli and Bhikkhu Bodhi, The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha
• Bhikkhu Bodhi, The Connected Discourses of the Buddha

🌿 Join community: Instagram: buddhaswizdom. Facebook: buddhaswizdom. X: x.com/BuddhasWizdom. Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/5ndnBU5... TikTok: buddhas.wisdom ☕ Support the channel: buymeacoffee.com/buddhaswisdom, paypal.me/buddhaswisdom

🔔 Ever said, "I know, I know" and done it anyway? Subscribe. Buddha's Wisdom takes the Buddha's Teachings back to the original texts and tests them against ordinary life. 💬 Comment: What does the last word give you, and how long does it last?

NOTE: The suttas or "discourses" were preserved orally and written down centuries after the Buddha's lifetime. Details such as Mahānāma being the Buddha's cousin come from Buddhist tradition. The closing practice is a modern way of applying these teachings, not a method found in the texts. #Avijja #Ignorance #FourNobleTruths #BuddhaTeachings #Mindfulness #Buddha

Annual Tree Festival (ReGreen Altadena)

Second Annual TreeFest

This is a Call to Action for Los Angeles. AltadenaWILD.org (@altadenawild), Altadena Green, and CSUN/California State University Northridge’s Urban Forestry Project continue their commitment to regrow the tree canopy lost in the Eaton Fire by hosting the second annual ReGreen Altadena Community TreeFest.

TreeFest includes

• Giveaway of 300 five-gallon citrus trees and 200 California native live oak and Englemann/Pasadena oak saplings for Altadena residents. (First come, first served; limit of two total per household)
• Giveaway of native toyon berry shrub, and a variety of orange, lime, and strawberry trees
• Public demonstrations and talks (schedule on flyer)
• Exhibit booths staffed by representatives from many environmental organizations

Event is FREE TO ALL (except ICE agents who must pay a severe toll and face public ridicule, protest, and hissing)

• Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, 10:00 am-2:00 pm
• Odyssey School
• 725 West Altadena Drive
• Altadena, CA 91001 (MAP)

LA Mayor Karen Bass fired for incompetence

Parking info: On-site parking on Odyssey's main campus will be limited; however, the parking lot at Odyssey South (575 West Altadena Drive) will be open. Drivers encouraged to consider parking near Loma Alta Park or the Altadena Community Garden and enjoy a treelined 2-3 block walk to the festival site. Drive into Odyssey main campus parking lot to load trees.

Exhibitors

Firestorm (Jacob Soboroff)

301 Organics AltadenaWILD Altadena Bicycle Club Altadena Farmers Market/Eco Hub Altadena Green Altadena Historical Society Amigos de los Rios Angel City Reciprocity Arroyos & Foothills Conservancy CAL FIRE Urban & Community Forestry California Botanic Garden Eaton Canyon Nature Center Associates Friends of PUSD trees Kounkuey Design Initiative LA County Youth Climate Commission Los Angeles County Fire Department Los Angeles County Fire Department Forestry Division Mott Restoration Landscape Company Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains Santa Monica Mountains Fund Soul Force Project The Foothill Catalog Foundation TreePeople UC Master Gardener Program of Los Angeles County

Enjoy a day of community celebration as the community takes the next steps toward regrowing Altadena’s trees. Want to help? Sign up here to volunteer! SPONSOR A SAPLING OR TREE.

This Community TreeFest and Tree Giveaway is part of our ReGreen Altadena initiative. Join email list to keep up with the latest information. Active

• AltadenaWild.org; Xochitl, Dhr. Seven, Crystal Q. (eds.), Ananada (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Wisdom Quarterly

Sacred Path Powwow, Griffith Park, LA

Where's the powwow? It's at LA's enormous central park Griffith Park next to Hollywood.

What is Griffith Park? - It is a giant wilderness area with free roaming lions like P-22's cubs.

Danza Azteca, Indigenous Los Angeles

Sacred Path at The Autry Museum. The big Los Angeles Pow Wow 2026 is scheduled for Saturday, November 7th, 10:00 am to 8:00 pm. (Grand Entry begins at 1:00 pm).

The Autry Museum is in Griffith Park, Los Angeles (between Hollywood and Glendale). It is appropriate for ages 13+, families, seniors, and admission is FREE and open to the public. More info

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• Cristobal Columbus was genocidal Spanish Jew
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• Indigenous Peoples' Day 2026; Columbus?
• Songs of Ancient Los Angeles: Tongva (Kizh)

An Inglorious Columbus (Vining)

Godozo said..."I have a theory about Columbus Day: Columbus wasn't the one who discovered the Americas but [was] part of the LAST wave of people to discover the Americas. There have been plenty of discoveries -- Japanese, Chinese, Africans, Polynesians, Carthaginians, Irish, Vikings, etc., but it was Columbus, Amerigo Verspucci, and the wave that came along with them that has (so far) kept the American continent known (from a Eurasian perspective)."

• An Inglorious Columbus: or, Evidence that Hwui Shan and a Party of Buddhist Monks from Afghanistan Discovered America in the Fifth Century, A.D. (Edward Payson Vining, 1847-1920, archive.org)

Griffith Park is also home of Indie Shakes

Independent Shakespeare Co. Bridge Centennial Celebration, Oct. 10, 2026 (IndieShakes)

.

Why do powwow dancers gather together?

ABOUT: Join The Autry (next to the LA Zoo by the Shakespeare Festival) for a full-day celebration of Indigenous/Native culture with traditional powwow dancing, food, and vendors. The event features:

• 

  Shaman medicine man healers?

  Traditional dancing and songs led by Northern- and Southern-style drummers and singers
• Indian tacos and traditional toxic (acrylamide soaked) frybread
• Vendors selling traditional and contemporary Native American arts and crafts
• Native community information booths
• Diverse Native languages, customs, and dances

Will there be any arts and crafts for sale to commemorate all the tribes and traditions of LA?

Visit sacredpath.org

SACRED PATH: The Autry is pleased to announce a new partnership with Sacred Path Indigenous Wellness Center. Sacred Path is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving urban Native communities, offering a variety of programs and services designed to promote cultural connection, community engagement, and overall well-being. For more info, please visit sacredpath.org.

What is a "powwow"?

What must the extraterrestrial visitors the tribes remember have looked like? (wiki)

The Autry Museum of the American West

A powwow is a Native American gathering that brings together Indigenous communities to celebrate their culture, heritage, and spirituality. It includes traditional regalia, intertribal dancing, singing, and Indigenous foods and crafts.

What NOT to do at a powwow?

• 

  Is it a Native Quinceañera?

  Don’t touch dancers’ regalia (and please refrain from calling it a "costume")
• Don’t take close-up photographs or video without permission.
• Don’t walk through the dance arena or close to dancers, drummers.
• Don’t interrupt sacred traditional ceremonies, dancing, or singing.
• Don’t drink alcohol or consume drugs at this family-friendly event.

What to do at a powwow?

• Be respectful.
• Stand quietly during prayers and flag songs.
• Follow the instructions of the emcee and arena director.

Land Acknowledgement

Cherokee Land Acknowledgement

The Autry Museum acknowledges the Tongva/Gabrielino (Kizh) peoples as the traditional land caretakers of Tovaangar (the Los Angeles Basin and Southern Channel Islands). We recognize that the Autry Museum and its campuses are located on the traditional lands of Tongva/Gabrielino peoples and we pay our respects to the Honuukvetam ("Ancestors"), ‘Ahiihirom ("Elders"), and ‘Eyoohiinkem ("our relatives/relations") past, present, and emerging.

• EVENTS | The Autry Museum
• Autry Museum of the American West
• 4700 Western Heritage Way
• Los Angeles, CA 90027-1462
• (In Griffith Park across from LA Zoo)
• MAPS AND DIRECTIONS
• PARKING

White man's powwow (slam dance mosh pit)

White man's powwow: slam dance mosh pit | Wisdom Quarterly

DO NON-NATIVE YOUTH EVER GATHER FOR TRIBAL DANCING?

• VIDEO: White man's powwow: slam dance mosh pit
• Genetic study places Indigenous ancestors' arrival near the end of the Ice Age
• Autry.org; Xochitl, Dhr. Seven, Crystal Q., Pfc. Sandoval, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly