Sunday, March 31, 2024

Wisdom Quarterly to convert to Jainism

This famous picture of the Buddha is said to actually be Mahavira, who is usually depicted bald.

Oh, you April Fool's Day pranksters!

Who had the first nuns?
One of the most remarkable, and largely inexplicable, things about Jainism is how similar it is to Buddhism, how much the life of the Buddha mirrors the life of Mahavira -- so much so that the British in India translating the ancient texts always assumed the stories were talking about one person. In fact, even though we know better now, it is very reasonable to postulate that the reason they are so similar is because they were the same historical figure and a schism divided Buddhism between strict vegetarian wandering ascetic purists (the Jains) and more reasonable (Middle Way) sectarians. Each built up its own camp and back story.

Bald, naked ascetic under a tree: Mahavira
While this may sound preposterous, note the curious detail that Siddhartha was not always called the Buddha ("Awakened One") but was previously called Mahavira ("Great Hero"), a common epithet, just like Bhagavan ("Blessed One") or Tathagata ("Wayfarer"). They both led sramana (wanderer) traditions that rebelled against the supremacy of the Vedas (ancient "wisdom books") of the temple-bound Brahmin priests. Both talked incessantly about karma (deeds). Both emphasized the necessity of direct experience of the Truth, not mere faith (saddha), moral observances (sila), book learning (suta), or scholarship or relying on intermediary "priests" to dispense blessings, boons, good luck charms, viewings (darshan), or magical transmissions, as they have come to do because people for ages have been looking for an easier and easier Path to Freedom.

Jainism explained
(Cogito) Jainism, some call it the world’s most peaceful religion. Mahavira (the Nigantha Nattaputta as he is known in Buddhism) was a contemporary of the historical and slightly younger Siddhartha Gautama who became the Buddha. They led the two "wandering ascetic" Indian traditions to survive to the present.

Mahavira meets a naga (MGP)
[Most peaceful? Except perhaps for the fact that as Jains do not engage in any harmful work, many have become investors investing in the worst trades weapons, alcohol, drugs, funding every kind of harm known to humankind. Is it wrong to invest and profit from arms sales? Cattle raising? Big Pharma sorcery? Pesticides? Weapons R&D? AI technology?]

Jain monastics (sramanas or wandering ascetics, both nuns and monks, and there are possibly more females since Mahavira was the first to ordain women) are famous worldwide for their strict adherence to ahimsa or “non-harming,” “non-violence.”

Going as far as to sweep the floor with a dust broom as they walk to avoid stepping on any tiny lifeforms, covering their mouths as to not swallow [small bugs] or breathe hot air on [unseen] living creatures, and following a strict vegetarian diet that bans:
  • all meat,
  • all fish,
  • all eggs
  • all potatoes (and root vegetables and some fruits).
Who wouldn't prefer naked founder?
So what is Jainism, and why is it considered the world’s most peaceful religion?

The ancient Jain philosophy has garnered the eye of the modern world as their ideas of non-violence, strict vegetarianism (with many now becoming vegans), and what could be called an environmentalist outlook are strikingly relevant.

Jains have been highly influential in India for thousands of years, shaping its vegetarian-friendly diet and lending the concept of ahimsa to Gandhi's independence movement against the colonial British empire.

Naked Jain monk honors 24 Tirthankaras of history, jinas and mahaviras, Jains and great heroes

Hey, Mahavira, really is naked.
A “Jain” (Jaina) is someone who accepts the teachings of the Tirthankaras, the “Ford-makers or Ford-finders.”

“Jainism” comes from the word Jina. Tirthankaras, those who cross over and bridge this dangerous side of the river and that safe side, allowing followers to move from samsara to moksha, from endless-rebirth to liberation.

They, the teachers, are the most important people in Jainism. They have removed all attachments to the world and during their lifetimes have managed to break free from the endless cycle of rebirth and death. It is this cycle, this endlessly turning wheel (samsara), that Jains believe keeps souls trapped in the world, going from one birth to another.

[Naked? White-clad versus sky-clad]
White clad vs. sky clad? Mahavira
There are two kinds of Jains, the Svetambaras and the Digambaras, the more mellow reformed and the strict orthodox. Some wear white cotton robes, whereas the others go about naked like severe ascetics from the time of the Buddha. They own nothing (niganthas), cling to nothing, not even castoff bark cloth rags to protect against the elements and for the sake of modesty. These "sky-clad" ascetics and their followers were the vegetarian gymnosophists mentioned by the ancient Greeks. (Gymnos means "nude," which is what one did in the ancient Greek gymnasium, and sophist means "philosopher" or "teacher" as in sophistry or philo-Sophia, the "love of wisdom").

Sources
(Amazon.com put a copy limit on this, so I couldn't export my notes, and it took me hours to do it manually, and it made me angry, and this is the only way I can vent. Good book though 8/10, 9/10 with rice).
COMMENTS
  • There's got to be a better way
    QUESTION (John D.): How could Wisdom Quarterly turn their backs on the truth and follow some other dharma teacher?
  • ANSWER (Ashley W.): Well, it was either Mahavira and Jainism or Apollonius of Tyana the wandering sage of Saint Issa/Jesus' time and Mysticism. No one voted for Judaism, even the Ultra-Orthodox kind or the mystical Kabbalah, and Shamanism, which did get a lot of votes, is just so amorphous. We don't need more Occult mumbo-jumbo or Seeking but an actual path.
  • QUESTION (Jane D.): Why not become Unitarian Universalists or Quakers? They're really liberal and open minded
  • ANSWER (Ashley W.): It's true. There is no shortage of options. We also considered Vaishnavism Yoga, Celtic Nature Worship/Witchcraft/Paganism, the Flying Spaghetti Monster religion, Esoterica in general, Theosophy in specific, and our ever-present default option Animism, our fallback Atheism (or better still Dharmic Atheism), and our on-the-fence Syncretism or Agnosticism. But we love India (Bharat) and think that's the heart of the planet's spirituality.
  • QUESTION (Reese Tarded): Have you thought about your future and God's plan for your salvation? I'd like to talk to you about eternity and the love waiting for you if you just accept this short little creed.
  • ANSWER (Ashley W.): Take a hike, Reese.
  • QUESTION (Reese Tarded): Are you saying Wisdom Quarterly is NOT converting to Jainism or anything else?
  • ANSWER (Ashley W.): Yes, yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. Happy April Fools' Day. I still think we should have gone with the wandering sage Apollonius of Tyana personally; then it might have been more obvious we were being facetious. But Jainism is nice and Mahavira, if it weren't for the Buddha, would have been the greatest teacher of his day.
Follow on twitter: cogitoedu, Reddit r/cogitoedu, Facebook @Cogito, YouTube. Patreon: cogitoedu. Merch: cogitostore.teemill.com.

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Why have you scrolled this far down? No one reads down here. #India #Jain #Jainism #IndianHistory #Jains #VPN #NordVPN Music by Epidemic Sound: epidemicsound.com/creator. All images are taken from Creative Commons or used in accordance with fair use. If an image has been used without proper attribution, please contact by email or on twitter, and that will instantly bed resolved.
  • Cogito (video), Aug. 31, 2019; Editors, Wisdom Quarterly: American Jain Journal, April 1, 2024
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Boobs illegal on Delta Airlines flights?

How much cleavage is too much cleavage for us to avert our nosy gazes and get airborne?
.
If you're like us, you believe in science. And if you believe science, you know that staring at boobs is good for a man's heart. Why does Delta Airlines hate men's hearts?

Dependable shyster lawyer and sensational feminist attorney Gloria Allred is on the right side of history: Burn your bras. Free those definition of our species. We're "mammals," right? Is that a species?

I dress to feel good about me (at others' expense).
We're mammalian, part of the family of creatures who feed their young colostrum, fat, and protein. And we will not be putting them away. Avert your eyes. Or if thine eye offends thee, follow Saint Issa's advice.

However, when attending a Buddhist monastic complex, temple, or meditation center, have mercy: There are men and women trying to observe celibacy (brahmacariya) as part of the Eight Precepts.

Anything men can wear, I can wear better. Look:
Ample bosoms lead many to thoughts of distraction. Who's fault is it?

Surely lust must reside in the wandering eye of the beholder, but still. Does it offend a statue (or the deity invited to reside in that representation in many Indian religions and all animist traditions)? It might.

If we lived in a fair and equal country, we could all whip them out at will.
Fe/males are not equal. But we must gain parity and equal opportunity.

Julia: My eyes are up here, Pig.
Do visuals lead fellow visitors to thoughts of lust, to roaming eyes, to craving, to distraction, to a lack of restraint, to feelings of want, lack, obsession, addiction ("must have"), kickstarting arousal, craving, grasping, clinging (repeated grasping), and titillation over thing that bring pleasure to the senses? You bet they do.

And as Julia Roberts in Erin Brockovich about a pair of boobs who get a law degree and go into environmental law to sue an evil corporation for polluting.

Does objectifying females lead to LGBTQIA+?
When asked about her amazing chest, Roberts, who is now a good Hindu, said "it took a whole army to produce what people saw on screen," that cleavage, that bosom, that set of legal tools that made The Brock or Erin Go Bra so successful in fighting industry. So, please, a little modesty.

I should be able to dress anyway I want for a flight. Gloria Allred's my lawyer! Lisa Archbold
"Women's rights! Human rights!" (FEMEN.org protests topless for sll our rights).
Ah, modesty! And it's bulletproof, too. Throw away those cancer-causing wire undergarments!
.
Sophia Loren steals a glance at Jayne Mansfield
It's funny that if a friend of yours told you that he taped a bunch of twenty-dollar bills to his clothes and walked through the rough part of town, or a dark bar or club, and he got robbed, you would probably tell him what we would tell him. And no one would scold us for sexism, bias, or "blaming the victim."

Bras? We're rich socialites. We don't even wear panties! (Catholic Discipline)
.
We're not role models of how to be women.
But if you told us you wore no bra and a transparent tee-shirt, a very revealing dress, a classy see-through blouse, or a no panties and miniskirt combo (like Paris Hilton and her bleached Redheaded Gang used to wear on Ladies Nights Out), and we dared to suggest someone was maybe being misinterpreted as "asking for it," "bringing it on themselves," or should not be surprised that people, when no one is watching, are savages and animals, we would be monsters, anti-feminists, and aholes.

Whatcha lookin at, Dog? Didn't ya had no mama?
We think everyone should be free to wear whatever s/he wants, at any time anywhere. But there is decorum, there are standards. Why a flossy thong bikini is alright at the beach but against the dress code in a corporate setting, we don't know. Productivity? Distraction? Woman says she was targeted by Delta for not wearing a bra (NBC Los Angeles)

"Cardi B" is not real. She's hypnotized/possessed, glitching reveals.

Our feed is full of boobs, and not just the mind-controlled Bill Maher/Cardi B kind.
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Bored with life, I became a R'n'R groupie


What life as a groupie was actually like in the 1970s
(Grunge) The life of a groupie might sound super exciting and romantic. It often was, but there was a definite dark side to groupiedom. So what's the real truth? It's complicated. 
  • Never too young | 0:00
  • It's complicated | 1:02 He said/She said | 2:01
  • Danger danger | 2:59
  • Plaster caster | 3:58
  • The groupie mindset | 5:03
  • Rock star trauma | 5:51
  • The curiosity factor | 7:02
  • Thrift store fashion | 7:59
  • The real deal | 8:51
  • Planes, trains, and tour buses | 9:34
  • Free labor | 10:33
  • Groupies, girlfriends, and wives | 11:46
  • The dark side | 12:59
Voiceover by Tim Bensch. Read full article: grunge.com/1391411/what-b... #1970s #Music #Groupies
  • Grunge, 11/4/23; Brendan Fraser (Bedazzled, 2003 remake of the 1960s classic with Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, deleted rock star scene); Seth Auberon, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
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Bibi in hospital, Israel rules USA (video)


Israeli prime minister relinquishes power in hospital scheduled to undergo hernia operation
(Al Jazeera English) Al Jazeera is funded in whole or in part by the Qatari government. March 31, 2024: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu is set to undergo a hernia operation in hospital on Sunday night. While he's under anesthesia, Deputy Prime Minister Yariv Levin will take on his duties as prime minister prosecuting illegal war crimes that include genocide. Al Jazeera's Hamdah Salhut has the latest from illegally occupied East Jerusalem. #IsraelHamasWar #IsraelWar #BenjaminNetanyahu

CIA put me in power, keeps me in power. I tell DC what to do and its presidents. Thanks, AIPAC


Why United States can NEVER stop Israel
(Cyrus Janssen) March 28, 2024: [Stop the illegal funding of a genocidal regime. The world needs regime change in Israel, like US Senator Schumer called for. Israeli Jewish protesters in front of the Knesset agree. Perhaps the tribal Jewish god is already taking care of that given that Bibi (Benyamin Netanyahoo) is in the hospital with a hernia, having turned over power temporarily. To whom was the scepter of war really handed, Genocidal Yoav Gallant? If the CIA trained Bibi and his brother in the USA and the Rebbe in Brooklyn told Bibi he would herald the apocalypse of Armageddon and hand over power to the Messiah (mashiach), a Jewish ruler who takes over the Middle East and the world.]
#israelhamaswar #israelpalestineconflict #israel Go to https://ground.news/cyrus to access worldwide coverage on Israel, the US, 2024 elections and more. Subscribe through my link for 40% off unlimited access or try it for less than $1 this month. ✅ Join our new Locals Community here: https://cyrusjanssen.locals.com/ ✅  Join this channel to get access to perks: / @cyrusjanssen 🚀 Limited Time: Get up to 20 Free stocks with moomoo! Open a free account and claim your free stocks after you make your initial deposits. Click here to learn more ➡ https://j.moomoo.com/00uhgr 💥 Best Way to Invest in Gold - Lear Capital 💥 👉 Call them today at 800-489-6450 👉 or go to LearCyrus.com ⭐️ Earn $250 Credit Just by mentioning my name CYRUS! ⭐️ Get your FREE Gold and Silver investor guides from Lear Capital ⭐️Receive up to $15,000 in FREE bonus metals with a qualified purchase. If you'd like to support the channel / 如果你想支持我的频道: 🅿️ Patreon: / cyrusjanssen ☕ Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/cyrusjan... 🧧 WeChat / 微信: https://prnt.sc/u3inr6 ➡️ PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr... ₿ Bitcoin: 32go3tLiu88jibJhWgK3RstmXsW2FFELJ8. ✅ Subscribe to my newsletter: http://cyrusjanssen.substack.com ✅ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/cyrusjanssen?... ✅ Facebook: / cyrustalkschina ✅ Twitter: / thecyrusjanssen ✅ 西瓜视频：https://www.ixigua.com/home/446806905... ✅ B站视频：https://space.bilibili.com/1052709457 ✅ 抖音：@温哥华老外. 📸 Products I use to Produce my Vlogs: Camera: https://amzn.to/2M9pWqx Tripod: https://amzn.to/2OUz2dh Microphone: https://amzn.to/2u1oJNs Lighting: https://amzn.to/2UWkSw8 Drone: https://amzn.to/3jw1WxF #israel #israelpalestineconflict #israelhamaswar
  • Al Jazeera, 3/31/24; Cyrus Jannsen, 3/28/24; Pfc. Sandoval, Sheldon S., Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
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5 shocking mysteries beneath Polar ice


Ancient Aliens: 5 SHOCKING Mysteries Beneath Polar Ice
(HISTORY) March 21, 2024: These mysteries will blow your mind. Check them out in this compilation from Ancient Aliens. Watch your favorite episodes of Ancient Aliens on The HISTORY Channel website at history.com/schedule. #AncientAliens
  • Pfc. Sandoval, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
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SZA speaks: "Kill Bill" and my boyfriend


Cupid (Kama), angel of death
Is "Kill Bill" the greatest song of the year or a sucky piece of garbage, confection for the masses, a one-way ticket to stardom for a half-butt talent? Who knows? But we love it. It was the greatest pop hit for 2023.

What rivals it, other than Olivia Rodrigo's brilliant Guts? Better than Beyonce, greater than Taylor, it's all about crazy love and deadly about that feeling of being jilted. Whatcha gonna do? Blame it on Cupid. Blame the stars. Say there's something wrong with GOD's plan,

Hello, my name is Eros. I'm here to destroy you.
"GOD" (not to be confused with God or the gods, Maha Brahma and the devas) being the perfect arrangement of the reality behind the illusion known as Brahman in India. It's a killer track.

Who knows how SZA came up with it or who wrote it for it. Was it, as one TikTok suggests, her unconsciously remembering the killer guitar duo in Avenged Sevenfold's "Bat Country"? It sure sounds like it. Who owns a melody? Ask your friends. They'll all tell you the same thing: "Don't hate the Player. Hate the Game." What is a Dater to do?


 
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Judeo-Christianity: the messed-up parts 😲

If God, who wrote the Bible, says RAPE is OK, who are we to argue? He made us.

Genesis, but only the really messed-up parts: Abrahamic mythology explained
(Jake Doubleyoo) Join Patreon (jakedoubleyoo) because I might need it for this one article on the rape of Dinah: thetorah.com

Who's the victim in Bible's Rape of Dinah?
Dr. Alison L. Joseph (TheTorah.com)
Jews and Christians are pro-sexual violence? God doesn't seem to mind.
.
Seduction of Dinah, Daughter of Leah (J. Tissot)
We cannot imagine anyone but Dinah as the victim, but does [the holy Judeo-Christian book] the Torah? Do rabbis?

Understanding the story of Dinah and its reception in historical context can help us reflect on the role of women in ancient Israel and the meaning of sexual violence in patriarchal societies, that one and this one.
Practical, social concern of biblical rape laws
Bible: It's OK to rape, just marry her afterwards.
Biblical Hebrew does NOT have a word for “rape,” but the Bible is aware of the fact that females can be forced to submit to sex [7].

This is clearest from the law in Deuteronomy about adultery with a betrothed virgin: It distinguishes between a sexual encounter in the city, which is presumed to be consensual (because no one heard her screaming) [8] and one in the field.

The latter is assumed to have been forced because she probably screamed but no one heard her. (She is given the benefit of the doubt) [9].

The term used in these cases for sexual coercion is “to grab hold of and lie with” (וְהֶחֱזִיק בָּהּ… וְשָׁכַב עִמָּהּ). The man’s crime is the same in both instances ("adultery"). Consent is only relevant to determine whether the woman is liable for punishment or not. 

The point comes up in the next law as well, which offers a clear parallel for the case in the Dinah story: More

Trying to explain Book of Genesis: Adam 'n Eve

(Jake Doubleyoo) This video covers (most of) the Old Testament biblical Book of Genesis, from creation to Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah and the flood, and the lives of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. Patreon (jakedoubleyoo) JJJreact
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Saturday, March 30, 2024

All hail the Easter Bunny (Pagan Jesus?)

The Pagan Jesus? - Apollonius of Tyana
Bunny fertility bait at the Playboy Club (59 pics)
Playboy Bunnies Then and Now (acidcow.com)
(Let's Talk Religion) This episode explores the fascinating life of /the wandering hippie vegetarian sage Apollonius of Tyana, a Neopythagorean philosopher whose life in many ways mirrors that of Jesus Christ. He went to India to study with the Brahmins, the source of Pythagorean theory and gnostic knowledge, casting out demons, raising the dead... #Apollonius #PaganJesus

Sources/Suggested Reading
  • Bunniness (BunnyBuddhism.com)
    Dzielska, Maria (1986). Apollonius of Tyana in Legend and History. L'Erma Di Bretschneider. Kirk, G.S., J.E. Raven & M. Schofield (1983).
  • The Presocratic Philosophers. Second Edition. Cambridge University Press. Huffman, Carl A. (ed.) (2017).
  • A History of Pythagoreanism. Cambridge University Press.
Support Let's Talk Religion on Patreon (letstalkreligion) or through a one-time donation (paypal.com/paypalme/letst...) Also check out the Let's Talk Religion Podcast: open.spotify.com/show/0ih4sqt... Music by Filip Holm.

Who is Apollonius of Tyana, source of many Jesus of Nazareth myths?.
Apollonius of Tyana
Apollonius of Tyana [\app-puh-lone-ee-us of tee-ann-uh\] (Ancient Greek Ἀπολλώνιος, Arabic بلينس;, Sanskrit अपालुन्य, circa 15–circa 100 AD [2]) was a wandering sage with mystic powers, possibly the source of many of the stories of Jesus of Nazareth.

He was a first-century Greek philosopher and religious leader from the town of Tyana, Cappadocia in Roman Anatolia, who spent his life as a celibate wanderer, traveling and teaching in the Middle East, North Africa (Israel), and South Asia (India).

I raise the dead, learned in India
He is a central figure in Neopythagoreanism and was one of the most famous "miracle workers" of his day.

His exceptional personality and his mystical way of life, which was regarded as exemplary, impressed his contemporaries and had a lasting cultural influence.

Numerous legends surrounding him and accounts of his life are contained in the extensive Life of Apollonius, which collects a large part of the legendary material about his life and work.

A sage bunny wanders and sits in silence.
A large part of the ancient legends of Apollonius consists of numerous reports about miracles that he was said to have performed as a wandering sage (Indian-style shramana) with his lifelong companion Damis. [This is an echo of the Buddha and Ananda.]

He was tried for allegedly having used magic as a means of conspiring against the emperor; after his conviction and subsequent death-penalty, his followers believed he underwent heavenly ascension [3]. Most modern scholars of antiquity agree that Apollonius existed historically [4, 5]. More

"No bunny saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must hop the path. Buddhas only point the way" (BunnyBuddhism.com, Wisdom Quarterly, wandering quote sages)

Easter and the Goddess Ishtar
(RevivalProphecy) This video is a presentation detailing the connection between the worship of the Babylonian Goddess Ishtar and apostate Christian practices, exemplified by the Holy Roman Imperial Catholic observance of "Easter." The so-called Easter worship in nominal (in-name-only) Christianity. It is 100% paganism and 0% true Christian practice.

Happy to see me, Bunny? - Yes, Goddess! You know I am! - Worship me.  - OK, but in secret.


Kirstie Alley (Cheers) was once a Playboy bunny? (eonline.com UK)
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