(The Daily Show) Jon Stewart comes in to mock the Freedom 250 Concert, celebrating 250 years of lip service to democracy and maybe 250 more...as the nation advances toward the FIFA World Cup with the help of birth right citizenship (and all the players the government invited back to play on the team)
Okay, Mexicans we get. But what is a Chicano/a? - It is a blend of American and Mexican.
In the Zocalo of Mexico City, el presidente waves the bandera and cries out, Viva Mexico!
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Mexicans are romantic Latino/as
Happy Cinco de Mayo (Spanish "5th of May"), an American holiday most celebrants think is the Mexican equivalent of the "4th of July." That day is actually the 16th of September, celebrated on the eve of.
The "Cry from Dolores" (Grito de Dolores) occurred in Dolores ("Pains"), Mexico, on September 16, 1810, when Roman Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla rang his church bell and gave the call to arms that triggered the Mexican War of Independence [from European colonial forces].
Isn't that right, young Mexicans at Sick NW?
The Cry of Dolores is most commonly known by the locals as El Grito de Independencia ("The Cry of Independence").
Every year on the eve of Independence Day, the president of Mexico reenacts the cry from the balcony of the National Palace in Mexico City, while ringing the same bell Fr. Hidalgo used in 1810.
During a patriotic speech, the president calls out the names of the fallen heroes who died during the War of Independence and ends the speech by shouting Viva Mexico! ("Long live Mexico!") three times followed by the Mexican National Anthem. More: Cry of Dolores
How shall we celebrate? - Let's eat! We'll have the vegan gluten-free Mexican Buddha Bowl
Real Americans (of the Americas) know Spanish
Looks delicious!
It's good to bear in mind when attempting to learn or speak Spanish that Spanish is NOT the indigenous language of Mexico or the Latin America. Spanish is a colonial European language from Europe's Iberian Peninsula used by Spain to take over, forge an empire, and dominate the "New World."
To think Spanish is the way to the heart of the culture is like imagining that learning "American" is the way to get to know the US of A. There are many languages the U.S., the tongues of immigrants, with many more dialects and accents.
Fortunately, we have a standardized English so that newscasts from around the country are mutually intelligible. But try speaking New Yorkese in the South, and you're in for a surprise or that stuck up Nor'easter Harvard Square jabber in laid back California and someone will hand you a decongestant (or laxative).
With enough time, these would all divide into unique languages. Originally, the First Nations had their own languages and it's unclear that there was a way for them all to communicate by verbal means. They managed but were not merged into an "empire" as we are today, with England and English on top.
Edward Vining's map (1885) of journey of Buddhist missionaries from Buddhist China and Afghanistan to California and Mexico, following coastline north all the way up then east and south down along the Pacific coast.
What does Mexico have to do with Buddhism? That's a good question. Buddhist missionaries arrived in Fusang (Mexico, California, and the Pacific coast) before either Catholic priests or Christian missionaries.
Independence Beach: Celebrating our American freedom from swimsuits
You only live many times (Ariana Viera)
(Wonderhussy Adventures) Welcome to Wonderhussy Adventure #809. Date: July 2, 2024, pre-Independence Day, spending the Fourth of July at Wonderhussy's favorite clothing optional beach, celebrating our independence from bathing suits. Website: Wonderhussy.com. Support: wonderhussy. Help fuel next trip: paypal.me/wonderhussy,cash.app/$Wonderhussy.
CREDITS: Theme song by Michael Saint-Leon switchyardstudios.com. Fluffing a Duck by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... Cattails - Thatched Villagers by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Why didn't Buddhist ascetics go naked like Jains and yogis?
Jainism has two sects, white-clad and sky-clad, whereas Buddhism has saffron robes for all.
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Ah, nudity is great. - What about white robes?
It was hot in proto-India in the Buddha's time. Pointing the way to freedom and final liberation or moksha was as free as the deer, wandering where they list in search of (alms) food. But there were obstacles. The Awakened One, the Buddha, had freed himself. Now it was time to make known the Path to Freedom, the Dharma. But how long would that knowledge last in the world? It had gone out before and was sure to dim again.
We shramanas existed long before the Buddha
He realized he needed a spiritual community of successful practitioners, a Noble Sangha, where "noble" means "enlightened" (Ayran) and Sangha means "spiritual community." There are various stages of enlightenment, from four kinds of stream entry to arhatship. They are detailed in the Path to Freedom and condensed in the Path of Purification. This Sangha would have them all.
To keep it going and to preserve the Teachings, the Buddha laid down rules in a Disciplinary Code (Vinaya Pitaka), with explanations for why each rule was instituted. The monastics recited about 227 core rules, the Patimokkha ("Path to Liberation"), each fortnight. If followed, they would ensure the long life of Buddhism (the Dharma), enlightened beings on earth (a Noble Sangha), and inspire confidence in new practitioners.
The Guru is naked (Jainism)
How was it going to look if monks and nuns went around naked? It was not unheard of. The Jains led by contemporary teacher Mahavira ("Great Hero"), the Nigantha Nattaputta, had already accepted females into the monastic community. That was a first. The Buddha always intended to, as he knew that his Sangha would not be complete until there were the four kinds of people (male and female monastics and laypersons).
This whole business about extra rules for nuns or not wanting to accept women is very suspect and seems more a conspiracy by male monastics to keep their all-boys club or wrest control of it from any kind of actual democracy. The Buddha had set up the first democratic rules, pre-Greece for its governance. See the scholarship of Ayya Tathaloka for evidence in the Bhikkhuni Vinaya of the later appearance of the garudhammas or "eight additional rules" and their unlikely back story.
Naked Mahavira: We don't need Five Requisites
The Buddha explained exactly why he allowed Five Requisites for Buddhist wandering ascetics -- robes of stitched cast-off garments, ceramic bowl, allowable medicines, shaving razor, needle and thread -- and the kinds of accommodations they were permitted. Rather than hairy, disheveled, wild men and women wandering around the hillsides naked and covered in ashes, he foresaw a better way, the perfection of the "pure life" of blamelessness for intensive practitioners wishing to make a quick end of all suffering.
Nude is not all it's cracked up to be, but the view at night in the Sierra Nevada, it's awe inspiring!
Nirvana was here. And now a means of enlightenment and attainment of the bliss of nirvana had arrived with the Buddha. Many made use of it and so, even today, the world has arhats and those on the path to full enlightenment. And Buddhism became the first universal missionary religion spreading far and wide, outside the subcontinent into neighboring countries and lands. The rules made that possible. Hooray for the Monastic Disciplinary Code (Vinaya). And people, if they want, they can go about naked.
Wonderhussy Adventure #809, Summer 2024, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation); Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Pat Macpherson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
(Claire Villarreal) May 4, 2022: Buddhist Wisdom Modern Life. Happy May the 4th, fellow Star Wars nerds! 🤓
If, like me, you've ever wondered, "Is the Force real?" then this video is perfect for you!
Let's look at a few impressions and thoughts on ideas from Buddhism and Asian martial arts about the literal animating principle or "life force" energy (qi, ki, chi, prana, etc.) that circulates through the body and throughout the living world around us.
Lucas was naming real things.
Did you know that when the creator George Lucas came up with the Jedi, he was inspired in part by Zen Buddhism? Yoda looks like a Buddha statue and speaks in the bad syntax of the 14th Dalai Lama.
The coincidences are real because Asia seemed exotic but close enough to us in a shared reality. Yep.
So nerd out with me, and if you have other Star Wars/Buddhism questions, please drop them in the comments! "May all living beings be well and happy," as the Buddha used to say. 🙏
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Buddhist Wisdom Modern Life
Claire Villarreal (YouTube); Who Said It: Yoda or The Buddha? (tricycle.org); Doug's Dharma (video Buddhist book review); enhanced and expanded by Seth Auberon, Dhr. Seven, Sheldon S., Pfc. Sandoval, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly, 2024
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