(Dr. Rena Malik, M.D.) Why millions of women watch porn. (It's not what men think). That's impossible, Dr. Malik! Everyone knows women have no libido, interest, and sense of adventure. They're ashamed, prudes, introverted, afraid, cowards, totally not curious, pure, virginal, chaste, and completely content sitting on the sidelines watching men do sports. Surely, you're talking about another country, not the good old U.S. of A., which is all puritanical and uptight for our womenfolk. Next you'll be saying they enjoy sex or have orgasms.
Female toplessness in the USA: indecency that should be prosecuted and punished because it leads to nasty thoughts like humans are some kind of mammals (with mammary glands) or something?
It's called "Being Human" because temptation is a beast
(Studio Croma Animation) BOLOGNA. An old man is sitting on the edge of a bed in a bare room with stoned walls, his face furrowed with deep wrinkles and his unkempt beard, gnarled hands still full of life, curved shoulders: he is alone and thoughtful. A small and ramshackle window with bars is the only outlet to the outside.
In front of him he has a mysterious suitcase. Opening it the man finds himself in his hands the photographs and the personal effects of a whole life. Thus begins the sequence of memories and visions, synapses of the mind that come to life and invade the room of the elderly bringing him back in time, first adult then boy, finally child.
Better than other La Valigias. PRIZES:
-BornShort Film Festival 2014: Best Animation Award
Corto Dorico 2014: Best short film
-BazzaCinema 2015: Best Screenplay
-Lo Spiraglio FF 2015: Best Film
-Premio Morandini Corti d'Autore: Winner
Nastri d'argento - Corti 2015: Fifth finalist
David di Donatello 2015: Fifth finalist
Kalat Nissa Film Festival 2015: Best Animation Film
ShorTS Int. Maremetraggio 2015: Best Italian Production
Cast Film Festival 2015: Special Award
Best movies
Pázmány Film Festival 2015: Best Italian Film
Arno Stream Fest: Best short movie
Genova Film Festival 2015: Critics Award
Toko Film Festival 2015: Best Screenplay
Metricamente Corto 2015: Best Screenplay
Corto di Sera 2015: Special prize. F.N.C. Gold frame
Ke Corto Film Festival 2015: Best animated short film
Parma Intl. Music FF 2015: Best Renaissance 2.0 soundtrack
DIRECTOR
Pier Paolo Paganelli
SUBJECT AND SCRIPT
Laura Castaldini, Pier Paolo Paganelli
WITH
Roberto Herlitzka
Rodolfo Bianchi
Alex Polidori
Riccardo Suarez
PRODUCED BY
Ivan Olgiati, Stefania Marconi, Daniele Paganelli
ASSOCIATED PRODUCER
Gloria Giorgianni per Anele
PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR
Gianmarco Rossetti
EDITING
Davide Rossetti
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Guglielmo Trautvetter
ANIMATION
Giacomo Giuriato
SOUNDTRACK
Matteo Malferrari
PUPPET MACKER
Matteo Burani
POST PRODUCTION
Jacopo Gaustini, Luca Lazzarin
DIGITAL VIDEO EFFECTS
Sara Passuti
SOUND
Giovanni Frezza
PROMOTION
Stefania Marconi, Chiara Galloni
DISTRIBUTION
Paolo Pellicano.
Studio Croma Animation, "The Suitcase," Jan. 24, 2021; Ven. Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche; UnJaded Jade; Eds., Wisdom Quarterly
(Refuge of the Male Mind) June 10, 2025: Let's explore one of Arthur Schopenhauer’s most controversial and philosophical views on women. Drawing from his major work The World as Will and Representation, we can analyze how he saw the female nature, the biological role of women, and how it all connects to the blind Will-to-life, the irresistible will to live and carry on, to consume and reproduce. "Eat, Mate, Kill, Repeat." Prepare to reflect on deep, provocative, and forbidden ideas that still spark intense debate today.
How was this made? Altered or synthetic content with sound and/or visuals significantly edited or digitally generated. Learn more
Buddhism is far more sophisticated than nearly anyone realizes. The Buddha taught in a variety of ways, which made him very popular to different types of people. We imagine he only gave discourses or sutras, but he did much more than that. He told fables (many of which were published in Aesop's Fables), recounted past lives with talking animals and stories (jatakas), histories, a disciplinary code with origin stories for each of the rules (with a spicy sinful story that gave rise to the need for a rule), recorded verses of enlightened nuns, and most sophisticated of all is an entire collection of works in Buddhist psychology and physics called the Abhidhamma Pitaka or "Collection on the Dhamma explained in ultimate terms" or The Higher Doctrine Collection. Are women a trap for men, or men a trap for women, or pleasant objects a trap for clingy humans?
There exists a sutra where the Buddha points out that nothing is more alluring for a male than the form of a female. This sounds bad, but the same is said of females. Nothing is more alluring than the form of a male. (What can be said of pandakas, the third gender or gender-nonconforming individuals, we are not told, into which category would fit all LGBTQIA+ persons, whether gay, bi, or pansexual). We can imagine that whatever one likes, whatever one is attracted to, that is the most alluring. And this is problematic for anyone who wishes to make progress toward enlightenment and liberation in this very life.
The Buddha's Higher Doctrine in Practice
The Abhidhamma in Practice by N.K.G. Mendis, Wheel 322, BPS.lk, 2006
When the mind is not experiencing objects through the five sense doors — eye, ear, nose, tongue, or body — it can still be active through the [sixth sense called the] "mind door," taking as its object either something previously experienced through the five sense doors, recently or long ago, or some idea or image peculiar to itself.
Past experiences are registered in the life-continuum (bhavanga) in a subliminal form, where from time to time they can surface through the mind-door to serve as objects for the mind-moment (citta).
On the one hand, karmically active moments can follow this mental activity, and here again the practice of mindfulness — that is, being [dispassionately] aware that there is thinking — will prevent the arising of unwholesome causative mind moments.
On the other hand, if mindfulness is absent there can be unwholesome mental activity, such as longing [or lust] for things of the past, worry, remorse, regret, grudge, and doubt. Mind moments exhibit certain other interesting features that are dealt with in the Abhidhamma (the Doctrine or Dhamma in Ultimate Terms). Some of these are as follows.
Association with "roots"
Mind moments may be associated with mental factors called "roots" (hetu, mula), or they may be dissociated from these roots.
The former kind of mind moments are called sahetuka cittas, the latter ahetuka cittas; these are, respectively, rooted and rootless states of consciousness.
The roots are particular mental factors (cetasikas) that arise together with the mind moments, often giving it a determinate ethical quality.
Because the mind moment and its constituent factors, the mental concomitants (cetasikas), arise together and because both have the same object and base, it is difficult to appreciate the subtle differences in their characteristics unless one's mindfulness and insight are very sharp.
There are six roots. Three are karmically unwholesome (akusala); the other three may be either karmically wholesome (kusala) or indeterminate (abya-kata), depending on the type of consciousness they arise in.
The unwholesome roots are greed (lobha), hatred (dosa), and delusion (moha). The three roots that are wholesome in some mind moments and indeterminate in others are greedlessness (alobha), hatelessness (adosa), and undeludedness (amoha).
Though these last three roots are expressed negatively they have positive manifestations. Greedlessness manifests as generosity and renunciation (unselfishness and letting go), hatelessness as loving-kindness and compassion, and undeludedness as wisdom or understanding.
In the ordinary unenlightened worldling these six roots can occur in various combinations. When one enters the path leading to enlightenment, the unwholesome roots are eradicated in stages until final emancipation is achieved.
For the fully enlightened person (arahant), the liberated one, the mind moments that arise can no longer be associated with any unwholesome roots. The mind moments that the fully enlightened experiences are neither wholesome nor unwholesome, as one does not generate any further karma; one's mind moments are exclusively indeterminate.
These indeterminate mind moments can be functional (kiriya, kriya), as on occasions when one is mentally active, or resultants (vipaka) when one is experiencing the effects of past karma or abiding in the meditative attainment of fruition.
For spiritual progress, it is important to be aware of the roots associated with the mind moments that we are experiencing at any particular moment. This is possible only by the practice of mindfulness as expounded in the Discourse on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness.
This awareness helps us to rid ourselves of the unwholesome roots and to cultivate the wholesome roots. This practice enables one to purify moral virtue (sila), to develop stillness (samadhi), and to achieve insight (vipassana).
Association with feeling
Mind moments differ according to the feeling associated with them. Every mind moment has a concomitant feeling, but the quality of this feeling differs from mind moment to mind moment. Some are accompanied by a pleasant feeling (sukha vedana), some by a painful feeling (dukkha vedana), some by an indifferent feeling (upekkha vedana).
It is important to recognize the feeling that accompanies each mind moment, for feelings serve as a condition for defilements to arise.
The mind's natural tendency is to develop attachment to a pleasant feeling and aversion to an unpleasant one. Any attachment will eventually cause disappointment (dukkha); for everything within and around us is impermanent, so when inevitable separation takes place, if there is attachment, the result will be sorrow, lamentation, and despair.
Aversion, apart from giving further nourishment to the unwholesome roots, is a totally futile response. We cannot change the essentially unsatisfactory nature of the Rebirth Cycle (samsara), but we can alter our reactions to our experiences in this cycle.
Therefore, the sanest attitude would be neither to get attached to anything pleasant nor react with aversion to anything displeasing.
This would be an attitude of equanimity or indifference, which can be of two kinds. One is a callous indifference that is a total disregard for one's own well-being or that of others. This type of indifference is born of the unwholesome roots and obviously should not be cultivated by a spiritual seeker.
The other type of indifference is a highly refined mental state that is better referred to as "equanimity" (unbiased looking on). This attitude, born of wisdom pertaining to the real nature of phenomena, is an attitude of mental calmness amidst all the vicissitudes of life. This is the kind of equanimous state that we must cultivate [for progress]. More
(Buddhist Audio books) May 17, 2025: Why have our lives always felt incomplete? This video reveals the shocking truth behind why 🌌 Samsara — the Endless Cycle of Birth, Death, and Rebirth — has no beginning.
[Samsara also has no foreseeable end, like a carousel. Like a whirlpool in the ocean, it will not stop, but it is possible to escape get off.]
Drawing from powerful Buddhist sutras like the Anamatagga Samyutta and deep insights from the Abhidhamma(the "Doctrine in Ultimate Terms" or "Higher Teaching"), let's reveal the hidden causes of our suffering and why we keep returning again and again.
🧘♂️ LEARN:
What is Samsara and why does it feel endless?
How our past lives shape our present life
How to escape the cycle according to the Buddha.
📜 Based on the Anamatagga Samyutta and other Theravada sutras (Pali canon) and Theravada Abhidhamma teachings and ancient Buddhist meditation teachings.
(Linked Discourses 15.1, Chapter One, "Grass and Sticks")
Thus have I heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī within Jeta’s Grove, in millionaire’s monastery. There he addressed the meditators, “Meditators!”
“Venerable sir,” they replied.
Then the Buddha told them, “Meditators, this Samsara (Cycle of Rebirth) has no discernible beginning. No first point is to be found of sentient beings wandering and being reborn, clouded by [the smoke of] ignorance and fettered [and being burned] by craving.
“Suppose a person were to strip all the grass, sticks, branches, and leaves in the Black Plum Tree Land, gather them together into a single pile, chop them into pieces, and lay them down, saying:
“‘This is my mother, this is my grandmother...’ The grass, sticks, branches, and leaves of the Black Plum Tree Land would run out before that person’s mothers and grandmothers were all counted. Why? Samsara has no discernible beginning. No first point is to be found of sentient beings wandering and being reborn, clouded by ignorance and fettered by craving.
“For a long time have we all undergone disaster, disappointment, and agony, swelling the cemeteries. It has been more than long enough for one to become disillusioned, dispassionate, and freed from all conditions.”
🙏 The Buddha realized the endlessness of Samsara through his fully awakened wisdom on the night of his great enlightenment (maha bodhi). With the divine eye (dibba cakkhu) he developed, he gained the recollection of countless past lives, his own and others'.
He saw beings being born and dying over vast aeons (kalpas), across uncountable realms (on 31 Planes of Existence, which are divided into three spheres), with no discernible beginning point to the impersonal, impermanent, and impossible-to-satisfy cycle.
The Buddha taught in the Anamatagga Samyuththa, “The beginning of this continued wandering on is not to be discovered.”
This is stated not based on faith but direct knowledge. Samsara is endless because each life is caused by previous karma (deeds), which are willed and carried out due to ignorance and craving and aversion. These in turn arise from previous conditions, in a chain of 12 causal links beginning with ignorance.
Thus, the Buddha clearly saw that there was no ultimate creator, no first cause [or prime mover], only a wheel of conditional existence turning without beginning. More
ABOUT: 💡 From emotional stories and ancient wisdom to rare teachings of the Buddha, this is a journey through time, karma, and consciousness. Whether one is new to Buddhism or a deep practitioner, this video changes how we see our lives.
🔔 Subscribe for more deep Buddhist wisdom and life-changing insights.
👉 Remember to like, comment, and share if this moved your heart.
#buddhism
#samsara
#WhySamsaraIsEndless
#buddhateachings
#rebirth
#Karma
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#AnamataggaSutta #CycleOfLife #spiritualawakening #PastLives #Theravada #BuddhistMeditation #EscapeSamsara #DeepWisdom #LifeAfterDeath #SpiritualJourney #DhammaTalk #Mindfulness #BuddhistPhilosophy
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#BuddhistCosmology #Abhidhamma #HeavenAndHell #MindAndReality
Buddhist Audio books, May 17, 2025; Dhr. Seven (trans. based on Ven. Sujato, suttacentral.net), Wisdom Quarterly
The Buddha versus Mara: The Buddhist "Satan" and his three tempting daughters
You can have whatever you desire
(Buddha's Wisdom)
April 26, 2025:
🔍 BUDDHISM'S "DEVIL" AND HIS THREE SEDUCTIVE DAUGHTERS. Did you know Buddhism has its own version of the Devil, a Satan figure?
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Buddhism's version of the Devil
02:01 Meet Mara, Buddhism's ultimate villain
06:44 The first daughter Tanhā (Craving)
11:08 The second daughter Arati (Boredom/Discontent)
15:30 The third daughter Rāga (Passion/Lust)
20:02 How the Buddha defeated Mara and his daughters
24:40 The daughters among us - modern applications
Mara, the Buddhist devil or chief demon, commands three daughters, who each specialize in a different type of temptation. Their tactics haven't changed in 2,600 years. They're still working on us today -- even through our smartphones.
Christian Sabrina Carpenter is sexy wholesome?
DISCOVER:
The shocking parallels between Mara and Satan in religious mythology
How the Buddha's legendary showdown with Mara's daughters reveals timeless psychological insights
Why Mara's three daughters represent the most dangerous mind-traps humans fall into
The surprising connection between ancient Buddhist warnings and modern digital addiction
How the "I see you, Mara" technique can free us from these temptations today
Ready to break free from the cycles keeping us stuck?
SOURCES:
The Dhammapada, Sutta Nipata, Majjhima Nikaya, Anguttara Nikaya, Ādittapariyāya Sutta ("The Fire Sermon"), Satipatthana Sutta ("Discourse on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness")
I don't give a gosh darn whom you date or marry, but get a job to pay for it. Work, Son, commit.
.
I'll marry your son IF you buy us a house, Mom.
DEAR ABBY: I am blessed with two sons who live with me. They are in their mid-20s.
The younger one is an amazing young man. He’s strong, confident but not cocky, and happy. He’s in college, works part-time, and plays in a band, among other things.
My older son is the opposite. Since he was 16, he’s had countless jobs and is (again) currently unemployed. He has been fired from every single job except one.
He always has some excuse to blame others for his failings. He thinks he’s smarter than the rest of us, thinks he knows better, etc.
I’ve tried to tell and show him the issue is with HIM, not his previous employers. He refuses to accept responsibility for anything wrong in his life.
I love him, but he is driving me crazy. I want to help him but, honestly, I’m over it. I’ve reached the point where it’s difficult to be civil to him.
The last time he was out of work lasted three months. When I gave him a “drop dead” date to find a job or I was kicking him out of the house, miraculously, he found one in the nick of time.
But won't marriage solve all our problems, Kramer? - Seinfeld and Kramer grow old alone
I'm a Buddist, MOM! - I wish! You're full of it - If you don't get off my back, I'm gonna base jump
We are back at that point again. I hate to do it, but I need him to either straighten up or get out.
No matter what I do, I’m the bad guy — for enabling him or for forcing him out. I would love some advice.
— FED-UP MOM IN FLORIDA
DEAR THE BOTH OF YA: C'mon, Mom, I have lots on my plate! Pot, porn, pervy dating adventures, my cellphone, chasing chicks, gambling and boozing with my buddies, craft beer sampling, hanging out, smoking the herbage, my retainers, school, um, lots of stuff. And shut the front door, Abby! Who's even writing your column for you?! Get off my back.
DEAR MOM: Your son is no longer a child. He needs to learn to stand on his own two feet. Give him another deadline to find a job or be out from under your roof.
While he is employed, tell him you expect him to save enough money for a security deposit on a place to live.
Do not expect him to like it or be grateful to you for having subsidized him as long as you have. The biggest favor you can give him now is a chance to grow up....
Seinfeld; Dear Abby via New York Post, Feb. 23, 2025; Jack Black, "Jeepers Creepers," "Slackers," "Gay Son/Grass Valley Greg," Mr. Show with Bob and David (HBO); Psychologist Dr. Jordan Peterson (analysis); Ashley Wells, Dhr. Seven, Shauna Schwartz, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
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