Eckhart Tolle: Remove 95% unhappiness now

(Eckhart Tolle) February 4, 2026: Remove 95% unhappiness

Is it love or obsession? How to stop

How to stop being obsessed and finally love in a healthy way

(Venerable Gotami) Nov. 3, 2025: 💜 Every talk, every journey, every video here is part of a lifelong vow — to keep the Dhamma (the Doctrine, the Buddha's Teachings) alive and accessible to everyone, everywhere.

But I can't help it! I'm in love!

(Buddhist Wisdom) When we understand our mind/heart, nothing can control us

I need to clear my mind to be free

(Buddhism in English) Try this to clear the mind/heart

If anyone wishes to support my path and help sustain this mission, donations — no matter how small — become a part of this offering of wisdom and compassion. Support the sustenance of this Dhamma sharing's path if as each individual wishes: Worldwide donations: donate.stripe.com/6oU3cx51n2B... (No need for a Stripe account, only a credit or debit card) PayPal → paypal.com/paypalme/venerablegotami. Zelle (US only) → sirigotami@gmail.com (Martina).

Subscribe to this channel to support monthly: @vengotami. 🙏 Kindness sustains essential needs — food, transport, medical care, and visas — allowing me to continue offering Dhamma talks, children’s programs, and teachings across the world. May the generosity of others bring them peace, blessings, and the joy which comes from supporting something that touches countless hearts. 🕊️

#buddhism #buddha #buddhist #dharma #mindfulness #spirituality #spiritualawakening #innerpeace #healing #consciousness #awakening #peace #meditation #wisdom #enlightenment #selfgrowth

World Smile Day: A Path to Happiness

Buddhism's Seinfeld: funny Ajahn Brahm

The first Friday of October is World Smile Day (Oct. 3, 2025), a relatively new holiday with a fascinating story. Created by a commercial artist named Harvey Ball, this day came about as a response to his creation of the smiley face. Harvey worried that the commercialization of the symbol would lessen its impact. We can hardly blame him for his estimation; the symbol has been used in many different ways including clothing, comic books, coffee mugs, pins, and more. These little yellow faces are more than just a symbol, they’re a statement about the power of smiling.

History of World Smile Day

Has this symbol always existed?

In 1963, Harvey Ball, a graphic artist and ad man from Worcester, Massachusetts, created the smiley face symbol [the yellow emoji icon] we’ve all come to know.

Popularity for this symbol exploded into the world of popular culture. It’s every artists’ dream for their work to be respected and recreated and few symbols have had quite the legacy that Harvey’s creation has had. More: nationaltoday.com

Smiling animals brighten our day

If looking for something to brighten an otherwise dreary winter day, look no further than these adorable animals. Looking at their cheery grins will no doubt put a smile on the face that watches them, too. These smiling animals will brighten the day

Buddhism: There is no way to happiness. Why? Happiness is the way

I let go, surrendered, and blissed out on the mat.

This is a tricky truth no one talks about, at least not in the West. We are forever searching and seeking, scheming and striving to get happy, to FIND a way to happiness. But this message turns that sort of thinking on its head.

When at a Buddhist monastery or on a Buddhist retreat, it's not uncommon to ask, "How do I attain meditative absorption (jhana)?" Another word for it is "zen" or dhyana and dharana on a yoga retreat. But there's no answer. One is taught a technique but no way to achieve the thing one strives for. Why?

I have a theory. - What is it? - Do the GOOD.

It is reached by letting go, dropping the striving, surrendering up the muscling, giving up the go-getter attitude. It just happens. And teachers will say, "There's no way to [scheme and use force to] do it. Meditators just do it."

I went to the room of the greatest jhana teacher in the world, and I pressed him, "What's the secret?"

He didn't know what I meant, he said. He didn't even know what I was talking about, he claimed. Then I thought, he's given me an opening. Here's my chance. I better ask very carefully:

"How does one meditate...successfully? What I mean is, how does one attain absorption? How does one get to..." He looked at me like I was kidding and when he saw that I was not, as if by rote, he gave me the basic instructions:

• Sit up straight, but not too straight, relax, bring your attention under your nose to the breath, remain aware of each and every in-breath and out-breath that is happening. Don't do anything but give your undivided attention to that breath (composed of an in-portion and out-portion). Just that. [Then what? - Then nothing, just that. - No, but there has to be something more; it can't be just that. - Just do that (in addition to keeping silent, following the Eight Precepts, and always keeping the breath in mind except when asleep) and then report to me what happens during the daily interview sessions. Try it. It's very simple, but there's nothing easy about it. So keep at it.]

Bare awareness (mindfulness/sati) is a start.

"No," I said, "not how does one sit; how does one succeed? How does one get to that state of one-pointedness, samadhi, stillness, rapture, unbroken focus...?"

"Oh, that," he said. "I don't know that." I thought he was joking, a real effort to make an American-style joke, and I didn't know why he wasn't telling me. He knew I was sincere. He knew I had been striving all month long. Then I applied more pressure than probably anyone would ever dare to apply.

I wasn't leaving without an answer: "What do you mean you don't know? Who better than you? If you don't know, who could possibly know?"

Then he stunned me, as he often did with the directness of his insight and his willingness to share his knowledge with me? "I don't know because I do not read minds. People come to me. I give them the instructions. And some of them come tell me what is happening, and I guide them from there."

You asked him what?! Did he throw you out?

"But WHY do some of them have something start happening since not everyone does?"

"That I do not know. I just know they do. And when they do, I can help them, guide them to go deeper. But how they get to it in the first place, that I do not know." [These aren't exact quotes, just the gist of the conversation, which only lasted a few desperate minutes as I pushed and pushed.]

As he said this, I realized I had asked him this before, after sitting with him in Asia at his massive monastery, where it seemed everyone was succeeding and attaining. I asked him and pushed him a little on the matter with someone sitting by me to catch what I might be missing, two Americans sincerely wanting to experience what Buddhist texts write about, what the Buddha taught, what sutras say happens.

At that time he looked at us and perceiving our sincerity said one strange word, his guess as to what it was distilled down to ONE thing as if it could ever be just one thing distinguishing success from just sitting. That word was parami. She smiled next to me, but I grimaced, perplexed. "'Parami?' The Sanskrit word paramita?"

"Yes," he answered, but he was actually talking about the Pali (and therefore Theravada Buddhist) form of the word parami. In either case, it means "perfection," but the Sanskrit is a diluted Mahayana term of six factors, whereas the historical Buddha always taught TEN intentional actions (deeds, karma).

My teacher clarified. What he imagined (from what he heard from many of his successful students reporting to him) was that they remembered doing skillful deeds in the past, and he concluded that those past skillful deeds were coming to fruition as they sat. And that's why some succeeded and not others.

What kinds of questions are these? You are silly.

(What I was really getting at was, WHAT ACTIONS CAN SOMEONE DO NOW OR WHILE ONE IS SITTING IN MEDITATION, ANXIOUS FOR SOMETHING TO HAPPEN, TO MAKE IT HAPPEN?)

That he didn't know, so I had to undertake a lifelong journey of trying to figure it out. Of course, it will have something to do with the Factors of Absorption (jhananga, "limbs of jhana"). Leigh Brasington figured this much out, having had the insight that happiness is the way:

Right Concentration: Practical Guide to the Jhanas

Brasington teaches a technique of focusing on one of these factors, happiness (piti, joy, pleasure, rapture, bliss) as it arises in the body in serenity meditation. By focusing on it, it increases based on the principle that, "Where attention goes, energy flows." This is true enough, but how does one get the initial happiness/bliss to pay attention to and make increase?

Now it makes sense that what I had always been looking for was a carrot or apple in front of the horse (mule, donkey, jackass). I could only neigh in realizing it: THE GOAL is not this happiness because THIS HAPPINESS is the way to relaxing, letting go, unstriving, surrendering, unclutching, dropping hangups, persisting without grasping or clinging, shikantaza ("just sitting"), not setting up a goal and striving for it. Why? It's because those blissful states of meditation and their attendant stillness, mindfulness, and progress towards insight are NATURAL. They arise. We don't "do" them. We can't do them. We don't know how and do not have that power.

But if we relax and just watch with vigilance, stillness, steadiness, persistence, we are cultivating the Factors of Absorption and other factors of the 37 Requisites of Enlightenment, which are categorized into seven groupings.

• One is reminded of a very important thing the Buddha once explained to someone. When talking about the Bodhisatta, himself at the stage of still being a seeker of enlightenment, he once realized that he could neither strive too hard or be negligent. Doing either, he sank as if in a great ocean (samsara), but not striving and not being negligent, he made progress. What could this mean either than the Middle Way of avoiding extremes, of persisting but not pushing, of cultivating but not disturbing the peace or giving in to apathy, listlessness, or despair?
• Thai Forest Tradition arahant Ajahn Maha Boowa seems to be suggesting the same thing here (translated by the American intellect Ven. Thanissaro): "The tactics [techniques] given by each of the Buddhas to the world are called the Dhamma [Truth] of the doctrine. These aren't the genuine Dhamma. They're tactics [methods] — different offshoots — actions and modes displayed by the genuine Dhamma, means for letting go and striving, teaching us to let go, teaching us to strive using various methods, saying that the results will be like this or that. As for the genuine Dhamma of results in the principles of nature, that's something to be known exclusively in the heart of the person who practices. This Dhamma can't really be described correctly in line with its truth. We can only talk around it. And particularly with release [nirvana, liberation, freedom]: This can't be correctly described at all, because it's beyond all conventions and speculations. It can't be described. Even though we may know it with our full heart, we can't describe it. Like describing the flavor [of a soup using only words to someone who has yet to simply taste it]." From Things As They Are.

Smile, be happy. Don't overdo it; just let it be.

So happiness IS the way. Be happy. Right now. Choose it. It's a choice. Smile. After all, it's World Smile Day. Reflect, "Why is the Buddha ALWAYS smiling slightly?" There are no statues of him yelling or throwing things, losing his temper or his poise. Why? It's because once one uproots the defilements, there is nothing more tat can upset. One knows-and-sees directly.

Like that, Lisa, just like that. Hold it.

And to the extent that that knowing-and-seeing is the goal, one has reached it. Things have become clear, and nothing can any longer upset us. What was in the way, aside from the defilements (of which there are many subtle ones) and lack of parami-karma (ten skillful deeds performed with the ambition of nirvana being the result)? What is the direct path to bodhi (enlightenment, awakening, realization, liberating-insight)?

What is the way to bodhi? The Seven Factors of Enlightenment. What is the way to those factors? The preceding factors of the 37 Requisites of Enlightenment. How does one do any factor? It's probably a good idea to be happy. How does one even begin to dream to do that? Smile.

Casual Conversation w/ Zen Master, UCLA

Dogen (zeninlondon.org)

Ever dream of having a casual conversation with a real-life Zen master? Here's a talk is about life, love, success, and happiness with Korean Zen Buddhist monk Ven. Pomnyun Sunim.

ABOUT: Zen Master Pomnyun is a peace activist, humanitarian assistance expert, and an environmentalist, speaking about four topics and taking questions on all topics.

• TALK 1: Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, 7:00 pm
• Bauer Center South - Pickford Auditorium
• Claremont McKenna College
• 500 E. Ninth Street Claremont, CA 91711

• TALK 2: Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, 7:00 pm
• Orchard Conference Center
• Matador Bookstore Complex
• 18111 Nordhoff Street Northridge, CA 91330
• RSVP and more info: JungtoSociety.org

See flyer with all details: Casual Conversation with a Zen Master (ucla.edu).  To view Master Pomnyun's past Q&A session, visit youtube.com/@VenPomnyunSunim

• UCLA Center for Buddhist Studies
• 11385 Bunche Hall, Box 951487
• Los Angeles, CA 90095-1487
• Tel: (310) 825-2089 • Fax: (310) 206-3555
• Email: buddhist@international.ucla.edu
• Click here to sign up for newsletter

UCLA Center for Buddhist Studies

• The Berenike [Egyptian] Buddha: Early Buddhism and Indian Trade Diaspora in the Red Sea (ucla.edu)
• Family love leads donor to create two endowed scholarships at UCLA Center for Buddhist Studies
• TALK CANCELED: How Japanese Buddhists Tried to Make Bad Kids Good (ucla.edu)
• In memoriam: Diego Loukota, 38, specialist in Buddhism and ‘once-in-a-generation’ intellect | UCLA

World Happiness Report 2024

Why are you happy? - Well, I'm a Buddhist nun, and the Dharma and Sangha are so beautiful.

Buddha, why are you always smiling?

In this issue of the World Happiness Report we focus on the happiness of people at different stages of life.

In the "Seven Ages of Man" (listed below) in Shakespeare’s hypnotic As You Like It, the later stages of life are portrayed as deeply depressing.

But happiness research shows a more nuanced picture, one that is changing over time.

Explore the 2024 report for the latest findings on the happiness of the world’s young, old – and everyone in between.

Shakespeare: All the world's a stage

The Seven Ages by William Shakespeare (Kanish Mahajan/slideshare.net)

.

Act II, Scene VII, Line 139 features one of [Edward De Vere's aka] Shakespeare's most famous monologues, spoken by the character Jaques, which begins:

"All the world's a stage

And all the men and women merely players;

They have their exits and their entrances,

And one man in his time plays many parts"

The central metaphor, stated in vivid verbal sketches, is that a human lifespan is a play in seven acts. These seven "acts," or "ages," are:

At first, [1] the infant,

Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.

Then [2] the whining schoolboy, with his satchel

And shining morning face, creeping like snail

Unwillingly to school. And then [3] the lover,

Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad

Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then [4] a soldier,

Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,

Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel,

Seeking the bubble reputation

Even in the cannon's mouth. And then [5] the justice,

In fair round belly with good capon lined,

With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,

Full of wise saws and modern instances;

And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts

Into [6] the lean and slippered pantaloon,

With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;

His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide

For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,

Turning again toward childish treble, pipes

And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,

That ends this strange eventful history,

Is [7] second childishness and mere oblivion,

Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything."

Read the Report

We prefer to think of smiling as face yoga, Thich Nhat Hanh, not just the mouth.

• 

  Fat, Happy Budai (Hotei)

  Chapter 1: Happiness and Age: Summary
• Chapter 2: Happiness of the younger, the older, and those in between
• Chapter 3: Child and Adolescent Well-being: Global Trends, Challenges, and Opportunities
• Chapter 4: Supporting the Well-being of an Aging Global Population: Associations between Well-being and Dementia
• Chapter 5: Differences in Life Satisfaction among Older Adults in India

Home | The World Happiness Report; Ashley Wells, CC Liu, Shauna Schwartz (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Complete Guide to Buddhism, Mindful Meditation

Seth Auberon, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation) (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Who needs practice when one can just read about it? It's a new year and I want to learn to meditate, be mindful, and reduce stress. I could sit, but that's hard. My mind is curious, and maybe this book writer found something that will make it easier. Could 59 raters be wrong? Yes, but it's better than hitting the cushion too quickly.

The Complete Guide to Buddhism, How to Meditate & Mindfulness Meditation to Reduce Stress, Anxiety & Find Lasting Happiness, for Beginners to Advanced

Whew, what a title. It's a 3 in 1 bundle in the Kindle Edition by author Harini Anand. It has a 4.4 out of 5 stars with 59 ratings.

Reduce stress while increasing calmness, clarity, and happiness even for complete beginners who are not Buddhists.

Mindfulness and meditation are simple practices available to all... Research over the past two decades by the California State University Department of Psychology broadly supports the claim that the practices have beneficial effects on physical and mental health.

Billionaire hedge fund manager Ray Dalio was quoted as saying, “Meditation more than anything in my life was the biggest ingredient of whatever success I’ve had.”

Plus, one is not required to have "faith" in the Buddha or live secluded in a distant monastery to reap the rewards.

This means anyone can increase wellbeing to deal with stress in a practical way while learning about Buddhism, mindfulness, and meditation as one wishes.

This three-in-one bundle includes:

• Buddhism for Beginners: Ancient Strategies for Lasting Happiness, Overcoming Stress, Anxiety & Developing a Zen Mind in the Modern World
• Buddhism: Discover Ancient Strategies for Beginners or Advanced to Achieve Lasting Happiness, Mindfulness & Calm Stress in the Modern World
• How to Meditate: Practicing Mindfulness & Meditation to Reduce Stress, Anxiety & Find Lasting Happiness Even if Your Not Religious, a Beginner or Experienced

[One knows there has to be an editing problem with these books if one of the titles contains a spelling error no one caught, where Your should be You're.]

Key concepts discussed in this bundle include:

• Over 9 different ways of meditation, choosing the best way for each practitioner
• What is Buddhism and what do Buddhists believe?
• Elite level meditations used daily by superstar basketball player Kobe Bryant
• Top tips for practicing mindfulness in everyday life
• The benefits of Moving Meditation plus 3 ways to start practicing them now
• Manage anxiety, stress, depression and sleep
• Why chasing success and happiness is making us miserable – and what to do instead
• The three major Buddhist divisions to know about
• How karma affects everyone and will catch up with us eventually
• The fastest way to start the spiritual path without living in a temple
• The Four Noble Truths and how they can end suffering
• Buddhism for kids to help children learn from our mistakes and live a happy life
• and much, much more!

The teachings of Buddhism, mindfulness, and meditation are straightforward and can be understood by anyone even if not religious. Begin the journey today towards stress-free, happy living with this bundle.

Longest study on happiness reveals...

Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

You wouldn't believe what was in my mouth. - This smile! (Choose to be happy for no reason).

(Veritasium) Nov. 15, 2023: How to lead a happier, healthier, and longer life. Bliss and longevity? Add meaning (purpose, passion, a point), and we're in!

Huge thanks to Prof. Robert Waldinger for all his help with this video. To learn more about what makes for a good life, visit: the-good-life-book.com and • Robert Waldinger: What makes a good life...

Special thanks to Prof. Julianne Holt-Lunstad for her expert advice on the importance of social connections and the detrimental effects of loneliness and social isolation.

Check out our sponsor: https://betterhelp.com/veritasium to get matched with a professional therapist who will listen and help.

References:

• Waldinger, R., & Schulz, M. (2023). The Good Life: Lessons from the World's Longest Scientific Study of Happiness. Simon and Schuster.
• Lindqvist et al. (2020). Long-run effects of lottery wealth on psychological well-being. The Review of Economic Studies. ve42.co/Lindqvist2020
• Wen et al. (2011). Minimum amount of physical activity for reduced mortality and extended life expectancy: a prospective cohort study. The lancet. ve42.co/Wen2011
• Nocon et al. (2008). Association of physical activity with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis. European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. ve42.co/Nocon2008
• Blondell et al. (2014). Does physical activity prevent cognitive decline and dementia?: A systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. BMC public health. ve42.co/Blondell2014
• Office of the Surgeon General. (2023). Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation: The US Surgeon General’s Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community. ve42.co/LonelinessEpidemic
• Holt-Lunstad et al. (2010). Social relationships and mortality risk: a meta-analytic review. PLoS medicine. ve42.co/Holt-Lunstad2010
• Valtorta et al. (2016). Loneliness and social isolation as risk factors for coronary heart disease and stroke: systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal observational studies. Heart. ve42.co/Valtorta2016
• Shovestul et al. (2020). Risk factors for loneliness: The high relative importance of age versus other factors. PloS one. ve42.co/Shovestul2020
• Donovan et al. (2017). Loneliness, depression and cognitive function in older US adults. International journal of geriatric psychiatry. ve42.co/Donovan2017
• Lara et al. (2019). Does loneliness contribute to mild cognitive impairment and dementia? A systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. Ageing research reviews. ve42.co/Lara2019
• Holt-Lunstad et al. (2015). Loneliness and social isolation as risk factors for mortality: a meta-analytic review. Perspectives on psychological science. ve42.co/Holt-Lunstad2015
• McIntyre et al. (2015). Compulsive Internet use and relations between social connectedness, and introversion. Computers in Human Behavior. ve42.co/McIntyre2015
• Kahneman & Deaton. (2010). High income improves evaluation of life but not emotional well-being. Proceedings of the national academy of sciences. ve42.co/Kahneman2010
• Killingsworth. (2021). Experienced well-being rises with income, even above $75,000 per year. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. ve42.co/Killingsworth2021
• Killingsworth et al. (2023). Income and emotional well-being: A conflict resolved. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. ve42.co/Killingsworth2023

Special thanks to Patreon supporters: Adam Foreman, Anton Ragin, Balkrishna Heroor, Bernard McGee, Bill Linder, Burt Humburg, Chris Harper, Dave Kircher, Diffbot, Evgeny Skvortsov, Gnare, John H. Austin, Jr., john kiehl, Josh Hibschman, Juan Benet, KeyWestr, Lee Redden, Marinus Kuivenhoven, Max Paladino, Meekay, meg noah, Michael Krugman, Orlando Bassotto, Paul Peijzel, Richard Sundvall, Sam Lutfi, Stephen Wilcox, Tj Steyn, TTST, Ubiquity Ventures.

Directed by Casper Mebius. Written by Casper Mebius, Petr Lebedev, and Derek Muller. Edited by Peter Nelson. Animated by Fabio Albertelli and Ivy Tello. Filmed by Derek Muller, Emily Zhang, and Zyan Treadwell. Produced by Casper Mebius, Petr Lebedev, Han Evans, and Derek Muller. Additional video/photos supplied by Getty Images and Storyblocks. Music from Epidemic Sound. Thumbnail by Ren Hurley.

Gratitude Buddhist meditation w/ Tara Brach

Tara Brach, June 5, 2022, published 6/13/22; Amber Larson (ed.), Widom Quarterly

Morning Meditation with Tara Brach: Presence and Gratitude

(Tara Brach) When we start the day by arriving in full presence [mindfulness], we can open naturally to a heartspace of gratitude. This allows us to savor the blessings of our unfolding day.

Flute and photography: Jonathan Foust. Order Tara Brach's book, Radical Compassion, at the following link: tarabrach.com/radical-com... Subscribe to podcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Join Brach's email community to receive exclusive updates, events, meditations: tarabrach.com/join-email... Support enables the continuation of offering these talks freely. If they are of value, consider offering a donation at this time: tarabrach.com/donation. With thanks and love, Tara

Meditate in woods or sports in the house?

Amber Larson and Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly

Pürblack Pure Mineral Shilajit Live Resin (CYMBIOTIKA)

Sit for insight.

Free your mind. Kill your TV.

It's Thursday, it's "football night." The whole living room will be filled with the stench of warm electronics, sweaty couches, bad food, and spilled brew. Would I be better off taking a hike? The woods behind the house would make a nice start. The trailhead up the hill could serve for a more strenuous exercise of my limbs. Eat the mountain (shilajit or "destroyer of weakness," pronounced \she-luh-jeet\), walk the forest. Fulvic acid (Asphaltum) oozes out of the Himalayas in the summer.

Hun, kill your TV. - You crazy? The game's on!

The yogi meditators there depended on it. It's fulvic acid, full of essential trace minerals and other odd nutrients one would not expect in rock. Of course, it's probably a biological byproduct of microbes breaking down organic matter in the ground until it oozes out.  (German scientists discovered this is how oil, not a fossil fuel, is replenished in the ground after a very long time, but Big Oil ignores that and claims we're at peak oil so we have to be charged higher prices).

We can swim in mineral water? Epsom salt hot springs

Minerals, unlike vitamins, do not go bad. They remain for millions of years. Dr. Joel Wallach (criticalhealthnews.com) thinks they are the key to youthfulness, health, and longevity. They can no longer be found in food, even with a diverse and balanced diet, because they are no longer in the ground. Industrial farming practices have depleted them. Synthetic fertilizers only put three back (the agrominerals NPK), but plants need all 70 or 80 to make their magic, like the subtle taste of real peaches and other fruits that have all gone bland over sugary.

Ayur-Veda is "Knowledge of Life"

It's amazing what nutrients we've lost by the way we eat after hunting and gathering in supermarkets. Once, during the time of the Buddha, there were monastics who could not make any progress toward enlightenment in their meditation compared to others. The came to see him and asked about it. He inquired into their diets and advised local supporters to provide them with the eight kinds of foods, in accordance with ancient proto-Indian (possibly Ayurvedic science) practices.

The eight might include types of food that are hard, soft, sweet, sour, bitter, astringent, and so on. In other words, it would be a balanced diet more likely to contain all the macro and micronutrients needed for health. Snap! Being provided with alms food like this, they were able to succeed in meditation and reach the goal for which children of good families leave the home-life for the left-home life. In no long time they were among the noble ones (Arya = persons along the Four Stages of Enlightenment).

Dad, can we change it to Golden Bachelor?

Fried potatoes. Acrylamide. Rotten gluten grains. Alcohol. Both are strong depressives. Stay in, watch the war game that is American football?

• Fried foods [French fries, potato chips] linked to anxiety and depression | CNN
• Is Alcohol a Depressant? | Addiction Center

Hey, no h*m*, but nice butt, guy! - Huh?

Or get out and breathe fresh air, hear the crunch of leaves and twigs underfoot, see birds flit and soar, hear the gurgle of water, listen for frogs and insects, inhale the scent of flowers and mushrooms blooming out of season (due to the odd rain patterns in what used to be the dry time), run with the dog, find a seat at the root of a tree, mindfully breathe in, mindfully breathe out, settle the mind into the present moment (because breathing is only ever happening NOW, in the eternal now that always is if only I could remember (sati/smriti) to notice it?

What is the "destroyer of weakness"?

Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edit

It brings hair and vitality back, all vegan

What is Sanskrit shilajit, Jew's pitch (Bitumen of Judea), English asphalt, Russian mumijo, or German mumie? It is natural organic-mineral product of predominantly natural biological origin, formed in the mountains (in mountain crevices and caves).

It is a blackish-brown powder or exudate from high mountain rocks, often found in the Himalayas (in Central Asia, Badakhshan, Afghanistan [Scythian Shakya Land], Karakoram, Gilgit-Baltistan), Pakistan, Nepal, the Buddhist Kingdom of Bhutan, Russia in the mountains of the Caucasus, Altai, Iran [Aryan Land], Mongolia and in the south of Peru, where it is called "Andean Shilajit."

Also known as μούμια (Greek), Mumiyo (Russian), Brag-shun or Barakhshin ("oil of the mountains" in South Siberian region of the Sayano-Altai Mountains, Khakassia, Buddhist Buryatia, Mongolia), "rock sap" or "rock juice" (in Tibet, Central Asia, Himalaya, Pamir, and Altai), Marathi or Gujarati (in Hindi), Asphalt (in English), Silajita, Silajatu (in Bengali), Hajarul-Musa or Araq-al-jibal (in Arabic), Myemu, Moomiaii or Mumnaei (in Persian), Mumie (in German), Mineral Pitch, Jew’s Pitch, Mineral Wax, Kao-tun ("blood of the mountain" in Burma), Tasmay and Slag (China), "Blessing of Nature" (Nepal).

The peoples of the East used shilajit/mumiyo in folk and non-traditional (alternative) medicine (Ayurveda, Chinese, Tibetan). It is sold both in pure form and as part of dietary supplements... More