When it comes to fighting or avoiding a fight at all costs, we have to look at our friendship bracelet that read "WWBLD?" Of course, that stands for "What would Bruce Lee do?" Following the Zen way of the Tao, noninterference with the flow of nature, we'd go around trouble and pick the path of peace. But, y'know, as Kwai Chang Caine found out so many times, sometimes trouble finds you. Then in that case, redirect the violent opponent's own energy against that person.
Shaolin kung fu (Chinese 少林功夫, Pinyin Shàolín gōngfū, Shaolin Wushu, 少林武術, Shǎolín wǔshù, Shaolin quan, 少林拳, Shàolínquán), is the largest and most famous style of the martial art of kung fu. It combines Mahayana Buddhist, Chinese Chan (Zen) philosophy, and martial arts [1]. It was developed in the legendary Shaolin Temple (monastery) in Henan, China during its 1,500-year history [2]. In Chinese folklore there is a saying, "Shaolin kung fu is the best under heaven." It indicates its superiority among the martial arts. "All martial arts under heaven originated from Shaolin," which indicates its influence on other martial arts. The name "Shaolin" is also used as a brand for the external styles of kung fu. Many styles in southern and northern China use the name Shaolin. More
Best known as "Andrew Golota," Andrzej Jan Gołota (born Jan. 5, 1968) was a Polish professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2013. He challenged four times for a heavyweight world title, by all four major sanctioning bodies, and as an amateur won a bronze medal in the heavyweight division at the 1988 Olympics. Despite his accomplishments and more than 40 professional wins, Golota is perhaps best known for twice being disqualified against Black American boxer Riddick Bowe for repeated low blows to the groin in fights that Golota was winning. On Oct. 4, 1997, he became the first Pole to challenge for a heavyweight boxing crown when he fought WBC champion Lennox Lewis at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. He had a bout with Mike Tyson in 2000, which he first withdrew from, but afterward was ruled no-contest. In Nov. 2016, Golota was inducted into the Illinois Boxing Hall of Fame. Favorite music? Probably brutal Polish death metal band Vader? More
Humans oftentimes violate the "law of the jungle," the territorial claims of carnivores and cornered or injured beasts who survive on instinct. For all the good and peaceful interactions we have most of the time, there are a few that show that some element of danger is ever present.
In the Rebirth Stories (Jataka Tales) of the Buddha, animals can talk. They communicate with one another, of course, but they are also able to cross the veil between their domain and ours. Cross species communication is real. Just ask an animal communicator:
(EBS World) Life with the Axe: Sri Lanka's Last Vedda Tribe
Living a Stone Age existence with magic metal axes
The Yakkha or Yakshi are "ogres" -- Sasquatch, Almas, Asian Bigfoot, Orang pendek (living Indonesian Hobbit), "Wild Men" Yeti and Chinese Yeren -- in Buddhist cosmology and Hindu, Jain, and the lore of the subcontinent. It may be that known human tribes living in the wild were referred to as Yakkhas and Yakshas as well:
Yaksha (Sanskrit यक्ष, Yakṣa, Pali Yakkha, female Yakkhini or Yakshi, likely the source of Yeti) are a broad class of nature spirits, usually benevolent, but sometimes mischievous or capricious, connected with water, fertility, trees, the forest, treasure and wilderness [4][5].
YAKKHA: A class of non-human beings (amanussā), they are mentioned with devas, rakkhasas, dānavas, gandhabbas, kinnaras, and Mahoragas (? Nāgas) (e.g., J.v.420). In other lists (e.g., PvA. 45, 55) they range immediately above the ghosts (petas); in fact, some of the happier petas are called yakkhas. Elsewhere (e.g., A.ii.38) they rank, in progressive order, between humans (manussā) and deva-messengers (gandhabbā). There are many different kinds: spirits, ogres, dryads, ghosts, spooks. In the early records, yakkha, like nāgā, as an appellative, was not depreciative. Thus, not only is Sakka, king of the devas, so referred to (M.i.252; J.iv.4; DA.i.264), but even the Buddha is spoken of as a yakkha in poetic diction (M.i.386). Many devas, such as Kakudha, are also so addressed (S.i.54). More: palikanon.com
Yakshas appear in Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist texts (where they are cannibal humanoid ogres with telepathic shapeshifting powers of transformation, who are known to cohabitate with human women and produce hybrid offspring, suggesting they are with the same species at least to some extent, the most famous of these being the Yakkha Alavaka and his very wise questions put to the Buddha in Sn I.10Āḷavaka Sutta, ), as well as ancient and medieval era temples of South Asia and Southeast Asia as guardian deities [5][6]. The feminine form of the word is Yakṣī [7] or Yakshini (Sanskrit यक्षिणी, Yakṣiṇī, Pali Yakkhini) [8]. More
These are the remaining members of the Vedda Tribe: The Vedda (Sinhalese වැද්දා, Tamil வேடர் or Vēḍar, also the Wanniyalaeto [4]. They are a minority indigenous group of people in Sri Lanka who, among other sub-communities such as Coast Veddas, Anuradhapura Veddas, and Bintenne Veddas [5], are accorded "indigenous" status. The Vedda minority in Sri Lanka may become completely assimilated [6]. Most already speak the dominant Sinhalese language (Sinhala) instead of their exotic indigenous languages, which are nearing extinction. It has been hypothesized that the Vedda were likely the earliest inhabitants of the island of Sri Lanka and have lived there since before the arrival of other groups from the nearby Indian mainland [7][8]. More
Yakkha or Dewan (Nepali याक्खा, Yākkhā) is an indigenous ethnic group from the Indian subcontinent, mainly in modern-day Nepal and present-day India (related to other Kirat groups, like the Limbu, Sunuwar, Rai, and more distantly all other Sino-Tibetan peoples). It is one of the descendants of Nepal's prehistoric Kirat Dynasty.
The Yakkha people are subsistence farmers who inhabit the lower Arun valley in Eastern Nepal. They number only a few thousand and their language is nearly extinct [4][5]. They are closely related to Limbu people. More
If I had to give one good reason to relist wolves on the endangered species list, it would be because they are a keystone species. Full stop. Their reintroduction will save the forest. The Native Americans knew it, and we forgot it and nearly lost all the wooded land. Now it's time to bring them back by protecting them as a vital part of nature. Join me in the campaign to save all animals but particularly the species central to the health of our woodlands.
An ecosystem is a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment. It includes all of the living things interacting with each other and non-living environments (weather, earth, sun, soil, climate, atmosphere) in a given area.
In an ecosystem, all species rely on each other, and each organism has its’ own niche or role to play. A keystone species is a plant or animal that plays a disproportionately large role in the ecosystem – impacting both the prevalence and population levels of other species within their community. More
Those bald eagles are totally unreliable, possibly due to DDT contamination of the environment by humans that reaches LA's neighboring forest and waterways at Big Bear Lake, next to Mt. Baldy, which is not named after its nesting eagles.
There are legends of this great bird.
Eaglets are cute and beautiful but, as stated, unreliable. Everyone had their eyes trained on the Eagle Cam. And for what? Nothing but disappointment. Thanks for nothing, corporate polluters, who hurl heavy metals and other contaminants into the atmosphere, landing on bodies of water to poison the fish and selling pellets that kill rodents and poison the birds and mountain lions.
Imagine taking van into the woods to see nature
But good news: the Los Angeles Zoo has succeeded in birthing five critically endangered condors, the majestic vultures of California and other parts of Mexico. (California is, after all, part of Mexico, now divided in two parts, Alta and Baja, but no one has told the birds, who are illegally crossing over into American airspace all the time). There are only approximately 350 condors left in the wild. There are soon to be five more.
Alas, these chicks are not nearly as cute as their hoary cousins of the north. But their mothers and many others may love them all the more for it.
(LA Zoo) California condors have soared in the skies of North America (mostly in Mexico) for some 11,000 years, since the Pleistocene era. Their range once extended across the southern half of North America and along both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.
With a nine-and-a-half-foot wingspan, these ancient birds can fly more than 100 miles each day in search of carcasses to feed on.
Condors roost on rocky ledges and in treetops, where they can easily launch into the warm air rising in morning thermals.
These vultures are highly intelligent, inquisitive, and social birds. By 1982, the wild population had dwindled down to 22 birds due to human contamination of the environment.
Humans did this largely through lead poisoning from bullets aimed at murdering and injuring living beings, which were left in the carrion (dead beings) the birds consume to survive as they clean up the environment.
In 1987, the last condor was removed from the wild. With a population of just 27 captive birds, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in collaboration with Los Angeles Zoo and the San Diego Zoo began an intensive breeding and reintroduction program.
It eventually increased the population to more than 500 birds. The release of condors bred in captivity with human care began in 1992. So far about 300 California condors have been re-introduced into the wild. More
Celebrated annually on the last Wednesday in March, "Manatee Appreciation Day" is more than just a tribute – it’s a global call to protect the gentle giants [related to elephants] of the sea.
Manatees have no natural predators [other than motorboaters swinging brutal propeller blades], which contributes to their serene demeanor. However, this does not mean they are without threats.
Human activities pose significant risks to manatee populations. Despite these challenges, manatees have shown remarkable resilience, with conservation efforts playing a crucial role in protecting them.
A childlike heart will yet believe even as adults scoff at ancient lore.
I know what I saw! (Cristobal Columbus)
MERMAIDS (mythical half-female, half-fish creatures) have existed in seafaring lore at least since the time of the ancient Greeks. Typically depicted as having a woman’s head and torso, a fishtail instead of legs, and holding a mirror and comb, mermaids live in the ocean and, according to some legends, can take on a human shape and marry mortal men [as in the selkie lore of Ireland, Manx, Scotland, Faroe Islands, Iceland, the British Isles]. Mermaids are closely linked to sirens, another folkloric figure, part-woman, part-bird, who live on islands and sing seductive songs to lure sailors [like Homer's Odysseus and his crew] to their deaths. Mermaid sightings by sailors, when they weren’t made up, were most likely manatees, dugongs, or Steller’s sea cows (which became extinct by the 1760s due to cruel human over-hunting). Manatees are slow-moving aquatic mammals with human-like eyes, bulbous faces... (HISTORY*)
SUTRA: In a very strange Buddhist sutra, Great Moggallana, the male disciple declared by the Buddha as "foremost in psychic powers" mentions that at the bottom of the sea, there are indeed mermaids who dance seductively. A reference to shapeshifting space aliens living in bases below the ocean? There is worldwide awareness that at some point in the past, there really were vicious creatures who swam the seas, just as reports of harpies and others were reported by many cultures. Let's examine what one of the Buddha's four chief disciples said of these mysterious creatures from MN 50:
Alas, no further mention of the sea-nymph mermaid selkies is made in this sutra, Is it reasonable to think the great monk was simply repeating Indian or Scythian lore? He was addressing Mara, to warn him what was to happen for bad karma of the sort this mara was accumulating. Modern people don't believe in Mara, despite the Mara Samyutta, and all those references to him by the Buddha. There's a thick translation of The Connected Discourses by American Theravada scholar-monk Bhikkhu Bodhi that includes it. So if Mara, a kind of Tempter -- Lucifer, Cupid, Eros, Devil -- figure in Buddhism could be real, are mermaids so hard to believe in, existing underwater by inhabiting vimanas ("mansions" that areUSOs) so hard to swallow?
Human activities have not been kind to manatees. Boating, pollution, and habitat destruction stand out as the three greatest threats.
Despite legal protections against hunting, manatees continue to be poached for their meat and hides. Furthermore, their natural habitats, crucial for their survival, are being decimated by human development and intrusion.
Boat strikes are particularly alarming, leading to tragic injuries or even death for these gentle creatures. This dire situation underlines the urgency of increasing awareness so that manatees will continue to exist in the future.
Getting to know sea cows
Secret places, Mexico's cenotes, near Belize
Manatees, also known as the cows of the sea[even though their closest relatives are elephants], are a marvel of marine life, characterized by their gentle nature and slow-moving grace [which caused people like Christopher Columbus to report mermaid sighting, possibly with the intention to violate them as he was planning for the gentle Indigenous humans he met].
These large, aquatic mammals belong to the order Sirenia [which is interesting because the Spanish word for "mermaid" issirena], which also includes three species of dugongs.
One of the most captivating aspects of manatees is their all-veganherbivorous diet, as they feed on a wide variety of submerged, floating, and emergent plants in fresh and saltwater environments. More
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These large, aquatic mammals belong to the order Sirenia [which is interesting because the Spanish word for "mermaid" is sirena], which also includes three species of dugongs. 
