The 5 most famous Chinese poems

(Skritter) The only Chinese poem [poet] we need to know

(Learn Chinese Now) The 5 Most Famous Chinese Poems of All Time (Explained in English)

Li Bai (Chinese 李白, Pinyin Lǐ Bái) (circa 701-762), who is also known by his courtesy name of Taibai (太白), was a Chinese poet acclaimed as one of the best and most important poets of the Tang dynasty, even the whole of Chinese poetry.

He and his friends such as Du Fu (712–770) were among the prominent figures in the flourishing of Chinese poetry of the Tang dynasty, often called the "Golden Age of Chinese Poetry." The expression "Three Wonders" denotes

1. Li Bai's poetry,
2. Pei Min's swordplay, and
3. Zhang Xu's calligraphy [1].

Around 1,000 poems attributed to Li are extant. His poems have been collected into the most important Tang dynasty collection, Heyue yingling ji [2], compiled in 753 by Yin Fan.

Thirty-four of Li Bai's poems are included in the anthology Three Hundred Tang Poems, which was first published in the 18th century [3].

Around the same time, translations of his poems began to appear in Europe. In Ezra Pound's famous work Cathay (1915), Li Bai's poems enjoy the lion's share (11 out of 19) [4]. Li Bai's poems became models for celebrating the pleasures of... More

• Skritter; Learn Chinese Now; CC Liu, Crystal Quintero, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edit

November's Full Beaver Moon 2025

First human depictions of the historical Buddha were in
the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara/Afghanistan

Full Beaver Moon

• November full moon 2025. Beaver supermoon soon visible in Louisville
• Look up! It's the Full Beaver Moon of 2025 (msn.com)

The significance of the moon in Buddhism

.

This is the time of mooncakes and the traditional Sabbath Day or uposatha. That means it's the best time to observe the "fasting day," which means not eating before daylight or after noon. This is part of observing the Eight Precepts, an ancient tradition the Buddha praised as something worth continuing.

How do Buddhists observe the uposatha service?

(Buddhism Reflections) Uposatha days hold a special significance on the Buddhist calendar, particularly in the Theravada tradition. These weekly observance days are aligned with the phases of the moon, including the full moon, new moon, and two quarter moons.

Uposatha (shrine hall), Buddhapadipa Temple

During these times, both lay Buddhists and monastics engage in various practices that enhance their spiritual journeys. On the one hand, lay practitioners often take on additional precepts, dedicating themselves to deeper spiritual activities and community involvement.

Monastics, on the other hand, focus on reflection and purification, reciting the Patimokkha ("Path to Moksha"), a summary of the major rules of the Monastic Code of Discipline, which is a vital aspect of their monastic life.

The uposatha service is not just about individual practice; it also fosters a sense of community as laypeople gather at monasteries to support monks and nuns through food preparation and participation in rituals (pujas).

This day is steeped in tradition and serves as a reminder of the commitment to the Dhamma or Teachings of the historical Buddha.

Full-moon Uposatha – Nalanda Buddhist Society

The observance of uposatha varies slightly among different sects and countries, adding a unique flavor to this rich tradition.

Let's delve into the practices and significance of uposatha days in Buddhism and discover how they contribute to spiritual growth and community bonding. #BuddhaTeachings #Buddhism #Mindfulness

• Beaver Hunter, Nov. 2025; Amber Larson and Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Dogman, wolfman, lycanthrope, werewolf

(Peter Austin) Lycanthropes (werewolves, dogmen, monsters)

The last solar eclipse of 2025 (9/21)

When to see the next full moon (space.com)

The last solar eclipse of 2025 happens on Sunday, Sept. 21st, just one day before the autumnal equinox. This partial solar eclipse will be visible from New Zealand, Antarctica, and the South Pacific.

• VIDEO: See the moon 'bite' the sun in 1st photos of Sept. 2025 partial solar eclipse | Space
• EDITOR'S NOTE: The Sept. 2025 partial solar eclipse put on a magnificent show as the moon swept over the face of our sun, darkening the sky over a swathe of the Pacific Ocean. Check out our wrap article to see the first images from the spectacular orbital ballet, as seen from the City of Dunedin, New Zealand.

Although not a total eclipse, this is a deep partial event, with the moon covering up to 86% of the sun! Southern New Zealand and Antarctic research stations will see the best views, whilst some Pacific islands will also get a show. More: space.com/stargazing/solar-eclipses

• Full moon calendar 2025: When to see the next full moon | Space

Who cares about the Moon? Vanity does

Who cares about the waxing and waning Moon?

CONTINUED FROM PART 1

When they open, strap your seatbelt and hold on.

What does the Moon matter? O, shining Chandra, glowing Soma, ever changing Luna...

Well, once upon a time in East Hollywood at Dharma Punx on Melrose Avenue, across from Los Angeles City College, I met a beautiful meditator. Let's call her Vanity Lycan. This is her saga, about how she traveled to India and had an experience of enlightenment, sort of.

We became friends, and she so trusted me that she asked me if I wanted to accompany her to India. She was going, among other places, to Dharamshala (the Dalai Lama's abode in the Himalayas).

Heavens yes, I thought as I said, "Hells yeah!" Sadly, this being LA, something came up that could not be put off, and she could not change her round-the-world ticket. So we vowed to stay in touch online so I could guide her from on high. There might be pitfalls along the way for a Western gal on a solo-travel adventure that she didn't think of but that I could solve.

Oh, Moonglow, elfin magic

I remember one email then radio silence. It was a about year later as I was sitting at the weekly meditation meeting. When it opened up for shares, someone started to talk and cry. Imagine my astonishment, being hypervigilant and too easily annoyed by anything I notice and ignore while trying to sit still. It was her!

I hadn't noticed. I had forgotten even to wonder what had happened to her since it had been so long. There she was a few feet away on a cushion, crying. No one much listened to what she was trying to say.

But I thought I understood -- a lone girl wandering around at night in a strange country with strangers and men being what they are (though they didn't used to be like that in most of India in the times that I was there, which was a big surprise). She kept telling me that I didn't understand. Something had happened to her on the trip. I really thought that for once I did get. I didn't need it spelled out. I should have been there to prevent it.

What does one who knows say?

I was wrong. It wasn't a case of [S.A.] like 99% of people would have guessed and not been surprised to hear.

She confessed she had become "enlightened." Of course, it's not real Buddhist enlightenment (bodhi, liberating insight, thorough comprehension of the Four Ennobling Truths, touching nirvana, comprehending anicca, dukkha, and anatta by direct experience of the ultimate truth). It was nothing like that at all.

• My Kundalini Awakening turned into a nightmare after too much energy went to the brain...now barely functional...How do I recover a mind and nervous system that feel destroyed? (Quora)

What was her "enlightenment," not having a better word for the spiritual, psychological, entheogenic madness that was now going on? Her chakras had spontaneously opened, and with that come the powers of each chakra. It is not the real thing but that thing that happens to many Western travelers every year.

Was Wicca wise to the ways of the Moon?

Argue until you're blue in the face that she didn't know what she was talking about. But I had seen this before and heard about it from one superwoman who not only experienced it but survived and studied it academically to help others undergoing the premature experience, calming and closing those chakras up again until ready to move kundalini energy up the spine for good rather than all of the out of control pains, visions, and raving madness that could accompany them.

The most amazing thing she talked to me about, holding Western meds forced on her before she was thrown out of India into the arms of her family (who if they had not taken her out she would have been institutionalized, forcibly drugged with Thorazine or similar antipsychotics, warehoused, and forgotten there, she claimed) was how much the opalescent MOON now governed her moods, actions, and future. She had become "unmanageable" by consulate rules, so she had to be neutralized or sent back to the USA.

Triple moon symbol as gold charm

She feared it. She knew it even if she were to never see it again. I asked what she meant. She explained that the Moon has a profound effect on us on this planet, governing things (estrus, the ability to awaken, as with Siddhartha awakening on the evening of the full moon). It is more than Earth's calendar, making the months and seasons, not reflecting golden sunlight as we are told but emanating its own different kind of silvery light. The Zetetic scientists of the past proved this beyond on a doubt with demonstrable, reproducible, experimental published research.

She was not clear if the Moon was only a goddess, a sentient entity with powers, or a hollow world with beings in it directing their surveillance and energies at us from it. But when it waxed and rose, she was altered. She might dance naked like Shiva Nataraj with a message for the world embedded in postures and mudras, possessed as she would become by that spirit of Shiva, which she claimed was a real, literal being (blue extraterrestrial), not simply some historical or mythological figure.

I said to her at some point that "I want this." She said, "No, you don't! It's painful, it's horrible, it's unmanageable." "Yes, well, I'd manage it better with Ashtanga Yoga" (the "Eight Limbs of Union" with the holy spirit, prana, or subtle breath). "You think you would, but you can't. It's not to be managed. You think I want to take pharmaceuticals?" "No." "Well, I would rather take them than undergo what will happen to me without [chemical tranquilization]."

Oriental MS Indic beta, Wellcome

"But this awakening of the serpent Kundalini to rise from the base through the spine, energizing the chakras and gaining the siddhis or magical powers and samadhi, piercing and transcending the moving 'wheels' along the way, it seems to me that that's the whole point of our yogic aspirations." "What the hell are you talking about?" After arguing good/bad back and forth, I finally asked her, "Look, all right, I don't want it. But HOW did you do it? How did you get it to happen?" She shocked me with her answer.

You don't want sudden chakra openings

She looked at me like I was crazy and stress, "I didn't 'do' it. The Mountain did, somehow in connection with the Moon." "The 'Mountain,' what mountain?" "The Himalaya," she said and started crying to remember how she had gotten to Dharamshala and went off to sit under the full moon. And some guy had come along. "Aha! And then he attacked you?!"

"He didn't attack me. We talked, and I left, wanting to be alone. Then it happened. And I was aware of the Moon as it happened, and I knew the Moon was [or the beings in it were] aware of me [like a panopticon]." "And by Himalaya do you mean Mt. Everest or K2 or Kailash or Mt. Meru? Is there a special place for this one might go to?" I asked full of hope.

"No, you don't want this to happen to you." Foolishly, and I knew it was foolish, I kind of still did.

• Kundalini awakening
• Amethyst Moon Goddess Necklace: Sterling Silver Wiccan Jewelry - Etsy
• History of the Shotgun House | Santa Monica Conservancy

Surf's down! Cali's super low tide, tsunami?

• Low tide: Mythical sea monster is harbinger of doom, and it has just washed up on a California beach
• Editorial comics: The latest political cartoons from Cagle
• According to quantum physics, death might be an illusion
• World's oldest pyramid confirmed in formerly Buddhist country: Neither those of Egypt nor Mexico are older; this is the world's oldest pyramid (except for maybe Bosnia, the Moon, Mars, or those on Atlantis under the sea)
• Sadhguru's message to America after Raj Trump's US election victory: Save Our Soil
• Genocide Joe Biden give go ahead to Zelensky to bomb Russia, and Russia hits Ukraine in return: US Proxy-war in Ukraine-Russia to go ahead with use of U.S. long-range missiles
• Mocking Trump in editorial cartoon (Cagle)

Full Moon manifestation: "Beaver Moon"

We found the magic frequency. (This will revolutionize our future)

Full Moon manifestation: November's "Beaver Moon" Manifestation

(Meditation and Healing) Streamed live on Nov. 14, 2024: This month's full moon peaks on Friday, November 15 — the last supermoon of 2024. We can manifest anything we desire.

🙏 Namaste. Meditation and Healing is a YouTube channel that serves up the best meditation, healing, relaxing, and sleep music. It is composed with different kinds of instruments, blending 432 Hz and 528 Hz Solfeggio frequencies.

This channel was created on Dec. 8th, 2014, with the aim of providing digital space for those who are going through stress, anxiety, insomnia, and depression.

432Hz and 528Hz EXPLAINED: Most powerful frequencies in the universe

The music is composed with beautiful piano, melodious flute, soothing pads, relaxing bells, and many other instruments. This relaxing music helps relieve stress. Relieve negative feelings like anxiety to enhance positive energy.

It can also give meditation techniques a boost if used to soothe while meditating. It also has a healing capacity to find inner peace and heal within.

This music combines to help people overcome stress and anxiety. It used precise professional music production and recording software to provide the best audio quality and experience.

Most of the music on this channel is composed with a combination of instruments and nature sounds.

To enhance the music experience, we also add video with moving graphics and animation, editing them with a sense of flair. We hope to create and present more relaxing and meditative music videos in the future. Thanks and have a great time.

Lunar eclipse of full Harvest Moon (live)

• Lunar eclipse of the full Harvest Moon: the best time to see it in major cities in the US

Rahu in Buddhist Thailand

The cause of a lunar eclipses would not seem to be this planet of plane but another celestial body. Let's see, who else could be out there? (Scientists discover mysterious structures hidden in our solar system).

• New study suggests Earth has several HIDDEN MOONS from collision billions of years ago

Miss Venus, Mr. Mars, Pluto Jr., another Ms. Luna (Earth's new 'mini-moon' will orbit our planet for the next 2 moonths), the Twelfth Planet Nibiru? (Twelfth? One or more was obliterated in a collision that led to the Khyber Belt debris field, according to Zecharia Sitchin). There's another body that gets even less respect than Pluto, and that rascal RAHU, downgraded from planet to a "node." A node? But it is this celestial body that is credited with earth's eclipses, lunar and solar, in Buddhist, Vedic/Hindu, and Jain cosmologies.

• A passing star may have kicked the solar system's weirdest moons into place | Live Science
• Earth once wore a Saturn-like ring, study of ancient craters suggests
• The hidden history of the universe BEFORE the Big Bang
• Why Earth photos from the Moon have starless skies [Because they're hard to photoshop in accurately, so it's better and easier to just leave them out and say they do not show up on film?]

Tonight's lunar eclipse is only partial, so Rahu will only take a chunk out of Soma then release.

Tom Brady is a big fan of Jaggi Sadhguru

The ancient Vedas ("Knowledge Books" of India) have much to tell us, particularly the Ayurveda on the topic of health (important in yoga). Here modern Hindu showman Sadhguru ("true guru") claims that in two hours under the eclipse things like food, which is our body post-consumption, will age and rot. So it is better to fast today, not to eat, to bathe away negativity, and never to watch the eclipse directly as so many space-loving Americans are fond of doing. Everyone in India knows to go indoors and be away from the shadow of the eclipses. It is not just Sadhguru warning people. Of course, his method of "dowsing" with (mala beads or any pendulum like device the hand can unconsciously twitch to move in one direction or another, which is good for divining what the mind knows subconsciously better than what is present objectively) the food for the presence of deterioration, aging, fermenting, rotting, and putrefying is a little suspect. But the claim is that this is subtle and therefore it would be hard to substantiate the claim otherwise. Of course, one imagines the food should spoil, rot, grow fungus and black mats of bacteria in two to three hours if it were the case that the body/food are aging 28 days in just the two to three hours of the eclipse. But be that as it may, we are forewarned and can take the appropriate steps if we wish. It is ancient Vedic knowledge. The Buddha did not accept the Vedas nor regard them as ultimate authorities on spirituality, but that is not to say that they are not valuable sacred scriptures. Many truths must be found within their pages, many things the Brahmins memorizing and chanting in Sanskrit thought worthy of preserving from the heavens (akasha loka) from which they were handed down or composed by seers (rishis) capable of discerning subtle truths our world is usually blind to.

• AI Death Spiral: 'Their capacity to emulate human language and thought is immensely powerful': Far from ending the world, AI systems might actually save it | Live Science
• Partial Lunar Eclipse (video); Vasudev Sadhguru (Ayurveda yoga warning); TEXT SUMMARY: Eds., Wisdom Quarterly

LA hike: last moonlight walk of year

At the top of the walk there's a big waterfall.

Join us on Friday the 13th for the final moonlight walk (easy hike) of the year. Mindfulness means paying attention to the present moment rather than projecting an interpretation or reacting to it (with liking, disliking, or confusion). This walk in nature is a beautiful opportunity to practice while the weather cools and the company is lovely.

Stay on the trail, with others, and docent guide

WHAT HAPPENED? The crowd gathered, about 35 in all, and we plunged into the woods. The moon was out and visible as was the smoke from the fires to the east. We split into groups to see the native plants and walk mindfully, aware of all our senses to identify edible and medicinal plants, to consider survival tactics of keeping warm, hydrated, safe, and fed. The Eaton Canyon area is one of the most visited among locals but is less known around town. It's no Griffith Park, Runyon Canyon, or East Fork in Azusa. We explored Native American plant knowledge and lore, the Buddhist principles of mindfulness (sati) and calm, deep listening and remaining joyful in overwhelming times. There was a great deal of conversation, friend making, nature appreciation, and snacks at the end. Although this was the last "moonlight walk" until May of next year, there are ongoing monthly "plant walk" every third Sunday of the month from 10:00-11:30 am. Just bring sturdy shoes, hat, camera, and a water bottle. Walk begins inside the EC Nature Center. (And while this location will be closed during Tuesday (9/17/24) night's full moon, there are nearby trails that will be wide open for the experience, such as Cobb Estate up to White City.

• Mount Lowe (up Lake Ave) via Cobb Estate (AllTrails.com)
• Moonlight Hikes with Meetup groups to go in good company 
• What is the moon phase today? Lunar phases 2024 (space.com)

Event details

Once a month on Friday closest to the full moon, come to Pasadena for Moonlight Walk: Meet at 7:00 pm at the Eaton Wash Nature Center (ECNC) for a guided docent-led walk in groups of up to 15 each with as many groups as are needed, docents permitting.

(Five to seven groups is usual for this popular adventure ($2.00 supports ECNC).

• WHAT: Guided Moonlight Walk
• WHEN: Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, 7:00 pm
• WHERE: ECNC, 1750 N. Altadena Dr.
• Pasadena, LA County, California 91107
• PHONE: (626) 398-5420
• EMAIL: ecncag@gmail.com

FREE to RSVP:

• Disclosure Project (LA)
• PasaDharma (Foothills)
• Nature Center (Valley)

Other outdoor meetings

Friday nights closest to the full moon at 7:00 pm

CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY: San Gabriel Mountains Chapter Meetings are held the fourth Thursday of the month (except for Nov. and Dec.) at 7:30 pm in the Eaton Canyon Nature Center Auditorium. Website: cnps-sgm.org

PASADENA GROUP SIERRA CLUB: Monthly program meetings are held on most first Wednesdays of each month at 7:30 pm in the Eaton Canyon Nature Center auditorium. Website: sierraclub.org/angeles/pasadena

• DETAILS: ECNCA.org - Eaton Canyon Nature Center Associates | A Zoological, botanical, and geological nature preserve
• Calendar | ECNCA - Saturday Festival of Nature, tabling, talks, and more: Eaton Canyon Nature Center Associates
• Brenda, Robert, Dan (ECNCA.org); Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Dhr. Seven, Xochitl (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Vegan party: solstice, full moon ceremony

The full Strawberry Moon is waxing in the east and will reach maximum this week

Welcome the Summer Solstice and Full Moon

The Post Fire in Gorman has caused the postponement. So we are celebrating the Summer Solstice and Full Strawberry Moon above Pasadena.

The location of the party is through the Cosmic Breezeway into Oh Happy Days Vegan Cafe on Lake Avenue, Altadena, LA.

This FREE VEGAN POTLUCK PARTY features live music, meditation, singalong chanting, and socializing with good company with Mc Cody and crew.

• DisclosureFest 2024 is postposed
• Website: DisclosureFest™ info

FREE TO RSVP

• Disclosure Project: DisclosureFest 2024: Summer Solstice, Full Moon Ceremony Party (LA County), Sat, June 22, 2024, 7:00 PM | Meetup
• Nature Center: DisclosureFest 2024: Summer Solstice, Full Moon Ceremony Party (LA County), Sat, June 22, 2024, 7:00 PM | Meetup
• PasaDharma Foothills: DisclosureFest 2024: Summer Solstice, Full Moon Ceremony Party (LA County), Sat, June 22, 2024, 7:00 PM | Meetup

Party is on, but three-day festival postponed due to fire

• 

  Fest is postponed. Stay tuned.
  

  The Post Fire in Gorman impacts Castaic Lake, about 15 miles east. It has shut it down. Post Fire: Brush fire near 5 Freeway in Gorman burns thousands of acres amid Red Flag Warning - ABC7 Los Angeles
• What's so special about this weekend? Thursday is the Summer Solstice, Friday is the Full Strawberry Moon and Lunar Standstill (the 18.6-year lunar cycle) of Luna rising and descending. It's also the Year of the Dragon for transformation (and Hot Ugly Rat Year), so it's a time to manifest.

Why is June’s full moon called the “Strawberry Moon”?

The Indigenous Algonquian and Ojibwe cultures nicknamed this full moon the Strawberry Moon because it marks the month when strawberries are ripe and ready for picking in the northeastern USA. In Europe, people call it the Honey Moon because June is when honey was typically ready to harvest.

“The tradition of calling the first month of marriage the ‘honeymoon’ may be tied to this full moon because of the custom of marrying in June,” wrote NASA’s Gordon Johnston in a blog post. June’s Summer Solstice Strawberry Moon (inverse.com)

What was DisclosureFest going to be?

..

Laura Eisenhower

When did DisclosureFest begin? Years ago, Adrian and his spiritual business partner were on the radio (Coast to Coast with guest host Jimmy Church) talking about bringing a FREE Burning Man, Coachella, Woodstock festival of music, yoga, vegan food, ecstatic dance, yoga, and ET/UFO disclosure to Los Angeles.

What is the disclosure? We're not alone.

Where could it be held? How about a cornfield in DTLA, next to an art colony, by historic Chinatown under the elevated Metrorail train? Yes!

They talked the City of Los Angeles into it, and it went off without a hitch. Eventually, it got so big it moved to Las Vegas like most music festivals eventually do. (There are fewer regulations and hassles there).

See the spectacular Full Moon Ceremony like they have in Buddhist Phuket, Thailand

Founder Adrian, spiritualized nerd

The pandemic slowed it down. But it's a year-round series of initiatives. It centers around the Mass Meditation Initiative as its center with sound baths and other healings.

This year the fest it is at the Castaic Lake Lagoon in northwestern LA County, 40 minutes from DTLA, out past Magic Mountain. Castaic is a reservoir along the 5 Freeway. It's three days full of music, workshops, yoga, and speakers  Stairway to the Stars including these notables:

• Billy Carson
• Laura Eisenhower
• Baschar
• Jimmy Church (Fade to Black)
• 19Keys
• Gentle Thunder
• and too many more to count
• DisclosureFest™ for info
• Ananda (Disclosure Project: Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Dhr. Seven, Jen Bradford, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly