How they partied in Sodom (4K years ago)

(Bible Origins)

Moon Valley Nurseries: Harvest (10/18)

Moon Valley Nurseries' Harvest Moon

Join Moon Valley Nurseries on Oct. 18th and 19th, 2025, at nearest Moon Valley Nurseries (MVN) to celebrate its 30th anniversary. As a special anniversary gift, MVN wants to give customers the chance to win $5,000 in trees. Enter raffle at all stores this weekend only. As a bonus, MVN will be celebrating the fall season, giving away FREE pumpkins and partying all weekend long! More

For over three decades, MVN has set the standard for excellence in delivering superior trees, plants, and landscaping services... At MVN, the mission is to enhance lives and environments through premium trees, plants, and expert landscaping services. With over 30 years of experience, MVN is dedicated to providing exceptional... More

• Moon Valley Nurseries on YouTube

Full Harvest Moon 2025 (Buddhist day)

San Diego residents express excitement for first supermoon of the year

Full moon over Los Angeles, California, downtown skyline (Jesus Curiel/Unsplash)

 

(CBS 8 San Diego) Oct. 6, 2025: October's full moon, also called the "Harvest Moon," is happening Monday night with full illumination at 8:47 pm PT. It is the first supermoon for three for 2025. More

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Full moon calendar for 2025 with lunar phases

The year’s first supermoon rises over L.A. tonight — looking 30% larger and 14% brighter than usual. This evening, make sure to gaze skyward [in the direction of New York as seen from Los Angeles] to catch the first supermoon of 2025 at its peak brightness over LA.

The first supermoon of 2025, the biggest and brightest of the year, will peak over California at 8:47 pm. tonight, Monday, Oct. 6th, 2025. Make sure to find a great spot to sky watch and catch the stunning Harvest Moon lighting up Los Angeles' skies.

About the 2025 Super Harvest Moon

Rhythms and cycles of time

According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, October’s full Harvest Moon will be the first of three supermoons in 2025. Rising low on the horizon, it will create a strikingly dramatic view against the Los Angeles skyline.

The Harvest Moon is the full moon closest to the autumn equinox, which occurred this year on Sept. 22nd. Traditionally, this moon rises around the same time for several nights, giving farmers extra light to finish their harvests.

One way to calm and focus the mind is mandalas

This year’s Harvest Moon is also a supermoon because it coincides with the moon’s perigee, or its closest approach to Earth. NASA notes it will appear about 30% larger and 14% brighter than an average full moon.

The next two supermoons of 2025 are the Beaver Moon on Nov. 5th and the Cold Moon on Dec. 4th.

Where to watch the supermoon in Los Angeles

Los Angeles is expected to have clear skies tonight, making it an ideal spot to see the supermoon. It reaches peak brightness at 8:47 pm PST on October 6th, though it will appear full for several days. The Year's First Supermoon Rises Over L.A.

• One of the largest Buddhist temples (like Chaung Yen Monastery in upstate NY) in the Western hemisphere is also a good place to see the moon: Hsi Lai Temple
• Going West (Hsi Lai) Temple programs open to all
• Going West Temple Events (Lighting Offering Service days)

The significance of the moon in Buddhism

First human depictions of historical Buddha was in Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara/Afghan

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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

• Senior Staff Writer, Jamie Ferrell, secretlosangeles.com, Oct. 6, 2025; Buddhism Reflections, Feb. 2025; Amber Larson and Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Is karma real? Deeds cause results?

Karma (doing)? That's so dumb! Whatever I do, it'll never come back to me. I can get away.

Flying squirrel karma or phala? - Animal actions?

Previous video has squirrel who flies tiny plane. Real "flying squirrel" flies when tossed, then 😲

Born of the Fruits of Deeds

Teachings of Kamma, Rebirth, Saṃsāra

(Ud 3.1) Thus have I heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove at the multimillionaire's monastery.

At that time a certain Buddhist monk was sitting close to the Buddha, legs crossed, with body straight.

As a result (vipaka) of past deeds (karma), he suffered painful, sharp, severe, and acute feelings, which he endured unbothered, mindfully with clear comprehension.

Narrating Karma and Rebirth

The Buddha saw him meditating mindfully enduring that pain. Then, understanding the situation, the Buddha expressed this inspired utterance:

“A monastic who has left behind all deeds (karma), shaking off the dust of past deeds, unselfish, unwavering, unaffected, has no need to complain.”

• Kamma Vipākaja Sutta (Ud 3.1)—Ven. Sujato (translation)
• Amazing video shorts: How to handle the cops (graphic)

Bhikkhu Bodhi, what is "karma"?

The Four Kinds of Karma with Bhikkhu Bodhi

(BAUS Chuang Yen Monastery) June 27, 2022: In this Dharma talk, Bhikkhu Bodhi discusses The Numerical Discourses (Anguttara Nikaya) AN 4.233-238, a series of sutras in which the historical Buddha explains the four kinds of karma (kamma, deed, action):

1. dark karma with dark result
2. bright karma with bright result
3. dark-and-bright karma with dark-and-bright result
4. karma that is neither dark nor bright with neither-dark-nor-bright result or the karma that leads to the ending of karma.

Bhikkhu Bodhi (BAUS, Carmel, New York, 6/18/22); Dhr. Seven (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

Harvest Festival Party, Los Angeles (free)

Mom, you're embarrassing me. Sit down already. I'm going home. They're laughing at you.

Fall is here, and everyone is invited to a be in and gathering at Rhythms of the Village, above Pasadena in Los Angeles. Join us for a multicultural festival of music, foods of all kinds (lots of vegan stuff), crafts, arts, dancing, healing, and more with over 50 vendors, ethnic traditions and kids' workshops. There's a big stage and thousands are expected for this biannual event.

Come cozy up and socialize as things cool, fall sets in, and it starts getting dark sooner. Ananda will lead a group meditation and healing near the main stage, Cody will perform, and Korean dance with vegan Sam (for her plantbasedtreaty.org) and food from the Cosmic Breezeway Cafe and trucks and food stalls, healer Janell, and doula Tori (flowwithtori.com) for yoga amid the massage tables.

• Village Fall Fest & Fashion Show
• Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, noon-6:00 pm
• Rhythms of the Village (BACK LOT)
• 2279 N. Lake Ave., Altadena, LA 90001

DETAILS AND FREE TO RSVP:

• Disclosure Project: Dharma Buddhist Meditation
• Nature Center: Dharma Buddhist Meditation
• PasaDharma: Dharma Buddhist Meditation
• Vendors can sign up at rhythmsofthevillage.com @1rhythmsofthevillage
• Ameca and Anoche (rhythmsofthevillage.com); Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Jen Bradshaw, Dhr. Seven, Keith (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Chuseok Korean Harvest Festival Moon

We Koreans love food. "Food can be a pathway to enlightenment," says Buddhist nun (scmp.tv).

• Moonrise, Moonset, and Moon Phase in Los Angeles, September 2024 (timeanddate.com)

Korean Harvest Festival is the "Korean Thanksgiving Day" (추석)

Korean culture remains steeped in Buddhism in spite of intensive Christian evangelism.

Real Zen practice in Korea

(KOREA NOW) Watch this video at koreanow.com. Chuseok (추석) is the Korean version of "Thanksgiving," the time to eat a lot of songpyeon, and practice a little seon (zen, chan, dhyana, jhana) or meditation. This Harvest Festival is celebrated on the 15th day of the 9th month according to the lunar calendar. The exact day changes each year, but it typically falls on September or October. In 2021 it was on Sept. 21st. Korea enjoys a three-day holiday to be with family and friends making "song pong" dumpling cakes with all kinds of stuffing and eating them until sleepiness sets in.

Los Angeles celebrates Chuseok

(WQ) Look up over Korea Town, Los Angeles (near DTLA), beyond the neon signs of all the restaurants and the glaring headlights of all the traffic, and there's the Hollywood sign. Turn east and it's all the lights from The Miracle Mile (Wilshire Blvd.) Look around, and it's the bling of the beauties blaring Far East Movement in their BMWs and Mercedes.

Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan should make a buddy movie, running through K-Town, you know, to save on travel expenses for their next Hollywood blockbuster. Neighboring Hollywood is literally walking distance from K-Town, where the big studios meet the grimy streets of "This Can't Be Hollywood." What did you expect? I'dunno, something clean, a little glamorous, not smog, homeless bums, vagrant encampments, skanky prostitutes, and all this traffic.

• Ancient monument unlike anything archaeologists have ever seen before unearthed in France
• A recycled universe could explain why everything is so flat, physicists suggest

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

Kama Sutta: Toiling for pleasure (Snp 4.1)

You stupid bish, you and your pansy vegan boytoy don't know ish about farming! - OK, sir.

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We love Earth and avoidchemicalskilling a!

Kāma Sutta: This is the first sutra in the "Chapter of the Eights" (Atthakavagga) of the "Sutra Collection" (Sutta Nipāta).

The Buddha, seeing a Brahmin cutting down trees on the banks of the Aciravatī River and preparing a field for sowing, spoke to him.

He spoke to the Brahmin again on several other occasions whenever he saw the farmer engaged in various operations in the field.

Very uplifted by the Buddha's courtesy, the Brahmin resolved to invite him to accept a meal when the field was finally ready for harvest.

Who knew all my work could be ruined?

But on the day before the reaping of the field, heavy rains fell, the river flooded, and the harvest was entirely swept away.

The Buddha foresaw that all the Brahim's efforts would amount to nothing, so he visited to console him.

It was on this occasion that the Buddha saw that the man was receptive. With a chance to make a breakthrough, he taught him this sutra. At the climax of the discourse, the Brahmin awakened to the first stage of enlightenment (stream entry) and became a sotāpanna (Sn.vv.766-71; SnA.ii.511ff; J.iv.167f; cp. DhA.iii.284f; see also MNid.i.1ff).

• Elsewhere among the texts, in the Kāmanīta Jātaka (J.ii.212), this Brahmin is referred to as Kāmanītabrāhmana or the "Brahmin Kamanita."

What did the Buddha teach the that brought him to direct realization and enlightenment?

SUTRA: Objects, Desires, and Pleasures

Kāma Sutta—Laurence Khantipalo Mills (trans.), Snp 4.1 (suttacentral.net); edited by Dhr. Seven

Thank you, Friend, for helping me pull the plough! - You're welcome! I'm strong and happy to help. Let's go down by the river now. I want to eat some sweet grass. - OK, let's go. We can swim, too!

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Are you going to release me now, Friend? - No,
you stupid animal, I'm a gonna kill and eat you!

If one with lustful mind

Succeeds at feeling pleasure,

Such a mortal is pleased

With that wish fulfilled.

But if the impassioned person

Were to see those pleasures lost,

Then the addict would feel

As though by arrows pierced.

One who shuns pleasures of sense

Avoids treading on a serpent’s head,

As such this person by mindfulness

This tangled world transcends.

Obsessed with property and fields,

With money, estates, and servants,

With many pleasures, family and friends —

That person, overcome by greed,

Such weaknesses indeed bring down.

By dangers is that person sunk,

By disappointments overwhelmed —

As water enters a boat that leaks.

So let a mindful person avoid

Addiction and cravings for sense,

And with them abandoned, cross the flood,

As a boat is bailed to reach the Further Shore.

SUTRA: Sensual Pleasures

Sujato Bhikkhu (trans.), Anthology of Discourses (Snp 4.1); Dhr. Seven (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

If a mortal desires sensual pleasure

And that sense desire succeeds,

One may become elated,

Having got what was wished.

But for a person in throes of pleasure,

Aroused by desire,

If such pleasures go away,

It hurts like an arrow’s strike.

One who, being mindful,

Avoids sensual pleasures

Like side-stepping a snake’s head,

Transcends being stuck to the world.

There are many objects of sense:

fields, lands, and gold, cattle and horses,

slaves and servants, women and relatives.

When one lusts over these,

The weak overpower one

And by adversities is one crushed.

Suffering follows one

Like water in a leaky boat.

• (Bhikkhu Bodhi, Norman, and Ven. Ñāṇadīpa all have “enter” here, while Ven. Ṭhānissaro has “invades.” But this is a stock line, and it’s hard to read anveti as anything other than “follows.” Niddesa (Mnd 1:70.2) has anveti anugacchati anvāyikaṁ hoti. The metaphor is not that water “enters” a boat, but that a leaky boat already contains water and takes it along (like a shadow that always follows or an ox-cart following behind, as in the opening verses of the Dhammapada). That is why it has to be bailed out in the next verse.)

That is why a person, ever mindful,

Wisely avoids sensual pleasures.

Give them up and cross this flood,

As a bailed-out boat reaches the further shore.

• A Reader’s Guide to the Pali Suttas—SuttaCentral
• G.P. Malalasekera (Dictionary of Pali Names); Snp 4.1: Kāma Sutta; Ven. Khantipalo (Laurence Mills); Ven. Sujato (suttacentral.net); compiled and edited by Dhr. Seven and Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Wild plant foraging in Los Angeles (video)

Jen Bradford (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

• My Secret Garden Workshop: noon, Sat, March 16, '24
• There's a way to learn foraging the local Native way
• Expert Christopher Nyerges' School of Self-Reliance

Foraging in Los Angeles | BFD | TakePart TV

(Take Part) Los Angeles, May 9, 2013: Foraging in LA | BFD | TakePart TV. Marisha Ray speaks with Pascal Baudar about foraging in the city to find organic, delicious food.

They don't believe. We have to show them.

Pascal was controversial in Pasadena, providing wildcrafted greens to local gourmet restaurants, perhaps harvesting too much. There's a matter of respect of fellow foragers and, more importantly, plants. Be sustainable because there is enough for everyone's need yet not enough for anyone's greed. So gather gently, with care, and ask the plant first. Yes, talk to the plant. The forest is alive in an animistic way, and it can respond. There are protectors in the scary woods -- mosquitoes, bears, ogres, unseen spirits, tricksters, Pucks, gnomes, sprites, pixies (well, maybe not pixies), the sidhe, the wee people, hollow hill inhabitants, transdimensionals... Even if there were none and the forest were completely helpless, still, someone is watching, someone is always watching, and that someone is you. So make yourself proud and not ashamed by keeping the commons in good condition for all to enjoy and benefit from. Los Angeles (Native American "Tovaangar") has undepleted, unruined, unexhausted natural resources? Yes. Imagine that. Wildcats roam, deadly vipers, irritable bears, and vicious insects. Need good gathering ground to start? Try the Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area at the junction of the 134 and 605 Freeways, below Cogswell Lake (dam), one of the tributaries to the Los Angeles River (concrete flood control channel), on its way to the holding pond that eventually seeps into Long Beach via the watershed.

Come in, if you dare. What predator awaits you? Snake, feline, hunter, vicious badger?

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Support GMO labeling: http://bit.ly/VKI3Gv Subscribe: http://full.sc/SwIjS1 Show Airs: BFD airs every Monday-Friday.

ABOUT: Every day, BFD brings a news story that the other guys aren't talking about. Through man on the street interviews, sketches, notable guests, and a cast of fresh funny hosts, BFD lets viewers know about the stories that are a Big Deal. Twitter: http://bit.ly/bfdtweet Facebook: http://bit.ly/fbbfd Brought by Take Part: http://full.sc/NHOG6H

TakePart TV is the channel from some of the people behind An Inconvenient Truth, Food Inc., The Help, Contagion, and Waiting for Superman, among others. Here, find entertaining content that's real and eye-opening, every single day. Be sure to check out shows, "like," leave comments, and get involved as you see fit because the only thing you can't do here is nothing.

Creative producer: Sax Carr. Line producer: Tobey List. Associate producer: Adam Hann-Byrd. Production coordinator: Maryann Feierstein. DP: Marshall Douglis. Sound: Alex Burstein.

Pagan Halloween as Irish Samhain explained

Invicta History, 10/31/20; Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Misunderstood Moments: The Celtic Origins of Halloween

(Invicta) This is a history documentary on Celtic origins of Halloween, a documentary that explores another one of the Misunderstood Moments in History which has to do with the origin of "Halloween."

We have the world's greatest diaspora.

This dates back to the Celtic traditions from the Bronze Age Hallstatt and later La Tene cultures. There's a seasonal importance to Samhain, which occurred in late October as a means of commemorating the coming of winter and a new year.

From Lyra? - Pleiades? - Queen Scotia's Egypt

It was a time when the Celts brought in their cattle and grain, which was rotted and slaughtered into alcohol ferment and bloody flesh for grand feasts.

Great bonfires were lit by Druids, which helped ward against evil spirits and ensure that good fortune would follow in the new year.

As part of these Celtic traditions, early ideas of masks, costumes, and trick-or-treating emerged.

The original Celtic festival of Samhain evolved (or devolved) over the years into the modern Halloween of today beginning with Celtic mythology. #History #Celts #Halloween

The History of Halloween 🎃

(Ryan Reeves) Oct. 3, 2023: This video discusses the long history of Halloween from the Celtic practice of Samhain, to the medieval Catholic observance of All Saint's Day, to Victorian Gothic, and finally the modern practice of trick-or-treating.

Support the channel on Patreon: patreon.com/user?u=23593673 Further reading: Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween: Reeves' books (affiliate links): How We Got Our Bible (Zondervan, 2018), Story of Creeds and Confessions (Baker Academic, 2019).