Jesus was a magi (Myth Vision)

"Good Christians" vs. all the others

Mysteries of monastic practice (video)

Mysterious monks around the Himalayas – practicing since the Ice Age?

The Buddha was an Indo-Scythian living close to the Himalayan range his whole life.

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Siddhartha failing at asceticism

(FactFile) Sept. 20, 2024: Just as every culture holds its religion dear and follows unique practices, monks and nuns dedicate their lives to a spiritual practice. These monastics are deeply committed to their Doctrine (dharma), their belief system or faith, immersing themselves in meditation and rituals.

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  The Buddha ("Awakened One") finds success

  The Buddha avoided extremes of hedonism and self-mortification, teaching the Middle Way that avoids extremes. He did, however, teach 13 sane ascetic practices (dhutangas) for the overcoming of certain defilements, hindrances, and obstacles to practice to be able to breakthrough to calm and insight (samadhi and vipassana, where samadhi is shamatha and defined as the first four meditative absorptions and insight-practice takes these temporarily purified states and applies them to systematic practice of the satipatthanas or foundations of mindfulness to breakthrough to liberating wisdom, enlightenment, and release from samsara).

Their devotion is a profound expression of their beliefs and play a crucial role in preserving and passing on their spiritual traditions. Through their disciplined practice, they seek to connect with higher truths and guide others on their spiritual journeys.

Let's take a detailed look at some of the world's most mysterious and oldest-known monks. #factfile [This sensationalistic video was originally published under the very misleading clickbait title "Mysterious Monks Found in the Himalayas – And They’ve Been Living Since the Last Ice Age"]

• FactFile, Sept. 20, 2024; Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Pat Macpherson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Asceticism

Siddhartha Gautama as an Indian ascetic practicing self-mortification in the interest of attaining self-mastery, superknowledge, and liberation (moksha) from Samsara. He proved that this extreme was not the way to the goal. Instead, he discovered the Middle Way between indulgence in worldly pursuit, which is ignoble and unedifying, and mortification, which is not effective. The way is called the Noble Eightfold Path which avoids these extremes (wiki).

SnakeMan (naga); Piercing Fest; Dog Karma

Buddhist mythology is replete with references to Nagas or "snakes" (a.k.a. Reptilians, shape shifters, dragons). Sometimes called Serpent Kings (raja-nagas), other times banned from becoming monks (according to the Vinaya ordination rules applicants must be asked if they're human), one is forced to confront how real these beings are.

While the dispute may continue for some time in the West, already widely accepted throughout the East, this human being may make one question the underlying motive to move from one species to the other.

This is a poignant case because similar thing took place during the Buddha's life. There were Hindu mendicants practicing the severe austerities such as the "Dog Duty Ascetic" (MN 57). That is, they were behaving in every way like canines. When asked if this had any spiritual significance, good or ill, the Buddha replied that this practice was the path to rebirth as a dog.

"Ripley's freaky manimals" (Reuters)

Given that behaving like an animal may well lead to rebirth as that type of animal, these other extremes of self-mortification may cause one to pause. What comes of self-inflicted piercings, lacerations, and other ascetic stunts? They (yogic tapas) were once performed to free the mind or "spirit" from the wicked, debasing body. However, the body is only the servant of the heart. Rather than torturing the servant, the Buddha pointed out that spiritual success came from taming and thereby liberating the heart through restraint, meditation, and insight (sila, samadhi, and panna). As the heart is set free, the body follows.

"Body-piercing for the faithful" (Reuters 9/4/08) -- People from a village in India's eastern Jharkhand pierce their bodies in a bid to please the goddess "Mansa." They believe that by piercing their bodies they will please their goddess who will protect them from snake bites. The festival is called Panchparagana and is celebrated during the rainy season every year.

• Extremes at annual Vegetarian Festival (Phuket, Thailand)
• Karma (behaving like animals leads to rebirth in animal realm)

The Dog Duty Ascetic
Kukkuravatika Sutra (edited excerpt) MN 57

"Venerable sir, this naked dog-duty ascetic, Seniya, does what is hard to do: He eats his food when it is thrown on the ground. This dog duty has long been taken up and practiced by him. What will be his destination? What will be his future course [i.e., his rebirth]?"

"Enough, Punna, let it be. Do not ask me that."

But a second and third time Punna, the ox-duty ascetic, asked the Buddha: "Venerable sir, this naked dog-duty ascetic, Seniya...What will be his destination? What will be his future course?"

"Well, Punna, since I cannot dissuade you when I say 'Enough, Punna, let it be. Do not ask me that,' therefore I shall answer you.

"Punna, here someone develops the dog-duty fully and unstintingly, one develops the dog-habit fully and unstintingly, one develops the dog-mind fully and unstintingly, one develops dog-behavior fully and unstintingly. Having done so, on the dissolution of the body, after death, one reappears in the company of dogs. But if one's view is something like: 'By this virtue or duty or asceticism or holy life I shall become a (great) god or some (lesser) god' [i.e., a brahma or deva] that is wrong-view in that person's case.

Now there are two destinations for one with wrong-view, I say, the Great Waste [niraya] or the animal womb. So, Punna, if Seniya's dog-duty is perfected, it will lead him to the company of dogs; if it is not, it will lead him to the Great Waste."

Modern dog-duty asceticism? Lee Wen in Singapore (www.foi.sg)