But the nation is a modern capitalist, trying-to-be-Japan economy, though it still plays second fiddle to Singapore. Bangkok has a very strong pro-Israel bias, and many Jewish Israelis do business in and travel to just about the friendliest travel destination in the world.
Ronald McDonald as Hitler in Bangkok shop
There are many Muslims living in Southern Thailand, a paradise of sunny beaches and scuba diving destinations, influenced by neighboring Islamic Malaysia.
So it's odd that this Southeast Asian kingdom, now a semi-monarchy with a new king who didn't really want to be king, loves its Nazi imagery. Swastikas are cool, as is at least one faraway dictator (the local military autocrat being despised).
This is the most generous country, very superstitious, addicted to ghost stories, and is not succumbing to Western versions of history even if Israel and England protest.
The image of Hitler is alive and well -- ask local American expat resident Eric Dubay -- in spite of all of the anti-Germany propaganda the U.S., Europe, and Israel have promoted, much to the delight and bemusement of tourists from all over, including Israel, Europe, and the U.S.
Update: Fire crews are working to contain a fast-moving brush fire named the Sandalwood Fire, which broke out in the foothills near Calimesa. Sky5 was overhead. Latest updates: on.ktla.com/zfos0
From the mountains of West Virginia, down-home Don Knott emerged. His talents propelled him to Hollywood stardom, like famous Aunt Bea (who went crazy), and he became one of America's most beloved TV and movie actors.
Saturday Program: All are welcome to join in a series of events during Vas, the Rainy Retreat, at:
Rains Retreat 2019, Saturday Program
Lankarama Buddhist Institute
398 Giano Ave., La Puente, L.A., CA 91744
Prince Siddhartha became the Buddha.
The Rains Retreat is the most active season on the Buddhist calendar considering the number of spiritual care activities taking place to benefit the resident monks and lay participants.
In the past evidence shows that the largest number of enlightened nuns and monks (arhat bhikkhunis and bhikkhus) have arisen in the world during this part of the year, the rainy season.
For the Buddha prescribed his monastic community (sangha) members to focus more on their own personal spiritual achievements during the Rains Retreat.
Rains Retreat, 2:00-9:00 PM, Oct. 12, 2019.
Due to heavy rainfall in India during this time of year, sangha members had a golden opportunity to practice to improve their own spirituality and help others do so, as lay people come and practice alongside them more often at this time.
Monks and nuns often determined to get serious about their meditative practices. They were duly rewarded with accomplishments in serenity and insight, calm and enlightenment.
This observation of vas (Rains Retreat) dates back to the Buddha's lifetime, and the tradition has been well care for by the Buddhist community ever since.
During the 2019 Rains Retreat at Lankarama Temple of Los Angeles, the resident monastics and lay community have organized a series of spiritual care events to benefit both groups. This is the schedule of free Saturday events. They are open to all enthusiastic individuals:More
LYRICS: "A Day in the Life" [John Lennon:] I read the news today, oh boy, about a lucky man who made the grade. And though the news was rather sad, well, I just had to laugh. I saw the photograph. He blew his mind out in a car. He didn't notice that the lights had changed. A crowd of people stood and stared. They'd seen his face before. Nobody was really sure if he was from the House of Lords. I saw a film today, oh boy. The English Army had just won the war. A crowd of people turned away. But I just had to look, having read the book. I'd love to turn you on.
[Paul McCartney:] Woke up, fell out of bed, dragged a comb across my head. Found my way downstairs and drank a cup, and looking up I noticed I was late. Found my coat and grabbed my hat, made the bus in seconds flat. Found my way upstairs and had a smoke, and somebody spoke and I went into a dream.
[John Lennon:] I read the news today, oh boy, 4,000 holes in Blackburn, Lancashire. And though the holes were rather small, they had to count them all. Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall. I'd love to turn you on.
"Imagine" - John Lennon with The Plastic Ono Band (and the Flux Fiddlers)
Here are free clips from previous editions of Coast to Coast exploring John Lennon's life and tragic death:
On 12/8/05 rock historian R. Gary Patterson discussed the mysteries concerning the Dakota Building, where John Lennon lived in NYC.
On 11/12/08 author Timothy Green Beckley recounted Lennon's UFO sighting and his keen interest in the paranormal.
On 12/13/08 author Joseph Niezgoda shared his theory that Lennon had made a pact with the devil and foretold his own death via clues hidden in Beatles' songs.
Coast Insiders can listen to previous programs that covered various aspects of Lennon's life, including Beatles historian Bill Harry on 8/9/14 and Lennon's former personal assistant, May Pang, recalling her time with the musician on 8/2/08.
Beatle John Lennon, 1969
John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (Oct. 9, 1940–Dec. 8, 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, and peace activist, who gained worldwide fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist, and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles.
His songwriting partnership with Paul McCartney remains the most successful in history. In 1969, he started the Plastic Ono Band with his Japanese second wife, Yoko Ono. Afterthe Beatles broke up in 1970, Lennon continued as a solo artist and as a collaborator of Yoko Ono's "music."
Born in Liverpool, England, Lennon became involved in the (British jazz) skiffle craze as a teenager. In 1957, he formed his first band, the Quarrymen, which evolved into the Beatles in 1960. He was initially the group's de facto leader, a role gradually lost to McCartney.
Starting in 1967, Lennon's lyrics began to espouse a pacifist message, and some of his songs were soon adopted as anthems by the anti-war movement and the larger counterculture.More
John and George are dead. Paul McCarthy was replaced. But Ringo Starr will never die.
At least five Democrats running for president say Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh should be impeached over the latest sexual misconduct allegations from his college years. A new book on Kavanaugh mentions a previously unreported claim. Soon-to-be-impeached Pres. Trump and other Republicans reject the new and credible sexual allegations. Nancy Cordes reports.
"These are the four floods. And this Noble Eightfold Path is to be developed for directly knowing, comprehending, totally ending, and abandoning these four floods.
"What is this Noble Eightfold Path? Here a meditator develops right view depending on seclusion, depending on dispassion [the result of seeing things as they truly are], depending on cessation, and resulting in letting go.
"One develops right intention... right speech... right action... right livelihood... right effort... right mindfulness... right concentration depending on seclusion, depending on dispassion, depending on cessation, and resulting in letting go.
"This Noble Eightfold Path is to be developed for direct knowledge, for comprehension, for the total ending, and for the abandoning of these four floods."
Jews pray in synagogue on Yom Kippur (Maurycy Gottlieb, Jewish Art, G. Cohen Grossman)
Happy New Year (Rosh Hashanah). Now it's Yom Kippur (Hebrew יוֹם כִּיפּוּר), also known as the Day of Atonement, is the holiest day of the year in Judaism. Its central themes are making things right (atoning) and repenting (giving up wrong things). Jews traditionally observe this holy day with an approximate 25-hour period of fasting (ta'anit) and intensive prayer (tefillah), often spending most of the day in synagogue services.
The Exodus (Biblical conspiracy documentary)
The upper part of Africa is Israel (Canaan)
Exodus, the word evokes an epic tale of pharaohs (like Moses = Pharaoh Ahmose I) and Israelites (Canaanites), plagues and marvels, the splitting of the sea, the drowning of an army, Moses and revelation. The story (a retelling of the older Sumerian version) is at the very heart of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Look I'm corrupt but maybe we can make a deal
After six years of research, working with archeologists, Egyptologists, geologists, and theologians, Simcha Jacobovici came to the groundbreaking conclusion that the Exodus took place hundreds of years earlier than previously thought.
With this new timetable in hand, Jacobovici and his colleagues re-examined long ignored archeological artifacts and uncovered the truth about the Exodus and the Egyptian dynasty that ruled at the time.
The producers teamed up with some of the world’s most accomplished special effects designers to create a unique digital, organic experience of the Exodus. Blending archeological findings with modern eye-catching effects, Jacobovici built a virtual museum to showcase his discoveries.
Content licensed from Syndicado. Any queries, please contact: realstories@littledotstudios.com. From the original documentary, The Exodus Decoded.
Moses in Islam: The Pharaoh of the Exodus- Mūsā ibn ʿImrān, known as Moses in Judeo-Christian theology, is considered a prophet and messenger in Islam. He is the most frequently mentioned individual in the Qur'an (like Mother Mary/Maryam, the most mentioned female), his name being mentioned 135 times. The Qur'an says Moses/Musa was sent by God to the pharaoh of Egypt and his establishments and the Israelites for guidance and warning. His life is narrated and recounted more than that of any other prophet. According to Islam, all Muslims must have faith in every prophet (nabi) and messenger (rasul), which includes Musa and his brother Aaron. The Qur'an states: "And mention in the Book, Moses. Indeed, he was chosen, and he was a messenger and a prophet. And We [the God, plural] called him from the side of the mount at [his] right and brought him near, confiding [to him]. And We gave him out of Our mercy his brother Aaron as a prophet" — Quran, sura 19 (Maryam), ayat 51–53.
There is a great book out there, once available at Alexandria II Bookstore, proving that Jesus and Moses and others were Egyptians, pharaohs chased from their land to Canaan (modern Palestine/Israel), who rose up and fought back. This is why we remember them and still talk about them. But staff says there are so many books about the roots of Christianity, which must perforce refer back to Judaism, that there's no telling what that book was. It seems to have been self-published by a little known scholar with a wealth of facts and references unlike most glossy books on the bestseller's list. Israel is physically a part of Egypt, Africa, walking distance. That is why Jesus, the King of the Jews (though no "messiah" or liberator to them) is quickly found in Egypt even in the official version of the story of the post-pharaonic Jews.
NOTE: This sutra opens The Connected Discourses (Samyutta Nikaya, "Kindred Sayings") with a paradox. The Commentary informs us that the Buddha teaches thisdeva* using a paradox to subdue her pride.
*"Shining one," radiant light being, woodland fairy, or glowing space visitor.
To put this paradox in context, read other passages from the Pali canon that discuss right effort.
SUTRA
Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One (the Buddha) was staying near Savatthi in Jeta's Grove in the multi-millionaire's monastery.
Then a certain devi, when the night was far gone, her radiance lighting up the entire Jeta's Grove, went to the Blessed One.
When she arrived, she bowed, stood respectfully to one side, and said: "Tell me, dear sir, how you crossed over the flood."
[The Buddha replied:] "I crossed over the flood by neither pushing forward nor staying in place"* [in the way one rides a wave when surfing.]
*Or "unestablished." See Udana 8.1 and related references at SN 12.38 and SN 12.64.
"But how, dear sir, did you cross over the flood without pushing forward and not staying in place?"
"If I were to push forward, I whirled about. If I were to stay in place, I sank. So I crossed over the flood by neither pushing forward nor staying in place."
That is what the deva said. The Teacher approved. Realizing "the Teacher has approved of me," she bowed, circumambulated him — respectfully keeping him on the right — then vanished right then and there.
"All that we are is the result of mind, it is founded on mind, it is mind-made: If one speaks or acts with an unskillful mind, pain follows like the wheel that follows the ox that draws a [heavily laden] cart."
"Mind precedes all mental states. Mind is their chief. They are all mind-made. If with a skillful mind a person speaks or acts, happiness follows like one's never-departing [and easily hauled] shadow" (Dhammapada1-2).
Mind comes first. This was explained by Ajahn Mun to his pupils in a talk. It was given in a style of wordplay derived from an Isan (Northeast Thailand) form of song known as maw lam:
"The two elements, namo [water and earth = the body] when mentioned by themselves are inadequate or incomplete. We have to rearrange the vowels and consonants as follows:
"Take the a from the n and give it to the m; take the o from the m and give it to the n, and put the ma in front of the no. This gives us mano, the heart [mind].
"Now we have the body together with the heart [mind], and this is enough to be used as the root foundation for the practice. Mano, the heart[/mind], is primal, the great foundation. Everything we do or say comes from the heart [mind], as stated in the Buddha's words [from the Dhammapada]:
mano-pubbangama dhamma
mano-settha mano-maya
"All dhammas [things] are preceded by the heart [mind], dominated by the heart, made from the heart." The Buddha formulated the entire Dhamma and Vinaya(Doctrine and Discipline) from out of this great foundation, the heart.
So when Ajahn Mun's disciples contemplate in accordance with the Doctrine and Discipline until namo is perfectly clear, then mano lies at the end point of formulation. In other words, it lies beyond all formulations.
All supposings come from the heart. All of us have our own load, which we carry as "supposings and formulations" in line with the currents of the flood (of corruptions, biases, ogha).
This happens to the point that they give rise to unknowing (avijja), the factor that creates states of becoming and rebirth, all from our not being wise to these things, from our delusion of holding [onto them and holding] them all to be "me" or "mine."
*The American Southwest, including all of Alta and Baja California, were part of Mexico before the USA occupied and stole these lands to expand and form an empire -- which immediately continued overseas to engulf the Philippines, Hawaii, and many smaller lands and islands in the Gulf of Mexico and Pacific -- using the pretext-doctrine of "Manifest Destiny."
This is certainly a “narrative history” of Buddhism. This is almost exclusively about Buddhism in America rather than the West in general, although the earlier chapters cover the work of the Europeans in India, Tibet, and Sri Lanka rather than China.
The early years of the transmission of Buddhism from East to West is marked by the work of well-meaning scholars, civil servants, and religious ideologues. These 19th century translators and interpreters often had a great misunderstanding about Buddhist doctrines because much of their information came from India's Brahmin class, who really didn't have much sympathy for Buddhism.
However, gradually the exclusively-Buddhist language Pali (the language of Magadha, where the Buddha lived and taught because there was no "India" yet) was learned over the Brahiminical language Sanskrit, and original canonical Buddhist texts were translated.
These very early works became known in America and Europe, among elites and the well-educated, over later, apocryphal Chinese Mahayana works based on Brahminical Indian teachings.
What is surprising in these early modern days was the role of the Theosophical Society in the late 19th century. The society, created in 1875 by Madame Blavatsky, a mysterious Russian psychic and American Colonel Henry Steel Olcott.
This was the era of Spiritualism, a time when mysterious rappings, knockings, and levitations were the rage in séance groups meeting in parlors around in America and England, under the guidance of mediums.
The Theosophical Society was set up to “collect and diffuse knowledge of the laws which govern the universe” (p.89) but, as Blavatsky later claimed, “The society was founded at the direct suggestion of Indian and Tibetan adepts” (p.90). These so-called adepts were referred to as The Masters, mysterious spiritual entities who were guiding humankind to a better and brighter future.
Only Blavatsky spoke regularly to The Masters, and Col. Olcott had but one from a Master, who left his turban behind on Olcott's desk. One could call these people the first New Agers.
Their search for spiritual sustenance and knowledge drove the two of them to India in 1875 and then to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) where they took Buddhist vows in front of a huge crowd. The American Olcott set about reviving Buddhism among the Sri Lankans, writing The Buddhist Catechism, designing a colorful Buddhist flag, as well as raising money for Buddhist schools and petitioning the British government to ease the restrictions on Buddhists in Sri Lanka.
Fields' book gives the impression that Col. Olcott singlehandedly revived Buddhism in Sri Lanka. In 1888 he was invited to lecture on Buddhism in Japan and spoke to an estimated 187,000 people over three months (p.108).
Col. Olcott went on to Burma, and in 1890 called a meeting of Asian Buddhists in Adyar in an attempt to unite all the various Buddhist schools. History has shown that he largely failed in this noble attempt.
Olcott was undoubtedly sincere in his Buddhist beliefs and did much to proselytize Buddhism in the East and West, but there were many others in the late 19th century who took it upon themselves to promote Buddhism.
One of the most significant turning points was the World Parliament of Religions, held on the shores of Lake Michigan in Chicago in 1873 as part of the Columbian Exposition. Although the majority of delegates were Christian, it was here that for many Americans and Europeans the exotic East met with the staid West for the first time.
Hindu Swami Vivekananda was one of the most memorable Indians at the conference, which led to an interest in yoga among Westerners. Chinese and Japanese delegates “arrayed in costly silk vestments of all the colors of the rainbow” (p. 121) impressed everyone. Buddhist Anagarika Dharmapala (1864-1933) gave the concluding speech at the opening ceremony, which for many was the first time they had heard the preaching of Buddhism.
Dharmapala was instrumental in promoting Buddhism and reviving Bodh Gaya, India ("Enlightenment Grove," where Siddhartha awakened and became the Buddha, the "Awakened One"), as a center of Buddhist learning. A large bust of him was installed at the Maha Bodhi Rest House in 1991 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Maha Bodhi Society founded by Dharmapala (Singh, 2003:90).
On the third day of the World Parliament of Religions, Zen Master Soyen Shaku (Rinzai), one of D. T. Suzuki's teachers, was introduced to the audience as the first Zen master to come to America.
Zen in the USA after WW II
Twelve years after the conference, Soyen Shaku returned to America as a Buddhist missionary, intent on bringing Zen to America. A year later, in 1906, Sokatsu Shaku, one of Soyen Shaku's disciples arrived. Included in this group was the young artist and Zen student Sokei-an, who went on to become the first Zen master to settle permanently in America, going on to found the Buddhist Society of America in New York (which later became the First Zen Institute of America) and marrying Alan Watts' mother-in-law, Ruth Fuller Everett, in 1944.
Ruth Fuller Sasaki went to Japan after Sokei-an's death in 1945 and established a branch of the institute on the grounds of Daitoku-ji, where much translation work was done and many Westerners passed through, including Gary Snyder in 1956.
And so the flow of Westerners to Japan turned from a trickle to flood, and these Westerners -- along with the Japanese teachers -- brought the swans to the lake.
Rick Fields' book remains the first attempt to document the Buddhist movement in America. By my very rough count, there are approximately 800 people and places named in the book, from Shakyamuni (Prince Siddhartha, the historical Buddha), who started it all, through to the Tibetans, the Koreans, the Vietnamese, the Japanese, the Sri Lankans/Sinhalese, the Chinese, and a plethora of Westerners.
It's a fascinating story full of eccentric characters, good intentions, and great effort. Although Fields' book is well written, with a light touch that makes it easy, entertaining reading, it is only a beginning.
We now have an opportunity to leave an accurate legacy for the future about Buddhism's migration to new lands, and it would be a shame if this too was left for decades or centuries after the event. A new Rick Fields is needed (even though this is the new third edition with a little more about Thich Nhat Hanh and the post-Vietnam War Vietnamese-American contribution to Buddhism in the USA).
Modern technology and a highly literate public means that much is already recorded, and baring any cataclysmic event it should be available to future generations of scholars to sift through. One danger, however, is an overabundance of Dharma materials.
Fields has covered a vast amount of material in a single volume, beginning with Shakyamuni 2,500 years ago. Left for a relatively brief mention in the final chapter is a discussion of scandals that have hit American centers in the latter part of the century. These, too, are part of the history of Buddhism in the West and should be included, if only to prevent the history from slipping into myth and hagiography.
How the Swans Came to the Lake is not the last word on the early years of Buddhism in the West, but it is the first comprehensive history of it. As such it deserves a place on the bookshelves of Buddhists throughout the English-speaking world.
The Pagan Pride Los Angeles/Orange County chapter invites all to enjoy Pagan Pride Day on Sunday, October 6th, 2019, 10:00 AM-5:00 PM, FREE at the Rainbow Lagoon in Long Beach (when and where).
Bring as much dry food to donate for this year's charity drive. The Harvest Festival that coincides with this event is about reaping AND sharing! Let's shatter past records.
Aztlan: Lost City of Atlantis? Were the Aztecs Atlanteans?
(Viper TV/Gaia.com) What knowledge lies in our ancient past? A team of renowned scholars has come together to go beyond the surface-level myths, artifacts, and mysteries found in ancient texts and lost cities from around the world. Journey to decipher the code scattered throughout ancient civilizations.
Evidence that the Ancient Lost City beneath Antarctic ice still exists. The Capital City of Atlantis, where was it on Google Maps? Ókori Történelem, Ősi... Map of the Atlantean Empire, from Ignatius Donelly's Atlantis: the... The sinking of Aztlan, aka Atlantis, Ősi Ufók, Ősi Művészet, Ókori Történelem, Történelmi...
To the Aztecs he was a creator god and had a parallel in Mayan culture... Harold T. Wilkins claimed that the kind, white, feathered-serpent god Quetzalcoatl was from Atlantean Brazil.... The similarity of Aztlan with the name of Plato's city, "Atlantis," has excited some straw clutching... Tiwanaku's remarkable Gate of the Sun and identified the figures carved on it...
Lit Crawl is Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019 from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm and coincides with Ciclavia, the bike-walk-skate marathon that closes down streets in our megalopolis, this time Spring St. starting at City Hall, once the home of the Occupy Movement.
Special events by Tia Chucha's Centro Cultural, home of the first Los Angeles Poet Laureate Luis J. Rodriguez, are at 11:00 am at The Last Bookstore and at 1:30 pm at the Central Library (Flower St. entrance) with drum circle and reading.
WHAT LUCK! Poetry readings from Jack Grapes, Bill Harding, Rick Lupert, Suzanne O’Connell, Penny Perry, Wendy Rainey. Regular Admission. Members FREE. Ticket
OCTOBER 6 SUNDAY 5:00 PM DUENDE NIGHTS OPEN MIC
A multimedia poetry performance experience, with no intros, no explanations before the poem for the multicultural underground word Babel dreamer beats of today. Organized by Américas Poet Society founder Antonieta Villamil. FREE, but donations gratefully accepted.
OCTOBER 6 SUNDAY 5:00 PM
FIRST SUNDAY OPEN READING
Our popular monthly open reading. Featuring Robert Carroll. Hosted by Steve Goldman. Sign ups begin at 4:45 PM. Five minute limit. FREE, but donations gratefully accepted.
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