Wisdom Quarterly: American Buddhist Journal

Samurai: Choose isolation over belonging?

2026-05-09T07:00:00.000-07:00

(Presence & Purpose) What is a Samurai ronin good for?

Tara? Rainbow light of Yeshe Tsogal, Tibet

2026-05-09T06:55:00.000-07:00

(Buddha's Wisdom)

Vajrayogini
Yeshe Tsogyal (circa 757 or 777–817 CE) [1] is also known as "Victorious Ocean of Knowledge," "Knowledge Lake Empress" (Wylie ye shes mtsho rgyal, ཡེ་ཤེས་མཚོ་རྒྱལ) or by her Sanskrit name Jñānasāgarā "Knowledge Ocean," or by her clan name "Lady Kharchen" [2].

She attained enlightenment in her lifetime and is considered the Mother of Tibetan Buddhism. Yeshe Tsogyal is the highest woman in the Nyingma Vajrayana lineage.

Some sources say she, as princess of Kharchen, was either a co-wife or consort of Emperor Tri Songdetsen (Trisong Detsen) of Tibet [3] when she began studying Buddhism with Padmasambhava, who became her main karmamudrā consort.

(Buddhist Monks) 21 Tara Mantra: 24/7 sacred chant for protection

Samantabhadri
EMANATIONS: Yeshe Tsogyal is considered a manifestation of the Bodhisattva Tara. She is also considered an emanation of Prajnaparamita, Samantabhadrī, and Vajrayogini [16]. In the Life of Yeshe Tsogyel, Padmasambhava predicted that Yeshe Tsogyel would be reborn as Machig Labdrön; her consort Atsara Sale [2] would become Topabhadra, Machig’s husband; her assistant and another of Padmasambhava’s consorts, Tashi Khyidren, would be reborn as Machig’s only daughter, and so on. All of the important figures in Yeshe Tsogyel’s life were to be reborn in the life of Machig Labdron, including Padmasambhava himself, who would become Dampa Sangye [17].
VIDEO: Gender? Tara, the most powerful Goddess?

Padmasambhava

Padmasambhava is a founder-figure of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism and is considered a second "buddha" of our era [4] [which at least one other tradition, sticking to the original texts, would say is impossible, given that the historical Buddha often pointed out how rare the arising of a buddha is and how few there have ever been, with only one in any epoch.]

She is known to have revealed terma ("hidden treasure") with Padmasambhava and was also the main scribe for these terma. Later, Yeshe Tsogyal hid many of Padmasambhava's terma on her own, under the instructions of Padmasambhava for future generations [2].

Emperor Trisong Detsen
Born a princess in the region of Kharchen, Tibet, in about 777 CE, she fled from arranged marriages until captured for Emperor Tri Songdetsen.

Yeshe Tsogyal lived for approximately 99 years and is a preeminent figure in the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism and a role model for contemporary spiritual practitioners.

Although often referred to as being Padamasambhava's main "consort," Yeshe Tsogyal was primarily a spiritual master and teacher in her own right.

Prajnaparamita with Devotees

Based on her spiritual accomplishments, the Nyingma and Karma Kagyu schools of Tibetan Buddhism recognize Yeshe Tsogyal as a female buddha.

The translators of Lady of the Lotus-Born, the namtar or spiritual biography that Yeshe Tsogyal left as a terma/hidden treasure, observe:

"As Dodrup Tenpai Nyima makes clear, beings able to reveal Termas must have at least the realization of the Perfection Stage practices. On the other hand, the one who originates the Treasures must have the supreme attainment of Buddhahood. Lady of the Lotus-Born is thus a testimony of Yeshe Tsogyal's enlightenment" [5]. More

The MIND that sees without reacting

2026-05-09T06:30:00.000-07:00

(Buddhist Wisdom)

Vesak in Los Angeles at Lankarama (5/9)

2026-05-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

Visit Lankarama Buddhist Temple for Vesak

Dhammakaya in Azusa will hold Vesak on 5/31

🙏 INVITATION: CELEBRATE PEACE AND MINDFULNESS AT LANKARAMA BUDDHIST TEMPLE: The Los Angeles Sri Lankan Theravada monks of Lankarama are honored to invite everyone to join in a profound Vesak celebration, marking the birth, great enlightenment, and final passing of the Buddha Siddhattha Gotama (Shakyamuni).

This sacred event is an opportunity for community, introspection, and spiritual growth.

🗓️ Date: Saturday, May 9, 2026
🕔 Time: Starts at 5:00 pm (PT)
Who? Everyone is welcome!

All participants are encouraged to observe the Eight Precepts and join us for a meditation retreat throughout the Vesak program. It is a wonderful chance to deepen practice and find inner tranquility.

La Puente is a suburb in the SGV of LA County

How to join: 📍 ON SITE (in-person): Experience the celebration firsthand at Lankarama Buddhist Temple, 398 Giano Ave., La Puente, Los Angeles County, California, USA.

💻 ONLINE (virtual): If unable to attend in person, join live on: Facebook, YouTube, or TikTok.

Follow and subscribe to @BhanteDevananda for livestreams and updates. For more information or inquiries: 📞 Phone: (626) 913-0775 📧 Email: LankaramaUSA@gmail.com. May all beings be well and happy!

#Vesak #Vesak2026 #LankaramaBuddhistTemple #BhanteDevananda #MeditationRetreat #EightPrecepts #Buddhism #BuddhistCelebration #LaPuente #CaliforniaBuddhism #Mindfulness #Peace

Craving for nirvana is obstacle to it?

2026-05-08T16:00:00.000-07:00

Behind the scenes look | Panaprium

(One Timeless Witness) He meditated for 20 years [seeking moksha or liberation] then the Buddha said "stop," an apocryphal tale to make a point.

Bhava-taṇhā is "craving for becoming," grasping leading to "clinging" (upādāna), which inevitably results in disappointment, dissatisfaction, misery, suffering...not getting what one wants, getting what one doesn't want, all of which is dukkha.

Bhava-taṇhā ("craving for becoming") [5] is craving to be or become something, to unite with an experience [16].

This is ego-related, says Buddhist scholar Peter Harvey, the eternal seeking for identity and the desire for some type of rebirth or other [5].

This last donut will fulfill and satisfy me!

Other scholars explain that this type of craving is driven by the popular wrong view of permanence and Eternalism (Sassatavada, the view that a "soul" or "self" never dies because something survives, as if consciousness unchanged carries on, never realizing that what carries on through the "continued wandering on" of saṃsāra is an impersonal PROCESS clung to as "self") [4, 17].

The opposite wrong view is Annihilationism (Ucchedavada), the wrong view that there is something that is annihilated at death, which is a transition, passing from one state to another, of an impersonal process. But Western "logic" tells us it has to be one or the other: either we carry on or come to an end. How could both be wrong? This is what the Buddha tried to explain, and he succeeded by explaining Dependent Origination. If there is no self, of course it does not carry on in samsara. But a process carries on, so there must be "self" doing the carrying on, right? No, for in every moment and submoment, phenomena arises

It is not eternal life for an eternal soul, not an independent ego, not something personal, not a "self" or "soul" -- without actually living up to the definition of "soul" or "self" we have always assumed is there). More

How to reach enlightenment here and now (an over-explanation for non-practitioners)

Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Ananda (DBM), COMMENTARY FOR WISDOM QUARTERLY

What is the true nature of all things, of all phenomena? They are (1) impermanent, (2) unsatisfactory, and (3) impersonal (not-self).

But it is foolish to assume that this "impermanence" is eventual. In fact, it is radical (from the Latin radix, at its "root")! From moment to moment, things do not stand. They constantly fall away. They are always arising, turning, and passing, not only at every moment but at every submoment.

In a "moment," such as a citta or "mind-moment," there are three phases: (1) arising, (2) turning, (3) passing. The exact same thing is true of physical particles, rupa kalapas (form phenomena).

This impermanence goes by so quickly that it is not possible to see directly, but there's a trick. The arising and falling away is recorded by the mind and can be reviewed (replayed) in slow-motion to observe the process.

(Dhammavihari Buddhist Studies) Analysis of the Causes of Rūpa Kalāpa

One would learn this in a monastery that knew what it was doing -- such as those in the lineage of the great Pa Auk Sayadaw -- from a long line of practical advice handed down from accomplished teachers to students. So far as we can determine, it is not recorded in the texts, either discourses or commentaries. This seems to be the case with the practical application of many of the teachings mentioned in the Pali canon sutras. The Path of Purification is a compendium of Buddhist meditation practices, and some things are explained there. But it is so dense, in addition to being awkward in translation, that good luck making sense of it.
It's too confusing, too much to think about!
You know, "Buddhism" was much more fun when we were just joking about Zen (Taoism, always asking, "What is the Tao, what is Tao?" a question the Buddha never asked) and chitchatting about koans. Who knew the Buddha really taught something and that there was an actual path-of-practice to enlightenment (bodhi) and liberation (nirvana)? Shouldn't this be easy, and shouldn't it be that Buddhist monastics are wasting their time with all those pesky rules and meditations? Now we see there was a point and there was no time to waste. How long would it take to calm down (samadhi, jhana, stillness), how long would it take to develop insight (vipassana) through systematic mindfulness?
Of course, all of this will seem impossible, but come and see. The process of purification gives the mind incredible powers it does not now possess. This defiled, corrupted, dissolute mind can't see these thing, but that purified, clarified, intensified mind can. The ignorant, uninstructed person cannot see, but an instructed disciple can. That is what the Buddha has been saying all along.

(Dhammavihari Buddhist Studies) Analysis of Rupa Kalapa(s)

What do kalapas look like? Embers scattering.

This is what we do not understand, what we do not directly know-and-see, until we develop the path of purification and dispassionately look on at all phenomena (as explained in detail in "The Four Foundations of Mindfulness Discourse" or Satipatthana Sutta).

When we are finally able to see things (cittas and kalapas, mind-moments and material particles) behaving as they have always behaved when we were blind to and deluded about what was really there all along, the mind/heart automatically lets go. There is no effort to do so. Seeing their true nature, we stop clinging.

Furthermore, when we see that all things are utterly incapable of ever fulfilling, satisfying, or doing anything but being ultimately disappointing, we stop craving, stop expecting any new thing to be any different.

Moreover, when we finally know-and-see as it truly is that what we thought (assumed) was personal and self is not, what in the universe (with three spheres of sensual, fine material, and immaterial worlds -- with "heavenly" places in each) is there to cling to?

Why have we been holding on to suffering (dukkha, this unsteady, askew cartwheel making the road so bumpy and painful) and to things always hurtling towards destruction? It is exactly because we did not see, did not know.

I get it! Now I know and see!!

And now are we undeceived, having seen things as they really are and always have been, there is no "effort" to let go. Letting go happens naturally and one knows-and-sees the ultimate, nirvana. This process is "awakening" (bodhi, enlightenment).

Then it is as if everything -- all ignorance and darkness -- dissolves (nirodha), and light arises, and there is awakening out of painful ignorance to ultimate unending bliss. This is the bliss of nirvana, the highest happiness and peace. There is no use in describing it, but it can be directly experienced here and now, free of concepts and views.

The Buddha's Path to Deliverance (PDF)

Disenchanted w/ mundane world: Beth Upton

2026-05-08T07:07:00.000-07:00

Beth Upton update: Wildflowers and Wanderings

Disenchantment with the Mundane World: Conversation with former Theravada Buddhist nun

Disenchantment: Untold Tales

(The Theory of Samsara) Jan. 8, 2026: In this in-depth conversation on Ultimate Meaning: The Theory of Samsara, I speak with British Buddhist meditation teacher Beth Upton, a former fully ordained Theravāda Buddhist nun (Sayalay Anuttara) in Burma who spent nearly ten years training under Pa Auk Sayadaw (Ven. Bhaddanta Āciṇṇa) in the Burmese forest meditation tradition.

She shares her journey from ordination at age 25, through years of rigorous monastic training in calm-and-insight (samatha-vipassanā), to her decision to disrobe and teach as a lay practitioner in the West.

Together, we explore some of the most misunderstood questions in contemporary Buddhism, including:

Let go until success then go teach the world.
What truly leads someone to renounce samsaric life
Disenchantment vs. curiosity on the path to liberation
Whether Buddhist enlightenment is possible for lay Buddhist practitioners
The lived meaning of renunciation beyond philosophy
Tranquility versus insight (samatha vs. vipassanā) — and why “vipassanā” is often a misused term
Ultimate reality, momentariness (moment-to-moment presence), and non-self
Why deep meditation can feel fragile outside the context of monastic life
The role of community, wise friends, and authentic teachers
Commercialization of Dharma vs. teaching by donation
Sectarianism between Theravāda, Mahāyāna, and Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism
Why liberation is not just for “other cultures” or monastics

Canadian interviewer Lama Choga

This dialogue is not about spiritual abstract beliefs or spiritual ideals, but about what actually works when confronting disappointment (dukkha, suffering), impermanence, and the [impersonal] realities of samsara in modern life.

Chapters/Timestamps

00:00 – Intro: Beth Upton and Path [to End] Samsara
02:18 – Why she chose ordination as a British Buddhist nun at age 25
05:10 – Meeting authentic Buddhist teachers and the power of sangha [community]
08:32 – Experimenting with life and early renunciation
12:45 – Discovering liberation as a real possibility
16:40 – Is enlightenment possible for lay practitioners?
19:55 – Stream entry, arahantship, and Theravāda views
24:10 – Did Beth Upton meet enlightened beings?
27:05 – Why she disrobed after 10 years as a forest nun
33:40 – Fragility of meditation outside monastic life
37:55 – Teaching the Dharma authentically in the West
41:50 – Disenchantment with samsara: knowing it in the bones
47:30 – Cycles of renunciation and returning to the world
52:15 – Creating long-term retreat communities in Europe
56:40 – Teaching by donation rather than selling the Dharma
1:01:30 – Can deep meditation be practiced while working?
1:06:55 – Permanent retreatants and Western monastic models
1:10:40 – Environmental ethics in Buddhist practice
1:15:25 – Sectarianism: Southeast Asian Theravāda vs. Tibetan [Vajrayana] Buddhism
1:21:10 – Personal liberation vs. compassion for all beings
1:26:30 – Shamatha vs. vipassanā: clearing the confusion
1:33:10 – Ultimate reality and momentariness explained
1:39:45 – Causality, impermanence, and non-self
1:45:20 – Reflexive awareness and observing mind moments
1:52:10 – How to find wise friends and authentic teachers
1:57:30 – Final advice for Western practitioners
2:00:10 – Closing reflections and future conversations

Lama Choga and a Canadian Buddhist Sangha

If serious about meditation, renunciation, and understanding liberation beyond romantic [New Age] spirituality, this conversation offers rare clarity and lived insight.

🙏 Keep wise friends. Beth Upton's YouTube channel: @beth.upton.meditation

Beth Upton's website: bethupton.com
Previous videos about Beth Upton's backstory: About Me
Episode 138: Trained as a Nun - Beth Upton
Canadian Lama Choga: ultimatemeaning.org
Meditációs elvonulások (Gánti Bence)
Disenchantment: Untold Tales, Vol. 1 (book by Matt Groening)

How this was made: Auto-dubbed. Audio tracks for some languages were automatically generated. #DharmaTalk #Samsara #Buddhism #Theravada #Vipassana #MeditationPractice #Renunciation #Liberation #Enlightenment #BuddhistNun #PaAuk #NonSelf #FourNobleTruths #EightfoldPath #SpiritualPractice #Mindfulness #Jhanna #EasternPhilosophy #ultimatemeaning

Host Lama Choga (The Theory of Samsara, Jan. 2026), guest Beth Upton; Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Vipassana not what you think (Rinpoche)

2026-05-08T06:58:00.000-07:00

(Perfect Teacher) Vipassana (Buddhist "insight meditation") is not what you think, explains Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche.

Who is this teacher?

What makes you not a Buddhist?

Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche (Tibetan རྫོང་གསར་འཇམ་དབྱངས་མཁྱེན་བརྩེ་རིན་པོ་ཆེ།, born June 18, 1961) [1] is also known as Khyentse Norbu. He is a Tibetan Vajrayana lama, filmmaker, and writer who was born in Bhutan, high in the Himalayas.

His five major films are The Cup (1999), Travellers and Magicians (2003), Vara: A Blessing (2013), Hema Hema: Sing Me a Song While I Wait (2017), and Looking for a Lady with Fangs and a Moustache (2019).

(Tibetan Nuns) This Tibetan monastic mantra has not stopped for centuries

He is the author of several published books such as What Makes You Not a Buddhist (2007), Not For Happiness: A Guide to the So-Called Preliminary Practices (2012), The Guru Drinks Bourbon? (2016), Living is Dying (2020), and several non-fiction works on Tibetan Buddhism for free distribution such as

Introduction to the Middle Way: Chandrakirti’s Madhyamaka with Commentary (2003) [2] and
Buddha Nature: Mahayana-Uttaratantra-Shastra with Commentary (2007) [3].

The Cup (1999 film)

He has also written an autobiography in process entitled Mugwort Born. Many of his teachings are available on the Siddhartha's Intent YouTube channel [4].

He is the eldest son of Thinley Norbu and therefore the grandson of Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje.

Khyentse Rinpoche has teachers from all four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism and is a follower and champion of the Rimé (non-sectarian) movement.

He considers Dilgo Khyentse as his main guru. He is also the primary custodian of the teachings of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo. More

Gender? Tara, the most powerful Goddess?

2026-05-08T06:45:00.000-07:00

The lovely Tara enshrined in art

(Buddha's Wisdom) TARA: The most powerful Goddess in Buddhism — and why she refused to be reborn as a man

Tara (Sanskrit तारा, tārā, Standard Tibetan སྒྲོལ་མ, dölma), Ārya Tārā ("Noble Tara") is also known as Jetsün Dölma (Tibetan rje btsun sgrol ma, "Venerable Mother of Liberation"). She is an important female buddha in Vajrayana and Mahayana Buddhism.

The Elevation of Mary Magdalene
Our reading of Mahayana Buddhism, of which Vajrayana is a sub-school, suggests that the MOST powerful Buddhist goddess is actually Kwan Yin (Guanyin, a female manifestation of Avalokiteśvara) Bodhisattva. She is queen or in any case certainly the most powerful, for she looks on and hears the cries of the world with utmost compassion, a kind of Virg Yin Mary (not Jewish or Essene Miriam so much as the ultimate goddess in Gnostic Christianity, Mary Magdalene).
If Theravada Buddhism made much of personifying qualities through transcendent goddesses (devis), our vote for the Ultimate Goddess right alongside Kwan Yin (Guanyin) would certainly be the glorious Prajnaparamita of Java, Gnostic Sophia, the personification of the Perfection of Wisdom. And we wouldn't stop there. Maha Pajapati Gotami, Yasodhara (aka Bimba Devi, Rahulamata, Bhaddha Kaccana, Sundari Kaccana, etc.), Khema Theri, Uppalavanna Theri, and Queen of [Tusita] Heaven Maya would serve as the raw basis for building up goddesses, venerable enlightened Buddhist women in history.

Prajnaparamita Java (side detail)

[Earlier traditions hold to the view, one of five niyamas, that while females are of course equally capable of arahantship, full enlightenment, as well as many other accomplishments, literal buddhas only arise as males. Why this would be, or why any of the niyamas are true in and of themselves, is not explained. 5. dhamma-niyāma "the constraint of dhammas (things, phenomena)," namely, such events as the quaking of the 10,000 world-systems at the conception of a bodhisatta conception in his mother's womb and again at his birth (partition from that womb). At the end of the discussion Sumaṅgalavilāsinī passage, the Commentary states that dhamma-niyāma explains the term dhammatā in the text of the Mahāpadāna Sutta (DN ii.12) (Cf. S 12.20 for a discussion of the use of the word dhamma-niyamatā in the Pali canon sutras.
It should always be borne in mind that no individual is an actual sex but fluid because one can be reborn as any of the three genders -- male, female, pandaka. How many genders are there? The answer could easily be more than three because pandaka can be variously defined as pervert, eunuch (pansexual as the word is understood in the East not as we use it in the West), hermaphrodite, bi, gay, asexual, intersex, transgender, transsexual, crossdresser, etc.)
The Dalai Lama, who is Tibetan Vajrayana joked about this in one of his PR movies, declaring something like: "Of course a woman can become a buddha...she just has to be reborn as a man first" then laughing. People popularly regard him as the "Pope of Vajrayana Buddhism," though he is not; he's not even the pope of Tibetan Buddhism because the non-Gelug schools do not regard him as the pontiff but rather a useful political leader, a kind of temporal king who made it to the world stage with more than a little help from the CIA. This topic of gender should be questioned, debated, and explored as it seems awfully unfair and denigrating to femalehood, but might it be the case, as a Hindu priest once told our college Comparative Religion class that the reason a being, a gandhabba seeking rebirth in a human body, is reborn as a female rather than a male at any given rebirth is due to the level of attachment, affection, and clinging present in that relinking moment. If that is the case, we have all been and will all be females, so placing femininity one down from masculinity is a bad strategy that will turn around and bite us. Likewise, all females reborn as humans, as rare and difficult as it is to ever secure a human rebirth, will also experience what it's like to be a male. And we say with no confusion, it's not all it's cracked up to be.]

Humans love to carve ideal attributes in stone.

She may appear as a female bodhisattva (a "being bent on full or supreme enlightenment," the two not being the same thing, one being an arhat, the other a buddha) in Mahayana Buddhism [1].

In Vajrayana Buddhism, Green Tara is a female buddha who is a consort of the Cosmic Buddha Amoghasiddhi.

Tārā is also known as a savioress who hears the cries of beings in saṃsāra (the interminable round of rebirth and suffering) and saves them from worldly and spiritual danger [2].

In Vajrayana, she is considered to be a buddha, and the Tārā Tantra describes her as "a mother who gives birth to the buddhas of the three times [past, present, and future]" who is also "beyond saṃsāra and nirvāṇa" [3].

Earlier tradition distinguishes nirvana as being nothing like samsara, and since all we have ever known is the latter, anything else could be considered nirvana. Some do not like this definition as it seems to define nirvana, which many feel is ineffable, indescribable, and incomparable even though the historical Buddha Siddhartha Gautama did indeed define and describe it.

Tārā is one of the most important female deities in Vajrayana (Esoteric Buddhism) and is found in apocryphal sources like the Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa and the Guhyasamāja Tantra [4].

Key Indic Vajrayana texts that focus on Tārā include the Tantra Which Is the Source for All the Functions of Tārā, Mother of All the Tathagatas (Sanskrit Sarva-tathāgata-mātṛtārā-viśva-karma-bhavanāma-tantra) and Tārā's Fundamental Ritual Text (Tārāmūlakalpa) [5, 3].

Both Green and White Tārā remain popular meditation deities or yidams in Tibetan Buddhism, and Tara is also revered in Newar Buddhism.

Tārā is considered to take on many forms or emanations, while Green Tara emanates 21 Tārās, each with different attributes—colors, implements, and activities such as pacifying (śānti), increasing (pauṣṭika), enthralling (vaśīkaraṇa), and wrathful (abhicāra) [2].

Green Tara (or "blue-green," Sanskrit Samayatara or śyāmatārā) remains the most important form of the deity in Tibetan Buddhism [6, 7].

A practice text entitled Praises to the 21 Taras is a well known text on Tara in Tibetan Buddhism within Tibet, recited by children and adults, and is the textual source for the 21 forms of Green Tārā.

The main Tārā mantra is the same for Buddhists and Hindus: oṃ tāre tuttāre ture svāhā. It is uttered by Tibetans and Buddhists who follow Tibetan culture as oṃ tāre tu tāre ture soha. The literal translation would be "Oṃ O Tārā, I pray O Tārā, O Swift One, So Be It!" More

Ancient Buddhist Goddess Guanyin embraces nature’s gender spectrum (FāVS News)
Three Goddesses of Divine Grace | brief introduction
Buddha's Wisdom (video); edited by Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Wiki edit Tara (Buddhism)

Every Buddhist "God" explained in minutes

2026-05-08T06:40:00.000-07:00

(Greg Knows All) Every major Buddhist "God" explained in 38 minutes

These are the "Gods" of faith-based Mahayana, Vajrayana, Jodo Shinshu, Nicheren, Shingon...rather than the much smaller (10%) back-to-basics Theravada Buddhist tradition, which recognizes countless brahmas and devas, particularly Great Brahma and Sakka (Sakra, Indra), King of the Devas, but neither worships them nor regards them as "Gods" in the Western sense.
Pure Land (Sukhavati) of Amitabha Cosmic Buddha

Vesak Day celebrations, Berkeley (5/9)

2026-05-08T06:31:00.000-07:00

Come join us in celebrating the Buddha's birthday, enlightenment, and final nirvana. Chanting, food, tea, and blessings, everyone is welcome. On Saturday, May 9, 2026, we celebrate Vesak, a day to commemorate the Buddha's birth, mahabodhi, and parinirvana. Hopefully we will become more aware of the fact that we are intrinsically the same as all buddhas and thus will be inspired to use the Buddha’s teachings, his Dharma (Doctrine), to help ourselves and others.

Location: Universal Chan (445 Colusa Ave, Kensington, CA 94707)
PHOTOS: Vesak Day: Buddha's Birthday Celebration Tickets, Saturday, May 9 • 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM | Eventbrite

LA punk rock FUN with Social Distortion

2026-05-08T06:30:00.000-07:00

(Jimmy Kimmel Live) Social Distortion "Born to Kill"

(Rock N' Roll True Stories) From heroin and homeless...to a punk rock masterpiece: Social Distortion's REBIRTH

(Eyesore Video Channel) W5 TV report on punk rock in 1980's LA (Social Distortion) M-C?

(Hard Detox Official) "Tuna Dick Punx" (modern homage band with official music video)

Poseur? Fashion wannabe? Successful punk influencer? - Kids who would love to be Avril

(Rolling Stone) Social Distortion's Mike Ness on history of Orange County punk rock

Lewd Lude Boy Mike Ness

Television report from W5 about the early 1980's punk rock scene in Los Angeles, California, featuring Back In Control Center (hilarious) and Mike Ness' band Social Distortion.

As a kid in a punk rock garage band many years ago in LA, we once opened for Social D. It was a house party at a squatter's flat in Highland Park, where runaways and heavy partiers stayed. With electricity piped in from a long extension cord, we did what we could. Then came the house band Detox followed by Julie's SIN 34 from Santa Monica before SD headlined. If Hollywood makes a version of that night, it looked a bit like this (and nothing as cool as the first video):

Flipside (fanzine) - Dave Markey's We Got Power

Social Distortion – "Lude Boy" and "Telling Them"

(ANWE) Detox

On way to Social D show, we pass LA's 'open air drug market' (MacArthur Park)

(FOX 11 Los Angeles) TAKEDOWN: Feds sweep MacArthur Park in massive drug raid on May 6

A girl from SM can't be punk rock.

RIP Julie Lanfeld-Keskin (SIN 34)

I remember thinking, "Who does this guy think he is with makeup, way more than guyliner, and where can I get some?"

Even then Mike Ness was a powerful presence if only because it seemed for all the world that he did not give two S's, very in line with the Tao. Who knew he had a drinking problem?

Mystic Dharma Buddhist Temple, LA

The strange thing was, this being LA, there was a massive and mysterious Buddhist building (Mystic Dharma Temple) just down the street on Figueroa St. Rather than drinking, like the fictional character Kwai Chang Caine (Kung Fu), I was drawn to visiting it and learning to meditate from Ven. Chao Chu, a Sri Lankan Mahayana-Theravada polyglot hybrid monk and his snooty American assistant Dana.

Hardcore, alcohol free, vegan...straight edge

How did I get so lucky? Years later, visiting Sri Lanka and Malaysia, the senior Theravada scholar-monk Ven. K. Sri Dhammananda sighed a copy of his Dhammapada (verses and backstories), writing: "One who protects the Dhamma is protected by the Dhamma."

Punk could be very smart (DKs)

It seemed profound at the time, but instead of magic, what it really seems to be saying is very basic: Imagine working in an industrial factory and instead of a sign that reads how many days since the last accident, the bosses were to put up an inspirational note that read: "One who protects [keeps] the safety rules is protected by the safety rules." Rule No. 5 is "to undertake to abstain from alcohol and intoxicants that occasion heedlessness." I could leave the hard drinking to Mike Ness, Detox, and all the followers. I could be straight edge before that caught on on the west coast. I was already listening to east coast Minor Threat, British anarcho punk vegans Rudimentary Peni, and the Dead Kennedys, which was a start.

L.A. PUNK 13 (documentarian Lou Elovitz)

Karma being what it is, we eventually ended up getting advanced degrees at UCLA, but not before Chao Chu and I attended the local community college to make up for a wasted youth in high school. There we started the college's first Buddhist club. The temple, the monk, and Dana eventually moved to Rosemead.

Mayor of the Sunset Strip

Karma, it makes for a long strange trip. So, as the saying goes, "be careful who you step on to move up in the world; you'll be seeing them again on the way down" or some such. Brad Warner was nowhere to be seen, but Noah Levine might have been around as well as Steve Pfauter. Maybe L.A. PUNK 13 knows all of this in greater detail.

The scene, the rise of punk rock in Los Angeles and Southern California was ignited by KROQ's most significant DJ ever, the pervy Jewish Mayor of the Sunset Strip Rodney "On the 'ROQ" Bingenheimer.

Swami Vivekananda at Mead sisters house

Strangely, this House of the Rising Sun (aka Haunted House, S**t House) was very near the Self-Realization Fellowship Mother Center above us on Mt. Washington (the privileged enclave Billie Eilish and Finneas O'C lived in when they got mega famous), the Southwest Museum of the American Indian on the side of the mountain and Lummis House next to the concrete LA River, not too far from the Victorian Mead sisters house in South Pasadena Swami Vivekananda chose as his center on the west coast when he declared Pasadena the "Varanasi of the West."

(flesh86) Detox live at the Olympic Auditorium [DTLA] Los Angeles

Live fast, die young...or the opposite

One of the strange things about living in LA is its proximity to Hollywood, the throat chakra of the West, like the larger Bollywood is for the East (or India at least) is running into stars. We were at the radio station (KROQ.com, 106.7 FM), at the Audacy Corporation in the Miracle Mile district celebrating Cinco de Mayo at the cantina Descanso. Across the street, legendary punk pioneers Social Distortion was going to play a secret show at the station's new Sound Stage. A few maneuvers later, we were in! But what a strange trip. Standing next to Punk Rock Girl to see cancer survivor Mike Ness, once the epitome of tough guy drunk (now 40 years sober in AA), looking like some kind of gavone from the Lower East Side of NY or some TV gangster mobster as Megan Holiday and Kevin Ryder roll him out for an interview. Nice guy, learned a lot from AA, but he can barely talk or think or comprehend what's going on. The crowd loved it, having won tickets for the coveted show over the past few weeks. Flagging, failing self-proclaimed "punk influencer" Punk Rock Girl (Erin Micklow), who was persona non grata at the Queen Mary punk show and has been banned from Punk Rock Bowling at the Punk Museum in Las Vegas, we hear, weaseled her way in. "Who does a girl have to sl**p with to get into these things?" she might be asking. We would tell her if she asked us. But she seemed to enjoy herself as much as the Ozempic crowd largely in attendance. Punk rock never died, but it sure has been through a lot. Social D has a new album, Born to Kill, coming out after 15 years, and heartless corporate entity KROQ is doing them a solid due to all the fans they still have.

Mike Ness interview: Social Distortion’s Born To Kill, 15-year comeback

When Punk Rock was Funny

The Vandals "Urban Struggle" in a real Hollywood movie

Angry Samoans "They Saved Hitler's Cock"

LA's Wasted Youth "Problem Child"

Wasted Youth "Problem Child" (music video)

Alice Bag Band "Gluttony" (Decline of Western Civilization)

45 Grave "Black Cross" (live on New Wave Theater)

45 Grave "Wax" (live on TV: New Wave Theatre, 1981) [HD]

45 Grave "Riboflavin Flavored Non-Carbonated Polyunsaturated Blood"

T.S.O.L. " Dance With Me"

Adolescents "Amoeba" (official music video recorded in 80s, filmed now)

SIN 34 Die Laughing EP (LA female-fronted hardcore punk)

Super Heroines with Eva O "Death On The Elevator"

(MDC) "John Wayne Was a Nazi"

The Decline of Western Civilization (6/7) Germs "Manimal" (1981)

FEAR - BEEF BALONEY - NEW YORKS ALRIGHT ON SAT NIGHT

Black Flag get stupid "TV Party"

7 Seconds "F*ck Your Amerika"

Circle Jerks "Wild in the Streets"

Danzig's Misfits "Skulls"

Danzig "Mother" 93 Live

Tibetan bad@ss wrathful protective spirit?

(Buddha Weekly) Tibetan Bon black magic gets into Buddhism through Yamantaka Vajrabhairava, the Death Destroyer: ultimate wrathful form of Enlightened Wisdom

Who needs punk rock when there's crossover thrash black speed metal?

(Guitar Meets Science) Faster Than Hell: How Slayer made Reign in Blood [with Rick Rubin and Def Jam's help]

Vajrayogini: Most dangerous goddess in Vajrayana 🔥fastest path to enlightenment

Big skull punk t-shirt (Etsy); Eds., Wisdom Quarterly

Sex with cartoon symbol Betty Boop

2026-05-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

(The Toon Attic) Jazz Age Flapper Betty Boop (1930) is based on Baby Esther rather than Helen Kane: 10 wild facts no one ever knew. Brought to vibrant life by Cab Calloway and the Anti-Disney Max Fleischer and his rotoscope animation technique was killed by the U.S. Hays Code.

Mesmerizing rotoscope cartoon animation by (used by Ghostmane "Mercury")

GHOSTEMANE "Mercury" death metal rap California guy style? (TRASH)

The real "Betty Boop" Baby Esther, age 7

The impostor "Betty Boop" Helen Kane

'Trump raped 13-y.-o. minors': Epstein victim

2026-05-08T05:55:00.000-07:00

(Oneindia News) "Trump RAPED 13-year-old minors": Epstein victim Dany Benski confronts Trump, reveals chilling details.

Wild Food Foraging Ethnobotanical Walk (5/9)

2026-05-08T05:30:00.000-07:00

FORAGING WALK — WILD FOOD OUTING

Guide to Wild Foods Useful Plants

Hosted by prolific plant author Christopher Nyerges, nature guide, and founder of School of Self-Reliance: The Wild Food and Self-Reliance Discovery Meetup Group (with 4.9 out of 5.0 stars with 143 reviews) is leading a nature walk:

Wild Food Ethnobotanical Walk
Saturday, May 9, 2026 10:00 am
$65 (seniors and students $45)

To attend and for exact directions, register HERE. Join us for an outing in Los Angeles where we explore the edible, medicinal, and other useful qualities of many of the native plants found in the environment with many introduced (invasive) plants.

Foraging California (Foraging Series)

Both natives and non-native plants will be seen. This is a leisurely walk in the woods. All will also get a chance to taste some of the plants. We will introduce a few basics of systematic plant identification and ways to start a record of various species.

We’ll bring up an important point: Many of the wild plants we see — especially the non-natives — can easily be cultivated in our own yards for ease of harvesting.

There are also local native plant nurseries where we can obtain native plants — such as toyon berries, ceonothus, oak trees, mulefat (Baccharis salicifolia), elder, and so on — to grow them at home, where we can provide the ideal situation for them.

Wear comfortable footwear and bring water and a bowl for eating. This class can serve as credit towards the the School of Self-Reliance Ethnobotany Certificate. Directions sent upon registration.

FORAGING WALK — WILD FOOD OUTING, Sat, May 9, 2026, 10:00 AM | Meetup

Nature of Mind: Why thoughts never stop

2026-05-08T04:45:00.000-07:00

(Buddhism Podcast) The Nature of Mind: Why thoughts never stop | Buddhist Wisdom

PTS: The Pali Text Society (new website)

2026-05-08T04:00:00.000-07:00

The Pali Text Society (PTS)

The British Pali Text Society was established in 1881 and gave us some of the very first translations of ancient Theravada Buddhist texts by such renowned and influential scholars as:

Isaline Blew Horner
T. W. Rhys Davids
Mrs. Caroline A. F. Rhys Davids
Christmas Humphreys
R. C. Childers
F. L. Woodward
and others who so influenced our teacher
American Bhikkhu Bodhi, student of
Sri Lankan Ven. Balangoda Ananda Maitreya
German Ven. Nyanaponika
German Ven. Nyanatiloka (author of the best Buddhist Dictionary)
Sri Lankan Ven. Walpola Rahula (author of What the Buddha Taught)
and the staff of the Buddhist Publication Society
and British Maurice O'Connell Walshe (translator of The Long Discourses of the Buddha),
who in turn had such a preponderant influence on Wisdom Quarterly: American Buddhist Journal that, were it not for PTS and BPS, there would be no WQ in the English language.

Why Pali and not Sanskrit?

Pali [Magadhi or Magadhi Prakrit, a lingua franca similar to but simpler than Vedic Sanskrit, the exclusive liturgy language of elitist Brahmin priests who adhered to the Old Vedic Religion that preceded Hinduism by thousands of years] is the language of the most complete collection of early Buddhist texts, the Pali canon or Ti-pitaka (the collected Buddhist texts in "Three Baskets" of suttas, vinaya, and abhidhamma), which constitutes "the word of the historical Buddha" as handed down by the tradition of Theravada (the "Teachings of the Enlightened Elders of the Buddha") Buddhism for over 2,000 years.

Since 1881 the Pali Text Society has promoted the study of Pali texts by publishing editions, translations, and other works related to the study of Pali literature.

On the new website one can purchase PTS publications, download many PTS publications for FREE, and find other material and links related to the study of Pali Buddhist texts.

One can also support the Society by becoming a member, getting a 20% discount on all purchases: palitextsociety.org

The official site of the Pali Text Society (PTS)
Pali Text Society c/o Gravita Oxford LLP
First Floor, Park Central 40 - 41 Park End Street
Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 1JD
UK Telephone: +44 (0)7436 534 179
Skype: palitextsociety
Email: info@palitextsociety.org

Greta sex scandal? Israel attacks flotilla

2026-05-07T17:00:00.000-07:00

Brazilian activist Thiago Avila with Greta on a trip (Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)

(Biased right-wing Sky News Australia) "Disaster for the goblin": Greta Thunberg's flotilla rocked by sex scandals, detained [and tortured] by Israeli terrorist forces.

Activists have sex on a boat? That's no "scandal"
EXCLUSIVE: Greta Thunberg's freedom flotilla faces sexual misconduct allegations (New York Post) They’re going to need a bigger boat! Greta Thunberg’s freedom flotilla, which set sail from Barcelona Sunday for another anti-Israel voyage to Gaza, has been rocked by scandal after one of its woke leaders was accused of “sexual misconduct” with at least three volunteers. “A senior leader within the flotilla — a member of the steering committee, the highest governing body of the organization — engaged in sexual relations with multiple activists while on the boat heading to Gaza. Not one person. Not two. Three different individuals,” claimed Palestinian group Heart of Falastin in a social media post earlier this week. “To do it on the boat, while heading to a nation undergoing genocide, with volunteers...” More
Activist denies sexual misconduct allegations aboard Greta Thunberg’s Gaza flotilla : r/news
Lefty Love Boat full of Lovers: misconduct allegations shake Gaza Freedom Flotilla (The Jerusalem Post)
Greta wasn't even there: Greta Thunberg Flotilla faces sexual misconduct allegations amid Gaza voyage (i24NEWS)

PR Rule No. 1, falsely accuse them before they accurately accuse you of the same thing so as to muddy the water and make it all a "both sides do it" argument?

Meet Chris Kebbon, the alleged boyfriend of Greta Thunberg (The Economic Times)

Brazilian Thiago Ávila planned Global Sumud Flotilla with Sidi Bou Said, Tunis, Tunisia (wiki)

(Daily Express) UK Islamic (Muslim) sect raided by hundreds

of police over "sex slaves and forced marriages"

Epstein: Neyla Miller trafficked to elites

2026-05-07T16:59:00.000-07:00

(Max Cullen) I survived 10 years of torture being passed around by elites (and I have proof)

If Zionist Epstein is your pimp, you're in trouble

(Bekah Day, Substack) [There's] a young woman named Neyla Miller. After I received [her] email, I immediately reached back out to her to schedule a time to speak on the phone. Over the next two weeks, Neyla and I spent hours on the phone talking. She told me about her upbringing, how she was swept into the world of sex trafficking, who trafficked her, who[m] she was trafficked to, and how she got out.

The Howie Rubin sex case

I [am] in awe [of] Neyla’s strength to tell her story without fear of naming and shaming the figures who took advantage of her. Her story is very interesting to me because she is someone who was trafficked during the height of Epstein’s reign, but not by Epstein himself.

She was linked to the Howard Rubin case. ...[#]Howard Rubin is the New York City financier who was recently indicted for sex trafficking...more.

The information that I will be sharing with you in this article is information Neyla Miller has shared with multiple law enforcement agencies in the United States and abroad to assist in various trafficking-related investigations. More

The Girl Who Was Erased (by Bekah Day and Neyla Miller)

Sex abuse survivor Neyla Miller : r/Epstein Detailed account here from Nayla, Nila, Neela, Neyla Miller on who she is and how she got involved [in Epstein, Maxwell, Trump's web] as well as whom she was trafficked to. I believe it's publicly available, but TikToker Bekah Day has been relentless in reporting on Epstein
Epstein victims compiling list of sexual... | Facebook
Litigation involving Jeffrey Epstein
Sky News host Rita Panahi has taken a look at the horrific pictures of Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor featured in the Epstein files
Warning: the transcripts are horrific (WTAE-TV Pittsburgh)

Save oneself or everyone else?

2026-05-06T07:05:00.000-07:00

(Buddha's Wisdom) Save yourself or save everyone else? Buddhism's most dangerous question

Ven. Śāriputra, Maha Thera (Śrāvaka)
Vimalakirti Sutra
Mahayana exalts itself and condemns a scarecrow stick figure of its own creation, the Hinayana, no school of which remains, the last being the Sarvastivada
Theravada, back-to-basics non-Hinayana tradition of the historical Buddha
The Bodhisattva Ideal (Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, Sri Lanka)

Save oneself or save everyone else? Buddhism's most dangerous question

(Buddha's Wisdom) May 6, 2026: ⚡ FOR 2,000 YEARS BUDDHISM HAS BEEN FIGHTING ITSELF...AND NO SIDE HAS WON YET. Is personal enlightenment (arahantship) selfish?

The Bodhisattva Ideal (BPS)

Buddhism's two greatest paths ideals, that of the Arhat and that of the Bodhisattva, have been locked in the most consequential debate in Buddhist history since the first century CE.

What began as a philosophical disagreement between Mahāyāna and [Hinayana schools until they were all destroyed and] Theravāda Buddhism [arose]. It became something far more dangerous: a 2,000-year argument about what "liberation" (vimutti, moksha) actually means, who it's for, and whether saving oneself first is an act of wisdom or an act of cowardice.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 The [apocryphal] trial of Śāriputra [where Ven. Sariputra, male disciple "foremost in wisdom," comparable to Ven. Khema, female disciple "foremost in wisdom" used as a stick figure to represent first the Hinayana ("Lesser Vehicle"), a pejorative epithet, and later the Theravada ("Teaching of the Elder Enlightened Disciples of the Historical Buddha") to attack them with Brahminical and Hindu residues on what the Buddha Taught]
02:01 The debate we've been building to
04:19 The prosecution — Mahāyāna's real case
08:10 The defense — the sentence that stops everything
13:19 The trap — who is taking this infinite vow?
18:26 The real wound — self-view in spiritual clothing
24:01 The dissolution — each path guards the other
29:19 The same mountain

🔍 DISCOVER

Why the [apocryphal Mahayana invented discourse] Vimalakīrti Sūtra placed the arhat (Pali arahant) ideal on trial
How the Lotus Sūtra reframed personal liberation through the One Vehicle (Ekayana) teaching
Why Theravāda’s strongest defense begins with one simple fact: the Buddha called himself an was called an arahant
How the Diamond Sūtra complicates the bodhisattva vow through no-self (anatta) and emptiness (shunyata)
Why Vajrayāna Buddhism refuses to take sides in this debate...and what that refusal reveals about both paths simultaneously

📚 SOURCES AND FURTHER READING: (with affiliate links)

Primary [Mahayana] Buddhist texts: Vimalakīrti Sūtra (Vimalakīrtinirdeśa Sūtra) — Robert Thurman translation recommended https://amzn.to/3QTtGSD
Diamond Sūtra (Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra) — Red Pine translation recommended https://amzn.to/3OP9Mro
Lotus Sūtra (Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra) — Burton Watson translation recommended https://amzn.to/4d2JFqh
Primary [Theravada] texts: Majjhima Nikāya (Collection of "Middle Length Discourses" from the Pali canon) — Ariyapariyesanā Sutta (MN 26) — Bhikkhu Bodhi translation https://amzn.to/4dcS2y9
Pāli canon — Nikāya (collection of) discourses on the brahma-vihārās ("Four Divine Abidings" of loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity or dispassionate looking on)

Scholarly and Modern Resources

Paul Williams — Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations https://amzn.to/4evxKCq
Bhikkhu Bodhi (translator) — The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha https://amzn.to/3OMwqkd
Étienne Lamotte — The Teaching of Vimalakīrti
Peter Harvey — An Introduction to Buddhist Ethics https://amzn.to/42e1RH9
Nāgārjuna — Mūlamadhyamakakārikā (Jay Garfield translation recommended) https://amzn.to/4w8J0Lr
Rupert Gethin, The Foundations of Buddhism https://amzn.to/4d5IG7h

🙏 Exploring Buddhism, Theravāda, Mahāyāna, the arhat path, the bodhisattva vow, Buddhist enlightenment (bodhi), no-self (anatta), and Buddhist philosophy for the first time? Maybe subscribing to Buddha’s Wisdom would be helpful. The Buddhist Schools Series goes deeper every video. 📱 Join community on Instagram (buddhaswizdom), Facebook (buddhaswizdom), X (x.com/BuddhasWizdom), Spotify (open.spotify.com/show/5ndnBU5...), TikTok (buddhas.wisdom). ☕ Support the channel: buymeacoffee.com/buddhaswisdom, paypal.me/buddhaswisdom. #Buddhism #Arhat #Bodhisattva #Theravada #Mahayana #BuddhistPhilosophy #Enlightenment #BuddhistDebate #Vajrayana #DiamondSutra #VimalakiriSutra #BuddhistSchools #Dharma #BuddhasWisdom #nirvana #BuddhistSchools #NoSelf #LotusSutra. How this was made auto-dubbed audio tracks for some languages were automatically generated. More

Rockefeller origin story is a fake myth

2026-05-06T06:50:00.000-07:00

(Buried Century) The Rockefellers had NO recorded wealth in 1858 -- then they owned everything

John D. Rockefeller

Dalai Lama on God, rebirth, but not Epstein

2026-05-06T06:47:00.000-07:00

(Dalai Lama) Is there really no God? Dalai Lama explains/redefines "God"

Life after death? - What about Epstein, your holiness?

Zionists sell stolen Palestinian real estate

2026-05-06T06:46:00.000-07:00

(Secular Talk) Chaos erupts as Zionists sell stolen Palestinian land and protesters fight back | Kyle Kulinski Show

Dead men talking: Biddy Biden and Bibi (aka Benny Milikowsky) united for Zionism

UAE pulled into Trump's War on Iran

BREAKING: US, UAE launch major attack on Iran, violate ceasefire

(Katie Halper) Max Blumenthal of The Grayzone EXPOSES "antisemitic" stabbing in UK

The Grayzone with Max Blumenthal
Jewish UK PM Kier Starmer claims to be secular unlike his Jewish wife, so how could he be pro-Zionist Israel or fund and defend its genocide in Gaza?
We're here to help any way we can.
British Prime Minister Starmer says he's an atheist not a religious Jew and has chosen to take a "solemn affirmation" (rather than an oath) of allegiance to the British monarch [390]. He has said that although he does not believe in God, he recognizes the power of faith to bring people together and is raising his children in the Jewish faith [391, 392, 393]. Sure he goes to temple for the Jewish Sabbath, but it's only to accompany his Jewish family to services at the Liberal Jewish Synagogue in North London which is hardly even Jewish really [388, 394]. Starmer is a keen footballer, make Sport sort of his God, maybe even wishing he could engage in football hooliganism for his team but not as PM... More
Keir Starmer-tied think tank paid PR firm to target The Grayzone

Trump and I agree on promoting Zionism in Gaza and accepting money from Israel...

Amazon.com removes products featuring bloodstained Israeli flag (algemeiner.com)

How [genocidal Zionist] Israel and its allies lost global credibility in Gaza (TIME)

Om Mani Padme Hum (Tibetan chanting)

2026-05-06T06:40:00.000-07:00

(Om Mantra Style) This Tibetan mantra changes our state - Himalayan Buddhist meditation for nervous system healing

Om mani padme hum ("all hail the jewel in the lotus," perhaps referring to the shining adamantine core wrapped in delicate sheaths or koshas, a "soul" or spirit in a corporeal body) is a Sanskrit chant uttered for its vibrational power rather than literal meaning

(Soulful Energy)

Avalokiteśvara as Kwan Yin
Oṃ maṇi padme hūm̐ [1] (Sanskrit ॐ मणि पद्मे हूँ) is a six syllable Sanskrit mantra particularly associated with the four-armed Shadakshari form of Avalokiteśvara (later transformed into Kwan Yin), the Bodhisattva of Compassion.

It first appeared in the Mahayana Kāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra, where it is also referred to as the sadaksara (Sanskrit षडक्षर, the "six syllabled") and the paramahrdaya or "innermost heart" of Avalokiteśvara [2].

In that text the mantra is seen as the condensed form of all Buddhist teachings [3]. The precise meaning and significance of the particular words remain much discussed by Buddhist scholars.

The literal meaning in English has been expressed as "praise to the jewel in the lotus" [4] or as a declarative aspiration, possibly meaning "I in the jewel-lotus" [5].

Padma is Sanskrit for the Indian lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) and mani means "jewel," as in a type of spiritual "gem" or "treasure" widely referred to in Buddhism [6].

The first word, om (aum), is a sacred syllable [bija or seed mantra] in various Indian religions, and hum represents the spirit of enlightenment [7], though it is the sound of the throat chakra.

In Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism this ubiquitous mantra and its recitation is a popular form of religious practice, performed by laypersons and monastics alike. It is an ever-present feature of the landscape, commonly carved onto rocks, known as "mani stones," painted into the sides of hills, or written on prayer flags and giant rotating prayer wheels [8].

(Mantraon)

The mantra is also popularly used in East Asian Buddhist traditions, where it is mainly associated with the Bodhisattva Kwan Yin (Guanyin), who is the female East Asian manifestation (version) of Avalokiteśvara.

In Chinese Mahayana Buddhism, the recitation of the mantra remains widely practiced by both monastics and laypeople, and it plays a key role as part of the standard liturgy utilized in many of the most common Chinese Buddhist rituals performed in monasteries [9, 10, 11].

It is common for the Chinese hanzi transliteration of the mantra to be painted on walls and entrances in Chinese Mahayana Buddhist temples, as well as stitched into the fabric of particular ritual adornments used in certain rituals.

The mantra is also recited in the standard liturgies of temples belonging to the Vietnamese and Japanese Ōbaku Zen Buddhist traditions as well. The mantra has also been adapted into Chinese Taoism [12], which is not Buddhist at all though it came to form the basis of Zen philosophy. More

Peace Class, poetry w/Mandy Kahn (5/6)

2026-05-06T06:29:00.001-07:00

Friends, Peace Class meets tonight Wednesday, May 6, 2026, 6:00 pm (Pacific). Join by simply clicking on this Zoom link: us02web.zoom.us/j/82150472713. Meeting ID: 821 5047 2713.

LIVE: Deep Dive Poetry at PRS w/Mandy Kahn

Share the link with friends. ALL are welcome. Host Mandy Kahn has new photos of a National Poetry Month billboard that was running throughout the month of April 2026. May has a live poetry reading she will be hosting on Tuesday, May 26th, in Manly P. Hall's historic religious library at the Philosophical Research Society (prs.org). We hope to see everyone there. Here's the text of last week's class:

How to use harmony to end a war

Mandy Kahn makes it onto LA billboard

Perpetual peace is a state in which belligerence does not begin. We can work to create a state of perpetual peace. When we do, we will have stepped out of the Era of Belligerence entirely.

However, before that occurs, we may find we have a desire to balance out an active outbreak of belligerence—a war—that is presently occurring. A very effective way to do that is to introduce increasing large amounts of harmony into the collective consciousness until active belligerence subsides.

Harmony is energy that balances active belligerence. Harmony is an aspect of the peace state. A perpetually peaceful world features a pervasive harmony that begins with an honoring of all aspects of the self (atta, atman) and continues with an honoring of all aspects of others.

To introduce more harmonic energy into the collective, we can either create harmony within ourselves or create harmony within a group. Either of these projects can generate powerful, balancing levels of harmony.

Let's look at each of the ways we can choose to work with harmony to end a war. First, we can play/work to create harmony within ourselves. Every self features various polarities—various ways of being, various viewpoints, various parts of lived history. When we introduce unconditional love and unconditional honoring to all aspects of self, we create harmony in the self.

If we are not yet ready to unconditionally love all aspects of self, we may work with a gentler energy: We can work with unconditional (universal metta and karuna) loving-kindness and compassion. These also heal, and they create a healed state within which unconditional love can more easily be chosen in the future.

So we can build harmony in ourselves, and when we do, we add harmony by way of individual consciousness to the collective consciousness. Once there, our personal harmony begins to balance harsh judgments expressed as belligerence in the collective.

Secondly, we can build harmony within a group. In any group, just as with self, there are various viewpoints, various ways of being, and lots of lived history. When we choose to unconditionally honor all members of a group with unconditional love, we create powerful energy for group harmony, which then contributes to the collective consciousness.

Group harmony is a powerful force that balances its opposite, which is the harsh judgment of others. The extreme expression of this judgment is collective violence called war.

But harmony in self and harmony in a group create a powerful healing process in the collective. (As with the building of harmony in self, when we work with group harmony, we can begin with unconditional kindness and compassion without limit and without end if we do not yet feel ready to work with unconditional love and honoring.

All of these powerful modalities create a platform for the next. Getting to a state of harmony in the collective is a “numbers game.” A certain amount of disharmony, fear, and lack-of-peace flows into our collective consciousness. That already exists.

All that is needed now is to get to a state of loving, a group expression to introduce the opposite energies of courageousness, harmony, and peace to balance, which creates a stasis of openness otherwise known as peace.

If we choose the energy of harmony, we may simply begin to generate it first within our own consciousness because doing so begins to send into the collective consciousness. From there, we can observe its effects. They indicate how much more is needed.

When we have added enough harmony, we will notice that belligerence has ceased altogether.

Think of playing with these balancing energies as adding hot and cold water to a tub. If we begin with a tub full of scalding hot water when the goal is to achieve warmth, what do we do? We cool water, gauge the temperature, and continue to add what is needed...until we reach what we desire.

Similarly, if there is a state of active belligerence around us and we'd like to create stasis (peace), what should we do? We can add harmony to our collective consciousness, through a group of individuals or an individual, until belligerence ceases. A “warm” state will be achieved.

Peace is a healed state. It is what we experience after what is disharmony has been healed into wholeness with unconditional love and unconditional honoring. Peace is the original state that existed before healing was needed, before judgment was introduced.

Peace is both what preceded judgment and what follows judgment. When enough harmony is introduced into the “tub” of collective consciousness, it balances the judgment in there. Belligerence ceases to exist. This is natural law.

When we make peace, adjusting aspects of peace such as harmony, we are concentrating a very powerful substance. The energy of harmony is so much more powerful than the energy of judgment that far less of it is needed. Its opposite is overwhelmed and we reach a healed state, a balance, a stasis.

One minute of experienced harmony offsets between 1,000-1,000,000 minutes of experienced judgment or fear within our collective consciousness.

So every minute of experienced harmony we contribute to the collective consciousness is a concentrated, powerful, and incredibly efficient agent of change.

Loving-kindness to harmony...

As we begin to generate the energy of harmony, we find that over time we are able to generate more and more of it. Why? This is because, as we develop harmony, we harmonize ourselves. The more harmonious we are, the more harmony we transfer into the collective.

Let this process be intuitive. If we want to wield harmony, simply welcome it in, honor the effort, and forgive yourself for any time spent out of harmony.

Harmony-building is holy work. We must honor ourselves first and we will bless the world with a holy example.

Peace Class Wednesdays

Zoom link to join Peace Class: us02web.zoom.us/j/82150472713. Sign up to receive these messages at mandykahn.com.

What time my time?

To convert the 6:00 pm Pacific meeting time to any time zone around the world: dateful.com/time-zone-converter. Learn more about Peace Class and sign up for future classes at eventbrite.com (1717358949849).

In peace, Mandy

See you live for poetry on May 26th and on Facebook and Instagram!

PRS.org, Los Feliz Blvd., Hollywood

P.O. Box 4444 Peace City, CA 44444, Peaceania

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