What I never really understood (despite being "British") is "how" we dialectically arrived (historically) at our common culture in the UK. Yes - the "Six Wives of Henry VIII" reduces it all to the marital-bed and how the nasty Pope prevented everyone pursuing a good-time - but having just finished Peter Marshal's tour de force about the Reformation - I am now on to James Clark's equally impressive "The Dissolution of the Monasteries - A New History". This magnifies the central aspect of the "Break with Rome". To achieve this, Clark recaps the history of monasticism in the UK (and Eire). As well as this, I am also reading "Celtic Spiritually - Ancient Heritage and Living Legacy" by Father Richard Woods (OP) PhD - and have "Medieval Christianity - A New History" by Kevin Madigan all wired-up and ready to go. Furthermore, as leisure study, I am reading J Porter's wonderful "The Lost Bible" (J Porter was a member of the General Synod and an Oxford Don) - and Dom Paul Lematte's "Rule of St Benedict" (1917) and translated from the original French (there is no requirement for Benedictine Monasteries to conform to any one interpretation of the Rule). All this is happening in parallel to my reading of the New Jerusalem Bible and a Study Qur'an (the latter is slow-going due to my relative naivety of the subject). My post-doctorate study was "Philosophy of Mind" at Oxford - so this represents something of a re-engagement with the meat of Spiritual Metaphysics. Today, I acquired "The Stripping of the Altars" by Eamon Duffy - with an updated Introduction - which takes into account new historical data which has become available since its first publishing in 1992. I find this cerebral engagement far more productive than physical interaction - not being a Christian. My experiences interfaces with the Christian establishment has occasionally been positive - but more often it soon diminishes into an attempted subordination. Oddly, and perhaps paradoxically, I find Protestantism an entirely cerebral affair - like moving chess-pieces around on the board - attempting to acquire and keep the strategic upper-hand (the historical legacy of avoiding the wrath of Henry VIII, no doubt). Very different to the earlier monastic systems found in the "Celtic", "Catholic" and "Eastern Orthodox" traditions. Of course, as a Buddhist, I tend to see all Buddhists as being "Hermetical" practitioners. When a Buddhist-Hermit "sits" correctly - mind, body and environment are transformed "here and now" without exception and regardless of wherever a practitioner happens to be. Certainly, the outer world may not actually change - but the inner conditions to facilitate these (external) changes could well be generated.
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(KPL) Many thousands of Buddhist followers gathered at the annual almsgiving ceremony of the That Luang Festival, the biggest religious ceremony of the country on 27 November morning. (KPL) Many thousands of Buddhist followers gathered at the annual almsgiving ceremony of the That Luang Festival, the biggest religious ceremony of the country on 27 November morning. The alms giving ceremony was attended by President Thongloun Sisoulith, President of the Lao National Assembly Xaysomphone Phomvihane, along with their spouses. The religious ceremony aims to pay homage to That Luang stupa. The final day of the celebration of the That Luang Festival also witnesses an alms giving ceremony in the morning. Several hundreds of monks are invited to the ceremony.
They represent all temples in the Capital. The traditional game Tee Khee is played in the afternoon and the candlelit procession takes place in the evening to pay homage to the grand stupa. On this day - December 2nd - it is the National Holiday of Laos! On this day in 1975 - King Savang Watkhan abdicated and the Laos People's Democratic Republic was proclaimed! The People of Russia wish all the citizens of our fraternal countries Unity of Spirit, General Development, both Personal and Ppiritual, Well-Being, Order, Support and Great Growth! Let our fraternal countries Improve, Prosper and Improve with Us!. Russian-LaotianRussian-Laotian Friendship Society Site administration — [email protected] Russian Language Article: 2-ое декабря — День независимости Лаоса Дата публикации: 02 декабря 2021 г. В этот день 2-ого декабря отмечается национальный праздник Лаоса; в этот день в 1975 году отрекся от престола король Саванг Ватхан и была провозглашена Лаосская Народно-Демократическая Республика. Желаю всем гражданам наших родных стран единения духа, общего развития как личностного, так и духовного, благополучия, порядка, поддержки и большого роста. Пусть наши страны совершенствуются, процветают и улучшаются вместе с нами!. Общество Российско-Лаосской Дружбы
Администрация сайта — [email protected] Oliver Cromwell abolished the absolute monarchy that ruled Britain for centuries (in one form or another) in 1649 - and it was NEVER reinstated! What was established in its place was a 'Constitutional' monarchy allowed by Act of Parliament - and institution that is more 'theatre' than institute of governance - and which possesses NO real power (as it is legally and lawfully 'subordinate' to the Will of Parliament). This makes perfect sense - as this marks how the Bourgeoisie (or the 'middle-class') usurped political power from the Aristocracy - even though King Charles I made the valid point that as all the power of the British State resided in his personage (and his personage alone) - Parliament did NOT possess the legal right to a) try him, or b) inflict any sentence upon him. King Charles I, from the perspective of the aristocracy - retained ALL the power of the State in his personage which was represented only by his Will! In other words, his word was law. This arrangement was formulated centuries before by aggressive groups that simply assumed political dominance over the populace - and then enforced this dominance with arbitrary 'violence' termed 'justice'. Added to this dominance was the equally false assumption that this situation was 'Willed' by a God concept - and was therefore beyond dispute or alteration! Any attempt at altering this situation was viewed as contradicting the divine Will of God! This explains why Cromwell, although a very devout Christian, nevertheless, believed that the State enforcement of a religion (any religion) was wrong because it was 'evil'! He changed the definition of 'God', 'State' and 'Religion' - and he did this by fundamentally changing the relationship between these three distinct entities. As this was the case, Parliament pulled the legal rug from beneath the King Charles I feet, leaving him no legal or lawful defence following his complete military defeat. What is interesting is that NOTHING changed with the so-called 'Restoration'! Cromwell's basic re-definition of these relations stayed in place (empowering and justifying the Bourgeois seizure of political power) and still form the dominant legal framework today - despite a superficial legal fiction that gives the false impression that a 'Constitutional' monarch is the same as an 'Absolute' monarch - an assumption that is an obvious absurdity! If the British Crown today attempted to exercise any type of political power - Parliament would immediately 'abolish' it. If this is the case, what is the point of the British Crown? As an institution it signals which class the Bourgeoisie politically favours (that is, the 'Aristocracy' it overthrew) and which class it does not favour (the Proletariat - or that class which comprised the soldiers in the Parliamentarian 'New Model Army')! Although Cromwell's political orientation was the exact opposite - when his influence was overthrown in 1660 - the emerging Bourgeoisie abandoned its support (and promises made) to the ordinary masses that had fought and died for its cause - and instead switched its allegiance to the class it had fought against! By continuously supporting the aristocracy over the workers - the workers (although numerically superior) are politically the least powerful and are unable to influence society in their own favour.
DPRK: Respected Comrade Kim Jong Un Sends Congratulatory Message to the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party and the President of the Lao People's Democratic Republic! (29.3.2023)
Sangha Kommune (SSR) Blog: DPRK-Lao Relations - Flower Basket (112-2023) Vientiane General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party President of the People's Democratic Republic of Laos Tonglun Seesoul Comrade On the occasion of the 68th Anniversary of the Founding of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party - I send warm congratulations and Comradely greetings to the General Secretary and all members of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party! For the past 68 years since its Founding - the Lao People's Revolutionary Party has successfully organized and led the struggle of the Lao people to achieve independent development and prosperity of the country - while resolutely overcoming all kinds of challenges and difficulties at home and abroad! Today, under the precise leadership of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party headed by Comrade General Secretary, the Lao people are making new strides in the struggle to implement the decisions of the Party's 11th Congress. I wish for greater achievements in the responsible work of Comrade General Secretary for the strengthening and development of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party and the welfare of the Lao people. In this aspiration I expresses a firm conviction. General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea - Kim Jong Un March 22, Juche 112 (2023) Pyongyang (End) www.kcna.kp (subject 112.3.22.) North Korean Language Article: http://www.kcna.kp/kp/article/q/35104d969cc6fb7cd36765b8ef06b3f8.kcmsf 경애하는 김정은동지께서 라오스인민혁명당 중앙위원회 총비서,라오스인민민주주의공화국 주석에게 축전을 보내시였다 비엔티안 라오스인민혁명당 중앙위원회 총비서 라오스인민민주주의공화국 주석 통룬 씨쑤릿동지 나는 라오스인민혁명당창건 68돐에 즈음하여 총비서동지와 라오스인민혁명당의 전체 당원들에게 열렬한 축하와 동지적인사를 보냅니다. 라오스인민혁명당은 창건후 지난 68년간 내외의 온갖 도전과 난관들을 과감히 극복하면서 나라의 자주적발전과 번영을 이룩하기 위한 라오스인민의 투쟁을 승리적으로 조직령도하여왔습니다. 오늘 라오스인민은 총비서동지를 수반으로 하는 라오스인민혁명당의 정확한 령도밑에 당 제11차대회 결정관철을 위한 투쟁에서 새로운 전진을 이룩하고있습니다. 나는 라오스인민혁명당의 강화발전과 라오스인민의 복리를 위한 총비서동지의 책임적인 사업에서 보다 큰 성과가 있기를 축원하면서 우리 두 당,두 나라사이의 전통적이며 동지적인 친선협조관계가 앞으로도 끊임없이 강화발전되리라는 굳은 확신을 표명합니다. 조선로동당 총비서 조선민주주의인민공화국 국무위원장 김정은 주체112(2023)년 3월 22일 평 양(끝) www.kcna.kp (주체112.3.22.) A Colonel from Buryatia Who Died During Military Service - Was Awarded the Title of Hero of Russia! Guard Colonel Vitaly Sukuev has been posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Russia. This was announced by the Head of the Buddhist Traditional Sangha of Russia - Damba Ayusheev (Дамба Аюшеев). During the Special Military Operation, this brave Officer Commanded the 108th Airborne Assault Regiment. He died during the fighting in the Kherson region on September 28th, 2022! “Order Number 814 - dated November 14, 2022. Tomorrow in the village of Nizhny Burgaltai there will be a Khural for 49 days. This is a special Buddhist Ceremony Ensuring Vitaly solemnly leaves this world and enters the next life as a Hero! This is a very expensive ritual for a Buddhist family to arrange.” said Ayusheev. Earlier, representatives of the organization of Soviet and Russian Veterans named "Combat Brotherhood" - addressed the President of Russia with a request to assign the title of "Hero" to the deceased Colonel (and to grant financial assistance to his family at this time of need). According to colleagues, Vitaly Sukuev was nominated for the Golden Star four times in 24 years of selfless Military Service to Russia!
This film reminded me of Logan’s Run, the Matrix and Gattaca (with undertones of Minority Report), Filming occurred between October and December, 2000, and was completed well before the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center during September, 2001. However, the finished film was not released until 2002 and in the post-911 war-mongering climate in the US – was a monumental cinema and financial failure. Perhaps the central theme of ordinary people rising-up against an oppressive regime did not go down too well with the Bush Administration as it was priming the American population to mindlessly follow its orders to (illegally) invade Afghanistan (and Iraq) in retaliation for 911 – without either country having anything to do with the terrorist attack itself. It is stated that Berlin was chosen for its fascistic architecture – and areas of run-down East Germany – with the produces careful not to mention that the former ‘Socialist’ East German State was ‘devastated’ with the re-introduction of predatory capitalism and that in just ten years, large areas became economically run-down and inundated with neo-Nazi movements whilst being abandoned by the unified ‘German’ State - bereft of financial aid and vital resources, etc. In other words, it was the predatory capitalism of the US that destroyed the infrastructure of East Germany – and not (Marxist-Leninist) ‘Socialism’ that had over-thrown Nazism and carefully re-built the country in the wake of Hitler’s death in 1945! Of course, the ‘Ministry of State Security’ or ‘Stasi’ (1950-19990) was responsible law and order and (from 1952) intelligence and counter-intelligence – for the State of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Its main tasks were to guard the German people from infiltration by US predatory capitalism – and arrest, try and imprison any East German nationals still holding ‘Nazi’ viewpoints. The US packaged this move as a human rights violation and started various media campaigns to have these people released. With the collapse of East Germany in 1999, all these former Nazis were released to great fanfare – and they immediately set about exercising their newly found ‘capitalist’ freedom by re-establishing a vast network of neo-Nazi organisations that still exist and function today! This is the background to the ‘decrepit’ areas the producers of this film claim they used in the former East Germany.
Furthermore, the producers feature images of Joseph Stalin – the ‘elected’ General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union – and Saddam Hussein. The former fought Hitler’s fascism to protect the West with the Soviet Union losing around 41 million men, women and children, whilst Saddam Hussein was to be blamed by the Bush Administration (falsely) for being behind 911! An odd choice for so-called ‘deficient’ leaders as both were victims of the capitalist system! The producers also churn-out footage of the 1989 ‘Tiananmen Square’ Incident in China which was revealed in 2011 as a media hoax by Wikileaks - perpetuated by the US and UK media during a time before the internet and when very few people possessed the ability to verify at source what they were being told to ‘think’ by their respective governments! Although many suggest this film is a re-hash of Orwell’s 1984, the situation is a little more complex. George Orwell, as a Trotskyite, was tasked by the UK government to agitate against the Soviet Union through the medium of literature. Orwell’s books are not very well written, but they exist in virtually every school throughout the Western (capitalist) world! His books entitled ‘1984’, and Animal Farm’ are designed to psychologically ‘inoculate’ the minds of young children born within the capitalist system against forming any thoughts in support of ‘Socialism.’ As Orwell recognises the urge toward ‘creativity’ the only distraction his fiction allows is a dalliance with Trotskyism which serves the purpose of directing the individuals straight back into the arms of predatory capitalism! In this regard, Orwell’s misleading and poorly written works serve a similar purpose to the drug ‘Prozium’ found in this film. Whereas Orwell’s work ‘suppresses’ any thoughts in support of ‘Socialism’ - ‘Prozium II’ is a drug administered to all citizens of Libria which is used to ‘suppress’ all ‘emotion.’ The point of this is that the Council which runs Libria has decided that ‘feeling emotion’ is the reason humanity ‘goes to war’, and therefore if ‘emotion’ is stopped – all ‘war’ will cease (as does ‘resistance’ to authority). Orwell suppresses ‘Socialism’ (thus allowing the capitalist system to function normally – which includes raging war), whilst ‘Prozium’ allows for a society to function ‘free’ of warfare although under a totalitarian government (capitalism in decline). As religion is linked to ‘faith’, and given that ‘faith’ is premised upon ‘emotion’ - in an emotionless society, there is no need or inclination for religion to exist. Instead, secular ‘Clerics’ are trained to defend the State against anyone who ‘feels’ emotion. To do this they become expert in advanced martial arts – both armed and unarmed – and are empowered to be judge, jury and executioner. Their job is to destroy anyone who ‘feels’ and eradicate any material signs of culture produce by ‘feeling’ individuals. Every citizen is obligated to take their dose of ‘Prozium’ every day so as to prevent any feelings developing. Not to do this constitutes a ‘sense crime’ which is punishable by immediate death. Prozium creates an ‘unfeeling’ society that lives in the ‘eternal moment,’ That is to say, all citizens of Libria physically exist in the existential moment. This sounds very similar to the Japanese Zen ideology developed in Japan post 1868 (following the Meiji Restoration), which developed to its peak during the 1930s. This was a fascistic distortion of Chinese Ch’an that sort to ‘eradicate’ all human feeling and create a population that only lives in the present moment and possessed no moral qualms in ‘killing’ anyone who opposes the will of the State. To do this, the Japanese State had to ‘abandon’ all Buddhist morality and ethical behaviour and the Buddhist Establishment had to conform. This created an appreciation of the present moment that forgets the past and has no thought of the future whilst being completely ‘amoral’ due to its lack of contextualising emotion. This type of Japanese Zen conditioned millions of Japanese people to mindlessly obey a hierarchical government and kill anyone who opposed its objectives. Not only this, but after WWII, many so-called Japanese Zen masters then transmitted this type of ‘amoral’ Zen to the West where it has become known as ‘International Zen’, even though this type of thinking has been abandoned by most ethnic Japanese people who have reverted back to a more civilised and humane type of Buddhist practice. Clerics in Librium act very much like the Samurai of ancient Japan and the Kempeitai, of fascist Imperial Japan – as they are empowered to kill anyone who deviates from the accepted norms of society. To achieve this the Clerics have developed a deadly ‘Gun Kata’ - which is a set of movements using fire-arms which has been mathematically calculated to kill as many people in the shortest space of time, in such an efficient manner that exposes the Cleric to the least damage. Every facet of religiosity must be subjected to the light of reason, as there can be no hiding place for any form of 'inverted' thinking or wrong way around interpretation of reality. All must be crystal clear so that the light of reason and the pure light of consciousness are identical in nature and no longer represent two divergent (and antagonistic paths) pertaining to reality. Certainly, this process of 'clearing-out' the mind and body should not - and cannot - result in a one-sided 'this side of reality' concreteness that firmly rejects in its unfolding process every facet that exists 'other there' in that 'other side of reality' - as if the two-sides to this dualistic-process possess no eternal foundation of unity and reconciliation. In this regard, whenever the reader happens to come across a picture featuring Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels hard at intellectual work together in their study, it should not be wondered at (when it is realised) that what is being witness (and 'observed') is nothing less than a form of 'monasticism' in both momentum and process! Of course, this may not be identical with the more formal type of Christian monasticism that they brutally 'crucify' in their collaborative masterpiece 'The Manifesto of the Communist Party' (1948) - and yet what is seen is all the conscious processes of the mind gathered together in a directed and focused intellectual entity of light that serves (quite literally) to carve-out a hitherto (and unknown) statement of 'fact' and 'reality' which serves to educate the working-class into abandoning all hitherto prevalent 'inverted thinking' and inner and outer historical 'attachments' to conventional religion. This being the undoubted case, it is remarkable to observe that within the creative process that defines the sublime work of Marx and Engels, there lies at the heart a tremendous 'physical discipline' which demands that their human-bodies be kept in one (suitable) location, and that no matter what bodily call or potentially 'over-powering' urge is experienced (other than the necessity of toilet and light refreshment), the body will 'stay put', remain more or less 'passive', and allow the mind to perform its dialectically continuous task of 'outpouring' its multitudinous (non-inverted) interpretations of reality, and all the knowledge and wisdom that process entails. 'Nothing is easier than to give Christian asceticism a Socialist tinge. Has not Christianity declaimed against private property, against marriage, against the State? Has it not preached in the place of these, charity and poverty, celibacy and mortification of the flesh, monastic life and Mother Church? Christian Socialism is but the holy water with which the priest consecrates the heart-burnings of the aristocrat.' Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels - The Manifesto of the Communist Party - Chapter III. Socialist and Communist Literature - 1. Reactionary Socialism
A. Feudal Socialism |
AuthorAdrian Chan-Wyles PhD - Political Commissar and BMA (UK) Historian & Researcher. Archives
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