Dear UK Embassy of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea The Scholars, Academics, Researchers, Workers, Volunteers and other Comrades that comprise the UK and world Membership of the BMA (UK) and the Sangha Kommune - convey their collective admiration, respect and support for the noble and progressive achievements of the People that comprise the world-shaking (1948) Revolution that generated the DPRK! The BMA (UK) and the Sangha Kommune support the noble People of the DPRK and admire the wise thought-formations of the Respect Comdrade Kim Jong Un! In everyway the DPRK has defended Revolutionary dialectics through 'Juche' (Self-sufficiency) and has constructed a just and able military to defend DPRK territory and population from US, ROK and Japanese aggression! Comradely Greetings! Proletarian Administration BMA (UK) & Sangha Kommune
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Author’s Note: What follows is a diary entry included in Alexander Werth’s epic 1947 book that records the events surrounding the momentous Battle of Stalingrad - which occurred in 1942. Werth spent much of the war-years between 1941-1945 ensconced as a BBC Journalist in the USSR and witnessed first-hand the brutality of the Catholic-supported Nazi German invasion - and attempted genocide - of that country’s population. Of course, the USSR was in fact fifteen diverse countries united in their joint other-throwing of the Bourgeoisie and the vicious capitalist system it practiced. At least three of these Republics, although ‘Socialist’, were nevertheless historically and culturally ‘Buddhist’. A number of Red Army regiments were formed containing ‘Buddhist’ men and women who fought bravely to defend the USSR from external attack! Of course, the West exercises a mixture of racially motivated ‘ignoring’, ‘disinforming’ and ‘misinforming’ when it comes to recording Soviet history. Soviet ‘Buddhists’ were good Communists – as Werth records. Furthermore, as we live in changing times in Bourgeois society - the manner in which Werth describes 'Tanya' is a product of his time and considered today as being 'insensitive' at best and 'discriminative' at worst. I certainly do not endorse this type of demeaning narrative. On the other hand, the historical data Werth conveys is infinitely valuable in the face of wall-to-wall US anti-intellectualism. Think for yourselves and make-up your own minds. As the (British-educated) Werth could read, write and speak Russian fluently, (he was born in Russia - but his family migrated to the UK when he was very young), he takes a rather stern and overly critical attitude toward the Soviet method of providing authoritative translation textbooks (conveying correct Russian to Asiatic language translations and vice versa) – which were then deployed amongst the non-Russian populations by specially trained Cadres of young people who could not necessarily understand the language of the non-Russian ethnicities to any great degree (as they did not have to). This Soviet method allowed a few genuine experts in all the included languages to centrally compile these textbooks - which were then printed in their tens of thousands and quickly distributed freely to the masses – thus enhancing communication and cultural exchange. In a very real sense, Cadres such a ‘Tanya’ featured below – acted as a proto-search engine – with the caveat that unlike the universal translators of the modern internet age, the translations she supplied were ‘correct’ and ‘sound’. Once again, if indeed another example is needed, we see the ‘corruption’ of the Lamaist system of landlordism which the Communist Party of China has thoroughly over-thrown in Tibet and China! Although John Snelling – of the Buddhist Society in London – once published a book about ‘Buddhism in Russia’, he did so by completely ignoring the English language evidence provided by Werth, a fellow Britain who had lived in the USSR for many years of his life! After-all, people like Snelling were pursuing the hidden agenda of conforming to the strictures of US anti-intellectualism during the so-called ‘Cold War’ and misrepresenting the USSR through the agency of Buddhism. For the record, I do not agree with the arbitrary ransacking of temples or stealing Buddha statues – as this is the behaviour of the Western imperialists (a process which can be clearly observed in the British Museum). Local people taking matters into their own hands, however, is an issue involving the self-governing of Revolutionary activities, and the situation explained below should be interpreted in this context. (25.9.2023) November 23 (1942) ‘The other day I got to know, through Ludmilla, an enormously fat girl, tall, red-cheeked, and ginger-haired, called Tanya – with legs like Doric pillars. She seems to be vaguely married to somebody – or divorced; I don’t know. Anyway, this formidable fat blonde is said to drive all the Caucasians and Asiatic crazy, whenever she visits their countries. She’s on a good racket. She translates into smooth Russian verse the works of Azerbaijan, Buriat-Mongol, Yakut and God knows whatever poets. She doesn’t know any of their languages, of course, but she is given a literal translation, and then concocts a poem with roughly the same idea, and it’s often called “Translated from the Buriat-Mongol,” etc. It’s a well-paid and well-encouraged racket, and she claims that Stalin himself was delighted with her Buriat-Mongol Poems. It’s done in the name of a closer acqiantance amongst the peoples of the Soviet Union, and these “translators” are given some wonderful facilities by the Writers’ Union. Thus, Tanya, has travelled by plane, ship, carriage, reindeer, sleigh, railway, and every other means of locomotion all over Western Siberia, and Yakutia, and right up to the Siberian Arctic coast, and all through Central Asia and Mongolia, and also the Caucasus. She is full of good stories about life in Yakutia, now quite a reasonably large town, and almost a metropolis in north-Siberian terms, and about all the remarkable adventurous characters one meets there – trappers, and sea captains who sometimes hibernate in the Bear Islands and Wrangel Island. She also tells stories of Buriat-Mongolia – of the secretary of the Obkom who as a youngster became famous for killing the most notorious bandit of the region; he came home one day and threw the bandit’s head on the family dinner-table, much to his mother’s horror. “He has an extraordinary face,” said Tanya, “very and pale, a perfect Mongolian face, with grey temples and black fiery eyes.” He had also led the young people’s revolt against the Lamas. When the Buriat-Mongolian Communists heard Stalin had expressed approval of Tanya’s translations from Buriat-Mongolian, they ransacked a distant temple and presented her with a whole trunkful of Buddhas. When I went to her flat the other day – she shares her house with some other people – I found that she still had a few Buddhas left; the rest had been looted by her friends, while some had been destroyed in the bombing of Moscow last year when there was a fire in the house where she was living. One of the Buddhas she carries around everywhere and seems to be very superstitious about it. She also owns a remarkable brass statue from a Buddhist temple – an unbelievably erotic affair.’ Alexander Werth: The Year of Stalingrad, Simon, (2001), Book III - The Defensive Battle – Chapter V - Moscow in October and November, Pages 327-328 English Language Reference:
The 14th Dalai Lama was brought up in a Potala Palace (in Lhasa) that deliberately harboured Nazi German War Criminals. He was at the top of a ruthless 'Lamaist' hierarchy that raped, tortured and murdered the oppressed Serf population! These Nazi War Criminals had escaped from British POW Camps in India and had taken refuge in a Tibet that had been 'friendly' to these racists from Hitler's Germany! In return for their compliance in 'lying' about a forceful takeover of Tibet by the fabled 'Chinese' (the remit was that the 'Chinese' behaved like 'Nazi Germans') these Nazi German 'War Criminals' would be granted 'Immunity' from Prosecution! Indeed, they would write books (in English) and would receive immediate US Citizenship for their assistance in this grand scheme of deception! Part of this façade has involved the 14th Dalai Lama being presented to the West as a ‘Christ-like’ figure worthy of respect and worship! India has been part and parcel of this process of ‘lying’ and ‘misrepresenting’ China, its culture and its religious traditions! The US anti-intellectualism employed by the CIA was that 'China' had 'invaded' an integral part of its 'own' territory! By the time of the 1949 Socialist Revolution in China – and the 1959 'Liberation' of the Tibetan region - Tibet had been a part of geographical China for over a thousand years - with millions of Tibetans living throughout Southwest China after expanding into China proper! When the capitalist-friendly 'Nationalist' government ruled China between 1912-1949 - the US was absolutely fine with Tibet being an integral part of China! It was only when the anti-capitalist 'Socialist' government was brought to power in 1949 that a right-wing US (Truman) government had a problem with the new arrangement. This was when the myth-making machine chugged into action! When the ethnic Han (Chinese) Buddhist Master - Xu Yun (1840-1959) - visited the Tibetan region during the late 1880s - he was shocked and appalled by the 'decadence' he encountered! Many 'apologists' for Western imperialism tried to suggest that this movement away from the Vinaya Discipline (as laid down by the Buddha) was a necessary part of the Buddhist adaptation to the Tibetan environment, but the problem with this thinking is the 'Lamaism' is NOT Buddhism per se, but rather a ruthless manifestation of a system of Buddhist totalitarianism! These so-called 'High Lamas' were nothing but militarised Landlords who possessed numerous wives and concubines and passed on their vast estates to their children! Anyone who dared to question or challenge their authority often ended up having their eyeballs publicly 'gouged out' with a spoon! This was the corrupt system that Adolf Hitler was very interested in - as he was obsessed with the bizarre idea that the racially pure 'Aryans' had originated within Tibet - and that the naturally 'racist' high Lamas were somehow 'descendants' of these racially pure ancestors who had spread to Germany! This explains why numerous Nazi German archaeological expeditions were sent to the region - and why the young 14th Dalai Lama was ingratiated with Hitler's emissaries! These 'Aryan' representatives would soon be replaced by their CIA equivalents - as the Americans spirited the Dalai Lama away to India and a fabricated story of a 'Chinese invasion' was concocted! This falsehood is now masquerading as the 'norm' in the West - with only people across China (including the Tibetan region) - truly understanding the reality of the situation! The corruption of the 14th Dalai Lama is well-known – but the US follows a policy of never presenting his image in a negative light! He has been friends with mass murderers, has been involved with the hacking of US defence computers and has been caught demanding that everyone follows a vegetarian diet – whilst being caught ordering plates of ham sandwiches at the various five-star hotels he and his entourage frequents! Although he is supposed to be an impoverished Buddhist monk – it has been revealed that he receives a yearly allowance of $200,000 from the US govement! This maverick behaviour all fits in with the ‘Bourgeois’ (‘Christianised’) Buddhism he peddles in the West! Anyone can access the Buddhist Vinaya Discipline – even the far more liberal ‘Tibetan’ version – and see that the 14th Dalai Lama does NOT adhere to this very strict psychological and physical discipline that involves the upholding of hundreds of rules! Yet again his hypocrisy and corruption has been displayed in his ‘amorous’ behaviour (forbidden by the Vinaya Discipline) which involves him insisting upon ‘kissing’ those he meets – but only involving the touching of tongues!
2023-02-19 Ecns.cn Editor:Jing Yuxin By Li Hanxue
(Journalist from CNS) (CNS)-- Since Buddhism was introduced from India to China more than 2,000 years ago, it has not only merged with Chinese culture and philosophy, but also deeply integrated into the daily lives of Chinese people without their noticing. Buddhism comprises three major schools: Han, Tibetan and Southern, each with a different language. Has the Sinicization of Buddhism been completed? Can the historical process be interpreted as the secularization and Sinicization of Buddhism? SHENG Kai, vice president of Tsinghua University's Institute of Ethics and Religion and deputy director of the Institute of Buddhist Culture of China, explored these topics in an exclusive interview with China News Service's "W.E. Talk". Excerpts from the interview: Buddhism Sinicization is a brand-new process China News Service: How can we accurately understand Sinicization of Buddhism? Why can't we take this as Sinicization and secularization? SHENG Kai: Buddhism was introduced to China from India around the beginning of the Christian Era. To take root and develop in China, Buddhism had to be compatible with the traditional inheritance of Confucian and Taoist cultures, blended into the faith and belief of the Chinese ritual culture, systematically accepted by the monarchy, sustained by the society through communication, and well supported by a booming economy. So discussion of the historical connotation of the Sinicization of Buddhism means exploring the process and laws of Buddhism’s transformation from an alien civilization to Chinese religion, recording the continuity, separation, heritage, and innovation between Indian and Chinese Buddhism, and examining the conflicts, interpretations, and fusions with Confucian and Taoist cultures as a result of interaction with Chinese society. In contrast to the migration of other religions, Buddhism from India to China has four fundamental characteristics. First, its cultural communication is characterized by a "missionary as communicator" mode. The linkage between Indian and Chinese Buddhism is mainly the translation and dissemination of classical texts. Monks acted as individuals and had no relationship with organizations of Indian Buddhism, so the propagation of Buddhism never caused any war. Second, it is the original cultural integration process. The traditional Chinese culture of Confucianism and Taoism is the background for the development of Buddhism in China. Although there were conflicts between monasticism and filial piety, the original classical interpretation and theoretical innovation of Chinese Buddhism resolved the ethical conflicts among the three religions. They promoted the cultural integration of the three on the common understanding that their distinctive beauties should all be preserved. Third, its cultural practice has mainly been undertaken by the elite and the public. The Sinicization of Buddhism for thousands of years is not simply a creation by elite Buddhists and literati but the joint work of worshipers in Chinese Buddhism. Fourth, an integration of globalization and localization. As a result of the Sinicization of Buddhism, Chinese Buddhism is not only a local transformation of religious civilization from overseas but also a rediffusion to East Asia and Southeast Asia. Indian Buddhism was introduced to the Central Plains of China around the beginning of the Christian Era, and Tibet in the 7th century, and Yunnan in the 11th. It blended with different cultures and regions, forming three primary schools of Chinese Buddhism with different temperaments, forms, and characteristics: Han Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism, and Southern Buddhism. They use Chinese, Tibetan, and Dai languages to carry forward the significance of Mahayana, Tantra, and Theravada Buddhism. Therefore, the Sinicization of Buddhism is not based on any single nationality. For example, Southern Buddhism is practiced by the Dai, Blang, Deang, Achang, and some Wa and Yi ethnicities. Even Han Buddhism did not undergo the process of Sinicization because it was created by the monks of the Han, ethnic minorities, and even overseas Chinese expatriates. Foreign monks from West Asia, Central Asia, and South Asia, as well as those from Khotan, Qiuci, Shule, and other places in Xinjiang, traveled across China to translate Sutras and evangelize Buddhism. Of the eight primary schools of Buddhism in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the Three Treatises, Vijnaptimatrata, Avatamsaka, Tantra, and Dhyana were founded directly by non-Han monks or with their joint efforts. Han Buddhism integrates the collective multiracial wisdom of the monks and the public. It blends pluralistic cultures with Buddhism and reflects the complicated characteristics created by multiple nations. Between Chinese Mahayana and Indian Mahayana, the relationship is a creative transformation and innovative development. Although the fracture is bigger than the continuity, they are not opposites. Innovation is greater than inheritance but still keeps the fundamental spirit of the Buddha. Thus, it is not possible to use the linear historical view to explore the relationship between the two by saying that the previous generation is always better than the present, nor can we use the word “secularization” to describe the development of Han Buddhism. The connotation of secularization in the contexts of Western culture is related to sacredness, as Mircea Eliade wrote in the preface of his book The Sacred and Profane: "Sacredness is the opposite of profane." The Western narrative of secularization is that the propagation and development of Buddhism in China is a process of constant degradation and decline. However, the Sinicization of Buddhism is not simply about Buddhism in China, but refers to a process of interpretation and creation of Indian Buddhism by Chinese Buddhists, which finally took root and developed into a new form of Chinese Buddhism. The ideology of human Buddhism is the right way tothe Sinicization of Buddhism CNS: Recently, the reform of human Buddhism has effectively changed the Buddhist community. It calls for self-salvation and renewal to adapt to contemporary society. Please describe the background and significance of the ideology and reform of human Buddhism. How do you see the relationship between Sinicization of Buddhism and the vitality of Buddhism in China today? SHENG: Buddhism encountered crises in different periods. In the Northern and Southern Dynasties, for example, Buddhism met the legitimacy problem of Dharma, and there was a debate about the relationship between Chinese and foreign cultures. In the mid-late Ming dynasty, talent lacunae and monastery malfunction happened. Masters like HanshanDeqing, YunqiZhuhong, ZibaiZhenke, and Yuyi Zhixu strongly advocated religious reform to rejuvenate Buddhism in the late Ming Dynasty. After the Opium War of 1840, the Chinese Buddhism community faced national peril and the decline of the religion. Human Buddhism was established and promoted as a way of modernizing Buddhism by consolidating doctrines, reforming teaching sources, and popularizing catechism. The announcement of human Buddhism has not only pushed forward the transformation of Buddhism from the old to the modern but also set an excellent example of retaining the past glory and inspiring future honor for the development of contemporary Buddhism. Human Buddhism was first advocated by Master Tai Xu as a correction to the unearthly ills of traditional Chinese Buddhism, which was guided by the principles of Buddhism doctrines and opportunities and focused on exposing and criticizing the accumulated ills of Buddhism and the decay of teachings during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The theoretical construction and the practical development of human Buddhism are not only consistent with but also reinforce each other. After Master Tai Xu’s passing, many masters, such as Grha-pati Zhao Puchu and Master Jing Hui in Mainland China, Masters Yin Shun and Sheng Yen in Taiwan, and Masters Yan Pei and Lung Kan in Singapore, all adhere to the path of pluralistic and parallel development towards human Buddhism. Human Buddhism is a way of modernizing and synchronizing Buddhism, not a new Buddhism departing from tradition. It inherits traditional conventions, adapts current Buddhist thoughts, and underlines that religion shall conform to the national status quo and the current background of modern civilization. Sinicization of Buddhism has different historical connotations in different periods, such as the establishment of schools in the Sui and Tang dynasties, the religious reform in the late Ming Dynasty, and contemporary human Buddhism. Human Buddhism is a sensible choice for Buddhism to integrate its traditional inheritance with modern Chinese Buddhism. Summing up the historical experience of Buddhism Sinicization and the landmark of 100 years of human Buddhism, we realize that the Sinicization of Buddhism is continuing forever in a conscious and sustainable manner. It is the key to keeping Buddhism vital in China. Dual expectations and directions of self-renewal for contemporary Chinese Buddhism CNS: What challenges do you think Chinese Buddhism may encounter in today’s China? How does Buddhism continue to develop or rejuvenatealong the direction of Sinicization? SHENG: As part of Chinese traditional culture, Buddhism still exerts far-reaching influence in China and around the world, attracting the preference of Chinese today with its traditional charm. However, as an active religious society in contemporary China, its premodern institutional systems, customs and beliefs may contradict modern civilization. And some thoughts and doctrines are not in line with today's political and social situations. In the 21st century, Buddhism in mainland China faces a dilemma of dual expectations. The purity and tranquility of great monasteries in famous mountains are the spiritual home for people nowadays to heal their bodies and souls. But a big, invisible economic hand has reached out to the spiritual need and fostered the denounced commercialization of Buddhism. Following the development of the tourism economy, monasteries make for pure spiritual space but fail to meet the public's expectation of purity. At the same time, the Party and state authorities hope that Buddhist society will maintain traditional farming and praying daily and gear into the modern economy and social life norm. Adapting to the corporate system of assets and finance management is an example. The Buddhism community needs to solve its talent cultivation and survival issues. The discipline of religious life and the inheritance of doctrines are keys to enhancing the total quality and morale of Buddhist groups and to encouraging monks’ return to the fine Buddhist traditions, such as preaching, annotating scriptures, teaching the Dharma, educating people, meditating, chanting sutra and other inner practices with peace in mind. It is also necessary for the state and society to support the Buddhist community in working out its religious ways for monastic living and economic development. The Buddhist community should respond to the needs of society. The monastic groups shall be able to regenerate and benefit the public. Monasteries shall organize activities to promote the Dharma and the public interest and to help people in need with particular support for its charity businesses instead of conducting activities directed to the monasteries' interests. Buddhist society should respond to the concerns and needs of the Party and the state, adapting to the new situation and its requirementsfor a comprehensive modern socialist country.It should cultivate Buddhists of high quality, promote the contemporary interpretation of Buddhist classics, tamp down the ideological foundation for the Sinicization of Buddhism, develop and improve the internal standard of operation for modern Buddhism and strengthen the relevant policies of Buddhism's Sinicization. Historically, Buddhism has made important contributions to the formation and consolidation of a pluralistic society in China. Today, Buddhism still plays a significant role in unifying Chinese people and fostering a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation. In the meantime, it also has unique advantages in operating public charity businesses, facilitating the cross-strait relationship with peaceful development, and enhancing Sino-foreign friendship. (Translated by WANG Yunhong) Dear A
Thank you for your email requesting data regarding the historical CPC in Tibet. The ethnic Tibetans (prior to their conversion to 'Buddhism') were a very violent 'warrior' ethnicity and invaded large swathes of Western and Southwestern geographical China during the 10th century CE - and continued to re-settle these vast areas (such as Sichuan and Yunnan, etc_, although both 'names' and 'boundaries have changed over the centuries as Dynasties have come and gone. This is why millions of Tibetans (the Tibetan 'diaspora') today live outside of geographical Tibet - inside of geographical China. It is also why (and 'now') Tibet became (politically) part of China. Why Did Democratic Reform Take Place in Tibet in 1959? YOUNGER BROTHER OF THE DALAI LAMA: “WHEN THE 14TH DALAI LAMA IS GONE, WE ARE DONE!” INTERNAL DIVISIONS IN THE DALAI CLIQUE INTENSIFY TIBET: YOUNG COMMUNIST LEAGUE REACHES 160,000 MEMBERS WITH 6.700 ORGANISATIONS! (2012) Adapting to Socialist Society: Right Action - and the Development of Tibetan Buddhism When Serfs Stood Up in Tibet - Anna Louis Strong THE BRUTALITY AND BARBARISM OF FEUDAL TIBET (PRE-1949) BOOK REVIEW: EXPOSING ‘YOUNGHUSBAND’ BY PATRICK FRENCH (2022) Indeed, so unruly were the Tibetans in Southwest China under the 13th Dalai Lama (attacking and killing Westerners - as well as Chinese and Tibetan converts to Christianity whilst also destroying their Churches, etc) - that the new (post-1911) 'Nationalist' government gave-in to Western imperialist pressure and sent a substantial (punitive) field army (under the Command of one 'General Li') into the area only - to be diverted by the efforts of (Han) Chinese Buddhist Master Xu Yun (1840-1859) - who met with General Li and persuaded him to use peaceful means in quelling the Tibetan unrest. Note that this issue had nothing to do with geographical Tibet - which even then was considered 'remote', difficult to 'access' and culturally 'primitive' by comparison. However, although the British invaded Tibet a number of times during the late 1800s and early 1900s), the West in principle had no objection geographical Tibet being part of political China whilst under the political control of the Western-friendly Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and the Western-friendly and Christian-friendly Nationalist Administration (1911-1949). The CIA-generated myth of 'Tibetan Independence' probably dates to the late 1950s - even though the 14th Dalai Lama was an ally of Nazi Germany both before and during WWII - continuing to grant asylum to Nazi War Criminals into the late 1950s, etc. Just as the Qing and Nationalist governments maintained a sophisticated political administrative network throughout geographical Tibet and the Tibetan diaspora living within Southwest China, it logically follows that there existed (at different times - centred in different places) numerous 'mirroring' branches of the 'Communist Party of China' (CPC) which were kept secret for security reasons, but which were often found-out and/or betrayed by bourgeois or imperialist spies and ultimately 'liquidated' from time to time. All we have left is a few very old Red Flags, and perhaps one or two 'written' reports in the National Archives of China. A similar situation exists with the Communist Party branch that once thrived in Taiwan - although it is 'illegal' today with all vestiges of it destroyed by orders of the occupying Japanese (1895-1945) and subsequently the Americans (1945-present)! We have included a link above to the work of US journalist - Anna Louis Strong - who witnessed first-hand the time periods you are interested in - namely before, during and after the peaceful (and by all accounts 'enthusiastic') Liberation of Tibet (c. 1959)! Best Wishes BMA (UK) Admin Author’s Note: The book entitled ‘The German Ideology’ was written by Marx and Engels around 1846 – but could not be published at that time (despite attempting to do so) for various reasons (indeed, it is remarkable to consider that this text was not eventually published until 1930). As history unfolded - and world events took shape - this manuscript became forgotten and was even gnawed by mice! Forty years later in 1886 (and three-years after the death of Marx in 1883) - Engels rediscovered this very important manuscript and penned a mature overview of it entitled ‘Feuerbach and End of Classic German Philosophy’ (from which two quotes are extracted in this essay). As ‘Buddhism’ and ‘Ancient India’ are mentioned – this material can be added to the ever-growing body of research data related to Marx and Engels regarding this subject. Although during the 1800s the ‘Theosophy’ movement was busy reinventing Eastern religious thinking and practice in its own (Eurocentric) image, it is important to remember that Buddhist Enlightenment is not ‘god’, the Buddha was not ‘Jesus’ and the ‘mind’ does not (and cannot) generate the material world through the power of its thought! Within the Buddhist teachings the mind is impermanent and only (temporarily) exists whilst a living (human) body is in-touch with the material environment it inhabits – via the six sense-organs perceiving the corresponding six sense-objects. When this interaction is broken, the mind ceases to exist and therefore does not (and cannot) pre-exist the physical conception of the individual body - or post-exist the death of that body, etc. Probably through the correct influence of Karl Koppen, Marx and Engels appear never to have fallen into the ‘Theosophy’ trap which has done so much to re-shape Asian Buddhism into its Western (Bourgeois) equivalent! The historical (Indian) Buddha placed the physical universe as the basis from which all existence evolves. It is only in the Bourgeois appropriation of Buddhism that the ‘mind’ becomes an all-knowing and all-conquering ‘god’ that creates the material world upon a whim! This is nothing but an ‘inverted’ myth which millions of people in the West dedicate themselves to following generation after generation – as it has become a very lucrative aspect of consumer capitalism! Marx and Engels, whilst recognising the existence and importance of Buddhism, nevertheless, never quite manage to include it in the same subject as theological religion. Of course, although NOT a religion in the conventional sense, Buddhism does sometimes serve that function for individuals and communities, and so whilst being distinctive and useful to the ideology of Marx and Engels, its religious associations can never quite be fully ignored either! ACW (20.1.2023) ‘If Feuerbach wishes to establish a true religion upon the basis of an essentially materialist conception of nature, that is the same as regarding modern chemistry as true alchemy. If religion can exist without its god, alchemy can exist without its philosopher’s stone. By the way, there exists a very close connection between alchemy and religion. The philosopher’s stone has many godlike properties and the Egyptian-Greek alchemists of the first two centuries of our era had a hand in the development of Christian doctrines, as the data given by Kopp and Berthelot have proved. Feuerbach’s assertion that “the periods of humanity are distinguished only by religious changes” is decidedly false. Great historical turning-points have been accomplished by religious changes only so far as the three world religions which have existed up to the present – Buddhism, Christianity and Islam – are concerned. The old tribal and national religions which arose spontaneously, did not proselytise and lost all their power of resistance as soon as the independence of the tribe or people was lost.’ Friedrich Engels: Feuerbach and End of Classical German Philosophy (1886), Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels Selected Works (In One Volume), Lawrence and Wishart, Third Edition, (1973), Page 602 - (Entire Article Pages 584-622) - First Edition (Progress Publishers) 1968 – USSR ‘We will now in addition deal only briefly with religion, since the latter stands furthest away from material life and seems to be most alien to it. Religion arose in very primitive times from erroneous, primitive conceptions of men about their own nature and external nature surrounding them. Every ideology, however, once it has arisen, develops in connection with the given concept-material, and develops this material further; otherwise, it would not be an ideology, that is, occupation with thoughts as with independent entities, developing independently and subject only to their own laws. That the material life conditions of the persons inside whose heads this thought process goes on in the last resort determine the course of this process remains of necessity unknown to these persons, for otherwise there would be an end to all ideology. These original religious nations, therefore, which in the main are common to each group of kindred peoples, develop, after the group separates, in a manner peculiar to each people, according to conditions of life falling to their lot. For a number of groups of peoples, and particularly for the Aryans (so-called Indo-Europeans), this process has been shown in detail by comparative mythology. The gods thus fashioned within each people were national gods, whose domain extended no farther than the national territory which they were to protect; on the other side of its boundaries other gods held undisputed sway. They could continue to exist, in imagination, only as long as the nation existed; they fell with its fall. The Roman world empire, the economic conditions of whose origin we do not need to examine here, brought about this downfall of the old nationalities. The old national gods decayed, even those of the Romans, which also were patterned to suit only narrow confines of the city of Rome. The need to complement the world empire by means of a world religion was clearly revealed in the attempts made to provide in Rome recognition and altars for all the foreign gods to the slightest degree respectable alongside of the indigenous ones. But a new world religion is not to be made in this fashion, by imperial decree. The new world religion, Christianity, had already quietly come into being, out of a mixture of generalised Oriental, particularly Jewish, theology, and vulgarised Greek, particularly Stoic philosophy.’
Friedrich Engels: Feuerbach and End of Classical German Philosophy (1886), Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels Selected Works (In One Volume), Lawrence and Wishart, Third Edition, (1973), Page 618 - (Entire Article Pages 584-622) - First Edition (Progress Publishers) 1968 – USSR The BBC is an arrogant ‘White’ (Bourgeois) institution that has the working-class forcibly ‘pay’ for its own anti-Socialist indoctrination! This is a very Hitlerite arrangement which contributes to the further enrichment of the ruling classes – and the impoverishment of the ordinary toiling masses! Since the rise of the British Tories in 2010, the BBC has abandoned any pretence of being genuinely ‘British’ and of being ‘accurate’ and ‘truthful’. What the BBC broadcasts today is settled and authorised in a smoke-filled room somewhere deep in the labyrinth that is the (Washington DC) White House! Thailand, on the other hand, whilst undoubtedly being a bastion for the genuine Theravada Dhamma, is nevertheless a US-dominated ‘capitalist’ cesspit! People routinely die of starvation, medical neglect and Islamo-fascist terrorism (ironically also funded by the US), whilst ‘White’ American ‘males’ (amongst other such perverts) continuously travel to the country to pay impoverished Thai parents for the privilege of ‘raping’ their children – often paying a few dollars more for permission to film the same defiled children being ‘murdered’ in Snuff Movies! It is odd then, that the Prime Minister of Thailand should announce a crackdown upon ‘drug-taking’ throughout the country, an activity that is only really practiced by the better-off section of the Thai Bourgeoisie. The Buddha-Dhamma explicitly forbids any form of ‘intoxication’, including the imbuing of mind-altering or sense-numbing substances – outside of legitimate pharmaceuticals that cure or diminish the ‘pain’ of illness and injury. Whereas the Thai people desperately need a Socialist Revolution – the US dominance ruthlessly maintains this decrepit status quo when many Buddhist teachers clearly state that the Buddha’s philosophy supports all aspects and elements of Socialist ideology (a point clearly demonstrated in countries such as Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, North Korea, China and perhaps even Bangladesh and Pakistan, etc). The message is clear – Buddhist philosophy definitely denies and forbids any and all forms of drug imbibing designed as leisure activities. Of course, as the BBC pursues a pro-Christian (and very ‘White’) agenda – nothing is mentioned about this Buddhist ‘anti-drug’ attitude – particularly as the Protestant and Catholic Churches produces, hides and protects its own homegrown ‘paedophiles’ priests and monks, many of whom may well prey upon innocent (but impoverished) Thai children. The BBC – on its so-called ‘World Service’ (surely a sick joke) - recently put-out the misrepresented story that a Buddhist Temple was ‘shut-down’ due to an epidemic of ‘drug-taking’ in an area of Northern Thailand! This is fake in as much as it not factually correct. The drug-taking problem has been found not amongst the ordinary people (who cannot afford enough food to stay alive), but rather primarily amongst the office workers and those other bourgeoisie who possess a disposable income. Out of all the hundreds of Buddhist (monastic) populations tested throughout Thailand so far – only one (single) Buddhist Temple was found to possess individuals who tested ‘positive’. The BBC presented this fact so as to (falsely) suggest that ALL Buddhist Temples in Thailand are overrun with a tremendous drug-taking problem – and that ‘Buddhism’ is failing the Thai population! In fact, the temple concerned remains ‘unnamed’ but contains thirty-eight ordained (male) Buddhist monastics. Out of these, only one (male) lay-helper and just six Buddhist monastics were found to test ‘positive’ for ‘methamphetamine’. One such monk was aged over 70-years old and had been a Buddhist monk for just five-years. He said that the vast majority of monks NEVER take any drugs and that he would occasionally ask a local child to procure the substance for him (misusing his Sangha Authority). Of course, the BBC decided to omit the reality that thirty-two of the Buddhist monks had NOT tested positive for any drugs in this temple – and that this ‘negative’ pattern was repeated across Thailand as the testing unfolded! After these monks had been formally interviewed by the Head Monk – they were then arrested, charged and transitioned to a special State-funded clinic designed for treating drug-addiction (an act met with general ‘applause’ in the West – but had such action been taken in China or the DPRK – all the BBC would have broadcast is anti-Socialist propaganda). I suspect that this monkish misbehaviour constitutes a ‘Minor’ infringement of the Vinaya Discipline Rules and should not, in and of itself, justify an ‘expulsion’ from the Ordained Sangha. Again, there is no information from the BBC on the realities of everyday Buddhist culture – such is its racism. After condemning the very fabric of all Buddhist culture – the BBC finished with a pro-American flourish expressing the most sublime ‘anti-intellectualism’ - falsely claiming that Myanmar (Burma) as a friend of China, mass manufactures and exports ‘methamphetamine’ across the world (including ‘to Thailand’), aided and abetted in this dastardly and nefarious task by Socialist Laos! Laos is a developing ‘Socialist’ country with a very strong Buddhist Sangha and equally good relations with China! Western institutions such as the BBC are Past Masters in ‘lying’ and expertly mixing ‘fact’ with ‘fiction’ so that it is difficult to tell the two entities apart! None of the Thai language sources support the BBC narrative upon this subject. Indeed, the manipulation of the truth and the upholding of US anti-intellectualism are the primary objectives of the (White) racist BBC. Nothing the BBC says should or can be trusted! Thai Buddhism, despite the decisions of its greedy politicians and deluded Royal family, retains one of the purest Buddhist Sanghas in the world – which is NOT over-run with drug-taking! Do not trust the BBC in any way – and let us all join Russia in fighting the Western-backed Neo-Nazism in the despicable Zelensky-led Ukraine! Thai Language Sources https://www.thaigov.go.th/news/contents/details/61580 https://www.m-culture.go.th/phetchabun/ewt_news.php?nid=2010&filename=index https://news.ch7.com/detail/601348 As the Western (US-Dominated) Internet Cannot be Trusted – This is the Basic Article: สนามข่าว 7 สี - ใส่สบงแล้วทรงเพลิดเพลิน ไม่ได้ลึกซึ้งกับรสพระธรรมแต่อย่างใด แต่เพลิดเพลินกับการมั่วสุมเสพยาเสพติด พระวัดดังย่านปากน้ำ จ้างวานเด็กไปซื้อยามาให้เสพ ฝ่ายปกครองได้รับร้องเรียนบุกตรวจพระในวัด 38 รูป พบ 6 รูป ปัสสาวะสีม่วง ให้เจ้าอาวาสจับสึก ก่อนส่งตัวเข้ารับการบำบัด เจ้าหน้าที่ฝ่ายปกครอง ได้รับเรื่องร้องเรียนจากชาวบ้านว่า มีพระลูกวัดวัดดัง ตำบลท้ายบ้าน อำเภอเมือง จังหวัดสมุทรปราการ มีพฤติกรรมมั่วสุม เสพสารเสพติด จึงนำกำลังบุกมาตรวจค้น และตรวจปัสสาวะพระสงฆ์ภายในวัดดังกล่าว จำนวน 38 รูป พบว่ามีพระลูกวัดปัสสาวะสีม่วง จำนวน 6 รูป และฆราวาสอีก 1 คน เจ้าหน้าที่จึงนำพระ 6 รูป ส่งให้เจ้าอาวาสวัดทำการสึก ก่อนนำตัวทั้งหมดส่งดำเนินคดีตามกฎหมาย และเข้าสู่กระบวนการบำบัดต่อไป พระรูปหนึ่ง บอกว่า ตอนนี้ตนเองอายุเกือบ 70 ปี บวชมาแล้วเกือบ 5 พรรษา แล้ว ที่ผ่านมายอมรับว่าเสพยาเสพติด แต่ไม่ได้เสพบ่อย นาน ๆ ถึงจะเสพสักครั้งหนึ่ง โดยแต่ละครั้งที่จะเสพก็จะจ้างวานให้เด็กที่รู้จักกันไปซื้อมาให้ โดยที่ยาบ้าที่ซื้อนั้น เม็ดละ 100 บาท รวมค่าจ้างแล้ว English Language Source:
Dear Gillian
They tell Mr Moonie is God... S Korean forces killed more than Japanese killed in 36 years A completely random find in English! In China the Korean War is called the 'US War of Aggression in Korea' - whilst North Korea (a close ally of China) excludes all mention of Chinese involvement in the conflict! The US encouraged the Koreans that had fought for Japan during WWII (Korea had been a Japanese colony since 1910) to form a 'new' anti-leftist (a deliberately 'vague' definition at the time) military force that eventually murdered hundreds of thousands of South Koreans prior to (and during) the Korean War (1950-1953). I live near to New Malden - which is the only place outside of the US that South Koreans are allowed to migrate (temporarily) to - for work in the Korean car industry. The children of South Korean people go to school with my children - and over the years we have heard the stories of South Korean oppression. This is why British born Koreans often refuse to go back to South Korea - because life there is terrible in that country! The US has complained about this phenomenon but the Tories (who possessed no qualms deporting 500,000 Chinese Nationals from the UK during Covid-19 on the spurious grounds that 'Chinese people spread disease') will not deport non-White (Korean) children born here - although this attitude of strictly adhering to the law does not apply to ethnic Muslims born in the UK - the US lawyers astutely counter. If anything, this demonstrates the flexible nature of British racism! If you have read this far, this is not even the worst of it - as I was researching the (November) 2021 case of a 60-year old South Korean Buddhist monk who apparently possessed the strength to beat to death a local layman (with a stick) who came to the temple to complain about the noise of the morning prayers (a deliberate act designed to produce the maximum loss of face and the greatest offence)! This has something to do with the US missionary work in South Korea which seeks to wipe out Buddhism by 2050 (New Malden is saturated with 'Korean Only' Churches all positioned along the Main Road leading to Worcester Park). When reporting this case in English the US directed racism presents the Buddhist monk as a typical Asian madman because his lawyers claimed 'Self-Defence' in Court - but does not give the historical or socio-economic context. The English language South Korean press acts as if it is writing for a 'White' US audience rather than the ethnic Koreans the news is about - a clear demonstration of the essence of White colonialism. The layman in question, or so I have discovered in non-English language sources, was a 'Christian' deliberately sent to the temple to cause trouble. I say 'Christian' in the broad sense as he was a 'Moonie'. The Buddhist monk was expelled from the Sangha [correct action in accordance with the Vinaya Discipline he violated by allowing a 'hateful' thought to a) form in his mind, and b) 'manifest' as violent behavioural actions in the body and through the environment which led to c) the taking of a life] and tried as a layman. He was found 'Guilty' of murder and sentenced to twenty-years in prison. He is quoted as saying: 'The irony is that I used to sit in a cell and meditate voluntarily - now I have to sit in a cell and meditate involuntarily - it is just a matter of moving my meditation cushion.' The South Korean 'Christian' community issued a joint message condemning the ex-monk and praising the Court - stating that: 'This situation demonstrates the 'heathen' nature of Buddhism and fully justifies the US attitude and policy toward Korean Buddhism, which has proven historically untrustworthy in opposing the enemies of the US in the past and has often served as a hotbed of 'Socialistic' attitudes and other types of similar evils!' The stuff of soap operas, indeed! Thanks Adrian Dear M
Thank you for your interesting email: The Buddhology of Marx and the Development of Historical Materialism The above is the essence of my research over the years. Certainly, the USSR academics treated Buddhist philosophy with a certain deference - as did Marx and Engels. Modern China follows exactly the same path and has shown considerable interest in this work - as have academics from Laos and Vietnam, etc. The British academic Trevor Ling - independently to myself - also suspected some type of systemic link between the thinking of Marx and Buddha (Professor Zhao Yuezhi in China also shares my views). When Buddhism is stripped of all its accrued 'religiosity' (which is both 'alien' and 'contradictory' to the ideology of Early Buddhism) a system of proto-Marxism is laid bear. A soft materialism arises that recognises the material (and 'primary') reality of the physical world - whilst fully acknowledging the 'conscious' conundrum that defines the historical, existential and prophetic predicament that humanity finds itself within! The Buddha also provides the first ever human documentation of a theory of evolution in the 'Agganna Sutta' (which I am sure pre-dates anything the Greeks were churning out - probably by two-hundreds or more). Remember that in China the Buddha is around 500-years older than Western academics have decided - a position shared by a number of Indian scholars who reject the Eurocentric dating. Certainly, as wise as he was, the Buddha could not read or write and was 'illiterate' whilst remaining 'highly educated' in all practical and linguistically transmitted arts - a status of learning in accordance with his High Caste (Khaitriya) social positioning (he was taught martial arts, seduction, political studies and all the known spiritual learning - but through practical instruction which did not rely upon the written word). In this older dating, the Buddha lived between 1029/28 - 949/48 BCE - assuming he lived 80-years! If this was the case, then the Buddha's use of a logical, dialectical mind - pre-dates the Greeks by at least 500-years - and strongly suggests the flow of mind development was from East to West! As always, think for yourself! Kind Regards Adrian Chan-Wyles By Yang Chengchen LHASA, March 27, 2022 (CNS) -- March 28 is the 63rd anniversary of the liberation of millions of serfs in Tibet. The book "When Serfs Stood up in Tibet" was written by American writer Anna Louis Strong in 1965 and is still one of the best books for anyone to understand the history of Tibet’s democratic reform.
In 12 chapters, Strong makes an important observation about Tibet, the snowy plateau, as part of the foreign press in 1959, when the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) suppressed a rebellion seeking to overturn democratic reform. In the preface of its English version, Israel Epstein, the Polish-born journalist, commented that Strong’s narration was “close to the facts” and her "approach and the actual development of reality are in harmony." The book’s perspective is still valuable today 60 years after Tibetan serfs were emancipated. However, the description of Tibet has been distorted more or less from reality by some western media, converting Tibet into an imaginary and idealized place that never existed. Uncritical thinking, lazy reporting, and even deliberate misreading of Tibet are still prevalent in Western media sources. These are arm-chair writers who hold the view that Tibet is the one that exists only in their imagination, refusing to recognize or willing to admit "actual development" in the real Tibet. Since the 1990s, with the development of criticizing Orientalism, post-colonialism, and cultural hegemony, the impression of Tibet under the influence of the western context has aroused extensive reflection. People should realize that the so-called spiritual Tibet, like Shangri La, does not exist. This land, which was in the grip of the feudal serfdom for thousands of years, was never a spiritual land for most of its people. Exploitation, oppression and material concerns could be frequently witnessed here in the old society. The title "When Serfs Stood up in Tibet" was true for the vast majority of people in Tibet in 1959. According to Strong’s personal observations, Tibet was undergoing a dramatic reform, which rejuvenated this snowy plateau. The author witnessed youth coming back to the land, which had been unchanging for hundreds of years by the feudal serfdom. At that time a new vision was shared among the people, the fate of the land was in their own hands and a democratic Tibet was being built. In fact, this vision has largely been realized by the people of all the various ethnic groups in today’s Tibet. The people on this snowy plateau can see all of the possibilities, which are now revealed in the full development of the unique, mysterious, and rich Tibetan culture. Just a casual investigation into the history of Tibet would reveal that primitive feudalism controlled the land until the middle of the last century. Serf owners in Tibet, who accounted for less than 5% of the population, possessed all cultural and educational resources and monopolized material and spiritual wealth due to their control of political and religious power. Women, even of the upper class, and monks who were in charge of important temples such as Jokhang Temple, in Lhasa, were deprived of the right to education, and were not allowed to read newspapers or any modern books. The vitality of Tibet, which had been suppressed by this antiquated social system, found new life in this land due to socialistic democratic reform. Today, a new inclusive cultural system has been established in Tibet, with new shared wealth created with a value of more than 6 billion yuan. The illiteracy rate in the old Tibet was as high as 95%. After the establishment of a modern educational system, ordinary people can enjoy 15 years of free public education, and the average length of education has been increased to 13.1 years. To over romanticize, even "exoticize", Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism will not help anyone to understand Tibet or its place in the larger Chinese national community. "To build a paradise on the roof of the world" was a slogan hung on the streets of Tibet in 1959. At the time, the 10th Panchen Erdeni Lama, Chökyi Gyaltsen, told the press, which included Strong, "the Tibetan people are walking towards happiness from now on". Today, 63 years later, the actual development of Tibet demonstrates the truth in these words. The Chinese government is sparing no effort in continuously improving the roof of the world, which can be witnessed and welcomed by all people. A better Tibet belongs to China and the world. |
AuthorAdrian Chan-Wyles PhD - Political Commissar and BMA (UK) Historian & Researcher. Archives
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