Matthew Chapter 10-12

Mt 10:

The Buddha had 40 arhants go out and teach. Jesus had 12 disciples. Sangharakshita ordained 12 people in the founding of the WBO. He didn't want 12, but it ended up being that number for various reasons. They all taught a narrow path that was not easy.

The fall of a sparrow is used in Hamlet.

I liked "...be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves."

Mt. 11

"...those born of woman..." is a phrase from Macbeth.

Interesting quote through the mist of time. Children singing:

‘We played the pipe for you,

and you did not dance;

we sang a dirge,

and you did not mourn.’

There's a kind of I told you so aspect to this, but it comes from children perhaps busking and begging. Later there's a thing about performing miracles, and even that didn't convert you. There's a kind of spitefulness. I mean I'm a father and my children don't always listen and there's a part of me that quotes the phrase, "...those that don't listen will feel." Not sure yet whether that is from the bible but I'm finding so many little phrases that are part of me that are from the bible.

I like "...wisdom is provided right by her deeds." It's not what you say, it's what you do, and the plea is for those to go deeper, to be beyond superficiality. In Buddhism one of the fetters is superficiality.

I don't think his yoke is light and his burden is easy if you're also going to war and being persecuted for your beliefs. I'm not sure if this is found in Buddhism: the expectation to be persecuted for being a Buddhist. I know the persecution of Muslims is justified by Buddhists by looking at the long history of the interaction of the two. I really struggle to forgive the Muslim warrior who destroyed Nalanda.

Mt 12

It's OK for you to eat when you're hungry, "I desire mercy not sacrifice." Perhaps this is a kind of perfection of wisdom or even a dialectic teaching.

I can't help but think of the time the Buddha came upon a sick monk being neglected by the other monks. He took care of the monk and said, what's wrong with you? The monks say the sick monk wasn't useful to them any more. And the Buddha is, I imagine, gobsmacked by their lack of sympathy.

It's funny when people not of a religion tell people of that religion to do something, misreading the teachings. I guess I do that a lot telling the Christians to be nicer, and maybe it's not a time for that. I have a hard time imagining the religious right is truly spiritual in their callus politics. It's hard because I want to judge. I know it's best to focus on yourself in the spiritual life,

Manet and Degas

Brilliant video explaining the exhibit. Go to the Met and see the exhibit! It's really quite special. In the last gallery the painting this sketch is based off of, of the execution of a Mexican president. The painting has been cut into sections, and the surviving Degas has reassembled them. NY Times review

AOC

Dark Brandon meet Dark Alex. I see her advising the republicans to stick to their guns and never compromise. They don’t want to do anything, only obstruct. So they don’t actually need to be unified. Chaos isn’t organized. This is fine. Read all about it from Heather Cox Richardson , a historian who covers current events. "As their policies threatened to lose voters by concentrating wealth upward and hollowing out the middle class, Republicans increasingly warned that minority voters wanted socialism and were destroying the nation to get it. Trump rode that narrative to power, and now tearing down the current government is the idea that drives the Republican base." While we're at it, here's another funny photo from the Onion: And then: I listened to the Times podcast about George Santos . He basically lied about, I don't know, 80% of his resume, and has a mysterious $700k in his "corporation" which has no clients. So he's a Russian or Chinese plant, o...

6 month old podcast

Al Franken has a podcast , and he has my favorite Heather Cox Richardson , and they have an interesting discussion. He talks about the knife edge. She really explains the Republican strategy. Flood the zone with shit. Alternate facts, and fake news opens up the idea that there is no reality. It's basically reality versus false reality. The goal is to both get people to back away from politics, and to tell them how to specifically think. Developed in Russia, a system of overturning democracy. Running fake candidates, who switch parties, and running candidates with the same name. Blackmail is a technique. Create a fake reality that people come to believe. They're willing to vote for a narrative is not true, and they're willing to vote away their rights. You can flip it and use the same tools.You can weaponize social media by ignoring the shit, and fight back against all these techniques. People defend democracy. They're talking about community and caring for people and ...

Motley Kamuka

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