"Yuh faddah is a glassmaker?"

thought one: tomorrow is hereby "Dance With Joy That I Am Not a Buddhist Day"

"And what, monks, is the Noble Truth of Suffering?

Birth is suffering, old age is suffering, (sickness is suffering), death is suffering, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and distress are suffering, the association with
something that one does not like is suffering, the disassociation with something
that one does like is suffering, not to get what one desires is suffering; in
short, the clinging to the five aggregates is suffering. "

Their remedy... i say it straight... is SHOT up dead and decomposed. turning off personhood does not fix your problems. do we realize how good we have it? our Personhood is affirmed, redeemed- we are not rebuked for caring, for hurting, for experiencing pleasure- we are shown how to be FULL, complete, redeemed Persons. where even suffering, even pain, even pleasure is redeemed. we don't have to deny reality. we don't have to harden ourselves to desire. we don't have to free ourselves from the weight of eons of sin.

"And what, monks, is the Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering?

It is the complete fading away and cessation of this very
craving, forsaking it and giving it up; the liberation from it, leaving
no place for it. But where may this craving, monks, be eradicated;
where may it be extinguished? Wherever in the world [of mind and matter] there is something enticing and pleasurable: there this craving may be
eradicated and extinguished."

I have no idea why so many Americans think they want to become Buddhists. This is the ultimate in legalism. All of you is bad. Erase it. We Christians assert that twisted, unhealthy, untimely, rebellious passions (the deeds of the Flesh) are wrong... it seems that Buddhists make no distinction between what Christians would call the "flesh" and pure, natural, God-given existence with 5 senses and brain intact!

"And what, monks, is the Noble Truth of the Path Leading to the Cessation of
Suffering? It is this, the Noble Eightfold Path, namely: right understanding,
right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right
awareness and right concentration"

thought two:

"ought implies can"... one has no moral obligation to do that which one is TRULY unable to do

thought three: lessons from Hitler & Co.

~beware politicians who [over]use the word "hope" (remember Chamberlain?) leaders are not supposed to hope. the poor, defenseless, disenfranchised masses are supposed to hope. leaders are supposed to PLAN. like Hitler.

~"trust" allies as little as possible. there is no political bond that cannot be dissolved under the right circumstances.

~madmen are serious. determine sanity of opponents FIRST before doing above planning. read their writings.

~beware charisma. READ transcripts... analyze. don't feel. be LeTourneauian.

~is war REALLY the worst evil?

~never underestimate the appreciation of power on the part of humanity. we respect people who "own" control. (seen any hip-hop videos lately? WHY do you think mafia films are so popular?)

~if your opponents (read: ENEMIES) want war, don't try to negotiate for peace. THEY WANT WAR! it's like a rebellious child. they don't want "stuff"... they want you angry and playing on their terms.

~give 'em war... early and strongly. minimize losses and get at what is precious to them, not what "would be" dear to you (eg: don't attack civilians if they couldn't care less.) make them think twice. reconsider. once they fear you and are controlled by you (the supposedly more benevolent power), THEN you can be nice.

~never bow your head. not in power plays. not in the media, not in negotiations, not in confrontation... posture is everything. (just look at Hitler and Mussolini...)

so all this is immediate impressions of 20th century realpolitik, not quite analyzed through a Biblical worldview and all that, or necessary overly implied to the present political situation... just thoughts, no mas.

and if i'm off on any of the history/poli/Buddhism stuff, let me know. the music link in the title above is NOT off... it is exactly right on. ;-)