Lies from Mahawansa to Sinhalawansa

Diplomats are Trained to lie.

Politicians are Born to lie.

We had Chethiya the Liar King or the King Liar.

Ceylonese love lies, it is a romantic affair.

It is part of our ancient history from Mahawansa, to Chulawansa to the present Sinhalawansa.

Hubris Syndrome

Hubris Syndrome

Hubris Syndrome is a pattern of behaviour in a person who sees the world as a place for self-glorification by the use of power only.
 

Features of Hubris Syndrome include;
 

There is a tendency to take action primarily to enhance one’s personal image.
 

Shows disproportionate concern for self image and presentation.
 

Exhibits messianic zeal and exaltation in speech.
 

Conflates self with nation or organisation.
 

Loses contact with reality.
 

Resorts to restlessness, recklessness and impulsive actions.
 

Allows moral rectitude to obviate consideration of practicality, cost or outcome.

 

Displays incompetence with total disregard for nuts and bolts of policy making.

 

Basically such a person is a pain.

Triage of Elephant Untouchables

Triage of Elephant Untouchables 

My search for the plight of “Baby Elephants in the Wild” has convinced me that there is an existence of a “Triage of Untouchables”

Number one is the Hashish Growers.

Number two is the “Untouchable Politicians” who ties end at loose points.

35. Number three is the “Untouchable Law Enforcing Authorities”, that include police, banks and the judiciary which only prosecute the sprats.

Insight

 Tuesday, September 6, 2016
Insight
The meaning of insight in medical terms is  powerful.
In psychiatric terminology one who has lost insight to his or her predicament is actually has a major psychiatric disorder.
It is the marker of insanity.
Most of the other disorders with insight into the plight of an individual in a given stressful situation are minor psychiatric disorders.
In depressive illnesses, one who has lost insight to the given predicament is said to have Endogenous Depression.
One who has insight into the predicament is called Reactive Depression.
Insight into a scientific problem is what propels the science forward.
What it means is given a certain scientific problem, one has to delve into its core and bring out a meaningful explanation for the occurrence of a particular phenomenon.
Often there are no measurements or data.
A hypothesis is developed to explain the phenomenon and thereafter it is tested for its validity.
Insight by its nature predates the hypothesis.
 
Insight can be of used outside the scientific arena and may herald clever resolution of complicated conflicts, especially political. We could say Nelson Mandela’s approach to apartheid showed his mature political insight.

Fullbright and Russia

J.W. Fulbright was an American Senator and a lawyer. 

He died in 1995.

When American Peace Keppers were in Ceylon, I used believe that he was a great guy.

He chaired the Foreign Relations Committee for a very long time.

He was against Russia all his life.

This Systematic Russophobia is deeply ingrained in American politics in both camps.

Currently Russia is sanctioned in all other White or English speaking countries.

He studied in Oxford which is also a base for antirussian sentiments.

What amazes me is that both these countries are staunch supporters of Israel.

Israel cam buy any politician in UK and USA.

I wonder from where Israel gets its money.

It is very simple.

They have an active War Industry.

During our internal ethnic (Ceylon) conflict Mossad had guys helping Ceylon Army and LTTE in the same venue.

Can one trust a Jew in modern day?

Perhaps not.

I wonder why Africans call Indian a "Black Jews".

India and RAW also play the same game in regional politics.

Perhaps Pakistan does not.

In world politics duplicity is the name of the game.

There is no avenue for diplomacy but War and More War resonate in real world of politics.

I do not think President Donald Trump can change it in 2 days.

Nobody believes on Americans.

Azarbhajan and Korean Airline Crashes- My Theory

In theory a passenger airline should not crash on landing unless weather gods were nasty at the time of landing.

This rule does not apply to private jets.

My misgivings are as follows.

The aircraft lands on its belly.

It crashes on the fence but explodes instantly.

It was an instant explosion and it did not look like a jet fuel burn on impact. 

Of course, the jet fuel burn finished the job with only ashes remaining.

The damage to the fence was minimal.

This is related to Azarbhajan crash.

Russia has no involvement in Korean crash.

Why did Russian military take such an action related to crash in Azarbhajan?

Most likely Russians had advance information and acted decisively in spot of political and diplomatic risks. There were Azabarjan radical involvement. 

Lack of transparency on Azarbhajan investigation is the end result. Everybody wants to cover the tract.

That is the way Secret Services works. It is very complicated discovering the Truth in this Modern World.

Lot of facts should be taken into account in considering, the evolution of global politics.

1. President Biden is bitter not having a second term.

Deep inside Biden team does not want President Trump to start smoothly. 

Tried all the methods to scuttle him before the election but failed.

He needs some diversion tactic to take the blame away.

His failures were Global.

Plane crash may be on the card and divert attention on Ukraine not Russia. 

For input of more money before saying Good Bye.

2. Zelensky is more bitter than Biden. 

He was looking for many ways to antagonize Russia especially, President Putin. 

PresidenbPutin is one step ahead not paranoid like Zelensky. 

He anticipates major and minor plots and act accordingly but smoothly.

Zelensky is a total tactical failure of CIA.

Korean Air Crash

South Korea is in turmoil and there is no proper running administration.

Their secret service can be bought by Ukrainians desperate for a plot against Russia.

I do not mean South Koreans would have any such ideas or plots.

Section of the secret service could be bought to plant a bomb or explosives on a airline bound to Russia.

The Plot could have been;

Airline safely lands in Muan.

It is hijacked by Ukraine operatives.

It is already loaded with explosives, unknown to South Koreans.

It was matter of flying to Moscow and crash landing.

The guys would crash land and reach a safe place already identified having executed the plan.

Russia got a sniff of Ukrainian suspects among the passengers. At least a few of them were Ukrainians carrying Russian passports.

Russian undercover agents plan would have been to plant an explosive device that would detonate on high impact among the already packed explosive.

Pertinent question is who provider the explosive.

Could it be even Turkey.

The aim was  to disable the onwards (putative) flight to Moscow by Ukrainian mercenaries.

The Korean pilots panicked moment the wing was hit by birds.

They were not aware of the explosive content in it's belly. In other words they were not aware of the overload. 

Most likely underestimated the load and the stopping distance.

They just went by the standard protocols.

They were not part of the plot.

Ukrainians were.

Ukrainians are a desperate lot.

Expect some more of their plots during the lame duck period of this current presidency.

It is mandatory while these happenning prisoner exchange did occur.

There are a few sane people who value diplomacy.

Diplomacy is the way forward and is not the last resort.

Empress of China by Kumar David

Empress of China

by Kumar David 

This is in Meory of Kumar David

Two examples, nearer home in more ways than one from antiquity are the Maurya Emperor Asoka (reigned 232-274 BC) and the Empress Wu Zetian (reigned supreme 690-705 BC and consort 655-683) the only female Empress of China. Both reigns are renowned for material prosperity and peace most of the time. Ideological harmony in both was grounded in the spread and acceptance of Buddhism. 

I need to say no more about Asoka, but many readers may not be aware that Empress Wu, deemed a great ruler, bonded with her people by identifying with and supporting Buddhism which was then gaining ground. Her reign was the golden age of Buddhism in China before the elite fought back and restored the older hegemony.

The older narrative that the intellect had become accustomed to post-Enlightenment, reason, rationalism, liberalism, socialism and Marxism are in retreat in the face of this assault. 

Liberals, socialists and the secular-minded basked in the glory of reason, science and the pluralist state for a long time. 

Quite suddenly and within two decades it has inverted. 

Out of dark recesses of the human soul a new mass hysteria has erupted. For long it was thought that unreason had been banished. 

Not so, the battle has to be joined again if humanity is not to pass into another Dark Age.

Your Sri-Lankan Tax Code Updated by Ranil

Your Sri-Lankan Tax Code Updated by Ranil

 

My Note of Discontent (NOD)
Posted on November 11, 2011

Sri -Lankan are very creative people but that creativity comes only after retirement when one sees that the grave stone or tomb as the final place of conquest.
 

This ultimate reality is also taxed; the Masters of this creation are British Tax Inspectors of Yesteryear.
 

British only had Police and Inspectors now we have Private Security in the Universities, too.
We have lost everything including freedom but they cannot take our simple humour rather the satire (I thought satire is bit psychopathic) out of context.

Very soon humour will be taxed.
 

The academic Freedom in the University is also Taxed and Malabe is the Beginning.

Mr. O.M. Weerasooiya is a Retired Commissioner General of Inland Revenue and a Corporate Member of Sri Lanka Institute of taxation and former Treasurer of Netherlands Alumni Association of Lanka.

A personal note of somebody who is nobody in this Tax World:

Mr. O M Weerasooriya has done a wonderful job by writing this poem but there is something that we would like you to know.

A Developed country will collect 20 to 35% as taxes in this world.
 

A Developing country will collect 35 to 42.5% as taxes. 

 

The current figures I do not have.

Today Sri Lanka collects 63% as taxes.
Every 100 rupees you earn 63 rupees will go back to the government as taxes.

This means Sri Lanka is heading for disaster like Zimbabwe (this is true- my own comment-We are heading that garden pathway rapidly in the name of development Who cares?) who collects a whopping 88% as taxes.

Support somebody who could change this at least to a developing level.
 

Read My Comment below and please add your comment, too.
Few lines would do.
 

The Tax Poem

At first I thought this was funny…then I realized the awful truth of it.

Be sure to read all the way to the end as that’s the punch line!

Tax his land, tax his bed,
Tax the table at which he’s fed.
Tax his tractor, tax his mule,
Tax his cow, tax his goat,
Teach him taxes are the rule.

Tax his work, Tax his pay,
He works for peanuts Anyway!
Tax his pants, Tax his coat.
Tax his ties, tax his shirt,
Tax his work, tax his dirt.

Tax his tobacco, tax his drink,
Tax him if he tries to think.
Tax his cigars, Tax his beers,
If he cries tax his tears.
Tax his car, Tax his gas,
Find other ways to tax his aRss (after the daily purge).
Tax all he has, then let him know
That you won’t be done, till he has no dough
When he screams and hollers;
Then tax him some more,
Tax him till he’s good and sore.

Then tax his coffin,
Tax his grave,
Tax the sod in which he’s laid.
Put these words upon his tomb,
‘Taxes drove me to my doom…’

When he’s gone, do not relax,
Its time to apply the inheritance tax.

List of Taxes in Ceylon

Accounts Receivable Tax,
Airline surcharge tax
Airline Fuel Tax,
Airport Maintenance Tax
Building Permit Tax,
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax,
Death Tax
Dog License Tax,
Driving Permit Tax
Excise Taxes,
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment (UI),
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax,
Petrol Tax (too much per liter)
Gross Receipts Tax,
Health Tax
Hunting License Tax,
Hydro Tax,
Inheritance Tax
Interest Tax,
Liquor Tax
Luxury Taxes,
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax,
Mortgage Tax
Personal Income Tax,
Property Tax
Poverty Tax,
Prescription Drug Tax
Provincial Income Tax,
Real Estate Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax,
Retail Sales Tax
Service Charge Tax,
School Tax
Telephone Tax,
Provincial and Local Surcharge Taxes
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax,
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax,
Water Tax,
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax,
Workers Compensation Tax
Entertainment Tax,
Tourism Promotion Tax
Value Added Tax……..
 

G.S.T. (Gona Saha Thanakola TAX-Bull and the Grass TAX)

STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY?

Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, and our Nation was one of the most prosperous in the world.
 

We had absolutely no national debt, had a large middle-class and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.
 

What in the hell happened?
Can you spell ‘Politicians’?
It is all PoliTricks Scientists (my creation for Oxford Dictionary-Coined for American Scientists who make mockery / distort facts and make them friction / out of real facts).

I hope this goes around SRI LANKA at least 100 times!!!!!

YOU can help it get there!!!!

GO AHEAD – – – be a SRI LANKAN !!!!!!!!!!

SEND IT AROUND EVERYWHERE for a change

Help make a difference.


Ayubowan, is Long Life.

If you live long you pay more TAX.
 

May he attain the Final Goal, the Nibbana in this life and not next life.
Then the next life we believe is spared.
Even then the TAX Inspector will follow me.

.
I will send a Note / Email to Maha Brahma to TAX the TAX man and send him to HELL.

Google Jump started Linux Android

Google Jump started Linux Android

 

Like the Canonical's Unity Desktop, Google has jump stated on Linux base and it is time for Microsoft to re-engineer the wheel of IT technology.
Buying Skype may not solve its problems of insecurity and virus base.

Glossy front but ineffective back end would slow it down but it is wrong to say or think that Microsoft is finally dead due to poor mutation (genetically speaking) evolutionary wise of IT industry.

Cloning something is easy but when something is inherently faulty, the evolutionary process adapt the survival of the fittest strategy to chose the best for the current generation and Linux did not mastermind the change but it looks a successful business venture with its search engine has won the day.

Embracing Linux it has hit two bird with one stone.

I am not at all against business success of any company but when a company uses FUD psychology, Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt as a strategy in evolution it is bound to fail in real world with real people.

This was what happened to Microsoft whereas Apple only focused on high end and remained there for its own worth.

That strategy also might change if we hit another financial crisis which we cannot avoid as the way things are developing.

Hunger may be the next wave that will take us by surprise if we get engrossed only in technology.

So cutting down cost and wastage are important.
Recycling and stability of a product to last at least a decade is important,
Disposable era might abruptly end when shortages (rare metal and even integrated circuits) hit the market.

Emerging signs are of that nature.

Google also uses cloud computing as its next line of defense.

If not for business strategy Linux also should look at business acumen of Google for its success without hampering its original goals and vision.

There should be some business plan for some of the successful Linux distributions and canonical taking UNITY forward should not be looked at with squinted eye.

Why aren't we looking with the same squinted eye when we look at Google?

That is my question for the intellectuals in the IT industry.

Success breeds success.

Failures (Linux included) leads to bigger failure.

This is a strategy applied in field of sports and in war games and terrorism,too.

Nobody talks about a failed team (cricket) or a failed army.

It is nice to see America is taking a cue from us and taking terrorism head on.

But they should not apply double standard like Microsoft and USA politics (and their ambassadors all over the world).

Duplicity never works.

It is not the old world order now.
It is a new world order now and everybody should be transparent not naked in their actions.

They should have realized it before the WiKiLeaks.
It is too late to repair the damage done.

FUD and Microsoft’s Strategy

Published Aug 3, 2016

FUD and Microsoft’s Strategy

This strategy is similar to elimination of Professor Bibile's, humane drug policy.

Bulldoze other operating systems with Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD).
Why I have stopped writing about Linux?
I have stopped writing about Linux  (this site is named Linux 100) mainly because of of the popularity of the smart phones.
 
Smart phone  is a minicomputer and is slowly outstripping the PC Market.
Reason for writing about Linux, is to show how Linux contributed to IT industry and how Microsoft tried to kill Linux by various alliances (Novel included).
 
1. Android is Linux based (has taken over the place of Apple iPhone).
 
Microsoft is NOW struggling to enter the phone market.

2. Unlike Apple and Microsoft, Linux has many desktops from minimal to heavy (KDE).
I love Gnome but now Xfce4 is almost becoming the standard due to its low usage (fast) of resources.

3. Server market is dominated by Linux.

4. The cloud can be easily managed by Linux.

5. The story is when one cannot kill, one has to embrace it.
 
Microsoft is lately doing it to survive in the Cloud Market, and it is unknown  truth that Microsoft use Linux in its back end cloud space.

The bottom line is if you have money buy the elegant iPhone.
If you are low in budget or want a second smart phone by an Android and not a Microsoft (you have to pay for every little thing you download).

Of course you have Samsung (again Linux derivative) as an attractive design.
 
In the meantime F-Droid free software version of Android is building up its repertoire of software.
 
Linux is all over the place including NASA space station NOW and Microsoft cannot monopolize. 

I am one of those guys who used Linux exclusively and pity the guys who pay for a product which is out of date.

 

Four Freedoms and FUD Factor

 Four Freedoms
Four freedoms elegantly expressed by former US President F.D.Roosevelt have given way to FUD factor. 

The freedom of speech and expression (state controlled media and private media with vested interests), 

freedom of worship (desecrating religions), 

freedom from want (poverty) and

last but not least freedom from fear (terrorism) has no meaning today worldwide. 

The last factor the fear (from both physical and psychological) is utilized to gain undesirable motives. 

The psychological fear is the deadliest of all and our doctors are using this to the detriment of the profession (both public and private). 

 

 Dhamma Expansion on Fear

1. Fear of Fire

2. Fear of Floods

3. Fear of Wind (Cyclones)

4. Fear of Disease

Viral fevers similar to Coronavirus compounded by Fear of Artificial (not properly tested) Vaccines.

5. All these are related to untimely death.

6. One should not fear the timely death by completion of 50 Cell Cycles on this planet.

7. Chuti Sitta here is the Gati Sitta of another, cycle of life not necessarily on this planet but may be on a very distant galaxy.

There are billions of galaxies and the life cycle there may be shorter or longer.

8. Good Kamma carry better lives.

9. Bad Kamma carry forward to animal world.

10. One should not fear born as a dog or an elephant.

Upward mobility to celestial spheres from a dog or elephant life is real and feasible.

11. Be kind to all animals and do not eat flesh of any kind.

Animals can easily be your kith and kin of former lives.

Meaning of Freedom

 

Published Aug 21, 2016

Meaning of Freedom

Reproduction which is very OLD but relevant to this Day

The dangling of the carrot is the proverbial statement for an offering that is apparently “feasible but not tenable”, that is presented to hoodwink the unsuspecting masses.
Now the operative word is the FUD, a shorthand for Fear, Uncertainty and the Doubt. 

FUD the triple of Fear, Uncertainty and the Doubt that is created in the minds of masses by corporate giants and is utilized to sideline the competitors.
 

Good example is the operation of Microsoft against the competitive Linux distributions. 

When Linux was emerging as an operating system the FUD was amply utilized to distance the would be computer enthusiast and lure him / her to Microsoft Windows.
 

But being intellectuals most of the Linux enthusiast overcame this by sheer courage and community spirits. 

Linux was very flexible and now quite unintentionally FUD is working against its originator. 

Community spirit prevailed in the Linux community and the Free Software Foundation laid the foundation in overcoming FUD syndrome. 

The spirit of Free Software Foundation / Linux is the gift of original software to the Internet Community.
As long as the authorship (not ownership) is quoted any modification could be done to the original copy to improve it and remove bugs. However the improved version has to be re-released back to the pool for further development by the community. 

It is called the copy left and not copy right. 

So the natural evolution of the software takes leaps and bounds within a short space of time for the betterment of the masses.
 

Much of this principle is very much close to the Buddhist principle of “Dhamma Dhana” but with a difference. 

What is given away is recycled with added improvement in quality and it is given away for another cycle like the “Sansara” cycle never ending.
One need not improve “The Dhamma” but only have to understand its underlying principles and spread the message of goodwill.
It is interesting to note that a Buddhist monk who had appeared in a court to protect his Pirith cassette, he had been marketing.
 

Is the “Sabbha Dhanam Dhamma Dhanam Jinathi” spirit of Buddhism being betrayed? 

This monk should read the evolution of Linux Community and the General Public License that came with the Free Software Foundation. This Buddhist monk does not understand that the Gift of Dhamma is the supreme gift and it should not be commercialized. 

A blank CD / cassette is only Rs.25 / 50 and anybody who is selling a Pirith CD / cassette for more than Rs.50 is vandalizing these principles.
 

If Buddha is alive today I wonder what he would utter.
 

Would be an another occasion for “Udana Whakya” similar to “Sabbha Dhanam Linux Dhanam Jinathi” and would have a little smile at the corner of his mouth. There would be few more verses added illustrating the illusion of freedom and liberty of the mind filled with lust, hate and delusion.

Are we truly free and liberated?

from China, India and USA?

 
It is something worth pondering.
 

All Sri-Lankans whatever the creed may be, believe that they are prisoners of their own conscience.
Sinhalese believe that they have to be free from interference by Tamils.
Tamils believe they are persecuted by the majority.
Are the Tamils free from persecution by their masters?.
The Muslims, believe they have to be free from indulgence from both Tamils and Sinhalese.
Million dollar question is, could the piece mongers (foreign ambassadors of dubious credentials) allay the FUD syndrome?
They in fact created it.
We are in this vicious cycle of suspicion, the LTTE and party in power and party aspiring to come into power are spreading the FUD syndrome viciously to its maximum zenith (peak).
What is needed is to have FUD syndrome at its nadir (depths).
The international community spreads the FUD syndrome to help the propagation of their corporate agenda with dangling the proverbial carrot.
What is happening in the political field in Sri-Lanka is the insensible manifestation of FUD syndrome.
At a philosophical level what Socrates said to an aggressive follower who would stretch his arm for a punch is relevant even today.
“Your freedom ends where my nose begins”.
The international community should realize that they are very close to every one's nose.

It is nice to recapture what Nazurudeen stated about his failure to marry.
It is said that he had been to all the countries looking for a girl he liked.
Ultimately he found one but the girl who matched his interests was also looking for man whom she wanted but alas for him / her that man was not Nazurudeen. 

We have being looking for a suitable match maker for   Sri-Lankan bride. Now we are left with a whole harem of foreign ambassadorial girls (donating their vices).
At what price we do not know?
This is where one has to ponder and ask the vital question what is the price for freedom and what is the meaning of liberty?
Poor man on the street does not understand the jargon he will never be freed from his poverty.
As long as there is corporate mind set in making profits without sharing the wealth of information with its competitors to improve the quality and availability at an affordable price the gap between the rich and poor would widen.
Free market philosophy is not for liberating the masses.
They are there to increase the profits.
The belief that profits would filter to the masses is a grand myth.
There is no community involvement as seen in the Linux community. Linux community feels that they are liberated from the corporate giants. Until and unless we are free from both local and foreign corporate giants who are hell bent on making profits and exercise their monopoly, the freedom of choice is an illusion to the majority.
Only the minority will have the freedom to enjoy and exploit.
This corporate mind set should change to community mind set and community involvement.
There is a limit that the free market philosophy can stretch but beyond that point there are diminishing returns.
Like in the Linux community somewhat similar orientation has to take place in the business community in        Sri-Lanka and worldwide for the true meaning of freedom to be enjoyed by all.
Not a privileged and selected minority.
Freedom that costs is meaningless.
Selfish gains but no devotion as is preached by all the religions is not relevant to the corporate mind set.
Microsoft agents doing a few community projects (to lure a few deprived clients in the periphery) without shedding their corporate mentality is of little benefit to the masses.
A wholesome benefits want accrue.
If we do not think in radical terms and initiate changes now, there going to be massive uprising, hitherto unknown in the past. Some of the manifestations in the world today are a sign of this frustration building.
Not only with the poor but in the middle class too.
The middle class gave stability but it is fast disappearing.
With the wide use of the Internet, we would hear of more and more of evolving crisis.
People would like to see the credibility in their leaders which is sadly lacking in the world because of corporate giants pulling their strings behind their leaders.
They determine policy not the larger masses.
The masses would ask what is the meaning of this freedom?
That is the starting point of the crisis of this century.
Leaders have to be groomed with social values and ideals and not individual profiles and party profiles. Leaders should not be trained only to run the corporate giants. Leaders should be trained to lead the community they live.
Emulating western values only, going to be, not enough and begging bowl mentality should give way to equal partners in international dealing whether the country is big or small.
Some of the eastern values of sharing and caring should take precedence over profits. Then only one can call the citizens of sovereign nations are free and liberated.
United Nations will fail in their duty, if they have only Human Right Charter for cosmetic exercises. In that case the amount money that is spent on UNO could be better utilized for some other ventures.
They should rewrite these Charters.
Profit beyond certain acceptable levels should be prohibited or a certain level of compulsion to do community research both eco-friendly and community-friendly should be encouraged.
What is the big idea of having a few rich people and million and millions of poor souls?
How can a man like Tyson a champion one day and then a pauper the next day (in his twilight years)?
It is not acceptable in USA and for that matter any other country in this world.
Where is the social security?
England had a very well organized social security system and in another 50 years time it is going to be all private pensions?
These questions that are raised in the West and are equally relevant to us. The people who raise these voices have no industrial or corporate muscle.
Party politics seem to have ruined the entire world.
Most of the party leaders worldwide are gullible liars and some of them are of course pathological in nature.
Can we trust these leaders?
This is what is emerging in the West.
The covert political mechanisms are firmly embedded and established, in the  current system, only the corrupt and rich can rise to the top.
So, talking about freedom whether it is in the West or East is futile to the average man on the street. They just get the kick out of kicking a party out of power to get another miserable party into power and languish till the next opportunity to make the same mistake again.
In reality, it is a Gamble or a Casino?
One day cricket was much more interesting until this Casino bug bit it in full.
At the end of the day, all the so called democratic exercises are futile and the freedom of choice, a bad dream and a nightmare, just as well, to be forgotten by the majority at stake.
The liberation that the average man is looking for in economic and social fields is not achieved. Goals are set but never achieved due to lack of penetrating insight and vision.
What is done is patchy and ad hoc. We are blindly going through the cycle of events till events take control of our freedom.
Are we truly liberated?
The answer is firm, No.

Freedom
Four freedoms elegantly expressed by former US President F.D.Roosevelt have given way to FUD factor. The freedom of speech and expression (state controlled media and private media with vested interests), freedom of worship (desecrating religions), freedom from want (poverty) and last but not least freedom from fear (terrorism) has no meaning today worldwide.
The last factor the fear (from both physical and psychological) is utilized to gain undesirable motives.
The psychological fear is the deadliest of all and our doctors are using this to the detriment of the profession (both public and private).

American Pie

 American Pie

Comparing an average American’s eating habits with ours is a

revelation by itself.

An American eats a cow / bull every ten years.

In every American there are at least 5 cows in him / her by the time

s/he is fifty.

If he has not got Mad Cow Disease or Alzheimer’s disease what s/he

eats in the rest of his life is 

Any American doctor’s guess.

 

He eats a pig every three years.

He eats at least 50 chickens and one turkey a year.

Some Americans of course eat much more than that.

 

My worry is every cow/bull s/he eats, 

At least an equivalent of 8Kg of fodder is needed 

To support its life to obtain 1Kg of meat. 

 

If an American stops eating 1Kg of beef s/he is 

Saving about 8Kg of grain for a poor soul in Africa or Bangladesh.

 

Out of the tons of grain produced more than half (this ratio has gone

up with the increase of Chinese Middle Class population) is spent on

animal feeds and some American cows are better fed than African

kids.

Only to be sacrificed as human food.

 

The current Pope should give due consideration to these facts and

He should give a hearing to this fiasco and 

If the grain saved by saving the poor cows / or bulls is multiplied by the factor of eight by 1000 (the well  fed cow’s weight), there is an excess grain in this world to feed everybody.

 

Equally FAO should take this into cognizant.

Looking by some of Ceylonese who lavish on food I cannot say there

is any difference to American mentality, here in Ceylon

(especially who visit here to take a break from the winter).

 

Coming back to a single meal, if an American or Western guy

sacrifices a single meal a week, like our Buddhist monks who live on

a single meal a day, we would be able to feed some hungry children

in Africa and Asia without any problem or NGOs.

 

WHO also should take this fact to their cognizant.

I don’t believe in what our agriculture minister who says, that food

prices have gone up because of biofuels.

The production of biofuels has being going on for over 25 years.

One should realize that the ancient man and his closest friend the

dog survived on a single meal in spite of their aggressive hunting

skills.

 

Eat less is my recipe!

 

Three rice meals a day is too much (unless one is in heavy manual

labour).

I lost my weight only after I stopped eating rice.

I was like a pig when I was eating meat including pork!

Dhana and Single Meal

June 9, 2011 by asokaplus

Single most important principle in Buddhist Practice is its Dhana,

the giving away ones possessions, without expecting anything in

return.

This is something of an antithesis to modern world, where, self,

image and one’s possessions are dear and belonging.

How it is practiced by Buddhist monks is discussed here briefly to

make a novice monk adopt to modern trends in a demanding world.

A Buddhist monk ought to be light in baggage and belongings.

A monk could have only two cloths (Chivara), one for wearing and

another for change.

How it should be made is also under strict and elaborate

instructions.

The eating habits are also under strict code of practice. I would

discuss that in detail here. When it comes to eating, if one ignores

the morning meal, which is very light indeed, a monk has to survive

on a single meal, and that has to be taken in the early evening not

late as is modern day practice.

You may wonder why I took some interest in this

This examination is scientific in nature and if you need satire read

American Pie.

There are many reasons, and I would jot down only a few.

If a monk in the west practices this according to the strict code, it is

a severe test for them, adopting this regime in the winter months.

Equally, I have seen some monks who try to adhere to the regime

regimentally and religiously have ended up sick and malnourished.

If one becomes a Buddhist monk in adult life who had enjoyed

somewhat a liberal life, changing to a single meal is a severe

restriction on their diurnal habits.

One’s hormonal status, glycogen storage and status of the acid

secretion in the stomach are habituated by ones daily routine (life

style).

Changing this having become a monk should be done on a staggered

basis giving time for the body to adjust.

Additionally, many of them do not have an understating of what is a

balance diet.

What I stated above is obvious, but over years, I have seen many

Buddhist monks suffering from food related diseases, especially

diabetes mellitus.

This is something not welcome and unexpected for my own

consumption. I have no intention of going into how one becomes a

diabetic but for me somebody on a single meal getting diabetes

mellitus was something of an enigma.

In this scenario, having thought a bit about it, I put the blame

squarely on the layman.

Hope one is not amazed by this statement.

I would go into this briefly.

The upper and the higher middle class

families are the ones who get quota for the Dhana for the residential

monks in the city.

Their, idea of a meal is a lavish one.

Many of them are also diabetic because of their over indulgence.

The offer of Dhana is not done on a regular basis.

So on the day all the sugary, starchy, heavy but nutritionally unbalanced is offered. These Dhana days also happen to fall on weekends and holidays. The monk has nochoice. They consume a diet heavy in carbohydrates which stimulate their pancreas to the limits on weekends and practically having an

austerely meal rest of the week.

My theory of this up and down (erratic) stimulation of the insulin status, make them prone to diabetes in middle age.

This may be aggravated by lack of exercise and having sugary

drinks (tea) to counteract the late evening hypoglycemia.

It is the duty of the layman to look after their welfare on a regular

basis instead of lavish feast once a month.

Medical education is in its prime stage now especially on nutrition,

the doctor should advise the upper middle class families what is a

balance single diet for a monk who are practically at the mercy of

the rich laymen who impart their inherent diseases to the clergy.

I would give some advice later regarding what to be offered and

what ought not to be but for now let me digress a little.

I wanted to test myself whether I can survive on a single diet.

(For the record, I have not taken a single rice meal over 12 years

and it is my health secret!)

I am more than convinced that it is possible and healthy.

But it takes time and it cannot be practiced overnight.

Prehistoric Man

Prehistoric Time -15,000 to 30, 000 ago

Having proved it to myself, I delved into man’s prehistoric period and how man survived in adverse climatic conditions and food scarcities.

Hunter gather never had three meals a day.

At best he had only a single square meal never three meals.

He mainly survived on big games in a community life style. He was

omnivorous and supplemented his diet with fruits and nuts. They

probably did not suffer from diabetes mellitus and his teeth were

strong, the enamel was thin but the dentin was thick, hardly had

caries. In times of food shortages and diseases there were signs of

enamel deficiency and bone diseases. These changes are recorded in

prehistoric fossils which date back to 15,000 to 30,000 years. Until

such time he became nomadic man milk was in short supply. Only

milk supply was maternal. The average woman was thin, and she

only had children once in four years or so. (It is now believed that

when a woman is thin -prehistoric women had to work hard, almost

equaling man’s efforts-like modern day women athletes the ovulation

does not occur. Additionally, prolong breast feeding without weaning

suppresses ovulation).

The man probably was sturdier and taller but comparatively thinner

since he had to work hard in hunting exercises. He probably lived a

shorter life than a woman (45 years), probably 35 years or so died

not of modern day diseases but by injuries sustained in hunting.

As far prehistoric man is concerned a single diet existence is not a

fantasy but a fact.

Paleolithic Period- 5000 to 13 000 years

Why man became an agricultural man is a mystery but available

evidence suggests dramatic changes in climate at the end of the ice

age and population expansion. With the emergence of the nomadic

life and mans entry into agricultural endeavours, he entered into a

sedentary life style.

However, he never gave up game and hunting until such time he

domesticated adequate livestock.

I would like to figure out that he was never a pure vegetarian.

The Asian wolf became associated with man around 13,000 years

ago probably scavenging around man’s domain. The dogs and wolf

can live on a single diet perhaps even longer and with the loss of

mammoths and huge games, wolf also found living difficult but

drifted with the man for game. His eating pattern, scavenging to

begin with which our present day dogs inherit and illustrate by

scavenging city dumps, is a reminder that even this period the man

existed (present day practice of feeding a single meal to a pedigree

dog which I don’t agree with) on a single main diet.

Even though, the agricultural practices were extensive, failure of

crops were common phenomena, the demise of Maya Dynasty was a

true example of catastrophe in history. In spite of extensive

agriculture, food was not plenty and the food preparation from

harvest to meal was labour extensive and man continued to

supplement meal on animal and animal sacrifices. In this period

population expanded probably because women becoming

comparatively fatter and fertile (it is interesting to note that when a

woman is too fat, like present day, fertility drops) and their body

composition was ideal for reproduction. But with success there was

impending catastrophe too. Famines were common due to

reduction of crops, failure of rains or floods.

The man became shorter and less sturdy due to sedentary life.

We may be able to surmise that even in this period man ate a

variable diet, characteristically a single meal which was

supplemented by animal, fish, shells, fruits and nuts.

How and when man discovered use of salt and spices is open to

question probably towards the latter stage of Paleolithic time.

Contemporary History from 5000 years to 2500.

During this period man was eating mixed diet containing milk (animal), sugar, salt, spices and animal and fish products. In spite of agriculture man

never ceased to consume animal food, in fact it became a major

constitute, judging by the tribal and religious practices from 5000 to

2000 years.

This is probably the period where single supper or a single meal changed to multiple meals especially in the upper classes but slaves and lower classes subsisted on an average single large meal.

The longevity and average health increased proportionately to

double the prehistoric period.

Most of the sages and philosophers except hedonists lived an austere

life while recommending the same to the masses.

 

2500 and the emergence of the Vegetarian Life

Even though some Jainers advocated vegetarian life, it was with the emergence of the Buddhists way of life in India that preceded the current wave of vegetarian (purported to be healthy) food fads.

Neither, Ten Commandments, the Jesus Christ’s Sayings nor Muslim Koran abhors sacrifices of animals.

The vegetarian life is comparatively new one probably only 2500

years old in the history of mankind and that is why, there are so

many misconceptions. 

 

Unlike monkeys, baboons and gorillas who are mostly vegetarians, from which man originated in an evolutionary point of view, the man had always been a carnivorous mammal.

 

2500 years is a small time in evolutionary time scale, a healthy

dialogue on vegetarian diet is mandatory in the present context.

Our intestine and teeth bear different relationships to tree dwelling

mammals, some are morphological in nature (genetic) and some are

based on the diet (environmental) we eat.

That is the view I hold, an opinion not substantiated.

As far as the growth and development of children are concerned my view is that single diet is not adequate.

That is my entry point to discuss another point of view.

Can a young novice monk who has not gone through puberty be

sustained on single diet?

This is a question I find it difficult to answer even thought I have stated my gut feeling above. This is another reason I defer on ordaining young underage monks (there are other reasons stated elsewhere) apart from psychological maturity to go on an austere life as prescribed by Vinaya.

Parents should have a critical say in these issues.

They should not plunge a young one into priesthood early in their tender years.

What should an average Dhana (Single Meal) should contain?

The physiological effect and the calorie intake of an average meal should

last 18 hours.That is the time when the glycogens storage starts to become

depleted. The diet should not have high sugary (desert) components that

stimulate surge of insulin and late dumping syndrome due to insulin

surge at the time of the meal. The vegetarian diet has no problem since the fiber makes the release of dietary sugar gradual.

The best desert for the monks is not ice cream but fruits.

Out of the fruits, the best is bananas which releases its sugars

slowly without upsetting insulin surges and maintaining a stable blood sugar. Milk and curd are preferred, since they give a supply of fat for starving intervals.

Missing ingredient is nuts, not only they contain short fatty acids which supply nutrition for starving intervals and also healthy vitamins.

I would encourage the young monks to go liberal on fruits and

nuts.

A supply of nuts (not aggalas and jaggery and sweets), fruits, papaw, banana and proper breakfast cereal containing millet (Kurrakkan) should be the breakfast for our monks.

Somebody should invest and develop a proper breakfast cereal for our kids (which can be used by young monks in their growing years) instead of foreign breakfast cereals. For the monks in the West a Buddhist dietitian with knowledge in Vinaya practice should investigate how their mid day Dhana

should be constituted.

My belief is many of them are having an inappropriate diet for

winter conditions. I hope a good breakfast cereal will emerge from

the West for the monks on a meagre diet.

My prescription for priesthood is entirely different. When I see young monks in the TV giving emotional speeches rather than mature sermons, I become sometimes terrified.

Even my twilight years, I sometimes reserve my judgment or giving

advices on certain issues. Never over the telephone, only, when I can

have an eye to eye contact with the person concerned where I, can

have an immediate assessment of the person’s psychological makeup

and the reactions.

One can do more damage by volunteering advice not appropriate. My advice goes as this. Let the young one follows a simple observational life. In other words learn to observe in a simple scientific and logical fashion.

Teach them science in simple terms as we tend to understand them from facts to fiction. Children learn fiction better in the early years and they should be

allowed to mature into scientific and factual way. They have the philosophical views embedded in their brains. Encourage them as much as possible.

This is why they always asks mommy why?

Encourage the philosophical views at an early age, even though we do not have ready made answers always.

Then only they should be allowed to think of a religion or religions in their life. If we are to stop, young from being taken into terrorist or religious cadres, that is the only way out left. That is the very thing we are not doing at present and ignoring. We are slowly encouraging and allowing young militants being made out of innocent minds because of our failure in commonsense education. Most of the religious and militant groups know this very well, the best currency to propagate their rigid views is the young mind.