UBUNTU Studio 26.04LTS is out

It is 7.7GB Iso.

It has almost everything including Blender.

This was dormant for a very long time but current KDE version is pretty good.

It needs at last 16GB RAM and I have only 8GB and booting was slow and eratic but I got the instaler going.

It is graphic intensicve and easy for a Newbies. I have been bery critical of UBUNTU and the Developer guys and girls have listened.

THANK You.

It is a beautiful KDE Desktop.

In the past, I usually (in CEYLON ) did not activate the Internet to save install time.

Now, I am in AUSTRALIA and the INTERNET is pretty fast and I let UBUNTU update while installing.

I decided not to time it, since I have ample time.

It had Synaptic Package Manager and only missing piece is AbiWord which I would add it later.

It looks like it is going to take at least 90 minutes to install while connected to the INTERNET.

So my advice is just install it without activating the INTERNET Connection even if the bandwidth is broad.

It does not show the status of the installation. I checked it indirectly and only 30% installed in half an our so my estimate is 90 minutes.

Installer failed without a GRUB.

I am going to try it without INTERNET Connection.

Plant Sense

 Friday, June 11, 2021

Plant Sense

I am not talking about touch sensitive mimosa pudica but all the plants I care for.

They sense me on daily basis if not hourly.

The interruption by rain made me to be indoors and a welcome respite for me, without watering.

If I do not water they wither away in no time and removing the weeds is a must.

All these make me to touch them and I often remove the leaves wilting away to reduce unnecessary transpiration.

Well they have flowers to greet me and insects.

Only the Wesak Orchid refuses to bloom for nearly 30 years.

I have added a few more orchids to entice.

Thinking it might work.

No bees seen nowadays.

They just know that I am around but cannot say it in words.

If I am not around for 10 days most of them in the rooftop garden wither away.

So it is similar to a dog left alone and not cared for.

Unlike wild plants the plant you cared from from seed level totally depend on you. So, do not take gardening lightly.

Take it to your heart and it is good for your heart unlike the pet fish.

Regarding the guppy fish the magpie comes and gobble them in the morning. I have no way to prevent this crafty bird doing it's bird round daily.

They are short of food, I guess. But it's sweet music is to divert your attention and moment you are not around they gobble the guppies.

The guppies are in plenty they have enough leaf cover but the stupid ones come out of shading and are the targets of the magpie.

The honey birds spent their whole day sucking honey but they are always hungry flying for feeding but some have learnt to rest on branches and feed.  This is when you are not watching them.

Otherwise they retreat but lately won't care when I am around BUT not gazing.

The daily wild crow is there whenever I feed the fish.

They are looking for bread crumbs.

There is always plenty left.

manu raju nava= මොන්නෑකුලම=Manunekulama

CEYLON history goes back to 30,000 to the past. මනුරජ, the King Manu took bath from the tank, hence it became manu-ne-kulama=monnakulama= මන්නාරම.

The Buddhist monk who reined this was killed by LTTE. Dimbulla Seelaratana was killed by LTTE in 1995. He was the Chief of the Dimbulla Forest Reserve built for monks in the past history.

Tanks in this area goes back to RAVANA'S time of the king Manu. The tanks were built in relation to natural streams and the excess water was damed to save water for the dry season. Subsequent kings improvee them but after Chola and Pandiya (Kalinga and Maga) invasions, they were deliberately destoyed by Tamil kings. Current LTTE is also hell bent on destroying to plant there a "Cooked Up" Tamil Story and Heritage.

Beautiful Android Applications

 

Thursday, October 1, 2020

Beautiful Android Applications

I have been testing Android applications and found pleasing launchers that include Microsoft like Square and Linpus.

If I remember right Linpus was an old Linux distribution / developer that was in my old dysfunctional laptop.

Try them at leisure and they are pleasing and eye catching.

In addition circular panels give more room to the tiny workspace of a cellphone BUT the typefaces I use lead to lot of mistakes and I go to my rescue place (package), the Google Blog Spot for error corrections.

Thank YOU all.

Besides, I practice French and play Bridge on my phone barring data reloads.

There is lot to do other than looking at Coronavirus statistics and boring Gota Antics on TV.

I do not watch CNN, BBC and Fox News.

Looking after the rooftop garden is more enduring but pleasing and flowers appear from nowhere.

I think plant can sense better than humans.

Heaven

 Heaven

Aliens and Buddhist Cosmology
 
The intention here is to discuss the relevance of Buddhist Cosmology  to alien visitation to this planet.
According to Buddhist cosmology there is only, one human species only limited to this solar system and nowhere else.
Because of the vastness of the universe, I figured out there could be many humanoids in the universe but I am disappointed by this finding in Buddhist Cosmology.
It means there is only one planet in the entire universe which looks like ours and support humans and lower animal species.


The corollary is, if we destroy this planet with a nuclear bomb which is highly likely in the current context, the life form we describe as human will go into extinction along with the rest of the animal species.


Because of the Van Allen belt we cannot escape even to the moon let alone mars to colonize in such an eventuality.
The alien visitation followed after the nuclear testing 70 years ago.
Their purpose was to warn us of the impending danger.
They were benevolent species.
Then of course, there could have been not so benevolent but explorer type who would have come here.
There intention is to explore and exploit.
If this is the only planet of this nature it the experimental laboratory to rejuvenate the lost capabilities and genetic mismatches.
The possibility of cloning and hybrids are real possibility in the name of Tall Whites and Men in Black suits (possibly a hybrid).
These guys of the second category operate at night.
They may not have sex differentiation (already lost but the generations kept by cloning).
So let me now describe in general terms, the six civilizations above our zero generation.
 

1.We humans are Zero Civilization.
Animals are below zero.
 

2. Number one above us come as  First (1st ) Generation Civilization.
Their capabilities are higher than us but their mental capacities are not high as compared to level 6 Civilizations.
They probably have developed devices to travel in space (spaceships etc).
They may be sending human like artificial robots to this planet with highly advanced computer technology probably atomic level.
They are suspicious of our war mentality and do not trust us and they may choose war not negotiation when their interests are hindered or challenged.
They are neither benevolent nor aggressive but detest provocations.
They probably have mind reading telepathic capabilities.
 

3. The Second Level Generation may have visited us but do not like human and first generation interaction and simply avoid both.
Sort of neutral entity.
 

4. The Third Level Civilizations are much superior and non interventional type and their course of action is limited on earth.


5. The Fourth Level Civilizations and above are only benevolent and they may have planted proxies here or working with humans to improve quality of life here.


So we have to worry mostly the First Generation Civilization who may get establish here and make it their stop gap laboratory.
 

So to interact with higher level civilizations, what we need is not technology but mental culture with people who can attain Jhana level absorption to interact with them.
 

So meditation can be used theoretically to fill the mental communication gap.


A summary of Buddhist cosmology is given below.
Planes of Existences
There are 31 planes of existence.
They are four states of Unhappiness (Duggati)
1. Niraya
2. Tiracchana Yoni (animal Kingdom)
3. Peta yoni
4. Asura Yoni

Four happy states (Sugati)
1. Manusa
2. Six Devalokas
3. 16 Rupalokas
4. 4 Arupalokas


The Thirty-one Planes of Existence
Scattered throughout the suttas are references to as many as thirty-one distinct "planes" or "realms" of existence into which beings can be reborn during their long wandering through samsara.
These range from the extraordinarily grim and painful hell realms all the way up to the most exquisitely refined and blissful heaven realms.
Existence in every realm is temporary; in Buddhist cosmology there is no eternal heaven or hell.
Beings are born into a particular realm according to their past kamma.
When they pass away, they take rebirth once again elsewhere according to the quality of their kamma: wholesome actions bring about a favorable rebirth, while unwholesome actions lead to an unfavorable one  and so the wearisome cycle continues.
The realms of existence are customarily divided into three distinct "worlds" (loka), listed here in descending order of refinement:
The Immaterial World (arupa-loka).
Consists of four realms that are accessible to those who pass away while meditating in the formless Jhanas.
The Fine-Material World (rupa-loka).
Consists of sixteen realms whose inhabitants (the devas) experience extremely refined degrees of mental pleasure. These realms are accessible to those who have attained at least some level of Jhana and who have thereby managed to (temporarily) suppress hatred and ill-will. They are said to possess extremely refined bodies of pure light. The highest of these realms, the Pure Abodes, are accessible only to those who have attained to "non-returning," the third stage of Awakening. The Fine-Material World and the Immaterial World together constitute the "heavens" (sagga).
The Sensuous World (kama-loka).
Consists of eleven realms in which experience — both pleasurable and not — is dominated by the five senses. Seven of these realms are favorable destinations, and include our own human realm as well as several realms occupied by devas.
The lowest realms are the four "bad" destinations, which include the animal and hell realms.

 Wednesday, August 10, 2016
Rarity of Humanoids

Human beings (manussa loka)
Rebirth as a human being is extraordinarily rare.
The assumption here is there are only 5 types of humanoids in only five planets.

Below is a reproduction of various types of beings in the universe or galaxies

The Thirty-one Planes of Existence
Scattered throughout the suttas are references to as many as thirty-one distinct "planes" or "realms" of existence into which beings can be reborn during their long wandering through samsara. These range from the extraordinarily grim and painful hell realms all the way up to the most exquisitely refined and blissful heaven realms. Existence in every realm is temporary; in Buddhist cosmology there is no eternal heaven or hell. Beings are born into a particular realm according to their past kamma. When they pass away, they take rebirth once again elsewhere according to the quality of their kamma: wholesome actions bring about a favorable rebirth, while unwholesome actions lead to an unfavorable one.
The realms of existence are customarily divided into three distinct "worlds" (loka), listed here in descending order of refinement:
 
The realms of existence are customarily divided into three distinct "worlds" (loka), listed here in descending order of refinement:

    1. The Immaterial World (arupa-loka)
    Consists of four realms that are accessible to those who pass away while meditating in the formless jhanas.

    2. The Fine-Material World (rupa-loka)
    Consists of sixteen realms whose inhabitants (the devas) experience extremely refined degrees of mental pleasure. These realms are accessible to those who have attained at least some level of jhana and who have thereby managed to (temporarily) suppress hatred and ill will. They are said to possess extremely refined bodies of pure light. The highest of these realms, the Pure Abodes, are accessible only to those who have attained to "non-returning," the third stage of Awakening. The Fine-Material World and the Immaterial World together constitute the "heavens" (sagga).

    3. The Sensuous World (kama-loka)
    Consists of eleven realms in which experience — both pleasurable and not — is dominated by the five senses. Seven of these realms are favorable destinations, and include our own human realm as well as several realms occupied by devas.
    The lowest realms are the four "bad" destinations, which include the animal and hell realms.

I. The Immaterial World (arupa-loka)
Realm Comments Cause of rebirth here
(31) Neither-perception-nor-non-perception (nevasaññanasaññayatanupaga deva)
(30) Nothingness (akiñcaññayatanupaga deva)
(29) Infinite Consciousness (viññanañcayatanupaga deva)
(28) Infinite Space (akasanañcayatanupaga deva)
The inhabitants of these realms are possessed entirely of mind.
Having no physical body, they are unable to hear Dhamma teachings.

II. The Fine-Material World (rupa-loka)
(27) Peerless devas (akanittha deva) These are the five Pure Abodes (suddhavasa), which are accessible only to non-returners (anagami) and arahants. Beings who become non-returners in other planes are reborn here, where they attain arahantship.

Among its inhabitants is Brahma Sahampati, who begs the Buddha to teach Dhamma to the world (
(26) Clear-sighted devas (sudassi deva)
(25) Beautiful devas (sudassa deva)
(24) Untroubled devas (atappa deva)
(23) Devas not Falling Away (aviha deva)
(22) Unconscious beings (asaññasatta)
Only body is present; no mind.
(21) Very Fruitful devas (vehapphala deva)
Beings in these planes enjoy varying degrees of jhanic bliss.
(20) Devas of Refulgent Glory (subhakinna deva)
(19) Devas of Unbounded Glory (appamanasubha deva)
(18) Devas of Limited Glory (parittasubha deva)
(17) Devas of Streaming Radiance (abhassara deva)
(16) Devas of Unbounded Radiance (appamanabha deva)
(15) Devas of Limited Radiance (parittabha deva)
(14) Great Brahmas (Maha brahma)
One of this realm's most famous inhabitants is the Great Brahma, a deity whose delusion leads him to regard himself as the all-powerful, all-seeing creator of the universe
(13) Ministers of Brahma (brahma-purohita deva)
Beings in these planes enjoy varying degrees of jhanic bliss.
(12) Retinue of Brahma (brahma-parisajja deva)


III. The Sensuous World (kama-loka)

Happy Destinations (sugati)
(11) Devas Wielding Power over the Creation of Others (paranimmita-vasavatti deva)
These devas enjoy sense pleasures created by others for them.
Mara, the personification of delusion and desire, lives here.
(10) Devas Delighting in Creation (nimmanarati deva)
These devas delight in the sense objects of their own creation.
(9) Contented devas (tusita deva)
A realm of pure delight and gaiety.
Bodhisattas abide here prior to their final human birth.
This is where the bodhisatta Maitreya (Metteya), the next Buddha, is said to dwell.
(8) Yama devas (yama deva)
These devas live in the air, free of all difficulties.
(7) The Thirty-three Gods (tavatimsa deva)
Sakka, a devotee of the Buddha, presides over this realm.
Many devas dwelling here live in mansions in the air.
(6) Devas of the Four Great Kings (catumaharajika deva)
Home of the gandhabbas, the celestial musicians, and the yakkhas, tree spirits of varying degrees of ethical purity. The latter are analogous to the goblins, trolls, and fairies of Western fairy tales.


(5) Human beings (manussa loka)

Rebirth as a human being is extraordinarily rare.

It is also extraordinarily precious, as its unique balance of pleasure and pain facilitates the development of virtue and wisdom to the degree necessary to set one free from the entire cycle of rebirths.

The development of virtue and wisdom
The attainment of stream-entry (sotapatti) guarantees that all future rebirths will be in the human or higher realms.
States of Deprivation (apaya)
(4) Asuras (asura)
The demons — "titans" — that dwell here are engaged in relentless conflict with each other.
(3) Hungry Shades/Ghosts (peta loka)
Ghosts and unhappy spirits wander hopelessly about this realm, searching in vain for sensual fulfillment.
(2) Animals (tiracchana yoni)
This realm includes all the non-human forms of life that are visible to us under ordinary circumstances: animals, insects, fish, birds, worms, etc.
(1) Hell (niraya)
These are realms of unimaginable suffering and anguish.
Should not be confused with the eternal hell found in other religious traditions, since one's time here is — as it is in every realm — temporary.


Heaven

In Buddhist cosmology, the heaven realms are blissful abodes whose present inhabitants (the devas) gained rebirth there through the power of their past meritorious actions. Like all beings still caught in samsara, however, these deities eventually succumb to aging, illness, and death, and must eventually take rebirth in other realms — pleasant or otherwise — according to the quality and strength of their past kamma. The devas are not always especially knowledgeable or spiritually mature — in fact many are quite intoxicated by their sensual indulgences — and none are considered worthy of veneration or worship.
Nevertheless, the devas and their happy realms stand as important reminders to us both of the happy benefits that ensue from the performance of skillful and meritorious deeds and, finally, of the ultimate shortcomings of sensuality.

 

Order of the Universe and the World Systems

 Order of the Universe and the World Systems

 He is  a Scientific Thinker like me.

 AI    

AI has been egged up a bit. Frankly, we haven’t cracked it. knowledge  and language base is one thing but AI it isn’t, still 10 years away, minimum.
    

Quantum computing. 

Quantum computing, yes there is emerging hardware, but the software required to run it is mind boggling, 10 years away, minimum.

   

Inter stellar transport

Inter stellar transport. Not even close, 2 orders of scientific discovery away, 50 years away at least. 

 Junk satellites

If we aren’t careful by the time we’ve cracked it, this planet will be so surrounded by old junk satellites we won’t be able to leave this old rock!
     

By Nigel Calder and John Newell
     
 The Lifespan of Advanced Civilizations
    A very short lifespan for advanced civilizations may be a realistic probability because as our own case shows, technology mushrooms very rapidly and is accompanied by many dangerous effects such as;
    1. Overpopulation
    2. Depletion of natural resources
    3. Pollution and worse of all
    4. Rapid escalation of nuclear stockpiles which can easily reach the level where they are capable of wiping out the whole population of a planet.
    By the same token, if we were to find significant number of other advanced civilizations in our galaxy it would mean that some at least had been able to overcome the dangers that are now looming over our own civilizations.
     
    If they have reached this advanced stage, it would mean that they have been able discard all of their animistic (BARBARISM) attributes such as materialism, selfishness, territoriality, dominance over others and killing instincts which in a technological civilizations are likely to lead to self destruction.
     
    They would have been able to to mature into higher levels of cosmic intelligence characterized by spirituality, altruism, respect of others, adherence to peace and love for each other.
    Joining such a galactic society would indeed be a colossal step forward in the intellectual and ethical evolution of our civilization.
    This might also be the reason why we have not yet heard from any such advanced civilizations as may exist.
    There must be a galactic rule that says that before a new civilization is invited to join the galactic society it must show that it is able to overcome the major crisis that probably befall all new technological civilizations.
    Since we are still in the midst of this evolutionary problem, there may be advanced civilizations waiting to see how we do before inviting us to join the galactic society of advanced civilizations.


Order of the Universe and the World Systems
This is my analysis of the Universe and the World Systems in a theoretical sense.
 

It is enormously large but its fundamentals can be understood, if we disregard the current themes and dogmatic expressions which are controlled by the religions that exists today.
I will not make reference to Buddhist cosmology to complete the discussions.
I have discussed them, not in detail, in some of my books, for the New Science to emerge from the  ashes.
Even Einstein was reprimanded by the Church, discussing them except the Material World according to, a Big Bang, which suits the Church.
 

Creating material  from nothing without an antecedent.
 

Something from nothing is bete noire or anathema to me.
I have avoided discussing them except asking the pertinent question, “Who created the God”, in my childhood, knowing very well nobody would answer the question posed.
My in born talent was ability for vivid imagination, and nobody has inspired me in my childhood except perhaps Linus Torvalds.
I could figure out mathematics and physics with ease but I did not know my fellow students we struggling with simple arithmetic. 

I thought the guys were equally capable till lately my friends in retirement, alerted to that fallacy of my estimates.
I fitted with the lot, not asking probing question, .in my childhood, just to save me from labeled as insane.

I was thrown out of the class several times, asking questions, the teachers could not answer and which made them "red hot".   
This is what the Church does if, the dogma is challenged, he/she excommunicated in broad day light (covertly, if not overtly).
 

The preamble is necessary, before I summarize my current concepts which are subjected to challenge with alternatives.

1. The current world order and the past world order is/was in a state of flux.
It has always being.

2. Matter is small (less than 5%) and the Dark Matter  and Dark Energy is huge.

3. There is an interchange of dark matter to matter and vice versa.

 This is where the   state of flux works in tandem.
 
4. The relative stability is an illusion, since the conversion is very very slow, which a modern camera cannot catch.

In that sense I am against, a big change or a big bang.
 
5. A camera image now taken is an old incident million light years in count.

We cannot capture the present in any sensible way.
 
This is where vivid imagination is essential to figure out the past, the present and the future in a scientific sense.
 
So my choice of biological science instead of physics was a fortunate coincidence.
We did not have satellite images then.
 
I viewed a few satellite images and made my rough sketch of the universe and the concepts, below.
 
6. We ignored the Dark Matter.
 

7. We had theories for Matter only.
 
8. Expansion of the universe was ignored.
 
9. Dark Matter and the Dark Energy cause the expansion, just as well, lest there is a Big Crunch (opposite of Big Bang)
 
10. Even in some galaxies now viewed from images there is dark matter inside.

That is my crunch point.
 
11. Dark matter is eating up the matter albeit slowly (a conversion point) in the midst of matter.
 
12. The dark matter is converted (convergent point) to matter in the periphery of the galaxies, most likely, giving a semblance of stability, in a state of flux situation.
 
13. The matter can be swallowed by a Dark Hole in a matter of seconds.
 
14. What prevents this is the expansion, geared by dark energy.
 
15. What we know is little, what we do not is enormous.
 
So I have put the essence of New Science in 15 points albeit one or two misconceptions or inaccuracies which are subjected to alternative views.

In Buddhist cosmology, there is nothing on matter or dark matter.

It is all about Mental Culture that can permeate matter and space by Mental Energy and Concepts.

31 Planes of Existence including Humans

 

31 Planes of Existence including Humans 

 A summary of Buddhist cosmology is given below.

There are 31 planes of existence.
 

They are four states of Unhappiness (Dugati)
1. Niraya
2. Tiracchana Yoni (animal Kingdom)
3. Peta yoni
4. Asura Yoni

Four happy states (Sugati)
1. Manusa
2. Six Devalokas
3. 16 Rupalokas
4. 4 Arupalokas


The Thirty One Planes of Existence
Scattered throughout the suttas are references to as many as thirty-one distinct "planes" or "realms" of existence into which beings can be reborn during their long wandering through Samsara.
These range from the extraordinarily grim and painful hell realms all the way up to the most exquisitely refined and blissful heaven realms.
Existence in every realm is temporary; in Buddhist cosmology there is no eternal heaven or hell.
Beings are born into a particular realm according to their past kamma.
When they pass away, they take rebirth once again elsewhere according to the quality of their kamma: wholesome actions bring about a favorable rebirth, while unwholesome actions lead to an unfavorable one  and so the wearisome cycle continues.
The realms of existence are customarily divided into three distinct "worlds" (loka), listed here in descending order of refinement:
The Immaterial World (arupa-loka).
Consists of four realms that are accessible to those who pass away while meditating in the formless Jhanas.
The Fine-Material World (rupa-loka).
Consists of sixteen realms whose inhabitants (the devas) experience extremely refined degrees of mental pleasure. These realms are accessible to those who have attained at least some level of Jhana and who have thereby managed to (temporarily) suppress hatred and ill-will. They are said to possess extremely refined bodies of pure light. The highest of these realms, the Pure Abodes, are accessible only to those who have attained to "non-returning," the third stage of Awakening. The Fine-Material World and the Immaterial World together constitute the "heavens" (sagga).
The Sensuous World (kama-loka).
Consists of eleven realms in which experience — both pleasurable and not — is dominated by the five senses. Seven of these realms are favorable destinations, and include our own human realm as well as several realms occupied by devas.
The lowest realms are the four "bad" destinations, which include the animal and hell realms.

 Wednesday, August 10, 2016
 

Rarity of Humanoids

Human beings (manussa loka)
Rebirth as a human being is extraordinarily rare.
The assumption here is there are only 5 types of humanoids in only five planets.

Below is a reproduction of various types of beings in the universe or galaxies

The Thirty-one Planes of Existence
Scattered throughout the suttas are references to as many as thirty-one distinct "planes" or "realms" of existence into which beings can be reborn during their long wandering through samsara. These range from the extraordinarily grim and painful hell realms all the way up to the most exquisitely refined and blissful heaven realms. Existence in every realm is temporary; in Buddhist cosmology there is no eternal heaven or hell. Beings are born into a particular realm according to their past kamma. When they pass away, they take rebirth once again elsewhere according to the quality of their kamma: wholesome actions bring about a favorable rebirth, while unwholesome actions lead to an unfavorable one.
The realms of existence are customarily divided into three distinct "worlds" (loka), listed here in descending order of refinement:
 
The realms of existence are customarily divided into three distinct "worlds" (loka), listed here in descending order of refinement:

    1. The Immaterial World (arupa-loka)
    Consists of four realms that are accessible to those who pass away while meditating in the formless jhanas.

    2. The Fine-Material World (rupa-loka)
    Consists of sixteen realms whose inhabitants (the devas) experience extremely refined degrees of mental pleasure. These realms are accessible to those who have attained at least some level of jhana and who have thereby managed to (temporarily) suppress hatred and ill will. They are said to possess extremely refined bodies of pure light. The highest of these realms, the Pure Abodes, are accessible only to those who have attained to "non-returning," the third stage of Awakening. The Fine-Material World and the Immaterial World together constitute the "heavens" (sagga).

    3. The Sensuous World (kama-loka)
    Consists of eleven realms in which experience — both pleasurable and not — is dominated by the five senses. Seven of these realms are favorable destinations, and include our own human realm as well as several realms occupied by devas.
    The lowest realms are the four "bad" destinations, which include the animal and hell realms.

I. The Immaterial World (arupa-loka)
Realm Comments Cause of rebirth here
(31) Neither-perception-nor-non-perception (nevasaññanasaññayatanupaga deva)
(30) Nothingness (akiñcaññayatanupaga deva)
(29) Infinite Consciousness (viññanañcayatanupaga deva)
(28) Infinite Space (akasanañcayatanupaga deva)
 

The inhabitants of these realms are possessed entirely of mind.
Having no physical body, they are unable to hear Dhamma teachings.

II. The Fine-Material World (rupa-loka)
 

(27) Peerless devas (akanittha deva) 

These are the five Pure Abodes (suddhavasa), which are accessible only to non-returners (anagami) and arahants. Beings who become non-returners in other planes are reborn here, where they attain arahantship.

Among its inhabitants is Brahma Sahampati, who begs the Buddha to teach Dhamma to the world
 

(26) Clear-sighted devas (sudassi deva)
(25) Beautiful devas (sudassa deva)
(24) Untroubled devas (atappa deva)
(23) Devas not Falling Away (aviha deva)
(22) Unconscious beings (asaññasatta)
 

Only body is present; no mind.
(21) Very Fruitful devas (vehapphala deva)
Beings in these planes enjoy varying degrees of jhanic bliss.
(20) Devas of Refulgent Glory (subhakinna deva)
(19) Devas of Unbounded Glory (appamanasubha deva)
(18) Devas of Limited Glory (parittasubha deva)
(17) Devas of Streaming Radiance (abhassara deva)
(16) Devas of Unbounded Radiance (appamanabha deva)
(15) Devas of Limited Radiance (parittabha deva)
 

(14) Great Brahmas (Maha brahma)
One of this realm's most famous inhabitants is the Great Brahma, a deity whose delusion leads him to regard himself as the all-powerful, all-seeing creator of the universe
(13) Ministers of Brahma (brahma-purohita deva)
Beings in these planes enjoy varying degrees of jhanic bliss.
(12) Retinue of Brahma (brahma-parisajja deva)


III. The Sensuous World (kama-loka)

Happy Destinations (sugati)
(11) Devas Wielding Power over the Creation of Others (paranimmita-vasavatti deva)
These devas enjoy sense pleasures created by others for them.
 

Mara, the personification of delusion and desire, lives here.
 

(10) Devas Delighting in Creation (nimmanarati deva)
These devas delight in the sense objects of their own creation.
 

(9) Contented devas (tusita deva)
A realm of pure delight and gaiety.
Bodhisattas abide here prior to their final human birth.
 

This is where the bodhisatta Maitreya (Metteya), the next Buddha, is said to dwell.
 

(8) Yama devas (yama deva)
These devas live in the air, free of all difficulties.
 

(7) The Thirty-three Gods (tavatimsa deva)
Sakka, a devotee of the Buddha, presides over this realm.
Many devas dwelling here live in mansions in the air.
 

(6) Devas of the Four Great Kings (catumaharajika deva)
Home of the gandhabbas, the celestial musicians, and the yakkhas, tree spirits of varying degrees of ethical purity. 

The latter are analogous to the goblins, trolls, and fairies of Western fairy tales.


(5) Human beings (manussa loka)

Rebirth as a human being is extraordinarily rare.

It is also extraordinarily precious, as its unique balance of pleasure and pain facilitates the development of virtue and wisdom to the degree necessary to set one free from the entire cycle of rebirths.

The development of virtue and wisdom
The attainment of stream-entry (sotapatti) guarantees that all future rebirths will be in the human or higher realms.
 

States of Deprivation (apaya)
(4) Asuras (asura)
The demons — "titans" — that dwell here are engaged in relentless conflict with each other.
(3) Hungry Shades/Ghosts (peta loka)
Ghosts and unhappy spirits wander hopelessly about this realm, searching in vain for sensual fulfillment.
(2) Animals (tiracchana yoni)
This realm includes all the non-human forms of life that are visible to us under ordinary circumstances: animals, insects, fish, birds, worms, etc.
(1) Hell (niraya)
These are realms of unimaginable suffering and anguish.
Should not be confused with the eternal hell found in other religious traditions, since one's time here is — as it is in every realm — temporary.


Heaven

In Buddhist cosmology, the heaven realms are blissful abodes whose present inhabitants (the devas) gained rebirth there through the power of their past meritorious actions. 

Like all beings still caught in samsara, however, these deities eventually succumb to aging, illness, and death, and must eventually take rebirth in other realms — pleasant or otherwise — according to the quality and strength of their past kamma. 

The devas are not always especially knowledgeable or spiritually mature — in fact many are quite intoxicated by their sensual indulgences — and none are considered worthy of veneration or worship.

Nevertheless, the devas and their happy realms stand as important reminders to us both of the happy benefits that ensue from the performance of skillful and meritorious deeds and, finally, of the ultimate shortcomings of sensuality.



 

Why I HATE AI-It is an Embargo on our Thought Process

Why I HATE AI

It is an Embargo on our Thought Process

I thought in this Modern World there is only Truth Embargo.

I am proven wrong.

Even a plane crash investigations are pushed under the carpet.

The latest Model is "Thought Embargo".

 

If we let Elon Musk and AI agents to control us "the principle of democracy" does not stand a chance in another decade or so.  

By the way, as form of protest to these agents I am quitting Google YouTube Agents for good. 

In future, my opinions are only face to face or on a smaller forum of my friends but not in public domain.

 

I made a pertinent comment under a Google Discussion  Forum.

A mundane political piece.

For no given reason Google AI sanctioned some of my comments.

 

This was an innocent discussion by Nirmal Ranjith. He has no control on this Google "AI Gill Marts".

The item may have something do with God (I may have used the word  myth or mirage). The argument was not balanced but twisted to one direction not open ended, which it should have been. So I did a simple diversion tactic which I am very good at, when a particular discussion becomes boring and in a circular mode or repetitive mode.

Try to get out of the inner circle and broaden the scope, as it were.

This is what happens when we  allow AI to make decisions.

It is dangerous.

No idea or opinion is shaped in a Bell Shaped Curve.

The beauty of ideas is the inherent diversity.

Let the human brain decide the outcome not a man made machine, even if it uses Quantum Logic. This is why I gradually moved away from the Internet forums and some bizarre discussions.

Karl Marx type of discussions are not allowed even the words Russia and China have become obnoxious. 

 

In the West it is humanly impossible. 

What happened to David Icke?

We need someone like Bertram Russell.

Or even the guy who proposed lateral thinking and Water Logic.

De Bono was his name. 

I do not think he discussed AI at any length in his time.

He was humane and natural.

They are hard to come by.

Bold Steps

 

Wednesday, March 19, 2025

Bold Steps

Ten or more steps of my own

 26-01-2011

on Ten or more steps of my own

I have taken some bold steps (decisions) in my life from my childhood and that had come good, when I reflect on them. 

Some of them cannot be mentioned here.
I was a keen observer of nature and people around me and learned to be bold and fearless.

Most of my teachers except who taught me Sinhala and English were mediocre.

I often wondered how they ever became teachers especially in science.

1. One bold step was not to believe teachers especially in science.

That was a very scientific decision by itself.

I had the knack and keen power of observation and the problem solving ability. For example I believed anything can be grown on our be soil, be that it may, seeds or yam or runner provided I water them regularly. 

My father was not a farmer but he was a keen gardener (which he learned from a burger gentleman). 

Except potatoes I could do that on my own but could not figure out why I could not grow potatoes (those days potatoes came from UK and I did not know that they put chemicals to inhibit sprouting and they made sure seed potatoes were never given to us. I discovered this many many years later.). 

This is how western countries help us

2. I decided never to ask scientific questions (why potatoes could not grow) from my teachers (knowing very well they will give a wrong answer to shut my mouth).

3. I decided to do science and one day I decided not to go to the school I was attending abruptly (there were many other reasons and flashes of them I have expanded elsewhere) and that was a very bold decision. 

Finding a school teaching science was difficult but I eventually found one There was another story behind this I would not enlarge upon.

4. I decided NOT to proceed with cadetting even though I was the leader in my old school (I was thrashed by the teacher / principal three times in the new school but I stood my ground). 

I took part in all other sports except cadettting (reason should be obvious and there is / was the worse form of ragging which included sexual for the young).

5. New school was no better in teaching science and I made the decision to do D.I.Y learning science (thank god there were two  Libraries  run by Foreign Agents well stocked -lot of old science books in Kandy then)

6. Due to harassing by teachers I decided to walk out of the science class and asked permission from the principal who thrashed me for not joining cadets. 

He eventually acceded (I still thank him for that help) to my demand (man with military training) knowing my will power.

Little he knew that others will join me later.

7. We decided to work towards a common (first exercise in group work) goal and entire university in the first attempt (both Bio and Maths). 

Eventually all of us did pass and none from the class who attended normal class. 

They thought we (me especially) had gone bonkers.

8. Next decision was to get rid of all the science teachers in one go (Boomi Puthra was one of them) and get some decent ones. 

By this time I have forged some connections with science school inspector who was very helpful.

Proof of the pudding was that nobody from the normal class passed. 

Some teachers feared me more than the principal and I was a good cohort for the principal.

9. We never went for tuition classes and we never got involved in giving tuition to others except my cousin brother who eventually became an engineer. 

He failed all his subjects in “O” Level.

Till he entered the university he was under my clutches.

10. Next decision was to get rid of the compulsory government service act that we had to serve (IMF would love this) for six years and never to join the government service except university (semi-autonomous institution and not a government per say).
 

The way things are happening and developing in the university now leaving that institution was also not a big decision for me.

 
Rest that followed is history.
I suppose nobody should try these methods now since all the systems including schools in this country are very poorly managed by over 100 of ministers and ministries.

There is no half way house for us now as the saying in English goes.

MAD- Mutually Assured Destruction-Uncertainty Principle in Action

 MAD- Mutually Assured Destruction-Uncertainty Principle in Action

This was written sometime back as the first chapter in my book

"Uncertainty Is The Certainty"

The War in Middle East was not in my mind.

I need add  few lines to this chapter.

The original ideas was bring out this "Uncertainty Principle in Dhamma" but myself being an simple scientific guy expanded it to many fields. 

Thankfully I did not publish the book due to many reasons including laziness.

Uncertainty Principle at its Best

War Games 

War, Artificial Intelligence and the End Game

This piece is to highlight that the "War of Attrition" has no currency when AI is at work. Nobody seems to have understood this precarious situation. I do not think even China has given credence to this evolving situation.

China is obsessed with AI.

Russia in my belief does not believe in efficiency of the AI operations. It may be useful in a battle situation where surprise is intended. They still believe in human intelligence supervising the AI drones.

I do not want to use the term AI spy agents.

They have boots on the ground.

If AI is given the full control what evolves has no logic or algorithm. Americans do not have reliable boots on the ground and depend heavily on AI gathered intelligence.

At best AI stops at 95% efficiency.

The outlier of 5% is the one which leads to catastrophe in a AI battle of supremacy. The End Game has no logical endpoint but depends on the redundant data set of uncertainty. It is presumed be infinity but infinity has a different physical connotation.

As for knee jerk reaction, I think we have to worry and suspect Americans who would jump the gun prematurely, on a preemptive strike.

Beware.

By the way, this is an American manufactured war. Russia never wanted a war in Ukraine but they preferred negotiations. It was the war monger, Boris Johnson who coaxed Zelensky into war path. Already one million Ukrainians have scarified their life to war of attrition.

It is easy to start a War.

It is very difficult to stop a particular War.

In human terms at this point of time, diplomacy, may or may not work.

The stakes are very high.

Then man made devices are used preemptively.

We have examples in history and the Atomic Bomb in Japan did end the World War II.

Unfortunately, we never managed to come to term with Strategic Arms Control for a sustainable period of time in our history. The Treaty for  Nuclear Arms Control ends in 2025. This was extended unilaterally by Russia for another year.

There is no attempt to reactivate this Treaty.

Due to Presidential election in USA, no attempt to end this war was envisaged.

Status quo remains fragile.

Democratic mechanisms may fail in this type of scenario.

One man rule like in China may fail.

Dialogue may fail.

We have a vulnerable president in power, at a time where diplomacy is at zero strength.

The end game or end point is in "a state of flux".

When we have unstable leaders who do not have mature advisers to lead them, the tendency to rely on AI is realistic. Paradoxically guys who may be eyeing for a  regime change in USA may become proactive.

This was regime change in reverse gear.         

The man who envisaged Regime Change in Russia will be a victim of his own devises.

The pendulum swings from war to no war.

Putting the finger on the AI button, is a realistic probability.

It is literally called the "Panic Button". This is an example of “Uncertainty Principle”, hard at work. 

Victory is uncertain but stale mate is factual.

 War posturing against Iran by Israel was evident. 

The 12 day attempt at regime change did not come to fruition. 

The tendency is the same but this time Iran is well prepared and there seem to be some cohesion and Russia and China have helped in the surveillance strategy which Iran refused in the first instance.

Everything is in volatile made with two guys over 80 heading the regimes.

I would stop at that.

Winding Up Political and Educational Outputs

Yes, I am winding up all my blog contributions here including Linux UPDATES. With AI showing a nasty presence in all spheres of interest, I have the gut feeling that I have nothing to contribute in future.

I am not a politician but I make one last political comment about NPP/JVP.

They have come to a dead end and there is no second innings for them.

They have destroyed their own reputation by their own behavior, they have shown that they are unable to put their ideas into viable, plausible and constructive political framework and their political slogans are antithesis to historically and culturally Buddhist country which is CEYLON. 

Their alignment with India and LTTE diaspora is their death knell. 

The history will record them as the most corrupt regime that ever ruled this country. 

That is the Reality and the bottom line.

In simple terms:

Arrogance

Impotence and

Cultural Vulgarity is potently destructive for this small country.

I won't reply to any future comments.

ZERO RESPONSE.

TAILS New Edition is Pretty Good

 TAILS New Edition is lookes pretty good on BOX utility but it does not boot from a USB. I cannot use and it is meant as a DVD image.

Tails does not have a default root or administration password for the live session; it is intentionally disabled for security.

 

To obtain root access (e.g., for installing software), you must set a temporary password during the boot menu under 

"More options" > "Administration Password". 

This password only lasts for the current session. 

Key Details regarding Tails Passwords:

    No Default Password: 

There is no pre-set password for the root user.
    Setting the Password: At the welcome screen, click the "+" button, select "Administration Password," and enter a password of your choice.
    Session Specific: 

This password is not saved and must be re-created every time you boot Tails.
    Persistent Storage: 

If you are asking about the password to unlock encrypted persistent storage, that is a password you created when setting up the persistent volume. 

REBORN OS GRUB is the Best

Yes, Elive messed up with my GRUB but REBORN OS brought eveything back to normal including Pearl Linux and Elive. I just installed Blender and AbiWord on Pearl Linux. It has Lumiri Phone utility.

I think it is based on Debian Trixie. It does not have Synaptic Package Manager but FLATpak.

I am trying to Install Elive-It is a bit of a PAIN

This a Simple Advice to Elive from a Guy who used Linux for over 30 years and one who use Debian GNOME regularly.

This is regarding Installation.

Instead of trying to put everything in one go one should install the basic system and then add Enlightenment Desktop on top of it and any additional stuff you may have originally developed. 

Otherwise, YOU may remain stuck in Bookworm for ever.

I am already into Forky and providing them with feedbacks during and after installation.

Elive is a beautiful dustribution much beautiful than BlueStar Linux KDE which I have in my System.

You have a problem with GRUB.

It is a BootLoader and once installed one does not need to fiddle with it every time one boots except when a new onstallation is made.

YOU ruined my GRUB but I know how to get my system back. This is not true for Newbies. That is why I won't recommend it to Users new to Linux which are numerous due to bungling of the Microsoft.

YOU assume I have Windows in my sysytem and make an entry for Windows. But my NUC never had Windows in it. 

Why are YOU still subservient to Microsoft Windows?

Debian Forky in its EFI Boot Loader does not care for Windows.

You must at least say how much YOU need for the system. I gave 20GB and you ask more without telling me how much.

Long Live Linux.

By the way, I installed Elive in one single partition and it is booting well after UPDATES. Only after UPDATES I could install AbiWord and STACER.

THANK You.

STACER is not available in Forky and instead it has its own GNOME System checking Utility.

I am trying to Install Elive on my NUC with Debian Forky installed.

I am erasing the 5 partitions where Emmabantus Trixie Edition was installed.

I have said Good Bye to Trixie Stable.

It is even pain to install Puppy Linux based on Trixie, simply because none of the configure the WiFi INTERNET configuration.

Elive could not identify my EFI partition and wanted have new EFI.

I declined.

On the plus side it asks a lot of questions before the installation including configuration options which are Automatic with Debian.

Installation run on terminal and on black background and I cannot read them which I used to do, every time I install an ARCH Derivative. I am new to ARCH but with REBORN OS installed, I have a very good understanding.

Installation including formatting is Very, Very SLOW.

It is OK because I have gone through this pain before.

It is Debian Trixie and the desktop is Enlightenment Desktop.

I already have Enlightenment Desktop under Debian GNOME Hood.

I hope it wouldn't ruin my GRUB.

It did and I could not boot REBORN OS.

It it fails I would instal Pearl Linux 13 which also based on Trixie. Yes I am now installing it on the destoyed REBORN partitions. It has its own modified XFCE Desktop caled PDE. It has Synaptic Package Manager a plus point.

Elive has developed its own Desktop Effects which is admirable and I need to make an entry about Elive Linux in my book "Linux Essential".

By the way, WiFi configuration was smooth and I hope it UPDATES all the applications during Installation.

Irritatingly, it configure the User and Password at the end of the Installation.

I am hesitant to recommend it to any soul but one who is interested in Desktop Effects in Linux which are FROZEN in KDE, this is the distribution one SHOULD Try.

Booting is SLOW which is understandable given its Desktop Effects at boot time.

It did not ruin my GRUB.

More work for me.

It is much better than COSMIC Desktop and KDE.

THANK You to all especially, the Developer Guys and Girls at  Elive Linux.

Elive is much better than Emmabantus.

I am going to miss Synaptic Package Manager. If it was available, first thing I do is to install GNOME Desktop.

By the way, it has Blender which Forky has done away with.

Only Flatpak SOFTWARE is available and I did not try any.

It took only 10GB of space and I have 16GB left in the /root partition.

As a punishment for destroying my GRUB and interfering with my favourite REBORN OS, I decided to delegate only 12GB for its /root partition and Reinstall and Get back my REBORN OS after finishing instslling Pearl Linux. 

I have added another partition making 30 in total. 29 partitions was a misstep to begin with.

I will have 6 distributions instead of 5.

In the past single partition was given to MX Linux which has lost my interest.

By the way, Elive did not ask for a SWAP Partition which was unusual for a old Linux Distribution.