#barlaamism

[cuties-in-codices]

an unsuitably dressed wedding guest cast into darkness

full-page illustration from a manuscript of barlaam and josaphat, alsace, c. 1469

source: Los Angeles, Getty Museum, Ms. Ludwig XV 9, fol. 88v

[sedlex]

Did anybody request a hunk?

Swimming got you

[s-memorando]

Paralimpiadi: giorno 10

A volte succede che un granello di sabbia cambi il corso delle cose, arrivi a inceppare un meccanismo che avrebbe dovuto essere ben oliato e non dare problemi… invece ecco che l’imprevisto, la fatalità, l’inciampo facciano cambiare la storia che avrebbe dovuta essere rosea e felice e invece diventa improvvisamente drammatica e dolorosa. È la vita, nessuno sa che cosa succederò tra qualche ora,…

[nasirsagron]

Barlaam è ciò che mi volevate far credere che Ceccon fosse....

[centimetri]

The Paralympic games are over! Here's everything Italy won this year:

Carlotta Gilli won gold in 100m swimming butterlfy;

Francesco Bocciardo won gold in 100m freestyle swimming;

Stefano Raimondi won gold in 100m breaststroke and gold in 100m freestyle swimming;

Rigivan Rigi Ganeshamoorthy won gold in discus throw;

Federico Bicelli won gold in 400m freestyle and bronze in 100m backstroke swimming;

Simone Barlaam won gold in 100m butterfly, gold in 50m freestyle, and silver in 400m freestyle;

Giulia won gold in 100m breaststroke swimming;

Carlotta Gilli won gold in 100m butterfly, gold in 200m medley, silver in 400m freestyle, bronze in 100m backstroke, and bronze in 50m freestyle swimming;

Fabrizio Cornegliani won gold in road cycling;

Alberto Amodeo won gold in 100m butterfly, gold in 400m freestyle, and bronze in 100m freestyle swimming;

Monica Boggioni won gold in 50m breaststroke SB3, bronze in 100m freestyle, and bronze in 200m freestyle swimming;

Oney Tapia won gold in discus throw;

Antonio Fantin won gold in 100m freestyle and silver in 400m freestyle;

Elisabetta Mijno e Stefano Travisani won gold in archery;

Assunta Legnante won gold in shot put and silver in discus throw;

Matteo Parenzan won gold in Table tennis;

Giada Rossi won gold in Table tennis;

Martina Caironi won gold in 100m

[flagellant]

Could you talk about bodhisattva a little more in your own words? I'm Jewish and we don't really have anything like that or saints and I find the whole spiritual concept really fascinating and beautiful

To be clear I'm about to give an extremely brief overview which will be 1. simplified as much as I can spare because I'm not being paid to give an in-depth talk about the importance/unimportance of bodhisattva 2. definitionally not go into various differences between assorted buddhist sects/traditions. if you see this post and feel the urge to go "Um, inneskeeper, that's actually only true for the mahayana or--" I know. Trust me. I am completely aware.

---

So. Westerners really like to claim that bodhisattva are Buddhist saints. This gets really weirdchamp racist when you look at Barlaam+Josaphat AKA the christiana interpretatio of the Gautama Buddha. If you're new to the blog: christiana interpretatio is the Christian empire's manipulation and corruption of foreign cultures and religions into being retroactively Christian in nature in order to perpetrate religious xenocide. Yes, that's a biased definition, and no, I'm not wrong or exaggerating, they learned it from the Romans because empires everywhere are the fucking same shit.

All this is to say that to call bodhisattva "saints" is...nnnnot quite grokking the differentiation between Christianity and Buddhist ideas of divinity, holiness, the afterlife, and identity. The goal of Christianity is to live a good life to live eternally in Heaven after you die (or, alternatively, if you fail, suffer perpetually in Hell after your death). But that means that fundamentally you are something which perpetuates after death. There is some fundamental youness that exists in reality even after the death of your body. You are able to transcend the fleshly coil and become a being of pure divine spirit if you're good enough at religion.

Generally speaking The Buddha hates that. Like, a lot. The idea that you are unique and special and neverbeforeseen and capable of transcending your death is bullshit. You're a meatsuit. We're all meatsuits (loosely speaking). Individuality is a burden which distances you from all other life and therefore dulls your capacity to love and care for said life. If you think you are distinct from another life, then that means what happens to that other life doesn't matter or mean anything to you. It means suffering does not meaningfully matter to your own existence so long as it is not your suffering. Life, itself, is a form of suffering--you are aware of your own capacity for cruelty and it is a holy act to do your best to defeat that in yourself and in others. A lot of the time this can be done by understanding that you are an illusion. You do not exist. You are a temporary blip, a random conglomeration of chance and perception given some level of sentience.

The goal then is to become truly aware of what that means, so that you can fully embrace a life without the limitations of self, life, or death, sometimes called nirvana. Those who have attained that awareness have attained bodhi; those who have attained that awareness and have elected to refuse to escape the cycle in an attempt to help enlighten others and aid their escape/attainment are bodhisattva.

Depending on who you ask bodhisattva are like, something anyone can be/becomes when properly enlightened, or they're possibly pseudo-avatars/manifestations of the Buddha, or they're specific emanations or its just. It gets complicated. Just know that the shared idea is usually "bodhisattva exist to try and teach others how to attain nirvana".

[wormsngods]

Books in my Kindle

making this to destress before I start studying

Brief History of Time

Briefer History of Time

Legends of the Gods

Syria and Egypt in the Amarna Letters

Amarna Sunset

Moses and Monotheism

Moses the Egyptian

The Price of Monotheism

Of God and gods

The Samaritan Chronicle

The Kingdom of Kush

Aesop's Fables

Cyropedia

Classical Indian Philosophy

The Jatakas

Kama Sutra

Arthashastra

Classical Philosophy

Philosophy in the Hellenistic and Roman World

The Lost Books of Eden

The Book of Giants

The Diatessaron of Tatian

Odes of Solomon

32 Throne Tales of Vikramaditya

Complete Apocrypha of the Ethiopian Bible

The Book of the Cave of Treasures

Quran

The Quran in its Historical Context

Maghazi of Mamar

A Book of Conquest

The Arabic Hermes

Vivekachudamani

The Seduction of Shiva

Philosophy in the Islamic World

Barlaam and Josaphat

The Saga of Erik the Red

Kebra Nagast

The Trial of Joan of Arc

100 poems of Kabir

The Four Voyages of Columbus

Napoleon's Letters to Josephine

Napoleon's Military Maxims

Vizier of the Two Horned Alexander

And then there were none

Quotations from Chairman Mao

Eye

The Thorn and The Carnation

The Making of a Salafi Woman

The Last Island

[calabria-mediterranea]

Seminara, Calabria, Italy

Seminara is located at the tip of the Italian boot about 30 kilometers (19 miles) north of Reggio Calabria. Its noteworthy political past includes turn-of-the-15th-century battles associated with the Italian Wars and a 1535 visit by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, who entered Seminara in a triumphal cortege to celebrate his victory over the Ottomans in Tunis.

Historically, the town has also had a reputation for its fine olive oil and silk.

Its two most distinguished citizens reflect southern Calabria’s Greek heritage, which endured long past the periods of Greater Greece and the Early Middle Ages when Orthodox Churches were established throughout the territory. Barlaam of Seminara (1290-1348) was an influential Byzantine-Greek clergyman and philosopher, and Leonzio Pilato (died 1364) was the first to translate Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey into Latin. His translations were used by the likes of Petrarca and Boccaccio.

The sanctuary of Maria Santissima dei Poveri is the main place of worship in Seminara, a town in the city of Reggio Calabria. It is well known because it preserves the statue of the Madonna dei Poveri, known as the Greek Black Madonna of San Basilio Magno. It is the oldest wooden statue in Calabria, carved in cedar wood and covered in gold and with its 92 cm, it is the second tallest black Madonna in the world, after that of Verdelot, in France.

In Seminara there is also one of the most interesting Greek Orthodox monastery of Southern Italy. Founded in 9th century by Sant’Elia of Enna, a Sicilian monk who lived in asceticism in a nearby cave, the monastery was endowed with rich goods and privileges by the Byzantine emperor Leo VI the Wise, who appreciated its sanctity and wisdom.

The monastery soon became a center of spiritual and cultural radiation, attracting numerous disciples and pilgrims, including the famous Filareto l’Ortolano, who died there in the odor of sanctity.

Unfortunately, it duffered the historical vicissitudes of Calabria, including invasions, earthquakes and persecutions. In the 16th century, following the forced Latinization of the Southern Orthodox churches, the monastery was abandoned and fell into ruin. 9th century Greek Orthodox Monastery. It was restored in 2005 and is now open for pilgrims and travelers.

Photos by Calabria Straordinaria, @piervalentino_pierva, @karim.ayed.1976, @dmncdlc, @morgana_zeta, , @esplorando_dietro_casa e @giuliaeats

Follow us on Instagram, @calabria_mediterranea

[sivavakkiyar]

it’s kind of fun that Pantagruel’s birth also works perfectly well as a satire of Buddha birth stories, despite the fact that Rabelais almost certainly doesn’t really know who that is (he’d have known Barlaam and Josaphat better I think)

[cuties-in-codices]

josaphat destroying pagan idols

from a manuscript of barlaam und josaphat, alsace, c. 1469

source: Los Angeles, Getty Museum, Ms. Ludwig XV 9, fol. 101r

[alatismeni-theitsa]

I found this amazing post about Buddha, and how his story became venerated in Christianity through the "saint Ioasaph"!

As the Theologian Academic John Sanidopoulos put it: "Though there are similarities between the tale of Joasaph with that of Buddha, this does not negate the historicity of either figure, but only shows a similarity in the origin of the tales. Though it is true the early story of Joasaph is colored with imagery from the life of Buddha, the latter part of the story is similarly colored by the life of St. Thomas the Apostle and St. Anthony the Great. And the theology of the story is influenced by John of Damascus, and the entirety of the "Apology" of the Athenian Philosopher Aristeides is contained within. The lives of Barlaam and Joasaph are primarily told as a literary tale with the seeming purpose of catechizing those of the Far East with a familiar tale. This was often done by ancient writers to steer a story of what may have elements of truth towards a higher didactical purpose."

[next-life-online-rpg]

NPCs IMPORTANTES EN NEXT LIFE ONLINE

En el mundo virtual de Next Life Online, tenemos el reino Camelot, junto con otras regiones (las cuales podrán conocer mas adelante dentro del foro cuando se abra, o probablemente en un futuro post), y por supuesto, como todo juego, existen personajes cuyos roles son importantes en dichas zonas.

(Cabe aclarar, que estos personajes, serán NPCs que NO PODRÁN SER LLEVADOS POR LOS USUARIOS, ya que el staff será quien los manejará en futuros eventos donde sea necesaria la presencia de alguno de ellos, esto dependiendo la situación, por lo tanto, si bien estos personajes se ubicarán en zonas específicas del mundo virtual de NLO, ELLOS NO PODRÁN APARECER EN ROLES NORMALES, solo en eventos y posiblemente en otro tipo de situaciones)

Información Básica:

Barlaam "La Quimera" Raza: Hombre bestia PB: Carrion – Tensei Shittara Slime Data Ken

Basanta "El inamovible" Raza: Humano PB: Leonidas - Shuumatsu no Valkyrie

Excalibur "El Arma del Rey" Raza: Autómata PB: Durandamon - Digimon

Hektor "El Dorado" Raza: Enano PB: Don Quixote – Fate

Coronis "La Madre" Raza: Dragonewt PB: Vritra – Fate Series

Sif "La Bendecida" Raza: Hada PB: Trianda – Fire Emblem

Gémini "El vagabundo" Raza: Autómata PB: Svarog – Honkai: Star Rail

Cepheus "La Fortuna" Raza: Vampiro PB: Illumi Zoldyck – Hunter x Hunter

Laelia "La iluminada" Raza: Humano PB: Melina – Elden Ring

Gasto "El Invicto" Raza: Humano PB: Date Masamune – Sengoku Basara

... ¿uh? ¿Buscabas información mas completa de estos personajes? Bueno, eso no será posible, ya que esto es una demo de lo que se viene en el foro, si quieres conocerlos completamente, tendrás que esperar a que el foro abra!

Esperamos verlos pronto iniciar sesión!

[s-memorando]

Paralimpiadi: giorno 9

Ecco il consueto riassunto dei successi dei nostri atleti e atlete. Sono sempre più ammirata per la loro forza, la loro costanza a voler perseguire un risultato, a mettersi in gioco.  Poi vedendo la gioia di alcuni genitori che assistevano alle gare in tribuna mi sono immedesimata in loro. Ho pensato che anche loro hanno fatto tanti sacrifici, hanno passato tanti momenti dolorosi, quando hanno…

[mapetitefeedeslilas]

The glorious hot Italian swimming summer show is rocking the Paralympics too 💅🏻 🇮🇹

The heatwave is still in full force and so is my fangirling 💃🏻

Football might have failed the Italian hot girl summer dream, but our swimmers are sure serving it 💅🏻

[thursdayisbetterthanfriday]

Adaptation Decay(?) - A Story as old as Civilization

Have you ever watched something and wondered "where did this come from?" only to find out it's an adaptation of what many may consider (not always) a far better original story?

You might think this is limited to today's culture of TV and streaming services, adapting foreign shows, or novels. You would, however, be dead wrong.

Sometimes I think it's good to look at our past to see how adaptations have actually come about or developed and Oh boy is it a good time if you dig into it.

Why do they keep on adapting things? God how unoriginal:

Today I discovered this document in a museum.

It's the story of Christian Saints Barlaam and Josaphat. This text tells the tale of the Indian Prince Josaphat who is persecuted by his father as he is prophesied to become a Christian. In a twist that no one saw coming, hermit Saint Barlaam meets the prince and, what do you know, he converts to Christianity!

This was hot shit in the 10th century Middle Ages. It was included as part of a Christian saint anthology book (hagiographies) called The Golden Legend and part of it involved three caskets was even mentioned in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice several centuries later!

So what's this based on? Surely it can't top being a bit part of The Merchant of Venice? Surely it can't top being in the biography section of your favourite major monastery?

This is none other than an adaptation of the life of, your boy, Siddhartha Gautama, more commonly known as

☸☸☸☸☸☸☸☸☸☸ THE BUDDHA ☸☸☸☸☸☸☸☸☸☸

Josaphat The Christian Buddha™ & Why Adaptations are good actually? (Starring David Brent and Michael Scott):

This is the religious equivalent of watching The Office with Steve Carell, and finding out it's actually based on the critically acclaimed UK BBC series The Office, with Ricky Gervais. What started as a two season, critically acclaimed hit, in the UK gets adapted into a 8 season, critically acclaimed hit, in the US which charts its own course after the first couple of seasons.

Purists often complain about adaptations, effectively calling them diluted versions of the original. In many cases, this can often be true (**COUGH COUGH**, THE US VERSION OF LIFE ON MARS). This kind of adaptation decay is, unfortunately, all too common in today's Hollywood world.

But this isn't the full story...

The fun part of adaptations is this: While in today's money markets, it can be easy to use adaptations as a cash grab to ride off of a good original story, adaptations can actually be as good as, if not better, than the original for specific audiences.

The Office US is the perfect example. What starts off as a similar straight adaptation from the UK series takes a life of its own, and makes it's own path based on the characters, and cultural norms of the creatives making the show.

The story of Josephat and Barlaam does this cleverly to a fair extent. It uses the original story and builds its own rationale with Josephat, for example, abandoning his princely life (which the original Buddha also does) after meeting a leper, a blind man, and a corpse in a direct allegory to previous Christian canon.

Steve Carrell's Michael Scott isn't the same as Ricky Gervais David Brent portrayal in the UK version, but that's part of what makes it work so well. Much like Josaphat is The Christian Buddha™, Michael Scott is the American Boss™. Both characters are adapted to their audiences, to their setting and to their time.

Saint Barlaam himself is an effective amalgamation of the wise men, brahmins and knowledgeable individuals Buddha met in his travels, and instead becomes a singular mentor for Josephat.

The US Office flips this - taking the original UK cast and expanding on them, adding new characters such as Kevin, Angela, and Creed while also expanding on some of the UK equivalent characters such as Dwight and Pam, who get far more attention.

While the UK Office is great in its own right, it has a very British style of humour and its in-world setting is very specific to the UK - something American audiences won't necessarily understand if they don't do the research.

The MEMES Jack! ~ E X Q U I S I T E ~:

Christianity took the, let's be honest, very compelling story of the Buddha's life and made it into their own original HBO series adaptation and they struck gold: The creation of a cultural relic that has lasted more than a millennia.

In the terminology of natural selection, adaptation refers to mutations or behaviours which allow organisms to survive and thrive.

In this frame of refence, The Buddha is a remarkably resilient organism that lives on in the cultural life of the Eastern, and in part the Western, world. So too does Josephat The Christian Buddha™ live on in the cultural life of the West. To a lesser extent, perhaps, but its influence is still felt across the millennia and into pieces of culture that live on today.

Josephat The Christian Buddha™ is an organism that has carved itself into the very fabric of material reality through ink, paper, stone and wood, allowing itself to be transmitted to new minds.

It may not hold as much of a candle as the original adaptation but, to those it speaks to, it lives on through them as much as it now lives through you.

And now I can finally say the line