The Sangha Kommune (僧伽公社) – A Place of Spiritual and Physical Growth! (Founded 16.2.2010)

The Chinese Buddhist monastic community is referred to as a ‘Sangha’ (Sanskrit for ‘spiritual community’), whereby men and women form a voluntary association premised upon following a strict set of rules known as the ‘Vinaya Discipline’. Within this community, there is ‘equality’ between all members, with the leaders being those who have followed these rules for the longest times. This is because such people are thought to have more experience at adhering to the Vinaya Discipline (which includes celibacy and vegetarianism), and are therefore able to effectively advise all others through the difficult times they my face in their practice. As those with little experience have less to share, they are not considered leaders whilst more experienced practitioners live in the vicinity.

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The information I was given was a blue and white paddle board, which doesn't help when the sea is blue and white.

UK: Weird News from Scotland – How the RNLI Rescued a Blue Paddle-Board! (15.4.2026)

Mandy urged other paddle boarders to take proper precautions before going out on the water.

She said: “Obviously don’t go dressed like me, try and wear a wetsuit and a lifejacket.

“I had a swimming costume on, a T-shirt and a pair of Crocs. That’s not appropriate.”

The RNLI were called out to 13 paddleboard incidents in Scotland last year and 14 the year before.

Lifeboats in Scotland launched 1,172 times last year and 37 lives were saved. The number of callouts were 10 fewer than in 2024.

Scott said: “You really need to be prepared. Check the tides, the weather, the wind speed.

“Have wetsuits and lifejackets, tell people where you’re going, have a mobile phone.”

The crew said it had been emotional reuniting with the woman whose life they saved.

Scott said: “It was really nice to meet Mandy again, it’s something that doesn’t happen often.”

Mandy said: “I feel so special to have met the crew that saved me.

“I can’t remember what any of them looked like but their voices are very familiar now that I’ve met them.

“They do this unpaid, they are actual heroes.”

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"An Exhibition on the Culture of Han Dynasty Bamboo Slips from the Haihun Marquisate"

China: Rare Bamboo Slips Exhibited! (15.4.2026)

A visitor is pictured during “An Exhibition on the Culture of Han Dynasty Bamboo Slips from the Haihun Marquisate” at the Nanchang Relic Museum of Haihun Marquisate of Han Dynasty in Nanchang, east China’s Jiangxi Province, April 13, 2026. The exhibition opened here early this week, during which over 100 newly restored bamboo slips are publicly displayed for the first time since their discovery.

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Italian Newspaper Accuses Israel of War Crimes!

Italy: L’Espresso Accuses Israel of War Crimes! (14.4.2026)

The photograph, taken by Italian photojournalist Pietro Masturzo in the village of Idhna, west of Hebron, documents Israeli settlers and occupation soldiers obstructing Palestinian farmers at the start of the olive harvest. Masturzo described armed settlers, some in military-style clothing, arrived with Israeli forces and prevented residents from accessing their land, describing the scene as part of a wider pattern long recorded across the West Bank.

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1745 Coaching Stone - Original 18th Century GPS!

Sutton: 18th Century Coaching-Stone – the Original GPS! (13.4.2026)

I may well have written about the old coaching-stones scattered around Sutton and Cheam – I now of two – but was unaware of the date they were established. Basically, these devices informed travellers on foot, horse, or carriage – how many miles it was from where they were to the centre of London. Coachmen could either read the inscription engraved on the stone – or was taught what the stone said and remembered where it was when driving on the road – either way – these coaching-stones served as the original GPS system for travel. I think the Roman established something similar thousands of years ago – so the concept was not new in 1745. What I did not realise is that these stones have now received official recognition of being historically important monuments worthy of preservation and protection. The iron-bars and plaque are the new editions which I only saw when taking a rare walk through Sutton.

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Written on the ribbon of the flower basket were letters "The fallen soldiers of the Chinese People's Volunteers will be immortal".

DPRK: Chinese Foreign Minister & Party Visit Cemetery of Chinese People’s Volunteers (CPV) Fallen Soldiers! (13.4.2025)

Accompanying them were Kim Myong Su, vice-minister of Foreign Affairs of the DPRK, and Wang Yajun, Chinese ambassador to the DPRK.

The guards of honor of the Korean People’s Army lined up at the cemetery.

The national anthems of the People’s Republic of China and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea were played.

A flower basket in the name of the Chinese foreign minister and his party was placed at the monument to the cemetery.

Written on the ribbon of the flower basket were letters “The fallen soldiers of the Chinese People’s Volunteers will be immortal”.

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Meditating Cells Skellig Michael - Ireland

BMA-UK: Qumran: How Meditating Jews Borrowed from Buddhism to Build Christian Monasticism! (12.4.2026)

The Jewish community in Qumran chose to sit in meditation cells to seek a communion with their god. Why did some Jews do this? This is not a Jewish tradition and is certainly not recognised as a Jewish practice – even in a peripheral sense. Meditating in a cave must have come into Judaism from an alien teaching and different culture. Two prime candidates are Buddhism and Hinduism – with the edge leaning toward Buddhism (due to the lack of polytheism). Not only this, but Buddhism was flourishing in India during the 3rd century BCE and the 1st century CE – the time era attributed to the Qumran texts (the Dead Sea Scrolls). Christian monasticism (as practiced by the Celtic Church) must have originated in Buddhist India – and was adopted by a small group of Jews in the Qumran area of the Judean Desert (situated on the North-western shore of the Dead Sea). This meditational practice was continued by the early Jewish followers of Jesus Christ and was spread to the Egyptian Desert – where the first (distinct) Christian monastic communities were first formed.

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