Spring – SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR)

Paignton: Slow Worm [Legless Lizard] Found in Mum’s House! (15.4.2025)

15/04/2025 Adrian (釋大道)

We think there is a colony in the back-garden as they are protected by Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981) – meaning it is “illegal” to disturb these animals. Slow Worms may not be killed or injured for any reason – and wild Slow Worms are not usually to be taken as pets. In the wild, Slow Worms can live up to 15-20 years – but in captivity a Slow Worm has reliably lived to 54-years. We think this is a male – as Slow Worms are waking-up and coming-out of hibernation – seeking to eat and breed. This Slow Warm was placed safely back in the grass!

UK: Qingming (清明) [2025] – “Sweeping & Cleaning the Grave” of the Chinese Ancestors! (5.4.2025)

05/04/2025 Adrian (釋大道)

At both times of the year the graves are repaired and made new – whilst one or two of the favourite things are provided – such as a glass of brandy and a cigarette. Some Chinese families – although not ours – make paper clothing which is burnt at the graveside in Autumn – alongside “Spirit Money” – or pretend banknotes, etc. Others take real food which is placed on a table in hygienic containers – offered as an oblation – and consumed later. Our two daughters used clothes and cleaning sprays to remove the dirt and shine the stone exterior of the graves. The bright flowers are then cut to fit into the holders. We often bring a flag of China and Buddhist pictures and statues. Today, I also carried a Ch’an Dao Martial Arts Association badge and a pair of Nunchaku. We lit six incense-sticks – three for each grave – and bowed-down three-tips (clapping the hands three-times). We have been performing these rituals since the early 1990s in the UK.

Chinese New Year - 2926-4723! - Year of the [Yin] Wood Green Snake!

Chinese New Year [2025-4723] Year of the [Yin] Wood Green Snake! (15.1.2025)

15/01/2025 Adrian (釋大道)

Wearing red is not limited to red clothes, red socks, and red belts, but can also be red jewellery, red mobile phone cases, as long as the items you carry with you are red.

There are two special days when wearing red is appropriate:

i) The first day of the first lunar month, during the Spring Festival, wearing red can add to the festive mood.

ii) The second is the beginning of Spring. As the beginning of the year, the beginning of Spring means the start of a new cycle.

Within China, there is a custom of “Avoiding Spring” (避春 – Bi Chun) at the beginning of Spring, that is, avoiding offending the numerous “Tai Sui” (太岁 – “Grand Aged”) gods that equate to the 12 stars opposite Jupiter (later expanded to 60 deities) – so people choose to wear red on this day in the hope of bringing good luck.

Everyone shapes their own destiny. Hard work, kindness and wise choices will help you succeed.

No matter what – I hope everyone will experience a smooth journey throughout the Year of the Snake (2025-4723) and welcome the arrival of boundless happiness and good luck!

Stow-on-the-Wold: “Stow Wells” – Ancient Spring-Water in the Heart of Gloucestershire! (29.8.2024)

30/08/2024 Adrian (釋大道)

When an individual was found guilty of some petty offence – they were sentenced to a number of days and nights in the Town “Stocks” held by the wrists, ankles and neck – whilst passers-by were permitted to strike them with kicks, punches and any object to hand (providing disfigurement and death was avoided) and threw rotten food and excrement if any were at hand! Most of this structure is now missing – with two vertical posts (about three-feet high) still being in situé:

JV Stalin Says “Happy Workers’ Day”! William Shakespeare Says Soviet Beauty Shines On! (1.5.2024)

30/04/2024 Adrian (釋大道)

Toppled statues lay in deconstructed heaps – but the meaning such devices represent carries-on regardless into the uncharted future. Objects can be smashed – that is easy – but equally new objects can be designed and constructed – this is a matter of collective action and progressive thought. It does not really matter what William Shakespeare had in mind when he wrote Sonnet 55 – when I heard it today in both Old and New English – it struck me that he had perceived a deeper (hidden) meaning in passing outward structures. Structures that by there very nature, must, at one point or another, pass away into oblivion. But there is hope of a re-birth – even if the Bard couches this reality in the terms of “Judgement day”!

China: Mainland Harshly Criticises Tory Attempt to “Palm” Liz Truss Off Onto Taiwan! (18.5.2023)

18/05/2023 Adrian (釋大道)

“Taiwan independence” activities and support from foreign forces are the greatest threat to peace across the Taiwan Strait, the embassy said, adding Truss and the like are colluding with secessionist forces to provoke confrontation and escalate tensions across the Taiwan Strait.

The Taiwan question is at the core of China’s core interests. Any violation of the one-China principle will have serious consequences for China-UK relations, it said, urging Truss to stop making political shows out of the Taiwan question.

Wang Wenbin, spokesman of the Foreign Ministry, said on Wednesday afternoon China’s position on the Taiwan question is consistent and clear. Wang said he also noticed there has been a flurry of criticism in the UK about Truss’s move, calling the trip showmanship and a disservice to her country.

1 2 3 »