travel – Page 8 – SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR)

A Great Educational Place - Paignton Zoo - Where We First Saw an Indian Lion!

UK: Devon’s Paignton Zoo Up for Sale! (2.10.2025)

02/10/2025 Adrian (釋大道)

My parents moved to Torquay in early 2002. We had visited Torquay on and off over the years – but only for the odd day-trip. Of course, Paignton Zoo had been there since 1923 – and most of us had visited at least once prior to that time – usually with school trips or days-out, etc. What was new was Living Coast (paid for by the founders of Paignton Zoo) – which opened on a beach not far from where my parents had settled. This possessed African Penguins and was marine-based. All my three children – Sue-Ling, Mei-An, and Kai-Lin spent hours of fun at Living Coast primarily because it was so close and relatively cheap to visit. A family ticket was about £20 or so – but a family could visit again free as many times as possible in the next week! This meant that we only visited the Zoo every so often – with one drawback being its size and the fact it is hilly with no public transport on site. Nevertheless, Living Coast only lastly around 17-years (closing in 2020 during Covid-19) – but the Zoo is currently 102-years old! The rise of racism in the area – with local hotels giving free holidays to BNP members and one hosting a UKIP Conference (Nigel Farage was given a Police Escort to the Livermead Cliff Hotel) – led to racial attacks rocketing and the once booming Japanese tourism trade coming to an abrupt halt. Racism toward tourists and visitors has destroyed the local economy – but the locals will still support these ideas and attitudes.

18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (2012)

China: People’s Credit Evaluation System Defined! (25.9.2025)

25/09/2025 Adrian (釋大道)

Yes – China interfaces with the capitalist West – and generates its own wealth through trade (as Lenin and Mao suggested). To do this, the two respective banking systems, whilst remaining separate and distinct, must possess mechanisms that reflect one another – and enable efficient interaction. As China did not possess an effective credit-rating system prior to 2012 – quite often the dishonesty of feudal times raised its head as people started hunting for profit for profit’s sake – and leaving their fellow citizens behind (an illegal act within the Socialist System). Now, China has a credit-rating system that emphasises honest interaction over dishonest exploitation. Despite the deluded Western imagination inventing all kinds of delirious speculations – encouraging honesty is the only reason for the Chinese credit-rating system.

Japan: Memorial Museum for Agricultural Emigrants to Manchuria Passes on War History to Young People! (19.9.2025)

19/09/2025 Adrian (釋大道)

As the war intensified, young and able-bodied Japanese men from the “pioneering groups” were continuously drafted into military service. By August 1945, the Japanese Kwantung Army, realizing that defeat was inevitable, chose to conceal the situation and secretly retreated, abandoning the remaining elderly, weak, sick, and women and children of the “pioneering groups” at the front lines of the war. Members of the “pioneering groups” fled in panic, and some chose to commit suicide, while many children were left behind in China, becoming orphans and being raised by kind-hearted Chinese people.

Sutton: St Nicholas Church – Stain-Glass & Stones Exhibition! (14.9.2025)

14/09/2025 Adrian (釋大道)

The history of England lies primarily within the grounds, buildings, and written records of its local Churches, who dealt with this information a long time before the Secular State developed – or was able to do so. The Local Authorities of Sutton possess a peculiar attitude toward local history – as if time started again in 1965 (and all previous history was wiped-out when Sutton was part of “East Surrey”) – when Sutton became part of Greater (South-West) London. Of course, for a price, Sutton Library might help you via an online enquiry – but this data is free during a personal visit. Whatever the case, always be on the look-out for local open-days and local historians.

Sutton: St Nicholas Church – Where Stone Eagle’s Dare! (13.9.2025)

13/09/2025 Adrian (釋大道)

Why did a Sutton Town Planner come up with the idea of a) demolishing the Old Rectory (which should have been a listed building), and b) placing the Gate-Eagles on two-plinths jutting-out of Council Flat walls? Was this an example of Free Masonry gone mad – or madder than their usual schemes? I spent about 15-minutes talking with a local historian in St Nicholas Church, Sutton, during an exhibition of the stain-glassed window and various stones. He told me that the Rectory Gates were originally in West Street – but the eagles ended up on the main road situated on the exterior walls of the new Council Houses – now named “Beech Tree Place” – effectively around the corner in a different street.

Italy: Study Finds Winged Lion of Venice Has “Chinese” Origin! (11.9.2025)

11/09/2025 Adrian (釋大道)

It would seem that between the Tang and (Islamic) Yuan Dynasties (around six-hundred years) this Lion sat dutifully outside a temple (or a tomb) – before being transported to the West and extensively “altered” to suit Western sensitivities – although it is highly likely that very few Europeans knew what an African (or “Indian”) lion actually looked like. Most Chinese lions I have seen are sat-down and I have never seen such an object stood-up on all fours. It would be interesting to see what the Lion in question looked like before the alterations. Finally, it is interesting that the British author (and former Submarine Commander in the Royal Navy) – Gavin Menzies (1937-2020) – wrote a book entitled “1434: The Year a Chinese Fleet Sailed to Italy and Ignited the Renaissance” (2008). He discusses the Chinese delegation that met with Pope Eugenius IV in Florence (1434) – and suggests that China had some type of diplomatic connection with the City States (which included Venice). Those who criticise Menzies’ work – are the same people who would never have allowed for idea that St Mark’s Lion could be of a “Chinese” origin. Given that this Lion arrived in Venice around 1264 – this Chinese Mission would have occurred only 166-years later.

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