#Monk and Missionary

[pyomatic]

oh no i'm realising my two special interests of medieval Christianity and spirituality, and 19th century boating disasters leading to exposure and cannibalism would dovetail into a really coherent story

[cultfaction]

Derrick O'Connor - The Irishman with intense screen presence and versatility

Derrick O’Connor was an Irish actor known for his intense screen presence and versatility, which allowed him to excel in a variety of roles across film, television, and theatre. Born on January 3, 1941, in Dublin, Ireland, O’Connor’s career spanned several decades, during which he became known for his distinctive character work and collaborations with acclaimed directors like Terry Gilliam. His…

[bukatra]

Headcanon that Dean has lots of sex with a lot of people but most of it is pretty vanilla. He's slapped a girls ass, he's let a few girls edge him a bit, 1 time he put on panties, but thats pretty much it.

Wheras Sam can easily go monk for years(he can take care of himself just fine, thank you very much). But when he does have sex, its freaking kinky as hell. I'm talking bdsm. I'm talking toe sucking. DDLG. Toys. Bottoming. Topping. Roleplay. The full 9 yards. And his general attitude is that there isn't much he wouldn't try once if it was with the right partner.

Best part: both Sam and Dean think the other one is the opposite. Sam thinks Dean has tried every position and toy under the sun and Dean thinks Sam does it missionary style with the lights off reciting poetry.

Now:

Imagine all the bazillion ways that they could discover how wrong they are in hilariously embarrassing hijinks.

Your welcome.

[gallifreyanhotfive]

Random Doctor Who Facts You Might Not Know, Part 30

The Second Doctor and Jamie once landed on the nucleus of a uranium atom. An entire civilization lived there and told them stories of their sister planets being destroyed by humans splitting atoms for nuclear power.

Irving Braxiatel once claimed he had a phobia of foreign objects being put in his mouth.

Moments after leaving the Fourth Doctor, Sarah Jane encountered the Monk.

The Monk is also aware of the existence of Jenny, the Doctor’s daughter.

The Eighth Doctor once befriended and traveled with an Ice Warrior named Ssard as a companion. Upon leaving the TARDIS, Ssard married Stacy, one of the Doctor’s other companions.

Removing a Time Lord’s second heart eliminates their respiratory bypass.

It is incredibly difficult to give Braxiatel presents because his future self will often ship him whatever he wants the second he decides he wants it.

The Eighth Doctor gave Braxiatel socks for Christmas.

Similar to the Greek letter nicknames Omega and Theta Sigma, there was a Time Lord called Epsilon Delta. Epsilon Delta grew to hate the Time Lords and ran away from Gallifrey, eventually adopting the title the President as he had made himself President of St. Matthew's College on Earth.

There are beings that live in the time vortex. If you traverse the vortex unprotected, they might eat you.

The Eighth Doctor once referred to Braxiatel as a "colleague and occasional collaborator in adventures of the mind, the body and the soul." This is a really complex and convoluted way of describing your older brother.

While attempting to seduce the Seventh Doctor, Queen Angvia shoved his face in her breasts. She thought there was "boiling masculine virility under the flimsy of [his] beauty." By shoving his face in her chest, she gave him a dose of her pheromones. He and Mel only realized something was Very Wrong when he almost broke the notorious no-kissing rule.

While fetching a cake for K-9's birthday, Romana II single-handedly foiled an alliance between the Master, the Daleks, and the Cybermen, but when she returned with the cake, it came to life and asked not to be eaten.

After arriving in 1666, the Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane were almost run over by a heavily loaded cart being driven by someone in odd clothing. The Doctor didn't know this at the time, but this was the Terileptil leader that his Fifth incarnation was chasing.

Braxiatel's office in the Braxiatel Collection is part of his TARDIS.

Miss Hannigan introduced herself to Irving Braxiatel as a missionary. He responded by saying that missionary was an interesting position.

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[seangelfish]

Is this the request spot? If yes I'd like to request an nsfw-fluff hc of how Ichiro, Kuko, and Jakurai would please their partner in bed (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠) I hope you don't mind it (⁠*⁠´⁠ω⁠｀⁠*⁠)

This is actually my first time requesting so I'm kinda nervous ｡⁠:ﾟ⁠(⁠;⁠´⁠∩⁠`⁠;⁠)ﾟ⁠:⁠｡

A/N: Anon, I'm so sorry for the wait! I hope you're still around to read this! ;-; Thank you for requesting! I hope everyone enjoys!! (˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ♡

Featured characters: Ichiro Yamada, Kuko Harai, Jakurai Jinguji

♡ Tags: NSFW headcanons, established relationships (separate), romance, gn!reader (no mention of pronouns)

♡ Word count: 186 (Ichiro), 191 (Kuko), 193 Jakurai

MINORS DO NOT INTERACT! NSFW below the cut. Please proceed with caution.

ICHIRO YAMADA

Ichiro is the definition of basic, but he is willing to try out new things if that's what his partner wants. He might end up liking these new positions.

But to please you, Ichiro likes missionary more than anything else. He likes seeing you squirm below him as you beg him for more. You look so pretty, the faces you make turn him on even more. Plus, he's able to kiss you like this, and whisper praises in your ear. It's just so intimate that he wants sex with you to be like.

He also enjoys it when you wrap your arms around his neck and your legs locking him closer to you as he thrusts even deeper inside. He knows he's doing a good job when you start pulling his hair too, leaving bright red scratches on his back.

Other times, he may just eat you out. He likes being praised too! So, when he goes down between your legs, he likes it when you grip his hair, moaning sweet nothings to him as you arch your back to feel his tongue deeper inside you.

KUKO HARAI

Kuko is open to many things as long as it feels good, so let him experiment! Like Ichiro, he is willing to do whatever his partner wants, but he does have his limits so don't go asking him for things he definitely won't like!

The main positions he puts you in are probably doggy or flatiron. He loves the sound of his pelvis smacking your ass and your cries for him to go slower. This is also the perfect position to have you pinned down as his cock pounds you repeatedly.

On top of that, he loves painting his cum on your back. To him, it's like a reward, to see your usual clean self so messed up, your fingers gripped onto the bedsheets as you groan into the pillow. He finds you particularly cute in that moment – although you're always so cute to him.

Sometimes, he'd just finger you. He's not often horny considering the fact he is a monk. But at times when you're so needy – so annoying – then he'll have to listen to your word. And anyway, you always end up so giddy that it makes him laugh.

JAKURAI JINGUJI

Jakurai is a man who probably doesn't think about sex often, but he would do it for his partner. Whatever you want, he will do. He cares more about your pleasure than his own, but it's still a win-win situation as he's able to enjoy the time spent together too.

He prefers missionary, but he also likes spooning too. The times you two have sex are usually at night just before bed, when the two of you are back from work.

The way he moves his cock in and out of you is slow. Jakurai takes his time as slow sex feels more sensual for both of you. It's also very intimate as making out with him is slow too.

However, if you do want to go faster, then he will. After all, he does like hearing you moan and pant for him as drool drips down from the side of your mouth.

Spooning lets him fondle your breasts from behind, his head buried in the crook of your neck as he plants careful kisses here and there.

Sex is just so soft with Jakurai as he treats you like a delicate flower.

Intro page | Hypnosis Mic masterlist | Requests rules

[scotianostra]

St Monans Auld Kirk.

My third stop yesterday was at the Auld Kirk, St Monans. This church is said to be the closest to the sea in the whole of Scotland.

Just along the coast from mu previous stop, Newark Castle is another landmark that rises up from the coast to meet you.

Displaying the characteristic architectural style of the East Neuk churches, St Monans Auld Kirk forms a quaint and uplifting entrance to the town. The original church was started by King David II in the 14th century, although not used as a place of worship the building is open to the public and the community is currently trying to raise funds to buy it and use it as a hub for locals and tourists.

The site has been in use as a place of Christian worship since the 9th Century, although the story differs as to how the village got its name. One story says that St Monan had been a missionary in the Fife area, serving under St Adrian at St Andrews until he was murdered by Danish raiders. Another says that St Monan was actually St Moinenn, the Irish Bishop of Clonfert Brenain, and that it was his relics that were brought to Fife by Irish monks.

In the 16th century the English decided it was a viable target and set it ablaze and badly damaged t in a naval attack on the comminity duribg which the village's entire fishing fleet was burned or sunk. This would have been partof The Rough Wooing, an attempt to force the Marriage of Mary Queen of Scots to Henry VIII'S son.

I was surprised by the inside of the building and will post pics of it either tonight or in the morning.

[portraitsofsaints]

Saint Boniface

675-754

Feast Day: June 5

Patronage: Brewers, Fulda, Germany, World Youth Day

Saint Boniface was an English Benedictine monk known as the “Apostle of Germany” for evangelizing and reforming the Germanic church. He was a respected scholar, teacher, and priest, (then bishop) that was called to be a missionary. To convert the superstitious German pagans he cut down the giant oak tree dedicated to the god Thor, as a show of power of the true God, Christ. Boniface believed in Christian orthodoxy and fidelity to the Pope. He died, with 53 companions, a martyr.

Prints, plaques & holy cards available for purchase here: (website)

[talonabraxas]

Buddha Mind

“Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think. Suffering follows an evil thought as the wheels of a cart follow the oxen that draws it.

Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think. Joy follows a pure thought like a shadow that never leaves.” --Gautama Buddha

All sentient beings reside in the compassionate mind of the Buddha. Likewise, all the Buddhas dwell in our minds, because our True Nature is the Nature of Buddha.

[incorrectjttw]

Tripitaka: *shoves their hand in the slot of a toaster* Sun Wukong: … Tripitaka: …I get confused sometimes. Sun Wukong: Me too.

The Tang Monk before China knew the magic of coffee (coffee originated in the Middle East and Africa and was introduced to China by a French missionary in the 19th century)

[yoga-onion]

[Image above: Kumārajīva (344–413) was a Buddhist monk, scholar, missionary and translator from the Kingdom of Kucha (present-day, Aksu County, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China). The following is presumed to be one of the anecdotes referred by him.]

Buddha to his disciples, mini-series (16)

500 pieces of firewood - Never too late

An old man who had become an alcoholic came to see the Buddha in regretting what he did. He feared the consequences of the crimes he had committed. To the old man, the Buddha taught:

“Suppose we take down to the ground 500 carloads of firewood pulled by white elephants, how many carloads of fire would it take to burn all of this?” the Buddha asked.

“How many cars' worth of fire? No, just a little bit, a pea-sized fire is enough,” the oldman replied.

"Yes, that's right. Even if your accumulated sins are equivalent to 500 carloads, they will disappear if you confess," replied the Buddha.

Avadana 40

Note: Avadāna is one of the twelve-part sutra, a classification of Buddhist scriptures, which relates the good deeds of past lives to the events of their later lives. It mainly refers to the stories of the present and past (previous) lives of the Buddha's disciples, which explain the truth of good causes and effects and bad causes and effects. Avadāna is basically literature developed in tribal Buddhism, which flourished in the post-A.D. centuries from northern to north-western India.

However, there is some confusion with Jātaka (Ref), as many of the stories are on previous lives of Buddha, although they are called Avadāna. As the cult developed over time, it became mixed with neighbouring dialects and Sanskrit, and it is thought that a mixed Buddhist Sanskrit was formed that escaped regionalism. Therefore, the details and background of these Buddhist texts have not been clarified.

[画像: 鳩摩羅什 (くまらじゅう、梵:ｸﾏｰﾗｼﾞｰｳﾞｧ、344年 - 413年) は、亀茲国 (きじこく: 中国新疆ウイグル自治区クチャ市) 出身の西域僧、仏教普及に貢献した訳経僧である。下記は彼により紹介された逸話の一つであると推定されている。]

ブッダから弟子たちへ、ミニシリーズ (16)

五百台の薪 〜 決して遅くはない

酒浸りになっていた老人が、自己を反省して釈迦に会いにやって来た。彼は、これまでに自分が犯した罪業の報いを恐れていた。そんな老人に向かって、釈迦は次のように教えた:

「かりに白象の引く五百台の車いっぱいに積んだ薪を地面に降ろして、これを全部燃やすには、車何台分の火が必要か？」と問う釈迦。

「車何台分の火ですって？いいえ、ほんのちょっぴり、豆粒ほどの火で十分です」と答える老人。

「そうだ。あなたの重ねた罪が、たとえ車五百台分であったとしても、懺悔をすれば消えるのだ」と釈迦は答えた。

衆経撰雑譬喩 (ｱｳﾞｧﾀﾞｰﾅ) 40

注: アヴァダーナとは、仏典経典の分類である十���部経のひとつで、前世の善行を後世の出来事に結びつける仏教文献の一種。主に仏弟子の現世と過去（前世）の物語を指し、善因善果と悪因悪果の真理を説く。アヴァダーナは基本的に、紀元後数世紀にインド北部から北西部にかけて栄えた部派仏教で発達した文学である。

ただし、アヴァダーナと呼ばれるものの、釈迦の前世に関する話が多いため、ジャータカ（参照）と混同されることもある。仏教教団が発達するにつれて、近隣の���言やサンスクリット語と混じり合い、地域性を免れた混成仏教サンスクリット語が形成されたと考えられている。そのため、これらの仏典の詳細や経緯は明らかにされていない。

[whencyclopedia]

Saint Cyril

Saint Cyril (aka Kyrillos and Constantine the Philosopher, d. 867 CE) was a Byzantine linguist, teacher, scholar and missionary who famously preached Christianity to the Slavs in Moravia with his brother Methodius during the 9th century CE. He created the Glagolitic alphabet, the forerunner to the Cyrillic alphabet that bears his name, and did much to spread the religion, art and culture of the Byzantine empire into central Europe.

Early Life

Cyril is the monastic name the saint chose near the end of his life but he was born Constantine, the son of a military officer called Leo stationed in Thessaloniki; his mother may have been a Slav. He was a gifted linguist from an early age and was sent to Constantinople to further his education and study such languages as Syriac and Hebrew. Looked after by the eunuch Theoktistos, Cyril was ordained as a priest and served as an official at the Hagia Sophia church where he developed a close relationship with the Patriarch of Constantinople, the bishop Photios. The brilliant scholar quickly became the bishop's librarian. Cyril became a teacher of philosophy at the Magnaura university in Constantinople where he gained the epithet “Constantine the Philosopher”.

Cyril was next sent on two diplomatic missions, the first to the Muslim court at Samarra and the second to the Khazars, a Turkic tribe in the Caucasus, c. 860 CE. According to Cyril's 9th century CE biography, attributed to one of his disciples, the scholar monk was enthusiastic for the opportunity to spread the Gospel:

If you command, lord, on such a mission I shall gladly go on foot and unshod, lacking all the Lord forbade Hi disciples to bring.' The emperor answered, saying,: 'Well spoken, were you to do this ! But bear in mind the imperial power and honour, and go honourably and with imperial help.

Life of Constantine (in Shepard, 315)

The trip, unfortunately, ended in failure if it had intended to convert the Khazars to Christianity as the Byzantines only managed to baptise around 200 of them. The Khazaria state eventually adopted Judaism instead. Cyril did bring back souvenirs, though, said to be the relics of the exiled 1st century CE Bishop of Rome, Saint Clement. His ambitions were not dampened either as he promptly set off of his own accord into the Crimea to spread his message to the heathen Phoullai people. It is likely Cyril was not any more popular there, though, especially when he chopped down their sacred oak tree.

Continue reading...

[myemuisemo]

Part 10 of "Letters from Watson" of The Sign of the Four starts with Sherlock Holmes enthusiastically infodumping.

He appeared to be in a state of nervous exaltation. I have never known him so brilliant. He spoke on a quick succession of subjects,—on miracle-plays, on medieval pottery, on Stradivarius violins, on the Buddhism of Ceylon, and on the war-ships of the future,—handling each as though he had made a special study of it. His bright humor marked the reaction from his black depression of the preceding days.

I wondered "why these topics in particular?"

Miracle plays were, in 1890, the subject of a new book by Alfred W. Pollard of the British Museum. It received a positive review in The Spectator.

The Arts & Crafts Exhibition Society had its first exhibition in London in 1888. While handicrafting, the William Morris aesthetic, and such, had been around for a while by then, this was the big organized push for public attention. Not only did the Arts & Crafts movement draw on medieval influences, but many a UK pottery maker was on the site of a medieval kiln and interested in medieval techniques.

Stradivarius violins are, of course, the sought-after antique violin. There were at least two donated to the Musée de la Musique in Paris shortly before the time of this story, as well as a number getting heard by important violinists in important orchestras. Even more interestingly from Holmes' point of view, a factory in Germany had just started making Stradivarius copies.

Buddhism in Sri Lanka had lapsed into torpor in the early 19th century but was, by 1890, well into a resurgence. The kick-off, back in 1866, had been Buddhist monk Mohottivatte Gunananda challenging Christian missionaries to a debate. In 1890, he had just died; but he had founded a political movement.

As for war-ships, in 1889, the Naval Defense Act had passed. It called for the UK Navy to be maintained at least twice as large as the combined navies of the next two largest powers (then France and Russia). War ships -- both quantity and design -- had doubtless been in the news for a while.

These aren't obscure hyperfixations (though I'm all for obscure hyperfixations!). These are conversational topics appropriate for a well-read gentleman of the era: the sort who gets three or four newspapers, reads the book reviews, and then reads the books reviewed. This explains how Dr. Watson and Athelney Jones set him off, or even participated in the conversation.

We also, while on a boat, get the return of Winwood Reade's Martyrdom of Man (making it Chekhov's book reference?). Says Holmes of Reade:

“He remarks that, while the individual man is an insoluble puzzle, in the aggregate he becomes a mathematical certainty. You can, for example, never foretell what any one man will do, but you can say with precision what an average number will be up to. Individuals vary, but percentages remain constant. So says the statistician."

Statistics was not new -- scholarly sorts had become engaged with statistics during the Enlightenment -- but it was in the early stages of being systematized into the mathematical field we know today. Holmes sounds like he would have been a fan of Francis Ysidro Edgeworth's Metre-like: Or the Method of Measuring Probability and Utility, published in 1887, since it attempted to use probability as the basis of inductive reasoning.

Then we have a boat chase.

I love the boat chase. I feel like the boat chase might have contributed to inspiration for the train chase in Nicholas Meyers' The Seven Percent Solution, though I also feel that a train chase needs no justification other than "we have two trains and a problem."

Our heroes leave from Westminster Wharf, which I'm assuming is roughly today's Westminster Pier, which had not yet received its statue of Boudica. (Westminster is conveniently southeast of Marylebone, where Baker Street is located.) So that long gentle curve is the river past St. Paul's and the Tower of London and under multiple bridges. They pick up the Aurora about where the river heads into that first shallow down-curve and chase it up and down, around the Isle of Dogs, up past Greenwich, and around the down curve at Blackwall. So they must catch it as the river starts to straighten and widen.

A pleasure tour from Westminster Pier to Greenwich today takes about an hour, but those are the boats their launch was passing like they were standing still. The Eva, a Thames Steam Launch of the appropriate era, was one of the speediest of the time and could achieve 16.5 miles/hour.

Then... I really would have preferred an actual monkey. We've now had in this chapter so many reminders of the achievements of European, particularly English, civilization that the avalanche of adjectives framing the Andaman Islander as primitive stands out as a deliberate counterpoint, despite the inclusion of Ceylon and Winwood Reade. Will we ever know what the Andaman Islander Accomplice's motivations were? (If yes, will I wish even more fervently that we'd just stuck with a monkey?)

I love the boat chase, though.

[soup-mother]

Re: decolonising missionary work. Do you feel the same way about a Muslim Imam who travels to another country to bring converts to Islam? How about a Buddhist Monk who travels to other countries to bring enlightenment to others? What about the Sikhs, who instead of proselytism, they prefer to live by a moral standard (oft times in direct conflict with secular living) that causes non-followers to ask questions and possible want follow Sikhism? How about any other of the over 4,000 different groups/sect (or their 10's of thousands sub-sects) around the world? Or is your aim to stop only Christian missionary work? I honestly want to know.

proselytising is bad regardless of the religion. muslim missionaries are bad, hindu missionaries are bad, Buddhist missionaries are bad, sikh missionaries (which go further than just what you described) are bad etc etc etc. and so many of those listed have played active roles in settlement and opression throughout history.

(i can't remember who it was but there was someone talking about Muslim missionaries in south east asia that was really interesting)

living as an openly religious person is fine it's whatever, but i don't think you should try and make other people religious, people are genuinely fine without it. if it's your "duty" to try and bring in converts you're basically in a spiritual pyramid scheme.

and if you're concerned about smaller minority religions, proselytising and forced conversion is actively harming them (although a lot of people also just...leave their religion/religious communities anyway which is fine and cool)

hopefully that suffices as an answer! Christian missionaries are evil but also not the only missionaries, and missionaries from other religions are also bad.

[yamayuandadu]

How many Buddhist characters are there in Touhou, and which branch of Buddhism do they represent?

Putting aside the explicitly Buddhist Byakuren and the other Myouren-adjacent characters, who are presumably either Shingon or Tendai (I'm fairly sure I've seen both claims made regarding the semi-historical Myouren; I cannot check this right now, I'm sorry), the characters at the very least based on something Buddhism-related include: Yuyuko: her name is an allusion to Saigyo, who was a Buddhist monk, based on his reverence for Kukai’s teachings belonging to the Shingon school. Keine: hakutaku is hardly Buddhist, but her school is a terakoya, which is ultimately a (derivative of a) Buddhist institution, hence the frequent use of “temple school” in translations. I do not think ZUN ever addressed if there is a Buddhist temple in the village though, let alone what Keine has to do with it. Akyuu: while we know nothing about the personal beliefs of the semi-historical Hieda no Are, the term referring to Akyuu’s ability in Touhou, gumonji, is actually a real Buddhist ceremony belonging to the Shingon tradition. Ashiyama’s “officially unofficial” Gensokyo of Humans went all out with this. Eiki: while not exclusively Buddhist, the concept of kings of hell and related imagery did enter Japan in a Buddhist context. And her backstory is pretty explicitly based on the Buddhist notion of equivalence between Enma (Yama) and Jizou. Neither of these is exclusive to a specific school. Tengu, collectively: while the matter of tengu origin is complex, the notion of tengu living in an organized society, publishing own literature, etc. is rooted in so-called tengu scrolls from the Kamakura period, which are best understood as Buddhist political cartoons of the “I drew myself as the Chad and you as the tengu” sort. Arose due to rivalry between old establishment schools, Tendai and Shingon, with new ones like Nichiren in the Kamakura period. Tojiko: while nothing in the game really points at Tojiko herself being a Buddhist, I feel like it’s worth mentioning the Soga clan was the most firmly pro-Buddhist in the period when this was still a novelty not yet firmly rooted in Japan. The first schools established in Japan by Korean and Chinse missionaries are known collectively as Nanto Rokoshu. Miko: as we learn from the game itself, the semi-historical crown prince Shotoku was very much invested in spreading Buddhism, Miko's professed Taoist beliefs notwithstanding. I’m pretty sure ZUN’s idea is partially based on the Honchou Shinsenden, where Shotoku is presented as the Buddhist version of a Taoist immortal. Narumi: while Narumi’s in-universe status is sort of its own unique thing, Jizou is a firmly Buddhist figure as already discussed above, and she keeps the distinct iconography. Once again, not really tied to a specific school. Mai and Satono: directly based on Matarajin’s attendant deities, Chōreita Dōji and Nishita Dōji. Exclusively Tendai, and limited to genshi kimyodan rites at that, basically one of the deepest cuts in ZUN’s repertoire so far. Okina: based on Matarajin, probably the single most Buddhist character in Touhou in that her inclusion opened many doors (heh) for adapting irl materials for Touhou wholesale. Pretty firmly Tendai. Eika: the Ebisu theme is certainly there, and I do wish more was done with it, but her whole gimmick is largely based on Sai no Kawara, which is pretty explicitly Buddhist and ties into the Jizou and ten kings-related beliefs. Not really connected to a specific denomination though. Megumu: at the very least named after Iizuna Gongen, who is a Buddhist deity - not exclusively, but still. Ultimately associated with Shugendo more closely than any Buddhist school. Tsukasa is based on a youkai associated with practicioners of shugendo too. Bitten: sarugami are associated with multiple strictly Tendai deities like Sekizan Myojin and Sanno. Zanmu: based on legendary Zen monk Zanmu Nichihaku who according to a legend was actually a different, earlier Tendai monk, Kaison Hitachibo. Zun seems to focus on the Zen connection.

PC-98 only has the dubiously Buddhist example of Konngara, who is clearly named after Kongara-douji, but I frankly do not see much of a reason to assume the name isn’t used randomly in this context.

All around, Touhou pretty heavily skews towards Heian and Kamakura Buddhism, ie. more towards a time period rather than a specific school. I do think it is notable Zanmu is pretty clear Zen though. We'll see if that will lead to introduction of Nichiren and Pure Land characters eventually.

[paragonrobits]

i have to admit one of the most genuinely unsettling developments in fandom recently has been fans reading a book where Gyatso muses about spreading their teachings to other nations and immediately assuming they mean in exactly the same way as colonial proselyting rather than simply... well, spreading their teachings without it being the same thing as imposing their culture on others

and, for that matter, saying that Gyatso is as bad as Sozin for thinking that inspiring others to embrace pacifism would be a good idea.

That Gyatso is as bad as Sozin.

That a wise monk is as bad as the genocidal warmonger and conquering imperialist who wiped out Gyatso's people and began a hundred year war of conquest and cultural destruction.

That Gyatso was as bad as the person who outright genocided Gyatso's people. And the worst part about it is that this seems to be largely a negative response from people in fandom who are getting very quick to excuse the Fire Nation as not 'really' being fascist or colonizing or demonize the Air Nomads (again, the civilization of pacifist monks that were genocided to such a degree that its the whole reason the original series is called 'The Last Airbender', because the others are all dead) or accuse the Air Nomads as deserving to be wiped out, or conclude that teaching others if they are receptive to it is the same thing as explicitly stamping out cultural practices and ways of life (which, again, the Fire Nation is explicitly doing), or insisting that the Air Nomads are outright racist while claiming the Fire Nation is neither racist or classist (despite a standard insult from Zuko and Azula at their most antagonistic is constantly demeaning Katara or Sokka as 'peasants', or other Fire Nation characters referring to the Water Tribes as 'barbarians' and 'savages', or referring to Earthbending in equally demeaning terms)

Its largely from parts of fandom that has been increasingly growing more insular and saying things like this for a while, growing defensive of the Fire Nation (my guess is because they're often based in shipping arguments that have increasingly come to focus on their cultures and were already favoring the Fire Nation for its sense of power and luxury, which is constantly emphasized in the most common ship dynamics by some groups), and I think that its just kept escalating until we're now at the position where you're getting people saying "the Fire Nation was right to genocide the Air Nomads' and its horrifying to hear, but also unsurprising. Some of these particularly extreme aspects of fandom have already been in this base for a while.

It's unsettling to see them mask off so violently, but its not surprising. Acting like Gyatso is more evil than the genocidal warmonger who winds up killing him because of his dislike for the Fire Nation's racist views (established in other stuff as far predating the Hundred Year War, and leading up to it) and contemplating teaching people in other nations is exactly the same thing as coercive missionaries with colonial intentions.

It's honestly come full circle from the canon of the series being that the Air Nomads were a tragic first victim of the Fire Nation's war and Aang, their last survivor, must end that war, to these outspoken fandom people insisting the Fire Nation did nothing wrong, that they were justified in burning all the Air Nomads alive, and that Aang is the true villain of the setting, largely because of dislike of him from shipping purposes or being angry that the series didn't abruptly detour at the last second into a 'killing everyone who gets in your way is moral and never has long-term consequences' story that is antithetical to the series' big emphasis on harmony, long-term consequences, and that doing things spiritually is more important than getting them done quicker.

[scotianostra]

31st of August is the Feast day of St Aidan.

Not much is known about Aidan’s early life, it is thought he was born in Connach Ireland.

St. Aidan began his life of service on the Isle of Iona, the monastery at Iona was established by Irish monks under St. Columba, during the so-called “dark ages.” About a century later, in St. Aidan’s time, the monastery had become a major center of Gaelic Christianity and was receiving and sending monks across Europe.

By this time, Christianity in Northern England was largely replaced by the paganism of both native Britons and the Anglo-Saxon conquerors. The Kingdom of Northumbria (northern England and south-east Scotland) had just been reconquered by King St. Oswald of Northumbria. There was no Scotland or England as such back then, and no real borders Oswald brought the two Northumbrian kingdoms of Bernicia and Deira once again under a single ruler, and promoted the spread of Christianity,the North of Bernica are now part of the South of Scotland.

Oswald took back his father’s throne at the Battle of Heavenfield, where he prepared by praying before a wooden cross, legend says it was a relic of the True Cross. Next, Oswald beheld a vision of St. Columba who promised victory if his generals would be baptized. At council, all agreed to be baptized the night before and victory came to Oswald.

Oswald’s Northumbrian kingdom was small but remarkably diverse. Such was it you could hear at least four languages within the kingdom’s borders and there was a mix of church ruins and pagan sites dotting the landscape. While Christianity was initially brought to Britain by Roman saints, and strengthened by Sts. Gregory and Augustine of Canterbury, it had fallen away from the Britons with the Anglo-Saxon invasions.

When Oswald was killed in battle in 642, Aidan worked equally well with Oswin, king of Deira. Aidan preached widely throughout Northumbria, travelling on foot, so that he could readily talk to everyone he met. When Oswin gave him a horse for use in difficult terrain, Aidan gave it to a beggar soliciting alms. Oswin was angry until, as Bede recounts, Aidan asked if the son of a mare was more precious to the king than a son of God. Oswin sought Aidan's pardon, and promised never again to question or regret any of his wealth being given away to children of God. Both Oswald and Oswin are venerated in England as saints and martyrs.

Scores of Scottish and Irish monks assisted Aidan in his missionary work, building churches and spreading Celtic Christian influence to a degree that Lindisfarne became the virtual capital of Christian England. The saint also recruited classes of Anglo-Saxon youths to be educated at Lindisfarne. Among them was Saint Eata, abbot of Melrose and later of Lindisfarne. In time, Eata's pupil, Saint Cuthbert, also became bishop of Lindisfarne.

Aidan lived a frugal life, and encouraged the laity to fast and study the scriptures. He himself fasted on Wednesdays and Fridays, and seldom ate at the royal table. When a feast was set before him he would give the food away to the hungry. The presents he received were given to the poor or used to buy the freedom of slaves, some of whom entered the priesthood. During Lent Aidan would retire to the small island of Farne for prayer and penance. While there in 651, he saw smoke rising from Bamburgh, which was then under attack by the pagan King Penda of Mercia. He prayed for the wind to change, and many of the besiegers were destroyed by fire.

When Oswin was killed in 651 by his treacherous cousin Oswy, king of Bernicia, Aidan was grief-stricken. The saint outlived Oswin by a mere twelve days, dying in a shelter he had erected against the wall of his church in Bamburgh.

The first pic shows tomb of St Aidan, St Aidan's Church, Bamburgh, the second is a stained glass window depicting Aidan at the Monastic Chapel, Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, New York.