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  1. #1

    Default Resources & Insights For Striving Towards A "Cruelty-Free" Life

    part 1 of 3

    <<<RESOURCES>>>

    First, let me define some key-terms & offer links for further info about them, to start out with:

    ---"Cruelty-Free"

    A verbal-label which usually denotes a human-product made without animal-testing.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruelty-free

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    ---"Vegan"

    A person who abstains from food/clothes/tools/entertainment that was produced through the exploitation of animals or animal-byproducts.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veganism

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    ---"Jainist"

    A person who practices the Five Great Vows of "Non-Violence", "Non-Possessiveness", Non-Dishonesty", Non-Thievery" and "Non-Reproductivity"; in order to weaken the sway of the physical & strengthen the spiritual, for the purpose of attaining liberating insight which will end the cycle of death-&-rebirth. (Thus achieving moksha from samsara.)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jainism

    See Also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jain_vegetarianism

    * * *

    ---"Vajrayana Buddhist"

    A person who utilizes "skillful-means" to repurpose "desire" to the point of totally exhausting any influence by the mental-poisons/hindrances over one's thoughts/speech/actions (plus practicing regular principles espoused by Gautama Buddha through the "Four Noble Truths" & the "Noble Eightfold Path"); in order to have a direct-experience of the truth-of-reality. (Which provides an alternative path to the same wisdom which ends the cycle of suffering,-death-&-rebirth.)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vajrayana

    See Also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_vegetarianism

    * * *

    ---"Albigensian Cathar (Gnostic Christian)"

    A person who practices extreme ascetic-renunciation from worldly-activity in order to focus exclusively on one's "spiritual-essence" in order to eventually achieve salvation from our current state of "material-imprisonment".

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catharism

    See Also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_vegetarianism
    +
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manichaeism
    +
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandaeism

    * * *

    ---"Bodhisattva"

    A person who has made the commitment to postpone entering pari-nirvana for the purpose of remaining in samsara in order to continue benefitting ALL beings still trapped in the cycle of death/rebirth; in addition to always dedicating any merit from virtuous activity towards the ultimate goal of EVERYONE'S salvation.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhisattva

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    * * *
    * * *

    DATABASES

    https://crueltyfree.peta.org/

    https://www.leapingbunny.org/

    https://www.crueltyfreekitty.com/

    "Cruelty-Free Kitty", "Leaping Bunny" and "P.E.T.A." each offer their own database where you can find "cruelty-free" versions of whatever items you might be intending to purchase.

    They also provide other articles relevant to sparking the heightened compassion that actually provokes a person to make the little augmentations to their own existence which can make a world-wide difference.


    * * *

    ARTICLES

    https://ethicalelephant.com/cruelty-free-loopholes/

    This article helps caution that even once an individual starts to care about the suffering of other lifeforms more, this human civilization is so based on exploitation that even "cruelty-free" products can misleading.

    https://lmi.edu/cruelty-free-vs-vega...he-difference/

    Similar to the "natural" VS "organic" labeling-problem, where advertisements of "all natural ingredients" conceal the fact that a product is still being generated in dubious ways, without adhering to any real kind of accountability for what they are claiming.

    https://www.sustainablejungle.com/fe...free-vs-vegan/

    https://www.tomsofmaine.com/good-mat...vegan-products

    Further clarifications over the differences & overlaps between "cruelty-free" and "vegan" labeling.

    * * *

    https://www.treehugger.com/best-huma...-traps-5090077

    https://veganuniversal.com/get-rid-of-ants-humanely

    https://www.familyhandyman.com/artic...t-rid-of-ants/

    Here are some humane solutions for "pest" problems.

    It's good to remember that a human home probably seems as if no different from a weird tree to animals, since houses are made of lumber & other repurposed materials from nature.

    But despite understanding that some creatures are considered "unwanted visitors", I limited myself to providing options for mice & ants.

    Hopefully, if other lifeforms are causing issue, these links will atleast spark the idea of seeking humane alternatives for removing whatever other creature(s) might be a nuisance to you.


    * * *

    https://pinkispalate.com/

    https://veganjains.com/recipes/

    http://www.jainvegans.org/recipes/

    This section deals with food; and the fact that even after abstaining from meals derived from suffering, our planet actually does still offer a cornucopia of abundance.

    So since sustenance is still required to maintain one's physical embodiment, here are a trio of websites that provide recipes that atleast attempt to minimize harm against other lifeforms.

    https://www.jaina.org/news/63088/Jai...ip-V.-Shah.htm

    In addition, here's an article concerning how Jainist tradition might need an update in regards to certain things like dairy, because the modern practiices related to that industry have changed alot since the days of Mahavira Jaina.

    * * *

    https://adventureswithart.com/best-v...lored-pencils/

    https://doublecheckvegan.com/vegan-art-supplies/

    The issue of ingredients derived from suffering extends to all types of items, including what humans create art with.

    But there are atleast a couple art-supply companies who offer tools that weren't made from animals.
    "For the benefit of everyone/everywhere/everywhen, may these ripples
    catalyze only cascades of goodness, with zero badness resultant.
    Spoken truly and sincerely."

  2. #2

    Default

    part 2 of 3

    <<<INSIGHTS>>>


    At some point during life, a person can notice how circumstances endlessly fluctuate back-&-forth between good-&-bad experiences.

    Eventually, through this up-&-down rollercoaster-ride, a person might ALSO notice that they aren't the only one enduring life's waxing-&-waning suffering.

    With awareness that others are caught up in the same plight, a person has the opportunity to decide that they don't want to be part of the problem.

    Amongst the myriad frustrations & disatisfactions, there are innumerable ways that we can choose to not contribute to the suffering of others.

    One of which is to not perpetuate the underlying cruelty that inherently exists in modern society.

    But what exactly does trying to shift one's lifestyle towards being "cruelty-free" really mean?

    To cut straight to the heart of the matter: the idea of living "cruelty-free" can be summed up as "Do No Harm".
    (As pledged during the medical Oath written in Ancient Greece by Hippocrates.)

    A second way to phrase that idea is: "Do Unto Others, As You Would Want Others To Do Unto You."
    (As taught during the ministry of Yeshua the Anointed/Jesus the Christened.)

    And that saying was paralleled by the wisdom of Kong Qiu/Kǒng Fūzǐ/Confucius, who framed things from the other person's side: "Never Impose On Others What You Would Not Choose To Be Imposed Upon Yourself".

    Yet another culture's distillation of this "Cruelty-Free" concept is found in the Jainist term "Ahimsa",
    which is the "Vow Of Non-Violence" a.k.a. the "Vow Of Harmlessness".

    So, to take up a "Cruelty-Free" lifestyle is to take up the habit of prioritizing the needs of others, before one's own needs, and especially above one's own "wants".

    To see things from the viewpoint of those we affect, so we can consider whether our thoughts/words/actions would make US feel hurt in any manner, before we act, for the sake of not hurting whomever we are about to affect.

    It's a change of heart that can metamorphosize the mind.

    And once that becomes part of one's attitude and behavior, we can foresee whether what we are about to do is the right thing or not.

    From there, there are levels of how far a person might push the envelope in living without inflicting unwanted effects, as well as actively striving to relieve those already suffering.

    For example:

    On the Consumerist level, one can reduce the inherent harm of the way that modern-day societies function, if a person stops buying products made with animal-testing..

    Animal-testing is the prectice of engaging in experiments to see what irritating, sickening or deadly side-effects could occur to a living creature, before being allowed to sell medicine, cosmetics, hygiene tiems & other things to humans.

    But, of course, if we wouldn't want chemicals sprayed in our eyes & mouths that hurt or kill us.... then it can be seen that rats & rabbits would not want these things done to them either.

    Which would then compel one's conscientiousness to support alternative options made by companies who create "cruelty-free" versions of the very same items one might have still wanted. But without contributing to the suffering of animals, and helping prove that these commodities can be safely created without animal-testing practices.

    Within the Consumerist level is also the ability to reduce how much trash one generates by choosing reusable items rather than disposable items, which saves money & fills less space in all the already-overwhelmed landfills.

    Recycle all you can.

    Next,
    on the Vegetarian level, a person can stop buying & eating meat.

    This "food" seems innocuous when you don't have to see what happens to create it. All meat, even fish, can only reach your plate after other living creatures are systematically slaughtered, after either being forcefully captured in the wild or bred into overcrowded captivity with only doom awaiting them in their future.

    Certainly we wouldn't want to live in a cage for our brief & uncomfortable life, before a butcher fatally wounds our body. And even more humane farmers still create a false sense of security, since their livestock still end up the victims of cleavers, no matter how friendly the farmer or how tranquil the pastoral lifestyle of a free-range chicken or grass-fed cow. It's still a ruse that ends in bloodshed. Which would be the equivalent of a human winning a lottery-prize where you are given food-&-shelter for 30-40 years, with the stipulation that when this time-period ends... you are tortured to death to make someone-else's dinner.

    Weighing the value of a whole life VS a single sandwich seems self-evident when seen in that light.

    After that,
    there is the Vegan level, where a person can stop utilizing anything made with even the "by-products" of animals.

    Stuff to drink or eat like milk, eggs, honey, butter, cheese, royal jelly, etc.

    Stuff to wear like fur, leather, silk, feathers, wool, etc.

    All of these items come from the same type of suffering that is inflicted on animals to get their meat.

    Cows are kept artifically inseminated to produce more milk. Hens are cramped into coops to take their eggs. And when no more milk or eggs are being produced, they both are rewarded by joining those killed for meat. Bee-hives are intruded upon to rob the honey which the bees laboured so hard to create & only receive a less-nutritious substitute in return. Wool is inhumanely sheared from sheep & llamas kept naked in cold climates. Silkworm Caterpillars & Spiders are kept in overcrowded conditions, before the caterpillars are boiled alive in their cocoons, (while spiders aren't widely used because they will cannibalize each other & they require "too much space" to spin webs for industrial-scale factory-farming). Leather is the hide of slaughtered cattle & other animals bred as livestock, so it also supports the meat industry too. And there are places in the world that still skin animals alive, including raccoons, to steal their fur faster. With zero regard for the pain inflicted by such an inhumane process!

    Once exposed to the reality of wear all these things come from, a person can see that anyone who values their own comfort & well-being wouldn't appreciate being subjected to such conditions.

    Not to mention all the animals who are being consensually subjected to public display & scrutiny, as well as forced to perform for human-entertainment. Which then evokes compassion towards the creatures kept by venues like circuses & zoos.

    And by ceasing support for all of these things, a person helps reduce demand for it in the future, which means less creatures will suffer, as it becomes less profitable to exploit & abuse them.

    Going from there, on the Jainist level,
    a person also starts respecting the lives of plants & micro-organisms as much as they can. In addition to minimizing the amount of possessions they own.

    Root-vegetables like garlic & onions would cease to be eaten, since these are produced underground & uprooting the entire plant to acquire the veggies ends up killing it. Not to mention the issue of earthworms& microbes who live in the soil, who are harmed by the cultivating/harvesting processes.

    Farming as a whole becomes treacherous, since even organic farms who avoid chemical pesticides for human-health reasons still utilize alternateive pest-solutions to naturally kill whatever grub or aphid is sharing the food they are growing.

    Even foraging for mushrooms results in the death of the fungus, because it isn't a fruit or nut that can be picked off from a tree or bush without stealing the main plant's life, too.

    Then there's Yeast, which is used to make dough rise in baked goods, like most bread. These micro-organisms are cooked alive in the heat of the oven, to produce the gases that inflate air-bubbles already trapped in the kneaded dough as the Yeast eat sugars & starches, before the temperature that all the Yeast die.

    So their sauna feeding-frenzy ends in mass-execution by a furnace gas-chamber.

    Following this, a Jain reaches the dilemma of seeds.

    In nature, seeds are part of fruit so that when an animal eats the berry or fruit, the seeds inside it will pass through the mobile lifeform's digestive system, before getting returned to the Earth somewhere farther away than the plant could have gotten the seed on its own.

    However, the sewage systems of modern day are not cornucopias of eaten seeds, which means that any seeds that pass through a human's guts get wasted.

    Nevermind the practice of roasting & eating seeds outright, which intentionally dooms the "germ of a potential new-life" within all viable seeds.

    This would be why a Jain abstains from many-seeded fruits & vegetables (like pomegranates & cucumbers), as well as ones where the seeds are difficult to remove from the fruit itself (like on the outside ofstrawberries). Atleast one can attempt to let a palmful of apple seeds have the opportunity to sprout (no matter how unlikely), just by dispersing them upon bare ground.

    The Jainist minimalism of possessions also means a reduce in contributing to the industrial-scale mass-production process which inherently increases the pollution-problem as waste-management services struggle to find room for all the rubbish.

    Finally, on the Universal level,
    a person strives to do no harm to anyone/anything/anytwhere/anywhen at all. This becomes a continuous commitment to be considerate about the lives of others, whether through your thoughts, words, or actions.

    And this means fostering an all-inclusive compassion that EVERYTHING deserves respect & happiness.

    Even things commonly deemed undesirable or dangerous.

    This can be as simple as refraining from swatting a mosquito or housefly.

    Or desisting the practice of poisoning ants.

    Or discontinuing the practice of setting mouse-traps.

    Even opting to not pull up so-called "weeds" you might feel don't belong amongst your lawn or garden. Or atleast transplanting them safely elsewhere.

    Another thing would be the downplayed reality that even recreational "catch & release" fishing for fun... still ends up harming animals, even if they are let go.

    That fishing-hook still pierces the piscine-entity's inner mouth, and I've unfortunately witnessed fish who are so hurt by this injury... that they end up dying from it, after getting released.

    It's quite uncomfortable to watch a happy-friend act like everything they're doing is fine... as the fish they caught & released... floats belly up along the water's surface....

    There's also the matter of using earthworms & other creatures for "live bait"...

    ...because if the recreational fisher isn't using fake lures, then there even more victims of hook skewering. Which, once again, is often fatal.

    ....

    Then, there's a metaphorical "can of worms" with MUCH more complicated implications & consequences:

    Vehicles & Fuel.

    Whether it is a car, truck, van, boat, ship, airplane, train, or any other motorized method of transportation....

    ...they all factor into the modern-world's "military-industrial complex" as driven by the scarcity of certain natural resources.

    Wars are justified over oil.

    Oil is drilled out of the environment through violent methods which both damage the land itself, and occcassionally result in major disasters from oil spills and oil-rig explosions.

    Then the oil is burned as various forms of fuel, which release gaseous emissions that contribute to air pollution.

    And a direct side-effect of high-speed transportation is the death of many animals.

    Cars & trucks cause road-kill...

    Ship propellors injure marine life...

    Flying organisms crash directly into turbines and windshields of aircraft....

    So shifting to cleaner energy doesn't actually solve all the harm that vehicles inflict on our fellow inhabitants of Earth.

    ....

    This is an enormous issue, yet I do realize that the convenience of such transportation will sway most people to forsake the other creatures that are left traumatized or or terminally wounded.

    Regardless, it is still worth my saying: Reducing our reliance on these machines by any amount will spare lives, no matter how few.

    With the warmer weather, Spring is always a good time to drive/ride less, and walk more.

    ...

    There is a vast scope of human choices, so listing every situation where a person could choose between "doing no harm" and some other decision that might be opportunistically beneficial in a selfish way, but inflict a negative result on other beings.... would be impossible....

    So, it is ultimately up to each of us to make use of our own brains in the heat of the moment.

    But it does become a natural inclination & tendency to choose doing the right thing, the more you do it.

    Also:
    we shouldn't forget that the flipside of "doing no harm" would be to actively "do good" for others.

    And there's so many ways you can help somebody each & every day. Little things like holding the door for someone, or helping carry something for them.

    Or more outgoing things like donating healthy food (like boxes of oatmeal, canned fruit, canned nuts, canned vegetables, etc) to your local "homeless shelter"/"soup kitchen"/"food bank"/or even a church/Y.M.C.A./monastery/temple, etc.

    Whether providing nourishing food or clean clothes, it is always worthwhile to make the time to share with those in your local area who need help.

    Even something like taking a walk down your neighborhood's streets with a trash-bag, to pick up any litter and properly dspose of it, is a simple activity which benefits our mutual environment. And I can say from my own experience doing this, that while removing rubbish from public places, you'll end up meeting other good-hearted people along the way. That helps counterbalance cleaning up messes made by the negative-side of humanity for me.

    Lastly: a couple years ago, someone named Arlene indirectly gave me one of the most perfectly-succinct pieces of all-encompassing advice I ever encountered in my whole life:

    "Do All The Good You Can".
    "For the benefit of everyone/everywhere/everywhen, may these ripples
    catalyze only cascades of goodness, with zero badness resultant.
    Spoken truly and sincerely."

  3. #3

    Default

    part 3 of 3

    <<<BONUS>>>

    For further inspirational motivation, here is the monologue by Pythagoras that catalyzed my own overdue commitment to ceasing all carnivorousness, in the Spring of 2019.

    * * *

    OVID, METAMORPHOSES 15

    2. PYTHAGORAS TEACHES HIS PHILOSOPHY

    https://www.theoi.com/Text/OvidMetamorphoses15.html



    [60] Here lived a man, by birth a Samian. He had fled from Samos and the ruling class, a voluntary exile, for his hate against all tyranny. He had the gift of holding mental converse with the gods, who live far distant in the highth of heaven; and all that Nature has denied to man and human vision, he reviewed with eyes of his enlightened soul. And, when he had examined all things in his careful mind with watchful study, he released his thoughts to knowledge of the public. He would speak to crowds of people, silent and amazed, while he revealed to them the origin of this vast universe, the cause of things, what is nature, what a god, whence came the snow, the cause of lightning—was it Jupiter or did the winds, that thundered when the cloud was rent asunder, cause the lightning flash? What shook the earth, what laws controlled the stars as they were moved—and every hidden thing he was the first man to forbid the use of any animal's flesh as human food, he was the first to speak with learned lips, though not believed in this, exhorting them.—

    [75] "No, mortals,” he would say, “Do not permit pollution of your bodies with such food, for there are grain and good fruits which bear down the branches by their weight, and ripened grapes upon the vines, and herbs—those sweet by nature and those which will grow tender and mellow with a fire, and flowing milk is not denied, nor honey, redolent of blossoming thyme. The lavish Earth yields rich and healthful food affording dainties without slaughter, death, and bloodshed. Dull beasts delight to satisfy their hunger with torn flesh; and yet not all: horses and sheep and cattle live on grass. But all the savage animals—the fierce Armenian tigers and ferocious lions, and bears, together with the roving wolves—delight in viands reeking with warm blood. Oh, ponder a moment such a monstrous crime—vitals in vitals gorged, one greedy body fattening with plunder of another's flesh, a living being fed on another's life! In that abundance, which our Earth, the best of mothers, will afford have you no joy, unless your savage teeth can gnaw the piteous flesh of some flayed animal to reenact the Cyclopean crime? And can you not appease the hungry void—the perverted craving of a stomach's greed, unless you first destroy another life?

    [96] "That age of old time which is given the name of ‘Golden,’ was so blest in fruit of trees, and in the good herbs which the earth produced that it never would pollute the mouth with blood. The birds then safely moved their wings in air, the timid hares would wander in the fields with no fear, and their own credulity had not suspended fishes from the hook. All life was safe from treacherous wiles, fearing no injury, a peaceful world. After that time some one of ill advice (it does not matter who it might have been) envied the ways of lions and gulped into his greedy paunch stuff from a carcass vile. He opened the foul paths of wickedness. It may be that in killing beasts of prey our steel was for the first time warmed with blood. And that could be defended, for I hold that predatory creatures which attempt destruction of mankind, are put to death without evasion of the sacred laws: but, though with justice they are put to death, that cannot be a cause for eating them.

    [111] "This wickedness went further; and the sow was thought to have deserved death as the first of victims, for with her long turned-up snout she spoiled the good hope of a harvest year. The ravenous goat, that gnawed a sprouting vine, was led for slaughter to the altar fires of angry Bacchus. It was their own fault that surely caused the ruin of those two. But why have sheep deserved sad destiny, harmless and useful for the good of man with nectar in full udders? Their soft wool affords the warmest coverings for our use, their life and not their death would help us more. Why have the oxen of the field deserved a sad end—innocent, without deceit, and harmless, without guile, born to endure hard labor? Without gratitude is he, unworthy of the gift of harvest fields, who, after he relieved his worker from weight of the curving plow could butcher him, could sever with an axe that toil worn neck, by which so often with hard work the ground had been turned up, so many harvests reared. For some, even crimes like these are not enough, they have imputed to the gods themselves abomination—they believe a god in heaven above, rejoices at the death of a laborious ox. A victim free of blemish and most beautiful in form (perfection brings destruction) is adorned with garlands and with gilded horns before the altar. In his ignorance he hears one praying, and he sees the very grain he labored to produce, fixed on his head between the horns, and felled, he stains with blood the knife which just before he may have seen reflected in clear water. Instantly they snatch out entrails from his throbbing form, and seek in them intentions of the gods. Then, in your lust for a forbidden food you will presume to batten on his flesh, O race of mortals! Do not eat such food! Give your attention to my serious words; and, when you next present the slaughtered flesh of oxen to your palates, know and feel that you gnaw your fellow tillers of the soil.

    [143] "And, since a god impels me to speak out, I will obey the god who urges me, and will disclose to you the heavens above, and I will even reveal the oracles of the Divine Will. I will sing to you of things most wonderful, which never were investigated by the intellects of ancient times and things which have been long concealed from man. In fancy I delight to float among the stars or take my stand on mighty Atlas' shoulders, and to look afar down on men wandering here and there—afraid in life yet dreading unknown death, and in these words exhort them and reveal the sequence of events ordained by fate!

    [153] "O sad humanity! Why do you fear alarms of icy death, afraid of Styx, fearful of moving shadows and empty names—of subjects harped on by the poets' tales, the fabled perils of a fancied life? Whether the funeral pile consumes your flesh with hot flames, or old age dissolves it with a gradual wasting power, be well assured the body cannot meet with further ill. And souls are all exempt from power of death. When they have left their first corporeal home, they always find and live in newer homes. I can declare, for I remember well, that in the days of the great Trojan War, I was Euphorbus, son of Panthous. In my opposing breast was planted then the heavy spear-point of the younger son of Atreus. Not long past I recognised the shield, once burden of my left arm, where it hung in Juno's temple at ancient Argos, the realm of Abas. Everything must change: but nothing perishes. The moving soul may wander, coming from that spot to this, from this to that—in changed possession live in any limbs whatever. It may pass from beasts to human bodies, and again to those of beasts. The soul will never die, in the long lapse of time. As pliant wax is moulded to new forms and does not stay as it has been nor keep the self same form yet is the selfsame wax, be well assured the soul is always the same spirit, though it passes into different forms. Therefore, that natural love may not be vanquished by unnatural craving of the appetite, I warn you, stop expelling kindred souls by deeds abhorrent as cold murder.—Let not blood be nourished with its kindred blood!

    [176] "Since I am launched into the open sea and I have given my full sails to the wind, nothing in all the world remains unchanged. All things are in a state of flux, all shapes receive a changing nature. Time itself glides on with constant motion, ever as a flowing river. Neither river nor the fleeting hour can stop its constant course. But, as each wave drives on a wave, as each is pressed by that which follows, and must press on that before it, so the moments fly, and others follow, so they are renewed. The moment which moved on before is past, and that which was not, now exists in Time, and every one comes, goes, and is replaced.

    [186] "You see how night glides by and then proceeds on to the dawn, then brilliant light of day succeeds the dark night. There is not the same appearance in the heavens,: when all things for weariness are resting in vast night, as when bright Lucifer rides his white steed. And only think of that most glorious change, when loved Aurora, Pallas' daughter, comes before the day and tints the world, almost delivered to bright Phoebus. Even the disk of that god, rising from beneath the earth, is of a ruddy color in the dawn and ruddy when concealed beneath the world. When highest, it is a most brilliant white, for there the ether is quite purified, and far away avoids infection from impurities of earth. Diana's form at night remains not equal nor the same! 'Tis less today than it will be tomorrow, if she is waxing; greater, if she wanes.

    [199] "Yes, do you not see how the year moves through four seasons, imitating human life: in early Spring it has a nursling's ways resembling infancy, for at that time the blade is shooting and devoid of strength. Its flaccid substance swelling gives delight, to every watching husbandman, alive in expectation. Then all things are rich in blossom, and the genial meadow smiles with tints of blooming flowers; but not as yet is there a sign of vigor in the leaves. The year now waxing stronger, after Spring it passes into Summer, and its youth becomes robust. Indeed of all the year the Summer is most vigorous and most abounds with glowing and life-giving warmth. Autumn then follows, and, the vim of life removed, that ripe and mellow time succeeds between youth and old age, and a few white hairs are sprinkled here and there upon his brow. Then aged Winter with his tremulous step follows, repulsive, strips of graceful locks or white with those he has retained so long.

    [214] "Our bodies also, always change unceasingly: we are not now what we were yesterday or we shall be tomorrow. And there was a time when we were only seeds of man, mere hopes that lived within a mother's womb. But Nature changed us with her skilfull touch, determined that our bodies should not be held in such narrow room, below the entrails in our distended parent; and in time she brought us forth into the vacant air. Brought into light, the helpless infant lies. Then on all fours he lifts his body up, feeling his way, like any young wild beast, and then by slow degrees he stands upright, weak-kneed and trembling, steadied by support of some convenient prop. And soon more strong and swift he passes through the hours of youth, and, when the years of middle age are past, slides down the steep path of declining age. This undermines him and destroys the strength of former years: and Milon, now grown old, weeps, when he sees his arms, which once were firm with muscles big as those of Hercules, hang flabby at his side: and Helen weeps, when in the glass she sees her wrinkled face, and wonders why two heroes fell in love and carried her away.—O Time, devourer of all things, and envious Age, together you destroy all that exists and, slowly gnawing, bring on lingering death.

    [237] "Yes, even things which we call elements, do not endure. Now listen well to me, and I will show the ways in which they change. The everlasting universe contains four elemental parts. And two of these are heavy—earth and water—and are borne downwards by weight. The other two devoid of weight, are air and—even lighter—fire: and, if these two are not constrained, they seek the higher regions. These four elements, though far apart in space, are all derived from one another. Earth dissolves as flowing water! Water, thinned still more, departs as wind and air; and the light air, still losing weight, sparkles on high as fire. But they return, along their former way: the fire, assuming weight, is changed to air; and then, more dense, that air is changed again to water; and that water, still more dense, compacts itself again as primal earth.

    [252] “Nothing retains the form that seems its own, and Nature, the renewer of all things, continually changes every form into some other shape. Believe my word, in all this universe of vast extent, not one thing ever perished. All have changed appearance. Men say a certain thing is born, if it takes a different form from what it had; and yet they say, that certain thing has died, if it no longer keeps the self same shape. Though distant things move near, and near things far, always the sum of all things is unchanged.

    [259] "For my part, I cannot believe a thing remains long under the same form unchanged. Look at the change of times from gold to iron,: look at the change in places. I have seen what had been solid earth become salt waves, and I have seen dry land made from the deep; and, far away from ocean, sea-shells strewn, and on the mountain-tops old anchors found. Water has made that which was once a plain into a valley, and the mountain has been levelled by the floods down to a plain. A former marshland is now parched dry sand, and places which endured severest drought are wet with standing pools. Here Nature has opened fresh springs, but there has shut them up; rivers aroused by ancient earthquakes have rushed out or vanished, as they lost their depth.

    [273] "So, when the Lycus has been swallowed by a chasm in the earth, it rushes forth at a distance and is reborn a different stream. The Erasinus now flows down into a cave, now runs beneath the ground a darkened course, then rises lordly in the Argolic fields. They say the Mysus, wearied of his spring and of his former banks, appears elsewhere and takes another name, the Caicus. The Amenanus in Sicilian sands now smoothly rolling, at another time is quenched, because its fountain springs are dry. The water of the Anigros formerly was used for drinking, but it pours out now foul water which you would decline to touch, because (unless all credit is denied to poets) long ago the Centaurs, those strange mortals double-limbed, bathed in the stream wounds which club-bearing Hercules had made with his strong bow.—Yes, does not Hypanis descending fresh from mountains of Sarmatia, become embittered with the taste of salt?

    [287] "Antissa, Pharos, and Phoenician Tyre, were once surrounded by the wavy sea: they are not islands now. Long years ago Leucas was mainland, if we can believe what the old timers there will tell, but now the waves sweep round it. Zancle was a part of Italy, until the sea cut off the neighboring land with strong waves in between. Should you seek Helice and Buris, those two cities of Achaea, you will find them underneath the waves, where sailors point to sloping roofs and streets in the clear deep. Near Pittheaan Troezen a steep, high hill, quite bare of trees, was once a level plain, but now is a hill, for (dreadful even to tell) the raging power of winds, long pent in deep, dark caverns, tried to find a proper vent, long struggling to attain free sky. Finding no opening from the prison-caves, imperious to their force, they raised the earth, exactly as pent air breathed from the mouth inflates a bladder, or the bottle-hides stripped off the two-horned goats. The swollen earth remained on that spot and has ever since appearance of a high hill hardened by the flight of time.

    [307] "Of many strange events that I have heard and known, I will add a few. Why, does not water give and take strange forms? Your wave, O horned Ammon, will turn cold at mid-day, but is always mild and warm at sun-rise and at sun-set. I have heard that Athamanians kindle wood, if they pour water on it, when the waning moon has shrunk away into her smallest orb. The people of Ciconia have a stream which turns the drinker's entrails into stone, which changes into marble all it raves. The Achaean Crathis and the Sybaris, which flow not far from here, will turn the hair to something like clear amber or bright gold. What is more wonderful, there are some waters which change not only bodies but the minds: who has no knowledge of the Salmacis and of its ill famed waves? Who has not heard of the lakes of Aethiopia: how those who drink of them go raving mad or fall in a deep sleep, most wonderful in heaviness. Whoever quenches thirst from the Clitorian spring will hate all wine, and soberly secure great pleasure from pure water. Either that spring has a power the opposite of wine-heat, or perhaps as natives tell us, after the famed son of Amythaon by his charms and herbs, delivered from their base insanity the stricken Proetides, he threw the rest of his mind healing herbs into the spring, where hatred of all wine has since remained. Unlike in nature flows another stream of the country, called Lyncestius: everyone who drinks of it, even with most temperate care, will reel, as if he had drunk unmixed wine. In Arcadia is a place, called Pheneos by men of old, which is mistrusted for the twofold nature of its waters. Stand in dread of them at night; if drunk at night, they harm you, but in daytime they will do no harm at all. So lakes and rivers have now this, now that effect.

    [335] "Ortygia once moved like a ship that drifts among the waves. Now it is fixed. The Argo was in dread of the Symplegades, which moved apart with waves in-rushing. Now immovable they stand, resisting the attack of winds. Aetna, which burns with sulphur furnaces, will not be always concentrated fire, nor was it always fiery. If the earth is like an animal and is alive and breathes out flame at many openings, then it can change these many passages used for its breathing and, when it is moved, may close these caverns as it opens up some others. Or if rushing winds are penned in deepest caverns, and they drive great stones against the rock, and substances which have the properties of flame and fire are made by those concussions; when the winds are calmed the caverns will, of course, be cool again. Or if some black bitumen catches fire or yellow sulphur burns with little smoke, then surely, when the ground no longer gives such food and oily nutriment for flames and they in time have ravined all their store, their greedy nature soon will pine with death—it will not bear such famine but depart and, when deserted, will desert the place.

    [356] "'Tis said that Hyperboreans of Pallene can cover all their bodies with light plumes by plunging nine times in Minerva's marsh. But I cannot believe another tale: that Scythian women get a like result by having poison sprinkled on their limbs.

    [361] "If we give any credit to the things proved by experience, we can surely know whatever bodies are decayed by time or by dissolving heat are by such means changed into tiny animals—Come now, bury choice bullocks killed for sacrifice, and it is well known by experience that the flower-gathering bees are so produced, miraculous, from entrails putrefied. These, like the faithful animals from which they were produced, inhabit the green fields, delight in toil, and labor for reward. The warlike steed, when buried in the ground, is a known source of hornets. If you cut the bending claws off from the sea-shore crab and bury the remainder in the earth, a scorpion will come forth from the dead crab buried there, threatening with its crooked tail.

    [375] "The worms which cover leaves with their white threads, a thing observable by husbandmen, will change themselves to funeral butterflies. Mud holds the seeds that generate green frogs, at first producing tadpoles with no feet, and soon it gives them legs adapted for their swimming, and, so they may be as well adapted to good leaping, their hind legs are longer than the fore-legs. The mother bear does not bring forth a cub but a limp mass of flesh that hardly can be called alive. By licking it the mother forms the limbs, and brings it to a shape just like her own. Do not the offspring of the honey bees, concealed in cells hexagonal, at first get life with no limbs, and assume in time both feet and wings? Unless the fact were known, could anyone suppose it possible that Juno's bird, whose tail is bright with stars; the eagle, armor-bearer of high Jove; the doves of Cytherea; and all birds emerge from the middle part of eggs? And some believe the human marrow turns into a serpent when the spine at length has putrefied in the closed sepulchre.

    [391] "Now these I named derive their origin from other living forms. There is one bird which reproduces and renews itself: the Assyrians gave this bird his name—the Phoenix. He does not live either on grain or herbs, but only on small drops of frankincense and juices of amomum. When this bird completes a full five centuries of life straightway with talons and with shining beak he builds a nest among palm branches, where they join to form the palm tree's waving top. As soon as he has strewn in this new nest the cassia bark and ears of sweet spikenard, and some bruised cinnamon with yellow myrrh, he lies down on it and refuses life among those dreamful odors.—And they say that from the body of the dying bird is reproduced a little Phoenix which is destined to live just as many years. When time has given to him sufficient strength and he is able to sustain the weight, he lifts the nest up from the lofty tree and dutifully carries from that place his cradle and the parent's sepulchre. As soon as he has reached through yielding air the city of Hyperion, he will lay the burden just before the sacred doors within the temple of Hyperion.

    [408] "But, if we wonder at strange things like these, we ought to wonder also, when we learn that a hyena has a change of sex: the female, quitting her embracing male, herself becomes a male.—That animal which feeds upon the winds and air, at once assumes with contact any color touched. Conquered India gave to the vine crowned Bacchus lynxes, whose urine turns, they say to stones, hardening in air. So coral, too, as soon as it has risen above the sea, turns hard. Below the waves it was a tender plant.

    [418] "The day will fail me; Phoebus will have bathed his panting horses in the deep sea waves, before I can include in my discourse the myriad things transforming to new shapes. In lapse of time we see the nations change; some grow in power, some wane. Troy was once great in riches and in men—so great she could for ten unequalled years afford much blood; now she lies low and offers to our gaze but ancient ruins and, instead of wealth, ancestral tombs. Sparta was famous once and great Mycenae was most flourishing. And Cecrops' citadel and Amphion's shone in ancient power. Sparta is nothing now save barren ground, the proud Mycenae fell, what is the Thebes of storied Oedipus except a name? And of Pandion's Athens what now remains beyond the name?

    [431] "Reports come to me that Dardanian Rome is rising, and beside the Tiber's waves, whose springs are high in the Apennines, is laying her deep foundations. So in her growth her form is changing, and one day she will be the sole mistress of the boundless world. They say that soothsayers and that oracles, revealers of our destiny, declare this fate, and, if I recollect it right, Helenus, son of Priam, prophesied unto Aeneas, when he was in doubt of safety and lamenting for the state of Troy, about to fall, `O, son of a goddess, if you yourself, will fully understand this prophecy now surging in my mind Troy shall not, while you are preserved to life fall utterly. Flames and the sword shall give you passage. You shall go and bear away Pergama, ruined; till a foreign soil, more friendly to you than your native land, shall be the lot of Troy and of yourself. Even now I know it is decreed by Fate that our posterity, born far from Troy, will build a city greater than exists, or ever will exist, or ever has been seen in former times. Through a long lapse of ages other noted men shall make it strong, but one of the race of Iulus; shall make it the great mistress of the world. After the earth has thoroughly enjoyed his glorious life, aetherial abodes shall gain him, and immortal heaven shall be his destiny.’ Such was the prophesy of Helenus, when great Aeneas took away his guardian deities, and I rejoice to see my kindred walls rise high and realize how much the Trojans won by that resounding victory of the Greeks!

    [453] "But, that we may not range afar with steeds forgetful of the goal, the heavens and all beneath them and the earth and everything upon it change in form. We likewise change, who are a portion of the universe, and, since we are not only things of flesh but winged souls as well, we may be doomed to enter into beasts as our abode; and even to be hidden in the breasts of cattle. Therefore, should we not allow these bodies to be safe which may contain the souls of parents, brothers, or of those allied to us by kinship or of men at least, who should be saved from every harm? Let us not gorge down a Thyestean feast! How greatly does a man disgrace himself, how impiously does he prepare himself for shedding human blood, who with the knife cuts the calf's throat and offers a deaf ear to its death-longings! who can kill the kid while it is sending forth heart rending cries like those of a dear child; or who can feed upon the bird which he has given food. How little do such deeds as these fall short of actual murder? Yes, where will they lead? Let the ox plough, or let him owe his death to weight of years; and let the sheep give us defence against the cold of Boreas; and let the well-fed she-goats give to man their udders for the pressure of kind hands. Away with cruel nets and springs and snares and fraudulent contrivances: deceive not birds with bird-limed twigs: do not deceive the trusting deer with dreaded feather foils: do not conceal barbed hooks with treacherous bait: if any beast is harmful, take his life, but, even so, let killing be enough. Taste not his flesh, but look for harmless food!”

    https://www.theoi.com/Text/OvidMetamorphoses15.html
    "For the benefit of everyone/everywhere/everywhen, may these ripples
    catalyze only cascades of goodness, with zero badness resultant.
    Spoken truly and sincerely."

  4. #4

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    Another thing for this thread:

    If there's an item you already use frequently, but there's no cruelty-free or vegan version(s) available in your local area yet, YOU can actually contact the company you already support & make a polite request that they consider adjusting the materials they use!

    You see: I myself just did this very thing!

    Last week, I called the number on the back of the box of Crayola markers (which I needed to replace).

    Previously learning from the resources above that Chartpak made vegan markers, I had tried to acquire some of those.

    ...but unfortunately nowhere around here sold them!

    Hence deciding to see if maybe Crayola (who has wide distribution) would hear me out on the topic of either altering the ingredients to eliminate all animal byproducts or creating a vegan sub-line.

    And while there's no telling IF or WHEN that phone-call might result in any change... the company did listen and collect info.

    That leads me to provide a list of animal-derived ingredients AND actual alternative ingredients which can be substituted in place of those harm-inducing ones:

    Spoiler!


    https://www.peta.org/living/food/ani...redients-list/

    That list is helpful because a company is more likely to ACTUALLY consider changing if shown that workable alternative-options already exist!

    So, again:

    Whether striving towards more humane meals, or art supplies, or hygiene products, or clothes/shoes, or ANYTHING, just remember that by taking a little time to make your interest in humane practices by all businesses known to them... your actions will add to the efforts & endeavours of others, which eventually accumulates into an appreciable difference that benefits the whole world!
    "For the benefit of everyone/everywhere/everywhen, may these ripples
    catalyze only cascades of goodness, with zero badness resultant.
    Spoken truly and sincerely."

  5. #5

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    Hey, just wondering... What exactly do you get out of using a dead forum as your personal blog? There are better ways of going about it, you know.
    Le Temps Detruit Tout
    Quote Originally Posted by Maenara View Post
    I am literally not dealing with this.

  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by Tymek View Post
    Hey, just wondering... What exactly do you get out of using a dead forum as your personal blog? There are better ways of going about it, you know.
    Although I disagree about any of these posts being akin to a "personal blog"... if you actually want to know, I can elaborate:

    It all starts with meditation.

    And as it turns out, when investigating my own mind, there was alot of "unfinished business" with places & people from my past. PSO-W being one of those places.

    I did write a rather long post in the "Lounge" introduction section of the forum that explained how I read PSO-W for many years in the mid-2000s, but had nothing to really contribute back then.

    Now that things are a bit different, I decided that, as a part of reciprocating all the little "life lessons" that the people here gave freely to everyone.... I would share what seemed significant enough to impart, in the hope that maybe somebody would benefit.

    Obviously, whether any given person values similar things as me (in order to relate on the intimate level necessary to actually gain some benefit), is itself impossible to truly gauge.

    However, there are people who do still stop by PSO-W and hopefully the combination of topics directly related to Phantasy Star, and all subjects related to everything in life surrounding that electronic experience, contain atleast a smidgeon of "something" worthwhile.

    Even if it only amounts to sharing a couple dozen drawings.

    But, again, there is a real hope that maybe someone out there has read or seen something which they were previously unaware of, and that catalyst will itself hopefully be of benefit to a whole chain-reaction of people.

    ....

    In the end, perhaps this will give you, Tymek, peace of mind as to my intentions, and perhaps peace of mind to me as well, concerning the ability to move on from all the karmic entanglements made by an online game from our mutual past.
    "For the benefit of everyone/everywhere/everywhen, may these ripples
    catalyze only cascades of goodness, with zero badness resultant.
    Spoken truly and sincerely."

  7. #7

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    More ways that little things can make a big difference:

    If you frequently jot down memos to yourself,
    instead of buying sticky-notes or note-pads,
    you could just repurpose your otherwise-unwanted junk-mail!

    Basically,
    simply ripping up the envelopes and any sections of the inner pages that are blank on atleast one side
    provides free paper for your memos,
    which saves you money otherwise spent on note-pads,
    which reduces your paper usage,
    which simultaneously conserves trees!

    And once done with these little pieces of scrap paper,
    recycling them is yet another way to help prevent deforestation.

    * * *
    * * *
    * * *

    For further info about the importance of altering habits to prevent the loss of this planet's rain-forests:


    https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/...r-daily-lives/


    https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/everyday-actions/
    "For the benefit of everyone/everywhere/everywhen, may these ripples
    catalyze only cascades of goodness, with zero badness resultant.
    Spoken truly and sincerely."

  8. #8

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    Single-use disposable-items are a big part of the pollution-problem.
    Therefore:
    Long-lasting reusable-items are part of the solution!!


    Discontinuing to use stuff that is only utilized once (before getting thrown away)
    and then exchanging such things for alternatives that can simply get washed & re-utilized many more times,
    would greatly assist with reducing this world's waste.

    For example:

    Switching to carrying a hankerchief, which is easily cleaned & reused,
    rather than expending more money & creating more trash via numerous boxes of kleenex-tissues.

    Another example:

    it's becoming more common to see people bring tote-bags into grocery stores,
    to be used instead of the paper-bags that the supermarkets provide at checkout.

    This helps reduce the usage of paper, which also reduces the demand to cut down trees.

    In addition, totes are stronger & less likely to rip when overfilled.
    So you get much more usage out of a single tote,
    when compared with the other types of bags that frequently become litter.

    Or how about:

    Bringing around your own THERMOS-style water-bottle, which is easily refilled,
    rather than disposing of yet-another empty water-bottle,
    which can be seen strrewn across the land AND floating in the sea.

    With all that said:

    Please share any reusable alternatives for disposable items that you've found!

    You might mention something that other forum-goers weren't aware of, yet!
    Last edited by feather-flower; Mar 3, 2023 at 07:34 PM.
    "For the benefit of everyone/everywhere/everywhen, may these ripples
    catalyze only cascades of goodness, with zero badness resultant.
    Spoken truly and sincerely."

  9. #9

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    Gautama's guidance:

    https://www.dhammatalks.org/books/No.../Contents.html

    A comprehensive account of Siddhartha Gautama's life and teachings.

    Table Of Contents

    Titlepage
    Contents
    Cover
    Copyright
    Introduction
    Map
    Abbreviations
    Birth
    The Noble Search
    The Awakening
    Past Lives
    Kamma & Rebirth
    The Four Noble Truths
    Unbinding
    After the Awakening
    Contemporary Views
    Spreading the Dhamma
    Setting the Wheel of Dhamma in Motion
    The Not-Self Discourse
    The Thirty Friends
    The Three Kassapa Brothers
    The Fire Sermon
    King Bimbisāra of Magadha
    The Two Chief Disciples
    Returning Home
    Training the Saṅgha
    Establishing the Nuns’ Order
    The Eight Vows of Respect
    Dwelling near Sāvatthī
    King Pasenadi Kosala & Queen Mallikā
    Lady Visākhā
    Devas
    Training the Saṅgha
    Wandering
    Family Matters
    The Buddha’s Dwelling
    Portraits of the Buddha
    The Buddha as Victor
    The Quarrel at Kosambī
    Devadatta
    Attempts on the Buddha’s Life
    Schism
    Old Age
    The Last Year
    Relinquishing the Fabrications of Life
    The Four Great Standards
    The Last Day
    From Body to Relics
    The First Council to the Present
    The Group Recitation
    The Lesser & Minor Training Rules
    The Brahmā-punishment
    The Survival of the Dhamma & Vinaya
    Glossary
    Further Reading
    Endnotes
    Enormous gratitude must be extended to Thānissaro Bhikkhu, who translated this material into the English language, with additional commentary to provide context, and has shared it all FOR FREE, to benefit all beings!
    "For the benefit of everyone/everywhere/everywhen, may these ripples
    catalyze only cascades of goodness, with zero badness resultant.
    Spoken truly and sincerely."

  10. #10

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    ...and Arlene's wise words are worth repeating:

    "Do All The Good You Can"
    "For the benefit of everyone/everywhere/everywhen, may these ripples
    catalyze only cascades of goodness, with zero badness resultant.
    Spoken truly and sincerely."

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