user since
Fri Aug 27 1999 at 02:37:02 (24.6 years ago )
last seen
Sun Jun 13 2010 at 09:22:34 (13.8 years ago )
number of write-ups
118 - View Spasemunki's writeups (feed)
level / experience
8 (Encyclopedist) / 3858
C!s spent
14
specialties
Unclassified trivia. Religion, particularly Buddhism (and sometimes Islam), and particularly the Theravada. Related cultural, linguistic, historical, and scholarly tidbits.
motto
Katham-bhuutassa me rattin-divaa viitipatantiiti?
most recent writeup
A Thai Wedding in America
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Death by Water

dispatches from the Orbiting Simian Command Center. . .
medkid1: i'm cutting up dead people
Spasemunki: nice!
medkid1: i keep thinking you would find it so funny
medkid1: we make them do stupid shit

Spasemunki: how's med school?
medkid2: it's cool
medkid2: I have a huge fat cadaver
Spasemunki: nice
medkid2: I named him Woody after Woody Woodpecker because he has an extra vestigial muscle
medkid2: found mostly in avians, useless for humans
Spasemunki: quality
medkid2: he is so fat
medkid2: all his organs are extremely large

The future of health care is now. And it's my former roommates and housemates. Be very afraid.Names changed to protect the innocent. From my friends.

"Perhaps it's fortunate that monkeys don't have access to dynamite."
-A Discovery Channel narrator, erring on the side of caution.


Member of e2religion.


Contact Info:

Updated and Otherwise *New* Nodes


All my nodes are works in progress. These are the ones that have been progressed upon the recentest.
  • Hawley-Cooke- A complete rewrite, incorporating some history that surfaced with news of the venerable chains passing. Farewell, HC, you will be missed.
  • Buddhaghosa- extra biographical material and some information about sources provided, again, by Bhikkhu Nanamoli. Sadhu, Bhante!
  • Thai Forest Tradition- A lot more information, added from memory. Unfortunately, the sources that I had when I first wrote this have dissappeared, so it still isn't complete. At some point, I'll either get a hold of the books I need, or go back and see what I've got in the paper I wrote that catalyzed this node.
  • Forest Recollections- Totally re-written from the origonal, rather short post.
  • Buddhist vegetarians- found some new info about the Buddha's last meal that I've now included.
  • Gate gate paragate parasamgate- A very short, old, ill-formatted writeup that was beefed up quite a bit. Also discovered that an older writeup giving the litteral translation had departed, making my wu somewhat incoherant. Fixed that as well. Thanks to an anonymous downvoter for bringing this one to my attention ;) The system works again!
  • Thich Nhat Hanh: Bugfixes, new information about Thay's trip to Vietnam
  • Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: The game that will never die. New updates about Black Industries and the resurrection of WFRP

Please, visit, comment, vote, and anything else you'd like. Please /msg me about spelling, formatting, or wrongness errors (inadequite wrongness is particularly troubling to me).

I'm attempting to maintain something of a Theravada Buddhism meta-node, located at Theravada. Please /msg me with any nice Theravada/Hinayana related nodes. Anything Pali language related is also good, for all you scores of dead Indo-Aryan language fans out there. I'm also always interested to look into new wu's that deal with these topics, and I'm willing to help resolve language or other issues in posting Buddhism/Pali/Sanskrit material.

Furthermore, I'm maintaining the Buddhism meta-node, under the auspices of the e2religion usergroup. If you have contributions, suggestions, criticism, or pie, please drop me a line.

A Plea for Contributions
I've spent a good deal of my time here noding bits and bobs related to Theravada Buddhism, one of the somewhat less noticed schools of Buddhist thought active in the world today (which is to say, it is neither Zen nor Tibetan Buddhism). It's come to my attention that another school with a long history, and moreover a lot of interesting stuff going on with it, is sorely lacking in nodeshare: the various Pure Land schools. There's nothing on Shinran but a nodeshell. Jodo Shin and Jodo show up only in a writeup on Schools of Japanese Buddhism, and as a martial art performed with a short stick. Nothing on the Sanskrit sutras which form the underpinnings of Pure Land belief. Nothing on mappo. Couldn't even find the nembutsu described or defined, 'til I went and did it myself. Seriously folks- the Pure Land is one of the most populous schools of Buddhism in the world! How's about a little respect?

I certainly aim to do my part at filling in these holes (at some point), but it cannot be done by one Spasemunki alone (certainly not without risking RSI). Scholars and practitioners of Buddhism of e2, rescue our Pure Land brethren (and sistrethen, if that's a word) from obscurity! Sure, it's not as sexy as Zen or Tibet. And yes, for those who fled to Buddhism from certain monotheisims starting with 'C', it smacks of a certain something threateningly theistic and faith based. . . But nevertheless. . . please, lend a hand. /msg me with contributions, and I'll highlight them here, with the intent of eventually creating some sort of meta-node or e2 guide to the Pure Land, by one so inclined

Current Pure Land Nodes on E2: (those brought to my attention, at least)

Bookmark Rationale


I bookmark:
  1. Nodes that I visit a lot
  2. Nodes that I Just Like
  3. Nodes I plan on doing a wu for
  4. Nodes I'm talking to the author about
  5. Nodes I plan on visiting and learning something from some day