Tag: abn

Trump’s strategic realignment with Russia, viewed from the POV of energy supplies and costs

~ ABN ~ Leave a comment

SUMMARY: 

(1) Upon reelection President Trump told all U.S. energy providers to “drill baby drill” and maximize energy production. Trump then deregulated the industry for maximum efficiency: Secretaries Burgum (Interior), Wright (Energy) and Zeldin (EPA).

(2) Trump then meets with Putin in Alaska Aug 15, 2025.  Three days later, Aug 18, 2025, Putin restarts Russia’s flagship Arctic project, the LNG export facility via the Northern Route to Asia.

(3) President Trump then signs contracts with Finland for the urgent start of Arctic icebreaking ship manufacturing in the USA and emphasizes the prior conversation about taking over Greenland which infuriates the Dutch and EU.

(4) President Trump then triggers the Venezuela operation, captures Nicholas Maduro and -in addition to other benefits- forms a new strategic oil development relationship with the interim Venezuela government.  Russia stays silent.

(5) President Trump then triggers Operation Epic Fury against Iran; completely changing the geopolitical landscape that surrounds energy partnerships.  Energy flows through the Gulf of Oman are impacted.

(6) President Trump then removes specific sanctions against Russia permitting Russian oil and LNG to be sold (in petrodollars) into the Asian market.  Meanwhile, the European Union is forced to increase LNG purchases from the United States.

Sure, it could all be just coincidence… or not.  One thing is certain, the FIVE-EYES opposition do not think all of this downstream benefit that flows to Russia and the USA is coincidental.  The FIVE-EYES opposition see all of this as a strategic realignment between the USA and Russia, and they are going to do everything in their power to stop it.

link

__________

The author of the above appears to be in favor of USA/Israel attacking Iran, which I am not, but he otherwise makes a good point. From a pragmatic POV, his insight should be taken in; he’s probably largely right. From what I can see, good relations with Russia are of paramount importance for all northern—Top of the World—nations, including Europe, Japan, Korea, as much of Central Asia as wants in, Canada and the Western-derived nations NZ and OZ. Good can usually be found in all situations and this may be a good side of what is happening in Iran, something I personally find revolting and grossly laden with pseudo-Christian nonsense along with Jewish Supremacist madness. It’s basic Buddhism to recognize the human realm is characterized by craziness and delusion. Politically, we always have to work with what we have and no one ever gets everything they want or need. ABN

Prayer over Trump at White House today

~ ABN ~ Leave a comment

___________

UPDATE: Almost all humans become slaves to their metacognitive content, whatever that may be. In the video above, all participants are beholding (or pretending to behold) Jesus as the top of their metacognitive content. In Iran, political leaders are beholding something else at the top of their metacognitive content. In Israel, leaders are beholding something else. All three of these religions sprang from an inchoate Abrahamic tradition. Among these three, there are numerous further divisions and subdivisions. I believe there is not a single Catholic in the room above. Prayer is good and I am glad they are praying. I am not trying to dump on anyone, but do want to mention that Buddhism is different from all other religions in that it enjoins us (more or less) to not behold, or hold, anything at the top of our metacognitive content. This is the area the Buddha refused to describe, define or answer questions about. Why is that? It is because reifying top metacognitive content, holding it as absolute truth, is to retreat from its true reality; believing you absolutely know what God wants, however you put that, is a hindrance to fully experiencing Ultimate Reality, which you can call God if you want. The Buddha did not even use the term Ultimate Reality. He left the top metacognitive category blank, to be filled only by your own individual experience. For the fun of it, no matter how you see yourself, try throwing all of it out, leaving nothing at the top of your metacognition — no content, no identity, no self, no pride, no gods, no Buddha. Then go outside and walk around. Notice how easy it is to function perfectly well after replacing your habitual metacognitive prison with pure experience. ABN

FBI measurement of Kirk assassination shot distance 11x too far away, based on analysis — Jon Bray

~ ABN ~ Leave a comment

The FBI claims a rifle was fired from 142 yards away at a UVU event.

So we did something no one else has done — we used the physics of light vs. sound across 6 independent cell phone recordings to measure the actual distance to the source.

Light arrives instantly. Sound at 343 m/s. The delay = the distance.

Expected delay at 142 yards: 379ms
Measured delay: 35ms

11x too short.

link

It looks like the sound of the shot was merely sound effect used to make it appear Kirk was killed by a rifle shot from the roof. Imo, Bray’s work on the weapon used to kill Charlie is the best to date. ABN

Hemispheric Boss Level: Epic – Venezuela Edition

~ ABN ~ Leave a comment

…President Trump proactively secured the border, targeted narcotraffickers, confronted narcoterrorists, targeted Mexican drug cartel leadership, leveraged the DOJ to indict regional actors, pushed China out of control in the Panama Canal, took out Nicholas Maduro, took control of Venezuela oil production – both for the security of the U.S. and benefit of the Venezuelan people, removed the discounted oil benefit for China and reasserted stability in the Western hemisphere.

Then, with all that in place, he turned toward Iran…. but, proactively planned for a ‘Shield of the Americas Summit’ before the Iran operation began and scheduled it while Operation Epic Fury continues.

link

This is but a snippet from a longer article which is well-worth reading. I largely agree with the snippet above and with what Trump appears to be doing in the Western Hemisphere so far. The timing of Trump’s actions is also appropriate, but the author of this essay seems to agree with the attack on Iran. I respect the website this essay comes from and view it every day because it often has good insights into USA politics. At the same time, Jewish Supremacy and its roles in USA and US policy is never mentioned. This is unfortunate and could be due to habitual blinders or something else. In today’s world Jewish Supremacy and its terrible harms to USA and the world cannot reasonably be ignored. One could say that JS and its followers have the power and opportunity to conquer Iran and Russia, so let them do it. That is not an entirely irrational thing to say. I am not in that camp, but this is a Kill-Or-Be-Killed (KOBK) world at the top and that is how the world has always been. A KOBK analysis of what is happening is a deep and gruesome one, but KOBK is also the very nature of elite reality. JS and others going for world domination probably see themselves as Alexander the Great, which if they succeed would sort of be true. It’s always a good idea to see any event from all points of view, including the JS POV. ABN

Jewish Supremist fantasies underlie real-world actions

~ ABN ~ 2 Comments

__________

Personally, I see all of the Abrahamic religious variations as being unwise and potentially dangerous.

All religions and extremist politics, such as communism and woke, occupy the top cognitive levels of the mind; and for that reason lend themselves to fanaticism and consensus bias.

Christian-Zionists and many evangelical sects have been infiltrated by Jewish Supremists, who even dare to change the Bible and its Christian interpretations.

Buddhism has its problems, but three features of Buddhism are very wise and largely protect the tradition: 1) Buddhism does not take any written words to be God’s words, and thus subject to fanatical misinterpretations. 2) The Buddha always said he was just a man and not a god. 3) It is considered very bad conduct for Buddhists to claim to be enlightened when they are not.

As for Buddhism being ‘Godless’, that’s not true. Buddhism holds the position of ‘having no belief’ about the nature of Ultimate Reality because to do so is to retreat from it. Humans are not smart enough to say what it is but can experience it.

Buddhism is a rich and ancient philosophy. It is the foundation of Greek skepticism, but not limited to skepticism’s intellectual paradigm. Pyrrho took what he could understand from Buddhist monks in Bactria about 100 years after the Buddha’s passing.

Buddhism: No scriptures claiming to be the Word of God. No proselytizing, only welcoming those who come on their own. Strong focus on individual responsibility, which prevents the weakness Buddhists perceive in Christians or the craziness we see in religious fanatics of all stripes.

I’m just one person. What I have written is an extemporaneous response to the videos above and how they capture a slice of the terrifying nonsense in the world today.

I know a good deal about Jewish Supremacy, so I write about it often. Gaza and the public assassination of Charlie Kirk, and now the Epstein files and war with Iran, have shown millions how our world really works, how evil has burrowed so deeply into all of our institutions. ABN

Ground invasion launched against Iran as thousands of US-backed Kurdish fighters storm border

~ ABN ~ Leave a comment

The Kurdish militias, based across the border in Iraq, began the offensive in northwestern Iran on Wednesday.

President Donald Trump on Sunday night spoke with the heads of Kurdish militant groups in Iraq to discuss the situation in Iran. 

The CIA was exploring plans to arm the Kurdish forces with the aim of sparking a popular uprising in Iran, CNN reported Tuesday. 

The Kurdish groups are widely seen as the most well-organized segment of the fragmented Iranian opposition and are believed to have thousands of trained fighters. 

Their entry into the war could pose a significant challenge to the besieged authorities in Tehran and could also risk pulling Iraq further into the conflict.

Asked earlier about Kurdish involvement, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters: ‘None of our objectives are premised on the support or the arming of any particular force.

‘So, what other entities may be doing, we’re aware of, but our objectives aren’t centered on that.’ 

link

My guess is the US/Israeli goal is to divide Iran into smaller nations, which will be easier for them to control, while also posing less of a threat to Israel. The Ukraine War has been a similar event in that the ultimate goal is to dismember Russia and divide it into smaller nations. ABN

UPDATE: Most analysts are saying it is not possible for Israel/USA to break up Iran into smaller countries. Or to do that to Russia. But the long-term NATO encroachment against Russia has fundamentally had that goal in mind since the fall of the Soviet Union. We see the same goal for Iran today. I do see how they have failed in Ukraine and are failing in Iran, but their ace card is to use nukes in Iran and see what happens after that vis-a-vis Russia. The elitists doing this are hellbent on world domination and are still going for it now, just as they have been all along. In their minds, there is nothing to stop them from using nukes. Indeed, it seems probable that their strategy is to allow Iran to cause so much damage in Israel and the Gulf states that using nukes will strike many as a good move. At the core of this onslaught lies Jewish Supremacy, a hardheaded self-deceiving fanatical meta-cognitive doctrine couched in intransigent religious terms. Thirty to fifty million Americans have fallen for it along with a majority of Jews, many of whom have deeply infiltrated USA. ABN

Every major US base across the Gulf has been systematically and methodically destroyed

~ ABN ~ Leave a comment

The New York Times — not a Telegram channel, not a Russian state broadcaster, the New York Times — has published satellite imagery confirming what Iran said it was doing while Washington was busy telling you it wasn’t working. Every major US base across the Gulf. Systematically and methodically.

Bahrain, Fifth Fleet headquarters, the nerve centre of American naval power in the region. Al Udeid Qatar — already missing its $1.1 billion AN/TPY-2 radar. Camp Arifjan Kuwait. Ali Al Salem. Prince Sultan in Saudi Arabia. UAE facilities. SATCOM terminals destroyed. Radomes cracked open. Satellite dishes gone. Missile tracking infrastructure — the AN/TPY-2 radar systems that coordinate every Patriot and THAAD battery in theater — targeted with what the imagery confirms was not luck but architecture.

Iran didn’t just strike US bases. It mapped the communication and coordination layer that makes American missile defense function as a unified system and then it peeled it apart, base by base, across five countries simultaneously.

This is not retaliation but doctrine. Thirty years of studying exactly how the American military machine sees, communicates, and coordinates and then, when the moment came, going straight for the eyes. The interceptors are blind. The magazines are depleted. The Navy can’t guarantee escorts in the Strait. Raytheon is being summoned to emergency meetings. South Korea is sitting exposed. And the New York Times just put the satellite pictures on the front page.

Washington built the most expensive military architecture in human history. Iran just showed you the blueprint for how to dismantle it.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ This is not going according to plan.

link

__________

‘This is not going according to plan’. Unless it is; in which case, the real plan is to disrupt the entire region in preparation for dismembering Iran and probably using nukes to do that. The deep plan appears to be break Iran into a number of smaller countries, each with its own ethnic or religious group. This will make the entire region much easier to control. Israel is surely planning to become the hegemon of the region with USA fully backing it. A similar plan is what they have wanted for Russia all along — smash it into numerous smaller states. The deep reason for the Ukraine War is to do that. What are their chances for pulling this off? Probably pretty good. ABN

The Bigger Picture: Iran Conflict – Oil Disruption Hits Key BRICS Members Hard

~ ABN ~ Leave a comment

Consider the severe economic body blows to China in the past 14 months.

♦ First blow, the Trump tariffs hit Beijing hardest. ♦ Second blow, the Beijing tentacle on the Panama Canal is severed.  ♦ Third blow, global tariff threats changed the risk dynamic for southeast Asia countries who acted as transnational shippers for China. ♦ Fourth blow, cheap sanctioned oil from Venezuela was cut-off. ♦ Now, the fifth blow; cheap, sanctioned Iranian oil is disrupted.

[SOURCE]

It’s not just a factor of oil flow, but also the price that China will ultimately end up having to pay.  Beijing was buying oil from Venezuela, Iran and Russia at steep discounts because their purchases were skirting western sanctions.

With Iranian oil production now no longer a market option, China will seek to replace their needs with more Russian alternative. However, that diversion means the oil India was purchasing from Russia will come at a higher price, and the refined final product that was exported by India will arrive to the European Union carrying an additional cost.

Simultaneously, Vladimir Putin was asked about Russia’s lack of military support to Iran in response to the U.S. military action, to wit the Russian president noted the technical terms of their joint military agreements did not include Russia’s immediate involvement.  In shorthand, Russia is busy and is not getting involved.

Russia was/is partially dependent on receiving military supplies from Iran in exchange for oil transfers.  The military component is reported to include drones from Iran for use in the Ukraine conflict.  Now that exchange profile is shuttered.

Taking Iran’s malign influence off the geopolitical chessboard is beginning to surface in major challenges to the BRICS assembly (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa).  Russia, China and India are impacted directly.

The BRICS nations were skirting western oil sanctions by trading the commodity outside the petrodollar structure.  However, President Trump now controls the flow of oil from Venezuela, and his administration controls the currency in which it is sold.

With Iranian oil removed from the non-petro supply chain, the only remaining non-petro oil producer is Russia – who is simultaneously hit with a loss in military hardware support.  China may end up as a larger oil customer to Russia, but at what price and in what payment structure.

With global oil supplies in a state of flux, and with the USA in control of the oil flow from Venezuela, North America is certainly in the best position for minimal energy disruption.

Asia is heavily dependent on oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, and the majority of Europe has already shut themselves off from Russian oil production, putting themselves in a position of dependency to the global markets.  The short-term ramifications of this oil disruption hit China, Southeast Asia, Japan and Europe particularly hard.

link

This article probably describes how the Trump admin is thinking. ABN

Gulf states could run out of anti-drone rockets in four days as Iranian strikes continue across five countries

~ ABN ~ Leave a comment

Gulf states facing an Iranian drone blitz may only have enough anti-drone defence missiles to last four days.

In a tactic that has surprised the US and its allies, Iran has responded to attempts to force regime change by raining down missiles and drones on its neighbours.

By spreading strikes across more than five countries at once and sustaining over 2,500 drones per day, Tehran is forcing its adversaries to divide their defences.

A source told the Daily Mail: ‘At the current rates the supplies could run out within four days. 

‘The interceptors are being used at an unprecedented speed.’

The vast majority of Iranian projectiles have been blocked, but only a few need to breach the defences of Gulf nations to change the perception of the conflict.

That was brought home last night as footage of a thunderous explosion outside the US consulate in Dubai was shared online. 

Shahed drones favoured by Iran can be produced more cheaply than the state-of-the-art defensive systems purchased by the UAE, Bahrain and other states from US manufacturers. 

A single Iranian drone can cost as little as £26,000 to produce, researchers say, while intercepting it can cost anywhere up to £3million.

link

Iran’s strategy of ‘flooding the zone’ with drones and missiles seems beyond obvious. Moreover, there are articles from years ago on their underground missile storage sites scattered across the country. So, USA and Israel had to know about this. Then they must have prepared for it. If so, these stories about insufficient anti-drone and anti-missile ordnance must be a ruse. If USA and Israel knew and did not prepare for this, that is too stupid for words. I do not know what the story is, but weapons supplies are major strategic factors, so this cannot be attributed to confusion or the fog of war. If the purported lack of anti-drones is a strategic ruse on the part of USA and Israel, I wonder what purpose it serves. It may be that, USA and Israel want Iran to cause massive destruction throughout the region, thus setting up Israel, and maybe USA, to use nukes against Iran. That is probably what they are doing. It’s a sort of contrived or concealed false-flag against themselves to win public approval for nuking Iran. Using nukes against Iran will send a strong warning to Russia, China and the world. ABN

Who has the authority to interpret Scripture? A Catholic interpretation — Carrie Prejean Boller

~ ABN ~ Leave a comment

I used to be a Protestant and think all I needed was my Bible.

But… then I started asking the question no one wanted to answer: Who actually has the authority to interpret Scripture?

That question came from my study of the theological heresy of dispensationalism.

What I found shocked me. I learned, it isn’t ancient Christianity. It didn’t come from the Apostles. It didn’t come from the Church Fathers. It began in the 1800s with John Nelson Darby. A brand new theological system; a heresy which has created confusion among Christian’s.

It divided Israel and the Church into two separate peoples of God. It created two covenants. It pushed fulfillment into the future. It taught that prophecy still depends on a geopolitical nation-state called “Israel” which was founded by atheists in 1948.

I looked deeper and asked…what does that ultimately lead to? I was shocked to discover their belief of a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem. The one the Lord predicted would be destroyed in Matthew and it was in 70AD.

“Jesus left the temple area and was going away, when his disciples approached him to point out the temple buildings. He said to them in reply, ‘You see all these things, do you not? Amen, I say to you, there will not be left here a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.'”
Matthew 24:1-2

This all happened. Jesus predicted it and it was fulfilled.

In 70 AD the Temple was destroyed. The altar was gone. The Levitical priesthood stopped functioning. The animal sacrifices ended.

That is not a minor detail.

The Mosaic covenant was inseparable from Temple sacrifice. Without the Temple, the sacrificial system of the Old Covenant could not continue.

In its place, rabbinic Judaism emerged. No longer centered on Temple sacrifice, but on Torah study and synagogue life.

The sacrificial order did not continue. It was finished.

Continue reading “Who has the authority to interpret Scripture? A Catholic interpretation — Carrie Prejean Boller” →

The Purim War Against Iran — Israel Shamir

~ ABN ~ Leave a comment

The US, UK, France and Germany are flattered to call themselves “the West”, but it is more realistic to call them the Jewish-State-in-progress, or “Epsteinia”. We have just learned that President Trump had already made up his mind to go to war against Iran weeks ago, and that the pretence of diplomacy carried out by two Jewish real estate dealers (Witkoff and Kushner) on his behalf was little more than a nothingburger to keep Iran busy until the Chosen moment. So what exactly was the purpose behind Trump’s diplomatic pause before commencing hostilities? There is a reason; quite shameful, but true. Trump and his superior, Bibi Netanyahu, were guided by Kabbalah magic. They agreed to carry out this historic attack on a particularly auspicious date in the Jewish calendar, called Remembrance Shabbat, the last Saturday before the feast of Purim. The facts are overwhelmingly clear: International Jewry decreed the attack day and the US military jumped like obedient dogs to a Jewish whistle.

…Why are the Jews willing to expend so much political capital in exchange for the doubtful achievement of ruining Iran? We can understand why Trump is so willing to betray MAGA – because his lot is not to reason why; a good Shabbos-goy, he must follow orders from Tel Aviv. But why would the usually cautious Jews do it? It was the shining glory of the El Aksa Mosque, which has to be destroyed in order to erect the Third Temple, the ultimate wish of the Jews. And Iran is the only country in the world that wouldn’t allow it to happen. All other Muslim states were cowed and follow US orders.

…“Many Jews and their Christian-Zionist allies believe the precious beauty of Haram a-Sharif, the 7th century mosques of Jerusalem should be destroyed and on their ruins, a Jewish temple should be erected. Why should this be done? People provide different explanations, historical and eschatological. It is not for some historical justice, or for the purpose of prayer, as traditional Judaism forbade all interaction with the Mountain of the Lord. Some mystically inclined Jews believe this act will make Jewish domination of the world total and irreversible. This belief is not an exclusive domain of kooks and freaks, nor even of Zionists only, but rather a widespread conviction.

The mainstream media of the West usually presents the conflict in terms of Muslims vs. Jews. But the conflict as seen by these Jews, is Jews vs. Gentiles. In their minds, the Temple Mount is a magic Ring of Power, one they should assume when the time is right. As the Ring in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings (the British professor was a very learned man), it should bring forth the Messiah. For the Jewish mystics, this Messiah is not the Christian Messiah. In their book, the Messiah is not a gentle Jesus with a message for all mankind. Their Messiah would forever enslave the nations of the earth and make the Chosen people the masters of the universe. Their Messiah, Lord Enslaver of the Peoples of Earth, is the Antichrist of prophecies.”

The Arabs outside of the Holy Land have been subdued, and do not care about it all that much. Muslims everywhere are being attacked relentlessly by Jewish-led global media companies. Palestinians are being genocided for their love of the El Aksa Mosque (the war in Gaza is called by Palestinians the “Al Aqsa Flood”). The only real resistance came from Iran, led by Persian theologians who well understood the Temple Mount controversy. So, of course Iran had to be bombed for Purim. Obviously such an act of celebration should be accompanied by the Kabbalistic ritual blood sacrifice of young girls, as expounded in the Epstein Files. This Jewish religious practice was achieved right away when they reportedly slaughtered over a hundred schoolgirls and when they deliberately targeted the 14-month-old granddaughter of the late Ayatollah.

link

__________

Shamir explains the crazy religious beliefs and symbolic fixations which underly the attack on Iran and US involvement. ABN

Bride Of Charlie: The Ties That Bind | Episode 4

~ ABN ~ Leave a comment

__________

UPDATE: This is a very good episode and a good place to start watching this series if you have not already begun. The story is deep because Candace is revealing the infiltration into the heart of American Christianity by Jewish Supremist fanatics, many of whom are non-Jewish Christians, even faux Christians. Some 30-50 million Americans are Christian Zionists, so this is no small matter. The theology of Christian Zionism relies on provably doctored texts and Biblical misinterpretations. It is a major reason USA attacked Iran. ABN

Christian Zionists in USA

The number of Christian Zionists in the United States is estimated to be more than 30 million, according to academic Tristan Sturm. Some sources suggest the figure could range between 20 to 50 million, significantly surpassing the global Jewish population of approximately 15 million. This large base is primarily composed of evangelical Christians in the “Bible Belt” regions of the southeast and south-central U.S.

Christians United for Israel (CUFI), the largest Christian Zionist organization in the U.S., claims over 10 million members, a number that exceeds the total Jewish population in the United States (around 7.5 million). The movement is concentrated among socially conservative, predominantly Republican voters and plays a major role in shaping U.S. foreign policy toward Israel.

LtCOL. Bill Astore : Lions Led by Donkeys – Who’s Really Leading Our Forces?

~ ABN ~ Leave a comment

__________

UPDATE: I posted this video without having first watched it. I eventually watched about one-half and found it not very interesting. Maybe it gets better after that. Napolitano is usually a sharp questioner but in this video, he asks Astore too many obvious questions. I recall him introducing Astore as a weapons expert and had hoped he would pursue that line of thought. ABN

Around 90% of Iran’s oil exports go to China — Ken Cao

~ ABN ~ Leave a comment

Around 90% of Iran’s oil exports go to China. Why? It’s cheap and it can be settled in RMB, bypassing the U.S. dollar system entirely.

Iran gets yuan, then spends most of it buying Chinese machinery, electronics, and industrial goods. The money flows right back to Beijing.

Much of that Iranian crude even enters China labeled as “Malaysian blended oil.” On paper, it’s Malaysia. In reality, it’s Iran.

To dodge U.S. sanctions, China keeps its major banks away from the deals. Instead, transactions are routed through smaller institutions like Kunlun Bank — controlled by CNPC and based in Xinjiang.

It’s a sanctions workaround, a currency experiment, and a geopolitical lifeline all rolled into one.

link

__________

This is surely a major piece of the war with Iran puzzle. ABN

Some takes on religious wars

~ ABN ~ Leave a comment

link

There have been several notable instances of violent conflict between Buddhist sects, primarily driven by political power struggles, competition for influence, and the close ties between religious institutions and state authority.

1. Tibet: Gelugpa Supremacy in the 17th Century

The most direct sectarian conflict occurred in Tibet when the Gelugpa sect, led by the 5th Dalai Lama and backed by Mongol military forces, consolidated power in the 17th century. This campaign involved the conquest of the Sakya sect’s political dominance and the violent suppression of the Jonang school, which was declared heretical. Jonang monasteries were forcibly converted to Gelugpa use, and their monks were exiled. While framed as a religious purification, the conflict was fundamentally about unifying Tibet under a single theocratic rule.

2. Japan: Warrior Monks and Sectarian Warfare

In feudal Japan, Buddhist sects maintained private armies of sohei (warrior monks) who engaged in armed conflict:

  • Mount Hiei (Tendai Sect): Monks from Enryaku-ji temple used force to influence imperial politics and attack rival temples.
  • Ikko-ikki Rebellions: Followers of the Jōdo Shinshū (Pure Land) sect formed armed leagues that fought against both rival Buddhist schools and samurai lords. These uprisings, lasting from the 15th to 16th centuries, were among the largest internal conflicts of the era.

The justification for violence often stemmed from the belief that defending one’s sect was a meritorious religious act, despite the Buddha’s teachings on non-violence.

3. China: Shaolin Monks and Political Alliances

The Shaolin monks, renowned for their martial arts, participated in military campaigns, such as aiding Li Shimin (later Emperor Taizong of Tang) in the 7th century and fighting Japanese pirates in the 16th century. While not a war between sects, their involvement in state conflicts illustrates how Buddhist institutions became entangled in warfare.

Key Insight

These conflicts were rarely about doctrinal differences alone. Instead, they arose from the fusion of religious and political power, where monasteries controlled land, wealth, and armies. The concept of “just war” or “defensive violence” was sometimes invoked, as seen in Buddhist texts like the Skill in Means Sutra, which praises a captain who kills one to save many.

While such actions contradict the ideal of ahimsa (non-violence), they reflect the complex reality of how religious institutions operate within political systems.

__________

I tend to think of all the Abrahamics as sects of the same religion, which is probably not a good use of the word sect except insofar as it focuses attention on the history and common aspects of these religions. The images above provide Catholic views on Zionism. Like everyone else in the world, Buddhists too have fought wars. Right now, and for many centuries in some cases, the Western elite appears to be entirely controlled by Jewish Supremists, a sect within the sect of Judaism itself. Many Western elites are atheists and not religious at all. Christian Zionists who support Israeli wars based on provably fraudulent insertions in the Bible seem to me to be either elite false shepherds, who know they are lying, or more often pious ordinary Christians, who have been duped by their elite false shepherds and Jewish Supremists, a good many of whom have infiltrated Christianity. ABN