Jwayne

You've obviously never visited China. All your knowledge is from the Western press. That's like trying to understand America without watching any USA news, never reading any books by Americans, never visiting the USA, never learning English, and never learning its cultural foundations.

Truth isn't only entering deep psychadelic trance. It's also feeding people, building hospitals and teaching foundational literacy skills. To even have funding for philosophers, you need a sufficient level of economic development, which means enough production. Western Europe chose imperialist colonialism, slavery and genocide in order to get a comparative edge over its competition. Other nations, like China, have never pursued those ways. In fact, the CCP was partially founded as a reaction to feudalism and imperialism. So when you say China is "lagging behind", you need to consider history. China was being plundered by European powers for over a century.

China doesn't have fortune cookies. You must mean Chinatown, USA.

It doesn't matter what I - or any random person - think. I can tell you that the PRC considers Taiwan to be integral part of China. The English translation is One Country, Two Systems. The USA, on the other hand, considers Taiwan to be an essential component of the First Island Chain containment strategy against PRC influence. It has nothing to do with the democratic aspirations of the Taiwanese people. Just as invading Iraq had nothing to do with the democratic aspirations of the Iraqi people. And just as USA support for Saudi Arabian slaughter of Yemeni people has nothing to do with the aspirations of Arabic people. The United States foreign policy was summed up by Henry Kissinger when he said, "America has no permanent friends or enemies. Only national interests." Taiwan and Ukraine are not Washington's friends. They are chess pieces (e.g. pawns) on a violent geopolitical map that represents the 'national interest' of the United States, which means maintaining its hegemonic monopoly on violence and the supremacy of USD. As for Xinjiang, just look at the official observations that have been made by third-party organizations like the UN. Some of the facts in the journalism will certainly be true, but it is spectacularly sensationalized by the Western press with the term 'genocide' - which is an unforgiveable insult to all victims of real genocide, such as in Rwanda. Anybody in China can visit the region. You could even get a tourist visa now that the epidemic is over and see for yourself.

The CCP has lifted 800 million people out of poverty in the last several decades. That's a monumental achievement. They have given generations of people opportunities for their children to follow their dreams and to lead lives of dignity. China considers itself 'moderately prosperous'. But if you were to ever visit there I am sure you be would astonished at the high standard of living. Mainland Chinese people are mostly very happy because China doesn't have the domestic problems of other countries: no crime, no gun violence, no drug abuse, no homelessness, no gang activity, and so forth. The cities are exceptionally clean with no litter anywhere. The parks are plentiful even in urban areas. They are manicured and green. It's a very stable place to raise a family. And its a very high trust society and the people share the same values as one another. It has a real sense of community. Chinese people just like to take care of their children and live ordinary lives. They have their own civilizational identity with their own history, language, culture and philosophy. Chinese scholars are very well-read about the West, but you cannot say vice-versa. China has its own terms of thinking based on divergent histories, and they don't share Western idolization of Plato, the Bible and the American Constitution. And that's fine. They have thousands of years of their own culture. And that's their prerogative. Chinese scholarship is very explicit about how capitalist elements have been intentionally introduced into their political economy. It's called 'the primary stage of socialism' and it began around 1956. You should read Chinese scholarship if you want to understand China.

If you take a stand against imperialism, then you cannot also support democracy. Because the people may decide/vote/ratify imperialist policies. How are you going to resolve this problem? The world has addressed it by establishing international laws through the UN, which the United States merely leverages as a weapon to veto and blackmail anyone who challenges their hegemony. However the UN is also faulty because most of the world's population is unrepresented on the Security Council (e.g. India, Africa, Indonesia, Brazil, the entire Global South). So the UN also needs reform for its international law to be legitimate. Or, you can claim "My personal sense of morality should be the universal standard and all peoples everywhere should bow to my convictions." That's basically what you're doing now.

Ukraine was artillery shelling its own territory in the breakaway republics in the days leading up to invasion which is a violation of the Minsk agreement. That's when Putin ratified his official protection of them so he can have legal precedent should they be attacked further. At that time Zelensky even suggested reneging on an agreement not to seek nuclear weapons. Going back to October before the conflict Russia was asking for dialogue to remove missile sites around its borders that can hit Moscow in a matter of minutes (how many missiles does Russia have in border regions to Washington DC ?). The USA said we are ready to discuss anything but your terms are non-negotiable. Which is why the rest of the world, specifically Russia and China, consider Americans to be exceptionally poor diplomats. They have no tact and rely upon bullying vulnerable countries. Then in February China and Russia signed a 55,000 word statement announcing their "friendship" which is a very profound sentiment in Eurasian-Chinese cultures. Whereas America sees friendship as a mere pragmatic tool to further its own 'national interests'. The USA is by far the most aggressive imperialist power in the world going back a century. Just type into a search engine "American invasion of ..."

Obviously Xi doesn't have 'absolute power'. China isn't a monarchy like Saudi Arabia. China has a ruling class, as do Western democracies, not a dictatorship. The core power of the Chinese ruling class is shared by the Politburo Standing Committee.

Polls show a majority of Russians support the war. That's even reported in Western media.

Tailored to their interests and abilities, as you would any education.

That's why polling and surveys are done anonymously. There's no fear of reprisal because there's no way to trace who said what. As for social media and public speaking, that's different. Even in Western democracies, you will be censored, targeted and surveilled for expressions of wrongthink.

That's highly presumptuous of you. Are you omniscient? Upon what basis can you say what 'most Russian citizens' think?

He has a domestic approval rating over 80%.

He always speaks from his political and religious biases. It's not about commitment but mutual understanding. Even moreso than that its about respect and fun.

To start a family and have children. Having a family returns an unfathomable amount of richness, pain, beauty and joy into your life. Also family is a source of power. Even if you don't start a family, long relationships provide companionship which means someone to laugh with, explore together, romance, have fun with and to cooperate in sharing labour and knowledge.

Don't go to college to study Buddhism. Go to college to get a practical certification or degree that's going to further your career aspirations. I'm sorry but, my opinion is that, spirituality certification is not going to pay in Indiana.

But people read 'perfect' and interpret it according to their conceptualized expectations, as in having all of their desires fulfilled, especially the 'spiritual' ones, like infinite pleasure without a moment of pain. Many people think 'enlightenment' must be like that. Whereas you mean, I assume, a different sense of perfection.

Specifically, I say that, because the conscious effort to love is indubitably moving in the right direction. And it is suitable for everybody. Whereas the effort to 'awaken' can take you in many different (even opposite, conflicting) directions, including onto potentially dangerous paths not meant for everybody, like an obsession with the use of recreational substances.

But you don't need to wait or rely on 'awakening' to 'LOVE'. You can start being loving right away.

Of course!

Also, "you" can't do it alone. Anything substantial in the world requires the collaboration of others. That's the crucial part missing in all self-help/spiritual discourse. Of course, you should seize the day and not resign yourself to a belief in fate that will justify your anxiety/unwillingness to act, but also, you must work with and serve others.

Exactly, its a game of semantics. It is better not to engage in such silly ego contests, nor to fuel the egomania of the persons starting them.

Love, beauty and bliss are always there but we also have lives to live that demand our attention to be occupied with other tasks. The demand to be entertained or pleasured with "24/7 bliss" is pathological. Instead, you should learn how to contact bliss so that you can be with it when you are not engaged with other more urgent, distracting worldly things. Obviously, bliss is also present in the worldly activity too but not in the form you were expecting, or have as yet learned to appreciate. To appreciate the extraordinary in the ordinary is a wiser intention than to demand 24/7 pleasure from mystic-realization-experiences.

Intermittent fasting burns fat the fastest, but its not a healthy option long-term. You shouldn't be tired after eating but feeling satiated and ready to work. More important than meal timing is nutrition.

There are certain situations, despite however 'awakened' you are, when you may confront an unknown, potentially dangerous situation, and especially if carrying a responsibility for others near you, that fear may arise as a aspect of the total situation with which to inform your decision. If fear is present, then simply tally it with the other data that you have.