/BDG/ - Buddha Dharma General

[Anonymous No.22771875]

"Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammasambuddhassa (Homage to the Blessed One, the Worthy One, the
Fully Enlightened One.)"
Sutta of the day:
https://r.readingfaithfully.org/?q=iti40
Assorted texts for beginners:
https://mega.nz/folder/2i52HBhZ#1lZBAXdwSoXYYxe_ld4wmA
Begin with What the Buddha Taught - Dhammapada - Anguttara Nikaya
Find a temple in your area, this is not a complete list. Make sure to check temples in your location if you
can't find anything here:
Theravada
https://www.dhamma.ru/sadhu/239-europe
https://www.dhamma.ru/sadhu/175-united_states_of_america
Zen
http://www.soto-zen-buddhism-denshinji.com/temples.html
https://www.szba.org/zen-centers-by-state
LIVE STREAMING Services if you can't find a temple in your vicinity:
https://www.fourthmessenger.org/livestreams-and-retreats/
Videos:
Being a Buddhist
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vuv7NAioISE
Suffering / Four Noble Truths:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgyke9W9Tyg
Non-self in Buddhism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bf5tR6rwAOQ
Buddhism: "If There Is No Self, What Is Reborn?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjlBobj0iSA
Impermanence in Buddhism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYrdAOVAI9A

Four Noble Truths playlist
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?
list=PLCXN1GlAupG0_DzIOFNrDSp0fTwTLkTxV
Daily chanting playlist
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?
list=PLZjVoGrm6Z22w5BZiHNB3Oy_qMF4VDPEr
Zen chanting
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfIlmuua0D29kJwf6ePN52C4rpPx8xehH
A manifesto for aspiring your monks, contains a list of monastic orders you can join
https://files.catbox.moe/mt5795.pdf

[Anonymous No.22771895]

>Buddhas are the only knows who for certain know the exit from Samsara
>but because they have achieved Buddhahood the literally cannot, even willingly come back to prove it, otherwise they would not have proven they've escaped Samsara
How to solve this Buddha paradox

[Anonymous No.22771896]

>>22771895
>>but because they have achieved Buddhahood the literally cannot, even willingly come back to prove it, otherwise they would not have proven they've escaped Samsara
Bodhisattvas

[Anonymous No.22771899]

>>22771896
where are they

[Anonymous No.22771902]

>>22771899
going through the cycle of death and rebirth until they awaken in their last life

[Anonymous No.22771906]

>>22771902
where are the ones on earth

[Anonymous No.22771912]

>>22771906
Nobody knows until their awakening from a Theravada point of view. Mahayanas have bodhisattva vows which allow them to consciously become bodhisattvas when alive.

[Anonymous No.22771914]

Does piracy break the precept against stealing? Yuttadhammo argued against it in a SO post (https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/a/2869)), but I'm not entirely convinced.

[Anonymous No.22771915]

>>22771914
>Does piracy break the precept against stealing?
No, but support the buddhist communities if you can.

[Anonymous No.22771916]

>>22771912
How would you know I'm a Bodhisattva? If I leave wisdom that is not currently canonical in Buddhism, how will you know that I am a Bodhisattva and not a delusional funposter

[Anonymous No.22771919]

>>22771916
>If I leave wisdom that is not currently canonical in Buddhism, how will you know that I am a Bodhisattva and not a delusional funposter
That's Mahayana's business but if I followed Mahayana I would ask you where you took your vows from and when. And I'd contact the monks who gave you the vows just in case.

[Anonymous No.22771927]

>>22771914
there is a whole thread about this
https://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?t=7499&sid=7aa9aa7423ea35ca5562190bdf589d98

Strictly speaking, you really should take only what is given to you, or put into the trash.

[Anonymous No.22772057]

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn20/sn20.007.than.html
https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an01/an01.049.than.html

[Anonymous No.22772067]

>4:15 (58)
>A heap of trash sits, discarded, by the side of the road
>From out of it grows a beautiful and fragrant lotus flower.

>4:16 (59)
>In the same way, out of the rubbish of this world,
>A follower of the Buddha may grow,
>With wisdom shining out among the blind.

[Anonymous No.22772069]

>>22771895
Nirvana does not exist outside of samsara, and it is not non-existence

[Anonymous No.22772073]

>>22771916
If you teach anything that disagrees with dependent origination you are not a bodhisattva

[Anonymous No.22772893]

This "Sūtra of Mahā-Prajñā-Pāramitā Pronounced by Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva" is one of the best sutras I ever read and I will be posting it here because more people need to know about it
but beware small vehicle adherents, this is some next level buddhist wisdom, none of that
basic pali stuff
https://www.sutrasmantras.info/sutra13.html

[Anonymous No.22772929]

>>22772893
>this is some next level buddhist wisdom, none of that
>basic pali stuff
don't say that until you've read the pali canon

[Anonymous No.22773060]

Is there a good historic work on Nagarjuna?

[Anonymous No.22773135]

>>22772929
I read the sutta nipata, udana/dhammapada and a lot of the samyutta nikaya friendo, the pali canon is pretty good but it`s not the most profound of the buddha`s teachings

[Anonymous No.22773164]

How do i convert to Buddhism?

[Anonymous No.22773438]

>>22771914
these questions seem so lame and tiresome

[Anonymous No.22773654]

>>22773164
from What the Buddha Taught:

>If one desires to become a Buddhist, there is no initiation ceremony (or baptism) which one has to undergo. (But to become a bhikkbu, a member of the Order of the Sangha, one has to undergo a long process of disciplinary training and education.) If one understands the Buddha's teaching, and if one is convinced that his teaching is the right Path and if one tries to follow it, then one is a Buddhist. But according to the unbroken age-old tradition in Buddhist countries, one is considered a Buddhist if one takes the Buddha, the Dhamma (the Teaching) and the Sangha (the Order of Monks)—generally called 'the Triple-Gem'—as one's refuges, and undertakes to observe the Five Precepts (Panea-si la) [...] On religious occasions Buddhists in congregation usually recite these formulas, following the lead of a Buddhist monk.
>There are no external rites or ceremonies which a Buddhist has to perform. Buddhism is a way of life, and what is essential is following the Noble Eightfold Path.

but for real, visit a temple, I frequent a Fo Guang Shan Temple

[Anonymous No.22773683]

>>22771875

[Anonymous No.22773749]

How do you meditate when you have physical pain when you breathe? All the mediation instructions are focused on breathing but I can't breathe comfortably

[Anonymous No.22773786]

>>22773749
You can meditate on the pain. Are you just doing mindfulness? Be mindful of the pain. What makes it hurt, what makes it cease, how can you contort yourself so that it doesn't hurt.

What's wrong with you that it hurts btw? I have scoliosis and I've had interesting experiences watching a "chain" of muscle pain go back to THE SPOT.

[Anonymous No.22774784]

>>22773683
Two years in Vajrayana, and this is pretty much true. Two of my Buddhist buddies both practice Tibetan Buddhism as well.

Its also disturbingly similar to Shaivism, so much so its impossible to ignore.

[Anonymous No.22774805]

>>22774784
The goal is different, but a lot of the rituals and tantric practices are pretty much the same. Tibetan Buddhism is a very mixed blend of Shaivism, Bon and Mahayana all rolled into one.

[Anonymous No.22774835]

>>22773683
calling the 3 kayas 'trinitarianism' is the most ridiculous, downright ill-intented thing imaginable, pathetic.
Also, you are aware that Maitreya is in the pali canon right?

[Anonymous No.22774902]

>>22773683
this picture is accurate

[Anonymous No.22775476]

>>22773683
hol up buddhism is older than all those words

[Anonymous No.22775514]

One day Anon fell down in the snow and called out: “Help me! Help me!” A monk came and lay down beside him. Anon got up and went away enlightened.

[Anonymous No.22775522]

>>22774805
Wrong

[Anonymous No.22775841]

This is what the Buddha taught. You may not like it, but this is what peak Buddhadharma looks like.

[Anonymous No.22775847]

>>22775476
Esoteric buddhism isnt

[Anonymous No.22775870]

>>22775522
This review doesn’t make that book seem especially good or interesting or insightful

https://blogs.dickinson.edu/buddhistethics/files/2015/07/Elacqua-review-final.pdf

[Anonymous No.22776196]

Without the wisdom of prajnaparamita and manjushri not a single one of you theravadins will ever be able to reach enlightenment, we are currently in the dharma-ending age after all.
With that being said, adhering to any buddhist path will help you to reach enlightenment in some next life. May all beings be happy!

[Anonymous No.22776978]

>>22771875
http://www.leighb.com/mettasuttas.htm

[Anonymous No.22776980]

>>22771875
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDRcFNltWEk

[Anonymous No.22776992]

>>22771914
The dhamma is meant to be free.

[Anonymous No.22776995]

>>22771875
https://www.dhammatalks.org/books/BuddhasTeachings/Section0003.html
https://pathpress.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/DHAMMA_WITHIN_REACH.pdf

[Anonymous No.22777056]

Think about your beating heart—you can feel it beating—but can you have any intentional say in it? You realize, no.
If this thing stops—in the same sense that a branch falls, a cup gets knocked over—the heart stops. You realize the heart is on the level of these random things in the world that can just change because of the elements, because of the wind, because of whatever. But if that does happen, my life is over. So, my entire life—my sense of mastery, my sense of control— depends on something as silly as a cup being knocked over, a valve just going ‘boop’. A pump just ceasing to pump or getting blocked.

If you want to practice towards not being affected by the experience of death when it comes, you start practising towards not being affected by any experience in this life, even now.
So, ask yourself: “Am I affected by the arisen desires of sensuality, or ill will, or distraction, or carelessness? Yes, I’m affected by it. If these worldly things affect me and move me so much, how can I expect to be unmoved in the face of death when it comes?” Impossible!

So, that’s then your job: training to not be affected by anything that pressures you, agreeable or disagreeable. The only way you won’t be affected by death is if life itself stops affecting you.

[Anonymous No.22777062]

The value of sensuality is that it provides you with pleasure from the pain of itself.

Sensuality touches you with pain, but at the same time, it offers you a solution for that same pain. It’s just like racketeering: “Okay, if you pay me, I’ll make your problems go away, problems that I put on you so that you will pay me”. So you get extorted by your own sensuality, your own desires. Sensual desires hurt, and giving in to them will remove that hurt and reward you with more pleasure. It’s a win-win. Or so it seems, until you realize that the true win is to not be pressured by the desires in the first place. The win is not having to pay the racketeering thugs for your safety; the win is to not have the thugs pressure you at all.

The more you give in to the pressure of sensuality, the more you will have to give in since its nature can never be changed. The Nature of sensuality is that it hurts, burns, and pressures you.

By accepting sensuality you are becoming simultaneously liable to everything else that is painful and unwholesome. Such as anxiety, worry, doubt, fear and so on. And that liability remains, for as long as you maintain an attitude of welcoming sensual pleasures. Like consuming a perfect tasty drink that has poison in it. You cannot taste, smell nor see the poison, but it enters you as you enjoy the taste of the drink.

“There are ascetics and brahmins in the present who see the things that seem nice and pleasant in the world as impermanent, as suffering, as not-self, as diseased, and as dangerous. They GIVE UP CRAVING. Giving up craving, they GIVE UP ATTACHMENTS. Giving up attachments, they give up suffering. Giving up suffering, they are freed from rebirth, old age, and death, from sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and distress. They are freed from suffering, I say.”
“Suppose there was a bronze cup of beverage that had a nice colour, aroma, and flavour. But it was mixed with poison. Then along comes a man struggling in the oppressive heat, weary, thirsty, and parched. They’d say to him: ‘Here, mister, this bronze cup of beverage has a nice colour, aroma, and flavour. Drink it if you like. If you drink it, its nice colour, aroma, and flavour will refresh you. But drinking it will result in death or deadly pain.’
Then that man might think: ‘I could quench my thirst with water, whey, or broth. But I shouldn’t drink that beverage, for it would be for my lasting harm and suffering.’ He’d reject that beverage. After appraisal, he wouldn’t drink it, and it wouldn’t result in death or deadly pain.”
—SN 12:66

[Anonymous No.22777104]

a rare photograph of Adi Shankara enlightening the Buddha by teaching him knowledge of the supramundane Supreme Self, undetermined date (colorized)

[Anonymous No.22777115]

>>22777062
Really good take sir

[Anonymous No.22777257]

>>22777115
It's from
https://pathpress.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/DHAMMA_WITHIN_REACH.pdf
https://www.hillsidehermitage.org/dwr/ [epub]

[Anonymous No.22778100]

Namo Manjughoshaya

[Anonymous No.22778769]

>>22777104
>>22776196
all this seething kek

[Anonymous No.22779457]

Pretty cool web app with a collection of lliterature, video and audio lessons.
https://web.plumvillage.app/

[Anonymous No.22779539]

>>22779457
>plumvillage
i have bad news for you

[Anonymous No.22779556]

>>22779539
Which ones? P-pls nothing scary.

[Anonymous No.22779589]

>Apropos of perverse liberations, the common remark that Buddhism is incoherent on account of Anatta making the question of liberation absurd, since there would be no one to liberate, is not only silly, it is perverse. One should rather ask who is receiving everything prior to the lofty finality of liberation, who is receiving all the Buddhists’ emissions — and why? The answer is hidden in plain sight, as usual, requiring only a characteristically Gnostic scansion to be seen: it is “Anatta” itself, of course, “no one” violated out of non-being by the very Samsaric excrescence of compassion and transmuted into the very Continental occultism of value — moreover, Buddhism proudly claims that a human incarnation is priceless, a result of a veritably Marxist Ontological tribulation of countless iterations, the only thing fit to exchange for liberation, that is to say, the ultimate commodity. The sublime, and quite taboo, Continental formula of LIFE = VALUE, which is also its necessary discursive finality, is the very foundation of Buddhism. The one Commandment is total propitiation of Nirvana through total Samsaric disgrace, identical with the Catholic Atonement, but also making the incest between the Godhead and its “absence” apparent (or transparent): that, indeed, Nirvana is the only thing thus liberated, into an ever-receding vanishing point makes it indistinguishable from the Atonement making the Demiurgic pupil ever-roll back into the Demiurgic skull — it and it alone, rather than any and every thing but it, being the only thing thus atoned for.

[Anonymous No.22779927]

>>22776196
Why is so much of mahayana just chest-thumping about how much better it is than OG buddhism? Feels like if it were so great it should just stand for itself, all the propaganda makes it seem like the authors of the later sutras had an inferiority complex

[Anonymous No.22779973]

>>22779927
The solution from a western pov is to apply a diluted solution of textual criticism and understand the historical, dialectical process in which sectarian buddhisms were developed, that is to say, the human intention behind passages in Mahayana literature denigrating non-Mahayana is all too obvious, much like the passages in the nikayas purely arguing against highly specific non-Buddhist philosophical positions. Will one really fall into hell for having learned the Mahayana but opted for the "Hinayana"? Or does this speak to exasperating debates which must have taken place and their subsequent abridgment for posterity? I don't see much value in reproducing traditional Buddhist doxographies/sectarianisms in a western context except as study guides for related bodies of literature, and where those sentiments occur in the text, the writers aren't really talking to you but their contemporaries. That is to say, one can study any and all branches of Buddhism insofar as one rejects both hyperprotestantism and supersessionism, which are arguments for particular readings rather than being actual teachings themselves.

[Anonymous No.22780418]

What has meditation done for you? Do you get any powers?

[Anonymous No.22780432]

>>22779556

[Anonymous No.22780547]

>>22780418
Depends on how you meditate, but most meditation styles have the effects of sharpening your mind and gaining resilience.

[Anonymous No.22780553]

>>22780547
like wolverine?

[Anonymous No.22780561]

>>22780553
Yes

[Anonymous No.22780604]

>>22780553
>>22780561
his claws are made of vajra... how do you think he acquired this? through kalachakra

[Anonymous No.22780609]

>>22771914
in catholicism piracy isn't stealing. Not sure about selling it though.

[Anonymous No.22780628]

>>22771914
The word "piracy" is used as a psyop term to criminalize copying. Don't get fooled by this propaganda.

[Anonymous No.22780930]

What are some good begginer dharma talks

[Anonymous No.22780994]

>>22780930
https://youtu.be/gMWJ5TbbxU8?si=-XuTAjzAYTiNjgC-

[Anonymous No.22781269]

>>22779973
>the writers aren't really talking to you but their contemporaries
This guy gets it

[Anonymous No.22781272]

>>22779556
rip

[Anonymous No.22781324]

>>22780930
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy-RI3FrdGA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toVNeTrwbtc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZn0NieBhEI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7ArZzRNH7g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuNPkq-uFrA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbcQFIUs-jE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_elej83fZ-A&list=PLCXN1GlAupG2r5tEEi1G-I2esA73lvLft
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YD4cIvt8UFs&list=PLgv6Yxi5NphwPgiehcLj5wMKiFuJEQnLy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YdrrkKfh3I&list=PLUPMn2PfEqIw9w6zCsn6l0jtG2Ww2prRD

i think maybe the best way to go is just listen to a variety of talks on the 4 noble truths and the eightfold path

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=noble+truths
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=eightfold+path

[Anonymous No.22781388]

[Anonymous No.22781909]

http://www.forestdhammatalks.org/en/books/asubha/asubha-pictures-webQuality.pdf

In the forest tradition of Lungphu Mun and Luangta Maha Bua the practice of asubha or seeing the loathsomeness of the body is one of the key practices to overcome sexual craving and greed and hatred...

In order to practice asubha, as taught by the Lord Buddha, by watching corpses decay (we can't do that nowadays) and contemplating the loathsomeness of the body we need some incentives. Here in the tradition of Luangta Maha Bua pictures of rotten corpses, body parts and people in various accidents with torn-off limbs or swollen up bodies are used to get experience in body contemplation. Once we are able to internalize these images and see them more or less clearly with our inner eyes, then we can compare these pictures with the nature of our own body and investigate further until we finally understand the true nature of the body.
Feeling the repulsiveness or loathsomeness of these pictures; getting angry, wanting to throw up or falling unconscious are all an integral part of these exercises. One can consider this as a warm up exercise; for once we really see the nature of our own body it will hit us hard.

Because within this exercise we have to deal with strong unpleasant feelings, this book then is really only for the practitioner, who has some experience in practice and has learned to deal with these kinds of emotions in a wholesome way.

[Anonymous No.22782066]

>>22781388
Picture made me kek, because I've thought the exact same thing over the years, and even when I had a stint with Mahayana, I actually thought to myself that believing this is legitimate requires a ridiculous amount of mental gymnastics.

The historicity of the Mahayana sutras in no way lines up with common, traditional Mahayana theories that explain their existence either. Ultimately, I think a lot of the techniques are effective, regardless, but yeah hard to reconcile. I hate to use the word "logical" but Theravada truly just makes more sense, and I'm aware modern Theravada is not OG buddhism either, but its derived from the Pali canon, which is factually the oldest.

[Anonymous No.22782353]

>>22771875
What's a good biography of Gautama Buddha? I'm very interested in his life and works.

[Anonymous No.22782364]

>>22782353
I'm not very interested in the buddha's teachings, but instead the person of the buddha.

[Anonymous No.22782422]

Pls recommend a book that will fast track me to enlightenment.

I'm tired of reading the Pali cannon. Yes, it is profound and remarkable, but the repetition drives me crazy and I would like a text that clarifies the meaning of the words. For instance, "formations" and "birth and death" and "arising". I have an intuitive idea of what these words mean but I don't think they're meant in the same way that I interpret them.

I'm looking for modern language and elaboration on the meanings in the Pali Canon without the bullshit modern self help tone most popular books have.

Could one of you bodhisattva please do your damn job and point me in the direction of enlightenment please?

[Anonymous No.22782427]

>>22782353
https://www.dhammatalks.org/books/NobleWarrior/Contents.html

[Anonymous No.22782455]

>>22782422
there is no fast track way to enlightenment, you can only become it by not trying to, it is a paradox.

>I'm tired of reading the Pali cannon.

Read the Mahayana Sutras, they are 10 times better. (https://read.84000.co - www.sutrasmantras.info)

>I'm looking for modern language and elaboration on the meanings in the Pali Canon without the bullshit modern self help tone most popular books have.

the thai forest guys have written a bunch of books like this. what I want to know is why still insist in something that is not working for you, do some comparative studies with the other dharmic religions, read books from the other schools of buddhism etc...

[Anonymous No.22782464]

>>22782455
Thanks buddy

[Anonymous No.22782488]

>>22782427
Thanks, man.

[Anonymous No.22782508]

>>22782464
>>22782488
Thanks, chums

[Anonymous No.22782556]

>>22782455
>>Read the Mahayana Sutras, they are 10 times better. (https://read.84000.co - www.sutrasmantras.info)
they are a shitty fanfiction

[Anonymous No.22782669]

>>22782556
go do some Nembutsu so you can be born in Amitabha's Pure Land, child

南無阿彌陀佛, 南無阿彌陀佛
南無阿彌陀佛, 南無阿彌陀佛

[Anonymous No.22782728]

>>22782669
No thanks, I'm already going to become a Buddha in the bardo

[Anonymous No.22782824]

>>22771875
Buddhism just sounds like schizophrenic rambling and none of you can agree on what Buddhism is or it's teachings, and when I get told that my suffering is due to doing something in a past life I tell you your low IQ is due to a past life.

[Anonymous No.22782852]

>>22782824
Thanks for the blog

[Anonymous No.22783250]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPDZeg210rU

[Anonymous No.22783266]

>>22782824
>>22776995
https://www.dhammatalks.org/books/WithEachAndEveryBreath/Section0003.html

[Anonymous No.22783306]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrMOLqgv714

[Anonymous No.22783323]

https://www.dhammatalks.org/books/NobleStrategy/Section0008.html

Right speech, explained in negative terms, means AVOIDING four types of harmful speech:
>lies (words spoken with the intent of misrepresenting the truth);
>divisive speech (spoken with the intent of creating rifts between people);
>harsh speech (spoken with the intent of hurting another person’s feelings); and
>idle chatter (spoken with no purposeful intent at all).

Notice the focus on INTENT: This is where the practice of right speech intersects with the training of the mind.
>Before you speak, you focus on WHY you want to speak.
This helps get you in touch with all the machinations taking place in the committee of voices running your mind. If you see any unskillful motives lurking behind the committee’s decisions, you veto them. As a result, you become more AWARE of yourself, more HONEST with yourself, more firm with yourself. You also save yourself from saying things that you’ll later regret. In this way you strengthen qualities of mind that will be helpful in meditation, at the same time avoiding any potentially painful memories that would get in the way of being attentive to the present moment when the time comes to meditate.

In positive terms,
>right speech means speaking in ways that are trustworthy, harmonious, comforting, and worth taking to heart.
When you make a practice of these positive forms of right speech, your words become a gift to others. In response, other people will start listening more to what you say, and will be more likely to respond in kind. This gives you a sense of the power of your actions:
>the way you act in the present moment does shape the world of your experience.
You don’t need to be a victim of past events.

For many of us, the most difficult part of practicing right speech lies in how we express our sense of humor. Especially here in America,
>we’re used to getting laughs with exaggeration, sarcasm, group stereotypes, and pure silliness—all classic examples of wrong speech.
If people get used to these sorts of careless humor, they stop listening carefully to what we say. In this way, we cheapen our own discourse. Actually, there’s enough irony in the state of the world that we don’t need to exaggerate or be sarcastic. The greatest humorists are the ones who simply make us look directly at the way things are.

Expressing our humor in ways that are truthful, useful, and wise may require thought and effort, but when we master this sort of wit we find that the effort is well spent. We’ve sharpened our own minds and have improved our verbal environment. In this way, even our jokes become part of our practice: an opportunity to develop positive qualities of mind and to offer something of intelligent value to the people around us.

So pay close attention to what you say—and to why you say it. When you do, you’ll discover that an open mouth doesn’t have to be a mistake.

[Anonymous No.22783359]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrMOLqgv714

[Anonymous No.22783399]

>>22782422
Spend as much time by yourself, alone, sitting, walking, standing, lying, without any sensual pleasures.

https://pathpress.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/DHAMMA_WITHIN_REACH.pdf
>>22748973
>One should not act out of one’s emotions.
>Instead become aware of them while they’re enduring.

What is enlightenment? Being free from desire. If you're stressing out about becoming enlightened and wanting to "fast track it" then that's a desire that's actually preventing you from reaching enlightenment. Instead, be aware of the desire and feeling of wanting to be enlightened, and endure it.

[Anonymous No.22783404]

>>22782422
>the teachers reported in their interviews that meditation helped them develop three main qualities or abilities:
a) quieting the mind so that it can be free of internal conversations; b) letting go, or arriving at a state of nonattachment with respect to desires, fears, beliefs, or ideas—in fact, all the conditionings we have taken for granted as part of the experience of living in the world;
c) cultivating compassion, or feelings of empathy and kindness.

[Anonymous No.22783441]

>>22782728
how

[Anonymous No.22783567]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUngLgGRJpo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TT2gNmmQKjY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WRB0usJnew

What goes up must come down.

[Anonymous No.22783648]

>>22777056
>The only way you won’t be affected by death is if life itself stops affecting you.
This ultimately sounds life denying.
I wonder, how does this look like in practise.
Do you enter a catatonic state forever in bliss untill you die?

[Anonymous No.22783675]

>>22783250
>Invest in the buddha to make this life not meaningless

[Anonymous No.22783743]

>>22772067
>nibbana
>sutta
you retarded mongoloids its nrivana and sukta why can these fuckers speak right

[Anonymous No.22783829]

I started reading What the Buddha Taught. If what is in it is true, Buddha isn't Godlike, it is a human who says "be good, respect everyone". Am I wrong?

[Anonymous No.22783970]

>>22783829
In the Pali Canon the Buddha has superpowers, and Mahayana considers him the Supreme Nirmanakaya of the Dharmakaya Buddha who is primordially liberated from samsara. But in both cases, he is a human being, but an extraordinary human being. There are only six classes of beings in Buddhism, the Buddha did not appear in the god realm, he appeared in the human realm. And the ethical teachings are secondary to the wisdom of Buddhism. Ethics are important, but all religions advocate some standard of ethical conduct, what sets Buddhism apart is insight into dependent origination and non-self. Those are what lead to liberation.

[Anonymous No.22784006]

>>22783743
ho look the mahayanist brahmin is mad

[Anonymous No.22784009]

>>22783970
>And the ethical teachings are secondary to the wisdom of Buddhism
They really aren't. Morality is a tool just like wisdom is a tool.

[Anonymous No.22784023]

>>22783970
>the ethical teachings are secondary to the wisdom of Buddhism
I guess I'll get to that eventually. Now he is doing Phenomenology which isn't ethics at first glance at least

[Anonymous No.22784076]

Is Neoplatonism compatible with Mahayana Buddhism?

[Anonymous No.22784082]

>>22784076
No

[Anonymous No.22784088]

>>22784082
Maybe I am missing something but it seems to me that as I read the Cheng Weishi Lun that it agrees completely with my interpretation of Plotinus and Plato.

[Anonymous No.22784112]

However, some scholars hold that it is possible some Buddhist communities were established for a limited time in Egyptian Alexandria, and this may have been the origin of the so-called Therapeutae sect mentioned by some ancient sources like Philo of Alexandria (c. 20 BCE – 50 CE).[48] Religious scholar Ullrich R. Kleinhempel argues that the most likely candidate for the religion of the Therapeutae is indeed Buddhism.[49]


Buddhist bros, can't stop winning

[Anonymous No.22784210]

>>22783829
Saying 'the buddha wasn't a god' misses the point because in Buddhism there is no god, therefore, the sentence is moot.

non buddhist: BUDDHA WASN'T A GOD! *smirks*
Buddhist: there is no god, so... what is your point?

[Anonymous No.22784237]

>>22783250
man, these boomer white man wearing orange robes are a bunch of phonies, they think they can become a buddha by imitating him. not realising the buddha was enlightened because he was UNIQUE, he wasn't imitating nobody else, yet 'monks' shave their heads and go to a monastery to copy an idea of buddha and think they will get somewhere by basically cosplaying as buddha, pathetic, every monk is a imitator, a faker. Therefore no monk has become a buddha, because in order to be a buddha one has to be fully unique.

[Anonymous No.22784239]

>>22784076
Do platonic forms really exist?

[Anonymous No.22784240]

>>22784210
There are many gods in Buddhism. The Buddha talked about meeting them.

[Anonymous No.22784246]

>>22784239
Not as independently existing entities, that was refuted by Plato in the Parmenides.

[Anonymous No.22784257]

>>22784237
The Buddha was part of the Sramana movement, he was inspired to renounce his royal life because he saw an ascetic and wanted to imitate him.

[Anonymous No.22784264]

>>22784257
AND, he only reached enlightenment once he LEFT that movement, so if anything that only proves my point

[Anonymous No.22784278]

>>22784240
I know, but 'gods' is not an accurate translation, these are Devas, and I am talking especifically about the monotheistic concept of god.

[Anonymous No.22784282]

>>22784278
Is it inaccurate to call the Greek gods gods?

[Anonymous No.22784297]

>>22784282
and do greek gods die, friendo? because all devas with NO EXCEPTION will die one day, since they are all inside samsara.
plus, humans can be reborn as Devas, so no, that comparison makes no sense, greek gods are actual gods in greek mythology, in Buddhism Devas are just higher beings but stuck in samsara all the same. (hence we don't try to become one)

[Anonymous No.22784298]

>>22784278
Can Mara be likened to the Gnostic Demiurge? There are lots of parallels if you actually stop to think about it.
The most interesting devas are the formless ones though

[Anonymous No.22784299]

>>22784278
Nirvana is more of a state and not a deity. So, ultimate reality is not a deity, it’s a state in Buddhism. But there are nevertheless many literal gods. The definition of a god is different in Buddhism than in western or Abrahamic religions and cultures and the gods are called Devas, Brahmas, etc. Buddhism has different classes of gods. Even Amida is considered to be a buddha god.

[Anonymous No.22784302]

>>22784299
>Amida is considered to be a buddha god.
As in a deva that became a Buddha? I thought only humans could reach buddhahood

[Anonymous No.22784307]

>>22784297
Devas are still gods, according to Buddhism. They just don’t fit the same criteria as the other religions you’re comparing them to. The definition of “gods” is different, but they’re still considered gods within the religion. Things across very different cultures often have different ways of how they’re defined.

[Anonymous No.22784308]

>>22784298
nope. the demiurge is a creator, and buddhism categorically denies any creator.

>Buddhist ontology follows the doctrine of dependent origination, whereby all phenomena arise in dependence on other phenomena, hence no primal unmoved mover could be acknowledged or discerned. Gautama Buddha, in the early Buddhist texts, is also shown as stating that he saw no single beginning to the universe.

[Anonymous No.22784323]

>>22784298
The Demiurge was based on Mara. The teachings are nearly identical. Buddhism predates Gnosticism by at least 500 years so it’s clearly where the idea of the Demiurge came from. Early Christianity and Gnosticism had an enormous Buddhist influence but mainstream historians brush it under the rug. Buddhism derails Christianity the more you realize that without Buddhism, there would be no Christianity. Sari Putra, the Buddha’s chief disciple was even called The Rock, Barjonas/Barpetras like Simon Peter. The Temptation of the Buddha is the same story as the Temptation of Christ. These came from Buddhism and are among the earliest Buddhist teachings, predating Christianity by several hundred years.

[Anonymous No.22784437]

>>22784297
>and do greek gods die, friendo?
Yes

[Anonymous No.22784442]

>>22784298
>The most interesting devas are the formless ones though
Like the unconscious devas who are born, remain completely unconscious for aeons, then wake up and immediately die?

[Anonymous No.22784445]

>>22784297
The Hindu devas, whose followers consider them to be immortal supreme deities, from the Buddhist perspective are just deluded mortal beings trapped in samsara like us.

[Anonymous No.22784447]

>>22784442
They're not unconscious though. Even the ninth jhana isn't unconsciouness.

[Anonymous No.22784452]

>>22784302
Amitabha was the human monk Dharmakara before becoming a Buddha

[Anonymous No.22784469]

>>22771875
Reposting. Anyone familiar with any of these authors? Recommendations?
> Dignaga
> Dharmakirti
> Vasubandhu
> Asanga
> Shantideva
> Nagarjuna
> Aryadeva
> Buddhapalita
> Bhavaviveka
> Chandrakirti

[Anonymous No.22784474]

>>22784442
There are the motionless Brahmas in Buddhism. Which are a specific class of gods but are motionless due to neutral karma from their past lives.

[Anonymous No.22784486]

>>22784452
Yes but he’s sometimes called Amitabha/Amida Deva. So, a buddha who also happens to be a god.

[Anonymous No.22784504]

>>22784486
To expand upon this, Amida eventually became a god and also a buddha. Whereas Shakyamuni Buddha was a human who became a buddha. Both are buddhas but Amida is a buddha god. Hope that makes sense. It can get confusing when you get into past lives of different buddhas and how they eventually reached their current forms and various titles, but that’s the short summary from my understanding.

[Anonymous No.22784597]

>>22784469
Yogacara is based, madhyamika is cringe
Read Vasubandhu and Dharmakirti

[Anonymous No.22784617]

>>22784469
> Dignaga
https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Dignaga
> Dharmakirti
https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Dharmakirti
> Vasubandhu
https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Vasubandhu
Abhidharmakośa-Bhāsya of Vasubandhu, translated by Gelong Lodro Sangpo
> Asanga
https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Asanga
https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Five_Treatises_of_Maitreya
> Shantideva
https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Shantideva
https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Bodhicharyavatara
> Nagarjuna
https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Nagarjuna
Nagarjuna's Middle Way, translated by Siderits and Katsurai
> Aryadeva
https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Aryadeva
https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Four_Hundred_Verses
> Buddhapalita
https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Buddhapalita
Buddhapalita's Commentary on Nagarjuna's Middle Way, translated by Ian James Coghlan
> Bhavaviveka
https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Bhavaviveka
> Chandrakirti
https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Chandrakirti
https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Introduction_to_the_Middle_Way
Introduction to the Middle Way with Mipham Rinpoche's Commentary, translated by Padmakara Translation Group

[Anonymous No.22784792]

>>22784597
What's the difference between Yogacara and Madhyamaka?

[Anonymous No.22784809]

>>22784792
Madhyamaka
>You can't use words to prove anything, so go for direct experience.

Yogacara
>You can't prove that anything exists outside of the mind, so go for direct experience.

[Anonymous No.22784836]

>>22784792
Yogacarins escape samsara while Madhyamakas sit on a rock trying to think about the emptiness of emptiness.

[Anonymous No.22784930]

>>22784809
Aren't those two views compatible though?
>>22784836
>Yogacarins escape samsara
How?

[Anonymous No.22784980]

>>22784930
By recognizing and contemplating the truth that non-mental objects are completely non-existent, you can eliminate attachment to fictitious selves and dharmas.

[Anonymous No.22785009]

>>22784980
Madhyamaka does that, and then eliminates attachment to a fictitious mind

[Anonymous No.22785019]

>>22785009
Madhyamaka practitioners don’t understand the difference between empty and completely nonexistent, so they keep grasping dharmas. Mind is indeed empty, yet it still exists.

[Anonymous No.22785042]

>>22785019
Madhyamaka doesn't deny appearances, so it doesn't advocate complete nonexistence. Emptiness is freedom from the four extremes of existence, nonexistence, both, and neither. The ultimate is ineffable.

[Anonymous No.22785118]

>>22785042
There are a class of putative objects which don’t exist at all. These are the posited referrents of misguided (materialistic or dualistic) philosophies. They can’t be considered to exist in the way that the mind which posits them exists. Note that I use exists loosely. I don’t care what language games others play, exists doesn’t mean ‘has svabhava’ in ordinary speech.

[Anonymous No.22785126]

>>22784282
Greek and indoeuropean gods in geeral are completly different from the monotheistic creator god, they die, desire, and exist in the same world than humans, devas are a form of indoeuropean humanoid god with an indian flavour
The point here is that they're not a creator, trascendental god/entity, they're more akin to spirits with a lot of power

[Anonymous No.22785135]

>>22784930
>Aren't those two views compatible though?
Yes, a lotof buddhist schools practice a mix of the two

[Anonymous No.22785146]

>>22785019
You have a poor understanding of madhyamaka, you should study the texts some more

[Anonymous No.22785171]

>>22785146
There is at bottom no need for a Yogacara thinker to accept the premises which Nagarjuna’s philosophical opponents accepted re. self-existing objects. Mental phenomena exist relative to each other with no need for the positing of mind-external objects, which are, like the horns of a rabbit, completely nonexistent. The Madhyamaka critique fundamentally misunderstands the Yogacara position and attributes premises that a right thinking Yogacarin wouldn’t accept.

[Anonymous No.22785268]

>>22784297
>>22784282
gods in buddhism are basically species, there isn't the Brahmā, but a Brahmā, and members of this category are fantastically long lived (which means they undergo death and rebirth like all conditioned beings), inhabit their own realm, and express supramundane powers... to my knowledge the Greeks did not view their gods this way, although that did not stop multiple myths from being combined under the same god, almost as if he had lived multiple lives, and there is also the death and rebirth of Dionysus though the context is different, some Greeks affirmed metempsychosis but the cosmology was not as elaborate as the Indian
>>22784504
In Mahayana, Shakyamuni Buddha (that is to say our "historical" Buddha belonging to our world system) is a Buddha, and Amida Buddha is a Buddha. They manifest bodies and appearances in accordance with the audience. It isn't a matter of one being a god and one being a man, because men and gods are conditioned states.
>>22785171
Madhyamaka predates Yogacara (second and third "turnings" of the dharma respectively) and there really aren't pure representatives of either school in the abstract. The extant forms of Mahayana Buddhism are all of mix of the two but differing in which particular doctrines are emphasized.

[Anonymous No.22785356]

>>22785268
There appears to have been an Indo-European myth that was a primordial unity/chaos from which a generative god (or several) emerged, begat progeny, and in many versions is slain by the very same. In some versions the ‘three realms’ - the airy/fiery heaven, the muddy underworld, and the middle earth - are crafted from matter of the original god.

[Anonymous No.22785375]

>>22785356
That is to say that Indoeuropeans generally conceived their Gods to have been born and to eventually die. Metempsychosis was also a widespread belief, but it’s not clear if it was commonly believed that a human could be reborn as a god or vice versa. In the oldest Norse stories Helgi is reborn in Asgard in between his human lives. Likely no consensus was ever maintained because of the disorganized nature of the religion.

[Anonymous No.22785558]

>>22784299
>state
A real state or is it a metaphore of a real terrenal state?

[Anonymous No.22785575]

>>22785558
Real. What we’re experiencing right now is more like a dream. Nirvana is the actual reality. But even calling Nirvana a “state” isn’t fully accurate. It needs to be directly experienced.

[Anonymous No.22785597]

>>22785575
>It needs to be directly experienced
By dying, right? Of course, dying under certain circunstances but you can't experience it being alive, do you?

[Anonymous No.22785605]

Why do Hinduism and Buddhism share so many concepts? At least the names, maybe (surely) not what they mean

[Anonymous No.22785641]

>>22785597
No, not by dying. Dying just leads to rebirth. The entire point of Buddhism is to escape rebirth. There are tons of different teachings about how to become enlightened. I’m Buddhist and still trying to figure it all out myself.
>>22785605
Because they both developed out of ancient India.

[Anonymous No.22786129]

Thoughts on the Open Buddhist University?
https://buddhistuniversity.net/

[Anonymous No.22786246]

>>22785605
Hinduism copied buddhism but they hated to get rid of brahman so their mix is weird

[Anonymous No.22786291]

>>22785171
That's fine, but saying that madhyamakas cant see the difference between emptiness and nonexistence is just wrong

[Anonymous No.22787744]

>>22785605
buddhism originated in a vedic (hindu) society meaning that vedic culture is the historical context in which buddhism defined itself. so the buddha was naturally very influenced by the vedic philosophical tradition, plus in order to spread his ideas they had to make sense for the people in the vedic society in which he was living.
then later, as buddhism got very popular, hinduism also started to borrow a lot from it and so there is some influence that way as well

[Anonymous No.22787906]

>>22787744
This is wrong, the sakya clan wasn't hindu nor vedic and buddha followed a non-vedic sramana tradition and his clan a sun worshiping religion not asociated with vedic brahmanism

[Anonymous No.22788556]

Hey I feel like I'm missing something, apparently the "Sutta Pitaka" is a foundational buddhist text but I can't find a copy, I'm looking for a physical book copy of it

[Anonymous No.22788663]

>>22788556

[Anonymous No.22788734]

What would be the recommendation for healing practices? I'm very ill (encephalitis caused from lyme) and even meditations are getting weaker. I've been doing mantra based meditation for a few years and they just aren't the same. I'm not chasing results just stating facts.

[Anonymous No.22789334]

https://www.dhammatalks.net/Books5/Bhikkhu_Buddhadasa_Two_Kinds_of_Language.htm

everyday language vs. dhamma language

[Anonymous No.22789360]

>>22788556
https://www.dhammatalks.org/ebook_index.html#/suttas/
https://www.dhammatalks.org/Archive/Writings/ebooklist.pdf
https://www.dhammatalks.org/Archive/Writings/NotesInternational.pdf

[Anonymous No.22789534]

>>22780418
why is it said that mahayana doesn't make a distinction between shamatha and vipassana and that one naturally follows the other

[Anonymous No.22789769]

>>22788556
medicine buddha for you

[Anonymous No.22789975]

>>22789769
For me it's White Tara

[Anonymous No.22790926]

http://www.buddhanet.net/budasa2.htm
http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/buddasa.pdf

It is essential that we always discriminate in order to recognize what is the real, original Buddhism. We must not foolishly grasp at the outer shell, or become so attached to the various rituals and ceremonies that the real objective becomes quite lost to view.
>The real practice of Buddhism is based on purification of conduct by way of body and speech, followed by purification of the mind, which in its turn leads to insight and right understanding.

Now even the genuine Buddhism is many-sided, a fact which may lead to a false grasp of true meaning. For instance, if looked at from the point of view of a moral philosopher, Buddhism is seen to be a religion of morality. There is talk of merit and demerit, good and evil, honesty, gratitude, harmony, open-heartedness and much more besides. The Tipitaka is full of moral teachings. Many newcomers to Buddhism approach it from this angle and are attracted to it on this account.

A more profound aspect is Buddhism as Truth, as the deep hidden truth lying below the surface and invisible to the ordinary man. To see this truth is to know intellectual emptiness of all things; the transience, unsatisfactoriness and non-selfhood of all things; to know intellectually the nature of suffering, of the complete elimination of suffering and of the way to attain the complete elimination of suffering; to perceive these in terms of absolute truth, the kind that changes and which everyone ought to know. This is Buddhism as Truth.

Buddhism as Religion is Buddhism as a system of practice based on morality, concentration and insight, and culminating in liberating insight; a system which when practised to completion enables one to break free from suffering. This is Buddhism as Religion.

Then there is Buddhism as Psychology, as it is presented to us in the third section of the Tipitaka, where the nature of the mind is described in remarkable detail. Buddhist psychology is a source of interest and astonishment to students of the mind even in the present day. It is far more detailed and profound than present day psychological knowledge.

[Anonymous No.22790931]

READ NAGARJUNA

[Anonymous No.22790935]

>>22790926
Another aspect is Buddhism as Philosophy. Philosophical knowledge can be clearly seen by means of reasoned logical proofs but cannot be demonstrated experimentally. It contrasts with science, which is knowledge resulting from seeing something clearly, with our eyes, or through physical experimentation and proof, or even with the "inner eye" of intuition. Profound knowledge such as that of emptiness is just philosophy for a person who has not yet penetrated to the truth, and science for another who has done so, such as a fully enlightened individual, or arahant, who has seen it clearly, intuitively. Many aspects of Buddhism, in particular the Four Noble Truths, are scientific in so far as they can be verified by clear experimental proof using introspection. For anyone equipped with awareness and interested in studying and carrying out research, the cause - effect relationships are there just as in science. Buddhism is not just something obscure and vague, not just philosophy, as are man-made subjects.

Some look on Buddhism as Culture. Anyone with a high regard for culture finds many aspects of Buddhist practice which are common to all cultures and also many that are characteristically Buddhist and far better and higher than anything in other cultures.

Of all these various aspects, the one a real Buddhist ought to take most interest in is Buddhism as Religion.
>We ought to look on Buddhism as a direct practical method for gaining knowledge of the true nature of things, knowledge which makes it possible to give up every form of grasping and clinging, of stupidity and infatuation, and become completely independent of things.
To do this is to penetrate to the essence of Buddhism. Buddhism considered in this aspect is far more useful than Buddhism considered as mere morality, or as truth which is simply profound knowledge and not really practical; and more useful than Buddhism considered as philosophy, as something to be enjoyed as an object of speculation and argument of no value in the giving up of the mental defilements; and certainly more useful than Buddhism considered simply as culture, as attractive behaviour, noteworthy from the sociological viewpoint.

[Anonymous No.22790942]

>>22790931
based

[Anonymous No.22790944]

>>22790935
At the very least,
>everyone ought to consider Buddhism as Art, as the Art of Living
- in other words, as skill and competence in being a human being, living in a way that is exemplary and praiseworthy, which so impresses others that they automatically wish to emulate it.
>What we have to do is to cultivate the "Three Lustres," firstly developing moral purity, training the mind to be tranquil and steady and fit to its job, and finally developing such an abundance of wisdom and clear insight into the nature of all things that those things are no longer able to give rise to suffering.
When anyone's life has these Three Lustres, he can be considered to have mastered the art of living. Westerners are extremely interested in Buddhism as the Art of Living, and discuss this aspect more than any other. Penetrating so far into the real essence of Buddhism that we are able to take it as our guide to living induces spiritual good cheer and joy, dispersing depression and disillusionment. It also dispels fears, such as the fear that the complete giving up of spiritual defilements would make life dry and dreary and utterly devoid of flavour, or the fear that complete freedom from craving would make all thought and action impossible, whereas in reality
>a person who organizes his life in accordance with the Buddhist Art of Living is victor over all the things about him.
Regardless of whether these things be animals, people, possessions, or anything else, and regardless of whether they enter that person's consciousness by way of the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, or mind, they will enter as losers, unable to becloud, defile, or perturb him.
>The winning of victory over all things is genuine bliss.

Buddhism has a number of different aspects or sides. Just as the same mountain when viewed from a different direction presents a different appearance, so different benefits are derived from Buddhism according to how one looks at it. The real Buddhism is not books, not manuals, not word for word repetition from the Tipitaka, nor is it rites and rituals. These are not the real Buddhism.
>The real Buddhism is the practice, by way of body, speech and mind that will destroy the defilements, in part or completely.
One need not have anything to do with books or manuals. One ought not to rely on rites and rituals, or anything else external, including spirits and celestial beings. Rather
>one must be directly concerned with bodily action, speech and thought.
That is,
>one must persevere in one's efforts to control and eliminate the defilements so that clear insight can arise.
One will then be automatically capable of acting appropriately, and will be free of suffering from that moment right up to the end.

[Anonymous No.22790947]

>>22790931
not my buddha

[Anonymous No.22790960]

READ THE NIKAYAS IN REVERSE
https://www.dhammatalks.org/ebook_index.html#/suttas/

[Anonymous No.22790971]

>>22790947
READ THE KACCANAGOTTA SUTTA

[Anonymous No.22790979]

>>22790971
>read the suttas
right. listen to the buddha

[Anonymous No.22791113]

>>22790947
lol

[Anonymous No.22791497]

>>22790931
莫逐有縁 Do not pursue Being and entanglements;
勿住空忍 Do not dwell in Emptiness and sufferance.
一種平懷 When the mind is at peace in Oneness, 泯然自盡 Thus are these eliminated, and naturally fade away.
止動歸止 When you try to stop activity to return to stillness, 止更彌動 This stillness further increases activity. 唯滯兩邊 If you are always caught in one side or the otherA, 寧知一種 How can you know Oneness?
一種不通 When Oneness is not understood completely, 兩處失功 Both of these viewpoints lose their usefulness :
遣有沒有 To reject Being is to merely lose Being;
從空背空 To embrace Emptiness is to merely be burdened by Emptiness

[Anonymous No.22791517]

The Rhinoceros Sutra is my last hope lads. Someday I'll abandon my home and become a lone monk...just two more weeks

[Anonymous No.22791714]

>>22791497
the buddha is so much better than nagarjuna

[Anonymous No.22791729]

WHY ARE YOU NOT A STREAM ENTERER ALREADY ???????


STREAM ENTRY FOR LAYPEOPLE - by Bhikkhu Anīgha
>Clarifying some common misconception about what it takes to become a sotapanna and how can a lay person do it.
https://youtu.be/o2AWxZnxeYk

"Stream Entry and How to Get There" by Ajahn Brahm - 20230609
https://youtu.be/dZzLu-d1qMQ

[Anonymous No.22791878]

>>22791729
I became a stream-entrant at age 13 but I no longer consider the truth as being exclusive to Buddhism (I see this view as being a harmful and ego-driven fetter) and I am a perennialist.

[Anonymous No.22792061]

>>22791729
Because stream entry according to theravada is pretty much impossible for laypeople

[Anonymous No.22792145]

How do Buddhists deal with lust other than just not using the internet/being around women? (any books on this that are recommended? I've read all the standard nofap stuff, easy peasy etc)

I meditate pretty frequently now for probably around 5 hours a week in total, yet I still find that is a desire I can't eliminate. I have found meditation has essentially eliminated my social anxieties, but I am not sure what to do with women.

Is some desire considered natural? I am frankly not sure what constitutes a middle way in this scenario. My health isn't good enough for a relationship (I need to focus on healing my chronic pain) so that isn't on the table

[Anonymous No.22792443]

>>22773786
I have constant back pain and intermittent nausea, chest pain. I already lie down to meditate, which makes my nose blocked and I can't breathe through my nose. I don't know how to make it better.

[Anonymous No.22792478]

>>22792145
have you tried to meditate during aroused states? After finishing no nut november the first day of destroy dick december was very underwhelming. I think much is determined by age. Evolving your love life beyond lustful expression is key. Doesn't mean you destroy the lust but supplement it with deeper meaning which in turn produces stronger climax.

[Anonymous No.22792484]

>>22792443
which illness do you have?

[Anonymous No.22792500]

>>22773749
Focus on non-self and the efficacy of mental training. These three suttas are relevant (and I believe there are others that are relevant as well):

https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN22_59.html
https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN36_6.html
https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/MN/MN20.html

[Anonymous No.22792504]

>>22773749
>>22792500
By non-self I mean "This thing, commonly regarded as self, perhaps intimately felt by me, is not mine, is not what I am, is not my self". By non-self I -do not- mean "There is no self."

[Anonymous No.22792506]

>>22791729
I'm a stream winner, as it were (I'm a son of god, as the title is called, even though no one, I think, truly calls us that)

[Anonymous No.22792511]

>>22791714
A realized being is perfect in their conduct. I wonder is nagarjuna attained realization. I believe the Buddha attained realization.

[Anonymous No.22792998]

>>22792478
I generally find myself unable to meditate when feeling lustful. I get distracted particularly easily. Are there any particular writings that might be of relevance on this? The only sexual stuff ive read is just tantric stuff whic is way beyond my level anyways

I don't have the capacity for any deeper meaning in this realm of my life just given health problems. If by deeper meaning you mean a relationship obviously.

[Anonymous No.22794000]

>Do you have faith? Hillside Hermitage
https://youtu.be/g_biVbj-K5A

WELL DO YOU? Nagarjuna cucks need not reply