Search found 539 matches

by meindzai
Thu Jan 15, 2015 8:18 pm
Forum: Connections to Other Paths
Topic: Why we can be certain that God does not exist
Replies: 37
Views: 6027

Re: Why we can be certain that God does not exist

Everytime I see the title of this topic I smile because we are mostly very confused about our own self's existence and now we can be certain about the existence of god? :jumping: Or indeed the non-existence of God. I've debated this question with theists quite a bit, and the bottom line is that we ...
by meindzai
Fri Jan 09, 2015 1:28 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Looking for "Right Effort" Reminder graphic/wallpaper
Replies: 5
Views: 3524

Re: Looking for "Right Effort" Reminder graphic/wallpaper

So busy I forgot I posted here! Thanks for the replies... can't comment but will check back later!
by meindzai
Mon Jan 05, 2015 1:01 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Looking for "Right Effort" Reminder graphic/wallpaper
Replies: 5
Views: 3524

Looking for "Right Effort" Reminder graphic/wallpaper

Happy new year! Did you know 2015 is the year of right effort? Well, at least for me it is. Each year I have been focusing on a particular aspect of the eightfold path. Last year I worked on right speech. It was great. Of course, not perfect. This year I am working on right effort. It fits as I am i...
by meindzai
Sat Aug 30, 2014 10:56 pm
Forum: Lounge
Topic: Mindfulness: has it been hijacked by business or...
Replies: 8
Views: 2699

Re: Mindfulness: has it been hijacked by business or...

Is this the beginning of "counterfeit Dhamma"? No, because it isn't Dhamma at all -- the goals are different. It just happens that mindfulness techniques have been shown to be beneficial in various contexts other than Buddhism. For example, when I was in my twenties, I suffered from anxie...
by meindzai
Sat Aug 23, 2014 11:34 pm
Forum: Wellness, Diet & Fitness
Topic: Gym or no gym
Replies: 26
Views: 12910

Re: Gym or no gym

The Buddha walked a lot. A whole lot. http://www.oxherding.com/.a/6a00e5537c83be8834015433f8a35a970c-800wi That's just his travels, and who knows how much he went back and forth, and where else he went. He also went for alms every day. He walked a lot. Now think of how sedentary we are as a society....
by meindzai
Sat Aug 23, 2014 11:26 pm
Forum: General Theravāda Meditation
Topic: Ajahn Chah's Warning to the Meditator
Replies: 84
Views: 18394

Re: Meditation danger?

This is why I like Thanissaro's approach. It is oriented towards the jhanas, by exercising one's discernment about what kind of breathing is leading one to or away from the various jhanic factors. The breathing should feel "good, comfortable, pleasurable." The breath should be a compelling...
by meindzai
Fri Aug 15, 2014 9:02 pm
Forum: Lounge
Topic: Mindfulness: A Secularized Buddhist Practice in the West
Replies: 24
Views: 4744

Re: Mindfulness: A Secularized Buddhist Practice in the West

I have never know mindfulness in zen to be taught free of context which seems to me what you are talking about. Its a part of the path and is practiced as such in my experience. As I said " But even in Zen mindfulness is part of a whole package with meditation and so forth...." So I'm not...
by meindzai
Fri Aug 15, 2014 8:26 pm
Forum: Lounge
Topic: Mindfulness: A Secularized Buddhist Practice in the West
Replies: 24
Views: 4744

Re: Mindfulness: A Secularized Buddhist Practice in the West

I never understood the difference, i can recall asking people about this and the two sounded almost exactly the same to me, at least the way mindfulness is used in zen. So enlighten me, whats the difference? "And what is right mindfulness? There is the case where a monk remains focused on the ...
by meindzai
Fri Aug 15, 2014 5:43 pm
Forum: Connections to Other Paths
Topic: "Buddhism 3.0" reform movement in Japan
Replies: 16
Views: 4104

Re: "Buddhism 3.0" reform movement in Japan

Buddhism (as a movement) tends to respond to the culture it is in. So it can be hard to judge. Zen was (in my view) originally a response to an overly academic mahayana Buddhist epidemic. (Basically "Buddhism" had degraded to bickering about Sutras). I think that these days, people are so ...
by meindzai
Fri Aug 15, 2014 3:22 pm
Forum: Lounge
Topic: Are we "Columbusing" Buddhism?
Replies: 1
Views: 1057

Are we "Columbusing" Buddhism?

My wife and I read this article awhile ago: 'Columbusing': The Art Of Discovering Something That Is Not New If you've danced to an Afrobeat-heavy pop song, dipped hummus, sipped coconut water, participated in a Desi-inspired color run or sported a henna tattoo, then you've Columbused something. Colu...
by meindzai
Fri Aug 15, 2014 3:03 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Exploring the Three Marks.
Replies: 186
Views: 20866

Re: Exploring the Three Marks.

yes . What I am trying to say is we have to analyse components in Sutta as a whole. We should not bog-down in, only one aspect of the teaching. We should make an attempt to see how each components relate to final goal. :) I think we should analyse the suttas very carefully. However I do think that ...
by meindzai
Thu Aug 14, 2014 4:16 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Do bad thoughts create bad karma?
Replies: 64
Views: 16677

Re: Do bad thoughts create bad karma?

Hello everyone, 1. First of all I want to know if bad thoughts that are unacted upon create bad karma? Yes, but not nearly so bad or unskillful as when acted upon. And blaming yourself about having them just makes more unwholesome mental states. 2. Sometimes impulsive thoughts come to my mind. Late...
by meindzai
Wed Aug 13, 2014 5:49 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Exploring the Three Marks.
Replies: 186
Views: 20866

Re: Exploring the Three Marks.

Spiny Norman wrote:
meindzai wrote: I believe the order matters in a sense, because annata with regards to samsara is explained by anicca and dukkha.
How so?
As I quoted above: See: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/stud ... passage-52
by meindzai
Wed Aug 13, 2014 5:40 pm
Forum: Connections to Other Paths
Topic: Understanding the buddha's enlightenment
Replies: 22
Views: 3708

Re: Understanding the buddha's enlightenment

I believe that there are discourses in which the Buddha claims to posess the first two forms of knowledge after his enlightenment. Regards, Vincent. Yes, there are suttas where he tells a story about "back when I was a..." in order to illustrate a point. There are also suttas where he see...
by meindzai
Wed Aug 13, 2014 5:30 pm
Forum: Connections to Other Paths
Topic: Understanding the buddha's enlightenment
Replies: 22
Views: 3708

Re: Understanding the buddha's enlightenment

According to the sutras ( I' m using the bhikkhu bodhi translations ) the buddha attained 3 knowledges the night of his enlightenment. In the first watch of the night the Buddha remember many past lives. I'm the second watch of the night the Buddha understood how beings are reborn according to thei...