Search found 69 matches

by darvki
Sun Aug 02, 2015 9:40 am
Forum: Connections to Other Paths
Topic: Romantic Love
Replies: 119
Views: 24531

Re: Is romantic love a hindrance?

Romantic attraction is obviously a powerful impulse that most people (except the asexual) have to deal with. (Underline mine.) This is a false statement, as it conflates sexual orientation with romantic orientation . For example, there are hetero-romantic asexuals. So, there seems to be much more t...
by darvki
Tue Dec 18, 2012 7:24 pm
Forum: Connections to Other Paths
Topic: zen masters...
Replies: 54
Views: 16082

Re: zen masters...

alan... wrote:but clearly i'm getting no where and asking actual zen practitioners already proved useless as well so i give up.
I don't see your question on Zen Forum International. I would seriously try there. I guarantee you won't get "it's all Zen" answers.
by darvki
Sat Dec 08, 2012 9:53 am
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: the great rebirth debate
Replies: 7539
Views: 1326986

Re: Is hell and hungry ghost realm to be taken literally?

Not claiming to speak for any "group" or "outlook demographic"; as you say, these are heterogenous. Didn't really mean to accuse you of doing so. I just find statements like, "If there is only one life (or multiple lives), then x, y and z," to be tiresome because they ...
by darvki
Fri Dec 07, 2012 2:27 am
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: the great rebirth debate
Replies: 7539
Views: 1326986

Re: Is hell and hungry ghost realm to be taken literally?

In a one-life scenario, the Buddhist path is a little like having your leg amputated in order to prevent a foot ache; the sacrifice is not justified. I don't really have a dog in this fight when it comes to one- or more-than-one-life outlooks. I think people should take on the viewpoint that works ...
by darvki
Wed Dec 05, 2012 3:57 am
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Mahāyāna, Zen, and Nibbana
Replies: 2
Views: 1409

Re: Mahāyāna, Zen, and Nibbana

"Nibbanam paramam sukham." Dhammapada, verse 204.

Nibbana is the highest bliss.

:candle:
by darvki
Wed Dec 05, 2012 3:52 am
Forum: Samatha Bhāvana
Topic: Zazen and the Jhanas
Replies: 38
Views: 14570

Re: Zazen and the Jhanas

Mahayana polemics led to the seeming rejection of jhana, but any time with Zen will reveal an enormous emphasis on ever deepening samadhi that sets the stage for awakening experiences. It would seem that the sectarian differences are merely differences in the use of terms.
by darvki
Sun Oct 28, 2012 3:18 am
Forum: Connections to Other Paths
Topic: Dalai Lama quote
Replies: 25
Views: 7387

Re: Dalai Lama quote

Then isn't it a more worthwhile endeavor to teach people about such things instead of just reaffirming basic platitudes about compassion and kindness? I don't know. Is it? My point stands: people rarely react well to being spoon fed something, especially if it's new and is supposed to save them. I ...
by darvki
Sat Oct 27, 2012 1:52 am
Forum: Connections to Other Paths
Topic: Dalai Lama quote
Replies: 25
Views: 7387

Re: Dalai Lama quote

With all due respect, a part of me wonders whether or not the Dalai Lama has anything to say anymore besides the most basic platitudes. I think, at least in America, he's become so much the adopted poster child for the liberal post-religious movement that he seems afraid, or at least uninterested, ...
by darvki
Mon Oct 22, 2012 7:06 am
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Buddha nature
Replies: 55
Views: 13003

Re: Buddha nature

Medicine for the sick. Bhante Dhammika didn't have any qualms using it in his writing.
by darvki
Sun Oct 21, 2012 12:04 am
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Buddha's Reluctance - Original Bhikkhuni Sangha
Replies: 6
Views: 2164

Re: Buddha's Reluctance - Original Bhikkhuni Sangha

daverupa wrote:...
Thanks for this. A highly informative and sound post, as usual.
by darvki
Sat Oct 20, 2012 11:51 pm
Forum: Connections to Other Paths
Topic: Neurosurgeon's visit to heaven - proof of afterlife?
Replies: 113
Views: 28799

Re: Neurosurgeon's visit to heaven - proof of afterlife?

Then there's the fact that people's memories around very recent and specific events are often quite malleable, to say nothing of a memory that is so far back it's supposedly from before one's birth (or in a high stress situation where one's brain may have stopped functioning at one point).
by darvki
Thu Oct 18, 2012 11:12 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Buddha's Reluctance - Original Bhikkhuni Sangha
Replies: 6
Views: 2164

Buddha's Reluctance - Original Bhikkhuni Sangha

The topic of the Buddha's initial reluctance to form the Bhikkhuni Sangha and its implications is discussed fairly frequently. I read somewhere the interpretation that the rape of Uppalavanna Theri was an example of what the Buddha was afraid would happen if he ordained bhikkhunis. I think this make...
by darvki
Mon Oct 15, 2012 11:42 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: the great rebirth debate
Replies: 7539
Views: 1326986

Re: the great rebirth debate

Alex123 wrote:I am happy that you don't suffer so much.
I have my share. Some of it has gone away with time thanks to the Dhamma. I hope (and firmly believe) you can find some immediate relief in your own refuge and practice.
by darvki
Mon Oct 15, 2012 9:43 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: the great rebirth debate
Replies: 7539
Views: 1326986

Re: the great rebirth debate

cooran wrote:Hello Alex, all,

Could we please leave ''Suicide'' to threads having it as a main topic, and not clog up the discussion about Rebirth?
Sorry for helping the main topic veer off, Chris. I'm done now.
by darvki
Mon Oct 15, 2012 9:40 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: the great rebirth debate
Replies: 7539
Views: 1326986

Re: the great rebirth debate

When one doesn't fully see the breadth, depth and width of Dukkha -Then, I guess, decorating seats in a burning house isn't that bad till some point. It is pessimism to say that house is burning, right? It is still somewhere in the future... Right? All I'm saying is that some of us aren't going to ...