Search found 35 matches

by manjusri
Sat May 08, 2021 8:39 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Re: Origin of the four (or three) dharma/dhamma seals?
Replies: 8
Views: 325

Re: Origin of the four (or three) dharma/dhamma seals?

Does anyone know when these were first formulated and by whom? I am also curious if they can be found in the Theravada? I believe I was introduced to them through a teaching given by HHDL. Thanks, everybody.
by manjusri
Sun Jun 28, 2015 9:49 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Early Buddhist text composed by Brahmin extolling the qualities of the dharma?
Replies: 0
Views: 745

Early Buddhist text composed by Brahmin extolling the qualities of the dharma?

Can anyone identify this text and provide the Sanskrit for it? The Tibetan is something like Topsen Dripje?
by manjusri
Mon Aug 19, 2013 2:58 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Scriptural Reference for this?
Replies: 11
Views: 3003

Re: Scriptural Reference for this?

And finally, from Bodhipaksa over at fakebuddhaquotes: The Buddha used the "earth versus what's under my fingernail" simile dozens of times. He used it, for example, to compare the large amount of suffering destroyed by one who has entered the stream compared to the amount of suffering rem...
by manjusri
Mon Aug 19, 2013 1:53 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Scriptural Reference for this?
Replies: 11
Views: 3003

Re: Scriptural Reference for this?

Astus, over at dharmawheel.net had this insightful reply, to which I agree. "There is also a logical problem with that hypothetical quote. And that is it would only serve as a deterrent for those who want enlightenment, it would be demotivating. In later Mahayana teachings there are talks about...
by manjusri
Mon Aug 12, 2013 3:24 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Scriptural Reference for this?
Replies: 11
Views: 3003

Re: Scriptural Reference for this?

Another reference that a friend sent me attributed to the late Geshe Dhargyey who taught for years at The Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in Dharamsala, India. Seems this is a protean metaphor employed to convey a number of Dharmic points. "Yet not many humans take advantage of the human ...
by manjusri
Sat Aug 10, 2013 4:53 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Scriptural Reference for this?
Replies: 11
Views: 3003

Re: Scriptural Reference for this?

A friend sent me this the other day from a Tricycle article, Family Dharma, The Elephant's Footprint, but unfortunately no scriptural reference is given. The Buddha said that a human life is a gift beyond measure and a great blessing. Yet the Buddha observed that not very many human beings take full...
by manjusri
Sat Aug 03, 2013 7:24 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Scriptural Reference for this?
Replies: 11
Views: 3003

Re: Scriptural Reference for this?

Dave,

Wow! Thank you for putting some time into this! Very much appreciated. Will be most curious what else might show up. Thank you!
by manjusri
Sat Aug 03, 2013 6:15 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Scriptural Reference for this?
Replies: 11
Views: 3003

Scriptural Reference for this?

I came across this the other day in an email from a friend: When the Buddha was asked, "How many will attain enlightenment," he scratched the dirt and pointing to the dust under his fingernail, replied, "This many compared to the weight of the world." Does anyone know if there is...
by manjusri
Tue Mar 13, 2012 1:33 am
Forum: Samatha Bhāvana
Topic: Shamatha in Five (not nine) Stages?
Replies: 23
Views: 8101

Re: Shamatha in Five (not nine) Stages?

So far, it seems these nine mental abiding stages did not originate with the Buddha, but came much later in the 4th c., but i will continue looking into it. The terms for the nine mental abidings are listed as a set of nine verbs in the Tibetan version of the Mahāśūnyatā Sūtra, which is considered ...
by manjusri
Mon Mar 12, 2012 12:23 am
Forum: Samatha Bhāvana
Topic: Shamatha in Five (not nine) Stages?
Replies: 23
Views: 8101

Re: Shamatha in Five (not nine) Stages?

I don't mean to make it a minefield. There are probably people who might be able to describe this better. The idea of the yana of a sravaka that exists in the Mahayana thought-world exists in contrast with various other yanas and in a context with a number of implications and assumptions that are n...
by manjusri
Sun Mar 11, 2012 7:11 am
Forum: Samatha Bhāvana
Topic: Shamatha in Five (not nine) Stages?
Replies: 23
Views: 8101

Re: Shamatha in Five (not nine) Stages?

I very much appreciate the posts on this topic to date and will try and carve out time tomorrow to address some of the questions that have arisen since my last post. I think I can get much more specific about what it is I am asking about. I realize this much: finding equivalents between Theravada an...
by manjusri
Thu Mar 08, 2012 9:52 pm
Forum: Samatha Bhāvana
Topic: Shamatha in Five (not nine) Stages?
Replies: 23
Views: 8101

Re: Shamatha in Five (not nine) Stages?

Well, this isn't Nyingma. Similar to what Dave has said, Theravada =/= the idea of a Shravakayana that exists in the context of Mahayana. I'm probably wading into a mine field here, but could you please clarify? Are you (and Dave) suggesting that the Nyingma tradition (and I assume this may be true...
by manjusri
Thu Mar 08, 2012 5:12 pm
Forum: Samatha Bhāvana
Topic: Shamatha in Five (not nine) Stages?
Replies: 23
Views: 8101

Re: Shamatha in Five (not nine) Stages?

In the Pali canon there is no direct equivalent of Tibetan Buddhism's 9 stages that I have seen or heard of. Ok, I'll take your word for it. However, in the Nyingma tradition, you have the nine yanas or vehicles, the first of which is the shravakayana, and I have seen the nine stages of shamatha en...
by manjusri
Thu Mar 08, 2012 1:39 am
Forum: Samatha Bhāvana
Topic: Shamatha in Five (not nine) Stages?
Replies: 23
Views: 8101

Re: Shamatha in Five (not nine) Stages?

According to the Nyingma teacher whose teaching I attended recently, the nine and the five stages of shamatha are found, as he says, in the "source texts of the Buddha's canon." He adds, "The 9 stages are specifically in the shamatha instructions for the Shravaka." Can anyone cor...