This in no way says that there is no next world! Here the problem is not what a monk is obsessed about (as it's translated by Ñāṇamoli/Bodhi), but the fact of obsession itself:vinasp wrote:Hi everyone,
I think that Retro has made some excellent points, for example:
MN 48 wrote:
"If a monk is absorbed in speculation about the other world, then his mind is enthralled."
This agrees with DN 1 and indeed, most discourses.
- Here a bhikkhu, gone to the forest or to the root of a tree or to an empty hut, considers thus: 'Is there any obsession unabandoned in myself that might so obsess my mind that I cannot know or see things as they actually are?' If a bhikkhu is obsessed by sensual lust, then his mind is obsessed. If he is obsessed by ill will, then his mind is obsessed. If he is obsessed by sloth and torpor, then his mind is obsessed. If he is obsessed by restlessness and remorse, then his mind is obsessed. If he is obsessed by doubt, then his mind is obsessed. If a bhikkhu is absorbed in speculation about this world, then his mind is obsessed. If a bhikkhu is absorbed in speculation about the other world, then his mind is obsessed. If a bhikkhu takes to quarrelling and brawling and is deep in disputes, stabbing others with verbal daggers, then his mind is obsessed.
If you read the whole passage it actually confirms that there is a next world (as there is this world) in the Buddha's teaching — quite contrary to what you're trying to prove.