Good idea.reflection wrote:Guys, this is not about Venerable Thanissaro, not about Venerable Brahmavamso. Neither is it about Sylvester or danieLion or reflection or whoever. So may I ask you to keep it a bit impersonal? I understand you defending your positions, but the last posts really represent nothing substantial, or nothing that's already been said. You got the freedom to say whatever you want of course, but this is just me asking as a dhamma friend to another dhamma friend to keep it a bit ontopic.
Many teachers, ancient and modern, teach quite deep absorptions. It seems rather clear in the ancient commentaries that those deep absorptions involve mental objects.E.g. see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamma%E1%B ... Dh%C4%81na" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamma%E1%B ... and_jhanas" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Or for modern teachers Pa Auk Sayadaw's books http://www.buddhistelibrary.org/library ... ?aapath=69" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; or Shaila Catherine's book on Pa Auk Sayadaw's approach http://imsb.org/books/wwd.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
As I understand it, Reflection started this thread to enquire how these approaches either evolved from, or are implicit in, the suttas. I would highly reccomend Shaila's book in investigating that, since she gives copious quotes from Sutta, as well as Abhidhamma and Commentary.
Venerables Thanissaro and Brahm each have their particular interpretations of the Suttas. I don't follow either of them in terms of practice, but I have found teachings from both of them interesting and illuminating. There are clearly many other teachers and practitioners who agree or disagree with either (or both) of them.
It seems to me to be a little pointless to rehash these arguments about whether Vens Thanissoro, Brahm, or neither, are "correct". I think that it would be more fruitful to simply discuss what the suttas do say, and to that end Sylvesters comments about the translations of some of those passages are very relevant.
Mike