Picking and choosing the teachings...

[mikenz66]

Rather than clutter up the Great Rebirth Debate viewtopic.php?f=16&t=41&p=15703#p15703 I've got some observations regarding the picking and choosing of the Buddha's teachings.

I've been recently studying MN117: "The Great Forty" http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .than.html in the last few weeks. In various talks both Bhikkhu Bodhi http://www.bodhimonastery.net/bm/about- ... ?showall=1 and Ajahn Brahmali http://www.bswa.org/audio/podcast/SuttaStudy.rss.php point out that the discussion of mundane and supermundane paths in that Sutta is directly from the Abhidhamma and those concepts don't appear in many (if any) other Suttas. So if one has the inclination to reject Abhidhamma and Commentaries and go for the "pure teachings of the Buddha" then, in fact, it's in those more abstract Suttas such as MN117 that one should be suspicious of.

Metta
Mike

[Cittasanto]

I don't think we should pick and choose, but we should Look and see and decide for ourselves.
those today who are of the sutta and vinaya inclination and don't use the commentaries seam to miss that the translations of these works have been done with the use of the Commentaries and not entirely based on the sutta evidence.

cant reply anymore just about to leave for my retreat!

[mikenz66]

I don't think we should pick and choose, but we should Look and see and decide for ourselves.
those today who are of the sutta and vinaya inclination and don't use the commentaries seam to miss that the translations of these works have been done with the use of the Commentaries and not entirely based on the sutta evidence.

Yes, it's clear from reading footnotes that many Suttas would be difficult to translate without the Commentaries.

My particular point here is that passages such as

"And what is the right view that is without effluents, transcendent, a factor of the path? The discernment, the faculty of discernment, the strength of discernment, analysis of qualities as a factor for Awakening, the path factor of right view of one developing the noble path whose mind is noble, whose mind is free from effluents, who is fully possessed of the noble path. This is the right view that is without effluents, transcendent, a factor of the path.

appear to be referring to the Abhidhamma concepts of "path" as a supramundane citta.
http://books.google.com.au/books?id=hxo ... Q#PPA28,M1

Metta
Mike

[Jechbi]

cant reply anymore just about to leave for my retreat!

Mucho Metta

[laura]

I don't think we should pick and choose, but we should Look and see and decide for ourselves.

The thing is, when we do this, it looks an awful lot like picking and choosing.

[Fede]

I "pick and choose" on the criterion of whether I understand what I'm reading!
If I don't have anyone on hand to explain things to me, I'd rather just leave it to one side until I'm more able to understand it.
It has happened to me in the past that I have tried to absorb the teachings of a particular sutta and it's just gone straight over my head.... but that coming back to it a while later, it's been more easy to understand....

[floating_abu]

well said .