U Nu, Protestant Buddhism and the Kālama-sutta

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drpaulfuller
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U Nu, Protestant Buddhism and the Kālama-sutta

Post by drpaulfuller »

This might be of interest to some of you:

http://drpaulfuller.wordpress.com/2014/ ... ama-sutta/
binocular
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Re: U Nu, Protestant Buddhism and the Kālama-sutta

Post by binocular »

drpaulfuller wrote:This might be of interest to some of you:

http://drpaulfuller.wordpress.com/2014/ ... ama-sutta/
What exactly would you like to discuss?
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tiltbillings
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Re: U Nu, Protestant Buddhism and the Kālama-sutta

Post by tiltbillings »

drpaulfuller wrote:This might be of interest to some of you:

http://drpaulfuller.wordpress.com/2014/ ... ama-sutta/
Informative in its outlining of "Protestant Buddhism." Thanks.
>> Do you see a man wise [enlightened/ariya] in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<< -- Proverbs 26:12

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Ben
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Re: U Nu, Protestant Buddhism and the Kālama-sutta

Post by Ben »

drpaulfuller wrote:This might be of interest to some of you:

http://drpaulfuller.wordpress.com/2014/ ... ama-sutta/
Thanks, Paul.
I look forward to reading the article with great interest.
Kind regards,
Ben
“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.”
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Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725

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gavesako
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Re: U Nu, Protestant Buddhism and the Kālama-sutta

Post by gavesako »

U Nu's attempt at introducing his version of "Protestant Buddhism" to the masses seems to have been short-lived in Burma, and more traditional Buddhist attitudes continue to be strongly rooted among the population.

Here is an interesting blog describing a pilgrimage of a group of Western Buddhists to various places of practice in Burma: http://burmadhamma.blogspot.com/
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Ben
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Re: U Nu, Protestant Buddhism and the Kālama-sutta

Post by Ben »

gavesako wrote:U Nu's attempt at introducing his version of "Protestant Buddhism" to the masses seems to have been short-lived in Burma, and more traditional Buddhist attitudes continue to be strongly rooted among the population.
/
Actually, Protestant Buddhism was in part a reaction to the British annexation of lower and upper Burma from the 1850s and the subsequent assault on Burmese cultural and religious identity thanks to state-sponsored missionary activities. By U Nu's time, Protestant Buddhism was well and truly established in Burma.
Kind regards,
Ben
“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.”
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725

Compassionate Hands Foundation (Buddhist aid in Myanmar) • Buddhist Global ReliefUNHCR

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Mkoll
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Re: U Nu, Protestant Buddhism and the Kālama-sutta

Post by Mkoll »

Great video and great article. Thanks for sharing.
Some paraphrasing and some direct quotation here...

U Nu
He [the Buddha] also said that a person goes through four stages in this very life, not in the life hereafter. And when a person has gone through one of these stages, the mental transformation of that person will be so complete that it will give him enough conviction and faith to become a genuine Buddhist. These words very much attracted me towards Buddhism. So I tried it myself, not all of what the Buddha said, a portion because of lack of time. I tried that portion and found it to be true. And since that time, I became very much a confirmed Buddhist.

Narrator
And how long did it take to achieve that state?

U Nu
About a month.

Narrator
Of more or less constant meditation? And only meditation?

U Nu
Yes. It must be constant yes, meditation.
I think he is claiming stream-entry. He goes on to describe how doubt is completely eliminated at that stage. Watch the video and see the man speak himself and see if you agree with me.

Given what little I've seen here of his demeanor and speech, I have no reason to doubt his claim. However, there are no sufficient grounds for a conclusion in this regard nor will there likely ever be. I do wonder what his practice was in that month of meditation...

:anjali:
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
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Ben
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Re: U Nu, Protestant Buddhism and the Kālama-sutta

Post by Ben »

Greetings James.
U Nu was a student of Mahasi Sayadaw.
Kind regards,
Ben
“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.”
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725

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Mkoll
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Re: U Nu, Protestant Buddhism and the Kālama-sutta

Post by Mkoll »

Hi Ben,

Thank you for the information. I looked for a source on google and I couldn't find one, however. Can you provide one for me?

:anjali:
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
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Ben
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Re: U Nu, Protestant Buddhism and the Kālama-sutta

Post by Ben »

Sure,
Burma's Mass Lay Meditation Movement: Buddhism and the cultural construction of power by Ingrid Jordt,
The birth of Insight: Meditation, modern Buddhism and the Burmese Monk Ledi Sayadaw, and
Mental culture in Burmese crisis politics: Aung San Syu Kyi and the National League for Democracy, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies
Kind regards,
Ben
“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.”
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725

Compassionate Hands Foundation (Buddhist aid in Myanmar) • Buddhist Global ReliefUNHCR

e: [email protected]..
drpaulfuller
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Re: U Nu, Protestant Buddhism and the Kālama-sutta

Post by drpaulfuller »

Really interesting comments. Thanks all.
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Mkoll
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Re: U Nu, Protestant Buddhism and the Kālama-sutta

Post by Mkoll »

Cool, thank you Ben.

:thanks:
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
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