Did the Buddha teach us to dwell only on the present?

A discussion on all aspects of Theravāda Buddhism
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Ceisiwr
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Re: Did the Buddha teach us to dwell only on the present?

Post by Ceisiwr »

Do not try to become anything. Do not make yourself into anything. Do not be a meditator. Do not become enlightened. When you sit, let it be. When you walk, let it be. Grasp at nothing. Resist nothing.

Of course, there are dozens of meditation techniques to develop samadhi and many kinds of vipassana. But it all comes back to this-just let it all be. Step over here where it is cool, out of the battle.

Why not give it a try? Do you dare?

Just rest with how it is, right now :)


Dhamma is in your mind, not in the forest. You don’t have to go and look anywhere else. — Ajahn Chah

People want to go to nibbana but when you tell them there is nothing there, they begin to have second thoughts. — Ajahn Chah
“Knowing that this body is just like foam,
understanding it has the nature of a mirage,
cutting off Māra’s flower-tipped arrows,
one should go beyond the King of Death’s sight.”
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Ceisiwr
Posts: 22413
Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2009 2:36 am
Location: Wales

Re: Did the Buddha teach us to dwell only on the present?

Post by Ceisiwr »

"Here it is--right now. Start thinking about it and you miss it.”

"To awaken suddenly to the fact that your own Mind is the Buddha, that there is nothing to be attained or a single action to be performed - this is the Supreme Way."


Huang po
“Knowing that this body is just like foam,
understanding it has the nature of a mirage,
cutting off Māra’s flower-tipped arrows,
one should go beyond the King of Death’s sight.”
starter
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Joined: Mon Jul 12, 2010 9:56 pm

Re: Did the Buddha teach us to dwell only on the present?

Post by starter »

"To awaken suddenly to the fact that your own Mind is the Buddha, that there is nothing to be attained or a single action to be performed - this is the Supreme Way."[/quote]

Our (defiled) mind is one of the five aggregates, not the Buddha. Even a purified mind of an arahant disciple is not the Buddha.

"Our Path is straight, the path of tranquillity and pure awareness, calmed of both elation and sorrow. If your heart is like this, you can stop asking other people for guidance."

"Do not try to become anything. Do not make yourself into anything. Do not be a meditator. Do not become enlightened. When you sit, let it be. When you walk, let it be. Grasp at nothing. Resist nothing."
Of course, there are dozens of meditation techniques to develop samadhi and many kinds of vipassana. But it all comes back to this-just let it all be. Step over here where it is cool, out of the battle."

If "pure awareness is defined as "calmed of both elation and sorrow" or "Grasp at nothing. Resist nothing" and "just let it all be", then to my understanding such a path is not the Buddha's path. Equanimity alone is not the end goal of the Buddha's path, although Nibbana encompasses equanimity. Only giving up clinging to love and hate is not enough. We need to uproot "ignorance-obsession with regard to a feeling of neither pleasure nor pain" (MN 148) as well, and to give rise to the true knowledge of the four noble truths in three ways and twelve folds, which is the cessation of ignorance -- Nibbana.

As I see, the above-quoted teachings are also not in accordance with the teaching of all the Buddhas, who have taught us to become virtuous, pure persons instead of just let it (including the defilements) all be.

"Cultivate the wholesome,
Abandon the unwholesome,
Purify the mind."

More relevant discussions can be seen on the following thread:

The Buddha's path to liberation (dated Dec 11, 2013)
http://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.ph ... 6&start=20


Metta to all!
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