If you wanted to get to Nibbana ASAP how would you go about

A forum for beginners and members of other Buddhist traditions to ask questions about Theravāda (The Way of the Elders). Responses require moderator approval before they are visible in order to double-check alignment to Theravāda orthodoxy.
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Guy
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Re: If you wanted to get to Nibbana ASAP how would you go about

Post by Guy »

Thanks Vinasp. :smile:
Four types of letting go:

1) Giving; expecting nothing back in return
2) Throwing things away
3) Contentment; wanting to be here, not wanting to be anywhere else
4) "Teflon Mind"; having a mind which doesn't accumulate things

- Ajahn Brahm
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catmoon
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Re: If you wanted to get to Nibbana ASAP how would you go about

Post by catmoon »

sundara wrote:If you wanted to get to Nibbana, how would you go about it, for a beginner, what texts would you read, from the net, because I'm so confused. I need a road map of the terrain to realize nibbana. I'd appreciate it friends.
If you want to get to Nibbana ASAP you are on the wrong path. The only examples of this I know of were people who completely renounced their lifestyles and went to get instruction from Buddha personally.
sundara
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Re: If you wanted to get to Nibbana ASAP how would you go about

Post by sundara »

What does mental constructs mean or conditioned things mean?
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acinteyyo
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Re: If you wanted to get to Nibbana ASAP how would you go about

Post by acinteyyo »

sundara wrote:What does mental constructs mean or conditioned things mean?
saṅkhāra - with respect to the quote of vinasp especially point 4 of the link.
vinasp wrote:Dhammapada verses 277, 278 and 279.
All mentally constructed things are impermanent (sabbe samkhara anicca).
All mentally constructed things are suffering (sabbe samkhara dukkha).
All things are not-self ( sabbe dhamma anatta).
personally I also like Ven. Nanaviras quote on saṅkhāra in his "Notes on Dhamma"
Notes on Dhamma - A note on paticcasamuppada wrote:11. Let us now turn to the beginning of the paticcasamuppāda formulation and consider the word sankhāra. The passage from the Cūlavedallasutta quoted in §5 evidently uses sankhāra to mean a thing from which some other thing is inseparable—in other words, a necessary condition. This definition is perfectly simple and quite general, and we shall find that it is all that we need. (If a sankhāra is something upon which something else depends, we can say that the 'something else' is determined by the first thing, i.e. by the sankhāra, which is therefore a 'determination' or a 'determinant'. It will be convenient to use the word determination when we need to translate sankhāra.)
you may also take a look at §5, which uses the Cūlavedallasutta. a little later then (§12) he also says something about the above mentioned fundamental triad.

best wishes, acinteyyo
Thag 1.20. Ajita - I do not fear death; nor do I long for life. I’ll lay down this body, aware and mindful.
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catmoon
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Re: If you wanted to get to Nibbana ASAP how would you go about

Post by catmoon »

sundara wrote:What does mental constructs mean or conditioned things mean?

Mental constructs are thing made by the mind. That is a wide category.

On the surface we find beliefs, memories, and models of how things are.

Looking deeper we find that the self is largely composed of mental constructs. All of what you believe about yourself is, well, beliefs, and they are mental constructs. It's interesting to look at what is left of the self after removing the many layers of constructs overlying it.

But its more than beliefs. If I show you two different stones, it's likely you will prefer one over the other. Why?

Conditioned things are much simpler. A conditioned thing is something that cannot arise without some pre-existing condition. It's actually quite hard to think of something that isn't conditioned.
vinasp
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Re: If you wanted to get to Nibbana ASAP how would you go about

Post by vinasp »

Hi everyone,

What is a mental construction ?

Pali : Samkhara - ( mental ) formation, construction.

Remember that kamma ( action ) is re-defined by the Buddha as cetana ( intention or volition ). Volition builds habits and these habits are called mental constructions. Almost everything in a normal persons state of mind is habits, built up over many years. habits of feeling, habits of perception, habits of thinking, habits of craving, habits of attachment, habits of belief. The normal state of mind is a mass of habits. We learn to think, see and behave in certain ways. We become conditioned.
Much of this learnt behaviour is unavoidable and perfectly wholesome. But a portion of it is unwholesome. When Buddhism talks about eliminating these mental constructions it means the unwholesome ones - otherwise one would be reduced to the state of a new-born baby! But how can these mental constructions be eliminated ? The key is that these constructions result from mis-understandings of certain things. When these mis-understandings are corrected then the resultant constructions just dissappear.
This is why samkharas are said to be impermanent - it means capable of ceasing.

Best wishes, Vincent.
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