dont trust a word i say

ok

If I don't follow the vinaya and don't 100% trust the abhidhamma, am I EBT? :reading: Depends on who you ask. Some consider the sutta and vinaya pitakas to be EBT. Others consider only small bits of the sutta pitaka to be EBT; alternatively, also, along with some small bits of the vinaya pitaka. Bo...

The Buddha made mistakes. One of his mistakes lead to a number of monks killing themselves. Also I remember multiple vinaya allowances that were later on revoked. The ones concerning famines come to mind, but I can't provide any particular quotes. If someone's all-knowing they wouldn't specifically...

Perhaps thoughts/contemplations that can lead you beyond thoughts/contemplations. IMO. Kind of simplified.

I think people are not only obsessed with the methods, but also with the dhamma itself--all of its aspects, variations, subtle nuances, etc. All the bickering that goes around (I contribute to it too, got to admit)... you would think that if we knew or understood the dhamma, even in the slightest, w...

Out of curiosity, why do you think that Māra could easily do this? What is the reason, the precedence, for you to believe in such a mighty Māra? I've already stated my opinion on the matter: I think you are conflating "Māra" with the Christian "Devil" and conflating their suppos...

You seem to be trusting the suttas in its reference to Mara, then using this to shed doubts about the authenticity of the suttas due to Mara's infiltration? Yes. It's only logical. We are building sanghas throughout the world, translating and sharing the dhamma, making it widely available, discussi...

... You're referring to Mara's direct influence. Yes, sure. But will a sutta that has been forged by Mara reveal itself as such if I say any of that to the piece of paper it is written on? No, we are left to decide on our own what is true and what is false. We are left with all we need to reach the...

I said four out of five. You should learn about the five Māras, which are based on references to him, both literal and metaphorical, in the Buddhist suttas. Māradevaputta is the "Māra" who is a "person." He is a devaputta, or "godling." The "Māra" of the aggr...

Four out of five Māras are metaphorical. There is no "Satan" in Buddhism, in the sense of a powerful being who rules the earth and leads people away from God in personal confrontations. I don't think he's metaphorical. Can't provide the sutta references, but there are suttas for sure wher...

Thank you. I think it pretty much got derailed from the outset. In hindsight I shouldn't have gone into detail of my distrust of other 'methods'... I should have envisaged a reaction. Very rarely do people like hearing that the choices they've made are potentially wrong. Negative reactions are unde...

If the concept of Mara (or Maras) is real and as described in the suttas (high level deva, with siddhi, hell-bent on stopping anyone from awakening, especially Buddhists), then, since Gotama's death, he has perhaps already infiltrated the sangha and compromised the teachings--multiple times. What is...

There is/was a lot of potential in this thread. Thanks OP for bringing it up. Reading every now and then...

Mr. Seek wrote: ↑Thu Jun 09, 2022 5:59 pm⠀

The above post I left empty intentionally... Words like nipapañca, signlessness, sunyata, etc., come close to what I wanted to express, but they can often be grasped onto and clung to, interpreted in various ways, etc., so... yeah. Just, that. The most important theme. Personal opinion.

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