I take it to be empirical reality.

Pyrrho himself was so much of a sceptic he almost killed himself, as he doubted he senses so much. A consistent ancient sceptic should have no issue in drinking arsenic if I offered it to them. If i remember correctly, his disciples/friends ran to save him, which makes one wonder if that does not p...

I still want to know where the first jhana one came from though :toast: In note number 4 of the sutta, it is mentioned that: The Abhassara Brahma-body is attained through mastering and relishing the second jhana. The next two Brahma-bodies are attained through mastering and relishing the third and ...

What does your understanding have to do with the text from the Sutta (help elaborate)? Just genuinely trying to understand because I see it as the literal Mara (the Brahma) has influence over the court of Brahma and its attendants. What purpose a literal understanding of Mara (and Brahmas for this ...

I used that word because it seems that the scriptures try to say that all of Mara has control the court of Brahmas (from my perspective; please correct me if my interpretation's wrong) in this part of the Brahma-nimantanika Sutta it states: "When this was said, I told Mara the Evil One, 'I kno...

The problem with trying to identify contradictions in the Buddha's teachings is that it puts achieving certain type of logical consistency above all else. While the Buddha would never encourage or teach incoherence, the cognitive dissonance most of us suffer from should not be the main criteria of d...

What do you mean by deluded? One can approach "beings" as deluded, or by having their own nature. For example, you can think of snakes as being deluded into biting other beings and poisoning them, or you can see it as the nature of snakes. Before jumping into Brahmas and describing them as...

Do we know of any literature that address the encounter between the Buddha and Brahma Sahampati critically? While how the encounter is described speaks to the human mind, it leaves many questions unanswered: 1- Does the question "why" apply to the Arahant? Or can his actions be accurately ...

There is a long thread about the topic here

viewtopic.php?f=37&t=6847

You could approach the issue of plagiarism by linking it to the fourth precept. Why would people want to claim ownership of something that has been obtained second hand? As long as your intention is not to claim false ownership, and if the app allows its users to download the information, then it co...

Also, a comparison between what constitutes transgression is worth nothing between MN 140 and SN 22.87: Now the Venerable Vakkali saw the Blessed One coming from a distance, and tried to get up. Then the Blessed One said to the Venerable Vakkali: "Enough, Vakkali, do not try to get up. There ar...

What i found interesting in the sutta: “But, bhikkhu, where is that Blessed One, accomplished and fully enlightened, now living?” “There is, friend, a city in the northern country named Sāvatthī. The Blessed One, accomplished and fully enlightened, is now living there.” “But, bhikkhu, have you ever ...

What do you mean by actual?

Namaste i want to ask a question: i see that some singers, movie stars or athletes (soccer, box, etc) are super rich they own millions of dollars, i want to ask if their way of making money is right livelihood? or if it is worth doing? I have this doubt because there is not win-win but win-lose. Fo...

I had similar thoughts in the past. I had incidents when a colleague asking me "how are you" and me finding the question completely meaningless. Polite speech is better not to be interpreted literally. This is also helpful to understand rituals and how to engage with them in a non-ritualis...