I have been listening to Dhamma talks by Ajahn Thanissaro and reading the written work of his teachers teacher Ajahn Lee ( the book keeping the breath in mind) , and I notice that they seem to use what seems to me to be the "imagination" in their meditations. For example, using the breath and "breat...

God is simple because created things are composed of parts. A composition implies that something is in potency, and ultimately that something dies. God is pure actuality. There is no here or there, this or that, or part and whole. It is inherent in the concept of God if it is to be logical. Ok, but...

Goofaholix wrote:

contemplans wrote: God is simple, not complex.

Only when created in the image of simple people.

Precisely. This is a Christian, specifically Catholic, concept, and is not inherent in the concept of God. There is no reason as far as I can see why God would need to be simple.

Didn't expect so many replies in such a short time, thanks everyone! 1. Being exists 2. God is the source of being, is being and existance itself 3. Existance needs a source or foundation 4. Since Being exists, needs a source, and God is that source (substitute God here for Ground of being, first ca...

How would a Buddhist respond to western ideas of ontology, specifically as it relates to the understanding of a God or first cause/undependant principle? I hear many Christians and others influenced by a Greek/Western understanding of the world making the argument for a first cause, or the idea that...

Thanks for all the replies. I can't help with your query, but think this might be the book you're looking for :- http://forestsanghapublications.org/viewBook.php?id=3&ref=deb" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Forest sangha have helpfully started making many of their books, previoulsy on...

I am currently reading a collection of Ajahn Chah's talks; "Food for the Heart". Whilst it has been very helpful and inspiring I have noticed his use of a concept he calls the "original mind"- I am sure many of you are aware, but he says that this "original mind" is pure awareness, and is intrinsica...

Hi, I've been concentrating on uni exams for the past few weeks, so I have been away from Dhamma Wheel. I am currently reading Ajahn Chah's' book, "Food for the Heart", and in it he mentions that the meditator can come to a state where the breathing stops all together, and that one is actually breat...

While meditating a couple of days ago, I got the point where my breathing had become very shallow and quiet, almost to the point that I could not feel it anymore. The problem was that although my breathing was not forced this way, I still felt the need to breathe deeper than I was at the time. After...

There's no doubt the 3 Buddhas must've come from earlier civilizations. But with all the scientific data we've known "so far" (you could google to verify those numbers in my post above), it's highly unlikely all three could've taken "our" Earth for home within such short time frame. Remember there ...

Then chances are that the three previous Buddhas' home was on a different Earth within a different Solar System. And the Solar System could be within the Milky Way galaxy or on a different galaxy. Notice on "our" Earth, the dinosaurs reign ended about 65 millions years ago. Homo-sapiens originated ...

Actually, modern physics no longer believes that the Big Bang is one single unique event. The mathematics of Inflation and String theories not only suggest multiple "Bang" events, but also multiple dimensions (other than the 3 spatial and 1 time dimensions), and most interesting of all, multiple un...

I am just interested to read about other peoples take on the previous Buddhas mentioned in the Pali Canon. As I understand it many are described as living is societies similar to India at the time of the Buddha - so many of the places, castes ect are the same. I'm not exactly sure how much informati...

Thank you both. Cooran: The threads you have offered have been very helpful - it seems that the Buddha's omniscience is qualified by a "Buddha being able to know" everything knowable, rather than being omniscient in the sense that those with a background in Judao-Christianity would understand God as...

My thanks to all.