While mainstream science can tell us the universe expanded from a singularity, where did that singularity come from, and what existed before it expanded? The Buddhist answer might be there have been countless Big Bangs, followed by countless Big Crunches. Another Buddhist answer might be to not wor...

Maybe belief in the ability of buddhas and bodhisattvas to answer prayer stems from the Lotus Sutra where Avalokitesvara promises salvation from worldly calamities and disasters for those who call on her name. Avalokitesvara is one of many celestial buddhas and bodhisattvas in Mahayana Buddhism. Ma...

According to mainstream science, the universe began approximately 13.8 billion years ago, after expanding from a singularity in the Big Bang. Buddhism traditionally teaches that the universe is vastly older than this, undergoing countless cycles of creation and dissolution. While mainstream science ...

In Mahayana Buddhism, there's an understanding that one can pray to buddhas and bodhisattvas to act out of their boundless compassion. Perhaps most notable is Avalokitesvara in the Lotus Sutra, which promises salvation from worldly calamities and disasters for those who call on her name. At a deeper...

This might be the most important section of any sutra regarding the nature of the Pure Land: “Therefore, Jeweled Accumulation, if the Bodhisattva wishes to acquire a pure land, he must purify his mind. When the mind is pure, the Buddha land will be pure.”… The Buddha then pressed his toe against the...

To be honest, I think that the Buddha is better than a god. While a god might offer the chance to serve him in heaven, the Buddha teaches us the path to become Buddhas ourselves. Buddha wins.

cappuccino wrote:

Santi253 wrote:Can the enlightened being speak to us or visit us from the Nirvana realm?

This is a main difference between Mahayana and Theravada, since Mahayana teaches that the enlightened being remains active in the world after death, out of compassion for all beings.

cappuccino wrote:

Santi253 wrote:

cappuccino wrote:Death is not the end, it's the beginning.

Yeah, but in what form? It's an unanswerable question, unless one's experienced it.

Spirit form, a subtle body.

Can the enlightened being speak to us or visit us from the Nirvana realm?

cappuccino wrote:Death is not the end, it's the beginning.

Yeah, but in what form? It's an unanswerable question, unless one's experienced it.

Yes, but what is parinirvana? Who or what exists in it? We're already selfless so how do you exist? If you're not who nor what. Well… you may not be this or that, but this and that is still present. I don't like to speculate too much about these things. I try to accept that Nirvana is the Ultimate ...

If Nirvana is the Ultimate Truth, there can be nothing after it parinibbāna is after it, not annihilation Yes, but what is parinirvana? Who or what exists in it, and in what form? People often ask: What is there after Nirvana? This question cannot arise, because Nirvana is the Ultimate Truth. If it...

Asking what happens to a deceased person who had attained Nirvana is a loaded question. It’s like asking an innocent man if he’s stopped beating his wife. If Nirvana is the Ultimate Truth, there can be nothing after it: The Buddha was often asked this question of the state of a Tathagata, here meani...

cappuccino wrote:

Santi253 wrote:Does the typical Theravada Buddhist, in traditionally Theravadin countries, believe that the Buddha remains present in the world?

Buddha is no longer visible to gods or men.

I am interested in learning what Theravadins popularly believe in traditionally Theravadin countries.

If such a thing is believed by some, then Buddha remaining in the world being a belief that is similarly believed is open game how I see it. What I believe is, after the Buddha's parinirvana, it's the Dharmakaya, the Dharma-body of all buddhas, which remains active in the world: The Buddha is equat...

To accompany the great Nibbana thread, to see where DW posters are on this topic. You can pick up to 3 choices, if you like, since some are similar. And you can change your vote as you gain more Insight and/or enlightenment. :tongue: This is the answer that I gave, "a subtle existence that is ...