So are you saying that "gandhabba" is just another word for "viable egg"? I hope not. In AN 4.36 , gandabbhas are said to be "in the sky". Neither sperm nor ovum are floating around in the air. In DN 20 , of the Four Heavenly Kings, Dhatarattha, King of the East, is id...

Ah, I see. So you weren't questioning the Buddha's intentions, only praising them.

Sorry.

In addition to the Bhikkhu Bodhi Appreciation Society, it would be good to have a Dhammanando Appreciation Society, don't you think? And an Appicchato Appreciation Society, and a Nananda Appreciation Society, and many, many more. Actually, that's what Dhammawheel is! But not just an appreciation so...

Well that's not my point or the intention behind my post. If it's your point though, that's fine. Of course you're entitled to it. Furthermore, it's not right to make assumptions about what I wrote just because of my background. I didn't assume that. I'm sorry if what I said came across as harsh. :...

Can anyone tell me what it is? where its practice derives from? everything really! I have my suspicions and if I am correct it would explain something which happened a while ago! It's the forty objects of meditation from the Visuddhimagga, a commentary written by Buddhaghosa. The list is derived fr...

Hi all, I'm reading a book called, "Buddhadhama-Natural Laws and Values for Life" translated by Phra Prayudh Payutto & Grant A. Olson. I've only just started it, but I would like to share someting I just read. "The intentions and comprehensiveness of the religious teachings and p...

I am not claiming that Fede's conclusion is wrong, but I am agreeing with Peter that the argument is not a coherent one, even if it is born of compassion. Verification is born of and leads to faith. Speculation is born of and leads to doubt. Whether Fede meant verification or speculation, either wa...

The term "perpetual transmigration," is problematic, possibly misleading. The term "perpetual," is etymologically related to "permanent," and "transmigration," generally implies a reincarnation of a self or soul. You shouldn't even subtly suggest that there i...

Hi Individual, If Bhikkhu Bodhi is a humble monk, he should say, "Thanks but I don't require the encouragement. You should appreciate all the monks, even those who are less well-known, who work just as hard but don't have their names on the front pages of Buddhist publications, or are the head...

Greetings Anders, erm... what comes first in the chain of dependent origination? Ignorance (of the Four Noble Truths) conditions kammic formators... but I don't see the relevance of the question. As Stuka alludes to above, dependent origination is a model of suffering (which is the domain of the Bu...

Greetings, A quick note to bring to your intention a recently formed Facebook group started by a Dhamma friend of mine... The Bhikkhu Bodhi Appreciation Society http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=48054011290" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; A nice little fan page for thos...

Greetings, Ajahn Chah has been a big influence on me, particularly early on so I thought I'd share the following website with you... http://www.ajahnchah.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... and personally recommend the following PDF containing what I believe are a full...

where did the mahayana come from, i know they butted heads in sri lanka so they must had had an idea about how this arose. what is the classical idea here? whats "our side of the story"? In addition to what others have said above, I would add: In case anyone is doing this (maybe not), it'...

First of all a big :thanks: to Peter, who pointed me toward these talks . I'm curious if there is any concrete explanation of the mechanism of gandhabba, as described in talk No. 5. My understanding is that it's instantaneous, linking the last moment of death with the first moment of conception in ...

Yes Peter, but the wonderful things about the Buddha's teachings is that they are testable and corroborated. verifiable. This comment, showing the bias it does, cannot be said to fall into the same category, which is why I added what i did. :namaste: No, I agree with Peter. What you said could be a...