Search found 162 matches

by Viachh
Tue May 28, 2019 2:05 pm
Forum: Connections to Other Paths
Topic: Who do psychics talk to?
Replies: 11
Views: 1816

Who do psychics talk to?

Who do psychics talk to in TV shows like "Britain’s Psychic Challenge" when they say they talk to people who have died long ago? After all, according to Buddhism, they have long been reborn.
by Viachh
Sun May 19, 2019 2:49 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: 4 elements = 4 fundamental forces ?
Replies: 9
Views: 1390

Re: 4 elements = 4 fundamental forces ?

If there are two lists, each of which has four elements, then their relationship does not follow from this. Rather, it is a difficult case of numerology (simple superstition).
by Viachh
Tue Apr 23, 2019 2:14 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Word buddha: a direct meaning or a metaphor?
Replies: 19
Views: 1845

Re: Word buddha: a direct meaning or a metaphor?

I think it's a metaphor. The Buddha was faced with the problem that what he was pointing to had no current terminology among those he was teaching, so he had to use pariyaya or indirect ways of speaking about and alluding to them. Just as nibbana is not merely a cooling (or whatever your favourite ...
by Viachh
Tue Apr 23, 2019 11:46 am
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Word buddha: a direct meaning or a metaphor?
Replies: 19
Views: 1845

Re: Word buddha: a direct meaning or a metaphor?

Then is our usual waking state a kind of sleep? That is the idea one can often hear in religious/spiritual circles. E.g. /.../ It’s possible to see normal human consciousness as a kind of ‘sleep’ which we wake up from in these moments. Most people are asleep in the sense that their perception of th...
by Viachh
Tue Apr 23, 2019 11:33 am
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Word buddha: a direct meaning or a metaphor?
Replies: 19
Views: 1845

Re: Word buddha: a direct meaning or a metaphor?

In the very first sutra, Shakyamuni used the word buddha for self-designation. Did he mean a direct (literal) meaning of this word, i.e. awakened one, or a figurative one, i.e. buddha is a metaphor? How would calling oneself a "buddha" even be some kind of metaphor? That someone would cal...
by Viachh
Tue Apr 23, 2019 9:47 am
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Word buddha: a direct meaning or a metaphor?
Replies: 19
Views: 1845

Word buddha: a direct meaning or a metaphor?

In the very first sutra, Shakyamuni used the word buddha for self-designation. Did he mean a direct (literal) meaning of this word, i.e. awakened one, or a figurative one, i.e. buddha is a metaphor?
by Viachh
Thu Apr 18, 2019 2:06 pm
Forum: Connections to Other Paths
Topic: There is clearly a lack of a third
Replies: 1
Views: 621

There is clearly a lack of a third

There is clearly a lack of a third, Buddhist yogi. That is, Buddhist yoga, with its understanding of the dreamlike nature of what is happening, is the middle path between two extremes (science and religion).
by Viachh
Sun Apr 14, 2019 3:50 am
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: 12 nidanas as 12 zoom levels
Replies: 4
Views: 871

12 nidanas as 12 zoom levels

12 nidanas are 12 zoom levels (ignorance is a proto-level, and aging and death are the top). Just as subatomic particles make up the proto-level of physical objects, so ignorance is the proto-level of samsara.
by Viachh
Sun Apr 07, 2019 3:22 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Theravada and patriotism
Replies: 67
Views: 6214

Re: Theravada and patriotism

Leo Tolstoy: "Tell people that war is an evil, and they will laugh; for who does not know it? Tell them that patriotism is an evil, and most will agree; but with a reservation. "Yes," they will say, "wrong patriotism is an evil; but there is another kind, the kind we hold." ...
by Viachh
Sun Apr 07, 2019 1:57 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Theravada and patriotism
Replies: 67
Views: 6214

Re: Theravada and patriotism

Killing is allowed for bodhisattvas in Mahayana, but there are no exceptions in Theravada ( definitely not). It seems not only Mahayana are with exception about killing , Several Pali suttas contain stories where self-euthanizing is not seen as unethical by the Buddha , showing that the issue is mo...
by Viachh
Sun Apr 07, 2019 1:39 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Theravada and patriotism
Replies: 67
Views: 6214

Re: Theravada and patriotism

by Leo Tolstoy : …the blindness in our time of the nations that extol patriotism, bring up their young generations in the superstition of patriotism, and, at the same time, do not wish for the inevitable consequence of patriotism – war – has, it seems to me, reached such a level that the simplest re...
by Viachh
Sun Apr 07, 2019 1:09 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Theravada and patriotism
Replies: 67
Views: 6214

Re: Theravada and patriotism

sentinel wrote: Sun Apr 07, 2019 1:01 pm
Viachh wrote: Sun Apr 07, 2019 10:51 am
Killing is allowed for bodhisattvas in Mahayana, but there are no exceptions in Theravada (definitely not).

Where do you get this idea ? which sutra say so if you could provide reference ?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_ethics
by Viachh
Sun Apr 07, 2019 10:51 am
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Theravada and patriotism
Replies: 67
Views: 6214

Re: Theravada and patriotism

clw_uk wrote: Sun Apr 07, 2019 10:39 am
Viachh wrote: Sun Apr 07, 2019 10:36 am
clw_uk wrote: Sun Apr 07, 2019 10:24 am


Yes
Is it not a violation of the covenant of the Buddha not to kill?

Yes but it’s part of living in the world and isn’t necessarily black kamma. It can be mixed.
Killing is allowed for bodhisattvas in Mahayana, but there are no exceptions in Theravada (definitely not).
by Viachh
Sun Apr 07, 2019 10:36 am
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Theravada and patriotism
Replies: 67
Views: 6214

Re: Theravada and patriotism

One has to take some care of the physical land one is attempting to practice in. If Buddhist lay people wouldn't protect the land, Buddhist monks would have no place to be. Will lay people have the right to kill for the opportunity for the monks to practice? Yes Is it not a violation of the covenan...
by Viachh
Sun Apr 07, 2019 10:11 am
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Theravada and patriotism
Replies: 67
Views: 6214

Re: Theravada and patriotism

binocular wrote: Sun Apr 07, 2019 9:57 am One has to take some care of the physical land one is attempting to practice in. If Buddhist lay people wouldn't protect the land, Buddhist monks would have no place to be.
Will lay people have the right to kill for the opportunity for the monks to practice?