Bhikkhu Bodhi is the sanest Buddhist monk on Earth

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Stephen010mt
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Bhikkhu Bodhi is the sanest Buddhist monk on Earth

Post by Stephen010mt »

Bhikkhu Bodhi is the sanest, most reasonable Buddhist monk on Earth. Do not touch Bhikkhu Bodhi. Bad for you and your karma. He is the best explanator of Buddhism on Planet Earth. Best teachings Earth can muster. BB's teachings. After Metteyya Buddha's.
BrokenBones
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Re: Bhikkhu Bodhi is the sanest Buddhist monk on Earth

Post by BrokenBones »

Stephen010mt wrote: Sun Aug 07, 2022 2:14 pm Bhikkhu Bodhi is the sanest, most reasonable Buddhist monk on Earth. Do not touch Bhikkhu Bodhi. Bad for you and your karma. He is the best explanator of Buddhism on Planet Earth. Best teachings Earth can muster. BB's teachings. After Metteyya Buddha's.
Bhikkhu Bodhi is indeed a treasure... but please don't throw around kammic threats and Buddha Metteyya hasn't started a dispensation yet... I think there's a long wait until he does.
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Dan74
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Re: Bhikkhu Bodhi is the sanest Buddhist monk on Earth

Post by Dan74 »

Hi Stephen :hello: :anjali:

FWIW, I like bhikkhu Bodhi a lot. Not sure if anyone was attacking him here, nor than he actually needs your or my defence.

All the Best to you! :heart:
_/|\_
Stephen010mt
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Re: Bhikkhu Bodhi is the sanest Buddhist monk on Earth

Post by Stephen010mt »

Although, go with Burmese Vinaya (although it has been severely damaged since ancient times, not Upali's Vinaya. His Vinaya was word for word Lord Buddha's Vinaya and not as we have it now. He overheard the conversation between Gotama and Ananda and although Ananda forgot, Upali remembered).

Go with Bhante Sujato's Abhidhamma. And Bhikkhu Bodhi's Classical Buddhism.

Full Stop. Hands Down.
Stephen010mt
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Re: Bhikkhu Bodhi is the sanest Buddhist monk on Earth

Post by Stephen010mt »

And although Bhikkhu Bodhi's Dhamma is the purest in Theravāda Buddhism, Ajahn Sumedho and Ajahn Brahm are currently (of the living Buddhist famous monks) the greatest teachers and deserve the greatest of respect along with Bhikkhu Bodhi and Bhante Sujato.
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retrofuturist
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Re: Bhikkhu Bodhi is the sanest Buddhist monk on Earth

Post by retrofuturist »

Greetings Stephen,

As Bhikkhu Bodhi's translations of the Sutta Pitaka will show you, it is important to use mindfulness to find a balance of wisdom and faith. An option exists in this lifetime for you to utilise that faith, to immerse yourself in his translations, and develop commensurate wisdom accordingly.

All the best, and take care.

Metta,
Paul. :)
"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."
Stephen010mt
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Re: Bhikkhu Bodhi is the sanest Buddhist monk on Earth

Post by Stephen010mt »

Of the Buddhist monks who are famous for us now after the time of Gotama Buddha's death, Arahant Upatissa was the most Enlightened and greatest genius and teacher and writer, followed by Buddhaghosa, followed by a Sri Lankan Buddhist monk who went to Thailand then Burma and wrote a tractate on the Visuddhimagga, then Nāgasena, then a Thai monk who did not write anything but just taught.

Otherwise, of the non-famous Buddhist monks, D from Australia who went to Thailand to ordain as a Buddhist monk in the 20th century is the greatest teacher, the wisest of all time and greatest genius ever lived. His previous life he was Y from Sri Lanka and a Buddhist monk also. He trails his next life D from Australia by a tiny fraction.
Stephen010mt
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Re: Bhikkhu Bodhi is the sanest Buddhist monk on Earth

Post by Stephen010mt »

I like His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He is more than reasonable enough.
Stephen010mt
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Re: Bhikkhu Bodhi is the sanest Buddhist monk on Earth

Post by Stephen010mt »

Do not be affected by the Dalai Lama's Tibetan Buddhist robes, Theravāda Buddhists! Bad kamma for you to do that to one of the greatest Bodhisattas on Planet Earth there has ever been or will ever be!!! Do not do that to yourselves!
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Pondera
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Re: Bhikkhu Bodhi is the sanest Buddhist monk on Earth

Post by Pondera »

I touched Bhikkhu Bodhi and the Dalai Llama
Like the three marks of conditioned existence, this world in itself is filthy, hostile, and crowded
SarathW
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Re: Bhikkhu Bodhi is the sanest Buddhist monk on Earth

Post by SarathW »

I think BB's contribution to the Western world will not match anyone so far.
However, I think Bhante Sujato's work will match his work.
If BB did not copyright his materials, he would have surpassed Bhante Sujato.

I am not considering the personal matters of these two Bhikkus.
I am talking only about their academic work.
“As the lamp consumes oil, the path realises Nibbana”
thomaslaw
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Re: Bhikkhu Bodhi is the sanest Buddhist monk on Earth

Post by thomaslaw »

SarathW wrote: Mon Apr 10, 2023 7:22 am I think BB's contribution to the Western world will not match anyone so far.
However, I think Bhante Sujato's work will match his work.
If BB did not copyright his materials, he would have surpassed Bhante Sujato.

I am not considering the personal matters of these two Bhikkus.
I am talking only about their academic work.
Do you think Bhikkhu Bodhi knows Ven. YinShun and his works on Early Buddhism/EBTs?
SarathW
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Re: Bhikkhu Bodhi is the sanest Buddhist monk on Earth

Post by SarathW »

thomaslaw wrote: Mon Apr 10, 2023 12:07 pm
SarathW wrote: Mon Apr 10, 2023 7:22 am I think BB's contribution to the Western world will not match anyone so far.
However, I think Bhante Sujato's work will match his work.
If BB did not copyright his materials, he would have surpassed Bhante Sujato.

I am not considering the personal matters of these two Bhikkus.
I am talking only about their academic work.
Do you think Bhikkhu Bodhi knows Ven. YinShun and his works on Early Buddhism/EBTs?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin_Shun

No, I am not familiar with this.
My comments are based on my limited knowledge.
I also should mention that BB's Abhidhamma is based on the work of Narada ( I became a serious Buddhist after reading his books)
Also, there are many other teachers who enrich Western Buddhism.

For some reason, I felt that BB's sutta translation project was unique.

I am sorry if I omitted many great other Western teachers.
“As the lamp consumes oil, the path realises Nibbana”
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Eko Care
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Re: Bhikkhu Bodhi is the sanest Buddhist monk on Earth

Post by Eko Care »

I remember most of Sri Lankan meditators have never even heard the names "Bodhi", "Sujato", "Sumedho".

But in non-religious world, they may be the heroes.
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Mumfie
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Re: Bhikkhu Bodhi is the sanest Buddhist monk on Earth

Post by Mumfie »

thomaslaw wrote: Mon Apr 10, 2023 12:07 pm Do you think Bhikkhu Bodhi knows Ven. YinShun and his works on Early Buddhism/EBTs?
He is acquainted with Yin Shun's work, but isn't as enthused with it as venerables Anālayo and Sujāto. His own perspective on the four Nikāyas is informed more by the work of Joy Manné, in particular her Categories of Sutta in the Pāli Nikāyas (Journal of the Pali Text Society 15. 1990).

https://buddhistuniversity.net/content/ ... _manne-joy

From Bhikkhu Bodhi's introduction to his SN translation:
Prevalent scholarly opinion, fostered by the texts themselves, holds that the principal basis for distinguishing the four Nikāyas is the length of their suttas. Thus the largest suttas are collected into the Dīgha Nikāya, the middle length suttas into the Majjhima Nikāya, and the shorter suttas are distributed between the Saṃyutta and the Aṅguttara Nikāyas, the former classifying its suttas thematically, the latter by way of the numberof items in terms of which the exposition is framed.

However, in an important groundbreaking study, Pāli scholar Joy Manné has challenged the assumption that length alone explains the differences between the Nikāyas. By carefully comparing the suttas of DN with those of MN, Manné concludes that the two collections are intended to serve two different purposes within the Buddha’s dispensation. In her view, DN was primarily intended for the purpose of propaganda, to attract converts to the new religion, and thus is aimed mainly at non-Buddhists favourably disposed to Buddhism; MN, in contrast, was directed inwards towards the Buddhist community and its purpose was to extol the Master (both as a real person and as an archetype) and to integrate monks into the community and the practice. Manné also proposes that “each of the first four Nikāyas came about in order to serve a distinct need and purpose in the growing and developing Buddhist community” (p. 73). Here we shall briefly address the question what purposes may have been behind the compilation of SN and AN, in contradistinction to the other two Nikāyas.

In approaching this question we might first note...
It's a bit too long to quote in full, but if you don't have a copy of Connected Discourses you can read the rest here:

https://archive.org/details/trendsinbud ... 5/mode/1up
“Hobgoblin, nor foul fiend,
Shall daunt his spirit;”
John Bunyan, Pilgrim’s Progress II)
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