Questions tagged [sutras]
A type of literary composition in of varying length. In Buddhism this mostly refers to canonical texts. Sutras is a Sanskrit term however the Pali term sutta is often used by certain traditions. The two terms are equivalent.
307
questions
1
vote
3answers
85 views
How to learn to trust one's fundamental goodness?
In this answer it says "Learning to trust one's fundamental goodness" is one of the way to practise seclusion.
I want to understand what this means in context of the question on Rhinocerous ...
3
votes
2answers
192 views
Scriptural evidence for the role and compatibility of polytheism within Buddhism?
First of all, I would like to clarify that I am extremely new to Buddhism, Hinduism and Indian philosophy in general. I do not particularly consider myself an adherent of any of these traditions. I am ...
4
votes
1answer
84 views
Help trying to find a sutta
One of the suttas where the Buddha is critical of a monk as not living the holy life the right way and at the same time by not disrobing missing out on the pleasures of the householder's life.
In ...
0
votes
0answers
25 views
Which Pali suttas describe the Buddha & monks demonstrating psychic powers to laypeople?
The suttas about the 32 marks of a great man, such as MN 91, appear to describe the Buddha used psychic power towards Brahmins however they do not appear to say the Brahmin layperson was cognizant of ...
3
votes
5answers
295 views
Which texts are the most important to read in the Khuddaka Nikaya and why?
My preference would be a Theravada based answer to the following question:
Which texts are the most important to read in the Khuddaka Nikaya and
why?
Thank you. :)
2
votes
2answers
61 views
Need help with finding a specific Sutta
I'm looking for a sutta wherein the Buddha explains how a person who only for a moment cultivates loving-kindness or mindfulness has not wasted his or her spiritual life.
What sutta is that?
Thank you ...
1
vote
6answers
466 views
How did this teleportation happen in DN 16?
In DN 16 it is written that:
"Then the Buddha came to the Ganges River.
Now at that time the Ganges was full to the brim so a crow could drink from it. Wanting to cross from the near to the far ...
2
votes
2answers
90 views
Help with finding a specific sutta
I'm looking for a sutta wherein the Buddha explains how beings we meet in this life (family, friends, animals etc.) have all been our parents, friends, loved ones, pets etc. in previous lives. What ...
1
vote
4answers
337 views
How is possible that monks memorised 10.000 sutras?
According to Wikipedia, in the Sutta Pitaka of the Pali canon there are 10.000 sutras.
According to tradition, Ananda recited by heart all 10.000 sutras after the death of Gautama and they have been ...
2
votes
3answers
58 views
What is 'vision externally' in AN8.66?
In AN 8.66 the Buddha says, "Not perceiving form internally, they see visions externally. This is the second liberation".
I am totally confused here. If by 'form' we mean body, how not to ...
2
votes
4answers
426 views
What is the most accurate translation of the word 'dukkha'?
This question is a sequel to my previous question about First Noble Truth.
It seems that there is discord about the exact rendering of the word 'dukkha'. Sorry if I sound like a pedantic dou*h. I am ...
2
votes
4answers
443 views
Good website for sutta learning?
There seems to be two prominant websites/translations for learning the suttas:
accesstoinsight.org
suttacentral.net
As I was going through DN15 I see that the translations of important words differ ...
1
vote
2answers
59 views
Looking for sutta reference on entering into Jhana
Following are the stages Ajahn Brahm mentions in his book Mindfulness, Bliss and Beyond, to enter in to Jhana.
Present moment awareness
Silent present moment awareness
Silent present moment awareness ...
3
votes
1answer
50 views
The Four Great References (AN 4.180)
This question refers to The Four Great References in Mahāpadesa Sutta (AN 4.180).
In each case, it ends with:
If they’re not included in the discourses and not found in the texts on
monastic ...
6
votes
4answers
687 views
How should one teach the Dhamma to others?
Answering questions here in buddhism.stackexchange.com is often Dhamma teaching, or at least an effort of it. How can that be rightly done?
2
votes
2answers
33 views
What are the sets of things in SN 1.44?
What are the sets of one, two, three, five and twelve things mentioned in the sutta below?
What does it mean?
From SN 1.44 (translated by Bhikkhu Sujato):
“One is the root, two are the whirlpools, ...
1
vote
1answer
27 views
Does the Lankavatara Sutra exist anywhere online in Tibetan script, Sanskrit (Devanagari), or Chinese?
Not sure what the earliest copy is we have of the Lankavatara Sutra, but wondering if it can be found online for free in copy/pastable text format (i.e. not PDF or image).
I am looking through The ...
3
votes
4answers
263 views
Can someone help me to find suttas on Self compassion
QN: I'm looking for Buddha's teachings on self compassion. (Especially for lay practitioners.)
There are few verses which can be found in Dhammapada:
He, who by good deeds covers the evil he has done,...
3
votes
3answers
153 views
A question about DN 23 and existence of soul
Here is a part of DN 23:
“Even though Master Kassapa says this, still I think that there’s no afterlife.”
“Can you prove it?”
“I can.”
“How, exactly, chieftain?”
“Suppose they were to arrest a bandit,...
4
votes
9answers
161 views
AN 7.64 kodhana (anger), case 3 of 7 unclear what is meant by “profit” or “loss”, and how exactly that sabotages what angry person wants
(pali + english, derived from b. Sujato trans.)
http://lucid24.org/an/an07/an07-v05/index.html#s64
(b. thanissaro eng. trans)
https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/AN/AN7_60.html
The passage in ...
1
vote
2answers
50 views
Sutta on which Buddha states the gravity of merits
What is the sutta where Buddha says about the order of merits as in for example "Observing the 5 precepts gives more merit than offering alms" and such.
4
votes
6answers
222 views
What is the “meditation on emptiness” in MN 121?
What is the "meditation on emptiness" in MN 121?
What does "emptiness" refer to in this sutta?
Also, what does "oneness dependent on the perception of ..." mean in this sutta?
“Indeed, Ānanda, ...
3
votes
7answers
170 views
Dhatu-vibhanga sutta question?
Why consciousness not discussed as internal and external in Dhathu-vibhanga sutta?
"And what is the space property? The space property may be either internal or external. What is the internal ...
-2
votes
3answers
85 views
Does the Foam Sutta (SN 22.95) say there are “no things” or, otherwise, discuss emptiness similar to Nagarjuna?
I read the following on the internet:
I think your saying that "Nagarjuna that purports there are no things"
was an oversimplification or misrepresentation -- conversely the quote
or summary ...
2
votes
4answers
133 views
Is Dhamma-thinking considered wise attention?
According to AN 5.73 (translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu):
"Then there is the case where a monk takes the Dhamma as he has heard
& studied it and thinks about it, evaluates it, and examines it ...
3
votes
5answers
289 views
Why did Buddha use the 'Raft Simile'?
The Raft Simile says, in part:
I have taught the Dhamma compared to a raft, for the purpose of crossing over, not for the purpose of holding onto. Understanding the Dhamma as taught compared to a ...
2
votes
1answer
52 views
Like a fish in a puddle, what joy is there
For years I've been trying to find the source of a quote, but I've only been able to get so far.
The quote is "Like a fish in a puddle, what joy is there."
This seems to come from some verses ...
2
votes
7answers
224 views
What did Buddha mean by the words “tranquillising the bodily formation” in the Anapanasati Sutta?
“Here a bhikkhu, gone to the forest or to the root of a tree or to an empty hut, sits down; having folded his legs crosswise, set his body erect, and established mindfulness in front of him, ever ...
2
votes
2answers
71 views
Which Sutta? Karma of unknowingly doing evil is worse than knowingly doing evil
Which Sutta? Karma of unknowingly doing evil is worse than knowingly doing evil.
Which Sutta(s) talk about this, hopefully in more detail than I can remember?
The subject is karmic consequence, and ...
0
votes
6answers
168 views
What is the common understanding of all enlightened people?
There are many sutras and they are on different topics. Many people got enlightened by asking different sutras. Ven. Saripuththa thero got sothapanna by asking to cause and effect. Ven. Kondanna thero ...
1
vote
2answers
71 views
Infinity, eternity, countlessness in Buddhism
I'm interested in concepts of infinity, eternity, countlessness, etc. in Buddhist thought.
Could you please help me out with sources, both primary and secondary, where these concepts are used?
I ...
0
votes
2answers
40 views
Relaxation vs Laziness
In karniyametta sutta, Lord Buddha advised us to be relaxed and not to cling to the work.
How can I recognise relaxation from laziness ?
4
votes
4answers
2k views
Does the Buddha deny genetic differences?
In MN.98, the Buddha seems to deny the ethnic/racial/genetic differences between humans. He seems to indicate that differences in physical traits between individuals are not determined by birth as in ...
0
votes
3answers
68 views
How do you understand the Cakkavatti Sutta?
https://suttacentral.net/dn26/en/sujato
How could humans have lived 80 000 years in the past? And how could we live 10 years in the future, with people reaching sexual maturity at five, when life ...
-1
votes
2answers
70 views
How can we correlate Buddhist cosmology with astronomical cosmology?
How can we correlate Buddhist cosmology with astronomical cosmology? Basically I have following questions.
Moon is considered 51 yojan in height and 50 is the sun. Sun is self illuminated and heat is ...
2
votes
3answers
134 views
The Practice of Giving: How to Practice Giving “Thusly”?
In the Diamond Sutra (or Vajra Prajna Paramita Sutra) Buddha says to Subhuti:
a Bodhisattva should not dwell anywhere when he gives. He should not dwell in forms when he gives, nor should he dwell ...
2
votes
4answers
114 views
Are monks expected to accept life lessons from (time spent with) the laity?
In general, the monks are expected to preach the Dhamma and the laity should listen. But "behind the scenes", so to say, should monks really be learning from at least some situations they run into ...
4
votes
4answers
340 views
What are other peoples minds according to the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra?
I read that everything is just my own mind from the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra. If everything is my own mind, what about other peoples minds? Are they also my own mind? How can this be understood?
For ...
0
votes
1answer
98 views
What is bhramcharya or 3rd percept? [duplicate]
Is it only pertaining to "no adultery" for layman or as "no sex" for monk?
If such is the case, why in ganika sutta it was mentioned as "path middle to celibacy and adultery" for ganika(female ...
0
votes
3answers
3k views
If Buddha had unconditional love, why did he “kill” some of his monks?
I recall there is a sutta where the Buddha said he "kills" some monks, that is, completely ignores them or something similar.
Is this contrary to metta (unconditonal love)?
3
votes
2answers
57 views
Are there suttas that recommend a specific order of the buddhist practices?
Every now and then i see claims that a particular practice of the noble eightfold path (or alternatively, the threefold division) builds on a specific preceding practice.
Two examples of claims (...
0
votes
4answers
194 views
What could be some teachings that Buddha has not revealed to us?
In Maha-parinibbana Sutta Buddha has said:
"there is nothing, Ananda, with regard to the teachings that the Tathagata holds to the last with the closed fist of a teacher who keeps some things back."
...
3
votes
5answers
185 views
Soul that transmigrates?
In Timsa Sutta Buddha says:
"What do you think, monks? Which is greater, the blood you have shed from having your heads cut off while transmigrating & wandering this long, long time, or the water ...
2
votes
1answer
56 views
Who was the King Okkāka mentioned in Sutta Nipāta?
I have come across the following verse from Sutta Nipāta (verse 305 - P.104) mentioned by Buddha.
Then they composed some Vedic hymns and went chanting to Okkāka king:
“Great your wealth and ...
1
vote
1answer
53 views
What are the Wikipedia Pages for these Kangyur titles
Not knowing Tibetan or having access to a wide array of sources, I am using the (Tibetan script) Kangyur from these. The table of contents is here pretty much. After converting their Excel file to a ...
1
vote
1answer
48 views
The World • It Disintegrates
Friends, I am looking for a sutta from the Pali Canon wherein the Buddha, expounding the nature of the world, goes somewhat like this :
And what is the world ? That which disintegrates is the ...
2
votes
2answers
131 views
Question about the Samādhirāja-sūtra
I have a similar question about the Samādhirāja-sūtra.
Is the Samādhirāja-sūtra, a mahAyAnA sUtra or does it occur in the nikAyas or somewhere else? What is the historically accepted date of this ...
3
votes
1answer
97 views
Question about the Pitāpūtrasamāgama-sūtra
Is the pitāpūtrasamāgama-sūtra, a Mahayana sutra or does it occur in the nikayas or somewhere else? What is the historically accepted date of this sutra? Does this sutra precede Nagarjuna or is it a ...
1
vote
2answers
97 views
Literal translation of Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra
What is the literal meaning of Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra. Everywhere I read it says "The Perfection of Wisdom in 8000 Lines", but that is not a literal translation as far as I can tell. What ...
1
vote
2answers
69 views
Is regret worth?
Today I regret for a sparrow was wandering around running ceiling fan.
Even I had noticed and think to turn it off but I forget.
I don't care if it was my bad karma which is not important than ...
