Questions tagged [the-buddha]
For questions about the Buddha (Siddartha Gautama) as a person - his life, sayings, actions, etc.
329
questions
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126 views
Is Buddhism a kind of truth seeking mental device?
It has been my experience that Buddhism has set me from blind obedience when it comes to religious rules. I was free to think what was good spiritually and no one can tell me otherwise.
Is this what ...
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2answers
55 views
How would America be different if the Founding Fathers were Buddhists? [closed]
I thought I’d try a little Buddhism related alternate history today.
4
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6answers
146 views
how do we know about parts of Buddha's life where he was clearly alone?
for example, when he was being tempted by Mara, he said "the Earth bears witness." how do we know this? he was clearly alone, right? no one was there witnessing this to write about it. did Buddha just ...
2
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1answer
43 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 ...
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2answers
107 views
Kamma and the Physical [duplicate]
Does kamma bind or work with the physical realm? Such as a tsunami will kill you, but you will also die in such a way due to past kamma?
4
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3answers
73 views
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6answers
151 views
Pleasure in Shower
Q:
I follow Yuttadhammo's tradition and I wanted to know how to prevent the pleasure I get in taking showers. Everytime I take them, I have a clinging to the warmth of the water and the feeling of it....
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2answers
46 views
Sources for the Whole Tipitaka
q:
Can someone name the books in the shelf of Yuttadhammo in his videos
or all the books in the Tipitaka and sources to get them in English?
or at least what has been translated to english?
1
vote
1answer
32 views
Different lyings
Here are my questions:
Can lying be nonverbal? like in action?
Is cheating lying?
Is writing the wrong answer when you know the correct answer lying?
Is skipping the line cheating, ...
1
vote
3answers
82 views
Ultimate Reality
Conditioned reality, the psycho-physical interdependence, only exist
because we experience it. This is how I interpreted Yuttadhammo's
videos on Ultimate Reality. Is this a correct interpretation ...
1
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0answers
15 views
Are these 23 a copy of the Tibetan Perfection of Knowledge Collection?
I am new to Tibetan but am interested in the Tibetan script versions of the texts. Not knowing much Tibetan script yet, I am not totally sure I am looking at the right thing and so wanted to clarify ...
2
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6answers
287 views
Did Buddha had issues in meditation?
Well, I Keep hearing this dialogue by a few Buddhist meditation teachers, "It's very common for everyone to get distracted by thoughts when you start the meditation practise initially".
I am curious ...
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3answers
139 views
Anti-natalist overtones in Buddhism
Buddhism has anti-natalist overtones according to the writings of Hari Singh Gour below. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antinatalism
Buddha states his propositions in the pedantic style of his age. ...
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5answers
167 views
Sacrificing myself…or not?
If someone was holding many hostages and I came along and offered to trade myself for the hostages place so they can be let free, would this be right to do or wrong to do and would be detrimental to ...
5
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5answers
420 views
Is everything about the world the 6 sense objects
I read that the world is only our 6 sense object that we percieve with our 6 sense doors, does this mean that Buddhism says that everything is mindmade and there is nothing really out there or I may ...
3
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6answers
907 views
Is there such a thing as craving for enlightenment and would it be unwholesome?
I was wondering if for example an obsession or craving that someone has for attaining Nirvana would be considered something unwholesome. On one hand it seems to me like it would, since that person ...
0
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4answers
341 views
Would the Buddha have considered engaging in anal sex as breaking the 1st and/or 5th precept?
Would the Buddha have considered engaging in anal sex as breaking the 1st and/or 5th precepts?
I would like to know this as I am trying to better understand the 5 precepts.
3
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4answers
1k views
Did the Buddha ever refute the view of “extreme metaphysical nihilism” e.g. a view that “nothing is real”?
Important note: I am only using the word "real" only in the sense of meaning "exists and is not an illusion".
I am defining "extreme metaphysical nihilism" as the belief that "nothing is real".
I ...
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0answers
45 views
What do “Buddhist” in modern world do on the highest fest-day in the year?
Not only as a reminder of Vesaka Puja, birth-, awakening- and day of depart of the Sublime Buddha:
What to "Buddhists" do on this great day to be reminded on the lineage of goodness, having nourished ...
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2answers
94 views
Clarification on a different notion of Prince Rahula's parentage said to be in Mahayana buddhism
If we refer to Buddhist literature there are several versions of the same story. It differs between the branches Theravada and Mahayana and even within one branch the interpretation varies.
Recently ...
2
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4answers
92 views
Does skillful means include meditation?
I've tried a few different Buddhist groups and they are quite prescriptive when it comes to meditation practices. They have their own system and everyone does it. But the Buddha used skillful means ...
3
votes
3answers
111 views
How do you pray correctly in Buddhism?
I have been calling myself a Buddhist for as long as I can remember, but I have never done it right. I notice that my mom would chant the mantras from the book, while usually I would just say anything ...
2
votes
4answers
255 views
Why does the Buddha blame Ananda asking him to remain living forever?
in the Digha Nikaya 16 The Buddhas Final Nibbhana , the Buddha blames Ananda for not requesting that the Buddha live for aeons, three times. he had only asked him twice. Why does the Buddha blame ...
2
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2answers
112 views
Lovingkindness and Compassion of the Buddha?
In an effort to understand the concept of lovingkindness it would help me to see how the Buddha explicitly described lovingkindness and specific acts of his unconditional compassion. I've heard from ...
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1answer
96 views
Caste of Sujātā
What was the caste of Sujātā, the woman who offered the Buddha a bowl of rice milk? I am trying to check a reference to her as a Brahman. She is described as a milkmaid, daughter of a landowner.
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4answers
692 views
What is the ultimate goal of Buddhism? Is it nirvana?
What is the ultimate goal of Buddhism? Why should a person practice Buddhism, what will it provide to him? Various religions have various goals. For example, the ultimate goal in Christianity is ...
2
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1answer
81 views
I'm trying to find a specific sutta I think
I remember there being a passage where a monk says to Buddha that he thinks the Sangha is at least 50 percent of the teaching and Buddha says something along the lines of 'it's all of it'. Can anyone ...
2
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3answers
112 views
Who was the Buddha's teacher?
When Asita muni had told to King Shuddhodhana that
" If he
becomes a householder, he will become a universal monarch.
But if he goes forth from the home to a homeless life, he will become a ...
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4answers
122 views
Is the arising of Buddhas a cosmological evolutionary occurrence?
...if not, then who or what is governing these occurrences?
In the Diamond Sutta (see excerpt below) Buddha mentions the previous Buddha as being called Dīpankara Buddha possibly existing around ten ...
2
votes
1answer
111 views
“Take joy! I am your guarantor for getting 500 dove-footed nymphs.”
The Nanda sutta seems contrary to what the Buddha teaches with regard to sensual desire. Therefore, I don't understand how this was a wise approach in the case of Nanda even though Nanda acquired ...
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2answers
134 views
Why wasn't the Buddha a solipsist?
Don't get me wrong, I'm not asking because I consider myself a great person etc., Chakravartin, but why didn't the Buddha take solipsism seriously, perhaps before his complete enlightenment? If he's ...
3
votes
5answers
161 views
Did Gautama Buddha endorse the caste system?
Did Gautama Buddha endorse the caste system?
Buddhism: An Atheistic and Anti-Caste Religion?
Modern Ideology and Historical Reality of the Ancient Indian Bauddha Dharma
by Edmun Weber
Hans ...
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2answers
138 views
Why are exceptionally tall statues of the Buddha and Guanyin built?
When I read this article on the tallest statues in the world, I was struct by how many of them were of important Buddhist figures: of the fifteen tallest statues six are of Guanyin (Kannon/...
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1answer
64 views
The Buddha and the Jhanas
This is a continuation of an original question I asked, linked here: Buddhist Jhanas, how best to describe them?
My question is: can any of you link me directly to the instances in primary sources (...
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6answers
274 views
Is there any God or Satan in Buddhism? Is there any heaven or hell in Buddhism?
Every religion has a God and Satan, heaven and hell. Religion by definition means deification of a Supreme Being or worship of any deity. Monotheistic religions, like Islam and Christianity, have a ...
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5answers
113 views
What are The Buddha's most compassionate acts?
Source could be from sutras or anything else. Thank you.
0
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1answer
79 views
Did the Buddha believe in the existence of soul? [duplicate]
Did Gautama Buddha believe in the existence of soul in human body? If not, why?
2
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5answers
129 views
Buddha's self-declaration without identity view and without conceit
In this question, the OP asked:
In the context of the four stages of enlightenment would it be right
to say that, without identity-view, there's no such thing as an
"enlightened person": ...
4
votes
5answers
291 views
Ignorance and the root of suffering?
Searching the Pali Canon for the "root of suffering", we find the direct definition only occurs in a few suttas:
delight is the root of suffering (MN1)
attachment is the root of suffering (MN105, ...
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votes
1answer
367 views
Did the Buddha believe in rebirth and reincarnation? [duplicate]
The Buddha didn't believe in a Supreme Being, or a universal soul. The Buddha didn't even believe in a soul. Then how could he preach rebirth and reincarnation when he didn't even believe in a soul? ...
0
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2answers
146 views
How to refute the claim that the Buddha was an “avatar” of Vishnu? [closed]
We as Buddhists know that Gautama Buddha didn't believe in a Supreme Being or an universal soul. We also know that the Buddha criticised the Vedic/Astik shastras, rejected the Vedic religion and the ...
2
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4answers
352 views
How do I refute the claim that the Buddha was actually preaching Vedanta?
Some people are obsessed with making a great personality and revolutionary like the Buddha a follower of their own faith by making baseless, historically inaccurate and factually incorrect claims. One ...
2
votes
5answers
677 views
What is the opinion of Buddhism on the caste system and untouchability of Hinduism?
The Varnashrama dharma (caste system) is the backbone of Brahminism (Hinduism), untouchability is a part of that social order. We all know that Gautama Buddha was against Varnashrama dharma, and ...
2
votes
3answers
209 views
Was Gautama Buddha's wife Yesodhara in any way instrumental in Him becoming a Buddha?
Considering the story we know about the life of Buddha as Siddhartha and also considering that Yesodhara was Buddha's partner in His many previous lives, can we say that Yesodhara was somehow ...
4
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4answers
162 views
How did the Buddha subdue fear and terror while standing, sitting, etc.?
The Bhaya Bherava Sutta (MN4) states the following:
...I stayed in the sort of places that are awe-inspiring and make your hair stand on end, such as park-shrines, forest-shrines, & tree-...
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2answers
75 views
From which text is the quote by Buddha “My practice is the nonpractice, the attainment of nonattainment” taken?
I was reading an article on Tricycle written by Thich Nhat Hanh, in which he quotes Buddha as follows:
“My practice is the nonpractice, the attainment of nonattainment.”
From which text is this ...
0
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1answer
127 views
Buddhist views on transgender issues [duplicate]
The Buddha or the scriptures do not state specifically if an individual being a transgender is right or wrong. So how would a Buddhist interpret this in a modern light and why?
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6answers
266 views
Why does the Buddha, in the Pali Canon, periodically engage in harsh speech?
Throughout the Pali Canon you can find instances where the Buddha appears to engage in harsh speech that seems to be contrary to the noble eighfold path. There are several important points/...
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6answers
799 views
Conscience in Buddhism
Conscience is described as being the moral sense in which an individual makes decisions. Do Buddhists believe there is a conscience? If so how is it defined
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3answers
940 views
What is the fastest way to reach enlightenment?
I am asking for reference request and sutras where a person can cut through samsara quickly and obtain liberation.
I have heard a story when Buddha was asked this question and he replied "Sound". ...
