Questions tagged [the-buddha]
For questions about the Buddha (Siddartha Gautama) as a person - his life, sayings, actions, etc.
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Animisa Locana Pooja. Is it really what it is?
This is probably by far the most interesting theory that I have heard (Yes a theory or you may call it a story. I just don't have a reference to back this up!) about the life of Gautama Buddha. The "...
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Didn't Buddha Say The Biggest Fault Of Humanity Was Idol Worship
Why did Buddhist start making idols of Buddha a few hundred years after Buddha died, even though Buddha himself said Idol worship was one of the biggest scourges of humanity
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Why Shakyamuni Buddha choose Indian subcontinent as a favorable place to teach Buddhist way of living?
Current India was previously not as big and united as it is now. Multiple countries quarrel for existence. Life was not normal for people. Chaos and Imbalance was on its height.
Is that the reason, ...
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When did Shakyamuni became buddha?
We know Shakyamuni was a prince and had all the lavish life a prince should have. He was isolated from every pain and suffering as we are told. As he traveled countryside he began to feel pain and ...
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Did anyone equate the tathagatagarbha with the past?
This question may sound strange, but in my secular frustrations, I'm thinking about "the past" as some kind of womb which has nourished and given birth to "me" now.
Do Buddhists, of any sort, have a ...
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Buddha as "lord" and Buddha as "choosing" his followers
The following section in the Modernist poem The Waste Land is often linked to Buddhism, in the academic literature.
Burning burning burning burning / O Lord Thou pluckest me out / O Lord
Thou ...
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Did the Buddha ever cure someone?
Perhaps you could say that by teaching his path he healed many people; but what I meant is more direct, physical healing: is there something written about that?
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To what level can be said that Buddha 'followed' the dzogchen?
The Dzogchen-tradition first appeared in the first half of the 9th century. According to tradition, the Dzogchen teachings were brought to Tibet by Padmasambhava in the late 8th and early 9th ...
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What did the Buddha say about reincarnation?
I want to know the original quotes by the Buddha and their sources.
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Did Buddha say "this is the Middle Way"?
Various Buddhist schools and traditions can have rather different outlooks. And they don't deny this. But most traditions seem to have at least one thing in common and that is calling themselves/their ...
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Lord Buddha descending from heavens?
This question is about these images:
This incident (depicted) happened after Lord Buddha visited a certain Deva realm.
Can someone provide any sutta or sutra reference?
If you can, please ...
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Did the Buddha have long ears?
Every statue of the Buddha I have seen depicts him as having long ears.
Did Buddha really have long ears? If so, why and how did he get long ears?
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Buddhism about the Big Bang and Science in general
What did Buddha have to say about the creation of the Universe, if any? I asked a monk after a discourse, and he said that there is a reference to continuous Big Bangs, not simultaneous, but one after ...
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Did the Buddha visit modern day Assam?
During his time, did the Buddha visit the northeast state of India known today as Assam? If so, did he give any discourses there?
Thanks
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Why Buddha didn't want him to be called 'friend' by the monks?
Referring these lines from 'The Discourse to Prince Bodhi':
As I approached, Prince, the group-of-five monks were unable to
continue with their own agreement, and after coming out to meet me,
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What did the Buddha teach about aliens?
What are the teachings of the Buddha about aliens or other planets that have lives?
Is this the only place that can have life or human beings?
Is it possible to be born a Buddha in some other ...
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Did the Buddha ever say something proven wrong later?
Is there any teaching of the Buddha one can say has been proven wrong, any statement about the universe, the world, the future or the past maybe?
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Why are Buddhas always Indian, male and human?
Dipankara, Siddhartha Gotama, Maithreya to name a few (of the 28 named in the Buddhavamsa) - it feels a bit like a Hollywood plot where it's always only an all American hero that fights off the alien ...
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What are some good sources to know more about the Buddha and his teachings [closed]
When I was going through difficult face my life, I read little bit about the Buddha's thoughts and it really changed my life. When I started to think from his perspective, I explored a new way of ...
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Was the Buddha misogynistic?
The introduction to the Dhamma Wiki's Buddhism and Misogyny article says,
Nevertheless, there are some non-Buddhists and even some Buddhists that contend that the Buddha was misogynistic. This is ...
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When do I realize that I am free from rebirth?
By following the Buddha's Path, when will I realize that I am free from rebirth and suffering? Is there any indication or sign ? Does one knows it at one's death bed?
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Was The Buddha only human, or was he super-human?
Before Siddhartha Gautama attained Enlightenment, did he have a normal human body with normal human attributes? Or was his body anatomically different or superior to yours and mine in its physical ...
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How sacrosanct is the "source material" of Buddhism?
In this answer to my question about why we keep referring to antiquated old parables and similes, Inzenity wrote,
"The scriptures are part of the teachings, the source of the teachings. It makes ...
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Did Gautama Buddha exist?
Is there any historical third-party evidence that the Gautama Buddha actually existed?
Is there historical third-party evidence that Prince Siddhartha or the Gautama Buddha existed outside of the ...
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Why is the Buddha described as trackless?
In the Dhammapada, within the Buddhavagga section, the Buddha is described as being trackless.
By what track can you trace that trackless Buddha of limitless range,
whose victory nothing can undo,...
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Teachings from Buddhas other than Gautama
I asked this question earlier: What "religions" did previous Buddhas practice?
Now I'm wondering if any teachings from earlier (or later) Buddhas have been passed down to our time. And if ...
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Why does the Buddha always answer a question if asked three times?
I've read in many places in the Pali canon that the Buddha will answer a question if asked three times even if the Buddha is extremely reluctant to give the answer. For instance in the Talaputa Sutta ...
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Supernatural beings and the 31 planes of existence
Did the Buddha have any personal experience with maras and devas and supernatural beings in general?
And, if I'm not mistaken, the 31 planes of existence is something he taught. So, how did he come ...
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When did the Buddha get surrounded by lots of animals?
I remember an image of the Buddha being surrounded by animals. I think the story is that they all flocked around after his enlightenment though I could be wrong. Does anyone know what the story is ...
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Was the Buddha Humanist?
Humanism is defined as,
Humanism is a philosophical and ethical stance that emphasizes the value and agency of human beings, individually and collectively, and generally prefers critical thinking ...
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Buddha's past lives in the Jatakas
In multiple Jataka stories, the Buddha tells of his different past lives, multiple of which occurred under King Brahmadatta. Am I missing something here? How is it that the Buddha was living multiple ...
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Were the Buddha's earliest followers bhikkhus?
What is the proper name for the Buddha's earliest followers such as Ananda and Sariputta - the ones that followed the Buddha during his lifetime. Would the term be bhikkhu and bhikkhuni or does this ...
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The "empirical self" in Buddhism
Is it right to say that all Buddhists both do and don't believe in the "empirical self", as in the conscious mind and its concomitants?
And in order I might make sense of your answer, can the latter "...
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When and where were the mother and father of Buddha born?
Undoubtedly Buddha was a very famous person. I am very eager to know who were his mother and father and when and where they were born?
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Why did the Buddha suffer before he died?
I understand that the Buddha became severely ill prior to his death as a result of eating bad food. I also was under the impression that perfectly enlightened beings have obliterated, or rendered ...
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Does any sect claim that only Shakyamuni will ever achieve great nirvana
ARe there any schools which say that Shakyamuni the historical Buddha, alone, will ever be a Buddha?
I understand that some might identify him fully with the dharmakaya, but isn't it completely ...
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What was the chronology of events in the Buddha's life?
This is the sort of question I'd find really useful to get an answer on; I'm looking for a rough chronology of the 45 years of the Buddha's (not the Bodhisatta's) life, year by year. I know there is ...
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Detailed definition of Lokavidu
I've seen this translated as knower of worlds/cosmos and with relation to the senses as what arises, but I still don't have a solid understanding, can someone add clarity?
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Did the Buddha have more advice for the lay follower than is typically supposed?
In the book The Buddha's Teachings to Laypeople: Practical Advice for Prosperity and Lasting Happiness the author Bhikkhu Rahula Basnagoda claims that the Buddha actually had a lot of advice for the ...
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Is ritual described in the Pali canon?
There are a great many Buddhist rituals which vary across Buddhist schools and traditions. Did the Buddha describe any rituals which were to be done as part of practice in the Pali canon? Or are the ...
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Did the Buddha try to effect social change?
This month is Buddhist Action Month in the UK when we try to be a bit more socially engaged. To quote from the website
Despite Buddhism's reputation for stillness and withdrawal from the
world, ...
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Did the Buddha work with teachers from other spiritual traditions?
Within the Pali canon the Buddha often vigorously debates with Brahmin priests. However in the Buddha's time there were a lot of other spiritual traditions too. Did the Buddha have more cordial ...
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How to reduce distractions in sitting practice?
How are people supposed to practice sitting meditation
when there are so many distractions around like working,
internet social media pages and other things like that?
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Do we know in what posture the Buddha sat under the Bodhi tree?
I was reading yesterday this blog by a Zen nun and in this post she casually says in the third to last paragraph that we don't know in what posture the Buddha did sit under the Bodhi tree.
I found ...
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Why did the Buddha touch the earth at his enlightenment?
At the Buddha's enlightenment, he pointed to the earth or touched the earth, meaning the earth (or world) was adequate witness to his spiritual accomplishment or new status, or, perhaps the only ...
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What language did the Buddha speak?
Do we know, or have a good idea, what language the historical Buddha (Siddhārtha Gautama) spoke. I've just assumed it is Pali but a moment's thought tells me this is probably wrong since the Pali ...
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What is the significance of the 28 Buddhas within Buddhism?
Recently, I discovered in the Pāli Canon there is a text titled Buddhavamsa that describes the lives of 28 Buddhas. Now, I am familiar with the significance of Gautama Buddha and Maitreya Buddha, ...
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What does it mean to "see the Dhamma"
In a number of the books I'm reading on Buddhism, and in a number of talks I've heard on the subject, I repeatedly encounter the idea that the Buddha "saw the Dhamma" or that he "witnessed Dhamma" or ...
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Attainment of enlightenment without desire
The Noble Truths make us aware that the cause of suffering is desire. Isn't it a desire to become enlightened and attain Nirvana; thus, causes suffering? If you drop the desire, will it be possible to ...
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What are the Eighteen Buddha Attributes?
There are Eighteen Buddha Attributes, that belong only to a perfectly enlightened Buddha. What are they?
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