Questions tagged [theravada]
The oldest of the two big branches in Buddhism. Theravada tries to follow the original teachings of Gautama Buddha as closely as possible
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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."
...
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3answers
69 views
Reincarnation of a Sotapanna person (Stream Enterer)
When the life of a Sotapanna ends, let's say he/she reincarnates as a human.
Does that mean, the reincarnated is capable of demonstrating the qualities of a Sotapanna since a very young age?
Or, ...
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3answers
69 views
Devotion to parents
As a Buddhist, I believe devotion to mothers is very important if we want to have a good life. Since I was child I followed my mother's instructions until I became an adult. This included getting ...
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1answer
57 views
What is the origin of Buddho meditation?
Some people say its from the forests of Thailand before Ajaan Sao's time -
Some people say it comes from the Pali Canon but was scrubbed over time
Some people say it comes from Sri Lanka
Some ...
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2answers
132 views
Is there mention of Maitreya Buddha in Pali Canon?
How did this idea of next Buddha formed? Is it the influence of other religion where they say Kalki or Christ will return.
Also does Pali Canon mention many other Buddha before Gautam Buddha?
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15 views
Are Jataka tales authentic words of the Buddha? [duplicate]
If these stories could be taken to be truly narrated by the Buddha, it gives some interesting twists to the generally understood history of India and Indian philosophy.
For example, there are Jataka ...
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3answers
96 views
Is suffering always present?
I'm reading Thich Nhat Hanh's "The heart of the Buddhist teaching". When discussing the three dharma seals he talks about misconceptions of suffering. He says that teachings where suffering is ...
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2answers
53 views
Right Livelihood Monastics
Since we know (in some traditions) monks and nuns can't work, what is meant by right livelihood for them?
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9answers
153 views
simplest possible teaching on the four Satipatthana
I have read about
The Satipatthana Sutta, the Discourse on the Foundations of
Mindfulness, is generally regarded as the canonical Buddhist text with
the fullest instructions on the system of ...
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3answers
85 views
Important Commentaries?
Q:
1) Can someone name the most important commentaries, sub-commentaries,
etc. I should read while reading the Tipitaka?
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1answer
80 views
Arguing of Buddhists?
Q:
Do Buddhists argue over topics? Wouldn't that be unwholesome and view
clinging?
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0answers
52 views
Monastics & Hygine
I had questions on Monastic hygiene in Theravada:
1) Do monks/nuns brush their teeth and put on deodorant etc
2) If monks/nuns are only allowed to bathe every 2 weeks, how do they
deal with ...
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4answers
113 views
The Complex Abhidhamma
I have been having trouble analyzing the Abhidhamma.
Can someone explain all or the main points of the Abhidhamma, but
simply, just so I can understand it better as I continue my studies?
Thanks!...
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4answers
225 views
Permission of parents to be a Monk
I already know this much https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/a/35802/17220
Still ,there is a particular case where ,I have no experience/knowledge which is below.
Person with 27 yrs. of age and ...
3
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5answers
180 views
Is it in line with the pali cannon suttas to accept other scriptures?
According to the suttas
Are human beings capable of discerning what dhamma is outside of the suttas?
Is it possible to know enough from the suttas and then make use of the Abhidhamma?
What about ...
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5answers
73 views
Difference between buddhasasana and buddhadhamma
Is it correct to say that the buddhasasana (the teaching of the Buddha) is conditioned and impermanent in contrary with Dhamma itself which is unconditioned and permanent.
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2answers
62 views
Have I invented this statsitic on Theravada enlightenment?
A solitary Buddha occurs in one in a million of the human population: please correct me if that's how often the vehicle occurs -- though I struggle to completely understand the concept of a "solitary" ...
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4answers
70 views
Can we use Piti as a meditation subject?
Can we use Piti as a meditation subject?
There are 40 meditation objects are given in Visuddhimagga as follows.
Ten recollections; ten foul objects; ten kasinas; four sublime abidings; four formless ...
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1answer
135 views
Can Mahayana and Theravada learn from eachother?
What can those following the Theravada learn when studying the Mahayana as the Mahayana see it?
What can those following the Mahayana learn when studying the Theravada as the Theravada see it?
Is ...
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9answers
566 views
Theravada and Mahayana - The Crucial Differences
I struggle with the idea that Buddhism has two warring schools and wonder why they cannot make peace.
What are the issues on which Theravada and Mahayana cannot agree?
Just bullet points would be ...
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3answers
81 views
Satori and stream entry
Is Satori like a stage of stream entry? Is Satori only an intellectual knowing or something deeper than that?
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4answers
174 views
Are there Theravada practitioners that aspire to be Buddhas?
As far as I know, most Theravada followers practice according to the Pali Canon even though they accept the Bodhisattva vehicle as well. So, the main focus is to attain Arahantship for most people. My ...
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2answers
72 views
What does Anusaya Kilesa means? How to remove them completely?
(2000 years old Buddhist cave near my village)
Anusaya kilesa is lying dormant karmic influence after attaining Nirvana. I am putting various views as under;
SN goenka told in his speech that it ...
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3answers
101 views
Purpose of cessation or Nirvana!
What is the purpose or cause of cessation or extinction or Nirvana. Did Buddha ever talk about it?
For example, see how SN 23.1 ends:
“But sir, what is the purpose of extinguishment?”
“Your ...
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1answer
50 views
Where can I find Nagita Thera Apadana
I searched in the Apadāna part of Tripitaka..But couldn't find it...This includes a story of Nagitathera's previous life, and merits Nagitathera got for the god-deeds done in that life...
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2answers
63 views
Is discussing bad practices of monks a sin?
I've heard in several dhamma deshana that discussing the bad practices practiced by monks is a sin. But I feel that if we don't discuss such with our family & just continue giving, we won't have ...
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1answer
49 views
Explanation of the six temperaments
Greedy, hating, deluded, faithful, intelligent, speculative
I know they may seem self exploratory on the surface, but I'm looking for an understanding to more properly determine how one is to know ...
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1answer
57 views
Categories of Dhammanupassana (Satipatthana)
What are the components, the categories (the dhammas)that have to be observed in dhammanupassana (the 4th field of satipatthana)?
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1answer
61 views
Arahants, Precepts, Monasticism, & Worldly Things [closed]
Namo Buddhaya!
I had four questions pertaining to conduct & the Buddha:
(I am Theravāda Buddhist)
How could the Buddha have been on this Earth as an Arahant if Arahants can only be reborn in a ...
3
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5answers
70 views
The Animal Plane & Evolution?
(Please Theravada perspective if possible)
NAMO TASSA BAGAVATO ARAHANTO SAMMA-SAMBUDDHASA (I am not fluent, forgive errors)
These are my following questions:
Do animals feel emotions just like ...
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4answers
127 views
What are the different meditation types & how to do them?
I know there are many types of meditation, but can someone help clarify the following questions on meditation:
- What types of meditation is essential for the practice & why?
- How do those types ...
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2answers
46 views
Does emptiness & no-self work together?
Emptiness seems to be very prevalent in Dhamma after Theravada.
But I have seen that it still exists in Theravada, it has just been ignored compared to other teachings.
Why is emptiness ignored so ...
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1answer
115 views
Can a Sikh enter a buddhist temple with a turban?
As I went to worship at one of the most famous & sacred temples in Sri Lanka a Sikh person entered with his turban. As per the religious traditions we are not allowed to wear any head coverings ...
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1answer
64 views
How do monks live with medical conditions that require regular meals?
Theravada monks are supposed to eat only one or two meals per day, only between dawn and noon. For the rest of the day, they can drink water or fruit juices. The exception to this rule is if they are ...
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6answers
129 views
How does the exterior is suffering?
How does the exterior is suffering?
In this Sutta series from SN35.140 it says the following.
Eye etc and its objects are impermanence, notself, and suffering.
I understand all except that eye etc ...
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6answers
909 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 ...
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1answer
62 views
What are the 4 wheels and 9 doors in Snp 1.29?
What are the four wheels and nine doors mentioned in the sutta below?
Why is it "born from a bog"?
What is the meaning of the sutta?
From the Four Wheels Sutta (Sutta Nipata 1.29):
“Having four ...
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2answers
43 views
What is the difference between approaching the idea 'no-self' and the act to 'depersonalize'?
In modern days, 'de-personalization' is seen as negative and in some cases, a symptom of an emotional disorder.
In Buddhism, seeing through no-self/identity view is the minimum criteria to attain the ...
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4answers
197 views
How to identify Pada Parama Persons?
As preached by Buddha there are four types of people in the world, they are ugghaṭitaññū, vipañcitaññū, neyya and padaparama. The last person is definition is here. Can anyone please guide me how how ...
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234 views
Is “impermanence” a bad translation of “anicca”?
This article explains Anicca, Dukkha, and Anatta -- and in this question I'd like to ask about Anicca.
The article says that Anicca doesn't mean, or shouldn't be translated as, "impermanence":
...
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1answer
99 views
Have the copies of original Tipitaka written in Aluvihara Sri Lanka now been lost?
Have the copies of original Tipitaka written in Aluvihara Sri Lanka now been lost?
It appears that the Tipitaka used in Sri Lanka an import from Thailand or Myanmar.
I ask because in this essay, The ...
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5answers
260 views
Sakkāya-Ditthi and Self-View
It's mentioned in many references that when someone becomes Sotāpanna (= stream-entrant = Person-who-has-seen-Dharma) then the first three fetters (saŋyojana) are dropped.
My question is, if the ...
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4answers
655 views
What do Birth, Age, and Death mean in the first noble truth?
Below is from Ariyapariyesana Sutta
"Monks, there are these two searches: ignoble search & noble search.
And what is ignoble search? There is the case where a person, being
subject himself ...
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3answers
68 views
Right knowledge and right relase or right release and right knowledge
In ten Noble path the sequence is right knowledge and right release. (Samma Nana and samma vimutti)
In SN 12.23 it says:
Dispassion is a vital condition for freedom.
virāgūpanisā vimutti,
Freedom ...
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9answers
153 views
Escaping alone is not enough
I am attached to my parents, children and other close family members quite heavily. Me alone escaping the suffering is not enough. I want to make sure they are on track to escape suffering as well. ...
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6answers
131 views
What additional ethics you find in Buddhism which are not found in other religions?
What additional ethics you find in Buddhism which are not found in other religions?
Other religions mean Abrahamic religions, Hinduism, Taoism or any other religion you know.
I also like to know ...
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5answers
107 views
Do I get more merits if I give more?
Do I get more merits if I give more? What is considered a reasonable donation?
Please give some examples.
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2answers
48 views
How many types of Buddhism exists in this world?
many times, I stumbled to start to dig something towards teaching of Buddha and at some point want to make focus on Buddhism. During my journey of looking bird eye of view, I passed through Vipassana, ...
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4answers
111 views
Vipassanā Without Samatha?
I have heard it stated that vipassana can be practiced without samatha. Since samatha leads us to the early jhana factors of vitarka and vicara, how is it possible to do vipassana with wandering ...
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1answer
55 views
What are the main differences — in meditation practice and discipline — between different schools of Theravada?
Wikipedia lists schools in this section ...
Schools of Buddhism (Theravāda subschools)
... but, those pages which describe each school focus on doctrine or philosophical aspects (and don't always ...
