11
votes
Accepted
How would I know if I was suffering from spiritual materialism?
You absolutely can recognize it in yourself. Not only can, you definitely should put effort in doing so -- it makes a huge difference in one's practice (from my own experience being a student).
...
- 55.4k
10
votes
What is Nirodha?
Nirodha is a term that is normally translated as 'cessation' or 'stopping'. It's what happens to suffering in the 3rd noble truth, dukkhanirodha (cessation of suffering) and to all of the other ...
- 3,726
9
votes
Accepted
I would like to become Buddhist
I've heard that they don't believe in any god.
It depends on what you mean by God. Buddhism does not have the concept of a almighty, creator (deism), sustainer, creator plus sustainer (theism), ...
7
votes
What is Nirodha?
Venerable Prayudh Payutto a distinguished Thai Scholar Monk explains that another way of interpreting nirodha is that the phenomena does not arise because it's cause has been eliminated. In that sense ...
- 478
7
votes
Accepted
Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya Sūtra in Sanskrit with English translation
The prajnaparamita canon is quite ancient going back to 1-2 BCE. It's not clear if the original set of sutras were composed in Sanskrit or Gandhari first and subsequently translated to Sanskrit. (...
- 7,383
7
votes
I would like to become Buddhist
You don't believe in any God. Ok. You don't believe in rituals. Ok. Very likely you already don't. So why Buddhism? I'd like to make an important point here stating that Buddhism is anything but a ...
- 2,214
6
votes
Where to get the Pali Canon in Pali?
Also check out suttacentral.net, really good sources in Pali, Chinese, Sanskrit, Tibetan and various different language translations..
- 9,628
6
votes
Accepted
Has Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance got anything to do with Zen?
The main idea is pretty Zen yes. The premise of the book is that Western philosophy made a wrong turn at Aristotle, who placed (conceptual) Truth at the top of the hierarchy of all knowable, thereby ...
- 55.4k
6
votes
Accepted
What books address various difficulties that may arise during various stages of meditation practice?
The Five Hindrances disturb one's path in meditation and practice. The canonical description can be found in the Nivarana Sutta.
Here are some useful resources:
Book entitled Unhindered: A Mindful ...
6
votes
Accurate translation of "Satipatthana Sutta"
In my opinion, one of the best translations is the one in Analayo Bhikhu's "Satipatthana: The Direct Path to Realization".
see https://www.buddhismuskunde.uni-hamburg.de/pdf/5-personen/analayo/direct-...
- 55.4k
5
votes
Accepted
What is observing the precepts in a Hinayana way or a Mahayana way?
To avoid confusion - I base my understanding of the term 'Hinayana' on Andrei's answers to two different questions - this and that.
Hinayana way (or as Andrei puts it - level) refers to basic/...
- 2,756
5
votes
Has Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance got anything to do with Zen?
I think the answer is not much. Robert Pirsig states that
it should in no way be associated with that great body of factual
information relating to orthodox Zen Buddhist practice. It's not very
...
- 20.9k
5
votes
Is there any authenticity to the book 'The Deathbed Sutra of the Buddha: Or Siddhartha's Regrets'?
Deathbed Sutra of the Buddha
From the customers' reviews of the book, I get the impression that it is a fictional work to provoke a reassessment of one's thinking in light of controversies.
A few ...
- 3,380
5
votes
Accepted
Can the practices of 'Art of War' align with Buddhism?
It's a cup is half empty, half full kind of thing.
One says, life is full of suffering so one succeeds by coming out a winner ahead of others.
The other says the life is full of suffering, so one ...
- 7,383
5
votes
Is there a sanskrit translation of the Pali tipitaka online?
Very few of the early Buddhist texts survive in Sanskrit translation. Also the Sanskrit translations were made relatively late, perhaps the 4th or 5th century CE and they had frequently been ...
- 4,247
4
votes
Accepted
To what extent is Theravāda followed in Japan?
In Japan in 2003 the number of Buddhist temples were
30,000 Pure Land
21,000 Zen
15,000 Shingom
14,000 Nichiren
5,000 Tendai
The source for this is Introducing Buddhism by Peter Harvey (pp 409 ...
- 20.9k
4
votes
Accepted
Can someone regain a Beginners Mind when it has gone?
In the sense that Shunryu Suzuki uses "beginner's mind" there is no losing the beginners mind. It is our natural beingness. Being lost to it is believing there is something in this world of appearance ...
- 2,973
4
votes
Accepted
Vipassana texts and books references request
Buddhanet contain a lot of meditation related ebooks on the topic which you can read. A good introductory book would be:
Essentials of Insight Meditation Practice
MINDFULNESS IN PLAIN ENGLISH
Right ...
4
votes
Can someone regain a Beginners Mind when it has gone?
In the Mahasi tradition we don't have the idea of beginner's mind, just a continuous refinement of the process. Many times throughout my practice, I've learned that some phenomena or thought process ...
- 2,598
4
votes
Accepted
Is there any authenticity to the book 'The Deathbed Sutra of the Buddha: Or Siddhartha's Regrets'?
I'm the author of the Deathbed Sutra, so I can assure you that it's fiction. It was intended as a work of philosophical fiction which examines some problematic aspects of the Buddha's teachings in ...
- 66
4
votes
Looking for a book that covers the biography of the Buddha's life
You may see these two books:
Buddha by Karen Armstrong,
The Life of Buddha according to the Pali Canon by Bhikkhu Nanamoli.
- 642
4
votes
Accurate translation of "Satipatthana Sutta"
If you are looking to most accurate and reliable the best translations are by Piya Tan:
Mahasatipatthana
Mahasatipatthana Trilinear Edition
An Introduction to the Satipatthana Suttas
Satipatthana ...
4
votes
I would like to become Buddhist
You don't need to join any community to become a buddhist.
You can start by taking five precepts.
To abstain from evil (Sila - Morality)
To do good (Samadhi - Concentration)
To purify the ...
4
votes
Accepted
Interpretation of Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
The paper titled "Between reverence and revolt:
Hesse and the two faces of religion" suggests that Hesse was primarily a (Christian) Protestant.
It says for example that in his 1921 diary he wrote:
...
- 43.4k
4
votes
Seeking a specific book on Buddhism
Did some googling.
The Buddha Way
by Harper San Francisco
https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/the-buddha-waya-folding-screen-book_harper-san-francisco/2596039/item/13174882/#isbn=0062511394&idiq=...
- 395
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