15
votes
Accepted
Investing in poultry stocks and Buddhism
Honestly I would say that it's not even a grey area. For me, investing in stocks in the meat industry is not in keeping with right livelihood. To quote the Vanijja Sutta in full
"Monks, a lay ...
- 21k
12
votes
Hatred arising after a friend tried to make my fiancé cheat on me
The issue is mostly between you & your fiancé (rather than the guy) since it is your fiancé that must establish appropriate boundaries with the guy. If he is to remain your friend, naturally he ...
- 40.5k
12
votes
Can a Buddhist own and run a billion dollar business?
Sure! It is allowed for lay people, as long as they observe the five precepts and virtue (sila), which includes Right Livelihood (samma ajivo). Please also see this answer.
The Vanijja Sutta states:
&...
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12
votes
Is making art bad or sinful?
Art can be a continuation of samsaric inertia, or it can be an expression of the enlightened mind. What message are you sending with your art? What impulse does it carry forward into the future?
- 58.3k
10
votes
What is the Buddhist perspective on child abuse?
The Pali scriptures (SN 12.17) state, from the perspective of ultimate truth, that the cause of suffering is 'ignorance' (rather than 'one-self' or 'another').
However, in the conventional scenario ...
- 40.5k
10
votes
Accepted
What should you do when someone teaches false Dharma?
You can share with them DN 16's Four Great Referrals:
“Here, monks, a monk might speak like this: ‘I have heard this directly from the Gracious One, friends, directly I learned it: “This is the ...
- 9,707
10
votes
Did the Buddha have special instructions to deal with masturbation?
he didn't prohibit it for secular people, it's not even subsumed under sexual misconduct
but since it's a lustful urge and act it is unwholesome and unskillful, and those need to be handled using the ...
- 1,683
10
votes
Accepted
Personal Relationships while on the path?
About 20 years ago I felt the same. People were talking about something pretty meaningless. It was not interesting. Also, according to the Buddhist precept of Mindful Speech, idle chatter should be ...
- 1,493
8
votes
Accepted
Is Karma different for accidental killing than intentional killing?
The background story to the first verse of the Dhammapada is of an arhat killing insects accidentally, because he's blind.
The verse says,
All mental phenomena have mind as their forerunner; they ...
- 46.3k
8
votes
Is it true that Lord Buddha was born in Sri Lanka?
Lumbini, Nepal has been recognized as the birthplace of Siddhartha Gautama since a stone pillar was placed at the site by the emperor Ashoka circa 245 BCE.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
8
votes
Accepted
Is it true that Lord Buddha was born in Sri Lanka?
Prince Siddhartha was raised, according to Buddhist texts, in Kapilawastu (I will not present sources for this as I think this would be undisputed).
The modern name for Kapilawastu is unknown: I will ...
- 236
8
votes
Accepted
How/Why to be moral without believing God or any supernatural entity?
Fire
In Buddhism, fire is used to describe the destructive & harmful mental defilements of greed/lust, hatred/anger & delusion/ignorance, such as in the Fire Sermon.
Being believer or ...
- 40.5k
8
votes
Accepted
What are do's & dont's which should be followed for serene & calm life?
The don'ts:
Buddhism teaches ten kinds of unskilful action the serious lay Buddhist to refrain from, namely:
Killing.
Stealing
Unwholesome (uncaring) sex
Dishonest speech
Harsh speech
Divisive ...
- 40.5k
8
votes
If there is no self, why do anything?
It essentially doesn't change anything. If you look hard, that "I" was always an illusion. No matter where you try to draw a boundary - it is artificial:
Does the body belong to the self or not? How ...
8
votes
Sexual Coersion within a Sangha
There is no way around it. Sexual coercion and abuses (minor or otherwise) are reprehensible and they should be addressed.
For you to have compassion is wholesome, but it should not prevent you from ...
- 5,206
8
votes
Is upaya a lie?
The starting point of Buddhism is the idea that everyone begins in a state of ignorance. It is our ignorance that creates tanhā and dukkha, and it is the cessation of tanhā and dukkha that brings ...
- 5,015
8
votes
Accepted
Is masturbation a sin when we do it to avoid intercourse with other people?
First off, Buddhism and karmic faiths generally don't really have a concept of 'sin'. 'Sin' is a Western conception — a feature of Abrahamic (Jewish, Christian, Muslim) faiths — that points at ...
- 5,015
7
votes
What should you do when someone teaches false Dharma?
From Dogen's Shobogenzo:
Some hear of Anuttara-Samyak-Sam-Bodhi from "good friend", and some hear of it from the sutras. What one hears first is, "Not doing wrong action." If one does not hear “not ...
- 58.3k
7
votes
Trolley problem and its variants in Buddhist ethics
Traditionally, worrying about this kind of speculative problems is classified as a form of delusion. Consider the following Zen story:
Huineng's Flag
Two Zen monks saw a flag wavering in the wind,...
- 58.3k
7
votes
Buddhism view on mercy
Definitely no killing. That's the first among the Five Precept to be observed. Do what you can to help. If it's a large animal, call the local animal shelter helpline. If it's a small animal like a ...
- 9,707
7
votes
Celebrate Christmas
Whatever the monk said on Facebook needs to be looked in context and should not be taken at face value. You will get that context only from that monk and hence I will not comment on what he said.
Now ...
- 1,209
7
votes
Can bad kammas be eased by apologizing?
Apologizing is good Karma that has a mitigating(not delete) effect on the bad Karma you had committed:
ex:
The story of Soreyya.
Devadatta taking refuge of the Buddha just before being swallowed by ...
- 25.7k
7
votes
Can bad kammas be eased by apologizing?
For example if i have lied to my parents and can the bad kamma be deleted when i apologize to them?
You can neutralise Karma when the result is felt [Sañcetanika Sutta] or by diluting the result of ...
7
votes
Infidelity in marriage
You don't need to have sex to be healthy and well. Otherwise, most Buddhist monks should be sick. Cheating breaks the 3rd precept. That is bad Karma for you.
Whether your wife agrees or not, ...
- 25.7k
7
votes
Accepted
Hatred arising after a friend tried to make my fiancé cheat on me
If you are looking for a Buddhist answer you will have to accept that the Buddhist approach largely involves changing how you view the situation rather than changing what the situation is.
You haven'...
- 1,603
7
votes
Good is not different from Bad?
From a Theravada perspective, there is absolute good and absolute bad. The 2 can exist mutually exclusively.
Suffering is absolutely bad and the mind states that lead to suffering are absolutely bad. ...
- 25.7k
7
votes
Are there Bad teachers? Is Mara in the Sanga?
There have always been bad men robed as monks. If we have clear moral discernment, we will avoid them.
There are many evil characters and uncontrolled men wearing the saffron robe. These wicked ...
- 40.5k
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