10 votes
Accepted

Why did Mahayana leave out the Pali Canon?

It did not. The Canon is an integral part of Mahayana, has always been. In Chinese Mahayana, the Canon is included in the form of Agamas (translated to Chinese). In Tibetan Mahayana, the Canon is a ...
Andriy Volkov's user avatar
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10 votes

Searching for a Pali sutta where Buddha said "Enough!" to rebirth speculations

SN 42.3 (To Yodhajiva The Warrior) and SN 42.2 (To Talaputa the Actor) both contain the phrase, "Enough, headman, put that aside. Don't ask me that." The reason why he says "enough" seems to be ...
ChrisW's user avatar
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9 votes

Evidence of Pali Canon's Origin

I encourage you to read the following: Bhikkhu Sujato & Bhikkhu Brahmali. The Authenticity of the Early Buddhist Texts. In this work, their project is to investigate the question of authencity ...
Tenzin Dorje's user avatar
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9 votes

Can anyone explain Sanskara / Sankara in depth?

There's an article in English titled Anicca Vata Sankhara in which Bhikkhu Bodhi describes the various meanings of the word. Here are very brief extracts from that article, a summary: The word ...
ChrisW's user avatar
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9 votes

Why does the Buddha, in the Pali Canon, periodically engage in harsh speech?

The answer to this comes in the Kesi Sutta: As he was sitting there, the Blessed One said to him: "You, Kesi, are a trained man, a trainer of tamable horses. And how do you train a tamable ...
ruben2020's user avatar
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8 votes
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Don't teach Dhamma to those who can't appreciate it or aren't interested

The Buddha not only stressed the importance of right speech but also the right time and occassion to say it: "So too, prince, such speech as the Tath›gata knows to be untrue, incorrect, and ...
santa100's user avatar
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8 votes
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How does the Buddha subdue fear in MN4?

Good question! Not everyone finds this episode interesting - and yet it illustrates a very important point. Buddha subdues his fear by bringing all of his attention to the present moment. As I was ...
Andriy Volkov's user avatar
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7 votes
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What is 'letting go' and 'detachment' actually?

What are the actual sanskrit and pali terms for 'letting go' and 'detach'? Quoting from "Re: What is the last thing to let go?": In the Suttas paṭinissagga and its synonym vossagga are the words ...
SarathW's user avatar
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7 votes

Why did the Buddha contradict about His teachings in these two different suttas?

The key phrase, I think, is: "those things that I have known with direct knowledge..." (emphasis mine). Some things must be experienced as direct knowledge. Teaching or discussing them with ...
Ted Wrigley's user avatar
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6 votes

How does the Dhamma reconcile slavery?

I think you are mistaking servant for slave. In five ways should a master minister to his servants and employees (i) by assigning them work according to their ability, (ii) by supplying ...
Sankha Kulathantille's user avatar
6 votes

What is useless/meaningless speech?

In addition found in Sevitabbâsevitabba Sutta there are 32 types of chatter which is called animal chatter which falls under the category of idle / frivolous chatter: Rajakatha – Talk about kings ...
Suminda Sirinath S. Dharmasena's user avatar
6 votes
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Sutta with firefly simile

Ud 6.9 - Adhipataka Sutta: Like Moths to the Flame translated from the Pali by Andrew Olendzki “The insects are drawn irresistibly in the dark night to the shining lamps, but in their zeal to ...
Saptha Visuddhi's user avatar
6 votes

What does "break-up of the body after death" mean in the suttas?

"break-up of the body" refers to conventional death. It doesn't refer to instant death of experiences.
Sankha Kulathantille's user avatar
6 votes
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Is consciousness a result of contact?

From the Madhupindika Sutta (MN18): "Dependent on eye & forms, eye-consciousness arises. The meeting of the three is contact. With contact as a requisite condition, there is feeling. What ...
ruben2020's user avatar
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6 votes
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Is there a Buddhist explanation for why envy manifests as hatred?

You specified pali-canon but I think (admitting I'm merely skimming translations) that definitions of envy are similar in Mahanaya texts too; for example one of the Tibetan texts, A Necklace for Those ...
ChrisW's user avatar
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6 votes

Why is the Pali word 'sattānaṃ' in Dependent Origination plural?

why does 'birth' ('jati'), seemingly a singular process, seem to refer to the multiple births of multiple beings into the multiple orders/groups of beings? jāti is singular in the passage quoted, so ...
yuttadhammo's user avatar
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6 votes

Comparing Chinese Agama the ? Bundles of Reeds Simile with Pali Nalakalapiyo Sutta

OP: Are these two Sutra/Sutta equivalent but different versions? Yes, I think so. According to SuttaCentral, SA 288 and SN 12.67 are equivalent. I could find "三蘆立於空地" from your quote inside ...
ruben2020's user avatar
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6 votes

Comparing Chinese Agama the ? Bundles of Reeds Simile with Pali Nalakalapiyo Sutta

In my understanding of Mahayana doctrine, the term namarupa does not refer to individual's mind-and-body. In my opinion, this traditional Theravadin interpretation is incorrect. Instead, namarupa ...
Andriy Volkov's user avatar
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6 votes
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The One With the Brahmin Heckler

From SN 7.16 - Paccanīka Sutta: At S›vatthı. Now on that occasion a brahmin named Paccanıkas›ta, Relisher of Contradiction, was residing at S›vatthı. Then it occurred to the brahmin Paccanıkas›ta: “...
santa100's user avatar
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6 votes
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What is world (loka) in SN 12.44? Why is it called "world"?

The world is whatever a sentient being perceives as "the external world" or "the real world". If the being is sleeping it may be a world of its dream, if the being is a child it ...
Andriy Volkov's user avatar
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6 votes
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Looking for sutta about purification of fish, turtles, etc

It's in Therigatha: [The Brahman:] Punnika, surely you know. You're asking one doing skillful kamma & warding off evil. Whoever, young or old, does evil kamma is, through water ablution, from ...
ruben2020's user avatar
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5 votes
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Can Buddha Damma be reduced to Paticca Samuppada?

The Buddha's Dharma is beautiful in the beginning, beautiful in the middle, and beautiful in the end. Absent need for addition or reduction. It would be overly simplistic to reduce the entire teaching ...
Amanasa's user avatar
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5 votes
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Lord Buddha's First teaching and its meaning?

If you know the name of the sutta, and if it's a famous sutta, then I find you can easily find it using Google, for example: This search (Google) Wikipedia too has many articles about Buddhism, and ...
ChrisW's user avatar
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5 votes

How does the story of General Siha's Meal for the Buddha at Vaisali vindicate the Buddha?

Here is a version of the story as told by Ajahn Brahmavamso ("a British Theravada Buddhist monk"), in an an essay titled, What the Buddha said about eating meat: Once, a rich and ...
ChrisW's user avatar
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5 votes
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How does the Dhamma reconcile slavery?

In Vanijjā Sutta it is said a lay follower should not engage in 5 types of trades which include Trading in humans (satta vaṇijjā). Some forms of slavery is still persist today. Trading in humans. ...
Suminda Sirinath S. Dharmasena's user avatar
5 votes
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Dasa Paramitha - Sources

You can find a study guide here by Thanissaro Bhikkhu: The Ten Perfections A Study Guide There seem to be four types of perfection, and not three. Passages in this guide are drawn from the Pali canon ...
ruben2020's user avatar
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5 votes
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In which Sutta, Buddha wore cloth of dead body?

It is in SN 16.11. ‘Your outer robe of patches is soft, Kassapa.’–‘Venerable sir, let the Blessed One accept my outer robe of patches, out of compassion.’–‘Then will you wear my worn-out hempen ...
dmsp's user avatar
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