10
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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 ...
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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 ...
- 46.3k
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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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8
votes
Accepted
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 ...
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8
votes
Accepted
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 ...
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7
votes
Accepted
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 ...
- 5,627
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 ...
- 5,015
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 ...
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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
...
6
votes
Accepted
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 ...
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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.
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6
votes
Accepted
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 ...
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6
votes
Accepted
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
...
- 46.3k
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 ...
- 24.1k
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 ...
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6
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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 ...
- 58.3k
6
votes
Accepted
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: “...
- 9,707
6
votes
Accepted
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 ...
- 58.3k
6
votes
Accepted
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 ...
- 37.4k
5
votes
Accepted
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 ...
- 338
5
votes
Accepted
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 ...
- 46.3k
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 ...
- 46.3k
5
votes
Accepted
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. ...
5
votes
Accepted
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 ...
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5
votes
Accepted
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 ...
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