5
votes
If Buddha had unconditional love, why did he "kill" some of his monks?
The "killing" reference would be this one probably -- Kesi Sutta (AN 4.111)
Perhaps that's analogous to a doctor's not giving medicine to a patient who won't benefit from it.
And perhaps the Buddha ...
- 47.4k
5
votes
Does Buddhism give methods to ask questions when you are proliferating?
With concepts such as sunyata, nirvana, papanca, dharma, detachment
I suppose you internalise or become familiar with these concepts, so they (i.e. the concepts, not the descriptions of the concepts) ...
- 47.4k
4
votes
Can students evaluate qualifications and accept a person as their teacher?
One can immediately eliminate from consideration any teachers who might incur censure per AN8.88:
The lay followers may, if they wish, make a proclamation of confidence in a mendicant who has eight ...
- 9,547
4
votes
Accepted
Is the Mahayana shunyata same as the Theravada papanca?
Yes, more or less.
Although, strictly speaking you are making a category error.
Shunyata refers to the fact that everything is an abstraction, simplification, subjective observation, and that in ...
- 59k
4
votes
Does Buddhism give methods to ask questions when you are proliferating?
Just an experience sharing, the best way to find answers is not always to ask questions to outsiders, but to ask question to oneself, which is a form of contemplation. An effective way is to practice ...
- 720
4
votes
Accepted
Is there a kind of consulting service in Buddhism?
First a bit of background or context -- just in case you didn't know.
So apparently, as well as the suttas, there's something called the vinaya i.e. the code of Monastic discipline. These are (or ...
- 47.4k
4
votes
Why are pleasant feelings "stressful" & "unpleasant"?
This is what it says in MN 44 sutta.
"Pleasant feeling is pleasant in remaining, & painful in changing,
friend Visakha. Painful feeling is painful in remaining & pleasant in
changing. ...
- 5,609
4
votes
Is samadhi the same as samatha? Is there khanika samatha?
If I sit dow on the cushion for a moment, that's momentary samatha. Samatha is simply calmimg. It can take place anywhere. Samatha can lead to samadhi, but the two are by no means identical. It ...
- 309
4
votes
At what point do we arrest reification?
From Sutta Nipata 4.14, we read:
"I ask the kinsman of the Sun, the great seer,
about seclusion & the state of peace.
Seeing in what way is a monk unbound,
clinging to nothing in the world?&...
- 37.9k
3
votes
Accepted
What is the difference between papanca and sankhara, and in particular citta-sankhara?
yes it is not easy. First people say that there are 2 triplets of sankaras : (kayasankhara, vacisankhara, mano sankhara) and (kayasankhara, vacisankhara, cittasankhara). they claim that they are not ...
- 392
3
votes
Accepted
How could craving be the habit of reification?
Reification is simpistic naive superficial perception. It's a generalization of the same problem that children have with toys. A child sees a new shiny toy and because he does not think deeply, ...
- 59k
3
votes
What is papañca?
First, I will start with a canonical definition of papanca from MN 18 (translated by Ven. Sujato):
Eye consciousness arises dependent on the eye and sights. The meeting
of the three is contact. ...
- 37.9k
3
votes
Can a puthujjana have unshakable faith in the Buddha-Dhamma?
Right view arises with two conditions:
AN2.126:1.1: “There are two conditions for the arising of right view. What two? The words of another and proper attention. These are the two conditions for ...
- 9,547
3
votes
Accepted
Is samadhi the same as samatha? Is there khanika samatha?
Shamatha and Samadhi are not synonyms.
Samadhi is Single-Pointed Concentration, a completely stable and highly refined state of attention. You can achieve voluntary sustained Samadhi through ...
- 226
3
votes
At what point do we arrest reification?
In this sequence at what point do I have a choice to arrest the
reification or perception? The moment I see the banana on the table
may be within a fraction of seconds I perceive and get in the idea
...
- 1,996
3
votes
Accepted
Are faith & wisdom two wings of a bird in Buddhism?
Wisdom and Compassion are the two wings or two wheels of a cart in Buddhism. This how the metaphor of two wings has been used in Buddhism. The concept behind this as that the Bodhi, the mind of ...
2
votes
Are we born on this Earth because of our personal kamma?
The answer comes in DN 15:
"Thus, Ananda, from name-and-form as a requisite condition comes
consciousness. From consciousness as a requisite condition comes
name-and-form. From name-and-form as ...
- 37.9k
2
votes
Are we born on this Earth because of our personal kamma?
In case you're interested the way I see it is that something is born -- something physical, biological -- e.g. starting at conception with sperm and ovum etc.
That causes a blastocyst and so on -- ...
- 47.4k
2
votes
Accepted
What are the "seven stations of consciousness" supposed to mean?
"...what does it mean to be unified in perception?"
It is important to understand the stations of consciousness in order to understand those places where consciousness should be let go.
In ...
- 36
2
votes
What are the "seven stations of consciousness" supposed to mean?
Piya Tan's analysis of DN 15 (on pages 160 through 163, i.e. page 16 through 19 of the PDF) explains that,
According to Brahma,jāla S (D 1) and Pāṭika S (D 24), this is not a “station for ...
- 47.4k
2
votes
Is there a kind of consulting service in Buddhism?
Some monks provide such a service of spiritual guidance to lay people, even if they are not required to do so. But expect the teacher to teach on his terms and not your's. He is not a commercial ...
- 37.9k
2
votes
Is there a kind of consulting service in Buddhism?
Well the people who are trained in the dhamma are called the asekhas, meaning the arhats.
The people in training on the dhamma are called the sekhas and they are not puthujjanas, so the sotapannas and ...
- 1,636
2
votes
Does Buddhism give methods to ask questions when you are proliferating?
I'm just sharing my personal experience on this.
I use to find myself caught in papanca very often, which is why I feel this question so close to my heart.
When I become aware of proliferation, the ...
- 2,095
2
votes
Accepted
Have Arahants have eliminated all Sankhara?
In Udana 6.1, we see the Buddha having intentions and making plans for the afternoon - this showed that he still had mental formations, volition and intention as a living arahant. So, he still had ...
- 37.9k
2
votes
Have Arahants have eliminated all Sankhara?
SN 22.85 says Arahants have "sankhara":
“If, friend Yamaka, they were to ask you: ‘Friend Yamaka, when a
bhikkhu is an arahant, one whose taints are destroyed, what happens to
him with the ...
- 43.7k
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