34
votes
Accepted
How do you tell a 4-year-old who the Buddha was?
A 4 year old can be told that the Buddha was a man who wanted to understand how to be happy and free and he worked very hard to understand how to be truly happy and free. Then he taught other people ...
- 9,492
18
votes
Accepted
Does God exist in Buddhism?
Unfortunately, this is one of the first questions people ask, especially if they are coming from a theistic background. As a result, many who require the belief of a 'God' as a precondition, turn away ...
- 25.6k
16
votes
Should a Buddhist feel offended by misuses of Buddha's name or image?
What would be your plan of action, if you saw someone running a brothel with your mother's name and picture on it? Feeling angry or not depends on if you have eradicated anger. You can do Metta ...
- 25.6k
16
votes
Why do Buddhists believe there is no creator?
For most people God is a dualistic concept. Meaning, for a typical person the unspoken assumption is: "I am here and God is over there". So when I think about God, when I speak to God -- I inevitably ...
- 56.7k
15
votes
If there is no soul or self, why did the Buddha speak of his past lives?
How is it possible that he had past lives?
Because until he became the Buddha he hadn't eliminated craving.
Craving leads to clinging, clinging leads to becoming, becoming leads to birth.
how did ...
- 25.6k
13
votes
Why did the Buddha suffer before he died?
Buddha did not experience suffering(mental). He experienced pain due to poor health during his final days. Enlightened beings do not create new Karmas. Also, they have removed the potential of all ...
- 25.6k
11
votes
Accepted
Are there examples of the Buddha showing humour in the Pali Canon?
You could say the Buddha and arahants had a peculiar form of humour, as Konrad suggested in his comment above. The hasituppādacitta (smiling-producing mind) is a citta unique to enlightened beings. ...
- 23.9k
11
votes
Accepted
Why do Buddhists believe there is no creator?
First, some canonical background:
According to the Acintita Sutta, speculating on the origin of the cosmos or similar topics will lead one to confusion i.e. it cannot be understood.
According to the ...
- 35.3k
11
votes
When do I realize that I am free from rebirth?
From Milindapanha:
The king said, “Is there anyone who is not reborn
after death?”
“Yes there is. The one who has no defilements is not
reborn after death; the one who has defilements is ...
- 56.7k
11
votes
Accepted
Are there Goddesses in Buddhism? If yes, who are they?
I'll answer in two parts-- what sort of looks like a god in Buddhism and which of those are female.
Early Buddhism didn't see gods as important to solving their fundamental problem of ending ...
- 7,081
10
votes
Accepted
Did the Buddha ever mention the Upanishads or the Vedas?
The original Vedas themselves have little that a Buddhist would consider "wisdom", I think, being comprised mainly of battle hymns, sacrificial procedures, and ceremony. They are mentioned ...
- 23.9k
10
votes
What is the relation between Nirvana and Parinirvana?
What the Buddha experienced at 35 was called sa-upādisesa-nibbāna - nirvana with remainder. What he experienced at 80 was called anupādisesa-nibbāna - nirvana without remainder:
“dvemā, bhikkhave, ...
- 23.9k
10
votes
Why do Buddhists believe there is no creator?
"Monks, I will teach you the All. Listen & pay close attention. I will
speak."
"As you say, lord," the monks responded.
The Blessed One said, "What is the All? Simply the eye & ...
- 25.6k
10
votes
Was the Buddha misogynistic?
Buddha said women can be Enlightened.
In an unprecedented move for the times, Buddha allowed women to ordain as Buddhist wanderers.
Buddha added numerous rules to Vinaya to protect women practitioners ...
- 56.7k
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 ...
- 1,673
10
votes
Did the Buddha Meditate?
I can't find the reference at the moment but if I recall correctly, the Buddha continued to meditate after enlightenment for two reasons, according to the Theravada tradition: (1) To dwell in a ...
- 2,593
10
votes
Life of Buddha, to be taken seriously?
the Buddha taught that there is unsatisfactoriness in this world and the way out of it which is more systemised as the 4 Noble Truths.
If these stories help you understand unsatisfactoriness and help ...
9
votes
Accepted
What are the "Qualities of the Buddha"?
Following are the 9 qualities of the Buddha one should get inspiration and try to develop:
Buddho – Awakened
Sammasambuddho – Perfectly self-awakened
Vijja-carana-sampano – Endowed with higher ...
9
votes
Accepted
Why the Buddha didn't originally allow ordination of women
Interesting, this is the first question answered in this month's Buddhism.SE Book-of-the-Month Women in Buddhism - Questions & Answers.
It was the right time for Maha Pajapati (the Buddha's ...
- 9,492
9
votes
Accepted
Words of the Buddha
What reasons are there for believing that the words of the historical Buddha are preserved?
I can think of three reasons:
blind faith - believing it to be true without any rational reason to believe....
- 23.9k
9
votes
Accepted
What "religions" did previous Buddhas practice?
According to tradition, as in the Nagara Sutta, Buddhas all discover the path to enlightenment and teach that same path to their followers:
"It is just as if a man, traveling along a wilderness ...
- 2,593
9
votes
Teachings from Buddhas other than Gautama
Yes, the historical Buddha is said to have related teachings of other Buddhas; one that stands out is the Amagandha Sutta, which relates the teaching of Kassapa Buddha. Another is MN 81, which relates ...
- 23.9k
9
votes
Accepted
How sacrosanct is the "source material" of Buddhism?
I think there are some very good and apposite questions here. I find I meet two kinds of Buddhists online. Those committed to the idea that the Pāḷi Canon is something like the Bible, the words of the ...
- 4,277
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 ...
- 5,178
9
votes
Accepted
What are the suttas in which the Buddha provides instruction on how to meditate?
To straighten view before meditation: Samma,ditthi Sutta
Anapana
Anapanasati Sutta
Satipatthana
Satipatthana Sutta and Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta
Kayagatasati Sutta
Saṅkhitta Dhamma Sutta
Elements / ...
9
votes
Is the Buddha God?
The Dona Sutta might be helpful:
On one occasion the Blessed One was traveling along the road between
Ukkattha and Setabya, and Dona the brahman was also traveling along
the road between ...
- 2,593
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