Infinite Buddhas
anataman
Who needs a title?Where am I? Veteran
I once postulated that Western Philosophers might have journeyed where the Historical Buddha went and got a rather stilted, and defensive response - i.e. only the historical buddha's been there and Western philosophy is just a 'monkey on or of the mind', if you get my drift. However, I've just got back from a journey where J P Satre nailed it IMHO. He may have spent much of his time in a Cafe drinking coffee and occasionally doing a little mescaline and being chased down the champs elysee by lobsters as a matter of fact!, but he knew, deep down, that if you examine the ego properly theres nothing really to find, and as an existentialist he expounded the wisdom of giving everyone else around him the attention and care that they deserved - it all smacks of the same thing really - and I feel vindicated!
So I will call you buddha, and you can't deny it; or can you? ...\lol/...
Comments
That sounds mighty erudite...and impressive! I think I get it.
Did he practice meditation? I think that is the difference.
He sat in a cafe in France @Jeffrey - OK perhaps there were no golden statues to venerate, but as @lobster recently pointed out, things in France aren't what they may appear to be - (i.e. the Eiffel Tower doesn't really exist) - so as Satre didn't exist, other than in a state of anxiety, so we don't either...
I never tried meditating in a cafe. Didn't want to create a scene.
Then you have not properly been yourself in a cafe @Jeffrey!
Once upon a time, a long time ago, I used to go to a Vedanta temple in New York where a stone bust on the altar quoted (I believe it was) the Vedas which said, "Truth is one. Wise men call it by many names." I found it quite comforting at the time and for all I know, it's perfectly true.
But these days, without getting too snarky about it, my reaction is more along the lines of "So what?" Intellectually and emotionally, it's nice to think we're all one big happy family and, by extension, that the cat fights of spiritual life are small potatoes in the grand scheme of things.
But then there's the matter of "where the rubber hits the road." Does cozying up to the idea that "truth is one" bring anyone an unalloyed understanding/actualization of that truth? That would be foolish, don't you think? Sure, Hindu, Buddhist, existentialist or gas station attendant -- everyone may like an intellectual or emotional hug, but isn't it the truth that counts and doesn't that truth. whatever the entry point, require some get-down-and-get-dirty effort? I think it does and I also think that if the effort is successful, being a Buddhist or a Hindu or an existentialist or a gas station attendant would be an unnecessary (both secondary and boring) add-on.
Here's a hug to prove it.
Heres a big hug back to you you big grizzly existentialist come buddhist/anxious person!
And the name, @anataman, is 'SaRtre' not 'Satre'.
If you're going to cite the famous, have the decency to get their titles correct....
Yus, spell it bleedin' proper!
Perhaps we are each living a Jataka tale.
Very true and very touching.....although I had to look up what Jataka meant.
And, I LOVE learning something new everyday here!
ARRRR
Grrrrr
Wot ever
Ill spell it like i wanna
Just to get the message aX
@federica
I can't LOL myself I know!
Grrrr
Arrr
LOL
@frederica - I say it as it is!
OK! I give in... as someone famous being sighted I need to get the spelling RIGHT I suppose
I also cow tow to @federica...
...\lol/...
I will deny it, but what if Buddhahood is not an innate nature that all beings possess, or even a person, but what if it was an event? An event in time that happened more then 2500 years ago that allowed people with little dust in their eyes to see the Dhamma, and liberate them from samsara, there is no way to know, i'm just speculating.
What if...what if? How does it matter now? We have his gift of knowledge or knowing or however you want to put it. In any event, he was smarter than the average Buddha-Bear.
http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/uncyclopedia/images/5/5b/Yogi_bear_lotus_position.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20100322123403
You are missing a vital point if you think that there is only 'one' buddha - the historical buddha was a historically recognised awakening. There have been and will be many more; in fact more than you can wrap your mind around...
I'm the epitomome of an optimistic mahayana buddhist I suppose.
...\lol/...