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"The One and Only Way"... doesn't it sound a tad dogmatic?
1
BhanteLuckyAlternative lifestyle person in the South Island of New ZealandNew ZealandVeteran
Sounds like extremist fundamentalism, not just simple dogmatism.
But if the Budha said it, it MUST be true, right? Because the suttas weren't rewritten later, and the translations are perfect, surely.
The holy scriptures say there's ONE and ONLY ONE WAY, and anyone who does otherwise... well, too bad for them.
I guess we just have to eat the big pile of poo, and abandon our misguided, pluralistic, tolerant modern ways.
Or be reborn in HELL.
REPENT YE SINNERS, LEST YE BURN.
Equanimity just looks on and observes, while calmly settled in composed neutrality.
Equanimity is characterized as promoting the aspect of impartiality among beings.
Its function is to see the equality of all beings. It is manifested as the quieting of
both resentment and approval. Its proximate cause is seeing and comprehending
the ownership and efficacy of kamma thus: All beings are owners of their actions,
born, created and conditioned by the accumulated effect of their past intentions!
Whose, if not theirs, is the choice by which they have become happy, or unhappy,
or will break free from suffering, or have fallen down from their past good state?
Equanimity succeeds, when it makes both resentment and approval subside, and it
fails, when it instead produces a bored, indifferent, & careless state of negligence! Vism I 318
Comments:
Non-involved and even Equanimity is a subtle form of happiness... By stabilization
it perfects and consummates all the other six links to awakening: Awareness,
Investigation, Energy, Joy and Concentration. Equanimity is the proximate cause
for knowing and seeing it, as it really is. Equanimity quenches any upset agitation!
When seeing and noting: 'All this is constructed, conditioned, coarse and transient!
But this state of serene equanimity is indeed exquisitely peaceful...', then instantly
ceases any arisen agreeable or nasty feeling, when Equanimity takes its stance
Power of Equanimity: Not much agitation, wavering or panic here!
(Self-immolation though is neither recommendable, nor Buddhist praxis..)
“For those standing in the middle of a lake, when a fearful flood has
arisen, for those overcome by old age and death, speak about an
island, dear Sir, you must explain an island to me, so there will be no
more after this.”
“For those standing in the middle of a lake, when a fearful flood has
arisen, for those overcome by old age and death, I speak about an
island, Kappa: Having nothing, no attachment, this is the island with
nothing beyond, this is called Nibbāna, I say, the end of old age and
death. Knowing this, those who are mindful, who are emancipated in
this very life, come not under Māra’s control, they are not servants to
Māra.”
The Venerable Migajala once drew near to the Accomplished One, bowed,
paid his respects, sat down, and asked him: Venerable Sir, it would be good
if the Blessed One would teach me the Dhamma in brief, then I might dwell
alone, withdrawn to the forest, attentive, keen, and determined...
The consummated Buddha then explained:
There are here, Migajala, forms experienceable by the eye, sounds that are
experienceable by the ear, odours experienceable by the nose, many tastes
experienceable by the tongue, tactile objects experienceable by the body,
and mental phenomena cognizable by the mind, that all are quite attractive,
charming, enjoyable, pleasing, enticing, and very tantalizing. In anyone who
seeks delight in them, welcomes them, and clings to them, delight arises!
With the arising of this delight, Migajala, there is the arising of Suffering!
In anyone who does not seek delight in them, who does not welcome them,
who does not remain holding on or clinging to them, that delight ceases...
With the ceasing of this delight, there comes the cessation of suffering...
Then Venerable Migajala, agreeing & rejoicing in what the Buddha had said,
rose from his seat, & after having bowed for the Blessed One, keeping him
on his right, he left for the forest. There, alone, withdrawn, enthusiastic,
devoted, & resolute, Venerable Migajala, realized it by direct experience,
himself, in this very life, by entering and abiding in that unsurpassed goal of
the Noble life for which men of good family rightly go forth from the dusty
household life into homelessness. He directly knew: Destroyed is rebirth,
the holy life has been lived, done is what had to be done, there is no state
of being beyond this! The Venerable Migajala became one of the Arahats...
The addiction to pleasure by sensing is an obsessive slavery!
Angulimala killed 999 humans, yet later became an eminent Arahat!
Here are his inspirations from his later forest life in harmless bliss:
He whose past misdeeds are covered later by good deeds; illuminates this world, as does
the moon freed from all clouds. Who once did live in negligence, yet then is negligent no
more, he illuminates this world, like the moon freed from all clouds. Who repays the evil
deeds he did, by doing beneficial good instead, he illuminates this world, like the moon
freed from all clouds. Any young Bhikkhu who devotes his life to the Buddha's Dhamma,
he illuminates this world, like the moon freed from all clouds.
Let my enemies but hear this discourse on the Dhamma,
Let them be devoted to the Buddha's Teaching,
Let my enemies wait on those good people,
Who guide others to accept the Dhamma...
Let my enemies pay attention to the Dhamma from time to time, yet again & again,
and hear this Doctrine as told by real men who preach forbearance, of those who also
speak in high praise of kind & gentle friendliness, let them follow up on that Noble
Dhamma by friendly, harmless and gentle behaviour.
For surely those who will not wish to harm you, me or anyone else, those who wish to protect
all beings, tiny or huge, feeble or strong, they will thus approach and attain the all-surpassing
highest peace...
Canal-makers guide the water, Fletchers straighten out the arrow, carpenters plane the planks,
But clever men train to tame the mind! There are some that tame with beatings, with goads and
with whips; But I was tamed by a Worthy who had no knife, rod, nor any weapon. Harmless is the
name I now bear, yet I was dangerous in the past! The name I bear today is true: Now I harm no
living being at all... And though I once lived as a notorious killer named Finger-garland# swept
along by the great flood, I went for refuge to the Buddha. And although I once was cruel,
bloody-handed & named Finger-garland, see the refuge I now have found: The bond of being
has been all cut! While I did many deeds that lead to rebirth in the bad realms of pain,
Yet their result has passed me now and so I can eat free from debt*.
They are fools who have no shame, who give themselves to negligence! But wise are those who
guard alertness and treat it as their greatest treasure! Do not give way to negligence, nor seek
delight in sensual pleasures, but meditate with diligence, and reach this perfect blissful peace...
Well indeed was that choice of mine, let it stand, as it was not wrong: Of all the teachings known
to humans, I have found the very best! Well indeed was that choice of mine, let it stand, since it
was not ill, I have gained the triple knowledge and done all that the Buddha told.
I stayed in forests, at the root of a tree, in the cool mountain caves But wherever I went,
I was always mentally agitated and troubled... But now I rest and rise in easy happiness & happily
I spend my life. For now I am free of Mara's snares, thanx to the Master's pity! A Brahmin was I
by descent, on both sides high and purely born. Today I am the Master's son, My Teacher is the
Dhamma-King... Freed of craving, not clinging, with guarded senses, well restrained, spit out have I
the root of evil, and stilled all mental fermentations.
The Master has been waited on & what should be done has been done!
The heavy load is put down. What induce new becoming is rooted out..
Note on the nick-name: #Finger-garland!
He was named Finger-garland, since he wore a finger of those 999
human beings he killed threaded as a chain around his neck...!
Note on being *free of dept:
The awakened Arahat has done what he should and can thus eat the alms-food given by others
without becoming in dept. Other Bhikkhus eat the alms-food in dept, as there is still something
they have to do...
The Blessed Buddha once said:
Bhikkhus and Friends: There are these four infinite mental states:
The Bhikkhu pervades all beings with all-embracing friendliness...
The Bhikkhu encompass all creatures with universal & endless pity...
The Bhikkhu permeates all individuals with infinite and mutual joy...
The Bhikkhu suffuses all living mortals with unlimited equanimity...
First in one direction, then in the 2nd, then the 3rd, & finally the 4th,
above, below, all around, in every location, unifying himself with all beings,
he pervades the entire universe with a kind and all-embracing friendliness,
with an all-encircling compassion & pity, with an all-enveloping mutual and
altruistic joy, and with an all-encompassing imperturbable equanimity, fully
utilizing a refined mind, made great, vast, profound, infinite, immeasurable,
released from all hate, anger, irritation, opposition and stubbornness... Source: DN 33
Because of hate, overwhelmed and obsessed by hate, one lives while
doing evil deeds, speaking wrong words, and thinking bad thoughts...
Thus one neither really understands one's own welfare, nor the
welfare of others, nor the welfare of both... If, however, this hate
is overcome and subdued, then one lives while doing good deeds,
speaking kind words, and thinking advantageous thoughts...
Therefore one really knows, what is one's own welfare, for the
welfare of others, & for the welfare of both one self & others... Source: AN 3:55
The Buddha once told a deity:
This world is suffering from Death,
Troubled by ageing, decay and sickness,
Wounded by the Dart of constant Craving!
Always is it burning with Desire and Lust...
This world is addicted to Delight and Pleasure,
Since dragged around by this urge and longing,
Craving must be cut, to break free from bondage
and reach the only absolute freedom: Nibbana...
Comments:
How can there be any freedom if there still is craving, longing and
clinging to something... Craving is Mental Slavery!
Craving is a Prison of urge...
I watched my three kids jump up and down on a trampoline for about half an hour too. The only thing that brought them down was me telling them about the rules of jumping on a trampoline:
1 at a time
no summersaults
...
Rules rules rules
My rules based on things I have learned; and I selfishly don't want to have to look after them for the rest of their lives because they were paralysed from the neck down...
Funny how there is always another perspective you can see things from.
@anataman said:
I watched my three kids jump up and down on a trampoline for about half an hour too. The only thing that brought them down was me telling them about the rules of jumping on a trampoline:
1 at a time
no summersaults
...
Rules rules rules
My rules based on things I have learned; and I selfishly don't want to have to look after them for the rest of their lives because they were paralysed from the neck down...
Funny how there is always another perspective you can see things from.
Do you think they do somersaults while you're not there?
Marin Luther King Jr. was once approximately quoted as saying: "It's not what's wrong with the world that scares people. What really scares them is that everything is all right."
We discussed this issue on another thread rather recently.
What I wrote back then was that if in this sea of affliction, you can find a respite to suffering by indulging in activities you enjoy, why deprive yourself from them.
The difference is in the craving. Eating a chocolate cookie because you enjoy it is totally different to gobbling up the whole package to make up for an inner feeling of void.
And even if there is suffering implicit in most things we love in life (e.g: our beloved ones will one day die, tomorrow we might be made redundant, we could get ill), let's live a day at a time, and enjoy this present moment as it is, instead of being on the watch out for suffering lurking everywhere. When the moment comes to meet affliction face to face, we'll think of something to cope with it.
That said, I love seeing my boy play, especially when Dad does the supervising and I can sit back to enjoy that cookie at last...!!
4
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
I just enjoy reading my friends' comments on this forum.
The world is messed up because 2% of the world have acces to 80% of all recourses. We are headed for a world of tyranny and suppression and most don't even have a clue it is happening.
What do you need to control an entire race? First is money: They control the actual source of money. Second is dependence: They own money, they own the food industry, they own/influence healthcare by suppressing natural remedies (including cancer...) and they control mainstream media.
The only thing missing is the internet and that is already being attacked on all fronts by government's and media all over.
Controlling the masses isn't hard. You create and influence the norms, what is insane and sane, what is possible and impossible and because people fear what other's think of them you then have a HUGE army of individuals who will attack anyone willing to speak his mind. It no longer is "what will the government do if I say this?" It's "What will my friends think of me? Or my mom and dad? I might get fired for this..."
Schools create the easygoing consumer who receives a certain kind of information and it is necessary that they respond in reflex to that information (Why do you think it takes 12+ years?) Ask yourself what skills you really learned in school other then the neccesity to fit in and keeping your mouth shut? 12 years... think about it.
It is now perfectly legal for the US government to torture you and kill you if they simply class you as a terrorist threat. We are being watched more and more. Nation crossing zones are already in place (they already close to succeeded with the EU). People are being chipped at the hospital for "safety purposes" but it has already been confirmed that they also track a database of people to track you down.
The US has been caught 30 times testing out toxic chemicals on their own civilians including sterilyzing substances to control overpopulation. 30 times, and that's only the times they were caught.
Buddhism is about personal suffering and suffering caused by the mind BUT we humans aren't thriving for very different outside reasons that are very real and potentially race threatening, I think people like on these forums who have atleast partially woken up to the fact that no: we aren't just greedy apes who will fight and kill eachother without some dictator or authority watching our every move ARE in fact responsible for spreading that awareness into the world and TRY to make it a better place. Isn't that what compassion is about? Helping your fellow men instead of sitting by the sidelines, withdrawing?
0
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
Isn't that what compassion is about? Helping your fellow men instead of sitting by the sidelines, withdrawing?
compassion is knowing the 'real suffering' and help others to 'get rid of suffering'
that is what :Lord Buddhas do
that is what who knows real suffering should do
if one knows how Dependent Origination works one knows 'what i suffer today brings by what i made before'
one can involve in helping to reduce worldly suffering of fellow beings and animals with equanimity gain through the knowledge of Dependent Origination
if we get angry with people who create suffering for other people and animal we create future suffering for us only
(this is how Dependent Origination works and what delusion is)
@upekka But knowing that for the majority in this world suffering is directly caused by hunger starvation and poverty then how do you live with that and help when you know that is caused by a select few? Anger won't help sure.. but making people aware of this does.
"I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated Governments in the civilized world no longer a Government by free opinion, no longer a Government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a Government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men." -Woodrow Wilson, after signing the Federal Reserve into existence
No No No NO nO No nO @woah93. The world is as it is, and you are not in control -though you might desire mastery of it, it is mastering you... And the way it is is unsatisfactory...
Now take a step back - reflect on this: @Upekka is right. Don't look at specifics and start from the beginning perhaps again - 4NTs.
No one is really in 'control', and this realisation can lead to a power play between the people who have been given responsibility by us to lead us (although in the current view of democratic society - its a bit piss poor; but thats all we have to go by).
Sorry, @Woah93! My comment was not intended to be callous. All of a sudden the thread felt gloomy. Sometimes I prefer humour (even if black humour, it would seem) to make a reality that I find hard to swallow more palatable. There is a lighter side to life than the one you described. Maybe you could work from there to help in making the changes you want to see. Otherwise you are powerless. I don't think people sit watching from the sidelines. I'm sure we're all doing what we can anonymously every day to propel some positive change in our society.
No need to apologize @dharmamom It IS hard to swallow... So much suffering, illness, hunger, thirst and why? Because some individuals fortunate enough to be born in a rich banking family are blinded by power and greed.
I just worry about this a lot since their sinister agenda seems to be working and there is so little I can do about that, it's just terrifying to picture what it would be like if the new world order really does pull through...
Sorry for kind of derailing the thread guys. And yes @dharmamom there IS a brighter side to it, there ARE a LOT of people out there who are actively making positive changes out there and my heart warms up reading about it.
We aren't powerless, far from it. But most aren't AWARE of the power we actually have. Which is why I think it's important to share what is really going on. It might be gloomy, it might not be positive or uplifting but I think it's a great catalyst to get other people to wake up and make positive changes themselves. If only everybody meditated huh...
Waoh93...have you been on this forum before with a different screen name?
It seems to me that you enjoy more the rant against the rich, than some plan to do something.
And guess what, assuming you're a Westerner, to many in the third world, you are rich. I heard that so often in Thailand, even though I was very much middle class.
1
HamsakagoosewhispererPolishing the 'just so'Veteran
The world is messed up because 2% of the world have acces to 80% of all recourses. We are headed for a world of tyranny and suppression and most don't even have a clue it is happening.
We are already there and have been, maybe always have been. Some 2% are better at disguising their stuff and some 98% are more willing than other 98%ers to settle for the next episode of the Kardashians or have been oppressed so long they are grateful for every scrap. It's not going to get worse, it's already that bad.
Buddhism is about personal suffering and suffering caused by the mind BUT we humans aren't thriving for very different outside reasons that are very real and potentially race threatening, I think people like on these forums who have atleast partially woken up to the fact that no: we aren't just greedy apes who will fight and kill eachother without some dictator or authority watching our every move ARE in fact responsible for spreading that awareness into the world and TRY to make it a better place. Isn't that what compassion is about? Helping your fellow men instead of sitting by the sidelines, withdrawing?
The Buddha's prescription covers all of it and there are no BUTs for very different reasons. It's all in there. Dictators and all. There's nothing happening now that hasn't happened before, not really. It doesn't diminish your concern at all, but puts it in proper perspective. Just the thoughts of someone who basically agrees with you but has had a couple of decades worth of time more to consider it.
@anataman said:
It's an awful reality if everything you delight in creates suffering....
This view is close but still misses the target. As they say, close but no cigar.
"There are some brahmans & contemplatives who are of the view, of the opinion, that 'All is pleasing to me.' There are some brahmans & contemplatives who are of the view, of the opinion, that 'All is not pleasing to me.' There are some brahmans & contemplatives who are of the view, of the opinion, that 'A part is pleasing to me; a part is not pleasing to me.'
"With regard to those brahmans & contemplatives who are of the view, of the opinion, that 'All is pleasing to me': That view of theirs is close to being impassioned, close to bondage, close to delighting, close to holding, close to clinging. With regard to those brahmans & contemplatives who are of the view, of the opinion, that 'All is not pleasing to me': That view of theirs is close to not being impassioned, close to non-bondage, close to not-delighting, close to not-holding, close to not-clinging."
If we had been born, let's say, in 1880 somewhere in Europe, chances are high we would have lost a son and a grandson in two wars. In Victorian times, a whole family, including our children, would have slaved hours on end in carbon mines in the gloomiest working conditions.
And I don't want to go as far back as Egypt, the Roman Empire and the Indian Caste system.
The wealthy Russians of today were already filling their pockets in Communist times, and so are many Chinese today behind the egalitarian fib.
And no matter how much green organizations bring the public eye's attention to environmental catastrophes, woods continue to be chopped down every day and Japan continues killing whales in Patagonia scottsfree.
Human nature being what it is, a big mindset revolution is called for.
There's a lot to be done, but we have to acknowledge we have also come a long way. We can't cope with it all on an individual basis, but your humble effort might add to the biggest goal. Focus on that. What can you do in your household, in your children's school, in your neighbourhood? It's action that makes a difference.
1
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
"People who wish to change the world, should start with a small Garden."
Comments
"The One and Only Way"... doesn't it sound a tad dogmatic?
Sounds like extremist fundamentalism, not just simple dogmatism.
But if the Budha said it, it MUST be true, right? Because the suttas weren't rewritten later, and the translations are perfect, surely.
The holy scriptures say there's ONE and ONLY ONE WAY, and anyone who does otherwise... well, too bad for them.
I guess we just have to eat the big pile of poo, and abandon our misguided, pluralistic, tolerant modern ways.
Or be reborn in HELL.
REPENT YE SINNERS, LEST YE BURN.
Sheldon asks if that was sarcasm...
Mara Namuci sounds like an Italian Cousin I should have..........
To all those who say there is no such things as fire and brimstone in Buddhism...please note.
Yeah. But unlike the 'fire and brimstone' spoken of in Biblical terms, it's not everlasting.
However, if it's anything like My School Priest's sermons, it just feels like it. .....
You mean sorta like purgatory?
I guess...... maybe ours is this forum....! bouncing
LOL...now that made me chuckle out loud!
Buddhism has it's equivilents, to be sure.
Try reading Words of My Perfect teacher some time.
It's not the same as the hellfire and brimstone I heard as a young man / christian though.
As much as I like Ven. Samahita, I don't think the OP should be taken as a definitive commentary.
With all respect to the Bhante, I agree.
Friends:
Serene Equanimity promotes imperturbable Peace:
Equanimity just looks on and observes, while calmly settled in composed neutrality.
Equanimity is characterized as promoting the aspect of impartiality among beings.
Its function is to see the equality of all beings. It is manifested as the quieting of
both resentment and approval. Its proximate cause is seeing and comprehending
the ownership and efficacy of kamma thus: All beings are owners of their actions,
born, created and conditioned by the accumulated effect of their past intentions!
Whose, if not theirs, is the choice by which they have become happy, or unhappy,
or will break free from suffering, or have fallen down from their past good state?
Equanimity succeeds, when it makes both resentment and approval subside, and it
fails, when it instead produces a bored, indifferent, & careless state of negligence!
Vism I 318
Comments:
Non-involved and even Equanimity is a subtle form of happiness... By stabilization
it perfects and consummates all the other six links to awakening: Awareness,
Investigation, Energy, Joy and Concentration. Equanimity is the proximate cause
for knowing and seeing it, as it really is. Equanimity quenches any upset agitation!
When seeing and noting: 'All this is constructed, conditioned, coarse and transient!
But this state of serene equanimity is indeed exquisitely peaceful...', then instantly
ceases any arisen agreeable or nasty feeling, when Equanimity takes its stance
Power of Equanimity: Not much agitation, wavering or panic here!
(Self-immolation though is neither recommendable, nor Buddhist praxis..)
Equanimity (Upekkha) is indeed a divine state and itself a link to Awakening!
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Serene_Equanimity_and_Beyond.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Imperturbable_Equanimity.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/The_7_Links_to_Awakening.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Unshakable_Equanimity.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Equanimity_Upekkha.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Feeding_Equanimity.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Empty_Equanimity.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Even_is_Equanimity.htm
Have a nice serene day!
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samahita _/_ Sri Lanka.
http://What-Buddha-Said.net
Serene Equanimity...
Absence of Agitation means Zero Stress!
http://what-buddha-said.net/drops/V/Serene_Equanimity.htm
Well said.
Approved or rejected. Essence the same. Arisings . . . preferences? . . . empty . . .
“For those standing in the middle of a lake, when a fearful flood has
arisen, for those overcome by old age and death, speak about an
island, dear Sir, you must explain an island to me, so there will be no
more after this.”
“For those standing in the middle of a lake, when a fearful flood has
arisen, for those overcome by old age and death, I speak about an
island, Kappa: Having nothing, no attachment, this is the island with
nothing beyond, this is called Nibbāna, I say, the end of old age and
death. Knowing this, those who are mindful, who are emancipated in
this very life, come not under Māra’s control, they are not servants to
Māra.”
Kappa’s Questions
Parayanavagga
YES Bhikkhu Samahita, Friendship IS the Greatest-especially with upekkha.
Friends:
No Urge for Delight Ceases the Suffering!
The Venerable Migajala once drew near to the Accomplished One, bowed,
paid his respects, sat down, and asked him: Venerable Sir, it would be good
if the Blessed One would teach me the Dhamma in brief, then I might dwell
alone, withdrawn to the forest, attentive, keen, and determined...
The consummated Buddha then explained:
There are here, Migajala, forms experienceable by the eye, sounds that are
experienceable by the ear, odours experienceable by the nose, many tastes
experienceable by the tongue, tactile objects experienceable by the body,
and mental phenomena cognizable by the mind, that all are quite attractive,
charming, enjoyable, pleasing, enticing, and very tantalizing. In anyone who
seeks delight in them, welcomes them, and clings to them, delight arises!
With the arising of this delight, Migajala, there is the arising of Suffering!
In anyone who does not seek delight in them, who does not welcome them,
who does not remain holding on or clinging to them, that delight ceases...
With the ceasing of this delight, there comes the cessation of suffering...
Then Venerable Migajala, agreeing & rejoicing in what the Buddha had said,
rose from his seat, & after having bowed for the Blessed One, keeping him
on his right, he left for the forest. There, alone, withdrawn, enthusiastic,
devoted, & resolute, Venerable Migajala, realized it by direct experience,
himself, in this very life, by entering and abiding in that unsurpassed goal of
the Noble life for which men of good family rightly go forth from the dusty
household life into homelessness. He directly knew: Destroyed is rebirth,
the holy life has been lived, done is what had to be done, there is no state
of being beyond this! The Venerable Migajala became one of the Arahats...
The addiction to pleasure by sensing is an obsessive slavery!
More on Sense-Desire (Kama) = Hedonism:
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Why_Not.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Just_a_Flash.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Craving_is_Pain.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/Canon/Sutta/AN/AN.I.1-2.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/Canon/Sutta/AN/AN.I.3-4.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/The_Charcoal_Pit.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/Canon/Sutta/AN/AN.I.3-4c.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/wtb/g_m/kaama.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Colourful_but_Muddy.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Mistaken_Reference.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/The_Ocean_of_Stimuli.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Obstructing_Corruption.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/The_Fisherman's_Hook.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Craving_is_Catastrophic.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Constructive_Destruction.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/The_Fire_of_Sense-Desire.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/What_is_Disadvantageous.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Joys_of_the_Flesch_and_Beyond.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Happiness_of_the_Flesh_and_Beyond.htm
Source:
The Grouped Sayings by the Buddha. Samyutta Nikaya. Book IV 35-7
The 6 senses section 35. Thread on Delight: Migajala Sutta (63)
http://www.pariyatti.com/book.cgi?prod_id=948507
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/samyutta/index.html
Crushing the Carrot!
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Crushing_the_Carrot.htm
today, after meditation on explanation of 'simile of the log sutta (darukkanda sutta)' by Dr Lalith Ranathunga (visuddhimagga.info)
i saw
we still have to go further
namely,
not eating carrot
'we think we have a clean stomach'
so we think we are not going to suffer
but
'the same thought that we are not going to suffer is sankhara'
this sankhara it self brings us back to samsara
so
we have to go further
by
convincing us
sankhara is not mine (dukka) and sankhara is not permenant (ego)
to get rid of self/ego
hmmmm.............
a long way to go
Homage to Lord Buddha
He give us 4th Noble Truth
Friends:
Even a Serial Killer can Awaken as a pure Arahat!
Angulimala killed 999 humans, yet later became an eminent Arahat!
Here are his inspirations from his later forest life in harmless bliss:
He whose past misdeeds are covered later by good deeds; illuminates this world, as does
the moon freed from all clouds. Who once did live in negligence, yet then is negligent no
more, he illuminates this world, like the moon freed from all clouds. Who repays the evil
deeds he did, by doing beneficial good instead, he illuminates this world, like the moon
freed from all clouds. Any young Bhikkhu who devotes his life to the Buddha's Dhamma,
he illuminates this world, like the moon freed from all clouds.
Let my enemies but hear this discourse on the Dhamma,
Let them be devoted to the Buddha's Teaching,
Let my enemies wait on those good people,
Who guide others to accept the Dhamma...
Let my enemies pay attention to the Dhamma from time to time, yet again & again,
and hear this Doctrine as told by real men who preach forbearance, of those who also
speak in high praise of kind & gentle friendliness, let them follow up on that Noble
Dhamma by friendly, harmless and gentle behaviour.
For surely those who will not wish to harm you, me or anyone else, those who wish to protect
all beings, tiny or huge, feeble or strong, they will thus approach and attain the all-surpassing
highest peace...
Canal-makers guide the water, Fletchers straighten out the arrow, carpenters plane the planks,
But clever men train to tame the mind! There are some that tame with beatings, with goads and
with whips; But I was tamed by a Worthy who had no knife, rod, nor any weapon. Harmless is the
name I now bear, yet I was dangerous in the past! The name I bear today is true: Now I harm no
living being at all... And though I once lived as a notorious killer named Finger-garland# swept
along by the great flood, I went for refuge to the Buddha. And although I once was cruel,
bloody-handed & named Finger-garland, see the refuge I now have found: The bond of being
has been all cut! While I did many deeds that lead to rebirth in the bad realms of pain,
Yet their result has passed me now and so I can eat free from debt*.
They are fools who have no shame, who give themselves to negligence! But wise are those who
guard alertness and treat it as their greatest treasure! Do not give way to negligence, nor seek
delight in sensual pleasures, but meditate with diligence, and reach this perfect blissful peace...
Well indeed was that choice of mine, let it stand, as it was not wrong: Of all the teachings known
to humans, I have found the very best! Well indeed was that choice of mine, let it stand, since it
was not ill, I have gained the triple knowledge and done all that the Buddha told.
I stayed in forests, at the root of a tree, in the cool mountain caves But wherever I went,
I was always mentally agitated and troubled... But now I rest and rise in easy happiness & happily
I spend my life. For now I am free of Mara's snares, thanx to the Master's pity! A Brahmin was I
by descent, on both sides high and purely born. Today I am the Master's son, My Teacher is the
Dhamma-King... Freed of craving, not clinging, with guarded senses, well restrained, spit out have I
the root of evil, and stilled all mental fermentations.
The Master has been waited on & what should be done has been done!
The heavy load is put down. What induce new becoming is rooted out..
Source: The verses of the Elders. Theragatha: vv. 866-891
http://www.pariyatti.com/book.cgi?prod_id=132595
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/khuddaka/theragatha/index.html
Note on the nick-name: #Finger-garland!
He was named Finger-garland, since he wore a finger of those 999
human beings he killed threaded as a chain around his neck...!
Note on being *free of dept:
The awakened Arahat has done what he should and can thus eat the alms-food given by others
without becoming in dept. Other Bhikkhus eat the alms-food in dept, as there is still something
they have to do...
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/ay/angulimaala.htm
When Evil Turns Good!
Like the Moon Freed from all Clouds...
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/When_Evil_Turns_Good.htm
Friends:
Development of Infinite All-Embracing Kindness!
The Blessed Buddha once said:
Bhikkhus and Friends: There are these four infinite mental states:
The Bhikkhu pervades all beings with all-embracing friendliness...
The Bhikkhu encompass all creatures with universal & endless pity...
The Bhikkhu permeates all individuals with infinite and mutual joy...
The Bhikkhu suffuses all living mortals with unlimited equanimity...
First in one direction, then in the 2nd, then the 3rd, & finally the 4th,
above, below, all around, in every location, unifying himself with all beings,
he pervades the entire universe with a kind and all-embracing friendliness,
with an all-encircling compassion & pity, with an all-enveloping mutual and
altruistic joy, and with an all-encompassing imperturbable equanimity, fully
utilizing a refined mind, made great, vast, profound, infinite, immeasurable,
released from all hate, anger, irritation, opposition and stubbornness...
Source: DN 33
Because of hate, overwhelmed and obsessed by hate, one lives while
doing evil deeds, speaking wrong words, and thinking bad thoughts...
Thus one neither really understands one's own welfare, nor the
welfare of others, nor the welfare of both... If, however, this hate
is overcome and subdued, then one lives while doing good deeds,
speaking kind words, and thinking advantageous thoughts...
Therefore one really knows, what is one's own welfare, for the
welfare of others, & for the welfare of both one self & others...
Source: AN 3:55
More on these 4 Infinite and Divine States (Appamañña Brahma-Vihara):
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/wtb/b_f/brahma_vihaara.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/The_Buddha_on_Noble_Frienship.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Selfless_Friendship_is_Sweetest.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/All_Embracing_Kindness.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Rejoicing_Bliss_is_Mudita.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Blazing_Friendliness.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/United_in_Harmony.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/The_Good_Friend.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Goodwill_Encore.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Blazing_&_Bright.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Friendliness_Frees.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Kalyanamitta.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Metta.htm
Have a nice infinite day!
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samahita, Sri Lanka.
http://What-Buddha-Said.net
The 4 Infinite States!
All-Embracing is Universal Kindness :-)
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Infinite_and_Divine_Classic.htm
Friends:
This World is Messed Up!
The Buddha once told a deity:
This world is suffering from Death,
Troubled by ageing, decay and sickness,
Wounded by the Dart of constant Craving!
Always is it burning with Desire and Lust...
This world is addicted to Delight and Pleasure,
Since dragged around by this urge and longing,
Craving must be cut, to break free from bondage
and reach the only absolute freedom: Nibbana...
Comments:
How can there be any freedom if there still is craving, longing and
clinging to something... Craving is Mental Slavery!
Craving is a Prison of urge...
Source:
The Grouped Sayings by the Buddha. Samyutta Nikaya I 40
http://www.pariyatti.com/book.cgi?prod_id=948507
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/samyutta/index.html
On Craving as the Cause of all Suffering see:
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Craving_is_Pain.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/The_3_kinds_of_Craving.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/The_2nd_Noble_Truth_on_The_Cause_of_Suffering.htm
Actually Factual...
This World is Messed Up in Craving!
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Actually_Factual.htm
It's an awful reality if everything you delight in creates suffering....
Agree - lots of things I delight in don't create suffering.
I threw a balloon for about half an hour last night with my two kids. To see the laughter and joy it brought them was delightful indeed!
I watched my three kids jump up and down on a trampoline for about half an hour too. The only thing that brought them down was me telling them about the rules of jumping on a trampoline:
1 at a time
no summersaults
...
Rules rules rules
My rules based on things I have learned; and I selfishly don't want to have to look after them for the rest of their lives because they were paralysed from the neck down...
Funny how there is always another perspective you can see things from.
Do you think they do somersaults while you're not there?
Marin Luther King Jr. was once approximately quoted as saying: "It's not what's wrong with the world that scares people. What really scares them is that everything is all right."
exactly the Buddha's point...and why he sought an escape.
We discussed this issue on another thread rather recently.
What I wrote back then was that if in this sea of affliction, you can find a respite to suffering by indulging in activities you enjoy, why deprive yourself from them.
The difference is in the craving. Eating a chocolate cookie because you enjoy it is totally different to gobbling up the whole package to make up for an inner feeling of void.
And even if there is suffering implicit in most things we love in life (e.g: our beloved ones will one day die, tomorrow we might be made redundant, we could get ill), let's live a day at a time, and enjoy this present moment as it is, instead of being on the watch out for suffering lurking everywhere. When the moment comes to meet affliction face to face, we'll think of something to cope with it.
That said, I love seeing my boy play, especially when Dad does the supervising and I can sit back to enjoy that cookie at last...!!
I just enjoy reading my friends' comments on this forum.
Believe it or not.
The world is messed up because 2% of the world have acces to 80% of all recourses. We are headed for a world of tyranny and suppression and most don't even have a clue it is happening.
What do you need to control an entire race? First is money: They control the actual source of money. Second is dependence: They own money, they own the food industry, they own/influence healthcare by suppressing natural remedies (including cancer...) and they control mainstream media.
The only thing missing is the internet and that is already being attacked on all fronts by government's and media all over.
Controlling the masses isn't hard. You create and influence the norms, what is insane and sane, what is possible and impossible and because people fear what other's think of them you then have a HUGE army of individuals who will attack anyone willing to speak his mind. It no longer is "what will the government do if I say this?" It's "What will my friends think of me? Or my mom and dad? I might get fired for this..."
Schools create the easygoing consumer who receives a certain kind of information and it is necessary that they respond in reflex to that information (Why do you think it takes 12+ years?) Ask yourself what skills you really learned in school other then the neccesity to fit in and keeping your mouth shut? 12 years... think about it.
It is now perfectly legal for the US government to torture you and kill you if they simply class you as a terrorist threat. We are being watched more and more. Nation crossing zones are already in place (they already close to succeeded with the EU). People are being chipped at the hospital for "safety purposes" but it has already been confirmed that they also track a database of people to track you down.
The US has been caught 30 times testing out toxic chemicals on their own civilians including sterilyzing substances to control overpopulation. 30 times, and that's only the times they were caught.
Buddhism is about personal suffering and suffering caused by the mind BUT we humans aren't thriving for very different outside reasons that are very real and potentially race threatening, I think people like on these forums who have atleast partially woken up to the fact that no: we aren't just greedy apes who will fight and kill eachother without some dictator or authority watching our every move ARE in fact responsible for spreading that awareness into the world and TRY to make it a better place. Isn't that what compassion is about? Helping your fellow men instead of sitting by the sidelines, withdrawing?
Not necessarily, no.
Isn't that what compassion is about? Helping your fellow men instead of sitting by the sidelines, withdrawing?
compassion is knowing the 'real suffering' and help others to 'get rid of suffering'
that is what :Lord Buddhas do
that is what who knows real suffering should do
if one knows how Dependent Origination works one knows 'what i suffer today brings by what i made before'
one can involve in helping to reduce worldly suffering of fellow beings and animals with equanimity gain through the knowledge of Dependent Origination
if we get angry with people who create suffering for other people and animal we create future suffering for us only
(this is how Dependent Origination works and what delusion is)
do not get deluded,
but work with equanimity
know the limits, and that is the wisdom
(i know it is easier to said than done)
All of a sudden I have waned to visions of "Metropolis" and "The Wall..."
@dharmamom -- Yes ... "The Wall" ... what a nifty movie.
@upekka But knowing that for the majority in this world suffering is directly caused by hunger starvation and poverty then how do you live with that and help when you know that is caused by a select few? Anger won't help sure.. but making people aware of this does.
"I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated Governments in the civilized world no longer a Government by free opinion, no longer a Government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a Government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men." -Woodrow Wilson, after signing the Federal Reserve into existence
Indeed! My feeling now is the thread is slowly falling into the meat-grinder...
No No No NO nO No nO @woah93. The world is as it is, and you are not in control -though you might desire mastery of it, it is mastering you... And the way it is is unsatisfactory...
Now take a step back - reflect on this: @Upekka is right. Don't look at specifics and start from the beginning perhaps again - 4NTs.
No one is really in 'control', and this realisation can lead to a power play between the people who have been given responsibility by us to lead us (although in the current view of democratic society - its a bit piss poor; but thats all we have to go by).
Metta
Meat grinder - maybe - but who is the meat and who is grinding it for their consumption...
I understand your view @Woah93
Sorry, @Woah93! My comment was not intended to be callous. All of a sudden the thread felt gloomy. Sometimes I prefer humour (even if black humour, it would seem) to make a reality that I find hard to swallow more palatable. There is a lighter side to life than the one you described. Maybe you could work from there to help in making the changes you want to see. Otherwise you are powerless. I don't think people sit watching from the sidelines. I'm sure we're all doing what we can anonymously every day to propel some positive change in our society.
On a lighter note: ;0)...
No need to apologize @dharmamom It IS hard to swallow... So much suffering, illness, hunger, thirst and why? Because some individuals fortunate enough to be born in a rich banking family are blinded by power and greed.
I just worry about this a lot since their sinister agenda seems to be working and there is so little I can do about that, it's just terrifying to picture what it would be like if the new world order really does pull through...
Sorry for kind of derailing the thread guys. And yes @dharmamom there IS a brighter side to it, there ARE a LOT of people out there who are actively making positive changes out there and my heart warms up reading about it.
We aren't powerless, far from it. But most aren't AWARE of the power we actually have. Which is why I think it's important to share what is really going on. It might be gloomy, it might not be positive or uplifting but I think it's a great catalyst to get other people to wake up and make positive changes themselves. If only everybody meditated huh...
yes indeed
Waoh93...have you been on this forum before with a different screen name?
It seems to me that you enjoy more the rant against the rich, than some plan to do something.
And guess what, assuming you're a Westerner, to many in the third world, you are rich. I heard that so often in Thailand, even though I was very much middle class.
We are already there and have been, maybe always have been. Some 2% are better at disguising their stuff and some 98% are more willing than other 98%ers to settle for the next episode of the Kardashians or have been oppressed so long they are grateful for every scrap. It's not going to get worse, it's already that bad.
The Buddha's prescription covers all of it and there are no BUTs for very different reasons. It's all in there. Dictators and all. There's nothing happening now that hasn't happened before, not really. It doesn't diminish your concern at all, but puts it in proper perspective. Just the thoughts of someone who basically agrees with you but has had a couple of decades worth of time more to consider it.
This view is close but still misses the target. As they say, close but no cigar.
It depends on whether helping them is practising Idiot Compassion or not.
If we had been born, let's say, in 1880 somewhere in Europe, chances are high we would have lost a son and a grandson in two wars. In Victorian times, a whole family, including our children, would have slaved hours on end in carbon mines in the gloomiest working conditions.
And I don't want to go as far back as Egypt, the Roman Empire and the Indian Caste system.
The wealthy Russians of today were already filling their pockets in Communist times, and so are many Chinese today behind the egalitarian fib.
And no matter how much green organizations bring the public eye's attention to environmental catastrophes, woods continue to be chopped down every day and Japan continues killing whales in Patagonia scottsfree.
Human nature being what it is, a big mindset revolution is called for.
There's a lot to be done, but we have to acknowledge we have also come a long way. We can't cope with it all on an individual basis, but your humble effort might add to the biggest goal. Focus on that. What can you do in your household, in your children's school, in your neighbourhood? It's action that makes a difference.
"People who wish to change the world, should start with a small Garden."
I like that.
I also like "People who wish to change the world, should start."
Pithy.
And pertinent.
~Thumbs up~