On August 21, 2020, at 3:18 pm, Lal posted:
Hello Grenier. The following numbers refer to your post above.
1. I am not sure which version of the eBook that you referred to. It could be an old version.
– The eBook, “Pure Dhamma: A quest to recover Buddha’s true teachings” is updated each week by Seng Kiat Ng. You can get the newest version at,
“Pure Dhamma Essays in Book Format”
Can you check and see whether that statement is there in the post at the website:
“What Reincarnates? – Concept of a Lifestream”
– Please check the post and let me know if you find that statement there.
In the future, please check the post on the website and refer to the bullet # there.
2. It does not really matter which dictionary you refer to. If that meaning is not compatible with the Tipitaka, it needs to be rejected.
– However, that decision is up to each individual. I have given my reasons for rejecting that translation of the word “gati.”
3. The “teachers” that you refer to (Purana Kassapa, Makkhali Gosala, Ajita Kesakambala, Pakudha Kaccayana, and Sanjaya Belatthaputta) were contemporaries of the Buddha.
– They had teachings that were OPPOSED TO the teachings of the Buddha.
– The Buddha had shown their teachings to be wrong and by the time of Buddha’s Parinibbana (death), most of those wrong teachings had been discarded by society.
This is why I asked you at the beginning what kind of exposure you have had to Buddha Dhamma.
– So, your confusion in some of these cases seems to be reasonable. But you do need to read/listen to some background material.
– Again, I recommend finishing the lecture set by Bhikkhu Bodhi.
– Following is another reference that may be useful:
“A Sketch of the Buddha’s Life“