The question to be asked is: “Is there a way to check who is teaching the correct Dhamma?”
The only way to do that is to “find holes” in a given interpretation.
– If I may add, through one’s practice as well.
What I can say is that the Buddha dhamma that I learned from Venerable Waharaka Thero, here (Puredhamma Lal), other Puredhamma participants here and other thero’s / teachers that teaches the dhamma that leads to nibbana. I can clearly see the change in my mano, vaci, kaya sankhara’s compared to 10,5,1 years ago and recently, the change has been quite dramatic . . .
On DW, I pretty much almost went through most of the comments (not all) in the topic about the teachings of Ven. Waharaka Abhayaratanalankara Thero. As much as I can see, pretty much no one was able to refute (to my satisfaction) on what Lal posted on there. I wrote extra information about this, but decided to delete it since there’s no benefit for me to say more about this topic.
Anyways . . .I feel the Buddha dhamma situation out there is quite the mess . . . People not being taught properly; when the chance to learn and comprehend the dhamma that leads to nibbana comes, many are not able to see and use it. Through my browsing experience through Buddhist forums, I often see many . . . repeating questions being asked, some none beneficial or important and some is just a total waste of time and mind energy. Some discussions end up in arguments, with commitment of vaci abhisankhara involved. It seems likes some are there to “have fun”
It’s like . . . they go there to learn or have fun . . . but end up blocking their own path to Nibbana through akusala mula p.s. Never really thought about this deeply, but now typing this, I’m asking myself does it make sense to do something like this?
But ya . . . it’s quite . . . depressing and disheartening (best way that I can put this, but not really since I have been down this road so so many times before . . . even in the mundane world ) to see the current state of the Buddha dhamma and the practitioners of the Buddha Dhamma. Recently, I came across a post that shared a part of a translated sutta, I never knew such a translation was out there.
asubhā bhāvetabbā rāgassa pahānāya, mettā bhāvetabbā byāpādassa pahānāya, ānāpānassati bhāvetabbā vitakkupacchedāya, aniccasaññā bhāvetabbā asmimānasamugghātāya. Variant: ānāpānassati → ānāpānasati (bj, pts1ed)”
“They should develop the perception of ugliness to give up greed, love to give up hate, mindfulness of breathing to cut off thinking, and perception of impermanence to uproot the conceit ‘I am’.
There are many more people out there that know more Pali and read the sutta’s more than me. But after seeing how those “bhavana’s are being translated into English, I was kinda shocked . . . It’s up to each person to decide what is right / correct for them . . .But my own understanding of those “translated bhavana’s” is totally different than what’s being translated as.
So fortunate . . . to be able to come across other explanations / teachings that makes sense, different from what’s usually taken at face value . . . Otherwise, I might try to see ugliness in everything and get patigha or try to huff and puff my way to Nibbana.
At our current time, coming across and being able to see / comprehend some truths from the Buddha, Dhamma, “Sangha”, Venerable Waharaka Abhayaratanalankara Thero, Puredhamma (Lal), us forum participants here, and other teachers of similar Dhamma. I feel / know that we are some of the most fortunate living beings in this world. May we all satta’s be able to come across the Buddha dhamma that helps us to attain and attain the supreme peace and freedom of Nibbana.