I have an advice for you Yash don’t waste your time arguing with them. If you see that they don’t want to know anything else is better to stop the debate. Some may even threaten and insult you.
- The vast majority of them are narrow-minded people who categorically refuse anything contrary to their comfort zone. I clarified the vast majority because some are open-minded people who want to understand other points. The basis of these beliefs is unquestioned faith. In the Bible we often see Jesus saying “Do not be afraid, only believe” or “Go in peace, your faith has saved you”. “He who believes in me will have eternal life” He who does not believe will not be accepted into the kingdom of heaven. You already have a great insight into what type of person you are dealing with. Do you want to waste your time arguing with this type of person??
- In my case, it’s my merits. A monk told me it was my past pāramis who made it possible that despite being born in an environment where micchādiṭṭhi was predominant, I was able to learn the Dhamma and accept it. One of my greatest wishes is that the Dhamma spreads in Africa. The Dhamma would solve 99% of the problems of this continent. The problem is that micchādiṭṭhi is extremely strong there and it would take a lot of work. In the long term, I hope to work with the existing monastery there to better present the Dhamma and explain the key and important concepts of the Dhamma. It won’t be easy but there will be people open-minded enough to accept the Dhamma. (It was a little digression to say that we can hope that others understand the Dhamma like us but it can take time. In my case I would like Africans to understand the Buddha Dhamma.) It was books and painful experiences that brought me to the Dhamma (In this life anyway). I am not even a sotāpanna, even today. I am just developing the pāramis for the attainment of magga phala. Others will have different elements that will cause them to question these beliefs.
- Of course, some need a little more guidance to learn. If you think the person is open, go for it, otherwise it’s doomed. Soon I will write on the forum a teaching of the comments which describes 4 types of people found in the world. This comment helped me understand that everyone is different when coming into contact with the Dhamma.
