May 31, 2024 at 6:06 am
#49969
Keymaster
“I wish resolving this issue was easier.”
1. We have reached a point where I can no longer give advice or explanations along this line based purely on “mundane logic,” as practiced by mundane philosophers.
- When one tries to understand Buddha Dhamma through “mundane logic,” that does not work. A mind has to undergo a paradigm change.
- This is summarized in the phrase “atakkāvacaraṁ” (beyond mundane logic/inquiry) in the “Ajāta Sutta (Iti 43)” that describes Nibbana.
2. To put it in another way: If one needs to learn to swim, he can learn about swimming strokes, how to float, etc., only to a limited extent without getting into the water.
- Buddha Dhamma cannot be “taught” at a deeper level; it must be learned. If that was possible, the Buddha could have “saved” everyone living at that time. Even he could not do that.
- That involves learning the basics and starting practice.
- You asked many questions: ” Why exactly are you so confident that no one other than Buddha, not even Arahants can discover those aspects of Nature? If Arahants recited the finalized Abhidhamma, should it not be explicitly mentioned that this is the work of Buddha? Interestingly, it also doesn’t seem mentioned anywhere in the Tipitaka that “Abhidhamma is a later addition which was invented by bhikkhus” or something like that…”
- My confidence is based on my practice and understanding. One’s confidence about the Buddha, Dhamma, and the Sangha (not merely bhikkhus, but on the Noble Persons) grows with one’s understanding. One first becomes a Sotapanna Anugami by cultivating wisdom or panna (called dhammanusari) or by cultivating faith or saddha (called saddhanusari). The latter is not “blind faith” but is based on panna to an extent. It takes an effort to undergo that paradigm change. Some succeed, and some don’t because they are unwilling to spend enough time and effort.