December 26, 2024 at 9:17 pm
#53007
Keymaster
1. “Do you mean that any thought without raga, dosa or moha, without wrong views and without wrong actions is mindfulness?”
- Yes.
2. “So, for example, to spend the whole day thinking about the long, long history of China is being mindful?”
- No. Thinking about anything associated with the world is done with moha or avijja.
Let me try to explain that as simply as possible.
- Existence anywhere in this world (as a human, animal, Deva, Brahma, etc.) prolongs suffering. Even though humans (or Devas or Brahmas) experience both happiness and suffering, we are all born in the lower four realms (including the animal realm) most of the time in the “beginningless rebirth process.” In other words, any living being experiences much more suffering than happiness in the long term.
- To end suffering, we need to attain Nibbana. That means breaking the ten “samsaric bonds” (samyojana) that bind a mind to the rebirth process. It happens in stages. One must first understand the “worldview of the Buddha” to attain the first stage of Nibbana, i.e., the Sotapanna stage. See “Attaining Nibbāna Requires Understanding Buddha’s Worldview.” I provided that link in my above comment. I suggest you read that carefully first, including the links in that post. It is not easy to understand the “worldview of the Buddha,” so please take the time to read it carefully.
- Based on your questions about that post, I can suggest more to read. However, since I do not know your level of understanding of Buddha’s teachings, I can only answer questions about specific issues that come up.
- If you are new to learning Buddha Dhamma, I suggest scanning through posts in the following sections (especially if the above post is too advanced). Moral Living and Fundamentals, Essential Buddhism | Pure Dhamma, Buddhism – In Charts | Pure Dhamma. (in that order). You can stay on this thread in the forum, but please refer to any specific post that you ask the questions.