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On the Welcome page on puredhamma.net, I read that the three main misconceptions prevalent today could be responsible for rebirth in the apayas, not just blocking the path to Nibbana. That gave me the chill and led me to ask the question.
In my circle, Anicca, Dukkha, Anatta are interpreted the usual, “wrong” way; and anapanasati is taken as breath meditation; and nobody knows about the gandhabba.
I do not “teach” anybody. I do call myself Buddhist, and attend vipassana retreats; therefore, occasionally an average person asks me about “Buddhism”. I was concerned about consequences if I gave misinterpretations in what I say, as well as about the “teachers” in my group.
Thank you.
Sadhu! Thank you! That was a big help with the clarification of what cetana means.
I’d like to follow up with a speculation on the weight of kamma of this situation and ask for your comments on my thinking. Assessing this based on the 2 key factors, we have:
1) You pointed out that the dasa akusala involved is micca ditthi. In this case, the “teacher” harms himself because he’s staying in samsara longer until he has correct ditthi.
2) He teaches this to the general public. In his mind, he teaches Buddha Dhamma, or specifically bhavana; but he just calls it “mindfulness meditation” to make it sound neutral, i.e. not connected to a religion, which gives it a wider appeal. Most “students” may not even know the pali terms anapanasati or Kāyānupassanā (mindulness of bodily positions and movements as taught here).
The average student of this person gets a temporary calm from practicing this. So, using factor number 2, can we say that the kamma vipaka of his action, even with micca ditthi in it, is minimal or negligible? There’s no real harm to the student; in fact, some find this calm beneficial.
Respectfully,
Lang
