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No, the Commentaries will not help either. First, one needs to sort out which Commentaries are reliable. For example, Visuddhimagga is not. I mentioned the reliable Commentaries included in the Tipitaka in those posts. However, even those cannot be understood without some basics.
Why didn’t they make it easier to understand though? For example, things are really simplified with elaborate meanings and translations in this website. Shouldn’t the commentaries in Tipitaka serve a similar purpose?
That clarifies things quite a lot. Buddha’s denial of immortal soul/unchanging self is often mistaken as denial of existence. Many threads on this issue on platforms like reddit are quite depressing to read.
In Anidassana Viññāṇa – What It Really Means
The question is not whether there is a “self” or not. Is it wise to think that it is worthwhile to have the perception of a “self” and do things only for the pleasure of the “self”?
So, having the perception of self means clinging to the 5 aggregates or thinking that it is worthwhile to take them as one’s own. “Own” or “mine” refers to something that can be maintained to one’s satisfaction (icca). Of course there is nothing in this world that can be maintained to one’s satisfaction in the long run. So losing the perception of self simply means no longer thinking the aggregates are worth taking as one’s own i.e. anicca and anatta. This explains why an arahant doesn’t become a zombie after losing the perception of self. They experience the 5 aggregates but know that they are anicca, anatta and dukkha which is why an arahant’s mind doesn’t attach to anything in this world.
Does this summarize it well?
Yeah, many concepts are connected to each other so it would make sense for them to be repeated from different angles. Buddha had to interact with people from varying understanding levels too. But I still think it is massive enough to not be considered an ordinary religion.
Thank you for sharing your experience, Yash. I find it utterly relatable as I too was enthusiastic about sharing the Dhamma with other people. Sadly, I have been unsuccessful in convincing even one person.
Few of my dear friends said they will look into it but later when I ask them basic questions like “What is kamma vipaka?”, I get silence. One of them even said this world is too mysterious which is why they don’t want to cling to any views. I tried to make him understand that it is not about clinging to any view but working on discovering the truth for yourself. It didn’t work.
I agree with your comment: “So even though it’s possible that people may understand the Dhamma, they aren’t able to come across it!” In my view, it seems like many people’s unwillingness to consider a worldview different from their preconceived beliefs is the biggest barrier for them. When I tell people I study Buddha’s teachings, many instantly start assuming things about me and Dhamma that are totally false. I don’t bring up Buddha Dhamma that often in casual conversations anymore, unless I’m convinced they are receptive and open to deep inquiry.
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Size of Buddha’s Tipitaka is 20,000 pages. (It can be stretched to nearly 3 times the original size like I mentioned above)
I want to include more religious texts to make a quick comparison:
- Bible: 1281 pages
- Quran: 604 pages
- Bhagavad Gita: 1106 pages
- The Vedas: 1988 pages
Now we need to consider the fact that most religious texts are full of mythical stories that don’t have much significance in the scientific and historical context. In contrast, Buddha’s teachings are direct explanations of nature that are not only inter-consistent, but can be shown to be fully consistent with the observed facts of nature.
Can we just take a moment to appreciate the fact that Buddha dhamma is light years ahead of other religions?
In religious discussions, I regularly hear people say that Buddha was like any other religious teacher. They compare him to Jesus, Moses, Muhammad, Krishna, etc. acting like he belongs in the same category or in most cases, they act like he is inferior because “he was just a human”. I can’t help but cringe and feel sorry for those people who are completely oblivious of Buddha’s unique message.
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I just went through that post. Calling it legendary would be an understatement. Thank you, Dr. Lal!
P.S. I also went through the new default page on the website about Abhidhamma Piṭaka and I can see that you provided another evidence from Vinaya Piṭaka where it is explicitly stated that Buddha himself taught Abhidhamma. I’m sure Bhikkhu Bodhi would be appreciative of your work. Thanks for that!
Thank you for the elaborate response, Dr. Lal. I am fluent in Nepali and Hindi which have their roots in Sanskrit. Pali is obviously more different from these languages than Sinhala but I have seen many similarities too which makes me think it should not be too difficult for me to learn it.
What’s the best way of reading the suttas though? Should it be chanted, almost like you’re singing it, or read like a normal book?
Also, if someone is well versed in Pali and they use the help of the commentaries present in the Tipitaka, would they not be able to understand the deep meanings embedded in the suttas?
I am grateful for the work done by people like Dr. Michael Sabom in studying and legitimizing the phenomena of Near Death Experiences. But what I don’t understand is why some doctors in the west think Christianity can explain them. The most commonly occurring aspects of NDE don’t include people waking up and saying “Jesus is the savior” or anything like that. I have spoken to a few Christians about this phenomena and it felt like they want to believe it is just hallucination/dream because they believe only they should have “heavenly” or pleasant experiences after death.
Females have gandhabba too. I’m positive they can’t produce semen. Lol
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LOL something similar happened to me in Tennessee. I was in a college campus and walked on top of a piece of land rumored to be “sacred”. A group of guys confronted me and said “Yo dude, you can’t walk there. This land is sacred.. blah blah”. The funny thing is that land was open (with no fence) and there was no sign either. I told them I’m new here so I didn’t know and they understood. In situations like these, I would say it is better to try not to heat up the situation and walk away as soon as you can. Of course such ritualistic beliefs are dumb but there are people who strongly believe those and if they suddenly hear someone say it’s stupid (even though it is), they can think their personal beliefs are being attacked. Plus such events are not worth wasting our energy on.
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It’s not about learning Pali, but rather which meaning to use for that word. As mentioned each of them can have quite different (but related) meanings!
Yes, when you are familiar with the language, you can effortlessly use and understand the different meanings of words in different contexts. For example, the word “right” in English can have multiple meanings:
“on your right“
“you are right“
“human right“
“right party”
Someone who is well versed in English language doesn’t need to worry about this word having multiple meanings. Their mind will automatically grasp the right meaning according to the specific context. But someone new to this can have issues. This is why I emphasized the value of learning the language! Of course it will take time to get to a decent level, till then we have to rely on mindfully using the right meanings provided to us from a source like this website, for example.
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Thank you for your warmhearted responses, Gad and Thomas. She is a Christian and sadly a little gullible which is why she has been brainwashed by her surrounding to an extent. It would take some effort on my end to help her realize the value of Dhamma. I doubt if it would be possible to do so in a superficial relationship.
It is true that everything is anicca, which is why sooner or later we would have to part again. But the chance of her embracing the Dhamma makes me think it could be worth it. I think I will try to get back to her. Thanks again, guys!
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