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I feel like we’ve had similar experiences. Very recently, I tried sharing Dhamma with a (kind) Christian girl that I liked and whom I believed has enough paramita to be able to comprehend the teachings. I spoke about the “anicca” nature of the world described by Buddha. She immediately brought up the Genesis chapter of Bible which allegedly describes the origin of world’s “brokenness”. I questioned it by asking questions like, Why God chose to punish the descendants of the original sinners, why uncountable animals are suffering, etc. and also the theology itself by questions like why there is so much inequality in the world. She said she couldn’t find the answers to former questions and only answered the latter by saying, “There is a lot of inequality because of the sin. I believe that Jesus died for my sin and His promise is to come back to this world and save those that accept Him. Then there will be no death, sorrow and grief…”
She added at the end, “Justice will be served to those who don’t accept Him. They will be thrown into a lake of fire.” It sounded like she was telling me to F off, intentionally or not. So at that point, there was nothing I could do other than wish her well in disappointment.
As part of comprehending the anicca nature of this world, we must detach ourselves from outcomes that we don’t control. This made realize that we should inform others (even those we care about) without any expectation.
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Of course, an anariya arupa brahma won’t be able to attain Nibbana in that bhava. That is why I said, “As long as one has the intelligence, wisdom and sensory faculty capable of receiving dhamma input…”. A deaf person can’t listen but if they can see, they can read and ponder the dhamma concepts written by ariya.
The monk doesn’t elaborate why one can’t become a sotapanna by reading and contemplating dhamma concepts. As long as one has the intelligence, wisdom and sensory faculty capable of receiving dhamma input, I don’t see why a deaf person can’t be a sotapanna. It might be harder than for those who can listen though.
I don’t know if you plan to mention this in that post but I think it would also be worth pointing out that Buddha banned the use of Sanskrit words. In the forum I see some folks subconsciously using words like “karma” and “dharma” which should be discouraged in my opinion. We should make it clear that Buddha didn’t “copy” from the Vedas (Hinduism).
I agree, this website is the most valuable English source in the world right now. The fact that Dr. Lal has it for free speaks volumes.
As for people dismissing it because it does not match “any other interpretation of Buddhism”, keep in mind that even Gautam Buddha’s work was controversial. After attaining Buddhahood, his popularity erupted in South Asia. Many Vedas followers called him a Nāstika out of fear because he rejected their doctrine and many of the commonly held practices of that time like cast system, animal sacrifices, etc. If you are doing something right, there will always be people unhappy with you because they fear change.
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I think I can summarize what skywander is trying to ask. This website, for example, is laid out in such a way that you wouldn’t need to be an ariya right from the beginning to comprehend the deep meanings. If an English speaking puthujjana discovered this website a 1000 years from now, they could (apparently) become a sotapanna by reading posts here. So the question is why the Tipitaka wasn’t written in the same way.
For example, many suttas that discuss PS do not explicitly mention that sankhara refers to abhisankhara, viññana refers to kamma viññana, etc.
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Yes. It is possible that the Buddha was referring to visible expansions of a nearest star that eventually “blew up” as a supernova.
The view of sky would certainly be a lot different billions of years from now. The following is based on the prediction by NASA:
Collision of Andromeda with Milky Way:
We can’t really be too sure. So whether Buddha was referring to the increase of temperature in stages or the visible craziness in the sky, the most important message of that sutta is the anicca nature of this world. Another significant statement by Buddha:
So impermanent are conditions, so unstable are conditions, so unreliable are conditions. This is quite enough for you to become disillusioned, dispassionate, and freed regarding all conditions.
Many concepts in Vedic literature, including karma (for kamma) got into the Vedas from Buddha Kassapa, who was on Earth before Buddha Gotama.
Many Buddhist texts say that Buddha “burrowed” the idea of “karma” from Hinduism. This was my assumption too before I found the correct interpretation of kamma/kamma vipaka which is a lot different from the “supernatural force of morality governed by Gods” idea of karma. This foundational concept can be used as an axiom to examine the self-consistency of Buddha Dhamma which makes it appropriate for a scientific approach. Isn’t it ironic that the exact same thing has happened since Mahayana Buddhism started using the Sanskrit terms with Vedic ideas?
But it is crazy to think that humans have been here for billions of years. Considering the fact that most of our technologies have been innovated in the past few thousand years, I can’t imagine the sheer number of wars, pandemic, natural disasters, etc that have caused mass extinctions all over the planet. What a crazy world we live in!
Since people were unaware of such details then, the Buddha probably provided that analogy with the appearance of “seven Suns.”
Or could it be that the Buddha was referring to visible expansions of the nearest stars? From modern science, we know that stars expand over long periods of time, right? And there are stars nearby our solar system that are a lot more massive than our sun. So it would make sense to look like new suns are appearing in the sky as those stars expand and increase in size.
It is interesting because there is a Hindu text which also refers to the seven suns. For example, in the Vishnu Purana: Book VI: Chapter III:
Thus fed, through his intervention, with abundant moisture, the seven solar rays dilate to seven suns 6, whose radiance glows above, below, and on every side, and sets the three worlds and Pátála on fire. The three worlds, consumed by these suns, become rugged and deformed throughout the whole extent of their mountains, rivers, and seas; and the earth, bare of verdure, and destitute of moisture, alone remains, resembling in appearance the back of a tortoise.
The date of composition of this text is disputed but estimated around 400–900 CE. So it is possible that they copied it from Gautam Buddha but I’m not really sure. There were yogis before him that could recall past lives and see the formations and destructions of the world according to suttas.
P.S. I love what Buddha says towards the end of this Sutta:
Mendicants, who would ever think or believe that this earth and Sineru, king of mountains, will burn and crumble and be no more, except for one who has seen the truth?
From the perspective of Modern Astronomy, we know this is exactly what will happen to Earth and our solar system billions of years into the future when the Sun becomes a red giant. But for the people back then, there was no confirmation from modern science. So it was quite a significant statement from the Buddha that only the one that has put in the work to discover the truth for themselves can be fully sure about anything.
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I encountered a few people on the internet complaining about the inconsistencies in English translations of the Tipitaka. I suggested them to not rely on those and check out this website.
I see, so it is safe to say that those English translations are not accurate. Tathagata experiences vipāka viññāṇa with pabhassara citta.
Dr. Lal wrote: “Since five entities have stopped arising in Buddha, rupa DO NOT imply rupa in the external world. They refer to “rupa” that arise in the mind together with defilements.“
Does this refer to the subtle rupa generated by javana citta in viññāna paccayā nāmarūpa? A Tathagata can still generate rupa using mental power, right?
My translation:
“Bāhuna, the Realized One has escaped from ten things, so that he lives detached, liberated, his mind free of limits. What ten?
Attachment to Rupa (Dhammā, Dhātu, etc.)…
Attachment to (Mind-made) feelings…
Defiled Perception…
Abhisaṅkhāra (negative mental volition)…
Kamma viññāṇa (Defiled Consciousness)…
Rebirth…
Old Age (as there is no future existence)…
Death (as there is no future existence)…
Future Suffering (associated with Rebirth)
Mental Defilements of Lobha, Dosa, and Moha…”
My mano sankhara suddenly caused some cittas involving the memory of this thread, so I wanted to get back to mend things. I think I need to say sorry for the way I spoke above. I started on a quest about 8 months ago to discover as much truth about the world as I can. I have spoken to many people about issues that tend to go beyond what people normally discuss like the mystery of consciousness, death & life, etc. The sad part is that most of them have been really ignorant towards me. Creationists have tried to lure me into their religion. Some interactions I had with Christian missionaries honestly felt like a pedophile trying to groom its victim. They self-proclaim to be moral people but when you bring up doubts like the problem of suffering, they responded with anger and contradictions. Many Materialists, on the other hand, act like they know everything about the world. Yet, when you try to discuss the complexity of the conscious experience and the possibility that the mind may not be what the brain does, they become insecure and act like it’s a “sin”. Here’s a cry-bully materialist video. Then there are those who don’t even seem to have any urge to investigate things. Because I had many negative interactions, I feel like I was a little insecure about my stance on the mysteries of the world. But I am really impressed by the responses here, especially the way Dr. Lal handled this thread. Good job!
Yash wrote: “Then they will repeat the same answer! ” We also have compassion and want to spread Christianity to every person”
I know they will say that. But if their God is as almighty and compassionate as they say he is, they shouldn’t need to spread their religion. Someone born in a place like North Korea, for example, wouldn’t have a chance to get any exposure to this anyway. If God wants all of us to be Christian, everyone should be born in a Christian family. Animals in the wild shouldn’t need to kill and eat each other to survive too.
On a shallow level, it might look they’re the same things but someone with even a basic understanding of Dhamma knows it is light years ahead of cartoon Bible. A Sakadagami obviously wants to do their best to help others before they die. But their help doesn’t involve telling people to embrace some divine imaginary sugar-daddy with cheap faulty promise of eternal life and threats of eternal damnation otherwise. It involves teaching people how they can use their own efforts to see the suffering associated with this world and ultimately be free from it.
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