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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.
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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It’s all about the context. South Asian languages are utterly different from English. It is worth learning Pali if one is serious about practicing Dhamma!
I agree with you guys. We have all been instinctively programmed to value our lives above anything else. No one wants to die. No one wants to stop existing. That fact that most religious people believe in an eternal afterlife teaches us about this very nature. It indeed requires a great deal of effort with a good balance of open-mindedness and skepticism to walk the Noble path and make progress.
I am glad I found this community where I can interact with wise folks. I hope you guys stay healthy and continue making valuable progress towards Nibbana!
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I have a habit of summarizing stuff after going through much information. Didn’t mean to be derogatory but wanted to sum up how the Buddhist view on NDE differs from that of general public’s into that little post lol
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Many NDE researchers say, “Majority of the NDE cases are positive with descriptions of heaven and other worldly beings (angels) which suggest that the after life is peaceful and shouldn’t be feared.”
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As we are working hard to understand these concepts, it can feel stressful sometimes. So here’s a beautiful art of Lord Buddha that will hopefully provide encouragement:
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Even sankhara and vinnanana does not evolve according to one’s wishes! Then if we say that we have the “free will” in some aspects, does that not mean there we are seeing some things as “atta” nature, to our control? Is it not the same as saying ” Let my sankhara be the way I like; let it not be the way I don’t like.” Will there be any exceptions? The verse said that it is true for saṅkhārakkhandha, or any sankhara that will ever exist! If we say that we have a small amount of free will, then it also means that there is a small amount of sankhara that we can control.
The statement regarding these aggregates not being under one’s complete control are made in the context of the rebirth process. When the kammic energy for human bhava ends, the next existence is not determined according to one’s wish but according to Paticca Samuppada process. One may wish “may I not be reborn as an animal or a hell being or a peta”, but if the kammic seed suitable for an apaya bhava ripens at the cuti patisandhi moment, there is nothing one can do at that point. Thus, the 5 aggregates evolve according to natural causes and not according to one’s desires in this regard. But after comprehending Buddha’s teachings, one does have control over the 5 aggregates, not in the sense that you can have eternal life in the heavens but you can gradually and eventually stop them from arising.
Billions of cittas (and associated cetasikas) collectively form the mind that can think, feel and perceive. The process of Paticca Sampudda includes intentional thoughts. By that, a sentient being capable of making its own decisions exists and in case of a human, it can train itself to the point that the suffering filled existence can be stopped i.e. cittas stop arising. It is true that there are many factors that can influence one’s actions, but a human does have the ability to perform intentional actions which will create causes that can bear their results, some earlier than others. To remove the instinctive (built in) desires for the 5 aggregates, one needs to make intentional efforts.
In a mundane sense, we can say that the human who attained the Arahanthood attained “Nibbana.”
What about the ultimate sense? Is it not discernible to us?
