In actuality, Dharmagoat does not believe that the Buddha and Dogen did not believe in rebirth, just like Simon E. Even though there are written records on some web forums that claimed they said that, we do not know for sure if they really thought that way. If fact, both of them are probably true traditionists and fully accept the dependent origination teachings where beings are reborn in accordance with their ripened karma.dharmagoat wrote:Just to be clear, I am challenging the claim that we can know what the Buddha and Dogen believed based on what they taught.Astus wrote:Saying that what the Buddha and Dogen taught are not what they believed and realised is saying that they were speaking lies.
The Buddha taught different things to different people depending on their needs and understanding. Sometimes his teachings were contradictory. Was he lying to some and not to others, or was he exercising skillful means in each case?
E ma ho!