Ultimate Ground (per Buddhism)

General discussion, particularly exploring the Dharma in the modern world.
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Rick
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Ultimate Ground (per Buddhism)

Post by Rick »

There seems to be a great deal of controversy around the question:

Does Buddhism posit an ultimate ground to existence?

Is there a right or a wrong answer to this? Does the answer depend 100% on the school/lineage of Buddhism? Is this a fruitful question to ask, or one that can only lead to confusion/chaos?
Last edited by Rick on Fri Jul 26, 2013 2:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Rick
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Re: Ultimate Ground

Post by Rick »

Hey I was eventually going to get around to asking The Big One. Might as well be now. :-)

I hope this doesn't violate any Dharma Wheel accepted-discussion laws? If it does, I couldn't find such a rule in the posting guidelines.

I'm hoping this will be a friendly exploration of alternative answers (or non-answers) to the question of whether there is/isn't a Buddhist ultimate ground, not an arena for "My (non-)ground's better than yours!" ;-)
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Rick
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Re: Ultimate Ground (per Buddhism)

Post by Rick »

I'm in no position (knowledge-wise) to offer a useful take on whether there is/isn't an ultimate ground per Buddhism.

I have a Tibetan Buddhist friend (Lama Surya Das student) who tells me that awareness is the ultimate ground.

But I've read a bunch that says emptiness goes all the way down ... i.e. there is no ultimate ground. This is actually what drew me to Buddhism in the first place, that there is no final answer, that the notion itself of a coherent question/answer about ultimate truth is conceptual, therefore essentially a fairy tale.
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Grigoris
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Re: Ultimate Ground (per Buddhism)

Post by Grigoris »

Please refer to this topic. It's 36 pages long so it will take you some time to read through it. If it does not answer your question then please feel free to PM me to reopen this thread.
"My religion is not deceiving myself."
Jetsun Milarepa 1052-1135 CE

"Butchers, prostitutes, those guilty of the five most heinous crimes, outcasts, the underprivileged: all are utterly the substance of existence and nothing other than total bliss."
The Supreme Source - The Kunjed Gyalpo
The Fundamental Tantra of Dzogchen Semde
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