and like i said before begs the question when and why did Samsara come to be...
i say it is due to desire ...it crept in when all was in it's original state...it's not like it was created but more of a realm of desire we got trapped in...
and like i said before begs the question when and why did Samsara come to be...
Hah! How could I forget this one! There's also the related "Buddha taught Vedism" or "Buddha was a Hindu". Its a big deal in India this one. Hindus generally love how an Indian is venerated around the world (imagine that!), but they don't like the Buddhadharma since it doesn't accept eternalism or a creator God. So they have to appropriate the Buddha somehow.
Well. OK. This might take a while, so I'm going to edit this post to add as I go. This is all from my experience.SilenceMonkey wrote: ↑Sun Jun 20, 2021 4:26 amThat would be awesome.Genjo Conan wrote: ↑Sat Jun 19, 2021 8:17 pm I could make a whole post about what non-Buddhists misunderstand about Zen. I could make another whole post about what non-Zen Buddhists misunderstand about Zen. I could make a third about what purported Zen practitioners misunderstand about Zen. And I'm sure someone could make a fourth about what I misunderstand about Zen.
I've only heard the "tree" as attributed to Bishop Berekely. What is Hakuin's koan on the tree?Genjo Conan wrote: ↑Sun Jun 20, 2021 5:42 pm (one hand clapping and the tree falling in the forest, although some people have also heard of the "show me your original face from before you were born" challenge).
Maybe another misconception about Buddhism is that “if a tree falls in the forest and nobody hears it does it make a sound?” comes from Zen Buddhism.Matt J wrote: ↑Sun Jun 20, 2021 6:25 pmI've only heard the "tree" as attributed to Bishop Berekely. What is Hakuin's koan on the tree?Genjo Conan wrote: ↑Sun Jun 20, 2021 5:42 pm (one hand clapping and the tree falling in the forest, although some people have also heard of the "show me your original face from before you were born" challenge).
If this is a misconception it's one I've held for a very long time. I get there's much more to meditation than just stilling the mind but as a foundation for developing almost every other aspect of the path IME it's been an essential requirement.
It's definitely not Berkeley, but in doing a little research, it doesn't appear to have been Hakuin either--although I have long heard it attributed to him by Zen people (including Rinzai folks). So yes, this too could be one of the common misconceptions of Zen. I'll edit my post to reflect that.Matt J wrote: ↑Sun Jun 20, 2021 6:25 pmI've only heard the "tree" as attributed to Bishop Berekely. What is Hakuin's koan on the tree?Genjo Conan wrote: ↑Sun Jun 20, 2021 5:42 pm (one hand clapping and the tree falling in the forest, although some people have also heard of the "show me your original face from before you were born" challenge).
It is shamatha meditation.
Yep. They're all called devas, variously translated as "gods," "angels," "heavenly beings," etc... The creator god is known in India as Brahma, and is the biggest and most powerful of the devas. He occupies the highest heaven in the universe, known as "The peak of existence."
SilenceMonkey wrote: ↑Mon Jun 21, 2021 3:28 amYep. They're all called devas, variously translated as "gods," "angels," "heavenly beings," etc... The creator god is known in India as Brahma, and is the biggest and most powerful of the devas. He occupies the highest heaven in the universe, known as "The peak of existence."
Indeed.PadmaVonSamba wrote: ↑Mon Jun 21, 2021 3:52 am Misconceptions about Buddhism might include the idea that Buddhists worship Buddha.
But this largely depends on how one defines “worship”, which can refer to, you might say, one’s attitude or view, but can also refer to ritual activity.
Buddhists don’t regard the Buddha in the same sense that theists regard their gods, as objects of submission.
I think this also could be because some people misunderstand or have been misinformed that the First Noble Truth says as "all of life is suffering." I have heard many people say this and I have even seen it in some books, which gives people the wrong idea of the First Noble Truth.madhusudan wrote: ↑Sun Jun 20, 2021 10:56 pm Dhukka is misunderstood, so non-Buddhists think they "disagree" with the First Noble Truth.
Sarvadukkhaṃ is pretty clear: all is suffering. Painful sensations are suffering, the suffering of suffering, the result of hatred; pleasurable feelings are suffering, the suffering of change, the result of desire; and neutral feelings are suffering, the suffering of the compounded, the result of ignorance.Nicholas2727 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 21, 2021 3:27 pmI think this also could be because some people misunderstand or have been misinformed that the First Noble Truth says as "all of life is suffering." I have heard many people say this and I have even seen it in some books, which gives people the wrong idea of the First Noble Truth.madhusudan wrote: ↑Sun Jun 20, 2021 10:56 pm Dhukka is misunderstood, so non-Buddhists think they "disagree" with the First Noble Truth.
People think “all existence is suffering? I’m not suffering right now!” because they think suffering means physical or mental agony which fortunately most of us are not constantly experiencing.Malcolm wrote: ↑Mon Jun 21, 2021 3:35 pmSarvadukkhaṃ is pretty clear: all is suffering. Painful sensations are suffering, the suffering of suffering, the result of hatred; pleasurable feelings are suffering, the suffering of change, the result of desire; and neutral feelings are suffering, the suffering of the compounded, the result of ignorance.Nicholas2727 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 21, 2021 3:27 pmI think this also could be because some people misunderstand or have been misinformed that the First Noble Truth says as "all of life is suffering." I have heard many people say this and I have even seen it in some books, which gives people the wrong idea of the First Noble Truth.madhusudan wrote: ↑Sun Jun 20, 2021 10:56 pm Dhukka is misunderstood, so non-Buddhists think they "disagree" with the First Noble Truth.
PadmaVonSamba wrote: ↑Mon Jun 21, 2021 3:51 pmPeople think “all existence is suffering? I’m not suffering right now!” because they think suffering means physical or mental agony which fortunately most of us are not constantly experiencing.Malcolm wrote: ↑Mon Jun 21, 2021 3:35 pmSarvadukkhaṃ is pretty clear: all is suffering. Painful sensations are suffering, the suffering of suffering, the result of hatred; pleasurable feelings are suffering, the suffering of change, the result of desire; and neutral feelings are suffering, the suffering of the compounded, the result of ignorance.Nicholas2727 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 21, 2021 3:27 pm
I think this also could be because some people misunderstand or have been misinformed that the First Noble Truth says as "all of life is suffering." I have heard many people say this and I have even seen it in some books, which gives people the wrong idea of the First Noble Truth.
But ‘Suffering’ in the Buddhist context refers to a general restlessness or dissatisfaction both mentally and physically. We get hungry. We get bored. But more specifically, we don’t want to be hungry. We don’t want to be bored. That desire to finally have complete peace of mind with nothing unresolved, that point never arrives (in samsaric existence). That’s dukkha. That’s what “all existence is marked by”.
Furthermore, the experiences themselves are not the source of happiness or satisfaction. As I have suggested before, grief is probably the most painful of human emotions. Yet it is triggered by the happiest of memories. The happier the memory of a loved one who has died, the more painful is the grief.
If she manages to just shrug that comment off when upset, she may be well along the path! LOLPadmaVonSamba wrote: ↑Sun Jun 20, 2021 2:24 pm However, when my spouse is upset, reminding her that she should at least enjoy the fact of being able to partake in that bountiful spectrum of human emotions…
doesn’t seem to make much of an impression.
Maybe I have had a misunderstanding then. Before coming to Mahayana, I had numerous Theravada teachers correct anyone who said the first noble truth is "all of life is suffering." They would make the point that the first noble truth is simply Dukkha. I also remember reading one of Thich Nhat Hanh's books where he discussed if everything is suffering and quotes the Samyukta Agama saying the three Dharma seals are impermanence, nonself and nirvana. I am not knowledgeable enough to discuss specifics, but this is the message I have received from some teachers and from reading some books.Malcolm wrote: ↑Mon Jun 21, 2021 3:35 pmSarvadukkhaṃ is pretty clear: all is suffering. Painful sensations are suffering, the suffering of suffering, the result of hatred; pleasurable feelings are suffering, the suffering of change, the result of desire; and neutral feelings are suffering, the suffering of the compounded, the result of ignorance.Nicholas2727 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 21, 2021 3:27 pmI think this also could be because some people misunderstand or have been misinformed that the First Noble Truth says as "all of life is suffering." I have heard many people say this and I have even seen it in some books, which gives people the wrong idea of the First Noble Truth.madhusudan wrote: ↑Sun Jun 20, 2021 10:56 pm Dhukka is misunderstood, so non-Buddhists think they "disagree" with the First Noble Truth.