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| Looking for a good book on Buddhism
Posted: 4/12/2007 11:04:02 AM | if you want it so deep that you,ll be drawing up charts to understand
understanding the mind by geshe kelsang gyatso | |
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| Looking for a good book on Buddhism
Posted: 4/15/2007 12:11:54 PM | | I agree with the 3 posters that Pema Chodron is a great person to start with....I actually saw her speak at Harvard University a few years ago.....She has a great dry sense of humor thats refreshingly honest.....Shes an American who converted to Buddhism and became a nun...Her books are practical, to the point, full of earthy humor and wise advice thats both humbling and gratifying...Plus her books are often divided into short chapters..Easy to read bits at one time...When Things Fall Apart is good for those dealing with a difficult loss or transition in their lives.. Her Gampon Abbey is in Nova Scotia...You can actually stay there for a retreat... | |
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| Looking for a good book on Buddhism
Posted: 4/15/2007 2:04:39 PM | | Well I'm trying to get out of my old reading habits and read just one book at a time, so I started with Living Buddha, Living Christ, by Thich Nhat Hanh. I do have one by Thubten Chodron, so I'll read that one next. Thanks all for your input and advice. | |
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| Looking for a good book on Buddhism
Posted: 8/9/2007 2:33:57 AM | | I am currently reading "The Teaching of Buddha" released by Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai( (Society for the Promotion of Buddhism) It involves the prince Shakyamuni Buddha's teachings.A bit heavy, but really good.Almost Confuciustic? | |
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| Looking for a good book on Buddhism
Posted: 9/5/2007 5:45:05 PM | | Its not Buddhism, but a wonderful and VERY easy to read book called "The Tao of Pooh" It explains Taoism through Winnie the Pooh. Awesome. | |
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| Looking for a good book on Buddhism
Posted: 9/6/2007 3:10:37 PM | I'm surprised no one said "Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance" which of course is not about motorcycle maintenance. Extremely easy read, almost like a booklet. A friend bought me my copy like twenty years ago.
Definitely keep aware of the Dalai Lamas speeches. He has been here to the various colleges and a lot of those are available on netflix. I gave this one three stars:
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Ethics_for_the_New_Millinneum_The_Holiness_the_XIV_Dalami_Lama/60030131?trkid=147042
I gave this one 5 stars:
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/The_Knowledge_of_Healing/70038141?trkid=147042
Here's everything they have with the dalai lama in it, which I am working my way through:
http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay?personid=20048931&trkid=181040&strkid=3407924_0_0
I know, I know, they're not exactly books but anyone wishing to know about buddhism would be foolish to pass up this live source of information from their most auspicious representative himself!
Buddhism isnt something that is easy to teach directly itself, its a little like viewing a solar eclipse in that you don't look directly at it. Also I'd highly reccomend reading any good american interpretation of the Tao since the thinking is similar. The tao might be a good place to start as its much more condensed as far as the fundamental thinking goes but know that it will overwhelm you. | |
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| Looking for a good book on Buddhism
Posted: 10/20/2007 9:03:59 PM | Is the thread still active?
there is one little book, very easy to read and absorb, which is entitled:
'The Four Noble Truths'
This is a clear and concise commentary on the foundational truths of Buddhism.
The commentator is His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso ( the Dalai Lama), but it is important to realize that the Four Truths are the bedrock of ALL schools of Buddhist thought and practice whether Theravada, Mahayana (Zen), or Vajrayana (Tantric or Tibetan Buddhism).
Beyond that, there is an ocean of Buddhist teachings to explore. Depending on how the Four Truths resonate with you, that would be a gateway to further study and discovery.
In my tradition it's not really encouraged to read a whole raft of elaborate material, just practice well according to the instructions the Lama has given, hurry up and realize enlightenment :)
Ignorance, Grasping-Attachment, Anger = Samsara (the causes for the cycle of suffering to continue) = the game goes on, and on and on. Liberation = Game over! (everybody claps and does a special dance :)
Best wishes! | |
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| Looking for a good book on Buddhism
Posted: 10/20/2007 11:26:28 PM | Buddhism Without Beliefs by Stephen Batchelor. Very concise, very easy read.
This is a great book - one of my all time favorites.
Also: If the Buddha Dated, by Charlotte Kasl - and anything by Pema Chodron, although Kasl is a bit more comforting and doesn't insist as much that we peer into the existential abyss...
~Boots~ | |
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| Looking for a good book on Buddhism
Posted: 10/21/2007 2:33:40 AM |
Kasl is a bit more comforting and doesn't insist as much that we peer into the existential abyss...
Hold that thought! I'm taking issue, not to strike sparks on your boots but because 'Emptiness of self and emptiness of phenomena' IS so commonly - and mistakenly - interpreted by Western people as 'equivalent to nothingness' - a void, an abyss perhaps.
Buddhist philosophy has certainly evolved over time, yet nowhere among the Suttas, the later Mahayana Sutras, or the Tantras, will anyone find basis to support either philosophical extreme of eternalism or nihilism.
When confusion, fear or anger arise as a consequence of misapprehending the Buddhist view of Emptiness-Sunyata, it is not too hard to understand. We are vulnerable beings and for the most part our sense of who we are is already fragile enough, like it or not. If someone comes along trumpeting in a loud unskilful way that 'nothing is real', it's offensive to lots of people - such as the loved ones of those who have recently been lost or injured in a war, for example. However, that confusion and opposition belong to the misunderstanding, not to the the view (of Emptiness).
It would be preferable to simply study the texts and establish for oneself what is reliable, and if there is sufficient motivation to investigate further, to then seek a reliable teacher of good character.
There are not many Buddhist meditative practices which can be studied or undertaken without the guidance of a qualified master (acharya). And only one which I know of that can be received without empowerment or given without spiritual authority. So I'm a bit limited as to what I can properly discuss here.
Actually it's forbidden (for a vowholder) to discuss Emptiness-sunyata in public, directly: in an attempt to make things clear, it is easy to make things worse :)
Perhaps what I can do without tearing up what's left of my vows is to suggest some scriptural resources and maybe, offer some nonsensational suggestions if asked.
If anyone is up to a bit of hefty reading, Arya Nagarjuna's 'Seventy Stanzas' (Shunyatasaptati) are the definitive Buddhist exposition of the so-called psychology of emptiness.
Best wishes! | |
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| Looking for a good book on Buddhism
Posted: 10/24/2007 10:41:56 AM | All of the Buddha's teachings are excellent, actually just like medicine; from the standpoint of expediency alone, though, it is helpful to keep in mind that though the foundational practices are similar, the goal of an arhat is not the goal of a bodhisattva. The Buddha's wisdom is multidimensional and appropriate for all beings who seek the solution to the problems of cyclic existence. Therefore, If there is a slow way, why will I recommend it to one whose urgency is great and whose ability is good? Likewise, why will I recommend a razorback path with some inherent risk to a child who has no guide?
The little book - 'The Four Noble Truths' - together with its commentary by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, is universally a helpful place to begin. Depending on the scope of one's attention, one's curiosity, and one's sense of urgency, that might indicate whether to seek refuge within the Hinayana (vehicle of personal liberation), Mahayana (vehicle of the Bodhisattvas), or Vajrayana (Indestructible vehicle). No one way, no 'better' way. The answers depend on the questions asked, and the student's ability to comprehend and apply them. | |
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| Looking for a good book on Buddhism
Posted: 10/25/2007 4:38:03 AM | How to See YOURSELF As You Really Are by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, translated and edited by Jeffrey Hopkins, PhD, Atria Books, 2006.
I bought this book at the beginning of the summer and figured I'd munch it down in a day or two.
Well, here I am, still in the fourth chapter, trying to get through the exercises! And what a trip it's been. I can honestly say to myself that it's been a meaningful look at exactly why I believe in that which I do, and helpful for me in terms of figuring out my place in the Universe. Paradoxically, my ego is less and more at the same time. Very curious.
I think it is a beautiful and elegant thought process.
Cheers, Raven | |
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| Looking for a good book on Buddhism
Posted: 10/25/2007 11:49:47 AM |
Paradoxically, my ego is less and more at the same time. Very curious
Wow, Raven... I have to say that it sounds to me like your exercises are going very well! I always like to say that the paradox is that there is no paradox.
O/P, if you just want to digestr the way of Buddhism I'd suggest getting "Teach yourself Buddhism" It's in a series of "Teach yourself" books... It basically tells you about a few different sects, their beginnings and their relations... It is a book on Buddhism instead of a book of buddhism.
If your looking for something Zen, I'd highly recommend "A Glimpse of Nothingness" by Janwillem van de Wetering... Very, very good read... Someone else mentioned "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert M. Pirsig, which is one of my favorite reads of all time... You can't go wrong with anything written by H.H. the Dalai Lama or Thich Nhat Hanh.
If you want to see how the west has transformed Buddhas way, you may want to check out "The New Buddhism" By James William Coleman.
It is perhaps best if you read as many of the sutras as you can... The Tbetan Book of the Dead is always a good place to start as well.
Be Peace. | |
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| Looking for a good book on Buddhism
Posted: 10/25/2007 12:15:55 PM | Apparently, a lot of confusion remains about this bugaboo called ego.
The term was coined by Freud and remains a cornerstone of Western psychoanalytic terminology, but actually has no equivalent either in Prakrit (the language Buddha Shakyamuni's caste would have spoken at home in the palace), Sanskrit (the language used by the great philosophical traditions of India), Pali - beloved of Theravada Buddhists and believed by some to be 'the first and last word' of Buddha Shakyamuni - or for that matter Tibetanized Sanskrit (this is the language in which the most intact and original versions of both the Dhammapada and the Mahayana Sutras have been preserved).
So we have roughly 2,600 years of Buddhist psychology, debate and dialectic as the unfathomed background upon which our discussion attempts to superimpose a conceptual structure less than two hundred years in the works.
Ego has as its underpinning an unproven assertion: the existence of an 'unconscious' mind. We can be sure that it IS unproven, because if we were aware of its contents, it would no longer be 'unconscious'. The Buddhist view of selfnature is that though 'conventionally apparent', under more rigorous analysis the basis for this so-called self cannot be located anywhere at all among the five skandha (heaps or 'aggregates') of form, feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness. What we are composed of cannot be found OUTside the Skandha; yet neither do any of the aggregates display any concretely inherent self-existence either!
You could think of it as composites, a whirling group of various forces, yet all in constant dynamic change just as the body itself is. Look at me today: I have a broken rib and a broken vertebra, and my head is covered with big bruises. They certainly weren't here a week ago! Am I my teeth? they are not the ones I was born with. I had gums then, to drink warm milk. The teeth I had as a young man are all but worn away now. So I am not my teeth, the toughest aggregate of form contained in my very hard head.
Where is an unconscious, an ego, an id, or a superego within this view of whirling and highly dynamic energies, really a field more than any fixed entity?
What we have is what we need. If there were no causal necessity for an ego or sense of self to arise, it would not. However, our parent's need for validation and our own need for nurturance assures that the primary bond between self and other is established in infancy. It is nothing to be afraid of and nothing to fight about - self, or a SENSE of self, arises from the second and third skandhas of feeling and perception. Yes, self is 'conventionally existent', but that is conditional upon many, many co-arising causes.
I will close with a simple analogy, that of the rainbow. It's so much part of our ideation that it is what Jung called an archetype. Children who have never so much as seen a rainbow in a drab city still draw beautiful and vibrant pictures of them. The Norse regarded the 'rainbow bridge' as the link between the realm of men and gods. Crusty old Blake had plenty to say about the rainbow, and so did the Old Testament he loved.
Yet the rainbow for all that we assume its existence owes its appearance to several factors: water vapor, rays of light, and even an observer too. Each and every one of THESE factors has other co-arising causes and conditions also. Yes, a rainbow appears, but it cannot be held as concretely self-existent. We are not so different, you and I.
Don't worry too much about 'ego'. It is simply not productive to do that. Instead, more helpful to examine the content and character of our interactions with our human and phenomenological environment. That gives a much more helpful analysis of what we are actually doing with our fortunate, actually remarkable, heart and mind.
I am talking a lot and haven't been asked to. Please forgive an old Dharma wombat who has made a lot of mistakes in this life :) | |
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| Looking for a good book on Buddhism
Posted: 10/25/2007 12:25:16 PM | Apparently, a lot of confusion remains about this bugaboo called ego.
Ego, self... Whatever you want to call it.
We can be sure that it IS unproven, because if we were aware of its contents, it would no longer be 'unconscious'. The Buddhist view of selfnature is that though 'conventionally apparent', under more rigorous analysis the basis for this so-called self cannot be located anywhere at all among the five skandha (heaps or 'aggregates') of form, feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness. What we are composed of cannot be found OUTside the Skandha; yet neither do any of the aggregates display any concretely inherent self-existence either!
Five skandhas? There are six... When you google Ayatana you will see this western misconception of the Buddhas teachings.
Buddhism identifies six "senses" as opposed to the Western identification of five. In Buddhism, the mind is considered a sense organ and the mind's sense objects include sensations, perceptions, feelings and volition
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayatana
The mind can't be located... That much is certain, but we DO know that the brain gets information from it just like it gets information from your fingertips... When you "feel" a sense of security or "feel" that something just isn't right, what part of you are you "feeling" with?
But anyways... To me the ego and the self are the same thing.
I am talking a lot and haven't been asked to. Please forgive an old Dharma wombat who has made a lot of mistakes in this life :)
Aww, now you're just being silly! There is nothing to forgive! If Siddhartha chose to remain silent we would have missed out on some wise words indeed! | |
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| Looking for a good book on Buddhism
Posted: 10/25/2007 12:37:52 PM | Uh oh, here is more :)
1) be extremely cautious when attempting to assess or learn about (let alone practice) ANY definition or aspect of Buddhadharma from the so called 'Buddhism for the West', 'Western Buddhism', or 'American Buddhist' self-styled ideologues and ideologies.
I am certainly not exempt either: English is my first language though I muddle through some others, and I was born in Australia in 1958. That's my motley pedigree, or lack of one.
What I can say with confidence is that I'm a student within the Nyingmapa (Old Translation School) of Vajrayana Buddhism; that I am fortunate to have been the student of a very old and fierce lady from Sikkim who is a contemporary of Jetsun Shukseb, former Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, HE Chatral Rinpoche, Khyabje Dudjom Rinpoche, Dodrupchen Rinpoche, and many other vastly accomplished persons whose achievements will not be forgotten soon. That doesn't mean any of it rubbed off on me! It simply means that I am honor bound by damtsig not to mislead or to knowingly allow anyone to be misled about the Buddhadharma.
2) I would dispute that there IS any 'new Buddhism' in the West or elsewhere. For the most part, that nonsense owes its misconception to the dedicated efforts of a small number of popular speakers who for a variety of reasons oppose the rigorous and well-established methods of both propagating the Dharma, and especially (ESPECIALLY!) of actually verifying the accomplishment of any given student or teacher at any given moment.
3) The Bardo Thodol (book of living and dying) is definitely NOT a Sutra teaching. It is a gTerma (terma) or treasure teaching of Guru Rinpoche, Padmasambhava, the Lake-Born Buddha, who arose in order to bring the Dharma to warlike beings, and whose transmission is specifically Tantric - that is to say, representative of the vast continuum of the enlightenment of ALL Buddhas, past, present and future - not at all a Sutra or common teaching at all :)
Lastly if anyone is interested in finding out HOW to verify the integrity of a Dharma teacher's qualifications, there is certainly a method for doing just that :) | |
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| Looking for a good book on Buddhism
Posted: 10/25/2007 12:41:23 PM | | PS. it's silly to posit six skandha. the illusory sixth is already elucidated as consciousness. Don't fight with me, fight with Buddha Shakyamuni if you don't understand it. Am I being snobbish? I don't think so, and will choose the words of my teachers over Google just as I will choose the Dharma over late-Nineteenth century parlor science :) | |
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| Looking for a good book on Buddhism
Posted: 10/25/2007 12:54:56 PM |
That doesn't mean any of it rubbed off on me! It simply means that I am honor bound by damtsig not to mislead or to knowingly allow anyone to be misled about the Buddhadharma.
Hehe... If you see the Buddha, kill the Buddha... If you read his words and seek within yourself and see the Buddha, there is no way you can have any misconceptions... But yes, my Buddhism has shown me there are indeed six senses.
2) I would dispute that there IS any 'new Buddhism' in the West or elsewhere. For the most part, that nonsense owes its misconception to the dedicated efforts of a small number of popular speakers who for a variety of reasons oppose the rigorous and well-established methods of both propagating the Dharma, and especially (ESPECIALLY!) of actually verifying the accomplishment of any given student or teacher at any given moment.
You seem to be clinging to your ideas... As everything else Buddhism and it's ideals are subject to change as they have... Verifying your accomplishments is meaningless in the eyes of Buddha... If we all have Buddha nature as Buddha maintains, I would ask you who the hell you think you are to negate someone elses interpretations of the insights?
The Bardo Thodol (book of living and dying) is definitely NOT a Sutra teaching.
I never said it was... I simply said it was a good place to start along with some sutras.
Lastly if anyone is interested in finding out HOW to verify the integrity of a Dharma teacher's qualifications, there is certainly a method for doing just that :)
Now your being subjective... Anyone who says they know the absolute Dharma doesn't understand what the Dharma is all about...
"We don't search because we wish to be enlightened, we are enlightened because we wish to search"
--H.H. The Dalai Lama
I would dispute that there IS any 'new Buddhism' in the West or elsewhere
Many would disagree... Where do you think Zen Buddhism came from? Where do you think Buddhism itself came from? Siddhartha Gautama was a Hindu before he sat under his tree and the Hindu faith very much influenced his thinking.
and will choose the words of my teachers over Google just as I will choose the Dharma over late-Nineteenth century parlor science :)
NOW you're being snobbish... Everyone has teachngs we can learn from!
eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind.
Now, which of these did you say was already covered? Hmmm?
The only reason I googled is because I can't be bothered to go through texts written by people just as knowledgable as your teachers because it is common Buddhist knowledge. | |
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| Looking for a good book on Buddhism
Posted: 10/25/2007 1:13:00 PM | Enjoy recreating confusion in your own image :) it's not my place to argue with people who haven't made class yet. Somebody else will bite, perhaps . Sigh.. it isn't unusual for soundbytes to be substituted for knowledge. Apparently, mere access to information is easily mistaken for accumulation of wisdom based on discernment and practical evaluation.
I haven't disputed that a sense of self arises, and your own case certainly seems to suggest that ego is alive and well despite all evidence to its non-existence. Have at it; there is a chat room on AOL specifically designed as a sparring-ring for the ignorant and fatuous to thump it out with their peers. Who knew... | |
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| Looking for a good book on Buddhism
Posted: 10/25/2007 1:20:23 PM | I haven't disputed that a sense of self arises, and your own case certainly seems to suggest that ego is alive and well despite all evidence to its non-existence.
Hey, I'm still taming my tiger... Sorry you don't agree with what I learned from the Buddha but your posts stink of exclusivity of truth...
You never answered any of my questions, instead you just throw insults... Calling me ignorant doesn't change the fact that Buddhism teaches there are six senses.
I will repeat my post and question;
eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind.
Now, which of these did you say was already covered? Hmmm?
Sorry, but you and me both have much to learn!
So to borrow a phrase from a friend of mine T'asu... "Go sit!" | |
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| Looking for a good book on Buddhism
Posted: 10/25/2007 2:29:43 PM | The post thread has been taken over by a strident and competitive tone which has more in common with 'old bull, young bull' than anything worthy of involvement.
Rather than unwittingly become a stepping-stone in someone else's headlong dash toward anger I will hold off on further public responses to those who perhaps wish to let off steam and draw attention but are evidently not interested in assessing and proving the goodness of the Dharma for themselves.
Contrary to new age/syncretist speculation, there is a reliable means for establishing whether one's Dharma teacher is qualified. This has NOTHING to do with making 'absolute' pronouncements over another's enlightenment or lack of it. From one point of view, there ARE no 'enlightened beings', only enlightened actions. I think I can agree with that just as I think you can argue that children create parents.
Not all Buddhist teachers are 'enlightened' in any final sense; I have met none who have made such a claim. Also, there are several meanings of the term 'lama'; including 'one who shows the path' just as a geography-master instructs boys and girls in how to read the map and orient themselves. It can be just that conventional. Again, 'lama' can also mean a fully realized Enlightenment being (notice, I have not used the term 'enlightened').
However, if one is actually ready to take refuge in a particular teacher, of course it will be pointless and deleterious to take refuge in one whose character is not stainless, whose view is not profound, and whose instructions are not reliable. It would not make sense. If we practice an imaginary dharma we will only achieve imaginary results - not liberation from samsara.
What are the qualities of a reliable Dharma teacher?
These are:
1. Who has accumulated accurate knowledge and experience of the Dharma through study and practice (and whose knowledge is able to be verified);
2. Who has no attachment whatever to the 'Eight Worldly Concerns';
3. Who holds the wellbeing of others more dearly than his or her own;
4. Who exemplifies complete sincerity and compassion on all occasions.
5. Who is never exhausted by teaching or doing Dharma activities to benefit others
and:
1. Who is holding the purity the vows according to the vow class,
2. Who maintains perfectly the view of discriminative wisdom, and
3. Who holds the pure motive of bodhicitta at all times.
If anyone would like a more exhaustive reading I will provide a reference, though it will probably not be on the Internet :)
'For an example within recent memory, His Holiness Khyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche embodied the ris med rhi may (ecumenical) movement which revitalized and transformed Tibetan Buddhism, bringing an end to sectarian bickering.
Any aspect of the Dharma teaching was flawless, not only within the context of yana (Shravakayana, Mahayana or Tantrayana) and philosophical discipline (e.g. Yogacharya, Cittamatra, Madhyamaka), but especially within the precise terms of the school he was addressing.
Thus this great and beloved Nyingma master was equally respected among Kagyu, Sakya and Geluk schools, and certainly by th0usands of Western students who were fortunate to receive teachings from Old Dilgo. His Holiness was the Tantric master of the present Fourteenth Dalai Lama. THAT is an embodiment of the 'ocean of wisdom' - why should you wish for less in a lama to whom you will go for ultimate refuge? | |
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| Looking for a good book on Buddhism
Posted: 10/25/2007 2:39:11 PM | No offense, but your attempt to turn this around kind of astounds me... I put in my two cents and you posted this:
PS. it's silly to posit six skandha. the illusory sixth is already elucidated as consciousness. Don't fight with me, fight with Buddha Shakyamuni if you don't understand it. Am I being snobbish? I don't think so, and will choose the words of my teachers over Google just as I will choose the Dharma over late-Nineteenth century parlor science :)
Again, I mean no offence and am just arguing that my view on what Buddha teaches is just as valid as yours... The post I highlighted above is doing exactly what you accuse me of (plus it is insulting) and is contradictory to the teachings... This doesn't mean I don't believe you when you say you are knowledgeable about some aspects, but in this you are mistaken, I'm sorry... Buddhist teachings say there are six senses... This is the part you took to debate, not I.
THAT is an embodiment of the 'ocean of wisdom' - why should you wish for less in a lama to whom you will go for ultimate refuge?
"Do not seek the wise man, instead seek what they sought."
Can't remember who said it, but it relates somehow.
Now since this is off topic, if you chose to keep belittling what I have learned maybe you should start your own thread. | |
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| Looking for a good book on Buddhism
Posted: 10/25/2007 2:57:25 PM | typo:
1. Who is holding the purity the vows according to the vow class ,
should read: 1. Who is upholding the purity of the vows according to the vow class.
If you feel ignorant and defensive, there may be reasons for that. I have written to you privately because I will not encourage anyone to turn a discussion of the Dharma into a spectacle of the kind already seen in the usual kinds of Internet forum sabre-play.
However, since you raise the issue again in public I will answer you, and only for the reason that I think it is impolite to mislead other readers according to a malformed or uninformed opinion - whether yours or mine does not matter.
These senses you have mentioned ( I quote you):
ear, eye, nose, tongue, body and mind do not accurately describe the Five Skandha or aggregates.
The categories you have now repeatedly and with emphasis referred to, fall under the designation of the Second (to do with the end-organs of perception as you have stated them), and the Fifth (consciousness).
The Five Skandha are: form, feeling, perception (occasionally called sense), volition, and consciousness.
This is the Buddha's enumeration of the Five. You are welcome as anyone else is, to study this for yourself. I have no wish to stymie you personally, though by the same measure, and I have pointed this out, if you are looking for Internet combat there are chat rooms crammed with people jostling for attention, each with a 'special', 'personal', and highly speculative notions of what the Buddhadharma is or should be - it is simply inappropriate for me to encourage you or anyone else to promulgate wrong views about the Dharma, in public, and where my own intention was to reduce rather than increase confusion. Thank you :) | |
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| Looking for a good book on Buddhism
Posted: 10/25/2007 3:18:33 PM | If you feel ignorant and defensive, there may be reasons for that. I have written to you privately because I will not encourage anyone to turn a discussion of the Dharma into a spectacle of the kind already seen in the usual kinds of Internet forum sabre-play.
I certainly don't feel ignorant on the things I've stated... Defensive? Like I said, it was you who started with the defenses, LOL!!!
The Five Skandha are: form, feeling, perception (occasionally called sense), volition, and consciousness.
These are not the gates or the senses of which I speak... Again... You have sight(eyes)...That's one, then you have hearing9ears), that's two... Then you have touch(skin), that's three... Then you have smell(nose), that's four... Then you have taste(tongue), that's five and then you have perception(mind)... That would be six senses, thank you very much!
This is the Buddha's enumeration of the Five. You are welcome as anyone else is, to study this for yourself. I have no wish to stymie you personally, though by the same measure, and I have pointed this out, if you are looking for Internet combat there are chat rooms crammed with people jostling for attention, each with a 'special', 'personal', and highly speculative notions of what the Buddhadharma is or should be - it is simply inappropriate for me to encourage you or anyone else to promulgate wrong views about the Dharma, in public, and where my own intention was to reduce rather than increase confusion. Thank you :)
Well now you are amusing me... You are the one who is trying to correct me of what I percieve and that is just silly! The five you speak of are not the senses, ok? The five Skandhas are what the Buddha percieved as the five aspects of personality--NOT THE SENSES!
Step 6 in the eightfold path clearly states and I quote;
CONTROL OF THE SENSES (6th Step)
Now, in perceiving a form with the eye- a sound with the
ear- an odor with the nose- a taste with the tongue- a touch
with the body- an object with his mind, he sticks neither to the
whole, nor to its details. And he tries to ward off that which,
by being unguarded in his senses, might give rise to evil and
unwholesome states, to greed and sorrow; he watches over his
senses, keep his senses under control. By practicing this noble
"Control of the Senses" he feels in his heart an unblemished
happiness.
You can appologise whenever, lol!
By the way, I'm aware I mistakenly called them skandhas as well in post #41... OOps!, lol.
When the Emporer of China met the Buddha, he was astonished to learn that the Buddha thought Buddhism was meaningless... He said "Who are you?" The Buddha answered "I don't know".
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