All very rational I'm sure, but as Edward Conze tirelessly pointed out, anyone who fondly imagines Buddhism - including Theravadin meditation practice - to be in accordance with sweet reason and devoid of 'magical thinking' will be in for a rude awakening. There's a lot of it about, I'm afraid. Happ...

I'm not, however, interested in proving it wrong. Nor am I interested in proving wrong any claims to the effect that the locations of the four sites have been misidentified. As I understand the above sutta, the beneficial effect of pilgrimage to these sites arises from the faith that the pilgrims b...

Oh dear. Seems that my raising doubts about three critical Buddhist pilgrimage sites has called into question not only my own Buddhism, but the importance of Buddhist pilgrimages also. Well just for the record, in 1960 I commenced two years intensive, non-stop satipatthana applied to the 32 Parts of...

On revisiting this site, I see that most of the replies spectacularly miss at least one of the points that I was making. Just for the record I believe that the Buddha DID exist, and that the Pali Canon contains an accurate record of his teachings. I also believe that the two great Chinese pilgrims v...

piotr wrote:Hi,

So it seems that recent National Geographic documentary was a 40 min. advertisment of the auction?

That's about the size of it , though there are also signs that Uncle Sam might be contemplating their use as diplomatic /political pawns also. Watch this space.

Ah yes, death. The Big One. IT. Well, some of the evidence from NDE sources - and in particular, those which have followed CLINICAL death, carefully attested to by physicians - points pretty convincingly towards post-mortem survival (and even that great sceptic, A. J. Ayer, thought so too, following...

So what's wrong with raising doubts with Buddhists? And judging by the acerbity of some of the responses, it looks like I might just be disturbing a few moths, and I'll happily settle for that.

The sites of the Buddha's birth (Lumbini) hometown (Kapilavastu) and death (Kusinara) have now been seriously called into question: see http://www.lumkap.org.uk for the details. Does this matter? Well yes, I believe it does. Stephen Batchelor and others have remarked that Buddhism (and the Buddha) h...

In commenting on my latest posting, Anagarika asks (above) 'Was the Buddha's death a suicide? Clearly not, as all of the Sutta and analytical evidence proves' and he cites the rest of Mettanando's article in support of this conclusion. Mettanando's article, however, both tactfully and conspicuously ...

The Sutta states that as the Buddha entered the death-state he ranged through all the jhanas and immaterial spheres, and finally exited through the fourth jhana (an event, I am reliably informed, which holds a secret of great spiritual significance). There would certainly appear to be external signs...

It was a helpful tip to those who don't wish to waste their time arguing about nothing of any benefit. If someone makes a silly comment about Buddha being crochety only a crochety old man would take the bait. I repeat, refute it. If no less a scholar than Vallee-Poussin refers to the Buddha's 'volu...

Bhikkhu Pesala wrote:

Hip, but unhelpful. Now refute it.

Nobody, ever, appears to have commented upon the fact that the details of the Buddha's final demise, as recorded in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta, strike right at the very heart of Buddhism itself. I'm guessing that the paucity of commentary on this thesis derives from the lack of evidence for such a c...

To answer the second part of your question, yes it delivers. Buddhist practice has made me more content in my own life day to day and i know others who feel likewise about it. It isnt about being in some kind of trance periodically, practice makes you happier and more centered day to day, moment to...

The Sutta reveals a crotchety old man... Crotchety means "irritable". Would you like to point out where the sutta describes the Buddha as irritated? Well, he gets pretty teed off with Upavana for standing in front of him on his deathbed - who wouldn't? - and despite Ananda's pleas, orders...