Search found 9 matches

by martian
Mon Apr 29, 2013 9:48 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Why care about kamma & rebirth if there is no "I"
Replies: 47
Views: 11933

Re: Why care about kamma & rebirth if there is no "I"

When people think about about a being that just died and where it was reborn in a third person perspective they often run into this confusion about how the two beings are related. But if you imagine what rebirth would be like from a first person perspective then there isn't any issue. One experienc...
by martian
Mon Apr 29, 2013 10:00 am
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Why care about kamma & rebirth if there is no "I"
Replies: 47
Views: 11933

Re: Why care about kamma & rebirth if there is no "I"

Since there is no "I", is it right to tell people that Dhamma can be practiced with the lesser aim of a more fortunate rebirth? Isn't that misleading since the "I" that will be reborn will be a totally different "I" only related to the previous "I" through the...
by martian
Mon Apr 29, 2013 9:23 am
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Why care about kamma & rebirth if there is no "I"
Replies: 47
Views: 11933

Re: Why care about kamma & rebirth if there is no "I"

Thanks retro and dhammapal. The Thanissaro Bhikkhu part is really illuminating and mirrors the dilemma I have right now. So, Liberation is really to be realized in the here and now. The question of the "I" and how it relates to the next "I", and of kamma and rebirth, only comes u...
by martian
Mon Apr 29, 2013 8:26 am
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Why care about kamma & rebirth if there is no "I"
Replies: 47
Views: 11933

Re: Why care about kamma & rebirth if there is no "I"

Thanks for the reply. So, out of compassion for the next "I", we try to accumulate good kamma in this present "I"? However the separation or distinction from one another of the two "I" is problematic in terms of how kamma and rebirth relate to moral justice. According t...
by martian
Mon Apr 29, 2013 6:38 am
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Why care about kamma & rebirth if there is no "I"
Replies: 47
Views: 11933

Why care about kamma & rebirth if there is no "I"

If what we know as "I" is just a product of the continuous interaction of the 5 Aggregates and the "I" that is reborn is really a different "I" produced again, by the continuous interaction of the aggregates, then why would the present "I" be concerned about t...
by martian
Tue Mar 12, 2013 9:11 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Nibbana used for evil
Replies: 18
Views: 4746

Re: Nibbana used for evil

From what I can understand from what Thanissaro Bhikkhu is saying about unbinding, the process of kamma is a mental one. Nirvana is really about the status of the mind and how it relates to these karmic processes. If an Arhant is able to unbind these kammic processes into dis-fruition, the benefits ...
by martian
Tue Mar 12, 2013 7:28 am
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Nibbana used for evil
Replies: 18
Views: 4746

Re: Nibbana used for evil

But being "100% ethical" is not a prerequisite for Nirvana. Its the ability to see through delusions and unbind them, that is the prerequisite, that is Nirvana. The state of being 100% ethical is impossible until one sees through delusions and gain understanding how to unbind them. So our ...
by martian
Tue Mar 12, 2013 12:13 am
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Nibbana used for evil
Replies: 18
Views: 4746

Re: Nibbana used for evil

The regularity of the Dhamma, here, denotes the causal principle that underlies all "fabricated" (saṅkhata) experience, i.e., experience made up of causal conditions and influences. Knowing this principle means mastering it: one can not only trace the course of causal processes but also es...
by martian
Mon Mar 11, 2013 9:10 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Nibbana used for evil
Replies: 18
Views: 4746

Nibbana used for evil

Once a person is able to understand and unbind the workings of perceived reality and karma. Once enlightenment is attained and one is liberated from the hold of kamma, can this ability be used for evil? I mean can one act upon the thought that "Now karma cannot touch me. I can now do anything w...