Search found 325 matches

by Cormac Brown
Wed Aug 10, 2016 8:25 am
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: The Great anattā/anātman debate
Replies: 588
Views: 101375

Re: On anattā/anātman

I'll ask again, please provide a sutta reference for "the individual unconditioned self". I've been requesting this for some time, but of course there is no such sutta, just a lot of wishful thinking. Nor one where the Buddha says, "There is no self." Or where he says "Ther...
by Cormac Brown
Tue Aug 09, 2016 10:40 am
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: The Great anattā/anātman debate
Replies: 588
Views: 101375

Re: On anattā/anātman

Sure, anatta means not-self. But if the aggregates are not-self and Nibbana is not-self, then there is no self to be found. a) Who says Nibbana is not self? b) Does the Buddha say, or does he not, that "There is no self" is the view of annihilationists? Are you aligning him with them, whe...
by Cormac Brown
Tue Aug 09, 2016 10:31 am
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: The Great anattā/anātman debate
Replies: 588
Views: 101375

Re: On anattā/anātman

So what if someone were to say in this thread, "Cormac's a despicable fool," and a moderator, perhaps one who doesn't entirely disagree (not unreasonably, I might add) with the statement on terms of verbal accuracy, were to see the comment. Is it not still conceivable that they might, des...
by Cormac Brown
Sun Aug 07, 2016 1:00 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Regarding Orthodoxy
Replies: 59
Views: 12173

Regarding Orthodoxy

Split from here: http://dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=27145&start=260#p390002 Full quote added for clarity: To get a better idea of the community and its variety, I suggest going out to monasteries and communities in the real world and making your discoveries that way. Maybe you are ...
by Cormac Brown
Sun Aug 07, 2016 12:50 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: The Great anattā/anātman debate
Replies: 588
Views: 101375

Re: On anattā/anātman

Spiny offered that "Nibbana isn't a self" and you countered with "it's not correct to say this.", there's no difference between this and saying we can assume nibbana to be self as far as I can see. So what if someone were to say in this thread, "Cormac's a despicable fool,&...
by Cormac Brown
Thu Aug 04, 2016 10:26 pm
Forum: Sīla
Topic: I have read and agree to the terms and conditions.....
Replies: 8
Views: 4801

Re: I have read and agree to the terms and conditions.....

Oh dear, its home insurance time! some websites ask us to tick a box to accept the terms and conditions, which is fine... but others ask us to tick IF we have read and fully understand the terms and conditions. I do wonder, am I putting myself under a dogmatic form of practise when I feel like I mu...
by Cormac Brown
Thu Aug 04, 2016 10:15 pm
Forum: Vipassanā / Satipaṭṭhāna Bhāvana
Topic: Ego confusion?
Replies: 16
Views: 5253

Re: Ego confusion?

"Even in Buddhist circles, you find various kinds of meditation where as they say, "Everything has all been thought out, everything has all been worked out, just follow the instructions. Don't think, don't add anything of your own." It's interesting to note that a lot of these method...
by Cormac Brown
Thu Aug 04, 2016 10:13 pm
Forum: Vipassanā / Satipaṭṭhāna Bhāvana
Topic: Ego confusion?
Replies: 16
Views: 5253

Re: Ego confusion?

Sometimes you hear that the Buddha's teaching on not-self is a teaching on non-ego. This is actually a misunderstanding and it has two unfortunate consequences. The first is that, for those who like the idea of non-ego, it becomes an excuse for self-hatred and for the practice of spiritual bypassin...
by Cormac Brown
Thu Aug 04, 2016 10:00 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: The Great anattā/anātman debate
Replies: 588
Views: 101375

Re: On anattā/anātman

Or to declare that "There is no self." He repeatedly declared there is no self in the aggregates, The All. So where else might it be? Nibbana? Well, no, that is not described as a self, it is described as cessation of the taints. So effectively he did declare there is no self. No, effecti...
by Cormac Brown
Thu Aug 04, 2016 9:51 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: The Great anattā/anātman debate
Replies: 588
Views: 101375

Re: On anattā/anātman

"Ananda, if I — being asked by Vacchagotta the wanderer if there is a self — were to answer that there is a self, that would be conforming with those brahmans & contemplatives who are exponents of eternalism [the view that there is an eternal, unchanging soul]. If I — being asked by Vaccha...
by Cormac Brown
Thu Aug 04, 2016 9:09 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: The Great anattā/anātman debate
Replies: 588
Views: 101375

Re: On anattā/anātman

I'm sorry it seems I was advocating a true self, I certainly don't. I'm simply not advocating materialistic annihilation. The Buddha didn't advocate materialistic annihilation either, the point is he didn't see the need to posit a true self, false self, or any other kind of self in order to achieve...
by Cormac Brown
Wed Aug 03, 2016 12:18 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: The Great anattā/anātman debate
Replies: 588
Views: 101375

Re: On anattā/anātman

OK, so Nibbana isn't a self, Yet the Buddha never declares this, and in my understanding it's not correct to say this. He never declares green isn't a self either, so since green is not one of the 5 aggregates I guess then we can assume it is a self also. Did I say we can assume nibbana to be self?...
by Cormac Brown
Wed Aug 03, 2016 6:30 am
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: The Great anattā/anātman debate
Replies: 588
Views: 101375

Re: On anattā/anātman

Read Ven. T's note re: Sabba Sutta here: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn35/sn35.023.than.html. It raises the point that Nibbana is not part of the All, but also states that this does not mean it is to be viewed as self. I've not once said that Nibbana is a true self, or that the sutta...
by Cormac Brown
Tue Aug 02, 2016 8:10 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: The Great anattā/anātman debate
Replies: 588
Views: 101375

Re: On anattā/anātman

So I repeat: stick to the suttas! Sure, but the Sabba, Phena and Bahiya Suttas look unambiguous, and I can't see any support in the suttas for Nibbana being a "true self", so.... :thinking: Hello Spiny, Yes, they're quite unambiguous in that they don't contain the Buddha stating that &quo...
by Cormac Brown
Tue Aug 02, 2016 7:55 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: The Great anattā/anātman debate
Replies: 588
Views: 101375

Re: On anattā/anātman

It doesn't appear so much as once in the suttas. This is what I meant by the difference between what the Buddha taught and what has become Theravada orthodoxy. The “No self" doctrine and the “Ultimate/Conventional" dichotomy are not the teachings of the Buddha. They emerged in much later ...