"Kill your parents, kill your god, kill your teacher." Fake Buddha quote?

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JamesTheGiant
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"Kill your parents, kill your god, kill your teacher." Fake Buddha quote?

Post by JamesTheGiant »

In the most recent edition of SFX magazine, columnist Steve O’Brien wrote that the Buddha said “Kill your parents, kill your god, kill your teacher."
I'm absolutely sure the Buddha never said this in the Pali canon. Is it in the Mahayana or Vajrayana teachings? Or a misattributed quote from some character from Tibetan Buddhist mythology?
Screenshot_2018-06-09-21-20-30.png
Last edited by JamesTheGiant on Sat Jun 09, 2018 9:23 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Fake Buddha quote? "Kill your parents, kill your god, kill your teacher"

Post by retrofuturist »

Greetings James,
JamesTheGiant wrote: Sat Jun 09, 2018 9:19 am “Kill your parents, kill your god, kill your teacher."
I'm absolutely sure the Buddha never said this in the Pali canon. Is it in the Mahayana or Vajrayana teachings? Or a misattributed quote from some character from Tibetan Buddhist mythology?
Totally fake, vis-a-vis the Pali Canon... it sounds like a brothelization of this.

Metta,
Paul. :)
"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."
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Re: "Kill your parents, kill your god, kill your teacher." Fake Buddha quote?

Post by SarathW »

I have heard the phrase “If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him!” many times. Can you explain this?

Answer:

It actually comes from an old koan attributed to Zen Master Linji, (the founder of the Rinzai sect). It’s a simple one:

“If you meet the Buddha, kill him.”– Linji

I’m sure you already realize that it’s not being literal. The road, the killing, and even the Buddha are symbolic.

http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/670
“As the lamp consumes oil, the path realises Nibbana”
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Re: "Kill your parents, kill your god, kill your teacher." Fake Buddha quote?

Post by Sam Vara »

This, however, is a genuine one! And beautiful...
Having killed anger
you sleep in ease.
Having killed anger
you do not grieve.
The noble ones praise
the slaying of anger
— with its honeyed crest
& poison root —
for having killed it
you do not grieve.
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Re: "Kill your parents, kill your god, kill your teacher." Fake Buddha quote?

Post by paul »

"If a tamable person doesn't submit either to a mild training or to a harsh training or to a mild & harsh training, then I kill him, Kesi."

"But it's not proper for our Blessed One to take life! And yet the Blessed One just said, 'I kill him, Kesi.'"

"It is true, Kesi, that it's not proper for a Tathagata to take life. But if a tamable person doesn't submit either to a mild training or to a harsh training or to a mild & harsh training, then the Tathagata doesn't regard him as being worth speaking to or admonishing. His knowledgeable fellows in the holy life don't regard him as being worth speaking to or admonishing. This is what it means to be totally destroyed in the Doctrine & Discipline, when the Tathagata doesn't regard one as being worth speaking to or admonishing, and one's knowledgeable fellows in the holy life don't regard one as being worth speaking to or admonishing."---AN 4:111
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Re: "Kill your parents, kill your god, kill your teacher." Fake Buddha quote?

Post by seeker242 »

From The Zen Teachings of Master Lin-Chi. The full quote :)
Followers of the Way [of Zen], if you want to get the kind of understanding that accords with the Dharma, never be misled by others. Whether you're facing inward or facing outward, whatever you meet up with, just kill it! If you meet a buddha, kill the buddha. If you meet a patriarch, kill the patriarch. If you meet an arhat, kill the arhat. If you meet your parents, kill your parents. If you meet your kinfolk, kill your kinfolk. Then for the first time you will gain emancipation, will not be entangled with things, will pass freely anywhere you wish to go
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Re: "Kill your parents, kill your god, kill your teacher." Fake Buddha quote?

Post by pilgrim »

There are these two Dhammapada verses which won't make sense unless you accept the Commentarial explanation.

Verse 294: Having killed mother (i.e., Craving), father (i.e., Conceit), and the two kings (i.e., Eternity-belief and Annihilation-belief), and having destroyed the kingdom (i.e., the sense bases and sense objects) together with its revenue officer (i.e., attachment), the brahmana (i.e., the arahat) goes free from dukkha.

Verse 295: Having killed mother, father, the two brahmin kings and having destroyed the hindrances of which the fifth (i.e., doubt) is like a tiger-infested journey, the brahmana (i.e., the arahat) goes free from dukkha.
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Re: "Kill your parents, kill your god, kill your teacher." Fake Buddha quote?

Post by 2600htz »

Hello:

Pretty much everytime i see a picture of a buddha with some quote on the internet its a fake quote :rofl:
Its kinda weird haha.

Regards.
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Re: "Kill your parents, kill your god, kill your teacher." Fake Buddha quote?

Post by DNS »

Also sounds like a poor paraphrase of Kalama Sutta, i.e., don't go by something believing a teacher inspired it, a god inspired it, scripture inspired it, etc.
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Re: "Kill your parents, kill your god, kill your teacher." Fake Buddha quote?

Post by JamesTheGiant »

seeker242 wrote: Sat Jun 09, 2018 10:59 am From The Zen Teachings of Master Lin-Chi. The full quote :)
Followers of the Way [of Zen], if you want to get the kind of understanding that accords with the Dharma, never be misled by others. Whether you're facing inward or facing outward, whatever you meet up with, just kill it! If you meet a buddha, kill the buddha. If you meet a patriarch, kill the patriarch. If you meet an arhat, kill the arhat. If you meet your parents, kill your parents. If you meet your kinfolk, kill your kinfolk. Then for the first time you will gain emancipation, will not be entangled with things, will pass freely anywhere you wish to go
That's the source! Thanks Seeker242! :anjali:
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Re: "Kill your parents, kill your god, kill your teacher." Fake Buddha quote?

Post by Dhammarakkhito »

There are these two Dhammapada verses which won't make sense unless you accept the Commentarial explanation.

Verse 294: Having killed mother (i.e., Craving), father (i.e., Conceit), and the two kings (i.e., Eternity-belief and Annihilation-belief), and having destroyed the kingdom (i.e., the sense bases and sense objects) together with its revenue officer (i.e., attachment), the brahmana (i.e., the arahat) goes free from dukkha.

Verse 295: Having killed mother, father, the two brahmin kings and having destroyed the hindrances of which the fifth (i.e., doubt) is like a tiger-infested journey, the brahmana (i.e., the arahat) goes free from dukkha.
i'd like to think he's referring to this but more likely he's just a hippie
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Re: "Kill your parents, kill your god, kill your teacher." Fake Buddha quote?

Post by JMGinPDX »

seeker242 wrote: Sat Jun 09, 2018 10:59 am From The Zen Teachings of Master Lin-Chi. The full quote :)
Followers of the Way [of Zen], if you want to get the kind of understanding that accords with the Dharma, never be misled by others. Whether you're facing inward or facing outward, whatever you meet up with, just kill it! If you meet a buddha, kill the buddha. If you meet a patriarch, kill the patriarch. If you meet an arhat, kill the arhat. If you meet your parents, kill your parents. If you meet your kinfolk, kill your kinfolk. Then for the first time you will gain emancipation, will not be entangled with things, will pass freely anywhere you wish to go
It's also in Wumen's commentary on the 1st koan of the Wumenkan "Joshu Says Mu."
And yes, it's symbolic, meaning that if you "meet" the Buddha or the ancient Masters, then you're still grasping at the conceptual world, and you should "kill" the "Buddha" you met because it's just another example of clinging and attachment to form.
Right now, it's like this...
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