Where is the Buddha?

A discussion on all aspects of Theravāda Buddhism
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mikenz66
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Re: Where is the Buddha?

Post by mikenz66 »

TRobinson465 wrote: Mon Jul 16, 2018 6:13 am Ironic how the forum generally talks quite nicely of Thanissaro Bhikkhu normally and simply sets aside interpretations he has that they disagree with. If only such civility was equally applied to all other groups and teachers with "heretical" views.
It's not clear whether (a) you don't want members to point out interpretations and translations that they find questionable, or (b) whether you want them to be more polite about their disagreements (as Robert was being in his post, I think). I am certainly in favour of the latter, but not the former.

There are certainly plenty of posts detailing problems that members see with the interpretations and/or translations of a number of modern commentators, including Ven Thanissaro's. And plenty of posts criticising the interpretations of ancient commentators. I think it's useful to be alerted to possible errors of interpretation. As we see from Robert's post, there is significant disagreement about some aspects of interpretation between modern commentators, so presumably they can't all be correct...

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Mike
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robertk
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Re: Where is the Buddha?

Post by robertk »

I think trobinson was referring to the old thread about dhammakaya - which did have a number of gratitutous insults.
:)
TRobinson465
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Re: Where is the Buddha?

Post by TRobinson465 »

robertk wrote: Mon Jul 16, 2018 12:11 pm I think trobinson was referring to the old thread about dhammakaya - which did have a number of gratitutous insults.
:)
Yes. not necessarily that thread but other anatta threads that bring it up too. Ironically, the most common insult is that dhammakaya interprets anatta wrong and are thus heretics. Yet this same religious intolerance isn't applied to thanissaro bhikkhu who is supposedly wrong on the EXACT. SAME. CONCEPT. That makes dhammakaya heretics.

And to be clear I wasn't singling out Robert personally as he is not really one of the ppl guilty of this hypocrisy. Although the general culture of the forum is.
"Do not have blind faith, but also no blind criticism" - the 14th Dalai Lama

"The Blessed One has set in motion the unexcelled Wheel of Dhamma that cannot be stopped by brahmins, devas, Maras, Brahmas or anyone in the cosmos." -Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta
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Sam Vara
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Re: Where is the Buddha?

Post by Sam Vara »

TRobinson465 wrote: Mon Jul 16, 2018 4:34 pm
Yes. not necessarily that thread but other anatta threads that bring it up too. Ironically, the most common insult is that dhammakaya interprets anatta wrong and are thus heretics. Yet this same religious intolerance isn't applied to thanissaro bhikkhu who is supposedly wrong on the EXACT. SAME. CONCEPT.
Sadly, you can certainly find some intolerant attitudes expressed on DW towards Ajahn Thanissaro, including the view that he is a heretic. His views have inspired both support and extremely negative criticism.
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Re: Where is the Buddha?

Post by TRobinson465 »

Sam Vara wrote: Mon Jul 16, 2018 4:44 pm
TRobinson465 wrote: Mon Jul 16, 2018 4:34 pm
Yes. not necessarily that thread but other anatta threads that bring it up too. Ironically, the most common insult is that dhammakaya interprets anatta wrong and are thus heretics. Yet this same religious intolerance isn't applied to thanissaro bhikkhu who is supposedly wrong on the EXACT. SAME. CONCEPT.
Sadly, you can certainly find some intolerant attitudes expressed on DW towards Ajahn Thanissaro, including the view that he is a heretic. His views have inspired both support and extremely negative criticism.
Interesting. I've seen such criticism of ajahn maha bua for his views on anatta, but not direct attacks on thanissaro other than simply dismissing his anatta interpretation. I'll search through the forum a bit more.
"Do not have blind faith, but also no blind criticism" - the 14th Dalai Lama

"The Blessed One has set in motion the unexcelled Wheel of Dhamma that cannot be stopped by brahmins, devas, Maras, Brahmas or anyone in the cosmos." -Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta
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mikenz66
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Re: Where is the Buddha?

Post by mikenz66 »

TRobinson465 wrote: Mon Jul 16, 2018 5:14 pm Interesting. I've seen such criticism of ajahn maha bua for his views on anatta, but not direct attacks on thanissaro other than simply dismissing his anatta interpretation. I'll search through the forum a bit more.
See, for example:
viewtopic.php?f=16&t=11079
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=986
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=18229

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mikenz66
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Re: Where is the Buddha?

Post by mikenz66 »

Going back to the topic, here are some threads that might be helpful:
viewtopic.php?t=32250&start=45#p478894
viewtopic.php?t=30626

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Mike
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