Did the Buddha ever see the sea?

A discussion on all aspects of Theravāda Buddhism
budo
Posts: 1752
Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2010 12:16 am

Re: Did the Buddha ever see the sea?

Post by budo »

pilgrim wrote: Fri Oct 19, 2018 8:46 am The Ganges Valley where the Buddha lived is thousands of miles from the coast. Yet there are suttas where the Buddha talked about the oceans and its creatures. There are also suttas where he spoke of the cosmos. I'm wondering if his knowledge of the former was thru heresay from others or personal sight of the sea or was it, like his knowledge of the cosmos, acquired thru his psychic vision. Is there any sutta which mentions the Buddha traveling to the coast?
Here is a mental thought exercise:

If you can see your past lives including many cosmic contractions and expansions, then you don't need "divine eye" or the ability to see the future, or the ability to see other beings, since you'll have tons of data that would show you all these places and beings, which were all from your past lives. Hence seeing your hundreds of thousands of past lives will teach you how karma works, about other planets, etc..

Maybe a previous civilization was more advanced than our civilization (like the mythology of Atlantis). So technically having the ability to see 100,000+ past lives may give you all the knowledge you need to know about the universe.

Another mental exercise:

If you had perfect memory you wouldn't move. Why do you eat junk food? Why do you eat pizza? Because the associated sensations have faded, so you want to "Refresh" the experience. But if you had perfect memory like a computer, you wouldn't need to "Refresh" the experience. If you had perfect memory, you wouldn't need to revisit places, you wouldn't need to move at all. If you had perfect memory, your cravings would be forever satiated.

A god is a being that is omniscient (all knowing) thus a god wouldn't need to do anything if he knew everything. So omnipotence and omniscience are directly conflicting with each other. Epicurus's God theorem (google it) is flawed, because he assumes God is malevolent for not "Willing" to stop evil, all he compares is willing vs omnipotence, but he never considers omniscience. If you know everything then there is no reason to do anything.

Hence, ignorance means movement, and the omission of ignorance means non-movement / stilling, hence the highest fetter is ignorance which leads to existence which is movement.
justindesilva
Posts: 2602
Joined: Wed Jul 27, 2016 12:38 pm

Re: Did the Buddha ever see the sea?

Post by justindesilva »

Lord budda had visited Sri lanka a few times which are recorded. Therefore it is evident that lord Budda had crossed the sea.
User avatar
Sam Vara
Site Admin
Posts: 13482
Joined: Sun Jun 05, 2011 5:42 pm
Location: Portsmouth, U.K.

Re: Did the Buddha ever see the sea?

Post by Sam Vara »

justindesilva wrote: Sat Oct 20, 2018 5:34 pm Lord budda had visited Sri lanka a few times which are recorded. Therefore it is evident that lord Budda had crossed the sea.
Could you please say where these visits are recorded, to help people gauge the reliability of the claim?
dharmacorps
Posts: 2298
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2015 7:33 pm

Re: Did the Buddha ever see the sea?

Post by dharmacorps »

justindesilva wrote: Sat Oct 20, 2018 5:34 pm Lord budda had visited Sri lanka a few times which are recorded. Therefore it is evident that lord Budda had crossed the sea.
This is fancifully told in the Mahavamsa (chronicle of the origin of Sri Lanka), but is all but certainly not historically accurate. The logistical considerations of such a journey at the time coupled with what we know about the Buddha's life make this extraordinarily unlikely.
justindesilva
Posts: 2602
Joined: Wed Jul 27, 2016 12:38 pm

Re: Did the Buddha ever see the sea?

Post by justindesilva »

dharmacorps wrote: Sat Oct 20, 2018 7:31 pm
justindesilva wrote: Sat Oct 20, 2018 5:34 pm Lord budda had visited Sri lanka a few times which are recorded. Therefore it is evident that lord Budda had crossed the sea.
This is fancifully told in the Mahavamsa (chronicle of the origin of Sri Lanka), but is all but certainly not historically accurate. The logistical considerations of such a journey at the time coupled with what we know about the Buddha's life make this extraordinarily unlikely.
There is archaeological evidence that Buddhism existed in sti lanka before mahinda Thero introduced buddhism to sri lanka which proves that lord budda visited sri lanka. Further please read the article " buddas visit to Srii lanka inevitable by Ipali zJayadrkara in web " infolanka.com/org/ Sri Lanka" to improve this idea. Following lord buddas visit , his collar bone after painirvana had been placed in Mahiyangana for worship before mahinda thero atrived.
santa100
Posts: 6814
Joined: Fri Jun 10, 2011 10:55 pm

Re: Did the Buddha ever see the sea?

Post by santa100 »

pilgrim wrote:I'm wondering if his knowledge of the former was thru heresay from others or personal sight of the sea or was it, like his knowledge of the cosmos, acquired thru his psychic vision.
Per the Suttas, the Buddha already mastered all the Iddhis, so it'd be the latter, psychic power. Also from the suttas, Iddhis not only limited to pure mental power but also involve many physical aspects:
SN 51.20 wrote:When a monk has thus developed & pursued the four bases of power, he experiences manifold supranormal powers. Having been one he becomes many; having been many he becomes one. He appears. He vanishes. He goes unimpeded through walls, ramparts, & mountains as if through space. He dives in & out of the earth as if it were water. He walks on water without sinking as if it were dry land. Sitting crosslegged he flies through the air like a winged bird. With his hand he touches & strokes even the sun & moon, so mighty & powerful. He exercises influence with his body even as far as the Brahma worlds.
form
Posts: 3471
Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2016 3:23 am

Re: Did the Buddha ever see the sea?

Post by form »

Isnt him supposed to know everything as long as he is concentrated?
User avatar
AgarikaJ
Posts: 361
Joined: Tue Sep 11, 2018 12:21 pm
Location: Germany, Nong Bua Lamphu (Thailand)

Re: Did the Buddha ever see the sea?

Post by AgarikaJ »

budo wrote: Fri Oct 19, 2018 12:38 pm Here is a mental thought exercise
I found your thought exercises intriguing, for the mental work necessary for somebody with a western education to give in to faith into the more metaphysical parts of the Suttas.

Alone through this they are helpful in overcoming clinging to long-standing beliefs and watching the mind struggle to let go of them. :juggling:



[nevertheless, the Buddha would have met and talked to people who would have seen the ocean with their own eyes, so while remembering it through his previous lifes is a good explanation why he could talk in detail about it, it is not necessarily the only possibility how he could have gained this knowledge]
The teaching is a lake with shores of ethics, unclouded, praised by the fine to the good.
There the knowledgeable go to bathe, and cross to the far shore without getting wet.
[SN 7.21]
Post Reply