Why did the Buddha choose not to live of Light?

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Lucas Oliveira
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Why did the Buddha choose not to live of Light?

Post by Lucas Oliveira »

Why did the Buddha choose not to live of Light?

"Devas, on seeing me, said, 'Gotama the contemplative is dead.' Other devas said, 'He isn't dead, he's dying.' Others said, 'He's neither dead nor dying, he's an arahant, for this is the way arahants live.'

"I thought: 'Suppose I were to practice going altogether without food.' Then devas came to me and said, 'Dear sir, please don't practice going altogether without food. If you go altogether without food, we'll infuse divine nourishment in through your pores, and you will survive on that.' I thought, 'If I were to claim to be completely fasting while these devas are infusing divine nourishment in through my pores, I would be lying.' So I dismissed them, saying, 'Enough.'
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .than.html



Living on light: woman attempts to prove humans can live without food
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/ ... thout-food

Living on Light - The Source of Nourishment for the New Millennium
https://www.amazon.com/Living-Light-Sou ... 3929512351

AM ANFANG WAR DAS LICHT
http://www.amanfangwardaslicht.at/


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coucholder
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Re: Why did the Buddha choose not to live of Light?

Post by coucholder »

My friend,

I am alarmed by this post. According to the sutta from which you quoted, the Buddha was in direct contact with divine beings who were offering to nourish him with their superhuman power. He was not considering "living of Light" or "breatharianism" or "pranic nourishment" as taught my Ellen "Jasmuheen" Greve, which has in fact killed those who sincerely attempted to implement her teachings. It is commonly believed that her claims to not having eaten any food for over a decade are lies, and she refuses to submit herself to any scientific observation that might verify her claims or teachings.

"Man cannot live by bread alone," but he certainly can't live by breath alone either! I do not want a fellow Buddhist to risk death over such a silly gimmick, especially because the Awakened One Himself didn't even insist that His followers become vegetarians much less that they live on no solid food whatsoever!
natthi me saraṇaṃ aññaṃ
buddho me saraṇaṃ varaṃ
etena sacca-vajjena
hotu me jayamaṅgalaṃ


A socialist is just someone who is unable to get over his or her astonishment that most people who have lived and died have spent lives of wretched, fruitless, unremitting toil. Terry Eagleton, Ideology: An Introduction.

When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist. Hélder Câmara, Essential Writings.
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Jetavan
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Re: Why did the Buddha choose not to live of Light?

Post by Jetavan »

He did live off of Light. Matter is just Light in another form.
User156079
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Re: Why did the Buddha choose not to live of Light?

Post by User156079 »

I have tried it and I don't think it is possible, if i were to undertake the practise i would surely be dead within 6-7 months no matter activity level and climate as i am considered "underweight" to begin with, if i had more bulk i could survive longer but only until the fat and muscle tissues are completely consumed. Realisticaly i think id be dead within two months tho.

I am surprised with your willingness to interpret the Sutta in that way, there is absolutely nothing suggesting that there is nutritional value in Radiation emitted from the Sun and nothing suggesting that "Divine Nourishment" is light emitted from the Sun. I advice you to stick to The Buddha Sasana.

If this was possible it would be very easy to prove and people would be doing it already. When i see claims of somebody doing this i call bullshit and fake guru without hestitation.
The 65-year-old, originally from Birmingham in the UK, has been consuming just water and "one, maybe two cups of tea a day" for the past 41 days, losing 30lbs in the process
The tone of her Facebook updates has changed as time has elapsed, with it appearing this week that Shine would not put herself at risk if she continues to deteriorate. On Monday she wrote that she would not drop down below 120lbs; suggesting an end to her attempt may be in sight.
She said she had started adding "a package of EmergenC" into her water, which she said had no nutritional value, although the website of the supplement shows that a typical package does contain 25 calories and a number of vitamins and minerals.
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Bhikkhu Pesala
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Re: Why did the Buddha choose not to live of Light?

Post by Bhikkhu Pesala »

Lucas Oliveira wrote:Why did the Buddha choose not to live of Light?
The answer is clear from the text itself.
'I thought, 'If I were to claim to be completely fasting while these devas are infusing divine nourishment in through my pores, I would be lying.' So I dismissed them, saying, 'Enough.'
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dylanj
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Re: Why did the Buddha choose not to live of Light?

Post by dylanj »

Lucas Oliveira wrote:Why did the Buddha choose not to live of Light?

"Devas, on seeing me, said, 'Gotama the contemplative is dead.' Other devas said, 'He isn't dead, he's dying.' Others said, 'He's neither dead nor dying, he's an arahant, for this is the way arahants live.'

"I thought: 'Suppose I were to practice going altogether without food.' Then devas came to me and said, 'Dear sir, please don't practice going altogether without food. If you go altogether without food, we'll infuse divine nourishment in through your pores, and you will survive on that.' I thought, 'If I were to claim to be completely fasting while these devas are infusing divine nourishment in through my pores, I would be lying.' So I dismissed them, saying, 'Enough.'


Your answer is right here. He was going to go altogether without food. Then when he had made that decision the Devas chose to force-feed him. So he had no option, either he ate or he lied.
Born, become, arisen – made, prepared, short-lived
Bonded by decay and death – a nest for sickness, perishable
Produced by seeking nutriment – not fit to take delight in


Departure from this is peaceful – beyond reasoning and enduring
Unborn, unarisen – free from sorrow and stain
Ceasing of all factors of suffering – stilling of all preparations is bliss
lostitude
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Re: Why did the Buddha choose not to live of Light?

Post by lostitude »

Jetavan wrote:He did live off of Light. Matter is just Light in another form.
How so? Food is carbon, light is photons...
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Jetavan
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Re: Why did the Buddha choose not to live of Light?

Post by Jetavan »

lostitude wrote:
Jetavan wrote:He did live off of Light. Matter is just Light in another form.
How so? Food is carbon, light is photons...
Photons can theoretically be transformed into electrons. We now have the experimental equipment to actually do it.
lostitude
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Re: Why did the Buddha choose not to live of Light?

Post by lostitude »

Jetavan wrote:
lostitude wrote:
Jetavan wrote:He did live off of Light. Matter is just Light in another form.
How so? Food is carbon, light is photons...
Photons can theoretically be transformed into electrons. We now have the experimental equipment to actually do it.
But our bodies are not equipped with photon-photon colliders, there doesn't seem to be gamma-rays of the intensity required for this in our atmosphere, and even if there were, electrons alone are still of no use to a normal human body... How do you transform an electron into an atom of carbon?
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Lucas Oliveira
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Re: Why did the Buddha choose not to live of Light?

Post by Lucas Oliveira »

Yogi Prahlad Jani, who claimed to have survived for over 70 years without food and water, no more
https://www.timesnownews.com/india/arti ... ada/597134

India yogi who claimed to live without food or water, dies
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/categ ... ater-dies/

Gujarat: Ascetic who claimed survival without food and water..
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cit ... 004475.cms

Snippet from "IN THE BEGINNING THERE WAS LIGHT" - Yogi Prahlad Jani



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cappuccino
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Re: Why did the Buddha choose not to live of Light?

Post by cappuccino »

Lucas Oliveira wrote: Why did the Buddha choose not to live of Light?
What goes into someone's mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.

Matthew 15:11
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Lucas Oliveira
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Re: Why did the Buddha choose not to live of Light?

Post by Lucas Oliveira »

cappuccino wrote: Thu May 28, 2020 3:42 pm
Lucas Oliveira wrote: Why did the Buddha choose not to live of Light?
What goes into someone's mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.

Matthew 15:11
Matthew 4:4

4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’[a]”

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?s ... ersion=NIV

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Lucas Oliveira
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Re: Why did the Buddha choose not to live of Light?

Post by Lucas Oliveira »

In the Beginning There Was Light
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Be ... _Was_Light

https://www.lightdocumentary.com/


IN THE BEGINNING THERE WAS LIGHT - Trailer


The last picture of Mataji Prahlad Jani before making his transition. Today May 26th 2020 - 1.45 am


Jasmuheen
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jasmuheen
https://www.jasmuheen.com/
https://www.youtube.com/user/jasmuheen



:namaste:
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http://www.acessoaoinsight.net/
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confusedlayman
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Re: Why did the Buddha choose not to live of Light?

Post by confusedlayman »

Lucas Oliveira wrote: Thu May 28, 2020 10:14 pm In the Beginning There Was Light
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Be ... _Was_Light

https://www.lightdocumentary.com/


IN THE BEGINNING THERE WAS LIGHT - Trailer


The last picture of Mataji Prahlad Jani before making his transition. Today May 26th 2020 - 1.45 am


Jasmuheen
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jasmuheen
https://www.jasmuheen.com/
https://www.youtube.com/user/jasmuheen



:namaste:
light is something that comes and goes. darkness is always there as it is absent of light but not an entity on its own.
I may be slow learner but im at least learning...
bodhifollower
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Re: Why did the Buddha choose not to live of Light?

Post by bodhifollower »

He wasn't asked to eat light. The devas said they were going to put divine food in through his poors. It doesn't mention light anywhere. So you're question is not intelligent. What you said is bologey.

The cause of the body is food. When you stop eating the body has no more support and ceaseless to keep together. The way to the cessation of the body is the 8 parts path.
Please read the suttas friend.

"All nutriment is unsatisfying, even divine food." -The Buddha
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