The Buddha's conception and birth

A discussion on all aspects of Theravāda Buddhism
User avatar
tiltbillings
Posts: 23046
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2008 9:25 am

Re: The Buddha's conception and birth

Post by tiltbillings »

equilibrium wrote:
tiltbillings wrote:
whynotme wrote: . . .
equilibrium wrote: . . .
So, are you two arguing that the text in question be taken literally, as describing an actual, literal history?
If one wishes to then they can, if one don't then don't.....simple.....but only a piece of history.
What is more important is the future and "NOW" is the time to create that future.
Everything is Cause and effect.
Since there is no reason to take stories like that literally true, I don't, but I wonder if there might be a problem for those that do. I wonder if you might see what such problems might be.
>> Do you see a man wise [enlightened/ariya] in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<< -- Proverbs 26:12

This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” HPatDH p.723
whynotme
Posts: 743
Joined: Sat Jun 11, 2011 5:52 am

Re: The Buddha's conception and birth

Post by whynotme »

tiltbillings wrote:So, do you take everything in te suttas as being literally, historically true?
Yes, I take everything in the suttas as literally, historically true

Regards
Please stop following me
User avatar
tiltbillings
Posts: 23046
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2008 9:25 am

Re: The Buddha's conception and birth

Post by tiltbillings »

whynotme wrote:
tiltbillings wrote:So, do you take everything in te suttas as being literally, historically true?
Yes, I take everything in the suttas as literally, historically true

Regards
And there are those who take everything in the Bible as being literally/historically true, and there are those who take everything in the Puranas as being literally/historically true, and there those who take everything in the . . . . It is a strange world we live in.
>> Do you see a man wise [enlightened/ariya] in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<< -- Proverbs 26:12

This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” HPatDH p.723
User avatar
equilibrium
Posts: 522
Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2012 11:07 am

Re: The Buddha's conception and birth

Post by equilibrium »

tiltbillings wrote: Since there is no reason to take stories like that literally true, I don't, but I wonder if there might be a problem for those that do. I wonder if you might see what such problems might be.
Only a piece of history hence it is not of great significance.....the teaching is more important.
At best, it is a belief for those who wish to belief.....but this will not go well as it can back fire if revealed to the public, one can believe what they want but it is what one understands that matters more.
A good saying to this is never judge a book by its covers.
User avatar
DNS
Site Admin
Posts: 17169
Joined: Tue Dec 30, 2008 4:15 am
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, Estados Unidos de América
Contact:

Re: The Buddha's conception and birth

Post by DNS »

In spite of some mythical things like the (pre-Buddhist) 32 marks of a great man and this Sutta, the Theravada is pretty uniform in the doctrine that the Buddha was a human being -- a man who became the Buddha, the samma-sam-buddha; certainly a great being, but whose history is that of a human.

In the Mahayana, however, there is the Trikaya concept where mythologies appear to take more precedence, where I have even heard that some life events were just a "show" in the cosmic plan.

Personally, I prefer the Theravada account.
User avatar
Hanzze
Posts: 1906
Joined: Mon Oct 04, 2010 12:47 pm
Location: Cambodia

Re: The Buddha's conception and birth

Post by Hanzze »

tiltbillings wrote: It is a strange world we live in.
Full of doubt where it does not matter and lack of doubt where it matters, full of believes where it does not matter and lack of believes where it matters. So it will stay an object of mind.
Just that! *smile*
...We Buddhists must find the courage to leave our temples and enter the temples of human experience, temples that are filled with suffering. If we listen to Buddha, Christ, or Gandhi, we can do nothing else. The refugee camps, the prisons, the ghettos, and the battlefields will become our temples. We have so much work to do. ... Peace is Possible! Step by Step. - Samtach Preah Maha Ghosananda "Step by Step" http://www.ghosananda.org/bio_book.html

BUT! it is important to become a real Buddhist first. Like Punna did: Punna Sutta Nate sante baram sokham _()_
Post Reply