Belief in the Pali Canon

A discussion on all aspects of Theravāda Buddhism
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Nibbida
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Belief in the Pali Canon

Post by Nibbida »

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Cras id, tellus wisi quisque curabitur, erat augue lacus lectus pretium, lacus quam tellus vitae quam. Nullam lorem nunc, velit maecenas, vestibulum sed suspendisse eget sem, velit sed, sed libero id. Nec a et. Fermentum senectus consectetuer, faucibus est pharetra vel ac rhoncus nec, ultrices sed mauris perspiciatis odio, ut neque neque posuere. Ullamcorper odio nunc wisi posuere. Pede est vestibulum, eu nunc pharetra, id maecenas accumsan quam faucibus luctus, habitasse vel sagittis eu convallis, urna dolor. Ac dolor ac tellus libero quis lacinia, justo elit vel quis, vestibulum viverra pellentesque sit. Quis tortor ullamcorper amet magnis hymenaeos potenti, interdum mollis quam aliquam turpis nihil.
Last edited by Nibbida on Fri Jan 16, 2015 6:57 am, edited 1 time in total.
Mawkish1983
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Re: Belief in the Pali Canon

Post by Mawkish1983 »

Is it the Apannaka Sutta or the Canki Sutta where the Tathagata teaches that agnsticism is basically the best position to take rather than total acceptance or total rejection? I forget, but I recall it being there somewhere... a list of things in which people usually put faith (from ancient texts to their own experience and everything in between) and in each case there were two outcomes: it might be true and it might not.

I can't remember, but someone here will know :D
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Nibbida
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Re: Belief in the Pali Canon

Post by Nibbida »

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Cras id, tellus wisi quisque curabitur, erat augue lacus lectus pretium, lacus quam tellus vitae quam. Nullam lorem nunc, velit maecenas, vestibulum sed suspendisse eget sem, velit sed, sed libero id. Nec a et. Fermentum senectus consectetuer, faucibus est pharetra vel ac rhoncus nec, ultrices sed mauris perspiciatis odio, ut neque neque posuere. Ullamcorper odio nunc wisi posuere. Pede est vestibulum, eu nunc pharetra, id maecenas accumsan quam faucibus luctus, habitasse vel sagittis eu convallis, urna dolor. Ac dolor ac tellus libero quis lacinia, justo elit vel quis, vestibulum viverra pellentesque sit. Quis tortor ullamcorper amet magnis hymenaeos potenti, interdum mollis quam aliquam turpis nihil.
Last edited by Nibbida on Fri Jan 16, 2015 7:01 am, edited 1 time in total.
Mawkish1983
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Re: Belief in the Pali Canon

Post by Mawkish1983 »

Nibbida wrote: AAAAAGGGHHH!! :-)
?
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Jechbi
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Re: Belief in the Pali Canon

Post by Jechbi »

That thar's pirate-speak, ye maties! Arrrr.

from a different thread:
Ben wrote:Have a look at the following:
MN 60: Apannaka Sutta: The Incontrovertible Teaching
and...
MN 74: Dighanakha Sutta: To Dighanakha
Rain soddens what is kept wrapped up,
But never soddens what is open;
Uncover, then, what is concealed,
Lest it be soddened by the rain.
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mikenz66
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Re: Belief in the Pali Canon

Post by mikenz66 »

Here's the Canki Sutta:
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .than.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I don't think it's agnosticism that is being advocated, more the idea that there is a possibility that unless one is fully enlightened one may not have the whole truth:
"If a person has conviction, his statement, 'This is my conviction,' safeguards the truth. But he doesn't yet come to the definite conclusion that 'Only this is true; anything else is worthless.' To this extent, Bharadvaja, there is the safeguarding of the truth. To this extent one safeguards the truth. I describe this as the safeguarding of the truth. But it is not yet an awakening to the truth.
[and so on for ".., likes something... holds an unbroken tradition... has something reasoned through analogy... has something he agrees to, having pondered views,...
Mike
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gavesako
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Re: Belief in the Pali Canon

Post by gavesako »

I have been recently thinking about the topic "Dhamma: Idea or Ideology?" Ven. Nyanamoli proposed to translate dhamma as "idea" (as in "leading idea"), whereas ideology would be a misapprehension through view-clinging (cf. ditthi-thana or "standpoints for views" in MN 22).

I shall probably make a video series on this promising topic... (Don't like ideologies.)
Bhikkhu Gavesako
Kiṃkusalagavesī anuttaraṃ santivarapadaṃ pariyesamāno... (MN 26)

Access to Insight - Theravada texts
Ancient Buddhist Texts - Translations and history of Pali texts
Dhammatalks.org - Sutta translations
Mawkish1983
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Re: Belief in the Pali Canon

Post by Mawkish1983 »

mikenz66 wrote:I don't think it's agnosticism that is being advocated
Yeah, I think maybe the word 'agnostic' was not quite appropriate... you do a much better job of explaining it than I do :)
Individual
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Re: Belief in the Pali Canon

Post by Individual »

Nibbida wrote:Tangential the the thread on accepting rebirth, I wonder about belief in other aspects of the Pali Canon.

I understand that rejecting rebirth is outright contrary to the Pali Canon because it's inconsistent with the fundamental principles. That much is evident.

But what about belief in the existence of other aspects such as devas and supernatural powers (e.g. clairaudience, etc.), Would an agnostic or outright skeptical attitude toward these elements be contrary to Buddhist practice or a hindrance to development? My guess is not necessarily since they are not essential to the Eightfold Path, that they are not essential to the causes and cessation of suffering. But I'm not certain if this is the Theravadin view.

Can anyone say with greater certainty?
The Pali canon is not the Buddhist Bible or Qu'ran. In my opinion, it is more comparable to Gray's Anatomy. Buddhists do not blindly accept literal words as dogma, but penetrate the meaning of the text, to find what is useful. Belief is only important in as much as it is connection to action. An agnostic or outright skeptical attitude could be a hindrance, yes, but there different kinds of agnosticism and skepticism, some good and some bad.
The best things in life aren't things.

The Diamond Sutra
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kc2dpt
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Re: Belief in the Pali Canon

Post by kc2dpt »

Nibbida wrote:But what about belief in the existence of other aspects such as devas and supernatural powers?
Devas are a part of right view in the same way rebirth is.
Supernatural powers does not appear to be.
- Peter

Be heedful and you will accomplish your goal.
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Nibbida
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Re: Belief in the Pali Canon

Post by Nibbida »

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, etiam nunc justo urna vehicula, rhoncus nam non facilisis aliquet, mauris nulla nisl convallis per ut. Venenatis per, vitae dapibus nam pellentesque id pellentesque, tortor augue. Wisi neque lacus dolor et, bibendum leo, mattis quam quisque, curabitur aenean mollis semper diam nisl, maecenas neque non velit. Iaculis velit rutrum odio nibh, lectus et pellentesque arcu quam ac, sit velit tellus hendrerit a augue nisl, mollis ipsum, iaculis vestibulum orci dui mauris ante. Purus malesuada, ut sem, potenti wisi sit velit. Mi dignissim felis rhoncus mauris facilisis, urna consectetuer quisque aliquam curabitur. Suspendisse libero amet sed feugiat. Consequat amet elit consectetuer ut et pellentesque, duis imperdiet nostra sed vestibulum, quis adipiscing nulla ante mattis. At ut commodo, nec orci, metus praesent.

Cras id, tellus wisi quisque curabitur, erat augue lacus lectus pretium, lacus quam tellus vitae quam. Nullam lorem nunc, velit maecenas, vestibulum sed suspendisse eget sem, velit sed, sed libero id. Nec a et. Fermentum senectus consectetuer, faucibus est pharetra vel ac rhoncus nec, ultrices sed mauris perspiciatis odio, ut neque neque posuere. Ullamcorper odio nunc wisi posuere. Pede est vestibulum, eu nunc pharetra, id maecenas accumsan quam faucibus luctus, habitasse vel sagittis eu convallis, urna dolor. Ac dolor ac tellus libero quis lacinia, justo elit vel quis, vestibulum viverra pellentesque sit. Quis tortor ullamcorper amet magnis hymenaeos potenti, interdum mollis quam aliquam turpis nihil.
Last edited by Nibbida on Fri Jan 16, 2015 7:01 am, edited 1 time in total.
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retrofuturist
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Re: Belief in the Pali Canon

Post by retrofuturist »

Greetings Nibbida,
Nibbida wrote:I didn't know if it made any difference or not what one believed about devas, since Theravada Buddhism is not a devotional religion (i.e. doesn't pray to devas to deliver us from suffering).
It's more the different realms of existence than the devas themselves that are the important aspect.

Metta,
Retro. :)
"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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