Greetings,
Whilst I don't think it's necessarily anyone's place to speculate how others would react in such a situation, I believe clw_uk would listen to the Buddha and believe what was said.
We all have different approaches to trying to piece together for ourselves what the Buddha actually taught... I'm sure no two approaches are entirely the same. No matter how confident that we may be that we understand the Buddha's teachings, we should never be complacent and never think we have a monopoly on their interpretation.
Metta,
Retro.
if you could ask the Buddha one question
- retrofuturist
- Posts: 27848
- Joined: Tue Dec 30, 2008 9:52 pm
- Location: Melbourne, Australia
- Contact:
Re: if you could ask the Buddha one question
"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."
Re: if you could ask the Buddha one question
Ben wrote:Somehow, I don't think you would.clw_uk wrote:Oh, gawd; what would you do if he said that the three life version was correct?
lol, then i would accept it
Hey Ben
Of course i would
If i didnt follow what the Buddha told me was benefical to ending dukkha then i wouldnt be a follower of Buddhadhamma, i wouldnt be taking refuge
Can i put a question to you (and others). If he said that D.O. wasnt three lives and that rebirth wasnt part of his teachings would you listen and still practice buddhadhamma?
metta
“Knowing that this body is just like foam,
understanding it has the nature of a mirage,
cutting off Māra’s flower-tipped arrows,
one should go beyond the King of Death’s sight.”
understanding it has the nature of a mirage,
cutting off Māra’s flower-tipped arrows,
one should go beyond the King of Death’s sight.”
- tiltbillings
- Posts: 23046
- Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2008 9:25 am
Re: if you could ask the Buddha one question
I simply respond with: If you are dead and gone, nothing left, what is the point? He would not be much of a Buddha.If he said that D.O. wasnt three lives and that rebirth wasnt part of his teachings would you listen and still practice buddhadhamma?
>> 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
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
Re: if you could ask the Buddha one question
Well thats assuming he would say that (he wouldnt actually since thats a specualtive view that leads to dukkha), my view is that he would most likely say that its irrelevanttiltbillings wrote:I simply respond with: If you are dead and gone, nothing left, what is the point? He would not be much of a Buddha.If he said that D.O. wasnt three lives and that rebirth wasnt part of his teachings would you listen and still practice buddhadhamma?
just because someone says rebirth isnt in buddhadhamma doesn automatically mean "dead and gone forever"
Thats no different to a xtian saying "dont believe in god then there is nothing after death"
They are both false Dichotomies
perhaps the question simply doesnt matter
so if he said "it doesnt matter" or that its unhelpful speculation, what would you say?
“Knowing that this body is just like foam,
understanding it has the nature of a mirage,
cutting off Māra’s flower-tipped arrows,
one should go beyond the King of Death’s sight.”
understanding it has the nature of a mirage,
cutting off Māra’s flower-tipped arrows,
one should go beyond the King of Death’s sight.”
- tiltbillings
- Posts: 23046
- Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2008 9:25 am
Re: if you could ask the Buddha one question
Gawd almighty, its a joke, son, a joke. Time for you to give it a rest. You toot a one note horn, and its gone a bit flat.clw_uk wrote:Well thats assuming he would say that (he wouldnt actually since thats a specualtive view that leads to dukkha), my view is that he would most likely say that its irrelevanttiltbillings wrote:I simply respond with: If you are dead and gone, nothing left, what is the point? He would not be much of a Buddha.If he said that D.O. wasnt three lives and that rebirth wasnt part of his teachings would you listen and still practice buddhadhamma?
>> 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
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
-
- Posts: 1285
- Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2009 9:46 am
- Location: Essex, UK
Re: if you could ask the Buddha one question
I'd probably ask him "Am I practicing right". That's often my primary concern. I often feel drawn to the pretty colours, fun music and mind-bending philosophy of some Hindu sects, only to reflect on why I was drawn to them and to come back to the Buddhadhamma (as best as I understand it presently). It would be really nice for the Buddha to either say "Yes, you are practicing well, keep going" or "No, you are cultivating wrong-view [or whatever], try this instead...".
I suppose with the absence of the Buddha as a person I'll have to keep pestering you lot
I suppose with the absence of the Buddha as a person I'll have to keep pestering you lot
Re: if you could ask the Buddha one question
Gawd almighty, its a joke, son, a joke. Time for you to give it a rest. You toot a one note horn, and its gone a bit flat.
Oh sorry tilt
Damm internet. hard to tell if people are joking or not lol
metta
“Knowing that this body is just like foam,
understanding it has the nature of a mirage,
cutting off Māra’s flower-tipped arrows,
one should go beyond the King of Death’s sight.”
understanding it has the nature of a mirage,
cutting off Māra’s flower-tipped arrows,
one should go beyond the King of Death’s sight.”
Re: if you could ask the Buddha one question
"How should I practice?"
Re: if you could ask the Buddha one question
Hi Mawk
Remember the words of the master:
Ben
Please don't forget that in the absence of the Buddha, you still have access to the Tipitaka, the vast commentarial literature as well as the works of modern day scholars and the efforts of our teachers and Dhamma friends. Everyone has worked tirelessly, not only for their own liberation, but also to preserve the Dhamma and expound it for the benefit of future and present generations.Mawkish1983 wrote:I suppose with the absence of the Buddha as a person I'll have to keep pestering you lot
Remember the words of the master:
Metta"Enough, Vakkali! What is there to see in this vile body? He who sees Dhamma, Vakkali, sees me; he who sees me sees Dhamma. Truly seeing Dhamma, one sees me; seeing me one sees Dhamma."
— SN 22.87
Ben
“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.”
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road
Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725
Compassionate Hands Foundation (Buddhist aid in Myanmar) • Buddhist Global Relief • UNHCR
e: [email protected]..
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road
Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725
Compassionate Hands Foundation (Buddhist aid in Myanmar) • Buddhist Global Relief • UNHCR
e: [email protected]..
-
- Posts: 1952
- Joined: Sat Jan 03, 2009 5:29 pm
- Location: London, UK
Re: if you could ask the Buddha one question
I would ask 'what do I do now?'
With Metta
Karuna
Mudita
& Upekkha
Karuna
Mudita
& Upekkha
- imagemarie
- Posts: 420
- Joined: Thu Feb 12, 2009 8:35 pm
Re: if you could ask the Buddha one question
Er..I'd hold up a flower. Am I on the wrong forum ?
- Spiny O'Norman
- Posts: 851
- Joined: Sat May 23, 2009 8:46 am
- Location: Suffolk, England
Re: if you could ask the Buddha one question
If I get enlightened in this lifetime, what happens when I die?
Rick
( alright, so it's a big "if"! )
Rick
( alright, so it's a big "if"! )
Re: if you could ask the Buddha one question
The truth is a person so attached to their views would, when confronted by the Buddha himself, sooner question whether that was really the Buddha than change their views.
"You didn't give me the answer I wanted. How do I know you are really the Buddha?"
"You didn't give me the answer I wanted. How do I know you are really the Buddha?"
- Peter
Be heedful and you will accomplish your goal.
Be heedful and you will accomplish your goal.
Re: if you could ask the Buddha one question
The OP prolly needs changing to "If you met the Buddha and somehow knew that it was in fact the Buddha..."
- Peter
Be heedful and you will accomplish your goal.
Be heedful and you will accomplish your goal.
- retrofuturist
- Posts: 27848
- Joined: Tue Dec 30, 2008 9:52 pm
- Location: Melbourne, Australia
- Contact:
Re: if you could ask the Buddha one question
imagemarie wrote:Er..I'd hold up a flower. Am I on the wrong forum ?
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."