What words in Pali are correctly interpreted as rebirth/reincarnation? In comments to this question I saw a disagreement over the proper translation of various Pali words in suttas commonly translated with the english word rebirth or reborn.
According to Ajahn Sujato various Pali words are correctly translated as rebirth/reborn. However, another very detailed and extensive analysis by 'Element' on the linked website comes to the conclusion that none of the Pali words in the suttas are properly translated as rebirth or reborn. It appears implied that the english word 'rebirth' is synonymous with the idea of reincarnation as commonly understood by the non-Buddhist contemporary religions of India and Nepal in the time of the Buddha.
The question arises: if none of the Pali words in the suttas cited in the links above are suitably understood or translated as 'rebirth', then what Pali words in the suttas were used to describe the idea of reincarnation as commonly understood by the non-Buddhist contemporary religions of India and Nepal in the time of the Buddha?

One strong impression from the Pali suttas (due to the lack of discussion with Brahmins on the subject in the suttas) and the little I have read of the Vedas is the Vedas did not contain any systematic teachings on the subject of reincarnation.
The impression (from the little i have read) is the Vedas taught about two worlds, namely, this world & the other world, which i imagine was the heaven of Brahma. Otherwise, three worlds, here.
For example, I recall recently reading (somewhere) Sariputta & Moggallana were formerly disciples in a sect that believed in going to heaven with Brahma after death.
My vague recollection from chatsite banter, including by the Ven. Sujato himself, is systematic doctrines of reincarnation began forming in the later Upanishads; which 'reincarnation' aficionados, such as Sujato, who appear to go for refuge in non-Buddhist scholars, attempt to date prior to the Buddha; even though there is no account of any Upanishads in the suttas.
My recollection is the Ven. Yuttadhammo has posted on these matters, here and here.


Chuthi Patisandhi chitta The concept of chuthi patisandhi cittas- ie. generation of patisandhi citta conditioned by chuthi citta in a minute fraction of a second- is a very important concept mentioned in Abhidhammaththa Sangaha. This is so important that only by describing the mechanism of chuthi-patisandhi in this way the main teaching of Buddhism that there is no soul or ego (anaththa) can be justified.  Can I find any reference in Abhidhamma Pitaka.

Patisandhi citta is not conditioned by the Cuti citta. Cuti citta merely marks the end of that life. The Javanas that occur just before the Cuti citta determine the nature of the Patisandhi citta. Read more here: The mind at the time of death.

Seeing impermanence is not actually necessary for seeing not-self (anatta), even though the Buddha first taught anatta as a characteristic related to impermanence . Merely discerning the aggregates as 'aggregates' and merely experiencing the mind void of self-view is enough.

Philosophies such as Abhidhamma or Nāgārjuna Madhyamaka is for intellectual non-meditators. In other words, these extreme philosophies are alien to the Buddha, which are why they are not found in the Pali suttas.

In summary, the concept of cuti patisandhi cittas is not nececessary so no soul or ego (anaththa) can be justified (unless, similar to Nāgārjuna, you engage in worldly intellectual debates).


When were women first welcomed into Buddhist orders? I know that in the early days of Buddhism, it was for men only. To practice, you had to be a monk, and to be a monk, you had to be a man. Perhaps this reflects the attitudes of the time, but today, my experience of Buddhism has been as something that welcomes men and women equally, even when that's still in a segregated way.

Historically, when did this change come about, and what first triggered it?

According to the texts (Cv 10), after the Buddha returned to visit his father in Kapilavatthu, his aunt and step-mother, Mahapajapati Gotami, followed him back to Vesali and eventually ordained her using the eight garu dhammas as her higher ordination. He then gave the injunction that the male monks were to ordain the female monks, which was the beginning of the bhikkhuni sangha.

1. Now Mahā-pajāpatī the Gotamī went up to the place where the Blessed One was, and bowed down before him, and stood respectfully on one side. And, so standing, Mahā-pajāpatī the Gotamī spake thus to the Blessed One: 'What course, Lord, should I pursue towards these women of the Sākya clan?'
Then the Blessed One taught Mahā-pajāpatī the Gotamī and incited her, and aroused her, and gladdened her with religious discourse; and she, so taught, incited, aroused, and gladdened, bowed down before the Blessed One, and keeping him on net right hand as she passed him, she departed thence.
Then the Blessed One, in that connexion, delivered a religious discourse, and said to the Bhikkhus, 'I allow Bhikkhunīs, O Bhikkhus, to receive the upasampadā initiation from Bhikkhus.'
2. Now those Bhikkhunīs said to Mahā-pajāpatī the Gotamī: 'Neither have you received the upasampadā initiation, nor have we; for it has thus been laid down by the Blessed One: "Bhikkhunīs are to be initiated by Bhikkhus."'
Then Mahā-pajāpatī the Gotamī went to the venerable Ānanda, and [repeated their words to him]. And the venerable Ānanda went to the Blessed One, and [repeated them to him].
'In that moment, Ānanda, when Mahā-pajāpatī the Gotamī took upon herself the Eight Chief Rules, that was to her as the upasampadā initiation.'
-- Cv 10.2 (Rhys-Davids, trans)

This is an outrageous accusation! Scandalous even to suggest Buddhism is for only men. I would say Buddhism is for MAN generally. but to suggest that Lord Buddha was able to reach enlightenment because he was born with a penis and testicles is pretty gross. Lord Buddha represents the ability of all sentient beings. Lord Buddha is Buddha Nature it is what one sees in the eyes of a sentient being who suffers greatly.

Historically there was never a change that came about. There was Lord Buddha and his followers. This is ultimate reality.

“Attitudes of the time” is void the concept of time is void. Time is not subject to 8 world winds! Blasphemy!


I believe I have done bad things in a past life can I fix my curse that causes people to turn against me what kind of Karma is this? What kind of karma is it that causes people to suddenly go 180 on me when I seem to give 'too much' info about a certain point then they turn against me and give me the 'cold shoulder'? or have excuses to not be near me even if I currently haven't done anything wrong other then open up about myself?
Then I regret wishing to be born and I have had dreams that I may have had done bad things to  people in the past and went on the run instead of facing my trials as I'm always dreaming I'm escaping the police and often succeed in doing so leading me to think I ran from my crimes and haven't yet faced justice.
Is it even possible to have been a dictator in a past life and your put in this as punishment? When I die and go to the 'pearly gates' is a big arrest warrant going to be shown in my face instead how do I retcify this crap and heal myself?

On the contrary, the fact that you came to this site, or even thought about Buddhism and karma means you actually inherited some very good karma from the past lives.
Having dreams about being chased by police means you have some guilt on your mind. Only you can tell what it is, but you must know - and it must be something obvious to you, it always works that way. If you just stop and look at it, you will see it.
People turning against you could mean one of two things: either you are saying careless things or you are in a wrong place. The only way to fix that is to be always real: true to yourself and true to others (without being either harsh or careless, it not easy but can be done).
In short, never regret that you were born. You have the same right to be here as these trees and stars, and just like they don't have to be something else to deserve to be here - you don't need to be someone else to deserve a place in the universe. If you can be always real, honest, and kind, things will work out fine.

One of the reason for miserable life is lack of good deeds.
The most important thing you need to do is read the scriptures daily and memorize the sutras , fast on every full moon and new moon, abstain from alcohol and non-veg food and donate to buddhist monks.
Wrong livelihood is another reason for such karma
Do good deeds and use it to overcome bad karma.


I need an answer as to why i received a mother who makes me feel like an outcaste? Buddhism teaches to respect parents. I do follow. But when ever i bow down our relation with my mother, she constantly tries to bring me down. She makes me feel bad for the way i look. I cannot change my skin color or my height. She nags about my appearance. My childhood was ruined and now she is making me depresses by saying no guy would like to marry me. It is getting hard to listen to her day by day. I am a person who upholds goodcharacter above anything. I can never say a bad word to anybody's face. Yet i am facing this almost everyday by my mother. When she fell ill i could not leave he and i was the one who suffer her illness more than her mentally. I feel bad as why she cannot see me as a daughter and love me when all i want is to make her happy.
What mistake have i done in my past life to her that she is constantly taunting me to death.

What mistake have I done in my past life to her that she is constantly taunting me to death.

If you are literally asking about your past Karmas, to figure out the reason behind your current life situation, then, it is impossible for other, you yourself have to reach that level of meditative awareness to remember your past life. The ways of Karma are not linear also the ripening of fruits is also not linear, you receive the fruits when the environment is right.

Furthermore, if you blame your past life for your present life, then you can again blame your past to past life for the deeds of past life, so the regression is infinite. So the first thing to solve the problem is that stop blaming past life or Karma or anything for that matter. The first step is to accept the situation. The first step is acceptance.

How can you solve this problem?

From a Buddhist context, you really have two problems here, one is Attachment and other is Expectations.

As much as I have studied human psychology I can tell you that hatred of mother for her child is usually dissociated, meaning she does not really hate you as a child but maybe she hated your father or something like that, but sometimes humans are not capable to locate the real reasons of hating somebody, so her nagging about your looks is simply her own misunderstanding of the exact thing that was bothering her about you. So the next step is to look at you mother as a human rather than 'your mother', this will free you from the attachment you have, and will be able to help you to solve the problem objectively.

Second is you stop expecting love and affection from your mother. This expectation is same as desires, which Buddhism talks of in great detail. The suffering here is caused because you desire your mother to behave in a certain way and she is not doing it, as the Buddha said, "not getting what you want is suffering". So this is the second thing you have to learn, to drop your desire.

The next step is to learn not to react, I suggest you should do a 10 day Vipassana  retreat of S N Goenka. Here you will learn to watch the sensations without reacting to them, you will have to apply the same to your relating to your mother. So whenever she insults you, you just watch, the unpleasant sensation arising in your mind and its impermanence. Ths will help you get rid of a lot of emotional trouble.

  she is making me depresses by saying no guy would like to marry me.

So you are depressed by her words that no guy will like to marry you. Well, you have to understand something here, if you are depressed then your mother's prophecy will be self-fulfilling because no guy will want to marry a depressed girl. So instead of feeling depressed, you fill your heart and mind with loving-kindness and compassion. If you are loving then love will come in your life, but remember the inherent unsatisfactoriness of everything. To accomplish this, I will suggest that you should also learn some Metta meditation. Ajahn Brahm is the best teacher for this, see his Youtube videos on this topic. If you could give Metta to your mother under your current situation, then you have won, girl.

Look at the bigger picture

You take my word for this, and I assure you, that if it would not have been your mother bothering you it would have been someone else, something else. The first of the Noble truth is, There is Suffering in life. So instead of thinking that it was your bad karma that got you an undesirable mother, maybe it was your good karma that the suffering you are entitled has led you to ask important questions in life about Karma and past life. Life's plots are complicated, your mis-fortune sometimes is your greatest fortune.

Think about the story of the Buddha, He had a perfect father, His father kept Him in utmost luxury possible, gave Him everything, but still, you can imagine His suffering that He had to leave His palace in the middle of the night, teary-eyed, to find the end of the suffering.

So think about this, that getting a good mother or good father is also not the solution to life's suffering. Those who got have their problems. Follow the Dhamma taught by the Buddha, that's the only true way out.

Contemplate on this story told by Ajahn Brahm and last thing I will suggest you read the book 'Who ordered this truckload of Dung' by Ajahn Brahm. Thit will change your entire perspective.

Metta to you.

Sounds like in the past you were very judgmental. You probably despised people who were not as righteous and idealistic as you. You thought they were lowly. As a result you now got into this situation. This is called "attachment to ideals".


Does any school seriously believe Maitreya might appear in my lifetime Say, the next 30 years?

The world is going to undergo great turmoil IMO, as technology outstrips not just need but the reality we live in.

Is there much or indeed any chance that Maitreya will appear to help humanity through these changes?

Well, things have to get really really bad and then it'll have to get really really good in order for Metteyya Buddha to appear:

"And the sons of these sons will come to live eighty years; their sons to 160 years; their sons to 320 years; their sons to 640 years; their sons to 2,000 years; their sons to 4,000 years; their sons to 8,000 years; their sons to 20,000 years; their sons to 40,000 years; and the sons of those that lived 40,000 years will come to live 80,000 years.
Among humans living 80,000 years, brethren, maidens are marriageable at 500 years of age.
Among such humans there will be only three kinds of disease—appetite, non-assimilation and old age."
At that period, brethren, there will arise in the world an Exalted One named Metteyya, Arahant, Fully Awakened, abounding in wisdom and goodness, happy, with knowledge of the worlds, unsurpassed as a guide to mortals willing to be led, a teacher for gods and men, an, Exalted One, a Buddha, even as I am now. ~ DN 26 ~

I submit that the prophecies of the end times in all religions and cultures are being fulfilled around us, and therefore we should be expecting the imminent coming of Maitreya, or the Prophet expected by all religions and cultures to come at the end times/ending of an age (Messiah, return of Christ, Mahdi, He Whom God Shall Make Manifest, Kalki Avatar, Blue Kachina, True White Brother from the East, Satrio Piningit, etc).

In fact I submit that Maitreya is already here.  He has fulfilled Prophecies from all world religions and cultures, and brought a teaching that unifies all the religions of the world and for the first time shows clearly how all are from the same, One God, each sent as part of an overall Plan which is now coming to fruition.  Maitreya's teaching also unifies the West and the East, science and spirit, and shows how the two are not contradictory but complementary.

Do not take my word for it - I challenge you to study Maitreya's literature, prophecies fulfilled, etc. and prove it to yourself that he is indeed the True Maitreya, the Prophet of God: www.maitreya.org


What are the prescribed objects for the development of jhāna? Can i have a list "If there is one" of the different objects for building up the first jhana?

Saṅkhitta Dhamma Sutta mentions the Jhana can be developed through:

4 Satipatthana
4 Brahmavihara

Kaya,gatā,sati Sutta mentioned that Jhana contemplation of the body. Though not explicitly mentioned Anapanasati Sutta, breath meditation also can be used.

Do develop Jhana you have to have Vitakka & Vicara. That is you 1st bring your attention an object and retain the object by reapplying you attention. E.g in the case of breath meditation you continuously try to feel the breath going in and out. In case of body contemplation you try to feel any sensation in the body continuously and try to keep you attention on the body.

This is too short to be practical meditation instruction just a pointer. In the case of Kasina you look at the device. Say you are practicing on fire. Offer a lamp to the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. Look at the flame for a little while and shut you eyes. Try to recreate this image. When you think about it the image will pop up an linger for a while. When the image disappears rethink about it again. If you cannot remember the details look at the flame again. As you practice the image will linger for a little longer. Adjust the rhythm of thinking about the frame to roughly to the level that you mental image of the flame looks continuous. Similarly for any other Kasina device. Beyond this point best seek advice of a teacher.

I think Jhana developed through 4 Satipatthana in combination with 4 Brahmavihara would be the best approach. But having said this any of the 40 Kammatthana can be used. If you use anything other than 4 Satipatthana make use you contemplate the 3 characteristics of the Jhana otherwise you will just develop Samadhi but not Panna, hence will not be wholesome.

Finally, developing Jhana without proper guidance can be dangerous. Therefore, try finding a teacher who can guide you.

Currently one of the famous Jhana teachers is Pa Auk Sayadaw with many students in the west. You can try making some inquiries.

In a Buddhist context, even as you obtain jhäna, you are supposed to observe (thereby your objective) that jhäna is a "sankhathaya". A sankathaya has 3 characteristics.

You can see it arise (being created)
You can see it transform within the thing it resides
You can see it perish

So a Buddhist, upon observing this, lets go if his desire for the jhäna too.

In the following sutta, Buddha explains this to a person who has just become a Buddhist, from the beginning all the way to an arhat.

  MN 140: Dhatu-vibhanga Sutta — An Analysis of the Properties {M iii 237}. A poignant story in which a wanderer, searching for the Buddha, meets the Buddha without realizing it. He recognizes his mistake only after the Buddha teaches him a profound discourse on four determinations and the six properties of experience. An excellent illustration of the Buddha's statement, "Whoever sees the Dhamma sees me."


What is the meaning of Anicca and Anatta? Most of the English translation I read, Anatta is translated as not-self and Anicca as impermanence.
However many Sri Lankan Buddhist monks do not agree with this translation.
They say it is a miss translation by Buddhagosha.
According to many Buddhist monks, it appears, Anicca means our inability to control the five aggregate. Anatta means the futile nature of the five aggregate. Is this true?

It is 'anatta' that means our inability to control the five aggregate, as found in the Pali as follows, where the word 'anicca' is not found at all:

  Rūpaṃ, bhikkhave, anattā. Rūpañca hidaṃ, bhikkhave, attā abhavissa, nayidaṃ rūpaṃ ābādhāya saṃvatteyya, labbhetha ca rūpe: ‘evaṃ me rūpaṃ
  hotu, evaṃ me rūpaṃ mā ahosī’ti. Yasmā ca kho, bhikkhave, rūpaṃ
  anattā, tasmā rūpaṃ ābādhāya saṃvattati, na ca labbhati rūpe: ‘evaṃ me
  rūpaṃ hotu, evaṃ me rūpaṃ mā ahosī’ti.

  Bhikkhus, form is nonself. For if, bhikkhus, form were self, this form would not lead to disease, and it would be possible to have it
  of form: ‘Let my form be thus; let my form not be thus.’ But because
  form is nonself, form leads to disease, and it is not possible to
  have it of form: ‘Let my form be thus; let my form not be thus.’

  SN 22.59

It is 'anicca' that means the futile nature ('dukkha') of the five aggregates, as also explained in SN 22.59:

  "What do you think of this, O monks? Is form permanent (niccaṃ) or
  impermanent (aniccaṃ)?"

  "Impermanent (aniccaṃ), O Lord (O Bhante)."

  "Now, that which is impermanent, is it unsatisfactory or
  satisfactory?"

  "Unsatisfactory, O Lord."

  "Now, that which is impermanent, unsatisfactory, subject to change, is
  it proper to regard that as: 'This is mine, this I am, this is my
  self (attā)'?"

  "Indeed, not that, O Lord."

Anatta (not-self) is the recognition that conditioned things (such as the five aggregates) do not belong to you (i.e., are not "mine") and cannot be an intrinsic permanent "you" (i.e., are not "me") due to their impermanent (anicca) nature.

The best argument for wrong translation of Anicca come from
SN 12.20, “Paccayasutta” which says,

  Katame ca, bhikkhave, paṭiccasamuppannā dhammā? Jarāmaraṇaṃ, bhikkhave, aniccaṃ saṅkhataṃ paṭiccasamuppannaṃ khayadhammaṃ vayadhammaṃ virāgadhammaṃ nirodhadhammaṃ. Jāti, bhikkhave, aniccā saṅkhatā paṭiccasamuppannā khayadhammā vayadhammā virāgadhammā nirodhadhammā. Bhavo, bhikkhave, anicco saṅkhato paṭiccasamuppanno khayadhammo vayadhammo virāgadhammo nirodhadhammo. Upādānaṃ bhikkhave … pe … taṇhā, bhikkhave … vedanā, bhikkhave … phasso, bhikkhave … saḷāyatanaṃ, bhikkhave … nāmarūpaṃ, bhikkhave … viññāṇaṃ, bhikkhave … saṅkhārā, bhikkhave … avijjā, bhikkhave, aniccā saṅkhatā paṭiccasamuppannā khayadhammā vayadhammā virāgadhammāvirāga nirodhadhammā. Ime vuccanti, bhikkhave, paṭiccasamuppannā dhammā.

Translated:

  And what, bhikkhus, are the dependently arisen phenomena? Aging-and-death, bhikkhus, is impermanent, conditioned, dependently arisen, subject to destruction, vanishing, fading away, and cessation. Birth is impermanent … Existence is impermanent … Clinging is impermanent … Craving is impermanent … Feeling is impermanent … Contact is impermanent … The six sense bases are impermanent … Name-and-form is impermanent … Consciousness is impermanent … Volitional formations are impermanent … Ignorance is impermanent, conditioned, dependently arisen, subject to destruction, vanishing, fading away, and cessation. These, bhikkhus, are called the dependently arisen phenomena.

It appears that it is incorrect to say death is impermanent ... and therefore, anicca doesn't mean impermanent!

According to the following video, the Nibbana is Atta.
This video is in the Sinhalese language.

https://youtu.be/ma81JD_LNeM?t=6084


How do experienced Buddhists preserve their equanimity and well-being in unfavourable circumstances? What are the examples in ancient texts or in history when a trained Buddhist sustained their equanimity and well-being through torture, forced isolation or other unfavourable circumstances?

Which tools given in Dhamma do you think would be useful if one had to survive, for example, through the years in prison? Could it be possible to keep on the development of skilful qualities in places like this?

Would you consider suicide as a solution?

Would you consider suicide as a solution?

A big NO...., suicide is not a solution, it creates more problems.

  Which tools given in Dhamma do you think would be useful if one had to survive

Buddhism teaches us consequences for our each action,

For example if you hate someone, that person won't even know that you've hated him/her unless you told, but if you hating someone else and it isn't hurt them or do bad for them, it's really bad for the person who hate. Because hater's mind is impure, and it count as bad Karma.

When you collect bad Karma for long time, and suddenly die, while do the another bad Karma, there's high probability of being reincarnate in one of Four Hell(Animals, Pretha, Asura, Hell). And that's the danger of reincarnation. And those four places has lot more Pain, Suffering than human world, it's unimaginable.

" Imagine while four muscular guys hold your hands and legs and another two of'em rip your body apart with a saw, and no way to survive, And advice for the person who getting hurt is not to hate those six guys, being nice them. " And this is a allegory for Meththa.

So if someone think those accordingly and believe that's it truth, no one would do any bad things, And i think that is the best Motive for the survival of such situations.(If you follow and believe Lord Buddha).

I hope this would help.

An example in the ancient texts of the termination of the life span is the monk Channa in MN 144, where his life was tortured by debilitating physical pain. This example appears related to if the rest of the life span has to be spent subjected to continuous violence (because such a life would be pointless). MN 144 says (my translation):

  The mendicant Channa did indeed have such families. But this is not
  enough for me to call someone ‘blameworthy’. When someone lays down the burden (nikkhipati) if this group (of aggregates) and attaches to (upādiyati) another group (of aggregates), I call them ‘blameworthy’. But
  the mendicant Channa did no such thing. You should remember this: ‘The
  mendicant Channa slit his wrists blamelessly.’

Otherwise, if terminating the life span is not an option, only Dhamma can be practised, as taught in MN 21 and SN 35.101. There is no other choice.

As for 'forced isolation', well, as long as you are fed food, there is nothing challenging about this, even though spending the rest of your life in jhana or Nibbana is also meaningless or pointless; similar to the silent Buddhas in MN 116.

My opinion is an enlightened Buddhist does not live life for the sake of merely living. Even if not subjected to violence, I think the only reasons for an enlightened Buddhist to live is: (i) looking after their parents (DN 31); and (ii) teaching the Dhamma (MN 26). If there is nobody to teach Dhamma to, there is no point in living, in my opinion.

There are numerous stories in Tibetan Buddhism about Lamas getting imprisoned for years or decades by the Chinese and how they not only endured the hardships but became spiritual guides for other inmates and even their prison guards. If such a situation is possible then it would be practised. For example, the Chinese suffered very much under European & Japanese imperialism therefore some Chinese might be receptive to the Dhamma of a Tibetan Lama who renounced the Dalai Lama's allegiance to the American CIA. But if you were in a Bolshevik gulag run by that tribe who cannot be named then you might not fare so well.


What are timeframe were pali canons, included commentaries, done, especially Mahavihara-Theravada? My conclusion from tipitaka and commentaries:

Most of Tipitaka canons and commentaries, except Kathāvatthu the forth of abhidhamma, began before 1st saṅgāyanā, but catagorize at 1st saṅgāyanā (see: DN.Commentary.)

But some tipitaka canons had done at 1st saṅgāyanā, some at 2nd, some at 3rd, and just vinaya-history in parivāra had done after 3rd saṅgāyanā (because vinaya have serious rule about the qualification of vinaya-successor, so list of vinaya-memorized successor's names were required, in parivāra, that began in upāli-thera school).

What canons were done at 1st?

Because of unanimous decision of 500 saṅgha at 1st saṇgayanā, that saṅgha must not add/cut/change any buddha's words off teaching. So this canons must done in 1st saṇgayanā:

Buddha's literal canons, that was learn & memorized by ānanda, upāli:

7 vinaya-pitaka (except sattasatikakhandhaka in cullavagga), parivāra-content (except vinaya-history), 4 nikāya, buddha's literal canons in kuddaka-nikaya.

Sāriputta's literal canons, that was learn & author by sāriputta-mahāsāvaka and memorized by his students, who were in 1st saṇgayanā instead of sāriputta, who died before 1st saṇgāyanā. Buddha chose to support sāriputta as the best teacher (etadagga) like himself. So no one can change his speech, too. So his canons should had done in 1st saṇgayanā, too:

Sāriputta's literal sutta in 4 nikāya, sutanipāta, sāriputta-theragāthā, niddesa, paṭisambhidāmagga, sāriputta-apadāna, cariyāpitaka, 6 abhidhamma-pitaka, Mahāaṭṭhakathā (The great commentary).
In my opinion I think buddha-apadāna and many jātaka are memorized by sāriputta, too. Because of buddhavaṃsa's and cariyāpitaka's characters. And in nidāna of DN.Commentary. also have an conversation between ānanda (dīghabhāṇaka) and sāriputta's students (macchimabhāṇaka) at first saṇgāyana about the categorization of KN. & buddhavaṃsa & cariyapitaka that should include in suttanta or in abhidhamma.

The other sāvaka's & sāvikā's speech, that were memorized by some saṇgha in 1st saṇgāyanā:

Sāvaka's & sāvikā's speech that were memorized by ānanda: Itivuttaka, The remaining speech in 4 nikāya.
Sāvaka's & sāvikā's speech that were told by the owners: Some thera/therīgatha, Some thera/theri-apadāna.
Sāvaka's & sāvikā's speech that were told by their students: Sāriputta-theragātha/therāpadāna, Moggallāna-theragātha/therāpadāna, etc.

What canons were done at 2nd?

Some thera/therīgatha, Some thera/theri-apadāna (some thera died after 1st saṇgāyanā such as ānanda, kassapa, anuruddha, upāli, etc.)
Sattasatikakhandhaka in cullavagga and just sattasatikakhandhaka's commentary. (In my opinion arahanta, in 3rd saṇgāyanā, did not author 3rd saṇgayana history anymore because they realized that it will be over responsibility of future-generations-vinaya-memorizers).

What canons were done at 3rd?

Kathāvatthu and just kathāvatthu's commentary.
Commentary about 3rd saṇgāyanā history.

What canons were done after 3rd?

Vinaya-history in parivāra.
None-Pali commentaries' translation and extension (andhaka-aṭṭhakathā, kauanadī-aṭṭhakathā, pañcarī-aṭṭhakathā).
Visuddhimagga and Abhinava-aṭṭhakathā (the combination of commentaries. It is just old commentaries in new package. Buddhaghosa wrote that he never add/edit anything. He just remix fussy/duplicate texts and translate siṇhala commentaries to pali language).
Abhidhammatthasaṇgaha, abhidhammāvatara, and many conclusion-commentaries.

Related Answer:

Beginner's Buddhist Course Syllabus By Ancient Pali Canon (Ganthadhura And Vipassanādhura)
Layers of pali literality already being in buddha-living-period.https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/a/21166/10100

This may not exactly be the answer that you're looking for, but it's related. It doesn't say at which council, but it speculates on the chronology of different parts of the Pali Canon, from an academic viewpoint.

On this page and this page, you can find the "Chronology Of The Pali Canon" by Dr. Bimala Churn Law.

Here, it is written in the beginning:

  Rhys Davids in his Buddhist India (p. 188) has given a chronological
  table of Buddhist literature from the time of the Buddha to the time
  of Asoka which is as follows:--

  The simple statements of Buddhist doctrine now found, in identical words, in paragraphs or verses recurring in all the books.
  Episodes found, in identical words, in two or more of the existing books.
  The Silas, the Parayana, the Octades, the Patimokkha.
  The Digha, Majjhima, Anguttara, and Samyutta Nikayas.
  The Sutta-Nipata, the Thera-and Theri-Gathas, the Udanas, and the Khuddaka Patha.
  The Sutta Vibhanga, and Khandhkas.
  The Jatakas and the Dhammapadas.
  The Niddesa, the Itivuttakas and the Patisambbhida.
  The Peta and Vimana-Vatthus, the Apadana, the Cariya-Pitaka, and the Buddha-Vamsa.
  The Abhidhamma books; the last of which is the Katha-Vatthu, and the earliest probably the Puggala-Pannatti.

But later, after in-depth analysis, the author comes to the conclusion:

  The results arrived at concerning the chronology of the Pali canonical
  literature are presented in the subjoined table:

  (1) The simple statements of Buddhist doctrines now found, in identical words, in paragraphs or verses recurring in all the books.

  (2) Episodes found, in identical works, in two or more of the existing books.

  (3) The Silas, the Parayana group of sixteen poems without the prologue, the atthaka group of four or sixteen poems, the sikkhapadas.

  (4) The Digha, Vol. l, the Majjhima, the Samyutta, the Anguttara, and earlier Patimokkha code of 152 rules.

  (5) The Digha, Vols. II & III, the Thera-Theri-Gatha, the collection of 500 Jatakas, the Suttavibhanga, the Partisambhidamagga,
  the Puggala-pannatti and the Vibhanga.

  (6) The Mahavagga and the Cullavagga, the Patimokkha code completing 227 rules, the Vimanavatthu and Petavatthu, the Dhammapada
  and the Kathavatthu.

  (7) The Cullaniddesa, the Mahaniddesa, the Udana, the Itivuttaka, the Suttanipata, the Dhatukatha, the Yamaka and the Patthana.

  (8) The Buddhavamsa, the Cariyapitaka and the Apadana.

  (9) The Parivarapatha.

  (10) The Khuddakapatha.

But there is no table available listing each sutta with its date of writing.

If Dhamma is realised, it is obvious this question is unanswerable because each Nikaya has inauthentic Dhamma in it.

The Samyutta Nikaya is the most authentic (but includes minor inclusions of Anguttara non-sense). This is why the first three sermons and the real teachings of dependent origination are in the SN.

The Majjhima Nikaya is mixed with 'heartwood' plus later Jataka ideology.

The Anguttara is loaded with Brahmanistic mumbo-jumbo.

The Digha Nikaya is the least authentic & shameful.

The Udana can be funny but has many fantastic stories in it.

The Sutta Nipata has good teachings but the language sounds different to the Buddha of the Nikayas.

The Dhammapada is obviously a compilation of various verses.

The Abhidhamma is ineffective and excessive. Venerable Sariputta would not have spoken or composed such excessive & unnecessary words.

The Jataka and Past Lives of the Buddhas and Disciples is contrary to the original teachings.

It is obviously by the study of doctrines and language that either the Nikayas were compiled at a later time or, otherise, suttas were added to the Nikayas at a later time.

What should be analysed is the genre/content of individual suttas rather than each Nikaya.


Jhanas and past lives I always thought that the remembrance of the past lives and the vision of the mechanism of the kamma were the fruits of the jhanas.
BUT, it is said that the Tathagata learnt the (8) jhanas from two teachers. it is also said that he remembered his past lives during  the famous seven days, after he decided to gain what he would call nibbana.

Do we know whether the Tathagata had access to his previous lives or to the karmic mechanism before the week of accessing nibbana ?

if no, does this mean that only the dhamma --- instead of the practice from hinduism,  jainism and perhaps others doctrines --- permits to see the past lives, or the karmic mechanism ?

I don't think the Buddha knew his past lives long before he attained nirvana -- the descriptions I know of him accessing his past lives were during his final struggle.

To the best of my knowledge, past lives recollection is about concentration -- not necessarily samma samadhi as known in the sutras. The sutras imply that yogis could and have obtained such abilities and that it is not something the Buddha introduced.

The Buddha is said to have learned specific concentration practices (aka the arupa jhanas) from previous teachers before reaching nirvana, but it's not clear if he (or his teachers) knew any of the actual 4 jhana (as described in the sutras, with their factors and all). The interesting passage is the one he describes remembering reaching the 1st jhana state when he was a kid and that is when he "gets back on track" towards nirvana -- and that happened after training with his teachers. This suggests that his teachers did not teach or knew how to reach the 1st (and arguably any of the four) jhanas, and thus, opens up the possibility that samma samadhi could have been an original practice introduced or at least systematized by the Buddha.

Knowlege of previous lives is not unlocked with nirvana according to the sutras as such a person can still be bound to wrong view / ignorance (which nirvana is supposed to end). But it is presented as part of a path towards nirvana.

Past lives are seen only when 6th chakra is fully active. In tibet there are people who activate your 6th chakra directly. But its not Nirbana. Nirbana is blooming of thousand petal lotus which is a metaphor for opening of final 7 th chakra. If you concentrate on center of your two eye brows you can have glimpse of your past lives. It will be not permanent though. Only when you are pure you should attempt to open it.

It is not a siddhi i.e. psychic power. Siddhis can be obtained by activating lower chakras but they are considered a distraction.

If you are at 6th 7th is not far off.


The healing Bodhi tree for Shakyamuni Buddhas long term sitting? Recently I heard from a group of commentators that the Bodhi tree, a tree species which Buddha choose to attain enlightenment under, was actually known to have medicinal properties. Has anyone ever heard this before? Apparently, this tree was what allowed Buddha to sit under the tree for long periods of time without developing pressure sores across his lower body. This particular sect of Buddhism believes Buddha sat under the tree for at least 7 years. Honestly I'm not surprised to find apologetical statements because of their position. Does anyone know if the Bodhi tree actually has these "medicinal" properties? Also, would you consider it's properties sufficient enough in explaining away the lack of pressure wounds we would expect to find on Buddha's body?

To summarize my question:

Does the Bodhi tree actually have medicinal properties as some Buddhists claim?
Are the medicinal properties sufficient enough in explaining away the pressure sores we would expect to find on Shakyamuni's body through his prolonged meditation model (years)?
Please no short term models to undermine the question, thank you.

Does the Bodhi tree actually have medicinal properties as some Buddhists claim?

Maybe it does? For example, Phytopharmacology of Ficus religiosa references studies which say it does. I can't judge whether these are good/reliable studies (questioning the reliability of those studies might be a good question for Skeptics.SE if you really want to pursue it).

Are the medicinal properties sufficient enough in explaining away the pressure sores we would expect to find on Shakyamuni's body through his prolonged meditation model (years)?

I can't say I'm an expert on pressure sores, I'm not sure what to expect.

Bicyclists for example can sit on their saddle for hours and days on end, partly because they have become physically accustomed to it through practice/use.

Also, for what it's worth and for example, to prevent pressure sores in a bed-ridden geriatric patient, this paper says,

  When older adults are admitted to a hospital or a nursing home, caregivers should inquire how often patients will be repositioned, Edsberg says. She suggests ascertaining the facility’s policy on repositioning. “It’s recommended that the patient be repositioned every two hours,” she says. “Caregivers might want to consider being proactive in enforcing this by setting a timer in the patient’s room so that it’s not forgotten.”

It also recommends good nutrition. Anyway, that confirms my preconception that occasional repositioning is important (and is used) to help prevent pressure sores.

See also this topic, Buddha meditation under the bodhi tree, which questions whether the Buddha "sat and did not move for days"... a meditator might change position occasionally.

Also I presume that Gautama maybe did develop sores and so on, when he was practicing during his ascetic period.

I suppose that ideally to answer this question you might like a comparative (double-blind) study of people sitting on Bodhi tree leaves, or something like that (I don't know of such a study); or an answer from someone with personal experience of it.

The Bodhi-Tree is sacred to Buddhists. In the scriptures it says that Ven. Ananda once asked the Buddha what could be done to help the many disappointed devotees who travelled to Savatthi (a city of ancient India and one of the six largest cities in India during Gautama Buddha's lifetime)  to see the Buddha, only to find that He was away attending to another in distress. The Buddha then advised Ven. Ananda to plant a sapling from the great Bodhi tree under which He had attained enlightenment in Savatthi. It was at this occasion that He proclaimed that the Bodhi Tree would be a symbol of the Buddha that devotees could venerate in His absence.

I have not heard of any healing/medicinal properties but even to this date we can see devotees conducting Bodhi Poojas at the local temples to invoke blessings. What is important IMO, is to get a true understanding of the Dhamma than having a belief that all problems could be solved by Bodhi Poojas.


Difference between Yoniso Manasikāra and Sammā sati with Sampajaññā I would like a clarification regarding the terms Yoniso Manasikāra and Sammā sati with Sampajaññā. Is the meaning of these two:

the same,
totally different,
somewhat similar with certain differences, or,
are they used in different situations with contextual differences in meaning?

Yoniso manasikara is investigating or examining something for the purpose of either newly or thoroughly understanding it. For example:

SN 45.62 says yonisomanasikara is the forerunner and precursor for the arising of the Noble Eightfold Path; therefore yonisomanasikara is also the forerunner and precursor for the arising of the 7th factor of the Noble Eightfold Path, namely, sammāsati.

Similarly, AN 10.61 says: "Hearing the good Dhamma... fills up careful attention; careful attention... fills up mindfulness and clear comprehension". Again, yonisomanasikara operates prior to sati-sampajanna.

Similarly, DN 18 says: "After some time they hear the teaching of the noble ones, properly attend to how it applies to them & practice accordingly. So aparena  samayena ariyadhammaṃ suṇāti, yoniso manasi karoti, dhammānudhammaṃ paṭipajjati". Then, later on, DN 18 refers to the four satipaṭṭhānā.

Iti 16 says: "in regard to internal factors, I do not perceive another single factor so helpful as wise attention (yonisomanasikaro) for a bhikkhu who is a learner".

SN 12.10 provides an example where yoniso manasikara was used to discover dependent origination. Since dependent origination remained unknown or undiscovered, sati-sampajana could not be used because sati-sampajanna only brings to mind preexisting knowledge

While MN 95 does not use the term 'yonisomanasikara', it provides a similar explanation when it says: "Next, they place faith in them. When faith has arisen they approach the teacher. They pay homage, lend an ear, hear the teachings, remember the teachings, reflect on their meaning (upaparikkhato) and accept them after consideration."

Sati-sampajanna is the bringing to mind and keeping in mind past learned or realised knowledge/wisdom to a specific present situation. This is indicated in SN 45.62 & SN 45.62 quote above or otherwise unambiguously explained in SN 46.3 & MN 117 quoted below:

When one has heard the Dhamma from such bhikkhus one dwells withdrawn
by way of two kinds of withdrawal—withdrawal of body and withdrawal of
mind. Dwelling thus withdrawn, one recollects that Dhamma and thinks
it over. Whenever, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu dwelling thus withdrawn
recollects that Dhamma and thinks it over, on that occasion the
enlightenment factor of mindfulness is aroused by the bhikkhu; on that
occasion the bhikkhu develops the enlightenment factor of mindfulness;
on that occasion the enlightenment factor of mindfulness comes to
fulfilment by development in the bhikkhu.

One is mindful to abandon wrong view & to enter & remain in right
view: This is one's right mindfulness. Thus these three qualities —
right view, right effort & right mindfulness — run & circle around
right view.
One is mindful to abandon wrong resolve & to enter & remain in right
resolve: This is one's right mindfulness. Thus these three qualities —
right view, right effort & right mindfulness — run & circle around
right resolve.
One is mindful to abandon wrong speech & to enter & remain in right
speech: This is one's right mindfulness. Thus these three qualities —
right view, right effort & right mindfulness — run & circle around
right speech.
One is mindful to abandon wrong action & to enter & remain in right
action: This is one's right mindfulness. Thus these three qualities —
right view, right effort & right mindfulness — run & circle around
right action.
One is mindful to abandon wrong livelihood & to enter & remain in
right livelihood: This is one's right mindfulness. Thus these three
qualities — right view, right effort & right mindfulness — run &
circle around right livelihood.
Of those, right view is the forerunner. And how is right view the
forerunner? In one of right view, right resolve comes into being. In
one of right resolve, right speech comes into being. In one of right
speech, right action... In one of right action, right livelihood... In
one of right livelihood, right effort... In one of right effort, right
mindfulness... In one of right mindfulness, right concentration... In
one of right concentration, right knowledge... In one of right
knowledge, right release comes into being.  Thus the learner is
endowed with eight factors, and the arahant with ten.

In summary, SN 45.62 says yonisomanasikara is the forerunner for the arising of the Noble Eightfold Path. Where as MN 117 says sammasati is the 7th factor of the Noble Eightfold Path.
I will end with an example:

When the mind is ignorant, it does not understand not referencing quotes is not only theft (plagiarism), but it also causes trouble for others. Therefore, such an ignorant mind must examine & reflect repeatedly until it understands the harm, evil, sinfulness & wickedness of not referencing quotes. This is the use of yonisomanasikara.

Where as a mind with wisdom that knows referencing quotes is beautiful behaviour, may occasionally forget to reference a quote. Such a mind will quickly rectify this mistake using mindfulness & clear-comprehension. There is no need for this mind to use yonisomanasikaro because it has already understood the dhammic significance of the matter thoroughly.

B. Thanissaro answers the question here:
https://notesonthedhamma.blogspot.com/2021/02/faq-what-is-difference-between-yoniso.html
(contains long excerpt from his book and essay)


Sexual Coersion within a Sangha I have been four years a practicing Buddhist in England.

I am struggling now in bringing understanding to my experience, I would be greatful for any insight, and I appreciate that it is hard to communicate fully on the internet.

I know there has been sexual misconduct within this particular Order before. I have within the last five months been a victim of sexual coercion and minor abuse with another Mitra in the Sangha (I use the terms and definitions provided by my communication with the helpline I rang). I am struggling to stay with my own experience now, as my need for safety has become tenfold. And my relationships within the Sangha I find now to be deeply tense, as my friends within the Order who I spoke to about this responded with advice that it would be helpful to bring compassion to this other Mitra in this situation.

I am sorry to say that I feel frightened that this would be the response... Is it helpful, skillful, to give my energy to this Sangha that seems to tolerate sexual miscunduct, up until it is themselves who are experiencing it?

I apologise for my confused sentences, and really, anything you can say that would help to bring light to this I would be very greatful for.

I don't wish to call myself a victim, and for the purpose of bringing compassion to the situation... to get help, it seems that the culture understands my experience to be that of a victim.

Many thanks.

There is no way around it. Sexual coercion and abuses (minor or otherwise) are reprehensible and they should be addressed.

For you to have compassion is wholesome, but it should not prevent you from taking the necessary measures. Your compassion should open your eyes on the fact that (1) you might not be the only one victim (2) the person responsible of sexual coercion must be protected from himself, and others and yourself must be protected from this person as well.

You should report to the authorities of the place you stay; and to the actual authorities (i.e. police) and you might consider seeing a psychologist so that the issue will be addressed by someone who is utterly foreign to the Buddhist circle.

The fact that the center does not take it as an issue to begin with shows that they have a blind spot (or selective attention). But sweeping things under the rug is not an option. Healing never comes from escapism, but from shedding the light of understanding and awareness on issues.

In addition, however acquainted with the working of the mind sangha can be, monks are not trained the way psychologists are. They can hardly address serious issues such as depression, suicidal ideations, schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder and so forth. It is difficult enough to help someone handle average afflictions - for instance if you are angry with your friend who cheated on you with your wife. Dealing with more serious issues is entirely different.

And definitely find yourself another sangha. Do not surrender your personal judgement when you entrust yourself to someone else (be it a sangha or a teacher). To entrust yourself healthily, you must not give up your own judgement and discrimination. Quiet the opposite, the teacher is not "the one who knows" and possesses a magic wand. He is the one true friend who accompanies.

What is called 'Mahayana Buddhism' originally began with certain monks who did not wish to follow the rules (Vinaya) fully. Similar to the Catholic Church and unlike Theravada Buddhism, Mahayana groups tend to not expel sexual abusers and, in fact, often honor them.

For example, Triratna continue to honor Sangharakshita; Sogyal Rinpoche of RIGPA was/is continued to be honored; Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche from the USA is honored; and recently in Australia a very serious sexual & financial exploiter named Lama Choedak Rinpoche (a personal friend and sponsoree of the Dalai Lama) expected immediate forgiveness & continues to masquerade as a Holy Being. The New Kadampa Tradition had many serious sex scandals with consecutive senior monks. The following video: In the Name of Enlightenment - Sex Scandal in Religion is revealing; which includes non-Buddhist ideas about "Tantra" & "Crazy Wisdom".

It is important to know that what is called "Western Buddhism" is often amoral people who wish to believe the Buddha bathes them with His boundless love, acceptance & compassion. This appears to be why most Wseterners are attracted to what they personally regard Buddhism to be, namely, a place completely free from criticism or censure.

My advice is to not be part of these Mahayana groups because this is not Buddhism. In real Buddhism, a sexual abuser is either immediately stripped of any status and rehabilitated; or otherwise expelled from the Community (Sangha).

I suggest to visit the best Theravada groups, such as Amaravati & Chithurst Monasteries, and discuss any issues with a monk there. The monks there are good trustworthy people.


Why are exceptionally tall statues of the Buddha and Guanyin built? When I read this article on the tallest statues in the world, I was struct by how many of them were of important Buddhist figures: of the fifteen tallest statues six are of Guanyin (Kannon/Avalokiteśvara), five of the Buddha, and one of Kṣitigarbha, for a total of twelve out of the top fifteen!

Why are such tall statues built? What significance does the height of these statues have in the religious lives of Buddhist adherents?

Or are these statues not built for true religious purposes, but as an unofficial competition between nations, just like they compete over the tallest skyscraper? Nine out of the fifteen were built in the 21th century. Who commissions these statues? Statues of this size would be beyond the budgets of most temples.

See also: this question on why precious metals are used for Buddhist statues.

OP: Why are such tall statues built?

Why do people have statues for the Buddha?
From DN16, the Buddha explained to Ananda, why it is beneficial to have a stupa for a Tathagata (a Buddha):

And why, Ananda, is a Tathagata, an Arahant, a Fully Enlightened One
worthy of a stupa? Because, Ananda, at the thought: 'This is the stupa
of that Blessed One, Arahant, Fully Enlightened One!' the hearts of
many people will be calmed and made happy; and so calmed and with
their minds established in faith therein, at the breaking up of the
body, after death, they will be reborn in a realm of heavenly
happiness. And so also at the thought: 'This is the stupa of that
Paccekabuddha!' or 'This is the stupa of a disciple of that Tathagata,
Arahant, Fully Enlightened One!' or 'This is the stupa of that
righteous monarch who ruled according to Dhamma!' — the hearts of many
people are calmed and made happy; and so calmed and with their minds
established in faith therein, at the breaking up of the body, after
death, they will be reborn in a realm of heavenly happiness. And it is
because of this, Ananda, that these four persons are worthy of a
stupa.

I would therefore extrapolate that the purpose of the statue of the Buddha is similar to the purpose of the stupa of a Buddha, which is, to be an inspiration for peace of mind and happiness.
Today, people in USA remember Martin Luther King, people in India remember Mahatma Gandhi and people in South Africa remember Nelson Mandela. They may have photos or statues of these revered persons put up in public places and treated in a respectable way. The statue of the Buddha is no different. They are there to serve as icons of inspiration.
The Buddha, at least from a Theravada perspective, is no more supernaturally reachable through prayers and rituals, than King, Gandhi or Mandela.

OP: What significance does the height of these statues have in the religious lives of Buddhist adherents?

Now, how was the stupa of a universal monarch or a Buddha built?
From the same sutta:

"But how, venerable Ananda, do they act respecting the body of a
universal monarch?"
"The body of a universal monarch, Vasetthas, is first wrapped round
with new linen, and then with teased cotton wool. And again it is
wrapped round with new linen, and again with teased cotton wool, and
so it is done up to five hundred layers of linen and five
hundred of cotton wool. When that is done, the body of the universal
monarch is placed in an iron oil-vessel, which is enclosed in
another iron vessel and a funeral pyre is built of all kinds of
perfumed woods, and so the body of the universal monarch is burned. And at a crossroads a stupa is raised for the universal
monarch. So it is done, Vasetthas, with the body of a universal
monarch.
"And even, Vasetthas, as with the body of a universal monarch, so
should it be done with the body of the Tathagata; and at a crossroads
also a stupa should be raised for the Tathagata. And whoever shall
bring to that place garlands or incense or sandalwood
paste, or pay reverence, and whose mind becomes calm there — it will
be to his well being and happiness for a long time."

So, the Buddha stupa was not a simple tomb. Rather, it was a very grand memorial shrine.
Similarly, I extrapolate that the purpose of the great height of the statues of the Buddha is to function as a grand memorial.
It's no different to the giant 38m tall statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro or the giant statue of Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.
Doesn't the giant 24m tall statue of the Buddha (the Great Buddha in Bodh Gaya, India) below make you think "this is the statue of that Blessed One, Arahant, Fully Enlightened One!" Doesn't it inspire you and fill you with awe?
Around 2.5km away from this statue, you can visit the Mahabodhi Temple and the Bodhi Tree, the exact location where the Buddha was said to have attained enlightenment. More places of inspiration.
The Great Buddha in meditation pose:

See "Many motives, many fruits" and others in Generosity,dana, caga - Path to freedom, if wishing freedom rather than seek issues to protest.

Very useful practice to overcome envy and stinginess is the practice of mudita.

As for objects of veneration and the benefits see Respect: Physical Objects

[Note: this tiny building of Dhamma is not thought for any commercial use, trade, stakes or exchange for wordily gains]


When will Maitreya Buddha come according to the Manimekalai? According to Buddhism, Maitreya Buddha is a Buddha who will come some time in the future.  Some sources say he will come hundreds of thousands of years from now, but the Manimekalai, a 6th century Buddhist epic poem written in the language Tamil, seems to suggest an earlier timeframe.  Here is what chapter 12 of the Manimekalai says:

  That dharma, people in this world do not know.  But within the circuit of this universe, the devas understand it and at their request the Deva will come down again to this world from the Tushita Heaven in the year 1616. Then everyone in this world will feel impelled to practice the doctrine or mercy.

My question is, what is this year "1616" that the Manimekalai identifies as the year when Maitreya Buddha will come?  What calendar is it using?  It's clearly not the Gregorian calendar, since that wasn't in vogue in 6th century India.

Let's bear in mind that according to the sources referenced in the Wikipedia page Manimekalai, this book was written either before the 5th century CE, in the 6th century CE or latest 950 CE according to different experts.

Anne E. Monius is a Professor of South Asian Religions at Harvard University and "a historian of religion specializing in the religious traditions of India. Her research interests lie in examining the practices and products of literary culture to reconstruct the history of religions in South Asia." She wrote the book "Imagining a Place for Buddhism: Literary Culture and Religious Community in Tamil-Speaking South India".

She talks about the book Manimekalai and 1616 prediction in this book, for which you can find the excerpt here. Please pay attention to the last paragraph on page 94, and the next two pages.

Her best guess is that since the Buddhist calendar usually starts counting from the final passing (parinirvana) of the Buddha (also see this answer), this refers to the year 1616 on that calendar. She is not sure about how this number was derived.

From the Wikipedia page on the Buddha, the date of the passing away of the Buddha is given as either 483 BCE or 400 BCE. That puts 1616 at 1133 CE or 1216 CE. This is definitely centuries after the authorship of the Manimekalai. So, that's quite sensible. Prof. Monius stated that this is more specific and substantially earlier than the estimates given in the Pali sources, for the coming of the next Buddha.

According to accesstoinsight.org's page on the Chronology of Theravada Buddhism:

  Year 1 of the Buddhist Era calendar is the year of the Buddha's
  Parinibbana (death and final release), which occurred in the Buddha's
  eightieth year (480 BCE according to the "historical" timeline; 544
  BCE by tradition).

If we use 544 BCE as the year of the Buddha's parinirvana, then 1616 would be 1072 CE, which is still centuries after the authorship of the Manimekalai (if we assume that it was authored in the 6th century CE).

Also interesting is this excerpt from the book by Monius (on pages 95 - 96):

  In fact, if one looks beyond, or more appropriately before, the Pali
  literature that obviously concerns itself with the future Buddha,
  scattered bits of evidence can be found to suggest that the
  Manimekalai was not alone in the sixth century in imagining the
  arrival of a living Buddha within centuries rather than billions of
  years. In the various renditions of the life of Buddhaghosa, for
  example, it is reported that the monks of the Mahavihara greeted the
  composition of the Visuddhimagga by crying out to its author, "Without
  doubt he is Metteyya!" (nissamsayam sa metteyo). Although such a
  statement might easily be interpreted, on the one hand, as hyperbolic
  praise, likening only rhetorically the genius of Buddhaghosa to
  the wisdom of the future Buddha, on the other hand, such an
  identification might well depend on the expectation, like that of the
  ascetics confused by the miraculous events accompanying Aputtiran's
  rebirth in the Manimekalai (xv.23-35), that Metteyya's arrival on earth
  can happen at any moment. Such scattered phrases are certainly
  difficult to evaluate. Much more interesting and potentially useful
  for the consideration of the Manimekalai's vision of the future, given
  the central place of the wondrous almsbowl, Amutacurapi, in the text,
  is a story told by the fifth-century Chinese pilgrim to India and Sri
  Lanka, Faxian (Fa-hsien), concerning the begging bowl of the Buddha
  and the coming of Metteyya/Maitreya to earth.

You can read on in the same section, the story of Faxian, and how he obtained the story of the Buddha's almsbowl from an Indian monk.

Monius writes further on pages 96 - 97:

  Faxian's story of the Buddha's almsbowl and its intimate connection to
  the  coming of Maitreya provides a potentially enlightening parallel
  to the narrative of the bowl and the coming of the Buddha found in the
  Manimekalai. Such a parallel, especially given the relative proximity
  to the time and place of the Manimekalai's composition, of Faxian and
  the Indian monk who tells the story at the Sri Lankan Mahavihara, may
  help to illumine the Tamil text's vision of the future and the
  community to form around the coming Buddha.

Based on this, I would guess that the Manimekalai is a literary work of fiction, based on Faxian's story that came not long before the authorship of the Manimekalai. While it is unknown how Manimekalai's author derived the number "1616", we can speculate that he intended his readers to look forward to the coming of the future Buddha within a few centuries, perhaps to motivate the Tamil-speaking Buddhist community at the time, and also to kindle the interest of the non-Buddhist Tamil-speaking people, in Buddhism.

It is said that Manimekalai was written between A.D. 890 and 950 and is known to have praised the Buddha's Teaching, the Dharma, as the most perfect religion. But what it must say about Maithree Buddha is just heresay. It must be just based on information received from other people at that time, that one cannot adequately substantiate. I say this because Maithree Buddha’s name is mentioned ONLY ONCE in the ENTIRE TIPITAKA. It is ONLY mentioned in the Cakkavatti-Sihanada Sutta (DN 26; The Lion's Roar on the Turning of the Wheel). This is what Supreme Buddha had to say on this:

  “Long before this day is going to pass and in that time of the people with an eighty-thousand-year life-span, there will arise in the world a Blessed One, an Arahant fully enlightened Buddha named Metteyya /Maithree, endowed with wisdom and conduct, a Well-farer, Knower of the worlds, incomparable Trainer of men to be tamed, Teacher of gods and humans, enlightened and blessed, just as I am now.”

Just compare the year 1616 of the Manimekalai with that of the 80,000 year life span of a person at the time of the next Buddha. Does it make any sense for a 80,000 year old person to be living in the year 1616? I know well that this answer will be deleted with the reasoning that this does not answer the OP’s specific question. It seems like satisfying the OP is more important that Stream Entry (the state of Sotapanna) for this site, and that’s the very reason that people like Yuttadhammo Thero stay away.

Well in getting back to the subject of 80,000 years, you may now wonder whether there would be enough food for all if people are to live for 80,000 years. But it will not be so, as even in the past Kalpas (Aeons) people have lived for that long as per Buddha.  Buddha once said,

  “Dear devotee, I am looking at 92 Kalpas (a long time) to the past right now. In all that time, no one had to face any destruction of their families as a result of offering their food.”

Currently average age of mankind (life expectancy) is about 65years. Gradually this life expectancy will go down till 10 years then again life expectancy will increase again. Maitreya (Metteyya), a bodhisatta currently residing in the Tusita heavens is the next Buddha due to appear. Some time in the far distant future, once the teachings of the current Buddha have long been forgotten, he will be reborn as a human being, rediscover the Four Noble Truths, and teach the Noble Eightfold Path once again.


Why did the Lord Buddha criticize natthikavādaṃ (moral nihilism)? In SN 24.5, the Lord Buddha criticized the following doctrine called "natthikavādaṃ":

  There is no benefit in giving, sacrifice or offerings. There’s no fruit or result of good and bad deeds. There is not this world or the
  other world. There are no duties to mother and father. No beings are
  reborn spontaneously. And there’s no ascetic or brahmin who is well
  attained and practiced, and who describes this world and the other
  world after realizing it with their own insight.

  This person is made up of the four primary elements. When they die, the earth in their body merges and coalesces with the main mass of
  earth. The water in their body merges and coalesces with the main mass
  of water. The fire in their body merges and coalesces with the main
  mass of fire. The air in their body merges and coalesces with the main
  mass of air.

  The faculties are transferred to space. Four men with a bier carry away the corpse. Their footprints show the way to the cemetery. The
  bones become bleached. Offerings dedicated to the gods end in ashes.
  Giving is a doctrine of morons. When anyone affirms a positive
  teaching (atthikavādaṃ) it’s just baseless, false nonsense. Both the
  foolish and the astute are annihilated and destroyed when their body
  breaks up and don’t exist after death.

According to SN 24.5, why did the Lord Buddha criticize natthikavādaṃ (the doctrine of disbelief)?

The answer is present in the same sutta:

  “When form exists, because of grasping form and insisting on form, the
  view arises: ‘There’s no meaning in giving, sacrifice, or offerings. …
  Both the foolish and the astute are annihilated and destroyed when
  their body breaks up, and don’t exist after death.’ When feeling …
  perception … choices … consciousness exists, because of grasping
  consciousness and insisting on consciousness, the view arises:
  ‘There’s no meaning in giving, sacrifice, or offerings. … Both the
  foolish and the astute are annihilated and destroyed when their body
  breaks up, and don’t exist after death.’

In other words when self identification with forms,feelings,perception,consciousness and/or volitional formations occur such a view as highlighted by you also occurs.

I think the the wrong view of moral nihilism gets generated when we say that every self ceases to exist after death(i.e body and self are same) or that every self lives for eternity(i.e body and self are different). In both the case following holds true :

  ‘There’s no meaning in giving, sacrifice, or offerings. There’s no
  fruit or result of good and bad deeds. There’s no afterlife. There are
  no duties to mother and father. No beings are reborn spontaneously.
  And there’s no ascetic or brahmin who is well attained and practiced,
  and who describes the afterlife after realizing it with their own
  insight. This person is made up of the four primary elements. When
  they die, the earth in their body merges and coalesces with the main
  mass of earth. The water in their body merges and coalesces with the
  main mass of water. The fire in their body merges and coalesces with
  the main mass of fire. The air in their body merges and coalesces with
  the main mass of air. The faculties are transferred to space. Four men
  with a bier carry away the corpse. Their footprints show the way to
  the cemetery. The bones become bleached. Offerings dedicated to the
  gods end in ashes. Giving is a doctrine of morons. When anyone affirms
  a positive teaching it’s just baseless, false nonsense. Both the
  foolish and the astute are annihilated and destroyed when their body
  breaks up, and don’t exist after death’?”

The truth there is that there is no permanent , unchanging self.  What is happening is Clinging to forms,feelings,perceptions,consciousness and/or volitional formations. These Clingings are not unconditional. Craving gives rise to clinging. This is the midddle way. Depending upon conditions clinging ceases. Depending upon conditions clinging arises. This is the Dhamma. To those who believe in Self it would appear Self arises and ceases which is self contradictory as self is permanent and unchanging. Morality based upon the assumption that Self and body are the same results in moral nihilism. Morality based upon assumption that Self and body are different leads to moral nihilism.

EDIT: I have found another Sutta(saṃyuktāgama 297) to support my answer.
Following quote illustrates the point I have been trying to make:

  “What is the great discourse on the emptiness of dharmas? It is this:
  Because this exists, that exists; because this arises, that arises.
  That is to say: Conditioned by ignorance, activities arise; because of
  activities, consciousness arises, and so on …, and thus arises this
  whole mass of suffering.

  “Regarding the statement conditioned by birth, aging-and-death arises,
  someone may ask: Who is it that ages-and-dies? To whom does
  aging-and-death belong?

  “And he may answer: It is the self that ages-and-dies. Aging-and-death
  belongs to the self; aging-and-death is the self.

  “To say that soul is the same thing as body, or to say that soul is
  one thing and body another, these have the same meaning, though they
  are expressed differently. For one who has the view which says that
  soul is the same thing as body, there is no point in the noble life.
  And for one who has the other view which says that soul is one thing
  and body another, there is also no point in the noble life. Following
  neither of these two extremes, the mind should move rightly toward the
  Middle Way.

The write-up “There’s No Meaning in Giving” by Bhikku Sujato, is still at a draft stage as its proofreading is not complete. But it is in keeping with ‘The Connected Discourses of the Buddha’ 24-5 (There Is Not), of the Book of Aggregates (Khandhavagga).

It talks primarily of the third kind of ‘Tanha’ that exists, namely the vibhava tanhā. Tanhā is “getting attached to things in this world”.  Due to greed, hate, and ignorance, Kāma tanhā, bhava tanhā, and vibhava tanhā arises. It is because of the ignorance that we are grasping things and insisting on things, in thinking that they can provide lasting happiness. This attachment first manifests in greed. But when someone or something gets in the way, we generate hate.

Vibhava tanhā arises from the wrong view that there’s no afterlife. One believes that at death one ceases to exist, i.e., one believes that the mind is a by-product of the body (brain), and thus when the body dies, that is the end of story.

Many immoral acts are done with natthikavādaṃ (nihilism) because one believes that everything in this world is for one’s enjoyment, and all ends with this life. The logic is that If this birth is the one and the last, there is no need for giving, sacrifice or offerings, as there’s no fruit or result of good and bad deeds.

This type of tanhā is removed as one progresses on the Path and at Stream Entry. Vibhava tanhā is removed at Sōtapanna stage, since only someone with micca ditthi can have vibhava tanhā. At Stream Entry one sees the truth in the rebirth process.

Tanhā arise due to asāva: One gets “attached” because one has deeply- embedded cravings. In this instance it is due to vibhavāsava. Vibhavāsava is split in to two: ditthāsava (ditthi asāva) and avijjāsava (avijja āsava). This is because vibhavāsava arises due to wrong views and ignorance.
Āsava are “mental fermentations” that lie deep down in us. That can be compared to mud sitting at the bottom of a glass of water. “Asava” are the things we have liked for long, long times through uncountable lives in the samsāra or the rebirth process. They are the deep-seated cravings we have for certain things.  .

Getting attached to things in this world due to greed, hate, and ignorance, lessen gradually with the deeper understanding of the message of the Buddha. This means ridding oneself of the three bonds that tie one down to this plane. Namely Raga, Dvesha and moha (greed, hate, and ignorance). The only way to do this is by eradicating Tanha (Kāma tanhā, bhava tanhā, vibhava tanhā). Ditthāsava is the craving or attachment to certain views. This is why sometimes it is hard to accept or even consider other views. This is why  Buddha criticized natthikavādaṃ (nihilism).


In AN 4.171, what is "reincarnation where the intention of others is effective"? Bhikkhu Sujato's translation of AN 4.171 says:

  Mendicants, there are four kinds of reincarnation. Cattārome,
  bhikkhave, attabhāvapaṭilābhā.

  What four? Katame cattāro?

  There is a reincarnation where one’s own intention is effective, not
  that of others. Atthi, bhikkhave, attabhāvapaṭilābho, yasmiṃ
  attabhāvapaṭilābhe attasañcetanā kamati, no parasañcetanā.

  There is a reincarnation where the intention of others is effective,
  not one’s own. Atthi, bhikkhave, attabhāvapaṭilābho, yasmiṃ
  attabhāvapaṭilābhe parasañcetanā kamati, no attasañcetanā.

  There is a reincarnation where both one’s own and others’ intentions
  are effective. Atthi, bhikkhave, attabhāvapaṭilābho, yasmiṃ
  attabhāvapaṭilābhe attasañcetanā ca kamati parasañcetanā ca.

  There is a reincarnation where neither one’s own nor others’
  intentions are effective. Atthi, bhikkhave, attabhāvapaṭilābho, yasmiṃ
  attabhāvapaṭilābhe nevattasañcetanā kamati, no parasañcetanā.

  These are the four kinds of reincarnation.” Ime kho, bhikkhave,
  cattāro attabhāvapaṭilābhā”ti.

What is "reincarnation where the intention of others is effective"?

Per commentary, this passage refers to "devas corrupted by the mind" (Manopadosika-deva), living in the world of the Four Great Kings. When they get angry with one another their mutual anger leads to their mutual deaths.

Here are descriptions of Manopadosika-deva from different sources:

Buddhist Dictionary. Manual of Buddhist Terms & Doctrines (4th Edition) by Ven. Nyanatiloka:

  Manopadosika-deva: ‘the celestial beings corruptible
  by temper’, are a class of devas (q.v.) of the sensuous
  sphere. “They spend their time in becoming annoyed
  with one another, and getting into a temper, and thus
  by being bodily and mentally exhausted, they pass
  from that world” (D. 1; 24).

The "Dictionary of Pali Proper Names" by G. P. Malalasekera:

  A class of devas living in the Cātummahārājika world (DA.i.114; AA.ii.544; MNid.108). They burn continually with envy one against another (Buddhaghosa relates a story illustrating this in DA.i.114) and their hearts become ill disposed and debauched. Their bodies thus become feeble and their minds imbecile, and, as a consequence, they fall from their state (D.i.20; iii.32). The Manopadosikā were among those present at the preaching of the Mahāsamaya Sutta (D.ii.260). They are so called because their minds are debauched by envy (dosassa anudahanatāya) (VibhA.498).

Brahmajāla Sutta (DN 1) translated from the Pali by Bhikkhu Bodhi:

  There are, bhikkhus, certain gods called 'corrupted by mind.' These gods contemplate one another with excessive envy. As a consequence their minds becomes corrupted by anger towards one another. When their minds are corrupted by anger, their bodies and minds become exhausted and consequently, they pass away from that plane.

Brahmajāla Sutta (DN 1) translated by Bhikkhu Sujato:

  There are gods named ‘malevolent’. They spend too much time gazing at each other, so they grow angry with each other, and their bodies and minds get tired. They pass away from that group of gods.

So, one deva's hatred towards another deva provokes hatred in that deva towards the first, causing a vicious circle, and this very hatred exhausts their spirits until they fall from their godly state.

One deva's hatred is not his own deliberate intention but is merely a reaction to another deva's hatred. Therefore the deva falls from his state and comes to a different state through an "intention of other".

It's interesting how the vicious circle of judgement starts not through one of the devas performing some unwelcomed act to another, but rather through both spending too much time wondering about the other's attitude to oneself.

I suppose this basically means that not all karma is strictly personal. While in the simplest cases sentient beings inherit their own karma, there are cases when they create (bad) karma for one another, and there are cases when a karmic pattern emerges spontaneously from a background of ignorance - not through anyone's fault.

On a side note, per my (Russian) dictionary, attabhāvapaṭilābhe is not "reincarnation" but "a state of personal existence".

It seems the compound "attabhāvapaṭilābhe" means "acquisition of self becoming" or, as often translated, "acquisition of personality".

For example, if parents, for example, allow their children to make their own decisions in life, the children will develop a personality based on their own decisions.

But if parents, for example, are very domineering & even abusive, their children will develop personalities reflective of the violence of the parents.

Or when people are brainwashed by political rulers, such as Mao, Stalin, Hitler or Obama; or by the corporate or pornographic mass-media, the acquired personalty will be reflective of brainwashing.

In other words, it appears the translation of "reincarnation" is very imaginative.


Is Chögyal Namkhai Norbu correct when he says our life is unreal and that Buddha taught that life is just like a dream? In this video clip you can see renowned Tibetan master Chögyal Namkhai Norbu saying that life is unreal and that the Buddha taught it is just like a dream. Is he correct? I've transcribed below:

Sometimes we have very nice dream. Fantastic dream... And we enjoy. We
are very happy. We are dreaming, for example... ...I'm looking and
someone is selling... lottery ticket. Very, very big lottery. I am
taking and buying from someone and I am returning home. And I am
seeing the television. And when I am looking at my number... The
television is saying that number! Then I feel very happy. "Oh, what do
I do now?" All this money. I am really happy and then I wake up. When
I wake up, I discovered that is a dream, unfortunately. I am not
happy. Or sometimes... very, very bad dream. There are many people
that want to kill me. They are arriving in my house. Then they are
starting to kill me. I feel very afraid. That moment I wake up. And I
discover, "Oh, that is only a dream!" I am very happy. You see, good
or bad. Even good or bad. A dream is a dream. Unreal. So Buddha is
saying, our life is just like a dream. Big dream. Dream of night is a
very small dream, but... Our life's dream, it has many day and night,
day and night etcetera. When we discover that... Dreams, we discover
when we wake up. But big dreams, we discover... When we are dying and
being in a state of Bardo (transitional state).

Emphasis mine.
A closely related question (with answers) is here.

It might be possible for you to gain the understanding you need from these two powerful excerpts. The first is from the Phena Sutta; the second is from chapter 32 of the Diamond Sutra.

The Phena Sutta
Form is like a glob of foam;
feeling, a bubble;
perception, a mirage;
fabrications, a banana tree;
consciousness, a magic trick —
this has been taught
by the Kinsman of the Sun.
However you observe them,
appropriately examine them,
they're empty, void
to whoever sees them
appropriately.

[ADDITION]
How can the Phena Sutta be describing something that is dream-like? The aggregates give their fascination over to form-based ideas such that they develop an unhealthy reliance on those ideas. This is called clinging. Clinging presents itself in two ways: attraction and aversion. It is not objects that we cling to, but it originates from our interpretation of those objects; the way in which those objects are cognized. Therefore, the clinging is always from that origin: the mind - the neurotic mind clings to the body. It is this motion of aversion and attraction that creates a noisy haze in our consciousness, stimulated by feeling/perception. This is pananca. This haze hinders our view; we don't see clearly. This not seeing clearly is avijja from which suffering arises. The experience of suffering is a method by which the body tries to eject wrong views born from that very ignorance, but we misperceive its function. Suffering then becomes an identity instead of knowledge. This is how the aggregates can present themselves as dream-like. It's just another way to speak about ignorance. It doesn't matter how you word it. If dream is suitable for you, then fine, as long as you understand the mechanisms behind it.

The Diamond Sutra
“Subhuti, how can one explain this Sutra to others without holding in
mind any arbitrary conception of forms or phenomena or spiritual
truths? It can only be done, Subhuti, by keeping the mind in perfect
tranquility and free from any attachment to appearances.”
“So I say to you – This is how to contemplate our conditioned
existence in this fleeting world:”
“Like a tiny drop of dew, or a bubble floating in a stream; Like a
flash of lightning in a summer cloud, Or a flickering lamp, an
illusion, a phantom, or a dream.”
“So is all conditioned existence to be seen.”
Thus spoke Buddha.

I doubt a Buddha would ever teach life is like a dream. Such a teaching may cause people to act in life nihilistically with negligence, such as Tibetan gurus who engage in sexual misconduct.
In MN 54, the Buddha taught sensual pleasures are like a dream. In Thig 14.1, Subha the nun said being beguiled by a woman painted with make-up is like a dream.
But in AN 3.136, the Buddha taught conditioned things have a fixed quality, in that they are impermanent, unsatisfactory & not-self. Seeing all conditioned things are unsatisfactory is not like a "dream" because dreams can imagine things to be pleasurable or satisfactory.
Also, Nibbana is an experience of those who have lived the Holy Life. In MN 140, the Buddha said Nibbana was "undeceptive" and "true", which, again, is not a "dream".
In MN 29 & MN 30, the Buddha taught the essence of the Holy Life is the unshakeable freedom of mind. This Holy Life is not a dream because Nibbana is permanent and undeceptive.


Earliest usage of "rope or snake" allegory in Buddhist literature? The allegory of a rope being mistaken for a snake to explain subtle metaphysical points is widespread in Buddhist literature. In particular, Je Tsongkhapa uses this allegory many times in his works to explain subtle distinctions of his formulation of Prasangika Madhyamaka.

I am looking to track down the earliest usage of this rope or snake allegory in Buddhist literature. I have not been able to identify any sutra where this allegory is mentioned, but it occurs many times in later commentarial literature on the perfection of wisdom sutra's as well as in explanations of Nagarjuna's writing.

The earliest usage I have been able to discover is from Chandrakirti's explanation of Aryadeva's Four Hundred Stanzas on the Middle Way (Chatuhshataka). Here is Aryadeva's stanza 178:

  Apart from concepuality,
  Desire and so forth have no existence,
  Who with intelligence would hold [that there are]
  Real things [imputed by] conceptuality?

  Aryadeva's Four Hundred Stanzas on the Middle Way

To which ChandraKirti apparently gives this explanation:

  Those which exist only when the conceptuality [apprehending]
  exists and do not exist when conceptuality does not are
  without question definite as not established by way of their
  own nature, like a snake imputed to a coiled rope.

  Tsong-kha-pa's Final Exposition of Wisdom

Does anyone know of any earlier or contemporary usages of this allegory in Buddhist literature? Anything that can be traced back to Nagarjuna, Aryadeva, Chandrakirti, Buddhapalita, or Bhaviveka would certainly apply. Of course, if it can be found in sutra that would definitely count as an answer.

Thanks!

For all I know, the simile may come from generic Indian religious tradition and not specifically from Buddhism. For example, here are some quotes from Upanidhads:
Nirvana Upanishad (~ 100 BCE - 100 CE) :

The phenomenal world is impermanent as it is produced [from Brahman
which alone is real]; it is similar to a world seen in a dream and an
[illusory] elephant in the sky; similarly, the cluster of things such as
the body is perceived by a network of a multitude of delusions and it is
fancied to exist as a serpent in a rope.

(Wikipedia:) The composition date or author of Nirvana Upanishad is unknown, but its sutra-style suggests that it originated in the sutra text period (final centuries of the 1st-millennium BC), before it was compiled and classified as an Upanishad. This text was likely composed in the centuries around the start of common era.

Tejobindu Upanishad (~ 100 BCE - 300 CE):

If a man is bitten by a rope mistaken for a snake, then mundane existence may be. If a blazing fire is extinguished by a golden arrow, then the world is.

(Wikipedia:) [...] Eliade's suggestion places these in the final centuries of BCE or early centuries of the CE. [...] Gavin Flood dates the Tejobindu text, along with other Yoga Upanishads, to be probably from the 100 BCE to 300 CE period.

More of these quotes can be found in Advaita Vedanta mail list archives.
And then somewhere around 310-390 CE we see it used by the Yogacara founder Asanga in his Mahayanasamgraha:

How is this entry into Concept-Only made and what is it
like? [...] One enters in the same way that one identifies a rope which seems in the darkness to be a snake. Since it does not exist, the snake seen in the rope is an illusion. Those who have recognized that it does not exist reject the notion of snake and keep the notion of rope. But the rope itself, if reduced to its subtle elements, is an illusion itself, for it has color,
smell, taste and tactile as specific characteristics.
Thus, when any reality has been denied to the six types
of mental words which appear as phoneme or as thing - just as the notion of snake is abandoned by means of the
notion of rope - the notion of Concept-Only underlying the mental words should be abandoned by means of the notion of the absolute nature, just as the notion of rope is abandoned by means of the notion of color, etc.

Since Asanga was originally a brahmin before converting to Buddhism, I wouldn't be surprised if he took this simile from one of the Upanishads and repurposed for Yogacara.
There is also this Sanskrit version of Cittavisuddhiprakarana by Aryadeva (~200-300 CE), but I was not able to find a translation:

sarpabuddhiryathā rajjau rajjudṛṣṭau nivartate|
sarpabuddhiḥ punastatra naiva syādiha janmani||68||
sattvabuddhistathātrāpi vajrajñānānnivartate|
na bhāvaḥ sambhavettatra dagdhabīja ivāṅkuraḥ||69||

Also, this simile appears in Abhidharma Mahavibhasa Sastra which would date it around 150CE: 薩迦耶見計我我所。於勝義中無我我所。如人見繩謂是蛇。 'The satkāyadṛṣṭi thinks about the self and that which belongs to the self; but according to higher truth, there is no self. As for example, a person sees a rope and calls it a snake' (T 1545 (XXVII) 36a18-19)

It's good not to mistake origin from other sects with that of the Sublime Buddha and his Sangha of disciples. Even more worse is it to approve something adopted for the sake of copy.
Even if story bearing like children, such talks have effects and cut one more off the right track.
Downvote, of course, may satisfy one shortly... so feel free if wishing for harm and misfortune...
[Note that this isn't given for stacks, exchange, other world-bindung trades, nor for pseudo liberalism, but for an escape from this wheel]


What is the physics of the 'phenomena' of Nirvana? Although a lot has been said and written on the internet about Nirvana, the physics behind it seems to be an obscure and elusive area.

Human experience seems to be summed up in five-skandhas, dependent origination and six-sense bases.Existence of all of them seems to be physically provable. I want an answer based on such arguments for an e.g. interaction of skandhas etc.

Nibbana is also said to be 'unconditioned' phenomena, all that is made of Matter or contains Matter is 'conditioned'. If it is nothingness or emptiness, what is the underlying Physics?

Physics has not yet arrived at the definition and exact phenomena of Consciousness. It is called the hard problem of Consciousness. As of now, it has not been explained in terms of physical interaction or as an emergent phenomenon. Consciousness is the only thing that seems to transmute in Nirvana. I have long held the belief that 'Consciousness conscious of itself is Nirvana.

A blind, deaf, mute, senseless, touchless, everyone can get Nirvana but someone without consciousness cannot get Nirvana, that person is essentially dead. After Nirvana the person remains conscious, so what is it that essentially transmutes?

I am asking, what's the physics?

I am aware this is kind of a question that the Buddha discouraged to ask for e.g. in the Parable of Poisoned Arrow, but still, I have to ask.

In the case of the human mind (or any kind of mind), we're not talking as much about physics as about cognitive functions and the capacity for interpretation.

Chemistry emerges from Physics and physical phenomena; Biology emerges from chemistry; cognitive functions emerge from biology; language emerge from cognitive function; society emerge from language, and so on. Can we explain society just from laws of physics? The more complex are the new emergent processes, the less useful is to use "basic" laws to explain such new complex phenomena.

"Mind" is a term we use to describe and group all the processes that allow us to build interpretations about the world from sense-data, in orden to make some sense from it and to adapt to the ever changing world.

Emotions and mind-states in general are habitual responses that arise from how the mind has learnt to react under determined circumstances. And those reactions come from the nature of the interpretation built previously in the mind.

We have learnt to control and arrange in specific ways the conditions of the world in order to receive and specific kind of sense-data; namely, that which we perceive as desirable. Also, the opposite is true: we want to put away any part of the sense-data that might be perceived as undesirable.

The Buddhist Path is a gradual training for elininating cognitive ignorance and wrong interpretations about the world and reality, in order to eradicate the habitual emotional and mind-states reactions that lead to insatisfaction and suffering.

Nibbana is the state where, to be at peace, there's no need for an specific set of sense-data information. No matter what enters through the sense-doors, emotions and mind-states will no give rise to insatisfaction, because there's no need to arrange and control the world and the input of sense-data that comes from it. In other words, craving for sense-data and craving for specific states of the idea of the self are uprooted. Nibbana is peace without conditions.

Kind regards!

In Quantum Physics, the famous 'Double Slit' experiment stands out to demonstrate the role of human consciousness in 'constructing' matter from energy. Nibbana would be reversing this process i.e. de-constructing matter into energy (sunnata/nothingness). You may reach a eureka moment by watching a cartoon of this experiment on utube >Holographic Universe Part 1 < by Stephen Davis. It is not necessary to have a background knowledge in Quantum Physics to follow this cartoon. This experiment is presented in cartoon form for the benefit of many of us who are not familiar with science. In essence, the experiment shows that electrons can exhibit the characteristic of both particles or waves. Waves as we know them, such as radio waves, are waves of energy and not solid particles. On the other hand a piece of wood, for example, exhibits only the characteristics of particles (matter) and not of waves (energy). In the cartoon, electrons appear to display both.                                                                The question then arises as to who or what is responsible for effecting a change from waves to particles? The answer to this question is provided in the cartoon and appears to be very profound. In fact 'The physics of the phenomena of Nirvana' (the above question) can be derived from this cartoon by a discerning observer. But first the need to watch the cartoon.


The Third Precept and Prostitution For a Buddhist who is single, do occasional "visits" to the brothel break the observing of the Third Precept? In other words, the Third Precept is perfectly "intact" when one engages in such activity (from the words of a venerable here )?

I am a Buddhist, happy, content prostitute.  I am not a greedy person, nor am a sex addict (or anything of the like).  This is the chapter in which my life is.  I have used my current profession to touch the lives of many humans, male and female.  I also do advocacy work for prostitutes and know that there are many different types of persons in the sex trade industry.

While I cannot answer the specific question regarding the Third Precept, I would like to offer that my work and my Buddhist practice have played on one another in regards to my own livelihood.  Until another path appears to me where I can effect positive change AND make a living in NYC to support my children, I CHOOSE this work.

I am open to my friends, family, and community about my sex work.  I don't walk in darkness, but in beauty and light.  The compassion that I have is very much felt by all those around me, within and outside of my trade.  I give of my true self, but I keep an open mind and heart until the next chapter (which is probably soon because I have done this work for  almost five years).

I have gone a bit off topic, I know, but in my advocacy work I have met prostitutes from all over the world...all whom chose this, not all were necessarily happy while doing this, but often as a means to am end.  Many while working on the undergrad, and a surprising percentage while working on their masters.  Our goal is to humanize the the trade, and to give sex workers a voice because, as you see, not many out there are educated as to the actual lives of prostitutes.

Thank you for allowing me to share.

Ven. Dhammanando is perfectly correct.  You break the third precept only if you have sex 1) Non-consensually or though violence 2) With a person 'under the protection of another' - what this means is that the person does not have the capacity to give consent as they are not able to look after themselves.  This includes children;  as with other cases in the Pali canon, age is not mentioned but rather the capacity of the person.  It doesn't mean eg someone still living at home. 3) A married person whose partner has not given consent 4) A slave.

The commentators on that thread are quite wrong to conflate prostitution with slavery.  This is a puritan-derived attitude.  Instead we could point out that a woman running her own business is making more money and has more freedom than a women in a garment factory.  Slavery is a separate matter and it is already clear that Buddhism is opposed to slavery.