#Theravada

[buddhistmusings]

Pay Attention to Bangladesh

My heart breaks today as I learn about the immense suffering that Hindus are being subjected to in Bangladesh.

There is a history of oppressing religious minorities in the country, including periods of immense ethnic violence, escalating to the point of potentially being labeled as genocide in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, which are populated by groups of mostly Buddhist indigenous peoples called the Jumma. This is a label for a group of related tribes.

Both Hindus and Buddhists have faced violence in Bangladesh, this is nothing new, but since the fall of their government a few days ago, the violence has become much higher. Hindus in the country are being targeting especially strongly right now. People are being killed, their homes are being destroyed, people are being kidnapped, temples are being desecrated and destroyed, and at a pretty massive scale.

I see people celebrating the fall of this government, which I can understand on one hand, as it was repressive, but the lack of authority has allowed incredible violence to be carried out against Hindus.

Please, Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, Christian, Jain, or Jew, pray for an end to this. Whatever power you believe in, pray for the violence to end. Do what you can to spread the word about what is happening to my brothers, sisters, and siblings in Dharma.

May all beings be free from hatred and the causes of hatred. May all beings be happy and may all beings be free. Let none anywhere despise any being, let none deceive another. May peace and Metta extend outwards from myself to each and every person, barring none, and may all beings swiftly be free of all suffering. Namo Buddhaya, Namo Buddhaya, Namo Buddhaya.

[grayrazor]

The diversity of Buddhism is fascinating. All the way from “there are no gods, there are no miracles, there’s no such thing as an immortal soul, karma and reincarnation are just metaphors,”

to “Siddhartha Gautama the Buddha was one human incarnation of the omnipotent multiversal being Mahāvairocana who came to give supernatural powers to his Enlightened followers, one of whom, Amitābha, made a Pure Land where you can go after you die if you call upon his name.”

Granted you could also kind of say the same thing about Christianity, but that’s always been a lot more self-policing of deviance, after all if you think there’s only one truth you want to nail down what exactly it is. Groups like Gnostics or Unitarian Universalists have always been marginalized, with the possible exception of the Mormons, who were isolated enough to actually build up some population.

[theravadin]

i'm thinking about when i was younger, before i'd even really learned much about buddhism beyond the very basic summary you learn in a basic social studies class in grade school, how i didn't understand meditation at all. i only understood it as the stereotypical idea of "clearing your mind of all thought." i didn't understand how that was possible; how could you just empty your mind? how could you not think of anything?

it wasn't until i was maybe 15 or 16 that i discovered the concept of ānāpānasati, mindfulness of breath. that made it click for me. you're not chasing away your thoughts, because especially without practice that is a pretty futile endeavor. instead, you're bringing in something you already have, your breath, and focusing your mind on it. it doesn't chase away your thoughts; in a sense it replaces them, but more accurately, it transforms them. thich nhat hanh once compared the effect of mindfulness to the effect of light: light does not destroy shadows; it transforms them into more light. just so, mindfulness of breath does not destroy your errant thoughts, but transforms them into more mindfulness. you are able to use your breath as a lever into mindfulness (pali: "sati"), into concentration ("samādhi"), into insight (vipassana), into peace (i believe the pali for what i mean here is "passaddhi").

[beatsforbrothels]

THERAVADA - Air Sky Earth

[lionofchaeronea]

Buddha and Two Disciples, unknown Siamese (Thai) artist, last quarter of 19th century (Rattanakosin Kingdom)

[blue-lotus333]

The Buddha in different religions/beliefs. 

Firstly, who is the Buddha?: 

The historical Buddha was a prince named Siddhartha Gautama who lived 2500 years ago in what is today northern India/Nepal. He was born into a warrior clan known as the Shakya, which is why he is often called Shakyamuni, “Sage of the Shakyas.” He is the one to later abandon worldly attachments, become enlightened, and found Buddhism.

The Buddha in Hinduism.

Some Hindus consider the Buddha as the 9th avatar of Vishnu/Dashavatara, The Buddha was integrated into Vaishnavism, it was also believed the Buddha’s wife, Yasodhara, was the avatar of the wealth Goddess Lakshmi, though Buddhists deny this, so as other Hindus who identify the 9th avatar of Vishnu to another being who was also called “buddha”.

The Buddha in Christianity.

Called St. Josaphat (Budhasaf) of India, The story of St. Josaphat tells of a prince in India who is converted to Christianity by a monk, despite his father's attempts to prevent it. The monk and prince are later honored as saints in Christendom. The Buddha was honored as a Christian saint for about a thousand years, but this wasn't recognized until the mid 19th century.

The Buddha in Hellenism.

Buddhism had a big influence on ancient Greeks, in which they would identify Buddhist beings with Greek beings, the Greeks were also the first ones to make Buddhist statues. Heracules (or Zeus) was identified with The bodhisattva Vajrapani, whom was seen as Buddha’s protector. There also was a Syncretism between The Buddhist Goddess Hariti & Greek goddess tykhe.

The Buddha in Taoism.

Some Taoist believe that the Buddha was a reincarnation of Laozi, the founder of Taoism. Some also believe he was either on the same power-level as the Jade emperor, the Taoist king of heaven, or stronger than him. 'Buddha' is absorbed wholly into the Taoist cosmology, becoming another term used to describe the generative tissue at the source of all things in both the mental and physical realms.

The Buddha in Shinto.

Buddhism & Shinto are mostly seen highly entwined in Japan. The buddha is called Shaka in Japanese & was transformed into a powerful Japanese deity, whom coexisted with the Shinto gods. Buddhist temples were often attached to Shinto shrines. A Shinto temple would sometimes have a priest of that shrine read a Buddhist sutra in which Shinto events took place.

[moonlightgospel]

Las Cuatro Nobles Verdades y el Óctuple Sendero son enseñanzas fundamentales del budismo, orientadas hacia la comprensión y liberación del sufrimiento. Veamos cada uno:

Las Cuatro Nobles Verdades

1. La Verdad del Sufrimiento (Dukkha): La vida incluye sufrimiento y dificultades, como el nacimiento, la enfermedad, la muerte y el dolor emocional. Esta verdad no pretende ser pesimista, sino que señala una realidad para poder entenderla y trascenderla.

2. La Verdad del Origen del Sufrimiento (Samudaya): El sufrimiento surge principalmente del deseo, el apego y la ignorancia. Estos impulsos nos atan a experiencias transitorias y limitadas, generando insatisfacción.

3. La Verdad de la Cesación del Sufrimiento (Nirodha): Es posible detener el sufrimiento si eliminamos las causas que lo generan, alcanzando así un estado de paz, conocido como Nirvana.

4. La Verdad del Camino que Conduce al Fin del Sufrimiento (Magga): El camino para liberarse del sufrimiento es el Óctuple Sendero, un conjunto de prácticas éticas, mentales y de sabiduría.

El Óctuple Sendero

El Óctuple Sendero se compone de ocho prácticas, organizadas en tres secciones: Sabiduría, Conducta Ética y Disciplina Mental.

1. Sabiduría (Pañña)

Visión Correcta (Samma Ditthi): Comprender las Cuatro Nobles Verdades y la naturaleza de la realidad.

Intención Correcta (Samma Sankappa): Desarrollar una intención de renuncia, compasión y no violencia.

2. Conducta Ética (Sila)

Habla Correcta (Samma Vaca): Usar el lenguaje de manera honesta, amable y constructiva, evitando mentir o herir.

Acción Correcta (Samma Kammanta): Actuar de manera ética, evitando dañar a otros y respetando la vida.

Medios de Vida Correctos (Samma Ajiva): Sostenerse a través de ocupaciones que no causen daño y sean éticamente responsables.

3. Disciplina Mental (Samadhi)

Esfuerzo Correcto (Samma Vayama): Cultivar pensamientos positivos y eliminar los dañinos.

Atención Plena Correcta (Samma Sati): Practicar la conciencia plena y la observación sin juicio de pensamientos y emociones.

Concentración Correcta (Samma Samadhi): Alcanzar un estado de concentración profunda y serena, cultivando la calma mental.

[zenthropology]

Some pictures from the Kathina Ceremony at Jetavana Temple Forest Monastery

[irinto]

Dhammapada 1-14 (esperanto)

Kiel kabanon bone tegmentitan ne tiom enpenetras pluvo, tiel la koron kulturitan ne tiom enpenetras volupto.

Versio en esperanto de: Ramón E. Morales C. Ilustraĵo: P. Wickramanayaka. Prenita el la libro: Treasury of Truth - Illustrated Dhammapada.

La koro (citta) estas la plej intima kaj punkta parto de nia menso, de nia konscio. Ĝi estas la punkto, kie ni “scias” kaj distingas la bonon disde malbono, la realon disde la imagito, la lertan disde la mallerta. Se nia koro estas bone kulturita (subh��vitaṃ), bone disvolvita, ĝi estas kiel kabano bone tegmentita, kien la pluvo ne penetras abunde. Tiel la veneno nomita rāga, volupto, avideco, avareco, dezirego, ne penetras nian menson kaj konscion. Ĉi tie kulturado (bhāvanā) estas tuta serio da mensaj agadoj lertaj: studi la tekstaron, pripensi pri la instruoj, kontempli la virtojn, kaj mediti.

[stolemythesis]

Sri Lankan Buddha, part of Phoenix art museum's collection

[buddhistmusings]

Suffering, as a condition of reality, is unavoidable. It's simply not possible to live without suffering.

When you walk into the grocery store and there's a child crying, it's giving you a headache, you'd rather the child stop crying - this is suffering.

When you speak to another person who is just failing to understand what you're getting at - that's suffering.

Any dissonance between a desired and actual state is suffering. The unfortunate truth of reality is that we can not control all states we are subjected to. We can, however, manage our desires.

Some people think this must make life dull, but it does not. It enlivens those moments we previously found dull. Our morning tea becomes an exercise in beauty and gratitude, and our good mornings become an exercise in love and compassion. The birds singing in the trees become neighbors to us, and we no longer reach for the fly swatter simply because we hear a buzzing sound. We celebrate the joys of others and mourn their losses, but do so without without feeling pain - which empowers us to actually help relieve theirs.

This is just a taste of the freedom that the Buddha is talking about, and it takes work to achieve. We can all experience it at some level, though, whether we call ourselves Buddhist or not. It's the right and inheritance of all people, human or not, and wherever we go, it's there with us. Whether or not we think we are walking with peace, it's walking with us, and whether or not we think we're sitting with the Buddha, he's sitting with us.

[epilacquerstudiobuddhistart]

The Noble Epiphany.

“Two people, mendicants, arise in the world for the welfare and happiness of the people, for the benefit, welfare, and happiness of gods and humans. What two? The Realized One, the perfected one, the fully awakened Buddha; and the wheel-turning monarch. These two people arise in the world for the welfare and happiness of the people, for the benefit, welfare, and happiness of gods and humans.”

[art-culture-philosophy-and-media]

Yo I made Buddhism and Hinduism altar today in minecraft, quite messy cuz I have 0 sense of decoration or whatsover but also 0 intention to disrespect any gods or religious figure

Might made some more variations of the altar, maybe specific to one god or in different categories (see the name of deities in tags!)

[theravadin]

hi! as you may know i have just acquired the bhikku nanamoli/bhikku bodhi english translation of the majjhima nikaya! i would like to ask anyone willing to comment on this, what order should i read the suttas in? i was initially going to simply read them from 1 to 152 in the order they are presented in the book, but i also found this study guide which offers perhaps a more coherent/cohesive order in which to progress through the suttas. for anyone who has spent time with these texts, which of these two reading orders would you recommend?

[beatsforbrothels]

Theravada & Zoomo - The Night