Skip to main content

unsolved mysteries, unanswered questions, unsatisfying answers



A collection of questions that have no answers yet, or only unsatisfying answers proposed so far.

AN 7.64 kodhana (anger), case 3 of 7 unclear what is meant by “profit” or “loss”, and how exactly that sabotages what angry person wants

* AN 6.20 (un)intentional humor? "a centipede bite might kill me, that would be inconvenient"

* In Pali, is there a general rule for how to translate/interpret negations, e.g. (subha, asubha)



https://notesonthedhamma.blogspot.com/2019/07/what-does-pari-mukha-mean-exactly-in-16.html



upekkha relationship to kamma-saka (owner of ones actions)




What sutta actually equates 8 spokes of a Dhamma Wheel with noble eight fold path?

Post by frank k » Sat Jun 29, 2019 9:24 am
SN 56.11, according to tradition, the first sutta, Dhamma-cakka-pavattana (dhamma wheel turning)
doesn't ever explicitly say the Dhamma wheel is the 8 factors of 8aam, or how many spokes are in the wheel. Is there actually a sutta that states this, or is this just an assumption we've all made?


what sutta passage give detailed meaning of mudita in 4bv brahma-viharas?

Post by frank k » Wed Jun 19, 2019 12:34 am
https://notesonthedhamma.blogspot.com/2 ... s-for.html

pa-mojja and piti often occur together, almost like synonyms.
(mudita is closely related to pa-mojja).

There are a number of passages where pamojja and piti has the role of being delighted, gladdened, in the context of 7sb awakening factors, that one's viriya and right effort are purifying the mind and sila.

But are there any sutta passages that explicitly establish the mudita as a 4bv factor, has the same function, in delighting in virtue and purification?

In Vimuttimagga, it also states that mudita is delighting in virtue.

But in Vism., it seems to go off on tangents, of being a type of joy in opposition to the negative emotion of jealousy. I'm interested in EBT passages that can justify Vism's tangent, or give explicit support for Vimt. interpretation, and the connection to 7sb piti-sambojjhanga and pa-mojja.


I think this is the solution


AN 3.95 Parisā-sutta

(7sb+ sequence)

Yasmiį¹ƒ, bhikkhave, samaye bhikkhÅ« samaggā sammodamānā avivadamānā khÄ«rodakÄ«bhÅ«tā aƱƱamaƱƱaį¹ƒ piyacakkhÅ«hi sampassantā viharanti,
When the mendicants live in harmony like this,
bahuį¹ƒ, bhikkhave, bhikkhÅ« tasmiį¹ƒ samaye puƱƱaį¹ƒ pasavanti.
they make much merit.
Brahmaį¹ƒ, bhikkhave, vihāraį¹ƒ tasmiį¹ƒ samaye bhikkhÅ« viharanti,
At that time the mendicants live in a holy dwelling,

(4bv mudita causes pīti!)

yadidaį¹ƒ muditāya ceto-vimuttiyā.
that is, the heart’s release by rejoicing.
Pa-muditassa pīti jāyati,
When you’re joyful, rapture springs up.
pīti-manassa kāyo passambhati,
When the mind is full of rapture, the body becomes tranquil.
passaddha-kāyo sukhaį¹ƒ vediyati,
When the body is tranquil, you feel bliss.
sukhino cittaį¹ƒ samādhiyati.
And when you’re blissful, the mind becomes immersed in samādhi.




difference between byāpāda, āghāta, vihesa, vihi.msa?

Post by frank k » Thu Jul 04, 2019 8:47 am
B.Bodhi and B.Sujato render āghāta as 'resentment'.
B.Thanissaro has "ill will".

PED seems like it could be stronger than just 'anger' or 'resentment', but more like vihesa or 'wish to harm'
http://www.lucid24.org/an/an05/an05-0161/index.html

I remember a thread a few years back where Ven. Kumara asked what is the difference between Samma Sankappo's (right resolve's)
2nd and 3rd factors (byapada vs. vihimsa).

Anyone know where that thread is? Dhamma Wheel topic searches, I can never find anything.

Can Arahants dream? Sutta sources?

https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/questions/33880/it-is-said-that-arahants-never-dream-what-are-the-textual-sources-for-this-clai/33892#33892



Why did Vism.'s Buddhaghosa burn all of the Sri Lanka commentaries?

Post by frank k » Wed Feb 19, 2020 7:40 am
Why did Buddhaghosa burn all of the Sri Lanka commentaries?
This was after he had translated it from Sinhala to Pali.

I suspect there were competing schools with contradicting commentaries, and this was a move to select one school of thought and eliminate the competition. What's the official reason given for the burning?

Related topics:

Examples of Fallacious reasoning


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Advice to younger meditators on jhāna, sex, porn, masturbation

Someone asked: Is porn considered harmful sexual.activity? I don't have a sex life because I don't have a partner and I don't wish to engage in casual sex so I use porn to quench the biological urge to orgasm. I can't see that's it's harmful because nobody is being forced into it. The actors are all paid well and claim to enjoy it etc. The only harm I can see is that it's so accessible these days on smart devices and so children may access it but I believe that this is the parents responsibility to not allow unsupervised use of devices etc. Views? Frankk response: In another thread, you asked about pleasant sensations and jhāna.  I'm guessing you're young, so here's some important advice you won't get from suttas   if you're serious about jhāna.  (since monastics are already celibate by rule)   If you want to attain stable and higher jhānas,   celibacy and noble silence to the best of your ability are the feedstock and prerequiste to tha
Post a Comment
Read more

illustration of Buddha Gotoma where he looks like a human being

Illustration by Bhikkhu Vimalo from a BPS postcard wishing a happy vesak   More images where Buddha looks human: https://notesonthedhamma.blogspot.com/2021/02/where-are-buddha-images-and-statues.html Buddha and Arahant images that look like real humans
Post a Comment
Read more

1min. video: Dalai Lama kissing boy and asking him to suck his tongue

To give more context, this is a public event,  * everyone knows cameras are rolling  *  it's a room full of children * the boy's mom is standing off camera a few feet away watching all of this * the boy initiated contact, he had already had a hug with Dalai Lama earlier and then asked Dalai Lama for another hug which triggered this segment  17 min. video showing what happened before that 1 min. clip and after, with some explanation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bT0qey5Ts78 16min talk from Ajahn Acalo with his thoughts on Dalai Lama kissing boy, relevance to Bhikkhu monastic code, sexual predators in religion in general, and how celibate monastics deal with sexual energy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK2m0TcUib0 The child's comments about the incident in a filmed interview later https://www.marca.com/en/lifestyle/world-news/2023/04/18/643eba5d46163ffc078b457c.html The child: It's a great experience It was amazing to meet His Holiness and I think it's a great ex
Post a Comment
Read more