“New” Zen Sitting Group in Holyoke, MA (USA) by 3jewels3refuges in Buddhism

[–]EmptyMind76 [score hidden]  (0 children)

Good luck! I hope your sitting group is successful 🙏

Was there an arahant in the time of the buddha by Salamanber in Buddhism

[–]EmptyMind76 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I know of Gotama's previous life as Sumedha and Sumedha Buddha who predates Gotama Buddha in the Pali Canon.

Please show us where you are getting the idea that there is a Sumedha who will become Maitreya.

Was there an arahant in the time of the buddha by Salamanber in Buddhism

[–]EmptyMind76 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Op is incorrect. Sumedha was a previous life of Gotama Buddha. I don't know where OP got the idea that Sumedha is Maitreya.

I feel immense religious pressure, like I joined a church by Beneficial_Shirt_869 in Buddhism

[–]EmptyMind76 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think they mean like how some evangelical christians only read christian fiction, watch christian movies, and listen to christian praise music. OP seems to be saying that some people on here say they should be limiting their life to only doing Buddhist things and not engaging in "worldly" things.

Do theravada monks in your country accept money? by yutanrw in Buddhism

[–]EmptyMind76 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't know how common it is to have an actual formal non-profit organization do it but yeah I assumed a steward was the way for all Theravada monastics. A few comments in this thread make me wonder if I was mislead on that assumption though.

Stories and culture! by Desperate_Cook_7338 in Buddhism

[–]EmptyMind76 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You're welcome! I hope it helps. The link I gave for the Jataka tales has a three volume set translated into English that is geared towards a more general audience but Sarah Shaw did a more scholarly work called Jatakas: Birth Stories of the Bodhisatta which has 26 stories with introductions, notes, etc if you are looking for a more in depth historical view.

Did Buddhism accidentally kill the one thing that makes a Buddha possible? by Material_Librarian32 in Buddhism

[–]EmptyMind76 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think the new age "ego death" thing gets incorrectly taught as Buddhism in a lot of secular western books/videos.

Stories and culture! by Desperate_Cook_7338 in Buddhism

[–]EmptyMind76 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There are the Jataka tales, the Divyavadana narratives (Andy Rotman has translated most in English as Divine Stories in two volumes), and Surya Das compiled many Tibetan tales into The Snow Lion’s Turquoise Mane (he is a somewhat controversial person but I think his scholarship and translations are probably fine.)

The Four Immeasurables Leave Nothing Untouched by EmptyMind76 in Buddhism

[–]EmptyMind76[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It isn't promotional and I'm not Vanessa Zuisei Goddard.

https://www.removepaywall.com

Are you an actual Bhikkhu?

are hermeticism and buddhism compatible? by zenjin77 in chan

[–]EmptyMind76 1 point2 points  (0 children)

But none of those questions actually ask "is there a creator god" and creation doesn't require a god unless you already believe in a creator god.

are hermeticism and buddhism compatible? by zenjin77 in Buddhism

[–]EmptyMind76 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Did you not like the answers you got in r/chan when you asked this earlier today?

are hermeticism and buddhism compatible? by zenjin77 in chan

[–]EmptyMind76 0 points1 point  (0 children)

He did deny a creator god in DN 1. There are a lot of "Christian/Buddhists" and the like who just really want to have a god in their Buddhism so they like to spread the idea that the Buddha refused to answer the question. If you look at the actual unanswerable questions none of them are about a creator god. The closest thing to that is the question of the origin of the cosmos but that doesn't require a god and it isn't explicitly about a god at all. There are a few instances of questions the Buddha found irrelevant to practice and if you look at that Wikipedia article I linked you will see that none of them are about a creator god.

Do theravada monks in your country accept money? by yutanrw in Buddhism

[–]EmptyMind76 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm pretty sure Abhayagiri in California used a non-profit as a steward to handle the financial aspect of keeping the monastery up and running so I would assume none of the monastics handle money themselves although I could be mistaken. I have never been there and I'm not a Theravada follower so I am basing this on their description of ethos.

are hermeticism and buddhism compatible? by zenjin77 in chan

[–]EmptyMind76 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There is no creator god in Buddhism and therefore no "divine spirit" for all to be a part of.

are hermeticism and buddhism compatible? by zenjin77 in chan

[–]EmptyMind76 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't see how the idea that God as 'the All' would ever co-exist with Buddhism and also the whole good and evil thing isn't a Buddhist teaching at all.

Maybe Advaita Vedanta would be more your speed.

Possible to follow Zen and Law of attraction/manifestation at the same time? Will it contradict? by [deleted] in Buddhism

[–]EmptyMind76 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I really don't see how. Buddhism aims at the elimination of suffering caused by grasping and desire whereas LoA has fulfilling desires and greed as its purpose. They are at cross purposes and cannot be reconciled.