(The Theory of Samsara) Premiered Nov. 27, 2025: š§♂️ Why do we all so easily fall into "spiritual delusion"?
Why do we chase psychedelic highs, promises of supernatural powers, or “special” experiences instead of understanding the ordinary, unchanging nature of consciousness [and related phenomena] itself?
This video dives more deeply into the mechanics of self-deception on the spiritual path —
How craving fuels suffering,
Why Western culture’s addictions make it worse,
Why meditators so often mistake mental fabrications for awakening.
Let's explore the Buddha’s actual teaching:
Craving is the root of suffering
Consciousness is ordinary, not something to be manufactured
Awakening can’t be given to us by a teacher
Psychedelic trips are NOT enlightenment
Pride, jealousy, and other delusions and fabricated identities destroy the Path
True realization begins with a stable, uncontrived mind.
Whether we practice Zen (jhana), Mahamudra ("great seal"), Vipassana(insight meditation), or Dzogchen (choiceless awareness), the message is the same:
Stop looking for the extraordinary.
Instead, recognize the nature of mind as it is:
SUCHNESS, ordinary mind — nothing to adopt, nothing to abandon.
If we want to avoid spiritual self-sabotage and cultivate a genuine path toward awakening, this is for us.
Check out ultimatemeaning.org for more information.
[The Buddha explained:] Now, there comes a time, meditators, when, sooner or later,
after the lapse of a long period [of devolving], this world-system passes
away.
When this happens, beings have mostly been
reborn in the World of Radiance, and there they dwell made
of mind, feeding on joy, radiating light from themselves,
traversing the air, continuing in glory; thus, they remain
for a long period of time.
Now, there comes a time, meditators, when, sooner or later, this
world-system begins to evolve again. When this happens the
Palace of BrahmÄ appears, but it is empty. And some being
or other, either because its span of years has passed or its merit has become exhausted, falls from the World of Radiance, and
comes to life [is reborn] in the Palace of BrahmÄ.
There also this being lives made of mind, feeding on joy, radiating light from
itself, traversing the air, continuing in glory; thus, does it remain for a long, long period of time.
Now there arises, from dwelling there so long
alone, a dissatisfaction and a longing:
By merely wishing, I am the Creator!
“O, would that other
beings might come and join me in this place!” And, just then,
either because their span of years had passed [in that other world] or their merit [to carry on there] became exhausted, other beings fall from the World of
Radiance and appear in the Palace of BrahmÄ as
companions, in all respects like BrahmÄ [other than their later arrival].
On this, meditators, the one who was first reborn thinks: “I am BrahmÄ [Supreme], the Great (Maha) BrahmÄ, the Supreme One,
the Mighty, the All-Seeing, the Ruler, the Lord of All, the
Maker, the Creator, the Chief of all [the Alpha and Omega, the I am that I am], appointing to each its place, the Ancient of Days, the Parent of all that are and are
to be. These other beings are of my creation. Why is
this so? A while ago I thought, 'Would that they might
come!’ And on my mental aspiration, behold the beings
came!”
I am who/that/what I am [of which they speak] and I am everlasting!
No goddesses allowed.
“And those beings themselves, too, think thus: 'This must be
BrahmÄ, the Supreme, the Mighty, the All-Seeing, the Ruler,
the Lord of All, the Maker, the Creator, the Chief of All,
appointing to each a place, the Ancient of Days, the Parent of all that are and are to be. And we must have been created
by that being. Why? It is because, as we see, it was that being who was
here first, and we came after that.”
On this, meditators, the one who first came into existence there
is of longer life and more glorious and more powerful than
those who appeared afterward. And it might well be, meditators,
that some being on falling from that state, should come
hither [to be reborn].
Well, they're allowed, just don't call them goddesses like Sophia, Mother Mary, wife Asherah
.
And having come hither [to the human plane] that being might go forth from the
household life into the homeless state [of a monastic]. And having thus
become a recluse that person, by reason of ardor, of exertion, of
application, of earnestness, of careful thought, reaches such rapture of heart that, rapt in heart [jhana], he calls to mind his last
dwelling-place but not the previous ones.
He says to
himself: “That illustrious BrahmÄ [Supremo], the Great BrahmÄ, the
Supreme One, the Mighty, the All-Seeing, the Ruler, the
Lord of All, the Maker, the Creator, the Chief of All,
appointing to each its place, the Ancient of Days, the Father
of All that are and are to be, that being by whom we were created is steadfast, immutable, eternal, of a nature that knows
no change and will remain so forever and ever. But we
who were created have come hither as being
impermanent, mutable, limited in duration of life.”
This, meditators, is the first state of things on account of which,
starting out from which, some recluses and Brahmins (shramanas and brahmanas), being
eternalists as to some things and non-eternalists as to
others, maintain that the soul and the world are partly
eternal and partly not eternal. More
Misconstrued as the "creator" deity
We're not allowed to question in Christianity
Buddhism is a nontheistic (not atheistic) religion. It does not include the belief in an ultimate creator deity or any eternal being, divine or otherwise [4][5][6].
The universe (multiverse) comes into being due to causes and condition, but the Buddha did not declare an ultimate first beginning to it. It is cyclical and all beginnings, like all endings, repeat. There a "laws" that govern this impersonal process but not an ultimate creator God.
This may be hard to understand because there are gods, many of them, and they of different kinds and orders: devas, brahmas, asuras, maras, nagas, and so on. They abide on different planes, of which there are at least 31; however, these general planes contain countless worlds. All of these worlds are divided into three spheres: sensual, fine material, and immaterial.
Among these "gods" or deities are powerful beings who wield the power of creation and other, higher order beings who enjoy the creation of others. These, however, are not ultimate creations; that is to say, they are not really making new "things" such as a new soul (atta) or a new ultimate materiality or mentality. To give an example, say there were a pile of tiny bricks and a bucket of mortar and one were to release bricklayers to have at it. How many structures could they create? How many fabulous Lego-toy like "creations" could they put together? Presumably, they could fashion together a countless number of "things," but -- in an ultimate sense -- what is there but the same old building blocks? What is there but just ultimate materiality (form) arranged in an immaterial way (name) that looks new but is only really bricks, mortar, and arrangement?
Countless worlds in 31 Planes in three spheres
Buddhist texts posit that deities (brahmas, which are a subset of devas or "shining ones") such as Maha Brahma ("Great Supremo") are misconstrued as a creator [7].
During the vivarta kalpa (some previous aeon), a deity from Abhassara (radiant) plane was reborn on the lower Maha Brahma plane. As many living beings forget about their past life as soon as they are reborn, this also happened with Maha Brahma. No longer being aware of the higher planes of existence, this being felt alone in the universe (or world-system, cakkavala).
This being longed for the presence of others. After some time, other deities (devas) from higher planes were also reborn on those brahma planes as ministers and companions, an entire retinue [8].
Seeing this happen and having wished for it, this being falsely believed, "I am their creator." This belief, according to Buddhist texts (like the Brahmajala Sutta), was then shared by those other deities.
Eventually, however, one of those deities passed away from that world and was reborn on the human plane. Through meditation, that person gained the power to remember past lives [7].
That person went on to teach what was remembered from that previous life in that glorious (but relatively low) heaven, namely, that Maha Brahma was the creator of this universe.
There are countless world-systems ("universes"?) in 10,000 directions, each with its own Maha Brahma and Mara and Sakka, all of which are really stations (positions, seats, thrones, chairs, offices held by living beings).
The teaching of this person led to the widespread human belief in a creator god, according to the Pali canon [7], which refers to the Buddha's words and other teachings preserved in the Buddha's language (Pali or the lingua franca of Magadhi). More
From DÄ«gha NikÄya ("Collection of Long Discourses") No. 1: BrahmajÄla Sutta ("The Supreme or All-Embracing Net of Views Discourse") translated by Prof. Rhys Davids)
By Ricky Gervais, Wall Street Journal via Dan Pizarro
"You can't say that!" - "You can."
Ricky Gervais is the writer and star of HBO's Ricky Gervais Out of England 2: The Stand-Up Special (website: rickygervais.com).
"Why don't you believe in God?" I get that question all the time. I always try to give a sensitive, reasoned answer. This is usually awkward, time consuming, and pointless.
Buddhism and the God-Idea
People who believe in God don't need proof of his [her, its] existence, and they certainly don't want evidence to the contrary. They are happy with their belief. They even say things like, "It's true to me" and "It's faith."
I still give my logical answer because I feel that not being honest would be patronizing and impolite. It is ironic, therefore, that to say, "I don't believe in God because there is absolutely no scientific evidence for his existence" or "from what I've heard, the very definition is a logical impossibility in this known universe" comes across as both patronizing and impolite. More
Stand up comedian Ricky Gervais: I am WOKE now! - I'll be a humanist, a hedonist, a materialist
For those who care about this sort of thing, here is a link (wsj.com) to an essay by British standup comedian Ricky Gervais about his reasons for being an atheist and how he deals with it in a world that is predominately hostile towards his lack of belief. His views also happen to be my own (Dan Piraro).
Buddhism is non-theistic, not atheistic
All of them seem convincing. I won't believe any
What's the difference? Well, a theist thinks he knows there is a God. An atheist thinks he knows there isn't. An agnostic doesn't know, isn't sure, or is afraid to say/decide, whereas a nontheist knows and says that whether there is a God or not, what has that to do with my enlightenment, my awakening, my liberation (salvation, emancipation, deliverance) from ignorance, craving, hatred, fear, suffering, and rebirth? The disappointment/pain I experience comes about as the results of my deeds (actions of mind, speech, and body), my views, words, and conduct. If there is a God that's still true. I can see it as true. If there is no God that's still true. I can see that for myself, reflecting in my own life along the lines of the Buddha's discourse called the Kalama Sutta.
Why did the Buddha have so many followers?
Now, people think the Kalama Sutra says, "Think whatever you want, and don't believe whatever you don't want." That's not what it says at all. Keep reading. The Kalamas didn't know how to decide which spiritual teacher or teaching (doctrine) was right. They all sounded good and said the others were wrong. When the Buddha came to teach, they first questioned him about this problem of not knowing who or what to believe since they all sounded good and had a point. So the Buddha taught them in such a way that it did not depend on him or his authority, reasoning, charisma, or anything else but their own experience. He asked them the question, Can you see from your own experience that greed, hatred, and delusion arise in a person for their own harm, the harm of others, and the harm of society? Or how is it? In the same way, the same question may be asked in reverse: Can you see from your own experience that nongreed (letting go), nonhatred (love, compassion, joy in others' joy, unbiased calm), nondelusion (wisdom, knowing, clarity) arise in a person for their own benefit, the benefit of others, and the benefit of society? The Kalamas could see that, not as a belief or blind faith in this or that teacher but from their own personal experience in life. If you can see that, then maybe you can see that bringing about the end of greed. hatred, and delusion is good and a teaching (doctrine or Dharma) that does that is of benefit and maybe something you'd like to learn. They did. So the Buddha taught them without reference to books, authorities, teachers, views, or biases. They were amazed. This made sense. This made sense because they could see that it was true from their own observations and experiences not someone else's.
The Buddha was not a teacher of God, not a prophet or disciple of God. He was a teacher of Karma, an advocate of the right understanding that things happen to us because of our deeds, life after life. What happens to us in any existence is intimately wrapped up in our deeds of body, speech, and mind (the views, opinions, preferences, and biases we hold). "Karma: It's everywhere you're going to be."
who did not invent the Eternal Way of Life (Sanatan Dharma), Vedas, yoga but turned made the ism
Could Christians mean impersonal Karma when they speak of a personal God alive in the world? "Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows [whatever deeds one does], that will one also reap [experience the result of]" (Christian Bible, Galatians 6:7, biblehub.com).
Deeds (karma, actions) are like seeds (things we sow) capable of maturing (vipaka, ripening) and bearing much fruit (phala, results). This impersonal karma process is unfailing, all-knowing, all-seeing, as the Abrahamic "God" is said to be.
Better translations? Amplified Bible: "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked [He will not allow Himself to be ridiculed, nor treated with contempt, nor allow His precepts to be scornfully set aside]; for whatever a [person] sows, this and this only is what [that person] will reap." Christian Standard Bible: "Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a person sows [one] will also reap," Contemporary English Version: "You cannot fool God, so don't make a fool of yourself! You will harvest what you plant." GOD'S WORD® Translation: "Make no mistake about this: You can never make a fool out of God. Whatever you plant is what you'll harvest [as a result of having planted it]." Good News Translation: "Do not deceive yourselves; no one makes a fool of God. You will reap [in return] exactly what you plant."
(Wise Quotes) Feb. 27, 2025: THE FORGOTTEN HANDBOOK OF REALITY MANIPULATION: THE FORBIDDEN WORK THE ELITES DO NOT WANT US TO READ.
Meditation must be banned before it works.
Throughout history, rumors have circulated about a hidden document containing secret knowledge capable of transforming reality.
This enigmatic work allegedly details methods of mental influence, subconscious reprogramming, and spiritual manipulation that could undermine traditional power structures.
While skeptics dismiss it as a myth, conspiracy theorists suggest systematically suppressing such insights is intentional. Could meditation practice be the key to unlocking this potential?
Before we can meditate, we can already come together for a common positive goal like healing.
.
How to capitalize on this idea.
This thought-provoking discussion explores the profound implications of concealed wisdom and its impact on human autonomy.
CIA Agent Stan Marsh can be a bit of a control freak. Here, he puts a gun to God's head to get his way. And God laughs...then shoots Stan in the head because that's just the kind of god he is, all vengeful and full of love (American Dad, "Rapture's Delight").
THE BUDDHA: Now, there comes a time, meditators, when, sooner or later,
after the lapse of a [cosmologically] long period, this world-system [devolves and] passes away.
When this happens, beings have mostly been
reborn [due to their previous skillful karma, their wholesome deeds] in the World of Radiance (Äbhassara deva loka), and there they dwell made
of mind and feeding on joy, emitting light from themselves,
traversing the air, continuing in glory (streaming radiance). They remain this way for a long period of time.
Now, there comes a time, meditators, when, sooner or later, this
world-system begins to re-evolve. When this happens the
Palace of the Supreme (BrahmÄ-loka) appears, but it is empty. And some [high-born] being
or other, either because its* span of years has passed or its
merit [the store of karma that allowed it to live there] is exhausted, falls from the World of Radiance and reappears [is reborn, comes to life] in the Palace of the Supreme.
[*Brahmas do not undergo sexual dimorphism and therefore are neither male nor female, as is true of all beings above the level of brahmas, but may be said to be androgynous, encompassing or capable of encompassing characteristics of either gender.]
And there also that being lives made of mind and feeding on joy, emitting light from
itself, traversing the air, continuing in streaming glory, and thus remains for a long, long period of time.
Now there arises in this being, from dwelling alone there so long, a dissatisfaction and a longing: "O, would that other
beings might come to join me in this place!”
[NOTE: Buddhism is not atheistic but ultimately nontheistic, with many polytheistic overtones. There is not just one God but many gods (brahmas and devas), none of whom are the actual ultimate creator or first cause. Because time and universes happen in cycles, evolving and devolving, there could be an alpha and omega of sorts, but it isn't real or ultimate because there are higher-born beings than that. A brahma sees to the extent of its plane of existence and not hire, where it cannot access. So it is not omniscient nor omnipotent and either is not aware of the other "Gods" or is willfully ignorant so as to not have to ponder how they came to be there.]
And, just then,
either because their span of years had passed or their merit was exhausted, other beings fall from the World of
Radiance and appear in the Palace of the Supreme as
companions, who in all respects are like it.
There are many heavenly worlds (sagga, deva-lokas) and many Gods (brahmas) and gods (devas) among the general 31 Planes of Existence. There are countless individual worlds categorized into these general planes. See Buddhist cosmology.
On this happening, meditators, the one who was first reborn there thinks to
itself:
“I am BrahmÄ [the Supreme], the Great BrahmÄ, the Supreme One,
the Mighty, the All-Seeing, the Ruler, the Lord of All [the Universe], the
Maker, the Creator, the Chief of All, appointing to each its place, the Ancient of Days, the Father of All who are and are ever to be. These other beings are of my creation. Why is
that so? A while ago I thought, 'Would that they might
come!’ And on my mental aspiration, behold the beings
came!”
A.I. almost gets it right, missing sight of what the
Buddha really was: a human who rose above Gods.
The Gods are not awakened/enlightened. He was.
Moreover, those beings themselves also think: “This must be
BrahmÄ, the Supreme, the Mighty, the All-Seeing, the Ruler,
the Lord of All, the Maker, the Creator, the Chief of All,
appointing to each its place, the Ancient of Days, the Father
of All who are and ever are to be. And we must have been created
by this being. Why? It is because, as we see, it was this being who was
here first, and we came after.”
On this, meditators, the one who first came into existence [on that plane] is of longer life and more glorious [brighter, streaming more radiance], and more powerful than
those who appeared afterward.
And it might well be, meditators,
that some being on falling from that state, should come
here. And having come here, he might go forth from the
household life into the left-home life. And having become a wandering ascetic he, by reason of ardor, persistent exertion, consistent application, earnestness, and careful thought [balanced effort] reaches such rapture of heart [piti born of meditative absorption called jhana] that, rapt in heart, he calls to mind his past life (his last
dwelling-place) but not the ones prior to that.
God didn't really create the world out of nothing?
He says to
himself, “That illustrious BrahmÄ, the Great BrahmÄ, the
Supreme One, the Mighty, the All-Seeing, the Ruler, the
Lord of All, the Maker, the Creator, the Chief of All,
appointing to each its place, the Ancient of Days, the Father
of All who are and ever are to be, the One by whom we were created,
that One is steadfast, immutable, eternal, of a nature that knows
no change and will remain so for ever and ever, whereas we
who were created by that being have come here as beings who are impermanent, mutable, limited in duration of life.”
This, meditators, is the first state of things on account of which,
starting out from which, some wandering ascetics and Brahmin priests, being
Eternalists as to some things and Non-Eternalists as to
others, maintain that the soul [self, atta, atman] and the world are partly
eternal and partly not.
Seth MacFarlane, American Dad; Long Discourses of the Buddha (DN 1), "The All-Embracing Net of Views," DÄ«gha NikÄya1, BrahmajÄla Sutta, translated by Prof. Rhys Davids and edited by Dhr. Seven (Dec. 2024), from Ven. Nyanaponika(formerly Mr. Siegmund Feniger) Wheel #47: Buddhism and the God-Idea: Selected Texts, 1962 (Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, Sri Lanka) for Wisdom Quarterly
(The Jimmy Dore Show) CIA-groomed Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu engineered Oct. 7th attacks by HAMAS (an acronym for a secular political organization Bibi funded and protected), overwhelming evidence shows.
Israel's war strategy known as the Hannibal Directive states that Jews will kill Jews if it advances their cause to do so.
Because I'm Jewish I support Palestinians
That is, if a Jew might be taken hostage or used to embarrass Israel, its government, or its military, the military is announcing in no uncertain terms that Jewish soldiers will kill Jews.
This does not say that the Mossad (Israel's CIA) will secretly assassinate them. It is saying that the IDF, the overt military, will kill them, as if by stating this in advance it justifies its own actions and holds itself exempt from criminal prosecution in the Hague's International Court of Justice (ICJ) for war crimes, genocide, ethnic cleansing, occupation, extermination, and so on.
Don't cry, Joe's body-double. We wanted this.
It is Jews killing Jews, and before they kill them, (secular) Jews are made to hate (religious) Jews, known as Orthodox and Ultra-Orthodox Jews.
These religious Jews actually read and study and attempt to practice the religion the secular Jews use as a cultural identity but not as a religion, unless it is convenient to do so as when saying their holy books give them permission to commit genocide to get the real estate deal they say their God promised them. The U.S. aids and abets this thinking, supporting
Netanyahu and the Israeli military with money, weapons, intelligence, and above all diplomatic support in the United Nations and the ICJ.
Ashkenazi secular Zionist-Jewish woman FREAKS OUT at Orthodox Jews (who study the Bible, the Old Testament, are observant and religious) just like the IDF and Israeli police regularly do, abusing fellow Jews they hate.
Secular Jews should try Judaism
Antisemitism is when Israel hates Semites be they Ultra-Orthodox Jews, Bedouins, Arabs, anti-Zionist Jews, Palestinians. It is also when secular Jews despise and attack religious Jews who are following the tenets of the religion called Judaism.
I pray you, please let us stay in the garden, Dad! - Get the hell out of here!
This post seeks to do far too much, explaining God and talking about prayer in observance of the National Day of Prayer and whether or not Buddhists "pray" since there is no necessity of believing in God if one is a Buddhist and there is no command to pray even if one does believe in God or gods. These two will eventually be parsed into two different articles. Enjoy the draft while they are interwoven.
(Buddha's Wisdom) Why Buddhists Don't Believe in GOD? | April 29, 2024: š¤ Ever wonder why Buddhists don't seem to believe in a Creator-God? The answer might surprise you – and it's been sparking heated debates for centuries! š„ In this thought-provoking video, BW dives deep into the heart of Buddhist philosophy to explore one of the most controversial questions in religious history. š§♂️š Here's the thing – this isn't about convincing anyone to abandon any belief. Buddhism is all about free inquiry, questioning everything, even its own Teachings (the Dharma)! šš [This is why there is a Kalama Sutra, the invitation to free inquiry.] Whether one is a devout believer, skeptic, or just curious, this video challenges assumptions and opens minds to new possibilities. š Stay curious, stay compassionate, and remember – the truth is waiting to be discovered within you [so get wise]. Namaste, friends! š¼ #Buddhism #God #Spirituality #Philosophy #Enlightenment #Wisdom #Meditation #Mindfulness #PersonalGrowth #Inspiration
Half the things said in this video are incorrect, but the whole of it is trending towards correct. Of course, many Buddhists believe in God. Which God? There are more than one. The One all-consuming GOD is Brahman, a Vedic, Brahminical, and Hindu concept, the impersonal reality behind all of the illusory (maya). The Buddha and Buddhists frequently talked about a creator god, whose name is Maha Brahma (the "Great Supremo"), who is neither male nor female, as the brahmas have transcended sexual dimorphism and are both and neither, just like the Abrahamic God (whom some scholars suggest is not related to Abraham but is A-Brahmanic, meaning "not related to Brahma or Brahman"). There are many gods in Buddhism, and one favorite deity (deva) is Sakka, King of the Gods, a favorite Zeus/Indra-type sky god of the Sakas of Scythia, popular among the horseback warrior princes of Scythia and Sakastan. There are countless other devas and brahmas, "light beings" (lit. "shining ones") in all directions of space and on earth. The more down-to-earth devas, even though the others visit the planet, are woodland fairies, nature spirits, spaceship (vimana) traveling godlings and deities that love to sport about, vain, beautiful, petty, obsessed with pleasure and beauty, exactly like the ancient Greek and Roman gods, well understood throughout ancient India and proto-India as well born fortunate beings with long lives, subtle senses, much delight, and often too distracted by the good times to seek for their enlightenment and release from rebirth. There is not a Buddhist God in the sense that all of the brahmas are, although very long-lived, impermanent as are all beings. Maha Brahma is special in that this deva (because all brahmas are a higher order of deva) is the first born at the renewal of another world cycle, at the big recurring bang in the endless cycles of time known as kalpas or aeons.
Today is also the National Day of Reason, not just the National Day of Prayer.
It often sounds to Western ears as if the Buddha did not know so remained silent. This is completely mistaken, an understandable misunderstanding. Often when the Buddha remained silent and someone stormed off dissatisfied with his response, Ananda would turn to the Buddha and ask him why he didn't answer. And the Buddha would explain. The most common reason was because whatever answer was given would lead to a misunderstanding in the questioner's mind. People often came to the Buddha holding wrong views, certain about their position. They were in no mood to learn what the Buddha knew and saw and taught. Not being answers sometimes chastened them to return and be more open. In this way when the Buddha spoke, they would understand, shed their wrong views (or give up clinging to their opinions, preferences, and pet theories), and become open to directly seeing what Truth is. One does not need the Buddha for that. The Buddha (this one and any other) points the way. It is for us to practice, cleanse our hearts and minds to prepare for directly seeing without a mediator. Foremost in this regard is the case of the obstinate monk Ven. Malunkyaputta. He had a lot of philosophical questions which the Buddha left unanswered. But he figured since he was a monk in this Doctrine and Discipline, he deserved answers from the Buddha about these very basic and ancient points of controversy: Is the world finite or infinite, does the fully enlightened person continue to exist or cease to exist when passing away, does rebirth go on forever or does it end, and so on and so on. Such questions never end. The Buddha dismissed these questions and left many things undeclared exactly as the video above suggests -- because they are not conducive to dispassion, disillusionment, and awakening to the unbelievable Truth. Why ask all that and demand answers before practicing to directly see for yourself without any teacher as your authority? The Buddha provides the path-and-practice, the Middle Way, that leads to direct knowledge, vision, and wisdom. In most religions, we hope it's true but only find out if we were wrong when we die. In Buddhism, it is not that way at all. Enlightenment, awakening, spiritual knowledge-and-vision are for this life, here and now. When we pass away, we will already know if we are liberated, on the right track, following a path-and-practice that does indeed lead to complete liberation. There is no need to wait. The time is now.
Famously, Ven. Malunkyaputta asked his questions anyway, and more foolishly demanded the Buddha answer him or he would quit being a monastic and quit practicing altogether.
He didn't like the Buddha's answer. The Buddha told him it was fine to quit, fine to not practice, fine to not accept that there was a good reason for those answers to remain undeclared. But he did Malunkyaputta a favor. He gave him a powerful simile to illustrate what he was doing by asking and insisting on an answer before proceeding towards Truth himself.
That simile, which is useful for all of us with a questioning and skeptical nature, lacking faith and confidence (saddha) in the Teacher, the Teaching, and the successfully Taught (the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha), runs like this:
Imagine a man shot by a poison arrow. A master physician offers to remove the arrow, stem the bleeding, and give an antidote to the fast acting poison, but that man -- wishing to know, wishing to understand, insisting someone explain to him -- will not accept the doctor's services, the cure, the antidote unless and until these questions are answered: Who shot me? Why did he shoot me? With what did he shoot me? What kind of wood was used for the shaft of the arrow? What kind of feather was used at the end of it? What kind of poison was dabbed on the tip? And so on and so forth. Any such person would much sooner die than any of those questions could be answered to his full satisfaction. Therefore, why not remain alive by accepting the master physician's advice to set them aside, get well, and pursue the answers himself. He would neither believe nor understand what answers he was given anyway.
Sister Tina Turner leads us in prayer (of the devotional Sokka Gakai branch of Japanese faith-based Nichiren Buddhism, which came into being long after the historical Buddha and in many ways is very unBuddhist if what the historical Buddha taught is any measure):
Q: Do Buddhists pray?
Yes, some. Some Buddhists pray, but not in the way the West does, not petitionary prayers to "Buddha" nor to the many deities recognized in Buddhism which, after all, is nontheistic but is not atheistic.
Buddhism could well be said to be polytheistic (except that, ultimately, just as the "self" is unreal so, too, are the gods). There is an impersonal force at play called Karma, and it seems to us that so much of what is said about the Christian, Muslim, Jewish God is really being said about Karma, as if God is doing it all, judging everybody, meting out rewards and punishments, being begged and giving in, being mocked and smiting the infidels and unbelievers. This omniscient creator god view is wrong in so many ways, but it is a reasonable simplification of how things work.
It's just like when a child asks, "Where does rain come from?" and, wishing to shut the kid up, the loving parent thinks he or she is doing the child a favor by offering an untrue but age-appropriate explanation wrapped around a moral lesson: "It's God crying because you didn't clean your room and respect your elders." "Oh, no!" the child thinks and feels much fear, nervousness, and develops no good view of God. But this is what we tell kids. This is level of nonsense we accept from our religions most of the time.
Were we wiser, wishing to know, we might be receptive to a social-scientifical answer: "Um, well, you see, Hun, when Mr. Cloud drinks too much, he's like Uncle Jerry going to the bathroom and flooding the commode, which spills over and ruins the party." "Oh, I get it."
Worshipping at the altar of Scientism, which is the only acceptable source of answers nowadays (even if they're wrong, at least they sound reasonable). This becomes the only source of answers we'll accept, just the facts, Ma'am, no metaphor, no simile, no mythology:
"When the barometric pressure rises in inverse proportion to aridity, humidity predominates and clusters of hydrogen molecules with two oxygen molecules attached, form and fall out of a gaseous state, condensing into soluble moisture, pooling in droplets that precipitate pooling on the ground with other attendant meteorological phenomena." "Huh, Professor? Maybe I should ask Mary Ann."
Nontheism means one is not obsessed with gods, God, or GOD (brahmas, Maha Brahma, and Brahman) because one's enlightenment (awakening to the ultimate truth) and even one's rebirth in any of the many heavens within the Three Spheres (Sensual, Fine Material, and Immaterial) does not depend on the gods.
One does not need to worry about the powers, lifestyles, or knowledge of God and gods (and there are many, no matter who the Abrahamic faiths have twisted their ancient polytheism into a monotheism in name only). As wise and psychic as gods may be, they are not enlightened, do not know the Dharma, do not practice the Dharma, and do not teach a path of liberation from rebirth. They are stuck in rebirth, in a good position, in an office, a station. And this is important because, the individual will fall from that, but the office will remain. How?
How? The universe very big, very very big. In it are many (countless) world-systems, and each has a God (a Maha Brahma), each has a Sakka (a kind of Archangel Michael, MaghavÄ or Magha of Macalagama when he was a human), Jesus in heaven figure, who tosses an Asura, a Lucifer character, out of heaven, leading to a war in the heavens, as those Titans or Asuras seek revenge and try to burn down that world of the devas they were thrown out of. Where were they thrown? The answer is the same as in the Abrahamic faiths, only no one in those seems to read their sacred texts to know that the answer is not "hell." It is earth. They were thrown out of that lowly heaven, two planes up, down to this platform at the base of the Axis Mundi, Mount Sumeru, a kind of Mt. Olympus). Moreover, there are many many devas, brahmas, and more devas above Maha Brahma. They are mapped in Buddhism on a chart called the 31 Planes of Existence, which mentions the karma that leads to rebirth in those worlds. So to become a god or God, follow that karma. The lifespans are enormous, the sensual and supersensual delights are delectable, and it feels like forever and ever until it ends. It might be possible to live 80,000 aeons in such rarefied worlds. But any amount of time less than infinity -- and remember, time is different everywhere, so what for us is a year is nothing for them -- means one is soon back, reaping the results of all their karma, good and bad, grinding on, treading the Wheel of Rebirth and Death such beings never actually got free from. The heavens may seem eternal, particularly the immaterial (arupa) ones, but they are not. If lifetimes there never came to an end, they would still be impermanent. How is that possible? It is possible because things, all things, are radically impermanent. That is, it is not that they will one day end but rather that from moment to moment they are always ending. This is the liberating vision of anicca, one of the Three Marks or Characteristics of Existence.
It depends on us (our intentional actions, which are based and motivated by the extent of our right view or confidence/faith in a teacher or the Teachings of the Buddha himself) and more importantly on our karma (our deeds of mind, word, and body).
Of course, there are two Buddhisms (Mahayana and Theravada) and they should not be confused because they are very different. The larger of the two, or 90% percent of Buddhists in the world, follows a kind of Hinduism and is called Mahayana or "Great Vehicle." The other much smaller school is a back-to-basics movement that is devoted to the historical Buddha. Mahayana worships "Cosmic Buddhas" and gives little attention to the founder of the Dharma in the world today, opting instead for a reformed approach and syncretism with Hinduism, Vedic Brahmanism, Taoism, Bon, Confucianism, and Shinto, which are hard to distinguish from the original teachings of Shakyamuni, the "Sage of the Scythians."
The other form of Buddhism is called Theravada, the "Teaching of the Elders," the theras being the enlightened immediate disciples of the historical Buddha Gautama. While neither tradition may pray in the sense of petitioning a deity very much (though asking things of the Goddess Kwan Yin, the Taras, Amitabha, Ksitigarbha, and other manifestations of what, for all intents and purposes, seems to be the same old Brahman (the Absolute or Ultimate Reality behind all Illusion or Maya) idea. Now, rather than personifying the Vedic and Indian gods like Hinduism does, Mahayana Buddhists imagine countless buddhas with all kinds of specialties, like Catholic saints. There's Medicine Buddha, the Goddess of Compassion who hears the cries of the world (Kwan Yin or Guanyin, a Mother Mary figure), and many others as needed. Mahayana Buddhism is mainly devoted to the worship of Amitabha, a Cosmic Buddha they see as a savior who will save all who call upon him. That calling could be imagined as a kind of prayer.
However, the real purpose of prayer beads, mantras ("thought instruments"), bowing, and chanting is to make the mind pliable so that one rules it rather than being ruled by it. The Isaiah Effect would be an excellent way to pray for Buddhists, full of gratitude for what they have and giving thanks in confidence of what they already have for having been grateful with all their body and emotions, as Braden explains.
There are devotional schools of Buddhism that arose long after the historical Buddha. They seem to ignore what the Buddha taught, opting instead for easy answers and instant solutions to life's problems. Foremost among these must be the Japanese devotional schools, explained by Westerner Alan Watts as being self-powered vs. other-powered (jiriki versus tariki).
We know that we cannot do it on our own, so many in recovery and the 12 steps rely on a "higher power," any higher power. And that is good, very good. The way the historical Buddha originally taught will sound very self-empowering, very jiriki, based on one's own strength. It is actually not because that does not tend to work. But it sounds like that's what he's saying: His final words, after all, were "Be a lamp/island (dipa) unto yourselves and work out your own salvation (liberation, awakening) with diligence." Elsewhere, however, he famously points something out to good Ananda, who is always questioning things for his benefit and the benefit of all of us who wish we had had the chance to ask the Buddha these sorts of things: One day Ananda realizes that having good friends in the Dharma and Discipline (Dhamma-Vinaya), in this path-of-practice, is a very good thing, very useful for one's enlightenment. Realizing this, he seeks out the Buddha for his validation. To his shock, the Buddha does not validate him. He tells him not to say such a thing. All Ananda said was that he thought that "noble friendship" (kalyanamittata) was half the path. The Buddha corrects him and points out that it is 100% of the path. Without noble friendship, people would not hear the Dharma, would not have a model of the practice, would not find encouragement, would not be corrected and set right when one strays, and ultimately would become enlightened anytime soon. That does not sound like "one's own power," does it? We must put forward our effort but never lose sight how much we're actually standing on the shoulders of giants, depending on a historical lineage of others who came before us, and serving as a bridge to the future from what we contribute to keeping the Dharma alive and making known the practice. There are Three Jewels in the world, not just one. The first is the Buddha who realized the Truth and made known the path to that same realization so that any ordinary person could strive to realize it and achieve it in this very life, depending on one's karma. The second is the Dharma, the Teaching he left behind in his stead; he did not elect another leader after him because the Dharma itself is what leads. The third is the one closest to us, the Community of Those Successfully Taught, the Noble Sangha. (Many people think this means anyone wearing robes, but that is very mistaken and harmful because many people in robes are not enlightened, not successful students, and many people not in robes are enlightened though they may not be able to teach others. So monastics should be seen as quite valuable, maintaining this tradition, but they are not one of the jewels, or in any case, they are a symbolic part of the actual jewel, the aryans, the noble ones, those who are stream-enterers, once returners, nonreturners, and arhats, and possibly two other kinds of people who will not pass away until they gain a "change of lineage" or gotrabhu and reach the first stage of awakening, but information on these two types is scarce. See Bhikkhu Bodhi).
We can either make progress by our own efforts (not likely) or by depending on a powerful other to do it for us. Having fallen so far away from the Teachings of the Buddha which produce calm and insight, Mahayana started to go astray and invent "new" ways to try to get enlightened. Great teachers arose, founders of schools, claiming to reveal esoteric secrets of the path. Let's read these words aloud and be sure to get into Amitabha's Western Paradise heaven and then make efforts for enlightenment there, and it'll be easy! This is one example of the kind of thinking that took over Mahayana Buddhism, pushing it in an increasingly devotional direction. Prayer makes sense in a devotional religion full of ritual.
It makes much less sense in a path-of-practice where one must depend on oneself to make the effort to overcome ignorance through mental calm (samatha and samadhi) and systematic mindfulness of four things (satipatthana and vipassana).
Another very beautiful and super popular form of Buddhism arose in Japan as well as part of this devotional deviation from the Buddha's Dharma, and that is the Nichiren Shoshu (Sokka Gakai) movement who say there is one prayer better than all others to get all you want (as in The Secret's Law of Attraction and teaching of Abraham-Hicks): Nam Myoho Renge Kyo
Kickstart a devotional Nichiren practice with two hours of Tina Turner
All materials on this site are submitted by editors and readers. All images, unless otherwise noted, were taken from the Internet and are assumed to be in the public domain.
In the event that there is still a problem, issue, or error with copyrighted material, the break of the copyright is unintentional and noncommercial, and the material will be removed immediately upon presented proof.
Contact us by submitting a comment marked "private."
Do not follow this journal if you are under vinaya or parental restrictions. Secure protection by Sucuri.
Wisdom Quarterly: American Buddhist Journal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at creativecommons.org/about/licenses.
%20wiki.jpeg)
