RE: The Early Schools of Indian Buddhism Series
Now more than ever, when I look at the history that he has been presenting in the previous post and here, I find trivial elements of Buddhist achievement, and that is why he considers that information throughout history has been distorted, because ordinary people want to earn a title, an honorable mention, to be light...; without any effort.
Now more than ever, when I look at the history that he has been presenting in the previous post and here, I find trivial elements of Buddhist achievement, and that is why he considers that information throughout history has been distorted, because ordinary people want to earn a title, an honorable mention, to be light...; without any effort.
Follow the five rules you mentioned:
- Let the monks live their whole lives in the forest.
- That he does not accept invitations to eat, but that they live entirely on alms for begging.
- Let them only wear robes made of discarded rags and not accept robes from the laity.
- Let them inhabit the cake of a tree and not under a roof.
- Abstain completely from fish and meat.
... it's not an easy task, especially in the times we live in today. The same thing happens in religions; everyone wants to earn heaven by beating their breasts. Or as it is found in a biblical passage "faith without works is dead".
... it's not an easy task, especially in the times we live in today. The same thing happens in religions; everyone wants to earn heaven by beating their breasts. Or as it is found in a biblical passage "faith without works is dead".
In Nietzsche: Thus speaks Zarathustra, German philosopher, I find certain particularities that correlate with the Buddhist essence; in particular, "The Superman", an idea in which to define that it is important to "take God's principles out of the human body" and that, in his opinion, having goodness, or having a belief towards what is called faith or miracles, makes us weak; offering us a path guided by dogmatic uncertainty.
In Nietzsche: Thus speaks Zarathustra, German philosopher, I find certain particularities that correlate with the Buddhist essence; in particular, "The Superman", an idea in which to define that it is important to "take God's principles out of the human body" and that, in his opinion, having goodness, or having a belief towards what is called faith or miracles, makes us weak; offering us a path guided by dogmatic uncertainty.
Buddha said he would not support these extreme rules but if one wanted to follow that is okay except for #4, sitting under a tree during the rainy season. Buddha almost died starving his body to find enlightenment. A young girl saw him close to death under a tree and fed him some cows milk, saving his life. Once Buddha regained his health, he came to an understanding that denying and hurting the body hindered the process of enlightenment. Buddha went on to find the Old path discovered by Buddha's of the past.
Sitting under a tree during monsoon season would harm the meditator, so it was forbidden. Buddha would not enforce the rules, they were not mandatory. No matter what you wear, what you eat, dunking yourself in a holy body of water, killing animals for merit to the gods, how much ritual and prayer one will not free one from their conditioning and ignorance, from hatred, anger, and aversion. Buddha wasn't a superman, he was an average human like you and me, he taught we all can leave our self-caused suffering behind.