If Tolkien had been Buddhist instead of Catholic, then this might have been one of Gollum’s riddles.
I’ve always wondered, just to mix it up, why don’t Chinese Buddhists ever greet each other with the names of Buddhist deities other than Amitabha, such as his colleagues Akshobhya or Ratnasambhava. Are we quite convinced that the Pure Land of Sukhavati is nicer than Abhirati or Shrimat?
Today i visited with some acquaintances from the Philippines who, pretty well every Sunday, eat the flesh of Jesus.
In other places, so i’ve been told, people also drink the blood of Jesus (also mostly on Sundays).
I apologize if this is the wrong thread to post this information.
Just like a Tibetan tsok ritual! Which tenet system do they say is highest?
[quote=“Buddhism”]Every one of us relies on eight parts, or mental entities, called vijnanas, to live a normal life.
These eight mental entities, or eight vijnanas, work in unison all the time like inseparable brothers - Siamese octuplets!
(Part 2)[/quote]
Please study real buddhism.
You can only have one type of sense consciousness and it’s corresponding object (prarsttiviraga) at any one time.
Part of the purpose of samadhi is to shut down the sense consciousnesses altogether so you can reach the 2nd dhyana and higher.
What, no synesthesia…? Buddhist perceptual theory seems out of touch with neuroscience.
Here’s another guy dedicated to exposing the evils of Tibetan Buddhism:
Common enough among people with good concentration. The point would be that its not 2 simultaneously occurring
rofl
A simple science experiment: Slice an orange and a lemon. Put a slice of orange in your mouth, making sure not to sniff it. At the same time, hold a slice of lemon under your nose, so you can smell it. The orange in your mouth should then taste like lemon. Now try it the other way around. Same principle. No highfallutin yogic ability required.
Simple enough. Samadhi is far more subtle an instant of taste or smell consists of very many discrete parts each clearly delineated and available for analysis. There’s just no comparison to ‘oh, lemon’
[quote=“triceratopses”]
You can only have one type of sense consciousness and it’s corresponding object (prarsttiviraga) at any one time. [/quote]
Vague and hollow talk is too weak to inspire wisdom strength from within.
Buddhism’s Siamese octuplets dharmas function, is logical and persuasive in regarding of our almighty complicated mind framework.
Also its not vague at all. Its very clear with precise meaning. If you want vague look at your friends mistaken metaphor. The consciousnesses are not inseparable at all. It is a mistaken idea to have, it leads to many absurdities.
So, are you guys going to change your signs to reflect this latest interest in Cittamatra? Just picture something like this scrolling across the Zhengjue building:
“BUDDHA TAUGHT EIGHT CONSCIOUSNESSES, NAMELY THE FIVE SENSE CONSCIOUSNESSES PLUS THREE LEVELS OF MENTAL CONSCIOUSNESS CULMUNATING IN THE ALAYAVIJNANA OR STOREHOUSE CONSCIOUSNESS, WHICH IN EAST ASIA IS OFTEN CONFLATED WITH TATHAGATAGARBHA OR BUDDHA NATURE”
Catchy, no?
[quote=“Buddhism”][quote=“jamezku”]…[quote=“Buddhism”]
Buddhism is about the Heart.
Whoever has good intentions, will escape from Samsara.
Praise the Lord our Buddha !?! [/quote][/quote]
Buddhism is about the Heart.
—> Indeed, the Citta; the True heart, but not the consciousness mind!
Whoever has good intentions, will escape from Samsara.
-----> I am afraid not that simple. Good intentions and Samsara are two different matters.
For example, parents do have good intentions for their offspring, but they are not necessarily able to escape from Samsara.
It’s the liberation wisdom that facilitate beings’ to escape from Samsara.[/quote]
Good intention and Karma will ULTIMATELY bring US out of the Samsara and into Buddhahood, please excuse my inprecision.
[quote=“triceratopses”][quote=“Buddhism”]Every one of us relies on eight parts, or mental entities, called vijnanas, to live a normal life.
These eight mental entities, or eight vijnanas, work in unison all the time like inseparable brothers - Siamese octuplets!
(Part 2)[/quote]
You can only have [color=#0000FF]one type of sense consciousness[/color] and it’s corresponding object (prarsttiviraga) at any one time.
Part of the purpose of samadhi is to shut down the sense [color=#0000FF]consciousnesses[/color] altogether so you can reach the 2nd dhyana and higher.[/quote]
How about Helen Keller’s case?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Keller
She was deafblind and was still able to eat, drink, study and live her whole life through!
As for shutting down the sense consciousnesses altogether, there is a much easier way to do, just one injection of narcotics will do!
And what’s the purpose of shutting down all the senses?
One more thing, you just said[color=#0000FF] one type of sense consciousness[/color], but how come you wrote shut down the [color=#0000FF]sense consciousnesses[/color] altogether then?
You’ve raised a good issue again! :bravo:
[quote=“Buddhism”]As for shutting down the sense consciousnesses altogether, there is a much easier way to do, just one injection of narcotics will do!
And what’s the purpose of shutting down all the senses?
One more thing, you just said[color=#0000FF] one type of sense consciousness[/color], but how come you wrote shut down the [color=#0000FF]sense consciousnesses[/color] altogether then?[/quote]
Narcotics like sleep doesn’t shut down the sense consciousnesses
They only shut down in 2nd dhyana and further. The purpose of shutting them down is to be able to enter those high levels of concentration. You cannot enter the higher dhyanas dhyanasuntil you can shut them down as you so intend.
Shut down the sense consciousnesses altogether where altogether means completely… altogether shut down / completely shut down
If the 6 or more consciousnesses were inseparable they would all need to go when 1 of them goes, or they would all need to be present when 1 is present
You haven’t replied to my question about Helen Keller.
She was able to taste and smell food and had the tactile sense toward things while she didn’t have the sense of hearing and seeing.
Obviously, the six senses are separable.
Everybody is able to experience them separately.
Please do tell me, after narcotics or in deep sleep, which of your [color=#0000FF]sense[/color] consciousnesses is still left to feel and[color=#0000FF] sense[/color] things?
Has any surgical patient after proper narcotics is able to sense pain when he/she underwent operation?
[quote=“triceratopses”]
The purpose of shutting them down is to be able to enter those high levels of concentration. You cannot enter the higher dhyanas dhyanasuntil you can shut them down as you so intend.
Shut down the sense consciousnesses altogether where altogether means completely… altogether shut down / completely shut down [/quote]
Are you trying to describe the state of samadhi with neither perceptions nor contemplation 無覺無觀三昧 ?
If so, what’s the purpose to attain it then?
What good will it do when someone shuts down all sense consciousnesses?
I don’t quite understand your meaning, are they separable or not?
[quote=“Zla’od”]If Tolkien had been Buddhist instead of Catholic, then this might have been one of Gollum’s riddles.
I’ve always wondered, just to mix it up, why don’t Chinese Buddhists ever greet each other with the names of Buddhist deities other than Amitabha, such as his colleagues Akshobhya or Ratnasambhava. Are we quite convinced that the Pure Land of Sukhavati is nicer than Abhirati or Shrimat?[/quote]
All Buddhas are omnipresent, while the beings living on this Saha world are much more closely related to Buddha Amitabha, rather than to do with the Buddhas’ Pure Land.
For example, we have this forum available for the whole world, open and free for everybody, but not everyone comes to visit it.
Only for those who happen to come across the same interested subject.
In the same way, we cannot count the browsers number here as the population of the whole world.
Among the billions and trillions of galaxies, the existence of this earth is extremely tiny; but in our own eyes, we tend to think we are the greatest and only existence beings.
A Journey through the Buddha Dharma
Two of the eight brothers manage things behind the scenes and we are totally unaware of them.
One of them, Brother Seven, called “Manas,” is very quick and responsive, who, like a top-notch butler, takes care of everything in the house and makes decisions whenever necessary.
The other unseen brother, Brother Eight, is called “Tathagatagarbha.” Eight seems dim and dumb but he is actually the one who provides full support for the other brothers, without ever complaining about his work load. We’ll talk more about him later.
Brothers One to Five doing business out front are the eye-vijnana, the ear-vijnana, the nose-vijnana, the tongue-vijnana and the body-vijnana. They interact with the outside world like busy bees. The one on the inside who supervises these five brothers is Brother Six, Conscious Mind. He keeps a close watch, weighing and considering everything they do, like a sharp manager (or a helicopter mom!). (Part 3)
[quote=“jamezku”][quote=“Buddhism”][quote=“jamezku”]…[quote=“Buddhism”]
Good intention and Karma will ULTIMATELY bring US out of the Samsara and into Buddhahood, please excuse my inprecision.
[/quote][/quote][/quote][/quote]
Let me try to explain from Buddhist prospective regarding the term “good intent and Karma” and “Samsara.”
Supposedly we are freely drifting in the sea, you have good intent and having good Karma, while my intent focus on “to reach the shore.”
What do you think the result will turn out for us eventually?
In terms of Buddhism, samsara refers to the fact of being liberated from the cyclic births-and-deaths (the sea).
If a sentient being has no intent to “break the bond of births-and deaths,” he will not set his foot on the shore (so to speak); the being will remain as where he is through thick-and-thin.
The important thing is that being out of samsara will not come to a being automatically;
only birth and death will come to every living beings automatically.
Out of samsara indicates non-duality, so it is not a matter applicable within the three realms as we have understood things around us.
And your viewpoint regarding “out of samsara through good intention” is a general misconception, even among Buddhists!
You have done a great job by raising this issue, so I can explain it more clearly.
Good merits to your subject, wishing you attaining Buddhahood and help many others too!
Thank you for your feed back. 
I was told lately, as for some people, they don’t mind taking chances being reborn to Rakshasa realm; for they think being demon is cool, can do magic things, can have some power over others.
Yeah … I would say that what they don’t know or to think is that:
even in demon realms, there are always more power demons would abuse lesser power demons … the real worst type abuse, demon way of abuse. What do demon really mean, do we all understand in here?! I mean am not talking about those demons in movies or 3D games …
As in ghost realms, demons have their own life span as well, just that demons have much much longer life span comparing to human (for example, in Shurangama Sutra). Meaning, once got stuck in its realm, whether like it or not, one has to stay there as long as one can image of.
The worst is, because what demons are like and doing, in which would result in their afterward rebirth to all sorts of Hell realms; hell realm sentient beings consume far worse extended life span, eon and eons… Maybe this was why Zla’od were thinking /post page 109, demon / hell realm are closely as One …