Faith?
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Buddhism preaches against blind-faith. The Buddha told us that we should just try out his teachings, if we feel that it works, then we follow it. We should not believe him just because he's the Buddha.
But there seem to be so many things in Buddhism that requires 'blind-faith'. Take 'Karma', or 'Samsara' for example...we really cannot be certain that it exist. Talks about 'getting out of Samsara' or 'purifying one's negative Karma' is of no different from talking about 'going to heaven to be with God', or 'atoning for one's original sins' to me.
Chanting prayers or mantra does not make logical sense to me. Those who claim that daily chanting of sutras had benefitted them, how do we know that it's not all in the mind? People of other religion also claimed that their prayers has got miraculous effects.
Seriously, I want to get rid of my sufferings. I want to put a permanent stop to all that I'm going through right now. However, I feel that selective practising of the Dharma (only practising parts of the Dharma that I personally believe in) cannot totally remove my sufferings. But on the other hand, I fear wasting my time and effort on doing stuff that may not help me in any ways.
Amitapha pureland? I'm not even sure if it exist... -
If one practices and still suffers how can it be the truth?
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interestingOriginally posted by mahawarrior:Buddhism preaches against blind-faith. The Buddha told us that we should just try out his teachings, if we feel that it works, then we follow it. We should not believe him just because he's the Buddha.
But there seem to be so many things in Buddhism that requires 'blind-faith'. Take 'Karma', or 'Samsara' for example...we really cannot be certain that it exist. Talks about 'getting out of Samsara' or 'purifying one's negative Karma' is of no different from talking about 'going to heaven to be with God', or 'atoning for one's original sins' to me.
Chanting prayers or mantra does not make logical sense to me. Those who claim that daily chanting of sutras had benefitted them, how do we know that it's not all in the mind? People of other religion also claimed that their prayers has got miraculous effects.
Seriously, I want to get rid of my sufferings. I want to put a permanent stop to all that I'm going through right now. However, I feel that selective practising of the Dharma (only practising parts of the Dharma that I personally believe in) cannot totally remove my sufferings. But on the other hand, I fear wasting my time and effort on doing stuff that may not help me in any ways.
Amitapha pureland? I'm not even sure if it exist...
when many of the ordinary people can have interesting outcome of reciting Buddha name and mantra , you claim it never exist
for the last part .. I suggest you keep to yourself ..
Amitabha Pureland exist ,regardless of whether u believe it or not
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It's like saying heaven and God exist whether or not I believe it...
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There is no denying that there are many things that is beyond what most of us can understand now. Let's say... rebirth. Lots of people have remembered past lives, and there are also studies and evidence of afterlife at present day. But before that, in fact even today, even with people remembering past lives and also some evidences of it, does it mean everyone will believe? Not really, and not many people want to go and find out either.Originally posted by mahawarrior:Buddhism preaches against blind-faith. The Buddha told us that we should just try out his teachings, if we feel that it works, then we follow it. We should not believe him just because he's the Buddha.
But there seem to be so many things in Buddhism that requires 'blind-faith'. Take 'Karma', or 'Samsara' for example...we really cannot be certain that it exist. Talks about 'getting out of Samsara' or 'purifying one's negative Karma' is of no different from talking about 'going to heaven to be with God', or 'atoning for one's original sins' to me.
Chanting prayers or mantra does not make logical sense to me. Those who claim that daily chanting of sutras had benefitted them, how do we know that it's not all in the mind? People of other religion also claimed that their prayers has got miraculous effects.
Seriously, I want to get rid of my sufferings. I want to put a permanent stop to all that I'm going through right now. However, I feel that selective practising of the Dharma (only practising parts of the Dharma that I personally believe in) cannot totally remove my sufferings. But on the other hand, I fear wasting my time and effort on doing stuff that may not help me in any ways.
Amitapha pureland? I'm not even sure if it exist...
What most of us can perceive is only limited to our 5 senses and so we think there is nothing more than what our limited senses can perceive, which is not necessarily true. There are people who have gone through this path and seen it, which is why the Buddha is known as the supremely enlightened, he has penetrated and understood the dharma (truth) all the way to the end.
But when the Buddha said his truths can be realised (everything from liberation, ultimate truth, to things like rebirth) that means everyone if you practise you will eventually reach enlightenment, you will eventually see all these things are true. Like rebirth, just because we cant remember past lives doesn't mean it doesnt exist, and in fact there are many people including Buddha and many people in modern days who still have past live memories. So therefore it is not just a blind faith, you can see it for yourself.
BTW, confidence/faith in that the Triple Gems to lead you to enlightenment is still very important, though it is not the kind of blind belief as Kalama Sutra said. It's just like you have to have confidence in this path then you will practise all the way.... many people have walked before you, have reached their goal, and are willing to bring you there but do you accept it?
Will reply more tomorrow as I don't have the time now...
p.s. one very important thing to mention is the more you practise the dharma, the more confident you are in it because the more you see the truth in it. So don't just read, practise is most impt because the teachings are experiential. -
I think it is quite meaningless to say this statement because others may disagree with it.Originally posted by bohiruci:Amitabha Pureland exist ,regardless of whether u believe it or not
Will talk more tmr. -
What you talking about? Just because you practise for 1 day that means can be Buddha already?Originally posted by maggot:If one practices and still suffers how can it be the truth?
Do take into account that in our history there are uncountable enlightened beings ever since the Buddha who have become liberated from all sufferings, even today. In Buddha's lifetime alone there are thousands of Arhats (liberated saints), much more others who have attained other levels of enlightenment. And there are lots of enlightened/liberated people at every era, every period, even today. -
Interesting....
Confidence vs Faith: Are the two the same?
I can say that they are not, and I will try and draw a distinction. Faith happens when you believe in the fairy tales told by a complete stranger whole-heartedly, without any justification and deductive reasoning and without questioning. Confidence, on the other hand, happens when you believe someone because what this person told you in the past always turns out to be true.
So, if you tested what the Buddha teaches and found them to be true 90% of the time, do you believe him in the 10% of the teachings where your current senses fail to provide evidence to your satisfaction?
Just ranting and letting my mind roam............
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interesting indeed.
Seriously, I want to get rid of my sufferings. I want to put a permanent stop to all that I'm going through right now. However, I feel that selective practising of the Dharma (only practising parts of the Dharma that I personally believe in) cannot totally remove my sufferings. But on the other hand, I fear wasting my time and effort on doing stuff that may not help me in any ways.
basically what do you think is the cause of sufferings?
... if u think it's not our clinging/greed/likes, discrimination/hatred/dislikes that was described by Buddhadharma to be the source.
so, reason a person is not able to remove sufferings is best to check if there's still the above.
all and all, people want to protect the self, not contented with life, and want fame or want people to praise him or her.
see things as they are (always changing) and let it go.
that way, you'll be happier.
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Originally posted by mahawarrior:
Going to heaven in Buddhism is still part of the 6 realms of Samsara. One who does good deeds, accumulate wholesome karma by practising the 5 precepts, 10 virtuous deeds, generosity, filial piety, etc, all these can accumulate the good karma to be reborn in the Sensual plane's heavens (the first 6 heavens).
Buddhism preaches against blind-faith. The Buddha told us that we should just try out his teachings, if we feel that it works, then we follow it. We should not believe him just because he's the Buddha.
But there seem to be so many things in Buddhism that requires 'blind-faith'. Take 'Karma', or 'Samsara' for example...we really cannot be certain that it exist. Talks about 'getting out of Samsara' or 'purifying one's negative Karma' is of no different from talking about 'going to heaven to be with God', or 'atoning for one's original sins' to me.
One who furthermore practises meditative absorptions and then enters into the various Jhanas from the 1st Jhana upwards all the way to the 8th Jhana, the plane of the Neither Perception nor Non-Perception, these people can remain in the form and formless jhanic planes for a very very long time.
However, Nirvana transcends all 31 planes of existence because all these planes of existence are still within the 6 realms of Samsara, where sentient beings there are bound by karmic laws and under endless cycles of rebirth, until they start practising the Buddhadharma, and then attain Liberation, Nirvana, and transcends these samsaric cycle.
Therefore the main difference between other religions is this. Other religions have valid teachings that encourages people to avoid evil doings and do all that is good. That will result in rebirth in the celestial realms. However, they do not emphasize on the purification of the mind, on the realisations of our true nature, they do not stress on Liberation or Nirvana.
And this Liberation or Nirvana is not somewhere far away, even though it is known as 'transcending all planes'. It can realised here and now in our very life! The Buddha showed us the path, many people practised it, and uncountable of them have attained enlightenment, liberation, Nirvana, up till today. Liberation is not some faraway places, not some afterlife thing, it can be realised in the here and now. The Buddha has the way. It is the way towards complete emancipation and the highest transcendental bliss.
There are a lot of people who have experienced Liberation in their very lifetime, there is no reason that it is not possible for any of us. One needs to have confidence in the triple gems, but only when you truly practise and see the truths yourself will you be doubtless.
As Neutral_Onliner said:Originally posted by neutral_onliner:
Does dharma work as it claims? Practise and see for yourself! Like I said the more you practise, the more you know it's true, the more confident you are.
for those who do not understand the meaning of ehipassiko , it means [b]come and see.
The quality of Dhamma is that it's inviting us to check it out. This is a very strong characteristic of the Buddha's teaching. There's no heavy-handed demand: "Believe this." The faith element doesn't have the same role as in some other religions. We're asked, we're invited,to examine the teachings to see whether they fit. This is also an expression of the confidence that the Buddha and arahants had in their Dhamma; they realized it for themselves and know that we can, too.
[/b]Chanting prayers or mantra does not make logical sense to me. Those who claim that daily chanting of sutras had benefitted them, how do we know that it's not all in the mind? People of other religion also claimed that their prayers has got miraculous effects.
The main purpose of chanting has nothing to do with praying for mundane benefits. Chanting can be said to be a form of meditation. Through chanting one eliminates one's discursive thoughts to attain one-pointedness. This is a very important quality that a practitioner must cultivate. A non-moving mind. In this way, that mantra is then effective.Seriously, I want to get rid of my sufferings. I want to put a permanent stop to all that I'm going through right now. However, I feel that selective practising of the Dharma (only practising parts of the Dharma that I personally believe in) cannot totally remove my sufferings. But on the other hand, I fear wasting my time and effort on doing stuff that may not help me in any ways.
Dharma practise is not a waste of time at all, but rather, it is the only thing that is truly meaningful in the deepest sense! Because whatever you achieve in this world is transient and fleeting, and cannot be brought over the the next life. You can only bring your Wisdom, Blessings, Karma, and Causes and Conditions to the next life. Other things like your possessions, your family, your spouse, your fame, all these things cannot be brought over.
Also, would you agree that Blissful living is the most meaningful? Buddhism aims to bring a total transformation of everyone so that everyone will be able to experience joy and bliss in our everyday living. I think that's what every single being in the world will ultimately want.
Please read:http://www.jenchen.org.sg/buddhism.htm
What is blissful culture? Why does humanity need a blissful culture?
The culture of purifying the human mind is blissful culture
Humanity is constantly seeking happiness in this world. However, no matter how hard it tries, it is somehow unable to find happiness. Instead, it encounters calamities and more calamities. In fact, all these calamities are the creation of the mind.
In the beginning of this earth, there were only the heavenly and human realms of existence. The realms of hell, hungry ghost, animal and asura did not exist. But, as humanity progressed through time, the human mind began to change. They developed more and more affinity for evil - greed, anger, ignorance, delusion and foolish thoughts which gave rise to the acts of killing, stealing and sexual misconduct. Happiness gradually diminished and the six realms of cyclic existence evolved out of humanityÂ’s evil mind.
In todayÂ’s society, the unhappiness of human beings largely results from the countless evil deeds that he has committed. These evil deeds stem mainly from three karma - our bodily action, speech and thought. Thoughts are basically our thinking. If our thoughts are filled with evil thinkings, these will be manifested in our actions. For example, our unkind thoughts of someone may translate into harsh words from our mouth or even into a painful action with our hands. When we do these, we are creating evil karma.
Our thoughts generate greed, anger and delusions. Through our speech - in the form of telling lies, frivolous talk, slandering and rude or harsh speech; and through our bodily actions by way of killing, stealing and sexual misconduct. This is just a simple explanation. It would be endless to go into details. These three karma bring upon ourselves a lot of sufferings and unhappiness. Therefore, if humanity wants to achieve happiness in life, then he should try to eradicate all these evil deeds which stem from greed, anger, ignorance, killing, stealing and sexual misconduct.
Many religions teach us to do good and avoid doing bad. Buddhism, in particular, besides teaching us to refrain from all evil deeds and to do all good deeds, also teaches us to purify our minds. Once we have a healthy mental culture, naturally our minds will not be filled with greed, anger, ignorance, and other evil thoughts and actions. We must be aware that the mind controls our speech and actions, it all arises from our minds. Minds are also our thoughts. It is because humanity lacks wisdom and awareness that we are constantly deceived by our minds. We fail to understand the real meaning of karma, or cause and effect. We do not know if our actions will hurt ourselves or others; or if they are beneficial or harmful. Hence, unhappiness and sufferings follow. -
continued:
Humanity wants happiness and dislikes sufferings. But, due to the lack of wisdom, we do not know how to free ourselves from our sufferings. However, if we learn from BuddhaÂ’s teachings - practise to purify the three karma of bodily actions, speech and thoughts, our wisdom can be cultivated. Once we have wisdom, whatever we think, speak and do, the actions will be beneficial to ourselves, to others and to the world. These eventually lead to happiness and the world will be filled with brightness and hope.
pls cont. reading on
Henceforth, we can say that the culture of Buddhism is also Blissful Culture.
What is Human Bliss Culture?
The Culture of Buddhism is the Voice of Bliss
What is Human Bliss Culture? We should ask the question in reverse: "What is Human ‘Un-bliss’ Culture?" Since there is bliss culture, therefore there is ‘un-bliss’ culture. The world today has many teachings, including those that teach people to commit evil. Lets think it over. In fact, all humanity originally has bliss, why did it diminish? It is because we human beings destroy our bliss by not observing the rules and the precepts.
To use a simple illustration, it is like putting a tea cup at the centre of the table. It is very safe and beyond the reach of small children. If it is put along the edge of the table, then it is very vulnerable to falling and breakage. To replace the broken cup means having to sacrifice twice. If a child places the tea cup at the edge of the table, then the mother will quickly exhort him to move it to the centre. Adults understand the need to put it at the centre of the table, but young children donÂ’t. In fact, this is a precept.
The regulations about what can or cannot be done are precepts. In fact, everyone needs to observe precepts and be good citizens. Good citizens need to abide by the laws, and that is observing the precepts. Therefore, Jen Chen Buddhism refer to precepts as ‘means of safeguarding blessings’. ‘Safeguarding blessings’ means safeguarding our own blessings, the blessings which resulted from the virtuous deeds committed in the past. This is analogous to putting the tea cup in the proper place. In fact, all the *Dharma Doors taught by Buddhism is the Voice of Bliss. This Voice of Bliss is spoken by Buddha for all of us. All the teachings of Buddha are meant for we, human beings, to attain the highest order of bliss. If everyone comes to learn Buddhism, cultivate and achieve the pure Nirvana, then, of course, that is the highest, fullest and most complete, and most ultimate bliss. Therefore, the culture of Buddhism is Bliss Culture.
In many countries, particularly Europe and America, people generally understand what is a Bliss Culture. But, they do not necessarily know what is Buddhism Culture. Therefore, we refer to ‘Buddhism Culture’ as ‘Bliss Culture’. The sutras expounded by Sakyamuni Buddha is the standard for Bliss Culture. And, when promoted in this manner, in time to come the entire humanity of the world will be able to pursue the principles that bring bliss as expounded by the Buddha.
* Dharma doors : The doctrines of Buddha regarded as the door to enlightenment; methods of cultivation.
The title of your Dharma talk is Human Bliss Culture; why then when you answer questions from the audience you did not mention Human Bliss Culture at all? Many of my friends here and I would like to know what is Human Bliss Culture.
The culture of Buddhism is Bliss Culture
It is because the bliss culture that you have in mind and what I have in mind are different. The bliss culture that you have in mind may be how to prosper with great wealth and fortune, or how to have a good wife in order for the family to have bliss. In this manner, the definition of bliss is too narrow! We need to know that the culture of Buddhism is the real bliss culture. If everybody is able to attain the ultimate Nirvana, then this is indeed the real bliss culture.
The purpose of our learning Buddhism is to distance from suffering and attain happiness. Many people think that to distance from suffering and attain happiness means going to the Western Pure Land. In fact, it is not only this. When we distance from suffering and attain happiness, we have to instantaneously distance from suffering, instantaneously attain happiness and liberation. Some people may be suspicious; how can liberation be attained so easily? In fact, it is very simple. If someone scolds you, and you apologize to him, then that is a small liberation. If someone hits you, and you retaliate; an eye for an eye, then isnÂ’t that very miserable? What happen if that results in loss of life? Even though you are rude to me, I will still apologise very politely to you. IsnÂ’t that being liberated? This is Jen Chen BuddhismÂ’s teaching of liberation. If whilst alive, we cannot even attain small liberationÂ’s like this, then what more to say of liberation after death? In the course of our daily lives, if we are liberated at every moment, then in time to come we will be able to attain the great liberation. Please think it over, isnÂ’t this a very blissful? This is but to use a small matter to illustrate the path of liberation. If we are able to understand more of the Buddha-Dharma and apply them in our life, family, society, country, and to the extent of the entire humanity of the world, then isnÂ’t this a great bliss culture? Therefore, we say that the culture of Buddhism is Bliss Culture.
In this complex society, how should humanity cultivate in order to achieve bliss?
Learning and Practising Buddhism is the Beginning of Bliss
How should human beings cultivate to achieve happiness and bliss? The scope of this question is too wide for us to deliberate. We have to phrase the question in reverse: what is the cause of human beingsÂ’ lack of happiness and bliss? To answer it simply, it is due to our unkind thoughts.
Our mind is ever changing. Whether we ascend to heaven or descend to hell, is dependent on our actions which are created by our mind. Virtuous thoughts beget virtuous responses. When our thoughts turn evil, we will invariably face misery and misfortunes. Karma is created by our thoughts, words and deeds. The arising of our mind is translated into either actions or words. Foolish actions are preceded by foolish thoughts arising in our mind, and these result in suffering. Virtuous thoughts precede noble deeds and these shall reap joyous experiences. If whatever we do, we do them for our own benefit, out of selfish and egotistic reasons, or to suit our delusory habits, thinking that that is the way to pursue bliss and happiness, then in the end the exact opposite will happen. We put the blame on others, we are not aware that this is the result of our own ignorance and foolishness. If we do not awake to this reality, we will forever be unable to distance ourselves from suffering and attain happiness.
To cultivate is to get rid of our bad conduct and habits. Our conduct is manifested in our physical actions, speech and thoughts. If we often have wild thoughts, then we have to cultivate mental purity; if our words often harm others, then we have to cultivate purity in our speech; if we are always getting into fights, then we should cultivate purity in our physical actions. Some people have the notion that cultivation is a matter only for monks and nuns. In fact, cultivation is for the entire humanity; all human beings need to cultivate. So long as our conduct is poor, we need to cultivate. Just like a vehicle that has broken down, it needs to be repaired before it can be driven again. There are also others who think that cultivation means meditating in high mountains, and praying to the Buddha. This is not true. We need to cultivate amidst our activities. What is most important is to get rid of our self serving and evil habits. Just like "One who respects others shall receive respect himself; one who abuses others shall be abused himself; one who hurt others shall be hurt himself", if we will treat others with respect, others will accord us with the same respect. It is in this way that bliss begins.
One attribute of human beings is ignorance, the consequence of which leads to our misfortunes. If all human beings are able to learn and practise Buddhism, unfold our wisdom, use our wisdom to deal with others, practise the Bodhisattva path, are truly selfless and benefit the world at large in whatever we do, then surely we will be able to achieve bliss and happiness.
Thus, learning and practising Buddhism will enable every family, the society and all the inhabitants of this world to achieve bliss. -
Pls continue reading here: http://www.jenchen.org.sg/buddhism.htm, many more good Q&A but too big for me to copy all of them over.
Amitapha pureland? I'm not even sure if it exist...
Here's something from my Master, Ven. Shen Kai:
Disciple: Master, how do we witness Sukhavathi?
Master Shen Kai: That's easy. But Sukhavathi is very far away. How far? It's passing through hundreds of thousands of millions of Buddhalands. In between this hundreds of thousands of millions of Buddhalands are not Buddhalands but Hui Tu. Buddhalands are pure where Buddhas dwell. Sukhavathi is hence very very far away. Far does not mean we don't believe.
In the sutras, Buddha used to explain that it's very very near. So near that nobody believe it's true. There's no choice as sentient beings are too greedy, hence say it's very very far away and not easy to go or reach. So He expound the Amitabha Sutra, where Buddha spoke without people asking. If a person is not greedy, then Dharmakaya is very near as it encompass everything.
Since it's entire existence, it's so near to reach like space everywhere exist Dharmakaya. Without Dharmakaya, Earth cannot be in the space. Cars cannot works. Every thing is benefited by Dharmakaya.
When people do business, they need an initial funding, now Buddha say you don't need that initial funding, you believe in Amitabha and recite His name.
When one see people wearing a gold necklace, but it's just a piece of metal chain like the one you see in jail to chain prisioners. Then Buddha told sentient beings not to be obsess with gold, you just need to recite Amitabha and don't need any initial funding and you can reborn in a place where gold is use for building constructions.
So does Sukhavathi really exist? Yes. Don't think Buddha is lying. You can GO NOW and witness yourself and come back to tell people. Master tell you I been there before, you all might disbelieve. So I will describe it to you.
Sentient beings on Earth are very small, Bodhisattvas of Sukhavathi are really Big and tall. A person standing next to Amitabha only reach the height of Amitabha's toe! When I reached Sukhavathi, only wish to pay homage to Amitabha, and adore Amitabha.
Amitabha Buddha reply: What do you seek here in Sukhavathi?
Shen Kai: Honored One, i came to seek Dharma.
Amitabha Buddha ask: What kind of Dharma?
Shen Kai: i'm not sure. Seeing Amitabha's forehead is adorned with a curled hair. i wisk to seek that Dharma, Honorable One.
(Back to reality.) That's how I cultivate and got my curled hair, but this Dharma method cannot anyhow expound to people. It's is because you people have doubt in Sukhavathi. Thinking it doesn't exist. Hence I tell you my experience. Due to the busy schedule, the white hair is curled. When it grew longer to 3 inch, it will extend when i'm washing the face. That's the proof.
How did Ocean of suffering (ku hai wu bian) come about? Because beings of samsara cannot sever emotion, love and greed. Sentinet beings cry a lot. Separation from friend, family, love ones, people cry. Son is leaving, mother crys, so does the son. Mother is dying, sons also crys. When people want's to eat, the mouth starts to water. This is greed. People need to work, they swear. In a life them, people generate so many water. One person, say one bucket of water, 100 pax, 100 bucket form a pool of water. If millions of millions of people cannot sever emotion, love and greed, form an Ocean of water.
In our world there's male and female. Those who goes to jail, 99% are involve with female. But in Sukhavathi, there's not male nor female form.
(translated by Sinweiy) -
Those who claim that daily chanting of sutras had benefitted them, how do we know that it's not all in the mind?
Verbally reciting the sutras is a meritious deed, but that is not the real purpose of the sutras that the Buddha intended.
Like my Master said, reciting the sutra is not as good as understanding the sutra. Understanding the sutra is not as good as living out/practising the sutra, and even that is not as good as attaining to the essence of the sutra.
The greatest benefit only comes when we practise the teachings, and through practising attain Liberation, Wisdom, Bliss. Then we attain to the essence of all the sutras in the Tripitaka, whether or not you have read all of them. -
The base for all meritorious benefit can only arise if your motivation is right, that is if you are doing it with compassion for the rest of the sentient beings. Be it you are chanting sutras or mantra. Of course, understanding the meaning of the sutra is important, but the most important is not the action of chanting the sutra, rather your motivational factor that mandate the level of beneficial. If you are only concern about changing your current situation, then probably it's not that effective. But if you could think your bad patch as a way that you are taking on the suffering of all sentient beings, then merits will be great.
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Yes, that is important. I like the way Tibetan Buddhism presents it... the different scopes/motivation for doing something. If one does only for one's own mundane benefit, that is the lowest scope. The medium and higher scopes are when we aim for our own liberation as well as other sentient being's liberation/enlightenment.Originally posted by coolbluewater:The base for all meritorious benefit can only arise if your motivation is right, that is if you are doing it with compassion for the rest of the sentient beings. Be it you are chanting sutras or mantra. Of course, understanding the meaning of the sutra is important, but the most important is not the action of chanting the sutra, rather your motivational factor that mandate the level of beneficial. If you are only concern about changing your current situation, then probably it's not that effective. But if you could think your bad patch as a way that you are taking on the suffering of all sentient beings, then merits will be great.
But we should also know that the sutras are not just meant to be chanted, it is supposed for us to gain wisdom out of the teachings in them. If we recite with little understanding or practise, there is still some benefits because by merely reciting the sutra we are planting the dharma seeds in us so that one day we may 'see' the truth. If you ask an old grandmother to understand Emptiness, she might not be able to. But chanting is still a good practise for her.
For us, I believe everyone should not just stop at chanting sutra, we must practise and attain the wisdom for ourselves. -
So understanding why a sutra is written for what proposes is good?
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What proposes?Originally posted by maggot:So understanding why a sutra is written for what proposes is good?
Anyway it's like what I said. Chanting is not as good as understanding. Understanding is not as good as practising. Practising is not as good as attaining the essence. -
I mean knowing which sutra talks about what and what it wants to conveyOriginally posted by An Eternal Now:What proposes?
Anyway it's like what I said. Chanting is not as good as understanding. Understanding is not as good as practising. Practising is not as good as attaining the essence. -
That is only the understanding part, and what did I say about understanding? Look at my previous postOriginally posted by maggot:I mean knowing which sutra talks about what and what it wants to convey 
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ok trying to up something end of the month coming
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Oh! Didn't even notice today is 30th.Originally posted by maggot:ok trying to up something end of the month coming 
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understand what it means and put it into practice.Originally posted by maggot:I mean knowing which sutra talks about what and what it wants to convey