178 LESSON 24 02 2011 Ambalatthika rahulovada Sutta Instructions to Rahula at Mango Stone FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY to VOTE for BSP ELEPHANT for Social Transformation and Economic Emancipation to attain Ultimate Bliss-Buddhism and Information Technology
178 LESSON 24 02 2011 Ambalatthika rahulovada Sutta Instructions to Rahula at Mango Stone FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY to VOTE for BSP ELEPHANT for Social Transformation and Economic Emancipation to attain Ultimate Bliss
through
http://www.orgsites.com/oh/awakenedone/
|
Traditionally the are 84,000 Dharma Doors - 84,000 ways to get Awakeness. Maybe so; certainly the Buddha taught a large number of practices that lead to Awakeness. This web page attempts to catalogue those found in the Pali Suttas (DN, MN, SN, AN, Ud & Sn 1). There are 3 sections: |
The discourses of Buddha are divided into 84,000, as to separate addresses. The division includes all that was spoken by Buddha.”I received from Buddha,” said Ananda, “82,000 Khandas, and from the priests 2000; these are 84,000 Khandas maintained by me.” They are divided into 275,250, as to the stanzas of the original text, and into 361,550, as to the stanzas of the commentary. All the discourses including both those of Buddha and those of the commentator, are divided into 2,547 banawaras, containing 737,000 stanzas, and 29,368,000 separate letters.
Course Programs:
LESSON 178
Ambalatthika-rahulovada Sutta (Canonical)
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.061.than.html
MN 61
PTS: M i 414
Ambalatthika-rahulovada Sutta: Instructions to Rahula at Mango Stone
translated from the Pali by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Rajagaha, at the Bamboo Grove, the Squirrels’ Feeding Ground.
At that time Ven. Rahula[1] was staying at the Mango Stone. Then the Blessed One, arising from his seclusion in the late afternoon, went to where Ven. Rahula was staying at the Mango Stone. Ven. Rahula saw him coming from afar and, on seeing him, set out a seat & water for washing the feet. The Blessed One sat down on the seat set out and, having sat down, washed his feet. Ven. Rahula, bowing down to the Blessed One, sat to one side.
Then the Blessed One, having left a little bit of water in the water dipper, said to Ven. Rahula, “Rahula, do you see this little bit of left-over water remaining in the water dipper?”
“Yes, sir.”
“That’s how little of a contemplative[2] there is in anyone who feels no shame at telling a deliberate lie.”
Having tossed away the little bit of left-over water, the Blessed One said to Ven. Rahula, “Rahula, do you see how this little bit of left-over water is tossed away?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Rahula, whatever there is of a contemplative in anyone who feels no shame at telling a deliberate lie is tossed away just like that.”
Having turned the water dipper upside down, the Blessed One said to Ven. Rahula, “Rahula, do you see how this water dipper is turned upside down?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Rahula, whatever there is of a contemplative in anyone who feels no shame at telling a deliberate lie is turned upside down just like that.”
Having turned the water dipper right-side up, the Blessed One said to Ven. Rahula, “Rahula, do you see how empty & hollow this water dipper is?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Rahula, whatever there is of a contemplative in anyone who feels no shame at telling a deliberate lie is empty & hollow just like that.
“Rahula, it’s like a royal elephant: immense, pedigreed, accustomed to battles, its tusks like chariot poles. Having gone into battle, it uses its forefeet & hindfeet, its forequarters & hindquarters, its head & ears & tusks & tail, but keeps protecting its trunk. The elephant trainer notices that and thinks, ‘This royal elephant has not given up its life to the king.’ But when the royal elephant… having gone into battle, uses its forefeet & hindfeet, its forequarters & hindquarters, its head & ears & tusks & tail & his trunk, the trainer notices that and thinks, ‘This royal elephant has given up its life to the king. There is nothing it will not do.’
“In the same way, Rahula, when anyone feels no shame in telling a deliberate lie, there is no evil, I tell you, he will not do. Thus, Rahula, you should train yourself, ‘I will not tell a deliberate lie even in jest.’
“What do you think, Rahula: What is a mirror for?”
“For reflection, sir.”
“In the same way, Rahula, bodily actions, verbal actions, & mental actions are to be done with repeated reflection.
“Whenever you want to do a bodily action, you should reflect on it: ‘This bodily action I want to do — would it lead to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both? Would it be an unskillful bodily action, with painful consequences, painful results?’ If, on reflection, you know that it would lead to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both; it would be an unskillful bodily action with painful consequences, painful results, then any bodily action of that sort is absolutely unfit for you to do. But if on reflection you know that it would not cause affliction… it would be a skillful bodily action with pleasant consequences, pleasant results, then any bodily action of that sort is fit for you to do.
“While you are doing a bodily action, you should reflect on it: ‘This bodily action I am doing — is it leading to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both? Is it an unskillful bodily action, with painful consequences, painful results?’ If, on reflection, you know that it is leading to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both… you should give it up. But if on reflection you know that it is not… you may continue with it.
“Having done a bodily action, you should reflect on it: ‘This bodily action I have done — did it lead to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both? Was it an unskillful bodily action, with painful consequences, painful results?’ If, on reflection, you know that it led to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both; it was an unskillful bodily action with painful consequences, painful results, then you should confess it, reveal it, lay it open to the Teacher or to a knowledgeable companion in the holy life. Having confessed it… you should exercise restraint in the future. But if on reflection you know that it did not lead to affliction… it was a skillful bodily action with pleasant consequences, pleasant results, then you should stay mentally refreshed & joyful, training day & night in skillful mental qualities.
“Whenever you want to do a verbal action, you should reflect on it: ‘This verbal action I want to do — would it lead to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both? Would it be an unskillful verbal action, with painful consequences, painful results?’ If, on reflection, you know that it would lead to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both; it would be an unskillful verbal action with painful consequences, painful results, then any verbal action of that sort is absolutely unfit for you to do. But if on reflection you know that it would not cause affliction… it would be a skillful verbal action with pleasant consequences, pleasant results, then any verbal action of that sort is fit for you to do.
“While you are doing a verbal action, you should reflect on it: ‘This verbal action I am doing — is it leading to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both? Is it an unskillful verbal action, with painful consequences, painful results?’ If, on reflection, you know that it is leading to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both… you should give it up. But if on reflection you know that it is not… you may continue with it.
“Having done a verbal action, you should reflect on it: ‘This verbal action I have done — did it lead to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both? Was it an unskillful verbal action, with painful consequences, painful results?’ If, on reflection, you know that it led to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both; it was an unskillful verbal action with painful consequences, painful results, then you should confess it, reveal it, lay it open to the Teacher or to a knowledgeable companion in the holy life. Having confessed it… you should exercise restraint in the future. But if on reflection you know that it did not lead to affliction… it was a skillful verbal action with pleasant consequences, pleasant results, then you should stay mentally refreshed & joyful, training day & night in skillful mental qualities.
“Whenever you want to do a mental action, you should reflect on it: ‘This mental action I want to do — would it lead to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both? Would it be an unskillful mental action, with painful consequences, painful results?’ If, on reflection, you know that it would lead to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both; it would be an unskillful mental action with painful consequences, painful results, then any mental action of that sort is absolutely unfit for you to do. But if on reflection you know that it would not cause affliction… it would be a skillful mental action with pleasant consequences, pleasant results, then any mental action of that sort is fit for you to do.
“While you are doing a mental action, you should reflect on it: ‘This mental action I am doing — is it leading to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both? Is it an unskillful mental action, with painful consequences, painful results?’ If, on reflection, you know that it is leading to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both… you should give it up. But if on reflection you know that it is not… you may continue with it.
“Having done a mental action, you should reflect on it: ‘This mental action I have done — did it lead to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both? Was it an unskillful mental action, with painful consequences, painful results?’ If, on reflection, you know that it led to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both; it was an unskillful mental action with painful consequences, painful results, then you should feel distressed, ashamed, & disgusted with it. Feeling distressed, ashamed, & disgusted with it, you should exercise restraint in the future. But if on reflection you know that it did not lead to affliction… it was a skillful mental action with pleasant consequences, pleasant results, then you should stay mentally refreshed & joyful, training day & night in skillful mental qualities.
“Rahula, all those brahmans & contemplatives in the course of the past who purified their bodily actions, verbal actions, & mental actions, did it through repeated reflection on their bodily actions, verbal actions, & mental actions in just this way.
“All those brahmans & contemplatives in the course of the future who will purify their bodily actions, verbal actions, & mental actions, will do it through repeated reflection on their bodily actions, verbal actions, & mental actions in just this way.
“All those brahmans & contemplatives at present who purify their bodily actions, verbal actions, & mental actions, do it through repeated reflection on their bodily actions, verbal actions, & mental actions in just this way.
“Thus, Rahula, you should train yourself: ‘I will purify my bodily actions through repeated reflection. I will purify my verbal actions through repeated reflection. I will purify my mental actions through repeated reflection.’ That’s how you should train yourself.”
That is what the Blessed One said. Gratified, Ven. Rahula delighted in the Blessed One’s words.
1.
Rahula: the Buddha’s son, who according to the Commentary was seven years old when this discourse was delivered to him.
2.
Samañña. Throughout ancient cultures, the terminology of music was used to describe the moral quality of people and actions. Discordant intervals or poorly-tuned musical instruments were metaphors for evil; harmonious intervals and well-tuned instruments, metaphors for good. In Pali, the term sama — “even” — described an instrument tuned on-pitch. There is a famous passage (in AN 6.55) where the Buddha reminds Sona Kolivisa — who had been over-exerting himself in the practice — that a lute sounds appealing only if the strings are neither too taut or too lax, but “evenly” tuned. This image would have special resonances with the Buddha’s teaching on the middle way. It also adds meaning to the term samana — monk or contemplative — which the texts frequently mention as being derived fromsama. The word samañña — “evenness,” the quality of being in tune — also means the quality of being a contemplative: The true contemplative is always in tune with what is proper and good.
BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!
WISDOM IS POWER
Awakened One Shows the Path to Attain Eternal Bliss
Using such an instrument
The Free ONLINE e-Nālandā Research and Practice University has been re-organized to function through the following Schools of Learning :
Buddha’s Sangha Practiced His Dhamma Free of cost, hence the Free- e-Nālandā Research and Practice University follows suit
As the Original Nālandā University did not offer any Degree, so also the Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University.
The teachings of Buddha are eternal, but even then Buddha did not proclaim them to be infallible. The religion of Buddha has the capacity to change according to times, a quality which no other religion can claim to have…Now what is the basis of Buddhism? If you study carefully, you will see that Buddhism is based on reason. There is an element of flexibility inherent in it, which is not found in any other religion.
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , Indian scholar, philosopher and architect of Constitution of India, in his writing and speeches
IKAMMA,REBIRTH,AWAKEN-NESS,BUDDHA,THUS COME ONE,DHAMMA II.ARHA ,FOUR HOLY TRUTHS,EIGHTFOLD PATH,TWELVEFOLD CONDITIONED ARISING,BODHISATTVA,PARAMITA,SIX PARAMITAS III.SIX SPIRITUAL POWERS,SIX PATHS OF REBIRTH,TEN DHARMA REALMS,FIVE SKANDHAS,EIGHTEEN REALMS,FIVE MORAL PRECEPTS IV. MEDITATION,MINDFULNESS,FOUR APPLICATIONS OF MINDFULNESS,LOTUS POSTURE,SAMADHI,CHAN SCHOOL,FOUR JHANAS,FOUR FORMLESS REALMS V. FIVE TYPES OF BUDDHIST STUDY AND PRACTICE,MAHAYANA AND HINAYANA COMPARED,PURE LAND,BUDDHA RECITATION,EIGHT CONSCIOUSNESSES,ONE HUNDRED DHARMAS,EMPTINESS VI. DEMON,LINEAGE
with
Level I: Introduction to Buddhism,Level II: Buddhist Studies,
TO ATTAIN
Level III: Stream-Enterer,Level IV: Once – Returner,Level V: Non-Returner,Level VI: Arhat
Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in
mathematics,astronomy,alchemy,andanatomy
Philosophy and Comparative Religions;Historical Studies;International Relations and Peace Studies;Business Management in relation to Public Policy and Development Studies;Languages and Literature;and Ecology and Environmental Studies
Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in
Mathematics
Astronomy
Alchemy
And Andanatomy
Buddhist perception of humanity
Buddhism and Information Technology
| A PNG image with an 8-bit transparency channel (top). The same image is overlaid onto a checkered background (bottom), typically used in graphics software to indicate transparency. | |
| Filename extension | .png |
|---|---|
| Internet media type | image/png |
| Type code | PNGf |
PNG |
|
| Uniform Type Identifier | public.png |
|---|---|
| Developed by | PNG Development Group (donated to W3C) |
| Initial release | October 1, 1996 |
| Type of format | lossless bitmap image format andvideo codec |
| Extended to | APNG, JNG and MNG |
| Standard(s) | ISO/IEC 15948[1], IETF RFC 2083 |
| Open format? | Yes |
![[item image]](http://ia700104.us.archive.org/21/items/H.DuthelAuthorMasterDegreeInOrientalPhilosophy/150px-Changingcube.gif?cnt=0)
An illustration of Adam7 interlacing over a 16×16 image.
15 medias
Loudspeaker
Loudspeaker: principles underlying its functioning
Loudspeaker: an invention more than a century old
Loudspeaker: sound wave
Microphones
Dynamic microphone
Piezoelectric microphone
Moore’s law
Amplitude Modulation (AM)
Amplitude modulation
AM demodulation
Amplitude demodulation
Digital Analog Converter
Analog Digital Converter
Chappe TelegraphBuddhism and Information Technology
Axiological Ethical Issues
· Axiological Ethical Issues
· Social impacts of IT
· Related to “On the Internet”
· Loss of the ability to recognise relevance
· Acquiring skill
· Loss of sense of reality of people and things
· Anonymity and nihilism
· Colonisation of consciousness through IT
Information Technology and Buddhism
· BACKGROUND: PETER HERSHOCK
Reinventing the Wheel: A Buddhist Response to the Information Age
· Medium is the message” Marshall McLuhan’s Statement (1964).
· Media has significant moral valance regardless of content.
· Hershock concludes the fundamental task of ethics related to information exchange (media) is not a critique the “content” (although that may the logical critique), but to evaluate and provide alternatives to the history of progress through which the media have come about and which the media have, in turn, both sustained and deepened.
We may be debating question concerning freedom of speech and the limits of privacy rights, however, it may be that we can’t answer these questions within any framework of linear, one-directional sequences and causes and effects. And, we may be asking the wrong questions.
· COLONISATION OF CONSCIOUSNESS
o 30 hours of TV per week/22,00 commercials per year.
o Internet use-90% Americans expected to be online 12-15 hrs per week online.
o Americans average 60% of their waking life online taking attention away from families and communities?
o “vegging” out versus “getting conscious.”
o Exportation of these practices is what Hershock means by Colonisation.
o Material colonialism involved extraction of natural resources and breakdown of local economy and indigenous value system. English extracted raw materials, brought to England and then sold cloth back to Indians).
o Colonisation of consciousness (exporting our ideas and practices and extracting the attention of the people in our direction)-leads to breakdown of their local communities and cultures.
o Consider the possibility that all of the above is an attempt to end some kind of “existential discontent” and that we are looking outside ourselves and in the wrong place to resolve.
· Buddhist response:
· Four Noble Truths
Please visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arDPPvbmU0Y for Buddhism: Four Noble Truths
< ?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” />
· All is trouble or suffering (dukkha);
· Cause of Dukkha is “desire for private fulfilment-craving and aversion”
· There is a means by which a resolution is possible overcoming craving and aversion gives rise to freedom from suffering
· 8 fold path leads to this freedom
· The means by which such a resolution is possible in the practice of the Eight Fold Path-we can dissolve the patterns of conditioning that bring about suffering by developing right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration
· In sum, the root of Buddhism lies in developing skilful insight into the interdependent origination of all things, and through this, redirecting the movement of our situationfrom cycles of chronic trouble and suffering toward release from those cycles.
Buddhism
Ethical Norms characteristics of Buddhism are similar to other religions:
· Upholds having harmonious relations between people.
· Compassionate care for other beings.
· Self restraint.
· Economic justice.
· Non-violence.
Buddhism is different than other religions with respect to ethics in the following ways:
- No supreme authority.
- Radical relativity.
- Interdependence of phenomena.
- Dependant co-arising and knowing.
- Everything arises and ceases in continuous flux.
- Endless flux and co-dependence where everything is interrelated and inter-influencing. To understand this phenomena is itself is wisdom and will give rise to ethical behaviour.
- Wisdom and Sila (ethical behaviour) are like two hands washing eath other – ways of behaviour inform wisdom and visa versa.
· Two views of reality around the time of Buddha – pre-Socratic
- Parmenides-world made up of discrete material “stuff” versus
- Heralltus-the world is in constant flux
“Characteristics of Power” provide information about our underlying worldview.
Western Notion of Power
· Power “over”— property or others (something you can win or loose) giving rise to:
· Defenses.
· Fear (life forms need defenses but if you want something to grow those same defenses need to be able to break apart)
· Defenses:
· Nothing wrong with defences. They are absolutely necessary to protect living things. However, if we want to grow it is necessary to “peel off the old.”
Buddhist Notion of Power
Instead of seeing ourselves as separate things, see flows revealing patterns that self-organise power “with.”
- Power is an emergent (property) as we act together
- Power results from synergy
- To create connectivity
- Sangha
· Radical inter-connectivity
· Power with…
· Sharing
· Fundamental generosity-making sure everyone has enough
- Suffering
- Delusion-(ignorance)
Ø Is thinking that you are separate and hold yourself apart and aloof from web of life.
Ø Only see the parts and can’t see the whole.
Ø We feel weak and vulnerable and we try to shore ourselves up with “things” and defense.
Ø Mutual reinforcing mistake about life.
- Greed-the mistake to think that we need things for ourselves rather than for all of us
Ø Craving the need to pull things toward us and hold on to it for ourselves at the exclusion of others.
- Aversion-strong defense and gives rise to hatred
Causes—power over+ lack of wisdom (can’t see interconnectivity)
- Delusion- (ignorance) is thinking that you are separate and hold yourself apart from web life-only see the parts and can’t see the whole – mutually reinforcing mistake about life
- Greed-need to hold on to what’s mine
- Aversion-strong defenseand gives rise to hatred
· Wisdom-Experience and Understanding Dependant Co-Arising or Interconnectivity
· Biology and system thing change of the lens with which we see reality. Instead of seeing things as separate we now began to see things as flows of matter and energy and information and what appeared to be separate entities we began to see as nodes and patterns that self organize thanks to these flows.
· Open systems because they sustain themselves through the flow of matter, energy and information.
· Systems thinkers fascinated analyzing the principles and properties by which the flows generated these open systems.
· Example of the neural net
· Following the 8 Fold Path leads to freedom from delusion, greed and aversion and to wisdom (mind) and compassion (heart) and the experience of radical interconnectivity.
· Eight Fold Path suggests a way to behave that provides the optimal conditions to shift our thinking and resolve the Four Noble Truths.
Information Technology and Buddhism
· Content and right speech-basis of this type of communication is compassion-literally, a relationship of shared feeling or emotion (is that possible in one way direction and/or online when the conversation is disembodied?)
· Studies show how when you put TV into community the behavior of children changes.
· Children don’t learn to resolve trouble in liberating fashion.
· Rather, they may be learning to solve problems in ways that compound problems and increase sum total of suffering.
· Debate whether violence is indicator of what is inside versus causal connection.
· Buddha said “what is and what is-not are twine barbs on which all human kind is impaled” Then the question of what came first the chicken or the egg keeps us locked in suffering when the truth may be that neither is correct.
· Right View-leads to seeing our situation as interdependently arisen, as irreducibly dynamic, and as to some degree troubled and yet always open to revision (practice of three marks-Anicca (impermanence)
Please visit: http://wn.com/anicca_animal for Anicca Animal
Anatta (absence of permanent identity) and Dukkha (suffering)-i.e. while media arises out of local and global conditions, they also influence these very conditions – mutual causation
Please visit:http://wn.com/anatta for Anatta
· Impermanence-the emptiness-shows that nothing ultimate primacy or status of an original cause-so the notion has media-as-cause and media-as-mirror-can be seen as independently existing things only because of the temporal, spatial, and conceptual horizons that we impose on the emptiness or interdependence of all things.
· Advertising-primary focus of advertising is to foster sense of lack and wanting-craving-root of suffering often singled out by Buddha as root condition of suffering (along with lack of awareness of interdependent nature of all things) And it isn’t WHAT we are conditioned to WANT but rather the ACT OF WANTING.
· CONTEXT:MEDIA AS A TOOL VERSUS AS A TECHNOLOGY—although we can turn off our computer or TV we can’t put the media away like we can a hammer. Media will shape how we speak, what’s popular, notions of good, how we work and live.
1. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AS A COMPLEX SYSTEM OF TECHNOLOGIES AND EMERGE AS PATTERNS OF RELATIONSHIP OR HISTORICAL PROCESSES THAT INSTITUTIONALISE VALUES ACROSS A WIDE RANGE OF HUMAN ACTIVITIES AND MORAL VALANCE.
2. Merely focusing on the UTILITY of the tool, we ignore the tendency of it to deeply alter and institutionalize our core values.
· Central idea of Buddhism is to be able to be in accord with any situation whatsoever and to respond as needed (notice this is central idea of Taoism as well).
- A steady diet of mass media does not and cannot permit developing such virtuosity.
· Idea of “technotopia” world in which no galling hardship, agonizing disappointments, shortages, and no sense of loss. End to trouble, as we know it. Also the end of the compelling dramatic tensions, collapse of all differences that make a difference. Infinite variety would be possible but no compelling reason to choose on over the other.
Three leaders of the Janata Dal (Secular) of Bijapur on Wednesday formally joined the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) here.
The leaders — Bande Nawaz Mahabari, Jaffer Inamdar and Shabir Jahagirdar — were welcomed into the BSP fold by its party president Marasandra Muniyappa.
Mr. Muniyappa garlanded the leaders and said the Bijapur unit would gain strength with the induction of these leaders. — Staff Reporter
