Ksitigarbha, Majestic Earth King of Vajra Freedom

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

No its not the same premise. A christian can kill 1000's of people and then get baptised on his deathbed (aka Constantine the Great). Yin and yang describes how opposite or contrary forces are actually complementary and interconnected in the natural world. We are neither good or bad, but a combination of both. So its not any single act that counts in the end but a total balance of what we have done through a lifetime of actions and thoughts. Killing a 1000 people then asking for forgiveness on your death bed isn't going to count for much in eastern religions. You are going to end up a toad and get squashed by the man you killed in your previous life.

a reply to: glend

You cannot balance out having killed someone by saving someone else. Karma and confession are both feel good bull.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Killing someone else is a greatest of sins that isn't going to end well, I agree.

Don't let this little boy sway you with his reductive view.

As I have already explained, yes, killing is bad, yes, it can be erased and purified, no, that doesn't mean you can go around killing people then purifying it, that is actually the opposite of the meaning of purification, as purification refers to purifying the seed consciousness which led to the wrong act in the first place, erasing the possibility of future failure of the same kind, then purifying the resultant consciousness seeds, that is, the remaining consequences of the initial act, and then behaving in a manner that is born of primordial presence and purity, not of wrong thought.

People who have a problem with this, as evidenced by their activity in this thread, have problems at each and every stage.

They do not believe in the possibility of reaching a state of pristine mind wherein one does not wish to commit evil and one does not cling to the appearance of past or future evil deeds.

They do not believe in the continuous presence of a natural state in which one does not randomly commit evil.

They do not believe in the possibility of presence which is not generated by past consciousness seeds, and thus through its own natural purity, over a certain (short or long) amount of time, erases the generative power and effect of past actions, and creates new, good actions, through the generative power of pure presence.

And they do not believe in primordial goodness, in the basic kindness that is the nature of all beings, therefore they instinctively imagine failure at every step.

originally posted by: Fevrier
As I have already explained, yes, killing is bad, yes, it can be erased and purified...

This is the epitome of self-delusion, that murder can be 'erased and purified', no, the person you murdered is still dead and no amount of introspective mumbo jumbo is going to make them not dead.

And as I already told you, I do not care for your clinging, nor do I see any actual persons.

My activity involves helping beings, but I do not care for the endless clinging to narrative time.

There is nothing you can do about that. You consider that self-delusion, good, I consider your clinging self-delusion.

Who cares?

Wisdom is Wisdom. Here are quotes from a sutra which give entry into Wisdom. Wisdom always involves compassion. You cannot abide in Wisdom while wishing to harm others. But no matter your past karma, wishing to abide in Wisdom and give up harm, you can do so, and by abiding in Wisdom, you erase your karma over time, according to your realization of Wisdom and absorption into the Nature of Mind. This happens because the nature of reality is not linear narrative karma, but Nature of Mind, and thus the quality of Wisdom precedes linear karmic activity.

" The bodhisattva Parigudha declared, “‘Self’ and ‘selflessness’ are dualistic. Since the existence of self cannot be perceived, what is there to be made ‘selfless’? Thus, the nondualism of the vision of their nature is the entrance into nonduality.”

The bodhisattva Vidyuddeva declared, “‘Knowledge’ and ‘ignorance’ are dualistic. The natures of ignorance and knowledge are the same, for ignorance is undefined, incalculable, and beyond the sphere of thought. The realization of this is the entrance into nonduality.”

The bodhisattva Candrottara declared, “‘Darkness’ and ‘light’ are dualistic, but the absence of both darkness and light is nonduality. Why? At the time of absorption in cessation, there is neither darkness nor light, and likewise with the natures of all things. The entrance into this equanimity is the entrance into nonduality.”

The bodhisattva Manikutaraja declared, “It is dualistic to speak of good paths and bad paths. One who is on the path is not concerned with good or bad paths. Living in such unconcern, he entertains no concepts of ‘path’ or ‘nonpath.’ Understanding the nature of concepts, his mind does not engage in duality. Such is the entrance into nonduality.”

The bodhisattva Satyarata declared, “It is dualistic to speak of ‘true’ and ‘false.’ When one sees truly, one does not ever see any truth, so how could one see falsehood? Why? One does not see with the physical eye, one sees with the eye of wisdom. And with the wisdom-eye one sees only insofar as there is neither sight nor nonsight. There, where there is neither sight nor nonsight, is the entrance into nonduality.”

When the bodhisattvas had given their explanations, they all addressed the crown prince Manjusri: “Manjusri, what is the bodhisattva’s entrance into nonduality?”

Manjusri replied, “Good sirs, you have all spoken well. Nevertheless, all your explanations are themselves dualistic. To know no one teaching, to express nothing, to say nothing, to explain nothing, to announce nothing, to indicate nothing, and to designate nothing – that is the entrance into nonduality.”

Then the crown prince Manjusri said to the Licchavi Vimalakirti, “We have all given our own teachings, noble sir. Now, may you elucidate the teaching of the entrance into the principle of nonduality!”

Thereupon, the Licchavi Vimalakirti kept his silence, saying nothing at all.

The crown prince Manjusri applauded the Licchavi Vimalakirti: “Excellent! Excellent, noble sir! This is indeed the entrance into the nonduality of the bodhisattvas. Here there is no use for syllables, sounds, and ideas.”

When these teachings had been declared, five thousand bodhisattvas entered the door of the Dharma of nonduality and attained tolerance of the birthlessness of things."

originally posted by: Fevrier
Who cares?

You obviously do by your responding to my posts and addressing me in your responses to others.

Not my fault if what I say strikes a nerve.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

You are posting in my thread and wondering why you get responses.

Like I said, I do not care.

Not all activity happens through caring.

a reply to: Fevrier
Would you provide a link for the citation please?

originally posted by: Fevrier
You are posting in my thread and wondering why you get responses.

I was replying to another poster who you felt the need to tell to ignore me because my opinion runs counter to yours.

Like I said, I do not care.

Right.

Not all activity happens through caring.

Whatever you want to call the compulsion you certainly have it.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Yeah, call it what you will, but your giving yourself attention through projecting your own compulsory clinging has nothing to do with me.

Good luck.

originally posted by: Fevrier
Yeah, call it what you will, but your giving yourself attention through projecting your own compulsory clinging has nothing to do with me.

Offering ones opinion is not giving yourself attention. If you do not want views counter to yours do not post on public forums. Not everyone is going to agree with you.

originally posted by: Itisnowagain
a reply to: Fevrier
Would you provide a link for the citation please?

here you go, it's the Vimalakirti Sutra

www.bdk.or.jp/pdf/bdk/digitaldl/dBET_Srimala_Vimalakirti_2004.pdf

You also have Queen Srimala's Roar Sutra there, which is also one of the texts used in true Zen.

originally posted by: Fevrier
To everyone reading my threads, what Itisnowagain posts is not evil or anything, and it is ok in a grandma sort of way, like those two women in the video he posted, I'm sure it can help some people in his life and at the grocery store and so on, like I said, it's not evil, but from a point of view of real spiritual practice, it is shallow and deluded in many ways.

Also quite clingy. He keep sharing his incomplete view over and over again. A post ago he was saying it's impossible to stop thoughts, which is false (and I don't even talk about stopping thoughts as a main method or anything), now he's droning on about his stuff again.

Anyway, to those actually reading my threads, pay no attention to this guy.

Being so dismissive is actually not useful to see from a buddhist practicioner. This is not a classroom and you are not the teacher; we are in an open forum and if someone challenge your view you are more than welcome to prove your point or to let it be.
Itsnowagain doesn't spread nonsense, is called Advaita Vedanta, the only other practice out there beside buddhism leading to full enlightenment, older than buddhism and just as valid.
Every buddhist teacher I met was respectful of other paths and other teachers, even of christianity. Don't make the mistake to think you and you only have monopoly over the truth.

I'm not a teacher and do not abide by the laws of teaching. I do not attempt to create students and I do not attempt to create the form of a teacher.

Now, to the point, whatever he is talking about, it is limited and has holes. That is my view on it. And as he is always posting on my threads with the exactly same limited and unaccomplished stuff, he will get this kind of response.

And Vedanta does not lead to full enlightenment. You are free to not believe me on that one, but it is what it is. The reasons as to why this is so are too complex to get into here.

This does not mean I am disrespectful of a tradition or religion, Christianity included.

It means that when someone consistently addresses me with a particular expression, which I can see right through, that has nothing to do with a religion, it has to do with a direct interaction and will be met expediently, in regards to its own qualities and merit, not in regards to what it is related to theoretically.

a reply to: Fevrier
I think he is not very good at making a point, but being a bit familiar with Advaita too I always get what he's saying.

And Vedanta does not lead to full enlightenment. You are free to not believe me on that one, but it is what it is. The reasons as to why this is so are too complex to get into here.

Way before even knowing something about Advaita I asked my lama (from a Vajrayana school) if there is any other path beside buddhism that leads to full enlightenment; he said it was Advaita Vedanta. I will not argue about that but I have all the reasons to believe my lama. After a while I stopped my buddhist practice and my path crossed an Advaita teacher and so far it didn't disappoint me in any way. Next time I will see my lama I intend to ask his blessing for this practice, and I'm sure he will not be against it.

a reply to: WhiteHat

I remember reading a koan in a Buddhist book many years back about a Buddhist monk travelling by boat between islands to spread the word of the Buddha. He reached a small island inhabited by two brothers and convinced them to follow Buddhism and left a book on Buddhism for them to study. On leaving the island he was astonished to see the two brothers running across the ocean waters with their bare feet trying to catch up with his boat. On reaching his boat they shyly admitted that they were unable to read books because they never attended school. The monk took the book back and told them they don't need to learn Buddhism.

So the paths to enlightenment are many but perhaps the greatest roadblock are our reasons for wanting enlightenment. If we want enlightenment to be special, that in itself appeases our ego which blocks us from reaching the goal. In Buddhism, bodhisattva is a term used for those wanting to achieve enlightenment to try help all other sentient beings escape suffering. So its a sacrifice which bypasses ego. That logic could also be used in Advaita Vedanta as well as any other religion. The Buddha says: “You cannot travel the path until you have become the path itself!”

Good luck.