DiscussWorldIssues - Socio-Economic Religion and Political Uncensored Debate - View Single Post - How much of Buddhism can be considered "mysticism"?

**Glamyclitlemi** · 01-25-2011, 11:13 PM

How much?

I think that buddhism as any sort of "ism" can have a huge amount of mysticism. The teachings of the historical Buddha were transformed into a religion by cultural additions in some other traditions which added a considerable amount of mystical aspects.

Now, about the teachings of the Pali Canon I have not found yet anything about mysticism or that mysticism can be an important aspect for their practice.

The passage given about the descent of the Buddha surly is a kind of cultural symbolism that speaks more the Hindu imagination than a real event. It has to be interpreted. It has a meaning given through symbols.

That quote is from chapter two. Bhikkhu Bodhi gives an introduction for that chapter. The previous chapter is about human condition explaining the existential misery of mankind so that the next chapter is about "The Bringer of Light" or the person of the Buddha.

In page 46, Bhikkhu Bodhi's explains that the quote is a way to tell that "Obviously, for the compilers of such a sutta as this, the Buddha was already destined to Buddhahood even prior to his conception and thus his struggle for enlightenment was a battle whose outcome was already predetermined." But at the end of that same paragraph Bhikkhu tells this: "The final paragraph of the sutta, however, ironically hearkens back to the realistic picture of the Buddha [and the sutta too!]. What the Buddha himself considers to be truly wondrous are not the miracles accompanying his conception and bight, but his mindfulness and clear comprehension in the midst of feelings, thoughts and perceptions." [/size] given this in that same sutta:

[22] "Thus, Ananda, also remember this as a wonderful and amazing quality of the Tathagata: Here, Ananda, for the Tathagata sensations are known as they arise, when present and when they disappear, the perceptions are known when they arise, when present and when they disappear, the thoughts are known as they arise, when present and when they disappear. Remember this too, Ananda, as a wonderful and amazing quality of the Tathagata. "

MN 123[/size]

01-25-2011, 11:13 PM	#2
Glamyclitlemi Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 466 Senior Member	How much? I think that buddhism as any sort of "ism" can have a huge amount of mysticism. The teachings of the historical Buddha were transformed into a religion by cultural additions in some other traditions which added a considerable amount of mystical aspects. Now, about the teachings of the Pali Canon I have not found yet anything about mysticism or that mysticism can be an important aspect for their practice. The passage given about the descent of the Buddha surly is a kind of cultural symbolism that speaks more the Hindu imagination than a real event. It has to be interpreted. It has a meaning given through symbols. That quote is from chapter two. Bhikkhu Bodhi gives an introduction for that chapter. The previous chapter is about human condition explaining the existential misery of mankind so that the next chapter is about "The Bringer of Light" or the person of the Buddha. In page 46, Bhikkhu Bodhi's explains that the quote is a way to tell that "Obviously, for the compilers of such a sutta as this, the Buddha was already destined to Buddhahood even prior to his conception and thus his struggle for enlightenment was a battle whose outcome was already predetermined." But at the end of that same paragraph Bhikkhu tells this: "The final paragraph of the sutta, however, ironically hearkens back to the realistic picture of the Buddha [and the sutta too!]. What the Buddha himself considers to be truly wondrous are not the miracles accompanying his conception and bight, but his mindfulness and clear comprehension in the midst of feelings, thoughts and perceptions." [/size] given this in that same sutta: [22] "Thus, Ananda, also remember this as a wonderful and amazing quality of the Tathagata: Here, Ananda, for the Tathagata sensations are known as they arise, when present and when they disappear, the perceptions are known when they arise, when present and when they disappear, the thoughts are known as they arise, when present and when they disappear. Remember this too, Ananda, as a wonderful and amazing quality of the Tathagata. " MN 123[/size]
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