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**panholio** · 06-24-2011, 02:45 AM

To be honest, I don’t really enjoy reading the suttas much - I feel they are so long and repetitive!!

That's OK. Do not rush yourself into the suttas. It is a great first step to go thoroughly with the Thai Forest Tradition. Most of their achievements come from their confidence and intimate touch whith what the historical Buddha taught. The suttas, I think, are written in that way on purpose: To avoid the amusement of mind entangled and muddled in views. Prevents mind to wander looking for a clever finding of a self. Some suttas are about ethics and others about meditative skills others about wise discernment or Right View.

I have ever felt that suttas are written as Bach wrote Fugues. There is a repetitive element in both so to keep mind out of illusion, views and wandering in useless speculative approaches or clever philosophies.

The cultural context of India at the time of Buddha was one of an outstanding production of views and speculations about God, Universe, Fate and the like. The suttas are a vaccination against this painful wandering. Maybe that is why at a first look they seem so repetitive and barren of any kind of intellectual sophistication what is a the base of a wandering and undisciplined mind. In the same way eye consiousness crave for colors, mind craves for ideas, delight in views, feeds upon on views and the self is kept again.

Reading the oeuvre of the Thai Forest Tradition teachers, will lead you into the suttas sooner or later. Don't worry.

Yes, its a great place to learn and ask questions, and also to get lots of encouragement and guidance. Yes. This forum is a good place. Sometimes debates are passionate but nothing more than that. If you are confident about the teachings of the historical Buddha you will not feel threatened at all. IMHO ( = In My Honest Opinion) it is important to be aware of what taught the historical Buddha, what is taught by a particular tradition and what is being told by a Roshi, Lama, Geshe, Tulku or Priest or an Ancestor. For example, Soto schools are about the Shobogenzo and that is a teaching of Dogen Zengi, not of the historical Buddha and you can find certain connections between, if you wish, but one is Dogen's teaching and the other is the historical Buddha teaching. It is important to be aware of this.

I suppose that’s why I was trying to find a belief in a God that would ‘look after you’. Big Daddy in the sky!!! The doctrine of non self is really challenging. It makes the teachings of the historical Buddha so unique.

I watched 'Life of the Buddha' which was showing on Google earlier today. I will look at it...

06-24-2011, 02:45 AM	#11
panholio Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 409 Senior Member	To be honest, I don’t really enjoy reading the suttas much - I feel they are so long and repetitive!! That's OK. Do not rush yourself into the suttas. It is a great first step to go thoroughly with the Thai Forest Tradition. Most of their achievements come from their confidence and intimate touch whith what the historical Buddha taught. The suttas, I think, are written in that way on purpose: To avoid the amusement of mind entangled and muddled in views. Prevents mind to wander looking for a clever finding of a self. Some suttas are about ethics and others about meditative skills others about wise discernment or Right View. I have ever felt that suttas are written as Bach wrote Fugues. There is a repetitive element in both so to keep mind out of illusion, views and wandering in useless speculative approaches or clever philosophies. The cultural context of India at the time of Buddha was one of an outstanding production of views and speculations about God, Universe, Fate and the like. The suttas are a vaccination against this painful wandering. Maybe that is why at a first look they seem so repetitive and barren of any kind of intellectual sophistication what is a the base of a wandering and undisciplined mind. In the same way eye consiousness crave for colors, mind craves for ideas, delight in views, feeds upon on views and the self is kept again. Reading the oeuvre of the Thai Forest Tradition teachers, will lead you into the suttas sooner or later. Don't worry. Yes, its a great place to learn and ask questions, and also to get lots of encouragement and guidance. Yes. This forum is a good place. Sometimes debates are passionate but nothing more than that. If you are confident about the teachings of the historical Buddha you will not feel threatened at all. IMHO ( = In My Honest Opinion) it is important to be aware of what taught the historical Buddha, what is taught by a particular tradition and what is being told by a Roshi, Lama, Geshe, Tulku or Priest or an Ancestor. For example, Soto schools are about the Shobogenzo and that is a teaching of Dogen Zengi, not of the historical Buddha and you can find certain connections between, if you wish, but one is Dogen's teaching and the other is the historical Buddha teaching. It is important to be aware of this. I suppose that’s why I was trying to find a belief in a God that would ‘look after you’. Big Daddy in the sky!!! The doctrine of non self is really challenging. It makes the teachings of the historical Buddha so unique. I watched 'Life of the Buddha' which was showing on Google earlier today. I will look at it...
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