DN 32 - Atanatiya Sutta - DiscussWorldIssues - Socio-Economic Religion and Political Uncensored Debate

**lizadax** · 01-02-2011, 01:50 AM

DN 32 :Atanatiya Sutta: Discourse on Atanatiya

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipit...32.0.piya.html

Does anyone know anything about this sutta, please? The reason why I'm curious is because it mentions Mount Meru from Buddhist cosmology.
In Tibetan Buddhism Mount Meru is at the centre of the Mandala of the Universe in the 'Mandala Offering' and accompanying chanting, which is part of Ngondro practice.

**HBPujWBe** · 01-02-2011, 04:05 AM

Buddhist cosmology mentions Mount Meru from DN 32.

**xT0U3UGh** · 01-02-2011, 04:23 AM

Buddhist cosmology mentions Mount Meru from DN 32.

I think Mount Meru was considered to be the centre of the universe surrounded by a flat earth, so I wondered if the Buddha was talking about a mythical place, or a place that was actually thought to exist somewhere on the earth at that time.

**duexjepevef** · 01-02-2011, 05:27 AM

Originally Posted by Element Buddhist cosmology mentions Mount Meru from DN 32.

I think Mount Meru was considered to be the centre of the universe surrounded by a flat earth, so I wondered if the Buddha was talking about a mythical place, or a place that was actually thought to exist somewhere on the earth at that time.

More likely he was speaking in terms that the local populace was familiar with

However even if he did accept it, i dont see how it matters since the Buddha was concerned with dukkha and not geography

An interesting question to raise is how does mount meru effect knowing dukkha and its cessation? I dont see how it does

**leflyCode** · 01-02-2011, 05:34 AM

An interesting question to raise is how does mount meru effect knowing dukkha and its cessation? I dont see how it does

It doesn't. I was just interested in the background info.

**sandyphoebetvmaa** · 01-02-2011, 05:41 AM

From what I can tell it was considered both myth and real at the time

The early Buddhists seem to have built of the theory of it being a real mountain

http://buddhism.about.com/od/buddhis.../mountmeru.htm

**panholio** · 01-02-2011, 07:03 AM

I also wondered if symbolism might have been used too. Anyway, while looking to see if I could find anything written by Richard Gombrich about early Buddhist cosmology, I came across this paper by someone called Ryan Higgins...

"A Psychological Cosmology and The Philosophy of Consciousness"

http://www.astron-argon.com/psychological_cosmology.htm

Some of his conclusions seem similar to some of the opinions of Sue Hamilton in "Early Buddhism: A New Approach ."

**Rinkeliacasse** · 01-02-2011, 08:34 AM

Thanks for the link, shall give me something to read tomorrow

**AricGoffgog** · 01-04-2011, 07:07 PM

It always seemed to me that Mt Meru was in some way similar to Mt Kailash.
Both seem to be considered the navel of the universe. I wonder if the mythology of Meru has its origins in Kailash?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Kailash
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/tibet/mount-kailash

01-02-2011, 01:50 AM	#1
lizadax Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 394 Senior Member	DN 32 - Atanatiya Sutta DN 32 :Atanatiya Sutta: Discourse on Atanatiya http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipit...32.0.piya.html Does anyone know anything about this sutta, please? The reason why I'm curious is because it mentions Mount Meru from Buddhist cosmology. In Tibetan Buddhism Mount Meru is at the centre of the Mandala of the Universe in the 'Mandala Offering' and accompanying chanting, which is part of Ngondro practice. Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter
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01-02-2011, 04:05 AM	#2
HBPujWBe Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 442 Senior Member	Buddhist cosmology mentions Mount Meru from DN 32. Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter
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01-02-2011, 04:23 AM	#3
xT0U3UGh Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 427 Senior Member	Buddhist cosmology mentions Mount Meru from DN 32. I think Mount Meru was considered to be the centre of the universe surrounded by a flat earth, so I wondered if the Buddha was talking about a mythical place, or a place that was actually thought to exist somewhere on the earth at that time. Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter
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01-02-2011, 05:27 AM	#4
duexjepevef Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 422 Senior Member	Originally Posted by Element Buddhist cosmology mentions Mount Meru from DN 32. I think Mount Meru was considered to be the centre of the universe surrounded by a flat earth, so I wondered if the Buddha was talking about a mythical place, or a place that was actually thought to exist somewhere on the earth at that time. More likely he was speaking in terms that the local populace was familiar with However even if he did accept it, i dont see how it matters since the Buddha was concerned with dukkha and not geography An interesting question to raise is how does mount meru effect knowing dukkha and its cessation? I dont see how it does Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter
	Quote

01-02-2011, 05:34 AM	#5
leflyCode Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 357 Senior Member	An interesting question to raise is how does mount meru effect knowing dukkha and its cessation? I dont see how it does It doesn't. I was just interested in the background info. Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter
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01-02-2011, 05:41 AM	#6
sandyphoebetvmaa Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 599 Senior Member	From what I can tell it was considered both myth and real at the time The early Buddhists seem to have built of the theory of it being a real mountain http://buddhism.about.com/od/buddhis.../mountmeru.htm Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter
	Quote

01-02-2011, 07:03 AM	#7
panholio Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 409 Senior Member	I also wondered if symbolism might have been used too. Anyway, while looking to see if I could find anything written by Richard Gombrich about early Buddhist cosmology, I came across this paper by someone called Ryan Higgins... "A Psychological Cosmology and The Philosophy of Consciousness" http://www.astron-argon.com/psychological_cosmology.htm Some of his conclusions seem similar to some of the opinions of Sue Hamilton in "Early Buddhism: A New Approach ." Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter
	Quote

01-02-2011, 08:34 AM	#8
Rinkeliacasse Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 563 Senior Member	Thanks for the link, shall give me something to read tomorrow Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter
	Quote

01-04-2011, 07:07 PM	#9
AricGoffgog Join Date Nov 2005 Posts 445 Senior Member	It always seemed to me that Mt Meru was in some way similar to Mt Kailash. Both seem to be considered the navel of the universe. I wonder if the mythology of Meru has its origins in Kailash? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Kailash http://www.sacred-destinations.com/tibet/mount-kailash Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter
	Quote

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