That paramparā should be followed. Evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ [Bg. 4.2]. If we want to understand really Vedic literature, then we must follow the paramparā system."
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PURPOSE OF LYF The purpose of this "life" is for humans to suffer the process of incremental degradation toward getting dead incarnation after incarnation til crappy karma is burned off and dissipated into formless singularity.
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That paramparā should be followed. Evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ [Bg. 4.2]. If we want to understand really Vedic literature, then we must follow the paramparā system."
So we cannot understand the Vedic wisdom through our own interpretation or through mental speculation. We have to hear it presented as it is by the bona fideu spiritual master, the spiritual master who is purely representing the understanding of Vedic wisdom that is coming down to us through the line of disciplic succession.
This point is confirmed by Lord Sri Krishna Himself Who states in Bhagavad-gita, Chapter 4, Text 2:
evaṁ paramparā-prāptam
imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ
sa kāleneha mahatā
yogo naṣṭaḥ parantapa
"This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way. But in course of time the succession was broken, and therefore the science as it is appears to be lost."
So just as the saintly kings understood in that way we are also meant to understand it in that way.
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Forgiveness is really not about someone’s harmful behavior; it’s about our own relationship with our past. When we begin the work of forgiveness, it is primarily a practice for ourselves.
-Gina Sharpe, “The Power of Forgiveness”
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At Sāvatthī.
King Pasenadi of Kosala sat to one side, and the Buddha said to him, “So, great king, where are you coming from in the middle of the day?”
“Sir, my grandmother has passed away. She was old, elderly and senior. She was advanced in years and had reached the final stage of life; she was a hundred and twenty years old. But I loved my grandmother; she was dear to me. If by giving away the elephant-treasure I could get my grandmother back, I’d do it. If by giving away the horse-treasure I could get my grandmother back, I’d do it. If by giving away a prize village I could get my grandmother back, I’d do it. If by giving away the whole country I could get my grandmother back, I’d do it.”
“Great king, all sentient beings are liable to die. Death is their end; they’re not exempt from death.”
“It’s incredible, sir, it’s amazing, how well said this was by the Buddha: ‘All sentient beings are liable to die. Death is their end; they’re not exempt from death.’”
“That’s so true, great king! That’s so true! All sentient beings are liable to die. Death is their end; they’re not exempt from death. It’s like the vessels made by potters. Whatever kind they are, whether baked or unbaked, all of them are liable to break apart. Breaking is their end; they’re not exempt from breakage. In the same way, all sentient beings are liable to die. Death is their end; they’re not exempt from death.”
That is what the Buddha said. …
“All beings will die,for life ends with death.They pass on according to their deeds,reaping the fruits of good and bad.Those who do bad go to hell,and if you do good you go to heaven.
That’s why you should do good,investing in the future life.The good deeds of sentient beingssupport them in the next world.”
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How does one remove Kilesa exactly?
I’ve been reading about Ajan Chah recently and found his life very interesting.
He often mentions removing kilesas whenever possible.
So it made me think about how to remove it exactly.
This is a scenario that I’ve started but not sure if it’s the correct approach:
For example at the gym, I’ll run into a variety of people. My minds tends to judge and hate people for really no valid reason. In the past I would submit to that hatred, and judgement of others. Recently what I’ve tried is when my brain sees judges others or randomly hates people at the gym for no reason, what I’ve tried to do is try to answer back. For example, if my brain hates someone I’ll say something - He is just a person like me who suffers. Let’s focus on our selves, we are all in our own journey.
Is this what Ajan Chah means when trying to fight off kilesa?
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final two lines from the 10 line Kannon Sutra useful for this, to remember thoughts are not actual reality. The translation reads :
Thought after thought arises from mind.
Thought after thought is not separate from mind.
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The prajñā of meditation, also called the prajñā of realization, burns away kleśas.
Prajñā is a species of direct, experiential realization or omniscience (wisdom) that dawns in the individual's mindstream upon awakening. It arises as a profound insight into the nature of phenomena and by sheer force it has the power to burn away afflictive karmic traces that give rise to afflictive emotions [kleśa].
The Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra states:
Affecting the mind, kleśa and vāsanā can be destroyed only by a wisdom [prajñā], a certain form of omniscience [sarvajñatā].
There is a lesser form of prajñā that is able to eradicate the kleśas, and then a superior form of prajñā that destroys vāsanās. Only buddhas possess the superior form and have therefore dispelled both the kleśas and vāsanās. Effectively freeing themselves from negative karma.
The Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra continues:
There is no difference between the different destructions of the conflicting emotions [kleśaprahāna]. However, the Tathāgatas, arhats and samyaksaṃbuddhas have entirely and definitively cut all the conflicting emotions [kleśa] and the traces that result from them [vāsanānusaṃdhi]. The śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas themselves have not yet definitively cut vāsanānusaṃdhi... these vāsanās are not really kleśas. After having cut the kleśas, the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas still retain a small part of them: semblances of love (attachment) [rāga], hate (aversion) [dveṣa] and ignorance [moha] still function in their body [kāya], speech [vāc] and mind [manas]: this is what is called vāsanānusaṃdhi. In foolish worldly people [bālapṛthagjana], the vāsanās call forth disadvantages [anartha], whereas among the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas they do not. The Buddhas do not have these vāsanānusaṃdhi.
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