Pannobhasa Buddhism Q&A

Questions include: Dhamma calling upon our “non-linguistic ‘being’”; debating Jay Dyer; the Karni Mata Rat Temple; interacting with deceased relatives in Buddhism; four ways in which the Holy Life could be worthless; being a lizard or an arahant; an indefinitely postponed collaboration video; the creation of Trump by Israel (to destroy Israel’s enemy Iran); killing or sex (which is worse); enlightened self-deletion; “liberation of mind” attained (and lost) by the monk Godhika; Burmese belief in unbelievable texts; a roadmap for purifying the mind; Brian Ruhe’s spiritual advisor; changes in my internal dialogue after disrobing; my satisfaction and spiritual connection after disrobing; clinging to morality and observances; increasing the number of allowed questions per episode; Gnosticism and conversion to Christianity; the Buddha’s cousin Devadatta; the Buddha’s son Rahula; meditation and self-hypnosis; the ethics of consuming caffeine; why some people love AI and other people hate it; an expert denying the greater authenticity of Pali texts; the relative authenticity of the Atthakavagga; every being having a certain amount of heartbeats; everyday life in Burma; and how to enter Burma as a meditator.

Questions include: the meaning of sati (and whether the Buddha used the word); the karma of common vices; underwater meditation; the justice of earning wages; becoming less complacent; later Buddhist schools as symptoms of degeneracy; St. John of the Cross on bad meditation; a description of Nibbana; the Srimad Bhagavatam; the USA-Iran war and its protracted length; the new Q&A upload schedule; Buddhism on gambling; making sense of Idealism; humor in Samsara; the ethics of publicly declaring oneself enlightened; understanding dependent co-arising; asking more questions per person per episode; answering an accusation of Buddhism being “evil”; and whether a person with plenty of merit will become an Ariya in his or her next life.URL LinksMY NEW BOOK, “Memoirs from Myanmar: the Path of an Incendiary Buddhist Monk”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GSFGPPR6?ref=sp_emailLink tree: https://linktr.ee/pannobhasacurrent blog (mostly philosophy and caustic critiques of Marxism): https://politicallyincorrectdharma.blogspot.com/website: pannobhasa.orgBitchute channel: https://www.bitchute.com/channel/67rZHAtWjVje/Rumble channel: https://rumble.com/user/PoliticallyIncorrectDharmaYouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChQJMvdH3Is-fw7rVhYd4uA/videosSubscribeStar support page: https://www.subscribestar.com/philosophical-dharmaDiscord server (mainly for traditionalist and eclectic Buddhist discussions and networking): link available on requestX, alias Twitter: https://twitter.com/PannobhasaSCPaypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/PannobhasaCashApp: $pannobhasaMY 1st BOOK, “Essays in Theravada Buddhism”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B096ZHKY9DALSO, MY OTHER BOOK, “Philosophical Dharma”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B097XGM71P/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=philosophical+dharma&qid=1624827134&s=books&sr=1-13rd BOOK, “Buddhist Ethics, Buddhist Practice”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0991DQBLZ?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860

Questions include: oppression of advanced spiritual beings; what to do about Internet addiction; the ethics of buying and selling pygmy meat in the Congo; the case of Lindsay Clancy; the possibility of human immortality; is immortality even desirable; would I want to be immortal; the justice of material inequality; would equity be equitable (and just); why the Buddha didn’t condemn slavery; vibrations in Nirvana; was the Buddha’s speech mundane or supermundane; is knowing what the Buddha taught impossible; is the Pali Canon the teaching of Buddha; could a being in hell avoid suffering by accepting the situation; gossip on the Discord server; why is there something instead of nothing; the nature of time; Lindsay Clancy again; astronomical similes in the Buddhist texts; and the evolution of Buddhism and Christianity (from a forensic genealogical perspective).URL LinksMY NEW BOOK, “Memoirs from Myanmar: the Path of an Incendiary Buddhist Monk”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GSFGPPR6?ref=sp_emailLink tree: https://linktr.ee/pannobhasacurrent blog (mostly philosophy and caustic critiques of Marxism): https://politicallyincorrectdharma.blogspot.com/website: pannobhasa.orgBitchute channel: https://www.bitchute.com/channel/67rZHAtWjVje/Rumble channel: https://rumble.com/user/PoliticallyIncorrectDharmaYouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChQJMvdH3Is-fw7rVhYd4uA/videosSubscribeStar support page: https://www.subscribestar.com/philosophical-dharmaDiscord server (mainly for traditionalist and eclectic Buddhist discussions and networking): link available on requestX, alias Twitter: https://twitter.com/PannobhasaSCPaypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/PannobhasaCashApp: $pannobhasaMY 1st BOOK, “Essays in Theravada Buddhism”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B096ZHKY9DALSO, MY OTHER BOOK, “Philosophical Dharma”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B097XGM71P/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=philosophical+dharma&qid=1624827134&s=books&sr=1-13rd BOOK, “Buddhist Ethics, Buddhist Practice”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0991DQBLZ?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860

My apologies to Rui for overlooking his question. It was on the list but somehow I scrolled right past it. It will be answered first on the next one, insh'allah.Questions include: my preferred translation of the Mulamadhyamaka Karika; why I didn’t want to master the Burmese language; Buddhist hells compared to earthly tortures; the Buddha’s last words; losing interest in things once held sacred; dealing with depression; advice on draft dodging; the ethics of reviving prehistoric proto-humans; the ethics of casual sex in Buddhism; the recent upsurge of communists in America; the possibility of a reactionary Red Scare 2.0; could the USA ever become really Communist; a genetic component to enlightenment; descendants of the ancient Sakyas; moral agency with no self; decadent westerners who don’t reproduce their genes; the still existent spiritual influence of Jesus; the karma of commanding an invasion of a foreign country; justice with no self; Enlightened Despotism; the relation of samsara with nirvana; Buddhism vs. the Hindu idea that samsara is a manifestation of the Absolute; “Nirvana is Samsara” in Mahayana; and advice for someone visiting Bodh Gaya.URL LinksMY NEW BOOK, “Memoirs from Myanmar: the Path of an Incendiary Buddhist Monk”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GSFGPPR6?ref=sp_emailLink tree: https://linktr.ee/pannobhasacurrent blog (mostly philosophy and caustic critiques of Marxism): https://politicallyincorrectdharma.blogspot.com/website: pannobhasa.orgBitchute channel: https://www.bitchute.com/channel/67rZHAtWjVje/Rumble channel: https://rumble.com/user/PoliticallyIncorrectDharmaYouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChQJMvdH3Is-fw7rVhYd4uA/videosSubscribeStar support page: https://www.subscribestar.com/philosophical-dharmaDiscord server (mainly for traditionalist and eclectic Buddhist discussions and networking): link available on requestX, alias Twitter: https://twitter.com/PannobhasaSCPaypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/PannobhasaCashApp: $pannobhasaMY 1st BOOK, “Essays in Theravada Buddhism”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B096ZHKY9DALSO, MY OTHER BOOK, “Philosophical Dharma”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B097XGM71P/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=philosophical+dharma&qid=1624827134&s=books&sr=1-13rd BOOK, “Buddhist Ethics, Buddhist Practice”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0991DQBLZ?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860

Questions include: what to do if one’s wife doesn’t like sex; troubles with organic evolution; more on the ethics of lying; karma as a mental state; why sobriety can be less pleasant than drunkenness (even though one sees reality more clearly); the ethics of sarcasm; enlightened beings owning cell phones; cases in which people were openly disrespectful to the Buddha, and how he dealt with it; what Trump will do with Iran; the (largely western) attempts to revive the Bhikkhuni Sangha as a sign of western supremacism or dominance; does everything happen for the best in the grand scheme of things; what if one’s Buddhist practice is all wrong; the Questions of King Milinda; how I came up with the simile of the block of marble; the Dhammapada; scientific theories about the distant past; do I follow Buddha’s teachings; do bhikkhus always wear monastic robes; is Samsara eternal; The Sopranos; the Yogacara school of Mahayana Buddhism; explaining “mature souls” or “old souls” in Dhamma and Dharma; dangerous Asian women; my wife and meditation; “the time I was attacked by ogres”; and my favorite ethnic food.URL LinksMY NEW BOOK, “Memoirs from Myanmar: the Path of an Incendiary Buddhist Monk”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GSFGPPR6?ref=sp_emailLink tree: https://linktr.ee/pannobhasacurrent blog (mostly philosophy and caustic critiques of Marxism): https://politicallyincorrectdharma.blogspot.com/website: pannobhasa.orgBitchute channel: https://www.bitchute.com/channel/67rZHAtWjVje/Rumble channel: https://rumble.com/user/PoliticallyIncorrectDharmaYouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChQJMvdH3Is-fw7rVhYd4uA/videosSubscribeStar support page: https://www.subscribestar.com/philosophical-dharmaDiscord server (mainly for traditionalist and eclectic Buddhist discussions and networking): link available on requestX, alias Twitter: https://twitter.com/PannobhasaSCPaypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/PannobhasaCashApp: $pannobhasaMY 1st BOOK, “Essays in Theravada Buddhism”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B096ZHKY9DALSO, MY OTHER BOOK, “Philosophical Dharma”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B097XGM71P/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=philosophical+dharma&qid=1624827134&s=books&sr=1-13rd BOOK, “Buddhist Ethics, Buddhist Practice”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0991DQBLZ?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860

Questions include: what Buddhism says about the origin of the universe and the human race; my personal opinion on the same question; taming the animal mind; the concept of the kalāpa in Buddhist philosophy; the ethics of preventing a metaphorical zombie apocalypse; stealing without a concept of property rights; the phenomenon of modern video gaming; Nietzsche and Buddhism; why the “noble lie” is unethical; lying with good intentions; the essence that created karma in the first place; was the first karma enlightened; Buddhism and the interplay of energies; the meaning of Be Happy; the inequality of a spiritual hierarchy; westerners feeling uncomfortable at Asian temples; making the most of spraying pesticides; and the correct pronunciation of the Pali language.URL LinksMY NEW BOOK, “Memoirs from Myanmar: the Path of an Incendiary Buddhist Monk”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GSFGPPR6?ref=sp_emailLink tree: https://linktr.ee/pannobhasacurrent blog (mostly philosophy and caustic critiques of Marxism): https://politicallyincorrectdharma.blogspot.com/website: pannobhasa.orgBitchute channel: https://www.bitchute.com/channel/67rZHAtWjVje/Rumble channel: https://rumble.com/user/PoliticallyIncorrectDharmaYouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChQJMvdH3Is-fw7rVhYd4uA/videosSubscribeStar support page: https://www.subscribestar.com/philosophical-dharmaDiscord server (mainly for traditionalist and eclectic Buddhist discussions and networking): link available on requestX, alias Twitter: https://twitter.com/PannobhasaSCPaypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/PannobhasaCashApp: $pannobhasaMY 1st BOOK, “Essays in Theravada Buddhism”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B096ZHKY9DALSO, MY OTHER BOOK, “Philosophical Dharma”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B097XGM71P/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=philosophical+dharma&qid=1624827134&s=books&sr=1-13rd BOOK, “Buddhist Ethics, Buddhist Practice”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0991DQBLZ?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860

Questions include: does meeting Dhamma in this life require having met it in a previous one; Right Concentration vs. self-hypnosis; are western monks LARPers; funny experiences or eccentric moments as a monk; cultivation of trance states vs. just watching TV; Schopenhauer’s understanding of consciousness; lucid dreaming; why people consider their childhood to be the happiest time of their life; the ethics of confession and Christian repentance; psychic powers obtainable through jhana; the experience of living in cemeteries; how I generate my thumbnails; creating our own reality; the possibility of genuine altruism; the meaning of Navakavāda; the ethics of nuking foreign nations (with good intentions); and Buddhism’s orientation regarding white supremacism (and similar phenomena).URL LinksMY NEW BOOK, “Memoirs from Myanmar: the Path of an Incendiary Buddhist Monk”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GSFGPPR6?ref=sp_emailLink tree: https://linktr.ee/pannobhasacurrent blog (mostly philosophy and caustic critiques of Marxism): https://politicallyincorrectdharma.blogspot.com/website: pannobhasa.orgBitchute channel: https://www.bitchute.com/channel/67rZHAtWjVje/Rumble channel: https://rumble.com/user/PoliticallyIncorrectDharmaYouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChQJMvdH3Is-fw7rVhYd4uA/videosSubscribeStar support page: https://www.subscribestar.com/philosophical-dharmaDiscord server (mainly for traditionalist and eclectic Buddhist discussions and networking): link available on requestX, alias Twitter: https://twitter.com/PannobhasaSCPaypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/PannobhasaCashApp: $pannobhasaMY 1st BOOK, “Essays in Theravada Buddhism”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B096ZHKY9DALSO, MY OTHER BOOK, “Philosophical Dharma”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B097XGM71P/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=philosophical+dharma&qid=1624827134&s=books&sr=1-13rd BOOK, “Buddhist Ethics, Buddhist Practice”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0991DQBLZ?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860

My apologies to Rui for scrolling completely over his question without noticing it: it will be answered first on the next one. Damn, and Gnostic Rocker's email wasn't included on the list. Those questions will be on the next one too.Questions include: enlightened Vikings and Mongols; Burmese opinions about other religious systems; does time slow down for practicing monks; the purpose of the brain; how to know if one isn’t enlightened; desiring the cessation of desire; enlightened cows and dogs; do I follow the Buddha’s path; the claim that people don’t change; the natural state of the mind; escape a burning house or put the fire out; how to find the right monastery; Yin and Yang in Buddhism; subject and object in Buddhism; what is karma; Jung’s synchronicity; my favorite movie; abusive girlfriends; getting good at Buddhism; having an internal monologue; a group video chat on Discord; and the karmic benefits of making Catholic confession.URL LinksMY NEW BOOK, “Memoirs from Myanmar: the Path of an Incendiary Buddhist Monk”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GSFGPPR6?ref=sp_emailLink tree: https://linktr.ee/pannobhasacurrent blog (mostly philosophy and caustic critiques of Marxism): https://politicallyincorrectdharma.blogspot.com/website: pannobhasa.orgBitchute channel: https://www.bitchute.com/channel/67rZHAtWjVje/Rumble channel: https://rumble.com/user/PoliticallyIncorrectDharmaYouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChQJMvdH3Is-fw7rVhYd4uA/videosSubscribeStar support page: https://www.subscribestar.com/philosophical-dharmaDiscord server (mainly for traditionalist and eclectic Buddhist discussions and networking): link available on requestX, alias Twitter: https://twitter.com/PannobhasaSCPaypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/PannobhasaCashApp: $pannobhasaMY 1st BOOK, “Essays in Theravada Buddhism”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B096ZHKY9DALSO, MY OTHER BOOK, “Philosophical Dharma”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B097XGM71P/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=philosophical+dharma&qid=1624827134&s=books&sr=1-13rd BOOK, “Buddhist Ethics, Buddhist Practice”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0991DQBLZ?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860

Questions include: whether Taoist enlightenment and Buddhist enlightenment are the same; the purpose of American birthright citizenship; the significance of American Independence Day and the semiquincentennial; neo-Luddite movements against AI; Alan Watts; telling coworkers about my past as a monk; the lives of ex-monastics I have known; do more advanced monks become more free-thinking; astrology; changing one’s personality traits; ancient attitudes towards negativity; George Orwell’s Burmese Days; worldly analogies to the Simile of the Raft; how I met my sweetheart; possibly the wisest person I ever met; shocking experiences as a monk in 21st century America; why become a monk; goal oriented Dhamma; Aldous Huxley and Brave New World; why I am not a Christian (or: why I don’t think Christianity is true); and why a person who leans towards Buddhism maybe should not convert to Roman Catholicism.URL LinksMY NEW BOOK, “Memoirs from Myanmar: the Path of an Incendiary Buddhist Monk”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GSFGPPR6?ref=sp_emailLink tree: https://linktr.ee/pannobhasacurrent blog (mostly philosophy and caustic critiques of Marxism): https://politicallyincorrectdharma.blogspot.com/website: pannobhasa.orgBitchute channel: https://www.bitchute.com/channel/67rZHAtWjVje/Rumble channel: https://rumble.com/user/PoliticallyIncorrectDharmaYouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChQJMvdH3Is-fw7rVhYd4uA/videosSubscribeStar support page: https://www.subscribestar.com/philosophical-dharmaDiscord server (mainly for traditionalist and eclectic Buddhist discussions and networking): link available on requestX, alias Twitter: https://twitter.com/PannobhasaSCPaypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/PannobhasaCashApp: $pannobhasaMY 1st BOOK, “Essays in Theravada Buddhism”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B096ZHKY9DALSO, MY OTHER BOOK, “Philosophical Dharma”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B097XGM71P/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=philosophical+dharma&qid=1624827134&s=books&sr=1-13rd BOOK, “Buddhist Ethics, Buddhist Practice”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0991DQBLZ?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860

Questions include: should one be optimistic or realistic about the future; is one better off not thinking about the future much at all; Slavoj Zizek on introspection and freedom; moral development in societies; does an enlightened being still have a subconscious mind; why did individualism arise in Europe and not somewhere else; is individualism or group conformity more conducive to the survival of a culture; have I met any arahants; the possibility of identifying an arahant; do I know of any arahant monks today; physical altercation(s) in my life as a monk; do I still do wilderness stuff; my snails; deep trance compared with Nibbana; the duality of samsara and nibbana; how many more questions; how do monks shave their head; the historical reality of Nagarjuna (or Naraganjana); killing mosquitoes in self defense; people being selectively targeted by mosquitoes; Heidegger and dependent co-arising; MDMA; my mother; and the incidental retribution aspect of karma.URL LinksMY NEW BOOK, “Memoirs from Myanmar: the Path of an Incendiary Buddhist Monk”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GSFGPPR6?ref=sp_emailLink tree: https://linktr.ee/pannobhasacurrent blog (mostly philosophy and caustic critiques of Marxism): https://politicallyincorrectdharma.blogspot.com/website: pannobhasa.orgBitchute channel: https://www.bitchute.com/channel/67rZHAtWjVje/Rumble channel: https://rumble.com/user/PoliticallyIncorrectDharmaYouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChQJMvdH3Is-fw7rVhYd4uA/videosSubscribeStar support page: https://www.subscribestar.com/philosophical-dharmaDiscord server (mainly for traditionalist and eclectic Buddhist discussions and networking): link available on requestX, alias Twitter: https://twitter.com/PannobhasaSCPaypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/PannobhasaCashApp: $pannobhasaMY 1st BOOK, “Essays in Theravada Buddhism”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B096ZHKY9DALSO, MY OTHER BOOK, “Philosophical Dharma”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B097XGM71P/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=philosophical+dharma&qid=1624827134&s=books&sr=1-13rd BOOK, “Buddhist Ethics, Buddhist Practice”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0991DQBLZ?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860