Question & Answer #93: from Living and Dying Well to the State of Fourth Jhana

Questions include: good karma preventing icky diseases; the karma of insects and humans; learning Burmese; supporting strict monks (and not supporting lax ones); five contemplations; “Yogi Hitler”; channel membership; sharing merit; the faculty of imagination; Actual Freedom; the ethics of blinding criminals instead of executing them; subjective vs. objective; learning Pali; meditation guidance in the Anguttara Nikaya; my favorite Mahayana texts; samatha vs. “vipassana”; the ethics of voting for the lesser evil; attaññū and kālaññū; are monks allowed to vote; would Buddha allow monks to use social media; Indian Neo-Buddhism; western occultist virtues and Dharma; evidence for the paranormal; the Matrix; symbolic wisdom in movies; spiritual science fiction; my favorite story about the Buddha; Brahmayana; conscience in Buddhism; Free Will; monastic discipline; Burmese music; and fourth jhana.
URL links:
(Well, it may be that the KZbin Gestapo were not quite telling the truth when I was told that I would be able to post links again after two months of punishment (for answering a taboo question about 3 or 4 months ago). So, if you'd like to see my URL links I suggest you look under my videos on Bitchute or Rumble. *Cheers*)

[@proto-pseudo-monk]

Greetings Venerable, Thanks for another mind-blowing Q&A. Q1. The ethics of divorce What are the ethics of divorce (from a buddhist perspective for societal harmony)? My view is that when a human male and a female reproduce. They form a simbiotic relationship. They renounce their individuality. So divorce is based on the delusional narrative "the individual knows best", and can do whatever his desires and aversions tell him/her, devastating the offspring on a psychological level (our biological nature depends on it). Q2. The blissful nature of mind Why would an unencumbeered mind- the natural state of mind, or nibbana- be radiantly, spontaneously, blissful? It could just be completely neutral, or unconscious, like a machine. Would people renounce the world if we weren't waiting for this discovery/state fo mind? Q3. Debussy and piano I feel a calling to learn piano. I am in total awe of Debbussy. His music conveys the profound mystery of being and the universe. Can I take up the piano as a spiritual practice (towards enlightenment), if I do it mindfully, following "the middle way"? All monks answered "no", but if enlightenment doesn't have a cause, I have no reason to renounce this practice. I have simplified my total attachments to maybe 2-3 things I am not ready to renounce...

[@FRED-gx2qk]

This was a notch up on top notch well done Sir.🧐

[@avenity8409]

👍

[@robynsnest6242]

Namaste Pannobhasa. I have been a subscriber for a couple of years, though this is my first time contributing to your Q&A series. As I understand it, I’m currently allowed 4 questions. If it’s 3 and not 4, feel free to ignore one of them. 1 - In a hypothetical situation in which one’s alter or shrine is in their bedroom, and they were to have intimate relations with their partner, would this be considered a precept violation of sexual misconduct within the Theravada tradition? Also, it’d be appreciated if you gave an explanation regarding what sort of bad karma has been created and perhaps a recommended repentance practice. 2 - In Mahayana, there are many bodhisattvas but the only one I know of that is specified in the Theravada tradition is Maitreya Bodhisattva. Are there any other bodhisattvas in the Pali canon that are mentioned? 3 - There are 29 named Buddhas in the Pali Canon but aside from Kakusandha, Koṇāgamana and Kassapa but I’ve had difficulty learning more about them online. Unfortunately, I also cannot seem to find a complete list of them. Would you please give us some details about some of these buddhas? Some interesting honorable mentions would suffice. 4 - Hypothetically, if a person were to have a supernatural experience while attempting to commune with the dead, would this essentially only work if they were still in the bardo (transitioning between incarnations) or a hungry ghost? Since (we) Buddhists believe in reincarnation, I don’t understand how it would be otherwise possible. It would be very quirky if it turned out that it was lesser divinities being mischievous. Lol

[@Chrząszcz-2024]

Hello. I am not quite fully understanding your first question. Is it something along the lines with (or as) don't make love in front of the Buddha statue? That's just the materiał representations of the higher truth So I think it is ok. I mean Buddha cannot see you from his Clay or metal statues...

[@xXKillaBGXx]

There’s a militant element to Hinduism; namely the Kshatriyas, which the Buddha himself was born into.

[@n3v3rforg3t14]

I read about a form of meditation where you imagine a table and around that table are sitting 5 people, they can be dead, alive, gods, etc. As well as 5 books sitting on the table. You can go into this room within your mind and ask any question and go around the table and see what they say. A different way to think about whatever the question may be. Who would your five people be and what 5 books would you choose?

[@extremelyrarebird]

Why do you think some people go through a “dark night of the soul”, or experience terrifying visions or similar - even when they are living an upright life & pursuing a spiritual path? Thank you 🙏

[@MaramadeMahayana]

Sorry, my mistake. I meant the 5 reflections leading to salvation: "Here, monks, the monk dwells in contemplation of the impurity of the body, is mindful of the disgustingness of food, is mindful of the unattractiveness of the whole existence, he contemplates the impermanence of all forms, and the idea of ​​death has become firmly established within him." There are probably some translation errors from German to English from time to time.

[@ruipedroparada]

Hello Pañño, did you ever engage in any method of prāṇāyāma during your time as a mendicant (or before)? I have a faint recollection of reading that the Buddha Gotama might have experimented with various breath regulation methods, some of them quite forceful. At any rate, prāṇāyāma seems the very opposite of recollection of breathing, what say you?

[@MaramadeMahayana]

I have now bought the book Yogi Hitler. The book says about Wagner: "In his villa, Wagner had writings such as the Rigveda, the Upanishads, the Ramayama, the Bhagavad Gita and Buddha. One day before his death, he expressed his wish to spend the rest of his life in Ceylon." And further: "The Swedish Indologist Suneson believes that the operas "Die Sieger" and "Parzifal" were influenced by the Indian spiritual world. Prose sketch of "Die Sieger": The focus is on the Buddha, Ananda, the Chandala girl Prakriti and her mother, as well as Brahmins and disciples of the Buddha. Prakriti loves Ananda and seeks support from Buddha, who criticizes the caste system and supports both Prakriti and Ananda against the attacks of the Brahmins." P.S. The author of the book is not a supporter or advocate of National Socialism. I think the opposite is the case.(?)

[@MaramadeMahayana]

Thank you for answering the 4 questions. In return, I will not ask a question this time.

[@Samphappalapa-56912]

No:( Ask the wise one for he will answer If he has a redbull

[@proto-pseudo-monk]

Noooo. The wise one will surely have an energizing beverage

[@extremelyrarebird]

Meaning in life is either to be rejected or affirmed. It seems to be the ultimate question to us humans in particular, one which you cannot avoid facing, explicitly or implicitly. Could we say that meaning is inherent to life, albeit appearing in different disguises, contexts and forms? Thank you Pannobhasa 🙏

[@joedoe4845]

Is giving tobacco as a gift skillful or unskilful Karma?

[@Chrząszcz-2024]

Is my card's upper left corner torn out or it's Just white from the Sun shining on it?

[@mooners544]

If pure objectivity or objective reality doesn't exist how can differences between men and women exist?

[@avenity8409]

Do you think it is sad that (I'm sure it goes against everything Buddha was all about) people from poor and not Buddhist countries can't even go to try to be a Buddhist monk because they don't have enough money?

[@WayneFreely]

Greetings Panno! In Christian mysticism, (Nag Hammadi) it is well known for demi gods to create world systems. What does the suttas say about the creation devas? Is there a parallel here? Your thoughts, much appreciated. Ty.

[@MaramadeMahayana]

It is absolutely right that you do not charge money for Dhamma. But channel memberships don't need to have any advantages. It could be as little as 50 cents or $1 just for an easy support and to show gratitude for your time. Channel supporters will just have a channel badge next to their name.

[@athenassigil5820]

Ok...Wagner was an anti-semite....and a composer of amazing complexity. Nietzsche was a friend of Wagner, but hated his anti-semitism.....this is where Fred gets tagged with the Nazis....it was Nietzche's sister, who took care of him after he went catatonic. She also was the Nazi friendly one and misquoted her brothers ideas....but if he was still alive, he would've disavowed. As for Schopenhauer......he hated everyone....equally.

[@MaramadeMahayana]

Quote Nietzsche: "Christianity, from Jewish roots and only understandable as a product of this soil, represents the countermovement against every morality of breeding, race, and privilege: - it is the anti-Aryan religion par excellence: Christianity is the revaluation of all Aryan values, the victory of the Chandala values, the gospel of the poor, preached to the lowly, the general uprising of all the downtrodden, the miserable, the failures, the poorly offended against the race."

[@xXKillaBGXx]

The Buddha himself died from being poisoned, did he not?

[@FRED-gx2qk]

Its debateable, no evidence imo.🥸

[@FRED-gx2qk]

Spiritual Herb???🧐