The Buddha said: I understand the gods, and the path and way leading to the world of the gods. And I also understand how one who has entered this path will, on the dissolution of the body, after death, reappear in a happy destination, in the heavenly world (MN 12 Nanamoli). Siddhartha Gotama (Sanskrit, Siddhartha Gautama), better known as the Buddha, was not an atheist. Not only did he believe in gods, but he was also a god before becoming... Read more
The Buddha said: Some enter the womb; evil-doers go to hell; the good go to heaven; those free from worldly desires attain nirvana (Dhp 126 Radhakrishnan). The Buddha teaches that people’s future lives depend on their moral character in this life. A lot of religions agree, good people go to heaven and bad people to hell. But in Buddhism, these destinies are temporary. Only nirvana is permanent. Let’s talk about attaining nirvana. What is Nirvana? We must begin by clearing... Read more
The Buddha said: “The practitioner will find great joy and attain the state of final rest by having confidence in the Buddha’s religion, discovering the happiness of ending mental conditioning” (Dhp 381). Is Buddhism a Religion? It seems like a simple question until you realize that there is little agreement on what Buddhism is or what religion is. Let’s start with the word religion. What is Religion? The social scientist J. Milton Yinger states, “Many studies of religion stumble over... Read more
The Buddha said: “Practitioners, this prison of rebirth has no known beginning. No starting point is found for the journey of sentient beings through endless rebirths, hindered by ignorance and chained by craving” (SN 15.1). Now people in the West think of rebirth and reincarnation as a great thing. According to the Buddha, it is anything but good. It is the essence of the problem. We are stuck in an endless cycle of birth, suffering, sickness, old age, and death.... Read more
The Buddha Said: “And what is wrong view? ‘There is no meaning in giving, sacrifice, or offerings. There is no fruit or result of good and bad deeds. There is no afterlife’” (MN 117). Here the Buddha clearly says that the denial of an afterlife is a “wrong view.” If the first step in the Noble Eightfold Path is “right view,” then the denial of rebirth hinders one’s spiritual journey. But notice that wrong view is not, “I don’t know... Read more
The Buddha said: “And what is the noble quest? It’s when someone who is themselves subject to rebirth, understanding the drawbacks in being subject to rebirth, seeks the unborn supreme shelter, full liberation. Themselves subject to old age, sickness, death, sorrow, and corruption, understanding the drawbacks in these things, they seek the unaging, unailing, undying, sorrowless, uncorrupted supreme shelter, full liberation. This is the noble quest” (MN 26). A quest is a long or arduous search for something important that... Read more
If you are a Buddhist you should be interested in what the Buddha said. But it might surprise you to find out that it is a controversial question. But the evidence is clear. We have to be clear what question we are asking. I am not asking if the Mahayana sutras are true, helpful, insightful, or inspiring. What I am asking is, do the Mahayana sutras originate with the historical Buddha? This is what I mean by asking if they... Read more
The Buddha, like Jesus and Socrates, never wrote anything down. So how do we know what the Buddha taught? The answer might surprise you. So what does it mean that we don’t have the words of Buddha, Jesus, or Socrates? It means that we have to rely on what others say that they said. For example, the Gospel of Luke is what Luke says Jesus said. But since he didn’t know Jesus in his earthly life, he had to go... Read more
The Buddha Said
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In