This talk discusses the topic of questions to be put aside. It begins with a discussion of some of the historical developments in Buddhism. In particular, how roughly 500 years after the Buddha's parinibbāna, bhikkhus in India began speculate on the nature of the universe. In some instances, their focus was on ontology -- what was really an ultimate reality. One interesting thing is that the focus of much of the novel Buddhist literature at this time appeared to be topics which the Buddha said should be set aside. There were ten topics by which samanas in the Buddha's day often seemed to define their doctrines. Some of these were 'Is the universe finite?', 'Is the universe infinite?', 'Does a Tathāgata exist after death?', 'Does a Tathāgatha not exist after death'. The Buddha refused to answer these questions, saying that they were a 'thicket of views... a writhing of views'. In other words, trying to answer them pulls one far away from what is really important -- seeking the cessation of suffering.
The Budda said that he taught two things -- suffering, and the cessation of suffering. When one looks into the Buddhist canon, it's teachings always point back to one's own actions. Whether the universe is finite, or infinite, all consciousness, not real, etc. suffering and happiness still exist. For a person who develops skillful actions and abandons unskillful ones, happiness is the result. For a person who develops the noble eightfold path, the end of suffering is the result. This is the purpose of the Buddha's teachings.
0 Comments