Future Buddha

Question Unedited):

 I have just read the story of Ram Bahadur Bomjon, the boy who apprently appears to be the future buddha, i was just wondering what is the geneneral feeling in the buddhist community toward these claims that he is the new buddha

My comment:
Hi C,

If you asked a million Buddhists, you'll get a million different answers!! Here is one of the million answers. In the final analysis, we just have to heed the Buddha's advice to use our common sense and human intelligence to think for ourselves. In the Buddhist scriptures, the Buddha had revealed that the NEXT future Buddha will appear just before this present world system disintegrates, which will be a very very long time to come if you care to read any book on space and astronomy. The future Buddha's name will be Maitreya (Sanskrit) or Metteyya (Pâli). He will appear after the present Buddha's dispensation had long disappeared and forgotten. Based on this information, it is up to you to form your own conclusion. This is the beauty of the Buddha's teachings; use your own common sense and human intelligence.

Exact date of Buddha's death

Question : (Unedited)

Dear Sir,
I happened to learn that the exact date of Buddha's death is not known even though we commemorate it on a certain fixed date of the year. Why is there a debate on this one? Is it because people in the past were not that intelligent to keep track of events and modern scientists are more advanced?

I want to know the date that is mostly accepted and any shortcomings of the scientific researches performed on this, if any.

Thanks in advance

My comment:

Hi Ch,

Thank you for asking me.

The day is called "Wesak Day" or "Buddha Day". 　It is the thrice sacred day of the birth, enlightenment and passing away (parinibbana) of the Buddha. 　At the sixth World Conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhists (WFB) held in Phnom Pehn, Cambodia, in 1961, the conference resolved:
"That the first full moon day of May be recognized as the 'Buddha Day' and celebrated accordingly." 　The month of May corresponds with the month of Visaka of the Indian calendar. 　It was in the full moon day of Visaka that the thrice blessed events took place.

Buddha a begger ?

(Buddha image with alms bowl)

Question : (Unedited)

According to the Pali Canon texts, Buddha was a begger-man and he encouraged others (his followers) to go begging for food. Don`t you think there is a problem here? When a person is healthy, he has healthy hands and healthy feet, why shouldn`t he work to earn his food? Doesn`t Buddhism hurt economics by developing beggers? The society already has children, handicapped people and old-men and women as consumers who don`t produce anything. Don`t you think by putting healthy people as monks in the category of cosumers it will hurt economics and economical self-reliance?

My comment:

The Buddha was never a begger!! 　You also need to have a little background knowledge of the Indian society during the Buddha's time. 　Long before the Buddha's time Indian civilization was already very well established. 　The society was controlled by the Brahmins (high caste priests) who practised Brahmanism, the present day Hinduism. 　There were a lot of ascetics who wandered everywhere practising different forms of "spiritual ascetism". 　These people concentrated their whole lives in search of the "ultimate release". 　They lead 　a "carefree" life and the lay people would support them by offering them food. 　This was the way to follow when one wanted to find spiritual liberation. 　The Buddha merely followed that tradition and for good reason. 　Even today this tradition is followed. 　The lay people understand this traditional practice and always support the monks. 　It is the Buddhist culture that we support the monks by providing them the material necessities while they concentrate on their spiritual cultivation and teaching us the Dhamma (Budhha's teachings). 　We refer the giving of "alms food" to the monks as Dana. 　They never come begging from us. 　It is our willingness to provide them with the daily sustenance. 　Please be patient with your "learning" process. 　I take the liberty to assume that you are from a very different culture and are just being exposed to Buddhist tradition. 　If I am wrong please accept my apology. 　Once you are familiar with the Buddhist traditions, a lot of your doubts will gradually disappear.

Wishing you peace and happiness :-)

Trikaya

Question : (Unedited)

hey justinchoo,

What is the Mayayana teaching about the three Bodies of Buddha?  How does it compare with the Theravadin notion of Buddha?  

ThANKS,

MK

My comment :

Hi Mk,

Thank you for asking me.

I shall answer your question by referring to my revered teacher's book "What Buddhists Believe".  You can click here to read it: http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/whatbelieve.pdf

Briefly it states that the Buddha was the embodiment of three aspects:  He was the physical Buddha, he was the enlightenened one who proclaimed the universal truths (Dhamma), and thirdly, he was the teacher of the Dhamma, teaching with joy or bliss.

These three bodies became known as the Trikaya ("tri" is "three" and "kaya" is "body").

Dharma kaya (Truth Body)

Sambhoga kaya (Preaching or Enjoyment or Bliss Body)

Nirmana kaya (Physical or Manifestation Body)

Although the Buddha is dead, the Dharma kaya is eternal.

Sambhoga kaya was a later Mahayana concept depicting the Buddha rejoicing in the preaching of the truths (Dhamma).

In Mahayana temples you would find three similar Buddha Images depicting the three meanings of Trikaya.  

In Theravada, the Buddha is The Buddha.  There was only one Gotama Buddha, the historical Buddha (Although there were countless other Buddhas).  He preached the Dhamma, and he was the Fully Enlightened One.  These are the three aspects of the Buddha.  His teachings are universal truths and are eternal. When one practices the Dhamma, the Dhamma protects one. When one sees the Dhamma, one sees the Buddha.  When one fully realizes the Dhamma, one is the Buddha.

Hope the answer is sufficient.

Smile from justinchoo :-)

The Buddha is simply THE Buddha

Question (Unedited)

dear justinchoo,

    My apology for bothering you again,as you have mention that the buddha do not believe in a creator

God,does that mean he is a evolutionist?

Hi P..,

You are not bothering me.  I enjoy answering your questions.  

You can say that the Buddha was an evolutionist because he revealed that not only our lives evolved but also the whole vast universe.  Before we try to label who the Buddha was, we must first understand that (as I said before) the Buddha is THE Buddha.  The correct description of the Buddha is he was the All-knowing One, the Fully Enlightened One, who knew what needed to be known, and had done what needed to be done.  He was also Omniscient in that he possessed supernatural powers.  He was also the Teacher of gods and men.  

On one occasion, someone saw the vibrant body of the Buddha and asked him whether he was God.  The Buddha replied in the negative.  Then he was asked that he must be an ordinary being.  He again replied negatively.  "Then who are you?" the man asked.  The Buddha replied, "I am the Buddha."

Coming back to your label "evolutionist", the Buddha revealed that everything in existence was subject to change and impermanence.  Everything evolved; formation, evolution, dissolution, and destruction. Then the cycle starts all over again.  Take the example of living beings.  We can clearly see this cycle.  Scientists have also discovered that somewhere at any point in time planets are being formed, evolved, dissolved and destroyed.  The whole universe is ever changing, evolving, in perpetual cycles in clockwork precision.  If a person is wise enough to realize this truth of impermanence, then he will take steps to reduce his greed, hatred and delusion.  He is just a very insignificant and minute speck existing only for the duration of a blink of the eye in this vast universe with infinite time and space.  His ego is not worth a grain of salt.  Then he will know how to live in peace with himself and with others.

Smile from justinchoo :-)

The difference is in the Mind

Question : (unedited)
In the heart of a Buddist, is Budda thought of as an all-powerful being, or a wonderful loving teacher? I am sure it is not that simple. Please explain how a Buddist looks to Budda as being what?

My comment:

You are right. It is not that simple. As the Buddha's teachings are very profound and difficult to understand for those new to Buddhism, I try not to introduce the scriptural teachings of the Buddha, but in layman's language. The Buddha in fact was as you put it, an all- powerful being, apart from a wonderful loving teacher.

"Buddha" means "the fully enlightened one". He was a teacher of gods and men. "Gods," for lack of a better English term, means "angels" of higher planes of existence. The big difference was in his MIND. The Buddha had cultivated his mind through unimaginable long periods of time through his countless lives, culminating in his last birth which he achieved full enlightenment.

The power of a completely pure mind is beyond the comprehension of an average person. As an example, a diffused light has little energy; but a compressed laser light exerts enormous power. A purified mind has the power to understand everything and can perform miraculous feats. However, the Buddha repeatedly warned his followers not to be engrossed with supernatural powers. He would not allow his monks to exhibit their supernatural powers. His emphasis was on his teachings, not on his supernatural powers.

We revere the Buddha for his TEACHINGS, not for his supernatural abilities. The former is beneficial when we put into practice. The latter has nothing to do with us. His discovery is useful to us. The Buddha had passed away and gone. We do not depend on him. We only use his discovery to improve ourselves. Just like we don't need Faraday (the man who discovered electricty), we need only to use his discovery to our benefit.