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“A teacher when one is required, no teacher when one is not required,“ or something like that. :) The Buddha is an existence proof of the possibility of direct
by rtikulit 5y ago
“A teacher when one is required, no teacher when one is not required,“ or something like that. :) The Buddha is an existence proof of the possibility of direct independent observation and understanding.
- denton-scratch 5y agoA unique point of evidence, 3,500 years old. Not really "proof" of anything. And as a teacher, The Buddha has certain limitations - like when you ask him "I'm having problems - am I doing this right?" - answer came there none.
- eurasiantiger 5y agoWhat about pratyekabuddhas? And why would one expect The Buddha to have an answer other than The Buddha? Sincerely, a stream-enterer.
- denton-scratch 5y agoI was told that pratyekabuddhas are rather odd, and very rare.
- eurasiantiger 5y agoRarity is a matter of perception — at the time of the Teaching, the population of the world was a hundred times smaller. Oddity can be attested to, but what was once a rarity is now a minority statistic. As much as the population has multiplied, the number of pratyekabuddhas must have risen in tandem: to suggest otherwise would be to assign pratyekabuddhahood to external entities or mechanisms as something bestowed upon someone, but as it is, pratyekabuddhas arise independently — were that not the case, would they still be pratyekabuddhas?