AboutAnandapanyo Bhikkhu Expertise I can answer questions about Buddhist practice, Buddhist understanding and how to apply Buddhism to daily life. I can help analyze Buddhist sayings and teachings. In addition, I can help with questions Buddhism stories, fables and Vinaya(rules). I have meditated for over 10 years and can help you start with meditation. In addition, I can help provide insight into what to do when you feel that you have hit a wall with your meditation. My main area of expertise is how to think in accordance with Sammaditthi (the right view - and number 1 in the Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path. If I cannot answer your question, I have many able teachers with over 20 years experience to help me, so chances are I will be able to find an answer for you.
Experience I have been practicing Buddhism for over 13 years. I started studying under various famous Thai Theravada masters. Finally, I met and studied under Phra Acariya Thoon Khippapanyo who has recently passed away on Nov 11, 2008 and is widely accepted as a great Arahant (fully enlightened) teacher of our time. In addition, I have personally read and studied much of the Buddhist scriptures and popular literature available. I have recently undertaken the ordination vows and have become a Buddhist monk in the theravada forest monk tradition. I reside at a temple with many dedicated practitioners and great teachers. I have been practicing training my mind to be aligned with right view (sammaditthi) for over 10 years. I have also been meditating for over 10 years. In my time spent with Acariya Thoon, I learned many things and was able to incorporate them into my life. In addition to practicing Buddhism within temples and my home, I used to own two restaurants and managed commercial real estate. I had to deal with many different and problems. I learned how to use Buddhism to fix my problems, both externally (my environment) and internally (within me).
Organizations Wat San Fran Dhammaram Temple
KPY - a non-profit religious organization
Publications none
Education/Credentials Electrical Engineering Degree from the University of California Santa Barbara
MBA from San Francisco State
Question so as said the characters and relatives of buddha didnt just attained enligtenment in one sitting, they did it for a lot of lives, you mean the life of buddha the characters are on their last life?
what is the theravadin concept of bodhisattvas do they delay enligtenment until all beings are enligtened as mahayana said?
is nirvana same with emptiness?
how to erase bad karma? if attachment is bad why attach to good karma? how does it work you need to make good karma one sided over bad karma?
Answer Dear Jaya,
Thank you for your followup Questions
"so as said the characters and relatives of buddha didnt just attained enligtenment in one sitting, they did it for a lot of lives, you mean the life of buddha the characters are on their last life?"
Just like a baby must be in the mother's stomach for 9 months but is born in one day, even so, the disciples, lay followers and relatives of the Buddha and anyone else who became enlightened, all built up to their enlightenment. In this last life, they merely received the fruits of their practice. In the previous lives, they practiced in order to get closer to the final result, but were not able to get there. Just like building a house, each day, you do one part. Each day you fix or work on it. When it is almost done, the last part only take 1 day. Can you say the house was built in one day?
"what is the theravadin concept of bodhisattvas do they delay enligtenment until all beings are enligtened as mahayana said?"
According to the Buddha, in order to become a full bodhisattva:
1. An individual must have cultivated enough merit and parami to become an arahant,
2. That individual must choose to forgo that enlightenment in this life and become a bodhisattva
3. That individual must receive the prediction of fulfillment of their aspiration at the foot of a living Buddha.
4. After receiving the prediction, they must spend at least four incalculable periods plus an additional 100,000 lives in order to fill their parami.
I do not know exactly what the Mahayana scriptures say about this, but this is the word of the Buddha. So, yes, they have to delay their enlightenment in order to become a bodhisattva. However, the key thing to notice is that they must first be eligible to become a Arahant BEFORE they can delay their enlightenment. So, people who want to be bodhisatvas and regular people who want to become enlightened, STILL must walk the Buddha's path.
"is nirvana same with emptiness?"
As I answered in both previous replies, no one knows and no one can answer this. Anyone who answers this question is either guessing or assuming. All we know is the Buddha said Nirvana is eternal bliss and something we should strive for.
"how to erase bad karma? if attachment is bad why attach to good karma? how does it work you need to make good karma one sided over bad karma?"
Bad karma comes from
Bad Points of View ==> which leads to Bad Thoughts ==> which leads to Bad Speech/Actions
Bad Action/Speech that has already happened cannot be erased. It is already out there in the world and cannot be taken back or erased.
Bad Thoughts/Points of View also cannot be erased or taken back, HOWEVER, they are still inside you. They have always been and will always be there UNTIL you decide to eradicate them. If you change your bad thoughts/points of view and align them with the right point of view (sammaditthi), you would have done the highest merit possible AND prevented any further bad karma that will come from those Bad Thoughts/Point of Views.
Attachment is bad, but since we cannot release the clinging yet, we still must rely on good karma. Why? We must rely on good karma to help us get past the bad karma we are still doing.
If we are still doing bad karma, and we decide to not attach to and not do good karma, what are we left with? Just bad karma. What the Buddha told Ananda was this:
(paraphrased) In order to be enlightened, we must let go of goodness. However, if we cannot reach enlightenment, we must still hold on to goodness as support. That goodness will help us get closer and closer to enlightenment. We need to hold on to goodness in order to help us let go and to stop doing evil. The first thing we must let go of on the path to enlightenment is evil. Then we cultivate good. We must cultivate enough good to be enlightened. THEN and only THEN do we let go of the good karma.
If we let go of the good karma too soon, we will not have enough parami to make it to enlightenment. Then we will get sad and/or discouraged, and possibly give up our striving for the final goal. If we give up, then we resort back to evil. That is why we still need to do good karma, so that we keep moving towards the goal.
I hope I have answered your questions, and I look forward to any future questions you might have.
Sincerely,
Phra Anandapanyo
PS. I am a follower of the recently deceased Arahant monk, Venerable Acariya Thoon Khippapanyo. I attribute my knowledge of Buddhism and the PATH to my holy teacher. If you would like to know more about him, please go to www.kpyusa.org or search for his books on amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com. Search under "Acariya Thoon Khippapanyo"
