The shopkeeper won’t give anything to the customer unless he has asked for something. Only then, will the shopkeeper give what the customer has asked for.
This got me thinking: Will one get things such as beauty, health, wealth, fame, wisdom, etc. if one doesn’t desire it, want it, or ask for it?
Is the whole of samsara conditioned phenomena?
Can writing dark fantasy novels be considered bad kamma?
yes it is. Samsara is the five khandhas - and so conditioned and anicca, dukkha, anatta.
I am not entirely sure what a dark fantasy novel is- is it like Game of Thrones?
Anyway I think it is good to break this long activity into smaller pieces.
When writing a novel- if it is any good- the writer must have some understanding of human nature. So there would be times when the writer is bringing in his knowledge of kamma and result (if he is buddhist) in a way that shows the dangers of wrong behaviour and encourages good behaviour and courage and what not - even if it is not at the fore.
If we break the writing into moments - at times there can be insight into hardness, thinking and so on- just like in normal daily life.
However others moments will be lost in concepts and stress and what not without any sati- just like in daily life.
Of course writing a novel is a very time intensive occupation so one has to wonder if the time is been spent as wisely as it could be.
Yes, but think darker, think Berserk by the late and great Kentaro Miura.
Also, a dark fantasy novel can be about describing the darkness of the world, human nature, and brutal reality of the have nots or the less fortunate through narrative. It could also just be completely batshit crazy, unhinged, frenzied, and deranged.
“Dark fantasy” is a subgenre of fantasy that often combines fantasy with elements of horror, possessing a dark and gloomy tone or an atmosphere of horror and dread. It is difficult to pin down a strict definition for dark fantasy, but it is often used to describe fantasy stories with a pronounced horror element, or high fantasy stories that feature anti-heroic or morally ambiguous characters. The genre is characterized by borderline horror aspects that are dark, gritty, and create a gloomy world and aesthetic. Opening lines from dark fantasy novels can provide a glimpse into the genre, such as “Ash fell from the sky” from The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie. It often depicts disturbing imagery and should be read at one’s own risk.
Can nibbana be considered as art?
What is spending time wisely, according to Classical Theravada?
Ganthadhura and Vipassanādhura. are the two duties of the Bhikkhus. Even for the lapypeople - who are often busy with other things- these are also our best ways of spending our time.
Ganthadhura - is pariyatti, study of the texts, listening to Dhamma.
Does feeling good about someone dying generate bad kamma?
It is not akusula kammapatha but it is akusala citta…
Is calling the Buddha a fraud very heavy bad kamma?
U. G. Krishnamurti called every religious leader a fraud after an NDE (Near-Death-Experience).
It wouldn’t be good , that is for sure
What did the Buddha say about cleanliness?
For the enlightenment factor of wisdom cleanliness is an aid;
Commentary to satipatthana sutta
https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/soma/wayof.html#factors
Six things lead to the arising of this enlightenment factor: Inquiring about the aggregates and so forth; the purification of the basis (namely, the cleaning of the body, clothes and so forth); imparting evenness to the (five spiritual) controlling faculties; avoiding the ignorant; associating with the wise; reflecting on the profound difference of the hard-to-perceive processes of the aggregates, modes (or elements), sense-bases and so forth; and the inclining (sloping, bending) towards the development of the enlightenment factor of the investigation of mental objects.
Inquiring about the aggregates and so forth means: seeking the meaning of the aggregates, the modes (or elements), sense-bases, controlling faculties, powers, enlightenment factors, way factors, absorption factors, the meditation for quietude, and the meditation for insight by asking for explanation of knotty points regarding these things in the Five Nikayas with the commentaries from teachers of the Dhamma.
Purification of the basis is the cleaning of the personal basis: the body, and of the impersonal basis: clothes and dwelling place. The flame of a lamp is unclear when its wick, oil and container are dirty; the wick splutters, flickers; but the flame of a lamp that has a clean wick, oil and container is clear and the wick does not spit; it burns smoothly. So it is with knowledge. Knowing that arises out of the mind and mental qualities which are in dirty external and internal surroundings is apt to be impure, too, but the knowledge that arises under clean conditions is apt to be pure. In this way cleanliness leads to the growth of this enlightenment factor which comprises knowledge.
Personal cleanliness is impaired by the excessive length of hair of the head, nails, hair of the body, by the excess of humors, and by the dirt of perspiration; cleanliness of impersonal or external things is impaired when robes are worn out, dirty and smelly, and when the house where one lives is dirty, soiled and untidy. So personal cleanliness should be secured by shaving, hair-cutting, nail-paring, the use of pectoral emetics and of purgatives which make the body light, and by shampooing, bathing and doing other necessary things, at the proper time. In similar way external cleanliness should be brought about by darning, washing and dyeing one’s robes, and by smearing the floor of one’s house with clay and the like to smoothen and clean it, and by doing other necessary things to keep the house clean and tidy
Some bhikkhus speak of guardian deities—male or female—that protect us from harm; is it true?
We have many chants to share merits with the devas.
There are many stories of sakka coming to help. But that is just one deva out of how many.
> Bhavatu sabba maṅgalam, rakkhantu sabba devatā…
Bhante can you share some chants and parittas…I think I need help …