Should it be said that all other states other than Nibbana are dukkha?
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Yes, sabbe sankhara dukkha.
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What are the kammas/actions that lead to academic excellence in this life and the next?
I think one who ask what is right and what is wrong and behave accordingly. Become a wise one in next life …and one
who indulge in intoxication become dull…
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A post was split to a new topic: Is developing metta for a finger-snap more meritorius than giving to a SammasamBuddha?
How to refute materialists/materialism?
Can dukkha be translated as hurting?
As you know there are three types of dukkha:
- Dukkha-dukkha**:- all unpleasant feeling
- Viparinama-dukkha: This is the suffering of change. so even plesant feeling is dukkha as it falls away
- Sankhara-dukkha all conditioned phenomena.
so only the first one could be called hurt or suffering.
The aim of Dhamma is to penetrate all types and bring them to an end. Most people are concerned with only the first type…
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do they want to understand reality or do they want to keep their view?
Materialism is backed up by the current “scientific picture of the world”, evolution and what not.
However if someone has some interest they can learn that each moment needs conditions to arise. That citta, consciousness, has a different nature to materiality. Maybe they can see that ‘science’ can’t explain why one is born as a horse, another as a human…
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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