Question & Answer #171: from “We Are All One” to Sticky Perceptions

Questions include: are we all one; is a baby pure awareness; the subjectivity of conventional truth; the alleged subjectivity of gender; how does an enlightened being really know that he is enlightened; monks proclaiming that they are enlightened; the most radical Buddhist I ever met; democracy taken to excess; reversing democracy taken to excess; the spookiness of an abandoned monastery; the social status of Burmese soldiers; the relationship between Samsara and Nibbana; is it easier for monks to be reborn in lower realms; dealing with loneliness from a Buddhist and non-Buddhist perspective; should totally messed up people self-delete; confession in Theravada; benefits of loving kindness practice; the hindrance most destructive to loving kindness; asuras; the ethics of hope in Buddhism; why is Buddhism considered to be nihilistic; the possibility of becoming enlightened on one’s own; the ethics of love for animals; dream world vs. waking world; Buddha images having special qualities; the correct order for reading my books; “skillful killing” in Buddhism; monks claiming to be enlightened (again); short-term ordination and whether it happens in the west; choosing a beverage; and whether defilements stick to us, or us to defilements.

URL Links
https://linktr.ee/pannobhasa
current blog (mostly philosophy and caustic critiques of Marxism): https://politicallyincorrectdharma.blogspot.com/
website: pannobhasa.org
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MY BOOK, “Essays in Theravada Buddhism”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B096ZHKY9D
ALSO, MY OTHER BOOK, “Philosophical Dharma”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B097XGM71P/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=philosophical+dharma&qid=1624827134&s=books&sr=1-1
3rd BOOK, “Buddhist Ethics, Buddhist Practice”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0991DQBLZ?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860