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don’t be reborn ꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦ ☸️ suttasli.me ▶️ @SuttaSlime" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">youtube.com/@SuttaSlime

the Bodhisattva Gautama’s words to his father, who was attempting to stop him from renouncing the world [from Aśvaghoṣa’s “Buddhacharita,” cited in “The Scientific Buddha” by Donald S. Lopez Jr.]

From the eighth chapter of Zhiyi's meditation treatise (Great Concentration and Insight, called "Maka-shikan" in Japan). The chapter describes various types of demons which may attempt to distract those in meditative absorption. The one here is basically a poltergeist.

ch. 8 of Zhiyi’s “The Essentials of Buddhist Meditation” covers demons who try to corrupt people in order to cause them to “turn about in the realms of cyclic births and deaths.” some are metaphorical, sure, but Zhiyi is clear that some of these are literal demonic entities

the Buddha spoke about this! i wrote about it on my website, with citations from the suttas: suttasli[.]me/rebirth

could be worse

Hariti (Jpn: Kishimojin) is an interesting figure in Nichiren Buddhism, and there aren't too many English-language resources discussing her. I personally find myself drawn to her because she is, as far as I know, the only representative of the "lower realms" from Nichiren's mandala who is venerated in statue form. The others, Devadatta (of the hell realm) and the Dragon King's daughter (of the beast realm), are not conventionally depicted iconographically. Hariti herself is a saint of the hungry ghost realm. It's said she used to be a child-eating spirit until she was converted by Shakyamuni Buddha. Afterwards she became a vegetarian and vowed to protect children instead of harming them. She was joined in this conversion by all of her demon children, the number of which varies from 500 to 1,000 depending on the retelling in question. Her story is elaborated in greatest detail in a text called the "Samyukta-vastu," which is part of the early Mulasarvastivada school's vinaya canon, but variants can be found in texts from other early traditions as well. The core story likely predates all of these, and is thought to have emerged from oral tradition. When her iconography first reached Japanese shores, she was depicted as gentle and motherly, cradling an infant on one arm (see picture on the right). Depictions throughout the Nichiren-shu school, however, are quite different. In the eastern regions, she appears like the statue in the quoted tweet, with long hair and a stern oni-like expression. In the west, she often appears more demonic, with a fanged grin and horns, leading a child along by the hand (see picture on the left). This dramatic shift in iconography can be attributed to her association with the dharani (protective spells) chapter of the Lotus Sutra, her appearance becoming more terrifying over time to reflect her position as protector of Lotus Sutra adherents. It's interesting to note that this change is the mirror opposite to what happened to Daikokuten/Mahakala in Japan, who went from wrathful and flame-wreathed to a lovely little pudgy fellow with a friendly grin. Yet Hariti's early incarnation still has a slightly morbid touch, as she is often shown holding a pomegranate. It's implied that she uses the fruit as a substitute for human flesh. Also noteworthy is the fact that, in regards to the dharani chapter, it was initially Hariti's ten demon daughters in the Lotus Sutra who were emphasized, as they were the ones who actually give the protective spell in the sutra's text. Nichiren's writings reflect this, mentioning the ten daughters more often than their mother, but all of them are included in his mandala. I have to wonder how much of her popularity as a protective deity is related to her status as a saint of the spirit realm. Considering she herself is sometimes referred to as a ghost, it makes sense that she would have the greatest connection to that world.

“Blessed One, what is the destiny of one who holds Wrong View?” The Blessed One:

The Serpent’s Star — a 1982 adventure game set in Tibet [screenshots taken from AppleAdventures on YT]

mfs out here can’t visualize A Apple while me & my noble brothers are visualizing Skeletons & Wormy Corpses & Discolored Corpses & Festering Corpses & Split-Apart Corpses & Bloated Corpses

the bodhisatta prince temiya 🤝 holden caulfield

Ch'an master Zhiwei, said to have kept tigers to guard the granaries he used to store the food he provided to his disciples

the Jātaka tales claim that, when there is injustice occurring in the world of humankind, the heavenly throne of Sakka becomes hot, inspiring that great king of the gods to rise up and take action. how hot do you think his throne is today?

@mhisamaya that might explain why it started tweakin when i held my phone up to it and played the video back ( ˊ̱˂˃ˋ̱ )

@SuttaSlime It’s mating season I think

Buddhism is better experienced in the company of elderly Laotian immigrants than in online spaces dominated by American new-agers that want to sell you video chats

it’s so funny that in T.W. Rhys Davids’ translation of “The Questions of King Milinda,” he chose not to translate the chapter about the Buddha’s penis, instead leaving a note that essentially tells you to go fuck yourself and learn Pāli if you want to read it

April Fool’s Day is no excuse to break the 4th precept (●´ω｀●)

clouds : sky :: thoughts : mind

@DiamonDie @O1A2S3D you speak so flippantly about the very religion you misappropriate to style yourself as some sort of expert, one among many proud of themselves for doing Māra’s work with the Buddha’s words. if i’m brainwashed, consider that you may be influenced by something far more dangerous

@SuttaSlime @O1A2S3D I'm so sorry that you are brainwashed by religion, but please don't project it on me.

there is so much fun, so much beauty, and so much joy to be experienced in this life, and no amount of it will ever leave you feeling satisfied. if you had every treasure in the world, a bottomless hunger would still stir in your heart. what will you do?