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Post by retrofuturist on Dec 30, 2008 19:40:03 GMT 10
Greetings, The Buddha taught about eight worldly conditions (Atthalokadhamma) They come in four opposing pairs which make the world go round... Gain/Loss Praise/Blame Fame/Infamy Happiness/Pain There is a good article about them at www.bps.lk/bp_library/bp_102s/page_43.html and a good sutta about them at www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an08/an08.006.than.html (AN 8.6 Lokavipatti Sutta). Some people think that the Buddha's teachings are relevant only to Indians 2500 years ago... but teachings like this one show precisely how relevant they are today. We've not overcome suffering, and would do well to renounce these eight worldly conditions. Laying down the burden sounds nice to me. Metta, Retro.
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Post by appicchato on Dec 30, 2008 23:11:22 GMT 10
Most definitely worth contemplating on a regular basis...
Not to nitpick on semantics, but personally I go with Fame and Disrepute, and Pleasure and Sorrow...
I don't find the word happiness in my dictionary...it seems (to me) the best one can hope for, or aspire to, realistically, is contentment...
Just a personal perspective, I know not everyone would agree...
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fede
New Member
Posts: 6
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Post by fede on Dec 31, 2008 7:50:11 GMT 10
I think Kipling also summed it up well, when he said that one should - ".....Meet with 'Triumph' and 'Disaster' And treat those two impostors just the same"....
All 4 'good' qualities would come under Triumph, just as, conversely, all the'bad' qualities would be huddled under Disaster....
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