Thursday, September 18, 2003

A friend from workplace posted this interesting stuff about Buddha (The discussion was about how logic itself doesn't require proof):

Gautama-the-Buddha, had forbidden 10 questions as '10 indeterminates'.

He used to smile and maintain aryamauna(golden silence) on being asked these questions. He only used to advise to avoid debate on these, saying that it would be futile and one should instead work diligently, incessantly towards one's own salvation.

I did not, could not find a list of these questions. However, these are questions like 'What happens after enlightenment?', 'Does god exist?' etc.

An extract from http://www.sofiatopia.org/equiaeon/buddha.htm : "..... Moreover, tradition holds that Buddha stated that the things he revealed are very few in comparison with those which did not reveal. The "Ten Indeterminates" are questions which do not lead to enlightenment. Monks are forbidden to consider them. Clearly a lot of tenets of Buddhism run against the logic the nominal mind seeks. Because we can not rely on any written text, "zazen" (sitting in absorption) is all what is left ..."

Couldn't find these 10 indeterminates; but one can get an idea.

UG, for e.g. says that the "Question simply disappeared":

"The second question "How do I know that this is the state?" -- I didn't have any answer for that question -- it was like a question in a whirlpool -- it went on and on and on. Then suddenly the question disappeared. Nothing happened; the question just disappeared. I didn't say to myself "Oh, my God! Now I have found the answer." Even that state disappeared -- the state I thought I was in, the state of Buddha, Jesus -- even that has disappeared. The question has disappeared. The whole thing is finished for me, and that's all, you see. From then on, never did I say to myself "Now I have the answer to all those questions." That state of which I had said "This is the state" -- that state disappeared. The question disappeared. Finished, you see. It is not emptiness, it is not blankness, it is not the void, it is not any of those things; the question disappeared suddenly, and that is all."


In essence, if you create a head, you have already created tail as well.