► INFO ON PREVIOUS BUDDHAS

[sky]

The Jataka stories, over millennia, have been seminal to the development of many civilisations, the cultivation of moral conduct and good behaviour, the growth of a rich and varied literature in diverse parts of the world and the inspiration for painting, sculpture and architecture of enduring aesthetic value. The Buddha himself used jataka stories to explain concepts like kamma and rebirth and to emphasise the importance of certain moral values. A Jataka bhanaka (jataka storyteller) is mentioned to have been appointed even as early as the time of the Buddha. Such appointments were common in ancient Sri Lanka and among others, King Llanaga (1st century AD) is recorded in the mahavamsa, to have heard kapi jataka from a bhanaka bhikkhu. It is in continuation of this noble tradition that these stories are now re-told in print to an audience which had been denied access to them by language and other cultural barriers. These stories are ever more relevant in the fragmented societies of today, where especially children, in their most formative years, seek helplessly for guidance in steering their lives to success and fulfilment.


http://www.buddhanet.net/bt_intro.htm

[sky]

Originally Posted by BigJohn

Medhaṅkara Buddha, is briefly mentioned in the Buddhavamsa. He is mentioned along with the first four Buddhas.
"Inneumarable aeons ago, Taṇhaṅkara Buddha (1st Buddha), Medhaṅkara Buddha (2nd Buddha - the Buddha we are talking about), Saraṇaṅkara Buddha (3rd Buddha) and Dīpaṃkara Buddha (4th Buddha) were born in the Sāramaṇḍa kalpa."
Kalpa generally gets translated as Aeon (time period for a particular World). Sāramaṇḍa is the name of that time period and is the World where the first four Buddhas were born.

What does this Legend teach ?
What does Medhankara Buddha represent ?

[Phaelyn]

Originally Posted by BigJohn

In the East, what the West calls 'folk tales, fables and legends' is accepted as 'fact'.

I think there is a certain "respect" given as well as easterners who do not see such things as fact will not bring up such topics. When a religion is the main religion in a country, or culture, or society, the "reality" of it's stories are rarely the topic of conversation. There are many reasons for this. The main one is probably something like live and let live. Having a desire for peace and not conflict. Letting people believe anything they want without interference if such beliefs cause no harm to others.

It's the same in the west as the truth or reality of Christianity's stories are rarely a topic of conversation. In fact, people who are not even involved in Christianity in any real way will celebrate the stories in various ways at certain holidays like Christmas or Easter.

It doesn't really matter what stories we believe as long as such stories don't lead to some kind of violence or something negative. I believe in a lot of things from stories that there is no proof for. For example, stories about the astral world or dimension. Then look at something like Santa Claus. Every adult knows it is not a true story, yet they teach their kids it is real. Why? Well it's fun to see amazement and joy in their kids faces at Christmas I suppose. Stories can make our lives better, so they serve a purpose.

Walking through a forest believing fairies are real can be a magical experience, whether fairies are real or not is not really the point! But then some stories are more "possible" to be true than others. But it's up to us to choose what we believe in. I've met some people in life that insist when we die, that's it. One told me, "we rot in the ground and there is nothing more." I always think, why believe something like that? Why not pick beliefs that make life happier or lighter?

[sky]

Originally Posted by Phaelyn

I think there is a certain "respect" given as well as easterners who do not see such things as fact will not bring up such topics. When a religion is the main religion in a country, or culture, or society, the "reality" of it's stories are rarely the topic of conversation. There are many reasons for this. The main one is probably something like live and let live. Having a desire for peace and not conflict.

This article is quite interesting regarding your point on keeping the peace.

The article aims at identifying the roles of
the Buddha in Thai myths in order to
explain how the Thai were able to integrate
Buddhism into their indigenous beliefs.
Certain myths played an important role in
recording the conflicts in the minds of Thai
ancestors as to whether they should
continue to hold to indigenous beliefs or
whether they should adopt Buddhism. The
roles played by the Buddha in certain myths
reflect the fact that the Buddha took over
roles that were once performed by local
gods. Such roles were the provision of
fertility, light and water. Attitudes of the
Thai embedded in the myths offer insight
into the mechanism through which
Buddhism was able to be integrated into the indigenous belief system.

THE ROLES OF THE
BUDDHA IN THAI MYTHS:
REFLECTIONS ON THE
ATTEMPT TO INTEGRATE
BUDDHISM INTO THAI
LOCAL BELIEFS.

The problem is if people actually believe in the Myths and Folklore in Buddhism such as Jataka Tales and the previous gigantic Buddha's they sometimes miss the message they contain. They were useful when People were illiterate and lived in Countries and Cultures embroiled in superstition and magic. Times have moved on therefore there not needed as much except to keep the attention of Children who enjoy Fairytales....

[BigJohn]

Originally Posted by sky123

This article is quite interesting regarding your point on keeping the peace.

That article you quoted came from MANUSYA: Journal of Humanities (Special Issue No.9 2005)or one of many sites that have a copy of it.

The article forgot to mention the route Buddhism took to get to Thailand. If that route was followed backwards, they would have noticed that when Buddhism arrived at Thailand, animism, etc. was being practiced by the countries that brought Buddhism to Thailand.

The article did not mention the Spirit Houses nor discuss the Nagas. The Nagas can be found in various Suttas.

[BigJohn]

Originally Posted by sky123

I am lucky to live in a Country that keeps Birth Records but not all Countries do and their are people who do not know their age.

How would someone in the East explain the size of these Buddha's, did they have Hight Charts or maybe Tape Measure long enough....

Common sense goes a long way.....

When I was a boy, we bought horses and their height was a measurement of how many 'hands' high they were. Anybody who knows anything about horses know what the height of a horse is in 'hands'.


As for "common sense goes a long way.....", you might be missing or never experienced (so how would you know) a few things. For example, try getting into an altered state similar to a deep meditation while standing up. Get into that state with your eyes open. You might experience some things most people never experience.

If you do not want to do that, then try to explain why so many people have had experiences at Atlantis, Lemuria, etc. and then try reconciling why each person's experience is so dramatically different.

[BigJohn]

Originally Posted by Phaelyn

I think there is a certain "respect" given as well as easterners who do not see such things as fact will not bring up such topics. When a religion is the main religion in a country, or culture, or society, the "reality" of it's stories are rarely the topic of conversation. There are many reasons for this. The main one is probably something like live and let live. Having a desire for peace and not conflict. Letting people believe anything they want without interference if such beliefs cause no harm to others.

Hard to believe that Buddhists in predominate Buddhist countries do not believe what Westerners call myths, legends, etc. If you walk down the street, you might be amazed how many statues you see devoted to what the West calls 'myths, fairy tales, etc'.

It is true that Easterners are reluctant to speak to foreigners about their beliefs but the reason for the most part is to minimize getting ridiculed. Most homes, apartments, hotels, etc. in predominate Buddhist countries generally have a Spirit House.

Originally Posted by Phaelyn

Walking through a forest believing fairies are real can be a magical experience, whether fairies are real or not is not really the point! But then some stories are more "possible" to be true than others. But it's up to us to choose what we believe in. I've met some people in life that insist when we die, that's it. One told me, "we rot in the ground and there is nothing more." I always think, why believe something like that? Why not pick beliefs that make life happier or lighter?

If you get into an altered state while walking, like a deep meditation, and your eyes are open, you might experience things most people have never experienced. Is what you see real?

[Phaelyn]

Originally Posted by sky123

the Thai were able to integrate Buddhism into their indigenous beliefs.

Kind of like how Christianity was integrated into indigenous beliefs. Like December 25 was the "dies solis invicti nati" (“day of the birth of the unconquered sun”), a very popular holiday in the Roman Empire that celebrated the winter solstice as a symbol of the resurgence of the sun. The birth of the sun was shifted to the birth of the son. The Christmas tree is a 17th-century German invention, derived from the pagan practice of bringing a tree indoors to decorate in midwinter. Gift giving was popular as a new years day tradition then it shifted to Christmas in the Victorian era of the 1800s due to Royals such as Queen Victoria popularizing it.

Originally Posted by sky123

The problem is if people actually believe in the Myths and Folklore in Buddhism such as Jataka Tales and the previous gigantic Buddha's they sometimes miss the message they contain. They were useful when People were illiterate and lived in Countries and Cultures embroiled in superstition and magic. Times have moved on therefore there not needed as much except to keep the attention of Children who enjoy Fairytales....

I would not say that. Does believing in a person (or a living god) walking on water, rising from death, turning water into wine, curing blindness, raising a person from the dead, being born with no father to a virgin mother, mean one misses the messages of Christianity? People who believe Jesus walked on water and had a virgin birth are not illiterate etc. Some are college professors. All religions have amazing stories in them. I wonder do Hindu's believe the Blue Krishna is a real being, or Shiva, or Durga, or Hanuman the monkey god? The Romans believed in Apollo and other Gods who had special powers.

Looking at the big picture, myths and folklore in Buddhism are not myths and folklore to Buddhist's who believe in the stories, just as a person, or "god" walking on water is not a myth or folklore to many Christians.

The biggest myth most walk around with is we are this body, and we are the creators of all of our thoughts. Like somebody wakes up, walks to a mirror, and says, "Oh I look terrible today...." as if that body is them.... Some myths and folklore won't be recognized as such until we leave the body.

Oh yea I just remembered Noah's Ark....two of every creature that exists on one big boat? It's a fun story though. I even saw the movie!

[BigJohn]

Originally Posted by sky123

I am lucky to live in a Country that keeps Birth Records but not all Countries do and their are people who do not know their age.

How would someone in the East explain the size of these Buddha's, did they have Hight Charts or maybe Tape Measure long enough....

Common sense goes a long way.....

An important commentator of Buddhist history was a fourth or fifth-century scholar known as Buddhaghosa. He was known as the ‘voice of the Buddha’ and did a lot of important writing in Sri Lanka. Buddhaghosa based his commentaries on Sinhala translations of earlier Pali works that were brought to Sri Lanka by Mahinda (a monk) who was the eldest son of King Aśoka. When the writings were finished, they were piled up and reached a height of 7 medium-sized elephants.

Even today, a person can build a house, etc. without using a measuring tape, if they know what they are doing.

[sky]

Originally Posted by BigJohn

That article you quoted came from MANUSYA: Journal of Humanities (Special Issue No.9 2005)or one of many sites that have a copy of it.
The article forgot to mention the route Buddhism took to get to Thailand. If that route was followed backwards, they would have noticed that when Buddhism arrived at Thailand, animism, etc. was being practiced by the countries that brought Buddhism to Thailand.
The article did not mention the Spirit Houses nor discuss the Nagas. The Nagas can be found in various Suttas.

Yes it's an interesting Article but obviously doesn't contain everything, people are capable of looking for more info:
themselves.

Nagas are MYTHICAL and can be found In Suttas...