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skepticalbuddhism.bsky.social
Skeptical Buddhism
@skepticalbuddhism.bsky.social
1.1K followers 76 following 1.2K posts
asks how well we've understood what the Buddha taught, as we see him in our oldest versions of his talks. By going back to those ancient texts, and studying the culture of his time, can we get a more accurate sense of it? An iconoclastic Secular Buddhism.
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skepticalbuddhism.bsky.social
9/ For example, *sattānaṃ* and *sattanikāye* where the *satta* (purple) is a word for a living being, and *nikāye* (light purple) is compounded with it, adding the sense of a "collection, class, or group" of such beings. Some images from the Digital Pali Reader, below, show translations.
Images from the Digital Pali Reader showing the "birth" portion of SN 12.2 in Pali with translations of chosen Pali words below.
November 23, 2025 at 9:14 PM
skepticalbuddhism.bsky.social
8/ Below is an image of how I go about looking at other authors' translations. In this case it's Bhikkhu Bodhi's translation of Sariputta's explanation of birth in MN 9, very similar to the Buddha's, above.
quote from MN 9 translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi At the top, the Pali language that was translated. Below, Bodhi's translation. The words being translated each have their own background color, which is matched to those words' translations. “And what, bhikkhus, is birth? The birth of various beings into the various orders of beings, being born, descent [into the womb], production, the manifestation of the aggregates, the obtaining of the sense bases. This is called birth."
November 23, 2025 at 9:14 PM
skepticalbuddhism.bsky.social
3/ In the quote below, from a sutta in which the Buddha details each of the links of DA, he is describing a list of examples of what one can find under the term he has chosen, just as he has for many other links: not definitions, but a pattern-setting list.
quote from SN 12.2 translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi “And what, bhikkhus, is birth? The birth of the various beings into the various orders of beings, their being born, descent [into the womb], production, the manifestation of the aggregates, the obtaining of the sense bases. This is called birth."
November 23, 2025 at 9:14 PM
skepticalbuddhism.bsky.social
28/ The language of what is believed to be his oldest version of dependent arising does not speak at all of rebirth. It's called "Quarrels and Disputes" because that's what DA is actually about: the cause of so much suffering.
opening quote from sutta "Quarrels and Disputes" Sn 4.11 [pts Sn 862] translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu "From where have there arisen quarrels, disputes, lamentation, sorrows, along with selfishness, conceit & pride, along with divisiveness? From where have they arisen? Please tell me." "From what is dear there have arisen quarrels, disputes, lamentation, sorrows, along with selfishness, conceit & pride, along with divisiveness. Tied up with selfishness are quarrels & disputes. In the arising of disputes is divisiveness."
November 15, 2025 at 9:03 PM
skepticalbuddhism.bsky.social
16/ "…a survey of how he uses the term in different contexts suggests that it means a sense of identity in a particular world of experience: your sense of what you are, focused on a particular desire, in your personal sense of the world as related to that desire…"
https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an03/an03.076.than.html Notes 1. Notice that the Buddha, instead of giving a definition of becoming (bhava) in response to this question, simply notes that becoming occurs on three levels. Nowhere in the suttas does he define the term becoming, but a survey of how he uses the term in different contexts suggests that it means a sense of identity in a particular world of experience: your sense of what you are, focused on a particular desire, in your personal sense of the world as related to that desire. In other words, it is both a psychological and a cosmological concept. For more on this topic, see The Paradox of Becoming, Introduction and Chapter One. 2. In this analogy, "kamma" apparently means intention and the result of intention, both past and present. This would thus cover the six sense media (SN 35.145), the first four of the aggregates (SN 22.54), and the four nutriments for consciousness (SN 12.64). As the analogy here suggests, these elements of experience create the range of possibilities for a sense of becoming. If your past and present kamma don't contain a particular possibility, a corresponding type of becoming can't be developed. The only becomings you can experience are those from within the range of possibilities provided by your kamma. Consciousness and craving locate a particular opportunity from those possibilities that, through the nourishment of craving, they develop into an actual state of becoming. A similar analogy appears in SN 22.54. For more on this topic, see The Paradox of Becoming, Chapter Two.
November 15, 2025 at 9:02 PM
skepticalbuddhism.bsky.social
9/ In AN 3.76, Ananda, asks him about "existence" (*bhava*). The Buddha covers all three "realms". In the quote below I show just the first, *kāma*. He gives an agricultural metaphor: karma (our actions) are the field in which the seed can germinate when watered, supporting consciousness there.
excerpt from AN 3.76 [pts A i 223] translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi “Bhante, it is said: ‘existence, existence.’ In what way, Bhante, is there existence?” (1) “If, Ānanda, there were no kamma ripening in the sensory realm, would sense-sphere existence be discerned?” “No, Bhante.” “Thus, Ānanda, for beings hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving, kamma is the field, consciousness the seed, and craving the moisture for their consciousness to be established in an inferior realm. In this way there is the production of renewed existence in the future."
November 15, 2025 at 9:02 PM
skepticalbuddhism.bsky.social
1/ The central section of Dependent Arising (DA), which we're calling "Rituals", using the Buddha's metaphorical word for our habits of thought, can be seen as the best-understood part of the lesson, since it deals with our experience of the here-and-now.
#SB40of10k
Label: "An Overview of the Middle of Dependent Arising" The broken circle of dependent arising, divided into three colorful sections has a bright red arc marking the middle "Rituals" section that includes Contact (*phassa*), Feeling (*vedanā*), Craving (*taṇhā*), and Clinging (*upādāna*).
November 8, 2025 at 7:02 PM
skepticalbuddhism.bsky.social
20/ I was rereading Patrick Olivelle's "Upanisads" when I encountered one of those riddling phrases in the Bṛihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad that seemed to match up with my theory, though I admit to being a bit puzzled by the riddle, even after reading Olivelle's note on it
Bṛihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 4.4.9-10 translated by Patrick Olivelle By brahman was this path discovered; By it goes the knower of brahman, the doer of good, the man of light. Into blind darkness they enter, people who worship ignorance; And into still blinder darkness, people who delight in learning. and Olivelle's note on 4-10: Into blind . . . in this world: this verse occurs also at IU 9. The Mādhyandina version reads 'non-becoming' and 'becoming' in place of 'ignorance' and 'learning', a reading found also at IU 12 and viewed as superior by Horsch 1966, 165-5.
November 1, 2025 at 2:40 PM
skepticalbuddhism.bsky.social
8/ In the process, the Buddha uses *bhava* and *vibhava*. Bodhi translates these as "being and non-being" though his footnote clarifies his understanding that what these two represent are commonly-held views in the Buddha's time and culture. I generally agree, but though I understand…
MN 11 [pts M i 65] translated by Bhikkhus Nanamoli and Bodhi. Within the text an arrow points from the number "170" at the end of paragraph 6 to the footnote numbered 170. Paragraph 6. “Bhikkhus, there are these two views: the view of being and the view of non-being. Any recluses or brahmins who rely on the view of being, adopt the view of being, accept the view of being, are opposed to the view of non-being. Any recluses or brahmins who rely on the view of non-being, adopt the view of non-being, accept the view of non-being, are opposed to the view of being.170 Footnote 170 The view of being (bhavadiṭṭ) is eternalism, the belief in an eternal self; the view of non-being (vibhavadiṭṭhi) is annihilationism, the denial of any principle of continuity as a basis for rebirth and kammic retribution. The adoption of one view entailing opposition to the other ties up with the earlier statement that the goal is for one who does not favour and oppose.
November 1, 2025 at 2:40 PM
skepticalbuddhism.bsky.social
5/ In Bhante Gunaratana's book "Dependent Origination in Plain English", he describes *vibhavataṇhā* as a craving for annihilation, as we see in the snippet below. This is the sort of description that is common these days.
Excerpt from Bhante Gunaratana's "Dependent Origination in Plain English" chapter on Craving. … It is the notion of I and the wish for its continuation that leads to craving for existence. On the other hand, sometimes when people are depressed they wish to be annihilated, to disappear forever and cease existing. While craving for existence can sometimes lead to self-mortification in a misguided attempt to improve oneself, craving for annihilation generally causes self-indulgence. One prone to such a view would want to enjoy all the pleasures of the present life to the utmost, and often excessively so.
November 1, 2025 at 2:40 PM
skepticalbuddhism.bsky.social
8/ The other definition is found in details about DA's *upādāna*. In the sutta snippet below, the Buddha defines the four kinds of clinging as sensual pleasures (*kāma*), views (*diṭṭhi*), "rules and observances* (*sīlabbattā*), and "a doctrine of self" — literally "self-view" (*attavāda*).
Excerpts from MN 11 [pts M i 66] translated by Bhikkhus Bodhi and Nanamoli 9. “Bhikkhus, there are these four kinds of clinging. What four? Clinging to sensual pleasures, clinging to views, clinging to rules and observances, and clinging to a doctrine of self. 10. “Though certain recluses and brahmins claim to propound the full understanding of all kinds of clinging, they do not completely describe the full understanding of all kinds of clinging. They describe the full understanding of clinging to sensual pleasures without describing the full understanding of clinging to views, clinging to rules and observances, and clinging to a doctrine of self. Why is that? Those good recluses and brahmins do not understand these three instances of clinging as they actually are. Therefore, though they claim to propound the full understanding of all kinds of clinging, they describe only the full understanding of clinging to sensual pleasures without describing the full understanding of clinging to views, clinging to rules and observances, and clinging to a doctrine of self. (ellipse indicating some repetitive variations are left out) 12. “Though certain recluses and brahmins claim to propound the full understanding of all kinds of clinging…they describe the full understanding of clinging to sensual pleasures, clinging to views, and clinging to rules and observances without describing the full understanding of clinging to a doctrine of self... 173 (Footnote follows) 173 This passage clearly states that the critical factor differentiating the Buddha’s teaching from all other religious and philosophical creeds is its “full understanding of clinging to a doctrine of self.” This means, in effect, that the Buddha alone is able to show how to overcome all views of self by developing penetration of the truth of non-self. Since the other spiritual teachers lack this understanding of non-self, their claims to fully understand the three other kinds of clinging are also suspect.
October 25, 2025 at 11:44 PM
skepticalbuddhism.bsky.social
7/ There are two definitions of "clinging" in the suttas, used in two different situations. Perhaps the one we see most often has the five *khanda* — seen as components of one's self or identity — as what gets clung to. In the quote below, *saṅkhārā* is translated as "fabrications".
Excerpts from SN 22.83 [pts S iii 105] translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu "'It's with possessiveness, friend Ananda, that there is "I am," not without possessiveness. And through possessiveness of what is there "I am," not without possessiveness? Through possessiveness of form there is "I am," not without possessiveness. Through possessiveness of feeling... perception... fabrications... Through possessiveness of consciousness there is "I am," not without possessiveness. "'Just as if a young woman — or a man — youthful, fond of adornment, contemplating the image of her face in a mirror, pure & bright, or in a bowl of clear water, would look with possessiveness, not without possessiveness. In the same way, through possessiveness of form there is "I am," not without possessiveness. Through possessiveness of feeling... perception... fabrications... Through possessiveness of consciousness there is "I am," not without possessiveness. https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn22/sn22.083.than.html
October 25, 2025 at 11:44 PM
skepticalbuddhism.bsky.social
5/ As noted in Thanissaro's description of the Vedic understanding of fire, back in thread #SB29of10k, post /8, fire was perceived as clinging to its fuel, effectively trapped by it, which is where we get the translation "clinging" from.
A quote from Thanissaro Bhikkhu's "Mind Like Fire Unbound" page 11 To understand the implications of nibbāna in the present life, it is necessary to know something of the way in which fire is described in the Pali Canon. There, fire is said to be caused by the excitation or agitation of the heat property. To continue burning, it must have sustenance (upādāna). Its relationship to its sustenance is one of clinging, dependence, & entrapment. When it goes out, the heat property is no longer agitated, and the fire is said to be freed. Thus the metaphor of nibbāna in this case would have implications of calming together with release from dependencies, attachments, & bondage. This in turn suggests that of all the attempts to describe the etymology of the word nibbāna, the closest is the one Buddhaghosa proposed in The Path of Purification: Un- (nir) + binding (vāna): Unbinding. To understand further what is meant by the unbinding of the mind, it is also important to know that the word upādāna—the sustenance for the fire— also means clinging, and that according to the Buddha the mind has four forms of clinging that keep it in bondage: clinging to sensuality, to views, to precepts & practices, and to doctrines of the self. In each case, the clinging is the passion & desire the mind feels for these things. To overcome this clinging, then, the mind must see not only the drawbacks of these four objects of clinging, but, more importantly, the drawbacks of the act of passion & desire itself.
October 25, 2025 at 11:44 PM
skepticalbuddhism.bsky.social
3/ In the sutta snippet below we find the Buddha trying to explain to Vaccha why he wouldn't say that he or any enlightened person exists or doesn't exist, nor does both or neither, after death. Where does a fire go when it no longer has fuel? he asked, and the answer is that we can't actually say.
Excerpt from a translation of MN 72 by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. [pts M i 487] "Of course you're befuddled, Vaccha. Of course you're confused. Deep, Vaccha, is this phenomenon, hard to see, hard to realize, tranquil, refined, beyond the scope of conjecture, subtle, to-be-experienced by the wise. For those with other views, other practices, other satisfactions, other aims, other teachers, it is difficult to know. That being the case, I will now put some questions to you. Answer as you see fit. What do you think, Vaccha: If a fire were burning in front of you, would you know that, 'This fire is burning in front of me'?" "...yes..." "And suppose someone were to ask you, Vaccha, 'This fire burning in front of you, dependent on what is it burning?' Thus asked, how would you reply?" "...I would reply, 'This fire burning in front of me is burning dependent on grass & timber as its sustenance.'" "If the fire burning in front of you were to go out, would you know that, 'This fire burning in front of me has gone out'?"
October 25, 2025 at 11:44 PM
skepticalbuddhism.bsky.social
37/ Craving, where it all begins is where it can end … #SB37of10K
… The Buddha has told us that it is with the arising of craving we get our earliest chance to break the chain of events leading to dukkha. Maybe that's why its the first of the very detailed links.
The broken circle of dependent arising, divided into three colorful sections has a magnifying glass focused on "craving"/*tanhā*, to indicate that's the focus of this thread.
July 12, 2025 at 8:00 PM
skepticalbuddhism.bsky.social
1/ Some interesting patterns begin once we get to craving. Though craving is sometimes described the way the earlier "feeling" and "contact" are described, as having the quality of arising from the sense organ that triggered it, it is also given a more specific, three-part definition.
#SB37of10k
The broken circle of dependent arising, divided into three colorful sections has a magnifying glass focused on "craving"/*tanhā*, to indicate that's the focus of this thread.
July 12, 2025 at 7:54 PM
skepticalbuddhism.bsky.social
36/ Feeling as meaning what I say when I say it … #SB36of10K
… The second term in the "Rituals" section is pretty straightforward but a bit vague without the context of what comes before and after it.
The broken circle of dependent arising, divided into three colorful sections has a magnifying glass focused on "feeling"/*vedanā*, to indicate that's the focus of this thread.
July 5, 2025 at 10:03 PM
skepticalbuddhism.bsky.social
8/ Here in DA, as we saw in this image in the last thread, one of the things we know about it is that even if we understand DA and are working toward practicing what it teaches, even if we a sense contact might be of the sort DA is pointing out, we aren't stopping events before feeling.
A quote from SN 12.44 [pts S ii 73] translated by Bhiihu Bodhi: “In dependence on the ear and sounds ... In dependence on the nose and odours … In dependence on the tongue and tastes ... In dependence on the body and tactile objects ... In dependence on the mind and mental phenomena, mind-consciousness arises. The meeting of the three is contact. With contact as condition, feeling [comes to be]; with feeling as condition, craving; with craving as condition, clinging … existence … birth; with birth as condition, aging-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair come to be. This, bhikkhus, is the origin of the world. The earlier paragraph included eye and forms, so all six senses are represented. "The meeting of the three is contact" is underlined in red and highlighted in yellow. Below, in red, it says "Contact defined includes". "In dependence on the mind and mental phenomena, mind-consciousness arises" is underlined in blue with an arrow at the left end of the line. Below, in blue it says "drives made real (looking back)". "With contact as condition, feeling" is underlined in green, with an arrow at the right end of the line. Below in green it says, "allowing DA to move forward."
July 5, 2025 at 11:18 AM
skepticalbuddhism.bsky.social
1/ The next link in the "Rituals" section of Dependent Arising (DA) is usually translated (from *vedanā*) as "feeling" though recently "experience" has been suggested (e.g. by Ajahn Brahm) and I like it, though I'm still on the fence about it.
#SB36of10k
The broken circle of dependent arising, divided into three colorful sections has a magnifying glass focused on "feeling"/*vedanā*, to indicate that's the focus of this thread.
July 5, 2025 at 11:18 AM
skepticalbuddhism.bsky.social
30/ Why call the middle section "Rituals"? … #SB30of10K
… In part 2 of a 2-part post, one of three on calling the middle "Rituals" we focus on *vedanā* and *phassa*.
The image of the broken circle of dependent arising has arcs of color surrounding the three sections, a blue one covers ignorance to the six senses, a green one covers contact to clinging, and a pink one covers becoming to aging-and-death. A magnifying glass is focused on *vedāna*/feeling and *phassa*/contact, the first two links in the "Rituals" section.
June 28, 2025 at 8:15 PM
skepticalbuddhism.bsky.social
29/ Why call the middle section "Rituals"? … #SB29of10K
… The first of three posts offering justification and evidence for calling the middle section "Rituals". This first post covers "clinging" and "craving" as we work backwards through the four links.
The image of the broken circle of dependent arising has arcs of color surrounding the three sections, a blue one covers ignorance to the six senses, a green one covers contact to clinging, and a pink one covers becoming to aging-and-death. A magnifying glass is focused on *upādāna*/clinging and *taṇhā*/craving, the last two links in the "Rituals" section.
June 28, 2025 at 8:15 PM
skepticalbuddhism.bsky.social
21/ In the last half of the sutta quoted up top, the Buddha does provide us with the necessary insight into the earliest moment in which we can break the chain: it falls between feeling and craving. More on that when we get to those terms.
Same quote from SN 12.44 [pts S ii 73] translated by Bhiihu Bodhi, but this time "But with the remainderless fading away and cessaton of that same craving comes cessation of clinging" is highlighted in yellow: “In dependence on the ear and sounds ... In dependence on the nose and odours … In dependence on the tongue and tastes ... In dependence on the body and tactile objects ... In dependence on the mind and mental phenomena, mind-consciousness arises. The meeting of the three is contact. With contact as condition, feeling [comes to be]; with feeling as condition, craving; with craving as condition, clinging … existence … birth; with birth as condition, aging-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair come to be. This, bhikkhus, is the origin of the world.
June 28, 2025 at 11:56 AM
skepticalbuddhism.bsky.social
3/ Below is a quote from the sutta in which the Buddha defined each link in DA, starting at the end and working backward. This makes it a description of events that have already happened, which is a reason why "feeling" is included in it, as well as "contact."
www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/...
A quote from SN 12.s [pts S ii 3] translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu, in which the Buddha defines name-and-form" And what is name-&-form? Feeling, perception, intention, contact, & attention: This is called name. The four great elements, and the form dependent on the four great elements: This is called form. This name & this form are called name-&-form.
June 28, 2025 at 11:56 AM
skepticalbuddhism.bsky.social
2/ Contact is defined by a moment in which a sense (DA link #5 six senses) meets its physical or mental object (link #4, name-and-form) causing the rising of that sense's particular form of consciousness (link #3).
A quote from SN 12.44 [pts S ii 73] translated by Bhiihu Bodhi: “In dependence on the ear and sounds ... In dependence on the nose and odours … In dependence on the tongue and tastes ... In dependence on the body and tactile objects ... In dependence on the mind and mental phenomena, mind-consciousness arises. The meeting of the three is contact. With contact as condition, feeling [comes to be]; with feeling as condition, craving; with craving as condition, clinging … existence … birth; with birth as condition, aging-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair come to be. This, bhikkhus, is the origin of the world. The earlier paragraph included eye and forms, so all six senses are represented. "The meeting of the three is contact" is underlined in red and highlighted in yellow. Below, in red, it says "Contact defined includes". "In dependence on the mind and mental phenomena, mind-consciousness arises" is underlined in blue with an arrow at the left end of the line. Below, in blue it says "drives made real (looking back)". "With contact as condition, feeling" is underlined in green, with an arrow at the right end of the line. Below in green it says, "allowing DA to move forward."
June 28, 2025 at 11:56 AM
skepticalbuddhism.bsky.social
1/ In this thread we're going to concentrate on what, at first glance, is the simplest of the twelve links of dependent arising (DA), and that is contact (*phassa*). And though it is -- it really is -- simple, it carries a lot of weight because it's a pivot point.
#SB35of10k
The broken circle of dependent arising, divided into three colorful sections has a magnifying glass on contact/*phassa*. Three blue "past" lines extend from contact to the six senses, name-and-form, and consciousness. A "future" green arc extends from contact forward, passing feeling, craving, clinging, becoming, birth, and points finally to aging-and-death. In red at the top is the word "Contact" in blue by the past lines "satisfies past drives" while in green near the future arc "predicts future events".
June 28, 2025 at 11:56 AM