Dear Frank,
Op 9-feb-2013, om 17:41 heeft Frank K het volgende geschreven:

> Especially with so many
> passages in the canon explicitly detailing right speech and the
> danger of
> the smallest lie, I find it extremely offensive that a Buddha would
> need or
> even entertain the use of a white lie as a way to help his disciples
> advance in their practice. In the Angulimala story, I find it
> really hard
> to believe he could even attain stream entry, let alone arahantship.

-------
N: We have to carefully consider conditions. If we do not consider
the story in the suttas we may misunderstand the meaning.
As tto showing devatas to Nanda, the Buddha wanted to teach him a
lesson. We read in the commentary to the Udaana (P. Masefield, p.
454): <But why did the Lord cause the horney-minded venerable Nanda
to sruvey Nymphs? To drive out defilements with similar ease.... so
did the lord, skilled in taming those capable of being guided,
exacerbate the venerable Nanda, of excessive lustfulness, by showing
him the deva-nymphs, desiring (thereafter)to drive this out without
remainder with the medicine that is the ariyan path..>
The Buddha knew exactly people's accumulations and the right
medicine. Nanada attained arahatship.
-----
Angulima accumulated in past lives both good and bad inclinations.
When he met the Buddha it was the right time for his accumulated
wisdom to ripen and to attain arahatship.
This story should encourage us, knowing that accumulated
understanding is never lost, no matter how many unwholesome
tendencies condition the arising of strong akusala.
------
Nina.



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