Question about Buddha Quote

[thelerner]

So, here's the quote, "A wise man, recognizing that the world is but an illusion, does not act as if it is real"...Buddha.

 

Its a recognized quote, but I can't find the original source, not sure if its from a Sutra, legend, etc. I always like to know if the person is addressing someone's specific question and what the situation around the quote may be. Unless there's a sutra or scriptural reference I find people throw around 'Buddha said'..like he was their personal shrink.

 

In any case. What do you think about it? Vmarco quoted it to back up existentialist reasoning, ie nothing exists, its all illusion. I have problems with that, but as the thread its in suggests we shouldn't hold too tightly to beliefs.

 

How do you interpret it? And as a bonus, where is it from and what circumstance?

 

Thanks

Michael

[Informer]

I think it's point to vanity.

[xabir2005]

It was not by Buddha. It was by BUKKYO DENDO KYOKAI

 

http://members.home.nl/gerhardnijenhuis/msp/buddha.htm#TOC

 

Next, the Buddha realizes the world is illusory, but continues to act in the most sensible, compassionate, virtuous way.

Edited February 12, 2012 by xabir2005

[idiot_stimpy]

When someone goes into shock, a lot of the time it has been reported that they feel no pain.

 

Could an extreme event causing shock actually be violently making someone extremely awake so that pain has no hold of them?

 

Just a random thought to throw around.

[thelerner]

It was not by Buddha. It was by BUKKYO DENDO KYOKAI

 

http://members.home.nl/gerhardnijenhuis/msp/buddha.htm#TOC

I'm not sure what you mean. It's not from Buddha, its from a Buddhist foundation??

Edited February 12, 2012 by thelerner

[Vmarco]

Edited February 12, 2012 by Vmarco

[zerostao]

interesting outlook

" Quotations, as I use them, are about the message within the quotation, not the profile of the messenger."

for me in regards to language , it is more important who said it and how it was used that gives the truer meaning.

not some words. words without the spirit of the messenger are lifeless.

imo thelerners question of from what circumstance did this come ? is tantamount.

Edited February 13, 2012 by zerostao

[thelerner]

"A wise man, recognizing that the world is but an illusion, does not act as if it is real, so he escapes the suffering." The Teachings of Buddha, Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai.

That quote was not to "back up existentialist reasoning"...that was your misinterpreation.

 

Third, the quote was attributed to Buddha,...not to any specific Buddha, like Sakyamuni. Some referrences to Buddha state, Siddhartha Gautama, which must imply that the quote came from Sakyamuni before his enlightenment.

 

Fourth, I enjoy using quotes, especially with vague authorship. My aim is two-fold, first, to rattle those who despise quotes, and are indoctrinated to respond negatively, and thus serves as a litmus test. And second to see who looks impersonally at the message, that is without predisposed negativity towards the messenger.

And yes,...I found your inquiry of the quotes authorship quite appropriate,...although your agenda for doing so is suspect.

 

V

I'm not rattled, I just think such quotes lack the authority of those in the Sutras. Misuse of quotes is huge; people take them out of context or just make them up. In this case its murky, most people would assume its from Guatama, or at least another historical recognized Buddha.

 

So its not from a Sutra its just one of those that floats around and can be from all or no Buddha personages. If its a litmus then I'm on the side of those who like their quotes from real people. I have great admiration for those who quote the Buddha and then back it up with a Sutra. I find your top people can, wannabes have no idea of the where, who and whens of there quotes, they use'em like scotch tape to back up ideas.

 

Still its a thought provoking quote, and I'd say existential one, ie 'the the world is but an illusion'. Seems more Hindu then Buddhist, but then Buddhist philosophy has gone in many directions over time and absorbed other other cultural beliefs. Often people aren't they're just picking from different sources. I prefer my Buddhism simple and rational; focused on the here and now, not on the supernatural.

 

As I've thought about it, I'd say the world is real, dismiss it at great risk to life and limb, Our thoughts are the illusion. Because they're so close and intimate to our psyche we think of them as facts, as us. When they're just transient jumbles of memory and expectation. Its the illusions of mind we shouldn't take seriously, not the reality of the world.

 

For example:

I hate butter praline ice cream is the illusion, the chocolate cone infront of me is not.

[Marblehead]

As I've thought about it, I'd say the world is real, dismiss it at great risk to life and limb, Our thoughts are the illusion. Because they're so close and intimate to our psyche we think of them as facts, as us. When they're just transient jumbles of memory and expectation. Its the illusions of mind we shouldn't take seriously, not the reality of the world.

 

Excellent!!!

[konchog uma]

For example:

I hate butter praline ice cream is the illusion, the chocolate cone infront of me is not.

 

well said, all of that. Thanks.

 

i tend to think that the more someone uses quotes to make their point, the less thought they themselves have put into said point. Quoting someone sagely is easy, becoming sagely oneself... welll...

 

And while the cone in front of you may in fact be just a standing waveform masquerading as a solid chunk of matter, indistinguishable from a thought-form in a dream, mistaking it for something else is foolish, and mistaking it for not being there is pointless. I like my buddhism pragmatic, not escapist.

[thelerner]

And while the cone in front of you may in fact be just a standing waveform masquerading as a solid chunk of matter, indistinguishable from a thought-form in a dream, mistaking it for something else is foolish, and mistaking it for not being there is pointless. I like my buddhism pragmatic, not escapist.

You sound like a Butter Praline kind of guy