There are two kinds of suffering

“There are two kinds of suffering. There is the suffering you run away from, which follows you everywhere. And there is the suffering you face directly, and in doing so become free.”

~ Ajahn Chah

The Buddha on Marriage

Having been both a husband and a father, the Buddha was able to speak of marriage and parenthood from personal experience. A husband, he said, should honour and respect his wife, never disparage her, be faithful to her, give her authority and provide for her financially. A wife should do her work properly, manage the servants, be faithful to her husband, protect the family income and be skilled and diligent (D.III,190).

AN 2.41 (A I 69)

“Bhikkhus, I do not praise the wrong practice of two [kinds of people]: a layperson and one gone forth [into homelessness]. Whether it is a layperson or one gone forth who is practicing wrongly, because of wrong practice, they do not attain the true way, the Dhamma that is wholesome.

“Bhikkhus, I praise the right practice of two [kinds of people]: a layperson and one gone forth. Whether it is a layperson or one gone forth who is practicing rightly, because of right practice, they attain the true way, the Dhamma that is wholesome.” 

Simsapa Sutta, SN 56.31

The Buddha teaches only what is relevant and useful.

'I am buried over there... I was shot in my knees': Mail readers reveal their children's haunting stories of past lives... so why DO so many kids insist they have lived before?

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

UPDATED: 09:04 GMT, 4 January 2016

We recently reported on the phenomenon of young children believing they had former lives. Many as young as two or three give vivid details of past experiences, startling parents with their articulate accounts. A number of stories have been collected in a book, Memories Of Heaven, by the motivational speaker Dr Wayne Dyer. Since then, scores of you have written in to tell us how your own young children have come out with perplexing and sometimes painful ‘revelations’ about their past selves. Some readers will believe these ‘memories’ of being ancient Egyptians, soldiers or reborn family members are merely the product of fertile imaginations. Others will find the extraordinary details coming from the mouths of those so young harder to explain.

 One thing is for certain: they make compelling reading.

Children as young as two or three have given vivid details of former lives, startling parents with their articulate accounts (file photo)

Maha-parinibbana Sutta, DN 16

Ariyas are found only in the Sasana; not in any other religious systems.

"In whatsoever Dhamma and Discipline, Subhadda, there is not found the Noble Eightfold Path, neither is there found a true ascetic of the first, second, third, or fourth degree of saintliness. 

But in whatsoever Dhamma and Discipline there is found the Noble Eightfold Path, there is found a true ascetic of the first, second, third, and fourth degrees of saintliness. 

Now in this Dhamma and Discipline, Subhadda, is found the Noble Eightfold Path; and in it alone are also found true ascetics of the first, second, third, and fourth degrees of saintliness. 

Devoid of true ascetics are the systems of other teachers. But if, Subhadda, the bhikkhus live righteously, the world will not be destitute of arahats."

Why has so much blood been shed in the name of religion?

Has Buddhism contributed to the carnage? 

'Human beings need their lives to make sense, to have meaning and purpose. Religions appear to meet this need. As a consequence, most people adopt a set of religious beliefs or dogmas as a framework within which to understand their lives. But as there are a number of belief systems, and each one tends to assert that it alone is the possessor of truth, the age-old conflict between belief systems and the passions they engender is inevitable. Despite all of the “religious” violence the world has seen, the nature of human needs makes it hard to imagine a world without people taking refuge in dogmatic beliefs.