Talk:Brahmajāla Sutta

hi, This is about the English spelling of Brahmajala Sutta.I feel it should be "Bhramajaala Sutta"."Bhrama" in Indic languages means illusion or wrong view, and "jaala" means a net used to trap birds or fish. I felt this after I  found in the Digha Nikaya page, the entry "1.Brahmajala Sutta (-jāla-): mainly concerned with 62 types of wrong view." in the 'Divisions' subsection. Also, in the Brahmajala Sutta page, the following passage is found. "The elaboration of these beliefs is very detailed, focusing on how the beliefs (faiths) come to be and the way they are described and declared. The elaboration ends with the Buddha's statement about the danger of clinging to these beliefs, as they are still influenced by desire (lobha), hatred (dosa), and ignorance (avijjā) that its faithful followers will not end in the final liberation but still in the cycle of samsara." This again conforms with the entry in the list of suttas quoted above. However ,the following passage from the introduction to Brahmajala Sutta page "The name comes from 'brahma' (perfect wisdom) and 'jala' (net-which-embraced-all-views)" ,does not seem to be correct,because generally,in Indic languages ,"brahma " is taken to signify the universal presence.It may, perhaps, have the connotation of perfect wisdom. But 'jaala' (net) is not generally used to signify 'all encomapssing'. Unfortunately, I have no access to the original texts. siva122.169.138.190 (talk) 19:33, 26 August 2011 (UTC)

hi, can i translate with my own words about this sutta? i have an indonesian-language translation of this sutta. Or should i just write the main idea and the conclusion? please let me know asap. Tasfan 02:51, 1 March 2006 (UTC)
 * I think it's okay to do your own translation, but you should cite whatever sources you use, even if they're in another language. The important principle is No original research. I don't mean to imply that you're doing anything wrong, but it's worth keeping in mind! Cheers, Melchoir 08:58, 3 March 2006 (UTC)

Yes, i understand. After all, this is about religion and scriptures. I will cite the source asap.Tasfan 09:02, 3 March 2006 (UTC)

Suggestions
I think the article should be changed to the present tense, which is the standard in discussing literature. Also, the section headers are too big. I guess I'll do that one myself. Melchoir 01:41, 8 March 2006 (UTC)


 * ok. I agree. I will do the present-tensing. thx.Tasfan 01:53, 8 March 2006 (UTC)

I came here to find a quote by Buddha, but was surprised to see that the interpretations / translations are very different from what I have seen. The Tripitaka (Theravada version) was written in Sri Lanka in the 1st century BC in Sri Lanka, entirely in the language that Buddha spoke, Magadhi, the language of the ancient state, Magadha. The language is now popularly called Pali. paali means rows in Sanskrit. (Check at Cologne Sanskrit dictionary). That is what Singhala monks called the palm leaf books made up of long palm leaves -- long rows of text. Brahma means almighty creator god, similar to Christian god, that Hindus characterize in various other ways.

I am a Singhalese and read the Singhala translation of brahmajaala suþþa set side-by-side with the Pali version. That was at metta.lk web site maintained by a Danish monk called Mettavihari. He meticulously compiled the set and even had English and Polish translations. Unfortunately, that web site is gone, which is why I came here looking for the sutta.

I feel that the Singhala translation is the authoritative translation. I also think that the German translation made by Ven. Nynanaponika is authoritative. I was one of his printers in early 1970s. He showed me the galley proof of the entire Tripitaka in German that he was editing. So, if a good translation is sought, please find that translation which should be there somewhere in Germany.

In short what I understood from Brahmajala (at metta.lk) is this: Buddha was asked why there are so many religions. He says that he is aware of them and describes how they happened. There are many pious people that prepare themselves virtuously and sit, meditate and when reaching high state of meditation they find confirmation of what they believed as correct: God (Brahma) created the world and became the first person on earth etc. -- some 60 odd versions. Then he says all these faiths are the result of what their founders gathered from mundane experiences, from what others told them etc. When they concluded on something, they found proof of it in their meditative practice, like the man fishing in the lake becoming more and more practiced at catching fish knowing where to find them etc. Then he says that these people cannot justify their beliefs when questioned rationally.

He says, instead, the best practice is simply to watch how senses cause emotions and observe how we assign labels to them as good, bad, hurting etc. and to learn to avoid doing that.

At the end of the sermon, his cousin and caregiver Ananda says, 'That is such a great advice. How should we name it?' Buddha gave several long suggestions, but apparently, Ananda or the brotherhood decided to call it simply 'the god trap' or brahma-jaala. JC (talk) 20:23, 28 October 2015 (UTC)

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