Ep310: 10 Unanswered Questions - Dhammarato

In this episode, I am once again joined by Dhammarato: a lineage teacher in the Thai Buddhist tradition.  Dhammarato critiques Western and Asian Buddhist forms, including the Mahasi method, and addresses misconceptions about stream entry. Dhammarato comments on The Shorter Discourse to Mālunkyāputta, explains why the Buddha refused to teach on certain metaphysical subjects, challenges reincarnation, and questions mettā bhāvanā. Dhammarato also presents his understanding of the Buddha’s true teachings, how to find a guru, and reflects on his own training under Ajahn Po. … 
 Also available on Youtube - search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’. ... 01:52 - Reflecting on 80 years of life 02:36 - Western Buddhism 03:02 - Buddhism with a lot of baggage 04:42 - Buddhism’s inferior spread in the West 05:25 - Alan Watts was more Christian than Zen 06:33 - Steve reads a sutta 09:12 - The imponderables and what the Buddha left undeclared 10:06 - Reincarnation is not part of the teachings 12:29 - Dhammarato on the 4 noble truths 13:23- Enlightenment is immediately available 14:08 - Right samadhi 15:18 - How to be free of suffering 15:33 - Buddha only taught one practice: ānāpānasati 17:28 - The noble mind 19:50 - The four noble truths are the only teaching 20:35 - Life is not suffering 21:48 - The Mahasi method is wrong 22:13 - The 16 stages of insight is a misguided model 23:18 - Western Buddhism is a ripoff 26:37 - Magical teachings and the folly of attainments 28:21 - Mahasi attainments vs what the Buddha taught 29:09 - Avoid these aspects of Western Buddhist meditation 30:16 - Mettā bhāvanā is not a teachings 32:44 - How to become a meditation teacher 34:02 - 5 ways to gain the Dhamma 35:15 - Critique of meditation retreats 37:28 - Buddha’s path is easy 40:44 - Attainments and mutual validation 42:03 - Peoples don’t see their greed 44:03 - Don’t brag about attainments 44:30 - How to know is someone is enlightened 49:32 - Huge understandings about stream entry 57:48 - Why do people claim stream entry? 01:00:37 - Christian Buddhism 01:02:33- How to demonstrate attainments 01:05:45 - How to expose fake stream enterers 01:08:52 - Meditation teacher trainings 01:10:37 - Certificates and the Wizard of Oz 01:18:11 - What are teacher trainings good for? 01:22:24 - How to become a good teacher 01:23:57 - Don’t train under a lay man for money - Discord: https://discord.gg/epphTGY - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjxg5GJFsRqnS-YLTzyrjLQ For more visit. - www.guruviking.com Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James