Question & Answer #155: from the Conditional Reality of Cells to Intoxicants in Pali Buddhism

Questions include: whether microscopic entities like cells existed before they were discovered; stealing with No Self; atoms, DNA, and materialism; the Dalai Lama on Epstein’s client list; is formal initiation necessary; sensitive plants; upekkha vs. indifference; how upekkha and indifference FEEL; good karma without free will; monks who handle money; troubles with ecclesiastical penance; Aghoris; Philippians 4:12-13; chemicals inducing mystical states; nine precepts for novices; teaching Dhamma to children; evolution as a political doctrine; a central authority regulating monks; Tibetan excesses; monks playing golf; emptiness vs. energy; buying entheogens on the dark web; spelunking monks; bilocation; insincere politicians; usefulness of remorse; skillful shame; understanding Burmese without Burmese people realizing it; my thoughts on England; mixing moral standards in society; reading non-Buddhist books in Burma; social differences in different Theravadin countries; different reasons for ordination over the decades; an encouraging Buddhist story; a recent sex scandal in Thailand; Buddhist faith vs. Christian faith; beatniks and hippies; animalistic westerners; physical analogies to mental phenomena; entropy in Dhamma; Brigitte Macron; Stephen Colbert; rainbows; and the translation of *majja* as “intoxicant.”

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