Originally posted by Poopie-Head:
I have a few questions that I hope you guys can help me with.
Refering to the Q & A thread:
http://www.sgforums.com/?action=thread_display&thread_id=98028&page=2
"Only those marked with the 32 Major Marks and 81 Minor Marks are
considered "Buddhas". "
- What are Major Marks and Minor Marks? Is there any reason for
those numbers 32 and 81? What do they represent?
32 Major Marks are:
(01) protuberance on the head,
(02) hair of the head is blue-black and curling from left to
right,
(03) even and broad forehead,
(04) white tuft of hair between the eyebrows,
(05) blue eyes,
(06) forty teeth,
(07) even and orderly teeth,
(0
teeth close together,
(09) white teeth,
(10) ability of tasting any food as the best,
(11) jaw like a lion's,
(12) long and thin tongue,
(13) voice like Brahma's,
(14) well-framed shoulders,
(15) seven prominent parts (i.e. both hands, both feet, both
shoulders, and the back),
(16) both shoulders well filled out,
(17) fine, golden skin,
(1 arms reaching the knees when standing upright,
(19) majestic upper part of the body like a lion's,
(20) body like a Nyagrodha tree in circumference,
(21) a hair growing from each pore,
(22) hair growing upwards and its point bending towards the
right,
(23) male organ hidden in the foreskin,
(24) well-rounded thighs,
(25) unprotuberant ankle-bone,
(26) soft and tender hands and feet,
(27) hands and feet with webs between fingers and toes,
(2 long fingers,
(29) soles bearing the mark of a thousand-spoked wheel,
(30) both feet standing firm,
(31) long and broad heels, and
(32) calves like the shanks of the king of black antelopes.
80 Minor Signs are:
(01) copper-colored nails,
(02) soft and glossy nails,
(03) highly curved nails,
(04) round fingers,
(05) tapering fingers,
(06) strong fingers,
(07) hidden veins,
(0 veins without knots,
(09) unexposed ankles,
(10) both feet identical,
(11) steps like a lion's,
(12) steps like an elephant's,
(13) steps like a swan's,
(14) steps like a bull's,
(15) turning the head clockwise to look back,
(16) beautiful manner of walking,
(17) upright walking,
(1 well-framed limbs,
(19) immaculate limbs,
(20) well-balanced limbs,
(21) clean limbs,
(22) soft limbs,
(23) strong limbs,
(24) complete male organ,
(25) broad, elegant and round limbs,
(26) walking with an even step,
(27) delicate limbs,
(2 unimpaired limbs,
(29) symmetrical and majestic body,
(30) well-joined limbs,
(31) well-proportioned limbs and members,
(32) pure and unobscured eye-sight,
(33) rounded abdomen,
(34) spotless abdomen,
(35) unfurrowed abdomen,
(36) convex abdomen,
(37) deep-seated navel,
(3 right-turning navel,
(39) readiness to help others equally,
(40) noble conduct,
(41) body without freckles,
(42) hands as soft as cotton,
(43) brilliant lines on the hand,
(44) deep lines on the hand,
(45) unbroken lines on the hand,
(46) face not too long,
(47) lips red like the Bimba fruit,
(4 soft tongue,
(49) thin tongue,
(50) red tongue,
(51) voice like an elephant's roar and like thunder,
(52) sweet and pleasant voice,
(53) perfect teeth,
(54) sharp teeth,
(55) white teeth,
(56) even teeth,
(57) tapering teeth,
(5 high nose,
(59) nose not too long,
(60) pure eyes,
(61) broad eyes,
(62) beautiful eyebrows,
(63) eyes like the petal of a blue Kuvalaya flower,
(64) blue-black eyebrows,
(65) soft eyebrows,
(66) regular eyebrows,
(67) lustrous eyebrows,
(6 large ears,
(69) both ears identical,
(70) healthy ears,
(71) forehead well fitted to the face,
(72) broad forehead,
(73) well-developed head,
(74) blue-black hair,
(75) closely growing hair,
(76) soft hair,
(77) undishevelled hair,
(7 smooth and even hair,
(79) fragrant hair, and
(80) palms and soles marked with Svastika and other auspicious
signs.
This website explains all the causes of the 32 Major Marks: http://pages.cthome.net/tibetanbuddhism/May_01_news_pg_2.htm
This website explains all the causes of the 80 Minor Marks: http://pages.cthome.net/tibetanbuddhism/May_01_news_pg_3.htm
- Is the Buddha Omnipotent?
Buddha is Omniscient, Buddha possesses the 6 Miraculous
Powers, but Buddha is not Omnipotent. Omnipotence is derived
from the concept of "Creatorism", which Buddha had rejected in
several texts. Since there was no Creator, nobody in the world is
Omnipotent. We are not punished by the Creator for sins, but
rather, it is Karma (cause and effect) which makes us bear the
consequences for our Mind, Speech, Action. Also, everything in the
world is formed due to various causes and conditions.
It is Karma which "runs" our life, not fate, not control from an
omnipotent being.
Therefore, my Karma ran over your Dogma 
- What is the difference between a Buddha who is still alive
physically on Earth, and one who has passed on?
Passed on or passed away?
I don't know what you mean, but, Buddhas are Buddhas. There are
uncountable Buddhas, but every Buddhas have the same characters and
nature, but manifest differently to sentient beings due to
different cause and conditions/vows/etc etc.
Are there any Buddhas alive now?
There are no Buddhas currently living in Planet Earth. But there
are many Mahabodhisattvas, "lesser" Bodhisattvas, and Arhats, who
are teaching sentient beings like you and me here... they are all
learning to be Buddhas, to attain Buddhahood, and following the
orders of Buddha to be reborn on Earth in the age of
degeneration.
There are uncountable Buddhas in the universe and beyond, with
uncountable Buddha-lands like the Western Pure Land which everyone
knows.
Pure Land Buddhists practice the chanting of Namo Amitabha/Namo
Amida Butsu/etc etc.
The explanation is very interesting. Here are my questions
regarding the above:
- Is the Abhassara plane = 17th plane? Maha Brahma plane = 16th
plane? How many planes are there? Why would a 17th plane entity be
reborn into a lower plane?
There are 31 Planes of Existences altogether. I don't know which
is 17th and which is 16th, you can count 
Each sentient being has different thoughts and consciousness which
results in different Mind/Speech/Action Karma. Beings are thus
reborned into different places and realms upon the next
rebirth.
- You mentioned "other remote world systems". How many other
world systems are there? Are they running in parallel to our
"system"? Are there currently any lifeforms in other world systems?
Is this "world system" = our universe as we know it?
I'm not too good at Buddhist cosmology. I've got lots of CDs
which explained all about the universe stuff, and they really made
sense, just that I couldn't remember them. What I could remember
was, that Buddha said that there are at least 1 Billion Sun-Systems
(we call it solar systems) in our universe alone, there are many
many worlds which make up another bigger world, and so on. Buddha
described "spiral world systems" which refers to galaxies, and
objects (planets/asteroids) in space are "round/oval".
In the future, during Maitreya Buddha's era, everyone will be
travelling in flying vehicles. In future, there will be "flying
vehicles that could travel 84,000 people". Buddha Maitreya would be
travelling in a golden flying vehicle. By then, 4 human planets
under the Mt.Sumeru (a cosmological mountain that means "vast
space" ) will be under one rule of the "Universal Monarch" (i think
it'll probably be a democratic government 
). And it goes on to describe how modern/technological
advance the place is... with a very very long human life-span...
all that seems impossible 2,500 years ago, suddenly seems to be a
possibility in the future. It is interesting to note that a few
Buddhist texts described about flying vehicles in the future, but
anyway, off-topic.
- Is Maha Brahma = the first brahma born in the Maha Brahma
plane? What is the lifespan of the 'Creator God'?
Yes, Maha Brahma is the first Brahma to appear in the 1st Jhana
plane. This is the reason why the Maha Brahma is led to preach a
theistic doctrine.
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/bps/wheels/wheel414.html
Maha
Brahma
The Buddha has directly seen the origins of Maha Brahma and
understands what it requires to be reborn in his world. In the
Brahmajala Sutta (DN 1) the Buddha describes how a supposed Creator
God came to believe himself omnipotent and how others came to rely
on his sovereignty. His description was based, not on speculation
or hearsay, but on his own direct knowledge. The Buddha explains
that when our world system disintegrates, as it regularly does
after extremely long periods of time, the lower sixteen planes are
all destroyed. Beings disappear from all planes below the
seventeenth, the plane of the Abhassara gods. Whatever beings
cannot be born on the seventeenth or a higher brahma plane then
must take birth on the lower planes in other remote world
systems.
Eventually the world starts to re-form. Then a solitary being
passes away from the Abhassara plane and takes rebirth on the plane
of Maha Brahma. A palace created by his kamma awaits him there:
"There he dwells, mind-made, feeding on rapture, self-luminous,
moving through the air, abiding in glory. And he continues thus for
a long, long time." After ages pass, he becomes lonely and longs
for other beings to join him. It just so happens that shortly after
the brahma starts craving for company, other beings from the
Abhassara plane, who have exhausted their lifespans there, pass
away and are reborn in the palace of Brahma, in companionship with
him.
Because these beings seemed to arise in accordance with the first
brahma's wish, he becomes convinced that he is the almighty God: "I
am the Great Brahma, the Vanquisher... the Lord, the Maker and
Creator, the Supreme Being." The other brahmas, seeing that he was
already present when they took birth in his world, accept his claim
and revere him as their creator.
Eventually this misconception of a Creator God spreads to the human
plane. One of the other brahmas passes away and is reborn here. He
develops concentration and learns to recollect his previous life
with Maha Brahma, but none of his lives before that. Recollecting
that existence he recalls that Maha Brahma was considered the
"father of all that are and are to be... permanent, stable,
eternal." As he is unable to remember further back, he believes
this to be absolute truth and propounds a theistic doctrine of an
omnipotent Creator God (Net 69-70, 155-66).
The Venerable Ledi Sayadaw, a highly renowned Myanmar scholar-monk
of the first part of this century, gave a careful analysis of the
powers of Maha Brahma in his Niyama Dipani (MB pp. 138-39). He
states that although Maha Brahma can perform all sorts of
transformations, he cannot actually create independent creatures,
change the kammic law of cause and effect, or keep anyone from
growing old or dying. Brahma can use his special powers to
transport a man to the brahma plane for a short visit, but he
cannot ensure that someone will be reborn there.
- My understanding on this is that the Buddha is trying to
explain the origin of the Creator God (may I say Christian God?
Note that I am not trying to start some dispute of Buddhism vs
Christianity). Is this explanation coming directly from the Buddha
himself?
Buddha spoke about Brahma, Buddha spoke about Creatorism as a
whole, Buddha spoke about Religion as a whole. However Buddha did
not specifically speak about the Christian God, because firstly,
Christianity started 500 years after Buddha, and secondly, the
Judaist kingdoms have few/no contacts with the Indian kingdoms
during that era. However, it is obvious that Buddha rejected the
notion of "Creatorism" in the following text:
If the creator of the world
entire / they call God, of every being be the Lord / Why does he
order such misfortune / And not create happiness but only
discord?
If the creator of the world entire / They call God, of every being
be the Lord / Why prevail deceit, lies and ignorance / And he such
inequity and injustice create?
If the creator of the world entire / they call God, of every being
be the Lord / Then an evil master is he, (O Aritta) / Knowing
what's right did let wrong prevail!
Furthermore, Buddha pointed out that most religions have origins
from Fear, something which Buddha has denounced.
The Buddha did not claim to be in
any way divine, nor does Buddhism involve the idea of a personal
god.
The Buddha suggested that it was fear that produced the religious
impulse in humanity.
"Gripped by fear men go to the sacred mountains, sacred groves,
sacred trees and shrines, but these are not a secure kind of
refuge."
The Dhammapada, 188.
The way to cure this fear is not by believing in a God who will
protect you, but by coming to a proper understanding and acceptance
of the way things are. - BBC News
- You mention that the other brahmas started being reborn in the
first brahma's world. Since they are all brahmas, they would have
similar abilities, why would they believe that the first brahma is
the Creator and Supreme Being just because they were born later?
For e.g. Humans born later would have similar abilities of older
humans, and will never admit that the older is a Supreme Creator.
Why would brahmas accept the idea that an entity of the same plane
is superior just because he is the first born? Are there any other
abilities to set him aside from the rest?
I'm not a Brahma myself so I'm not sure, but the "Maha Brahma"
also means he's the leader/king of the 1st Jhana plane, and
therefore all the devas and even humans have respect for this
"supreme being".
- Is the Maha Brahma aware of the existance of the higher planes
and its inhabitants?
I'm not sure about the Maha Brahma, but this is what the Baka
Brahma thought:
Baka Brahma was the chief of the
first realm of higher gods. He was of the view that his realm was
the highest and that he himself and his realm were everlasting, not
knowing that there were higher realms above his own. The Blessed
One visited the Brahma world and in the midst of an assembly of
higher gods pointed out to Baka Brahma, "There are realms of higher
gods above yours. The whole Brahma world of higher gods including
your realm is not permanent". Then the Blessed One continued his
discourse to Baka Brahma by saying, "I know how you have come into
being and what your powers are. But, there are higher gods superior
to you in status and power". Finding that all his views were wrong,
Baka wished to show his own powers and said. "I will make myself
invisible". He made several attempts to become invisible, but
without success. The Blessed One then said, "I will now show you
that I can make myself invisible", and instantly the Buddha
disappeared from view and preached to him a sermon while remaining
invisible.
- Would the Maha Brahma be totally and truely convinced that he
is the Supreme Creator? As you have mentioned, if he cannot create
life, how can he convince others or even himself that he is the
Supreme Creator? Can he create the lower planes? If not, he should
be aware of the fact that his powers are limited, and that he is
not a Creator.
The Venerable Ledi Sayadaw, a
highly renowned Myanmar scholar-monk of the first part of this
century, gave a careful analysis of the powers of Maha Brahma in
his Niyama Dipani (MB pp. 138-39). He states that although Maha
Brahma can perform all sorts of transformations, he cannot
actually create independent creatures, change the kammic law of
cause and effect, or keep anyone from growing old or
dying. Brahma can use his special powers to transport a
man to the brahma plane for a short visit, but he cannot ensure
that someone will be reborn there.
Sorry for so many questions. In fact, I have some more
rebirth/reincarnation questions, but I think I'd leave it till
later.
Thanks for your time. 
You're welcome to ask any time and the moderators will gladly
answer you.
