How Was the Buddha Down-to-Earth? Demythologizing Prayer, Deities, and Devotion

How was the Buddha a down-to-earth, pragmatic teacher? In this second video on the subject (the first is linked below) we'll look at some of the ways the Buddha demythologized many deity practices of his day, as well as his skepticism towards prayer and devotional practices. We'll also turn to a few caveats at the end. 📙 Check out my new book, A Handbook of Early Buddhist Wisdom, with a Foreword by Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi: https://books2read.com/buddhisthandbook 🧡 If you find this material useful, check out my Patreon page and get fun benefits like exclusive videos, audio-only versions, and extensive show notes:   / dougsseculardharma   🧡 You can also make donations through: https://paypal.me/dougsdharma ☸️ Free mini-course at the Online Dharma Institute: onlinedharma.org. 🎙Check out my podcast with Jon Aaron, Diggin' the Dharma: https://digginthedharma.com/ ✅ Videos mentioned: How Was the Buddha Down-to-Earth? His Approach to Ritual --    • How Was the Buddha Down-to-Earth? His Appr...   What Did the Buddha Say About Prayer? —    • What Did the Buddha Say About Prayer?   The Buddha on “Magic” —    • The Buddha on "Magic"   Devotion in Early Buddhism —    • Devotion in Early Buddhism   How We Get Caught By Practice: Clinging to Rules and Rituals in Early Buddhism —    • How We Get Caught By Practice: Clinging to...   Why Won't the Buddha Answer You? —    • Why Won't the Buddha Answer You? (The Unan...   ✅ Book mentioned: Donald Lopez, The Scientific Buddha: His Short and Happy Life — https://amzn.to/39clcjx ✅ Suttas mentioned: Prayer: https://suttacentral.net/an5.43/en/su... https://suttacentral.net/sn42.6/en/su... Conversion magic: https://suttacentral.net/dn24/en/sujato https://suttacentral.net/dn11/en/sujato (Others in related video). Demythologization: https://suttacentral.net/dn31/en/sujato https://suttacentral.net/an4.190/en/s... https://suttacentral.net/dn13/en/sujato Clinging to rules and rituals: https://suttacentral.net/mn2/en/sujato https://suttacentral.net/mn9/en/sujato https://suttacentral.net/mn11/en/sujato https://suttacentral.net/mn64/en/sujato Not answering all questions: https://suttacentral.net/mn2/en/sujato https://suttacentral.net/mn72/en/sujato https://suttacentral.net/an4.77/en/su... Caveat: https://suttacentral.net/an5.48/en/su... Webpage: https://www.dougsdharma.com/ Facebook:   / onlinedharmainstitute   Twitter:   / dougsdharma   Original thumbnail photo courtesy of Sarbajit Sen on Pexels. https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-wear... ❤️ Thanks to Patreon Patrons: Aziz Rahman Anonymous (2) Scarlett Farrow Jimmy Maa Debbie Mattison Fine Art Ann Steve H. Ron Peat Carlos Gutierrez Matthew Smith JC Shantha Wengappuli Karma_CAC Johan Thelander Jorge Seguel Christopher Apostolof GailJM Brett Merritt David Bell T Pham VCR Upayadhi Andi and Erik ATGuerrero686 Michael Scherrer Michael Seefeld khobe schofield Alex Perdomo Benji Forsyth Kaine Usher Cookie Forthecookie Blaze Way Sonny Flink Steve Marlor Joy L Lee Andrew Tom Anthony Tucker Karlee R Ethan M Billy in Singapore Derek Birch Matthew G Mynttinen Theodor Bernhard Olivia Otter Carl Lennartson xiao mao Jeff Harvey Andrew Ingrouille Kenneth Grandchamp Doug Fonner Rene Gariepy Russell Needham Smoggyrob Mac Roja Bernardo Clémence Ortega Douville Adam Humphrey Kwan Alex Scott Johnston Richard J Beninger 00:00 Intro 01:03 Prayer 02:44 Conversion magic 04:34 Demythologizing deity practices 09:34 Attachment to rules and rituals 11:09 Devotional practice 12:56 Unanswered questions 14:39 Some caveats 16:12 Finding benefit in ritual 17:36 The Buddha’s approach Note: as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Amazon links are affiliate links where I will earn a very small commission on purchases you make, at no additional cost to you. This goes a tiny way towards defraying the costs of making these videos. Thank you!