text:
Is nirvana a conceptual construction?
Is nirvana a conceptual construction - empty in that way? For any / only some Buddhists.
I'm just trying to figure out how extinction can avoid the extremes of eternalism and annihilation. If it is a conceptual construction in the sense of having no reality outside what it is in conventional designation (blissful etc.), that might be an answer. If some rock has no qualities that we cannot define, then maybe there is nothing to add to its existence, nothing to puzzle over and ask why or how.

"I'm just trying to figure out how extinction can avoid the extremes of eternalism and annihilation."
And therein lies your problem.  If you are trying to figure it out, you are dealing in concepts, not nirvana.  Every word you speak answers itself.  It is a closed loop.  A closed system.  Step outside.  How would you define a word without using language?  See the following:

Case 5 of the Mumonkan Kyogen's "Man Up a Tree"
The Case:
Kyõgen Oshõ said, "It is like a man up in a tree hanging from a branch
with his mouth; his hands grasp no bough, his feet rest on no limb.
Someone appears under the tree and asks him, 'What is the meaning of
Bodhidharma's coming from the West?' If he does not answer, he fails
to respond to the question. If he does answer, he will lose his life.
What would you do in such a situation?"
Mumon's Comment:
Even if your eloquence flows like a river, it is of no avail. Though
you can expound the whole of Buddhist literature, it is of no use. If
you solve this problem, you will give life to the way that has been
dead until this moment and destroy the way that has been alive up to
now. Otherwise you must wait for Maitreya Buddha and ask him.
Mumon's Verse:
Kyõgen is truly thoughtless; His vice and poison are endless. He stops
up the mouths of the monks,  And devil's eyes sprout from their
bodies.

Instead of worrying about concepts, search for the word that has neither sound nor meaning.

really great answer, thanks

Is nirvana a conceptual construction? For any / only some Buddhists

Of course it'd depend on who you ask. To a deep-sea fish, the fresh breeze of the open sky will remain a conceptual construction, but to a man on land, that's something possible to have first-hand experience of. Similarly, Nibbana will remain a conceptual construction until one's attained awakening like the Buddha and His noble disciples.

so your answer is "no"? a reference would help you here

"no" and "yes", depending on the group of people already specified.

hm interesting. but you seem to also be saying that the buddha claimed unambiguously it isn't

Again, whether it is or is not depends on the frame of reference.

ok cool.   do  you have a quote  to support your claim that nirvana is not a conceptual construction to his noble disciples?

A simple quote will do no justice, you'll have to read the whole sutta to get the idea. Read MN 27: https://suttacentral.net/mn27/en/bodhi . Also please provide the exact reason or background to your inquiry ?

there is no reference to conceptual construction therein... dwai

You instantly replied, that indicates you have not read it. By the way, please answer my question.

ok done, right ?

done or not done, it's up to you. I can go on forever if you like.

sorry i'm not clear what you're talking about now

sorry, what is it that you meant "done"?

i edited my question, that's what i meant

From the way you interact, I'm not sure whether you're really serious in learning more, or just trolling. But either way, I'm still gonna do my part, which is to share infos, cuz if you don't read it, others will. Now, back to your added inquiry, there's already an excellent answer on dhammwheel, which you should check out: https://dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?p=576140#p576140

i think you have an attitude problem... no need to blame me

The problem is blatantly obvious in your alias, SATIRICAL_BUDDHIST

ok well i tried to change it but can't for another month or so. sorry

When language is involved, everything becomes a conceptual construct. That's the problem with language, you have to create a concept of something to explain something. The question in itself is unclear, but Nirvana is a goal, or a state. It's a state of freedom from suffering and rebirth. When you reach nirvana, your mind is free from the 3 fires. The fires of ignorance/delusion, attatchment/greed and aversion/hate. You do not experience rebirth anymore, as you have removed the attachment to life.

Nirvana or Nibbana is not a thought or concept of the mind. It is that which is experienced by the mind, when it is completely free of all fetters and defilements.
I quote from this answer below. Please see that answer for a detailed analysis including sutta quotes.

So, Nibbana is not a thought of the mind, not a concept of the mind,
not a state of the mind, not a state of consciousness and also not a
feeling. However, when the mind experiences this Nibbana, which is not
conditioned, not compounded, not suffering, not impermanent, not
arising, not ceasing and not changing, it experiences bliss. The mind
can therefore experience Nibbana, but it cannot feel it or think about
it.
Sukha or happiness for an unenlightened person is experienced when
encountering pleasant feelings (from the six senses) or when
encountering the cessation of painful feelings (from the six senses).
But for an arahat, sukha or bliss (in this context) is experienced
when encountering neutral feelings, no feelings and Nibbana.

Also from that answer:
From AN 9.34 (translated by Bhikkhu Sujato):

Ven: Sariputta: “Reverends, extinguishment (Nibbana) is bliss!
Ven. Udayi: “But Reverend Sāriputta, what’s blissful about it, since
nothing is felt?”
Ven. Sariputta: “The fact that nothing is felt is precisely what’s
blissful about it.

is that what conceptual construction means then -- a mere idea of empirical reality?

@satirical_buddhist It's simply the complete absence of dukkha (suffering / discontent).

of what though?

@satirical_buddhist If you read that answer, it quotes AN 9.34: Ven: Sariputta: “Reverends, extinguishment (Nibbana) is bliss! Ven. Udayi: “But Reverend Sāriputta, what’s blissful about it, since nothing is felt?” Ven. Sariputta: “The fact that nothing is felt is precisely what’s blissful about it."

i'm unconvinced that answers my question. which was not about happiness without feeling, but happiness wthout anything being happy

but i  can easily conceive of happiness without feelig. that is pretty standard religion / morality i think. not sure about happiness without a happy thing

@satirical_buddhist Nirvana is translated here as "extinguishment". That should give you a hint. It extinguishes everything that can make you unhappy, suffer or feel dissatisfied.

so are rocks happy?

@satirical_buddhist Rocks do not have feeling, perception, consciousness and mental formations. Plants do have feeling and maybe perception, but they do not have consciousness and mental formations. Only beings with all five aggregates who experience mental suffering, can attain Nirvana.

confusing. so the sentient being that undergoes nirvana is what is happy?

@satirical_buddhist The sentient being that attains Nirvana has found a stable source of happiness - the only stable source of happiness there is.

Obviously people have conceptions about it (and those conceptions are conceptual constructions).
I think that nibbana itself is defined as unconstructed -- or unconditioned -- or more literally, "undefiled", "extinguished", etc., are among its many attributes.
I think the idea is that because it isn't constructed, it is therefore not subject to decay and coming apart -- according to the "three characteristics", it's "sankharas" (i.e. constructed things) which are impermanent ... and nibbana isn't a sankhara.
I'm using "conditioned" and "constructed" here as synonyms, which perhaps isn't quite right, but I think it's along the right lines -- see also this answer (which says that the non-construction of something may depend on some condition, but that what's unconstructed isn't itself impermanent).

This is a good question. I have not experienced anything close to Nirvana. But from what Buddha has said we can understand it as a natural state of unborn , uncreate and as a state of unbecoming. It is grasped conceptually but once nirvana is achieved you don’t need to hold on to any concept. It is a natural state of unborn existence...

Are you asking about the referent of the word "nirvana"?
The referent of the word nirvana is a concept of nirvana, and the referent of that concept is ... WHAT?
The referent of that concept is the actual experiential liberation of the mind.
Liberation from what? Liberation from the confines of concepts and therefore from the dukkha that comes from the clash between concepts, or between the concepts on one hand and the ontological reality on the other.
Now you tell me, is this Liberation a conceptual construct? For you perhaps it is, because you are asking about it? For me - not anymore, because I attained it in practice.
Once attained, the concept of nirvana has no referent. One does not engage in semiotic games anymore. No bullshit like "nirvana" and "liberation".

Does the "reference/referent" duality exist in Buddhism, or is that (perhaps like "ideal/real") an artefact of western philosophy?

i think we can do without bragging about attainment, but thank you for the answer

@ChrisW it's a common feature of Tibetan Mahayana treatises, it comes up quite a lot.

It seemed to me refreshingly absent in the suttas -- with that absence being a welcome (and radical) simplification -- albeit perhaps implied by "conceptual proliferation" or some things like that.

Some aspects of Nagarjuna’s Madhyamaka-karika could suggest that, but that is not the “orthodox” Madhyamika stance, at least amongst Tibetans


text:
What are Sensuality, Strings of Sensuality, and Fermentation of Sensuality?
Can someone explain sensuality, strings of sensuality, and fermentation of sensuality thoroughly?
I want to know,

What is it?
The main cause for it.
The result of it.
Where it lies in the dependent origination?
Difference between above terms.

It'd be very helpful if you provide Sutta references with the answer.

Sensuality and strings of sensuality is a very specific translation by Ven. Thanissaro.
Piya Tan translates them in Nibbedhika (Pariyāya) Sutta (quoted below) as sensual desires (instead of sensuality) and cords of sensual pleasures (instead of strings of sensuality).

Sensual desires (kāmā), bhikshus, should be known;
The source for the arising of sensual desires should be known.
The diversity of sensual desires should be known.
The result of sensual desires should be known.
The cessation of sensual desires should be known.
The way to the cessation of sensual desires should be known.
—so it is said, but in what connection is this said?

There are these 5 cords of sensual pleasures (kāma,guṇa):
forms cognizable by the eye,
desirable, attractive, pleasant, endearing, associated with sensual desires, delightful;
sounds cognizable by the ear,
desirable, attractive, pleasant, endearing, associated with sensual desires, delightful;
smells cognizable by the nose,
desirable, attractive, pleasant, endearing, associated with sensual desires, delightful;
tastes cognizable by the tongue,
desirable, attractive, pleasant, endearing, associated with sensual desires, delightful;
touches cognizable by the body,
desirable, attractive, pleasant, endearing, associated with sensual desires, delightful.
Bhikshus, these are not sensual objects (kāma), but in the noble discipline, they are called 'the cords of sensual pleasures'

It's interesting that the last statement differentiates the two.
Piya Tan explains in his commentary:

Now that we have examined all the lines of the “kāma verse,” we can
better understand what its preceding prose line — one of the most
enigmatic statements in the early canon—means, when the Buddha
declares: “These are not sensual objects, but in the noble discipline,
they are called ‘the cords of sensual pleasures.”
In the suttas, sense-objects (kāmā) are called “the cords of sensual
pleasure” (kāma,guṇa) because we make them so in our minds. We “desire”
(kāmeti) them; we accumulate them: we make a “pile” and proliferation
(guṇa) of them—so that they become a “cord” (guṇa) that binds and
plays with us. When the enemy is named, it is known — we are in a
better position to defend, strengthen and free ourselves.

In Sabb’āsava Sutta, Piya Tan translates what Ven. Thanissaro calls "fermentation of sensuality" as "influx of sense-desire" (kām’āsava).
He explains what influxes are:

The term “influx” (āsava) refers to a category of
defilements existing at the deepest level of the mind, and which fuel
and sustain samsaric existence. The Commentaries derive
āsava (BHS āśrava, asrava) from √ŚRU, to flow. The prefix ā-can refer to
inward or outward. Hence, it can be rendered as “influxes,
influences,”since they fuel our existence and prolong our suffering.It
also refers to pus and other discharges from a bad wound; hence, it can
also be translated as “outflows, effluents,” or more poetically as
“cankers, corruptions, taints.”

Later he uses commentaries and other sources which I could not find yet, to link the influx of sensual desires to the five lower fetters of personality view (sakkāya,diṭṭhi), spiritual doubt (vicikicchā), attachment to rituals and vows (sīlabbata-parāmāsa), sensual lust (kāma,rāga) and repulsion (paṭigha).
The main cause for the cords of sensual pleasures?
From Nibbedhika (Pariyāya) Sutta:

And what, bhikshus, is the source for the arising of sensual desires
(kāmānaṁ nidāna,sambhavo)? Contact (phassa), bhikshus, is the source
for the arising of sensual desires.

What is the result of the cords of sensual pleasures?
From Nibbedhika (Pariyāya) Sutta:

And what, bhikshus, is the result of sensual desires
(kāmānaṁvipāko)? Bhikshus, one having sensual desires is reborn as
an individual into this or that existence depending on what
constitutes merit or on what constitutes demerit. — This, bhikshus, is
called the result of sensual desires.

I prefer Ven. Thanissaro's translation here for this:

"And what is the result of sensuality? One who wants sensuality
produces a corresponding state of existence, on the side of merit or
demerit. This is called the result of sensuality.

Where it lies in dependent origination?
This would be my guess - cords of sensual pleasures or strings of sensuality cover feeling (vedanā), craving (taṇhā) and clinging (upādāna). So, basically between contact (phassa) and existence (bhava). These would be feeling, craving and clinging associated with sights, sounds, smell, taste and touch.

"Now what is the allure of sensuality? There are, monks, these five strings of sensuality. Which five? Forms cognizable via the eye — agreeable, pleasing, charming, endearing, fostering desire, enticing. Sounds cognizable via the ear... Aromas cognizable via the nose... Flavors cognizable via the tongue... Tactile sensations cognizable via the body — agreeable, pleasing, charming, endearing, fostering desire, enticing. Now whatever pleasure or joy arises in dependence on these five strings of sensuality, that is the allure of sensuality.
https://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/adinava/index.html

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text:
Guan Yin - Bodhisattva as Goddess of Mercy
Where can I find the sanskrit or original version that mentioning Guan Yin is "Goddess of Mercy" as this wording popping up everywhere online.
The word "God" really needs to be carefully written and respected.
I understand many misconceptions from most famous Buddhism movie and one of the top 4 Novel of China which is Journey to The West. I am not sure the wording is from the movie or novel evolution?
The movie script writing and Buddhism teaching way too much difference yet making people claimed himself as Buddhist more superstitious or dont even know who is Buddha or worship at temple of out nothing.
Post ques remarks
Seem the naming is from Christian and not Buddhism Sangha/community https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesuit_China_missions#:~:text=The%20missionary%20efforts%20and%20other,culture%20in%20Chinese%20society%20today.

Wikipedia says, She was first given the appellation of "Goddess of Mercy" or the Mercy Goddess by Jesuit missionaries in China.

@ChrisW then misconception and praying out of nothing or worship with zero guide or worship with zero knowledge is seem inappropriate and strangely nobody says anything? it's more like a commercialize place or tourism place for most of the temple. That's how i spent my 10 years lingering at the temple to seek the truth.

nobody says anything --> answer from most of the Buddhism teaching class is a true Buddhism needs certain level of credit or faith to learn that.Also written in the Sutra at the opening verse - "Is difficult to encounter throughout hundreds of
thousands of millions of kalpas." https://www.fgsitc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Ksitigarbha_Sutra_ChiEng.pdf

On the subject of Jesuits, "Mother of Mercy" is one of Mary's titles. I can't say that those concepts are useless -- perhaps they're more or less like the Buddhist brahmaviiharas, for example -- and contemplating Mary's losing her son, might have an effect on the audience like this story (i.e. knowing that other people have this trouble too). But I'm glad people on this site introduced me to more detailed Buddhist doctrine, my sources before this were more shallow.

So is this question unanswerable?

I’m voting to close this question because it seems to be asking for an impossible (non-existent) reference, i.e. for a Sanskrit reference which describes Guan Yin as a "Goddess".

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text:
Why there is limited sharing in Buddhism
I found there are lacking of Buddhism knowledge sharing in Temple or some close friends. The temple would rather be superstitious like worshiping, or more commercialize or like a tourism place. I was taught by one of my teacher that Buddhist needs certain level of credits or faith to study it. It was written in the Mahayana Sutra opening verse too. "Is difficult to encounter throughout hundreds of thousands of millions of kalpas" https://www.fgsitc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Ksitigarbha_Sutra_ChiEng.pdf .
My personal findings we are still following the Treravada traditional of teaching where Pali languange was a royalty, the kingdom officer or the rich spoken language so it's not easy to encounter. I think what I was meant by this statement
"Is difficult to encounter throughout hundreds of thousands of millions of kalpas"
Scholars consider it likely that he taught in several closely related dialects of Middle Indo-Aryan, which had a high degree of mutual intelligibility.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pali
Does it a truth or where else Sutra mentioning that sharing of Buddhism shall be limited to certain people?

Most places are much nicer than that description; If could edit your post to include what type of teacher it was, could help clarify your question. Thank you!

Teacher was mentioned this statement below, it should have translated to what I mentioned above "Is difficult to encounter throughout hundreds of thousands of millions of kalpas."

@M H https://youtu.be/E6JClRlV3s4 this is the teacher but language spoken in Cantonese. Not sure u can convert it to english as subtitle

Thank you for very good understandable links; both the nice pdf, & the vid, the audio is very clear. 謝謝你!

Pali was not the language of the royalty. It is more or less based on the language spoken by the common people in the time of the Buddha (i.e. it's a Prakrit dialect). Sanskrit was the language of the royalty and the priests. In any case, Pali is no longer a spoken language today.

@M H, this is my entry level of Buddhism study which is the Mahayana version to understand inner of myself n basic Buddhism knowledge. Now me more on Theravada and Buddhism-Science or phycology specific topic that fill the gap of my weakness  and something more suitable to myself.

If you would like to discuss these concepts, there is a chat window section of the site which can be accessed by clicking on the 'chat' link on the lower left side of site pages, which opens the chat window, then can click on a chatroom to load it, and then ping & post messages in the box on the lower left of the screen, then clicking to post. 謝謝你!

Teaching of the Dhamma (the teachings of the Buddha) to those who need it, by those who are qualified to do so, is considered the best gift anyone can give to others.
From Iti 100:

"There are these two kinds of gifts: a gift of material things & a
gift of the Dhamma. Of the two, this is supreme: a gift of the Dhamma.
"There are these two kinds of sharing: sharing of material things &
sharing of the Dhamma. Of the two, this is supreme: sharing of the
Dhamma.
"There are these two kinds of assistance: assistance with material
things & assistance with the Dhamma. Of the two, this is supreme: help
with the Dhamma.
"There are these two kinds of mass-donations: a mass-donation of
material things & a mass-donation of the Dhamma. Of the two, this is
supreme: a mass-donation of the Dhamma."

However, only those who can appreciate the Dhamma (teachings) should be taught it. There is no use trying to teach the Dhamma to one who cannot appreciate it.
From SN 9.3:

Now at that time Venerable Kassapagotta, having withdrawn for his
day’s meditation, tried to advise a tribal hunter. Then the deity
haunting that forest approached Kassapagotta wanting to stir him up,
and recited these verses:

“A tribal hunter wandering the rugged hills
is unintelligent, unthinking.
It’s a waste of time to advise him;
this mendicant seems to me like an idiot.
The tribal hunter listens without understanding,
he looks without seeing.
Though the teaching is spoken,
the fool doesn’t get it.
Even if you lit ten lamps
and brought them to him, Kassapa,
he wouldn’t see anything,
for he has no eyes to see.”

Impelled by that deity, Venerable Kassapagotta was struck with a sense
of urgency.

Furthermore, the Patimokkha, the rules for Theravada Buddhist monks and nuns, restricts teaching to only people who are respectful to the teacher - details can be found in this answer.
So, these are the limitations to sharing in Buddhism:

The Dhamma should be taught only by one who is qualified to teach it
The Dhamma should be taught only to those who can appreciate it
The Dhamma should be taught only to those who are respectful to the teacher

It's a general precept in all sects of Buddhism that the dharma should be given freely to any who ask. But at the same time, Buddhism has never been a proselytizing faith — a faith that actively tries to convert people — because it holds that people will only come to the faith when they are ready to hear. Rituals, ceremonious, displays, tourist-like things, etc., are a bridge: they expose the faith to those who may not be ready to hear the dharma.
Ritual and ceremony are art, not practice. But art is nice, too.
There are nuances here. It is not up to any teacher to determine who is ready to hear the dharma, nor is every teacher so awake as to avoid missteps on the path. We should all tread lightly, and graciously.
There was this Vedanta monastery near where I used to live... A beautiful place; I'd go up there whenever I needed a break from the real world. One day they were having a ceremonial feast-day — lots of people milling around with the monks — and I ran into this one guy who told me (in a short conversation) that he was 'looking for the Truth'. He said it with absolute conviction, almost ferocity, so I didn't have the heart to tell him anything I knew he'd reject out of hand. When he loses that craving for 'Truth' he'll be ready to hear. We should all respect that.

On his awakening Buddha's compassion to teach was extended to saintly people who he saw as taintless and could understand his teaching not to everyone. Even in Buddha time the higher teaches was exclusively to the monks who have gone forth.
Quoted below is Ven. Sariputta telling the Anathapindika the householder in his death bed that the teaching on detachment is not given to lay people clad in white.
A learner with undeveloped virtue may or most likely will misunderstand the higher teaching and could loss his / her innate goodness. So there is real danger teaching to everyone the higher teaching of non-self, impermanence alike.
I dare say, website like this and many websites which elaborate and allow unbound discussion on the higher teaching of Buddhism is off-putting to most teachers, and most likely will not get approval had it been present in Buddha time. Website like this are probably doing more damage than good to many.

....
....
"Then, householder, you should train yourself in this way: 'I won't
cling to form... feeling... perception... thought-fabrications; my
consciousness will not be dependent on thought-fabrications.' ... 'I
won't cling to consciousness; my consciousness will not be dependent
on consciousness.' That's how you should train yourself.
"Then, householder, you should train yourself in this way: 'I won't
cling to the dimension of the infinitude of space... the dimension of
the infinitude of consciousness... the dimension of nothingness; my
consciousness will not be dependent on the dimension of nothingness.'
... 'I won't cling to the sphere of neither perception nor
non-perception; my consciousness will not be dependent on the sphere
of neither perception nor non-perception.' That's how you should train
yourself.
"Then, householder, you should train yourself in this way: 'I won't
cling to this world; my consciousness will not be dependent on this
world... I won't cling to the world beyond; my consciousness will not
be dependent on the world beyond.' That's how you should train
yourself.
"Then, householder, you should train yourself in this way: 'I won't
cling to what is seen, heard, sensed, cognized, attained, sought
after, pondered by the intellect; my consciousness will not be
dependent on that.' That's how you should train yourself."
**When this was said, Anathapindika the householder wept and shed tears.
Ven. Ananda said to him, "Are you sinking, householder? Are you
foundering?"
"No, venerable sir. I'm not sinking, nor am I foundering. It's just
that for a long time I have attended to the Teacher, and to the monks
who inspire my heart, but never before have I heard a talk on the
Dhamma like this."
"This sort of talk on the Dhamma, householder, is not given to lay
people clad in white. This sort of talk on the Dhamma is given to
those gone forth."
"In that case, Ven. Sariputta, please let this sort of talk on the
Dhamma be given to lay people clad in white. There are clansmen with
little dust in their eyes who are wasting away through not hearing
[this] Dhamma. There will be those who will understand it."
Then Ven. Sariputta and Ven. Ananda, having given this instruction to
Anathapindika the householder, got up from their seats and left. Then,
not long after they left, Anathapindika the householder died and
reappeared in the Tusita heaven. Then Anathapindika the deva's son, in
the far extreme of the night, his extreme radiance lighting up the
entirety of Jeta's Grove, went to the Blessed One and, on arrival,
bowed down to him and stood to one side.

https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/MN/MN143.html

Yes, good householder: If either harming others or oneself (e.g. requires to overstep virtue).

Bhante Thanissaro - from: The Buddhas Teachings
Generosity
Generosity is the voluntary giving of a gift. This includes not only material gifts, but also gifts of your time, energy, knowledge, or forgiveness. When the Buddha was asked where a gift should be given, he replied simply, “Wherever the heart feels inspired.” In other words, generosity should be an act of free and voluntary sharing, with no external constraints. The giving of such a gift is a simple and direct lesson in one of the most important principles of kamma: that we can exercise freedom of choice in the present moment and not be slaves to our stinginess.
But even though the Buddha placed no constraints on where a gift should begiven, he was more specific in his advice when asked how and where to give a gift so as to gain the best results. Among his recommendations:

Choose the gift and the recipient so that you feel joy and satisfaction, before, while, and after giving the gift.
Give a gift so that it harms no one—in other words, you don’t harm the recipient, and you don’t harm yourself in the giving.
Show respect and empathy for the recipient, and nurture a sense of conviction that the act of giving is worthwhile.
Give to a person free from passion, aversion, and delusion, or to someone who is practicing to abandon passion, aversion, and delusion.

The goodness that comes from this sort of gift, the Buddha said, cannot bemeasured. However, even the goodness of this sort of generosity is a small thing compared to the goodness of virtue.

See also the best guide to give not in ways which increase bonds: Giving at the proper time/occasion.
[Note that this isn't given for stacks, exchange, trade... but toward release from those bonds]


text:
When the Dharma will have been forgotten by most
It is said that the next Buddha will arise when the Dharma will have been forgotten by most. Forgetting about the time period, which seems to be around 5000 years after the previous Buddha, what does "by most" actually mean? It there a definition of most, or is it open to interpretation?

The definition of "most" is indeed rather ambiguous. But if you think about it, the very notion of "Dharma have been forgotten" is also rather ambiguous, too: should we consider it forgotten when there's no-one left who can clearly explain phases of gradual arising of self-centred consciousness? Or is it when most Buddhists don't understand the unifying theme behind the steps of the Noble Eightfold Path? Or is it when only a few understand the nature of Dukkha and the exact conditions when it arises? Or is it when no-one seem to remember what Liberation and Nirvana actually refer to and what the word 'suchness' supposed to mean? Or when even the most of the so-called monks can't clearly explain the progression of Jhanas and how it fits with the rest of the teaching?
It seems to me, based on these basic criteria, I can hardly say that Dharma hasn't been forgotten already. I wish I was wrong but it will take some serious effort to convince me.

This is subtle, and difficult. As I see it, the suggestion that the dharma has been 'forgotten by most' doesn't mean that the dharma has been 'literally' forgotten. It means that the proper sense of the dharma has been lost; that people still (in good faith) teach and learn what they call the dharma, but that the 'dharma' they teach and learn is the wrong path, leading astray and accomplishing little.
This is something that happens to every faith, given enough time. It's an aspect the 'perennial philosophy', in which a single, common, deep understanding of the world consistently blooms, decays, and blooms again, each time different and each time the same. This perennial philosophy flowers as inspiration, then it bears fruit as goodness and rightness, then the fruit falls to the ground as rigid moral precepts, which then decay and die. But out of that decay a new flower blossoms.
Do we really learn these days what the Buddha taught? Do we really 'know' what that might be? The nature of being tathagata is to set an example that others can follow — to be the one who has 'gone' so that others can see the path ahead — but how long after the passing of a there-goer can we still 'see' him? And when his example has lost all force, what can we do except blindly follow what we think we know, until a new tathagata arises and corrects our course?
Meh, I'm waxing metaphysical, and that's never a good sign. Enough said...

It’s not waxing metaphysical, but rather, being inquiring, which is what the Buddha asked of his disciples. It is clear that aspects of practices have been lost through misunderstanding, and even the meaning of names have changed over time. I’ll put two links to relevant articles below, if interested, the first on the original meaning and spelling of the name Avokitasvara, and the other on the practices of the sounds of four elements, once used in Dzogchen. But I do want to add that a strictly unchanging tradition can become fragile and ineffective if it no longer responds to present needs.

No, it isn't. The next Buddha is going to arise after that uncountable years.
In commentary wrote about the Anāgāmi-Brahmma (non-returning) told MahāpurissaLakkhana 32 (32 Marks of the Great Noble Person) to  the ancient anchoret in Ariyan's country, then the Ariyan-anchoret it from generation to generation with some distorted.
In my opinion, the Anāgāmi-Brahmma told the Bigbang theory to them  too, so we can see the Bigbang  theory in Tipitaka and commentaries.
According to that Bigbang  theory in Tipitaka and commenrary, each universe's cycle has 4 parts, falling down, it's stable, growing up, it's stable. The last is when we are. This part has many sub cycles too, the average is every 100 years human being's age increased in the moralist cycle's part, and decreased in the opposite part. It's uncountable years which increasing/decreasing (in average) from 10 human years old average to uncountable human years old average and this sub-cycles loop many times too.
We are in the immoralist part and the buddha can arise only in this part of sub cycles, so the next Buddha, Metteyya-SamBuddha, is going to arise in the next immoralist sub cycles, which is uncountable years. And the next from Metteyya is very very far more than this period because after Metteyya will have arosen, it is going to be the main Bigbang 3 cycle's parts which is very long long long long time.
We should enlighten as correct and as fast as we can because there's no any confirmation  when our next Buddha meeting will be because we missing mostly.
See DN 26 Sutta. Tī. Pā. Cakkavattisuttaṃ and it's commentary with Dī.A. (sumaṅgala)  Lakkhaṇasutta's commentary.

Sir, "each universe's cycle has 4 parts, falling down, it's stable, growing up, it's stable. The last is when we are." - I suppose we are now in the third part. As I heard human planes don't exist during the other 3 sub parts but only in the expanding part. (By saying this I mean the Earth will be there for some time even in the shrinking period before it get destroyed by the seven stars nearby. But there will be no humans.)

No, it is in the stable after growing up part. The stable after growing up part start after the falling down Brahmma lost their PatibhagaNimitta and getting the moon&sun instead, they reborn as human. This part is the last part. See The Path of Purification Chapter 13 Recalling Practice Exposition (pubbenivāsānussatiñāṇakathā).

The exact duration is irrelevant.
What is more important is the criteria to determine HOW the Dhamma will be forgotten, and not WHEN.
The highlighted paragraph below shows HOW it will be forgotten - when monks (and I guess also lay Buddhists) do not want to listen to the teachings of the Buddha or pay attention or apply their minds to it. Instead, they will listen to the teachings of unenlightened teachers/ poets which are phrased in fancy ways.
Even today, we can find a number of new age gurus in the last 50 years, who have a lot of followers, writing bestselling books or giving speeches using fancy jargon or technobabble such as "quantum healing" or "inner engineering", and appearing on TV shows or YouTube.
From the Drum Peg Sutta (SN 20.7):

“Once upon a time, mendicants, the Dasārahas had a clay drum called
the Commander. Each time the Commander split they repaired it by
inserting another peg. But there came a time when the clay drum
Commander’s original wooden rim disappeared and only a mass of pegs
remained.
In the same way, in a future time there will be mendicants who won’t
want to listen when discourses spoken by the Realized One—deep,
profound, transcendent, dealing with emptiness—are being recited. They
won’t pay attention or apply their minds to understand them, nor will
they think those teachings are worth learning and memorizing.
But when discourses composed by poets—poetry, with fancy words and
phrases, composed by outsiders or spoken by disciples—are being
recited they will want to listen. They’ll pay attention and apply
their minds to understand them, and they’ll think those teachings are
worth learning and memorizing. And that is how the discourses spoken
by the Realized One—deep, profound, transcendent, dealing with
emptiness—will disappear.
So you should train like this: ‘When discourses spoken by the Realized
One—deep, profound, transcendent, dealing with emptiness—are being
recited we will want to listen. We will pay attention and apply our
minds to understand them, and we will think those teachings are worth
learning and memorizing.’ That’s how you should train.”

It's said, good householder, interested, by the Sublime Buddha that when the Vinaya get's lost, e.g. would no more be followed, the Dhamma get's lost. Since the Sangha of Bhikkhus is carrier of both, all resists and falls with it, in our current time even on further existance. Once the path is no more in it's whole practiced, Vinaya decays and Monks get more and more householders and lay servants, the Dhamma in it's meaning and understanding get's lost as well.
This generation actually on the peak toward the cliff of total disappearing will be the last where "real" Sangha, Monks could be found since it is no to expected that strong changes in tendecies will arise and those who practice straight forward as real homeless are already very hard to find.
In regard of "for the most", this point of time has already been reached about the same time the last Sangha - Gathering was held in the 50th of last century.
Althought the are numbers abd amounts found in the scripts, the fundamental way of Dhamma and the natural law is always one of cause and effect: "from this, that come, from arising of that, this arises. As soon as the tendency of the monks is toward settle near and with laypeople, do not follow the most simple ways anymore, (especially in regard of remote dwelling but also in regard of food, robes and medicine, that's the point Vinaya strated to get lost, no more followed in it's details, and with it a lay-practice, a secular way starts to develop. As sample one could investigate Sanghas history of decay in the north, China and specially merely isolated Japan.
So here you are, and now, what does good householder think would be most wise for himself to go after?
[Note that this isn't given for exchange, stacjs, what ever trades toward decay but for an escape from this bounds]

Dharma has been forgotten when the majority of one's actions are made with the agenda of taking advantage of another rather than giving advantage to another.
'Throwing pearls before pigs' is not an act compassion, letting the pig free to be a pig is. Contemplating one's own image while ignoring the sufferings of the Lady's path is ignoring the suffering of Compassion herself. Is that not the path of Ignorance and forgetting the whole premise of cultivating?
The semantics of what is good, what is bad, who is right and who is wrong all come with agendas. Is there harmony to the conflict? At what point shall the war start?
Take time throughout your day to 'measure' the heart of your simple actions of enacting whimsical compassion for the sake of offering with no expectation for reward.
Those who struggle to muster one day feeling weightless in this dense, muddy world run by the currency of suffering, you are misled. One day of training is not enough for marathon.
Your path should be effortless.
So to answer your question Danyaal, when enough is sacrificed for the accruement of suffering. When 'life' has a price and the world has become merely a resource.


text:
Does depicting Jesus as an Arahant show that Buddhism is inclusive and compassionate?
I came across a book about the 500 Arahants, and it briefly mentioned that Jesus is depicted as an Arahant in a particular temple in China. After spending some time Googling, I found out that it's actually true! The Qiongzhu Temple (筇竹寺) in Kunming has an Arahant Hall containing Arahant-Jesus, along with some other Western figures. Here's a photo of it.
I'm perplexed as to why there is such depiction, and whether it can be considered a good idea. I read some news/articles about the temple, which used the reasoning that it shows the compassion and inclusiveness of Buddhism. There maybe an alternative explanation, unfortunately I have never been to the place, so this is the only one I could find on the Internet.
My question is: Is it true that making an 'Arahant-Jesus" shows that Buddhism is compassionate and inclusive? If not, is such depiction valid/acceptable in Mahayana or any other school of Buddhism?
I hope the title is not too ridiculous. Thank you :D

One of the five precepts is undertaking the training to abstain from incorrect speech, which includes abstaining from speaking untruth.
From Iti 25:

This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have
heard: "For the person who transgresses in one thing, I tell you,
there is no evil deed that is not to be done. Which one thing? This:
telling a deliberate lie."
The person who lies,
who transgress in this one thing,
transcending concern for the world beyond:
there's no evil
he might not do.

To state that Jesus is an Arahant may be false speech, because who could say for certain that Jesus was an Arahant?
In fact, Jesus couldn't possibly have been an Arahant because his teachings were not similar to the Four Noble Truths and Noble Eightfold Path.
Hence, to state or portray Jesus as an Arahant, is not acceptable, in my opinion, because it is untruth.
Furthermore, such a portrayal might not be in the best interest of Buddhists, as Christian missionaries could hypothetically make use of it when engaging lay Buddhists who are not well-versed with the teachings of the Buddha, by portraying Jesus as a Buddhist teacher, and the Christian Bible as a Buddhist teaching.

Thanks for the answer :)

The Dhamma is absolutely pure and should not morph to any cultural norms. In fitting with cultural norms, it is very easy to misconceive the Dhamma and engage in wrong speech.
In fact, such a thing is happening in the West. Buddhism is being skewed by western philosophy, such as German Romanticism. In making the Dhamma more amenable to Westerners, we are losing the purity and truth of it. We must conserve the Dhamma as was taught by the Buddha.
One may also remember that this happened when Buddhism went to China -- at first it was interpreted in terms of Taoism and Chinese thought that the Indians had misattributed texts.
For a deeper discussion: Buddhist Romanticism
One should note, this is from a Theravada perspective and it is likely that another sect would answer differently.

I think a better question is: "Can we call Jesus an enlightened being?"
I think this is instructive, as it points to someone who it trying to purify their views. While they are not in-line with the Dhamma, Jesus was certainly someone attempting to walk the path. I think in this way, we are being true to our tradition and at the same time pointing at what the path is about.
We are not here to say a non-Buddhist does not see any reality. We are here to try to see reality as clearly as possible. If someone not from our tradition is seeing part of reality, then I think that is worth pointing out, but there is the caveat that it could be very easily misinterpreted.

Another question worth pondering is: "Why are we attempting to make Buddhism more inclusive?" Ultimately we cannot make people practice the Dhamma. All one can do is to exemplify the life of an enlightened being and hope that others will be inspired to practice. Changing the Dhamma only serves to harm, in my opinion


text:
Buddhism Community
What type of community normally in a country to feedback on the Buddhism Study in the country or Buddhism Temple for improvement ? Sangha Community? Some Temple claimed they the HQ or Main branch ? How to identify the right place?
I.e. if a temple selling talisman which is disallowed as I understand then where do I feedback normally ?

When looking for a teacher, you want someone who will evaluate your actions as a work in progress, and you have to apply the same standard to him or her. And you’re not trying to take on the superhuman role of evaluating that person’s essential worth. You’re simply judging whether his or her actions embody the kinds of skills you’d like to develop and the types of mental qualities—which are also a kind of action—that you’d trust in a trainer or guide. - Thanissaro Bhikku The Power of Judgement

You must go to a temple and see if the views align with yours. You must evaluate if you would like to be like these people. This is the best way to evaluate a temple.
A secondary question is: How do I choose a path? For this, you must also study and see if the views make sense to you. Test them. If path X says Y works, then what happens if you don't do Y. Does it lead you closer or further from inner peace?
It is a long path to find what works for you, but it is worth the effort. If anything is worth effort, it is the path to inner peace.
Edit:
I think that I may have misunderstood the specifics of your question. You may be able to talk to the Abbott about your worries. If that does not remedy your situation, then you may not fit in with that sangha or may want to reconsider your relationship there.
The trouble is that some monasteries do not work in accordance with the dhamma-vinaya. You cannot stop it -- you cannot make people live in accordance with the Dhamma. In my opinion, all you can do is choose whether or not you want to continue to practice there.

well, the main intention I ask the question is the example I given above.. I have edited my question

Hi Wayne,
I have edited my post to reflect your edit. Sorry for any confusion.
I hope that all works out for you and you may continue to have a sangha to practice with

you cannot make people live in accordance with the Dhamma. --》 that is correct but some other religion just commented the zero knowledge Buddhist (when u pick up anyone in South China and ask who is Buddha then they normally cannot answer) as communist mindset or no religion/no education people. Some politician make use of this to create hatred that impacting my daily lifestyle or simply it's discrimination coming from no where

Hi Wayne, I'm having trouble understanding exactly what you're trying to say. Regardless, I'm sorry that you have to deal with any discrimination. It is painful. All we can do is try to practice the Dhamma. Suffering is a result of how we speak to ourselves and how we experience reality. Peoples actions may exacerbate it, but we may realize the reality of suffering. May you be safe, happy, and swiftly realize peace

you cannot make people live in accordance with the Dhamma. --》1. Many Buddhist as recorded in their National ID card has almost zero knowledge in Buddhism especially in South China and South East Asia. 2. Worshiping without a guide at temple (Almost all folks especially in those Temple that too commercialize in City Centre), fortune telling at temple and Being Superstitious 3.Many non Buddhist would identified this as communist mindset (no religion race) and the below dangerous stuff was created, just to name a few - youtube.com/watch?v=3GB3qsFT0xQ

one of the reason that created the huge damages is all Religion Study was banned for about 20 years during 1st communist lead, the premier Mao after Opium War and World War fight for a century++. Only last 10 years, there is a significant improvement on Civilization, restoration of Philosophy and Religion study. cfr.org/backgrounder/chinas-big-bet-soft-power. But this only applicable to China, outside of it still having big issue and i can sense discrimination still heavy. Hope this explained what i mentioned earlier.

as a conclusion, i disagreed the view/discrimination from non Buddhist to Buddhist as a follower of Satan alike that has 0 knowledge on Buddhism. So, when i m free then i would like to write an online research paper with suggested improvement action and get the proper channel like Sangha or Buddhism community to review.

Those people just don't know or don't understand what is Buddhism is innocent sentient and not follower of Satan. I believe no matter how good is my online writing, discrimination still exist but hopefully help "a little". One of the example as below https://erlc.com/resource-library/articles/4-ways-christians-can-respond-to-a-satanic-statue

I think the edit to my question answers what you're speaking about. We can only live in accordance with the true Dhamma. Such a misrepresentation of the Dhamma has shown up in Thailand (and everywhere else throughout history), and led to the creation of the wilderness or Kammathana tradition. The Dhamma is ~necessarily~ counter culture and so there will always be these problems. Practice in accordance with the Dhamma and profess the true Dhamma


text:
Is fortune telling allowed in temples?
Is there a sutra which provides more info on the subject above?
As per wikipedia, some monks should have such abilities as those found in Wikipedia page "Miracles of Gautama Buddha":

Superparanormal powers the historic Buddha was said to have possessed
and exercised include the six higher knowledges (abhiññā): psychic
abilities (iddhi-vidhā), clairaudience (dibba-sota), telepathy
(ceto-pariya), recollection of one's own past lives
(pubbe-nivāsanussati), seeing the past lives and rebirths of others
(dibba-cakkhu), and the extinction of mental intoxicants
(āsavakkhaya). Miracles found in Mahayana sutras generally play a more
direct role in illustrating certain doctrines than miracles found in
non-Mahayana Buddhist texts.

No. Fortune telling, astrology, palmistry, divination etc. are considered to be "animal" arts by the Buddha, which is forbidden to monks in DN 2 (quoted below).
From DN 2:

"Whereas some contemplatives & brahmans, living off food given in
faith, maintain themselves by wrong livelihood, by such "animal" arts
as: reading marks on the limbs [e.g., palmistry]; reading omens and
signs; interpreting celestial events [falling stars, comets];
interpreting dreams; reading features of the body [e.g., phrenology];
reading marks on cloth gnawed by mice; offering fire oblations,
oblations from a ladle, oblations of husks, rice powder, rice grains,
ghee, and oil; offering oblations from the mouth; offering
blood-sacrifices; making predictions based on the fingertips;
geomancy; making predictions for state officials; laying demons in a
cemetery; placing spells on spirits; earth-skills [divining water and
gems?]; snake-skills, poison-skills, scorpion-skills, rat-skills,
bird-skills, crow-skills; predicting life spans; giving protective
charms; casting horoscopes — he abstains from wrong livelihood, from
"animal" arts such as these.
"Whereas some contemplatives & brahmans, living off food given in
faith, maintain themselves by wrong livelihood, by such "animal" arts
as: determining lucky and unlucky gems, staffs, garments, swords,
arrows, bows, and other weapons; women, men, boys, girls, male slaves,
female slaves; elephants, horses, buffaloes, bulls, cows, goats, rams,
fowl, quails, lizards, rabbits, tortoises, and other animals — he
abstains from wrong livelihood, from "animal" arts such as these.
"Whereas some contemplatives & brahmans, living off food given in
faith, maintain themselves by wrong livelihood, by such "animal" arts
as [forecasting]: the rulers will march forth; the rulers will not
march forth; our rulers will attack, and their rulers will retreat;
their rulers will attack, and our rulers will retreat; there will be
triumph for our rulers and defeat for their rulers; there will be
triumph for their rulers and defeat for our rulers; thus there will be
triumph this one, defeat for that one — he abstains from wrong
livelihood, from "animal" arts such as these.
"Whereas some contemplatives & brahmans, living off food given in
faith, maintain themselves by wrong livelihood, by such "animal" arts
as [forecasting]: there will be a lunar eclipse; there will be a solar
eclipse; there will be an occultation of [a conjunction of the moon or
a planet with] an asterism; the sun and moon will be favorable; the
sun and moon will be unfavorable; the asterisms will be favorable; the
asterisms will be unfavorable; there will be a meteor shower; there
will be a flickering light on the horizon [an aurora?]; there will be
an earthquake; there will be thunder coming from dry clouds; there
will be a rising, a setting, a darkening, a brightening of the sun,
moon, and asterisms; such will be the result of the lunar eclipse ...
the rising, setting, darkening, brightening of the sun, moon, and
asterisms — he abstains from wrong livelihood, from "animal" arts such
as these.
"Whereas some contemplatives & brahmans, living off food given in
faith, maintain themselves by wrong livelihood, by such "animal" arts
as [forecasting]: there will be abundant rain; there will be a
drought; there will be plenty; there will be famine; there will be
rest and security; there will be danger; there will be disease; there
will be freedom from disease; or they earn their living by accounting,
counting, calculation, composing poetry, or teaching hedonistic arts
and doctrines [lokāyata] — he abstains from wrong livelihood, from
"animal" arts such as these.
"Whereas some contemplatives & brahmans, living off food given in
faith, maintain themselves by wrong livelihood, by such "animal" arts
as: calculating auspicious dates for marriages — both those in which
the bride is brought home and those in which she is sent out;
calculating auspicious dates for betrothals and divorces; for
collecting debts or making investments and loans; reciting charms to
make people attractive or unattractive; curing women who have
undergone miscarriages or abortions; reciting spells to bind a man's
tongue, to paralyze his jaws, to make him lose control over his hands,
or to bring on deafness; getting oracular answers to questions
addressed to a spirit in a mirror, in a young girl, or to a spirit
medium; worshipping the sun, worshipping the Great Brahmā, bringing
forth flames from the mouth, invoking the goddess of luck — he
abstains from wrong livelihood, from "animal" arts such as these.
"Whereas some contemplatives & brahmans, living off food given in
faith, maintain themselves by wrong livelihood, by such "animal" arts
as: promising gifts to deities in return for favors; fulfilling such
promises; demonology; reciting spells in earth houses [see earth
skills, above]; inducing virility and impotence; preparing sites for
construction; consecrating sites for construction; giving ceremonial
mouthwashes and ceremonial baths; offering sacrificial fires;
administering emetics, purges, purges from above, purges from below,
head-purges; ear-oil, eye-drops, treatments through the nose,
ointments, and counter-ointments; practicing eye-surgery [or:
extractive surgery], general surgery, pediatrics; administering
root-medicines and binding medicinal herbs — he abstains from wrong
livelihood, from "animal" arts such as these. This, too, is part of
his virtue."
"A monk thus consummate in virtue sees no danger anywhere from his
restraint through virtue. Just as a head-anointed noble warrior king
who has defeated his enemies sees no danger anywhere from his enemies,
in the same way the monk thus consummate in virtue sees no danger
anywhere from his restraint through virtue. Endowed with this noble
aggregate of virtue, he is inwardly sensitive to the pleasure of being
blameless. This is how a monk is consummate in virtue.

@Wayne97 This is a translation of the original Pali sutta. Ven. Thanissaro translates it "animal" arts, while Ven. Bodhi translates it as debased arts. Either way, it carries a negative connotation.

perhaps i will write a feedback to Sangha in my country about it when i am free, perhaps label it which is Buddhism and which is Taoism in temple (Just my suggestion). Most temple in my city is very commercialize, no Dharma class too. That's how i spent my time there for 10 years. Not sure where my donation money went to. We have to respect other religions practices also. Just some of Taoism practices mixed with Buddhism cause they used to share the Temple especially in Hong Kong.

i am sort of preparing an article online regarding this . i m collecting info and get Sangha in my country to verify it.

@Wayne97 Regardless of mixing between Buddhism and Taoism, even in Buddhist-only temples or monasteries, elements of superstition like astrology or the use of talismans has definitely crept into some places. That's unfortunate. You should also consider which Buddhist tradition you're referring to.

I just get Sangha n some Buddhism brotherhood in my country to verify my online writings and suggestion. n then just inform the temple fb admin to share it f they found it make sense


text:
Sunyata is the truth and compassion is not an illusion?
It’s curious that if you study Buddhism you need to understand  that Maya is an illusion and life is a product of cause and effect of past karma, so is deceptive. All my emotions are deceptive  but not compassion.The void is the ultimate reality and is not part of anything bigger.
Why compassion is not deceptive then , if it is itself part of an illusion and it is an emotion ? Shouldn’t be only an act of positive karma which as well will create only positive effects? But why then positive karma can push toward the void , or “ultimate goal” if the sunnyata is anything else rather than  void itself.
It shouldn’t have any attribute of “positive” or “negative” which are supposed to be moral and discriminatory observations.if the void needs to have moral attitudes to get access into, talking about sunnyata as ultimate reality , isn’t becoming a contradiction by its own logical terms?

This answer is from the Theravada perspective.
You are thinking about this from the frame of reference of Vedanta, where there is only one thing real and eternal, and the others are illusion (maya) which are not eternal and changing.
In Vedanta, this one thing that is real and eternal is God, whereas you replace this with shunyata (emptiness), which means the great emptiness is the only real and eternal thing, or that the ultimate reality of the universe is voidness.
Next, you say that compassion is the really good emotion compared to others, and this moves one towards emptiness. Then you ask why only such a positive quality moves one towards emptiness, and why not other emotions?
Now, let's change our frame of reference to the Buddha's.
He doesn't ask, "what is the only thing real and eternal?". This was not important to him.
In the Acintita Sutta, he states that metaphysics should not be conjectured, otherwise it will lead to madness. In Parable of the Poisoned Arrow, he says to focus on the immediate problem (i.e. suffering) and not on how it all originated. In the Sabba Sutta, he taught to not speculate about things that's beyond The All.
The Buddha's frame of reference is really the Four Noble Truths - stating that there is suffering, identifying the cause of and solution to suffering, and teaching the Noble Eightfold Path as the method to realize the solution to suffering.
Emptiness in the original teachings of the Buddha refers to all phenomena being empty of a self. This is explained in this answer. This is not metaphysics. It explains that the self is really a mental idea - the illusion, that results in suffering. It doesn't mean that the ultimate reality of the universe is voidness.
It's true that Nirvana is what is attained by the enlightened ones. Maybe you might then say that this is the eternal thing or the ultimate reality of the universe. But Nirvana is just the extinguishment of suffering - it is that which is experienced by the mind when it is completely free of defilements and fetters. It is the only stable source of happiness and peace. It's not any kind of ultimate reality. It's not a supernatural state of consciousness. It's not immortality.
And what about compassion? Compassion is not the only positive mental factor. There are 25 beautiful mental factors listed in the Abhidhamma, in this answer.
Why do positive mental states lead to Nirvana but not negative ones?
That is explained in the Kimattha Sutta - skillful virtues have freedom from remorse as their purpose, and the sutta explains how this leads to Nirvana.
The negative states of mind which are basically combinations of greed or lust, aversion and delusion, that enslave the mind and keep it clinging to sensual pleasures and existence of the self. When one does unskillful things or has unskillful thoughts, this also leads to remorse, and reinforces suffering.
Skillful virtues and positive states of mind brings one freedom from remorse and joy, but this is only one of the three parts of the Noble Eightfold Path called virtue (Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood). There are still the other two parts that need to be cultivated - concentration/ meditation and wisdom.
Without the five precepts and cultivation of virtue, it is impossible to practise concentration/ meditation or deepen wisdom. With the mind becoming positive and virtuous, it can then calm down, concentrate and experience insight and wisdom.
From the perspective of karma, virtues and positive mind also reduces or removes future consequences of bad actions, and therefore reduces suffering.
So, you have to change your frame of reference:
Vedanta talks about the metaphysical reality of the universe (real/ eternal i.e. God vs. the illusion), and it talks about how to go from illusion to real/ eternal. Vedanta also postulates the individual self as being part of, or identical to, God.
Buddhism addresses the problem of suffering and how to end suffering. Buddhism is not concerned with the metaphysical reality of the universe. Buddhism also takes the self as an idea conjured by the mind - which leads to suffering.
From SN 22.86:

In the past, as today, I describe suffering and the cessation of
suffering.

That can be an acceptable answer from a Buddhist. I basically agree with that, although If Nibbana concept is different from Void itself ,this classify Void as  a good mental state to attain the ultimate reality , and not the last one itself.  This also explains quite well why Buddhist philosophy and practices generally works pretty well towards this state of mind (Void)

Who downvoted this answer and why?

There was an archaeological find at the site of the famed Buddhist university Nalanda.  It was either on a piece of pottery or a mural inscription, I forget which, but the words in Sanskrit read "Seeing emptiness, he feels compassion".
You are laboring under a mistake.  The reality is that compassion and emptiness are the same thing.  When we directly perceive emptiness, we experience the compassion of the Buddha.  It isn't a feeling or an emotion but rather an instinctual reaction to reality.  Zen master Dogen likens it to a hand that reaches for a pillow in the night.  The compassion generated by emptiness has no forethought or preconception.  It simply happens.
It simply is.  The compassion of emptiness is a vastness that underlies us all.

You have put it wrongly. You say all my emotions are deceptive, that is an incorrect observation. Correct way to put it is emotions are not me , mine or myself. It will come as a surprise that you can also say consciousness is not me,mine or myself. Does that mean you will become devoid of consciousness? No you won’t. Does that mean consciousness is deceptive ? No.Similarly you do not become devoid of emotions (including compassion) and those emotions are not deceptive... you just don’t cling to it...Buddha was deeply compassionate... whatever he spoke he spoke out of compassion....Emotions are not deceptive...consciousness is not deceptive... choices are not deceptive...
I think your understanding of Emptiness is wrong.
When you realise that none of the five aggregates are me , mine or myself then you feel dispassionate towards them that is when you experience emptiness... emptiness itself doesn’t require moral qualification but it is step required to reach the goal of equanimity towards all.

You know that feeling when you look at the world and can't help but see that it is messed up (all wrong!)? And you feel a kind of aversion, a mix of pity and disgust?
Guess what, the enlightened folks looking at the world notice the same exact problems as you, except they don't feel aversion or disgust. Instead they feel compassion. So compassion is the purified equivalent of the same feeling as you have when looking at the world, just purified. Cool, huh? It can be purified but it never goes away.
Compassion is not yet another misleading feeling, because it's based on Knowledge and Truth, not on the Three Poisons. It is based on knowledge and truth of the illusion and the suffering that the confused sentient beings have to helplessly endure generation after generation. This is why Mahayana teaching states that compassion automatically and unconditionally arises in the mind of enlightened being, it cannot not arise.
Compassion is a form of Love, a form of being in harmony with reality. You see the way things work for sentient beings, you see they have to go through all these phases as part of growing up - and you are at peace with it, even though it involves considerable amount of growing pains and suffering. You love everything unconditionally, with all its imperfections, including even the very Samsara itself. Because you love it and accept it as it is, but at the same time you are acutely aware of how far it needs to grow yet, you feel compassion.
As for your comments about Shunyata, it exhibits even greater confusion on your part. You seem to think that The Good, The Kindness, the Peace is on the equal footing with The Bad, The Selfish, the Discord - vis-a-vis the transcendence that is Shunyata. This is wrong understanding. The worldly Good / The worldly Right is a crude approximation of The Ultimate Good/Right which is Shunyata. So it's not that we have to abandon The Good (including compassion) on our way to Shunyata, not at all. Rather, we have to perfect and refine our ethics, because the perfect Goodness (the Paramita level of transcendental goodness) is nothing else but Shunyata.
This is why all Buddhas of past, present, and future instruct sentient beings to adopt and perfect the Sila (ethics) not to abandon them. Abandoning compassion under an excuse of Shunyata is an evil path, not Buddha-Dharma.
The Good (including Compassion) is how the absolute of Shunyata gets projected onto the relative world of sentient beings. Compassion is a shadow of Prajna, in a manner of speaking.

I have asked a similar question previously albeit, from Mahayana's point of view. See the link below.  Some of the responses provided there may point you in the right direction.
If no sentient being exists, for whom is there compassion? 'A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life' by Santideva

[Qualm:] If no sentient being exists, for whom is there compassion?
[Madhyamika:] For one who is imagined through delusion, which is
accepted for the sake of the task.
[Qualm:] If there is no sentient
being, whose is the task?
[Madhyamika:] True. The effort, too, is due
to delusion. Nevertheless, in order to alleviate suffering, delusion
with regard to one's task is not averted

A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life' by Santideva, Chapter IX: The Perfection of Wisdom.

I think that Buddhism talks about suffering and its cessation -- states of woe, and the liberations from or antidotes to those states. For example the three poisons: desire, aversions, and ignorance are all harmful in their own way.
The Brahmaviharas are said to be the answer to, the right way to behave in, all social circumstances.
Meeting someone who's suffering, for example, you might feel suffering yourself -- or you might feel pity, superiority, aversion  -- none of which are ideal. Whereas compassion is the right (correct or noble) answer, for that situation.
For other circumstances there are different answers. Meeting someone who's noble (and not suffering), for example, there's mudita as a correct answer. Or meeting someone who's evil, equanimity.
They (the brahmaviharas) are all good, but they're situational, they're the right response to what arises.
I think that "emptiness" is similar, in the same category -- not superior to compassion, not meant to say that compassion is a lie or non-existent -- but a correct response to a certain situation's arising. And the situation for which emptiness is a correct response or antidote isn't especially a social situation (for which you have the brahmaviharas) -- I think that emptiness is especially useful as an antidote for (suffering resulting from) the arising of fixed or unwholesome views -- views of all sorts, "I'd like to be famous but I'm not", "I'm right and he's wrong", "I wish my friend were still alive", and so on and so on and so on.
One more thing, I think (because I read it, not because I've been taught it) that there's Tibetan (Mahayana) doctrine which says that even "Arhat" is a temporary state/place of rest on the longer journey towards becoming a Buddha. And if compassion is the primary (or only) motive of the Buddha, perhaps that's an argument that it shouldn't be seen as inferior to or erased by emptiness.

The Buddhist problematic — the central concern that Buddhism focuses on – is self-illusion. We believe that we should have a different relationship with the world than we do, a different relationship with others than we actually have, even a different relationship to ourselves. That self-illusion leads to discontentment and craving. Emotions aren't exactly illusions (or deceptive) in this sense. Emotions reflect karma: they are states that arise because we are caught by self-illusion.
Compassion is the state that arises when we see the world as it is, without self-illusion. When we understand how much of the world is a tangle of self-illusions, and how subtle and intractable those self-illusions can be, what other state could arise except compassion? Compassion isn't sympathy (an identification with someone else's self-illusion); it isn't judgement (a self-illusion that someone knows better or is better or should be better). Compassion arises when we recognize "here we are", and see the conditions laid before us.


text:
Nīlakaṇṭha Dhāraṇī (“Great Compassion Mantra”) One of the most popular Mantra in China
Ques 1) Base on Wiki below, which English translation found to be accurate? D.T. Suzuki or Kazuaki Tanahashi and Joan Halifax
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C4%ABlaka%E1%B9%87%E1%B9%ADha_Dh%C4%81ra%E1%B9%87%C4%AB
Ques 2) Refer to some Buddhism Documentaries, Theravada Buddhism disallow reciting of Mantra. Does it a truth?
Personally i found this Mantra translated into positive self-talk which physiologically helping on self healing of decease. i.e. Having better peace of mind simply can cure most of the deceases?
https://www.wikihow.com/Think-Positively-About-Yourself
It has content of worshiping too so the person too focus on it without understand the basic Buddhism could be lead to superstitious which is inappropriate. I found no issue combination of meditation and of course focus of practices must be Buddhism basic which is Four Noble of Truths.

Most popular current philosophical movement in China is Falun Gong; they've been cracking down on it. The leader contacted me once... was quite insistent and sure he was "god" I've met another male calling himself god and once a female saying she was god too; the female also identified herself later also as the devil... Eh whatever nice to meet you now go take your medication like you're supposed too.
My favorite movement in China is Wing Chun; used to be a female only martial art then men got involved and it became Tai Chi... Same basic thing these days.
The best cure for Buddhism is just sitting; make sure sitting never stops and you'll be doing it right... breathing can stop, world can stop, everything can else stop... Just don't let sitting cease to be sitting. Before or After that Laying down and standing order doesn't matter.
There probably some wisdom or calmness to be found in what you posted... too many people shopping around chasing mind which is the inexhaustible 7th jhana it is the target audience of the poison arrow sutta... it hits the heart of the matter.
My advice to cure that is to go to one's original practice what got them started on whatever path... see it to the end. Make a firm resolve to do so same as Gotama: I'm gonna sit under this tree and see who dies or achieves enlightenment first.
Doubt however is good... always keep some doubt it builds humility otherwise you might start introducing yourself to other people as god.

This didnt exactly answering my question by the way. If you are talking about meditation then go to another post. If you would ask me, meditation is not suitable for beginner. if you search this stack, many side effects discussion - https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/search?q=meditation+side+effects

those monks when started, the first five years they're just focusing in basic precepts. Only after that they will practice meditation, it must have a strong reason behind right and applicable to lay Buddhist also right?

Lastly, For Mahayana, much changes and aligning to Theravada teaching i can notice in recent 10 years found on youtube especially those in South China. They would advise to focus in practice rather than worshiping, this version actually bought me into Buddhism.


text:
How is possible that monks memorised 10.000 sutras?
According to Wikipedia, in the Sutta Pitaka of the Pali canon there are 10.000 sutras.
According to tradition, Ananda recited by heart all 10.000 sutras after the death of Gautama and they have been memoriesed and recited regularly by monks, for many centuries, before they were written down.
So my questions is: how is it possible to memorise and recite regularly 10.000 sutras? Is it realistic to think it happened like that or is there another explanation about how the sutras have been transmitted and written down?
I hope the question is clear.
I’m asking this because if I try to image today’s monks memorise and recite 10.000 sutras it seems something out of reality. My guess is that only very few people would have the ability to do that. So I struggle to imagine how they could have done it for centuries. But maybe I am missing something and there is an explanation that I cannot see.

As an FYI: human memory and attention span has decreased significantly with modern mass media. Keep in mind that an old-time bard would have memorized any number of epic poems the length of the Odyssey and Iliad (and be expected to recite them on demand), and to this day the Qu'ran is still primarily taught through rote memorization. People are capable of memorizing far more than one might imagine; there's just little incentive to do so these days.

@TedWrigley Yes although Why isn't there a Buddhist Bible? suggests that the Buddhist texts are 10 times longer than the Bible.

There was a person in my local sangha who memorized the entire pali cannon, and one could ask him questions, from which he would pull relevant suttas from his memory. Quite something.

I dunno if this helps, but 1. on a retreat a buddhist monk told me the fastest ever memorizing them was eight years. Usually takes decades. 2. He also emphasized that in parts of the suttas there is long parallel construction: long statement about perception, same statement about cognition, same statement... and even the 32 parts of the body. A sutta about blood. Same exact statements about synovial fluid, then about fat.. for all. Happens a lot. Still a memorization herculean task, but doable. Also they were so undistracted and focused and healthy etc etc, was big honor to do it too

The way the Pali Canon was transmitted was by oral tradition. The composition is in a poetic form, using mnemonic formulae for memorization and recitation. The recitation would have also served a ritualistic or ceremonial purpose. Even the tradition says that in the First Buddhist Council, Ananda and Upali recited the suttas and the vinaya.
Please see "Pali Oral Literature" by L.S. Cousins. I quote below:

Early Buddhist literature is an oral literature. Such a literature is
not without its own characteristic features. A widespread use of
mnemonic formulae is one of the most typical of these. I would refer
to the considerable body of research on the nature of oral epic
poetry. In such poetry the formulae are used both as an aid to actual
performance and to maintain the continuity and form of the epic
tradition.
Both these features are certainly present in the sutta literature. In
the first place many suttas are clearly designed for chanting. We
should assume that, then as now, their chanting would produce a great
deal of religious emotion - the pamojja and piti-somanassa of the
texts. The difference of course would be that the language of the
suttas would still be directly comprehensible to the hearers. In these
circumstances suttas would be chanted by individual monks both for
edification and for enjoyment. We may compare the recitations
attributed to Ananda and Upali in accounts of the First Council. In
practice they would have to be tailored to the needs of the particular
situation ~ shortened or lengthened as required. An experienced
chanter would be able to string together many different traditional
episodes and teachings so as to form a coherent, profound and moving
composition.

I believe that the monks edited and reorganized the Pali suttas over centuries to make them have mnemonic formulae and they also modified similar stanzas to become exactly identical - which is why you can find some standard formulae repeated in multiple suttas. This made it easier to memorize, recite and transmit. This is explained below.
From section 3.2 of the book "The Authenticity of the Early Buddhist Texts" by Bhikkhu Sujato & Bhikkhu Brahmali:

For several hundred years, from the time that separate transmission
lineages emerged in the Asokan period until the texts were written
down, the EBTs were passed down orally in separate textual lineages.
Comparative studies have shown that this oral transmission was highly
reliable and that the core doctrinal material was essentially
unchanged. How did this work,given what we know about the
unreliability of memory? Indian culture provided the template for
highly reliable oral preservation. It is known that the Ṛg Veda and
other Vedic texts were transmitted orally—that is,by memory—with
extreme accuracy for over two thousand years.
In his comprehensive study of the Majjhima Nikāya, Anālayo considers
the impact of oral transmission and concludes: “At the same time,
ratherthan giving us a completely new picture of early Buddhism, what
my comparative study of the parallels to the Majjhima Nikāya
discourses yields is a reconfirmation of the essentials, with
occasional divergence in details.”
In the field of oral literature, there is a distinction between texts
that are to be memorised verbatim, as in the Buddhist and Vedic
traditions, and those which serve as springboards for storytelling, as
in oral folk traditions.
The latter are subject to natural evolution and variation; they are
meant to adapt to the teller and the situation. Such, according to
Oldenberg, are also found in Buddhist literature, specifically in the
Jātaka collection of the Khuddaka Nikāya. But the former, which are
codified and fixed texts, are meant to be preserved in exact form, as
in the case of the EBTs.
The Indian oral culture developed various methods to ensure that this
was achieved. Such methods pervade every aspect of the EBTs, and
include:

Repetitions of words, phrases, passages and whole Suttas;
Standardisation of words, phrases and passages;
The use of synonyms;
The use of the waxing syllable principle;
Sound similarities;
Concatenation of Suttas or other textual units;
Formal structures, especially ABA;
“Summary” and “exposition”, which is a standard feature of Indian oral education;
Framing narratives to define the limits and give the context for the spoken material;
Verse summaries of prose teachings (especially in the Aṅguttara);
Similes (usually in an ABA structure);
Numbered lists;
Group recitals.

From this page, we find the story about Ananda's eidetic memory, but I could not find the original source for it.

Shakyamuni Buddha had a famous disciple, Venerable Ananda, who bore
the nickname of “The Learnt Man”. As Venerable Ananda has a rare
ability, an eidetic memory, he could remember every word of Buddha’s
teachings. Because of his special talent, many often asked Buddha what
good deeds Venerable Ananda had done in his past life to deserve such
a blessing.
Buddha replied, “Ananda’s eidetic memory was a result of the
accumulation of good deeds in his past life.”
He explained, “Several lives ago, a master monk demanded his novice
monk to memorise all the sutras he was taught and would be reprimanded
or punished if he did not meet the master monk’s expectation. On a
fateful day, the novice monk received no food offering all morning and
became worried, as spending more time on the streets would mean less
time to study his sutras. In desperation, he started weeping. An elder
approached this novice monk to show his concern, and after learning of
his difficulty, he told the novice monk to go to his house for food in
his subsequent days. Having secured a source of food offering, the
novice monk could spend most of his time learning his sutras.”
Putting the story into perspective, Buddha said, “The master monk was
Buddha Dipamkara, the novice monk was me, and the benevolent elder is
the Ananda today. Ananda’s good karmic deeds had gained him his
eidetic memory in his present life, which allows him to remember every
word of dharma preaching.”

Also, from "The Life of Ananda, Guardian of the Dhamma" by Hellmuth Hecker and Ven. Nyanaponika Thera:

In selecting Ananda as the treasurer or guardian of his Dispensation,
the Buddha had chosen one whose personal qualities coincided perfectly
with the demands of the post. By virtue of his devotion to learning,
Ananda was ideally suited to receive the manifold teachings delivered
over a forty-five-year period; by virtue of his phenomenal memory, he
could retain them in mind exactly as spoken by the Master; by virtue
of his sense of order, he could be relied on to preserve them in the
correct sequence and to explain them in such a way that the structure
of ideas accorded with the Buddha’s intention; and by virtue of his
steadfastness, he would so endeavor that the pupils under his charge
would receive the teachings fully and be properly trained so that they
in turn could pass them on to their own pupils.

More comments on Ven. Ananda from the suttas:

The foremost of my monk disciples who are very learned is Ānanda.
The foremost of my monk disciples with a good memory is Ānanda.
The foremost of my monk disciples with an extensive range is Ānanda.
The foremost of my monk disciples in retention is Ānanda.
The foremost of my monk disciples as a personal attendant is Ānanda.
AN 1.219-234

The general techniques are now known as the method of loci, or memory palaces. These were widely used in the medieval world even after the advent of books (hand copied books on vellum would have been a much bigger investment of time than memorising), and were essential to civilisation and religious practice in the pre-literate era. The Rig Veda, Torah, & the Illiad & Odyssey, were crucial texts to their cultures from before widespread writing, & set in contexts where the costs of time to memorise & recite were covered through cultural mechanisms.
Lynne Kelly wrote a book for lay people on the history of memory techniques, called The Memory Code. Includes:

It takes the history of memory techniques back many thousands of years before the Ancient Greeks and Romans.
It describes how oral cultures use memory systems to store encyclopedias of knowledge in their minds. The mnemonic devices and knowledge systems have roles in their economies and social hierarchies.
It provides examples of sophisticated mnemonic devices from many cultures, including Australian Aborigines, Ojibwe, Sioux, Luba, and many others.
It shows how oral cultures can be misunderstood by ethnographers due to a lack of understanding about their memory systems.
It presents fascinating new ideas about how mnemonics relate to monuments like Stonehenge, the Nazca Lines, and Easter Island

She also wrote an academic tome, Knowledge & Power in Prehistoric Societies for a deeper view, & she has a TED talk on her work, and this Mindscape episode, for shorter summaries.
EDITED TO ADD:
This article has a really thorough description of Tibetan sutra memorisation, which doesn't mention anything like the method of loci - Memorization: Beneficial Exercise for the Mind (fpmt.org). Gives a real sense of ancient practice! A less authoritative source mentions a Tibetan 'Room of Drawers' technique for memorising herbal medicine knowledge, which does sound similar though.
This article talks about a visualisation technique & memory: Dalai Lama's brain challenge produces split decision (New Scientist)
Here's a short discussion of methods, with the 'associative method' bearing comparison to some loci practices - How to Memorize (Shambala Times). Nothing about how widely used historically.
This is interesting background, a special monastic role of memoriser: Bhāṇaka.
Ok, first really solid lead, looking at Hindu techniques: Divide and Link: Robust Memory Techniques from Vedic Learning. Quite detailed. And Buddhist texts are known to have rhythmic repetitions.
This link - śruti transmission - likely has links on specific techniques.
Ok, it looks like I'm wrong, method of loci wasn't used, but something more like how we find it easier to remember songs than word lists.

This is an interesting answer, all it's lacking is maybe any evidence or quote that method of loci or whatever is related to how monks memorize.

@ChrisW: Looked for, seems I was wrong. Interesting topic though! Glad to have looked a bit deeper.

I’m asking this because if I try to image today’s monks memorise and recite 10.000 sutras it seems something out of reality. My guess is that only very few people would have the ability to do that. So I struggle to imagine how they could have done it for centuries. But maybe I am missing something and there is an explanation that I cannot see.

Actually 10,000 suttas are still a very small subset of the vast amount of data out there. Kim Peek, a megasavant, who was the inspiration for the autistic savant character Raymond Babbitt in the movie Rain Man, was also known as the living Google, for his extraordinary ability to memorize unimaginably large amount of data and information. Of course it's rare to see many monks possessing the brain power like that of Mr. Peek or Ven. Ananda, but that doesn't mean it's impossible to memorize such quantity of data in the suttas. Also, it'd only take a few monks with such ability per generation to act as human databases to preserve and pass on the data to the next generations, which is possible and doable. And even in the worst case scenario where there's no supersavant to memorize it all, the suttas can be divided up into smaller chunks so that a team of monks can memorize portions of if, instead of 1 single man memorizing it all.

In the University I knew many people who knew by heart a book or two:
The books that we used most often.
When we talk about them we either quoted exactly what we all have read, or if someone deviated from the exact words of the quoted passage, few other usually correct him...
So, books used and discussed every day for year or two by a group of people are memorisable! If the book is lost or absent it can be restored by such a group of adepts.
There is a story about losing the complete collection of the Old Testament books before the Christian era:
All texts was completely restored mot-à-mot by a Prophet's students (Ezra as I remember) who inquired and readed those books absolutely every day many years. Without doubt 100% restored, because those scholars knew even the number of each book's letters, even they the central letter of each book was known, as well as the first and the last. They were always interested in no changes in those books due to falsification or unintended mistakes of rewriting.
It's quite possible and achievable for most of contemporary scholars, who inquire intensively few cardinal books for more than year, to quote them exactly mot à mot ... They even don't notice it and don't render it as unusual or miraculous, since they are more concerned with the exact words than with some kind of pride:
Human heart can remember what it loves !!!

Maybe before the Pali canon was written down centuries after Ananda, there was many faculties of hundreds monks each dedicated to a certain section of the Tipitaka, generation after generation. Few Buddhist monasteries were as crowded as a contemporary University. It's not mandatory, excluding Ananda and his circle of recitators, that one person is expected to memorize completely a stack of Suttas and monastic rules as vast as Tipitaka is. Especially when it comes to rules, everybody can remember whether certain rule forbids or allows in peculiar casus. As to Suttas — You easily can notice tha

As to Suttas — you easily can notice that the arrangement of the Pali Suttas is mnemonic. The Buddha was fast thinker and speed speaker. Each short Sutta is few minutes long: Greetings—Question—Answer—Blessings. Longer Suttas are lectures on important epoché. But I doubt Buddha spoke in such circular mnemonic (written) manner ...Nothing to add about Mahayana sutras ... :-) except that they're obviously fantastic novels: without a trace of the Pali Tipitaka mnemonic system ;;-) It's rediculous that they insist on being as ancient as Tipitaka and mock on "limited" Theravadin canon. ;;-)

According to Wikipedia, in the Sutta Pitaka of the Pali canon there are 10.000 sutras. According to tradition, Ananda recited by heart all 10.000 sutras after the death of Gautama and they have been memoriesed and recited regularly by monks, for many centuries, before they were written down.

That is just a subset. Actually, we have been reciting and memorizing corresponding Atthakatha, too. It is the order in Vinaya Rule to recite and it is automatic reaction after enlightenment because one agrees to memorize more detail when one realized the real benefit from something.

So my questions is: how is it possible to memorise and recite regularly 10.000 sutras? Is it realistic to think it happened like that or is there another explanation about how the sutras have been transmitted and written down?

Yes, it have been being like that for 2500+ years because there is the order to do, and it is automatic reaction after enlightenment.
It is not just a myth because I still doing this myself, some sutta, even I am not a noble one. And there still be many Suttas memorizers nowadays, some are well known in The Guinness Book of Records of 1985 but some are not well known. However, every Theravada monks must recite and memorize follow to Vinaya Rules.

I’m asking this because if I try to image today’s monks memorise and recite 10.000 sutras it seems something out of reality.

You can't do because the ordinaries have too many duties, activities, favorites to do for 5 strings, but the noble ones have only one main thing left to do--practice follow the Buddha's teaching. Even the lay noble ones, they use 5 strings follow to the Buddha's teaching as well, so it is impossible if they can't memorize the Buddha's teaching actually.
The reality is not what you can thinking of or not. The reality is what is happening in real life. And the tipitaka memorizers (or some part) still alive, so this is real.

My guess is that only very few people would have the ability to do that. So I struggle to imagine how they could have done it for centuries. But maybe I am missing something and there is an explanation that I cannot see.

As some part which I wrote which I translated from Vinaya Pitaka and Commentary:

Qualities of nissayamuccaka-bhikkhu (teaching lay people)

Proficient to recite pāṭimokkha-pāli and to understand it's commentary.
Proficient to recite and to understand 4 bhāṇavāra (~1,000 syllable) of sutta and their commentary, to teach laymen on uposatha
day.
Proficient to recite and to understand sutta for bhikkhu's life such as andhakavindasutta, mahālahulovādasutta, ambaṭṭhasutta, etc.
Proficient to recite and to understand sutta for teaching in 3 chances: banquet for saṅgha by layman (nidhikaṇdasutta), funeral
ceremony (tirokuṭṭasutta), and auspicious ceremony (maṅgalasutta).
Enough understand to judge/to decide about saṇgha's ceremony such as uposatha, pavāraṇā, etc.
Proficient to recite and to understand his kammaṭṭhānā throughout the nibbāna-course.
5 years experience in monk hood as a monk.

Qualities of bhikkuparisūpaṭṭhāpaka-bhikkhu (teaching bikkhus)
If above layman's teachers want to teach bhikkhus (ūpajjhā-ācāriya, nissaya-ācāriya), they must increase their skill level to all of the
following qualities.
These are for abhivinaya teaching:

Proficient to recite mahāvibhagha and bhikkhunivibhaṅga (first 3 books of thai 45 books pali-tipitaka) of vinaya-pitaka-pali. At least,
he
can relay with the other 3 bhikkhu. Proficient to understand it's
commentary, too.
Proficient to recite all saṇgha's ceremony in vinaya-pitaka mahāvagga and julavagga.
Proficient to recite 14 vatta in vattakhandhaka.

These are for abhidhamma (kammaṭṭhāna) teaching:

Proficient to recite one of this suttanta-pali: mūlapaṇṇassa (1st/3 parts of M.N.) for student in M.N. faculty, mahāvagga (2nd/3
parts of
D.N.) for student in D.N. faculty,
sagāthavagga+nidānavagga+khandhavāravagga of S.N. or  mahāvagga of
S.N. for student in S.N. faculty, before half of A.N.  or after half
of A.N.  or ekakanipāta+dukanipāta of A.N. for student in A.N.
faculty, jātaka+commentary  (because kammaṭṭhāna was described in
commentary) for student in jātaka faculty.

Qualities of bhikkunovdaka-bhikkhu (teaching bhikkunīs)
If above layman's teachers want to teach bhikkhunī, they must increase their skill level to all of these qualities:

Proficient to recite whole tipitaka-pali and commentary-pali. Or at least, he still must recite whole tipitaka, but he can recite just
one
commentary of suttanta, first 4 parts of commentary of 7 parts of
abhidhamma. However, vinaya-commentary is what he must recite it all.

Reference: tipitaka and commentary of vinaya pācittiyakaṇḍa
bhikkhunovādakasikkhāpada and vinaya mahāvagga mahākhandhaka.

Related topic: https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/a/22917/10100

See also http://www.dhammaweb.net/mingun.html which describes how Ven. Mingun Sayadaw memorised the books -- what techniques he used -- although that (i.e. "how to memorise what you read") is not the same as "how to memorise what you hear".

There are monks even today who commit:

Tripitaka,
Atuwa,
Teeka,
Tippani

to memory. Some commit a part of them to memory.
E.g. The Venerable Mingun Sayadaw U Vicittasārābhivaṃsa in the Sixth Buddhist council recited over 16,000 pages purely from memory.

It was said that the sayadaw recalled the exact book, page and line of every term in the Tripitaka.

...

In 1985, the Guinness Book of Records recorded the sayadaw as a record holder in the Human memory category. The exact entry was Human memory: Bhandanta Vicitsara (sic) recited 16,000 pages of Buddhist canonical text in Rangoon, Burma in May 1954. Rare instances of eidetic memory -- the ability to project and hence "visually" recall material-- are known to science.

The Venerable Mingun Sayadaw U Vicittasārābhivaṃsa played a similar role to Ven. Ananada and Ven. Upali in the Sixth Buddhist council.
So it is possible the Ven. Ananada could commit all the Tripitaka from memory.

An exact list of the texts Ven. Ananda was responsible for memorising and reciting at the council is given here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bh%C4%81%E1%B9%87aka#Early_Buddhist_era

Some people have photographic memory and remember everything they see..
There are analogue cases of echoic [auditographic/auditory] recall.
In recent history Truman Capote is a writer who afaik had something close to perfect auditory recall.
As to general memorizing, i am sure there are people who have memorized all or most of star trek dialogues and things like that, so why not 10k discourses. Don't have to be abnormally gifted to do that i think.

Many are out there who remember hundreds of song lyrics, some thousands and more. Sadly it's just defilement-feeding stuff.
Sure, in times of medias mind, memory, gets a lot of foodand usually takes the junk.

It doesn't look like this answers the question, it just concurs with the question. Maybe I'm missing something in your answer. Could you add some more detail? Welcome to the site, by the way. ;-)

So good householder doesn't remember song texts or does not know how it came to happen that he remenbers them? Similes are used to bridge ways for thought unknown ways.

If I understand you, you're saying that the monks made some rhythmic melody from the teaching, like a nursery rhyme, which helped them remember and regurgitate the teachings? That might be true in the case of chanting, but I don't think chanting was a thing in the Buddha's time.

Listen medias playing music wasn't...google either, even 100 year ago. And still chanting is a usual way to lern, remember in most parts of South Asia, Asia. It prevents from relaying on own ideas and edition, helps to restrain from 'free-spirits" non-stop-creat-ivity.... dedicated to 'play' around rather to do the task.