I have seen that in Buddhist as well as Hindu traditions, parents are considered as benevolent beings who should be venerated and put in a pedestal. Stories, verses, and myths about praises for parents are plenty. However, toxic parenting must have been present in the past and surely there could be something about evil parents in some Buddhist teaching? Consider parents who are narcissist, control-freaks, irresponsible, or just plain unqualified to raise kids in a healthy manner. Parents who treat their children as their possessions and not independent beings should not receive the same praises, should they? There are enough parents who constantly put down and actively try to harm their own children. How could one say that such parents are saintly beings? How does the act of being a parent by simply giving birth and doing the bare minimum that everyone does makes someone a noble person? Almost everybody in the world would be noble by that definition. Don't children who had bad parenting deserve more compassion and respect? Could someone point me to Buddhist stories and teachings, and mantras/verses talking about the evils of megalomaniac and narcissist individuals who are terrible parents? ---------- Related posts: 1. Relationship with bad parents (kamma and issues) 1. How should a Buddhist approach honoring parents who abused them? 1. Must I continue a relationship with my abusive parents? 1. I want to leave my mother 1. What does Buddhism teach about abusive parents? 1. Not listening to parents is bad karma? 1. I need an answer as to why i received a mother who makes me feel like an outcaste? 1. What did Buddha say about dysfunctional families for novice practitioners?

The Dokkaebi are legendary creatures present in Korean mythology. Notably described as having supernatural abilities used to interact with humans. They often play tricks on or help humans and are described to be "impish" or goblin-like. They possess an "awe-inspiring" or "fearful" appearance as well as the ownership of indescribably magical objects. Are there any parallels of creatures that fit these descriptions in Buddhism?

I've noticed reference to the 28 Yaksha Generals in several texts. To my current knowledge, the Mahāmāyūrīvidyārājñī Sūtra and the 卍新纂續藏經 Vol. 02, No. 183 (二十八夜叉大軍王名號) are the only text that explicitly lists them. Are there any other extant material that lists the names of these generals? Many thanks.

According to Buddhism, Maitreya Buddha is a Buddha who will come some time in the future. Some sources say he will come hundreds of thousands of years from now, but the [Manimekalai](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manimekalai) , a 6th century Buddhist epic poem written in the language Tamil, seems to suggest an earlier timeframe. [Here](https://ia801406.us.archive.org/BookReader/BookReaderImages.php?zip=/20/items/manimekhalaiinit031176mbp/manimekhalaiinit031176mbp_tif.zip&file=manimekhalaiinit031176mbp_tif/manimekhalaiinit031176mbp_0184.tif&scale=8&rotate=0) is what chapter 12 of the Manimekalai says: > That dharma, people in this world do not know. But within the circuit of this universe, the devas understand it and at their request **the Deva will come down again to this world from the Tushita Heaven in the year 1616**. Then everyone in this world will feel impelled to practice the doctrine or mercy. My question is, what is this year "1616" that the Manimekalai identifies as the year when Maitreya Buddha will come? What calendar is it using? It's clearly not the Gregorian calendar, since that wasn't in vogue in 6th century India.

What is she difference between the Pali Suttas and folklore or the Indian folklore at the time? Is it possible some suttas include folklore as well as authentic words of the Buddha?

One occasionally comes across stories in the Buddhist canon like the story of Manduka (Sanskrit: frog) Devaputta (Sanskrit: son of devas) *(Chronicle of the Buddhas, Page 1123)* - a frog while listening to the Buddha's sermon, attains the Tavatimsa Deva realm when he is accidentally crushed by a member of the audience. The story makes a big deal of the frog's deva mansion 12 yojanas long and fair deva maidens who wait on him day and night. Do women who are born in the deva realm too get fair attendants who are men? Or are all devas men? Why are the samsaric pleasures of a large palace and maidens the chief attraction of the deva realm? Don't the fair maidens of the deva realm get a lesser deal - having to wait on the devas - how do they make merit? I know these are silly questions, little to do with the dhamma, but one wonders all the same. These stories remind me of telemarketing slots on TV - "call now, and we will throw in this 12-spanner set for free."

The English language edition's article on the original kamikaze (divine wind) against the Mongol empire (not WWII) refers to Buddhism, though it also mentions Japanese "gods". > ...1274 and again in 1281. Due to growth of Zen Buddhism among Samurai at the time, these were the first events where the typhoons were described as "divine wind" as much by their timing as by their force. This surprised me a little - I thought the "kami" in kamikaze referred to beings from Japan's native shinto belief system, which many Japanese have alongside Buddhism. Was kamikaze typically regarded as a supernatural event in Buddhism?