Buddhism.

Not really a Buddhist, but I love learning about it and follow the lifestyle too. Let me suggest a wonderful book I read on Tibetan Buddhism, its called "The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying" by Rinpoche Sogyal. I'm sure you'd enjoy it

 

storys like this give me hope that people like me are out there

 

right on man I love the book. I'm reading "You Are Here" by Thich Nhat Hanh right now, one book I highly recommend is Way of The Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman. Its incredible, more of a general spirituality book but i absolutely love it. It was recommended to me by a fellow blade too

May I ask, what brought to start practicing Buddhism?

 

Similar to me actually. I read the same book you mentioned and realized that it..well... made sense. The more I read up on Buddhism and eastern religions the more I realized it was almost identical to the way I was already thinking. It was all so simple and made so much sense to me. Buddhism is by far my favorite religion to read on and learn about. I wouldn't call myself Buddhist either but I apply the principle and teachings to my everyday life.

Its good to see a fellow blade with a similar mindset as me. I wish you luck on your spiritual journey, peace.

 

I bought about a million books on Buddhism before deciding it was right for me. glad to find some other people who share my faith <3

 

My religion is Islam but Buddhism is very close to my heart.

 

Buddhism is not a religion it is a non Theistic philosophy.

I have always thought that ol Buddha had some good ideas. I like the philosophy and think the world could learn much from it.

 

I guess you can say I use Buddhist styles with my own faith, or that my faith resembles some of the Buddhist teaching,

 

Well, I believe in rational thought and not faith. However, IMHO it is irrational to not accept the possibly of a spiritual realm.

 

So, here's a question for all of you Buddhists and Buddhism enthusiasts. How does your use of marijuana fit into your belief system?

From what I understand, the belief system of Buddhism generally frowns upon any mind altering substances (aside from caffeine) because it is believed that those substances inhibit alertness and self awareness and give a false sense of enlightenment. Im assuming that since we're all on a marijuana forum, the majority of you partake in the "devil's plant"....so, how does that fit into your beliefs and practices?

I'm not trying to be confrontational. I've just begun studying Buddhism and have never met a buddhist who smokes so I've never really had the chance to ask anyone but its something that I've wondered about....

 

The five precepts of Buddhism include "..to abstain from fermented and distilled intoxicants which are the basis for heedlessness.", the fifth precept. First of all the precepts aren't commandments that must be followed by Buddhists.. Its more of a guideline to live life compassionately. I've talked to some Buddhists that say marijuana does not cause "heedlessness", and they smoke too. I remember I talked to one Buddhist who said marijuana is fine to use, as long as you are not attached to it. For me personally, I've used marijuana but recently I've stopped because I believe the experience overall was a positive one, and I've learned alot from the plant, but I simply do not feel that I should rely on it.

The five precepts don't have to be followed, they're not really mandatory but it's recommended you follow them to live a humble and generous life. Buddhism is really for everyone, the only "mandatory" thing you must do to be Buddhist is to accept the teachings of the Buddha. Whether you drink alcohol, smoke cigs or toke up.

So in short, you could use marijuana to guide you through your spiritual path, as long as you don't become attached to it and rely on it.

 

[quote name='"WhiskeyBits"']So, here's a question for all of you Buddhists and Buddhism enthusiasts. How does your use of marijuana fit into your belief system?

From what I understand, the belief system of Buddhism generally frowns upon any mind altering substances (aside from caffeine) because it is believed that those substances inhibit alertness and self awareness and give a false sense of enlightenment. Im assuming that since we're all on a marijuana forum, the majority of you partake in the "devil's plant"....so, how does that fit into your beliefs and practices?

I'm not trying to be confrontational. I've just begun studying Buddhism and have never met a buddhist who smokes so I've never really had the chance to ask anyone but its something that I've wondered about....[/quote]

If marijuana was more mind altering, such as LSD shrooms and the dozens of other natural "true" psychedelic drugs I'd agree, but marijuana is more of a mood/creative enhancer,

I believe many many tribes used psychedelics to gain enlightenment, so I could see where the reasoning comes from, because its sort of a cheat, and any of these realization you may come to while tripping face, are usually not long lived and most can't even truly understand wtf happened to them,

There's an old quote that goes something like this

"You spend one day reaching the point with acid, but spend 10 years trying to get back"

 

Whew, I'm glad I read your whole post. I saw the part about abstaining from fermented intoxicants and I went

I love my microbrew!

Thank goodness that Buddhism really is for everyone! Because the more I find out about it, the more I really like what I find.

 

i like the core concept of Buddhism but im not at the point in life where i can devote my full attention to it, im still in a materialistic mindset, even though i want to obtain the point of not caring anymore.

 

Once you realize none of that shit really matters its pretty easy