Any-one else a buddhist or had/have an interest in it? I was bought up Catholic but never practiced, I had trouble believing in god/a higher being who could decide my future or something. Beginning of this year I was really depressed because I came out a relationship I was very attached to even though it was long distance (3,500 miles). Anyway, I became interested in Tibetan Buddhism because I had a interest in Tibet oppression anyway. I love the peaceful way of thinking and have also believed in "non violence". Since I started with buddhism aswell I've believed more in orginal catholic faith. It's weird. Buddhism is not something to convert to but a way of thinking I really believe in. I am not fully buddhist as I still eat meat and find it hard to grasp certain things. I often meditate and when I get into a mediation state I feel great the for the rest of the day and into the next day. So does any-one have an interest? I can tell any-one more about it to if you interested but I've gone on long enough here.
To me Buddhism is a way of thinking and living and not necessarily a religion. I believe in God and all that comes with christianity but buddhism is a way of getting to know yourself. Alot of what it teaches makes sense if you apply it to your everyday life. Like one of the 4 noble truths being that the ultimate cause of suffering is ignorance to the true nature of reality while the immediate cause of suffering is desire. And buddhism encourages humanity in every sense of the word. The eightfold path to me is an approach to bettering myself and what I get out of this life. I also believe in the karma aspect as well. What you do being good or bad eventually comes back to you in one form or the other. And meditation has helped me to come to terms with alot of things. Basically it helped me to accomplish a spiritual, mental, and emotional catharsis.
yeah. The way of thinking is a lot more appealing. The religion is a little obsessive of death but since adopting some of their pratices I've been a lot happier. I should be going to see His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Denmark next year. I cannot wait (assuming I am able to go). It's a 5 day teaching leading to liberation. The religion however wouldn't condone something like smoking weed if that is what you wanted to do. It would however, teach you away from becoming attached to such things to operate in life. Addiction to anything is not good. Attachment to this life, a previous life or your next life will also harm my favorite comparison to this is a nintendo; imaging that you're playing mario or something. the character on the screen is mario. your 'consciousness' is the person sitting on the couch playing. the nintendo itself is the brain, and the controller sends signals to it. the nintendo receives these, and makes mario act accordingly. the game in the nintendo is this life; it can be changed and a new one can be played, or lived. so basically, if mario dies, it does not affect the player on the couch. which reflects death in real life; although your body may decay, the consciousness is still the same; only now, it is not attached to the body. death is, really, not an end, but the removal of a link, between mind and body. this is essential to understand if you want to understand reincarnation and how it works. when you are born, your mind attaches to this body. when you die, it detaches. your mind is always the same though, and that is truly what you are, not this body. when you meditate, it is said that you actually detach from your body somewhat, and engulf yourself in a little more consciousness than usual; the delusions and made up realities of your body are somehwat dissolved when the attachment to the body is somewhat dissolved. so basically, when someone dies, they are not 'going' anywhere, nor are the 'changing' into anything. they never existed independently; they were just a receiver, not the source of themselves. it would be like saying that when the nintendo is turned off, where does mario go? he does not go anywhere; his actions where all caused by the player, and mario was never a true being ever. If you use that to anything in life from your card to the next bag of weed you will live a happy life, or so buddhist say. I think it is true. Compassion to every living being will also help with Karma as you mentioned above. You will take your karma into the next life so for a good life in your next life you need to use this life to the greatest of your ability to help mankind. I am making any sense, I'll shut up now.
Hey. I practice Tibetan dream yoga. It has its roots in Bon and Buddhism. I believe its main purpose is to practice navigating through layers of consciousness or something so that when you die you can pass through to the other side. I'm not real sure about the religious aspects of it. I've been into lucid dream induction for awhile and picked up some elements of dream yoga along the way. I use it mainly for therapuetic purposes not religious. Have you read the Bardo Thodol Adam?
i agree, buddhism works more as a way of thinking than a religion. i was raised episcopalian (the laid-back version of catholicism), and really got into buddhism while reading jack kerouac's books and simeltaneously the i ching... good comparison to the mario brothers Adam G! haha it made perfect sense but i had to laugh at the subject you chose for the analogy
Buddhism is the first religious path I have ever ventured upon, and it feels like I found the right one. Sure you may say it isn't religion, persay, but it sure is more spiritual than anything else I've been introduced to. It really grounded my thoughts and sent me on a complete life/self analysis that has changed who I am, or rather solidified who I am. I like Buddhism particularly because it teaches introspection, which I believe is probably one of the most important things a person can do: be aware of who they are and what they are doing. I don't think enough people are aware enough to realize the consequences of what they do, even how they act and what they say.
I am no Buddhist. I have no wish to ever be considered as such. I practice no 'religion' but my own. And in doing so i have learned to learn. And Buddhism has much to teach. ... WOW! I thought this was gonna be a huge reply but i actually got it all summed up in 5 sentences! actually... i'm kinda dissapointed now... I was all geared up for a huge reply, and heck... I'm still in keyboard pounding mode. so i'll rack my brain for something else on the topic, just cause 5 sentences (as perfect as the were) cannot do this topic justice. I found who i am through the use of Magic Mushrooms for the first time and just thinking alot. I practice several methods of meditation, and for differant purposes... Before i ever learned from any other doctrin of faith i had my own style of meditaion, which seem very much a rejuvenation of the body more than anything else. Since Learning Tibetan/Buddhist methods I am becoming comfortable with the me I found on that trip all those years ago. Buddhism is one of the many pools of knowledge i shall be drinking from for a long time. I may even Visit Tiben for a while sometime in the future. .... hmm i shoulda left it at five sentences.
Since Highschool lessons, I've seen every religion, but buddhism is in my opinion, the most true, valuable and peaceful religion.' Do Rasta is great too. nah, the meditation part, I have to agree, its a medicine for many diseases grtz El_Buddha_Dharma_Sangha
Yeah im no buddhist but a lot of the things that I do or think about in life revolve around buddhism. I've read a few books on buddhism, and was in Thailand for a while when I was pretty young. I was in a lot of buddhist temples and met a lot of monks, actually talked to a lot of them too. So yeah, I respect buddhism and its teachings.
i have a love and respect for buddhism and passive resistance(gandhis teachings), i still haVe much to learn about other beliefs, i think thatt all beliefs are way to sstructured, a person should just develope more complex and deep explanations of life through living and passing time, i know the more i live and experience the better and more mysterious multiexplanational place i find the world is. id much rather be apart of buddhism or one of the eastern religions full of peace and teachings of knowledge and humble meditation then any violent christian religion. people need to chill out and here these people out, oh and dont post if your gonna bitch about how your not buddhist who gives a fuck if it doesnt contribute and add to the peoples explanations and definnitions of life peace and love bud-E
Damn! Whatcha smoking Bro! I love the whole theory of Death you got there.....it really opened up that part of me that's been close for a long time.....*having shivers up and down my spine*....... Hmm....can I use your theory for my website...? It is definately an easy to understand piece to help calm *seriously* suicidal or mental patients down...[pls don't joke about this, it's a serious issue] On topic: I have never really devoted to any religion as my childhood was flooded with appointments with books and what-not...Christianity was vague to me although I attended lots of chapels....However, Buddhism did get me through tough times.....and it does not preach that you should only believe in their God and that others are Evil in creation.... going to the temples gives me a sense of tranquility....an ambient feel that I can relate to Karma as the events flashed by my eyes.....trippy but true..... There are lots of publications on Buddhism...although this religion was repelled by tyrants back in the ole days....you might wanna check out amazon.com or your local library.... You are what you discover..
For starters you should read Siddartha by Hermain Hesse great book. and then possibly the Dharma Bums by Jack Keroack These books are a good way of introduction to the world of Buddhism. I have extensivly read about Hinduism,buddhism and Islam and have found great life lessons and spritual influence from all.But I could not pin myself to one singular religion when many have excellent ideas on the concept of spirituality. But then again there are Taoism and Confusion which are more of guides on how to live in harmony with people and nature respectively. So as you can see its a good idea to look around and look at all the religions and see what they have to say and maybe they could bring some light into your world.
Buddhism is great & when you start to realize the Truth its pointing to, like you say, it will not conflict with any other religion The Truth is the Truth Meditation is great, if you are to get into Buddhism i wouldnt worry about tibetan, chinese, japanese etc...but to pay attention to the 'three marks of existence' & meditate on them, these are the three foundations of what the Buddha taught Anicca - Impermanence - All phenomena is Impermanent/temporary/transient Anatta - Non-Self - no perceivable phenomena is the definition of Self Dukkha - Suffering - There is no true lasting happiness in any phenomena (as they are temporary) If you don't understand the term 'phenomena' it means anything perceivable, any objects, which includes subtle objects like thoughts, feelings... These are the foundations of all Buddhism, if you get your head round them theres nothing else you need to learn! Peace
Buddhism teaches a lot about the nature of your mind, and how we only get glimpses of our true mind from time to time, other times we're just running around like chickens with our heads chopped off. It teaches you how to become detached from attaching yourself to essentially the past as well as accepting this reality for what it really is. There isn't any reason to escape it, and even if you think you could you can't. All escapes (drugs/death) from this great reality are only temporary and we are all within a system that cannot be escaped from. We need to learn how to accept our current living conditions and come to terms with our being as a whole.
i also think of buddhism as more of a way of thinking and acting, and not so much as a formal religion i should practice