kuifje75

With 360 million followers in this world, Buddhism is considered one of the major faiths on this planet. I was wondering if there were anyone here who subscribes to the teachings of Buddha. (No flaming here, as it is simply a different faith and I am not asking anyone to compare between Christianity and Buddhism, I am simply asking if anyone follows it, that's it.)

I subscribe to the teachings of the Buddha, but I do not follow all of the rituals of the custom. The family of my SO is part of the Buddhist faith, and it is really interesting to see how the religion varies from country to country. One of the branch of Buddhism believes in reincarnation into animals and so on, and the another branch doesn't believe in that. I follow the latter, believing in the path where one accepts the suffering of life as a fact of life, and trying to minimalise the suffering for others as well. I believe in having the power in controling my own life, rather than leaving it to some divine being to control it.

I believe in the fact that nobody is perfect, and that is the essential truth of life. Having said that, we "work" around our imperfections and try to live in a life in a positive way. My biggest pet peeves is when people focus on the imperfections of others, and speak of it in negative tones, thus contributing to others' misfortunes. I rather to focus on my own imperfections and to improve myself, or to be aware of it and of the consequences it can implict.

I believe in karma, which is an inescapable cycle of deeds that we do. If we do bad karma, then we start a serie of events that will eventually become bad for us. If we do good karma, then we start a serie of events that will eventually be good for us. There is also a stipulation that by doing a good karma, it could effect bad karma in the long run. The major word in this idea is where we need to do things in "moderation."

It is impossible to discuss everything about what I believe in, but it would be interesting to see if anyone else here also follows the same philosophy as me.

Deafness

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Cookie Monster

One of my strongest beliefs why KootchieBootchie and I have a strong friendship is our belief in Buddhism (amongst other things ) we are able to discuss deities and dogmas & agree to disagree about this as well. I've always believed that karma works out for us, good and bad.

From the book "Sayings of the Buddha - Reflections for Everyday" from William Wray.. you can get daily reflections from Buddhism and today is Nov 3rd.

"Easy to see are others' fault, those of self are hard to see. Surely the faults of other men a man doth winnow as 'twere chaff, but those of the self he covers up like a crafy gamester losing his throw."

Translation - One cannot see his flaws whereas another can see one's flaw & point it out. The person with the negative flaw tries to cover it up but does a poor job and is caught.

There are different teachings to Buddhism and one must have an open mind and heart towards Buddhism.

AJ

i follow a religion thats pretty damn close to buddhism. infact i think its related to buddhism, and wouldn't be surprised if it is. but i dont much talk about it because ive been told that im going to hell and that im the devil and that im crazy for it.

The*Empress

It isn't a religion, though.

You can be Christian and be a Buddhism too.

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AJ

anybody who believes in god is a christian.

Gemtun

Despite being a Roman Catholic, I do find myself applying many of Buddhist theories to my day to day life. One strikes me the most is that suffering itself is part of life - we have a choice to turn suffering into a positive one. Suffering means that we are evolving.

I could go on but I dont have links to back me up here (thanks to me being computer challenged) but I do read many of his books - it really has helped me cope with greatest crises of my life. I find their readings much more helpful than Christian writings when I am in darkest moments of life.

Gemtun

Err...Buddhism is a RELIGION!

Gemtun

Also, Karma is my favorite word these days. Many people question my job and ask me how I could bear to handle such sufferings of humankind and I simply reply "Do what you want them to do you WHEN IT IS YOUR TIME" because I firmly believe that what I contribute these days, it will come back to me one day. It will not take a day but years and I have accepted that.

Been reading a book on karma and I cannot emphasize on how powerful and profound it is. I am still learning on discovering what karma really means so I do not have any simple words to explain it to others at this moment. I do not have answers and will never - that is a part of acknowledging that Im a mere humble servant of Buddhist writings.

The*Empress

Is it a religion?

It is neither a religion in the sense in which that word is commonly understood, for it is not "a system of faith and worship owing any allegiance to a supernatural being."

Buddhism does not demand blind faith from its adherents. Here mere belief is dethroned and is substituted by confidence based on knowledge, which, in Pali, is known as saddha. The confidence placed by a follower on the Buddha is like that of a sick person in a noted physician, or a student in his teacher. A Buddhist seeks refuge in the Buddha because it was he who discovered the path of deliverance.


A Buddhist does not seek refuge in the Buddha with the hope that he will be saved by his (i.e. the Buddha's own) personal purification. The Buddha gives no such guarantee. It is not within the power of a Buddha to wash away the impurities of others. One could neither purify nor defile another. The Buddha, as teacher, instructs us, but we ourselves are directly responsible for our purification. Although a Buddhist seeks refuge in the Buddha, he does not make any self-surrender. Nor does a Buddhist sacrifice his freedom of thought by becoming a follower of the Buddha. He can exercise his own free will and develop his knowledge even to the extent of becoming a Buddha himself.


The starting point of Buddhism is reasoning or understanding, or, in the Pali words, samma-ditthi.


To the seekers of truth the Buddha says:


"Do not accept anything on (mere) hearsay -- (i.e., thinking that thus have we heard it for a long time). Do not accept anything by mere tradition -- (i.e., thinking that it has thus been handed down through many generations). Do not accept anything on account of mere rumors -- (i.e., by believing what others say without any investigation). Do not accept anything just because it accords with your scriptures. Do not accept anything by mere suppositions. Do not accept anything by mere inference. Do not accept anything by merely considering the reasons. Do not accept anything merely because it agrees with your pre-conceived notions. Do not accept anything merely because it seems acceptable -- (i.e., thinking that as the speaker seems to be a good person his words should be accepted). Do not accept anything thinking that the ascetic is respected by us (therefore it is right to accept his word).


"But when you know for yourselves -- these things are immoral, these things are blameworthy, these things are censured by the wise, these things, when performed and undertaken conduce to ruin and sorrow -- then indeed do you reject them.


"When you know for yourselves -- these things are moral, these things are blameless, these things are praised by the wise, these things, when performed and undertaken, conduce to well-being and happiness -- then do you live acting accordingly."


These inspiring words of the Buddha still retain their original force and freshness.


Though there is no blind faith, one might argue whether there is no worshipping of images etc., in Buddhism.


Buddhists do not worship an image expecting worldly or spiritual favors, but pay their reverence to what it represents.
An understanding Buddhist, in offering flowers and incense to an image, designedly makes himself feel that he is in the presence of the living Buddha and thereby gains inspiration from his noble personality and breathes deep his boundless compassion. He tries to follow the Buddha's noble example.


The Bo-tree is also a symbol of Enlightenment. These external objects of reverence are not absolutely necessary, but they are useful as they tend to concentrate one's attention. An intellectual person could dispense with them as he could easily focus his attention and visualize the Buddha. For our own good, and out of gratitude, we pay such external respect but what the Buddha expects from his disciple is not so much obeisance as the actual observance of his Teachings. The Buddha says -- "He honors me best who practices my teaching best." "He who sees the Dhamma sees me."


With regard to images, however, Count Kevserling remarks -- "I see nothing more grand in this world than the image of the Buddha. It is an absolutely perfect embodiment of spirituality in the visible domain."


Furthermore, it must be mentioned that there are no petitional or intercessory prayers in Buddhism. However much we may pray to the Buddha we cannot be saved. The Buddha does not grant favors to those who pray to him. Instead of petitional prayers there is meditation that leads to self-control, purification and enlightenment. Meditation is neither a silent reverie nor keeping the mind blank. It is an active striving. It serves as a tonic both to the heart and the mind. The Buddha not only speaks of the futility of offering prayers but also disparages a slave mentality. A Buddhist should not pray to be saved, but should rely on himself and win his freedom.


"Prayers take the character of private communications, selfish bargaining with God. It seeks for objects of earthly ambitions and inflames the sense of self. Meditation on the other hand is self-change." -- Sri Radhakrishnan.


In Buddhism there is not, as in most other religions, an Almighty God to be obeyed and feared. The Buddha does not believe in a cosmic potentate, omniscient and omnipresent. In Buddhism there are no divine revelations or divine messengers. A Buddhist is, therefore, not subservient to any higher supernatural power which controls his destinies and which arbitrarily rewards and punishes. Since Buddhists do not believe in revelations of a divine being Buddhism does not claim the monopoly of truth and does not condemn any other religion. But Buddhism recognizes the infinite latent possibilities of man and teaches that man can gain deliverance from suffering by his own efforts independent of divine help or mediating priests.


Buddhism cannot, therefore, strictly be called a religion because it is neither a system of faith and worship, nor "the outward act or form by which men indicate their recognition of the existence of a God or gods having power over their own destiny to whom obedience, service, and honor are due."


If, by religion, is meant "a teaching which takes a view of life that is more than superficial, a teaching which looks into life and not merely at it, a teaching which furnishes men with a guide to conduct that is in accord with this its in-look, a teaching which enables those who give it heed to face life with fortitude and death with serenity,"[6] or a system to get rid of the ills of life, then it is certainly a religion of religions.


http://www.metta.lk/mirror/www.buddh...nutshell03.htm

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Gemtun

MissP,

Just because one wrote that doesnt mean it says it is not a religion.All websites have their own theories.

The word religion is a diverse word - easy to be interpreted by anyone - the bottom line is that people have their own beliefs - not going to get swayed by such websites. Many people have told me that I am not a Christian simply because I am a Roman Catholic - do I fall for them? NO! They are miseducated.

God only knows - we all should leave it up to God or Higher Power or whoever up there to tell us.

gnarlydorkette

It depends on which sect of Buddhism. I am studying Art History of Japan and there were plenty of Buddhism-influenced arts so the knowledge of Buddhism is a must.

I love their doctrines (Lotus Sutra) and have discussed with my husband about naming one of our kids "Amida" (the compassionate buddha. Methink there are three Buddhas and millions of Bodhistvas). The fact of having a deity (deities actually. Anybody can be a Buddha, correct, and has a shrine established in one's honor after their death) just bothers me. It is against my principles. I don't want to support a belief system that there is a holy figure (Buddha is holy for the followers; my definiton of holy may differ from you.)...

If I follow Buddhism, then I feel I am as a hypocrite for being an atheist.
I don't want to support one religion/belief system if none of others are tolerant toward each other.

apathrev

No. The definition of a Christian is one who believes in and accepts the teachings of Jesus Christ. I know several people who believe in God, but reject the Bible and divinity of Jesus.

Liebling:-)))

Good thread here. I know a little about Buddhism but I would like to learn something more about them. I’m a neutral person and like to collect every belief. I would like to ask you some questions in my post. I hope my question is okay with you.

I hope you share your knowledge here with us why they are not allowing etc. Why they have different belief etc. Let me tell you what I know.

My German hubby saw Indians shopping and saris for a first time in 1983 when he was in England to visit me. It fascinates him.

I was raised in England to involve with Indians, Chinese, etc and went school with them & also work together with them, too. I learn their interesting culture and meet their families etc – their mothers wear sari and fathers wear tiara (sp) – I remember they are not allow to cut their hair off. The parents choose husband or wife to marry their children. They explained us what the God status with 8 arms is… work, living, sense, ??? I can’t remember any further… I wish to turn clock back to learn MORE about their belief. I was young, that’s time until we visited Singapore… Oh my God… Its fantastic culture which different than I know them in England. I know now it’s Buddha belief…

I remember when we visited Little India near Chinatown in Singapore in 2000. Indian culture fascinates us due their beautiful colors, etc. I love to see people wear sari. It fascinates me.

We visited 2 Hindu Temples. We saw Buddha statue there.
If we want go in temples then we have to remove our shoes and leave them outside… I remember the note telling us those women who have monthly cycle is not allowed to go in the temple…Why?

I must tell you that Singapore is unforgettable and amazing culture especially temples. It’s sad to tell you that a short vacation (one week) in Singapore is not enough because their culture is fantastic and much to see. We would love to go Singapore again in the future. My children are heartbreak to leave Singapore… They are still talking about Singapore. It look like that Culture of Singapore fascinates them. I have to agree with them. We would LOVE to go Thailand one day since my hubby described us how fantastic temples where he went there before we met and married.

We saw Chinese temple in Kusu Island, Temple of 1,000 lights – 15 meter high figure of Buddha surrounded by chains of light and Merlin Statue, Dragon temple etc in Sentosa Island.

Why are the Dragons important to Buddhism? What special about them? It look like that they don’t believe Jesus? Right?

One thing I’m disagreeing is the parents choose husband and wife to marry their children. I remember to receive the story from my German friend who visits India years ago. He met deaf Indian couple and become good friend with them. He got them to tell him the story. Their parents disapproved their love and choose hearing partners to marry them. Their love is stronger and runaway together from their parents to start new life. They married with bless from neutral priest and produced a baby girl together.

We met deaf Singaporean who set his own photo business in Singapore. We talked little about Buddha… He said that he & his wife are very lucky to have their parents who let them to choose their partner they want to marry. Their parents bless their children’s wish. They are happily married and have a baby boy.

Tell me what you think?
Why the parents choose the partners to marry their children?

Honestly I wish to believe reincarnation but I still have my doubt either it’s really true or not like what I say about bible in other thread.

Something about reincarnation and Karma, I would like to ask you bit more. I saw the document about Dalai Lama on the TV last year. I witness kind of life they lead. I NEVER forget what I saw with my own eyes is Tibetans belief (they are part of Buddhist lamas).

They don’t believe funeral and cremation. The men cut corpse off and give them to vultures to eat. When it’s over then the corpse remains were remove for bones. I remember to see the women wash to rid of flesh to clean corpse’s bones and then crash/stomp them with a large rock to make them into powder. I don’t know why they need corpse’s bones for. All what I saw is they throw flesh remains again to birds eat after finish with bones and “decorate” part of bones in their room. This is a point of Buddhist’s view. Is it something do with Karma or reincarnation? I remember Dali’s explanation that he rather to enter corpses, flesh, bones etc to keep their own personalities and memories. What’s that? Is it Karma what he mean? Why they don’t believe funeral, cremation, organ donation?

Karma mean is give something away and then return something back to me. Right? Example: I donate money to orphan homes then I get something nice in return. Correct? I tried to study what Karma is. If I steal money and then get something bad in return. Correct? If yes, then yes, I beleive Karma.

Liza

I consider Buddhism more of a guidance rather than a religion. Some websites call it philosophy. If it's indeed a religion, then it's the closest to a religion that I can live with. In some of the buddhist teaching I recall reading, it is encouraged that you even question its teaching.

What works for me is something Buddha is said to have answered a student:

"How do I create world peace?"

"To create world peace, one must create inner peace."

Inner peace is something I'm working on, and some of the teachings by Buddhism are a big help in that in addition to other things. I'm learning about Reiki and some metaphysical ways of balancing the body and mind. I'm not perfect, but I like the idea of working around our imperfections and accepting them as "perfect."

Did any of you know that the name "Buddha" means "one who has awakened" in ancient Indian languages? It's not a name of a person, but a potential point of goal for anyone.

Gnarlydorkette - I doubt Mister Buddha Siddhartha set himself up to be a god or a holy figure in the first place. That would be an attachment, wouldn't it - which would cause pain, as is taught in Buddhism?

More information on Buddhism, and if others don't object.. here it is
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism

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Liebling:-)))

Yes I can understand that but I would be appreciate on your response on my post bit only if you know. I know a little about this that's why I would like to know more about them.

AJ

actually thats the definition of a Gnostic Christian. thats a very complicated story and its one that a lot of people dont want to listen to. see when Jesus was here he started teaching people about the other side and all that good stuff u know. but a lot of people took his words after he was gone and manipulated them so that they could put some if their own thoughts and beliefs into Jesus's words. there were only a few people who took jesus's REAL words, every word and passed it along. but they had to be quiet, kind of underground, about this because if they were caught teaching the real words they would be killed just like jesus. and thats why Gnosis, or Gnostics is such an underground religion because people STILL have hard feelings against it, believe me i know. ive been told im going to hell by my best friend for this. and my friend was told by her step mom that she was the devil because of this. thats why we dont talk about it much. but this religion is becoming more and more mainstreamed and a lot more people are following it. and soon it wont be underground anymore and we'll be able to talk about it freely. there is a church and i would like to go to it but its all the way in California.

apathrev

Cool, but this is

How come every single religious thread has to turn into a Christian discussion? I think its very disrespectful to the thread's creator to go derailing threads that have nothing to do with the announced topic.

AJ

well, Gnosis and Buddhism is very much the same. we believe pretty much some of the same things. so its not off topic.

gnarlydorkette

Buddhism in India is not same as Buddhism in Japan or Korea. There are two types of BUddhism-- "A Great Vehicle" and "A Lesser Vehicle"... Indian Buddhism is the former which is more... "stricter" in training and devotees while the latter is more appealing for other asian countires.


I remember the note telling us those women who have monthly cycle is not allowed to go in the temple…Why?
I am not familiar with that temple tha tyou went but usually when a woman is on her period, it is considered as unsantiary and will spoil the whole "aura" of the temple... the same thing why men won't be around their girlfriends when it is that time of th month.

Why are the Dragons important to Buddhism? What special about them? It look like that they don’t believe Jesus? Right?
Dragons are actually Chinese-influenced.... Japan do have some dragons because of the strong influence from China. Dragons are considered as LUCK for Asian people. Buddhism has been existed long time before Christianty was formed. So maybe Jesus doesn't believe in the Buddha??


One thing I’m disagreeing is the parents choose husband and wife to marry their children. Why the parents choose the partners to marry their children?
That is their Indian culture-- not Buddhism culture. Both are a separate thing.
Same thing did exist in white Western civilizations! Purtian decided in their children's hands by approving or not approving their children's boyfriend/grielfriend. WE do HAVE the same culture here. Queen Isabella of Spain didn't choose to marry Francis... her father chose because of the monetary tradeoff. They just happened to still hold that tradition.


I will leave the questions regarding Karma for kuifje or CookieMonster/Freaky to answer.

I hope you do understand that each country has their OWN verison of BUddhism and their culture do seep into their BUddhism but for many countires, their culture are separated from their religion of Buddhism.



SO sorry for my typos and bad grammar-- I just wanted to answer your question ASAP so you won't carry misinformation... and that I am in super HURRY for my class.

AJ

Karma is very real. what goes around DOES come around listen to this:

i was watching Sylvia Browne on Montel, because she's like my preacher, and a woman was saying that long ago her grandmother died, someone shot her. the woman wanted to know who killed her and if they will ever be found. sylvia said, well it was a man that killed her grandmother but they wont find him because he's dead, someone killed him with a hammer.

soooooo yes karma is real so be nice to people. because karma works for good too. so if ur good to people then good will happen to u.

apathrev

This is something I remember learning from Honors World History, all the way back in my Freshman year of high school, but didn't Bhuddism originate in India, and Hinduism originate in China? I can't remember if that's exactly correct or not. Someone please correct me.

AJ

im pretty sure buddhism did originate in india but dont i dont know for sure

kuifje75

Actually, it may not be Buddhism, but another religion which is popular in India, called Hinduism. Do not confuse Hinduism with Buddhism.

This is the link to Hinduism:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism

A buddha statue in a Hindu temple? I find that odd.

One would need to bear in mind that Buddhism is not a religion, but rather a guideline, just like Liza mentioned. Having said that, you may see a mixture of ideas throughout Asia. For example, in Vietnam, they follow Buddhism, with a strong emphasis on the teachings of Confucius as well. Sometimes symbols are used for many different things.

Article on Confucius:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucius

Belief in dragon has nothing to do with Buddhism nor Confucius. In fact, it goes back to Chinese mythology, where Chinese people believe that they were born from dragons.

http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intr...ragon_lion.htm

Again, that is one of the beliefs in Hinduism: arranged marriages. Arranged marriages in Buddhist areas are uncommon, as far as I know. If there are any, then its probably within the stricter sects of Buddhism such as Tibetan Buddhism. There is no ONE Buddhism, as it varies greatly from one country to next.

Arranged marriages is a big institution in India, and I do not think it is a part of the Buddhism philosophy. One of the main parts of Buddhism thought is not to cause suffering on others, so why would they force brides to marry guys?

In one branch of Buddhism, they believe that reincarnation involves a transfer of soul into animals and such. I don't believe in that. I believe more in the life cycles, where a soul can go through different bodies (human). The goal for the "soul" is to live a life without greed, desire and such, and to attain nirvana (a completion of life cycle, an end of a life). For some people, the reincarnation cycle goes for a long time because the person has not learned or has not been "enlightened." Then, some other person's soul can reach nirvana so fast because he has been enlightened.

I am not sure about this. Again, this is Tibetan Buddhism, so I would have to look it up to see why they subscribe to this custom.

No. Like Christmas, you give presents, but do not expect presents back. It is the same idea for karma. You do good deeds, but should not expect good deeds in return. You should not expect that people will do good deeds to help you out, because expectations can add to your own suffering. What if they do not fulfill your expectations? You get mad, frustrasted, and start to dislike them? Only you can control your own life, and as long as you do deeds that do not adversely effect others, then you should be fine.

gnarlydorkette

Buddhism is originated in India by Siddhartha which later became the Buddha. He was the first Buddha but not the ONLY one. Like kuifje said: everybody can be a Buddha if they accept the englightment.

Hinduism is ALSO originated in India. It is not heavily practiced in other major countries like Buddhism is... but Hinduism is popular in the Southern Asia.
According to Wikipedia: Hinduism is "a worldwide religious tradition that is based on the revealed knowledge of the Veda and the direct descendent of the Vedic Indo-Iranian religion."

Wikipedia didn't cover much about the correlation between Hinduism and Buddhism but in one sentence it said: "... how Hinduism was affected by Buddhism. Buddha was included as one of the avatars of Vishnu."

Now moving on to Buddhism: "Buddhism is a philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, a prince of the Shakyas, whose lifetime is traditionally given as 566 to 486 BCE. It had subsequently been accepted by many as a religion. Buddhism gradually spread from India throughout Asia to Central Asia, Sri Lanka, Tibet, Southeast Asia, as well as to East Asian countries such as China, Korea, and Japan."

So Hinduism is older than Buddhism.

REMEMBER: There are many sects of Buddhism-- Zen Buddhism is the more recent and POPULAR one (that appealed to Westerners. Why? because it lets you to be in control of YOURSELF-- One of the earlier Buddhism sects required you to chant and pray that Amida will come and rescue you *like Jesus will come and save you if you believe in God, etc... VERY SIMILAR.* Zen Buddhism allows self-salvation... You could say that Zen Buddhism is like Unitarian-- it is all about oneness in you. Hope this analogy helps you understanding... and don't offend others.)

Liebling: "While Buddhism does not deny the existence of supernatural beings (indeed, many are discussed in Buddhist scripture), it does not ascribe power for creation, salvation or judgment to them. Like humans, they are regarded as having the power to affect worldly events, and so some Buddhist schools associate with them via ritual." So they do believe there could be a Supreme Being... They just don't name it as GOD and worship GOD... They pray to improve themselves so they can be better persons. And it is possible that some of Buddhists do believe in God...
Remember there are MANY different sects of Buddhism that practice their own verisons of Buddhism. Just like there are many Christain churches: Protestant, Jehrovan's Witness, Evangelian, Eposicolican, et cetera... (PEOPLE: I am SO Sorry if I mispelt your church!)

Hope y'all understand!




Also Kuifje, I hope you don't mind me overstepping and answering some people's questions.. You are actually doing a better job explaining than me.
(You can say that I am a non-practicing closet Buddhist since I believe strongly in Buddhism doctrines but I just dont... practice it or study it well. I am actually more interested in Shintoism but I feel that I cannot pursue the belief system since I am a Westerner.)