Thoughts on Buddhism

[passionatefool]

The. You where very lucky to have met such wonderful people pash. I have not. So these ones who claim the Hindu texts but claim Buddhism are fake? Hmmmm I have been misled clearly....


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=-31.700564,115.797653

It depends on where you go. In Buddhism there are different sect or traditions. If you go to Zen/Chan you will most likely meet a group of more open-minded or "liberal buddhists". Especially the Zen lead by westerners or Japanese, they tend to be very open minded and almost seem non-religious.....most of them even deny rebirth lol...they just sit and meditate then go home lol. Chinese Chan(Zen) is more conservatives. But if you go to traditions like "Pure Land", you will meet much more religious group of Buddhist. They have quite similar belief to Christianity such as having faith in this one Specific buddha called Amitabha and pray to him, when they die, they will be born in a Pure Land, similar to Christian's heaven. the only difference is they are not suppose to be there forever, it is just a place of "nourishment" until they become a Buddha and go save other beings. But either way, they are less open minded and more superstitious so you might experience a little more aggression from them.

yeah you might had come across a sect of Hindus that claimed Buddha to be one of Vishnu's avatar, or reincarnation because Buddhism was gaining a great deal of supporters and followers. Buddhists deny such claim though. Buddhism is only related to Hinduism was because Buddha came from a time in which Hinduism was thriving but Buddhism and Hinduism have two differently unrelated canon/sutras and belief

[KichigaiNeko]

Ah...thankyou. that clears it all up so I was only partially right then?? And yes I have met some Zen Buddhists and they are as peaceful as you could want to meet.

Unfortunately like all religions the longer they live the more they are fragmented and peoples agenda come to the fore.

[passionatefool]

Unfortunately like all religions the longer they live the more they are fragmented and peoples agenda come to the fore.

Yeah, I don't really think the current Buddhism was really taught by Buddha or Gautama. He said not to worship him but what you see is buddhists all worshipping him like a god in many sects. Besides the Buddhist scriptures wasn't recorded until much later, hundred of years. after the Buddha's death. The oldest surviving tradition of Buddhism is Therevada so they are closer to what earleir Buddhism would be like, they deny the existence of all the other buddhas and bodhisattvas that Mahayana tradition (much later tradition) claimed. So i doubt any of the scriptures from the Pali Canon to the Mahayana sutras to have any validity. Most likely made up by later well known monks as time goes by. The Vajrayana scripture, I believed, was written by Padmasambava, almost like a second Buddha to the Vajrayana Buddhists. The Tradition that most americans and westerners know of is the Mahayana Tradition, and more specific, Zen. and Chinese fat buddha from chinese restaurant (which isnt Buddhism)

I see Buddha as just a philosopher of his time with many students, nothing more, nothing less.

[The Grand Nudger]

If you see the Buddha on the road....kill him.

[Bgood]

Passionatefool wrote

Sorry but I think you should go educate yourself. Even though Buddhism and Hinduism both came from India, Buddhism and hinduism are two different religions. Buddhism reject supreme creator or god that hinduism claim, infact Buddha rejected hinduism and went against their practice of sacrifices and belief. Buddhists do not worship/believe hindu gods (brahma, shiva, vishnu etc) or care much for them. This is just as dumb as talking about Christianity using taoist belief as its representation. To learn about buddhism, you look at buddhist canon/text, not Hindu's.

Glad you said this passionatefool, you are exactly right. But what is funny is that I have very recently become more interested in Hindu chants and particularly the elephant diety Ganesh whom I had a really cool meditation with on Youtube the other nite. Obstacle Breaker, deeply psychological and entered into a subconscious release. Strange, but beneficial I believe. I am transforming into a bodhisattva everyday. I am very grateful. There is no conflict. I am becoming evermore presently aware. Elephants are symbolic of something great but I don't need to know. I like Zen alot. It is a malleable prime substitute for the word-label God. But who cares about that, my life his starting to look up, thanks to so many people. And Buddha I guess in some ways. He's my homey.

I see Buddha as just a philosopher of his time with many students, nothing more, nothing less.

I agree with you that he was a philosopher, yet I believe he was a also a personal healer and social revolutionary too!

Rhythm wrote

If you see the Buddha on the road....kill him.

This is a mysterious quote which still befuddles me to this day. I think it means not getting too attached and letting go, but I don't particularily think it makes much sense. I wouldn't kill him, I'd probably ask him if he needs a ride and talk with him for a bit. Get his phone #.

[KichigaiNeko]

Sorry Bgood you just lost us. Enjoy your godhead.

[passionatefool]

If you see the Buddha on the road....kill him.

A Zen Buddhist saying, it means not to get attached to the Buddha or even Buddhism or any particular teachings or belief. They believe when one is enlightened, they are no longer attached to anything, even Buddhism or the Buddha. Suppose to help let go of delusion....not sure how effective that works.

Glad you said this passionatefool, you are exactly right. But what is funny is that I have very recently become more interested in Hindu chants and particularly the elephant diety Ganesh whom I had a really cool meditation with on Youtube the other nite. Obstacle Breaker, deeply psychological and entered into a subconscious release. Strange, but beneficial I believe. I am transforming into a bodhisattva everyday. I am very grateful. There is no conflict. I am becoming evermore presently aware. Elephants are symbolic of something great but I don't need to know. I like Zen alot. It is a malleable prime substitute for the word-label God. But who cares about that, my life his starting to look up, thanks to so many people. And Buddha I guess in some ways. He's my homey.

I agree with you that he was a philosopher, yet I believe he was a also a personal healer and social revolutionary too!

Lol I suppose if it is working for you then good for you. Each to their own... I actually wandered into Hinduism too before I became an Atheist.

[Anomalocaris]

In other words, one becomes enlightened when one overcomes the gifts of evolution and the dictates of growth and progress to wait placidly to become a corpse while economically consuming food - vegetarian presumably, producing excrement, and precious little else. No passion, no ambition, no striving, no curiosity. A supreme Buddhist would seem to be a stoned mental vegetable.

[Bgood]

In other words, one becomes enlightened when one overcomes the gifts of evolution and the dictates of growth and progress to wait placidly to become a corpse while economically consuming food - vegetarian presumably, producing excrement, and precious little else. No passion, no ambition, no striving, no curiosity. A supreme Buddhist would seem to be a stoned mental vegetable.

I don't see where you get those ideas from! There is no rationale behind that kind of blind critcism. Buddhism IS a progressive, evolutionary philosphy that teaches us how to relate to our world and others more wisely and compassionately. It is like self-help theapy in a more creative and playful way. No reason to get hung up on it. It ain't like bogus Christianity!

And why does everyone slam vegetarians??? I eat meat all the time, but when I have gone to the temple on a few occasions and have eaten veg meals, I will tell you that they have always tasted very good! I was surprised myself. So don't be hatin! )

[passionatefool]

In other words, one becomes enlightened when one overcomes the gifts of evolution and the dictates of growth and progress to wait placidly to become a corpse while economically consuming food - vegetarian presumably, producing excrement, and precious little else. No passion, no ambition, no striving, no curiosity. A supreme Buddhist would seem to be a stoned mental vegetable.

You know I'm not really qualified to respond to that because I forgot half of the stuff I learned about buddhism but that isnt exactly how it is.

The fundamental belief of buddhism is that the world is full sufferings, so they aim to reduce it. One cause of suffering is ignorance or denial. For example, death, buddhism accept it as just another aspect of life and there isn't anything to fear of. So it is more of accepting things for what it is such as impermanence, everything change, come and go, wealth is all temporary, nothing is everlasting. So I suppose by accepting it as something natural in life, they aren't as attached to it. So it is not that they are emotionless, they just expect it....... Buddhism also teach of no self, as another way of letting go of ego, they believe self-ego result in suffering so instead of selfish passion or ambition/striving, they promote selfless ambition, passion, and striving to benefits the mass. And all of these go with Buddhist idea of emptiness which mean nothing is permanent, everything is interconnected, there is nothing that exist independently of everything else, there is no self, just a collective result of consciouness or something like that. So the enlightened one is the one that realize emptiness and selflessness.

Well you know, go to a buddhist community and ask that question and see what is their answer. I'm no longer a Buddhist but I will say most buddhist will give you more thought-provoking answers. Tibetan monks are trained to debate each other given a short period of time for each response.