Buddhism in a Nutshell

[Ryoko Ozaki]

A lot of people put down Buddhism as a false religion because they know nothing about it. I'm not going to go into specific details, just say how we practice it and how we believe it should be practiced.

Well I'll start off with some things that I do. For one thing, I often take some time everday to reflect on why I believe what I do. Soon, I'm going to get a binder and start writing these things down.

This is a marking of the path that you are traveling, and how you followed it if you ever get really lost in the future due to major suffering. It helps along with the eight-fold path to get you back on track.

The most important part of Buddhism is that there's not one laid out path for you like there is in Christianity and other religions. You must choose your own and find yourself, nobody can do that for you.

Well there's my summary. Tariki, feel free to add your own ideas to help people understand Buddhism better. It would be nice if we could hopefully make people understand it enough so that they don't critique it without knowledge of it.

 

[WayMan]

Another shall be born in a land of great forests and great beasts. Again his words will be misunderstood, as he will be above other men. He shall try to teach men to reason and to study in contemplation so that he might grow to understand. He will show men the path to their inner beings. He shall show men to care for their World and all that lives upon and shares the Earth with man.


Great statues shall be raised up to him, which he would tear down in life,and he shall be worshipped and this shall cause him to be devoid of his purpose.
He shall be a modest man as will be all the High Lords Of The Veil. And so shall his coming be marked for all men to know, and follow. But they will raise statues and idols to him in his image, and they shall be made of wood and of stone and, and men will in their ignorance worship them as givers of life, and thus defeat him in his purpose.


They shall raise up priests in his name, and in their madness they shall make men fear them and him, though the statues and the idols and the priests will be devoid of substance exept in their own eyes. And man shall show no reason.

 

[Arikay]

Ryoko: Interesting, I have always liked Buddhism, and have found the middle way to be a good teaching that fits with many things, including "the way"


Man: Im curious, do you have anything constructive to add to the thread except for a put down that was plagerized from another site?

 

[Ryoko Ozaki]

I didn't even understand what that whole thing he said was about. Oh well, it's plagery either way, and why does he need to attack with that?

However, that might not be an attack but I'm not too sure of its intent since it confused me.

 

[WayMan]

Arikay

It should fit in with the Way as Buddah was the fifth High Lord and a Nazarene.

What I posted about Buddah was not intended to be a put down in any sense, it was intended to show the madness of belief and the harm that it does.

I stated that Buddhism is a crying shame as it could have been something really wonderfull, if they had only listened to Buddah himself. The same thing applies to christianity and Jesus.

Why do you say that I "plagerized from another site?" "

The exerpt that I posted is from the prophecy of the "First to come" which is contained in the Book of Man. Although it may well appear elsewhere, It was not "plagerised" but retrieved from somewhere in my computer, where the rest of the book is stored.

 

[WayMan]

Ryoko Ozaki

It was not an attack.

 

[Arikay]

1) The point of the thread was to help people understand buddhism better in a possitive way, I dont see how your post did that.

2) Did you write "the book of Man"? if not, then you plagiarize from it. You did not cite the book, but coppied from it. Proper citation is a good idea, as plagiarizing is illegal, never good to do, and a personal annoyance of mine.

3) "The way" I was talking about, was not the same as what you follow but from another chinese religion (although buddhism didn't start in china, it has become an important part of it).

Arikay

It should fit in with the Way as Buddah was the fifth High Lord and a Nazarene.

What I posted about Buddah was not intended to be a put down in any sense, it was intended to show the madness of belief and the harm that it does.

I stated that Buddhism is a crying shame as it could have been something really wonderfull, if they had only listened to Buddah himself. The same thing applies to christianity and Jesus.

Why do you say that I "plagerized from another site?" "

The exerpt that I posted is from the prophecy of the "First to come" which is contained in the Book of Man. Although it may well appear elsewhere, It was not "plagerised" but retrieved from somewhere in my computer, where the rest of the book is stored.

 

[Ryoko Ozaki]

First of all, it's "Buddha" not "Buddah". I'm not sure what that book's about, could you enlighten me?

 

[WayMan]

Arikay

I did not write the book, nor did I "plagiarize it", I copied it and make no
secret of this fact. This is not illegal as I have full authority to copy it and post it on any forum or whatever that I so wish. You may not like it, but that is the way it is.

 

[WayMan]

Ryoko Ozaki

It is about mankind from begining to SHTF and the way to survive and prosper and do no harm in the doing of it.

Sorry about the typo.

 

[Rising_Suns]

I don't mean to interrupt you all, but I'd just like to comment on this statement.....

The most important part of Buddhism is that there's not one laid out path for you like there is in Christianity and other religions. You must choose your own and find yourself, nobody can do that for you.

Christianity does not teach that there is one path laid out for you. Maybe some protestant denominations might, but I know that Catholicism and Orthodox do not. We believe that God has given us free will to come to know Him on our own steam. Since God loves us so much, He is not going to force us to love Him back. Thus we have free will. So with our free will comes our ability to chose our own paths, so long as it glorifies God and remains obedient to His word in what we do. We are the vessels of God, and He directs us on a general path that brings out our full potential, but He does not force us to take it.

 

[WayMan]

Rising Suns

You can "believe" till the cows come home, but that will not make it a fact.

 

[Rising_Suns]

Hey I just have a quick question, now that i've been thinking;

From what I know, buddhism teaches that you are reincarnated till you reach perfection. But my question is, isn't this a hard path to chose? I can't even imagine how many times I would be reincarnated till i achieve this state of being, if it's even possible. And our memory would in effect be earased and we start from ground zero every time we are born again.

See, the beautifull thing about Christianity, is that God loves us so much that He does not demand that we reach perfection in order to be saved. All we have to do is accept in our hearts the fact that God sent His son Jesus Christ to die on a cross for our sins and strive to atleast live a Christ-like life in our daily lives; humble, loving, patient, compassionate, and faithfull. We are given one life, and only need one life to make a decision to be with God and not without.

 

[Rising_Suns]

You can "believe" till the cows come home, but that will not make it a fact.

I would expect a more humble and sincere reply from someone who looks up to ghandi. I was merely correcting the original post about what Christians believe. There's no need to make this comment that you made.

 

[WayMan]

Rising Suns



Ghandi was not a Nazarene, Buddah was.

It was a sincere comment, sorry if you did not like it but I was telling the truth.



The High Lord at the time of the ending of days shall threaten all that they shall hold to be true yet knowing that such beliefs in reason cannot be true, and at that time men shall hold onto that which is not true, and believe it to be true, as they shall have been taught great fear of that which is true, and shall fear to look upon truth, as men shall believe and fear the loss of that which belief shall promise onto them, even though they know it to be not true, and know that such things cannot be held to be true, as such things are born only from the sickness of the minds of men, and are false. Yet will man stay blind to that which in his heart, and in reason, he knows to be true. So shall most men stand cursed by their own stupidity, and shall be deserved of that which will come upon them, at the coming of the Seventh and last, High Lord

(covenant of the Way)

 

[Rising_Suns]

It was a sincere comment, sorry if you did not like it but I was telling the truth.

The bottom line is, your comment was confrontational, and does not contribute to the original post of helping people understand buddhism. Lets try to keep this thread on track here ok?

If anyone would like to address my questions/concerns, that would be apprecaited. Thanks guys.

 

[WayMan]

I may seem confrontational, but that's just my manner. I'm a nice guy really

 

[Tariki]

Tariki, feel free to add your own ideas to help people understand Buddhism better. It would be nice if we could hopefully make people understand it enough so that they don't critique it without knowledge of it.

Ryoko,

Thanks for the invitation............

I think its important to understand that "Buddhism" is a Western word given to a whole range of practices that have been followed in the heartlands of the faith for 2500 years. The West just loves its "isms" and its "ologies", not to mention its "ainities".............Just like Christianity, with its Catholocism, Eastern Orthodox and the various and seemingly unending Protestant "flavours".........the Buddhadharma too has its varities..........Theravada, as practiced in Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand.................Mahayana, which embraces virtually all the other brands (to keep it simple).

Theravada sees the Buddha as a teacher, not a saviour........he taught the way to the end of suffering, leaving behind his teachings - the Dharma - and, in effect, the message......."Buddha's can only point the way, each has to walk the path themselves." The ideal in Theravada is the Arahat, a person who has followed and practiced the teaching to its final conclusion, to the heartwood of the Dharma...........the end of suffering. The ideal in Mahayana is the Bodhisattva, who seeks enlightenment not for themselves alone, but for all..............leading to the verse from the Bodhicayavatara so loved by the Dalai Lama........"so long as the earth endures, so long as space endures, so too may I endure, ending the sufferings of the world." In Mahayana, the Buddha becomes in effect a "cosmic principle" - rather than just a human teacher.

One of the great Buddhist scriptures is the Lotus Sutra, which contains the parable of the Dharma rain...........dharma - natural truth that needs no revelation - falls like rain, equally on all, and each will respond according to their individuality. This points to the word used in Theravada when referring to the dharma itself........"ehipassiko".............or.."come and see, for oneself"

One of the keys to understanding the Dharma is the way the Buddha himself referred to his teachings.........likening them to a raft.........."for crossing over, not for holding onto" One of the most significant references to this is a Sutta in the Majjhima Nikaya - a Theravada text - where, after the Buddha has taught his deepest truths and assured himself that those who have heard have understood correctly, he says.........."purified and bright as this view is, if you adhere to it, cherish it, treasure it, and treat it as a possession, would you then understand the Dharma that has been taught as similar to a raft, being for the purpose of crossing over, not for the purpose of grasping?"

Another cornerstone to understanding the dharma is the famous sutta in the Anguttara Nikaya.............the Kalama sutta....."Do not be satisfied with hearsay or with tradition or with legendary lore or with what has come down in scriptures or with conjecture or with logical inference or with weighing the evidence or with liking for a view after pondering over it or with someone else's ability or with the thought: ' The master is my teacher.' When you know in yourselves: 'These things are wholesome, blameless, commended by the wise, and being adopted and put into effect they lead to welfare and happiness,' then you should practice and abide in them."

This is NOT a "freethinkers" charter! "Do not be satisfied" are key words........and also the words........"commended by the wise". Well, who are the wise? Perhaps each much make their choice!!

And finally, I think myself that questions and answers go together. Buddhism - to use the Western term - begins with a fact, the fact of suffering.............a human reality that is undeniable. Therefore it should remain totally existential in its thinking..............once it drifts into mind games for the sake of mind games, it ceases to be itself (not unknown in Buddhist circles, unfortunately).........."I teach this and this alone, suffering and the ending of suffering"

Anyway, enough for now. Perhaps enough ammunition here for our Christian friends to aim at............



P.S. Just popped back.............I would just add that it is the "anatta" teaching - no-self - that provides the keystone to forestall any Christian criticism of "Buddhist pride" and reliance upon "self", rather than "submission" to "God's Truth" as "revealed".

(From a Buddhist standpoint, to truly "understand" the "no-self" teaching is to be enlightened)

 

[WayMan]

A bit more about the man from the Book of Man


There was a High lord born in the lands of those with almond eyes and he was nearly lost for he was a soldier as was his father and he was named Buddha amongst his names in that tongue. As with all bearers of the veil he was always much troubled by that which he saw and that which he felt. He like all the rest understood nothing of men and could not calculate their ways . Buddha did not know of the veil for the truth of it was not within his land and there was great ignorance of it. This was why none did try to kill his mother before his birth as it is with all caulbearers since the knowledge of the caul and their greatness was known. He abandoned his wife and left his home for he was much troubled and there was none that could guide him. He searched for reason of his mind and that which he felt for he was sorely confused. He tried to understand that which was born within hem and he could not. Without his knowing a member of the brotherhood of Nazarenes watched him at all time as had it so been since his sign was first seen in the sky. As his sign grew, brothers journeyed to the place that he would be born and they were there. Because they were strangers they were not allowed to approach the child so he was not anointed as a King at that time as he should have been. So they watched and they waited until they saw a safe opportunity. They knew that he would not receive them until his torment was great and his mind would be receptive to reason and the hallowed knowledge. They followed him in his footsteps wherever his feet did tread. One day he was tired and was much disturbed and he sat to rest beneath a tree in it’s shade. One of the brothers who had been following him approached and spoke onto him and asked why was he troubled. He was receptive to them and they were overjoyed. He listened to them and they talked to him for many days without rest of sleep. He did not tire and he gained reason and he gained knowledge of that which he was and he was content with it. They took him with them and so began his education . Again he did go amongs his people and they were much amazed by his sayings and he was full of the light of his knowledge and this did he do, for the rest of his life.

 

[Isaiah 53]

Hello!

I have spent a lot of time studying other religions, but have spent absolutley no time on Buddism (sorry Derek, I am not trying to generalize). So, I guess my question is: As basic as possible what is Buddism, and what is its purpose?

From what I gathered it seems to be a religion based on worshiping yourself. You are the means of your own salvation/enlightenment. I see this as flawed and impossible. If I am incorrect, I appologize.

I believe in understanding other religions so I can better answer it with the truth of Christ!!

PEACE IN CHRIST!!!!!