| Buddhism
Posted: 4/23/2006 1:51:15 AM | | So Zentral, do or did you ever have an “object of attention“ or two? Mine seems to be different things at different times. I find great joy and sometimes passion in taking pictures of the life around me in all it's forms. Would I have to give up my passion for photography to reach a higher plain in Buddhism? What is really wrong with getting carried away with something in the moment if it is something one has a passionate desire for at the time and hurts no one? | |
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Posted: 4/23/2006 2:17:27 AM | In Zen, esthetics and discipline are often seen. For example, some Zen monks got into flower arranging as a way of expressing their sprituality. One could do much the same with photography.
It's not what is done necessarily, it's why and how it's done.
Also " getting carried away" is actually kind of a Zen concept as well. If you look at various martial arts, and how they are taught, it is exactly that "totally in the moment" concept in action. One loses the self, and connects with something on an almost molecular level. One no longer thinks, one simply is... | |
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Posted: 4/23/2006 6:54:55 AM | Well said, Montreal Guy. You're also describing what is called "Flow" (there is an interesting book by that title). Flow is a characteristic of total concentration, and often associated with periods of peak performance. Anyone who experiences flow is experiencing a Zen-like state of mind.
Tim, you may well enjoy your photography even more if you let yourself simply be in the moment with your "focus" (pun intended). The picture takes itself, essentially. Once you have mastered your tools and techniques, you no longer have to think about them consciously to use them. Then when the moment is right, you take the picture without thinking about it. This is how I've tried to develop my photographic interests. Some of the examples are at: http://phoTAOgraphy.tripod.com if you are interested. | |
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Posted: 5/2/2006 7:41:57 PM | I'm looking into various religious and spiritual beliefs. I'm of the mind frame that God exists but do not believe in the Bible or the Catholic church. I am now questioning my beliefs and am interested in learning more about Buddhism and how it has affected other peoples lives.
Suddenly,
I found that when I turned away from the Catholic Church, I was lost for awhile but then I decided to go back to my ancestors and found Druidism as a wonderful means to advance my spirituality. I have and do continue to educate myself with other religions and spiritual belief traditions. I think for me a little of each is a better choice with Druidism being my main focus.
Buddhism, the goal of a Buddhist is to purify one's heart. Buddhist do not look to a God or Gods but seek enlightenment within themselves, In order to end the rebirthing circle of lives we all go through. Buddha is simply that being that has reached enlightenment. Buddhism is about self discipline and ending the needs of intimacy that most of us desire. Personaly I can accept the need to enlighten ones self to end the rebirthing process of new lives but I found spiritualy it is a very lonely, depriving religion and I need more spiritual guidance. I also do not believe that life is just about suffering.
I do think when you are switching your belief patterns it is very important to research many traditions and religions. Follow your heart, instinct, intellect and what resignates within you. If you do, you will find the best process towards enlightenment . "Tu Shey, for you to question authority ! "
Something else you may be interested in that is not considered a religion but probably should is the healing touch of Reiki.
"In the end we all stand alone but it is the good people in our lives now that gives us the strength to stand alone", Jaylin ( a friend of mine )
Love, Light and Peace
Smoochie | |
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| Buddhism
Posted: 5/2/2006 7:53:06 PM | Suddenly,
If you are interested in this and similar "lifestyles", noting you are in Toronto, look up the Self Realization Fellowship.
Yagananda had some amazing reads that I was first introduced to in 1998. Something tells me you might be interested in what the Fellowship provides. Not to join, but to merely take a look at. | |
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Posted: 5/2/2006 8:17:56 PM | thanks folks you've given me much to think about it and to look into..
i have been doing some thinking and and am thinking that maybe it's not so bad if I just believe in me and that I am a good person who knows right from wrong and will strive to be nice, kind and considerate...although that attitude doesn't really make my negative thoughts go away just yet...
hopefully what you've all told me will help me find enlightenment of some kind.. | |
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Posted: 5/2/2006 9:17:59 PM | Suddenly,
Just follow the Universal Law of " Do as Ye Shall and Harm None " Try to keep in mind that with every positive there needs to be a negative to achieve balance. I believe Balance is what we should be striving for in order to become enlightened. So when you are having negative thoughts look to the positive. Negativity is not always a bad thing because it does open the gateway for seeing the positive in everything and helps you grow as a being.
Bright Blessings,
Smoochie | |
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| Buddhism
Posted: 5/2/2006 10:21:40 PM |
thanks folks you've given me much to think about it and to look into..
Hey! This is a very entertaining and thoughtful thread. Don't be in a hurry to end it. I related deeply to the quote of the monk towards the quotes of Christ. Enlightenment, for me, was being able to see the wisdom of some of His quotes from the perspective that might be experienced by a suffering monk, especially if he was suffering by the deception of men.
This perception might be where the Buddist and I would differ. Suffering isn't so natural. It seems to be caused by corrupt influences (evil; if you will), and more often by the desires of other men than by desires of my own (for instance the desire of a tyrant King to tax the poor). On the other hand, if not for my desires, their greed, gluttony, vanity, etc. might not bother me so much, so there is much wisdom in the Buddhist perspective. There is a lot to be said for not cultivating those desires in preventing suffering, but I believe Jesus offered a more proactive approach to accepting the pleasure of human contact when he allowed the woman to wash his feet, and then later, washed the feet of others.
We should allow ourselves to forsake our own desires when conditions require it, but be willing to accept the pleasures offered by others and offer similar pleasures with charity. An end to suffering, and exceeding Joy and Pleasure: That is something worth striving toward. | |
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Posted: 5/7/2006 8:47:04 PM | | I find the practicing Buddhist writer Pema Chodron an excelllent resource on Buddhism, espeiclly in dealing with difficult crises..Plus she's an American who lived her life before becoming a nun as a wife, mother and teacher | |
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Posted: 5/8/2006 9:11:09 AM | | If you are interested in buddhism know that it is the path of meditation. It has no form no path and it is something that is done without expectations. It is the art of reality, let go and being and while there are thousands of books on the subject reading them will only confuse you further. It is best to find a quiet place sit and watch your thoughts. This may be weird and difficult at first but remember you are not alone, There are others doing the very same all over the world. In Buddhism slience is the pastor and aloness is your clergy. | |
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Posted: 5/8/2006 10:42:07 AM | | I'd only partially agree - I think your statement gives the false impression that to be Buddhist is to be separate and alone. Dharma is the inspiration, sangha is the support and community. There is no true aloneness, as all things are one. | |
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Posted: 5/8/2006 12:16:05 PM | | One can take any impression that they choose from my statement but the practice of awareness will bring aloness. Once you realize your individualty, you will begin your own path not Buddha's not Mahavira's not Lao Tzu's your path and you will be alone on that path. As for suchness Tathagata, you are not incorrect in your understanding of oneness but it will be your understanding alone no one can share it with you. Better ? | |
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Posted: 5/8/2006 2:44:44 PM | Suddenly ...
I hope your spritual search goes well
As a main difference the Christian Jesus is a
living God in the ascension after the crucifixtion
the Buddha was a mere mortal man and
he is dead now.
As a man he (the Buddha) traveled the lands
And he did speak a superior spiritual truth.
to my knowledge there were many Buddha's
All on journeys to teach the people of a better way.
Seems that the collection of Happy Buddha's
were very promiscuous
one of the best speakers I have ever heard speak about
Buddhism was ALAN WATTS his tapes are readily available.
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Posted: 3/14/2007 8:06:33 AM | As I am also Christian
many of those who know me think I am an
Eastern thinking Buddhist ,,,,,,,,
Why -- because of enviromental views or pacifism ?
helping others?
Well wasn' t JESUS both a pacifist and enviromentalist
Jesus helped the poorest of the the poor
homeless,, hungry, ORPHANS ,, WIDOWS,
prostitutes- etc.
Maybe the Christians today
should take lessons from Jesus and his walk
and even those of the Buddha...
I do agree with Mr. Mallaka and his post above 100% | |
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Posted: 3/14/2007 9:54:01 AM | "I believe I said in an earlier post that Buddhists aspire to FULLY engage with reality. Emptiness is one of many meditation techniques, but not the goal. And JOY is a natural outcome of following the principles."
That all depends on how your particular brand of Buddhist tradition looks at the matter.
Emptiness is the state of everything, more ten just a meditation technique.
Joy is NOT a natural outcome of ANYTHING Buddhist because even joy leads to suffering when that joy changes or diminishes. Buddhism is about the end of suffering, not the increase of joy.
The end goal of Buddhism is the removal of Avidya, out deep spiritual ignorance of the nature/unnature of the 'world' around us. | |
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Posted: 3/14/2007 10:00:13 AM | "so buddhists aspire to a state of nothingness: joy! nonexistence. how great is that?"
They do not aspire to a state of nonexistence, rather they come to accept the fact that they ultimately do not exist in any state other then an ephemeral blink in the first place.
Life is not a stone or tree, existence is an eddy in a stream. It is informed by the current, the rocks and trees in the water, the air pushing down on it, and even the earth of its banks. the water flows, it swirls, it moves on. did the eddy mean anything to the stream as a whole? no. did the eddy demand that it have a permanent existence outside of the conditions that caused it to be? no. when the conditions of its creation came to an end, so did it. It did not mourn, nor did the current, the water, the banks, the trees, or the rocks. They just played their part and were content. | |
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Posted: 3/15/2007 3:03:00 PM | If you want some good books to read go to the library and get The Art of Happiness and The Wisdom of Forgiveness, both by the Dalai Lama..those are the ones that actually turned me on to Buddhism.
I don't understand why people feel the need to debate and delve into the psyche of religions, especially Buddhism. It's just a nice way to live. | |
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Posted: 3/15/2007 4:36:50 PM | One thing to keep in mind as you read these responses is that there as many twists and turns in Buddhist followings as in Christian followings. A poster may be telling you something from their tradition without even knowing that it deviates from other traditions.
You'll need to do some comparative reading to determine which if any subset of Buddhist approaches appeals to you. I'd suggest that the Wikipedia entry isn't a bad starting point and their bibliography is always worth reviewing.
Another thing to keep in mind is that Buddhists are human too. There is a significant amount of bloodshed, larceny, power mongering and strife in history of Buddhism too, some of it very recent. If you are looking for a pure belief set because you are disillusioned with Christians, you might want to keep that in mind.
Cheers,
Mike (partial to zen koans, myself, which don't appear in other Buddhist traditions) | |
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Posted: 3/16/2007 4:44:27 PM | There is a significant amount of bloodshed, larceny, power mongering and strife in history of Buddhism too, some of it very recent. (quote: UrbanX)
UrbanX....could you give some examples of this? | |
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Posted: 3/16/2007 6:35:18 PM | Zen was the religion of the samurai warrior. 
This concept of all Buddhist thought being pacifist is a Western misconception. The samurai had little problem being warriors, while also practising Zen. In fact, that combination made them even more deadly.
Just read below about Musashi's record of success against thirty well armed men, carrying only two swords.
As in china, the Japanese government became fearful of the power Buddhist Temples had over the people. Eventually they ordered the samurai to destroy many of the temples. Ironically, this made Buddhism more powerful. The samurai were warriors in dangerous times. They were duty bound to hold their lives cheap, risking death constantly. This was as hard for them emotionally as for anyone else. They had assumed the Zen monks would run screaming at the sight of violence, but instead, many of them were unintimidated. some of them meditated inside their temple even as the fires consumed them. This impressed the samurai greatly and they began to study Zen.
Takuan
This relationship went surprisingly well considering the rocky start. Takuan was a monk famous for his perception and intelligence from an early age. He wrote a famous letter to the head of the samurai clan that protected the Emperor. The letter, referred to in English as "The Unfettered Mind" details the Zen concept of thought and its application to sword fighting. In one section for example he suggests thinking of the motion and change of the sword rather than the sword itself.
Musashi
Around the same time a samurai called Musashi was making a name for himself. He was literally unbeatable, once killing over 30 men armed with guns, swords and arrows using only his famous two swords.
Zen also helped that samurai sharpen their skills be making their technique more spontaneous.
http://zen.thetao.info/read/samurai.htm
In order to rid his disciples' minds of the attachments that prevent enlightenment, Rinzai prescribed meditation on a "saying" (the koan) designed to break the habits of mind that caused these attachments. If the disciple persisted in these habits, Rinzai was also known verbally and physically to attack the recalcitrant monk. Indeed, his violence became as legendary as his koans.
http://marty-center.uchicago.edu/sightings/archive_2005/0310.shtml
This concept of violence may seem a bit strange to Western thought, but it fits perfectly into Zen. It wasn't unknown for new arrivals at a Zen monastery to ask some deep question to a wise old monk - and get a rap on the head from his staff as the reply.
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Posted: 3/16/2007 7:51:04 PM |
UrbanX....could you give some examples of this?
http://www.iivs.de/~iivs01311/EN/links.htm
http://www.sanskritboy.net/2004/01/15/buddhist_violence_in_sri_lanka.html
http://ict4peace.wordpress.com/2006/11/15/introducing-buddhist-monks-to-non-violence/
http://techrepublic.com.com/5208-6230-0.html?forumID=8&threadID=194765
http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/55a/353.html
Cheers?
Mike (oh well) | |
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Posted: 3/16/2007 11:27:33 PM | | most religions are external....god is outside of self....buddismis internal... the light is within...... | |
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Posted: 1/28/2008 7:21:11 PM | I'm a believer.. thanks Nick!  | |
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Posted: 1/28/2008 8:27:42 PM | Here is a good Buddhism forum they should point you in the right direction.
http://www.lioncity.net/buddhism/
Here is a good site for a lot of info on Buddhism
http://www.buddhanet.net/
Whatever you do only follow and study one lineage of Buddhism otherwise it won't work. | |
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| Buddhism
Posted: 1/29/2008 12:49:03 AM | I was told by someone who practices it that it's more of a philosophy that one can learn from.
I get confused sometimes with some things that are but are not...hmm.
It's not too shabby since there are some interesting things I have come to find from going to some meditations locally here in town.
I dunno. When you find out can you let me know? :D | |
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