Ever got involved with Eastern religion?

greendawn

Did you or someone you know ever get involved with eastern religions such as Hinduism, and what was the experience like?

I know someone that even went to the gurus and monasteries in India but his experience wasn't a happy one.

Carmel

Eastern like in Palistine?

carm

JamesThomas

I never really got involved with Easter religions, as I knew by then the religions were a trap. But I did study and investigate into some Hinduism and Buddhism.

Generally I found a much grander interpretation of God, than the far more diminutive concepts offered up by Christianity; and I found this helpful and refreshing as my heart silently told me that if there is a God, it must be infinitely more than our understanding of It, and never less.

I recommend that people openly inquire into Eastern thought, as it can be helpful in uncovering a far vaster and more beautiful realization of the Divine. Beware of religious traps though. Reality and truth is discovered within the actuality of life and being, not in conceptual belief systems.

j

Narkissos

Beware of religious traps though. Reality and truth is discovered within the actuality of life and being, not in conceptual belief systems.

It seems to me that most far eastern religions and philosophies (Buddhism, Tao, etc.) are much more wary of the pitfalls of conceptualisation than the Western ones (except in the mystical fringe of the latter). The problem actually is what Western sympathisers look for when they get into them. Whoever is searching for beliefs will certainly find them but may be missing the whole point.

Satanus

While i'm not a great fan of buddhism, one good point it has is the questioning of everything. I have adopted the necessity of first hand experience. You haven't experienced god, jesus, or whatever, maybe they are not there, or they don't matter.

S

JamesThomas

Well said, Narkissos.

Yes, Eastern thought certainly seems more aware of the difference between beliefs and actuality. Perhaps it is our western mind set which often finds it difficult to distinguish between the two.....and so we easily find ourselves drowning in beliefs again; rather than delving into the reality that beliefs systems can only point to.

j

JamesThomas

By the way, I found Taoism, to be most helpful.

j

Enigma One

That reminds me.....JT, we were talking about zen, karma, and other stuff, then "the big news" thread hit and I got sidetracked. I'll have to dig that up again.

Green, to answer your question, yes I have found my spirituality in the eastern religious context. I prefer Buddhism and Taoism. Shintoism was an interesting study however, just not for me. With Hinduism I have a 10,000 foot overview of it, but not a ultra-deep understanding.

Ever got involved with Eastern religion?

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