has anyone looked into Buddhism?
by poor places 41 Replies latest jw friends
-
-
Twitch
I've looked into it a bit and liked what I read, for the most part.
UC
Great book btw
-
Soldier77
I've just picked up a book on an anthology of Buddhism to get me started. So far I like the philosophy, it goes along with a lot of the psychology books I read. What I do like is that you can pick and choose for the most part what to follow. Like it was said before, it's not really a religion, but a philosophy of life.
Another thing I like about it is its not something you get crammed down your throat and fear mongering like western religions.
-
hamsterbait
For a painless introduction to Buddhism, you could try the ARO meditation course, from a foundation in California. It is completely free with no catches. I did it - and it was fantastic.
For 17 weeks you get a weekly newslesson in meditation based on the idea that just being here, as YOU is enough, and what that brings up.
I recommend it - it made such a difference to how I see myself, and enhanced my insights gained from very expensive therapy.
And best of all - Your fambly will not shun you forever if you disagree with any of it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HB
-
Soldier77
Thanks for the suggestion hamsterbait, I'll look it up.
-
skeeter1
PBS had a documentary on Buddhism that was very good.
I had a blog on this site on it.
http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/social/entertainment/197426/1/PBS-Documentary-on-Buddha-Anyone-watch
-
Liberty93
Poor places,
The emphasis isn't on killing the ego. In Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche compares our situation to being like a monkey in a room, able to look out through the windows at the world, but not able to actually interact with it. He says, "The more the monkey attempts to destroy or control the walls, the more solid and oppressive they become, until at some point ... Each time he seems about to achieve pleasure, he is rudely awaken from his idyllic dream; but his hunger is so demanding that he is not daunted and so continues to constantly churn out fantasies of future satisfaction. The pain of disappointment involves the monkey in a love-hate relationship with his dreams. He is fascinated by them, but the disappointment is so painful that he is repelled by them as well."
From a Buddhist standpoint, that's basically what we do every minute of every day - either fill ourselves with memories of the past, or churn out fantasies about the future, constantly missing the experience of the beauty of consciousness. The belief in an inherently existing world of seperate and inherently existing beings locks us into a pattern where we stop interacting with things as they are in this perfect present moment and instead interact without our concepts about those things in a game of hopes about the future and fears about the past. This, I think, is the point of Buddhism - work hard and attain your own salvation from the gods and demons in your heart by realizing that your inherent nature is actually, for lack of better terms, a perfect manifestation of the unspeakable and inconcievble state of enlightenment in a form free of fixity and solidness.
Being nice, or being calm, are good, but are absolutely not the point, and to say that they are strips Buddhism of the power that it possesses and which most "religions" lack - to realize that YOU ARE already the very thing you want to be, and that what you're searching after is something far more magnificent and splendid than anything you could have ever imagined.
For what it's worth, the vajrayana, with which I am familiar, says nothing about homosexuality. The Dalai Lama was speaking for himself, and was most likely talking about rules of conduct for practitioners of outer tantra where cleanliness and purity are of paramount importance. The Dalai Lama is emphatically NOT a "Buddhist pope" - while he is well-respected, he only speaks for himself, and the only people obligated to listen are his students. Neither is masturbation. The person who said that needs to read the stories of the mahasiddhas who took street hookers as consorts to attain realization... I've never heard ANY lama say anything against being gay, and it is definitely not out of some desire to avoid losing students.
Also, if I were you, I would avoid lineages like aro g'ter (the meditation courses that got mentioned) or the "New Kadampa Tradition." Aro g'ter was basically invented wholecloth by a guy who abandoned his teacher, and are famous for inventing texts and and using photographs of their group's founder with unwitting lamas to make it seem as if they are supported. In vajrayana, lineage is of paramount importance for the transmission of the uncommon practices that help you to realize your nature. This guy basically tried to create his own lineage, which is a GIGANTIC no-no. NKT has a whole host of problems that they try to conceal. It's more Witnessy than I'd care to mention. If they aren't protesting the Dalai Lama, they're trying to deal with the latest sex scandal or using someone who has been a member for less than a year to give teachings. You'd be far better off to go with someone reputable. is an issue we all encountered as Witnesses - we thought that we were just being opposed by wicked opposers and apostates, until we started thinking and realized that we were in a very problematic group. You'll notice the same thing with aro g'ter and NKT - the only vajrayana buddhists who don't say that they are very problematic groups are the people still on the inside. If you take teachings with them, you'll probably have to start over if you go to any other teachers. I've also heard some really, really freaky stories about the NKT, but I won't go into those here, because not everyone might believe me. :-p
But enough about that. You should really read Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche's stuff. He was a lama who came over to the West from Tibet in the 1960s and knew how to talk to westerners like few people could or can. The great advantage of CTR, in my eyes, is that he didn't water-down the traditional teachings into "just be nice and calm" type stuff, but he also didn't tell people that they couldn't questioning. That's the big difference between Buddhism (and dharmic "religions") and the Abrahamic religions - in Christianity and whatnot, questioning and doubt are suspect at best. In Buddhism, they are NECESSARY.
Sorry if I was long-winded. :-p
Liberty
-
poppers
From a Buddhist standpoint, that's basically what we do every minute of every day - either fill ourselves with memories of the past, or churn out fantasies about the future, constantly missing the experience of the beauty of consciousness. The belief in an inherently existing world of seperate and inherently existing beings locks us into a pattern where we stop interacting with things as they are in this perfect present moment and instead interact without our concepts about those things in a game of hopes about the future and fears about the past. This, I think, is the point of Buddhism - work hard and attain your own salvation from the gods and demons in your heart by realizing that your inherent nature is actually, for lack of better terms, a perfect manifestation of the unspeakable and inconcievble state of enlightenment in a form free of fixity and solidness.
This is pure gold - well done, Liberty.
-
metatron
I am strongly attracted to Buddhism but still have misgivings about it. I think that it may be too pallitive, too willing to let the world go on without trying to create technology to end human suffering.
On the other hand, I acknowledge that human progress in technology could end revealed religion and make Buddhism triumphant, in effect by default.
Suppose technology effectively ended demand in an economy? That you had all the food, energy and lifespan you could possibly desire. What would happen? Would people die out, lacking natural drives? Have kids? Go crazy because they have nothing to rebel against?
They would have to be self disciplined and meditative , like Buddhists. That may be the future.
metatron
-
Liberty93
Regardless of how you feel about Buddhism, just sit down and give it a try.
You don't have to attend any services, or read any special books, just sit indian style a comfortable position with your back straight, head slightly down, mouth closed, and breath in and out slowly through your nose, and pay attention to your breath.
That's really all it takes to start. Try it for 15 minutes and see where you go.