lets Celebrate Guanyin Birthday !
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hmm... it probably will be better off to choose at most two from the 84000 doors. The best is one, choose the one that is most suitable for you.
At a later stage, once wisdom developed, you will realise "to know one is to know all". "Yi4 Jing1 Tong1, Bai3 Jing1 Tong1"
NamoAmiTuoFoOriginally posted by dragon_stone:In another thread, I find it very difficult to answer what is my religion. For this thread, you have mentioned that Buddhism is not a religion. That is fine with me. I feel that there are many doors (84,000?) to be opened before we can say we understood and embraced the religion. -
Perhaps you misunderstood what 84000 dharma doors means.Originally posted by dragon_stone:In another thread, I find it very difficult to answer what is my religion. For this thread, you have mentioned that Buddhism is not a religion. That is fine with me. I feel that there are many doors (84,000?) to be opened before we can say we understood and embraced the religion.
Buddha throughout his 49 years of preaching, taught many many expedient methods to sentient beings he come across to liberate them from their misery and sufferings and lead them to enlightenment and bliss. Each method that leads to enlightenment is called a dharma door. Chanting is one of the, meditation is one of them, etc.
The most important thing for you I feel is to get to know about the Buddhist teachings. -
Since my mother so stubborn and wont bring me to suntec to buy the 360..
an eye for an eye...since she wont bring me to buy the 360 i wont go with her to the temple...this is the first time i didnt go....No Xbox 360=No Temple
and its too risky for me to take mrt there while carrying $660 by cash -
Originally posted by ceecookie:Since my mother so stubborn and wont bring me to suntec to buy the 360..
an eye for an eye...since she wont bring me to buy the 360 i wont go with her to the temple...this is the first time i didnt go....No Xbox 360=No Temple
and its too risky for me to take mrt there while carrying $660 by cash
Wish you get your xbox 360 soon. I have went to see the preview at suntec a week ago. -
The best way to celebrate Guan Shi Yin Pusa birthday is to practise what Guan Shi Yin Pusa has taught us.
The best way to respect the Buddha is to practise the Dhamma isn't it. -
If we practises what the Bodhisattvas and the Buddha's teachings, they will be very happy. Substance more important than form, ie Practising Dhamma is better way to respect than outward prostrations and offerings of flowers and incense.
Anyone got the url of Guan Shi Yin Pusa's teaching on emptiness to Shariputra? -
i did nothing......
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Hi to all Dharma Bros & Sisters,
While doing some painting 4 my parents hse the other day, saw tat my mum's Guanyin statue quite 'old'... thinking of replacing a new one.Any ideal wat shld i do to the 'old' one?
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what 84000 dharma doors means.
one can apply the pinciple of jie1 (discipline of body and mind) , ting2 (concentration), hui4 (transcendence wisdom). discipline leads to concentration and eventually to wisdom opening.
that would mean discipline of body and mind can have infinite different form. Buddha recitation, focusing on the breath, koan, visualization etc etc.
but for saha world, the sharpest sense for us is still the hearing sense, as Bodhisattva Manjushri had picked Guan Yin's method of hearing in Shurangama Sutra.
note that there are other world systems that the sharpest sense can even be smell or taste. that mean if they were to smell or eat certain things, they would get a realization/enlightenment.
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Oh yes... http://www.buddhistinformation.com/ida_b_wells_memorial_sutra_library/vimalakirti_nirdesa_sutra.htmOriginally posted by sinweiy:one can apply the pinciple of jie1 (discipline of body and mind) , ting2 (concentration), hui4 (transcendence wisdom). discipline leads to concentration and eventually to wisdom opening.
that would mean discipline of body and mind can have infinite different form. Buddha recitation, focusing on the breath, koan, visualization etc etc.
but for saha world, the sharpest sense for us is still the hearing sense, as Bodhisattva Manjushri had picked Guan Yin's method of hearing in Shurangama Sutra.
note that there are other world systems that the sharpest sense can even be smell or taste. that mean if they were to smell or eat certain things, they would get a realization/enlightenment.
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...Indeed, the entire gathering was satisfied by that food, and the food was not at all depleted. Having eaten that food, there arose in the bodies of those bodhisattvas, disciples, Sakras, Brahmas, Lokapalas, and other living beings, bliss just like the bliss of the bodhisattvas of the universe Sarvasukhamandita. And from all the pores of their skin arose a perfume like that of the trees that grow in the universe Sarvagandhasugandha.
...They replied, "The Tathágata does not teach the Dharma by means of sound and language. He disciplines the bodhisattvas only by means of perfumes. At the foot of each perfume-tree sits a bodhisattva, and the trees emit perfumes like this one. From the moment they smell that perfume, the bodhisattvas attain the concentration called 'source of all bodhisattva-virtues.' From the moment they attain that concentration, all the bodhisattva-virtues are produced in them."... -
Give to temple? Give to friend? Put at another place in your house? Sell it..?Originally posted by neutral_onliner:Hi to all Dharma Bros & Sisters,
While doing some painting 4 my parents hse the other day, saw tat my mum's Guanyin statue quite 'old'... thinking of replacing a new one.Any ideal wat shld i do to the 'old' one?
I think better check with a monastery first.. see what they tell you.. -
thnksOriginally posted by An Eternal Now:Give to temple? Give to friend? Put at another place in your house? Sell it..?
I think better check with a monastery first.. see what they tell you..
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Bodhisattva = Trainee Buddha?
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Originally posted by markzz:
can say so.
Bodhisattva = Trainee Buddha?
ps: when i look at the calender, for the next day after Guan Yin dan, i saw Pu Xian dan ie Bodhisattva Samantabhadra's 'birthday'.
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It is neither a religion in the sense in which that word is commonly understood, for it is not "a system of faith and worship owing any allegiance to a supernatural being."Originally posted by dragon_stone:In another thread, I find it very difficult to answer what is my religion. For this thread, you have mentioned that Buddhism is not a religion. That is fine with me. I feel that there are many doors (84,000?) to be opened before we can say we understood and embraced the religion.
Buddhism does not demand blind faith from its adherents. Here mere belief is dethroned and is substituted by confidence based on knowledge, which, in Pali, is known as Saddha. The confidence placed by a follower on the Buddha is like that of a sick person in a noted physician, or a student in his teacher. A Buddhist seeks refuge in the Buddha because it was He who discovered the Path of Deliverance.
A Buddhist does not seek refuge in the Buddha with the hope that he will be saved by His personal purification. The Buddha gives no such guarantee. It is not within the power of a Buddha to wash away the impurities of others. One could neither purify nor defile another.
The Buddha, as Teacher, instructs us, but we ourselves are directly responsible for our purification.
Although a Buddhist seeks refuge in the Buddha, he does not make any self-surrender. Nor does a Buddhist sacrifice his freedom of thought by becoming a follower of the Buddha. He can exercise his own free will and develop his knowledge even to the extent of becoming a Buddha himself.
The starting point of Buddhism is reasoning or understanding, or, in other words, Samma-ditthi. -
Yes, I agree with you on this same understanding which I had discussed with my buddhist friends that Buddha give no such guarantee. This is the very first step towards understanding Buddhism.Originally posted by neutral_onliner:A Buddhist does not seek refuge in the Buddha with the hope that he will be saved by His personal purification. The Buddha gives no such guarantee. It is not within the power of a Buddha to wash away the impurities of others. One could neither purify nor defile another.
The Buddha, as Teacher, instructs us, but we ourselves are directly responsible for our purification.
Although a Buddhist seeks refuge in the Buddha, he does not make any self-surrender. Nor does a Buddhist sacrifice his freedom of thought by becoming a follower of the Buddha. He can exercise his own free will and develop his knowledge even to the extent of becoming a Buddha himself.
The starting point of Buddhism is reasoning or understanding, or, in other words, Samma-ditthi.
But it seems that in every or other religions, it is usually the believer hope to seek favors from the respective gods to answer to their prayers. -
Yes by all means you can wish and pray, but dont be superstitious about it, and dont think offering three joss stick costing so little can earn you big fortune etc.. be more realisticOriginally posted by dragon_stone:Yes, I agree with you on this same understanding which I had discussed with my buddhist friends that Buddha give no such guarantee. This is the very first step towards understanding Buddhism.
But it seems that in every or other religions, it is usually the believer hope to seek favors from the respective gods to answer to their prayers. -
The Buddha exhorts His disciples to depend on themselves for their deliverance, for both purity and defilement depend on oneself. Clarifying His relationship with His followers and emphasizing the importance of self-reliance and individual striving, the Buddha plainly states: "You should exert yourselves, the Tathagatas are only teachers."Originally posted by dragon_stone:Yes, I agree with you on this same understanding which I had discussed with my buddhist friends that Buddha give no such guarantee. This is the very first step towards understanding Buddhism.
But it seems that in every or other religions, it is usually the believer hope to seek favors from the respective gods to answer to their prayers.
The Buddhas point out the path, and it is left for us to follow that path to obtain our purification.
"To depend on others for salvation is negative, but to depend on oneself is positive." Dependence on others means a surrender of one's effort.
In exhorting His disciples to be self-dependent the Buddha says in the Parinibbana Sutta: "Be ye islands unto yourselves, be ye a refuge unto yourselves, seek not for refuge in others." These significant words are self-elevating. They reveal how vital is self-exertion to accomplish one's object and, how superficial and futile it is to seek redemption through benignant saviors and to crave for illusory happiness in an after life through the propitiation of imaginary Gods or by irresponsive prayers and meaningless sacrifices -
There are something which I do not understand, there is the Guan Yin temple (buddhist?) at Middle Road, I see people offering joss sticks. I do not see any monks or nuns guiding the devotees except helpers handing out sweets and removing flowers.Originally posted by An Eternal Now:Yes by all means you can wish and pray, but dont be superstitious about it, and dont think offering three joss stick costing so little can earn you big fortune etc.. be more realistic
Well, I learnt to pray only for family and personal safety and not for luck. As in another religion, it was preached that god help those who help themeselves. -
Originally posted by neutral_onliner:
What I understand is that the word buddha means teacher. Somehow along the way that Buddhism becomes a religion. Just like Taoism, many years ago, it was not recognised as a religion. Some of my NS friends were unable to list on their metal tags.
The Buddha exhorts His disciples to depend on themselves for their deliverance, for both purity and defilement depend on oneself. Clarifying His relationship with His followers and emphasizing the importance of self-reliance and individual striving, the Buddha plainly states: [b]"You should exert yourselves, the Tathagatas are only teachers."
The Buddhas point out the path, and it is left for us to follow that path to obtain our purification.
"To depend on others for salvation is negative, but to depend on oneself is positive." Dependence on others means a surrender of one's effort.
In exhorting His disciples to be self-dependent the Buddha says in the Parinibbana Sutta: "Be ye islands unto yourselves, be ye a refuge unto yourselves, seek not for refuge in others." These significant words are self-elevating. They reveal how vital is self-exertion to accomplish one's object and, how superficial and futile it is to seek redemption through benignant saviors and to crave for illusory happiness in an after life through the propitiation of imaginary Gods or by irresponsive prayers and meaningless sacrifices
[/b]
Thanks and there are still many, many things to learnt and understand. -
Hi dragon_stone,Originally posted by dragon_stone:What I understand is that the word buddha means teacher. Somehow along the way that Buddhism becomes a religion. Just like Taoism, many years ago, it was not recognised as a religion. Some of my NS friends were unable to list on their metal tags.
Thanks and there are still many, many things to learnt and understand.
Those who wish to be lay Buddhists can practice the Dharma well by subduing their mind. It is needlessly downgrading oneÂ’s own potential to think, "I am a lay person. To listen to teachings, to chant and to mediate is the work of monks and nuns. It is not my job. I just go to the temple, bow, make offerings and pray for the welfare of my family." These activities are good, but lay people are capable of a much richer spiritual life, in terms of both knowledge about Buddhism and integration of it into their daily life.
It is very important that lay buddhists attend Dharma talks and follow a series of teachings. By doing this, lay people will understand the real truth and beauty of the Dharma. Otherwise, they remain "joss stick Buddhists," and if someone asks them a question about Buddhism, they have difficulty in responding. That is a sad situation.
After hearing teachings, one should put them into practice as much as possible. A daily practice of chanting or meditating is excellent. Sometimes lay students say, "My day is so busy with work, family and social obligation. There is no time to do a daily Dharma practice." This is a poor excuse, created by the lazy mind. There is always time to eat: we take care never to miss a meal. Just as we are so diligent and careful to nourish our body, and always find time to do so, so too should we be about nourishing our mind. After all, it is our mind that continues on to future lives, carrying with it all the karmic imprints of our actions, not our body. Dharma practice is not done for the BuddhaÂ’s benefit, but for our own. The Dharma describes how to create the cause for happiness, and since we all want happiness, all of us should practice as much as we can.
Also, it is very advantageous and beneficial for lay disciples to take the five lay precepts for the duration of their life or take the eight precepts on special days, such as new and full moon days. In this way, much positive potential is created.
The responsibility for the existence and spread of the BuddhaÂ’s teachings lies with both monks and nuns and lay disciples. If we see the value of the BuddhaÂ’s teachings and want them to continue to exist and to flourish, then we have the responsibility to learn about them and to practice them ourselves according to our capabilities. -
Hi, as I have replied with the same message just a few days ago on two places... Guan Yin temple is not really a Buddhist temple, although Guan Yin is from Buddhism.Originally posted by dragon_stone:There are something which I do not understand, there is the Guan Yin temple (buddhist?) at Middle Road, I see people offering joss sticks. I do not see any monks or nuns guiding the devotees except helpers handing out sweets and removing flowers.
Well, I learnt to pray only for family and personal safety and not for luck. As in another religion, it was preached that god help those who help themeselves.
Temples are usually not Buddhist, Monasteries and dharma centres are Buddhist Monastery (shi yuan) implies that monks and nuns stay there, dharma centres means renounced/lay dharma teachers are teaching dharma.
Firstly I would like to respond in regards to Kuan Yin Temple. I have, in fact, answered casino_king the same thing in another topic.
btw, kuan im temple is not really a Buddhist temple, but a Chinese Folks practise temple.
He said: That is just your opinion. They told me themselves that they are Buddhists. There is also a thread to tell Buddhists to celebrate Kuam Im birthday tommorrow in this forum.
I replied: I tell what you what it means to be a Buddhist in the first place.
To be a Buddhist, you have to refuge in the Three Treasures, which is the Buddha, Dharma, Sangha.
Kuan Im Temple was probably created by some folks practitioners, and I dont think they took refuge, and the temple doesnt offer people to take refuge either. I dont see monks and nuns staying in Kuan Im temple, so there is no Sangha there, and I dont think they offer dharma there.