Questions About buddhism
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hello people, its my first time posting in this forum, so please pardonme if i do make silly errors and have misconceptions about buddhism
firstly, i would like to ask, what are you supposed to feel when ure meditating, do u go into a trance?
i have tried to meditate, but after 30mins, it just feels that i have just closed my eyes to rest. i have even fallen asleep sometimes. is this normal?
secondly, is buddhism in anyway related to psychics? my parents are kind of a halfway buddhist and both pray to guan yin. we have been to a temple in eunos to see the monk there, and it is apparent and obvious he has psychic abilities, how is it possible to open the third eye through buddhism? Must u physically be very fit before u start acting on ur spritual self to open one's third eye?
lastly, do you all believe that there is one god in the world, and that buddhism is one way to know God. The other ways are through the other religions in the world.
thankyou for your time! -
no worries , iwillsurviveOriginally posted by iwillsurvive:hello people, its my first time posting in this forum, so please pardonme if i do make silly errors and have misconceptions about buddhism
firstly, i would like to ask, what are you supposed to feel when ure meditating, do u go into a trance?
i have tried to meditate, but after 30mins, it just feels that i have just closed my eyes to rest. i have even fallen asleep sometimes. is this normal?
secondly, is buddhism in anyway related to psychics? my parents are kind of a halfway buddhist and both pray to guan yin. we have been to a temple in eunos to see the monk there, and it is apparent and obvious he has psychic abilities, how is it possible to open the third eye through buddhism? Must u physically be very fit before u start acting on ur spritual self to open one's third eye?
lastly, do you all believe that there is one god in the world, and that buddhism is one way to know God. The other ways are through the other religions in the world.
thankyou for your time!
first i wish to tell u ..do not meditate till u fall asleep
your purpose of meditation is impt , u shouldnt fall asleep
if u are sleepy ,go sleep first before u meditate
2nd - psychic power seeking is erroneous
becos all this psychic power will lost and u will degenerate in your practise
3rd -Buddhism do not believe in a creator god and i answer ur 3rd question
Buddha Sakyamuni is a teacher to us ,not a God
and finally
you got some of the question somewhere , I hope u will like this forum
regardless of what religion u are from
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about the part u will go into a trance ,thats not buddhist meditationOriginally posted by bohiruci:no worries , iwillsurvive
first i wish to tell u ..do not meditate till u fall asleep
your purpose of meditation is impt , u shouldnt fall asleep
if u are sleepy ,go sleep first before u meditate
2nd - psychic power seeking is erroneous
becos all this psychic power will lost and u will degenerate in your practise
3rd -Buddhism do not believe in a creator god and i answer ur 3rd question
Buddha Sakyamuni is a teacher to us ,not a God
and finally
you got some of the question somewhere , I hope u will like this forum
regardless of what religion u are from
you should be very calm when u in meditating
not totally lost as in a trance -
Now for an introduction to meditation, we must understand that in Buddhism meditation can basically be catergorised into two kinds. In a reply to someone else in this forum on a question on meditation, meditation in Buddhism generally belongs to either Vipassana or Shamatha meditations. There are also other kinds of meditation such as meditation on loving kindness (metta meditation), but for this topic we'll focus on the difference between Shamatha and Vipassana, or Vipashyana.Originally posted by iwillsurvive:
hello people, its my first time posting in this forum, so please pardonme if i do make silly errors and have misconceptions about buddhism[/quote]
That's ok Lots of people have misconceptions of Buddhism and it is a pity that most of them wouldn't even bother to find out what the profound dharma is all about, and lose this great opportunity to practise the dharma, attain great wisdom, bliss and liberation in this lifetime.. So if there is any doubts that you have by all means do ask, do find out. firstly, i would like to ask, what are you supposed to feel when ure meditating, do u go into a trance?
In Buddhist meditation, there is a state of complete alertness and clarity, which is why Buddhist meditation is not about going into a state of trance. It is not about blanking out. The nature of the Mind (not to be mistaken as our ordinary, sentient mind that causes the cycles of samsara, but rather Mind refers to our Buddha Mind or Buddha Nature), or so called our true self which is no self, contains the lucid/luminous aspect. The other aspect is the Emptiness aspect, which we might talk about that next time. Ultimately, through meditation and practise one will realise and experience/get in touch with one's primordial state of pure awareness, or one's Buddha Nature, which is like a clear bright mirror reflecting everything we experience in the world. This is just an analogy (and not a very good one since ultimately even the mirror is not a separate entity from its reflection, but rather it is a form of moment-to-moment 'participatory' awareness). It is also an all pervading presence of 'yourself' connected with the universe, so in this state of pure awareness there is actually no seperation between you and me or the universe, and everything is just spontaneous arising of this pure awareness, and we and all Buddhas are all one in a sense. The 'self' is merely an illusion, based on identification with the 5 skhandas, which is why the Buddha taught about no self. If we were to investigate, we will not find 'self' in the 5 skhandas (five aggregates), or our sensory experiences, or even in our thoughts, and therefore it would be meaningless to grasp on this fictitious idea, which is the root of all ignorance, afflictive emotions and sufferings. Through meditation one can also transcend this attachment through insights and awakening.
Reality has always been so (non dual) but due to the layer of illusion of separation, like the layer of dust covering the clear bright mirror and preventing us from seeing what's the reality of it all. Which is what the Buddha taught about 'purifying the mind' is all about -- clearing the dust, or attachment to dualistic, afflictive emotions (such as greed, hatred, jealousy, envy, etc) and ignorance, to reveal the reality underneath it. And this is what is special about Buddhism, as all 7 Buddhas Gatha says that the 7 Buddhas taught Buddhism as 'Avoiding all evil, Doing all that's good, and Purifying the Mind.' The third one, purifying the mind, sets Buddhism different from the other religions. At the time of death, if one can recognise the primordial clear light as one's true, original nature, one's 7th consciousness dissolves into this clear light and becomes liberated or enter into nirvana. Otherwise our Karma, along with the 7th Consciousness (consciousness of a seperate 'self' based on ignorance) will pull us back to undergo the endless cycles of rebirth in the world of suffering -- Samsara. Therefore to summarise, Buddhist meditation and practise has nothing to do with attaining any states of trance, but rather, it is a process of Awakening and Awareness.
Another moderator of mine wrote:Originally posted by sinweiy:
tot i share this q&a.
http://www.amtb-aus.org/index-PH.htm?TopicID=QA_2007-1-26_HK
first audio, around the middle.
someone asked MCK, that he is often in a daze, and when he encounter phenomona, the brian as if stop working or plain empty, and there's no sound to be heard. yet he can do this at will. so he asked whether if it's a form of samathi of the Dharma realm.
MCK say, it's not the same. it's just a form of ignorance. for one who's mind is empty yet in samathi of the Dharma realm, the mind is Utmost Clear and knows every phenomona around him, like a mirror reflecting the surrounding.
there are two types of situations for sentient beings, either their mind thinks a lot or the mind just don't know anything.
/\
Samatha means that one concentrates one's mind on a concept of the meditation object, developing one pointedness of the mind as a result. What I meant by concentrating on a concept means that the meditation concerns of one mentally following the meditation object with concepts with as "breath in", "breath out" but not aware of the true nature of the sensation of the breathing (or any meditation object) itself. The practise of Samatha leads to the 8 progressive levels of samatha jhanas (which are incredibly blissful states of meditative absorption, I have certain experiences of them before, but they are not liberating), development of concentration, which may serve as a foundation for further insight/vipassana practices, and samatha may even lead to the development of supernatural abilities. However samatha practise itself cannot lead to insights and enlightenment, and non-Buddhist meditations, or even Yoga or some form of Qi Gong, are always about Shamatha meditation, as only Buddhism teaches Insight/Vipashyana meditation.
To develope insight or attain enlightenment we have to do insight practices. Vipassana means to investigate, be aware of the reality of the meditation object, or even if it is not any particular objects but choiceless awareness. So lets say you practise mindfulness of breathing, you are completely aware of the sensation of the breathe - hard or soft; liquidity or cohesion; hot or cold; movement or vibration. It is not a mental knowing, but just the awareness, the pure sensation itself. You zoom into the minutest details of the sensation of the breath, and furthermore become aware of the characteristic of the process of breathing, or anything -- impermanence, no-self, suffering (the three characteristics of existence or the three dharma seals), not through mentally understanding them, but through moment to moment observation/mindfulness/awareness of these characteristics itself. In this practise our long held delusions are dispelled through gradual insights into the nature of our sensate reality.
[quote]I've found a wonderful definition of Vipasyana (Insight) Practise by Kalu Rinpoche from the "Luminous Mind" from another forum:
"When the mind abides in its natural state, its profound nature can gradually reveal itself, and all its qualities are uncovered. This is Vipassyana practise... Vipassyana...is to see clearly, to have insight into mind's nature and clear vision of its basic state.
...there are differences between the approaches of Shamatha and Vipassyana. Shamatha uses an object or reference, although a subtle one, upon which the mind meditates; a dualistic relationship is estblished between the mind and its object. In Vipassyana, however, mind and object are essentially one, not two, and remain this way.
...In Vipassyana, many thoughts go through the mind, but they are neither suppressed or followed. They arise and pass away without our having to interfere..Vipassyana...consists of letting go of thoughts, letting them be pacified and liberated by them selves..."
He mentions to always verify these experiences with a qualified teacher, to prevent from going astray. -
(continued, split up because reply was too long)
Just for a little chim part, if you don't understand this it's ok. I'm sharing with other forummers as well. But some of them should be helpful. (although most of the stuff below are cut and paste from other threads)
What it means by no dualistic relationship is that it is not so much of "awareness" of "sensation" because if I said this, this sounds dualistic, as if there is a "self" or "awareness" in here seperate from an "object" (which is again conceptual) out there... this is dualistic consciousness and therefore it is not Vipashyana. Rather, there is nothing apart from the arising and ceasing, and no dualistic relation is assumed in Insight practise. Thusness said, No watcher needed, the process itself knows and rolls as Venerable Buddhaghosa writes in the Visuddhi Magga. Like a famous Zen Master said when he got enlightened, "When I heard the bell ring, suddenly there was no 'I' and no 'bell,' just the ringing." When no dualistic relationship is assumed, gradually all phenomena are realised to be spontaneous arising of our true Mind, or Buddha Nature. When you meditate or practise in daily life, just completely let go of your 'self', just an ongoing (and impersonal) awareness, vividness clarity of what is happening is enough, or rather, experience awareness AS the happening.
Next, the self-liberating aspect refers to the impermanent, ever-changing nature of phenomena, where not even a letting go is necessary because reality 'arises' itself, 'let goes' itself. Ultimately there is not even a 'changing thing', there is only 'change' itself... and the moment ceases as it arises. When we realise this, there will be a tremendous disidentification from content due to insight into reality's ungraspableness. When there is disidenfication, one no longer concerns himself by following his thoughts, and neither is he concerned about trying to suppress thoughts. Thoughts lessen tremendously, they still arise out of conditions and needs, but there is not even an identification to these thoughts. A mind that does not abide simply rests in the ever-changingness of all phenomena.
Do know that thoughts arise just like phenomenon existence.When we do not impute reality, there is no difference drawn between inner and outer. It is a condition, a dharma (phenomena). Do not arise another mind on top of it. For example.. when thought arises due to conditions, it is effortlessly self-arising, it is self-liberating. The only problem comes when we identified with thoughts, so we try to find some way to suppress it, etc... the will and effort to stop is the problem, but the capacity to see all arising is self-arising and liberating in naturalness is Wisdom. As my teacher said.. we do not need to find a 'self' to start walking, we do not need to plan every step we walk. Just like walking is natural and 'effortless'... the entire 'appearance' (extending to the 18 dhatus) is self-arising in naturalness. (But not to be mistaken that self-arising nature is restricted to routineness... although it is not apart from routineness.. karma/efforting/will-ing, ignorance and suffering is equally self-liberating). Existence will continue to arise, the earth will spin, everything is not different from this moment of heartbeat. It is completely natural.
Regarding self-liberation, Dharma Dan wrote,From a pure insight practice point of view, you can’t ever fundamentally “let go” of anything, so I sometimes wish the popularity of this misleading and indifference-producing admonition would decline, or at least be properly explained. However, if you simply investigate the truth of the Three Characteristics of the sensations that seemed to be a solid thing, you will come to the wondrous realization that reality is continually “letting go” of itself! Thus, “let it go” at its best actually means, “don’t give a bunch of transient sensations an excessive sense of solidity.” It does not mean, “stop feeling or caring,” nor does it mean, “pretend that the noise in your mind is not there.”
end of chim part.
~ Dharma Dan, Arhat
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Here's another nice definition of Insight practise by the same author, Dharma Dan:Some more about the difference between Samatha/Shamatha (Concentration) and Vipassana/Vipasshyana (Insight):
Also I strongly advise that you find a qualified and highly enlightened teacher to guide you and give you advise on how to practise or meditate. Another thing is we must understand that Buddhist practise is not just limited to sitting meditation... we must bring this meditative state into our daily lives as well. Every moment can be meditation.
...There is a lot of confusion on the differences between concentration practices and insight practices. This may be caused in part by the “Mushroom Factor,” or may be due in part to other factors, such as concentration practice being easier than insight practices and distinctly more pleasant most of the time. Concentration practices (samatha or samadhi practices) are meditation on a concept, an aggregate of many transient sensations, whereas insight practice is meditation on the many transient sensations just as they are. When doing concentration practices, one purposefully tries to fix or freeze the mind in a specific state, called an “absorption,” “jhana” or “dyana.” While reality cannot be frozen in this way, the illusion of solidity and stability certainly can be cultivated, and this is concentration practice.
Insight practices are designed to penetrate the Three Illusions of permanence, satisfactoriness and separate self so as to attain freedom. (N.B., the illusion of satisfactoriness has to do with the false sense that continuing to mentally create the illusion of a separate, permanent self will be satisfactory or helpful, and is not referring to some oppressive and fun-denying angst trip). Insight practices (various types of vipassana, dzogchen, zazen, etc.) lead to the progressive stages of the progress of insight. Insight practices tend to be difficult and somewhat disconcerting, as they are designed to deconstruct our deluded and much cherished views of the world and ourselves, though they can sometimes be outrageously blissful for frustratingly short periods....
~ Dharma Dan, Arhat
A true Buddhist does not just practise sitting in the meditation posture, he practises as well every moment in life. Mindfulness is one of the crucial practises of a Buddhist. What is Mindfulness? Please do read: http://www.budsas.org/ebud/mfneng/mind13.htm. If possible do read the entire book (Mindfulness in Plain English) as well, it is very well written and suited for a beginner to Buddhist practise and meditation.
Also to get started on Buddhism, it is best that you read about the Four Noble Truths, and the Eightfold Paths and other important Buddhist teachings such as Karma, etc, first. Here's a good Beginner's online resource: http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/basic-guide.htm
Ok let's get back to your questions.i have tried to meditate, but after 30mins, it just feels that i have just closed my eyes to rest. i have even fallen asleep sometimes. is this normal?
This is normal and is due to various reasons including not having enough sleep. To meditate well you need to have enough sleep (to be reasonably awake), but also not too much that causes dullness. If you still continue to feel tired in meditation, the Buddha gave a few advises. -
(continued, split up because reply was too long)
Source: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an07/an07.058.than.html
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Once the Blessed One was living among the Bhaggas in the Deer Park at Bhesakala Grove, near Crocodile Haunt. At that time Ven. Maha Moggallana1 sat nodding near the village of Kallavalaputta, in Magadha. The Blessed One, with his purified divine eye, surpassing the human, saw Ven. Maha Moggallana as he sat nodding near the village of Kallavalaputta, in Magadha. As soon as he saw this — just as a strong man might extend his flexed arm or flex his extended arm — he disappeared from among the Bhaggas in the Deer Park at Bhesakala Grove, near Crocodile Haunt, and re-appeared near the village of Kallavalaputta, in Magadha, right in front of Ven. Maha Moggallana. There he sat down on a prepared seat. As he was sitting there, the Blessed One said to Ven. Maha Moggallana, "Are you nodding, Moggallana? Are you nodding?"
"Yes, lord."
"Well then, Moggallana, whatever perception you have in mind when drowsiness descends on you, don't attend to that perception, don't pursue it. It's possible that by doing this you will shake off your drowsiness.
"But if by doing this you don't shake off your drowsiness, then recall to your awareness the Dhamma as you have heard & memorized it, re-examine it & ponder it over in your mind. It's possible that by doing this you will shake off your drowsiness.
"But if by doing this you don't shake off your drowsiness, then repeat aloud in detail the Dhamma as you have heard & memorized it. It's possible that by doing this you will shake off your drowsiness.
"But if by doing this you don't shake off your drowsiness, then pull both your earlobes and rub your limbs with your hands. It's possible that by doing this you will shake off your drowsiness.
"But if by doing this you don't shake off your drowsiness, then get up from your seat and, after washing your eyes out with water, look around in all directions and upward to the major stars & constellations. It's possible that by doing this you will shake off your drowsiness.
"But if by doing this you don't shake off your drowsiness, then attend to the perception of light, resolve on the perception of daytime, [dwelling] by night as by day, and by day as by night. By means of an awareness thus open & unhampered, develop a brightened mind. It's possible that by doing this you will shake off your drowsiness.
"But if by doing this you don't shake off your drowsiness, then — percipient of what lies in front & behind — set a distance to meditate walking back & forth, your senses inwardly immersed, your mind not straying outwards. It's possible that by doing this you will shake off your drowsiness.
"But if by doing this you don't shake off your drowsiness, then — reclining on your right side — take up the lion's posture, one foot placed on top of the other, mindful, alert, with your mind set on getting up. As soon as you wake up, get up quickly, with the thought, 'I won't stay indulging in the pleasure of lying down, the pleasure of reclining, the pleasure of drowsiness.' That is how you should train yourself...... (continued in the website)secondly, is buddhism in anyway related to psychics? my parents are kind of a halfway buddhist and both pray to guan yin. we have been to a temple in eunos to see the monk there, and it is apparent and obvious he has psychic abilities, how is it possible to open the third eye through buddhism? Must u physically be very fit before u start acting on ur spritual self to open one's third eye?
In Buddhism, supernatural powers or psychic powers is very real and even today there continue to be a lot of practitioners out there who have these kind of attainments. However the Buddha himself discouraged seeking these powers for the wrong purposes, or through the wrong methods, such as practising specific yogic techniques to acquire these sort of powers.
The Buddha also taught that these powers can even serve as a distraction and hindrance to our practise and quest for enlightenment, causing more attachments to forms and appearances, which is why Buddhist teachers generally discouraged too much interest in these matters. Buddhism is about awakening, liberation, gaining wisdom, and any amount of supernatural powers will not help. In fact if one acquires these powers without wisdom, he may even misuse them and bring himself great harm. Supernatural powers are seen only as side effects to our Buddhist practise, not as our Buddhist aim or goal, which is about enlightenment.lastly, do you all believe that there is one god in the world, and that buddhism is one way to know God. The other ways are through the other religions in the world.
First of all Buddhism does not accept the Judeo-Christian or Hindu (Hindu however considers the personal God to be under the influence of Maya or Illusion and that the true God is beyond the personal Creator, much like Gnostic Christianity) or other world religions' idea that there is a personal Creator, means the Old Testament kind of God that has a personality of its own.. and you can actually meet him up for coffee
. If there is a personal Creator it brings a lot of questions into mind. Therefore, Albert Einstein said,
"Buddhism has the characteristics of what would be expected in a cosmic religion for the future: it transcends a personal God, avoids dogmas and theology; it covers both the natural & spiritual, and it is based on a religious sense aspiring from the experience of all things, natural and spiritual, as a meaningful unity"
and..
“If there is any religion that would cope with modern scientific needs it would be Buddhism.” -
(continued, split up because reply was too long)
Originally posted by An Eternal Now:
Slightly edited from the first topic in our forum regarding Creationism: How the Brahma believed He was God?
In Buddha's days there were many many different teachings, one popular one was Brahmanism. In fact the Brahma was still worshipped nowadays. Brahma was known to be "The Supreme One, the All-mighty, the All-seeing, the Ruler, the Lord of all, the Maker, the Creator, the Chief of All".
In Buddhism, the Mahabrahma resides in the 1st Jhana plane, the first plane among the 8 jhanic planes. There were higher realms above where he lives that he was unaware of, and above it all, beyond the 8 Jhanic planes and all Samsaric planes, is Nirvana. Nevertheless all the devas below the 1st Jhana planes considered him as the Creator God. Buddha did not subscribe to the belief of such a notion that the Universe and its Inhabitants were the Creation of the Mahabrahma. He met with the Brahma, asked him questions which he could not answer. Eventually he has taken refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.
The Buddha was also known to have said this,
If the creator of the world entire
They call God, of every being be the Lord
Why does he order such misfortune
If the creator of the world entire
They call God, of every being be the Lord
Why prevail deceit, lies and ignorance
And he such inequity and injustice create?
If the creator of the world entire
They call God, of every being be the Lord
Then an evil master is he, (O Aritta)
Knowing what's right did let wrong prevail!
When the previous universe was destroyed and this universe was formed, the Mahabrahma was first to be reborn. Other subsequent brahmas/devas were to be reborn.
'On this, brethren, the one who was first reborn thinks thus to himself: " I am Brahmà , the Great Brahmà , the Supreme One, the Mighty, the All-seeing, the Ruler, the Lord of all, the Maker, the Creator, the Chief of all, appointing to each his place, the Ancient of days the Father of all that are and are to be. 'These other beings are of my creation. And why is that so? A while ago I thought, 'Would that they might come!' And on my mental aspiration, behold the beings came." DN 1 2:5
In reality, the universe works by the law of Karma and he has no control over the system of karma.
The Venerable Ledi Sayadaw, a highly renowned Myanmar scholar-monk of the first part of this century, gave a careful analysis of the powers of Maha Brahma in his Niyama Dipani (MB pp. 138-39). He states that although Maha Brahma can perform all sorts of transformations, he cannot actually create independent creatures, change the kammic law of cause and effect, or keep anyone from growing old or dying. Brahma can use his special powers to transport a man to the brahma plane for a short visit, but he cannot ensure that someone will be reborn there.
from http://www.jenchen.org.sg/vol5no3f.htm:
When he came to know about Sakyamuni Buddha in the human world who speaks of the universal truth, he was curious and arrived at the human world with the intention to debate with the Buddha. The Buddha, with his ability to know another's mind, knew his intention and asked, "You claim to be the creator of the human race and all things in the universe, is this a fact?"
The king replied, "Yes, it is."
Buddha continued to question him, "Since you created life, why did you also create death? Is death created by you too?"
The king paused for while, and thinking that everyone loves life and nobody welcomes death, he replied, "I did not create death."
Buddha asked him again, "All human beings experience sickness, did you create sickness also?" The king knew that nobody likes to be ill, and he replied, "I did not create illness."
Buddha asked many questions in succession, but the king denied that he created them. Eventually, he admitted that he did not create the universe and all things in it, and certainly not the human race. The king of heavens was full of regrets and he felt ashamed. Finally, he accepted Buddha as his teacher and invited Him to spread the Dharma in the heavens.
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http://www.mahindarama.com/e-library/whybuddhism2.html
"To those who talked about the first cause of this world, the Buddha responded by saying that it is impossible to find a first cause since everything is changing, interdependent and conditioned by other things. Something that acts as the cause in the present may become the effect in the future. Later that same effect may again become the cause. Such phenomenon continues ad infinitum. It is called the universal law of Anicca or impermanency.”
However, Buddhism is largely Agnostic rather than Atheist. We believe that pondering over such things brings no benefits at all to our spiritual practice, enlightenment, and liberation from samsara.
Kinds of speech to be avoided by contemplatives
"Whereas some priests and contemplatives, living off food given in faith, are addicted to talking about lowly topics such as these -- talking about kings, robbers, ministers of state; armies, alarms, and battles; food and drink; clothing, furniture, garlands, and scents; relatives; vehicles; villages, towns, cities, the countryside; women and heroes; the gossip of the street and the well; tales of the dead; tales of diversity [philosophical discussions of the past and future], the creation of the world and of the sea, and talk of whether things exist or not -- he abstains from talking about lowly topics such as these. This, too, is part of his virtue.
"Whereas some priests and contemplatives, living off food given in faith, are addicted to debates such as these -- 'You understand this doctrine and discipline? I'm the one who understands this doctrine and discipline. How could you understand this doctrine and discipline? You're practicing wrongly. I'm practicing rightly. I'm being consistent. You're not. What should be said first you said last. What should be said last you said first. What you took so long to think out has been refuted. Your doctrine has been overthrown. You're defeated. Go and try to salvage your doctrine; extricate yourself if you can!' -- he abstains from debates such as these. This, too, is part of his virtue."
-- DN 2
Ten wholesome topics of conversation
"There are these ten topics of [proper] conversation. Which ten? Talk on modesty, on contentment, on seclusion, on non-entanglement, on arousing persistence, on virtue, on concentration, on discernment, on release, and on the knowledge & vision of release. These are the ten topics of conversation. If you were to engage repeatedly in these ten topics of conversation, you would outshine even the sun & moon, so mighty, so powerful -- to say nothing of the wanderers of other sects."
-- AN X.69
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"Malunkhyaputta Sutta stresses that whether the universe was created or uncreated, finite or infinite, is irrelevant to our main spiritual concerns: the cause and cessation of suffering:
"Therefore Malunkhyaputta, bear the undeclared as undeclared. Malunkhyaputta, what are the not declared? The world is eternal, is not declared by me. The world is not eternal, is not declared by me. They are not essential for the principles of the holy life, they do not lead to turning away, to detachment, to cessation, to appeasement, to realisation, to enlightenment and to extinction. Malunkhyaputta, what are the declared by me? This, is unpleasant, is declared. This, is its arising, is declared. This, is its cessation is declared. This is the path to its cessation, is declared. Malunkhyaputta, why are these declared by me? These are the essentials for the principles of the holy life; they lead to turning away, to detachment, to cessation, to appeasement, to realisation, to enlightenment and to extinction. Malunkhyaputta, I declare them." MN 64" -
(continued, split up because reply was too long)
Therefore in Buddhism, the question of God is irrelevant and not given importance. Instead, like a scientist, the Buddha encouraged the Buddhist practitioners to find out for themselves the truths that the Buddha said, to put it to test, and to see for ourselves, and to get enlightened. Buddhism does not encourage any blind belief and dogmas (see Kalama Sutra), and also encourages analytical questioning -- whether this teaching actually helps us.
And as Bohiruci pointed out, Buddhas are not gods but our honoured teachers. We do not worship Buddha, the Buddha did not claim to be any divine figures (although he is superior to all beings including all celestial beings), but rather, an awakened person, and the best thing is all of us equally have the same, wholly complete Buddha Nature but yet to awaken to it. Every Buddha came here not for others to worship him, but to do the noble job of teaching the dharma, liberating the sentient beings on Earth, to encourage sentient beings to attain practise and attain Buddhahood themselves. All forms of cultural practises such as bowing before a Buddha's image is merely done as an act of respect, reverence, and remembrance of Buddha and his teachings. We pay homage to the Buddhas and the Bodhisattvas, we learn from them and to be like them, but we do not worship them in the likeness of other religions.Kalama Sutra
"Rely not on the teacher/person, but on the teaching. Rely not on the words of the teaching, but on the
spirit of the words. Rely not on theory, but on experience.Do not believe in anything simply because you
have heard it. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. Do
not believe anything because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything because it is
written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and
elders. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is
conducive to the good and the benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it."
- the Buddha
Note: this is just a summary, please read the entire sutra here: http://buddhism.kalachakranet.org/resources/kalama_sutra.html[/quote]
There are countless enlightened persons from Buddha's times till today, some of them even posting in this forum (not me), who have awakened to the ultimate reality and seen for themselves the truths that the Buddha taught. Beliefs in divine etc are not important and irrelevant in Buddhism, Buddhism being a man-centered (means having great love and compassion for all sentient being, as well as to practise for one's own spiritual development) rather than God-centered teaching, without teachings such as "my God is the ONLY true god" (causing intolerance), or fight for God, which is a reason why it is the only religion that does not have a history of having fought religious wars, --Originally posted by An Eternal Now:
No fanaticism
Of Buddhism alone can it be affirmed it is free from all fanaticism. Its aim being to produce in every man a thorough internal transforming by self-conquest, how can it have recourse to might or money or even persuasion for effecting conversion? The Buddha has only shown the way to salvation, and it is left to each individual to decide for himself if he would follow it.
- Prof. Lakshmi Narasu, "The Essence of Buddhism"A Brahmin asked the Buddha,
Regarding Shakyamuni Buddha teaching even the devas/celestial beings/gods (in fact one of the names attributed to the Buddha is the 'Teacher of Gods and Men'), here's a reply to someone else in a different thread about 'qns abt buddhism':
"My friend, what are you?
Are you a celestial being
or a god?"
"No,"
said the Buddha.
"Well, then, are you some kind of magician
or wizard?"
Again the Buddha answered,
"No."
"Are you a man?"
"No."
"Well, my friend, then what are you?"
The Buddha replied,
"I am awake."Originally posted by despondent:
Heaven is not the ultimate aim of Buddhists, and Nirvana does not mean heaven. Celestial/heavenly beings are also inferior to Enlightened ones like Buddha, and take Buddha as their teacher.
1) from buddhism perspective, who will go to heaven?
[quote]See: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/jootla/wheel414.html
Teacher of the Devas
* I. Introduction
* II. The Buddha Teaches Deities
* III. Devas and Brahmas Honor the Buddha
* IV. The Role of Devas in the Buddha's Career
* V. Liberation for Humans, Devas, and Brahmas
* Notes
* Abbreviations
* BibliographyIn Buddhism heaven is one of the 6 realms of Samsara, it is not eternal, impermanence being the nature of all compounded phenomena.. while Nirvana is the liberation from all Samsaric sufferings and delusions... one who attains nirvana is liberate from rebirth and the 6 realms, rests in the highest bliss of Nirvana beyond time and space.
Liberation and enlightenment can be attained in this very lifetime through practising Buddhism, and there are countless persons who become enlightened since Buddha's era till this day, some of whom are posting in this forum as well (not me).
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As I mentioned earlier, religions generally teach people to avoid evil, do good, but they lack the part about purifying the mind, liberation, enlightenment. As a result of accumulating good karma, followers of other religions may (depending on their conduct and karma) be reborn in good realms such as the celestial, heaven realms. But this is not the ultimate aim of Buddhists as even in the highest realm of heaven (the formless realm of neither perception nor non perception), one is still subject to rebirth again at the tick of a thought and influence of karma, and one may even fall into the 3 lower realms of hell, ghost, animals, as all of us have created uncountable various kinds of karmas over countless lifetimes, these karmic seeds are latent deep in our 8th consciousness awaiting for conditions to ripen.
Therefore heaven is not a good refuge, it is still in samsara, it is still dangerous, according to Buddhism. Therefore we have to practise, attain enlightenment and nirvana to be above all influences of the cycles of samsara. Then if you are a practitioner of Mahayana, you will return to samsara out of vows to save other sentient beings, practise the 10 paramitas, and eventually attain complete Buddhahood. However, a Bodhisattva (pu2 sa4) is no longer under the influences of Samsara, he returns out of vows, not due to the strength of karma or the illusion of his 7th consciousness.
Wow, this has got to be the longest reply ever to a single post in a single thread. Five posts in total!
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Keep it up!
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Why bother to rely on anything at all?
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Don't find your statement helpful or beneficial in any way.Originally posted by Herzog_Zwei:Why bother to rely on anything at all?
Kicking arse is useful when it is meant to get someone out of trouble. But kicking arse just for the sake of kicking arse is pointless.
If you have useful and constructive criticisms, you should at least bother to explain your point, and respectfully challenge the faulty logic you see in your opponent's words. In this way, people will give more respect and attention to what you're saying.
Look forward to more useful entries by you. -
Exactly!Originally posted by _wanderer_:Don't find your statement helpful or beneficial in any way.
Kicking arse is useful when it is meant to get someone out of trouble. But kicking arse just for the sake of kicking arse is pointless.
If you have useful and constructive criticisms, you should at least bother to explain your point, and respectfully challenge the faulty logic you see in your opponent's words. In this way, people will give more respect and attention to what you're saying.
Look forward to more useful entries by you.
p.s The old one used to tell me that herzog is creating very bad karma for himself and therefore he ignores his post and does not reply him as he does not want him to create further karma. -
Maybe I scared the TS off with my long postOriginally posted by DeadPoet:Keep it up! -
lol old oneOriginally posted by An Eternal Now:Exactly!
p.s The old one used to tell me that herzog is creating very bad karma for himself and therefore he ignores his post and does not reply him as he does not want him to create further karma. -
That's how _wanderer_ always call him.Originally posted by Eric Cartman:lol old one -
hahah no la u didn't scare me off. i've read ur post for the second time and im gonna continue reading it again until i kinda get it haha
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happy readingOriginally posted by iwillsurvive:hahah no la u didn't scare me off. i've read ur post for the second time and im gonna continue reading it again until i kinda get it haha -
What I meant is that I do not wish to be the catalyst that further aggravates his negative karma. As you can see, very often Herzog_Zwei gets over-excited after some time and has this tendency of using some disrespectful words like “shut-up” and “stupidity” to belittle Buddha and his teachings. It takes one to know one, I am not him and it is his prerogative to remain ignorant to Buddha’s teaching. However I sincerely hope that he can be considerate enough not to diminish the quiet atmosphere for sincere Buddhists like iwillsurvive to learn more about Dhamma.Originally posted by An Eternal Now:Exactly!
p.s The old one used to tell me that herzog is creating very bad karma for himself and therefore he ignores his post and does not reply him as he does not want him to create further karma. -
wow...the 5 pages are a good summary.
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Yeah nice summary by AEN. I like the part on Buddha's advice for pple who fall asleep during meditation. hehe
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Ya, I find the advise on drowsiness useful for me as wellOriginally posted by _wanderer_:Yeah nice summary by AEN. I like the part on Buddha's advice for pple who fall asleep during meditation. hehe I think this is a very common problem among meditators. -
and im damn shocked at the extensive knowledge of An Eternal Now when he's only 17
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Actually still 16Originally posted by iwillsurvive:and im damn shocked at the extensive knowledge of An Eternal Now when he's only 17 But honestly what I know is only the surface. The crucial thing is practising, and honestly I haven't been doing well on that. 
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V gladOriginally posted by iwillsurvive:hahah no la u didn't scare me off. i've read ur post for the second time and im gonna continue reading it again until i kinda get it haha Any doubts/qns can post again -
Are you sure that there is definitely past karma? Or am I stating a truth? I can only state only what I know and yet you claim that there are dimensions beyond measurement. I come to talk about logic and science not being part of spirituality yet you want to just claim the opposite.Originally posted by An Eternal Now:Exactly!
p.s The old one used to tell me that herzog is creating very bad karma for himself and therefore he ignores his post and does not reply him as he does not want him to create further karma.