Why will buddhism one day disappear from the world?
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In my opinion is that we have no time to cultivate ( for singapore ). We are too busy; pre-occupied with worldly pleasures and pain, struggling to surivive in the society, catering to family commitment, struggling to catch up the competition with fellow human being, attachment to loved ones.Originally posted by justdoit77:Something really puzzle me is why will buddhism still one day disappear from our world. Since every now and then there are some great masters appear in the world to ensure the dharma will continue to spread to sentient beings.
In fact after buddhism diminish from India, it flourish in country like china, tibet, and now even to the whole world. It is in upward trend.
By right the number of people who become enlightened should be increasing over time, likewise for the englightened being who vow to come back to the world.
The great masters like padmasambhava, karmapa, xuan zhuang and so on should be able to come back to our world to guide us on the buddhism path or better still achieve another heir day or miracle.
We have a lot of unseen dharma protectors around to help the continuation of the buddha teaching too.
Is it because our society become more and more complicated due to technology improvement and competition arise?
The pace in life is becoming a speed demon isn't it?. Could you rather go for a dharma talk or watch a new spiderman movie to relax ?
It is a fortunate that we have enlightened masters that keep coming back to guide us in dharma teaching in this saha world ( enduring-suffering world ). Don't count our blessing too early. How many of us actually spend 1/2 or 1/4 of their lifetime practising dharma, meditating, chanting ?
Do a calculation and have a realistic view on the time spend on practising dharma... so far? -
Originally posted by Isis:
try Tong Zhong Xiu. AEN shall provide you with more info.
In my opinion is that we have no time to cultivate ( for singapore ). We are too busy; pre-occupied with worldly pleasures and pain, struggling to surivive in the society, catering to family commitment, struggling to catch up the competition with fellow human being, attachment to loved ones.
The pace in life is becoming a speed demon isn't it?. Could you rather go for a dharma talk or watch a new spiderman movie to relax ?
It is a fortunate that we have enlightened masters that keep coming back to guide us in dharma teaching in this saha world ( enduring-suffering world ). Don't count our blessing too early. How many of us actually spend 1/2 or 1/4 of their lifetime practising dharma, meditating, chanting ?
Do a calculation and have a realistic view on the time spend on practising dharma... so far?
i'm from Pureland School. we do The Ten Recitation Method .
http://www.amtb-usa.org/eten-1.htm
TAMING THE MONKEY MIND
A Guide to Pure Land Practice
http://www.ymba.org/monkey/monkyfrm.htm
it can be done amidst a working enviroment.
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I had calculated that if I were to continue on cultivating as a layperson from now (28yrs old) till I die, say 80 years old (very fortunate already), I will only be spending 2.31 yrs cultivating (24hrs non stop) during this 52 yrs span.Originally posted by Isis:In my opinion is that we have no time to cultivate ( for singapore ). We are too busy; pre-occupied with worldly pleasures and pain, struggling to surivive in the society, catering to family commitment, struggling to catch up the competition with fellow human being, attachment to loved ones.
The pace in life is becoming a speed demon isn't it?. Could you rather go for a dharma talk or watch a new spiderman movie to relax ?
It is a fortunate that we have enlightened masters that keep coming back to guide us in dharma teaching in this saha world ( enduring-suffering world ). Don't count our blessing too early. How many of us actually spend 1/2 or 1/4 of their lifetime practising dharma, meditating, chanting ?
Do a calculation and have a realistic view on the time spend on practising dharma... so far?
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Originally posted by Isis:In my opinion is that we have no time to cultivate ( for singapore ). We are too busy; pre-occupied with worldly pleasures and pain, struggling to surivive in the society, catering to family commitment, struggling to catch up the competition with fellow human being, attachment to loved ones.
The pace in life is becoming a speed demon isn't it?. Could you rather go for a dharma talk or watch a new spiderman movie to relax ?
It is a fortunate that we have enlightened masters that keep coming back to guide us in dharma teaching in this saha world ( enduring-suffering world ). Don't count our blessing too early. How many of us actually spend 1/2 or 1/4 of their lifetime practising dharma, meditating, chanting ?
Do a calculation and have a realistic view on the time spend on practising dharma... so far?
Like Sinweiy said, Dong Zhong Xiu (cultivating in the midst of movement/action) is very important.Originally posted by oldkid:I had calculated that if I were to continue on cultivating as a layperson from now (28yrs old) till I die, say 80 years old (very fortunate already), I will only be spending 2.31 yrs cultivating (24hrs non stop) during this 52 yrs span.
Jing Zhong Xiu (i.e formal sitting meditation) is also important. But if we see cultivation as separated between daily living and sitting time, then it will be 'duan4 mie4'. We must practise daily at every moment until we realise 'Dong Jing Yi Ru', both movement and quiescent is 'One Thusness'.
If you think that cultivation is only sitting meditation or whatever kinds of formal meditation, then how about the other 23 hours of your daily living? No need to cultivate? This is not the case.
Like what Venerable Hyon Gak Sunmi said in Diamond Sutra 101, Buddhism is not a mountain thing or a forest thing. It is just a moment to moment clear mind. It is very simple, it is in the midst of our activities.
Please read, (source: Fa Yin Xuan Liu (2), Ven Shen Kai)
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Because whatever the Buddha preaches does not exist.Originally posted by path_seeker:So what is truth then? How do one knows in everything buddha preaches exist? -
Yes, what AEN and Sinweiy posted is very true. From my previous calculation, going to Dharma classes and cultivate only during Dharma classes is not enough. One should cultivate from moment to moment and whenever and wherever possible.
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This is again the kind of garbage that comes from the pure dogmatism. Can't blame you only, because it's not rare.Originally posted by Herzog_Zwei:Because whatever the Buddha preaches does not exist.
There are a lot of people who, when presented with facts and observable realities with scientific methods, simply refuse to accept it because it runs contrary to what he WANTS to believe.
Similarly when Buddha provided all these, there are those who are so appreciative of it and did all that the Buddha instructed to achieve the same enlightenment and realisations that countless others have done before.
There are also those who, unfortunately, didnt want to bother with finding out the truth because he felt comfortable with his old dogmatic thinking. An analogy is scientist tell you that the world is round, but you say 'aiya I think the world is flat lah, but who cares anyway, don't wanna bother finding out'. They are the 'bo chap' people who just want to continue living his own life in ignorance, not knowing that there is the possibility of the perfect bliss and liberation of all sufferings in our lives in the realisation of Nirvana, the possibility of fundamental ground shaking insights that shakes our perspective of reality and identity, and a radical transformation of each individual. They choose to continue their own samsaric habitual ways and thinking... and also going through the same old sufferings in cycles again and again.
And then, the worst type of people, are people like YOU. Those who not only did not bother about finding out the truth when facts and observable realities and scientific method is presented to them -- instead, chose to deny them and accuse them of fallacy. This is the worst kind of dogmatism, he's completely illogical, unscientific and going contrary to what is observed. That's like if scientists telling you the world is round, but not only do you not bother finding out, you go on refuting every single claim about it not bothering to find out the truth of the matter yourself.
This, to me, is simply pure dogmatism.
Buddhism and Science by Ajahn Brahmavamso.
...Come and See for Yourself
If you had just one person who had been confirmed as medically dead who could describe to the doctors, as soon as they were revived, what had been said, and done during that period of death, wouldn't that be pretty convincing? When I was doing elementary particle physics there was a theory that required for its proof the existence of what was called the 'W' particle. At the cyclotron in Geneva, CERN funded a huge research project, smashing atoms together with an enormous particle accelerator, to try and find one of these 'W' particles. They spent literally hundreds of millions of pounds on this project. They found one, just one 'W' particle. I don't think they have found another since. But once they found one 'W' particle, the researchers involved in that project were given Nobel prizes for physics. They had proved the theory by just finding the one 'W' particle. That's good science. Just one is enough to prove the theory.
When it comes to things we don't like to believe, they call just one experience, one clear factual undeniable experience, an anomaly. Anomaly is a word in science for disconcerting evidence that we can put in the back of a filing cabinet and not look at again, because it's threatens our worldview. It undermines what we want to believe. It is threatening to our dogma. However, an essential part of the scientific method is that theories have to be abandoned in favour of the evidence, in respect of the facts. The point is that the evidence for a mind independent of the brain is there. But once we admit that evidence, and follow the scientific method, then many cherished theories, what we call 'sacred cows' will have to be abandoned.
When we see something that challenges any theory, in science or in religion, we should not ignore the evidence. We have to change the theory to fit the facts. That is what we do in Buddhism. All the Dhamma of the Buddha, everything that he taught, if it does not fit the experience, then we should not accept it. We should not accept the Buddha's words in contradiction of experience. That is clearly stated in the Kālāma Sutta. (AN III, 65) The Buddha said do not believe because it is written in the books, or even if I say it. Don't just believe because it is tradition, or because it sounds right, or because it's comforting to you. Make sure it fits your experience. The existence of mind, independent of the brain, fits experience. The facts are there.
Sometimes, however, we cannot trust the experts. You cannot trust Ajahn Brahm. You cannot trust the scientific journals. Because people are often biased. Buddhism gives you a scientific method for your practice. Buddhism says, do the experiment and find out for your self if what the Buddha said is true or not. Check out your experience. For example, develop the method to test the truth of past lives, rebirth and reincarnation. Don't just believe it with faith, find out for yourself. The Buddha has given a scientific experiment that you can repeat.
Until you understand the law of kamma, which is part of Buddhism, kamma is just a theory. Do you believe that there is a God 'up there' who decides when you can be happy or unhappy? Or is everything that happens to you just chance? Your happiness and your suffering in life, your joy, your pain and disappointments, are they deserved? Are you responsible or is it someone else's fault? Is it mere chance that we are rich or poor? Is it bad luck when we are sick and die at a young age? Why? You can find the true answer for yourself. You can experience the law of kamma through deep meditation. When the Buddha sat under the Bodhi tree at Bodhgaya, the two knowledge's he realized just before his Enlightenment were the knowledge from experience of the truth of rebirth, and the knowledge from experience of the Law of kamma. This was not theory, not just more thinking, not something worked out from discussions around the coffee table this was realization from deep experience of the nature of mind. You too can have that same experience.
All religions in the world except Buddhism maintain the existence of a soul. They affirm a real 'self', an 'essence of all being', a 'person', a 'me'. Buddhism says there is no self! Who is right? What is this 'ghost in the machine'? Is it a soul, is it a being, or is it a process? What is it? When the Buddha said that there is no one in here, he never meant that to be just believed, he meant that to be experienced. The Buddha said, as a scientific fact, that there is no 'self'. But like any scientific fact, it has to be experienced each one for themselves, paccattam veditabbo viññūhī. Many of you chant those Pāli words every day. It is basic scientific Buddhism. You have to keep an open mind. You don't believe there is 'no self', you don't believe there is a 'self' both beliefs are dogmatism. Keep an open mind until you complete the experiment. The experiment is the practice of sila, samādhi and pañña, (virtue, meditation and insight). The experiment is Buddhist practice. Do the same experimental procedures that the Buddha did under the Bodhi tree. Repeat it and see if you get the same results. The result is called Enlightenment.
Men and women have repeated that experiment many times over the centuries. It is in the laboratory of Buddhist practice that the Enlightened Ones, the Arahants, arise. The Arahants are the ones who have done the experiment and found the result. That's why Buddhism always has been the scientific way. It is the way of finding out for your self the truth of Enlightenment.... (continued in the website)
Please also recall the previous link: Ken Wilber - Spirituality and the 3 Strands of Deep Science -
Here's something from Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche... http://www.dharmamind.net/TM2.htmOriginally posted by An Eternal Now:Like Sinweiy said, Dong Zhong Xiu (cultivating in the midst of movement/action) is very important.
Jing Zhong Xiu (i.e formal sitting meditation) is also important. But if we see cultivation as separated between daily living and sitting time, then it will be 'duan4 mie4'. We must practise daily at every moment until we realise 'Dong Jing Yi Ru', both movement and quiescent is 'One Thusness'.
If you think that cultivation is only sitting meditation or whatever kinds of formal meditation, then how about the other 23 hours of your daily living? No need to cultivate? This is not the case.
Like what Venerable Hyon Gak Sunmi said in Diamond Sutra 101, Buddhism is not a mountain thing or a forest thing. It is just a moment to moment clear mind. It is very simple, it is in the midst of our activities.
Please read, (source: Fa Yin Xuan Liu (2), Ven Shen Kai)
...Some people are disturbed when they hear noises made by other people walking, talking and so on, and they become irritated by this, or else becoming distracted by things external to themselves, they give birth to many illusions. This is the mistaken path known as 'the dangerous passageway in which external vision appears to one as an enemy'. What this means is that, even though one knows how to continue in the knowledge of the condition of both the state of calm and the wave of thought, one has not yet succeeded in integrating this state with one's external vision. If this should be the case, while still always maintaining present awareness, if one sees something, one should not be distracted, but, without judging what one sees as pleasant, one should relax and continue in the presence. If a thought arises judging experience as pleasant and unpleasant, one should just acknowledge it with bare attention and continue in present awareness without forgetting it. If one finds oneself in an annoying circumstance, such as surrounded by a terrible row, one should just acknowledge this disagreeable circumstance and continue in present awareness, without forgetting it.
If one does not know how to integrate the presence of awareness with all one's daily actions, such as eating, walking, sleeping, sitting, and so on, then it is not possible to make the state of contemplation last beyond the limited duration of a session of sitting meditation.
If this is so, not having been able to establish true present awareness, one creates a separation between one's sessions of sitting practice and one's daily life. So it is very important to continue in present awareness without distraction, integrating it with all the actions of one's daily life. The Buddha, in the Prajñápáramitá Sutra (This text is commonly called "The Heart Sutra.") said: 'Subhuti, in what way does a Bodhisattva-Mahasattva; being aware that he has a body, practice perfect conduct? Subhuti, a Bodhisattva-Mahasattva, when walking, is fully mindful that he is walking; when he stands up is fully mindful of standing up; when sitting is fully mindful of sitting; when sleeping is fully mindful of sleeping; and if his body is well or ill, he is fully mindful of either condition!' That's just how it is!
To understand how one can integrate present awareness with all the activities of one's daily life, let's take the example of walking. There's no need to jump up immediately and walk in a distracted and agitated way, marching up and down and breaking everything one finds in front of one, as soon as the idea of walking arises. Rather, as one gets up, one can do so remembering 'now I am getting up, and while walking I do not want to become distracted'. In this way, without becoming distracted, step-by-step, one should govern oneself with the presence of awareness. In the same way, if one remains seated, one should not forget this awareness, and whether one is eating a tasty morsel, or having a drop to drink, or saying a couple of words, whatever action one undertakes, whether it is of greater or lesser importance, one should continue with present awareness of everything without becoming distracted.
Since we are so strongly habituated to distraction it is difficult to give birth to this presence of awareness, and this is especially true for those who are just beginning to practice. But whenever there's any new kind of work to be done, the first thing one has to do is to learn it. And even if at the first few attempts one is not very practiced, with experience, little by little the work becomes easy. In the same way, in learning contemplation, at the beginning one needs commitment and a definite concern not to become distracted, following that one must maintain present awareness as much as possible, and finally, if one becomes. Distracted, one must notice it. If one perseveres in one's commitment to maintaining present awareness, it is possible to arrive at a point where one no longer ever becomes distracted... -
Thanks for the info.. sincerely...
However, i still find myself having no time to relax. to rest my mind nor the mental energy to read on dharma stuffs....
i'll read them when i have the time...
May all be well and happy.
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All the more you must practise "dong zhong xiu"Originally posted by Isis:Thank for the info..
However, i still find myself having no time to relax. to rest my mind nor the mental energy to read on dharma stuffs....
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mmm what is there ? never really heard of it.. any way i will read the link when im free.. mind has been and is abit agitated now...
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Hi Isis,Originally posted by Isis:mmm what is there ? never really heard of it.. any way i will read the link when im free.. mind has been and is abit agitated now...
While you are on travelling to work or back home, you can try relaxing your mind. Think of good thoughts such as helping people, recalling on what you had read from Sutras or even just think about the Buddha. But try not to let your thoughts travel too far away. Just focus on the topic.
Maybe you can try meditation as it can be practised anytime, anywhere.
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Hi, i just read through the info.. very useful...
Thank you
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