Need help !
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Anyone believe in fortune telling ? i have been to a few fortune teller and all the bad things they told me actually happens but the good things they said abt my fortune seldom happens ! Although i have been learning buddhism since young and been trying hard to change my destiny , things just dun get right in my life , in the end i turn to fortune telling , medium etc....! im feeling veri stress out and seem to lose faith in buddhism and all the religion . can somebody guide me ? tks
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you can believe or choose to believe in what he say
but the end of the day , the thing is this
in Buddhism ,all disaster can be averted .
If I am you , I will go and recite Sincerely Om mani Padme Hum for aversion of disaster
and start doing good, purify myself
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Something from previous lifes perhaps?
You reap what you sow
No way you are going to run away from it
You should "understand" what is it and "face" it since it's yours -
If you think religion can save you from bad things happening, then you will be sorely disappointed. This is a fact of life.
Enlightenment can reduce your suffering, but it can never take away the pain of samsaric existence. Many people who seek enlightenment think that they will be free from pain. As long as existence is still in physicality, there is no escape from the trials and tribulation of life.
But, you may be able to gain a better understanding of life through the spiritual path. However, if you are looking for something or someone to shield and save you, Buddhism is not for you.
I do know abit about fortune telling. But i think one should not be too concerned with what the fortune teller told you. It is not that it is not accurate, but because there are some conditions for learning in those situations. Please also remember that there is more than one lifetime, the learnings may benefit future existences if insights are gain from the experiences.
Many of the things that happened in life are karmic. In another word, something happened in the 'past' left imprints. This causes us to experience or re-experience something. We must learn to not react to a situation with what we have been doing many many times in many many lifetimess. We must learn to dissolve the 'karmic' imprints.
regards and all the best. -
A good fortune teller or should I say a practitioner with fortune telling ability should also tell you how to change your destiny after you develop confidence with him.Originally posted by pureland_zen:Anyone believe in fortune telling ? i have been to a few fortune teller and all the bad things they told me actually happens but the good things they said abt my fortune seldom happens ! Although i have been learning buddhism since young and been trying hard to change my destiny , things just dun get right in my life , in the end i turn to fortune telling , medium etc....! im feeling veri stress out and seem to lose faith in buddhism and all the religion . can somebody guide me ? tks
Maybe due to the good deeds you do, you have already avoided a lot of tragedy already. Also when you mention "trying hard to change destiny", what actually you do to achieve this. Ever talk to any master on their guidance?
I can introduce you some if you can't find any. -
Only dharma, and through dharma, can we change our 'fate' -- but we must not have expectations and put the blame on something else because whatever befalls on us is the fruition of our conditions (i.e karmic conditions). We have to learn to see them as what it is -- conditions -- and experience them with acceptance. Everyone experiences 'bad things' in lives and though you can try your best to change it, it is impossible to avoid all of them altogether. This is a fact of life -- pain and troubles do happen. But liberation is also in the midst of these life situations, if you know how to grasp the principle of dharma and practice. We have to be able to be 'unmoved by the eight worldly winds' (see next post)
When bad things happen, we have to learn the lessons with acceptance and walk on. There is no need to rely on fortune telling or mediums. Buddhism teaches us to change our fate through wisdom, not superstitions. For that you have to practice the dharma.
A summary of a talk given by my dharma teacher some years ago:
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Good points. Thanks for sharing.Originally posted by longchen:If you think religion can save you from bad things happening, then you will be sorely disappointed. This is a fact of life.
Enlightenment can reduce your suffering, but it can never take away the pain of samsaric existence. Many people who seek enlightenment think that they will be free from pain. As long as existence is still in physicality, there is no escape from the trials and tribulation of life.
But, you may be able to gain a better understanding of life through the spiritual path. However, if you are looking for something or someone to shield and save you, Buddhism is not for you.
I do know abit about fortune telling. But i think one should not be too concerned with what the fortune teller told you. It is not that it is not accurate, but because there are some conditions for learning in those situations. Please also remember that there is more than one lifetime, the learnings may benefit future existences if insights are gain from the experiences.
Many of the things that happened in life are karmic. In another word, something happened in the 'past' left imprints. This causes us to experience or re-experience something. We must learn to not react to a situation with what we have been doing many many times in many many lifetimess. We must learn to dissolve the 'karmic' imprints.
regards and all the best.
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And here is a teaching by the Buddha on the eight worldly winds:Originally posted by An Eternal Now:http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an08/an08.006.than.html
[b]Lokavipatti Sutta
The Failings of the World
"Monks, these eight worldly conditions spin after the world, and the world spins after these eight worldly conditions. Which eight? Gain, loss, status, disgrace, censure, praise, pleasure, & pain. These are the eight worldly conditions that spin after the world, and the world spins after these eight worldly conditions.
"For an uninstructed run-of-the-mill person there arise gain, loss, status, disgrace, censure, praise, pleasure, & pain. For a well-instructed disciple of the noble ones there also arise gain, loss, status, disgrace, censure, praise, pleasure, & pain. So what difference, what distinction, what distinguishing factor is there between the well-instructed disciple of the noble ones and the uninstructed run-of-the-mill person?"
"For us, lord, the teachings have the Blessed One as their root, their guide, & their arbitrator. It would be good if the Blessed One himself would explicate the meaning of this statement. Having heard it from the Blessed One, the monks will remember it."
"In that case, monks, listen & pay close attention. I will speak."
"As you say, lord," the monks responded.
The Blessed One said, "Gain arises for an uninstructed run-of-the-mill person. He does not reflect, 'Gain has arisen for me. It is inconstant, stressful, & subject to change.' He does not discern it as it actually is.
"Loss arises... Status arises... Disgrace arises... Censure arises... Praise arises... Pleasure arises...
"Pain arises. He does not reflect, 'Pain has arisen for me. It is inconstant, stressful, & subject to change.' He does not discern it as it actually is.
"His mind remains consumed with the gain. His mind remains consumed with the loss... with the status... the disgrace... the censure... the praise... the pleasure. His mind remains consumed with the pain.
"He welcomes the arisen gain and rebels against the arisen loss. He welcomes the arisen status and rebels against the arisen disgrace. He welcomes the arisen praise and rebels against the arisen censure. He welcomes the arisen pleasure and rebels against the arisen pain. As he is thus engaged in welcoming & rebelling, he is not released from birth, aging, or death; from sorrows, lamentations, pains, distresses, or despairs. He is not released, I tell you, from suffering & stress.
"Now, gain arises for a well-instructed disciple of the noble ones. He reflects, 'Gain has arisen for me. It is inconstant, stressful, & subject to change.' He discerns it as it actually is.
"Loss arises... Status arises... Disgrace arises... Censure arises... Praise arises... Pleasure arises...
"Pain arises. He reflects, 'Pain has arisen for me. It is inconstant, stressful, & subject to change.' He discerns it as it actually is.
"His mind does not remain consumed with the gain. His mind does not remain consumed with the loss... with the status... the disgrace... the censure... the praise... the pleasure. His mind does not remain consumed with the pain.
"He does not welcome the arisen gain, or rebel against the arisen loss. He does not welcome the arisen status, or rebel against the arisen disgrace. He does not welcome the arisen praise, or rebel against the arisen censure. He does not welcome the arisen pleasure, or rebel against the arisen pain. As he thus abandons welcoming & rebelling, he is released from birth, aging, & death; from sorrows, lamentations, pains, distresses, & despairs. He is released, I tell you, from suffering & stress.
"This is the difference, this the distinction, this the distinguishing factor between the well-instructed disciple of the noble ones and the uninstructed run-of-the-mill person."
Gain/loss,
status/disgrace,
censure/praise,
pleasure/pain:
these conditions among human beings
are inconstant,
impermanent,
subject to change.
Knowing this, the wise person, mindful,
ponders these changing conditions.
Desirable things don't charm the mind,
undesirable ones bring no resistance.
His welcoming
& rebelling are scattered,
gone to their end,
do not exist.
Knowing the dustless, sorrowless state,
he discerns rightly,
has gone, beyond becoming,
to the Further Shore.[/b][/quote]
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[quote]Originally posted by An Eternal Now:
Questioner: What is the best way to freedom?
Vishrant: Like the wind gently blowing through the trees , life gently carries on , the wind does not worry about where its been or where its going , it just keeps going , following the path of least resistance , what it can't go through , it goes around , no problem , just what is , life is just happening , let go , go with the flow , follow the path of least resistance . When there is no resistance life is beautiful . Accept everything. -
Thanks for the sharingOriginally posted by An Eternal Now:And here is a teaching by the Buddha on the eight worldly winds:
.....
As the story goes, before Buddha went into Parinirvana, he had a headache. He ascertained that the headache was caused by his killing of a fish by knocking its head during a pastlife when he was a fisherman.
Even the Buddha cannot escapes from karma.
Those who seek religion to escape from pain will be disappointed. -
True. As Ven Master Baiyun's favourite line:Originally posted by longchen:Even the Buddha cannot escapes from karma.
Those who seek religion to escape from pain will be disappointed.
Reality is not our enemy,
and Buddhadharma is not a weapon. -
Fortune telling in buddhism?? Which temple???Originally posted by pureland_zen:Anyone believe in fortune telling ? i have been to a few fortune teller and all the bad things they told me actually happens but the good things they said abt my fortune seldom happens ! Although i have been learning buddhism since young and been trying hard to change my destiny , things just dun get right in my life , in the end i turn to fortune telling , medium etc....! im feeling veri stress out and seem to lose faith in buddhism and all the religion . can somebody guide me ? tks
You sure???? Or is that Taoism?
You are too ignorant to understand religion. Just be good to others and yourself can liao la.... -
Originally posted by nehpyh:
He didn't say Buddhism lah...
Fortune telling in buddhism?? Which temple???
You sure???? Or is that Taoism?
And yes, Buddhism don't deal with these things.You are too ignorant to understand religion. Just be good to others and yourself can liao la....
Nobody is too ignorant to understand Buddhism.
...One of my favorite stories is about the Arhat Chunda. He was quite stupid. When his brother became a monk, Chunda just wanted to do what his brother did. So he went to Ananda, Buddha's attendant. But holy Ananda said, "Sorry. You're too stupid." Ananda thought this kid was too stupid to become a monk because he couldn't remember the rules, the chants, the teachings. So the elder brother and his stupid little brother went to the Buddha, for the Buddha was extremely wise, kind, and compassionate. He scanned the past lives of this young, stupid boy, Chunda. He saw in there one tiny root of merit that could help him get enlightened. He said it didn't matter how dull-minded he was. It didn't matter that he couldn't memorize anything. It didn't matter if he could remember even one rule. The Buddha said to Ananda, "Ananda, you're not the Buddha, so you couldn't see that this kid can get enlightened. But I'm the Buddha and I'm going to ordain him because he can get enlightened. He has one good root of merit from a past life. He can do it, too. Watch over this little child." (This story always brings tears to my eyes.)
So Buddha ordained the kid. The kid couldn't remember even one rule, or how to wear his robes. You know, it's complicated to be a monk. All the monks were studying and memorizing. There were a lot of teachings. There were 253 rules of monastic ordination. But the stupid, youthful Chunda couldn't remember anything.
Finally, the brethren gave him the job of cleaning off the sandals of the monks. Chunda cleaned the sandals while the other monks were getting teachings. Since there weren't any books in those days, 2500 years ago in India, nothing was written down; the monks had to memorize the teachings. Chunda wanted to practice like the other monks, and get this enlightenment thing he heard about every day. So he asked the Buddha how he could get this enlightenment thing. The Buddha said, "When you're scraping mud and sweeping the floors, just think, 'Now I am purifying all the obscurations of the mind.'" So he gave him a little two-line verse. "With each cleaning of the sandals, I am cleaning off the obscurations of the shining, perfect mind." The Buddha asked him to repeat it. He repeated it. The Buddha said, "Can you remember that?" He said, "Yes."
Then dumb Chunda went out and tried to repeat the verse. "With each scraping of the dirt, I am cleaning..." And he couldn't remember it. But he had good karma and had gentle Ananda around to remind him of the verse. Still, Chunda forgot again. Then Sariputra the learned came out, and Chunda asked him to remind him. Finally, the Buddha came back and said to Chunda, "Are you cleaning the sandals?" He said, "Yes." Buddha asked, "Are you cleaning the dust off the floor?" Chunda said, "Yes." And Buddha asked, "Have you cleaned the obscurations off the shining, perfect mind?" Suddenly Chunda was enlightened! He realized that the sandals with the dirt are still the sandals. The floor even with the dust is still the floor. Everything is just as it is. He became an arhat, a fully liberated sage.
In those days, wherever the Buddha went, the people would always try to serve lunch, the main meal of the day, to him and the arhats. They thought if they gave Buddha lunch they would get the most merit, and if they gave the arhats lunch they would get almost as much merit. But if they couldn't catch any arhats, they would feed the ordinary monks and get a little less merit. Everyone knew how stupid Chunda was, and they didn't believe he was an enlightened arhat. But wherever Buddha went, he saved a seat for Chunda, because he said he was the purest-minded, least proud arhat. Purest-minded because he didn't know anything. And least proud because he was so simple, so humble, so undemanding and easy to be with.
Unfortunately, we are not that stupid. We know too much. Or should I say, we think so much, we know so little. If we could just be ourselves, and take the path that is genuinely for us, it would be so easy. Imagine if Chunda was trying to become a Buddhist scholar, he never would have gotten enlightened. But he was content to clean the monks' shoes because he loved his brother and Buddha and the other monks. And it had to be done, so he did it. And he had a little teaching, a little verse that fit into that. That's why Thich Nhat Hanh gives everybody a little verse. He has a little verse for eating, for waking up, for toilet, for going to sleep, because one little verse can be enough to fully awaken you to the fullness and richness of the present moment.
Spiritual life has nothing to do with how smart you are. In fact, being smart can be an obstacle. You can become proud and have more clutter in your brain. (cont. from the source)
~ Lama Surya Das - Sustaining Present Awareness -
Being good, avoiding evil, is not enough.Originally posted by nehpyh:You are too ignorant to understand religion. Just be good to others and yourself can liao la....
It enables good rebirths, but without the purification of our minds, there is no liberation.
In Buddhism, what is most important is to realise our true (buddha)-nature and attain liberation from the vexations of the wheel of samsara... free from the samsaric cycles, attaining the everlasting highest bliss of nirvana. -
So the elder brother and his stupid little brother went to the Buddha, for the Buddha was extremely wise, kind, and compassionate. He scanned the past lives of this young, stupid boy, Chunda. He saw in there one tiny root of merit that could help him get enlightened. He said it didn't matter how dull-minded he was. It didn't matter that he couldn't memorize anything. It didn't matter if he could remember even one rule. The Buddha said to Ananda, "Ananda, you're not the Buddha, so you couldn't see that this kid can get enlightened. But I'm the Buddha and I'm going to ordain him because he can get enlightened. He has one good root of merit from a past life. He can do it, too. Watch over this little child.
I wonder if I should mention this... some time ago I had some minor meditative experience. Thusness asked me do you know why you had such experience... I don't know. He told me it was due to the ripening of my merit of helping a particular person gain right understanding of dharma.. I will leave out the details here.
Last time Thusness asked me do certain things... I told him why don't you do it (i thought he wld be more appropriate to do tat)... he became serious and 'stern' and told me straight away that I do not have the conditions/merits for enlightenment... then I suddenly realised that all along he has been trying to lead me subtly to plant certain conditions in my mind.
When conditions ripen, fruition occurs. Clever or not clever doesn't matter... so practice hard. -
removed.
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Tks everybody for ur reply !
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Care to elaborate what you meant by the above statement?Originally posted by longchen:But, you may be able to gain a better understanding of life through the spiritual path. However, if you are looking for something or someone to shield and save you, Buddhism is not for you. -
Hard to put years on a spiritual path in a few words.Originally posted by justdoit77:Care to elaborate what you meant by the above statement?
In summary:
The insights gained along the way is useful. But it may not be what a person wishes for initially.
Because along the way, one has dropped the need to be saved or escape from suffering. Usually when we first embark on a spiritual quest, we wanted to escape from the suffering of life. But as insights and maturity grows, the old fears about escaping gradually drop away.
A fully enlightened person (not talking me) has not escaped from the pain of life. Instead he or she has gain the fearlessness to face 'what is'. This fearlessness is significantly attributed to the realisation of the deathless.
Those who becomes real Arhats or Boddhisatvas, I will salute to them and give my respect. To be one, there must be no running away from the moment and yet there must also be no attachment to 'not running away'. If these conditions are there, non-duality/no-self is clearly experienced. -
The three qualities of self-liberation as stated by Thusness: fearlessness, non-attachment, non dualityOriginally posted by longchen:Hard to put years on a spiritual path in a few words.
In summary:
The insights gained along the way is useful. But it may not be what a person wishes for initially.
Because along the way, one has dropped the need to be saved or escape from suffering. Usually when we first embark on a spiritual quest, we wanted to escape from the suffering of life. But as insights and maturity grows, the old fears about escaping gradually drop away.
A fully enlightened person (not talking me) has not escaped from the pain of life. Instead he or she has gain the fearlessness to face 'what is'. This fearlessness is significantly attributed to the realisation of the deathless.