Hi all,
Got any url links to intro for a beginner to read?
Dun wan those chim one. Prefer those with stories and short passages.
Share share!
Thanks! :)
heart sutra is good for beginner
try journey to the west
are these books?
any url link?
thanks! :)
you never heard of journey to the west, oh my,
you can search heart sutra through google
Originally posted by rokkie:you never heard of journey to the west, oh my,
you can search heart sutra through google
haha... is it xi you ji???
i beleive that the fundamental of Buddhism is necessary for the beginer. That is the four noble truth and the eight fold path
Originally posted by SevenEleven:i beleive that the fundamental of Buddhism is necessary for the beginer. That is the four noble truth and the eight fold path
oh, i think i read b4 tht liao.
wat i looking for is like tell u story... then conclusion moral of the story is blah blah blah... tell u the buddhism teachings at the same time...
I find that before you read any sutra, it is good you first understand the history of buddhism, and who is buddha..this is very important, as many people also do not know what is buddha or who is he, or what did he do..
Journey to the west is a fictional story, it's not Buddhism.
Originally posted by winnie^_^:
oh, i think i read b4 tht liao.wat i looking for is like tell u story... then conclusion moral of the story is blah blah blah... tell u the buddhism teachings at the same time...
Jataka?
Originally posted by winnie^_^:
haha... is it xi you ji???
yes
Originally posted by An Eternal Now:Journey to the west is a fictional story, it's not Buddhism.
actually , Journey to the west is a mixture of buddhism taoism and confuciusm, like taishang laojun is a taoism figure,
Originally posted by Bodhi hut:
I find that before you read any sutra, it is good you first understand the history of buddhism, and who is buddha..this is very important, as many people also do not know what is buddha or who is he, or what did he do..
yes when you find you are bored reading sutra, you can read some history stuff about buddhism, also enhance you view on buddhism
Perhaps you can try the following URL for beginners: http://www.goodquestiongoodanswer.net/
Something you would want to read
Interview - His Holiness the 101th Sanden Tripa
Supreme Head of the Gelugpa Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.
The following is an interview with His Holiness the 101th Ganden Tripa, the Supreme Head of the Gelug Tradition.
The interview is conducted on the occasion of His Holiness the 101th Ganden Tripa's first official visit to Singapore.
The interview is conducted by Kunga Nyima and is translated by
Associate Professor Huang Yi Yan of Taiwan.
It is conducted on 18 June 2003 at His Holiness's residence in
Singapore.
His Holiness the 101th Ganden Tripa is hosted on His first
Official Visit to Singapore from 25 May 2003 to 23 June 2003 by the Charitable Assistance Society.
Buddhism
Q: What is the most essentially fundamental thing for a Buddhist?
A: Buddhists should know that samsara is suffering. We need to realize that samsara is
suffering first before we will try to obtain liberation from it. The only way to liberation from
samsara is through following the Teachings of the Buddha. According to the Texts, only by
following the Buddhist Teachings can there be ultimate liberation from samsara.
Q: What is the most important thing a Buddhist should remember?
A: A Buddhist should always remember the 3 Jewels: the Buddha, His Teachings [The Dharma ]
and His Assembly of Noble Disciples [ The Sangha ].
A Buddhist should clear internalize the supreme qualities of the 3 Jewels.
In general, the Buddha is like a doctor, the Dharma is like medicine and the Sangha is like
nurses and assistants to the doctor. We, sentient beings, in samsara, are like the patients. We
need to take the doctor's prescription to get well. Moreover, we also need to rely on the
doctor and his assistants too.
A Buddhist needs to always take refuge in the 3 Jewels as well as to remember the qualities
of the 3 Jewels.
Q: How do we sustain "Bodhicitta": the attitude of completely dedicating ourselves for the
welfare of others; of wanting to attain the state of Complete Enlightenment or Buddhahood
solely for the good of others?
A: To put the Teachings into practice is difficult. If we can put the Teachings into practice, this is
real Bodhicitta. If we cannot, this cannot be Bodhicitta.
To give rise to Bodhicitta, we must first cultivate Loving-kindness [ Wishing all beings to
have happiness and the causes of happiness ] and Compassion [ Wishing all beings to be free
from suffering and the causes of suffering ]. Next, we must think of the kindness of our
mother. Then, we need to remember the kindness of all beings as they have acted as our
mothers in countless past lives. Following, we need to cultivate the wish to repay the
kindnesses of all these uncountable mother sentient beings.
To put Bodhicitta into practice is difficult. If we can put Bodhicitta into practice, this is real
Bodhicitta. If we cannot put Bodhicitta into practice, this cannot be genuine Bodhicitta.
Always try to sustain a good-heart. Do not be bothered about what others do. Just try to
sustain a good-heart. This is the way of the true Buddhists.
Q: Is vegetarianism compulsory? It has been suggested that cultivating crops kill untold
numbers of insects whilst the slaughtering of only one yak in old Tibet can feed the whole
family for a week. Therefore, from the numerical point of view, this group of people suggests
that we should consume meat of big-size animals rather than eating vegetables which
inevitably entail the death of countless creatures. Moreover, some masters have insisted on
vegetarianism as compulsory for a Buddhist whilst others quoted Buddhist texts to the
contrary. What is Your Holiness point of view?
A: In general, Lord Buddha has taught 3 differing points with regard to vegetarianism.
In the first one, in the Theravada tradition, it is taught that we cannot take the so-called three
categories of "Impure Meat": a) we perceive through our eyes or ears the killing of the meat;
b) we suspect that the meat is killed for ourselves; c) we know that the meat has been killed
for us. Besides these 3 categories of meat, we are permitted to partake of the rest.
In the second one, in the Mahayana tradition, it is taught explicitly that the taking meat is
necessarily unskillful and wrong. So vegetarianism is compulsory here.
In the third, in the Vajrayana tradition, it is taught that practitioners of this path should take
meat. The reason for this is given in the texts and requires extensive explanations. It is not
appropriate for me to elaborate here.
Students of Buddhism can choose to follow any of these 3 points. It is not possible for me to
dictate which points students should follow.
Q: There have been some Buddhist centres concentrating mainly on doing social work whilst
some concentrating mainly on spiritual practices. What is Your Holiness's opinion on what
a Buddhist centre should concentrate on?
http://www.purifymind.com/IV10.htm
thanks all for the url. :)
Originally posted by wee_ws:
thank u! :)
Hi, I also would like to gather the following need-to-know basic information which i always come across from time to time from rituals or books. Though they may be bare superficial reference to the profound Buddhism knowledge or even traditional beliefs but still I thought i should know. Thank you.
1. when reciting å�—æ— é˜¿å¼¥é™€ä½›, are we chanting the name of prince Siddhartha Gautama? To clarify further, are these terms also the equals of "Lord Buddha" and 佛祖 ?
2.the meaning of "Om Mani Padme Hum"?
3.what is pureland and ��世界 ? Are they the same? What is is? Is it the same state as "nirvana"?
4. What are the names of the two disciples beside "Lord Buddha" in the temple?
5.How should one address when chanting or praying in temple where there is Bodhisattva Guanyin and Lord Buddha?
6. what is the chant for "medicine buddha"? Though i usually just chant "Om Mani Padme Hum" for blessings as well as to purify my mind.
1. That is Amitabha Buddha, not Siddhartha Gautama/Shakyamuni Buddha, who is Shi Jia Mou Ni Fo. My Chinese software is not working, so you can refer to https://www.orientaloutpost.com/shufa.php?q=buddha%20/%20shakyamuni
2. http://www.tibet.com/Buddhism/om-mantra.html
But try not to think of the meaning when chanting. When chanting just chant sincerely without distraction, without any other thoughts, without contemplating any meaning.
3. There are a number of pure lands. Sukhavati or ��世界 is one of them and belongs to Amitabha Buddha. There are countless others, including but not limited to the Medicine Buddha's pure land in the east. These two Buddhas have great affinity with beings on Earth.
My master (see www.jenchen.org.sg) advocates the pure land of mind and the pure land of humanity. As the sutras say "When Mind is pure, Land is pure". And if everyone practices 'purifying the mind' then this world eventually becomes a pure land.
4. Ananda and Mahakasyapa
5. I'm not sure what you mean by that. If you pray, just pray like the other people. If you are chanting, just chant what others are chanting.
6. Na Mo Yao Shi Liu Li Guang Ru Lai (å�—æ— è–¬å¸«ç‘ ç’ƒå…‰å¦‚æ�¥)
Originally posted by Verdandis:Hi, I also would like to gather the following need-to-know basic information which i always come across from time to time from rituals or books. Though they may be bare superficial reference to the profound Buddhism knowledge or even traditional beliefs but still I thought i should know. Thank you.
1. when reciting å�—æ— é˜¿å¼¥é™€ä½›, are we chanting the name of prince Siddhartha Gautama? To clarify further, are these terms also the equals of "Lord Buddha" and 佛祖 ?
2.the meaning of "Om Mani Padme Hum"?
3.what is pureland and ��世界 ? Are they the same? What is is? Is it the same state as "nirvana"?
4. What are the names of the two disciples beside "Lord Buddha" in the temple?
5.How should one address when chanting or praying in temple where there is Bodhisattva Guanyin and Lord Buddha?
6. what is the chant for "medicine buddha"? Though i usually just chant "Om Mani Padme Hum" for blessings as well as to purify my mind.
1. å�—æ— ï¼Œmeans please come, 阿弥陀佛，is the buddha residing in the west, the pure land.
2 it's å…å—大明咒，very popular in tibetan tradition
4.阿难，and 伽�。阿难，is famous for knowledgable.
Thank you all for providing the web links which are certainly very resourceful and accessible without any fuss. It is really amazing and comforting to know most of you in this forum have such an in-depth knowledge about Buddhism. Given our hectic and materialistic lifestyle, I reflected that if one can devote such time to read more about Buddhism, it's like a special treat to yourself since through such reading, I think it will help to reinforce the mind to practice the Dharma teachings and subsciously help one to purify the mind. Thus, I would like to think that if you actually have the time to read anything related to the Dharma teachings with an unclustered (or unclouded) mind , you know that you have earned that special reward for yourself. Cheers to All!
Originally posted by rokkie:1. å�—æ— ï¼Œmeans please come
å�—æ— does not mean please come. å�—æ— means 'I take refuge in' or 'Homage to'
Originally posted by Verdandis:Thank you all for providing the web links which are certainly very resourceful and accessible without any fuss. It is really amazing and comforting to know most of you in this forum have such an in-depth knowledge about Buddhism. Given our hectic and materialistic lifestyle, I reflected that if one can devote such time to read more about Buddhism, it's like a special treat to yourself since through such reading, I think it will help to reinforce the mind to practice the Dharma teachings and subsciously help one to purify the mind. Thus, I would like to think that if you actually have the time to read anything related to the Dharma teachings with an unclustered (or unclouded) mind , you know that you have earned that special reward for yourself. Cheers to All!
Agree. Learning and understanding the teachings definitely helps in practice.