Cults and New-Age sects associated to Buddhism
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just like there are fake monks and nuns soliciting money from the public, there are also sects and cults who associate themselves with Buddhism and then claim their master is a Buddha or that they have messages from Kuan Yin or Maitreya. such are in odds with the teachings of Buddhism. I think buddhists need to go back to basics and not adopt those esoteric practises that were not taught by the Buddha.
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Yes.
Please learn the basics of Buddhism. As Buddha said, rely on the dharma, not the person.
Many people suffer from a lack of understanding of what the most basic teachings of Buddhism is about.
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Oh my goodness, as someone who is finding out more about buddhism, as it is the different types of practices of buddhism is already confusing and too much to digest for me, now there are cults to take note.
Sigh!
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Originally posted by Fantagf:
Oh my goodness, as someone who is finding out more about buddhism, as it is the different types of practices of buddhism is already confusing and too much to digest for me, now there are cults to take note.
Sigh!
What to do, there is always imitation for good stuff.
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Originally posted by Fantagf:
Oh my goodness, as someone who is finding out more about buddhism, as it is the different types of practices of buddhism is already confusing and too much to digest for me, now there are cults to take note.
Sigh!
Zen: practice meditation, koan and self-inquiry to attain direct realisation of the nature of reality and attain liberation. It is a Mahayana school so it teaches the Bodhisattva path.
Theravada: practices meditation to attain realisation and liberation. It does not emphasize on the Bodhisattva path but on personal liberation.
Pure Land: practices chanting with the aim of being reborn in Amitabha's pure land.
Vajrayana: practices many tantric methods like mantras, visualisations, and other esoteric and secret types of practices to attain enlightenment.
Dzogchen, Mahamudra, etc, a subdivision of Vajrayana that emphasizes direct realisation of the nature of reality/mind. In a way there are similarities with Zen in its directness but not exactly the same in methods. Also employs meditation, etc.
Cults: doesn't lead anywhere to liberation, but to supernatural powers, superstitions, and false understandings of dharma.
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Originally posted by An Eternal Now:
Zen: practice meditation, koan and self-inquiry to attain direct realisation of the nature of reality and attain liberation. It is a Mahayana school so it teaches the Bodhisattva path.
Theravada: practices meditation to attain realisation and liberation. It does not emphasize on the Bodhisattva path but on personal liberation.
Pure Land: practices chanting with the aim of being reborn in Amitabha's pure land.
Vajrayana: practices many tantric methods like mantras, visualisations, and other esoteric and secret types of practices to attain enlightenment.
Dzogchen, Mahamudra, etc, a subdivision of Vajrayana that emphasizes direct realisation of the nature of reality/mind. In a way there are similarities with Zen in its directness but not exactly the same in methods. Also employs meditation, etc.
Cults: doesn't lead anywhere to liberation, but to supernatural powers, superstitions, and false understandings of dharma.
What about the buddhism that chant sutra for chao du and emphasize on Goddess of Mercy?
Is pure land known as xi fang, west (something like paradise, heaven)?
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Originally posted by An Eternal Now:
Yes.
Please learn the basics of Buddhism. As Buddha said, rely on the dharma, not the person.
Many people suffer from a lack of understanding of what the most basic teachings of Buddhism is about.
Wrong, how can the dharma not be immutable when Buddha said that all things are affected by change?So even dharma and its spirit cannot be relied upon. It is not that people lack the understanding of Buddhism but Buddhists lacking the understanding of humanity.
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Originally posted by Herzog_Zwei:
Wrong, how can the dharma not be immutable when Buddha said that all things are affected by change?So even dharma and its spirit cannot be relied upon. It is not that people lack the understanding of Buddhism but Buddhists lacking the understanding of humanity.
What the Buddha taught is not a phenomena, but the nature of all phenomena.
Phenomena are impermanent, the nature of all phenomena is eternal.
You don't understand a single thing about Buddhism, so you are in no place to comment about Buddhists.
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Originally posted by Fantagf:
What about the buddhism that chant sutra for chao du and emphasize on Goddess of Mercy?
Is pure land known as xi fang, west (something like paradise, heaven)?
Mahayana and Vajrayana do 'chao du'. I don't know whether Theravada do chao du or not, but dedication of merits, whether through chanting, dana (giving), etc, is common to all traditions. It is in hope that the merits dedicated will have a positive effect on the person's rebirth into a better realm.
Goddess of Mercy in Buddhism is not a goddess, but a Bodhisattva. He/She known as Guan Yin Pu Sa, is not a goddess, because goddess and gods are still beings in samsara and subject to suffering and cycles of rebirth.
Guan Yin is already above rebirth but she can emanate out of her powers to lead people to enlightenment. He/She is not limited to any particular form, though in China she is depicted as female, in Tibet he is depicted as male, (because Guan Yin manifest in different ways to different people) and can manifest in countless other non-human forms as well.
Pure Land is not a heaven, because heaven are still part of the 6 realms of samsara.
The 6 realms:
3 lower realms: hell, ghost, animal
3 higher realms: asura, human, deva/heaven
Beings from hell to heaven are still subject to rebirth and suffering. Even if heaven is pleasurable, after their long lifespan finish they still will reborn again, possibly in lower realms.
Pure Land is different, it is not a heaven purely for enjoyment but a manifestation by Amitabha to create a conducive environment for beings to attain enlightenment.
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The understanding of humanity
The precious human body:-
"Leisure and endowment'
"Trusting ,longing and clarity"
"Two of the body , three of the mind"
This five comprise the excellent working basis
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Originally posted by An Eternal Now:
What the Buddha taught is not a phenomena, but the nature of all phenomena.
Phenomena are impermanent, the nature of all phenomena is eternal.
You don't understand a single thing about Buddhism, so you are in no place to comment about Buddhists.
What Buddha taught is a phenomena as no other civillisations has anything similar.Phenomena is impermaenent as is Buddha nature, without human transmission, Buddhism will die out.
I understand too much about BUddhism, hence you are afraid of my comments and keep erasing them.
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Originally posted by Herzog_Zwei:
What Buddha taught is a phenomena as no other civillisations has anything similar.Phenomena is impermaenent as is Buddha nature, without human transmission, Buddhism will die out.
I understand too much about BUddhism, hence you are afraid of my comments and keep erasing them.
What Buddha taught is the nature of phenomena, and the very fact that all phenomena continue to be impermanent after Buddhism dies out testifies to the fact that the nature of phenomena is eternal. Also, Buddha-Nature is not a static thing. As Zen Master Dogen says, Impermanence is Buddha-Nature.
I keep erasing your post because of your blatant disrespect for Buddhism and Buddhists here, and your posts' contribution to the topic title is always basically 0, and you often suffer from delusion of grandeur as shown in your current post.
Basically, you are not interested in constructive discussion, only trolling, and hence your posts are always of no value at all and I will delete them anytime.
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Originally posted by An Eternal Now:
What Buddha taught is the nature of phenomena, and the very fact that all phenomena continue to be impermanent after Buddhism dies out testifies to the fact that the nature of phenomena is eternal. Also, Buddha-Nature is not a static thing. As Zen Master Dogen says, Impermanence is Buddha-Nature.
I keep erasing your post because of your blatant disrespect for Buddhism and Buddhists here, and your posts' contribution to the topic title is always basically 0, and you often suffer from delusion of grandeur as shown in your current post.
Basically, you are not interested in constructive discussion, only trolling, and hence your posts are always of no value at all and I will delete them anytime.
Bcos you have no interest in the truth and keep deleting the truth.The very concept of Buddhism is like the Matrix, it tricks and occupies the human mind in a virtual reality and not expose the mind to reality, both the physical and virtual.
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Originally posted by Herzog_Zwei:
Bcos you have no interest in the truth and keep deleting the truth.The very concept of Buddhism is like the Matrix, it tricks and occupies the human mind in a virtual reality and not expose the mind to reality, both the physical and virtual.
Nonsense. The purpose of Buddhism is to realise reality.
It is your own misconception of Buddhism that is bullshit and preventing you from being exposed to reality.
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Originally posted by Herzog_Zwei:
Bcos you have no interest in the truth and keep deleting the truth.The very concept of Buddhism is like the Matrix, it tricks and occupies the human mind in a virtual reality and not expose the mind to reality, both the physical and virtual.
It is that on encountering pain, that I know attachment
It is to have loved and lost, that I know impermance
It is having lived with thoughts and emotions coursing my mind, that I now see what clarity is
It is that I had lived a life without Buddhism, that I have realised the truth in his words
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Originally posted by Weychin:
It is that on encountering pain, that I know attachment
It is to have loved and lost, that I know impermance
It is having lived with thoughts and emotions coursing my mind, that I now see what clarity is
It is that I had lived a life without Buddhism, that I have realised the truth in his words
It is upon encountering Buddhism that I know stupidity.Buddhism wants people to open their minds but requires its believers to be closed.
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Originally posted by Herzog_Zwei:
It is upon encountering Buddhism that I know stupidity.Buddhism wants people to open their minds but requires its believers to be closed.
Explain "but requires its believers to be closed."
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Originally posted by Fantagf:
What about the buddhism that chant sutra for chao du and emphasize on Goddess of Mercy?
Is pure land known as xi fang, west (something like paradise, heaven)?
This is not a hearsay but the person directly involved (the piano teacher) told me her father's story.
My nephew's piano teacher comes from a Christian family, her father was a Christian since young. After her father passed away (more than 49 days), she saw her father's spirit in her house. Luckily one of her mother's friend who is a Buddhist advised them to chao du. One night, she saw a ray of bright light flowing out from her house. Since then, she did not see her father's spirit. She and her mother are Buddhists now.
I believed her story because there is no reason for a Christian to tell me this kind of story.
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Easy if you feel no good. Go complain to Mi Le Fo (The Next Buddha) I heard he is coming to take over Ru Lai Fo
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Originally posted by Herzog_Zwei:
It is upon encountering Buddhism that I know stupidity.Buddhism wants people to open their minds but requires its believers to be closed.
Assuming you have encountered stupidity in Buddhism, that you have read any Buddhist literature that directly requires minds to be closed, or inadvertently caused people's minds to be closed. This would have been a revelation! If you are kind enough, I am willing to take a look at it!
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Originally posted by An Eternal Now:
Explain "but requires its believers to be closed."
You cannot accept my explaination. -
Originally posted by Herzog_Zwei:
You cannot accept my explaination.Only if it's bullshit.
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Originally posted by An Eternal Now:
Only if it's bullshit.
Yeah, any thing connected to Buddhism is true and anything else, like independent origination, is bullshit. -
Originally posted by An Eternal Now:
Nonsense. The purpose of Buddhism is to realise reality.
It is your own misconception of Buddhism that is bullshit and preventing you from being exposed to reality.
You want the red pill or blue pill? -
Originally posted by Herzog_Zwei:
You want the red pill or blue pill?Tell me how they taste! Ha! Ha!