Originally posted by geis:strangely some of the points discussed today in this thread relates to some of the doubts arising these few days during sitting.
a big thank you to everyone who has contributed here :)
Care to share what doubts?
Originally posted by wisdomeye:Dear AEN,
hopefully, one day, u may be able to experience it for yourself
ok, u can also consider compassion a great complementing factor... no problem... as long as people understand that it is very very impt part of practice.
i think i also explain abit here... compassion leads to a very equanamity based kind of mind, very close to the non-discriminating kind of mind. In that kind of state, something can spark.
Also, compassion creates vast merit and that soaks the mind into a kind of very open state... naturally...
Also, compassion affects one's energy constituents, the details of which, i think is not necessary to mention here.
Yes, it can aid. Metta and compassion and lead to a very deep stage of letting go. It can even be combined with samatha practice and lead to jhanas. Then in that 'state of non discrimination', perhaps, it might be easier to recognise nature of mind, or practice vipassana, etc.
Thusness always told me that I should combine awareness practice with the practice of letting go/dropping. He also commented that the practice of metta may be an even better way to 'let go', however he had no experience with metta practice to guide me in that.
Originally posted by An Eternal Now:Care to share what doubts?
i'll share the one big nagging one first, need some time to recollect the rest.
yesterday night after sitting, this thought suddenly arised. the whole practice i was doing seems wrong, it seems like im 'working' towards something like an achievement. i had this thought that i was actually trying to use meditation practice to accomplish some goals to cover up for shortfalls in other areas, for eg work.
was looking at some of the posts in this forum and felt that im not compassionate and not serious enough in my practice.
past week had been pretty restless week, sittings were short, so there's also much guilt.
Originally posted by geis:i'll share the one big nagging one first, need some time to recollect the rest.
yesterday night after sitting, this thought suddenly arised. the whole practice i was doing seems wrong, it seems like im 'working' towards something like an achievement. i had this thought that i was actually trying to use meditation practice to accomplish some goals to cover up for shortfalls in other areas, for eg work.
was looking at some of the posts in this forum and felt that im not compassionate and not serious enough in my practice.
past week had been pretty restless week, sittings were short, so there's also much guilt.
I see..
Originally posted by wisdomeye:Dear Rooney,
Bodhisattvas (ie, practitioners on the Mahayana path) do not abide in samsara nor nirvana. This is due to their great compassion for beings and vows to benefit beings.
Regarding the nature of samsara and nirvana, at the highest level of realisation, they are realised to be inseparable. But for now, it is pointless to speculate about this because one can go down the wrong path when one misunderstands this point.
I think you have to differentiate in your own mind between the terms 'enlightenment' and 'liberation from samsara', 'Arhatship' and 'Buddhahood'. Also, some of these terms may mean different things in different contexts. There are also many levels of so-called enlightenment.
The only way to truly differentiate them is to really investigate into what each experience has to entail. This requires hard reading and often people will misunderstand things because they just look at the labels given to different experiences.
It is said that if one reaches Amitabha pureland and sees Buddha Amitabha, one attains the first bhumi which is considered irreversible in the sense that one is no longer prey to delusions that can subject one to rebirth in samsara without control. (The eighth bhumi is considered irreversible because of a different reason, as stated in quote below)
From Amitabha pureland, one can miraculously visit the other Buddhas' purelands and receive teachings directly from Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and it is said that at the end of that life, one attains complete Buddhahood.
One can read more about the bhumi classifications and Mahayana path here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhumi_(Buddhism)
http://www.lotsawahouse.org/patrul/stages_and_paths.html
Please note that this is a huge subject and there is difference between the Hinayana 5 paths and the Mahayana 5 paths classification.
The Abhisamayalakara is a detailed exposition on this, but i think the original text is hard to understand. You can also read Khenpo Appey's book "Illumination of the Sage's Intent" for a easier understanding.
I think I didnt make myself clear here. what I mean was when Amitabha Buddha bring people to pureland, they were not enlightened when they die, period. so when they go to pureland, is it considered as what since they did not attained enlightenment.
When they go pureland, when they meet Amitabha Buddha, they will attain 1st Bhumi / Ground Bodhisattva level, which is the first time they directly realise emptiness-- so it is a kind of enlightenment. When they are in meditative state, their realisation exactly the same as Buddha. The only problem is when they are out of meditation. But from 1st Bhumi to Buddhahood, can be very fast... up to your choice. Some bodhisattvas purposely take their time.
At this 1st Bhumi level, one can do many things...
They are able to:
—enter into and arise from one hundred samadhi meditations in a single instant,
—see one hundred buddhas face to face, and receive their blessings,
—travel to one hundred buddha realms,
—cause one hundred world systems to shake,
—illuminate one hundred world systems,
—bring one hundred beings to complete maturity,
—manifest in one hundred aeons in a single instant,
—know one hundred aeons in the past and
—one hundred aeons in the future,
—open one hundred doors to the Dharma,
—manifest one hundred emanations, and
—for each of these bodies, manifest one hundred attendants.
A quote about pureland practice:
å�°å…‰å¤§å¸ˆï¼š“净土法门，唯佛与佛乃能究尽。登地è�©è�¨ï¼Œä¸�能知其少分。”
Originally posted by Rainbow Jigsaw:About this debate of compassion vs awareness, I'll like to share my input which don't fully represent Buddhism, but more to do with raising of consciousness in general. Just ignore my words if anyone's not keen to know.
Both awareness and compassion are equally important, and need to go hand in hand. Neither is more important than the other, but it really depends on the person's current learning stage (overall, not just in this lifetime) and his outstanding life lessons, to know which one is more crucial to work upon at this time. Someone could have more awareness, but may lose all attachments to this world to the extent of not being able to truly feel and care for people around him, if he's not careful. A compassionate person who doesn't aim to raise his awareness just remains a very caring person. Either cases are not ideal, if the aim is to raise consciousness to the highest level possible.
If one is not compassionate enough, his heart chakra cannot be opened/activated fully. If one does not have enough awareness, his crown and third eye chakras cannot be opened/activated fully. As mentioned in other threads, chakras are mentioned in Tibetan Buddhism. All 7 chakras need to be opened/activated fully to be able to constantly raise consciousness.
In order to raise consciousness, both aspects need to be worked upon and practised in actual life. Advice from 'Higher realms' is: "be more humane". :)
Rainbow Jigsaw of Life
Rainbow Jigsaw,
it sounds like you have a new-age background too. what do you mean by advice from 'higher realms'? you mean the gods?
i agree wholly that both aspects need to be worked on. Many of the Dzogchen masters have emphasized on this. I dun think compassion practice can ever be left out. It seems relative and conceptual, sure, but i dun think most people are in the stratosphere of non-conceptual yet... it is like leaping too far. One shd work with one's own experience right now... like cultivating a warm heart and also at same time meditating insofar as one's understanding can go.
For instance, in practising the higher practices like Tantra or Dzogchen, if one does not have the bodhichitta motivation, it is said that one will not obtain the real fruitions, but only the lower fruitions. And there is evidence about this.
It is emphasized by all masters in the Tibetan tradition (indeed u cannot find anyone who will deny this) that if one performs any practice without the motivation of bodhichitta, it does not become the cause of Buddhahood.
Originally posted by wisdomeye:
Rainbow Jigsaw,it sounds like you have a new-age background too. what do you mean by advice from 'higher realms'? you mean the gods?
i agree wholly that both aspects need to be worked on. Many of the Dzogchen masters have emphasized on this. I dun think compassion practice can ever be left out. It seems relative and conceptual, sure, but i dun think most people are in the stratosphere of non-conceptual yet... it is like leaping too far. One shd work with one's own experience right now... like cultivating a warm heart and also at same time meditating insofar as one's understanding can go.
For instance, in practising the higher practices like Tantra or Dzogchen, if one does not have the bodhichitta motivation, it is said that one will not obtain the real fruitions, but only the lower fruitions. And there is evidence about this.
It is emphasized by all masters in the Tibetan tradition (indeed u cannot find anyone who will deny this) that if one performs any practice without the motivation of bodhichitta, it does not become the cause of Buddhahood.
Hi wisdomeye,
Actually, I don't really fancy labels such as "New Age", as many people have given it a negative stereotype, simply because of differences in beliefs. Personally, I'll say I have a spiritual but non-religious background. :)
As this forum forbids sharing of non-Buddhism beliefs like channeled messages from Higher Beings, I shall not elaborate too much here. Hope you understand. Anyway, there isn't "gods", just 1 Source, with several Higher Beings in higher planes/dimensions than our physical 3rd dimension. In Buddhism and other religions, different names have been given to these higher planes/dimensions, but effectively, they are really the same, though people like to feel better claiming them for their own groups.
Many people today worship "gods" with wrong understanding of real history of the distant past. In the distant past, beings which had greater abilities and skills than ordinary men were treated and worshipped as "gods", and recorded by men in texts as such, and that misconception has since been continued to this day...
In any case, it's important to develop both compassion and awareness to truly grow spiritually. It's actually possible to spot the real-life problems and 'symptoms' when someone is skewed towards either aspect and neglecting the other aspect, instead of developing both aspects equally.
That's the reason why all of us have to undergo many lifetimes to grow spiritually. Some people devote many lifetimes to just focus on learning certain aspects, eg. be monk or priest for many lifetimes to concentrate on developing their awareness, then be a lay person or totally non-religious person in many other lifetimes to learn how to be "more humane" and be able to truly feel for and love people. If it's so simple to mature and grow spiritually, we just need to live 1 lifetime (instead of reincarnating so many times) and then ascend to higher plane/dimension immediately. :)
Rainbow Jigsaw of Life
Originally posted by Rainbow Jigsaw:Hi wisdomeye,
Actually, I don't really fancy labels such as "New Age", as many people have given it a negative stereotype, simply because of differences in beliefs. Personally, I'll say I have a spiritual but non-religious background. :)
As this forum forbids sharing of non-Buddhism beliefs like channeled messages from Higher Beings, I shall not elaborate too much here. Hope you understand. Anyway, there isn't "gods", just 1 Source, with several Higher Beings in higher planes/dimensions than our physical 3rd dimension. In Buddhism and other religions, different names have been given to these higher planes/dimensions, but effectively, they are really the same, though people like to feel better claiming them for their own groups.
Many people today worship "gods" with wrong understanding of real history of the distant past. In the distant past, beings which had greater abilities and skills than ordinary men were treated and worshipped as "gods", and recorded in texts as such, and that misconception has since been continued to this day...
In any case, it's important to develop both compassion and awareness to truly grow spiritually. It's actually possible to spot the real-life problems and 'symptoms' when someone is skewed towards either aspect and neglecting the other aspect, instead of developing both aspects equally.
That's the reason why all of us have to undergo many lifetimes to grow spiritually. Some people devote many lifetimes to just focus on learning certain aspects, eg. be monk or priest for many lifetimes to concentrate on developing their awareness, then be a lay person or totally non-religious person in many other lifetimes to learn how to be "more humane" and be able to truly feel for and love people. If it's so simple to mature and grow spiritually, we just need to live 1 lifetime (instead of reincarnating so many times) and then ascend to higher plane/dimension immediately. :)
Rainbow Jigsaw of Life
Hi Rainbow Jigsaw,
I'm cool with your beliefs. In fact, they resonate with me on many levels. There are also many aspects of things that are not in line with what i have read. So i believe that there is alot more than meets the eye. Also, what my teachers have shared with me. Theory quite limited in certain things... but definitely in terms of walking the path to enlightenment, I have deep trust in the Buddhist path.
Originally posted by wisdomeye:Hi Rainbow Jigsaw,
I'm cool with your beliefs. In fact, they resonate with me on many levels. There are also many aspects of things that are not in line with what i have read. So i believe that there is alot more than meets the eye. Also, what my teachers have shared with me. Theory quite limited in certain things... but definitely in terms of walking the path to enlightenment, I have deep trust in the Buddhist path.
As long as we follow our hearts, and we know deep inside that we're doing the right thing, and people around us (not just those who are similar to us) can feel and experience the good that we're bringing them as a result of our chosen path and learning, then all is well. Then we should just continue to enjoy the natural flow of things. If we're only concerned about our personal 'growth', at the expense of everyone else around us, then what are we truly learning and growing in this life?
No two people need to walk the exact same path at the same time. People will have more than enough lifetimes to undergo different learning experiences. I'm sure Buddhism is right for you this lifetime. All the best in your journey! :)
Rainbow Jigsaw of Life
Originally posted by Rooney9:I think I didnt make myself clear here. what I mean was when Amitabha Buddha bring people to pureland, they were not enlightened when they die, period. so when they go to pureland, is it considered as what since they did not attained enlightenment.
Dai Ye Wang Sheng
I am not a buddhist but I know this term. My buddhsit frenz told me before.
Sorry rooney, my chinese hanyu ping ying is not good.
Originally posted by Rainbow Jigsaw:If we're only concerned about our personal 'growth', at the expense of everyone else around us, then what are we truly learning and growing in this life?
Thanks! I have always been thinking of this. Everything is interdependent in Buddhism, we can't just ignore others.
Originally posted by wisdomeye:Thanks! I have always been thinking of this. Everything is interdependent in Buddhism, we can't just ignore others. i'm turning more and more to the conclusion that the past models may not actually be ideal. Or shd i say, they may not be ideal for most people.
Often, advice given by Higher realms is to open our hearts, be more humane and help/love (love doesn't only refer to romantic type of love) others, in order to raise our consciousness and grow spiritually. Though it sounds very simple and straightforward to "open our hearts", actually it's a truly difficult thing to do for most people in our world today. People who can see/feel energy fields around a person's chakras will understand what I've just said.
Too often, people's heart chakra, esp. in Singapore, are not opened fully, as self comes first, and people find it hard to truly care and love others (people, animals, environment, etc) around them. Such 'blockages' or problems accumulate over lifetimes, and get harder each time a person doesn't learn the necessary lessons or take the necessary actions to resolve them.
Rainbow Jigsaw of Life
Originally posted by Rooney9:I think I didnt make myself clear here. what I mean was when Amitabha Buddha bring people to pureland, they were not enlightened when they die, period. so when they go to pureland, is it considered as what since they did not attained enlightenment.
Hi,
You will go to Pureland regards to Amitabha/Maitreya/Medicine Buddha, you will bring your karma along. In Pureland of Amitabha, it has 9 levels of so called differentiate your level when you are in the Pureland. Which are
上å“�-上生，ä¸ç”Ÿï¼Œä¸‹ç”Ÿã€‚
ä¸å“�-上生，ä¸ç”Ÿï¼Œä¸‹ç”Ÿã€‚
下å“�-上生，ä¸ç”Ÿï¼Œä¸‹ç”Ÿã€‚
Yes, you can say we aint enlighten, becuase of the 48 vows of Amitabha, and your practise of 信，愿，行, you transcend there with the empowerment of Amitabha, because of his Vows.
Originally posted by Rainbow Jigsaw:
Often, advice given by Higher realms is to open our hearts, be more humane and help/love (love doesn't only refer to romantic type of love) others, in order to raise our consciousness and grow spiritually. Though it sounds very simple and straightforward to "open our hearts", actually it's a truly difficult thing to do for most people in our world today. People who can see/feel energy fields around a person's chakras will understand what I've just said. Too often, people's heart chakra, esp. in Singapore, are not opened fully, as self comes first, and people find it hard to truly care and love others (people, animals, environment, etc) around them.
Rainbow Jigsaw of Life
Take a look at Maslow theory, self estem is top, it is not that easy to comprehend individual hearts, as it is only when one realise that he must first root his own egoness, then he can walk further in opening his own hearts, and hearts of others.
Originally posted by ~PEPPER~:
Dai Ye Wang ShengI am not a buddhist but I know this term. My buddhsit frenz told me before.
Sorry rooney, my chinese hanyu ping ying is not good.
带业往生
Originally posted by Bodhi hut:Take a look at Maslow theory, self estem is top, it is not that easy to comprehend individual hearts, as it is only when one realise that he must first root his own egoness, then he can walk further in opening his own hearts, and hearts of others.
Maslow's theory is more suited for management studies than for spiritual growth, as we can concurrently develop different aspects of ourselves, instead of having to learn/satisfy 1 need first before proceeding to the next. Imagine the situation if everyone is only concerned with meeting their personal survival and ego needs, at the expense of every other aspect. :)
Which is why a person's chosen path and actions (in current lifetime) can determine to a great extent how long (as in how many lifetimes) he/she needs to mature spiritually.
Rainbow Jigsaw of Life
Originally posted by geis:i'll share the one big nagging one first, need some time to recollect the rest.
yesterday night after sitting, this thought suddenly arised. the whole practice i was doing seems wrong, it seems like im 'working' towards something like an achievement. i had this thought that i was actually trying to use meditation practice to accomplish some goals to cover up for shortfalls in other areas, for eg work.
was looking at some of the posts in this forum and felt that im not compassionate and not serious enough in my practice.
past week had been pretty restless week, sittings were short, so there's also much guilt.
One of good ways of letting go is "wu wei", non doing, stand back a bit and let the process unfold. Although "wu wei" is Taoist terminology, I feel this apt, as it describes the attitude necessary to open up one's mind.
Compassion is a way of looking at things, how we relate to problems, people etc. a certain gentleness. If we are hard on people, there is also a good chance we are hard on ourselves! Often our sense of well being is connected the amount of "grip" we have on our daily lives!
Lovingkindness and compassion does not come overnight, imagine we crush a piece of paper in ball tightly, to uncrease it, we throw into water to let it slowly unfold. It is a gentle process.
Originally posted by Rooney9:I think I didnt make myself clear here. what I mean was when Amitabha Buddha bring people to pureland, they were not enlightened when they die, period. so when they go to pureland, is it considered as what since they did not attained enlightenment.
Hi Rooney9,
It seems you have some interest in understanding Amitabha Buddha and his Pureland. It's best for you to go to sub-forums or threads which explains and discuss this Dharma method in greater details.
His Pureland is essentially the most highly-acclaimed spiritual university and living campus among all other Purelands in all directions.
Your daily practice routine is to listen and understand the Dharma spoken by the Buddha and other enlightened beings like Arahants and Buddhas-to-be Bodhisattvas every day, every single moment.
You get to pay respects and make offerings to countless Buddhas from all ten directions in the shortest time possible and still make it back to Amitabha Buddha's Pureland in time for early breakfast/lunch.
All the above information can be found in 3 main sutras of Pureland; namely
Larger Pureland Sutra (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinite_Life_Sutra)
Contemplation of Amitabha Buddha Sutra (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contemplation_Sutra)
Short Pureland Sutra (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amitabha_Sutra)
The most important vow of Amitabha Buddha is Vow No. 18 (as emphasised by ancient and contemporary Pureland masters)
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Amitabha%27s_forty-eight_vows
Vow 18 - known as the Definite rebirth into Pureland with Ten Recollections of Amitabha Buddha's Name
Provided I become a Buddha, if the beings of the ten quarters who after having heard my name, and thus awakened their highest faith and aspiration of re-birth in that country of mine, even they have recollected such a thought for ten times only, they are destinated to be born there, with the exception of those who have committed the five deadly sins (Anantarya), and who have blasphemed the orthodox Law (Dharma), otherwise may I not attain the enlightenment.
Other important vows include:
Provided I become a Buddha, if in that country of mine the beings who are born there should fall away (die) into the three evil realms, then may I not attain the enlightenment.
Provided I become a Buddha, if the beings of that country of mine should have arise in their minds the idea of selfishness and covetous thoughts, even with regard to their own bodies, then may I not attain the enlightenment.
Provided I become a Buddha, there should be no evil or sinful existence in that country of mine, even its very name is unknown. Otherwise may I not attain the enlightenment.
Provided I become a Buddha, if the innumerable Buddhas of the worlds of ten quarters do not glorify my name, then may I not attain the enlightenment.
Provided I become a Buddha, if the beings of ten quarters who have directed their thoughts towards the Bodhi and cultivated their stock of various merits with a fervent craving for re-birth in that country of mine, if at the moment of death, should I not appear with an assembly of retinue before them, then may I not attain the enlightenment.
Provided I become a Buddha, if the beings of ten quarters, after having heard my name always longing for that country of mine and cultivating various essential merits for the purpose of realizing their earnest wish to be born in my country, should their fulfillment be failed, then may I not attain the enlightenment.
Provided I become a Buddha, the Bodhisattvas who come to be born in that country of mine are to be bound to that one birth only, then to become Buddha-elect (Ekajatipratibuddhas),
with the exception of those who by their own free will remain in the stage of Bodhisattva-hood for the sake of delivering various beings, wearing the armour of vows to travel to all worlds,
performing their Boddhisattva-duties and accumulating their stock of merit, who wish to serve the Buddhas of ten quarters, and convert the various beings in number like grains of sand of the River Ganges to the highest perfect knowledge, whose activities have surpassed the stage of ordinary beings, and who practise the universal virtue of Samantabhadra, otherwise may I not attain the enlightenment.
*********************************
Let's not digress too far from TS's topic.
Sons of Conqueror, who drunk the Nectar of Four Truths, pray tell me, what is it that you have conquered and have cessation begun?
Originally posted by Weychin:One of good ways of letting go is "wu wei", non doing, stand back a bit and let the process unfold. Although "wu wei" is Taoist terminology, I feel this apt, as it describes the attitude necessary to open up one's mind.
Compassion is a way of looking at things, how we relate to problems, people etc. a certain gentleness. If we are hard on people, there is also a good chance we are hard on ourselves! Often our sense of well being is connected the amount of "grip" we have on our daily lives!
Lovingkindness and compassion does not come overnight, imagine we crush a piece of paper in ball tightly, to uncrease it, we throw into water to let it slowly unfold. It is a gentle process.
Hi Weychin
thanks for the advice :)
what i do is i note the doubts anyway when they arise.
Originally posted by Bodhi hut:
Hi,You will go to Pureland regards to Amitabha/Maitreya/Medicine Buddha, you will bring your karma along. In Pureland of Amitabha, it has 9 levels of so called differentiate your level when you are in the Pureland. Which are
上å“�-上生，ä¸ç”Ÿï¼Œä¸‹ç”Ÿã€‚
ä¸å“�-上生，ä¸ç”Ÿï¼Œä¸‹ç”Ÿã€‚
下å“�-上生，ä¸ç”Ÿï¼Œä¸‹ç”Ÿã€‚
Yes, you can say we aint enlighten, becuase of the 48 vows of Amitabha, and your practise of 信，愿，行, you transcend there with the empowerment of Amitabha, because of his Vows.
In Amitabha's sutra, it says ä¸�å�¯ä»¥å°‘å–„æ ¹ç¦�å¾·å› ç¼˜ã€‚å¾—ç”Ÿå½¼å›½ã€‚Meaning one must accumulate enough merits to be born in Amitabha's Pureland because those who born there are kind, no place for evil people. That is my understanding from monks.
Originally posted by geis:Hi Weychin
thanks for the advice :)
what i do is i note the doubts anyway when they arise.
Personally, I deal my doubts arising in context "in relation to".
Originally posted by Rainbow Jigsaw:Hi wisdomeye,
Actually, I don't really fancy labels such as "New Age", as many people have given it a negative stereotype, simply because of differences in beliefs. Personally, I'll say I have a spiritual but non-religious background. :)
As this forum forbids sharing of non-Buddhism beliefs like channeled messages from Higher Beings, I shall not elaborate too much here. Hope you understand. Anyway, there isn't "gods", just 1 Source, with several Higher Beings in higher planes/dimensions than our physical 3rd dimension. In Buddhism and other religions, different names have been given to these higher planes/dimensions, but effectively, they are really the same, though people like to feel better claiming them for their own groups.
Many people today worship "gods" with wrong understanding of real history of the distant past. In the distant past, beings which had greater abilities and skills than ordinary men were treated and worshipped as "gods", and recorded by men in texts as such, and that misconception has since been continued to this day...
In any case, it's important to develop both compassion and awareness to truly grow spiritually. It's actually possible to spot the real-life problems and 'symptoms' when someone is skewed towards either aspect and neglecting the other aspect, instead of developing both aspects equally.
That's the reason why all of us have to undergo many lifetimes to grow spiritually. Some people devote many lifetimes to just focus on learning certain aspects, eg. be monk or priest for many lifetimes to concentrate on developing their awareness, then be a lay person or totally non-religious person in many other lifetimes to learn how to be "more humane" and be able to truly feel for and love people. If it's so simple to mature and grow spiritually, we just need to live 1 lifetime (instead of reincarnating so many times) and then ascend to higher plane/dimension immediately. :)
Rainbow Jigsaw of Life
Actually the purpose of Buddhism is not to climb to a higher realm. In Buddhism we recognise that *all* conditioned existence is bound up by suffering, birth and death, that even if he entered into the highest jhanic and formless dimension of existence and absorption, which natural lifespan can be billions of years, eventually one will drop back to other realms. In other words one has not overcome the uncontrolled cycle of rebirth.
Thus Buddhism actually seeks to *end* uncontrolled rebirth, rather than a rebirth in a higher realm of existence.
Also, Buddhism recognise the existence of gods, but we do not worship them because they are still beings in samsara. ('Buddhists' that worship gods are usually not Buddhists but Chinese tradition worshippers) Buddhists do pay their respects to Buddha, but not exactly the same as 'worship' - we treat Buddha as our greatest teacher.
As for whether liberation is achievable in 1 lifetime, I say it is possible. I personally know of people today who have achieved this. Is it easy? Well, it is not exactly easy, but not unachievable. Many people that I know today have reached various stages of enlightenment, and a few of them have indeed achieved liberation. These are just those that I know, there are many more that I do not know.
In Theravada, those who achieve liberation simply enters into cessation. In Mahayana, such liberation is not the end and the Buddhas will eventually 'wake' the Arhats that entered cessation back to continue their path to full Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings. In Mahayana, bodhisattvas are liberated from samsara, freed from all sufferings, yet continues their path in samsara to guide beings to liberation.
Originally posted by Weychin:Personally, I deal my doubts arising in context "in relation to".
oh ok, will that lead to over-analysis?