Greetings! (ritual, Buddhism, beliefs, hell, America)

[JonM]

Hello, all. I am not a Buddhist, but I love Buddhism, and I plan to continue to study Buddhist practices as I continue my Jewish education. I've found that many of the Buddha's teachings address religious dilemmas that Judaism does not discuss, particularly the way of dealing with notions of self. I've spent some time in Japan, China, and Tibet, and I've learned a lot about my own beliefs from the experiences. I'll definitely be spending time around here, if only just asking questions. Just wanted to introduce myself. Peace be!

[Scarlett Wampus]

Hello JonM. You've travelled a lot! Likely you could help us address dilemmas in Buddhism and beyond too.

What did you experience in Japan, China and Tibet?

[Engyo]

Originally Posted by JonM

Hello, all. I am not a Buddhist, but I love Buddhism, and I plan to continue to study Buddhist practices as I continue my Jewish education. I've found that many of the Buddha's teachings address religious dilemmas that Judaism does not discuss, particularly the way of dealing with notions of self. I've spent some time in Japan, China, and Tibet, and I've learned a lot about my own beliefs from the experiences. I'll definitely be spending time around here, if only just asking questions. Just wanted to introduce myself. Peace be!

Welcome, Jon!

Looking forward to discussions and reminiscences........Welcome to the Forums!

[JonM]

Well, Japan was first, and I was pretty young (almost 16), but my spiritual journey had long since begun, seeing as my own religious community considered me a religious adult three years prior. My textual introduction to Buddhism was through modern, Western secondary sources about adopting Zen practices into everyday life, which was very superficial, but certainly very interesting. In Japan, I delved a little deeper into actual Zen for practicioners, talking with my guides and spending hours at important sites such as the massive Buddha statues in Kamakura and Nara. I was particularly interested in the cultural interplay between the indigenous Shinto religion and Buddhism, because they're very different, and yet it seemed that most people practiced both and integrated them.

My trip to China and Tibet was this summer. In China, most of my contact with religion was in museums, which wasn't nearly as superficial as I'd feared, and I learned a lot about Mahayana, which I hadn't really studied before. In Tibet, though, I hit almost every major holy site in and around Lhasa, walked the Barkhor, visited the Jokhang Temple and Potala Palace, and spent time at the Ganden, Sera, and several other monestaries. This was really an immersive experience. The monks were all glad to have us, and of course we donated generously. We arrived at one small monestary outside Lhasa as a fairly important lama was visiting. The grounds of the monestary were decorated with auspicious symbols of colored sand, and the monks invited us in even as they were chanting. It was amazing. I've got lots of pictures, if you'd like to see! Of course, none are from inside the monestaries, but they certainly give you the idea.

[Scarlett Wampus]

Wow Jonm! I wish I'd seen so much, hahaha.

Are the photos online?

[JonM]

Well, they're online for Facebook users, but only college students can access that, and it might only be students in American colleges. Try this link, and if you can't access them, I'll upload them somewhere else:
http://brown.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2002738

[Master Vigil]

Oh please share the photos!!!!!

Welcome, the one thing that sticks out to me about the Asian religious culture. Is that they claim to be Buddhist, Taoist, and Christian at the same time. This to westerners is seen as rediculous and impossible. But for them, it totally fits. So the ability to be buddhsit and shinto is certainly not far from possible.

I can't wait to hear more of your experiences, and see some photos.